Chapter Twenty-Seven
Icalled my power to me and pushed it into Lynn. She arched off the bed and screamed. Wendy and Toya came running, and I could hear a faint yelp from Carly. I would explain it to her later, but right this second, my entire focus was on the woman slowly dying on my bed.
“Amy, what the hell are you doing?” Wendy came running to my side.
“Amy, stop.” Toya ran back from the cabin, but I shook my head.
“I can’t.” I was holding her wrist, but the blood wasn’t slowing. “Grab me a towel from the bathroom. Now.” Toya ran.
“What happened?” Wendy knelt next to me, putting her fingers against Lynn’s neck. Toya came back from the bathroom with a towel and held it out. I pulled my hand away from her wrist and they both gasped.
“I needed her blood for the shield. I can’t bring her there until she is added to it. Otherwise, she can be traced there. I was just going to take a little blood.” I wrapped the towel around her wrist and squeezed. I held her arm to Wendy. “Squeeze. Hard.”
“Why isn’t she healing?” Toya looked at the blood on the floor.
I growled. “Vince and Derek, I think.”
Toya looked at me as I wrapped both hands around Lynn’s arm. “What did they do?”
“Wolfsbane.” It was all I could get out.
“Cover her mouth. I don’t want to scare Carly, and I have to use all my power to heal this.
” She nodded, crawled into the bed with Lynn.
She shifted her so that her head was in her lap and then covered her mouth with both hands.
“This is going to be painful, Lynn. I’m sorry. ”
I ran to the plant in my mind. She was beautiful and flourishing, and normally I can connect with my power no problem, but this time I wanted to go straight to the source.
I slammed my hand into the soil and I felt my magic filling me.
I pulled more and more magic to me, as quickly as I could, but it was still slower than I liked.
I had to wait as the magic kept building, because if I pressed too early, Lynn wasn’t going to make it. “Amy.” Toya stared at me as I held there. “Amy, what are you doing?” Toya looked down at Lynn. Her panic was building. “She’s fading Amy.” I nodded, I knew it, but still I waited.
Wendy squeezed the towel tighter, but the blood was dripping, the towel already soaked with blood.
“Amy, she’s lost too much blood.” Her voice wasn’t panicked yet, but she was worried.
“What should I do?” She looked to me for something: advice, admonishment, direction I didn’t know, but she waited for me to give it to her.
But I was almost full, almost at capacity, and I couldn’t think or move.
My entire focus, my entire being, had whittled down to this.
To building power, to watching the tiny flame in Lynn’s chest flicker.
I watched as her flame started to die. I closed my eyes and prayed to the Goddess.
Please, don’t let her die at my hands. I opened my eyes, and I focused back on her as a wave of strength covered me, and her tiny flame steadied.
“One more minute.” I whispered the words as I stared down at my friend, my wolf.
Her spark was almost out, almost gone, but I refused to allow her to fade.
“Amy!” Toya screamed when Lynn stopped breathing.
I felt the moment the magic was full, I had drawn as much as I could. Wendy looked at me but her eyes widened. “Holy Goddess. How the fuck did that happen?”
But in the next second, I slammed all the power I had gathered, all I had drawn in, and I shoved it straight into Lynn.
The raw power of my magic was like straight electricity, but I screamed my intention as I kept shoving it in.
“Cleanse and heal.” Wendy and Toya closed their eyes, praying for it to work.
But I just kept shoving power directly into her body.
I pictured the wolfsbane in her blood, and I forced it out of the wound. Lynn’s bleeding worsened , and Wendy screamed. But this is what Lynn needed. “Amy!” Wendy was full of panic now.
Toya had abandoned holding Lynn’s mouth. The woman wasn’t screaming; she wasn’t even breathing. “Amy, you need to stop.”
But I refused. “You don’t get to take her.
Not yet, not now.” I slammed another enormous wave of power into her and this time it was intent on healing her.
I pictured the wound at her wrist, so shallow, so small, closed.
Then I forced more power to refill her blood, giving her the life source she so desperately clung to.
With the very last of my power, I shoved it directly into her heart with only one intention.
Breathe.
Lynn shot up from the bed with a gasp, and I nearly wept in relief. Wendy and Toya jolted back, surprised, but then grabbed Lynn again. “Are you okay?” Toya turned Lynn’s face to hers.
Wendy wrapped her hands around the soaked towel and peaked under.
“Thank the Goddess.” She pulled back the towel completely, inspecting Lynn’s wrist. “She’s healed.
” She stood and brought the towel to the bathroom.
I heard the slap of the towel hitting the bottom of my tub and water running right before she came back with a washcloth.
She wiped the remaining blood off Lynn’s wrist, cleaning her up before she turned to me.
“You did it.” She looked back over my shoulder, her eyes catching on something again.
Toya and I followed her eyesight and Toya’s mouth dropped open. “Holy goddess.” She looked back at me. “Did you do that?”
I stared at the plants I had in the corner.
The plants I collected and my mother had taken care of while I was gone.
The plants, all six, that were now shriveled and dead.
The once vibrant green now had turned yellow, like dried corn husks.
I mourned their loss, but I looked back at Lynn and I smiled.
“Sometimes, magic gives back to nature, and sometimes we pull from it. My well wasn’t big enough to bring Lynn back from the brink while cleansing the wolfbane from her system.
I needed the boost.” I felt my shoulders sag.
“I will give it back once I’ve refilled.
” I stood and grabbed the jewelry dish of blood. “I’ll be right back.”
“But your magic…” Wendy held up her hand, worried.
I nodded. “I’ll have to pull a little extra from the plants outside to add Lynn to the shield, but it needs to be done.
I’ll hopefully be able to bring them all back to life when I have the strength.
” I started back into the closet but paused.
“Can you both stay with her until I can come back and bring her to her room?”
“Of course.” Toya nodded. “What about the Woldbane in her blood? Won’t that damage the protection?”
“No,” I told her with a tired smile. “The spell only cares about her DNA, the Wolfsbane won't have any effect on it.”
I nodded, then turned back to the cabin.
I hurried past Carly sitting on her bed, surrounded by blankets I didn’t recognize.
I headed out the front door and then north.
I pulled tiny bits or power of life from the grass and plants as I passed by.
I didn’t want to kill any outright, so I spread it out.
By the time I got to the statue, a plan had formed in my mind.
“Do you know what to do, love?” My grandmother stepped around the corner with a smile.
“I think so.” I settled on my knees in front of the statue, then I sighed.
“Say what you want to say, my girl.” My grandmother settled next to me.
“I’m barely able to take care of myself, and now I have a child, and another grown woman to take care of.” I turned my head. “What am I doing?”
She smiled. “You’re afraid. And that’s okay.” She raised her hand to my face, and I closed my eyes. When we were like this, I swore I could feel her hand, her warmth. “Do you regret either choice?” His question was soft. “The girl, or the warrior?”
I shook my head instantly. “Carly is mine. I knew that when I was eighteen. And Lynn, she’s my friend. My wolf. My duty. But also, she’s mine to protect, and I failed her.” I opened my eyes to see hers full of understanding.
“So you find them to be a duty?” She tilted her head at me. “Take your time to think of your answer. I want you to really consider the question and your feelings about this.”
I sat back and really turned inward. How did I feel about Carly? About Lynn? Fuck, how did I feel about everything?
Nix and Megan came over. Carly is our pup. Nix laid down and stared at me.
Megan nodded. She was always supposed to come to us.
I felt the same. Carly was ours, and even though I was terrified about raising a child by myself, I would figure it out.
You have us, asshole. Nix called out and I smiled.
I turned to the next person, Lynn. I felt in my gut she was linked to me. We have a bond, I could feel the cord connecting us.
She is our pack, our home. Nix looked at Megan. It’s like us, we are together; we are sisters.
Megan tilted her head. Toya, Cas, Wendy, Hanna and Micca are our sisters. Lynn is like a cousin. She is a part of our family, and we need to care for our family. I think you’re worried about making her better, but she is stronger than you think.
Nix chuffed out a laugh. And I think you are seriously downplaying the drive of someone fueled by hatred and revenge. Which is surprising, since you, yourself, have been on a revenge path for years now.
I had to agree to that.
“So?” My grandmother pushed, as she could see I was done thinking.
“No, I don’t find them to be a duty. I say duty, because I am honor bound to help, but even if I wasn’t, I would have. They are connected to my wolves. To me. I wouldn’t turn on them.”
She nodded. “Good.” She pointed to the statue with her lips. “I know your fear is talking. And that’s okay, just don’t let it talk you into something you shouldn’t do. Like turn your back on your people. Add your warrior into the shield and then bring her back to heal.” Then she was gone.
I shook myself and I turned inward to see how much power I had left. To my surprise, I was recharged more than I should have been. I closed my eyes and sighed. “Thank you.” I picked the blood up and stood. I poured a little on the statue and then I moved on to the next.
Once I had poured Lynn’s blood onto all four statues, I settled back in front of the northern statue and opened my magic. “Isla fo int ye per ta dona clin stio pa ne.” I sent my power out, and I felt the blood soak into each, the spell accepting Lynn.
I stood and double checked each statue, making sure that all the blood had soaked in. Double checking the ward and shield as I went. Once I was secure with my shield, and the acceptance of Lynn, I ran back inside. I made it back to my room and through the closet before I could think.
Knocking on the door to my bedroom at my mother’s house had me pausing. I turned my head to Wendy and Toya. Both were still hovering over Lynn. “Whoever is knocking has been for about a minute.” Toya settled into the bed.
I turned to Wendy. “Go back to the cabin and close the door. If we are lucky, I can send whoever away and the doorway will still work.” She nodded and got up, running to the closet and closing the door.
I waited for a few more seconds until I was sure she was back on the other side of the door, and I walked to my bedroom door.
I opened the door and leaned against the door frame. “Yeah?”
Shannon, Morgan and my mother all stood in the hallway. My mother looked pissed. “Hey.” Morgan glanced back at my mom. “I just saw your mother’s new car. It’s nice.” He started. My mom scowled.
“Yeah, she had been eyeing it, and I know her favourite color is red. So I bought it for her.” I looked at my mom. “Do you like it?”
Her face softened. “I love it. When you have time, I want to go for a ride.” I nodded.
“Sounds good. Once I get the girls off, I want to go to the grocery store, anyway.” She nodded. I turned back to Morgan. “Why is everyone at my door?” I watched my mother’s face as it clouded back over. Whatever the reason they were here, she was pissed about it.
Morgan hesitated. “Well, you bought your mother a new car.”
I waited. He looked super uncomfortable, but I didn’t care. I wasn’t going to make this easy for him. “Okay.” I flashed a confused look at my mother. “And?”
“Well, I was thinking that maybe you could buy Shannon one.” Morgan rubbed the back of his neck and I could tell the only reason he was here was because Shannon made him come.
“Wait.” I crossed my arms and smirked. “What? I am going to need you to say that again. What do you want me to do?”
He sighed. “Look, Amy, honestly.” He raised his hands in surrender. “I don’t want to be here. But Shannon saw the car, and she wanted it. Obviously, that isn’t going to happen, but she begged me to come here to ask you to buy her a car.”
“Morgan.” My mom started, and he looked genuinely pained. But I held up a hand.
“Why should I?” I think my question surprised both Morgan and Shannon. Like I was actually considering it. I wasn’t, but hey, I wanted to hear his reasoning.
He sighed. “Honestly…” I nodded and he paused, as if he was considering his words. Finally, he opened his mouth. “You shouldn’t.” My mom’s mouth dropped open in surprise. What the hell just happened?
Shannon whirled to face her father. We watched her face cycle through her emotions. Betrayal, rage, finally she settled on hurt. Her eyes filled with tears, and she made her lips wobble. “Daddy, you promised.” Her words were whiny and I swear I watched something break in Morgan.
He sighed. “What do you want me to do, Shan? It’s her money, it’s her decision.” He turned to face her. “I keep putting you first because you are my daughter, but enough is enough. Ainsley hates me now because of you. Amy hates me because of you. Vince has replaced me because of YOU!”