Chapter 26
FINN
When Rune leaves to take the girls home, I say good night to Josie and head out on my nightly rounds. Even with all the excitement of Josie accepting our bond and the pressures of the witch trials, there is still vampire business to take care of.
We’ve got a sunstone dagger to find. And while Rune is tasked to keep tabs on the wolves, I’ve been instructed to watch Lilian Beauchamp.
Sebastian doesn’t trust the old crone.
Neither do I.
The spongy ground beneath my feet yields slightly with every step, as if the earth itself wants to swallow me whole and keep me from getting to my destination.
I’ve been coming back to stake out Lilian’s cabin since Sebastian asked me to keep an eye on her. From what I’ve been able to discern, Lilian hasn’t left once in all that time.
Did she really spend the last twenty-five years in that cabin? What would she have done if Josie hadn’t shown up? Would she have stayed in there?
What a boring life. If it were me, I’d rather face my chances of living in the open than be shut away.
The only activity I’ve seen during my visits comes from Violet, the teenage Beauchamp witch.
I’m almost certain she has a secret escape hatch hidden somewhere in her room. Either that, or she’s mastered a teleportation spell, because when Auntie Lilian thinks her niece is safely doing schoolwork in her room, Violet is out in the woods practicing magic.
Having come here every chance I’ve had over the past weeks, I know exactly where to tuck myself in to get the best view of things.
And once I’m in my blind, not even the most talented witch could find me.
No being can be as still as a vampire.
I’ve been hidden in a nearby tree for about an hour when the sound of tromping footsteps breaks in the distance.
Hmm…who has come to call?
The witch who pushes through the trees and approaches the cabin looks pissed. I know exactly why she’s mad. Summer Saint-Clair wasn’t happy when Josie made it to the final round of the witch trials earlier tonight.
But why is she here? Summer is a Sun Witch.
According to Lilian, the only ones who know about her faked death are her rogue Moon Witches, plus me, Josie, Rune, and Sebastian.
And, apparently, Summer Saint-Clair.
Lilian doesn’t look surprised to see her and invites her in without pause. The moment the door closes, the privacy wards lock into place and prevent me from hearing anything going on inside.
Well, shit.
This is my first chance to get something on Lilian, and I’m locked out. Rune got animal speech from the unity bond. If I had teleportation or invisibility, maybe I wouldn’t just be sitting here with my thumb up my?—
“Psst.” I glance down to the ground below my place in the tree and find Lilian’s teenage niece looking up at me. “Are you spying on Aunt Lilian?”
“Spying might not be the right word. Your aunt asked us for help and I’m here to make sure everyone is playing by the same rules.”
“Because you love your Sun Witch and you want to protect her, right?”
“Exactly right.”
Her cheeks crease with a wide smile. “I knew it. True love. Aunt Lilian doesn’t believe in the bonds, but I think Gaia knows exactly what she’s doing.”
“Aye, well, in our case, it worked.”
She looks off into the distance and sighs before turning her attention back to me. “Come with me.”
She doesn’t give me time to consider before she jogs off through the long grass.
Am I really going to follow this kid?
Have I got any other options?
I drop thirty feet to the ground and land in a soundless crouch. Then I race with vampire speed to catch up with the kid as she disappears behind an overgrown bush.
Where did she…
I groan and get down on all fours to crawl into the mouth of a narrow tunnel. It’s long and dark, but the shuffle of Violet moving in front of me and the distant murmur of voices keeps me going.
I run my hand along the smooth surface of the tunnel as I crawl. The rich scent of earth is pervasive but not unpleasant. Did she dig this tunnel herself? How long did it take her?
“How old are ye, Violet?”
“Fifteen.”
“And ye created this tunnel on yer own?”
“Yep.”
“Impressive.” Especially considering witches only come into their full magic at thirteen.
“When you grow up trapped in a land of mud, vines, and swamp, you learn to adapt.”
“Ye have to work with what yer given.”
“Exactly. See, you get it.”
We continue to crawl until the tunnel ends and we’re under the supports of the cabin. The floor of the secluded home is above us and the voices are now clear.
“I didn’t agree to compete against Josephine Dumont. She wasn’t supposed to be a part of this,” Summer says. “You said this would be easy.”
“And what would you have me do? She’s here now and has earned the right to take part in the last trial. There’s nothing either of us can do about that. You’ll just have to be better than her.”
“Yeah, easy for you to say. She’s a fucking Dumont! She practically ebbs with Gaia’s grace.”
You bet your witch bitch ass she does.
“Then you’ll have to handle her,” Lilian says. “We’ve come too far to lose focus now. Just stick to the plan and we’ll all get what we want.”
Summer doesn’t seem contented with that pep talk, but she doesn’t stick around long enough to give me any more than that.
The two of us remain still and quiet until long after Summer slams the door and stomps away. Then, we crawl back through the tunnel to the trees outside.
Standing, I brush at the damp dirt, but get nowhere. I’m a mudball. “Has that witch been here before today?”
Violet brushes her hands together and nods. “Twice. Aunt Lilian made me leave the house both times.”
“Ye didn’t happen to stay in yer secret tunnel to listen to Lilian’s conversations with Summer, did ye?”
“No.”
“So ye don’t know anything about her?”
“I didn’t even know her name was Summer until this moment.”
“Ah, right. That’s all right.”
She deflates. “Sorry. I spend as much time as possible as far away from Aunt Lilian as I can be—which isn’t far, considering I’m bound to the stupid cabin. If I spied on her every time she kicked me out to have a private conversation, I would have less time to hone my magic.”
“I guess you wouldn’t know where Summer lives, then? Or where she spends her time?”
“Hello…what part of ‘I’m bound to the cabin’ isn’t computing? I’ve never left this swamp.”
I think about that. It seemed boring and like having no life at all when I was considering Lilian in hiding, but Violet got dragged into this simply by association. She should be in Tremé, going to high school and hanging out with kids her own age.
“I’m sorry, Violet. That’s unfair. Ye deserve a better life.”
She blinks up at me. “Do you really mean that? You’re not just saying it?”
“Och, no. Whatever our concerns with yer aunt, it’s clear ye got the raw end of the deal. Ye deserve better than bein’ stuck in the middle of nowhere to be dismissed every time yer aunt wants ye gone.”
Her eyes glass up and I worry I’m about to have a crying teenager on my hands. I’m a vampire enforcer. I’m not properly prepared for that. Besides, every moment I waste here, Summer gets farther away.
I could run back to the Elysian where there’s a record of every Sun Witch, past and present, including their current address, but what if that’s not where she’s going? I’d rather follow her.
It will take Summer at least a half hour to make it back to the city. If I run fast enough, I should?—
“Here, you could find her with this.” Violet draws me out of my frantic plan-making. She pulls a little pearl barrette from her blonde hair and holds it out for me.
“A hairpin?”
“Yeah. Summer left it behind the last time she was here.”
“And what do I do with her hairpin?”
“Nothing yet. Just wait.” The young witch closes her eyes, and after a minute of silence and nothing happening, I’m about to excuse myself and take off when a pulse of magic washes over me.
“There. Now you can follow the little blip until it stops blinking and is fully red.”
“What blip?”
The pearl flashes a faint red before slowly fading out.
“That blip.” Violet’s gaze lifts from the hairpin to me like she’s looking for my approval. “It’ll track her and get stronger the closer you get.”
“Thank you, Violet. This is very helpful.”
“Good. I’m glad.”
I turn to leave, but the way Violet’s emotions flare makes me pause. Everything in me tells me not to get involved, but I can’t leave when she’s so obviously in pain. “Are ye all right, Violet?”
Her eyes are watery again and I can feel the tears pushing in. “Finn? Will you promise me something?”
Her emotions clawing at my heart make me want to agree, but I hold back. “I don’t make blind promises, but I’ll try. What do you need?”
“If things happen and my aunt’s plans go wrong… don’t leave me out here by myself, okay?”
“Och, I promise, Violet. I give ye my word. If it comes to it, I’ll make sure yer not left here alone.”
She swallows. “Thanks. And say hi to Josie. She seemed really nice.”
“Aye, I will. And she is. Josie is a true gem.”
With the pearl hairpin between my fingers, I take off at vampire speed into the marshy woods. I stop a few hundred feet away to watch for the blip of light.
The bolt of magic that hits me comes from behind and knocks me to the ground. The sudden impact shatters my vision and leaves me stumbling as the world spins into chaos.
Before I can do anything to defend or retaliate, a heavy blackness settles over me, and I crumple to the rocky ground.
My last conscious thought is of Josephine, Rune, and Sebastian. I failed them.
RUNE
Elara and Tavor come with me to walk Josie back to our suite, and then I take them back to their place downtown before heading out for my nightly patrol. It’s close to four in the morning, so most of the tourist activity has quieted down. It was just before midnight when Aiden said the wolves were active along the river, so I head straight there.
What a day. First, I got stabbed in the back by Finn, and then, Sebastian wiped my memories. It would’ve been a total wash if not for Josie.
Watching Josie do her potion challenge in front of the elders was such a fucking turn-on. She blows my mind. I swear Odin and Gaia must’ve gotten together to make this unity match because it’s a slam dunk.
My mind is only half in the present and half revisiting some of the more X-rated moments with my Unity Witch. So, when Mouse, one of Aiden’s street rats, comes racing at me, it takes a moment for my head to get in the game.
“Thank fuck you’re here,” Mouse gasps, breathing heavily. “Aiden’s gone.”
“Gone? Gone where? What happened?”
“The wolves took him.”
“They what?” Rage burns hot in my blood and I fight not to kill the messenger. “Explain. Now.”
Mouse swallows, his head bobbing as he sucks in breath. “Aiden and I were patrolling the river earlier and saw two Algiers wolves in a speedboat coming across with no lights. We followed them to the Warehouse District…”
“Fucking hell. I told him to hang back and stay out of trouble.”
“We did! We dropped back after you texted him. We saw the wolves grab two drunk guys and toss them in the boat. When they headed back across the river, we came back to the Quarter.”
“Then where is Aiden?”
“He knew you were busy tonight with the witch trials, and he said he wanted to just do a quick patrol along the riverfront. He wasn’t looking for trouble with the wolves.”
“And?”
“We weren’t even out of the Quarter and two wolves came up behind us. We bolted, but they caught up to Aiden. They roughed him up, tossed him onto the boat, and took off.”
“Fucking hell.”
“What should we do?”
I run a hand over my beard and exhale. “You do nothing. I’ll take care of it.”
I pull my phone out of my pocket and text Finn. Mutt trouble. Heading 2 Egan’s. U good 4 backup?
I wait for a reply, but nothing comes. No matter what bug is up Finn’s ass, he won’t let it affect vampire business. Will he?
With no time to worry about it, I beat feet toward the bridge and don’t stop running until the ground goes soft and the stench of werewolf taints the air. The Algiers pack has control of not only Algiers, but most of the wild lands of Westbank as well. It’s a lot of landscape to patrol, so it’s usually easy to slip in and out unnoticed.
Egan’s home is a sprawling house between Brechtel Park and the golf club. It’s urban enough for him to keep a hold on his part of the city but with enough green space that—with the help of a Moon Witch glamor—they can run without causing mass hysteria.
Egan’s camp is quiet when I arrive, but being four in the morning, it won’t be long until the sun comes up and the mutts start stirring.
Where did they take Aiden? Did they grab him because of his connection to me, or was it random? Door number two gives him much greater odds of surviving. I hope for his sake, it’s random.
Still, I need to find him…and the others.
How many men are we talking? There is only one reason I can think of for the wolves to grab random men off the street.
Egan is building a wolf army.
Dammit, Aiden. You should’ve just gone home like I told you to.
Only, I didn’t tell him to go home. I told him to stay clear of the trouble. If wolves grabbed from the riverfront of the Quarter, that’s not his fault.
Fuck. None of this is his fault.
With a dark cloud looming over my mood, I move away from the main house. If they’ve been kidnapping tourists, they have to be holding them somewhere. I need to figure out where.
I’ve been here enough times to know the general lay of the land and it strikes me now, that there is an old driving shed at the back of the golf course property that would be easily accessible from Egan’s land.
I’ve only got another hour or two before the sun comes up, so I need to find them while I still have the cover of darkness on my side.
After listening to my surroundings to confirm I’m alone out here, I take off at a jog. It’s the only place I can think of that’s big enough and remote enough around here.
If they took Aiden and the others into the bayou lands somewhere, I’m fucked. I’ll never be able to find them in time to save the kid.
Can I save the kid?
Sebastian won’t want me to start a war over one of my street rats, but I don’t want to leave Aiden blowing in the wind, either.
He’s dependable, tough, and has grown on me over the years. I’d go so far as calling him a friend.
I get within sixty yards of the outbuilding and crouch behind the wide trunk of a live oak. There are two burly men having a smoke in front of the door, and by the stench of them wafting upwind, there’s no question that they are wolves.
Shit.I’ll never get close enough to find out what’s going on in there. Two against one isn’t insurmountable, but Mouse said there were two of them at first, and then two later.
Does that mean four total? And how many could be inside? Four on one during a rescue will likely get Aiden killed. I pull out my phone to see if there’s any word from Finn.
Nothing. And so, I wait.
The morning sun washes the clearing a few hours later and while I can’t say I enjoy stakeouts, I am enjoying the sun on my skin.
Thank you, Josie Dumont.
Maybe now that Finn and I are daywalkers we won’t need a human street team. Then I won’t have to put kids like Aiden in harm’s way.
Poor Aiden. Wolves are brutal bastards. I’m worried about the little punk. If there’s witch warding on the building to keep sound from traveling, I’ll never hear what’s going on inside.
They could be beating the shit out of him and I’d never know it. With my efforts straining to hear anything, I pick up a gentle shift in the grass at the base of the tree. I take in the chipmunk and an idea strikes.
“Hey there, buddy. Mind lending me a paw? I need some help.”
The little guy’s tiny eyes lock onto mine for a moment before it wipes its whiskers. What’s in it for me if I do?
My eyebrows arch, but I appreciate the shrewdness. “What do you want?”
Away from the wolves. It’s dangerous foraging around here. All seven of my brothers and my four sisters have been eaten.
“Yikes. No problem. I’ll relocate you as soon as we’re done here.”
Fine. What do you need me to do?
“See that building? I think the wolves have a friend of mine in there, but I can’t see or hear what’s going on. If you can get inside, I think I can see through your eyes.”
After a brief pause, Chippy accepts my terms and climbs into my palm. I lean my back against the tree, close my eyes, and open a connection between the two of us.
When I feel my perspective shift, I set the little guy down and get a ground view of the clearing as he bounds across the grassy distance.
This will work. The chipmunk’s diminutive stature affords me a unique view of the world as we navigate a maze of towering obstacles.
The outbuilding bears the weight of time, its boards weathered and, in some places, chipped.
That’s how we’ll get in.
The closer we get, the thicker the air becomes with the acrid scent of sweat, blood, and fear.
I close my eyes, hoping Egan isn’t doing what I think he is. Because, if I’m right…I don’t see how I can help Aiden or the others.
It seems like it takes my chipmunk friend ages to make his way into the building, but when he does, it’s worse than I thought.
Aiden is kneeling in the center of the room while six other men, all of them smeared with blood, their clothes torn, and their wrists and ankles zip-tied together, lay panting on the dirt floor around him.
Aiden’s eyes, wide with terror, dart between the group of men writhing on the ground and the pack Alpha sitting on the metal chair five feet in front of him.
“I know you’re part of Sebastian’s army, so I’ll make you a deal.” Egan’s self-satisfied tone makes me wish I could control Chippy so we could bite the damn werewolf in the balls.
Egan’s eyes gleam with malevolent delight as he leans closer. “Join me. Stop being a grunt for those bloodsuckers and seize the strength and nobility of becoming pack.”
Despite his fear, Aiden is fighting to maintain a facade of bravery. “You won’t break me. Do whatever you want to me, but I’ll never betray the vampires. My loyalty is to the King of the Quarter.”
Fucking right it is. Atta boy.
Egan’s laughter echoes through the room. It’s a chilling sound as his pack joins in. “Ah, but that will make this all the more satisfying, kid. When you’re pack, we can use your loyalty against them.”
Aiden’s eyes widen. “You’re going to turn me?”
Egan’s grin widens, revealing his glistening fangs. “Loyalty and unwavering determination are traits we prize in our pack. If you’re willing to hold on to your convictions, even when the world turns against you, then you’ll make a fine addition to the Algiers wolves.”
Fucking hell.
The massive wolf lunges toward Aiden, and his gleaming teeth descend in a horrifying bite.
The agonized scream that pierces the room sears into my brain. The kid drops to the dirt, his lithe body curling in on itself. His mouth is open, but he has no breath to scream.
I can’t watch any longer. There’s nothing I can do to save him, anyway.
I’m so sorry, kid.
I tell the chipmunk I’ve seen enough and wait for him to return. I don’t open my eyes again until I hear him scampering through the grass, and we’re ready to go.
“Thanks, dude. Let’s get the hell out of here.”