Wolfsbane (9 page)

Adne whacked him with the flat side of one of her skeans.

“Ouch!” Connor rubbed his arm.

“It’s fine, Cal,” Shay said. “This is how I got to the Academy. I know it looks crazy, but it’s safe.”

“Crazy?” Adne protested.

“Crazy beautiful.” Connor grinned at her. “I’l go first.”

“Please,” I said, not wanting to admit how much the shimmering doorway made al my hairs stand on end.

Connor strode confidently into the light-fil ed image. His body blurred for a moment and then there he was, standing among the crates. He paused, stretching his arms and yawning, and then suddenly dropped his pants and mooned us.

“Oh God, Connor!” Adne groaned. “Get through there and bite him, Shay.”

“I’m not coming, remember?” Shay objected, but he laughed. “Even if I was, I wouldn’t bite his ass.”

“Maybe Cal a wil .” Adne grinned.

“Not likely,” I muttered, though on a second glance I had to admit that Connor’s ass wasn’t that bad to look at.

“Enough,” Anika said, briefly embracing Lydia.

“Be wel .”

“Of course,” Lydia said, rushing into the portal in time to smack Connor’s bare skin with the flat of her dagger before he could stumble out of the way.

Adne burst into laughter.

“Go ahead, Cal a,” Monroe said. “Adne wil be right behind you.”

“Wait.” Shay held on to me. “What are we doing while they’re gone? Just sitting on our hands until it’s over?”

“No.” Monroe came to his side, gently drawing him away from me. “We have a task of our own to accomplish.”

“We do?” Shay’s brow furrowed.

“We’re dropping in on some of the Academy instructors,” he said. “And you’re going to convince them that it wil be just fine when they have a pack of young wolves joining their classes.”

So that’s what an al iance meant. We wouldn’t just be fighting with them. We’d be training with them, learning about their world. As much as that idea was strange, it was also exciting.

Adne began to tap her foot. “Come on, Lily. We try to open and close the doors quickly. This isn’t window shopping.”

The nickname jarred me enough to flash fangs at her. It was more than a little satisfying when she took a step back.

I glanced at Shay, who offered me a thin smile.

“Good luck.”

Returning the smile as best I could, I closed my eyes and stepped into the gleaming haze.

Connor wasn’t completely wrong about the sensations that flowed over me once I touched the door of light, though moving through the portal didn’t exactly tickle. For a moment my skin tingled, like I was caught in a space ful of static electricity. In the next moment, stale musty air fil ed my lungs and Connor was laughing. Fortunately his pants were on again.

“You with us, Cal a?” Lydia asked. “Trip’s over.

This is where you get off.”

Connor coughed. “I could help you with that.”

I shook off my bewilderment, glaring at him.

“Do you ever get tired of hearing your own jokes?”

Lydia shoved him toward the door.

“Do you real y need to ask?” He grinned, batting his eyelashes at her.

She tried to give him a stern look, but laughter bubbled up from her throat. “You’re a disaster, boy, but I love you for it.”

“Of course you do.”

“Stop preening, Connor.” Adne had emerged from the portal. I turned around. I could stil see the flickering image of the room we’d left in the tal rectangle behind her. “Everyone’s first time through a portal is intimidating.”

“Not a bad way to travel, though,” Connor said, rubbing his arms as if they were stil tingling. “Is it, wolf girl?”

“No, it’s not.” My eyes fixed on the shimmering doorway. “But—”

“But what?” Adne’s hands were on her hips. “You don’t approve of my weaving?”

“It’s not that,” I said, stil examining the portal. “But don’t they make you nervous?”

Adne sighed, slashing her skeans across the portal in a giant
X.
The door vanished. “Look, Lily.

This whole exercise was to show you that it’s perfectly safe. I don’t know what more I can do other than let you walk back and forth through the door al night.”

“That isn’t what I meant,” I said. “Aren’t you worried the Keepers wil just open one of these to find you?

It’s perfect for a surprise attack. I mean, that’s what we’re using it for, aren’t we?”

“Oh.” Adne nodded. “I see.”

“See what?” I asked. “You should be worried.

That’s a pretty big flaw.”

“Yes, it would be,” Adne continued, smiling wickedly. “If that were a problem, but it’s not.”

“Why not?” I was irritated by the smug expression on her face.

“Because our Weavers are so special,” Connor said, sliding his arms around Adne’s waist and kissing her on the cheek before she whirled around and shoved him away.

“You are such a jerk,” she said, but she couldn’t hide her laughter.

“I was trying to give you a compliment,” Connor said, feigning an injured expression and not quite dodging quickly enough when she grabbed for him.

“Would someone please tel me why this isn’t a problem?” I asked, put off by their easy banter when I was stil so tense.

“Keepers can’t create portals,” Adne said simply, slipping out of her impromptu wrestling match with Connor to face me again.

“Why not?” I asked, frowning.

“It’s one of the few benefits we have for not breaking the natural magic rules like they do,” she said.

“I’m stil not fol owing,” I said.

“Remember that whole sin against nature issue Silas brought up earlier?” Connor grinned at me.

“I do, not that it made any sense.” I folded my arms across my chest. “And I’m surprised you’re bringing it up now.”

He held his hands up in surrender. “Only out of necessity. I think you’re gorgeous, wolfie—no mutant features in sight as far as I can tel . Then again, you do have al your clothes on.”

“Shut it, Connor.” Lydia groaned.

“Yes, ma’am. Okay—so the Keepers broke some big rules on the way to al that power they have, creating Guardians included,” Connor said, pushing his hands through his messy chestnut hair. “The truth of it is portals work on natural principles. And if you go around offending the earth al the time, like the Keepers do, you can’t ask it for favors.”

“Huh?” I couldn’t make sense of what he’d just said.

“Everything in this world is connected—including al the places on the globe,” Adne said. “Weavers use Old Magic to pul together the threads of that connection, linking one site to another. That’s how we travel.”

“But the Keepers—” I began.

“Can’t pul the threads to begin with,” Connor finished for me. “They have to travel the old-fashioned way. Or the new technology way, I guess.

But no portals. They cannot weave. The earth won’t al ow it.”

I stil wasn’t sure I understood, but our conversation was interrupted by the door on the other side of the room swinging open. Dropping to the ground, I shifted, ready to attack the man who had a crossbow aimed at us. Connor stepped in front of me before I could strike.

“Isaac, put that down! What did we ever do to you?”

The man with the crossbow grunted. “Oh, good.

We were wondering when you’d get here. Why did you open a door in the storage room?”

“Because if it were Ethan with that crossbow, he’d have already shot her.” Adne pointed to me. “I was being cautious.”

“Not a bad idea,” Isaac said. “Though al he could do right now is spew cookies at the wolf. He’s been stuffing his face ever since he got here.”

“Cal a, you should try not to shift so much here,”

Lydia said, moving to embrace Isaac. “Where’s my best girl?”

I shifted back into human form, swal owing a retort that hovered on my tongue. What did they expect? I didn’t have a very good history with Searchers and crossbows.

“She’s in the kitchen with Ethan,” Isaac replied.

“How is Ethan?” Adne asked. “Aside from being fil ed with cookies.”

Isaac looked at me. “He’s coming around.”

“That’l do,” Connor said, taking my hand and pul ing me to the door. “Isaac, meet Cal a. She’s the alpha who’l be leading our fabulous new Guardian revolt.”

I’m doing what?
The ramifications of this new plan came crashing down onto me like a rock slide.

“Is that al ?” Isaac grinned. “Nice to meet you, rabble-rouser.”

I shook his hand, giving Connor an unfriendly sidelong glance.

He slapped me on the shoulder. “Just making sure your reputation precedes you.”

“Thanks.”

We fol owed Isaac, whose wealth of long, minuscule braids swung from a ponytail at the nape of his neck as he sauntered into a large room that was empty except for the mats on the floor and weapons hanging from the wal s.

Seeing my eyes wander, Lydia smiled at me.

“Training room.”

Isaac led us through another door, where we were greeted by a roaring fire, the smel of fresh coffee, and two faces. One smiling, the other scowling.

“Hey, beautiful.” Lydia opened her arms to a woman who looked about the same age—thirty-five give or take a couple of years—and whose chin-length crop of springing curls was reminiscent of Bryn’s, except for their blue-black hue.

“It’s my lucky day,” the woman said, kissing her.

“Can it be my lucky day too?” Connor asked, eyeing the liplocked pair.

“Don’t hit on my girlfriend, Connor.” Lydia laughed, pul ing the other woman into a fierce hug.

“I wasn’t hitting on her,” Connor objected. “I gave her a compliment. You think I’d poach your territory?

You forget that I patrol with you. I don’t want to be at the wrong end of your daggers.”

“Smart man,” Lydia said, then turned the other woman to face me. “Tess, this is Cal a. She’s the slumbering wolf we’ve been hoping would stir.”

“And stir she has.” Tess came to me immediately, offering both her hands. “It’s an honor to meet you.”

Again that word . . . honor. It threw me.

“Thanks.” I took both her hands; they were soft and warm. When she smiled, it lit up her pale blue eyes, ful of sincere kindness. I liked her instantly.

“Do we have time for a cup of coffee?” Isaac asked, holding up a pot. “Or are we jumping straight to blood and guts?”

I stared at him, startled by the questions that pitted coffee against gore.

“You won’t be jumping anywhere,” Lydia said, pul ing Tess back into an embrace. “Reapers are to hold down the fort. Just Strikers and the wolf out on this run.”

“And me,” Adne said.

“I heard you’re the new Weaver, Ariadne.” Isaac was pouring himself a cup of coffee. “Welcome aboard.”

“Adne,” she replied. “It’s just Adne.”

“Stil rebel ing against your father, Ariadne?” Tess asked as she leaned against Lydia. “We’ve talked about that.”

“You’ve talked about that,” Adne said, pushing past them to grab a seat at the kitchen table next to Ethan, who was staring at his coffee and a plate ful of cookie crumbs. “And would you two get a room?

You know not everyone here has stumbled across true love and yet you two rub our noses in it every chance you get.”

chance you get.”

“Watch it,” Lydia said. “We don’t get that many chances and you know it. We’re lucky to share an hour in the same time zone on most days.”

“Besides, you’re sixteen, Ariadne.” Tess fixed her with a stern gaze. “You haven’t had time to stumble across love yet.”

“Sure she has.” Connor slid into the chair on the other side of Adne, throwing his arm around her shoulders. “She just doesn’t appreciate it yet.”

Adne groaned and dropped her forehead onto the table. “I’l marry the first person who gets me a cup of coffee, I don’t care who it is.”

“Throw me a mug, Isaac!” Connor half rose.

“Oh, please,” Adne mumbled onto the tabletop.

“Are you kidding?” Connor said. “A cup of coffee instead of a ring? That’s the kind of proposal I’m ready for.”

I traced the cool metal band circling my finger.

When I caught Adne watching me, I hid my hands under the table.

“And al you can afford,” Isaac added.

“Wel , that too.” Connor laughed.

“I stil don’t have any coffee,” Adne said. “Even with my generous offer.”

“Don’t give up that easily, sweetheart.” Isaac smiled, bringing Adne a steaming mug. “Coffee, Cal a?”

“Uh, I—” I hesitated, stil not understanding this bizarre chatter in the face of impending battle.

“Shouldn’t we focus on the attack? Anika said we only have a brief window for this to work.”

The room went silent. I held my breath, clearly having said the wrong thing.

Tess took pity on me. “Sweetie, there’s always time for a cup of coffee.” She took my arm, settling me in the chair next to Connor.

“Time for anything good when you’re staring death in the face,” Connor added.

“Amen,” Ethan muttered from the corner.

I gazed at their thin, bleak smiles and my confusion evaporated. I thought about their lives.

About what they had to face. Keepers. Guardians.

Wraiths. The stuff of nightmares.

Survival. That’s what this was about. The Searchers were warriors, like Guardians. They looked at every fight like it could be their last. Al of this—from oddly timed coffee to Connor’s inappropriate jokes—fortified their defenses. Only this wasn’t body armor. It was a mental bulwark. A way to save their spirits from despair.

As strange as it was, I could get on board with this strategy. Especial y if it involved coffee, though I wondered if the crankiness of not getting any might give me the winning edge in a fight.

“What is this place?” I asked, trying to piece together the storage area, the training room, and now the kitchen.

“We have outposts adjacent to the major Keeper settlements across the globe. They have two main purposes: to keep us connected to our contacts in the human world and to use as staging areas for strikes against Keeper targets.”

“It’s home sweet Purgatory.” Isaac sighed.

“It may be Purgatory.” Lydia laughed. “But the coffee is damn good.”

“Purgatory?” I frowned, then smiled when Isaac handed me a mug ful of swirling liquid, black as tar.

“You know, it’s the place you get stuck between heaven and hel ,” Connor said. “Heaven being the Academy and hel . . .”