Wolves’ Bane (23 page)

Cal sighed and shook his head. “No, I don’t think so. At least I hope he doesn’t.”

“So you’ve never done this before?”

“We usually don’t have advance notice, no. The battle over Lazarus’s bride has historically happened very differently depending on who gets to his Huntress first. The last time, thirty years ago, it was here.”

My heart clenched for him. What he was telling me was that the ground we were standing on was where his mother died. I wanted to reach out and hug him, but then I remembered the ground we were standing on was also where I would possibly die. I crossed my arms over my chest instead.

“But we’ve never had the advantage like we do this time,” he continued.

“Oh?” I cocked my eyebrow again. “And what’s the advantage?”

“Me,” Cal said. “I’m the advantage. I’m the first magic etcher born in two centuries. I’m the strongest on record. You must feel it too, because in you, it’s even stronger.”

He motioned to the lanterns that hung from tree trunks every hundred feet or so. “I’ll use my magic to make those burn tomorrow night, since there won’t be any light with the moon’s eclipse. We’ll have the advantage.”

“And what else? What else have you done? How can you be so sure that you’ll succeed?” My words sounded more like an accusation than a request for information. I couldn’t help but feel betrayed.

“It was an elder with powers like mine who made the cloak. He fashioned it to absorb the essence of the Huntress, concealing her from the wolves. When I came into my powers, I recognized the power signature as being similar to mine, similar but weaker and I knew that I could do better. I managed to jolt it with more power, and it’s held over the years. It protected Kelly and then Candy when we brought them in, and now you. I etched the perimeter of the compound’s grounds as well. This is what I was born to do. I’m the protector.” He took two steps toward me. “I’m your protector.”

I stared up at him. “I want to believe you,” I said as some of my anger drained away.

He reached his hand up to cradle my cheek. “I won’t let anything happen to you, Morgan.”

“Unless I betray you,” I whispered. “And then you’ll kill me.”

He flinched and I took a step away from him, leaving his hand suspended in mid-air where he’d been touching me.

“Listen, Cal. I appreciate you taking the time to etch your magic.” I wasn’t looking at him as I spoke, my tone frosty, sarcasm tinting my words. “How about we just see what happens? You do your job and I’ll do mine.” I turned toward him. “And if you have to, take your best shot.”

He opened his mouth to protest when Lance came back into the clearing. “You all good here? Can we go back now? This place gives me the creeps.”

I moved toward Lance, nodding as I distanced myself from Cal. “Yeah, I’ve seen enough. I was wrong—there’s nothing here that I really needed to see before the battle tomorrow. It’s the things I can’t see—like trust and loyalty—that are going to be the real killers.”

I looked back to see Cal lower his head, his eyes closing briefly.

“You coming, Cal?” Lance asked.

He shook his head. “No, I’m going to stick around here and do some more work.”

“I’d offer to help,” I said, “but the motivation to aid in my potential murder just isn’t there.”

Lance grimaced and shook his head, shooting a look of pity Cal’s way before directing me out of the clearing and into the forest.

Chapter Thirty-Eight

The Game Changer

The afternoon of the lunar eclipse had everyone on edge, Cal most of all. It was another four hours until sunset, another four hours until Lazarus would take his human form. The battleground was ready. Cal had spent hours more after Morgan and Lance had left, etching a thicker barrier to trap Lazarus and his pack. As soon as the Huntress made her appearance without the cloak, Lazarus would attack. And as soon as he stepped into the clearing he’d be trapped.

Both the texts and Kelly were saying things were going to be different this time. Neither could say exactly what, and Cal only hoped that it was because of his interference—that it meant things would go their way.

Morgan sat in the study, her nose buried in some book. She was pretending to be preoccupied and unbothered, but he knew better. Her eyes merely skimmed the pages, and he found her gazing out the window, only to snap her eyes back to the page when she realized she was being watched. He was surprised she tolerated him in the room with her. After the anger he’d seen simmering in her eyes the day before, he was prepared for another tongue-lashing today. But she remained stonily silent all morning, hardly looking at him, barely speaking to anyone.

Almost all of the Hunters were in attendance, save for Doug and his team of four who were out on patrol, monitoring the wolves’ movements. Of the Hunters in the house, some were seated at the dining room table, others in the kitchen. Cal stood at the study doorway leaning against the frame, waiting, watching.

He so badly wanted to comfort her. But her body language screamed for him to stay away.

When the phone rang the tension kicked up a notch. Cal moved to pick it up, but Andrew beat him to it.

“Yes?” He paused. “Doug? What’s going on? Where are you guys right now?”

Morgan lifted her eyes from the page, a frown of concern pulling her forehead into a deep vee.

“Rachel? I don’t think…”

Morgan jumped from the seat, knocking the book from her lap to the floor in her haste. She rushed to Andrew, snatching the phone from his hand before he could stop her.

“What do you know about Rachel? You tell me what the fuck you know about her right now, Doug!” As she listened, all of the color seemed to seep from her face. She dropped the phone a moment later and turned her gaze toward Cal. “Lazarus has Rachel.”

“Who’s Rachel?” Andrew demanded as he swooped down and picked up the receiver from the floor. “Doug? What the hell is going on?”

As Andrew continued to speak with Doug, Cal frowned at Morgan. “Your friend Rachel?”

“She told Doug that Lazarus is going to kill her if I don’t come to him.”

“Where is he?” Cal demanded.

Andrew hung up the phone on a curse. “At the carnival grounds where Cal found Morgan. He’s got your friend there. He wants the battle to happen on his terms.”

“That’s eight hours away! The sun will be down by the time we get there. Impossible, we can’t let him have his way. We’ll be walking into a trap.” Cal’s mind was reeling. How could they have let Lazarus turn the tables on them?

This is my fault. The etching, he must know about it. He must have seen me out there.

Morgan turned her eyes to Cal, her face set with determination. “He’s going to kill her if we don’t go. She needs me there. I don’t care if I have to drive myself, I will go to her.”

“Even if it’s a trap?” Andrew asked as he shot a questioning look at Cal.

“Of course it’s a trap. If I’m his bride, he’s going to do everything possible to get me, right?” She turned her hard glare from Cal to Andrew. “I’m not going to let my friend die because of this shit. I’m ready to fight, and you all have been training your whole lives for it, so it shouldn’t matter where it happens.”

Andrew shook his head. “This isn’t how it’s done.”

Morgan scoffed. “What? So Lazarus isn’t playing by
your
rules this time?” She turned her angry eyes on all of them, one at a time. “They know about Cal’s magic. Lazarus isn’t going to walk into a trap. You thought you had it all planned out but you don’t.” She settled her eyes on Cal. “You men are warriors. This is the first time in a long time that you’ve had a fighting chance to win against Lazarus, and you’re freaking out because he’s smarter than you?”

“He’s not smarter—”

Morgan spun to face Andrew, her finger raised, stabbing the air as she spoke. “He
is
smarter than you. He knows that you set a trap for him. He knows how to get me to go to him. He knows that he has the advantage now.”

Andrew stared at her, his eyes cold, all trace of his usual easy smile gone, his jaw clenching as he took in her words. Heartbeats of silence seemed to span for too long as they glared at each other.

“We’re going to have to go.” Cal’s words were quiet, barely audible, but both of them shifted their eyes in his direction. “We can’t let an innocent girl get tangled up in this. That’s what we vowed, Andrew. All of us. To protect the innocent. Morgan is right, we’re going to have to fight on his terms this time.”

Several moments of heavy silence passed before Andrew finally spoke. “Fine.” He motioned to the men at the table. “Three men stay here, the rest are coming. Lance, get the weapons.”

“Don’t you think you should stay here with Kelly?” Cal asked, his voice straining to remain calm.

Andrew pierced Cal with his cold glare again. “No, I don’t.”

“Well, shouldn’t you at least let her know what’s going on? See if she’s had another vision before we go?” The situation was out of Cal’s control, and his rising temper was testament to it.

“She doesn’t know anything more,” Andrew snapped as he snatched the keys for one of the SUVs from the rack and walked out of the house.

“I’m going to tell Candy what’s up,” Jeremy said as he loped up the stairs.

“She’s not coming with us,” Cal yelled after him.

“Yeah, I know, she’ll stay here with Kelly,” Jeremy called back.

The rest of the men scrambled to do as they were ordered.

Cal sighed as he turned to look at Morgan. Her expression still held a look of determination and anger. He walked over to the small table in the hall and picked up a leather case, opening it as he came back to her.

Her gaze fell on the contents and she sucked in a deep breath, her eyes growing wider as she scanned the blade within.

“It’s called a Huntress blade and it’s pure silver.” Cal angled the box so he could touch the hilt. He’d engraved it with symbols, spells, the same that he had used to create the cloak. “Can you feel the magic?” She nodded, her hand raised as if to touch it. “Lazarus won’t be able to detect it.” Cal removed it, along with the leather sheath it was holstered in, and laid the case on the floor. He stood and wrapped the band of the sheath around her waist and buckled it into place. “You don’t need to hide it. No one will be able to see it except for you and me. When he demands that you remove your weapons, you don’t have to worry. He doesn’t know about this one.”

She dropped her gaze to the blade and ran her fingers along the length of it encased in leather. “Thank you,” she breathed, her tone quiet, her anger lost.

“If you hit him with it, right where you trained to hit him, he’ll die immediately and you’ll be free.” Cal took a step toward her, his body almost touching hers. She didn’t flinch or move away as he expected. Instead, she stared up at him, her face tilted toward his. “You will succeed, Morgan. I know that you will. Even without all of our magic precautions.”

“There’s more at stake now. Now that Rach is involved.” A shudder passed through her and she took a step back, crossing her arms. “I can’t pretend that things are going to be okay. I can’t say what’s going to happen tonight. I can’t tell you that you’ll have no reason to kill me.”

Cal flinched at her words, his stomach clenching at the thought of her betraying him. “It won’t happen,” he growled, almost under his breath.

Morgan’s eyes were sorrowful as she shook her head. “You don’t know that, Cal. None of us do. Not even your Oracle.”

Cal took a step toward her, tilting her chin up with one finger so he could look into her eyes. “I know what will happen. You will succeed. You will because it can’t go any other way. I love you, Morgan. I believe in you.”

Morgan heaved out a breath, then pulled her chin away, turned and headed out the door toward the waiting vehicle. He wanted to chase after her, pull her into his arms and cover her in kisses. But she didn’t want that. She didn’t want him.

He grabbed the cloak from where it hung on the stair banister and followed her out, no longer certain of anything.

Chapter Thirty-Nine

True Intentions

The drive was eerily quiet. No radio playing, no chitchatting. Only four large men crammed into a tight space and me squeezed between two of them. Lance to my left and Cal to my right, both men cradling their massive swords in between their knees, with the blade unsheathed and tips embedded in the soft carpet of the floor. The cloak was draped around me, cocooning me from the touch of either of them.

Ken was driving while Andrew sat in the passenger seat, his finger tracing along the lines of a giant map of my town.

“Can one of you tell me what the layout is of this carnival?” Andrew barked as he shifted to look at each of us in turn.

I stared back at him when his gaze settled on me. “The carnival will be gone by now. It only comes twice a year and stays for a week or so. The grounds are barely used for anything else. There’s an old baseball diamond on the south side—an outhouse building where the washrooms are—northwest of the main gates. There’s a concession stand that will be boarded up right next to the washrooms, and then nothing but open gravel field surrounded by forest.

“Oh that’s just great. Forest? Fucking wonderful.” He turned back to his map, mumbling more obscenities to himself.

I clasped my hands on my lap, squeezing them tightly together to keep my rising panic from overwhelming me. Rachel was surely scared. Doug said that they had tracked a small pack of Lazarus’s wolves to my town earlier in the day but didn’t think to call it in because they were moving away from the mansion. It wasn’t until the wolves captured Rachel as she was checking on my house that they realized their mistake.

Cal slid his hand over my knee, his fingers brushing mine. “Lazarus won’t allow the pack to hurt her. He wants you with him. Part of his seduction will be giving you what you want.”

I shifted my gaze to him. Deep creases furrowed his brow and his eyes shone with worry. “Doug said she didn’t look hurt, just scared,” I told him. “When you’re scared, you do things that you wouldn’t normally do.”

Like bond with a practical stranger. Commit yourself to eternity with a man you hardly know.

My thoughts caught me off guard and I shifted my eyes back to stare at my hands. The few regrets I’d had before now had been short-lived, even the worst of them, when I’d hated the bond that was making me hurt so badly. I’d reveled in my powers, my strength, the feeling of being included in a group. Now that I was on my way to a battle, I couldn’t shake the feeling that I’d made some stupid choices in my life.

Yeah, like lusting after a man who would just as soon kill you as sleep with you all in his duty to the Order.

But that wasn’t fair. Cal wouldn’t hurt me. He believed in my ability to end this the right way, by killing Lazarus. I was the one with the doubts. What if I failed? I’d been so easily wooed by Cal—what if Lazarus’s ability to seduce me, the magic he held over me, was too strong to break? Wouldn’t it be better to be dead than a puppy mill for Lazarus?

I sighed as I lifted my hand to remove the hood of the cloak.

“You should probably keep that on,” Lance said as he lifted his hand to tug it back in place.

I stopped his hand with mine. “No, I’m stifling in here.”

“But…”

“Let her be,” Cal growled. “What difference does it make now anyway? Lazarus knows that she’ll come to him. It’s probably better that he gets the sense that she’s on her way—it’ll spare Rachel some unnecessary pain.”

I flinched at his words but shifted one hand over and laced it with his, a silent thanks as my frozen heart thudded painfully for him once again. I didn’t want to die. I hadn’t asked for this. But neither had Rachel. I, at least, had a fighting chance. And I knew deep down in my soul that this was what I was born to do. Cal’s bond had awakened something in me, something that had nothing to do with my role as the Huntress.

I’d been dying before. Living a hollow life. No plan, no destiny, no purpose. I had purpose now, even if it was going to be short-lived. The fight could go two ways. I’d fall under Lazarus’s spell and I’d die. Or I would kill Lazarus. Either way, I would be walking away from the Order
at the end of it all. I’d be walking away from Cal when all was said and done.

Andrew pulled my attention away from my thoughts as he loudly barked a few more curse words before twisting in his seat to look at Cal. “You need to set up some source of light when we get there.”

Cal stiffened. “I need to be with Morgan.”

Andrew’s eyes shifted to me. “Morgan can take care of herself. Once we get there, you’re not to remove the cloak until we’re in position. He won’t know where to find you if you’re cloaked.”

Cal squeezed my hand. “I’m not leaving Morgan’s side.”

Andrew snorted. “Well, my friend, you’re going to have to. I doubt Lazarus is going to take too kindly to seducing a women who has her Hunter at her side.”

Andrew’s attitude had shifted so much since I had first met him. Gone was the easy smile and welcoming eyes, and in their place was a crazed expression of control. I remembered back to our first conversation when he’d been taking me to meet Kelly. How he’d gotten so riled up at the thought of me leaving the Order. I realized now that I’d had a glimpse of the true Andrew—a power-hungry, control freak. It was a jarring shift and if I hadn’t known better, I’d have guessed he suffered some kind of head injury. I didn’t like him and I certainly didn’t trust him. All the pity I had felt toward him was gone, replaced with a cruel curiosity about his true feelings toward his bonded Huntress. Maybe he didn’t love her as much as he’d led everyone to believe, because he clearly had no respect for the bond between Cal and me.

“It’s okay, Cal.” I released his hand. “Andrew is right. In the end, we all know that I have to fight Lazarus alone. You need to keep Rachel out of harm’s way.”

Andrew nodded, the anger ebbing slowly from his eyes. “We’ll keep your friend safe. You just focus on doing what you are meant to do.”

I stared back at him, searching his words for their true intentions. A rising feeling of hatred seethed just under my skin. No, I didn’t trust Andrew at all. “I’ll do what I can.”

“And if you fail, I’ll be there waiting,” Andrew said, his eyes narrowing, his lips curled into a sneer.

His words didn’t even startle me, but I felt both Lance and Cal stiffen. Obviously, Andrew’s new personality was not washing quite right with the boys.

“Andrew,” Cal growled in warning.

I shifted my eyes to Cal, eyebrows raised. “What’s going on, Cal?” I confirmed my suspicions when I met his eyes, then turned mine back to Andrew. “So what, that’s why you’re really here? For backup in case Cal can’t do it?”

Andrew’s slow smile and curt nod sent a vibrating chill through me. All of Lance’s assurances, all of Cal’s faith in my abilities, were pointless. If Andrew saw me as a target, and I showed even a beat of betrayal, I was as good as dead.

“You won’t fail,” Cal said as he moved to clasp my hand again.

I let his hand rest there, my limbs suddenly feeling like dead weight as Andrew’s eyes told me more than Cal could ever guess. He’d take the shot when Cal wouldn’t. He’d kill me without hesitation.