Wolf Spell 1 (31 page)

He sat back, wiping his mouth on his shirttail. “Your spell was strong enough that I didn’t have to suck much of it out. She should be better in a day or two.” He spit again. “Vampire venom is nasty stuff.”

I leaned over and touched his arm, letting my hand linger there as if it belonged. “Thank you.”

Jarak moved beside me and picked Luna up carefully. “We should get her inside.” I nodded and got up to follow.

“You did good.”

“Thank you,” I replied, not thinking about who said it.

“I’m pretty sure Dregan was talking to me.” Ian stood up straight, his wolf at his side.

“But I heard…” I looked over at Maztic, “Wasn’t it you?”

“No, it wasn’t,”
Maztic admitted.

“Then who? I can’t hear Luna right now…” I swallowed hard. The only other wolf was Ian’s.

“What’s going on?” I asked Ian as Jarak came back outside.

Jarak looked at both of us. “Yeah, what is going on?”

Ian gave a half-smile. “Don’t worry brother, I guess it just means she’s fair game.”

Ugh!
“I am not a game, or a prize for that matter!”

“Well, you can hear Maztic and Dregan, and I’m guessing we can hear Luna, so I would say that means either of us could be with you.” Ian’s smug look made me want to hit him.

“Esmerelda!” A woman cried out.

I spun around. Who could possibly need me now? A couple hiked up the mountain, a huge timber wolf with them.

I pushed the energy out and placed a barrier between them and us. A wall of flames shot up and stopped them from progressing any further.

“Wait…” I turned around at hearing Bry’s voice.

He leaned against one of the wooden braces to the house, grasping his left side with his arm, grimacing in pain. “Wait,” he said again.

I rushed over to him. “Dad… Bry are you okay?”

Jarak was right beside me and helped to get him to the chairs on the porch.

“It’s your mom…” He winced again as he sat down.

I shook my head. “What?”

“Adonia, it’s her.” He used his head to nod in the direction of the couple walking up the mountain.

I looked back down and saw the couple walking through a break in the fire. I relinquished all of the flames, letting down the protection spell.

I could see them clearer and my hand flew to my mouth. I looked just like her. Long red hair flowed down her back. It was my dream from when I was little. I saw this so many times in my dreams. How did I not recognize it?

“Es, wait, it could be another trap.” Jarak grabbed my arm, stopping me.

I squirmed out of it, breaking free of his hold. Ian grasped Jarak’s arm. “Let her go.”

Dashing off the porch, I ran to meet them.

Adonia held her arms out and ran, catching me in her embrace. “Esmerelda, my sweet Esmerelda!” Tears streamed down her face. I held on to her tight, not wanting to let go.

Torres enveloped both of us in his arms, hugging tightly. We stood there for what seemed like hours. I pushed back first. She brought her hand to my face and held it there. “I can’t believe we found you. The last month we were able to feel you. It was the first time since Meadow took you away from us. We went everywhere we felt the pull, including Spain, but everywhere we went the feeling was cold. We pressed on, knowing we couldn’t give up.”

I bit my bottom lip. I wasn’t sure what I should say. It was strange to think they were my parents.
Oh, no, Bry…
I turned and spotted him doubled over on the porch, falling out of the chair. “Jarak! My dad!” I ran.

Jarak caught him before he hit the ground and laid him on his back. His shirt became more blood soaked, even more than when he first came up on the porch. I went to my knees and held his hand. Adonia and Torres were right behind me.

“Esmerelda, I’m sorry… for everything.” He gasped for more air. “Torres, Adonia, I’m sorry I couldn’t bring her home… but I kept her safe.” His eyes shut.

“No!” I placed my hand on his side where the blood seeped through. The heat from my magic radiated into him.
Please work, please work.
I didn’t want him to die. I leaned in closer, but a sick feeling overtook me, and I needed to back away.

A hand on my shoulder caused me to turn and look. Adonia’s lips tightened before speaking. “It’s poison. It will only hurt you to try.”

I snapped my head back to Bry. A gurgle sounded in his throat. I wanted to help him. Then the world around me stopped and stood still as I noticed his chest stopped rising. I pushed my energy harder. Jarak leaned over with me and started CPR. Nothing. I never moved my hand, until the spirit energy pushed back at me, letting me know it no longer flowed into him.

Tears streamed down my face, and I didn’t want to breathe anymore.

Adonia shook her head. “I’m sorry Esmerelda.”

I slumped and let the grief overtake me. I stared at his limp body. With every start there is a finish, and with every death a new beginning. I found my blood parents, only to lose the one parent I still loved.

I rose silently and walked to the house. I needed to see Luna. I could hear footsteps follow behind me, murmuring, but I paid no attention. Ian sat with Luna on the couch, Dregan dutifully beside him. He looked up at me as I drifted toward them.

I vaguely shook my head, mumbling. “He didn’t make it.”

He lowered his gaze. “I’m sorry.”

I knelt beside Luna and she quivered. Her eyes were open.
“Esmerelda…”

More tears came. I could hear her again.

A New Direction

– Esmerelda –

November 13, 2012

Ailaina glared at me over the freshly dug grave behind the cabin, next to the creek. The cold earth now enveloped my dad.

“You had no right to put me to sleep,” She crossed her arms over her chest. “I knew something that would’ve helped.”

I averted my eyes away from her, back to the mound of dirt.

Her voice softened. “But while I was asleep, I saw what you needed.”

I glanced back up at her, hopeful.

“They took his blood, Es, he was the warlock in my dream before, but I couldn’t tell you that. Now I can. I guess I could’ve said something, but it was hard.”

“Who took his blood?” Ignoring the fact that she kept something from me that could’ve saved Bry’s life.

“Meadow. After Luna was incapable of fighting anymore, Meadow attacked Bry and took his blood to Nicholas. That’s how he is completing the spells for his crossbreeds. Bry had control over the water element, now he needs another witch or warlock who controls earth, fire, air and spirit.”

“What do you mean?”

“You have control over all the elements, that’s why you’re able to complete the turning process from vampire to magical blood-sucker. He just has blood from one element, but he’ll need all five. That might be what he meant when he said it would be time consuming. He’ll need to kill a warlock or witch for each spell. The blood has to be fresh, and there needs to be a lot of it—enough to kill over. That’s a lot of people who are gonna die.”

My lip quivered as I fought the urge to cry. I couldn’t help but feel Bry’s death was my fault. If I’d just helped Nicholas…
no
. That was something I couldn’t do. I could never force innocent mortals to a life like that. I started walking back to the cabin, hugging my coat around me. “How many vamps can he cross over with one spell?”

She caught up to me. “Not sure, maybe five.”

That wasn’t a lot.

“There’s one more thing.” She stopped before we opened the door.

I folded my arms. “What else are you not telling me?”

“I saw something else. He’s planning a large gathering to find the witches and burn the tomb. I think he’s afraid of them being resurrected.”

I shook my head. “We need to find it before him.”

I pushed the door open and saw Ian talking with Dregan. I forced a smile at him. What he did for Luna stayed with me, and it wasn’t something I’d ever forget.

“Hey Princess.” He stood up. “Your mom’s in the kitchen waiting for you guys.”

I scrunched my face. “Huh? For what?”

He shrugged.

I had no time for this. I needed to find the tomb before Nicholas. Marching to the kitchen, I almost ran into Jarak, who came around the corner. “Oh, sorry. Have you seen Adonia - um, I mean my mom?” It was so weird to hear myself call her mom. My heart was at complete peace with it, but it rolled off my tongue as if it betrayed someone else, someone who didn’t exist anymore.

He nodded toward the kitchen. “She’s in there, getting things ready.”

I threw my hands up in the air. “For Pete’s sake!”

“Jeesh, Es, what’s wrong?”

Ailaina stepped forward. “Now is not the time Jarak.”

“Fine.” He scooted past me with his arms up and left us to find my mom.

There was no time to worry about why he was so upset. Bigger things were brewing.

“Hey, I’m glad you girls are back. We need to get started. The sooner the better.” Adonia carried bundles of Sage in her hands. “If we are going to fight together, we need to be together. I won’t lose you again.” She walked past us into the living room.

I cocked my head. “What is she talking about?”

Ailaina shrugged. “Your guess is as good as mine.”

“Some Seer you are,” I teased. I decided to listen and followed her.

I saw Jarak sitting next to my dad. They were in a deep conversation, but stopped talking as soon as I walked in. He stood up and took my hand, “She wants to tie us together, spiritually. Come on.” He led me to the couch to sit with him. We watched my mom set the small bundles of sage next to five colored candles she’d placed in a circle on the floor.

Without turning to look at any of us, she started talking, “The white candle is for spirit and peace, and it also can be used when healing.” She ran her hand over the wick of the white candle and a flame flickered.

She went to the next one in the circle, a deep cerulean color. “Blue is for water and knowledge. All things are logical when magic is used. Nothing is impossible.” She did the same thing as before to light the wick before moving to the next candle.

“Black is air and power. Don’t be deceived by the darkness of its color. It is extremely powerful and will give you added strength.

“Red is for fire and passion.” She glanced at me before lighting it.

“And finally, green is for earth and life. All of our gifts come from these elements, but this is my favorite, it fills us with a sense of positive well being and security in the world of mortals.” With all five candles lit, she stood and took a deep breath.

“Why wasn’t I shown candles and all of this before?” I asked.

She shook her head as she lowered her eyes. “Victor merely wanted you to fight, not learn your true place in the world as a witch.”

The door opened behind me, causing me to jump a little. Ian came in, along with all four wolves close on his heels.

“Wait. Ian too?” I folded my arms. I wasn’t sure that was a good idea. His nearness caused feelings in me that I didn’t understand. I was mad at him, yet yearned to be close to him. It was just more than what I wanted to deal with right now, and knowing I'd be linked to him wouldn’t make it any easier.

Torres walked over to my mom, placing his arm around her tiny waist. “He is family to Jarak and is here to help. You should be more grateful.”

I rolled my eyes. “Fine. Let’s just do this.” I dropped my arms to my sides. “What exactly are we doing again?”

“A joining spell. If something happens to one of us, say
kidnapped
, then we would be able to find them.”

“It’s okay Es, this is a good thing. None of us want to lose you.” Jarak placed his arm around me and gave a gentle squeeze.

“Princess, he’s right. We can’t lose you. This is the best way.” Ian stood about two feet away from me with his hands tucked into his jean pockets.

I groaned out loud. “Cut the princess crap Ian.”

He winked at me. “One day you might be grateful for this.”

“Well it’s not today.” I could feel the anxiety build inside of me over the conversation, and I snapped at my mom. “Can we just get this over with?”