Page 82 of Father of the Wolf

He turned on Sandulfr. Perhaps he thought to end the power struggle once and for all. Sandulfr had placed himself in front of Ella and Maura, who had been tending his wounded arm.

Dàn, Rath, and Leth stood between Hope and Ella. Dàn prepared himself for what was to come. Both Leth and Rath started toward Athair, thinking he would be the target of Bequlf’s rage. Dàn tried to stop them, but it was too late.

Bequlf waved the gun in their direction and fired wildly.

Chapter Twenty-Five

Strength from Within

Cresting Tide

Maura watched Dàn fall as the bullet ripped through him. She screamed and ran toward him but stumbled and fell on Ella’s porch steps. How the hell had she gotten there?

“Damn you Dàn!” Maura called. She sagged across the steps, and Sandulfr laid a sympathetic hand to her shoulder. She shrugged free of his grip and wiped tears from her eyes. Maura started back in the direction of the meeting place on foot. Their van was still at the park.

Had her future with Dàn already ended? Were memories of his death all she would have of him, either in her prophecies or in her presence?

Maura shook off her dark thoughts, although she feared what she would find.

* * *

Athair pushed Leth aside, but not fast enough. He felt the impact of the bullet as it tore through Leth’s shoulder. Two of their cars were only a few feet away, so Athair used one for cover. He watched Rath drag Dàn behind the other. Dàn must have been shot as well.

With a groan, Leth slouched against the side of the car. Athair pulled his vest aside and examined his wound. Leth struggled to sit up, but only succeeding in obscuring the injury.

“Sit still, Leth,” Athair ordered.

Leth’s pain filled eyes met Athair’s gaze. Athair nearly laughed. Although Leth was obviously in pain, his anger made him struggle against Athair’s aid. Now that he was still, Athair got a good look at the wound. The bullet had gone clean through, and Leth was already beginning to heal. Athair concentrated his own healing energy to help speed up Leth’s recovery. Within a few minutes, both the entrance and exit wounds were closed, leaving only the fading scars and drops of splattered blood as proof of his injury.

* * *

Hope found herself sitting in the driver’s seat of the Bug. One moment she was about to be shot, and the next she sat here with her heart pounding about a million miles an hour.

How had she gotten here? Why? What happened to Athair? What about everyone else?

She started the car with the spare set of keys she kept in the glove box and backed out of the already open garage. Then she spotted Sandulfr and Maura beside the porch. Granny was coming down the steps, carrying a staff.

“Get in,” Hope yelled as she pulled close and stopped to let them climb in. It was a squeeze, but within moments she had the car tearing down the road to the park.

Granny sat beside Hope and laid a comforting hand on her shoulder. She said nothing, but she felt Granny’s fear. She too had seen Dàn fall under the gunfire. She was afraid to ask how they had all wound up back at the house. Or what they would find on their return.

“Oh shit.” The words slipped quietly from Hope as she saw the isolated storm over the park. Her hand shook as she shifted gears to make the turn, but she only slowed enough to hold onto the road.

* * *

“You’ll pay for that one,” Sgrios growled.

“Like I paid for the last time?” Bequlf taunted Sgrios with words while teasing him by stepping close, only to have one of the others hit him from behind.

“You paid with the lives of your men that day, but the price will be your own today. Which of these will be lost with you?”

“I wouldn’t bet on anyone of mine dying.” They circled warily around each other, while Bequlf’s men took pot shots at Sgrios with each turn.

“Do you want to die as a man, or an animal?” Sgrios shrugged off a poorly thrown punch aimed at his back, and never took his eyes from his true opponent. Bequlf would want the glory of defeating him, Sgrios intended to use his arrogance as a weapon.

“Since I will not be the one to die, maybe you should answer that question.” Bequlf held his knife in one hand and swiped lazily at Sgrios.

“You value the strength of your men too much.” His talk and toying were all a distraction. Sgrios was ready to move on to the main event. “They’ll not be able to save you from justice.”

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