Page 23 of Magic & Secrets
“I admit Calla has bewitched me,” I said in a muted tone. “I’ve seen her in my dreams. These warriors are practicing magic we’ve never encountered before. I suspect our makers have a hand in the warriors’ bloodline. We ought to remain close to them on this hunt.”
“We should hunt alone,” Delta hissed in barely more than a whisper. “If the Murade are behind the warriors, we can’t trust them.”
“No,” I growled, instantly angered at the thought of losing Calla. “We need to learn of this new magic they have. If it can harm Bane Shifters, it can be a threat to our entire pack. So, let’s find a location to slumber for the night. On the morrow, we’ll join the warriors. They are unskilled liars. I also sense they’re inexperienced in the field. We could learn their secrets with a little prodding.”
“They might leave during the night to escape us,” Koda suggested.
“Doubtful,” I replied, certain Calla wanted us to follow. “They are on a mission to kill those who attacked Haven Junction. The warriors must know their odds of success are higher with us at their side.”
When Delta and Koda remained silent, I wondered if they were also bewitched. Koda hounded Enya during the entire meal, asking her endless questions, even when he was only met with silence. Delta seemed uneasy in his own skin. If Enya and Mina were meant to seduce my packmates, they were doing a terrible job of it.
Soon, Koda, Delta, and I left the pub. The humans were quick to offer local lodging. Outside on the road, others had come to gawk at the Bane Shifters of lore. My ego appreciated their adoration, but I didn’t want to spend the evening on display in one of their homes.
Instead, my packmates and I assured them we preferred the outdoors.
“We lived wild on Mt. Elysium for a hundred years,” I told the crowd of humans. “We walked as beasts in a land ruined by war. It was our home. We will return to it once we’ve gotten retribution for our fallen friends.”
That last part zapped the zeal from the humans. They hoped our kind would patrol the Territories again. I wondered about the wickedness seemingly allowed to run free since ourretirement. I hadn’t seen a single sign of the Murade since leaving Mt. Elysium, but they were evidently still in charge.
I chose to rest in the woods behind the inn where Calla bunked. After removing my itchy pants, I shifted into my bear form and curled up with a view of the building’s back windows.
Koda and Delta didn’t join me. They shifted into their wolf forms and patrolled the settlement, searching for danger to distract from the threat residing in the inn.
Relieved by the quiet, I replayed today’s activities. The Lion Shifters’ deaths mostly came at the hands of the warriors, leaving me unsatisfied. If I weren’t distracted by Calla, I could have eviscerated those Shifters and found vengeance for my kind.
As the moon grew heavy in the sky, I could still feel her gaze on me. I recalled how perfectly she landed in my arms. Had the entire situation been of her making? What had the Murade been up to in their snowy mountain labs over the last hundred years?
Whatever tugged at my every thought was dangerous. If Calla and her sisters wielded this magic, they were a threat to the Bane Shifters. On the morrow, I would claim the answers to my questions.
For tonight, I wrapped myself in the hot tingling left behind by Calla’s presence and hoped I encountered her in my dreams.
Calla
MINA COULD BARELY CONTAINher anger until we arrived at our room at the inn. The door hadn’t even shut before she shoved me against the wall. I stared into her green eyes and knew what she was about to say. Her words would hold a ring of truth to them. Yet, I also knew she was aware something had been amiss since we arrived in this place.
“You want to die,” Mina hissed in the dead language of Solme Divige’s worshippers that was taught to us as younglings.
I considered the inn’s thin walls. The settlement humans were curious about our arrival and purpose here. They would no doubt eavesdrop if given the chance.
The Bane Shifters were also nearby, plotting their next move and likely searching for an answer behind our secrecy.
Despite his distance, I could feel Roque’s heartbeat, steady and strong. He called out to me. My mind swam with his need.
Tonight, I wanted nothing more than to remain at his side. Roque didn’t trust me. I shouldn’t trust him, either. We were natural enemies, whether he knew this fact or not.
“Are you listening to me?” Mina asked before glancing at Enya.
Our sister stared out into the night, radiating loss. “We shouldn’t have been sent here. The Sagesse made a mistake.”
“No,” Mina insisted. “We only need to focus on our mission. I will not be like the other bearers of dusk and night. I will complete my duty and return to the Citadel.”
Solme Divige’s magic nipped at my flesh, as if angered by the thought of abandoning Roque. When the ancient one said Roquewas my destiny, I thought she meant he would be the end of me.Now, I longed for him to be something else.
“Magic corrupts my every thought,” I admitted to Mina. “I’m drawn to Roque. I sense he’s drawn to me.”
“It’s a spell. Nothing more,” Mina said in a dismissive tone betrayed by her gaze’s fearful glow. “The Bane Shifters are made from ancient magic. That’s what we’re sensing. When Roque accuses you of bewitching him, he’s simply feeling Solme Divige’s magic.”
“No, it’s more than that. I believe they are our mates,” Enya whispered and gripped the front of her armor in a panic. “What madness would allow for such a thing?”
