Wolf Dream (14 page)

“Nicholas is sick
. He needs Esmerelda or he’ll die, but that also means his power is waning. He can’t go into her dreams like he used to, so we looked into Ailaina’s spirit to see where Es is. Since Ailaina is connected to her, he can also send messages to Esmerelda through Ailaina.”

I had a sinking feeling about where she was going with this. “Why was she screaming? What was the blood from?”

Julie gave a wicked laugh. “We forced her spirit to open up and sent a vision to Esmerelda, but it had to look real. She now thinks Ailaina is dead. We hoped it would speed up her journey a touch. It’s what would have happened if you hadn’t let her go.”

“Then why stop?”

“You know nothing about torture. If we did it all at once it would end too quickly and that’s no fun. Maluse was just starting in on the fun stuff when you intruded.”

I couldn’t believe she was so heartless. Spell or no spell, I couldn’t believe my heart thought it loved her for so many years.

At least Ailaina got away. I hoped she would find Es, or Ian. I needed to find a way to stay alive here long enough to help them when they came. Although my strength was all but gone and I wasn’t sure how I would be of any help.

Es
merelda

“It’s okay, Es, I’m sure she’s fine.” Ian tried to reassure me but all I could see was Ailaina screaming and blood pouring from her skin.

I rocked back and forth in the passenger seat of the car. “It’s not okay. They are torturing her because of me. She’s gonna die.” I couldn’t breathe anymore. “Oh God, I think I’m gonna be sick.”

“Es, you need to breath
e, calm down.”

I lifted my head to stare at him. I couldn’t believe he just told me that. “Calm down? I can’t calm down and you have no right to tell me that. My best friend is being cut open as we speak, and you want me to calm down!”

“Okay, wrong choice of words.” He pulled the car into a motel parking lot. “Are you okay for a minute? I’m going to get a room so we can find out what’s happening.”

I nodded. I wasn’t okay, not with stopping, not with getting a room, not with anything. I couldn’t believe Ailaina was dying and I couldn’t do anything about it. It was all my fault. If I hadn’t
been sleeping. If I wasn’t a witch. So many things plagued my mind with guilt.

“Es,”
Luna whispered gently in my head.

I sniffed and tried to slow breathing. Slowly I raised my head and wiped the tears from my face.
“What?”

“It’s Ailaina, I can feel her. Her spirit is weak, but she’s trying to get through to you.”

I perked up even more.

“You need to calm down and listen. She needs you.”

Luna was right, so was Ian. I needed to calm down if I was going to find a way to help her.

I tried to relax my shoulders and closed my eyes. All at once another vision entered my head.

Ailaina was running. She looked over her shoulder at Jarak just in time to see him get shot with a stream of magic, keeping him in the house as she ran away from him. “Help me, Es.”

Then everything went black.
Great. I knew she escaped, but how far did she get? Was she safe? Call me, Ailaina, please call me. I gripped my cell phone tightly and watched the screen, expecting it to light up any moment.

Ian opened the car door
, making me jump. “You okay?”

I nodded. “Ailaina showed me another vision. She’s weak so I didn’t get much. She escaped, but everything went black before I could see anything else.”

Ian took my hand and squeezed it. “Told you she’d be okay. She’s a strong woman, like you.”

“Ian, I don’t think I can do this anymore. Too many people are getting hurt. People I love.”

“It’s because of that, that you need to do it. We need your help, Es.”

“This is bigger than breeds and waking witches from the dead. What if I’m not strong enough? What if someone else dies?”
I thought of those last moments with Bry.

He brought my hand to his lips and kissed it. He brought it back to his lap and rubbed tiny circles over my knuckles. “More people will die, that is certain, but if we don’t stop him, all of us will die.”

I hated it when he made sense. “But what if it’s you?”

“You won’t get rid of me that easily, Princess.” He leaned over and gave me a light kiss. “Now, let’s go in our room and figure out what our plan is.”

Chapter
Twelve

Dark Magic

Ian

I heard the shower stop and knew Es would be out any moment. I
touched the end button on my cell screen.  That call couldn’t have ended any sooner. I tapped my phone on my palm and contemplated the news Torres had. Jarak was alive, but weak. Hela finally got through to Maztic, he told him how they were separated, and neither of them was doing well. At least we had some good news: Jarak wasn’t a traitor, he hadn’t switched sides.

The bathroom door opened. Es came out with a towel wrapped up on her head. “Any news?”

I drew my lips together, not sure if I should tell her or not.

“Ian, I know you know something. What is it?”

“Ailaina did escape, but hasn’t been found yet.” I hesitated before continuing. “Jarak is alive too, but he’s not doing good. I’m worried about him.”

She tipped her head. “Why? What is wrong with him?”

“They found a way to separate him and Maztic.”

She gasped. “No.”

I felt myself instantly get chills and draw inward looking for Dregan. I couldn’t imagine not feeling him.

“Don’t worry, I’m still here.”

Relief flooded me at the sound of his deep voice in my head.

“How is that even possible?” She slumped down on the bed, letting the towel fall
and revealing her long wet hair that tumbled down her back.

“I don’t know. Whatever Nicholas is doing,
it’s different magic than he’s ever used before.”

She twitched her mouth to the side. “Is there such a thing as black magic?”

I sat down next to her. “There is, but it is unheard of for a demon to work with a witch, or warlock for that matter.”

“Demon?”

“They are dark warlocks, never witches, who cross over long enough to change. They are helpers to the Death Keeper. Kind of like how the breeds are helpers to Nicholas.”

“So they are the devil’s helpers. Great. What do you mean cross over?”

I stood back up, too filled with apprehension to sit still. I rubbed my palms on my jeans. “Cross over is when a magical being makes a deal with the Death Keeper, or devil as most mortals know him by. He grants them their request in return for them doing his bidding. He gifts them dark magic while they work for him. Most of the time they never want to give it up and stay dark forever. Once you have black or dark magic laced inside you, it’s almost impossible to get rid of it.”

“So they become demons. I get it.”

I stared at her. Her face twisted in worry. “Why do you ask?”

“You said whatever Nicholas was using was different. It’s strong enough to separate us from our spirit wolves, so the only thing I can think is black
or dark magic.”

I sat back down with her and let out an exasperated breath. “Es, that’s nothing to play with, you understand that right?”

“I know, I won’t, but I think Nicholas has. I’m scared to wonder what he asked the devil in return for the dark magic though.”

I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her close. “Me too.”

Esmerelda

I hadn’t realized I fell asleep
until I opened my eyes to a dark room. I sat up and saw Ian keeping watch by the window. “How long have I been asleep?”

“A couple hours at least. How was it?”

I rubbed my eyes. “Actually, it was great. I didn’t dream at all.”

He gave me a wide grin. “That’s great news.”

I walked over and sat on his lap. “It’s crazy. I’ve had nightmares for months. I forgot what good sleep felt like.”

He ran his hand up and down my back. “Well, I have even better news. Adonia and Torres found Ailaina
. They are taking care of her and I told them we’d leave to meet up with them as soon as you woke up.”

I jumped up from his lap. “What? Why didn’t you wake me?”

“Well, then what are we waiting for?”

I ran to the door. Ian came up behind me and placed his hand on the handle before I could open it. “Wait,” he said softly.
I was ready to argue with him; I was leaving with or without him.

He unlocked the door and pushed down on the handle.
“Let me look first. I won’t take any chances. If Nicholas is using dark magic like you suspect, then we don’t know what to expect.”

I swallowed hard and
backed up a little so he could leave first, not that I wanted or needed him to, but I knew it made him feel better. In the end, it would be me fighting Nicholas, not him. I just hoped he realized that.

We pulled
along the side of the road where my mom and dad were parked. I didn’t hesitate to jump out before we were completely stopped. Ailaina was waiting curbside and I ran into her arms, giving her the world’s longest hug. “I was so worried about you.”

“I’m okay. Jarak got me out.”

I pulled back. “So the vision you sent was real. Jarak is still there with them, isn’t he?”

She glanced down. “Yes. He stayed behind to give me a chance to get away.
He never switched sides. He was set up by Julie.”

“It’s okay, he’s gonna be just fine.” I hoped. “What did they want you for?”

She shook her head. “I’m not totally sure. They forced my spirit to send the vision to you, so my best guess is that because you weren’t sleeping they wanted to get a message to you a different way, and because I’m your Seer, I’m the one connected to you.”

So it
was all my fault. “I’m so sorry, Ailaina. I never wanted you to get hurt. I don’t know what I’d do if they’d killed you.”

“I think that’s what they planned on doing.”

I pushed myself away from her. “They wanted to kill you, just to get to me.” I hated that she almost died because of me.

“Es, it’s not your fault.” Ailaina smiled at me.
             

“So.” My dad came over and clapped his hands together. “Do you have a plan, or are we just gonna fly in there
on brooms?”

I smirked. “I’ve been thinking all the way here, but haven’t really come up with anything new.”
Actually, I hoped they had come up with something. I gave Ailaina a sideways glance. “Do you think you can find this house again?”

She crossed her arms
and scuffed the toe of her converse shoe alongside the curb. “I think so. Maybe. I don’t know.”

“Well, whatever we do, we need to hurry.” My dad opened the driver’s side door to their rental car. “Let’s go find a place where we can sit and talk, and possibly get some coffee or something too.”

Ian placed his hand on my back. “He’s right, coffee sounds good.” He moved aside to open the doors to his rental car for me and Ailaina. He looked over at my dad before shutting my door. “We’ll follow you, Pops.”

My dad pointed his finger at him. “Watch it.”

We followed my parents to a little eatery on the outside of the city. It was quiet and remote, perfect for talking out a war plan.

The waitress was a dainty woman who couldn’t have been much older or younger than me. Her black hair was pulled back into a ponytail and her pink waitress uniform looked like something a sexy candy striper would wear. I
took the menu from her then pretended to ignore her as she held her pad and pen at chest level, clearly pushing her breasts out for attention. Even without looking at her, I could smell the unmistakable scent of bubble gum she chewed carelessly. Please don’t blow a bubble. I hoped the cook had better habits around the food than she appeared to have.

“Hi, my name’s Elizabeth, and I’ll be your waitress today.” Her voice had a thick Spanish accent and made me think she could’ve played
Salma Hayek without blinking twice. “What can I get you to drink?”

My dad, who cleverly hid behind his menu as well—no doubt making it clear to my mom that he could
n’t care less about the attractive waitress—lifted a finger in the air. “Café, por favor.”

I
raised my brow at him. I didn’t know he could speak Spanish. My mom wanted coffee too, but she openly disapproved of our waitress by letting out a small tsk tsk and shaking her head before accepting the menu. I bit my tongue to keep from saying anything.

Ailaina and I both ordered a soda. Something cold and fizzy sounded perfect.

“And what about you, handsome? Anything to drink?” she asked, with her chest still pushed out toward Ian.

Ian’s face was unreadable. If he noticed her flirtatiousness then he didn’t show it. “I think I’ll go with a soda too.”

Elizabeth slumped a little as she walked away.

“So,” my mom started, “Ailaina, what do you remember? Take your time, and try to think about any details in your mind.”

Ailaina twisted her fingers together in her lap. “They threw me down in a dark pit with Jarak. He tried to help me escape, but he was already too weak. After Julie took him out I was all alone, but then this horrid creepy woman came and got me. She forced me upstairs and tied me to a table. I was gagged and no matter how hard I tried to scream it wasn’t loud enough.”

Elizabeth set our drinks down. “You guys ready to order?”

I leaned over to Ian. “I’m not that hungry, are you?”

You have to ask?”

I rolled my eyes at him. He closed the menu and set it down in front of him. “I just want a house special and a basket of fries to share with my girl.”

“Hey, you best be sharing those with me too,” Ailaina said.

Ian grinned. “Okay, make that an extra-large basket of fries. Just throw the whole bag in the fryer and bring em’ out.”

Elizabeth opened her mouth to say something, but must have thought better
, because she wrote it down on her pad and looked at my parents. “Anything for you two?”

My dad put the menu down for the first time too. “I’ll have the same thing he’s having.”

My mom smiled. “I’ll just share fries with them.”

The snooty waitress gave
a fake smile. I’m sure she practiced in front of a mirror perfecting it nightly. “Alright, it will be right out.” She turned on her heel, leaving me to scowl at her backside.

“Okay, so where were we?”
my mom spoke up, making me look away, breaking my jealous glare.

I sucked in a deep breath and sat up straighter. “Ailaina, how did you escape?”