Amber Flame (The Flame Series Book 4) (19 page)

So much was at stake. Mostly, Fergus needed to bring the Gordion Pack under his care once more. No one in their right mind would argue this wasn’t the priority.

The crowd fell silent. That alone was an extraordinary circumstance given the general noise the wolves had been making the entire time. Yet the bite to the air remained.

Another round of boos sounded as the referee began his introduction of Sydon. The referee continued to state Sydon’s stats despite the ruckus and hissing. Mary thought all the noise appropriate given Sydon’s heinous conduct against Fergus and the Gordion Pack.

When the wolves grew quiet again, everyone’s attention became focused on the men now standing in the middle of the sand pit not ten feet apart. By her best visual calculation, the pit area was an oval twenty yards long and about fifteen yards wide. With limited levitation allowed, the space didn’t need to be bigger.

The referee wore the Savage Pack Council’s dark blue-and-white striped long sleeved shirt and quickly called out the rules. So far the event was unfolding just as Mary had been told it would. She could see Fergus’s muscles twitch. The wolf was ready.

Another wave of dread, however, passed through her. Something wasn’t right. Sydon and his men were too relaxed, too confident. Yet, she’d checked their seats, she’d made a circuit of the arena and she’d even gone into the forest. But she’d found nothing unusual or troubling.

Yet a powerful concern remained.

The referee shouted, “Let the battle begin!”

A roar rose up from the crowd and at the same moment, Fergus lowered his shoulders and headed straight for Sydon. He looked like he meant to slam into his chest, but instead at the last second threw a right punch that caught Sydon off guard. Sydon flew back. He ended up sitting in the sand and rubbing his jaw.

A howling cheer went up so loud, it was all Mary could do to keep from joining the wolves herself.

A split-second later, Sydon was on his feet. He came at Fergus hard and caught Fergus in the ribs with his foot. Fergus doubled over, then spun on his heel. Sand sprayed.

Sydon missed a second kick, but that allowed Fergus to catch his foot. He did a back-flip which turned Sydon’s leg and sent him once more into the sand.

Fergus didn’t stay put long. He levitated, pivoted horizontally, then plowed into Sydon’s stomach. Fergus drew up, gathered his strength and headed straight back for him.

But Sydon retreated quickly, spun in the sand at the same time then levitated off at an angle. Fergus missed him by an inch and his momentum caused him to tumble forward into the sand.

Turning in the air, Sydon aimed straight at him. It seemed to Mary that Fergus looked dazed, but it was a ruse. The moment Sydon drew close, Fergus flipped over, putting himself out of Sydon’s reach. But at the last moment, he caught Sydon’s ankle.

With a slick levitation move, he swung Sydon around in a complete circle twice, then launched him into the air, sending him twenty feet away. The crowd roared its approval.

Mary’s gaze went to Sydon, who rolled in the sand as he landed. He lifted up slowly, one hand at his waist as though injured.

Mary felt it again, a fae sense of dread so profound that she knew Sydon was up to something and Fergus was in trouble. She didn’t know how since there was no way Sydon had a weapon on him this time.

But Mary knew what she knew.

She had to dreamglide.

She moved close to Warren and slid into his mind.
Listen, Warren, my fae instincts tell me our boy is in trouble. Something’s not right, and I need to dreamglide. Will you support my body while I do it, because I’ll be vulnerable while I see what’s going on.

Warren, however, stared at her as though she’d lost her mind.

She understood the problem instantly. Warren didn’t want to touch her because she belonged to Fergus. Being physically close to her would cause all kinds of problems, for Warren personally and alpha-to-alpha.
Mary, I can’t do this. I won’t do this to Fergus. Touching you is beyond inappropriate.

She lowered her chin and held his gaze, then growled softly.
If you don’t get on board right now Fergus will die, and that’s my fae speaking. Get with the program. Now!
She all but shouted the last part into his head.

Her posture, and maybe her wolf-growl, had an effect.

He nodded, then opened his arm for her. By the time she was wrapped up, she felt him shaking from head-to-foot. He was fast reaching the peak of his own alpha-mating cycle as well. Being this close to a female with alpha-mate bonding potential had to be agony for him, but it couldn’t be helped.

The moment she felt secure, Mary dropped quickly into her deepest meditation and slipped into her dreamglide. She flew directly over the battle. No one could see her of course and even if one of the men struck in her direction, they wouldn’t actually touch her. She could fly through both men as they battled and wouldn’t feel a thing. She was, in that sense, a ghost.

The men fought wildly until Fergus landed Sydon on his back, jumped on him and pinned him in the sand. He punched Sydon’s face repeatedly.

Mary knew this was the moment she was meant to watch, because the dread she felt had become a torture over every inch of her skin.

She brought the dreamglide right down next to the men. Fergus’s face was flushed red as he continued to hit Sydon with his bare fist.

She shifted her gaze to Sydon. Why wasn’t he fighting back?

That’s when she saw it. Sydon’s hand had slipped just inside his gray leather gladiator briefs. When he pulled his fingers back, he had something small pinched between his thumb and index finger.

She sniffed the air. Even in the dreamglide, she could catch odors and whatever Sydon had in his possession smelled like something the dark witches could create.

She knew then that Sydon had a potent, deadly spell between his fingers.

From the dreamglide, she shouted inside Fergus’s head,
Sydon has a witch powder in his hand. Get away from him, now! Now! Move, now!
If she could have pulled on his shoulders, she would have.

~ ~ ~

Fergus heard Mary’s words through the thrill of beating his opponent. But it took him a moment to register what she’d said.

Witch’s spell.

Shit.

Move!
Mary’s voice once more struck his head.

He flew backward just as Sydon released a blue powdery substance. Fergus had escaped immediate impact, but a vapor the color of cobalt kept moving in Fergus’s direction as though designed for him.

Holy hell! It was a witch’s concoction.

Time slowed down and as the powder began to reach Fergus, panic took hold of Sydon’s face. Sydon hadn’t thought he’d get caught, which meant that if Fergus hadn’t moved as he did, the powder-based spell would have made contact with his skin, and disappeared as it penetrated his body. The spell would have been undetectable.

The referee immediately shouted, “Foul! I can see the witch’s spell. This dominance battle is at an end!”

Fergus wanted to say something, to call for Sydon’s imprisonment, but he suddenly felt dizzy and sick as hell. As he dropped to his knees, he watched helplessly as Sydon and his wolves raced for the south exit.

The crowd howled its rage at what Sydon had attempted.

The referee again called out. “Because a witch’s spell has been cast here, I find in favor of Fergus, and reinstate him as alpha of the Gordion Pack.”

Fergus sensed Mary’s presence just before she put her arm around his shoulders and knelt beside him. His eyes rolled, he felt profoundly sick to his stomach. “I’m going to throw up.”

“Let it out. It’s poison.”

Fergus threw up all over the sand and what came out of him was dark blue, like the vapor he’d witnessed.

“We need water here,” Mary shouted. “Lots of it.”

Within a few seconds, he felt movement around him as others came to his aid. Mary thrust a bottle beneath his nose and commanded, “Drink as much as you can and drink it fast.”

With a profound thirst setting in, he guzzled. He went through the first bottle, then a second one before he started feeling a little better. He was still dizzy as hell, but worked to gain his feet anyway.

Warren was right there beside him and caught him around his waist, holding him upright. Mary was on his other side, took the empty bottle from his hand and shoved a third one at him. He drank some more.

His head was spinning. The spell had been powerful and he knew if Sydon had put it anywhere on his skin he would have died within seconds with no one the wiser.

He leaned into Warren. “Get a witch over here to clean this up. Don’t let any of our wolves near the sand.”

He then heard Warren shouting commands to that effect.

Though Warren supported him, he wanted Mary close. “Stay next to me while I drink. I need you right now.” It was an odd thing to feel and to say. But she’d saved his life. Again.

Mary settled her hand on his shoulder and didn’t let go no matter how many times he lifted the same arm to drink.

Taking another swig, he then looked at her, frowning slightly. “What did you see? I mean, how did you know something was going to happen?”

Mary nodded as tears started to her eyes. “I experienced a terrible feeling of dread that became focused on Sydon.” She explained how she’d positioned the dreamglide close to their battling bodies and had watched Sydon’s hand go to the waistband of his briefs. “I’m just glad you listened to me when I told you to get away from him.”

“The moment you spoke into my head, I knew you’d drawn close and I could feel you in the dreamglide. But where did he get the spell?”

“Someone must have given it to him, one of his wolves, maybe?”

“That had to be it. He must have been planning this since I shot him in the thigh and jailed him in the dungeon cell. I’m convinced the whole time he was there he was communicating telepathically with his rogue wolves, setting this up. Still, I can’t believe he brought a dark witch’s spell into a dominance match, although since the skewer incident, I shouldn’t be surprised.”

He glanced around and saw that most of Warren’s pack had already left the arena. With the exception of Warren’s close-knit security force, only the Gordion wolves remained. He asked Warren to get him over to the seats so he could sit down.

Once there, not far from his platform, he sat down on a stone bench and sent his self-healing into his bloodstream where the remnants of the spell were still working on him. How strange his life had become as an
alter
species, that he could feel the dark witch spell trying to cause more damage.

A wolf came near and put Fergus’s amber cloak around his shoulders.

Mary sat down beside him. He slid his arm around her and pulled her close. Her presence comforted him, but not because she’d yet again saved his life. It was just her, the goodness of her soul, her kindness.

He checked his self-healing and felt the last of the potion leave his body. “It’s gone.”

“Thank God.”

He kissed the top of her head and affection swelled his heart. “Thank you,” he whispered.

She drew back enough to meet his gaze and smiled faintly in return. “You’re very welcome.”

At that, he kissed her, though afterward, he heard a soft howling move through the arena.

Glancing up, he saw that the Gordion wolves were all moving in his direction and seemed to be responding to his relationship with Mary. He could also tell that the bond had already started to form. The pack was his again and with so much general good will, it wouldn’t take long.

Warren, standing nearby, patted him on his shoulder and said, “Congratulations. The pack is yours again.”

He wasn’t sure he’d heard better words in his life. Sydon’s brief but violent reign was over and the wave of appreciation that he felt from those Gordion wolves present, brought him to his feet once more.

A smattering of applause turned into a roll of thunder, one that made him smile. Slowly, his wolves drew close until they filled all the nearby aisles, then began to pass by him in a long procession. He took his time and greeted each one, accepting their love and well-wishes.

Mary and Warren moved in behind him as the pack continued to stream by. Within a few minutes, he felt fully restored and knew his pack was the reason.

As the arena emptied, he thanked Warren for his help.

Warren nodded, but his nostrils elongated and flared. “We have an enemy out there, and I don’t think he’s finished with us yet.”

“As long as Sydon has breath, he’ll keep trying for a takeover,” Fergus said. “Which means I need to return to my compound and you should get back to yours.”

He glanced past Warren and saw the green-trimmed black tanks of his security force, standing guard. Fergus nodded in their direction. “Your men are waiting for you.”

Warren held Fergus’s gaze and a crooked smile touched his lips. “Glad to have you back.”

“Thanks again, for everything.”

Warren dipped his chin a couple of times, then turned up the aisle and headed in the direction of his men. Fergus watched until Warren and his large contingent flew out the south entrance.

As for the Gordion wolves, Fergus’s lead wolves had formed an arc near him and several levitated in the air on either side of the aisle. The rest of his team stood all along the path at the top of the seats.

Harley was nearby.

Fergus stiffened slightly, remembering what Mary had said about him. He wanted to ignore her warning, but she’d just saved his life again. He had to take her concerns seriously even if they made no sense.

He wasn’t sure what to think, but for now he needed to give Harley the benefit of the doubt, if not for Harley’s sake, then for his own. Harley had been his right hand man for years now.

Fergus slowed his steps and contacted Mary telepathically.
Do you see how beat up Harley is? He got that way battling Sydon’s men. I know for a fact he worked hard to save the wolf Sydon’s force tried to kill in the dungeon cell. I can’t believe he’s anything but loyal to me and to his pack.

He felt Mary’s stillness and the part of him that was fae reached toward her, silently begging her to recant.