Black Wolf (61 page)

At least the
Kore-Tremayne trio were whole and healthy now, thanks to the mad
pair of healers who had risked everything to give them the best
odds they could. Three demon-wolves at full strength could
accomplish a lot, she was sure, but against the demons that had
engineered the attack on Unity? She'd have been much happier if
they were a few years older. Although the thought of any of them
going through their respective nightmares for a few more years, the
twins separated that much longer... well.

The healers
were tucked into Deanna's bed with Alfari and Malta helping as much
as they could; Hob was staying near to spell the other two at need
so they were never, even for a moment, lacking a feline companion
each. Nick was using everything he'd learned from his coven-mate to
watch over them, and Evaline and Sonja and Caitryn were at hand to
assist in any way that offered itself; Cynthia and Deanna had done
a turn earlier, with the rest of Sundark available at need, and
would again when Nick tired. That was all any of them could do for
the two dryads, until they were recovered enough to go outside and
let contact with the earth and trees speed their own healing
along.

Shaine could
be anywhere, including back in the lake. Not running away, she had
to admit; he had a lot of catching up to do, getting reacquainted
with his own abilities.

Sundark, she
suspected, would all be in a single cluster somewhere, relying on
each other to make the intolerable pressure less so.

As would Coven
Dandelion.

"I'll be back
soon," Sam promised.

"We'll be
here," Aindry said, and shifted to furform, nuzzling herself into
the knot with her brothers.

Sam wandered
around the house, searching. Sundark were in the ground-floor
sunroom, near Deanna's bedroom, that had become primarily Deanna's
workroom; the door was open, so she simply established who was
present and went on without disturbing them. Not so surprising if
Deanna felt torn between her sister and cousin, and the comfort of
her coven. The room that was rapidly returning to its original
function as a household library was vacant, as were the dining room
and living room, which were normally high-traffic areas. She found
Coven Dandelion on the second floor, in the enclosed bright
south-facing porch that the two elvenmages had filled with
fiery-coloured magesilk. Lori and Naomi each had a brush, Lori
brushing Bryan furform, Naomi Gwyn.

"Bryan?" Sam
said quietly. "Can I maybe talk to you?"

Bryan raised
his head, and shifted to human. Of all the wolves, he was the most
prone to wearing colours that fit his mood; he was wearing darker
silks than she'd ever seen, brown just shy of black. "Sure," he
said equably. "Gwyn won't mind two sets of hands spoiling him."

Lori got to
her feet, crossed the floor and hugged Sam. "Once all this is over,
now that you aren't trying to hide tons of secrets that must have
been miserable to keep, we're expecting you to start getting more
involved instead of saying no all the time."

Sam returned
the hug, snuggling close against the much-taller elf. "You're
supposed to be mad at me for keeping secrets."

"Why? I don't
think you wanted to, you had reason." Lori pressed a kiss to her
forehead. "You've been almost part of Dandelion for years. Consider
yourself an honorary member. Until we can get you all the way into
the coven." The elvenmage released her, and sat down across from
Naomi. The gesture made Sam blink a couple of tears from her eyes,
but she didn't mind these ones.

"Thanks," she
said, hoping she could put into her voice at least a little of what
it meant to her.

Naomi smiled.
"Go talk. We'll be here."

"Bane isn't
going to mind if we borrow his room for a bit," Bryan said,
inclining his head towards his brother's room. That was probably
easier than going downstairs, so Sam went along with it.

"If you're
going to do something silly like apologize, don't," Bryan said,
perching on the edge of Bane's bed. "You heard Lori. Everyone
understands you couldn't say anything."

Sam sighed,
and sank down on the desk chair, not quite sure how to put the
tangle of emotions into words. "I feel like I've been lying to you,
or letting us be friends under false pretences."

Bryan shook
his head. "I knew a long time ago that I might never know anything
about your past for sure. You're special enough to me that I chose
to accept that and be your friend in the present."

"It really...
really matters to me. I don't know how many times I would've just
drowned in it all and slit my own wrists, except that you've been
there. And I don't know how well I've ever let you know that, or
said thanks..."

Bryan leaned
forward to hug her. "Well enough that I knew. You're yourself. I've
always felt extremely flattered that you tell me more than you tell
anyone else, and trust me to keep it safe for you. That alone is
enough that I could've figured out that you care."

She let her
head rest on his shoulder. "Thanks," she said simply.

"Sam.
Everyone's feeling pretty edgy and raw right now, too much has been
torn wide open. Let's just all survive this and afterwards we'll
see about getting on with our lives." She drew back, wiped a stray
tear out of her eye, and he smiled. "And Lori's quite right. You've
been staying on the fringes too long, and you no longer have any
excuse."

She must've
done something right, to get a friend like this one. "It'll be over
soon. Sunday night, the moon's full, and the moon's on our side. I
just hope it's over in the good sense, not the bad one. Gods,
having to wonder every minute what's going to happen to
them..."

"You've
already done more than most of us." He got to his feet, held down
both hands to her. "So do whatever you reasonably can, which I'm
guessing at this point is primarily information you have and no one
else does, and otherwise, stay with them. It makes you and them all
happier. Anything else can wait. Give them all the love you can,
and maybe everyone will still be alive when this is over."

* * *

Aindry waited
until Sam came back, then pleaded restlessness and went prowling
around the house. Such a huge house, much of it still unused and,
for that matter, with repairs unfinished after long neglect.

She decided on
a run in the yard, and found the nearest external door. Magesilks
were such a joy, being able to change without the need to dress or
undress; elves and dryads and even witches had been extremely
scarce in their first life, being generally bound to the mixed
villages they'd been hiding from.

Had they tried
to integrate, put the effort into educating the other villages
about the realities of demons instead of into further isolating
themselves, could things have been different?

Not a question
that had an answer. Right now, she was simply grateful for the
comfortable clean magesilks in her own proper black and silver and
garnet that Kevin had made just for her. She shifted to wolf on the
porch, then trotted once in a full circle just inside the walls to
warm up.

For the second
circuit she pushed herself, flashed past the fountain again racing
at full speed, letting the rush of adrenaline wash away her fears
for a few minutes. A third lap, now truly into the smooth rhythm of
four feet connecting with the solid ground, the counterpoint beat
of her heart. She couldn't remember the last time she'd felt this
good, well-rested and well-fed and entirely uninjured.

Finally,
winded, she slowed to a walk, but kept moving in the same circle.
By the west gate she paused, gazing out over the lake and the
sunset. Another day past. How many more did they have to wait,
hiding inside the safety of the walls, not daring to plan for a
future that might not exist?

She picked up
the pace to a trot, intending to come back around to the east gate
and the breezeway.

As she passed
the north gate, she saw a flash of red out in the forest. She
stopped, heart thudding hard. Was it a demon lurking out there,
ready to attack any of Jesse's friends who might venture beyond the
safety of the walls?

Even though it
might be a trap, she had to get close enough to find out, and to
challenge it if necessary.

Warily,
straining all senses, she ventured out the gate, directly towards
the glimpse of red she'd seen, placing each foot carefully to make
as little noise as possible. There, she'd reached the cover of the
brush; she had to devote a little more attention to silence here,
though.

After a few
more feet, she stopped, catching a scent. Not a demon, a wolf
bitch.

But what was
she doing here?

Aindry
advanced, more confident now. She doubted there was a wolf born who
could beat her in a fight.

The red wolf
noticed her, growled softly, ears flattening in defensive threat
and tail dropping... then her ears came forward again, in sheer
surprise. Expecting Jess, perhaps, and startled to smell a bitch
instead?

Aindry came
closer, still cautious, but the red bitch wasn't giving any
aggression signals. They sniffed at each other, nose to nose, then
both growing a little bolder. Aindry smelled blood faintly, noticed
that the red bitch was careful not to put her full weight on her
right foreleg; she'd been hurt recently.

Instinct
wanted her to drive this intruder away, or to bolt back to the
safety of the walls. What she chose was a somewhat more dignified
retreat into the yard, turning around and simply walking back.

The red bitch
didn't follow her. Aindry passed the gate, looked back, and saw the
red bitch watching her in puzzlement.

Then the other
spun around and loped off, favouring her foreleg but not greatly
slowed by it.

Aindry made
herself breathe more slowly. No threat after all, just one of
Haven's other wolves, possibly coming to see if one of Evaline's
pack wanted to come hunt. Not everything had to be a demon-sent
danger.

The adrenaline
rush certainly felt good, though.

She
backtracked to the fountain for a drink, wishing whoever had
installed it had thought to include a low basin for wolves; jumping
up to put her forefeet on the rim was such a nuisance. The water
was delicious, though. She shifted to human there, and made her way
barefoot across the grass around the house to the front door facing
the eastern gate and driveway. Back to her brothers and Sam.

* * *

Rebecca
crouched in the shelter of the trees, not at all sure why she was
here. What difference did it make to her what happened to Sundark
and their friends?

Still, she
found herself drawn back, curious about why the entire group
appeared to have pulled back behind the walls of Starluck's house
and had been seen in the village only in brief glimpses since
Monday when she'd fought that black wolf-cub. Her shoulder still
ached from that.

This was
insane. She was truly free for the first time in years, had a dozen
better things to do with her time than sit here watching a
house.

She heard a
door open, and a moment later a black wolf trotted by, then a
second time much faster. Jesse, of course, he was the only black
wolf at all likely to be here, and the others were all visibly
larger.

The black wolf
moved freely, though, weight coming down evenly on each stride, and
Jesse should be limping still from the damage she'd inflicted. No
healer, or even the two dryad healers Jesse hung around with so
much, could heal it away completely.

Intent on the
puzzle, she stopped paying attention to the view through the gate,
and didn't notice the black wolf coming quietly closer until they
were only a few feet apart.

Rebecca
reacted automatically to the wolf that had defeated her so
recently... then got the scent... and forgot anything but her
surprise. That wasn't Jesse, that was a bitch! One with a similar
scent, but certainly not Jesse, not one she knew at all!

Black wolf,
demon wolf,
she thought.
They have to be kin, to smell so
alike. The demons are very interested in Jesse.

Is there some
truth in the legends?

The mere
thought created a rush of glee. Oh, her erstwhile coven were going
to get a surprise like nothing they'd ever dreamed, if they yielded
to the demonic encouragement and kept harassing Jesse! So, for that
matter, would the demons.

This black
bitch, she judged as they examined each other warily, smelled
decidedly wild, wilder than any wolf Rebecca had ever met, as much
like an ordinary wolf as a werewolf. Right on the edge between
reasoning and feral, and not one to be tangled with casually. Since
she had no desire to fight, she stayed carefully neutral.

The black
bitch left her without causing trouble of any sort, simply turned
back to the yard, putting her back to Rebecca and leaving herself
open to attack.

Rebecca
wondered if it were an invitation to make the first aggressive
move; she decided it didn't matter, that she'd seen enough and
wanted to go back to Sylvia's house and think this over. There was
something distinctly strange going on behind those walls, strange
even for Haven, which was no mean thing to accomplish; she was
better off staying far away from it and not involving herself any
further.