Tegan's Return (The Ultimate Power Series #2) (25 page)

 The fire has disappeared, and there is an unearthly silence. I stare at the place where the hole had been as it swallowed up my dad, and there lies a black clad body, with black hair and paler than pale skin. The body stands up while the members of the circle come to surround it, their heads bowed as though greeting a deity.

 The deity runs a hand through his hair, and straightens out the black suit he's wearing. Then, the deepest dark eyes land on me and I shudder in terror as I comprehend the fact that Theodore, the Sorcerer Theodore, Rita's father and overall evil being number one, is standing right before me.

 Theodore turns to Marcel and embraces him. “My kin, I thank you for bringing me back to this world. It really has been an exhausting ordeal.” His kin? Theodore is related to Marcel, he's a Girard? Theodore speaks as though he's just been on one of those horrible cheap holidays to some Spanish Island, not like he's spent the last two years in hell.
Actual hell
.

 “You are most welcome, Great Grandfather,” Marcel bows his head.
Yeah, make that great, great, great, great, great grandfather
, my brain provides. “There has been terrible devastation for our kind in this city,” Marcel goes on. “But now that you are back, I'm sure that will not be the case for long.”

 Theodore laughs, and the sound vibrates around the cave. “I have been estranged from my dear family for many years. It is a wonderful thing to finally gain some of it back.” His eyes land on each member of the circle in turn. “I would like to thank all of you. We may not share blood, but for what you have done for me you are my family now too.”

 Those present mumble their thanks with a mixture of awe, excitement, and a small drop of fear. Perhaps they are wondering if Theodore really is grateful to them for bringing him back. Silence ensues, before Theodore glances back at me again. “And you, little treasure trove, you I thank most of all for the valuable gift of your blood. I could not have returned without it.” Then he laughs, and a purple mist begins to surround him. The others laugh too, my skin is crawling with it. The purple mist seeps closer to me, and the closer it gets the more I lose consciousness. Soon enough, I fall away into a violet tinged darkness.

Truce

I wake up to the dull light of the morning, the sounds of seagulls cawing, and the gentle splash of waves against the shore. My head feels like it weighs a tonne, and it hurts like a bastard because I had been resting it against the hard rock surface of the cave floor.

 Where have Theodore and the others gone? There is not one piece of evidence to suggest that anything had happened here last night. And what I really don't understand is why they let me live. I sit up and find a small note folded at the end of my feet. I pick it up, reading it out loud, my voice is scratchy from exhaustion.

 
Dear Treasure
,
you will do well to keep what transpired last night to yourself. You gave me something, so I am giving you something in return. Your life. Live it wisely. From T.

 
Fuck! Theodore is back. My dad has been sent to a hell dimension in exchange for the Sorcerer's return. I shove the note into my coat pocket and stumble to my feet, taking a moment to steady myself.

 Making my way out of the cave, I take in a deep breath of the fresh sea air to clear my head. Pulling my phone from my pocket, I notice that there are about twenty missed calls from Rita and Finn, and a whole range of messages. Crap, they must be worried sick about me. I'm just about to call Rita when I almost fall over as I stumble into something solid at my feet.

 I look down and let out a loud gasp, because there is a stark naked man lying there.
Somebody
must have had a wild time last night. This is the initial explanation that springs to mind. However, the longer I study him, the more something in my gut tells me that a crazy New Year's Eve is
not
the reason why this man is sprawled out naked and unconscious in a secluded part of the beach.

 Then something else hits me. This is the exact spot where I had left Wolf when he'd been shaking and convulsing. My eyes rake over the man. He's got long, dark brown hair, an athletically muscular body, like that of an ancient warrior, and deeply tanned skin. Is this Wolf changed into human form? Funny how this all seems so logical to me after witnessing my dad get swallowed whole by a portal to hell. Perhaps this is some unintentional result of the magic that was released last night during the ritual. I have no other reasoning, all I know is that Finn's dog is nowhere to be seen. 

 I lift up my phone again, this time opting to call Finn instead of Rita. Perhaps he can shed some light on the situation.

 The phone barely rings out once when he answers frantically, “Tegan! Where the hell are you?”

 “I'm at the other end of Sycamore Strand, past the cliff. Can you come and get me?”

 “I'll be ten minutes,” Finn replies.

 He's about to hang up but I stop him. “Also, I think you should bring some blankets for your
dog
.”

 “What are you talking about? What's wrong with Wolf?”

 “Well, how do I put this – I'm ninety nine per cent sure he's not your dog anymore, he's a man. One big ass man at that, and he's naked, so like I said, bring some blankets, or better yet, clothing.”

 Finn doesn't tell me I'm a lunatic, instead he lets out a loud string of curse words that don't bear repeating. I hang up, and sit down on a rock to wait for him to get here, all the while staring in fascination at the man who once was Wolf.

 All of a sudden, he groans and shifts a little. Then his eyes flutter open, big, deep brown eyes that are peering at his surroundings in terror. He raises a hand and stares at it, turning it over and back with wonder. 

 “Are you okay?” I ask softly, keeping up my position a few feet away from him on the rock. I don't want to get too close in case I scare him, although judging from his stature and nakedness, I'm the one who should be scared.

 Brown eyes find me and they don't stop staring. Still, he doesn't breathe a word in response. It's almost like he's forgotten how to form words. He's been an animal for so long that he doesn't know how to speak. What is he? Was he a man before he became a dog, or simply a dog who has been magically transformed into a man?

 A few minutes later I hear the roar of an engine as Finn speeds down the beach towards us. He parks and jumps out, carrying a massive blanket. He barely even looks at me when he rushes to the naked man's side and drapes the blanket over his shoulders.

 The others emerge from the van, all looking like they haven't slept a wink. I suppose they have me to thank for that.

 “What is he?” I whisper to Finn, who is studying Wolf as though making sure that he's not hurt in any way.

 Gabriel, Delilah, Rita and Alvie all stand around, their eyes glued to Wolf in shock and awe. There's a long moment of quiet before Finn answers, “He's a shapeshifter.”

 “A shapeshifter?” I question.

 Finn sighs in exhaustion. “Yes, a very rare kind of supernatural creature who can shift into various animal forms. This man's name is Ira Wolf and he was a friend of my old DOH superior, Noel. The man who used to own the house I live in. Almost twenty years ago Ira had a run in with a witch who cursed him to remain in his animal form. Noel had been taking care of him until he died in the war. Tegan, how did he get changed back?”

 “I'm not sure, but you all better sit down, because I've got a lot to tell you.” I know Theodore warned me to keep my mouth shut, but no way am I going to keep my friends in the dark. I tell them all about what happened last night, from seeing the red van all the way through to my dad taking Theodore's place in hell. I have to hold in my tears at this point, thinking of how he might be suffering right now. I finish on the part where I woke up and found Wolf unconscious and transformed. Everybody's completely awe-struck to discover that Theodore is in fact a Girard. Nobody had ever been able to trace exactly which family he came from since he's so old. 

 “Your assumptions about how Wolf got changed back into a man are probably right,” Rita agrees, referring to my theory that the magic of the ritual somehow released Wolf from his animal form.

 Delilah is rubbing her eyes. Her lips are drawn in a thin line as she contemplates the fact that Theodore is back. Everyone else is silent, with similar expressions of worry on their faces. What does this mean for us? What does it mean for Tribane? All I know is that come hell or high water, I am going to figure out a way to fix this. To send Theodore straight back to hell and return my dad to his old life.

 A few minutes later we get into Finn's van and drive home. Once there, Finn helps Wolf, who still hasn't breathed a word and looks as though he doesn't know where he is, into his bedroom. He gives him some clothing to wear and then lets him go to sleep. I sleep for a few hours and then take a long bath and try not to think about anything at all, while Alvie and Rita retreat to their motor home.

 When I get out of the bath, Gabriel and Delilah are absent yet again. I really want to know what those two are up to, family bonding perhaps? Playing catch up on each other's lives? Although something tells me that they're discussing far more important matters.

 As I leave my bedroom, clad in some grey sweat pants and a loose white shirt, I walk right into somebody's lean, tanned chest. Ira, the man who once was Wolf. It's actually sad that I'm going to miss having the dog around. Perhaps it's selfish, but I wish we could change him back.

 “Sorry,” I whisper, looking up into his big brown eyes. His long hair hangs down by his shoulders and he's only wearing a pair of trousers and no top. He keeps looking at me as if he knows me. Maybe he remembers me from when he was a dog.

 “Are you hungry?” I ask, after I've heard his stomach rumble. He doesn't answer. “Come on, I'll make you something to eat.” Still no answer, but as I start to walk down the stairs, he follows.

 In the kitchen I put some chicken and potatoes in the oven to bake, and Wolf stands by the door watching me the whole time. I take his hand and lead him over to sit at the table. He does so obediently. A few minutes later I hear Finn coming down the stairs.

 “Something smells good,” he exclaims as he walks into the room.

 “I'm making dinner,” I tell him. “You want some?”

 “I wouldn't say no,” he grins and goes to sit down by Wolf. “How're you feeling Ira?” he asks, but Wolf just tilts his head to the side, staring at Finn quizzically. “Still not talking, eh? You'll soon get the hang of it.” Finn opens a newspaper that's been sitting on the kitchen table and begins perusing the headlines, while I check on the food and put out some plates and cutlery.

 A minute later I hear a key turn in the front door and Gabriel and Delilah walk in, both looking a little anxious and stony faced.

 “Jaysus, would you look at the two of you, faces that could crack steel. What's going on?” says Finn, glancing up from his paper to peer at the dhamphir half siblings.

 Before they have the chance to say anything, Rita, Alvie and Noreen come in. “I got your message Gabriel. What did you want us here for?” Rita asks.

 “We have a proposition for all of you,” Delilah speaks up. “It's in the best interests of everyone, especially given the current circumstances with Theodore. I managed to persuade Gabriel to agree, so the rest of you shouldn't be too difficult to convince.”

 “What do we need to be convinced of?” Finn asks, a sceptical look in his eyes now.

 Delilah clears her throat. “You are all aware of what happened at Whitfield's house a little under two weeks ago. That event had a profound effect on the Governor's long standing relationship with my brother Ethan. Whitfield decided to put Ethan on trial for knowingly bringing a spy into his home.”

 “But Ethan didn't know anything about what I was going to do,” I interrupt.

 “We all know that,” says Delilah. “Still, somebody had to take the blame for what happened and Ethan was the most obvious scapegoat.”

 “What was decided upon in the trial?” Rita asks.

 “Ethan was declared an outlaw of the South and has been cast out of vampire society, alongside those who are loyal to him, which includes Lucas, Dru and another vampire who works at the club, Will.” I let out a long gasp. This is all my fault. Like I need any more self-hatred to be dealing with right now.

 “So,” Delilah continues. “I want to put a proposition to all of you which is this, we team up with my brother and the others in order to protect ourselves from whatever is going to happen now that Theodore has returned.”

 “No way!” Finn refuses. “I'm a slayer. There's no chance in hell that I'm gonna team up with a bunch of vampires.”

 “Finn,” says Gabriel in a reasoning tone. “I understand where you're coming from, believe me I do. No one has more of an issue with Ethan than me, but it is our best bet for staying alive, and perhaps saving the city from another long stretch of tyranny. Think about it. We need some vampires on our side. They are far stronger than any of us physically.”

 Finn has an angry scowl on his face, but he seems to be mulling it over. His eyes are latched in challenge with Gabriel's, who appears to be trying to silently convince Finn to say yes. Finally, Finn lets out a long breath and grudgingly answers, “Fine, we'll give it a try. But I'm not going to make any promises that it will work.”

 Relief floods into Gabriel's and Delilah's faces. “Okay, what about the rest of you?” Gabriel asks.

 Rita looks to her mum and Alvie. The three huddle together and whisper to each other for a minute before Rita turns back to the room and announces, “We're in.”

 Before everyone can look to me I blurt out, “I'm in too.” My heart is twisting at the prospect of seeing Ethan, not knowing how he's going to react to me. Then I add, “So long as Lucas keeps away from Amanda that is. She's only just getting better.”

 “I'll make sure he doesn't touch her,” Delilah answers.

 “Right, so we're all agreed then?” Gabriel asks in a hesitant voice. Everyone nods their heads in turn, except for Wolf, but I don't think he has any clue of what's going on. Delilah pulls her phone from her pocket to make a call. “It's a yes. You can come in now,” is all she says before hanging up. Two minutes later there's a knock at the door and my chest seizes up in knots. Is Ethan here already? He must have been waiting somewhere nearby for Delilah's answer.

 Delilah leaves the room to get the door. Mere seconds pass before she returns with Ethan, Lucas, Dru and another vampire with long dreadlocks, who I recognise as a barman from the club. The kitchen is suddenly far too crowded. My eyes immediately latch on Ethan. He looks marvellous as always, wearing jeans and a dark shirt.

 For a moment I can't breathe at the sight of him, but he doesn't once look my way. Is he intentionally ignoring me? Yes, that seems to be the case. Oh well.

 “Hello everyone,” he says, as he scans the room, still carefully avoiding my gaze. Wonderful. This isn't going to be awkward at all. Slowly the vampires begin to mingle with their new found allies, but nobody ventures to talk to me. I feel like a leper. I suppose I'll just have to get used to it, and I try to zone out for a while. No, no, I inform my heart, you're not breaking on me now. Suck it up.

 I listen while Ethan's smooth voice does its best at charming Rita and her mother, while Lucas, Dru and the barman vampire chat with Delilah, Gabriel and Alvie. Finn's standing nearby, silently watching all of them, a hard look on his face that says,
don't even think about messing with me.
I put the dinner out for him and Wolf, all the while I can sense someone watching me. Each time I glance at Ethan though, his eyes are nowhere near me. Perhaps I was imagining it.