Wolf Spell 1
By
M. R. Polish
* * * * *
Wolf Spell
Copyright © 2012 by M. R. Polish
Cover created by
Jenny Laatsch
Esmerelda model: Amber Hunsaker
All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without prior written permission of the author.
This book is a work of fiction. Any names, places, characters, and incidents are a product of the author’s imagination and are purely fictitious. Any resemblances to any persons, living or dead, are completely coincidental.
Table of Contents
Eighteen Years Ago…
“Run Adonia!” Torres cried out to Adonia as she hurried from the grove. He stood with his muscles tense, ready to defend his beloved and their unborn child. Her heavy footsteps became distant on the forest floor, and gave him hope that she escaped.
Magical beings fought together for years to stop Nicholas, but when they found out Adonia carried a child after hundreds of years it became worse. Running to protect them became a way of life for the last eight and a half months.
A distinctive low moan sounded from down the mountain. He twisted and scanned the trees. He was not sure how many there were, but he was certain with Hela’s help—his spirit wolf—they could hold them off long enough to let Adonia flee safely.
A man emerged from behind the trees to his right. Torres’s heart twisted with grief as he recognized the once proud warlock that now sprouted fangs and craved blood.
His wife’s magical race was quickly becoming extinct. Nicholas turned them into vicious creatures of the night against their will. Crossbreeds, who were half-magic and half-vampire.
There was a problem. The crossbreeds were not surviving. They died off before Nicholas could find a way to utilize their full potential as his bonded slaves. He was irate and hastily searched for a solution to his problem. He needed Torres’ unborn child. The council of the five witches prophesied her to be one of the most powerful in the magical line. Nicholas needed her to complete the transformation spell, and seal the fate of the world into his hands.
Torres spun around, looking for more.
Why was there only one?
Surely, Nicholas would send more than one dying man to capture Adonia. The older man he once knew sent a small power surge out to seize him, but Torres was faster. He took a deep breath before charging at the old man. Jumping with him, Hela helped take him down.
Torres only had one magical ability, but it would be of no help here. He needed to rely on his physical training. He dodged the next blast of magic and lunged forward. His feet landed in the middle of the man’s chest and knocked him over. Without hesitating, he reached for his belt he had worn over the last two hundred years, pulled out a wooden stake, and stabbed him.
The body turned a charcoal color. He would have to come back later to take his head and burn him. A full vampire decayed and turned to ash when killed, but a crossbreed needed additional actions to assure death. The small amount of magic inside them could keep them in a deathlike state, awaiting to awaken, unless those protocols happened. If Nicholas ever found a way to use Torres’ child, it would be enough to revive all the crossbreeds from death.
Adonia screamed from farther down the mountain. Never before did his legs carry him so fast. He jumped over fallen trees, and then trudged through a small creek that fed the mountain river lower down.
For a short moment, he stopped to listen. Muffled moans and crying broke the silence. Stepping lightly on the forest floor, he followed the sounds. He found Adonia tied with rope. The crossbreeds were dragging her along the path.
He could feel his anger boil in the depths of his soul as he watched them with his wife. Jumping out from behind the bushes, he grabbed whatever stakes he had left in his belt, and began swinging. Even a sliver of a wood grain could slow down a full vampire, so a scratch surely would cause a crossbreed—who was dying—to slow down. That is what he hoped would happen.
He had gotten at least ten down before one rushed at him swinging a large branch. He ducked, but the limb caught him on the back of the head. The blunt pain knocked him down, and then the whole world became dark.
Adonia screamed in pain. Never before had she experienced such severe pain. She took another deep breath, and tried to concentrate. Not only was she in labor inside the darkness of the underground chambers, but she was also unable to find a way to escape.
Under the earth, inside the warded cells of dirt, her magic was void, except for minute bursts of energy. Every time she tried to use her powers, it drained her even more.
Another contraction squeezed her abdomen. She gritted her teeth and groaned. It was hard to focus on her breathing. Finally, it let up, and she gasped in short pants.
She hoped her husband was okay. Praying they had not killed him back in the woods. Tears stung her eyes.
It shouldn’t be this way.
Another contraction tightened around her stomach. She could feel it was time to push. Adonia thought the pain would not end, but then she heard the most beautiful sound. Her daughter cried, her precious—Esmerelda.
With what little magic she had left, she held her daughter close, and summoned a protection spell to keep her baby safe. She knew it was only a matter of time before Nicholas would send someone in after her.
Adonia kissed and kissed her, holding her tight. Her tears washed her newborn infant. Light filled the darkness. She knew the time had come. She struggled, holding on as long as she could, but the woman snatched the only thing she had left in the world.
