Brewing Storm, page 16
I lay in Logan’s arms, and we both stood perfectly still. I was in a musty hole in the ground, but I’d never felt warmer and more content. Something about Logan set all my fears and worries at bay, at least for a moment.
“They’ll be fine,” Logan whispered, his hot breath grazing my ear. “Those two are tough, born to handle situations like these.”
“Yeah,” I said, jolted back to reality. “I hope so.”
He gently rubbed my back. “How are you holding up?”
“I’m good. How about you?”
“I’m all right. We’ll stay here for an hour or so, then get a move-on.”
I stared into his eyes, and all those familiar feelings flooded back into me. I was devastated when I thought he was dead. I was so connected to him then, and it was as if he was my whole world. That night in Beth’s cabin, I was a different person, a normal girl, but I left there as someone else. Logan stuck by me every terrifying step of the way through my supernatural transition, and I couldn’t simply dismiss that.
I softly touched his lips. I couldn’t help it, couldn’t stop myself. I knew it was wrong to want him, to long for him, but his touch felt right. I had no idea how my life was going to turn out, but I wanted him to be part of it. I didn’t have the nerve to tell him, but without him, it wouldn’t be much of a life at all.
“Sophie...” he said, then leaned over, till his lips hovered dangerously close to mine. He skimmed his fingertips down my throat, then tap-danced them teasingly across my collarbone.
“We shouldn’t be...doing this,” I said, my heart thundering under the heat of his touch.
“Why? Because we work together, or because I’m engaged.”
“Both.”
“I don’t want to marry Cindy.”
“I know.”
“What is that fear in your eyes, Sophie? Don’t try to deny it. I can see it there, clear as day. What are you afraid of?”
I sighed, once again unearthed and exposed by the one who could read me like an open book. “It’s just... I don’t think the Council will ever allow you to divorce her. Even if the marriage is a sham, a technicality. Not only that, but you’ll feel obligated to keep up the façade, so the curse is never reenacted. So many people are counting on you, and you’re so honorable. You’ll do what you need to do to save those thousands of lives, even if your life is unhappy because of it.”
“Takes one to know one,” he said.
“Huh?”
“You’re honorable too. That warlock gave us a chance to leave, and Cindy would have been left behind, out of the picture, possibly for good. If the marriage was called off, maybe the two of us could have a chance, but you didn’t even think about that. You didn’t choose us. You chose to stay and fight for your friend and to keep the curse at bay. You care deeply about all races, and you can’t bear to see innocents die. You also care deeply about Fred and Cindy. You have so many excellent qualities.”
“I’d choose life for vampires and werewolves over my own selfish desires any day.”
“That’s what I love about you.”
I touched his face. “Logan, no matter how complicated things get, I will always want you.”
“I think we both know you’ve been much more all along. You mean everything to me.”
“When I thought I lost you, my world collapsed in on me. I realized then how deeply I care for you, and that hasn’t changed. I hope this doesn’t ruin our friendship, but I had to get it off my chest. I can’t just keep wondering about all those if-onlies and what-ifs forever. Do you think things could ever work between us?”
“Why don’t we test the waters and see what happens?” he said, then pressed his lips against mine in a soft kiss.
“Hey, you little slut! Get your hands off my fiancé!” Cindy yelled into the hole.
“Doesn’t look like it’s her hands you need to be worried about, love,” Fred teased, then made smooching noises to mock our lip-lock.
Chapter 23
“Cindy! Fred!” I squealed, then climbed out to give them hugs. “You’re okay!”
“Sophie, I leave you alone with my man for two minutes, and this is what you do?” Cindy scolded with a smile. She then nudged me. “Hey, how’s my fiancé’s kissing? I’ll never know firsthand.”
I laughed. “I don’t kiss and tell.”
“Oh, okay,” she said, winking and then grinning back at me.
“Enough talk about playing tonsil hockey with our resident Rover,” Fred said. “We’re on the menu now. I’m sure they’ve changed our status from capture to kill.”
Logan brushed dirt off his shoulder. “Yeah, well, Cindy and I are number one on their hit list. If they kill us, we can’t exactly exchange our forced I-do’s.”
“But you now have bodyguards,” Fred said.
Logan looked around. “Where? I don’t see any Supernatural Secret Service.”
“Sophie and me, you dummy.”
“And me,” said the warlock, offering a shy little wave.
“He’s with us now,” Fred said, and Cindy nodded her agreement.
“What!?” Logan yelled. “He’s the reason we’re stuck here.”
“No, really, I’m on your side now.”
“Since when?”
“Since they tried to dispose of me after I did what I promised them. So trust me. I’m on your side.”
Logan shoved him. “A little late for that now. If that wedding happens, all that vampire and werewolf blood will be on your hands.”
“I never realized how high the stakes are. They told me nobody would get hurt. And I didn’t know all the facts. Fred and Cindy explained everything to me and I feel awful. I just needed a paycheck.” He handed each of us a torch, then lit them.
Fred gripped his torch. “These are nice. Did you make them?”
“Yeah. I come in handy sometimes,” the warlock said with a smile.
“We’ll see about that,” Logan mumbled.
Suddenly, a deep, guttural growl pierced the night, and twigs snapped around us.
Heart racing, I glanced around, then peered at Logan. “You said there aren’t any vicious wild animals on the island, right?”
“Right.”
“Well, something’s out there,” Cindy said. “Would you like me to investigate?”
“Not yet,” Fred answered. “Maybe it’s just a stray cow from the farm or something. No sense making hamburger out of the poor thing.”
Another blood-chilling snarl caused us all to jump. More rustling echoed from all around us.
I nervously tugged on Fred’s sleeve. “Um, cows don’t growl.”
The warlock lifted his hands, and a strange look crossed his face. “There’s magic at play here, and mine is disabled. How about yours?”
I concentrated for a moment and was horrified that I didn’t feel any energy coursing through me. “Mine too, like it short-circuited or something. What’s happening?”
“I can feel the presence of another witch,” the warlock said.
“So a witch is stalking us?” I asked.
“No. The guy in charge wasn’t a witch. My bet is that she’s working for them.”
“Cindy, can you turn so we can put up some sort of defense?” Logan asked.
“I-I can’t. Shit!”
“Form a circle!” Logan commanded. “We’ll stand back to back.”
In a blur, the warlock was whisked away from us, screaming as he was violently dragged into the woods by an unseen force.
I gasped. Tightly clutching my torch, I tried to leave the formation to go help him, but Cindy pulled me back. “You can’t go out there! We have no idea what we’re dealing with! We don’t know what we heard, and you’re defenseless without your powers.”
“But he needs us!” I shouted. “He’s on our team now.”
“We’ll have one less member of our team if you run in there and get yourself killed,” Logan said.
Eerily, the warlock’s screams died, but other sounds arose, the sounds of something closing in on us.
“Something wicked this way comes, folks,” Fred recited grimly. “I can hear its footsteps. And it’s big! What do we do now?”
Logan pointed in the opposite direction. “Run!”
We all did as ordered and took off. Once we were hidden in the thick forest, we glanced up at a noise in the sky.
“Dragons,” I whispered as the flock of nightmarish winged beasts flew through the air. “I’ve jumped into a real live game of Dungeons and Dragons!”
“Correction,” Cindy said, with something ominous in her voice. “Gargoyles.”
My jaw dropped. “Okay, well, that’s some pretty fucking scary shit.”
“We were so off base,” Logan said. “This isn’t about the royal marriage or the immortal curse or even the owner of this island. This is about gargoyles. What the hell do they want? And why would they want Sophie?”
“This is about me,” Cindy said, “because I left France with Freddie!”
“Revenge,” Fred said, his mouth also falling agape. “They’re here because I stole you from the French Alps, saved you from marrying that asshole.”
“The prince,” Cindy muttered. “He’s furious about being jilted.”
“This whole thing was set up by the gargoyles, because you were a runaway bride!”
She nervously ran a hand through her hair. “How the hell did they find us?”
“I don’t know,” Fred said. “We gave you a completely new identity, and you’re cloaked in magic. I bet news traveled to them about the upcoming marriage.”
“I told you being in the spotlight wasn’t good. They were bound to find me when the news broke. Didn’t matter if it was supposedly kept secret. It leaked. And they tracked me down before Tabby and the Counsil could make a peace treaty with them.”
Logan pondered our predicament for a moment, then spoke. “Cindy, the night you were shot with that sedative, maybe you were implanted with a tracker. That allowed them to follow you everywhere, including here.”
“How do I get it out of me?”
“I can try to get it. But we don’t even know if you have one for sure.”
“I’m not having you dig around.” She sighed. “All I know is that we’re all on the most wanted list.”
“But why trap all of us on this island?” I asked.
“Yeah, why do they want Sophie?” Logan asked. “She never even met them or had anything to do with the escape plan in France. She was still in school, without any knowledge of her heritage.”
“Simple.” Cindy let out a long, shaky sigh. “The queen has two daughters who need host bodies, strong bodies full of powerful magic. They were kept alive after they suffered radiation poisoning. They tried to use Taylor and Julie, but it didn’t work.”
“Hmm. It looks like you’re not the only one who wants Sophie’s bod, Paw Patrol,” Fred said to Logan.
“Not now,” Logan said.
Fred pondered, then spoke. “Wait. I thought the daughters died.”
Cindy nodded. “So did I, but they obviously didn’t. Why else would the gargoyles be after Sophie?”
“Can’t you host one of them?” Logan asked, turning to Cindy.
“They can’t use a gargoyle,” she said. “They experimented with many in the castle basement, but they discovered that only powerful witches are compatible. Even then, it didn’t work with Taylor. It sounds like they want to give it another try, with at least one of the daughters.”
“Do they want you back, or do they intend to kill you?” he asked.
“I don’t know,” she said, her voice trembling. “I’m sure they are not happy with me.”
Fred wrapped a protective arm around her. “I’m not letting that prince anywhere near you.”
“I don’t think they’ll leave till they get what they want.”
“That’s not going to happen,” Logan said.
“They went through a lot to get us stranded here. I think their plan is to kill me and Fred, then take Sophie back to France as a host body for one of the daughters.”
“Gargoyles!” Fred said. “Coming this way!”
We sprinted further into the jungle. With my heart racing, I jumped over roots and debris. A huge, dark shadow swooped down and let out a loud shriek. Claws picked me up by the shoulders, and while it surprised me that there was no pain, I could only watch in horror as my feet lifted. I tried to squirm free, but I was carried higher in the air. Wind whipped my hair and swooshed into my ears as the bat-like wings furiously flapped above me.
While I dangled there, I tried to beat it with my fists, delivering hard blows at the flying menace, but the thing only screeched and refused to let go. I pounded once more on the gargoyle with all my might, still, it wouldn’t release its grip.
Below me, Logan, in his wolf form, leapt with all his might and sank his teeth deep into the gargoyle’s flesh, ripping through its thick hide. Finally, it let out a long cry and dropped me.
I fell to the ground in a big tangle of tropical plants, and my savior landed not too far away.
“Are you okay?” he asked, quickly back to his human form so he could drag me to safety behind a stack of boulders.
“I am now,” I said, struggling to slow my racing breath and heartbeat. “Thank you.”
“Anytime.”
“You need clothes,” I said.
“Let me just find them.”
When rustling caught my attention to the left, I grabbed a huge stick and hurled my arms back, ready to attack.
“It’s just Fred and me,” Cindy yelled. “Are you okay?”
“Sure. I just had one hell of a ride,” I answered.
“We found a cave,” Fred said. “This way!”
Chapter 24
For the time being, we were safe, holed up in yet another hole in the ground. We weren’t happy to know that gargoyles were trying to hunt us down on an island we couldn’t seem to escape from, but at least we knew what we were up against.
“What’s the plan?” Fred asked. “We can’t just keep running and hiding.”
“We size up their weakness,” Logan said.
“I doubt they have any,” I said. “They’re humongous.”
“Well, that’s a disadvantage for them. We just stay in places they can’t reach, like caverns.”
“They’re weakness is that they’re human during the day,” Cindy said.
Fred peered at all of us. “Let’s be realistic, people. How long can we possibly outrun those things?”
“He’s right. Eventually they’ll take out our food supply,” Cindy said. “They’ll kill the farm animals and poison the river to lure us out of hiding. They have complete control of the island now, and there is nobody here to help us. The place is abandoned and they could hunt us freely for days on end.”
“We need our powers back,” I said, “and we need to take that force-field down. I can’t believe you were able to turn, Logan.”
“Yes, me, too, but I’m glad I did. I think it’s because we’re not near the witch.”
I closed my eyes. “Yeah, I can feel my magic very faintly. It’s coming back.”
“As long as we stay away from her, we’ll all get our powers and strength back.”
“I am sure Vex wants to kill Freddie and me,” Cindy said, “but he doesn’t realize I’m not that passive little princess anymore. I can’t wait to show him the real me.”
Fred pulled Cindy into a hug, and her head fell against his shoulder. As tough as she was, she was frightened of her ex-fiancé, Vex, a fear that had tormented her for far too long. Her family had handed her over as a peace offering between the tribes, and it was her duty to grin and bear it. She told them how awful he was, how he beat her, but they ignored her complaints and offered her no alternative. Fred rescued her from that horrible fate, but now Vex and the queen had no reason to let Cindy live. He ultimately married her sister, a more submissive replacement. He was there for revenge and to collect a new body to resurrect their nearly dead princess.
If the gargoyles had their way, Logan, Cindy, and Fred would all be killed; they were expendable to the gargoyles, collateral damage, as the warlock had put it. If that happened, the royal marriage wouldn’t take place, and the curse would reinstate, eventually killing off the vampires and werewolves. I was sure there was no point in reasoning with the winged monsters that letting Cindy and Logan live would save countless lives. Even if that wedding could save the world, I was sure they wouldn’t believe me. The most pressing problem was the curse. Two races depended on us figuring out a way to get off that rock, and we had to make sure bride-and groom-to-be were alive when we did.
When we passed an abandoned farm, we heard a loud neigh. Cindy immediately walked over to the stables.
“What are you doing?” Logan asked. “We can’t ride the horses. They’ll freak at the first sign of a gargoyle. We’re better off on foot.”
“I’m freeing the animals who so desperately ache for freedom. They should get to feel the Earth again, taste fresh air, and see the sky. Nothing should be kept in a cage. I know this firsthand. When my cage door was opened, I took a leap of faith.”
“Literally,” Fred said. “You jumped off a mountain.”
“I flew,” she corrected with a laugh.
She petted one of the horses and peered into its eyes. “Be free, my friend. Go run in the ocean and graze on the grass. This island belongs to you now. You deserve it, and it is yours for the taking, so enjoy.”
Leaving the animals locked up wasn’t an option and I agreed wholeheartedly. We all started opening the stalls to free the horses. Then we freed all the other animals, so they’d have a fighting chance to survive. I bet we could even get Tabby to come back and rescue them.
Then we continued on our journey.
“A few miles from here, I passed this building when we were securing the island,” Logan said. “The controls are in there for the portal worlds. Maybe that’s the key to deactivating the force-field.”
Distant screeches stopped us in our tracks. Logan pointed to another cave and we silently crept inside. This island was full of them all over the place. Lucky for us, because it gave us lots of hiding places.
