CHAPTER FIVE
Thea followed Ezra as they got on their bikes and headed away from the garage. Once they were out of sight, he gestured for her to pull over into the large parking lot of a strip mall. She followed him to a corner of the lot where they parked their bikes and shut down the motors so they could talk quietly.
“Sorry about that,” Ezra said first, before she could ask him what that little encounter had all been about. “There were way too many wolves there to discuss anything, and they all smelled off to me.”
“Off how?” she asked, instead of the many other things running through her mind.
“I don’t know.” He grimaced and shook his head once. “It could be drugs, but most shifters don’t bother with that stuff. I didn’t think there were any human drugs that could really affect our kind to any large degree—unless they took massive quantities. Our metabolisms are just too fast-burning to let the effect last very long.”
“Do you think there’s something new on the market?” Thea grew concerned. Maybe it wasn’t magic that was screwing with those wolves, but something man-made.
“I’m not sure. It seems improbable.” Ezra shook his head again. “Or, it could be what Jack mentioned on the phone.”
“Magic.” Thea felt dread settle in the pit of her stomach.
“Yeah.” Ezra sighed and looked away. “I’m really sorry, Thea. This is the last thing I wanted to involve you in.”
“Yeah, but if it’s affecting shifters in this town, and I’m here… Well, I’m going to be involved in it one way or another. I figure it’s better to work with you to end the problem before it gets out of hand.”
She was astonished to find she really did feel that way. She’d been concerned that fear would cripple her if she ever encountered a situation where magic was involved again, but she was surprising herself. She wasn’t afraid. She was pissed. Her inner bear was angry and riled. She wanted to help solve the problem and eradicate the threat. She didn’t feel in the least bit like running.
And that made her feel proud of herself. Even she hadn’t been sure how she would react if she ever came up against evil magic again. Now, she knew. She could trust herself to fight back and not want to flee. As any self-respecting bear shifter should.
Ezra was looking at her. Studying her as if he was trying to figure out if there was more than just bravado behind her words. Either that or he was trying to gauge the strength of her resolve. Or a combination of both. He’d soon learn that she wasn’t going to wimp out on him. No. That part of her life was over. Nobody was ever going to take her again without a fight. To the death, if necessary.
“Those wolves weren’t right in the head,” she went on when he didn’t say anything further. “Did you see their eyes? Glassy. Like they were doped up…or under some kind of spell.”
“The eyes were why I thought drugs,” he said. “I’ve seen enough humans on drugs to know that glassy look, but this was slightly different. Can you tell if someone’s been messed with magically just by looking at them?”
It was Thea’s turn to shake her head, but she wasn’t giving him a negative answer. No, she was just trying to banish the bad feelings that came with remembering her experience in Bolivar’s basement of horrors.
“You can to some extent,” she answered quietly, trying to gather her words and suppress her feelings at the same time. “Bolivar would sometimes bring in other mages. Not often and not many. I got the impression they were his superiors, and he was trying to impress them with his collection.”
The shock on Ezra’s face was total. She’d never spoken about the visitors to anyone, though she probably should have by this point in her recovery. For a long time, she hadn’t remembered, and when the memories started returning as she grew stronger physically, she hadn’t wanted to remember.
“Sweet Mother of All,” Ezra whispered, holding his hand out to her then letting it drop as if he didn’t know what to do or how to respond.
“The thing is, I don’t think the other girls remember it. You see, Bolivar would do some sort of spell casting before he brought down his guests, but a lot of his magic bounced off me, which is why he was using me up first. I knew I would be the first to die of the women he was keeping captive. He was draining my power faster than the others. He drained us all—to keep us weak and pliable—but he was using me up first. He liked to bleed me, and each time, I felt another little part of my shifter soul slip away. It’s taken a long time for me to get it back. My bear was almost gone when you saved me.”
She reached out to him and took his big hand in her smaller one, squeezing tight. He seemed speechless, and she wanted to say what she had to say before she lost her nerve.
“When Bolivar brought his guests, the other girls would get a similar glassy-eyed look. They’d sit quietly while the visitors discussed us all like we were exhibits in a zoo. The other girls would even come when Bolivar called them, and say whatever he wanted them to say. It was disgusting and humiliating, and just so…wrong.”
Ezra held her hand, and that little bit of his warmth helped her cope with the bad memories. He was such a strong man. He could banish the worst of her fears just by being there, with her.
“Is it the same look you saw just now in those men’s eyes?” he asked gently.
She shuddered a little. “Yeah. It looked a lot like that,” she admitted. “I think your friend Jack is right. If I had to bet, I’d say those wolves were under some sort of magical compulsion.”
“Damn.” Ezra looked away as if biting off a string of curse words in her presence, then he turned back to her. “I swear, I didn’t know about any other mages, Thea. If I had, I would’ve been hunting them already. As it is, after this is over, I’ll do what I can to make sure every last person who caused you grief in that hellhole will come to justice.”
She squeezed his hand again and smiled softly at him. “It’s not your fault. I don’t think the other girls remember. I didn’t remember it myself for a long time. It’s only as my bear spirit came back to life and my body got stronger that everything started to come back, including those memories.” She shrugged. “Maybe Bolivar’s magic affected me more than I thought. Or, as weak as I was, his spells had more power over me than they normally would. I know I never fought when the visitors came. I just watched and hated. Silently. If I’d been stronger, I would’ve at least tried to claw them through the bars of my cage or something.”
“You did what you needed to do to survive,” he told her in a powerful tone that spoke directly to her bear. Alpha male to female needing reassurance. “You were smart, and you bided your time until help could come. There wasn’t anything you could have done all on your own against Bolivar. He was too strong. Too cunning. And he had a gift of foresight that had allowed him to escape bigger groups and stronger shifters many times over several decades. The only reason we were able to get close enough was that we had a mage of our own whose powers foiled those of your captor.”
“Gabe,” she said softly. “I remember him from the mansion. He was nice. I hope he and Margo are doing okay.”
“They’re mated now,” Ezra told her gently. Thea felt a surge of joy in her heart for the other couple.
“That’s really great,” she said, smiling. “They both really made an impression on me,” she admitted. “I bought this bike because I wanted to be as badass as Margo. She was my role model for a while as I tried to regain my strength. I figured if a wolf shifter could be that tough, a bear should at least be able to do just as well.”
“If not better,” Ezra added, smiling back at her. “But I’ll give Margo credit. She’s more Alpha than most other Alpha wolves I’ve met, and that’s saying something. Then again, Gabe is a power to be reckoned with, so they’re a good match. I’m happy for them.”
“Me, too,” Thea added. “Maybe I can send them a mating gift,” she thought aloud.
“I bet they’d like that,” Ezra replied.
“So, what now?” She looked around, wondering where they’d go from here.
“Well, we’ve got a few hours to kill, so maybe we should do a little scouting and become a bit more familiar with the territory.” They both knew the animal parts of their nature wouldn’t settle until they’d scouted the perimeter and got to know the landmarks.
“Yeah, that sounds like a really good idea,” Thea agreed.
They spent the next hours riding the perimeter of the town and getting to know the layout of its streets, then walking along some of the busier roads at the heart of town that had rows of shops. Even this early in the morning, there was a party atmosphere and many marquees set up along some streets sponsored by big corporations that ran the gamut from food to spirits and everything in between.
They scented a few other kinds of shifters in the crowd of more than half a million people that came into town just for this giant party every year, but no other bears. Maybe there were a few somewhere, but Ezra and Thea hadn’t detected them so far on their tour of the town.
By the time lunch rolled around, they were more than ready to demolish a few burgers. Ezra opened the door to Molloy’s Burger Bar for Thea, and the music inside spilled out onto the street. Although not too busy just yet, it was clear they were expecting a lunch rush and were well prepared.
Ezra stopped just inside the door to let his eyes adjust and spied Ace, King and Jack already seated at a large table in one corner. There were two open chairs and a pitcher of beer on the table that was already half empty. Ezra escorted Thea to the open spots, signaling to the approaching hostess that they’d found their party.
After greeting the brothers, they started looking at the menu, which consisted of several different types of hamburger. A waitress came over and took their orders, then they were left alone. Ezra had noted the position of the table, which the brothers must have chosen deliberately. They were in a corner, with empty tables on either side. They’d be able to talk in low tones and be relatively certain nobody could overhear—at least, until the place got more crowded and the nearby tables were filled.
Jack, sitting at the very corner of the table, between his two brothers and Ezra and Thea, who were on opposite sides, brought up the sensitive subject of magic. He spoke quietly, but Ezra and Thea could both hear his report clearly, though nobody else would. Not without special equipment, at any rate.
“There’s definitely a mage here somewhere,” Jack concluded when he’d finished outlining his movements and observations of the two major Packs of werewolves earlier in the day. “When I crossed paths with the White Oaks Alpha, I could feel some sort of magic rubbing my fur the wrong way. If he wasn’t under some kind of compulsion, I’ll eat my hat. And it’s the same for the local Pack Alpha, when he came into the shop yesterday. There’s something seriously wrong here, and somebody is getting their jollies pitting those two wolf Packs against each other.”
“Well, thanks to Thea, we now know they’re planning some sort of melee for tomorrow night’s full moon. We just have to figure out where,” Ace put in.
“But why maneuver wolves into fighting each other?” King asked, sounding puzzled.
“For their blood,” Thea said, her voice sounding a little hollow to Ezra’s ears. “Blood path mages get off on blood being spilled in violence. It gives them power. Makes them stronger.”
“Son of a…” Ace swore and turned away.
“Are you sure about this?” King asked, his tone subdued.
“I’ve seen it before,” Thea replied, her tone stronger, her delivery steadier. Ezra was proud of the way she was holding together, but he still hated the fact that she had to relive any part of what had happened to her in Lake Tahoe.
“You don’t have to talk about this if you don’t want to,” Ezra told her softly.
“No. They need to know if we’re going to stop this.” She looked at the brothers. “I was held captive for a few months by a blood path mage. He bled me to steal my power and nearly killed my other half. Ezra saved my life.”
The brothers were silent for a moment, as if in respect for what she’d been through, then Jack asked Ezra in a low voice. “How did you defeat the mage?”
Ezra frowned. “It wasn’t my op.” He looked away, as if in regret, then returned his focus to the men at the table. “I was backing up one of Colin Hastings’ detectives, and she was partnered with a mage of incredible power. He was the one who took out the bastard who’d been holding Thea prisoner, along with several other women. Hastings called in strike teams and support from the Redstone Clan. It was a big op. We took out the human trafficking ring that the mage was helping in return for his pick of the women they abducted. He chose only the magical ones they caught in their net. Thea was the only shifter.”
“The other girls held with me had minor magical talents from what I saw. Nothing that could even come close to challenging the mage that had us. At least, not after he’d already bled them. I was the biggest threat, so he kept me extra weak. Kept slicing me with his evil athame.”
Her voice had grown bitter, but Ezra didn’t blame her. All he could do was be here for her now and let her know she was safe. Or, at least, as safe as he could make her under the changed circumstances in this town.
“Athame?” King asked, sounding curious. “That’s like a ritual knife or something, right?”
“Yes,” she replied. “A ritual dagger is used by many witches in certain traditions, but they are never used to harm anyone. It’s more a symbolic thing. Blood path mages use their athames to cause pain, make beings bleed and steal their power. Same word, totally different concept. What makes the difference is the intent of the wielder and the usage.”
“You seem to know a lot about witchcraft for a shifter,” King complimented her, but she shook her head.
“I learned the hard way, at the hands of a sociopath.” Thea sighed heavily, as if to release the bad memories.
“What worries me,” Ace put in after a moment of silence, “is that we don’t have the kind of firepower Ezra had when he took down the bastard that had you, Thea. As far as I know, it’s just us. We don’t have any mages, and we don’t have any backup. Unless you have a team of Wraiths hiding out in the hills, waiting for a call.” Ace looked at Ezra hopefully, but Ez had to shake his head.
“While I wish I did have that kind of support lined up, though I’ll make a few calls. On such short notice, I don’t know if any of my contacts could get here in time. But, from what I understand, the mage that had Thea was an old-timer with special skills and a rare gift of clairvoyance that allowed him to stay one step ahead of all those who had pursued him for decades. He’d also had vast experience messing in the lives of humans and shifters alike. Whoever’s operating here isn’t quite up to the same caliber in that regard. The whole plan to make two wolf Packs fight just seems a bit clumsy to me. We might have caught a bit of a break,” Ezra told them. “Still, it’s not going to be easy, but we’re bears. We can handle pretty much anything a single human mage can throw at us, right?”
That last bit was more bravado than certainty, but Ezra felt the need to rally the troops after Thea’s revelations. She’d told her story with courage, and Ezra couldn’t fault her. Not one bit. But they didn’t need to focus on the negative aspects of the mission they’d set for themselves. No, this was the time for planning, and believing they could do what they set out to do was half the battle, in his experience.