Snakeroot

  “How far is far enough?” Adne asked.

  Sabine didn’t take her eyes off the snarling she-wolf. “It depends on how pissed off Calla is.”

  “She seems pretty pissed off.” Adne mimicked Sabine’s measured steps away from Calla.

  “She does, doesn’t she?”

  Calla stalked after them, keeping her head low and her fangs bared.

  “Do you still speak wolf?” Adne asked, heart climbing up her throat. She’d seen Calla’s muzzle bloodied before, but never as the target of the wolf’s menace herself.

  “Do I still speak wolf?” Sabine snapped at her. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

  “Just throwing ideas out there,” Adne said in a tight voice. “I thought that was better than ‘you got a bloody steak in your pocket?’”

  “Connor has been a very bad influence on you.”

  “Noted.”

  They were still backing away, but Calla’s snarls were only growing louder. Hackles raised, Calla hunched down, her limbs tightening, ready to propel herself at the intruders.

  She’s going to kill us.

  A blur of movement split the shadows and Calla gave a yelp of surprise. Snow filled the air in a sparkling cloud as Shay skidded to a stop directly between Calla and the two girls.

  Shay barked at Calla, a sound that was sharp but not harsh. Calla replied with a dismissive snarl. Shay barked again and then trotted to the alpha female. Ears up and demeanor friendly, Shay licked some of the blood from Calla’s muzzle. Calla shook her head and snapped at Shay, obviously confused by her mate’s behavior. Shay barked once more, put his head to Calla’s chest, and pushed her back.

  Startled, Calla jumped away from him and gave a sharp growl that to Adne sounded almost like a question. Shay replied with a bark and wagged his tail. Casting a final, resentful look at Adne and Sabine, Calla pivoted around and disappeared into the brush.

  “I don’t know what the hell just happened, but I’ll take it,” Sabine murmured.

  Shay peered into the forest where Calla had fled, as if making sure she wasn’t doubling back for another strike. He glanced over his shoulder at Adne and Sabine, watching them with intelligent green eyes.

  “What do we do now?” Adne whispered.

  “Why are you asking me?” Sabine replied. “I thought I made it clear that there is no wolf-whispering potential on my part.”

  Shay looked back at the forest, and that was when Adne saw him. Barely distinguishable from the shadows, Ren was nonetheless there, watching them. Shay tilted his head, ears flicking while he gazed at Renier.

  “Sabine,” Adne said in a strained voice. “Look.”

  “Look at what?” Sabine was still watching Shay.

  “Where Shay’s looking,” Adne answered, “in the woods.”

  “I don’t see anything,” Sabine said. “He probably just heard something in the underbrush. He has much better hearing than we do.”

  Adne’s pulse stuttered. “Are you sure you don’t see anything?”

  Ren was looking right down at her. His eyes glittered in the moonlight.

  “Do you see something?” Sabine asked. Her tone told Adne that, without a doubt, Sabine didn’t see Ren. But Adne could, and she strongly suspected that Shay could as well.

  “No,” Adne said quickly. “I just thought because he’s looking at the woods so intently.”

  “Wolves do that,” Sabine said. “Can we get out of here now? I don’t want to press our luck. Shay might think we’re okay, but Calla could decide to come back with reinforcements.”

  “Okay.”

  Sabine was already trudging away. “I guess we answered that question. Sort of.”

  “Sorry?” Adne asked.

  “Something is different about Shay,” Sabine answered. “He’s not acting like a wolf would—that’s what Calla did. But he is still a wolf, not a Guardian. I don’t understand why he’d be compelled to protect us.”

  As they retreated down the slope, Adne threw one last look behind her. Shay had turned to face them again. The golden brown wolf was sitting on his haunches, watching them leave. In the woods behind Shay, the other wolf was gone, and instead a boy stood there.

  Adne felt her throat close as Ren raised his hand and waved good-bye. She didn’t know how it was possible or what it meant, but Adne was certain that her brother had just saved her life.

  REN STILL HAD a hard time feeling at ease with his ability to move through the world without being seen. That was why he preferred spending most of his time in wolf form, running through the woods. Hidden among the trees, Ren could forget that he was less than a shadow in this world, that he was seen only by those who tapped into the magic that had kept him on this plane after he’d died.

  As he made his way down one of Rowan Estate’s long halls, Ren felt more like a ghost than ever. The labyrinthine mansion was the kind of place a ghost belonged. Ren didn’t want to belong at Rowan Estate.

  He’d wandered these halls many times while keeping an eye on Adne. But those visits had been on his terms. Tonight Ren was little more than Logan Bane’s errand boy, hardly a role to be relished. It wasn’t as if he slunk off, tail between his legs, to do Logan’s bidding.

  From the moment Logan had sent him after Sarah Doran, Ren had been fighting the command to no avail. Resisting didn’t cause Ren pain, nor did he feel like someone else was in control of his mind and body. He simply couldn’t stop himself from going to find Sarah.

  Though Logan wouldn’t hesitate to name himself the executor of this power, Ren suspected that his inability to resist the Keeper’s commands had a different source.

  You are here because I willed it to be so and you cannot destroy that which created you.

  The more Ren thought about it, the more convinced he was that his existence as a spirit had been devised and continued to be manipulated by Bosque Mar. Ren didn’t know why Bosque would have determined that the alpha Guardian was the best choice for the role. Perhaps the Harbinger expected that Ren would blame the Searchers for his untimely end, and desire vengeance because of it. But Ren had a creeping feeling that Bosque’s selection had far more to do with Ren’s tie to Adne.

  I don’t wish to hurt Ariadne. Quite the opposite.

  Ren knew there were far worse things Bosque could do to Adne than physically harm her. He swore to himself and to his sister that he would do everything in his power to stop Bosque from fulfilling whatever plans he had for Adne.

  To that end, Ren had begun to test the boundaries of his spirit form. Ren found that he could manipulate Logan’s commands in small ways. For example, he had the ability to put himself in the same room with Sarah, but instead Ren had traveled to Rowan Estate’s grounds, taking his time to enter the mansion and make his way through its dark halls. He’d even been able to make a detour to Haldis before carrying out Logan’s wishes.

  Ren sensed that he would only be able to take these acts of rebellion so far, though. For example, he was pretty sure that if he’d tried to arrive at Rowan Estate via a cross-country excursion, some unseen force would have prevented it. Even knowing that in his current state his life wasn’t completely his own, Ren found hope in being able to exert his will at all. It meant that while he was being kept in check by Bosque’s power, there were limits to what the Harbinger could control as well. Ren simply needed to find as many ways to exploit those weaknesses as he could.

  As Ren approached the room where he knew he’d find Sarah, his wolf senses were overwhelmed by a surprising but familiar scent.

  Shay?

  Quickly dismissing the notion that wolf-Shay had somehow ended up inside the mansion, Ren crept forward, poking his muzzle inside the door. Ren didn’t need the room’s décor, the comic books, or the clothes that still hung in the closet to confirm that he’d just entered Shay’s bedroom. Shay’s scent pervaded the air. Beneath it Ren caught another scent that he knew well. Snow.

  Calla.

  Without thinking, Ren snarled.

  Sarah
had been sitting in a chair beside the bed, staring off into space, but at the sound she jumped up and gave a cry of alarm. Steel flashed in her hand and Ren growled again at the sight of her dagger.

  I’d forgotten that she’s not just Shay’s mother, she’s a Searcher. And Searchers are trained to kill Guardians.

  Sarah stared at Ren. Though she didn’t sheath her dagger, she drew a long breath and shook her head.

  She thinks she’s only imagining that I’m here.

  Ren took a cautious step into the room. Now that he’d adjusted to the predominant scent in the room, he could distinguish what about Sarah’s scent was similar to her son’s and what was different. Sorrow clung to Sarah Doran like a thick fog, but Ren also smelled the acrid touch of madness in her grief.

  If I wasn’t a spirit, I’d be in danger here.

  Any wolf knew better than to cross a mother and her young. Humans weren’t as different from animals as they thought.

  Ren shifted forms and Sarah gasped, but Ren noted that her grip on the dagger didn’t waver.

  “You . . . you can’t be here.” Sarah’s voice shook.

  She’s afraid, but not of me. She’s worried she’s losing her mind.

  “I can’t disagree with you there,” Ren said. “My being here is an impossible thing. But it’s where I find myself these days, despite my former beliefs about what’s possible and what isn’t.”

  Sarah frowned at Ren. “You’re a Guardian.”

  “I was a Guardian,” Ren answered. “But the Guardians are no more.”

  Sarah’s jaw clenched and Ren smelled a new wave of grief pouring off her.

  “I died here,” Ren said simply.

  “You’re a ghost,” Sarah said, shaking her head again. She laughed, but it sounded like she was on the verge of tears. “Of course. I would want to see ghosts, wouldn’t I?”

  “You’re not crazy,” Ren told her. At least not when it comes to me.

  Sarah looked at him sharply. “Excuse me?”

  “You don’t think I’m really here, so you’re afraid you’ve lost it,” Ren said with a shrug. “That’s understandable, but it doesn’t change the fact that I am here.”

  When Sarah shifted her weight, clearly unconvinced, Ren said, “If your mind conjured up a ghost, wouldn’t it be Shay? He’s the one you want to see. You don’t even know who I am.”

  “My son isn’t dead.” Sarah finally sheathed her dagger. “Why would he be a ghost?”

  “Good point.” Ren nodded.

  “But you died here.” Sarah regarded Ren differently now, examining him as if she could turn up clues about his appearance. “In this room?”

  “No,” Ren replied. “In the library.”

  “When?” Sarah asked.

  “The same day you were freed from Bosque’s prison.” Ren sighed. “The last battle of the war.”

  Sarah’s eyes narrowed. “Wait, I . . . I think I saw your body.”

  “It would have been this body.” Ren shifted into his wolf form and Sarah took a moment before she nodded.

  Ren shifted back. “I’m Renier Laroche.”

  “You were the other alpha,” Sarah said quietly, then her voice sharpened. “You were supposed to be with them. With her. If you were there, he wouldn’t have a place. He would have stayed.”

  Ren had to fight back a snarl. “That’s not how it works.”

  “I don’t care how it works.” Sarah glared at him. “You’re the Guardian. You should have been the one who turned into a wolf and ran off into the mountains.”

  “You don’t know how much I wish it would have been that way,” Ren murmured.

  Sarah didn’t hear him. Still angry, she said, “So why are you here, Renier? Have you come with a message from beyond to tell me my son is at peace? Are you supposed to be some kind of wolf angel who brings me comfort?”

  The image of a wolf with wings and a halo jumped into Ren’s mind and was so ridiculous that he actually burst into laughter.

  Sarah stared at him, incredulous.

  Collecting himself, Ren said, “I’m sorry. But . . . a wolf angel?”

  “I just . . .” Sarah tried to sound indignant, but quickly deflated. “I suppose that would be unlikely.”

  “Pretty much,” Ren said. “But I’m a wolf spirit, and I would have told you that’s unlikely too.”

  “Why are you here?” Sarah asked.

  “I do have a message for you.” Ren gritted his teeth. A message I don’t want to give.

  Sarah watched him expectantly.

  “It’s about Shay.” Ren saw Sarah’s face blanch, then light up, then pale once more.

  He didn’t want to say anything else. He wanted to lie. To keep Sarah away from Logan and his machinations. But he couldn’t.

  “I was sent to you by someone who wants to help you,” Ren said.

  “Help me how?” Sarah twisted her fingers together.

  “Help you get your son back.” Ren growled at the hateful words, and Sarah took a step back, frowning.

  “So it’s really possible?” Sarah asked. Ren watched a flurry of emotions cross her face and he could see that, despite her outbursts and her clinging to Shay’s memory, she hadn’t ever believed he would return to her.

  Ren struggled with his answer. “I don’t know. I’m only bringing the message.”

  And there it was, exactly what Logan had said. Semantics. It wasn’t much, but it was all Ren had. He wouldn’t promise Sarah anything. He wouldn’t attest to the truth or falsehood of Logan’s message. He would simply deliver it.

  Sarah sank onto the edge of the bed. “Who sent this message?”

  “Logan Bane.”

  Ren felt a spike of satisfaction when Sarah stiffened. “Bane? A Keeper?”

  “The son of Efron Bane,” Ren answered. “The heir to the pack that now occupies Haldis Cavern.”

  “His legacy was undone by the war.” Sarah nodded, then her brow furrowed. “But wait. That name . . . Logan . . . didn’t he help to bring the Harbinger down?”

  “He did,” Ren told her. “He’s been having some regrets about it.”

  He was surprised he could say that. Ren found himself smiling.

  “But,” Sarah said slowly, “he must want something. Something from me?”

  “Right now he just wants to meet you,” Ren replied. “To talk.”

  “Can I trust him?” Sarah asked.

  “Absolutely not,” Ren answered without missing a beat.

  Nice. Apparently neither Logan nor Bosque could force him to lie about who they were. This was getting better and better.

  “Then why should I meet him?” Sarah stood up, folding her arms across her chest.

  “I can’t tell you what you should or shouldn’t do,” Ren said, wishing it were otherwise. “I’m only here to give you the message. And there’s one more thing.”

  “What?” Sarah asked, dread creeping into her eyes.

  “Logan needs a demonstration of your intent,” Ren answered. “To show him that you want to collaborate and that you’re not going to just hand him over to the other Searchers.”

  “Tell me what that means,” Sarah said.

  “You need to bring him something,” Ren told her. “A box that was taken from him. It’s carved from ebony wood.”

  “A box?” Sarah frowned at Ren. “Where is it?”

  “Ariadne has it,” Ren answered, wishing he could lie. “It’s in her room at the Academy. What’s in the box is what matters: a pendant, a small piece of bone, and a pair of rings. Make sure you have them all.”

  Sarah sat down on the bed, then stood up again. She buried her fingers in her hair, bent her head, and moaned.

  “Are you okay?” Ren asked. He didn’t have a playbook for this part of the game.

  Sarah kept her head bowed, but she nodded.

  After a few minutes she looked up. “I’ll do it. God help me, I know I shouldn’t, but I want to.”

  Don’t do this, Ren thought. Please.

  B
ut he said, “I can tell him that. Just bring the box and its contents when it’s time to meet him.”

  “How will I know when and where?” Sarah asked. Ren hated the spark of hope he saw in her eyes.

  Damn you, Logan. I hope you rot in hell for this.

  “I’m sure he’ll send me back with that information,” Ren sighed.

  Sarah nodded.

  Ren felt a sense of completion and suddenly he knew he was free to leave. And he wanted nothing more than to get out of there. Without so much as a parting word to Sarah, Ren shifted into wolf form and vanished.

  LOGAN HAD NEVER rehearsed conversations in front of a mirror before, but he’d felt compelled to as he devised a strategy for getting Audrey to take a walk alone with him. It wasn’t easy to make himself sound convincing. Aside from Chase, Audrey’s general relationship to other people was bare tolerance, and that included Logan. Logan doubted that Audrey ever would have agreed to let Logan stay in Montauk, much less drag her and her brother into the depths of occult malfeasance, without serious pressure and cajoling on Chase’s part.

  Logan had maintained doubts about Audrey’s reliability in all of this. She was easily frightened and manipulated, likely to change her stated opinion about something or her allegiance as quickly as doing so worked to her benefit.

  Just like he used to do.

  He couldn’t deny it. Logan was sensitive to the fact that much of his rancor toward Audrey derived from how much she reminded him of the petulant boy he’d been for most of his life. Coddled, arrogant, and completely divorced from the history of blood that had bought his expansive lifestyle.

  He hated Audrey for holding up such an ugly mirror of his past every day. And Audrey wasn’t oblivious to Logan’s opinion of her. But, as with everything else in her life, Audrey didn’t give a damn about anyone’s thoughts but her own.

  That made Logan’s task tricky.

  As he descended the stairs to the living room, Logan wasn’t certain he’d be able to pull it off. At least it hadn’t been difficult to get Audrey alone. Logan had sent Chase into town to track down a bottle of Dalmore 50, which Logan insisted was the only thing he would drink. And only a Keeper would actually regard such a request as a perfectly reasonable thing. It didn’t matter that it was the middle of the night. Chase’s family had enough sway in Montauk that when Chase called ahead, the shop owner would be waiting to open exclusively for him.