Chapter 57: Enforcers

My magic slips outward like a net, covering us in mirage. It's one of the first things a werewolf learns to do, to hide their true self from normals. I've taken it one step further, disguising us completely, or as best I can, from human eyes. Though, if they stumble on us physically, we're out of luck.

All this power output will summon the Enforcers, without question. They'll recognize werewolf magic-identify it as my magic with all of this to work with-and investigate. All bets are off on how long it will take them to realize it's me. We can't just sit here.

I shoulder Sage's unconscious body, half-shifting into werewolf form to make the job easier. He groans but falls silent again as I stride through the scrub and up the side of a steep hill. I can't risk taking a trail, I have to make my own. At least my wolf-paw prints won't equate to the sandals I discarded. It should throw the hunter's tracking off if they can't find human feet to follow.

Unless they deduce the girl's feet turned to wolf paws are mine. Then we're in a whole other kind of trouble.

I stumble and almost drop Sage at the sound of voices behind me. They are closer than I expected, this is their territory. Alone, I could outrun them easily. But burdened by Sage, I'm a target. How did they track me? They have to have made the connection.

It's either keep running or stand and fight. And I'm mighty tired of running. A narrow pass at the top of the hill, sided by scrub and a few trees, looks like a great place to make a stand. I slip through it, setting Sage down on the downward slope on the other side, before turning to scan the brush behind me. The three hunters are making their way toward me, guns up and ready. They don't see me, yet, but they are following my wolf tracks.

"Can't be," one hisses. "She's just a girl."

"You saw them footprints shift," Jake snarls back. "Now shut it before she figures out we're here."

"Too late," I say. The three look up with shouts of fear, though I'm in human form. "If you leave now, I'll let you live."

Jake raises his shotgun, hands shaking, eyes huge, and I know what he's going to say before he says it. "Werewolf."

Damn it. I would have to encounter someone with experience. Still, I have to talk him down if I can. "That's crazy." Even I don't sound convinced. I must work on my acting skills.

All three men quaver, their guns vibrating, aimed at my heart. "Killed one of you lot last year," Jake says, voice steady if his body isn't. "Filthy animals." Fear and fury war in his words. "Bit my brother. Turned him into one of you."

A revenant. Are they being tested here, too? I've heard nothing from the North American Council, but maybe they have no idea.

In a way, it's fortunate these men found it and killed it. On the other hand, I can't help but feel sympathy for the fallen and hatred for Jake and his friends.

"You don't have to do this." I'm surprised how calm my voice is, though this is what I've been raised to do, trained to be. I can take the three of them out easily, my mind tracking a path of attack on autopilot even as I try to talk Jake down. I don't want to have to kill them, despite my disgust. But when I'm faced with guns, death is the most likely outcome.

For them, that is.

Jake's hands shift on the shotgun, just a twitch, but enough for my hyper-alert senses to notice. "I'm going to hang your pretty head in my shed," he says.

His finger tightens on the trigger while my muscles bunch and my wolf surges forward.

The air overhead bursts to life with flashes of blue fire as three Enforcers appear in the night sky. The hunters scream like little girls, staring up into the air for a tortured moment before turning and running back the way they came. I'm clearly the furthest thing from their minds, at this point. Two of the witches in black robes turn and chase the fleeing men, magic pulsing around them, knocking them to the ground. But the third Enforcer lands and walks wearily toward me, his face lined with worry.

"Charlotte." Pender Tremere doesn't threaten me, but I can tell from his posture, he's prepared to take me down if I fight him. I've known Pender as long as I've known Syd. He's always been forced to do the right thing, no matter if that "right" thing goes against true justice. I don't envy him his position or the choices he's been forced to make in the name of witch law. I fear, one day, when he's finally replaced, he will perish within weeks of retiring, unable to bear his guilt any longer. For now, he is an old man in a younger man's body, sad and quiet, but with the same determination I've always felt keeping him here, doing his duty.

"Pender." The feeling is mutual, our duties parallel. I won't let him take me in, take Sage to death. But I don't want to hurt the Enforcer leader, either.

"We're glad you're all right," he says. "We've all been so worried about you." That's Pender. Always kind, with a good heart. If only he would have the courage to step outside the parameters of what he's been told to do. I know better than to argue with him, or try to convince him otherwise. He's lost any spark he gained when helping Syd and Ethpeal to save Miriam from Batsheva and the Council so many years ago. He's been a yes man for far too long to change now.

"Thanks." I am grateful, knowing he cares, despite our opposition. I look over his shoulder at the two Enforcers who are bending over the fallen hunters. "Memory wipes?"

He nods, pushing his hood back. His brown hair is now mostly gray and thinning at the front, face lined and aged beyond his years. The weight of his role hasn't been kind, nor the fact he seems to take everything so personally, as if each incident were his fault, and his alone.

"Will you come quietly?" His voice holds little hope, more pleading than anything. He holds out one hand, trembling slightly, hazel eyes brimming with moisture. He wants me to give in to him, to not make him fight me. But I simply can't.

I shake my head, feel Sage stir behind me. He's in control again, but his wolf is powerful, very powerful, and when he touches my hand, taking it and staring at Pender, I reach out and realize I can tap into Sage's energy.

"You know me better than that, Pender," I say. "Would Syd stand down in the same circumstance?"

The Enforcer leader nods heavily, a tiny smile lifting his thin lips. "I hoped you wouldn't fight me," he says with a tiny, sad smile. "But I do know better. You're more like her than anyone else I've met. Sometimes that's a good thing, Charlotte. But not always." He pauses. "She can't save you, you know. Not from the law. He may not be a witch, but the council agrees with your people. That boy you're traveling with puts us all in danger, and you know it. We have to bring him in."

So he thinks. His words still hurt.

"I'm sorry about this," I say. "Please don't take it personally."

Pender opens his mouth to respond, but I'm not interested in what he has to say. Instead, I draw on Sage even as I gather my own magic and jerk a hole open in the veil.

Sage acts first, as though he expected this, leaping through and pulling me beside him. I leave Pender, open mouthed and staring, power inert as he watches us go, the cut sealing shut behind us.

This time, we have a destination. I'm already focused on Los Angeles, on reaching the city. Still, when the veil tears again, dumping us out, I'm shocked it worked.

I land hard on Sage, hearing him grunt in response to the impact, though he's laughing a moment later as the veil seals shut behind us. The air is warmer here, the tang of salt and pollution strong. I slip from Sage, helping him to his feet, the cold, dirty pavement under my bare skin making me cringe.

"Awesome!" Sage's eyes glow with his wolf for a moment before it retreats. "We made it." He looks around, excitement fading. "This is Los Angeles, right?"

I glance quickly from side to side, assessing our situation. The Enforcers might be able to track us, though I have no idea if they can do so through the veil or not. No sense taking chances. We have to move. The alley we're in is dark, filthy, the walls covered in graffiti, a beaten-up dumpster stinking next to us.

"No idea," I say. "This way." I lead him to the end of the building, looking out into the street. It's run-down, dirty, feels like hopelessness and death. But as I turn and check out the other way, I see the towering high-rises of central Los Angeles in the distance. We did make it. Caine's hometown. I've almost forgotten our end goal in the survival drive getting here. But the focus of our task comes back in a jolt as I hug Sage's arm against me. We're here, and in time, hopefully, to find a cure or at least the sorcerer who made Caine.

I'll wring the information I need from the blood of anyone who stands in my way.

Exhaustion takes me like a lover, almost knocking my knees out from under me in a wave so powerful I gasp. I wasn't expecting this. But I've pushed myself to my limit, it seems, and I need rest.

We've made it and I'm falling apart.

Sage holds me, concern in his face, his wolf, his scent. "Charlie!"

"I'm okay." It's easy to lie, though I can no longer stand without assistance. The traveling through the veil must have done me in, though he seems to be fine. "But we need help." I hate this weakness. We've come so far, made it to Los Angeles, and I'm a wreck? I won't stand for it. But there's only one person I can call for help who won't make me take Sage back.

Pender said she couldn't help me. I pray he's wrong. I just need a power boost, a little energy to keep me going.

I just hope she's here to answer my call.

I reach for Syd. She's so familiar, her magic, her soul, no matter how little power I have left to search, I know I'll find her if she's on this plane. That's why I'm shocked when another witch's magic touches mine. I flinch back, fearing it's Enforcers. Only to realize I'm wrong.

Charlotte. Tallah Hensley's powerful mind cradles mine. You made it. Hang tight. I'll be right there.



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