Chapter 58: Tallah Hensley

She doesn't give me the option to say no. Her mind is gone again before I can hide from her. I hover with Sage's arms around me, trying to decide what to do, my mind so tired I can barely think.

"Help is coming," I say, "but I'm not sure if it's the help we need."

Sage just shrugs, holding me tight. "We'll figure it out," he says.

Can I trust Tallah? She's the sister of Syd's second, Shenka. Tallah leads the Hensley coven here in California. I forgot she was here, actually, shame on me. And though Tallah held a heavy grudge against Syd for a long time after her sister chose to join the Hayles, Tallah has been quiet and keeping her own council for a long time, now. Ever since her attempt to have witches exposed to normals was shown to be folly, a trick of the Brotherhood.

I know little of her now. But she said nothing about calling the Enforcers. Only that she was coming for me. And that I made it? What does that mean? If she's been expecting me, who told her I was coming?

Piers. Has to be. He's the only one who knows about my plan to come to California. If Piers trusts her... well. We'll have to see.

I'm too tired to run any more. If she can help us, so be it. But if she tries to betray us, to turn us in, I will make certain she suffers for it. For now, I have no choice but to believe she has our best interest at heart. I don't have the power or the energy to do otherwise.

And if she can help...I can't protect Sage from himself alone anymore. That much is obvious. Not from the Enforcers, either, not while trying to solve this mystery and find him a cure. It's just too much for me to do on my own. Someone has to watch him. And maybe Tallah and her people are the help I need.

A terrible thought crosses my mind. I'm less worried about putting the Hensley family in harm's way thanks to my actions than the Hayles. But I'm selfish enough to understand that acceptance. I love Syd and her family and will do everything in my power to keep them safe. But the Hensleys are disposable.

So practical, Charlotte.

We're exposed out here in the street, and exposure puts us at risk. I don't consider normal confrontation until a small pack of young men, mostly Hispanic, have cut us off from behind. A pair of their friends stand in front, knives in hand, covered in tattoos and grinning at me like I'm dinner.

"Chica," one says in heavily accented Spanish. "You leave your boyfriend and come be my woman, yeah?" The others laugh as Sage shifts next to me. I find reserves of strength, my wolf responding to the threat of these young men and their little weapons. Sage growls and I feel his wolf rise in response.

"Beat it," I say, stupid to antagonize him, but out of patience. I'm done being chased and threatened and forced to run instead of standing my ground. "And I won't hurt you."

The men groan their good humor at my response. "I like the ones who fight back," he says, two teeth glittering with gold in the streetlight. He makes a rude, sexual gesture with his hands.

Sage's wolf breaks through. "Leave her alone."

The smile vanishes from the gang leader's face. "You dead, bro."

This punk has no idea. If Sage turns, they are lost. I push my love back with one hand on his chest. "Sage," I whisper. "Keep it together."

He swallows hard, but his wolf still fights for freedom. Mine would love nothing more than to show these stupid boys the error of their ways. But I can't let Sage turn. Not after everything we've been through.

A car screeches to a halt and three people leap out, a second-a huge SUV-stuttering on giant tires. Magic flies, the gang suddenly frozen in blue fire.

Tallah emerges from the black truck, waving to me. "Hurry! We can't hold them for long without Enforcers noticing."

I hesitate. If I do this, if I lead Sage into her hands, we're stuck. She has a whole coven of power to use against us. Can I take that risk?

"Charlotte." She must feel my tension because she reaches for me with power, gentle, supportive. "I would have already turned you in if I was going to."

Time to take a chance. Sage and I run for her while her witches carefully manipulate the gang's memory. We're in the SUV and driving off, the second car on our heels, before the leader can even turn around to watch us go.

I sink back into the leather seat, catch Tallah's eyes in the rearview mirror. The last of my strength runs out of me as her mind softly lulls me to sleep.

***

Sunlight wakes me, warming my face, the thin, silk sheets over my body. I stretch, turning to Sage sleeping beside me. His bare chest feels amazing on my cheek, the scent of him full, rich, a wolf's smell.

I sit up suddenly, looking down at him. His left shoulder is wrapped in fresh bandages, but he looks peaceful enough, and feels it, too. Robust, almost, as though he's more than he's ever been. Can this bite turn out to be a good thing? I can only hope that's the case.

My gaze turns to the bank of glass doors looking out over the beach, the ocean in the near distance, flimsy curtains wafting on a soft breeze coming through one half-open panel. The king-sized bed is soft and comfortable, but I'm hyper-aware now of time and its passing and I have only one day left to find a cure for Sage before it's too late.

I slip from bed, pad across the room. A huge bathroom waits, marble everything, a giant glass shower beckoning. I give in though I don't really have the time, closing the door behind me to block the sound from Sage, standing under the hot water for a full ten minutes, trying to absorb it directly through my skin. A nice scrubbing with some lovely soap and my hair clean and soft from the conditioner Tallah supplied and I'm ready to face the world.

Clean clothes wait in the bedroom, piled on the chair by the door. I pull on a pair of shorts and new underwear, such a relief. The matching bra is cute enough I know Tallah understands my full relationship to Sage. A T-shirt and sandals complete my new look. I quietly slip from the room, leaving Sage still sleeping peacefully. He's earned it and I need to confront Tallah without him to find out what her plan is.

As I make my way through the house, memories surface. Of spending a vacation here with Syd after her first year at Harvard. At least I know where to go, the lay of the land. And though my nerves are still raw, I feel less concerned as I go, knowing we've been here in Tallah's care for hours without any sign of Enforcers. She was correct. If she were going to turn us in, she would have done so long ago.

So what is her stake in this?

The wide-open living and dining area, capped by a massive kitchen in the open-concept central room, fills with the scent of the ocean, the doors open wide, a soft breeze carrying fresh air through the house. I pause at the entry, at the sight of Tallah and another woman sitting on a cream sofa looking out over the beach. She looks up, spots me, gestures me closer with a warm smile, and I walk toward her, hovering at the edge of the carpet marking the living room.

"Charlotte." Tallah rises, comes to me, hugs me, and I hug her back. "We're so happy to see you're safe."

That sounds familiar. Pender's words, paraphrased. I nod. "Thanks for the rescue."

She shakes her head with a laugh, leading me to the couch. The woman with her rises to make space for me. "Not at all," she says. "I'm sure you would have managed on your own without me. I'm just happy to help." She points to the slender woman who smiles at me, her brown eyes and dark skin capped with a tight round of spiral black curls. "This is Anna Mosely," she says. "My second."

"It's a pleasure to see you again," Anna says. "We met when you and Syd visited years ago."

I shake her hand out of politeness before turning to Tallah. "We can't stay here."

Tallah doesn't respond to my statement, instead gesturing at the kitchen. "Let me offer you breakfast. Coffee?"

My teeth grind together in frustration. But her offer makes my stomach rumble and I nod in acceptance. Anna bustles off to the kitchen and starts cooking while I pace the front of the open doors.

"I understand there's a time limit," Tallah says, coming to stop me from my endless walk. "Seven days?"

She's been talking to someone, all right, and maybe not just Piers. "Femke?"

Tallah nods. "We've all been keeping an eye open for you," she says. "Outside the usual channels." She winks slowly. So my friends have been looking out for me. Tears sting my eyes in a rush of gratitude.

"Thank you," I whisper, voice thick.

Tallah's hand settles on my arm. "Anything for you, Charlotte. Anything." She lets me go, sits back, dark eyes unreadable. "Now," she says. "Tell me of this cure you're looking for."

I choke on an answer. "There has to be one," I say. Such a silly thing to cling to, faced with the bright sunshine and reality. I've been telling myself the same for days now, that there must be a way to reverse this. But now, sitting here in her kitchen, faced with the new day in her presence, I find my certainty waning.

"I'm not doubting you," she says, though my own grows now like a sickly cancer in my heart. "Piers told me about Lula and Phon, how they tried to heal Sage from the beginning." She glances at Anna who nods. "And we had a look ourselves, after we brought you in." Tallah frowns, long-fingered hands steepling before her in an elegant triangle. "It should be possible." She seems frustrated. "Though I fear it will take a sorcerer to do it."

"Piers tried." I almost cry the words.

Tallah leans forward and squeezes my hand with her strong fingers. "I know," she says. "But even he seems to think one versed in the creation of werewolves would be able to make a difference." He didn't tell me that. A stab of anger is chased off by annoyance at myself. It's not like he had a great deal of time to do so. "The question is," Tallah goes on, "are we already out of time?"

I shiver but nod slowly. "I don't know," I whisper, as though speaking up will make what I say true. "It's possible the infection has already traveled too far, changed him too much." He carries a wolf in him now. Will it be possible to strip that away?

Tallah wrinkles her nose, letting my hand go. "Infection is such a dirty word," she says. "He's changing, Charlotte. But he's not sick."

"He doesn't feel like a revenant," I say. "I don't know what he's becoming."

She taps her nails on the side of her coffee cup, the breeze ruffling her sleek, black hair, sun warming her dark cheek with its light. "Your race were all revenants once," she says, making my hackles rise, stirring my anger even as she waves off my reaction. "You know what I mean." Her apology is in her tone, though my rage vanishes as I realize I've had this conversation before, in Ukraine, with a cigar-smoking man who helped me when no one else would. Iosif said the same thing, didn't he?

"We were created in the beginning," I say. "But only those born are real werewolves."

"Says who?" Anna cuts in, though she blushes and smiles a little at her own boldness.

"Says the law." I shake my head.

"And who created that law?" Tallah's eyes narrow, watching me carefully.

It hits me with the force of a punch to the gut. "The Black Souls," I say.

They made our laws, all of them, enforced them for centuries. Created us and our doctrine from whole cloth and left us to reinforce those laws among ourselves while punishing those who broke them with death.

"But those laws exist for good reason." I hate to defend the word of the sorcerers who made us, but it's true. Revenants must be killed before they infect others.

"Maybe they did," Tallah stresses the last word. "But do they stand now, Charlotte? So much has changed for your people since Syd freed you. Has anyone reexamined the laws that govern you in this new context?" She pauses, sipping her coffee. "How exactly has your freedom from their taint changed you?"

I stare at her, mouth watering, stomach heaving. I have no idea how to answer her.

The tension in me breaks as I feel him enter, turning to see Sage join us. He's dressed in fresh clothes, too, T-shirt and shorts, and looks far calmer than I feel. I can't help but stare at him as he crosses toward me, Tallah and Anna's questions circling in my head. What is Sage? And could it be the laws demanding his death are no longer necessary?

But no, the other revenants, the ones in Europe...I'm so confused, my heart pounding, the entirety of what I was raised to believe a mushy mess in my head.

Sage joins me without a clue to my state, sitting between Tallah and me after brief introductions, devouring the giant plate of sausage and pancakes Anna places before him. She continues to cook as I force myself to finish my meal. Anna's eyes widen as Sage just goes on eating.

"Your appetite will level off eventually," I say. And stop myself. Since when did I start thinking of Sage as a werewolf? He has the appetite of a pubescent, their voraciousness legendary. But he's not, he's a revenant. This isn't going to be permanent. And yet, the conversation I just had, the memory of the one in Ukraine with Iosif, makes me pause again.

He grins at me around a slice of toast, no clue what's going on in my aching head. "Hope so," he says.

I turn then to Tallah and ask her, point blank, what I need to know. "The Enforcers?"

She sighs, sets her coffee down. "I'm not fully in line with the Council's plans these days." Her frown, mirrored by Anna's, makes me nervous. What's happening? Should I know about it? Does Syd? I shake off those questions. Not only am I not Syd's bodywere any longer, I have other things to worry about.

Tallah goes on. "I've been ordered to turn you over," she says, "if you're spotted by my family." Her nose wrinkles again, an adorable affectation. "You must know the North American Council has decided to cooperate with the demands of the werenation that you be returned to them for punishment."

I knew this already, but hearing her say it still freezes me in place, breath catching in my chest. Even Sage stops mid-bite. Until Tallah smiles at me.

"Silly," she says. "In case you haven't figured things out already, I've decided," she returns to her coffee with a casual air, "to ignore that order. You're both safe with me."



***