Page 57 of Tethered Magick
Syler signed, the first time he’d done so all evening. He caught Lorn’s attention and signed again.
“He says it’s not your fault,” Jolon interpreted. “Your control is already leaps and bounds above other newborns. You should be proud.”
Lorn’s baby blue eyes glistened, then she ran into Syler’s arms, flinging herself up his tall body. He caught her with ease, cradling her against his chest.
He hoisted her up, and Lorn wrapped her legs around his waist. “I’m so glad you’re okay. When I saw those wolves tear into you—” Her breath hitched. “I’ve never been so scared.”
Her little fingers dug into his mane of chestnut hair, ruining the ponytail he’d been sporting.
“He would have gladly died if it meant saving you,” Kota translated, and Lorn peered over at him.
“What?” Kota shrugged a shoulder sheepishly. “Syler’s hands are full, and he couldn’t sign a response without dropping you. I thought I’d help.”
“You can hear him?” The realization settled over her like a heavy blanket, sparking in her eyes when the puzzle came together. “You formed another pack.”
Dason’s eyes widened a moment before he masked his reaction.
“It was the best way—” Jolon started, but Lorn shushed him.
“No, I’m not mad. I…” She rubbed her aching chest. “I miss it. That’s all.”
Syler jostled Lorn until she gasped and looked down into his face.
Slowly, he mouthed two words. “Always mine.”
“I’m yours too, Sy.” Lorn leaned her forehead against his and breathed him in. She struggled to maintain control, her lips pressing into a thin line as she tried to keep her fangs hidden.
“So what’s the plan?” I glanced at Dason and then Jolon, looking to both leaders to come up with a game plan. “As much as I love this little reunion, I’d rather take it someplace less depressing.”
The town was crumbling around us, a reminder of the darker days of our past and what we had to look forward to in the future if we couldn’t get a handle on the veil.
We needed a place where we could regroup, work on our pack dynamics, and figure out just how extensive Lorn’s changes ran. Questions plagued my mind, but I refused to give them attention until we were in a secured location where I could breathe a little easier.
Syler set Lorn down, and she tucked her hands into the sweats that hung off her curvy hips.
“This place is pretty well warded. We could stay here if we have to.” Lorn cast a glance around the moonlit town, her nose wrinkling.
“No,” Dason chimed in, and I looked to him for leadership, just as I’d always done. Dason nodded to Jolon, acknowledging that he was the rogue without a pack and showing deference to the new alpha. “I have someplace we can go.”
Seventeen
Lorn
The stench of decay was acrid to my nose, made worse by my heightened senses, and I wrinkled it as I tried to breathe minimally.
“What is this place?” I asked, and despite my better judgment, I started a slow trek down what looked like the main street in the small, decimated town. The guys followed me past the half charred remains of a sign that stood at the entrance of the road. I could just make out the word “Falls” at the edge. Despite its dilapidated and neglected state, the town still seemed otherworldly, and I couldn’t leave without knowing more about what had happened here.
“This is the town of Cedar Falls, Nebraska. Population’s zero, but it used to house six hundred and eighty-eight souls.” Dason shoved a hand into his jean pocket, the other scrubbing along the back of his short dark hair as he looked around. The others surrounded me on all sides, somber in the darkness that settled over this town as though it would never lift.
I walked slowly, wondering why this place was familiar enough to Dason to portal to under duress. Having only a little magick left after he escaped the vampires with me in his arms, he would have had to choose someplace he’d been many times before. Someplace burned into his memory. Why would anyone come to this depressing place so often? And what had happened to the town of Cedar Falls?
It took me a full five minutes of slow perusal until I saw it—the asphalt hadn’t been ripped up by an earthquake or other natural phenomenon.
“Those are claw marks.” I pointed to the huge slashes that cut through the rock as though it was butter. Suddenly, the sulfuric stench in the air made much more sense. “Shades.”
I focused my attention on Dason, looking for clarification.
His deep nod confirmed it. “This was one of many attacks, but this one was particularly bad because no one was expecting it. By the time we arrived, the whole town was already drained, their lifeless corpses scattered around the town as it burned. It was one of the only times the shades had gotten the jump on us and our intel.”