“So…let me get this straight,” Gabriel sighed. “We potentially have a great opportunity to be able to know the time, place, and everything with Rotterford’s attack, but we don’t actually know where this will take place. Did I get that right?” “Yes,” Alice admitted, lowering her eyes and fidgeting with the thin fabric of her dress. “I’m sorry.” Turning to Agatha, Gabriel asked, “Is there any way to get a message to Jenna or to contact her?” “I do not know,” Agatha admitted. “There are ways, but since I do not leave the valley, I would not be able to sense as well if Jenna is alone or if someone would be able to intercept a message.” “Can you think of anywhere that Jenna liked to go or ever mentioned that would look like a good place for us to prepare for an attack,” Breanna asked, trying to be helpful. She could see the frustration growing on Gabriel’s face. “No,” Gabriel practically growled. “We were never close. I spent most of my time trying to avoid her stalking.” Alice fl
“What do you mean you have been contacting Jenna,” Agatha asked suspiciously. “How do you even know her?” “I initially knew about her after talking with you,” Anglea said calmly. “Once she was no longer allowed in the valley…I was tasked with keeping tabs on her,” she said a little more reluctantly. “What do you mean you were tasked with keeping tabs on Jenna? Who told you to keep tabs on her,” Agatha questioned suspiciously. Sighing, Angela looked at her sister and admitted, “I have been working for the Witches Council for the last ten years or so.” “What,” Agatha exclaimed. “You know they would like nothing more than to get a hold of me and bind my abilities. How could you work for them?” “I know,” Angela said, slightly exasperated. “Why else do you think they have kind of backed off of you?” She raised her hand to stop whatever Agatha had been about to say and continued on. “The Council had been after me for a while and leaving you alone was one of my main conditions for ac
The next two days were almost a blur with everyone getting ready for the possible war. They were lucky that they had a time and a place, but no one knew for sure if Lord Rotterford had any hidden surprises. Wanting to be prepared for all possibilities took up a great deal of their time. Gabriel, Hunter, Agatha, and many others spent hours in the conference room looking at all possibilities and setups. Samuel, Axel, Emily, and many others spent the majority of their time training and finding more places for additional packs and warriors to stay. Over the last two days five more packs came to the valley to help, and Abraham and several of the alphas already there had an additional five hundred warriors arrive from their packs. Emily was forced to split her time three ways. She spent two hours each day learning basics with her powers and practicing transferring powers to others with Agatha and Breanna. She then spent two hours learning how to fight and train without Rica just in case
Emily stretched and enjoyed the quiet and comfort of their bed for a few more moments. Today is the day. Today she will face Lord Rotterford again. She felt a shiver travel down her spine at just the thought. Don’t worry. You have me now, Rica said, trying to offer some comfort. I know, Emily smiled gratefully. I am not scared of him per se, but I also just dread seeing him too. He has found a way to hurt so many people. There is something in him that just enjoys being cruel. Yes. He does get pleasure from being cruel, Rica agreed. He is even cruel to ordinary humans that work for him. Emily nodded her head in agreement. I hope no one gets hurt with this plan today. I know that he has been planning some of this for a while, but I still feel like if I never came then they wouldn’t be putting their lives on the line. Look at the ones that were hurt the other night trying to come to the valley with Abraham. You know this was coming either way, Rica said not wanting Emily to
After eating a quick breakfast, Emily went with Gabriel to the conference room to make sure that everyone knew their places and parts. None of the guards on watch over night reported any movement or anything seeming amiss. It really seemed like Lord Rotterford did not expect this to be a trap. Shifters that were stationed further out to scout did report that a large number of hunters had left Lord Rotterford’s property yesterday in four large convoys. The shifters could not report if Lord Rotterford had been in one of the groups that left yesterday. All of the convoys were stationed about twenty minutes from the meeting site and none of the hunters there had made any move yet. It was also reported that Jenna had been released yesterday morning and she had been steadily making her way to the spot where she was supposed to meet Gabriel and the others. She had a few hunters tailing her for a while, probably to make sure that she wasn’t making a run for it, but they had fallen back ear
An hour later everyone had made it to their assigned locations as far as Emily knew. She was waiting with Gabriel, Hunter, Agatha, and the rest of their core group. Always worried about an attack Gabriel was making sure to keep Emily blocked by him, Hunter, Samuel, and Axel, but they were also trying to keep it from looking obvious at the same time. Emily and Rica tried not to roll their eyes at the guys worrying about protecting them. She also knew that there were warriors all around them even though she could not see them. A few of the witches like Breanna, Agatha, and others could aparate warriors as needed, but due to the numbers needed, Gabriel and the others decided to find another way to have warriors able to be in multiple locations unseen. The solution that they found was a small charm that would allow the warriors to be invisible for up to four hours. This time frame allowed enough of the warriors to be set up and prepared if the hunters attack. The rest of the warriors wer
“Remember our deal,” Lord Rotterford said as Jenna fought to not roll her eyes while looking into the two-way mirror that he had given her to use to communicate with her during her trip to meet with Gabriel and the others. . “I remember,” Jenna said, trying to mask the frustration on her face and while trying to add a little tremor to her voice. “I know that my life depends on this.” “If you cross me, I will make sure that you die a very slow and painful death,” Lord Rotterford growled out one last time as they disappeared from sight. With a quick scream of frustration, Jenna threw the mirror at a tree and watched happily as it shattered. Hopefully she would get an additional seven years of bad luck for breaking that mirror, she thought ruefully. Rotterford threatening her with a slow painful death was a joke. He must not realize that she already wished that she could die. The only thing that kept her going was thoughts of Alice. She couldn't lert Alice down. If she didn’t help
“What in the world is that,” Emily asked. She didn’t realize that she had spoken aloud till Gabriel answered her. “I’m not sure what Rotterford has planned. I think that I hear something metallic mixed in with the sound of the trees moving, snapping, and falling.” “I hear it too,” Hunter replied, taking a step forward. “I don’t suppose that giants are real,” Emily asked, only half joking as she watched more trees shake and then give way to whatever was making their way toward them. “They are real,” Gabriel said, “but this doesn’t sound like a giant. If it was a giant you would know it.” “What do you mean by that,” Emily asked. “Giants are old,” Agatha said. “They are elementals. They are made of rock, water, and ice. If one of them moved you would know. When the ones made of rock move it makes the news because they have either caused an earthquake or a landslide.” “Oh,” Emily said as she felt the ground vibrating under them. I still think it could be a giant. It’s not, Ric