Twenty-eight

They pulled around the barrier at the rest stop following the SUV the Alpha was in. Eli felt ready to get a scent and keep hunting but his hackles rose as they pulled up on a pair of black cars. As they all began climbing out a pair of well dressed men came out of the bathrooms.

“You don’t want to be here. Leave.” There was something heavy about the words.

“Bas-”

“They’re witches, from the lines.” 

The witches had stopped and were looking at them oddly.

“Who gave you…”

“We’re here to find two members of our pack.” Alpha Germain gestured and Bas trotted up to him. “One is a witch, and the other-”

“One is a Sibyl.” A man spoke clearly from behind the others. “She called for me.”

“Mercy?” Bas smiled faintly. “I don’t think we’ve met.”

“No, we haven’t. Who are you and how did a Sibyl end up in a pack?” 

Eli studied the man, he looked young in the face but he carried himself with the confidence of an older man. His short hair was white blonde, he looked almost sickly pale, and his suit was solidly black.

“It’s a little more complicated than I want to explain to a stranger, but you might have heard of Farrin Mesny? That was the name my father gave me, but not the name my mother chose. These wolves need to look around before things get muddled.”

Mercy gave a curt nod. “The daughter was a Sibyl?”

“Yes. We joined the pack that our mother-”

The pale man lifted his hand and took a deep breath. “That fool.”

“Father was many things. He tried to break my sister and use her as a conduit and he succeeded in breaking the Bathim. His death was of his own making, but my sister forgave him and told him to rest.”

“He destroyed the Bathim?”

“There are four left.”

“She shouldn’t have let him rest.” Mercy looked pained and shook his head. “How did Lloyd get his hands on her?”

“He deceived the Bathim. They trusted his line. It’s a mistake they won’t make again. The Sibyl sent them out of her presence so that no more of them would be shattered. Before she told our father to rest, Lloyd-”

The man held up his hand again. “A Sibyl is not kind, nor is she cruel. His daughter may have forgiven him but the Sibyl gave him rest to protect others. The other girl is a pack member?”

“She is. But she hasn’t gone through the ceremony yet.”

“Why did he take her?”

“The Sibyl protects. My sister is stubborn and Grace is being used to keep her in line. They’re both being harmed. We need to find them quickly.”

“I need to know what you know.”

“We don’t know you.” Alpha Germain interrupted the conversation. “The Sibyl of Germain advised us to trust and to not let our hearts harden but most witches put our hackles up.”

“I understand.” Mercy paused and then smiled. “The Sibyl of Germain. They agree. That is who she is. Whatever was done is done and she is the first of the wolf Sibyls. The line came from Mesny but it is no longer his. What was the mother’s name?”

“Valla.” Bas looked at him thoughtfully.

“Valla-Mesny isn’t right.”

“Valla-Coiro will be my sister’s-”

“Yes. Where your lines cross in the future you’ll have the potential for a Sibyl. The Valla-Coiro line. Your grandmother approves.”

“And their mother?” The Alpha asked quietly.

“Is at rest. She was given peace.” Mercy closed his eyes, “Justice and peace.”

“You hear the dead.”

Eli heard a hint of envy in Bas’ voice.

“Introduce yourself to me, I will do the same.”

“I’m Bastion Valla.”

The white-haired man’s eyes opened and he smiled. “I’m Maeryn. Maeryn Mercia. I was called more than once and asked questions about what we assumed was a rogue witch from the lines. I tried to find out who it was and more about her but… those the chorus directed me to offered no clarity.”

“Mercy is bitter. Mercy is loved.” Bas shook his head. “I apologize for not calling you back. I didn’t think it was important. My sister had been found, my father had woken, I had too much to deal with.”

“Bas?” The Alpha frowned.

“Sibbi said that, she said it more than once but I didn’t understand.”

“She said it to us too. I thought she was talking about her mate. He was angry-”

“Her mate’s name is Mercy?”

“Remiel. God’s mercy.”

Maeryn looked pleased. “An auspicious name. I won’t interfere with you when you take the Sibyl home but I ask you to allow me to help you. And perhaps you’ll allow me to speak with her.”

“That will be her choice. Our pack protects our Sibyl and our Sibyl protects our pack.”

The amused smirk on the witch’s face as he nodded made Eli’s claws come out.

“You may find you have supplicants who want her wisdom. The custom is to charge for it.”

“I’ve heard how you treat them.” Eli was speaking before he thought about it. “The Sibyls look forward to dying because life is miserable. She’s creepy and so sweet it makes your teeth hurt but no one is going to pen her up and sell her an hour at a time.”

The witch looked taken aback but Bas and the Alpha were grinning.

“She gives audiences when she wants to and to whoever she wants to. Our Vivi doesn’t like witches, she can’t stand cruelty, and she doesn’t tolerate disrespect. If she wants to speak to you she will.”

Alpha Germain gestured and Eli left Bas and Jacob standing with him to go with the others, hunting for what scents they could find. The witches had left their scents in the bathroom but the toilets hadn’t been flushed. Grace had been there, Genevieve, and another male scent. He smelled like a witch. Making a note of the smell, they fanned out looking for anything else. Another witch had peed against a nearby tree.

They headed back to the vehicles and saw the Alpha still talking to Maeryn.

“You have the scent of the two male witches?”

“We do.”

“Mr. Mercia is the one who ordered all of Vivi’s work to be bought. He feels the wake she leaves to an extent.” 

“The Bathim can’t look at her but if they’re willing I may be able to find her by using them.”

“What would that entail?” The Alpha frowned studying the witch. “They aren’t part of my pack but I’ve put them under my protection. I won’t give free rein to a witch to use them. Vivi wants them looked after.”

Maeryn looked vaguely annoyed, “A little trust, please. I intend them no harm. I’ll use the objects I have to feel her signature, so to speak, and have them try to turn their eyes to her. The blank place will be her location.”

“It will hurt them to try.” Bas shook his head. “Try using me instead, I was never able to locate her but I can feel her clearly.”

“The Bathim were made to find her. Before her birth they flock to her. It may hurt them but it shouldn’t harm them.”

“Have you ever seen an angry Sibyl?” Bas levelled a frosty look at the witch. “Cause them pain and you will.”

“I don’t understand why you would prevent me from finding her if-”

“He offered himself,” Alpha Germain interrupted, “without asking for my permission, because he wants to find his sister. These are our witches. They’re members of my pack. We don’t send out our weakest members to get mauled bringing back information and we won’t allow the Bathim to be mauled for it either. They’ve been tortured and murdered, I won’t let them be hurt more. Our Sibyl wants them protected and I trust her judgement. We’ll find Vivi and Grace some other way.”

“What other way could you possibly have?”

“Grace is my mate.” Eli folded his arms. “They’re keeping her muddled but… Bas was able to help. When Bas drove I took a nap… She said they were talking about a city, they weren’t sure if it was far enough away but there are interstates and routes enough they thought would confuse us.

She couldn’t see what they were talking about and they didn’t name the city, but they mentioned a mall. One of them knew the parking garage and they think local witches will warn them if we come looking.”

The pale witch looked into the middle distance. “The dream… I can help as well. It’s almost… Some things are fated, this was fated.”

“What was it, Vivi said? ‘There are some things that must happen and some things that cannot be foreseen’?” Alpha Germain looked at Bas with a faint smile.

“Yes. The Sibyl does no harm. She will not shorten any life. Not willingly.” His smile was vicious, “But you also have to remember that the wolf is less concerned with that. She’ll f**k someone up for me or for Remi if we’re in danger.”

“The wolf?” Maeryn looked baffled.

“The shadow of the wolf. Sibbi is-”

“Three. The woman, the wolf, and the Sibyl. She’s strong?”

“She is. Father was impressed with her gifts.”

“She sees in any direction she looks.” The witch shook his head, taking a step back. “She was born to put things right, her mother called out for justice. This Sibyl… He stole from the Gods and it will be punished. His deeds have cried out for punishment and no one lifted their hand to give redress. It has come to this. Justice… the scales shall fall into balance. They…” He covered his ears and dropped to one knee.

“The chorus can be overpowering.” One of the other witches watched him speculatively. “Give him a moment.”

“Bas?” The Alpha glanced at their witch who nodded, fishing something out of his pocket.

As Bas pressed it into Maeryn’s hand and the man shuddered, looking up.

“Those are expensive. I wasn’t going to use one.”

“Sibbi can clean them and put them back to purpose. Don’t tell her you throw them away when you’re done, she scolded me for it. She called it stupidly wasteful.”

They smiled at each other as if sharing a joke. 

“Thank you.” He got back to his feet holding the small disc Bas had given him. “This is an important Sibyl. Mesny interfered with her and his line ended, Lloyd is going to pay a high price… They’ll ask to speak to her but no one will force the matter. If they do, the consequences will be dire.”

Alpha Germain’s grin made what little color there was in the witch’s face drain away and his companions take a step back. “She’s the Sibyl of Germain. You should have known that when you heard who she was.”

Eli realized they were all grinning toothily at the now profoundly nervous witches, Bas included.

Maeryn cleared his throat. “I believe they’re going to turn north.”

“They’re skirting the Benson pack if I had to guess.” Alpha Germain nodded. “If Bas is willing, you can try what you need to with him, otherwise we wait for tonight and see if Eli can speak to Grace again.”