Thirty

The thought of stopping for the night when he knew he was on the right road made Eli’s skin feel like it was on too tight. He paced in the small hotel room and Jacob watched him nervously.

“Maybe we should go eat or-”

“I don’t want to eat, I just want to find Grace.”

A knock came on their door and Vic gave a jerk of his head as it opened. “You want to go down to the truck.”

“What’s going on?” Eli was jogging down before he got an answer. 

He didn’t realize that Jacob was on his heels until he climbed into the back of the U-haul and tried to close the door. Hurriedly he pulled the younger man in.

“Bas?” He gave a dubious look to the pale witch who was also there. “What’s going on?”

“They stopped at a hotel. Grace tried to alert someone and was attacked.”

The other witch flattened himself against the far wall and Jacob nearly tripped over his own feet trying to get away as the low menacing growl resonated in the small space.

“Sibbi has stepped in and done what she could but she had to attack Lloyd. They’re in danger. They may be killed for it.” 

“Where are they?”

Bas shook his head and then held up his hand. “They’re being taken to a room. She’s calming matters as best she can. She told the other witch she’ll be a lamb and behave as long as Grace and the man they have with them are safe. He’s an older man. The Sibyl calls him God may Protect. 

“Grace calls him Coby.”

Maeryn pulled out a phone and started to look at it. “Coby: Yahweh may protect; holder of the heel; supplanter.”

“His name is Jacob.” Bas smiled and gold glinted in his eyes, “She’s concealing it. You’re coming to protect your mate, the one she saw aiding her, doing what must be done, is the one she’s protecting.”

His face split in a wide vicious grin, “Shawano, Wisconsin. This hotel is there. They were so out of sorts from the attack that they didn’t think to remove the papers from the room. And his name is Jacob Thomas. Grace asked him his name. He has a strange accent like a Canadian.”

“We’ll start looking for him.” Maeryn nodded and started to type on his phone.

“No. I know the lines.” Bas gave him a meaningful look. “Your escort is as much to monitor you for their benefit as it is to help you. The Fitzgeralds might have disowned him but they may still protect him and we don’t know what line this ‘Cam’ belongs to. Let our pack look for him. They can do it more quietly.”

“If they’re going to betray me-”

“Find out when my sister’s life isn’t at stake. You think he won’t murder a Sibyl, I promise you-”

The pale witch lifted his hand, “He would if he felt it benefited him or if he felt cornered and wanted to spite the rest of us. The chorus agrees with you.” He gave Bas an annoyed look. “Your grandmother thinks you’re a wonderful boy and wants me to feed you.”

Bas grinned, “I’ll let you buy me lunch tomorrow. I’m hopeful that Sibbi will get some food tonight.”

“Shawano, Wisconsin,” one of the stone creatures repeated.

“I think they want to go now.” Bas tilted his head.

“They want to go now,” another repeated back.

“I’ll speak to the Alpha.” Eli turned and headed out to find Alpha Germain. 

One of the other witches was hurrying away from the truck and he grabbed the man. “You were eavesdropping? So that you can warn the ones who stole our Sibyl?” his voice was a low growl.

“No! I swear!” 

Bas and Maeryn came out of the truck.

“Go speak to Mr. Germain, we’ll speak to him,” Bas' tone was firm. “Believe me, Eli, no one can hide the truth from me.”

Releasing the witch, Eli stalked toward the hotel and me the Alpha at the door to his room. “My-

“Where?”

“Shawano Wisconsin. They stopped at a hotel. Grace was attacked by one of them and Genevieve stepped in. They’re in danger now. The Bathim want to leave, now.” He paused before adding, “And so do I.”

“If Bas agrees…” He looked past Eli’s shoulder and then let out a low growl. “We go now. Everyone, load up.”

As he turned back toward the truck he saw Maeryn standing holding his thumb to the eavesdropping witch’s head. Bas was scowling at the man’s phone. Eli jogged back feeling a knot in his stomach.

“I deleted the message. But I don’t know if they’ve already seen it or not.” 

“He warned the ones who took, Genevieve and Grace?”

“No.” Maeryn eyed the blankly staring man. “He warned the Fitzgerald line. Bas was right.” The phone in Bas’ hand began to ring and the pale witch took it, answering and stepping away. “Speak your name.”

The power behind that command was so strong Eli opened his mouth before Bas laid a hand on him.

“Augustus Fitzgerald, you know what your son has done, do you intend to warn him and see justice thwarted?” There was a pause. “If you or anyone else intervenes on your behalf in any way, your line will be erased. This Sibyl is the most important in centuries and he has chosen to steal her and harm her. Who has he turned to for aid in this?” This pause was longer.

“I do not threaten. The chorus warns. The Sibyl is strong and the scales will fall into balance. Oppose me and Justice will be done without Mercy. Be warned that she is a wolf Sibyl. Her pack will be the hand of justice in my absence.” He smiled faintly listening to something. “The one with him he has referred to as ‘Cam’. We know because the fools parted the Sibyl from the Servant and still believe they can conceal themselves. All she sees he sees.” Another pause.

“Ah. No. I have other ways. I would not have that line alerted.” He glanced at Alpha Germain. “I will make the request. This Sibyl chooses to grant audiences to whomever she pleases.”

The call ended and Eli studied the witch carefully.

“There was a daughter from one of the lines who was intended to marry Dara Mesny. She refused and fled her family. The girl married an ordinary man and had a handful of children, one of them is rumored to be gifted. She tried to send him to her father and he was turned away. Children born outside the lines don’t give consistent-”

“What’s his name?”

“He was going to inquire, I told him I would prefer not to alert that line. I can give you the girl’s name and you can find her. Evelyn Melgren.” 

Alpha Germain gave Reuben, one of the older betas with them a look and he pulled out a phone making a call. Bas went to speak to the wolf and Eli realized the others had been busy. Their things were being carried down and loaded back into the vehicles. 

Jacob smiled ruefully leaning against the truck. “I was looking forward to being horizontal but Grace and Vivi are more important than sleep.”

Maeryn gave the man a genuine smile. “I feel it won’t be long now until we catch up to them. We can all rest easier when they’re safe. I was hoping for a decent meal, myself. I suppose it’ll be something from a drive-thru instead.”

“Supplies wouldn't be a bad idea.” Eli got a nod from Alpha Germain and Vic accompanied them to the convenience store across the street. They bought them out of jerky, all of their pitiful looking sausages on the warmer, their cheese sticks, and the entire basket of sad looking apples, while Jacob grabbed a couple of cases of Coke out of the cooler.

They took their spoils back and divided them up between the vehicles. 

“Rob is a miracle worker.” Bas came back grinning. “He found Evelyn without any trouble. She married Thomas Cameron whose mother’s maiden name is Thomas. They have three children, two daughters and a son, Drew. Drew’s father has a cousin named Jacob ‘Coby’ Thomas who owns property in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. 

“Calls are being made to the Benson pack. That’s on their doorstep. They’ll meet us in Shawano.”

Eli climbed into the truck feeling energized. 

°°°°°°°°°°

“I’m starved.” Bas laughed and started on another bag of the jerky. “She’s finally getting to eat and she’s feeling better. Coby may be coming home with us. She adores him.”

Eli shook his head with a smile. “She can bring home anyone she wants, I think. No one tells her no.”

“They do.” Bas’ tone was odd. “You think my sister is spoiled?”

“No! That isn’t what I meant! When she wants someone brought they bring them. She-”

“Bas?” Jacob sounded startled and Eli glanced over.

The witch had his eyes closed with a furious look on his face.

“I always say the wrong thing, Bas. I didn’t mean to insult Genevieve. She always knows the right thing to do.” The smell of blood hit his nose.

“Napkins, or a rag.” 

“Bas?”

He heard Jacob rummaging for something.

“Lloyd struck the other witch and threatened Grace again, Sibbi sent him out. She’ll have to pay for that later. He’s furious. But the other one… she cleaned the burning energy away for him. And he repaid her by slamming her head into the faucet.”

“What the f**k?!” The smell of fear wafted off of Jacob. “What kind of a******s are they? She helped him and he slammed her head into the faucet? Is she ok? Is Grace?”

“For the moment. Coby is taking care of her.” Bas took a deep breath. 

Eli glanced over and saw the man’s lips moving as they had in the house. “I think he’s talking to her. He doesn’t always have to move his lips but…” 

“I’m sending a spell across the distance. They’re leaving them alone, and it means they’ll be listening, probably with a bubble. I’m protecting their space for a few moments. Their voices will be muted. It won’t last long.”

“Why was your nose bleeding?” Jacob tried to press a cold Coke to Bas’ head earning a small laugh.

“Ask Eli. He told Grace why.”

He glanced over again feeling baffled, “What did I tell Grace?”

“That Sibbi and I are ‘freakishly close’? ‘Poke one and the other bleeds’?” Bas was teasing and Eli snorted a laugh.

“I didn’t quite say that. She liked hearing about the two of you. She said you sounded like a ‘creepy cute family that worked’.”

“Wait, wait, wait. So, Vivi got hurt and you bled?” Jacob sounded both fascinated and horrified.

“She bled too. The wolf came to the surface to heal her nose. It was broken. The shadow of the wolf can’t understand why she doesn’t strike back.”

“Tell her that other witch’s name and tell her to nail them to the floor until we get there.” Eli shook his head.

“The Sibyl had a vision. I was standing on wood, perhaps a dock, and looking down into the water. Drew was looking up as he sank down. The water was clouding. I get the feeling that there’s something that has to happen. It would be easy for things to go wrong, she’s walking a knife’s edge between life and death. But if they reach a certain point alive and we are where we are meant to be with Maeryn, the Bathim, and Jacob… The walls will shake.”

“Which one?” Jacob was trying to tease and lighten the moment.

“Both of you. You were meant to come with us. You have a task.”

“No chance you’ll tell me what it is?” The man sounded a little worried.

“You’ll know what to do. Trust your instincts.”

“This is why you’re both frustrating. If you know what he needs to do, just tell him.” Eli sighed.

“How clearly could you give instructions if you could see forward and backward, and everything shifted around you like shadows, constantly?”

“I’d be a gibbering mess.” Jacob stretched. “That’s what it’s like for you and Vivi?”

“That’s what it’s like for Sibbi. I’m more firmly anchored in the present and I only see what she sees when I look. I can pull away and get a break from it. Her glass is something solid, her stones are solid, her mate and her pack are solid. All of these things help her keep her balance. She can see you there, you do the right thing if you allow yourself to. It could be any one of a dozen different things depending on what happens between now and then, that’s why she can’t say ‘go here and do this’. Trust your instincts and you’ll know what to do.”

“Can she see if they’ll still be there when we get there?” Eli frowned ahead at the road, the speed limits felt restrictive.

“They will have left. But…” 

When he glanced at Bas the witch’s grin raised the hair on the back of his neck.

“But?”

“But the Day and the Night will be following them closely.”

“The Day and the Night? Those have to be names.”

“I’ll look them up.” Jacob got out his phone. After a few long moments he huffed, “There are tons of names.”

“There almost always are. It’s usually easier to figure out who she means after the fact.”

“If the Benson pack goes… Dia used to be a thief. She could probably-”

“Dia means day in Spanish!” Jacob sounded giddy.

“She’s their Alpha’s daughter-in-law. I met her, Sibbi and I both liked her.”

“You usually just say your sister likes people.” Jacob sounded curious.

“I don’t like many people outside of our pack. Sibbi loves everyone, I’m more selective.”

Eli smiled ruefully. “That makes me like you better. She’s so sweet it bothers me, it’s hard to trust someone who doesn't have a bad side.”

Bas started to laugh. “Eli… She has a bad side. You’re going to see it and be grateful that it takes a lot to put yourself on it.”