Chapter Six – Destined to Be Together
He would guard the runes that held the secret to the curse with his life if he needed to. But, after Jack's intervention, the entire world seemed to be tilting, and Vince felt as if he was falling through the earth itself. Without the solidity of the boulder against his back, he didn't sense any weight holding him down, not even that of his own body. Such strangeness was unnatural, and while he did expect some foul magic to be at play, it was a whole different thing to experience it on his own skin, so to speak.
His surroundings were pitch black. What could have happened? At least the silver threads cutting into his skin were gone. Which could very well mean that Cassandra was no more, but Vince wasn't in the business of nurturing false hopes.
Nothing of what his parents had told him about his role as a guardian could've prepared him for this. Vince tried to move but quickly understood that—
There was nothing for him to move. Was he dead? But his consciousness was intact, and his knowledge of human biology, as limited as it was, told him that he couldn't be dead. Was he in a coma? While that sounded like a valid theory, Vince had seen witchcraft while guarding the boulder and its runes earlier.
This could very well be a curse, and he needed to be smart about getting out of this state of nonexistence or whatever it was.
"Human guardian," he heard a sonorous voice speaking.
"Pembroke?" he asked. "Are you here, as well?"
"Yes."
"What is this place?"
A grunt followed. "If I knew, I'd tell you."
"Good to know," Vince replied. "For a moment there, I thought you'd be an asshole and keep it to yourself."
"You don't know me," Theodore growled at him.
"That is true. However, you will have to let us get to know you," Vince said. "According to Jack's cards, you will only be able to find your pack's lands if you agree to accepting our help."
"I don't need your help," Theodore roared.
"I'm starting to understand why Jack is so afraid of kissing you," Vince shot back.
Theodore fell silent, and it looked like he intended to stay that way.
"Do you think it was Cassandra who did this?" Vince asked.
"That is obvious. It was her."
"You're an alpha. Can't you tell me a little more than what I already know?"
"You keep asking the wrong questions."
If Jack were there, he'd be able to put Theodore in his place with a few choice words, no matter how wacky. Vince couldn't say he had the same sort of witty comebacks in him. That didn't mean that he found Theodore Pembroke any less infuriating.
"You must have at least an idea about what's going on and how we can get out of here," he continued as more silence followed.
"What is this thing that you keep mentioning about the future revealed by the cards as they have been laid by the clairvoyant?"
"Now you're asking?"
"Yes, now I'm asking. You'd better answer," Theodore threw at him, without hiding his annoyance for a moment.
"Fine. I suppose that you have to learn about it sooner or later. And since there's not much for us to do here besides talk, I will tell you. Apparently, Jack, as human as he is, as clairvoyant as he is, must become your mate. However, I need to warn you that you will not be allowed to force anything on him without his approval. I may only be a human guardian, but I will fight you on that."
"I have no interest in mating with the field mouse," Theodore said with unconcealed disdain.
"Field mouse? I've been thinking of him more as a hedgehog."
"Preposterous. He's tiny."
"That he is," Vince agreed. "Ah, it looks like we finally agree on something. I suppose that's progress."
"Call it what you want. What is your role in all of this?"
"I have no idea. Jack appears convinced that I am also destined for you. And him. We are both destined for you. But that might just be his nerves talking. You're a pretty imposing specimen, alpha," Vince teased his partner in misery.
"I feel no attraction toward either him or you. He is lying."
"Hey, Jack may strike everyone he meets as a little strange, but his heart is in the right place. It's only because of his reading the cards right that we're here at all, fighting Cassandra."
"Oh yes," Theodore said, his voice almost breathless with indignation. "We are here, trapped in a curse, without any possibility of moving, because of listening to that useless clairvoyant. Since you're a mere human, you believe anything that comes out of a fortuneteller's mouth. That's absurd. I don't have to fall prey to the same fallacies that you do. I was near enough to him to be able to tell that the knowledge is dim in him."
"Ah, he said something to me about that, and I have to say, Pembroke, for all the expensive education you must have received throughout your life, you're a callous bastard and a moron."
When Theodore said nothing, Vince felt almost vindicated. Almost. Because the next thing he knew, Theodore growled so loudly that if he'd still had a body to be aware of, he'd have felt all his hair stand on end.
"You will not insult me, guardian. I will rip out your throat and--"
"Yeah, sure. The only problem is that, currently, you have no fangs, and I don't have a throat. Also, while I don't have Jack's penchant for coming up with witty retorts, threatening to bite me might give me the wrong idea. You're looking forward to mating with us, aren't you, Pembroke?"
"In your dreams," Theodore snorted.
Vince sighed. "Look, Pembroke, it's not my intention to rile you up, but you truly come across as a standoffish asshole. Think about the situation you're in. Why is it happening? As an alpha, you must know more about what's going on than what you're let on."
Theodore didn't appear keen on parting with his knowledge, whatever it was. "The boulder," he finally said. "You started reading the symbols on it. I believe you are the one who must share his knowledge."
"I can't explain it. The moment I saw it, I knew that those symbols were important."
"What did they say?" Theodore asked, each word weighted heavier than the last.
"If I only knew. But they must be the key. To undoing the curse Cassandra put on Ryder's pack. And yours."
"If you didn't understand them, how can you make such claims?"
"Let's say I felt it in my bones."
Theodore snorted. "That sounds hardly credible."
"Hey, we're both trapped in here. We have our voices, but we don't have our bodies. How's that for credible?"
"You make a good point, human."
"Thank you," Vince replied primly.
"You're welcome."
Were they truly acting politely toward each other or were they simply competing in trading sarcastic lines back and forth?
"Cassandra wanted to pull you off that rock," Theodore continued after several moments. "She was hungry for the knowledge you were covering with your body."
"Yeah, it felt like that to me, as well."
"We must retrieve the symbols and decipher their meaning. It is essential," Theodore said.
"I agree with you. Do you know what I'm thinking?" Vince asked as a wild thought crossed his mind.
"I can't possibly see how I could read your mind."
"Okay, Mr. Smartass. You're right about that. The thing is that Jack's cards show the three of us having to be together to undo the curse on your pack."
"I believe you are mistaken about an important aspect here, human. My pack was destroyed. Completely. There is no longer a curse meant to destroy it, because it has already happened. However, the symbols in question might show me the way to get to those behind it. I must have my revenge."
"I'm not big on revenge, usually, but I can see why you feel that way," Vince said.
"Are you mocking me, guardian?"
"Far from me to be so bold. That's Jack's area of expertise. What I'm thinking is this – we need Jack so we can read the runes. We must look at them, the three of us together. Then their meaning might be revealed to us."
"This is all mere speculation and nothing else," Theodore warned him.
"At this point, it may feel like that, but think for a moment. While it may not be about us mating with all that entails, you need us to make sense of what happened to your pack. And that's not something you can deny. Without me, you wouldn't even have known that there is a message trapped in that stone."
"I admit this to be evident, but the field mouse--"
"It's funny how you've already come up with a cute nickname for him," Vince teased.
"It's an insult, not a nickname."
"Nah, you like Jack, but you just don't know how to show it," Vince continued. "By the way, there's no need to throw those poisoned daggers at me with your eyes even if I can't see them. I have no intention of disheveling your little field mouse. Unless you need my help, of course."
Theodore's growls were the stuff of legend. But Vince wasn't impressed. Hope had to take root in the alpha's heart so he could finally pull his head out of his ass. And if riling him up helped, he was willing to push his luck.
Especially since, given the state they were in, Theodore couldn't actually hurt him.
***
Jack held Meryl by his fur with both hands, although the young wolf wasn't running fast enough to warrant such expressions of anxiety. Danny must have defeated the witch, but why weren't Theo and Vee showing up in his cards anymore? He needed to look worry-free for Danny's and Ryder's sake, especially since Ryder's dad had been badly injured and all, but it didn't mean that he felt the same way on the inside.
It was just like they said. In order to be successful, you had to project an image of success. And to become worry-free, well, you had to show that you had no worries. It was really that simple.
Only it wasn't working.
It seemed like they had been through this forest round and round without any success. They had seen nothing, heard nothing, felt nothing.
The mystery was deepening. What if Cassandra wasn't dead-dead? But he himself had made sure to pound her head in with his crystal ball. She had seemed pretty damn gone. Jack shivered only thinking about it. He wasn't big on violence, but he had definitely beaten a dead horse. A dead witch, actually.
He tipped his head back and stared at the moon. She had been a great ally, intervening at the right moment, but she still had a little way to go until she was full for real. Jack couldn't say how he knew that the round celestial body throwing its gentle rays over them wasn't a full moon, but it seemed with great power also a lot of knowledge came from he had no idea where.
"What was that?"
Meryl slowed down. "What was what?"
The other wolves running with them were pretty far ahead now, but only because Jack insisted that Meryl didn't run as fast as he could.
"You have these cute dog ears," Jack said, pulling on one to make his point. "You should have better hearing than I do."
"What are you hearing?"
Jack perked his ears up, although he wasn't a dog. It was a soft hum, like a song… no, like a lullaby. A creepy one, although Jack didn't understand what the low voice was saying. Maybe it was one of those made up of nothing but gibberish.
"The song, Meryl," he insisted.
The wolf dropped under him as if hit by a spell. Jack yelped and jumped off his back. He pushed against the fluffy fur with both his hands.
"Hey, Meryl," he whispered, stealing nervous glances around, "don't be dead or something. Was it the creepy lullaby? Did it do you in?"
The wolf's body seemed warm, but Jack didn't know enough about wolf biology to assure himself beyond a doubt that Meryl was still alive. Should he check his paw for a pulse?
"We're in the middle of a dark forest, with witches crawling about," Jack murmured as he brushed one hand over Meryl's damp muzzle. He seemed to be breathing. The creepy lullaby must have made him fall asleep like a log.
It had been his decision to join the wolves in their search for Theodore and Vince, so he had no one to blame for this situation but himself. But could he stand aside when such things were happening? Especially since the two guys were destined to be with him, no matter what Vince had to say.
Well, it looked like Meryl wasn't in any immediate danger. Jack would never forgive himself if anything happened to the puppy.
Still, that didn't mean he wasn't afraid. Actually, only after a little bit of self-reflection, Jack was finally realizing that he was pretty worried. That thing about projecting being worry-free didn't work. Self-improvement books lied, every one of them.
"So, what do you think about all this?" he asked, looking at the moon.
She, at least, had to have a few things to say. Jack was about to insist, when he felt the ground rumbling beneath his feet.
"Oh, great," he barely got out before he was pulled under.
***
The human guardian had seen something in those symbols, but because he was only a mere human, it was impossible for him to understand them. Still, it was progress, and Theodore wasn't willing to ignore it just because fate had happened to pair him with such unlikely allies.
Whatever it was that had caught them in this web had to be near. Theodore didn't doubt it, although he didn't say it to Vince. While he didn't appear to be as annoying as the field mouse, the guardian would have his own questions, and Theodore had no answers.
Soon enough, an enemy would come for him. The human was here only because of his own stupidity. Although Theodore would feel hard pressed to pretend that he hadn't felt an unnatural jolt of protectiveness upon seeing Vince being threatened by Cassandra.
Cassandra the clairvoyant. One thing was sure; she was more than just a clairvoyant. She had powers that must have been granted by something deep and evil that throve on the destruction of wolf packs.
Was Asherman's pack being destroyed while Theodore was trapped in here with no possibility of using his claws and fangs? It made his blood boil, not because he intended to lend a helping hand to that pack and its alpha, but because he had lived with only revenge as the goal of his soul for too long.
"I think there's something--"
Vince didn't finish speaking. A rumble and a crash ensued, then a groan of pain.
"What the heck is this place? Can someone turn on the light?"
Of course. The field mouse. Theodore was beginning to wonder whether that was really his curse: to meet the same annoying city clairvoyant over and over. Vince's talk about the possibility of having that cinnamon-smelling human as a mate was ludicrous.
Yet, he kept popping up everywhere.
"Hello. I'm your new neighbor," Jack drawled the words. "I have a welcome basket full of goodies."
"Jack, what are you doing here, too?" Vince asked.
"Ah, Vee, I found you! Boy, am I glad," Jack chirped. "Although there's a tiny little problem we have to deal with. Do you have the key to this place by any chance?"
"Even if I did, I don't have a hand to use it," Vince replied. "How did you manage to land here?"
"Oh, it's a whole story. Danny confronted the witch and I helped. Even hit her in the head with the crystal ball and all. Although she might have already been dead by then. Just saying."
"That's great news," Vince exclaimed. "Pembroke, are you listening? Danny defeated Cassandra."
"Is Theo here, too?" Jack asked in an excited voice. "Damn, those cards must be so right. I mean, obviously. The three of us have to do stuff together. And by that, I mean adventuring, lifting curses, all of that. Nothing of that other stuff, though. No, no siree bob."
Theodore could feel a headache threatening to split his head in two, which was unfathomable, seeing he had no head to speak of at the moment.
"You say Cassandra was defeated. Speak, clairvoyant," he boomed.
"And what do you think I was doing until a minute ago? Singing?" Jack countered. "Speaking of thinking, I was riding through the woods, riding a wolf I mean, minding my own business, which was to find you two, and bang, a creepy lullaby like one in a horror movie started playing, and bang, I no longer had a ride, because my wolf fell asleep."
"What wolf?" Theodore growled. "And your wolf? Are you sleeping with a mutt from the Luna's Sentinels?" He felt his anger choking him. Just imagining that field mouse cozying up to one of the many wolves around was enough to enrage him. Whatever the clairvoyant was, he was his. He belonged to Theodore Pembroke of Whiteflame.
"No, I don't sleep with anyone. I sleep alone, for your information," Jack said. "He was just this cute puppy who offered to help me search for you."
"I believe Theodore is a bit jealous," Vince commented without hiding his glee.
"You two," Theodore boomed, obtaining silence for a change. "Are in the cards. With me."
"Do you believe it now?" Jack asked. "Do you think Theo hit his head, Vee? Wait, when did I say--"
"You and the guardian both," Theodore warned him in his growling voice. "You two belong to me."
"Right. Possessive," Jack commented. "You could say it nicer, though. Like, let me think. Oh, yes. We're destined to be together. Okay?"
Theodore said nothing. Although he had to protect his field mouse, he was beginning to wonder how much strangling he could get away with.
TBC