The Blue Woods (37 page)

And you said . . .

I remember . . .

His front legs dissolved, floating up to join the gathering light.
And you said . . .

“Finally, you have come,”
Nerina said, desperately trying to keep Heath's face against hers.

The white fur beneath my feathers disappeared. A sob filled me. I locked my eyes onto Heath's, those blue eyes that were the first Benandanti eyes I'd ever seen. His gaze shifted from me to Nerina.

Finally, I have come.

And then he was gone.

All that was left of my beloved Guide was a brilliant ball of sapphire light. Nerina collapsed onto the ground, her claws scrabbling at the empty space where Heath had lain. The world closed in tight. I couldn't breathe, couldn't understand why I was still there when Heath was gone.

Bree reached up and cupped the luminescence in her hand. In its glow, her whole body was alight with a certainty I hadn't seen since before she'd been tortured. If it was redemption she sought, at that moment she was holding it in her hands. “One soul ascended,” she said softly, “and one here on earth.” With a quick, nimble motion, she poured the radiance down like water onto Jonah, smothering him with Heath's aura. A long low moan filled my mind. Jonah twisted on the ground, his old silvery aura putting up a resistance against the new one.

I froze, wanting to go to him but knowing there was nothing I could do. He had to do this willingly, without my help. His silver aura blackened, fractured under the pressure of the light, and broke apart. The essence encircled him like a cloak made out of sky, lifted him off his feet and into the air. His body contorted, the powerful limbs lengthening, his face elongating, his black fur brightening . . .

In one final explosion, the Benandanti blue ripped away any last fragment of silver. The final wisps of red smoke blew away. Bree slumped forward, her forehead on her knees. Silence fell over the Clan. From the air, Jonah descended back to earth.

He was no longer a Panther.

He was a White Wolf.

I stared at him, at his new shape. He turned, and I saw the one difference between him and Heath. It was his own jewel-green eyes that shone out from the bright white fur, his own soul that now possessed the Wolf's form.

His fresh aura shimmered around him like the rings of a celestial planet. The Clan slowly moved in to surround him. And in the center of that circle, the White Wolf raised his head and howled, one lone note of stillness in the chaos of that long night.

The Blue Woods

Alessia

We can't hold them off much longer!

I shot up into the sky, out of the birches. Below, the Snow Leopards crashed body-to-body with rows of Malandanti, locked in deadly combat. I'd been so entwined with Jonah's transformation that I hadn't even noticed the birch copse had been under attack.

Out from behind their silvery trunks, Jonah leapt into their midst, his powerful form shiny with his fresh aura. He sank his jaws into the Malandante Coyote and dragged it off one of the Snow Leopards. The Coyote yowled, its eyes flashing with fury at this betrayal of one of its own Clan. Jonah slammed one paw into the Coyote's throat, holding him firm to the ground.

Twin Willows Clan, get to the Waterfall,
Dario commanded.
All other Benandanti, your sole job is to hold the rest of the Malandanti off. We need to retake the site before we lose anyone else.

I plummeted to the Coyote and delivered one long scratch down the length of its back. Jonah let it go and followed me through the brush to the edge of the stream. There, in the middle of the water, the Rabbit stood with his arms raised. Behind him, the Raven zoomed in manic circles within the Malandanti barrier. I could sense his fury at Jonah's betrayal, but he must've been ordered to stay inside and hold the magic in place.

Showtime.
Bree pushed past Jonah and splashed out into the stream. Magic poured out of her and lit her whole body up like a lantern.
He's not going to make it easy for me to bring down that barrier,
she told us.
So work on a way to get the Raven out.

I dropped low just as Nerina and the Harpy barreled past me, their bodies a tangle of claws and wings and beaks as sharp as daggers. Their auras meshed and melded, then broke apart with each blow they delivered. Beyond them, the two Dragons breathed fire at one another, singeing the treetops. I climbed the air and surveyed the chaos. In the woods beyond the Waterfall, the Snow Leopards battled with the remaining Dogs. Everywhere there were pockets of fighting, blue against silver, the forest terrifyingly alive with the sound of combat.

At the base of the Waterfall, the two Twin Willows Clans faced off, Stag against Boar, Catamount against Coyote, Eagle against Bobcat. The Malandanti clearly knew they had lost Jonah and we had gained him. I could see the rage in their bodies, in every crackle of their auras. But they were outnumbered now. Surely we could overtake them. And still that damn Raven swished back and forth across the Waterfall, keeping the barrier in place.

Jonah.
I fluttered down so that I was just above his ears. He raised his head and met my gaze. Even though he was the same White Wolf shape as Heath, he looked completely different. Because each soul was unique, and Jonah was nothing if not a unique soul. I brushed my wingtip across the top of his head.
I have an idea.

I swooped low away from the stream, back into the dense bushes and trees. Jonah followed me down the slope of rocks and craggy ground. I could hear the Waterfall on the other side of the tangled underbrush. I never came this way to it; the birch trees were always my touchstone, my entry point to the magical site whose water flowed through my soul like blood. But the birch trees were tainted for me now. They would always be the place where Heath died.

Like he could hear the grief in my mind, Jonah tilted his face up toward me.
I'm so sorry about Heath, Alessia. I didn't want it to be like this.

I can't,
I said.
If I think about it now, I won't be able to fight. I'll think about it later.

Jonah rose as I floated down to him. My wings brushed his face.
I promise I'll make this body proud.

How does your new form feel?

He sprang up the rocky slope, his lithe legs stretching long.
Different but good. Less violent . . . more majestic.

I flew ahead of him, and he sped up to catch me. Despite the grief that had made it, I could see his joy in this new shape, the freedom in every arch and footfall. It was like Jonah had finally become the Wolf he'd always been meant to be.

We reached the top of the slope, separated from the Waterfall by a thicket of brush and bramble.

Now what?
Jonah asked.

You stay here,
I said. My wings beat against the air, ruffling his fur.
I'll tell you when to come out.

What exactly are we doing?

Following a hunch.
Without telling him more, I crashed through the bushes and emerged at the top of the Waterfall.

In the center of the stream, Bree and the Rabbit fought each other, the air around them smoky with magic. For as much as she contained the power of the Abbess, the Rabbit was holding his own, popping in and out of time, making her spin each time he reappeared. She threw a ball of green Congo magic at him, but he dodged it and sent back a jet of red smoke. I could hear her cursing out loud and in my brain. I shut her out. In order to do what was required, to help her and the rest of the Clan, my sole focus had to be the Raven.

I shot forward until I was right up against the barrier and hovered there. Like he sensed my presence, the Raven rose from the pool below until he was at my level. His beady black gaze fixed on me. I flew back and forth in front of him, my wings so close to the magic that kept him inside and me outside that I could feel its sizzle on my feathers.
You know who I am,
I thought, even though he couldn't hear me.
You know I'm the one he did it for.

The Raven cawed a stark, lonely sound that rippled across the water. In a sick, twisted way, he was in mourning too. He'd lost his charge. He'd failed as a Guide.

I answered him with a call of my own, a cry of triumph. He flapped his wings and almost flew into the barrier—almost, but not quite. No, he wasn't quite there yet . . . not quite filled with the rage I needed.

And I knew the one thing that would get him there.

Now, Jonah!

Out from the tangle of leaves and branches, Jonah burst into the top of the Waterfall, water splashing out from beneath his white, blue-haloed body as he skidded to a halt beneath me. The Raven screamed in fury and sliced through the air, his wings quivering with uncontainable rage. I rose up, up, up, ready to dive, hoping with every last possible hope that he would do exactly what I wanted him to do.

Murderous eyes laser-focused on Jonah, the Raven flew out of the barrier.

Because I'd remembered what Nerina had said on the plane to Friuli.
She was my Guide
, she'd told me and Bree about the Harpy.
You cannot imagine her hatred.

The silver bubble of protection fizzled into nothingness, tiny pinpricks of magic dancing in the air like raindrops. The Raven instantly realized his mistake and scrambled backward, but it was too late. The Malandanti had lost their claim of the site, and without a complete Clan they could not regain it.

Control of the Waterfall was now up for grabs, and I intended the Benandanti to snatch it.

Twin Willows Clan, into the Waterfall!

But that was easier said than done. The Raven had refocused on Jonah and slammed into him. Jonah struck out with both his front paws, knocking the Raven out of the air, but before Jonah could grab one of his wings, the Raven swerved upward, just out of Jonah's reach.

At the base of the Waterfall below, the Stag had locked his antlers onto the Boar's tusks. They tossed each other this way and that without one of them being able to break away. I plummeted down to help Cora with the Bobcat, who had caught one of her wings in its paws. Before it saw me coming, I ripped the top of its head with my talons. Blood poured over its forehead and into its eyes. With a roar, it let Cora go and staggered into the woods, yowling.

Working in unison, Cora and I landed on the Boar's back and dug our claws in. The Boar bucked, trying to throw us off, but we held fast until it tore its tusks away from the Stag's antlers. Jeff gathered his back legs and kicked the Boar hard in the face. I heard the crunch of bones breaking. One more kick, and the Boar was down for good.

Two down, two to go. Cal and the Malandante Coyote had their jaws on each other's throats. Cora, Jeff, and I surrounded them, and in one breath we closed in. Jeff's antlers gored the Coyote's side as Cora's and my talons scratched down its back. The Coyote let go of Cal and stumbled away, its eyes glassy, its bleeding sides rising and falling rapidly with its heavy panting.

Where's Jonah?
Jeff asked.

Top of the Waterfall.

We plunged into the pool of water, the rising mist from the Waterfall cold on my feathers. I mounted the air until I could see what was happening above. Jonah and the Raven circled each other, the black bird hovering just out of reach every time Jonah swiped his paws at him. Just beyond them, Bree and the Rabbit were deadlocked, their magic arcing between them.

And in the woods all around us, the Benandanti and the Malandanti clashed. Nerina and the Harpy still battled overhead, and the Dragons screamed fire at one another somewhere nearby.

It's time to end this,
I said to Jonah, to Bree, to everyone. I flew down and rammed into the Raven, sent him tumbling.

Jonah leapt up with one powerful jump and caught the Raven in his mouth.
This is for my father,
he said,
and Alessia's.
He gave one hard toss of his head and threw the Raven into the air.

Bree shoved her magic at the Rabbit, who disappeared with a pop. As the Raven arced above her, she raised her hands. Red and silver smoke spiraled out from her palms, caught the Raven in their mist, and pulled him apart until he, too, disappeared with a loud, satisfying smack.

Come on,
I called to Jonah, diving to meet the rest of the Clan. Behind me, Jonah gathered his hind legs and sprang up out of the Waterfall, his beautiful white fur glistening in the mist as he soared into the pool below. Jonah, who hated to swim, who was afraid of water because he'd almost drowned as a child. He broke the surface of the water, his green eyes sparkling with triumph.

We closed into one another. The Twin Willows Clan may have been different from when we started this battle, but we were still complete. Whole.

Above us, Bree splashed to the very edge of the Waterfall, the blessed water tumbling around her in glorious abandon. She brought her hands up high over her head. The glow started at her heart and radiated outward, out from her fingers and feet, from her eyes and the crown of her head, until she was made of light. She was an otherworldly being, the Abbess.

The magic streamed out from her and began to weave an intricate web of light over the entire Waterfall. All around the pool, Malandanti poured out from the woods, trying to get in, but it was too late. The web wove its way down into the earth, a million shimmering particles of Benandanti magic. I had seen this spell all those weeks ago when we had first retaken the Waterfall, but that was before Bree, before the Benandanti had the power of the Abbess to wield it. She swished her hand in the air, and the beams of light tumbled outward, beyond the Waterfall, into the woods, until the whole forest had turned blue. Every leaf and branch, every bush and tree, lit up with a cerulean glow, dripped with sea-colored magic.