“I dunno about you guys, but I’m not going back to sleep after that,” Aaron said.
“Me neither, I need a beer.”
Slade and Aaron slipped free of the covers and strode out of the room.
“Finn?” I said as Hawk’s arms went around me. That wasn’t entirely comfortable due to our clammy skin, but I appreciated the gesture.
“What the fuck is the fucking Volken bastard playing at?” Finn growled in response.
“Something we need to find out,” Brandon said, getting out of bed as well. “I’ll go and get Sylvan. It’s beyond time to discuss exactly what he knows.”
I moved over to lie by Finn’s side, and when I touched his arm, I felt it—the overwhelming rush of worry. I blinked, my heart beginning to race from what felt like a standing start. Pain was threaded through it, as well as guilt, but it was all being smothered by a rising tide of anger. He gently removed my hand, placing it on the bed between us.
“It’s OK, Jules. We’ll get to the bottom of this.”
24
“What have you done?” I snapped as soon as Brandon brought an admittedly haggard-looking Sylvan into the dining room. The others had all taken seats already, and he threw himself into one at the head.
“I wouldn’t mind one of those if you’re offering,” Sylvan said, his voice raw, pointing to the boys’ beer bottles.
“We’re not offering,” Aaron said.
“What we will give you is a smack around the ear
if we don’t get some answers, now,” Slade said. “Why are we dreaming about monstrous wolves eating people?”
Buddy let out a low growl from where he sat at my feet.
“The bond has been recognised, so I’m as connected to Jules as you are. She will see what I see when her boundaries are down, and I see what happens in Leifgart, the place where I was born. You’ve seen something few get to, the power source behind the Volken. That being you call a Great Wolf? He’s an energy source for my people. They keep him in his cavern, give him offerings in the form of those they no longer have use for, and then call on his power with his workings. I’d thought you did the same here?”
“What? You think we have some giant white wolf locked up somewhere?” Slade said. “We don’t, do we?”
Finn shook his head. “Worship of the Great Wolf has always been symbolic as much as anything. More like a personification of the principles of Sanctuary.”
“Well, put aside whatever religious notions you’ve been raised with, because I know at least one exists, and your little interlude suggests there’s another as well. I believe it’s from them we come. This bluster around closing the gate, I’m not sure how effective it will be. If the Volken decide to unleash him...”
“Fuck this, I’m getting the guys in here,” Aaron said, getting to his feet. “This whole withdrawal process is being ballsed up. We should be striking back, not cutting and running.”
“You can get them in to consult, or support, if they’ll go for it,” Finn said. “But we’re going in, all of us.” He looked across at Sylvan. “That’s what we have to do, isn’t it?”
“Against that fucking thing?” Jack said. “Are you guys mad?”
The other man nodded. “It’s the only way forward I’ve seen.”
“So, what, to get my dads and the other guys out of there, I have to take out the Great Wolf?” His brow wrinkled at that. We all shifted in our seats, the bite of the wolf’s fangs still way too fresh in our minds.
“Take him out?” Sylvan considered the idea and then shook his head. “I don’t think that’s possible. But break the Volken’s hold on him? Well, then you’ve got a massively powerful paranormal creature on a rampage. Ideal time to rescue your people.”
“Make the calls in the morning, Aaron,” Finn said with a nod. “It’s 2am now, too early to start anything, and we’ll need our wits about us. Let’s head back to bed and try and grab what sleep we can.”
“Well, you can count us out,” Jack said. “Right, Hawk?”
“We need to talk this through, as Finn says, before I make any decision,” his partner replied. “C’mon Jules, you look done in.”
We all did. Now that heart rates had settled, everyone was slumping in their chairs.
“You coming, Finn?” I said.