He stepped away from Adne and gestured for Ren to approach her. “My business here is finished. I’ll leave you to see to her.”
Ren almost objected. How could he offer any help to Adne? He couldn’t touch her. He couldn’t call out for help.
Bosque was gone before Ren could say anything, but the Harbinger’s absence brought nothing but relief. Whatever danger Adne might be in now, Ren had no doubt that Bosque posed a far greater threat.
Kneeling in the snow beside Adne, Ren reached out to take her hand. As he expected, his fingers passed through hers as if he wasn’t there.
I’m not here. Not really. I’m a restless spirit who walks between worlds. And according to Bosque, I’m a worthless novice at that.
The sudden, creeping feeling that he was being watched took hold of Ren. Frowning, he turned and saw shadows milling about in the forest at the edge of the gardens. A single shape broke from the group and came toward him, passing out of the woods and into the open.
A wolf. A brown wolf with green eyes.
Shay approached cautiously, his ears pinned back and his fur bristling. Ren shifted forms and Shay stopped. His defensive posture eased and he regarded the charcoal wolf with interest.
Reaching out with his mind, Ren hoped that Shay could still communicate the way Guardians had.
Shay, I need you to help Adne. Bosque did something to her.
The other wolf continued to watch Ren, ears flicking in curiosity, but Shay’s voice never sounded in Ren’s mind.
He’s a wolf now, Ren reminded himself. Not a Guardian. I don’t know how it is that the pack came at my call, but they’re still wolves.
Ren padded around Adne, whining to share his anxiety. Shay joined Ren at Adne’s side. The brown wolf sniffed at Adne’s limp form and nudged her with his muzzle. Adne gave no sign of response.
Shay whined again. He looked at Ren and then at the towering outline of the mansion.
Yes, Ren thought. He can take her to shelter. Or at least to a place where someone is more likely to find her.
Ren barked at Shay, then pawed at Adne, showing the brown wolf the way his paw passed through Adne’s body without effect. Shay snarled and whined. Barking once more, Ren trotted around Adne and then barked at the mansion.
If holding his breath would have meant anything, Ren would have done it as he waited for Shay’s next move. The brown wolf closed in on Adne, bent his head, and carefully grasped her shoulder in his jaws. With slow, steady progress Shay dragged Adne through the garden. Ren followed behind them, encouraging Shay to continue despite the wolf’s clear discomfort at being in such close proximity to human habitation. Adne’s body made furrows in the snow beside Shay’s paw prints.
When they drew close to the mansion, Ren bounded ahead, guiding Shay to the servants’ entrance at the rear of the structure. Shay had just released Adne when Ren heard voices. A Searcher patrol was approaching.
Shay heard them too and immediately wheeled around, bolting away from the mansion and back through the garden. Ren watched him go but didn’t attempt to follow. He belonged here, with Adne. Once Shay rejoined the pack, they’d return to the mountainside.
Ren waited for the patrol to discover Adne, and when they did, he followed them inside. He listened as the healers from Eydis discussed Adne’s condition. He stayed with her until he felt certain that no serious damage had been done to her. The situation perplexed the Searchers as much as it did Ren. Adne was unconscious but otherwise seemed fine. Despite the cold, she didn’t even show signs of exposure. Of course, the Searchers were also buzzing about the wolf tracks they found in the garden, but those weren’t a mystery to Ren.
Satisfied that his sister was being well cared for, Ren returned to the gardens. He padded through the snow, partly looking for signs of what had transpired before he arrived but mostly lost in his own thoughts.
Ren had learned much that night. Both Logan and Bosque asserted claims on him, but through their spellwork the Keeper and his master had imbued Ren with more power. The Haldis pack had answered his call.
Somehow the magic at work meant the rules of Ren’s existence were changing. If he could figure out why and how, he might be able to take control of his own life. Or rather, his own afterlife.
SARAH’S BREATH fogged the window as she watched the wolf with golden brown fur drag Ariadne’s limp body through the snow. When Sarah thought of Shay, she usually imagined the boy she knew, a toddler of three with chubby fingers and wide green eyes that matched his mother’s. Sometimes she remembered the Shay who freed her and Tristan from the painting that had been their prison. A tall boy, nearly a man, but with the same eyes.
Sarah never allowed herself to recall her son as a wolf. But that didn’t stop her from recognizing him. Though she blocked it out whenever it threatened to surface, the memory of Shay transformed into a beast had been seared into her memory. She didn’t want to remember the way he’d bristled at the sight of so many humans near him. How he’d bounded out of the rubble filling the library and into the winter night while Sarah shrieked and sobbed.
Since that terrible day—a day that should have been a triumphant, joyful reunion—Sarah had been returning to Rowan Estate. It wasn’t difficult to persuade Weavers to let her come to the mansion with the daily contingent of Scribes and tour guides. A grieving mother, she usually inspired pity, or else she made them uncomfortable enough that they hurried to move her along, making her someone else’s problem. Tristan hated it when Sarah didn’t return at the end of the night, but Sarah often found it too difficult to leave Rowan Estate. She spent many nights in Shay’s room, rarely sleeping, but going through her son’s belongings. Trying to recall him through objects, to piece together the years of his life that she’d missed. None of it was enough, and with each passing day the dull ache in Sarah’s heart grew sharper, its pain insistent.
Pressing her fingers to the cold glass, Sarah fought the urge to rush downstairs and fling herself out into the winter morning. Shay was here, but he was still a wolf, and Sarah’s sudden appearance would surely startle him.
But he’s pulling the girl along the ground, bringing her to the mansion. Why would he do that?
Sarah knew enough about wolves to immediately dismiss any suspicions that Shay had attacked Ariadne. The pack’s range was well away from populated areas, high on the mountain slopes. Something other than instinct had drawn Shay to Rowan Estate.