Branches of Life

I was awakened by someone slapping me across the face and yelling, "Wake up!" Their voice grating my sensitive ears.

"What the fuck was that for?" I groaned, gripping my pounding head, hurting way too much to have been from a simple slap. The somewhat dim lights of the pub stung my overly sensitive eyes.

"Fuck," Ander grunted, clutching his head. My eyes focused on the one who slapped me, Starling. I sat up straight when I realized the pub was completely silent. A quick scan of the room told me everyone but us were still passed out. What the fuck happened here? I tried to remember, by my mind was still shrouded in a layer of fog. My thoughts were slower and less coherent than usual.

"What the fuck is going on?" Ander demanded, his voice husky. His eyes were dimmed, not yet fully awake or coherent. He rubbed his hands across his face, groaning as he did so. Feeling the effects of whatever happened, as strongly as I did.

At first glance, Starling appeared unaffected. She didn't look like she just woke up from a shitty nap—which was probably how I looked. When I saw her eyes, I knew I'd been wrong about her being affected. Her normally blue eyes now had a swirl of gold around the iris. Not only that, but I was able to sense her dragon for the first time today.

Worry settled in my stomach when I noticed Koa wasn't at our table, or anywhere else in the room.

"Someone... Something has lulled everyone to sleep. If it weren't for our dragons, Koa and I would've completely succumbed to it as well. He's gone to see if he can track it," Starling explained, drawing my attention back to her. Uncertainly pitched her voice, as she ran her hands over her hair.

What thing had the power to not only knock out an entire pub of humans but several Mythics, all at once? A memory tugged at me from the back of my mind, but before I could fully grasp it, my gaze snagged on Starling's neck.

"Starling, your necklace is gone."

Her hand whipped to her empty neck, eyes widening. "Shit!" A loud smack accompanied her hand hitting the back of the booth. My senses were nearly back to normal at this point, but my ears still didn't appreciate the loud noise. Nor did my tender head.

"Where did you get that necklace?" Ander asked, interrupting her panic. "I sensed traces of ancient energy."

My eyebrows furrowed as I faced Ander head-on. "What energy? I didn't sense anything from the necklace." Granted I hadn't paid much attention to it, other than to note it was ugly. But I felt like, I would've noticed it emitting energy.

Ander pulled his hands from his face, grunting. "You wouldn't. From what I could tell, it's dormant. I would've had to study it closely to know for sure, but it felt like blood magic." My mouth popped open and Ander just nodded in response. "So I'll ask one more time, where did you get that damn necklace?" Ander's eyes were near arctic as he glared at Starling.

Neither of us spoke while she shifted in her seat, looking down at her laced hands. Just when I thought she wouldn't answer, she did. "It was my birth mother's, I barely remember her. All I know, was she was protecting it." Ander and I shared a look, sharing the same thought; what the fuck have these two gotten us into?

She sighed and glanced at the entrance, chewing on her bottom lip. "Koa should've been back by now."

"Same for Ari and Harmony," I murmured fixating on the back hallway, my stomach pitching at the thought of something happening to them. I opened my mouth to suggest, Ander and Starling, go and look for Koa, while I check on the others. But those weren't the words that came out. "Ander, you check on Ari and Harmony, while Starling and I look for Koa." What the fuck? Why did I just say that?

A thunderous mixture of shock and anger crossed Ander's face. "You're out of your damn mind if you think I'm going to let you out of my sight now." His hands clenched around the edge of the table, not hard enough to break it, yet.

"Ander, I need you to make sure my sister and Harm are okay." And no way was I trusting Starling with their safety.

Ander wearily scrubbed at his face, groaning as he did so. "Dammit," he muttered quietly, shutting his eyes. He ran his fingers through his hair, trying unsuccessfully, to push it back from his face. "Fine, but if anything happens to Jade, that creature will be the least of your worries." His eyes were like chips of ice as he glowered at Starling.

Starling's face was just as frosty as she maintained eye contact. "If Jade can't take care of herself, then maybe she shouldn't be here in the first place." I let out a low whistle, not even the least bit offended.

The same couldn't be said for Ander. His jaw clenched so hard a muscle thrummed in his jaw, and the table began groaning in protest against his punishing grip. With the way he was acting, you'd think she just questioned his skills and not mine. I placed my hand on his shoulder, squeezing hard as I whispered, "I can take care of myself. You've made sure of it." I gave him a firm push, hoping he'd let this go. With a heaving sigh, he relented, sliding out of the booth, and making his way towards the bathroom without a backward glance.

Starling's brows were raised as she watched our exchange. "What?" I demanded, being my regular, polite self.

Her expression smoothed. "Nothing." I didn't care enough to press further. Instead, I slid out of the booth and followed her out of the pub. A drizzle of rain sprinkled my face, cooling my frazzled and still foggy thoughts.

For the past couple of hours, my wolf had been hovering just under the surface. Near instantly, her senses merged with mine, enhancing my sense of smell. If I hadn't been so focused on finding him, I would've been surprised by how quickly I was able to find his scent, despite the rain and the number of people that had been through there. I inclined my head towards a side street, glancing back at Starling. Her brows were pinched in confusion, but she nodded nonetheless, gesturing for me to lead the way.

Koa's scent led us down street after street. Worry and annoyance warred within me at how far his scent led. Eventually, his trail led us down a wide alleyway. Our steps echoed off the brick walls on either side, making the whole situation all the more ominous. We followed the alleyway until we reached a dead end, where Koa was laying face down on the wet pavement. The smell of his blood in the air.

My stomach dropped at the sight and smell, along with a sense of panic flooding my body. Now wasn't the time for me to reflect on why relief eased some of the panic when I first heard his slow and even breaths.

Starling called out his name, panic lacing her desperate cry. She didn't even check our surroundings before racing over to him, dropping to her knees, and gently rolling him onto his back.

All the while, I forced myself to stay put, confused as to why I felt the overwhelming urge to rush over to Koa and make sure he was alright. I wanted to be the one to be holding his head in my lap, instead of Starling. A quick once-over showed the only visible injury was a long gash down the side of his face, starting at his temple. Blood plastered strands of hair to his face and stained the neckline of his shirt. On a human it may have been cause for concern, but for us and our healing, not so much.

A shiver ran down my spine as my heart rate picked up. While his head wound made me anxious and worried, in the grand scheme of things, it was nothing. Especially since he fought an unknown creature. It should've been way worse. No way, would anything leave him alive. It just didn't make any sense. Leaving only one conclusion: it was a trap.

I carefully search the alleyway, using all of my senses, trying to find anything off. No one was here, but I couldn't stop the nagging feeling that someone was watching us.

My thoughts drifted to Rowan, the familiar I kept forgetting I had. If I wasn't mistaken, summoners could somehow call their familiars to them. Of course, I had no clue if that was true or how to do it. I stupidly didn't ask Rowan any questions earlier, with how overwhelmed I was at having a familiar. I let my eyes drift shut and focused on the ball of light in my chest, reaching out to her with my mind. Nothing.

Starling was still focused on her brother, using the bottom of her shirt to stem the still-flowing blood. "Is he alright?" As I spoke, I returned my focus to our surroundings unable to shake the prickling feeling of being watched. "He will be." Starling sighed as she continued cleaning his face, the light patter of rain helping her efforts. "That thing must've had friends with it, there's no other explanation as to how it got the jump on him."

Normally, I would've agreed with her assumption. Dragon summoners were badasses to begin with, and from what I saw of Koa's skills, he could certainly take care of himself. But I couldn't stem this nagging feeling, as my instincts screamed at me, telling me something was off about this whole situation.

I wasn't able to voice my opinion, not with the melodic voice whispering from the shadows around us. "And here I was being nice, letting you all leave with your lives intact. Even after your lovely brother attacked me. And yet, you repay that kindness with insults. Shame."

I didn't have time to think about her words, about how she called him Starling's brother. All my focus was on the deep shadows surrounding us, trying to find anyone or anything hiding in them. Again, I found nothing but open air. What the fuck? I shot an inquisitive look at Starling, hoping her heightened dragon senses might've picked up something I missed. Disappointment sank through my chest when she met my stare after peering into the shadows and shook her head.

After the realization that I was too far away from them, I took off in their direction. Only to be forced to skid to a stop, when a wall of water sprang up between us with a thunderous whoosh. The water towered over me, nearly twenty feet high. Starling shouted my name, followed by a blast of fire, the light barely visible through the rushing water. Another whoosh sounded behind me, surrounding me with the roaring sounds of water.

Whirling around, I confirmed there was another wall of water, this time fifteen feet away. The water stretched between the buildings on either side of the alley. I was trapped. My ears rang at the overpowering roar of the waterfall walls. So loud I barely heard her speak behind me. "That's better."

I whipped around and found only empty space. Laughter bounced off the walls on either side of me, but when I looked, I found no one. The shadows spreading out from both walls weren't dark enough to hide someone from my senses.

"Where the hell are you?" I yelled, spinning around in a circle, not wanting to give her the chance to sneak up on me. She had to be some kind of creature, there was no other explanation. There was the slight possibility she was a Mythic, but I doubted it. None of us had the ability to disappear into thin air. Sorcerers and sorceresses possessed the ability to portal, but there were always telltale signs when they created one, and they weren't this fast.

"That's not how this works my dear. I'll be the one asking the questions," she said tsking. Like before, her voice echoed throughout the alley, sounding like it was coming from every direction.

Icy water splashed against my back from the wall only a few feet behind me. Had the water walls always been this close to me? They seemed as if they were closer than before.

"Where did the dragon get this?" From the corner of my eye, I saw Starling's necklace spinning around a lightly tanned finger. When I turned to face her fully, she was no longer there. My shrill screech was barely heard over the waterfalls and did nothing to stem my rising temper as I spun around again. Her laugh bounced around me. Mocking me. "Wow, and here I thought my shriek was piercing."

"Come out and face me!" I yelled, continuing to spin around, feeling like an idiot. "Where did she get it?" She asked again, her voice having lost its playfulness. "What are their plans for it?"

"I'm not telling you shit!" I backed up, my back nearly touching the rushing water, getting soaked in the process.

She tsked again, sounding closer this time, even with the sounds reverberating around me. An icy shiver raced down my spine. Energy freely flowed from my wolf to me, as nervous anticipation thrummed through my blood.

"Did the dragon even know what she possessed?" Her tone had lost some of its cold edges as it seemed to have come from a whole new direction

My body was coiled tight, ready to spring into action the moment this bitch showed her face. "You can ask all the questions you want, I won't answer!"

"Then you're useless."

A wet arm reached around my neck, putting me in a secure chokehold. Instead of letting panic sink in, I cleared my mind of all thoughts and fell back on my years of training. With a couple of well-placed movements, I broke the hold and whirled around to face her, knowing better than to let an opponent out of my line of sight. But when I turned around, she wasn't there. Shocker.

I did learn an important detail from that brief encounter; how she was moving around so fast. She was using the waterfalls—which had definitely moved closer to me. With how close I had been to the wall before, there was no way she could've gotten behind me without me noticing.

My nails grew thicker and longer, sharping into deadly claws. I canted my head to side, as I tried listening for any telltale signs of an impending attack. But all I could hear was the damn water. A frown pulled at my face when I inhaled deeply, hoping maybe my sense of smell could help. If I shut my eyes, it would've been easy to believe I was on a beach, with the salty smell of the ocean surrounding me, mixed in the faint aroma of tropical flowers, and coconut.

What the fuck was she?

The backs of my knees were kicked out, sending my body flying forward. On instinct, I tucked my body and rolled out of the way of her oncoming strike. Deciding to go on the offense, I kicked my foot out in her direction, only to hit air.

I quickly rolled to my feet, keeping my weight on the balls of my feet. Readying myself for her next strike. I thought I was ready for whatever she'd throw my way next, but she proved me wrong when she landed a sharp jab on my right side. A burst of pain lanced my side and ribs, especially when I immediately swung my elbow back. She caught it with ease and used the momentum to flip me to the ground.

My gaze snagged on golden hair before all the air in my lungs rushed out upon contact with the unforgiving pavement. I expected her to attack, taking advantage of my weak position, but she disappeared. Immediately, I popped back to my feet, doing my best to ignore the stinging in my ribs that came with each breath.

She was toying with me. She could've already killed me several minutes ago, but for some reason didn't. An angry growl rumbled through my chest, my temper on its last leg, despite all my efforts to keep it in check.

In my peripheral vision, I saw a dagger flying toward my face. It wasn't hard to catch before it made contact. But in doing so, I allowed myself to become distracted and not notice she was standing right behind me.

Pure white-hot pain lanced through my side as she stabbed me in the same place she'd hit earlier. My skin burned as the blade withdrew. I clenched my teeth against the blinding pain, trying to stem my pain-filled screams. Even my adrenaline was having a tough time dulling this pain. I whirled around and stabbed at her with her dagger, hissing in pain at the motion, but not stopping.

It was embarrassing how easily she caught my arm and disarmed me within seconds, before rolling us to the ground. She gracefully rolled back up to her feet, while mine was clumsy and labored, my breaths growing harsh and loud. I knew I was in trouble when the right side of my ribs had gone numb. I firmly pressed my hand to the wound that hadn't stopped bleeding. At the contact, a dulled pain throbbed in my side.

"Painful, isn't it?"

An almost feral growl vibrated my chest, but she just laughed in response, not the least bit intimidated. She had no real reason, especially not with the way my vision was blurring, to the point all I could make out was a vague shape of a short, blonde woman. Blood was still seeping from my wound, not healing since the blade she stabbed me with was silver. A summoner's weakness. Any wound inflicted by silver took nearly twice as long to heal. The wound itself wouldn't kill me, but I was now weak and disoriented enough that I was easy prey. I needed to get out of here.

An idiotic idea came to me. One I'd normally dismiss, but I was desperate and out of options.

"Don't worry, I have excellent aim. It won't kill you, well, not unless you do something stupid," she whispered, her voice full of mirth. I said a silent prayer, that this wouldn't kill me and sprinted toward the water. Right before I entered, I heard her mutter two words. "Like that."

It was too late to change my mind, because the next moment, I plunged into the freezing water. The air seized in my lungs, and for an extended period of time, I couldn't move a single muscle. Water pressed in on me from all sides, with pressure building in my eardrums. Panic almost took hold of my body, along with the pain from the crushing pressure. My wolf spirit rose within me, aiding in my healing while simultaneously reminding me not to give in to the pain or fear. Finally, my muscles began responding again and I was able to move my limbs.

The water was near impossible to wade through and seemingly endless. Maybe it was. I was beginning to understand, that I had no clue what this woman was capable of.

Eventually, my lungs started burning with the desperate need to inhale. A sense of hopelessness settled over me as I realized, I was no closer to Starling and Koa than I was before. It felt like I'd been wading through the water forever. Even though it couldn't have been more than a couple of minutes. I was unable to take it anymore, and took a deep breath, sucking in the frigid and salty water.

While I was choking on the icy water, I vaguely heard Rowan's voice. 'Hold on my little wolf. I'm here.' At that point, I was barely able to feel anything, much less being dragged out of the water and into the cool night air.

My trembling body slammed into the pavement, but I barely felt it as I coughed up all the water in my lungs. The headache I had earlier, was nothing compared to the one pounding my head. Deep throbbing pain and nausea, were the only sensations I felt in my body. I was so numb, I hadn't noticed the strong pair of burning arms lifting me. I blinked several times until my vision cleared, and met a gold pair of eyes. Koa brushed damp strands of my hair from my face. His lips moving, but I couldn't hear a single word. My heavy eyelids began drifting shut, and his lips moved even faster.

I couldn't comprehend his facial expression, the worry and fear I saw there. One I never expected to see from him. I wanted to reach up and smooth the crease between his eyebrows, but my arms wouldn't respond. Looking up at his beautiful face, I felt no fear. In fact, I felt content. With that thought, I drifted away into darkness. For the second time tonight.