Wolf Sirens Night Fall: What Rises Must Fall (Wolf Sirens #3) (29 page)

“I need to
see…” I dare not say her name. Tisane was the only secret I had
left. I turned to C.J slowly. “We need to go
home
,” I said
deliberately. “Tell Reid and Jackson we’re going scouting. I’ll
pull the car around.”

C.J called her
on my recently acquired mobile phone. Tisane picked up, she told me
she was expecting someone at 1pm but she had a feeling they would
cancel, so at this point though she was free. We agreed to drive up
a little closer and hide the car just in case, so we could leave
without anyone knowing. We came in the back door.

“Are you guys
hungry?” She was tipping out the full pots of water that collected
the rain from the leaking roof.

We shook our
heads and as I walked through the lounge room I could see through
to the kitchen and I saw she had baked a cake.

“Have you seen
the news?”

“Yes, it’s
everywhere.”

“Do you know
anything?” I asked, but Tisane only shook her head.

“I’m playing
catch-up myself.” I noticed the cards on the dresser laid out and a
tarot book next to them. It was the first time I had seen her use a
reference.

“What do they
say?”

“Nothing
straight forward. It wasn’t planned and it wasn’t a suicide. But
I’m sure you already knew that.”

I glanced at
C.J. “We think it was Cres. She went over there because they took
her brother. We need to know if you think she’s alive...do you
still see a war?” My breath became unsteady as I anticipated her
answer.

“I believe
there will be a fight, but it won’t go the way you expect. As for
Cres, I haven’t seen any death yet, but I’ll reshuffle. But Lila
you will be betrayed.” Her eyes grew sorrowful.

I developed
goose bumps and I looked at C.J. “I think I might know by who. Cres
mentioned a girl helping us. At the time I thought she meant C.J,
and then I’d hoped it was Angele, but the stupid part is we know
she’s a spy and she knows everything. She’s been slowly earning our
trust, she has sway over Jackson. I don’t know what to do. We can’t
trust her,” I said bitterly.

“Nothing is
certain, things change. Paw’s death was a shock,” Tisane
insisted.

“Do you think
it was Cres? That killed him? “I hoped she would confirm our
suspicion.

“It certainly
seems likely,” Tisane admitted. But I knew it was Cres.

“Tisane will
you help us? Even if it means killing your sister?”

“I’ve been
thinking about it. I can’t help Narine, but I can do this and stop
them taking others,” she said, decided.

“Thank you.” I
wasn’t always convinced she would help us. “We need your help.” She
had never wanted a fight.

“Things will
happen that will inevitably draw me into it. It’s one of those
things. I’m swept up in a tide.”

Now I guess she
knew a little of how I felt. If you were privy to this world, you
couldn’t escape it. Tisane had her own duty. It meant a lot that
she would put aside her own convictions to help us.

Suddenly, there
was a presence in the house and C.J pulled her gun. I was less
quick to draw. I’d had a feeling we were followed. Jackson stood in
the lounge room bare chest rising and falling.

“I suppose I
shouldn’t be surprised,” he glowered.

I breathed out,
frustrated. “Jackson, Tisane, Tisane, Jackson,” I introduced
them.

“Hello.” Tisane
said with a little surprise to her tone at the naked, panting young
man standing in her house. I tucked away my gun.

“Did Reid send
you?” I asked, my glance sharp.

“No,” he
admitted, dropping his head.

“Angele then?”
I looked at C.J and Tisane, with eyes wide.

“No, I decided
it would be smart. I’m not putting my life on the line for someone
who has secrets, Lila, and where there’s one there are many
more.”

“Fine, did you
hear what we said about your girlfriend?” I asked.

“She’s not on
their side,” he persisted. He looked ready to pounce.

“How can you be
so sure?” I challenged, seething. My hand tensing for my gun.

“How are you so
sure Sky hasn’t been turned? He didn’t come for you?”

“That’s just…
so damn different and you know it,” I scowled. “They kept him in a
cage.” I gritted my teeth.

“Is that so?”
He turned to leave.

I rushed to
stop him as he went. “Are you going to tell her?”

“I’m not going
to fight your fight, Lila.”

I panicked,
following him a few paces. “Jackson. Please. Just come inside to
talk?”

“With who? You
and that hunter and that other woman,” his face bunched angrily.
“Who is she, a wolf?!”

“No.” My tone
was incredulous.

He came a few
steps closer and stood facing me leaning in angrily “What does she
know about us?”

“She’s a
witch,” I admitted.

“What? Ha!” His
face screwed with scepticism.

“Jackson at
least let us explain...” I urged him to listen.

“No, do you
think I’m stupid?” His mouth contorted bitterly.

“Jackson
please, I’ll tell you about what’s going on.” My eyes were
wide.

“No you won’t,
because you’re worried I’ll tell her. I heard what you said.” He
glanced at us. “You know something, Lila, I never wanted to be in
your war – if it were up to me I’d be out there free, away from all
your death.” He hit a nerve.

“
My
death
. What? I save the innocent from being infected by
creatures like you, idiot,” I glared.

“Then take aim
Lila, here I am. Don’t look out for your little minion. That’s
right, decide, Lila, what side you’re really on? Or is it that you
just use some of us for your purpose and the other wolves, are they
really so different from me? Because I’m not so sure. You stand
there all self-righteous and plan to kill. How many have they
killed?” he taunted venomously.

“They took my
sister.”

I turned to see
Tisane moving in front of C.J.

“You’ve even
convinced the innocent to help you. Stay away, witch. She’ll get
you killed to achieve her twisted purpose,” he warned as his face
twisted with hatred.

“Jackson, I
believe you,” Tisane said calmly.

“Good, then let
her do her own dirty work,” he hissed.

“No, I know the
Cult pack’s intentions,” Tisane urged.

“What could you
know?” he challenged, but he began to cool.

She swallowed.
“My sister is now the leader.”

He looked in
shock at me. “Is she bitten?” he asked.

“No, she is
human,” I said darkly. “Her mother was a Hunter. Literally her last
name is Hunter.”

“So what? There
are three of you now?” He looked back a forth between us.

“No, only C.J
and I are Hunters.”

“Jackson, if
you believe Angele isn’t a spy, I trust you,” Tisane urged as she
tried to placate him.

“Ha, the witch
listens and do you listen to her?” he scoffed.

“She’s got me
this far,” I admitted and raised a brow.

“I won’t be
part of your war,” he said vehemently.

“Are you
against us?” I held my breath in anticipation of his answer.

He winced. “No,
not exactly.”

I reacted with
surprise. “So - you don’t agree with the Cult’s plan?”

“To be honest
if it’s true what you say Lila, then no, I don’t. I don’t want
other kids or my parents being turned. They are mad, and we will be
killed. There will be more like you to control us,” he argued.

“And we won’t
be controlled,” I replied icily.

“That’s it
though, Lila, neither will they,” he stated.

“Jackson I
don’t want to eradicate your kind,” I said with an uneasy
shrug.

“How can I
trust you?” His eyes were pained as he folded his arms.

“I know you
love Angele.” I my face pinched slightly.

“Yeah, yes I
do.” He straightened his back and gave a suspicious frown from
under his fringe.

I relaxed a
little. “Then you know how I feel about Sky,” I confirmed.

“Ha.” He tried
to laugh, “What is this?” His eyes darted disdainfully between
us.

“And Cres and
Reid,” I added convincingly. He knew I cared about them.

“Why, though?
Why are the hunters suddenly in love with the creatures they hunt?
You can’t be on both sides of the fence, Lila.” His tightly closed
mouth seemed to retain the truth of what he had just said.

Tisane spoke.
“I can answer that. Times are changing. Apollo is gaining power,
his planet is dominating the universe, and he opposes Artemis. It’s
reaching its peak.”

I noted C.J
listening intently.

“Why?” I asked
Tisane. She turned to me.

“The Thunder
River rises and it is swelling. Soon the roads will be trapped, and
Apollo has wielded to undo her legacy by turning it against her
with lust. The wolves are only separated from other creatures by a
conscience. If the enemies care for each other they are no longer
enemies…”

“Do you believe
this?” Jackson asked towards me with a flick of his chin.

“Tisane knows
more about this world of ours than anyone,” I admitted in a distant
tone.

Tisane
continued, “But there are those who will never respect the
laws.”

Jackson was
still vexed. Unconvinced, his eyes flared and he asked Tisane, “Are
you one of us?”

“No,” she
replied.

“Do you believe
in bloodshed?” he asked her with a threatening sneer.

I saw his neck
tense and I readied to protect Tisane.

“I believe in
natural law,” she retorted.

He narrowed his
eyes. “I mean, will you actively participate in your sister’s
death?” He hissed coolly.

“Jackson, it
would seem I already have. My sister doesn’t follow any sacred
laws. She makes her own, and she has no fairness in her heart. She
is angry and it has twisted her.”

“So, you will
kill her?” he asked directly, lips pursed.

Tisane met his
glare. “I will do what needs to be done. It seems to me Artemis has
called on us to correct the balance in her land. She hasn’t chosen
me for a hunter wisely, I have another path and I accept that,” she
pleaded in a hushed tone.

“And what is it
that I am supposed to do for you?”

“Follow yours.”
I knew that her conversation with him had been constructive.

Inherent in all
of us, in the human part, is the desire to trust, to believe what
we are told. Even the wolves weren’t immune to this. Neither of us
had concrete reason to disbelieve, so I was trusting Angele, and
Jackson was trusting me. Something I’ve learnt since is never over
or under estimate your opponents.

Nature was
usually at our mercy, but it was becoming apparent that today that
the tables had turned. The back creek was coloured with sediment
and coming up fast. In the heart of Shade, the river had swollen to
encompass the statue of the huntress, her grey feet disappearing
under the water. A flood warning was issued, reporters fled the
town by helicopter and Shade buckled down for the Artemis River to
break its banks and claim back the lowlands. Some were advised to
evacuate. The next story to hit the nightly national news was the
impending natural disaster. Some houses in Shade were already
flooded. We were on the brink of a full moon as the river rose
higher.

As Sky watched
the media outside the wall through the windows, he wanted to
escape. He would have talked to the reporters had he not been
certified as dead. He knew things weren’t looking up when Blair
introduced his lead officer, Sutton, as the new member to the pack.
He knew Narine had the upper hand now and her claws were digging
deeper into the valley. They were worried about Sutton causing
problems and they had dosed him with Ketamine, an animal
anaesthetic. He sat on the couch with pin prick pupils. But at
least he didn’t add to the drama.

Lila was biding
her time, probably because reporters staked the compound. The house
was in lock down. Aylish was still the only one on the loose
allowed to come and go as she pleased and Lonnie was worried about
her. In frustration he had smashed the Nintendo, which caused an
argument with Tyler. Sky stopped the fight, and then he paced the
lounge. Blair was allowed to come and go as he wished. The rest of
them went stir crazy in the house.

Sam was busy
torturing Cres for Lila’s whereabouts and Sky was growing very
impatient for action, he was jumpy. Bianca was keeping an eye on
him, while reading an old Mills and Boon. Her subtle observation
made him nauseous and the mountain pack grew restless. Unused to
being so civilized, they were all acting cagey. Sky could feel they
were heading for something.

Narine was in
denial, subtly taking control, but the likes of Agnes and Greta
were not easily swayed. They were old and Sky suspected there was a
reason they chose to live in the wild as creatures of the forest
and not as humans.

He wasn’t in
position to convince them Lila wasn’t a threat to those that
followed the law. Narine was slowly brainwashing them into a state
of fear. Everything was heard in the house, all murmurs behind
closed doors could be deciphered. A pack had no privacy. They were
to wait in the forest tonight. He watched the lithe skittish
members of the mountain pack poke at the gadgets the modern wolves
took for granted. The males were subordinate to the female, Greta.
Agnes and Dahlia played Uno quietly in a corner of the lounge. Sky,
somewhat subordinate himself, began to find a bridge between the
males, Christian and Bert. They sat together on the balcony facing
the back of the house overlooking the trees. Uneasily they waited,
for exactly what they weren’t sure.

C.J and Jackson
drove back to show them the way. It was the first time she had been
out on her own with them. I was worried about what might happen on
the drive, but she knew we needed him for the attack. I warned her
not to kill him and I knew he could have easily overheard as he
caught my eye.