CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

The sun had risen several hours before and was already beginning to set. Arnie sat on the wall at Pickering Wharf as he watched it sadly, wondering why the Universe always kept moving forward even when something catastrophic happened.

He felt someone sit beside him and didn't have to look to know who it was. "Hey, Spence," he said softly.

"Hey," Spencer replied in a similar tone.

"Today was weird, right? Because for most people, everything was back to normal... They've already moved on."

"Yes, it was weird, because it was normal," Spencer agreed, understanding exactly what Arnie meant.

"It's nice out tonight. I feel like it should be storming or something."

"It stormed last night," Spencer pointed out.

"That was Deenie. She misfired, or maybe it was intentional. It's hard to tell sometimes." Arnie sighed and continued staring at the sunset.

"What do you need right now, Arnie?" Spencer asked gently.

"I need Benny to still be here, and for these last few days to be a bad dream, but other than that? I don't know, Spence. I'm probably Salem's biggest expert on losing the people I love, but it never gets any easier."

Spencer patted Arnie's shoulder gently. "I know how much Benny meant to you," he said. "I also know you're trying to stay strong for Aideen. I respect that, but you don't have to be strong for me. If you need to freak out or break down, I'm here for you."

"I know, Spence. You've always been here for me." Arnie sighed. "Why does everyone I love die?" He asked.

"I wish I could answer that. You don't deserve to feel so much pain."

"It sucks, Spencer! It really sucks. I feel like every time it happens, it's somehow my fault... Like knowing me is a curse or something. And not just for my girlfriends, but for everyone I love."

"It's not your fault, Arnie," Spencer said soothingly. "And knowing you has been a blessing for me, not a curse."

"You're just saying that because you're one of my best friends."

"I'm saying it because it's the truth, Arnie."

Melissa approached them looking a bit stressed out herself. "Am I interrupting?" She asked.

"Not at all, Melissa," Spencer replied. "I promised Cierra I'd meet up with her at the Unit to go over more files." He squeezed Arnie's shoulder and added, "Call if you need me, but I'm sure you're in good hands."

As Spencer walked away, Melissa took his spot beside Arnie. "I'm glad you're here, Missa," he said, pulling her closer.

Melissa tensed for a second and Arnie realized she was in pain. He thought he spotted a bruise on her arm, but it vanished before his eyes.

"Did you just shapeshift to hide an injury?" He asked.

"You're imagining things, Arnie," she replied. She kissed him, successfully distracting him from asking any more questions.

He was worried about her, but the raw need he felt to escape his grief overwhelmed him, and he decided not to push her for answers. Instead, he lost himself in her, desperately searching for the slightest relief from his pain.

~*~

It was a nice night, and Jesse was feeling restless. He changed form into a wolf and started running through his favorite wooded area in Salem. The air was cool, but not too thin, and as it filled his lungs, he sped up, wanting to take it all in. His heart raced as he moved through the woods, alone and under the full moon. Jesse, being a royal lycanthrope, had excellent control over his shifts. He could change form at will and didn't need a full moon, but when the moon was full, it was a lot harder to resist the urges.

Suddenly, a strong scent hit Jesse, and he froze. He studied the surrounding area, looking for anything suspicious, but saw nothing. He was about to brush it off when he heard a twig snap. He began sniffing the air, frantically trying to figure out what was heading in his direction.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" A male asked.

"We have orders, Keither," a female replied.

Humans, Jesse registered. They weren't likely to be mortal, considering they were discussing "orders" to come into the woods, but Jesse was fairly certain that they weren't warlocks either. They didn't smell like vampires. That left corrupt slayers, or the unlikely presence of devil worshippers. Either way, he suspected he should lay low until they were gone. He hurried to hide behind a bush.

"But it's dangerous," the one called Keither said.

"You're such a chicken," the female replied.

"I am not a chicken. I'm just concerned, is all," Keither protested.

"Right." The woman began clucking at him.

"Shut up, Renee!" Keither snapped.

Renee continued to taunt him as Jesse watched them. Keither moved to swing at her. Renee had quicker reflexes, and she had him on his back in seconds.

"Ouch..." Keither complained. "That hurt."

"It was supposed to. Quit whining and help me get the altar set up."

"Look, this isn't our territory."

"The chapter out here knows we're here for a few days. They said we can use their woods as long as we don't do anything to endanger the land or its resources."

"Technically, human sacrifice endangers one of their resources. This is a local victim, Renee. The few remaining Salem devil worshippers didn't give us jurisdiction to kill their prey."

"They'll deal. We need her," Renee insisted. "Besides, we're all working toward the same cause... We need to get that tomb open."

Jesse studied the two of them and realized that they had a large sack between them. It was moving. Okay, so devil worshippers are visiting from out of town. They're looking for the tomb, and they've got a sacrifice. Great, Jesse thought. So much for a peaceful night of running. He'd have to wait for the right moment before he could attack, but he knew he needed to intervene now. A local woman was in danger.

Suddenly, a strong gust of wind passed through the woods. "Did you feel that?" Keither asked nervously. "It's dark magick."

"Necromancy," Renee confirmed. "It's probably just one of their locals. Don't worry about it."

"Let her go," a powerful voice commanded. Jesse peaked out from his hiding spot to see who had interrupted the two devil worshippers.

"Aren't you Jade Collins?" Renee asked, her eyes widening with surprise. She looked very concerned by that realization.

"You know me. Good. That means you must know what I did to my parents. Release the girl now or that will look like nothing compared to what I'll do to you," Jade said.

Jesse watched in stunned silence as Jade threatened the devil worshippers. Why is she here? He wondered.

Suddenly, Jesse had a sick sensation in the pit of his stomach that told him who the devil worshippers must have been planning to sacrifice.

"Stay out of this, Collins," Renee said. "You're not involved."

"She's my friend. I am involved," Jade replied. She stared at Renee. All of a sudden, Renee screamed in pain. "That's just a small taste of a torture spell. Don't make me use anything else on you and your friend. Let her go, or pay the price," Jade said firmly.

Renee grabbed onto Keither and fled the woods with him. Jade quickly set to work on opening the sack. She was having difficulty getting the material to tear.

Jesse walked over to her, still in wolf form, and flashed his teeth. "Get away from us," Jade said. She stopped herself from physically pulling the wolf away from the sack as Jesse began trying to tear it open without causing harm to whoever was inside.

In less than two minutes, Jesse successfully tore a hole in the sack. As he had suspected, Beth was the intended sacrifice. She was curled up in a ball crying when he freed her. She wrapped her arms around Jade, and then she noticed Jesse.

"I didn't think you'd find me... They grabbed me when I was in the bathroom at the restaurant," Beth said in a trembling voice.

"I knew something was wrong," Jade replied. "I tracked your energy."

"Where did this dog come from?" Beth asked. "He's so cute."

"Well, he saw that I was having trouble opening the sack, so he got it open for me..." Jade scratched Jesse behind the ear affectionately. Jesse nuzzled his face against her hand. "This dog saved your life."

"Good puppy," Beth said, scratching his other ear and burying her face in the fur around his neck.

"Well, way to go, Jesse," Dylan said, joining them and seeing the wolf between the girls. "Look at you, getting all this attention from not one, but two lovely ladies."

"What are you talking about?" Beth asked. "Do you know this dog?"

"That dog is a werewolf, and you know him, too," Dylan replied with a laugh. "Come on, Jesse. Change back."

Jesse obediently changed back into his human form. As an experienced lycanthrope, he'd mastered the spells required to keep his clothes on when he changed back, and he was glad for it now. He knew Beth would have turned colors at nudity, and was betting that Jade would have either punched or hexed him.

"Jesse?" Beth asked in awe. "I've never seen anyone do that before..."

"Pretty cool, huh?" Dylan asked.

"Oh my gosh, Jesse... You saved my life!" Beth suddenly realized.

"No big," Jesse said with a shrug. "All I did was bite open a sack. Jade's the one that got you away from the cult members."

"Yeah, well, I'm not big on letting the people I'm trying to protect get sacrificed," Jade replied. She looked a little bit shaken up, but she kept up a strong facade.

"Does anyone need a lift home?" Dylan asked.

"Yeah, we could use one," Jade replied. "I followed the cult members on foot."

"Jesse?" Dylan asked.

"Nah, I think I'll change form again and finish running. It's been a few weeks since the last time. I need the exercise," Jesse replied.

"Suit yourself. I'll see you tomorrow. Ladies, let's go," Dylan said, taking Jade's hand in his right hand and Beth's in his left. He escorted them to his car. If Jade hadn't already grown so fond of him, she'd have never allowed it, but since she found him trustworthy, she let it slide.

Jesse watched them leave before shifting back into his wolf form and trying to relax. He began running and hoped it would clear his mind.

~*~

Cierra and Spencer were dutifully working on reading through prophecies that night in the Unit's library. The enormous room housed thousands of books on the occult, the Gods, prophecies, and the history and lore of Salem. It was one of Cierra's favorite places in the entire world. She loved the fact that it smelled of ancient books and contained an incredible amount of knowledge that was just waiting to be discovered.

She was studying a book on Salem's most infamous prophecies when Spencer suddenly began to tremble. The haunted expression on his face left Cierra both concerned and terrified.

"Spencer?" Cierra asked. "Are you okay? What's going on?"

"Oh my Gods..." Spencer whispered, his hands trembling harder as he held a very old, leather-bound book. "I... I must have translated it wrong."

"You never mistranslate things," Cierra reminded him nervously. "What's wrong, Spencer? I've never seen you so shaken up."

"I translated a prophecy from the original hieroglyphics. Your soul is Egyptian, Cierra... Tell me I'm wrong," he said softly. Spencer showed the original prophecy to her. Cierra understood why he was so shaken up when she read it.

Slowly, she translated it aloud. "Within a year of the tomb's revelation, one of the great protectors of this world shall fall for good." Cierra paused and shook her head as she felt the truth in the air. "No... It can't mean..."

Spencer completed her thought for her. "It means that one of us is going to die, in under a year, and we won't be resurrected."