Gamma No More - Book 3
Breaking Point

Tane looks at his watch. He doesn’t have all that much time before he has to head back to his other life, but it’s time the witch earned her keep once again. He picks up the bag she will need, along with a few items to help control her.

Slowly he descends into the cell levels, calling Jasper to follow him as he does, not that he’s ever far away. For now, he has appointed him her jailor and since he was paying to get her fit enough to cast spells, he’d taken to almost living down here.

Tane wasn’t stupid. He knew Jasper didn’t like being in his company and that by staying in the cells he was limiting their interaction, for now, that is fine with Tane. He’ll let Jasper think he’s in control, for as long as he is useful in restoring Rowena’s health. Humans may not need formal packs, but they do better when given the chance to bond with other humans.

“Jasper, take Rowena to the next cell over, keep her hood on, and gagged while you do so.”

“Yes Master”

Jasper drags himself out from behind Tane, keeping his body as small as he can so that he gets no further retribution, he’s spent all his time trying to get Rowena’s strength up since his Master was last here and remembers vividly the punishment, he’d had for letting her get so ill.

He’s pretty sure she’s now strong enough for her to cast the spells Tane wants, but he’s not a magic expert and if he’s wrong, or she is strong enough to wield other magic that will annoy his Master once out of her cell, then he knows he will suffer.

At least in her cell, it’s lined to stop her from gaining direct contact with the earth, from where she draws her dominant power.

Walking into her cell, Jasper doesn’t bother locking it, with Tane standing outside, it’s unlikely she could escape.

Jasper looks at Rowena sadly, it’s not enough that this poor girl was a captive in the cells against her will, but the conditions are disgusting, well below most stable animals, and now she’s going to be forced to do Tane’s bidding or risk being degraded more.

“I have to…”

He starts gently while holding up the gag.

“Open your mouth now,” Tane commands

Her eyes don’t leave Jasper, seeing a flicker of compassion in his eyes, they have grown closer over the weeks since she was so sick, and she’s hoping that at some point, they will aid each other to escape, but she needs to gain strength, for now, she opens her mouth in response to the command as Jasper fixes the gag in place.

“Tighter Jasper.

Don’t make me demonstrate the gag on you.”

Jasper pulls the gag tighter, making Rowena flinch before he places the hood over her head, rendering her unable to see.

She feels herself being pulled carefully to her feet, causing her to stagger slightly as she tries to keep her balance, in truth she has hardly moved in the last few weeks and is thankful that Jasper is giving her a few moments to right herself before he gives a gentle pull and starts walking forward.

Once Jasper stopped them moving, she can feel her wrists being encased in iron, she holds back a grin, even from iron, she can draw strength, so having it wrapped around her doesn’t bother her, instead it is almost a comforting feeling, a sense of home. The cuffs rattle as she splays her hands against the wall, telling her even without her sight, that chains bind her to the wall, even knowing that, a sense of calm washes over her.

Between the rock and the iron, her connection to the elements runs deep in her body, and with each breath, her body started humming as the magic starting its slow trickle, into her body. It’s not the familiar high that she used to have when she’s at full strength, but if she could, she would kick off her boots to help recharge her magic at a faster rate. She’s felt so lost without her connection to the elements.

Being able, finally, to pull the magic into her fills her with hope and a feeling of peace, the coldness of the rock not bothering her.

For five minutes she listens to someone moving around the cell, it’s taken Tane a while to set this up, buying items on the black market and never more than one item from each person to hide his actions, but he watches from a distance as Jasper places the salt around the edge of the cell, along with sheeting to restrict her view and finally the four unofficial, unregistered magic charms for each of the elements to stop the magic being targeted outside the cell get fixed to the bars.

In reality, Tane believes it is over the top, bordering on the extreme, but he wants to be sure that she cannot escape, even if he has promised to set her free and she swore, using blood magic, not to harm him, but he’s not convinced on how effective that is on stopping her telling others about him.

Most of the spells that witches can conjure are non-harmful and Rowena has sworn in as a light witch, but that wouldn’t stop her from transporting herself out of the cells, although he doubts she is strong another for that spell and even if she was, without seeing her surroundings, she has no point of reference to move to and landing in rock is a death sentence for anyone.

Tane gestures to a few items of Rowena’s off to one side for Jasper to retrieve before he walks once more into Rowena’s temporary cell.

“Time to prove that keeping you alive is worthwhile,” Tane smirked, knowing she cannot reply to him yet.

“I have limitations in place, so don’t try casting spells I don’t ask for. In this state, you are easy to kill. Do you understand?”

The hood over Rowena’s head moves showing a nod and Tane signals Jasper to come in and remove the hood and gag, he has no intention of getting closer than he has to be and definitely not for long, the witch stinks, which reminds him, he should get Jasper to spray her down now she’s stronger.

“Scry for the wolf Antonia Woodfield,”

He signals to the map in front of her.

“If it fails, scry for her body,”

He crosses his arms, letting his command aura roll over him; she feels the power, but it just makes her stomach roll and she swallows down the urge to vomit.

Carefully, she draws out a pentagon in the oil provided for her and the signs for Invenire (Find), Via (Way), Amissio (Loss), Lupus (Wolf) and Puella (Girl) around the map at the points she has made, before pulling the power of the earth inside her, praying for it to work so she can be free, she holds her earthen pendant above a map, pulling the power to her core, she begins the chant the spell to replace Antonia Woodfield.

As she reaches deep inside her, she feels the magic coalesce forming a ball of tight power inside, filling her with a warm feeling of home and contentment, even chained to the wall the connection feels strong, but as much as she tries to focus, the pendant doesn’t move.

She releases the power contained within her and moves the pendant before she retries the spell once more, but once again, the pendant refuses to swing in any one direction.

The displeasure on Tane’s face increases, a low growl reverberating around the cell.

Rowena removed the sign for Lupus, replaced it with Corpus (Body) and wills the power inside her to build, the magic ball isn’t as strong this time as she searches for a body, and she’s tiring quickly, the downside of not being able to connect with the earth regularly and soon the energy she calls forth to bind with the earth magic will be from her life force only rather than the daily energy she took for granted, that she gained from always being connected to her element.

She’s desperate for one spell to work, but once again the pendant remains stubbornly still, slumped over the map, tired, she raises her head and looks up at Tane.

“There is no pull” she utters quietly

“Is your magic gone?” Tane asked with distaste.

“No, I could feel it. There is no werewolf by that name.”

Tane walks over and crouches low

“You are failing me and you know the consequences of failure… do you want another demonstration so soon after the last one?”

Slapping Antonia’s registration papers from the Stone Heart pack down in front of her, he looks her in the eyes.

“Try that name and do not fail me this time, this is your last chance.”

This time she removes the symbol for body and replaces it with Absconditus (Hidden) if she was using a fake name, this would be a more effective symbol, no longer scrying specifically for a wolf.

Once more, she calls forth the magic. It’s weaker than before, drawing on her last reserves, but as she chants the words to replace the hidden one who has used the name of Emma Marshall, the pendant finally moves, hanging over one place.

“There, that’s where she is.”

Her breath is ragged, she barely feels like she can remain kneeling over the map anymore

“I can go now?”

Using the last of her strength, she looks up in hope at the wolf who had moved closer to look at the map.

Tane tuts as he walks closer and crouches before her.

“Jasper can feed you daily for the next few months, but then it’s back to your old cell, once Jasper has sprayed you down, of course.

First, we have to prove the wolf is where you say.

Second, I can’t have you blabbing your mouth off now, can I?

Don’t worry, I’ll uphold my end of the bargain. Of course, you will be free to go.”

He watches hope light up her face.

“But only once my plan is complete, though.”

He gets up laughing at the look of despair on her face, as he leaves the cell, he hears her collapsing to the floor and the soft crying sound that follows warms his heart, he’s sure, finally, that he had broken the witch’s spirit.

“Spray her, and her original cell clean. Once the stench is gone, give her some new clothes and place the original bed back in the cell.

As long as she doesn’t give you trouble, she may have a blanket and feed her daily. She did well today and proved she’s still useful to me.”

Tane walks out, finally back in the forest, he takes in a deep breath of fresh air, humans seem to attract a stench in the cells that clings to you even after you’ve left it, it almost makes him want to gag, but at least he didn’t need to listen to her as she was forcibly sprayed down, humans are a pitiful group.

Taking out his phone, he dialled his first contact.

“I have a lead on Antonia Woodfield.

I need you to send every spare wolf to hunt her down.”

He listens for a while before explaining where to replace her.

“Push them hard to get there as soon as possible.”

Disconnecting the call, he closes his eyes and puts his head back a little, listening to the sounds of the morning forest.

The more he considers his position, the more he realises he can’t afford to let her escape his grasp, even if it means the Royal pack picks her up, one way or another she needs to be accounted for and he’s confident that eventually, he will remove her from whoever catches her.

Dialling, he makes a few more calls before he disconnects his finger hovering over the number for the Royal pack.

Taking a deep breath, he makes the call. It’s not the one he wanted to make, but strategically, capturing her is his highest priority and he knows the Royal Pack already has wolves off their pack land and close enough to help.

She couldn’t just drop off the radar into oblivion she had to get involved, she had to breach the borders in the Shadow Stalkers pack, if she’s showing her hand and making a move into pack control and politics then it could easily destroy his plans.

He gets into his car to head back to his other life.

“Let’s see you evade all those wolves, bitch.” He spat out with feeling.

Chuckling he wonders what people would think of his habit of talking to himself, maybe, it’s time to replace someone he can trust, or his habit of talking to himself will end up being a trait people will be concerned about and until everything is in place, he cannot draw attention to himself.