Chapter 59
-Johan-
My Tally brethren were wanting for me when I returned My b*dy had begun to slow on the journey back
to base camp and 1 popped my dislocated shoulder back into ce for the fifth time that day as I
waited for her to make an appearance,
I was held up by two other shifters and we all looked up at the stroll hideout built into the trees. My b*dy
would notst for much longer without her. I waited with bated breath as she came to stand at the
window of the tree line hideout and gazed
down
A momentter she was scaling down from the trees like she had been born in the branches. The
small, slender woman who had given me new life
“Johan,” she said with a smile. “Wee back”
I removed my arms from the shoulders of the other two shifters in order to get down on one knee. My
joints popped and grated like an unoiled rusty machine. 1 needed my mechanic and a few new parts
“My Lady of Tally.” I said. “I have good news. The Bielke has been in chaos the past two days
Their uing Alpha letvatnus has staged an attack on their own elder court and taken power for
himself. Elliot has been banished but he still roams the perimeter like he ns to attack This is the
perfect time to strike.”
She extended a hand towards me and gently touched my rotting jos. “You’ve done well, Johan. I think
it’s time to replenish
I closed my eyes at her tender sich. My b*dy was falling apart at the seams, beaten and broken from all
the wear and tear af mix recent endeavors. Her gentle touch was all I needed to push on
“I would appreciate that
The Lady Tally withdrew her hand and folded her arms “You say Ignatius has taken control of the
Bielke)”
She was so much smaller than the other monstrous members of her pack. But something about her
demanded reven and everyone within rage was more than happy to bow to their unusual leader. We all
owed her our lives in one way or another. She had saved us all and her powerful magic had made us
stranger
1 nodded my head, irritated with my creaking spine as I did so. “Yes. The Bielke has a new Alpha. And
Dorothy is now their Lun. They caught on to my tre sp a ssing and foiled our n to manipte the
elders. But it has all worked out in our favor regardless. We have caused enough disarray to be sure of
our victory”
She looked past me, lost in thought for a moment Ignatius has overtaken his father. How time thes
I gazed at her quizzically but the ignored me and named away. “Come along then let’s his you up,”
The other two shafters helped me to my feet and I limped after thedy towards a small canvas tent
that served as our medical center for the time being. Our leader drew the curtain aide and guided me
into the dark enclosure
Inude the tent was a jumble of various tasks and beakers along with dozens and dozens of dried bones
and twisted deer
There were skulls too deer skulls, all of them corrupted and deformed in some way No normal deer
should have teeth that sharp
in
I was lowered to the ground to the center of the feat as Lady Tally began mixing vials of di ck liquid. I
watched as she added a drop of what looked like blood to the bubbling mas male of salear jar
She sprinkled
wh ite po wer in after the blood and tally stirred the nuse with a ck wig broken from a sacred tree in
the water forest Tresgued that precanus litle beach had boken it from the ck hes tree myself upon
my Lady’s inqurst
motioned for the other daters to
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wax just the two of us to the tent before speaking “Johan”
Her voice was an ethereal chime, a tinkling of little bells in a pack so harsh and gravelly. “Do you know
how I came to discover this magnificent blend of magic?”
I stared at the churning ck liquid in the jar in her hands. She held it up to my face, a look of pure
pride and pleasure in
her fine features.
“No, my Lady. But it was a stroke of genius, no doubt about it.”
She smiled widely at myment and I was relieved to have sail the right thing. She was wonderful
when in a good mood, she was terrifying when she was not.
“The secret,” she said almost euphorically as she gloated over her concoction, “is witches’ blood. It’s
difficult to get your hands on, but you’ll find the woods are full of it if you know what you’re looking for.”
I watched as she dipped one boney linger into the jar and brought a drop of the liquid to her lips. She
had fed our entire army with her dark elixir but I had never before seen her touch the magic liquid
herself
She licked the drop from her finger and closed her eyes.
“It was forbidden magic,” she said, keeping her eyes closed as she spoke. There was a bitterness to
her tone. “In all my years. of dabbling in witchcraft, there were rules that were never to be broken.
There was a strict order to things, to life itself.”
She opened her eyes and gazed at the jar in her hand. “It wasn’t until I decided to question those rules,
to break those rules, that I was able to achieve such power. Breaking the rules cost me a great deal,
but it also gave me my freedom. And freedom is worth any price
Lady Tally cupped my head in her hands as she leaned over me. My jaw was ck and hanging ajar at
that point and sher held the jug above my open mouth. “Remember that Johan. Don’t ever let yourself
stray from your goal.” She tilted the jar and poured the oozing obsidian liquid into my mouth. “Freedom
is worth any price.”
It went down bitter. It flowed like liquid down my corroding throat but it congealed It
Jelly when it touched my si burned like it was going to dissolve me from the inside. I had undergone
this process time and time again since I had first been coaxed out of the woods by the strange leader
of the Tally, but I had still not grown numb to the pain.
Lady Tally forced my jaw shut as my b*dy bucked and spasmed in a horrific seizure. “It’ll be over soon,
dear,” she crooned, stroking my forehead with one hand and digging her sharp ckened nails into my
jaw with the other. “Don’t spill a single drop, this is a precious supply after all”
My b*dy was set aze as the liquid burned through my veins. My knuckles cracked and my fingers
syed out and moved like a pianist performing passionately in his sleep. I felt myself dying all over
again, as I did every time I swallowed the magical potent liquid.
After one final spasm that threatened to cra ck my spine in two, I felt my b*dy fall limp and the Lady let
go of her grip on my chin. She cordially wiped a trickle of the dark potion from theer of my mouth
and patted my forehead as Iy in the dirt beside her..
My pupils expanded as my reformed b*dy epted its death and all of my newly healed muscles
rxed. My heart did not pump and no breath escaped my lungs
My b*dy was dead, but I was still there. So too was Julianna who growled in my cold chest with a new
wave of bloodlust.
I didn’t panic as I had the first time when I found I was unable to get any kind of response from my
b*dy. Instead, I waited patiently and the slender woman at my side waited too. Minutes ticked by slowly
until finally, I heaved a small breath of fresh air into my empty lungs
“Wee back, Johan”
I flexed my fingers hesitantly, testing out my new limbs and muscles. I felt stronger than ever. I felt
reborn. My mouth. twisted into a grin as I gazed at the Lady Tally.
Once again, I was a force to be reckoned with and it was all thanks to her. She made me stronger and I
would always be indebted to her for that.
Fri, Jan 26
I pulled myself to my feet, stretching and flexing as I did so.
“Thank you, my Lady. It’s good to be back.”
There was a battle ahead. My vengeance was almost within r that passed in and out of my lungs
reach. My heart did not heat and I had no need for the oxygen
The Johan I had been was dead and yet I had never felt more alive.