“Phish.” Marcy flipped her wrist at me like I was a silly person. “You had that entire thing covered from the moment we arrived. For the most part I was just in the way, bumbling along like your inefficient, but incredibly clever, sidekick.”
“No way.” I shook my head adamantly. “If it wasn’t for the dark spells you brewed, we would’ve been overpowered in minutes. The potions gave us precious moments to get ahead. We wouldn’t have made it otherwise. That’s why Juanita sent you with me, like a barnacle clinging to a ship. Without you, I would’ve died.” I raised a single eyebrow to dare her to contradict me. “I’m not invincible and never have been. This is a team effort, and I’m so thankful I have you—you and your cleverness—clinging to my boat like a moochy crustacean, so thank you.”
Marcy picked up her throw pillow and tossed it at my head. I ducked, laughing. “I’m hardly a mooch, and let’s face it, you’re the one who clings to my boat by the tips of your claws hoping I’ll toss you a life preserver. Face it, without me you’d be bored out of your gourd, dragging yourself from one dangerous escapade to the next with no joy, only sadness.”
“You’re right, you do brighten my day, and honestly, I’m glad you’re so humble about it. Always makes for such a self-effacing conversation—” Another throw pillow smacked me in the face. When I was done laughing, Marcy’s demeanor had shifted. Her face had become serious. “Okay, now what?” I asked.
“There’s one thing I have to know before your mate gets back. I have to ask, since you haven’t had a chance to explain exactly what went down with Marinette after I was knocked out.” Marcy leaned forward. “Is she part of you or what? I know she didn’t come out. I saw you lying there, looking dead, and I’m sure she was inside. And then—presto—you woke up and she was gone. Nowhere to be found.”
I closed my eyes, remembering. “I’m not sure I can put what happened into perfect words,” I began, opening my eyes and leveling them on my friend, “but I’ll give you my best interpretation of what happened.”
“That’s good enough for a barnacle.”
“Marinette split her soul in two to create the first female werewolf on earth. My predecessor. She went against edict to do it, because she wanted her supernatural race—the race of shifters—to be the most powerful, and to have control over the supernatural race through her new toy. At least that’s how she explained it to me. But when she possessed me, hoping to claim my body for herself, she presented my wolf with the other half of her soul. Once we stopped fighting the possession, thanks to Juanita, my wolf sort of… claimed the rest of the soul for herself. No power went with it. It’s sort of creepy to say out loud, but I assure you, Marinette is nowhere inside me. The only thing left is my happy, complete wolf.” My wolf barked her agreement.
“That is strange and creepy,” Marcy remarked, “but totally cool. You Ghostbustered her. I’ve never heard of someone swallowing up a soul like that, but I’ve also never heard of a supe splitting their soul in the first place. If Marinette was only made up of half a soul, I can see why she didn’t have any power. She could be strong for a moment or two, when she used the bokor, but she would never have been a contender.”
I chuckled. “You make the ordeal sound easy.”
“Of course I do, I’m good like that. I like to take the fried and make it chicken fried,” Marcy agreed. “Much more flavor that way. And now I can see by the bags under your eyes you need some time to recover. It looks like a truck with big, fat tires rolled over you and left you for dead. Get some sleep if you can. Your beast is getting out of the water as we speak.” She stood. “If I’m here when he comes back, things will get ugly.”
I stood along with her and gave her a hug. “Thank you, Marcy,” I whispered in her ear. “For not only being my friend, but becoming a powerful ally.”
She hugged me back fiercely. “I’m your Pack sister-in-law and don’t you forget it. I’ll always volunteer to babysit you, Wonder Wolf. We’re in this together. All of us.”
We stepped apart, both of us smiling and a little teary-eyed, even though neither of us would ever admit it. “Marcy, when you get back to the house, tell everyone we’re leaving just before dawn. I already told Tyler, but our next step is to find Kayla’s brother. Juanita told me the path I need to take right now, so we’re taking it. She said once we find Ajax, my destiny will be clear—and I’m praying that will be true.”
“Wait a minute, did you say Ajax?” she asked, her eyebrows furrowing.
“Yeah, why?”
“Because Kayla called her kid brother Jax, not Ajax.”
“Jax must be short for Ajax.” I shrugged. “That’s not a huge stretch.”
“No, but in mythology Ajax is a mighty warrior known for his strength, little missy.” She shook her head. “He’s not known for raising the dead, so that means her brother is not a necromancer.”