The Wolf's Den: the halo series, #3

By SR S

The never ending struggle between good and evil never truly disappears inside of us. Just when we have defeated the enemy a new threat rears its ugly head. The question is, do we have the strength to fight or do we give in to the darkness...

• Language: English
• Publisher: SrS
• Release date: Sep 20, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393608349

Book preview

THE

HALO

SERIES

The wolf’s den

SrS

The Wolfs Den

Copyright © 2020 Suzanne Riggeal-Seidel

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any way by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwise without the prior consent of the author except as provided by my USA copyright law.

Cover design by Suzanne Seidel

Published in the United States of America

Fiction/General Fantasy/Young Adult/Magic

This novel is a work of fiction. All characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either product of the author's imagination or used fictitiously.

The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the internet or any other means without the written consent or permission of the author are illegal and punishable by law. Your support of the author’s rights is much appreciated.

ISBN

Follow me down the path

I will walk beside you

Guiding and showing you the way

I will not leave you

I will be standing on the path watching you

If you ever feel alone

Close your eyes

You will see six sets of footprints

Two belonging to you, four to me

Then you will know that I have not left you

I will be there to guide you

Whenever you need

SPIRIT WOLF

Acknowledgments

TO MY MOM AND DAD, a heartfelt thank you for believing in me even when I didn’t believe in myself, I love you both.

To my husband, Eric, who encourages me to fulfill my dreams and loves me so completely, that I never feel alone even in my darkest hours.

To Maximus and Elijah for showing me that there is always room for a smile, no matter how hard life can get.

To my sissy, Sherri, who was taken from us. I know that in the dark of night, my inspiration came from you.

To my readers, your words of praise reached my ears and helped me to fly through this book!

My thanks and love to you all!!!

SrS

Contents

Halo: Hell Hath no Fury        1 

Kaitlin: Uninvited Guests     9 

Halo: It’s Always Quiet Before the Storm  22

Zachairy: Realizations  24

Cornelius: Let’s Go Home  33

Joshua Comsa: The End is Coming  27

Sister Abigail: The Hard Truth  30 

Garius: A Plan  34

Agnes: Establishing the Pecking Order  39

Mrs. Hawl: The Jig is Up  45

Halo: Humiliation  49

Gulla: Only a Mother Love  61

Zachairy: It Sucks to be Me  64

Halo: Message Received  71

Garius: Alls Well That Ends Well  75

Timber: Desperate Times   80

Zachairy: Pod People  89 

Jenny: Good as New   97

Harriet Comsa: Small Band of Misfits  103

Halo: Day 1  110

Timber: Day 2  112

Jenny: Day 3  116

Halo: Day 3 Continued  127

Sister Abigail: Seven Books  135

Halo: An Egg is an Egg  140

Gris El: A Time of Change  150

Jenny Hawl: In a Second Life Can Change  153

Trebor Remoc: Consequences  161

Garius: Bloodlust  169

Roxy: I’m the Villian  172

Sister Abigail: The Loose Thread  180

Cornelius: Food Fight  184

Halo: Into the Darkness  189

Ketra: One War at a Time  193

Sister Abigail: Mission One  199

Halo: Bad Girl  206

Jenny: A Wolf Gone Rogue  209

Arturo: Earthquake  213

Roxy: Cree  218

Sister Abigail: Secrets  227

Halo: Forgiveness  234

Gris El: One Thread  239

Halo: All You Can Eat Buffet  244

Garius: Here Goes Nothing  247

Sister Abigail: Silent Partner  251

Halo: Ready or Not, Here I Come  256

Garius: Home  263

Arturo: Redemption  271

Cree: The Path  281

Agnes Brumwell: The Devil Himself  287

Halo: I Got This  290

Cornelius: Casualty of War  396

Jenny Hawl: Coward  306

Roxy: Visions  313

Halo: Ant Hill    322

PREFACE

Dear Diary, I was alive for less than seventy-two hours, and my world spun out of control. I don’t know who I am anymore. The young girl whose innocence was stolen by the monsters that humans read about, or am I, in fact, one of those monsters? I awoke in a strange room filled with beings that I only knew from JJ’s recollections. Drawn to protect those that she would want to protect, but at what cost? I want to make my way in this world. But I have been chosen to change the world by the ancestors in the spirit realm. I feel her in me, rummaging around like I am an old trunk in the attic, filled with unknown treasures at her disposal.

I disagreed with the elders of Salem and their barbaric ritual of burning those witches they found guilty of treason. Most were young, one at the delicate age of nine. The anger rose in me as I listened to the old crone speak to Master Waters and his son as if those lives were inconsequential. I didn’t think twice at trying to stop the injustice, and with the aid of a ghost and the house servant, I was able to leave the Castle of Talón undetected and attempt to save those wrongly persecuted. I didn’t think twice as I jumped into the center of the burning pyres. I didn’t get a chance to think about what I was about to do. I just did it. I felt her anger burn through me more fiercely than the flames themselves. I am her. She is me. Together we are unstoppable. Together we are a ticking time bomb of good versus evil, compassionate versus cruel but even scarier than that is I have no idea who will win in this endless duel of parry and lunge. Am I the big bad wolf and she the sheep? Or is it possible she is the wolf in sheep clothing?

Chapter 1

Halo: Hell Hath no Fury

The fires burned their brightest as I slammed my fists into the ground and chanted the spell that appeared before my eyes. One hit for each victim and myself as the flames engulfed us. I didn’t have to worry about Zoe, her spirit unable to be harmed by human-made fire, and I knew that the ancestors did not wish to banish her soul into the dark abyss. I had only to protect Gris El, Roxy, Maximus, Bailee, and myself from impending death.

Fire lit at the stroke of noon

push your flames away

Earthrise to create a womb

And wrap them on this day

Water spray down and consume

The fires of today

Air blow through like the wisps of a broom

And whisk the steam away

Spirit comes to me like the harvest moon

So that  I  may rise above the fray

I watched as the flames pushed themselves away from the pyres, and the ground began to shake. I watched mesmerized as the earth rose from within each pyre and climbed to each human set to burn and wrapped itself around them. The sky opened up, and the rains poured down. The fires sizzled and snapped before extinguishing, leaving behind a thick soup of steam. Gently the air washed over us and took the haze with it, leaving in its wake four mounds of dirt, Zoe, who was still attached to her pyre by the cord of ethereal light and me. With a wave of my hand, I threw a ball of blue flame at her ties and set her free.

Panic had set in. The witnesses were screaming and scrambling in all directions. I felt a strength enter into my

body, so powerful it almost took my breath away. Amongst the ruins of charred wood, embers slowly dying, I stood. I stood with my arms wide open, and as the smoke dissipated, I was bathed in sunlight. There I stood before the elders.   Anger rose inside of me higher than the flames had from the fires. I was hidden from view by the pyres and slowly turned to face Zoe. The ancestors had come forth from the trees and surrounded Zoe. All the voices that had been with me in the abyss were speaking now.  Every fiber of me felt like it was on fire. The back of my neck felt as though someone had branded me with a hot iron. I started to climb the steps of Zoe’s pyre when the ancestors stopped talking, and all of them turned their faces towards me. Their lucent features showed fear. Even in death, their eyes were expressive.

I couldn’t spend time-solving their problem. I had elders to deal with, and I was unsure whether or not I had reached her friends in time. JJ demanded vengeance. Her hatred was contagious and euphoric. We were thinking as one, feeling like one, and ready to act as one. I spun slowly around and stepped into view. Sister Abigail and I stood face to face across from one another.

Chaos filled in the spaces around each of the elders. Their minions were running for shelter, screaming, and crying at what they had witnessed. In the air, the sounds of cracking and snapping reverberated, like electrical wires hitting the water. Had I been one of the bystanders, I probably would have done the same thing. Every fiber of my being was on high voltage. I could feel the power radiate around me, surging through me, and building up in me.

I smiled at the elders one by one, sardonically. I called forth the element of the earth and asked it to draw their feet into the ground up to their calves so they couldn’t move. I watched in sheer delight as they struggled to free themselves from the shackles of the earth unsuccessfully. I waited for them to stop fighting and forfeit their freedom for the moment.

A flicker of movement to my left caught my attention, and the scent of Ketra wafted on the air current. For a brief moment, I felt another form of anger flutter through me. I quickly inhaled a deep cleansing breath, never allowing my eyes to leave the eyes of my enemies.

Behind me, the ancestors guided a weakened  Zoe into the haven of the trees. There they huddled among themselves,  consoling Zoe but staying within range to watch what would happen next. The witnesses scrambled around in a panic; some remained hidden among the trees. Others ran as if the devil were chasing them himself. Some were brave enough to stay, although too scared to confront the enemy, but too nosy to leave.

The time had come to put the rumors to rest on who and what I am. Hell hath no fury like an immortal scorned.

Chapter 2

Kaitlin: Uninvited Guests

Harriet had finished the story of how Zachairy had become an immortal. We sat quietly among each other, each digesting the information fed to us. I knew that I had to make things right between Halo and myself. No matter what name she went by, JJ or Halo, she was still my daughter, my child, and my ward to protect, even if it was from herself. I was just about to explain what I needed to do when Harriet grabbed onto the table and started to shake.

Oh God, it’s about to happen, Joshua. She croaked out in a forced breath.

Harriet grabbed my hand and motioned for all of us to do the same forming a linked circle. She instructed us to close our eyes and free our minds to her. None of us argued with her demand, we instinctively laced our hands together and closed our eyes. I inhaled three times to calm my nerves, and it was as if someone had turned a projector on in my head.

Before my eyes was a grand circle, teepee like stands of wood positioned within it and tied to each one were the witches my daughter had come to trust and love. Witches that took my daughter out of harm's way and placed themselves in front of it instead. My God, one of them was but a child no more than nine, ten years old at the most. I watched in horror as each woodpile was touched by a torch and heard the sobs of each creature as they cried out their goodbyes to each other.

We watched as the elders stood tall and proud of their accomplishment of burning their fellow witches for a crime they did not commit. We were uninvited guests to a travesty. There was a strange whispering floating on the breeze, a pitiful sound, much like the sounds of dying animals. The flames were growing, soon the scene that would pass before our eyes would no doubt haunt us for all eternity. No matter how loudly I screamed for them to stop the madness, it did not matter. They neither could hear nor see me. I stood from the table, yanking those hands that I clutched with me but unable to release the grips. Just as I was about to open my eyes and purposely deny myself access to witness their death, I saw her.

I stood perfectly still no longer trying to disengage myself from the others. I watched as the haze that surrounded the circle separated at Halo’s entrance and gave her full access to the plight in front of her. She was beautiful, not JJ beautiful but beautiful in her way. In her eyes, although they were cat-like and pink, I saw my child. There was no mistaking; this was my child. The skin around her eyes had crinkled at what she was staring at just like JJ’s did when she was distressed about something. Her shoulders had the same set determination in them, and the shape of her mouth was the same. What happened next happened so quickly no one had a chance to react. One second my daughter stood on the sidelines of a tragedy, and the next, she had become part of it.

My body gravitated back down to the chair, shaken and depleted as I watched the inferno swallow them all up. The only one left untouched was the apparition tied up behind all the others. Harriet and Joshua’s kitchen had filled up with the quiet sobbing of us all, each mourning a life lost hundreds of miles away.

Although the inferno reached debilitating heights, we felt no heat, but the tears burned down our faces. Still, we held hands, whether, for support, comfort, or plain just forgot to let go, I don’t know, but I will forever be grateful for whatever the reason was. We watched as the ground rose upon itself, the fires leaned outward away from the figures tied to the posts, the sky opened up and drenched the flames with a rage of its own. The deafening sound of hissing caused by fire being extinguished was followed by a thick cloud of steam that settled and blinded us all. As if on command, a breeze began sweeping away the thick white vapor and among the embers and charcoal was Halo. Untouched, unscathed, and undeniably angry. I could see the vampire her in. Her eyes had turned a darker shade of pink, the pupils thick and opaque. She turned to look at the spirits behind her. The healer rune on her neck glowed through her hair. How her hair did not catch fire was beyond me, but it didn’t.

A movement just off to her left caught my eye, and I focused on the shadows shrouding behind the sanctuary of the trees, and then I saw his face, Neil. I wanted to scream out loud for Halo to watch out but found my throat dry and unable to utter a sound. The best I could do was watch. I saw Halo’s eyes flicker for a nanosecond and knew that she too was aware of someone behind her, but her unwavering glower was straight ahead at the elders of Salem.

I, however, could not tear my eyes off of the woman who had started all of this. I knew that she was merely a marionette, her strings being manipulated by her master, as she had called him. I still wore a heavy coat of guilt at what happened on that night, the night I died, the night JJ felt so utterly alone and defeated she simply walked away from it all and right into the eye of the hurricane. It felt like a lifetime ago when it was just barely six months. It had been  JJ and my first Thanksgiving, Christmas, and News Years apart. All because one man wanted power. Now, there, he stood beside his awful creation and gazed upon my daughter with intrigue and desire.

I needed to go to her, protect her from the monsters that followed in her shadow. I had let her down for so many years. I wasn’t about to let her down anymore. I needed to make amends with Halo and accept her for who and whatever she was. No matter what the cost.

Harriet and Joshua continued to be wrapped up in their grief at the losses of life in the witch realm and kept us in the magical circle, there was nothing we could do at this point but to watch as hell unfolded, but deep down inside something resonated.  I had this feeling that something horrible was about to happen, call it mothers intuition or just plain commonsense, but I needed to get to Salem, and I had to get there now.

I looked at every face within the magical ball we were in, my eyes rested on the brothers, Garius and Arturo. One whose love ran so deep for my daughter and the other who loved me. Poor Zachairy wept openly for the loss of his mother. Much like myself, it was hard to take in everything that had happened. I stood there, unsure and scared as to what was going to happen next. My eyes rested on Harriet, and I called out her name, begged her to release us so that we could go and stop the insanity. She looked at me, her once devilish eyes that held a twinkle of mischief now appeared hollow and gravely sad. I begged her, repeating the same request over and over again until finally she relented and we swooshed backward into the backrests of our chairs. The air knocked out of us for a second or two.

It took only a minute for Garius, Arturo, Zachairy, and myself to regain our composure and headed to the door. Zachairy, who was unable to travel the great distance as fast as we were, was offered Arturo’s back to hitch a ride on and off we went. The mountain's terrain was no match for the three of us vampires, and we made our way to Salem in mere minutes.

We left the rest up to our noses to smell out just were exactly the witch’s circle was at in the magical witch’s forest. We could only go so far before we realized that a boundary spell had been placed several hundred feet in diameter around the pyres so no one could interfere.

We circled the perimeter until we were directly to the right of Halo. I was angry that Ketra and her master were able to break the boundary spell, and we couldn’t, but the boundary spell turned out to be only a temporary problem.   Quietly, we stood in the shadows; none of us spoke for fear that someone would hear us. If Neil was there, his daughter was too somewhere. We wanted to be a surprise against the enemies and be there to back up Halo when the time came. We had misjudged the equation entirely and found that our help was the last thing Halo wanted.

Chapter 3

Halo: It’s Always Quiet Before the Storm

"I stand before you, the elders of Salem, and your minions. I watched in horror at the injustice you bestowed upon five innocent victims. Five witches, sentenced to die without so much as a trial—one no more than a child.  I see no family or friends present for this execution, only unknown faces that grovel at your feet. Where are the members of the Northern Coven? The Southern coven? Eastern and Western? I see naught. The ancestors are huddled within the confines of the trees, ashamed and outraged at your brutality.

You have charged the leaders of those covens with treason, yet you bear no proof of their crime. Halo looked to each elder until her eyes settled on Brother Christian, her least favorite. Where is your proof?" she raised her perfectly shaped eyebrow at Brother Christian and directed the question at him.

The fact that Jebadiah was voted in as the head Coven leader of the South by the other covens shows proof in itself of their guilt, Brother Christian sneered.

Then I suppose one could accuse the elders of the same crime than couldn’t they? she asked calmly.

I beg your pardon, Sister Abigail interjected, appalled at the implication Halo was making and even more unsure of how to end this confrontation amicably. Sister Abigail was very much aware that the followers of Salem were starting to come from behind the trees to hear what was transpiring. She did not want the witnesses asking questions and second-guessing the decision they had made, set us free so that we can go back to the halls of the witches realm and speak of this further.

Halo peered at her nemesis, who appeared to be calm and serene on the outside, but Halo could smell her fear. Even captured by the earth, the elders tried to look as though they were still in control. Their power had to remain intact for the sake of those who had been witnesses to the execution. Halo ignored her and continued.

"The four of you are the elders of all the witch realm—keepers of the secrets, the spells, births, and deaths. You know what transpires among the covens and have the final say to all significant decisions that would have an impact on your kind—our kind.

You became the judge, jury, and executioners of the coven leaders because you accused them of being traitors, but you bear no proof other than your word.  You accused them of bringing in Jebadiah Waters to infiltrate the witch realm for his father. When in fact, that same decision made by the great elders themselves— you, and you gave your blessing." Halo paused in her argument and looked around at all the faces that were drawing nearer.

A small squeaky sound caught Halo’s attention. Had it not been for her vampire hearing, she would never have heard Sister Sarah’s comment accusing Halo of being the real traitor.

As the inner rage grew more intense, a swirling orb of red started to float within the palms of Halo’s hands, and the angrier she became, the more substantial the ball got.

Halo recognized the power she now possessed, and even though JJ couldn’t control it, Halo could. She just couldn’t control the anger that JJ was exuding from inside of her. Much like Master Water’s house when he had become angry and conjured up the blue ball of ethereal energy and hurled it at her.

Creating the red orb was the only way to keep herself from combusting all over the place. Halo at least hoped that was true. In a flash, the red sphere sailed through the air missing Sister Sarah’s head by millimeters and smashed into the trees behind her. Men and women came running out into the circle, screaming. Some clutched their clothes that had caught fire. Some rolled onto the wet ground, trying to quench the fire that was burning their body. The elders watched in horror as the chaos ensued, calling out spells that quickly doused the flames.

It didn’t go unnoticed by Halo that when the fire spread backward, it hit an invisible wall, a barrier.

Drop the barrier, Sister Abigail, I called out to her.

No. I won’t. It protects ancient oaks.

If you don’t, I will, and then I will make the sky rain down ethereal blue orbs all over. They will spare your  majestic forest, but melt every person inside this barrier, taking their soul to the hell prison you would have sent Zoey.

You may be powerful Halo, but the first witches created that barrier spell a thousand years ago, to protect the forest and its inhabitants. It is a mission you will fail. Sister Abigail stated and smiled confidently.

I returned her mocking smile. I heard the voices of the dead inside my head.  The witch’s long ago forgotten had stayed with me in the abyss. They taught me, shared with me the darkest of their secrets, entrusted upon me the keys to unlock everything, and like a Rolodex, the spell appeared in my head crystal clear.

This spell once cast;

by the witches first.

Will cause this barrier;

like a bubble burst.

Stretched thin and bound to easy tear

A fingernail it can not bear

Protect the animals within earthen shells

Protect them from an immortal’s hell.

I drew my arms, palms up, and ramrod straight, coming together over my head with a solid slap. A clap of thunder cracked. It reverberated inside the barrier bubble, causing all those inside of it to cover their ears at the explosion—tiny cracks raised from the bottom, splintering and spreading. The result looked as though we all were standing inside of a snowglobe. Water drained, and the glass displayed thousands of tiny fractures.  One small breath blown at the outer shell would make it fall, raining down small shards of broken magic.

My eyes never left Sister Abigail’s. I, no we, found great pleasure in the horror written on her face. Her realization that I caused old magic to crumble like a withered old dry leaf caused a perverse effect on me. I waited patiently for her and the other elders to stop swinging their heads around, watching their world about to crash down.

Behind me, the souls of the witches of long ago remained where they hid, silent and scared. I could feel their thoughts, as odd as that sounded. Their mental emotions slammed into me—invisible splashes of fear, admiration, doubt, uncertainty, and dozens more. What I didn’t feel was abandonment. They still chose to believe in me, stand behind my decisions, even if by a couple of hundred feet. We were kindred spirits, family per se, and although they had no idea what they had unleashed onto the world, they remained loyal.

This was a new feeling for me. To be loved unconditionally despite the unknown of who and what I was. This love gave me renewed strength and filled me with a sense of belonging. How too soon that feeling faded like a sinking sun beyond the horizon as the elders finally turned their attention back to me. Sister Abigail’s color had drained from her face leaving an ashen grey pallor in its place. Their eyes, which once held a spark of haughtiness now, were hollow with the emptiness within them. All four elders' hearts beat frantically within the chest cavity of their bodies.

I gazed up to the surface of the dome, where it waited for the slightest of pressure to cause it to burst. A fingernail it could not bear. I looked down, and across the earth’s floor, the path my eyes took went slowly with an intentional delay before I stared into Sister Abigail’s eyes. I was feeling dramatic and cruel, knowing that all eyes were on me. I smiled at her. It was only her I wished to communicate too. All the other elders were by far less intelligent than she. I had admired her when my soul first came into its shell. A part of me still did. JJ, on the other hand, hated them all. Her fury rose in my throat like bile, leaving in its wake a foul and tangy taste. JJ wanted revenge. She wanted their fear; she wanted to hear them scream as her friends had done. I, for one, agreed with her. So scream, they shall.

My stare nor smile, never wavered as I pointed at Sister Abigail and gave a little push off the ground. My body, much like a balloon stuffed with helium, floated up, about one hundred feet, and stopped just short of about twelve inches from the top of the bubble.

From up there, the world seemed different as if it were in a peaceful slumber devoid of man’s greed. The air seemed crisper and pure, and the treetops swayed to the music the wind played, a slow dance made just for them. I wish I could have savored the moment, but still, my eyes remained glued to Sister Abigail’s. I watched as her eyes flickered to her comrades and then back to me again. She could no longer see my eyes but squinted up to where I was. My vampire gene gave me the benefit of watching everyone and everything. Most scrambled like ants trying to find the protection of their anthill, and then I saw them.