Aspen County

Keene and I watch through the little windows in the doors of the Judgment Room as Louve and Lovett's mouths begin to move. They're talking with Monique. After a little while, that stops, and I watch in horror as her body begins thrashing against the restraints. After a while, I can’t stand watching her struggle any more, and I sink to the floor, my face buried in my hands.

"Ryder," Keene whispers, knowing what's bothering me.

I shake my head, keeping the tears of fury and helplessness at bay. "I can't believe this—I only just got her back," I mutter bitterly. "Now I'm useless to save her from this thing. Again."

Keene sits next to me, looking defeated. "I've only just found him," he whispers in a rare display of raw emotion: sadness. We're quiet for a few minutes before we catch a glimpse of a kid creeping closer. He weaves through the huts, trying to see what's going on. Keene doesn't miss a beat slipping into Shaman mode. "I'm sorry, Errol, but the Judgment room is currently off limits. Go on home."

A blond, tan boy appears, averting his eyes out of guilt. "Yes Keene," he says shakily before bowing and scurrying away.

Keene sighs and stands, watching our mates through the window again. "At least they have each other." He rubs his arms nervously.

I slide up the door and join him. "But is it enough?"

He doesn't answer, and we watch silently for a few minutes before he finally answers. "By the names of all of the Wise Women of the past, I certainly hope so."

He and I both cringe as Lovett and Louve jerk particularly violently against the restraints.
* * * * *
After a few hours of watching and occasionally shooing children away from the Judgment Room, Keene and I are beginning to grow tired. I'm especially exhausted after going to sleep so late last night. Werewolves aren't invincible, and it pains us both to watch our mates suffer through this ordeal. Keene gazes up at the pitch black sky, and I find myself missing the moon, even a sliver of it.

Keene sighs. "Come, Ryder; it grows late, and we are of no use to them right now, especially in our states. We can return to my home and wash. You may have my parents' old room for the evening. We can rest and return tomorrow refreshed."

I glance into the Judgment Room one last time before reluctantly accepting Keene's offer and following him to his nearby home. Snow begins floating down, matching my chilling sadness. Keene silently opens the door, and I enter with him close behind.

"Would you like some water?" he asks, already walking towards the kitchen.

"Please," I reply, sitting on the couch and rubbing my hands together. He returns a few moments later, holding a cup out to me and sitting next to me. He sets his own glass of water down and anxiously rubs his hands together as well. "Keene, what's going to happen to them? Honestly. Don't answer me as the future Shaman—answer me as Lovett's mate."

He sighs and looks down, shaking his head slowly. "I honestly don't know. This will be trying on them both in a physical and mental aspect. Not even Grandmother could predict what will happen. We all must hope that they can exhaust Monique enough to overpower her and recite the incantation that will trap her in Louve's mind."

"And even if they are able to do that? What'll happen to them afterwards?"

He rubs his neck awkwardly. "To be quite honest, I'm less concerned for Lovett than I am for Louve. Even if they are victorious, Monique will continue to fight against the restraints. Her mind may very well reject Monique's constant presence, and if she does that, there will be nothing we can do. Should she prove she is strong enough to contain Monique as I pray that she is, there is no certainty that she will even regain consciousness after this is all over."

"So I could lose her either way?" I jolt up, taking a step back.

Keene stands as well, slowly holding his hands up in front of him. "Ryder, you must not interfere. There's no telling what trying to forcibly wake them up from that state will do. And even if waking one of them up will prove to be alright, what about the other? Monique has been preparing herself for this—there's no telling what she can do. We have to stay out of it." Keene averts his eyes, gazing down at his feet and lowering his hands.

"Are you saying this as Lovett's mate who cares only about him or as the future Shaman who has an entire village to protect?" I demand, taking another step back.

He meets my eyes again, tears filling his and sadness written all over his face. "You tell me." He shakes his head and sits back down on the couch. "I was so convinced all my life that I would never find a mate that I didn't bother thinking about what I would do if I did. But now I have one, and he’s fighting for his life and his sanity. I want to be able to help him as much as you want to help Louve, but we have to stay out of it. I say that as both his mate and as your Shaman to be. There is nothing that we can do for them right now. We may only wait for the outcome and hope that it is what we ask for."

I sigh and nod, realizing he's right. Calming down and knowing that it's not Keene’s fault, I sit back down on the couch next to him as a tear escapes from my own eye. It's going to be a long three days.
* * * * *
Keene's parents' old room isn't much different than the one that I've been sharing with Louve, and I manage to fall asleep quicker than I thought I would. When I open my eyes, light streams in through the window, but there's no noise outside to signify that life in the village has begun once again. I rub my eyes and get out of bed, wandering into the living room.

I'm greeted by Louve who stares at me with pure anger in her eyes. "It's all your fault, Ryder," she whispers. "It's all your fault."

"What?" I ask, my thoughts blurry and unclear. "What did I do?"

I look next to me where Keene, looking disappointed, is coming out of his room. "It's all your fault Ryder. It's all your fault."

"What did I do?" I demand, growing angry now despite my still muddled thoughts. I walk out of the hut and almost run into my brother. "Robin?"

He turns around, glaring at me. "It's all your fault, Ryder. It's all your fault."

Louve and Keene now exit the hut. All of them grab me and begin dragging me to the Judgement Room, and I'm helpless to fight against them as they murmur, "It's all your fault, Ryder. It's all your fault." When we arrive, I'm pressed against the door whit my nose crushed against the little window. There's now only one cot inside with Lovett lying on it. A girl who looks exactly like Louve but with black hair and an auburn streak in it is leaning over his unconcious body, gently stroking his cheeks. My entourage begins speaking to me one at a time.

"It's all your fault that they took me, Ryder," Robin accuses "You should never have come back."

"It's all your fault that he died, Ryder," Keene says simply, his voice monotonous and in full-Shaman mode. "You should never have tried to save her."

"It's all your fault that I'm weak Ryder," Louve adds, hers confusing me most. "I don't want to have to look out for anyone else. You should never have been as weak as you are. It's all your fault, Ryder. It's all your fault."

"Robin, I needed you to understand, and Keene, I didn't go back for her. You told me not to. And Louve, you said that I make you stronger. I didn't mean to hurt you. I never wanted to hurt you."

None of them respond as Lovett sits up from the cot, watching me with bone-chilling eeriness. He looks horrible, his skin paler than usual and his eyes sunken in with his dead, auburn hair hanging around his face like a thin curtain. Despite the thick doors separating us, I can hear him clearly. "It's all your fault that she's no longer herself, Ryder. You should have left us alone."

My entourage releases me, and I'm no longer glued to the door. I turn around, and they're all gone. I look back in the Judgement Room, and Lovett and Monique are gone too. I hear wicked cackling behind me, and I slowly turn around to see Monique watching me with a wretched, twisted grin on her face. "None of it is you're fault, you stupid mutt. It's me, Ryder. It's always been me." She continues cackling.

"Please don't kill her," I beg, falling to my knees in the snow.

Monique kneels next to me, grabbing my face in her hands and pressing her lips firmly against mine. She forces her tongue into my mouth as if she's digging for gold. She finally pulls back slightly, keeping less than a breath of air between our lips. "We'll see," she murmurs against my lips.

She pushes me away, and I fall backwards as the world around me becomes black and cold. I hear her last two words echoing in my mind as I wake up:

"We'll see."
* * * * *
I didn't go back to sleep after my nightmare. I couldn't. I spent te next few hours staring out the window and waiting for Keene to wake up. I know that he knows that something went wrong last night, but I decide not to tell him about the dream anyways. Why should I worry him anymore than he already is? It was my own guilt, so I should deal with it on my own.

When we return to the Judgment Room at dusk, there are two chairs in front of the doors, two plates of food, and a note written in Zeeva's neat scrawl. I read it aloud for Keene as we sit down in the chairs that were set up for us.

"'Don't worry about anything back at the house; Eyulf, Egeria, and I are taking care of preparations for when you all return home. You two stay with Lovett and Louve, and we'll see you tomorrow. We're all praying for them and for you. Eat your food before it gets cold.
"'-Zeeva'"

I read the last part in silently, knowing it's meant for me: 'P.S. Ryder, please stay calm. We don't need Keene to be added to the list of people you scare.'

I sigh and shake my head as we begin digging into the warm boar meat that was left for us, both of us staring longingly at the doors.