The TimberWolf Effect (Book I)

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN - The Last Mother She Had Left

At first, Timber thought she died but the sound of chaos around her made it hard to reason with herself that she had been robbed of her life. When she opened her eyes, Lord Frost was in the middle of a battle with the twins and his body was covered in beautifully detailed golden armor. The flash of white was the sunlight reflecting off his sword and hitting Timber in the eyes.

Timber watched in terrified fascination. She had never seen him angry before and judging from the look on his face, he was furious. Chad was on the floor next to Grace, holding her head to his chest, trying to keep her awake as her neck bled out. Lord Frost was fighting alone with creatures that kept flashing in and out of visibility. It did not take long for the twins to make a critical error. The first twin attempted to attack Lord Frost from the front. One swing from the golden-hilted sword and her torso were completely severed from her legs. It seemed as though it was over.

Timber thought the worst had passed. The second twin vanished and she inhaled deeply as she tried to calm herself. It was quiet for a second before Grace's scent changed. Timber sprang off of her and began barking in panic at Lord Frost. Grace went rigid and pale then her eyes went black. Chad moved away in horror as his wife was lifted into the air by an invisible force.

"Jaci! Aiyanna!" called Lord Frost.

Through the back door, two women flew toward them, knocking everything off the walls and sending the lamp crashing to the floor. One of them Timber recognized vaguely, the other she didn't. They wrapped their white and black wings around each other, turned horizontally, and spun so fast they were a blur. They turned to gray smoke and entered Grace. Timber tried to get to her aunt but Lord Frost grabbed her and held her tight as she struggled to get to the last mother she had left. Timber could only watch as Grace quaked and shrieked as her body was twisting in pain. A minute and a half later, Grace's eyes returned to normal and she fell to the floor with a loud thud. Chad hurried to her side as the winged women appeared out of her lower abdomen with the severed head of the second twin in their hands.

"She's dead," said Chad furiously, as tears poured out of his eyes. "You killed her! You son of a -"

He got to his feet and made a swift move toward Lord Frost, but he stopped at the tip of the Highers sword.

"I did not kill her," said Lord Frost firmly. He sheathed his sword and turned to the woman with pink hair and lavender eyes. "Aiyanna, where is she?"

"She is in the In Between," she said, holding her glowing wings high as though they were searching for something. "I have to wait for another two or three minutes."

"What are you talking about?" demanded Chad, wiping flowing tears from his cheeks.

"This is Queen Aiyanna of the Nephilim realm. She can bring Grace's soul back, but she needs to be in the Beyond. She is in the In Between."

"What does that mean?" asked Chad.

"I will explain when Grace is revived," said Lord Frost. "In the meantime, Aiyanna, could you help Timber and Chad and heal their wounds? Jaci, could you take care of the bodies and the blood? I will clean up the damage to the house."

"Timber, do you remember my scent?" asked Aiyanna and Timber sniffed her hand and nodded.

Aiyanna took Timber in her arms and wrapped her in her white wings. She sang softly and her wings glowed gold. Timber watched in amazement as her wounds healed. When she was released, Aiyanna smiled, picked up her golden crown from the floor, and then moved on to heal Chad's side. Timber sprang back but relaxed when Lord Frost sat beside her on the floor. Timber Turned and sat down.

Behind her, Jaci had finished cleaning up the blood. Timber was astounded when she realized Jaci's wings were absorbing the blood. She saw a faint green light glowing from under her deep purple lace corset top as the blood was disappearing. Then her appearance changed. Her red and black hair became brown, her wings disappeared, and her black eyes and white skin became normal. Lord Frost watched Timber's reaction with a small smile. Timber had no idea what to make of Jaci, but if Lord Frost trusted her, then she did too.