Free Rose: Briar's Thorn by Erik Schubach

law.  And by that rule of law, with the subject of your warrant being a field deputized Wolf Hunter, indicated that the warrant was issued under false pretenses and therefore I rule it invalid.  You will need to find another way to conduct your witch hunt Agent Pike.”
    Then she said, “Thank you for bringing this to my attention Ms. Calliwell.”  And there was a clicking sound.
    Then the shyster said,  “Agent Pike, unless you want to try taking this up with someone higher up the food chain.  Oh wait, Judge Kimatomi is the top of the chain... then I suggest you cease harassing my clients right now and disperse.”
    It took almost a ten count before Pike exhaled and lowered a hand and the men lowered their weapons.  Pike started stalking off with the group, then looked back at us as he walked. “This isn't over!”
    Ella stomped around with a pouty look on her face and mimicked him, “This isn't over.”  Then she stopped and waved him off with her middle finger. “Piss off you bloody wanker.”
    Parker slapped her shoulder playfully, “Ella Marie Smith, you behave.”  Ella gave her a crinkle- nosed smile, the two were cute as sin together.
    After a few seconds Ella looked at the phone in Parker's hand and said, “Thank you baby girl, you were brill.”
    Then I blinked in surprise when the barrister replied with, “It was my pleasure Grams.  I wish I could have seen his face.”  She was Ella's granddaughter?  But us Avatars couldn't have children.    Then I remembered one of our talks over the past couple weeks.  She had a baby girl that was taken from her before she became cursed.  Then this Calliwell, was her descendant?  One of us still had... family?  I couldn't stop smiling.  But then sobered at the thought of how many generations Ella must have seen time take them away from her.
    Then Helena said, “Ladies.  Don't hesitate to call.  I'm always here to help.”  Then Parker hung up.
    We all stood there motionless for a few heartbeats then Mari bumped shoulders with Ella as she shook her head at the grinning blonde and asked incredulously, “What color am I thinking?”  She made a disbelieving sound and wiggled her fingers.  Daria was instantly at her side as Red dug her fingers into her fur and scratched.
    Ella smirked. “What?”
    Then we went back to work guarding our nature goddess as she went about undoing the evil wrought upon the very people who hated us so much.  Protecting those who would see us imprisoned or worse.  And here I thought I was the only one on the brink of sanity.
    And so it went for the next couple weeks.  Pike was always around and trying another harebrained tactic of pressuring the local police to take us in for speeding after we evaded our tails.  Apparently, he is bigoted toward those infected with the lupus contagion too, as they were less than cooperative.  Instead the police commission head told him, “Us... wolves... will do our jobs.  Who are these men who were following and harassing these ladies to the extent they felt the need to flee?  We'll need names.”
    On days that the group went inside the walls to disarm the druid circles on the opposite side of the wall of ones that Gretta had already unraveled, Rachel would take Amanda and me into the woods.  I felt free there.  I stayed away from them when they met with the two most unorthodox members of their pack.  A squirrel and a huge bull moose.  I didn't want to inadvertently take their lives.
    But I felt free in the mountains.  The Cascades reminded me of the mountains back home in Romania.  I could roam through nature, knowing there were no humans I could harm.
    It was two nights before the full moon when we were inspecting the wolf cages in the motel, to be sure they could hold Rachel and Amanda when they changed.  I was sitting on the floor looking at the latest set of modern clothing which Parker had brought me from her apartment inside the city when they retrieved Ella's