Crack the Sky: Preternatural Chronicles Book 8 (The Preternatural Chronicles)

by Hunter Blain

“Yup. Then you show up after I rip his head off and give me your blood and Depweg your flesh, bringing us back from certain death.”

  Lily thought for a moment, letting her gaze stare at empty air before shifting back to me.

  “A life debt?”

  “Yeah. Though you really only use it to fuck around with me. Like mostly to have sex and stuff. Which, I guess, I’m glad happened. Because, you know…the whole, um, love…thing.”

  “You’re saying that because I made you have sex with me…you grew to love me? That doesn’t sound very noble of me, now does it?”

  “Hey, hey, hey. I get where you are coming from. But, I mean, honestly…I didn’t mind it. So you, you know…weren’t exactly forcing me to do something I already didn’t want to do. KnowwhatI’msaying?” The last part came out as one word.

  “Quite the love story,” Lily said with a half smile.

  “Hey,” I whispered, scooting a little closer to her on the couch. “I wouldn’t have done things any differently.”

  Lily looked at me with intelligent eyes and lifted a single hand to gently caress my face. It felt so incredibly good to have her with me again, even if she wasn’t my Lily and wouldn’t remember anything I had told her tonight.

  “I love you,” I said again, fighting the urge to weep at how happy I was in that solitary moment.

  “And I can’t wait to love you,” Lily replied with a genuine smile before leaning forward and planting a long kiss on my lips.

  Without warning, she pulled back and jumped to her feet, sniffing the air as wild eyes searched around us. She locked on something to my left, and I quickly looked over to see Depweg approaching the remains of the house.

  “What is that?” Lily hissed, nostrils flaring.

  “Whoa, whoa, whoa!” I repeated as I got to my feet and placed my hands up in an effort to calm the situation. “That’s my brother, Depweg. I had to, ah…heh heh…um…”

  “He injected me with a virus made by Satan,” Depweg finished for me, his tone less than pleased.

  I could feel Lily’s eyes flick to me as I stared at Depweg with an open mouth.

  Anger built up in my core, and I countered with, “You bet your fucking ass I did. Otherwise, you’d be nothing more than a damn pile of ground beef and fur.” I knew I should have stopped there, but I couldn’t help myself and finished with, “Maybe I should have just let you keep playing dead, huh, boy?”

  Depweg’s voice was cold enough to freeze the sun as he said, “And who killed me, John?”

  “Jos—” I started before I understood where he was going with his question.

  “Exactly my point.”

  Embarrassed, I looked back to Lily, mouth agape, trying to find the right words for the situation Depweg had accurately portrayed.

  The love of my life looked at my best friend, asking a question without using words.

  “He brought the monster back with him. The same monster that killed my family…and me…”

  “I didn’t freaking do it on purpose, man! Gabriel suggested I bring him!”

  “Gabriel? The archangel?” Lily asked.

  “Yeah.”

  Shooting her gaze to Depweg, she straightened her stance and narrowed her eyes while saying, “You should know better. John was used by the self-serving pigeon. The only thing he is guilty of is trusting those winged fucks!”

  Depweg blinked as his unreadable expression began to soften for a brief moment before anger reared up again.

  “John’s naivety is no excuse for what was taken from me today,” he said through his teeth. “Ignorance is every bit as harmful as willful intent.”

  “Just to make sure I understand,” Lily began as she folded her arms over her chest. “You’ve never been manipulated by anyone before. Is that right? How about followed the advice of someone you trusted, only to fall victim to a trap set up by your enemies?”

  Depweg’s head bobbed backward as if she had just landed a jab to his nose, and I could tell we were both thinking of the prison Ludvig had held him and his pack in for a long time.

  I knew Lily didn’t know about the specifics of what Depweg and I were thinking, but her general analysis had been accurate nonetheless.

  After a moment to process, Depweg’s lips pulled back in a snarl as he hissed out, “Yeah, and it was John’s fault I was even in that situation.”

  “Hey, fuck you, man,” I barked, unable to control myself in regard to the touchy subject. “We both know damn well what happened.” Stomping my foot as I took a step closer, I lifted my finger to point accusingly at Depweg as I finished with, “And no one fucking asked you to put on my shoes. You thought you could do what I do, oh-ho-hoooo! Guess not, huh? Guess what I do is really fucking hard, isn’t it, Jonathan?!” My voice went low as I tilted my face downward so I was glaring at the man through my eyebrows. “And you…couldn’t…handle it…”

  Hurt shot across Depweg’s face like a rogue bolt of lightning, gone as quickly as it had arrived.

  “You think I wanted this to happen?” I asked, throwing my hands up as I gestured all around me. “I had to go through a goddamn black hole to get to you. And if I hadn’t”—wrath exploded through my body, making my words feel like nuclear bombs—“YOU WOULD HAVE DESTROYED THE ENTIRE FUCKING UNIVERSE, YOU SELFISH ASSHOLE!”

  “Fuck you!” Depweg barked, his eyes glowing yellow as his fists clenched open and closed and breaths began to heave. “YOU KILLED MY FAMILY!” His ferocity matched my own. An unstoppable force had crashed into an immovable object.

  “Your family?!” Warning bells were going off in my head as the leash that kept my pride in check was torn from my hands. “What were you thinking?! I don’t fucking care if you didn’t know you were in a different fucking time stream, Depweg! But you knew you were someplace you didn’t belong. You were weak to give up on coming home, and-and-and you started a bullshit fantasy of being a simple family man!”

  “Said the man who was telling not-Lily that he loved her…” Depweg countered with a flat voice that warned of the coming battle.

  I could feel my face grow hot with indignant rage as Depweg accurately called the situation for what it was. I knew I would easily love this Lily and, if given the opportunity, would take the chance to build something together.

  The fact he was right, coupled with the reason that I couldn’t have my Lily because she now wore the Winter Mantle, made an atomic bomb of fury explode in my chest. Fangs elongated as my gladius slowly grew in my hand like a serpent stalking its prey.

  “Fuck you…” I hissed as tears evaporated the second they were born thanks to the plumes of energy spewing from my eyes.

  “That’s why he made you bring him,” Lily said calmly, drawing my attention as if lassoing a bucking stallion. As the words played in my mind, the lasso was tightened, and the horse stopped thrashing.

  “Jose…” I breathed as my eyes went out and my gladius vanished from my grip.

  Depweg’s eyes dulled to their normal brown as his brow furrowed at the implications.

  “You wouldn’t have come back with me,” I said softly. “And I wouldn’t have been able to bring your family back with us without risking the stream crashing into the river of time.”

  Depweg dropped to his butt with a heavy thud, his legs no longer able to support him as he understood what had happened.

  “Gabriel…made me bring back Jose…because he…he knew…” I couldn’t finish the thought as I dropped to the couch and immediately placed my face in my hands, shaking my head in disbelief. “That bastard…”

  “That bastard helped you save the universe, John,” Lily said softly as she gently sat next to me, placing one hand on my back and the other on my forearm. “I don’t like it any more than you do, and this makes me hate Gabriel even more…but he was right.”

  Depweg slumped where he sat, his shoulders drooping to the point where it looked like they were trying to rest on top of his thighs.

  “No…” he breathed, shaking his head as
tears trickled off his cleanly shaven jaw. “It’s not fair…it’s not fair…”

  My heart ached, not only for the immeasurable, soul-crushing pain my best friend was experiencing, but also because someone I had trusted completely had blatantly used me. Damn if he was right or not. It still hurt.

  Removing my face from my hands, I looked up to the stars to see the orange of early dawn approaching, dimming their brilliance with overpowering light.

  “Depweg…I…I-I-I’m—”

  “Don’t…” he interrupted, unable to even look at me. “Just…just don’t.”

  Sorrow filled my heart as I understood what the words meant for us. I had said things that I would never be able to take back because I had let my pride off its leash, and it had done precisely as expected: it had cut off my nose to spite my face.

  No. Not it. I had cut off my own damn nose and said unforgivable things to my best friend. Blaming my pride was only a way to deflect the fault that should be placed squarely on my shoulders.

  A piece of my heart died in that moment, and I knew our relationship was forever changed.

  48

  Locke - Houston

  Stepping through the portal into his bedroom, Locke quickly closed the door while his mind raced on what to do next.

  Moving to the bathroom, he splashed several handfuls of cold water over his face, coating the counter and dripping some to the floor.

  “Magni…” he sighed after turning off the faucet and just letting water fall from his face while resting his hands on the edges of the sink.

  Facing the mirror, Locke flinched as the one-eyed man peered back at him, the new patch throwing him off.

  Leaning forward, a finger probed the eyepatch, and Locke was briefly impressed to see that it was unaffected by the water that had been thrown on his face.

  Turning to the wall, Locke stuck his face in the thick towel without removing it from the rod, his mind returning to what was really important.

  Lifting his head from the towel, Locke closed his eye and inhaled steadily until his lungs were on the verge of popping. After counting to ten, Locke let the breath out for an eight-count before opening his eye and making his way out of his bedroom.

  There were voices coming from somewhere outside, just past the kitchen.

  Assuming it was only the twins sitting out on the patio and conversing, Locke made a stop in the kitchen to make himself a powerful cup of coffee.

  Pouring in grounds potent enough to hear colors, Locke placed a large mug underneath and pressed the start button. It pleasantly dinged to let him know that delicious, near dangerous coffee would be produced shortly.

  A voice that Locke had never heard before caught his attention, and the wizard moved to the open doorway in search of the sound.

  Meli and Ben were seated under the covered patio, Meli nursing a Dr Pepper Zero Sugar and Ben knocking back Locke’s personal stash of microbrews.

  “Hey!” Locke called out, about ready to unleash a tongue lashing for drinking his own private beers, when he saw a black-skinned troll sit up from one of the outdoor couches. He had been lying across it, so Locke hadn’t seen him until he had righted himself.

  An index finger—which had been pointed toward Ben—shifted slowly toward the troll.

  “Hi,” the troll shyly said with a little wave.

  “Locke,” Meli interjected when words failed to come out of Locke’s mouth. “This is Russell. He seeks asylum.”

  Hearing the words, Locke shifted to a professional stance and closed his mouth.

  “Hello, Russell,” Locke greeted as he played through the game plan in his mind. They had been set up to take any supe refugees, but hadn’t had anyone actually show up yet. Well, minus the were siblings. “Um, welcome!”

  Locke stepped toward the group right as sweet, sweet coffee began pouring into his cup.

  “What, may I ask, brings you here?” Locke questioned as he approached the seating area.

  “Oh boy,” Meli let out with a bark of laughter. “Does Russell have a story for you!”

  49

  Lilith - Faerie

  The forest grew thick, but it was as if the life had been siphoned from all living creatures for hundreds of yards in every direction.

  At the center of the unlife, a small group of centaurs were examining a cryptic portal covered in hellion script. The bottom dropped out of Lily’s stomach as she realized this is why she had come.

  Thad slowed to a canter before stopping in front of a modest tent. The material was like thick red curtains with scribblings of gold thread that Lily didn’t recognize. She thought maybe the script was some form of ancient Celtic, but mixed with more imagery-centered symbols.

  Sliding off her escort, Lily thanked Thad before turning to face the entrance to the ornate tent.

  She pushed through the split in the cloth and entered into a massive foyer that could have belonged to a mansion in Silicon Valley.

  Recessed LED lights illuminated sharp lines of architecture and furniture, while gray marbled floors led to a sleek staircase that followed the right angles of the walls that contained it.

  Stepping forward, Lily looked up at a chandelier made of hundreds of strings of lights that appeared to mimic a waterfall, an impressive staircase surrounding it for three stories.

  “Ah. Mistress Lilith,” a deep voice greeted from a high-end speaker system that was seamlessly worked into every room that Lily could see. “Welcome! Welcome!”

  “You must be the shaman,” Lily called out, letting her eyes wander.

  “Please. Call me Greg.”

  “Where are you, Greg? I prefer to face the person with whom I am speaking.”

  “Of course!” the deep, pleasant voice that belonged to a late-night DJ purred. “Please, follow the light.”

  A ball of light formed to Lily’s right, and she narrowed her eyes in annoyance before hesitantly deciding to follow it.

  She passed through an enormous room with floor-to-ceiling windows that produced a continuous, stunning view of a pristine, deep blue ocean.

  At the end of the long room was a modern bar that looked like it belonged to an exclusive nightclub.

  Throughout its length, several different styles of seating were dotted about, indicating this was some sort of lounging area where guests could enjoy drinks while breaking off into smaller groups to chat.

  At the end of the room, just past the bar, was a hallway. Along the right side of that was a conference room where a hooded figure awaited.

  Stepping through the automatic sliding glass doors, Lily stopped just inside the room and said, “Greg, I presume.”

  The hooded figure was admiring the view. He turned to face Lily, lowering his hood. Underneath, dark blond, curly hair sat atop a thick beard the same color, but slightly edging toward a light brown.

  Removing the cloak completely and folding it over a chair, Lily was surprised to see that the centaur shaman, Greg, was a man.

  “Ah,” he let out while looking down at his bipedal body cloaked in a black hoodie and very worn jeans with several holes in them. “I see you’ve noticed my birth defect.”

  “Birth defect?” Lily asked, not only to request clarification but to also hear the words spoken aloud once more to ensure the meaning was correct.

  “Yeah. My birth defect,” Greg responded with a smile.

  After a few moments of silence, Lily popped one side of her hip out while resting a hand on it and rolled her eyes. With her free hand, she circled her index finger in the air in a gesture that said hurry up before I get annoyed.

  “My father was a centaur shaman. And my mother was a witch on Midworld. One thing led to another”—Greg motioned over his body with one hand—“and voilà! Half centaur, half human.”

  “How odd,” Lily mused as she let her eyes roam up the body of the man who appeared to be nothing more than just that—a man.

  “Hey, could have been worse. I could have come out with a horse top and human bottom,” Greg ad
mitted with a chuckle.

  “What about the name?”

  “Name?”

  “Yes. Greg must be short for something.”

  “Like King TalGoid likes to go by Taylor?” Greg asked.

  In answer, Lily only nodded once.

  “Well, Greg is short for Greggory…if that helps.”

  “…it doesn’t…” Lily groaned with an expression that dared further annoyance.

  “Just Greg, I’m afraid. No other fancy names to speak of.”

  “Very well, Just Greg,” Lily echoed. “Shall we begin?”

  “Yes, ma’am,” Greg said respectfully with a slight bow before walking to the end of the conference table and pulling out one of the last chairs.

  Lily took his cue and sat in the very end chair which was normally reserved for the CEO or a VIP.

  “Where shall I begin? I assume you are here to discuss the swarming darkness over the Seelie castle?”

  “That is the Ether, which, I’m afraid, is pulling the remainder of its eternal essence into my plane.”

  “I, ah…whoa,” Greg enunciated while leaning back in his executive chair and steepling his fingers.

  “I have a plan.” Lily’s heart ached at the mention of the word plan after John had ingrained a permanent association with it. But it ached because it made her miss him at that moment.

  “Oh?”

  “The portal outside…”

  “The hellion gateway?” Greg asked, leaning forward to rest his elbows on the long table.

  “Yes,” Lily confirmed with an exhale before closing her eyes and hesitantly asking, “Can you open it?”

  “I honestly couldn’t say. Never had to open one before…to Hell, I mean.”

  Opening her eyes again, Lily looked deep into Greg’s, and softly yet sternly said, “I need you to.”

  “Yooooouuu…want me to open the gateway…to Hell?”

  “It’s the only way to stop the Ether.”

  Greg leaned in closer while looking around as if making sure the coast was clear before whispering, “You sure he’ll help us?”