Only the Lost

by Amanda M. Lee

  WE WERE LOCKED AND LOADED five minutes later and we had a plan.

  “They’re coming for the gate,” Cormack noted. “We need to keep them out of this room. I think we need to space ourselves between the aquarium door and here. I’ll take the boys to the main floor. Oliver, I want you and Brett to be the last line of defense in the gate room. If something gets past us, start ripping off heads ... or whatever it is you do.”

  Oliver nodded absently, seemingly unbothered by the order. I, however, was agitated by the distribution of the workload. “And what about me?”

  Cormack’s expression never faltered. “I think it would be best for you and Aisling to take up positions in the security room. You can shut the door, call out locations while watching the cameras, and they’ll be none the wiser that you’re even here.”

  Oh, that wasn’t going to happen. “No way. You want to take me off the playing field? I’m your best player.”

  Redmond cleared his throat and I shot him a look, practically daring him to argue with me.

  It was Aisling who smoothly stepped in to handle things. “She is your best player, Dad,” she pointed out. “She crossed to the other side to get Oliver and me. I’ve seen her work her magic other times. You can’t bench her just because she’s a girl and she saved me when you wanted to be the hero.”

  Cormack’s mouth dropped open. “I’m not benching her because ... because ... .”

  “You’re jealous?” Aisling arched an eyebrow. “I get it. You wanted to be the one to get me. You wanted to bring me back and fix everything for Griffin. You were afraid and wondering if you would die in the attempt. You were willing to die because you love me. You also wanted the glory.”

  Cormack made a face that would’ve been funny under different circumstances. “I hardly think I wanted glory. I wanted my child back.”

  “Well, I’m back and you can’t hide me away. I’m helping. I’m part of this whether you like it or not.”

  He blew out a long-suffering sigh. “Fine. But if you get hurt we’re all going to lock you in your bedroom for the next month. And you won’t be allowed to leave the house. I’m warning you now.”

  Her smile was designed to melt the heart of her father ... and it worked. “I’m fine with that. Do you think we can have an ice cream bar tonight?”

  He nodded without hesitation.

  “And an omelet bar tomorrow?”

  Another nod.

  “And how about a seafood extravaganza tomorrow night? I want crab legs ... and lobster ... and scallops.”

  Cormack didn’t even pretend to put up a fight. “Kid, you’re going to get whatever you want for the foreseeable future. We got a glimpse of what life would be like without you and none of us liked it.”

  “I was fine with it,” Braden lied, raising his hand and earning a stern glare from his father. “I’m just saying ... .”

  He was all talk. He loved his sister as much as the others. There were times I thought he might even love her more because they’d bonded in the wake of their mother’s most recent death.

  “We’re all going to spoil you,” Cormack continued. “We’re all going to help with the baby ... and give you whatever you want. We’re not even going to pretend to do anything but what you want.”

  “Awesome.” Aisling rubbed her hands together. “I also want a beignet bar for Izzy. She deserves it for coming after me. She didn’t know it was going to be as easy as it was. She could’ve died trying, and I appreciate that ... even if I still think she should’ve kicked that dirty god in his special place for keeping me from my family for so long.”

  I pursed my lips to keep from laughing. “You can have your bars first. I’ll survive until it’s my turn. Until then ... .” I trailed off. Talk of Cernunnos made me remember the last part of the conversation we’d shared. Paris. He knew Paris. I needed to talk to her about that ... and then I realized what time it was … and the one little detail we’d overlooked. “Son of a ... !”

  I raced from the gate room and up the stairs. I was already through the aquarium before the others caught up. I made it to the door and threw it open before anyone could stop me and was outside in a flash.

  It was already too late.

  There, in the center of the small outdoor park, five revenants stood in a half circle. Paris was on the ground in front of them. She was alive, breathing and whole, but it was obvious she was in a vulnerable position. I should’ve thought about her safety instead of getting distracted by Grimlock hijinks. That was another mistake on my ledger.

  “Hello, girl.” One of the revenants spoke. It was the first time I’d heard any of them attempt to communicate. His voice was raspy, but I recognized Doug Dunning’s voice. That meant the other four revenants standing with him in the park must be the men he’d crossed over with. The remaining revenants — and there had to be ten or twelve as far as I could see — were the family members they’d turned.

  “Hello, Doug,” I replied, hoping I sounded calm. “It’s a beautiful day, huh?”

  He was haughty. “We’re here for the gate. You can either cede us this location or die. Those are your options.”

  “Wow,” Aisling said from behind me. “That escalated quickly.”

  I was thinking the same thing. “We’re not ceding the gate. You can forget that. We’re also not going to die. If that’s what you’re expecting ... well ... you’re about to learn an important lesson.”

  One of the revenants lashed out with his foot and kicked Paris in the side, causing her to yelp ... and my fury to overflow.

  “You want to stop that,” I warned. I was deadly serious. “I’m not in the mood to play games. We’re not giving you the gate room no matter what you do. By the way, that horrible thing you did to the lily garden is going to be avenged, even though I have no idea why you would dare go after a bunch of flowers.”

  “It was a warning,” Doug responded. “You didn’t heed it. As for my earlier declaration, I stand by it. Flee or die.”

  Ugh. I hated heavy-handed threats and there was no way I was bowing to this one. “We’ve been informed of your plan. We can’t allow you to win, so ... we’re going to have to kill you.”

  “Oh, that was so polite,” Aisling shook her head. “You really should just send a flaming arrow into his balls or something.”

  “Aisling, I love you, but it’s time to shut up,” Cormack warned. I felt him move in beside me. He was a picture of gravitas as he glanced between faces. “I’m sorry for what happened to you. I really am. You did nothing wrong and through no fault of your own your lives and families were stripped away. I can only imagine how difficult that was for you.”

  Even though his eyes no longer looked human, there was something familiar in the gaze when Doug rolled them. “We’re better than we were. We’re ... enlightened. We work for a common goal now.”

  “You want to take over. I get it. The thing is, we won’t let you. We can’t. So, while I feel sorry for what happened to you, I won’t let you threaten my family. We’re going to end this here.”

  “And how are you going to do that?”

  Doug was so full of himself I reacted without thinking. Fire erupted from my fingertips and I could feel the Bruja mask slip into place. My magic was tied to my emotions, and I fancied myself an unstoppable killing machine when I focused my energy.

  That’s exactly what I did.

  The first fire ball I unleashed smacked directly into Doug’s chest. He was obviously confused by the phenomenon because he just stood there ... and then exploded into a fiery ball of ash.

  “Holy smokes!” Aisling was beyond excited when she saw the results of the magical blow. “That was awesome!”

  Things happened quickly after that. Without their leader, the revenants broke apart. Confusion reigned as they scattered, but they didn’t stop their attack. Instead, they doubled their efforts. I reacted as quickly as I could, hopping a bench and positioning myself next to Paris. She was already scrambling from the ground when I ar
rived.

  “That was impressive,” she noted. “Can you do that with the rest?”

  I was fairly certain I could. Because it seemed the best move, I shot out my hands and sent fire toward two of the closest revenants, causing both to ignite. Just like that, we were down to two of the original creatures.

  The Grimlocks and Griffin were going after the other revenants. They were newer and appeared weaker. I was hopeful that meant they would go down fast. Even though their brethren were dying around them, the other members of the group didn’t stop their assault. Instead, they pushed harder ... and fell on a sea of swinging swords.

  “You can’t stop us,” one of the two remaining revenants in the center of the park hissed. I recognized his voice, too. “We’re inevitable. You can’t fight this. We’ve been planning for so long ... even if we fall here, our numbers are enough to stagger you. We will not go gently into the night and leave you the world you stole from us.”

  “You were once a member of this world, Manuel,” I reminded him. "You had a family.”

  “I still have a family.”

  “Do you?” I inclined my chin to the area beyond the park, to where the Grimlocks were steadily hacking through the remaining revenants. There were only a few left now, which was a relief. Obviously the older the revenant, the stronger it was. The newer ones fell with little fight. I filed that information away for later ... because there would be a later. This was only the first round with the revenants. I’d been warned of that and I believed it. “Your family is dying. They would’ve been fine if you hadn’t turned them.”

  Manuel growled as his eyes jumped from body to body.

  “Do you love in that form?” I was genuinely curious. “Do you remember what you were? Long for what you lost?”

  “I am better now,” he snapped.

  I didn’t believe him. There was horror in his voice. “I wish I could help you.” I meant that with every fiber of my being. “I wish I could fix what’s been done. But I can’t let you escape. This has to end here.”

  Manuel’s eyes flashed red. “This is merely the beginning.”

  “Then we’ll fight the other battles to come.” I lifted my hands again, fire exploding from my palms. I directed the first blast at the second revenant and sent Manuel a pitying look before I did the same to him.

  They didn’t even try to run. They had to realize that the end was upon them, and yet they didn’t try to flee. They took it, their bodies turning to ash within seconds as the fire roared and then diminished.

  All that was left was smoke … and the boasts of the Grimlocks, of course.

  With a heavy heart — we’d won the battle but lost too many souls to count in the process — I glanced up to make sure the Grimlocks had everything else in hand. Apparently they’d already dispatched the lesser revenants and were now reenacting the brief battles with one another so they could puff out their chests and clap each other on the back.

  Instead of joining them, I sank onto one of the benches. Paris sat with me without saying a word.

  “You’re okay, right?” I asked finally. “They didn’t infect you, did they?”

  “No, but they’d planned to once they’d taken you guys out. They didn’t have me more than a few minutes.”

  “That’s good.” I meant it. “I’m sorry I forgot you were coming ... again. I’m still getting used to this ‘being the boss’ thing. I’ll do better.”

  “It’s fine.” Paris waved off the apology. “I see Aisling and Oliver are back. How did that happen?”

  It was a surreal conversation. We were acting as though we hadn’t destroyed a small monster army only moments before. It seemed somehow right given the moment, though.

  “I crossed over to get them.”

  “Really?” Her eyebrows hopped. “I guess that went better than expected. They weren’t dead or anything, huh?”

  “No. They were hanging with a guy. I think you know him. He had a message for you.”

  “Someone I know?” Paris didn’t look convinced. “What’s the message?”

  “He said to tell you ‘Bob says hi’ and ‘the mage will have to join in the fight before it’s all said and done.’” I focused on her. “Does that make any sense?”

  Paris was taken aback. “Bob?” Her voice was weak. “I told you about him. I didn’t think you would actually get to meet him. I guess I should’ve seen that coming. It makes sense when I think about it.”

  “He didn’t want me to call him Bob,” I explained. “I had to call him by his given name ... and he absolutely hates Aisling’s mouth. He couldn’t give her back fast enough.”

  “He’s always been weird. He’s a good guy, though. He knows what he’s doing.”

  “I’ll have to take your word for it. For now, at least.” We lapsed into silence for a moment. I really meant to let it go, but I couldn’t quite force myself to do it. “Do you want to tell me about the mage?”

  “Not really.”

  “Eventually?”

  “Maybe. I need to think.”

  That seemed fair. “Okay. We can talk about it later.”

  “That sounds good.”

  “I’m dying to hear about your interactions with Bob. I’ll bet those stories are fascinating.”

  “They have their moments.”

  Twenty-Nine

  I was weary to the bone when we returned to Grimlock Manor. To give myself time to decompress, I took a long shower in Braden’s suite. When I exited, I realized I didn’t have anything to wear. I’d forgotten to grab a few items from my apartment before fleeing the island. Braden had obviously thought ahead, though, and hit up his sister for comfortable jogging pants and a T-shirt, which were on the bed when I emerged from the bathroom.

  I was grateful for his consideration and took the time to run a comb through my hair. I didn’t bother drying it. I was starving, and vanity could wait. I wanted dinner and then bed. Everything else was inconsequential.

  When I hit the main floor, I followed the sound of murmuring voices to the parlor. Only a portion of the family was there, but I knew the rest would soon arrive. They could smell prime rib from a mile away.

  Aisling and Griffin were on the couch, their arms wrapped around each other. Griffin’s back was to the settee cushions and Aisling was curled into him. They looked to be asleep, Lily in her carrier on the floor directly next to them. Oddly enough, the baby was staring at them … and smiling.

  I moved closer to her, hunkering down as several sets of eyes drifted toward me, and rested my hand on top of the baby’s head. She couldn’t shutter. She wasn’t yet strong enough. The few times I’d seen stray thoughts from her they’d been simple. A bottle. Her grandfather’s face. Her mother.

  Now when I took a peek, all I saw was her parents. They were content, so she was content. It was … fascinating.

  “What do you see?” Cormack asked quietly as he moved closer. “Can you see inside her head?”

  I nodded. “She’s happy.”

  “Of course she’s happy. I’m her grandfather.”

  I smirked. “She thinks of you often. But right now she’s picking up on Aisling’s and Griffin’s emotions. She’s definitely empathetic. How powerful she’ll be is up in the air. I think it’s going to be a long time until we know for sure.”

  “Wait … are you saying she’s happy because her parents are happy?”

  “That’s exactly what I’m saying. She senses their emotions and it makes her feel safe.”

  Cormack glanced between me and the baby and then sighed. “I think that’s nice.”

  “It is.”

  “I’m also terrified at the prospect. Aisling and Griffin are lovey-dovey now. That will change when Aisling decides to get back into the swing of things full time. I mean … what’s going to happen the first time Aisling and Angelina go after each other in front of the baby?”

  I already knew the answer to that. “Aisling gets such a charge out of torturing Angelina, the baby will pick up on that and f
eel the same emotions. She’ll be fine.”

  “You’re saying Lily will get a charge out of being evil because Aisling enjoys messing with people.”

  “That’s a rather succinct way of putting it, but you’re not wrong.”

  “Ugh. I just know she’s going to turn the rest of my hair gray.”

  I laughed as I stood. “Maybe, but you’ll be okay with it.” I moved to the drink cart and accepted the martini Braden had mixed for me. He leaned close and gave me a kiss. He seemed much more relaxed.

  “We should probably talk about the things the god told you,” Cormack noted as he settled in his usual chair. He looked to have a bourbon on the rocks in hand. Obviously everyone was in the mood to relax.

  “He said we had to take out the revenants. We did that.”

  “Yes, but he said more would be coming. I think we need to come up with a plan to deal with them.”

  I’d been thinking the same thing, but had no idea where to start. “Sure. You go first.”

  He didn’t chide me for the snark, instead offering a weary grin. “I didn’t mean right this second. I was talking about the next few days. For tonight, I figured we would just hang out as a family and get some sleep.”

  “I definitely think that’s a good idea,” Braden agreed, snagging me around the waist and tugging me toward the other settee. “I don’t want to think about anything more taxing than Aisling’s ice cream bar.”

  “I went all out,” Cormack conceded. “Prime rib, chili fries, crab legs, an ice cream bar with a side of cupcakes. I ordered absolutely everything.”

  “Oh, good,” Braden deadpanned. “That should solve that whole ‘Aisling is spoiled’ thing. Way to go.” He flashed his father an enthusiastic thumbs-up. “She’s going to be unbearable to deal with from here on out.”

  “At least we’ll have her to deal with.” Cormack’s voice cracked and he quickly sipped his drink to cover.

  Instead of giving him a hard time, Braden simply nodded. “There is that. I guess spoiling her for another week or so won’t be the end of the world.”