The Death Prophecy (The Oracle Series Book 2)

by N. J. Cooper

  “Do I even want to know why you’re frowning? Sky found my mom; this is good news,” Kyla scolded. Zarek nodded once.

  “It is good.” He agreed but his tone was forced.

  “But?” Kyla sighed. He came away from the wall.

  “But it means that Sky went into the shadow world and anything in there could have compromised her. We don’t know how trustworthy her information is going to be, Kyla. The creatures in the world she touches are under his control. We don’t know how much that could affect what she sees.” He explained. Kyla chewed her lip, refusing to answer. He was right, of course. Sky’s ability to walk between the worlds of light and dark was precarious at best and each interaction had her moving closer to its influence but she refused to believe that had happened. Not when they were finally getting somewhere. She didn’t respond and walked out of the elevator with a confident stride that dared Zarek to bring it up again. He didn’t, luckily. She already knew the risks, she didn’t need his voice of reason, only his support in her crazy decision making. She ran towards the door, waiting impatiently to be let into the ward. Finally, she heard the buzz and swung open the door, rushing in to find Sky waiting for them with Wyatt. Sky pulled them into her bedroom where a man was standing. A tall man, with handsome features interrupted by a jagged scar down one side of his face. Kyla looked over the rest of his body, taking in the sheer boldness of it. He was all muscle and with his arms folded, he looked as formidable as any warrior she had ever seen. And she knew that’s what he was. There was no way he could have a look like that, without being one. Kyla frowned at him as Sky shut the door and moved over to him sheepishly.

  “Everyone meet Kasyn. Kasyn this is Kyla and Zarek,” She introduced. Kyla’s eyebrows raised.

  “Wait, this is the guy you were talking about? The one that’s been helping you with the other side?” Kyla asked. She shrugged. Wyatt scoffed, intercepting Sky’s answer.

  “I would’ve been a hell of a lot more interested in school had he been my teacher, but yeah this is the guy luring my sister to the dark side.” Wyatt scowled, eyeing Kasyn with a glare. Kyla didn’t know if she would have dared give that kind of look to the stranger who stood there strapped in black leather and surprisingly, his own immortal blade, but the bit that had Kyla relaxing, was the fact that the blade was silver.

  “Shush, Wyatt.” Sky bit back then looked at Kyla “He’s the one that found your mom.” Sky told.

  “Thank you.” Kyla said quickly before Zarek stepped forward.

  “How is he here, Sky? You know he can’t be here from that world. Do you know how much of a shitty position this puts me in, now that I’ve seen it?” Zarek ran a hand through his hair, narrowing his gaze on the man who was meant to be a ghost. Sky smiled.

  “I’m getting so much better at this whole ghost, shadow world thing. If I touch something in that world, I can make it form on this plane. Now it works for people too,” She grinned, clearly expecting a better reaction from the frowns they were giving her.

  “You’re getting too good and too fast. It’s not normal Sky.” Zarek tried quietly. Kyla sighed and looked at Sky’s dwindling hope from her eyes and couldn’t handle it. She stepped forward and hugged her friend.

  “I appreciate everything you are doing for me more than you’ll ever know but I don’t want to win this war if it costs you your life, okay? Please be careful.” Kyla said in her ear. Sky clutched her, nodding quietly.

  “I won’t let anything hurt her, Oracle.” A deep voice uttered from next to her. Kyla looked up at Kasyn who had the sincerity in his statement burnt into his eyes. Kyla nodded.

  “I believe you.” She said stepping back, the cold of his presence sending a chill over her. Wyatt scoffed and stomped over to the door.

  “Don’t you get it?! You are hurting her! All of you! She can’t be in that world and you all think that it’s a negotiable term, it damn well isn’t, and I am not going to sit by and watch my sister turn into one of those demons from that world,” He snarled. Sky went to step after him, but he shook his head “Don’t follow me. I need some space and I’ll be back when the ghost is gone. In the meantime, I’m going to go find the hottest crazy guy in here and ask for some help in forgetting this whole situation for a while, excuse me.” Wyatt said before leaving with a slam of the door. Sky let him go but Kyla looked at the door. Vampires with bloodlust issues lurked around the place, Sky had already said that was one of the things that were in the other dorms and even though Wyatt had promised he’d get it sorted, it didn’t mean he wasn’t stressed enough to fall off the wagon. She was about to go after him, but Sky sighed and handed over a piece of paper. Kyla looked down at it. In Sky’s erratic handwriting was an address in Detroit, Michigan. Kyla looked back at them.

  “This is where my mother is?” She asked. Kasyn and Sky nodded.

  “I cased the place to be sure, but yeah she has the same blue eyes as you and she has a picture by her bed of you. It’s her.” He replied. Kyla’s lip trembled as she tried to hold in the tears. She was going to see her mom. Zarek turned to call Orion who had waited out in the hall, outside the ward.

  “Orion, we need to go to Detroit, Michigan in the human realm. Can you get the paperwork ready for the guard and notify them of our arrival?” Zarek asked. Kyla assumed he said yes because Zarek said thank you then hung up. He turned to Kyla “We should get going, if we really are doing this and going to the human realm, then we need to go prepare.” He said to her. Kyla nodded and shoved the address into her pocket. She looked over Sky who seemed okay, but Kyla wasn’t convinced the contact to the other side was leaving no trace.

  ‘She’s doing what she can for the realm, Kyla. You would do the same. She needs to be strong since she may be the only chance, we have against the shadow demons from her world.’ The Oracle tried to say but Kyla didn’t want to hear her biased view on the matter.

  ‘What is her aura doing?’ Kyla asked and heard the Oracle’s internal sigh.

  ‘It’s not white but it’s not black which is as good as we can hope for. Grey is in the middle and as long as she stays there, she will be fine.’ The Oracle offered. Kyla bit her lip and looked between Sky and Kasyn. They were the only link they had to that side and even though Kyla wanted to demand that they never have contact ever again to save Sky’s aura, she knew better than that.

  “Yeah, we should go then. We have to make a plan for the human realm and what we need to do to avoid Onyx,” She agreed.

  “One thing though, Oracle. About your mother,” Kasyn stepped forward before they could utter their goodbyes. Kyla halted at the serious note in his voice.

  “What about her?” She demanded.

  “She is being investigated by the guard in Detroit.” He admitted. Kyla and Zarek both frowned at that.

  “What for?”

  “She has been frequenting all the witch dens. All the known hang outs for the not-so-good kinds that have been tagged as questionable by the guard for recent rule breaking.” He revealed. Kyla rubbed her forehead and sighed.

  “She can’t be. Or Onyx is making her.” Kyla bit her lip, remembering her vision of the woman helping Onyx into the realm. Surely her mother wasn’t his lover. Her mother wasn’t like that. Was she? Well she hadn’t been, and Kyla needed to know for sure. Sky stepped forward and hugged Kyla as her mind reeled.

  “We knew the witches were being taken on this side, and that Onyx was probably doing the same but it seems he has stayed in hiding, letting your mother take the brunt of the guards attention, you need to keep him out of her mind or away from his influence, Kyla. The guard won’t stand for much more of her behaviour before they intervene.” Sky said quietly against her hair. Kyla nodded determinedly then pulled away and moved to the door, ready to leave and get started as soon as possible. She turned back to them.

  “Thank you. Both” Kyla said then walked out, Zarek following her but he had his own parting statement to give and turned back with a glance between them.

  “Ca
reful Sky. I’m letting this go because there is so much going on that a ghost in the realm is the least of my problems but if anyone else sees him here, you will get reported and then there is nothing I can do” He admitted. Sky smiled and looked at Kasyn, his form disappearing quickly from view, back into the shadow realm, but the chill in the air told them he was still there.

  “I’ve got this Z. I’ll be careful and say goodbye to that hot-headed brother of mine, from me, would you?” She smiled. Zarek nodded then followed Kyla out and shut the door behind them. Kyla looked around for Wyatt, her body tingling when she couldn’t sense him in the room with them. Zarek rolled his eyes.

  “Why can’t he ever just do what he is meant to and stay where we don’t have to go looking for him?” Zarek sighed. Kyla smiled half-heartedly. She knew where to look, she was just hoping he hadn’t let them both down by being where she guessed. She turned to Zarek.

  “I’ll go find him; I can sense him. You go and get the centaurs up to speed, I’ll be out in a minute.” She tried. He looked like he wanted to argue but eventually nodded and turned away. Kyla immediately reached out her weak powers to sense Wyatt, cringing when she sensed him, and the smell of metallic blood infiltrated her senses. Damn. She ran through the facility, following the scent to a door that wasn’t coded. She frowned, surely it was meant to be if there were vampires? A passing attendant noticed her staring at the cupboard.

  “Ma’am, can I help you?” She asked. Kyla sighed.

  “I’m looking for my friend, I think he was visiting one of the vampires.” Kyla admitted not wanting to reveal more. The attendant frowned between her and the cupboard.

  “Well you won’t find him or any vampires in there, darlin’. That’s the cleaning cupboard.” she said before indicating towards the open door ahead of them.

  “The vampires are through there.” The attendant revealed then carried on passed her. Kyla looked down the corridor to where she’d pointed and knew that she was wrong. Wyatt’s scent stopped where she was. She took a deep breath and clutched the silver doorknob, begging her instincts to be wrong. Swinging open the door, she let out a harsh curse. She wasn’t wrong. Wyatt was entangled in an embrace that might have been sexual if not for the blood running down his naked chest. A pale, lean body towered over Wyatt, his face buried in Wyatt’s neck, blood leaking from the wounds his fangs made. Wyatt’s eyes fluttered as he sighed, not even realizing she had busted him. Ignorant to the danger of interrupting a feeding vampire, Kyla stepped forward, yanking Wyatt away from the vampire who spun on her, hissing through blood stained fangs, his eyes bright red. She faltered under Wyatt’s weight, his state completely dazed and unable to hold himself up. Kyla winced and backed away from the vampire who sauntered forward, his eyes pinned on her with a greedy lust in his eyes. Kyla backed up to the other side of the corridor, until her back hit the wall. She wanted to call for help but she was at a stalemate. If she alerted anyone then Wyatt would be exposed, his problem would be revealed and she would have to admit she had already known about it but at the same time, the vampire in front of her looked every bit as focused on the vein in her neck and she didn’t relish the thought of that happening in the same way Wyatt did. Her aggressive powers were useless, blocked from being used in the facility and she was pretty sure she was going to be drained of her blood but just as the vamp lunged for her, his form was thrown through the air, landing in a scrawny mess of limbs at the other end of the hall. Kyla looked over to where the power had come from. Zarek. Her eyes wide, she struggled over to him. He rushed forward to help, his eyes glaring down the vampire who looked like he wanted to argue. Common sense won out though and the vampire sneered, wiping his mouth then spinning around and leaving.

  “What were you thinking Zarek? You just used powers that you’re not meant to have, in public.” Kyla demanded. He cringed at her accusation.

  “I was thinking that I can’t let you get attacked, and clearly not much else because I know the consequences of my actions and I still couldn’t stop myself.” he muttered. Kyla bit her lip.

  “Thank you.” She whispered. He nodded once then looked over Wyatt, lifting his arm around his shoulder with a scowl.

  “He’s addicted, isn’t he?” Zarek assumed. Kyla looked away from Zarek, refusing to be the one to expose Wyatt’s problem. Zarek had already jumped to the conclusion though.

  “We need to get him covered up, so they let us leave without asking too many questions.” Kyla said quietly, glancing around for a bathroom. Zarek helped her get Wyatt’s limp body into the small bathroom cubicle then closed the door.

  “Maybe he shouldn’t leave, Kyla. If he is addicted, this could be the best place for him.” Zarek revealed but Kyla ignored him, grabbing paper towels and wetting them to wash the blood form his chest. She looked around, sighing as she realised that he didn’t have his t-shirt. Zarek pulled his jumper over his head and handed it to Kyla. She smiled sheepishly up at him, distracted from her task by his body and the way his plain white t shirt strained across the taut ripples of his muscles. She bit her lip, forcing herself to focus on what she was doing and not how much she wanted to be alone with her hot-bod prince. She pulled Wyatt’s body forward to lean on her as she put the jumper over him. He groaned as he started to come out of his haze but after saying his name a couple of times without a response, she realized he was still incoherent. She was finally done putting his jumper on and was about to leave but his arms wrapped around her, his face nuzzling into her neck. Kyla tensed as his lips pressed against her skin on her throat. She tried to squirm away, saying his name a couple of times but he wasn’t hearing her. His grip on her tightened and his lips moved up to her own, pressing against them, silencing her attempts at getting through to him. Kyla dug her nails into his arms to stop him when there was a low growl and Wyatt’s body was shoved against the wall, Zarek’s hand around his neck. Wyatt’s eyes flung open as Kyla pressed her hand to her lips, her breathing shaky.

  “What the hell?” Wyatt struggled against Zarek’s grasp.

  “Don’t ever touch her like that again,” Zarek warned. Wyatt frowned then glanced to Kyla and back, realisation dawning over his face before it crumpled. Kyla placed her hand on Zarek’s forearm pressing down, for him to release Wyatt. Zarek did but still stood in front of her. Wyatt rubbed his neck then looked over the new jumper he wore and his face flamed red.

  “Sorry, Kyla. I didn’t know what I was doing.” He admitted, his eyes skirting theirs.

  “It’s okay. But Wyatt, you can’t be doing this. We should have been out of here half an hour ago and instead, we are saving you from something you said you were going to get sorted.” Kyla scolded. He nodded, looking down.

  “I know and I will get it sorted. I promise.” He stated. Zarek didn’t look convinced but looked at his phone as Kyla nodded.

  “We have to go.” He stated curtly. Kyla agreed and looked over Wyatt.

  “Are you okay to walk now?” She asked. Wyatt nodded then followed them from the bathroom. They left the ward and said nothing when Orion asked if everything was okay. Except it wasn’t okay, Zarek had used powers he wasn’t meant to be showing anyone and could have been exposed, Wyatt had almost died, and she wasn’t sure what had happened in the bathroom but the look on Zarek’s face was dangerous. His powers were getting stronger and she was starting to think maybe she wasn’t the only one who needed to be trained to learn control. They rode in silence back to the mansion; it didn’t take long and Kyla was grateful. They stepped out and she ran straight up the stairs and through the white and gold marble foyer, up the stairs, going straight for the King who she needed to see before they left. She got to his door, Zarek coming up behind her. They were granted entry and Kyla had to contain the sob that caught in her throat at the sight of him. He was so frail, and his hair was so light, his face lined with wrinkles. He smiled lightly up at them from his place in the large four-post bed, propped against the pillows.

  “Son. Kyla. I’m glad to see you.”
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  “Dad.” Zarek moved forward, helping prop him up more against the pillows. Kyla sat in the chair next to the bed.

  “Your Majesty.” She smiled back tightly.

  “You have found your mother, Kyla?” He asked. Kyla nodded.

  “She’s in Detroit, Michigan. But there’s a problem. She’s under investigation with the guard for visiting rogue witches over there.” Kyla admitted, he nodded at her information. Of course, he already knew.

  “And they have been advised that the situation is being handled. They shouldn’t bother you while you are there and will be on hand to help if needed.” He offered through a wispy voice. Kyla smiled in thanks then looked at Zarek who was stern and silent.

  “Zarek is getting stronger.” She whispered. Zarek scowled but kept his eyes trained on his father. King Carrick nodded slowly with a sly smile.

  “As he was meant to.” The King voiced. Kyla fought the urge to roll her eyes. Of course, that was his answer.

  “When can we leave for the human realm?” Zarek asked abruptly.

  “As soon as you wish.” The King breathed, his fluttering closed as he laid back against the pillows. Kyla stood from her seat.

  “We’ll leave soon, your Majesty, once we have all the details from Orion. What if we are found by Onyx?” Kyla asked, watching with a broken heart as Zarek repositioned his father to lie down in the bed.

  “Then you run, Kyla. Don’t confront him there, as I said before, you cannot endanger the human realm like that. You also aren’t strong enough yet to merge, giving him the advantage. Don’t let him use it.” The King whispered. Kyla nodded and leaned forward to place a chaste kiss on his soft, velvety skin. He smiled, his eyes remaining closed. Zarek repeated her action.

  “Rest, father. We’ll be back soon.” He whispered and led Kyla out of the room. She was at the door when something caught her eye. The room was void of any female attention. Did the Queen not stay with the King? Where did she stay? Kyla’s eyes scanned the room, quickly trying to find anything of the Queens, even inspecting the open wardrobe quickly before she was ushered out. She turned to Zarek with a frown.