I just wish there was a way to get in touch with my sister. To see if she’s found Fallon, hell, to make sure she’s still alive, though if anyone was going to go into the Shadow Realm and come out victorious, it would be Remy.
“Colt!” I look up and see Rebel running towards me, Marie just entering the yard from the house. I crouch just before she reaches me, her arms open wide. Rebel hugs me tight, clinging to me desperately, with tears running down her face.
“What’s wrong, my little warrior?” I ask
“I dreamt of my sister. What they were doing to her.” She sobs. I hug her back fiercely.
“It was just a dream, sweetheart,” I say, running a hand down her back. “She’s going to be just fine. Remy will make sure of it, I promise.”
Marie looks at me with tears in her eyes, and it occurs to me that Rebel’s dream might not have been just a dream.
Well, shit.
“I tell you what, how about you come train me with me today and we'll make sure that you can protect yourself and your mom against any of the things that go bump in the night?” I say softly, trying to soothe the still sobbing little girl in my arms. There’s such a big age gap between her and her sister, but I know Rebel thinks that Fallon hangs the moon.
She nods, her tears subsiding. “Yes please.”
“Awesome deal. Now why don’t you go inside and splash some water on your face, while I talk to your mom?”
“Okay,” she says softly and runs towards the house.
“Mama! I’m going to train with Colt!” She shouts as she runs past her.
“Oh baby, that’ll be nice.” Marie gives her a watery smile as Rebel runs past her.
“You holding up okay?” I ask Marie as I reach her on the porch.
“I’ll be fine,” she says, wiping away the last of her tears. “You’ve got enough to worry about without this old woman’s nonsense.”
“Marie,” I start and she stops me.
“Pssh. I’m just having a moment. Hearing Rebel’s dream, everything that’s going on, it just got to me for a minute,” she says, clearing her throat. “Don’t think for a second boy, that I am losing my edge.”
“I would never.” I grin.
“What’s going on in there?” She asks, pointing to the house.
“Dad and Nate came to talk to Bauer. I decided to stay out of the way,” I tell her and she frowns.
“You shouldn’t avoid your father, Colt. He is the one who needs to apologize.” I snort at her words.
“Yes, because my dad is the sort of person who apologizes.” I roll my eyes. “I’ve got more chance of beating Leviathan in a fight than I have of getting any sort of apology from my old man.” She tuts and I shake my head.
“It’s fine. Like you say, I have a lot going on. Too much to worry about that right now. As long as he follows orders when it counts, that’s all I care about right now. Archer has gone quiet, and that has me a little worried. The school, while ruthless, feels like a diversion rather than the main event. And obviously, Bauer’s little nugget about Remy being trapped.”
“Worry about what is in your control for now,” she says squeezing my shoulder. “Trust that your sister will do what she must to ensure the safe return of everyone, including herself. She is stronger than any of us realize.”
After everyone left, and Maddie had cooked enough food for an army, then shoved it in my fridge so I could stay fed, everyone went on their way after catching up with Bauer. Which is exactly when I messaged Elijah and Danny. I turn on the oven to heat the lasagna Maddie made for me earlier, along with a threat that I better eat, and feed the riff raff that she somehow knew would be here tonight.
I've been trying to keep myself busy, occupied enough so I don't lose my shit about Fallon. About how badly I let her down. Trying to convince myself it wasn't my fault she was taken. That I couldn't have known, but in quiet times, like right now when the house is silent, save for the low murmur from the TV in the sitting room where Bauer is resting after everything. Times like this is when it takes over, and I struggle to fucking breathe through it all.
I sent my sister into the fucking Shadow Realm for fuck sake. I have no doubt she would've gone regardless, but I did nothing to stop her. I didn't even try to dissuade her. Because if anything happens to Fallon. I feel sick even at the thought.
For all the things I said. All the things I didn't say.
If anything happens to her... If she doesn't make it back…
I shake my head, trying to dislodge the thought, because I can't think like that. I wasted so much time being an ass to her, letting my dad and my guild tell me what I wanted was wrong. How I felt was wrong. I know now, that if I get her back, if she forgives me for having my head up my ass, I'll never make her regret it. I'll spend our entire existence making it up to her.
Some might think I'm a fool, to love a mortal. Especially when I will just be reborn and she won't. Those people can fuck right off.
A bang at the door three times breaks the silence.
“I've got it!” Bauer calls out, I hear his footsteps on the creaky floors in this place as he heads to the door. The voices getting louder as Elijah and Danny come into the house.
“Oh Colt, baby, you cooked for me. You shouldn't have,” Elijah coos as he swaggers into the kitchen with a laugh.
“What can I say, I'm just a domestic fucking goddess,” I say, greeting him with a slap on the back. “Seriously though, if I don't feed you guys, Maddie will have my hide.”
“That woman terrifies me.” Elijah shudders and Danny laughs at him.
“I could eat,” Danny agrees and Bauer grabs plates and cutlery while I pull the lasagna from the oven and take it over to the table. Elijah heads to the fridge and grabs four beers before sitting down with the rest of us.
“God bless Maddie and her cooking,” Danny says as he cuts a quarter of the lasagna and drops it onto his plate. I laugh at him and he flips me the bird. “Do you have any idea how long it’s been since I had a decent home cooked meal? You're lucky I'm leaving you any.”
“Help yourself, man. You should see my fridge.” I laugh with a shrug, taking a swig of my beer while the others dish themselves up some food.
“I'm moving in,” Danny groans around a mouthful of lasagna.
“Not like there isn't space.” Bauer smiles. He isn't wrong. This house is huge. Way too big for just the two of us, and I don't see Dad coming home anytime soon.
We shoot the shit while we eat, and I enjoy it, pretending like the weight of the world isn't resting on my shoulders. I know that after whatever Bauer tells us tonight, I'm going to have to call an Elder meeting, though thank god for younger Elders and Skype, because all the travelling just isn't feasible right now.
Bauer clears the table when everyone’s done, and grabs another round of beers, handing them to each of us before taking his seat again.
“So I guess, I need to thank you guys for saving my ass,” he says before taking a long drink. “So thank you, for saving my traitorous ass. I'll do my best to make it up to you.”
“You're Colt's family, that means you're our family. We don't leave our own behind,” Elijah says and Danny nods his agreement. Bauer launches in to telling them what they need to know regarding locations and security systems at each of the sites he's aware of that Archer has acquired, as well as any wards that might be in place, and the numbers of bodies potentially at each site.
I sit and listen, it hitting me just how involved he was in all of this. Bauer is a strategic guy, logic is his lifeblood. He picked these locations, he helped Archer build this entire army against us. Helped him plan where to hit us, what our weaknesses would be, how to cripple us in the worst of ways, what would cause us the most damage, not just in terms of numbers, but in morale.
“You told him to take Fallon,” I say glaring at him across the table. His eyes go wide at my words, and then he nods, the movements small, but enough.
“You motherfucker!” I shout slamming
my bottle down onto the table.
“I didn't know,” he tells me sadly. “I knew she was Remy's friend, and Remy is Remy. She would sacrifice herself for her friends. I didn't know about you.”
“That doesn't fucking matter, Bauer!”
“Colt,” Elijah says firmly, drawing my attention to him. “You boys can settle this later, but for now. We need to be smart about this right now. Hitting Archer where it hurts, making him feel the pain you feel.”
“His brother...” Bauer says softly. “If you want to make him hurt, you need to take his brother.”
“I didn't even know he had a brother,” I say, the bite of my tone still very much present.
“It's not something that's all that well known, since his mom died in childbirth. Everyone thought the kid died too. Archer saw to that, considering their dad had just been killed by a Lycan. He thought it was the only way to keep him safe. He's not of age yet, he's away at school, kept very much out of everything. But if you want to hurt Archer, you need his brother, Dylan.”
“Which school?” I ask him.
“The same school as Nirvana,” he says softly. “Where better than a place we’d never even think to bring trouble to.”
“Fuck my life.” I flick my tongue bar between my lips while I try to think of a way to keep Nirvana out of this if I drag this kid into our war.
“We keep the kids out of it,” I say finally. “Kids are off limits.”
“But...” Bauer starts but I shake my head.
“End of discussion. I will not stoop to his level. We'll find something else,” I tell them all, and Elijah and Danny nod while Bauer just looks at me like he's sorry for even bringing it up.
“So when do we start hitting these sites?” Elijah asks with a grin.
“As soon as fucking possible.”
My phone rings on the table, and Marie’s name flashes on the screen. I pick up straight away, because she never calls this late.
“Colt! They took her, they took my baby!”
“Marie, calm down. What happened.”
“I will not calm down, Colt Bennett, they took Rebel! I went to check on her, to make sure she was asleep, and I saw them disappear in front of my eyes!”
“Marie—”
“Don’t you, Marie me boy! Get my babies back, and bring me that asshole’s head. I’ll make sure he suffers for eternity if he harms my girls.” The line disconnects and I flinch.
“Fuck,” I sigh, the others watching me closely.
“Looks like Archer doesn’t care about kids being off of the table. They took Rebel.”
Chapter Twenty
Remy
At first, I thought the mist hadn't cleared. Then I noticed the red hue to it, and as we kept walking, I realized we were inside, and it was no longer mist, but smoke. A sweet, cloying smoke.
Then I heard the groans.
We were in a fucking brothel.
Or at least this level’s version of one.
I'm no prude, but fucking hell Magnus! Seriously? I look to the guys and they all have grins on their faces. Of course they do. Especially after what happened the other night. I feel my cheeks heat at the memory of what we did. From the looks on their faces, they knew exactly what made me blush.
“Welcome to Sin. Where all of your fantasies can come true.” I spin at the feminine voice and curse to myself. Why are all these Demons fucking beautiful. It'll give a girl a complex!
“We're looking for Scarlett,” I tell the woman, her white dress, if you can call the very small scraps of material draped over her a dress, wisps in the slight breeze, and she smiles at me while her eyes harden.
“Scarlett is not available,” she says to me coldly. “At least not to you. I'm sure she'd make herself available for you gentlemen,” she purrs and I step forward, putting myself between her and them.
“They are not available,” I tell her firmly, and she looks me over again, this time with more interest.
“Well then, that certainly makes things more... interesting,” she says, her voice a sultry rasp. “Let me get you all comfortable and I'll let her know you've requested an audience with her.”
I nod and she turns, sashaying away from us, expecting us to follow.
“Is this a good idea?” Levi asks cautiously.
“I have no idea, but if you have any other suggestions, I'm all ears. This place is so off,” I say with a shudder.
“It is not so different to other places we have been, mon amour,” Kain whispers in my ear, sending goosebumps down my arms, reminding me of that night in his castle.
“I suppose,” I say, following behind the woman still, but since no-one else has suggested another plan of action, I'm going to just keep going as we have before, and just head straight for the higher Demons. They're the ones with the power over the doors, and even if we have had a few issues, it still feels like the quickest way to reach the queen.
We make our way through Sin, I'm assuming we're inside some sort of club, or sex den, or just something, when the woman in white stops then shows us to our very own shuttered booth. A round table with a leather booth, with gauze curtains draped on every side. Kain shrugs, smiling at me with heat in his eyes and slips into the booth, with Creek following him. I slide in on the other side of Kain, and Levi and Roman cage us in.
“Well, this isn't exactly what I was expecting,” Roman says, twitching his nose before sneezing. “Fucking smoke.” I grin a little, because that's possibly the most human thing I've ever seen him do.
A man in nothing but the smallest, tightest black shorts I've ever seen heads in our direction. My mouth drops open as he blushes when he reaches the table and I realize he's human.
“How can I help you folks tonight?” He asks with a shy smile, looking between the guys and me. “Drinks anyone?”
“You're human!” I blurt out and his eyes go wide.
“I was,” he says quietly, nodding.
“How are you here?” Levi asks, scanning the room. I follow his eyes and realize this place is full of humans.
“I came here, like the other souls, but once I was transferred to this level, I went from being that corporal thing, back to being this. The human me, just with... upgrades,” he tells us quietly, looking around the room as if he's making sure no-one heard him tell us.
“How is that even possible?” I ask, looking to Levi beside me, because surely this can't be a thing.
“I have no fucking idea. I've never heard of anything like that being possible, let alone even happening,” he tells me, and I can almost see his mind whirring.
“How long have you been here?” I ask the man and he shrugs.
“Only a few days, I'm new. I had my meeting with that Scarlett lady, and ended up, well here. But erm, can I get you guys anything to drink? I don't want to get into trouble for not doing my job. I've seen what happens when you get into trouble.” He gulps and his Adams apple bobs, true fear in his eyes.
What the fuck is going on here?
I shake my head, because I don't have the time, or the authority to do a god damn thing about any of it.
“I'll take a whiskey on the rocks, please.” I smile at him, trying to reassure him the best I can, without letting on that this is his eternal fate. The guys give over their orders and the man walks away quickly, scurrying off into the distance.
“He can't be any older than we are,” Creek says softly, his voice just loud enough to be heard over the low, base music in here.
“There's nothing we can do to help them,” Kain tells him, and my heart hurts for all of the souls trapped here. At least in a corporal state, there's only so much that can be done to them. To be made flesh and bone again? Well, that opens up the door for all sorts of tortures. I guess Ferry did warn us that the lower down we got, the worse the levels would be. And we're only on level five.
I let out a deep breath and paste a smile on my face as the young man heads back towards us, the woman in white from earlier at his side.
�
�Scarlett will see you now,” she tells us when she reaches the table. That explains the guy not having our drinks. “If you'll follow me.”
We follow the woman in white through the ornate black and red doors at the back of the club, and enter what looks like a small waiting area, with two other doors, one black and one red.
“You can wait here, Scarlett will let you know when she’s ready.” The woman tells us and strides back out to the club. At least there’s no smoke in here, there’s just a warm glow lighting the room from a few lamps dotted around the space. I sit in one of the plush sofas in the room and get comfortable. Once I sit, exhaustion sets in, the day’s insanity finally catching with me.
“You okay, Rem?” Creek asks as he sits down next to me, dropping his arm around my shoulders. I snuggle into him, resting my head on his shoulder.
“I’m fine, I just want to be done here already. I miss home,” I tell him softly. My life has gone from snail pace to warp speed the last couple of months, and I can’t see any let up until we sort this bullshit with Archer.
“We’ll be home soon enough,” he murmurs, kissing the top of my head as the others sit down on the other chairs in here.
“You should try to rest, Angel. There’s no telling how long she’ll keep us waiting,” Levi says, looking me over with concern. I close my eyes at his words, knowing they’ll stay alert for any dangers, and let myself start to drift away into sleep.
“And here was me thinking you wanted to see me, Hunter.” I open my eyes at the raspy voice and see a copper haired, green eyed Demon I assume is Scarlett.
“Sorry, it’s been a day,” I say, standing to greet her, the guys following my lead. Her eyes dart to each of them, her smile growing as she moves from one to the next.
“What interesting company you keep, Hunter,” she says raising an eyebrow at me. “Please, come into my office and we’ll discuss your visit.”
I nod and follow her into her office. Levi takes my hand as I pass him, a look of unease on his face. “Maybe you should let one of us deal with her.”
A Crown of Shadows and Secrets Page 18
