by Sadie Moss
My soul sank like a stone, and I felt my knees hit the ground just before my consciousness slipped away from my body entirely. The blackness took me, but it felt less terrifying than usual. There was comfort to be found in this quiet, empty space.
When the world coalesced around me, I recognized my surroundings. The familiar pentagram on the floor drew my attention, but now the lines etched into the stone glowed with an eerie, yellow-green light. At each point of the pentagram, one of the Stones of Power rested. Shades paced restlessly around the large room, and Neoma and Samira stood at two tips of the pentagram, their eyes glistening in the dim light. Two of the small statues were lit up like beacons, and a third was just beginning to glow from within.
Where are the witches?
The words echoed in my head, and I swore I could hear the voices of the fae back in the clearing.
Where are the witches?
It wasn’t enough to see what they were doing. It wasn’t enough to know they had shades guarding them or that their spell had begun. I needed a sign, a landmark. Something I could identify that would lead us straight to them.
I focused on that thought, and slowly, my consciousness began to float backward, away from the women. I wound my way down a dark tunnel and up a long flight of stairs, emerging in another large room. This one was so dark I could barely see anything, but I caught a glimpse of several stone caskets laid out around the space, statues of weeping angels poised over them. Then I slid through the wall and out into the night air. Bright moonlight fell on the headstones and tombs around me.
A cemetery.
The weird sisters were hiding in a cemetery. Inside an old tomb.
But I needed more.
Where are the witches?
I flew backward, over the tops of gnarled, twisting trees. Over a narrow path leading through the sweeping plot of land. Finally, I came to rest by the iron gate at the entrance. Moss-covered stone walls surrounded the gate, and on one of those walls was a plaque that read “Highgate Cemetery.”
Relief and gratitude swept through me as my Sight tugged me away, slamming me back into my body. I arrived back in my physical form with a jerk, pitching forward. I was still on my knees and would’ve face-planted if Nahini hadn’t caught me in her arms.
Around us, the fae slowly straightened, dropping the connection between their hands.
“What did you see? Did you find them?” Nahini helped me up, gripping my shoulders to keep me steady.
“Yes,” I answered breathlessly.
A warm feeling filled my chest as I looked around the fairy ring. Sol had tried to help me understand and control my magic, but it had never felt like this before. These were my people, just as much as the vampires were. And although they might not truly accept me yet, I was so glad I’d found them.
A ripple of fear cut through my happiness, coating my veins in ice.
We’d found the fae. And with their help, we’d found the witches.
Now there was only one thing left to do.
We had to stop them.
25
Willow
Thanks to the magical boost my Sight had been given by the fairy ring, my recovery from the vision was much quicker than usual. When Nahini released my shoulders, I was able to stand on steady legs.
She led me back through the overgrown village. Some of the fae who’d joined us in the clearing disappeared back into the jungle, but a number of them followed after us. At the base of Tiorelle’s massive tree, Malcolm, Jerrett, and Sol waited for us.
Malcolm handed me a weapon when we reached them. It was a small curved dagger with a sheath and belt. I took it gratefully and slung the belt around my waist. I still didn’t have a lot of weapons training, but I felt better having something sharp and pointy with me.
“Are you all right?” he asked in a low voice.
I nodded. “Yeah. Nahini showed me how to use glamour more effectively. And we found out where the sisters are hiding. At Highgate Cemetery, in London. How did your meeting with Queen Tiorelle go?”
“Better than I’d hoped. She won’t be joining us personally, but she’s agreed to send several of her best warriors to help us in the fight,” Malcolm said, dipping his head toward Nahini.
She nodded sharply in reply before turning to the fae who had been following us. “We leave in five minutes. Be ready.” They scattered, and Nahini turned back to us. “I’ll open a portal that will take us there. My warriors and I will deal with the shades while you break the witches’ spell.”
The blue-haired fae stepped away from us, raising her hands. The air in front of her began to shimmer, and a pale white glow appeared, fluttering like a curtain in a breeze. It looked just like the portal the shades had disappeared through after they stole the Birth of Power from the Penumbra.
Pulling my eyes away from the entrancing sight, I turned back to my men. “Thank you for speaking to Tiorelle. I know the fae still don’t fully trust us, but maybe this can start to change that.”
“I hope so.” Malcolm nodded thoughtfully. “I’d like to see vampire/fae relations improve, although I’m sure my father has no interest in that.”
“Do you think other vampires could be convinced to uphold a treaty with the fae?”
“If a strong leader ordered them to, sure.” Jerrett snorted. “So that leaves Carrick out.”
My stomach soured at the mention of the king. We were about to risk our lives trying to stop the weird sisters from destroying all vampires, and Carrick had refused to help. The fae, who had less at stake than he did, would be the ones to fight alongside us. That man didn’t deserve to rule a single household, let alone an entire vampire kingdom.
But that was a problem for another day.
First, we had to ensure there would still be a vampire kingdom to rule.
“It’s ready.” Nahini stepped back from her creation.
The fae warriors who would accompany us reappeared a moment later. They were outfitted with a variety of weapons, ranging from large to small but all deadly looking.
Nahini gestured to the assembled fae, and they stepped through the shimmering veil in single file. I reached back, grabbing Sol and Jerrett’s hands in mine and squeezing them. Malcolm’s hand fell on the back of my neck, and for a moment, I let that connection to all three of them ground me. Fear beat at the door to my heart, but I felt less terrified knowing they’d be with me.
“I love you all.”
The words were still new and strange on my tongue, but I had no doubt they were true. I might only have known these men for a short while, but I loved them with a passion and certainty I’d never once felt for Kyle during the nine years of our marriage.
“We love you, wildcat,” Malcolm said. “We’ll keep you safe.”
Sol and Jerrett murmured their assent, their grips tightening on mine.
Then Nahini gestured to us. I stepped forward, bracing myself as I walked through the shimmering veil of light. Immediately, I was sucked away by a powerful force. It spun me around like a sock in the dryer on high speed, then spit me out in a dark cemetery.
I stumbled forward, catching my balance quickly. Malcolm appeared behind me, moving me gently out of the way to make room for Sol, Jerrett, and Nahini. As soon as the fae leader stepped through, the shimmering veil began to fade.
She glanced at the gathered fae then at me. “You can guide us from here, half-blood.”
Casting my gaze around, I searched for a landmark to orient myself. I caught sight of a strange gargoyle with three arms carved on top of a headstone.
I remember that. The tomb should be just over the hill behind the gargoyle’s back.
“That way.” I pointed, then started off, following my memory of the cemetery’s layout. My vision had been clearer in that regard than any of my previous attempts. It almost felt like I’d been here before.
No shades accosted us as we made our way over the rise and approached the large tomb that hid the entrance to the sisters’ lair. But I’d seen how many of them li
ngered inside. They wouldn’t make it easy for us to reach their mistresses.
Outside the tomb, I hesitated, looking back at the group behind me. “This is it.”
The tomb was made of white marble, stained gray with age. It was large and ornate, with no discernible door. In my vision, I had just passed through the stone. The fae and I could get in that way, but that would leave the brothers behind. We needed to get them inside too.
“We will enter first,” Nahini said, stepping up beside me as if she’d read my mind. “We can phase out and slip through the wall. We’ll keep the shades occupied while you and your bloodsuckers break in.”
I nodded, stepping back toward my men. Nahini and her band of a dozen fae warriors all phased out, becoming incorporeal as smoke. They passed quickly through the wall, and the moment they did, muffled shrieks rose up from inside. The shades had spotted them already.
There was likely a secret entrance that the sisters used, since they couldn’t become incorporeal, but we didn’t have time to find it. Besides, we weren’t going for subtlety here—brute force would do just as well.
“Can we break it down?” I asked, looking at the smooth marble wall of the tomb.
“Hey, who do you think you’re talking to?” Jerrett smirked at me, cracking his neck. “With the boost I got from your blood last night, I feel like I could fucking take that thing down myself.”
“That won’t be necessary,” Malcolm drawled. “We’ll all do it. On three.”
He counted down, and the four of us rushed the wall, slamming into it with the force of a truck. The impact reverberated up my shoulder, and pain flared in my arm. But my body healed itself even as we struck again. On the third hit, the wall crumbled inward, and we darted forward over piles of broken marble.
The fight was in full swing. The inside of the tomb was already in disarray as the fae battled shades in the large space. I felt a pang of guilt for disturbing the resting place of whoever had been interred here, but we had no choice. The witches planned to disturb a whole lot more than these few souls.
A shadowy figure raced toward me with a shriek, but before I could move to fight it, something incorporeal ran right through me. Nahini. She solidified in front of me, facing off with the creature.
“Go, half-blood!” she cried. “This is our fight. Find the witches! I’ll send two of my men with you.”
She swiped out at the shade with her short, wide sword. It screeched, phasing out. But she followed, keeping herself between the shadowy creature and me.
I dodged to the side, leaving her to deal with the shade. “Malcolm! Jerrett! Sol!”
The three men looked up from where they were dismembering one of the dark creatures. One by one, its limbs shriveled and shrank.
Malcolm hurled a desiccated arm at another shade that charged them, and then all three of the brothers turned to race after me. The inside of the tomb was dark, lit only by the moonlight that filtered in through the hole in the wall. But I found my way to the staircase by memory, and as we ran down the large stone steps, light began to glow ahead of us.
We emerged into the long hallway that led to the witches’ underground lair. Two shades rushed down the corridor toward us, but the fae warriors who’d followed us darted forward, swinging their weapons.
I didn’t even slow down, just ran down the tunnel past them. We never would’ve made it this far if not for our fae backup, and we couldn’t afford to waste the advantage they’d given us.
My men ran with me, our footsteps so light they were nearly silent. Ahead of us, I could hear the shuffling sound of more shades, and two soft, lilting voices. Neoma and Samira.
We burst into the large room at the end of the tunnel, and I pulled up short. I’d seen this place twice in my visions, but nothing could’ve prepared me for the sights and smells that assaulted me. At the far end of the broad space, the sisters stood by the pentagram. That part of the room was lit by torches on the walls, and by the light glowing from the pentagram itself.
But the perimeter of the room was shadowed in darkness. On one side, the walls were covered in bones, and the stench of stale, putrid blood filled the air. I gagged. Had the witches been feeding their army of shades in here? Or had they been eating rotten flesh themselves?
At the sight of us, the weird sisters’ lips pulled back in identical snarls. Several more shades patrolled this room, and their attention swung to us.
Neoma pointed toward us, hatred sparking in her eyes. “Kill them!”
As one, the shadowy creatures converged on us. But I barely noticed that. My gaze was fixed on the pentagram behind the sisters. The lines of the pentagram glowed more brightly than they had in my vision, and now I could see runes within the pentagram itself burning with the same eerie light.
And at each of the five points sat one of the Stones of Power. Four were now lit with a bright red and orange light, as if the stones had been placed in a forge. The fifth was beginning to glow, the spark of magic igniting from within.
The spell was almost complete. We had to stop this now.
26
Willow
“The last stone!” I shouted, ducking past an advancing shade and racing forward, using every bit of speed I possessed.
I was only a few feet away from the pentagram when something hit me like a freight train, plowing into me from the side. I flew through the air, hitting the ground hard and rolling to a stop.
Shit.
Shaking my head to clear it, I rose to my feet. The sister who’d slammed into me stood near the pentagram, her eyes narrowed at me.
The brothers still fought the shades near the entrance to the cavernous room. As I watched, Jerrett grabbed one by the arm, using his grip to propel the monster into a wall. He placed his foot on its shadowy back and wrenched its limb free of its body. That seemed to be one of his favorite moves, and while gruesome, it was definitely effective.
Malcolm broke off from the battle to make a run for the dimly glowing Stone of Power, but Samira leapt for him, screeching like a banshee as she wrapped her arms around his body, sinking her fangs into his shoulder.
Rage tore through me at the sight. That fucking bitch. Nobody is allowed to bite my man but me.
I raced toward them. Malcolm roared, wrapping both hands around her head and twisting. Her fangs were wrenched from his flesh in a spray of blood, and the sound of bone snapping echoed through the large space. But with a feral smile, she twisted her broken neck back into place.
She was about to go for his neck again when I wrapped my hand around the back of her dark robe, fisting the fabric and yanking hard. She fell away from Malcolm, turning to face me. His blood colored her mouth like a sloppy lipstick ring, and a drop of it trailed down her chin.
As soon as her attention was diverted, Malcolm threw himself toward the final Stone of Power. But Neoma was there to intercept him, moving even faster than he did. Her small palms connected with his chest, and he flew backward.
Samira advanced on me as shades shrieked on the other side of the room. Jerrett made a break for the pentagram, but a shadow creature blocked his way, distracting him. Sol still fought at the perimeter of the room.
Damn it. The witches and their bodyguards are too strong and too fast.
It was like a dangerous, magical game of king-of-the-hill. The sisters just had to defend their position long enough for their spell to take effect. Which would be any minute, given the bright light emanating from the last stone and the strong magic coming from the pentagram. It pulsed like an electric charge, making the hair on the back of my neck stand on end.
Samira leapt toward me as her sister fought with Malcolm. I phased out just in time, and the witch passed through me with an angry shout. I raced to the pentagram and solidified, but the moment I did, Samira was there. This time, I ducked her blow, darting out of her reach.
We were getting nowhere fast.
We needed greater numbers on our side. Despite the fae’s help, we just didn’t have the manp
ower to take the sisters on. And they knew it.
But maybe I can change that.
An idea struck me, and I backed away from the pentagram, tapping into my fae power. Then I imagined three faces I knew so well I could draw them in my sleep.
A moment later, several more Sols joined the fight. Then three more Jerretts appeared. Finally, a group of Malcolms charged toward the pentagram from opposite sides.
Neoma screamed with rage, darting toward the closest one to shove it away. But her hands passed right through the illusion.
“Nicely fucking done, Will!” Jerrett called, slipping into the group of Jerretts running toward Samira.
Her eyes darted from one to the next, trying to distinguish the real from the fake. She swiped out at one, but her hand went right through him. Then the real Jerrett leapt forward, landing a hard kick on her chest that drove her backward. He drew a dagger from his waist and brought it down hard against the stone floor, breaking the lines of the pentagram.
The greenish-yellow light wavered, wisps of it drifting up from the broken line. The spell had been disrupted. But was it truly broken? The Stones of Power still glowed.
I solidified again, throwing myself toward the final stone. My fingertips brushed it as Samira grabbed my ankle, pulling me away. I rolled onto my back in the center of the pentagram. The witch crawled up my body, pinning me down and baring her fangs at me.
“You will not stop us!” she hissed, rage burning in her dark eyes.
“Maybe I won’t.” I grunted, holding her off as she snapped at me. “But he will.”
Her eyes widened, and she looked up just in time to see Sol—the real Sol—raise his foot and bring it down hard on the final Stone of Power. The magically heated stone exploded, sending bits of rock flying outward. Sol was hurled backward, hitting the wall of the cave behind him.
The runes inside the pentagram flickered and died.
For a moment, silence fell in the large, dank space as the sisters watched their magically boosted spell fade into nothing.
