by Cece Rose
Why would he be in a place like this?
A large door is dead ahead of me at the top of the stairs. It’s a fire door by the peeling labels placed on it, rotting and covered in graffiti tags and stains. There’s a small window about head height at the centre of the door, but the glass is blurred, making it next to impossible to see anything or anyone through it. I lean forward and squint anyway, attempting to make sense of the blurs.
Unable to decipher what they are, I instead opt to just watch them for a moment, to see if any of the blurs move. When I’m sure nothing is dancing around inside, I push open the door, holding my breath as it inches open. When nobody shouts or comes rushing at the door, I exhale, creeping around it and into the room.
The room is small, but a large window covers one side of it. Instead of looking outside, the window looks over the main space in the warehouse. From a few pieces of discarded machinery I saw when using my connection with Elias, I assume it used to be factory or something. Whatever it was, this place hasn’t been in use for a long time.
I crouch as I walk in, keeping low so that if anyone were to look up this way, they wouldn’t spot me. When locating the warehouse I managed to pick out the perfect spot to quietly keep an eye on them. Somewhere out of the way, but close enough to see what’s going on. After waiting a few moments to ensure nobody noticed my arrival, I lean up, peeking out the window to see what’s going on.
Disbelief rushes through me as I process what is happening below me. Darren, Rhydian, and Kier all have their hands bound behind their backs and are kneeling on the ground. I swallow as my gaze flickers over each of them. Kier’s face shows his seething, but his body makes no movements to escape. He’s impossibly still. I quickly notice all of them are, and that it’s not just their hands which are bound.
Rhydian somehow still looks bored, although there is a flicker of annoyance working in there too. Darren is like a wild animal caged. His body may be held still, but his eyes are pacing, staring down at every other person in the room.
There are six men standing around the guys, and none of them look friendly. From here I can’t tell if they’re vampires, witches or hybrids, but I have a strong feeling that all of them bite. Elias stands apart from them all, a phone held to his ear. He’s speaking softly, as I can’t even hear a murmur from up here. He looks confident and composed as he stands just a few feet away from his own son held against his will.
Well shit. Looks like I’m going to have to piss off Kier after all.
I reach my hand back for my phone to call for help, but abruptly I’m thrust forward, crashing through brick and suddenly falling, dropping my phone in the process. I’m caught by a net of magic a few centimetres closer to the ground than is comfortable. The net tilts, rolling me safely onto the ground from its low height. I quickly stand, my eyes searching for Elias.
“Miss Harlow, how nice of you to finally join us,” Elias greets me with an empty smile.
“I didn’t know I was keeping you all waiting, next time I’ll call ahead and let you know I’m running late,” I snap, before biting my tongue between the teeth on the left side of my mouth. Shit. I have no magic, the guys are all tied up, and the perfect sarcastic comeback decides now is the time to make an appearance? I cringe internally while trying to stand strong. I may not have my magic, but surely Elias doesn’t know that?
He doesn’t laugh at my jab, but neither does he crush me like a bug, so I stand there awkwardly, feeling like the cat in Schrödinger’s box. Until I know what Elias wants, I’m alive and dead.
“I was surprised to see that you know my son, Kayla,” Elias begins, gesturing a hand at Kier casually, as if him being bound on his knees is nothing unusual. “I can call you Kayla, right?” he asks, but waves me off before I can actually respond. “I was also surprised to hear you weren’t called Hannah,” he continues as he steps towards me, pausing his speech as he comes to a halt. He stares down at me with calculating eyes, causing an overwhelming feeling of dread to pool in my stomach. “But do you know what I was most surprised to find out?” he finally asks, flashing his fangs a little as he grimaces at me.
I shake my head, suddenly feeling mute.
“That you, the witch who made a deal with the demon for her escape, are the witch he claimed to be searching for—One of them, anyway. I find it most interesting that he would bargain with me for information he already has. I don’t appreciate being someone’s pawn. Tell me, what is your master’s game?”
I choke, an odd noise somewhere between a laugh and gasp of disbelief as they’re trying to work their way out of my throat at once.
“What is it that you could possibly find amusing at this situation? Perhaps you’d find it less amusing if I slit one of your friend’s throats?” Elias threatens, draining any wisps of humour from the deadly situation.
“I’m sorry!” I exclaim quickly in panic, watching as Elias steps closer to Rhydian.
He pauses, turning back to face me, his expression demanding explanation.
“It was the ‘your master’ thing,” I explain, slowly moving my hands behind my back, attempting to keep the movement natural looking. “Solas isn’t my master. He doesn’t own my soul.”
“You may actually be stupid enough to think you have freedom, but if he’s letting you live when he’s not trapped behind a circle, then you you’ve already been caught by him.” Elias pauses, tapping his foot lightly on the ground as he appears to think on something for a moment. “I can’t quite be sure if you’re telling me the truth or not, Kayla. So I’m going to have to make sure.”
“What do you mean?” I ask, trying to stall him as I desperately try to tug the bracelet off behind my back. But no matter what I try, it doesn’t budge.
“Which one of these three do you care for the most, I wonder?” Elias muses, walking behind the three of them slowly, prowling almost. He pauses behind Kier, suddenly pulling a knife from nowhere and putting it to his throat. He holds it there for a second, staring into my eyes as I watch, feeling helpless to do anything to save him. As quickly as he drew the knife, he moves away from Kier, leaving him unharmed, for now. “No, I didn’t think it would be my son. He is always such a disappointment,” Elias declares, before moving back towards Rhydian.
He holds the knife at Rhydian’s throat. The helpless feeling returns. A salty tear trails over my lips and I realise that I’m crying. Pathetic. Why do I have to be so helpless?
He finally pulls the knife back away from Rhydian’s throat. “Not this one either. And here I thought you’d have been weak for the pretty green eyes on this one. I’m sure I will get a very nice price for those.”
The glare Rhydian gives Elias as he passes in front of him says more than words ever could. But Elias doesn’t care for his reaction, instead keeping his attention on me. “Nothing?” he prompts, raising his eyebrows at me in surprise. I wonder what he’s surprised about for a second before it hits me. He doesn’t understand why I’m not using my magic to lash out at him for what he’s doing.
If I could have done anything, I would have done it for all of them. If I wasn’t so helpless, so useless at being a witch, maybe I could have been able to help them. Instead it seems bad luck curse or not, it’s me that’s making everything worse.
Anger rushes through me. Anger at Elias for threatening to hurt them. Anger at myself for not being able to do anything about it. And anger at the universe for allowing all of these things to happen.
My hands shake at my sides as Elias’ silver knife rests over Darren's throat.
“Don't,” I plead, not just for Darren, but for all of them. My eyes don’t leave the blade, watching as he lightly presses it against Darren's skin, releasing just a small trickle of blood.
“What are you going to do to stop me?” Elias asks, his knife not moving away from Darren’s skin as he taunts me.
Nothing. There's nothing I can do. Even my magic, as cursed by bad luck as it is, couldn't come to our rescue now. My gaze darts up from the bla
de at Darren’s neck to his eyes, his gaze panicked and furious. More anger floods through me. The bastard wouldn't take on a shifter in close quarters that could actually defend themselves, no surprise there at all. My wrist burns, but I’m too frozen, caught staring at the horrific event in front of me to find out why.
“This one will just have to do,” Elias mutters.
I lurch forward just as Elias cuts Darren from his right collar bone to the bottom left side of his chest. He slices right through the fabric of Darren’s shirt, letting the blood just seep through the gap, and soak into the surrounding material. Darren’s body slumps to the floor as quickly as he was cut.
The heat from my wrist suddenly engulfs me all over, and it’s as if I’m on fire again. I scream, believing that somehow Elias has flung a curse at me without my noticing, before a flood of power charges through me, chasing the heat away with a different kind of burn. It pulses from my chest, through my arms, and as it passes through my wrist, my bracelet snaps; It falls to the floor in pieces, the sound echoing through the warehouse.
I turn to Elias, the mixture of rage, power and adrenaline giving me a rush unlike anything I’ve felt before. He smiles for a second as he looks at me, but I know that he won’t smile ever again.
My arms fling out, directing the raw energy and power right at him. It hits him squarely on the chest, sending him flying back meters away into a wall. His body hits the ground with a thump, and dust from the wall’s plaster scatters down after him, covering him in a light grey dust.
I don’t know how I know, but I know he’s dead. He was dead the second the burst of my magic hit him. With him taken care of, I turn to his accomplices as they’re cautiously approaching me. I send a second burst of energy at them. They tumble back, collapsing unconscious as one, leaving me as the only one still standing. I turn back to the guys, both terrified to look and desperate to make sure they’re all okay. Kier and Rhydian have moved, and are knelt over Darren’s body. A glow emits from Kier’s hands as he holds them over Darren’s chest, his eyes shut tightly in concentration.
I rush over, falling to my knees beside them. My head is spinning from the power rush and the millions of questions that are swimming around in it.
“Is he okay?” I demand, looking at Rhydian for answers. He shrugs, but his green eyes look glassy as he looks back down at his friend, his hand resting on his arm in a comforting gesture.
I turn to Kier instead, watching just as he opens his eyes. He gives me a small nod and a half smile, but his expression is filled with concern.
“He’s really going to be okay?” I ask again, needing the verbal confirmation, desperate for reassurance beyond belief. I sway on my feet as I stand, suddenly needing to step back and breathe now that I’ve seen Darren is still breathing too.
“He’s going to be just fine, I promise,” Kier tells me softly, and I realise the concern on his face wasn’t for Darren, but for me.
I try to respond but stumble, feeling a strange vibration lull underneath my feet. Nausea washes over me as hand rests on my back, providing a gentle support to steady my now swaying form. Another hand rests on my waist to help hold me still. The world around me blurs. “Okay,” I finally manage to whisper, just as my eyes fall shut and I collapse.
Twenty-Four
Never Trust A Demon
“Kayla?” Rhydian’s voice murmurs quietly, as a gentle hand brushes the hair from my face. I groan, curling up underneath the warm blankets that have been placed on top of me. “Kayla, are you awake?” Rhydian prompts me again gently.
“Go away, I’m tired,” I reply, although, it sounds a lot more like unintelligible grumbles.
“She’s fine,” Darren’s voice announces, and I can hear the smile in it. Darren is… Something clicks in my brain and everything that happened rushes through my head. I sit up quickly and regret it, instantly feeling dizzy. Rhydian steps back to give me space.
“Take it easy,” Kier tells me, putting a hand on my shoulder at my other side to stop me from standing anyway. He hands me a glass of water before adding, “And keep yourself hydrated.”
I take a sip of the water, feeling his eyes watching me and scrutinising until I do. After putting the glass down onto a side table by the bed, I glance around at all of them. They’re all standing around my bed, looking concerned for me, but okay. We’re really all okay… My gaze darts back to Darren again, noticing that he does look a little paler than usual. He’s wearing a clean, forest green shirt that looks like it should belong to Rhydian, and his eyes are just a little red.
He could have died. I love him and he could of died.
“How did that all just happen?” I ask, brushing off my own line of thought by directing a question to Rhydian, who is now standing at the foot of the bed.
He shakes his head and shrugs, “I don’t know. Honestly.” He glances around the room awkwardly. “None of us do. We’ve been trying to figure out how you broke the enchantment on your bracelet since we got back here, we were hoping you could explain. I placed it when Kier suggested that you might do something incredibly foolish, like follow us there by yourself. Not having your magic was meant to stop you.” He raises an eyebrow at me, shooting me a mischievous look, and I can’t help but think he’s a little impressed.
“It wasn’t supposed to happen like that. I was just going to watch from a safe distance and call for help if you got into trouble.” A mental image of all of them on their knees with Elias’ knife pressed to their throats flashes in my head, making my heart thump faster in my chest. “It’s a good thing I did,” I add.
“You still shouldn’t have done something that risky,” Darren mutters unhappily.
“Well clearly I should have, because I did, and if I hadn’t, who knows what would have happened to you all? How the hell did it get that bad that quickly anyway?” I demand.
“It was a set up. He was waiting for us all. He knew about your spell to locate him, and he used a mirage charm to hide all his men other than one. We walked in there thinking we’d have the advantage, but we were the ones who were outnumbered,” Kier explains. He pauses, staring at me silently for a moment. His stare is so intense even Rhydian keeps quiet. Finally, he begins to speak again, “You killed him when I couldn’t. I had a chance before he had us bound; there was a split second opportunity and I missed it because I hesitated. You didn’t hesitate to help us, even if it did mean you doing the impossible. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” I reply, feeling a little empty as I utter the words.
“I’m sorry, too. You shouldn’t have had to do that,” Kier apologises, realising the impact what happened could have had on me. I nod mutely, accepting it. “No one outside of this room will know it was you. I killed him as far as anyone else knows. I doubt you’d be charged with anything due to the situation, but you’re not any kind of law enforcement, and the risk and attention it would bring you outweighs any necessity for the truth.”
“You want me to just pretend like it didn’t happen?” I ask, my eyes widening as an accusing tone tinges my voice. The hollow feeling of guilt suddenly feels like it’s swallowing me. I really killed someone.
“Of course not. Not with us, anyway,” he says quickly. “You don’t deserve to be punished for this, Kayla. All you did was save three people you know.”
Darren and Rhydian give murmurs of agreement.
“I killed someone. I didn’t even try to think of another way in that moment. I just reacted…” I trail off, pressing my lips together into a thin line.
“You saved us,” Darren reassures me, taking my hand in his and squeezing it in a comforting motion. I pull my hand away and stand up, swaying on my feet as I walk but I keep moving anyway.
I grab a black candle, chalk, a bag of salt, and my grandma’s grimoire from my supplies and head downstairs. The guys all follow me, keeping quiet. I go to push the dining room table out of the way, but Darren and Kier silently take over, moving it out of the space for me. Not taking any ris
ks, I draw three lines of protection circles. Salt, chalk, and finally, magic. I put the black candle in the north corner of the room and lick my lips nervously as I notice Kier looking over the setup.
He turns to me. “Kayla,” he begins slowly. “Please tell me that you’re not about to summon to a demon.”
“I can’t do that,” I reply, trying to get my thoughts into focus so I can summon Solas somewhat safely. With the others here, there was no way I could do this without the circles. I haven’t wasted time by drawing out all the summoning sigils and stuff, thanks to our connection, I’d be able to summon him without them. I’ll have to be focused on the centre of the circle when I call him to direct his presence into the circle. It should work, if my grandma’s grimoire is to be believed anyway.
“You heard what my father said, right?” Kier demands. “The demon is using you for something! You can’t trust him.”
“I agree, you should stop this,” Darren mutters, but he sounds a little resigned. Like he knows it’s futile to object, but he feels obligated to do it anyway.
“I don’t trust him. Just because I don’t trust him, doesn’t mean I can’t use him. I need his help. Today having my magic cut off could have got you all killed. I can’t live with the bad luck, and I can’t live without my magic. He’s the only one who knows anything. Hell, I wouldn’t be surprised if he caused this curse. But he is the only one with an idea of how to get rid of it, so I’m calling him to do just that,” I explain firmly, leaving no room in my tone for arguments, not that it stops them.
“I’d also like to vote against summoning the demon. They’re evil for one, and I’ve pissed a lot of them off for two. Evil and pissed off is not a good feeling to have a powerful demon direct at you,” Rhydian chimes in, but he too seems a little resigned to the fact I’m doing this.
