“You will?” I asked.
“Yes, Akira. I will not let you fight alone. You will have an army behind you.”
“Brother,” Ryoka cut in, “is this really you?”
A deadpan face on the screen. “I will see my son succeed, no matter what. I will tear every soul apart who stands in his way.” No change in that face, but wow to the words. “My only regret is not coming to Tokyo with him.”
“Dad—”
“There has been no sight of Mama Rita. As always, she is being hunted. She is a frustrating mark to track.”
“Init, though?” I responded.
“Quite, Akira.” He leaned forward slightly. “We will win this fight. The air in your lungs is a testament to your continued strength, son. And that stands for all of you.”
“You continue to surprise me by the minute, Hitoshi,” Ryoka responded.
Dad didn’t answer that. “I will leave you to prepare.”
That was it?
“Goodbye for now,” Dad added. “I will see you in London.”
“Bye,” Sarah said softly.
We gave her our goodbyes.
“Be sure to relay this to my beta,” Dad said.
What was it with him and the bolts from the blue? Beta? How would that work? Ugh. Fuck it!
Sarah shuffled closer to him and whispered, “I love you,” as the screen went blank.
After a brief silence, Ryoka said, “Yes, very interesting.” Then he got up and left the room.
Zach, like me, was still staring at the screen.
Dad was joining us? The High Alpha was actually gonna come out onto the field? Tenshi! Now that was some fucking muscle behind us.
“I need to bake something.”
TWELVE HOURS LATER
Chapter Twenty-One
The plane landed at a Murakami Airfield (just outside of London) after a quicker flight than I’d expected. And it was morning—another one without daylight under the cursed moon.
I’d been on the edge of my seat the whole time, just wanting to get the hell out of the air, picturing the plane Mama Rita had brought down with her mazoku, wondering if she’d strike at any moment for a second bit of plane destruction.
Was she following us?
I did get to bake some muffins with a strawberry jam filling on the ship to Taiwan, which was awesome. Simple and scrummy and it’d helped burn away some of my anxiety as I’d whisked up the batter, made a bit of a mess, and watched Zach enjoy licking the spoon—he’d been so into that.
I still had a box of them in my lap as I sat in the back of a black SUV with G, Zach, and Ryoka in the seats behind us. Two SCU agents were in the front as our guards, a unit of four other Type Zero vehicles surrounding us for protection.
The drivers stuck to country lanes as best they could, staying off any main streets until they had to. Which would be soon. London wasn’t exactly made up of country lanes.
Iron rain still battered the world. “I swear it’s getting heavier,” I said, staring out the window at the hedgerows lining both sides of the road. They were painted with a silvery sheen by the moon. Some of the lunar light touched my skin. It itched a little.
This downpour wouldn’t stop until Dad said it was time. What was his limit? The destruction of the entire elven race on this planet? These roads were wet as hell, some of them proper flooded. Is that we he wanted? An iron flood? I mean, he had an iron fist, and he wouldn’t relent. He wasn’t the kind of guy to show much mercy.
I was confused about the elves again—namely, Xavier and Melody. What if the rain hurt them when they’d apparently been on my side? Were they the only two on Team Akira? Was there a resistance going on?
Gah! Fucking hated gray areas. Sometimes black and white was so much easier.
Nut up! Fucking grow a pair!
Shouty inner me was right. I had a job to do. If I started worrying too much about these details, then I’d have a fractured focus. Time to empty the mind a bit, tip the baggage into storage.
Bring back the sun…
The London skyline came into view, The Spire the dominant centerpiece. No matter what angle you looked from at a distance, there it was for all to see, reminding you that my dad and the werewolves were top, erm, dogs…wolves. Bow down to your furry masters!
The Spire. Seat of power. Childhood home. It really cemented me back in reality, back in London.
This was it.
“Tick, tock,” I whispered.
“What’s that, Aki?”
“Just said tick tock.” I shrugged. “We’ve spent so much time under this moon. How many more hours can we waste?”
“Not much more, I hope.”
The force of the moonlight was intensifying. Yeah, I only itched, but it had a mega thickness to it. Like when peeps say about cutting the tension in the air with a knife, it was the same thing. Cut the deadly, palpable wolf-harming energy.
Scary shit, and those iron shelters defo wouldn’t be able to stay up forever. No matter how resistant iron was to silver, it wasn’t eternal. The tenshi had made that clear.
“You think the rain gives things a protective coating from the silver?” I asked G.
“I’ve been thinking that myself.”
“You have? Cool. Great minds think alike, eh?”
“Absolutely.”
We were holding hands like a couple of soppy sods. I loved it. His hand was like an anchor, proper reassurance. Plus, really soft.
“You using a new skin cream?”
“Sorry?” he said.
“Your hands are mega soft.”
“When would I have had time to start a new beauty regime?”
I smirked. “I don’t remember them being this soft.” I lifted his hand to my face and sniffed. “Hmmm, nothing different there. Still Christmas.”
He chuckled. “Oh, yes, I forgot to tell you. I soaked my hands in paraffin wax on the ship.”
Funny fucker. “I kind of believe that.”
“Don’t mock me, Aki.” He ruffled my hair.
“Hey! Don’t make a nesty situation worse than it already is.”
“Your nest is adorable.”
“Don’t diss the nest.”
“I called it adorable.”
“You called it a nest, bruv.”
“Okay, bruv.”
I cocked an eyebrow. “You trying it, Gabriel Dawson?”
“Trying what? Another muffin?” He wiggled his eyebrows at the box on my lap. “Or maybe what’s beneath that box…”
“I’ll stop you there.”
His bottom lip jutted out. “Shame.”
“No, gross.” I lowered my voice. “We’re not exactly alone. And anyway, never been one for nookie in cars. Once. Never again.”
“Really? Oh.”
“What does that mean?”
He beckoned me closer with his finger. “I’ve had my best sex in the back of a car.”
“I’m not your best sex?”
“Want to find another car and see?” He winked.
“You’re one cheeky fucker.”
Another hair ruffle. “I learned it from you.”
“You got me there.”
“Don’t worry, I’m not into car sex either. I’m always too bulky for it.”
“Are we seriously having this conversation?”
“I guess we are. Nice, isn’t it?”
“It is, G.” And I was getting hard thinking about sex with him.
“Also, don’t worry, Aki. You’re a great lay.”
Though our voices were low, I was conscious they might carry. “Great. End of flirting.”
“Pity.”
“But thanks for saying it.”
We went back to holding hands. “Do you want another muffin?” I asked.
“I’m good, thanks.”
“Were they okay? I didn’t have much to work with.”
“As amazing as always.”
“You’re just saying that,” I countered, cheeks flushing a bit. It was the hu
sky way he said it. Damn! There was a tent pole situation in my jeans.
“I always say it because it’s always true. You’re a baking God.”
I rested my head on his shoulder. “Thanks. Can’t wait to get back to it again. Hardcore.”
“Neither can I. My mouth is watering.”
“I know what I’ll be making when I can spend plenty of hours in the kitchen.”
“What’s that?”
“Croquembouche. A big one.”
“Have you made that before?” He reached up to beep my chin.
I giggled. “No. I’ve been dying to tackle it for ages.”
“Okay, so what is it?”
“Profiteroles piled in a cone and glued together with spun sugar.”
“Sounds complicated, but delicious.”
“Will be if I get it right. Spun sugar can be a bastard.”
“Can’t come soon enough, Aki.”
I sighed. “Tell me about it.”
Mrs. Wallace would never get to try it. Man, that really fucking sucked. She loved my baking. I’d never again get to pop downstairs to The Teacup in the morning and hand her some fresh creation. She was as big a cheerleader for me as G was.
“No more chats on the bench,” I said softly.
“What’s that, Aki?”
“Sorry. Just thinking about Mrs. Wallace.”
He wrapped his arm around me, kissing the top of my head. “I’m sorry.”
“I really miss her, G.”
“She was a character.”
“Yeah.” I sniffed. “These quiet moments get me thinking, you know? About who we’ve lost, about how quickly everything’s changed. It’s been pretty mental. All of it. Life can really, what is it…”
“Turn on a dime?”
“That’s it.”
Too angsty to fully enjoy his shoulder, I returned to the window, staring at The Spire as we came into London from the west, the grand tower of glass with the wolf head on top slowly getting closer, while still being pretty far away.
A stream of silver light arched across the dark sky, slicing through the thick clouds. It looked like a comet.
I pressed my forehead against the glass. “What’s that?”
G leaned in closer, chin brushing my shoulder. “Strange.”
“Proper strange.”
It looked like it had holes in it, spots of rust. Was it from the rain? I mean, it was a silver thing outside in the iron rain, heading right for—
“Oh, no. No, no, no! I need to talk to my dad! Right now!”
Right at the moment, I yelled my last word, air raid sirens kicked in, releasing a terrifying wail.
“Shit!” I cried.
All the phones in the vehicle buzzed, screens lighting up. I’d been given a new one back in Taiwan, and it was also vibrating in my pocket as I fumbled to get it out.
I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t fucking breathe! What was going on? What was that thing in the sky?
“Aki.” G held his phone in front of my face. Mine wasn’t coming out of my pocket, my fingers and hands completely useless in the panic.
The screen was black, the words ‘WARNING! AIR ATTACK!’ blazing red. I’d seen the screen used in a test before, with the added ‘TEST’ underneath those three scary indicators. I’d heard the siren before when tests had been run. Scary, but not real. Drills were a safety precaution for just in case. Always just in case. I mean, this shit didn’t happen on your doorstep, did it?
It wasn’t a test.
The silver comet flared, picking up speed. Too fast, too determined to reach its target.
“My dad’s in there…”
The siren screamed, the city looking no different as if it wasn’t aware of what was going on in the sky.
“I need to speak to him!” I yelled. “Please! He’s in there! They’re in there!”
G was already a few steps ahead of me, phone ringing on speaker. Shrill ringing over and over again.
No answer.
“Please!” I bellowed as G tried again. “Dad! Sarah! Riku!”
Another flare of bright silver light and the comet ripped through the remaining distance, striking The Spire.
Ignition of incredible silver light, the rumble of an explosion, and then the huge glass tower, the symbol of werewolf power, collapsed, engulfed in smoke and silver fire.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Empty.
No more yelling.
Lost in a moment, in a hole, every inch of my physical and mental being rendered useless and empty.
Shock.
Maybe it was shock, a lack of understanding, an inability to process what the fuck I’d just seen.
Whatever it was, it held me in its grip, muffled the surrounding noise, left me incapable of hearing a single word, registering G’s hands on me, of doing anything but stare at the smoke rising from where The Spire had stood for years.
My childhood home was gone. No. It couldn’t be gone. It wasn’t the sort of place to just go. Hearts of power like that didn’t just pop off out of existence, especially the seat of the king of the damn world. That’s what my dad was. King of everything, top furry bastard who’d been in that tower when that silver comet had blown it up.
No. This wasn’t happening. No way. No fucking way. An illusion. A trick. Some elf trick. Even a witch trick. Could Violet have the kind of power to pull off a stunt like that, get at me with magical trickery? Could the elves? Was this what they were doing to me? Fucking with my head again?
“Tenshi!” I blurted. “They’ve got to me again! They’re in my head! They’re doing this. You’re not doing this again, wankers! Do you fucking hear me?”
“Aki…” Sort of heard G clearly that time.
“You ain’t dragging me back down! I’m stronger than you! Can’t push me! You’re trying to push me! You. Can’t. Fucking. Push. Me. Get that in your thick heads. I ain’t going down. Ha! You wish you could take down The Spire. Dream on, dickheads!”
“Aki…”
“No!” Tears. “No!” Not so empty, rage rushing to the surface, hot and fierce and sad and unbelieving, but knowing what I’d just seen wasn’t in my head.
Everyone in this vehicle was seeing it, everyone in the city, everyone who’s phones had received the alert of an airstrike.
An airstrike.
Silver.
Silver strike.
Elves.
The rusty holes… The rain eating into the comet, but not enough to stop it. Then the final push for its target…
“A weapon,” I breathed. “Never… I have to get there. Now! Now! You have to take me to the site.”
“Aki. We—”
“No! Take me there, now!”
“No, sir,” the driver countered. “I have my orders.”
“You’ve got new ones. Take me to The Spire.” Cold tone. Cold again. Not like Caramel Man cold, but cold to get my point across.
“I’m sorry, sir,” the guy in the passenger seat said. “We can’t allow you anywhere near it. Not now. Our orders are to take you to the beta’s residence in Hackney Wick. We cannot break those orders.”
I didn’t argue, losing myself in the emptiness again, the tears switched off. I went back to not believing, to staring at the endless smoke.
Endless smoke of ruin…
The Spire was in ruins…
My dad…
He was…
Stillness meant the world would stop spinning. My world, not the actual world. And that was more than enough. I just wanted my world to stop, to let me be still and empty.
Emptiness wasn’t bliss. It wasn’t anything but empty.
That’s exactly the place I needed to be in.
Can I stay here?
Chapter Twenty-Three
Gabriel
Despite my best efforts to talk to him, Aki remained shut off for the rest of the journey, not taking his eyes from the window. He was rigid, silent, the only signs of life his chest rising and falling, his eyes blinking.
/> I held his hand regardless because that’s all I could do.
Hold his hand.
My own mind was failing to comprehend what I’d just seen. The destruction of The Spire seemed so impossible. I didn’t want to believe it, wanted to deny it, to find another answer, but the news outlets were already running their reports, my phone screaming with messages, and I knew no one had the level of power to create a smoke and mirrors effect like that and keep it up. Which meant the elves had a weapon the likes of which no one had seen before, a silver bomb capable of—
I had to hold it together for Aki.
His father…
High Alpha…
Sarah…
Riku…
My friends, my colleagues…
The rest of the journey to my apartment went by in silence, the phones growing quiet. I didn’t want to hear or see any news bulletins. There wasn’t any clear information coming from anywhere. Not right now. I held Akira’s hand and willed the journey to end as quickly as possible until the SUV pulled into the silent street, then rolled down the slope to the underground carpark beneath my home.
I’d spotted iron cladding installed on the outside of the structure, and the rest of the buildings in my street. It was good to see precautions like this taken, but what good were they against a silver bomb like that.
Fallen…
The Spire had fallen…
I drew a deep breath, steeling myself against the tide of sorrow and rage. I was functioning properly again, my injuries gone, the head bandage off—a working human with the heart of a beta who had to be stronger than ever for the man he loved.
Four Moons: The Complete Collection: (Books 1 - 4) Page 79
