by Elena Gray
Halting his steps, Jax blocked Katarina with his wing and glared at the other mage. “Many things have changed for me since the last time we spoke. It’s all for the better. You have no clue what type of powers I harness now.”
When the mage attempted to steal another glance at Katarina, I was grateful that Jax blocked his view. I would kill him before he got one inch closer to her. Every fiber in my soul wanted to cut the mage down with my ax, starting with his big, cocky head.
“You’re wrong, you know,” the mage replied. His cold glare switched back to Jax. “I know exactly what kind of power you harness. The tether of darkness in your blood is linked to every dark mage. When it activates, we feel it.”
“You may sense it, but it doesn’t mean you control me. I’ve learned to balance it,” Jax said as he crossed his arms over his chest.
Maniacal laughter echoed through the room. The sound pierced my skull. “If you think that puny human you’re hiding behind your wing is going to save you from something as powerful and seductive as dark magic, you’re wrong. She is nothing but a distraction.”
“You know nothing about her or what she’s capable of doing,” Jax said. “My best advice to you is to move out of our way before I end you.”
The ground beneath our feet trembled with each word Jax spoke. I couldn’t see his eyes, but I prayed he was keeping his dark magic under control.
“That’s one thing you’ll never accomplish so long as you fight for the wrong side,” the mage said. “Not embracing your dark magic makes you weak. If you harness your dark magic, you can take your rightful place. You’re meant to be by my side, son.”
I’d struggled to process the mage’s words when his face morphed into something different. He looked nothing like the man I’d battled in the woods the night Samara died, the same man who’d tortured me countless times since.
The face before me wasn’t identical to Jax, but I saw the similarities. Based on the gasp from Katarina and the swearing behind me, the rest of the group must have realized the same thing. This was Jax’s father. The man he’d spent his entire life hating and was responsible for Samara’s death.
It was time for justice to be served.
Chapter 18
~Jax~
Natasha’s violent coughs warned me that we were wasting time arguing with my father. I still couldn’t believe he was the one behind this mess. It worried me on a more personal level, too. What type of evil did I have flowing through my veins?
My brothers all faced my father, weapons drawn, as their wings twitched behind them. They were prepared to attack. Like me, Quinn and Roark wanted retribution for what my father had done to Slade, and Slade wanted his own revenge.
Still, I wasn’t convinced we’d be able to take down my father. He’d always been powerful, but whatever he was doing to supernaturals in this basement had somehow increased his abilities. I could sense it in the dark energy swirling around him. Was it possible he was stealing their powers to make himself stronger?
I had to do something, and being that he was my flesh and blood behind the wrongful doings, I felt obligated to clean up the mess. But first, I needed to get Natasha and Rose out of here, or Natasha might not make it. Nicholai had healed her enough to make the trip to safety, but she wasn’t out of danger. It would take an expert healer to mend her wounds and save her life.
Roark still held Natasha in his arms. He would have to pass her off to someone else if my father decided to fight us. I clenched my fists in frustration. The more I thought about it, the more I realized what had to be done.
“I don’t want to fight you,” I told my father as I stepped toward him. “If you let my friends leave, I’ll give you what you want.”
“You think you know what I want?”
I nodded. “You want me. Isn’t that what you said a moment ago?”
Kat grabbed my shoulder and tugged it. “Don’t you dare go through with this, Jax.”
Quinn and Slade advanced toward us, clutching their weapons. When my father formed a black orb in his hand, they stopped. Their eyes shifted to me and they both shook their heads.
“Don’t do this, brother,” Roark pleaded. He laid Natasha by Drothan’s feet and whispered something to the dragon shifter. A second later, Drothan’s wings expanded. He slammed them against the floor and closed them, cocooning Rose and Natasha inside.
As Roark stepped up next to me, he drew his sword from his back and glared at my father. “Your son had it right the first time. Get out of our way before we end you.”
My father’s laughter sounded as deranged as the demons we’d heard earlier. “You gargoyles may be tough to break, but you’re not indestructible.” He pulled a gray sliver of glass from inside his cloak and pinched it between his fingers. “I was able to shatter your brother’s soul and take a piece of it. As long as it’s in my possession, he’ll never be whole.”
My dark magic began to churn inside me, slithering its way through my veins. My own father was responsible for torturing my brother and killing numerous supernaturals. My anger began to flare when I realized my father was using Slade to get to me.
Fuck that.
The bastard could have killed Slade. Missing part of his soul should have killed him. How he was still standing defied all logic. There was one thing that I did know, he would never heal without the missing piece, and that meant he’d never complete his bond with Kat. Losing Slade would destroy her. It would destroy all of us.
I stared at the sliver of my brother’s soul and swallowed the lump in my throat. This changed everything. We couldn’t leave this realm until we had the missing piece. I would never allow my father to have it. If that meant giving myself up, then I had to do it.
“Release my brother’s soul and I will go with you. I give you my word.”
The gleam in his eyes said he was considering my offer. The shouting from my brothers and Kat echoed through the room. They refused to let me go. I refused to watch them die.
I took another step toward my father, but this time, Kat wrapped her arms around my waist.
“Don’t do this,” she begged. “We’ll find another way.”
I cupped her face with my hands as I looked at her. “There is no other way. Slade has been through hell. He deserves to have his soul intact. I’m the one who has evil blood flowing through my veins.”
She shook her head with fervor. “That doesn’t matter. We’ve already proven I can balance you.”
Placing my finger to her lips, I prayed my father hadn’t heard that pertinent piece of information. “You have other things to focus on. Let me do this for Slade, the prisoners, even you.”
Tears welled in her eyes. “This isn’t for me.”
I leaned close enough to whisper, “He won’t hurt me, but he’ll torture and kill you. Please, Kat. Don’t fight me on this.”
Damn, she was making this hard. I didn’t want to go with my father, but it was the only way to get everyone back to safety, or at least I hoped. My father still hadn’t agreed to that part.
I glared in his direction when I realized he was studying Kat. The way his eyes moved over her body had me on edge. If he even thought about touching her, I’d kill him. “So what’s it going to be, Dad? Do we have a deal or not?”
My father’s dark eyes scanned all the faces in the room, but a sinister smile returned to his face when he came back to Kat. “Maybe you were right, son. I didn’t realize this human’s capabilities. I sense something special about her.”
He was goading me, but he had no idea that Kat wasn’t human anymore. Either way I had to protect her. A reaper with the powers of a witch inside might be just what he needed to amp up his powers even more. All I knew was the harder he stared at my ward, the more I felt the darkness inside me coming to life. If this was what it took to end him, I’d accept my evil side and tear him limb from limb.
“Don’t. Fucking. Look. At. Her.” I growled each word as my fangs slipped past my bared teeth. “Answer my questio
n. Do we have a deal?”
My father pressed his lips in a thin line, then finally nodded. I touched Kat’s cheek one last time before approaching my father. Quinn and Roark managed to grab Kat’s arms when she tried to follow.
When I was midway between them and the door where my father stood, I reached my hand toward him, palm side up. “Give me the piece of Slade’s soul.”
“Only when you put this on.” He snapped his fingers as a chain appeared. It had cuffs that were meant for my wrists, ankles, and neck. My father planned to take me from here like a prisoner.
So much for taking my place at his side.
“Are those necessary?” I asked as I frowned at him.
“Only until we leave. Once we’re gone, I’ll remove them...unless you give me any problems, son.”
I shook my head. Kat’s sobbing behind me nearly buckled my knees. Ignoring the sound, as well as the tug on our bond, was near impossible. While I battled not to look her way, my father placed the chains on me, locking them in place. This was my sacrifice to ensure that Kat and my brothers would be released.
Maybe in time, they’d find a way to save me just like we’d saved Slade. Then again, by that time, it may be too late. If I ever gave in to the darkness inside me, I didn’t expect to return to the right path.
When my father snapped the last lock, he stepped back and pointed toward my family. “You can return the sliver to your brother now. Be quick. I want to leave this place. The sooner we’re gone, the quicker I can begin your training.”
Drawing in a deep breath, I wasted no time walking back toward Kat and my brothers. Pain radiated on their faces, but I had to ignore it. Once I was in front of Kat, I offered her the piece of Slade’s soul. She stared at it a moment, not saying anything. The instant she gazed up, I saw her tear-stained cheeks.
“Please,” she cried. “Don’t.”
I placed the sliver in her palm and curled her fingers around it. Then I kissed the back of her hand and turned away. It was up to Kat now to find a way to make Slade’s soul whole again.
“Why are you doing this?” Kat shouted. I wasn’t sure if her words were meant for me, my father, or both of us. In the end, it was my father who answered her.
“My child, some things aren’t meant to be revealed. You may know my identity, but what fun would it be to tell you my purpose behind this? I can’t give you that type of leverage over me.” He smirked at her. “But I promise you this. In time, you’ll know all about my plan. Until then, drive yourself crazy trying to figure it out. I’ll be busy training my son to slaughter each of you the next time we meet.”
My body froze at his words. I would never hurt my brothers and I sure as hell would never harm Kat. Still, I worried what I was capable of when under the influence of dark magic. It had me second guessing my decision.
Something zapped my neck, drawing a groan from chest. The pain bolting through me sent me to my knees. I heard shouting around me but couldn’t focus enough to see who was yelling.
When the jolts of pain finally stopped, I drew in a deep breath and leaned on my palms. Something caressed my back. Ignoring the stabs of pain in my neck, I lifted my head and found Kat. She knelt beside me with her hand under my wings, pushing her healing energy through me.
“You’re not taking him.” She clenched her teeth and wrapped her arms around me, helping me to my feet. I tried to push her back, but she clung to me, refusing to move. “He is under the protection of my uncle.”
“And that’s supposed to matter to me?” My father laughed. “I do not fear humans, you foolish girl.”
“Who said my uncle is human?” Kat lifted her brow as if she were taunting my father. “Do you think I was pulled into this supernatural realm for no reason?”
“End the suspense then.” My father’s voice boomed. He was taking the bait. “Who is this uncle I should fear?”
Before Kat could answer my father, a dark mist drifted into the room. For a moment, I thought it was smoke. When it spun and morphed, I grew as confused as everyone staring at it. Kat was the only one wearing a smug smile.
Haunted cries pierced my ears just as the mist shifted into a familiar face. Mathias Shade. An army of reapers and shades stood behind him, and all eyes glared at my father.
“Alastor Thornwell. I should have known you were behind this.”
“Mathias,” my father seethed. “What are you doing here?”
“You’ve broken supernatural laws. You’ve tortured, maimed, and killed supernatural beings, not to mention you pissed in my backyard when you trapped innocent souls. I have many reasons to be here, including protecting my niece.”
“How convenient,” my father scoffed. His eyes shifted to me just as a surge of electricity shot through my body. He’d activated the chains again. Not only did they shock me, they shocked Kat, too. Whatever spell was on it yanked us toward my father.
Kat refused to let go. With her arms still wrapped around my waist, I heard her grunt as she braced her feet on the floor, attempting to hold me back.
“Let go, Kat,” I said. “You can’t go with me.”
Her brows folded, and our bond shook with her fear and anger. “I told you before, you’re not going.”
Shifting her focus, she glared at my father and raised one of her hands in front of her face. She closed her eyes, released a deep breath, and reopened them. A second later, a blue and silver orb formed inside her hand. Then she hurled it toward my father.
Half-expecting him to deflect it, I watched in complete awe as the orb collided with my father. The impact was so powerful that he slammed into the wall behind him. I didn’t understand how Kat had formed the orb, much less made it powerful enough to hurt my father. Had Samara helped her?
I searched for my former ward and found her floating by Nicholai, just out of my father’s view. Her hand covered her mouth, and judging by the way her eyes bulged, I assumed she had nothing to do with the magic Kat had just projected.
Had the ancestors broken through to her?
“Enough,” Mathias’s commanding voice echoed through the room. “Reapers, go collect your souls.” He pointed toward my father as he shouted, “Guards, seize Alastor Thornwell. You are under arrest for your crimes against the supernatural realms and the order of gods who protect them.”
As the reapers vanished before my eyes, I saw the shades charge my father. His eerie laughter sent a chill up my spine. When I looked his way, he released my chains and narrowed his eyes on me. “I will return for you, son. Be sure of it.”
Within a flash, my father disappeared, along with the chains that bound me. As soon as my hands were free, I wrapped them around Kat and held her. She’d saved my life, again.
“Are you two okay?” Slade asked as he, Quinn, and Roark ran toward us.
“We’re fine,” Kat answered. I wanted to nod in agreement, but something felt off. Even when I stood, everything around me slowed, then began to fade. The dark magic inside me had been activated. Its spindly fingers wrapped around my soul, dragging it into a black pit.
A moment later, I felt the ground beneath me tremble. My earth element battled with my darkness, fighting to keep me from falling into its cold grasp. The harder they fought, the more tremors rumbled the ground.
Warm fingers curled around my arm as I heard the distant sound of Kat’s voice. I didn’t know why she sounded so far away. She’d been right beside me a moment ago. When I searched for her, a demon lunged at me.
Backing away, I drew back my fist, ready to punch the demon. Another demon grabbed it before I could knock the first one out. The rage inside me grew and I drew upon my element, making everything around me quake even more.
“Jax, stop!” Katarina’s voice seeped through the war unfolding around me. “Fight the darkness.”
Confused by her words, I didn’t understand why she was more concerned about the darkness than the demons attacking me. Why was no one helping?
When I tried to fling both demons off, a third
came up behind me and grabbed my wings. I fought to expand them and use them as weapons, but it felt like there was a vise squeezing them shut. Despite how much I kicked and flailed, I couldn’t shake off my attackers as they forced me to my knees.
Then warm hands cupped my cheeks. “Jax. It’s me.” Kat’s voice broke through my fear. “Close your eyes. Focus on our bond, and find your way back to me. Please, fight for us.”
The soothing sound lightened my heart. All the fear ripping me in two, disappeared. I did as she asked and closed my eyes, concentrating on the throb of our bond and the way it hooked me by the waist and tugged me forward. The demons holding me back combusted into smoke and disappeared. Once they were gone, I stared into a pair of tear-filled brown eyes.
“He’s back.” Kat wiped the tears from her eyes and sniffled. It wasn’t until her words sank in that I realized none of what I’d just seen was real. I hadn’t battled any demons, just dark magic.
Roark and Quinn helped me stand while Slade lifted Kat. He held her close to his chest and curled one of his wings around her, as if he were protecting her from me. Did he think I would hurt the one person I cared for the most? I’d give up my life before I’d ever cause her pain.
“It’s all right, Slade. I’m fine.” I patted my chest as I spoke.
The house began to tremble just as Slade began to speak. A piece of the ceiling broke away and fell a few feet from him and Kat. I glanced around the room and my chest tightened.
The walls were cracked from the ceiling to the floor. Pieces of brick and wood littered the floor, which now had a giant hole in the middle. The longer I stared at the carnage, the more I realized this was my fault.
At any moment the mansion could collapse on us. We needed to get out of here. As if reading my thoughts, Mathias opened a portal.
“Everyone,” Mathias shouted over the sound of rocks crumbling and wood splitting, “Come this way.”
One by one, I saw my friends and my brothers race into the portal and disappear from my sight. Kat tugged my arm, urging me to run with her. We didn’t get two steps before another crack formed in the floor, separating us from the portal.
