by Kiki Howell
Her grandmother’s voice echoed in her head, and she unconsciously traced the lines imbedded along her wrists. Usually hidden with bangles and bracelets, tonight she’d removed them.
For clarity. Magic had been a drug to get high with. And when it crashed, it almost burned her to the ground, the same as her parents.
Pain let her know that she was alive and she needed to embrace it. She was here to help Gabby. Even if it meant she had to face her old demons. There was wisdom in the scars that held her together and she needed it now, more than ever.
Magic was afoot. She could sense it like a hunger, and before she could let her better half stop her, she opened up and let the beast take a bite, luring her in closer. And she stumbled, feeling the wards at the edge of Joanna’s property close around her.
Goddess. Where were the boys?
Had she been a fool to chase her thief?
But there, in the darkness of the woods she saw a flash of silver and the soft whisper of cat feet on fallen leaves.
Evangeline.
Hot blood seeped out from between her fingers, hitting the ground but she kept walking. There would be time to find her urn later. This night was for the living and she had to hurry before Gabby’s time ran out.
The quiet of the woods was deceptive. Dank smells of old vegetation and mildew filled her nostrils, as did the scent of old blood. Missing were the sounds of animals in the night or the screech of a night bird. All was silent and that was her second indicator that something was off.
Ancient trees with long dangling clumps of gray, springy moss drifted down, shifting in the light evening breeze. The moon shown down between the trees and she proceeded, her clothes sticky with sweat. Her stomach clenched at a whispered sound some distance away and she straightened up, readying herself for whatever was coming her way.
It wasn’t much farther to the house if memory served. Just another short stretch of a walk. Her legs shook but she pressed on, annoyed that the men hadn’t caught up to her yet.
Then movement from the corner of her eye stopped her and a familiar form stepped out from behind a tree.
“Diana. I see you've finally come.”
It was Joanna, and right behind her a legion of unnaturally still shifters and vamps. Now she just had to find Gabby and not get killed in the process.
Chapter Ten
“HOW THE FUCK did we lose her?” Aristide raised his face to the sky, reaching out for Diana’s scent.
“You don’t have the mate connection.”
“I’ve given her my mark.” He scowled at the vampire, stalking deeper into the woods. “And thanks to your interruption, that bastard Virgil is out here somewhere.”
“If she would have just waited....” Rand stalked ahead, twigs snapping beneath his feet. “And I was helping you, wolf.”
Aristide glared at the centuries old vampire, still annoyed that he’d joined the fight. He wanted to bring the traitorous bastard down and feel his neck break between his jaws. “You ever try telling a stubborn witch what to do? And no. You weren’t.”
The vampire snorted. “I don't think she listen anyway. Not from what I’ve seen in my visions. And without me, Virgil’s demon energy would have taken you.”
He started to retort, but thought better of it, the truth near burning a hole in his gut. He’d seen the way his mate reacted to the man and it made the wolf inside of him decidedly on edge.
Diana was his but if she wanted the other man, he would not stand in her way. He cared for her too much. “You may have a point,” he admitted begrudgingly. “The green fire in his eyes was...not right.”
Rand pushed ahead, gazing about him as he stepped over bramble and brush, hardly making a sound. “Diana saw something. There was a flash of another man nearby and the scent of feline and then whatever scent I could catch faded.”
Aristide lifted his nose to the air but caught nothing but the fetid rot of dying plants and the sharp scent of rain as a storm brewed above. It was fitting for the one raging inside of him. She was out there, unprotected. So was Gabby.
“And that's my point. Diana mentioned the woods before she bolted, but so far there's been nothing.” Aristide cocked his head, a tiny sound in the distance catching his attention. His wolf paced beneath his skin, eager to shift and hunt but he held his beast back, knowing he would need his human side for this.
“What is it?”
“I'm not sure.” He moved forward, client with not even a twig are pine needles crunching under his feet. Come on let's see if we could find her before she gets herself into some kind of trouble. And Gabby. They had to find Gabby. The longer it took, the harder it would become to track her. As it was, the rain had muddied his senses.
His wolf snarled a warning. There was someone ahead of them in the darkness.
“Rand.”
“I see them.”
What appeared to be a man in his forties was crouched down in the center of a path. He lifted a dried leaf and placed it in what appeared to be an urn, a half whispered incantation on his lips.
A cry erupted from the urn and it tumbled to the ground.
“Evangeline!” The man scrambled for the object, pouring its contents on the uneven forest floor. Dust scattered and from the contents emerged a woman, her eyes wide with the call of the moon.
He gathered her to him, tucking her chin beneath his. “Oh my girl. My sweet, sweet girl.”
“Jonathan.” She blinked, her gaze falling on Aristide and Rand.
“It took you long enough to find us.”
“And who are you exactly?” Aristide growled.
“A friend.”
“The enemy of my enemy is my friend?” Rand stepped forward, his eyes bright in the dim light of the moon.
The other man nodded. “They are coming. Be ready.”
The creatures were on them before either party had a chance to react.
“Look out!” Aristide snarled, his claws emerging, a half transformation from man to wolf. One after the other, crazed lone wolves battered the group until a snarling mass approached. Aristide dodged one, his gaze resting on one of his pack members.
Shit. And there to his left were vampires. All of them sightlessly fighting, with no purpose other than to draw blood.
“To your right.” Rand swung his fist connecting with the first zombie like creature, connecting with it in the face, and knocking it back a few paces before it turned on the closest member of the mob and tore in.
The woman rose, her form shifting to a large black cat. Together with the man Jonathan, they battled the creatures, pushing them back into the woods.
They were all fighting, he and Rand drawn in just by being in the wrong place at the wrong time. This was what his people had been reporting. And he hadn’t believed them.
There among the crowd, he saw a young woman whose mother had called him, frantic earlier in the week. To the left he spotted a retired school teacher that had gone missing in his neighborhood. All of them watching. All of them waiting for whatever it was that controlled them.
“We have to break away from this. These are your people and mine.”
“I hear you.” Rand panted, his bloodied knuckles healing in moments. The wave of creatures passed them like a hungry mob.
But, he noted, Jonathan and Evangeline hadn’t been targeted. That meant someone knew they were here.
“They’re not dead.”
“No. But something’s holding them.”
“The amulet?”
“I don’t know.” Aristide walked on. “But something tells me we’re about to find out.”
Jonathan interjected, his eyes following Evangeline’s movements. “The demon’s power binds them. And the witch, she wields it.”
“I take it that’s how she got stuffed in the urn?”
Jonathan’s chin hardened. “A tale for another time. Suffice it to say we have a common enemy that must be brought to an end.”
Evangeline blinked from within the confines of hi
s arms and
The woods were dim, with little of the moon above reaching beneath the thick canopy of trees, but the thing that struck him the hardest was no animals in the brush. It was silent as the grave and the hair on his arms stood at the ready. That was it.
“It's a tomb.”
“What is?” The vampire whispered, his eyes glittering in the murky darkness.
“This place.”
“I don't follow.” Rand scowled, gazing at him like he’d lost his mind.
“Just keep up with me.” Aristide took off, the vampire easily keeping up with him. The maze of trees ended abruptly, and he found himself faced with a field surrounding what appeared to be a cottage and the rest of the horde, aimlessly milling about.
Jonathan and Evangeline arrived moments later, silent as they watched the scene in front of them. The yard milled with sightless wolves and vampires, all with the same blank expression. Some were wounded. Others looked as if they’d just rolled out of bed. But each and every one held the same vacant mien and it chilled him to the bone.
Where was Gabby? And Diana?
A voice carried from the other side of the clearing.
“Diana. I see you've come to join me.” A red headed witch in a long black gown approached, a shining trinket of green fire bouncing against her chest as she walked.
The amulet. Rand met his eyes and nodded. If they could get it, maybe there was a way the spell could be broken.
If it was the only one.
“That’s not why I’m here and you know it. I’m looking for a young woman named Gabby.” Diana took a step back, but by then, the creatures had surrounded her, pushing her toward the witch.
“A pity. And here I thought you would want to pick up where we left off all those years ago.”
“You’re behind this. All of it.”
“Not entirely. We may have a few friends in common and as usual, he’s running late to the party.”
The witch laughed, the scent of sulfur rising from the fires surrounding the small cottage.
“My house.” Jonathan whispered. “Oh Joanna.”
“You know her?”
“Yes. He does.” Evangeline stood, her luminous gaze fixed on the witch in front of them.
“Go to hell, Joanna.”
“Oh, but my dear. You first.” The witch lashed out, cracking Diana across the head with a wooden walking stick.
“Fuck.” Rand crouched next to him, his eyes glowing red in the darkness.
“Pick her up. Inside. Now.” Then the witch lifted her head and stared right at the two men. “And please see our guests across the field. I wouldn’t want them to miss...anything.”
Out of the darkness, they were surrounded.
“Don’t fight them,” Jonathan stated, his voice deadpan. “It’s what she wants.”
Instead, they allowed themselves to be pushed toward the cottage and hopefully some answers.
DIANA CAME TO IN A strange bed, her head aching. Blinking, she realized this must be one of the spare rooms in the cottage. As a teen, she had only ever spent time in Joanna’s room.
How long had she been out? And had the men caught up to her only to be ensnared by the wandering creatures outside?
Why were they so still?
Were they dead? Or worse-undead?
Some of them were vampires. So that couldn’t be true.
And they weren’t zombies. There had been no lingering scent of rot. That meant they had been bespelled. The idea of it made her flesh crawl. The power it would take to control a legion of shifters and vamps was staggering. And to what end?
She’d grown up hearing about the war between the two species and as she’d traveled the city, she saw first-hand what damage had been wrought. Fires. Women wailing over the too quiet forms of loved ones.
If she didn’t do something then Joanna would win. And knowing her ex bff, that would be in no one’s best interest but her own.
No. That couldn’t happen. She wouldn’t, couldn’t allow that. Not them and not Gabby. Not ever. There had to be some way around this and she would find out what it was.
She pushed up from the mattress, her head spinning at the sudden movement.
“You’re awake. How charming.” Joanna strode forward and snapped her fingers, the door opening. Two men were pushed inside and to her relief she saw it was Rand and Aristide. With them was the man who’d stolen Evangeline’s urn and a woman with short black hair and yellow eyes.
“You’re okay...” Diana gasped, relief that they were here a physical thing.
Their faces grim, they pushed further into the room, led by one of Joanna’s mindless drones.
Her men.
“Diana,” Aristide started, grunting as one of the men shoved him forward into Rand. The vampire held him up, both of them watching every move.
Diana blinked. When had she started thinking of them that way?
As soon as they both fought to protect you, idiot.
Lounging against the wall, Joanna gave a leisurely yawn. “You disappoint me. And here I thought you were a witch who could appreciate a little tension between the masses.”
Her gaze snapped back toward Joanna. “What do you mean?”
“What better way to get rid of your adversaries and to have them kill each other? You know the history. Get them out of the way and our kind will rule the world. No more will we be subjugated to vampire lords and alpha males who think they can take what they want when they want it.”
“The witch is mine. We had an arrangement.” Virgil stepped into the room, bloody and worse for wear, he held a small stone box in his hands.
Any remaining color leached from Rand’s face. “Why have you brought Melia’s ashes?”
Melia? Who was Melia?
And then Diana remembered. She had been Rand’s wife. The one accused of sleeping with the witch that sullied her family name.
Nice heritage.
Jonathan frowned. “Your magic won’t work. She’s been dead far too long.”
“I disagree, wolf. Our little Diana here is just bursting with possibilities on the blood and sex magic scale. What won’t work on one spell might just work on another.”
A growl rolled through the room and Diana realized both of her men had stepped in front of the bed.
“My dear, Virgil. You may have your witch’s blood. But only after we call the Master.” Joanna smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes.
“I asked you a question, Virgil. Why have you brought her ashes here?”
The Regent turned to Rand. “To give her the power she so richly deserved in life. And you, my dear Diana, will be the catalyst to it all.”
“I won't let you get away with this.”
“If you're not with me then you are against me my dear. But I do admit I am greatly disappointed. You're so much like your mother.”
Diana scooted up on the bed, her head spinning. “What's that supposed to mean?” Something nearby was pulling at her, the power scraping at the raw wound of her demon magic and making it bleed fresh and new.
That alone made her gasp.
Blood magic could be worked in two ways. With your own blood-or someone else’s.
“You’re just as much a spoiled brat as you were at my knee.” Jonathan sighed. “Stop this.” He held on to Evangeline and she blinked out from his embrace, taking in the scene before her with wide eyes.
Joanna grinned. “I see you finally made it. How nice of you to join the party, father.”
“I came here to stop you, foolish girl, before you destroy the balance that has been built since the last time the demon’s strumpet rode his power.”
“Where is my daughter?” Aristide interjected, his hands curling into claws, the moon shining bright in his eyes.
“Oh. The beast speaks.” Joanna smirked. “Just for that I should have one of the vampires tear her head from her body while you watch. How would you like that, Alpha? And you...father. I will stake you on an ant hill and watch you die. You and yo
ur lady fair.”
Goddess. Diana had to distract her before things got any worse. Then Joanna turned and she saw the amulet hanging from the belt around her waist.
“Aristide, stop.”
“How about you vampire? Would you like a turn at the wolf here? For daring to sniff around your woman?”
When she got out of this, Diana was going to kill her. The blade at her waist hummed and she let her gaze flicker over it, surprised it was still attached to her belt. The earrings had fallen from her hand while she was out, but had only tumbled onto the blanket inches from where she lay.
She closed her fingers around them and let the magic surging inside her blood sing out.
Gabby. They had to find her.
“Don’t talk to him. Talk to me. What about my mother?” Diana fought the nausea down, forcing her body into a sitting position and lowered her feet to the floor. She had to fight. For them and for herself. The woman was crazy and she was trying to destroy anyone and everyone in her path.
“I think you know very well what I’m talking about. Your mother didn’t want me hanging out with you. I put a stop to her meddling. Just like I’ll put a stop to this. We have so much to accomplish together, you and I.” Joanna waved an elegant hand at the glowering men.
“What are you talking about?”
“Oh fine. Play it that way. I made sure your parents wouldn’t wake up, silly. The moment you climbed out the window it was already over.”
“I don’t believe you.”
“Is that your fondest wish, Diana? To see? What about to be seen? I bet you never thought about that one.” Joanna came close, tugging at the amulet.
“That’s not fair.”
“When did I ever say it was?” Joanna swung the amulet in front of Diana and waved the others from the room. “This trinket has been in our family for centuries. You have thirty minutes. Then I’ll be back. By then I expect the three of you will have a remarkably different disposition. If you’re alive at all.”
