by Sarra Cannon
Her red eyes glowed brighter, and her hands trembled with rage.
“You belong to me now, child,” she said through clenched teeth. “You will obey my orders—”
“Or what? You’ll take over my soul?” I asked, feeling stronger by the minute.
“Mary Krista, get in here,” she shouted. “Now.”
Mary Krista appeared through the crack in the doorway, her face pale and worried. “Yes, Mother?”
She glanced at me, her body tensing as she looked from the water on the table to my stance of defiance.
“Force her to drink this water,” the Mother Crow said.
Mary Krista walked to the table and picked up the water. Her hand trembled, and she used her other hand to steady it, clutching it tightly between them.
“You see, you have no power here,” the Mother Crow said. “And with every hour that passes, your power weakens while mine grows. In just a few days, you will cease to exist. Better to come to terms with that now, or I will make what’s left of your life hell.”
This is already hell.
The thought popped into my head unwillingly, but I’d felt it deep down in my gut. I was trying so hard to resist her, but she had an entire village at her command. What did I think I could do against her?
A tear rolled down my cheek as the light within me faded, negative thoughts and feelings taking over. I tried to remember Rend’s words as he proposed, but all I could think of was the terror later that day of finding that black envelope and knowing that everything had changed for us.
Mary Krista pressed the glass to my lips. “I’m sorry,” she mouthed, not making a sound.
I took the glass and drank the sleeping potion, knowing that I’d lost my chance. I’d failed to be the strong woman I knew I was capable of becoming. But I needed more time. More practice.
I stepped forward and handed the empty glass to the Mother Crow.
“Yes, that’s better,” she said. “You will learn your place here, girl, or you will have a very difficult few days. Now, sleep.”
Mary Krista met my eyes, sorrow mixed with regret reflected in her gaze as she left the room.
I expected the Mother Crow to immediately follow her, but instead, she walked closer until she was practically touching me. The stink of decay was even worse than when she’d been in here earlier.
“You can try to resist this, but it will only cause you pain and sorrow,” she said, her head tilted at a strange angle as she studied me. “Everyone who faces me loses, Mary Francis. I am more powerful than all of them, and I always get my revenge.”
I lifted my chin. “Harper didn’t lose,” I said. “And neither will I. I will find a way to end you, if it’s the last thing I do.”
She lifted her hand, a green cloud swirling around her fingertips. At first, I thought she was going to slap me, but instead, she took a deep breath and lowered her hand again.
“Never mention that girl’s name in my village again,” she said. “That girl will die by my hand someday, I promise you that. Now, you will sleep, child. And when you wake up tomorrow morning, you will find there is less of you to hold onto.”
She ran a pointed, sharp fingernail across my cheek.
“I can feel my soul slithering inside you now, latching onto your youth and your power,” she said, her voice a whisper that sent chills of terror through my body. “It’s over, little bird. You’re already dead.”
She turned and left the room, closing the door behind her. I placed a hand on the back of the couch to steady my legs and closed my eyes. I fought against the dark feelings and thought instead of Harper. Of a girl who had faced impossible odds and somehow survived.
No, she’d more than survived. She’d conquered.
I took strength from her, focusing on the strength she had shown to us all. Her unshakeable belief that evil could be overcome, no matter how hopeless it may seem.
I filled my heart with that strength and light, then connected to the Mother Crow’s energy as she walked down the steps.
I imagined reaching out with that power and grasping her bony hand in mine. I forced her fingers open and imagined the empty water glass dropping to the ground.
A moment later, the sound of glass shattering on the wooden steps made someone scream and stumble.
I opened my eyes and smiled, my new-found power blossoming in my chest.
If It All Goes To Hell
Rend
Venom was packed tonight, and all eyes were focused on us. Several people backed away, while others rushed forward, asking how we’d managed to open a doorway on the dance floor.
Marco rushed to help with Azure, lifting her from my arms and carrying her into the back room.
I motioned to Lyla, and she stepped out of the dancing cage and followed me behind the black curtain.
“My God, what happened?” she asked, running over to Azure’s side.
“She used too much power at once,” I said. “I can’t stay here, so I need you to keep an eye on her.”
“Where are you going?” Marco asked.
“I’m going to the crow village to rescue Franki,” I said, turning to leave.
Marco followed me. “I’m coming with you.”
“I need you here,” I said. “Everyone’s keeping an eye on this place, waiting for someone to try and break the rules in my absence. They all just watched Azure pass out in my arms. It’s important that we keep control of this club, Marco, and that means you stay. We’ve worked too hard for too long to build this place as a sanctuary for our kind. It’s important.”
He nodded. “I know, but—”
“This is where I need you,” I said.
“But you can’t expect to invade the entire crow village with just two demons and a werewolf,” he said. “You need backup.”
“You know why I don’t want you there, so don’t argue with me about this. I won’t put your life in danger,” I said. “I’ll get help from Harper, if I can.”
His eyes darkened, but he finally nodded. “Okay, but let me know if you need my help. Take my communication stone with you.”
“I will,” I said. “Thank you.”
He nodded and glanced back at Azure. “Is she going to be okay?”
“She’ll be fine, but when she wakes up, she’s going to have one hell of a headache,” I said with a laugh. “Just make sure she’s drinking plenty of fluids. I’m going to mix up a quick potion to help her recover faster. I’ll leave it under the bar.”
I walked out to the bar and opened the wooden box on the wall. I carefully removed several of my rarest potions and mixed something up for Azure. She hated the taste of this particular potion, but she’d get over it.
After the amount of power she’d used at the castle, she would need it just to feel like herself again.
When I was done, I corked the small vial of purple liquid and hid it under the bar top. I locked the wooden box and joined Silas, Connery, and Mary Kathryn in the Hall of Doorways.
Mary Tate had also joined them, and she nodded to me as I entered the room.
“I’m coming with you this time, and don’t argue with me,” she said.
“Please, tell me what’s happened to Franki,” Mary Kathryn said. “Why does the Mother Crow have her?”
The poor woman had bite marks all over her body, and she leaned against Connery—who had shifted back to his human form sometime after we’d come through the portal—for support. I wasn’t sure she’d have the strength to face what was coming next, and I’d never forgive myself if she died before Franki had the chance to meet her.
“We need to get you back to my house,” I said. “I’ll explain what I can on the way.”
“No, we need to get Franki,” she said. “Besides, I’m the only one who can shift the doorway back to the Mother Crow’s village. You need me, and I’m not going to sit around by myself while you go to rescue my daughter.”
I sighed. She was every bit as stubborn as Franki.
“Fine, then we�
��ll head to Harper’s castle to get help,” I said. “I don’t know what we’ll be facing once we go through that door, and after the fight we just had, I’m not sure this crew is going to be strong enough.”
“I’ve already called for Mordecai, Erick, Joost, and Cristo,” Silas said. “Mary Anne wanted to come, too, but I told her it would be better for her to stay back, considering her past with the Mother Crow. We don’t need to give that woman any extra motivation to kill us all.”
“Thank you,” I said. “Where are they meeting us?”
“In the crow village in Peachville,” he said. “They should already be there by now.”
I hurried our small group down the Hall of Doorways until we found the one with the crow etched onto the surface. I’d almost forgotten that we wouldn’t be able to open it without Franki, so it was good that her mother had been stubborn about coming with us. We did need her.
I motioned for her to open the door, and she placed her hand on the surface. It clicked open, and we all poured inside.
The small library room under the altar was dark at first, but Mary Kathryn quickly whispered a few words that made every candle in the room light instantly.
Footsteps on the stairs turned my attention as the demons from Harper’s castle joined us.
Mordecai, a muscled, dark-skinned demon much taller than myself, was the first to appear. He clasped my hand.
“I heard there was a crow to mess up,” he said. “Couldn’t miss that opportunity.”
“Thanks for coming,” I said.
“What’s the plan, exactly?” Joost asked.
“We haven’t had much time to really discuss it,” I said. “How many crows are living in the village?”
Mary Kathryn closed her eyes. “I think there should be about seventy now,” she said. “But some of them are just babies and little girls. We have to be careful not to hurt them.”
It had been the middle of the night at the Italian castle of the Brotherhood of Darkness, but what time would it be at the crow village? We’d been bouncing back and forth between time zones so much, I’d lost my bearings.
“Where is the current village?” I asked.
“New Jersey,” she said.
I made a few rough calculations in my head. “So it’s about ten at night,” I said. “What time do most of the crows go to sleep?”
“Right about now,” she said. “The Mother Crow is almost always in bed by now, and once she’s gone to sleep, everyone settles into their homes.”
“Maybe we can use that to our advantage,” I said. “What about this doorway we’re going through? Is it guarded?”
“No,” she said. “Guards are usually just stationed at the village entrance. No one’s ever been able to get to us through the shifting doorways before, and I’m sure the Mother Crow thinks I’m still locked away in the castle. There are only a handful of us who know how to cast the magic that shifts the doorway. I’m not even supposed to be one of them, but my friend Mary Krista taught me how so that we could meet in secret.”
“Mary Krista?” the other crow woman—Mary Tate—asked. “She’s the one who’s been helping us all this time?”
Mary Kathryn nodded, and I wondered how they managed to keep all their names straight.
“This is all good news,” I said, my mind running through scenarios as quickly as possible. “If the crows are mostly asleep and no one guards the door, we should be able to sneak into the village unseen. The trick will be finding Franki fast enough to get her out of there.”
“Erick and I can block the doors of the houses,” Cristo said. “Keep everyone inside for a few minutes, at least.”
“Is there a dungeon or room where the Mother Crow keeps prisoners?” I asked.
Mary Kathryn shook her head. “I’ve never known her to have prisoners before,” she said. “If she’s got Franki, she would keep her close. Probably in her home, which is the largest one toward the end. Usually red.”
“Then we focus on that house,” I said. “Connery, do you think you’d be able to pick up Franki’s scent in a village of seventy crows?”
“Putting me to the test tonight, eh?” he asked. “But yeah, I think I can do it.”
“Then we move in silence, focus on blocking the doors so no one gets out,” I said. “Mordecai and Joost, I want you to subdue the guards at the village entrance as soon as we arrive. If you can, cover their mouths so they can’t warn anyone that we’re there.”
“Got it,” Mordecai said. “What are you going to do?”
“Silas, Connery, the crows, and I will focus on the red house,” I said. “Mary Kathryn, you can shift into crow form and fly around to all the windows of the house. Search for any sign of Franki. Connery, focus on finding Franki’s scent and leading us to her as best you can. Silas and I will be ready to face the Mother Crow, if it comes to that. I’m hoping we’ll be able to do this without waking anyone else up.”
“The Mother Crow will be sleeping in a bedroom in the back of the biggest house,” Mary Tate said. “But wherever she’s holding Franki, there’s likely to be another guard or two stationed with her.”
“Then Silas and I will focus on trying to subdue those guards and make sure they’re silent,” I said. “Connery, you and Mary Kathryn will grab Franki and get her down here to the doorway as quickly as possible.”
“And if it all goes to hell?” Mordecai asked.
I breathed in and out, not wanting to even think about that as a possibility.
“If it all goes to hell, then we fight with everything we’ve got,” I said. “We’re bringing Franki home tonight, even if we have to destroy their entire village to make it happen.”
The Idea Of Never
Franki
I didn’t even make it to the bedroom before my legs gave out and my body fell to the floor. My eyes closed, and I was immediately transported to a new memory.
I stood in a swamp, my black robes covered in mud and soaked through.
All these years, I’d waited for the fae woman to come back to ask for her favor. She’d lorded it over me for decades, reminding me that I owed her, and how could I forget?
All of my family’s safety was because of her. She’d given me the magic to create an endless supply of villages, and yes, I owed her. But I was grateful that she’d finally come forward and asked.
I didn’t like owing a favor to anyone, least of all someone I knew was more powerful than myself.
I shuddered. I hated to even admit that someone had more power than I did, but with Sabine, there was no denying it.
She could put an end to my entire line with a glance if she’d wanted to, and I’d been fearing this moment for a lifetime.
But when the request had finally come, it had been so annoyingly simple.
I’d expected her to ask something impossible. Something I would never have been willing to give up. But this? What did I care?
One less sacrifice, sure, but there would be more. Many more.
The babe in my arms cried out, and I put a hand over his mouth. I detested the sound, but he only cried harder. Anger rose inside me, and I wanted to crush his tiny face in my claws.
But Sabine would want another one if I damaged this boy, and I was ready to be done with this.
What was keeping her, anyway?
She’d asked me to come to this God-forsaken place, and I’d obeyed.
The boy in my arms—no more than a few days old—screamed and cried, and I pinched the skin on his arm as hard as I could, leaving a mark. Why wouldn’t he just shut up? If he knew what this fairy was saving him from, he’d keep his mouth closed and be grateful he’d been spared.
I couldn’t imagine what she wanted with a child, anyway, least of all a boy.
I wanted to push his face into the mud at my feet to keep him quiet, but I couldn’t kill him. I couldn’t risk angering the fairy after all this time, so I rocked him back and forth until he settled and went back to sleep.
Only, the moment I stoppe
d rocking, his insufferable crying started up again.
I reached under the blanket to pinch him a second time when a voice sounded all around me.
“Touch that child in anger again, and I will cut off your head and feed it to your crows,” she said.
I tightened my jaw and lifted my head as Sabine appeared from a sparkling light in front of me in the dark swamp.
“You’re late,” I said.
“I don’t answer to you,” she said, walking slowly toward me. “Speak to me again in that tone of voice, and I’ll keep you here with my collection.”
She let her hand fall to her side, and I noticed for the first time that there were bodies under the water. I stepped back onto a small piece of earth that rose from the swampy water. Why would such a beautiful fairy choose to live in such a terrible place?
“Let me see the child,” she said. “Give him to me.”
I pulled him back against my chest. “First, I want your assurances that this is the end of our agreement. Payment made in full.”
“We’ll see,” she said, her voice like music. “Give me the child, Mary Alexandria.”
I swallowed and held the boy out to her. I didn’t want him anyway. She could have him.
I just wanted to get out of this place.
Sabine stepped closer and moved the blanket aside, revealing the boy’s face. He immediately stopped crying and looked up into her eyes.
She smiled down at him and ran a smooth finger across his tanned skin. He wasn’t pale like my girls always were, but his hair was black as night. Like his eyes. The boys never got their mother’s eyes, though I didn’t know why.
“Yes, he’s perfect,” she said, taking him into her arms and bouncing him up and down as he cooed. “Payment is made, crow. Now, leave me and never come back. I will not help you again.”
The fairy waved her wrist and a portal opened, a vision of a forest just beyond. My forest. She was sending me home, and my debt was paid forever.
“What will you do with him?” I asked. “He’ll be of no use to you. The boys never are.”
