by G. K. DeRosa
My father leveled Ryder with a scathing glare that would’ve had my knees trembling. “I’ve taken a few added precautions this time around.” He pulled an antique-looking talisman from his pocket. It was in the shape of a pentagon with a blood-red stone in the center. Something dark swirled within the jewel, writhing like a snake.
My eyes fixed on the trinket that oozed almost as much dark energy as the warlock holding it. “What is that?”
“It’s a sliver of essence of each of the five members of the Coven Council. Which was no easy feat to obtain, mind you. That was the cause of my delay. Serafine is rather particular about doling her essence out. It took quite a bit of persuading, but we were able to come to an understanding.”
I was glad someone understood what was going on. “So that’s going to get rid of the mark?”
He nodded. “It should. Our combined powers must be more than enough to break the demonic hold over you.”
“Then let’s get this over with.”
Garrix motioned to the couch, and I trailed behind him as Ryder clung to my side like a possessive shadow. Cillian stood a few feet behind observing.
When Garrix slipped the chain over my head, a wave of power descended over me. Dark energy slithered over my skin, puckering my flesh into goose bumps. The amulet rested against my chest, only a few inches away from the mark. The jewel throbbed with life as it touched my skin, the ruby hue darkening to a deep crimson.
“Now what?” I breathed as Garrix hovered in front of me.
“Now I break the demon’s hold over your body.”
Ryder scooted closer, his muscled arm and thigh invading my space, but I didn’t dare move. Just this once, I needed him.
Garrix splayed his hand over the talisman and a burst of maroon energy flickered between his palm and the amulet.
A low growl reverberated in Ryder’s throat. I must not have been the only one feeling the dark powers flowing around my father. “You’re certain about this?” he snarled at Garrix.
“Yes. Now silence.” His cobalt eyes threw daggers at my demon bodyguard. “I must concentrate.”
From the corner of my eye, I caught the tight set of Ryder’s jaw as he ground his teeth together. His anxiety was making me ten times more nervous. I slid my hand over his thigh and squeezed. The tense energy surging off him relented a tad, and he clasped his fingers around mine.
Garrix began to chant, the words dark and powerful, and though I’d never heard them before, they sounded eerily familiar. The crimson glow intensified, bathing my entire body as the chant took on a fevered pace. An explosion of heat burst from the talisman and spread over my chest like wild fire. I bit back the scream for as long as I could, but a few seconds was too much. A shriek erupted from my lips as my body arched forward without my control.
My skin was aflame, and it felt as if someone were peeling the layers off one by one. All I wanted to do was shed my flesh, my insides desperate to get out. Garrix’s words faded in the distance, his voice muffled and hazy. His face too. I was going to pass out again; I could feel it.
I fought against the searing pain as my consciousness drifted further and further away.
“Stay with me, Luna. Come on, stay with me.” A deep rumbly voice laced in desperation kept me from disappearing into oblivion.
“It hurts,” I mumbled.
“I know, baby girl, I know.” The feel of Ryder’s fingers wrapped around mine kept me grounded. It was the only thing that made sense in the chaos of pain and energy that surged through my body.
A sharp rip resounded across my eardrums, and I hazily scanned the room for the cause of the sound. The only thing I could make out were three pairs of hovering eyes. Did that come from inside me?
The moment the thought crossed my mind, the pain stopped. My body went slack as if I were no more than a puppet whose strings had been cut off. I floated up, my corporal constraints no longer holding me down.
My body lay limp against the couch below me, my father’s hand still splayed across my chest and Ryder shouting something I couldn’t quite make out. Cillian moved then, wrapping his muscular arms around his nephew and pinning him back.
Garrix’s lips still moved, but I could no longer make out the words. Everything progressed in slow motion, my own movements as if underwater.
Suddenly, a rush of energy jerked me forward, and I slid back into my body. Everything surged back: Garrix’s chants, Ryder’s shouting, the pain, the heat hemorrhaging through my veins. And then came the black.
It was cold and numbing, and it called to me. I fell into the embrace of darkness with open arms.
Chapter 6
My eyelids snapped open, and I sucked in a deep breath, starved for oxygen. “What happened?” I muttered as my eyes focused on the dark mahogany of Cillian’s office.
My head thundered, like someone was taking a hammer to my skull, and even the dim light in the room made me squint. Garrix sat beside me and Cillian hovered at the edge of the couch, his magnificent alabaster wings unfurled. So that’s where the light was coming from.
Sitting up, I couldn’t help but notice the absence of one very important person. The pounding increased, and I glanced around. It wasn’t only coming from my head; someone was beating at the door.
“I’m not letting you back in until you can control yourself,” Cillian shouted toward the entryway.
“Cillian, so help me... Let me in now or I’ll obliterate this entire building.” The harsh rasp of Ryder’s voice was equal parts terrifying and enthralling.
“So what happened?” I repeated, pivoting to face my father.
A sly smile crept across his lips. “It worked.”
My hand shot to the spot on my chest—it was smooth. No angry mark, no tingling, nothing.
A bubble of happiness rose to the surface. I was free. Finally, free of those demons after months. “Thank you!” My arms shot around Garrix before I could stop them.
The stoic warlock tensed for a moment before relaxing in my embrace. “You’re welcome, Luna. I apologize the procedure was so unpleasant for you. It was the only way to remove it.”
“Yeah, what the heck happened? I had the weirdest out of body experience. I thought I was dead.”
Garrix shook his head. “No, it was nothing like that, my dear. It was merely the demon’s hold breaking. It was much more powerful than I’d anticipated. Your blocks were much more powerful than I’d anticipated too.”
“Really?”
He nodded. “I wouldn’t be surprised if this spell unlocks some of the repressed energy.” Garrix and Cillian exchanged a covert glance.
“So I should come into more of my powers now?”
“Possibly.”
“Cillian!” Ryder’s fists battered the door.
I glanced up at the scowling headmaster. “Maybe you can let him in now?”
He grunted. “He needs to cool off. I don’t know what’s gotten into my nephew lately.”
A tiny twinge of satisfaction swirled in my heart. Most of what happened was a blur, but Ryder’s presence was the one constant in the insanity of dark power that had coursed through me. I huffed and buried the traitorous thoughts deep down.
Garrix cleared his throat and fixed his deep cobalt irises on mine. “Now that that’s been taken care of, I was hoping we could spend the afternoon together.”
I nearly choked. “Seriously?”
“I meant what I said about wanting to get to know my daughter. I was hoping I could take you off academy grounds.”
I glanced up at Cillian and he nodded, giving me his reassuring angelic smile. “Just don’t go far. Ryder might have a heart attack if you aren’t back in time for his lesson.”
“Okay then.”
Garrix stood, and I followed behind him as excitement palpitated my heart. After the chilly greeting I’d gotten from my bio dad the first time around, I’d pretty much given up hope of ever getting to know him.
“May I?” He glanced over at Cillian as a silve
r orb, no bigger than a tennis ball, pulsated in his palm.
“The Academy is warded, you won’t be able to open a portal in here.”
A cunning grin split my father’s lips. “Most might not be able to, but I’ve already managed to get around your wards a few times, dear Cillian. Perhaps you should consider having them reinforced.”
The imposing angel’s golden brows drew together. “I suppose I will.”
“Come, my dear.” Garrix wrapped his free hand around mine and tossed the shiny silver sphere into the middle of the room. The small ball expanded like a hot-air balloon, heat radiating from its core. A second later, a full-sized swirling vortex engulfed the center of the room, winds whipping blonde hair across my astonished face.
“Have fun!” I caught Cillian’s wave over my shoulder as Garrix tugged me into the shimmering whirlpool. As I swam through the gelatinous substance, a twinge of guilt stabbed at my insides for not saying goodbye to Ryder. Whatever there was between us, I knew he cared about me, and he’d be beyond worried that I left campus with my warlock father.
Before I could think on it more, the portal spat us out into a bustling town center. Locking my knees as I landed and splaying my arms out, I managed to remain on my feet. Definite improvement over last time.
“Where are we?” I glanced around the old town square, the cobblestone streets, oil lanterns and quaint vibe reminding me of something straight out of a movie set.
“This is Maginaria, the realm of the magic users—witches, warlocks, mages, sorcerers—all of the mystically inclined.”
Now that he mentioned it, there was a slight Harry Potter vibe I was getting from the old brick buildings, narrow winding alleyways and cute storefronts. We passed a shop called Poisons and Parasites and another with a fortuneteller sitting out front, her tarot cards strewn across a red tablecloth, before reaching a café.
Garrix opened the door and the scent of roasted coffee beans made my mouth water. “So is this some sort of magical coffee shop?” I asked.
He led the way to a small booth in the corner and motioned for me to sit. “No. It’s just regular coffee.” He chuckled. “The barista does make a rather enthralling mocha latte though.”
“I’ll take one of those then. Anything to kick my powers in the butt.”
After the server took our orders and left, Garrix leaned his elbows on the table, steepling his hands. The easygoing look from a moment ago morphed into something dark and unreadable. “I have a confession to make.”
I gulped. That didn’t sound good.
“I had an ulterior motive in sweeping you away from the academy today.” He paused when the server returned with our beverages.
“Okay…”
“When I removed the mark, I felt something click into place. And then when you mentioned your out of body experience, I had a feeling I was right.”
“Right about what?” I took a sip of my coffee, and my taste buds went nuts. This really was the best mocha latte I’d ever had.
“I believe you have my skinwalking ability.”
It’s a good thing I’d already put my cup down, otherwise he would’ve gotten spewed with hot coffee. “What?”
“Have you ever felt like you needed to get out of your skin? Like every nerve-ending was stretched to its maximum and you needed a release?”
I nodded, numbly. I’d felt it a couple times in high school, mostly when something majorly embarrassing happened, and since I’d been at the academy, the feeling had been intensifying.
“Can you tell me what happened today, this out of body experience that you mentioned?”
I took another sip of my latte to collect my thoughts and still my racing mind. “It’s hard to explain. I felt something tear inside me, and then there was heat, like scorching hell flames and then nothing. I was floating above my body, watching you all around me.”
“Did you feel a pull toward anyone else’s body?”
I shook my head. “I didn’t really feel anything.”
“I see.” He sipped his espresso thoughtfully, those deep blue eyes never loosening their hold over me. “Well, if it happens again, I’d like you to tell me about it. Skinwalking is not a trait many warlocks carry. In fact, to my knowledge, none of my offspring do either. You’d be the first.”
Great. I wasn’t sure I wanted to add skinwalking to my new witchy abilities. The whole idea made my skin crawl. Pun intended.
“I believe I inadvertently cracked a barrier today so it will be interesting to see what powers spill forth. From what I sensed, they’re nothing like your half-sister’s.”
Kimmie-Jayne hadn’t told me much about her powers. She’d mentioned the visions, but that was it. Had she seen anything about me?
“In any case, I’m pleased we were able to do this today. Regardless of my curiosity concerning your skinwalking abilities, believe me when I say I am genuinely interested in getting to know you, Luna. I was there the day you were born, and I knew right away there was something special about you.”
“You were?” Geez, today was chocked full of major surprises. My throat tightened. “Who was my mother, and why did she leave me? Mrs. Hallows would never say. She said it wasn’t important, and it would have no bearing on who I became.”
“She was right. Your mother was no one of importance. She was a scared human who made a rash decision at a very fragile time. Her choice to abandon you had nothing to do with you, Luna. It was her irrational fear of what I was—of what you are now—that drove her away. I was in no way capable of rearing a child back then, no more so than I am now, and therefore I left you with someone I trusted. Victoria Hallows was like a mother to me, and I knew she’d be the same to you.”
Hot tears pricked at the back of my eyes. My mother abandoned me because I was a supe—something I wasn’t even aware of for eighteen years. But my father, he actually cared enough to leave me with a decent person. At least that was something. Mrs. Hallows had loved me like I was her own. I’d probably have turned out way more screwed up if I’d bounced around foster care from day one. When she died…
“Garrix, wait. Mrs. Hallows was a supe like us too?”
He nodded, a smile crossing his lips and reaching all the way to those scrutinizing eyes. “She was older than me.”
All that time, I’d been raised by one of them without ever knowing it. Maybe that’s why I’d been drawn to the supernaturals from the moment I found out they existed.
He leaned forward, that serious expression crossing his face once again. “Listen, Luna, Cillian has kept me abreast of the team’s advances and that you are part of the elite group makes me very proud. The situation between our worlds is growing more perilous by the day. The fragile balance we’ve achieved will crumble if the attacks continue. I’ve been working with Cillian from day one on this endeavor and I’m certain that with the power of the eight houses combined, you’ll prove to be an unstoppable force against those that seek to threaten what we’ve established. Humans need the supernaturals, and we need them. I’ve fought long and hard for this unification, and I won’t let anyone stand in my way. We’re counting on all of you.”
Nodding, I took another sip of my latte. “We won’t let you down. I promise.” The whole thing still seemed so incredible to me. How could the fate of peace in both our worlds fall on our shoulders? I mean sure, The Seven were powerful, but could we compare to the vile creatures of the Underworld? If Lucifer couldn’t even keep them in check, how were we expected to?
Chapter 7
“Is it weird that I’m going on a date with your kind-of brother?”
Scarlett’s dark eyes roved over me as I dabbed a little lip-gloss across my lips.
She shrugged, closing the book stretched across her lap. “Blood-siblings aren’t exactly the same as real siblings. Carmen Rosa has sired countless vampires. I haven’t even come close to meeting them all.”
“That kind of sounds like my bio dad—” I cut myself off, remembering no one was supposed to know who
he was. I hated keeping it a secret.
“So he’s kind of a ladies’ man?”
“That’s probably the understatement of the century.” I glanced at my reflection and smoothed out my soft Henley shirt. I’d decided to go with a casual shirt and jeans for the date, not knowing what we were actually doing. If I’d still been living with Cinder she would’ve forced me to wear something cuter. Not Scarlett—she couldn’t care less about my fashion sense.
My new roommate’s eyes flickered to my chest and the spot where the mark used to be. “Well, whoever he is, he must be pretty powerful to get that symbol off you.”
“Yup.”
A knock sounded at the door, and my heart leapt up my throat.
“Chill, Luna,” said Scarlett as she sauntered to the entry. “I can hear your heart pounding from across the room. You don’t want to freak the newbie vamp out.”
My mouth dropped, embarrassment splashing over me in a crimson wave over my cheeks. I sucked in a breath and tried to still my spiking pulse.
Holding the door handle, Scarlett turned to me. “Ready?”
I nodded, chewing on my lower lip, and she swung the door open.
Desmond leaned against the doorway with a cute grin pulling at his lips. His dark raven hair was gelled back in neat spikes, and he adjusted the collar of his navy button-down while peering around Scarlett. “Is Luna ready?”
“See for yourself.” She opened the door all the way, and I stepped forward, focusing on slowing my breathing and forcing an overall sense of calm.
“Hey…”
Scarlett pushed me forward, practically shoving me through the entryway. “Now you two have fun, and remember, Des, no biting on the first date.”
A tiny choking sound escaped my lips but I cleared my throat, praying he hadn’t heard it. So embarrassing.
“So what should we do?” asked Des as we walked down the Fae dorm hallway. A few pixies fluttered by, their translucent wings emerging from the slits in their special uniform shirts. “I don’t know if I’ll ever get used to all this,” he whispered as they passed.
