Fated Heroes

by Brittany Cournoyer

  Once back inside the car, Isaac directed me down the road to the storage unit. Josh stayed behind in the car with Michael and Nick as Isaac and I went inside the large room. To say he had a cache was an understatement. He had enough weapons to supply everyone with some form of protection within a twenty-mile radius. I wasn’t sure what exactly he was preparing for, but considering the amount of weapons he had, I was very concerned.

  We went back and forth with what I should carry, and I finally settled on a machete. It was lightweight enough that I could swing it with ease, but sharp enough to cleanly cut off the head of any monster that tried to get in my way. Oddly enough, I wasn’t even scared to handle it. I felt better knowing that I wouldn’t be going into those woods unprepared.

  “Okay,” Josh said when I climbed inside the car with my new weapon. “Now it’s time to fuck shit up and save Cupcake.”

  Chapter 24

  The feeling in the car was gloomy the minute Josh directed me where to turn to the cave. No one spoke or uttered a sound, except for Josh telling me when to turn. Without even questioning Josh, I knew exactly where I needed to park my car once we entered the wooded area. My shoulders were tight and tension rolled from my body. The hackles on the wolves in the back seat rose and I could hear the quiet growls emanating from their throats.

  Wordlessly, Josh and Isaac pulled their shirts over their heads, and I watched as Isaac meticulously folded his, then set it on the dashboard. I knew that Isaac was Michael’s, but that didn’t stop me from appreciating his rock-hard abs and sculpted biceps. One glance in the rearview mirror reminded me that Josh wasn’t so bad either. He had perfectly defined muscles as well, just a little bit leaner than his brother. Those Fae genes were amazing.

  Once I had the car shut off, we all clambered out, and I reached back inside to grab my machete. I gripped the weapon and swung the strap of the sheath it was encased in over my shoulder. I wasn’t sure how much help I’d actually be, but I knew when it came down to it, I’d do anything to protect my friends. I didn’t give a shit how many animals I had to kill or heads I had to decapitate to do so.

  I watched silently as Nick and Michael walked over to Josh and Isaac. The two Fae dropped down to their knees and each buried their faces in the wolves’ necks. I watched as they nuzzled each other, and a lump formed in my throat. Despite it having been short amount of time, I could see that each couple had developed deep feelings for each other. Even Isaac. While tough and broody, the tenderness and affection he showed toward Michael at that very moment made my heart ache.

  We weren’t sure what was about to happen to us the minute we stepped past that barrier. None of us knew if we were going to make it out unscathed, or even alive. But for some reason, I couldn’t shake the feeling that they were telling each other goodbye, just in case.

  I swallowed the lump that had taken up residence in my throat as I watched the people I considered family nuzzle each other lovingly. My fingers, of their own accord, reached up to grip the strap that hung over my shoulder. I couldn’t let this be the last time they saw each other. I had to help do whatever I could in my power to save my friends.

  “Remember, take care of yourselves down here, and we will keep watch from up there. Block out any voices, Courtney, except ours,” Isaac reminded me as he and Josh stood back up to face me.

  I nodded in acquiescence and impulsively reached out to hug Isaac and then Josh. Isaac seemed surprised at the embrace, but he, albeit reluctantly, wrapped his strong arms around me. Joshua didn’t hesitate the minute my arms wound around his neck. He pulled me in tight and squeezed until I almost felt a rib pop.

  “Be careful,” Josh whispered and pressed a soft kiss to my cheek.

  “You too,” I mumbled thickly.

  Josh let me go and stepped back beside his brother. Michael and Nick walked over to stand beside me, and we watched as the Fae stared at us intensely and started to glow. Even in the direct sunlight of the woods, I could make out the faint glow that surrounded their beautiful bodies. Although I had seen them once before, the minute Josh’s beautiful pink wings emerged from his back, I was stunned. And then Isaac’s popped out and I was breathless. I had never seen his before, but I couldn’t take my eyes off them. They were the color of sapphires with just a hint of black on the tips.

  With a quick nod of their heads, I watched as the brothers turned their backs on us and started to run down the path. My eyes were transfixed on them as their wings started to flap, and then before our very eyes, they took flight. Isaac was correct. Once they were in the sky, I would have easily mistaken them for birds.

  “Can you hear me?” Josh’s voice sounded in my head.

  “Coming in loud and clear,” I thought back.

  “Okay, good. I’m sure you know where to go, but I’ll tell you a clear path I see visible from here. The trees to your right are where you need to go. Just past the third tree on the left you will find a small, worn path. Follow that. Once you walk in there, you won’t be as visible until you reach a clearing. Isaac and I will be able to sniff out any ghouls. Usually they like to hang out in the trees and attack any unsuspecting hikers. The animals will be left up to Nick and Isaac, unless we can get a clear visual on them.”

  “Got it. Just keep us aware of any ghouls and we will hopefully do the rest,” I told him telepathically.

  I took a deep breath and turned back to my two friends. Even in wolf form, I could still see the two most important men in my life staring back at me. “Ready, boys?” I asked.

  Nick let out a fierce growl while Michael let out a light whine. I faced the trees we were about to head into and braced myself. I knew that once we walked through those woods, there would be no going back. But Kimberly was waiting for us, as well as the other healers, so there was no way we could turn around and leave. We had to save our friend and all those people.

  I looked up in the sky to see my new watchdogs circling overhead, and then took a deep breath myself. Put one foot in front of the other. That’s all I need to do. It was as simple as that. So then why did my feet suddenly feel like they were being weighed down by cinderblocks?

  Sensing my apprehension, Nick decided to take the lead, as any alpha wolf would do, and he stepped into the woods, crossing the barrier. For some reason, I was able to tell when Nick crossed over that line. The boundary was visible to me, which was surprising. I could make out a pale, milky cover encasing the trees that I hadn’t noticed during my vision. I watched the barrier practically swallow Nick whole as he stepped through it. I held my breath until I could see him on the other side.

  Giving us no choice, Michael and I followed behind him. It was a weird feeling as I pressed my body against the obstacle that kept us apart from Nick. The filmy wall felt cool and even a little wet against my skin. I knew it was only a few steps through it to get to the other side, but it felt like an eternity before I was standing beside my friend. I released the breath I didn’t even know I was holding and looked around the trees. Even in the broad daylight, the woods had a dark, ominous feeling to them. I walked to the third tree and saw the path that Josh had told me about.

  Worn wouldn’t be the word I’d use to describe the path. Sure, the grass was dead from people using it over the years, but there were broken sticks and fallen logs every few steps. Actually, I wouldn’t have even called it a path, either. To anyone else who was ludicrous enough to take a walk in these woods, the path would have gone unnoticed. Every sound of a stick breaking under our paws and feet echoed around the trees, alerting anything out there that we were coming.

  “To your right, twenty yards ahead, looks like some kind of cat is hanging around in a tree,” Isaac alerted me.

  “Twenty yards up guys, get ready,” I whispered to my friends. I was so thankful that Isaac was able to spot the wild animal.

  I could feel the rage vibrating off the bodies of the wolves that flanked me as we continued down the pathway. Light growls and yips spilled from the jaws of the ferocious beasts, and
they only seemed to increase in volume the closer we got to whatever animal awaited us.

  Suddenly, I heard the branches of the trees rustle, as if something was moving amongst them. From the corner of my eye, I could barely make out a dark figure nestled against a branch, poised and ready to strike. I stopped and unsheathed my machete, ready to fight, when I watched Nick lunge in the air. In less than a few seconds, I watched as Nick wrestled with the animal. Sounds of growls and screeching reverberated and ricocheted off the branches.

  “Are you guys okay down there? The sounds we’re hearing aren’t exactly good ones.” Josh sounded panicky in my head.

  “Nick is busy tearing apart some type of cat,” I let him know.

  “That’s my man. He is such an animal,” Josh practically purred.

  “Focus on the task at hand, Josh,” I heard Isaac say. Even telepathically, the impatience was still present in his voice.

  I watched, still poised with my machete raised in the air, as Michael jumped in to help Nick finish off the wild animal. We all knew that Nick could have easily handled the job by himself, but clearly Michael wanted in on the action.

  Once the—whatever kind of animal it was—was dismembered, we continued on the path. Nick’s and Michael’s jaws were covered in pieces of tissue and blood, but that only seemed to add to the fierceness they conveyed. The wolves’ piercing eyes kept focus on the trees while I continued to lead us down the beaten path.

  “How is it looking? Are we getting closer to the clearing?” I asked the eyes in the sky.

  “You should be arriving within the next few minutes. I see some movement in a tree up ahead to your left,” Josh let me know.

  I didn’t even have a chance to warn them this time. Michael got one whiff of the air and took off toward the tree. Nick and I stayed back to watch Michael tear into the animal. The same violent snarls and loud shrieking echoed around us. Then another loud, fierce growl tore from Nick’s own throat as he lunged forward.

  I wasn’t sure what was happening until I saw another animal jump down from the trees, landing right on top of Michael. Nick jumped on the animal and flung him off the other wolf. This cat appeared bigger than the other two and launched itself onto Nick, tackling him to the ground. I didn’t hesitate when I heard Nick whine out, and ran toward the cat with my machete raised. I swung hard and hit the animal in the back. My stomach heaved when I felt the blade slice into the tissue and muscle of the animal, but I pulled the weapon back and swung again.

  “Why won’t you fucking die?” I screamed as the animal kept assaulting my friend, not stopping at all during my attack.

  Finally, Michael was able to finish his kill, and he ran over to help me and Nick. Nick was still fighting furiously underneath the cat while I hacked away at its back. Michael growled at me and I knew he wanted me to stop. I stepped back as he dove on to the animal, knocking it on its side. That gave Nick the chance to get up, and both wolves began to rip into the flesh of the animal.

  I took a deep breath and looked down at my bloody machete. Why hadn’t the cat died when I’d sliced into it? Then I remembered that Josh had said they were filled with vampire venom. They needed their throats ripped out or to be decapitated. I walked over to the cat that Michael had killed and gasped at what I saw. It was a bobcat. The body, or what was left of it, seemed larger than normal. But it was the teeth that got me. There seemed to be an extra row of teeth, behind their first set. Almost like shark’s teeth. Then I glanced down at the paws of the odd-looking bobcat and saw the extended claws. The longer claws had a smaller nail on either side that was razor sharp. At further inspection I noticed that all four toes looked that way. Extra claws and extra teeth? What the fuck did those vampires do to them?

  I glanced behind me and saw that Michael and Nick were standing there, waiting for me, their beautiful coats drenched in blood. I wasn’t sure if it was from their own wounds or from the animals they’d killed. Or maybe it was a combination of both. But now they just seemed more pissed off and they looked even scarier. I shuddered to think about what was going to happen to the next thing that crossed our path.

  No sooner did the thought cross my mind then I heard another rustle in the trees. That was when I knew that the bobcats were just the beginning of our problems.

  “Ghouls are up ahead on your right. Luckily for you, they’re stupid as hell and will be an easy kill. Just get ready,” Josh’s twinkling voice said in my head.

  “Ghouls up ahead, guys,” I said in a hushed voice as I adjusted the grip on my machete.

  The words were barely past my lips when Nick and Michael took off ahead of me. I chased after them, my machete raised above my head, as the disgusting creatures jumped from the trees. I watched the two wolves tear into the grayish-looking creatures and I gasped in horror when a severed head rolled toward me and stopped at my foot. I hadn’t gotten a very good look at them when they’d surrounded our car at the restaurant, and after looking into its empty eye sockets, I wish I hadn’t then, either.

  “Behind you!” Isaac warned me at the same time I felt something hot breathe down my neck.

  I quickly turned around and swung my machete. I grinned in triumph when my weapon made a clean slice through the ghoul’s neck, its head flying off into the woods. I watched as the grotesque body fell into a lump at my feet. I took in the decaying body and forcibly swallowed the bile that started to rise in my throat. The thing I’d just killed not only was fucking disgusting, but also smelled terrible.

  I looked at my friends and saw that they were finished with their kills as well. The forest was littered with the bodies of bobcats and ghouls. We continued to walk a few more yards up ahead, and I was relieved that we had finally stepped into the clearing. Now Isaac and Josh would be able to keep a better eye on us, should anything try to stop us from getting into the cave. I looked around and saw the lake on one side that wasn’t visible from the trees, and the rocky path that I had walked in my dreams.

  “We can see you guys now. Court, I’m sure you know where to go now. I can see you thinking about the dream in your head. Just be careful. The animals in the trees were the least of your worries,” Isaac warned me, and I looked up to see him flying overhead.

  “How are my guy and Michael?” Josh asked nervously.

  “Fine. A few scratches and bites, but you should see the other guys,” I quipped before I started along the rocky path.

  I followed the same trail I had the night of my vision and felt more at ease knowing that this time, Michael and Nick were with me. The sunlight made the lake shine like glittering diamonds, and for anyone who was unsuspecting, it’d be a beautiful place. An inviting place to bring a loved one for a picnic or to go exploring. Maybe for the brave, a place to skinny-dip in the cool water. Little would they know the horrors that waited for them a few yards down inside a dark cavern.

  “We’re almost there,” I breathed out to the wolves, knowing full well they’d be able to hear me.

  A light growl was my only response, and I looked over to see the fur on Nick’s wolf standing taller than it ever had before. I took a quick second to study him thoroughly. If it was at all possible, he seemed bigger to me than even a few hours ago. More muscular and his teeth seemed longer. His coat was shinier and his eyes were more piercing than usual. Almost as if killing those animals increased his size and made him more dominant. I looked over to Michael and noticed the same thing went for him. Power and ferocity radiated from them. And to be honest, it was a little intimidating.

  All too soon, even though the walk in the woods seemed to take eons, we arrived at the mouth of the cave.

  “We’re going in,” I warned Josh and Isaac.

  I took one last lingering look at my friends, hoping to project to them how much I loved them with my eyes. I knew if I said anything that I’d lose my nerve. But Kimberly needed us, and we’d come too far to turn back now. With the deepest breath I could take, I put one foot forward and stepped inside.

  Chapter 25<
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  I was glad the sun was still shining enough to offer some natural light so we could see where to go. The first few steps seemed easy enough as we walked down the dirt path.

  “Can you still hear me?” Isaac asked. The worry was evident since he’d lost visual of us. He was probably even more concerned for Michael.

  “Yes. Let me know if you see anything come up behind us,” I practically begged him.

  “We’ve got you,” Josh assured me.

  I felt a little more at ease knowing that Josh and Isaac had my back while I was headed farther inside the cave. I knew from my dream exactly where to go, and I continued to lead my friends farther and farther inside. It seemed to grow darker the farther we went, the sunlight decreasing with each step. My impatience suddenly hit me as we neared another tunnel inside the cave that we were supposed to go into. I knew that once we went in that opening, we’d be inside the room that not only held the hostages, but Kimberly as well.

  “Turn around.” A strange voice penetrated my thoughts.

  “Don’t listen to him, Court! Keep going!” I heard Josh yell, trying to block out the other voice talking to me.

  “You don’t belong here. Leave now.” The raspy voice sounded vaguely familiar and sent shivers down my spine.

  “Courtney, focus on only listening to me and Josh. Block out that other voice. He doesn’t belong in your mind. He’s trying to trick you.” Isaac’s stern voice broke into my mind.

  “Ignore him. Leave this cave at once. This is your last chance. Leave now if you want to make it out alive.” The voice was foreboding in my mind, and I couldn’t help the cry that tore from my throat.

  I stopped in my tracks, confused on whether to keep going or to turn around and run like the voice told me to do. Nick and Michael continued to walk ahead of me, completely oblivious to the internal battle that went on in my head.