by J. L. Myers
“Shit!” Ty slammed on the brakes and flung his arm across my chest as the car screeched to a skidding halt. Snow fell even harder than a minute ago, the wipers flinging back and forth at full speed.
I squinted through the shield of white. Something was blocking the car. It was wide enough and long enough to cut off the entire one-lane road. “Is that a tree?”
I lifted my hood as we all exited the car. The air was chilling, the thick forestry bordering the narrow winding road showing no evidence of its lush foliage. Instead it was a frosted white expanse that was deathly quiet.
Kendrick made his way to the roadside and jumped onto the base end of the fallen mammoth-sized tree. Then he faced us with a look I couldn’t quite read. Still the reason behind the look wasn’t a mystery.
“The tree was cut?” I strode forward to see for myself.
Ty was right behind me, head poking over my shoulder to catch a glimpse. “That was done with an electric chain saw.”
“Loggers?” Kendrick questioned, surprisingly without an ounce of condescension as he looked to Ty.
Ty frowned past the fallen tree, running a hand over its rough bark. “Loggers would never leave a road blocked like this. And don’t they usually mark the trees they take down?”
“Trees?” I followed Ty’s line of sight past the fallen log Kendrick stood on to the road ahead. Through the thick fall of white was an obstacle course of fallen tree after fallen tree, disappearing only with the bend in the road. “That’s not loggers.”
Dread pooled in my stomach, making my ears open while my eyes darted. The road we were on was familiar enough for me to know that it was the last stretch before the cabin. No other properties came off this road and hadn’t done so for the last twenty or so miles. This road never saw unexpected traffic.
My fingers curled, toying with the amethyst pendant at my wrist. It was cool to the touch without even a hint of warmth to indicate encroaching danger. “Whoever did this is gone now. But they did it on purpose.”
“To keep us from the cabin,” Kendrick finished for me, jumping off the log.
“But no one knew we were coming,” Ty said. “Only us three knew, and Dorian.”
Except that wasn’t exactly true, and Kendrick knew it now too. While he and Ty were picking up the rental car back at the airport, I’d called Marcus and mentioned our location when checking on Caius’s whereabouts.
“You told Marcus,” Kendrick said, a hint of accusation in his tone.
“So what?” I zipped up my hoodie, feeling a chill that had nothing to do with how freezing it was. Had someone intercepted our arrival? Were they still there somewhere, watching, waiting? “You know Caius can’t compel Marcus…” I broke off, feeling Kendrick’s speculation. “You have gotta be kidding.”
“What’s going on?” Ty questioned.
Kendrick leaned back against the fallen log, face hardening. “I’m not kidding, Amelia. And you shouldn’t be so trusting. He knew Caius planned to kill you, and instead of stopping him, he let it happen. Let that sorry excuse for an uncle drain your blood until you died.”
“Hold on,” Ty said, eyes shifting to me. “You said Marcus had no choice, that he did what he needed to do to save you.”
“He did,” I said. “Marcus’s plan to resurrect me could only work if Caius’s attempt on my life stayed on track. He needed to know when Caius would come for me.”
“That doesn’t make sense.” Ty ran a hand over his face. His irises had become gold and intense, no longer set on me but staring at the car’s snow-dotted headlights. “If you’d been warned and had fled that place, resurrecting you wouldn’t have been necessary. And I’m sorry, Kendrick,” he said glancing up at him, “but if not for her death, Amelia wouldn’t be connected to you, or anyone.”
Except you, I thought, guessing the words he didn’t say. Because if I hadn’t been bound to Kendrick, the new conflict of our love triangle wouldn’t exist in such an imposing and unavoidable state.
“Ty, you don’t get it. Believe me, I can see your point of view, but it’s wrong. What Marcus did brought me back to life. If everything had gone according to his rescue plan I would have been…” My words died and I clenched my fists to stop my hands from flying to my mouth.
“You would have been what?” Ty moved forward to tilt my face up, forcing me to look at him. “Amelia, what haven’t you told me?”
I bit my lip, dreading what I was about to say. Kendrick spoke before I could muster the nerve to blurt out the words. “Amelia would have been bound to Marcus, forever.”
Ty’s irises flared and he jumped over the log to stalk up the beaten road.
“Ty, please.” I caught up and tried to catch his wrist, but he crossed his arms and picked up the pace.
Kendrick collected his backpack from the rental car and followed at a distance.
I cleared another fallen tree, hand levering against the rough bark to keep pace with Ty. “Look, I’m sorry. I didn’t think it mattered. I mean, it didn’t happen. I’m not bound to Marcus.”
Ty’s stalking steps stalled and he spun, his breath fuming. “You think that’s what I’m mad about?” His expression was incredulous. “Whether it’s Kendrick or some other guy, it doesn’t matter. That fact that you’re so…” his jaw clenched, “trusting, is what scares me. You knew this guy for a few weeks. That’s it. And you believe every word he says. What if he’s in league with Caius?” He strode forward, catching my wrist with tight fingers. “What if everything you’ve been relaying to him has been passed straight on?”
I snatched my wrist free. It felt like my insides were being tugged in opposite directions and were beginning to tear. “Marcus wouldn’t do that.”
Overhead, the sky darkened as the sun dipped behind treetops. The snow began to pelt down like heavy rain while a gusty wind built. The swift weather change was unnatural, as if it were a sudden extension of my torment. I gritted my teeth and a flash of light struck overhead. I wanted to scream that I knew Marcus would never betray me. Because of the connection I felt to him and him for me, I knew that he would never endanger my life.
I wouldn’t do that, Kendrick’s voice warned through the bond. Now that we weren’t walking he was gaining on us. He already feels like he’s sharing you. And it sucks. Believe me, I know. Learning that you feel connected to another guy is only going to make him feel even more like shit.
Ty caught my hand, drawing it up to the wild flutter of his heart. “Amelia, this is your life we’re talking about here. And I can’t lose you.” He glanced to Kendrick, almost nodding approval. “We know who we can trust in our group, and Marcus isn’t part of our group.” His mouth opened but nothing came out, his nostrils flaring, testing the air. “Do you smell that?”
I could smell it now too, the dense smell of a raging fire that had recently been doused. “Smoke.” Above the tree line I could make out a spiraling column rising into a thickening cloud of menace. “It’s coming from the cabin!”
CHAPTER FIVE
Kendrick shot past us, feet pounding up the beaten road, and Ty and I took after him. With our supernatural speed we blazed over the remaining miles toward the cabin, clearing each dropped tree while minding the snow-hidden potholes. The smoke intensified as we neared, growing dense and adding to the fog as the snowfall eased.
After painfully long minutes the narrowing road ended, opening onto a small area bordered by a thick circle of pine trees. Delicate gray confetti flittered down around us, looking like dirty snow. I sucked in a breath and spluttered. Smoke joined the ash here, making it impossible to breathe or see clearly.
I pushed forward, arms waving to clear some air…and froze.
Centering the circle of pines was an uneven patch of charred and still smoking remains. A corner beam to the front and back left were still standing, along with a crumbled fireplace in the center. For a long moment I just stared, not wanting to believe what I could see. But the evidence was as clear as the lifting smoke. The skeletal rem
ains before me were all that was left of the cabin. Someone had burned it to the ground.
Kendrick met my side and touched the cool amethyst pendant at my wrist. “Whoever did this is long gone.”
“I’m not taking any chances,” Ty said, then took off past the barricading pines.
Not really listening or taking notice, I fell to my knees. “It’s all gone.”
Everything was charred black, nothing surviving the inferno. There was no second level. No window to see down to the wooden porch from Dorian’s childhood room. No stairs that Caius’s booted feet had climbed to erase his actions. There were no standing walls, just stone remnants leading up to the remaining corner posts. Bar the fireplace, which only resembled its former cavernous glory because of the small boulders that made up its structure, there was nothing else. Nothing that even closely resembled the home I’d been born in and had trouble remembering from our first six years of life.
I rushed forward and Kendrick called out for me to stop. I spun past his extending arm to land in the center of the ruins. Charcoal dust puffed up from my Vans, making me want to cough. I screamed instead, throwing myself against the fireplace and belting my fists against the stones. Each hit sent throbbing waves through my knuckles and up my arms. I felt the stinging of the cuts first, and then the wetness of blood as it left spattered marks against the rocks. I went to hit harder, needing to let the rage in me out. It wasn’t just about this, another dead end in our quest for why, but everything before and since our return.
As my fist drove forward with enough force to crack bone, Ty’s hand shot out to wrench me back. Kendrick caught me around the waist, hauling me back too.
The rational part of my brain knew they were helping, but I didn’t care. Holding onto my rage, I tried to pull free. When that didn’t work, I kicked out, my feet hitting the fireplace one last time.
Rumbling rose all around us as the rocks began to fall. The ground below quaked violently, as if earthquake tremors were ringing out. The capturing hands holding me back let go. Caught off balance I fell to the ground. Between the crumbling rocks and the creak of charred wood, I heard a splintering crack. Complete quiet followed for an eerie second.
Then the ground beneath me opened up like the jaws of hell.
~
“Amelia!” Ty shouted above me somewhere, his voice muffled by debris being ripped away. “Amelia, can you hear me?”
“I’m—” I gasped in a breath and felt weight push back against my chest, crushing my lungs. Everything was dark and the air tasted of charcoal. My lids fluttered through the dust, and I felt grains across my eyeballs. There were more shouts from Ty and Kendrick. My lips parted to call out, but choked closed as sharp pain struck my chest.
“Screw this,” I heard Kendrick say. “I’m going down.”
Creaking vibrated around me, the debris threating to release as more than one person descended into this dark cavern. There was a sharp crack, and I followed the sound. In the darkness, I saw Ty had half fallen through the staircase’s decrepit remains. Ty grunted, but couldn’t lift himself from the small landing he’d fallen through.
Kendrick stepped before him and held out a hand. “Here.”
Even in the lack of light Ty’s grimace was clear as he swung a hand up to clasp Kendrick’s. “Don’t think this means I owe you,” Ty grunted as his body came free.
The aroma of his blood bloomed on the thick air. A second later I knew why. The jagged wooden planks he’d fallen through had rent a long gash in his side.
“Ouch,” Kendrick said. His mouth watered and he almost ran down the rickety stairs. “Bloody werewolf.”
For a moment I laughed. Kendrick was drawn to Ty’s blood too. Not as bad as I was, but with how much he detested him, it was still funny. The silent vibration of my laughter caused me to cough. Fresh bolts of pain tracked outward from my chest.
“Amelia?” Ty called out again, but it was Kendrick who reached my side first, feeling his way through our bond to the heap of debris I was prisoned beneath.
“Found her!” Kendrick began tearing the concealing layer off me. A split second later Ty was there, his hands helping to make light work of the debris. With each piece removed, the weight against my entire body lessened. Still the pressure against my chest didn’t fade.
When my body was free Kendrick frowned at me. “Are you okay?”
I reached for my chest and gasped. A splintered plank of wood protruded from my ribs, poking up and underneath them. “I—” I coughed and winced at the lance of fresh pain.
“The wood’s pierced your lung,” Ty said, kneeling at my other side. “We need to get it out so you can heal.”
I nodded through the pain as Ty leaned over me. My free hand found Kendrick’s. “Squeeze as hard as you want. Break a bone or two if you need.”
Ty watched me as I glanced back to him, his face a stiff mask. I bit my lip and nodded, as if to say, I’m ready.
Ty wrapped his broad hands around the thick splinter of wood as it rose and fell with my uneven breaths. Then he yanked it free. Crimson spurted from the gaping hole, spraying out to splatter across Ty’s T-shirt. His hands came down to press against the opening.
I gasped at the jagged bolts striking through my chest, and pinned my lids shut. Red and white flashes danced across the backs of my eyelids as my vision rolled, my head becoming light. I was about to faint.
Willing against the sensation, I focused on the smells of my own blood mixed with Ty’s in the air, fighting my way back to consciousness. My gums prickled and my mouth became as dry as hot sand. Then there was nothing but the smell of his blood.
And I was starving.
Without thought my body took over, needing blood to repair itself. The desperation was similar to waking after Caius had drained me at the Armaya. But this time I knew what I was doing, and what I was about to do. Still, I didn’t care. Instinct had taken over.
I flung Kendrick’s hand away and sprung, blindly knocking Ty down and trapping his warm body with my hands. My fangs closed in on their destination, but they never met flesh. Kendrick took hold of me and hauled me off Ty. His arms were like bars around my body, and with my unhealed injuries and inability to breathe properly, he had the upper hand.
“Amelia, stop it,” Kendrick rasped in my ear, fighting to contain me. His next words were only for me to hear. Do you want him to see you like this?
Before me, Ty had gotten to his feet and was taking slow steps toward us. His expression wasn’t horrified, as I guess I’d expected it to be. Instead it was surprised, and maybe a little disappointed. “It’s okay.” He wasn’t looking at me but at Kendrick. “If she needs my blood to heal…”
“Are you kidding?” Anger flared from Kendrick through the bond. “She just…and you?” He shook his head and glanced up to the edge of the cavernous hole we stood in. “Never mind. There’s another full bottle in my backpack. It’s up there. Go get it.”
Given his condescending and demanding tone, I expected Ty to argue, but he didn’t. “Sure. Whatever.” He shrugged then leapt, clearing the debris and landing on the opening’s edge. In seconds he maneuvered his way back through the obstacle-filled descent and held out the full bottle, an unreadable expression blanketing his face.
Kendrick released me and took the bottle, thrusting it into my hands. “Drink it.”
I took the bottle and turned my back. I didn’t think Ty seeing me drink blood like this would turn him off, but after attacking him I just felt too exposed. With a few pain-filled gulps, the glass bottle was empty, the hunger sated. The sharp lancing of my breaths began to ease. The flesh below my ribs and that of my own lung rushed back together in a thatch-work that stretched and bound. I gasped at the sensation, able to breathe again. All my wounds had healed.
I ran my tongue over my teeth, still able to taste the blood. It was peppery and somehow familiar. Suspicion dawned on me. “What kind of blood was that?”
Kendrick crossed his arms over his chest and sh
ifted his weight from one leg to the other. “I brought it as backup. I never thought you’d need it.”
Ty looked from me to Kendrick in confusion. “What’s going on?” he asked. “What’s the problem?”
I invaded Kendrick’s thoughts to find the answer. My jaw clenched and I hissed through gritted teeth. “Say it.”
Kendrick stared at me, half apologetic and half irritated. “It’s mine.”
“You ulterior motive dick.” Ty grabbed a fistful of Kendrick’s shirt. His free hand was tense at his side, trembling as canine-like nails grew from his fingers. “It’s not enough that you’re in her head every second of every day, you have to trick her too?”
“It wasn’t a trick.” Kendrick tore Ty’s fist from his shirt and pushed him back. “She needed to be healed, and we already know what my blood can do for her.”
I wanted to step in and put an end to this, but I was pissed too. Kendrick deserved the backlash, and Ty was giving enough steam for the both of us. Besides, I was so over the complication of our threesome that I just wanted to ignore the issue. “No punches. No drawing blood.”
With a hard look at them both I strode away, focusing past their continued arguing and at the cavernous space we stood in. Most of the room was charred from the fire. Still there were remnants of what had been here before. Shackles lined the sooty walls, much like the ones that had entrapped me at the Armaya. A shudder ran through me and I picked up the closest one, studying it. There was an engraved marking, a symbol that was crossed through with a single line. An alchemist mark.
“You just couldn’t stand to see her drinking from me.”
Ty’s venomous words drew my attention. He kicked debris from his hunting boots, clearing a path between him and Kendrick. Through the dust settling at Ty’s feet, I saw something that wasn’t entirely blackened with the charcoal dust left from the fire. Something had semi-survived the flames.
“And you know this wouldn’t have been the first time,” Ty added. “She’s tasted me before, and it wasn’t because she was dying.”
