I was settling in to a routine; a very unhealthy one. I glared at my own reflection. It was a stark reminder that I was no longer human, and that I couldn’t even try to act like one now because of it. I also noticed that I had the same glow that the Light Fae had—was I half Blood Fae and half Light, or was it just the dye Alden had injected into me at the Guild that had somehow jumped to the brands I’d inherited since Transition? These types of little things would lead my mind down the path about my origins that I did not want to go down. And then there was Ryder. He was on my mind twenty-four seven, or so it seemed, and I knew that wouldn’t change anytime soon. I was actually missing the overbearing caveman!
I could have been an ad for drugs; only not so much for the drugs…and more for Fairies. This was your brain before Fairies…and I could then play the part of the brain after Fairies had played with it. I was moving through the motions of living, but Ryder had been right—I hadn’t been living. I’d been doing what I thought I was meant to do. I’d been damn good at pretending to be happy, and, if I was honest about it, I really hadn’t been.
I couldn’t complain too much. I’d had amazing friends. I’d been loved. Even though Larissa had been hard on me and had kept things to herself, in the end, I knew it had been to help me. I couldn’t go back to what I had known my entire life. I had no idea where I fit in now if not with Ryder. I was pathetic, and I missed him.
I was needy, and it pissed me off to no end. I should hate him. Hell, I had plenty of reasons to hate him. Yet I felt pathetically alone. I’d been to the cemetery twice now to dance with the dead. Where it used to comfort me, now it was a reminder of how alone I really was.
I was in the kitchen when Alden arrived. He’d been calling non-stop trying to figure out why I was home alone, as if I wasn’t supposed to be here anymore. I smiled as I set down the coffee mug and lifted a brow. “Come to make sure I was still alive?” I asked as I stood to move over and pour him a mug.
“You stopped answering my calls,” he said by way of explanation.
“I did, but only because ‘are you eating humans’ was bound to come up in the conversation sooner or later. The answer is no, I have not started to demolish the human food chain yet.”
He snorted and shook his head. “Ryder said—”
“Zip it!” I shouted and slammed the mug down onto the counter. “We do not say his name in this house. And don’t look at me like that! Don’t look at me like I’m a cup short of crazy,” I barked when his eyes narrowed. “If it gets that bad, I can shoot myself in the head and just wake up tomorrow.”
“You sure you could do it?” he asked as he looked at me carefully.
“Alden, I’d have to. I won’t feed from humans. Kinda hard to when I’ve spent my entire life learning to protect them from monsters like…me.” I scrunched my face up distastefully as if the words tasted dirty on my tongue, and I laughed, even though I found nothing funny about it.
“You’re not a monster, Synthia. I need to talk to you about something, and I need for you not to explode when I tell you this.”
“You knew Ryder had given the order for Adrian to be changed, and you also knew he was still alive,” I said, hoping he’d say that I had it all wrong. I knew he wouldn’t though. Over the past several days I’d started putting the pieces together. The problem with pieces was, when they lined up right, you had to find more to finish the puzzle.
“I suspected it. I told your team to report to me after that happened to keep you three safe. I knew someone was trailing you, but it didn’t make sense why someone would be only trailing you and not the other teams. You were just an Enforcer, and you held no real power inside the Guild. Those who seek revenge come looking for me, or someone higher up in command. They don’t go after the ones who only take orders; they come after the ones issuing them. I had another team whose job was to tail your team to see who it was. After a while, I had to pull them off or take the chance of someone above me questioning my intentions.”
I blinked at him. How bad-ass was I? I hadn’t even noticed I had two tails chasing me! I shook my head and took the seat across from him. “Why? Why chance another team for me, Alden? The Guild states that in our contracts, if we are compromised, we go away quietly. If I was compromised, and someone was tailing me, I should have been on my own with it.”
“Because I raised you. Hell, you were the only family I had left. You are like a daughter to me, believe it or not, and I wasn’t going to lose you. I was doing my job protecting you from harm, as anyone who had a raised a child would have. Never thought it would become this big of mess though. I knew you were different, and Marie’s actions confirmed it. Marie kept you and Adam close to her at all times. Never thought anything of it, until Adrian was killed. We had known your coven was being tailed before that, but whoever it was, well, they were smart and impossible to find. It wasn’t until Marie was killed that I started to get really worried.”
“By a radical,” I replied as my eyes took him in. He looked tired and disheveled. It was out of character for him, and I knew there was more he was going to tell me, and I wasn’t going to like it.
“No, that’s just what we told you. She was killed in the catacombs beneath the Guild. No marks, no indication of a struggle. She looked as if she’d just sat down and died, but in our line of work we never take anything at face value.”
“Magic? Was there any leftover residue from magic being cast in a close area? Was it one of us?” I asked as my heart sunk in my chest. I’d been inside those catacombs. It was a cramped space at best. There wasn’t enough room down there to manage spells, let alone hide the residue of one.
“Nothing. At the time, we had nothing to explain it. We decided to tell the children that she was killed outside the Guild to be safe. We couldn’t have that many children panicking because we had someone killing high ranking members inside our protected walls.”
“No magic, no marks. That makes no sense. She was healthy, Alden, very healthy. What was found on the autopsy?”
Alden nodded in agreement. “She was, and her autopsy proved it.”
“But there is nothing else you can tell me about it, right?” I asked as I mentally filed away the information to think about it later when I was alone. He was a good man, but he wouldn’t tell me more. I was smart enough to know when I was being told only the basics. “So, let’s go back to Adrian. You knew Ryder was most likely behind it, and you still sent me to him anyway.” I crossed my arms and leveled an angry glare at him.
“Synthia, when the Dark Prince of the Fae comes inviting you into the Dark Fortress, you go. He didn’t want just anyone, and when he started asking for my best…well, I had a feeling it had to do with the letters Marie had mailed to him right before her death. It wasn’t my idea to send you, but when I sent the query up the ladder to the higher ups, they said I had no choice but to send you. So I actually had little choice when it boiled down to it. I haven’t had much choice since the new elders took their places at the table.”
“Wait, so you didn’t agree with me going?”
“No, I thought it was too risky. You scored higher on the magic scale, and in hand-to-hand combat than any other Witch to date. Sending the only one who could potentially save the one we sent in was a risk we shouldn’t have taken. If anyone could have gotten those who got caught by Ryder out, it was you and your team. I wanted to send in Ilea’s team.”
I pinched the bridge of my nose in confusion. “So they sent me to Ryder, and you told them it was a bad idea from the start? That I was the only one who could get in to save the team if they got caught, and they still sent me. Like…a sacrificial lamb to the FIZ slaughter.” FIZ was what the Fae called the human after they’d digested the soul, and left them a mindless meat sack.
“Why do you think I was there waiting? I was told to stand down and let it play out. I couldn’t take that chance, not with you. I brokered the deal with Ryder to be on the same floor for the interview. I knew Chandra was going to die, beca
use it was just another test by the elders for all of you. I did not trust her, and I suspected from the very beginning, when she was sent to us, that she was a Guild plant. I did know that if she turned on you, you wouldn’t hesitate to take her out. It’s how I’d trained you, Syn. I’m sorry for that by the way; placing it on your shoulders to carry out what I should have done myself. You are a tough shell, Syn, but even with time, it’s hard to fix the cracks.”
“I didn’t know any of that, Alden. I thought you were getting money hungry, and abusing power. You should have trusted me enough to tell me this from the beginning. I wouldn’t be in this mess now if you had,” I said, and blinked when I realized what I had said. “That came out wrong!” I tried to fix it, but he smiled and shook his head.
“That tongue of yours is unable to tell a lie now, Synthia. I knew what it was beginning to look like, and that’s why I’m here. I have been watching my fellow Guild members for quite some time now, and I did not want to say anything or involve you until I had enough evidence to do so. I need you to get word to Ryder that the leaders of the Guild are now publicly taking sides in this fight between the Mages, and the Fae. They have been spreading propaganda that the Mages are true ancestors of the Druids, and they have been actively singling out anyone who has friendly contact with the Fae for…‘early retirement’, he said, his fingers curling into air quotes around the last two words.
“Um, as in the ancient Celtic Druids; those Druids?” I asked, trying to stop my legs from shaking at the mention of the Mages.
“The very same. You’re a smart girl. I’m sure you are already placing and sorting through the implications.”
“Yes, Alden, I get it. We are the fucking Mages.”
He nodded and stood up to leave.
“Wait! That’s it? You just drop a bomb in my lap and leave? What are you going to do? You can’t go back there. Stay with me; I can keep you safe. If the Mages are inside the Guild, and turning the Guild against the Fae, then you’re in danger. Let me help you.”
“Synthia, someone has to stay inside to get word back to you,” he argued.
“That’s shit, and you know it. You would be in the enemy’s den. It’s suicide.”
“Synthia, we are the ones who killed Larissa. The Seattle Guild knew it while they stood beside us at her funeral. There were no reports of the girl who played Arianna ever going missing. I started to wonder soon after she was exposed, since something like that would have been reported to us as well as to the rest of the Guild Covens. I started to wonder why—because if you had gone missing, I’d have gone to the moon and back looking for you. I’d have sent a line out to every coven I could until I had found you. They didn’t even contact us for it, let alone warn us that there was an issue. Not until others went missing, one’s who had families that would have reported it. No, I need to stay and make sure it doesn’t happen again. I can’t live with knowing I did nothing to prevent what happened to those girls from the next repeating itself. This is something I need to see through, before I am ‘retired’.”
“Alden, I’m always here if you need me,” I said numbly.
“I know, Synthia. I also know they had me train some of you to become Druids. I didn’t know it at the time, but if it comes down to a fight, you and what is left of your coven have all been trained for this. If it comes down to it, you could fight against the Guild.”
“How is that even possible? Wouldn’t we have known it?” Even as the words came out of my mouth, my jaw dropped to the floor as it dawned on me. “…Oh shit!” Ink.
“I trained you, Adam, and Adrian in the Dark Arts. I injected ink that made it stronger inside of you, intensified it. You three have the ability to prevent the Mages from harming more innocent people. You also know how the Guild works, and functions. I can’t allow them to hurt, or kill anyone; I won’t allow that to happen again.”
“So…I’m a Druid Fae?” I almost laughed, but the implications of it were just straight up messed up.
“Technically, your Fae DNA cancels it out. The ink only increases the magic you use. Sorry, but you’re still only Fae. I need to know something, since you can’t lie now. Did you ever think of me as a father?”
“In a way, yes, but I’ve always kept my father in my heart, and your sister, my mother. I love you, Alden, and you’ve made me into what I am today…minus the Fae part.”
I thought about things for a few moments, reeling over the information that Alden had dropped on me. If the Guild was being infiltrated by the Mages and they had ordered Alden to send me to the Dark Prince…
“Alden, given my past history with the Fae, do you think that the Guild was hoping I would snap on the assignment and assassinate Ryder?” I asked softly, afraid to hear him answer what my mind had already processed.
Alden nodded sadly, confirming my suspicions. So, his being there, close by that day, was to save me from myself if need be.
“Do you think the Guild killed Marie for being close with the Fae?”
Once again, Alden nodded. Yep, shit soup was being stirred and it was simmering now, and getting ready to be served with a side of crunchy crackers. Once the soup hit boil, this was going to get ugly.
He sat back down, and we talked for over an hour about what else was going on inside the Guild. He’d explained a lot that he wouldn’t have under normal circumstances. When he’d left, it was hard, because it felt as if we were saying goodbye for the last time.
Chapter Eighteen
It had only been about five minutes since Alden left, and I was still sitting at the table, unable to make my mind work past the idea of the Guild being the enemy. How could this even be possible? My Guild—which I’d loved, grown up inside, and given my faith to—was the enemy. They had thrown me out because I’d been Fae, and, even though I wasn’t a part of it anymore. I still felt the need to defend them. And I still had yet to get up from where Ryder had knocked me down with his word games and trickery. I must have had a sticker on my forehead that said, ‘Please dump info here’, because I was getting it by the truck-loads today.
I had been trained, unknowingly, by Alden to massacre Fae. I looked at the cell phone in front of me on the table. What the hell was I supposed to tell Ryder? Oh, hey, by the way…I am the enemy! Or I was. Oh, and by the way—the Guild was hoping you would trigger me to have a massive freak out, which would result in your untimely demise at my hands. Yeah, that would go over like a truckload of Goblins in a daycare center. I glared at the phone and played out the conversation in my head several times, and it never ended well.
I eventually picked up the phone, deciding I needed to get it over with, but a noise in the front room stopped me cold. I shook my head, and started towards the front room, wondering what Alden had forgotten and come back here for. That was when I saw him.
He was exactly as I’d remembered him. He was tall, reaching a little over six feet, with long muted blonde hair and dead black and gray eyes. He wore no human clothes, but there was nothing human about him to stave off the fear of what he was. He was cold, and everything I hated in the Fae. He was the entire reason I’d started hating them. I stepped back, realizing he hadn’t seen me yet. Fear stuck in my throat, making it impossible to speak or cry out. It was probably a good thing, considering this was the leader of the Fae who’d killed my parents.
He was dressed in a dark, blood red cloak, and a black tunic, and pants, but he’d already removed the hood of the cloak before I’d discovered him inside the house. He must not have gotten the memo that he’d blend in better wearing Dolce or Armani. I looked at the wards, realizing that they were not going off with his arrival. I stepped back so I could watch him for a moment more. He was looking for something. He growled gutturally and stepped closer to the picture of my family.
I barely contained the hiss I felt when he picked it up and tossed it carelessly to the floor. I couldn’t tap the leyline, because there wasn’t one here. I pulled my magic to me and smiled as it slithered through my mind. I crack
ed my neck as the tanginess of electrical power filtered through me. It came without having to think about it; just the fact that I’d needed it had brought it to my palms. I pulled the energy to me and allowed it to light up my brands.
He turned those lifeless eyes toward me as I launched a powerful ball of blue-white energy right at him, but he was faster. The fireplace exploded as the ball of blue magic shattered the bricks and mortar. He moved out of the way in time to miss getting hit by the debris. He was up and moving toward me quickly, but I was prepared for it and fired another wave of magic at him. It connected, and sent him crashing against the wall. I sent one ball of energy after another at him.
He snarled and sent his own flying at me, but I easily dodged it and threw another back at him. Blood spattered the wall behind him, but he didn’t stop fighting. I felt my magic as it began to wane and at the same time, something inside of me was pushing to get free, as if something stronger was buried there. I showed no weakness, keeping the energy balls in both palms locked and ready as I allowed him to pull himself away from where I had pinned him against the wall.
“You shouldn’t have come here. Now I’m going to kill you, bastard.”
He smiled coldly, and looked me up and down slowly in a way that made my skin crawl. He wiped the blood from his lips and spat it onto the floor as his eyes continued to take me in. I wanted to throw up as I remembered him giving my mother the same look before he raped her. “So, finally we meet,” he growled and tilted his head to watch me as he pulled his own magic around him.
“You killed my parents. I want to know why,” I said, never removing my eyes from him or my magic from my hands as I stalked him, precisely and effortlessly.
“They were expendable,” he shrugged as if it didn’t matter what he’d done. “Although your mother was a sweet meal.” He smiled, but it was a diversion. I knew the moment he planned to attack, and I sifted, easily avoiding it, shocked that I had managed to do so. He smiled wider, revealing perfect white teeth with pointy baby fangs, just like mine. “You discovered what you are,” he said as he stepped closer.
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