Exiled - 01

by M. R. Merrick

  Vincent looked like he was going to say something, but I put a hand up before he could respond. “Who are the Dark Brothers?” I asked.

  “A pair of rather loathsome and overly powerful warlocks,” Vincent said. “Most of the Underworld steers clear of them just for the sake of staying out of their way, my family included. They practice dark magic beyond what most in the Underworld consider safe, and few can rival their power.”

  “Chase, it’s bad enough that the Circle is getting help from the Underworld, but these two are a pair you do not want to cross paths with,” Willy said.

  “Great, what’s one more thing to worry about?” I reached down and pulled Willy to his feet. He winced, clearly hurting more than he was trying to let on.

  “We need to go get Rayna back. You sure you’re okay?” I asked.

  Willy brushed some debris from his pants and nodded. “I’ll be fine. I’ve had worse beatings than this.”

  That thought made me sad, but I didn’t have time for pity.

  I went to the armory and took a sword and two strings of throwing knives to add to my daggers. If I needed more than that, it was a lost cause.

  “Pick whatever you need,” I said.

  Vincent pulled down a long sword. “This will be fine.”

  Willy looked up at the weapons rack, a thoughtful look on his face, and I placed a hand on his shoulder. “You’re not coming, Willy.”

  He flinched and turned to me. The look on his face wavered between sadness and relief. “Chase, I have to come. If I was stronger, Rayna would still be here. It’s my fa- fault they took her.”

  “That’s for certain,” Vincent added.

  “Will you shut up!” I snapped at Vincent. “Willy, there was nothing you could’ve done. Even a skilled fighter would have been useless against the hunters, especially if they had warlocks with them. You’re lucky to be alive.”

  “What am I supposed to do, sit here and wait?”

  “No. I need you to call Marcus. He and my mother are out of town and need to know what’s happening.” Willy gave me a look of displeasure. “Willy, I appreciate everything you’ve done for me, but somebody needs to tell them what’s happened, and I need to get to Rayna before it’s too late.

  “Okay,” he replied grudgingly.

  “Thank you. Marcus’s cell number is on the fridge.”

  Willy nodded. “Be safe.”

  Vincent and I headed to the garage. I hoped Willy could reach Marcus soon. If the hunters were working with warlocks, we needed all the help we could get. I didn’t know the Dark Brothers, but I did know warlocks were tricky. They weren’t stronger than the average demon, but their speed was unparalleled. Unless you were a lightning elemental – one of which the Circle hadn’t seen in centuries – cutting off their heads with a silver blade was the only way to kill them. The silver blade I could manage, but getting close enough to cut off their heads might be a problem.

  ~~~~~~

  Chapter 26

  I knew we couldn’t be far behind the hunters and I hoped we’d arrive before they did anything drastic.

  The girlie ringtone sounded through my pocket and I fumbled to answer it in time.

  “Hello?”

  “Chase? Why do you have Rayna’s phone?” Marcus said in a panic.

  “It’s a long story.”

  “It’s not important. What’s important is that you get somewhere safe. You two are in terrible danger, Rayna especially,” he said in a rush.

  I didn’t respond. I was trying to focus on the road and think of what to say.

  “Chase, are you there?”

  “Yeah, I’m here.”

  “What’s going on?”

  “Rayna’s already in trouble. The hunters have her.”

  “What?”

  I took a breath. “Go back to the condo. There’s a demon there named Willy; he can fill you in.”

  “Chase, what…” I heard Marcus say as I flipped the phone closed. I turned it off and threw it on the passenger seat. I didn’t have time to explain. I didn’t want to be the one to tell him, and I didn’t care if that was cowardly or not.

  As the sun made its final descent and darkness fell around us, we drove up to the driveway of Rayna’s old house. We didn’t have Rayna’s magic with us, so sneaking in wasn’t an option. This was a bust down the door and hope you don’t get killed kind of situation.

  I would go in first and Vincent would follow. If he’d been Rayna, I’d have been comfortable with the plan, but having Vincent at my back made me uneasy. I knew he was here to help Rayna, but he wouldn’t go out of his way for me.

  Each step creaked as I walked up the porch. The door handle turned with ease and sent a loud squeak through the house as I pushed through. The moment I was over the threshold, I saw the hands coming at me.

  I threw up an arm to block the rain of fists and ducked down to pull out a dagger. I slid the blade across the attacker’s stomach and blood spilled on the floor. The demon doubled over and I stepped forward to bring my knife down through his back. The dagger pierced his heart and the scream only stopped when he exploded into ash.

  I could hear footsteps storming up from the basement. The basement door broke off its hinges and crashed to floor as three demons came through. I pulled out three throwing knives and hurled them at the oncoming trio.

  Each knife hit a separate attacker, not killing any but slowing them down. I couldn’t help but wonder where the hell Vincent was, but that moment of lost focus was a mistake. An elbow slammed into my forehead and my ears rang. I ducked to avoid the next blow and brought my dagger up under the demon’s chin. It hit the soft spot behind his chin and slid up through his mouth and into his brain. I pushed him away and watched him explode.

  Another demon leapt towards me and I pulled my sword from its sheath in time to force her to the ground.

  There was a loud crash as Vincent jumped through the boarded-up back window. He stood in the kitchen with splinters of wood falling around him and his less-than-subtle entrance distracted me from the third attacker.

  The demon pulled the throwing knife out of her chest and dragged it across my back. I gasped in pain and Vincent reacted. His demon form emerged and he grabbed her by the throat and pulled her away from me. The inhuman muscles moved under his skin and pushed his bone-like talons out over his fingernails. They pierced the demon’s neck and blood exploded over her body.

  Vincent’s fangs dropped as he leaned into her. His golden eyes turned black and I expected him to bite her, but he pulled her head down and snapped her neck instead. He sank his fangs into the next thing through the door, ripping its throat out while I pushed my sword through its heart, leaving nothing but an eruption of light and ashes.

  Blood trickled down my back from my cut, and I dodged left and right trying to avoid getting hit again. I moved around the next demon and swung my blade through his leg. He dropped to the floor and tried to block as my sword went in for another strike. The blade cut through his wrist, and I cut off his scream with a final blow to his neck. His hand and leg were ash before they hit the floor.

  My pulse raced as adrenaline pumped through my veins. Vincent’s black eyes turned back to golden and his skin to pale. The sharp bones receded into his fingers and he looked at me, the smile on his face revealing the joy he took from killing. That only succeeded in making me more nervous to be fighting alongside him.

  My thoughts were interrupted as I heard Brock and Lena’s voices float up from the basement. Two other voices I didn’t recognize chanted with them in a language I couldn’t place.

  “They’ve already started,” Vincent whispered.

  I breathed deeply and closed my eyes, thinking of Rayna: her dark hair that fell past her shoulders, with its undertone of red that accented her pale skin, her bright green feline eyes I’d somehow grown to appreciate, and the verbal banter we had with each other. Images of what they might do to her flashed through my mind and I shook them away.

  A new determin
ation filled me as I took each step down the basement stairs with the utmost silence, moving closer to the soft glow that lit the room.

  Candles burned throughout the basement. The heat washed over me and the fresh scent of death hit my nostrils. Brock and Lena stood only steps away from me while two men circled the symbol, chanting in an ancient tongue. One of them had short, spiked black hair while the other’s hair hung down to his lower back in frayed black dreadlocks. They looked like twins; their skin was smooth and flawless, and the color of a pale moon in contrast to their midnight hair.

  The short-haired Brother wore an ankle-length leather trench coat, a blood red dress shirt and smooth black dress pants. The other wore a biker jacket, a similar red shirt, and well-worn black bondage pants.

  Their deep voices echoed off the concrete walls and their magic filled the room as they moved around the pentagram in opposite directions. Rayna lay in the center, unconscious. She still had her pants on, but her feet were bare and her top half had been stripped down to her black bra. Small symbols were drawn over her stomach and chest, and strange glyphs covered her ankles and wrists. I couldn’t see if she’d been hurt, but as far as I could tell, the blood on and around her was painted on.

  Brock and Lena turned as Vincent touched down on the concrete floor behind me, and neither hesitated to attack. Vincent and I moved in opposite directions: I took the far side of the basement and he stayed near the stairs, both of us hoping to keep the fight away from Rayna.

  Brock swung his sword at me but I blocked it with my own. Sparks flew and Brock stepped back. He placed the tip of his sword in the flame of one of the candles and I felt his magic flow through the room. “I’m going to enjoy this,” he said. Silver and green flames ran down his blade as he channeled his element.

  He swung at me again and I ducked, a trail of green flame streaming over my head. I swung my sword at his ankles, hoping to catch him off guard, but he jumped over it and stepped back. He pointed his blade at me and magic exploded from the tip. The flames came towards me like a flamethrower stream. I wanted to turn his own power against him and push those flames back over his body, but I needed to hold on to my magical reserves for as long as I could. It was the only ace up my sleeve, and I still couldn’t control it very well.

  Balls of silver and green fire followed me as I ran partway up the wall and pushed off. I dove to the ground and flames crashed over the concrete in a colorful explosion. The heat made my skin tingle and I jumped to my feet, meeting his flaming blade with mine. I parried his weapon and smashed my elbow across his face. He stumbled back and I sliced down his arm from elbow to wrist. He stifled a scream as blood gushed from the wound and I pressed the tip of my sword against his throat. Brock dropped his weapon and fell to his knees, eyes pleading with me to spare him.

  Vincent and Lena were behind me, their swords clanging together. I turned to see Vincent smile at me and it sent chills down my spine. Brock took that moment as his opportunity. Before I could react, silver knuckles hit the back of my head. The wave of pain pushed me into darkness as I collapsed to the floor.

  When my eyes opened, everything was a blur and my skull pounded. Ropes around my wrists held me to a chair. As my vision cleared, I could see I was closer to the circle now. Rayna was still unconscious, and I could see swelling and bruises along her cheek bone. Dry blood covered her chin under a split and swollen lip.

  The Dark Brothers still chanted and circled the symbol, and Vincent was tied to the chair next to me. He looked to be in good condition aside from his being held by a silver chain.

  Brock and Lena stood guard on either side of us. Brock’s left eye had swollen half shut, and that side of his face had already started to bruise. He had a bandage wrapped around his arm and the blood had already started to seep through.

  Lena’s lips were both swollen, one cheekbone had a deep cut, and there was a vicious looking bite mark on her neck. Still, she was smiling as she watched the Dark Brothers. Neither she nor Brock acknowledged me.

  The warlocks were throwing the final ingredients into the symbol, covering Rayna in green and yellow flakes. A few drops of oil hit her stomach and slid down to the floor before the Brothers stopped, bowed to each other, and moved off to the side of the room.

  “Excellent.” A man’s voice sounded through the room, familiar to me, but I couldn’t quite place it. “It’s almost midnight. When the clock strikes twelve, we will start the bloodletting, the portal will open, and it will be the beginning of a new era.” The last piece of the puzzle fell into place when I realized whose deep voice it was.

  “Dad?” I said.

  I could hear the smile in his voice before I saw him. “Yes, son?”

  I tilted my head to look at him and my heart felt as though it was being ripped from my chest. I hated him for causing my exile, but I’d always looked up to what he was: the best hunter the Circle had seen in centuries. He was well-respected in the worldwide hunter community and highly feared in the Underworld.

  I opened my mouth to speak, but nothing came out. I choked on my own breath and stared at him with wide eyes. I hadn’t seen him in three years and to see him now, here, gave me feelings I couldn’t describe. The man of honor who taught me all I knew was behind all this?

  “I know, I’m probably not who you expected,” he said.

  “I don’t understand.”

  He looked out of place between the warlocks, dressed all in black with his sandy blond hair neatly cut. He wasn’t any taller than me, but had a thicker build. The skin I remembered as smooth and flush now looked pale and weathered. The dark blue eyes that matched mine dominated his face, but were framed by dark circles.

  “Control, power, heroism…pick one. Once I’ve achieved what others have only dreamed of, there will no longer be different territories within the Circle, no more separate districts. They will all be united under one banner. There will be no council, Chase, just me, a single ruler. I will decide what’s best for the Circle. There will be no more waiting on the word of the council to take action.”

  “The council is there to make decisions that benefit the Circle, not hold it back. All you’re going to accomplish is opening the doors to the other dimensions, letting pure blood demons in. We’ll be overrun, Dad. Things will be worse than ever.”

  Riley laughed. “You don’t understand, and how could you? This is for the greater good. I won’t just be opening the doors; I will be one step closer to having control over the demons.” My confused expression made him smile. “You’re so naïve, so young. This isn’t about unlocking the Underworld, Chase. It’s about power, control, and invoking Ithreal.”

  My eyes widened in disbelief. “Ithreal? Like the demon god, banished-to-the-Underworld Ithreal?”

  “Once the demon god’s power runs in my veins, the demons will not dare to challenge me. They’ll bow to me! The very power that created them will be part of me, don’t you see? I’ll rule the Underworlders too.”

  “Why would you want the blood of something you’ve dedicated your life to destroying? The purest form of that evil will be inside you! You won’t be able to control it.”

  Riley walked away, stopping at the edge of the Circle to look over Rayna.

  “It’s a shame you’ve been reduced to such companions,” he said, ignoring my comment.

  The fire was building inside me and my rage showed on my face. “That’s ironic, you’ve got demons all around you as your lackeys.”

  “They obey me! These lackeys believe in my cause and I can use them. If their lives are lost in the struggle, then so be it. Better they lose their lives rather than my hunters.”

  “You’re a hypocrite. You’re going against everything you believe in to gain control of what you’re supposed to hate.”

  The back of his hand connected with my face. Blood welled up in my mouth and I leaned over and spat it at his feet. The bloody saliva found his shoe and I looked at him with loathing.

  “You always needed to be difficult. You’
re just like your mother, trying to challenge my authority when I know what’s best.”

  “Don’t you talk about her like that!”

  “I will talk about her any way I wish. If you persist in your disrespect, you will only gain a new enemy. Trust me, you don’t want that. One day you will understand that what I’m doing is best for everyone. The hunters will no longer be fighting for their lives to defeat the Underworld, and the Underworld will belong to us and do our bidding. The war will be over. The sooner you understand that, the better off you’ll be.”

  “They’re people, Dad. They can’t be owned.”

  My father looked at me with revulsion, not for the first time. “Now I know you’re not my son. Listen to those filthy words! You speak as though they’re our equals. That mother of yours has filled your head with poison. I’d hoped we could put the past behind us and work towards this great cause together. Either I was naïve, or I have my work cut out for me. Once I show you what I’m doing is for a valiant cause, not an evil one, you will understand.” He looked at his watch. “But there is no time now. Today I will go into another world and complete the first step towards invoking Ithreal’s power. Once you understand the potential, you will change your mind, I promise you.”

  “I won’t let that happen,” I said, but Riley ignored me.

  He turned to the long haired brother. “Darius, is everything ready?”

  The warlock stepped forward and his long dreadlocks swayed as he moved. “Everything is prepared,” he said. He bowed his head and stepped back.

  This mighty Dark Brother bowed to Riley Williams? I understood that the Underworld feared my father, but to see they were obeying him, treating him as their ruler, surprised me. Why would they support his cause when his success would cost them their freedom?

  “Excellent. Prepare the girl for the bloodletting, and remember, be careful with your blades. We need her alive,” Riley said. He reached into his jacket, pulling out a vicious-looking knife. He wore a smile I didn’t recognize as my father’s.

  The Brothers stood at the border of the pentagram, near Rayna, and drew their own blades. They each took one of her wrists while Riley moved to her feet and gripped both of them together.