Crossroads

by Jennifer Ann Reed

  Our group continued fighting the shadows which had squeezed past the thin crack in the gate, but we wouldn’t be able to hold them off forever. More than fifty gray wolves joined the fray and shifted to two legs swinging spiked maces and throwing spears, but Brannon and the two others remained where they were. They watched the commotion with stone faces as a few of the newcomers were swept up in the air and drained.

  We fought nonstop, swinging and jabbing, but our blades passed through the mists without causing then any harm. How were we to beat a foe who didn’t seem to have a weakness?

  Solid fingers escaped from the broken gate and Lilly lunged forward slicing them off at the knuckle. The owner of the severed digits yelped in agony and Lilly smiled victorious at having stopped a new addition from breaking through the gate. I gasped in horror as one of the shadows swooped in, taking her feet out from under her and lifting her by the ankles into the air. This couldn’t be happening.

  “Lilly!” The stranger with the piercing eyes held Brannon in place.

  Gwen screamed and broke out of formation, lunging for her mother, but she wasn’t able to reach her. As the shadow pulled Lilly towards its wispy head, a mammoth gray wolf leaped into the air. It connected with Lilly and she plummeted to the ground, but the wolf was caught in the Death Dealer’s macabre kiss. Lucian dove, catching Lilly a foot above the earthy knoll and raced back to our group with Gwen in tow.

  Mournful howls permeated the air as the massive gray wolf shifted into the mocha husk of the Hulk like man I knew. The Death Dealer dragged the last bit of the man’s life force from his lips. No! Chad wasn’t dead. He couldn’t be. I must be seeing things. It can’t be him!

  One more glance confirmed my worst fears, and my grip tightened on my katana as more tears poured down my face. The Warden who I’d grown so close to, who protected me at school, made me laugh when I wanted to cry, and told me about my family history, was gone. The sounds of metal clanging and vicious war cries faded to a dull roar in my ears as I watched Chad’s empty brown eyes cloud over. His lifeless corpse plunged to the ground as the Death Dealer searched for its next meal and sound popped back to normal like I’d broken the surface of water.

  “Kitra!” Uncle Kalen dodged a shadow. “Move!” Move? Didn’t he know Chad was gone? Never to come back. “I said move!” He yanked me toward him and followed our group around the hill.

  I glanced back and saw the crack in the gate widening. A fingerless fist breached the entrance and red eyes glared back at me. Now, I knew why we were running. I tripped over my own feet as a creature darker than oil with horns adorning its head pushed its chiseled torso into our world. The orange light was swallowed by the prisoners clambering to break free of their cell. Woeful groans and baleful wails encouraged the grotesque male to wiggle faster.

  “Abaddon!” Lucian’s bellow set the two strangers who stood with Brannon into motion. Was this the name of what was half out of the gate? And why did it garner reactions from the male and female who now raced to our position?

  “What’s Abaddon?” Uncle Kalen jerked his head in my direction at my question.

  “Who is Abaddon is a better question.” Uncle Kalen dragged me behind him. “Abaddon is the Destroyer, King of the Wraiths. If he gets out, we’re doomed.”

  Shrieks of terrified shifters and vampires who were being plucked from the ground in their mad dash from the gate drowned out the ruckus Abaddon and his minions created.

  “How can we stop him from escaping?” If he was as scary as everyone believed, then why were we running? Why weren’t we fighting to stop him?

  “You don’t.” He pointed at the man and woman dressed in white and black. “They do. Lira is a Spell Dancer and she can reset the spells to close the gate.”

  “So why was she waiting around in the trees just watching?” I saw red and clenched my teeth. “If they had acted sooner, Chad would still be alive.”

  “I don’t know.” Uncle Kalen ducked from a passing shadow, pulling me down with him. “Do you think you can hit the Death Dealers with energy?”

  “I’ll try.” I took a deep breath and saw Chad’s broken body on the ground. I wanted to destroy the being that killed him and still continued to feast on innocent people.

  An explosion sent everyone to the ground and Uncle Kalen flattened himself on top of me. Fragments of soil and chunks of rock rained over us. Boulders flew from the trees at their intended targets, but passed through the onyx mists. The stranger with dark curly hair ran in front of his female companion, protecting her from attack with a flick of his wrist.

  “Josiah is an earth elemental.” Uncle Kalen moved off of me. “He’s the one causing the ground to quake.” He would’ve been useful earlier. The more I heard about Lira and Josiah, the more malicious my thoughts became.

  These people could have changed the tide for us earlier. Maybe the gate wouldn’t have cracked. My magic flared and flowed a fiery trail through my veins as it searched for release. My legs wobbled as the hill trembled again, but I was able to stand.

  “Aim for their chests.” Uncle Kalen rose to a crouch. “It might work to take them out.”

  I lobbed the first of many violet energy orbs at the Death Dealers. Silver and hazel eyes studied my onslaught as they made it to the halfway point to the gate’s hill. I ignored their scrutiny as one of the shadows dove towards a female shifting into a smaller gray wolf. Not this time, buddy.

  My magic slammed into the mist and a high pitched scream erupted from its murky maw. It’s misty form solidified and white streaks zigzagged, creating a spider web before it shattered and rained tinkling opaque glass to the earth. I just killed a Death Dealer! Josiah pointed above my head as he flung another boulder. My eyes turned to the heavens to see the sea of blackness hovering above my head. Crap! That wasn’t good!

  I slung multiple balls of purple light at the crowd and a few hit their targets, but they scattered and flew at me from different directions. Yellow orbs soared from below the hillside. Ryn scurried over its crest and grinned. Where had he gone? I thought he was with us earlier. Ryn was covered in bits of grassy clumps still clinging to his glistening armor.

  “I aided some wolves which were getting swarmed by our pesky flies.” He threw more magic at a group of Death Dealers as they descended on the field.

  “Thanks for the help.” Another of my orbs found its mark.

  Ryn and I whittled the Death Dealers down to a handful as Josiah and Lira reached the gate. “Keep those things off her.”

  Josiah and Lira made it to the gate’s entrance as Abaddon got one cloven hoofed foot free. My Guardians, vampires, and gray wolves formed a barrier around them to keep the stray shadows off the newcomers. Ryn and I tossed more energy at the remaining menaces diving from the morning sky. Two orbs later, each of the Death Dealers which had escaped were vanquished. I swayed, exhausted from using the amount of magic I had so far. I noticed the vampires were moving back into the safety of the shady forest and asked the question that had plagued me since I met Amara.

  “Do you know how the vampires are able to be in direct sunlight?” Ryn and I moved back towards the gate. “In the movies, they burn during the day.”

  “As you’ve realized,” Ryn smirked in my direction and gave me a wink, “Our world is nothing like the movies. The sun can kill them when they first turn like you see in theaters, but they build an immunity to it. They all start out hiding in darkened buildings, but after a hundred years or so the vamps are only weakened during the day which makes it easier to kill them.”

  “That’s’ why they’re leaving.” I understood their retreat and why we never saw them in the camp during the day. I was about to ask another question, but the dance Lira performed stopped me in my tracks.

  Her pale hands swirled in large arcs and she spun in a tight circle with her braid loosening with each motion. She tilted and twirled until I was dizzy from watching her. A faint silver light pulsed just above her skin and when she twisted once more, the silvery c
loud hit Abaddon and the massive crack with a tremendous amount of force. I grabbed onto Ryn’s arm to stay upright as the earth groaned. Was its response to Lira or was Josiah taking control?

  “It’s not working!” Her melodic voice rang with an accent comparable to someone from Britain. “I need more energy!” Her silver eyes focused on Ryn and me as Abaddon wedged more of his oil slick body from the crevice.

  “I’ve got it!” Ryn’s armor creaked as he lifted his right arm and a fierce blast of magic erupted from his palm. Abaddon roared and his red eyes blazed, but Ryn’s attack did nothing to him.

  “I need the half-breed!” The crowd parted as Lira beckoned me forward with a curl of her finger. I was really starting to hate that phrase. She’s lucky I didn’t blast her.

  “Are you up for this?” Caden caught my hand and turned me towards his chest. “I see how drained you are.”

  “I can do this.” He crushed me against his chest. When Caden pulled back, his dead dropped and gave me a chaste kiss.

  As I walked towards Josiah and Lira, Ryn was staring a hole in Caden’s head. Now wasn’t the time to for him to have a peeing contest over me. We had more serious things to worry about like the massive creature about to escape the broken prison gate.

  I stood between the two yin and yang twins and closed my eyes while calling as much magic as I could to the surface. I imagined a purple fireball growing in my palms with the power to force Abaddon back into his pit. Several gasped as I felt the solid weight of the magic I produced. I was afraid to open my eyes. Afraid I’d lose control and set everyone ablaze.

  “When I yell now, force Abaddon back through the crevice. Can you do that?” I opened my eyes and they met Josiah’s hazel ones. His voice held a slow southern drawl reminding me of molasses flowing from a jar. The ball I held was almost as big as I was. Sweat was beading on my forehead, but my nose and fingertips were growing cold. My vision blurred, but I nodded as I blinked until it cleared. Lira got into position and I focused on Abaddon. He roared and his fight to break free became frenzied.

  “NOW!” Josiah’s yell was muffled by the chaos occurring behind the prison gate.

  I lobbed pure energy at Abaddon and fell to my knees, catching myself with my hands. My magic slammed into his chest and seared his obsidian hide, causing it to bubble and hiss before it seeped past his ribcage. Abaddon threw this horned head back with his red eyes closed. His painful scream prickled my skin and I scratched at my arms to alleviate the itching. Inch by glorious inch, he receded back into the crack until one red eye popped open to glare at us.

  Lira whirled, tilted, and leaped as the crack stitched itself back together. Sweat poured down her face and dipped below her white breastplate as her speed quickened. Abaddon’s eye faded from view as the last bit of the tear was repaired. Lira spun one more time and then landed in a heap, panting. The gate was finally closed again.

  “Darling, are you alright?” Josiah bent and helped Lira to her feet as cheers erupted around us. My uncle and Guardians rushed to my side and Caden pulled me into his arms. Brannon grabbed Lilly and pulled her to him while wrapping Gwen up in his other arm.

  “I’m fine.” Lira’s accent had thickened with her fatigue. “I added extra wards against it opening. Aelfric will need all the half-breed’s blood to open it again.”

  I was about to tell the woman off when Caden clamped a hand over my mouth, silencing my retort. I glared at my raven haired soulmate and I’m not even ashamed of what I did next. I bit the fleshy pad of his palm and Caden released me, sucking air through his teeth. I turned to give Lira a piece of my mind when shouts from the woods reached my ears. What now?

  “Over here.” A member of the gray wolf pack dragged a cloaked figure behind him. Why wasn’t the Dark One putting up a fight? Whoever it was let the male manhandle them until they were standing in front of us.

  “What do we have here?” Josiah let go of Lira and grasped the figure’s shoulders. “What is your name?” No answer came from under the hood. “I asked you a question.” Josiah shook the person violently and their hood slipped, revealing long golden locks and empty chocolate eyes.

  “Layla?” Allie stepped towards her, but Layla showed no recognition of my friend. Allie waved a hand in front of Layla’s face. “What’s wrong with her?”

  “Has she been spelled?” Josiah turned to Lira with an expectant look on his face.

  “I don’t feel any magic on her.” Lira placed the back of her hand to Layla’s forehead and then touched her cheeks. “Whatever happened to her must’ve been horrible to elicit such a reaction.”

  “Do you think it’s an act?” Brannon moved away from Lilly and Gwen once his pack began to snarl and snap at them. “Enough!” His mood change triggered many whimpers.

  Lira smacked Layla’s cheek hard enough to rotate her head to the left and leave a reddened print behind. Layla righted herself and faced forward with no emotion. The Layla I knew would never allow someone to hit her without striking back.

  “Where did you find her?” Lucian spoke to the man who dragged her up the hill.

  “Laying behind a rotted log, staring off into space.” He motioned to the forest. His thick red hair was knotted and appeared not to have seen a comb in years. A long, heavy beard reached to his mid-torso and his eyebrows were almost a bushy. Turquoise eyes fell to his feet in a show of submission to an alpha. “Someone tried to hide her, but didn’t do a good job.”

  “Do you think Aelfric will be back for her?” Caden scrutinized his ex-girlfriend.

  “He’ll be back.” Uncle Kalen’s gaze was locked on Layla. “Listen closely.”

  “Two heartbeats.” I blocked all sound around me and focused on my old classmate.

  “She’s pregnant? She’s not showing.” Josiah dropped his hands from Layla’s shoulders as if they were scorching. “This is an abomination!”

  “You don’t know if the child is Aelfric’s or not.” Gwen moved closer to Allie.

  “But what else would he want her for?” Curtis examined Layla’s stomach from where he stood.

  “Maybe it was a part of his plan if he couldn’t get to Kitra.” Caden put his arm around me and pulled me to him. “After he realized another hybrid already existed and was his mate, he didn’t need Layla anymore.”

  “So what do we do now?” Brannon glanced between Lira, Josiah, and the rest of us. I feared what the others were going to say.

  “It can’t continue to live.” Josiah spat on the ground. “The Order says all species born has to be of a sanctioned species. All others are exterminated.” His hazel gaze lingered on me and my body went on high alert.

  “Yes.” Lira put a hand on Josiah’s shoulder. “My husband is correct. We must follow the Order.” So both of the crazies were married to each other? Great.

  “No.” I pulled away from Caden and planted my hands on my hips to keep my swaying to a minimum. My body was ready to shut down after sending Abaddon back to where he came from. “No one is going to touch Layla or the child.” Why was I defending the girl who handed me over to Aelfric? Because she’s a victim too and the child is innocent I told myself.

  “On whose command, little girl?” Josiah stalked over to face me head on. “If it were up to me, you’d get the same sentence.”

  “The coven will take her.” Amara waltzed up the hill wearing sunglasses and a red long sleeve shirt with black pants and knee-high boots. “Once we know if the child is a hybrid, we’ll decide what to do.” She faced me and her expression said it’d be over her dead body before she let them touch Layla’s child. I sighed as relief lessened the load I was beginning to carry. I trusted Amara to keep them safe.

  “Alright.” Lira conceded to Amara’s suggestion. “The coven will hold her until the child is born. But now what to do with our other matter.”

  “What other matter?” I felt Caden and Ryn at my back. Lira’s saccharine grin melted as my two soulmates, my uncle, and friends were detained by several members of Brannon’s pack.
The big alpha’s head dropped. What was going on? The wolves struggled to hold onto my friends and family.

  “You helped open the gate, my dear.” Josiah’s honey voice became acid to my ears as I swayed. I didn’t do anything wrong. “Kitra Frost. You’re under arrest for treason.”

  Chapter 25

  I PROBABLY SHOULD HAVE run, but seeing my friends and family apprehended kept me planted to my spot. What would happen to them if I escaped? Would Josiah and Lira kill them? They were crazy. Josiah perused my body from head to toe, lingering in places that made my blood boil and I wanted to gag. If I was such an abomination, why was he giving me the creeper stare?

  “You can’t do this!” Uncle Kalen thrashed against the hands holding him, breaking loose only to be secured again. “Kitra is innocent.”

  “She didn’t open the gate!” Caden elbowed one of his captors, but the man stood fast. “She fought Jessie.”

  “You’re blaming the wrong person!” Ryn tried kicking the man on his right, but the guy jumped out of the way while keeping Ryn restrained.

  “That has yet to be seen.” Lira ignored her husband’s steadfast gaze he held on me. “The Council will decide her fate. Bring the shackles.” The same knotty haired man who found Layla produced a pair of silver handcuffs after he put gloves on.

  Lira held her hands out for mine. I gave my family one last glance before I shoved my arms out to the albino Spell Dancer. Lira snapped them into place and I clenched my jaw when the metal burnt my skin. I wasn’t going to give her the satisfaction of seeing me in pain.

  Brannon walked over and clapped my uncle and Lucian on the shoulders. “Protect my family while I protect yours.”

  His words were too low for the yin and yang twins to hear, but they didn’t alleviate my uncle’s frustration. He growled and yanked against his captors, but Lucian stopped in his attempts to break free, fully placated by the promise. I didn’t blame my uncle for not trusting the shifter. I wasn’t sure if I trusted him, but Brannon had lied to protect us multiple times. Was he playing the double agent? Only time would tell.