Power of Rhythms

by Taige Crenshaw

  Blagden, the former Shadow King, had created the havoc for the Blackstones and none of them knew why.

  “He had to do away with any possibility,” Grayson Blackstone spoke as she shimmered into the room.

  When she came to form, beside her were Wesley, Peyton, Ian, Sinai and Sabra. Lethra stiffened and glared at Sabra, who smiled at him widely. She sauntered to Pandora and leaned beside her. Pandora shook her head.

  “Stop teasing, Lethra.”

  “I haven’t said or done a thing.”

  “You know your very presence does that.”

  “Yep, and if stubborn ass would get his head out of his butt, he’d not be so grumpy. He just needs to let go.” Sabra blew Lethra a kiss.

  He turned away. She chuckled.

  “You knew our brother was alive,” Savage said.

  “No.” Grayson went to her mate and leaned against his side. “I saw why Lethra being freed from his servitude was a much deeper thing to why he was there. I didn’t see the face of him.” She pointed to Zyric. “Just what happened.”

  “Let Zyric tell us,” Lethra stated firmly.

  “Still the big brother,” Zyric said.

  “And you know it.” Lethra grabbed the back of his neck and pulled Zyric to him. They touched foreheads and Zyric sighed, shuddering. Savage and Sin were next repeating the same action. Pandora, having witnessed them do the same things when they were kids, wanted to smile. But she wouldn’t because Zyric had hurt them with what he did—faking his own death.

  “This is all fine and so lovely that he is your brother but that doesn’t rectify what he did to my dog before I came to Blackstone Haven.” Wesley said.

  Peyton rubbed her hand along his back.

  Zyric pulled away from his brother and faced Wesley and the others. “I needed you to come to Blackstone Haven the way you did. It was necessary for you to meet Peyton as you did.”

  “What?” all of them in the room said.

  Shock filled Pandora at his words. The others looked as equally shocked and their expressions ranged from confusion to anger. “Let me explain.” Zyric crossed his arms behind his back. “Long ago, when Blagden was told by her what Lethra foresaw, they offered him the bargain that led to his enslavement to do their bidding. Blagden didn’t have Lethra leave right away. Blagden had Lethra’s agreement that when the time came, he would pretend he left then give himself to Blagden to use for what he saw fit. Lethra agreed to it all to save Sin and Savage.” Zyric glanced at Pandora. “For his plan to work, he had to have a compelling reason for Lethra to leave the family. It had to be believable. I was that plan. My death would make it believable enough.”

  “Blagden tried to kill you.” Lethra stepped forward. “Why?”

  “Two-fold. He always hated me—hated what I represented to the Shadow World. A hybrid born from the mating of the first triumvirate—our parents.”

  Pandora straightened at his words then the last piece of her memory was unveiled. It dawned on her what he was.

  “Shadower and Reaper.” Pandora shook her head. “Your scent, it reminded me of something and I couldn’t place.”

  “Yes.” Zyric grinned. “I knew it bugged you and it was funny watching you scowl like you are now.”

  She huffed and rolled her eyes before resuming her place against the wall by Sabra.

  “Their parents are the first triumvirate?” Sabra said softly to Pandora.

  “Were,” Zyric answered. “One of our dads died. He was murdered.”

  “Dad was not murdered,” Lethra, Sin and Savage said simultaneously.

  The men exchanged a look and each had surety and determination on their face that they believed what they said to be truth. They focused back on Zyric.

  “He was.” Zyric’s pain was plain on his face and in his voice.

  Instinctively Pandora sent comfort to him, hugging him in her power and soothing his soul. He glanced at her in surprise then smiled. She scowled, not sure why she had even done it.

  Zyric went back to his story. “Dad was murdered because of what his being a part of first triumvirate would mean. It was the start of something Blagden would not let come to pass. So he killed him and thought that would be enough. That is until what Lethra foresaw and she told him. That was when the deal was made with Lethra. There was a part you didn’t know or see but she did. My death would ensure Blagden would not die.” Zyric clenched his fist. “So he had to kill me and sent someone to complete the task. They failed because the Reapers had their own seer who knew what was coming. They saved me but thought it best to fake my death so Blagden would feel safe. At the time, I went along, I didn’t know of the bargain Lethra had made. When I faked my death, I thought removing myself from the equation would keep you all safe. I didn’t find out until later what Lethra had agreed to, but it was too late. I have been trying to find a way to get you out from where you were ever since, Lethra. I kept failing and it was frustrating. But a change was coming and that was because of a human man by the name of Wesley.”

  “What does Wesley have to do with this?” Peyton demanded.

  “The seer who saved me saw what would happen if you two met and what would if you did not.” Zyric looked at all of them then focused on Lethra. “He saw you would die. I could not let you die, big brother. So I made sure the meeting of Peyton and Wesley happened. It extended your time so I could keep searching of a way to free you. I was trying to find you for so long, big brother. For centuries I did everything I could to free you.”

  “That was not on you to do.” Lethra grabbed him again, holding the back of his neck. “I counted on that when I would have to leave and eventually Sin and Savage banished that you would be there to ensure the family was safe. When you died, I feared for our family and that Blagden would kill them just out of spite.” Lethra shuddered. “I never even knew who lived or was dead, as I was in purgatory. It was the worst part of being in there. The only thing I regretted.”

  “I would think killing innocent people would be a regret.” Sinai, who had been silent, spoke.

  “It was my survival, and my family versus yours. What would you have done?” Lethra released Zyric then stared at Sinai.

  “Killed your family to save mine.” Sinai didn’t hesitate.

  Pandora knew what she was thinking. Anyone who threatened someone they loved was an obstacle to eliminate. It was a basic instinct of theirs to protect.

  “Why would Blagden care about killing off the Blackstones?”

  “I can answer that,” Grayson said. “The location of Blackstone Haven and us being the Amazonian Guardians is important to the fabric of this world. If we are gone, it would have repercussions that would reverberate to the very earth and Mother Nature. Affect all beings.”

  She was right—it would be widespread, not just here but in the other realms. Blagden was a smart man to have started taking people out to forward his plan from so long ago. They were all silent then Sin started to pace. Pandora recognized the signs. Of all of them, Sin was the one who would think and figure things out. Sin was a master strategist.

  “Okay, I get taking out the Blackstones, but why all those centuries ago would he want to kill Zyric?” Sin suddenly stopped then lowered his head. “It’s not just because he hated that Zyric was a hybrid. He feared what he would be to him. A hybrid would kill him and he had to eliminate Zyric because he thought it would be him.”

  “Exactly. Although our parents mated as bond shadows, I was the only one of us who was a hybrid. I’m the second oldest, with Sin and Savage being after me. If things had played out for them to be jointly king, they would have made me and Lethra, as well as our sister, their princes and princess. The rest of our siblings would have been part of the force that guarded the king and princes and he would not have had a chance to take any of us out. Blagden knew that, so he couldn’t let it happen. Even eliminating Lethra by his bargain and banishing Sin and Savage, things would have unfolded with my killing him.” Zyric rubbed his hand over his face. “Th
ankfully, Blagden and the woman he forsook his mate for didn’t see the reason I would have been close enough to kill him—a friendship born between me and the son of the man who wanted to kill me.”

  “Fyodor.” Grayson’s eyes widened. “That is what he meant.”

  “What?” Savage said.

  “He told me there was something coming to Blackstone Haven that would reveal things that are unexpected,” Grayson said. “That was about you.”

  “Yes.” Zyric smiled. “Fyodor was the only Shadower that I allowed to know I lived. Lethra, there was no reason to fear for our family still in the Shadow World. Fyodor kept an eye on things to make sure they were safe, although he didn’t believe me about what his father had done.”

  “How could he not believe you?” Grayson asked.

  “I had no actual proof. His banishment of Sin and Savage was his right as Shadow King and he didn’t need to explain. Lethra was gone, seemingly of his own free will. The man who thought he killed me—the Reapers made sure he had memories of doing so—would not turn on Blagden. So I had nothing to show Fyodor to prove his father was a monster. For our friendship, he kept an eye on my family but still thought nothing would happen to them. His dad would not do the things I said. For centuries, he believed in his innocence. Yes Shadowers are brutal when necessary for survival, but to kill your own kind for no reason…that we do not do. When he found out he was wrong…well…you can imagine what that did to him. And it wasn’t his going after that woman either that showed him the truth.”

  Pandora thought of her own parents and how she would feel if she found out they were not as they seemed. It would wreck her. Knowing that Fyodor had had to oust his father to be king—she could imagine how hard that would have been if he’d believed in his dad.

  “If it wasn’t him going after the woman that told him the truth, then what was it?” Lethra’s brow furrowed.

  “He found evidence that Blagden killed Dad.” Zyric’s breath caught then he breathed out. “And it all goes back to that woman. He killed our father because of her.”

  “What does she have to do with it?” Sin said.

  “What she saw even before she and Blagden fell in love. She saw that our dad would be the right hand to the woman they all hated. I don’t know why that would have mattered, but to Blagden it does. So he killed our dad for it. Then as more got revealed, he started making plans for all of us, because of what she saw.” Zyric clenched his fist. “Eve came to me when I faked my death and for years I wondered why. She didn’t say anything, but I thought she knew something. She and Adam trained me, mentored me a while. Then when he died, she disappeared, but now she is back. Blagden made a mistake there when he brought her back and I hope it is one he regrets.”

  “This is a lot to digest,” Wesley said. “Although I’m sure your brothers are glad you are here in Blackstone Haven, from what Peyton has told me, you need permission from the Elder Council to be here. They gave Sin and Savage permission to be here and Lethra is under Sabra’s protection, so they won’t send him away yet. You, on the other hand, don’t have permission to be here. Sinai, you can eject him from town, right?”

  The glee in Wesley’s voice almost made Pandora chuckle. Zyric would have to do something more than explain to get Wesley to forgive him.

  “Although I would love to, I can’t.” Sinai glared at Zyric.

  “Why not?” Wesley frowned.

  Zyric flicked his fingers to the window behind him. A massive building as big as Conundrum materialized outside the window and glass walkways shimmered between the two buildings at each floor. Pandora narrowed her eyes then focused on Zyric.

  “What the hell are you doing?”

  “Revealing R&D Incorporated—our agency—in a spectacular fashion,” a female said in a melodious voice as she shimmered into view.

  Pandora wondered what Taye McKellen, the Death Demon queen, meant.

  “Zyric is the brawn and I’m the brain of our operation.” Taye smiled. “When necessary, we switch up what we are according to our mood and what is needed in a given situation, so we can get stuff done. Like, for instance, when we went before the Elder Council after Sin, Savage and Pandora left the room. They granted us permission to bring our company here. They also agree to grant anyone who works for us sanctuary to live here. Lethra, do you want a job? We need someone to help with training our men. You’ll get to beat them up. Work off some of that attitude you have by getting bloody.”

  “I don’t have an attitude. But I’ll accept the offer. I need something to do. Are they human or other beings? Not that it matters. I can heal anything I hurt, and they will hurt.” Lethra smiled and it wasn’t pleasant.

  “A mix. There, Lethra now has sanctuary in Blackstone Haven.” Taye glanced at Sabra. “And with him signing on, he won’t leave.”

  “He wasn’t going anywhere, anyway.” Sabra chuckled.

  Lethra glared at her but didn’t reply.

  “Are you the company that had our formula?” Wesley asked.

  “Yes,” Taye replied. “We acquired it from a human agency that had it before they could start to use it. Before we could figure out how to get it back to you, someone came for it.” Taye glared at the Blackstones.

  “Seems like you have been hiding a lot of shit, Taye,” Sinai said. “You know, you and Ryssa will have words about that.”

  Ryssa was the Blackstones’ sister but Pandora hadn’t met her yet. She’d heard a lot about her from Grayson and was looking forward to meeting her. Lethra stiffened and looked away. He’d taken Ryssa to kill her but had failed. As far as Pandora knew, she didn’t know who he was and that he was no longer a threat. The meeting of those two would be very interesting when it happened.

  “I know.” Taye shrugged. “She’ll bitch about it but then get over it.” She waved her hand. “Now you can get on with your reunion.”

  She strolled over to Pandora and Sabra before leaning on the wall next to Pandora. Taye slid her hands into her pockets.

  “Couldn’t you all come up with a better name than R&D Incorporated? Or at least not a name so arrogant as that it uses what type of beings you are?” Pandora asked Taye.

  The others started talking more about what had been revealed earlier.

  “Reaper and Death is a good name.” Taye grinned. “When we meet with people, they assume it is research and development. Those who ask to be sure…we tell them reaper and death and laugh. They think we are kidding. Hiding in plain sight is the way we run things.”

  “I don’t like that you have walkways attached to our building.”

  “You’ll get used to it. It makes it easy for the work we have been doing together. The humans who work with us need a way to get back and forth without having to go to the ground floor to get to your building,” Taye said. “Since you have been working with our people supposedly for The Klionhs, it seemed best. By the way, it was smart of you to use a placebo instead of the real drug. We don’t want that shit anyway.”

  “Then why the subterfuge?” Pandora said.

  “We needed to be close to make sure you didn’t use the formula. And Zyric being your bond shadow—he wasn’t going too far.”

  “But he was gone six months.”

  “Unavoidable and, believe me, he was pissed about it.” Taye glanced at her. “Fulfill my curiosity.”

  “About?”

  “If a Siren would let her bond shadow—knowing he was so close to shadow aspect—go there, without at least finding out if he is her water mate.”

  “Don’t be dramatic. Zyric is fine.” Pandora rolled her eyes. “Even if he is my water mate, for my kind, love is also needed to solidify the bond.”

  “Damn him. Zyric always has to make things so difficult. Let’s take off the blinders he is throwing out to block you.” Taye touched the inside of her wrist.

  Awareness ripped through Pandora and the air pulsed. The shadows crawled around her, trying to drag her in. She turned to stare at Zyric and gasped as she saw the shadows swi
rling at him, teasing him. One moment his body was whole then it faded and came back. It was eerie. Pandora looked at the rest of the room and realized no one saw it. Zyric was filtering what they were seeing. She met gazes with Lethra and saw she was wrong—the sorrow in his eyes showed he realized how close Zyric was to being drawn into shadow aspect—where Shadowers went when they didn’t find their mate to balance their power out. With the look on Lethra’s face, he wasn’t aware of who she was to Zyric. He was hiding that too.

  “You will not fucking hide shit.” Pandora snapped her fingers and shattered what he hid.

  Sin and Savage stilled then shook. The brothers looked at each other then Lethra before Sin spoke. “We cannot lose him when we just got him back. Mom and Father, how would we tell them?”

  “There is nothing you all can do, brothers,” Zyric said.

  “What is going on?” Wesley asked.

  “He is close to shadow aspect,” Lethra said softly. “I won’t allow it.” He drew his power and pushed out.

  “Hell no. I did not save you to lose you now.” Sabra set up a barrier around him. Lethra’s power zinged around the enclosure.

  “Release me, Sabra.” Lethra pounded on the shield she had him in.

  Sabra stepped forward and she collapsed to her knees but held her power. Pandora could feel the strain of it as she fought to stop him.

  “What is he doing?” Taye sounded more curious than concerned.

  “Only some of the older Shadowers can do as Lethra is going to try to do. If strong enough and they can do it, a Shadower can give up their time for another to keep them at least temporarily from shadow aspect.” Pandora frowned as the knowledge came to her.

  She didn’t know where she’d got it from but knew it wasn’t anyone in the room. The Shadowers, like many of the older races, were secretive about their kind.

  “I will not let you do that, Lethra.” Zyric shook his head. “You have done enough for all of us.”

  “As have you,” Lethra roared. He drew his energy then smashed through Sabra’s power.