Slowly, everyone stood up and gazed around. “Is it over?” Tobias asked.
“Did that look like a banish to you?” Walter responded. “This is far from over, and it’ll be
back for vengeance.”
“Must be the main one in charge. The power the others held is nothing compared to what
this one has. Its drawing power from somewhere, but from what and who?” Jasmine asked.
“I don’t know, but I have every intention on finding out,” Rose assured them all. Something
else pulled at her attention. Squinting, she glanced around in several directions. “Storm?”
Viola walked over to her. “Is he contacting you?”
“He’s trying to come back to us.” Rose smiled. “I can feel him. He’s trying to come back!”
she gushed excitedly. “Come on, we have to hurry.”
They returned to the manor where Viola and Rose hurried to the bedchamber. Despair settled
in when she realized she might have made a mistake. “I don’t understand. He’s supposed to be
here.” Careful to not break the protective circle around the bed, she sat on the settee next to the terrace.
“Don’t despair, child.” Viola tried comforting her to no avail. “These things take time. You
never know what it is he might be facing down there.”
“How long do you think it will be?” She looked into Viola’s brown eyes.
The woman shrugged. “Days. Months. Years even. It all depends upon on his situation.”
Rose squeezed her eyes shut, trying to bring the emotions swirling around inside her to a
calmness. She needed to remain level headed, not just for herself and Storm, but for everyone else involved.
Chapter Seven
Storm blinked several times in relief while gazing into the yellowish blue flames of the fire.
He’d just witnessed Rose and the others uncertainty over the banishment of the last demon and
wished he could be there to guide them to the thing’s power source. Hope ignited inside of him at being released from the Netherworld so he could join them.
“No. This is far from over.”
So, just as relief flooded him, the man’s words stripped him of all happiness. “You just saw
what they did,” Storm challenged him.
“As I said, this isn’t over. Even if they destroy the last demon remaining, there will be more
to take its place. You see, this demon is being controlled by an ancient enemy of the McQueens.”
“Return me and let me help them figure it out.” Storm requested, as he wanted to scream to
Rose that he was safe while aiding them in battle.
“You’ll only be a distraction in your mental condition.”
“But the blood red moon is almost over. Return me while there’s still time,” he demanded.
“First, I’ve something to show you.”
“We’re wasting time,” Storm said on a growl.
“Patience never was your strongest point.” The man grinned and tossed some dirt onto the
fire. “Do you remember your search for Rose?”
“Of course I do.” Storm thought back to the time when he’d searched years for the woman
who was now his mate. A hunger like no other had driven him at the time.
* * *
Years Earlier…
Intrigued, and maybe half obsessed, Storm continued poking about the town until he’d
sensed her and that was just a few days ago. Her overwhelming presence drew him closer than
ever before, but quickly faded when he soared to the right. Out of sheer determination to find her, he’d neglected eating and even drinking.
Frustration swirled through him while circling the cluster of pine trees. He was searching for
the spot around the waterfall that would allow his entry into her world. She sure as hell didn’t exist in this one.
Storm’s dreams had started again and for many moons, the enchantress with the brown silky
smooth skin and dark brown eyes slipped into his dreams, enticing him, while capturing his soul.
He’d become convinced that this was his better half, the woman he’d spent his entire life looking for.
With a quick flap of his black wings, he sighed. Gypsy Rose was her name. At least that’s
what she’d told him in the first of many of dreams. For the life of him, he couldn’t determine why the same woman continued making guest appearances in his sleep. The funny thing was, as the
months and the years passed, each dream became more intense.
Soaring on a wind current, he closed his eyes and remembered her faint aroma with a touch
of coconut and cinnamon. Most often, she smelled of earth and fresh rainwater. Her oddly
colored eyes, he knew them to be brown, but the right eye possessed a gray haze around the area that should have been brown. When the light of the moon hit just right, it looked like she had one blue eye.
She had springy, thick coils of hair, descending past her shoulders with strands of gray
streaked throughout. Storm’s chest tightened when he thought of her smile and he opened his
eyes. Without her in his arms, and only in his dreams, caused the ache in his chest to intensify over the years. And it nearly drove him to madness.
Even with his strong tracking skills, he had been unable to find her. He’d searched for her in
nearly every state over the course of many years.
Maybe, she didn’t exist or was somewhere else. He was about to take his search overseas
when a gut instinct told him she was here. Despite his heartache, he’d never give up on seeking her out. He would search until the day he died and he hoped that wouldn’t happen. In a dream,
he’d seen a dark force slowly descending on her. It captured her, strangling the life from her. She was in danger and he needed to be there to help her fight it.
Storm grew tired. As soon as he landed, he shifted into human form and inhaled deeply.
Rose’s scent. She was all around this place, and he was so close, yet so far away. Was she woman or spirit? Perhaps Trickster had been playing him for a fool for the better half of his life.
Wearily, he walked to the riverbank and fell to his knees to splash cool water on his face. He
ignored his grumbling, empty stomach but gulped the crisp, water down, as though it would be
his last drink. Rising to his feet, he studied the cascading waterfall and squinted. Her presence had been stronger when he’d flown around the foaming cascading water but he couldn’t seem to
find the entryway into her world.
Storm decided to backtrack into Queensville and find a willing soul to give him the
information he needed. With a groan, he retrieved his clothes from beneath a thatch of trees.
Swiftly, he dressed while remembering the man who’d watched him like a hawk the day he’d
flown into town.
* * *
“You’d only been a raven shifter for the better half of two years. Do you remember the
driving force behind the need to find her?” the man asked, breaking Storm out of his memory.
“I’ll never forget that day,” Storm admitted to The Keeper of Darkness. Why hadn’t he
realized this before now? He went on to answer him, “I thought I’d never find her. You need to send me back, immediately.”
“Very well, then, but the most important battle you’re waging isn’t against any demon but
yourself, Storm. You’ve had your doubts and wondered if you and Rose were truly meant to be
together. You’ll find out now.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Storm lied.
The man’s eyes narrowed. “You don’t have to be honest with me, for I know the truth. A
demon could even see your doubts and insecurities. Do you realize how much of
a danger you put
her and everyone around you, in? Perhaps you’re no longer meant to have these powers and
you’ll realize it too. I’ll return you. But not as a raven.”
Storm shook his head. “What kind of game are you playing with us? Everyone is in danger,”
he continued. “I don’t see how this is helping.”
“Ah, but it will. You’ve often questioned your very existence, so now you’ll have the
opportunity to come face to face with the outcome or your uncertainty will be your undoing.”
Storm stared at him in confusion “I don’t—I’ve never.” Then he thought long and hard about
his self-doubts. Everything the man mentioned was true. “What about when a McQueen witch
passes? Who will carry their spirit to the Higher Realm?”
“Don’t you worry about that.”
“It’s what I’m meant to do. They depend on me to do what no other soul can, or will do.”
“You’ve often wondered if you and Gypsy Rose would be together if you weren’t a raven
shifter, and if that has any bearing on your relationship. Do you think you’re in her life just to protect her family just as Micah protected the McQueen clan in his time? Every fifty to a hundred years, a worthy warrior’s soul is imbued with the raven spirit and you doubt that? Perhaps you’re not deserving of what has been bestowed upon you.”
Storm shook his head. “Let me prove otherwise. My time on earth isn’t truly over.” He
straightened up. “I’m ready. Just tell me what I must do.”
“It’s very simple. If you lose your battle as a mortal, you’ll return to the Netherworld
forever.”
“And my powers?”
“You won’t need them down here.”
“I’ve never given up. You must know that.”
“But I’m not the one you must convince,” The Keeper of Darkness retorted.
“How do I get out of here?”
He pointed at a door. “Walk on through.” He smiled and began to laugh. “I’ll be waiting for
you, Storm Raventhorn. Oh…And…Beware of hitchhikers.”
Ignoring the man’s laughter, Storm rose to his feet and strode over to the door. When he
looked back, the man had vanished. Taking a deep breath, he entered the darkness of the doorway within the cave wall. Up ahead, he saw a shimmering light, almost like candlelight, but he wasn’t quite sure.
While he walked, Storm’s throat burned with a fierce thirst. His eyes watered. With every
step he took, he discovered walking had become a task. He felt himself being drawn in the
direction he came but he fought against it. His lungs burned and threatened to collapse without inadequate air. He continued walking at the sluggish rate, and the dim light ahead appeared to be further away.
A dark figure rushed past him and stood several paces directly in front of him.
Narrowing his eyes, Storm continued his journey.
Unexpectedly, the spirit charged him and knocked him onto his back. Its hideous long
fingers curled around his throat in an attempt to cut off his air supply.
Gritting his teeth, Storm reached up and punched the spirit creature several times before it
released its hold on him. Sucking in a quick breath of air, he rolled the creature onto its back, but it disappeared into thin air. Winded, he rose to his scratched knees and winced from the pain. The creature had raked its claws across his chest and he was bleeding.
He sucked in another breath, then rose to his feet yet again, determined to complete his
journey. No matter what, he’d make it back to Rose and the others. The little bit of time spent thwarting the spirit creature cost him greatly.
Up ahead, he could barely see the light. “Rose,” he sputtered breathlessly as he continued his
journey. Each step became increasingly difficult, making his leg muscles ache. The shortness of breath he began to experience didn’t help either. It felt like something wrapped itself around his midsection and squeezed.
Storm continued gasping for air as the walls of the cave began to swirl. A mist slowly
entered the passage and blocked his view. A presence made itself known, and without warning,
something plowed into him from behind. The force shoved him face first into the hard rocks of
the cave and knocked the wind out of him.
“Unnhh!” Jagged rocks pierced his flesh, and a warm sticky fluid turned his vision crimson.
Gasping for air, he realized it wasn’t as difficult to breath lying down than it was standing up. He moved his arms and his legs, and the heavy, weighted feeling no longer tormented him. Hastily,
he wiped the blood from his vision and continued his journey on his belly, ignoring the jagged
rocks grazing against the fresh wounds of his flesh.
While he crawled along the cavern floor, the dim light came into sight again and he realized
he was close. Biting his lip, he quickened his pace, hoping another incident wouldn’t set him
back.
“You’ve got to crawl before you can walk, son.” A man’s deep voice whispered along the passage.
“You’ll never reach them in time.” A female voice taunted.
“Shut the fuck up!” Storm shouted angrily as he continued his journey and noticed how the
jagged rocks changed to soft, loose earth he could easily dig his fingers into.
“Just a few more paces,” the man’s voice came again. “Don’t give up. Never give up. They don’t want you to succeed.”
“I won’t fail,” Storm’s voice came out in a bold huff as he savagely dug his bloodied
fingertips into the earth.
“You’re so damned powerless.” The female voice taunted. “Rose and her entire family will burn and there’s nothing you can do to save them. I should have destroyed her while I was inside of her.”
“You!” Storm’s anger escalated, but quickly he realized it was only a trap to set him back
further.
When the mist dissipated, a shapely dark figured formed, watching him intently.
Up ahead, the entrance came into view. It looked to be lit by candlelight and for a brief
second, he thought he saw Rose pacing back and forth. “Rose?” he gulped, and crawled along
further until the she-demon hopped onto his back, digging her claws into him. Storm reached up
and around, grabbing the thing’s long wiry hair and pulled. “Get off me.”
“You’ll carry me where I want to be. Then, I’ll finish your precious witch off for banishing
me in the first place,” the creature spat out with a haunting cackle.
“Obsidian?”
“Come to me, Storm,” Rose called mentally.
Rose’s voice snapped his attention to the portal in the cavern wall and he stood. Aggravated,
he twisted to the right and slammed the creature into the pointy rocks of the cavern until she
screamed. He continued walking, despite the pain in his body, with Obsidian at his heels.
“You will all pay for what you’ve done to me,” the creature called after him. “Selfish one,
will you truly risk bringing me back into the McQueen home?” she cackled again.
Storm smiled as Rose’s presence filtered through him, guiding him, bringing him closer to
her. Their strong mental connection had returned and her voice was audible. “Storm.”
“Rose. It’s Obsidian. She’s right behind me. She wants revenge.”
“Tell her to bring it. Bring your ass home. Back to me.”
With a smile, he gathered his speed, charging through the portal.
Chapter Eight
Grasping the black leather satchel in her hands, Rose stood directly in front of the portal, with Viola standing at her side.
“You ready for this, girl?” Viola aske
d her.
“As ready as I’ll ever be.”
Storm’s spirit emerged from the portal first and for a few seconds, it hovered around his
body until it slammed into him. With a woosh, Storm sucked in a deep breath and sprung straight up into bed. He wheezed several times then he was coughing.
The smell of sulfur assaulted Rose’s senses when Obsidian charged through the portal and
solidified.
Thanks to the protective circle surrounding the bed, she could move no further than the wall.
Struggling, Obsidian looked down at her body and narrowed her eyes before returning her evil
gaze to Rose and Viola. “What have you witches done to me?” she sneered.
Wrinkling her nose in disgust, Rose observed the charred skin of the demon and her yellow
cat-like eyes. Long black hair fell over her shoulders in a ragged, sordid mess, and her clothes were an olive green color.
“Say the chant, now!” Viola ordered.
Clenching the black leather bag in her hand, Rose mouthed the words with Viola that would
finally banish the demon to where it belonged. “Through darkness it came, escaping its pain.
Banish this evil for once and for all. Bind it in chains. In hell forever, it shall remain.”
When Rose tossed the leather satchel at Obsidian’s feet, the she-demon grimaced in pain,
and threw her head back in torment while being sucked back into the portal. Her curses and hisses echoed as the opening closed.
Before the women could even react, a tremor shook the house, knocking vases and vials off
the shelves of the bedroom. Pictures fell and shattered onto the floor as Viola and Rose lost their balance.
Rose made her way over to where Storm lay, and the tremors continued until everything
became quiet again.
Outside she could hear the car alarms sounding off and commotion from her relatives on the
lower levels of the McQueen Manor, but for now all she focused on was Storm. She caressed his
head in her arms and kissed him.
“His wounds need tending to.” Viola grabbed a white porcelain basin and filled it with water
from the bathroom. Then she gathered several herbs from Rose’s cabinets and emptied everything
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