Midnight Falls (Sky Brooks Series Book 3)

by McKenzie Hunter

  “She’ll be fine. He’s more of a nuisance than a threat,” Ethan added.

  Gavin scoffed, eyes narrowed to small lines. “She can’t move her legs. He’s not just a nuisance; he’s a problem. It is because of him she is like this,” he responded.

  “It was an unexpected event,” Sebastian, said firmly, his patience thinning with each word.

  “And that makes it okay with you?”

  “No it’s not okay, but you not changing and being an irrational ass isn’t going to help either. You want to protect her, so do we—”

  “If you really wanted to protect her and this pack, we wouldn’t have gotten involved. So damn what if Gideon had died? He’s not the ruler and probably never will be. What did saving him do for us?”

  Gavin attempted to toss off the anger, but it was still there, radiating off him. Sebastian and Ethan remained surprisingly calm. “I don’t think I am going to change this time,” Gavin said.

  I don’t think I am going to change? Were there choices? Okay, I choose not to change either, from now on.

  “Just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should. She’s scared and you seem to comfort her. She needs you at your best. You’re a jackass when you don’t change. Go change so that you can be there for her, because she needs you better than you are now.”

  Sebastian was trying to appeal to Gavin without it becoming physical. He had found his Achilles; Gavin’s anomalous friendship with Kelly had given Sebastian leverage and he wasn’t above exploiting it. We all had one. Ethan’s was Josh, and although he would never admit is, so was Chris. The pack was Winter’s. Abigail had her place, but if at any point Winter felt it would have compromised the pack too much, I doubt she would have helped.

  Oddly, being someone’s weakness had its benefits. They were protected as though they were part of the pack. The moment Kelly was injured, it cemented Gideon’s safety even if he hadn't recovered, because they had to fix Kelly. There was a certain comfort in it. Because I saved Winter last year, despite declining an invitation to the pack, Sebastian had protected me. His protection bordered on the side of extreme psychotic, but it was his way. It was like yanking you out of the way of an oncoming car, but breaking your arm in the process. Yes, you were safe, but you had a fractured arm.

  He stepped closer to Gavin. Everyone needed him better than he was now. You could feel his tension; it was like an overstretched cord, that if barely touched, would snap.

  “I’ll be fine.”

  Sebastian was about to lose it. Gavin had pushed him to the end of his patience and it was starting to show. Sebastian stepped closer to Gavin, his voice a low rolling thunder. “You will change and you will do it now. There will not be any more discussion about it. Do you understand me?”

  Gavin attempted to hold his gaze, a subtle challenge, as the amber rolled over Sebastian’s eyes, his body tensing as he reared back slightly, prepared for what was inevitably about to end in violence. Gavin retreated, slowly turning and moving in graceful strides to the back of the house.

  Gideon was perched on the edge of the bed talking to Kelly when I checked on her. She had eaten about a fifth of the burger and was nibbling on the fries Gavin had brought her earlier. The veil of optimism had dropped and she had succumbed to the idea that she was going to remain like this, a paraplegic from an unknown elven creature. Abigail and Josh had been gone for hours and it was nearing eight o’clock.

  I had just decided to stay with her, when I heard the gentle padding of paws against the tiles. I peeked out the door and saw a panther with clothes gripped in his teeth, walking toward the room.

  Yeah, that’s sanitary.

  When the panther made his way into the room, he nudged his way between Gideon and Kelly and propped himself up on the bed, nearly laying over her leg. She stroked his midnight fur, and a deep rumble reverberated in his chest as he licked his lips. Occasionally he presented his sharp fangs to Gideon, who got the message and took a seat across the room, making my presence there unnecessary. I left.

  CHAPTER 10

  Winter must have felt the same level of desperation and uselessness as I did because when I asked her to go with me, she agreed without any questions. It wasn’t until we were nearly fifteen minutes away from the pack’s house that she inquired about where we were going. When I told her it was to visit a Tre’ase, I expected a little more of a reaction and a lot more questions; but instead she simply shrugged and sat back in silence on the passenger side of the car.

  When the extended quiet continued, I thought she was rethinking the idea of going to see Logan, until she spoke. “If things turn out badly for Kelly, it’s my fault,” she said with a glower. Her emotions had worn heavy on her, hardening her features.

  She cradled the jar that held the sleeper close to her, occasionally looking down at the small creature that had caused so much damage. It lay pressed against the glass, and with the exception of its legs, barely visible.

  We pulled up to the little enclave, the borders separating it from the rest of the world. Just like our last visit, the world on the other side of the barrier was dark and gloomy. I couldn’t convince Winter to leave her sword behind’ instead she handed me the jar, which I placed in my canvas purse.

  “You will not need it,” I said.

  “But if we do, you’ll be glad that I have it,” she said as I led the way to the house. The air changed, the presence of a strong and toxic magic diffused into light waves in the air becoming heavier at our approach. Winter didn’t seem to notice, and if she did, it didn’t bother her.

  The door was open when we arrived. Logan leaned against the counter, and the welcoming smile persisted even after he realized that Ethan wasn’t with me. “Another visit so soon,” he said, his brow raising slightly with interest. Pushing up from his position against the counter, he approached Winter.

  “Hmm, this isn’t a social visit I presume,” he said, eyeing the sword at Winter’s waist. Minimally concerned with the weapon and Winter, he quickly dismissed her and turned to me.

  “Do you know what this is?” I asked, presenting the jar from my purse.

  Once again, he was by the counter, relaxing against it, the odd eyes fixed on me. “I will help you as much as I can as long as you accept this as a favor,” he said, his eyes widened, the art on his arms moved around it, aligning and realigning. Cool brisk of air pricked at the tip of my nose, as stifling magic swept through the air.

  “No,” I said. I pulled out my wallet and pulled out money, searching through the hidden pockets in my purse for more. Then I handed the money to him. Winter offered more bills, several hundred dollars. He frowned, then handed me back the money. “I have no need of your money,” he said.

  “What do you need?” Winter asked, her voice a low, clear, mesmeric tone. Her eyes changed, vertical slits narrowing and expanding in slow beats. Logan’s eyes remained fixed on hers as he moved closer. His breathing was thick, wispy and rushed. He leaned in, following her movement in odd trance-like state.

  “You will help us,” she said softly. “Identify the animal and tell us what it is.” Her voice a beseeching request that he seemed unable to deny.

  He remained close, concentrating on her eyes. Holding them, allowing the power of her words to linger, draping over her him as she waited for him to respond.

  There was a stretch of silence before he spoke. Then he laughed, a loud, boisterous sound. “I assure you that someone as young as you are does not possess magic nor the skills strong enough to control me.” He laughed again, ebullient and jovial.

  “A snake.” His look of mild interest stirred into a newfound appreciation as he studied her. “Your kind didn’t look like this before either.” His finger slid playfully over the bridge of her nose. Then he tapped the tip of it.

  Did he just tweak her nose? This meeting was going to go downhill very quickly. But it didn’t. Winter had put aside her inimical tendencies in order to help Kelly. Instead she smiled, pleasant. A kind reflectio
n of his coltish behavior.

  He grinned. “Very pretty. Nothing like your ancestors, scaly disgusting things meandering about using their tails like legs to stand. They spoke as humans, but maintained the form of their animal. There were so many then. Are there now?” he asked.

  “No, there are very few,” Winter admitted.

  He smiled in understanding.

  I didn’t know if it was Winter or her answer that pleased him, but he relaxed as he turned to face me. “I will help you. Not often am I gifted with such a show.” He glanced over his shoulder at Winter again. “What can I help you with?”

  I handed him the jar. He examined it and then started to pour it into his hand.

  “It bit one of our friends, now paralyzed,” I warned him.

  “I appreciate your concern, but there are very few things that can harm me.” He dropped it out into his hands. His face became somber as he examined the creature. “I don’t know what this is,” he whispered.

  When he looked up, disappointment spread quickly over his face. “I don’t know what it is,” he repeated, the discontent replaced by frustration. “How did you get it?”

  “It was found on an elf,” I said.

  He stared off. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I am old, but at times I feel young and new. Things are changing so much around me.”

  “Change is overrated,” Winter offered sympathetically.

  He nodded graciously, but his drab look remained as he walked with us toward the car. It was odd that Logan strolled leisurely next to Winter, seemingly forgetting about my existence as he talked to her. Their conversation was too low to really hear, but Logan was deeply interested in what she had to say. He stopped just a few feet from the barriers and took Winter’s hand in his. “I am sorry I wasn’t able to help. I hope you do come to visit again.”

  When she gave a noncommittal answer to do so if she could, he was ecstatic. She maintained the same gentle smile until we drove away. She relaxed back against the seat. “He can’t leave past the barriers. It’s probably a curse or a ward he can’t break.”

  “What makes you believe that?”

  “You didn’t hear his breathing change along with the coloring his face. The closer he got to the barrier, the more erratic his heartbeat became, his skin flushed, and I could feel the warmth of it coming off him,” she said.

  I focused on the road, feeling inept in my skills. I hadn’t noticed any of that. How and when did she? Just when I had started to feel the apex of my failure, she said. “It’s not easy for me either. I have to try. Ethan and Sebastian don’t. Steven is pretty good at it too, and Gavin is better than them all.”

  “I should be better at it,” I said. No matter how confident I started to feel in my abilities, I was constantly reminded that I was just a novice in this world. Even Winter’s ability to charm me into following her commands, which she did two years ago when I found myself bound to a book. It was the same thing she tried to do to Logan. I gave in freely while it did nothing but provide him with a few moments of amusement.

  I could feel Winter’s eyes on me. “What?” she finally asked.

  “I was just thinking how easily I was able to be charmed by you, yet it didn’t have any impact on Logan.”

  “It wasn’t the same thing. When I did it, you were already in an entranced state. I just interrupted the source and redirected it. Pretty easy to do. I am not sure if it is my skill or my ability, but it isn’t consistent. I’ve practiced on many of the pack members, even on Abigail and Gideon. It only worked on Gideon, a few lower-level pack members, Steven and Gavin. It was a long shot with Logan.” The smile she gave me was a weak attempt and I pretended that it relieved my insecurities, but it hadn’t.

  It was close to nine when Abigail and Josh returned. Abigail fidgeted with her long braid as she spoke with Sebastian and Ethan. I could make out what she and Josh said; both of them having only normal hearing forced them to speak at a normal volume. Sebastian and Ethan always spoke too softly, barely moving their lips, which made reading them difficult as well.

  Both Winter and I had the same idea, and walked over to them.

  “So you have nothing?” Sebastian asked.

  “Mason didn’t take my request for assistance to help you at all well. And he must have put the word out because no one would give us any information,” Abigail said.

  Josh shrugged, his hands running through his hair several times. “Most people claim they didn’t have any idea what it is. I have a hard time believing that so many people were killed by this thing and no one knows anything,” he admitted.

  Abigail watched Sebastian carefully, aware that this wasn’t the end. She would not be able to leave with her brother until Kelly was whole. “Even if Mason could help, he will not. Now that there is an alliance with the witches, he has a renewed sense of power. He feels invincible and no longer fears you as an enemy,” she admitted.

  Sebastian scoffed. “Invincible? It will only be a matter of time before he no longer has any control, but he has foolishly rendered Marcia too much of it. Your people will not be any better off. Instead, they will become victims of her thirst for even more power. She will destroy you from within.”

  “I know, but he was chosen to lead and most follow him blindly. I share your feelings and have voiced it too many times, that now, I too have lost favor with him and most of my people,” she admitted, dropping her head.

  He was so angry, the natural color of his eyes disappeared in a sea of amber, exposing his wolf eyes. When he pulled out his phone, Ethan, anticipating his actions, spoke up first. “There will be no reasoning with him.”

  “Who else will have any information on elven creatures?” Sebastian asked.

  Abigail shrugged. “Maybe the witches. I doubt they would enter any alliance with anyone blind. They will know enough about us, maybe more.”

  That didn’t make Sebastian happy. His frown deepened and the little line that formed around his chestnut eyes resurfaced. He cursed under his breath.

  “She will not help without an offering?” Josh said, worried.

  We all knew what that offering was—to break Josh’s alliance with us. I doubt it had anything to do with Josh but more with the fact he had proven to be one of the most useful assets we had. Losing Josh would weaken us.

  “No,” Ethan blurted. He pulled out his phone. “Give me a minute,” he said and he ducked into the office.

  It didn’t take long for Ethan’s phone call to manifest something, Claudia, his godmother. Dressed the most casually I had ever seen her, she wore a pair of dark slacks, a white short-sleeved button-down, and a multicolored scarf draped over her shoulder. It was close to eleven o’clock; the gallery had closed hours ago, so these were her lounging-around-the-house clothes. Behind her stood a tall, slight man, his lips pressed into a thin line and his eyes drifting over everyone in the room. His flushed cheeks against the goatee were the only thing that stood out on his unremarkable features. His deep-set hazel eyes were hidden well behind a pair of dark rectangular tortoise shell glasses. Nervous fingers ran over the brown mass that was starting to prematurely thin at the crown. Dressed in a tie, vest, jacket and slacks, he looked as out of place as Claudia for a casual meeting, as he clung to a well-worn satchel. Even accompanied by the two tall, bulky men who probably could handle themselves in any situation, he still didn’t seem comfortable in the house.

  “I think he will be helpful,” Claudia said to Sebastian.

  “Claudia, thank you,” he said. “I owe you.”

  She shook her head. “No debts. It was my pleasure.” She looked in Ethan’s and then Josh’s direction, and the gentle maternal smile remained as she insouciantly slipped her gloves off and grasped Sebastian’s hand. He tensed, but allowed her to hold it for a long time. She smiled.

  He moved closer to her and kissed her lightly on each cheek, then whispered something, but it was too low to hear. As she released his hand, he said, “It is good seeing you again.”

 
She nodded. “And you too.” Before she crossed the threshold, she looked back at Sebastian, studying him with interest before giving him another faint smile before leaving.

  The gentleman cleared his throat, pushing his glasses up his nose before clutching the satchel closer to his chest. “You are in need of my assistance. What can I help you with?” His speech was so sharp and formal, it surpassed scholarly and found a nice place near haughty. For whatever reason, he was here and not happy about it. He looked around the room at everyone, his brow raised slightly at Abigail, then he frowned at her before returning to Sebastian.

  “Yes, follow me,” Sebastian instructed him.

  Dr. Jeremy was sitting at his desk, looking through the microscope, books sprawled around him on the floor and desk and a vial of blood next to him, when we walked into the clinic. He looked up at the stranger and hope gleamed in his eyes. Kelly eyed everyone suspiciously, while Gideon sat in a chair in the corner, a place where I am sure Gavin had not-so- politely extradited him too. Gavin stood next to Kelly and when he approached her, he stepped even closer and frowned at the arrival of the stranger, which was quickly returned.

  “Bernard.” Gavin greeted the stranger with a sneer.

  “Gavin, it is good to see you here. The new city must be a welcome change,” he said with a smirk.

  It seemed like Gavin was thinking of the many cruel ways he could respond, but after a quick glance in Kelly’s direction, he chose silence.

  Sebastian pointed to Kelly, and Bernard looked disinterested as he approached. His indifference continued as Sebastian explained the details of what had occurred. It wasn’t until Dr. Jeremy added that the paralysis was progressing and that the same creature had rendered Gideon comatose.

  “It was on you first?” he asked.

  Gideon nodded.

  Bernard looked puzzled before he turned to Kelly. “Madame, did things happen as they report?” he asked.

  Madame? Did they let him speak with other people? Or was he only allowed out of his cave for jobs like this?