by Raven Steele
She swallowed hard, nodding. “Okay. At least tell me if you’re okay.”
“Does Roma have something new for us to try?” I didn’t want to talk about last night, ever. And I didn’t want to answer Briar’s question. Because the truth was, I wasn’t okay. The thought of what had happened still made me gag. I clenched my teeth at the thought of Naburus, and what he’d done and how proud Korin had … a sudden idea came to me, lit up my mind like lightning.
Korin loved Naburus. More than any other vampire. Like a son. Just like I’d loved Faithe, like a daughter. Killing Naburus would be just revenge for Korin’s betrayal.
Excitement built up inside me, filling my chest and making my heart pound. A grin spread across my face. Naburus was much weaker than Korin, and he was spending time alone in that cathedral with the prisoners. Probably experimenting on them. I had to get inside, deciding right then and there that nothing was going to stop me, not when this opportunity to destroy something so valuable to Korin was so strong. I didn’t care how dangerous it was.
“Samira? You’ve got a crazy look in your eyes.” Briar leaned in closer to stare at me. “What are you thinking?”
“Nothing.” I continued to smile, which made Briar frown. She wasn’t used to seeing me so excited. “Just tell me about Roma. Did she figure out a way to get us into the cathedral?”
“She was going to try something new earlier today. She said something about feeling the barrier using elemental magic and see if she could get a soil sample from both sides. Something about that mixed with bat blood, bat brain, bat shit. Hell, I don’t remember what she said.” She shrugged. “All I know is whatever she’s making is going to taste terrible.”
“And Eddie?”
“He doesn’t know much other than he thinks that barrier isn’t just using fae magic.”
“Witch magic? Mixed with fae magic?” My blood chilled. What were we dealing with?
“Like I said,” Luke mused. “It’s too dangerous. We need to know more first.”
“What we need is to get past that barrier.” I thought of Naburus. He’d been getting past somehow. “There has to be a way.”
The sound of someone clearing their throat had me whirling around. It was rare for someone to startle me. When I saw who it was, my expression darkened.
Loxley stood in the door, her eyes dropping to the floor when they met mine.
“What’s up?” Briar asked her, her voice tense as if she too had been surprised by her sudden arrival.
“I need to talk to you guys in private,” she said, her voice soft.
“Can it wait? We’re in the middle of something.”
“I don’t think so.”
“That’s my cue then.” Luke walked over to Briar and gave her a quick kiss. “See you downstairs.”
As soon as he left the room, Loxley closed the door.
Briar dropped onto the end of the bed. “What’s this about?”
Loxley tugged at the ends of her dark hair and chewed at her lip. To Briar she said, “I didn’t mean to, but I overheard what you guys were talking about. Some hidden cathedral.”
“That was none of your business.” Briar’s words, filled with an Alpha’s power, chilled the room.
She cowered a little but didn’t look away. “I want to help.”
“Exactly how can you do that?” My clipped words held bite. I didn’t trust this young shifter.
She sighed, her sky blue eyes drifting to the window. “I need to tell you something about me that no one else knows, and I’d like to keep it that way.” Loxley looked back at us. “I have a rare family tree. I’m not just a shifter.”
Briar’s eyes flashed to mine but neither of us said anything as we waited for the truth.
Chapter 25
Loxley inhaled a deep breath. On her exhale, she said, “My father was a shifter, but my mother was something else, a half-breed.”
“What species?” I asked.
“If I tell you, you both have to swear not to tell anyone else. It could mean my life. Maybe even yours.”
Briar rose to her feet. “You can trust us.”
Loxley nodded. “I do. That’s the only reason I’m going to tell you the truth. I think you genuinely want to protect our pack, and everyone else for that matter.” Her gaze shifted to mine. “Even you. You’re not like other vampires.”
Uncharacteristically, I swallowed hard.
“What is it?” Briar gently encouraged her.
“My mother’s father was a fae, and her mother was a—” She paused, her brows furrowing. “A Red Tree witch.”
I sucked in a breath, my pulse suddenly racing. “That can’t be.”
Briar scrunched her nose. “What’s wrong with that?”
“The Red Tree Witches were killed hundreds of years ago,” I explained. “There shouldn’t be any offspring.”
Loxley lifted her eyebrows and smiled shyly. “Surprise?”
“How were they killed?” Briar asked.
“Vampires,” I whispered, remembering the powerful coven, the only one to ever rival Korin’s. They were mostly quiet now as their numbers had dwindled over the centuries. “In one evening, they managed to wipe out all the Red Tree witches.”
“My ancestor escaped,” Loxley said. “We’ve been in hiding ever since.”
I approached her slowly. She backed up until her back hit the closed door, her eyes wide. I stopped just in front of her and stared into her eyes, searching for deceit. If she was lying, I couldn’t tell. I knew upon first meeting her there was something different about her, but I never suspected something like this. Although, I couldn’t write off her being the Phoenix in disguise just yet either. Maybe this was a trap.
Creating space between us, I asked, “How can you help us?”
“The cathedral. It was one of the first things I noticed when I went into Hell's Peak, but I was weirded out when no one else could see it. But then I figured it must be because of the fae in me. So I’ve been watching it, exploring it—”
Briar jumped to her feet. “Exploring? Are you saying you can get past the barrier?”
She nodded. “I saw you two the other night and was shocked when you both saw it, too. Do you guys have fae in you?”
“No. Just powerful friends.” I folded my arms.
“From Black Glen.” She didn’t sound surprised. “Good allies to have. Have you meet Oona? She’s amazing.”
Briar snorted. “She’s something.”
“How do you get past the barrier?” I asked, wanting to move this conversation along.
“That’s where I’m not sure, but I have an idea. Since we all have access to fae blood, then that must not be the key.”
“It’s your Red Tree witch side,” Briar said.
She nodded. “I think so. I have yet to encounter any magical spell that works against me.”
I studied her, wondering how she’d gone undetected for so long. Her mixed race must’ve done it. “That doesn’t surprise me. Red Tree witch magic is extremely powerful.”
“Can you do anything cool with it?” Briar asked.
“Besides the fact that no spells bother me?” She shrugged. “Not much. I only seem to have a sixth sense of things. Not sure how to explain it, but most of the time it’s useless. I don’t think I have enough of it in me. Although, my mother used to say my magic could come later when I embrace my fear. Not sure what that means.”
“What have you seen at the cathedral?” I asked.
“A couple vampires come in and out. One of them has an IV pole with him. And some super tall bald guy with a bunch of Hydes. They come and go.”
“How many Hydes?” My mind began making calculations.
“Hard to tell. I only started watching it a couple of weeks ago, but at least a dozen daily. And I don’t think I’ve seen the same one twice.”
Twelve Hydes a day for fourteen days. “That’s potentially one hundred sixty-eight Hydes.”
Briar and I shared a worried glance.
“The vampires you saw,” I began. “Were they the same ones?”
“Yes. Always the same two. One has black hair and kinda spooky silver eyes.”
A silver-eyed vampire … why did that sound familiar? I looked up at her. Zane. Naburus had mentioned him last night, too. How was he involved?
“The other one with that pole looks kinda sickly, in more ways than one.” She visibly shivered.
“I know him.” I licked my lips in anticipation. I’d assumed Naburus would be there often, but this confirmed it. I was ready to kill that disgusting vampire with my bare hands.
“What else?” I asked.
“They usually come with three or four humans or sometimes other supernaturals.”
Briar groaned. “More victims to turn into Hydes.”
Loxley frowned. “They didn’t look like victims.”
“Because they were compelled,” I explained.
Briar rose from the bed and picked up a silver dagger off the floor. “How much of the cathedral have you explored?”
“Not much. There were always too many Hydes, but I did manage to get in through a side door that I haven’t seen anyone use.”
Briar rolled her shoulders back as if to get rid of sudden tension gathering there. She shoved the blade into her boot. “What about security?”
“I found a route that’s not watched.”
“How?” I asked.
“Remember that sixth sense I talked about? I just trust it to guide me in certain situations. It’s never led me astray.”
I stepped toward her, making her flinch. “You just trust your gut? Sounds like a trap to me. How are we supposed to trust you?”
She looked at me as if I was the dumbest person alive. “Are you serious? You’re like the toughest vampire I know. Do you really think I’d lie to you? You’d kill me without blinking!”
“That’s true,” Briar confirmed. “She doesn’t blink. Not even when she kills people. It’s disturbing.”
I continued to stare at Loxley, trying to get a feel for her. “If you are lying, I will slit your throat. I don’t have time or the patience to be merciful.”
Briar walked to my side, also glaring at her. “You’ve been a good friend and a loyal shifter to our pack. But, if this is a trick, I’ll hold you down while Sammie here does what she does best.”
“I get it! I’m not lying. I’ll prove it to you.”
“How?” Briar and I asked at the same time.
“Let’s go there right now. I’ll show you.”
Briar and I looked at each other, silently communicating. The only way to know if it was a trap or not was to just go. Briar shrugged. “I’m game if you are.”
Someone knocked on the door, then Aris’ head popped into the room. His gave me an exasperated look. “You left me downstairs with all those crazy shifters, one specifically.”
Briar grinned. “Glad you’re getting to know the pack.”
“Yeah, me too.” He didn’t sound so sure about that. He tugged at his hair, pulling it behind his ear. “Anyway, someone named Roma showed up. Says she has something for you.”
We left the room immediately, with Aris on our heels. I turned to him, pausing to let Briar and Loxley go ahead. “Have you heard from Oz?”
“He went to the Ames de la Terra.”
“Why?”
He eyed me sideways as we walked forward. “He was worried about Mateo.”
“Huh?” I sounded like Briar, but I was genuinely confused.
“Apparently, you guys didn’t have enough weapons. Mateo had given his to someone else. Oz thinks he wouldn’t have been hurt so badly if he had had one, so he returned and has been helping to make more blasters.”
It was hard for me to admit it but Oz’s weapons had been instrumental in helping us get away. “Oz saved Mateo.”
“Oz said Mateo helped him too. He didn’t say how exactly.”
I thought about this and wondered if when they had left the college they had run into more trouble. But they had helped each other, and that was huge. “Mateo hitting it off with a human. I would never have guessed.”
“Mateo doesn’t get along with humans?”
We began to descend the steps leading into the living room. “Let’s just say, it’s been a while since he’s befriended one.”
Fire Ridge was crawling with shifters, their smell permeating the air. I moved to the corner of the room away from the madness. Aris joined me while Briar talked with Gerald about security. I could smell steak and chicken cooking on a grill outside. It reminded me of my own growing hunger.
Roma caught my eye. Beneath a purple cardigan, she wore a long black, layered skirt. Her hair had been tied up in black ribbons, but much of it had fallen loose around her face.
“Good to see you, Samira.”
I nodded in reply as Roma led us back toward Briar’s office. Loxley and Aris followed. Briar came next after asking Gerald to come, too.
As soon as the door closed, I asked, “What do you know?”
She settled into the sofa. “Earlier today, Owen and I spent our time working on the barrier surrounding the cathedral. While we were there, a big guy with a beard and a tattoo of a demon on his arm approached us.”
I immediately perked up. Rocky. “What did he do?”
“He gave us this.” She showed me a large manila envelope. “Said to give it to you.”
“How’d he know you and I are working together?”
She shrugged her shoulders. “Beats me.”
“Did you look inside?”
She nodded and reached inside. She pulled out several photos and dropped them on top of the desk, spreading them apart. We all gathered around and studied them. They were photographs of different parts of Raven Street, many with people in them.
Briar pointed to the corner of one of the photos. “What’s this? It looks off.”
In the photo, the sun was shining bright, reflecting off the metal of nearby roofs. There were maybe half a dozen people in the photograph, walking on the sidewalk. A couple of cars driving on the road. But in the top right corner, something had blurred the brick building behind it as if someone had spilled a chemical on that part of the image and swirled it around to distort the picture.
Roma smiled. “That is rare footage of an ‘other world’. For those who can’t see it with a naked eye, sometimes photography will capture glimmers of it. Most people try to explain the strange phenomenon as problems with the camera lens or tricks of light. However, those in the magical community know this is caused by magic.” She looked at each of us. “Powerful magic can create a tear in space, allowing a new world to be created.”
“So clearly this is a fae thing, right?” Briar asked, looking between Roma and me.
Roma leaned back brushing aside her long curly hair away from her face. “As far as I know, because of their long life spans, they are the only ones who have learned to manipulate the earth’s elements enough to create the abnormality.”
“What about the Red Tree witches?” I asked, glancing sideways at Loxley. Her eyes widened fearfully.
Roma frowned. “The Red Tree witches were probably powerful enough to do the same thing, but they were destroyed a long time ago.” She paused, concern growing in her eyes. “What made you ask about them?”
“Just an observation.” I lowered my gaze back to the photograph. I wouldn’t reveal Loxley’s secret, not unless she betrayed us, but it was interesting to hear confirmation of what I already knew: the Red Tree witches could’ve created something like the cathedral. If there was one of them, there had to be more. I wasn’t naive enough to believe Loxley was the only one in existence.
I grabbed a photo, pulling it close to inspect it. It was of two men. One was clearly Naburus with his IV pole. The other one’s face was cut off, as if he was disappearing behind an invisible wall. He looked similar to Zane, but I couldn’t be sure.
Briar cleared her throat. “How do we get past the barrier?”
&nbs
p; I glanced at Briar, confused at first. We already knew how to get past the invisible shield thanks to Loxley, but then I caught on. She was protecting Loxley’s secret just like I had. We couldn’t tell them how we knew to get through without outing the young, cross-breed shifter.
“That’s the tricky part.” Roma tapped each of her fingers in rhythmic patter across the envelope on her lap, her mouth pressed tight. “Owen and I made something I hope will work this time, but bear with me. This is unlike anything I’ve done before.”
The door opened and Mateo appeared in the doorway. It was strange seeing him without Angel by his side. His long hair was loose, instead of in his usual ponytail, and it brushed over his shoulders as he moved. I avoided eye contact with him, still sick about how he’d seen me kneeling in front of Naburus. But then he touched my arm and a torrent of heat raced down my spine.
“I got here as soon as I could.” His fingers twisted into mine and held them firmly. I sucked in a quick breath and leaned into him, not realizing until now just how much I needed him.
Briar cleared her throat and looked at Roma. “Please continue.”
Roma reached into the folds of her skirt and withdrew a small vial. “Try this. I hope it works, otherwise I’m lost for ideas.” She handed it up to Briar. “It’s a mixture of liquid iron, holy water, and dirt from the oldest and most sacred graveyard in the city. Plus we think we managed to capture a magical particle of the barrier, which we’ve added to the concoction. We believe this specific combination might get you past the barrier.” She paused, doubt on her face. “We hope, anyways.”
Briar studied the contents. “This isn’t going to give me herpes, is it?”
The corner of Roma’s mouth turned up slightly, and she shrugged. “Honestly, we don’t know what the hell we’re doing, but this is the best we got.”
I leaned away from Mateo and snatched it. “It’s worth trying. Should we go?”
Briar nodded, then glanced at Loxley. “You can come, too.”
“I’m coming too,” Luke said, sidling up to Briar, giving her an apologetic look. “I’m not leaving this time.”
“Me too,” Mateo added. He glanced at me quickly.
