Falling into the White (The Ancients Series)

by Christine M. Butler

  “You are a fool.” She turned with her concoction then, and walked over to Mikael. “I’m afraid this is going to hurt quite a bit. If you stay strong, you will live. If you give in to the pain, you will surely die as your mother did.”

  I was determined at that point that I would be the one to kill that bitch. I’m pretty sure Mikael was thinking the same thing though, so I was probably going to have to stand in line for the honor. I watched in horror as she began applying the goop she had in the bowl to her own face. I had assumed it would be applied to him. As I watched, in sheer train wreck style fascination, the woman in front of me transformed into me. It wasn’t really me, but her face was like looking into a mirror. It was eerie. Mikael must have thought so too, because he looked back at me then, just for a moment to reassure himself that I was there. She cut her wrist at that point, and began chanting words that I no longer understood. They were from a different language.

  I watched in horror as a thick, tar-black shadow emerged from the witch and then slithered across the floor towards the bars of the cages. It contorted and squeezed its shape in between them, to go settle itself around Mikael. He sat, still as stone, looking completely disgusted by the feel of the shadow wrapping around him. Mikael didn’t appear to be in pain, and I wasn’t sure if I could feel pain from my body when I was in a vision state. Sophia, on the other hand, wasn’t looking too good. After a few more minutes of horrible, screech laden chanting, she clutched her stomach and doubled over.

  Mikael was able to catch her hand as she stumbled too close to the cage. She snatched at it, trying to jerk free of his grasp, but it wasn’t working. Then, I heard a snap and a blood curdling scream went echoing through the mostly empty animal rescue building. He’d broken her wrist, at the very least.

  “Do something about this!” She shouted over to Antoine. “He’s your son.”

  Antoine grabbed the cup of liquid that Sophia had used on Mikael earlier and walked closer to the cage. He splashed some liquid from a cup directly on Mikael, and I heard that same sizzle from earlier, everywhere it made contact. He inadvertently released his hold on Sophia and she scrambled back from the cage, and his reach, quickly enough to avoid being hurt again.

  “He will pay for this,” she yelped as she cradled her arm in her opposite hand.

  “Yes, yes, in the meantime, is it done? He didn’t seem to be in as much pain as I remember.” Antoine was worried, and not about the fact that Sophia got herself hurt.

  “No, it didn’t work. You bet on the wrong son. He is her true mate, and they have a soul-share bond. There is nothing that can be done to break it.”

  “Then we use him as bait. She will come.” Antoine lashed out in a disgusted tone.

  “If she comes, she will come with an army.” Sophia pointed out as she wrapped her arm with some fabric from her bag of tricks.

  “Then, I guess we better be prepared for that. The good news is, Malachai tells me they already sent scouts out everywhere they thought we would be. Apparently, no one else knew about this place either. That’s to our benefit. It means they won’t know where to look for him. So, we can pick the place where we set him to lure her in. We’ll fortify, and be ready. I will get a hold of Malachai, and have him start preparing.”

  I moved to the other side of the hall, where I had been hiding. When I finally got Mikael’s attention I mouthed, “I will be back soon.” He shook his head adamantly, trying to tell me no. “YES! I will bring help.” He was still shaking his head. “I love you.” Mikael drooped further in the cage. He had heard what they were planning, and he knew I’d be in danger.

  “What about me? I thought you had another plan, in case this one fails.”

  “I always have another plan…” The edges of my vision were already graying out, lost to the fog. I tried to hang on to it, in order to find out where we’d be able to catch up with Zach, but I couldn’t grab hold again. “Will she be going with me again?”

  “Yes, she has to now, to recuperate.” Antoine’s voice rang out, and that was the last I heard as a hand rocked my shoulder back and forth, and I came back to reality.

  “Jess?” The familiar deep voice made me smile. “Jess, are you back with us?”

  “Yes, Evan, but we have to go. They’re going to move him soon, and they will have a trap laid out once they do.”

  “Where do they have him? Asi says they’ve searched everywhere.”

  “He’s at the rescue.”

  “What?”

  “Mikael was building an animal rescue, you know, for dogs.”

  Evan actually laughed. “Of course he was. That big sap. It’s always those damn dogs that get him in trouble.” He said it with love, and a certain reverence, so I let the comment go. “Do you have any clue where he was building the rescue?”

  “Um, no, but I know how to find out.”

  I dialed the shelter, “Hi, may I speak with Jackie, please?” I only had to wait a moment before her jovial voice greeted me.

  “This is Jackie, how may I help you?”

  “Jackie, hi. This is Jessica St. Marks. We met when Mikael brought me by on a date.”

  “Of course, how are you sweetie?”

  “I’m good. Listen, I wanted to surprise Mikael with a romantic dinner, and he’s working late out at the rescue trying to get it ready.”

  “I bet he is, those damn contractors have him a couple weeks behind now.”

  “Yeah, I know, and he refused to take me out there until it’s finished, but I think he really needs this. He’s kind of in the dumps about the delays.”

  “What can I do for you, honey?”

  “Do you know where he’s building the rescue?”

  “Of course, it’s out on Old Timmons Road. He has no neighbors out there for miles, so as soon as those contractors are gone for the day, you’ll have the place to yourselves.” I could hear the smile in her voice, and the insinuation.

  “Perfect! That’s what I was hoping. Thanks so much, Jackie! I owe you!”

  “You’re sweet. You just take care of that handsome young man of yours.”

  “I will.” I hung up the phone then, and looked at Evan, “did you get that?”

  “Yeah, sweetie.” He mimicked. “Got it.” If he hadn’t been smirking, I would have hit him. I forgot how playful Evan could be.

  “Let’s go, then,” I was slipping on my flip flops and heading for the door before anyone could stop me.

  “No! Jess, there’s no way in hell he’d ever want me bringing you there. Think about it. They want you! I’m not…”

  “It’s not your call. Now, let’s go. They haven’t exactly been kind to your brother. Your father just doused him with another round of wolf’s bane before I faded out.”

  “Jess, I don’t think it’s a good idea.”

  “Well, I didn’t ask what you thought. They’ve already tried to break our bond, can we go, before they find a way to succeed?”

  “Your bond?” He asked, his face clouded with worry

  “Yes, our bond. They couldn’t do it. We can fill you in on everything you missed later. Let’s get Mikael now.”

  Evan got ready to argue, but shut his mouth and followed me down the stairs and out the front door. Asi was behind him, and my father, Avery Daniels, and a few of his guys were coming too.

  Evan bypassed me quickly, jumped in his car and took off, leaving me to fill everyone else in on the destination. Asi didn’t wait, he took off, and joined Evan before he pulled out.

  I jumped in the truck with my father and Avery, while the rest of the guys hopped in the back. Ashley was standing on the porch with her arms tucked around her body. My mom was there, putting her arms around Ashley. As we pulled off, it was her worried face I was focused on. Her mate had just run out of the house after his best friend, without concern for how she felt about it. That was something they were both going to have to adjust to, and soon. I knew Asi was going to get an earful when we got back, and if he didn’t make it back, heaven help the peopl
e who did, and that included me.

  “What did you see when you were in the vision, Jess?” Avery was asking me, and I guess it wasn’t the first time, because he sounded impatient now.

  “Antoine was there with Zach, and a raven-haired woman he kept referring to as Sophia. Malachai will be off getting another site ready”

  “Of course he’d have her with him. That bond breaking witch!” Avery spat the words out like a curse, even though they were an entirely apt description. That was exactly what she was.

  “She tried to break our bond, and couldn’t. She said soul-share bonds were unbreakable.” I was fidgeting with my hands. “We need to hurry. Antoine didn’t seem like he wanted to kill his son, but I think he’d do it. If he thought it was the only way to get rid of me, I think he would.”

  “You mentioned earlier that they were going to move Mikael to set a trap for you? How much time do you think we have?” My father was asking the same question that was stuck on repeat in my own head.

  “I’m not sure, dad. Antoine sent Malachai ahead to set up. He was getting ready to tell Zach and Sophia his contingency plan, in case all else failed, but I was fading then, and didn’t hear. I know that Zach and Sophia will be heading off in a different direction. Malachai will be setting up somewhere else. I didn’t see anyone else in close proximately to them, but that doesn’t mean they don’t have others around that I didn’t see. If we get there quickly, maybe we have a shot at Antoine without any issues. Maybe, we get Mikael back in one piece.” My voice cracked as I said it. “They have him in a cage, the kind Marcus used on me.”

  “Oh God, Jess. I wish you hadn’t seen that.” My dad all but whispered into the cab of the truck.

  “We just need to get there, and get him out. He’s hurt. They were dousing him with wolf’s bane, and when she tried to break the bond, there was this shadowy thing that came out of her.” I shivered inadvertently when I remembered how it sat down on Mikael, trying to become one with him.

  “Those who choose to see their mates in that shadow being lose their bond. If they can, or want, to be tricked by it the bond they have with their mate will break. It’s supposedly very painful, and you either have to be weak willed to see your mate in the shadow being, or you have to purposely accept it as a part of you. When you do, you acknowledge that your bond is not real, and it breaks.” There was a bit of anguish in his voice when Avery spoke of the act.

  “Mikael seemed repulsed by it when it touched him.”

  “Be glad it didn’t work on him. I know I made it sound simple, but it’s not. The fact that he saw past the shadow magic is a testament to the bond you formed.” Everyone grew quiet for a few minutes after that.

  “We need to be able to fly. This is taking way too long.” I finally huffed out. I was growing impatient the further we went, even though I knew that the animal rescue Mikael was building was on the opposite side of the town that our pack lands bordered.

  “I’m going as fast as I safely can, Jess. We have men in the back, and I don’t want them flying out.”

  I understood that, and still I was anxious. I realized part of that was because I was feeling something that wasn’t my emotion. Mikael was afraid, but it wasn’t for himself. I closed my eyes and tried to concentrate on him, and the feeling that I was getting from our bond. It was difficult to do, but eventually the little noises of the truck bouncing, and the men shifting within it were washed away by a banging metallic sound. I had done it, I was in, and I was seeing everything. Only, something was wrong, because this time I was inside the cage where Mikael had been.

  RETRIBUTION

  “This isn’t right,” I whispered to myself as panic set in.

  “Your damn right, it isn’t.” Evan yelled back, and then lunged for Antoine again, who successfully ducked out of the way. I watched in an odd haze as they each went for one another and each ducked away just in time. They appeared to be equally matched. The loud metallic clanking noise assaulted my ears again, and this time, I tried to move my head to look around. I had a hard time moving, but I was definitely able to tell I was trapped in the cage, and part of the back of my neck was on fire where it was touching the treated bars. I couldn’t move to get my neck away from it though. I let my eyes wander down to get a look at my body, only it wasn’t my body. I was somehow inside Mikael. This was his body, and he didn’t seem to be occupying it anymore.

  “Nooo!” I screamed out. Evan and Antoine both startled by the outcry, turned to see what was going on, and then quickly went back on alert for battle. The clanging sound on metal started again, just behind me. My heart was beating a thousand miles a minute as I tried to figure out what the hell was happening. “Please, help Mikael!” I whispered through my tears.

  “Jess?” It was Asriel’s voice, and it was coming from behind my head, Mikael’s head, where I kept hearing the clanking of metal.

  “Asi? Please, he’s not… I don’t feel him in here. You have to get him out.”

  “I’m doing my best, Jess.”

  “You’re too late. He’ll be gone before you get that cage open, and then we’ll see if you survive that bond of yours being severed.” Antoine’s cruel voice washed over me in sickening waves.

  “You would kill your own son to stay in power?” I spoke out loud, using Mikael’s voice.

  Antoine grabbed a metal pole that was sitting on the ground, as he ducked another hit from Evan. “I wonder, if I kill him now, while you’re there, if it won’t go ahead and finish the job quicker.” He threw the pole then. Evan dove for his father’s mid-section taking him down to the ground with a terrible thud, but it was too late, the pole was already flying for Mikael’s body, the body I was currently occupying. I couldn’t watch. The world was moving in slow motion, everything except me, because I wasn’t moving at all. I tried desperately to get Mikael to collapse the rest of the way down to the floor, but it was no use. So, I closed my eyes, not wanting to see the end for either of us.

  A thudding impact hit the front of the cage, and I heard Asi sigh in relief. “Son of a bitch! That was close!”

  I opened one eye, then the other and saw a large beast of man with blond hair leaning against the cage, trying to breathe again after the wind had been knocked out of him. “Avery?” I questioned.

  “Yeah, man. It’s me. Jess passed out or something in the truck on the way here. I figured help might be needed here sooner rather than later. I shifted and ran the rest of the way. The cars are having to go around their asses to get here, because the road winds around the lumber mill out there. I took the short cut.”

  Evan had shifted at some point, and his teeth were gnashing towards Antoine’s throat. That much I could see. He was almost there, Antoine doing a good job of holding him off, and then the scales tipped. Antoine’s strength ebbed, and Evan was there, ripping his throat out the same way Antoine had killed Jack. There was more loud metal clanging behind me. “Help me out here, Avery.” Asi called out.

  “Hurry, his heart’s going really slow.” Despite the fact that my own personal adrenaline was pumping like crazy, my anxiety was through the roof from being trapped in a cage again, and I had just watched Antoine De’ Lune ripped apart by his own son, it had no effect whatsoever on Mikael’s vital signs.

  “What the hell?” Avery yelped when he realized it wasn’t Mikael speaking even though it had been his voice.

  “It’s me, Jess. This is why I passed out. I was trying to hop into a vision, and I guess I concentrated too hard and ended up in Mikael since he was unconscious.” I sighed, “I’m not sure how it works, just hurry. I can’t help him, and I don’t know what they did to him.”

  “That’s so freaking creepy.” Avery said as he grabbed something from behind me and joined Asi in trying to get the cage opened up.

  “He must have gotten the bright idea to reinforce the steel, because the damn thing isn’t budging.” Asi yelled.

  I looked up and saw a hook dangling from the ceiling as Mikael’s body slouched further
down with the impacts on the cage. “Is that?” I started, and I tried to see where the damn hook attached. “Is that a hook, like from a crane or something?”

  “Yeah, it is.” Asi said as he glanced back down at the cage and started working at it again.

  “There’s no bottom to the cage,” I said, still staring at the hook that was dangling like a jewel from the ceiling.

  “Yeah, we can see that Jess.”

  “There’s no bottom, Asi, but there’s a hook up there. Lift the God damn cage off of us.” The ferocity of my order finally got everyone’s attention, and they started looking around.

  Avery went to turn the wench on to bring the hook down, but it didn’t work. The sun was going down, and it was starting to get dimmer in the building too. “There’s no electric right now. I bet the crew’s been working on generators and they take them when they leave.”

  “Can we not catch a break today?” Asi screamed out in frustration. “Where are all the guys you were coming here with?”

  “Right here.” I heard my dad call out, and then I saw him from the corner of Mikael’s eye. He had my body in his arms. I was limp as he carried me, as if I were dead. It was not an easy thing to see. “I couldn’t wake her, and I didn’t want to leave her. Please, tell me you have things secure in here?” He looked over to the place where I knew Evan had killed his father, but I couldn’t see that anymore from the angle Mikael’s body had fallen.

  “Dad?” I questioned.

  “He’s gone son,” My father responded to Mikael with the slightest bit of sympathy in his voice. I knew what my dad would say, ‘the boy couldn’t help who his father was.’

  “No, dad, it’s me. I need you to get the guys to lift this cage off of us. Mikael’s not doing well.”

  My father blanched. That probably wasn’t the right word for it. He turned white and then a horrible shade of green began to settle in too. He looked from my body to Mikael’s and passed me off to one of the guys who had walked in behind him. He nearly ran over to the corner and started throwing up whatever had been on his stomach.