by JF Holland
“You did nothing?” Jaden spat.
“You don’t understand, I wasn’t actually there.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I am a dream demon, I saw what had happened in her dreams, the only place I could link with her. The things I saw in her dreams… terrible. To others they would be nightmares, but Maisie takes great pleasure in reliving her vile and murderous actions in her sleep,” he shook his head. “I confronted her, and this,” he held his arms out. “This is the consequence.”
“So why has it taken you all this time to come looking for her?”
“I lost my ability to sleep walk, my punishment for her crimes. When we fall, normally as a result of finding a mate; which mine was. We are banished to the fae realm, our job then is to take care of mankind in a more hands-on fashion. We walk in dreams, hence our name, soothing and aiding where we can, it’s an integral part of ourselves. Painful for us to not be of service, therefore it was revoked, and my punishment was set. As I was unable to move in and out of dreams I had no way to locate her. She also masked her presence so even if I could, I wouldn’t have been able to find her.”
“What changed?” Sam asked.
“I think it was when you took away her help,” he told them, that jackal and jaguar. The ones much like her. Once they were no longer with her, feeding her power with willing sacrifices made in her name, her strength seemed to wane. I have been following her ever since, I caught up with her in the meadow.”
“What happened?” Sam asked.
“I realised that the jaguar she had chained was the young boy. I locked her away and I released him, but she escaped, tricked someone in the fae realm and got away.”
“How would anyone believe her?” Jaden asked incredulously.
“I was not her first mate. She was mated many years earlier. She killed him, not realising his death took back her immortality, so I was the replacement.”
“What has that to do with her being released?” Maya asked.
“She is very good at playing the innocent, very believable. She convinced them that I had become deranged, that I was the unstable one and they let her go.”
“That I can believe,” Jaden murmured. “So, you released Davion?”
“Yes, he was ill, he needed help. I thought, if I released him near to where I had found her, he would come to you for help. Unfortunately, she found out and came after him, when she realised he was of no use to her anymore, she killed the driver of that truck who had pulled over to help him. She then dragged the shifter back into the woods and cut out the necklace and performed some kind of ritual.”
“Bitch, Davion nearly made it,” Helena murmured and Sam squeezed her hand.
“He was hurt further, trying to help the driver. He just wasn’t strong enough.”
“You saw this in her dreams?”
“Yes, I also saw this house, which is why I am now here.”
“You’ve seen where she is?” Sam asked, sitting forward, and Addie nodded.
“Yes, but as I’ve said, time is of the essence, we need to move quickly before she moves. If she manages to kill again she’ll gain strength. Then she will be able to mask her whereabouts again, and it could be a few days then before I could locate her.”
“It’s a full moon tonight,” Jaden sighed.
“What has the moon got to do with anything?” Addie asked.
“We have a couple of wolves who usually help us. They took measures to dampen their natural natures on the last full moon, to help in our fight with Maisie.”
“Can they not do so again?”
“No, it would make them unstable. Wolves,’ by nature, are more animalistic around a full moon - especially where their mates are concerned. If they try to control their nature more than once in a moon cycle it can cause problems with their mating’s. It’s a form of torture for a wolf not to able to turn to their natural habits during a full moon, I could not ask that of them again.” Sam told Addie.
“I understand, so what are we going to do?”
“We will just have to go it alone, Agatha one of our witches is mated to the Alpha, so that puts them both out of the game.” Jaden informed them, running a hand around his neck.
“We need to get hold of the others, work out who we can leave here with Balin and who to leave with Davion. Then the rest of us will come with you. Sophia, are you up to this?” Jaden asked, and mouth firming she nodded.
If this meant a way to end Luc’s curse and help Davion, she’d do it alone without any backup.
“We will be there to help,” Helena spoke up, myself and Maya, Lara will not leave Davion and of course Lana will stay with Balin.”
“Are you sure we can’t wait until tomorrow?” Sam asked and Addie shook his head.
“If you don’t stop her, she’s coming after you next, but one at a time. No one will be safe,” he informed them.
“Bollocks,” Sam sighed. “Okay, let’s do this then. Tonight, we’ll…”
“This has to be done now, not tonight.” Addie interrupted, like the wolves, she can use the full moon to strengthen her.”
“She’s using blood and moon magic?” Sophia asked and he nodded.
“We need to leave now then, if the moon rises before we find her, we may not be able to win this.”
“What do you mean?” Sam asked,
“Sacrifices offered up under a full moon, will more than double her strength. Quite frankly, we don’t know how many people she’s killed in the last few days, therefore, don’t know how strong she already is. Also, what if she’s not working along and has already found someone else to bend to her will?”
“Okay, ring the tigers, grizzlies and leopards, tell them all they need to be here asap.”
“On it,” Jaden said, pushing off from the sink and heading back upstairs to grab his phone.
“I will collect a few things, yew bark being one of them, it will help keep us hidden. It may be the only advantage we have.” With that Sophia rushed upstairs to her room.
Chapter Twenty-Six
C autiously stepping out of the doorway, Sophia shuddered, then blinked, covering her eyes at the light on the other side. They’d been completely blind in the fae realm, apparently, a safety measure used with those that don’t frequent it.
“It will pass quickly,” Addie assured them.
“What the hell was that?” Jaden asked, pulling Maya into him as she shivered trying to chaff warmth into her with his own hands.
“It was like walking through cold, wet cobwebs in the dark,” Maya murmured, rubbing her hands up and down her cold arms.
“It was kind of interesting,” Adam grinned, shaking his head like a big dog instead of the grizzly he was.
“That’s because you’re weird,” his twin, Nathan told him dryly as he rubbed a hand through shaggy hair, removing the moisture.
“Okay, where are we?” Sam asked, looking around at the trees, trying to find some familiar landmark to give him a clue. Through the break in the trees, he spotted an abandoned, dilapidated building, windows cracked, ivy so out of control it covered most of the large, imposing building.
“I believe this is upper Lunaton,” Addie replied, as the others all stepped out of the doorway.
Sighing, Sam again looked around. They could have done with Leonard being here, just in case they needed to alter any perceptions, especially with it still being light, and unfamiliar territory. Upper Lunaton had a bigger population than Lower Lunaton, it was a bustling main town.
This had trouble written all over it, because here, Maisie had access to a lot more people, which was probably her plan. It was a pity they’d had to scramble quickly and Leonard had not been around to take the call.
“Okay, we’ll have to make this work. Where is she?”
“In the old asylum, through there…” Addie’s words cut off.
Sam once again looked at the building. The wrought iron gates at the front were chained, although one of them hung at an odd an
gle, rusted. There was also brickwork missing in the perimeter wall as it had crumbled with time, so gave them a few options for getting into the building.
“Fitting,” John sniped and Sam turned back, raising a brow for silence from the white tiger. “Fine, I’m shutting up, but we all know she’s a crazy, murderous, psychotic bitch. She couldn’t have chosen a better hiding place.”
Edwin, his partner, moved up to him, wrapping his arms around him and tucking John’s head beneath his chin.
“You’ll have to forgive John, Maisie not only be-spelled him to try to get him to kill Jaden.”
“She tortured and killed my mother,” John spat over his shoulder, then turned back and tucked himself tightly against Edwin, wrapping his arms around him. Edwin rubbed a hand up and down John’s back to comfort him, the torture and murder of his mother still too fresh, especially as they’d visited her grave while attending Michael’s funeral yesterday.
“I am sorry, there are no words,” Addie, bowed his head. His soft tone, reverent; although lisping, showing compassion, at complete odds with his grotesque appearance.
“Do you all still have your Yew bark?” Sophia asked, to which they all nodded. “Good, at least she’s not going to be aware of using being here.”
“Me, she will,” Addie replied.
“Let’s hope you she’s expecting, us not so much,” Adam grinned, cracking his knuckles.
“Right, Edgar, Nicholas, shift and do a perimeter search and check for any locals in the area, be discreet.” Sam informed them as they contorted, going from two feet to four. Speckled fur now covered them as they turned to him, waiting. “See if you can find all the entrances and breaks in the wall, let’s see if we can keep this confined and the noise down to a minimum.”
“The sleek cats, hunkered down and took off, moving swiftly across the ground, keeping to the shadows as they took to different sides.
“What do we do?” Edwin asked.
“Now we wait for intel, may as well find a spot and make yourself comfortable. I will not go in half-cocked and lose anyone else,” Sam told them.
Jaden, brushed his mouth over Maya’s head, leading her over to a large oak, and settling her there. He then pulled his phone out of his pocket.
“What are you doing?” Sam asked, looking to him, Helena by his side.
“Now we know where we are, I’m leaving a message for Leonard. Hopefully, if he picks up, he’ll be able to get here.”
“But he’s back in Lower Lunaton.”
“Not if he’s with his date, she lives here in Upper Lunaton,” Jaden informed Sam, holding up his hand and leaving a rushed, vague message in case he played it in front of his date. He wasn’t sure if she knew what he was yet, so didn’t want to give anything away.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
S ophia sat on the grass below the tree, waiting for the leopards to return, and thought back to leaving the house this earlier.
Balin had been livid that he wasn’t well enough to come with them, Jaden had caught him and Lana fighting on the landing as he’d tried to drag himself down the stairs, and she’d tried to talk him into getting back in bed. In the end, Jaden had to help him back, with much swearing from the younger brother. He was healing nicely, his bones knitted back together and now on the right side of his skin, but he still was not strong enough to take his weight for any length of time. It was going to take a few more days of shifting and the right foods before he’d be able to do that.
She’d then slipped into the garden to Luc, to say goodbye. She’d not wanted to tell him anything about where they were going and why, so had made the others leave the garden quietly so he wasn’t suspicious. She’d not wanted him to worry, not when he couldn’t do anything about it. After all, it would be cruel for him to stand there all day, all kinds of scenario’s running though his mind and be frozen, unable to act on it until the sun had set. She’d told him they were heading to Upper Lunaton for lunch, and would all be back later. Hopefully, this way at least, they would be back before he unfroze, and he could then chew them out, after the fact. With any luck this would be the last day he’d be frozen into this form.
Biting her nail, she sat there below the shelter of the tree wondering if she could get to her before the others and extract the information - it may be Luc’s only chance.
“Okay, we’re ready to go,” Jaden’s voice interrupted her thoughts. Blinking, she looked over to find the others talking earnestly, heads together as they made plans.
Damn, she’d ran out of time.
“Come on Sophia,” Jaden said, bending and holding out his hand. When she raised hers, he grasped it and helped her to her feet. She thanked him, then began dusting off the back of her jeans, routing through her bag for a few things she’d need. Tucking runes into her pockets, she ran her thumb over the etched surface, checking she could find what she needed by feel alone. Satisfied, she put her bag over her shoulder and folded her hands before her.
“Are you okay, you seem miles away?” Jaden asked.
“I’m just working through my arsenal, that’s all,” she assured him, not meeting his gaze.
“Aunt Sophia, what’s wrong?” Maya asked, linking her arm through hers.
“Nothing I’m fine.”
“You were biting your thumb nail,” Maya replied quietly.
“I was wondering if I could get Maisie to tell me what sort of curse she used on Luc… and Adlucinor, of course.” She admitted, “you know, to see if we could remove them,” she shrugged.
“I’m hoping you don’t get close enough to her to be able to ask her that,” Jaden informed her tightly.
“Aunt Sophia, promise me you won’t do anything stupid here?” Maya asked, worriedly.
“Fine, I won’t, but this could be our only chance to find a way to break them of their curses.”
“I for one will live with my curse,” Adlucinor told her, coming towards them, head bowed. “I’m sure this Luc person will too. It is far more important to rid the earth of her evil than to be free from a curse. To live with the thought that other lives have been lost due to my own selfish needs would be far harder to take,” he explained and Sophia deflated.
There was nothing she could say to that, so nodding, she stepped around them.
“I will not give up though. I will find another way,” she told them determinedly. Linking her arm though Maya’s and heading off to join the others.
“Tenacious,” Addie murmured.
“You have no idea how strong willed the women of my family are,” Jaden sighed, shaking his head as he followed on Sophia and Maya’s heels.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
S ophia slowly edged her way through the trees, checking for traps that Maisie may have left. Finding no sign of runes or symbols written on the trees, she motioned the others that it was safe to proceed.
“Nathan, Adam, you go left and enter over the side wall, Edgar will show you the way.” Nodding, Nathan, Adam and Edgar allowed the shift to take them, bones reshaping, fur taking the place of skin as they went from two to four legs. Nathan waited, quicker than his brother and Edgar, the large shaggy furred grizzly yawned, standing up on his back legs and stretching, a clawed paw, scratching over his chest. Edgar looked to him, lips stretching over his muzzle, whiskers twitching and ears flattening as he sloped off further to the left. Nathan dropped back to all fours, and he and his brother took off after him, pushing into each other, bounding through the trees, jumping over downed stumps as they picked up speed.
“John, Edwin, you will enter around the back with Sophia, please be on your guard,” he told them. The tigers nodded, stepping back and dropping to all fours as their white fur with black stripes covered them. John turned towards Sophia, pale blue feline eyes holding hers as he lowered his front end, tail swishing as he looked to her.
She began to walk off, but Jaden took hold of her arm, “You need to climb on,” he told her.
“You want me to ride a tiger?”
“Y
es, it is the quickest way, you cannot keep up on foot with a cat running,” Jaden informed her. Then, when she stood with her mouth open, he steered her towards John, and helped her to climb on. “Hold onto the fur at the back of his neck, it is thick enough to take it and in an area, that won’t cause him any pain,” Jaden informed her.
“How can it not hurt?” she asked, hand stroking over the fur but not gripping.
“Sophia, how does a cat carry it’s young,” Sam asked patiently as Adlucinor stood observing them with interest.
“They carry their kittens by the scruff of the neck, but I’m a grown up,” she sputtered, scared of causing harm.
“He will not feel it, honestly,” Jaden informed her.
“Aunt Sophia, it is the safest way, he really will not feel it,” Maya assured her.
“But, oh…” Sophia squealed, falling forwards and holding on for dear life as John stood again, a rumble leaving his chest as he shook his head and took off, dropping low and jumping a stump.
“That’s one way of convincing her,” Jaden grinned, chuckling as they watched the tiger disappear with Sophia lay flat against his back. Her legs and arms were stretched around him, feet digging into his sides as she held clumps of fur in a death grip.
“Okay, Jaden, you and Maya come in by the other side, Nicolas will go with you and show you the safest places to enter. Me and Helena will hold back, here and cover Adlucinor.”
“Addie, please,” the dream demon reiterated.
“As you wish, Addie,” We’ll give them a few minutes to get into place, and then it’ll be your turn,” Sam told him, waiting as Jaden, Maya and Nicolas went to four legs, the sun glinting off the gleaming, black fur of the two jaguars. They took off after the sleeker, smaller cat, and within a few feet vanished, as the cats took to the trees, taking to the branch highway to help them blend in, the foliage offering more coverage with it being daylight.
