If they only knew who the hell this warlock was, that would be a start at least. Sarah had overheard that snatch of phone conversation, so they knew that Kai specifically was the target. Why, though? He had gone out of his way, his whole life, to not upset anyone. The less he rocked the boat, the less opportunity any normal humans would have to notice that he was special, and that only helped them all get along in the long run. He rarely ever used his magic to the full extent of his abilities. Heck, he wasn’t even sure what that was since he’d never tried to find out.
Sure, he ran with Sebastian sometimes, playing tag in their fox forms. And he’d patrol in his larger form more often than not since he could cover more ground more easily that way. But aside from that, his foxfire was about the only thing he ever used, and that was usually around Halloween or for parties at the Village. But still, it made no sense for anyone to be after him particularly.
Kai supposed that the warlock had a reason now, but why would he attack in the first place? He thought about to the cavern, his mind drawn to the battle that had taken place here and he shivered, feeling the wight’s claws tearing through his skin as if it was happening all over again. The creature’s talons dragged through his back like it was made of mud instead of flesh during the battle, and now he was left alone and fighting the poison that threatened to turn him into one of them.
And how could Kai keep the Villagers safe when he couldn’t even help himself?
20
When Kai started swimming back towards consciousness, he tried with all his limited strength to stay asleep. His head was already throbbing and his whole body felt like he was going to be sick. When did I start chewing on socks in my sleep? Mercifully wherever he was had curtains, though that didn’t explain the flicker of light that danced through the skin of his eyelids. And at least he was on a bed, not in an alley somewhere, or worse, under a bush in some park.
Scenes of the day before flashed in a parade of horrors behind his eyelids. The damned warlock stirring up the media. The article that all but painted a bullseye on the Village. Losing his temper at first Nicole Jones from the Mercury News, and then at Sebastian who had been entirely justified in his concern. Kai never lost his temper, not like that. That by itself was enough to make his stomach sour, but then he remembered the bar and having a few beers. And then a few more. And then some whiskey. And then… not a lot really. He’d managed to get himself completely blackout drunk, which was stupid on a whole new level. And now he was… where?
He groaned and rolled over, his whole body protesting, and his stomach lurching dangerously.
“Bucket’s on the floor right by your face, there.”
Kai didn’t want to think too hard about the fact that apparently Sebastian was going to sit there and watch him be sick. The last twenty-four hours would easily be his new benchmark for the worst day of his life. He rolled back onto the bed when his stomach finally stopped heaving, and felt cold glass pressed to the back of his hand.
“I have some painkillers here too, ‘cause you have got to feel like roadkill. Start with the water.” There was some rustling as Sebastian helped him sit up and the noise was like spikes in his brain. He was in his own room at home. Someone had tacked heavy towels over the windows to block out the morning, which peeked slyly around the edges anyway. The flicker of light was from the ball of foxfire that hung over the chair Sebastian sat in, an old Star Wars novel sat next to a coffee cup. Kai wondered vaguely what time it was. Late, probably. He should have been up hours ago dealing with… everything.
“God, Seb—”
“Nope,” Sebastian said. “You don’t get to talk for a little while. You get to drink water, and take the pills, and then you drink this potion the ladies left you, then more water. And you listen.”
Kai swallowed. Sebastian was keeping his voice low, but the tone was one Kai had never heard from his cheerful, easy-going brother before. Disappointment. He nodded and slowly followed the directions.
“I have never seen you like you were yesterday. You yelled at a reporter and you snapped at me afterwards. You stormed out of here yesterday in a god damned miniature tornado of magic. You pissed and moaned at Eric who came back here to whine about you and argue with me in turns. You walked from here to a bar in San Jose, Kai. You walked nine miles. To a bar. You didn’t answer your phone—”
“I forgot to charge it. Battery died.”
“I know. It went off like a damn fire alarm when I plugged it in. You have about six hundred voicemails and texts from me and Sarah and Doc and—” Sebastian cut himself off with a frustrated grunt. Sebastian was sitting at the small desk in the corner, his finger barely brushing the rim of the coffee cup beside him. Kai didn’t have to look up from the blanket over his knees to see the hurt in eyes.
“I…”
“You scared the hell out of us, Kai. Half the Village went out looking for you when we realized that you weren’t answering your phone at all for anyone. No wonder we couldn’t find you, though. We’d never have looked for someone drinking themselves stupid. That’s not like you.”
Kai took a deep breath, slowly testing what his body would allow him. Slow was good right now. Sebastian let the silence stretch, giving Kai a chance to settle into the knowledge that it was his own actions had been what stirred up the Village this time. It wasn’t a thought that he was comfortable with, and the guilt he carried added another layer to its weight.
“How did I get home, finally?” Kai dared to ask. He wasn’t sure he wanted to hear it but had to know anyway. Sebastian didn’t answer right away, and Kai felt the tension ratchet up another notch. He looked up at his brother who was staring back at him, motionless now in the gloom of his bedroom.
“Your father brought you home,” Sebastian answered after a minute. There was a slight tremble to his voice now. “I’m not sure how he knew we were looking for you, but I’m glad he did. Probably could tell you were falling apart thanks to that tooth you’ve got on there. He was worried about you when we rolled you into bed. He was muttering in I don’t even know how many languages. Do you have any idea how terrifying it is to see your father nervous about something?”
“No. But he’s just a god, Seb. It’s not like we haven’t seen that before.”
“Just a— Kai, your father is not just a god. He’s practically an element, right up there with air and fire. Mr. Young bows to him. Literally nobody on Earth knows how old he is. I’m not sure he knows how old he is. At least as old as North America, I’d bet, if not older. The magic just rolls off him, whether he’s trying or not and it’s intimidating as hell. The only reason I didn’t freeze up when I saw him is because I was saw you at the same time and figured I’d freak out in private after we got you taken care of.”
Kai shivered at the truth in Sebastian’s words. It was the reason he kept such tight control of himself at all times. The strength of the magic he had from his father was too much for a mortal, and the fact that he was quarter human made it that much more difficult to control. It was best for everyone if he just never tapped into it.
“As soon as he opened the door, Eric damn near fainted,” Sebastian said. “Has he never met your father before?”
Kai thought back, then shook his head and immediately regretted it.
“Well I’ve only met him maybe few dozen times myself, in person, and we were all out here, so I guess that makes sense.” Sebastian took a deep breath and let it out very slowly. Kai heard the chirp of Seb’s cell phone in his pocket. The sound and the whisper of fabric on plastic when he took it out to answer the text was less excruciating than he expected it to be. The potion must be kicking in.
“Sarah is glad you’re awake. She’ll be by in a little while when she takes lunch to check on you, and she hopes your hangover kicks your ass so that she doesn’t have to.” Seb put his phone gently on the desk and returned his attention to Kai.
“Your dad gave me a blessing,” Sebastian said. “And he showed me your wound. Really showed it to
me with his sight, not just the healed-up scar you’ve been letting us all see when we push you about it. Kai, why haven’t you said anything?”
Kai couldn’t meet Sebastian’s eyes. Instead he traced the patterns of shadow and light in the wrinkles of his blanket. They moved slightly with Sebastian’s fire, snaking around his knees and across his ankles. He started to clench his teeth together, but shards of agony spiked through his head when he did. His vision blurred and shifted and he saw the world through the gifts of his heritage, showing him what he’d been trying so hard not to see for weeks now. The tendrils of void that hung from him like limp wings across the bed, trailing out from where the wight had sliced through his flesh and dragging across the floor to pull him down.
“I didn’t want to burden you with it,” Kai finally said. “The battle was over. This is my fight.”
“Bullshit.” Kai looked up at Sebastian. The foxfire now seemed to flicker white hot in his spirit sight, and he himself glowed brightly, a cloud of golden energy surrounding him from his own power. Sebastian was definitely angry if he was allowing his power to run loose like that.
“Kai, we’re your family,” Sebastian shook his head and opened his mouth to say more but closed it and dug the heels of his hands over his eyes. “No. Whether you like it or not, Kai, you’re not alone. Not in this, and not ever. Doc is shut up in her workroom looking for ways to help. She says she has a friend in Iceland that might have some suggestions, but with the time differences it’s tricky to catch her. Your father has gone to ask advice from someone and I did not ask who. He simply told me to watch over you and that he would return. He honestly didn’t even need to ask. He also said that you have to help us help you. You have to let go of it in order for it to let go of you.”
Kai closed his eyes, blocking out the reproach and disappointment and worry in Sebastian’s face. That might actually hurt worse than anything else.
“Now try to get some real sleep. You’ll feel better next time you wake up and we can talk more then.” Sebastian stood and took the potion bottle and empty water glass off the bedside table. “I’m going to go check in on the office for a bit, so I’ll be just downstairs if you need me. Eric ran out to grab some lunch and should be home soon, and Sarah will be by in a bit too. Get some rest.” Kai listened to his brother leave the room, putter around the kitchen for a few minutes, then out the door. The nearly silent click of the front door latch boomed in his ears, and Kai wasn’t sure what it meant.
21
When his phone rang, Kai’s first thought was Thank all the gods I’ve ever met that didn’t hurt. He immediately corrected himself. Actually, no. Thank Doc and Sarah. I’m promoting them both to goddess status. He levered himself up on one elbow and reached over to grab his phone.
“Hello?” His voice was rusty with the sleep he had almost reached and the emotion that Sebastian’s lecture had released.
“Kai? Thank god. They got me, man. You have to help me!” Eric spoke too fast, his words tripping over themselves in the rush to reach Kai.
“What? Who got you? What are you talking about? I’m really not in any kind of shape to decipher nonsense.” Kai eased back to his back, draping his arm over his eyes while he spoke. How long did he have till Sarah showed up?
“That wolf man guy,” Eric said. Kai sat up, his attention entirely on his brother’s voice through the phone.
“Where are you?” Kai swung his feet to the floor and glared around the gloom to find his shirt.
“I—” There was a bang and someone fumbled with the phone.
“Kai Russell, I assume from the name on the screen here?”
“Yes. And you are?” Kai froze, anger and frustration flowing through him.
“Doesn’t much matter our names. We have your brother and we don’t want him, he was simply scooped up along with the target. Come get him. I will send you a location.”
“Wait, what target? Who else do you have?” The phone went dead. Kai stared at it, shock and exhaustion slowing his thoughts to molasses speeds, as the screen lit up with an incoming text.
It was a Google Maps location. A pin placed just a bit down route 17, then up in the mountains. He could get there in forty minutes, easily. He’d be there just after two. Kai tried to call Eric’s phone back a couple of times and was just dumped into the voicemail. Either the phone was turned off or the wolf man had smashed it. Hell.
Kai hesitated for a moment, feeling every dull ache and chilled shiver that he’d earned, and thought about calling Sebastian or Doc or… Well, anyone really. But to what end? All he knew was that Eric needed to get picked up and that was easy enough. He didn’t need help for that. When he got Eric, he could ask who else got kidnapped and they could make a plan from there. He scribbled a note for Sarah saying that he’d be back in a couple of hours and that he would go right the Apothecary, and that he’d put his phone on the car charger so she didn’t need to worry.
It was a fast drive, and an area he usually enjoyed passing through, but today his mind churned and he drove through it unseeing. Where had Eric been that the wolf man had grabbed him? That was definitely not the wolf man’s voice, either. Even unmuffled by a mask it was far too deep, and the accent was wrong. Which meant there were at least two kidnappers.
And at least two victims. The man had said that Eric was scooped up alongside their target. Who would they be targeting? His stomach lurched when the image of Cassie flashed into his mind. The wolf man had said that he’d be back for her. It was broad daylight on a Sunday morning, so Marcus would be asleep and Cassie would probably have been running errands. This guy was definitely not some average street tough with a love of Halloween costumes.
Shit. He couldn’t rescue Eric and leave Cassie behind. Not a chance. Not if there was even a possibility that she was nearby.
He pulled his truck to the edge of the road, far enough away that they wouldn’t hear the engine, and went the rest of the way straight through the forest on foot. He could hear the whispers in his mind telling him of all the ways that he could fail, but he had to try at least. Logically he knew that the thoughts were from the shadows, that they were trying to pull him into the dark with words now, not just cold, but they still hit their target.
He could fail. Easily. He could save Eric but not Cassie, or Cassie but not his own brother. They could both be killed when the kidnappers realized that Kai was there for both of them. They could kill him— it was much easier to do now than it had been a month ago, after all. He could lose control of himself finally and destroy everything. He could turn into a wight here, knowing all these things, and then assuming the sunlight didn’t destroy him first, he would pull everyone else into the dark with him and consume them completely.
That thought stopped him dead in his tracks. Ice squeezed his heart and poured into his veins at the idea of pulling his brother and an innocent child into despair before swallowing them to feed his own torment. He couldn’t let that happen. If it came to that point he would call up fire. The hottest, brightest fire he could fuel and he would destroy himself first. He would not allow himself to turn.
He crept forward, close enough to see his destination. The clearing had nothing especially interesting in it. There were some old logs rotting away on one side, and the distant sounds of traffic drifted softly under the birdsong. The only place to hide anything was the low-slung building at the far end. Some leftover cabin long since abandoned, it squatted sullenly in the lengthening shade of the redwoods.
The door creaked open and a man stepped out, looking around the clearing and peering into the trees. Kai didn’t worry about being seen. He blended in with the forest in his dark clothes, and his spirit powers allowed him to mask his presence somewhat. After a moment the man turned and went back inside, calling to someone. The voice was what gave him away.
Kai had never seen the man’s face, but he’d heard the bastard speak. Eric and Cassie must be in there.
He crept around the building, rejecting the windows
he passed as too small and probably locked, until he got to the back of the building. A screen door sagged on one hinge, failing spectacularly in its job to keep insects out. The plain door behind it was closed but looked like it had been used recently. It had probably once led into the kitchen.
There was a window next to the door. He needed to see what was going on inside before barging in. A quick glimpse told him what he needed to know. The kitchen was empty, but papers and leaves and old food wrappers littered over the floor, one narrow path leading from the front room to a small door at the side of an ancient refrigerator. Through the opening to the front of the building he could see a man watching out the front window. If Kai was driving up, he’d be seen long before he could park.
With a small, satisfied smile Kai moved over to the screen door and carefully, quietly pulled it off the las of its hinge. Setting it aside he tried the doorknob. It turned with a little effort, but quietly enough. Inside he could hear voices, people talking to each other and waiting for him to drive up in front. Eric’s voice piped up and Kai strained to hear if his brother sounded hurt or scared, but it was too quiet, too muffled still.
The door inched open, surprisingly quiet for such an old building, but then Kai guessed that the kidnappers had done some very basic maintenance to make the cabin a functional hideout. If his guess was right, and they were the hunters, then they would definitely want all exits easy to get through. He slipped through the door, still crouched to make himself as small a target as he could, his whole attention focused on the one kidnapper that he could see.
Kai was strong, and even without using any of his magic he could break a human bone pretty easily, and he really hated pulling on more than his kitsune bag of tricks and had fairly little practice with anything more than foxfire. He didn’t want to actually hurt anyone, and if they all attacked at once, or if they had guns, it would be too easy to accidentally injure someone. Besides, he may be a relatively powerful spirit, but a bullet in the right place can kill about anything. He took another step closer to the doorway, hoping to see a bit more of the situation when the trap snap closed over his leg.
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