Pisces

by Kim Faulks

  “We become the person we were meant to be,” he answered. He found my gaze as the slick tear carved a path down my cheek. “That’s all there is.”

  I swiped the bead with the back of my hand. I died in that workshop…Amaris, daughter of Hel and sister to Kalliste and Oryn, was gone. I lifted my hand and stared at my fingers.

  So what If I wasn’t the good guy here?

  What if I was the monster?

  A monster fighting monsters. “I want you to promise me one thing. If I die in here…if I turn into something ugly and evil. I want you to kill me, and tell my sisters…tell them I died in that garage.”

  I prayed to the Goddess he understood as the four-wheel drive climbed.

  “I can’t do that…not now, not ever,” he answered. “You once told me you wished I was your father, you remember?”

  My heart lunged against my chest.

  “The truth is I was in love with your mother. Heron was a cold, cruel bastard and she deserved better. She deserved me. I was going to tell you…going to tell all of you.”

  “Tell me what, Parry…tell me what?”

  His hands gripped the wheel, knuckles white like ice. “I’m your father, Amaris. All three of you are mine.”

  No…

  I slammed my hand against the dashboard and wrenched my gaze to his. He tapped the brakes, spun the wheel, and followed the car in front. “That’s not true. Not true. Mom would never…”

  “It wasn’t something she was especially proud of. But it wasn’t anything she could deny either. You’re my blood, Amaris. As I live and breathe you’re my blood. She made me promise not to tell you while Heron was alive.”

  Dread filled my chest. “Why?”

  “Because if he ever found out, he’d kill you all.”

  My nails impaled the faded leather. I tried to breathe, tried to think. Parry…Parry was my father. A tremor raced. I wanted to turn my head, wanted to look at this man who had stood by my side the moment my mother died. “He killed her, didn’t he?”

  “Yes.” He swerved, missing washed-out ruts in the dirt road. “And you killed him, an eye for an eye. It was your fight, as much as I wanted to bleed the bastard dry, it was your kill.”

  But it wasn’t an eye for an eye was it? It wasn’t anywhere near retribution, not until I had my sister back…and not until Blaze Trigg was dead. “Kalliste and Oryn.”

  “I’ll tell them. As soon as this is over I’ll take them aside and tell them everything.”

  “They’ll have questions… I have questions.” I tried to keep the sting from my tone. He was my father, as hard as that was to believe…it was the truth.

  Deep down there was a part of me that always knew. Purpose filled me, sending energy through my veins. “Don’t let me die in there,” I murmured. “Don’t let me become a beast.”

  “Never.” He reached for my hand. Old fingers curled around mine.

  His touch was different now. Softer, warmer…tender.

  A lump wedged in the back of my throat as the Chrysler in front eased up the embankment and came to a stop. Parry’s hand slipped from mine as he steered the Jeep over the edge of the track and killed the lights.

  I searched the trees. “We go in there, and this time we don’t come out until we find what the hell is in there.”

  “Just be careful, okay? I can’t lose you, not now…”

  My damn hand trembled as I yanked the door handle and shoved. Voices filtered out into the night. My steps were heavy as I made for the tracks left in the dirt. I felt the weight of these past few days—felt them like the damn world on my shoulders.

  I had no blade now. No light to illuminate the way, but as I stepped out of the headlights and into the dark I realized I didn’t need any. I found the tire tracks, and followed them higher.

  “Amaris,” Parry growled through clenched teeth behind me.

  Lights danced against my boots as I climbed. Rocks scattered behind me and down below I could hear them hurrying now, trying to keep up as I left the faint moonlight behind and plunged into the dark.

  Cold danced across my skin as I stepped inside. But the bitter touch no longer worried me. I scanned the cavern, finding faint rocky outlines of the walls where there had been none before.

  Torchlight scanned the mouth of the cave as I dragged in the air. The metallic tang of blood filled my nose. My hound stepped closer, no longer wary and afraid.

  Midnight danced in her eyes, and it was through her sight I found my way forward. “Follow me. I can see the way.”

  Footsteps echoed as I moved deeper into the dark. The cold turned icy, stealing the heat in my breath, stealing the warmth from my skin.

  “Jesus,” someone whimpered behind me as I followed that scent of blood.

  A dark drop against a pale rock. I stilled, skimmed my finger through the mess and found the tips of my fingers. “Blood, and it’s fresh.”

  “Maybe we should…” murmured one of the men. “Maybe we should wait.”

  “Leave,” I answered. “This is no time to be afraid.”

  I shoved forward stepping deeper into the mountain. A crevice opened up on the right, the dark mouth open and haunting. I slipped through, scraping against the edges. “Careful, the rocks are sharp.”

  And that heady scent of blood bloomed. Step after step I wound my way through the tunnel until it dipped lower.

  I braced my hand against the wall and dropped down. The cold lost its sting, bleeding out to the warmth. I followed the trail deeper, winding out and around for what felt like forever.

  “We’re headed straight for the city.”

  I glanced over my shoulder and into the piercing torchlight. “We haven’t walked that far.”

  “No, but the road runs out wide, and around the mountain. As the crow flies, it wouldn’t be that far at all, and it’d run right alongside…”

  The torchlight slipped, bouncing against the stony walls. “Right alongside the tunnel.”

  “Mother have mercy,” he whispered, as the panicked voices of the men took flight.

  “They’re heading for the tunnel…” someone called.

  But all I heard was Parry as he shoved forward. The torchlight catching the fire in his eyes as he growled. “They’re heading right for Oryn!”

  I spun, heart hammering…

  No!

  19

  Bastian

  I shoved against the wall and made for the stairs. Heavy breaths filled the air behind me. But it was the above floors I focused on as I mounted the first stair.

  Timber rungs howled under my weight. I gripped the banister and heaved myself higher. A throb started at the base of my head, radiating outward with a damn chisel. The bitter cold had left its mark, burning me from the inside. I listened for the steps behind, and knew I wasn’t the only one affected.

  The Huntress was alive, Goddess knew how, but she was alive—and for now that was all that mattered. The damn walls seemed to sway as I rose one stair at a time. Footsteps echoed as we climbed to the first floor and then higher.

  I stilled midway to the next stair and turned to glance over my shoulder. Ezre nodded and jerked his head high, so I complied. The Huntress was up here…somewhere.

  Dark magic bled from the walls of this place. I was ready to meet the bitch head on, ready to fight until my kin arrived. Soon… Alpha would be on his way, the rest wouldn’t be far behind. Guns fucking blazing sounded good right about now as the stair creaked.

  The damn sound was haunting and hollow, tearing through the empty space, and that knot at the nape of my neck tightened. Something was kicked, glass shattered a second later. My heart was thundering, tearing from my chest as the faint smell of rust punctured the air.

  “Careful now. Smells like War Water.” I stepped to the side, keeping the wall at my back. “Nothing you see is real.”

  A sound filled the air—low, savage, standing the hair on my arms as Stone took a step closer. “Guardian…get away from the wall.”

  I
jerked my head to the side as the biggest fucking snake I’d ever seen slithered out.

  “Fucking hate snakes,” the Cursed whispered.

  And out of the shadows they came. Hundreds, thousands, slick scales slid against wood, and a hiss followed.

  “Not real remember?” I growled and took a step.

  Jaws opened wide, exposing thick, long fangs. The reptile blinked, fixed beady little eyes on Stone as he moaned. “Looks fucking real to me.” A hiss followed as the massive creature lifted its head. “Move…move!”

  I lunged, taking three stairs at one time as the beast struck. Stone leapt, arms flailing as he gripped the banister and vaulted higher. The snake hit the stairs with a heavy thud, and more came, slithering out of the walls to swamp the stairs.

  “Get me the fuck out of here!” Stone howled as a pale python hissed and lashed out.

  Red eyes tracked the Hellhound as he lunged higher, prancing between one coiled body and the next. The higher we moved the bigger they became. Heavy and muscled, searching for heat.

  A rattle echoed somewhere up ahead and Stone whimpered. “If I fucking die in this goddamn place I’m coming back to haunt you, Guardian.”

  I yanked my foot high as a green-eyed beast lashed out, and climbed higher. It wasn’t real, nothing in this damn place was real—not the snakes, not the fucking fear that welled in the pit of my stomach. The creak of a floorboard cut through the air. I yanked my gaze high, scanning the floor ahead.

  Someone was up there. The sound came again and then again…more than one. But did I expect anything less?

  “Sonofabitch,” Stone snapped and reached for his leg.

  The massive anaconda coiled backwards, mouth open at the ready, fangs glistening as Stone skidded out of its path. He hit the last stair, and then the landing before stopping. “They’re gone…they’re all gone.”

  Ezre growled beneath me. I shoved forward, climbing the last two stairs to find the voice. There was nothing—no snakes, no glass jars filled with rusted nails and water. There was no scrape of a shoe, no moan of a floorboard. “Can you still track her?”

  Stone turned, scanning the darkness as Ezre lunged with one swift movement, landing next to me. “The scent is gone.”

  Gone, or was never there in the first place?

  I didn’t like this, not one fucking bit. I should be with Amaris, protecting her.

  The groan of a floorboard came again, and this time I followed the sound. I wanted out of this place. I wanted done. Huntress or not.

  “Easy,” Stone murmured as I pushed away from the landing.

  I sucked in a dust-choked breath and made for the hallway. Overturned chairs and cubicles crowded one room. I scanned for movement and pushed deeper inside.

  “I can smell her.” Ezre moved closer. “She’s here.”

  Shadows shifted farther along the hall. I scanned the rooms. There were no doors on the other side, leaving only one way in. We’d be walking into a goddamn trap.

  “You thinking what I’m thinking?” Stone murmured.

  I turned to find dark eyes sparkling with excitement.

  “There’s one way in, Guardian,” he murmured and stared at the end of the hall. “Unless we make one of our own.”

  I yanked my gaze back to the narrow hall and then found the doorway to the room beside it.

  “Oh yeah,” he whispered and rolled his shoulders. “You bring the fire, I’ll bring the speed.”

  The damn Hellhound was a little too into this; still, it made sense, element of surprise and all. He moved fast, slipping in through the doorway.

  You ready for this? I stepped into the massive room, and waited for an answer.

  Heat flared in the middle of my chest. My Dragon moved through my mind, quiet and careful, spreading wings out wide as he slipped through the depths. Flames lashed his gills, small and careful, drawing into his body with a sudden breath.

  The inferno raced, tearing along my throat. I shook my head with the sting as the Catalyst pushed against muscle and bone. Fire and fury lashed my insides. Lungs burned, blistering and searing.

  The small lick of amber flame spilled from my lips, tiny and pathetic. Yellow danced with orange, tearing from my blistered throat to splash against the wall.

  “Yeah, that’s what I’m talking about,” Stone growled and dropped his shoulder.

  The fire raged, curling like a fireball to consume the wood. With a savage snarl Stone leapt, shouldering through the gyprock to disappear. Ezre was a blur, following his brother inside.

  The burn eased, pulling into my chest, melting with the Hellhound heartsblood. I clenched my fist, took a step backwards, and lunged through the wall. Smoke filled the room, stinging my eyes as I scanned the dark.

  “Nothing here,” Stone muttered and moved deeper into the massive room. “Not a fucking thing.”

  An icy touch brushed the nape of my neck. Something was here…something that reminded me of that cold, dark cavern. Black on black moved at my right. I squinted as glass shattered somewhere in the room.

  “Can’t see a goddamn thing,” Stone grumbled.

  The sound of shattering glass filled the room. I looked up as the dust-covered window fell and the soft crimson hue of the lava vein leaked in.

  Shadows seemed to ripple like a wall of snakes. But they weren’t, because the magic wasn’t real—nothing was. The scuff of a shoe cut through the room. I spun toward the sound catching the outline of a male…he was tall, lean.

  He turned his head toward the faded light. There was something familiar about him, something so… “Runner?”

  He never moved, just stared at the damn wall.

  “Runner, right? You remember me?” I stepped closer. “I gave you a message…”

  The walls rippled as he slowly turned his head. I was seized by the gash in his neck. The flesh had been shredded, leaving nothing more than a gaping wound.

  Black eyes stared at me. There was no life, no soul—no remnant of the kid he’d been hours before.

  I swallowed hard. “Did you send the message?”

  Bloodless lips curled as he smiled. He took a step, and out of the rippling walls they came. Soulless eyes fixed on us as the Lowest Kynd closed in. They crammed the space, falling over one another. RyKor was right…not hundreds…but thousands.

  “Ahh, Guardian…” Stone muttered and stepped backwards.

  A low, guttural sound slipped from Ezre’s lips as the newborn Vampires closed in on all sides.

  My pulse slowed, heart sluggish as a wave of nausea rolled in like a tempest storm. “No one’s coming. Not to fight…not to save us. We’re on our own.”

  Stone winced, and turned his head. Hollow words carved through the deafening hiss. “Then we fight to the death.”

  Shadows rushed. One of them lunged to hit me front on. I spun, windmilled my hands. The sting of a bite flared as the room filled with grunts and howls. I swung a fist, hitting the thing in the face as another hit my back.

  “Sonofabitch!” Stone roared, swallowed by the mass as I gripped the creature’s neck and wrenched the damn thing free. “How the fuck do you kill these things?”

  I gripped an arm and yanked. The beast flew through the air to hit the damn wall, and then leapt backwards to land on its feet.

  I sucked in a hard breath and stepped backwards until I hit Ezre. Stone was next, scurrying until we faced the hoard back to back. “With fire. That’s how.”

  The Catalyst opened his wings, violent flames chopped and churned like an undertow of terror…and in the midst of the inferno all I saw was her. Strong, defiant, unable to slow for even her own damn heart.

  She filled me…consumed me. Fire spilled from my lips as the Catalyst let out a shriek that split the sickening hiss inside the room.

  “Jesus,” Stone slammed his hands over his ears.

  Ezre followed, dropping to one knee to duck his head.

  Violet bled into blood red flames. He called for her, screamed for her…he burned…for her.
/>
  The Lowest Kynd screamed and thrashed. Flesh blistered and blackened, and fell to ash. Walls shook and the floor trembled. Cracks raced along the fragile gyprock, and still they came, scurrying over one another to reach the two Hounds beside me.

  Stone was hit, and then thrown. He went down hard and then shoved to stand. But they pushed him, even as he bit and savaged.

  “Stone!” Ezre lunged, dragging them from his brother.

  But there were too many, multiplying from out of the shadows.

  The snakes…they were the damn snakes.

  A dark ball carved through the roar of fire to hit my chest and fall to the floor. I looked down to a severed head and swayed under the burn. Dark, lifeless eyes stared back at me, sparkling with the flames as the walls burned.

  And through the haze of fire and smoke came the biggest fucking newborn I’d ever seen. He charged forward, and swung a fist. The blow landed hard, cracking my jaw.

  I stumbled, swung blindly, and hit nothing but air. Pain roared, cleaving through my head as more came.

  Stone was gone…Ezre was gone.

  I couldn’t even hear them anymore. A warm trickle slid down my cheek as the big male smiled, revealing long, curved fangs, and took a step.

  Amaris filled my mind—her scent, her touch…her fire. As the Vampire hunkered back on his heels I understood the real reason why we were here. There was no leaving this place. No surviving…for any of us.

  A howl filled with torment and pain tore through the room. I couldn’t tell if it was Stone or Ezre. Outside a howl echoed, low and sorrowful as the Vampire lunged.

  I sidestepped and dropped my shoulder, taking the bastard head on. Something crunched in my neck, agony stole my breath. With a roar I swung, blow after blow.

  My feet left the floor under the sheer brute strength. Flames spilled from my lips, splashing down his spine in a blazing cascade. He screamed, dropped his hold. More newborns attacked as he fell.

  My shirt ripped under claws and teeth. The sting echoed, tearing across my side, my thighs and into my shoulder. I tried to swing, tried to fight as bodies crammed against one another.