by M. R. Polish
“I think you underestimate me,” he said with a grin.
The guy beside him snickered and spit what looked like blood on the walkway.
I wanted to gag, but controlled the urge. “Is that supposed to scare me? You’re not the first person I’ve met who drinks blood.”
Both guys laughed. “Oh, sweetheart, we know who you are and who you know. Why do you think we’re here?” the first man asked.
A twinge inside my chest caught me off-guard and I winced. “Don’t worry, Ian’s fine. He’s around the building with three other breeds and will be here as soon as he can.” Dregan’s voice was calm but didn’t sooth my worry over the strange ache I just felt.
Luna growled louder and spotted the other two breeds moving in closer. Five of them against me and Luna, we could do it. Something shifted behind the two men I stared at. It took me a minute to actually see Dregan; his body moved through the night like a shadow, barely visible.
“Dregan’s coming in behind them. He says there are two more that we can’t see.”
My heart skipped a beat. Okay, make that seven against us. At least Dregan was here. Wait. That meant Ian had no help. “Dregan, go help Ian. Luna and I got this.”
It sounded like he almost chuckled in my head. “Ian would kill me if I let something happen to you. Besides, I would die if something happened and I wasn’t here to help.”
“You’re gonna die if something happens to Ian, now go!”
“Not going to happen.”
When did arguing with a wolf become so frustrating? He was just as stubborn as Ian.
The other two crossbreeds Dregan told us about appeared and walked in closer. Great, I was officially surrounded. “Luna, I don’t want to completely wreck the park. We don’t need immortals poking around wondering who or what ruined a royal landmark.”
“What are you planning?”
I rolled my shoulders and grinned at the breeds. “Magic, of course. That, and I might try to use your powers with mine like we trained for with my dad.”
I didn’t give the first guy time to think as I shot my hand up, palm out, and hit him square in the chest with a fireball. Fire wasn’t my favorite element to draw from, but it was pretty impressive, and effective. The flaming ball threw the man back at least five feet onto his back. Dregan was on him instantly, ripping into his throat. Only six left. I could do it.
Luna jumped away from me. I turned just in time to see one of the breeds lunge for me, but she caught him and wrestled him to the ground. I didn’t have time to react before the man who spit blood grabbed my arm. I twisted free of his grasp and plunged the stake deep into his chest, letting him fall to the ground as he cried out.
The other three were quick to move toward me, but hesitated at the last minute. I smiled when I felt the cold tingling sensation flow over me as I connected with the water in the lake. Water streamed across the ground, pooling around the feet of the four breeds, encircling me. They each looked down, then back at me. One of them laughed. “You think a little water’s gonna hurt us?”
“No.” I shook my head a little and smirked. “But a lot can kill you.” I felt the spark of light that was Luna and used her power to bring in the water.
One of them backed up, trying to get away from the puddles he stood in, but Luna’s power was filled with spirit, making the water follow him wherever he moved. He looked up at me with wide eyes. I took that moment to draw the water up behind him, creating a tidal-like wave that consumed him in one rush. As soon as the water receded, Dregan was on him.
Luna was back by my side, the light gray fur around her mouth stained crimson. Her hackles were still raised as she snarled at the remaining men.
I lifted my hands and clouds rolled in one fast motion. In my head I whispered to the spirit elements around me. “Blood of blood, spirit of spirit, hearken my call, hear my words. I call to you, to come to me, and let me use your boundless energy.”
Immediately, hot pressure surged through me. The three men had slacked jaws and wide eyes. They should be scared. The air around me sizzled and it felt like a thousand ants danced in my palms. I pushed to release the spirit energy, sending it to the breed closest to me. His body jerked and went stiff as my magic consumed him. Luna dashed after him so I let up my invisible hold on him.
Footfalls sounded behind me, but I was overcome with a safe feeling and knew it was Ian. My heart leapt with joy that he was okay.
He fell in beside me looking at the last two breeds. “Where is he?”
I forgot to ask them where Nicholas was. I forgot that was the whole reason for hunting tonight. The taller one of the two didn’t take his eyes off me. “If I tell you, can I leave?”
“Dregan, you follow him.”
Wait, did I just hear Ian’s thoughts? I watched as Dregan hunched down and shrank back into the shadows. I did hear his thoughts. I’d have to talk to him later about that.
Ian shrugged. “Of course.”
“He’s at his villa on the outskirts of the city.”
“Where at?” I asked.
“Your Seer was there. Ask her.”
“You want to leave? Answer the question,” Ian interjected.
The second man took a step back, probably thinking I was too occupied with the other guy to notice him sneaking off. I raised my hand and shot out another fireball, stopping him from leaving. Luna lunged after him, pinning him to the ground where I let the water level rise, covering him. She kept her front paws on his chest. He might have underestimated the strength of a spirit wolf, but I knew she had more strength than he did. He thrashed around under his personal bubble of water. I knew the water alone couldn’t kill him, but it instilled a fear into the guy divulging information because he started talking quickly.
He watched the other breed fight to get Luna off his chest, water spraying everywhere each time he flailed his arms out. “I don’t know for sure, honest. I just know it’s right outside of the city. He doesn’t like to have a lot of people around. Can I leave now?” He looked over at Ian and me hopefully.
Ian twitched his mouth to the side. “You know, I’m not sure you’ve told us everything, and I don’t take kindly to anyone trying to hurt my girl. So I changed my mind, but…I will give you a three-second head start.”
The man wasted no time running away. We could hear his cries as Dregan must have caught him. I ignored him as I returned my focus on the last man Luna held down. I let the water flow back to the lake. He laid under Luna, gasping. “You witch!”
I actually giggled. “Yes, I am that for sure. Crazy, isn’t it. I have a hard time realizing it sometimes too.”
I gave Luna a nod and then turned to face Ian as she finished the breed. “Are you okay?”
He rolled his head back and took a deep breath. “I don’t think I’ve ever been so worried about you before. I could feel your anxiety when they surrounded you, but I couldn’t get here to help.” He pulled me close and kissed my forehead quickly before releasing me to look around and survey the damage. “I can’t believe there were that many. I took care of four others on the other side of that thing.” He nodded to the monument.
I rested my hands on my hips. “Well, at least Davin didn’t think it was my time to go. He could’ve easily kept his end of the deal tonight.”
Ian chortled. “Ha, did you see yourself? Damn girl, you took care of yourself pretty good. I’m not sure what that water thing was you did, but that was awesome. I think the Death Keeper will have his hands full trying to do you in.”
I glanced around as Ian walked around looking at the closest crossbreeds on the ground. It looked like the Napoleon War repeated itself.
“You know what the worst part about hunting is?”
I looked over at him. “What?”
“Cleaning up the damn mess.”
I laughed. I couldn’t agree more. That was definitely going to be the worst.
For not having my mom with me to create a shield to conceal the smoke and hide the fire fr
om immortal eyes, I did pretty well. As soon as the bodies and heads were burned and only smoldering ashes remained, Ian had me make another spell to dispose of the ashes before any humans could find them.
The sun was just beginning to rise as we left the park. Dregan and Luna cleaned up by the lake before any guards or early tourists could see them and walked next to us until we made it back to the hotel before disappearing.
Ailaina was up and ready with her makeup and hair perfectly done when she opened her door for me. She had the biggest smile as I told her about my night. “Okay, what’s going on? You are never this happy.”
She wrung her hands together in her lap and squealed. “You promise not to get mad?”
“Ailaina, I’ve had a very long couple days. I am tired and cranky. I can’t promise anything. You just better tell me.” I had no patience left and to tell her I was cranky was an understatement. I could feel myself getting more irritated than I should.
“I got to meet him. Like really went there. Oh, Es, he’s perfect!” She jumped to her feet and bounded over to me, grabbing my hands.
I leaned away from her. “You met who exactly?”
She wouldn’t look me in the eyes. Yeah, this was bad. “Davin,” she whispered.
I stood up quickly. “You met Davin? As in, the Death Keeper, Davin?” My heart sank to my stomach. Holy cow, this was way worse than just bad.
“Are you okay? Did he hurt you? What happened? How did you meet him?”
She giggled. “Es, I’m fine. Didn’t you hear me? I said he’s perfect. I don’t think he’d ever hurt me. We hit it off right off the bat. He is so charming, and he really likes to play pool, you weren’t kidding. He had me play with him all night while you were gone.” She spoke so fast it was hard to keep up.
“Okay, slow down. Why and how did this happen?” I sort of half sat, half fell, to the bed.
“Well, I told you before you left that I wanted to know if I could see more about him. I’m not sure how it happened, but one minute we were just talking and the next… Es, it’s like love at first sight.”
“What did he talk to you about? Love? There’s no deal made on you, is there?” I couldn’t handle it if I knew Ailaina was marked for death too.
She waved me off. “No.”
I knew there was more than what she was saying. “Ailaina, what happened? What aren’t you telling me?”
She bounced in her seat. “If you kill Nicholas, he won’t have to kill you. That we already knew, but…”
“But, what? Ailaina, you better tell me now. I seriously don’t have the patience right now.”
“You know how he wanted you to come live with him?”
I nodded.
“Well, I think we have that all figured out too so you won’t have to.”
I cocked my head to the side. “What do you mean that you guys have it figured out?” Forget irritation, anger boiled inside me now.
She swallowed hard before looking into my eyes. “I took your place.”
My heart went from my stomach to the floor and my blood froze. “You did what?” I yelled at her.
“Es, shhh, quiet.”
“Don’t you tell me to be quiet. You just traded my place with the freaking Death Keeper! I don’t think you understand what you did.” I stood up and began pacing, something Ian did frequently.
“Esmerelda, I have been your friend since learning how to walk. I’ve been with you through all the drama in high school and believed you when you called to tell me you were kidnapped and you were a witch! I have watched as you clung to Jarak, and now as you not only date Ian, but also bonded to him. I am told that I am a Seer that can help you and that is my job, and I will always help you because you are my friend. But where in all that is my happiness? Is it only you who gets the good-looking guys and have someone to hug? Seriously, I thought my best friend would be happier for me.” She folded her arms.
I kept shaking my head. “Ailaina, I would love to be happy for you, but Davin is the Death Keeper. You can’t do this. You don’t even know him.”
She stood and walked over to me. “If I can believe you’re a witch thousands of miles away on a phone, then I would hope that you can understand that there is something between us. I don’t know what it is, but it’s there. It’s not love, not yet, but I’m happy, and excited.”
My mouth went completely dry. “What does this mean for us?”
“It means she’ll be taken care of,” Davin’s voice sounded behind me.
I twirled around to see him leaning with his shoulder against the wall by the bathroom door. “You,” I seethed.
He held his arms up. “I didn’t do anything. When this little beaut came to see me, I was in shock. I took one look at her and something inside me awakened.”
“You can’t do this. You wanted me. Ailaina wasn’t part of that deal.”
“Es, sweetheart, we never made the deal, remember?”
“I’ll make it now,” I pleaded. I couldn’t lose my friend to the Death Keeper. I just couldn’t.
“No, Es, it’s my decision. Besides, I already made the deal.” Ailaina walked over to him and he reached out for her hand.
My whole body went numb.
“She’ll be safe from Nicholas and everyone else.”
“What about you? Will she be safe from you?”
He laughed. “I’m the least of her worries. Trust me.”
Hearing the Death Keeper say ‘trust me’ didn’t really instill any comfort.
“I’ll tell you what. Since I really don’t want to kill you, and because my deal with Ailaina is over if I do, I will give you the exact directions to where Nicholas is, and I will give you something that can kill him. I want to make a deal, Esmerelda.”
The red in his eyes danced. Time seemed to have slowed down and the world stopped spinning. “What’s your deal?”
“I give you what you need to end Nicholas quickly, and in return you owe me one favor.”
“What favor?”
He wrapped his arm around Ailaina’s shoulder, making her smile wider. She was truly happy, but I just couldn’t understand. Was it his dark magic? Had he enchanted or cursed her?
He smiled. “Not now, later. When I need a favor I want to be able to call on you. If you take this deal but fail to come through on my favor, then I will kill you and bring you with me to my world.”
“You mean take me to Hell.” I heard my voice, but it seemed so far away, not something that came from me.
“Yes, you can call it that, I suppose. Do we have a deal? I know for a fact that if Nicholas’s deal goes through and you die, he will kill all your family. Everyone you love will be tortured with your powers that I will have to bestow upon him once I take you.”
I cringed. That brought me out of my dream state. “Deal.”
Chapter Fifteen
An Enemy’s Death
Esmerelda
I stared at the sparkling liquid inside the vial Davin gave me. The blue fluid coated the glass as I turned it over to watch it in my hands. I was numb. Ailaina was gone and all I had was this vial of death.
“We’ll get her back, Es.” My dad propped his foot up on the table over by the window. I hated this hotel room. I hated Spain. I wanted to go home, but didn’t even know where that was. The last home I had was Jarak’s and every second made me wonder how much longer he had. I hated everything.
“Es, honey,” my mom coaxed. “We have what we need to kill him. After we do that, then we know he can’t hurt any more people, mortal or immortal. The Death Keeper won’t have to kill you. If you’re alive there is still hope for Ailaina, but if you give up she’s all but lost.”
I nodded. “You’re right. I just don’t understand. She acted so happy, yet… I don’t know.” I rubbed my face and let out a frustrated groan. “Things just keep getting harder. First, I had to wake up the other witches, now it’s kill Nicholas, then it’s fight the devil to save my friend. I mean, come on, I’m only one woman.”
“Everything in life you love is worth fighting for.”
Ugh, I hated when she sounded so wise. I looked up at Ian, who stood with his arms folded, looking back at me. I had to kill Nicholas. I couldn’t have him hurt anyone I loved. “Yeah, I know.” I fidgeted with my hands in my lap. “Mom,” I started, “how do I give a gift?”
Her brows rose in surprise. “Um, well, first you have to bond emotionally.”
My dad faked a coughing fit and thumped his chest, rising from the chair across the room. “I think I need to get some air.” He left the room faster than I’ve ever seen him move. “Come on, Ian, I think some fresh air would be good.”
“I think you’re absolutely right.”
They both darted to the door and left before either my mom or I could laugh at their hasty retreat.
I smiled as the door closed, then looked back to my mom. “I know about that part, that is done. I mean, well, we don’t need to talk about that part.”
She released a long breath. “Alright, I wasn’t prepared for this. I always thought we could talk about it under different, or even normal, circumstances. Kind of like the way it should’ve been.”
“Mom, it wasn’t your fault I was taken. But you can help me right now. If things go bad I need to know that Ian has a way to fight back.”
She moistened her lips. “Sweetheart, it doesn’t work that way. We can only give a gift to the one we bond with, but we can’t force a gift onto a non-magical soul. Ian has a supernatural soul because he is a guardian, but he’s not magical. If his soul isn’t ready to accept the gift you have to offer, it won’t work.”
“Then how does it work? I need to try. Maybe he is ready. How will I know if he doesn’t accept it?” I buried my face in my hands. “This is all so confusing.”
My mom took my hands, pulled them away from my face, and kept them in hers. “Es, you will know. There will be a time when you feel his soul ignite against your own. Right now your entities are only beginning to mingle together. Have you ever watched your dad and me together?”
