by Holly Evans
A small group of dark forms huddled next to the tall stone tower; they didn't quite look right. One of them turned to face me. It was covered in black, including a hood, but its eyes glowed a soft red. A pair of tourists walked by them. One of the shades crept up behind the woman and pinched her ass. The woman yelped and slapped the man she was with, much to the hilarity of the shades. They cackled and slipped away to the bridge proper. The sun was setting; they were in their element with the darkness and shadows. The man was still trying to explain that he'd done nothing wrong when I passed them. I almost felt a little sorry for him.
I leaned against the wall of the bridge and watched the shades have some fun while I allowed my mind to settle. They weren't my problem and they weren't killing people, so I took the amusement where I could get it. Their mischief was simple, whispering odd things in people's ears, making them jump, and picking their pockets only to place the wallet at the base of a statue ahead of them. The people were a little freaked out, but it would only bring in more tourists eager to see the ghosts and mischief makers of the bridge.
While I understood that I should have been more polite to Kadrix, Quin's defending him was grating on my nerves. We'd been through everything together; we were supposed to be a united front. Especially when disaster struck, which it certainly felt like had happened. I gazed out along the river and looked over the bridges further downstream before I moved to the other side of the bridge to gaze at the castle and the vineyards. Lights had been placed around the perimeter to highlight the castle in its splendour as it watched over the city below.
A calm finally began to settle over my mind. Elise hadn't been concerned about the situation. I had to trust in her and her lady. I didn't have any other option, really. The walk along the rest of the bridge was without incident as I allowed my mind to play over the situation at hand.
Quinn still wasn't home when I got in. A quick check of my phone showed that he hadn't texted, so I looked around the kitchen in hopes of finding something worth cooking for him. He'd pissed me off by siding with Kadrix, but he was my brother, and I shouldn't have snapped at them. He was certainly the cook, though I dabbled here and there when I wanted to give him a break. His way of poking and exploring meant that he created some wonderful dishes. His passion for life, for learning, was intoxicating, yet I couldn't quite share it.
When he walked in, I had a spaghetti Bolognese simmering on the hob; it was a simple dish and one of the few that I could cook to any edible standard.
"That smells amazing, Evie."
I had to smile. That was quite a compliment, coming from him. I leaned back against the counter and prepared myself for the upcoming conversation. There was a lot that needed to be said. He shuffled his feet a little before he set the table.
He finally looked at me and said, "So... Kadrix has offered to teach me alchemy. I mean he already teaches me little bits, but... teach me teach me."
I'd never been interested in dealing with magic; I saw it as a dangerous and dark art. Alchemy was technically a separate field, but it wasn't something I wanted any dealings with. Quin, however, had been fascinated since he was a little boy. I opened my arms and pulled him into a tight hug.
I held him by the upper arms. "I'm proud of you."
I meant it, too. I wasn't keen on the path he was walking, but he worked hard and Kadrix wasn't one to take just anyone under his wing.
Quin's face lit up, a grin spreading across his face. "Thanks, sis, that means the world to me. I was expecting a big fight."
I gave a small nod and served the food. My little world was changing at a break-neck pace. I had no choice but to roll with it and hope for the best.
Quin talked animatedly about the things Kadrix had taught him thus far; he seemed to have the good sense to focus on things that could help us, and I was grateful for that.
Once he'd cleared the plates, he said, "I'm sorry for how I was at Kadrix's. I was too harsh on you."
I sighed heavily. "I understand."
I feared that I understood better than he did. The way he looked at Kadrix was evolving, and Kadrix had been quite clear in his intentions. He couldn't keep the grin off his face.
I sat on the sofa next to him and said, "Quin, I know you're really excited, I understand this is an amazing opportunity for you, but be careful. Kadrix is still an elf, and alchemy is still dangerous."
He squeezed my hand. "I'll be careful, sis. Promise."
His grin never faltered. I wanted to talk to him about the bond with the hound, but I had nothing new and it seemed cruel to break his happy haze.
A pang of loneliness overtook me, and I couldn't tell if it was my own or the hound's. I bid Quin a good night and headed to bed to try and clear my mind. Kadrix had told me to focus, to calm my mind and stop being so selfish. The ‘selfish’ remark had stung; I did everything I could to keep Quin safe, to protect the humans. I pushed the thoughts aside and took a deep calming breath. Focus didn't come easily. Meditation had never been my forté, but I resolved to learn. What option did I have?
Thirteen
I woke up to my phone ringing somewhere on the other side of the room. I peered at the window. The sun had barely risen; I shouldn't have been dealing with people that early. Elise's soft voice answered me; an abomination had shown up back at his former home in Prague 4, Florenc. His family was freaked out, but he'd vanished not long after he showed up. She felt that Quin and I should accompany her to speak to the family and give them some answers. I cursed the gods under my breath; they could have had the courtesy to give me another hour’s sleep.
Quin was infuriatingly awake and bubbly when I stumbled out into the living room. I glared at him, but soon smiled when he handed me a freshly made plate of pastries; he was too good to me.
"Who was on the phone?"
I groaned and filled him in on the conversation with Elise.
He bit into a warm croissant. "Any idea what these abominations are?"
I shrugged before finishing my pain au chocolat. "The one that died in Elise's church kept talking about a group of women, so that suggests witches are involved."
"Mhm."
My boots were causing me some trouble in my half-asleep state. I leaned against the wall while I pulled them on.
Quin continued, "So... the timing would suggest it's that new coven Serena was terrified of."
I won the battle with my second boot and slipped my blades into their sheathes.
Quin eyed them and said, "Are you sure that's necessary? We're going to a human home."
I gave him a dark look and said, "Always be prepared."
He rolled his eyes and pulled on his jacket. The buzzer rang; Elise was just on time.
She greeted Quin with a tight hug. I was glad to see her in normal human attire; I didn't know how they'd have reacted to her with her usual electric-blue lipstick and flowing white dress. The pale blue jeans looked great on her, as Quin clearly noticed, too. I shoved him and gave him a warning look; Elise was absolutely out of bounds. If nothing else, she wasn't allowed to have a relationship with anyone; her goddess would send someone to her when she was ready and not before.
The air was crisp and damp as we walked down the road, past the ivy-covered walls and old metal gates. A touch of pink clung to the edge of the horizon, a reminder of the fact that I should have been in bed.
"So... why are we needed at this little meeting?"
I tried not to push Elise; her word was absolute when her goddess was involved. Priests and priestesses were respected by the entire supernal community, human and otherwise. They had a direct line to their respective deity. Even the fae, who didn’t deal with the gods, respected that. That didn't mean that I had to agree with it, as much as I tried to trust her. A small frown caused creases to form around her eyes and mouth.
“I'm unsure. My lady wasn't very forthcoming on the subject."
Frustration welled up inside of me but I pushed it aside; I'd learnt long ago not to bother pushing the p
oint.
“Did Evie tell you that Kadrix will be teaching me alchemy?"
Quin was practically bouncing.
Elise smiled and gave a small nod. “She mentioned it very briefly. I'm pleased for you."
An uncomfortable silence grew between us as we approached the edge of Florenc. Elise tensed every time I went to ask her something relating to the visit; I had no idea what I was supposed to do. While we were human, I'd grown up feeling and thinking there was a distinction there. They were innocents, hidden from the truths of the world. We were hunters and a priestess; we'd grown up in full knowledge of what was around us. That weighed on us and put us in a very different position; it separated us from them. Our parents had home-schooled us and we'd never had any normal friends. It was something of a bitter reminder of what I'd lost, of the potential life I could have had.
Elise broke the cycle of dark thoughts that had begun to swirl around my mind.
“This is the address."
The dark brown door was unassuming; the more communist-style building blended in with those around it. Elise pressed the buzzer; an older woman answered. Mrs. Perlová. The door buzzed and we walked into the slightly run-down building; Mrs. Perlová was waiting for us at the far end of the hall. Her eyes were red and puffy, her dark hair a little frazzled. Sympathy filled me, she must have suffered greatly. I offered her what I hoped was a friendly smile; fresh tears started tumbling down her cheeks.
She ushered us into her flat. Pale cream tiles covered the floor. The place was spotless, but well lived in. She offered us tea, which we gratefully accepted as we squeezed onto the very soft grey sofa. Everything about the flat was well loved and carefully taken care of. A painting of the Charles Bridge sat on the off-white wall near the door that I had to assume led to a bedroom. The poor woman came in looking even more flustered; she handed us black tea with a slightly shaking hand. Elise tried to soothe her, but she shook her head and sat in the tan armchair opposite us.
“Do you know what happened to my husband?"
I looked to Elise; what were we supposed to say?
Elise smiled sweetly and said, “Unfortunately, we don't have the details. Did he say anything while he was here?"
She shook her head and dabbed her eyes with a tissue. “No. He said he was sorry over and over. He said he wasn't coming home."
Elise glanced to us. Quin gave a small shrug. We worked very hard to make sure that normal humans didn’t know about the supernals, yet that poor woman’s heart was breaking; we had to do something.
Elise smiled at the woman and said softly, “I’m a priestess, we follow the old ways.”
The woman swallowed hard, her eyes widened a little.
“We suspect that a witch was involved with your husband’s problem,” Elise continued.
The woman’s hand trembled as she began dabbing at her eyes once more, her breathing becoming quicker and shallower.
“Why would a witch harm my husband?” she choked out.
I chewed on my bottom lip. I wanted to know the same thing. They didn’t usually cause harm unless there was due cause. She clearly didn’t know much of anything about witches; there was unlikely to be a grudge there.
“We’re not sure. Did you husband deal with such things?” Elise asked.
The woman shook her head furiously. “No, no, he was a good man.”
Elise smiled and sipped her tea allowing the woman a moment to calm again.
“I’m sure he was a good husband, Mrs. Perlová. Evelyn and Quin are experienced with witches,” she said.
“We work to keep the city safe from witches, to help people like your husband,” Quin said.
The woman took a long deep breath and nodded.
“I do not have more information. I am sorry,” she said.
I stood and knelt next to her and took her hand. “We'll do our best to help him."
She sobbed and nodded her head enthusiastically. “Thank you, thank you. I was so worried, he never came home from work two weeks ago. I do not know if this is better. To know he is... a monster."
She gulped down a fresh set of tears.
Quin said, "Do not fear, Mrs. Perlová, we will make sure that your husband finds peace."
“Thank you. All of you. Thank you."
Elise said softly, “Is there anything else you can tell us?"
She shook her head. “All he said was that he was so sorry. We were married for thirty years. We met as children, there was never anyone else."
I squeezed her hand; my heart was breaking for the woman. I couldn't imagine the pain she must have been feeling.
Once she'd run out of tears to cry, she smiled and said with a quiet laugh, “He always promised that he would leave this world in an interesting way. He got his wish."
I smiled and admired the strength she was displaying. We left with heavy hearts and yet more questions. The abominations were becoming more frequent, and we still had no idea what they were or where they had come from. As Quin had said, they started showing up while he was kidnapped, which matched the timeline for the new witch coming into the city. She was strong enough to terrify Serena, but could she really be strong enough to turn a human into an abomination that seemed much like a broken lycan?
Fourteen
Quin had taken Elise to talk to Kadrix about the abominations; I was in no mood to deal with the elf, so I returned home with hopes of achieving a state of focus that would allow me to find the hellhound. I needed to do something, to get an answer. Everything was swirling around in my mind. I needed to create some order from the chaos.
Pacing around the living room wasn’t conducive to focus, and the hot shower didn’t do me any good either. The lotus position wasn’t as magical as I’d hoped, and that put me back at square one of pacing. Some sense of calm finally washed over me, but it was burst by a stabbing sensation of fear. It was him. I knew it. I latched onto the fear in the back of my mind and tried to mentally drag it forward, to get something from it. It felt absurd, but I ran with it. I had to take whatever little thing I could.
I ran out the door and allowed my feet to carry me to what I hoped was the location of the hound. The colourful apartment buildings blurred as I focused entirely on the sensation in my mind. I turned down a narrow road and emerged near what I struggle to call a park, a large-ish patch of grass with a flowerbed thrown in the middle. I jogged up the steep steps and started looking for the hound. Something pulled me up the alleyway with the weeping willow on the corner.
My heart was pounding in my ears as I searched the alley, looking for those indigo eyes. Hundreds of scenarios flashed through my mind. The fear was building in my mind. My mind conjured up darker images, his body bloodied and broken. I emerged at the end of the alley and caught sight of what I thought was him. Dark jeans and a black shirt, broad shoulders with thick black hair. It was worth a try. Whoever he was, he was walking at a quick pace and kept looking around him almost frantically. He ducked down another alley with more steps. I jogged up behind him and tapped him on the shoulder. The fear in the back of my mind spiked, then vanished when he turned to face me.
Some of the colour had left him, his mouth was locked in a tight line, but it all slipped away when his gaze settled on me. I stepped up to him and put my shoulders back, I stepped forward again trying to push him back against the wall.
He stood firm, a small smile playing over his lips. “Evelyn, darling.”
I hated the way butterflies formed in the pit of my stomach when he said my name. He was a damn hellhound. The fear formed in the back of my mind once more when he looked over his shoulder. Matyas and the others were jogging down the alley towards us. The hound leaned against me trying to push past me. I placed a hand in the middle of his chest and gave him a dark look, I wasn’t letting him go anywhere. His heart was racing under my palm, sweat was starting to form across his forehead.
The fear finally evaporated from my mind when Dimitri said, “Evelyn. What a surprise.”
The sarcasm and aggression dripped from the words. I stepped sideways to glare at him; the hound turned to stand far too close to my side.
“What do you want, Dimitri?”
He walked up to me, his shoulders back. His hands ran over his barely concealed blades. The other two were close behind him. He stopped barely a step in front of me. He was only a few inches taller than me, but he tried to make the most of it as he pushed his chest out and looked down at me.
“You keep showing up around this beast.”
He glanced at the hound.
I shoved him backwards and said, “This beast is mine. The bounty is mine. Now run along and deal with the shades; I saw a group of them on the bridge last night. Surely you can manage to remove a few shades...”
I ground my teeth together. We were playing a dangerous game, and I was not going to lose.
Viktor had narrowed his eyes at me. “It is very convenient how you show up with this creature.”
“What exactly are you trying to say, Viktor?”
He bared his teeth in a mirthless grin. “You were always too good, Evelyn. You and your brother always had an edge.”
I went toe to toe with him. “That’s because we train hard and have more than half a brain between us. Now stop wasting my time and leave me to my bounty, else I will cut your balls off and shove them down your throat. Understood?”
Matyas grabbed the back of his shirt and pulled him backwards. “Leave her, Viktor. We have more important things to be dealing with.”
Viktor spat something in Russian before he turned and left with the other two. I ground my teeth together and watched them leave.
When I turned around, the hound had his arms crossed and a large grin on his face.
