Beyond the Black Mist (The Familiar Curse Book 2)

by C. L. Bright

  I nodded. “Yes, I suddenly had the strangest sense of dread. It must be my nerves.”

  “I don’t blame you for being nervous,” Serena told me with a slight smile. “Let’s hurry. The sooner you pass through the Ivorfalls, the sooner you can breathe a sigh of relief. It will be nice to have fewer enemies to look out for.”

  “Yes,” I agreed. “Then, we’ll only have to worry about the traitors among my people.”

  Chapter 38

  We headed to the far east end of the Ivorfalls since we were less likely to run into anyone while crossing through to the Heathergate Refuge. There were no roads safe for vehicles, and the hunting wasn’t as good in that area. It was also much farther from any trading posts.

  Our plan was solid, and we had a good chance of making it to my father without anyone stopping us. I was almost home, and everything was going according to plan, yet my confidence was waning with each step. The closer we got, the more my sense of impending doom grew.

  “I’m paranoid,” I whispered to myself.

  “No,” Dante told me. “You’re smart. It would be foolish to let your guard down.”

  “It’s more than that,” I argued as I pushed my hood back, feeling like I couldn’t breathe with it on. “I feel like something bad is coming our way.”

  “I feel it too,” Geori agreed as he pushed his hood back.

  “It’s probably just nerves,” I said to try to reassure both of us before I heard a noise that made me freeze.

  “What is it?” Dante asked.

  “Someone is coming,” Geori replied as he looked in the direction of those approaching.

  They had to have been using some sort of cloaking spell to have gotten so close before any of us noticed their presence. There was no time to put our hoods back up before the small group of spellcasters stood only about ten feet away from us.

  “Don’t move!” one of the warlocks shouted.

  I calmed my racing heart and faced them with all the confidence of a leader. There was no reason to worry since both Geori and I wore bracelets. We were protected.

  “And who do you think you are to give me orders?” I demanded. “Do you know who I am? Do you think it’s smart to attack the future ruler of the Heathergate Refuge?”

  I raised my hand to make sure they saw my bracelet.

  The spellcasters hesitated.

  “Let us pass,” I told them. “We have a truce with the Azureans, and you have no right to detain us.”

  They didn’t move, and one shook his head. “According to the current leader, and we know his only heir is a young male. Now, who are you really?”

  Once again, I pushed down my panic and reminded myself that the bracelet protected me. We needed to talk our way past the spellcasters. There were eight of them, so it was smart to avoid a fight.

  Sin moved to Dante’s side and let out a soft, rumbling growl.

  “What is that?” one of the warlocks asked as he pointed at Sin.

  “It’s a dog,” I replied. “You’ve seen them before, right? Or do you not have them in Azuredale?”

  “That doesn’t look like any dog I’ve ever seen,” one said as he continued to eye the demon. “You need to come with us.” He then gestured to Dante and Serena. “You two! Pull back your hoods.”

  “You have no authority over us,” Geori told him. “The members of the Heathergate Refuge are protected. Let us pass so we can go home.”

  They hesitated again, and I began to feel some hope that they’d let us go. I didn’t recognize any of them, so they probably didn’t know who I was.

  Someone had placed guards around the Heathergate Refuge, and the only reason I could think of was that they were looking for us.

  A familiar voice from the back of the group confirmed they were part of an ambush set for us.

  “Let me through.”

  Nicolas stepped forward with an irritating smirk and an evil gleam in his silvery-blue eyes. He looked directly at Dante when he spoke again. “Push your hood back so we can all see your traitorous face.”

  What were the chances of us running into him or of him thinking of searching this close to the Heathergate Refuge?

  I’d have said we had no chance of running into him if he weren’t standing right in front of us, making me wonder if one of Peony’s people, possibly even Erik, had betrayed us.

  Going willingly with Nicolas wasn’t an option. That meant we were in for a fight.

  Both Dante and Serena pushed back their hoods and glared at Nicolas.

  Nicolas seemed even more amused by Serena’s presence. “If it isn’t my sweet little cousin. I can’t wait to spend some time alone with you when you’re locked up.”

  He expected her to cower. It’s what she’d always done in his presence, but Serena was no longer a frightened witch. I enjoyed seeing Nicholas’s composure briefly slip when her lips curled into a smile.

  “Your confidence is your weakness, Nicolas,” she said in her sweetest voice. “You won’t hurt me or my friends.”

  He laughed. “Such brave words.”

  “How did you find us?” Dante asked.

  “Someone sent word to Azuredale after you procured those bracelets, so I knew you were heading this way. I also have guards posted in a couple of different areas,” Nicolas replied. “There are even Tulureans looking for you.” He turned to the other Azureans. “We’ll deal with them when we get back to Azuredale.” He looked directly at me. “Do you know what my reward is for capturing you?”

  “No, and I don’t care,” I replied in a bored tone.

  “You should.” He sounded annoyed that I wasn’t playing the game according to his rules. “I asked for one thing. I want you as my familiar. You’re all mine.”

  “Over my dead body,” Dante snarled.

  Nicolas laughed. “Yes, little brother, that’s the plan.”

  Out of the corner of my eye, I saw two shapeshifters emerge from behind the Ivorfalls spell. I couldn’t make out who they were with the hazy mist of the spell still surrounding them.

  With any luck, they were loyal to my father and would help even up the odds, though it was equally possible they were traitors loyal to my stepmother.

  “Juliet?”

  Relief washed over me when I recognized Fiona’s voice. She’d been one of my father’s most loyal guards for many years.

  “Yes,” I replied without taking my eyes off the Azureans. “I’m back.”

  “We all heard you were killed when you went to the trading post,” Fiona said. “Your stepmother said she saw your body.”

  “Nidia said she saw rogue shapeshifters kill you,” Darius, a younger guard of my father’s, added.

  “She lied,” I told them. “She wanted me dead, but her plan failed.”

  “Enough!” Nicolas shouted. “I’m taking all four of these prisoners with me.”

  “You have no right to take any of our people,” Darius snarled.

  “That’s right,” Fiona agreed. “You can take the others, but Juliet is ours.”

  “She’s right,” one of the warlocks stated. “If the shapeshifter is from the Heathergate Refuge, we have no authority over her.”

  Nicolas’s jaw clenched as he bit out his response. “Do not question my orders. We take them all and kill anyone who tries to stop us.”

  “You’ll take no one!” I snapped. “Fiona and Darius, as your future leader, I order you to defend my companions. Without them, I would be dead.”

  Nicolas threw the first magical blast, and I barely dodged it. Even with the help of Fiona and Darius, we were outnumbered, and the spellcasters seemed determined to avoid getting close enough for us to fight, instead relying on magic.

  We needed to get past the Ivorfalls.

  Dante sent his magic pouring out, and it slammed into Nicolas, knocking him to the ground. I’d forgotten how much more powerful he was in my presence.

  Unfortunately, I was at a disadvantage since there was no time to change forms.

  Sin lunged
and took one of the Azureans down before ripping out his throat while the rest of us couldn’t get close enough to land a single blow.

  “If you can take Nicolas down, we can make a run for it,” I told Dante. “The others are only following his orders, so they may not pursue us.”

  Dante nodded, his focus remaining on his fight with his brother. The strain on their faces was obvious as they each tried to land a magical blow.

  Nicolas must have decided he wouldn’t be able to defeat Dante alone because he yelled, “Kill my brother!”

  Three other warlocks joined him.

  This gave the shapeshifters a chance to get closer to some of the spellcasters who were distracted with focusing on just one warlock. I landed a sidekick to one who was about to send a blast of magic at Dante.

  “Look out, Serena!” Geori shouted.

  I shouldn’t have looked in her direction. Just as Sin knocked Serena out of the way of a magical blast, a warlock tackled me to the ground. My distraction gave the warlock an advantage.

  His hands wrapped around my throat, and I clawed at his wrists as I gasped for air.

  “Don’t kill her!” Nicolas shouted from right beside us, having abandoned his fight with Dante.

  When I looked over, I saw that Dante was struggling to remain on his feet as he blocked the magical attacks of the two warlocks.

  “You aren’t going to win.” Nicolas sounded matter of fact rather than taunting. “I’ll make you a deal.”

  “Screw you and your deals,” I hissed as the warlock above me leaned close enough for me to slam the heel of my palm into his nose.

  He howled in pain and released my throat, giving me time to shove him off and scramble to my feet.

  Nicolas stopped the warlock as he was about to hit me with a magical attack. “Don’t damage my familiar!”

  “I will never be your familiar!”

  Nicolas moved closer, blocking my kick with a laugh. “Is that so? Your side is losing, Juliet. I’ll have you one way or another, but I’m willing to make you a very generous offer—one I strongly recommend you take.”

  “What are you offering?” I asked. I would not trust anything Nicolas offered, but I wanted to keep him distracted and hopefully find a way for us to escape.

  “Surrender, and I’ll let the others go,” he replied.

  I snorted. “Why should I trust you to let them go? We both know you want Dante dead.”

  “I do,” he admitted. “I’ve dreamt of seeing my brother die a horribly painful death, but I’ll let him go for you. You’ll add a lot to my power just as you have to Dante’s. You’d better decide quickly. Once your side loses, that offer is off the table.”

  “Why make the offer if you think my side is going to lose, anyway?” I asked.

  Nicolas looked irritated. “I don’t want to start a war with your people. Not only will you come with me, you’ll tell everyone that you chose to bond with me as my familiar. You will tell everyone that you don’t want to return to the Heathergate Refuge.”

  He was an idiot if he thought his plan would work. Fiona and Darius would be witnesses to the fact that I hadn’t wanted to go with him. They’d never believe my change of heart. Nicolas would kill the others no matter what I did.

  “And then you’ll let everyone else go?” I asked.

  Nicolas’s expression turned even cockier. “Of course. You’re the prize I want above all others.”

  “Won’t the other Azureans insist on taking Dante and Serena with us?” I asked.

  He shrugged. “They all work for me. I can’t promise they won’t be captured later. Both are still wanted criminals, but this will give them a chance to get away.”

  We wouldn’t get a better opportunity. I nodded nervously. The nerves I didn’t have to fake since there was no guarantee this would work. “Okay, I’ll go with you.”

  I held out a hand, hoping he’d step toward me to take it.

  Nicolas hesitated before stepping closer.

  Once he was within striking distance, I spun and landed a kick to his chest that knocked the wind out of him as he fell back.

  “Get to the Heathergate Refuge!” I shouted to the others as I started running.

  Dante and Serena sent out larger magical attacks that pushed their opponents back before turning to flee. I suspected they’d used much of their remaining energy to give us more time to make a break for it.

  “I’ll kill them all while you watch!” Nicolas shouted from behind me.

  Our feet pounded against the ground as we raced toward safety. We were nearly there when the Shadow Walkers we’d seen earlier blocked our path.

  “No,” I whispered.

  In a panic, I tried kicking one of them.

  “Dear goddess,” one of the Shadow Walkers said softly. “It really is you.”

  I had no time to ask him about his strange words; red hot magic slammed into my back, stealing my breath just before everything went black.

  Chapter 39

  Dante

  The magic swirling around us made it hard to see or hear anything. All I knew was that Juliet was in danger.

  I had to get to her, but Sin wouldn’t allow it. Having changed to human form, Sin shoved me hard enough to send me flying through the mist of magic.

  When I hit the ground, the wind left my lungs, and I gasped for air.

  Once I could breathe again, I raced toward the mist of magic surrounding the Heathergate Refuge, but it threw me back.

  “Juliet!”

  “What’s happening?” Serena asked as she touched the magic guarding the area. Sparks shot out at her, and she jumped back.

  The two shapeshifters from the Heathergate Refuge looked perplexed.

  “I’ve never seen it do that before,” the female remarked.

  The male tried passing through, but the spell shoved him back, though not with as much force as when I’d tried to cross. He frowned. “It’s locked us in here.”

  I tried reaching out to Juliet with my mind, but the magic preventing me from getting to her blocked our connection like at Reaper Ridge. I couldn’t connect with her mind, so I had no way of knowing if she was hurt or even dead.

  “This can’t be happening,” the female argued. “The spell only prevents others from entering this area. Everyone with a bracelet should be able to come and go with no problem.” She glared at me and then Serena. “Spellcasters shouldn’t be able to pass through.”

  “It’s a long story,” I began as I held up my arm to show them the bracelet. “These are special. I’ll explain everything later, but for now, you need to know that we’ve been helping Juliet.”

  Their attention shifted to Geori. “I don’t recognize you,” the female remarked.

  “I’ve also been helping Juliet.”

  “Yet, she’s been captured, and we can’t get to her,” the female stated. “That seems more than a little suspicious.”

  I didn’t plan to stand around arguing with them when I needed to find a way back to Juliet. She was alone and surrounded by enemies.

  “Sin!” I shouted as I looked around, wondering where she’d gone. I didn’t see her anywhere.

  “I don’t think she made it in here with us,” Geori remarked.

  “Who is Sin?” the male asked.

  “Sin is the demon traveling with us,” Serena replied as she studied the magical barrier. “Do you think she was the one who closed off the area?”

  “Why would she do that?” the female asked.

  “To protect me,” I said with a sigh. “She’s not nearly as concerned with saving anyone else.”

  “She saved me,” Serena argued.

  “I’m pretty sure she shoved me through the spell as well,” Geori remarked.

  “Someone also pushed me,” the female added.

  “Same here,” the male told us.

  “And she left Juliet out there with enemies,” I grumbled.

  The female shapeshifter studied me. “Why were you fighting with Juliet?”

&
nbsp; “How did you get those?” the male added. “None of this makes any sense.”

  “You’ve already said that,” I growled. “The woman I love—my other half—is trapped on the other side of this barrier with a bunch of spellcasters who want to harm her. My brother is with them, and he’s a twisted bastard. I have to get to her.”

  “I know this is hard to believe, but Juliet is our friend,” Serena told them. “She’d be dead, or worse if Dante hadn’t rescued her from that trap her stepmother put her in.”

  “I failed her,” I whispered.

  “The demon is with her,” Geori reminded me, but it gave me little comfort since Sin had saved everyone but Juliet.

  “Don’t assume the worst,” Serena said as if reading my thoughts. “Sin may not have locked us in here.”

  “She’s right,” Geori agreed. “The demon may not have had a chance to get Juliet across before the barrier closed.”

  “I hope that’s true, but I’m not counting on Sin to help Juliet. There has to be a way out of here,” I said as I started walking away, sticking by the edge of the spell.

  “Stop!” the female called out. “You need to come with us.”

  “No.” I stopped and looked over my shoulder at her. “I’m going to walk the perimeter of this spell until I find a weak area, and then I’m going after Juliet.”

  “I’m going with you,” Serena announced.

  Geori looked torn. “Juliet risked her safety because she was afraid for her father and her people. Perhaps we should update her father on what happened and then see if we can get some back-up to come with us. There were too many spellcasters for us to fight alone.”

  “You can go with the shapeshifters to update Juliet’s father and get help if you want,” I told him. “I’m finding a way out of here.”

  The female nodded. “Darius, go back and tell Shea and Marcus what’s going on. Tell no one else.”

  “But our leader will want to know,” Darius argued. “We have to tell him and the others, Fiona.”

  Fiona shook her head. “Not until we know who we can trust. Marcus will get word to our leader. This should be enough to bring him out of isolation. I’m going with you to help rescue Juliet.”

  “Let’s go,” I said as I started walking along the edge. “First, I’m going to find Juliet, and then I’m going to make sure my brother can never hurt her again.”