Darkness Descends: A Skye Faden Novel

by Alisha Ashton

  With screeches echoing out into the night from the fògaraich that were closing in, the Tàcharain Fhaol Clan flooded out the doors as a wave of muscle and fury. Many ancients and elders transformed as they ran, leaving a trail of shredded clothing in their wake. Some elected to fight in human form. Others were too young to have the option of changing at will. Every wolf on the land ran with them, charging into battle by their sides with vicious intent. Their enemies numbered in the tens of thousands, swarming over the wall and across the grounds.

  Violence erupted in the blink of an eye, rocking the once-silent night.

  The collision of talons and fangs was announced by a deafening chorus of screams and screeches and growls and snarls.

  Taran had been eager to tear apart the first fògarach that leapt for him, but the very first blood of the new war – the war to end all wars – was spilt by Ailean. As quickly as Taran thought to will the transformation in himself, Ailean was already intercepting his would-be prey. He smirked as Ailean tossed the rapidly decaying head of the fògarach aside. With an arched brow, he watched as Ailean turned back to face him, covered in blood and grinning.

  “Nah aboot tae be tellin Skye tha ye got hurt on my watch,” Ailean teased before turning back to the battle.

  It amazed Taran how quickly 4,000 years of waiting seemed to fade from his memory. Every fight that had come before, every time he had come up against such a force, was suddenly as fresh in his mind as the day he experienced it.

  Bloodshed was second nature to him. He had been born to it. Son of a war-lord, trained for battle since he was barely old enough to stand. His reactions were measured, precise, methodical. Each of his enemies fell within two blows... but he knew these were merely pawns. The fògaraich had sent their youngest as the first wave of attack. Taran knew their purpose was simply to draw on his clan’s strength. They were being sacrificed by their elders – and why not? The fògaraich were in constant supply of mortals to bite. They had not the capacity to truly care for anything, let alone their own kind. Each of the soulless blood-drinkers that Taran struck down was seen as disposable by its brethren.

  With bellows and growls and snarls, Taran commanded his men. They formed a line, holding the attack well away from the numerous vehicles parked along the drive.

  Skye’s search-party did not miss the opportunity. They quickly piled into every car and SUV. Ciaran and Aodh were in the lead. After what felt like an hour of violence, but was in reality only a matter of minutes, the ones charged with bringing Skye back to her mate were speeding off down the drive.

  Taran shrieked into the night in anguished frustration as he watched them go. His eyes were wild and crazed from battle, but his heart was fracturing inside his chest.

  “Come home to me, wee one... come back safe, I beg of ya,” he whispered before an inbound fògarach drew his attention.

  The castle that had once seemed a refuge from the modern world was now suddenly his prison.

  42: Resurfacing Resonance

  “Let go...” Skye ground out as her captor’s lecherous hands dipped inside of her clothing.

  “Not a chance,” Tony laughed cruelly against her ear.

  “No... really... let... let...” She trailed off suddenly.

  Her body went rigid as a board. She cried out as the whispers filled her mind.

  “Whoa! What the fuck’s wrong with her?” Tony demanded when she began convulsing. He recoiled from the sight, leaving her to writhe in the cramped back of the SUV. His angry gaze fell on Miko and he ripped away the mortal’s gag. “Well? What’s this shit about?”

  Miko struggled against his captor’s grip, trying in vain to reach her. “I have no fucking clue! But don’t you think you should try to hold her still? Maybe keep her from swallowing her tongue, you retard!”

  Tony growled in disgust as he pinned her down. He had many plans for Skye. None of them involved rendering her assistance. Shoving Miko’s gag into her mouth earned him a bitten finger for the effort.

  “Ow, you crazy bitch!” He shouted before bringing his fist down across her face.

  “That’s great, let’s just punch the chick while she’s having a seizure!” Miko spat. “Were you dropped on your head or something? Christ, who the hell thought biting you was a good idea?”

  “I’d introduce you to him, if I hadn’t already made sure that he was good and dead,” Tony offered with a sneer.

  “Too many... too many... but it’s too early... God, there’s too many...” Skye murmured breathlessly as her body finally began to still.

  “What the fuck is she talking about?” Tony asked impatiently.

  Fighting to lean closer, Miko spoke soothingly to her. “Hey, Skye – can you hear me, chica? Are you okay?”

  “Too many... Miko... we have to... we have to get away from... They’re coming.” She stated with sudden clarity.

  Her eyes flew open and went wide as realization hit.

  “Turn around,” she whispered before sitting up and spinning to face the driver. “We have to turn around, right now!”

  “Easy, Queen Bitch, we’re heading right where we need to,” Tony assured with a smirk. “And unless you want your buddy over there to lose that eye after all, I’d start acting friendly again,” he purred as he reached for her.

  Skye snarled and swatted his hand away. “Are you fucking dense? You’re taking us into a feeding frenzy!”

  “Yeah, your point is?” Tony asked indignantly. “We’re bringin’ them what they want, so we’re safe. And you will be, too – so long as I tell them you’re cooperating.”

  “My God, you must be brain-damaged,” Skye declared in disbelief. “What did Brandubh say?” She demanded, and just speaking the strange name left a bitter taste in her mouth. “What did he play to? Your vanity? Your greed? Did he tell you that if you helped him kill off your clansmen, you’d be leader of the Tàcharain Fhaol Clan? That he would let you keep me as a trophy?”

  Tony shifted under her gaze, disliking the feeling of disillusionment she was inflicting. “Shut the fuck up. You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “Oh I bet I’ve hit the nail right on the head!” She spat. “What – did you guys have a tough Maker? Is that it? He expected you to work for your ranks? To be tested to prove your level of skill? And that was too much to ask of you lazy, arrogant bastards, wasn’t it? You wanted an easy way to the top. Then along came a fògarach offering it on a silver platter. What do you think they’re going to do with you once they have me, huh? Think about it. They’ll have what they want. Why would they keep a promise to a few meaningless dogs like you?”

  She stared at him in astonishment when it hit her.

  “Oh my God,” she breathed. “You all drank his blood, didn’t you? He offered it and you drank it without the slightest idea of what he could do to you afterward.”

  “So what? We drank his blood, it made us stronger,” Tony argued back, but he seemed a great deal less confident suddenly.

  “It didn’t make you stronger, dipshit! It made you think you were stronger. He GLAMOURED you!” Skye shouted angrily.

  Miko looked around at their captors and arched a brow at the expressions on their faces. All of them seemed stunned that they had not realized this sooner.

  Breaking in on the brief silence that had settled over the group, a ringing sound came over the speakers of the vehicle.

  “Shit... Tony, it’s him,” the driver whispered fearfully as he stared at the flashing cell phone on the dashboard. “What do I do?”

  Tony swallowed hard. His eyes locked with Skye’s. In that moment, she realized for the first time how truly young and naïve he was. He had been seduced by a fògarach, just as hundreds of thousands had before him.

  But he had not been singled out as food. He had been targeted as a means of reaching her. She knew that meant all the stops had been pulled out. For some strange reason, she suddenly felt sympathy for him.

  As the ringing continued, he finally mustered the
strength to speak.

  “Answer it,” he instructed weakly and watched as his brother pressed the button to receive the call.

  “I thought ya’d keep me waiting all night,” a disturbing voice immediately whispered over the speakers.

  At this point, Skye was so accustomed to hearing Scottish accents that she barely noticed he had one. Besides, the sound of his voice alone was enough to freeze her blood in her veins. Every instinct that she possessed, human and wolf alike, was telling her to get as far away as possible.

  “Is my little runaway there?” The man purred into the phone. “Can ya hear me, Skye?” He asked in a dangerous whisper.

  Her heart hammered inside her chest in response and she clutched at it, concerned that her racing pulse might somehow be heard through the phone on the dash.

  And it was.

  His cruel laughter came in response.

  “Ooohh... I can hear you, my pet. Pitter-patter, pitter-patter. Do nah try to muffle it – I like it,” he crooned. “What a naughty girl ya were, running off like tha when I had such grand plans for us. And did ya ever once thank me for my hospitality?” He asked in feigned offense.

  A second later, his crazed laughter had her holding back a sob.

  Whoever this was, he was dangerous. Not just dangerous – deadly and deranged and incomparably wicked.

  “Brandubh... ?” She whispered. As she forced the name from her lips, her eyes filled with terrified tears. Her entire body was trembling uncontrollably.

  “Mmm... say it again for me, pet. Lower this time,” he urged with a grin evident in his voice. “No? Fine then, suit yourself. I’ll be seeing ya shortly, anyway. Tony, be a good pooch and stay on the same course as ya are now.” His voice dropped to a chilling whisper as he warned, “Don’t do anything stupid.”

  The five were a lot less intimidating, now that they were exchanging fearful glances and second-guessing their actions.

  “Skye, we’ll be together soon,” Brandubh continued. “I just have to make a quick stop-off first. Ya see, I heard a nasty rumor tha ya’d gone and claimed yourself a mate. And I can’t have tha, now can I? Cheers!”

  Her eyes widened in horror as the line went dead.

  “Oh God – Taran! He’s going after Taran because of me!” She shrieked. “We have to turn around! We have to get back to the castle!” She pleaded frantically as she gripped the front of Tony’s shirt. “Please! Oh, please – just look into my eyes and...”

  HEAR ME!

  Her command reverberated through the minds of the five, fracturing the blackness that encased their clarity and freewill. She had no idea how powerful her words truly were – did not grasp the magic that she was unwittingly summoning.

  “You were glamoured, all of you!” She cried. “Just as you betrayed your Maker and led him like a lamb to slaughter, you are now being used by the fògaraich to sentence all of your brothers, your elders and ancients, your entire breed to death. But you can still try to make it right! You can still be redeemed in the eyes of the Clan. Get us back to the castle and I will do all in my power to keep you safe.”

  Tony gasped as her voice cleared away the last of the fog that had clouded his judgment and smothered his will.

  “What have I done?” He whispered as it all came back to him. “Oh, heaven help me...”

  “No heaven! Only Skye! ” She shouted with power resonating in her voice. “Return me to Faol Seunta at once! ”

  She breathed a sigh of relief when the driver slowed and turned the vehicle around. Her stomach was in knots as they set out...

  But it was too late.

  It felt like the ground dropped out from beneath her when she realized that it was too late to change things.

  “Our chance has passed. I sense them. They’re coming for us,” she said, leaning forward and looking out the windshield frantically as her breathing quickened. “Oh God... they’re everywhere,” she whispered in horror when her senses began to perceive their presence in all directions.

  “Everywhere? What do you –?” The driver began, but was cut off when the fògaraich descended on the car like a swarm of insects. “What the fuck!!!” He cried as the road was blocked from view by the undead abominations smashing through the glass.

  It happened in seconds.

  Skye tried fighting them off as they broke through the windows and slashed at her, but there were just too many of them. Their frightening screeches on all sides were nearly deafening. She could hear Miko screaming amidst the chaos. She saw the look in Tony’s eyes, the horror in his expression just before he was ripped out the window and into the arms of death. The fògaraich bared fangs as they tried to drag themselves into the vehicle, gripping her arms to prevent her from fighting. The SUV swerved wildly as the driver tried to protect himself.

  Suddenly the vehicle was flipping.

  Ground, sky, ground, sky, ground, sky... blackness.

  Nearly five miles behind them down the road, Ciaran clutched his chest with both hands and cried out in unanticipated agony.

  His body went rigid. Without his hands to steady the steering wheel, his vehicle veered sharply to the right. Gasping and fighting to keep his eyes open, he barely managed to ease his foot off of the accelerator. Blinding pain was radiating through his body... but it was not his own.

  “Skye,” he breathed nervously as the anguish slowly subsided.

  Looking up with wide, astonished eyes, he found that Aodh was gripping the steering wheel for him. The giant was currently the only thing preventing them from driving off the side of a steep embankment.

  With his senses gradually returning to him, Ciaran reached out and steadied the wheel, bringing the car to a stop in the center of the road.

  Aodh shot him a distressed look at the sound of tires skidding along the asphalt. He glanced in the side view mirror, watching as the long precession of vehicles they were leading came to an abrupt halt behind them. After letting out a silent sigh of relief that they had not been plowed into, Aodh motioned over at Ciaran. As his eyes clearly conveyed his concern, he mimicked the way Ciaran was clutching his chest.

  “I’m all right,” Ciaran assured unconvincingly. “I just...”

  He closed his eyes as the knowledge gripped him.

  Skye is in pain.

  She needs me.

  A sound to his side startled him out of his thoughts. Turning, he found Drostan knocking on the glass with a perplexed look on his face.

  Ciaran exhaled, trying to steady his nerves as he lowered his window.

  “I’d have appreciated a bit of a warning were ya intending to play demolition derby, brother,” Drostan chided.

  “Agreed,” Eògan said as he stepped up beside him. He rested his forearm on the roof of the car and peered in at Ciaran suspiciously. “Might I ask why ya felt the need to be testing all of our brakes?”

  Aodh leaned forward and signed to both of them before reenacting Ciaran’s outward appearance a moment earlier.

  Drostan frowned. “What’s wrong with your chest?” He asked and without hesitation, Eògan yanked the car door open. He and Drostan both quickly hauled Ciaran out for an inspection.

  “Nothing, I’m fine,” Ciaran insisted, but they tore his shirt open just the same, checking for any signs of injury.

  “Oh, you’re ‘fine’, are ya? Then why were ya carrying on like ya were having a bleedin’ heart attack behind the wheel?” Drostan demanded, scowling at Ciaran’s obvious reluctance to explain.

  Ciaran winced, looking back and forth between his brothers. He wondered if this would sound as crazy aloud as it did in his head.

  “It’s nah me chest tha’s hurting,” he began hesitantly. “It’s Skye’s.”

  “Eh?” Eògan asked, scrunching his face up in confusion. “How’s tha?”

  “I can... feel it somehow,” Ciaran elaborated. “She’s been wounded.”

  Drostan arched a brow and stood up a little straighter, exchanging troubled looks with Eògan and Aodh.

  �
��The wee boozer’s nah been drinking in here, has he?” Eògan asked, leaning into the car in search of a telltale bottle of whiskey.

  Aodh shook his head, signing that he had seemed fine up until the pain hit him.

  “I’m sober, trust me,” Ciaran assured. He rolled his eyes and exhaled for Drostan when his brother leaned forward to check his breath. “And while I do nah know how it’s possible exactly, I do know tha she’s been harmed. It’s nah the first time I’ve sensed her pain.”

  “Well,” Drostan began, scratching his head in perplexity. He was not really sure how to respond to such a claim. “I’m sure Skye is just fine, my brother. Your worrying for her safety – it’s to be expected given how close the two of ya have become already. But now tha worry’s just got your imagination running away with ya.”

  When Ciaran merely held his gaze intensely, Drostan frowned again.

  “Tha’s all it is, right?” Drostan pressed. “I mean, it’s all it could be?”

  “I wish tha were true,” Ciaran whispered as his eyes wandered to the other faoil that were approaching. “But it’s nah,” he insisted quietly. “Something’s happened to her, brother. She’s hurt badly. I felt it as though I’d received the wounds me self.”

  Drostan considered this for a moment as he watched the men approach. They had all exited their vehicles and were now making their way to the front of the line seeking an explanation. With a sigh, he nodded and turned back to Ciaran.

  “All right, brother,” he breathed. “If ya say she’s been harmed by her captors, then she’s been harmed by her captors. I trust ya nah to raise a false alarm on the matter. But... if Miko was with her...”

  The men shifted uneasily at the implications.

  If Skye had been wounded, it did not bode well for the mortal they had grown so fond of.

  “What d’ya want we should do?” Eògan asked.

  “The rest of ya wait here, I’ll go on and scout ahead,” Ciaran said before turning and starting for the tree line. “If I’m nah back in twenty, ya will do what ya must.”

  “Shouldn’t we send out more than one sentry?” Elijah called from the back of the gathering crowd.