by M. R. Polish
The bathroom door opened. Es came out with a towel wrapped up on her head. “Any news?”
I drew my lips together, not sure if I should tell her or not.
“Ian, I know you know something. What is it?”
“Ailaina did escape, but hasn’t been found yet.” I hesitated before continuing. “Jarak is alive too, but he’s not doing good. I’m worried about him.”
She tipped her head. “Why? What is wrong with him?”
“They found a way to separate him and Maztic.”
She gasped. “No.”
I felt myself instantly get chills and draw inward looking for Dregan. I couldn’t imagine not feeling him.
“Don’t worry, I’m still here.”
Relief flooded me at the sound of his deep voice in my head.
“How is that even possible?” She slumped down on the bed, letting the towel fall and revealing her long wet hair that tumbled down her back.
“I don’t know. Whatever Nicholas is doing, it’s different magic than he’s ever used before.”
She twitched her mouth to the side. “Is there such a thing as black magic?”
I sat down next to her. “There is, but it is unheard of for a Watcher to work with a witch, or warlock for that matter.”
“Watcher?”
“They are like dark warlocks, although they are never witches, who cross over long enough to change. They are helpers to the Death Keeper. Kind of like how the breeds are helpers to Nicholas.”
“So they are the devil’s helpers? Great. What do you mean cross over?”
I stood back up, filled with too much apprehension to sit still. I rubbed my palms on my jeans. “Cross over is when a magical being makes a deal with the Death Keeper. He grants them their request in return for them doing his bidding. He gifts them dark magic while they work for him. Most of the time they never want to give it up and stay dark forever. Once you have black or dark magic laced inside you, it’s almost impossible to get rid of it.”
I stared at her. Her face twisted in worry. “Why do you ask?”
“You said whatever Nicholas was using was different. It’s strong enough to separate us from our spirit wolves, so the only thing I can think is dark magic.”
I sat back down with her and let out an exasperated breath. “Es, that’s nothing to play with, you understand that right?”
“I know, I won’t, but I think Nicholas has. I’m scared to wonder what he asked the devil in return for the dark magic though.”
I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her close. “Me too.”
Esmerelda
I hadn’t realized I fell asleep until I opened my eyes to a dark room. Sitting up, I saw Ian keeping watch by the window. “How long have I been asleep?”
“A couple hours at least. How was it?”
I rubbed my eyes. “Actually, it was great. I didn’t dream at all.”
He gave me a wide grin. “That’s great news.”
I walked over and sat on his lap. “It’s crazy. I’ve had nightmares for months. I forgot what good sleep felt like.”
He ran his hand up and down my back. “Well, I have even better news. Adonia and Torres found Ailaina. They are taking care of her and I told them we’d leave to meet up with them as soon as you woke up.”
I jumped up from his lap. “What? Why didn’t you wake me?” Ailaina was going to be okay. I could breathe again.
“Well, then what are we waiting for?”
I ran to the door. Ian came up behind me and placed his hand on the handle before I could open it. “Wait,” he said softly. I was ready to argue with him; I was leaving with or without him.
He unlocked the door and pushed down on the handle. “Let me look first. I won’t take any chances. If Nicholas is using dark magic like you suspect, then we don’t know what to expect.”
I swallowed hard and backed up a little so he could leave first, not that I wanted or needed him to, but I knew it made him feel better. In the end, it would be me fighting Nicholas, not him. I just hoped he realized that.
We pulled along the side of the road where my mom and dad were parked. I didn’t hesitate to jump out before we were completely stopped. Ailaina was waiting curbside and I ran into her arms, giving her the world’s longest hug. “I was so worried about you.”
“I’m okay. Jarak got me out.”
I pulled back. “So the vision you sent was real. Jarak is still there with them, isn’t he?”
She glanced down. “Yes. He stayed behind to give me a chance to get away. He never switched sides. He was set up by Julie.”
“It’s okay, he’s gonna be just fine.” I hoped. “What did they want you for?”
She shook her head. “I’m not totally sure. They forced my spirit to send the vision to you, so my best guess is that because you weren’t sleeping they wanted to get a message to you in a different way, and because I’m your Seer, I’m the one connected to you.”
So it was my fault. “I’m so sorry, Ailaina. I never wanted you to get hurt. I don’t know what I’d do if they’d killed you.”
“I think that’s what they planned on doing.”
I pushed myself away from her. “They wanted to kill you, just to get to me?” I hated that she almost died because of me.
“Es, it’s not your fault.” Ailaina smiled at me.
“So.” My dad came over and clapped his hands together. “Do you have a plan, or are we just gonna fly in there on brooms?”
I smirked. “I’ve been thinking all the way here, but haven’t really come up with anything new.” Actually, I hoped they had come up with something. I gave Ailaina a sideways glance. “Do you think you can find this house again?”
She crossed her arms and scuffed the toe of her converse shoe alongside the curb. “I think so. Maybe? I don’t know.”
“Well, whatever we do, we need to hurry.” My dad opened the driver’s side door to their rental car. “Let’s go find a place where we can sit and talk, and possibly get some coffee or something too.”
Ian placed his hand on my back. “He’s right, coffee sounds good.” He moved aside to open the doors to his rental car for me and Ailaina. He looked over at my dad before shutting my door. “We’ll follow you, Pops.”
My dad pointed his finger at him. “Watch it.”
We followed my parents to a little eatery on the outside of the city. It was quiet and remote, perfect for talking out a war plan.
The waitress was a dainty woman who couldn’t have been much older or younger than me. Her blonde hair was pulled back into a ponytail and her pink waitress uniform looked like something a sexy candy striper would wear. I took the menu from her and then pretended to ignore her as she held her pad and pen at chest level, clearly pushing her breasts out for attention. Even without looking at her, I could smell the unmistakable scent of bubble gum she chewed carelessly. Please don’t blow a bubble. I hoped the cook had better habits around the food than she appeared to have.
“Hi, my name’s Elizabeth, and I’ll be your waitress today.” Her voice had a thick Spanish accent. “What can I get you to drink?”
My dad, who cleverly hid behind his menu as well—no doubt was making it clear to my mom that he couldn’t care less about the attractive waitress—lifted a finger in the air. “Café, por favor.”
I raised my brow at him. I didn’t know he could speak Spanish. My mom wanted coffee too, but she openly disapproved of our waitress by letting out a small tsk tsk and shaking her head before accepting the menu. I bit my tongue to keep from saying anything.
Ailaina and I both ordered a soda. Something cold and fizzy sounded perfect.
“And what about you, handsome? Anything to drink?” she asked, with her chest still pushed out toward Ian.
Ian’s face was unreadable. If he noticed her flirtatiousness then he didn’t show it. “I think I’ll go with a soda, too.”
Elizabeth slumped a little as she walked away.
“So,” my mom started, “Aila
ina, what do you remember? Take your time, and try to think about any details in your mind.”
Ailaina twisted her fingers together in her lap. “They threw me down in a dark pit with Jarak. He tried to help me escape, but he was already too weak. After Julie took him out I was all alone, but then this horrid creepy woman came and got me. She forced me upstairs and tied me to a table. I was gagged and no matter how hard I tried to scream it wasn’t loud enough.”
Elizabeth set our drinks down. “You guys ready to order?”
I leaned over to Ian. “I’m not that hungry, are you?”
“You have to ask?”
I rolled my eyes at him. He closed the menu and set it down in front of him. “I just want a house special and a basket of fries to share with my girl.” He winked at me.
“Hey, you best be sharing those with me too,” Ailaina said.
Ian grinned. “Okay, make that an extra-large basket of fries. Just throw the whole bag in the fryer and bring em’ out.”
Elizabeth opened her mouth to say something, but must have thought better, because she wrote it down on her pad and looked at my parents. “Anything for you two?”
My dad put the menu down for the first time too. “I’ll have the same thing he’s having.”
My mom smiled. “I’ll just share fries with them.”
The snooty waitress gave a fake smile. I’m sure she practiced in front of a mirror perfecting it nightly. “Alright, it will be right out.” She turned on her heel, leaving me to scowl at her backside.
“Okay, so where were we?” My mom spoke up, making me look away, breaking my jealous glare.
I sucked in a deep breath and sat up straighter. “Ailaina, how did you escape?”
She chewed on the inside of her cheek. “After they, they um, forced me to send you…” She trailed off and tears streamed down her face.
I wrapped my arm around her shoulders. “Shhh. It’s okay. It’s all over.” Except it wasn’t over, and she knew it too.
Her breathing hitched as she tried to slow it down. She held her hand out as if to stop herself. “Okay, I’m good.” She wiped her tears and folded the napkin she was using as a tissue. She stared at the tiny squares she was making out of the thin material. “After they made me send you that vision, the creepy lady started to do things. It hurt so bad. I think I passed out.”
I gave her a small squeeze to comfort her.
She sniffed. “Then the room was spinning and I wasn’t sure I was seeing clearly. Jarak was there, untying the ropes, and he carried me down stairs.” She looked out the diner window. “When we were both at the door, he chose to stay behind to give me more time. Julie was coming fast but Jarak didn’t act like he could fight her.” She turned to look back at us. “I ran as fast as I could. I’m sorry I left him.”
I hugged her tighter. “Don’t be sorry. He chose to stay, that was his choice not yours. I’m sure he’s fine.”
Ian’s jaw clenched. “Ailaina, no one blames you. He’s the jerk that put himself in that situation. If anything, I’m mad at him for being there.”
My dad rubbed his chin. “Ailaina, how did they force you?”
“Dad!” I couldn’t believe he wanted to stir up more emotionally disturbing memories.
“Esmerelda, if we are going to defeat Nicholas, we need to know what playing field he’s on.”
Ailaina laid her hand on mine. “It’s okay.” She looked at my dad and mom. “I’m not sure how it worked exactly, but after she slit my arm and took my blood, she made a few unnatural noises. I don’t know what she was doing but it wasn’t long after that when she started to cut me again. My mind started swarming with thoughts that weren’t my own. I could see myself on the table in my head, but it wasn’t me. The me in my head was screaming and blood was everywhere. I fought against the vision and tried to block it out, but nothing worked. It was exhausting having someone else in my head. It’s like they zapped everything out of me, and then just took over.” Her face went blank as she thought silently.
I’m sure it was a memory none of us truly wanted to hear about. The waitress brought our food to the table and left again, but not before giving Ian one of her smiles.
My dad took a bite of his Tostada Catalina, the special of the day. I could smell the olive oil and garlic from his and Ian’s meal. The toasted bread with a weird ham and tomatoes on top looked good, but I was glad they had some familiar American comfort food for me. Fries were the perfect thing to eat as my stress level climbed higher with each passing moment.
“Well,” I said as I popped a fry in my mouth. “Ian and I might have an idea why Nicholas is acting different, but it’s pretty deep.”
My mom lifted her napkin to her mouth so we couldn’t see while she talked. “I think at this point, nothing would surprise me.”
“I believe that he’s using black magic.”
My dad coughed and thumped his chest with a fist. “That is a very dark accusation. Not that I’d put it past him, but… I think you’re right. It makes perfect sense.”
I popped another fry in my mouth.
Ailaina raised a brow. “I don’t understand.”
“Nothing has ever been strong enough to separate a guardian and their wolf before. Nicholas has been hiding, which isn’t like him. I haven’t seen him for a few nights in my sleep, so that is different too. I’m not sure what he did, but I know it’s not good.”
Jarak
I could barely keep my head up I was so tired. It took all I had just to stay awake. I hadn’t heard or felt Maztic since Ailaina left. How long ago was that?
Yesterday, it was only yesterday.
I let my head fall back against the wall I slumped down next to, glancing around the room I was locked in. It was the same room where I found Ailaina. Only a table with rope dangling from the sides stood in the middle. I couldn’t believe a locked door kept me prisoner. What a wuss I turned out to be. I couldn’t even break down a simple door. It wasn’t that long ago I broke down a heavy metal door at an airport to help Es.
Es.
So many things had gone wrong that I wished I could start over, but I couldn’t—wouldn’t. She was happy with Ian and every chance I had, I blew. Then Julie came back and my heart couldn’t battle the curse of her spell any longer. I was destined to love her in hate, and now I was too weak to fight it. It made me sick.
I searched deep inside me for my connection with Maztic. I needed to feel him. Whatever they’d done to separate us, was killing me. I only hoped that Maztic was okay. All I could feel was emptiness and it scared me.
The dimming light filtered through the crack in the curtains. The end of one more day.
How many more could I survive like this?
Downstairs a door slammed then footsteps pounded up the stairs. I knew it was only seconds before whoever it was, would be in the same room as me.
The door swung open, hitting the wall stopper. I knew I should run, but I didn’t even have the energy to stand.
Nicholas glowered down at me. He wore the same black suit as usual, but his blonde hair was askew and not carefully pulled back, and his brown eyes were bloodshot. Something was definitely wrong.
I glared back at him. “You look worse than I feel.”
He gave a slight chuckle. “I can assure you that I am just fine. Although, I can’t say the same thing about you.” He scratched his chin. “Someone once told me that if a guardian and his wolf’s spirits were severed, they would die.” He looked around the room. “I don’t see a wolf anywhere. Do you?”
Anger filled every nerve in my body. I found some unknown reserved energy from somewhere deep inside and jumped up lunging for Nicholas, but he threw his hand out, sending a shock wave to my chest. I flew backward, landing against the wall. The harsh impact took my breath away. Without Maztic’s spirit to guard mine, magic definitely worked on me.
At least I could say I was finally feeling my age.
Nicholas dropped his hand and winced. He inhaled as deeply a
s I wanted to. My legs gave out and I slumped back to the floor. I hated being so weak, and did the only thing I had enough energy to do—I spit at his polished black dress shoe.
He glanced down at his foot then at me, disregarding my insult. “Why is it you try to fight me? In the end it will be me that wins. Don’t you want to be on the winning team?”
I let my head fall back against the wall. “You won’t win.”
He jumped up on the table to sit, his hands grabbing the edge to brace himself as he leaned forward. He stared out the window into the moonlight that was beginning to show itself. “I guess if I wanted to win, I would’ve won already. There were many chances given to me. I had Esmerelda here, twice. And I was strong enough to break through to her dreams. I was strong enough to kill Adonia, but I didn’t.”
He cocked his head my way. “I think the whole thing amused me. I wanted power so badly that I created the first crossbreed. I wanted control—the ultimate power. So I used innocent victims.” He inhaled deeply. “But they all died.”
I wasn’t sure what to think about Nicholas telling me his side of the story. It unnerved me to hear how easy it was for him to use people. “You’re a coward.”
He shot his hand out and another electrical current flooded through me. He sneered as he lowered his hand, only to grab the edge of the table once again. “I’m not a coward.” His jaw tightened. “No more than Torres was when he asked a wolf to help save his precious Adonia. I never would have hurt her. I only wanted their daughter.”
My insides churned as he talked about Es. “I know you needed her blood, but then she awakened the witches and she said everything changed. What really changed?”
He chortled a little and shook his head. “The best way to break a curse is to kill the maker. Except, I was strong enough to fight back. That’s why she couldn’t complete the Reaping.”
