A psychotic affinity for violence with unmatched strength and speed? Sounds like my wolf shifter. I’d like to chalk it all up to courage and good timing, but it was just as likely Emmet was in on the whole thing. My gut told me Emmet was not capable of such deception, but I really hadn’t started on a good foot with shifters in general.
And it was entirely possible that this was all Chaos. Winter said he might show his hand again soon. I didn’t know, but what I did know was that whoever was behind sending my friends to the hospital, would be arriving any minute.
“Rob, feel better,” I said, kissing his cheek.
“Sophie, are you leaving?” I heard Lily’s voice behind my back.
I turned but kept moving. “Baby girl, I’ll call you. Hugs.”
CHAPTER 29
____________________________________
A light shower began to fall as I stood outside the hospital. I walked around the building, careful to stay under the awning to keep dry.
“Such an enchanted day, don’t you think, buttercup?”
A man’s voice came from above. I stepped out from the awning to see if the man was talking to me. My heart leapt into my throat. Chaos was perched on a second-floor balcony railing, dressed in black. He looked like a well-dressed vulture.
He waved a half-eaten glazed doughnut at me. “Cursed with the briefest of lives, basics still happily eat their way to death,” he said, considering the doughnut. “I mean, what’s up with that? If they won’t value their mortality, why should we?”
I steadied the magic stream under my fingernails, ready to strike.
He dropped the rest of the doughnut, then licked his fingers clean. His eyes were filled with mischief. My blood began to ache.
Staring into his eyes, I stepped on his discarded doughnut, squashing it.
He chuckled. “The answer to your question is NO,” he said, “you cannot outrun me.”
“What do you want, Shadow?” I punched that last word to let him know I was way ahead of him.
He stared at me, unblinking. “I see my old friend shares much with you, but not everything. Did he, by chance, tell you exactly what must be done to become a Shadow Warrior?”
I raised my arms like I was losing patience. “Is talking people to death one of your powers, because so far I’m impressed.”
His eyes brightened, sending a shiver down my spine. “I do hope you enjoyed your larks with my little interbred friends. They might have come out of the oven a little early, with faces only a father could love, but their undying loyalty was inspiring.”
Damn, I was right the whole time.
“Do you hear yourself?” I said. “And, dude, not a surprise that those demons were your science project. Now that I know you better, I get that sick and twisted is kind of your brand.”
He feigned modesty for comic effect.
This psycho thinks he’s funny.
“They weren’t meant to hurt you,” he explained. “Just an exercise in quantitative analysis. I wanted to know exactly what level of command you now possessed. They were to prod a little and report back. You didn’t have to destroy them, honeybunch. It will be an effort to make more.”
What the hell was he on about?
Sounded like madness, pure and simple.
“If you knew I had the power to stop your morphs from shifting, why did you send them to Serenity Valley without cover? Do you enjoy slaughters?”
Chaos hopped off the balcony and landed in a soft crouch. He stood up and towered over me. His face appeared younger than his voice and reputation promised. He emanated the raw sexuality and masculine intrigue common in violent men and athletes. Women would line up for this dude if it wasn’t for the crazy in his eyes and the arrogance in his words.
He trapped my nose between two of his knuckles and pulled. I slapped his hand away and took a step back. He wanted to play.
WTF?
“There are important matters to discuss,” he said, casually. “The rebellion was a mere blip in the bigger picture. Your job, bunny rabbit, is to help me stop the fucksticks of the Seventh Council from taking over the world. To do that, I needed you out in the open and ready to play, but I couldn’t have found you without Winter’s help. He has access I do not.”
Gradually, the truth dawned. “You set him up. Both of us.”
He grinned. “Smart girl. I just had to hand feed him information about renegade Immortals and morphic shifters. I had to make it all sound plausibly terrifying.” He made a scary face, jumped up and down and yelled, “Boo!”
His unhinged behavior hurt his plausibility.
Then he got serious. “Winter would never have brought you out of hiding unless it was something big.”
Things began to fall into place. “You betrayed Winter’s trust. That’s it, isn’t it? At some point he trusted you and then you betrayed him. And now you sacrificed all those morphs to manipulate him.”
Thank god, Emmet was not one of them.
“Guilty as charged,” he said.
“I have to say, he underestimated you. Winter said you always went straight at a thing. You never played the long game.”
He was pleased. “They all underestimated me, sugar pop.”
“What’s with all those annoying nicknames? Stop it.”
His face turned dark. “Düsternis and his insipid crew of clowns have plans to take over the Deep Down, reign over all magic factions, then bring the basic world to its knees.”
“I don’t believe that,” I said. “No, you’re playing a game.”
“I wish I was, little dove, but they have gathered indestructible power. A great and terrible power beyond anything the planet has known. They will be able to alter climate to bring forth an ice age, they will be able to disarm or control nuclear weapons as well as nuclear power plants. Life as you know it will be forever lost. You will submit or die. And they will profess that they are doing it all for humanity, that they will save the planet. You’ve studied social anthropology, Sophie, if you listen to them, very carefully, you will hear that they use the same words that tyrants and dictators use.”
“And why should I believe a word of this?”
He circled me. “Because you sense the truth. It might take years, even decades, but they will make this happen. Their control of technology will be absolute. And, in the Tech Age, if you control tech, you control the world. Why do you think they banished me? I was the opposition vote, and dictators don’t like opposition votes.”
That was a lot to take in. One thing was certain—whether there was truth in his words or not, he was trying to control me. “Why are you telling me?”
“You should not trust Winter,” he said. “He is sublimely clever.”
“Oh, and I should trust you?”
“You’d be a fool if you did. Are you a fool, dove?” He laughed. “Consider this thing between us a temporary truce. When the time comes, if necessary, I will kill you, Luna Mae. Your kind is one of the most dangerous to ever walk the Earth. When I come into power, if I doubt you in any way, I will crush you before you reach maturity and full access to your potential.”
“I’d like to see you try.”
I really needed to quit threatening lethal Immortals. It was a very bad habit I’d picked up lately. I was just over men telling me how it’s going to be.
His eyes went predatory. “Oh, yes, you can be killed, button. It’s not easy, but I’m a sucker for a challenge and, to tell you the truth, nothing’s all that hard if you’re willing to put in the time to learn how.”
“Oh, did you find a chat room for Immortal cheat codes online?”
“Sometime funny, sometimes facetious, always defiant,” he said. “I can see what my old chum sees in you.”
The facts unfolded inside my brain. Chaos knew what I was, what I truly was, and he was threatening me. Openly. He must have also known that without a mist horse, I could only access a fraction of my abilities.
For sure he’d want me dead before I found that
horse, but for now he needed me for some unforeseen reason.
“As if I care what either of you think,” I said.
“If that is true, then you and I can coexist, but I must urge you to watch your back. Do not let yourself be used. Magistrate Winter will not hesitate to weaponize you again as he has done once already. It’s his plan, it’s always been his plan, ever since you sparkled to life.”
Now I knew he was batshit crazy. “What are you talking about?”
“Oh, sweetheart, you didn’t know?”
“Know what?”
“Winter didn’t happen upon you in a time of need. He didn’t just trip over you on the way to find another witch. He’s always known you. He’s your watcher, your true guardian.”
I felt like imploding. “Since when?”
He laughed. “Since always, since you played at your mother’s feet, since you fell out into this world and gasped your first magical breath.”
Damn it, tears started welling. It was too much.
“If you’re not going to kill me, I’d like to go.”
Strangely, he was surprised, even moved by my tears. “Ah, dear heart, do you know how exquisite it is for Immortals to witness nuanced suffering? It’s like art being born right in front of our eyes.”
“That’s morbid,” I said.
“Oh, no,” he said. “We are the watchers of it all.”
“Goody for you,” I said. “Can I go?”
“I don’t think you believe me, and after all my troubles creating a disturbance big enough for him to walk you to death’s door, to my door. Believe me, I tried easier ways. He was never going to share you willingly. I begged, I threatened, I groveled. We both needed to train you vigorously while there was time. He wouldn’t hear a word of it. He is obsessed.”
Don’t listen to him, Luna. He’s a madman.
“He’s obsessed?” I said. “Yet, it was you who caused a complete massacre just to have a chat with me.”
He nodded, laughing. “Well, when you put it that way… but, seriously, one day you will be grateful that I did. Winter has programmed every step you have ever taken. He will try to use you in the Immortal quest for supremacy. You will never be free, Luna.” He winked at me. “Unless you’re willing to take a stroll on the dark side.”
I turned to go. I had heard enough.
He leapt in front of me like a jungle cat. “Don’t break my heart, tulip. We will achieve great things together, save the world and have a few laughs along the way. I can’t win this fight without your charms and you can’t win it without mine. I know you won’t sit back, and watch Immortals enslave every-last-mortal being. That’s when they kill you. Sorry to tell you, the girl dies in the end, no matter how it ends. At least I’m good enough to admit it.”
“Gee, thanks.”
“And as a bonus, I’ll even spare the life of that little busy bee Lucia.”
That caught my attention. “What have you done to her?”
“Very little, she was already half-way there…” He spun a finger over his temple. “Cuckoo town.”
I shoved him. “Tell me what the fuck you did.”
He stepped back, in the most dramatic fashion, as if swept away by my strength. “Whoa, you’re a tough cookie. The woman, she just couldn’t resist my many charms. She fell in love. The rest was easy.”
“You have charm?” I said, not believing my ears.
He laughed out loud. “Women have chased me through the centuries, shrieking as they go. Poor little things, drawn to power and darkness. They need a master with might. They crave the living lord. When I spot one with certain gifts, I help them along and they are ever so grateful.”
Oi. What a load of crap.
“What are Lucia’s gifts?”
“A certain naïve optimism is always a good start. Her knowledge of ancient worlds and their rituals did speed the training. She proved to be a willing channel for my telepathic command. Typically works like clockwork, but you are not typical, are you, dumpling? You sniffed it out like a boss, as you kids say. You are, after all, a descendant of legends.”
“What happens to the women when you’re done?”
He reached for a strand of my hair. My psychotic glare made him change his mind. He returned his hand to his pocket like a scolded child. “The women are killed quickly. I do have something like affection for them, and a quick death is the humane thing once their mind has been scattered. Not unlike the basics do with horses and dogs who have passed certain thresholds of health.”
“If you do that to Lucia—”
“I know, sugar plum, I figured you’ll go after my head if Lucia doesn’t make it, and I simply can’t afford killing you before we save the world.”
I closed my eyes. I needed a moment. It was because of me that Lucia and Rocco had been scrambled into instruments for Chaos. No one who knew me would ever be safe again.
“What’s going on in that pretty little head, green eyes?”
“Dinner plans, and ways I might kill you.”
“A girl after my own heart.”
I laughed. Not for him. More because of my emerging insanity.
“You don’t give two shits about basics or magic factions. Why this eternal battle against your kind?”
“The million-dollar question arrives at last.”
“Well?”
“No spoilers, Loony Luna. You have to wait for the finale.”
“Have it your way, then. I’m not helping.”
“Time will tell. It holds all the secrets.”
I suddenly realized we were having this conversation in the rain. This was hardly how I envisioned encountering Chaos. Soaking wet, wiping soppy bangs out of my eyes while I listen to the most notorious Immortal Shadow of all pitch me on a plan to join forces to save the world.
I mean, c’mon! I just graduated from San Diego State. Go Aztecs!
“This is how it’s going to be,” I said. “You are going to release Lucia from whatever voodoo bullshit you have over her. You’ll allow her mind to heal. You’ll leave Rocco Barnes alone and you will gather proof that what you’re saying is true. I don’t want to see your face or your half-cooked shifter babies before you have something concrete for me.”
He kept nodding as if making a list in his head. “Is that all?”
“Yes. No. One last thing. Is Emmet Groshek working for you?”
He squinted. “Is that a real name?”
“Never mind.”
I was keenly aware that a deal with Chaos was spotty at best. He could switch gears at any time, break my neck, shatter my windpipe, drag me back to his lair for some all-day torture, or use me to lure Winter. The possibilities were endless. I needed to develop an exit strategy.
“Chaos, next time leave my people alone, you know where to find me.”
I walked away, trying to stand tall, but a dark memory whizzed into my head, Chaos wielding his Damascus blade above Winter’s neck on the battlefield in Serenity Valley.
“Hold on a second, angel face.”
What now?
He ran to catch up. He once again planted himself in my path and crossed his arms across his chest. “Who and what is an Emmet Groshek?”
Give me patience.
I pushed him aside, but he scurried back in front of me.
This guy sucks.
“Hasta la vista, mi niña linda,” he said, overcome with glee. He ran off and once again vanished into a puff of smoke.
My life right now.
CHAPTER 30
____________________________________
This time, I didn’t have to break his wards or use his ritual name. Winter was home and astounded to find me at his door.
“Were you not the girl who insisted we stay out of each other’s life?”
I walked around him to get inside. “Yesterday’s news.”
“Okay,” he said, closing the door behind him.
I tried not to focus on the fact he wore only swim trunks. His skin was tanner and his thr
ee-day stubble looked California cool. The past week had left him glowing with health, rest and peace of mind. It all looked good on him.
“I did some surfing,” he said, as if reading my mind, pointing to the ocean outside the window. “Just got back.”
He grabbed a shirt from the back of a chair and pulled it on, arms first. He straightened the shirt and finger combed his lush, wet hair.
I found a spot on the couch. I had waited two full days after my rainy-day chat with Chaos before bringing my doubts to Winter. Unfortunately, the two days did very little to calm me.
“I’ve a question,” I started. “When you said we were the only ones who knew what I was, did you mean me and you? Or did you mean me, you and fucking Chaos, the sadistic tormentor of the fucking world?”
Totally not how I rehearsed that.
“What are you accusing me of?”
“He knows I’m a Mist Rider and you know that he knows.”
“That’s not the case.”
“He seems to think otherwise.”
Winter’s face stiffened. “You talked to Chaos?”
“He did most of the talking, like non-stop, out there, crazy talk.”
He walked to the bar and poured himself a drink.
“Aren’t you even going to ask what he told me?” I said behind his back.
He turned, glass in hand. “No need. It’s obvious you can’t wait to tell me.”
“I can’t even with your smugness right now,” I said.
“Forgive me, please proceed.”
I stared at him with daggers before taking a deep breath. “Chaos contends that the Magistrates of your Council plan to wage war on all magic factions and to rule on Earth. He said he’s been trying to stop them. It’s the reason he was banished. Basically, he’s the good guy standing between the power hungry Immortal tyrants and the free world.”
Winter rocked back and forth on one leg, not his usual grace. “And did he sound like a good guy?”
I suddenly felt like I was being cross examined. “You know what he sounds like. He could definitely use a PR person.”
Winter’s slow responses were unusual for him. “Chaos has had good ideas, but always for the wrong reasons. He believes what he’s saying, that’s the problem. You would be wise never to trust such blind conviction.”
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