by May Sage
Luke's mouth gaped open, and he looked behind him to see if the ghost was addressing someone else.
"Yes, I'm talking to you, Luke Hall. We might not have met in the land of the living, but I have a great interest in you, regardless. You're my granddaughter's mate, after all."
Oh shit.
"I won't be able to guide her after tonight. You'll have to take care of her for me, yes?"
He nodded. "Yes, always."
"Good boy."
He had to ask, though, "Why tonight? Because of the ceremony? Won't it be the same next year?"
The ghost seemed to falter a little. "No one can tell what will happen tomorrow, young man. The veil between the worlds is being shattered as we speak. She's coming through. She'll bring others with her, chaos and vengeance. There's no stopping her. Those who try will join the ancestors sooner than their time. You've promised, Luke Hall. You will take my granddaughter and leave with her. You will protect Rain."
He froze. "Who's coming?"
The ghost was angry now. "Say you will take her away."
"I said I would protect your granddaughter and I meant it. Now, tell me who I'm to protect her from."
There was silence for a time, and then the grandma's ghost said one word, so quietly Luke wondered if he'd misheard.
Hoped he'd misheard.
"Come again?"
"Artemis!" the ghost repeated. "Diane. Call her as you will. The goddess of the hunt has spent decades whispering in the ears of our covens until almost all came to worship her. There are only two souls who were strong enough to resist her. If Rain had only listened, if she'd come before, we might have had a chance. Now, there's no changing the inevitable. She will come through and open this doorway to their world. The gods will rule Earth again and play with mortals as they wish. Rain, Michelle. They can survive this. They can create safe havens and hide from this. Take her far, far away. Drag whomever you love with you. And live through the darkness."
Luke remained stunned, shocked and immobile for a time. Then, he did what any sane person would, and started to run toward the horde of crazy-ass witches who wished to bring a super-powerful, extremely deadly goddess to their world.
Fuck.
He didn't have time to freak out, though. Sara was almost on Rain now, an evil glint in her eye.
That was it, he couldn't take it anymore. Luke leapt forward, running to his mate.
There was no need to panic.
One word crossed Michelle lips, just a simple, authoritative, "Sleep," and the hundreds of witches before them dropped to the ground as one.
Shit, the woman was scary.
She wasn't the only one. The instant the witches stopped their spells, the ghosts were set free; they must have felt it, because they scattered into the wind, leaving the cemetery as fast as they could.
Michelle didn't seem overly concerned about them. Luke told himself that so far, everything was going according to the plan Rain had shared with him. It was all good, right?
Frowning, he asked the elder White, "What now? You just have to seal the veil, right?"
And make sure the freaking goddess didn't cross into their world.
"I wish I shared your optimism, shifter."
At least, she didn't call him kitten.
"But no. If I closed it now, our enemy would just wait until next year. I can't take that chance, this is our best chance to be rid of it. I have Rain with me today; an anchor who won't give in. In a year, I probably won't."
She might if she asked Rain to come back nicely, without threats or insults. Now wasn't the time to point that out, though.
"So, I'm going to open the doorway, let our enemy pass through, and properly exorcise it."
Shit. Bad idea. Terrible idea.
"Listen, you might not believe me, but I just saw your grandmother's ghost. She told me this isn't a ghost, or a specter, or a demon we're facing. There's a fucking god on the other side. We can't win this."
Michelle was unbothered, unsurprised.
"Which god?" she asked, calmly.
What the fuck? Was everyone in their family insane?
"The head of the covens has guarded this portal for generations. I know what lies beyond, Luke. Did my grandmother tell you which god?"
"Artemis."
Michelle smirked. Alright, so she was fairly badass.
"The Huntress. Could be worse. Alright. Bring it on."
And on that note, she lifted her hand and recited a Latin incantation.
For a moment, nothing happened, and then, the crypt's doorway became bright, too bright for their eyes, Luke had to look away. When the light dimmed, his gaze went back to the door, to find one small woman standing in front of it.
Goddess
She was beautiful. So beautiful. And cruel.
Rain had been stuck in a barren white room since she’d passed out in the cemetery. She knew the drill, it wasn’t her first time as an anchor. She was the doorway, and, by her will, the sprits from the outerworld could pass through to Earth.
The first time she'd done this, it had overwhelmed her, made her feel sick, dizzy, and set her mind on fire.
She must have grown in the last six years, because this time, the spirits had little effect on her. They came, waved hello, and passed beyond her without hurting her.
What had changed, she wondered. She didn't feel all that different.
And then, there was this woman.
No, this... thing.
It wasn't a woman, not in the human, or even the vampire, sense of the term. Rain would have sworn her DNA had more in common with a white whale than it did with this creature, who was entirely foreign, alien.
Her eyes were ageless, and her face, so perfect it almost hurt to look at it. She moved deliberately, and so fast her eyes couldn't quite catch up.
"Hello, Rain,” the thing said. “Long time no see."
It made little sense because she'd never, ever seen that thing before.
"No, I guess you haven't," the female told her, plucking her thought right out of her mind. "But I've seen you. I used to whisper in your ear. I'm told I have the sweetest voice, and yet, you shut me out. No one has ever managed to walk away from me, until you, you know."
"You make no sense, lady."
The creature smiled. "I was in your head, from the moment you developed magic. When you and your sister came to life, I knew I ought to keep a watchful eye on you. It isn't often that the original witches are reborn in the flesh. And yet, here you are. Eve and Lilith. Schuyler and Christine White. Rain and Michelle."
Her jaw fell open. She was joking, right?
"I didn't see it in time with your sister. She was already watched too closely by the angel by the time she came of age, but you? No one protected you. So, you were mine. Mine to play with. Mine to manipulate. Until you left."
Okay, so, now her head was hurting.
"You're telling me you used to manipulate me? Make me do things?" Holy fuck. "Did you make me hurt Michelle?"
"I whispered, and you were always so very quick to follow. Eager to please me. Eager to destroy your own flesh and blood. My good little Rain. Tell me how you managed to shut me out. I'm curious."
The thing didn't look curious. She looked angry. And insane. There was something dark in her eyes. Dark and dangerous.
Rain knew better than to say a word.
"Very well. If you must be difficult, I'll have no choice but to make you suffer the consequences. You mortals never learn without lessons. I will take your mate from you, first. Then, your useless little sister. And then, I'll kill Michelle before your eyes, before making you bleed slowly. Painfully. Won't it just be glorious?"
Rain paused. Most of that made sense, except...
"Ah. You haven't realized it yet. You're quite slow, little Rain. You know, when my kind created yours, we were very generous. We have one wondrous thing that makes immortality bearable. A soul made to match ours, created by fate. Although you live but a few decades, we blessed y
ou with the same gift. Every mortal born on Earth has been attributed a fated mate. Humans are generally too wrapped in their own drama to even look for it, but his kind is different. A little more civilized. I've no doubt he already knows you're his."
"Luke."
The word was out of her mouth before she knew she was going to say it.
The creature smiled. "Smart little Rain. You've found him at last. Now you get to watch as I take him from you."
Rain straightened her spine.
"I'm not letting you pass."
The creature's smiled showed all of her white, white teeth.
"You don't need to, sweetie. Your sister has already opened the doorway. She's under the misconception that she can defeat me. Isn't it quaint?"
And on that note, the female stepped forward. Her form seemed solid, real, but she walked through Rain as if she was nothing but another specter.
Coldness spread through her, freezing her insides, hurting so damn much.
Rain closed her eyes, curling into a ball and rubbing her arms to warm up.
When she opened her lids again, she was back in Nola, in the cemetery, lying down on the altar. The creature had decided that Rain should watch her fight, and so, she would.
Rain tried to move as the female stepped closer to Michelle and Luke, her Luke. Only to find that she was trapped in her body, incapable of moving so much as a finger. Hopeless. Useless.
The creature grabbed Luke by the neck and threw him fifteen feet back, before lifting her hand to Michelle and blasting her with so much magic her sister stepped back, falling on her ass, despite her shields.
"Have you ever been useless, baby girl?"
Rain knew that voice. She couldn't see her, but Grandma Iris might as well have been in front of her right then.
"I can't move, Ma."
"Who said anything about moving, sweetie?"
She needed to. The creature was stepping toward Luke again. She knew she'd kill him, as she promised she would. Rain had to do something. She needed to...
All of a sudden, she knew exactly what she needed to do. Her grandma had a point. Why would she need to move at all? She was a freaking witch.
Rain concentrated, gathering all of her strength, all of her power, focusing in a way she never had before. She found the amount of energy within her practically endless, so much stronger than it had ever been. Soon, she realized why: she had channeled all of the ancestors who had passed through her as the anchor. She had the strength of all of her ancestors, thousands of witches, at her fingertips.
Rain let go, releasing all of it, pouring it into Michelle and Luke.
If she had been able to move, she would have smirked.
He could feel the change in him. Something was unlocked, unchained, clicking into place. He couldn't name or define it, until, all of a sudden, he could.
Rain. Rain was with him, within him.
She'd formed their mating bond, without a mark, without even touching him.
And now, he had magic. He might not be able to make use of it, but the next time the goddess threw her wave of energy around, it bounced off him. The shields Rain had put into place were strengthened to the nth degree.
That was more like it.
Ignoring the fact that the goddess was female, Luke shifted, and pounced on the bitch, digging his claws into her, drawing thick blue blood.
Hell, yeah. She could bleed. That meant she could be killed. Artemis looked stunned, like it was the first time she'd seen her own blood in ages. Michelle took the opportunity to throw some golden magic balls at her.
The goddess hissed, her eyes going from Michelle to him, assessing the situation, calculating.
Then she turned away from them, pulling the bow from her back, nocking an arrow, and aiming at the altar.
Luke wasn't the most worldly shifter, but he'd read enough legends about the goddess to know a few things. Like the fact that her bow always, always hit its target.
Before he could do anything, she drew it back and shot at Rain.
Sunlight
It was the end. If she died, all was lost for him. They might not have bonded, but she was his, his soul. How does one survive without part of his soul? He wasn't Voldemort, dammit!
Luke watched in horror as his world was about to shatter.
Until the goddess’ arrow shattered into a billion particles of gold.
It had hit a very solid form that had placed itself between Rain and death. Luke didn't know who was more shocked; him, Rain, the followers, or Artemis, as they watched Michelle smirk down at the goddess.
"Sorry, girl. I swear I get it, she definitely makes me want to murder her from time to time. But it still happens to be my sister you're trying to kill. Plus, you're kinda evil, so we don't exactly want you to stick around."
The goddess watched her with more curiosity than anger. "You're alive. My arrow should have at least hit you."
Michelle shrugged. "I don't enter fights I can't win. As you have that whole eternal youth thing going for you, I figured I'd make it even."
The goddess tilted her head. "It has been an age since mortal creatures have managed to make themselves immortal. Since the time of my forefathers. And somehow, you've accomplished it. You will do well to stand aside. Powers like yours are valued among us. If you give up now, you shall live. I give you my word."
Her voice was so seductive, soft and sweet. Almost anyone would have fallen for it. Almost.
"Thanks, but no thanks. If you want to destroy the anchor, you'll have to go through me...in the next minute," Michelle smirked, pointing to the sky.
No wonder that she'd arrived late, delaying the ceremony. The sun was rising on the horizon. Just a few minutes, a few precious instants, and the nightmare would be over. The evil goddess would go back to where she came from.
Luke had half expected her to shoot another arrow, but she discarded her bow, dropping it on the ground, before pulling a curved cutlass from the side of her leather belt.
She sneered. "As you wish."
Th goddess ran toward her at the speed of light. Each of her moves had been calculated, perfectly coordinated. She was a master in the art of violence. One minute? She could kill any mortal in seconds.
Any mortal.
Although shifters had keener eyes than most humans, Luke couldn't see the movements clearly at that speed. A few feet away from Michelle, Artemis was stopped on her course, tripped by Charles.
Holy fuck, Luke had forgotten all about the vampire. He might not be fond of his kind, but right then, he could seriously have kissed the man, and given him permission to call him kitten until the end of time.
Artemis gracefully caught her balance and landed in a crouch. She shifted her weight to stand back in the perfect position to pounce, baring her teeth not unlike a cat. Although she could seem so refined when she wanted to, the goddess was brutal, almost animalistic now.
She jumped incredibly fast, her knees folded, and landed on Charles' shoulders. Her legs curled around his neck and twisted to snap it. She might have managed if Michelle hadn't seen it coming. A long ivy vine reinforced with magic, wrapped around her feet. It wasn't strong enough to keep her in place for a long time, but she gave Charles the fraction of an instant he needed to disentangle himself from the deadly grip.
Luke had managed to get to his feet by now. He stood next to Michelle, blocking the path to Rain. She was still kept immobile by the anchoring spell, but he could tell that as the sun rose in the sky, it was waning, giving her strength.
Luke was in awe. Everything had been calculated down to the second. Michelle had known that they didn’t have a hope in hell to vanquish the goddess, or even to just keep her busy for longer than a few instants, so she’d arrived late, started close to dawn, and got a secret weapon to wait in the sidelines until the right moment.
They could win this.
They had to.
Luke joined the melee, claws and fangs out, clawing at the goddess as Charles punched he
r, and Michelle used her spells on her.
Then one word crossed Artemis’ lips. “No!”
Michelle smiled, tilting her head. “See you in hell, bitch.”
A ray of sunshine shone through the tombstones, and the goddess faded like she’d been nothing more than a bad dream.
Charles got to his knees, breathing hard.
“I’m too old for this.”
Michelle was too busy dancing in circles and doing fist pumps to reply. As for Luke, he had other concerns. He rushed to the altar, where Rain was sitting up, stretching luxuriously.
He cupped her head in his hands and dropped a kiss to her forehead.
Then, he said the words he intended to use every day for the rest of his life.
“Good morning, mate.”
The witches woke up confused and frightened, some entirely unable to remember the last few weeks of their lives, others, wondering what had pushed them to act out of character. They all turned to Michelle, who reassured and helped them. Rain was too busy hugging and comforting Sara to worry about anyone else.
From the shadows of the Blackstone crypt, Charles observed them, his lips tight. Luke left his mate’s side regretfully, to go speak to the vampire.
Two days ago, he had had a thing against his kind. It seemed like another time, another life. Now, Luke was pretty happy with just about everyone who happened to not be a divinity.
“It’s not the end, you know,” the vampire said as a greeting. “Not for us in Nola, not for anyone, mortal or immortal. There was a bigger plan here. Artemis would have had no reason to seek to control the vampires if it had been.”
“I don’t know,” Luke mused. “I see a reason or two. Might only have been for a little while, but you held your own against her. Michelle had magic, I had fangs, claws, and witchy shields. You? You fought her with just your fists. Maybe your kind can stop the gods.”
The vampire considered his words.
“That means we’ll be the first to fall, the next time they try to pass through.”
