by Kim Faulks
Like the truth without believers.
My Dragon warned me…and I wouldn’t listen then, but I was listening now.
You’ll need me before it’s over, he echoed. Because there’s only one thing that will stop our enemies. An arrow…right through their goddamn hearts.
Miles slipped behind us as did the hours, until Davonport city lights glinted in the distance. Marcus shifted beside me, drawing my attention. They’d go after her, of that I was sure. So was Marcus my enemy, was Zadoc? Was it their hearts I’d aim for? Was it their bodies I’d burn?
Silver flames danced in my mind, always ready, always hungry.
I swallowed the bitter taste of acid and felt my stomach roll.
“On my six, Alpha.” Gunny’s voice drifted from his phone as we crested the rise of one last mountain and raced down the other side.
Gas stations were replaced with mammoth concrete buildings. Neon paint marred the sides in splashes of yellow, green and red, blurring as Alpha pushed the four-wheel drive harder. The hairs rose on the nape of my neck as we breached the city.
The squeal of tires mapped the way as we closed in on Gunny’s black Jeep. Streetlights splashed, revealing the crammed backseat. Marcus wanted me beside him—right where he could watch my every move.
The Archer wasn’t a nice surprise, not like the others. He was an unwelcome visitor, an unhinged and uncontrolled powerhouse of rage, and the Bloodletter was fucking delusional if he thought he could contain me.
We cut through the heart of the city, spearing out the other side like an arrow to the chest. Residential blocks replaced glistening glass. The acrid scent of a burning engine wafted through the truck’s cabin. The needle was redlining, bouncing harder and harder the faster we hurtled through the quiet streets.
Red lights blinked on the dashboard before they disappeared. Still the smell of burning oil never went away. Gunny’s voice cracked through the headpiece as we left behind new developments for the older part of town.
Victorian buildings stood stoic and strong. Brown and red replaced silver and black. Alpha slowed the car, fighting the surge as we turned, and then turned again.
“Up on our left,” Gunny barked through the phone. “Black suburban out front.”
“I see it,” Alpha answered.
I followed his gaze to the darkened windows of a two-story decrepit house. The steeply pitched roof gave way to rusted red brick. The facade was crumbled and worn, and inconspicuous. No one would look twice, not at something like this.
Seat belts snapped open. X leaned forward, her hand rested on the door handle. My stomach clenched as we slowed to a crawl, and then everything happened all at once.
Movement came from Gunny’s car. Darkness consumed the pavement as Zadoc rushed forward. We braked hard. Doors shoved open. I yanked the handle and shoved the armrest, spilling out into the street.
The thunder of boots merged into one, echoing the heavy thud inside my chest. A wave of terror hit me like a roundhouse kick as I mounted the curb and raced for the driveway.
I couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think. The others seemed to slow as they raced under an empty carport.
Turn around.
The words slammed into me, carried on a breeze. Alpha gasped and stumbled as he yanked his weapon free. X had his back, reaching for his arm as he went down hard on one knee.
Turn around and leave now.
Evander moved in close, grabbing the Marine’s other arm and dragged him under the ramshackle carport.
Death waits for you.
Unseen bands wound around my chest and squeezed. I grasped the neckline of the hoodie and yanked. Heat welled in my chest, and clawed upward. The vein in my temple pulsed, smothering any desire to remain.
My steps slowed with movement to my right. Out of nothing the Vampire came, just as he did hours ago in the cavern. My gut tightened, fists followed.
I turned finding Marcus. But the image wavered, melting back into the darkness as though it hadn’t been there at all. It wasn’t real, just a memory.
Marcus swung his gaze toward me, even in the darkness I could see his pain. White fangs glinted as he lifted his hand and pointed to the rafters above. Shards of a mirror glinted from a woven web inside a willow hoop. “Dreamweaver,” he snarled. “Barrier spells. This is the place.”
He stared into my eyes, and for a second the mighty Marcus faltered.
If this was a dreamweaver, what nightmare did he see in me?
He swallowed hard, ducked under a shattered beam, and slipped around the corner and into the back of the building. I glanced over my shoulder and stared at the spot where the mirage wavered before I turned left.
A heavy thud rocked the night. In the distance a dog barked, and was joined by another. Gunny cracked her gaze toward the sound. “Hit it again.”
Black markings dripped along the timber door, something strange…something that reminded me of the old woman. Zadoc stepped backwards, his aim centered on the barrier.
“I don’t…” Alpha murmured and swayed on his feet. I stared as the Sig Sauer wavered. “Something’s wrong.”
A guttural snarl slipped from Zadoc’s lips as he dropped his head and lunged. The heavy thud of his boots filled the night, and were swallowed by the boom of three hundred pounds of pure muscle against wood.
The mountain bounced and stumbled backwards. He shook his head, and rolled his shoulder. Still the door held. There wasn’t a mark, not even a fucking scratch. There was no way that was even possible.
“It’s been spelled.” Marcus raised his hand, pressing his fingers to the wood, and then looked to the darkened windows above. “Something doesn’t want us to get inside.”
“Or someone,” Gunny answered as she stepped close.
But there was no roundhouse kick from the Sergeant. No brute strength required as she drew her weapon and took aim.
I flinched with the blast. Timber splintered with the first shot, and on the fifth the lock crumpled inward. The bitter stench of gunpowder filled the air, faint sounds were muffled in my ears. Bedroom lights came on inside the house opposite. But it didn’t matter, by the time the cops got here we’d be long gone.
Zadoc charged, dropping his shoulder at the last minute to hit the door. The lock snapped open, and the door flew inward, bouncing against the wall as we pushed inside.
Lit black candles covered the counters, casting soft yellow light against the walls that carried into the hallway. Zadoc was the first inside, slipping through the doorway, and Gunny followed, weapon raised, and aimed at my brother’s shoulder.
X carried Alpha inside, yanking him through the doorway and into the darkness. Evander was on the Marine’s ass, but it was Gunny he watched. Marcus looked over his shoulder and motioned me inside. It was almost like the sonofabitch didn’t trust me.
A soft thud echoed and was followed by the crack of glass.
“Don’t step on that,” growled Evander as I headed through the kitchen and into the hall. Dirty water seeped from the shattered jar spilling rusted nails along the floor. There were more…a lot more. Bottles of murky water lined the stairs between every candle.
“What the fuck is that?” Gunny snarled up ahead. I closed in, scanning darkened corners.
“War water,” Evander answered. “Something you don’t want to mess with.”
“Hex spells,” X added and looked over her shoulder.
Her dark eyes glinted silver in the dappled candle light. But there was something else about the young wolf, something that made her shorn hair and haunted expression feel dangerous. Her lips moved, soft words I couldn’t understand. She looked to the Marine, and her lips moved faster.
“It’s affecting him, isn’t it?” Gunny growled. “But it’s not affecting me.”
I caught the flare of panic in the Sergeant’s eyes as she turned to Evander and then back to the first floor. She trained her weapon higher and looked down at her arms. The sight shook, bouncing around the railings as black markings rose to the surface u
nderneath her skin.
The silver rays of the moon seemed to haunt her, reflecting off a silver plate to splash against her skin. Gunny rose, climbing a step, and the beam of light moved with her.
The higher she rose, the higher this beam of moonlight followed. The black markings covered her arms and then disappeared as though she was gaining strength and power from the moon itself.
Evander brushed her arm with his fingers, stilling the shake in her arms. Something passed between them, some faint moment of affection before the mortal nodded. But I had to wonder. If the spells around this house affected Alpha and not her, how mortal was she?
There was a lot I’d missed…and as I glanced to Marcus and caught his brows tighten, I realized he’d missed it too.
A soft moan echoed, finding us crammed together like ants in a damn nest at the bottom of the stairs.
“Gunny,” Alpha moaned. He reached for her, swiping the air with his hand. But his aim was off, his strength now gone. The Marine’s knees buckled. It was only the wolf at his side that held him vertical.
He doubled, and clutched his stomach. Sweat broke out across his brow, glistening in the yellow candle light.
“It’s his soul,” X murmured. “This place is detaching his soul from his body.”
Her hands fluttered against his brow, fingers brushing his forehead, and then dropped to his cheek. “It’s killing him.”
“Jesus,” Gunny muttered and stepped down, stilling only when Alpha shook his head
“Don’t you fucking dare,” he gasped. “Keep going Marine. Get this bitch and we’re done.”
There was a second where I thought she was done. In my head she was already grabbing Alpha and running as fast and as far as she could. His fingers twitched as though he was pushing her without moving his hand.
“Move…your ass,” he whimpered and tried to lift his head.
His pink skin was now ashen, black circles crowded his eyes. There was nowhere else to go, one thing would save him—a bullet between the Huntress’s eyes.
Something wet hit my hand. I looked down at the darkened drop and then up to the ceiling.
“Lucas,” Marcus muttered.
I glanced to my brother, finding dark rivulets seeping from the corners of his eyes. Crimson glowed like black that dripped from his nose to linger on the top of his lip.
“You’re bleeding,” Marcus growled.
I swiped my nose, the tips of my fingers came away with blood, but I cared more about him and jerked my head toward his face. “You too.”
He followed the movement running the back of his hand across the top of his lips.
“We all are,” Zadoc growled staring at his hand.
The air seemed to vibrate with energy. The glass jars of war water rattled as power leaked from the walls to stand the hair on my arms. The walls hummed, and Alpha whimpered.
Get the fuck out of here, the Archer growled.
But we didn’t run…not now—not ever.
Zadoc dropped his head and drove his body up one more step. Gunny followed, leaving X and Alpha behind. I drove my heels into the floor and gripped the bannister, climbing after Evander one slow step at a time until I met the Marine. Blood flowed, from his eyes, his nose, and even the corner of his lips.
His eyes rolled back in his head, leaving only the whites as he started to shake. Teeth gnashed, hands fluttered as the Marine went down. I’d seen something like this before—Thorn, the Princess, and now the damn Marine.
“Get him the fuck out of here,” Gunny screamed. “Now!”
A boom rocked the house from underneath the stairs. Bits of dust floated from the ceiling, and through the door on the first floor something moved.
Marcus turned, gripped the bannister, and vaulted down the stairs. The barrage of heavy steps filled my ears as he thundered along the hallway and into the kitchen.
“The door, it’s shut!” he yelled. Heavy grunts followed. “Damn thing won’t open. It’s locked us in here.”
X cried out as Alpha’s arms flopped in the air.
The young wolf wrenched her head up, her screams filled my ears. “The house is killing him!”
16
Eva
Show me…show me everything.
I whimpered and speared my fingers amongst urine stained straw. The stench of the young mother surrounded me, her blood, her hate—her fear—her baby.
Something fluttered low down in my belly. A whisper of life, eager to take hold. I had to save him, had to protect what was mine. Escape. The first chance I had, I’d run, and I’d never stop.
I could almost hear the wolves, panting, howling, laughing, while outside the women screamed. Almost feel her hunger, her thirst.
This place held on to its horror and its past.
The barn door was open. My cell unlocked.
And yet I knew the meaning of prisoner.
Knew it better than most.
I knew why he brought me here. He wanted the one memory he’d never pry free. The darkest moment of this endless life. The pressure inside my head grew, spearing agony through my mind and dragging to the surface forgotten moments, and cruel times.
The face of my father surfaced. His words were carried on a scream…they will know what you have done, Eva! They will know it all. I turned away from the memories, pushing them back into the grave where they belonged. “You’ll never find what you’re looking for. Not for as long as I live. So get the fuck out of my head.”
What did you do, Eva? Show me…show me what you did to him.
“I hate you. I’ll never have a child with you, never love you—never want you. Never be the mother to your fucking demon army. I hate you, Acheron. Hate you with the depths of my soul.”
Lightning coursed through my chest as outside the stable the barn brightened. The crack of thunder trembled the ground. I gripped my chest as the shard of stone moved, digging deeper.
Please, Guardian. Don’t kill me. An unfamiliar male voice filled my head. Agony coursed as the stone cut, stealing my breath. I have family…a wife…And out of the pain came the image of bodies piled in the street. Their blood dripped from my fingers and coursed between my toes.
And rage…rage consumed me as silver flames filled the air, engulfing hands and legs—engulfing everything. A cry tore free to mingle with the growl of thunder before I blinked. This wasn’t my memory, nor my anger. But I knew who it was. I knew his rage, his pain.
Knew him as I knew myself. The Archer.
Tell me what you did with him, Eva. Tell me what you did with my son!
The words carved through my head. He was stronger, pushing deeper, searching for the locked box. The face of my father returned as I shoved against the filthy floor.
But these weren’t my actions, and these weren’t my commands.
My legs shook as my body obeyed two masters. I reached out gripping hold of the steel bars as I passed and held on. “No. No more.” Tears slipped free as lightning cut across the sky. “I have nothing left. Nothing you could want. Leave me alone.”
I’ll tear apart your mind. You’ll pray for death by the time I’ve finished.
My fingers trembled around the metal bars. I closed my eyes and searched for strength. The shard carved a track through my heart, as the Vampire closed around my mind.
I fought the Guardian, fought the hunger, still the pain kept coming, swallowing me with wave after wave until I couldn't breathe.
My fingers slipped. Gone were the barn, and the stench of the young mother. Gone were the pigpens with their stench of pain and suffering. Pine trees surrounded me and the familiar stench of wolf.
The snap of a twig came to my right. A growl slipped through the darkness as overhead the sky brightened.
You took him from me, the Vampire whispered. And now I want another.
I shook my head and took a step. There was no fighting now—even if I had the strength, he’d win. His energy coursed through my veins, moving through my body, unraveling my mind.
>
The pine saplings parted, in the distance stood the familiar white mansion.
I should’ve killed her, should’ve saved her while I could. The tiny red beam cut through the trees to dance in the middle of my chest. The growl of a wolf closed in as I stared through the opening to the shattered window. The room was in darkness, but I needed no light.
I could feel her, just as strongly as I felt myself. His blood moved through her, just as it did mine. I’m sorry, I wanted to whisper. Sorry for what I’ve done, and for what Acheron will do. I should’ve killed you and spared your pain.
The wave of despair came up from under me as a tiny scream slipped from the shattered window. She fought just as I fought. But it was useless. I could see that now. My legs shook, knees buckled. I could hear the mortal out there, the one lying up on the ridge with his sight trained on me. I could hear the slow, rhythmic sound of his heartbeat. I turned my head toward the rise—I could feel his fear.
But he wasn’t what the Vampire wanted. It wasn’t his soul Acheron wanted to possess.
It was the child.
The one I tried to save. The one I wished I’d killed.
The shard moved deeper and the memory slipped through, bodies piled on the street, and I knew what it was now—what power the stone possessed.
The bullet whipped past, slicing leaves from the tree at my right. I closed my eyes, no longer fighting my own body as I took a step toward the house.
Instead of hate and hurt, I gave in to the darkness and the pain. I gave in to it all and turned to the only constant in my life. The God who ruled my existence. The God who governed my soul, and the only thing stronger than Acheron himself.
The God of Death.
The glass fragment stilled, dragging a heavy thud from my heart.
In that beat I called him with everything I had, and everything that mattered.
And from the stony shard inside my heart…the God of Death answered.
17
Lucas
I gripped the bannister and vaulted over the side. X’s screams filled the air behind me. The Marine was dying, choking on the death spells of this place, and time was running out.
