Born to Raise Hell: The Owl Shifter Chronicles Book Three

by Qatarina Wanders

  Marion only looked at her like she was crazy. “You don’t know what you’re up against, do you?” He looked over her shoulder. “Michael, do you know what we’re dealing with?”

  Michael just shook his head. Apparently he hadn’t come across this in his books.

  “When you return to your safe house, tell Anastacia that The Man is actually a demon rove,” Marion said. “And not just any demon rove, but Astaroth himself. She’ll tell you to surrender.”

  A thought popped into Emily’s mind. It was of her father and his encounter with Astaroth. Well, two encounters. She glanced at Marion with pleading eyes. “What if there was a way for us to win? What if we could win?”

  Marion shook his head. “It’s a pipe dream.”

  “But what if?”

  “Then what do you want with me?”

  “Your blood.”

  Chandler gasped where he was. Marion just glared at Emily.

  “It’s the only way,” she insisted, ignoring their reactions. “You want out—I know you do—but not everyone in your family does. Alice, for one, enjoys this. And your parents are not as banged up about the deal with the demon rove as you think. Even if our plan against the demon rove works, they’d side with him.”

  “You’re asking too much.” Marion ran his tongue over his teeth. “They—I . . .” He paused.

  “Please, Marion,” Emily said. “We need to take your family out of commission. Have you never wondered what it’d be like to have a normal life?”

  Marion didn’t respond.

  “I think we should get going,” Chandler said, looking at his watch. “Mother’s going to wonder where we are.”

  Marion didn’t respond. He seemed to be contemplating something, staring at Emily’s forehead. There was less than a foot between their faces.

  Only then did Emily even realize she was still clutching his arms. “Marion!” She shook him a little.

  Marion snapped back to look at her and jerked out of her arms. “No. I can’t do that. You don’t understand—our powers are a fundamental part of who we are. If we get stripped of our magic, we become less than human. I won’t do that to my family. Never.”

  Emily saw her beautifully laid out plan crumble before her eyes. She felt like crying because she knew she’d come so close to convincing him, only to fail.

  “Please . . . ,” Emily whispered, making one last attempt.

  “Just give up. Now,” Marion said instead, his features hardening. “You’re both here. We don’t need the others. We don’t even need to kill your father and aunt. All we need is you and your brother. No one else needs to die. This can all end here and today.”

  Emily staggered back. She couldn’t believe that she’d actually thought this would work. How could she? How had she expected him to betray his family?

  Marion moved faster than the eyes could follow. One moment, he was standing on his own; the next moment, he was embracing her. Pulling her tight against his chest. Somehow, his startling movement did not alarm her. She was calm. She felt safe.

  Marion’s presence enveloped her. His smokey scent filled her nostrils, pervading her senses with a feeling of calm. She instinctively knew it—that he could never hurt her. But she couldn’t say the same for his family.

  Behind, Emily could feel her friends’ anxiety. They knew this deal was off. They wanted to get out of there as soon as possible. But the whole outing hadn’t been a total waste. At least they knew the name of The Man. So not a total flop. That was a win.

  Marion reached out and caressed her cheek. His gaze intense and brooding, his eyes filmy with tears. The corners of her lips turned up as she stared back at him. She truly did care about him. And she sensed deep down that he felt the same way. But then why was he so adamant about what his family was doing?

  The urge crept over her, strong and fierce. In fact, it was so intense, it ravaged her mind and chipped away at her inhibition. The urge to lean in and kiss his trembling lips. She felt it overwhelm her, threatening to take over her body.

  It took all her self-control to resist.

  “I wish this could end differently,” Marion whispered to her. “I really wish the situation was different. I mean that.” He leaned in even closer to her, their lips now only inches apart.

  Emily remained silent. There was no need to reply to him. No need at all. He was just going to do what he wanted to do, and there was no use trying to persuade him otherwise. She suddenly just itched to get out of there. Away from this evil rove toying with her feelings.

  He started to close the distance between them. Was he really going to kiss her right there? In front of everyone?

  Don’t let him do it, Selena warned. And she was right.

  Emily pulled away from him. “Goodbye, Marion.”

  The young man visibly deflated. But quickly shook it off, as if coming to his senses. “Please, don’t do anything foolish,” Marion warned. “My family isn’t joking around. Neither is The Man.”

  Emily’s expression hardened. “I make no promises.” And she turned her back to Marion and Chandler and started walking away. Joanna followed suit. Michael and Rina brought up the rear. For a moment, Emily expected Chandler to attack them or Marion to spring a hidden trap.

  But she kept putting one foot in front of the other until she got to the car. No one said a word. Michael helped himself to shotgun this time. Joanna turned on the ignition and drove out of the parking lot without ceremony.

  Watching Emily go was one of the hardest parts of Chandler’s job. And he had more than a few difficult jobs.

  Emily and Michael were the duo he’d been hunting from day one. When Marion had come to him in confidence, asking him to accompany him to meet the stupid Owl-girl, he’d seen this as an opportunity to prove his worth to his family. He would show them. He was an adult now. Twenty-three years old. Tired of being bossed around by Alice.

  But when he’d gone to his parents, Father had asked him to play along. Marion only saw what Marion wanted to see. Chandler wasn’t a fool. Chandler didn’t believe all that crap about an equal world and stuff. No, he only saw ruling the world with an iron fist. His baby brother was going soft. All because he met his stupid fated mate. Who would’ve thought? His brother had a fated mate. Go figure.

  And the only thing that stood between them and their goal were these stubborn children and the weak rebellion they’d thrown at them.

  When he’d seen Emily, he’d lost it and gone straight for her—grabbed her—willing to snap her into the light and whisk her away. But then she turned out to be magic-proof, and it hadn’t worked. So inconvenient.

  In fact, he probably would have been killed had his brother not been there. Thanks to quick thinking on Marion’s part, everyone left unscathed. It was probably better he didn’t hurt her anyway. Chandler might have had a hard time explaining that one.

  When he almost botched up their carefully laid out plan because of his impatience, he decided he was going to follow the rules from then on. This meant he had to watch her go. Just like that. Michael and Emily climbed into the car, and he had to watch them drive away from him.

  Chandler then remembered what the girl had come to ask Marion for. His blood. Chandler knew of a spell that could strip them of their powers. He also knew that the blood had to be given of free will; otherwise, the spell wouldn’t work.

  “I really thought I could convince her to see reason with me,” Marion said wistfully.

  Chandler grimaced as he watched his brother from the corner of his eyes. The guy was looking in the direction Emily’s car had gone with longing and desire. Was he really this torn up over a girl he hardly knew?

  In a way, Chandler pitied his brother. Father had deceived him. And Alice had been using her vampire compulsion on him the entire time to keep him compliant. Father had no desire to save Emily, not even after she had been sacrificed for Nadarog Maragog. And even if he wanted to bring her back, he simply couldn’t. It wasn’t really possible.

  And wh
at Marion didn’t know was Nadarog Maragog didn’t just kill the sacrificial Owl and rove; it destroyed their souls. That meant when Emily and Michael were eventually slaughtered on the altar, they weren’t just going to hell. Their very essence would be destroyed so that the beast could rise. And hell with him.

  Tough luck for Marion. Chandler knew his little brother would be devastated when he found out. And it would be sooner than later, because Father wouldn’t pass up his first opportunity just because Marion was smitten with the damn girl.

  Chandler pulled out his phone. He had a call to make.

  “I suppose we have to head home.” Marion’s shoulders sagged. “I tried, didn’t I?”

  “Of course, you did,” Chandler replied. “In the end, it was her decision.”

  “Why don’t you go ahead and drive us home, huh?” Marion brushed past Chandler and entered the car.

  Chandler took the opportunity to dial the number. It rang twice before someone answered.

  “Go ahead,” said the voice on the other end.

  “Attack,” Chandler hissed into the receiver. It was all he had to say, and then he hung up.

  Chandler shared a secret smile with himself before going around and entering the car. He turned to look at Marion, who appeared to be lost in thought. His eyes were unfocused, his lips pressed into a thin line.

  The Alfreds had returned to their family manor in New Haven, and Marion had been sent to Keaton Wright Senior High to spy on Emily; but he’d gone ahead and developed a crush on her. Well, sucks for Marion.

  “Do you want to talk about it?” Chandler asked him.

  Marion didn’t reply; he just stared vacantly out the window.

  Chandler nodded and started the ignition. His mind momentarily went to the team that he’d dispatched to bring the four teenagers in. They were the best of the best. And they had an impressively powerful rove girl with them. One of the many roves who had heeded Father’s rallying cry and had come to the town to his aid.

  The rebels didn’t yet know it, but they were massively screwed. Father was amassing for war. They stood no chance against the great army they were assembling.

  And this team he’d put together to apprehend the rove and The Owl—they were going to succeed. When they did, Marion was probably going to lose it. Maybe he would hate Chandler for the rest of his life. But at least Chandler wouldn’t be the black sheep of the family anymore. He wouldn’t be the clumsy clown who screwed everything up.

  No, he would be known as the guy who’d apprehended the elusive Emily Davies and the stubborn Michael Winter. He would be remembered as a hero. Maybe he would even be rewarded by Astaroth. Maybe he would earn land to rule over when all was done and the world was at its knees.

  Yes, this was his destiny. For a long time, he’d been the laughing stock of the family. Chandler the Jester. Now he would be the savior of the family. Chandler the Hero. His name would go down in history as one of the greatest warlocks who lived. It was just unfortunate his brother would have to suffer.

  Chandler chanced a glance at Marion.

  Marion looked pensive, his face contorted in deep concentration.

  “It’s going to be okay, Bro,” Chandler lied.

  Marion cracked a sad smile. “Thanks, Chandler. Thanks for being there.”

  Chandler smiled. As far as evil roves went, he might just be the best. He pulled out of the parking lot and headed for the Russos’.

  16

  For the first few minutes of their drive, no one spoke. They were all afraid that Marion had somehow set a trap for them ahead, and was waiting in the dark to spring it on them. As Joanna floored the pedal, taking a very long circuitous route back to the safe house, there was an unspoken sense of danger in the air.

  And as usual, no one wanted to jinx their luck so far by speaking. So they maintained a heavy silence.

  It worked well for Emily since she was furious with herself for putting her life and the lives of her friends in unnecessary danger. She should not have allowed herself to believe that Marion would do something as treacherous to his family as giving her the very tool she needed to destroy them.

  Even if they were evil, he wouldn’t do it. She should have known. Who did she think she was to Marion to even conceive of the thought? They had just met a few weeks back. They hadn’t even had a straight conversation—or at least one that didn’t border on destroying the world and killing her to do it. Yet, she’d been arrogant enough to think that just by batting her eyelashes she could get Marion to turn on people he’d known and trusted all his life.

  “At least we got the name of The Man,” Joanna said into the silent void in the car. This time, Michael was in front with Joanna, while Rina sat in the back with Emily.

  Michael was visibly angry, his face pinched, and Emily could tell it centered on her. Of course, there might be a number of reasons why he would be angry with her—one of which could be that he thought she’d botched the negotiations with Marion. Nevertheless, Emily suspected that the core of his anger with her was the issue they’d had in the past. The same one she’d been unable to apologize for, not because she didn’t want to, but because she hadn’t had the time yet. What with the world ending and such. And everything she did to upset him from then on would just fuel the fire.

  “Astaroth of the Evil Trinity,” Rina breathed. “That sounds very foreboding.”

  “And did Marion say he was a demon rove?” Joanna asked. Joanna looked through the rearview mirror at Emily.

  Emily nodded. She was careful not to speak. She knew that her voice would only incense Michael further, and she didn’t want to fight with him. Not now, when she was hurting enough for two.

  “I don’t know what a demon rove is capable of,” said Rina. “And I pride myself on knowing a lot of things about the supernatural world.”

  “A demon rove is exactly what it sounds like,” Michael snapped. “A rove who has empowered himself with a demon.”

  Emily stayed silent. She didn’t think that was exactly right. But she also didn’t want to piss him off further.

  “Naturally, a demon is a powerful foe,” Michael went on as if he was an expert on the matter. “Even roves have a hard time putting one down. Usually, the demon possesses a human to manifest its own desires, which is nothing but to steal, kill, and destroy. Now, put a demon in a warlock or a rove, and you have an indestructible force. One that can live forever.”

  “Which explains why he’s been in play since your grandfather’s days,” said Joanna.

  “Precisely.” Michael’s voice wavered a little. Emily suspected he had not actually thought of that.

  “What Marion said about the demon rove, is it true?” Emily had folded her arms across her chest and was trying not to look in the rearview mirror, where Michael was undoubtedly glaring at her. “Is it really a lost cause?”

  Michael shrugged. “I’m not an expert on demonology,” he admitted ever-so-humbly. “There are no books on it in Aunt Anastacia’s library. Obviously, she doesn’t want me to learn about it.”

  “But why?” asked Rina.

  No one answered.

  “We’re screwed, aren’t we?” said Joanna later. “No blood. No help. Just the name of an indestructible enemy we can’t kill. We’re back to square one.”

  “Maybe we wouldn’t be if Emily had stuck to the plan,” snapped Michael.

  Right, here we go again, Emily thought with a soft sigh.

  “I don’t see how she deviated from the plan,” Joanna said, quick to defend Emily. “If anything, you almost broke the deal when you attacked Marion’s brother.”

  “What was I supposed to do?” Michael retorted. “Stand there and watch Emily get bundled away? She’s an important piece to the ritual. If she’s taken, we might as well have lost the war.”

  “Oh, and there I was thinking you were defending her because you loved your sister,” Joanna spat. “You’re just a self-serving prick. You always have been.”

  “Hey!” Rina complained
.

  “You know, Joanna, you’re not any different from Emily,” said Michael in return. “You are as much responsible for this shit as she is. When did we agree to let you do any talking?”

  Joanna opened her mouth to fire back her response, but he wouldn’t let her.

  “You just went right up to stand next to her, yapping on when no one asked you.” Michael’s tone was so incendiary that the temperature in the car began to rise in spite of the AC unit. “You’ve always wanted to feel special. To feel in charge. Always standing in the shadows of your friend; trying to cure yourself of your unremarkable life.”

  “Enough!” Emily warned, her fire demon finally stoked.

  Michael spun around in his seat and faced her. “You don’t get to talk!” he snapped back, his eyes dilated—tendrils of electricity coiling in them.

  The moment she saw that, the fire demon stirred to life within her, like a dragon roiling in the depths of a volcanic pit.

  Emily sat upright, suddenly concerned that the fire demon might break their agreement and burn Michael to a crisp—something she might be okay with as of now.

  Emily held his gaze for a long time. She was fit to burst. The only thing that kept her from letting loose was fear that the fire demon might misinterpret it as a sign for it to burst out and burn the whole car.

  “You need to work on your people skills, Michael,” Emily said calmly.

  “And you need to stop ruining everything,” he replied without inhibition.

  “You know what, Michael? Fuck you!”

  Michael gasped, his eyes widening into saucers.

  “I don’t care if you like me or not,” Emily went on. “I’m done caring. If you’re going to hold a grudge against me because of something I unknowingly did in the past, then you’re not worth my time. You’re not worth the love, care, and attention of a sister. In fact, I wish you weren’t my brother. At least then I wouldn’t have to listen to all the shit you keep spewing.”

  Emily relaxed back in the seat. The fire demon was on the fringes of her skin, waiting for the word of command to come bursting forth. Although she wasn’t looking at him, Emily could see Michael’s shocked expressed in her peripheral.