by Riley Storm
It all came down to who would do it.
“Like hell I’m going to let you murder another loyalist,” he snarled. “You could have saved him, Kedd! Korve would still be alive. They all would.”
If Klaue and his men had gotten to the Knight’s quarters in time, the entire day would have followed a different path. The House wouldn’t be nearly in shambles, the Queen would have stepped aside, and a good man would be in charge of the House. Nobody would have questioned that legitimacy.
Instead, they were nearly ruined, and one of the prime architects of that course was trapped in the room with him.
More accurately, I’m trapped with him.
He flung himself out of the way yet again, but his luck was running out. Sooner or later Kedd would connect, and that would be it for one Kirell Ursa.
The dive roll took him square into the side of the bed. He hit the footboard and stood, gripping one of the metal poles that formed the canopy. As he felt the cool steel, he had a sudden idea. Wrenching his arm, he snapped the upright pole off, yanking it from the canopy.
Hefting it in his palm, he judged the weight, aimed, and hurled it at Kedd as the shifter slowed to turn from his previous charge. The makeshift spear sunk deep into his flank, but it didn’t slow the enraged shifter.
Kirell hadn’t stopped there, though. He pulled the frame apart as fast as he could and flung piece after piece at Kedd, turning him into a porcupine. Eventually, the bear stopped to deal with the five lengths of metal protruding from his side, giving Kirell the time he needed.
With a satisfied growl, he forced the change on his own body. Normally, he didn’t look forward to the pain that came as his body awkwardly reshaped itself, breaking bones and realigning joints, but this time he relished it, craved it. Because with it came the power that only a shifter possessed.
The bears of House Ursa were unlike anything seen on the earth. They were leaner than their wild cousins, packed with more muscle, and nearly one and a half times larger as well. They were killing machines, built for the war in which they’d earned their right to exist over fifteen hundred years earlier.
Kirell bellowed with rage as he completed the transformation, charging at Kedd just as the last pole came free from his body. The two bears collided with bone-jarring force, and the entire wing of the house jumped when they slammed into the concrete-reinforced wall.
More furniture shattered as Kedd recovered and shoved him backward. Kirell crashed through a desk and flattened a wardrobe against the wall, the solid wood construction simply disintegrating into tiny pieces, many of which embedded themselves in his skin.
He ducked a swiping paw, slicing upward with his own as he recovered, the six-inch claws cutting deep into Kedd’s skin, drawing blood. He felt the warm liquid flow down his paw, matting the fur with its stickiness.
Shouts were audible in the hallway now, but he didn’t care. This was his fight, and he wasn’t about to let anyone else interfere.
Jaws clamped down on his side and with a vicious shake of his head, Kedd tore a chunk from just in front of Kirell’s left paw. Kirell roared in pain and charged straight forward, bowling his foe onto his back. He didn’t follow though, watching as the hind legs of the straw-colored bear ripped through the space that his stomach would have occupied if he’d gone to the ground as well.
It was reflex on Kedd’s part, but because Kirell had anticipated it in his attack, it left Kedd vulnerable. The claws on Kirell’s other paw whipped across the backs of the legs, digging deep and severing tendons and muscles as they emerged out the other side, hamstringing Kedd badly.
The fight was over now; it was only a matter of time. They both knew that. Kedd shifted back to human form as Kirell watched, crawling his way across the room, trying to put space between them. Trying to delay the inevitable.
Kirell switched as well, acutely aware that not all the pain he was feeling was from the shifting process. His side pulsed with pain and blood ran down his side from the wound.
“Who are you working with?” he snarled, shunting the pain to a different part of his mind, one that would acknowledge it later. “Tell me!”
He kicked Kedd hard from behind, sprawling his former friend flat on the floor. Putting his knee into Kedd’s back, Kirell grabbed the man’s hair and yanked his neck backward painfully.
“Tell me,” he growled, his mouth no more than a foot away.
Kedd still didn’t say anything.
Hating himself for it, Kirell slammed a fist into a specific spot on Kedd’s arched back. Bone snapped and the lower half of his body went limp.
“Tell me now. I know you’re not working alone. Who is it?”
Kedd just spat in his general direction, as close as he could get with Kirell controlling his head.
“Very well. If that’s all you have to say, traitor, then you’re of no use.”
Kirell clamped onto Kedd’s skull with both hands and twisted violently.
The upper half of Kedd’s body went limp as well. Kirell turned to the side and vomited before standing above the corpse of a man he’d called his friend for decades.
There was noise at the door and it burst down a moment later as Klaue and one of his guards came charging in. “What the hell happened in here?”
“Clean it up,” Kirell ordered, pointing at the body. “No funeral rites for the traitor.”
Klaue just stared at him in astonishment. His eyes flicked back and forth several times, as if wondering just what he should be doing.
“The footage is in the security room. I doubt the drive I brought with me survived the fight. Krave saw it too.” Kirell paused on his way out the door, resting a hand on Klaue’s shoulder. “You should know that I harbored doubts about you. I was wrong. I’m sorry.”
Klaue nodded once, then left the room, wandering aimlessly through the corridors, unsure of what to do now.
Kedd had been one of his best friends. He was quiet and reserved, yes. Nor did they often hang out, but they’d known each other since their early teens and gone through the rituals and tests of becoming fully-fledged members of House Ursa together. So many shared experiences.
It hurt Kirell deep to realize that all this time, his friend hadn’t been loyal, that he’d been interested in another cause. If Kirell couldn’t spot that coming, how was he supposed to figure out who the real traitor was? How could he know the truth about anyone, if he’d been blindsided by his own friend?
A black depression began to settle over him, a raincloud that would follow him perpetually. Kirell knew, a part of his mind that still worked was aware he couldn’t let it continue like this. Too many others were counting on him to keep it together. But how? He needed someone to turn to, and right now, he wasn’t willing to trust anyone. Even Kellas, his best friend, wasn’t someone he could go to. There was nobody.
No. There’s someone. One person you can be assured of as loyal.
In a numbed state of shock, he pulled out his phone, sending the only message he could think of, to the only person he could trust. The last person he’d expect to come to his aid.
28
The double-buzz of her phone finally stirred Natalia from the nap she’d taken after Loren had left for work. Glancing at the clock on the locked screen, her eyes shot open. It was nearly noon. She had slept in for almost four more hours!
Sitting up, she looked at the screen again, unlocking it to check the message. Unsurprisingly, it was from Kirell.
Probably starting to get antsy that he hasn’t heard from me.
Her brow furrowed as she read the message. It wasn’t what she’d expected.
Hey, can you call me? Please? I need someone to talk to, it said.
It was off. She couldn’t put a finger on it, but something was wrong, and for some reason she didn’t think it was about her. While she was gone, something must have happened. Her fingers hit the dial button before she even realized what they were doing.
“Hi.” Kirell picked up quickly, but there was n
o energy in his voice. Something was very wrong.
“Kirell? It’s Natalia. What’s going on?” She was concerned now. His voice never sounded as dull or lifeless as it did now, over the phone.
“It’s Kedd. I…” Kirell fell silent for several seconds before continuing. “I had to kill him, Nat. He was a traitor.”
The words hit her hard. She didn’t know the man very well personally, but she was aware he’d meant a lot to Kirell, that he considered him a friend. To find out he was a traitor was one thing, but to have to kill him as well? No wonder Kirell was distraught.
“Oh Kirell,” she said. “I’m so sorry. So, so sorry. What can I do? How can I help?”
The fact she was supposed to be mad at him no longer seemed relevant. This was serious. So serious, in fact, that he’d reached out to her for help, and not to anyone there.
“I don’t know,” he said quietly, forcing her to strain to hear him through the phone’s speaker. “I just don’t know anything anymore.”
“Come on, it’ll be okay. We’ll get you through this. I’m going to come back to the house, okay? I’ll be there soon, I just need to get ready. Can you promise me you won’t do anything until I get there?”
“I’m going to shower,” he whispered. “I need to wash the blood off me.”
Natalia’s heart was breaking as she listened to the pain audible in Kirell’s voice. She wanted nothing more than to be at his side, telling him it would be okay, trying to help ease his hurting.
Why did I have to come home now? When he needs me the most?
“I’m sorry for keeping things from you,” he said abruptly. “I shouldn’t have done that. Not after I trusted you with my secret. I should have been open about the potential dangers.”
She closed her eyes. “Kirell, it’s fine. It’s no big deal.” It was, but right now that wasn’t what they needed to focus upon. She needed to know he wouldn’t do anything stupid before she got there, like start other fights. Or worse.
“No, I’m serious. I’ll tell you everything, if you’ll give me the chance.”
“Is there more I don’t know?”
“A lot.” Pause. “Though I don’t think any of it will affect you.” Pause. “I’ll understand if you don’t want to come back, to give me another chance. I’ll get it. I’ll deal with the consequences myself.”
She realized then that he wasn’t really hearing her. That he was so lost in his own grief, he was trying to set right any wrongs he felt he’d made—probably in an attempt to atone for what he felt like was a horrible thing in killing his former friend.
For a moment, she considered not going back. Not letting herself get dragged back into the crazy world of shifters and who knew what else. But only for a second. After that, her doubts vanished, and she realized she wanted to go back. Not for those reasons, but for Kirell. She wanted to see him again.
On top of that, she wanted to stay in the country, and that required fulfilling her end of the bargain to him. Natalia had worked too hard, and too long, to give up on that dream now that it was attainable. Besides, she was already in danger from his world. How much worse could it get?
“I’ll come back,” she said at last, finalizing her decision. “I’ll help you with this afternoon, but anything else is…over.”
She needed to make that break, to keep things between them strictly business; as much as she’d told Loren she liked his company, she didn’t want to live in constant fear. It wasn’t worth it.
I think.
“I understand,” Kirell said, the blackness of his mood evident even over the phone.
Normally, Natalia would assume the tone of his words was directed at her, but this time she knew he was pitying himself, angry at his own actions, blaming himself for the way things were.
“I’ll bring back the car too,” she said lightly, trying to change the subject.
There was a long pause. He was probably grappling with whether or not to go along with her.
“Thank you. I haven’t filed a police report yet about it being stolen, but I was close.”
“I didn’t steal it!” she protested, wondering how serious he was. “I just…borrowed it.”
“Technically, you stole it. It’s not yours, you don’t have any papers proving it. The police might disagree with you.”
“Okay, okay,” she said, keeping her laughter to a minimum so as not to scare him off from the different mood of the conversation. “I’ll bring it back.”
“Gassed up?”
She snorted. “Don’t get greedy. I’ll see you as soon as I can.”
Kirell inhaled sharply. “Thank you.”
Natalia wasn’t sure how much reaching out to her had cost him, but she suspected it was a lot.
“You’re welcome, Kirell.”
She hung up the phone and got out of bed, preparing to drive right back into the den of politics, intrigue and old-world craziness that she’d fled just the night before.
“What the hell am I thinking? Why am I doing this?”
The only answer her brain provided was an image of Kirell.
29
The gate opened to admit her and she drove in slowly, relishing the last few minutes she would have in it.
Maybe Kirell will use it to drive me home.
She’d packed a bag this time, just in case she had to stay for a few more days, as they’d originally discussed. This time, she wanted some changes of clothes that weren’t sweats more readily available. Not that the sweats weren’t comfy, but she felt a uniform brown from head to toe just wasn’t her look.
The trees opened up to reveal the house, an awe-inspiring sight in the daylight as much as it was at night. Arched doorways, peaked roofs and beautiful stained glass caught her eye yet again. It was truly a beautiful piece of architecture. Whoever had designed it had done a wonderful job. Idly, she wondered how old it was.
Motion in the circular entryway under the gargantuan awning caught her eye. Five large SUVs were parked there, with lethal-looking men and women standing around. As she watched, five people exited the main doorway, each getting into one vehicle.
Each was dressed in the same kind of black suit, even though two of them were female. That wasn’t the weirdest part, however. The weirdest was the slight blur that obscured the features of each of them, and any details about the suits as well.
“What the hell was that?” she muttered to herself as the motorcade got underway, departing the grounds behind her.
Then she was going down the ramp and into the parking garage. To her surprise, Kirell was waiting for her, standing in his parking spot.
“Afraid I wasn’t actually going to bring it back?” she said, cracking a smile as she got out and handed him the keys.
He took those and the bag from her hand, moving so confidently that she handed her belongings off to him before realizing what she’d done. “I can carry that,” she said, but he wasn’t having any of it.
“Thank you for coming.” His voice was tight.
Without thinking, she flung her arms around him. “I’m sorry you had to do that,” she said, squeezing tightly. “I’m so sorry.”
“Thank you.” He stood still, not hugging her back. She lay her head on his chest for another moment, just in time to hear it growl loudly.
“When was the last time you ate?”
He took too long thinking about it, which was answer enough for Natalia.
“Come on. We’re dropping this stuff off in your quarters and then you’re taking me to get some food. I assume you have a kitchen here?”
“Four.”
“Good enough,” she said, laughing.
Kirell didn’t join her, but for a brief moment, his mouth twitched in a vague upward direction and there was a twinkle to his electric blue eyes, removing the dullness that had entered them.
It was gone as quick as it came, but it was somewhere to start from, and she wasn’t about to give up. Not yet.
“By the way,” she said, following
him toward the elevator. “What’s up with the weirdos leaving when I got here?”
“Weirdos?”
“Yeah. Five people all dressed in black, getting into black SUVs. They were really weird, and it was like there was some kind of field between us, because I couldn’t make out any of the details of their faces.”
“Oh. Them. That’s the Mage Council. Some of it at least. They were meeting with the Queen.” He shrugged and kept going, like it was the most normal thing in the world.
Natalia, meanwhile, had come to a full stop and was staring. “Mage Council? As in…magic users? That sort of Mage?”
Kirell looked over his shoulder, realized she hadn’t moved and turned back. “Yes. Spells and stuff, just like in the books.” He frowned at her. “Is that really all that surprising? I can turn into a massive bear.”
“Yes, but I just figured that was like, some sort of mutated DNA. Not magic!”
“That’s exactly what it is. But if that can happen, why not magic?” He obviously didn’t get why this was such a big deal to her.
“Uh.” Natalia pondered that question. It was a good one. “I don’t know. It’s just…different, okay?”
“Okay.” Kirell wasn’t going to argue, it seemed.
“Um, why did you never mention this before?”
“It doesn’t affect you,” he said calmly. “So, it never came up. But yes, there is an entire world full of paranormal creatures and such out there. Mages aren’t the only ones. You humans are just a part of it all.”
Her quest to feed them both was entirely forgotten about for the moment as she struggled to grasp the implications of what he was saying.
“How do we not know about this? What else is there?”
Kirell thought about it, and while he did, she started forward again, rethinking her earlier thoughts. Now was precisely the right time for food. She needed it to help her digest all this new information he was giving her.
Her original mission had been to come comfort him, to help him get over it, but now she wanted to learn as much as possible.
Maybe this will help distract him too? Focus his attention on something else, so that he doesn’t have time to think about his friend. Ex-friend.
