by Maya Daniels
“Stand up and fight me, you coward!” she growled through clenched teeth.
“I will not fight you. I told you that.” Fern coughed up more blood. “You are not my enemy.”
“No, but since you’re plotting against me, you’re mine.” She glared at him while wondering why he kept coughing up blood. She hadn’t hurt him that badly. “What’s wrong with you? You’ve grown weak!” she spat at him.
“Things are not the way he tells them, Artemis. Watch your back. “He kept coughing while the sandy ground around him turned darker still from the blood. “Talk to…” Another coughing fit racked his frame and cut off his words.
“Talk to whom?” She dropped to her knees next to him and grabbed his shoulders, not caring who saw her. “Talk to whom, damn you!” She shook him, but his head lolled to the side as his eyes closed and didn’t open.
At that moment, everything around her burst to life, making her heart skip a beat at the sheer volume of the noise. Artemis realized that Fern had used his power to mute their conversation just as he had muted the sound of the full arena that was echoing with screams and cheers of her name. She ignored it all as she watched a stream of blood trickle from his slightly parted lips down his chin to his neck. It was incomprehensible to her how she had hurt him so badly. She didn’t use that much power nor that much strength in her hits. Then it hit her—the oaths. He has broken an oath and it was killing him. Her mind worked frantically, trying to think of a way to help him. She needed answers and he was the only one willing to give them to her, even at the cost of his own life. She needed to find Ivy, but before she could even try to lift him up and search for the consort, there was a strong pull at the center of her being, making her curl over Fern’s immobile body protectively. A second pull followed, feeling like someone was trying to turn her body inside out, and she grunted in pain. The third was so painful that an involuntary scream ripped from her throat just before she realized that she was about to be pulled through a portal that had materialized right next to her. At the last moment, just before she was yanked into it, she grabbed hold of Fern and they both blinked out of the arena, followed by the livid roar of Lazarus. It was the last sound she heard before she lost consciousness.
Iris looked around the woods where Raphael had brought her. She still couldn’t understand why they couldn’t just work at the back of the store. Frowning, she kept checking every shadow that seemed to come alive under the light of the moon that was hanging like an ornament on the cloudless sky. The air was crisp and it smelled like snow. Winter was nearing, and she could feel it as it pebbled her skin. She was rubbing her hands over her arms to warm them up a little, turning in slow circles. Iris kept wondering where Raphael was, if only to keep her mind occupied with something. Her question was answered as she heard branches breaking and a lot of cussing coming from a distance. The trees were swaying and bending as though a herd of elephants was stomping through the woods, making her heart speed up. What on Earth is going on? she thought to herself just as the tree closest to the clearing bent almost in half before breaking.
Iris jumped a foot off the ground as the fallen tree thumped, then rolled few yards away from her. A very feminine squeak escaped her as a monstrous contraption pushed its way towards the clearing, and she clamped her hands over her mouth. It took her a moment to see what it was and her hands dropped to her sides as her jaw dropped to her chest.
“Wow!” she told Raphael when she finally saw him striding towards her like he was having a casual walk, not carrying a cage that could fit a dinosaur. “Where the hell did you manage to find this thing?”
Dropping the cage in the center of the clearing, Raphael ignored her while he spoke softly to the three vampires that were helping him. Their eyes kept flicking towards her before they left in a blink of an eye. He strode around the cage inspecting it and even grabbed the bars to shake it as if checking its sturdiness, making Iris snort. Well, her question didn’t get his attention, but that snort sure did.
“You find something funny, witch?” He glared at her. “This had better work, or I’ll keep you in this cage and use you as a personal blood bank.”
“If it’s iron, it will hold her. Iron weakens the Fae; it’s the only thing we can use against them, as I told you. Where did you find it, or you have cages stored just in case?” She shuddered at the idea of being kept in a cage, then guilt started eating at her because that was exactly what she was going to do to another living being.
“There’s a circus in town. You’d be surprised what humans are willing to do if you offer enough money. Let us get it done, then. The sun will start coming up soon, so we don’t have much time.” Crossing his arms over his chest, he stood there staring at her expectantly.
“Right-o, boss man!” Iris mumbled under her breath as she started grabbing the pillar candles and positioning them around in a circle.
“Vampires have very sharp hearing, witch. Less mumbling, more doing.” He smirked when she glared at him over her shoulder.
Iris decided to ignore him as she got herself ready to summon the owner of the arrow. She picked up the bundle that she had placed on the ground when she got to the woods and unwrapped the arrow. Reverently, she took the object and set it on the grass before sitting cross-legged facing it. Raphael watched her as she closed her eyes and her thumb started moving again from index to pinky and back in rapid succession. Frowning, he watched as shadows jumped and danced over her pretty face as she hummed softly under her breath. Her humming grew slowly louder, and Raphael leaned his back against the cage, crossing his legs at the ankles, waiting. He was coiled like a spring, ready for the creature to show up so he could somehow guide it inside the cage—if it didn’t kill him first.
“That’s done. Now to summon the Fae.” Iris’s words made him frown.
“What’s done?” he asked her.
“Oh, I just cloaked the cage. We don’t want her angrier than she will already be when she sees it.”
“Smart thinking,” Raphael mumbled, impressed by the way she always seemed to think ahead and make sure nothing happened that she wasn’t prepared for.
“I have my moments.” She glared at him again before closing her eyes. “Now keep quiet and let me do my thing. Be ready to get out of the way when she comes at you. If you don’t lock that cage, we’re both shish-kebabs. Well, you’ll be that anyway, when the sun comes up. Extra crispy.” Iris snorted at her joke, making Raphael’s lips twitch involuntarily. Clearing her throat, she started humming again, and her thumb started the same motion, making Raphael even more curious about it. He decided to ask her about it after he had the creature trapped.
Before long, sparks like tiny fireworks started sparkling in the middle of the clearing. He watched, ready to spring into action in the blink of an eye as the flashes turned into little explosions of light before starting to swirl together. Iris’s humming grew in volume, and as she got louder, the swirling colors in the clearing got larger, reacting to her voice. Raphael had to admit, if only to himself, that he was in awe of the witch. He didn’t know many magic users, but he had a feeling she was powerful in her own right. His mind got snapped out of his thoughts as all the swirling colors connected, forming a giant ball of rainbow colors in the middle of the clearing. His hands clamped over his ears as a mind-blowing roar echoed from the portal a second before something hit him in his chest and he tumbled into the cage with it.
Pulling himself away from twisted limbs, Raphael finally managed to untangle himself and stand up. It took him a moment to understand what he was seeing. A woman and a man were tangled together, and they both looked like someone had used them as a punching bag. He could barely hear the man’s heartbeat, but the woman’s was even and calm, as though she was sleeping. Bending down, he tried to separate them so he could see who the hell they were.
“What the fuck did you pull here, witch! This is not the creature…” Raphael’s words were cut off as a hand wrapped around his wrist in a firm grip. Looking at his
wrist, his eyes followed the arm up to a bloody but still beautiful face. Her eyes opened, and he would never forget those eyes in his life. How is it possible that she looks human? Her words stopped any further questions and shocked him more than anything so far.
“Help him.” Sultry whispered words reached his ears, making chills run down his spine. “Please…” she begged him with her words and her eyes before they rolled to the back of her head and she went limp.
“Is that…” Iris stood behind him bending down to look over his shoulder. “Is that her?”
“It is.” Raphael couldn’t take his eyes off the woman in front of him. “Yes, it is,” he repeated. more to himself than Iris.
“Are we going to sit and stare at her until she wakes up, or are we going to kill her?” Claude’s angry words brought Raphael back from his thoughts while he was looking unblinkingly at the woman ever since they had brought the cage, with her in it, to the mansion. He rubbed the center of his chest absently. “And before you start giving lectures, let’s not forget that she killed four of ours already. Our friends, need I remind you! I’m not planning on testing the durability of that iron cage.” Flinging his hand towards the cage, Claude started pacing.
“Calm down, Claude. She’s not going anywhere. Iris said the iron will hold.” With a tired sigh, Raphael pushed himself upright, away from the wall he’d been leaning on.
“What? All of a sudden, you trust a witch that you just met today?” The glare that Claude sent his way would’ve made anyone else rethink their next words. Raphael never had a problem disappointing Claude and his expectations.
“Yes.” He didn’t feel like explaining to Claude that there was something about Iris that from the start, made him want to trust her. After she sent the creature through the portal with her magic, he didn’t need more convincing. The enemy of my enemy is my friend was the way he looked at it—not that Claude needed to know that.
“Yes? That’s all you have to say? You don’t even trust me most of the time and I was there to make sure you stayed alive when you went after Anissa. I stood against our maker for you!” Claude’s voice was getting louder with each word spoken while his eyebrows hit his hairline as he widened his eyes in incredulity. “I have people here that depend on me for protection, Raphael! I will not let you think with your dick at the expense of their lives—or mine, for that matter!”
“Think with my dick? Is that what you think I’m doing?”
“You haven’t blinked or moved from that spot ever since we brought her here. Want to share why that is? I’m sure it’s not because you’ve never seen a woman before.” Still glaring, Claude crossed his arms over his chest.
Another sigh escaped Raphael as he rubbed his hands over his face. Claude was not far off with his remarks about the gist of it. There was something about the woman in that cage that pulled at Raphael so fiercely that he couldn’t bring himself to harm her, and he hated it. He was aware of how ludicrous it was to now have the urge to protect the one he wanted to kill, mere hours ago, but the longer he looked at her, the more convinced he became that there was more to the story. Something wasn’t adding up, and his gut feelings had never guided him in the wrong direction. Well aware that he should just end her life while she couldn’t shift into the creature he saw at Iris’s coven, he still hesitated. The time when he made snap decisions was behind him. He had made more than enough mistakes by acting impulsively to last him a few more centuries. He had a nagging feeling that there was more to this situation and he wanted to solve the puzzle that was the woman curled up, sleeping innocently in his cage.
Raphael remembered a time long past when he’d been held in a dungeon much smaller than the iron cage in front of him. The pain and humiliation he’d felt as he was used for his blood and his body by his maker before she turned him, when he tried to end his life, were causing bile to rise in his throat even now, centuries later. Claude could never understand what it felt like to be made to do things at another’s whim, beyond your control. He willingly accepted his immortality and played along with Anissa’s twisted ideas of fun. But Raphael knew. Oh, how he remembered. He would not do it to another living being, no matter the cost.
“So you’re just going to ignore me?” Claude’s persistent chatter, combined with the memories he tried to push back to wherever they’d been buried until he got here, started getting on Raphael’s nerves.
“Don’t you have something better to do?” He started pacing himself. “No one is doing anything until she wakes up! If anyone tries, they’ll have to go through me first!” The words were spoken with a finality in them that would brook no argument.
“Listen to me, and listen well!” Claude got into his face. “If she moves one hair out of that cage, both of you will pay for it. Am I clear?”
“Haven’t you learned that threats don’t sit well with me, old friend?” Deceptively calm, Raphael straightened, smiling in a way that made wariness creep up into Claude’s eyes. “I don’t give a fuck how you treat the rest of your court and I have not gotten involved with it. But be careful who you provoke, Claude. You’re frightened. Trust me, I get it, more than you think.” Lifting a hand, he stopped the rebuttal that was about to come. He continued, “Only a moron would not fear what we have come across, if he wanted to live. I feel that same fear, too! But this is not an animal. Think about it for a second.” Tapping his temple with his finger, Raphael stared intently at Claude “Don’t you want to hear what made her come here and start killing us? Why, after not being seen for centuries, do they come now?”
“If we kill her, we don’t have to worry about it anymore!” Claude snapped stubbornly.
“Really?” Sarcasm dripped from Raphael’s words like honey. “Because if she’s dead, others won’t come? That’s how delusional you are?” The barely-perceptible shifting of Claude’s eyes brought every instinct he had to full alert. “You know something you’re not telling me!” he snarled angrily.
“Who’s delusional now?” Throwing both hands in the air, Claude stormed past him, heading for the door. “You’ve lost your mind while locking yourself away from everyone. If you keep it up, we might need to put you down alongside Anissa!” With one last glare over his shoulder, he walked through the door and slammed it behind him.
Raphael stood frozen in his spot, not taking his eyes off the door. Claude was hiding something. It wasn’t just a gut feeling telling him that. He has known the vampire king for a very long time, and every time Claude didn’t want to share information, he’d walk away from an argument, like he’d done just now. What could make him want to kill the Fae before she wakes up? He knew that his friend wanted to have an advantage in all situations. So what made him refuse to have it now?
Turning around, Raphael looked at the woman again. She seemed small and harmless, curled up in the corner of the large cage. An overwhelming need to protect her took over his thought process again. Maybe Claude was right and he had lost his mind. But be that as it may, he still felt that he needed to get to the bottom of this, even if it cost him his immortal life. Determination burned strong in him, and he knew he would do anything to see this through.
Walking up to the cage, he crouched down and reached inside. Gently, with just two fingers, he moved an escaped tendril of her hair away from her face. It was silky and soft and it slipped through his fingers a few times before he managed to move it. Her eyelashes fluttered and he held his breath, thinking she might wake up. After a few moments, he realized she was probably dreaming and he released the air from his lungs. The smell of cypress filled his nostrils, and he couldn’t stop the groan that rumbled deep in his chest. She was awakening things in him that he thought were long dead. Yet instead of turning around and walking away, leaving Claude to do as he wanted, Raphael stayed there, watching her as though mesmerized. To make matters worse, he knew he would stand guard like he was her personal watchdog until she woke up. That thought didn’t unsettle him as much as he thought it would.
Stretchin
g her arms over her head, Artemis winced at the pain that shot through her entire body. With a groan, she curled up on her side, cursing softly at the fates. Wondering why she felt like something had chewed her up first and spat her out later, she tried to open her eyes, but only one responded. The other managed a sliver, but she closed it immediately because of the throbbing pain she felt. Her mind was working furiously to figure out why she was feeling like that. Before she could do that, however, she noticed a few things she’d overlooked when she woke up.
The first thing was that she wasn’t in her bed, because she was curled up on top of something scratchy on a hard floor. Second, she could smell vampires. Not one or two, but many of them. She remained motionless, straining her ears to hear anything that might tell her what is going on. As if invited, the memories from the day before rushed in like a flood. Her search, the arena, Lazarus and last Fern and his unresponsive body after telling her about armies that she knew nothing about. As if that weren’t bad enough, now she was somewhere surrounded by vampires. Lately it had seemed like things were spiraling out of control and hitting her one after another, without a break. Is this what they mean when they say the road becomes more difficult the closer you get to the truth?, she thought to herself. The next second, she rose abruptly to her knees, forgetting all about the pain she was in.
“Fern?” she called out, her voice rough from sleep. “Fern, where are you?”
As she finally looked around her, everything froze in her mind. Her heart sped up and she could feel her blood rushing through her veins. Everywhere she looked, all she could see were bars. Bars and bars of iron, all around her. Clenching her fists, she glared with her one good eye at the iron as if it were its fault that she was surrounded by it. Beyond that were only brick walls and a disgusting smell that was making her nose twitch.
