by Gaja J. Kos
As the final link snapped into place, securing her completely, it took every ounce of her will to silence the manic laughter bubbling inside.
It seemed she would get to save her pack after all.
Chapter 13
It was worse. It was so much worse than what she had felt through the memories of her father’s soul.
Every cell in her body seemed to scream in agony as the warlocks infused the room with their power. Rose could barely see the cloaked figures through the veil of magic and her own tears. She didn’t know when she started to cry, couldn’t even think past the inferno of pain that twisted her insides and gnawed on her flesh.
If she held back, the sheer strength of the attack would kill her in a heartbeat. But if she fought…
The iron was ice cold against her skin, an impenetrable barrier that bounced back every vine of energy that rippled from her core. Whenever she tried to breach its surface, the lethal properties of the iron spun her power around and sent it crashing right back inside, where it cascaded and rolled into what seemed to be infinity.
She wasn’t a werewolf. She wasn’t a goddess.
She was a caged storm, a blazing sun on the verge of dying.
The forces, blinded by their need to be unleashed and protect the one who gave them life, were unable to see that the only thing they were breaking was themselves.
And her along with them.
With gritted teeth and the taste of blood on her tongue, Rose sought out the bond she shared with her pack. The metaphysical path was still rooted inside her—a pocket of her consciousness with beautiful, indestructible gates she swung open. But when the trail left the confines of her flesh, the thoughts she sent flowing down its bends stumbled, dispelling into the air until they were nothing but inaudible echoes.
Severed. The bond truly was severed.
With the surge of her own powers ranting within her, she couldn’t tell whether the additional strength, gifted to her through the rise to The Dark Ones, remained, or if the sudden loss of the connection rendered it inapt, as well. Not that it mattered.
Alone, she would never be able to breach the confines of the iron.
Even preternatural strength meant nothing in light of the magical properties the chains possessed. They couldn’t be broken by force. And they only seemed to gain power with each step towards destruction her own energy took.
Sweat rolled down her face, mixed with the tears that refused to subside. Her vision was completely gone now, the chamber and the Vedmaks transforming into a blur of darkness, their presence announced only through the nauseating denseness of their attack.
She wasn’t like her father. She couldn’t face her captors like he did, couldn’t defy them until the very end.
And for that, Rose was glad.
Because this wouldn’t be her end.
Her entire body convulsed as the power inside her crashed and rolled anew, but her mind was seeking out that presence that didn’t belong to her once-mortal life or her heritage. The presence that went beyond her energy, that was so pure, so sacred, not even the magic-laced iron could hope to contain.
Her consort.
A pulse of soothing olive fragrance washed over her mind, erasing the mental traces of pain even as her body still twisted and jerked under the ongoing assault. She let Veles’s power fill her, let his energy run through her flesh as if it were her own. She drew on its strength, using it as only a true consort could, and channeled its currents into the bonds.
The turbulent, golden waves inside her sent it flying aside, dispelling more of the ethereal mass of Veles’s strength than it managed to seep into the iron. But it had.
Even if only a small piece, it had.
With closed eyes, she delved deeper into the metaphysical plane, accepting all that Veles offered freely. The pressure the armor kept on her was threatening to splinter her body, and the strain of absolute concentration the travel through the ethereal demanded caused a headache to explode in the back of her eyes.
She needed time. Time she was already running out of.
The olive-scented thunder present in her core urged her to take more, but she was reluctant. Her entire being was already thrumming with Veles’s energy, the urn of her core filled nearly to the brim.
Despite what the god wanted her to believe, he wasn’t infinite.
Like with every individual of power, the depletion of his strength would mean death. And they were already toeing the line as it was.
The amount she had accepted should have been enough to obliterate the bonds, but neither of them had thought her own energy would interfere with the process. The two entities had never fought, but always blended seamlessly, working as one. Yet under the weight of the armor, their harmony didn’t last.
Somehow, the torture aimed at her Vedmak legacy managed to overpower the balance of her own blend of strength. There was nothing to soothe the storm raging inside her, nothing to penetrate its blind frenzy. Not even the presence of who she loved.
She furrowed her brow, her teeth elongating and piercing the skin of her lower lip as she snarled into the darkness before her.
Meeting her own end within these chains was a far less sinister fate than draining her god. She couldn’t accept his sacrifice. Wouldn’t. Not for this.
Not for a fate that had followed her like a shadow since the moment of her conception.
So she siphoned only small amounts, forming them into delicate pinpricks that evaded the rolling mass of golden light and probed at the iron circles. She repeated the process, again and again, sensing Veles’s frustration at her stubbornness, at her own condemnation, grow—until one of the links snapped.
Although it was nothing more than a small breeze that caressed her skin, the pressure on her body alleviated.
Air filled her burning lungs, a sliver of control returning. She still couldn’t use her power to destroy the bonds, but she could force the ocean of energy to retreat.
Immediately, the olive blend of power already nestled inside her surged. It swept above her golden light, around it, beneath it, rushing towards the iron circles and infusing them until cracks started to spread like spiderwebs across their ice-cold touch.
Immersed in their expansion of magic, the Vedmaks noticed her intentions a fragment of a second too late.
Rose screamed. The bonds exploded, sharp pieces of iron flying across the room and embedding themselves into the warlocks’ flesh—but only those in the front line. Grunts filled the dungeon, mixing with her own screams as she moved.
But so did the Vedmaks standing in the back.
They swarmed towards her, a mass of billowing cloaks, blurred by the pain that still rode her body and strained her vision. Only she didn’t need her sight to know that with each step they took, the magic emanating from them only intensified.
Anger boiled in the pit of her stomach, touched by a hint of fear.
She might have been able to break the chains, but the warlocks were determined to bring her down.
And that was something she couldn’t allow them to do.
Not when she felt the bond of The Dark Ones flickering back to life, connecting her with the pack once more.
If she gave in now, all of this would have been for nothing.
While she wouldn’t die, she would be helpless, nothing but a rag doll for them to do with as they pleased. Eventually, the Vedmaks would realize what was keeping her alive. And they would go after the source.
Unacceptable. It was unacceptable.
With the final remnants of her strength, Rose cast a protective sheen, unfolding more and more power until the shimmering gold light aligned itself into a wall before her. Teeth bared against the pain, she counted the seconds in her head.
Five.
Ten.
Twenty.
The first of the Vedmaks fell. And then the next.
Their bodies dropped to the ground as if a scythe had struck them. And, in a way, it had.
As darkness spread
across the edges of her blurred vision once more, she sent the wall of power flying into the warlocks. They screamed as the energy dug into their skin, as it burned away their lives, their souls, thrusting them into Veles’s realm, where they would be at his mercy for an eternity to come.
Her heartbeat faltered at the thought of the god, trepidation running down her spine that, perhaps, she had taken too much. But she was too worn out to hold on to her fear. Too worn out to even stand. Her cheek crashed against the soiled ground, every muscle in her body quivering with the strain of what she had endured—as did her energy.
Unable to move, she watched the last trickle of the power she kept around herself tear apart those Vedmaks foolish enough to try and reach for her while the invisible force mowed down their brethren in the back. As calm hands built of darkness cocooned her, lulling her to rest, Rose saw a slender female enter the room. The spill of her blonde-and-black hair billowed in the embrace of icy winds that swept through the chamber, snuffing out the last flickers of life.
Death.
Death had come at last.
Chapter 14
The familiar, yet faint, power enveloped her long before she gained awareness of any other sensations. For a moment, Rose let herself breathe in the olive scent and all its presence implied. A relieved smile flashed across her lips.
Then came the pain.
It wasn’t the burning ache of exhaustion, but a heaviness that seemed to tug and stretch her insides, sending heated waves of nausea rolling through her over and over again.
Briefly, the experience cast her back into that damned cell, into the grip of augmented iron. She fought the panic, reminding herself of the distinct difference her body felt, but her mind refused to accept.
The pain was nurturing, not harmful.
Slowly, she cracked open an eye, a very blurred needle swaying across her vision.
Xu’s. She was at Xu’s.
As if the realization needed some additional confirmation, the carefully placed needles connected all over her body in a blaze of perfectly mortal energy. Her meridians felt aflame as they healed themselves, and, in the process, healed her.
It was a shame gratitude failed to make the experience any less unpleasant.
Knowing the Chinese doctor would re-pin her the instant she moved, Rose delved inside her instead, threading carefully as she sought out the presence of the bond.
Rose to pack. Anyone listening?
Several snarls answered her call, and panic surged once more.
What? What’s wrong?
We should leave you wondering. Zarja’s pissed-off tone reached her. Pull the same fucking trick on you that you did on us.
Did you honestly think we wouldn’t feel your vine of the bond getting severed? Jürgen growled as his brother snarled at the same time, Fuck, Rose, what were you thinking?!
Another round of growls and snarls exploded to life at the twins’ words, an avalanche of anger and relief rolling down the bond from all six weres.
Rose winced. Is Veles okay?
She knew he was alive—the luscious hint of olive had told her that much—but the rest…
He won’t be when we’re done with him. It was Mark who answered. Supporting your reckless actions like he did. You’re young. I get it. But you’d think an ages old deity would know better than to rush headfirst into something as idiotic as what you lot did.
Despite the sharpness of his mental tones, Rose couldn’t help but smile. If Mark was angry with Veles, that meant the god was all right. A silent laugh fluttered in her chest.
They’d made it. Despite the odds, despite there being a shitload more Vedmaks than she’d expected, the plan had worked.
Don’t be so smug, Tim cut in, reading the thoughts she had forgotten to shield. You may have taken down the Vedmaks, but this discussion is far from over.
Congratulations, by the way, Evelin added once the bond quieted down a bit. I’m pissed that you thought you needed to cut us off, don’t think that I’m not, but that was still a mean move the three, well, four, of you pulled off.
Rose grinned then, the needles immediately reprimanding her for the movement. She wiped the smile off her face before Xu noticed, then stilled as another realization hit her. The smells, the sounds—she’d been wrong. She opened her eyes again, this time actually focusing on her surroundings.
They weren’t at the doctor’s office. Far from it.
How did we end up at your place, Evelin?
For a few moments, there was nothing but silence. Then Tim’s voice filtered down the ethereal path. We’ll tell you our part of the story when you tell us yours. And not via the bond. The whole pack is here, Rose, not just the seven of us. And they deserve to hear it, too.
Her silent question seeped through the bond before she could phrase it and was met with a rush of warmth from Tim.
Serafina, Katja, Sebastian, Nathaniel, Dragan, Frank, Greta, Rorik, even Sander. They’re all here. He laughed, the sound so pure and melodic as if he hadn’t done so in a long while. And they’re just as eager as the rest of us to give you a piece of their mind.
Mark and Evelin’s house seemed quiet without the two cubs running—in Til’s case, crawling—around, although the gathered crowed did its best to make up for the lack of noise. Still somewhat shaky, Rose sat curled up on the couch, nestled underneath Veles’s arm. They had both lost almost a whole day to unconsciousness, but having been probed by needles the entire time made it possible for them to hold this meeting now. A grouchy meeting, true, but one nonetheless.
Much like her, Veles was pale and far less talkative than usual and seemingly mindful not to waste even a breath more than was absolutely necessary. However, despite his passive demeanor, she could feel the healthy pulse of energy beating inside him, and that was enough to let her know his weakened state was nothing a bit more rest couldn’t solve.
Something she intended to do right alongside him. If she survived all the angry glances her extended pack was throwing her way.
They were all gathered in the wide living room area, some seated, some standing. But all of them were facing the couch where she and Veles were curled up, accompanied by Morana and Serafina, perched on the ground before them.
The setting gave off an eerie sense of an interrogation.
Or trial.
She hid away a snicker and angled her face into the breeze coming in through the cracked windows. It wouldn’t do her any good to antagonize them now, even if her thoughts weren’t malevolent. The very air seemed electric with all the anger the pack was barely holding in check, and she had no desire to shatter their delicate control simply because her brush with death and the subsequent victory made her giddy.
So she focused on her breathing, trying to put her thoughts in order. Not exactly the easiest of tasks, when every pair of eyes—save for those in her immediate vicinity—were on her.
As she heard the front door close behind Xu and Nathaniel returned to take his position by Tim’s side on the floor at the far end of the room, Rose knew it was time.
She cleared her throat. “Before you start with your avalanche of questions and more than reasonable accusations, would you mind telling us how the fuck we got here?”
Greta grinned at her from where she was leaning against the archway leading into the dining area, and Rorik flashed her one of his dazzling smiles that breathed a sense of normalcy into the situation, but the weres refused to drop their hard act. Truthfully, she wasn’t in any way surprised.
“Your conspirator has the answer to that,” Mark said rather pointedly, his gaze dropping to Serafina. “And we wouldn’t mind hearing how you ended up at the residence in the first place, either. Or about the shitload of things you did before that.”
Immediately, the Koldunya sat up straighter, her spill of red hair shifting with the movement, then lightly touched Morana’s arm. “I think you should start.”
The goddess nodded, but didn’t do anything that would break the small contact b
etween them. A soft smile cupped Rose’s lips at the sight and, instinctively, she sank deeper into Veles’s embrace, seeking the intimacy it offered.
“I don’t know how much Rose told you”—a few snorts and sneers echoed throughout the room—“but I have been trying to locate the dark warlocks ever since my return to this plane. When the Realm of Kolovrat still existed, the Vedmaks’ allegiance, at least partially, had lain with me. By all accounts, I should have been able to sense their presence. They were my subjects, my followers. It’s a connection that cannot be severed easily. But my powers were weakened by the banishment, and, time and time again, I failed to uncover their location.
“Veles, Rose, Serafina, and I discussed the possibility of the Vedmaks shielding themselves from prying eyes—even mine. While they could not escape the tendrils of death, we wondered if, perhaps, they could escape its personification.” Her voice was soft, carrying just a faint edge of bitterness. “I knew it would be impossible to track them down while they remained cocooned like that. However, I wasn’t the only one sharing a bond with the warlocks.”
She glanced at Rose, then back at the harsh faces of the gathered crowd, unfazed by her gentle demeanor. A sigh slipped from her lips, but it was a sound of content. Hope, even.
“With my return, it wasn’t only the presence of an ancient goddess in your world that was reborn, but something else, as well. The Trinity of Death. Rose, Veles, and I are separate deities, yet our individual powers, our individual tasks, are irrevocably bound. And so are we. The realization of what this means within the constellation of your world, the awareness depths such a bond can reach, didn’t come to us immediately. Rose is still growing into her power, and, in a way, so am I. But we both felt something—a presence, a sensation that is intuitive, not rational. And one Veles later on confirmed.
“Although the connection between us is not yet strong, there is a sense of awareness we possess about one another at any given time. A link that allows us to come together, should the need arise. So we knew that if Rose called the Vedmaks through her own blood and power, we could use the bond to find her once they had taken her to their lair.”
