by Rain Oxford
“So you think that if you kill someone I love, I’ll join you?”
“No. You’re too stubborn for that. I don’t have to, though. You could use your power to protect your loved ones, but you fear it instead. Because of that, they will die. You can stop it, but you won’t. And then that power will drive you to me. Love is such a wonderful weakness.”
“What about your son?”
She shrugged. “Immortality will require sacrifice. I have to have something prepared ahead of time.”
“He’s not a fucking backup plan! You created him!”
She frowned at me like she didn’t understand why I was angry. “So? I can create more children any time I want, and even better than him.”
She would kill her own son to achieve immortality. And I thought John was evil.
She smirked at the disgust on my face. “There you go again. You think I’m an evil monster, right? There is no such thing as evil. We make our own rules. I’ll tell you what. You want my son? You can have him. It’ll just bring you that much closer to me.”
“I don’t want---” I stopped myself. She had no reservations against killing her own child, and he didn’t deserve that. Despite having her blood, he was innocent. On the other hand, there was a blood bond between them. She could use him to get to me or even turn him to her side over the years.
“See? You know that if you take him, you’ll be that much closer to me, but you still want him. That’s why love is a weakness, and it can hurt people more than anything else. Emotions are the enemy of efficiency.”
“I don’t love him; I just don’t want to see an innocent baby suffer at your hands.”
“You feel love, which will be your downfall. I don’t.”
“If you have a plan, now is the time,” Rita said.
She was right. “There’s a change of plan.” I wasn’t like Veronica, and neither was Rita. I couldn’t make Rita use her powers to kill, even if she was prepared to do so. She came to Earth to get away from that life. “Get Ahz out of here.”
Rita didn’t need to be told twice; between joining the fight and getting her son to safety, she was going to choose her son. As I prepared a protective ward, she picked Ahz up and bolted for the door, only to stop when three council members blocked her path.
She was focused on them and I was focused on Veronica, so my intuition barely warned me in time to shield her before she was struck in the back by Harold Showalter of the old council, who entered through another door. I cursed myself, because I’d foreseen him slipping past Henry and still managed to be unprepared for it.
That was because I had changed the plan. I no longer had a near perfect idea as to what would happen. One little change (okay, it wasn’t that little) instantly made huge ramifications. Thanks, chaos theory. Furthermore, I hadn’t accounted for her long speech about evil being a good thing.
Within a few minutes, we were surrounded, and Rita had to put Ahz down to fight. I turned to Veronica and drew my sword. “Let Rita and Ahz out, and we can have that showdown you wanted so much.”
She laughed. “I don’t need to read your mind to know what you’re thinking anymore, Brother. You’re only willing to fight me when you’ve got friends to protect.”
“How do you figure that?”
“I’ve seen so many people have a go at you and you just brush them off.”
I didn’t know what she was talking about, but as long as she was talking, she couldn’t give all her attention to controlling the council members. Her supporters didn’t need to be controlled, so they attacked Rita while Veronica was busy with me. From what I could tell without giving them my full attention, there were five wizards who actually sided with her who Henry hadn’t gotten out, as well as three current council members that she was controlling.
It was eight powerful wizards against one woman with a child to protect. I cut off a few of their attacks with a ward around Rita, only to get struck from Veronica. I couldn’t afford to forget that on top of her mind control, she was a powerful wizard.
Her first attack was a fire whip, which was a lower-level offensive spell. It burned my arm, but I had been hurt much worse. Then I blocked the whip with my blade and the whip disintegrated. The flames were absorbed into the blade, which glowed red and lit with fire.
This made her smile. “Maybe you won’t be as dreadfully boring as I’d thought.”
When I got distracted helping Rita again, Veronica hit me with a spell that initially felt like water, but as it flowed through me, my lungs froze. I couldn’t breathe.
Rita cast something at Veronica, so she had to defend herself with a ward. This made her drop her spell over me and I could suddenly breathe again. We were outnumbered, which wasn’t such a problem in my original plan because Veronica would have been dead by now.
I used elemental attacks and wards as defenses on Veronica, but mostly I was trying to keep her attention on me so that her control over the others didn’t build. Rita was getting exhausted, though. Then one of them got her with something and she dropped silently to the ground.
I didn’t know if she was alive or not. Ahz, who had been scribbling on the floor with a marker, suddenly stood with a glare focused dead center on the wizard who had struck Rita. In an instant, he had gone from an autistic kid practically in another world to a boy brimming with so much focused, malevolent power that he would send a demon running in fear. The wizard didn’t get the chance to run.
He dropped to the floor with a scream and blood flowed from his eyes, nose, mouth, and ears. His scream died when he choked on his own blood.
Then, as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened, the hellfire in his eyes faded and Ahz dropped down on the floor next to his mother like it was nap time. He patted her chest and grunted something. Loki meowed loudly from his pocket. I hadn’t even known the kid had brought his kitten.
I wanted to check on Rita, but I couldn’t. On top of keeping Veronica at bay, now there were seven wizards against Ahz, who was once again in his own head.
And then Henry was there, a giant jaguar standing over Rita and Ahz. His unearthly form was frightening enough without the red lightning that shot from his mouth when he roared. Horse-sized demon jaguar.
That was cool.
Apparently, it wasn’t enough, though, because Veronica took advantage of my distraction and struck at him with white lightning. In an instant, gigantic, leathery black wings shot out from his back and deflected the attack as well as the best ward.
So that’s what the wings were for. Scott had them, but I never got the impression Scott could fly. Until that moment, Henry had never had wings. I returned my attention to Veronica.
With my intuition, I was actually doing pretty well at blocking her attacks, and my elemental sword could adapt instantly to use whatever element I needed. The air element was like crystal, but it was light as a feather and fast. The water element made the blade into ice, except it was unbreakable and froze the couch instantly when I missed her and struck it. I knew not to use the earth element, because I couldn’t do much with a heavy-as-hell stone sword.
Things calmed down very suddenly. Veronica and I were both out of breath, but I noticed that Henry wasn’t fighting anymore. I risked a look and was relieved. Not only was he fine, but Rita had woken up and was hugging both Ahz and Henry to her. Henry was in his person form, holding her like he never wanted to let her go again. At the same time, he had a hand on Ahz’s shoulder to reassure himself that Ahz was safe next to him. All of the wizards were out or gone.
I turned back to Veronica, who was looking at Rita and Henry, clearly thinking up a new plan. She had failed. Although she’d said she wanted me to beat her, I suspected that she never actually thought I would.
Killing her with magic would cause me to absorb most of her magic. It happened with John, even though I hadn’t directly killed him with magic. I was simply using magic when I killed him. Plus, it didn’t give me the knowledge of how to use it. Instead, I had spiders followin
g me, uncontrollable mind reading, and exploding electronics for a month until my body adapted to it. Having too much magic was a problem if I couldn’t control it.
So I came up with another plan. Without preparation or intuition, I made a decision to run with it. “Henry, shadow pass.” I pushed my power into Rita’s mind. “Attack Veronica,” I ordered.
She did, but the spell struck an invisible barrier. It fulfilled its purpose, though; Veronica had to remain in the same spot under her ward’s protection for a few seconds. It was enough time for the shadows to form behind her… on the other side of the ward. The shadow pass was never precise.
Her expression of shock told me she realized Henry was doing foreign magic. Delight filled in her eyes as she discovered new magic that she could use. Syndrial magic could only be done by casters, but that wasn’t the case with demon magic. Henry knew that all she had to do to get access to the shadow pass and a whole new world was kill Hunt or Vincent. For her, that wouldn’t be difficult. And now she knew it as well.
I had no choice and I wouldn’t let myself doubt it. I dropped my sword and staff, lunged at her, and threw us both into the shadows. I caught her by surprise because she was still in Henry’s head. The shadows closed over us in seconds and all was dark.
“Where are we?” Veronica asked, pushing me away.
I backed away from her silently. I imagined the hint of worry in her tone was because we were alone (except for the mahorela) and she couldn’t get into my head. She might have even sensed the mahorela, but I doubted she could control them. That meant her strongest power was useless to her.
She didn’t know where she was or how to get out. Obviously, she hadn’t had enough time in Henry’s head to learn that talking was dangerous here, because she didn’t stop. “This isn’t the end, Devon. I’ll get out of here and kill all of your friends. I’ll torture them first. I’ll destroy their lives.”
Her composure was slipping. Her control was unraveling.
I was trapped as well. Remy was going to be pissed. I could have done something else, like a spell to push her in, but that would have allowed her to escape. Henry couldn’t get me out because he had no bond to me. He wouldn’t be able to find me. The shadow pass was endless.
“What the fuck is that?” she asked, probably feeling a hand grab her. “Is that you?”
I remained silent. They would find me, but she was an easier target while she made noise.
Veronica screamed, and my first instinct was to protect her. Fortunately, I was able to resist. I just thought of what she did to Amelia.
A clawed hand wrapped around my ankle at the same time I was grabbed roughly from behind. Blinding white light, made even more painful in the darkness of the shadow pass, filled the space in front of me. Veronica vanished in it, but before it faded, the shadows fell away from me. I was standing in the north tower library of Quintessence. Vincent released me and collapsed against the table with exhaustion.
Chapter 28
I wanted to ask Vincent how he found me, but he was close to passing out. I helped him into a chair. Ghost appeared, but he couldn’t do much. He couldn’t talk to others like he could Vincent and me. I pulled out my notepad and pen, wrote a quick note, and gave it to Ghost. “Take this to Hunt.”
Without arguing, he took it in his teeth and vanished. I also opened a mental connection to Henry just long enough to tell him that I was alive and safe.
Hunt appeared with a glass of water and a potion. “What happened?” he asked.
“I was trapped in the shadow pass, trying to get rid of Veronica, when Vincent appeared. There was a bright light.” That explained Vincent’s problem; light made it harder and more taxing to open the shadow pass.
Vincent recovered quickly with Hunt’s help, and I updated them on what happened with Veronica. Vincent had found me because we were related by blood and he knew I needed help because he had a vision.
“Is it that easy to find someone in the shadow pass?”
“No, it is not,” Hunt said. “The shadow pass is not a place.”
“I don’t follow.”
“It is outside of our realm; outside of time and space.”
“Then how did Vincent find me?”
“I found you in time,” Vincent said. “That is what matters. Magic is mysterious. Its rules are fluid and often misinterpreted. I will not dwell on this because I was able to save you.”
I had never fully trusted Vincent because he was John’s brother, but I realized that that was unfair. Whether I was his son or nephew didn’t matter so much to him. He truly believed I was John’s son, yet he protected me as his own. He never once held John’s crimes against me.
I let it go.
Although none of us knew what the flash of light was, Hunt and Vincent insisted there was no way she could have gotten out without a key to the tower, which she didn’t have. It was probably her attempt to kill the mahorela. I wasn’t completely convinced and would be looking over my shoulder for the next few months.
My intuition told me I hadn’t seen the last of Veronica.
* * *
Henry, Rita, Ahz, and I made it back to the school, where Darwin and Remy were both relieved to see us and pissed that I had gotten myself trapped in the shadow pass. Remy was satisfied with the idea that Veronica was there and had probably already been eaten. Despite the danger I put myself in, she admitted that she liked the plan. Darwin’s only comment was, “Those poor monsters.” I suspected he wanted to avoid anything to do with the shadow pass for the rest of his life.
Henry brought Rita back to his room to reunite Ahz with Scott. As they walked away, Henry said, “You fight like a jaguar.”
I had no idea what that meant, but Rita took it as a compliment. “Thank you.”
Remy and I decided to mix things up and go to her room while Darwin gave Amy the good news. We didn’t emerge for the rest of the night.
* * *
Saturday, December 10
In the morning, Remy got an early start on her principal duties so that she could spend the later part of the day with me. I got us both breakfast and we ate in her office. Afterwards, I decided my paperwork could wait and went down to the infirmary to let my siblings know the threat was gone.
Even though I wasn’t completely certain of that.
To my surprise, Rita was there, bandaging a wolf pup. “What happened?” I asked.
“He was playing on the roof and fell. Dr. Martin can give him a healing potion, but it wouldn’t pop his bone back inside.” She gave him the best disapproving mother scowl I had ever seen. “And I won’t either if I catch you on the roof again.”
The young shifter licked her hand.
“We can wake the kids now.”
“Henry and I told the allied children last night that it was safe, but they want to hear it from you. The enemy kids are due to wake up at any time. It might be less stressful for us if they wake gradually. I can call you when they do if you want to leave them be for the time being.”
“Sounds good.” I went to my siblings’ room and told them that Veronica was taken care of.
“So we can go home?” Ashton asked.
I nodded. “I’ll have a driver ready to take you back to your homes after lunch.” I didn’t miss Tristan’s depressed expression. “If any of you want to stay, however, you’ll be welcome here.” Tristan’s eyes widened. “I know what it’s like not to fit into the human community. This school was built for kids who don’t fit in.”
“Are you only offering because you’re our brother?” Sophia asked.
“I think it would be a good idea for some of us to stick together because we all share a powerful and unique set of abilities. I’m not talking about using you; I’m talking about sharing ideas and supporting each other. I won’t show you any favoritism over the other students, so you have to follow the rules.”
“Will we get rooms?”
I nodded.
“I’ve got to help my mom,” Tazmyn said reg
retfully. I knew how she felt, and she was even younger than I had been when my mother was hurt.
“I don’t know if I can leave my dad,” Ashton added.
“What about tuition?” Emerson asked. “None of us are rich enough to go to private school.”
“You’ll need to talk to Ms. Hunt about that. Few of our students are rolling in money. She probably has a scholarship fund.” They needed to talk to their parents first, too, so I instructed a driver to take them all home. I also pulled Emerson aside and asked her to let me know if she saw anything concerning. She assured me that she would.
During lunch, Henry, Darwin, Amelia, Remy, and I were crowded at one table, discussing the inclusion of my siblings to the school and how to prepare in case Veronica wasn’t really gone.
When Henry stiffened, I looked over at the door behind him and saw Addison. Henry didn’t look as she approached, but stress spread across his face.
“Henry…” Addie said. “Can we talk?” Henry stood, reluctantly. “I mean here,” she added quickly. “I won’t make a scene and don’t want to fight. If we go somewhere private, we’ll just start yelling.”
Henry sat slowly, suspicious. “I’m going to go,” Remy said, getting up. That told me she knew what Addison had to say.
“While I was taking care of things, I ran into a childhood friend, and he asked me to get coffee with him. I turned him down because you’re my boyfriend, but I didn’t want to. He still helped me out, and we were instantly best friends again. I realized that what you and I have isn’t easy, or fun… or worth it anymore. Things were different at the university because you were the guy no one could have and everyone wanted. You were a trophy that made me feel better than my classmates. I was better than the other girls because I had you and they didn’t.”
