by CC Solomon
It appeared every major group was represented.
Blake and her second and third in command, an Indian man who looked like he couldn’t have been over eighteen and a middle-aged raven-haired white woman with steely eyes covered the vampires, incubi, and succubi.
The witches, wizards, and mages were represented with Phillip, Tyler Oh, a wizard, and Bill, the town’s head med mage.
Seth, of course, had his top people to represent the weres and shapeshifters.
Mae and Grace Sarin, a siren, and another male I’d never met represented those with psychic abilities.
There were also elven and orc representatives along with paranormals with smaller communities like the dragons.
Charles and I sat behind the witches. I took a bit of comfort Charles still considered himself part of our magical world before vampires.
The top three of each magical group sat at the table with others sitting around the perimeter of the room. Seth sat at the head of the table, and Blake sat at the other end.
“Why are we here?” An overweight, hairy man questioned. He was the orc leader, Gregory. During this time of day, he looked very human. At night, like other orcs, he would become more beast than man. This was just the opposite of the gargoyles who became human at night and beast by day. They were lumped in with the orcs, so it was assumed Gregory would fill in his counterparts at night.
“Phillip had some very important news he thought we should know,” Seth gave a lazy smile and sat back in his chair, feet propped up on the table. “What’s up?”
Phillip stood and proceeded to share just about everything we knew about the original soulmates and the impending regression affecting paranormals. He spoke of the attacks on us as the new soulmates, including the spell on him and our extended banishment. He spoke about how we believed Blake to be one of the original soulmates but didn’t share why.
When Phillip finished talking, the group erupted in comments and questions. Most of which we couldn’t answer.
“All right. All right.” Seth spoke in his alpha voice to bring the crowd back to focus. He took his feet off the table and sat upright.
The group grew quiet and looked to the current leader of the town.
“One at a time. Me first. What do these so-called first soulmates want?”
“They’ve wiped out civilizations before, and they want to rule the world. Including getting rid of regular humans,” I explained.
“How does that affect us?” Gregory called out.
Erik leaned into the table and glared at him. “Because you may not like the plans they have in store for you. They aren’t walking around getting people to buy into their rule. You either follow them or you die. They’re more than likely behind this new sickness that’s causing these regressions.”
“You’re making a lot of guesses. The attacks on you could be someone else. How do we know these soulmates are out to do something foul? And this sickness could be unrelated. You want us to gather up to prepare to fight something that may not want to harm us. We should focus on eradicating what’s happening to our people.”
“These aren’t guesses,” Phillip cut in. “These soulmates were stomped out the first time because of their ruthlessness. Why would we want that again? Why would we take a chance and not prepare ourselves? These beings are strong. They break wards with ease. They have a large and powerful following. If they come here, we would lose and have to bow down to whatever they wanted. I would suggest we not take chances.”
“He’s right,” Mae spoke up. “I’ve seen the future. I’ve seen the world under their rule. You will not have the freedom you do now. They’ve been dormant for a long time, the way they think isn’t the same as ours. They will not do things as you do, Seth. Not any of you. They believe they are at the top of the food chain, and the rest of us are beneath them with humans at the bottom. They will destroy you for even thinking differently than they do.” She paused, looking around the table.
Once she was sure she had everyone’s attention, she continued. “You don’t have to start a war but you should start preparing yourselves and aligning our town with other towns for when the battle comes and, make no mistake, it will come. You can wait for proof from your own eyes and possibly die as a result, or you can listen to us, to me. I’ve never steered you wrong. My sight has been proven right. I’ve confirmed with the other psychics and witches with magical foresight as well as the Fae, and we have come to the same conclusions.”
Other representatives from the witches and psychic groups voiced concurrence.
“Then we should do something,” Grace spoke up. The tall, bronzed woman with long chocolate hair and kind eyes, smiled as she spoke. Her voice, when singing, could control and even kill, but she was careful to speak in a calm and pleasant tone now. “Why would we doubt Phillip or Mae? And although Erik and Amina are our newest members, they’ve proven themselves to only want the best for this town. What is the harm in at least readying ourselves?”
Others in the room murmured in agreement.
Seth sat back, a cocky grin on his face.
I really hated him being the leader of this town. “I’d rather put my energy into stopping this sickness going around. It was probably the humans that drummed it up to lessen our numbers.” He turned to Erik, beside him. “Your mate and her soulmate want us to fight a war.”
I really wanted to punch him.
“You’re the head of the town’s police and military, are you agreeing to put our people at risk?”
Erik’s jaw tightened. Seth really knew how to get under his skin, and saying that Erik wasn’t a protector was one of his hot buttons. “We can prepare while finding out what’s going on with the Paranormals.”
Seth turned away from him and waved a hand as if swatting a fly. “These soulmates, they aren’t our problem until they threaten us. We aren’t declaring war or seeking out a battle. If these soulmates exist, they seem to just be a Phillip and Amina problem.” He turned to us. “I’m not risking my town for just you two. No offense.”
“None taken,” Phillip’s voice was laced in sarcasm.
Seth smiled and tilted his head sideways towards Blake. “And Blake, if you really are an original soulmate, maybe I could make you my wife. Then we’d have an alliance, and all would be right with the world.”
Some in the crowd gave nervous laughter to what I hoped was a joke.
Blake rolled her eyes. “I’ll pass. This was all a misunderstanding, and no one believes I’m some soulmate, right?” She looked over to Charles first.
Before my brother could respond, I spoke up. “Maybe we don’t have proof of you being a soulmate, but we have solid reason, to believe you’re part of what’s causing the regression,” I said a little too loudly. I could feel eyes on me. “We need to detain her until we get to the bottom of this.”
“What?” Blake’s shock was obvious to those in the room. “What are you talking about, Amina? Why would I cause this to my own people?”
I shrugged. “That’s for you to answer.”
Amina, what are you doing? Phillip asked in my head.
No one is going to believe us about this soulmate thing, especially if we can’t talk about Ahmed or the lamp. But everyone knows about the regressions. That’s a real threat that they can see. They might detain her until we can figure all the soulmate stuff out if they think she’s part of the regression.
Are you sure Blake has anything to do with this? Erik’s voice came through my mind.
Are you sure she doesn’t?
Blake turned from me and faced Seth. “She’s making this up. She clearly hates me.”
“No, she’s not.” Lisa stood. “When I was in the Fae realm, they told me to watch out for you because you would bring death to paranormals.”
They didn’t say anything like that, but if you really think she’s a threat, I’ll support you. Lisa’s voice was firm in my head.
Thanks. There was the ride-or-die friend I used to know.
&n
bsp; Blake pointed at Lisa. “Are we really going to trust this fairy? She banished Phillip and Amina, and she hates me because I’m with her ex-boyfriend.”
Murmuring from the council began.
“I wouldn’t lie about something like that. I can bring Queen Arwa here, and she will support what I’m saying,” Lisa shot back.
“The Fae don’t have sway here,” said the young male second in command of vampires.
“They have sway with us,” a witch countered.
I’d learned from Lisa that while I was gone, the Fae and the witches had collaborated on supporting my banishment for the betterment of mankind and all that jazz. It irked me at the time, but now it might be useful.
“Blake may not want to admit her role, but she is at the core of this right now. I have seen it,” Mae stated.
I looked to Mae, surprised she would say something. She admitted being wary of Blake due to her premonitions, but there wasn’t any certainty. She spoke with full faith now.
“I have connections that mentioned Blake’s name as being involved with this trouble,” Felix raised his hand as if in a classroom.
I fought hard to prevent my eyebrow from raising. Was Felix telling the truth? Had Azrael, his disembodied angel friend, mentioned something to him?
Ed quickly rose. “And I know I’m just a regular old human visitor, but people in Galway have also mentioned a Blake as the bringer of trouble,” Ed announced. Now I knew Ed was lying, but I loved him for it.
“Oh, you gotta be kidding me. These are all Amina’s friends, of course they would come up with all of this crap,” Blake cried, throwing her hands in the air.
“Why would we lie about that?” Erik asked.
“We?” Seth questioned, eyes curious. He had to know we were making this up, and he was enjoying it.
Erik nodded. “I believe them.”
Blake bared her fangs at him. “Of course, you would. Following behind your woman like some lovesick punk, I see.”
Oh, God, she had to go to name-calling. Erik bared his own canines at her, a flash of his jackal eyes clouded his human ones briefly.
I walked over and touched Erik’s arm in a silly attempt to calm him.
Blake scoffed. “Yeah, calm your pet down.”
Oh, she was on a roll today. Granted, getting accused of trying to destroy mankind was no picnic in the park.
Erik looked at Blake with dead eyes but said nothing. He could remain in his seat and calm down or leap across the table at her. I decided all signs pointed to him staying seated. I’d never seen him hit a woman, and I thought he was too smart to strike at just words.
“This infighting is unsettling,” a young female telepath sitting beside Mae spoke up.
Mae nodded. “I agree, but we must get to the truth. The safety of this community depends on it. Children were attacked yesterday. A teacher died. We cannot have that happen again.”
“I agree,” Seth stated before looking to Phillip. “What about you? Do you believe your consort is behind all of this trouble?”
Crap. As much as I was beginning to believe Phillip would stand by my side, it was asking for too much to expect him to betray one of his closest friends and consorts. I knew he didn’t believe Blake was the female first soulmate, but we also didn’t have another suspect, and the fact remained the lamp was found in Blake’s apartment. He was too smart to ignore all that, wasn’t he? I wasn’t so sure.
Phillip looked at Blake then to me. If he betrayed Blake, he would lose a loyal friend. Could I really blame him if he decided not to take that risk?
“Unfortunately, I heard the same intel that Amina did. It greatly disturbs me, but we owe it as leaders in this community to explore all possibilities. We cannot risk the safety of our people. Without our people and our growing numbers, we are weak. We should keep Blake under surveillance and confine her movements until we’re certain.” Phillip’s shoulders sagged, and his eyes looked older and tired.
Thank you. I told him. He didn’t respond, but I knew he heard me.
“Wow.” Seth sat upright and moved his feet off of the table. “If you have turned your back on your own consort, then I need to pay attention to this.” There was a delight in his eyes that he didn’t bother to mask.
More murmuring from people filled the room.
Blake looked at him with eyes on the verge of tears. “Why?” she asked in a barely audible voice.
“Charles,” Seth called before turning his head to my brother. “What say you? Do you think your new girlfriend is the bringer of trouble, as our Irish friend so eloquently described her? You’d know best of all, wouldn’t you?”
Charles didn’t look at me. Not a good sign.
Charles, I began.
“I believe my sister believes what she is saying,” Charles started, ignoring my attempt to speak to him telepathically. “However, I think Blake is innocent.”
Shit.
“But I have no proof either way. I think if we hold Blake just for a little while so we can clear her name, that might be in the best interest of everyone. I don’t think it’s fair to lock her up. We can have her monitored and prevent her from leaving town.”
Seth squinted his eyes as if pondering Charles’ suggestion. Other paranormal leaders began talking of next steps. Blake sat down, looking completely dejected. If she were innocent, this would be a painful experience. These were people she trusted.
The room was divided on how to handle the Blake situation. I had no faith that Seth would be wise enough to make the right decision, but I waited patiently as they talked out the situation. In all honesty, I was a bit surprised Blake didn’t attempt to flee. If the soulmates were not ready to fight us, then having her get caught wouldn’t do them any good. So why was she staying?
In the end, the council decided to keep Blake under supervision and under a spell that would prevent her from leaving the grounds until they could gather enough information to make a determination of whether she was involved in the regression.
It wouldn’t take long for them to find nothing. We had to find a tie linking the soulmates to the regressions and fast.
Chapter 11
“Raise your hand if you feel like crap for lying,” I announced, flopping down on Mae’s couch and putting my head in my hands.
At the end of the meeting, Mae asked for the six of us, along with Phillip, Ahmed, and Ed to meet at her apartment.
I hadn’t expected her to have any sweets like she normally did, but as soon as we entered her apartment, she offered us tea and peanut butter cookies. Today, I didn’t feel like I deserved any cookies.
Everyone except Erik and Lisa raised their hands. I glared at them.
“You believe she is the female soulmate,” Erik explained. “Tying her to the regression might have been a lie, but we aren’t sure it was if she is a soulmate. She had to be detained by any means necessary.” He gave a nonchalant shrug and bit into a cookie. Cold. Then again, it wasn’t too long ago he was talking about killing her, so this was a step in the right direction.
However, I couldn’t be mad. I was the one who started it.
I looked to Lisa. “I just don’t like her,” she rationalized with a quick shrug. “And I’m going to support whatever you do. I owe you that much.”
I gave her a slight smile.
“You should all hope you don’t go to hell for condemning an innocent woman,” Charles grimaced at the group of us. “I can’t stay long. I have to find Blake and see if she’ll even forgive me.”
Lisa rolled her eyes.
“Sis, I really think that dude has rubbed off on you in all the wrong ways,” Charles pointed to Phillip.
Phillip raised his eyebrows and looked around the room. “I didn’t even start this.”
“Charles, the council wasn’t going to help us otherwise. Now we have eyes watching her while we get to verifying her identity. And we must do it quickly,” Mae sat down on her couch.
Bill sat beside her, and the rest of us were spr
ead about her living room.
“If Blake is not the soulmate, then it could be anyone. Even the details of our preparation against the original soulmates must be kept quiet.”
“Ahmed said the first female soulmate was named Rima. That doesn’t sound like a name Blake would have. I’d think Helga or something for her,” Faith pondered, crossing her arms.
We all stared at her.
“Oh, don’t look at me like I’m crazy. Blake looks Swedish is all I’m saying.”
“What if this Rima was reincarnated into Blake’s body?” Lisa asked.
We sat silently pondering.
“You’re blowing my mind right now, shortcake,” Felix proclaimed.
“Anything’s possible,” Mae surmised.
“Or maybe someone framed her,” Charles began. “Maybe the same someone who allegedly put the dark spell on Phillip.”
“Why does it have to be allegedly?” Phillip muttered to himself.
“That could also be true. Good point, my man,” Felix said, nodding.
“How can we get to the bottom of this? Joo-won’s not telling us, our magic may not be strong enough to tell if she’s lying, and the council is only going to let Blake be detained but only for so long. We have to show them how damaging the soulmates are. Maybe we need to introduce the council to Ahmed,” I said, already hating the idea as soon as I presented it.
“Seth won’t care,” Phillip leaned against the wall close to a bookcase.
“If it’s to defend his people, he’ll—” Erik began.
“Sorry to cut you off, man, but let’s talk real facts here,” Phillip began. “Seth is compromised. He is laced in magic, and it’s dark. I could see his aura. I could feel it. I noticed it when we first came back, but I thought, well, he’s just a dick, he’s probably always been like that and I just didn’t notice. He was never a good guy. However, more recently, I’ve been noticing his aura get darker. It’s not something you can see unless you’re looking, and I was looking because I wanted him out of my spot.”
