by Jami Gray
Taking the warning under advisement, Darius settled on the floor at Axel’s feet. Wrapping his hand loosely around Axel’s bare ankle, he concentrated on the magic, bringing it into focus, feeling the flux of energy against his skin.
Much like Sullivan, Axel was encased in a multilayered spell. It took a few moments to identify what kind of magic was at play as he carefully examined each layer. Cassandra and Cheveyo managed to unravel the first few layers, and that magic seemed to be contained in some kind of energy trap. Unusual and very intriguing. He’d have to remember to follow up on that nifty trick later.
Turning his attention to what he could identify, Darius tested each bit of magic. Definitely wizard. The oily stain darkened all it touched, seeping through each layer. Deep inside its mental cage, his demon growled as he brushed up against the faint vibration of fur and moonlight. Pack magic, probably. The energy in the final layer kept slipping away, only detectable on the edges of his awareness. The minute he tried to pull it closer, it drifted away like smoke.
“There’s something there, I can’t catch it,” he murmured.
Cheveyo pointed to Axel’s barely moving chest. “Look, here.”
Puzzled, Darius asked, “The bruise?”
“That’s not a bruise, young man,” Cassandra chided him, reducing his decades to single digits. “That is the spell keeping Axel from us and his alpha.”
“And it’s damn touchy,” Raine gritted out.
He looked over and saw that the girl’s eyes fairly glowed and something clicked into place. The energy trap holding the other spells at bay, it belonged to Raine. “Touchy?”
“Every time we go to unravel it, it slithers out of sight, like it’s hiding in an invisible hole.”
Raine’s explanation sent shockwaves reverberating through Darius. She could actually see magic, not just sense it. Bits and pieces of the couple’s previous behavior—the way they seemed to read each other’s mind or the way Gavin’s magic seemed to deepen—fell into place. Half-formed stories tugged at his mind, but now was not the time to listen. He narrowed his eyes, his attention sliding to Gavin, sitting behind her.
A dangerous emotion flared in Gavin’s eyes, turning the green into depthless dark jade. His hands curled over Raine’s shoulders. Recognizing the protective threat, since all too often his own reflection held the same cold image of death, he simply asked, “Like it did with Sullivan?”
Gavin nodded.
Darius stifled his curse. If Raine could see magic, and this particular spell kept disappearing from her sight, it could mean it belonged to someone with demon blood. “You realize what this means?” he directed his question to Gavin.
“Yeah,” Gavin growled. “We’re dealing with the same shit who spelled Sullivan.”
Turning back to the other two who watching their byplay, Darius said, “I need to check on something.”
Cheveyo stopped him. “Check on what?”
“Since this is acting like the spells Gavin and I encountered with Sullivan, chances are we’re looking at the same castor. If that’s the case, there’s a damn good chance the reason you can’t counter it yet, is because that nasty bastard on his chest is tied to the Side.” And if he didn’t work fast, they’d lose the man lying before them.
“Hold up,” Raine snapped. “How is the spell anchored in the Side if Axel is a shifter? I thought you needed demon blood to hold it in place?”
He didn’t want to answer her, especially since a horrible suspicion was swirling through him. Yet if he didn’t, they’d continue to argue with him and Axel would die. Natasha would not be happy with that outcome. “There’s another option, part of Axel’s spirit could be trapped in the Side.”
Xander’s small gasp didn’t hide Vidis’s low growl.
“Will you be able to free him?”
Much like the power she wielded, Cassandra was a center of calm control. He’d met a few witches like her, powerful, but unable to violate the witches’ three-fold law—unable to cause harm to any, in fear it would revisit them threefold.
He gave a short nod. “But you’ll have to work fast. I’m betting the spell is set to take out its anchor if anyone tampers with it.”
“You mean it will kill Axel,” Xander snarled.
“Yes, so as soon as I break the link, use the pack ties and drag his ass back over.” Darius aimed his next command at Cheveyo. “You need to hold a protective shield in place.” He canted his head slightly at Cassandra, an unspoken warning to protect her as well. Unlike his companion, Cheveyo didn’t strike him as one to hold too tight to the three-fold law.
Cheveyo gave a barely perceptible nod, and the brush of magic rushed against Darius as the protective energy settled into place.
Darius turned to Raine and Gavin. “However you’re holding the other spells back, keep it steady. Don’t let them trigger or we’re screwed.” Not waiting for assurance, he looked up to meet Vidis’s amber gaze. “I’ll do what I can to bring your wolf back, Alpha, but if this is Amanusa magic, it won’t let go of him easily.”
“Neither will I,” the man growled.
Knowing he’d done all he could to protect Natasha’s people, Darius followed the magic into the Side.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Standing in between realms, Darius studied the disturbing scene before him, holding his human form intact. Without Natasha here to act as his go-between, he had to be able to communication with the others, even as he worked in the Side. Very few Kyn did well in the Side. Unlike the Between, where most Kyn pulled their magic from, the Side played hell, literally, with any magic not tied to an Amanusa.
Axel wasn’t doing well at all. Rage and pity swam through Darius in a stomach-churning storm. Even his demon hissed in displeasure. His suspicions proved correct. The castor manage to anchor the spell in the Side, but he also tied the spell to Axel’s spirit.
Unfortunately, shifters, much like Amanusa, were dual in nature—two spirits sharing one body, a fact this nasty-ass concoction used with twisted deviousness. While Axel the man lay in a coma in the mortal world, Axel’s wolf was trapped in a realm he was never meant to see. No wonder Vidis wasn’t able to use pack ties to help his wolf. Those ties couldn’t reach into the Side, not unless they had help. Help, Darius planned to provide, just as soon as he figured out how.
The wolf snarled and snapped, nothing sane lingering behind the amber gaze. The edges of the spell encircled the wolf, the disturbing energy fluctuating in a mind-bending ribbon, keeping Axel inside its boundaries. Darius didn’t dare break the visible edges of magic until he knew what he was dealing with. The more he studied it, the more he began to recognize what was at work. Someone took one of the Amanusa’s most hated spells and turned it into something much, much more disturbing—a weapon to be used against other Kyn.
It was a warped version of a constraining magic Amanusa used on their adolescents, when hormones and rising demonic natures did not mix well. If an Amanusa’s offspring wasn’t strong enough to control their chaotic nature, it would drive their more human half insane. When that happened, a spell was used to lock the teenager’s demonic nature in the Side, limiting the amount of damage they could inflict on themselves and those around them. However, in the mortal realm the human form would be in a coma. Then it became a waiting game, as the Amanusan nature and intellect battled and fought for dominance. Either the child found the mental fortitude to accept themselves, or they died.
In Axel’s case, they trapped his wolf in a realm guaranteed to drive him insane. Plus, the more Darius studied the spell, the worse it got. The energy appeared to weave in and out of the wolf. Whatever it was doing, had to hurt, because the animal would break off from his snarling to snap at his own skin, leaving bloody wounds in its wake. Somehow the spell severed Axel’s connection to the Between, cutting man and wolf apart, while weakening the bond to his alpha.
Since blood was the basic key of most Kyn magic, Darius took a chance. Elongating one nail, he sliced a narrow line acros
s his palm, waiting until his blood welled. If blood was the basis of the spell, then he needed to destroy that base before it snapped the last line between Vidis and Axel.
“Vidis, can you reach Axel’s wolf at all?” Darius needed to get in close and would much rather not get bitten if given a damn choice.
Instead of a verbal answer, small fireflies of light began to flicker to life all along Axel’s fur, the heaviest concentration centered on his chest. When the spell reacted, stunned fury raced through Darius. The bastard who cast the spell set the anchors inside the wolf’s spirit.
Darius leapt forward, powering through the edges of the spell, feeling it rip along his skin with serrated teeth. As the pain rose, so did his demon. His hold on his human skin wavered. He tackled Axel’s wolf, managing to hit the beast from the side and take him to the ground.
The sickening magic whipped around him. His demon’s howls joined Axel’s. Ignoring both beasts, Darius used his body to pin the wolf, using his forearm just behind the creature’s ear, to keep his jaws from Darius’s skin. He struggled to not just hold the head in place, but keep his eyes covered. If the maddened werewolf caught sight of a real live demon, Darius might as well kill him now because there’d be nothing left to save.
Axel was a stubborn bastard. Even weak and in tremendous pain, he kept trying. Executing a particular vicious twist, he managed to sink his teeth into the underside of Darius’s upper arm.
Darius bellowed at the hot, bright pain. All pretense at humanity dropped away. Now in full demon form, his hands were bigger, able to cover more of Axel’s vision, and still hold him in place. He almost missed the click when his blood connected to something inside the wolf and claimed it as its own. Acting on instinct alone, Darius slammed his magic out in a protective rush.
Death rode along the energy, attacking anything not connected to Darius or Axel. When it collided with the still dancing light of Vidis’s connection, it paused in recognition then shifted to encompass that link as well. It slammed into the sickening magic snaking in and out of Axel. The resulting, silent explosion shattered the remaining spell into hundreds of ashy shards, leaving behind three distinct anchors.
Axel writhed, his howls agonized.
Together Darius and Vidis continued to pour their power into Axel, rebuilding his connection to his pack. On some level Darius worried what damage they were doing to the wolf, but he still refused to stop. Vidis’s magic gained strength, the fireflies growing into embers, then into eye-searing flames as Darius turned his attention to the last remaining anchors.
“On my count,” he gritted out. “One…” He smashed the first anchor then sent his magic along the next one. “Two…” He ripped it free even as Axel’s wolf convulsed. Surrounding the last one, he hammered it to pieces. “Three!”
The light surrounding the wolf flashed white hot then disappeared, leaving Darius blinking in the aftermath. He barely noted the smeared remains of the shattered spell littering the ground at his feet, before he dropped back into the mortal realm. His head spun at the abrupt reentry. Panicked shouts and rough curses swirled around him, even as his hands reflexively clamped down on Axel’s drumming heels.
“He’s seizing!”
“Put this between his teeth!”
“Hold his head still!”
“Godsdammit, we’re going to lose him!”
Darius blinked, clearing his vision, even as the movement under his hands slowed. He looked along Axel’s twitching body and ran straight into the amber gaze of a wolf trapped in a battered human face. “Betrayed…” Axel’s hiss was caught between pain and fury. “Betrayed us…” His words choked off as his body arced into a cruel bow and an inhuman howl escaped.
Darius winced as Axel’s body slammed back into the ground.
Then Vidis was there, kneeling next to the raving wolf, his hands catching Axel’s wildly thrashing head, framing his face. “Calm.” One word, but even Darius could feel the weight of power behind it.
Blocked by Vidis’s back, Darius couldn’t see what happened next, but the soft reassurances continued, urging Axel to relax and breathe. There were no false reassurances that he’d be okay, only that he “was safe for now.” After a handful of moments, Axel’s guttural growls slowed, his abused body began to still.
Then a small whine escaped. Unsure how long the calm would last, Darius lightened his grip on the wolf’s ankles, but didn’t release him. Not until Vidis indicated it was safe.
“Tell me.” Vidis’s soft, inescapable command cut through the combined noise of heavy breathing and pants.
“Called in…” Axel’s voice held broken edges. “Heard something, needed to share with Gavin.” His heavy breathing picked up.
“You gave me three names,” Gavin reassured him.
Even with Vidis’s back in the way, Darius saw Axel shake his head. “No, something more. Another connection. Little prick, hiding right in front of us—have to warn you—” His body began to shake, cutting off his words.
“Get what you need quickly, Alpha.” Cassandra laid her hands over Vidis’s, and Axel’s tremors slowed.
The alpha gave a short nod. “Breathe, Axel. No, don’t look away.” Pause. “That’s it.” The alpha and his wolf took another breath. “Give me the connection.”
“Connected Brant Sutler to Cl…cleo James, Sullivan’s woman.”
Darius and Gavin shared a look. Cleo James. The girl the Half-Bound dragged into Natasha’s home.
But Axel wasn’t done. “She’s also con—connected to another Wraith—has been for years. They just hid their relationship.” Another violent tremor wracked his body.
Cassandra hissed in warning.
“Give me a name,” Vidis demanded.
“Jamie fucking Ryder,” Axel snarled.
Disgust and fury hazed Darius’s mind as he paced from one end of the expansive back deck to the other. He refused to allow his underlying panic for Natasha to gain a foothold.
Axel’s announcement sent shockwaves through Vidis’s living room. Exclamations of disbelief and vile curses abounded. Hostility and anger erupted from Gavin, Raine, and Xander—the three Wraiths woefully unprepared for betrayal from within. As for Vidis and Cheveyo, they held their cards closer to their chests, but Darius knew they would soon be chiming in on the massive clusterfuck they now faced. Only Carys’s arrival stopped things from spinning farther out of control and gave Cassandra a chance to reclaim the room. The older witch directed Vidis to take Axel upstairs, then she all but ordered Carys to follow. Unable to stay in the living room, where rioting emotions only urged his own beast closer to the surface, Darius retreated to the back deck.
Nothing eased the gouging urge to hunt down the duplicitous shit. Why had he listened to Natasha? Damn fool woman and her arrogance. How had she missed this? Hell, how had the little fuck managed to fool so many for so long?
Gavin stepped out of the house, stopping to watch him pace. Darius ignored him. He didn’t trust himself to open his mouth. Instead, he continued to wear a private path along the wooden planks.
“I can’t reach Natasha.”
Gavin’s quiet words brought Darius to an abrupt halt at the far end of the deck. He deliberately reached out and curled his hands over the wooden rail. The wood squeaked under the pressure. Gods above and below, what he wouldn’t give for the wood to be Ryder’s fucking neck right about now.
“Can you?”
Darius jerked his head around at the question. “Can I, what?” he growled, his demon so close the words were almost unintelligible.
Gavin walked over and stood just out of arm’s reach, the night shadow’s masking his expression. “Can you reach her?”
Darius gritted his teeth and shook his head. Not that he hadn’t tried. The minute Ryder’s name fell from Axel’s mouth, Darius reached out, trying to use the blood tie. No smart ass remark, no sense of the complex woman he was beginning to discover. Not one damn spark. Instead, all he found was a disturbing blankness. “She could be ou
t of range.”
“Out of range?”
“The farther apart we are, the harder it is to communicate. All I can tell you is, she’s still alive.” He hoped.
“I’d rather you tell me where she is,” Gavin bit out.
Darius flexed his hands against the wood, allowing blood to return to his fingers. “It’s a blood tie, not some damn mate bond.”
“Blood tie?”
The growled question came from behind him. Darius spun around to face Vidis as he stepped away from Cheveyo, who closed the door behind the two of them. Since they had the name of their traitor, keeping this information from the other two leaders now became pointless. Still the alpha’s question scraped against him, and Darius snapped back. “Alliances based on words alone mean less than nothing.”
Undeterred, Vidis stepped in until he violated any personal space Darius could claim. “What alliance?”
His demon surged, and the night took on a reddish tint. “The one I forged with Natasha to keep you and yours safe from the Council.”
Vidis’s lips curled back from his teeth and he rolled up on his toes.
Darius held the amber gaze with ease. His demon was so riled, he bled through—his nails sharpening into thick claws, his teeth elongating until he was snarling back.
“Cease.” A solid gust of wind slipped between Darius and Vidis. Strong, invisible hands shoved against Darius’s chest. The unexpected move sent him stumbling back a step. In front of him, Vidis mimicked him.
Both turned to the tall witch standing next to Gavin, arms folded across his chest as Cheveyo glared at both of them. “We have enough predators willing to tear us apart. We don’t need to do the job for them.” He eyed both of them. “Agreed?”
Darius inclined his head and deliberately leaned back against the railing. He folded his arms across his chest, tucking his claws out of sight, and dragged in a deep breath, striving for a calm that seemed absurdly out of reach. Right now, rage would gain him nothing but unnecessary delays in locating Natasha.
