by Ruby Raine
Lucas saw a log a few steps away from her. He threw a spell at a tree, behind it, sending it crashing to the ground. It hit the log, rolling it behind Eva’s legs. She saw it too late and fell backwards over it. She cried out, hitting the ground hard as something cracked in her ankle. She scrambled to her feet, unable to put much weight on the foot. She didn’t think it was completely broken, but it hurt like hell.
“I should have just left,” Eva berated herself. “Heed that advice now,” she told herself. She turned and hobbled into the woods.
William collapsed. His legs faltering underneath him.
Eva was getting away.
Someone knelt down next to him. It was Emily.
William did not like what he saw in her eyes. Something had changed in her. Her brightness, her joy, gone. Replaced by a shade of darkness he didn’t know would ever lift. Even with all his pain, and the agony of what had been done to Melinda, seeing her like this saddened him greatly.
She put her wrist up to his mouth. “Drink,” she ordered him. “And then catch that bitch and kill her until she’s so fucking God damned dead.” Something in her tone beat into William’s undead heart, and without hesitation, he punctured her skin and drank.
They needed him to end her. And he could do it if he was strong enough.
He wanted to go after Melinda. Her brothers are coming. The Feyk had set a trap, but they were coming and he didn’t fear that they’d save her. Eva needed to be dealt with now, before it was too late.
It didn’t take long for Emily to get woozy. It was a strange sensation, to feel her blood all headed in one direction... William’s mouth. It was worth it if he succeeded in killing Eva Jordan.
Her arm dropped, and William’s wrapped around her. He helped her lie down, her own strength waning. Almost instantly, William felt stronger. His wounds would take more time to heal, but his muscles sucked in the blood, healing and strengthening.
He hadn’t consumed this much human blood since he could remember. It surged through him, bringing him back into the land of the living.
As it spread, healed and strengthened him, it left a trail of unbridled wildness behind. His muscles ached with a new savagery. His tongue craved to taste more. His dead heart burned with the desire for things he’d fought an age to relinquish.
But it would not burn for long. This new dose of blood would burn out just trying to heal him. He’d have to make fast work of dispatching with Eva.
“Look after Emily,” he told Lucas. William chased Eva into the woods. He could not use his vampire speed, forced to plod along behind her.
Her scent was strong. It helped that she was bleeding as she ran.
EMILY’S EYES FLICKERED opened and closed. She wanted to go to sleep.
Lucas tapped her cheeks, trying to get her to stay awake. He didn’t think letting her fall asleep was a smart idea.
Lucas heard a groan and looked up. Riley was waking.
He left Emily to check on him.
Riley’s eyes fluttered open.
He blinked a few times, surveying the scene. Remembering where he was.
“Are you okay?” his brother asked. He hoped it was really his brother waking, and not the enraged brother he could not control.
There was no reply. Lucas helped him sit up.
Riley’s tanned skin turned pale and sickly. It all came back to him. Like a sick nightmare with no escape. All the vile things he’d said, and done. Wanted to do.
He turned onto his knees and vomited profusely.
He remembered every disgusting detail. Almost like he had been in the background watching it the entire time, but unable to control his actions in any way.
He’d hurt Melinda.
All those things he said to her. He’d hit her.
He’d nearly killed William. He’d tortured him near to death. He didn’t like the guy that much, but what he’d done to William was unforgiveable.
Riley didn’t know why they hadn’t just killed him for what he’d done.
Spell or not, he had done all these things.
He wanted to die.
Without even feeling it start, Riley sobbed uncontrollably.
Lucas grabbed hold of him. “It wasn’t your fault,” he consoled. He hated magic. Now more than ever. Deanes and magic did not mix. “I’m sorry I brought you here,” he told Riley. “It was a mistake.”
“She’s never going to forgive me,” Riley gushed, speaking of Melinda.
How could she?
He remembered everything she said to him. The hurt in her eyes. The anger. Betrayal. Disgust. “God, Lucas. I fucking hit her.” The demeaning things he said to her. To everyone about her, like she was nothing but a cheap sex toy to use in his conquest over William.
Bile rose in his throat.
No, Melinda Howard would never forgive him after this. Probably never want to see him again. Or speak to him.
“We can leave,” Lucas said. “Go anywhere. Away from this place.”
“How? We have nothing.”
“I’ll figure out something. C’mon. Get up.”
He’d forgotten about Emily until she groaned.
“We have to get her somewhere safe. She needs help,” said Lucas.
Riley wiped his face, a moment of calmness coming over him. He nodded.
Lucas patted him on the shoulder. “It’s going to be all right. I promise.”
It was not going to be all right. It never would be. There was nothing he could do to make up for what he’d done. No way to forget what he’d done. He wasn’t even sure there was a way to live with it.
Feyk spell or not, it was his hands that did the damage.
His face, they’d all remember.
His name, they’d all talk about.
Another Deane to besmirch the name.
Riley looked up to go to Emily and let out a sharp gasp.
Lucas spun around.
A Feyk had popped in out of nowhere and grabbed Emily’s limp hand.
“Let go of her,” warned Lucas. He took a stance, ready to attack.
The Feyk simply grinned wickedly, a plume of smoke erupting where it stood. When it cleared, he and Emily were gone.
Lucas wanted to kick himself.
Loving or hating this place set aside, he sucked at being a witch, sucked at magic and plain old sucked at even taking care of a woman passed out and placed in his charge.
“Let’s just go,” said Riley, shaking. “I can’t be here. We can’t do any good anyway.”
“We could probably do some more bad,” berated Lucas. “Are we doomed to fail at everything we do? I’d actually started to believe we were supposed to come here.”
Riley had never seen his brother so defeated. And he had never felt so defeated.
He reached up and clutched his chest. “Oh, God.” There was a tight pang there, rippling outward.
“What’s wrong?” Lucas asked.
A sudden warmth engulfed his heart. A feeling, growing in the pit of his stomach. It hit so hard he nearly doubled over.
“There’s somewhere we have to go. I’ve never had it come on so strong before.” He looked up at Lucas. “I have to follow through with this.”
“Okay,” he understood. “Let’s go.” He helped Riley to his feet and followed his brother into the woods.
DRESSED IN BLACK FOR better cover, Jack, Charlie, Michael, and Lizzy readied themselves to enter White Pines. Dusk was fading, night on its way.
They had left the jeep outside the entrance of the park.
Mack had a roadblock in place to keep any stray tourists from sneaking through.
She’d also told them about the ambulance on its way. After seeing Melinda’s condition in Eva’s sadistic video, she was certain she’d need immediate care. They’d be prepped and ready. And if William was still alive, they’d do whatever they could to save him. Plus, they didn’t know what else might happen during the battle, or what they might find if they also located Emily and Lucas.
Mic
hael had wanted to use a crystal but feared the brightness of it would give them away, so they opted to rely on Charlie’s wolf vision to assist in finding their way through the park.
“Can you strap me up?” Lizzy asked Charlie. “I can’t quite reach.”
They’d stopped by the Deane Manor on their way to White Pines. Lizzy had come across old leather potion belts in her recent cleaning efforts that were still in usable condition.
She’d slung one across her shoulder, but could not reach over her back to hook the clasp. Charlie reached around her and clasped the belt.
“Thanks.” She let out an even breath.
“Are you good?” he asked her.
“Yup. You?”
“As I can be. Have you done this before, Lizzy? You seem...”
“Focused,” she told him. “And yes. I have.”
“I’m glad you’re on our side then.”
“You should be,” she responded confidently. “Oh, and um,” she pointed to a small handbag she planned on attaching to the belt. “I brought you extra clothes.”
Charlie shrugged, confused. One, the handbag wasn’t large enough, and two, why?
“You’re planning on going full werewolf at some point, right?”
He sucked in quickly. Lizzy held back a wry smirk.
“That was... incredibly thoughtful of you,” he stammered out. It hadn’t even crossed his mind.
“I assumed you didn’t actually want to walk back through the woods bare ass naked when we’re done.” Not that I’d mind.
He’d had enough of naked romps in the woods to last a lifetime. Lizzy slid vials of potions into the empty holders in her belt, securing each vial into a pocket.
“I’ve got some basic medical supplies in there too,” she added after a minute.
“How? It’s so small.”
“It’s much bigger on the inside. And it weighs next to nothing.”
“Wow. That’s very impressive.”
“What can I say? My dad taught me well.”
“He was the witch in your family?”
“Yes. But my mother died when I was a baby. And I was his only child. He made sure I could fend for myself. Except that I didn’t quite succeed in that I guess.”
“I’m kind of glad about that,” it slipped out of his mouth by accident. “That was a very selfish thing to say.” He shook his head, feeling stupid. They were about to go into a battle and he was sitting here acting like a lovesick schoolboy.
Lizzy lowered her gaze, hiding a grin. “I’m just glad my dad didn’t live to see the day I disappeared. He died a few months before I was turned into a ghast. I think losing me would have crushed him.” She wrapped another belt around her waist and filled the empty vial pockets with potions. She tied her small handbag to the strap on her shoulder, testing to make sure she could get into it with ease.
“Charlie.” Jack was calling to him.
“Sorry.” He’d been standing around gawking at Lizzy. He joined his father.
Jack shook his head and patted his son on the arm, casting a quick glance at Lizzy. “Good luck with that, Son. She’s gonna be a handful.”
Charlie closed his eyes, humiliated.
Michael rolled his eyes in annoyance.
Charlie let out a huff. Okay ya stupid idiot. Get it together. Battle time...
He helped his father and brother get strapped into their potions belts. He’d opted out of wearing a belt, as for one, his shoulders were too broad, making it a tight fit. And as Lizzy had assumed, he would go full werewolf at some point, and didn’t want to waste potions that would just break upon his transformation.
He did keep hold of one vial. It held the cloaking potion. And using this was the first part of their planned attack. They hoped to take out as many Feyk as possible in the few minutes of invisibility it gave them.
Fireworks boomed overhead, lighting up the evening sky.
“Everyone ready?” asked Jack.
They replied with pensive nods.
“We’ve prepared. Let’s stick to the plan. They will try to take us off guard. They will use Melinda, Emily or Lucas, maybe even William...” they cringed just thinking of him. “The key is to be mindful that this will happen, but stay focused on the task. We want to keep them guessing. Make them keep up with us. We do not want to lose that advantage or we’ll find ourselves playing into their hands.”
He led the way, taking the first steps into the woods. Before long, it got too dark for him to see well, so Charlie took the lead, his silver eyes canvassing the woods as they prowled deeper and deeper into the park.
The fireworks boomed. Their intensity rising, their timing quickening. Each blast masking their footsteps. The light from the bursts did not make it down to ground level, the trees too thick.
“Stop!” whispered Lizzy loudly. Everyone froze. She motioned for everyone to stay put. She listened carefully in between the bursts. Charlie’s eyes scoured the area.
Charlie saw it.
Lizzy heard it.
She raised her palm shooting off a spell. It hit the Feyk straight on, keeping it from popping out. Its body flew into the air. Charlie leapt upward and yanked it down by the neck, pinning it to the ground.
Without hesitation, Lizzy stepped over it. “Do they know we’re coming?” she demanded.
It just sneered, choking under Charlie’s grip.
Michael heard another sneer and spun around to see a puff of smoke just a couple feet behind him.
Jack darted to the plume but it was too late.
“They definitely know we’re coming. Nothing changes. We keep moving.”
“Except for you,” Lizzy spoke decisively at the sniveling Feyk in Charlie’s grasp. She reached down into her boot, pulled out a knife and thrust it into the Feyk’s heart.
The Howard men gasped, dumbstruck by the audaciousness of it.
Lizzy didn’t flinch, her stare direct. Her body determined in its act.
It hissed through its pointed teeth, its gangly body going limp.
Charlie let go, the Feyk, dead.
“No use wasting a perfectly good potion,” stated Lizzy. She slid the knife back into her boot.
Charlie stared at her, wearing a look of awed wonderment. “Wow,” he mumbled.
“Problem?” Lizzy lifted a brow at him.
“No. Just very, very glad you’re on my side.” The manner in which he spoke was one of praise and adoration.
Michael mumbled to himself rubbing his temples, once again unwillingly pulled into his sibling’s emotions. “So much fun. Just love being an empath.” He was quite sure his brother had just fallen madly in love. And now he was sensing all about it.
“In my day, we trained for this.” Lizzy repositioned her potion belt to make sure it was on straight.
“I think we need to start doing that again,” reeled Jack. “Right. Let’s keep moving. They know we’re here now, but we expected that to happen. The noise from the fireworks will help cover our approach. The plan does not change.”
Charlie scoured the area, seeing no more signs of the Feyk.
He motioned them to follow and they continued, getting closer and closer to the old tree.
MELINDA WAS HELPLESS. Again. This time, weakened by blood loss from forcing William to pretty near suck her dry. Her hands were bound once again and she was tied to a tree trunk. There was no need for them to bind her hands though, as she had no strength to perform any magic, no matter how badly she wanted to.
Stricker wasn’t going to take any chances.
Her head kept drooping; she was dizzy. She wanted to shiver, but her body didn’t even have the strength to perform this act. She was filthy from the Feyk dragging her across the ground. Her legs and feet scratched.
Stricker came up to her. “I brought you a gift.”
Emily’s unconscious body was unceremoniously leaned up against the tree.
“Emily,” called out Melinda weakly. There was no response. Her eyes widened when she saw the pun
cture wound on her wrist.
William... was he out there somewhere, healing?
Or had Eva or Riley gotten to him first?
Please let him be alive.
Melinda breathed in short bursts, unable to suck in deep enough for proper air.
“At least I didn’t burn to death,” she murmured through nearly closed lips. She couldn’t keep her head from falling over and gave up.
Stricker stood just a few feet away, on the top of the crest just before it edged down into the creek bed. From this vantage point, he could see the meadow in front of the old tree and watch the battle unfold. From where he expected the Howards to enter from, the first thing they’d see is Melinda and Emily.
He reached over with his wiry leg and kicked at Emily.
“Hm. What a pity, I really wanted the spirit vessel alive. I guess we’ll see what happens.” A Feyk approached Stricker. “Any sign of our shady shifter?”
“No. She’s injured and the vampire got free, and is chasing her in the woods.”
“That’s a shame,” he tut-tutted.
“Should we go after her?”
“No. Our bargain is fulfilled. And after what she did to that vampire... she’s done for now.”
“Very well, Sir.” The Feyk left to join the others in preparation for the battle.
“I was looking forward to working with her,” said Stricker. He gazed at the old tree. “But I don’t share power with anyone. And she wasn’t one to submit...”
COURTNEY JESSUP HIKED her way into White Pines after successfully sneaking past the sheriff and her roadblock. She stopped and took out a crystal. This crystal served one purpose, to track the Feyk known as Sir Tinkham Sickereaux, otherwise called, Stricker. She blew out an anxious breath when the crystal showed her the direction she needed to go.
A snap in the woods.
Courtney slipped the crystal into a backpack and held her breath.
Footsteps and heavy breathing. Not hers.
A tangled mess of white stepped into view. The woman’s chest heaved from overworked lungs. There was dried blood on her forehead and her arm; she hobbled with a limp, one of her legs not working right.
Eva stopped, taken off guard to come across a hiker in the woods.
