“He’ll always be a part of you,” Shane told Sherilyn, squeezing her hand. “He’ll always be right here.” He pointed to his heart, smiling as he locked eyes with Sky. “It’s okay, Sky. I know how special your father was to your mother, and I would never dream of taking his place. He’s was special to all of you. I’m just glad your mother has enough room has enough room in her heart for both of us, and that you’ve all welcomed me into the family with welcome arms.
“Well, Mom does have a big heart,” Stella said. “And you’re family, Shane. We would never do anything to make you feel uncomfortable. Plus, you’ve been there for us through a lot of tough times.”
“So, why don’t you tell me more about this decorating thing,” Sky said, interrupting them, and changing the subject. He winced, feeling like he was being rude, and what Shane had said had been very sweet, but he couldn’t think about his father right now. Not when he couldn’t remember the man who had raised him. What did he look like? What had he been like? Had he been funny? Smart? Had he loved them?
“Right. The decorating thing.” Sophia glanced over at her children. “I totally forgot about that!”
“Mom!”
Her kids stare at her in disbelief.
“How could you forget?” Stephanie asked.
“We only do it every year!” Lisa added.
“Ad we took the decorations out last night!” Michael cried. “Remember? There was the big pumpkin. That scary witch…”
“And the big cat!” Matthew added.
“You have a big cat?” Diego asked. “We have a scarecrow!”
“Oh yes. The scarecrow.” Dillon laughed, glancing over at his son, as he sat between Sky and Winston. “We had a lot of fun playing in the leaves last week, didn’t we, Diego?”
“It was so much fun!” Diego cried. “I even had my own rake, and helped, then we got to jump in the leaves!”
“But we need a little bit of help positioning him,” Winston said. “I can’t do it myself, and with Dillon’s knee…”
“Is your knee still bothering you?” Stella asked. “You are icing it, aren’t you?”
“Of course.”
“Resting it?”
“Of course.” He glanced at his sister-in-law, returning her stare. “I’m doing everything you told me, don’t worry.” He glanced over at Sky. “I hurt my knee back when I was in the service,” he said. “It was one of the reasons I got discharged, and your sister has been hounding me to come in to get it looked at, but I hate doctors!”
“I don’t think anyone really likes doctors,” Sky said, ignoring his sister’s glare. “But it probably wouldn’t be a bad idea to get it looked at. It’s best to get those types of things taken care of before you start getting older.
“Ooh! Did you hear that, Dillon?” Winston asked, laughing. “He called you old!”
“Don’t put words in my mouth,” Sky said, rolling his eyes at his younger brother. “And thank you for your service,” he said, glancing back over at Dillon. “I’m sure what you saw over there wasn’t easy.”
“That’s putting it lightly,” Dillon said, finishing off the food on his plate. “I still have nightmares, but at least I was able to come home in one piece.” He swallowed, glancing behind him. “Hey, I think they just brought the ire cream out. Who wants some?”
“Me!”
Chapter 29
“Any idea where Alana’s staying in this damned place?” Ashwin asked, glancing at Elijah, as they stood in the dungeon.
“Hell if I know,” Elijah said, stepping forward and peering inside the cage. “You know, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a three-headed lion before. The closest thing I’ve seen to one is the Hydra.”
“The Hydra is nothing like him!” Ashwin cried, rolling his eyes, but peering into the cage next to Elijah. “Plus, you sent it to kill Sky.”
“Oh yes, Sky. Where is the angel?”
“We don’t know,” Ashwin said. “But let’s conquer one thing at a time, shall we? We need to find Jade.”
“And keep Talia from crossing back into our world,” Elijah said, glancing over at his brother. “You like her, don’t you?”
“Talia? Hell no!”
“No, not Talia,” Elijah said, rolling his eyes. “Jade!”
“What?” Ashwin jumped back in surprise. “Why would you think that?”
“Because you’re smitten with her!” Elijah cried. “Let’s see, you helped them get rid of me. You went after Jade, in India, instead of looking for me, and to top it off, you went to the hidden city because you were curious how everything was going to play out?” He laughed. “You wanted an excuse to see her.”
“No. I…” Ashwin trailed off, shaking his head. “You know what, it’s none of your business! Are you telling me you’re not the least bit worried about Julie?”
“Julie can handle herself.”
“But she is carrying your baby, and most likely powerless,” Ashwin said, picking the key up from where it had fallen on the floor, unlocking the cage door and opening it. “Come on, kitty. You don’t deserve to be locked up in here.”
“Roar!”
The big cat stepped forward, nodding one of his heads at Ashwin, and regarding Elijah with the other two.
“Looks like I’m not the only one who doesn’t trust you,” Ashwin muttered, his eyes widening as the lion stepped out from the cage, his back suddenly arching, as a gold hue washed over his body. A moment later a blonde-haired man was standing in front of him.
“Okay. Now I know why I haven’t seen a three-headed lion before!” Elijah cried. “Man, that’s cool!”
“And you dodged my question. Are you worried about Julie?”
“Are you kidding! Of course I’m worried about Julie! She’s carrying my child! But I don’t know her anymore, Ashwin. I never really knew her, and now, she wants nothing to do with me!”
“And you’re just going to let her go without a fight?”
“Why do you even care?” Elijah asked. “You hate me!”
“I don’t hate you, Elijah, I hate what you did. There’s a difference, but it was done centuries ago. We’ve both done things we regret.”
“So you forgive me?”
“I wouldn’t go that far, but I’ll tolerate you. I just hope, that somewhere inside of you, is the boy I once knew.”
“You boys certainly have a weird relationship,” the man in front of them said. “One moment you’re yelling at one another, then the next, you’re making up. It makes no sense!” He sighed. “Do any of you have any clothes I can borrow?”
“Oh. Uh. Yeah. Hold on.” Ashwin and Elijah averted their gazes, ducking their heads into the room next to them.
“Here.” Elijah handed him a black cloak. “I think this is one of the sorcerer’s.”
“Thanks.” Them man dawned on the robe, tying the sash around his waist. “So, you two are brothers?”
“Yup. For centuries now,” Ashwin said, glancing at his brother. “That is until he decided to make a deal with the vampires and kill all of us.”
“Oh, will you get over it already?” Elijah asked. “You’re a vampire! You get to live forever, plus, it is pretty cool being super strong and being able to run super-fast, isn’t it?”
“Well, yeah, but I’ll never be able to walk in the sunlight.”
“You know there’s a way around that, right?” one of the leprechauns asked, gazing up at him.
“What do you mean?”
“An ancient enchantment,” another one of the leprechauns said. “It’s hidden in the ancient scrolls, but you can enchant any sort of ring, necklace, even a shirt, so you can walk in the sunlight.”
“How come I didn’t know about this?”
“Because, you’re the first vampire in thousands of years to get your soul, and use your powers for good,” the man told him. He extended a hand. “I’m Micah, by the way.”
“How do you know all of this, Micah?” Ashwin asked, accepting his handshake.
“Because I’ve been around awhile,” Micah said. “I’ve heard things. Seen things.”
“And you were just born a three-headed lion?” Elijah askes, as he shook hands with him. “I’m Elijah.”
“Yes, I know who you are. You’re a wanted man,” Micah said. “And no, I was not born this way. My family was cursed years ago, shortly after I was born.”
“Cursed? Why?” Elijah asked, opening the last cage. “Alright, Greeny, you’re free now.”
“Greeny? Did you just call me Greeny?” the leprechaun asked, propping his hands on his hips, and glaring up at Elijah. “How rude!”
“Well, what else am I supposed to call you?” Elijah asked. “Shamy? Lepre?”
“Just call me Jack,” the leprechaun said, sighing as he shook his head. “I can’t believe Jade didn’t recognize me.”
“Should she?”
“Well, yeah! I’m the first leprechaun she ever met!”
“You do realize that she has a lot on her mind, right?” Ashwin asked.
“So do I!” Jack cried. “Which reminds me, we have to find the rest of the leprechauns.”
“There’s more of you down here?” Elijah asked, eyeing the twelve leprechauns starting at him.
“Well, yeah, this new evil apparently needs a lot of luck, but we need help. We can’t defeat the demons on our own.” He glanced at Ashwin and Elijah. “Do you wanna help us?”
“I’m no hero, Jack,” Elijah muttered, shuffling his feet as the leprechauns stared at him.
“And have apparently learned nothing since meeting the chosen ones,” Ashwin said, rolling his eyes. “You do know the first step to showing Julie you’re capable of a second chance, is to do good right? Which means, helping others.”
“You do have a point.”
“So, why not try?” Ashwin asked, turning his attention back to Micah. “So, Micah, tell me more about this curse.”
“It happened when one our ancestors pissed off a very powerful wizard. My mother was a deer, my father was an eagle, my sister a wolf, and me, a lion.”
“The three-headed lion?”
“That’s a story for another time,” Micah said. “But when my sister fell in love with someone, our family deemed unworthy, they killed her. It was terrible to watch.”
“You had to watch?”
“Everyone had to. It was part of the rules.”
“Watching someone you love is never easy,” Ashwin whispered. “Believe me, I know. Now come on, we’ve gotta find Jade. Micah, you wanna come with?”
“Why not? I could use a good fight.”
“Micah?”
A soft, feminine voice sounded behind them, and they all turned as a reign of gold light filled the room. A brown-haired woman appearing before them.
“Leslie?” Micah frowned. “What are you doing here?”
“I’m looking for the girls. What are you doing here?” Leslie asked, propping her hands on her hips. “You’re supposed to be in London!”
“I was in London until these damned vampires kidnapped me. They said they needed me for some ritual.”
“Yes. The ritual.” Leslie tapped her fingers against her chin. “I was afraid of that.”
“Afraid of what?” Elijah asked, narrowing his eyes. “Wait a minute, you’re an angel! Why are you looking for the girls?”
“Because with Sky gone, I’m responsible for them,” Leslie said. “But I can’t find them anywhere!”
“That’s probably because they’re not technically witches anymore,” Ashwin said. “With their powers gone, that is.”
“I was afraid something like this was going to happen,” Leslie whispered. “I told them not to go looking for that stone. To not put it back together, that it would just do more harm than good, did they listen? Of course not.”
“You’d have to know the girls, to understand them,” Elijah said, his lip quirking up. “They don’t do well with rules.”
“So I have learned.” She sighed, glancing at the men. “I know you two are demons and all, but I have no choice but to trust you.”
“Well, I’m not really a demon,” Ashwin put in.
“But you’re not a being of white magic either,” Elijah told him.
“Whatever. That’s beside the point,” Leslie said, waving her hand. “Right now, the Gods and angels have been grounded. This was my last teleport until things with Liam settle down. Now that he’s following in his father’s path, and is embracing his darkness, he wants to get rid of everyone. Including Gods and angels, so he can have complete power. When you find the girls, please, tell them to be careful. They won’t be able to defeat Liam. Only an angel with the power can, and that is Sky.”
“But isn’t he dead?” Micah asked. “Isn’t that why he had that alert go out?”
Leslie shook her head. “No, I don’t think he’s dead, I think he’s just lost. I think he set that alert up if anything bad ever happened to him. I just pray that he’ll find his way back before it’s too late.” She disappeared in a reign of light.
“Agh. I never liked the angels or the Gods,” Elijah said, sighing, turning and hurrying after the leprechauns. “Hey! Wait up!”
“So, you changed your mind?” Jack asked as he and the other leprechauns paused on the stairs. “You’re going to help us?”
“I don’t think we have a choice,” Ashwin said, as he followed his brother up the stairs. “This new evil that’s going to rise, if we can do anything to stop it, it’ll be good for everyone. As long as you promise to help us in return.”
“What do you need our help with?”
“Fighting off the demons.”
Chapter 30
“Ah, there she is,” Alana turned from the mirror, to glance over her shoulder as the vampire shoved Jade into the room. “Exactly who I was waiting for.”
“What would you like me to do with her, Alana?” the vampire asked, tightening his grip on Jade. “You know if you need me to sample…”
“That won’t be necessary,” Alana said, holding up a hand. “Tie her up over there.”
“Tie me up?” Jade gasped, as the vampire yanked her forward, staring at the wall on the other side of the room, with chains attached to it. “Is this really necessary?”
“Trust me, you’ll want to be restrained for what’s about to happen,” Alana said, as the vampire shackled her ankles and wrists to the wall. She nodded to the vampire. “That’ll be all.”
“Of course, Alana. Please let me know if you need anything else.” The vampire spun on his heel, disappearing from the room.
Alana nodded, turning back to the mirror. “Talia, are you there?”
“I’m here,” Talia said, as her image appeared on the other side of the room. “Is the witch here?”
“Yes. See for yourself.” Alana stepped to the side, gesturing toward Jade.
“And she’s the only one you were able to get your hands on.”
“The one and the only.”
“Well, she’s perfect,” Talia said, licking her lips as she stared at Jade. “Hello, Jade.”
“Talia.” Jade regarded the vampire queen with disdain. “I was hoping I’d never see you again. You nearly turned my sister into a vampire!”
“And soon you’ll all be vampires,” Talia said, chuckling at Jade’s feistiness. “Although I do admire your loyalty.”
“So, how is purgatory?” Jade asked.
Talia narrowed her eyes. “Is that what you’re calling it? I’m not in purgatory! I’m in a separate dimension. A dimension Ashwin sent me to! The freaking traitor!” She growled, turning to pace, stopping to stare in the mirror again. “But it isn’t so bad. I am living in a castle after all, but I don’t belong here. I belong in the underworld.”
“Because you’re destined to rule it?”
“Exactly.”
“And how are you going to do that, when Elijah is still alive?”
“Elijah is alive?”
“Yup. Right here in the underworld, along with his brother.�
��
“Ashwin.” Talia flexed her hand, her black nails biting into her flesh. “Oh, he would have made a great king by my side, but I distinctly remember hearing that Elijah was dead!” she shouted, turning to look at Alana. “You lied to me!”
“No. I really did think he was dead,” Alana told Talia. “Until a few weeks ago, when I learned the truth, but he will be soon. The whole magical community is looking for him.”
“Except he’s under our protection now,” Jade told her. “You won’t be touching him any time soon.”
“As if you have any way of protecting him,” Alana said, rolling her eyes. “Or did you forget that I have this?”
“Of course not. It’s my family legacy,” Jade said, lifting her chin. “But I’m not scared. No one in the last hundred years has been able to turn that book evil, and you will be no different.”
“I bet go differ,” Alana said, grabbing the needle on the table, and striding forward. She grabbed Jade’s arm, thrusting the needle into her arm.
“Hey! What are you doing?” Jade asked, watching as her blood filled the tube.
“Taking your blood,” Alana said, withdrawing the needle and striding back to where she’d left the book. “I’ll need it for the convergence.”
“You could have just bitten her,” Talia muttered. “It would have been more fun. Especially for me.”
“Except, I want to leave her for you, my queen,” Alana said, pouring the blood into a dropper, and pushing the plunger. Three drops of blood dripped from the dropper, landing on the book.
The book shook, glowing a bright white.
“Whoa!” Jade stared at it, watching as the symbols on the page glowed brightly, a streak of lightning appearing from the book and zinging toward the mirror. It hit the mirror, lighting it on fire.
“No! Talia!”
“And will you look at that,” Jade murmured, as she disappeared in a reign of electricity and grabbed the book from where it was laying on the floor. “It looks like I have my powers back.”
Anarchy Rising Page 12
