by KB Anne
“Granda, what’s the hurry? What’s happening?”
Inside, Anna gathers herb bundles from the ceiling and places them on the table along with two mortars and pestles and several bowls. Sam’s busy lighting dozens of candles. I flick my hand and light them all for him. He looks at me in amazement. I wave my hand like it was nothing.
“Granda, what’s going on? What’s happened here?”
He takes a pile of books off the shelves and hands them to Sam. “Search these,” he says and grabs another pile and hands them to another coven member and instructs him to do the same. He reaches for a giant old book from a top shelf like a man possessed.
“Granda,” I shout. “What’s going on?”
He startles, and the book—a spell book—goes tumbling down. Alaric catches it before it hits the floor.
“Thank you,” he sighs, removing it from Alaric and carefully placing it on the table before turning to me. “Whatever mischief Breas, his witch, and Carman conducted at the festival is now everywhere.”
I freeze, refusing to believe it. “We stopped it. I stopped it.”
He purses his lips. “Only temporarily. As soon as you left Kilkenny, the curse spread like wildfire. Men, women, and children of all ages have been afflicted all across Ireland. Acting erratically. Assaulting each other. Getting into accidents. They’re possessed.”
Apparently, the festival mischief was just a test for Breas and the rest of his minions. Now, they’ve set a curse upon the whole country.
“Has anyone in the coven been affected?”
He glances at Sam, and they share a long, sad look. “A few went out to collect some items we needed. We were able to bring two of the three back, but it wasn’t easy. We keep laying protective spells on the boundary, but we’re running out of supplies. I don’t know how long we can fight them off. That’s why I sent Caer and Scott to the skies. With the Storm Moon close, we can’t risk hurting innocent civilians.”
“Innocent civilians? You make it sound like a war. I mean, I know we’ve been preparing for a battle, but war seems so . . . aggressive. So . . . final.”
His stare pins me in place. “It is a war. A war of good against evil.”
“But Balor’s dead.”
“Balor was but one factor in the war.”
Alaric brushes against me. His presence immediately relaxes the tension in my shoulders. “How are they spreading the curse?”
“The unnatural rains. They’re somehow dispersing it through the weather.”
“What happens if anyone leaves the property?” Maddie asks.
“They’re immediately afflicted.”
“So, all the werewolves . . .” Alaric begins.
“Are back on their side,” Granda finishes.
“I need to stop the rain,” I say to myself.
Granda shakes his head. “I don’t think Brigit is able to affect the Elements like that.”
I lift my chest. “No one really knows what I’m capable of.”
Alaric places his hand on my back. “No, we don’t.”
I rush outside. The faeries mill around, talking to the coven members. They keep pointing at something.
I spot Keturah and hurry over. “What’s going on?”
She points to Britni, who’s rolling around on the other side of the boundary shield.
“Something is wrong with her. Something unnatural,” she whispers. “None of our magic can stop it.”
Suddenly, Britni springs to her feet. Her fangs protrude and her claws are out. She lunges at me. Before I even realize what’s happening, I’m on my back, and her teeth are snapping at my throat.
Just when her canines pierce my skin, she’s ripped off of me. I look up to see her feet dangling in the air, kicking and thrashing, with Alaric holding her by the throat.
“Don’t touch her,” he growls, flashing his own canines.
She hisses at him, her eyes completely black. Her claws slash at his arms. He squeezes. She fights harder to break free.
Keturah rushes over to him. “She’s not herself. Please, don’t hurt her.”
I leap up and throw a lifting spell at her to remove the curse. She pauses. Her eyes shift back to light tan. She reaches for Alaric’s hands at her throat, her claws no longer extended. “Please,” she whimpers. “Please, don’t hurt me.”
I squeeze Alaric’s arm. “It’s okay. The curse is lifted.”
He hesitates, breathing in and out. I feel a corrupting influence in him. I glance over and see Naisha watching us with a maniacal grin on her face. I push calming energy into him, and he releases Britni.
Britni collapses, clutching her throat. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what happened to me.”
I clench my jaw, watching the mist falling outside the boundary shield. “I do,” I growl.
I raise my hands, drawing energy from the surrounding space. “You are not of this world.”
I shoot my spell out from me. The mist hovers in midair.
“You are not welcome here. Leave this world.”
And with that, it disappears and the storm clouds lift.
“Will the clouds return?” Keturah asks, fearful that any of them could fall victim again.
“I don’t know. For now, don’t let anyone leave until we know for certain it’s gone.”
Alaric folds my hand in his. “Thank you,” he whispers. “I didn’t mean to hurt her.” His gaze falls on Britni who’s wincing as she clutches her throat.
“You were protecting me. It’s very hot.”
He turns to me, his green eyes piercing into mine. “I will always protect you. But with this corrupting power, I can’t do it alone. We need the werewolves back on our side. There aren’t enough coven members to handle this on our own.”
I sigh. “I know.”
“We need my dad.”
Nerves freeze me in place. “Why?”
“Because having the Original Werewolf on our side is the only way we’re going to beat Nan, Breas, and a Fomorian witch.”
My eyes fall on Naisha, who’s watching us with intense interest. I send a searching spell to ensure she’s not influencing Alaric. It returns back to me free of magic.
“Why do you say that?”
His eyes flash gold and green. “Because if there’s one thing I learned about him during my imprisonment, it’s that he hates backstabbers. I don’t know all his history with Nan, but he’s really pissed off at her.”
“What about me?” I ask in a much smaller voice than I intended.
“You’re my mate. You’re untouchable.”
I quirk my eyebrow. “He’s been plotting my demise since Brigit placed restrictions on his werewolves.”
“I’m his son. His one true heir.”
“What about Lizzie?”
His eyes slide to hers. “He’ll honor her too, but I’m his firstborn. There is no other like me.”
“That I agree with, but—”
He pulls me to his chest. “Trust me, Gigi. I won’t let anything happen to you.”
I swallow all my bad feelings and place my trust in Alaric. “I believe you.”
28
Big Bad Wolf
Alaric asked me to trust him, but he hasn’t lived in fear for months that the big bad wolf was going to kill him. It wasn’t his mother who’d died imprisoning him. I search his mind again to ensure that visiting Clayone and asking him to join our side is his own idea and not some subversive scheme by Naisha to get me killed. He keeps coming up clean from all magic except my own.
“Are you sure this is going to work?” I ask him for the millionth time as we follow the tunnels.
He squeezes my hand in reassurance. “Yes, I am.”
Ryan follows behind with Lizzie, who is becoming easier and easier to handle. Her cooperation is another positive sign that she’s returning to us. Maddie and Keturah lead Naisha through the tunnels. She fights them every step of the way, even with a variety of my spells on her. I worry that bringing her was a mistake. Clayo
ne gave her two children. Their relationship was more than a passing fling. If he sides with her instead of his son, the blood of the innocent will be on our hands. I send a silent prayer to the other gods that Alaric knows what he’s doing.
We enter the large cavern meeting room. I stare at the painting on the wall of Clayone towering above his werewolf pack as the image of his son, Alaric, watches from a distance. I glance at the floor beside the painting where Alaric once fell, immobilized by Breas. I remember the way I felt when I returned to him after dealing with Breas, only to find him gone. Taken by his sister and dragged to his father’s prison to be tortured until he had turned against me.
“Gigi, it’s okay,” he whispers. “I love you. Nothing is going to happen to you.”
“What about you?”
He kisses my forehead. “I’ll be fine. He’s my dad.”
“Your mom tried to kill you when you were reunited. What makes you think your dad won’t offer the same greeting?”
He squeezes my hand and leads me toward the tunnel to Brigit’s shrine. “You’ll see.”
There in the darkness I can just make out the shape of a giant man.
“Hello, son,” Clayone says, his voice rumbling through the tunnels. “What treats have you brought me?”
See? I place in his head.
He’s got a strange sense of humor.
I know humor. That’s not it.
Trust me.
The figure inhales deeply. “A family reunion.”
I stop. We’ve made a terrible mistake.
“Trust me, Gigi,” Alaric pleads.
As we approach Clayone, a giant lump lodges in my throat, making it impossible to breathe. My heart races triple time. We stop just outside the boundary to the shrine room.
“Son, what have you done?” Clayone whispers, sounding scared and in wonder simultaneously.
Alaric lets out a long exhale. “I didn’t think it could happen. The legends, the prophecies—nothing hinted at it.”
I have no idea what they’re talking about, and it bothers the hell out of me. “Can someone clue me in?”
Clayone drops to his knees and bows to me. “I take an oath of fealty to you, Gigi, reincarnated Goddess Brigit. I am forever dedicated to you.”
“Um . . . thank you?” I lean over to whisper in Alaric’s ear, even though I know Clayone can hear me. “What brought on this drastic change of heart?”
Alaric turns to me, now holding both my hands, his eyes bright, his smile wide. “Brigit’s line will no longer end with you. Clayone’s line will no longer end with me.”
“Meaning?”
“You’re having our child.”
* * *
I stood still for a very long time. I don’t think I even breathed.
“I didn’t think that was possible.”
Alaric smiles at me. Love pours off of him, warming my extremities. “It’s not supposed to be.”
“Scott is going to kill you,” Ryan says.
I search Alaric’s eyes for answers. “You knew?”
“I suspected. You started glowing after we were together. I thought it was just that you accessed more magic, but then I heard a second heartbeat.”
I glance back at Naisha. If looks could kill, I would be dead. “Does she know?”
“She does now, but there’s nothing she can say or do to change anything.”
“And your father?”
Alaric reaches down and taps Clayone’s shoulder. “Dad, you can stand.”
Clayone unfolds himself to his full height. He’s taller than Alaric and more muscular. He could take his son in a heartbeat if he wanted to.
Alaric smiles at me again. “He’s not going to hurt me, Gigi. He’s not going to hurt you either.”
I frown at him. “You can read my mind?”
“You keep getting easier to read the more we’re together.”
“Huh,” I say to myself.
He leans in to whisper. “Don’t worry. I won’t tell anyone else how you keep fantasizing about us together.”
A warm blush blooms on my cheeks.
“Dude, get a room,” Ryan says.
Clayone tilts his head and looks at Lizzie. “What is wrong with my daughter?”
“Got a few hours? Why don’t you ask her mom?”
He inhales deeply. His nostrils flare in and out. The muscles in his jaws feather. “Her blood is still contaminated. Why?”
“We’ve destroyed two of the Maleficium curses placed on her, but Naisha’s blood bond has grown more powerful. Lizzie’s life is bound to her.”
“How will you break it?”
“There’s a spell we can conduct on the Storm Moon. It’s risky, but it’s worth it.”
His gaze pins me in place. “On the Storm Moon you have many other battles to fight.”
Clearly Clayone has managed to stay in the loop, even without his daughter and son around.
“We do.”
“The Witch further corrupts your husband.”
“Ex-husband.”
“Carman also soils his mind. Maleficium has destroyed any traces of humanity she has left.”
“Says the man who fed his brother’s body to the wolves.”
“My brother was a cruel leader who abused the members of his tribe.”
“That’s not what we heard.”
Clayone’s nostrils flare in and out. “That is the truth. I searched for a way to save our tribe. The answer came in the form of a wolf. A wolf protects his pack.”
I sense he’s telling the truth, but it’s in conflict to the legends, the tales, the myths—everything I’ve heard about him.
“But you killed people. That’s why Brigit placed restrictions on the werewolves.”
“I didn’t. I turned them into wolves. I didn’t intend for them to feed on people. That was Carman’s corrupting influence. She turned my tribe into monsters. And the faerie followed suit. Bring her to me.”
I glance at Alaric. He pulls his lip in, unsure what action to take. Finally, he listens to his father and nods to Maddie.
Maddie and Keturah bring Naisha forward. She tries to fight them, but with all the spells placed on her, she can’t resist.
“Closer,” he whispers, and they obey.
He and Naisha stand inches apart. An invisible line that only Clayone can sense separates him from us.
“Lift her magic,” he says.
And for some reason, I obey his command. The spells lift from her and disappear into the tunnel walls.
“Veet, veet, veet,” she shrieks.
“Your power no longer works on me,” he growls.
He shoves his hand into her chest and rips her heart out. Her body crashes to the floor.
Alaric scrambles over to her and tries to stop the blood pouring out from where her heart once was.
“Lizzie,” Ryan yells, catching her before she hits the floor.
“What have you done?” I cry, hurrying over to Lizzie. “Their life-forces are bound together.”
He grips Naisha’s heart in his fist. “They were bound together. I severed the link.”
“But Lizzie will die now,” I shout as I work on my best friend’s still body.
“Give me your hand,” Clayone says to me, reaching his hand to the boundary of his cell.
“No, freaking way.”
“Give me your hand. I won’t hurt you.”
“Says the Original Werewolf who just killed the mother of his children.”
“I was spelled to be with her by Carman.”
I keep working on Lizzie’s chest. “And we’re supposed to believe you?”
“If I wanted you dead, why would I have let Alaric take you from my prison?”
“Because you didn’t have a choice.”
“No,” he whispers. “I witnessed true love when my son begged for your life. The spells and curses that Carman and Naisha used to corrupt my mind and body lifted when the goddess returned your breath back to you.”
I stop
moving. “What?”
“Our destinies are now aligned and tied together. I need you to trust me.”
Tears streak down Alaric’s face for a mother who tried to kill him. A woman who spied on me my entire life. Who made my childhood a living hell. Who tied her life to her baby daughter who is lying on the tunnel floor, not breathing.
What have I got to lose?
I slowly stand. He holds out his hand for me. He is by far the largest, most intimidating man I’ve ever met, and that’s not even considering the fact he’s wanted me dead for a very long time.
“Be careful,” Ryan whispers.
I figure I still have the two spelled cylinders in my backpack. One’s for Lizzie and one was for Naisha. Since Clayone removed Naisha from the equation, I’ve got a spare one in case I need it.
Maddie and Keturah flank me.
I rest my hand in his and he pulls me to him, his canines flashing.
“Well, look what the wolf dragged in,” cackles Maria, aka Carman, from behind us.
I whirl around to face my enemy, but Clayone yanks me to him. There’s nothing kind or gentle about the action. In fact, it’s aggressive and threatening.
What have I done?
* * *
Impulsiveness. My curse. My fatal flaw. And with Clayone’s teeth reflecting off the faint glow emanating from my body, I realize I’ve made a terrible mistake. I grossly misread the situation. Ryan warned me, Scott would have stopped me, and Alaric—poor Alaric was too busy mourning for the mother he never had to prevent his father from getting me in his clutches. But now that’s neither here nor there.
He smells nothing like the sunshine and heat that seeps from Alaric. Only the dark stench of twisted revenge pours off of him. There is no silent understanding between us. No unspoken promises. So much for the fealty oath.
I fight to get away from him but his grip is like steel. I grab for my backpack to get the spelled glass cylinder. He swats my hand away easily and shoves Naisha’s still-warm heart in it. Blood drips through my fingers and my stomach churns at the sight of it. It’s not enough to straight up kill me. He wants me covered in his ex’s blood too, the kinky bastard.
The tunnels pulse with Maleficium energy. I realize two seconds too late the black magic lasering in on my heart. I raise my hands to stop it but Clayone curls me into his chest and jerks me out of the way. His body shudders as the curse Carman intended for me hits him. His eyes flutter with pain.
