by Rye Brewer
“Thank you for saving me,” I whispered, although part of my soul damned her for destroying me. I would never be the same. Nothing ever would, thanks to her. And I didn’t so much as know her name.
I slowly, carefully slid my arms from around her. She stirred, and when she did, her smell met my nostrils again and set me sideways.
I left her there, lying as she had left me, with her head on the backpack and the sleeping bag beneath her. She looked so peaceful. There was even the littlest bit of color in her cheeks again.
I brushed my lips against her forehead, taking one more chance to inhale her with all my senses. Her skin was soft and smooth and sweet, a little warm.
“Thank you,” I whispered again.
Then I hardened myself and hurried from the cave.
I had to get away from her. It was better when I was not near her. Every step took me farther from her, and her spell over me seemed to weaken.
It was a relief, feeling like I could control my thoughts again. How had I ever thought it would be better if we were always together? I clenched my fists and told myself what a joke it was.
I had to get away, far away. I had to course. The forest seemed to go on for miles in all directions—I turned a full circle once I reached the top of a hill and saw how it spread out before me. I didn’t know where I was, so I didn’t know which direction to go. I only knew I had to get away from that cave and what was in it.
I was furious with myself for being so weak. I should’ve snapped her neck when I first had the impulse. I wouldn’t miss her if I had.
I coursed before I could stop myself, gliding over the ground, through the trees.
The forest came to life all around me, living things stirring and running, startled at my presence. I ignored them. I ignored everything but the instinct to put as much distance as possible between myself and that cave.
I reached the edge of the forest and was about to cross into a long, wide field when a sharp, blinding pain in my arm stopped me.
I hadn’t felt any pain since drinking the human’s blood, and I froze with shock.
My torn sleeve revealed what looked like a burn on my arm. I t hadn’t been there back in the cave—I would’ve remembered.
It almost sizzled, and I gritted my teeth as I examined it in the light of the moon.
It resembled a hieroglyphic. Or a rune.
Things I knew nothing of. It made no sense, and it hurt deeply. What was happening to me? Who had put it there? Why? What had I done?
I had no one to ask. I didn’t even know where I was or how I’d ended up here. Forces I had no understanding of were working their will on my life without my consent and out of my control. I had to get back in control. I had to find a way to work against them, but how? How, when I didn’t know who I was battling or what they were capable of?
I needed help. I couldn’t go it alone anymore.
I glanced around again, but nothing within my field of vision gave me an indication of where I was. I’d figure it out, though. When I did, I’d find my way home. I had to get home to my family, my clan.
They were all I had. I’d be safe there. I hadn’t felt safe since I left them.
It seemed like centuries since I’d walked out, sure I could do a better job of leading the clan than my brother ever could.
Funny, how important that had seemed. Funny, how childish it seemed as I stood here, confused and in pain, more alone than I’d ever felt before.
I took off toward what appeared to be a little town off in the distance, its lights glowing under the dark sky.
It was as good a place to start as any.
11
Jonah
Anissa frowned. “Gage? Is Fane helping you find him?”
“That’s the general idea.” I disentangled myself from her embrace. Not that I wanted to, but it was easier to think when she wasn’t in my arms, making me want to kiss and touch her, and forget my father and her half-brother were waiting not far from us.
Not to mention the other one waiting. The witch.
Although I didn’t want Anissa here because her safety was at risk, I was glad she’d taken the chance. How could I ever tell her to listen to me and take care of herself when I couldn’t deny how good it was to have her with me? I couldn’t keep from smiling when I looked at her, either.
She’d never follow my instructions if I forgave her for going against them so easily. But I couldn’t help it. I needed a little comfort, too, and having her here was comforting. I was tired of feeling as though it was me against the world—more than the world, I reminded myself. I wasn’t in the normal world as I stood in this cemetery.
At least Fane was here. He’d keep Anissa safe even if he didn’t want to because that was who he was, how he was built. He might not have liked her half-blood status, but she was under his protection by virtue of being here. And she meant a lot to me.
If Sirene was telling the truth about him loving his children—and why wouldn’t she be?—he’d keep Anissa out of harm’s way because I needed him to.
I brushed Anissa’s white hair back from her face then held that face in my hands, cupping her cheeks.
If I dreamed, it would be her face I saw.
She had no idea how much she meant—words didn’t describe it.
I wanted to tell her everything, especially the real identity of the legend she knew as Fane. That he was my father. I wanted to tell her about the baby, though there was still too much anger in me at the thought of it.
A baby. With a witch.
What had he been thinking? Didn’t he care about anything that used to matter? How could he do such a thing to the memory of who he used to be? Would I have to treat the new baby as my brother or sister? It would be a long time before I’d do anything like that.
No, I couldn’t tell Anissa about the baby because that would mean telling her Fane was my father. Someday, maybe, I’d be able to tell her. I hoped. I wanted to believe there would be a time when everything could come to light. It was exhausting, keeping track of what I could and couldn’t tell, weighing the outcome, reminding myself of the danger. Always danger.
Then again, she could keep a secret. She knew how important it was. I hated keeping things from her. If we had a little more time alone, I might think about it—but we’d have to get back to the others soon before one of them came looking for us. Otherwise, I might be able to convince her to keep the news to herself. But there wasn’t time for that.
“Come on,” I murmured, taking her hand. “We’d better go back. They’ll be wondering what we’re doing over here by ourselves.”
“I don’t think they have to wonder,” she whispered with a wicked grin.
I wished we had the time for a lot of things when she grinned up at me like that.
“Yeah, well, I don’t want them looking at us funny, then.”
She giggled.
We walked back together, taking our time with each step. The fog seemed thicker somehow. How did it move and roll over the ground when there wasn’t any breeze to stir it around?
I would never understand all the rules of the different dimensions. I didn’t know which one we were in.
Sirene smiled at us when we approached.
I willed myself not to smile back or acknowledge her. Simply because she was there to help didn’t mean we had to be friends. She had no right looking at me that way, with that indulgent smile.
What Sirene and my father thought they had was nothing compared to what I had with Anissa. It irritated me she would think it was.
The brand seemed to alternately burn and itch, reminding me of its presence—not that I needed the reminder.
I rubbed it almost unconsciously through my sleeve, like someone with aching joints would rub them when they flared up.
I had almost gotten used to it, but when it suddenly itched or burned or when I stretched too much, I nearly couldn’t stand it.
I glanced at Allonic. He was staring at my brand intently.
I saw what I thought was recognition in his eyes. He unnerved me, no matter how much Anissa liked him.
And I could tell she did. I was concerned that maybe she was starting to trust him.
He shifted his gaze away without saying anything about the brand.
I wondered if I’d imagined the look in his eyes. It must’ve been—my imagination was running away in all directions. Chalk it up to the stress I’d been under lately, I suppose.
“All right,” Fane said. “Let’s regroup. If we’re going to find Gage, we should go where he was last seen.”
“Where was that?” Anissa asked.
“League headquarters,” Fane responded.
I definitely did not imagine his voice changing when he spoke to Anissa. It tightened. And he wouldn’t look at her. My other hand, the one not holding hers, tightened into a fist. If she hadn’t been there, I’d rail at him for being such a hypocrite. Then I wondered if it was something else. Maybe his problem with her wasn’t because she was a half-blood. But what else could it be?
“Are we sure that’s a good idea?” I asked, telling myself to ignore the way he treated her. “It’s been a while since Philippa saw him there. He could’ve gone somewhere else by now. We might tip our hand if we all suddenly show up as a group.”
“We don’t have to announce our presence, though you have a point. It’s something to keep in mind.” He turned to Sirene.
I gritted my teeth when I caught the expression in his eyes.
How many times had he gazed at my mother that way? All that love. What was the point if he could forget my mother just like that? Had it ever been real? Was what he felt for Sirene real? It couldn’t be.
Still, there was a glow on her face when she stared back at him that made me think she was sincere.
I wanted to tell her to stop wasting her time and find someone of her own kind—but wouldn’t that make me as much of a hypocrite as my father?
“We could stop back at the penthouse to regroup,” I suggested. “Maybe we shouldn’t go straight from here to headquarters. We might want to check with Philippa to see if her contact has any word of what things are like there. If security’s tight, they’re bound to see you.”
“Also a good point,” Fane conceded. “All right. We’ll stop at the penthouse and see if she’s around, then. We can’t be too careful.”
“Wait a minute.” Sirene dug through her robes.
I tensed all over.
What was she doing?
I wouldn’t put anything past a witch.
When she withdrew her hand and I saw the cell phone she held, I almost laughed.
“What are you doing with that?” I asked.
“What?” She glanced down at it. “You think witches don’t need phones sometimes?” Her tone was playful.
I reminded myself—again—we weren’t friends, but she was rather likable. “It surprised me, was all. Why do you need it?”
“I want to take a picture of the brand. I might be able to find someone who can interpret for us.”
I pulled up my sleeve, bared my arm to her, and she took a picture. I reminded myself she was there to help, though I wished it was almost anybody but her trying to help me. I didn’t want to feel indebted to her in any way.
“All right. Are you ready?” She regarded at all of us then threw a portal.
It shimmered blue, white, and purple, the light twisting and dancing.
“I’ll never get used to this,” Anissa whispered. “No matter how many times I do it, I swear.”
“Just hold my hand.” I took hers and squeezed reassuringly. “You’ll be all right.”
She nodded with her jaw set.
I turned to look back at Fane, and when I saw him touch Sirene’s hand as a sort of parting gesture, it turned my stomach.
I clenched my jaw and reminded myself how important it was to find Gage. We could hash everything else out later.
Then I stepped through, bringing Anissa along with me.
12
Philippa
I had to find Fane. But how? Finding Gage had taken a bit of a backseat when compared to finding Fane and letting him know the league’s Special Ops had put a target on his back.
Every time I remembered the look of determination on Vance’s face when he told me it was his job to kill Fane, it made me sick.
I couldn’t let that happen, and I couldn’t tell Vance who Fane really was. I felt helpless, which was not something I dealt with well.
What could I do? Once again, I was alone. I wasn’t sure I could trust Scott enough to tell him what Vance had told me.
Plus, I didn’t know if Sara would be with him. If she could throw lightning, what else could she do? I hated admitting to myself that she scared me half to death, but there it was. I had underestimated her. I reminded myself not to make that mistake again.
Maybe I could find Fane and Jonah, somehow. They were searching for Gage. I had told them about meeting with him at headquarters. Maybe that was where they went. Maybe I could find them there. Except, what if they came back to the penthouse and I wasn’t here?
I tried calling Jonah, but the phone rolled over to voicemail. Where was he that he couldn’t take my call? I couldn’t imagine where Fane might have taken him. Did he not have his phone anymore? Had he gotten rid of it?
My heart ached when I thought of him. My father. What happened to turn him into who he had become? Hunting humans?
The legends surrounding Fane were impossible to keep track of. Some said he wasn’t even real, just a made-up creature used to explain the crimes of other creatures. Some said he wasn’t a full vampire, that he had some other magical blood mixed in which allowed him to jump dimensions and even go back and forth in time. It was laughable, the way imagination had taken off.
All many of us needed was the suggestion of a creature different from ourselves and we filled in the rest on our own. Some of us needed a vigilante, someone who would buck league law and live as they wanted. Some of us needed the idea of something bigger, braver than ourselves.
Some of us needed to believe our father was still in there, somewhere. To believe he only did what he did because he had no other choice. I didn’t want to imagine what had happened to drive him to those lengths. It might’ve been the death of my mother. It might’ve snapped him in half. Or, he might’ve been scrambling to survive all those years because he’d seen what happened to her and knew it could happen to him. If only we had the time to talk it over.
I had so many questions, and all my father could do when I hugged him was pull away from me. I rubbed my knuckles over my eyes to wipe away my tears. I wasn’t a baby. Crying wouldn’t get me anywhere.
I had to try to find my father, and Jonah, too. He had to know the league’s Special Ops team was after him—and Jonah needed to know traveling around with him was more dangerous than we could’ve guessed.
But how?
I went to the rooftop in the hopes they would come back. It was better than nothing. I stood there, wind in my hair, wishing and hoping they would appear. There were still a few hours left until the sun rose, and I walked the perimeter of the roof again and again, waiting, looking in all directions for a flash of light, a swirl of color.
Oh, please, please. Come back. I have to warn you.
What would happen if Fane was killed and I hadn’t been able to do anything about it? I would never be able to forgive myself.
Although I wished with all my might, with enough intensity to make me feel a little weak, I was surprised when I got my wish.
Ahead of me, light started to swirl. A pin point at first, but it quickly exploded into a circle of light that touched the surface of the roof and spread up and out.
Fane was the first one to step through. I held my breath.
Then came Jonah… and Anissa.
I groaned.
And with them, someone new.
Tall, dark-skinned. He had a strange essence, something that told me he wasn’t human. There
was a preternatural sense about him, but I couldn’t locate where it was coming from. Was he a vampire? No. I would’ve known right off.
Vampires didn’t have golden eyes that seemed to glow like fire. Then again, there was something familiar about him, too. Maybe he was part vampire, part something else? Did he have fangs?
My attention turned to Anissa next. She was the one who started it all, wasn’t she? It was all her fault. If she hadn’t tried to kill my brother, none of this would’ve happened.
We were happy before she came along. We had lives, routines, things to be happy about, things to care about other than struggling to stay alive and keep each other alive. I had liked my life. It was fun, exciting, and there was nothing more important to think about than where we would go to party on any particular night. Jonah took care of the clan, and we enjoyed life otherwise.
But then she came along, and everything was ruined. She pulled us into Marcus’s web.
And there she stood, next to my father, as she stepped out of the portal.
I should’ve been there. I should’ve been standing at his side, leading with him, traveling and fighting alongside him. Not her. She should not have been next to him.
No—he didn’t trust me enough, didn’t think I was worthy of that.
But she was? She was worthy? He trusted her? The little half-blood?
All of this went through my head in the blink of an eye—in the time it took the portal to close, in fact.
By the time it did, I exploded with rage.
All four heads turned in my direction as I flew at her, claws out, fangs bared.
Jonah tried to jump between us, but he was too late.
I took her throat in my hands and squeezed.
“What do you think you’re doing here?” I screamed.
“Philippa! No!” Jonah pulled at me, while the tall, dark-skinned creature pulled at Anissa.
She clawed at my hands, but I had a strong grip.
“Why won’t you go away already?” I asked, struggling to maintain my hold even with Jonah fighting me. “You and your electric sister! You’re the reason this is happening! Gage was here with us before you came around! He left because of you, because of what you did to our clan and our family! Damn you both!”
