Consumed

by Barb Shuler

  Looked as if their good luck had just run out. Finally!

  “You dare hurt my family, yet again! I think not. You will be punished!”

  Natalie, with the help of Anna and the girls’ rising powers, slammed a spell into Jesophine which caused her to fall forward on to her knees. The two men that had been behind her both charged forward, snarls on their faces, their hands glowing black with oily looking power, only to be jerked back as spells hit them full force. Killing spells from the look of it. They both crumbled to the ground and didn’t move. No love loss there.

  “Brother mine, you can come out now, it is safe.”

  Natalie’s words had my head swiveling to see Rixon move from the woods, a small girl cradled in his arms. The look of fear and anger on his face was true not faked. He moved with a grace afforded a man who knew he was winning a battle. The bubble of power around me shattered and I sprung forward. My beast ready to shred anyone that would cause our family harm.

  “Jesophine Kryler, you stand accused of the following crimes. Treason against your own, treason against the royal family, multiple counts of murder, attempted murder and the kidnapping of a child. What say you?”

  Natalie’s words were soft, yet firm and deadly.

  “You have no place in this!”

  “She may not in your eyes, but I do.”

  We all turned to see a tall man, his hair slicked back, power radiating off of him, stepping into the large space. Lelamke and Kelanie were on his heels. The man, disgust clearly written on his face, looked between Jesophine and Natalie.

  “Father,” Jesophine said.

  “Do not Father me. Many truths have been brought to my attention, ones I thought to be nothing more than trickery, but I see now that in my grief I was blinded.” He cut his eyes up to look at Natalie. “I’m sorry I did not come sooner. Things have been arguably dark for some time. It is thanks to Rixon and my father that I now see things were not as they should have been.”

  “In other words, he’s a damn fool and deserves a kick in the ass,” Kelanie said moving around them.

  “What things? What do you mean, Father?” Natalie asked him, her face blank of any emotion.

  “I was…”

  “He was duped. Made to believe things were different than they are. He has been in a virtual trance since before Natalia was born. There is much to discuss and pan out but, for now, she must be dealt with.” Kelanie pointed a boney finger towards Jesophine.

  The sky lit once again with a bolt of lightning, drawing our attention. Angelic beings appeared upon the hillside and my heart stopped. My Rosalyn, her beautiful blonde locks cascading down over her shoulders, stood there, her smile as beautiful as ever.

  “Mama?” I heard Sonny ask and I moved to my daughter. I wasn't sure what was going on but all eyes were on the Angels before us.

  “Yes, my love, it is I.”

  “Holy shit!”

  “Well, it’s about time you joined the fun,” Kelanie said, her gaze flicking back to the crowd around her.

  “We have come to take the one who has caused so much unrest between the worlds. She will be punished, accordingly.” A tall, blonde-headed man said. His voice calm and musical. No one seemed to have an issue with this.

  Rosalyn moved closer to where I stood with Sonny. My arms went around her and I took in her scent. She smelled of sun and flowers. My heart beat in triple time as she said my name. I pulled back and allowed her the freedom to hug our daughter.

  “We shall make the balance right once more. We bid you farewell, our sister. May the prophets and spirits be with you as their chosen one.”

  “Blessed, brothers. I bid thee farewell.”

  With an extravagant bow towards her they disappeared. Jesophine, and a few of the bodies that had littered the grounds around us, going with them.

  “What will they do to her?” Anna asked, her brows creasing. Her voice was low and pained, but she seemed to be holding up well.

  “Hopefully, they'll tear her into pieces and burn her in hell for all eternity and then start all over again,” Natalie said, a growl in her voice.

  Trenton moved to embrace his mate, as did Alexander. I pulled Rosalyn back to me and breathed her in again. I was confused as to how I had her back, in a form I could hold against me. I was afraid to question it. Thankfully, my daughter was not.

  “Mama, how… how-”

  “Am I back here?” Rosalyn finished for her. Sonny nodded, tears falling from the corners of her eyes.

  I looked to my brothers who each had their mate and daughter in their arms. I was sure we all wore the same look of confusion, love and pure joy.

  “It was not meant for me to return to the heavens so early. It seems that the Divine had other plans for me so, now that it is once again safe, they’ve returned me to my rightful place. My grace is once again in tact.” Rosalyn wrapped her arms around our daughter, whispering something to her that had them both crying. I pulled them to me, my arms going around them both.

  “We should round up the wounded and help them to a healing place. There were a few wolves that were injured. I saw Sheri and Javi working with them as we came this way.” Natalie’s words were full of energy and authority.

  I smiled, as did my brothers. Anna still looked a little pale but she was coming around.

  “There is much to do, but first,” Lelamke looked to Rixon, “grandson, please make introductions of the little one you hold.”

  Rixon started to speak, his face flushing red, “Sister, meet your niece, Genny, Genevieve, my daughter. Jesophine was holding her to keep me in line. I’m sorry that I did not tell any of you. I was afraid she’d hurt her.”

  “Is that why you showed up to help us? To make sure she was defeated?” Alexander asked. Rixon nodded.

  “Where is her mother?” Trenton asked, his eyes drawn to the child.

  Rixon frowned and shook his head, sadness pulling at his brows. “She didn’t make it. She was killed in her beast form by Reapers, which was Jesophines’ doing.”

  “Like Pypers’ mother? Was she behind that as well?” Natalia asked.

  He nodded. “The same. They were only a few in the scheme of things. The Reapers were sent after the ones with small cubs. The hope was to build up their numbers with the unharnessed power of the children of our kind.” His words trailed off in a snarl.

  “How old is she?” The girls asked in unison. That caused them to laugh.

  “She is three. Genny, can you say hi?” The little girl waved a hand, her face still hidden against his chest.

  “We need to move to the castle. There is much to do. The wounded need to be tended to. I will go get Pyper, we will need our littlest healers’ help, I’m afraid,” Kelanie said as she moved to touch Genny’s cheek. “Do not be afraid, little one. No one will hurt you again.”

  With that she was gone. We moved towards the castle. We were greeted by wolves, vampires and a host of servants to the castle. Kelanie popped back in with Pyper and Esmeralda.

  “Mother!” Anna called out and moved to wrap her arms around Esmeralda. They both spoke to each other as Pyper ran to Natalia. The girls all gave her hugs and kisses. Pyper reached for Trenton and he took her, kissing her cheek.

  While they all embraced I pulled Rosalyn to the side and leaned my forehead to hers, kissing her lips softly.

  “I missed you, my love.”

  “As I did you. I told you when I left that it would hurt, but that I’d return. Did you not believe me?” She chuckled slightly.

  “Of course I did, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t ache for you daily. We both mourned and grieved without you. But none of that matters now that you are back. You’re never allowed to leave us, me, again.”

  “No plans to do so, love. We have a family to protect now. Many things to discuss, but that can wait until the balance is completely restored to this realm. The evil has to be replaced with good and calm.”

  “It will be.”

  I kissed her again before I
moved back to the others. We spread out, tending to the wounded, helping the castle staff understand what had happened and starting to restore the balance in the realm. It would take a few weeks for things to be as it had once been.

  But it would be restored. We would get the life we should have had all this time.

  13

  Sonny

  The last few weeks have been intense, yet very… interesting. The deaths surrounding the battle have caused us all to take a long look at the life we’ve come into. The past has resurfaced multiple times and, as it goes, things could have been much worse than they turned out to be.

  I never imagined myself as someone who could take another beings’ life, however, in order to protect myself and my family, I had to. We all had to. We had such simple lives before our maturity into true adulthood. Who knew my eighteenth year of life would surface into something straight out of a fairy tale.

  As Guardians, Natalie, Marissa and I may have to take another life in the future. We’ve spoken with Jasmine, her mates, Micha, Kelanie and a few of the other Guardians of Angelicus. They all said the same thing, though Tyberius, one of Jasmine’s mates, said it best.

  “In order to maintain balance and keep evil at bay, a life must sometimes be forfeited. It isn’t something any of us necessarily want or like to do, it’s just how this life unfolds. It’s what must sometimes be done in order to maintain the balance and security of the realms. Not every encounter with a supernatural being will end in death. Some just need a reminder of what the rules are, a slap upside the head or a kick in the ass. Then, there are some that the only option you’re left with is death. Think of it as a mercy killing.”

  “Truth,” Jasmine said.

  Tyberius continued, “If they’re out of hand and left unchecked for too long many innocent lives could be lost. No one wants that. Our number one objective is to keep the supernatural world and the human world separate, but safe. If someone or something threatens that, then each Guardian must do what is necessary. No more, no less!”

  That isn’t something I think I’ll ever get used to. Choosing what’s right and wrong for someone else. Maybe it’s the Angel side of me, I’m not sure.

  Standing at the edge of the yard, I watch as the three main cabins came to life. The last three days had been the busiest of them all. In order to have access to our fathers, or family and our respective packs and sleuths, we decided to build our own small compound. This way we can all be close together, yet have our own space to call home.

  We’d moved back to the old ski resort in Montana, close to the Canadian border. It was familiar surrounding, but it is becoming something new. The old bunks were getting upgrades, some made larger for the growing families. Our cabins were mere feet apart. None of us wanted to have a big distance between us. Not with the arrival of all the new little ones due in a few weeks.

  Family. We wanted our family to be close together. I spun the small ring on my finger and smiled. With the events as of late, the Fae knew there would be times that we needed to go back and forth between this realm and the other, so they made us rings that would allow us to cross the veil here and be right at the castle.

  Uncle Trenton has been officially crowned the King, his true and rightful title finally his. Aunt Natalie was once again at his side, his official Queen, unifying the shifters and vampires. The way it should have been all along.

  So many years had been spent with fighting between the two species. There were still the odd stragglers who had issues with the new leadership, but they were handled quickly and efficiently. If they meant harm, they were dispatched even quicker.

  Uncle Alexander had once again taken place beside his brother. The executioner of any who dare threaten the Crown. Daddy, being their baby brother, even if he was only a half-brother, was also now on the “payroll” as Uncle Trenton put it. He was a liaison of sorts between the vampires and the shifters. His father’s sleuth had been moved to a new piece of land just across the veil. A place they could be watched over yet still have freedoms to be the beasts they were.

  Something good had come from all of this, other than the obvious. My grandfather had been healed. The curse once set upon his mind has finally been broken. With the help of Aunt Natalie, Aunt Anna and Pyper, I was able to use my gift of light to push the curse out and completely heal him.

  It was good to see him and Daddy together. They’d both been lost without the contact that is so vital between a parent and their child. We’ve all been healing from that. I run my hands along my protruding belly and sigh softly. There was so much still to learn of our family histories. There was so much that we, the children, didn’t know yet. Like for example, all of our parents were the descendants of Faery beasts and Fae, or druids that were descendants of the faery beasts.

  We’d gotten to meet my grandfather's sleuth after the big battle. To see them shift to their beasts was amazing. Pyper has been so cute with them. She’d had to inspect them and see why they looked so different. This lead to me, Sebastian, Mama and Daddy shifting for her inspection as well.

  With each new generation, the beasts inside of us change slightly. It’s amazing to see the progression. The same could be said for the panthers and wolves. It was going to be interesting to see what the future holds for us all.

  Natalia

  “You need to close your eyes and concentrate on the words of the incantation, my child.”

  I looked at my mother and huffed.

  “This is kind of crappy. Just saying.”

  I looked over at Mari who was covered in a blue goop from an incantation gone wrong. I had just barely avoided the explosion.

  “Seriously! Why do we need to know how to make a slime ball? This is gross,” she whined, wiping her hands off on a wet towel Mama had handed her.

  “It’s the ectoplasm of the spell, not slime. You simply did it wrong. Now focus and it won’t happen again,” Aunt Anna snapped at her daughter, frustration evident on her face.

  I snorted, I couldn’t hold it in anymore. I could see the twinkle in Mari’s eyes. She was messing this up on purpose.

  “Natalia Marie, enough of that. You girls need to know these things.” Mama sounded frustrated. “A protection spell can mean the difference between life and death.”

  “Okay, let's get this straight. I can do a protection bubble. I have offensive powers, as does Talia. We’ve used them, pretty well I might add. It simply takes the snap of my fingers or the simple thought to pass across my mind. Why do we need to know this one?”

  Our mothers looked at each other and then to us, brows raised. Had they not seen us in action at the battle? I raised a brow. There was something on their faces that spelled trouble. I could almost feel it, but I said nothing. I just shook it off.

  “Fine. You will be excused from this… as we discuss a few things. But you girls still need to learn a few simple incantations as backups. It’s never a bad thing to be over prepared. Especially if you are away from us. We need to know you can take care of yourselves.”

  “We’ve got this Aunt Natalie. We’ve been kicking ass for over a year now. We’re like wine, we simply get better with time.”

  I laughed softly as I followed Mari out of the small cabin.

  “You did that on purpose, didn’t you?” I asked, accusingly. The answering smile on her face has me laughing more.

  “You’re awful, you know that?”

  “Well, duh! We can’t make it easy on them now can we?” She replied.

  “No, I guess not,” I said, laughter in my voice. “We may regret teasing them though.. They seem to be sneaky.”

  “Possibly but we got this.”

  “Cocky is not a good color on you.”

  I laughed softly.

  We moved out across the yard. My eyes darted from cabin to cabin. The grounds were hopping with activity. Everything since the battle had been somewhat falling into place. Daddy and Uncle Alexander had taken their rightful places in the hierarchy. The vampires were thankfully a
ll working together now. They were once again restoring the old traditions along with adding a few new ones. Mari’s grandmother had been back and forth a few times, though she prefers the other side of the veil.

  “Hey, what in the hell is that kid doing now?” Mari’s voice rang out and I turned to see Pyper crawling up in a massive tree.

  “Holy shit…”

  I started out across the yard and growled. “Pyper! Get down from there.”

  “You going up there after her?” Mari asked, her lips twitching with laughter.

  “Hell no! Not like this. Joshua would kill me ten times over.”

  “Well, cats can climb… so…” Mari laughed at my scowl.

  “Pyper, what are you doing?” I asked her. But I got no answer because she had shifted to her bear form.

  I moved further under the tree and watched her as she climbed down, slowly, her little bear claws making purchase on each limb before she scooted down to the next. She had something in her mouth. We watched as she got closer to us. Pyper shifted on her feet and sat down with a mewling kitten attached to her. I sighed.

  Pyper was just over our heads now, the small kitten clinging to her. I watched as she shifted back to her blonde, two-legged self. I moved closer, my arms going out. I caught her as she toppled over. A squeal of laughter leaving her as the little kitten clung to her.

  “Why were you and yoyo in the tree?” I asked as I turned to find Mari giggling, a hand over her mouth to muffle the sound and her face red from the effort it was taking her to keep Pyper from hearing her laughter.

  I scowled.