by Gwen Rivers
“Where is Kiesha?” I repeated.
The one nearest to me snarled, revealing pointed yellow teeth. Unseelie, I was willing to bet. Whatever it was, it had been a carnivore long before it started siphoning the magic off its ilk.
I drew the sword from its invisible sheath. Light blazed out, a mini supernova. The dark fae hissed and moved back out of the pool of light that encircled me.
They broke apart then, like a wave dashed upon a rock. And he moved forward. His golden-brown hair gleamed in the brilliant light.
“Emma,” Malcolm’s tone was chiding, familiar. “Is that any way to treat family?”
“Where is the werewolf girl?” I turned to face my brother. Or at least the thing that had been my brother.
The monster had been there all along. In my fear of losing him, I hadn’t accepted his truth. I’d been too scared of the idea of being left alone to acknowledge he had used me.
“You brought the sword.” Even with his washed-out features, my brother was still handsome. “Are you prepared to join us? To join me?”
“I want Kiesha.” My grip on the sword tightened. “Let her go and we’ll talk.”
“And I want the sword.” Malcolm extended a pale hand. “Give it to me.”
I tried to think, to buy time. Liam would be hunting for Kiesha. What could I say to Malcolm to stall him?
The question spilled forth before I could really consider it. The one that had been burning me from the inside out since I’d discovered that he was still alive. “Why did you leave me?”
“I didn’t want to, Emma. Believe me.”
I sucked in a breath. He was lying. I was sure of it.
I arched a brow in challenge. “Then why not take me with you?”
“It was too dangerous for you.”
“More dangerous than being left to fend for myself at eighteen?”
“It was the only way to keep you safe.”
“Safe from what?” I shook my head.
He held his hands out. “From them. All of them. Humans and fae alike.”
“The humans were never a threat to us.” I shook my head. “And when had you even met a fae other than our mother?”
His eyes, those familiar eyes, narrowed. “You’ve lost your focus, sister. I knew her influence would warp you.”
“I’m the one who’s warped? Have you looked in a mirror lately, pal?”
Malcolm sneered at me. “Do you know what it took to keep you safe when you started to track the dark fae? How many I killed to keep them from retaliating against you?”
“I was hunting them for you. Because of what they did to our family.” How did he not understand?
“You were hunting them because you wanted to kill. Maybe even to siphon their magic. But I wasn’t there to show you how. You have no idea how strong you can be.”
Sicko. “I’m not you, Malcolm. I have enough magic on my own.”
“Only because of the sword.” His gaze raked over my body in that familiar way. “Ah, Emma. I’ve missed you.”
My jaw clenched. I would not let him make me feel dirty. No longer.
“Have you been true to me?” Malcolm asked.
I knew what it was he was asking. Had I slept with anyone else. And while I hadn’t, my heart was no longer his. So, I gave him the answer that would hurt him most. “No.”
His mask of civility slid off. “The werewolf.”
Stall. Unsettle him. Buy Liam time. “I’m his mate.”
A snarl of rage warped his features. “You’re mine. I’ve been true to you all this time.”
As I stared into his milky eyes, I couldn’t pretend any longer.
“I call bullshit.”
Malcolm tipped his head to the side, his eyes narrowing.
“You are dark fae. And you’ve always been a skilled liar.” The sense of rightness coursed through me. I didn’t know if it was coming from the sword or my own spellcaster powers. It didn’t much matter. “So you left me for someone else. What happened, Malcolm? Did I get too old for you? Were you too afraid I’d fight back in time?”
He lashed out, hurling his magic like a spear straight at my chest.
Liam didn’t make it more than two blocks before the dark fae were on him. They used their preternatural grace to scale walls and leap from rooftops in pursuit.
There had to be hundreds of them.
Was Malcolm Slade controlling them all?
Had he made a mistake leaving Emma alone?
One of the things, more beast than fae, lept for him. He skidded the bike sideways as its talons lashed out, coming close to taking off his head.
He pivoted and roared down an alley, leaning low over the handlebars. The more who pursued him, the less were guarding Kiesha.
And the fewer converging on Emma.
He shot out of the alley, almost sideswiping an SUV. It honked and swerved. The dark fae lept on its hood, leaving an enormous dent in the metal.
Liam ignored traffic lights as he led them further and further away from the Italian restaurant. They were after him now, even though they had never come after him before. Deep down he knew it was because of Emma. Because Malcolm didn’t want any competition for the savior’s affection.
He was going to gut the sick fuck.
Another right and the bike almost skidded out from under him when he saw the clutch of dark fae that waited at the dead end.
They attacked as one.
So did the pack.
Gray took out the first, mowing the thing down like a freight train. Autumn ran up to his side. Her lips pulled back from her teeth in a warning snarl as the birdlike thing closed in.
Liam didn’t bother to shift. He had caught a familiar scent.
It wasn’t Kiesha, but it was close. Liam tossed his helmet so he could call to his pack.
“Gray, Autumn, this way.” He took off, knowing the wolves would follow.
Two blocks over the scent grew stronger. Kiesha’s and another. One very similar to hers.
Liam drove the bike up the steps and through the front entrance of the derelict building.
At the second landing the passage became too narrow for the motorcycle so he abandoned it. He charged upward, to the fifth floor.
The twisted one who held them hissed as Liam shouldered the doors open.
He sucked in a breath as he saw the woman tied to a chair behind Kiesha. The girl was still in wolf form and collared to the wall.
“Alpha,” the thing snarled at him, revealing elongated yellow teeth. It looked like a nightmare made flesh. “We knew you’d come.”
More dark fae slithered in through the missing windows, skittering along the ceiling. There must have been ten clutches of the monstrous things.
It was a trap.
The sword came up and absorbed the magic before it could connect with me. Malcolm hissed, as though the blow hurt him.
Perhaps it had. The hilt thrummed in my hands, the sword pulsing with…something.
“Give it back,” Malcolm snarled. “Or I’ll kill you and take it.”
“It?” I raised a brow.
The light of the blade dimmed, the protective circle closing in on me.
The blade that couldn’t be defeated. One of the ancient weapons of the Tuatha De Danu. Tied to the element of wind.
One of the dark fae lunged from behind. I swept the blade down in an arc, lopping off its arm. The limb fell to the ground and golden light shimmered in the air before that too was sucked into my bubble of light.
The sword was absorbing their life magic. And it was taking its toll on the blade.
The creatures closed in. At the rate we were going, the sword would be all but useless. It wouldn’t protect me, wouldn’t be unstoppable against so many of them.
I recalled Liam’s words. Sacrifice something that can’t be regained. The sword. Was that the answer?
Only one way to find out.
I lunged forward, cutting off the head of the nearest threat. It toppled to the ground. The sword worked t
o absorb it even as I slashed out at another and another. Each strike caused the light to fade.
There was no winning this. Not against so many.
I turned to see Malcolm watching, eyes alight.
“The prophecy of the savior,” he sneered.
I swung at him. He hissed in pain. The sword dimmed. And my magic faded with it. It shrank back into its silver dagger form.
Malcolm’s milky eyes widened. “No! What did you do?”
The dark fae around me grappled, until I was pinned to the ground.
Malcolm picked up the dagger. “Make it right,” he snapped.
I laughed. There was nothing funny about it but the chuckle bubbled forth. Maybe I was coming unhinged. Perhaps the stress had snapped my mind like a dry twig. “Fuck off, Malcolm. No weapons of mass destruction for you.”
He threw the dagger with all his strength. It buried itself in the skull of a nearby twisted one. The creature fell over, its legs still twitching as it expired.
“You think you’ve won.” My brother glowered down at me. “Think you’re so clever. But we still have the fae.”
“The pocket realm is sealed.” I shook my head back and forth. “There’s nothing on this side that can open it.”
“We’ll see. Bring her.” Malcolm plucked up the silver dagger from the dying dark fae’s head and stuffed it in the pocket of his robe.
Three of the twisted ones hefted me up. Then they shifted into that smoky form I’d seen after the center burned.
They vaulted up into the air, still holding on to my arms and legs. I froze, terrified they were going to let me fall to my death. The wind burned my skin and ripped the scream from my lips. Hissing laughter from my captors. I clenched my molars together and pushed my fear deep down.
The buildings grew smaller and smaller as we flew up into the night. I saw more of the dark fae fighting werewolves. I was too high up to distinguish one from another. Couldn’t see Liam. Had he found Kiesha?
The smoke beings rippled as we moved through the night. Clouds lit up ahead as energy surged.
And then we were diving, plummeting back down to the ground. My heart pounded hard.
We landed just at the edge of the PR. Landed was a too generous way to describe it. I thudded down hard, face planting into the empty street. The familiar sizzle of magic went through me, all the hair on the back of my neck stood on end.
Malcolm reformed beside me. “Now, sweet sister. We’ll see just how much their savior means to them. “
20
Liam lunged for the dark fae holding Kiesha’s chain. The creature snarled, but didn’t expect an attack on two fronts. Kiesha’s sharp fangs sank into his ankle as Liam gripped its head.
“Guard her,” Liam ordered Kiesha, stabbing a bloody finger at the woman who must be the werewolf girl’s mother.
With the strength only the Alpha could wield, he shifted to his beast form and tore the creature’s head from its neck.
Liam didn’t wait for the ones coming through the window to attack. He had two wolves to protect. He snapped the chain holding Kiesha in check and then scooped her up over his left shoulder and her unconscious mother over his right.
He charged down the stairs even as some of the twisted ones surged up to him. He hopped the railing, skipping an entire floor. The step he landed on gave way and he went crashing through to the basement.
He moved his passengers forward so that he would take the brunt of the impact.
His back hit the cement and he heard something crack. His spine.
Kiesha scrambled up first, the woman moved more slowly, her dark eyes huge and drugged.
Though it sent waves of agony through him, Liam shifted back. “Kiesha, run. Get her out of here.”
The wolf whimpered.
“That’s an order, fourth” Liam snapped. “Find Gray and Autumn. They will protect you.”
There was a door on the far side of the basement. With one final look at him, Kiesha barreled toward it. The flimsy chain beneath it gave way as though it had been dental floss. Kiesha ran back and nudged her mother into a stumbling retreat.
And then he was alone. Fire licked up from his lower back but what truly terrified him was that he felt nothing from the waist down. The fall had paralyzed him.
Given time, a werewolf could heal from such an injury. But as the twisted ones began to slink through the hole above his head, Liam knew time was the one thing he didn’t have.
He closed his eyes and whispered the prayer his mate was so fond of. “Give me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change. The courage to change the things I can. And the ability to make a difference.”
He couldn’t change what was about to happen. He could only hope it had made a difference.
A hissing sound filled his ears. He opened his eyes, expecting to see the dark fae looming over him, poised to strike.
Instead he saw them turning to smoke. They were leaving?
Liam stared. What the hell had just happened?
“Autumn,” he bellowed. “Gray? What the fuck is going on?”
An abandoned barrel next to him shivered. “Malcolm called them all to the PR.”
“North?” He turned his head and winced. “Where’s Emma?”
“She is with them.” The sylph moved from the barrel into a coffee can that had been toppled over by Liam’s head. “She drained the sword of its magic. It is a dagger once more.”
Liam closed his eyes. He’d been right. That was cold comfort considering Emma’s brother must be rabid over the loss and she was still in his clutches.
“North, go to her. Keep her safe.”
“There isn’t much I can do—”
“Just try.” Liam blew out a breath of frustration. “Tell her I will be there as soon as I can.”
He only hoped it was soon enough.
I stared at Malcolm, who paced back and forth. As though he were waiting for something to happen.
Something. Or someone.
“Who’s helping you?” I asked him.
Malcolm turned those cold, dead eyes on me. He didn’t say a word.
I thought it through, furiously. The fae were preserving themselves. They were stronger in the PR, had more access to their magic.
But they didn’t want to be there.
Footsteps sounded. I turned my head and saw her emerge as if she had popped into being, looking almost exactly the same way she had when I’d seen her in the alley.
“Fiona.” I swallowed.
She wore my necklace.
She tipped her head to the side and studied me. “You really are very foolish for a savior.”
I was determined not to let the hurt show. “You gotta work with what you’ve got.”
“Little fae, little fae, let us in.” Malcolm crooned. “The sooner we enter, the sooner I can throw open the doors to Underhill.”
Fiona turned to him, raising one eyebrow. “Just a second. I have a few conditions.”
“Your terms have already been met. We got rid of the werewolves. You give us access to the PR.”
Shit. Shit shit shit. Was I about to watch the end of the species?
“And I get to keep my human lover.” Fiona said.
“Are you shitting me?” I asked. “You’re doing this for a man?”
She gave me a saucy smile. “I never said my lover was a man.”
Damn it, she was still kind of awesome, for an evil bitch.
“You and your lover will be left in peace.” Malcolm vowed.
“He’s lying,” I shouted to her.
“Spellcasters can’t lie. You told me so yourself.”
“Malcolm can and he is. Do you really think they will just let you go on your merry way? What happens when they kill all the fae and start running out of magic? They will hunt down the ones who are left. They are addicts and their drug of choice is you. Don’t be an idiot, Fiona. You might not be today’s special but you are still on the menu.”
I saw her hesitate. She glanc
ed from me to Malcolm and then back.
“Give me the shard, fae.” Malcolm cajoled.
She gave him something, all right. The finger.
Malcolm surged forward and was blown back by a blast of power.
It didn’t come from Fiona. It came from behind her.
All at once more fae appeared as if from nowhere, magic at the ready. It looked like…all of them.
All the remaining fae had emerged from the PR and were ready to fight for their lives.
Malcolm regained his feet and I saw him wield a white and green ball of elemental magic.
I didn’t have a werewolf to ground me but I was the only one who could stop him.
Using a touch of fire, I turned my skin to flames. The dark fae who held me pulled back its blistered hands. I kept the magic up as I ran for Malcolm. Any of the dark fae who made a grab for me were treated to second-degree burns.
I barreled into Malcolm, my body absorbing his magic the way the sword had done. Although with far less grace. It shuddered through me. The fall winded him, but he recovered quickly, rolling until I was pinned beneath him.
“I did this for us.” Spittle flew from his mouth. “You ungrateful little bitch. We were supposed to rule together.”
I flashed out a shield of wind, shoving him off me, then followed it with earth magic. It was the magical equivalent of bashing him over the head with a rock.
He staggered back.
I got to my feet. “One problem with your little fantasy world. I never wanted to rule. To wield power. To be the savior. Not any of it. I only wanted my family back.”
His hand dipped inside his robe. Out came the silver dagger. It may be magically castrated, but it could still kill me if he buried it between my eyes.
From the fog rising around us, a four-footed figure appeared. Liam. The wolf surged forward and lept.
Malcolm turned. Something glinted in the street lamp. It was the silver knife, raised to bury in the wolf’s hide.
And from my boot I retrieved Malcolm’s Swiss Army Knife, the one that had served me well enough back before I was the savior. And with Malcolm’s back to me, I jabbed it into his kidney.
He dropped like a stone.
All around us, the dark fae screamed in agony. As though felling Malcolm somehow had hurt them as well.