Descent

by Rylee Winters

  “You are very smart for a human about these things, Jon.” The praise earned me a harsh bark of laughter, and I blushed fiercely when Jon shook his head. For the first time, maybe ever, I saw the corners of his lips twitch up, and my cheeks flamed hotly. Almost as fast as it appeared, Jon’s smile was gone, and he waved me off as he took a deep breath.

  “I’m not smart, I just don’t think with emotions. It helps make things clearer about this kind of stuff, at least…” Seriousness returned to Jon’s expression, and I leaned over to hold my breath in anticipation. “Really, though – go patch things up with your mate. Things will only get wo – ”

  Jon’s wise words were cut off by a loud, echoing bang, and I jumped slightly as my tiny wings stiffened against my back. The thin, fine hairs on my face stood up, gaze flying to the open bedroom door, and my spine tingled at the tendrils of magic that slithered up my arms and torso. It was a magic I didn’t recognize, but I couldn’t find it in me to move a single muscle even as Jon stood up defensively in front of me without blocking my view.

  “What the fuck is that?”

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  Derek

  Staring at the only barrier between Jordan, his cohorts, and I through narrowed eyes, I licked my teeth hungrily. Blood pounded in my ears, drowning out all other sounds beyond the muffled shuffling from the other side of the door. Underneath the thick muscles that wrapped around my ribs, my heart thundered, fed by adrenaline, to send chutes of prickles to my legs and tail. My carefully tucked claws didn’t betray me, but the floor board creaked slightly when I leaned back on my hind legs.

  The flimsy, thin plank of wood gave way easily under my weight, and I burst into the sparsely furnished living room in a hail of splinters.

  “What the fuck – ”

  Hoarse, surprise shouts and a terrified shriek tickled my ears, but I ignored them as my gaze landed on an archway and the body standing under it. The face was unrecognizable, and that only made it easier to give in to the bloodlust that raged through my veins.

  “ – Derek?”

  My angry snarl bounced off the walls as I launched myself at the male, knocking him off human feet before he had a chance to shift. A thick plume of the scent of his blood slithered into my nostrils, and his panicked response was to screech and claw at me with human fingernails.

  “Get off me! Get off me you fucker – ”

  Digging deep into his chest, my claws hooked under his ribs as he struggled in futility, and I wrapped my jaws around his head to jerk violently. The muted snapping of his bones reverberated up my body.

  “One asshole down,” I growled, but the satisfaction of killing him washed away when a body leaped onto my back.

  Motherfucker.

  Bucking wildly, I twisted and snapped in an effort to get a good hold, but the wolf only dug his claws deeper into my thick hide. My massive bulk worked against me in this tiny apartment, and I whirled around in a circle before my teeth latched onto his hind ankle. “Now I’ve got you.”

  Whipping the wolf around, I gave a deep caterwaul at his pained squeals – like a pig’s – as he clawed at the hardwood flooring.

  Blood dribbled down my hind legs from the puncture wounds on my flank, but the pain was absent amidst the near euphoric amount of adrenaline that surged through my body. Thick, razor-sharp teeth buried in my outer left thigh, and I released the wolf in my jaws to kick my leg free.

  “GRRRrrrooaar…”

  A nasty snarl painted my face as I shook out my mane, finally taking stock of the six or so wolves that surrounded me in this small space. They all looked the same to me, and my tail swished as the thick fur of my mane bristled and puffed out.

  For the longest second of my life, they stood, tense and impending. “Come get me you fuckers.” My eyelid twitched in anticipation before three of them converged on me at once.

  These wolves were in their element – the perfect hunting party size – and I braced myself for the impact as I tried to frantically think of what to do.

  Six wolves, plus one injured, wasn’t going to be easy, even for me.

  Swiping a powerful paw at the wolf directly to my left, a frustrated growl escaped my maw when he leaped back out of my reach. Needle-point claws latched onto my back, and I whirled around even as teeth gnawed and sliced through my mane.

  “You piece of shit. You’re dead lion meat,” one of my attackers spat.

  Rolling sharply, I ground one wolf under me by sheer weight alone, but the third took its chance. The enraged snarl that bubbled up from my chest at the canines digging into my upper, inner shoulder shook the very room we were in, and I wrapped my legs around the wolf’s neck.

  Two, furious heartbeats rang in my ears before I managed to right myself and get the wolf under me, and I crushed down on his chest with both my paws.

  But everything stopped at the shriek that blasted into the apartment, so high-pitched that it nearly knocked me off my paws.

  “Huh – ” Whirling around, I panted hard from exertion and the high of the fight until my diamond-point pupils landed on the tiny, human boy in the doorway. He was just screaming in horror, red faced and puffy eyed, and I froze at the realization of what he’d just seen. The child couldn’t have been older than three or four, and his fear rendered him entirely defenseless.

  If Liza used humans, Jordan will, too.

  The thought nearly stopped my heart, jerking it from its rhythmic, fast pace, and if I was human, my cheeks would’ve paled and sunk. Tearing my eyes off the baby, my narrowed eyes flickered from one wolf to the next. Even with two down and one injured, there were too many of them. I couldn’t beat them all and protect the kid.

  Then one wolf lurched towards the door, and something, somewhere in my mind, just snapped. Energy unlike anything I’d ever felt before washed through me like a tsunami, taking hold of muscles and blood and bone alike, and my eyes rolled back sharply in their sockets. My mane rustled despite my stillness, and my very claws and teeth tingled at the overwhelming sensation that skittered under my thick hide.

  Wave after wave of fear and uncertainty hit me before I managed to get control of myself, and I blinked hard as a snarl picked up my lips.

  The wolves around me crouched in utter terror, ears laid back and eyes bright with the gravity of their mistaken sense of justice.

  Flickering to the door, my own eyes widened slightly at the thick, black shadow that slowly began to take on form.

  It didn’t take an expert to see that it wasn’t a regular shadow, and within seconds, a lion had almost taken on solid form. The shadows all throughout the apartment converged on the creature by the door, and there were suddenly six or seven lionesses blocking the door and the kid from sight.

  My ears rang as his screaming stopped, and my snarl disappeared, replaced by a feral grin. Yes.

  The intense joy that ripped through my chest gave me an almost out of body experience as I twisted to head rush the wolf that had tried to go after the human baby. Jumping into action, the shadows made no sounds at all, and my snarls and caterwauls bled into the chorus of the dying.

  Stuck in their shock, the wolves made no move to fight back or even escape, but I could imagine what was going through their minds as they were torn apart.

  Demon.

  ***

  Keeping my head low, I sauntered heavily into Linne’s bedroom under her wide, shocked gaze, and shadows billowed around me like thick smoke. The faint silhouettes of these things I had created shifted in and out of the cloud, but I paid them no mind. Open-mouthed and colored from surprise, my mate stared at me under high brows, and I momentarily ignored the human man standing just to the left in my peripheral vision.

  Blood dribbled from my wounds, trailing down my fur to mark each step I took, but the pain was absent against the almost erotic euphoria that numbed me to all else. Huge tears welled in Linne’s eyes, her teeth snapping together with a low click, and she slowly leaned forward only to fall when the bed cut off. Slithering ov
er the end of the mattress, my mate scooted the few feet towards me on her knees to reach out a trembling hand tentatively.

  “I-I…” Faltering as she hiccupped a sob, Linne touched my lip just under my nose with just her fingertip, but the effect was instant and intense. After the past few days, the bond had wreaked havoc on her, and she burst into tears as she scrambled to fling her arms around my head. Growling out a deep, pleased purr, I nuzzled her face heavily as her deep, wracking sobs rattled my very bones.

  “You know…” Stealing my attention, the human, Jon – if memory served me correct – gestured to the thick cloud that only grew in density and size as it slithered across the floor. “Don’t sick those things on me. There’s not much I understand about normal people, but what I do know is they don’t kill just because someone tells them to. Especially for a threat they can’t see clearly. But for Linne and me…we are the same. We killed because our masters told us to. I would like to think you understand that…sometimes, you’re just not enough.”

  My lips twitched in a snarl even as I nodded curtly, and I unfurled my tongue to lick my mate’s lower face and neck. Salty tears coated my taste buds, and Jon’s gaze left me as his footfall started to grow feinter and feinter.

  “It’s-s…it’s am-mazing…” Blubbering slightly through her cries, Linne tore her skin from my fur to glance around. “Amazing – amazing…”

  My mate’s wobbling, hoarse whisper warmed my chest, and I shifted into my human form to grab her and hold her to tightly to me. The black, inky beasts that I had summoned vanished instantly, and I sat back on my ass to pull Linne into my lap. Her trembling body came easily, accepting my touch after so long deprived, and she wrapped her arms around my waist to taking shallow, gasping breaths.

  This closeness, this connection that delved beyond the skin, wasn’t tainted by even the slightest sexual tension, and I heaved a rasping sigh of relief. Burying my face in her hair, I closed my eyes and breathed in her scent into the very bowels of my being, and relief swamped my chest to seep into my lungs.

  ‘That is certainly a strange development…’ Muss’ deep baritone sent prickles down my spine, and Linne’s breath hitched loudly as we both whipped around. For a second, I couldn’t figure out what was different about the stupid bird, but it soon became apparent as his amused voice filtered into my mind. ‘What do you think of my form? Are my feathers not beautiful and shiny?’

  “You’re solid…” Grumbling hoarsely, I reached out stiffly, and Muss hopped closer to cock his head sharply to the side. Merriment glistened in his multitude of eyes, and two of the smaller ones trained on me while the biggest one watched Linne intently. My fingertips should’ve passed through him, but his silky feathers bristled under my fingertips. No shimmering glitter billowed off his form or trailed behind him as he hopped closer, and I drew back my hand sharply with a whistle.

  ‘Kaslni is coming.’ My eyes widened as panic stiffened my muscles; if there was one being I should be afraid of, it was Kaslni. Even Bareiijnr, I could deal with…but not Linne’s old master. Staring at Muss as his eyes sparkled with anticipation and apprehension, I tightened my grip on my mate to feel her heart rate go haywire and her body take on the consistency of stone.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  Linne

  “What do you mean she’s coming?” My voice escaped me as a rasping whisper, and Muss turned all of his eyes on me. Stretching his solid wings, he ducked his head sharply even as happiness burned bright in his gaze.

  Leaning away from Derek to hold out my wrist for Muss, goosebumps washed my skin when the familiar prickle of his talons assaulted my skin.

  I could see him. I could hear him. I could feel him.

  ‘She is fleeing. Bareiijnr has taken over the Council. She did not get to him in time. I have come to make way for her – to avoid collateral damage. You must alert Alpha Jackson.’

  “You have a Reliquary in you.” Derek’s eyes narrowed on Muss, in a way that seemed like he could see right inside him.

  His gruff declaration sent my heart hurtling into my throat, and I roughly swiped away my tears as he reached to grab Muss’s entire torso in his hand. The raven didn’t object, and Derek was careful as they borderline glared at each other.

  “Is she packing up everything and everyone or just you?”

  ‘Kaslni is leaving nothing for Bareiijnr to obtain. She has de-winged her slaves, and everything of value is coming through the Veil with her.’

  Worry shot through me as Jon’s earlier words came rushing to my mind, but Muss continued before I could even open my mouth. ‘You must tell Alpha Jackson. You need to get the humans to safety. Kaslni is a danger to them.’

  Nodding furiously as Derek set Muss back on the floor, I pushed myself to my feet with a huff. Excited apprehension ran like thick sludge through my veins, and my mate followed my lead to follow me out of my bedroom. Muss perched himself on my shoulder – the first time we’d touched since my banishment – and I blinked back my tears as urgency fueled my long strides.

  There would be time later to reunite.

  “What happened with Bareiijnr?” Nuzzling my jaw sweetly, Muss gave an avian collection of clicks of pleasure, and I pursed my lips into a thin line as my chest tightened. Squeezing the question from beyond the thick lump in my throat, I wrung my fingers together absently as I strode through the living room.

  ‘He presented evidence that she was a traitor to the Unseelie. It is mostly fabricated, but it was created very well. I assume she will land at the same place you did. You must coordinate the evacuation of the humans out of the area. She has never been through the Veil – I doubt she will be as docile as you were, Linne.’

  “I’ll go round up the Clan. Babe, you go to the landing spot. Does Kaslni know that Linne will be waiting?”

  Ducking his head in a nod, Muss gave a low caw of agreement as we emerged into the boiling, sunlit day.

  “I’ll be back as soon as I can.” Grabbing my waist, Derek whirled me around to smash his lips on mine, and I stiffened at the shocks of electricity that spread through every nerve in my body.

  Our kiss was quick but a promise to make up for the past week, and he tore apart from me to inhale deeply. Shifting into his magnificent beast, he started to seep shadow like sweat, and the thick tendrils rolled down his fur and across the concrete walkway into the grass.

  Watching through wide eyes, my breath caught harshly as the malevolent beauty of him overwhelmed me, and I clasped my hands tightly together.

  Taking off at a jostling run, Derek left a trail of shadows in his wake that lingered before dissipating under the brightness of the sun. On my shoulder, Muss shuffled and chirped lightly, and his smooth voice caressed my ears as my mate rounded a corner to disappear.

  ‘He seems to constantly surprise…’

  “Yes.” Only giving a short answer, I shook my head to rid myself of those thoughts as a more pressing situation wiggled into my brain. “We must hurry.”

  Taking off at a jog in the opposite directly, I ignored the heat to focus on the battle inside me. The thrill, the joy of seeing Kaslni again clashed with what her very presence in the human realm meant.

  If she was fleeing the Unseelie, then Bareiijnr was now the Head Chancellor. If Bareiijnr was the Head Chancellor, he would no doubt send people after us. He might even come after us himself.

  ‘If Bareiijnr does come after us, you and Kaslni will just kill him. Do not fear. She will protect you as she has always done, Linne.’ Muss’ encouraging words sent a tickle of relief into my chest, and I took a deep, heavy breath to stabilize my frantic mind. ‘Maybe Kaslni will even enjoy the human realm, as you do. For all our power, we do not know what the future holds.’

  As Muss calmed my tingling nerves, my wings grew to normal size, and the fine hairs on my face stood up. Sweat beaded my neck to slip down my back between my axillar, and I clenched and released my fists at my sides as I made my way away from the park. Anxiety curdled my blood and twisted my gut
, but this was happening – there was no way to stop it.

  “Everything will be okay.” Even to me, my reassurance sounded shaky, and I frowned slightly as I rounded the corner of a storefront. “Everything will be fine.”

  Reaching the spot where I had been thrown out of the Veil, I glanced around as waves of magic rolled off me to search for anything unusual. Muss left my shoulder, flying higher and higher to conduct his own search, and I held my breath as expectation thrummed in my veins. Time seemed to lose meaning in these long moments, and I held out my palms and stretched my wings in concentration.

  The unfamiliar sensation of Derek’s newfound magic crept up on me slowly, gently, and I glanced over to find both him and Alpha Jackson rushing towards me.

  In their beast forms, they were formidable opponents, and my heart squeezed at their darting eyes and bristling fur. Within seconds, more Clan members appeared, going from house to house to evacuate everyone, creating a droning buzz in my ears.

  Muss’ loud, abrasive call from above forced my attention, and my head snapped up just as the magic of the Veil ripped open the sky. My eyes widened, shock stiffening my muscles at the bright colors that shimmered above. Kaslni’s familiar magical essence washed down on me like a dense deluge of water, and my wings faltered as a shiver tore down my spine.

  And then she fell out from the rainbow colored void, her thick, sleek wings flapping wildly as she struggled to fly in a realm where she couldn’t. Her journey through the Veil was voluntary, but the human realm was very different than the Unseelie realm. Her short, curly, raven-colored hair flailed as she cut through the air, and awe separated my jaw when she somehow managed to level herself before hitting the ground.

  She was so beautiful, and my vision misted as she landed in a heavy heap on the searing street. The long robe draping her body protected her skin from the baking asphalt, and she found her footing as blazing, forest green eyes flickered to me before training on Derek.