“What does that mean?” Mark asked.
Preston shook his head, shoving his hands in his pockets.
All Mark wanted was to get his hands on Gerard. For Valen’s sake, he’d leave Kindra alone and let Robert figure that shit out.
Preston moved closer. “How is having your son in your home?”
“Still processing.” He turned to Preston. “I don’t know what to think about any of this. It would be easier if she had died, but I can’t say I want him dead. He’s my son.”
Preston squeezed his shoulder. “Might take time to get used to the idea, but don’t let guilt eat at you. You didn’t know. You can’t do anything but be the father you can be now.”
“And he’s having a kid.”
Preston grinned. “Yeah, well, I recently got acquainted with my father, and Dacia and my step mother are both having kids. Go figure.”
“At least I’m not the only one with my whole reality changing.”
“Oh, I knew about my dad all along. He just didn’t know about me.” Preston nodded at the swirling mist in the center of the front room. “What’s going on?
Tremaine scrubbed a hand over the back of his neck. “I can open it, but you aren’t going to like what we find.”
“Why is that?” Preston asked.
“The portal is a trip through the abyss,” Tremaine answered.
“The deep sea?” Mark asked.
Robert shook his head. “Faery’s version of hell. Only it’s a place, and if you get stuck there, there is no coming back.”
“Wait, do you think they created it?” Preston asked.
“Huh?” Tremaine shook his head.
Preston held up a hand. “Think about it. They create a wasteland. Souls are stuck there. The doppelgangers drain people. Maybe they were the start of the abyss. With all the curses surrounding them, you have to admit it makes sense.”
Robert rolled his eyes. “That doesn’t account for why only Fae get stuck there.”
“True, but who’s to say they didn’t get greedy long ago and that’s how the abyss started?” Preston countered.
Tremaine lifted a shoulder. “Maybe they contributed, but there have been stories about the abyss since before the first stories of the doppelgangers.”
“It was just a thought,” Preston muttered.
“What happens if we travel through?” Mark asked.
“Well, there might be another way to figure out where it goes without traveling it. And if we do go through and get stuck we aren’t getting out. I’m not willing to risk it right now,” Tremaine stated.
“Worst case, they die off before they reach us,” Robert added. “Might mean we can’t save Kindra, but I have a feeling you won’t mind that outcome.”
“They aren’t going to make it that easy on us.” Mark wanted to hit something, preferably Gerard for putting him in the damned situation. And if it weren’t for Valen, he would see no reason to save Kindra. He didn’t give a damn if she was forced into her position.
Why couldn’t he outrun his past for good? That was the one question plaguing Mark. He wanted all that shit to stay buried under an avalanche.
“We can all go to Draecyn.” Tremaine turned to Mark. “That is if you don’t mind going somewhere things don’t always make sense.”
“Lately, nothing does,” Mark answered.
“Here we go,” Robert said, holding out his arms.
Chapter 22
Cora stared out the window, wondering what she could do for the coven. They were going to have to move. The whole coven. They had been in that town for over a hundred years. It was their home.
And did she even belong after all this time? She wasn’t sure about that anymore. The coven would never give up the coven mentality. However, the more she stood outside of the group, the more she realized she no longer craved the community. She wanted the freedom Druciela enjoyed. No judgment. No rules. Just freedom.
Not that she’d truly tasted it yet. No, she’d been locked up inside for the moment. She didn’t want to be tracked or taken back to any of the bullshit she’d left, so she stayed where they asked her to stay.
“What are you thinking about?” Druciela asked.
Cora turned to her and let out a breath. “The more I think about things, the more I want to try living out here, on my own.”
“I have room in my home.”
“I have money. I can rent until I figure out if I like it here.”
Druciela nodded. “There are a lot of things you can do here too. I’m sure with my daughter getting ready to have her own child, she’ll be doing less real estate, if you’re interested in working with her.”
“Really?” Cora asked.
She nodded. “I could ask her to come over.”
“Here?”
Gina moved back to the living room. “I’m okay with Dacia coming over.”
“What if the guys find the doppelgangers?” Cora asked. “Do you want her here for that?”
“Oh, they’re going to run into a dead end, I believe,” Morrigan stated. “I can help them find the bastards, but I would prefer to wait until my sister can join me.”
“How long before that happens, though?” Gina asked.
Morrigan bobbled her head back and forth. “At the rate you’re growing, I would think two or three days.”
“What?”
“Well, I imagine you should be in labor tomorrow. And then a day or so for her to reach adulthood.”
Gina blinked. “That’s fast.”
“Aye, it is, but she has the capability to push the growth much faster than you would ever anticipate.”
“I have acted as midwife in the past.” Cora offered a smile. “I’ll do anything I can to help.”
Gina nodded. “Thanks.”
Druciela smiled. “If it happens as fast as I think, and you’re here, you will be helping. She’s probably thinking about the fact there are many in Edenton who will help.”
Gina nodded.
“Understood. I’m an outsider.” Cora sank into a seat.
Gina sat down on the table in front of her. “It’s not that. I don’t like feeling like I need all kinds of help. I’m just weird like that. It’s not you.”
“I get that. I started pulling away from everyone when Anthony killed Daniel. It’s been hard to get back to needing others. But the way you all work together is more a community than my coven has been in generations.”
Morrigan nodded. “It’s weird. I feel more connected to you all than any other group in a long time.”
“Maybe because your sister is here,” Gina said.
“Yes, but I can’t talk to her yet. I do feel her presence, which is comforting.” Morrigan moved to Gina with a smile. “You aren’t afraid of what we are?”
“Should I be?” Gina asked, her brow wrinkled.
“Morrigan and Badb, as well as Macha, were part of the trilogy of goddesses called the Morrigan. War goddesses. They were both feared and worshipped.” Cora let out a breath. “Though who knows how close the stories were to the truth.”
* * * *
Gina knew enough about the stories, but humans had a different view than the Fae did. Some of the old Fae had moved to Earth long ago and were seen as gods because of their magic. Some were exiled, some were born there.
She didn’t understand why she could remember things before becoming a werewolf, but the night she was turned was a blank. Probably for the best, as everyone had told her. And everything after, at least until Emily fixed her head, was gone. Again, for the best.
But she remembered the stories her father told her when she was little. About where they came from and what they were. And the Morrigan were fierce warriors who protected their people and helped those who needed it in battle. They weren’t evil, they weren’t dark, they weren’t the bringers of death.
Though the losing side often believed they were evil.
“I believe most
people believed worse about Badb and Morrigan because they were on the wrong side of the war, or they saw them and didn’t understand their true purpose.”
Morrigan nodded. “Often the case. That was a long time ago, and if you haven’t noticed, I’m far more interested in stopping a small group of beings whose sole purpose is the destruction of a town or village. They believe they are gaining power, that they are becoming more and more enlightened, but they are stealing magic and destroying the land and people in it. And the stories of people disappearing from a town, or land? A lot of those are the doppelgangers as they leave to take on a new form. Those cities just fade away, the people fading to dust.”
“Such as?” Cora asked.
“Roanoke is maybe one of the more famous ones. There are plenty of stories in other places in the world of disappearing civilizations over the years. All because the Fae chased them out of our world long ago.”
“Interesting,” Cora muttered. “But why aren’t you in Faery?”
She smiled sadly. “I spent much of my youth on Earth, because most of the Fae fear the power I can wield. I’m a Storm Mistress. As are my sisters. We can do things no one else can do. There isn’t much we aren’t capable of. Few have tried to control us and learned quickly why that doesn’t work.” Morrigan let out a breath. “All of that is in the past, and all you really need to know is that we want to live without being forced into a role we don’t want.”
“I take it that goes for your sister?”
“She was never forced in such a way as they tried to force me, thankfully. She found love, and she was happy for centuries, until the Doppelgangers came in and tore everything away from her.” Morrigan let out a breath. “I wish I had been there. I would have helped stop it then, but I’ve learned enough about what can kill them over the years. And now that she’s coming back, I have to ensure they are truly dead and gone.”
“I’ll be happy to be done with them for good,” Gina announced. “They nearly took my mate’s life once, and now their leader wants to finish what he started, but I won’t allow that to happen.”
I won’t let it either, Badb assured.
She smiled and glanced down. Having another being listening to her every word was unnerving but comforting at the same time. They had the same goal. “Badb agrees. Look, neither Morrigan nor Badb are the problem. They are going to help us save your coven.”
“I know. Old stories. They get stuck in my head, and it’s hard for me to see past that.” Cora shook her head. “Just like trusting mages is hard for me. Or werewolves. Or anyone, really. We were told too many stories about Others besides witches hunting us down, as well as humans.”
“Yes, well, you won’t find that here,” Druciela assured.
Gina reached over to squeeze Cora’s arm. “We are very welcoming of all types. Including those of us who come to them broken and damaged.”
Druciela met Gina’s gaze. “No one saw you as broken or damaged, just healing. And now, we all see you as part of our community. It wasn’t hard with the way Mark pulled you in.”
Chapter 23
Mark stood in the middle of a huge stone chamber. There were shelves upon shelves of books and artifacts. The place hummed with a strange energy he couldn’t begin to comprehend.
Preston touched his shoulder. “We all feel like that the first time we come here.”
Power surged through Mark and he jerked away from Preston’s hand. “Don’t, shit. Sorry, it’s like my magic wants to rush to the forefront here, and I don’t like it.”
“Why?”
“It’s been fifty years without magic. Now it’s starting to bubble up like it’s about to overflow. My wolf doesn’t like it.”
“And didn’t Morrigan say that Badb could help fuse those two sides of you?”
He snorted. “And then my coven may think I would lead them. I don’t have any desire to be a leader, let alone to a bunch of close-minded witches who wouldn’t do a damn thing to help me. Even if they accepted a werewolf with magic, I’m too busy as an enforcer and with my business to even attempt to be high priest. God, that’s not something I ever imagined being.”
“Which is why you would make a good leader,” Preston stated.
“Fuck that. Look, maybe fifty years ago, back when I was one of them. Probably not. I already saw the problems with the damned coven.”
“Hey, no one said you have to do anything for them.”
“I’ll make sure they’re safe, but that’s it,” Mark insisted.
Preston let out a sigh. “Don’t write off your son.”
“That I won’t do, but if Kindra is still around, there’s no telling what she’ll fill his head with. God, I wish I had known. I could have done so much for Valen.”
“And you can now. Remember, age isn’t an issue. Not for us.”
“Yeah. But how do I get rid of the guilt?”
“You remember there was nothing you could do differently. You didn’t know. We couldn’t track them down. And you are going to give them a chance to live. I’d say that will be more important than anything else you could do for them.”
“You’re right, but it’s not that simple.”
“Never is.” Preston lifted a shoulder.
Mark took a look around. “So, where the hell are we?”
“Uh, that’s hard to explain. We aren’t exactly anywhere.”
“How the hell does that work?” Mark asked.
A man who was only vaguely familiar joined them. “This is an old library, since long before I was born. Several Rift Benders created it for the Branches of Emrys.”
“This is Draecyn. Liz’s father,” Robert answered.
Draecyn smiled and offered a hand. “And you’re Mark now. Though you were Anders.”
“I’m sorry, do I know you?”
“No, I don’t expect you to remember me. You were tiny when we last met, but I was a friend of your parents.”
“Did you know what happened to the coven?”
“A little, though not enough, and by the time Tremaine and his group arrived, you were dying, and they were gone.”
“My parents?” Mark didn’t know what to think.
“No, the doppelgangers. I still watched the coven, though not close enough. I wish you had called us sooner. Perhaps we could have stopped them before your friend and other coven members faded away.”
“Yeah, I tried to get them to come with me. They wouldn’t.” Mark scrubbed a hand over his face. “I know I shouldn’t have waited as long as I did, but I thought I would have a better response if more of us could come forward.”
“Maybe, but the call would have come to me and I would have got it moving regardless. Especially in the case of doppelgangers.”
“The enforcers were fast once I called.” Mark shifted his weight.
“And this time, we’ll stop them for good,” Robert promised.
Draecyn nodded. “They can’t hide where they went forever, and they left everyone in the coven where they were,” Preston said. “I was thinking, if everyone left, wouldn’t that shorten the amount of time they had until they fade away? I mean, we can move this faster, if we get the witches far from Brightwater Bay. We just need to figure out what we can do to motivate them to move, without destroying property.”
“Destroying property?” Mark asked.
“A fire would force them to move, but it would have to wipe out the whole town.” He lifted a shoulder. “It would be a last resort, but we don’t want to destroy all their possessions.”
“Wait, what about a natural gas leak?” Mark asked.
“We can’t cause one,” Robert stated.
“No, and you don’t need to. But you all have faked other disasters for regular humans, right? So all you really need to do is get someone in a uniform for the local natural gas company. They need to go door to door to tell them there is a problem, and they’re working on it, but it would be safest if everyone could evacuate until
further notice. And the community is tight enough that they would make sure everyone made it out of there, long enough for us to deal with those bastards, as long as we can find them.”
Preston nodded. “That’s a great idea. Honest.”
Robert nodded. “I know who we can send. They can convince everyone to leave.”
“Hopefully, far enough away that they won’t be affected by the death off the doppelgangers. They’ve been there for fifty years and are tied to the land. If they die now, it will pull on the life force of those currently there. That’s why towns die out and fade away,” Draecyn said. “Any distance away and they have a chance, but if we can get them at least half a state away, they’ll up those odds immensely.”
Mark nodded. “We can make it a bigger deal than it is. I doubt anyone there would know the difference, and if everyone else is in panic mode, maybe they will be too.”
“What about those already gone?” Robert asked.
“Tell them they were transferred to a hospital after being exposed to the fumes too long?” Mark shrugged. “Hell, add a layer of magic to it, tell them because they are Other, they are getting the whole story, maybe say a curse?”
“We’ll figure it out. Don’t worry. We can get them out of there,” Tremaine said. “I have a few ideas on how.”
“What about Valen? If they come to Edenton, is he going to be harmed by the death of those things?” Mark asked.
Draecyn tipped his head back and forth. “He’s a special case. Because he’s turning into one of them, if he resists and fights them, he will break the connection. It may make him weaker, but he should bounce back.”
“Are you sure?” Mark asked. “I don’t want to lose him. I just found out he was alive.”
“If he goes with the rest of the coven, he’s likely to fade away when the doppelgangers do,” Draecyn explained. “He’s tied to them. If he’s there and resists, one of two things will happen. If he’s strong enough, he’ll gain power from the break, or he’ll lose some, but he should survive.”
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