by Holly Evans
The alcohol made everything a little warm and fuzzy by the end of the second mojito. I was perfectly cogent, but I felt truly relaxed for the first time in months; all of the stress and tension was melting away. It had been one hell of a month, too.
I turned to Quin and said, “I can't lose you."
His expression softened and he hugged me. “You won't, sis."
“I just... after that coven kidnapped you, it really made me realise, you know?"
He smiled and leaned back crossing his arms over his chest. “I lived a more comfortable life than I do with you; I might have to get kidnapped more often."
I glared at him; he didn't like taking things too seriously.
“They were going to use you in a blood ritual!" I hissed.
He put his hand on my shoulder. “And you saved me. We're cool, don't fret over the past, Evie, you'll make yourself grey. Live the life we have."
I frowned and relented. I knew he was right, but he'd scared the hell out of me.
He grinned at me. “This calls for another shot, then we head to Nostalgia to kick this up a gear."
I returned his grin and focused on the fun of the night. We were just normal people out unwinding for the evening.
I swore that I saw the sexy indigo-eyed guy again while we were waiting for our tram to Nostalgia. It was just a glimpse, but he was quite distinctive. Quin had been chatting with a model-worthy blonde and hadn't noticed; I didn't want to bother him, but I was beginning to wonder if I was going mad. I shrugged it off and blamed it on the alcohol. It had been a while since I’d drunk so heavily, and it was hitting me a little harder than I wanted to admit. Quin remained with the blonde on the tram ride, leaving me alone. I wasn't entirely sure if I wanted to walk into the fae-owned club alone. I set my shoulders back and reminded myself that I killed lycans for money; I could handle a couple of gropey humans.
Any anxiety I may have had slipped away when I walked out onto the dancefloor of Nostalgia. Quin had taken the blonde somewhere dark; I knew he'd be back in a couple of hours. That left me to enjoy the intense beat of the music by myself. Strobes flashed overhead, smiles were plastered onto everyone's face. It was intoxicating. The energy flowed over me and I allowed myself to go with it. I made my way into the middle of the dancefloor, moving with the beat and letting everything go. There was nothing but me and the beat. For a minute, at least, before I had to slap away the rough hands that grabbed my ass.
I had expected to have quite a hangover the next morning, but I was pleasantly surprised. Quin and I had decided to take a few days off; the city was in recovery after the bloodmoon. We had enough money to justify relaxing for a few days, and the gods knew we deserved it. Quin had been enjoying his time off with Kadrix, a few of the other hunters, and a variety of women. It was good to see him full of life and happy. I had decided to enjoy my down time a little more quietly; I couldn't help being a bit envious of him, though. I'd spent the last three days wandering between coffee shops and various touristy spots around the city. It felt good to admire the city and its layers without worrying about what a fae or lycan was doing.
That being said, I sat outside on a well-padded chair under a thick fleece blanket at the edge of Old Town Square, enjoying a particularly over-priced coffee and debating if I could find some trouble to get into. I scolded myself; it had only been three days, I shouldn't have been bored already. The tourists milled around me, and I couldn't blame them; the setting was stunning. A crowd had gathered in front of the astronomical clock. It must have been close to the hour. People always enjoyed watching the intricate old clock strike the hour with its varying layers and mechanisms.
I took another sip of my coffee and glanced over towards the clock; something dark caught my eye. I looked again, trying to pinpoint what on earth it was. It hadn't moved quite like a person. I scanned the multi-coloured crowd, looking for something unusual. I was about to shrug it off when I finally caught sight of the offending thing. It seemed that the gods wanted to give me some amusement after all. I left some money next to my half-full cup of coffee and headed into the crowd.
Blood moons weaken the layers between the worlds, above, below, and parallel. That had all sorts of interesting side-effects, such as lycans going rogue, fae stealing more people, and very occasionally shades, demons, and other things from both above and below slipping through. I tucked my hands into my leather jacket and felt the comfort of my blades beneath the lining. The dark shadow that I was following remained close to the tower; the crowd hadn't noticed. They had no reason to, since as far as they were concerned it was simply a slightly oddly shaped shadow.
I, however, knew that it was a weak shade. A demonic entity that hadn't quite managed to fully come over into our plane. This one was almost translucent; it was unlikely to be able to do much harm to anyone, but if I could kill it then Kadrix would pay a very pretty penny for whatever bits of it I could bottle. The hour struck, and the air was filled with the sound of hundreds of cameras clicking. The shade pressed itself into the tall doorway that was reserved for wedding parties only. I cursed it for choosing such a public spot.
The crowd was far too busy oohing and aahing over the astronomical clock. I remained close to the stone wall of the tower and pulled out one of my blades, sheltering it from view with my body. The shade wasn't even strong enough to have formed any real features. A tall shadow a head taller than me and quite a bit broader shrank back deeper into the doorway. I smiled as the dark shape tried to condense itself; it would have been an impressive foe, had it have managed to come through more strongly.
The tourists were beginning to disperse. More people were coming closer to me as they went to the tower with plans of indulging in the view over the city. I dragged my blade upwards through the shadow; it curled away from the silver and shrank downwards, forming a dark puddle on the floor. I pulled a couple of vials out of my pocket and tried to usher the shadow into them. It was more difficult than it sounded. It was somewhat reminiscent to the breath I had to capture and use for Kadrix when he’d sent me on some errand. He never did tell me what the recipe was for that I’d retrieved for him.
I managed to fill two vials before the shadow vanished properly. Kadrix would, no doubt, be over the moon. I put my blade away and tucked the vials safely back onto my belt before I stood and walked around the tower away from the main square. Quin was already with the elf, and part of me missed him; it seemed like a good opportunity all around. I couldn't keep the smile off my face at the contents of the vials. The smile soon changed to confusion when I saw the indigo-eyed man again. He kept showing up, and I was starting to grow suspicious.
He tried to do his usual vanishing act down one of the smaller streets heading towards Charles Bridge. I was prepared for it that time, though, and I was ready to get some answers.
His movements had the clear predatory grace and assurance of someone who could hold their own in a fight. He almost reminded me of a lycan with the slightly lower centre of balance and the way he had his shoulders back, making it clear to all and sundry that he wasn’t to be screwed with. My gaze kept trailing down his strong back over his tight little ass. I focused on the real task at hand: figuring out who and what he was and why he was following me.
He ducked down one of the older narrow streets with cobblestones down the first section of the road and crumbling tarmac on the footpath. The plain walls towered overhead in more subdued colours than the square. There was no one else down the road, and I was gaining on him. I almost ran into him when he stopped dead on the corner and turned to face me, his lips pulled back into a mischievous smile.
"Evelyn, darling, so good to see you."
There was a pull to him. His voice was smoother than the finest silk. I couldn't imagine how many women had fallen at his feet; I told myself that I wasn't going to be one of them.
My resolve faltered when he closed the distance between us, his eyes dancing with mischief. He smelled of hot metal and petrichor, not that I had muc
h of a chance to enjoy it. He grabbed my left hand and sliced it open with a small stiletto knife. I didn't get a chance to pull back from him, he held me firm as he cut open his own palm and pushed our fresh cuts together. The smile never left his face. I went to punch him in the jaw, but he took off down the street before I'd pulled myself together.
I was in shock. My mind was reeling. My palm stung like a sonofabitch, but the cut was already healing. There was a new sensation in the back of my mind, a wriggling feeling of fear.
Matyas cut through my scrambled thoughts. “Evelyn, where did it go?"
I turned to see a group of three hunters standing behind me.
Matyas stepped closer and said more sharply, "Evelyn. Where did the beast go?"
I instinctively buried my cut hand in my pocket and pointed straight ahead. I couldn't explain it, but something told me to lead them away from the mysterious man. There was something about him. I wasn't about to let the hunters tear him apart, not before I had answers anyway.
Matyas nodded and jogged down the road with the other two close behind him. With my hands in my pockets and my head down, I walked back to the main road and over to the metro station. I needed to speak to Elise. She was the only one other than Quin that I trusted. She'd give me some sound advice. Elise was my oldest friend; we'd met the first week that Quin and I had moved to Prague with our parents. She was a priestess under the moon goddess. I went down into the bustling metro station and tried to get my mind back in the game.
The guy had been following me for a few days, yet he hadn't approached me until that day. He knew who I was and blood-bonded without any prior warning. I squeezed my eyes shut and tried to run the possibilities through my mind. He wasn’t fae, they were too distinctive, and it wasn’t their style. A fae would have hung around to gloat or do far more damage than he had done. He could have been a witch. I had pissed off quite a few witches not that long ago with the ‘Quin-being-kidnapped’ debacle. Male witches were very unusual and weaker than their female counterparts. I didn't know enough about magic to understand why a male witch would blood-bond with a non-witch, particularly a hunter. As far as I could remember witches were very protective over their male counterparts, as bloodlines and breeding were incredibly important to witches. Their magic flowed through family lines, so the likelihood of a witch blood-bonding with a non-witch seemed low.
My phone vibrated in my pocket. I pulled it out as I rode the insufferably long escalator back up to the city. It was one of the hunters. I ignored it. They could wait.
By the time I arrived at Elise's church, with its unusual terracotta colouring, I'd convinced myself that the guy had been a weird hunter groupie. Every once in a while a human or two would find out about supernals and hunters; they either reacted with love or fear. Quin had had to silence a particularly determined groupie not long after Christian vanished. He fawned over Quin and kept getting himself and those around him in danger. We protect innocents, so he had to be removed from the equation.
I knocked on the old dark wooden door before I pushed it open and stepped into the darkness. Elise's church was a very old affair; it had been built on pagan religious grounds in the 1100's. The cool air was fresh, the atmosphere relaxing as I walked up to the simple white marble altar. I acknowledged the existence of the gods and tried to be respectful, but I didn't feel any pull to one in particular. There was something calm and peaceful about the church. I knelt before the altar and whispered a quiet prayer of thanks for returning Quin to me. It seemed the polite thing to do, given Elise had helped me track him down when the coven had kidnapped him.
Elise came from the back rooms in her usual uniform of a floor length white dress that hung over her slender form and added an ethereal feel to her pale skin and waist-length white hair. Her silver eyes practically shone. Her movements betrayed her and gave away the strength that she hid beneath her waif-like appearance. She was a little shorter than me, and smaller in every aspect, yet she still terrified men twice her size. She moved much like a big cat, efficient and graceful strides that ate up the ground while still looking feminine and elegant. She was anything but weak; the moon goddess liked her priestesses to be fierce warriors.
I stood and opened my arms to embrace her. My anxiety had melted away already, leaving my head clear, yet my heart remained heavy. I was in the middle of something, I could feel it; I just had no idea what.
Elise wrapped her arms around me and pulled me into a tight hug. “Oh, Evie, you look awful."
I laughed. “Thanks, Elise, you always know how to cheer me up."
She grinned at me and led me through into her private quarters. They were simple in their elegance, a comfortable sofa sitting facing a small television with a broad bookshelf along the left-hand wall. I curled up on the sofa while she made some white tea. The soothing floral scent filled the small room and brought me to sigh with contentment. No matter what was going on outside the walls of the church, I knew I was safe and happy within them.
Elise sat down next to me, tucking her long legs up under her as she handed me a large cup of light white tea. I breathed deep, taking in the scent and relaxing more deeply into the sofa. She smiled at me and sipped her tea, waiting patiently. After a long minute I placed the tea down and showed her my palm, a faint pink line remained. There had been no reason for it to heal so quickly, and there was no denying the facts.
She frowned and ran a finger over the line, her touch tingled and left a cool trail in its wake. I picked the tea back up and studied her face. Her pale eyebrows were knitted and small lines formed around her delicate mouth, her lips painted electric blue as her goddess wanted her.
“What caused this, Evie?"
Her voice was weighted with serious concern. My heart dropped. I related the story back to her in completion, how the man had shown up out of the blue and what had happened.
"He started showing up the morning after the blood moon?"
I bit my bottom lip, I should have made the connection sooner. I refused to look at her, I was ashamed of myself for being swept up in foolish thoughts and daydreams.
Her hand wrapped itself around mine.
“You said he smelt of hot metal and petrichor?" she asked quietly.
I nodded; the scent remained fixed in my mind.
She sighed and laughed quietly. "Oh, Evie, you've gone and done it this time."
I looked up at her before she said, “He's a hellhound. You've been bound to a hellhound."
“How is that even possible? Only those with demon blood can bond with a hellhound!"
Elise held my arm firmly but gently when I tried to stand and pace around the room. I couldn't be bound to a hellhound. It wasn't possible. Her lady, her goddess, must have been mistaken or there was a mix up in communication.
“Evie, my lady isn't wrong. You're bound to a hellhound, and you must keep him safe."
I looked at her. My level of alarm rose.
“Keep him safe? He's a hellhound, I should kill him or at least send him back down to the infernal plane," I said while trying to throw my hands up in the air.
Her grip on my arm tightened and her voice deepened. “You are to keep him safe. That's important."
I leaned back against the sofa and resigned myself to the situation.
I said quietly, “What's Quin going to say?"
She smiled at me, that serene smile that never failed to smooth out any kinks I may have. “He's your twin, he'll probably be excited to explore something new."
I couldn't help but smile. “Yea, you're right. He's never happier than when he has something new to poke at. He's been spending a lot of time with that elf as of late."
We finished drinking our tea in silence. My mind was reeling. A hellhound was a very unusual occurrence. I'd never met one before. I'd been told about them, but they required a great deal of power to get onto our plane. They were also owned and bound to a demon. There were so many questions and so few answers.
Elise placed her hand on my che
ek and said sternly, “Keep him safe, Evie, it's important."
I opened my mouth to ask more questions, but my phone vibrated again. I pulled it out to see a text from Quin. The hunters wanted our help; there were two hellhounds and a collection of shades in the city. Part of me was glad to be returning to the chaos. I never did downtime very well.
“What am I supposed to do, Elise?"
She gave me that knowing smile and said, “Trust your instincts."
That was all I got. I adored her, but sometimes she and her priestess serenity drove me insane. Regardless, I hugged her tight and thanked her before I headed out to return to the alchemist’s. I needed to meet Quin and hand the vials over to Kadrix. I'd completely forgotten about them with the hellhound nonsense. I couldn't have demon blood. There had to be some other reason, some witch-based workaround.
My mind flitted back to the ritual the coven had been performing when I saved Quin. We'd both spilt some blood in the circle. We'd shrugged it off as nothing happened at the time. A sacrifice hadn't been made, though, it shouldn't have done anything. I leaned against the window of the tram and tried to calm myself, but I was feeling overwhelmed. My head began to spin.
Someone in the lékárna muttered under their breath when I bypassed the queue and went around the counter to Kadrix's workshop thing. I ignored them and stepped into the narrow hallway. Quin's laughter mingled with Kadrix's, and once again I felt a pang of jealousy. I pushed it aside; I'd put myself in the position I was in. I had chosen to protect him and keep myself distant from those around me.
I pulled out the vials with the shadow in them and made my way around the heaps of books and lab tables to Kadrix and Quin. They were talking animatedly about whatever was bubbling away in the small copper pot. I paced around the small clear area nearby and waited for a lull in the conversation. After a moment I began spinning my blades trying to soothe my anxiety with the familiar motion. It was something Father had taught me at a young age. Spinning the blades is a good way to get a feel for them, and it will distract your enemy when used in combat. It had become something I did when stressed after a while. A moving meditation of sorts. There was finally a pause in the conversation. I put my blades away and pulled out the vials.