by Holly Evans
"You will stay away and remove yourself from business that is not yours," the abomination growled.
Its voice was a scratchy, deep noise, the words rattled around its mouth before he spat them out. Raif’s muscles tightened, his gaze fixed on the abomination. He was lost to his prey drive.
"And who are you to tell us to leave things alone?"
I glanced at Quin, who rolled his eyes and began moving to flank the abomination. Lysander and I slowly split to take the wolves. The abomination's teeth were bright white and far too sharp to belong to anything remotely human. They almost looked like redcap teeth, needle-like and elongated.
"I speak for the great witch. You are interfering in her business. This is your only warning."
His eyes flicked to Quin, but Raif took the opening and tried to land a spinning kick on the abomination. The abomination caught his foot and threw him against the stone wall, where he landed unceremoniously. The wolves snarled and went to circle around us, but the cub hadn't learnt his lesson just yet.
"And just how are we interfering with this great witch?" Quin asked casually.
The wolves were watching Lysander and me very carefully.
"Here doggie, there's a good boy,” I cooed.
It snarled at me and flattened its ears. I grinned.
"You hide that which is hers, you have gotten in her way too many times. Be grateful that she feels she has further uses for you."
I cringed when Raif leapt on the abomination's back; it was a very lycan fighting move. He was tossed over the abomination's shoulder and landed with a loud thud and crunch at the abomination's feet.
"Go back to your rat hunting and the great witch will let you be."
With that, the abomination turned and loped off with the wolves on either side of him. The cub sat up slowly and rubbed the back of his head.
"What the fuck were you—“ I started.
"Evelyn, please let me handle this,” Lysander said.
I glared at Lysander, but didn't say anything further. He crouched down next to the cub, who refused to look at him. Quin had a smile on his face and pulled his phone.
"Raif, that is not how this pack works,” Lysander said softly.
The cub nodded and kept his eyes down. "Do you know what you did wrong?"
He swallowed and said, "I rushed in without assessing the situation. I was too focused on proving myself."
Lysander stood up and held out his hand. "Have you learnt your lesson?"
The cub nodded and accepted Lysander's help up.
"If you haven't learnt your lesson, then Evelyn will kick your ass."
I grinned at him and spun my blades.
The cub glanced at me before he looked down and away. "Sorry."
We walked in silence for a few moments. Kadrix had agreed to meet us on the benches near the river.
"We now know that we have something she wants, and she was directly involved in the making of the abominations,” Quin said rather cheerfully.
"Her wolves were tinged with outside magic, too. Some of it looked like it was stolen from the elves,” Raif added.
Everyone stopped and turned to look at him.
Quin took a step closer to him. "You saw their magic?"
Raif shrugged and looked down. "Sure, it was pale blue lines woven in intricate knots like the druids used, interspersed with Nordic runes and tapestry-style weavings."
Quin looked around at us.
Lysander gave a small smile. "Can the rest of your pack see magic like that?"
"No,” Raif said very quietly.
"Wait a second, you said faint blue lines, maybe two inches above their fur?"
He nodded, but didn't look at me.
"I... saw something."
Quin grinned. "Kadrix will be very excited."
"No, no more poking,” I said.
"But this is amazing, Evie! No one outside of the fae and celestials can see magic, normally. You're both freaks."
I glared at him. "I do not appreciate being called a freak."
"I thought you'd prefer it over abomination or anomaly,” he said cheerily.
"I'd rather be a normal lycan,” Raif said.
I held up my hand. "Enough, let's keep walking and meet Kadrix."
Quin had a very excited conversation with Kadrix on the phone. He slipped between English and another language that I couldn't identify. Lysander walked next to Raif.
"Don't worry, none of us are normal. You'll fit in fine,” he told the cub.
I squeezed the bridge of my nose; I was beginning to understand the cub's angst. I wanted to be normal, and I certainly didn't want to be poked, prodded, and experimented on by the damn elf.
By the time we reached the bench where Kadrix was, with what appeared to be another elf, Raif had lifted his eyes and relaxed a little. Lysander was being quite supportive of the cub; he explained how he shouldn't have rushed the abomination and gave some pointers on better weight distribution. The flicker of maternal instincts threatened to rear their ugly head. I quashed them. I was not mother material, no matter how good of a father he'd make. Kadrix and the other elf, a delicate, almost feminine little thing, stood and smiled at us. Quin greeted Kadrix with a kiss on the cheek; they chattered excitedly for a moment before Kadrix gestured to the other elf. He had the typical high cheekbones, flawless skin, and lithe build, along with what I could only describe as lichen-green eyes.
"This is Soren, he's here to resolve the lycan cub's virginity issue,” Kadrix said.
Raif's eyes went wide, he clenched his jaw and glared at them, and Lysander laughed. I was too stunned.
Kadrix sniffed. "He's almost twenty, that's rather old to still be a virgin. Soren will take his virginity as payment for his night's services; he had indicated that he was interested in Quin, so I had assumed he'd rather a male partner."
Raif snarled and began to walk away from us. I put myself between him and Kadrix.
"That will not be necessary, thank you."
"Raif will make that step when he's ready, with someone of his choosing,” Lysander growled.
Kadrix huffed. "I was merely trying to help."
Soren and he passed a look between them. Soren smirked before he strolled off. I wondered how he maintained blood flow to his legs in such tight pants.
"Quin informed me that the witch sent her wolves to threaten you,” Kadrix said.
Raif exhaled slowly and walked back to us, his mouth fixed in a sharp line. "Her wolves had fae magic woven around them, along with her Norse magic and some druid knots." He told Kadrix matter of factly.
The cub fell under Kadrix's laser-focus. "That's not possible."
He shrugged and held his gaze. "I know what I saw."
The elf narrowed his eyes. I took my opportunity. "The abomination said that we have something she requires; that wouldn't be the same thing the celestials kept bugging you about, now would it, Kadrix?"
Kadrix waved me off. "Tell me what the magic looked like, exactly."
"Pale blue lines about two inches above the fur of the wolves, it surrounded both of them. The man-thing was covered in them, too. The Norse runes were prominent, they had a greyish tinge to them. The druid knots sat between the wolves' shoulder blades and over the man's heart. The fae magic was delicate strings that crowned their heads," Raif said while holding Kadrix’s eye-contact unblinkingly.
Kadrix ground his teeth together. "No creature outside of our kind can touch or use our magic. I need to do some digging, she's clearly something more than I had originally thought."
With that, he wandered off. We didn't see much other choice than to follow him. He clearly knew something that we didn’t, and there was no good reason to remain in the dark. This witch was strong enough to create abominations and upset Kadrix.
“You did good, little wolf,” I said to Raif.
He looked at me, a little startled, before he smiled. “It’s nice to have someone who reacts positively to my unusual skills. I suppose being a freak
has some uses.”
I wrinkled my nose. I was not a freak. Admitting that I wasn’t quite normal I could handle; that gave me useful tools to kill witches with. Calling myself a freak was beyond my abilities or desires.
We hadn't stayed in Kadrix's workshop for very long; he insisted on pacing around and eventually threw us out. We wandered up into the park, where Elise joined us. Kadrix wasn't far behind. Quin refused to drop the subject, and insisted that he tell us what was going on. The elf was walking around in circles throwing his hands up in the air while I sat and talked to Elise. I told her about Raif seeing the magic; her painted blue lips pulled upwards into a smile.
She looked past me to the cub and said, "You're from shaman lines, that's quite unusual."
He nodded slowly. "My cousin taught me about what I was and the basics of my skills. We didn't tell the rest of the pack, they were ashamed of me as it was."
She tilted her head and tutted. "Your abilities are something to be proud of."
He shook his head. "The shaman lines are bred out, they're impure and thus weaker. That's how they got their abilities."
She sighed softly.
I smiled. "It doesn't matter now, you're with us, and apparently we're of mixed blood, so you fit right in."
He smiled and watched Kadrix walk circles around Quin. "What's his problem? Are all elves like him?"
I laughed. "Yes and no. I have no idea what his problem is, but in my experience, all elves are similar to him, yes."
"I heard that Evelyn, and I do not like the insinuation,” Kadrix shot back.
"You don't have to like it for it to be true."
He paused his pacing to glare at me before he huffed and came over to join us. "The only way she could have used fae magic was to bind one of our number to her will. Not just any fae, they must be pure and from strong bloodlines. Do you understand what that means?"
I drew a blank. I was really wishing I’d put more effort into studying magic.
“Evelyn, I do wish you hadn’t been so closed-minded, you have potential,” he sighed. “It means that she is very strong, stronger than Serena’s coven combined with the other two below it, by herself. It also means that we were betrayed by one of our own kind. To succeed in the binding, the fae must have given themselves to her willingly, otherwise she would have broken any connection to the network."
I held my tongue; as far as I was aware fae of all stripes were always looking for a way to improve upon their situation. Aligning themselves with a strong witch seemed like a good way to do that to me.
"We do not betray our own,” he said softly.
Quin put his arm around his shoulders and held him close.
I allowed them a moment before I said, "And what does this mean now? What are we supposed to do with this information?"
"I need to speak to some people. If we can find out which type of fae the traitor was, perhaps we can track her down."
"But if she's that strong, what chance do we have?" I asked.
"One thing at a time, Evelyn."
With that, he stood and walked off. I glared daggers at his back; I was not amused at being left in the dark and treated like a child.
"Come on, Evie, we'll have a sparring match, and I believe it would do Raif some good to meditate,” Elise said, standing.
Quin followed after Kadrix like a lost puppy, and Lysander joined us as we headed over to Elise's church.
"You were kidding about the meditation, right?" Raif said.
Elise raised an eyebrow at him. “I thought you'd had some shamanic training? Meditation should be normal for you."
He sighed. "That doesn’t mean it’s something I enjoy."
"Have you ever bowed your head to my lady, the moon goddess?" she said.
"No, we don't bow to those we can't see, those who haven't proven themselves,” Raif said.
Elise's expression darkened. "It will do you good to meditate. Your path has not been what it could have been."
She picked up the pace. Lysander slowed a little to walk next to the cub.
"Don't worry, she doesn't make you do anything without a purpose."
The cub growled under his breath and said nothing. I was tempted to snap at him, but kept my mouth shut. He would learn.
Once we'd entered the church, Raif said, "What has your lady ever done for me? She's supposed to be the goddess of the moon, she's supposed to look after lycans."
Elise turned to face him.
She frowned a little and said, “What were you told of my lady?”
He held her gaze for a long moment before he looked away. "I was told that she has no caring for my kind. That people talk about her as a benevolent goddess who is caring and protective, yet she ignores us.”
Elise closed her eyes, her brow knitted before she looked at him again.
“My lady will open her arms to any lycan that goes to her,” she said softly.
Raif’s mouth tightened into a sharp line.
“The gods don’t always work in ways that are easy to understand.” Elise sighed. “They work through us, their priests and priestesses. We commune with our lords and ladies and aid them in their work here on our plane. As creatures born of her, you can speak to her too. Perhaps not as clearly as I can, but it would be beneficial if you tried,” she said.
Raif glanced between Elise and her altar. He ground his teeth together before he relaxed a little. “And how would I go about speaking to her?”
Elise smiled. “Kneel before the altar and meditate. Open your mind, let her in.”
Raif gave a short sharp nod and proceeded to the altar without further comment.
Lysander and I followed Elise out into the small enclosed area behind her church. She took a long deep breath.
"It’s not his fault, the lycans turned from her long ago,” she said to herself.
We launched into an intense sparring session, everyone against everyone. It felt good to push myself, to embrace the aggression. I hadn't realised how much I'd come to enjoy it, to need it. I was missing the hunt.
My phone vibrated; Quin had found and calmed Kadrix down. Apparently it was a rather serious matter. Fae were very closed about how they worked. I knew there was a lot of back-stabbing and pride involved. I trusted that Quin would fill me in when we next saw each other. I didn't need to know the political ramifications, just what it meant to me.
Elise had calmed down a little by the end.
“I trust in my lady, but I am growing weary of one night stands. I pine for what I see that which you have with Lysander, that Quin has with Kadrix. Is that such an awful thing?"
I pulled her into a hug. “Of course not, it's natural. I'm sure she has someone sinfully sexy on his way for you."
"I am proud to serve her, to watch over this city, but it gets lonely. I would like to have children, too, and that takes time."
I squeezed her hands. "Your lady will make sure everything comes together."
She smiled and nodded. "Of course. Speaking of which, we should check on Raif, I fear we left him a little longer than I'd intended."
"He needed time to explore what you offered him,” Lysander said.
"It seems as though his world’s been turned upside down,” I said.
Elise made us all tea before we headed into the main room to check on Raif. He was knelt before the altar, his breathing slow and steady. I wondered if perhaps he'd fallen asleep. That was, until his eyes flew open.
"There was so much blood,” Raif said as he dragged his fingers through his hair. His eyes wouldn't quite focus on one thing, it was as though he were watching a fast moving movie that no one else could see. I looked to Elise; her lips were pursed, but she remained standing where she was. Lysander knelt next to the cub, and I approached slowly.
"Tell us about the blood,” Lysander said gently.
"There was so much."
A crease formed between his eyebrows; his eyes started to slow their movements.
"It was all for her, for her pla
n. The pain helped her, it was part of the puzzle, but there was still a piece missing. We're all tied, I don't know how, but there are knots between us and her." Lysander squeezed his shoulder gently. "Everything will change," the cub whispered.
His eyes stilled and began to focus; Lysander looked up to me. Elise was frowning.
"My lady showed you this?"
He nodded, a barely perceptible movement. "I slipped into meditation and allowed whatever needed my attention to form. I felt her presence, then I was slammed into the vision. I've never had a vision before. I could taste the blood, the agony rippled around me before... before I felt like it tore me apart."
"You're safe,” Lysander said softly.
Raif's eyes settled on Lysander's face; he gave a small smile. "I know."
"I'm sorry, but I need to speak with my lady. I'll speak to you soon."
Raif scrambled to his feet. Lysander helped him up and supported him while he regained his balance. We left Elise in her church, knelt before her altar. I wasn't sure which was more disconcerting: her reaction, or his vision.
Kadrix declared that we'd discuss everything in our flat when I rang Quin to tell him what had happened. Apparently, he was concerned about us breaking things in his workshop. I couldn't help but be suspicious that there was a little more to it than that. Still, we returned home. Raif calmed with Lysander's support. I gave them time and space. Pushing the cub didn't seem like it would yield anything useful.
Kadrix took a different approach.
The moment he walked into the flat he said to Raif, "Tell me everything you saw, every detail."
"Kadrix, allow the cub to recover,” Lysander growled.
I sat down next to Raif as protective instincts bubbled up within me. I barely noticed the fire flickering over my hands.
Kadrix closed his eyes and took a breath. "My apologies."
"It was a large white room, white marble. She was there, the witch. I couldn't focus on her, though, there were no set details. I felt runes, I smelled the blood. Human, lycan, elf, it was all there. There was so much it pooled on the floor. The screams of agony filled the air. The pain added a vibration to the magic she wove."