“You too, Father.”
No other words are spoken, but the tension is so damned palpable you could slice it open with a butter knife.
After another brief moment of silence, Fearghas the First turns to me. “You wish to be unmade?”
“Only if you can put me back together again,” I joke. When he doesn’t laugh, I swallow hard. “I want the void within me closed so I can access my power.”
“Why?”
His question catches me off guard.
“She needs a reason?” Elijah comes to my rescue, and Fearghas the First turns to him.
“Yes, Hunter, she does. Because if she wants to do this, I need to ensure it’s for a reason that will allow her to live.”
“Excuse me?” I ask, clearing my throat. “Allow me to live?”
“Did no one explain this process to you?” His arrogance erases any and all intimidation.
I don’t do arrogant assholes. Supernatural or otherwise. “They did.”
“Then you understand that this process is beyond excruciating. That in order to survive such pain, you need to have something to live for—to fight for. Doing it simply because you want to gain access to magic you have no business possessing in the first place is not a strong enough conviction.”
I take a step toward him, fingers flexing near the dagger sheathed at my hip. Fearghas’s father or not, this asshole comes at me, and I’ll cut him down to size. “I have an entire world to fight for while you remain here, hidden from view. If I don’t find a way to make myself stronger, then it won’t just be my world on the line. Heather will come here too.” I use her name, hoping for a hint of recognition. When his eyes widen ever so slightly, I know I’ve struck a nerve.
“Very well.” He gestures to a table off to the right of where he’d been sitting. “Right this way.”
Elijah stays directly beside me the entire time, his hand in mine.
Fearghas lurks beside his mother, eyes sharp as he watches every move his father makes. Unlike Heelean and his son, Fearghas the First keeps his wings in full view, not even bothering to glamour them in our presence.
“On the table.” His instruction is cold as he preps something on the table beside me.
“You don’t have to do this,” Elijah whispers. “We can find another way.” His hands grip my biceps as he stares down into my eyes. Stomach churning with nerves, I shake my head.
“This is going to work. I promise.” Stretching up on my tiptoes, I press a kiss to his lips and pull away, doing what was instructed.
The table is solid beneath me, the metal top cool and reminding me entirely too much of the stainless steel slabs in the morgue. Here’s hoping I don’t end up on one before the day is over.
Still gripping my hand, Elijah stands beside me, unmoving and supportive despite the fact that his objection is plain on his face.
“Open your mouth.”
I do as I’m told, and Fearghas the First walks around the table to the opposite side as Elijah before shoving some sour, soaking leaves into my mouth. I nearly choke, the putrid flavor burning my nostrils and throat.
“What the fuck was that?” Elijah demands.
“Something that will kill her. Temporarily.”
My heart rate speeds up, making my chest so damned tight I can hardly breathe. Elijah clings to my hand, staring down at me, eyes wide and panicked. “It’ll be okay, remember?” he says, and unable to speak, I nod. “If it’s not, I’m following you in, and I swear I’ll kick your ass, Hunter.” He smiles, but it doesn’t reach his eyes.
The world around me gets blurry, everything fading away, and I thrash on the table—or at least, I think I do. My body remains completely still.
“Move, Hunter. I need to do this quickly or she won’t come back.”
I feel Elijah’s hand slip out of mine moments before cool hands press against either side of my head.
Like a lightning bolt, pain shoots through me, and I scream.
“Rainey?” a soft voice calls to me as another wave of pain shoots through my body. The agony—is unlike anything I’ve ever experienced as every single cell in my body reacts to whatever the hell the fae is doing to me.
I cry out, desperate for it to stop.
Another shock, followed by another and another, until finally…everything stills. I can no longer hear Elijah or feel the fae’s hands pressed against my head. Curious, I open my eyes and find myself standing in a meadow much like the one we first arrived at in faerie.
And I’m not alone.
Grief, relief, and pain mix together to combine an overwhelming sense of relief as I stare into the eyes of a woman I never thought I’d see again.
“Delaney?”
28
Rainey
“It is you!” I rush toward her, and she meets me in the middle, arms wrapping around me as I cling to my sister. “I never thought I’d see you again.”
She holds me tightly, shoulders shaking. “I’ve missed you so much, Rain. So damned much. You have no idea.”
I pull away and wipe the tears from my cheeks. “I think I do,” I reply with a smile. “What are you doing here? Where is here?”
“The veil,” she replies. “We don’t have much time, though.”
I turn back to her. “How are you here? Aren’t you back in Billings? As a bird?”
“Fearghas let Jack know where you were going and why. I made the jump and have been waiting here ever since. I wanted to talk to you, to see you.”
“I don’t even know what to say,” I choke out.
“Well, that’s okay because I do. You need to know that Aoife did what she did with a purpose.”
“I assumed as much. I can’t imagine she would have turned herself over without one. At least, I hoped not.”
“She hoped you would do just as you are and look for a way to access the power in the void—but you need to be careful, it is just as easily dark magic as it is light. It’s all in how you use it, and some of that power once belonged to Heather.”
Her words make me smile. “I can’t wait to take her down with her own fucking magic.”
“You always have been a fighter, Rain. Since the moment you were born.” Delaney smiles and reaches out to run her fingers down my cheek.
It grows eerily silent around us as I work up the nerve to ask her the main question that’s been on my mind since I found out that she’d known she was going to die. “Why didn’t you come to me? Ask me for help. I could have been there.” Throat constricted, I stare at Delaney, still not a hundred percent sure I’m not imagining this entire thing.
She smiles sadly. “You were so happy, Rainey, so at peace with your life. The last thing I wanted to do was bring you into my war. And here we are; you’re smack dab in the middle of it anyway.”
“I would have done anything to help you.”
“I know. Which is why I had to keep you out of it. When Grandma told me of the divide, of what you would face should that box get into your hands, I wanted to do everything I could to stop it. So, I went to Salem and opened the box myself. I hadn’t known what was inside, or I never would have, but I did, and then everything changed. Heather couldn’t actually possess me since I wasn’t a lunar witch, but Doloris found me that night and—” She trails off, brow furrowing. “I didn’t remember everything as it was happening; it was more like a bad dream. But when I realized it, I knew I had to get myself out of the picture.”
“But why? Why would you choose death?”
She reaches forward and takes my hand. “The thoughts in my head, Rain, the ways Doloris tried to get me to hurt you, I couldn’t ever let that happen. She manipulated me into leaving the box, and while I knew I couldn’t go back to Salem and get rid of it, I scheduled the emails to give you time before taking myself out of the equation.”
She was alone, completely isolated from the world just as I was for so many years. Tears burn in my throat, and guilt so heavy it nearly crushes me weighs down upon my shoulders. “I’m so s
orry for not being there for you, for not wanting anything to do with this world.”
“You have nothing to be sorry for.” Delaney’s light eyes narrow on my face. “Not a damn thing, Rainey Astor. Do you hear me?” A tear slips down her cheek.
I nod, unable to speak.
“Tell Elijah I said hello.” She smiles through her tears. “I’m so happy you two found each other. You’re good for him.”
“He’s good for me too,” I reply.
“Yes, he is.”
“Rainey!” someone roars, an echo that radiates through the world.
“He is calling to you. You need to go now. I love you, Rain, and even if I have feathers now, I will always be here for you. Always and forever, little sister.”
“Delaney, wait!” I call out as everything begins to fade. “Delaney!”
Pain surges through my body, and I shoot up, nearly knocking my forehead into Fearghas the First, who is leaning over me. He moves back quickly, and I stare around the room.
Fearghas and his mother stand side by side while Elijah is directly beside me, my hand in his. Everyone looks fine if not slightly panicked. “Is it done? Did it work?” I manage despite my burning throat.
“Fuck, Rainey,” Elijah groans and yanks me toward him, wrapping both muscled arms around me and holding my body against his. “You scared the shit out of me,” he whispers into my hair.
“I saw Delaney,” I tell him as a fresh wave of tears threatens to fall. “I saw my sister in the veil.”
He releases me and pulls back. “You did?”
I nod. “She said hi.”
His mouth quirks up in a grin, and he leans forward to rest his forehead against mine. “I’d ask you to return the favor, but don’t fucking ever do this to me again.”
“I won’t,” I promise as I pull back. “Did it work?” I repeat the question.
“You tell us,” Fearghas the First says as he comes around the side to stand beside Elijah. “How do you feel?”
“Uh, normal?” I say, but when I really focus on myself, on the way my heart beats, the way my lungs take in air, I notice something. A subtle buzzing in my body—my blood. It feels like a faint electrical current running through me. I focus on it, and it begins to grow. As it does, the lights around me flicker briefly before they start growing brighter and brighter, bathing the room in such brightness it’s nearly blinding.
“I’d appreciate it if you didn’t blow all of my lightbulbs.” Fearghas the First’s tone is harsh, but when I look over at him, his expression is anything but. Honestly, he looks almost giddy.
And somehow, that’s even more terrifying than when he was acting like an asshole.
I attempt to pull back away from the power, and the buzzing slows, sneaking in as background noise.
“Shit, Hunter, you may have been on to something,” Fearghas murmurs.
I glance over at Fearghas the First. “Thank you.”
He nods his head once.
“We should get going, it’s been about two days,” Fearghas says, rolling his shoulder.
My eyes widen, jaw dropping as I whirl on Elijah. “I was out for two days?”
“No, only a few minutes, but time moves differently in this realm,” he explains.
A mixture of relief and concern washes over me as Fearghas walks toward Elijah and me. “Thank you both for everything,” I tell her and am rewarded with a bright smile.
“You go put that witch back where she belongs,” Heelean replies. “And Fearghas, you damned well better not wait another seven hundred years.”
“See you for dinner next month,” he replies dryly. Then with a nod at his father, we leave.
Reappearing in the living room of Bronywyn’s house, I can’t stop smiling. “It worked, I can’t believe it actually worked.”
“Don’t get too excited just yet,” Fearghas warns. “You still have to figure out how to control it.”
“I will. I didn’t come this far not to use it.”
“Yeah, well, I’ll leave you two to it then.”
“Will you let everyone know we’re back?”
Fearghas nods and disappears, leaving Elijah and me standing in the living room. I lift my hand and pull at the buzzing. A spark snaps between my forefinger and thumb, making me jump.
“Did you see that?” I ask, lifting my gaze to meet his.
“I did.” The taut lines of his face show me anything but excitement though.
“What is it?”
“That was a risky move, Rainey.” He swallows hard. “He had a damned hard time bringing you back. There were a few seconds where I worried you’d never return.”
Shoving the buzzing back down, I turn to face him fully. “I did, though. And I got to see Delaney.”
Elijah reaches up and runs his fingertips along my jaw. “I can’t wait until this entire thing is over so I can lock you in a room somewhere near a beach.”
“Only if you’re there with me.”
His answering grin is blinding. “There’s no-fucking-where else I’ll ever be.”
Fearghas appears beside me, his hand already on my shoulder. “Sorry about the cock block, mate,” he says to Elijah. “But we have a problem.”
In the blink of an eye, we’re standing in Tarnley’s house.
Tarnley, Bronywyn, Willa, Agatha, Henry, Grey, Josiah, and Cole are standing in the living room, expressions grim.
“What happened?”
“The hunters have Jack,” Willa explains, her voice full of emotion.
“What the fuck do you mean they have him?” All lust from only seconds ago erased from his voice, Elijah releases my hand and walks forward.
“They grabbed him, said they won’t kill him but that they need to see Rainey.”
“What the hell for?”
“We have surmised that they are working with Heather,” Agatha replies tightly. “The bastards have turned on their own kind—on their mission. It’s shameful at best.”
“They could kill him,” Willa snaps. “I’d say that’s a hell of a lot more than shameful.”
“Where do they want to meet me?” I ask, hoping to pull the attention back to me. Last thing I want to have to deal with is the shifter going after my grandmother.
It would get damn ugly to be sure.
“The blood bar,” Tarnley replies. “They’ve apparently decided it’s neutral ground. Dumbasses. I only let them live to spare your hunter.”
Truthfully, I don’t doubt Tarnley would give a group of hunters a run for their money, but I also am not sure he’d survive it. And based on the dirty look Bronywyn just tossed him, I’d say she agrees.
“Did they say when?”
“Since we had no idea when you’d be back from your trip to faerie,” Bronywyn snaps. “We told them we’d send word when we could.”
“They’re there now,” Tarnley says. “They’ve been threatening or killing any supernaturals that walk inside.” His hands tighten into fists at his sides. “Assholes. I’ll slaughter them all for this.”
“Let’s make sure we get hands on Jack first.”
“Did you at least get done with what you were looking for?” At Cole’s question, the entire room quiets, and all eyes turn to me.
Talk about an uncomfortable situation. I hate being the center of attention normally, but this time I’m ready for it. Mainly because for the first time since this entire shitstorm was unleashed upon our world, I feel ready for anything.
With a smile, I pull at the steady buzzing within me. As it grows, the lights around me do as well, brighter and brighter still. I can feel the power, the way it increases. And with my hunter senses, I can hear the way the lightbulbs buzz with the extra power. So, before I break them all, I pull back, and the lights tone down.
No one says anything. They simply stare at me as though I’m an entirely new person.
Until, in perfect bitchy style, Bronywyn breaks the silence. “That’s great, but I have a feeling you’re going to need to do more than give
someone a sunburn.”
29
Rainey
The chilly night air of November wraps around me as we make our way to the blood bar. Tarnley is behind Elijah and me, Willa beside him. The two of them refused to be left out of tonight, and if things do go to shit, having four against six is a hell of a lot better than two against half a dozen trained hunters.
Humans walk the sidewalks hand in hand, chattering happily with each other, the direct contrast to our little party not lost on me.
Maybe one day, hopefully soon, the world won’t be at stake, and Elijah and I can go out for a meal that doesn’t end in bloodshed. I glance over at him, taking in the sight of his muscled body clad in dark slacks and a blue button-down. His hair pulled up on top of his head, he looks like a damned meal himself.
The lights of the blood bar are on inside despite the CLOSED sign beneath Tarnley’s Pub being illuminated. A growl slips out from someone behind me, so I turn and glare at the offending party. “If you’re going to lose your shit, you need to stay outside.”
Beside me, Elijah nods in agreement.
“Fine.” Tarnley’s curt reply really doesn’t ease my concern, but I move forward anyway. Reaching the door handle, I pull it open and make my way through the foyer meant to shield any vampire from the sun should someone accidentally open the door too soon.
Can’t have your clientele going up in smoke every time someone new enters the building.
The moment I step inside, I’m overwhelmed with the putrid stench of cigarette smoke and sweat. It’s hunters like this pathetic lot that make the rest of us look bad.
They all get to their feet as soon as we step inside, the disheveled appearance making them look more akin to a group of drunks than badass hunters feared by supernaturals.
Honestly, they look like they should be facedown in puddles of their own piss.
“Which one of you motherfuckers took my friend?” I ask, crossing both arms as they look me up and down like I’m a piece of meat.
Blood Cure: A Paranormal Vampire Romance (Vampire Huntress Chronicles Book 3) Page 19