Darkness Unleashed

by McKenzie Hunter

  That little smidge of information should have come with the mating pamphlet. I wouldn’t have changed my mind if I’d known, but it would have prepared me for dealing with my mate when emotions were so extreme.

  “If I hadn’t stayed calm, I couldn’t have staved off my change.”

  He nodded as I told him something he knew.

  I couldn’t panic because I needed to be there for him, but I kept thinking about London’s final words. Claudia was the Moura who protected the Vitae, but I had a feeling that was no longer the case.

  Ethan pulled into the driveway of her pristine white Colonial style home, which had intricate pillars surrounding the porch and supporting a crescent-shaped balcony on the second floor. Rows of pastel-colored flowers led up the walkway. Claudia’s refined elegance was on full display in the sculptures on her lawn, the unique carvings on the pillars, and the hint of lavender and honeysuckle that wafted through the air. An unnatural mixture of unique scents and magic claimed the area.

  When we got to the door, we discovered it was unlocked. There weren’t any signs of forced entry, but we felt strong, unfiltered, unique magic. Something I wasn’t exposed to on a daily basis. Something so new that I couldn’t detect its nuances to link it to a single individual. My mouth dried out at the taste of the magic—ominous and dark. A raven’s song of death filled the room. I took a step back and turned my head, taking a deep breath before entering—it wasn’t enough. The layers of magic in the front room suffocated me. Claudia was sprawled on the sofa, her breathing slow and labored. Ethan rushed to her side and was about to touch her.

  “Don’t.” Her voice had lost its gentle lilt and was darker and harsher, different from any way she’d ever spoken to Ethan or Josh before. With them, she always had a maternal yet regal way of speaking.

  “Step back some more,” she rasped as she sat up. When she opened her eyes, they weren’t their normal color. They were smoldering black, pulling me into a dark abyss. She rose slowly, and Ethan stepped back—far. The warmth I’d become familiar with from Claudia was gone. She felt cold and deadly. I wanted to hear her kind, dulcet-South African accented voice, something familiar that would indicate she was Claudia, our Claudia. The person in front of us wasn’t the elegant seller of expensive, unique art. The person I knew as Claudia was the shell the Messor used daily.

  She slipped by us and lumbered to a row of large, leafy plants that lined the room’s back wall. She extended her fingers to touch one leaf; the plant withered slowly at first until it was nothing but a dead, lifeless vine. Her breathing eased a little but was still measured and rough. She went to the next plant and ran her fingers languidly over its leaves. It dried and crumbled into shriveled particles that floated away. She continued touching plants, and I stared in fascination. Ethan watched as if he’d seen it a thousand times. When she finished, seven of the ten plants were dead. She turned to face us. Her eyes had returned to normal and so had her breathing. A polite, welcoming smile feathered across her lips.

  Unintentionally, I had distanced myself from her and was just inches from the front door. Cole studied her and the shriveled plants with astute interest. In need of a distraction, I looked around the house. Bland white walls surrounded us. There were a few paintings, but they were nothing like the lively and vibrantly colored works that covered the walls of her gallery. Nothing like the recherché sculptures I adored there were displayed here. She’d gone through great effort to make her home a place of comfort and calm. It all had a purpose. She returned to the dead plants, observing them as if paying them tribute for their offering. Her face bore a pained look of remorse and the embarrassment of losing control. Seemingly resigned to the situation, she returned her attention to us. Her gentle and familiar face that used to comfort me seemed counterfeit, a mask.

  “Hello, Ethan and Sky,” she greeted warmly before noticing Cole. She appraised him for several long moments. Her fingers moved in a circular pattern as if she were testing the air. “Cole,” she said, a terse greeting that lacked any warmth or cordiality.

  I was still several feet away from her, close to the front door, fighting the urge to back away even more and get away from death and its wielder. Her gaze dropped to the ground as a smile emerged. Sensing my discomfort, she kept her distance. I didn’t want her to feel uncomfortable, so I moved my legs, which seemed rooted to the ground, and eventually decreased the distance between us.

  I waited until her eyes met mine. “How are you?”

  “I’m fine, but Josh isn’t well, is he?” she said in a strained voice.

  Ethan shook his head. Her gaze shifted to the door. “His wards are all down.”

  I hadn’t even thought of that. He’d put blood wards around the pack’s home. My house had one, and Ethan’s most likely did as well.

  “What happened?” Ethan asked.

  Her gaze traveled around the room. She shook her head. Everything was meticulously in place.

  “I have no idea. I felt Josh’s wards go down, but I didn’t think anything of it. But then I felt the magic, and it reminded me of—” She stopped abruptly and looked at me.

  “Go ahead. Sky knows everything.” Ethan made a face as he looked at Cole. “He knows as well.”

  I might have been mistaken, but she looked relieved by the information. “It felt like the magic you used to evoke the spell for Josh. Then I blacked out. I didn’t pass out. I was forced into it—with magic.” Eyes widening, she moved quickly to her purse, took out a key ring, and went to a small room adjacent to the one we were in. She checked a lock; it was open just like the front door had been. Her face paled, and she frowned. We followed her into the small room. She walked to a closet; the safe inside was open and contained only papers.

  “The Vitae is missing.” She didn’t seem surprised. Even if I hadn’t heard her heart racing, I heard the panic in her voice and saw it on her face. “Where are the rest of the protected objects?” she asked.

  “Sky still has the Aufero, and the Gem of Levage is with us. The witches have two of the three Clostra, and we have no idea where the Fatifer is.”

  “I wouldn’t worry about it. I’m sure they have it by now.” She took in a breath, released it slowly, and frowned. “I know it was never your intention, but you have all mishandled the objects. You’ve awakened the beast.”

  I had so many questions. Had we unwittingly literally awakened some unstoppable creature? Were beast and awaken metaphors? Or had we stirred up something that shouldn’t have been disturbed?

  “You need to get all the other objects. Now.”

  Ethan didn’t move, and his impassive facade broke. “You think they’re trying to retrieve them all.”

  She shook her head. “I know they are. They want to restore the strength of the Vitae by taking it from Josh. The Clostra will have any spell they need to do it. The Aufero will allow them to change the magic, to manipulate it to do whatever they please.”

  “Who are they?” I asked.

  “The Faeries,” Claudia and Ethan said in unison.

  I was getting frustrated. I was having a hard time putting the pieces together. “Did we somehow wake them from a magical sleep?” I asked, exasperated.

  Claudia offered a small smile. “They’ve existed among us for a long time. Like Ethos, they prefer to remain hidden until they have a chance to return the world to the way they once knew it. They tried it …” She stopped to think. “A hundred and eighty years ago. It failed.” Her voice held a level of familiarity, as if she’d been there. She moved closer to Ethan and spoke quietly, but not low enough for us not to hear. “I think they want to mimic your magic, Amizial’s magic.”

  The king of badass Faeries, whom they’d reduced to a shade because his magic had been stronger and crueler than theirs. Now they wanted it. Things were getting worse by the minute.

  My head started to hurt. I tried to prioritize things, but they were all important. We had to save Josh, prevent the Faeries—the badasses of the otherworld—from gettin
g the protected objects, and stop whatever they were planning. It was hard to focus when I found myself fixated on the fact they were trying to be like Amizial.

  Claudia was drifting, her personality cooling, her eyes darkening. Turning away from us, she walked over to the three remaining plants. The tips of her fingers traced the edge of a leaf, turning it brown. “Ethan, don’t let your brother die.”

  He nodded. I was infuriated. He would never do that. I’d just talked him out of a downward spiral, and I didn’t want her to cause another.

  Let it go, Sky. I wanted to, but I couldn’t. “Ethan’s never failed Josh. He doesn’t need to be reminded of his obligations; they are the most important things to him.” I somehow managed to keep the anger out of my voice.

  She nodded once and kept her back to us. “Of course, Sky. You are right. Please accept my apology.”

  It was more of a dismissal than an apology. We took it as our cue to leave.

  As soon as we were in the car, Cole sank into the backseat, his mouth resting in a small O as he grappled with everything that had transpired.

  When he finally spoke, his voice held a mixture of fascination, fear, and disbelief that he attempted to mask with a blank face. “The Midwest Pack has had knowledge of and access to the five protected objects that most people thought were myths. And you are hosting a Faerie?” He directed his rhetorical question at Ethan. “A powerful one. And I guess it’s safe to assume Sky’s peculiar magic is the result of hosting one as well.” He cursed under his breath. “And your godmother is a Messor.” A mirthless laugh filled the small space of the car as he shook his head. He said “a Messor” over and over. “They’re thought to be a clear work of fiction, yet the godmother of the Midwest Beta and the pack’s witch is the unholy combination of vampire and Faerie. I thought they were killed off.”

  Ethan nodded once. “Most of them were, but those who learned to control their powers were left undiscovered.”

  Cole made a choking sound.

  I’m right there with you, buddy. Knowing that a Messor was a vampire/Faerie mix explained why Demetrius treated Claudia with such reverence and the fae allowed her to represent them. She was old and probably stronger than the fae we currently knew of. And to Josh and Ethan, she was just the godmother who sold expensive art and made them drink tea.

  Weighted silence reigned as Ethan barreled down the road. After several familiar turns, I realized we were on our way to my home.

  “You’re going to get the Aufero?” I asked.

  He nodded. “We need the objects in safer places. I don’t know what they’re planning, but we need to make sure it can’t happen.”

  At my front door, I felt flicks of fractured magic, strong energy coming from the ward being broken by stronger magic. And the strong smell of blood filled the air. I opened the door, fully aware that the Aufero was probably gone. But I hadn’t expected to see David lying on the floor in a puddle of blood, a cut running across his stomach and another along his shoulder. Purple bruises covered half his face, and his head rolled back and forth as he tried to hold on to consciousness. The sword Winter had given him lay discarded a few feet away. Trent was there, also injured, but he seemed to have fared better. Facedown, he struggled to push himself up. His arm was definitely broken and possibly his ankle. There was a shotgun on the other side of the room, and the heated metal smell of a discharged weapon lingered in the air. One wall had three bullet holes. Ethan went to Trent and eased him onto his back. My friend cried out in pain. He wasn’t better off than David. Crimson covered his chest where a sharp object had stabbed him.

  Ethan’s voice was low and calm as he spoke to Trent. “I’m going to position you so you don’t cause yourself further damage.”

  Trent nodded. His eyes glistened with tears. I knelt next to David, who’d fallen unconscious. I looked at his wounds. They were deep—really deep. Blood from the wounds on his arm and stomach had soaked through his shirt. I pressed my finger to his neck to feel for a pulse. It was light, reedy, barely there. David was clinging to life. I couldn’t let him die.

  “Trent, what happened?”

  He whispered, “We saw someone breaking in. Thought they were there to hurt you.” A pang of guilt hit me hard. David was going to die because he’d been trying to help me. I looked over at Ethan, blinking back tears. One escaped, and I wiped it away, smudging David’s blood across my cheek. Trent closed his eyes.

  “You call Quell, I’ll call Dr. Jeremy,” he instructed me.

  My brows inched together. “Quell?”

  He nodded. “He can travel, which means he’ll get here before Dr. Jeremy. Vampire blood will help them heal faster and increase their chances of survival.”

  I pulled out my phone and quickly called Quell. The phone rang and went to voicemail. I got an automated recording. I debated whether to leave a message. He wouldn’t call me back. He’d severed all ties with me. I was okay with that if it helped him. It wasn’t fair to either Ethan or Quell if the vampire was indeed in love with me. We could never have anything more than a friendship. If my absence in his life gave him peace and happiness, I’d reluctantly sacrifice our friendship. But I wasn’t willing to sacrifice David’s life. “Quell, when you get this message, will you please come to my house. I need your help,” I said urgently to the recorder.

  Ethan’s back was to me as he continued his conversation with Dr. Jeremy.

  When he hung up, he looked at me, silently concerned.

  My heart was heavy, and my voice cracked as I said, “I don’t think he’s going to call back or come.”

  Ethan sighed and picked up his phone again. “Demetrius, I need you to come to Sky’s home. I will owe you a debt.”

  Whether he did it intentionally, Demetrius spoke too softly for me to hear. “She is not obligated to do that nor will she,” Ethan said firmly. “David is injured, and if I’m not mistaken, you injured him first and also bit Sky. You almost killed her, and I didn’t retaliate when I should have. This is not a threat—it’s a promise. If her friend dies, I’m not likely to be so civil again.”

  Then I heard Demetrius and the fiery anger in his voice. “I will not be threatened by the likes of you!” he bellowed. If he were in front of us, he’d be pulling back his lips and exposing his fangs, ready to use them.

  Their battle of wills was going to devolve into threats and posturing, and that wasn’t what we needed. “I’ll give you whatever you want,” I said, raising my voice just slightly while keeping my position next to David. I knew Demetrius had heard me and had to be salivating over the offer. I would be indebted to him. Without even asking, I knew what he wanted. I bowed my head in shame. I might have been willing to trade my friendship with Quell, but now I’d agreed to trade someone else as well: Chris.

  Demetrius cut out the middleman and ignored anything Ethan had to say. I heard him as clearly as if he were in the room. “Sky, I will not take this lightly. If you’re willing to sign a blood oath, I will be there.”

  A blood oath. A promise or a debt could be reneged on. The only thing you’d lose was your credibility. But the blood oath had more severe repercussions, including death. Of course Demetrius would go for something extreme to ensure he got what he wanted most—Chris.

  I barely moved my head into the nod. Ethan’s lips pulled into a frown. Steel gray washed over his eyes, and he looked like a feral animal peering out into the night, ready to attack. He grappled with that emotion for several moments before he forced himself to say, “She agreed.” He hung up and spoke in a mild voice, “Sky.”

  “Don’t you even think about talking me out of this!” I spat through clenched teeth. It didn’t deter him.

  He came close to me, and his voice dropped to a low rumble: “Sky, I understand you want to do everything you can to help your friend, but—”

  “But nothing. Ethan, don’t ask and don’t even suggest it.”

  Except for things that involved his brother, Ethan was pragmatic, often ignoring his humanity, whi
ch he considered a vulnerability. I hadn’t reached that point. I loved the pack and accepted that the things they did to protect us were rarely extended to others who weren’t considered friends of the pack. I didn’t know David’s position. Was he considered a friend of the pack or just my friend, which didn’t hold the same vow of protection? I didn’t care. He was my friend and my responsibility.

  It didn’t take long before there was a knock on the door. Demetrius. I quickly walked to it, pulled it open, and was shocked to see Quell standing there.

  “You need me?”

  I nodded.

  He walked past me and did a quick survey of the room, taking in the scene. Trent was lying on his back, cradling his arm, his neck muscles tightened to cords as he dealt with the pain. David had come to, but he was only conscious for a few seconds before he was out again. He’d been drifting in and out since the phone call.

  “They need vampire blood to heal.” Were-animals could change someone, and that could help the person heal, but if their injuries were too severe, it could kill them.

  Quell sank his fangs into his arm and slid them down, creating a large opening. Blood welled, and he knelt, pressing his hands to David’s cheeks and tilting his head up to feed him.

  “Quell,” Demetrius said firmly from the door. “It is not your place to do this.”

  Quell tensed. “She needs my help.”

  “I have an agreement with Sky, and you are aware of it.” Demetrius moved aside to reveal another person behind him. Probably a witch or elf to establish the blood oath. He had a scrolled paper in his hand. Quell didn’t move, maintaining his place close to David. Demetrius’s black opal eyes sharpened on him as he tilted his head, studying Quell with contempt. “Quell, we’ve had this discussion before. This is not about Sky but your loyalty to the Seethe and me. This is the defining moment. The choice you make is important, Quell.”

  I was so sick of the Seethe using my friendship with Quell as a rejection of his allegiance to them. It was cruel. But Sebastian and Ethan had given me a similar ultimatum. It had started with them saying that if he became a problem they would make sure he was no longer one.