Darkness Unleashed

by McKenzie Hunter

  He bit his lip to hold back a response. She waited for him to answer. He didn’t. “So, can you look up the magic that way?” he repeated.

  “It can’t be done. Unlike blood, which is a direct link to the person, magic is just magical energy. You can feel it, but you can’t trace it that way. That is why Josh has put himself in an induced coma. He’s diverting all his energy and strength to fighting the magic and preventing it from doing any further damage. It would be useless for him to try to trace the magic’s source.”

  She grabbed a piece of paper and a pen from the desk and scribbled things down. London came to her side and looked over her shoulder. She then grabbed her own paper and pen to take notes. They paged through more books, most in English and Latin. Ariel pointed to a book on a bottom shelf. “Arabic?”

  I nodded. She grabbed that off the shelf and pulled out her phone. “The thing that makes breaking curses so cumbersome and nearly impossible is the variation. It’s like finding a key to match each person involved. It’s damn near impossible to do.” She made a face.

  Four hours later, another orange ring over Josh’s mark had been removed. The attackers were going through the wards faster, and Ethan was barely holding on. He’d left his position next to Josh to check on the Creed’s progress in the library. He watched them work in nervous anticipation.

  “Can’t we transfer a spirit shade to him?” Ethan suggested.

  “Spirit shades?” Ariel asked. She was obviously probing to determine how much we knew about darker magic and spells.

  We needed their help and didn’t have time to cull through information to decide what we should withhold. Josh’s life was at stake. “We both host spirit shades. Faeries,” Ethan admitted without hesitation.

  Ariel’s gaze bounced between Ethan and me. She studied us with a twisted look of abhorrence and curiosity. “You two are very different. Werewolves that are the offspring of witches, who both host powerful and dangerous spirit shades. One connected to the elves, the other to the vampires. It’s like a match made in Frankenstein’s lab.” Ariel mused over the information she’d discovered about us, which I was sure was a combination of her extensive research and the information Sebastian and Ethan had shared with her.

  Ethan asked the spirit shade question again.

  “A spirit shade cannot force itself into someone’s body; it’s one rule of their existence.”

  “But I didn’t accept mine,” I rebutted.

  “What were the circumstances of your becoming a host?” she asked, her interest piqued. She took a seat at the table and gave me her undivided attention. Revealing our secrets felt weird. We’d protected them for so long it was disconcerting baring it all. I even wondered if it was necessary, but the situation dictated the full truth because we weren’t sure which secret could be the very thing that helped.

  I told her everything I knew.

  There were several minutes of silence before she spoke. “Your mother did it while you were in the womb. You were an extension of who she was. She was able to do it on your behalf.”

  “If Josh can’t give consent, can Ethan do it on his behalf?” I asked hopefully.

  Ariel, London, and the other witches looked at one another, considering my suggestion. I could see by the intense looks on their faces they were thinking of every spell they’d ever encountered, trying to figure out how they could make it work. Josh was able to mix spells to create new ones and was pretty good at it. The six of them had to be able to come up with something.

  After moments of deliberation, London spoke up. “It might be possible. But we’ll need some time to come up with something.”

  It was possible. I held on to that more than anything. “Give us time,” Ariel said, dismissing us. Ethan and I continued to stand in the library until all their eyes were trained on us waiting for us to leave.

  They came up with something, and it was awful. I was standing between Sebastian and Ethan, trying to reconcile the many emotions running through me. The strongest were fear and sorrow. They wanted to transfer the curse from Josh to someone else, but they weren’t confident it would save him.

  Josh was going to die. Tears welled in my eyes—I couldn’t lose another person I cared about—but I blinked them back. I needed to be stronger because Ethan was barely keeping it together.

  “Sky,” he comforted as he brushed his hand against mine. Our emotions were in tune and he felt my grief and anxiety, as if they were his own, in the same manner I’d felt his on our way to Claudia’s home.

  Ariel didn’t look as put together as she normally did. Her hair was mussed from more than just running her fingers through it. All the witches looked disheveled and tired. They’d been at it for three hours and looked like they hadn’t even taken a break.

  “You still have the Gem of Levage, right?” London asked.

  “Yes.” Ethan moved to a safe, pulled out the book that contained it, and handed it to them.

  “Isn’t it an actual stone?” London asked.

  “It was before Josh placed it in the book for safekeeping,” I said, opening it to the page the gem had bled into.

  Ariel glanced in Sebastian’s direction. “Nothing is ever simple with you, is it?”

  “Keeps us sharp.” He tried to smile but couldn’t commit and waited for them to explain their plan.

  Choosing her words thoughtfully and carefully, London slowly gained our trust in them and the process. I trusted her. I knew she cared for Josh deeply. “For us to make him a host, he will have to drop his wards and we will have to drop ours to allow it to happen. During that time, if they can remove the mark, he will die, so trying to get him to host a spirit shade isn’t a plausible option.” Her gaze traveled to each of us. “If we do a transfer, the curse will become active and the person it’s transferred to will die. We think we can transfer it to a vampire. Reversion we can fix but we can’t undo human death.”

  Cole lurked in the shadows in silence. I still didn’t trust him; he was just there to gather information about the Midwest Pack and use it to his advantage. We were that pack who’d had all the secrets. We were exposed, floundering, and trying to save Josh and defeat the Faeries.

  “Are you sure that the curse is still active?” I rushed out. I went on to tell them how we’d used the Clostra to remove my death curse.

  “And so many other curses,” Cole provided once I was finished.

  Great, that’s what we need—a historian.

  Several witches closed their eyes. A couple took deep breaths. The looks on their faces indicated they really hadn’t wanted to hear what I’d told them. Every time we revealed a secret, we exposed them to even more disturbing aspects of our pack’s history or another way we’d abused and misused magic. Perhaps they were impressed, but nothing on any of their faces showed that. They probably considered us reckless and in possession of far too much power that we used without any thought of the consequences. There was some truth to that. We hadn’t thought about the consequences—just the goals, which was why the Tre’ase were no longer restricted and vampires walked in the daylight. And those were just the things we knew about. It was a big world out there, and things we knew little about had happened because of our reckless handling of magic.

  “If the cursed one wasn’t a magic wielder, it might be easier because we could detect the presence of magic. In Josh’s case, we don’t know,” London responded, her finger tracing the imprint the Gem of Levage had left in the book. “Besides, are you willing to risk his life?”

  We were risking his life anyway, but I kept my observation to myself.

  “Unless you can guarantee Josh will survive it, we can’t do it,” Ethan said.

  “Ethan, I can’t guarantee success with any of this,” London entreated softly. “We’re doing exactly what you told me the vampires tried to do to Sky using the Gem of Levage. The vampire will absorb the curse.” She ran her fingers over the book in small circles exhibiting a nervous condition. All the witches had one.

&n
bsp; “Ethan, it’s worth a try. He’ll die if we don’t do something. At least this will give him a fighting chance,” London implored.

  Sebastian’s face remained expressionless.

  Ariel studied Sebastian, but he gave nothing away. “It would be best to use an old vampire. The older, the better. If they have recently fed, they go through reversion much slower than a young vampire, which will give them a better chance at survival. Do you think you could get Demetrius to agree to this?”

  He nodded once. “I can.”

  Really? If Sebastian could convince Demetrius to not only show up but participate in the spell, I would give Sebastian the new title of not just Elite were-animal but also Elite wizard. He slipped out of the room. His confidence intrigued Ariel but left me baffled. Sebastian remained poised in the face of danger and when dealing with situations where hell freezing over was more likely than success.

  Cole’s gaze lingered on Ethan. “I know Chris is a new vampire, but she’s proven to be quite resilient, hasn’t she, Ethan? Your history with her”—he let his eyes drift my way then over to London—“and what she’s had with your brother surely would persuade her to help. Perhaps she would be a good backup,” he suggested.

  Cole had planted his seed and seemed to gather great pleasure in watching London’s response. I remained emotionless, fully aware of Ethan’s history with Chris. I’d let go of any jealousy and doubt I had. But London seemed shaken by the news that Josh had been involved with Chris, although she worked to hide it. Her movements became stiff, and she seemed determined to find something to focus on. Eventually, she settled on the book and studied it as we had just minutes before.

  Although I knew Cole’s suggestion had a nefarious intent, there was some truth in it. Ignoring the delight that made him smile and brightened his eyes, I left the room and went straight to the infirmary.

  “What are you looking for?” Dr. Jeremy asked.

  “Josh’s phone.”

  His brow furrowed in curiosity, but he handed it to me.

  I felt an ache when I thought about Josh’s odd interaction with Chris. I didn’t think it was salacious. Well, he’d often denied it, but I wasn’t convinced he wasn’t more than a food source for her. I’d fed Quell numerous times and knew it could be done without being sexual, but I wasn’t sure it was possible for Josh to feed Chris without it going that way. I grabbed his phone and cursed under my breath; he had it locked. Staring at the phone, I tried to think of possible passwords. The two I tried were unsuccessful.

  “Let me,” Ethan said, taking the phone. He punched in a couple of numbers and handed it back. I scrolled through the call log; there were no calls labeled “Chris,” but there was a number without a name. I called it.

  “What do you need, Josh?” Chris asked on the other line.

  “It’s not Josh,” I said.

  “Bambi?” she asked, surprised. “What’s wrong with Josh?”

  Before I continued, I eased out of the room and walked down the hall to get some privacy. I was surprised Ethan didn’t follow. Apparently, if he thought Chris could do anything to help his brother, he’d give me space. No one quite understood the unusual relationship I had with Chris. I couldn’t say I understood the nuances of it. Maybe we were bound by a mutual disdain that had somehow mutated into an odd form of respect. Or maybe our history was so warped we were connected in a manner that neither one of us understood.

  “I need your help,” I said, unable to keep the desperation out of my voice.

  CHAPTER 20

  We were in a state of panic. The witches were preparing to add more wards to Josh because there were only two rings around his mark. The troubled looks on their faces belied the confident front they put forth. The Faeries were removing the wards fast, any replacements would be removed just as fast.

  No one expected Demetrius to show—except Sebastian—but an hour and a half after Sebastian had first left the room, someone pounded on the front door. Sebastian opened the door, letting Demetrius in. All hail the wizard king. Elite wizard. Or whatever title Sebastian will take.

  Demetrius looked bored as he entered the house, flanked by vampires—Chase on his right, Gabriella on his left, and their protégé Sable behind him. He made a production out of tugging on his crisp gray shirt and smoothing out his pants as he neared us. He slipped a steely look my way, which I returned.

  “Unfortunately, I have been delayed since I am in need of guards now whenever I visit. I can no longer be in your presence alone for fear that your pup will attack me.” He gave me a contemptuous, cold look. It was doubtful that Demetrius feared me enough to require guards. The other vampires were a less than subtle threat.

  I started to roll my eyes but cut it short as Chase and Gabriella directed a look of virulence and fury at me. I’d killed Michaela; they wanted to avenge her. It was written on their faces, in the way they stood, and in the sly way they bared their teeth like weapons, daring me to make a move or do anything that would incite a response. They were walking on a knife’s edge, ready to dole out retribution.

  I stood a taller, rolled my shoulders back, and took a defensive stance. I felt less confident that this was going to end civilly.

  “You are safe here,” Sebastian said.

  Demetrius scoffed. “I’d love to believe that, but you don’t seem to have control over Skylar. She’s rabid. They used to put those things down, didn’t they?” The look he gave me showed he was ready to euthanize me. Ethan’s growl reverberated throughout the room, and Sebastian strategically placed himself between them.

  “We didn’t call you here for violence. We need your help.”

  “Well of course you do. Why else would you call me? But I’m sure you understand that if it does not benefit me, I have no interest in helping you.”

  Ariel spoke first. “We need you to help us save Josh.”

  Demetrius shrugged and gave a mocking grin. As he gave her a slow and lingering once-over, he ran his tongue over his teeth. His voice was low and velvety, as though he was speaking to a lover, when he said, “Ariel.” She didn’t let his inappropriate familiarity unnerve her. It was one of Demetrius’s classic moves. He kept his eyes narrowed on her, watching her, and she approached but left several feet between them.

  “Why love, I really hope you have a backup plan. Surely you know I care even less about the brother’s life than I do Ethan’s,” he purred.

  “You should care. Josh is the only person preventing the Faeries from taking over. We need him.” I wasn’t sure how much creative license she was taking with the truth, but if we were going to figure out what the Faeries had planned, we’d need him. There was no denying it.

  “And what pray tell do you plan to have me do?” he asked, his tone dry and disinterested.

  Ariel described how they wanted to use the Gem of Levage to pull the curse from Josh and transfer it to him.

  Demetrius gave a small smile of disbelief. “And this is your plan? You actually thought I would agree to this? I applaud your gumption in even thinking I would agree to such a thing. Good luck finding any vampire to agree to this foolishness.” His mocking laughter rang throughout the house.

  The moment Chris came through the door, Demetrius’s attention fixed on her, exhibiting the same longing he’d had each time I’d seen them together. I stared at her, too, and made a poor attempt not to pass judgment. She was doing me a favor, and possibly helping Josh. I couldn’t risk any condescending remarks about her vampy outfit, which included leather pants that stretched seamlessly over her body and left nothing to the imagination. Or the bright red tank top that she must have gotten from the kids’ section. I kept a keen eye on her as her three-inch heels hit lightly against the floor moving with the ease of a person wearing a pair of casual flats. Not one snarky word would be said about her lipstick that was as red as her shirt and the heavy mascara that framed her eyes. She was a walking cliché, and the sly smile she gave me made it clear that she knew and didn’t care.

  �
�Chris,” Demetrius whispered. She didn’t look at him, keeping her focus on me.

  Okay, Sky, you can do this. No snide comments about her clothes. I knew she could sense my dilemma.

  Winter couldn’t exercise the same level of restraint. Twisting her lips in derision, she said, “Really?” as Chris walked past.

  She dismissed Winter’s insult as inconsequential and asked, “What happens to Josh if we don’t do this?”

  “We don’t have many options,” Ariel admitted.

  “If you were to give me a survival rate, what would it be?”

  “I wouldn’t. I don’t want you to go into this blindly. By all standards of magic, it should work, but as you know, magic can be unpredictable. It’s not science.” Ariel looked over at the Creed then gave a solemn and heartfelt pledge. “But if you do this, we will do everything in our knowledge and power to ensure you live.”

  Chris didn’t need to breathe, but she exhaled her answer. “Okay. Tell me what I need to do.” She glided toward the infirmary.

  “You will do no such thing,” Demetrius ordered, taking hold of her arm. Anger sparked in his dark eyes. He closed them briefly, and when he reopened them, they looked gentler, softer.

  Is this his first time meeting her? If someone forbade Chris from doing something, she’d do it three times just to make a point.

  She looked down at his hand on her arm and pulled her lips back, exposing her fangs in defiance.

  Demetrius kept his hands in place and moved closer. “No matter how you have behaved, you are still part of this Seethe. You exist because of me. I saved you, and you do not have the right to be frivolous with your life. I won’t allow it.”

  She snatched her arm out of his grasp and looked at him through narrowed eyes. Several moments passed as they each asserted their dominance. He was the leader of the Northern Seethe and used to getting his way, and she was a person who prided herself on possessing unwavering obstinacy and will.

  Her voice was pure ice. “You may be able to stand around and let them handle this and do nothing but reap the rewards, but I won’t.” She relaxed and stepped closer to him, dropping her voice so low I had to strain to hear. “Demetrius, do something. Don’t be a useless observer in this, because it might not end well for any of us. If you don’t know the history of the Faeries’ reign, you should learn it.”