by N. J. Cooper
“This is the Oracle, Kyla. And this is Lorraine, her mom. You should recognise Brighton and Cole.” Zarek introduced. He welcomed them, his eyes stopping on Kyla.
“Sure hope looks are deceiving, you’re tiny.” He said, and she wasn’t sure whether it was meant to be a compliment or not.
“Trust me, she can hold her own. But it is her mother that you need to worry about, she is the one that we want protected. We will return to sort the matter once we get everything stabilized in the realm.” Zarek said pointing to her mother. Lorraine stepped forward. Arkin grabbed her hand and kissed it, making Kyla grin at her mother’s stunned expression.
“Of course, ma’am. Welcome, please make yourself at home and don’t hesitate to ask if you need anything,” he smiled widely. He indicated for one of the wolves to come over, “This is Sam, he’ll take you to your cabin.” Arkin offered. Lorraine smiled and looked back at Kyla who nodded her forward.
“I’ll come see you soon, I’m just going to go over the information, then I’ll be there.” Kyla promised. Her mother smiled and went with Sam.
“So, I’m guessing you want to speak to Shay?” He assumed and led them over a small hill behind a thicket of bushes to where a shimmering gold sheen indicated the presence of the portal. Passed that though, was a small cabin. He led them over to the cabin and knocked on the door. Shay answered and let them in, her small studio cabin suddenly very crowded with all the height in there, Kyla being the only one not towering. Story of her life. Kyla brushed it off and got straight to the point. She wanted to get going.
“Did you get the location on Onyx?” Kyla asked quickly. Shay laughed a husky laugh, flipping her wild black hair back as her brown eyes crinkled at the edges. Her dark skin made her look exotic with thick eyelashes and with her tall figure, Kyla was sure she had walked into an accidental model convention instead of a werewolf compound.
“Oh, I like you. Straight to the point. And yes, I did. But what is more awesome is what that location means.” Shay said excitedly.
“What does it mean?” Arkin asked before anyone else had the chance. She turned and grabbed two maps she had ready. She placed the human one under the supernatural one, grinning at everyone else’s collective gasps.
“New Jersey Ridgewood, that’s where the middle of the supernatural realm connects to?” Kyla realised. Shay nodded.
“This particular address, in the basement of an old Villa that is there, is the nexus between the supernatural world and the human one. If that one opens, then we will lose the fight for the veil and Onyx will get through.” Shay admitted. Kyla blew out her breath and looked away. One week. They had one week before Onyx would rip open that nexus and unleash hell on Velatem Realm and according to her prophecy, he would kill her.
“How would he open the nexus? Would the power he has collected from the Elder’s be enough?” Kyla demanded.
“It would take a lot of power to do, and someone would have to be pushing from the other side at the same time.” Zarek muttered, his frown so deep she winced. She was meant to be the one carrying the burden of Onyx but Zarek was and while dealing with his father dying? She had to do something.
“We have to get back, set up a barricade, no one comes in or out of the mansion anymore. Secure the spot where the middle of the realm is and lock the borders, everyone has to stay in their areas until after the full moon.” Kyla decided. Zarek nodded thoughtfully.
“We can stop the force coming from our side but what are we going to do about Onyx pushing from his side?” Zarek wondered, looking at Kyla who racked her brain for a solution.
“We’ll send a team over here to help the New York pack flush him out.” Arkin offered but Kyla quickly shut it down.
“No. He has the power of a lot of Elders with him, he has powers that will shut down anything we send after him. Even with a paralytic power he would be able to stop anything chasing him out. He’s stuck there, we just have to figure out if there is a way to send him from there to the Outlands. Is there any way we can make him think he is opening the portal to the supernatural realm when really he is going to the Outlands?” Kyla asked. Zarek raised her eyebrows.
“There might be, we have to ask my father.” Zarek replied. Kyla nodded.
“I’m sorry about your father, Prince Zarek. We heard he isn’t well.” Arkin offered respectfully. Zarek scowled.
“Thanks, but he’s going to get better.” Zarek bit stubbornly. Arkin must’ve taken the hint and backed off.
“Glad to hear it. So, are you guys ready to get back home then?” He asked, rolling the maps up. Shay grabbed them and put them in a container to the side with a bunch of other scrolls.
“Yes, thank you for all your guys help over here.” Zarek said, nodding in thanks.
“No problem Prince. And you can count on us if that nexus opens. We’ll send through teams from every portal guard to help shut it back down, the wolves are with your father on this, your Majesty.” Arkin vowed. Prince Zarek nodded in thanks and she suspected by the deep swallow on his throat, and watering eyes that Arkin’s comment meant a lot more than him than he was letting on.
“I just have to say goodbye to my mother.” Kyla interjected, taking the pressure off Zarek to answer.
“You go do that; I need to go over the details of the next full moon with Arkin before we leave.” Zarek admitted. Kyla nodded as Shay stepped forward, looping her impressively muscled arm through Kyla’s.
“C’mon, I’ll take you to the guest cabins while the men talk about fighting.” She winked, leading Kyla out. She smiled as they left.
“You don’t talk about the fighting with them?” Kyla wondered. Shay laughed warmly, looking down to Kyla.
“No. Never. I would rather take part in the fighting than talk about it. That stuff is boring to me, which Arkin knows, so he sets out the details with the go team then they let me know whatever is important otherwise he lets me be the wild card. Means I get to rip shreds into my opponent, and they don’t see it coming,” Shay grinned proudly. Kyla gulped. She was scary, and friendly, it wasn’t a combination she thought she would meet. Shay laughed at her hesitancy to answer. “Don’t worry, I only fight when I have to but when I do, I make sure I’m the last one standing that’s for sure. Otherwise I’m on portal duty and that is really what I love because I get to play with my inventions and learn more about it, so we always have an advantage.” Shay admitted, rambling away so Kyla just had to listen. She nodded along before Shay stopped in front of a cabin near the main building.
“This is where your mother is staying. There are two humans who live with us and we thought she’d like the familiarity so she’s bunking with them. She’ll be safe here.” Shay promised.
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome, now excuse me while I go and find Sam again, he’s the best sparring partner, doesn’t go easy on me just because I’m a girl or just refuse because they know I can kick their butt.” Shay laughed walking away taking her deep, husky laugh with her. Kyla chuckled then walked upstairs to the cabin door. She knocked lightly before her mother peered out the window with a smile and opened the door. Kyla moved inside, sighing as the heat of a fireplace filled the room. Her mother held her arms out and Kyla went straight into them.
“I’ll be back once this is over Mom, I promise.” Kyla whispered against her. Lorraine sniffled against her hair.
“I know baby, I’ve just missed you so much.” She admitted croakily. Kyla pulled away and looked around at the cosy place they were in. Plump couch, TV set, plush bedding and a beautiful kitchen.
“At least you’ll have somewhere nice to stay.” Kyla tried. Her mother smiled.
“It’s definitely more than what I’m used to,” She admitted then looked Kyla in the eye “I’m so proud of you Kyla.” She admitted quietly. Kyla blushed at the compliment.
“Thanks Mom.” She smiled. Her mother moved forward and placed her hand on Kyla’s cheek.
“I mean it. We always knew you were g
oing to do something amazing, admittedly this was never what we meant but your father and I just knew you were special. How could you not be? He would be as proud as I am that you are fighting for all these lives, that you are so determined to save them.” Lorraine smiled. Kyla moved in for another embrace and smiled against her mother’s shoulder.
“I love you Mom.” She whispered softly.
“Love you too baby,” She replied letting Kyla go “Now run along, go save your world.” She smiled proudly. Kyla took a deep breath and nodded.
“I will and stay safe. And don’t answer that phone, ever again okay? He can’t get you here.” Kyla promised. She hugged her mom one more time then left the cabin and made her way back to the portal where Zarek and Arkin, Brighton and Cole were waiting for her.
“You ready?” Zarek asked. She nodded, not trusting her voice enough to speak without crying. She had just found her mom, she didn’t want to leave her behind, but she had to until she knew it was safe. Kyla thanked the wolves again, who bowed at their departure. Zarek pulled her into his arms, just like last time. The portal was rough to get through and even though that was why he was allowed to keep her as close as she was in front of people, she still savoured the contact as if they were touching because they could. They waved a last time then stepped through the portal, Kyla clutching Zarek like a lifeline, clenching her eyes shut against the force of it thrashing around them.
~ 26 ~
“There are three days left Zarek! And we have nothing! No way to transfer the portal to the Outlands, no way to stop him from opening the nexus, only the pressure on this side. Byron isn’t talking and your father has declined any visitors! How the hell am I meant to stop Onyx with all that and I’m still not healed enough to merge.” Kyla snapped, spinning away from Zarek’s face of pity in the mansions training arena which resembled more of a grand stadium. Zarek came over to her and pulled her pacing body into his.
‘We can’t merge because you drained us, this is your fault, Kyla.’ The Oracle bit from inside her head. Kyla slammed the door shut, muting her truthful statement with denial.
“Don’t do this to yourself, okay? You will merge and we have done as much as possible on this side. The lockdowns on the borders have been put in place, the city is closed and the barricade around the mansion means that the middle of the realm is protected from whatever attempts he might make.” Zarek tried to reassure. She clutched his shirt in despair. Her stomach sunk, thinking of the lengths they had gone too. She just didn’t have the hope he did. She didn’t feel like they had done enough to stop Onyx, who was so determined to get through. And Byron hadn’t said anything. No amount of talking or asking or prodding had given her the answers she wanted. He revealed nothing of their plans, nothing about Onyx, he didn’t even give off anything that indicated that they knew she had taken her mother back, which they would know by now. Frustrated she pushed away from Zarek.
“We need to keep training.” She bit. He sighed and moved further back, nodding, placing himself in a battle stance. She engaged him in a power battle with everything she had. She was still worn out though and the sparring she had with him got harder and harder to win. She chose to forget the logic that told her, Zarek was getting stronger and that’s why he was harder to beat because if she acknowledged that then she had to remember that the King had been too weak for visitors when they had gotten back. He couldn’t even talk, barely opened his eyes and all the while Zarek siphoned his life. Kyla tried to grow stronger, practicing with what she had, but the Oracle didn’t trust her anymore, not after she had saved her mother and kept a tight handle of control on the powers. Kyla got knocked down again by a potent blast of fire, the heat searing her quickly before she fell. She gasped and Zarek stopped, straightening quickly, his eyes wide. He cursed and looked away, running a hand through his damp hair. Kyla watched him, frowning at his troubled expression.
“It’s okay Zarek, you’re meant to try and get me.” Kyla said, not understanding what was wrong. He shook his head.
“No, not like that. I’m meant to take the heat out of the fire, sending dormant powers so you don’t actually get hurt, but I can’t seem to hold it anymore. The powers are getting stronger, way too strong.” He said rubbing his hands over his face. Kyla sympathized. Her powers had done her over like that too when she had got them. She stood up and went over to him, but he walked away.
“I’m going to go get Wyatt to train with you, I need to train on my own for a while, until I can be certain that they’re not going to hurt you.” Zarek said through a clenched jaw, leaving her standing there on her own. Kyla let out an aggravated sigh. He hadn’t even given her a chance to help or reassure him that she wanted to help him train with his powers as much as he had with her. Kyla grabbed her towel, wiped her damp forehead then hung it around her neck, leaving the arena. She wasn’t waiting around to train when essentially it just used more of her power that she needed for merging. Kyla knew where she wanted to be instead and as she showered and changed, she thought up how she was going to get Byron to talk.
Clean and refreshed, Kyla moved with determined strides through the mansion and down to the dungeons. Byron sat with his back against the concrete, his eyes watching her, their wide darkness trying to intimidate her. She refused to let it, steeling herself against his knowing smirk. She stopped in front of the cell, folding her arms across her white jumper that matched her white converse. She narrowed her eyes on the casual way he sat with his wrists bent over his knees. His black turtleneck sweater, with his ripped jeans that went against everything the realm considered appropriate attire and despite her own lack of will to wear sparkles, heels or give up her jeans, she tried to show respect by wearing white tops and light jeans. Clearly, he didn’t have the same inclination. Kyla moved in front of the onyx bars careful not to touch the black poison.
“I’ll show you mine if you show me yours.” Kyla started, hoping that if he thought he was getting information out of her too then he might give her something. He scoffed though and for the first time, his lips parted.
“We already know yours, Oracle. You haven’t kept your cards close at all.” He gave a slow smile that sent shivers through her.
“How do you know that you have everything?” She bit. She hated the way he snickered and laughed at everything she said as if he had all the answers. Maybe he did but she was sick of him rubbing it in her face.
“You have your mother back, congratulations. You have locked the realm down, no portal use, no border crossings and the city is emptied. There is a barricade around your guess on the middle of the realm and right now you are in a hopeless cycle of training and healing, trying to merge with your alter ego. How close am I?”
Kyla’s fists clenched, he knew everything, “Your stuck in here, everything you are saying is just a guess.”
Byron shrugged, “Makes it all the more incredible that it is the truth then,” he chuckled darkly before he moved swiftly up to the bars, his body and face as close as they could get without touching. Kyla gasped and stepped back away from him, “So predictable, Oracle. The good guys always are. Makes our moves so easy to plan. Onyx was done with your mother, he doesn’t care that you have her, she played her part. Did you ever wonder why he didn’t kill her once he was done though? Admittedly he was expecting her to finish the meds and get a few more Elders power in his arsenal before you got there but he knew you would come, so why didn’t he kill her? Hmmm?” Byron taunted. Kyla gritted her teeth, he was baiting her, wanting her to lose control and despite his questioning being annoyingly valid, she wasn’t giving into it.
“You seem to know everything, why don’t you tell me why?” She insisted. He chuckled.
“That’s probably a conversation you should have had with her. Too late now, you won’t see her again, your death is imminent.” He shrugged walking back to the wall and leaning against it.
“So that’s it? Onyx opens the nexus, gets through and kills me? That’s the extent of his grand plan?” S
he tried to pull more information. Byron saw through it.
He laughed, “You’ll find out in three days. Nice try though, Oracle.” Kyla rolled her eyes. He was pushing every button she had.
“Fine, let’s just cut to the chase then. We know about the Elders that you have been turning dark on both sides. Some are being killed for refusing but I want the names of the ones that said yes. The ones who turned dark. Give me their names.” Kyla demanded. Byron smirked.
“Naturally you want them. I thought you would have asked a while ago though. I hoped you weren’t that naïve that you thought we only had the vampires and giants under our thumbs.” He insulted. Kyla rolled her eyes.
“Just give me the names.” She snapped, her control loosening.
“I’ll give you the names. At a cost,” He shrugged, grabbing a piece of paper and pen from the small desk bolted down at the end of his bed.
“What cost?” She asked eagerly, willing to do pretty much anything to get what she was after.
‘Don’t Kyla. He wants to give you these names, can’t you see it. This is the question he’s been waiting for,’ The Oracle warned from her mind. Kyla narrowed her eyes at Byron.
“I want a drink. A bottle of the strongest alcohol out that supernaturals can make, none of that weak human stuff.” Byron said as he wrote a list of names on the paper. Kyla’s eyes widened. He wanted to get drunk? Keeping in mind the Oracle’s warning, Kyla treaded carefully with her questions.
“Why do you want alcohol?” She asked.
“We all have our vices.” He winked, making her uncomfortable. She hesitated as he held out the list to her. Kyla narrowed her eyes at it.
‘What do I do here Oracle? Do I take the list or not?’ Kyla asked internally. The Oracle growled.
‘He wants us to know the names, I just don’t know why. But we need them. Damn it, we don’t have a choice. Take the deal.’ The Oracle advised. Kyla called out to the guard who stood outside of the cell. She ordered the bottle of alcohol for Byron. It was such a small bargaining chip, just for alcohol he gave up the names of the ones helping him? Not a chance. She looked over the list. She didn’t recognize the names, but she knew Zarek would. She looked back in time to see Byron sit down on the bed, his grin wide across his face. The Oracle was right, he had wanted her to have the names. Spinning away from him, she refused to let him see her realisation. She left the dungeons, waiting until she was upstairs to check the list, her heart tightening about how many there were. So many creatures against the King. Kyla didn’t trust anyone else with the list and went to find Zarek. She went up to his room, her eyes widening as she heard banging and crashing from the inside. She surged forward, sprinting to his room and bashing on the door.