by R L Medina
My head whipped toward him. “Grayson?”
He glared at the fairy and didn’t respond, his jaw clenched tight.
“We are running out of time. The others will be here any minute,” Ash interrupted.
The fairy shrugged and sauntered toward the vampire queen. We stood watching. I refused to drop my gaze, not wanting to look at the gory bodies littering the floor.
Still chained, the vampire queen’s head snapped toward us. Her eyes drilled into the fairy. “You. What do you want, Maloret?”
She chuckled. “It’s nice to see you too, Damaris. Chains, huh? That’s a good look for you.”
The vampire snarled, lunging for her. “What are you doing working with the coven? I thought you worked solo.”
“Oh, I’m not here for the supreme. I’m here for you.”
I watched as the vampire stilled. Her eyes narrowed. “I don’t need your help, fairy.”
“Who said anything about helping you?” Her smile turned wicked.
The witches paused, uncertainty flashing on their faces. I held my breath waiting for the shit to hit the fan. Did they have some kind of rivalry or something?
Turning to us, the fairy waved her hand. “The wards are down. You have exactly twenty minutes before the witches get them back up. If I were you, I’d scram.”
I looked from her to the vampire. “What are you going to do with her?”
The fairy smiled. Long tendrils of smoke swirled around her and the vampire. My eyes met the vampire queen’s. Fury flashed across her face. Dark clouds grew, obscuring them from our sight. We stepped back. Air whooshed around us, chilling me to the bone. As quickly as it came, it left.
The shadows dispersed, coldness still lingering. They were gone.
My mouth dropped. “A portal?”
Ash shook her head. “No. Shadow magic. She’ll still need a portal if she plans to take the queen out of our realm.”
I gaped at them. They didn’t seem at all concerned about the vampire though it was them that gave her up to the dark fairy. Whatever happened to her would be our fault.
“Come on, we have to go.”
“Not so fast. You said you’d heal our friend.” Grayson stopped the witch.
“There’s no time for that. Your friend is probably dead anyway,” James snapped.
Ash bent to pick up the broken chain from the floor. “Here. Take this. I’ll enchant it and you can use it to help heal him. He’s still going to need a real healer, but this will buy him some time.”
She closed her eyes and squeezed her fist around the piece of metal.
“I could have done that,” Grayson muttered, shaking his head.
Ash handed it to me, and I felt a small vibration from it. The magic at work.
“I thought you couldn’t use your magic after the summoning? Are you sure this will help him?
“It’s just a simple healing spell. Didn’t take me much magic. It will help. But you aren’t going to have time to save him and escape. The coven is probably already on their way.” She turned to James. “We have to get out of here. Now.”
He nodded and ran to the window. “Come on, everyone out this way. Hurry.”
Ash ushered the others toward him.
I gaped at them. We were at least two stories high. How could they escape from there?
“Rose, we have to go. Come on.” Grayson tugged me away.
It felt weird to leave so quickly without even a goodbye, but there was no time. We headed for the door. When I glanced back, Ash was helping the last witch through. Her eyes met mine before Grayson pulled me forward.
We rushed down the hall, our footsteps thundered against the floor. I winced at the sound. Too loud. The witches would hear us. Why hadn’t they already come after the dragon attack? Did they not hear us?
Grayson motioned for us to pause. My heart raced, my whole body tense as we waited for the footsteps to pass.
Could they sense us? The fairy-elf’s magic only dropped the wards. It didn’t make us invisible to the witches. I curled my fists and tried to stop the trembling.
Don’t let them find us.
Grayson led me past the large sitting room and down another hall. How big was this house? Voices called from the other side. Grayson pushed me into one of the rooms and stood by the door, listening.
My heart raced. The witches? We only had twenty minutes. How were we going to get Javi and get out in time? I stared at Grayson’s back as questions surfaced. The elf claimed he had shadow magic, like her. Fear crawled over me.
“Grayson, what did she mean about you having shadow magic?”
He flinched and turned his head slightly. All I could see was the side profile of his handsome face, illuminated by the sliver of moonlight that poured in from the window.
His face moved toward me, the burning in his eyes made my stomach somersault. Was he going kiss me?
I stilled. His blue-gray eyes held me captive. I couldn’t look away even if I wanted to. A voice in the back of my mind told me to hurry. We were losing time. Javi.
Then his lips crashed against mine and the voice fell silent. Warmth spread through me. His lips were rough and chapped from our current ordeal, but I didn’t care. I kissed him back, letting out the emotions of the recent events. Then I thought of Javi and guilt flooded me.
I pulled away, lightheaded and flushing.
Grayson’s eyes flicked away from me. “We should go.” A roughness edged his words.
“You didn’t answer me. About the shadow magic.”
He sighed. “If I tell you, will you promise not to tell anyone else?”
I blinked. My mind was still stuck on the kiss and then Javi. What the hell was wrong with me? My cousin was holding on for his life waiting for me to rescue him and all I could do was suck face with Grayson? I was officially the worst person ever.
“Rose?” The desperation in Grayson’s voice snapped me to the present.
My chest tightened. This was no small secret.
“I promise.”
Before he could tell me anything, an invisible force blew through the room, breaking the doors off their hinges and sending us reeling. Grayson leapt to his feet, hand ready to cast. I scrambled to stand beside him.
Another force barreled into us, knocking me back. Grayson disappeared in a cloud of smoke.
I screamed. Gone? Was it the elf-fairy again or the witches? I swallowed the lump in my throat. Or had he abandoned me?
Anger stirred in my blood as witches poured in and surrounded me. I held the knife Grayson gave me though what it could do against the witches, I didn’t know. How much time did I have now before the wards were rebuilt?
“There you are.” The guy witch from earlier stood in the doorway.
He glanced around, eyes narrowing. “Where is your friend?”
I glared back at him.
Chuckling, he shrugged it off. “Don’t worry. We’ll find him and you’ll be reunited soon. We’ll get the others back too.”
My eyebrows shot to my hairline. How did they know? Everyone made it out but me. Me and Javi. Nausea hit me like waves. If the wards were already up, I was stuck.
I’d lost my chance.
“It’s time to start the ritual. To collect your blood.”
An icy rush of fear overwhelmed me. It was happening. This was actually happening. I held the knife in front of me and swished it in warning.
“Where are my friends?”
He smirked. “They’re still here. Some of them. Come with me and I’ll show you.”
My eyes darted across the room. The other witches were filing in. There was nowhere to run, and I couldn’t fight them all off. My chest tightened. How could Grayson kiss me one second and then abandon me? Unless… he didn’t have control over it.
That thought scared me more.
“You can come along nicely or by force. Either way, you are coming with us.”
I glared at the witch and his monotone voice. He was in control of the situ
ation and he was loving it.
“Fine. Take me to him.” I tried to infuse authority in my voice.
Make it sound like the vampire queen or the elf princess. I raised my chin and met his eyes, but his amused smirk made my hackles rise.
Two of the witches grabbed my arms and pushed me forward.
Red dotted my vision. “I said I was coming. Let go of me.”
“Bring her to the altar,” their leader commanded.
They surrounded me. My bare feet fell against the soft carpeted floor as they ushered me out of the room and into the hall. Panic flared to life.
The altar. The ritual.
“The witches are gone. The firstborn. They’re gone. You won’t be able to do the ritual.”
I sounded hysteric.
They didn’t respond.
Time seemed to rush by as we made our way down into the depths of the house. Back to the basement?
With every step bringing me closer to the end, a million memories flashed in my mind. Papi and I back in the vineyard. Marta’s homemade churros. My old dog, Roxie. Mom’s letter and the sword. Rafael and the wolves. The club on fire. Then there was Javi. Tío, Tía, the twins, and the academy. Shiloh. Brady. Grayson. Damn it, Grayson. Was he okay? Were the others?
A lump grew in my throat. The words the witch spoke earlier repeated in my mind. You can’t escape fate.
We descended another flight of stairs, and I realized it wasn’t the basement they were leading me, but even lower. An underground bunker?
The earthy smell of dirt and decay filled me nose. Little orbs of light flickered around the wide room, illuminating a stone white altar in the center. Flowers and leaves blanketed the dirt ground and vines grew along the base of the altar. Anger rolled like waves inside me. It was beautiful. Unfairly beautiful. Why should the place I died look like a dreamscape world?
With a warm rush of wind, the supreme appeared by the altar. She beckoned us forward with one hand while the other one held the longest, pointiest knife I’d ever seen.
I backed up, looking for any way out.
Fear shot through me. No. I couldn’t let them get me on that altar.
22
“No!” My voice echoed.
It didn’t sound like me. It sounded like a terrified, helpless girl. Someone who knew they were about to die and there was nothing they could do about it.
The witches pushed me toward the stone. I flailed against them, driving my heel into one of their shins. It didn’t matter.
They were stronger.
My arms flailed. Survival instinct taking over. Get out. Get out.
An invisible grip tightened around me. I gasped. Coldness seeped through my dress and buried itself in my bones, making me shiver. My body flew through the air and landed roughly against the stone. Stars and spots dotted my vision. Pain spread through every limb.
I struggled against the pressing weight on my chest. My body thrashed against my invisible attacker.
Tears were streaming down my face. “No. No!”
“Tie her down.” The supreme’s voice rose above my panicked words.
She stared down at me, the golden light reflecting in her dark eyes. Cold, calm eyes of ancient power. I glared at her. Rope burned me as the witches obeyed her order. I twisted and struggled, heart pounding.
Her cold hand touched my face, making me flinch and my stomach churn.
“She tried to fight too.” The witch’s voice was soft.
With an icy finger, she moved my head to the side. A familiar body was sprawled on the floor, unmoving, her neck at an impossible angle. I recoiled. Ash.
“No.”
My chest tightened. I blinked the hot angry tears away. A silent rage built inside me. Not Ash. Something shriveled inside me. She’d been so strong, so sure. Drained and tossed, left like garbage. How could fate be so cruel?
“We took her blood and now we’ll take yours. And the GRIMM too, why not?”
She turned my head to the other side.
Javi. He sat slumped against a stone with eyes closed. Tied like me? We hadn’t made it in time to give him the healing metal. It still burned in my pocket. Were we too late?
“What did you do to him? Is he okay?” My voice shook with fury.
She sniffed. “He’s alive. But not for long.”
Dark hooded figures entered the room. Their black robes scraped the ground as they encircled the altar.
Fear spiraled inside me. Something shifted in the air. Something dark and powerful.
Their voices rose, their words strange and eerie.
“Hijos de la luna. Luna Negra,” the supreme addressed them.
They stopped and waited. My teeth chattered in my head, but it wasn’t because of the coldness of the stone. It was deeper. Darker. The cold of death and I could feel it creeping closer and closer.
My eyes darted, heart pounding, desperate. “You can’t complete the ritual. The others. They got away.”
“We will find them.”
“The GRIMMs are coming. You won’t be able to escape them. They will kill you all.”
She smiled at me. “We’ll see.”
Despair filled me. I shivered against the cold stone. Sweat coated my skin and a ringing filled my ears. “Why me? Why didn’t you come after me sooner like you did the others?”
“You are ours. You always were. A promise made in blood cannot be undone.”
The others took up the chant. “A promise made in blood cannot be undone.”
Despite my best efforts to remain steady, the hairs on my neck bristled and an icy fear gripped me. These were not mere words. I could feel an invisible presence or force in the room with us. My heart raced and my whole body burned as if I’d been set on fire. Invisible cold fingers ran along my skin.
A scream tore from my throat.
Javi’s eyes flew open. I saw him thrash against his chains, his eyes thunderous and desperate. I felt as if I’d been ripped from my body, but I could still feel everything. The invasive darkness poking and prodding me and the hard stone digging into my back. I was watching everything in slow motion.
The witches were chanting. Their disembodied voices echoed around me. Blood gushed from Javi’s wounded stomach as he tried to reach me. A fiery glow outlined Jimena’s form. She smiled at me.
Bitch.
Pain overwhelmed my senses and a feathery touch fell on my forehead.
Sleep. Sleep. Rest.
Alarm filled me at the voice inside my head that was not my own. Fury washed over me. Sleep? They wanted me to sleep while I was watching myself being flayed alive and my cousin bleed out?
Hell no.
As the thought left me, strength returned to my limbs, and the pain ebbed. I blinked, reeling myself back to the present.
Javi was slumped over, passed out from the pain. Blood still poured from his wound. He needed a doctor now. I had to get him out of there. I glanced around for inspiration.
The witches continued their eerie chant, oblivious to my severed link. Their supreme was bathed in the strange glow now, her eyes closed, and lips parted in elation. Gross. I wanted to stab my sword right through her outstretched throat. The violent thought startled me. When had I become so cutthroat? They’d pushed me too far. There was only so much suffering a person could endure and what they’d done had left its stain.
Never give up, Rosita. Papi’s words came to me. They were simple words meant to encourage me when harvest season got too crazy, but I clung to them.
He couldn’t have known what they would mean to me now.
The long, sharp knife glinted against the darkness.
“Stop! No.” My voice was raw.
You can’t do this. You can’t do this.
The supreme brought the thin blade against my neck and held a glass vial against my skin.
Sharp pain speared through me.
“No! Stop. Stop!” My voice shook.
Something sparked in my pocket, burning my skin. The metal. It was still spe
lled with the witch’s healing spell.
She frowned. “Why are you healing so quickly?”
My breath was ragged in my ears.
I struggled against the rope. “I won’t let you do this. You can’t do this.”
“I guess I’ll just have to make the cut deeper.” She pressed the knife closer against my neck.
A loud boom echoed in the room, the sound making my ears ring.
“It’s the GRIMM. They’ve found us,” one of the witches spoke.
Relief flooded me. The GRIMM. They were here. We were saved.
The supreme glanced at me. “Too bad for you they won’t make it in time.”
I gasped as the knife bit into my flesh. Pain spread through me. So much pain. Black dots swam in and out of my vision. My neck was on fire.
Was this dying?
Voices shouted. The witches scattered. Snarls and roars echoed from far away, but I couldn’t see what was happening.
Fingers pressed into my cut, making me scream. She pulled them away and held them up to examine them. “Your blood… what have you done? How are you healing yourself?”
Her sharp eyes roamed over me and landed on my pocket. With a vicious tug, she pulled out the metal and frowned.
More voices rose around us. Gunshots rang out. Tears streamed my face. The GRIMMs?
“We are not finished with you.” Jimena tossed the conduit and lifted her hand above my face.
Everything turned black.
“Rose.” Grayson’s voice startled me.
I searched for him in the darkness. Was I dreaming or was he really there? I moved, pain washing over me.
Black spots swam in my vision.
“Careful.” He was at my side.
I was still on the altar. My head whipped to the side and my heart lurched.
“Javi!”
“It’s okay. The GRIMM have him. They treated his injury, but he’ll need time to recover.”
A lump grew in my throat. “He’s okay?”
Grayson nodded, eyes scanning me. I shuddered at his touch as he helped me sit up. The dress rode up at my movement, revealing much more of my legs and thighs than I wanted. Grayson’s eyes drifted down and snapped back up to my now blushing face.