by Juniper Hart
“I understand your skepticism,” Elle volunteered. Harmony stared at her baby sister in disbelief.
“Are you reading my mind now?”
“No, of course not,” Elle laughed. “We’re all skeptical, that’s all, but we have to do something before things get out of hand.”
“This seems like a lot of work to save your mate,” Harmony said coldly.
“It’s not just her mate!” Kendra barked. “There are others at risk, too.”
“And her mate is the creator of the Enchanted,” Sam reminded Harmony.
“Who’s been dead for a very long time,” Harmony bit back. “We’ve gotten along fine without him for this long—”
“Harmony, if you’re not going to help, maybe this was a bad idea,” Trevor interjected, his face flushing red. All eyes turned to the mild-mannered bear in shock.
“I didn’t really have a choice, did I?” Harmony retorted. “I kind of got dragged here by the Council.”
“And now we’re telling you that you can go,” Trevor snapped. “My brother’s life is at risk here. If you’re only going to complain—”
“I’m playing the devil’s advocate,” Harmony snapped, but she felt a stab of contrition as she heard the sincerity in Trevor’s words.
Why am I being such a bitch? He’s right—I can leave. No one is forcing me to be here.
She wasn’t leaving, though, not when Orion was watching her with intelligent, compassionate eyes. He knew that she wasn’t the cold, standoffish fox that she was portraying.
“We don’t need a devil’s advocate,” Sam sighed. “We need a plan.”
Harmony wisely clamped her lips together and hung her head.
“We don’t have any idea where this portal is?” she asked after a long moment of silence. “That would be a start.” She looked around the room as everyone shook their heads.
“Wait!” Dane cried. “We don’t, but I bet we can find someone who does.”
They eyed him expectantly.
“Who?” Elle demanded. “Who knows where the portal is?”
“The minions and the soldiers!” Dane said excitedly. “The ones sent here for me.”
Everyone inhaled a collective breath.
“And where will we find them?” Kendra asked quietly. “Are you suggesting we use you as bait? Because if they catch you, Dane, I’m not sure I can bring you back this time.”
Dane shook his head, his grin widening.
“No,” he chuckled. “It just so happens that I made friends with one of the soldiers.”
Harmony gaped at him in disbelief.
“You befriended someone who was trying to drag you back to the underworld? Wow, you really are Alaric Aldwin,” she muttered.
“I was,” Dane agreed. “But now I’m Dane Hawthorne, and I need to find Berlin. Who wants to go to England with me?”
7
For a fleeting moment, Berlin had forgotten about all her woes. The rain in London soothed her into a sense of security that she hadn’t known in a long while, the darkness reminiscent of the underworld she’d left behind. There may have been a trace of melancholy, but when she looked at Aaron, it quickly dissipated into only affection. She had no desire to return, even though she knew she had no real right to be there. Everything she’d ever needed was right at her side.
“Who is that now?” Aaron said suddenly, leaning forward on the porch, his eyes narrowing as a car approached their secluded house on the outskirts. Berlin tensed instantly, her senses heightened as she, too, looked where he stared.
At once, they were on their feet, Berlin prepared for battle. Just as quickly, she relaxed, recognizing the prince and his mate.
“What are you doing here?” Aaron demanded, the note of relief in his tone ringing through.
“We need Berlin’s help,” Dane said without preamble. “We need to find the portal she used to come looing for me.”
Berlin blinked at the words, unsure of what to make of them.
“Are you going home?” she asked. Dane’s face twisted into a scowl.
“The underworld was never my home,” he said. “Not for thousands of years.”
“Then why do you need it?”
Dane sighed, slamming the driver’s side door as rain pelted against him and Elle, the duo hurrying forward for the shelter of the porch.
“We need to see it closed.” With that, Dane proceeded to explain what they were doing there, Berlin’s eyes widening to unnatural proportions as she listened. She opened her mouth to protest, but Dane held up his hand. “Before you start giving me reasons why it can’t work, know that we’ve heard them all. Berlin, we’re working on borrowed time here. It’s a miracle neither you nor I have been found yet, but our good fortune won’t last. Please, tell us where to find the portal.”
Berlin clamped her mouth shut, hearing the truth in his statement, before she nodded slowly.
“I can tell you where I entered,” she agreed. “But don’t forget that His Highness can still use magic to send souls across the line.”
“It takes a lot more work for him to do that,” Dane reminded her. “And he doesn’t want to anger the gods. Closing the portal is our only option right now. We’ll deal with whatever else Father throws at us when the time comes.”
Berlin sighed, sensing that no argument of her own would sway him.
“I can’t go with you,” she told him flatly. “But I can tell you where it is.”
“That’s all I’m asking,” Dane agreed, shooting Aaron a wary look. “I wouldn’t want to put you at risk.”
“Thank you, Berlin,” Elle said quietly. “You could be saving the world.”
“I’ll settle for saving myself,” Berlin snorted. She nodded at Aaron. “Find me a piece of paper, love? I’ll see if I can’t draw a map for them.”
Aaron hesitated and eyed her warily.
“Maybe I should take them?” he suggested. “I—”
“No!” Elle and Dane cried in unison.
“There’s no need,” Dane added, softening his tone. “If my father has learned that you are responsible for hiding Berlin, you’re in just as much trouble. There’s undoubtedly a bounty on you already.”
Aaron grimaced, apparently unhappy with the refusal, but he did as Berlin asked, retreating into their small cottage-like house to find her a page and writing utensil.
“Any thoughts on how you’re going to close this thing?” Berlin asked when her lover was out of earshot. Elle and Dane exchanged a look.
“Another bridge we’re going to have to cross when we get there,” Dane said lightly. Berlin could hear the stress in his voice.
“Well,” she sighed, trying to add a light tinge to her words. “I imagine if anyone can do it, it’s the Vulpes, right?” Dane exhaled in a breath.
“That’s what we’re counting on,” he replied. Berlin wondered if he was as confident as he sounded.
We’ve gotten by this far, she reminded herself. Aaron returned, handing her what she’d requested. Maybe we’ll get out this alive, after all—even those of us who are already dead.
For a day, Onyx roamed the dingy, dirty streets, unsure of what direction to take. The tales he’d heard of the world did nothing to prepare him for the reality, and he wanted nothing more than to escape back to the sanctity of the underworld.
Don’t be a fool, he snapped at himself harshly. There is nothing about this mostly mortal world that can harm you. You’re already dead.
Yet that didn’t given him any confidence, and as he passed others, his icy eyes averted to the crumbling sidewalks, he could feel the intense scrutiny of others. He wasn’t dressed appropriately for the realm, his odd, drawn face too pale in comparison to even the fairest of the mortals. Try as he might, Onyx couldn’t determine a single Enchanted being, even though he was certain that he walked among them.
I don’t belong here, a voice in his head urged him. Leave the search to the soldiers and minions. Return to the underworld.
But Onyx was
far too stubborn to adhere to his own good sense. He knew he was the only one who could find Alaric, particularly when his son was so good at hiding. If his best soldiers hadn’t located him already, there was a good chance they never would. He promised himself one more day, though he had already wasted one, doing nothing but getting his bearings. What would another do? Swallowing his reservations, Onyx paused in a doorway, stirring a ragged-looking homeless man on the stoop.
“This is my house!” the man yelled. “Get out!”
Onyx glowered at the frazzled being, his eyes narrowing into slits until the man’s mouth fell closed and his eyes glazed over.
“I do not want any part of your house,” Onyx hissed as the life slowly seeped out of the being’s body. “I only wish to find my son.”
Abruptly, the man caught his breath, his own eyes flashing with fury. Fangs popped through his gumline, baring his teeth furiously.
“Demon!” he hissed, snout protruding from his face. Mildly surprised, Onyx released his hold on the being, realizing at long last he’d found an Enchanted creature. He shook his head.
“Not a demon,” he corrected. “I am the demon.” Their gazes clashed, but the homeless wolf relented first, seeing that he was overpowered.
“What do you want?” he mumbled, falling back into his mortal form. “Leave me alone.”
“I am seeking my son,” Onyx told him again. “He is the demon-wizard, Alaric Aldwin. Do you know him?”
The creature cackled. “He’s been dead for years. And they call me crazy.”
“He has always been dead,” Onyx retorted. “But he is here, somewhere.”
The man again waved his hand. “Go away.”
“Where can I find the Council of Seven?” Onyx insisted, refusing to leave the only lead he’d found. Again, the man snorted.
“Keep using your powers like that, and you’ll find them soon enough,” the man grumbled, closing his eyes dismissively. “You’re bound to expose yourself to a mortal soon enough, and they will sentence you to a quick death.”
The information made Onyx’s eyes widen. He hadn’t realized that the Enchanted had such rules. A small, cocksure smile appeared on his face. Maybe finding his son wouldn’t be as difficult as he’d thought.
8
“Are you sure this is the right way?” Harmony asked for the third time, pausing to stare in disgust at her soiled shoes. “We’ve been walking for an hour.”
“Stop talking and keep walking,” Kendra retorted, gently nudging her sister forward through the sewer system. “Berlin’s map says it’s up here.”
Harmony didn’t respond, and Kendra brushed past her to catch up with the others. She wasn’t sure they were doing the right thing by all going to the portal, but she had to have faith in some sort of plan to end this. She wished Harmony would stop complaining, but she knew she was using her disdain to hide her mounting nervousness. They all were.
Dane and Elle had returned from England with the map in hand, but it had taken a day of convincing everyone that going to the location together was the right thing to do.
“At any time, more soldiers could be coming through the portal,” Kendra had argued. She was worried for Chris and Elyse. She was worried for Dane. She was worried for all the others who had come across, if only to be united with their loved ones.
“And where are all the other foxes?” Samantha wanted to know. “You put a call out to all the Vulpes, Elle. How are we the only ones that have materialized?”
The youngest sister didn’t have an answer for them, and it was Dane who had suggested a terrifying thought. “Maybe your family is the only one left.”
“T-that would make us rarer than demons!” Sam had choked in dismay. “How many did you create?”
“Maybe not enough,” Dane conceded.
“Aiden and Shawn are half fox,” Elle had volunteered. “They should come along with us.”
“I don’t think having half-blood is going to help us,” Sam demurred, and Dane had agreed.
“Fox genes are recessive,” he explained. “They have certain qualities that mortals don’t possess, but they aren’t strong enough to override their other genetics. The foxes themselves don’t have the properties that other immortals claim.”
“We don’t heal as fast,” Kendra remembered.
“Like I said before, your genus was a craft I’d hoped I had more time to perfect,” Dane said.
“You’ll have all the time in the world to perfect it,” Elle told him gently. “But later.”
In the end, they had agreed to surge forward with the plan to approach the portal cautiously.
“We should be coming up on it in the next few minutes,” Dane called back to the single line which followed him through the stinking sewer pipes. “Berlin says we can’t miss it.”
“Especially if there’s an underworld army standing in front of it,” Harmony mused sourly.
As Dane had predicted, they soon found themselves standing near a shimmering light, the brightness a stark contrast to the dismal environment in which it was surrounded. For a long moment, the group only stared, and Kendra felt her heartbeat spike as she eyed it.
If I opened it, I can close it, too, she told herself, realizing that everyone had the same thought. They all eyed her covertly. But how the hell did I open it?
At her side, Trevor slipped an arm around her waist, drawing her closer.
“Don’t feel pressured,” he whispered. Instantly, Kendra felt her shoulders sag against him. “One way or another, we’ll figure this out.”
“We better,” Harmony muttered, overhearing Trevor’s words. She stopped speaking for a moment, her mouth pursing as if she was thinking about something. Suddenly, everyone watched the portal seem to shrink in front of them.
“W-what’s happening?” Elle demanded in alarm, backing away quickly. Dane caught her, but they moved toward the group, eyes fixed on the shrinking portal. Kendra laughed.
“It’s energy,” she chuckled, her eyes widening. The trembling light remained as it was, slightly smaller but still large enough to swallow any of them whole.
“What?” Kendra asked. “What does that mean?”
“It’s made of energy. I can shrink it,” Harmony said. Her family gaped at her in shock.
“Just like that?” Elle breathed.
“Well, not just like that,” Harmony sighed. “I mean, it’s huge. It’s going to take some time. I could do it in sets, but it’s going to take me a day with rests.” Again, she closed her lips and concentrated on the floating orb, her eyes narrowing. Once more, it slowly shrunk.
“Wow!” Sam laughed. “And we were worried this was going to be a huge affair.”
“You did hear me say it’s going to take a day, right?” Harmony reminded her. “A lot can happen, and who knows who might come or go in that time?”
The sisters and their mates nodded humbly at her words.
“Someone will need to stay on guard with Harmony,” Elle said. “We can work in shifts with her. I—” Her words were cut off as her cell rang, causing everyone to start in surprise at the unexpected noise. Her brow furrowed when she reached into her pocket and pulled out a cellphone.
“Is that the Council phone?” Dane asked warily. Elle nodded. All eyes were on her when she cleared her throat, answering the call.
“Hello?” For a minute, she was silent, but Kendra saw the color of her cheeks fade away until her skin was almost translucent. “What?” Elle gasped. “H-how? When?” She nodded at whatever response she was given. “I’ll be there soon,” she said, disconnecting the call.
“What?” Dane asked. “What happened now?”
Elle raised her head and stared at her mate in disbelief, shaking her head like she was trying to make sense of what she’d just learned.
“We have a problem,” she mumbled. “A very big problem.” They all waited in anxious anticipation for her to finish her thought. “There is an Enchanted creature wreaking havoc on the public right now, using
his powers and exposing himself to the mortals.”
The group seemed dumbfounded by her announcement.
“Is he mentally unsound?” Dane asked. Elle raised her head and met his eyes squarely.
“Probably,” she muttered. “It’s your father.”
A gasp ricocheted through the system, and Kendra felt herself getting woozy.
“His father is here?” she muttered. “On Earth?”
“The Council seems to think so. He’s making no secret of who he is and what he wants,” Elle sighed. “They haven’t apprehended him yet, but he’s nearby, Dane. We need to get you hidden before he finds you.”
“No,” Dane said flatly. “I need to confront him before he makes things even worse.”
“You can’t!” Elle cried. “He’ll drag you back!”
“Not if you close the portal,” Dane replied, looking at Harmony. “I can hold him off for a day. Get to work.”
An uneasy silence followed his words.
“And then what, Dane?” Kendra asked when no one else did. “He’ll be trapped here with us?”
“We’ll figure out what to do with the dead after the portal is closed,” Dane insisted. “That was always the plan. Harmony, get to work. Orion, can you stay with her for now?”
Orion nodded, but his face was pinched and soured. Although no one liked the idea, what other choice did they have?
“Elle, get to the Council of Seven and find out what you can. I’ll lay low for a few hours. Kendra, if you can think of any other way to close this thing faster…” Dane trailed off, and Kendra’s face flushed with humiliation. She felt so useless.
“What can we do?” Sam asked. Dane eyed her for a long moment.
“Actually,” he said slowly. “Maybe you can come with me.” He looked questioningly at Jordan. “You can come with, if you want, but I have a feeling that Sam might come in handy.”
Jordan shook his head.
“I need to get back to the twins,” he said, turning to his wife. “Will you be safe?”