by Cate Farren
"We want to offer you something in exchange for your many gifts to us," said the voice.
Loki assumed his gifts was the many souls he'd sent their way. He hoped they choked on them.
"What can you possibly offer me?" he asked.
"We can make you one of us."
The offer actually made him think. It was an intriguing invitation to be sure. How else would he achieve such absolute power if it wasn't given to him? He could become the ruler of a shapeshifter empire but it still wouldn't technically make him a god.
"We can make you more than an immortal, more than a god," the voice teased.
"That sounds boring," he quipped. "What would I do all day?"
"You'd have the memories of billions upon billions of souls to occupy your time."
He could relive the histories of aliens on distant planets and leaders and peasants on Earth. He could learn the true history of everything, unfiltered, unbiased. He could know everything.
Everything...
"I'm not a librarian," he said. "Thanks but no thanks."
He would never except their offer, no matter how enticing it was. He'd rather know nothing and learn nothing than live in a place where Chorda was merely a set of memories. At least in the real world he had plans, things to look forward to, enemies to destroy - and the birth of his future heir.
"I'm not an idiot," said Loki. "There's something you're not telling me. You act like you do people favors by keeping their memories alive, but that's not true."
"We were once merely mindless creatures that fed on souls. We lived in the dark spaces like parasites, mere animals. But the more we fed, the more we became...more than what we were. We exist to feed, and the storage of memories of the souls we devour is in unintended byproduct of that process. Every soul we eat feeds our knowledge and makes us grow, evolve. Once we were ants. Now we are greater than gods."
"You just want to become more powerful, and then...what?"
"We move on to other universes. We sense others out there, ripe with souls."
"I can't imagine a life like that. It sounds endless and frightening."
"Then when you die we will devour you."
"By all means. Now leave me be. I have things to do."
He knew they were gone when he felt at peace once again. It was like their very absence soothed his soul.
If the End Shadows were so powerful, why didn't they just take his soul right there and then? Something wasn't right, and Loki had his suspicions. He had a feeling that he had to agree to their terms or they couldn't do anything. Did that mean all departing souls had the same choice? Had Chorda decided to be eaten by them so her memories could live on? Were there other choices? Was there a paradise out there and all you had to do was find it?
Loki shivered as he returned to the house. He found Saskia curled up on the couch, asleep. He settled in next to her, leaning his head against her shoulder. He didn't sleep.
Chapter 40
“Sutton, we need talk.”
Darin was waiting outside her room. He hadn’t slept there the night before after she’d accused him of being weak. She felt guilty about it. He wasn’t weak, just young. Maybe that was the problem.
“I’m sorry,” he said. He seemed contrite. “It’s just...I thought you and your sister needed to have it out. I didn’t want to interfere.”
She nodded. “I know that.”
He pulled her in for a kiss, and her worries started to trickle away. He may be young, but he loved her with all his heart. That was enough.
“REMEMBER NOT TO LEAVE your room,” Trent said. “Okay?”
Celia pouted and said, “I don’t like it down here.”
“You insisted on coming.”
Darin smiled and sat down by his sister. He put his arm around her.
“I promise we’ll go out later and see Whitby,” Darin promised. “Okay?”
Celia smiled. “Okay.”
Trent couldn’t help but worry when he closed the bedroom door. He never should’ve brought her along.
“You seem happier this morning,” Trent remarked as they walked along the corridor. They passed one of the vampire princes, who ignored them. “Have you made up with Sutton?”
“I think so,” Darin admitted. “I’m never quite sure with her.”
“She is a wily one.”
Trent decided to leave it at that. It was well known that he’d had a brief relationship with Sutton a long time ago that didn’t end well. It was the reason he didn’t want his son seeing her. Yet she was different now, more mature. Maybe there was hope for her after all.
He stopped as he turned a corner.
“Clover?” he called.
Clover’s face lit up with a smile. “Gable!”
He smiled as he pulled her into a hug. He never thought he’d see her again. There were rumors going around that she was in Dracula’s lair but he’d yet to see her.
“You look well,” he commented, giving her the once over.
“Loki didn’t want me to starve to death,” she said.
“Did he hurt you?”
She shook her head. “No. He wanted to convert me.”
She didn’t elaborate further, so Trent left it at that.
DRACULA'S CONFERENCE table was packed with the whose-who and the most powerful of the supernatural world. The fact that at least half of them lived in Chapel Green wasn't lost on Clover. She could almost feel the vampire royal family seething with jealous rage. It amused her.
She analyzed those who'd been summoned for her battle plan. Dracula himself was at the head of the table. He appeared tense, nervous, tapping his nails on his knee. Sutton was on his right. Stephanie was on his left. The two sisters were blatantly ignoring each other. Their brother, Roberto, was up stairs asleep. He didn't care whether the world blew up or not.
Along for the ride were the three remaining members of the Groza royal family; Nicolae, Valeriu, and Hayley. They were sat with their arms crossed, glaring daggers at everyone. Sheriff Gable Trent, Princess Toren, Darin Trent, Adrian, Lovisa, and a witch who Clover assumed was Dracula's fiancé were also present. Jared and Clover sat at the opposite end of the table from Dracula, signifying their importance to the meeting.
"I lost ten million Twitter followers after Jared's stunt this morning," Valeriu complained. “My fans are baying for my blood.”
Hayley laughed. "I bet those were all Russian bots anyway."
“You’re a bitch,” Valeriu called her.
Clover knew little about Hayley other than the fact she was young. She was actually Nicolae’s biological child, born after he’d consumed Sutton’s blood to make him fertile. The other siblings were all adopted into the family.
And she acts like a spoiled princess.
Jared grinned, ignoring Valeriu and his pouting. Clover gripped his hand, feeling nervous. Dracula was counting on her.
"Why are we here?" Nicolae demanded. "The summit isn't for another night."
"Why don't we allow Clover Kwon here to explain things to you all?" Dracula announced. “She has the answers you seek.”
They all looked at her. She felt her face redden. She hated all this attention. It was like she was back in school, having to stand up in front of the class and deliver a report – only this report could shape the future of the entire planet.
"You can do this," Trent urged her. He smiled. "Blow our socks off."
Clover smiled back. Her relationship with Gable Trent was probably the most complicated one she had. It had started off with him ordering his son to murder her and it had ended up with her seeing the demon as a second father. He would be their most lethal asset on this mission. He was powerful and brutal and he could turn the tide.
"Go ahead," added Adrian.
She smiled shyly at Adrian. A tiny part of her would always have feelings for him. It wasn't love or anything that deep, but it was something. He was warm and gentle and the kind of lover who could make you weep. He was pure masculinity with a deep femi
nine side that was explosively appealing.
She ignored the looks of pure malice from the vampire royals and said, "I have a plan to stop this war before it even starts. I want to take a team to capture Loki; now. Who's with me?"
Trent, Toren, Adrian, Lovisa, Darin, and Sutton all agreed to go with her. The vampire royals were a different story altogether.
Hayley laughed, staring at her pink manicured nails. "I'm not a soldier! I sell perfume and sleep with reality stars!"
Nicolae glared at his daughter. She didn’t appear to notice or even care. She was too caught up in her own importance.
"My family will not be waging war," Nicolae declared, his eyes meeting everyone around the table in turn. "This meeting is over."
Clover felt like punching the man. His attitude was appalling.
Valeriu shook his head. "No, Father. I will go."
That surprised Clover. He had seemed the most stuck up and vain of the lot of them. Maybe his recent losses, the deaths of his mother and brother, had changed him?
"I want revenge," Valeriu stated. He stared hatefully at Clover as he said, "I want to personally see that vile shapeshifter is taken."
Revenge. As good a motive as any.
Nicolae nodded, accepting. "Revenge, as you say."
As soon as it had started the meeting was over. Clover had been expecting a little more resistance than this. She was planning to take them into the heart of Loki's world after all.
The witch, Zelda, cleared her throat. Clover took that as a sign that she wanted to discuss privately the next part of the plan.
"Get yourselves ready and I will consult with Zelda," said Clover. "Thank you."
The meeting broke up. As Trent left he told her to phone her father sooner rather than later. She still felt guilty over how she'd left things with him, abandoning him in the care home like that after telling him he wasn't her biological father. She'd been cruel, a true instrument of chaos. Clover vowed to talk to him, to make up with him. She wanted Duck Young in her life. She only hoped she hadn't alienated him forever.
Clover was left with Zelda, Dracula, and Jared. The witch smiled and approached her. She took her hands, sending a magical jolt through her body.
"You're impressively strong in magic," said Clover, shocked.
"This is going to get oddly intimate," said Zelda. Her words were soft, reassuring. "You're going think about the place where you lived with Loki. Every detail you can think of, from what it looked like to how it smells, will help. Visualize it in your mind as if you're really there."
Clover nodded. She thought about the house and the purple skies. She thought about the Primordial Womb and the vegetable garden and the ranks of shapeshifters and Loki himself. She smiled, realizing she actually missed the beauty of the place.
Zelda smiled. "I see it. I feel it. You're biologically linked to this place because of the Primordial Womb and tethered to it emotionally because of what you experienced there. It's coming through crystal clear. It's like I've been there myself." Zelda winked. "You're right. It is beautiful, but also...ugly. Oppression. Fear. Death."
She thought about Romily and Rose's death and leaving Jessica behind and her confused feelings of sympathy for Loki. It started to become too much. It felt like she was choking on negative emotions. It was suffocating.
"No," she said, trying to pull away. "I feel sick..."
Zelda let go of her hands and nodded. "I have all I need to open a portal. Thank you."
The witch nodded and walked away, Dracula following her. Clover felt so disoriented she had to sit down. Her brain was telling her she was back in Loki's dimension, even though her eyes were saying something completely different.
"Try to breathe," Jared told her.
Breathe in through your nose, out through your mouth...
She nodded, feeling a little better.
“They’re going to try and turn her against me,” said Clover.
“Jessica loves you.” Jared kissed her. “She won’t listen to them.”
“I hope so. I hope she can survive.”
TOREN WHIPPED HER SWORD out from her scabbard. It didn't shine down here in the dingy depths of Dracula's lair, deep beneath Whitby Abbey. The light here was artificial. It made her feel closer to the planet, which enhanced her natural Fey powers, but it was still horrifically claustrophobic. Wynn glared at her for pulling out her weapon in public, but she ignored him. She felt comfortable with a sword in her hands.
"Are you sure Clover is mature enough to lead such a mission?" she asked. “She’s mentally unstable at the best of times.”
Gable Trent considered for a moment. "Yes. I trust her implicitly."
"Even though she fully admitted that Loki almost succeeded in turning her?"
"You know as well as I do that Loki's siren call can be strong, especially now you know it was your father that caused the shapeshifter wars. Can you admit to me that if you knew that back then you wouldn't have at least considered being on Loki's side?"
The Fey princess turned away, insulted. As if she would ever betray her people, despite what her father did to her mother.
My father killed my mother and blamed Loki. I turned into the Black Fey because of it. A war was started. Supernatural species became extinct. Millions died.
She nodded her head. "You have a point, Sheriff. Maybe Loki would have won if he had me on his side."
"But he has to be stopped," the sheriff stated.
"Of course. My mother has been avenged now. Now it's Loki's turn."
Wynn said, “I actually feel sorry for him.”
Toren was about to elaborate further on all the ways she could make Loki suffer when she felt the tingling of danger headed her way. She ducked just as a dagger embedded itself in the wall behind her. She looked up to find Daniel, the usurper king's pet, stalking towards her.
"Who let him in?" she demanded.
Daniel stopped. "As emissary of the Fey King I was let in."
"And you thought you'd try and kill me. How sweet."
"You are wanted for the murder of your father, the previous king of the Fey. I am ordered to kill you and..."
Toren didn't let him finish his sentence. She already had her sword out. She might as well use it.
"Take her on and you take on all of us," Trent warned.
The sheriff turned into his true demon form. There was also a large werewolf, a fuming succubus, and several vampires beside her. She couldn't help but smirk.
Daniel backed away. "She needs to pay for what she did."
"Are you just parroting that idiot's words?" Toren demanded.
He shook his head. "No. I..."
"We're about to go on a mission to capture Loki. By all means try and kill me. You might injure some of the people here, thereby halting that plan. Are you really going to alter the fate of the world? Do you want that on your conscience?"
The idiot vampire looked from Toren to her assembled mini-army, ready to defend her. He had no chance and he knew it. She only hoped he wasn't so stupidly devoted to Lachlan that he'd attack anyway, just to prove his loyalty.
Daniel kneeled down on the floor. "Then I offer my assistance."
"He'll be angry with you," said Toren.
"This is more important."
SUTTON HEADED INTO the underground garden to prepare herself. She couldn’t wait to get started. It had been a while since she’d last been in a battle. Loki would pay for what he did to her. It was his fault she had to spend the rest of her life (or the next fifty years or so) in hiding. She would avenge that murdered family in the process too. The video of them being murdered by her had haunted her nightmares for too long.
“You don’t need to keep following me,” Sutton called back.
Vishanti smirked as he walked behind her. “You have a knack for riling people up.”
Sutton grinned. “I’m a people person.”
She took a deep breath, trying to hide her fears. Something was wrong with her father. She’d susp
ected it for a while. Sutton knew he wasn’t scared of Loki or the war or anything like that. It was something personal, maybe his health. Was he ailing in some way? One in a thousand vampires sometimes developed human diseases that even their immortality couldn’t heal. She’d once heard of a vampire who developed such a vicious form of cancer that it actually killed him, though there had also been rumors that the cancer had been magical in origin.
“Who does he never confide in me?” she asked out loud.
Vishanti seemed confused. “Who?”
She shook her head, dismissing the subject. Her father couldn’t be ill. He was Dracula. He was the most powerful vampire who’d ever lived. Nothing could harm him.
“It’s always so serene in here,” Stephanie remarked.
Sutton smirked. “It was until you arrived with your stink.”
She watched her sister walk up to her. The aroma of orchids and other exotic plants intoxicated them both.
“Will you ever forgive me?” Stephanie asked.
“Never in a billion years,” said Sutton.
Her sister smiled. “I can wait that long.”
Sutton fumed as Stephanie walked away. She would never, ever forgive her sister. You didn’t forgive or forget being betrayed by someone you loved, a member of your own family. You held a grudge forever.
She felt warm hands reach around her shoulders. She looked up into the eyes of Darin. His touch, and his loving gaze, immediately made her hard heart thaw a little. The fact that her bodyguard was still watching, viewing the intimate moment, bothered her not at all.
“It’s like the whole of Chapel Green has moved into my father’s house.” She laughed. “He secretly hates this you know. He despises the power your father has. The fact that all his allies are here must be making him exceptionally paranoid.”
Darin asked, “I never did figure out who was in charge; is is Father or Dracula?”
Sutton didn’t know. She’s always suspected that they had a mutual understanding to share power. Neither of them was the ultimate ruler over the supernatural world. Then again, she always thought they shared that power with the Fey king and the leader of the witches, Circe. So where were Circe and the Fey king now?