by K. A Knight
“So that’s your plan?” I call when Khalid just gapes at her, unsure what to say. “To end the world? How cliché. With all that power, that’s the best you can come up with?” I twirl my knife as I watch her. “And to possess the body of their lost sister? Nice touch, I must say, but it won’t stop me from killing you though.”
“No?” She grins wide, blood coating her teeth. “But they will. Even when they know they should, they won’t be able to, will you, Khalid?” she purrs, and then her voice changes, becoming higher, scared. “Kal, please!” she begs. “Help me!”
Khalid roars and steps forward. She laughs, her head thrown back as the sound echoes across the space with us. “So easy to manipulate. For all their power, they fall at the feet of a girl they used to love. Ironic, isn’t it? Their parents always said she would be the death of them, and they were right.”
“Do not talk about my parents,” he snarls, and she narrows her eyes and flicks her fingers. A zombie rushes at him in warning. I block it and snap its neck, protecting him while he struggles as his past and present meet.
As duty and love collide.
He knows what he needs to do, but that body…the body of his dead sister is stopping him. So I’ll do it for him, I’ll kill her. Even if it means he hates me for all time, at least she can rest then, at least the world will be safe.
One life for the lives of many.
“Lilith!” I yell to distract her from Khalid as I step before him. He’s mine, she can’t have him. “It ends here. Leave her body or else.”
“Or else what, power shifter?” She laughs. I frown and she crouches at the hill. “Oh, you don’t know… Of course not. Those stupid supernaturals wouldn’t recognise the past even when it hits them in the face, so scared of the lessons and darkness it holds. That’s what you are. I see the magic in you, see the stolen shifts hiding inside of you.” She glances at Khalid then. “Like he steals faces, you steal magic, shifts. It’s an ancient power, only the very evilest of our kind possessed it. It was wiped out, even before the gods were born, deemed too powerful… Yet here you are. The Fates dealt you a bad hand. You will suffer so greatly. The power will rip you apart, as will the shifts within you. The more you have…the more pain you will experience.” She grins. “Unless you join me.” She holds her hand out to me. “Fight by my side. We can make this world ours, and I will help you navigate it.”
I look back at Khalid, a plan forming. I meet his eyes and try to silently tell him to trust me. He frowns but watches me as I turn and step closer to the hill. “If I do, if I go with you…you’ll help me control it?”
“Yes, my child,” she hisses, her hand stretching farther out.
“You promise not to hurt him or his brothers?” I demand.
Her eye twitches, but she snarls, “Fine, now come. We don’t have all day.”
I look back at Khalid again, as if to say goodbye, and wink at him as I spin and troop right to the zombies. At the last moment, they move, parting for me, giving me a clear path to her before reforming behind me, blocking me from Khalid. It means I’ll probably die, but hell, I’ve faced worse odds. At least I’m not bored.
She doesn’t know who she’s messing with.
I’m fucking Remi, amore, mate to a god. Tamer of animals and badass extraordinaire. Necromancer bitch is going down.
I slowly walk up the hill towards her where she stands, waiting, with her hand still outstretched and a cocky smile on her face, like she knows she’s won. The supes at her side pull closer as if to protect her, and she throws them a dirty look, forcing them farther back, away from her and me. So confident. So cocky. Believing this world is hers…but she’s wrong. It’s all of ours, and we may be monsters, but we are all one. Ready to die to save this world. Even those in it who fear and hate us.
When I stop before her, I meet those evil eyes and don’t cower or bow like I think she expects. “My child,” she coos as she steps forward, “you made the right choice.”
“I know,” I reply as I reach out and place my hand in hers, and then clench it with my strength, a cocky smile curving my own lips. “But you made a dumb one, necro bitch.”
“What—” Her voice cuts off as I stab with the concealed knife I had up my other arm, landing it right through her cold, back heart. Khalid screams, but I don’t stop as I plunge it in, yanking myself closer with her hand as I stare into her face. For a moment, I see the woman underneath flicker through, her gaze seeming…thankful before, with a roar, her eyes fade to black and she’s pushed back.
Lilith cracks her neck from side to side before wrapping her hands around the blade and, eyes on me, she pulls it free. The blood coating it is black and sludgy, and she tosses it away as the hole in her chest knits back together again.
“Worth a shot, right?” I grin, and then she snaps her fingers and her power hits me like a fucking tidal wave.
I hear Khalid’s yell again as I’m thrown through the air, right back to the bottom of the hill. I land before the zombies as I roll across the ground. I feel bones break, but they start mending again faster than ever before, which I don’t have time to ponder, as I finally stop. Face up, staring at the sky.
“Amore!” Khalid hollers and rushes to me, helping me to my knees, his face panicked. “Are you okay? Talk to me,” he demands, gripping my cheeks.
“Peachy,” I murmur.
“Kill them!” comes Lilith’s order, and we both jerk our heads around to see the zombies turning to us once again, this time with murderous intent.
“Here we go.” I groan as he helps me to my feet, and once he’s sure I’m steady, he moves to my side. “You ready?”
“Are you?” he asks.
“Bet I kill more than you,” I tease.
We have no more time for talking as they come at us then. We have to fight our way through them to get to her. I slash and stab, breaking necks and ripping them apart with my claws as Khalid fights by my side. Their blood coats us, their bodies spongy on the ground as we battle every inch of the way. One attacks from the front, and I fling myself at him, knock him to the ground, and then snap his neck and twist. I leap to my feet and stab out with my claws at another one approaching from behind. It goes on and on. My heart hammers with adrenaline, and my animals roar in pleasure as they get to rip through the masses to get to her. At some point, they surge around us, separating Khalid and me, and we drift farther and farther apart as more zombies flow over the hill. Those supernatural ones wait at her side while she grins at us, enjoying watching us as we fight for our lives.
Then I hear him, Khalid. “Lilith, stop this! This isn’t you, stop!” he yells, and I look over to see he’s close to her, but he’s still fighting, growling, and throwing zombies away as he tries to get to her. Even now, he’s trying to save his sister.
Lilith turns her power on him, though, and he’s vulnerable. He won’t fight back, and I know she’s going to kill him. I can’t let that happen. I gather everything within me, all of my animals and the new knowledge I got when I touched her—the knowledge of what the Fate meant and what she told me… I can take her powers.
I charge.
I fling myself over zombies, slide through their legs, and climb over them, stabbing as I go until I’ve almost reached her. I see her raise her hand, and I know what’s going to happen. But I won’t let it. “Hey, bitch face,” I shout as I throw a knife. She turns, stopping the knife in mid-air, and with a snarl and a jerk of her head, it turns and soars back at me. I don’t even have time to move as it embeds in my stomach. Groaning, I look down and see the blood, and then her power hits me once again.
I fight through it to get to her while Khalid screams my name and tries to reach me, but he’s restrained by two zombies. All of her anger is aimed at me now, that power building and building. The whole world turns black with it. The earth rolls, and roars sound until, with one last pulse, it stabs through me like an electric shock and I’m thrown again.
Once more, I sail through the air, but this t
ime I know it won’t end well.
“Remi!” Khalid screams as I smack into a tree and slump to the ground. Agony rocks through my body, my hands covering my stomach as every bone breaks. She sets fire to my insides with her power, ripping me apart, and then I hear another voice.
“Lilith, enough!” comes the ground shaking roar, and for a moment, everything stops. I lift my head, my eyes blurry, and see the huge outline of a man stepping from the forest. It stops her though, and her power leaves me. I slump to the ground, my heart skipping a beat. I’ve felt pain before, but never like this. Even my animals are circling inside me to try and protect me, but I know I’m hurt. Badly.
“Stop,” the newcomer demands.
“Never, but I’m afraid I have to get going. It’s not time for the end just yet!” She laughs.
“I won’t let you,” the stranger replies.
“Then you have a choice—save your brother and his mate or stop me.” She chuckles. “Choose, my love.” I feel a flash of energy, and when I look up, she has disappeared in a black mist.
But the zombies are still here, and Khalid is fighting the never-ending horde of zombies left behind, all apart from the supernatural ones. I struggle to get up, to get to him, but my eyes start to fail me. There’s a buzzing in my ears, and my body is flashing hot and cold and won’t respond. My shift won’t come over me, I’m too hurt.
The last thing I see is the stranger stopping before me as he faces off with the zombies.
Choice made—to save us.
To lose her.
Then I pass out.
KHALID
I don’t even have time to greet Atlas. We work together to finish off the zombies, but my mind is on my mate, and I leave the last few to him and rush to her side. I owe him for protecting my mate, but all I care about right now is her. I drop to my knees, my eyes wide and hands hesitating as I reach for her.
Nothing can kill Remi, she is a fucking hunter, a badass, yet fear fills me. She did it for me, to protect me. She took this for me so I wouldn’t have to try and kill Lilith. I’m terrified I’ve lost her. But then I hear a sluggish beat of her heart. With a shaky breath, I gather her to my chest and kiss her head. I never thought I could kill my sister, but when I saw Remi fall, I knew I would slay her to save my mate.
“I’ve got you, amore, I’m here. I’m here, you’ll be okay. I’ll get you somewhere safe, just rest and relax,” I promise as I get to my feet and turn to Atlas, who’s standing over the bodies of the zombies. He holds a heart in his hand, which he tosses to the ground before he looks back at me. His bald head shines in the sun that’s peeking through the clouds now that she’s gone. Lilith, not she. His expression is determined, stern, his lips are turned down, and his jaw is covered in stubble. He looks different than when I last saw him. His long warrior braids are gone, and he’s bigger, huge even for him. He glances at my mate, his hands shaking at his sides as he flicks off the blood.
“Is she okay?” he asks, his voice deep like crashing rocks.
“She will be. We need a safe place where she can rest, shift, and heal,” I answer, unsure what else to say. We so easily fell back into the same pattern, fighting side by side. We always excelled at that part, but this, working and talking together, is what we failed at as family.
He nods and looks around. “She’s gone. Come on, I know a place, and I’ll answer all those questions I see in your eyes, little brother.”
He steps closer and claps me on the shoulder. “She’s alive,” is all I whisper, still uncertain how to get over the sister I mourned for millennia being alive and here.
“I know.” He sighs and then looks down at Remi. “Your mate is an incredible warrior, you should be proud. Come.”
I follow silently behind him, holding Remi close, looking down at her every few seconds to ensure she’s okay. I can feel her body resting, and some of her wounds are already healing. That kind of magic leaves an aftereffect. She won’t be back to full sass, badass amore until she’s shifted though, and I know she feels vulnerable when she is, so I need to make sure I get her somewhere safe where I can watch her back while she does. I don’t imagine it will be a quick heal from the ordeal her body went through today. It will be painful, and the thought alone has me pulling her closer.
Atlas leads us through the forest, and we walk side by side. I shoot him looks which he ignores, so I finally come out and ask, “How did you know we were here?”
He glances over at me and then averts his gaze. My older brother has changed, that’s for sure. He was never the most talkative anyway, always the strong silent type, usually trailing behind Lilith or getting into fights, but this stretch of quiet is a lot, even for him. He’s more scarred too. I guess we all are. “I’ve been tracking her.”
“You knew she was alive?” I demand, and Remi shifts in my arms so I quiet my voice, making it softer.
“Only for a year and a bit, I didn’t believe it at first. I was deep in the underground in Russia when I heard a murmur of a woman recruiting and summoning demons… I was hired to stop them,” he explains, equally as quiet, cutting a look at my mate where, for a moment, his face seems to soften. A flare of irrational jealousy hounds me, and I tuck her close, even though I know Atlas has only ever had eyes for Lilith. “Took me a few months following her trail. Always a step behind. I saw her for the first time six months ago and didn’t believe it. Thought I had finally gone crazy. I’ve been following her ever since, but I’m always behind, and she leaves me cocky, taunting notes,” he snarls, rubbing at his head before snapping a tree that’s in the way. “I managed to get here just in time this once.”
“Are you okay?” I inquire. It ruined him when Lilith died. Part of him died with her, and when he disappeared into the night, none of us blamed him.
He doesn’t reply, but I see his eyes close for a moment. I loved Lilith like a sister, and it wrecked me to see her. Not only that, but it was painful to see her corrupted and her body being used like that, so this must be killing him. His shoulders hunch slightly, and he speeds up as if he’s trying to escape his own demons and thoughts, so I quiet down, leaving him to it.
Haven’t I suffered with walking away from my mate to protect her? I know that pain, but at least I knew she was alive. He thought she was dead, and to find her alive after all these years, and to have that hope dashed because, surely, he knows we have to stop her…kill her… The thought seems abhorrent. I couldn’t hurt her, she’s my sister, but in those evil eyes, there wasn’t even a hint of her anymore. She was nothing more than a vessel. She’s trapped in there…so surely it would be a mercy?
But could you kill the woman you love, even to save her?
I don’t know if I could. I thought I could once, but holding Remi in my arms, I know I couldn’t. I’m not strong enough, is Atlas?
He leads us to a car at the side of the road, and without a word, he opens the back door for me. I slide in with Remi still in my arms and snuggle her close. I sit against the door when he shuts it and gets in the front seat, revving the engine as he pulls onto the road and drives away from the city. I want to ask where we’re going, but I settle back with Remi, looking down at her as I stroke her hair away from her face. I already miss those mismatched eyes and smirking lips.
“Not long now, amore. Stay with me, okay? I’m right here, feel my heart, stay with me and you can shift. Then you’ll be back to kicking my ass in no time,” I tease as I lean down and softly kiss her forehead, which is a little clammy but nothing too extreme.
I feel eyes on me, and when I glance up, I meet Atlas’ gaze in the rear-view mirror. It’s filled with a longing so deep, it cracks my heart. All he ever wanted was Lilith, and he lost her not once, but now twice. How would I handle that?
He’s a stronger man than me.
He looks back at the road then, and we drive long into the night, pulling down dirt side tracks about two hours later. It’s dark, so there’s not much to see as we pull up outside a pitch-black cottage. It’s c
ute, homey, and I hear the crashing waves of the ocean not too far away, over the dunes of sand just behind the house. Atlas turns off the engine, and in the quiet of the car, he sighs.
“This is home for now,” he murmurs. “You’ll be safe here.”
“What is this place?” I ask, and he looks back at me.
“It was the house I built Lilith,” he admits, and then he gets out. I say nothing as he opens my door for me. I gently lift Remi out and follow him up the cobbled footway to the bright green front door—her favourite colour—which he opens and lets me in, flipping on lights. He notices my look and winces. “I kept it updated over the years… Came here sometimes when I needed to feel close to her.”
I nod, and he gestures towards the winding wooden stairs in the corner of the dark room. “There are bedrooms up there. Pick any but the one with the double doors. I’ll get some food ready for when she wakes up.”
“Thank you, brother,” I murmur, and he nods, looking at Remi.
“Hold her close and never let her go,” he advises and then turns away, heading through a doorway to the left.
Shifting Remi closer, I head through the quaint, cosy living room with a chimney and fireplace to the stairs. I head up, my feet soft on the wood. At the top, it opens into a library, and past that are two corridors. I pick one at random and move to the first room which turns out to be a bedroom with a slanted roof, a fireplace, a white bed, a window seat, wooden floors, and high wooden beams. It’s very Lilith and cute and surprises me, but I shut and lock the door behind me for privacy with my mate before laying her on the bed—more to protect her shift and Atlas. She has a tendency to go wild when she shifts, not that she probably knows, though I doubt she will have the strength this time. I slip off her shoes and weapons before covering her with a blanket.