Unity

by Jessica Wayne

  Soft footsteps echoed down the hall as Dakota crept, moving as quickly as he could down the hall. As he walked, he checked each room he passed, hoping it would be where Thames was keeping Vincent’s son.

  Pushing open a large red door, Dakota breathed a sigh of relief when he saw a crib with a small form sleeping inside.

  Reaching down inside, Dakota lifted the small boy into his arms, grateful Vinny didn’t wake up. After grabbing the crib blanket to cover him with, Dakota crept from the room, silently shutting the door behind him.

  Pulse thundering, Dakota quickly crept down the hall and back through the throne room. Truth was, he had no fucking clue how he was going to escape. Thames had conjured a portal before though, hadn’t he? Using the magic that Dakota possessed?

  So, it was something he should be able to do too, right?

  Once he was far enough away that Thames couldn’t hear him, Dakota shifted Vinny to one arm and closed his eyes, trying to find the power he’d inherited. He could feel it, a soft buzz like the wings of a hummingbird. Something that was as much a part of him as his own blood.

  “Okay, this can’t be that hard, right?” Dakota whispered. “You can do this, Parker.” He held up his free hand in front of him and whispered, “Open.”

  Opening one of his eyes, he groaned. Nothing. “Dammit. Okay, let’s try this again. Open up, you fucking portal. Take me to Terrenia.”

  Still, his heart fell when he opened his eyes and had managed to conjure absolutely nothing.

  “This is ridiculous.” Vinny stirred in Dakota’s arm, and he stopped moving until the boy settled back against him, head resting on Dakota’s shoulder.

  Taking a deep breath, Dakota closed his eyes again and tried to picture Terrenia. He thought of the tall, green trees, the thick grass, blue water, and of course, Ana. He imagined the way she’d looked the day they were married: beautiful and ready to take on the world. Which—since they’d been about to march into battle against Vincent—she had been.

  The thought of her had the magic in his veins moving faster, and when he thought back to her announcement that he was going to be a father, it pushed into a full-on roar, deafening everything else around.

  Lastly, Dakota pictured a portal, and when he opened his eyes, it was there.

  “Yes!” he whispered loudly. Gripping Vinny, Dakota stepped forward toward freedom—

  A hand gripped his shoulder at the base of his neck, squeezing tightly and yanking him backward. Dakota jerked back, and the shock caused his escape to close, cutting him off from Terrenia—and Ana—again.

  “Nice try,” Thames growled. “I underestimated you, Brother.”

  Dakota turned, clutching Vinny to his chest.

  “Give me back my son.”

  “He’s not your son.”

  Thames’ face contorted with rage, his usual amused smirk replaced with a sneer that caused Dakota’s blood to ice.

  “You have one last chance or I’ll forget how much I actually need you,” Thames warned.

  Afraid of what might happen to Vinny if Thames’ temper snapped, Dakota set him down gently. The boy was a heavy sleeper and simply rolled onto his side, clutching the crib blanket.

  “Good boy,” Thames said, looking down at Vinny, then back at Dakota. “Too bad you’re an idiot. Did you honestly believe you would escape?”

  “I will escape. Maybe not tonight, or tomorrow, but one of these days I will escape, and I will help Ana bring your ass down.”

  Thames laughed, the deep chuckle reverberating through Dakota’s mind. “You seem to think I’ve played my entire hand, little brother. How little you actually know about me.”

  “I don’t fear you,” Dakota growled, hands tightening into fists. Going after Thames with magic was foolish, and the bastard may have him outweighed, but if Dakota could catch him off guard and jam a blade into his throat, even Thames couldn’t walk away from that.

  “No, you don’t. You’re too stupid to understand what’s worthy of your fear.”

  Dakota reached behind him, hand closing in around the hilt of the blade. “You sure have a high opinion of yourself.”

  Thames stepped toward Vinny, but Dakota held his ground. If this turned into a fight, he wanted to be sure he could get to the boy quickly and get them both the hell out of here as soon as possible.

  Thames reached behind his back, pulling out a long, rolled-up whip. “Do you honestly believe you can stand against me?”

  “I think I can sure as hell try,” Dakota said, pulling the blade from his pocket.

  Thames raised an eyebrow at the knife as he studied it, amused. “You make things too easy.” He cracked the whip, waking Vinny up with a panicked cry. “How about we take this to another room?”

  “You aren’t getting him again.” Dakota took his stance, blade in hand. At least if he kills me, this will all be over. No magic for him to use.

  Thames cracked out the whip, and Dakota dodged, charging with his blade immediately after. He threw his body weight into Thames, knocking him back only a few steps, before burying the blade into his arm.

  “You have no idea the mistake you just made.” Thames pulled the knife from his arm, before tossing it to the ground.

  Dakota braced himself for another physical assault, but none came. Something exploded in his head, and his vision went blurry just before he fell to his knees, pressing shaking hands to his ears.

  Thames stepped toward him. “I own you; your mind is mine to control.”

  “How?” Dakota ground out. How the hell are you doing this to me while standing in front of me?

  “Rosabel gifted us with a connection before her untimely demise. Only a Siren can remove it. Not even your precious Sorceress has the power to save you.” Thames laughed. Vinny whimpered, and Thames walked over, lifting the boy into his arms. “Now, now, son. Everything is all right. Uncle Dakota just has a bit of a headache.”

  He grabbed Dakota’s shirt collar and dragged him behind them, before tossing him back into the cage he’d escaped less than an hour before.

  “I think your wife needs a visit. Perhaps with some of her blood on your hands, you’ll learn to behave,” Thames said, slamming the cage shut and locking Dakota back inside.

  Dakota rolled to his side, still clutching his throbbing head. If a Siren was the only one who could remove the connection, he really was screwed. He wasn’t even sure there were any other Sirens around. It was possible Rosabel had been the last of her kind—and Thames dusted her.

  Pushing to his knees, Dakota took deep breaths, trying to ease the pain in his pounding head. Heavy footfalls signaled Thames’ return, and Dakota rose on shaky legs.

  Eyeing the silver collar in Thames’ hand, Dakota asked, “What the hell is that?”

  “Something to keep you in check.” Thames unlocked the cage and stepped toward him. Dakota stepped back, but Thames continued moving forward until steel bars pressed against Dakota’s back.

  “On your knees,” Thames growled.

  “In your fucking dreams.”

  Thames slammed his fist into Dakota’s gut, and he crumpled forward, the contact knocking all the breath from his lungs.

  “That’s better.” Thames gripped Dakota’s neck, large fingers biting into his skin, and secured the collar around his throat with an audible click. “Now you won’t be able to attempt anything so stupid again.”

  Releasing him, Thames stepped back out and slammed the gate closed.

  Still gasping for breath, Dakota crawled to the bars. “Ana will destroy you!” he screamed, but Thames’ only answer was a chuckle before disappearing down the hall with Vinny. “Leave her alone, Thames!” he screamed.

  When there was no answer, Dakota curled up in the corner, pressing the palms of his hands against his still throbbing ears.

  Kick his fucking ass, Ana. Please.

  7

  Seattle

  Anastasia

  Anastasia’s foot tapped impatiently against the laminate as she sat in th
e waiting room of Dr. Karen Jeffords—one of Elizabeth’s old co-workers. Women in all stages of pregnancy sat in blue cloth chairs around the office, smiles on their faces, loving partners sitting beside them.

  It made her heart ache for Dakota all over again, and the overwhelming feeling of guilt that she was here without him settled in.

  “This is a waste of time,” she muttered to Tony, who sat beside her. Elizabeth was still standing at the desk, chatting lightly with the woman working behind it.

  He chuckled softly. “She wouldn’t have let it go. Besides, now you can give Dakota good news when you see him.”

  “I shouldn’t be here without him.”

  “He would want you to be here, Anastasia. Making sure you and the baby are safe would be his first priority—you know that.”

  She shrugged and sat up straighter, trying to cease her own foot-tapping, which had started to get on her nerves.

  Waste of time. I know everything is fine. She should be figuring out how to conjure a water portal so she could rescue Dakota. Then they could come to these appointments together. Tears started to form in her eyes as she watched a couple across from her. They had nothing but pure joy on their faces as the man ran his hand over the woman’s swollen belly.

  Will I ever get that chance with Dakota? Will he ever get to share the joy of this new life?

  “Anastasia Parker?”

  Anastasia got to her feet, and Tony stood, placing a hand on her shoulder. “I’ll be here when you are done.”

  “Thanks.”

  Anastasia walked toward the tall brunette in blue scrubs that waited for her, offering a kind smile to Elizabeth as she passed, who waved at her from the desk.

  “If you need me, I’ll be right here.”

  Anastasia nodded, afraid if she spoke, the dam holding back her tears would burst, turning her into a blubbering mess.

  “I’m Jo, Dr. Jeffords’ nurse.”

  Anastasia smiled, but didn’t respond. Seemed foolish to introduce herself to someone who already knew her name.

  “How are you today?” Jo asked with a smile as she led Anastasia down a long hallway.

  “Fine, thanks.”

  “Any complaints?”

  Anastasia shook her head.

  “We’re going to start off by getting your vitals; can you please remove your shoes and step on the scale?”

  Anastasia did as she was told and climbed onto the scale.

  “All right, you can step down. I just need to get your blood pressure.”

  The cuff tightened around her bicep, and Anastasia bit down on the inside of her cheek, feeling completely alone as the couple from earlier stepped in and headed down the hall past her, hand in hand.

  Breathe. He’ll be here soon enough.

  Focusing on the task at hand, Anastasia sat still until the woman released her cuff, then sent her into the restroom for a urine sample.

  At least he’ll miss this awkwardness. Anastasia laughed to herself, then, after washing her hands, headed back out into the hall to room twelve where Jo waited for her.

  “Go ahead and strip down, then put on this gown. The doctor will be in shortly,” Jo said with a kind smile, as if she hadn’t just asked Anastasia to get naked.

  “Okay.”

  Once the door slid closed behind her, Anastasia let out a breath. Staring down at the gown folded neatly on the white paper covering the examination table, Anastasia’s eyes filled again, and she quickly wiped the tears away.

  “I can do this,” she whispered as she began to remove her clothes.

  Once she was dressed in the gown, she climbed onto the table and folded her shaking hands in her lap.

  There was a light knock on the door, and a middle-aged blonde woman walked in, wheeling a cart with what looked like a computer on it behind her.

  “Hi, Anastasia, I’m Dr. Jeffords.” She held out her hand, and Anastasia took it, shaking lightly before releasing. “We’re going to start off with a sonogram to verify pregnancy and see how far along you are, then we’ll go over a few things, and you’ll be good to go.”

  “Okay.”

  She smiled and handed Anastasia a small white sheet. “Go ahead and lay back for me, and put your feet in these stirrups.”

  Anastasia followed her direction, feeling more uncomfortable and vulnerable than she had in her entire life.

  “This is going to be a little uncomfortable, but if you watch the screen, we should be able to see baby.”

  Not sure what she should say at the sight of the giant wand, Anastasia simply nodded and turned her head to the screen.

  “Here we go.”

  There was pressure as the doctor inserted the wand, but the second the small blip became visible on the monitor, Anastasia forgot everything else.

  “There’s baby.” The doctor flipped a switch, and the sound of a fast, thumping heart filled the room.

  Overwhelmed with emotion, Anastasia’s eyes filled. There they are. The new life she and Dakota created, blipping away inside of her. The small peanut-shaped blur became the most important thing in her entire world, and simply knowing it was there helped her not feel so alone.

  I’ll bring your daddy home, baby. I promise.

  With a smile, Anastasia stepped from the room and back into the waiting area where Tony and Elizabeth sat.

  When they saw her, both got to their feet and met her at the door leading outside.

  “So?”

  Anastasia handed over the small rectangular photo in her hand to Elizabeth, and watched as a slow smile spread over her face.

  “Oh, honey, this is wonderful!”

  “What?” Tony peered down at the image, obviously confused. “What is that?”

  “It’s the baby, you dope,” Elizabeth responded playfully.

  “It looks like a bean.”

  Anastasia laughed. “It really does.”

  “So, doc said everything was fine?” Elizabeth asked as they stepped outside.

  Anastasia nodded. “I’m about ten weeks along.”

  “How exciting! Aren’t you glad I talked you into this?”

  “It still felt wrong doing it without Dakota, but I am glad I have some peace of mind. Now, I can focus on bringing peanut’s dad home.”

  “And we will,” Tony assured her.

  “I know we—” A loud boom echoed through the otherwise silent alley, and the trio spun around.

  “What the hell are those?” Tony asked, staring at the source of the noise.

  Anastasia’s mouth fell open. The creatures were completely black. What she guessed was supposed to be their skin resembled black ink, steadily dripping down to the pavement at their feet. They moaned as they moved, reminding Anastasia of ghosts from an old horror movie she and Dakota used to watch every Halloween.

  “I have no clue.” Anastasia held out her palms, ready for an attack.

  The creatures inched closer, their movements limping and strained. The moans grew louder and more strained as they moved.

  “I know what they are.” Elizabeth’s voice cracked, and Anastasia looked over at her. Tears shimmered in her eyes, and her bottom lip quivered.

  “What are they?”

  “They are Luxe—or rather were Luxe—before Thames got his hands on the world.”

  “What? Those things were people?”

  “Yes. My people,” she said sadly.

  They continued to move closer.

  “Did Thames send you?” Tony asked.

  When the creatures didn’t respond, Anastasia conjured twin flames on her palms.

  “What are you doing? It's possible they’re here to warn us,” Elizabeth insisted.

  “Doubtful.” Anastasia held her palms in front of them. “Why are you here?”

  “Blood,” one said, its voice gurgling as it spoke.

  “Whose blood?” Anastasia demanded.

  “Yours.”

  An inky black arm reached out, extending well past normal, and shot toward her like a bullet. She dodged,
and it slammed into a dumpster, leaving a smoking hole in its wake.

  “Definitely not here to warn us,” Tony said, pulling a blade from his boot.

  Anastasia shot the flames toward the creatures, knocking two of the three down. The black ink absorbed into the ground, and the third howled in rage.

  Sticking out both arms, it extended them toward her, and Anastasia blocked its reach with a magical barrier. Her barrier began to smoke, the ink leaking through and dropping to the pavement at her feet.

  “When I say so, jump to the left,” she instructed Elizabeth and Tony.

  “Will do,” Tony responded, putting his hand on Elizabeth’s arm.

  Conjuring another ball of flame, Anastasia said, “Now!” She dropped her shield and jumped to the side, crashing into a bunch of boxes.

  The thing turned an inky head toward her, and Anastasia flung the flame at it. Unable to move quickly unless it was extending its limbs, it didn’t move in time, and cried out as it began to sizzle, turning into a smoking puddle of goo before absorbing back into the ground.

  “You okay?” Tony helped Anastasia to her feet, and she brushed dirt off her jeans.

  “Yeah.”

  “Do we know what this means?” Elizabeth asked. “That he’s able to reach out without using Dakota as a shell?”

  Anastasia stared at the place where the creatures had been moments before. “It means we’re running out of time.”

  8

  Terrenia

  Anastasia

  “We’ve got a problem,” Anastasia said as she stepped into her grandmother’s cottage. Both she and Vincent looked up from the books they were reading.

  “What happened?” Carmen asked, getting to her feet. “The baby?”

  Anastasia shook her head. “Baby is fine.”

  Carmen let out a breath.

  “Then what’s the problem?” Vincent asked.

  “Thames sent Luxe creatures after us.”

  Carmen’s head cocked to the side, her eyes narrowing. “Luxe creatures?”

  “The living dead,” Vincent said, and Anastasia nodded.

  “That’s an apt description for those fuckers.” Tony crossed his large arms over his chest.