by Karen DuBose
Bruno taps me on the shoulder. “I will vouch for him. He is the one that got us to protect you, even if he was vague about it.”
Shaking my head. “No, he needs to prove himself just like Jax and everyone else has. I need to know for myself.” Something makes me turn to Kelso. “You have been working with the Elders this whole time.”
The horror look he gives me is priceless. He stutters to say what he has to say. “I am…not working…for….them.”
I give him a cruel smile. “But you are. Why did you hide this from Kiernan?”
His defense comes out. “I am not working for the Elders!”
“What do you call working for Asher then?”
He looks between me and Asher. I can see Asher is trying not to smile. “He isn’t an Elder.”
Oceana finally stops us. “That’s enough. We have other things that need our attention than this bickering. Focus on that.”
I smile at her. She knows I was just trying to get info from him. “Alright, everyone. You all know what to do. We need to get them all at the center of this town. Once they are there, you need to get out of there fast. I will only get one chance at this.”
Asher looks at me. “You know what you have to do already?”
“No, but I have a feeling as to what I need to do.”
He nods his head and lifts his hand gesturing me to continue.
“Are we ready?”
Yes, came from all of them, except Kelso. I didn’t expect it in the first place. I look at Kira and know I would never ask her to leave her dad.
“Kira you can stay here with him. If he wakes up, I want you to be the first person he sees.”
Looking up at me, she shakes her head no. “I will be by your side. He won’t wake up for a while. Keva, can you stay with him please?”
She walks up to Kira. “Of course.”
Kira stands and takes her place to the left of me. Kiernan is standing to the right of me. I know there is nothing I can say to her to make her stay. “Let’s get going.”
We walk out of the home we were at. Walking down the abandoned road. I watch as our pack grows smaller as they do what they need to do to get the demons there.
“I sure hope I’m right about this. If I’m wrong, I just killed everyone.”
I didn’t say that to anyone in particular. I just needed to say it out loud. To make this more real to me. I pray to the Source we all survive this war we didn’t even know we were dragged into.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Eimear
Being teleported isn’t easy. It takes me a few minutes to regain my composure. When I look around my jaw drops. Where in the world did he drop us off at? The two girls staring at us look like they are about to freak out. I don’t blame them.
Looking down, I make sure Runes is safe. When her mix match eyes look up at me, my heart melts. “Are you doing ok sweet one?” Her little goo is all the confirmation I need. Holding her tighter to me, I look to make sure everyone else is accounted for.
Bexley looks around, then faces me. “I can’t believe he brought us here.”
I scrunch up my brows. “Where is here exactly?”
She blinks at me like I should know the answer. “Earth.”
My heart triples in my chest. How did he get us to earth? I look at the two girls openly staring at us. “Do you have a place for us to stay, I don’t know how long we will be here.”
They both look at each other than back to me. The redhead steps forward. “Um. I’m not sure there is a place for you to stay. Unless you have money. There really isn’t a place.”
My nerves are shot as it is and now, she is telling me we have no place to go. Why did Pim bring us here?
Gracen walks toward the redhead. “We have money don’t worry your pretty little head about that. Where is the closest boarding house?”
I look between the two and back at Bexley. Where would she have earth money? How did she even get it?
The redhead looks uncomfortable. “It’s around the corner.”
The other girl steps up to her friend. “Hi, I’m Edna and this is Arielana. Where are you guys from?”
I don’t think we are allowed to say and if we are, I don’t want to tell them. Thankfully neither does Gracen. “We are from up north. We are just passing through. We need rest and we want to see what your little town has to offer.”
I can tell she isn’t buying it, but she nods her head. Gracen turns to us and points to me. “That is Eimear and the little bundle of joy in her arms is Runes. That is Bexley, Naya, Isobel, and I’m Gracen.”
The other girl with blonde hair brings her hand up for Gracen to shake. She takes the girls hand. “It’s nice to meet you. I hope you enjoy Shady Oaks. There is no other place like it on earth.”
Gracen shakes Edna’s hand and smiles at her. “It’s nice to meet you as well youngling.”
I notice she emphasized on the word Earth. Gracen walks back over to use. She is giving me a look that says go with it. I don’t dare give anything away. I want to survive so I can go back home as soon as possible. Being here is giving me the creeps. I have this strange feeling like someone is watching my every move. I take a chance to look around the place. It seems like we are the only ones here but what do I know. I don’t know enough about Earth to know if they have magic here or not. My own magic feels weird being here, like its muted.
“Alright, ladies let’s go get our rooms and see what this little town has to offer.”
She walks over to the door and leads us out of the weird looking diner into the town. There are people walking everywhere. Something I miss watching. I love people watching.
She doesn’t stand around long enough for me to even get a fill on the people of this town. I know she wants to get off the streets. The less people who know we are here, the better.
She walks up to a building that looks like a large cabin. I look around to see the other buildings. There are sky high buildings with windows as far as you can see. I look back to the cabin. It’s clear the cabin is out of place amongst the others.
I absolutely love it. I love anything that is different. I think that has to do with my daughter. She is definitely different and unique. Gracen, Naya, and Bexley walk into the cabin. Isobel waits with me outside.
I look down at Runes to see she is fast asleep. I hope it doesn’t take long for them to come get us. Runes needs her mother. “Are you ready to go in?”
Turning my head in Isobel direction, I nod. “I’m as ready as I will ever be. Hopefully, we are only here for the night.” I really wasn’t ready to go inside. I want to explore this town and people watch.
Isobel places a hand on my lower back. “I pray we are too.”
Walking up the stairs and into the cabin, my jaw drops. The entryway is ten times the size as the outside. The front desk takes up most the whole side wall. The lounge area looks comfy with blue and silver furniture. The walls are painted silver with dark blue trim.
Looking up at the ceiling, I gasp. The night sky can be seen through the glass where the ceiling should be. I wonder if there is magic here.
Walking over to one of the comfy looking chairs, I sit down. I can feel the weight of today harbor down on me. I’m getting too old for all of this. Isobel and Bexley plop down in the chair’s opposite of me.
Bexley leans back into the chair. “When this is over, I’m retiring.”
I chuckle at her. I know deep down she would be there in a split second if one of us needs her. “I feel you on that one.” Leaning back myself, I rest my head back and close my eyes.
I’m just drifting off to sleep when Gracen comes over. “We have two rooms, I paid for three days. We will talk more when we get up there.”
I pry open my eyes. With a groan, I stand up. If I don’t get sleep or something to keep me awake, I’m going to snap. My poor body is protesting with each step I take.
Following Gracen to a metal door, she pushes the button and the doors slide open. I take a step back f
rom it. I look at it like it wants to eat me. For all, I know it will.
Isobel places a hand on my arm. “It’s ok. It’s like the lifts at home, except they are machine operated instead of a man.”
I eye her then back to the lift. The rest are already in there waiting for us. I let out a breath. I slowly walk into it. When the doors close, there was a ding. Making my heart wanting to beat out of my chest. I can feel myself hyperventilating. I close my eye just as it starts to go up feeling my stomach go to my feet. I let out a startled yelp. Isobel wraps her arm around me. “It’s ok, I promise you everything will be ok.”
I’m shaking uncontrollably. I don’t like this contraption. When I thought I couldn’t take anymore the doors open to a hallway. I don’t hesitate to leave that computerized death trap.
Getting my breathing back under control I say, “There has to be stairs we can use. I’m not going back into that thing.”
Gracen gives me a sympathetic look. “I’m sorry. If I would have known we would have used the stairs. It won’t happen again.”
Naya takes my arm into hers and smiles at me. “Come on sweetie you and Isobel are rooming with me.” I let her lead the way while I get my breathing under control. I look at Runes and wish I was her. Sleeping through all of this would make my lifecycle a lot easier at the moment.
Losing my death grip on Runes I switch her to my other arms. The one holding her is going to sleep on me. I shake it a few times to get the feeling back.
When we get to our rooms, Naya opens the door and walks in. I go in after her and freeze in place. The room is not like anything I’ve ever seen before. There are real trees in the middle of the room. Reaching to the sky that can be seen. There’s four-doors in the circular room.
The walls are a bluish-green color with a hint of light yellow. There are no pictures on the wall, instead, there are murals. Each one has a different scene like it’s telling a story.
I walk over to the first one that’s closest to me. It looks like magic is being flung in the air. Two people are facing each other looking like their magic surrounds them, but not touching either one another.
I move to the next one on the wall is a full moon and there is some type of animal either growling at it or howling. It sends shivers down my back just looking at the menacing creature.
The next one has a body of water with a forest surrounding it. There looks to be a woman lying on a rock. Instead of legs, they look like fish fins. She is bending down dipping her hand in the water.
I pull my gaze away to look at the last one. The night sky can be seen caressing the day sky. There is a man standing in the middle of the mural. At first, I thought this is a normal painting until I see how pale he is and the fangs that are peeking out on his lower lip. Is she a shifter of some kind or something else?
Without looking away I ask, “Either these people have great imaginations or this is all real. If this is all real, why the hell did Pim bring us here?”
No one answers right away. I start to think they won’t. I tear my gaze away from the mural that had me captivated.
I see they are all staring at the murals too. Taking the few steps over to Gracen, I tap her on her shoulder. She jumps in the air and squeals. She turns to me holding her chest. “Give a woman some notice before you scare the crap out of them!”
Not even fazed by her words. I need to know if this is real. “Did you not hear me when I asked a question a few minutes ago?”
She looks at me strangely. “No, I’m sorry I didn’t.” She glances at the mural again then back to me.
The confusion I see in her eyes, unnerves me. “Is everything ok?”
Giving me a small smile, she places her hand on my arm. “Yes, what was your question?”
I turn back to the mural and point to all of them. “Is this real?”
She follows my finger and sighs. “Yes, it’s all real.”
My blood went cold under my skin. “Why did Pim bring us here?” I ask in a whisper.
She looks back at the mural. “Because this is the safest place on Earth for our kind.”
She must have lost her dam mind. “So, you're telling me those creatures are safe to be around?”
She turns away from the mural to give me her full attention again. “Yes, those creatures are just like us. They have shifters and nightwalkers, witches and warlocks. The only difference is we are more powerful than them. This town has rules and we must follow them. There is no killing what so ever.”
My jaw drops open at her words. Did she just say kill? “How bad is earth if this town has to have rules like that?”
She takes a slow breath and exhales. “With the supernatural world, there is always evil. Even in the human world. They fight battles just like we do. This is one place they can feel safe. It’s not perfect. There are still rotten apples here. We need to be careful while we are here.”
I nod. “Ok, I’m going to bed. Does it matter what room I take?” I’m ready for this shitty day to be over with. Hopefully, when we wake up we get to go home and not have to deal with these rotten apples as she said.
“No, we will let you sleep. I will be going to the other room shortly.” She leans down and kisses Runes gently. “Sleep well youngling.”
The first door I come to, I open it. I don’t even look around I’m just too tired to care what it looks like. Placing Runes on the bed, I crawl onto the other side. I lay there wondering how Dariya and her pack are doing. Did they find Alums and Saffron? Are they fighting for their lives? Will I get to see them again?
I close my eyes tomorrow brings another day. I hope that it brings with it peace. I don’t know how much more we can take before we can’t do it anymore. I worry Dariya is running out of time and her window will be closed to defeat the Elders. I pray she survives all of this. With that thought in mind, I let the darkness take me away.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Dariya
To get my mind off of what we are about to do, I think. “I wonder what mom and Runes are up to? I get this feeling that they aren’t even on Zilo anymore. I just hope they are safe.”
Kiernan takes my hand into his. “I know they are safe. Pim would never take them somewhere he thought someone would find them.”
I nod my head because I don’t want him to worry like I am. I’m still trying to figure out why I have this feeling of them not being here anymore.
Bruno stops and raises his hand. We all stop. I let my senses search the area. As soon as I do, I’m flung away from Kiernan. I feel like I’m struggling to breathe. Kiernan is by my side in an instant.
“Close off your senses. They can control you that way.”
I try my hardest to do just that. When it isn’t working Justice takes over. The shift took less than two seconds. Taking a deep breath in, I let out the fire with my exhale.
Now I’m pissed. I don’t even give them a chance to talk me down from going forward. They fucked with the wrong woman. I will end every single one of them.
“Dariya! Dariya! Stop!”
I almost ignore Kiernan. I stop and turn my head in his direction, letting out a menacing growl. I watch as he takes a step back from me.
“Is there a reason you are stopping me from killing them all?”
Speaking out loud so all can hear, he looks me straight in the eyes. “I know you are pissed. I get it. You can’t take them on by yourself. Please stick to the plan.”
“They just tried to kill me. They will all die!”
“I get it. I want the same as you, but we need to stick to the plan or you will get us all killed. I know you don’t want that to happen.”
Dam him and his logic. Taking a slow breath, I shift back. Naked and all. I turn to him. “You know I really hate your logic sometimes.”
He chuckles while taking his shirt off for me. “Someone has to be the logical one.” He kisses my forehead before giving me room to put on his shirt. I caught him checking me out, making the heat pool in my stomach.
�
�You keep that up and everyone here will have to watch something they don’t want to see.”
The challenging gleam in his eyes almost undoes me. Before I could do anything, Bruno speaks up.
“Ok, I don’t want to see you guys get it on. Can we get back to why we are here?”
I lean my head to the left so I can see him around Kiernan and give him a cheesy grin. “Oh, I don’t know. I think I would rather get it on. I’m sure Kira will agree with me.” I look at my best friend. First, her jaw drops, before Bruno can look at her, she closes her mouth.
“I’m with Dariya, I would rather get it on. What do you say we take a five-minute break?” I knew she is playing with him just like I am.
I can see him struggle to do the right thing. I don’t let him sweat it for too long. I bust out laughing. The look on his face was between saying the hell with it, and determination to get this over with.
I watch as he relaxes a little. He looks at both of us pointing his finger.
“You two are nothing but teases.”
“I don’t know about Kira but when I tease, I please.”
Kiernan's face turns pink. I kiss his cheek and turn around. I start walking again. Everyone falls silent. Those bastards are going to pay for everything they have ever done. One way or another.
I don’t dare sense my surroundings again. I do bring justice to the edge of shifting so I can use her eyesight and sense of smell. The sulfur smell burns my nose. If they are close, we need to be ready.
I see something to my left. I duck just in time before my head gets cut off. The blade barely missing the top of my head. I don’t think, I charge at the person standing there. She isn’t even a demon. Why would she try to kill us?
I slam into her, making her hit her head on the ground. Stradling her, I throw her hands above her head and wrap my legs under her so she can’t get away.
“Who are you and why were you trying to kill me?”
I watch as tears fall from the corner of her eyes. “They are making me do it. I can’t control it.”
Bruno kneels down next to us. She isn’t even fighting us. “Please kill me. I can’t live like this. I can’t be controlled by them.”