by K.N. Lee
Instead of joining the others downstairs for a meal-- the idea of watching Leighton eat with Fiona at his side sickened him-- Rafael went outside, walking the same direction he’d seen Marradith go earlier. He passed the spot where he’d been laying the other night; he recognized the gnarled tree and the clearing to the right of it. Another thirty yards or so from there, he found the edge of the Ryder property. He had a view of the edge through the edge of the tree line. Enough of the snow was gone that the icy ground had begun to turn muddy and soggy. Rafael dug his hands into his pockets, looking left to right. There were new tracks from the road, but no evidence of a car having been left overnight. If one had been towed, there would have been evidence of two vehicles. There was nothing.
He looked to the overcast sky and blinked. If magic brought him here, only magic could get him out. If this were the conjuring of someone else, there might not be a way out. He began to think of spells. Whispering one under his breath as he walked, an incantation so old that he’d almost forgotten it, he felt a shot of warmth speed through his body.
A presence. He turned.
A man stood a few paces behind him, clothed entirely in black. The brim of his black hat shadowed his lean, pale face. The coat he wore appeared oversized for his thin, weathered frame. Rafael knew him on sight, though he had never seen the man in the same guise twice. It had been so long since he’d seen Adam Sarus that he’d almost convinced himself that he’d dreamed the man’s existence.
The man laughed, a hollow bitter sound that echoed through the cold air.
“A conjuring spell to call up the likes of me. I am impressed. Look at you. Juan Rafael Javier de Castillo. Imagine us meeting again after all these years.”
It had been centuries since he had seen Adam. Rafael was just as repelled by him as he was the first time they met.
“I knew this had to be your doing,” Rafael spat.
Adam smiled. “It does have my signature flair, doesn’t it?”
“I thought you were dead.”
“Yes, I heard that rumor too. Vicious talk, that.”
“Why are you doing this?” Rafael demanded.
“You don’t remember what happened to you in New York? Where you were being held prisoner?”
Rafael was about to say that he didn’t remember. Adam touched his mind with his power. Rafael felt it twist something inside him. Memory came flooding back. All the pain and the beatings that he endured in the past weeks, as if he were experiencing it in one rush. He screamed, clutching the sides of his head.
“At the end of your time there,” Adam said, leaning close to him. “I sent Xia to you. She asked if you were willing to do one thing. Do you remember what it was?”
“She came to make good on our bargain,” Rafael said, breathless. “To collect my soul.”
“In return for Fiona’s safety. Remember?”
He nodded gravely. “Yes.”
“This,” Adam waved a hand to encompass all that surrounded them. “This is the undoing of your life as you know it. All the years that you worked for the Sojourners. There were a few favors that you did for us, but the things that you did for their side far outnumbered them. This is a world where none of that happened. A world where you never saved Paul Ryder’s life when we came for him and Lenora. A world where Marradith was allowed to become Circle, and not Sojourner. A place where Fiona was only a one night stand.”
“Is this a dream?”
Adam smiled. “This world is as real as the one you came from. Back home, your body is laying in a hospital bed. In this realm, you are healthy and alive. You can feel pain, remember? Marradith showed you that first,” he said with a laugh. “If you die here, that is the end of you.”
“I was supposed to die when I relinquished my soul. How can I be here?”
Adam shook his head. “Castillo, you surprise me. If I did not know better, I’d think you were exceedingly simple. This is an alternate plane of existence. And just as real as anything you’ve experienced before. ”
“How do I leave this place?”
Adam smiled. “That is the question, isn’t it? I cannot tell you. You have to find that out on your own.”
“This can’t be!”
“Well, Juan Rafael. We all believe what we must.”
As quickly as Adam had appeared, he was gone.
“Marradith, what’s wrong, honey?” Bruce said.
He was in the dining room when she breezed in. He’d been busy loading his plate with food from the long array of chaffing dishes, but he put it down when he saw her face.
“I’m so angry,” she whispered, casting a glance at the others around them. She counted ten other men, all of them Leighton’s chosen.
“Can we leave?” she asked him. “Would you do that for me? Could we just get in the car and leave right now, and not look back?”
Bruce paused. She could see he was thinking about it. Leaving would mean infuriating Leighton. Something that he was not prepared to do. She had her own fears about leaving too but she wanted to know if he were at least willing to consider it for her sake. The look in his eyes only confirmed what she already believed about him.
“Whatever he said to you, it can’t be that bad,” Bruce soothed. “Why don’t you tell me what happened?”
“If that’s your attitude, it’s not going to matter anyway,” she sat down at the table.
“What…?”
“You’ll have to find out like everybody else, with the rest of these fools,” she said, crossing her arms. She stared out the window, pouting.
“Have something to eat,” he said, pushing his plate towards her. “Maybe you’ll feel better.”
Leighton came through the doorway, with Fiona at his heels. He took a seat at the table, and everyone stopped what they were doing to gather around him. The men stood, a sign of respect to their Maker.
Marradith felt heat surging along her spine. There was something about the convergence of these Wolves all together, in the presence of their leader. As she looked around the table, from one face to another, she was alarmed to see a few faces that she knew, but many that she didn’t. Until now, Leighton had made a point of keeping her separate from most of his dealings with his Pack. Leighton had made many Wolves. These men would die for him without question if asked, kill without conscience if so directed. Each were bound by Leighton’s blood. When and if she became Pack Mother, that control would pass to her. Feeling the energy of the Wolves around her, she wondered. Perhaps it wouldn’t be a bad thing? She’d always wanted to control her own destiny, but what would it be like to have power over others?
“Have a seat, men,” Leighton smiled.
They obeyed. Leighton turned, and pulled Fiona, who’d been standing behind his chair, into his arms, so that she sat in his lap.
“I’m sure you men have all come here expecting our usual business. And of course, a good hunt this evening as well. But that is not all that will happen this weekend. Soon, I will relinquish my power over the Pack. And it is time that a new leader take my place. Marradith will carry on the family tradition. It is time that she take her rightful place as Pack Mother, and it is time that she selects a proper mate.”
“Isn’t she engaged?” One of the men asked. Marradith felt the eyes of the males fastening upon her, eager. Heat crept up her chest and settled at the base of her throat.
“She was,” Leighton said with a smile. “But our family will not defer to the ways of humans. This weekend, you men will compete for the chance to make her your bride. Three nights. The first night: we Feast. The second night begins the competition. On the third night, the Wolf that remains alive and unchallenged will win her hand.”
Marradith looked at Bruce. He was breathless, hot with anger. He stood slowly. “I do not agree to let my rights to Marradith to be challenged. We are engaged,” he said.
“You must not have read The Ways recently,” Leighton sighed. “You have no right to contest the challenge, except to take up arms with the o
ther men.”
Bruce’s eyes narrowed. “I object, but I accept the challenge.”
“Good,” Leighton said. “Sit down.”
“Yeah, good luck with that,” one of the men replied, and a general murmur of talk and laughter passed through the crowd. Marradith felt their intense scrutiny; meat being looked over by hungry animals.
“I will be included.”
Everyone turned towards the voice from the doorway. It was Justin.
“You weren’t invited,” Leighton said.
“I don’t need an invitation,” he said easily, and took a seat at the table. “I am a part of the Pack. There’s a challenge for Marradith’s hand in marriage, and I’m in.”
“I…”Leighton stuttered.
“Darling,” Fiona said. “Let him. It will bring the number of competitors to twelve. The traditional number. One more person couldn’t hurt amongst the competitive field.”
“We’re not scared of Granthem,” Alejandro Vega said, the youngest of the Wolves.
“Now isn’t that nice,” Justin sneered. “We wouldn’t want your pansy ass to be scared.”
Alejandro jumped up, ready to fight. Marradith stood, holding her hand out. The bolt of energy from her hand slammed him back against the wall.
“I won’t be disrespected by any of you in my own house!” she screamed.
Silence. No one uttered a word.
Marradith ran out of the house, and Justin followed her.
Alejandro lay shivering, his back against the wall.
“Don’t touch him yet,” Bruce ordered. “The electrical current is still running through his body.”
“It would appear we’re back to eleven competitors,” one of the men remarked, and they all laughed.
“Well, you all will have to take into account the woman you’re competing for. She won’t make it easy on you,” Leighton snapped.
“She’s out of control,” Fiona whispered to her boyfriend. “You don’t want her running off her suitors.”
“Nonsense,” he replied, “She’s putting some fear into them, and that’s a good thing. They won’t think they can abuse her like some little human woman. Honestly, Fi. I couldn’t be prouder.”
On his way back up to the house, Rafael saw Marradith running through the woods. He stopped where he was and watched as Justin pursued her. God help him, Rafael thought. Granthem is still in love with the same crazy girl.
“Marradith,” Justin called. She stopped, and he finally caught up to her. When he touched her arm, she embraced him.
“It’s okay, baby,” he comforted her. “What are you running from?”
“You know what this kind of hunt means? A fight to the death. Why would you….”
“Oh come on. Against them? I’m not afraid of my own pack.”
“It’s a risk.”
“Calm down. Yes, it’s a risk. Is there something that you want me to do instead? Because I don’t see another way.”
“Why don’t we just leave?”
“You know the answer to that question. Look. If I fight and I win, there will be no contesting it. But if we run, Marradith, you know what will happen. He’ll track us down. For all his faults, Leighton loves you. I think you are the only person he does care for. He’s obsessive. There would be no stopping him.”
In his hiding place, behind the thick cover of trees, Rafael shivered. He knew all too well that Justin was right.
“Who do you fear amongst the pack?” Marradith asked.
“Fear?”
The young woman paused, biting her lip. “There must be at least one of them that you aren’t sure about. It’s not a matter of pride. Tell me, and I can make sure you at least have an advantage against these men.”
“I’ll tell you,” Justin said. “But not here. It feels like we’re being watched.”
He pulled her further into the woods, in the opposite direction. Rafael waited for their steps to die away before he moved, continuing his trek back to Leighton’s house. A fight to the death? He knew of this ritual, an archaic one even for families that observed the rules of pack life.
Rafael doubted that Leighton came up with that on his own. One thing that he had noticed, both from the Leighton back home and this version of him; he did not seem terribly preoccupied with old things or traditions of the past. Or at least not to this far of an extent. With this one exception… Fiona, however, had spent much of her life studying history, and knew the ancient rites of Wolves intimately.
Fiona was alone in the den, reading through her emails. Her son, Terrance, had sent her a message. Attached were pictures of his girlfriend, Daria, and their new baby. A son. Terrance said that he and Daria had not settled on a name yet. But he wanted to know how Fiona felt about using his grandfather’s name, Liam. She smiled. The infant looked just like Terrance did when he was a baby. She’d missed out on large portions of her son’s life, trying to keep him out of The Circle and away from anyone who might have an inkling about his mixed blood. Half shape shifter, half demon, there would always be the danger of someone finding out what he was. In the place where Fiona grew up, it was illegal for a Shifter to mix with any other race, a crime punishable by execution. The Graymoor believed in the purity of their kind.
Fiona wondered about what the future of this child. Daria, his mother, was an ordinary human woman. So the child may have some latent abilities, but probably would not be a Shifter. She wondered if it were better that way. It seemed that the hybrids would have an easier time in life than those that were purely Other, able to blend, but still possessing abilities greater than the average human. Either way, the child was precious. She wrote Terrance back: Yes, I think Liam is a beautiful name. I do approve.
His answer was quick and equally as effusive: Great! I love you, Mom. You must come to Los Angeles and visit soon. We have plenty of room. Come any time and stay as long as you want.
It was something that she’d have to consider. She didn’t like Los Angeles, but she’d go there to see her son and her new grandchild. Once this nasty business with Marradith was over, she could go away for a few days. A tap on the door roused her from her thoughts.
“Sorry to disturb you,” Rafael came in. “You looked preoccupied.”
“I was,” she admitted with a yawn, stretching in her chair. “What can I do for you?”
He smiled at her. There was a sparkle in his eye, a look she remembered. She blushed. How was it possible this man could still elicit a schoolgirl reaction from her? Sometimes she regretted that the one night they had never became more. Golden skin, black hair, coal dark eyes. There was a presence about him stronger than any man she ever knew. He was standing across from her, watching with interest. This warlock could read her mind. How easy for him to tap into me when we’ve been together, she thought. One thing that Shifters believed: once you made love with someone, that energy tied you to that person, forever. And some people would not hesitate to use such connections to create magic against another.
Rafael slipped his hands into his pockets. “I would never use magic to hurt you, in any way.”
“That’s rude. It’s an invasion of privacy, to read me like that.”
“Alright, then I am rude and I apologize,” his tone was warm and intimate. “Why did Leighton invite me here, Fi?”
She bristled. “I don’t know. You’ve been business associates for a few years. There are a few others on the way. And Marradith seems to like you as much as she likes anyone.”
“That’s all well and good, but I don’t believe you.”
“You’re calling me a liar?”
“I am asking you to be honest with me. You invited me, didn’t you Fi? You wanted to see me again?”
She clamped her mouth shut. That was all the answer he needed.
“And the rest--this little plan to get Marradith mated and set as Pack Mother,” Rafael continued. That was your idea too, wasn’t it? To free Leighton of his responsibilities and remove the girl from this house?”
&
nbsp; “Marradith doesn’t have a mother to do these things for her. And Leighton is a piss poor parent. At some point, the cord must be cut. It’s for her benefit. She’ll move on from here and start a life of her own.”
“You can’t believe that the best way for it to happen is through this ritual.”
“If she’s to live amongst Wolves, this will be her way in life.”
“What did you promise Leighton to agree to getting rid of Marradith? An endless supply of hashish and as much sex with you as he wants?”
“That prospect would not be unappealing to him.”
“I have seen many things pass between us, but I never thought you’d settle for so little.”
Fiona stood up. “Really? What right do you have to talk to me like this…?”
“Apparently, I have no rights at all, and that is the problem. I know it’s not what you want to hear, but you’re going to have to forgive me for that. He may have money and connections and tribes of Wolves at his disposal. But a man like Leighton has no idea how to handle a woman like you.”
“Are you through?”
“I was going to ask you for something, but I doubt that matters now.”
“No. Go for it. You’ll only be here a few more days. I don’t have much longer to put up with you.”
“I need to use a computer.”
“Well, you’re not using mine,” she opened the desk drawer and pulled out a pink laptop. “Try this. It’s one of Marradith’s cast offs. It probably still works.”
She shoved the netbook at him and ran out of the room, as if she were afraid he might follow.
He smiled. He could still get under Fi’s skin.
Marradith exuded a high level of electricity from her body, and she tended to burn out computers and phones. For once, Rafael found he was lucky. There were two letters missing from the computer’s keyboard, but it powered up nicely. She had been known to burn through a new laptop every few months.
Back home, Rafael corresponded with Marradith daily by computer, leaving her lessons and bits of information that she needed. He was familiar with the way she arranged things on her system, how she stored her files. He was pleasantly surprised that the Marradith of this dimension was as well organized as her counterpart. He barely had to look for the information he wanted, because she had a file about the topic that he was looking for. It was marked CRASH.