by Rain Oxford
“Take it from me; don’t let fear and anger ruin your relationship with the important people in your life.” I let him ponder that as I proceeded to finish off the entire plate and a second one after that. I would have gotten another, but we were out.
After dinner, I summoned Rocky to see how he was doing. Other than a bit of smoke residue on his stone wings, he seemed to be in perfect health, so I sent him to check on the wizard out in the forest. Since all I got back was the image of the man and his dog gathering herbs, I figured they were safe.
Despite Darwin and Henry’s concerns, I decided to use a vision to try to get a jump on the shadow walker. When I slipped on the ring and Darwin sent me the mental picture of a teenage girl, the vision came naturally.
A group of Japanese teenagers in school uniforms were walking down a street in Japan. There were four girls and two boys. After a few minutes, one of the girls turned to another. “Ima nanji desuka?”
“Rokuji sanjuppun.”
I didn’t hear her response over the boys laughing about something, but the girl broke away from the group, said her goodbyes, and headed down a narrow alleyway. Right behind her, darkness spread like oil across the road.
The vision faded and I waited for the effects to hit me, yet they didn’t come. “You okay?” Darwin asked. I nodded. “Did you learn anything?”
“I think they were in Japan. It was a waste of energy, though, because she’s going to get attacked in public and I didn’t see any way to stop it without getting arrested for being a creepy stalker.”
“Yeah, because Japan has none of those,” Darwin said sarcastically.
“It was getting dark there, so why did you say six in the morning?”
“The shadow walkers are going by whatever time zone the victim is in, not ours. Did you get an exact time?”
“They were speaking Japanese.”
“What did they say?”
“I don’t know Japanese.” He rolled his eyes. “Okay. The girl was with her friends and she did say something like… I’m a ninja desuka?”
“Ima nanji desuka?”
“Yeah.”
“And what was the answer?”
“Roku… sansu… something. They were fast.”
“Rokuji sanjuppun?”
“Yes, I think.”
“Well, it’s a good thing you did do the vision then, because we would have been half an hour late otherwise. She’s going to be attacked at six-thirty in the evening there, and that’s five-thirty in the morning here.”
* * *
So, at a few minutes before five-thirty, I was awoken with a mug of coffee and sent off to Japan. I appeared under a restaurant awning and it took me a few minutes to get my bearings. Fortunately, the restaurant wasn’t open and there didn’t seem to be anyone around that saw me appear out of thin air. The restaurant was on the corner of a street and alley and just when I started to recognize the spot, I heard voices.
I ducked back into the shadows and waited as the group of teens stepped into view and the girl I was here to save broke away from the rest. When she started down the alley, I waited.
She stopped and turned to look, as if she could feel me watching, but then continued down the street. Nothing happened. I waited until she got to the end of the alley and was out of sight before following after her.
I followed her down two more streets until she entered the yard of a house, which I assumed was hers. Even though I wasn’t a hundred percent sure she was safe, I didn’t want to spend the rest of my life in jail. My instincts weren’t warning me of danger.
I returned to my apartment to find Darwin asleep in my bed again and my phone ringing. Only two people had my new number, so I picked it up. “Hello?”
“Don’t panic,” Kyle said.
“What happened? Is she okay?”
“She isn’t hurt. One of those shadow wizards showed up again, but Rocky protected us. I’m just calling to tell you she wasn’t hurt.”
I had to pull the phone away and cuss for a couple of minutes before I could even get any decent words out. It woke Darwin, but he seemed to realize the severity of the situation. “They set a trap. They fucking set a trap,” I said to Darwin. I put my phone back to my ear. “Thank you for calling me.”
“Well, we’re also going to have to find a new place to stay for a few days. Rocky and the shadow wizard got a bit rough and… went through the roof. We’re about to head over to a motel for the night.”
“Come over here.”
“Are you hiding two extra bedrooms that I didn’t hear about? Your mother needs somewhere quiet to rest.” After a few minutes of silence, he added, “I know I shouldn’t be telling you what your mother needs.”
“No, I understand. You’re trained for this and I appreciate how much you care about her.” I didn’t like being told what my mother needed, but it was a relief at the same time, because Kyle was so much better than her previous nurse. “I have to figure something out and I’ll call you back soon with a plan.”
“Alright. I’ll talk to you then.”
I hung up and tossed the phone on the bed. “The shadow walkers figured out we’re onto their kill list and set a trap. They didn’t attack the girl and instead attacked my mother when I was in Japan.”
“So, what’s the plan?”
“I’m going to find one of those demon-summoning rituals, get Krechea’s ass in front of me, and kick it so hard all of Dothra sees stars.”
* * *
Unfortunately, that wasn’t the plan. Darwin, Henry, Scott, and I were going to meet my mother and Kyle at my office and then drive up to the university. Darwin and I had to help Henry pack up Scott’s toys because the kid was apparently unable to stop drawing that morning. When Henry got frustrated and told Scott that if he didn’t help, we were leaving behind his drawing supplies, I was impressed. No matter how much the kid had been through, I was worried he was going to become a nightmare if Henry didn’t stop spoiling him. Scott didn’t bat an eye, as if he was just waiting for the order, and started doing his part.
Darwin, on the other hand, only had the clothes on his back, so we had Maseré send someone to the university with more. Half an hour after we were supposed to meet Kyle at the office, we finally left the apartment.
The presence came back as soon as I stepped out of the front door, although it wasn’t as strong as before. I considered saying something, but I figured it probably either had something to do with the key or with the shadow walkers who were watching me. Either way, my friends didn’t need another thing to worry about.
We pulled into my parking spot next to Kyle’s Sedan and got out. “I can shift when we get to the school, right?” Scott asked.
“Once we explain things to Devon’s mother,” Henry said.
The presence was unexpectedly drowned out by the sudden sensation of danger. In one instant, I was absolutely certain of three things: Darwin, Henry and Scott were between Henry’s truck and the Sedan, there was a car rushing up the street behind me, and I didn’t have time to get out of the way.
That one instant seemed to stretch on for several minutes, until I heard the gun shot… and the strange sound Scott made. Then, there was no sound at all as I turned and saw the white van speeding down the road. I didn’t understand why Scott was standing right there, between me and the van, until I heard Henry’s terrified shout.
That was when I realized that Scott had moved even faster than a vampire could to put himself between me and that bullet.
He had been shot.
The next ten seconds felt like an hour as Henry frantically tried to find the bullet wound. Scott’s shirt had a hole right in the chest, but there was no hole in his body. He kept trying to say something over Henry’s shouting, and when he couldn’t, he held out his hand and let three bullets fall to the ground.
None of us even breathed until we heard them hit the ground. “How?” Henry finally asked.
“I tried to tell you, Daddy. I’ve been shot before. The
y don’t hurt me.”
“What do you mean they don’t hurt you? Who shot you?”
“Dr. Fox. He said I screamed too much when he needed me awake, so he made something for under my skin. If you cut me slow, it hurts really bad and I bleed, but if you stab me or shoot me quick, it doesn’t break the skin.”
Darwin threw up.
“Are you mad at me, Daddy? I tried to save Uncle Devon because I knew he---”
Henry cut him off by pulling him into a tight hug. “You scared me so much. I don’t know what I feel; I just want you to be okay.” Although Henry looked like he wanted to say more, his throat was probably closing up, which happened when he was extremely upset.
“I’m okay! I’m not even bruised.”
“What’s going on out here?” Kyle asked, stepping out of my office.
“We all lost ten years off our lives,” I said. “Someone just drove by and tried to kill me.”
“Did you see a face or get a license plate number?”
“It didn’t have a plate and the van was already too far away to see in through the windows. I haven’t even been on break long enough to piss anyone off who would use guns.”
“Call my dad and make sure Sinclair is still in prison,” Darwin said.
“How did you get into the office?” I asked Kyle.
“It wasn’t locked.”
I looked at Henry. “I locked it behind me,” he said, pulling his phone out of his pocket. He called Maseré and asked if Marcus’s father was still locked up. After a few minutes, he thanked the wolf shifter and hung up. “He’s secure.” When his phone rang in his hand, he groaned. “What now?” He frowned at the number before answering it. “Hello? Yes, he’s right here.” He handed it to me.
“Hello, this is Devon Sanders.”
“Mr. Sanders, I’m sorry to bother you. The phone number you gave me wasn’t working so I was told to try this one. I need your help.”
It wasn’t until right at that moment that I recognized the voice of the woman. “Elizabeth? What’s wrong?” It was the mother of John’s twin sons.
“Jason and Jameson are missing.”
* * *
After what happened to Scott, Henry wasn’t in any condition to go anywhere, so we spread the word to every paranormal we knew that my brothers were missing. Everyone except Hunt was surprised I had brothers, but they said they would do what they could to help.
“By your brothers, you mean John Cross’s sons?” Stephen asked over the phone.
I sighed. “Yes. They’re twin four-year-old boys. At least one of them is showing signs of having John’s magic… and his evilness.”
“That sounds ominous.”
“Yeah, I would be careful if I were you.”
“I will keep that in mind.”
“Thanks for keeping an eye out. I will talk to you later.”
Once that was dealt with, we returned to the apartment to wait for any news. We decided to give it until the rest of the day before going anywhere to make sure Scott wasn’t going to suddenly become ill or start bleeding. I argued until I got the address from Elizabeth and she admitted that the boys had already run away three times in the last six months and were found all three times trying to steal candy from the convenience store a few blocks away.
* * *
I woke suddenly, not to a suspicious sound or undine sitting on my chest, but from the cold presence of a very powerful and very dark wizard. I sat up and clicked on the lamp on the bedside table. Although the person sitting on the foot of my bed looked like Astrid, I knew that couldn’t be further from the truth.
“Krechea,” I said.
The demon smirked. While he had Astrid’s face, the grin was nothing like hers. “You’re quick. Not as quick as you think you are, though.” He even had her voice. I stood and summoned my staff to me in an instant. He just smirked again. “Do you really think you could kill me with that? Would you, even if you could? I thought you loved Astrid. You said she was what was most important to you.”
“She’s in Dothra.”
“How do you know I’m not possessing her?”
“I know.”
He scoffed. “Would you risk it?”
“In a fucking heartbeat. Astrid would want me to.”
He outright laughed this time. “You and your loved ones. A woman kills your father, maims your mother, stalks you, and tries everything she can to drive you away when she takes over Dothra, and you still crawl back to her?”
“I’m not going to hate her for something she didn’t do.” I didn’t know where we would go after I saved her, but I would save her because no one should be trapped in Dothra. “She went there to kill you. Damn right I’ll do it.”
He sighed. “I’m not your enemy here; Keigan Langril is.”
“You want my key. To get it, you would have to kill me.”
He rolled his eyes. “Seriously, you humans have problems. I need to use your key! I don’t need its power. I have power. I have tons of it. I need you to come to the tower twice; once so I can get to Langril and a second time so that I can bring all four keys together. The only one I’m interested in killing is Langril. I only need the rest of you to gather in front of the tower for a couple of minutes. After that, I’ll be on my way, you three will go your way, and you’ll never have to see me again.”
“Why do you want to kill Langril?”
“Because he took what was most precious to me. He is a thousand times worse than me.”
“I doubt that.”
“A hundred times, then. I did have a blood-bath phase. Langril will kill you if he gets the chance. Help me find his weakness. In exchange, I will call off all my followers. Furthermore, the man who attacked you got off easily with such a simple death. My followers know not to attack you because I know you can be reasoned with.”
“What about my brothers?”
He shrugged. “They’ll be returned to their mother, of course. The only one who has to die is Langril. Think about it. He was the one to trap Astrid in Dothra in the first place. Just to sweeten the deal for you, once I get Langril’s key, I will personally go back to Dothra, get Astrid, and return her to you completely unharmed.”
When he was done, the silence was tense. I wanted to disagree immediately, but I didn’t really trust Langril anymore than I did Krechea. “I’ll think about it,” I said after a few minutes.
He smiled warmly. “Good.”
“In the meantime, tell your shadow walkers not to attack anyone.”
“I will do so as a show of faith in your sensibility. When you decide to do what’s right, call my name and I will hear you.” With that, he vanished.
* * *
I went into the living room, where Scott was drawing the scene from the day before. In the kitchen, Darwin and Henry were arguing in Portuguese. “Are you okay, Scott?” I asked. He didn’t acknowledge me. “Scott?” Still nothing. “Bryson?”
He looked up at me. “Hi, Uncle Devon.”
“What are you doing?”
“Drawing a picture so that I can remember me when I’m gone.”
“Gone where? And why would you not remember yourself?”
“Not where; when. When I die.”
“You’re not going to die.”
He put down his pencil and frowned at me. “I’m not? I thought everyone dies.” I literally had no answer to that. “I guess I don’t need a will then.”
“No, you don’t.” I went into the kitchen. “I got a visit this morning.”
Darwin and Henry stopped arguing and turned to me. “From who?” Darwin asked.
Henry brought me a mug of coffee. “Thanks. Mr. Evil himself, in the flesh. Well, Astrid’s flesh.”
“He was possessing Astrid?” Darwin asked with disgust.
“No. I think he was just using her form. I think he’s done that before, too. Back at the university, before I found out that Langril was missing, I had a visit from Remington. I thought it was a dream until she vanished.”
“I thought you were okay with that,” Henry said.
“When I didn’t know I could touch her, yeah. Now I have to hope she picks up someone else’s mood.”
“Why can’t she get it from you?”
“Because I have fae blood, and apparently, that means her magic doesn’t work well on me. Anyway, why do you think it has something to do with Krechea?”
“She kept asking me what was most precious to me. When I thought it was a dream, I just figured it was because I was about to get the key and that was on my mind. Then she just vanished when I realized I was awake. Remy can’t vanish.”
“Were there shadows?”
“No. I don’t think that was it, either. One of the undine told me that Krechea killed Adesra. She didn’t say when. Remember when she appeared in front of us right after we learned about the wizard council’s plan? I always thought there was something different about her.”
“But that was before Langril opened the door to Dothra.”
“We don’t know that. We never found out exactly when he went missing, only that he was gone by the time I got my key.”
“Okay, so he’s not just possessing people; he can actually look like them. What did he want?”
“He wanted me to help him defeat Langril. He said that he doesn’t need my key for himself; he only needs me to be there at the tower with Hunt and Vincent while he uses Langril’s key. Before Langril went through the door with Vincent, he said it was imperative that the four keys weren’t brought together in front of the tower. That’s exactly what Krechea wants to do. We need to find out why.”
“So, you might be considering it?” Henry asked.
“He temporarily called off his shadow walkers and will do so permanently if we agree to it. We have to get rid of him somehow.”
“But not by giving him what he wants. He killed people.”
“I know. He’s not just going to give up everything he worked for and return to Dothra, though, and I don’t want Astrid to be trapped there. There is only one way to kill an immortal, and that is to make him mortal.”