by Rae Rivers
She cleared her throat and peered up at him. “Ethan, about all this …” Her words were spoken softly, hesitantly, her lower lip caught between her teeth.
“Why didn’t you tell me, Jen?”
“I’m a Salubrious. I’ve been taught not to acknowledge that to anyone. Over the years, my ancestors were hunted and killed because of what they were and the secret they refused to share. Admitting what I am puts me in so much danger, not only from our enemies but from Keepers too.”
“You think we’re a danger to you?”
“I come from a family banished to a prison world as punishment for killing the very thing you’d die to protect. We stand for everything you and your brothers loathe.” Her gaze met his, eyes full of sorrow. “I planned to tell you but kept delaying it. I didn’t want you to see me differently.”
“You’re still a Keeper.”
“I saw the way you looked at me last night.”
“I needed a beat, time to think.” He laced their fingers, glancing down at her graceful hands. “Which, in a place like Ameera, was stupid. When I saw what they were doing to you, none of that mattered anymore.”
Dark eyelashes lifted, revealing light blue eyes glistening with emotion. “My family -”
“Doesn’t define you. You define you, Jen. You.” He cupped her cheeks between his hands, not missing the way her breath caught. “Not your family or their crimes. Not the rumours and accusations. You.”
Her eyes widened, her lips thinned, and she watched him in silence. When her eyes went glossy, she blinked several times, but didn’t look away. “You were so furious with me.”
“Yes. Not because you’re a Salubrious, or from Ameera, but because you kept it from me. We spend our lives defending ourselves and our witches – and each other. Trust is everything.” Especially in a place like Ameera with enemies like Hazel. He took her hand, hesitating with his next words, but needing to voice them anyway. “And, to be honest, Jen, I’m worried that when the time comes to seal that portal, you won’t want to.”
Her eyes closed and she nodded. She stayed quiet for a long while before her lids fluttered open again. “And I’m worried that when the time comes to seal the portal, I’ll be forced to.”
“You know we have to. Especially if Hazel’s still in Ameera.”
“My parents are here, Ethan. Or at least, they were. Not knowing what happened to them is slowly destroying me.” She gave a half-shrug. “But I don’t even know who to ask or where to look for them without bringing suspicion on myself.”
Her voice sounded so small, soft, tugging at the worry he’d felt when he’d discovered her sneaking out the night before. But he felt her pain, even understood it. When Sienna had vanished a few years back, he’d witnessed Archer go half insane with worry for her. The not-knowing had almost killed him. Ethan had shared his brother’s anguish, but for Archer, it had been different. “Let’s start with Susan. She might have answers for you.”
“She’s a Sage. That doesn’t make her all-knowing.”
“I know, but right now she might be your only hope. Besides, we should warn her that Hazel’s onto her. I also want to talk to her about the portal spell.” He paused, hesitating, a ball of agitation tightening in his chest. “If Hazel’s talk of Mason and the Brogan Grimoire hold any truth, we’re running out of time and options. We have to get home soon.”
“You really think that Mason’s free and they have the Brogan Grimoire?” Their gazes met, a heaviness wedging between them. They both knew what that meant, if it was true.
“No. Because that would mean they reached either Sienna or Kate.” And that would mean they’d gotten through his brothers. A thought he refused to embrace. No freaking way.
“We should get dressed and get to Susan.” She shifted, rising, but paused when he tugged her back to him.
He laced their fingers. “Jen … we have to leave as soon as possible, preferably with that spell. If by any miracle we find it before you find your parents, you know there’d be no choice, right?” He studied her expression, not missing the slight flinch or her quick attempt to cover it by looking down at the journal. Silent, her lashes lowered, she traced the leather-bound cover of the book with her fingers. “We’re Keepers, Jen. Our witches and our duties come first. We don’t get to put ourselves before that. Not even for this.”
Her eyes glistened and she blinked, averting her gaze to the city outside. But she didn’t say anything.
Probably because she knew he was right.
CHAPTER THIRTY NINE
They were marked.
Jenna knew it the moment they boarded the train, but the doors closed and the train began to move before she could issue a warning to Ethan.
But he sensed it too. She could see it in his narrowed eyes and stiff body. He placed a hand on her lower back, staying close to the door, and eyed the two men at the back of the carriage. Both had beards and wore t-shirts, unperturbed by the icy chill in the air. Neither budged from their spot against the wall or bothered toning down their fierce scrutiny.
Jenna glanced outside, trying to judge the distance to their next stop. She heard howling in the distance. Hellhounds or werewolves, she couldn’t tell, but hoped they met neither. They passed a crowd of youths outside a store, swinging baseball bats at the windows.
They weren’t the only ones. The streets were full of people clutching a variety of weapons. Warehouses, stores, and bars were all victims of their destruction and looting.
“What the hell’s going on?” Ethan asked. “Everyone’s gone crazy.”
“Something’s wrong.” Unease worked its way through her as the looting and violence sparked memories of the night she’d left Ameera. The Annex. She glanced at the moon. Clouds patched most of it, but she could tell it hadn’t peaked yet.
The train began to shake. Brakes screeched, lights flickered. A harsh jerk had Ethan and Jenna grasping the nearest railing.
“Jenna.” Ethan’s murmured warning had her turning around.
The two men pushed themselves away from the wall, baring their teeth and clenching their fists. She swore she heard them growl. And then they were running. But Ethan and Jenna were ready for them, moving swiftly as they fielded the first round of punches. Ethan bolted forward, targeting the closest man, and delivered several blows in lightning-quick speed.
Jenna ducked as the second man took a swing at her. She pivoted around and gave a powerful kick at his face. He crashed into the railing, bellowing with rage as blood spurted from his nose. Straightening, he leapt forward, landing on all fours, snarling. The colour of his eyes had darkened.
The motion sparked old memories and fears and Jenna gasped. “Ethan, we have to go!”
“You think?”
“Now!”
Turning to the nearest door, they leapt. They were both on their feet and running before the train sped by.
“What the hell are they?” Ethan panted.
She pointed to the sky, coloured with grey clouds that spotted the moon. “It’s nearing a full moon.”
His brows hitched. “Crap. They’re werewolves?”
“They will be when the moon peaks.”
“Aren’t their bites –?”
“Yes, fatal to Keepers. But my magic will heal it.”
“Thank God, ‘cause mine won’t.”
A thought she refused to embrace. “In that case, stay clear of their jaws.”
“Noted. I thought they kept to their district?”
“They never come into the city unless it’s the Annex.” She shrugged, looking at the chaos around them. “But something’s changed. I think the boundaries have already lowered, which explains the violence. There are always casualties during an Annex, but an early one is lethal. People are unprepared, more vulnerable and confused. They’re panicking. It’s simply going to snowball from here and if it’s anything like last time, the violence will be unlike anything you’ve ever seen before.”
“This has Hazel’s stench all over it. All the more reason
we need to get the hell out of Ameera.”
The streets were a beehive of activity. Two rival crowds had gathered in the middle of the street further up, their arguments ripe with tension. Several clutched baseball bats and knives. Cats scurried along the sidewalks, shifting in and out of human form at will.
Another earth tremor rumbled through the streets, evoking an outcry. Glass shattered and a loud crack from the roof above sent a nearby crowd dashing for shelter. A cement statue landed in the centre of the street, exploding into dozens of smaller pieces.
Ethan pulled Jenna into a doorway of a nearby store. It was deserted, the windows boarded up with wood. Lights flickered several times before going out.
The darkness added to the chaos and everyone went mad.
****
Reaching Susan’s bar was easier than Ethan expected.
The darkness offered a cloak from their predators. They merged into the chaos, dodging flames and irate crowds, and raced through the streets with a speed they usually avoided in public. But everyone was so wrapped up in the fighting that no one noticed.
Susan’s grim expression brightened when she opened her kitchen door. Ushering them inside, she hurriedly slammed the locks into place. Her hair was dishevelled, like it had been repeatedly finger-combed. “You shouldn’t be here. It’s not safe!”
Jenna swivelled around, flushed and breathless. “We had to talk to you, warn you. You’re in danger, Susan. Hazel’s onto you.”
Susan’s lips thinned. “You’re the one in danger. Hazel’s issued a bounty on your head in exchange for a portal trip to the mortal world.”
Ethan cursed softly beneath his breath, a new kind of worry flaring in his chest. He turned to Jenna, sharing a long look. “Hazel knows what you are.”
Jenna scowled at him, her eyes flashing with panic. He knew why. Her background and connection with Ameera was a fiercely guarded secret. One he’d just blurted out. But he figured Susan knew it anyway.
“It’s impossible, Ethan. I’ve been so careful. You’re the only one who knows.” Her brows tightened as she glanced at Susan. “And now, thanks to your big mouth, Susan knows too.”
Susan’s lips curled into a small smile, but there was no surprise, a testament that she had.
“What about Megan?” he asked. “She lived with you.”
Jenna shook her head. “She doesn’t know. My parents insisted we don’t tell her. And even if she did know, ratting me out will rat her out. Hazel would see her secrecy as a betrayal. Megan won’t risk it.”
Ethan ran a hand across his face and took a deep breath, trying to calm the shit in his head. He was wired, on edge, his mind racing with an exit route out of this damn city. “So explain the bounty. Hazel’s officially made it public that the portal’s open. She’s roped in the entire city to search for you – and possibly evoked an early Annex, which puts her in danger too. Why would she risk that? For vengeance?”
Jenna’s covered her face with her hands and released a frustrated groan. She shook her head and looked up. “Lord knows I’ve given her enough reason –” She froze, staring at her arm. And then she gasped, yanking back the sleeve of her jacket. “Unless … unless it’s this? Her bracelet … maybe that’s what she’s after?”
Ethan leaned in, his stomach dipping. Hazel’s silver scorpion bracelet. The sound of her frantic screeches when she’d lost it echoed in his mind. He’d never thought to examine why. “You picked it up?”
“I figured it had to have some value. She was so distracted by losing it that she failed to retaliate. That’s not like her at all.”
He jerked his thumb toward the kitchen door. “That’s what possibly sparked all this chaos? A damn bracelet?”
She looked up, her eyes shining with excitement. “I think it’s more than that. Maybe a talisman of sorts? She always wore it, sometimes two. You saw how she reacted when she lost –”
“Wait … a bracelet?” Susan cut in, reaching for Jenna’s arm. She gasped, pointing at the intricate design. “I saw this in one of my visions. It made no sense at the time.”
Ethan squinted at the bracelet, his mind racing. And then it hit him. A key.
“We were wrong,” he said. “It’s not a spell we need to close the portal. It’s a key. Hazel’s bracelet.”
CHAPTER FORTY
Jenna’s jaw dropped, but a thud from the roof above had her pivoting toward the window.
Keeping her back to the wall, she peered through the blinds, but the alley was empty. She turned back to Ethan, shaking her head, and glanced up at the roof.
But gasped when the window behind her suddenly exploded. A large creature hurtled through the air, crashing into her.
She twisted around as they fell, crying out when it nipped her. She tried to shove it away. Snarling, it lunged repeatedly, snapping viciously, spittle dripping from its mouth. The stench was unbearable, putrid meat and wild animal.
But it had a human-like resemblance.
Ethan grabbed it from behind and flung it across the room. It crashed into the cupboard, splintering wood.
Gritting her teeth at the pain in her arm, Jenna rushed to Susan. “There’ll be more. You need to hide! Now!”
“But –”
“They’re not here for you. Go! We’ll lead them away.” She ushered Susan into the next room and shut the door.
They ran into the bar, but changed direction when another two human-like figures crashed through the windows. The men were still clothed, but moved like wolves, on all fours. They had distorted, fierce expressions. Their dark eyes had a yellow glow to them, their lips upturned to reveal sharp canines. Teeth bared, growling, one of the wolves took a step forward, a movement the pack replicated.
“What the hell’s happening?” Ethan grunted, taking Jenna’s arm.
“The moon. They’re in transition. Werewolves.”
****
Ethan glared at them, breathless, his heart racing as he sized up their attackers. They were huge, emanating a strength and viciousness that had him on full alert. It wasn’t often he came across enemies that matched his strength.
But the werewolves came close – and in numbers.
Energy flooded his veins, evoking a gust of wind that swept through the broken windows.
Jenna’s hand slipped into his, the gentle motion igniting a fierce protective streak. “Ready?”
But he heard her and replied with a single nod.
In unison, they released war-like cries and barrelled forward like tank trucks. The wolves snapped and snarled as they collided. The brawl was brutal and swift. Bones splintered, furniture toppled over and the sound of savage growls filled the air.
The wind increased, rattling the windows, the air charged with a sizzle of electricity.
The wolves kept coming, so damn powerful, and so many. Ethan cursed when claws slashed his back and he spun around to fend off his attacker. But the wolf ducked, bolted forward, and delivered a harsh punch to his jaw. The impact slammed Ethan into the wolf behind him. Teeth bared, the wolf bit him on the shoulder.
Fuck!
It stung like hell, but adrenaline spurred him on, overshadowing the pain. His arm came up in a ruthless punch. He felt the satisfying crunch of bone beneath the blow and backed it up with several more.
“Jenna, we have to go!”
Side by side, they backed toward the door, adrenaline pumping, senses alert. The scent of blood filled his nostrils. He glanced behind them, drawing on his energy. Together, they turned around and sped outside, the wolves hot on their heels.
The air crackled with electricity. The sky brightened as lightning struck, zapping the ground around them. The wolves backed away, but hovered, ready to attack at any moment. Ethan drew on more power and the street became a mirage of white from the continuous flash of lightning bolts that created a protective cage around him and Jenna.
The wolves mock-charged, but kept their distance.
Jenna tilted her head upward, taking in the lightning chaos
. “The cocoon of lightning … you’re doing that?” His lips twitched at the incredulous look on her face. “Now you’re just showing off.”
“I have a few injuries if you want to show off too.” He gave her a quick grin. One that faded the moment he turned around. Hazel stood at the entrance to The Square, her warlocks and witch behind her. He heard Jenna’s sharp intake of air, a sign she’d spotted them too.
Diverting the flow of energy, he sent several bolts of lightning their way. But Hazel stood still, unperturbed, feet planted firmly apart, glaring at them.
All at once, the windows in the courtyard exploded, the sound deafening. Ethan grabbed Jenna, tucking her into him, covering her head with his hands. Shards of glass flew through the air in all directions. Howling, the wolves retreated to the roof of a nearby warehouse. People screamed.
“Are you okay?” he shouted, straightening, but didn’t hear her reply as more windows exploded.
Simultaneously, they turned around and bolted. Hazel sent her full wrath after them as they ran. Light bulbs imploded, doors flew off their hinges, more windows shattered.
The werewolves chased from above, their vicious growls charged with fury and excitement.
Ethan drew on more lightning, lashing out at everything around them. More power, more fury, and the entire street became a sizzle of electricity. He glanced back at Hazel. She hadn’t moved, but a black cloud approached from behind her. Ear-piercing screeches added to the noise as thousands of bats soared above the courtyard and chased down the street.
“We need shelter!” Jenna screamed above the noise as they ran.
“Think we can make the portal?”
She scaled a cement slab and glanced up, grimacing at the wolves sprinting across the rooftops. “We’ll never make it in time. There’s just too many of them.”
She squealed as the ground cracked beneath their feet, jerking with a sudden force that sent them both sprawling onto the sidewalk. Another crack and the tar split. The ground rumbled as it tore apart, destroying the road and sidewalks. They hurried to their feet, stumbling from the unsteady ground.