by Jessica Cage
“Fuck.” He ran his fingers down both pages and then looked at her. “Is this right?”
“Yeah, and it’s the same spell …” Laurel let that message sink in.
“Someone here acted as a tether or an anchor for Daegal, it’s the only way he could have ever made it back here.” He peered down at the pages. “Which would mean that whoever that person was, is still connected to him. That’s the only way this still works.”
“So, we need to break the tether, but how?” Laurel looked at Jinn. “Could it be Praia?”
“I don’t know that answer. It could be her or anyone who was there when it happened.”
“Well, what we do know is that you’re going to need everyone who was directly affected by that location in place when this happened, or it won’t work.” She pointed to the scribbled writings of Praia on the pages. “Everyone on this list. There are four points with the tether in the center, so that makes five in total.”
“What do you mean five?” Jinn went over the events. Akasha used Praia, Ryesen, and Zaria to do her dirty deeds. Including Akasha, that meant four total. “There were only three people tied to the spell other than Praia. Where does the fifth come from?”
“Three that you know of. There were two others who were affected that day, you need to figure out who they are.” She read over the name. “This lists Akasha. But has a question mark after that.”
“Yeah, but Akasha is dead, Zaria made sure of that.” Akasha burned in the flames of Zaria’s phoenix. There was no way she survived that.
“Maybe it transferred to someone else?” Laurel suggested. “The bond was not broken, it had to go somewhere, and it wouldn’t have taken long. If anyone else was in close proximity, they could be the new anchor.”
“Fuck, I think I know who that may be.” Jinn shook his head. “If I’m right, this is not going to be good.”
“Who do you think it is?”
“The goddamn King of the Bears, Bukai. Ardyn reported that he was locked away in his home. I think he is the fourth.”
“Locked away?”
“Apparently he lost his shit right after we all left. Snapped and attacked his own people. It took the entire team and some tranquilizers to put him down. No one has seen him since then, and no one has been let in or out of polar territory.”
“Okay, but Akasha wouldn’t have been the tether.” Laurel handed him a third piece of paper. “Praia’s notes say it had to be someone of great power. Last I checked, panthers are strong but not strong enough for what she describes here.”
“I hate to say it, but the only other person who was there and is affected now is Rosie.” Taking a deep breath, he held back the urge to send his hand through the nearby wall.
“Your djinn friend.” Laurel’s eyes widened. “That is not good. If she is affected, that means she is most definitely the tether.”
“Fuck.” Jinn slammed his fist against the table. “I need to get out of here.”
“Leave them alone!” Rosie screamed as she watched the man who trapped her zero in on her family. She fought against the tethers holding her in place. Her children’s wide eyes darted around the room frantically. They cried out for her until he stole their voices. Her husband’s gaze locked on her, and nothing else. He watched her despite the fear that she knew he felt, and his eyes showed nothing but his love for her.
“I’m sorry, dear, but I cannot do that.” The warlock pulled the blade from his coat. He looked at the three children. “Much more than was promised. All three so pure, they will bring me such life.”
With the last of her strength, Rosie did all that she could from her distant stance. She blinded her children. She gave them visions of happiness and wrapped them in a blanket of her love. Knowing this would be their last moments, that she would never see their faces again, she sang a lullaby. The same one she’d sung for them every night of their young lives. It was as much for her as it was for them.
Rest your eyes my sweet baby
Touch the sky my sweet baby
Let your dreams take you away
To the place where dreamers play
When it's time to come back home
And your heart no longer roams
Have no fear my little dear
Mama will be right here
Her voice broke around the words, but she continued to sing for them. Their bodies relaxed as they slipped away into the dream. She stopped the scream from passing her lips as the blade slipped into the chest of her youngest boy and his heart was devoured by the monster in their home. He forced her to watch as he did the same with the other two, ending with the girl last—the youngest and purest heart. And when she thought it was over, he turned to her husband, the man who refused to take his eyes off her. She dropped her eyes to the floor, refusing to watch his life end as the knife dragged across his neck and released the thick flow of blood. Until the last of his life slipped away, he kept his eyes on her.
Daegal then turned to her. “Cheer up, dear girl, you won’t be alone. I’m your family now!” He held out the vessel that would become her new home, and with tears in her eyes, her body turned to pink vapor and became trapped inside of the small teapot that once belonged to her daughter.
Zaria stood watching Genesis who remained close to Rosie with his back to the open door. There was a slight tilt of his head when she appeared and the sudden change in temperature of the room. He knew she was there, yet he kept his focus on the sleeping woman in front of him. The longer she watched him the hotter it got.
“You really care for her, don’t you?” Zaria finally broke the silence. “You act as if this is a game to you, but it’s more than that. You love her.”
“It is of no concern to you.” Genesis turned to Zaria. “Besides, I am a demon; we do not love. You should know that, firebird.”
“Good, because she doesn’t love you, you know that.” She nodded to the bed. “Since you claim that you don’t love her, it won’t be a problem?”
“Is there a reason you’re here? Did you just come to speculate about my feelings for Rose?”
“We need you to bring her to the Peak.” She tossed a beacon to him. “Use that to find us when it lights up.”
He nodded.
Zaria started to vanish from the room but solidified again to confront him. “You will bring her, right?”
“Of course.” He frowned at the woman. Her accusation offended him. He was a man of his word if nothing else. “To not show up to our little gathering would mean to leave her in this state, which is no good to me.”
“Good.” She looked over at Rosie one last time before she left the two alone again.
“I just got word from Zaria, she spoke to Genesis and gave him the beacon. After she goes to speak with Ardyn she will head back here to help us finish wrapping up. Ardyn is going to retrieve Ryesen to bring her here after he gets relief from the wolves to watch over Kamshi,” Nitara reported to the team who remained outside of the border for the Peaks. Magua had been joined by four other large shifters.
“Good, the teams are all in place and we have sight on the coven’s convoy,” Magua offered. “Your dragon friends will not be attending but sent the supplies requested.” He pointed to the vessels that held the dragon fire. “Jax says as long as we keep the lids on those babies, they will burn until we need them.”
“I didn’t think they would volunteer to be here for this.” Bruto laughed in a nearly maniacal way. “Who can blame them really? If things go wrong here, we’re all screwed.”
“Hell, I’m sure if given the option of sitting out, we all would do the same, but duty calls.” Magua shook his head. He wanted nothing more than to go home and remove himself from the matter, but because it was his people in the direct path of the shit storm, he couldn’t take that option.
The area outside of the border was busy with teams moving in unison. Magua had ordered a buddy system. No one was to be alone for any reason. This meant doubling up the headcount just to cover the work lo
ad. Each patrol team was given a talisman spelled by the witches. Once they were in place, the energy of the talismans would connect to reinforce their barrier. One by one, they were issued, and the teams ran for their designated point which was marked by a pillar spelled by Azalea.
Just beyond the border, the earth looked deceptively sweet. The potion they’d sprayed gave them a view of a paradise. But Magua and the other shifters could smell that there was more than could be seen. Though their eyes told them it was okay, their other senses warned them of the dangers that still lurked beyond the border.
“We have to get to the sight of the altar before they are all in place. Once they lock in, no one will be able to get in or out,” Nitara warned Magua, who had been putting off this part of their little task list. “Everything else is ready.”
“Yes, the men have their orders, they know to wait for the signals before stepping onto the pillars.”
“Brilliant. Let’s get this over with then.” Bruto clapped his hands and vanished from the space.
“I guess we’re doing this now.” Nitara held her hand out to Magua. “You want a lift?”
He wrapped his hand in hers and they shifted to join Bruto who was already casting his magic to repair the damage done to the altar. Nitara joined him, and within moments, the setting was just as it was before they blew it apart.
“Hmm, doesn’t seem like it was necessary for me to be here at all.” Magua looked around the space nervously. “Perhaps I should go back to the border.”
“No, you need to be here with us,” Nitara denied his theory. “You were a part of this. For all we know, you were affected as well.”
“Well, fuck me.” Magua shook his head. “I feel fine, I’m sure I wasn’t affected.”
“Sorry, buddy, but you’re stuck in this shit with the rest of us!” Bruto’s laugh rang out around them just as the sky above them lit up.
Their eyes drew to the sky in time to see Zaria’s fiery arrival. The bright wings carrying her down from the sky were made even brighter by the huge smile on her face. Apparently, her visit with Ardyn went well. She waved to them as if thrilled to be there despite the horrid circumstances … that was until her feet touched the ground. The smile that stretched across her full face twisted as her body convulsed and she screamed out. Within a moment of her arrival, she had collapsed on the ground and her body seized.
“Zaria!” Nitara ran to her side and fell to her knees to lift her head from the ground.
“What the hell just happened?” Magua stood above them.
“I don’t know.” Bruto looked down on Zaria’s body which was quickly losing its color.
“We have to do something!” Nitara shook her friend. “She’s dying!”
“Fuck!” In a moment of clarity, Bruto waved his hand over her body, sealing her in the same suspension Rosie was in. “I don’t know if I did that right.”
“We need to hurry this up. If she is dying it means things here are kicking into gear.” Magua growled and turned on the altar they’d just repaired. “It’s that damn thing! Can you feel it? The force coming from it?”
Nitara stood from her place beside Zaria. “Repairing it must have reactivated the magic.”
“Great, that’s all we need.” Bruto looked around for any other anomalies. “I’ll go get Ardyn, maybe I can catch him before he heads to the wolves. I’ll send him here and then go get the she-wolf.”
“What did he do?” Magua asked as Bruto disappeared. He knelt beside the woman who was frozen in a tortured moment.
“Suspended her in time, which is really all we can do for her at this point. It’s what we did for Rosie and the others.”
“Will that work?” Magua looked up to Nitara who had taken to examining the land around them. “How do we know it’s not still progressing and when this spell is dropped it won’t just result in something much more tragic?”
“We don’t know that. I hope like hell that it works as we believe because that’s the only thing keeping them stable. Hopefully the witches arrive soon. We need to get them all out of this.”
“What the hell happened to the firebird?” Genesis showed up, holding the beacon in his hand. “Doesn’t look like you all are ready for us, why did this thing go off?”
“I don’t know. She was fine, flew in here like her normal self, but the second her foot touched the ground she collapsed,” Nitara spoke, her eyes fixed on the beacon in his hand. It wasn’t supposed to go off until they wanted, but it was also tied to Zaria’s magic.
Genesis eyed Zaria. “She was a part of the original spell, wasn’t she?”
“Yes, but she wasn’t affected.” Nitara looked over her friend. “She’s been fine all this time.”
“Rebirth.” Genesis nodded then turned to the altar. “This is some good craftmanship here.”
“What?” Magua asked. “I’m sorry, I don’t know who you are, but what the hell are you talking about a rebirth?”
“The name is Genesis, djinn and ex-lover to my Rose.” He grinned widely, then appeared disappointed when Magua clearly didn’t care about his supposed relationship with Rosie. He grunted, rolled his eyes, and continued. “Was she reborn since the spell?”
“Yes, that same night,” Nitara replied. “It’s how Akasha, the panther who started this, died.”
“That would have disconnected her but only until she came in contact with it again.” He pointed to the work he had been admiring. “You’ve repaired the altar and healed the land. The moment she touched ground; the spell was set in motion again. The clock is ticking now.”
“Wait, what?” Magua asked.
“Yes, things will begin moving forward much faster now. It does explain why this process has been taking so long. There was a broken link in the chain, and now it has been repaired.” Genesis laughed. “If it weren’t directly affecting my Rose, I’d be impressed. This is powerful magic at work.”
Nitara rolled her eyes. “Well, I’m glad you’re entertained.”
The cracking sound of electricity rung out around them before the light appeared a few feet from them and opposite the altar. Sparks of light ignited, starting as pops and sparkles, and then growing in intensity until there was a continuous disruption in the field. Nitara stood between Zaria’s body and the anomaly; her whip formed at her hand as she shot Magua a look over her shoulder. This was nothing familiar to either of them, which meant whatever was trying to cross over could be an enemy.
They waited, guarded, until the pillar of light began to split. Magua growled and Nitara charged her whips with more power. Snapping them at the ground, she erected a barrier of purple light between them and the new arrivals. As the passageway opened, it gave a brief viewing of the fae city as five of their strongest warriors, led by Laurel, crossed over. In the center of their formation, Praia hung in midair, still floating in the waters of the moonpool. The pod that held her body shimmered brighter as the opening shut behind them.
“Fae,” Magua growled as he prepared to fight. He, like the rest of the world, wasn’t exactly a fan of the fae after finding out that their people were aiding the Vampire Queen, the very people they were meant to be protecting the world from.
“Praia.” Recognizing the unconscious girl, Nitara held her hand up to Magua to calm him. “Who are you and where is Jinn?”
“He had to make a stop somewhere else first,” Laurel spoke at the head of the group as she lowered her hood. “There is another that needs to be here for the ritual. He has gone to attempt to retrieve them.”
“Another?” Magua settled. “I thought we had everyone.”
“The bear king,” Laurel responded as she directed the others to secure Praia. They moved her body closer to the altar. When they had her in place, they secured the pod on a platform erected from the earth.
“How the hell does he expect to achieve that?” Magua looked at Nitara. “That place is a fortress. They will kill him if he tries to get in.”
“Do you think they could really do that
?” Nitara touched her stomach, suddenly sickened by the thought.
“Hell, I don’t know what other magical gifts his ex-wives left behind.”
“In his words, he will achieve this by any means necessary, even if it is by force.” Laurel reported Jinn’s last words to her before he left them in Alune. “It was an impressive moment of valor.”
“Oh, you can believe force will be the only way he is getting in there,” Magua growled. “He should have asked for backup! How does he even know that this is necessary?”
“We figured it out while reviewing the notes from Praia’s research. I’m not even sure she knew what it meant, but it revealed that the link to Akasha, who was a part of the original spell, must have transferred to the bear king. It’s the only way this all still works, and we figure it is also why he has gone mad. Her energy was still in this land and it found a host strong enough to contain it.”
“So, Jinn expects to force his way into the bear kingdom and escape with the king in hand?” Nitara felt as though she would faint. “This is going to start a war.”
“Precisely.” Laurel smiled as if the idea of a war on the shifter territory pleased her.
“Fuck, okay, I need to round up more people. If he succeeds, he is going to bring that entire kingdom down on our heads!” Magua nodded to Nitara, confirming she would be okay without him before he shifted and took off running to sound the alarm.
“This just keeps getting more complicated, doesn’t it?” Nitara groaned as the knot that was forming in her stomach tightened. “I’m going to need a long vacation after all of this is over!”
“Sign me up. I’ve only been a part of this for a few days and I’m already tired,” the fae said as she held her hand out to Nitara. “I’m Laurel by the way, Praia’s friend from home.”
“It is nice to meet you.” Nitara reached out to shake Laurel’s hand, but she’d only come within an inch of making contact when a spark of light shocked both of their hands. “Oh! What was that?”