Inevitable Darkness

by Cassandra Lawson

  Abram shrugged. “They like cats. I guess pets are good for some people.”

  “Is that why you have one?” Paul asked.

  “I keep telling you, I don’t have a pet,” Abram reminded him. “The Cat won’t leave. He’s a squatter, not a pet.”

  “Whatever you say,” Paul replied. “What are we going to do about the momma cat’s owner? He really wants his cat back.”

  “I’ll deal with him,” Abram assured Paul. “He’ll either stay the fuck out of there, or he’ll regret it. Stupid fuck shouldn’t have let his knocked-up cat wander around.”

  “Yeah, he should be a more responsible pet owner, like you,” Paul teased.

  “Fuck you,” Abram told him.

  “Are you going to fill me in on why you need to leave me in charge?” Paul asked.

  “After I deal with this cat situation,” Abram replied. “Fucking cats are nothing but trouble.”

  Chapter 22

  Mitchell, Vexx, and Winter came up with a training schedule—one where Mitchell didn’t sneak out or travel to meet Vexx and Winter alone. He’d even been excused from his regular training schedule.

  Three days later, they weren’t much closer to rescuing Kish. Mitchell had hoped that, by admitting he was holding back, he’d remove some mental barrier that was preventing him from tapping into that part of his power. It seemed there was more to it than just admitting to holding back. They’d made some progress in the form of small portals, but at the rate they were going, it would be decades before they could get to the jaguar land.

  They’d met up at the clearing by the creek and gone through their usual small talk when Mitchell let out a sigh and admitted, “I don’t know if I can do this.”

  “Of course, you do,” Winter told him with a dismissive wave of her hand. “You already know we do it in the future, so we can do it.”

  “She’s right,” Vexx agreed. “You’re just not sure how we’re going to do it.”

  “True,” he replied with a sigh. “I know we’ll be able to do this at some point, but I’m not sure we can do it in time to save Kishara and prevent all the horrible events in my visions. Some of my visions involved us making a portal, but what if there are other possible outcomes? What if we can’t figure out what needs to be done to make the portal in time, so those outcomes don’t even apply to us?”

  “It’s complicated, but we’ve done it before,” Vexx reminded him. “We can do it again. I think we’re all putting too much pressure on ourselves.”

  “I agree,” Winter stated. “We’re spending too much time trying to open a more complex portal, like the one we opened before.”

  “And when we fail at that, we end up practicing with something simple—something we already know how to do,” Vexx pointed out.

  “So, maybe we need a challenge that’s more attainable,” Winter suggested.

  “That’s a good idea,” Mitchell agreed.

  “We’ll try something bigger but less intimidating,” Winter added.

  “Let’s take a break from portals and make some plans for where we should take Kish when we get back here,” Vexx suggested. “I think it will be best if it’s not too close to the settlements.”

  Winter nodded. “There’s an open clearing about twenty miles north of the cougar territory that should work. We should try to check it out tomorrow.”

  “I’ve been thinking,” Mitchell began thoughtfully. “Why not take Kishara straight from the jaguar land to the witch coven?”

  “It’s not that easy,” Vexx replied. “The witch coven is hidden by magic. That spell would disrupt any portal we try to use, and I don’t know how it would affect us.”

  Mitchell nodded. “It’s also best if Winter doesn’t have quite so far to travel in her condition.”

  “I’m getting tired of males acting like I’m fragile just because I’m breeding,” Winter grumbled. “I could handle the trip back.”

  “But you shouldn’t risk it in case the demons track Kish here,” Vexx reminded her.

  “I don’t think you’re helpless,” Mitchell assured her. “I just don’t want anything to happen to you or your baby.”

  Never one for emotional talks, Winter changed the subject. “How about if we try a portal from here to the cougar territory?”

  “Or one to the bridge to Treasure Island.” Mitchell refused to admit that he’d made that suggestion because he wanted to see Abram. “It will be easier for me to get back from there if we can’t open another portal.

  “That’s a good idea,” Winter agreed. “Let’s see if we can make this work.”

  “We’ll make it work,” Vexx said confidently.

  Vexx and Winter stood beside him, each taking one of his hands, and Mitchell took a deep breath. Initially, they’d believed they needed to be in a particular order for Vexx to join their power. Mitchell’s power was hot, while Winter’s was icy cold. Without Vexx, their magic couldn’t weave together. Now, they knew the order didn’t matter. Mitchell first felt the icy shock of Winter’s magic sliding along his before Vexx’s magic flowed between them, easing their power together until it hummed between them.

  Mitchell fought the urge to suppress his magic as it flowed through his veins like molten lava. Even with Winter’s icy touch, he felt like he was burning from the inside out. In the beginning, he’d assumed the heat was a product of his demon magic, but now, he believed his two halves were fighting for control. Closing his eyes, he saw tiny rays of light appear around him. They were in various shades of purple, blue, red, and silver.

  Mitchell continued to breathe slowly, opening himself up to his power and his bond with Vexx and Winter. The wooded area around them changed, and he saw what looked like small tears in a scene. Through those holes, he caught glimpses of brightly lit tunnels. Typically, all they saw was one little crack where their portal formed. This time, there were multiple tears. They grew brighter, and the portals swelled large enough to put a hand through.

  “We did it,” Winter whispered. “I’m not sure which one we need to take.”

  “It doesn’t matter,” Mitchell told her. “I’ll manipulate the portal once we enter it.” At least, that’s how he did it when he snuck in and out of the settlement. This was on a much bigger scale, but he imagined it would work the same.

  It was Vexx who took the lead and began walking toward one of the openings. Her hand reached out, and it opened for her.

  They moved past various worlds, some human and others not. For the longest stretch, they saw an older woman, sitting in a chair by the fire alone. In the next scene, slick black creatures scaled the side of a stone building. That scene happened in only a matter of seconds. What he saw next made him stop in his tracks.

  When Vexx looked over at what had caught his attention, she gasped. “That’s you.”

  It was him, but he seemed much older, more at peace. It was a scene he’d only experienced in a vision. Winter urged him to hurry back through the portal with Zane and Lexi. Shaking his head, he moved on. Time wasn’t linear. Kyleigh had told him that more than once, and he knew it from his vision of Zane’s rescue. Still, it felt strange watching himself years in the future.

  They passed several worlds and times before they reached the end. When they stepped out, the world still looked strange. Hazy fog swirled around them, and everything moved slower.

  “We need to close the portal,” Winter stated.

  “How?” Mitchell asked as he ran his fingers around the edge of the opening. The magic hummed along his skin, making the hair on his arm stand up. Nothing changed. He hadn’t needed to close the other portals. “They’ve all closed on their own before.”

  “I think we need to focus on the portal closing,” Vexx suggested. “That’s how it opened. I guess it’s all three of our magic so one of us can’t close it alone.”

  Mitchell nodded and focused on closing the portal, something that proved harder than he’d expected. They were amazing, and he wanted to study them all. “Later,” he told hims
elf. Later, he could explore the tunnel and its endless possibilities. A loud humming began in his ears as he focused on the portal. Slowly, it faded, becoming softer until it was gone.

  When he opened his eyes, he was facing the bridge to Treasure Island, where Abram stood watching.

  Chapter 23

  Even having seen Mitchell do a disappearing act before, his sudden appearance with Vexx and Winter still surprised Abram.

  “Do you need a ride home, or are you going to poof yourselves out of here?” Abram called out as he pushed off the bridge railing and approached them.

  “Poof?” Mitchell asked with a forced smile. He appeared shaken, but he was trying to hold it together in front of the others. Based on the way the witch and mage stroked Mitchell’s arms, they knew he wasn’t okay.

  Abram felt an unwelcome stab of jealousy at their intimacy, proof he couldn’t think straight around Mitchell. It’s not like he wanted to comfort Mitchell. He wasn’t the warm and loving type, so he should be relieved no one had asked it of him. Still, he found himself reaching out to Mitchell when he stood directly in front of him. His hand landed on Mitchell’s shoulder, and he gave it a gentle squeeze. When heat rushed up his arm and went straight to his groin, he nearly gasped.

  Struggling with his arousal, he had no clue what had just happened. He needed to focus.

  “That was amazing,” Abram said with his hand still on Mitchell’s shoulder. “I’m not sure how I’d feel if I’d just done something like that—probably a little scared. That’s a lot of power to wield.”

  What the fuck? Abram thought to himself, not sure why he’d admitted that to Mitchell. Admitting a weakness was never okay. Even those who claimed to be on his side could stab him in the back. Shrugging off his concerns, Abram decided it didn’t matter since he couldn’t poof around like them. Who cared if they knew how he’d react? This was more of a hypothetical weakness than a real one.

  “Thanks,” Mitchell told him with a smile that hit Abram like a gut punch. “I need to let my ride know I’m no longer where they left me, and then I could use a ride back.”

  “Sure, no problem,” he said.

  Abram had gone over his reaction to Mitchell dozens of times since he’d last seen him and concluded that it was simply because it had been too long since he’d gotten laid. Mitchell was hot. The attraction made perfect sense, and he convinced himself he’d handle it better once he got laid.

  The last part presented a problem that he couldn’t seem to move past. It didn’t matter who he went to—guys or girls—his dick wasn’t interested. If it weren’t for his reaction to Mitchell, Abram might have started thinking something was wrong with his dick.

  All Mitchell had to do was smile at him, and the fucking shifters could probably smell his arousal. If it was just arousal, it wouldn’t be too bad. He could blame his single-minded focus on an obsession. The problem was, he also felt a strange tug at his heart whenever Mitchell smiled at him, like he wanted to make him smile more.

  Abram cared about others, but not the way ordinary people did. He’d observed those around him with a great deal of detachment his entire life. He did his best to avoid emotional attachments. Other than Paul, he had no real friends. While he’d sent his mother and sister away for their protection, he didn’t miss them since he barely knew them.

  His hand dropped to his side, and he felt disappointed at the loss of contact, but it was the smart thing to do. He needed distance. When he looked away from Mitchell, he found Vexx eying him curiously.

  “I can give you a ride, too,” he told her. “I didn’t offer because I figured a little cat like you would run all the way home with the jaguar.”

  “Don’t play that game with me,” Vexx warned.

  For a small woman, she was tough. He admired and even liked her a little. That didn’t mean he was going to have a conversation about Mitchell with her.

  “Any idea who’s traveling with us to the witch coven?” Abram asked. “I assume we will be leaving soon since you’re poofing all over now.”

  “Poofing?” Winter asked, her face scrunched in disgust. “We don’t poof.”

  “You poofed,” Abram argued. He’d feel ridiculous using that term if it didn’t bother the mage so much. “Who’s making the trip with us?”

  Mitchell shrugged. “Connor is having trouble finding people who won’t have an issue with you. He’s got plenty of people willing to go, but he doesn’t want anyone there who wants to kill you.”

  Abram let out a bark of laughter. “That could be a problem.” There were many living among Connor’s vampires who had good reason to hate him.

  “We’re having the same issue,” Winter told him. “I imagine Jase is, as well.”

  Abram grinned. “I may never win the award for most-loved, but I think I’ve got the most-hated in the bag.”

  “Doesn’t it bother you?” Mitchell asked.

  “No,” Abram replied honestly. “I get why you might think it would, but I don’t give a fuck what people think about me. Plenty of them have good reason to hate me, so I can’t exactly blame them for it. Besides, I’m also not fond of the majority of the people I meet, so who am I to judge?”

  “You’ve changed,” Mitchell argued. “People deserve a second chance.”

  That misconception needed to be set straight. Abram was guilty of a lot of things, but he didn’t manipulate those around him into thinking he was a nice guy. He wouldn’t pretend he was someone’s friend before stabbing them in the back. “No, I haven’t changed. I’m still as ruthless as always. The difference now is that working with all of you benefits my survival.”

  Mitchell didn’t look convinced.

  “Things seem different to you because I like you,” Abram admitted. “I give a fuck whether you live or die. That doesn’t extend to everyone. Just because I’m not out killing people from your settlement doesn’t mean I’ve changed. All it means is that it benefits me to keep them alive for the time being. That could change.”

  “We have more in common than you might imagine,” Winter remarked thoughtfully.

  Abram had been fascinated with the mage since he’d first learned of her existence. She’d been the one to kill Roger, thus putting Abram in charge. She was a powerful and often cold woman.

  “How do you figure that?” Vexx asked. “Abram is a little on the crazy side. No offense,” she told Abram.

  He shrugged in response.

  “We both keep our distance from all but a select few,” Winter replied. “We can kill with cold precision, but when we care about someone, there is nothing cold about our revenge. Abram would take great pleasure in destroying anyone who harmed one of the few he cares for. His past makes him guarded.”

  Abram frowned. “I think you may be reading too much into this. You barely know me.” Before anyone could say more, he continued. “If you want a ride, let’s go. I’m in no mood to play who can guess why Abram is so fucked-up, so you’ll have to play that game without me.”

  Mitchell looked over at Vexx and Winter. “Are you going to run back?”

  Vexx nodded. “That was intense, so I could use a good run.”

  “Same here,” Winter agreed. “I think we’ve moved past your mental block with your magic.”

  “We could have gone farther in the portal we created,” Vexx added.

  Mitchell nodded. “You’re right. We’re just about ready to get Kish.”

  Both shifters were already stripping out of their clothes as Mitchell sent a message on his phone to let Connor know Abram was driving him home.

  “We’ll plan out our next step when we meet tomorrow,” Vexx told him before shifting.

  After Winter shifted, they both took off in cat form.

  “What the fuck?” Abram asked as he looked down at the pile of clothes. “Do they leave their clothes lying around everywhere?”

  Mitchell nodded. “They know I’ll gather them up and bring them the next time I see them.”

  Abram grinned as an idea came
to him. “Wouldn’t it be more fun to set them on fire?”

  Chapter 24

  Mitchell couldn’t tell if Abram was joking or not. He figured Abram had to be kidding. Why would he want to set fire to someone’s clothing? “You’re not serious, right?”

  “I’m serious,” Abram replied. “You need to stop being the nice guy everyone trusts to do the right thing all the time. Shake things up and fuck with those around you. Next time, when they show up expecting you to have their clothes all folded, probably washed, you can tell them you aren’t going to pick up after them. Tell them you burned their shit. Since you’re such a bad liar, you’re going to have to burn them to make it work.”

  Mitchell laughed at his suggestion. “You’d love to watch that, wouldn’t you?”

  “I would,” Abram admitted as he turned to walk back to the bridge. “Get me a jeep!” he shouted to the guards before returning his attention to Mitchell.

  “I could lie about burning their clothes,” Mitchell insisted. “You think I’m this pillar of goodness and light, but I’ve been doing a lot of lying lately.” Granted, Mitchell hated lying.

  “Their sense of smell is so good that, even if you lied about burning them, the shifters would know you had their clothes with you,” Abram pointed out.

  “I could always leave them at my place,” Mitchell suggested. It was strange that he was thinking about playing a trick on his friends. He wasn’t the type to play pranks.

  “If you do, make sure I’m there to watch,” Abram told him. “I’ll bet they won’t believe you did it.”

  “Why’s that?” Mitchell asked.

  “You may not want to accept it, but you are a good guy,” Abram explained before adding softly, “I guess this is a case of opposites attracting.”

  Mitchell had given the matter a lot of thought since his kiss with Abram. He noticed the way Abram watched him now. They each felt the attraction, and it confused them both, but he decided his first instinct regarding their attraction was right. “This thing between us is about Kish.”