Winter (Mist Riders Book 2)

by Stella Fitzsimons

  I really didn’t want to answer. “In what sense?” I finally said.

  He breathed heavily—his chest expanded and contracted as he stewed on the whole scenario. “There’s no sense. None, Luna. At some point, you have to decide who you trust.”

  “I didn’t want you to go after Chaos,” I said. “I know that’s what he wanted. Jonas, he wanted to have a reason to kill you. And now you’ll just go confront him and he’ll get his wish. That’s why I didn’t tell you.”

  “That’s my choice, not yours.” He sighed. “Your choice is, which side are going to be on?”

  There it was again. Sides. Celia’s prophesy haunting my every step.

  “Okay, I should have come to you, obviously, but now we’re on the same page and we have to do something. According to Chaos, the Düsternis plan is very much alive and kicking. The Council is moving ahead at full speed. There will be no reprieve, no postponement.”

  I knew those words would sting. Düsternis had kept Winter in the dark, most likely because he had lost the Grand Magistrate’s trust.

  He slapped his thigh and got up. “Pack your things. We’re going back. We must check on Lucia, see that she is well and see what Chaos has done to her and with her and see what, if anything, she knows.”

  Did he truly care about Lucia’s health and well-being?

  “It could be a trap,” I said.

  “The Sacred Vault or checking on Lucia?” he said with a grin.

  “Either. Both.”

  He laughed. “Now we’re on the same page.”

  I started to pack up my things, quickly. I tried to remember everything I knew about the Sacred Vault. It was an ancient Immortal archive, but this archive was often mentioned in the darkest of tales of pre-history. Mere mention of it gave chills to all. There were details there on the lives of every Immortal and Divine that ever existed; they were buried in rickety catacombs deep below the northernmost peak of the Brooks Range in Northern Alaska.

  “Does this implicate the Seventh Council in Emmet’s abduction?” I said.

  He never answered. Of course not, but I had begun to know Winter. I knew that whenever he didn’t answer, the answer was always yes, and that meant the Seventh Council may well have taken my ex-boyfriend.

  I knew also that Winter cared about my well-being and Lucia’s, too.

  In the car to the airport the darkness crept in, from all sides, and I could feel Chaos watching—his black eyes were always out there, watching, like the stars, like the moon.

  No, he wasn’t there in Whitehorse. I wasn’t losing my mind, but Chaos knew our every move long before we did.

  CHAPTER 15

  ____________________________________

  We headed straight for Lucia’s from the airport after a wild ride on the I-5 in Winter’s old Civic. When we arrived, it was just past seven in the evening.

  Winter banged on the door repeatedly before I took hold of his hand to stop him. Frustrated with his vexed attitude, I rang the doorbell, as if that simple gesture could calm his aggression.

  It took Lucia two minutes to come to the door. She wore a lacy burgundy nightgown with spaghetti straps and side slits. I stared at her a long while, quite stunned to see her in a sexy nightgown at 7:10 pm.

  “Sophie, Jonas,” she said, brushing back her long, dark curls. “Well, that’s a surprise. Lily’s on campus tonight.”

  “Good,” Winter said and strolled past Lucia and into the house.

  “I’m sorry to just show up,” I said, finding my voice. “Can we come in?”

  She raised an eyebrow. “One of you already has.”

  Lucia closed the door after I stepped inside. Her eyes followed my every move as I found Winter in the living room pacing back and forth.

  “Is everything okay?” she said.

  “You’re dressed quite sensually,” Winter said. “Perhaps you’ve had a visit from a gentleman caller wanting to use your telepathic channel?”

  Lucia’s eyes widened. “I beg your pardon!”

  I glared at Winter. “Never mind him. He’s had a long trip. Lucia, you sent me a text last night, a cryptic text, hard to interpret.”

  Lucia raised her hands, dumbfounded. “I didn’t send any texts to you, Sophie, or to anyone. Now, I really don’t know what this is all about, but tomorrow would be a better day for it. I am in the middle of something.”

  She marched to the front door. Winter stepped in her way and placed both hands on her shoulders. “Stay still,” he said.

  Lucia tried to break free, but he quickly subdued her. I saw the struggle in her eyes. It made me feel sick to my stomach.

  “Sophie, I warned you about this man. He is possessive and brutish.”

  Well, that is hard to argue.

  Winter moved his hands onto her temples and pressed. His jaw tightened and his eyes narrowed.

  Lucia yelped.

  Shaking off my stupor, I physically removed his hands from her temples.

  “That’s enough.” I knew he had allowed me to remove his hands. I couldn’t have done it otherwise.

  Lucia was shaking, completely freaked out. I believed it was sincere.

  “A word,” Winter said through clenched teeth.

  He ushered me to the back of the room.

  “She has no clue what we’re talking about,” I said. “Don’t you think Chaos would have wiped her memory again?”

  He shook his head. “There’s no change in the connective path,” he said. “It’s undisturbed. No recent activity at all. He hasn’t used her.”

  “What’s going on then? What about the text?”

  A male voice boomed from another room. “What’s all the hubbub, honeybee? Have the Mormons invaded the living room?”

  Chaos sauntered into the living room in nothing but red boxer briefs. His build was more like body armor than flesh, all sinewy, corded muscle, and tanned, hairless skin. He had the same double-headed eagle tattoo as Winter inked across his chest, but his was less golden and more bronze.

  He fussed with a paper rabbit in his hands, folding the paper edges with precise care. “Who and what has the cat dragged in?”

  “My daughter’s friend,” Lucia said, still rattled.

  Chaos took her in his arms and pet her hair back. “Forgive us,” he said. “You have caught us ill-disposed.”

  “Sophie, this is a friend,” Lucia said, blushing. “Zack Wisdom.”

  Wisdom! You’ve got to be kidding me.

  “As I said, now is not a good time,” she went on.

  “And the big fella,” Chaos said. “Does he have a name?”

  “That’s Jonas. He was just going,” Lucia said with venom.

  “Nonsense,” Chaos said. “Don’t run them off on my account, Lucy Lue. I’m beginning to feel rather chatty.”

  The moment Chaos let go of Lucia, Winter needed all of two seconds to get his fellow Shadow into a headlock.

  Lucia gasped and covered her mouth. I put my arm around her.

  “They’re old friends,” I said to assure her. “Army buddies.”

  Chaos chuckled, holding onto Winter’s arm around his throat. “Not bad, golden boy.”

  “Jonas, that’s quite enough,” I said. “Don’t let him get under your skin.”

  Winter released the headlock, yanking Chaos forward.

  Chaos laughed. “Well, someone likes it rough.”

  That just about does it.

  “You think this is funny?” I yelled at Chaos. “What did you do with Emmet, you son of a bitch? I can see what you’ve done with Lucia.”

  Chaos winked. “Consenting adults.”

  He reached out to touch Lucia’s forehead. She froze on the spot, like she had been lobotomized. She stood rigid like a statue. An immobilizing spell affected both her mind and body.

  “Better to let the busy little bee rest,” Chaos said.

  Stirring energy clenched my insides, wanting to strike out and crush his skull. I resisted the impulse for a few seconds when a thin beam
of energy escaped my control. I directed the sweltering whip at the center of his bare abdomen. It slashed through his skin like a propane torch, opening a sizzling hole the size of a penny, burning its way into his stomach.

  I had hit him with so much power, my hands tingled.

  Chaos gasped. His eyes locked on mine. “Is that all you got?”

  Feel the burn, you evil bastard.

  “What did you do to Lucia?” I asked.

  “The thing I like most about you, sugar pop… you’re impetuous, you err on the side of defiance every time like all charming simpletons.”

  I squeezed the energy that poured out of my fingers, tightening it like a vise, sharpening the edges to lodge them deep inside his flesh like tiny hooks. Yeah, I had no illusions that he could easily defeat me, or at least block my magic, but with Winter there, Chaos might think twice about unleashing his power against both of us.

  In a blink my sizzling hooks were buried up and down his abdomen.

  Chaos winced. His voice came out strained but determined. “Fine, I don’t like to kiss and tell, but I just sexed the hell out of the little busy bee, gave her the best o’s of her life, doubt she ever came close to having six, no, wait, seven in a row, so you see, I’ve been generous and shown enormous restraint. I even listened to her whining about her work situation—did you know they moved her language class to the science building and then cancelled the annual Latin poetry reading? Sadly, I do. And I let her live after that. It wasn’t easy. It would have been justified homicide. She nearly killed me with boredom.”

  “Were you ever funny?” I said. “Like maybe a thousand years ago? I’m curious. Truly.”

  He chuckled like a maniac. “No worries here, my little mean girl. For all your replacement Mommy figure knows, it’s the first time we’ve met. I texted you when she was in the shower. Easy peasy.” He pouted. “I did not connect to her telepathic channel. I am sure Frosty here already told you that. I gave you my word, pumpkin, remember?”

  I released him. Maybe I had just signed my death warrant. Would he ever let go of this moment when I humiliated him in front of his archrival? Or would he wait patiently for this to be done and finally kill me?

  “All right,” I said. “So, you wanted our attention. Here we are.”

  Chaos pointed at Winter. “Not him. Just you. Ask grumpy to wait outside.”

  Winter crossed his thick arms on his chest. He wasn’t going anywhere.

  “Winter stays,” I said.

  “Uh-uh,” Chaos said. “That won’t work for me. His temper is a detriment to an open dialogue. He might lose his marbles and go for my head and I don’t want a rerun where I’m about to chop him to pieces and you crack open the Earth to save your pathetic mentor. I mean, why ruin Lucia’s charming little house, eh, sugar donut?”

  Having no desire to prove Chaos wrong, Winter immediately lost it. When I saw his eyes smoldering, I leaped in front of him. He pushed past me like I was a fly and lunged at Chaos, landing a kick to his solar plexus, knocking the breath out of Chaos who smashed back against the wall.

  Chaos rebounded right off the wall and slammed into Winter. I had to jump aside to avoid being trampled.

  I had enough. I spun around and used a gravitational force to freeze a chair in midflight before it went through the window.

  Wow, I’ve never done that before.

  The two Shadow Warriors engaged in hand-to-hand combat and even as they strained to the point where the muscles and veins in their necks looked like they might burst, I knew they were holding back, I knew they were just letting off some steam.

  Maybe I should dispose of them both now while they were busy with each other. Surely, mist riders had ways to deal with misbehaving Immortals.

  Instead of killing them, I wrapped them both in a shimmering lasso of energy. I yelled. “Have you gotten it out of your systems, yet?”

  Lucia remained petrified, like her spirit had left her body. She wouldn’t remember any of this, but at what cost to her mind?

  “Winter, please, let me talk to the psycho. We don’t have time to waste.”

  The two men pushed apart. Winter growled. “After you finish with this nonsense, he’s mine. I will not let eternity be cursed with this trash.”

  Chaos laughed. “Goals are good, brother. Delusions are not.”

  Winter cursed under his breath in a language I did not understand, then slammed the door behind him.

  Chaos tilted his head. “He’s a total bore, eh?”

  His stomach had healed, only a pink dot remained as evidence of the deep wound I had given him. A cut above his lip vanished right in front of my eyes, and a purple bruise stopped spreading across his pecs and turned a yellowish green. I sighed. My life had become The Twilight Zone.

  “Please, put some clothes on,” I said.

  “Clothes, such tedium!” He went to the bedroom and came back wearing a gray crew neck workout shirt and black mesh running shorts.

  I arched an eyebrow. Why did Lucia fall for this guy every time he showed up? They couldn’t possible have shared interests. Was sex the only thing she was looking for in a man?

  “Do you ever wear anything other than black or gray?” I asked.

  He shrugged. “I find bright colors unappealing. The old world was more to my tastes. Animal skins and necklaces made of teeth. Muah! Favolosa!”

  Right. “I’m going to give you this chance to come clean and tell me about your text, or I’ll call Winter in and I’ll be his backup. You might think that you’re a badass, but I’d like to see you fight both of us.”

  I amused him. “Prickly little rabbit, has your thickskulled mentor not taught you a thing? No one can come between two shadow warriors when they are fighting to the death.”

  “I’m not sure your Immortal traditions and rules apply to mist riders and I’m willing to bet you’re not sure either. Anyway, I’m game. Bring it on, Chaos. Wait, you weren’t so cocky earlier when I sliced you up with my fire whip. You would have blocked a witch’s magic effortlessly, but my magic? Hmmm.”

  What was I doing? I needed to get him to talk, not slash my throat.

  He licked his lips. “Senseless child. You won’t see many more winters.” He chuckled. “See what I did there?”

  I sat on the couch and crossed my legs. “I’m waiting. You wouldn’t have sent that text if you didn’t want to have a chat.”

  He squatted in front of me to look me straight in the eyes. “Sometimes, I feel like we’ve met, wee girl, long ago. Yes, fine, the chat. Fair enough. It has begun. The Eternal portals have opened. Heinous creatures long exiled have reentered the world. I would guess their moods to be rather foul.”

  This confirmed Winter’s interpretation of Seventh Council data about the exile vortex, but I chose to act indifferent. “What are you on about?”

  “I mean, the Deep Down is in deep shit.” He inhaled as if losing interest. “Your brood, the charmed folk, are about to get pummeled.”

  “What’s this got to do with Emmet? You’re stalling.”

  “Must I spell it out for you? The Immortal who has the wolf in the Sacred Vault works with those responsible for opening the gates of hell.”

  “The portals?”

  “Why yes, kitty cat,” he said. “Did you really not know from where the concept of hell was born?”

  “I don’t get it. How does it all connect?”

  “I’ll go slowly,” Chaos said, literally talking slowly. “Someone up in the Eternal Halls doesn’t like you. They don’t trust you. They recruited that fuckstick Düsternis to investigate. Making sense now?”

  “That may be your theory, or, maybe my theory is true. Want to hear it?”

  “Do I?”

  “I think you do,” I told him. “My theory goes like this. You are behind the whole thing and you’re lying through your teeth.”

  “Yowzers, it’s like I’m talking to a wall. Run along and tell your impulsive beefcake manfriend what I’ve told you. See what he tells you. At
very least the self-serving bastard can see through elaborate schemes. You, however, yikes. You are a staggering waste of potential, sadly, a slow-learning infant.”

  If looks could kill, he’d be dead. “And you learned this how?”

  “Oh, bother. Not important. The way I see it, you have two choices: you can be off to the Sacred Vault before the 8 o’clock chimes, or you can wait until they’re ready for you and toss you more crumbs. That way you can walk right into their trap. Best go now and steal the wolf from under their noses.”

  “Oh, right, because it’s that simple.”

  “Listen carefully, Luna. You’re running out of time. Tell me, what is your connection with this Groshek creature? Lovers? Cause you can do better.”

  Was that an offer? Ew.

  “None of your business.”

  “How can I effectively advise you without trust?”

  Did he say trust? “Okay, buddy, if you’re so certain, then why don’t you just come along and help me save Emmet?”

  “Me? You don’t want to be my partner, remember?”

  “Huh,” I gloated, “You see, you’re all bark and no bite.”

  His face contorted. “If you want my help, you’d have to sign on for my battle against the Immortal Councils.”

  “Yeah, hard pass.”

  “At loggerheads, yet again. More’s the pity. Do try not to lose your pretty little head before we meet again.”

  He was about to go up in blue smoke, when I remembered Lucia.

  “Dude, your girlfriend!”

  “Ah,” he said. “Sweet Lucia. Yes. You know, before you accuse me again of having no bite, you might want to behold this lovely lady’s bum.”

  “Gross, dude!”

  He readied his finger to bring her back.

  “Chaos, what is the danger approaching the Deep Down? Can you at least make sure they stay safe?”

  He raised an eyebrow. “What’s in it for me?”

  Give me patience!

  “A hearty meal for your ego. I know you’d love to save the world.”

  “The world as in the basic world. That’s where I have vested interests. The Deep Down? Not so much. It’s like Cleveland. I could make do without.”