by H B Lyne
They laid Hidden Voice down on the moist sand and he stirred slightly. Stalker paused over him, watching and waiting to see if was about to wake up. He lay still and she breathed a heavy sigh of relief. Wind Talker moved away and started picking though the rock pools, so Stalker sat down next to the sedated shifter.
He began muttering and she leaned close to listen, only the odd word was audible over the wind and waves but she clung to those few words, those clues.
'No..... not me.... crazy fae.... traitors!..... fools.'
'Who?' Stalker urged, gently. 'Who are fools?'
'Blue Moon,' he whispered, his eyes popping open. They latched onto her and his hand darted out and grabbed her wrist. Her breath caught in her throat and she was paralysed. 'You have to stop them.'
He passed out again, dropping his hand to the wet sand. She released her breath slowly and gingerly rubbed her aching wrist. What had that been about? She looked up to see Wind Talker still picking his way through the rocks. A few minutes later, he made his way back to her, his hands full of shells.
'I need seaweed,' he called over the noise of the beach. 'I want to try a ritual to extract some information from him. Can you go and see if you can find some down the beach?'
'Sure,' she said, getting to her feet. She paused, unsure whether to tell him what Hidden Voice had said. The words stopped in her throat and she wasn't sure why. She brushed sand off her jeans and set off towards the shallow water. As she gathered the soggy seaweed, she struggled to think of a good reason not to have told Wind Talker. Ultimately, she simply didn't trust him and the awful, sickening feeling that settled in the pit of her stomach at the conscious acknowledgement of that fact was the worst thing about it. He was her brother. It was devastating to carry these feelings and worst of all to know that he would sense them through the empathy they shared. He was ruthless, cold even, but he had only ever served the pack. She should trust him with her life.
Her arms were full of seaweed now and she turned to head back to the cave. She looked up and was surprised when she saw how far she had walked. She set off at a brisk pace, the wind at her back, urging her onwards. As she neared the cave she felt something strange, a tingling sensation all over and for a moment she thought she heard footsteps, dozens of marching feet. She looked around but the beach was deserted. Her pulse was racing though and she drew her lower lip between her teeth as she strode towards Wind Talker. He was hunched over Hidden Voice and there was something odd about the way he felt through the bond. The very empathy she had been so conscious of a few minutes before now seemed to be setting off an internal alarm. He was satisfied. He had been anxious all day, but now he felt still and calm and it was only the sudden contrast that drew her attention to it.
She quickened her pace and ran into the cave. Wind Talker looked over his shoulder at her, his face pale and resolute. Then she saw the knife in his hand, the blood running down it, and Hidden Voice's throat neatly cut.
Chapter Fifteen
'What the fuck have you done?' Stalker screamed. Her voice echoed around the cave.
'What had to be done,' he replied coolly.
'I thought we were going to get information out of him?'
'He was insane, there was no ritual, there was nothing we could do.'
'He was talking,' she yelled, throwing the seaweed to the ground. 'He spoke to me right before you sent me off. He was muttering in his sleep and he woke up just for a second and told me to stop the Blue Moon.'
'Why didn't you tell me?' he snapped. He got to his feet and squared up to her, his face red and furious.
'I don't know,' she said, her voice falling away. Hot tears of rage stung her eyes.
'Well, what's done is done and it was for the best. I stand by my actions.'
Stalker's pulse was racing and her hands balled into fists, her nails digging into her sweaty palms. She felt the beast inside fighting to break free and the vial of calming water against her skin getting hot. She turned and strode away from him, knowing that if she stayed she might kill him.
She walked right into the rising tide, the salt water filled her boots and she felt the spray on her face. Seagulls circled overhead, cawing against the wind. After a few deep breaths, Stalker felt back in control and she trudged back up the beach. She pulled out her phone and called Claws. It was Weaver who answered.
'Everything okay?' she asked.
'Where's Claws?' Stalker asked, rubbing her eyes with her free hand.
'Driving. What's up?'
'You need to come to the beach, now. Wind Talker just executed Hidden Voice.' She hung up. She couldn't bear to hear Weaver's reply. Next she called the Alpha. His phone rang to voicemail and she paused, not wanting to say too much. 'We have a situation, it's urgent. Please meet us at the appointed place as soon as possible.' She hung up and put her phone away.
Stalker looked up and down the beach, they would need wood for a funeral pyre. There was no hope of finding dry driftwood here, but back up the hill and across the road was the start of the woods that led up to Father Ash's house so she dragged her heavy feet in that direction.
Time seemed to slow to a crawl as she wandered through the trees picking up sticks. Each time her arms were full she trudged down to the beach and added the wood to a slowly growing pile as close to the road as possible, with the tide creeping in towards it. Wind Talker began to help after a few trips, though they didn't exchange a word, and as the sun touched the horizon they had a substantial pyre ready. Stalker's rage had abated somewhat but she was left feeling heavy and filled with self-blame. If she had only stayed with Hidden Voice this wouldn't have happened. She heard a car pull up on the road behind them and turned to look up the beach.
The car belonged to Claws and he, Weaver and Eyes all climbed out of it. No wonder it had taken so long for them to arrive, if they had waited for the Alpha. The three of them came striding down the slope onto the beach to meet them.
'What happened?' Eyes barked, his face full of thunder.
'Wind Talker killed him, slit his throat.'
'How did he get the opportunity?' Eyes asked, glaring at her. She felt a sudden rush of fury and had to hold herself back.
'He tricked me, he told me there was a ritual and that he needed seaweed. While I was collecting some he did it. Don't look at me like that. Don't you think I feel terrible enough about this?'
Weaver was staring at the pyre but Claws caught Stalker's eye and gave her a sympathetic look.
'Any of us could have been in your position,' he said softly. 'Where are they now?'
Stalker pointed to the cave where Hidden Voice's body remained, with Wind Talker standing sentinel over it. The tide was rising rapidly now and they didn't have long before the beach would be covered. Eyes and Claws marched over to the cave and Stalker was left alone with Weaver.
'I feel like I let you all down,' Stalker whispered.
'No,' Weaver replied quickly, reaching out to touch her shoulder. 'You mustn't feel like that. You weren't wrong to trust your pack mate.'
'But I knew, I knew he wanted to kill him. I shouldn't have left them alone for even a minute.' Hot tears stung as they built up and she could contain them no longer. Weaver grabbed her and pulled her into a tight embrace and Stalker sobbed against her shoulder. Crunching footsteps in the sand signalled the arrival of the others, carrying Hidden Voice between them. They placed the body on the pyre and Stalker noticed the frosty glares between the Alpha and Wind Talker.
'Is there anything we can do first?' Weaver asked, her face and voice desperate. 'Some shifters can extract information from bodies, can't they? Last-Breath-Echoes, the Witches?'
'I don't have that knowledge,' Wind Talker replied stiffly.
'I really don't want anyone else knowing about Hidden Voice,' Eyes said, his voice dark and dangerous. 'We have to keep this between us. It's bad enough that Father Ash saw him. This shifter was dangerous and whatever he knew was dangerous too. That's the only possible reason for the Blue Moon lock
ing him away like that.'
'I want to know why they didn't kill him,' Stalker said, some strength returning to her voice. 'He was the only one who might have known that.'
'Light the pyre,' Eyes ordered and Wind Talker bent to light some kindling around the base.
Weaver put an arm around Stalker's shoulders as they watched the wood catch fire. Slowly, the fire spread throughout the pyre and the Lightning Lords watched in silence as the flames snaked up to meet the body. Wind Talker raised his arms and summoned a fae of flame to stoke the blaze. The heat prickled Stalker's skin.
Waves crashed onto the beach, inching ever closer and a purple, velvet cloak of night began to spread across the sky, fading to dusty pink where the sun had gone down over the sea.
As Hidden Voice burned, Stalker began to feel a creeping, uncomfortable feeling, like someone was watching them. She looked around but couldn't see anyone. A few minutes later an odd sound seemed to reach out from the sea, hard to identify over the sound of the waves, but irritatingly familiar. She strained to hear it and looked around for the source. Footsteps, it was the sound of marching boots on the sand, muffled and distant. She pulled away from Weaver and stepped away from the pyre, searching it out.
'What's wrong?' Weaver asked.
'I can't believe you did this,' Eyes hissed under his breath, but the wind carried it to Stalker's ears and she turned to see Eyes glaring sideways at Wind Talker. 'You disobeyed me. I told the four of you to guard Hidden Voice until I got back from my meeting.'
'I did what you wouldn't,' Wind Talker replied, venom in his voice.
'Guys!' Stalker shouted across the blaze. 'This isn't the time.'
'Something's wrong,' Weaver added. 'What is it Stalker?'
'Can't any of you hear that?' She looked around desperately. The sound of marching was growing louder, almost as loud as the sea and the goosebumps all up her arms told her they were still being watched. She looked around desperately but it was getting so dark.
'You killed a man without my permission. How can I ever trust you again?' Eyes snarled at Wind Talker, oblivious to Stalker's distress.
'You would have us playing babysitter, instead of taking action,' Wind Talker replied, his voice rising. 'You are weak.'
'It's not weakness to prepare properly before a confrontation,' Eyes snapped back. 'What do you think my true name means?'
'Your human family keep you shackled to a morality that has no place in our world,' Wind Talker said, a dangerous edge to his voice.
'Not now!' Stalker yelled. The footsteps grew louder still. 'Please, can't anyone hear that?'
She searched Weaver and Claws' faces, but they looked confused and scared, they glanced at each other and looked at Stalker as if she were mad.
There was a caw and Stalker's head whipped around to see a raven perched on the top of the bank, its head bobbing as it shifted its weight on its spindly feet. The marching was deafening now and all around them.
'Wind Talker!' Stalker screamed, planting her hands over her ears, desperate to escape the maddening sound. 'Look across the veil! Something's coming through.'
But Wind Talker hadn't heard her. He was squaring up to Eyes now, their faces glowed orange in the light of the fire.
'You have overstepped the line, Wind Talker.' Eyes was puffing out his chest and bearing down on his pack mate now and Stalker watched, paralysed and unable to act.
'I haven't even begun to overstep the line!' Wind Talker roared and his body suddenly erupted in thick, brown fur, vicious talons sprang from his gnarled hands and his face morphed into the bear-like muzzle of his Agrius form.
'No!' Stalker screamed.
Eyes was only a split second behind, shifting to match Wind Talker. Weaver and Claws stood stock still, stunned expressions on their faces. The raven cawed again and took flight and the marching pounded in Stalker's ears.
'Now is not the time!' she screamed, still covering her ears. 'We have to get out of here!'
Eyes shoved Wind Talker back and he stumbled across the sand. He quickly righted himself and lunged at Eyes, a terrifying roar issuing from his foaming mouth. Wind Talker grabbed Eyes around the middle and they locked together in a frenzied grapple. Spitting, snarling and snapping sounds filled the air, along with the crackling fire, crashing waves and deafening army about to descend on them all. Stalker couldn't bear it, something inside snapped and she shifted form against her will. The Agrius took control of her and everything became a blur of noise and confusion.
She bounded around the fire towards Eyes and Wind Talker, blind fear and rage fuelling her, her conscious mind was somewhere else. As she neared the brawl something heavy hit her from the side, sending her bowling over and splashing into the rising tide. Another shifter pinned her down, another Agrius stared down at her with bared teeth and deep green eyes. It was Claws. She struggled against him, desperate to rip the fight apart and get them all off the beach away from the approaching army; but she was pinned tight to the ground and water filled her ears, muffling the terrifying sounds around her.
Slowly, very slowly, as she stared up into the green eyes of her pack mate, the beast abated and she was able to return to her human form. Claws shifted with her, his face suddenly full of apprehension. She gave him a shove and scrambled to her feet.
Wind Talker and Eyes were rolling around on the sand, biting and clawing at each other and Weaver stood nearby, watching with a worried expression and biting her nails.
'Why did you stop me?' Stalker snapped at Claws.
'You were out of control, you might have killed one of them,' he replied angrily. 'You made me shift.'
'You didn't have to,' she snapped back. 'We have to break this up, something's very wrong and we can't have those two fighting.' She took a few steps towards the fight but Claws grabbed her arm and held her back. She flashed him a dangerous look and he released her but followed close behind as she strode towards the others. Weaver dashed over and put a steadying hand on Stalker's chest.
'No we can't, we have to let them settle this.'
Stalker gaped at her. Suddenly she realised that the marching had stopped. All she could hear was the fire, the sea and the fight before them. She looked around anxiously, but there was no sign of anything being wrong. The bottom of the pyre was in the water now, but the flames continued to burn, blackening the body on top. Her eyes settled on Wind Talker and Eyes as they scrambled about in the wet sand. It looked like Eyes was hurt, blood was pouring from his leg and side and he was struggling against Wind Talker. Stalker felt a hard knot in her stomach as she watched Wind Talker raise a huge fist and slam it hard into Eyes' face, breaking his jaw. He grabbed Eyes' shoulders and lifted them, then slammed him hard into the ground as a wave rushed up over them both. When the water receded, Eyes was lying limp in human form, his hands raised, with Wind Talker still in Agrius form sitting on his stomach and gripping his shoulders with his clawed hands.
'I yield,' Eyes cried out, blood trickling out of his mouth. Wind Talker tossed Eyes down like a doll and stepped away from him. He shifted form and wiped blood from his own face where it had trickled from his nose.
'I am the Alpha now,' he snarled and strode away to the van.
Chapter Sixteen
Fights-Eyes-Open
He sat up slowly and watched Wind Talker stomping up the sandy slope to the van. He was in indescribable pain and he winced as he tried to move. In an instant, Claws and Stalker were at his sides, helping him to his feet.
'What just happened?' Claws asked quietly.
'He challenged me and won,' Eyes croaked. He felt blood in his aching mouth and spat it into the shallow water at his feet. 'He is now our Alpha.' His eyes met Weaver's. She had watched the fight and allowed it to unfold and he felt the guilt pouring from her. She looked at him for a moment, her mouth twitched slightly and she turned and followed Wind Talker up the bank.
'Can we leave the body? Is it safe?' Stalker asked, glancing over her shoulder at the blackened body on the
pyre.
'The fae should see that the fire is hot enough to destroy it,' Eyes replied, looking resolutely ahead. He limped across the sand with his arms around Stalker and Claws' necks and they helped him into the back seat of Claws' car.
'I won't obey him,' Stalker said quietly as she buckled herself into the front passenger seat.
'Yes you will,' Eyes replied firmly.
The van reversed up the track onto the road and its lights swept across Claws' car as it turned and moved past them. Claws set off after it, his eyes fixed on the road. Eyes clung to his bleeding side and felt every muscle scream in pain with each breath he took. He gently moved his jaw from side to side, which sent spasms into his temples and down his neck.
'What was going on with you?' Claws asked quietly, his eyes glancing at Stalker beside him. Eyes watched with interest, he had no idea what Claws was talking about.
'Something else was there. But it seems I was the only one aware of it. There was a raven watching and an army marching on us, I could only hear it, not see it.'
Eyes frowned and pinched the flesh between his eyes. Stalker was more intuitive than the rest of them, she always knew when something was wrong and he felt a fool for not paying more attention to her. Now he had lost leadership of the Lightning Lords, as well as Hidden Voice and quite possibly the trust of the others. He had allowed Wind Talker to develop those feelings, rather than addressing them sooner, this was all on him.
His eyes drifted closed as the car sped past street lamps and his mind seemed to be void of anything. He felt the car stop and his head jerked up, his eyes struggled to open and he felt the residue of blood in his mouth. Someone was opening the door and he looked up to see Stalker leaning into the car. She helped him out and he leaned heavily on her as she walked him to the door of 32 Grove Street. He looked at her in alarm, he didn't want to be here, he wanted to go home to his bed and his family. The thought of his beloved family stuck suddenly and the panic ebbed away, replaced by grief.