Song of Midnight Embers

by Dana Marie Bell

  “I’m not—”

  Greer grabbed JC’s arm, ignoring the other man’s wince of pain. “Let’s go.” He tugged, pulling JC behind him whether the man wanted to go or not.

  “Fuck, you’re strong.” JC was trying to pull free, but Greer was having none of that.

  “I eat my Wheaties.” Greer got to the mansion’s front door and kept going, taking JC down into Dragos’s circular driveway before turning on the pre-cog. “I don’t know what your issue is, but if you don’t knock it off, you’re going to find out what I’m capable of.” He smiled sweetly. “You don’t want that.”

  JC eyed him warily, showing an emotion other than impatience for the first time since he arrived. “No, I guess not.”

  Greer patted him on the shoulder, well aware the pre-cog had gotten a mind-full of what Greer could do. “Glad we cleared that up.” He thumbed back toward the car. “Now get outta here before Dragos decides to use you for a chew toy.”

  JC got out of there. Greer had to give him some credit, though. He walked instead of ran.

  Greer went back inside the mansion to find Eddy in the office, dry-heaving into a waste basket. “Hell. What happened?”

  “He touched the envelope.” Lore was stroking Eddy’s back and murmuring soothingly. “Can anyone call his mate home?”

  “I can.” Dragos pulled out his cell phone. “Give me a few moments to let Trajan roar at me for ‘making’ Eddy do this.” Dragos walked out of the office, throwing one worried backward glance Eddy’s way.

  “So hot,” Eddy mumbled. “So much pain.” He began vomiting again. The smell from the wastebasket was atrocious.

  “Shh.” Just touching it had sent Eddy reeling, yet JC had merely cursed them out. For JC it was probably a picture show, something he could remind himself was done and over with, while for Eddy it was emotions that came through. That had to make more of an impact than being an outsider looking in.

  Greer couldn’t pull this pain from Eddy. It was his gift, and his curse, all in one.

  “Eddy!” Greer found himself shoved aside as Trajan lifted Eddy in his arms, crooning nonsense words in his ear.

  Eddy settled against Trajan with a sigh, his face still pale. “Shouldn’t have left,” he murmured.

  The heartbreak on Trajan’s face was quickly hidden as the man pressed his face into Eddy’s hair. “I’m sorry.”

  Eddy shuddered. “There was heat, and fear, and pain. Lots of pain. It made them suffer. It liked it.” Eddy gulped, clinging to his mate as Trajan settled down on Dragos’s sofa. “It made sure they were alone, burned their vocal cords first so they couldn’t call for help. Then it cooked them from the inside out.” Eddy’s eyes were bloodshot as he gazed sightlessly at them. “And it enjoyed doing it. It liked listening to their silent screams, watching them writhe in pain. When Lily was dead, the demon dusted her so there’d be nothing left, but it didn’t have time with Dr. Kogon. It’s pissed about that.” Eddy looked at Greer. “It wants Mollie now.”

  Greer took that in, kept himself in check. He didn’t have a target, not yet, so the rage had to be held back. Once he had a target, he’d unleash the furious song inside him, but the last thing he wanted to do was hurt Eddy any further than he already was. Eddy didn’t need Greer’s burn on top of the one he’d already endured. “Do you know where it’s hiding now?”

  Eddy thought about it for a moment before shrugging. “It’s here, but it’s not here at the same time. Selena might be able to find it, or Gideon.”

  “So it’s hiding in the spirit world and coming out to kill us.” Trajan’s eyes were draconic, the pupils elongated, the irises deep purple. “It’s gotten stronger, not weaker.”

  “And it has another shadow.” Eddy shuddered. “I can’t let it see me.”

  Trajan tightened his hold on Eddy. “It will have to go through me first.”

  Or me, Greer added silently. There had to be a way for him to get to it and end this once and for all.

  He needed Selena. Ash was going to be pissed at him, but it was the only way. He just prayed his brother would forgive him for this one.

  * * *

  Mollie pushed the thick, dark glasses up her nose and prayed the pain would someday end. Something was stabbing her brain through her eyeballs, and its name was Alcohol.

  She was never drinking with Mina again.

  “I’m back!”

  Mollie moaned softly, but even that made her want to chop her own head off. “Shh.”

  “What?” Greer shouted.

  “I hate you so much right now.” Mollie kept her head down and her eyes closed, but even through the glasses, the bright witch lights burned her retinas. She was lying on the sofa, having gotten up to get a glass of water, and hadn’t made it any further than that. Her mouth tasted like the inside of a donkey’s ass after all-you-can-eat burrito night, her head was throbbing so hard she thought her brain was making a break for it with a jackhammer and her stomach had given up and died, but not before emptying its contents repeatedly.

  “Kill me.” She tried lifting her hand in supplication, but she’d used the last of her energy to make sure her sunglasses didn’t slip off her face when she landed belly first on the sofa.

  “Nope!”

  If he spoke any louder, she’d barf on him. That would show him. “Ng.” She lay there for a moment, thinking of the many different ways she could make him die, when a strange noise began to build up. “Whazzat?”

  He didn’t answer, but the noise got louder. What the hell?

  But instead of making her head feel worse, the noise began to make her feel better. Her stomach settled, and the ringing in her ears ceased. The headache became manageable instead of guillotine-worthy. She sat up slowly, gingerly testing to see if her stomach and head were once more willing to live with each other.

  Except for a slight dizziness, she seemed to be doing much better. “Oh my God, thank you, thank you, thank you.”

  He chuckled as he sat next to her. “Better?”

  She almost nodded but chose not to. She didn’t want to push the fragile truce he’d negotiated, after all. “Yes, thanks.”

  “Good.” He pulled her close, tucking her head under his chin. “I got some information, but not all of it. Eddy...touched the autopsy report.”

  Oh, hell. The poor guy. “Is he okay?”

  “He was once Trajan arrived, but it was rocky before that. Trajan essentially kicked us out so Eddy can recover, and Dragos was in full-on Daddy mode, so he agreed. What we got from him before then was that the demon is somehow here yet not here. I think it’s in the spirit world, waiting to strike.”

  “And the portal in has to be the black blood.” Mollie groaned as she shifted. Her muscles ached like crazy. “Can I have some water?”

  He muttered something about a breath mint as he got up.

  “What was that?”

  “Nothing, dear.” Greer came back with a small glass of water and helped her drink. “You’re going to hurt for a day or two still. You should have had a shot of water for every shot you drank.”

  “Shot?” She sipped some more water. “Mina was giving us wineglasses full of the stuff, not dinky little shot glasses.”

  His left eyelid twitched. “Did she?”

  She would have laughed if she wasn’t afraid she’d kill the Throne with her breath. “You can’t maim your queen, Greer.” She put her head back down on his shoulder, shaking her head at the idea of more water. “I might barf.”

  His shoulders shook. “Well, I guess Mina lives, then. Wouldn’t want you to barf, after all.”

  She burped. “Yeah. Been there, done that.”

  “Phew.” He waved his hand in front of his face. “Yeah, I guess you did. Let’s get you to the bathroom and get those teeth brushed, m’kay?”

  Be
fore she knew it, her teeth were minty fresh, the toilet had been scrubbed to within an inch of its enameled life and she was tucked into bed with a hot mug of chamomile tea with honey and the remote control. “I want you to rest, okay?” Greer kissed her on the forehead. “I need to go speak to Selena.”

  “What for?” She sipped her tea and eyed him warily over the rim. He was up to something, and that something didn’t involve her.

  “To go to the spirit realm. Duh.” He stood and briskly walked toward the door.

  “Hold it right there, Berkley.” Mollie put her tea down and got out of bed, glad he’d frozen on command. Chasing after him would have been messy. “I’m sorry. Did you say you were going to the spirit realm?”

  “Yes?”

  “By yourself.”

  “Uh-huh.”

  “Greer.” She put her hands on her hips and tapped her foot. “Fuck no. You won’t go.”

  He sighed and turned around. “How else do we stop it? We have to face it on its own territory or this will just keep happening over and over again.”

  “Or we could burn all the black blood and see if it cuts off its access to us.” Mollie threw her hands in the air. Really, the man drove her crazy. “How about we do that first?”

  “We could.” He stared at her, and the fear she saw had her taking a step toward him. “But it wants you now, Mollie.” He looked away. “It wants you.”

  She’d never heard Greer sound so cold. She shivered at the thought of the demon grabbing hold of her, using her against the Throne. Against Greer. She couldn’t allow that to happen. “Eddy told you that?”

  He nodded sharply before turning back to her once more. “I won’t let it have you.” He closed the distance between them, cupping her cheek. She was learning it was one of his favorite gestures of affection. “Never you.”

  She ducked her head before he could kiss her. No way was he distracting her with his wicked evil mouth. “You can’t go alone.”

  “And you’re not going with me.”

  No, she wasn’t. If the demon wanted her, there was little she’d be able to do to help. She’d be far better waiting on this side of the veil and allowing Greer to battle with Selena and Ash. But there were ways she could help him without going with him. “Let’s try it my way first, all right? If I’m wrong, I’ll gladly knock you out so you can go spirit walkies.”

  “Then we do it now. Tonight. Before it moves on one of us again.” Greer kissed the top of her head. “And you rest.”

  “I’m the strongest fire elemental in town, Greer.” She leaned against him, so fucking tired she could barely see. Her nights and days were all jumbled together, and it didn’t look like she’d be sorting them out any time soon. “You’ll need me to kill the black blood.”

  “You’re not up to it tonight.”

  “Then make me some coffee, because you’re not going without me.”

  “Stubborn woman.” But he listened, leaving her to dress and wonder just how bad things were about to get.

  Chapter Fourteen

  “We aren’t done with our testing yet.” Dr. Tyrone Douglas crossed his arms and continued to block their entry into his lab. “Destroying the samples will put us back months, if not forever.”

  Greer was well aware of that, but if Mollie was right, destroying the samples was far more important than Dr. T’s research. “The demon is using the blood to enter Maggie’s Grove.”

  Dr. T. nodded sharply. “I know that’s what you think, but you don’t have proof.”

  “Destroying the blood will give us the proof.” Mollie tried to push past the doctor, but he didn’t budge. “Come on, Tyrone. You know I’m right.”

  “I know nothing of the sort.” Dr. T wasn’t moving.

  Greer walked over, carefully picked the doctor up and carried him to the other side of the room. “Head on in, sweetheart.”

  Mollie opened the door and walked into the lab.

  “Put me down.” Dr. T grunted. “I’m not going to try and stop you anymore, I promise.”

  Greer did as asked. “Sorry, but we can’t let anyone else die.”

  Dr. T shook his head sadly as a whooshing sound came from behind the lab’s doors. “All my research, gone.”

  “Is it worth another person dying?” Greer patted Dr. T on the shoulder. “Dr. Kogon burned in front of us, Tyrone. Trust me, it’s either this or lose someone else.”

  The man sagged against the wall. “I know,” he whispered, closing his eyes despondently. “I was hoping what we were doing here would stop it from ever happening again. If we could find a way to inoculate ourselves against the black blood, there would never be another invasion, never another death.”

  “What have we learned?” Greer tilted his head, curious what the doctor had managed to figure out.

  “It’s alive. The samples move like the shadow man that attacked Selena Giannone.” Dr. T led the way into his office and settled behind his desk. “Take a look at this. This is a recording of Selena’s blood.” He turned his screen around so they could see what he was looking at.

  It looked like a bunch of pink discs smooshed together, with the random black mass—

  “Did that just move?” Ash had told him about this, but seeing it for himself was insane.

  “Yup. All the other cells are dead, but that one is still alive.”

  The dark cell zoomed to the middle of the screen, the movement so jerky and quick Greer could barely see it. A dark, smoke-like aura surrounded it, then it settled down, quiet once more.

  “What the fuck?” He leaned forward, staring at that tiny, dark, ominous cell.

  It pulsed, as if it could feel his regard.

  “The techs wear contamination suits while working on the black blood.” The doctor’s voice was quieter, almost as if he didn’t want that lone black cell to hear him. “We found evidence of these cells in all of the other victims, but Selena’s was the only one where the cells seem to continue living long after the other cells were dead. This is only a recording, but let me tell you, it was freaky as hell staring at it live.”

  “When did it die?”

  “After Ash fought the demon in the spirit realm.” Dr. T sat back with a sigh. “All of the other witches purged those black cells by reestablishing their link to the earth. I’m still not sure why that works, but my theory is that this blood feeds off the spiritual more than the physical. Once they had that link back, their blood work began to clear up. Not one of them has hints of the black blood still in them.”

  “And the others? The dryads and the wolves, the owls and everyone else?”

  “Cleared as well. Only Selena had it, and hers is dead. Which is why I’m thinking Mollie’s theory might be wrong.”

  “Could it be merely dormant?” Greer stared at the recording, almost waiting for it to move on its own. That shit creeped him the hell out.

  “Like sleeping?” Dr. T shook his head. “We’ve seen no signs of movement at all—”

  The door slammed open, and a frightened intern ran in. “Dr. T! Something just attacked Ms. Ferguson!”

  Greer was in the lab, calling his silver sword, the mark of his rule, to his hand before Tyrone even stood.

  Mollie was facing what looked like a blob monster. It oozed its way across the floor, leaving drops of darkness behind it. Tentacles of black nastiness reached for Greer’s mate, frying in the heat of her fire.

  Mollie glowed as her fire bathed the room, scorching the black blood monster. She swept the fire before her in a controlled arc, burning away the tentacles and making the ooze monster scream in rage and pain.

  Greer didn’t need to see anything more. He dashed forward, slashing at the monster with his sword, grinning as bits and pieces fell off in the wake of his attack. Each piece withered as the magic inherent in his weapo
n affected it, the power of the land itself and Greer’s will running through the metal.

  Still, between the two of them, they weren’t taking it down fast enough. They were whittling away at a blob twice the size of a man, and it was growing as more and more black ooze seemed to join it from...

  Different rooms? How many places had the black blood gotten into that none of them were aware of? How far spread was it if it had infested the hospital’s laboratory? Could it have gotten out of the hospital and into the homes of their residents?

  If he thought about that, of hunting it down in every corner of the town, he’d lose his mind. Instead, he focused his efforts on his strikes and summoning help. “Ash. Need you, bro.”

  “On my way.” His brother’s calm, clear voice echoed in his head. Ash would be true to his word, possibly bringing Selena with him. Maybe she’d have an idea on how to deal with this.

  Mollie screamed as she missed some of the ooze. A dark tendril wrapped around her wrist and began dragging her across the floor, toward the towering ooze monster.

  Oh, hell no. Greer wasn’t about to let his mate get eaten by the blob. He adjusted his stance, took his silver sword in both hands and sang.

  The blade began to glow, growing and broadening until Greer was no longer holding a simple blade. Instead, he held a pair of wicked, curved daggers in his hands, fitted to a Singer, glowing with the power of the song of the forest. Silver lettering appeared up and down the blades, radiant with the fire of his mate, banked embers in a blade of midnight dark steel. No longer silver, Greer’s blades matched who and what he was, the silent killer, the quiet hunter, the one you never saw coming.

  And as he suspected, the blob monster didn’t expect him either. Greer spun, singing as he slashed and hacked at the ooze. The daggers slid into the monster, taking chunks out, burning away the black blood with a ferocity only his Mollie could match.

  But it still wasn’t enough. The song turned dark as his rage increased, striking at the creature with sonic waves that caused ripples across its pseudo-skin. The disruption slowed the creature as it screamed in pain. With a stroke, Greer broke the tentacle holding Mollie, freeing his mate from becoming one with the black blood.