by V Domino
"Calm down, dog. It's just Darren." I curl my lip and growl at the little magicless girl. Soon I'm going to have to teach her how to keep her pretty little mouth closed or put it to use around my cock.
Turning my back to her, I head into the living room where I hear my brother addressing someone.
"This is Darren Ignis. He is our boss so he can help us find answers." Ronny says as she walks over and hugs the man. I don’t like him.
He's tall with red skin and fire on the tips of his pointed ears. His eyes are bright gold and are in total contrast with his inky black hair. He looks like what humans depict has the devil only he's in a suit and doesn't have a pitch fork.
"I am Draven and these are my brothers, Drac and Drug."
Darren nods but looks to the Crows, "You three okay?"
I bristle at the question and I feel my brothers tense beside me, "Why the fuck wouldn't they be okay?" I ask through gritted teeth. Who the hell is this guy?
"First off boy, I can ask my girls whatever the hell I want when I want, got it? Secondly, you three are supposed to be extinct, not roaming around Nola striking fear in humans and..." He abruptly stops speaking and sniffs the air before a shocked look morphs his features.
"You claimed my daughters?" His voice changes and sounds as if multiple voices are coming from him.
Wait, daughters?
"Whoa, whoa, Dar. Calm down. They're just as shocked about it too. This is why we called you," Rory says soothingly. This Crow has a mothering feel about her and it's obvious she wears her heart on her sleeve.
"Yeah, let's throw some gas on your flames, Dare Bear. Don't start a fire in my house again." The little pink haired, Roxy says with a crazy giggle. Damn, she's like the female version of Drac.
Darren calms down slightly as he looks at the girls fondly even while his fists stay clenched at his sides.
"I think you mean water not gas," Ronny says next to me while rolling her eyes.
"That's what I said, gas."
Everyone stares at her for a moment until Drac tosses his arm around her shoulders, "Definitely gas."
Ronny turns and sits on the couch, completely over the conversation, and pulls out an aged wooden box. Inside are various bones and crystals. Beneath them is a divination board with runes.
We all sit around her as she sets everything up and I take this moment to ask Darren my own questions.
"You call Ronny your daughter but where are their real parents and why haven't they been taught how to use their magic?"
Everyone stops moving to look between me and Darren. The man pinches the bridge of his nose before answering on a heavy sigh.
"Their parents left them when Roxy was just a baby and I met them when they were all just teens. No one has seen or heard from them since leaving. Same with their parents and every parent before them. At first I suspected foul play but the Elders decided that without proof of anything that no investigation was necessary and ruling that it must be the way of the Vocem Sanguinis; to leave their offspring when they are able to care for themselves. As for their magic, there are no familial books passed on from parent to child as is with the witches and their books of spells."
What do you think of this man, brothers? I don't fully trust him. He doesn't have the foul scent of lies but that doesn't mean he isn't covering his scent with magic.
I believe him but I think it would be wise to be cautious, Draven says.
"So you mean we have actual magic and no one thought it was acceptable to tell us? We could have tried learning on our own." Ronny's voice is filled with outrage and I don't blame her. Books or not, they have a right to know about their abilities.
"And how could you not try to teach us when we're putting our lives on the line while bounty hunting for the Elders? What if we could have done a lot more for others instead of handing out damnation like fucking candy?"
Darren sighs like this is a conversation he's been dreading. He looks pained to have upset the sisters.
"The elders forbid it because you don't know your power source. Every race has a power source. The Fairies and Fae have nature and elements. Nymphs have their own source within the desires of others while Witches have the spirits and the Wolves have the moon. You three have no known source."
My brothers and I look at each other, "Until now." Drac says with a smirk.
"What do you mean?" Darren asks with his brows furrowed.
Without thinking of what I'm doing or why I'm doing it, I grab Ronny's hand and lift it with her palm up and mine cradling from beneath. I couldn’t explain to anyone how I knew to do this but I push my hellfire through and the ball of black flames passes to her hand from mine, hovering an inch off her skin.
"We are their source and their mates."
Hellfire. Is. On. My. Hand. And I'm completely freaking the fuck out!
"Woah! Does it hurt?" Roxy reaches out her fingers to touch the black flames but Drac rips her arms back while Darren screams for her to stop.
"How is this not killing me? Oh fuck, am I going to slowly die? What did you do, Drug?" I'm panicking yet frozen to my spot. I want to shake my hand like I'm a human with a spider crawling on me but I'm afraid to accidently throw the flame and kill someone.
Drug pulls his hand from mine and with his natural heat away from the bottom of my hand I'm able to feel the heat of the flame. It doesn't hurt me in any way but that still doesn't calm my fears. My blood is rushing and my breathing is choppy. Why didn't the flame die when he moved his hand?
"Calm yourself, Ronny. We control Hellfire with our minds. A panicked mind is chaotic therefore your fire will reflect that."
Okay, that is not helping at all.
Breathe, sister. You got this. Breathe and slow your thoughts. Rory's soothing voice fills my head.
"Yeah, Ron. Breathe in and out slowly and once it's gone we'll kick this poodle's hairy ass for acting without thinking." Roxy chimes aloud, making Drug snarl next to me. Her hiss in return makes me smile despite the fear.
I close my eyes and do as my sisters and Drug said, calming my mind and picturing the flame dissipating. As soon as I focus on the thought, I feel the flame leave my palm.
"Bravo, Ronny. You did good." Drug's praise makes me blush but to cover it up I punch him on the arm.
"Don't do that again! I could have killed someone!"
He shrugs like it's no big deal and his stupidly sexy smirk makes my heart flutter.
Through the blood and grime on him, I can see the yellow flecks in his green eyes and his long lashes make them pop against his tan skin. The scruff along his jaw is sexy and tempting, begging for my fingers. I remember feeling the roughness on my neck as we danced together. I've never, in my hundred plus years, been so turned on while dancing with someone.
His grip on my throat was tight enough to keep the oxygen to my brain from flowing and combining that with his very large and hard cock grinding against my ass... everything was so much more intense.
I squeeze my thighs together just thinking about it.
Judging by how his nose flares and his eyes glow, I'm guessing he knows where my thoughts went. The haze of lust becomes a bubble around Drug and I; a veil between us and the world and everything around us becomes insignificant.
A whispered, oh shit, makes me jump in my seat. I completely forgot everyone else, just the way it happened at the club. Looking at Darren I see he's staring at us in what can only be described as awe.
I look down at myself to make sure I didn't slip a nip in my hazy lust and that's when I notice the tiny sparks along my skin. It looks like little lightning bolts gliding along the peach fuzz of my exposed skin but it's gone quickly.
"You really are her source or maybe it's the bond that is her source. How can this be?" Darren draws a rune in the air while whispering a spell and quickly his glamor is in place. No longer red but smooth chocolate skin and light brown eyes. I'll never get over how handsome my adopted dad is.
We spend the next hour and half going over every detail we can remember and the men fill in the blanks where we totally backed out. To say that I'm freaked about these new abilities is a gross understatement.
Having the gift of sight is most definitely not a known ability for Vocem Sanguinis. We have strength, cloaking and teleportation. Aside from that, we're not supposed to have magic... Unless that's what the Elders want us to think.
"What if the Elders are the reason mom and dad are gone? What if they've been imprisoned or worse?" Roxy asks.
"If you had asked me this a month ago, I wouldn't have entertained the thought but you three are oracles and your sight can be trusted. It's straight and not hidden in parables or riddles. Gifted oracles haven't been seen since the curse was partly broken by the Elders some one hundred years after you boys captured William Crow and his followers."
Wow, so these guys really are the Hound Witches from the stories. How fucking wild is that?
"Why did you say my brothers and I were thought to be extinct?"
"Perhaps it's another fabrication from the Elders but you three, the Hound brothers, were said to have been dead alongside the original Crows. The tale is that the Hound brothers died once their vengeance was had. Yes, we know Hellhounds are well and alive but you three... are said to be dead."
Everyone stays quiet a moment, processing everything that's been said. It's not very surprising that this has happened but it's still fucked up that the Elders would lie about this. I mean, aren’t they supposed to hold true to the beauty of each race?
"Why would they do this to us?" Roxy's voice is soft and sad; it fuels my anger. They took my little sister's sinister smile and replaced it with a broken despondent look. Out of us sisters, Roxy always loved doing the bidding of the Elders. She felt that one day, there'd be recognition for us and maybe then our parents would want her.
Rory and I never had the heart to burst her bubble.
"Because, Roxy. That's the way it goes with any higher power. Even in humans, those with power are always corrupt and cruel. They look down on half breeds and treat them like their blood is watered down."
I stand up and move around, pacing as I do when I'm agitated but my anger only grows.
"That's not the worst of it though. They see us as nothing at all. Vocem Sanguinis are a created race... made from black magic. Unblessed and impure; vile and an abomination! Our kind have to live on the outskirts of the supernatural world begging for scraps from the naturals. Bigotry and ignorance. That's why they do this to us!"
My sight is fading and I feel like I'm about to blackout. What the fuck is happening. Why do I feel like this?
"Black Bird!" Drug's voice is far away and I can feel myself trying to grasp at him but my arms won't move from my side.
Blinking the haze away I see I'm no longer standing in my living room instead I'm standing in a large circular room. The walls are made of some type of stone that looks like pearl or opal, the only light source is the opening above my head. I can't see what is through the opening because a blinding light is shining through.
The groan of an iron gate opening sounds and a woman in a long black robe comes in. She has the cowl over her head so I can't see her face but her voice is like sandpaper against my ears.
"I tasked you, Drug. Kill the Crows and be reborn."
What the hell is this? I know I'm having a vision again but who is this beast of a woman?
The robed woman moves her hands in front of her and whispers a spell making a ball of light float in her palm. There's a large ring on her thumb but I can't see it well and my attention is brought to the man before her.
Hanging against the wall is Drug only he's covered in fresh blood and open wounds like he's been flogged. Why isn't he healing or shifted into his Hellhound?
He lifts his face up and smiles at the woman in the most evil way possible and when he speaks, his voice is laced with the hatred of a thousand demons.
"I worry not, the Crows are coming with the Hounds in the rear. Your threats are for naught, your end is near."
Drug drags his eyes from the woman and stares at me right in the eyes. Can he see me?
"Drug! Drug, I'm here! Can you see me?" I'm screaming but I can't feel my mouth moving. My heart is pounding so hard I can feel my ribs shaking but the room begins to spin and fade. I try to keep my eyes on Drug but I can't see anything until my living room is now in focus.
"Oh fuck!" I groan and stumble forward into two arms.
I look up into Drug's glowing eyes and notice everyone is around us but the solace I find in his presence is profound.
"Oh my fangs, Drug. They're going to capture you and beat you! They had you chained to a wall that was made of some type of stone. It kept you from shifting and healing. You were bleeding and broken!" I drop my head to his chest overcome with a mixture of sorrow and relief.
"A woman in a long black robe was hurting you because you refused to kill us." I lift up my head and try to move away but he holds me tighter to him.
"And I won't. You're right, Black Bird. Love is for suckers but what we have... it's damnation." His eyes continue to glow but his words calm my fitful heart and his thumb, which draws soothing circles on my back, settling my raging mind.
"Were you able to see the woman's face or hear her voice?"
Drug lets me move but he doesn't let me go. He lightly grips the back of my neck and keeps his body close to mine, letting his warmth wrap around my cold bones.
"Her face was hidden but her voice sounds like an old croon in need of a cough drop." I try to think of every detail possible there wasn't much else though. "Oh! She had a big ring on her left thumb. It was the only jewelry I saw on her fingers. It was silver and looked like it could have been an insignia or crest of some sort."
Darren gets up and shows us his bracelet, the family crest for his race.
"Every race with a leader at the Elder's table has an insignia. Fairies have gold bracelets, Wolves have platinum necklaces Nymphs have silver bicep bands and witches have titanium rings."
"Of course a witch is behind this," Roxy says with an eye roll.
"Not just any witch, the True Witch elder... Merelda Hound."
Family is a strange thing. You think that because you share blood and have lived a life together you know them inside and out. You can recall their smiles no matter how long time has passed or how long it's been since you've seen it. You can remember in detail the stories they once told... you can remember them with fondness.
In the case of my grandmother, that is not true.
Yes, I can recall her smiles as she put my brothers down for not being active in the craft. I can describe in detail how she would tell us how unworthy we were to be a Hound. I can even tell her wicked stories of how we are the shame of the blood in our veins.
The only love she had was for Elsie. I'd take all of the cruelty and hate upon myself rather than to have ever seen Elsie be victimized by our grandmother. I would have killed the old bat myself if she had.
Merelda Hound was a wicked woman so to hear it's her who seeks to kill the Crows and use us to do it is no surprise at all. Not for me anyway. Only thing shocking is that the bitch is still alive.
Darren left three hours ago after promising to dig deeper into this whole situation and report back in three days. Soon after he left, I suggested my brothers sleep while I take watch. They're exhausted and have been awake longer than me.
The sisters headed off to their own beds after giving us the guest bedrooms but I had to get outside. I'm not used to the indoors for so long.
In hell, it's a whole different realm with open fields and space to move about. Sure every blade of grass is dead and the trees look like they've been burnt to death but it's home. It even has its own moon. The realm is in perpetual darkness and for those
in damnation there is no light, not even a star but for us guards, it's what we know.
My mind won't quiet and my body is restless, I need to move and run.
The moon is full and high, shining it's blue glow upon the woods surrounding the Crow property. The soft breeze calls to me tenderly like a mother's soft croon and the frogs of the swamp sing their midnight tune.
Deciding to run the property line, I pull my shirt off and begin to jog in my human form. I know there are no other people near this end of the swamp and no one would see me if I shifted but jogging on two legs is rejuvenating. It reminds me of being the simple man I was before everything changed.
The grass is thick but my speed allows me to cut through it like a blade. The air whooshing in and out of my lungs is damp with the fog that has rolled in but the chill in the air is invigorating. Although, nothing compares to the cool touch of Ronny's skin.
Black Bird is part of the reason I needed this run. She's a curious creature. She's fierce and her strength is a level on its own. Not just physically but the strength of her sisterly bond, her determination to create a new legacy for the Crows and to protect those she deems hers.
She may not realize it but she has claimed me as her own.
When she was in that trance she called out to me. She was trying to reassure me that she was there with me in whatever dungeon Merelda had me in. The tears she wept as she screamed my name told me everything; She is mine as much as I am hers.
I continue my run and just as I reach the edge of the swamp, I hear a flutter of wings above the treetops. Instead of stopping as I had planned, I make a U and begin my jog back towards the house.
I'm not sure if the bird above is friend or foe. Hell, I'm not even sure if it's an animal or a person and with the day I've had, this bird could be anyone.
Just as I emerge from the tree line, the giant crow comes sweeping down to me. Quickly I roll and shift.
The crow lands about fifteen feet away, an inky black mass against the grass. We stare at one another and based on the way my embers heat at the sight of her, I know the crow is Ronny and it looks like she wants to play.