Changeling (Black Petals Book 2)

by Marie, Tarisa

  “Hey, it's alright, Megan,” Mason consoles me. His hand finds the space between my shoulder blades. “It'll work out.”

  “Will it?” I ask him with uncertainty. “Because it sure doesn't feel like anything is going to be okay.”

  Mason's face falls as Forrest comes from nowhere and stops in front of us. “If it isn't the love birds,” he greets us.

  So he knows too? Who doesn't know? The more people who know, the more danger Mason is in. Then again, who is going to charge Mason of his crime? Would Aiden just let them kill his brother for something so petty? He couldn't, could he? He managed to save Forrest on charges far worse or were they worse in demon terms?

  Forrest’s light expression fades when he sees my worried, anxious, and annoyed expression. “You alright, Megan?”

  “Of course not. Everything always has to be so complicated!” I cry out with annoyance.

  Mason squishes my hand. “It'll all work out.”

  “Ah, she's worried you're going to end up getting killed if you're caught, isn't she?” Forrest observes and speaks to Mason as if I'm not even standing here.

  Mason must nod because Forrest sighs and says, “Fuck, Megan, get over yourself. Stop feeling so sorry for yourself all the time and just live. Ever since I've met you you've been nothing but a ball of tears and anxiety.”

  “What do you expect from me?” I lash. “I was thrown into this world after being kidnapped-” he cuts me off.

  “I know your story you've told it from start to finish a thousand times. It sucks, yeah, but move on and get over it. Do you think I want to be a demidemon stuck doing Aiden's dirty work? No. Do you think I wanted to do what I had to do what was best for Maxwell? Do you think I’ve wanted to make my living doing dangerous jobs for pures that I can't stand? Do you think Mason wants to risk his life every day to be with you? Do you think he wants to be some guard in the castle who'll likely die soon? Do you think Aiden wants to rule all the stupid, arrogant demons? Just because something isn't fair, doesn't mean you get to bitch about it. You're being a child and it's driving everyone fucking nuts,” Forrest rants. He comes to an end and swings his arms up in the air. He adds, “Stop pouting and come to terms with things or you'll never be happy. You need to understand that things are the way they are and sometimes you can't change them. There comes a time when everyone has to do things they don't want and deal with things that aren't fair.”

  I find myself in a state of shock. No one’s talked to me like this in a long time. No one has told me off in a long time. No one has sent my ass fumbling straight into reality in a long time. Everyone has just pitied me and made me feel like it's okay to be a little tit that feels sorry for myself. Forrest is completely right. I don't see Forrest, Mason, or Aiden moping around like I am. I am being a little brat.

  “Forrest!” Mason snarls in a whisper, anger tainting his voice.

  I hold up a hand to stop Mason. “No, Mason. It's okay, Forrest is right.”

  “No he's not. You've had it worse than anyone,” Mason argues, looking like he could punch Forrest.

  “No. That's not right. We've all had it pretty bad. I just bitch about it more.”

  Mason goes quiet and I wonder if he's agreeing with me silently.

  Forrest looks relieved by my revelation. “Well, now that that’s cleared up. I have some bad news.”

  Mason and I wait for Forrest to continue.

  A dark expression crosses over his face. “Landon is missing.”

  Landon. I completely forgot about Landon. Where was he when the castle was under attack? My heart begins racing as someone else comes to mind.

  “Where’s Tamzen?” I ask frantically.

  Both Mason and Forrest look at me with confusion and I realize that they don’t know who I’m talking about.

  “My servant! My friend!” I cry loudly.

  Forrest straightens. “The human?”

  Well, close enough. At least he knows who I’m talking about now. I nod and begin looking around as if I’ll see her somewhere in the hallway.

  “The servants have a board up down the hall here with all the dead recorded on it,” Forrest informs me and points down the hall. I rush past him to where he points and find a large piece of paper pinned to an even larger bulletin board. The amount of names scrolled on the paper is overwhelming and makes my heart squeeze in my chest. Mason and Forrest catch up to me as I scan the names carefully. When my eyes fall upon a very familiar name, I squeeze my eyes shut tightly. No. It has to be wrong.

  “Megan?” Mason asks. I feel his firm grip on my shoulders as if he’s trying to hold me up.

  “She’s gone,” I whisper so quietly that I barely hear my own words.

  My sinking thoughts are interrupted by a very loud male voice approaching. “They’re back! Take cover!” I barely register what he says and then Mason is pulling me down the hall quickly.

  “Give her to me,” Forrest exclaims and I’m taken from Mason’s arms.

  “I’ll come find you soon,” Mason promises in my ear before it’s Forrest then dragging me off.

  “Aiden!” I cry, snapping back into reality. “They’re here for him. We have to get him out of here.”

  “Already on it,” Forrest mutters.

  I leap from his grasp and begin running on my own. I follow Forrest down halls that I didn’t even know existed. There’s so much of the castle that I haven’t seen. We quickly reach the room that Aiden’s in and it’s surrounded by guards. I demand that they let us through and they don’t budge.

  “Tell Aiden it’s me and Forrest,” I plead. “We need to get him out of here.”

  The guards eye each other. They’re clearly under the direct instruction of Aiden himself. The door of the room opens and Terry steps out with Aiden slumped over his shoulder like a sack of flour.

  A scream comes from down the hall and Forrest motions for us to hurry. Terry sprints after us with Aiden appearing to be unconscious. The halls are completely empty which is chilling to the bone.

  A man steps out from a room. At first I think he must be a royal because of the way he’s dressed, but then he lunges at Forrest. Forrest kicks him square in the ribs and the man goes flying to the ground in a heap. A rogue changeling, a rebel.

  Another man comes out from another room and then another and suddenly we’re being attacked from all sides. Forrest, for being a demidemon, takes down rebels like a professional. The rebels keep coming as if their numbers are infinite.

  “Go!” Forrest demands. “Get out of here!” Heads turn in Terry and Aiden’s direction and a few of the rebels start towards them. Terry literally throws Aiden over them towards me. I catch him but barely. I’m surprised by my new reflexes and strength.

  “Go while we hold them off!” Terry shouts.

  I don’t hesitate because there is no time to. I need to get Aiden out of here. I need to get out of here. Not knowing where I’m going, I run around like a chicken with its head cut off. I’m surprised when Aiden doesn’t speak a word or move a muscle. Is he alright? When my surroundings finally begin to become familiar, I rush into a familiar room and close the door, locking it behind me as if that’ll stop a determined demon. I throw open the closet that not long ago I came through. I use my fingernails to rip apart my tough skin and wince at the pain. I’m unsure what exactly triggers the portal so I drip my blood all over the place before I begin chanting.

  The darkness of the closet turns to the bright light of a beach at sunrise. I nearly collapse on the ground in relief before I snap out of my daze and flip Aiden over to look at him. That’s when I realize that Aiden’s been stabbed through the heart with brass.

  Chapter 13

  After pulling out the brass and waiting at least twenty minutes for Aiden to wake up, I realize that he’s not about to without a soul.

  “Megan?” Aria’s voice asks with confusion as she comes through the brush.

  “Stay back!” I warn. “Aiden’s not in control. He’s unconscious and needs a sou
l.”

  She stops and I see Crispen behind her. “Get the plane ready. We’ll go get him something,” she demands Crispen. To my surprise, Crispen doesn’t argue.

  “What happened?” she asks, sounding very worried.

  I can’t speak because I’m too shocked by everything. “Castle is under attack,” I finally manage.

  She grimaces. “Should we send Crispen back through to help?” she asks, uncertainty clear in her tone. Only is Crispen wants to get himself killed. He’ll have rebels and demons alike after him. I begin to worry about Forrest, Terry, and Mason.

  It isn’t long before Crispen and Aria have gone off to the mainland. I decide that it’s probably safest to get away from the portal in case someone comes through. I take Aiden into the house and down into the cellar. Who knows who or what will come through that portal and I can’t have anyone finding Aiden.

  I then go upstairs and wait for Aria and Crispen to return. A sound that is not an approaching plane has me beginning to panic. The sound is footsteps meaning that someone has come through the portal. The only question is, is it a friend or a foe?

  I peek out the window to see a familiar face though one I don’t welcome. I consider hiding in the cellar but decide that that could lead Maxwell right to Aiden. Of course Maxwell knows about this island. His dad owns it! Out of all the places I could have taken Aiden. Okay, well, I didn’t have much choice. I listen hard for the sound of an approaching plane but hear nothing. Shit.

  While I’m debating what to do like an idiot, Maxwell approaches the house and knocks on the door as if he’s a pleasant guest. When I don’t answer and I end up staring at the door like a moron, he kicks down the door not so kindly. His eyes land on me.

  “Maxwell?” I squeak.

  He smiles. “Megan, nice to see you again. I’m here to pick up a package.”

  I gulp. “He’s not here,” I lie with a shake to my voice. “Forrest took him.” He knows his brother and I know he wouldn’t put it past Forrest. He also knows how smart Forrest is and that he wouldn’t be dumb enough to take Aiden here.

  Maxwell laughs a dark laugh. “Megan, I hate that you’ve been caught up in this stupid war, but collateral damage always comes with this stuff. Sometimes lots of collateral damage. Give me Aiden and I won’t kill you.”

  “He’s with Forrest,” I try again.

  He rolls his eyes devilishly. “Funny. I thought I saw Forrest dead on the castle floor beside my fallen father only moments ago.”

  An all new type of fear hits me hard and fast. Terry and Forrest are dead? No, Maxwell has to be lying. They wouldn’t have fallen so easily. They’re both smart and Terry is ancient.

  Maxwell takes advantage of my worry. “No one is coming to save your ass this time, Megan, and I hear you’re quite the selfish little bitch. I mean you ran from hell instead of helping them fight. You’re sitting here doing what? Waiting for it to all be over? What a coward.”

  I swallow and glance to the kitchen where a block of knives sits. I debate making a leap for them, but Maxwell says, “Don’t even try it, kid.” Then he’s strolling towards me with arrogance as if he thinks he’s already won this battle. He probably has. I’m weak and useless, but I don’t go down without a fight.

  I send a kick to his chest just like Aiden first taught me. It feels like his lessons were centuries ago.

  Maxwell catches my foot effortlessly and twists me around, slamming my front into a wall and pinning me there with his own. “You’re just a little baby demon, Megan. No match for me. No match for basically anyone.”

  I force myself to relax and tears come to my eyes as I understand what he’s saying. I have no chance.

  “Where is he?” he asks again.

  I almost tell him. I almost give Aiden’s life for mine like some sort of cowardly idiot, but I don’t because I know that I’m better than that. I may not be some brave heroine like Katniss Everdeen or fricken cat woman but I’m better than this. If I’m going to die, I’m going to die trying to save Aiden and the humans and the demons and everyone. I’m going to die strong and dignified and selfless. I know that Maxwell is just baiting me. He won’t actually let me live if I tell him where Aiden is. Even if he did, why would I want to live in a world where I have no one? Why would I want to live knowing that I was too cowardly to do what I could to save so many people? Why would I want to live knowing I was the reason for Aiden and so many other’s deaths?

  Maxwell laughs grimly. “Wow, a demon crying, that’s really something. You’re a piece of shit.”

  “I thought demons like you were supposed to be better than the pures,” I bite back through a whimper.

  Maxwell snorts. “This is war, Megan. No one is nice in war. If you weren’t so young, you’d know that. You come from a privileged human country that is all peace and love. Well, guess, what? Life isn’t all peace and love, girl. It’s death and destruction. Plus, I’m a demon.”

  I work up the courage and send my elbow flying backwards at full speed right into his ribcage. He yelps and jumps back from me. I turn with a hard kick, catching him off guard and sending him into a wall. Drywall crumbles to the floor as he works on standing.

  In the distance, I can hear a plane approaching. They’re almost here. I just have to fend him off a few more minutes and then they can help me end this guy. I leap for the knife block and chuck a sharp blade at him. I catch the blade end of it and it slices through his hand, stopping near his face. He tries to drop the knife but it’s stuck in his hand disgustingly. There’s too much adrenalin in my veins for me to puke at the disturbing sight. I grab a knife in each hand and throw them at him at the same time. He can’t catch both so he dodges one and the other hits his left shoulder. He groans angrily and pulls it out like it’s nothing.

  Deja vu rams into me as I recall Crispen and Mason once having a playful knife fight. I was terrified and shocked and now here I am doing the same only it’s not so much for fun.

  I duck behind the kitchen island as Maxwell throws two of the knives back at me. One goes right through the window I was standing in front of and one lands on the top of the island. A pressure on my butt as I sit on the floor reminds me that the brass blade I removed from Aiden is in the back of my jeans. I pull it out, noticing a name on the handle of the blade. Terry’s name is written in elegant writing on it. I don’t have time to contemplate what this means.

  I jump up from where I stand and with all the strength and speed I have I throw the knife at his chest.

  I’m far from a skilled knife thrower, but I manage to slice into his neck. The burning pain of the knife causes him to let out a terrible scream. I realize that the knife is about to be thrown back at me. The thought isn’t pleasant because I’m well aware that Maxwell is probably far more practiced with these things.

  He moves fast and I clumsily trip over a chair leg, falling to the floor. Rookie mistake. I try to jump up in time to lunge away from him but his body is on top of mine in an instant. “Oh, Megan,” he murmurs. Blood drips from his neck onto my face. “That was fun, wasn’t it? I have to admit that you’re faster than I would’ve guessed. Oh, and you have a little more bite. I’m going to ask you one last time. Where is Aiden?”

  He presses the sharp edge of the blade to my neck and I feel the sting of the blade and it hasn’t even sliced me open yet. It burns like fire against my skin.

  Maxwell smiles and then trails the knife across my neck, cutting a line across it. He then makes a painful path down from my neck to my stomach, slicing open my shirt.

  He seems to notice the plane at this point because his eyes dart to the window where it is currently landing. “Who is that?” he asks, looking shocked. He had to know that I wouldn’t be alone here with Aiden for long, didn’t he?

  “Demon hunters,” I admit. “Original demon hunters.”

  His eyes widen slightly.

  “You know, the ones that can’t be killed,” I add just to anger him more.

  His grip on the knife becomes h
arder and he cusses before plunging the knife into my stomach. The pain is like nothing I’ve ever felt before. I scream loudly as the burning and tearing feeling becomes overwhelming. I’ve watching demons and hunters alike get stabbed and it look like it hasn’t bothered them a bit. I figured it must not be that bad. Hell, Crispen and Mason were playing around with knives as if it were a game. Anyways, I was wrong. Getting stabbed hurts like a fucking bitch. I see a puddle of blood begin to form around me. Just as I think thing can’t get much worse, Maxwell plunges the knife in me again. This time in the rib cage.

  I actually begin silently begging him to just stick in it my heart and kill me, but that relief doesn’t come. Instead I hear a gunshot and then voices. I’m not sure how long I lay on the ground bloodied for, but eventually I begin to be able to tune out the pain and focus on my surroundings. I somehow manage to pull the knife from my chest, causing an immense amount of more pain. My vision blurs and I wonder how much blood I’ve lost.

  “She’s over here,” I hear a female voice say. Aria.

  I stare up at the ceiling trying to get my vision to even out and the blur to vanish. Faces appear above me, staring down at me and a gasp manages to bring me a little closer to reality.

  “I know this won’t kill her, but how is she supposed to heal when she’s bleeding so much?” Aria squeals.

  To my surprise, it’s Aiden who answers. “Get the two other souls you brought and bring them here.” A warm hand grasps mine. “You’re going to be alright, Megan. This is going to hurt a little.”

  I’ve felt so much pain today that I doubt anything is going to hurt anymore. A burning feeling begins radiating through the hand Aiden holds and throughout my body. When it disappears, my vision becomes clear and my pain gone. So much so, that I can sit up.

  I look down at myself to see that though I’m soaked in my own blood, my skin is healed. With wide eyes I look up at Aiden who releases me hand. “How in the hell…” I start but then get distracted with inspecting myself again. I must be seeing things.