“You don’t have my permission,” I said, stepping in front of Jax.
Rayna stepped up beside me and Jax smirked.
“I’ve got no time for a demanding child and his girlfriend. Stand down.”
“Does this look like the army? This is my house, not your backyard, so don’t try marking your territory here.”
“Oh, cut it out,” Grams snapped.
Two more shifters walked into the condo, taking a stand behind Jax. But Jax and I didn’t break eye contact.
“Chase!” Grams voice cackled again. “I told you he’d need help. Willy’s better off with them for now. They can help him.”
“But–”
“I’m his family, and I say what’s best,” she said. “Go on, take him.”
Jax nodded and one of the other shifters moved in, picked Willy up with ease, and threw him over his shoulder. Grams stepped between Jax and me and took a full drag of her cigarette. The bright red embers burst with light as she sucked the smoke into her mouth.
“Don’t think I don’t know what goes on in the Shadowpack,” Grams said. “I know exactly what things are like there. So you take him, and you help him, but if you so much as step on his tail, you’ll be answering to me.”
“He will learn the way of the Shadowpack, starting at the bottom, like all of us did,” Jax stated, locking eyes with her.
Grams grunted and Jax nodded, his eyes scanning each of us, before he turned and walked out of the room. With a snap of his fingers, the other shifters moved and followed him.
“Are you sure he’ll be okay?” I asked.
“He’ll be fine. They can teach him to control the beast. It’ll be easier for him that way.”
“You’re not worried they’ll hurt him?”
“He’s a demon, even more now than ever. It’ll be good if they toughen him up a bit…” Grams said, but her voice trailed off and she didn’t seem her confident, witty self.
“I’ll keep an eye on him,” I said.
Grams snorted and laughed, but quickly stopped, eyeing me with a look that wasn’t full of hate. She took a drag off her cigarette. Ashes fell off the tip as the embers burnt up to the filter. She dropped the yellow butt on the floor and squished it beneath a shiny purple heel.
I grimaced, eyeing the cigarette butt.
“You should consider checking this one in, too,” Grams said pointing to Rayna. The concern for Willy was pushed back beneath her frail exterior.
“Rayna? Why?” I asked.
Grams reached into her purse and pulled out another cigarette, lighting it up and taking in a deep drag. “Look at her–she’s practically shedding.”
“Excuse me?” Rayna snapped.
“Neither of you knows a damn thing about shifters. Believe me, dear, you’re better off in the hands of an experienced shifter than an ignorant hunter.” Grams blew smoke from thin, pasty lips. Silence surrounded us and Grams cackled, waddling to the front door, leaving a cloud of smoke behind.
“Who does that bitch think she is?” Rayna snarled.
“I don’t know, but maybe she’s not entirely wrong.”
Rayna turned her icy gaze on me. Her emerald eyes glared like a lion on the hunt.
“I’m just saying maybe we should consider it. Marcus and I don’t know the first thing about shifters, except how to kill them. An experienced shifter could be helpful.”
“I don’t want to be a shifter, and I definitely don’t want to be part of some pack. I'm not going to be anyone’s property. I can’t believe you’d even suggest that.” Rayna stormed towards the stairs.
“Rayna, wait…” But her heels clicked up the stairs and she disappeared around the corner. “What the hell is happening?” I sighed.
Rai chirped into my ear and startled me. She leaned against my head, her black beak rubbing on my cheek.
“I can’t believe Willy tried to eat you,” I said, rubbing my finger beneath her chin.
I took a deep breath and looked around the room. White fluff was everywhere, and the walls were torn from floor to ceiling. Unless Willy was scaling them, I didn’t even know how he’d managed that. I frowned at the burn mark Gram’s cigarette had made on the hardwood and kicked the butt across the floor. I didn’t bother cleaning up. The mess would still be there tomorrow. Instead, I made my way upstairs in hopes I could sleep this strange night off. Maybe I’d wake up and discover it was all just a dream.
Chapter 9
Rayna was on all fours in front of me, but everything around us was a blur. Her green cat eyes were shining, as though someone held a flashlight behind an emerald.
She stared up at me, head moving from side to side. I tried to look around, but each time I focused on an object, it would blur and shift. The world turned around in a slow haze and when I came back to Rayna, she had changed.
Thick black paws took over her hands and black hair covered her arms. Blood ran down her chin as fierce teeth filled her mouth, lips pulled back in a snarl.
“Why do you want to send me away? I’m not a monster.” Her voice was deeper, speaking awkwardly through her new teeth.
“I don’t think you’re a monster,” I said, lowering myself to her level, but when she snapped her jaws, I backed up.
Rayna released a low growl and turned away. Her bones cracked as her limbs shifted into thick, black, muscular legs. Her torso stayed human as she crouched and leapt forward, letting four black legs break into a run.
“Rayna…” I shouted, but her figure faded into a blur.
I waited, hoping she’d return, but instead the voice of my father came from all around me.
“Difficult creatures, those women,” Riley said.
Everything suddenly became clear. I was standing in the street outside Revelations. The October air was cool and streetlamps flickered around me. A bright half-moon hung in the sky, raining light onto the shadow-stricken street.
Riley’s voice engulfed me and came from everywhere. His laughter leapt from the darkness and I turned in a circle trying to find him.
Like fog fading, the shadows split and he walked into my reality. Large black wings drifted like smoke behind him, and dark blue eyes mocked me as he stepped onto the pavement. He moved closer to me, and a streak of black swirled throughout the blue of his eyes.
“Chase, my son, I’ve missed you. How have you been?” he asked, giving me his sincerest smile. His voice was strange. His demeanor, calm. Everything about him was different than I remembered.
I was frozen. I wanted to move, but my stomach tightened like an iron fist that weighted me against the earth. My father, Riley Williams, stood before me. The man who murdered my mother had just smiled and asked how I was. I should’ve been angry. I should‘ve tried to kill him, but all I could do was stare.
“Would it be too cliché if I said cat got your tongue?” He stepped around me in long smooth strides; the black wings, an extension of his body, wavered from side-to-side as they drifted behind him.
When I didn’t react, he let out a laugh that was whole and deep.
“Relax son, it happens to the best of us. Sooner or later a girl comes along, takes our breath away, and leads us on a wild goose chase. Or in your case, a game of cat and mouse, I suppose.” He laughed again. “Let her go, it’s fine. You’re better than her anyways. You shouldn’t be slumming in the Underworld, Chase. You should be sitting on a throne, next to me, with ultimate power at your fingertips.”
I took a breath and stepped away from Riley, keeping him in front of me. “You’ve got a lot of nerve coming here.”
“It’s a dream. What harm can come from us meeting here?”
I looked around. Everything seemed strange and different, but it felt so real. I called fire and the blue flame came with surprising ease. “I don’t know how much harm a dream can cause, but I can cause plenty.”
Riley’s black wings blurred in and out of focus and snapped at the fire. The blue and silver flame sparked and extinguished itself, an unseen force pushing the magic back into m
y soul.
“Don’t do that.” His face turned serious, the black in his eyes still swirling throughout the blue. “Fire is my element Chase. I have more power and control than you could dream of. In fact, I have more control over your power than you do.”
“You may control fire, but I have more than just flames at my disposal.” I called my water, but I didn’t draw its power out in the open. I pushed the magic against him and let him feel it.
“I think it’s safe to say I know more about your abilities than you do.”
“How’s that?”
Riley chuckled and the black wings expanded. “All in good time, son.”
I shook my head and let my magic fade. I knew I should be boiling with anger, but I wasn’t. Riley’s presence vibrated through the street, and power shuddered around me. All I could feel was fear.
“What do you want?”
“I just wanted to see my son. Is that too much to ask?”
“You’re a murderer. And I’ll kill–“
“Don’t throw idle threats at me. We both know you’re not capable of that. Especially not now.” Riley’s wings grew larger, the smoky black growing until it stretched over the entire street. I stepped back and cowered.
“You criticize me about the people I keep around me, but you’ve got plans to turn yourself into a demon? Look at you, you’re nearly there,” I said.
Riley’s perfect white teeth disappeared under his lips. The black swirls flickering in his eyes grew thicker. “How dare you? Ithreal is a god. The creatures you associate yourself with are cockroaches in comparison.”
“Ithreal may be a god, but that doesn’t make you one.”
“This is but a sample. Once I’ve completed the invocation, I’ll be invincible. Not with a demon’s blood, but a god’s. You’ll bow to my power, son, or you can choose to be a part of it. You can stand beside me, Chase. We can rule together and be a family again.”
“You killed the only family I had.”
A strange sensation warmed my soul and burned along my spine. A new magic surged, expanding like a balloon inside me. The fear Riley forced over me collapsed, and I reached for my element.
Like an addition of my body, a wave of water burst from my hands and crashed over Riley in a tidal wave. I pulled back to find him still standing in front of me, black wings surrounding him in protection. Disappointment filled me as the wings unfurled, revealing a calm, dry Riley.
“Your mother stood in the face of my greatness and dared to challenge it. She was expendable, as is anyone who stands in my way.”
“You bastard,” I said.
I called my magic again, but Riley’s power came to life and pushed it away, leaving it simmering inside my soul.
“Enough! In this dream, I control things. I’m going to make this world a better place, son. With Ithreal’s essence inside me, I’ll bring power back to the hunters. I will do this with or without you. I was simply offering you another chance to correct your…bad judgments.”
“I won’t join you, and I won’t let you do this.”
“You can’t stop me. Nobody can. You can't even conjure your own elements in my presence. Make the right choice. I will not extend this offer to you again.”
“Good, I’m tired of hearing it.”
Riley sighed. “Well then, now that we have that out of the way…you have something that belongs to me. The ring, give it to me.” His tone turned icy and serious, dark eyes moving over me with a transformed determination.
“Forget it.”
“You’ve met my new pet; do not make me unleash him on you, son. He will change your world in a way you cannot imagine. I am only asking out of courtesy. You do not actually have a choice.”
“We always have a choice, and I’m choosing not to let you have it. I’d sooner give it to the Circle.”
Black smoke blurred my vision, and in an instant, Riley’s hand gripped my throat. His element was at his fingertips and heat nipped at my skin.
“Don’t test me, boy.” His voice was dark, the black swirls in his eyes expanded and merged with his pupils until his eyes were claimed by darkness.
I struggled against his magic and pushed past it, managing to call my elements up with ease. The water came and neutralized the burning around my neck, but that wasn’t all. Surprise overwhelmed me when my fire element came up alongside it, working with the water to fight against his power. My elements were strong, but I’d never known the ability to call both at once.
Riley’s magic wavered as I tested it against mine, and I could tell by his face that it caught him off guard. I took the opportunity and broke his hold on my neck. Black wings swung down and hit me, smashing me to the ground.
Riley’s body was lifted into the air and the wings flapped, forcing him back in a single hovering motion. His feet returned to the asphalt and the strange magic I’d felt was back, tasting thick in the air.
“Give me the ring!” A demonic tone took over his voice and angry black eyes peered down at me.
“No.” I challenged, jumping to my feet.
Riley growled and his black wings moved at an unnatural speed. They changed shape as they neared and shadowed claws ripped across my chest. I hit the ground, rough pavement rubbing along my back. The front of my shirt had been torn, and blood seeped through where the claws had broken the skin. Sharp pains came as the wound turned red, then black blisters formed around the raw, open flesh.
“That was a warning,” Riley said, the black smoke coiling around him.
I jumped to my feet and pulled my magic to the surface. It moved with control I’d never known. Both fire and water came at once and I didn’t hesitate.
Water burst from one hand and flame from the other, moving towards Riley in two separate beams of crushing magic. His wings folded around him, but as the force hit him, he stumbled back. The shadowed wings broke briefly, and he grunted as my magic skimmed around him. I thought the elements would break his power, but the wings held strong. Fire and water blew past him, his wings absorbing what they couldn’t deflect.
Smoke rose from his protective shell and took the form of an arrow, shooting towards me with mystic authority. I took my newfound control and pulled my elements back, switching to defense. A thick wall of icy water shot up from the pavement, but before I could do anything more, the arrow broke through and struck me to the ground. My focus broke and the elements retreated inside me. The arrow stuck from my chest, digging into the wounds from the previous attack. Tendrils of magic shifted and separated from the arrow, pushing against my body and holding me down like a massive hand.
Riley’s black loafers clicked against the scarred asphalt as he neared. More tendrils of power shot out from his wings, merging with the arrow and pressing against me with renewed force.
“Last chance,” he said, and the amusement I’d expected to see on his face wasn’t there. A vacant expression owned his golden features, and his demonic black eyes contrasted the angel-like figure above me.
“No,” I said.
The black smoke shifted and the wings vanished, becoming giant strands of dark power. They moved as a cohesive unit and all came down at once. They crushed the air from my lungs and broke through my skin, one tendril at a time.
“It doesn’t have to be like this, Chase, just give me the ring.”
The pain was too much. I couldn’t respond. I gritted my teeth as tendrils pushed through my skin, forcing it to split. Branches of his power moved inside me, grinding against my muscles and biting into the raw flesh beneath.
“You can end this now, just give it to me.”
I couldn’t bear it any longer. My mouth opened and I released a scream. The black wisps tore themselves from my body and I cried out in pain.
I rolled to my side and coughed. Thick blood filled my mouth and poured onto the pavement. Thin lines of black ran through the blood, and more dripped from my mouth as I panted for air.
“Why do you need it? What does it do?” I asked, huffing betw
een words.
“That is not your concern.” Riley extended his hand.
I stared at his empty palm and shook my head. “I won’t give it to you.”
Riley sighed. “You’re just like your mother. Defiant until the end.” He growled, and the power hammered back into me. Black claws reentered the wounds and went deeper, pushing against the tendons beneath my skin. “This is just a dream, Chase, but I can still kill you.”
I screamed in pain, Riley’s words ringing through my ears. You’re just like your mother. Anger roared through me, bringing with it a rush of adrenaline. I fought against his magic, my emotions masking the pain in a surge of relief.
“This…is… my…dream.” I tried to bring my magic back and this time something was different. The fire and water came together, but something else rose with them: new power. The alien magic shot through my body, and it should've broken my focus, but I didn’t let it stop me.
In a collision of pain, magic, and adrenaline, blue flame exploded and engulfed my body. It turned white as soon as it hit the air, and a heat I’d never managed shattered around me. The black tendrils screamed and ripped away from my body. White flames bit back against the black magic, forcing the streams to retreat to their maker.
I coughed and pushed myself to my feet. The fire was blinding and covered my body, but it didn’t burn. Water steamed as it exploded around me. I sent it forward, and even as the black shadows engulfed him, it pushed Riley to the ground.
The black shell kept him protected, but my magic still crashed into his body and spun him across the road. I withdrew the fire and water, calling it back to my soul. As my two elements vanished, the new power came forward in a burst of energy.
The shadows came to life and pulled themselves towards me. Darkness leaked out of every crevice, moving like liquid over the pavement. Shadows draped themselves over everything. The magic blanketed me, shutting out the flickering streetlamps and the bright moon above.
I didn’t know what was happening, but the magic was strong and it revitalized me. I moved forward through the darkness and although everything was black, I somehow managed to see perfectly.
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