Wyrd Calling (Wyrd Bound Book 1)

by Shen Hart

  The man looked at me. I wheeled away and headed for a tree in the distance. I didn't know what he was, but I knew he must have been both dark and powerful to have a hellhound under that sort of control. I wanted to know more but something shiny grabbed my attention. It sparkled and shimmered. I went to go towards it but controlled myself and went along the edge of the park to the bench where Dan was. I had to focus. It was important. He was pack. I was on a job. Focus.

  The hellhound was making a show of sniffing around the bench, trying to look like a normal dog while Dan was beginning to fidget. The walker didn't take his eyes off Dan. His face was entirely emotionless. I cocked my head and looked a little more closely. It wasn't emotionless like a poker face, it was like a porcelain mask. It was truly still and entirely without any lines or wrinkles. That could not be a good thing.

  Dan offered the walker a weak smile but said to the serpent demon, "Thank you, it was good to see you again."

  He tucked his hands in his jeans pockets and walked away as quickly as he dared with his head down. I stopped on the branch and waited to see what the masked man and the demon were up to.

  The masked man said, "I made things clear did I not? Did you not understand what I said?"

  The demon hissed quietly, "It doesn't matter if he knows."

  "That's not for you to decide." He shook his head slowly. "You really should have done as you were told."

  With that he clicked his fingers and the hound came to his side immediately. The demon's eyes went wider and he began to tremble. "Please..."

  The masked man sighed softly. "You made your decision."

  I looked around the park wondering if this was really going to happen in broad daylight. It was entirely empty, not a single soul was within sight. There had been a few other walkers, amorous couples, and the usual park-goers around previously. It was hardly packed, but there had been enough for it to appear normal. I didn't dare move a muscle or rustle a feather. The masked man was far more than I had originally thought. I couldn’t help but be fascinated.

  I had thought the hound would be messier and more brutal in its work. Some part of me appreciated the ease and efficiency with which it dispatched its prey. The demon was sent running. He begged, squirmed, whined, and whimpered, but in the end, he ran. The hound was held close to its master for a brief moment, every muscle was a coiled spring while it watched the demon run with ferocious intensity. Finally, it was let loose. It was quite a beautiful sight to watch as it chased him down and finished him with one quick, powerful bite to the neck. It was elegant in the powerful, focused pragmatism of it all. There wasn’t a single shred of wasted energy. The hound was a finely tuned predator, perfected after millennia of careful breeding. The demon’s head was barely attached to his body at the end. Somehow, the hound managed to remain clean. It was almost feline. It returned to its master at an easy lope and they carried on their way as though nothing had happened. It was quite literally a walk in the park for them.

  Once they were safely out of sight, I couldn't help myself. I flew over and admired their work. The bite was clean. No ragged flesh, just a small pool of blood and the crisp white spine exposed for all to see. It reminded me of the past. I hadn't always been a nice, kind person. There had been many times where I had been the one doing the killing.

  I heard the whispering before I saw them. Demons always did look after their own. I took to the air, just in case. I couldn’t afford to blow my cover at that point, and watched as a small group of grey-skinned, almost skeletal creatures appeared as though from nowhere. I never had quite figured out how they did it, how they knew. They were something of a myth, whispered on cold, dark, lonely nights. They whisked the body away before anyone could be any the wiser. It was all beautifully executed.

  14

  I arrived back at the apartment to find Ryan and Nik lounging out on the sofa in front of the TV. They had some bad daytime movie on.

  I stood and cocked my head, watching it for a moment before I asked, "What is that? Don't you have something better to be doing?"

  They looked around at me. "Hey, how's the wrist?"

  I curled my lip and managed to get some movement out of my fingers. I'd been grateful that it hadn't impacted on my flying earlier. I remained impressed by the hellhound, even if the man in the mask unnerved me. I didn’t want to run into him again until I knew more about him.

  That reminded me of Dan. "Where are Dan and Alex?"

  Nik shrugged and Ryan said, "They said something about speaking to some trader contact of Dan’s I think. We don’t know anyone and they didn’t want a group of us going. I think they didn’t want us starting any fights."

  I slumped down into the armchair. They both looked at me half expectantly. I sighed.

  "You want to know about Alex and Lee don't you?"

  Ryan grinned at me; Nik at least had the decency to look a little bit sheepish. I ground my teeth and considered reprimanding them for even trying to broach the topic, but I was reminded of Dan's little piece about opening up as I'm an alpha and I expect complete trust. I sighed and rubbed my eyes while I thought about what to actually tell them.

  Ryan had twisted around to look at me. I smiled.

  "Thanks again for last night. The nephelim would have made my life really rather difficult had you two not have stepped in to help me."

  Nik smiled at me. It was a genuine, almost innocent expression on his face. "I thought that was what pack was all about."

  "It is."

  I looked down and wondered if I could squirm out of this conversation, but unfortunately, it had to be done at some point and it would be easier without Alex there. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, mentally preparing myself for what I had to say, for the flood of emotions.

  "Alex is my soulmate. It didn't work out between us. For... reasons. Reasons you don't need. Lee is an old friend, a lover, someone I trust."

  My jaw and neck were incredibly tight where I had carefully announced each word, where they piled on top of each other to form the complete.

  I looked at them and waited. They looked between each other and back at me before Nik said, "Thanks. It didn't sound like that was easy to say."

  Ryan went with, "I've had a couple of rough break-ups. It can't be easy trying to deal with him being right there."

  Nik punched him in the arm, making him yelp and glare at him. I raised an eyebrow.

  "Try not to destroy the furniture, boys."

  They both settled down and returned to watching their awful film. It appeared to be some trite love story. I couldn't figure out why they kept watching it. I looked between them. I'd assumed they were both single as was the norm for non-alphas. I began to wonder if perhaps they were lovers.

  The raven hopped forward, and I watched them a little more closely before Ryan looked at me with some confusion. "Did I do something wrong? Did I miss something?"

  I couldn't help it; I came straight out with it. "So, are you guys, were you guys, lovers...?"

  Their eyes went wide. They looked at each other then moved as far apart from each other as physically possible.

  Nik said, "No ma'am. Absolutely, er... that is to say…”

  Ryan started in with, "No, we're not that, we er, um. No. No we've never gone there."

  Nik finished with, "I'm just into women, females, I mean I have nothing against those who like men but... I er... I'm not one of them."

  Ryan looked back at Nik. "You're a great guy, I'm glad we're pack-mates and all, but, no."

  Nik nodded in agreement before I made my excuses and headed for a shower. I couldn't help giggling to myself, poor souls. It made me feel a touch better about the awkward conversation I had to have with them about Alex versus Lee.

  ** **

  I tried not to wince when I walked out into the living room and they were standing there. The air felt a few degrees cooler than I had left it. That was a big clue about Alex's mood. I crossed my arms over my towel and looked at him with my lips pursed
and one eyebrow raised.

  "I thought we'd agreed you'd stay out of trouble."

  His tone was as chilly as the room, which was quickly forming goosebumps on my exposed skin. The jaguar barged forward and I said "You told me to stay out of trouble, and so far, I have obliged."

  A quiet growl rumbled in his throat as he closed the gap between us. "This isn't a game, Thalia."

  "I'm not treating it as one, Alexei."

  He flinched at the use of his full name. I hadn't used it in a very long time. He gritted and ungritted his teeth before saying, "Dan has a potential lead. You should go with him tomorrow. In human form."

  With that he turned and walked to our bedroom. I had no choice but to follow given I didn't want to spend the rest of the day in a towel.

  I closed the door and he sat on the bed, looking at me. "We can't take risks, Thalia."

  I growled, "What risks am I supposed to have taken?"

  "You screwed around with a high-ranking demon earlier."

  I stopped and thought about it for a moment before I clicked. "We're supposed to be alphas together and you jump down my throat over something a cub, which you have known for no more than a couple of months, said!? Fuck you Alexei."

  I strode across the room and pulled out the closest clothes I had to hand. Alex remained silent for a moment before he sighed softly. "What happened?"

  I bared my teeth at him. He dragged me here, he disrespected me, and then he accused me of bullshit on the word of a cub. I dropped my towel and ignored him. He could go screw himself, I wasn’t ashamed of my body. I wasn’t going to fight to keep the towel up just to make him slightly more comfortable. I pulled on my clothes while keeping my back to him.

  He said a little louder, "Thalia, please. What happened?"

  I pulled my shirt over my head and wriggled into the little skirt. "I was in the tree watching; some being with a hellhound and a face like a mask showed up and killed Dan's guy. He walked off without any sign of knowing I was there. End of."

  He rubbed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose while I put my heels on. "Fuck you, Alexei."

  With that I walked out the door and left. I wasn't really sure where I had planned on going, but I saw no reason to deal with that shit. It was bad enough that I had to be in such close confinement with him, but to then have him embarrass me in front of the cubs and accuse me of things on the word of one of them. I found myself wandering through the back alleys until I came across a small market. The air shimmered slightly, and the shadows wrapped around the stalls in an unnatural manner.

  I smirked. I'd stumbled across a black market. I fought to stop myself from shifting my jaguar tail as the jaguar stalked around my mind, twitching its tail while it looked around for trouble to cause. A particularly slimy-looking mixed breed was hovering by a corner stall that called to me. I put my shoulders back a bit, added some extra swing to my hips, and sauntered over to him. He stood by the corner of his stall, his tongue slipping out over his thin lips while his bony hands raked through his black greasy hair. I tried to hold back my revulsion and ran my fingers over the edge of the stall. It took me a moment to find what had grabbed my attention. My eyes skimmed over pitch-black bones, a small, blood-red stone, and finally fell on the amber- and lava-coloured feather. It lay limp on the old, worn grey fabric covering the beaten-up stall. I hadn't seen a phoenix feather in a long time, and I had no intentions of allowing that one to fall into the hands of some desperate fool or egotistical jackass.

  I turned to face the stall owner with a mild pout and fluttered my eyelashes at him as I leant forward just a little to give him a sneak peak at my cleavage. His eyes went wide and he edged closer, entirely enraptured. I reached out, slowly, feeling the tip of the feather against my fingertips. "What can I help you with today, miss?"

  His voice cracked and wavered, his eyes remained entirely fixed on my cleavage. I smiled sweetly. "I'm not entirely sure, what do you think I need...?"

  He swallowed and his eyes began to shift focus, moving away to the feather I was slowly running my fingers up to remove from his ownership. Just as he was about to see my plan and potentially cause a lot of a trouble, a man appeared next to me. His pale skin with a slightly golden sheen gave away his species, a fae. He pressed up against my side, which pushed me closer to the stall and stole the trader's attention.

  I quickly slipped the feather behind me and smiled innocently while the fae said, "Do you happen to have any blood stones?"

  The trader bit his bottom lip in contemplation for a second before saying "I can get some. It'll cost you though..."

  The fae flashed him a very easy smile. "Money's no object."

  The trader's face lit up. A grin erupted across his dirty face. "Tomorrow it is, then."

  The fae gave a small nod and slipped his arm around my waist. "Tomorrow."

  I leaned into him a little. It felt odd having a man who was barely taller than me in such close proximity. I'd grown used to men towering over me. He was a pleasant change. He remained polite and kept his arm around my ribs as he led me around the market. I had managed to tuck the feather into the waist of my skirt and hide it under my shirt. It wasn't ideal, but it was hidden. The raven insisted on continuously hopping around in my mind as the soft, warm feather brushed against my bare skin. I pushed it back and tried to focus on my surroundings.

  The shadows played in the corners, small wisps danced and cavorted, and when I listened very closely I swore I could make out high-pitched trilling where they played. A selection of traders had shown up and were arranged in a higgledy-piggledy fashion, some were tucked up tight to the tall brick walls surrounding the small courtyard, while others stood bolding in the middle. They were manned by battle-worn creatures that watched furtively, waiting for a potential customer or (perhaps more likely) a potential new item to sell. Those in the centre were brightly coloured with glistening, shimmering fabrics and vividly enchanted stones, wands, and other such things. None of it was, strictly speaking, ethically sound or legal by any hard and fast definition. I wanted desperately to go and play with the shadows, but I didn't dare try. I had the feather and I had to focus on that and my safe escape.

  Once we left the courtyard and were out of earshot of the market I turned to the fae and said, "Thank you. What's your name?"

  It was a very bold move, fae never gave up their name willingly, but I wanted to test the waters. He smiled good-naturedly.

  "You know I won't tell you that. You can call me Kit."

  I nodded. "And what made you help me back there, Kit?"

  His pale golden-green eyes flashed for a moment as he took a deep breath and allowed it to escape through clenched teeth. "I knew the phoenix that it came from."

  I felt a deep pain in my chest when he said it. I was far from an empath, but the pain and guilt he felt over that statement crept through our connection via his arm around me. I nodded.

  "I plan on sending it on properly. Will you aid me?"

  He smiled at me and continued to lead me through the streets of the city until the sun began to set and we were in a wood on the far side of the city. I could hear Alex's voice in my head telling me not to trust a fae, not to get into trouble. I snarled at the mental image and carried on. We came to a clearing surrounded by various brightly coloured flowers. Delicate, tiny, pale pink flowers on the tops of fine stems and bright blue daisies mingled with blood-red roses and shocking yellow tulip-type flowers. The grass that covered the floor of the clearing was a vibrant, almost emerald green. It just needed a neon sign saying 'fairy circle' to complete the blatant lack of regard for hiding its nature. We stood at the edge of it. Kit stepped over the short little purple flowers that crawled between the gaps left by the taller, more ambitious flowers and held his hand out to me. His lips were pulled into a slightly predatory smile, and the faint golden glow highlighted his high cheekbones and made the green in his eyes shimmer just a little. I matched his predatory smile, took his hand and stepped into the circle. I had
a long history with the fae. I wasn't worried. A faint beat rumbled through the grass, just below our feet. It was calming, soothing and peaceful. I carefully pulled the feather out and ran a fingertip over it, making sure that not a single piece was of out of place. I put my hands out in front of me, with the palms up and the feather laying across them before looking to Kit. He leaned in and kissed my forehead as he took the feather and placed it in the very centre of the clearing.

  The beat slowly picked up in tempo as the sun set and we knelt before the feather, watching the blood-red sky slowly give way to the crystalline blues and eventually the rich indigo of the night’s tapestry. I closed my eyes and pulled forward the raging, chaotic heat of fire. It surged through my fingertips and raced forwards. I tried not to giggle at the wonderful pain in my fingers as the flames licked outwards, surrounding the feather. It only took me a couple of minutes to establish a fire. I allowed it to grow of its own accord. The feather twisted, turned and flickered in the flames. It shimmered and rippled as the fire sparked and caressed it. We stood. The fire added a new depth to the elegant, painfully beautiful features of Kit's face as his platinum blonde hair became a blank canvas for the consumption happening before us.

  The beat of the Earth rumbled below us, taking on a heavy thundering tone, and so we danced. We circled around the fire, our heads bent low as we closed our eyes and gave ourselves over to the beat and celebrated the feather being returned to where it belonged. We twisted and turned, throwing our heads above us as the tempo increased and us with it. We became a whirling, twisting entity. Our limbs became entangled as we were completely lost to the beat, the process, the reclamation and return of the feather. Nothing else existed during that time, we were nothing more than an extension of the ritual and the beat of the Earth beneath our feet.