by Dawn Ibanez
Belle’s scream brought his attention back to the present.
He didn’t even hesitate as he ran to the stairwell. Casper ripped the door off its hinges in time to see another nude form tackle Troy to the floor. He moved forward and hissed when he saw the raw bite wound on the young wolf’s neck. Just as the crazed woman went to sink her teeth into him again, Casper grabbed a handful of her greasy hair and cut her head off. He ignored the screams of the woman they saved. Right now his main concern would have to be Troy.
Dazed gold eyes looked up at Casper. “Where’s Madison?” he asked as he tried to get his feet under him. He looked around the stairwell and saw at his mother. “Are you okay?” he slurred.
Belle nodded mutely as she backed away from Troy. His entire body was encased in a soft glow and his facial features were beginning to become more and more lupine.
Casper knelt in front of Troy and forced the younger man to look into his eyes. The frown on his face deepened as he saw threads of red entering gold. “Troy, I need you to stay still,” he said lowly. His lips thinned when Troy tried to stand up again. “Damn it, are you listening to me?”
Troy couldn’t make out what Casper was saying. The need to shift and find his mate was becoming unbearable. His eyes turned to Belle again. The expression on her face solidified his decision to stay away from her. Troy grabbed Casper’s arm and pulled him between them. “Get her out of here.”
Belle came up to Casper’s shoulder and frowned at her son. “What’s wrong with him?” she asked the tall stranger.
Casper looked at her and quickly scanned her mind. His lips thinned when he felt the block on her mind. He didn’t know what was hidden from her, but he had a feeling it was something big and bad. Casper was about to grab Belle’s arm when a door to the floor above them opened.
Troy sniffed the air and the tension in his body started to relax. He fought his way to his feet. “Madison,” he called.
“I’m here,” her sibilant voice echoed. Madison walked down the stairs with a distant gaze in her eyes. She looked at Troy and went to his side.
Casper stepped back from both Madison and Troy. He made sure he took Belle with him. With the way Madison’s eyes were glowing and the magic that radiated around them both was a dangerous combination. “Madison, pull it back.”
Her eyes lingered on the bloody mess of Troy’s neck. She could feel the magic trying to take his body over. It was slowly killing him but for some reason it hadn’t taken him over completely yet. Madison looked at Casper and Belle. The older woman was gripping Casper’s sword arm. She was clearly torn between her fear of what was happening and fear for her son. Madison reached out and gently touched Troy’s neck. “You should be more careful.”
Troy couldn’t take his eyes off of her. She was splattered in blood, her eyes were unnatural and there was something wrong with her voice, but she was still beautiful. He pulled her close and tangled his hand in her hair. “I’m fine,” he told her. Before she could object more, he covered her mouth with his own.
Casper inhaled sharply and took a step towards the couple. “Madison!”
Madison’s fingers clawed into Troy’s wounded neck as she gave into his kiss. She felt the Death magic in him and forced it to her. There was no way she would allow anything to harm him. Not even her own powers. If Troy walked away from her, it would be of his own free will. He would not be a victim of some stupid stunt her brother pulled because he thought he could handle her area of expertise.
“Madison!” Casper shouted as he pulled her away from Troy. When she looked at him with murderous eyes, Casper gestured to Troy. “Are you trying to kill him?” he asked. As expected, without Madison holding him up Troy fell to the floor unconscious.
Red eyes looked past Casper to where Belle was trying to reach for her son. Madison fought back a snarl as she moved away from her Mate. She knew that Belle was only doing what a mother should. Part of her went completely livid at the thought of another woman near Troy when he was injured. “Call for clean up,” she said softly.
Casper allowed himself to relax a little. Her voice was starting to return to normal. “Crispin is already on his way with a crew,” he told her. As she nodded, he noted the way Madison seemed focused on Belle. He moved between them and gave her a challenging look. “Back down Pixie,” he said in a warning tone.
Madison narrowed her eyes at her long-time friend. She could feel her magic rise in challenge to his tone. A low growl escaped her as she turned to the stairs. “I’m going to find a bathroom.”
Chapter 10-
Eric climbed out of his car and frowned as he looked at the building he had been called in to help quarantine. He spotted Madison’s car, Dylan’s Porsche, and his mother’s Hyundai. He sighed as he quickly went to the main entrance of the Criminal Investigations unit. Dylan called him to let him know that something went wrong with Barry’s attempt to Raise the bodies. Barry should have never tried to Raise anyone. But he felt he had no choice. Now Madison had to clean up after him. The idea of their mother being here with Madison didn’t bode well for any of them either.
Eric spotted his father in the lobby waiting for him. “Has everything been contained?” he asked carefully.
James Maxwell looked at his oldest son. “You could say that,” he said darkly. When Eric glanced around him, James stepped closer to him. “Do you know what the hell happened here?”
Eric’s jaw tightened. “Mathias came to me with a case. Three bodies came in and there were too many questions for a regular ME to answer. Since all of you have basically sidelined Madison, I asked Barry if he could help.”
James’s eyes went round. “Barry was here?” he asked alarmed. Eric nodded. “Where’s your brother now?”
“He’s laid out at Madison’s. Throne had enough sense to get him to her place.” When the door down the hall opened he frowned. Crispin and his brother were carrying out an unconscious man that looked vaguely familiar. “Cris,” Eric called.
Crispin looked up and frowned at his brother in law. “So, they called you all.” When Eric frowned, Crispin gave his burden over fully to Casper. He then approached his in-laws. “How much have you heard?”
“Nothing much. Only that there were zombies here and Madison needed containment,” James answered.
Crispin looked at the man for a moment. The story was both right and wrong. “Madison is fine. She went to the locker room to change. All of the zombies and infected are subdued.” Crispin continued to watch James as the man digested that information. “The entire ME floor and both stair cases are covered in blood. I think it would just be best to get Madison out of here now that everything is handled.”
Eric nodded before turning to his father. “Where’s Mom?” he asked dreading the answer.
James took a slow breath. “She went to find Dylan.”
Both Eric and Crispin frowned. Tina may have gone off to find Dylan, but Dylan went to find Madison. If Tina and Madison got into it again, they just may have more blood to clean.
* * * * *
Madison pulled her head out of the sink with a gasp. She needed to find a way to calm down. It wouldn’t do any kind of good if she were to attack Belle simply for giving a damn about her son. As she looked at the blood tinted water in the sink, she caught a glimpse of a figure at her side. “I’m starting to get the appeal,” she said before dunking her head under the water again.
Dylan waited patiently as Madison held her breath under water. She walked to Madison’s side and leaned against the mirror. With a smirk she slipped into her sister’s mind. “You do realize that ostriches don’t really do that right?” she asked mentally. When she saw her sister’s body jerk, she continued. “Last year when we took the trip to the Sahara, Lacey begged and pleaded to see one. So naturally Antonio took her to one of the reserves, got her really close, and then it proceeded to attack him.”
Madison straightened trying not to choke on either water or her laughter. “Don’t tell me shit like that,�
�� she coughed. She smirked as Dylan simply offered her a towel. “You could have killed me.”
Brown eyes rolled. “Oh please,” she mused. “Aren’t you the one always boasting that ‘you can’t kill death’?”
A chuckle escaped Madison as she walked over to the row of lockers lining the walls. “Yeah, that would be me,” she said before finding Leslie’s locker. Her eyes saddened as she broke open the lock. She would make sure to give the woman that made her career almost impossible a decent funeral. No matter their differences, Madison wouldn’t wish death by zombie attack on her worst of enemies.
“I would have thought you would have enough respect for the dead to not joke about what you’ve done,” Tina Maxwell said from the locker room door.
Dylan straightened her relaxed stance and took note of Madison’s mumbled curse. “Mom, what are you doing here?” she asked.
Tina’s eyes stayed on Madison’s bloodied shirt. “Mathias called your father and me. He said that he may need us for clean up on a Necromancy case.”
Madison found a teal and black top among Leslie’s clothes and started to strip off her own ruined shirt. “And since there was Necromancy involved you wanted to see what kind of Hell I unleashed?” Madison went over to the sink and placed her shirt under the water.
Dylan took a slow breath and sent up a prayer for patience. “Can we not do this now?” she asked her mother and sister.
Tina pressed her lips together as she watched her oldest daughter clean the blood off of her neck and chest. “Did you get any information before you lost control?”
Madison’s movements slowed as what her mother said processed in her mind. She then fell into a fit of chuckles. The chuckles then erupted into full laughter as Tina’s frown deepened and her hands went to her hips.
“I don’t think any of this is funny at all,” Tina said hotly.
With a wave her hand Madison’s laughter slowly died. “You wouldn’t.” Her eyes then sought her sister. “But then again, she never did,” she added.
Dylan turned her attention to their mother. She would deal with Madison later. “Madison didn’t try to Raise anyone Mom,” she explained.
“Leave it be Dyl,” Madison sighed as she pulled on the teal top. “She doesn’t want to hear anything that might paint me in a positive light.” She walked over to the mirror and rubbed off her smearing make up. “And frankly, I really don’t feel like fighting.”
Dylan watched Madison. She was trying to keep the peace and Dylan couldn’t help but be proud of her. “Alright. But did you find out anything?”
Madison looked into Tina’s eyes. “The victims, or original zombies, were women. Under the need to feed was a thirst for desire. Probably left over from whatever sucked them dry.”
“An Incubus?” Tina asked skeptically. When Madison shrugged and turned away, she frowned. “They’re extinct.”
Dylan fixed Leslie's broken lock. “Incubi and Succubi haven’t been heard from in centuries. While that information leads to them being extinct, that doesn’t have to be true.”
Tina fiddled with a diamond in her earring. What Dylan said was correct but she wasn’t one that dealt with variables. “I’ll have to discuss this with your father and brothers. Mathias will also want to know how this all happened. Madison wasn’t supposed to be involved in Council business.”
Madison pulled her hair back and adjusted her jacket. “Madison wasn’t involved until Barry showed up unconscious on her doorstep.” She ignored Tina’s horrified expression as she started for the door. “He used the wrong spell. Thorne had to put a bullet in one zombie. I just came here to try and contain the others.” Madison opened the door and saw the current leader of the Council, Mathias, frowning at her.
“Where is your brother now?” he asked.
Dylan stood just over Madison’s shoulder and barely suppressed her growl. This man was the same one that wanted to take Lacey away and have her own magic tortured and tested to its limits. “You’re not getting Barry.”
Mathias glanced at Dylan and Tina before refocusing on Madison. “Accidents aside, Barry has to answer to his crime of exposure of magic to a Normal.”
Tina frowned as she looked at her superior.
Madison smiled and stepped closer to him. “He’s at my house,” she answered. She allowed her eyes to turn crimson as she threw down her challenge. “If you want him, come get him. But know that I won’t let you or anyone else fuck with our family.”
Mathias watched her for a moment. While he and Madison had always had their differences, he never wanted to strangle her more. “Do not threaten me little girl,” he growled.
With a roll of her eyes she reached up and straightened his tie. “I’m not threatening you. I simply want you to be completely aware that if you mess with the Maxwells, I don’t care if the entire East Coast becomes a dead zone. I will fuck you up.”
Dylan pulled on Madison’s arm. “Let’s go,” she said looking between her former boss and their mother. “We have to check on Troy and Belle.”
Madison stepped back but kept the smile on her face. “See ya!” she chimed before making her way to the elevator.
Tina watched her daughters leave. Out of all of her children, she never expected Madison to defend her brothers. It boggled Tina’s mind. Madison practically fed Dylan to Crispin, yet now she was standing firm between the Council and her brother. Tina looked at Mathias. “Stay away from my family,” she said lowly.
Mathias looked at her in disgust. “Don’t stand here and try to act like you care. Madison has already done a beautiful job of it.” As Tina’s eyes narrowed Mathias turned to leave. “Check on Barry. Then see what your family can do with this Incubus.”
* * * * *
Dylan and Madison easily made their way to the parking lot. “You okay?” Dylan asked.
Madison took a slow breath as she spotted Belle sitting in the backseat of her car. Casper was in the driver’s seat adjusting the rear view mirror. “I’ll be alright,” she said absently.
“That isn’t what I asked,” Dylan replied. “Troy was hurt and now you have to deal with his mother’s introduction into our world. Never mind that you and mom always have such happy times.”
The sarcasm in Dylan’s voice made Madison chuckle. “I don’t want to process everything right now,” Madison admitted. “As a matter of fact, it might be better if I don’t.” She ran her hands through her hair. “Come over for dinner. Barry should be up and moving by then.”
Dylan turned and started over to Madison’s car. “Please, you’re going to have us there for the rest of the day.” She tapped Madison’s nose. “I love you and Barry. But if Mathias shows up I still want to have an East Coast to live on.”
Madison’s eyes rolled again. “It’s so nice to have my adoring sister at my side.” She leaned against her car and looked at Belle, who had Troy’s head pillowed on her lap. “You hanging in there Belle?”
Belle’s hands were shaking as she ran her fingers through Troy’s hair. “I need to know what happened to my son,” she said in a surprisingly calm voice.
Dylan gave Madison a quick hug. “I’ll meet you at the house,” she whispered before walking away from the car.
With a nod Madison climbed into the passenger seat of her car. “It would be best if we went someplace private to explain it.”
Belle kept her focus on Troy. “I don’t want to go anywhere with you people,” she whispered.
She decided to ignore the “you people” part of that statement. Madison kept her eyes trained forward as Casper started to drive away. “There are days when I know exactly how you feel Belle,” she confessed. Madison then turned her attention to Casper. “Where’s the other Wolf?”
“Crispin and Eric have him. Evidently he’s here to protect her for Dennis.” Casper looked in the rear view and frowned at the Lincoln Continental that pulled into his former space.
* * * * *
Dark eyes took in the sight of people coming and going from
the Medical Examiner’s building. He could still feel the traces of Necromancy practically radiating from the area. There had been a major folly here and someone had been quick to try to clean it.
A soft knock on the driver’s window caught his attention. He muted his iPod and rolled his window down to speak with his supposed supervisor. “It looks like everything has been handled here.”
Mathias growled as he thought of the woman that just left. “Yes it has,” he said grudgingly. “There’s nothing for you to do here.”
Eyes that matched the color of midnight looked up at Mathias. “I’ll have to be the judge of that.”
“You don’t have the authority to be here. As far as I’m concerned, you aren’t even a member of the Council. You can’t just come here after being missing for decades and think you can take over everything. ”
Aston Nicodemus simply smiled at Mathias. “Actually, you would be surprised with what I can and can’t do. Feel free to contact your superiors and see what they say about me,” he said before rolling up his window. As Mathias stepped away from his car, Aston adjusted the volume of his iPod back to where he had it. As the raspy, young voice of Miley Cyrus echoed in his ear, he pulled out of the parking lot.
He wanted the Maxwell Family gone. That was going to be the only way his plans will be able to reach fruition. But first he needed to see how far Madison had come since the last time he checked in on her.
Chapter 11-
Cool air caressed his face as a gentle hand trailed through his hair. Troy blinked and found that he was staring up at his mother. He took her hand into his and gently squeezed her fingers. “Are you okay Mom?”
Belle blinked tear filled eyes as she shook her head. “I’m trying to process everything,” she said as he sat up in the seat. She combed her fingers through his hair again. “Are you alright?” she asked gently.