by C. M. Owens
Deke and Sierra are in a corner, both of them conversing with Dice’s mother. And Thad makes his way over to Drackus just as Calypso joins Alyssa to talk to Kimber. Then, the only girl in here I don’t know, steps out of a room, almost rushing toward Kimber when she spots her.
I have to draw in a shocked breath because she looks so much like Alyssa that it’s a little scary. Has to be Ella.
“Don’t get any ideas,” Zee warns from close beside me, and I turn to cock an eyebrow in confusion.
His lips twitch, as though he’s restraining a smile, and he uses his head to gesture toward Ella.
“She looks a lot like Alyssa. I was telling you not to get any ideas. That’d be a little creepy, dude.”
That has me rolling my eyes. “I can assure you that I’m not interested in Ella.”
He snorts derisively, as though he doesn’t believe a word out of my mouth.
“Oh,” Dice drawls, coming to stand beside us, “Gage has other tastes these days, night stalker. Don’t worry about the sweet little Ella.”
I glare at him, and Zee looks between us as his brow furrows in confusion. Dice’s eyes dance with flakes of humor, taunting me silently. Fortunately there’s no chance for Zee to question the mischievous incubus, because Drackus is taking charge and making loud demands to Liza.
“Get your witch here. We need to hear it from her, Liza. I’d really like to know how she can suddenly give us all the rings’ new locations.”
Liza glowers at him, fearlessly staring him down, even though he could blink and kill her if he wanted to. Let’s just hope she doesn’t piss him off.
“She’s coming. She’s going to do the spell, but she needs your help to complete it. It’s powerful, and it’s dangerous, but she’s willing to risk her life to do it because she genuinely wants to help. I need your word that you won’t harm her. A large blood oath, Drackus. I need it.”
What the…
“Why in the hell would you need our blood oath?” Drackus barks. “Blood oaths involve too much magic, and it could hurt this town of mortals for us all to do it.”
“I only need the blood oath from the most powerful ones in here. No harm will come. We’ll only take from the king and queen, you, the princess, Calypso, and the two gatekeepers.”
Drackus turns a glare on Dice at the same time I do. “You fucking told her?” I growl.
His gaze turns studious toward his mother. “I’ve never told her anything about the company I keep.” He takes a step toward Liza. “How do you know about the two gatekeepers?”
She doesn’t even glance his way. Her eyes remain locked on Drackus’s. “Do the blood oath. Or lose the rings.”
Drackus walks away from her, cursing lightly, but his eyes catch mine briefly. She doesn’t perceive me as a threat, which means whatever she knows is restricted. With one look, Drackus is letting me know to deal with something if I have to, and I offer the slightest nod to signal that I understand.
“Stay away from this woman, whoever she is,” I whisper to Kimber.
She looks up at me with determined, fearless eyes, and I almost groan. “I have to do a blood oath, apparently, so I won’t have much of a choice. I don’t like knowing I won’t be able to touch someone, but they’ll be able to touch me.”
Her temper matches Drackus’s so well. I’d almost think they were blood related if I didn’t know the truth.
She crosses her arms over her chest, her eyes glaring toward the window as Dice’s mother walks outside to procure whatever she’ll need for the oath ceremony.
Alyssa and Kane walk away with Calypso, cursing as they break the skin of their wrists. Thad does the same, but I grab Kimber’s arm before she can bring blood.
“You’ll notice one name wasn’t one that list,” I whisper, and a small but knowing smile curls on her lips.
She glances over her shoulder to see the powerful four not paying us any attention. But Ella’s eyes are trained on my contact with Kimber. I ignore her gaze, because I don’t give a damn if she has figured it out or not.
Kimber takes a step closer to me, finding my eyes again. When her smile broadens, Zee groans loudly. “You have to be fucking kidding me.”
Kimber rolls her eyes, but winks at me before walking over to join her family, and Ella bites back a grin while following her. The two blondes reach their family, and I watch as Kimber breaks the skin on her wrist.
“You really are an idiot,” Zee grumbles, and I turn to face the dark-haired night stalker with tight lips and blue eyes full of disapproval.
Shrugging and sounding bored, I say, “Told you I wasn’t interested in Ella.”
Dice snickers while moving over to the window. His mother is returning, and his smile falls.
“I love my mother, but I never tell her a thing. It’s to keep her safe. But someone has been talking.”
She returns before any of us can comment, and the powerful ones are all assembled in a circle to complete the blood oath. Kimber’s eyes find mine, and she holds my gaze the entire time the oath ceremony is in procession.
There’s something in the depths of her blues that I’ve never seen—certainty. There’s no hesitation, no second-guessing, no resistance. It’s a look I could get used to seeing.
I don’t resist the slight curl of my lips, and her grin blossoms. I think I’m going to enjoy being her new fixation.
“This is going to be epic,” Zee says on a sigh, but I don’t break the eye contact I have with my girl.
“The two of them?” Dice asks.
“No. The big reveal. Kane and Drackus are going to go ape shit.”
My smug smile only grows, and I shrug a shoulder. “It’ll be worth it.”
Finally, the blood oath circle is broken as the spell resonates, and Kimber returns to my side as the others break off and start talking amongst themselves. She leans against me, and I fight really damn hard not to wrap my arm around her, reminding myself that this isn’t the time for our epic reveal.
“Now, where’s your witch?” Drackus asks Liza, growing impatient.
Liza sighs, and then she types a message on her phone. Within a few seconds, the air stirs, and a woman I’ve never seen before materializes. Liza tilts her head as though she’s confused, but she doesn’t speak.
“My name is Sadie, and I know you’re concerned about me, but I really am here to help you free the slaves,” the woman with blonde hair, blue eyes, and a much too bright smile says. Already I have a bad feeling. “With the exception of the two gatekeepers, I need everyone who took the blood oath to help me with this spell. We’ll find the rings.”
Liza looks away, not letting her eyes show any more confusion. There’s only one reason she would seem confused.
“She’s in a mask,” I say to Kimber, keeping my voice too low to be overheard by anyone else.
She looks up and nods once, letting me know she has already deduced that much.
“How do you know this spell?” Drackus questions.
“Because I’ve been inside the rings before. They created this spell for when they move them. They need a way to be able to find the next location quickly and without asking questions others might hear.”
No one else asks any questions, but everyone seems to be skeptical. It doesn’t stop them from doing the locator spell with her, but Drackus meets my eyes, once again making a silent request. I’m all too happy to oblige.
As soon as the spell is complete, the ground rumbles beneath us. Instinctively, I pull Kimber to me, holding her until the shaking stops. She’s stifling a small smile when the ground grows steady once more.
“Worried I’ll fall, Gage?” she whispers, amused. “Last I checked, I’m immortal.”
Before I can throw out a witty retort, a loud sizzling erupts through the air, drawing my attention. I stare as lines grow on the wall across from us, spreading from the center and gradually growing.
Etchings appear all around, and shading variations form. A map. It’s a map.
B
reathing in deeply, I just watch in awe as nine spots catch fire, burning with a flame no larger than a match can produce. The flames stay isolated to their own individual spots, marking what I assume are the sites of the rings.
“Well, I’ll be damned,” Dice says in a quiet breath.
“Just because she tells us this is true, it doesn’t mean it is. Could be a trap,” I say to the gullible incubus.
“It’s the truth. You’ll see for yourselves, but this has to remain silent. They’ve already learned about this mission once,” the witch says behind her mask.
“How do we know we’re not walking into a trap?” I ask her, crossing my arms over my chest.
Until now, she has avoided looking this way. I’m not sure why, but I feel as though it’s partly because of Kimber for some reason, and I really don’t like that feeling.
***
KIMBER
Sadie gazes over at Gage, but she lacks the fear she should have. I’m happy to enjoy the fact she overlooked him.
“Why would I go through all of this to walk you into a trap?”
Gage smirks, and with a subtle maneuver, he places himself in front of me just a little, as though he’s preparing to do something.
“I’m not sure, but usually people with honorable intentions don’t hide their true faces.”
Gage’s lips twitch when Sadie’s eyes give her away. She’s busted and she knows it.
“Don’t try to deny it,” Drackus tells her, smirking as he nods to Gage.
“Fine. Don’t accept my help. Go after them on your own.”
She turns to leave, but her eyes widen in disbelief when her feet don’t move. Gage. He did the same thing to me.
“You can’t hurt me,” she reminds us, glaring at Drackus like he’s the one holding her in place.
“They can’t,” Zee says, letting his eyes flash the glowing blue of a night stalker.
“Stop,” Liza demands, stepping in front of Sadie.
Dice groans while slapping himself on the forehead. “That’s why you were so insistent on keeping her safe,” he sighs. “You’re sleeping with her.”
Thad chokes on air before smiling too big, but Gage seems lost in thought.
“That has nothing to do with this,” Liza says calmly before lacing her fingers with Sadie’s. “Now let her go, Drackus.”
Drackus laughs under his breath while walking over to the other side of the wall. “Funny thing, Liza. I can’t use any magic against her. Believe me, I’ve been trying. I want to see her real face. But, apparently that blood oath had a little more oomph than you let us know. Good thing I always have a backup plan.”
Her eyes move around the room and finally settle on Gage. “You’re not stronger than her. You can’t be. I would have known about it.”
Gage crosses his arms over his chest, still pensive as he stares at nothing in particular.
“Apparently you don’t know as much as you think, Mother,” Dice taunts. “Now, what the hell is going on? Why would we care about hurting a witch we don’t know? What are they talking about with the face?”
Nervously, Liza’s eyes shift toward the frozen-in-place Sadie.
“Because we do know her,” Gage says, dropping his hands to his sides and balling them into fists. “There’s only one witch who would be aware of Kimber and seem guilty in her presence. There’s only one witch we’d all want dead. And her name wasn’t Sadie. But, she does share a striking resemblance with Calypso and Alyssa. Probably because they’re related.”
My whole body trembles, and I grab Gage’s arm when my knees go weak. It can’t be possible. No. She’s supposed to be hiding from us. She’s not supposed to be a threat.
“No,” Drackus whispers before his lips curl back in a snarl.
“And she just spelled you to keep her heart beating,” Gage says evenly.
He reaches back to wrap his arm around me when I lose my footing, and he holds me to his side, keeping me from collapsing.
Her lips tighten in defeat, and within a blink, her true form is visible, shattering the illusion that Gage might be wrong. You can bury memories, but their grave is always shallow. Kick a little bit of the dirt away, and they can surface without much effort.
“The girl has to stay, daughter. I’m sorry, but it’s just the way things are,” the woman in white says.
“She’s too young. She’ll never survive opening the gates of purgatory. There has to be another way.”
The woman in white circles her, anger resting within her eyes. “If there was another way, I would have already taken it. Don’t forget your place, girl. You have one job. Can you handle it, or do you want to go? This is your only chance to walk away.”
The daughter’s eyes meet mine, and her regret fades into determination as she faces her mother once again.
“I’m in. You know I’ll do anything for you.”
“Gage, don’t!” Liza yells, snapping me out of my trance just as Sadie drops to the ground and cries out in pain.
I look over to see the dark smile on his face as Sadie curls into the fetal position, but suddenly, a wave of pain sweeps through me, folding my body as effectively as Sadie’s. I’m screaming out as my bones crack and pop, echoing her pain as though it’s my own, and I’m not the only one.
“The fuck?” Dice asks, not affected by the unexplainable phenomenon.
“Damn it,” Gage growls, scooping me up just as the pressure ceases. He cradles me to his chest as I gasp for air. The pain is gone, but the effects are lingering, taking their sweet ass time to heal. “She fucking bound them to her. That blood oath was more than a simple promise.”
Steadily, the pain subsides completely, and I look over just as Sadie staggers back to her feet. Drackus climbs back up, too, as well as everyone else. Ella is the slowest to get up, and I shove at Gage to put me down so I can go to her.
He doesn’t release me right away, but he finally understands and lets me go.
“You didn’t say anything about that,” Liza says to Sadie, but I’m too busy searching Ella’s crisp green eyes for any sign that she’s still hurt.
“I’m fine,” she scolds in a whisper. “This is her, isn’t it? The one who helped lock you away? The one Mom spared?”
Slowly, I nod once, my jaw tensing. And now we’re bound to make sure she stays alive. We’re all idiots. Especially me.
“I may not can kill you, but I can sure as hell make sure you regret being alive,” Gage says, taking a menacing step toward her.
“I spared your life!” Alyssa yells. “After all you did, I saw good in you and spared your life. And this is how you repay us?”
Deke grabs Kane when he threatens her, and Sierra goes to help him when he can’t hold him back alone.
“There’s nothing you can do, Dad,” Ella tells him. “We walked right into it.”
Sadie looks over at Drackus and Kane, eyeing them hard. Her dark hair is a stark contrast from the blonde she wore in here. She was trying to look harmless then, but now we all see the devil.
“I didn’t want to do this. But I knew you’d try to kill me the second you discovered who I was. It was insurance. Insurance I obviously needed. I’m trying to repay you by finding these innocent people and setting them free. I swear I’m here for the right reasons!”
Her chest heaves for air as her tears start to trickle, but I’m not buying the sob story or the quest for redemption.
Gage looks over at me, and I make my way back to his side. For some reason, just his presence seems to make bearing this possible. I never thought I’d be face to face with one of the people who locked me away.
Gage takes my hand in his, but his attention stays on the wicked bitch of my past. I can’t stand the sight of her.
“There’s nothing you can do,” Dice tells Gage as his jaw ticks with fury.
“I’ll find something to do.” The low threat in his tone almost gives me chills.
There’s no one I want to see suffer more than her, but I would rather focus
on freeing the enslaved as opposed to finding a way around our blood oath. And though I really hate to admit it, she’s powerful and can do things other witches can’t. I’d rather use her than kill her.
“Just let it go,” I say reluctantly, but he turns an icy, I-can’t-believe-you-really-just-said-that glare on me. “You’re only pissed because of what she did to me, but this isn’t about me right now. This is about the numerous others that are still locked away. Hundreds of innocent immortals need freedom. I have mine already. If we can use her, let’s use her. It’s her spell. She still has to translate the map. And we could use some extra fire power when we go to break the seals.”
He reaches over and cups my chin in his hand, tilting my head back.
“You don’t leave my side until this is over.” His eyes tell me not to argue, and I don’t, but only because he’s hot when he’s being protective. Then he turns his attention back on the bitch witch who now calls herself Sadie.
“You’d better not be fucking with us,” Kane says to her in warning.
She glares at him as though he’s the one in the wrong. “I’m atoning for the crimes of my past. There are plenty of people in this room who should understand the need for redemption. Considering you’ve spent time as a bloodthirsty night stalker sired by Castine, I assumed you’d be a little more empathetic.”
Kane’s jaw tenses, but then she turns her glower on Drackus. “And you. God knows you’ve done your share of destruction, leaving a trail of carnage that spans over centuries.”
Drackus shrugs, unaffected by her words.
Then she cuts her glare toward Zee and Deke. “Are you two innocent?”
Zee frowns, thinking it over. He’s the most innocent of the night stalkers, but still not completely devoid of wrong doings. Deke rolls his eyes.
She gives a pointed look at Sierra who leans against the wall with her arms crossed, and then her eyes cut toward Amy and her new night stalker whose name I’ve yet to learn.
“And you?” she asks, motioning between the three of them. But none of them answer her.