The Beacon (The Original's Trilogy Book 1)

by Cara Crescent

  “I promise no one is searching for me, Lil. I didn't break any—“ Trina shook her head. “The Navy released me free and clear, okay?”

  “Trina?” Lilith's gut clenched. She reached over and covered her hand with hers. “What happened?”

  “I'm not ready to talk about it.” I just . . . I knew I couldn't keep hiding. And I had to come home because you're going to need me. Trina met her gaze. I didn't want you to go through this alone.

  Something had happened. Something bad. She hadn't seen Trina cry since Rowena had forced her to sign with the military at seventeen, but tonight, she looked like she might break into sobs at any moment.

  “I’ll just hang out here while—”

  Dear gods, Nan! “Listen, Trina, we have a bit of a ghost problem right now. If you stay here tonight, you'll need to stay in James' room with us. Kat gave me a potion, but it was only enough to protect one room so I could question Nan.”

  Trina shook her head. “I think I'll pass. I've no desire to see that bitch, either.”

  She didn’t like the idea of leaving Trina alone. “You're sure you don't want to come along to Rowena's?”

  “Now you're just being ridiculous. We have enough problems without that.” Trina shook her head. “A hotel will suit me just fine for a night or two.” She reached over and put the cap back on the vodka. “You can’t drive.”

  “I’ll walk.”

  Trina pulled a face. “Eager to meet up with more daemons?”

  Lilith glared.

  “Go get ready. I’ll clean up our mess and when you’re ready to go, I’ll use the Traveler’s spell to send you there. When you’re ready to come home, just call me.”

  “All right.” Lilith sighed. “And when you’re ready to talk, you’ll call me. Right?”

  Trina looked away, but she nodded.

  Chapter 25

  James stepped inside Lou’s bloodmobile. The lycan sat back in the corner, his long legs stretched out, his hands stacked behind his head. A young guy, no more than twenty-five, with neat bundles of dreadlocks hanging around his face. He kept his goatee trimmed tight to his skin. His baggy clothes were expensive and a sliver ankh hung from a chain around his neck. “James, right?”

  He nodded.

  Lou motioned toward her guest. “This is Will Wear, James.”

  “Will.” He glanced back and forth between the two, taking in their dower expressions. “What’s going on?”

  Lou shook her head. “Nothing. He just got here.” She tucked herself in her chair, leaving the patient seat for James.

  James sat and gave Will his attention. “What can I do for you?”

  “We got people all over, you know that. Our packs rotate through areas, leaving our properties for the next pack and moving to the next. Seattle’s been pretty quiet compared to the rest of the world. We try to stay in touch with you guys. We get to know those of you in our area.” He leaned forward, bracing his elbows on his knees. “Shit’s going down, man. And our holy man is worried that you’ll all start blaming us.”

  James regarded Will. Lycans tended to keep to themselves. They protected their family and faith viciously, and took great pains to keep their secret. Most could pass a physical as a human. Their kids attended public school, their men and women worked regular jobs. Nomadic, they moved every ten years or so, so humans didn’t become too suspicious of how little they aged. Will and his pack had only been in the Seattle area about a year.

  James had no idea where he got his information or how accurate it might be. “Okay. What are you seeing?”

  “Guardians are disappearing. A lot of them.”

  “You’re sure they’re not being transferred. Not on down time?”

  Will stared. “You’re not acting surprised, but you don’t know for sure, either, do you?”

  James leaned back in his chair and looked up at the ceiling, hoping to hell Will caught the warning. The Watchers saw and heard everything. Insubordination wouldn’t be tolerated.

  Will cursed. “Our hem-it-netjer said we’re beyond all that, man.”

  “What the hell is a hem-it-whatever-you-said?”

  “The Watchers have no real connection to our world. For centuries, they’d choose a human to put into a temporary trance and speak through them to communicate with us, but the exercise is draining. Once done, they’re useless for days.”

  That’s how Guardians used to get their assignments, from humans in a trance-like state. “Right, so now they use technology—texts and emails.”

  “For you. We have a holy man, one who devotes his life to being their mouthpiece, he’s completely surrendered to them. Using him to deliver their messages doesn’t drain them. They asked my hem-it-netjer to look into the missing Guardian. They said the Guardian disappeared. And they wanted us to find out where they went.”

  James froze. How the hell did something disappear from a Watcher’s sight? They saw fucking everything. He glanced a Lou. “Is this place clean?”

  She nodded, wiping her palms down her thighs. “Checked myself less than an hour ago. We’re clean.”

  Will listened to the exchange. His lips parted. “You don’t trust the Council.”

  This time James cursed. “Watch what you say, damn it.” He glanced away and let out a sigh. “I have some concerns.” He pinned Will with his stare. “Concerns. Right?”

  Will dragged his hand down his chin. “My hem-it-netjer says something is very, very wrong. Something we haven’t seen in eons is walking free.”

  The hair at James’ nape stood on end. What had Crowley said the other night?

  She’s dangerous.

  To who?

  To us.

  He shook his head. “What else do you know?”

  This time, Will glanced up at the ceiling. “I know that this thing, it cannot lie. It uses its truths to hurt and manipulate, which makes it all the more dangerous.”

  James cocked his brow.

  “When I was a kid, my hem-it-netjer often told us tales of Ra’s second coming.”

  James leaned back in his chair. Lycans loved to tell stories.

  “See, back in the day, our people worshiped Ra as The God. And when we discovered Ra was only one of the Grigori, tricking us, come to search for a bride among our women, we fought him. And we lost.”

  “He cursed you.”

  Will nodded. “Now we forever worship Ra—Ramiel—because we fear him. Though we know the truth, we do not often speak the words out loud.”

  Of course they wouldn’t, the Watchers would hear them and might decide to punish them further. “Why tell me?”

  Will remained silent, waiting.

  James thought over the story. The Grigori had tricked the Lycan—letting them worship Ramiel as a god, when he was only a Watcher. And now they waited for his second coming. Jesus, the Lycan thought they had a Watcher on the loose. He nodded. “Got it.”

  “Do you?” Will stood. “I’m not so sure. My hem-it-netjer, he’s old now. He won’t last much longer and no new holy man has been named. The Watchers, they don’t seem to see the need for a new mouthpiece.”

  The Lycan took their traditions seriously. So did the Watchers, for that matter. James glanced at Lou, then turned back to Will. “You think the End Times are coming?”

  “For a while, we thought maybe someone new would arrive, maybe someone outside our pack, someone special who possesses Magic, a woman who could corral the growing darkness. We call this person the Beacon.” He searched James’ face. “You haven’t met anyone like that, have you?”

  Seen a woman of Magic who’d shone light on the darkness of his life? Just one. James shook his head.

  “You sure? Because the Watchers seem to like you, man. We’ve been hearing your name a lot.”

  A pent-up breath shook loose from his lungs. Something was very wrong with this whole scenario. Will had just suggested the Lycan believed a Watcher was loose here on Earth, heralding the End Times. In the next breath, he said the Watchers had them lookin
g for the Beacon to stop the Watcher. Meanwhile, Crowley said the Watchers wanted him to kill the woman with the crescent moon tattoo. Jesus, were the Watchers fighting among themselves, now? And how the hell did the Vampiric Council fit into this?

  Who am I protecting her from?

  Everyone.

  Will leaned forward. “No one new in your life?”

  “No.” James reached into his backpack and pulled out a business card, the small white rectangle blank except for his cell number, and handed it to Will. “Keep me in the loop.”

  Will took the card and stood. “Times are changing, man. Things are moving fast, coming to a head. You need to decide where you’re going to stand.”

  “I’m a Guardian.”

  “The Guardians are dying.” Will cursed and looked away. “Daemon-kind will be revealed to the masses soon. I don’t know how and I don’t know why, but I can only think of one reason for someone to be taking Guardians out. They’re going to go public. And if we don’t know who it is, we can’t stop them. We can prepare, but we can’t stop it. And once that’s done . . . .”

  There would be pandemonium. The humans would panic. Hell, daemons would panic. And his role would be gone. “I’m a relic.”

  Will nodded. “We all are—those of us who have kept the secret. You need to be flexible, man. Move with the times. We’re gonna need big, strapping boys like you. You just gotta pick a side. Are you going to continue to protect the humans—?”

  “I don’t protect them.” Did he? He protected one human. A human he might soon find himself fighting against in World War III.

  “What about daemons, do you protect them? Think about what’s going to happen, man. Think about our kids, our women.” He glanced at Lou. “Not all daemons hide in the dark. Think about what the humans are going to do to us.”

  Jesus, he was right. The daemons would be the ones needing protection. They were the minority in this world these days. They were . . . domesticated.

  Will shouldered past and let himself out of the trailer.

  James turned to Lou. Her hand covered her mouth, her eyes damp. “We’re in trouble, aren’t we, big guy?”

  “Nah.” He took her hand in his, but when he met her eyes, he couldn’t lie. “Maybe.”

  “What do you think the Council will do? They might see this as the perfect opportunity to erase the other daemon races.”

  “They might.” The Council was comprised of a bunch of elitists. “Or they might see it as an opportunity to get the rest of daemon-kind to bow to their will.”

  Lou cursed. And it sounded so strange, he realized he never heard her cuss before.

  “Look, I’m not sure where all the pieces are going to fall. Or how big the fallout will be.” He squeezed her hand. “But I know I protect you.”

  Lou threw her arms around his shoulders. “Is it stupid that I’m scared?” She let out a watery laugh. “I’ve lived through two world wars, James, but this . . . this scares the hell out of me.”

  “It’s just because nothing like this has happened before.” It’s because they didn’t know what the hell was happening. “We can’t predict the outcome.” But he damned well knew who could. Maybe he needed to pay the Historian a visit. “Look, I don’t want you spending all your time stressing over this.”

  She nodded against his shoulder.

  “You bring the bloodmobile down to Carnation. There’s a spot down near the Tolt River where the humans won’t bother you. You’ll be close to me. Close enough for me to protect you.”

  She looked up then. “Your . . . friend won’t mind?”

  He shook his head, though he wasn’t sure at all. Trees hid the spot he had in mind from the house. Lilith might not realize Lou was even there. “Once you’re situated, send a message, one the Council won’t see, to the rest of our team to let them know.”

  “I’ll send an IM through the HV site. I know you don’t like us using those human vampire chat rooms, but it’s the only place we’re anonymous.”

  “That’s good. That’ll work. Tell the Guardians your place is our meet point from now on. Tell them, if they’re in trouble, come to you.”

  “Got it.” She sniffed.

  He wiped away a tear from her cheek and smiled. “How long have we worked together?”

  “Little over a hundred years now.”

  He nodded. “Have I ever let you down?”

  She shook her head. “Never.”

  “Okay, then. Chin up. Make me believe you’ve got a bit of faith in me.”

  Lou sniffed and wiped her face. She twisted around in her seat and reached into one of the coolers. “I have that extra something for you. I think, all things considered, I’ll keep extra on hand from now on. Just in case anyone else needs some.”

  He cocked his brow in question. “Are there other Guardians mixing with humans?”

  She shrugged. “You know how it is during times of conflict. In some, it brings out the worst, and in others, the best.”

  Chapter 26

  “Blessed be! Look at you, Lilith. You're all grown up,” Rowena said. “And into such a beauty. You remind me of your mother.”

  “Blessed be.” Lilith pasted a smile to her face. She'd have rather spent the evening with Trina, but the last thing she needed was for Rowena to show up at Haven House. “It's good to see you again.”

  “What's this? Your Magic is back.” She gave the impression of surprise, happiness even. “This is wonderful. Oh, do come in. We've got a lot to discuss.”

  She stepped inside, glanced around. It'd been years since she'd been in Rowena's house, but not much had changed. The little living room off the foyer still brimmed with books, plants, and various other Magical brick-a-brac. The house still smelled of dried herbs. “You have a lovely home. It's so peaceful, tucked away back here against the mountains.”

  “Thank you, it's sweet of you to say.” Rowena poured on so much sugar, Lilith felt ill.

  “I just set dinner on the table. Come on in and we'll eat.”

  She followed Rowena through an alcove to the dining room. A long, cherry wood table fully occupied with women filled the room.

  Dear gods—the entire coven came for dinner.

  Rowena took her place at the head of the table, but remained standing and indicated an empty seat to Lilith, one seat removed from her left. Perfect. The “Judas seat.”

  She settled into her chair. Behind Rowena and just to the side stood a headless sewing mannequin dressed in Rowena's ceremonial robes, complete with what she assumed was the Legacy Necklace—a long silver chain holding a blood-red stone.

  “Let me reintroduce you to everyone.” Rowena drew Lilith's attention away from the necklace. Starting with those nearest, she made her way around the entire group. “This is Abby.” Lilith smiled at the woman sitting between her and Rowena. Waif-thin, mousy brown hair surrounded her pale, skeletal face.

  “On your other side is Zoe.” Zoe appeared to have just stepped out of the salon. She'd applied her makeup perfectly and not a strand of her shiny blond hair strayed out of place.

  “Next we have Fiona, Violet, and Gina.” Lilith leaned forward to see them past Zoe, and all three women nodded in greeting.

  “On the other side of the table we have Debbie and Claire.” They both smiled warmly. The twins were beautiful enough to be runway models, from their long blond hair to their size four jeans.

  “And finally we have Sheri, Meredith, Brenda, and, of course, you remember my daughter, Katherine.”

  Lilith smiled in greeting to each, and they all returned her gesture, though Katherine seemed uncomfortable.

  “Ladies,” Rowena said. “You all remember Lilith. She's to inherit her post, now she's regained her Magic.” Rowena sat. “Let's eat.”

  “You've outdone yourself.” Lilith glanced down at her plate. “This smells wonderful.”

  “Nonsense, I just ordered out and arranged the food on nice plates.” She flashed a coy grin. “I've never ordered from this restaurant bef
ore, so let me know what you think.”

  Rowena waited for Lilith and the others to taste the food, so Lilith took a bite, almost surprised at the pleasant taste. “You picked a good place. It's delicious.”

  Several other women murmured their agreement.

  Rowena preened under the praise. She slipped a laden fork between her lips and hummed with pleasure.

  Fiona peeked around Zoe. She held her long, raven-black hair away from the table with crimson-tipped fingers and arched one sooty brow. “When did you get your Magic back?”

  “Oh, yeah,” Sheri said. She had flawless ebony skin and beautiful curly hair with so much body it fluffed itself around her face in a halo, her appearance a complete opposite from the awkward youth Lilith remembered. “How did it happen? We want all the details.”

  Lilith decided to stick as close to the truth as possible to avoid getting caught in a lie later. “A few days ago. When I got to Haven House. I started turning lights off and on before I even realized what I'd done.”

  “How fascinating.” Rowena sipped her wine. “I wonder . . . . You know, I think Nan has forgiven you for using Magic against her. She must have decided you've been punished enough.”

  Several of the women stared at her, waiting to see what she would say.

  “Oh, Nan is as unforgiving as ever.” Lilith set her wine glass down. “I'm in the process of evicting her spirit from the house.”

  Rowena's penciled-in eyebrows rose so high on her forehead they all but disappeared under the curl of her bangs. “Really?”

  She nodded. “Kat helped pick out the spells.”

  Her green eyes cut to Kat. “Did you?”

  Kat set her fork down and lifted her napkin to her mouth. Her hands shook.

  She shouldn't have said that. Now she'd gotten Kat into trouble. She sent her an apologetic look.

  “How's Aimee?” Rowena tipped her head to the side. “Odd, but now your Magic has returned I don't feel her presence like I used to.”

  “I don't know. Once we got to Haven House, she vanished. I haven't seen her since.”

  Rowena's eyes went hard, but just as quickly her mask of friendliness returned.