by M. R. Polish
“It’s okay, he’s gonna be just fine.” I hoped. “What did they want you for?”
She shook her head. “I’m not totally sure. They forced my spirit to send the vision to you, so my best guess is that because you weren’t sleeping they wanted to get a message to you a different way, and because I’m your Seer, I’m the one connected to you.”
So it was all my fault. “I’m so sorry, Ailaina. I never wanted you to get hurt. I don’t know what I’d do if they’d killed you.”
“I think that’s what they planned on doing.”
I pushed myself away from her. “They wanted to kill you, just to get to me.” I hated that she almost died because of me.
“Es, it’s not your fault.” Ailaina smiled at me.
“So.” My dad came over and clapped his hands together. “Do you have a plan, or are we just gonna fly in there on brooms?”
I smirked. “I’ve been thinking all the way here, but haven’t really come up with anything new.” Actually, I hoped they had come up with something. I gave Ailaina a sideways glance. “Do you think you can find this house again?”
She crossed her arms and scuffed the toe of her converse shoe alongside the curb. “I think so. Maybe. I don’t know.”
“Well, whatever we do, we need to hurry.” My dad opened the driver’s side door to their rental car. “Let’s go find a place where we can sit and talk, and possibly get some coffee or something too.”
Ian placed his hand on my back. “He’s right, coffee sounds good.” He moved aside to open the doors to his rental car for me and Ailaina. He looked over at my dad before shutting my door. “We’ll follow you, Pops.”
My dad pointed his finger at him. “Watch it.”
We followed my parents to a little eatery on the outside of the city. It was quiet and remote, perfect for talking out a war plan.
The waitress was a dainty woman who couldn’t have been much older or younger than me. Her black hair was pulled back into a ponytail and her pink waitress uniform looked like something a sexy candy striper would wear. I took the menu from her then pretended to ignore her as she held her pad and pen at chest level, clearly pushing her breasts out for attention. Even without looking at her, I could smell the unmistakable scent of bubble gum she chewed carelessly. Please don’t blow a bubble. I hoped the cook had better habits around the food than she appeared to have.
“Hi, my name’s Elizabeth, and I’ll be your waitress today.” Her voice had a thick Spanish accent and made me think she could’ve played Salma Hayek without blinking twice. “What can I get you to drink?”
My dad, who cleverly hid behind his menu as well—no doubt making it clear to my mom that he couldn’t care less about the attractive waitress—lifted a finger in the air. “Café, por favor.”
I raised my brow at him. I didn’t know he could speak Spanish. My mom wanted coffee too, but she openly disapproved of our waitress by letting out a small tsk tsk and shaking her head before accepting the menu. I bit my tongue to keep from saying anything.
Ailaina and I both ordered a soda. Something cold and fizzy sounded perfect.
“And what about you, handsome? Anything to drink?” she asked, with her chest still pushed out toward Ian.
Ian’s face was unreadable. If he noticed her flirtatiousness then he didn’t show it. “I think I’ll go with a soda too.”
Elizabeth slumped a little as she walked away.
“So,” my mom started, “Ailaina, what do you remember? Take your time, and try to think about any details in your mind.”
Ailaina twisted her fingers together in her lap. “They threw me down in a dark pit with Jarak. He tried to help me escape, but he was already too weak. After Julie took him out I was all alone, but then this horrid creepy woman came and got me. She forced me upstairs and tied me to a table. I was gagged and no matter how hard I tried to scream it wasn’t loud enough.”
Elizabeth set our drinks down. “You guys ready to order?”
I leaned over to Ian. “I’m not that hungry, are you?”
You have to ask?”
I rolled my eyes at him. He closed the menu and set it down in front of him. “I just want a house special and a basket of fries to share with my girl.”
“Hey, you best be sharing those with me too,” Ailaina said.
Ian grinned. “Okay, make that an extra-large basket of fries. Just throw the whole bag in the fryer and bring em’ out.”
Elizabeth opened her mouth to say something, but must have thought better, because she wrote it down on her pad and looked at my parents. “Anything for you two?”
My dad put the menu down for the first time too. “I’ll have the same thing he’s having.”
My mom smiled. “I’ll just share fries with them.”
The snooty waitress gave a fake smile. I’m sure she practiced in front of a mirror perfecting it nightly. “Alright, it will be right out.” She turned on her heel, leaving me to scowl at her backside.
“Okay, so where were we?” my mom spoke up, making me look away, breaking my jealous glare.
I sucked in a deep breath and sat up straighter. “Ailaina, how did you escape?”
She chewed on the inside of her cheek. “After they, they um, forced me to send you…” She trailed off and tears streamed down her face.
I wrapped my arm around her shoulders. “Shhh. It’s okay. It’s all over.”
Her breathing hitched as she tried to slow it down. She held her hand out as if to stop herself. “Okay, I’m good.” She wiped her tears and folded the napkin she was using as a tissue. She stared at the tiny squares she was making out of the thin material. “After they made me send you that vision, the creepy lady started to do things. It hurt so bad. I think I passed out.”
I gave her a small squeeze to comfort her.
She sniffed. “Then the room was spinning and I wasn’t sure I was seeing clearly. Jarak was there, untying the ropes, and he carried me down stairs.” She looked out the diner window. “When we were both at the door, he chose to stay behind to give me more time. Julie was coming fast but Jarak didn’t act like he could fight her.” She turned to look back at us. “I ran as fast as I could. I’m sorry I left him.”
I hugged her tighter. “Don’t be sorry. He chose to stay, that was his choice not yours. I’m sure he’s fine.”
Ian’s jaw clenched. “Ailaina, no one blames you. He’s the jerk that put himself in that situation. If anything, I’m mad at him for being there.”
My dad rubbed his chin. “Ailaina, how did they force you?”
“Dad!” I couldn’t believe he wanted to stir up more emotionally disturbing memories.
“Esmerelda, if we are going to defeat Nicholas, we need to know what playing field he’s on.”
Ailaina laid her hand on mine. “It’s okay.” She looked at my dad and mom. “I’m not sure how it worked exactly, but after she slit my arm and took my blood, she made a few unnatural noises. I don’t know what she was doing but it wasn’t long after that when she started to cut me again. My mind started swarming with thoughts that weren’t my own. I could see myself on the table in my head, but it wasn’t me. The me in my head was screaming and blood was everywhere. I fought against the vision and tried to block it out, but nothing worked. It was exhausting having someone else in my head. It’s like they zapped everything out of me, and then just took over.” Her face went blank as she thought silently.
I’m sure it was a memory none of us truly wanted to hear about. The waitress brought our food to the table and left again, but not before giving Ian one of her smiles.
My dad took a bite of his Tostada Catalina, the special of the day. I could smell the olive oil and garlic from his and Ian’s meal. The toasted bread with a weird ham and tomatoes on top looked good, but I was glad they had some familiar American comfort food for me. Fries were the perfect thing to eat as my stress level climbed higher with each passing moment.
“Well,” I said as I popped a fry in my mouth. “
Ian and I might have an idea why Nicholas is acting different, but it’s pretty deep.”
My mom lifted her napkin to her mouth so we couldn’t see while she talked. “I think at this point, nothing would surprise me.”
“I believe that he’s using black magic.”
My dad coughed and thumped his chest with a fist. “That is a very dark accusation. Not that I’d put it past him, but…I think you’re right. It makes perfect sense.”
I popped another fry in my mouth.
Ailaina raised a brow. “I don’t understand.”
“Nothing has ever been strong enough to separate a guardian and their wolf before. He’s been hiding, which isn’t totally like him. I haven’t seen him for a few nights in my sleep, so that is different too. I’m not sure what he did, but I know it’s not good.”
Jarak
I could barely keep my head up I was so tired. It took all I had just to stay awake. I hadn’t heard or felt Maztic since Ailaina left. How long ago was that? Yesterday, it was only yesterday. I let my head fall back against the wall I slumped down next to, glancing around the room I was locked in. It was the same room where I found Ailaina. Only a table with rope dangling from the sides stood in the middle. I couldn’t believe a locked door kept me prisoner. What a wuss I turned out to be. I couldn’t even break down a simple door. It wasn’t that long ago I broke down a heavy metal door at an airport to help Es.
Es. So many things had gone wrong that I wished I could start over, but I couldn’t—wouldn’t. She was happy with Ian and every chance I had, I blew. Then Julie came back and my heart couldn’t battle the curse of her spell any longer. I was destined to love her in hate, and now I was too weak to fight it. It made me sick.
I searched deep inside me for my connection with Maztic. I needed to feel him. Whatever they’d done to separate us, was killing me. I hoped that Maztic was okay. All I could feel was emptiness and it scared me.
The dimming light filtered through the crack in the curtains. The end of one more day. How many more could I survive like this? Downstairs a door slammed then footsteps pounded up the stairs. I knew it was only seconds before whoever it was, would be in the same room as me.
My door swung open, hitting the wall stopper. I knew I should run, but I didn’t even have the energy to stand.
Nicholas glowered down at me. He wore the same black suit as usual, but his blonde hair was askew and not carefully pulled back like usual, and his brown eyes were bloodshot. Something was definitely wrong.
I glared back at him. “You look worse than I feel.”
He gave a slight chuckle. “I can assure you that I am just fine. Although, I can’t say the same thing about you.” He scratched his chin. “Someone once told me that if a guardian and his or her wolf’s spirits were severed, they would die.” He looked around the room. “I don’t see a wolf anywhere. Do you?”
Anger filled every nerve in my body. I found some unknown reserved energy from somewhere deep inside and jumped up. I lunged for Nicholas, but he threw his hand out, sending a shock wave to my chest. I flew backward, landing against the wall. The harsh impact took my breath away. Without Maztic’s spirit to guard mine, magic definitely worked on me.
Nicholas dropped his hand and winced. He inhaled as deeply as I wanted to. My legs gave out and I slumped back to the floor. I hated being so weak. I did the only thing I had enough energy to do; I spit at his polished black dress shoe.
He glanced down at his foot then at me, disregarding my insult. “Why is it you try to fight me? In the end it will be me that wins. Don’t you want to be on the winning team?”
I let my head fall back against the wall. “You won’t win.”
He jumped up on the table to sit, his hands grabbing the edge to brace himself as he leaned forward. He stared out the window and at the moonlight that was beginning to show itself. “I guess if I wanted to win, I would’ve won already. I’ve had many chances. I was strong enough to keep Esmerelda here, strong enough to break through to her dreams. I was strong enough to kill Adonia, but I didn’t.”
He tipped his head my way. “I think the whole thing amused me. I wanted power so badly that I created the first crossbreed. I wanted control. I wanted the ultimate power. So I used innocent victims.” He inhaled deeply. “But they all died.”
I wasn’t sure what to think about Nicholas telling me his side of the story. It unnerved me to hear how easy it was for him to use people. “You’re a coward.”
He shot his hand out and another electrical current flooded through me. He sneered as he lowered his hand, only to grab the edge of the table once again. “I’m not a coward.” His jaw tightened. “No more than Torres was when he asked a wolf to help his precious Adonia. I never would have hurt her. I only wanted their daughter.”
My insides churned as he talked about Es. “I know you needed her blood, but then she awakened the witches and she said everything changed. What really changed?”
He chortled a little and shook his head. “After she awoke the witches and tried the Reaping Spell, my curse weakened. It didn’t break because the spell was never finished, but it was enough to weaken me. My crossbreeds began dying, dropping like flies all over the world, but then something amazing happened. Because they started but didn’t finish the Reaping, the breeds who survived became stronger. Although, there was a side effect. When Esmerelda and Adonia tried that spell it hit me directly. I guess the best way to break a curse is to kill the one who made it, but thankfully I had enough strength to fight back and they couldn’t finish it. I became weak after that. As weak as you are right now.” He gave me a wicked smile. “I could only summon enough energy to see Esmerelda while she slept, so I did.”
He jumped down from the table and walked to the window. “Every night I would meet her. Let her know I was still alive and that I wasn’t giving up. What she didn’t know was that I was slowly getting weaker until I could no longer even do that.” He straightened his posture. “Meadow has a hard time with magic, but she was able to get through to her a couple times. Enough to let Esmerelda know I’m still here.”
“You look fine now,” I barely managed to get out. His last zap of magic left me drained of everything but consciousness.
“I am getting better. I was so bad, that I knew I was dying. So, I made a deal.”
The world stopped as recognition hit me—hard. The lady I fought with when helping Ailaina escape. “You made a deal with the Death Keeper.”
His chuckle made me jump, sounding so loud in the small room. “I did, and now Esmerelda will pay for almost killing me. I no longer have a need for her blood to make my crossbreeds. Hell, I have no reason to make them anymore. I got everything I needed in my deal.”
My heart thumped radically against my chest. “What did you give up for your end of the deal?”
He laughed harder. “That was the great part. It seems the Death Keeper will kill Esmerelda for me. I got everything I wanted in one deal and all I had to do was give him my soul.” He gave a wicked grin. “I am playing with the idea of having Esmerelda come here. I’d like to have a little fun before she dies. It could be fun torturing her and watching her dwindle to nothing without her wolf. It’s gonna be sweet music when she whimpers with no strength and begs me to stop.”
I couldn’t stop the sick twisted feeling in my stomach from bubbling in my throat. I searched for any reserved energy to fight him, but I couldn’t move.
He dropped down lower on his heels to look me in the face. “Kinda like you right now. It will only get worse. Wait for the intense ripping pain in your chest, that’s when you know that your beloved wolf is dead. They can’t take the separation either. After that, it’s only a matter of time.” He stood to leave.
“You,” I whispered, “still won’t win.”
He opened the door. “I already have. I’ll have Maluse come move you to a more suitable room downstairs. Now, excuse me, I have a dream date that I don’t want to be late for. It’s been too long since I’ve
seen the precious witch.” The door slammed behind him and all I could do was pray that Esmerelda was safe—and that my brother would keep her that way.
Chapter Thirteen
Meeting The Death Keeper
Esmerelda
I couldn’t stifle the yawn as we opened the door to the hotel room. It had been an exhausting day, not to mention that I was still trying to recover from being sleep deprived. Ian dropped our bag on the second bed. I was so sick of hotels already. I wanted home. A real home with my own bed. It’d been so long since I’ve had my own bed.
Thoughts of my own little apartment in Nevada made me smile. Life before the crazy. I watched as Ian stripped off his shirt. I had to admit the view was amazing. I wanted to run my hands over the taut muscles in his back. All thoughts of life before I found out I had magic disappeared, because that was all life before Ian—and that’s something I didn’t want to think of.
“Caught you staring,” he said with a cocky grin.
I picked up a pillow from the bed I stood next to and threw it at him. “Oh, shut up. I wasn’t staring, I was, uh, yeah I was checking you out.”
He sauntered to me, throwing his shirt on the bed. “Really? Well, Princess, I see your shirt and raise you a pair of jeans.” He grabbed the waist of my pants.
His nearness clouded my mind and everything but him faded away. How long had it been since we were together in my dream? His hot breath heated my cheek as he whispered something against my skin. Too long—it had been too long since that dream.
I laid in Ian’s arms, completely aware of his feather-light touch as he stroked my shoulder. A warmth spread through me like fire and I knew that I couldn’t live without him. It was strange to think that. I mean, we just started really dating; it hadn’t been that long. Right? I laid there and continued to feel emotions sweep over me, like they came from Ian and straight into my soul. Worry, fear, confidence, desire, elation, and love, were the ones I felt the most. The desire and love lifted my heart and I replicated those feelings. If they truly came from him, maybe I could let him feel what I felt too. I raised his free hand to my mouth and kissed it. I hoped that this moment would never end.