Dark Resurrections (Book Three in the Brenna Strachan Series)

by Hadena James

  “Told by who?” I asked.

  “I can’t, I don’t…” Her eyes rolled back in her head and she collapsed to the ground.

  “Nick!” I screamed for my brother. Nick came running over.

  “Brenna we really need…”

  “Shut up, get her somewhere safe. She knows who is behind all this,” I stuck my foot against the unconscious Witch. Nick grabbed her, threw her over his shoulder and moved away from me.

  “Magic,” Gregorian’s voice came into my mind.

  “What do you mean?” I asked him, turning to find him.

  “Lots of magic, attract mythical creatures,” he answered.

  I retreated towards my siblings. Daniel gave me a funny look. I looked down at myself and realized I was covered in blood already.

  “I don’t think it’s mine,” I told him, “Gregorian says that if we perform a lot of magic, it will attract the mythics to us.”

  “On it,” Eli began pulling in magic. I closed my eyes and let him take all of it that he could handle from me. When the leeching stopped, I opened my eyes. Daniel shot fire into the sky. It towered over us. Clouds formed in the sky. I wasn’t sure what was about to happen, but I was pretty sure it wasn’t going to be good.

  Eli, then Samuel, joined him. The column of fire got larger, hotter. I could feel it on my face. The clouds overhead thickened. I was beginning to wonder if it was actually plumes of smoke.

  There was a rumble of thunder. The sounds of sirens began in the distance. Alexanderplatz was beginning to fill, not with people, but creatures. It was working.

  “What’s the point of the fire column?” I asked Prunella. She shrugged in response, her eyes glued to the flames.

  Eli pulled away first, taking his flames with him. He turned the power stream down, bathing the mythics that were running his way. Daniel followed suit, aiming in another direction. That left Samuel and myself. I didn’t have a column of flames to aim at the mythics. I would have to do mine the old fashioned way.

  I ran at them, catching them by surprise. The sword tore through flesh and bone as it moved from one creature to the next. It even managed to catch a pixie in mid-swing as it moved upwards to hit a harpy.

  The mythics kept coming. More and more poured into the square. It seemed that the entire Island had emptied. I counted seventeen different species.

  “Stop!” The words were loud, powerful; they echoed in my head.

  I looked to find the speaker and found the portal was enormous. Pendragon stood at the opening. His eyes boring holes into me. I suddenly felt like I was five and had been caught climbing into the cookie jar.

  “Aim your magic my way, I will get the mythics back through,” Pendragon told me.

  I did as he said. I aimed raw magic at him. Sonnellion stepped out from behind him. He took my magic, absorbing it into himself and began to create a spectacular light display.

  As the lights danced and moved, the mythics began to sway. Pendragon chanted a few words and the creatures responded to his voice. They moved forward.

  The last of the living entered the portal. Pendragon and Sonnellion stood still. The lights disappeared. I stared at them in wonder and a hint of fear.

  “The Pied Piper,” Eli said malevolently.

  “Not really,” Pendragon’s voice returned to normal. “It requires a lot of magic to do it. Hence the need for Sonnellion. I haven’t been able to control them like that since the First Elder War.”

  “This is going to be a disaster,” Sonnellion said looking around.

  “Yes, I believe it will,” I said.

  “An international disaster,” Prunella said slowly.

  “You lot head home,” Sonnellion said to me. “I’ll take care of the Great House. Lucifer is on his way as are ambassadors from most countries in the world. No need for you to be here for that.”

  “Great,” I looked at my siblings. At their feet lay scores of corpses. We had done our job and many had fallen in the slaughter as a result. All I could say was that the Great House of Edelstein had not fallen on my watch. Sonnellion took hold of the still unconscious Simona Illayanevna and threw her over his shoulder. He herded the House of Edelstein into an awaiting police car.

  The water from the fountain began to bubble. We all turned to look at it. It appeared as if it were boiling. White frothy waves lapped at the edges and spilled water on to the concrete. It created red rivers as it mixed with the bodies strewn around us.

  Something large and grayish suddenly flopped out onto the ground next to me. The tentacle was covered in suckers that appeared to have spikes in them. I took a step back from the fountain, refusing to take my eyes off of the emerging creature.

  Poseidon erupted in a shower of stone. Large pieces crashed into the water, smaller pieces skittered across the concrete around us. Water began to spray out of the crumbling fountain at odd angles. Another stone creation fell from the side and shattered on the ground. As it did, another tentacle replaced it, slithering over the edge.

  I was awestruck. How and where the giant squid was coming from was beyond me. Worse, I was sure the fountain wouldn’t hold it.

  As if reading my thoughts, the stone base of the fountain gave. Water raced out, bathing my legs and with it, I could see more tentacles. Finally, the entire creature seemed to materialize in the ruined fountain.

  Its head rose from the expanding pool of water. A pool that was getting bigger by magical means, I now stood knee deep in it, but it was getting deeper and larger. For another moment, I was frozen in place. Then I realized I did not want to be fighting the giant squid while swimming. I had a better chance if I attacked it now.

  I rushed the creature. A tentacle latched onto my back, tearing the flesh and sending pain radiating through my body. I grabbed it with my clawed fingers and fought to tear it off. My brothers finally joined in. I felt Eli slash through the tentacle. It stayed attached to my back, but I could move again.

  Its beak made deafening clacking noises as it slammed together. We were all scurrying up towards the body. Daniel found his way to an eye, an eye roughly the size of a monster truck tire and rammed his entire hand into it, up to his arm. I made my way towards the more dangerous area. Eli’s hands and feet dug deep into the flesh as he climbed to the top where the fins were. I watched him tear one off.

  Two tentacles suddenly burst forth from near the beak and grabbed hold of me. I dug my feet into a fleshy part, refusing to let it bring me into its mouth. My toes dug deep gouges into the squid as it attempted to pull me forward.

  While I knew the beak was where I needed to be, I also knew I didn’t want to get there on the squid’s terms. Someone yelled my name, but I didn’t answer, instead, I opened myself to power. I inflicted wounds onto the flesh of the squid. The feeding tentacles let go suddenly and retracted at lightning speed.

  The momentary reprieve was all I needed. I rushed forward, running awkwardly on a tentacle. I grabbed hold of the beak and forced it closed. We struggled for several minutes before it stopped trying to open it. I didn’t relax, instead I took a deep breath.

  “Find the Witch!” I yelled to anyone.

  “What Witch?” Samuel yelled back.

  “The one that made the water expand and brought forth the damn squid!” I yelled at him.

  As Nick and Daniel jumped off the squid, it resumed fighting. I struggled to hold its beak closed. The feeding tentacles shot out again, but grasped at nothing.

  “Pendragon!” I shouted, “send it back to the ocean.”

  “It will die,” Pendragon answered.

  “Well send it somewhere,” I yelled at him.

  “It isn’t a mythic, I have no power over it or sending it anywhere,” Pendragon responded.

  “I’d rather not kill it,” I told him.

  “It will die one way or another, better to do it quickly,” Pendragon was now standing next to me.

  He looked at the giant squid. The poor beast was probably hundreds of years old. I felt sorry for him
as I tore off his beak and let the blood flow around us.

  I dropped the beak and waited, standing very still. It thrashed, churning the water around us. However, even that was dropping.

  Finally with one massive heave, it stopped moving. The water was now only ankle deep. It spilled into the streets, carrying the dead with it. I climbed out from between the tentacles of the giant squid.

  It remained in place, but dead.

  “No luck,” Daniel said.

  “Damn,” I took one last look at the squid.

  “Poor thing,” Daniel touched one of the tentacles. “It shouldn’t have been here. It only attacked because it was freaked out.”

  “I know, Daniel, I know,” I let out a sigh. “Let’s head home.”

  A taxi seemed to appear out of nowhere. The driver was definitely Human. His eyes were wide and unsure as we all piled into his vehicle.

  “Where to?” He asked in good English.

  “Tegel Airport,” I responded.

  Chapter Twenty

  The flight home was quiet. We were all tired. I had tried to clean up in the miniscule bathroom aboard the private jet and mostly failed. My brothers hadn’t fared any better.

  Anubis met us at the airport. There were several cars there, each driven by a different Elder. I climbed into the car where Anubis held the door open. I sighed heavily and shrank in the seat.

  “Do you want to talk about it?”

  “Not really,” I said, ending any conversation that might have started. We drove in silence.

  My house was mostly silent as well. Everyone seemed to have found different places to go or important things to do, elsewhere. It was Anubis, Fenrir and myself in the living room. Fenrir flipped on the TV.

  “…coverage continues on the disaster in Berlin. A source from within the government is placing the death toll at over 10,000 and still climbing. Most of Alexanderplatz has been ruined, one of the city’s greatest landmarks. Right now, Elders and Humans alike are meeting to see what can be done. Katie Howard is on location in Berlin, Katie, can you hear us?” The female news anchor said.

  “Yes, Megan, I can hear you loud and clear. As you can see behind me, there are hundreds of dead mythical creatures lying on the ground. Most of the buildings in this area have been damaged. If you look closely you can see scorch marks to the stone as well as areas where the bricks have been busted out of their spot. The entire area has been evacuated, nearly 20,000 Berliners are without homes and over half the city is without power. Lucifer and the German Government have declared the entire city a Disaster Area and have mobilized the Elder/Human Relations Relief Company. The Berlin hospitals are all at capacity and non-critical patients are being diverted to neighboring cities and towns, some being forced to go as far away as Hamburg. Witnesses have said that four Demons and a handful of Witches took care of the mythics until two other Elders showed up. Once the other two Elders arrived on the scene, they managed to get the mythical creatures back through the portal. At this time, no one is naming which Elders or Witches involved, but we have unsubstantiated reports that Brenna Strachan, daughter of Lucifer, was among them. Others have stated that Uther Pendragon, the most elusive Elder, was among those that helped get the mythical creatures back into the portal along with another Demon who has been reported as being greenish-yellow. We do not have his identity at this time.”

  “We’re going to have to stop you there, Katie, as we are going live to a press conference in Kansas City, Missouri, where the Witch Premier Rachel Strachan will be making a statement. Tom, can you hear us?”

  “Yes, Megan, we are standing outside the hospital. Rachel Strachan gave birth less than two days ago with some mild complications, but is announcing that she will be speaking with reporters in just a few minutes...”

  “May we turn this off?” I asked.

  “No,” Fenrir didn’t even turn to look at me as he said it. I considered getting up, but Anubis gave me a look that kept my butt firmly planted on the couch. I wasn’t sure what I was going to learn from this.

  “…starting on Tuesday morning, attacks on the Great Houses were perpetrated by a sect of Rogue Witches,” my sister’s voice came from the TV. She looked good considering she had just given birth a few days earlier to a soulless baby Demon.

  “The worst hit cities were Dublin, Ireland and Berlin, Germany. Both Great Houses were attacked and their bloodlines were murdered. The attack that took place on Berlin was especially bad. We had limited knowledge of it before it happened and small forces of Witches were mobilized to protect the Great House of Edelstein. The Rogue Coven opened a portal to the Island, an action that is forbidden by Elder, Witch and Human Laws, and was left open for several hours. During that time, several species of mythical creatures were coaxed through the portal by the Rogue Coven. A portion of the Strachan Coven was sent to help protect the Great House of Edelstein as well as the city of Berlin. The Strachan Coven did their best to protect the city while awaiting the help of Uther Pendragon and Sonnellion. I’m aware that at the moment, it does not seem their actions were very effective, but without their presence, the Elder/Human Relations Company has agreed that the damage to the city and its populace would have been ten times worse,” she gave a long pause and I found myself scooting forward on the couch. Sonnellion and the House of Edelstein had been in good shape when we had left. What had happened in the meantime?

  “Sadly, the Demon Sonnellion and several others were escorting a member of the Rogue Coven to the War Tribunal in The Hague when the group was attacked. All eleven members of the Great House of Edelstein were killed, including two children under the age of five. The Demon Sonnellion and the rest of the Elders involved with the escort are currently being held in a secret location while they recover from wounds they sustained in the ensuing battle. The attack took place between Rheine and Salzbergen and no Humans were injured or killed during the conflict. Unfortunately for Humans and Elders alike, the prisoner they were escorting was killed. At this time, there has been no definite reason for the attacks on the Great Houses that were felt around the world and we do not know their intentions from this point forward. We are issuing a warning to all beings to take extra care around the Witch Covens in your community. We do not believe they are all involved in the terrorist activities of this Rogue Coven, but since we do not know who any of the members are, it is hard to anticipate who could be involved. That is all for now, I will have more information in a few days, when I have returned from Germany,” my sister turned away from the cameras and walked back into the hospital.

  Fenrir flipped off the TV as the reporters returned to live coverage from Berlin. I slunk into the couch, hoping to disappear. Anubis turned to look at me.

  “You and your brothers are being hailed as heroes,” Anubis said to me.

  “I don’t feel much like a hero,” I responded.

  “Heroes rarely do,” Fenrir put the remote down and leaned back, his shoulder touching me.

  “Where is everyone?” I asked, feeling the house was too quite.

  “Almost everyone is in London. Their queen opened her doors to all the Elders involved in the escort, literally. They are all holed up in Windsor. Those that could help, went. Including your mother and Olivia. Your brothers are with Rachel. You are with us. Lucifer is in Germany with some of his brothers. The others are at Windsor taking care of the convoy,” Fen answered.

  “How many were injured?”

  “About sixty Elders were injured, some severely. Turns out that ‘dust’ spell doesn’t work very well on Gargoyles or on Sonnellion. The Gargoyles figured it out and turned themselves to stone, enveloping weaker Elders. We only lost two men,” Anubis’s voice held sadness.

  “Who were they?”

  “James, Morgana’s mate, was one of them. The other was an angel named Mordicai,” Fenrir told me.

  “How’s Morgana?”

  “Inconsolable,” Anubis answered. “Pendragon took her to the Island to be treated.”

  “Two
Elders and eleven Witches killed,” I didn’t know how to feel about it. Sorrowful didn’t seem to touch the level of sadness associated with it. I didn’t know either Elder very well, but all death is a great burden.

  “Where are my other Overlords?” I asked.

  “In London, they were part of the convoy. Ba’al is the one that figured out the dusting spell wasn’t very effective on the Gargoyles. It caused them to shed their outer layer of skin, much like the change does. He is the reason Morgana is alive. Gabriel had to take drastic actions against the Rogues. We didn’t manage to capture any of the Witches alive. Your mother is there sorting out the ones that they brought back. Gabriel, Sonnellion, Leviathan and a handful of others managed to kill about forty of them. Your mother is worried that this is only a small portion of the Coven,” Fenrir said.

  “A few of the Gargoyles, like Ba’al, have turned back already, but not many. There are a dozen or so that are still locked in stone with Elders they took into their protection. Unfortunately, when they turn back, they are losing all their skin. Your mother thinks it is the healing process against the spell,” Anubis added.

  “Great, just great.”

  “Bren, if it wasn’t for you and your brothers, the death toll in Berlin would be in the hundreds of thousands and you managed to eradicate the minotaurs as a species,” Anubis said soothingly.

  “Well, I guess that’s a bright spot in an otherwise very grim week. I need a shower,” I finally stood up and left the two Overlords to their own devices.

  The water coming from the shower head was blissfully, blisteringly hot. Each droplet a form of exquisite pain to relieve me of the burden of my sins. Minotaurs were extinct because of us. I didn’t know how to take that. Part of me was deliriously happy that another being would not have to endure their brutal nature. Part of me was saddened because I had willingly helped wipe out an entire species of mythic.

  I knew that the disaster that had befallen Berlin was not my fault. Yet, all our efforts had been in vain. We had left a wrecked and ravished city and in the end, we had still lost the Great House.