by Harper Wylde
“Wha…” I trailed off, the word not forming as I shook. I had been prepared for Ahmya’s fireballs, not whatever the hell that was.
“I see Hiro hasn’t done his job and informed you of all of the Council’s talents,” Ishida noted with a frown. “I may be a celestial kitsune, but it does not mean I’m without weapons. I control the heavens, and that means I can strike with light—or meteors.” Smugness tinged his words. “It will be so much easier for you to submit. Joshua need not be hurt here, all you have to do is choose wisely.”
“Too late for that,” Joshua spat, nearly ripping his clothing as he stripped. Before I could move, he shifted into his basilisk. His snake was larger than I remembered, and fast as well, winding and weaving and striking at the swearing kitsune who was careful to avoid the sure death of his fangs.
“Daddy!” Ahmya cried out and I growled. Hopefully, if I could just keep her busy, someone would come looking for us soon. Darkness was beginning to fall, and it wouldn’t take long for my other mates to search for me. Maybe even someone from the Lodge would come looking, having seen us arrive, or maybe Ciarán was watching, though I wasn’t sure I’d be that lucky.
“Stay away from his fangs,” Ishida snapped at her, pulling the snake farther away from the pair of us. “I’m stronger than he is, just get rid of her.”
I wasn’t sure if he was stronger than Joshua or not, but I was sure Joshua wouldn’t escape without some sort of injury from this. Our only chance was to incapacitate the pair of them and hope it would dispel whatever barrier Ishida had erected to prevent our escape. I turned my focus fully to Ahmya, praying Joshua would be okay without my help. The faster I got her out of the way, the faster I could help with Ishida—if I wasn’t blasted by a meteor before that at least.
“I’d like to say that I don’t want to hurt you, but at the moment, I really do,” I taunted her, knowing if I could get her even angrier, she’d be sloppy. “I thought you were just a slut. I didn’t realize you had to force men into your bed.” I shrugged a shoulder as she hissed, and added, “I guess it’s true—there really are some things even the most desperate of men won’t sleep with.”
She charged me, throwing a wide, flaming punch that I easily deflected. I debated shifting, but I wasn’t sure how high the barrier Ishida created went, and in my smaller form, the other girl could easily crush me. The progress I had made in my training with the guys was clear. My punches were far harder despite Ahmya’s greater size, and my fireballs caused burns where they touched, incinerating her clothing and exposing her to the cold elements. Worry for Joshua had me glancing to the side as I sent a wave of heat his way, knowing being in that form would be challenging—if not deadly—in this icy weather if I couldn’t ensure his continued warmth. Ishida was fending him off with a wall of light, but the moment of distraction cost me dearly as Ahmya let out a squeal of delight, her hand partially shifting as she swiped my face, tearing at my skin.
I swore, resisting the urge to clasp a hand to my burning, aching face. Blood poured down my cheek, trailing over my neck and staining my outfit. Ahmya underestimated me, however. A childhood full of abuse had taught me how to tolerate pain, and I wouldn’t let a few wounds keep me from defending my mate and myself. I was far more worried that blood was going to drip into my eyes or that blood loss would slow me down if this fight dragged on. I needed to end this and quickly. I leaned all my weight onto my left leg, kicking out hard with the right as Ahmya barreled forward, her eyes glinting as she attempted another swipe at my face. My foot connected solidly with her abdomen, knocking all the wind from her as she hit the ground.
“Ahmya!” Ishida called out, desperation clear in his tone as she wheezed for breath, trying to push to her feet. I knew I needed to take her out, but I hesitated, even though my Phoenix called for her blood. I didn’t want to be a killer, though I knew it would end up being necessary. I wanted to hurt her, sure, she deserved it, but would I be able to stop myself?
“Just stay down,” I begged her. “Let us go.”
Ahmya launched herself at me with a scream of fury, shifting into a red fox with flaming tails midair as I stumbled back. A blinding light shot through the clearing, and an unholy screeching sound filled my ears. Time seemed to slow, but something inside of me assured me it wasn’t my doing this time.
“No. No!” Ishida’s cry of mourning echoed as he stumbled toward me. “Ahmya, no!” Where the small fox had been, there remained only a smoking crater. Tears carved down Ishida’s face as he shrieked, the agony of the sound clawing into me. His eyes were wide now, his body shaking as he scrambled on his hands and knees toward the smoking hole. “You did this,” he stuttered, his eyes rolling in his suddenly grey face. “You killed her.” A sound like shattering glass echoed around us, and I knew the barrier had been broken. Ishida was rocking backwards and forwards in front of the crater, his hands outstretched as he keened his agony, as if he was trying to rebuild his daughter from the ashes that remained.
I shook my head frantically as tears tumbled, one after the other, down my face, my breath coming in gasps. “No, Ishida, you killed her,” Joshua stated, stumbling slightly, not bothering to hide his nudity as he approached me. There was pity in Joshua’s voice, though he remained between me and the grieving man still on his knees. “She went after Nix at the same time you did. Your light burst missed its target.”
Ishida was shaking his head, curling ashes up into his hands and pressing them against his cheeks, uncaring of the marks that now marred them, the burns that he created by pressing the embers into his skin. “Ahmya,” he sobbed, the word breaking as he rocked.
“Is there anything we can do?” I asked desperately, burying my face into Joshua’s bare chest, not caring that I soaked it with my tears and blood.
Ishida’s flashing eyes turned toward me, his face as pale as the surrounding snow. His voice was low, filled with an agonized darkness. “You can die too. You killed my baby. You’ll pay, now, yes, you will. It’ll hurt, oh, it’ll hurt. I’ll see to that. I’ll find a way to stop your regeneration, phoenix girl. I’ll kill you over and over again for eternity if I have to until I find a way to end you.” His manic eyes met mine, the burns on his cheeks large and glaring, even as tears streaked through the ash unheeded. “You’ll burn, burn, burn!” The growled words turned into laughter, cracking and roiling with insanity as he shook.
Joshua swore, pulling me fully behind him even as Ishida disappeared. “Bastard teleported,” he hissed, worry tugging at his features as he inspected me for injury. “Let’s get you home. You can’t be alone right now.” He hurried to dress but skipped his t-shirt. Walking toward me, he pressed the soft fabric against my cheek and applied pressure. It smelled like him and it helped calm me. “Hold that there. It should help keep the bleeding under control until Ryder can heal you. Come on.” Joshua took my free hand, and together we ran from the clearing as fast as our legs would carry us.
“Do you think he’s getting the other Council members?” I asked worriedly, as Joshua peeled away from the Lodge.
Joshua shook his head, his mouth pressed into a grim line. “No. I doubt he’ll tell them any of this too.”
I gaped at him, wiping the tears away. “His daughter’s dead! How could he not mention it?”
“Because they’ll blame him for losing—losing control enough to accidentally hit her, running from the fight, hell, maybe even for trying to get rid of you. This incident will only make Ishida look weak, and the other Council members by comparison. Their rule relies on them maintaining the facade that they’re the most powerful shifters in our world. What just happened directly contradicts that illusion.” His laugh was dark and mirthless. “You’ve noticed they’re not exactly the most forgiving—or the most sane. Ishida and Ahmya always walked a fine line, and you just happened to be the catalyst that pushed them over it.” Joshua reached for his cell. “I don’t think it's a terrible idea to give my dad a call and fill him in, however. If he hears anything, if Ishida
has truly lost all ability to reason, he’d let me know immediately.”
I tried not to wince at the idea, but Joshua caught my hesitation. “Are you sure that’s safe?”
“He has my best interests at heart, and he would never let anything happen to me,” Joshua’s tone softened, “and you by association. You’re important to me, and thus you’re important to him. I know you don’t trust the Council, and with good reason, but my father has always protected me. It’s been him and I against the world. I choose to believe he’s good at heart, even if all his decisions may not have always been the wisest. I’m not telling him anything critical, or secret, you don’t need to worry about that. But this isn’t something we need to hide, just something he needs to be aware of in case we need help with Ishida.” His eyes were worried as they pulled from the dark road ahead and met mine. “Do you trust me?”
Perhaps I should have been scared or worried given what was at stake, but in that moment, my heart gave me the answer, and I didn’t question it. “Yes.”
Joshua’s eyes flashed with an array of emotions—shock, elation, pride—before returning to the road while he made the call.
I listened to Joshua’s soft murmurs while I tried to process all that had happened. Ahmya and Ishida had tried to kill me. I should have felt triumphant with Ahmya gone and Ishida clearly crippled by his madness. Instead, I only felt sorrow and fear. This was what my world was turning into, and I knew that these deaths were only the beginning of the long and painful war ahead.
When he was done, Joshua tossed his phone to the side and gripped the steering wheel tightly. “I’m so sorry, Nix. The guys are never going to let me take you out again.”
“I just want to go home,” I murmured, letting him clasp my suddenly cold hand in his warm one. “I just need to be home and know everyone’s safe.”
“We will be,” Joshua assured me and drove to the airfield. “If I have to die for it, I will keep you and them safe, Nix. I swear it.” I closed my eyes to hide the tears, leaning my head back to cry for the last piece of my innocence as it was swept away by this war I had never wanted.
Fifteen
Damien
Another week went by with no word from the rebellion, and to say we were all a little on edge from the wait would have been an understatement. I shucked my coat and scarf, and handed them over to the servant who stood in the entryway of the Lodge, wincing as I remembered Nix’s story about what had happened to the last one. It hadn’t been hard to believe. The Councilmen had only grown more violent as their reign continued, choosing to rule with fear rather than mercy.
The long hallway was surprisingly empty, and I made it to my father’s office without running into anyone. Unlike his study at home, this one was more formal. It lacked warmth and charm, appearing more dreary, cold, and unwelcoming.
Holding my fist up to rap on the door, I paused, suppressing my urge to use my mental powers. For the last week, I’d been avoiding my father like the plague, going so far as to cancel the training meeting I’d had scheduled with him. I’d been unwilling to show my face at the Lodge until I knew Ishida wasn’t going to lash out and condemn Nix for his daughter’s death. While it wouldn’t have been advantageous for him to do so, the man was unhinged, and I didn’t want to take any chances. When the week passed, however, with no news or accusations against Nix, I figured we were safe. Ishida must have possessed enough sense to know that blaming Nix would have no positive outcomes for him. He’d already lost his daughter, and I doubted he wanted to lose his prestigious seat on the Council too.
Pushing my doubts to the back of my mind, I knocked on the wooden door then entered without the usual pretense.
“Damien!” my father exclaimed, pulling the reading glasses off his nose, a sign that while we gargoyles had an extended lifespan, he was, in fact, slowly aging. He wore a grey, tailored suit that fit him to perfection, and his hair was styled without a mussed strand. This was how I’d always remember my father. When I was younger, he used to call it “dressed for success.” I couldn’t remember the last time I’d seen him in casual wear. Even at home, he often wore a pair of trousers and a button-down shirt. “Did I know you were coming today?” He cast a glance at the open schedule book laying on his desk.
“Hi, Dad.” I drew closer and he stood, slipping around the desk with extended arms to embrace me in a hug. “No, you didn’t have me on the books, but I wanted to make up for cancelling on you last time.” We patted each other on the back and when I pulled away, I noticed the dark rings below his eyes, showcasing a weariness I’d never seen on his face before.
“It’s good to see you,” he said softly. He stared at me for a moment and then shook his head, pushing his blazer to the side to tuck his hands into the pockets of his trousers. “I thought you would have graced my doorstep more frequently after your last visit, given our conversation about starting your training,” he chastised, and I had the sensibility to look slightly cowed.
“I apologize. My classes have been keeping me busy,” I lied. The truth was something far different. With all the stressors I’d had lately with the rebellion, the Council, and my need to protect Nix, I’d missed more of my courses than I should have. My Gargoyle hissed in my mind, not caring about my education in the least. After Nix had been kidnapped and we’d rescued her from the island, he hadn’t wanted to leave her side. It was an internal struggle every single day to allow her the freedom I knew she deserved. Luckily, I trusted all of my brothers with her life. Even Joshua would do everything in his power to keep her safe. Besides, it helped that I could check in with her mentally just to know that she was safe.
“Your mother misses you. I’ve been informed that the next time I saw you, I should not let you leave without setting a date for a family dinner. You know your mother, if I fail her, she will disown me and send my things to the Lodge where I will be expected to live from now on,” he teased, and I laughed.
“That sounds like Mom. We’ll set something up. Is it alright if the guys and Nix join us?” I questioned.
My father paused, and I could have sworn I saw a look of disapproval flash across his face. Before I had any time to analyze it, however, the normal polite mask he wore for others settled over his features. “Are you sure you want to bring the girl? I know you’re her guardian—and I applaud how seriously you’re taking the task bestowed upon you by the Council—but surely you can take a night off from your duties. The boys too. Perhaps I can have my father set up a chaperoned date for her that evening so you can get a break for the night.”
I held back a growl, even as my Gargoyle hissed in my head at the idea of Nix being out with another guy while I visited my parents. However, my father was a smart man, and if I was reading the situation correctly, he wanted me to distance myself from Nix. Did he know that she was my mate? Or had he simply guessed that I was attracted to her? I knew that in his eyes, the two of us were as good as star-crossed lovers, never destined to be together, and this might be his way of protecting me. Controversially, perhaps he just didn’t like the pretty Phoenix shifter. The urge to push my powers on him and take a peek inside of his mind rode me hard, but I didn’t dare try. Not only would my actions be considered a threat—even though he was my father, when he was at the Lodge, he was first and foremost a Councilman—but it would open me up to the same scrutiny in return, and I didn’t want to give my father any additional fuel to fan the flames of whatever theory he was ruminating on.
Moreover, I didn’t want him to gain even the slightest inkling that I was working to join a rebellion aimed at dethroning him and the other Council members. I would have been naive to assume such a task could be completed without bloodshed, and guilt shot through my chest at the idea of my father being in the crossfire.
I offered him a tight smile and a curt nod before responding, “I’m sure Grandfather can arrange that if you feel it’s necessary.” I had to force the words past my Gargoyle, who begrudgingly took a back seat once more and let me navigate m
y life without his input.
My father brightened at my agreement. “Good. Wonderful. I’ll have Gaspard make the arrangements. Your mother will be thrilled to see you soon.” He smiled and rounded his desk, retaking his seat. The expensive watch decorating my father’s wrist gleamed as he lifted his arm and checked the time. “I’ve got about two hours before I need to step out for a meeting, so I say we dive right in. Pull up a chair.” He motioned to the two plush seats on the opposite side of the desk.
I moved one around the desk, sat down, and surveyed the array of papers and files littering the surface. The hour dragged by as my father spoke about the Council’s varying business matters. I tried my best to focus, but my thoughts were solely on Nix and finding a way to avoid the promised dinner. As much as I missed my mother, I wasn’t willing to leave Nix alone if I had any other option. “Without these businesses, the mythologicals would be far less funded. You see, the Council takes the money they make and places it into one large pot, so to speak. Then they divide the proceeds among the different shifter groups.” My father twisted around and proceeded to pull a large, leather bound book from the wooden shelves behind his desk. The scent of old paper wafted through the air as he flipped it open and turned the pages until he landed on the one with the freshest ink. “This is the ledger I use to keep track of all of our deposits and withdrawals. Each recipient is listed next to the amount.”
I scanned through the text, glancing at the payments that had been made this past month, and my eyes narrowed slightly. “These numbers are wildly different. What constitutes the larger numbers? How do you decide the funding for each shifter group?” The amounts varied by incredible amounts, and a knot settled in the pit of my stomach.
“You know how our society is, Damien.” His voice was edged with a sound that closely resembled defeat or irritation. “Our class system has been in place for decades. As such, you know that mythologicals are highly regarded and thus receive the higher amount of funds. Each mated group is offered a stipend that helps them focus on having and raising children. It helps to offset the normal costs of living. Highly valued mythologicals, like yourself, make more than lower mythologicals, who make more than regular shifters. Predators make more than prey, you get the drift. It’s all carefully calculated to keep things as fair as possible within the system.”