Release (The Protector Book 3)

by M. R. Merrick

  “Tiki, pass me your sword,” I said.

  Tiki gave me the blade, handle first, and I crept towards Arian. He wasn’t moving, but I’d only just begun to tap into my elemental abilities. I didn’t know what I was capable of yet, and when it came to Arian, I didn’t want to make a mistake. The last thing I wanted was to give him an opportunity to bite me.

  Tiki helped Rayna, and Willy walked beside me, his claws tapping along the floor. Arian’s eyes followed me behind their icy wall, like an old painting that watched you no matter where you went in a room, and nervousness clenched my stomach.

  I took a deep breath, adjusting the grip on the sword, and raised it above my head. Arian was bigger than most shifters and I would need all the momentum I could get.

  I started to bring the blade down when a bright orange light flashed to my right. Debbie’s body had ignited in flame, and orange and red embers shot into the air. In moments, the flame had rippled across her body and she was gone, leaving only a pile of gray and white ash behind.

  My pulse raced and sweat formed on my hands, forcing me to adjust my grip on the sword.

  “Can we just get this done and go?” Rayna asked. “This place is giving me the creeps. The sooner this guy is dust, the better I’ll feel.”

  I lifted the sword back above me and launched it forward. As the blade cut through the air, Arian broke free of his cold prison and shards of it cut into my face.

  My momentum broke as I pulled the blade down to shield my eyes. Arian’s tail broke free and smashed into my stomach, knocking me to the floor. It moved back and forth around the room and his fangs lashed out in random directions. Chunks of ice were still frozen over his eyes and he slithered across the floor in quick, panicked motions.

  The sound of bones cracking came and Arian’s body jerked to the left. The snake stretched out on the floor and its scaled skin began to move. Muscles popped and joints grinded together as the serpent mutated into something new. Clear fluid splattered across the room and a huge black wolf tore through the snake’s skin. The serpent’s body vanished in a cloud of black smoke and the wolf’s blood red eyes locked on me.

  Standing on all fours, he came up to my chest. My stomach tightened as he took a few short strides and lunged forward, but Willy’s furry body jumped in front of me. Growls sounded as Willy latched his jaws around Arian’s neck and pushed him back.

  The two wolves hit the ground and rolled apart. Willy’s body slid across the floor, crashing into the bottom of a bookshelf while Arian regained his balance and came to his feet. He snarled and snapped at the air before breaking into a run towards the wooden door my element was keeping shut.

  I scooped the short sword up from the ground and chased after him. Arian’s padded feet slipped on the ice and he started to lose control. I brought the blade down on him and cut into his back.

  He yelped but didn’t stop. Blood sputtered from his back, and his body weaved in and out of the displays that were still standing. He regained his footing and ran at full speed towards the exit. He moved with a grace no shifter could duplicate, leaping from the ground and smashing through the hollow door.

  Fragments of laminated wood exploded in the air, and Arian vanished through the other side. I followed after him, ripping the door open, but he was gone, leaving nothing but a trail of black blood.

  I dropped the sword as I moved back to the center of the room. I wasn’t chasing him, not today.

  Rayna held the straw bag full of supplies, but she looked lost in thought. Not like we’d just survived a fight.

  “Rayna?” I moved towards her. “You okay?”

  Rayna snapped out of her daze and stared blankly at me for a moment. “Yeah…I’m fine. Let’s just go.” Rayna wiped her arm on her shirt but came back with smears of blood.

  “He got you?” I reached out, but Rayna pulled away before I could see the wound.

  “I said I’m fine. There was wood and ice flying everywhere. I don’t think it was him.” Her eyes turned cold and she pushed past me, disappearing out the broken door.

  Drops of blood were splattered on the floor where she had stood, which only added to the splashes of red that already decorated the room.

  “Is she okay?” Tiki asked. “She did not appear to be badly hurt.”

  “I…I don’t know,” I said. “Everything is a little different since we…you know.”

  Tiki stared up at me with empty eyes, confusion warping his features. “I’m not sure I understand.”

  “It’s complicated since…”

  Tiki’s eyes were focused on my lips, as though they could explain what he didn’t understand.

  “Never mind, I’m sure she’ll be fine.”

  Willy moaned from the corner of the room, completely naked and curled in a ball. Blood ran down his side where a thick piece of splintered wood jutted from a wound.

  “I’m okay,” he said as I rushed towards him. “It’s just a nick.” Willy winced as he pushed himself to his feet.

  “It doesn’t look like just a nick.”

  Willy grabbed a piece of torn fabric from the ground and pulled the wood from his side. He dabbed the wound, trying to stop the flow of blood.

  “Do you need me to help?”

  “Maybe just to close it,” he said.

  Hot blood pumped through my fingers as I covered the wound with my hands. Water magic slid down my arms and into Willy, filling him with power. When I pulled my blood stained hand back, new skin had stitched itself over the hole in his side, but it looked raw and sore.

  “Thanks,” he said.

  “Let me finish.”

  “No, I’m fine. Don’t waste your magic on me. In case he comes back.”

  Willy’s leg was still battered and he limped with each step. He grabbed one of the cloaks from where Debbie had been and draped it over his body. Tiki walked next to him, not touching him, but his hands were out and prepared to catch him.

  “Dammit,” I muttered to myself, looking around the room. “It wasn’t supposed to be like this.”

  Back outside the wind had picked up speed. Black clouds were sliding across the sky, and dark thunderheads bubbled on the horizon.

  I climbed into the Jeep and the engine roared to life. Rayna held the supplies in her lap and stared out the window. She fiddled idly with the drawstring on the bag but she didn’t say a word.

  Willy was wrapped in the cloak, looking either focused or angry—I couldn’t tell which. Coming out of the shift he was always a little mixed up about where and who he was. His wolf was a different creature, and although he could call it at will, it still had a certain power over him—especially after a shift. Jax said over time that would fade, but for now, it was an unfortunate and somewhat moody side effect.

  Tiki curled up on the backseat beside Willy, and as usual, he was silent, his eyes always taking in his surroundings. Tiki was enthralled with everything our world had to offer. He’d spent a lifetime in the Underworld jumping from one dimension to the next, and this was all new to him.

  I put the car into drive, but before I could move forward, pale hands slammed against the hood.

  The bright blue eyes that stared at me were framed by long, nearly platinum blonde locks. For a moment I could’ve sworn it was Lena, but that was impossible; Lena was dead.

  As her bloodstained face looked up at me, I realized it was Veronica, one of Vincent’s most trusted vamplings. This was not what I needed today.

  Veronica crept around the front of the car, never taking her hands off it. She used it as support as she stepped around to the door.

  “What the he—hell does she wa—want?” Willy asked.

  “How should I know?” I asked, rolling down the window only the slightest bit.

  “Please…” Veronica gasped.

  “Please what? What do you want?”

  “Vincent needs your help. We all do…”

  “Vincent wants my help?” I laughed. “I’m sure he does. If I remember correctly, his last word
s to me were, ‘The Dark Brothers are going to be the least of your worries now.’ Tell your boss he can go to hell. In fact, you can tell him the next time I see him, I will happily send him there.”

  “No, please!” Veronica shouted through the glass as the window rolled shut. “You’re the only person we can turn to!” She slammed her hands against the window, leaving bloody fingerprints behind.

  I took my foot off the brake, letting the Jeep creep forward.

  “Chase…” Rayna said.

  “Don’t, okay? I don’t want anything to do with Vincent or his people. This is just another one of his games. Vincent takes pleasure in playing with our minds. He gets you invested in a situation and then he pulls the rug out. This time I’m not playing.”

  I slammed my foot on the gas and the tires screeched, jerking us forward out of the parking lot. Veronica stood helplessly in the rearview mirror, and for a moment, I almost pitied her. She stood by herself, seemingly full of fear, and in service to a powerful vampire. I wanted to feel sorry for her but I couldn’t. She hadn’t been forced into this world, she chose to be a part of it, and now she had to live with that decision.

  I pushed away the guilt that threatened to spill over. I wasn’t going to feel bad about this. She wasn’t helpless at all. This was just the work of Vincent. He had a plan and I refused to play into it. I was done with his games, and I would stand by what I said: the next time I saw Vincent Taryk, I was going to kill him.

  Chapter 5

  “What’s with you guys? You look like you’ve seen a ghost,” Grams said as we settled into the living room.

  “Excuse me,” Rayna said. Lowering her gaze, she left the room, running up the stairs and disappearing down the hallway.

  Nobody said a word and Grams’s eyes narrowed. “Well, what is it? Spit it out!”

  “We weren’t the only ones at The Ouija Board,” I said. “Arian was there.”

  “What?” Marcus stood up from his chair.

  Rayna still hadn’t returned when I finished explaining what had happened. Tiki remained silent and neutral, seemingly unfazed by the events. Willy, on the other hand, looked as though he would be sick as he relived everything through my words.

  “Debbie is dead?” Grams asked. “Did Arian say what he wanted?”

  “No. Just that he needed information and she wouldn’t give it up so easily.”

  “And did he get what he wanted?”

  I looked at Grams and Marcus and shrugged. “We don’t know.”

  “What would he wa—want with Debbie?” Willy asked.

  “How should I know? If he had to torture her to get it, it can’t be good for the rest of us. I need to contact the coven and assemble a meeting.” Grams stormed from the room faster than I’d ever seen her move.

  “This is worse than I thought,” Marcus said. “If Riley has sent Arian after the coven, he knows we’re assembling a team. That makes all of us a bigger target than ever.”

  “I’m not sure he’s entirely on board with Riley. He might be working alone on this one.”

  “Until we can be sure, we need to contact everyone in the group. Willy, you try contacting Kate, Jax, and Cory. Grams is handling the coven, and I’ll deal with Eric and Chief.

  “What about me?”

  “I want you, Tiki, and Rayna to go to the warehouse. There are a few boxes of books there that Grams had delivered. Research starts now. The sooner we can get a lead on the soul pieces, the sooner we can end this.”

  “Research? Really? Of all the thing—” I stopped as Marcus glared at me “Research, I’m on it. But I’ve got to get cleaned up first.”

  The upstairs phone rang as I made my way to the next floor, and on the third ring I finally answered it.

  “Hello?”

  “Chase…” It was a man’s voice, and although he sounded like he was in pain, I recognized it immediately—Vincent.

  “Wow, you have a lot of nerve. Maybe I underestimated you. First, you send a supposedly injured vampling after me, and now you make a personal phone call. Well, guess what? I’m done with your games. You want to come after me, come after me, but let’s cut the crap. I’m not—”

  “Chase, listen to me. I need your help.”

  “Of course you do, and in return you have something I want, blah, blah, blah. Like I said, not interested.”

  “Please…” I heard Vincent plead before I pushed the button and the phone went silent.

  “Please?” I said to myself. “Please stop calling me.”

  ******

  I pulled my bloodstained shirt over my head, and as the sleeve slid down my arm, a sharp pain twisted inside me. From my elbow to my wrist, the skin had split, and only a thin layer of dry blood held it shut. I touched it gently but the pain was immediate. Strange. I didn’t remember getting hurt.

  I called to my water element and channeled it into the wound. The magic throbbed from my soul and flowed beneath my skin, but as it reached the wound, it amplified the pain. I cursed, letting the magic vanish back inside me. The wound was redder now and looked like it had been rubbed raw around the edges.

  I grabbed a t-shirt and hoodie from my closet and carried them to the bathroom. As I pushed the door open, it stopped and hit Rayna on the other side.

  “Get out! I’m busy!” she shouted, slamming the door. I saw a glimpse of blood running down her arm in the reflection of the mirror, but the door had closed before I could get a good look. The latch clicked as the lock turned into place.

  “Sorry,” I said, but she didn’t respond.

  Rai chirped as I closed the door to my bedroom. She hopped out onto the ledge of her cage, scaling the wire bars until she was at the top. She chirped again and sparks of light gleamed in her bright blue eyes.

  Three of her wings were perfect, but one had been torn up badly in the fight against Riley’s demons. It had healed, but it was now bent at a slight angle. Gold feathers had grown in to replace the white ones where she had been hurt, and it stood out from the other wings. She stretched all four and flapped them, not enough to lift her from the cage, but enough to show she was getting better.

  “Hey girl,” I said, running my fingers along the golden feathers that lined her spine and tail. “How are you feeling?”

  She chirped rapidly, flapping her wings hard enough to hover. She moved up to my face and came to rest on my shoulder, nipping at my ear and pushing her head against my cheek.

  “Good.” I stroked her feathers a moment longer. “We’ll get you out and flying soon. I promise.”

  Rai’s beak tickled the side of my face, sliding up and down. She made a sound that was almost a purr, before nibbling at my ear.

  Cool air brushed my face as she pushed off my shoulder and circled my head before landing on the bedpost. With a few more soft chirps, she settled herself, lightning flashing in her eyes.

  I re-examined my cut in the mirror. It looked worse than it had a few moments ago. I didn’t know where or how it happened, but I knew it wasn’t from Arian. I would’ve known if he had gotten me. Wouldn’t I? My magic couldn’t heal it and that was something I couldn’t explain. This cut would leave yet another mark; just what I needed.

  My face was littered with old scars and new red cuts from where the ice had pelted me. My chest looked worse for wear, and I ran my fingers over one of the many scars covering it. It looked thick and swollen, and at times, it was tender when I pushed against it. Riley had given me this scar just before my mother saved me. Another memory of the mistakes I made that day and the price she paid for them.

  A knock came at the door, and as it opened, Rayna peeked through. “Can I come in?”

  “Sure…” I said. “Sorry, I didn’t realize you were in the bathroom.”

  “It’s fine. You just scared me.”

  Silence fell between us, and as it started to turn awkward, I moved to break it. “How’s your arm?”

  “It’s fine. Just a scratch. I must have cut it on the glass at the shop, or when Arian broke ou
t of the ice.”

  I nodded. Was that what had happened to me? Had I been so busy with Debbie that I didn’t notice myself getting cut? I did have a few scratches on my face from when he broke free, but nothing as bad as my arm.

  “You okay? You seem kind of…off today.”

  Rayna walked past me, looking unimpressed.

  “I don’t mean…it’s just ever since we…you know, you just seem different.”

  Rayna watched me for a moment before moving past me to sit on the bed. “It’s not that. There’s just a lot going on. You and me…we’re on pause. I think that’s for the best right now. ”

  “Right. It is. I mean, we’re facing a potential apocalypse here. New relationships are…awkward, and strange, and full of…”

  “Insecurities,” Rayna said, finishing my sentence.

  “Exactly.”

  Right now we just need to focus on stopping Riley,” Rayna said. “Everything we want, everything we feel, none of it matters if Riley wins. Because if he wins, we’re either his slaves or we’re dead. I don’t like either of those options. It’s not you and me that’s the problem.”

  “Then what’s wrong?”

  “It’s everything else. My blood is the reason all this is happening. Then there’s my father who I just met, and I’m so not ready to get to know him right now and he just doesn’t seem to get it. I’m still adjusting to the whole werecat thing and I just discovered Grams has known my mother for years, which is fine, I can handle all of that. But finding Debbie hanging from the ceiling like that hit me in a weird way. We weren’t close, but I’ve known her ever since I was little. There are only a few people in this world I’ve known for more than a few months and she was one of them. I’ve seen death before. A lot of the time I was the one dishing it out. But all of this, all at once, is a lot to digest.”

  I wrapped my scarred fingers around Rayna’s hand and gave them a squeeze and when she finally looked at me, I smiled.

  “The last few months have been hell. Who are we kidding? You’ve had one hell of a life so far, but it’s just beginning. There is a future far brighter in store for you, I promise. But first we have to get through this. All of it. The good news is you’re not alone. You’ve got Marcus, Grams, Chief, Tiki, and Willy, too.”