Release (The Protector Book 3)

by M. R. Merrick

  “And you.” Rayna’s body moved towards me. “You squander the opportunities presented time and time again, and I have seen enough. You were given the Mark, but I find you unworthy, not yet using its gifts to their full potential. You were delivered the ring, yet you lost it to your enemy—an enemy that is on the verge of discovering its purpose. If Riley gets the soul pieces, he will free Ithreal, the very god I and the others have sacrificed much of our power in order to contain. What do you have to say for yourself?”

  Fear rose inside me like smoke from an extinguished flame. His energy moved over me and the smell of fresh rain became thicker. It was my favorite smell and it should’ve calmed me, but it didn’t. I was terrified, and as his presence expanded through the room, I found myself humbled by his power.

  “I don’t know how to use it…” I said.

  Anger flashed in his eyes and I shivered uncontrollably.

  “Who are you?” I asked, hoping to avoid his wrath.

  “Who am I?” The man scoffed. “I am Athaniel, brother to Serephina, creator of Silas, and high god of the Otherworld.”

  “And why are you here?” Chief moved to step forward, but hesitated when Athaniel turned his attention on him. Chief stepped back and lowered his eyes.

  “You foolish mortals, must we explain everything? I am here to ensure my kind’s safekeeping. If you would stop wasting our generosity, this could be achieved rather easily.”

  “I’m not sure we follow,” Marcus said. “We are trying…” Marcus tore his eyes off Athaniel and cowered as the god’s power flared.

  Rayna’s body turned and her eyes paused momentarily on each person’s face. “In order to stop Riley, you must gather the soul pieces and destroy them.”

  “With all due respect,” Jax said, “that’s what we’re trying to accomplish. However, we have little to go on.”

  “That is because you fail when we offer guidance!”

  Jax’s shoulders slumped and the determination that had filled his eyes was gone.

  “You were unsuccessful in keeping the ring safe and remarkably stupid when you relinquished the dagger to the son of Ithreal,” Athaniel said in a low growl. “I am here to make sure those mistakes do not occur again.”

  Anger flourished inside me, buried just beneath the fear. I tried to fight it, but when it wouldn’t recede, I used another avenue. I called my water element and it tore through the fear, rushing through my body and calming my nerves.

  The energy rolled like a wave though my veins, and although I was still nervous, my mind was partly cleared. “What was I supposed to do?” I asked, trying to regain my wits. “The spirit in Ithreal’s soul piece was about to kill me.”

  “Then you should have used the tools you were given, Protector.”

  “I tried, but they did nothing against him.”

  “Then you didn’t use the right ones, now did you? You have not finished what you started.”

  “What is that supposed to mean, and where is Rayna?”

  “The girl is here with me,” he said. “This…Rayna, is to me and so many others, what Riley will be for Ithreal—a vessel.”

  I tried to speak, but more power entered the room. Athaniel’s emerald eyes flickered again and confusion warped Rayna’s features.

  “She is coming. I do not have much time.” Athaniel moved faster than I could follow and appeared in front of me. “You must stop your irrational idling and go to my world. Find my statue and from there, travel into the Northeast Forest. The Mark will guide you, and you will discover the Dunopai. They are the Paragons of Silas and balancers of all dimensions. They are in possession of the Claw of Virtue—my soul piece. I would expect with the equilibrium having shifted, they will work willingly with you, but you will obtain the Claw by any means necessary. Use it to destroy Ithreal’s soul piece and put an end to this. I will stand by no longer as an indolent imbecile who awaits Ithreal’s wrath.”

  “But we don’t have Ithreal’s soul piece,” I whispered.

  “Then use the Mark to find it!” he screamed, his power crushing my magic and dropping me to my knees. I wanted to move, to run and hide from the god before me. There was no instinct to fight; I wanted to disappear. “You know what worlds you must search. You have been given the necessary tools, Protector, now use them.”

  “Enough!” Rayna’s body quivered and a female voice broke through her lips. The emerald and silver vanished from her eyes, replaced by a vibrant blue and gold.

  The eyes panned the room before falling on me and a smile crept over her lips. “Chase, my darling.” Rayna’s hand reached out and cupped my cheek. The smell of fruit embraced my senses and the fear vanished.

  “Serephina…” I said. Warmth and passion rolled inside me; I never wanted her hand to leave my face.

  “Yes, my child. Allow me to apologize for the way my brother has acted. Such is not our way.”

  Rayna moved away from me with grace. I wanted to follow and stay closer to her energy, but my knees were weak and I feared I would collapse.

  “As for you, dear brother, you are bound by the same oath as all the gods—an oath which you have now broken.” Serephina paused, her eyes wandering around the room. “No! We are not to interfere in mortal affairs!” Her voice morphed into something else, something angry, and it caused a harsh ache to shoot through my body.

  Serephina’s blue and gold eyes retreated as the emerald and silver returned. “I will not be spoken to as a child,” Athaniel’s voice spoke. “And I will not sacrifice myself, or any of my family who remain because of mortal negligence.”

  “Stop.” Serephina’s voice returned and with it, came her eyes. “We will not discuss this here any further. You will return at once, or I will consider it a direct challenge.”

  “You gush about your precious humans,” Athaniel said, “but what about our worlds? Our people? I will not let your influences be the end of all of us.”

  “You were warned,” Serephina said.

  Power flooded the room and light exploded from Rayna’s eyes. My body was forced to the ground and everyone around me collapsed at once. Flashes of green and gold filled the room, and then the power broke, disappearing as quickly as it came.

  Rayna fell to her knees, red and black strands of hair falling over her face. Her body shook and her hands supported her against the floor.

  “Please,” Athaniel spoke, his eyes meeting mine. Rayna looked defeated and exhausted, but the look in Athaniel’s eyes was pure desperation. “Find my soul piece and use it. If you stop Riley, you will save us all, just as you were marked to do.”

  Rayna’s back arched and Athaniel yelled. With his scream came a pain so fierce it forced me into the fetal position. I wanted to scream with him, but the air was stolen from my lungs. When Rayna’s body gave out and hit the floor, Athaniel gasped for air.

  “Whatever you do,” he said, “do not take the Claw to Ithreal’s world. Once you have it, protect it with magic. Use the girl…this Rayna, to call forth a guardian. If you do not, the Brothers will trace the Claw to you and destroy it. I presume I do not need to tell you what happens to me then.”

  Green and silver eyes gleamed before Athaniel let out a blood curdling scream that nearly tore the heart from my chest. When his eyes vanished and Serephina returned, she brought with her calm and healing warmth that soothed me and transformed the demeanor of the entire room. The pain washed itself away and everyone crawled to their feet.

  “Once again, I apologize for this. If he were not my brother, and it was no longer against our rules, I would absorb his essence and end him. But I understand his faults, and for them, I offer a single breath of forgiveness. Should his faith waver again, I will be left with no other options.”

  Her words floated around in my mind for a moment and I had to fight against her power to process what she’d said. “Wait…what?” I pushed away the magic that swarmed around me. “But he’s offered to help us. We need that right now. We need your help.”

  “My
sweet, sweet child.” She moved towards me. “You have all the help and tools you need, my boy. I believe in you, Chase. Now it is time for you to believe in yourself.”

  My lips parted to respond, but my words were lifted by the touch of her finger. She pressed it against my mouth at first, then used Rayna’s fingernail to trace them.

  “If I can trust you with my life,” Serephina said, “then the rest of them must entrust their fate to you as well. Riley is on the verge of discovering the power of my ring and the sand is escaping our hourglass. I suggest you start your journey to the Underworlds now. If Riley succeeds, that should be most disheartening for all of us.”

  I pushed off the table and focused on keeping my legs straight. Even standing in place I wobbled, struggling to remain balanced.

  “Why can’t you just tell me where to go and what to do?”

  “Just as I have held the other gods to this oath for many lifetimes, they will now hold me to it as well. I am always with you, Chase, and I am always watching. You must believe in my choices as I believe in yours.” Both her hands slid over my face and she stared into my eyes for a long moment. “Now I must go, for the other gods beckon me.”

  My knees buckled and I fell back to the floor. All the energy was torn from the room and before I could react, Rayna collapsed on top of me.

  I stared at the ceiling and watched it spin in circles. Dizziness filled my mind and my body trembled with the remnants of both Serephina’s and Athaniel’s essence. I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to push the grogginess away.

  I couldn’t move my arms or legs. I could only feel the tingling that danced throughout my limbs.

  Rayna shifted, groaning as she tried to sit up.

  “Are you alright?” Marcus knelt beside her, placing an arm around her shoulders.

  Rayna leaned into him but didn’t respond. She shook her head, covering her ears and whimpering in pain.

  “Well, now it all makes sense,” Grams said.

  “It does?” Chief asked. “You understood what they said?”

  “Of course not. Nobody can ever understand those fools. But I now know why the kitty can’t do magic—she’s not a witch like the rest of us.”

  “If she’s not a witch, then what exactly is she?” I asked, climbing to my feet.

  “Oh, she’s a witch all right, just not the kind anyone is used to seeing. That right there,” Grams pointed to Rayna, “is a summoner.”

  Chapter 21

  “Is she going to be okay?” Marcus stood outside Rayna’s door, his lips creased in a frown.

  “She’ll be fine. The first few of those are always a doozy,” Grams said.

  “You’ve seen this before? What exactly is a summoner?” I asked.

  Grams reached into her purse and pulled out a pack of cigarettes. “Don’t say a word, Marcus,” she said, lighting the smoke. “Walk with me.”

  We followed Grams out of the hallway and down into the living room. People were stirring about and out of their cots, which was an improvement over the past few days. Grams moved to the kitchen where jars and bowls of ingredients were spread across a long table. With the cigarette hanging between her pasty lips and smoke drifting around her face, she started putting something together in a bowl.

  “I haven’t seen one since I was a young girl training in the coven. A summoner is a very specific type of witch. Most witches have a single prominent ability that is stronger than the rest, but they are capable of casting a range of magical spells. For Rayna, or any summoner for that matter, this is not the case.”

  “So she can only channel the gods?” Marcus asked.

  “Not exactly. The gods, like any powerful soul, can use her as a vessel. Her soul is open in a way most of ours are not, and for good reason. What we just saw would tear apart an ordinary witch.” Grams took a long drag of her cigarette and let the smoke pool from her nostrils. “Rayna can call upon spirits and ancient souls from the Fade for healing, protection, guidance, you name it. Think of her as a jack of all of trades…but for witches. She can do just about anything, but she can’t do the work herself. Instead, she calls upon someone, or sometimes, something, to do it for her. Sometimes she might not even know she’s done it, other times, it’s not that easy. Summoning is a very dangerous task.”

  “So anything can just crawl into her body?” I asked.

  “Oh, don’t be foolish,” she said. “The gods are an exception. Most spirits do not have the power, or the will to do that on their own. If she doesn’t summon them herself, there shouldn’t be any issues.”

  “Shouldn’t be? So it’s possible that there is something out there that’s strong enough to break in on its own?” Marcus asked, his forehead wrinkling.

  “What am I, an encyclopedia? How the hell should I know?” Grams slapped her chest and began to cough, spitting a thick brown clump into one of the nearby bowls. “I’ve never seen it happen, but that doesn’t mean it can’t.”

  “So what do we do with her now?”

  “You’re asking me like she’s a sick pet. You don’t do anything. She’ll rest now and then she’ll feel better. She’ll be the same kitty she was before, only now we know what she can do and how to focus her powers.”

  The door to the condo burst open and Jonathan came through. His light blue eyes were sharp with panic and his short brown hair was brushed to the side.

  “Chief called. I came as soon as I heard,” he said, panting for air. “Where is she?”

  “She’s resting,” Grams said. “And don’t even think about going up there. You just leave that poor girl alone.”

  “I’m her father!”

  Grams snorted and smoke spilled from her lips. She blew it away and squished the butt out in the brown phlegm she’d spit up. “You may be her father, but it doesn’t make you her dad.”

  Jonathan stepped forward to argue but Grams cut him off. “Just because you didn’t pull out in time doesn’t make you a daddy. Any twit with half a brain between his legs can be a father. It takes a man to be a dad. I’ll be damned if I let you walk up to her like you never left.”

  “Edna, you know what I went through to find Sarah. If I had—”

  “I know and I don’t care. Right now that girl is in a fragile state. I won’t have you go muck up her mind with daddy issues. When she’s ready, she’ll come to you.”

  “If she doesn’t shift soon, she’ll be in trouble,” Jonathan said.

  “I’m well aware of her monthly cycle. She’ll be taken care of.” Grams turned away and continued mixing ingredients in her bowl.

  “Come, Jonathan,” Marcus said. “Let us talk.”

  “And you,” Grams glared at me. “You know what you need to do.”

  I stayed silent for a few moments, trying to figure out what she meant. Grams must have seen the confusion on my face, because she shook her head and mumbled something obscene under her breath. “Go make nice with your little friends. If we’re shipping you off to the Underworld, you’re going to need all the help you can get.”

  ******

  Lights on the elevator blinked one floor after another as I descended to the lobby. It was six in the morning; the last thing I wanted to do was go hunting for vampires. Especially one I really didn’t care to find. I’d much rather be sleeping.

  The elevator slowed and jerked to a stop. A soft ding sounded and the doors creaked open, filling the elevator with blooming aromas.

  Flowers and plants packed the room. Modern art decorated the walls and the smell of blossoms was thick in the moist air. The trickle of water from the marble fountain in the center gave a soft melody to the otherwise quiet room, and to my surprise, Tiki and Vincent were still here, sitting by the fountain in the lobby.

  “If this is your idea of running away when you’re upset, you’re not doing it right,” I said.

  “Don’t taunt me, hunter. It’s nearly sunrise. I can’t possibly make it to my safe house in time.”

  “Well, that’s convenient for me, because I need you
to come with me.”

  Vincent laughed. “I’m not going anywhere with you.”

  “Well, you don’t have much of a choice. When the sun peaks, this entire lobby is going to be filled with your good friend Mr. Sunshine. We’re not in Drakar anymore, Toto.”

  “You know, Mr. Williams. I’ve grown awfully tired of you. You’re a pestilence, at best, and if I didn’t need you, I’d—”

  “You’d what? Kill me? And you wonder why I don’t want anything to do with you. You’re the same old blood sucker you’ve always been. This whole ‘I’ve been humbled. I’ve seen the light’ crap isn’t fooling anyone. We all know you haven’t changed.”

  Vincent charged towards me, his perfectly manicured eyebrows furrowed over an intense golden stare. “If you’d stop your incessant chiding and give me the opportunity to show you, you’d see that isn’t true.”

  “If by chiding, you mean asking you to tell us what’s going on, then I’m guilty. I’m not going to dive headfirst into your personal vendetta when you won’t even tell me what it’s about.”

  Vincent stared at me, his face contorting before he growled and turned away, pacing in front of the fountain.

  “Chase Williams.” Tiki got up from the floor and looked at me. “Perhaps if we were willing to show Vincent that we can help, he would be more inclined to share the details of his quarrel?”

  “Why should I go first? I think after everything he’s done, he should take a turn at giving a little before he gets.”

  Tiki shook his head and sat back down. His reaction made me realize my response was childish. Although I didn’t think I was wrong, I knew we needed Vincent just as much as he did us. I just didn’t want him to know that.

  “What did you have in mind?” I asked.

  Tiki smiled. “Vincent needs to check on his family, but the restrictions of daylight are upon us. I am too unfamiliar with your world to do this alone. Perhaps we could go together?”