by M. R. Polish
Hearing that made me feel a little better. I know Es has been through a lot lately, and she probably unknowingly placed a guard up. “Okay.”
It seemed as if hours passed before he spoke again.
“He said Luna and Esmerelda are both fine. It was just as I said, Esmerelda placed a shield over them. He said Luna is upset right now because she can’t talk to Maztic, but she can still talk to Dregan. The wolf pack is like family, so not being able to talk to each other is hard on them.”
I relaxed a little and stared out the windshield. Es, please drop your guard. I need to feel that you’re okay. My heart pleaded with her, hoping she would hear it.
We drove for about an hour before stopping for more gas. Torres pumped the gas while I sat inside the car. My cell lit up and vibrated in the middle console. I picked it up and saw it was a text. Sliding the lock on the screen, it read: meet us in Chattanooga.
Great. Now we needed to go even further. Torres got back in the car. I waited until he started the engine. “Change in plans. I got a text from Ailaina saying to meet them in Chattanooga.”
Torres furrowed his eyebrows. “That’s more south than east. Are you sure?”
I waved my phone a little before slamming it down against my leg. “Yeah, that’s what it said.”
Torres placed the car into drive. “Alright, well we better get going.”
Twenty Seven
Esmerelda
“U gh, how much longer?” I leaned my head against the passenger window. I hadn’t been around Jarak since yesterday, and I questioned everything I felt the longer I was around Ian.
“We should hit Memphis in about an hour.” Ian looked so laid back. He rested a hand on his thigh with his tight jeans. Oh my gosh! What am I thinking? I squeezed my eyes shut and turned my head so I couldn’t look anymore. I was definitely attracted to Ian, there was no hiding that.
I opened my eyes one at a time until I stared out the windshield. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see him grin at me. It was devilish and made him look mysterious yet extremely sexy. It caused tingles to shoot through my veins. I held in the urge to smile back at him.
“Are you sure Jarak’s okay with us staying in Memphis? I don’t have my cell so I can’t text him. It feels weird not talking to him.” I wonder what Jarak honestly thought of me staying in a hotel room with his brother. It would’ve been easy to magic my phone, but some small part of me wanted to keep it just Ian and myself, with no distractions, so I reserved my magic.
“Yeah, he said to do whatever you needed. I think he just wants to make sure you’re okay and rested.”
“Okay.” I closed my eyes again. The glare from the oncoming headlights blinded me. I could feel the lull of the car putting me to sleep. I tried to stay awake, but I could tell I already lost the battle. Ian was wide-awake, and I trusted him, so I let myself drift off.
Jarak
“What is going on?” I slammed the car door shut and covered my eyes from the glare of the early sun. Where was she?
Adonia’s SUV pulled into the parking lot behind us, and both she and Ailaina walked around the front of the car. “I’m sure we just beat them here.” Her face seemed pinched as she talked, giving away her insecurity about the situations too.
I shook my head. “No. Do you feel her? Cause' I sure don’t, and I’m starting to get mad. Maztic can no longer hear her, and that worries me too. How can we make sure that she’s okay? I thought that stupid spell of yours was supposed to keep us attached to her.” I threw my hands in the air and then ran them through my hair. I wanted to yell as loud as I could, but I kept my cool.
“This doesn’t feel right. Something is off. I don’t feel Es here,” Ailaina said, stepping closer.
“Ian must be the one who is connected to Es at the moment. I told you that it might only be one person at a time, and it will be whoever the spirit chooses.” Adonia’s small frame looked weak as she folded her arms over her chest, but I knew better. Inside that small, petite body was a fierce and well trained witch.
I didn’t mean to yell at her. I just didn’t know what to think with Es and Ian together. If he has so much as laid one finger on her… I couldn’t fathom the thought of him being close to her. I’d seen the way he’d been looking at her lately, and my stomach churned with the thought of his lips on hers. An involuntary shiver coursed through me. If that happens, I will kill him. Brother or no, Es is mine—even if she was supposed to be his first.
I spun around. The parking lot was empty. An overwhelming feeling that something wasn't right swarmed my entire body. I kicked the tire. Where were they? This got us nowhere closer to Es. I thought they said they would meet us here.
Adonia and Torres walked toward the abandoned building. Thick green branches covered it almost entirely. Most of the windows had already been broken out. Red, blue and green spray-paint covered the side of the brick where I assumed a group of local kids had been bored.
Adonia and Ailaina ducked under the branches and slipped into the structure. Torres must've gone in first because I couldn’t see him. Slumping against the side of the car, I let it support me as I zipped my coat up to keep the winter chill away.
“I honestly didn't expect to see you again, not that I didn't notice the way you looked at her in Spain. I should've guessed you'd be with her. Where is she?”
I knew that voice. Scanning the parking lot, I twisted to look behind me. He stood among the edges of the trees just off the pavement.
“Victor.” I whispered it under my breath, but I knew he’d heard it. What did he want?
He stepped closer. “Where’s Esmerelda?”
I shook my head, wasn't that the question of the day. “I don't know. What do you want with her anyway? I thought you no longer needed her?”
“I don’t. My sister couldn’t hold on long enough. I had to choose a side. Nothing personal.” He stopped mere inches away from me. I could see the muscles in his neck tighten and his jaw clench as he stood there. “I went to Idaho, but she wasn't there. You told me that she would be there, and yet here I am tracking you in the south.”
“Things changed.” It was weird seeing him after Spain. “Nicholas lured Es here. We stayed with her to keep her safe.”
“And yet you don't know where she is. That's not keeping her safe. She’d probably have had a better time if she'd stayed with me. And to think, I trusted you to keep her safe.”
“That's not fair! I have kept her safe. I have fought beside her and killed for her. You weren't here. Where were you when Nicholas sent his vampire crossbreeds after her?” I could feel the rage inside of me grow. How dare he say I haven't kept Es safe. I clenched and unclenched my fists, trying to keep my anger in. “What do you really want with her?”
“I told you, I had to choose a side after my sister died.”
“Yeah okay, but what exactly are you doing here, in this town?”
He raised a corner of his mouth. “I texted you. Although, I did think you'd be bringing her with you.”
“So, this is a set up. It’s because of you that we’re here and she's not. You have no idea what you've done by doing this. Nicholas is out there and he's going to kill her, she needs our help, and you just led us away from her.” I clenched my jaw and ground my teeth together.
“You were supposed to have her. I paid you to guard her, not lose her.”
“I no longer work for you,” I said through clenched teeth.
The sound of glass breaking caused me to turn around. Torres led Adonia out of the building, Ailaina followed them close behind. They picked up their pace when they spotted Victor.
“What is going on?” I could see Torres’ body tense as he came closer.
“It's his fault that we’re here. This was a trap for Es.” I threw my arms in the air. I wanted to deck Victor in the face. Running my hands through my hair, I took in a deep breath and looked up at him. “Why?’
A deep rumble came from beside me. Maztic’s hackles rose as he pawed the gr
ound. I hadn't seen him since he searched for Es, and coming back without her must mean either one of two things: he couldn't find her or he knew I needed help.
“Did you find her?” I asked him in my mind.
“I did. She's with Ian driving out of Memphis. They stayed there last night, and it looks as if they are headed east.”
My mind screamed in frustration. If she gets hurt because I'm not with her, I will behead Victor myself for leading us away.
Glancing over, I could see Hela next to Torres. His fur rose on his neck, and he snarled.
“What’s going on?” I asked Maztic as I scanned the empty lot one more time, half-expecting to see a crowd of vampires.
“Victor is not here to help. We can sense Nicholas’s energy around him.”
I nodded.
Torres also looked around. Hela must have told him, putting him on high alert too. No one but Victor was visible, but I couldn’t trust that right now. Meadow might be close. Or worse, Nicholas.
“Where is she? Don’t play with me Jarak, I know you know.” Victor came even closer, standing on the other side of the car from me.
“You are not in a position to make threats Victor. Do you forget who I am?” Adonia spoke, and I could feel the electricity in the air as she stepped up behind me.
Victor hesitated. “No, I didn’t forget. I’m sorry, truly, but I need your daughter and will fight to have her if necessary.”
Maztic’s snarl resonated through me, matching my own anger. “I will fight you then because you cannot have her.”
Victor clicked his tongue with the side of his cheek. “That’s not really fair to you. You have a dog and no powers. Unless Es gave you one?” he asked, taunting me. “Have you been unfaithful to Julie?”
I didn’t speak, but I could feel heat rising inside of me and Maztic trying to hold back from ripping out his throat. Dog? He seriously didn’t just say that. And then to bring Julie into this was pushing it too far.
“I’ll take your silence as a no. I guess that means she doesn’t love you as much as you thought. Humm… Who did you say she was with?”
He was goading me. I knew it, but it still irked me. I let him get to me. “Maztic, anytime you’re ready.” I wasn’t about to let him go any further, and I sure wasn’t going to lead him to Es.
Maztic lunged forward, clamping his jaw down on Victor’s arm. I slid over the hood of the car. Clenching my fist, I forced it hard into his face, knocking him backwards.
He stumbled, but came forward with strength I momentarily forgot he had. Magic. I wasn’t sure how it was working on me, but I could feel the pulse of his energy as it connected with me, paralyzing me.
I watched helplessly as Maztic flew through the air, landing on his side, sliding onto the pavement. He was back up and running toward Victor when Hela appeared and raced with him, jumping on Victor’s back. Maztic clenched down on Victor’s leg.
Victor released his hold on me and I was able to move once again. Ailaina and Adonia darted toward Victor.
“Ailaina, run,” I yelled at her. She had no magic, no training, and Es would never forgive me if something happened to her.
She hesitated, her steps faltering before she changed her direction and ran to the SUV. Not my choice of escape, but at least she wasn’t out in the open.
Torres was throwing fierce jabs into Victor. Taking a step forward, I waited for my moment. Victor held his hand out again, throwing myself and Torres along with our wolves back. I was tossed about a hundred yards. My back hit the building, and I crumpled to the ground. Glancing around, I could see that Torres was about three feet away from me, but an electric blue streak from Victor’s hands held him down.
Maztic was on the pavement, getting back up, but Hela was already attacking Victor’s back. It didn’t make sense. That kind of magic shouldn’t work on us, Guardians were immune to it.
“Enough!” Adonia’s voice rang out loud. She held her hands out, stopping the flow of any other magic other than her own.
Victor dropped his hand and Hela let go of him. I got up on my hands and knees, and then pushed myself to stand and walk over to her with Maztic right behind me. I cringed, my back hurt from landing so roughly. It was still hard to breath from getting the wind knocked out of me.
“What is it exactly that you want from my daughter? Answer truthfully or I will strip you of all your powers. I have that ability with those who use pure magic and not dark. I know you haven’t dabbled into the dark yet. Your aura isn’t laced with the presence of that kind of evil.” She kept an unyielding look on her face.
Victor bent over, holding his arm where Maztic bit and blood trickled down his neck from Hela’s attack. His breathing was heavy and labored. He stood up straighter, cringing as he did. “About twenty years ago, Nicholas took my entire family trying to create his Crossbreeds. My parents died within two years of being turned, but my sister just barely passed away. She lived long past any expectation, but only because I kept her hidden and gave her everything I could to keep her alive. Esmerelda is the only one who can break this curse, so I thought she could save her. But now… Nicholas said he could help bring her back as long as he has Esmerelda. I promised my sister that I would help her. I can’t break that promise. That’s why I had Meadow turned. I thought maybe if Meadow went through and survived the process, then Esmerelda could help me save Katrina.”
“Well, you throwing us off from our meeting spot might get Es killed. Then what are you gonna do?” The thought of something happening to her made me grimace even more.
“Like I said, she was supposed to be with you. Not my fault you let her slip through your fingers.”
Maztic’s hackles rose again, and I lunged for him, only to be struck by the paralyzing electricity. I couldn't make any sense of how the magic held me.
Victor's eyes narrowed. “Did you honestly think I would choose to fight you if my magic did not work?”
I strained to speak. The pressure from his power was so intense that my chest felt as if it would collapse.
Electricity surged around my body and I dropped to the ground. Adonia kneeled beside me. Her icy stare at Victor chilled my blood. There was something unspoken about the way she looked at him. It was as if she knew the source of his power over us. The austerity of the situation became grave. Something was going on, and I believed Adonia failed to tell any of us about it.
She placed her hand on my shoulder. “I stripped his powers. He won’t be able to do that again. Are you okay?”
I looked up. Victor was on his knees staring at his hands, and then he looked over at us. “What have you done to me?”
Adonia stood back up. “Until you are worthy I have taken your magic and stored it away.”
“You can't do that!” His voice choked as he held a sob back.
“If what you speak is the truth, Victor, I will restore your magic, but if you lie I will strip them for eternity.”
I looked up at Adonia. “That doesn't answer my question of how he was able to use his magic against me.”
“There are a few of us with that magic, and I mean a very few. We have what is called a Wolfing Power. Myself included. We are able to use our powers against you in small amounts.”
“Well you, him and who else? This is kind of important if you want us to help.”
She hesitated for a moment. “Esmerelda.”
“Is there anyone else? Heck I didn't even know Victor had that power.”
She shook her head. “No. Not that I know of anyway, but I guess it’s always possible that there are others.”
I looked over at Torres who stood with his arms folded across his chest.
“Did you know?”
He nodded. “I knew, I’m the reason Victor has this power.”
“What! And you didn't warn me?”
“We'll talk about that part later. Right now I think we have bigger fish to fry.”
I let it go for now, but I wouldn’t give up on that. I deserved a truthful expl
anation.
“Enough. I will find out the truth, and then we can go from there.” Adonia walked closer to Victor, placing her hands on his head and said a strange incantation that I couldn’t understand.
She stepped back closer to Torres. “Victor, I will ask you one more time. What do you want with my daughter?”
Victor looked up, his eyes rimmed with tears. “My sister, Katrina, needed my help, but now it’s too late. It’s just as I said before. Nicholas turned her, and she fought to stay alive, but she just couldn’t hold on. I really thought Nicholas would bring her back.”
Adonia looked at Torres, then me. “He’s speaking the truth. He can’t lie right now.”
“Victor,” I said to get his attention first. “Are you going to hurt Es?”
He shook his head. “No. Not intentionally. I was just going to hand her over to Nicholas.”
I snickered. “Well, she has other plans. Right now she needs to awaken the dead witches so she can reverse the curse.”
He furrowed his brow together. “The five witches? That’s impossible. I don’t understand.”
Adonia relaxed. “We need them to help carry out the Reaping Spell. Only Esmerelda and I together can awaken them from their sleeping deaths.”
“So she can’t break the curse…” Victor looked forlorn, staring at something behind me.
“The curse cannot be broken without her. She is the key, and the witches with myself are like the door. We need her to break through the spell used to create Crossbreeds.”
“So where are the witches? Where is Esmerelda?” Victor stood up, brushing his black pants off. “I can’t believe you lost her. Didn’t you do some sort of tracking spell before traveling?”
Adonia’s eyes flashed red. “Of course I did! I did a Joining Spell.”
“That works with the spirit, so one of you must know something. That’s how it works, whoever the spirit deems worthy or of most importance to the person will have full knowledge and sometimes even visions.” He scanned each of our faces. “So, who is it, which one of you knows where she is?”