Chapter 24
Kira actually stumbled backward. To say she was stunned was an understatement. If this were true, it changed everything. So many questions swam through her mind that she didn’t even realize that Ronan was behind her, supporting her swaying body. She glanced at Jill.
“Get Mira.” Kira’s voice shook. She needed her sister here.
Jill left right away, but Kira didn’t watch her leave. Her eyes stayed on Bonnie, who continued to stare at her without blinking.
“I know this is hard to understand, but there is much you don’t know.” Bonnie then looked toward Viktor, who remained silent, standing like a stone statue. Bonnie snapped her fingers, and a small book appeared into her hand. “This is a copy of my mom’s diary. When I was old enough, I was given many things with instructions that pretty much took me step-by-step throughout my life until this point. She knew I would meet you one day.”
Bonnie walked toward him with the diary held out, but he didn’t attempt to take it. Before she could drop her hand with the diary in it, Bishop took it. Bonnie looked at him for a long moment before looking back at Viktor. “The least you could do in honor of her memory is read that.” She nodded toward the diary. “There is also a personalized letter to you that has never been opened.”
Mira walked in with Jill, her eyes searching and landing on Bonnie. “Oh my God!” Mira slapped her hand over her mouth. “Is this a trick? I’ve only seen pictures, but you look just like Emilia.”
“Afraid not, cousin.” Bonnie gave her a sad smile. “Afraid not.”
“I filled her in the best I could before bringing her in,” Jill told Kira.
“How do we know this isn’t a trick from Orjyll?” Sloan demanded. He was standing as all the Warriors, ready for anything.
“You won’t,” Bonnie said, then looked back at Mira and Kira. “But they will.”
“If you’ve been with Orjyll all this time, then why didn’t you kill him?” Mira shook her head in confusion. “Or is it because he’s your father?”
“It’s exactly because he is my father, but not in the way you mean.” Bonnie snapped her fingers, and a scroll appeared in her hands. “This is what Orjyll would kill to have and can never lay one finger on.” She handed it to Kira.
“The binding curse.” Kira gasped as she opened it up and began to read. Her eyes gazed at the seal of the Dragonfly Coven. “It’s true. You’re Emilia’s daughter.”
“It’s true.” Bonnie nodded, then glanced back at Mira. “The legend of the curse has been dulled and changed over the years, but that is the real deal.”
“And the other curse?” Mira asked, her eyes wide with shock.
Bonnie glanced her way. “Only she can reverse that curse.”
“But it is reversible?” Kira looked up at Bonnie over the scroll. When Bonnie nodded, she looked toward Tessa. “Because we may have a way.”
“You talk to the dead? You can reach my mother?” Bonnie looked toward Tessa, shock written across her face. Then she looked disappointed when Tessa shook her head. “No, but we know someone who can.”
“No!” Sid shot off the wall, but Sloan stopped him. “One issue at a time.”
“We’ve already talked to them, and they’re going to help us.” Tessa ignored Sid and rolled her eyes when Jared gave her a warning growl.
“Tessa, watch your step.” Jared’s eyes narrowed.
Kira hoped that Tessa stood up to him and she wasn’t disappointed. “No, Jared, you watch your step.” She pointed at him then dismissed him, turning back toward Bonnie.
“What did you mean when you said you couldn’t kill him because he was your father?” Tessa walked around to look at the scroll Mira and Kira were still staring at.
“We cannot take the life of our own blood. It is forbidden,” Mira said, then walked toward Steve who had remained silent but vigilant.
Kira noticed all the Warriors were very quiet, but each focused to the point of madness waiting for the roof to drop. Maybe she was doing the same thing also. She glanced at Wyrick, who had eased himself into the room, but remained a spectator. She then looked at Sloan.
“The scroll is real.” Kira turned it around so everyone could see. “Do you see the emblem at the bottom?”
“No.” Sloan shook his head. He even walked closer to look at where Kira was pointing.
“That’s what makes this authentic. Only the members of the Dragonfly Coven can see the emblem.” Kira looked back at it, running her finger over it slowly. “And this details the binding curse, is the binding curse, of Orjyll.”
“This curse is why I didn’t get my mother’s powers, which rightfully belong to me,” Bonnie replied, sadness coloring her words. “Because I cannot be the one to end Orjyll’s reign of terror. That job has been given to you and if you fail, to Mira, and if Mira fails then Drew. If all those fail, then I have to stay alive because even though Orjyll cannot kill me as I am of his blood, he can have someone kill me.”
“Meaning that all Grail women are dead,” Mira replied, her frown prominent on her face.
“And he regains his powers, which means the end of the world as we know it. Killing him will not be easy, if it can be done at all. He didn’t trust me enough with all information, but the few witches I know he has contact with are powerful. Once it happens, Kira, it will be you against many,” Bonnie added, then snapped her fingers and two more small books appeared. “These are for you. If you don’t feel you can do this, walk away now. Hide and live the way you’ve been living for many years to come because he is not going down easy, if at all.”
“Oh, he’ll go down,” Damon growled, his eyes glowing with anger. The others murmured in agreement.
Bonnie just gave him a look but remained silent as if she knew a secret she wasn’t sharing.
“We thought only three remained,” Steve said, breaking his unusual silence. “Anymore Grail females going to be popping out of the woodwork?”
Bonnie shook her head sadly. “No. This is it.” Bonnie then looked toward Mira. “Can I please see Drew. I’ve been dying to meet her.”
Mira glanced at Kira who nodded. “Sure.”
Bonnie started to follow Steve but stopped and turned to Sloan before glancing at all the Warriors. “I know all about you. I’ve done my research.” Her eyes skimmed over Viktor. “The men you have are probably all dead or trying to kill themselves. As you probably already know, my father is an evil bastard.
“They’ve all died, but not by our hand,” Sloan confirmed, anger coloring each word.
Bonnie closed her eyes tightly for a second, then nodded before opening them. “He has to be stopped.” She looked at Viktor. “Not even a Warrior will be able to defeat him. You all will be under his control once he regains his powers.”
“No chance of that,” Sloan said, going back to his desk and sitting down. “Because he’s a dead man already. Just tell us where he is, and we’ll take care of it.”
“You’ve already tried that and failed. You will fail again. Arrogance, brute force and a desire to win will not help you in this battle. Kira isn’t ready yet, and until she is, I will not tell you anything about his whereabouts.” Bonnie sighed. Without speaking another word, she gave Viktor one last glance before walking out behind Steve and Mira. Kira watched as Viktor’s eyes followed her, then grabbed the book out of Bishop’s hand and followed her out, slamming the door behind him. Kira didn’t miss the worried look on Bishop’s face.
Ronan stood in the background after watching Kira leave. He was still taking everything in, and he didn’t like what he heard. His anger subsided somewhat, but now he understood a little more of Kira’s drive to take out Orjyll. He was an evil he had a feeling none of them had encountered.
He looked at the scroll over Kira’s shoulder but hadn’t understood most of what was written in the strange swirly script. His eyes had gone to the corner where her finger had rubbed back and forth, knowing that was where the emblem of her coven was.
“Not
so fast.” Sloan’s voice brought Ronan’s focus to what was going on in the room. “Who gave you permission to go out?” His laser focus was on Jill.
“Well,” Jill’s eyes narrowed as she glanced around the room, “permission is such a rigid word, don’t you think? If you want the truth, I’ll tell you the truth.”
“And here we go.” Adam sighed, leaning against the wall, his eyes closed as he shook his head.
“Shut up, Adam,” Jill growled. “I am sick and tired of not going out on jobs. Katrina and I get stuck doing bullshit jobs that none of you want to do. Today was clean and stock the medical room.”
“We’ve all had to do that.” Adam frowned, peeking with one eye. Steve walked back in but stopped when he saw Jill and tried to backtrack.
“Oh no.” Jill crooked her finger at him until he came in and found a spot next to Adam. “You’re part of this, butt boy.”
“Butt boy.” Steve frowned. “What the hell?”
“I have worked just as hard if not harder than those two jack offs yet I’m the one who gets stuck doing shitty jobs.” She jabbed her finger at both Adam and Steve.
“That’s not true,” Adam said, taking a step away from the wall to plead his case.
“Really?” Jill put her hand on her hip. “Tell us, Adam, what exactly have you had to do other than what we were trained to do? Hmm, I’m waiting.”
“Wait a damn minute,” Adam said, then thought about it. “I, ah, had to change the oil in some of the cars.”
“What?” Jill spread her arms out in disbelief. “Bullshit, dude. I have seen every single job sheet, and never once have I seen your name and oil change next to it. But you know what I have seen?”
“Jesus, who unleashed the beast?” Steve whispered, then cringed when Jill glared at him.
“Jill, clean and stock medical.” Jill started counting off on her fingers. “Jill, clean refrigerator. Jill, call in supply list. Jill, teach Katrina how to clean and stock medical. Should I go on or does everyone without tits understand what the hell I’m saying?”
“That is part of—” Duncan stepped up to say, but Jill stopped him by throwing up her hand.
“Bullshit!” Jill shook her head, then looked at Nicole, Tessa, and then Katrina. “Have you ever seen Damon cleaning and stocking medical? How about Blaze? Has he cleaned and stocked the main bathroom? No? Yeah, me neither.”
“Okay, I see your point.” Sloan sighed, rubbing his forehead. “But that still doesn’t give you rights to go out and—”
“Successfully finish the job you sent all your Warriors out to do?” Jill finished for him. “Well, with all due respect, sir, we women kicked fucking ass today whether any of you cockheads want to admit it or not.”
“I knew it was coming,” Steve whispered, then grinned and chuckled. “Damn, I love my job.”
“Well, good for you.” Jill snarled at him. “Because I don’t love mine at the moment. And if you’re not careful, I’m going to take the women and form our own Warrior chapter and put you to shame. With Tessa’s powers added to ours, we will be unstoppable.”
“Watch yourself, Jill.” Sloan slammed his hand on the desk. “I’m pretty open…”
Jill snorted.
“…but don’t step over that line.”
“What power?” Jared stared at Tessa, his voice calmed somewhat. “You’ve got a power now? Why didn’t you tell me? What is it?”
“You never want to talk to me about any of this, so I’ve kept it to myself.” Tessa shrugged, not really answering him.
“She’s the reason we knew what was going on today.” Jill nodded toward Tessa proudly.
Ronan watched, and like a train wreck, he couldn’t look away. The women were revolting, and he felt bad about his part in why they felt they needed to. He glanced down at Kira to see her smiling at Tessa.
“How?” Jared questioned again, getting more agitated.
“Eh, I know my sister. She’s lying. She doesn’t have any powers,” Adam taunted, which did the trick. Ronan saw the change that came over Tessa and actually stepped back, pulling Kira with him because he wasn’t sure what her power could be.
“Did you tell Angelina about the little barista you were flirting with today?” Tessa glared at her brother, then smiled when his eyes shot open wide. “No? You should, it will help with the guilt you’re feeling.”
“Oh shit.” Steve’s eyes opened so wide Ronan thought they were going to fall out of his head.
“Steve, you’re right.” Tessa grinned. “You should have taken a piss before coming back in here.”
“Tessa, that’s enough,” Jared scolded, but his voice wasn’t harsh. Ronan actually saw what looked like regret in his eyes.
“Is it, Jared?” Tessa glanced at him over her shoulder, with tear-filled eyes. “And you wished you never changed me. Is that what you’re afraid I would see within you?”
He shook his head, but words of denial didn’t come out of his mouth.
Tessa reached up, wiped the tears from her eyes before looking back at Sloan. “I’m the one who gave Kira all the information that Ronan was holding from her by reading you all. Yes, I have the same power as my brother.” She glanced at Jared, then away. “Unfortunately.”
Everyone watched as she walked out of the room. Nicole pushed away from Damon and headed toward the door and stopped. She looked back at all the Warriors, then to Jill and Katrina. “Count me in on the all-women Warriors,” Nicole said before following Tessa out of the office.
Ronan grimaced as he looked toward Damon, but he just had a half grin on his face as if he was proud of his woman. He then thought about Kira and realized, now the anger and fear were gone and he knew she was safe, he was damn proud of what she did today. Damn proud.
Chapter 25
Kira sat outside reading through the diary of Emilia Grail. She had already looked over the scroll more times than she needed to, hoping to find an out to this mess, but it all came down to killing Orjyll. Until then, he would be ruthless, determined for the last of them to be dead so he could return to full power.
The more she read, the more she realized this was going to be harder than she thought. Witches and warlocks were not supposed to kill each other. It wasn’t forbidden like killing one of your own blood, but it was definitely frowned upon.
She felt him before she saw him. He came up behind her just like that day many months ago when she was sitting in this same exact spot. “Cop a squat, cowboy,” she said without preamble. Might as well get this out of the way now.
Ronan appeared in front of her as he sat down, stretched his legs out and stared at her. “How are you?”
Kira actually chuckled. “Tired, but surprisingly okay.” She tilted her head and realized that she couldn’t stay mad at this man. He was too damn nice, even when he was pissed off at her. “I really should be asking you that after Jill’s blowup. Did Sloan take it out on you all after we all left?”
“Jill and Sloan are the least of my worries, Kira,” Ronan said, his voice and gaze sending her emotions all over the place. “You scared me today.”
“And you hurt me today,” she countered, figuring honesty was the best way to go. “This is my fight, a fight I have been dealing with all my life. You held information from me.”
She was a little disappointed when he took his cowboy hat off because damn, he was sexy as hell wearing it. As he ran his hand through his hair, she sighed. Okay, he was damn sexy without it also.
“I was protecting you,” Ronan replied, and she could tell he was trying to keep calm. “It’s what I do.”
Kira put the book down and got up on her knees, spreading her skirt out from under her. “Ronan, I appreciate it, I really do. I know exactly what a Warrior is, and I know what kind of man you are, but this is different than anything you’ve ever dealt with. Magic has to be fought with magic.” Kira reached out and took his hand. “I did everything in my power to stay away from you at the beginning. I started to trust you only to have you thro
w that trust back in my face by not being truthful with me. If we can’t come to some kind of understanding, then whatever this is between us isn’t going to work.”
“I’m willing to… try.” Ronan frowned as if the words he just spoke tasted bitter. “But you are not fighting him alone, Kira. I will be there to protect you as best as I can. This isn’t easy for me.”
“I know.” Kira gave him a sad smile. “Believe me, I know. But you cannot keep things from me thinking that is protecting me. If I wouldn’t have taken it upon myself today, the information I now have in my hands or seeing the scroll, meeting Emilia’s daughter who we didn’t even know existed, never would have happened.”
“Did you see Viktor’s face when she revealed who she was?” Ronan cocked his eyebrow at her.
“I did. There is definitely a story there.” Kira glanced at the diary. “But I think she wrote different diaries for each of us because there isn’t much so far about Viktor or her relationship with him.”
Ronan reached up, lifting her face to his. “You’re not alone in this, Kira.” Ronan stared into her eyes so intently she felt the intensity of his gaze. “Never again will you be alone in this.”
He couldn’t know what those words meant to her. Even though she knew this fight was hers and hers alone, he was promising her to be by her side. That singlehandedly gave her confidence and courage to do what needed to be done.
He started to come closer for a kiss, and she closed her eyes waiting impatiently. It felt like forever since he had kissed her.
“Damn, I have the worst timing.” Bonnie’s voice broke them apart. “Sorry. Sorry. This will just take a second, and then you can be back to…. Yeah, well I’m out of here.”
Kira stood, getting tangled in her skirt, almost falling, but Ronan steadied her. “What? You can’t leave.” Kira shook her head. “You just got here.”
“I have to go back, Kira,” Bonnie replied, then glanced at Ronan. “I’m sure Orjyll knows what’s happened by now and that I made contact with you. So I have to put on my acting hat and return to give a line of bullshit that saggy ass will believe.”
Ronan Page 16