“Erik, are you okay?”
My uncle nodded and peeled himself from the wall. “We still have a demon to deal with. One left. And the two other kids.”
I Tracked them and had to fight the well of frustration in me. They were another level down and the water was spewing up.
“They are further down. I’ll get them. You get my mom out of here.”
From three flights up, I finally registered Frank yelling for me. “She’s hurt, Pamela’s hurt!”
My feet feeling as though lead had been poured into them, I stumbled as I forced them to move. Grabbing Amelia, I hauled her to her feet, her dress and hair soaked through from the salt water. “We have to go. Right now.”
She nodded, her eyes blank with fear. “Where’s Robert? He tried to stop them from hurting me.”
I pushed her ahead of me as I Tracked Robert—my dad—, felt what was left of him on the other side of the room. I sloshed over to where he lay face down in the water, my guts churning.
With one hand, I rolled him over. His neck had been slit, a gaping wound like a second smile grinning at me. I squeezed my eyes shut for split second, the pain of what could have been washing over me. He’d invited me to visit, wanted to make amends for the past and now there was no chance of that, not ever. “I’m sorry, Dad.”
But, again, there was no time, no time to grieve. I made my way back to Amelia and again grabbed her arm. I would tell her later what had happened to Robert, but not right then. “Alex, we’ve got to go.”
“Yuppy doody, I is coming.” He bounded through the water to us. Hauling my mother behind me, I circled the room. There were no doorways out. “Fucking hell!”
“Rylee, she’s not doing well.”
Fear for Pamela replaced the pain arching through my body. Whatever Orion had done, it had burned through me when I’d forced his power out, teasing my newly healed synapses. “Sister. Get those two out.” I didn’t want to use Berget’s name and have Amelia have a melt down. I took off my coat and put it around my mom’s shoulders. It wasn’t much, but it would help keep the chill somewhat at bay.
Erik took my mother and dumped her over his shoulder. “I’ll get her out, get the kids.”
He set off at a jog to the doorway he’d come through. I bent and scooped up my one sword I could find, sliding it into my back sheath, then followed him. There were steps going up and steps going down.
Down was dark and the water sloshed up from the bottom.
One of these days, it was going to be a beautiful, sun-filled, cookie factory that I had to rescue someone from. I smiled, thinking how fucking ridiculous that sounded even in my own head, and started down the stairs.
Deadly, gloomy, and dangerous, here I come.
Chapter 12
THE STAIRWELL LIGHTS flickered as I ran, one hand on the railing. Alex leapt from the top and landed in the water at the bottom with a splash. He ducked his head once and came up slopping wet.
“We have kids to find, Alex.” I Tracked all three of them, and found two together. India and Kyle were to the left. The water was up to my knees and I ran as fast as I could, the pull on my muscles dragging at me. It still didn’t seem fast enough as the water rose noticeably with each minute that passed. The threads of the two kids were close and seconds later I stopped in front of a door with a large lock. Hadn’t thought this through. Fuck.
“India!”
There was a muffled yell from inside the room. “Rylee!”
I kicked the door once, out of frustration more than anything else. How was I going to get them out?
“The answer to the question you are undoubtedly asking is, you aren’t getting them out.”
I spun to face the direction of the voice. My eyes met those of Simon, the supposed young Tracker, and my heart sank. His eyes should have been swirling with blues and greens. Instead they glowed a steady, dull red as he stared at me.
“You know, I’ve heard that kind of shit before from other bad guys, and you know what happened?” I pulled a sword from my back and pointed it at him, swirling it slowly.
“Tell me.” He smiled, like he knew a secret I didn’t.
“They always end up in pieces.” I lunged toward him and he dodged my first strike. His hands came up with a speed that screamed ‘demon’ and knocked my blade back as I went in for a second hit. He lost two fingers and a huge slash opened up on the back of his wrist. Alex tried to work his way around, to knock the demon off balance, but it was hard to be stealthy with the rising water.
“Come on, demon,” I snarled, knowing I needed to calm the rage in me, but struggling to do so. I was too worried about India and Kyle.
Simon, or what was left of him, looked at his fingers, and then looked at me. His eyes were no longer red, but a single blue tone. He was no Tracker, just a kid pulled into this to make me go where the black coven wanted me to go. Fuck. The prophecy said they needed a Tracker and I’d shown up for them.
They’d used the kid, and used my parents to get me here, only the whole thing had backfired on them. I’d laugh only if it weren’t for the kid in front of me that I was going to have to kill. He was going to pay the price for the coven getting me to show up.
Simon’s eyes were full of pain and confusion. “Why?”
Oh shit, I didn’t think he’d be able to come through with the demon in control.
“You’re possessed by a demon.” I lowered the tip of my blade. How did I explain to him there was no way for him to come back? I knew it, but shit, I didn’t—
He dove for me, his eyes glittering with hatred as they slid back to a solid glowing red. With my sword down, he hit me in the chest and drove me under the water. The icy cold slid over my head as I dropped my sword, knowing he was too close for me to use it. Damn it all. Even with my eyes open, the dark water was too murky to see through and fuck, his hands were around my neck. I grabbed for a knife, but couldn’t reach any of them. Fear and anger raced along my synapses and I fought them both as I tried to keep the panic at bay. My lungs burned as I held my breath and the little bastard’s hands tightened around my neck, cutting off blood flow. There was a heavy thump and then I was pushed all the way to the floor. I could almost see Alex jumping on the demon’s back, trying to help, but instead pushing me even further down. Fuck, this was bad.
I wrapped my hands around his and tried to pry his fingers open, but they were like vice grips around my neck. Skin to skin, I knew I had no choice but to do things the way Erik had taught me.
Love is not an easy thing to think about when someone is choking you under water. I thought about protecting India and Kyle, about Pamela and Alex. But mostly about Liam. The anger and panic slid away from me and my hands tightened on Simon’s, but not fierce and digging in—like I didn’t want him to let go.
Power rushed through me, stemming from my heart, from the love I had for those in my life. Without warning, his hands were gone and I sat up in the frigid waters, gasping for air. Simon stared at me as the demon expelled from his body. Like pull taffy, the demon’s essence yanked and dragged the kid a few steps before letting go with a pop, fading into the air.
Simon looked at me for a split second, his lips curling into slight smile, his simple blue eyes never leaving mine. “Thank you, I will help you if I can.” His eyes rolled into his head and he fell backward into the water with a splash. I gritted my teeth against the hurt that swelled in me as I struggled to my feet. The kid should have had years ahead of him, years where he could’ve had a life.
And how was he going to help me? He was dead, as much as that hurt. I ignored the hot tears that streaked my face, so at odds with the water that was so fucking cold and rising fast.
I went to the door and put my hands on it. Nothing had changed; I didn’t know how the hell I was going to get them out. But neither could I leave them. “Is there anything on our side that could help?”
A muffled no was all I got. Alex whimpered. “Gots to be faster. Water coming.”
Of t
hat, I had no doubt. Shivering, I turned to look down the hallway, wondering if there would be anything I could use to pry the door open. I stared at my feet, and my dropped sword stared back at me. The cold must have been getting to me, freezing what was left of my brain cells. I leaned down, and had to put my head under the water in order to grab my sword. Shaking so hard I could barely function, I put the tip to the door’s locking mechanism. It was thicker than anything else I’d ever cut with my spelled blades. With a hard thrust, I jammed the blade deep into the heavy metal. Resistance met me and I wondered if the door was spelled too. To be safe, I put my hand on the door in order to dispel any lingering magic on it, but felt nothing. Which meant it was just a freakishly strong door. Sawing my blade back and forth, I worked it down and through the lock. A tidal wave wash of water swept down the hallway as the door opened.
As if things couldn’t get worse.
“Hang onto each other!” I yelled, hardly looking at the two kids as I watched the hallways swell with water that would leave us no room for breathing. Alex dug his claws in around my belt as I reached out and grabbed blindly for India, who had done as I said and grabbed Kyle. She took my hand and everything blurred as the water hit us full on, sweeping us down toward the stairwell.
There was no way I could hang onto my sword and the kids, which only left me one option. I dropped my sword and reached toward the railing. The metal bit hard into my hand as the water dragged at all four of us, swirling and sucking at our bodies. If I let go, we’d be swept further into the bowels of the ship. Not an option I was going with. With everything I had, I fought the current, tried to find my footing on the stairs. Hands wrapped around me and yanked me, Alex, India, and Kyle out of the water. We gasped for air as Berget dragged all four of us upward. Booyah for a vampire’s strength.
“Hurry, we have to hurry,” she said as we stumbled up and after her. Her eyes met mine. “The boy, Simon. His ghost told me you were in trouble.”
A lump in my throat, I nodded. He’d said he would help, and he did. He’d helped to save us. Or at least, I was hoping that was the case and his efforts weren’t in vain. Then again, I realized if it hadn’t been him being demon-possessed, the black coven would have come after me. The demon prophecy said it was a Tracker who was possessed.
If between him and me, I would choose to be the one without a demon in my head.
There was no question we were running out of time. I was betting on minutes, at best, before the whole ship dropped to the bottom of the harbor. A place I really wasn’t interested in visiting.
Back in the main room, we paused for a quarter of a heartbeat before Berget led the way up the stairs. The whole boat listed without warning and my feet slid on the metal stairs. I fell back, hitting the water at the bottom of the stairs then something latched onto me, dragging me into the main room. Clenching my teeth, I kept my mouth shut, held my breath as I twisted and fought, but couldn’t get loose.
Not again.
I was done with people trying to drown me. The hands disappeared as suddenly as they’d grabbed me and I popped up. Berget was at the bottom of the stairs. I waved at her, finding my footing. It wasn’t as deep in the middle of the room with the way the boat had tipped. “I’m okay, get them out!”
Berget nodded as I started toward the stairs for a second time.
A splash from across the room snapped my head around. Something was moving in the water. And for some strange reason, I doubted it was anything good.
And both my swords were gone.
Just peachy.
Chapter 13
OPENING HIS EYES was hard, but this time he managed the feat, to see he was no longer in his wolf form. He was in a clean bed, the scent of sage and incense filling the room. Were they still at Louisa’s?
Welcome back. Blaz’s voice rippled through his head, loud and clear.
Liam put a hand to his chest, the puckered scar there proof to how close he’d come to biting the big one. “How long was I out?”
A few hours. Once the shamans patched you up, it was all good.
He had a feeling Blaz wasn’t being entirely honest, but it didn’t matter now. “What about the wolf, the woman werewolf Beauty, how did she get here?”
Apparently you connected strongly with the pack and when they felt you in trouble, they talked Faris into letting them come back to New Mexico. He opened the veil for them and they came to find you.
Liam was not certain that was a good idea. “Beauty still thinks I’m her mate, doesn’t she?”
Blaz snickered. Yeah, that’s going to be fun when Rylee shows up.
“Not funny, lizard.”
Ignoring him, Blaz just kept on laughing. It will be funny. A good laugh is something we could all use right about now.
Carefully, Liam slung his legs over the edge of the bed and sat up. His head spun a little, but wasn’t too bad. “Where am I? Still at Louisa’s?”
No, they moved you to another of the shaman’s for some reason. Crystal’s, I think. I didn’t argue, since they were all about healing you.
That was strange. Why wouldn’t Louisa have kept him at her place? Something tickled along his spine, a worry he couldn’t shake. Orion had infiltrated nearly every aspect of their allies, could he have gotten to the shamans, too?
Since he was already there, he knew there was something he could, and should, do before they left for London.
“I need to speak to the other guardians. Or at least speak to those we know about. If something is off, then they will know.” Eagle was gone, his blood used to shut the veil. Would the other guardians still be alive? If nothing else, they should be warned of the danger. It would give him a chance to check out the shamans too. Then he would go to London as they’d said they would.
Anything to keep his mind busy, to keep from worrying about Rylee. Then again, she had Erik and Pamela with her; she should be fine. Except he knew Rylee, knew how often trouble strolled into her life.
Wrapping a sheet around his hips, he padded out of the bedroom. While the house was done up in a southwestern motif, not unlike Louisa’s, it was much smaller and far less tidy. Again, he wondered at the reason he was brought here and again, he got an unpleasant shudder. Something was off; his wolf gave a low rumble deep within him, instincts warning him to be careful.
There was no one in the house, no sound of breathing or steady heart rate, so no need to call out. He opened the front door and dropped the sheet, shifting into his wolf form.
Be careful, Wolf. Death stalks this world like it never has.
Liam gave a short bark in understanding, projecting for Blaz to wait for him there.
I don’t think we should split up, and we need to get you to London.
Frustrated, Liam shook his head, thick fur ruffling. With a single bark, he did his best to impart that he was going alone, then, using the tools Peter had given him, impressed on Blaz that he was to stay behind.
Wolf, that is dirty pool. Blaz shook his head, and then curled up on the ground. But you know I cannot go against you, jerk.
With a snort and a nod, Liam loped toward Louisa’s home, hoping Blaz would forgive him. He just didn’t think taking a dragon along would be a good idea. He remembered all too keenly where Louisa lived, and how prickly she could be about unannounced visitors. The last time he’d been there was with Rylee and she’d nearly died, her broken ribs puncturing her body. The time before that, Louisa had allowed Bear, her guardian, to attack them and in the process turn Liam into a guardian himself.
His ears flicked at the soft sound of padded feet on the hard packed dirt and slush around him. Within moments, the pack had swept up, flanking him. He pointedly ignored them; they were not his friends, nor were they his family. Beauty rubbed herself against him and he snarled at her. She gave him about two hairsbreadths of space, but it was better than her shoving herself on him.
He had their loyalty, could feel it humming along his skin, the power and control that came with binding them. This w
as what Peter warned him about, the strength of his own power and what it would do to other wolves. How they would submit to him so fully they would barely know themselves, if he wasn’t careful.
And he hadn’t been careful when he’d taken the pack from Beauty. He’d used everything he had because he hadn’t thought of anything but stopping her. Shit.
They loped together as a unit, moving with him, heading straight into the rural lands. The pack’s footsteps were almost perfectly in sync with his, a steady thrum that wormed its way through his body and brought him a sense of peace that shocked him.
Rylee was his mate, and the others were his pack. But this … this was different. This was a void he hadn’t known was missing.
He could have run for hours like that, only too soon, they were at Louisa’s home. If he shifted he’d be walking in naked, and while it didn’t bother him so much anymore, it still could be a shock for others. With a sharp bark he made the pack stay behind as he trotted up the steps and then scratched at the door.
From inside came the sound of footsteps, not Louisa’s. Heavier, and a longer stride between each step than the shaman could have ever pulled off.
The door opened and Bear, Louisa’s guardian, looked down at him with long black hair and a tanned upper body, wearing only a thin pair of khaki pants and the silver eyes that marked every guardian.
“Hello, Wolf, I see you are hale. Louisa is sleeping yet, it took a great deal out of her to heal you.”
Liam shifted and within seconds, stood eye to eye with Bear. “I’ll wait.”
Bear’s lips twitched ever so slightly. “So it would seem my blood chose wisely when it took you to be a guardian.”
Liam followed Bear in, his curiosity piqued. Though he’d gained a lot of knowledge from Peter, it would be interesting to see what Bear had to offer him.
“What do you mean by that?”
Wounded: Book 8 (A Rylee Adamson Novel) Page 13