Elian stopped me with a gentle hand on my shoulder. “I’m expendable. I’ll go in first.”
Stepping to the side, I gestured for him to pass, offering a small curtsy.
“This is serious, Seren,” he growled through clenched teeth as he pushed the front door open.
The house was silent as we walked down the long, narrow hall, and I wrinkled my nose at the smell of mould and filth. Trying not to breathe too deeply, I looked around at the damp walls, the bare tiled floors, and flaking paintwork. Elian walked casually through the door to our right, and immediately backed out. He looked at me and shook his head, nodding toward the next room.
I peered behind him, frowning in confusion. It was gloomy. Small shards of natural light filtering through gaps in the sheet metal at the window, falling on two young men sprawled on the floor, various items littered around them. They didn’t react to our unannounced arrival. It was odd; I couldn’t feel anything. They were entirely void of emotional output.
“Are they...”
Elian shook his head. “No, not dead,” he whispered, ushering me out of the room.
I followed him down the hall, into the next room. More bodies slumped against the walls, or lay spread on tattered old sofas and mattresses. I didn’t ask as he made a disgusted sound and moved on.
Heading up the stairs, I winced at the loud creaking the wood made beneath our feet. At the top, Elian clicked on a torch before heading into one of the bedrooms. He moved aside to allow me access, and shone the torch over a pile of corpses in a corner. I approached and knelt beside them, lifting the arm of the body closest. The skin was discoloured, and there were clear bite marks at the wrist.
“Food supply,” I said, looking over my shoulder to Elian.
He nodded and indicated we leave. He continued to move quietly through the building, to a bedroom at the rear. Laying the arm back on the ground with care, I got to my feet and followed him out.
This room was well-lit, the window uncovered to allow daylight in. Mattresses covered the floor, each with two or three people sprawled across them. Their arms were lined with odd marks; strange, sharp devices cradled in their limp hands. Some were unconscious, sharing bed space with people who were clearly deceased.
I reached out to take one of the sharp objects and Elian snapped, “Don’t touch it!”
I retracted my hand in panic, not knowing what I had done wrong.
Softening his tone, he explained, “Those needles have been used to inject substances into their bloodstreams. They’re contaminated.” He looked around at the people in the room and frowned. “They’re being lured here and supplied, then someone is feeding from them while they’re unconscious.”
“What do we do?” I asked in a whisper, looking down at the person at my feet.
“Nothing we can do. There’s no saving them,” he answered, shaking his head. “I’ll burn the building on our way out.”
My eyes widened. “You can’t kill them!”
“They’re already dying, Seren, look at them. The best we can do is give them a painless death. The smoke will kill them before the flames can hurt them.”
About to argue my point, I paused as one of the stairs creaked behind us. Elian pushed me further into the room and stepped in front of me, a dagger instantly present in each hand.
“There are no painless deaths here, Druid,” a female voice growled.
I stepped to the side, gaining a clearer view into the hall. She was beautiful. Her red lips spread in a wicked smile, gleaming white skin emitting a soft glow in the gloom of the hallway, and arching brows framed what could have been equally beautiful eyes, were it not for the pitch-black orbs that glinted in the sockets.
“No? If you say so.” I didn’t even see him throw the dagger.
She wasn’t prepared. The silver blade sank into her thigh and she let out a blood-chilling wail. Tearing the blade from her leg, she rushed him, shifting from her human appearance to her true form. Her limbs elongated, her mouth split to reveal rows of sharp fangs, and her body lost its slender, human shape.
Before they could collide, Elian dropped, another dagger appearing in each hand to drag under the demon’s body as it hurtled over him, towards me.
The contact of his silver blades should have killed her, yet she charged toward me with impressive speed. I tilted my head as I watched her, The Mother’s power stirring within me.
Elian didn’t know that I was about to defend myself. He couldn’t know; he’d never seen the power manifest. I watched him shift and heard his savage snarl as he leapt on the demon’s back, goring at it with his now sharp teeth. The creature roared, spinning and stabbing at him with its sharp, pointed arms. The vicious snarls and furious shrieks from them were deafening as demon and wolf fought in the enclosed space. She twisted and bellowed as he gnashed his jaws at her neck, slamming herself into the walls to dislodged him. She doubled forwards, throwing him off. I used the distraction to my advantage and stalked forward, locking eyes with the beast before me. My eyes shifted from green to white, altering my vision as The Mother’s power filled me, allowing me to see the hulking mass of hate and malice in a sharper image. Elian was on his feet and the demon twisted toward him, hissing in fury as he prowled. She lurched forward, a long limb thrusting at him. She hit her mark. Elian whined before falling silent once more, and I gave way to The Mother’s power.
My body felt lighter, my head clearer, and the narrow hallway took on a green hue. The amulet heated against my chest, searing the skin beneath. She let out a scream of fury and fear, rushing toward me as I prepared to destroy her, feeling the power emanating from me. I smiled, and in a flash of vivid green and white, I reduced her to nothing but black dust. Taking no time to marvel at the power that pulsed through me, I moved, stepping through the swirling cloud to find him curled on the hard, bare floor.
“You need to shift back,” I said, kneeling at his side, and stroking the thick fur at his neck.
He huffed a breath through his muzzle, looking up at me with his piercing, lupine eyes.
“Elian, you’re hurt. Change back so I can see,” I insisted.
He trembled. In a flash of silver, he shifted and stood before me in his human form.
“It’s just a scratch on my leg. It’s fine,” he insisted, looking around the hall. “We have to leave.”
“We have a few moments for this,” I said, laying my hand over the tear in his leather pants, brilliant white light spreading beneath my flattened palm. I looked up at him with a smile. “See. Not even a minute and you’re fixed.”
He looked impressed. “What about you?” he asked, taking my hand and stepping toward the staircase.
“I’m fine. She didn’t touch me, thanks to your distraction,” I said with a smile. “Now we can go.” I stood straight, removed my hand from his, and edged past him to walk down the creaking stairs and out into the overgrown front garden.
Outside, he scanned the street before saying, “Pass me the bag.”
I obliged and waited as he went back inside. Moments later, he reappeared, slinging the bag over his shoulder and ushering me out of the gate. A few yards along the street, he slung an arm around my shoulders and lowered his head as a car passed.
I looked up at him and asked, “They won’t suffer, will they?”
“No more than they already are, no,” he replied solemnly as we turned the corner, leaving the rows of dilapidated houses behind. “They’re dying, Seren. Please believe me. If they could have been saved, I’d have phoned for help.”
I looked over in the direction of the house to see smoke rising over the rooftops and felt a pang of pity for those still alive inside. Despite his assurances that they would die regardless, I wasn’t at all comfortable with taking human lives. I got into the car and fastened my seatbelt while he secured the bag in the boot.
Joining me, he wasted no time starting the engine and drove away immediately. With a few streets between us and the house, he finally said, “Their bodies
couldn’t have taken much more. They were incredibly sick, Seren. Addicts die horrific deaths. And this goes well beyond that. They were being heavily supplied for a purpose. There was nothing you could do, not at this late stage. Please, don’t feel guilty.”
I nodded. “I know. I felt it. They were on the brink…I just feel I should have ended it more peacefully for them. I could have…”
I noticed his grip on the wheel tighten as he drove, but he didn’t say anything else. After a few minutes, I said, “That demon was stronger than any I’ve come across before. Your blades didn’t harm it. I know Leechers are always well-fed, but—”
“Leecher? Makes sense. It was well-fed sitting in a blood bank” he said with disgust. “Another thing: it wasn’t Kern. He isn’t working alone.”
I didn’t respond. It hadn’t escaped my notice, I just didn’t want to think about it. He could have a hoard of them waiting for us. I could handle it; that’s what I was made for. My concern was the people they would harm to feed their numbers.
In an attempt at lightening the mood, I said, “So, you do wolves?”
“Yes,” he said with a broad smile. “You met my grandfather. I can take any form I wish.” He glanced to me and saw my expression. “No, I do not do requests.”
I folded my arms and pouted. “Well, that’s not fair, is it?”
“Unbelievable,” he breathed, shaking his head as he pulled into his parking space. “I may let you make one request, if you manage not to run off again,” he offered with a wink.
“I think I could manage that,” I said, getting out of the car, and closing my door. “I’ve always loved ponies…”
I ran into the building and up the stairs as he growled a curse at me.
Thirteen
Elian
I showered, changed, and prepared lunch while she took her time in the bath. With lack of sleep and the morning’s events, I needed to rest. I placed the plate of sandwiches on the coffee table and I had no intention of moving from in front of the television for the rest of the day.
Stretched on the sofa, I replayed our morning in my mind. She’d been incredible. I was used to seeing magic wielded. I trained with the Fae regularly and they never held back, but hers was a different power. It filled her; even her eyes changed colour as The Mother took her over. Then there was her healing power. The wound on my leg would have taken weeks to heal with my own abilities, but she wiped all trace of it in seconds.
I couldn’t help feeling a little redundant. I was supposed to be protecting her, not the other way around. The feeling was soon overshadowed by my relief that she was back to her normal self. After the previous night, I worried that things would be awkward between us. I’d expected her to be uncomfortable. I deserved for her to be angry with me, but she seemed not to have taken any offence at my behaviour. I decided it was no good dwelling on it.
Seren joined me an hour after we’d gotten home, helping herself to a sandwich and curling up on the sofa.
“What shall we watch?” I asked, flicking through the options.
“I don’t know. What is there?”
“Well…there are a few films. Pirates? Fast cars? Umm, elves and fairies on an adventure? Alien attack? Humans attack humans? Funny romance? I don’t know.”
She frowned. “You choose, I don’t know. I don’t even understand what these films are.”
I settled on a romantic comedy, supposing it would give her a gentle introduction, and made myself comfortable. “Are you warm enough?” I asked, noticing her shiver.
“No…”
Hauling myself off the sofa, I disappeared into my bedroom and came back with my duvet. “Here, get wrapped up in that,” I said, dumping it over her legs. She smiled gratefully and arranged it around herself.
“What is this, then?” she asked, nodding to the TV.
“Just watch it,” I laughed, returning to the sofa.
I’ve never been a fan of those films and had expected to fall asleep soon after it began, but I found myself watching her. Her reactions to the different scenes were entertaining on their own. She laughed until she cried, and I found myself grinning at her fits of uncontrollable giggles. The emotional scenes drew equally enthusiastic responses, to the point where I noticed her weeping quietly.
“Seren?”
“Sorry,” she sniffed. “It’s just so sad. Why would she do that to him? How could she when he’d been so kind? Look at him. He’s heartbroken.”
I shuffled closer to her and took her hand. “Seren, it isn’t real. They’re acting. Pretending,” I explained.
“Why would anyone pretend to do that to someone? Why would they pretend to care for one another like that? They… they…” The look of bewilderment on her face, the naivety, it would have been funny had her eyes not been so full of sadness and pity.
“Because it’s entertaining. People enjoy watching an interpretation of something that may have happened to them and then seeing a happy ending.”
She nodded, and I shuffled away. Whether she really understood or not, I couldn’t be sure, but she turned back to the TV and continued watching. It wasn’t long before she was helpless with laughter again, all sadness forgotten.
With that film finished, she eagerly waited for the next. I obliged with my own choice.
Within half an hour, she’d moved along the sofa. Within forty-five minutes, her head was buried in my shoulder as she flinched at every explosion and gunshot.
I hadn’t watched any of the film. I just watched her.
“Are you hungry?” I asked, flicking for something else to watch.
She lifted her head slightly to look at me and said, “Yes, would you like me to make something?”
She smirked before I could answer and turned back to the TV. “No, thanks. I’ll order pizza. Bread with tomatoes and cheese. Probably chicken. Sound okay?”
She nodded, fixated with the opening scene of a pirate film. I groaned, knowing I’d be whistling that damn tune for days after hearing it, and tapped out a food delivery order on my phone.
The girl can certainly eat, I thought, as she cleared her plate. “You’ve eaten too much again, haven’t you?” I asked, clearing away the box.
“Yep. What’s this?”
“Oh, that’s a drink. Sugar and vegetable extracts in fizzy water,” I said dismissively, pulling the duvet back over as she cuddled into my side. “What shall we watch now? More films, or just normal television?”
“Whatever you want to,” she said, yawning. “I think I’ll be going to bed soon.”
I changed the channel to sports and accidentally zoned out. At some point, she fell asleep and I carried her through to her room.
Returning to the sofa, and trying not to miss her presence, I thought over an agenda for the next few days.
She was up early again. Thankfully, she hadn’t made another attempt at coffee, so I made a drink and joined her while she watched television.
“Morning. How did you sleep?”
She glanced away from the screen long enough to say, “Better, thanks. You?”
She’d turned back to the programme she was engrossed in and didn’t realise I hadn’t answered. I smiled and drank my coffee.
“What do you want for breakfast?”
“Toast is fine, thank you. Are we going back out today?” she asked, her attention now fully on me.
I frowned, concerned. “Are you up to it? You had a busy day yesterday.”
“I’m fine. Honest. The power channels through me. I don’t choose to wield it like you and the Fae do. I can’t really explain it. Her destructive power is encompassing. I’m not sure I have any control over it at all. But some things I control fully. Whatever magic I personally hold allows me to shift my appearance, hence the clothes. I can heal to a certain extent. I can judge someone’s feelings and can sense their intent as a defence, but the rest I let The Mother decide,” she explained with a nonchalant shrug of her shoulders.
I tilted my head in acceptance and as
ked, “She’s real, then?”
She looked at me in disbelief for a moment, then seemed to be giving the question some serious thought before answering.
“Yes, of course,” she said at last. “I’ve always felt her presence. I’ve never been truly alone these centuries. Surely your whole belief system dictates that you know she exists?”
“I’ve had my doubts.”
Her bright eyes dulled and she looked at me sadly. “Why?”
She deserved the answer. “Because I struggle to accept that the creator and protector of this world would allow such terrible things to happen to her creations. The suffering I see every day, Seren. Why does she allow it?”
She lowered her eyes, fiddling with the sleeve of her top. “I wish I knew.”
She looked uncomfortable, avoiding eye contact. I wondered at that. It wasn’t as though she had any control over a deity.
“So,” I said brightly, turning the conversation away from the topic, “we’ll eat and go for a walk round the warehouses. See what turns up?”
She nodded and turned back to the TV. I watched her for a moment, then went to make some toast.
She joined me at the table, thanking me for the fresh mug of tea as she opened a jar of jam and sniffed. “What’s this?”
“Jam. Mashed fruit preserved with sugar. Use the knife, spread it on your toast,” I suggested. “You’ll like it; it’s sweet.”
“What’s the plan if we catch up with Kern?” she asked with a mouthful of sticky bread.
“I hadn’t thought that far ahead, if I’m honest. I tend to handle things on the fly.”
She gave me an irritated look and I laughed. “What? We can handle him! You don’t really need me anyway, do you?”
Her mood altered almost immediately. I couldn’t work out why.
“No, I suppose not,” she said quietly, leaving the table.
I stared after her, wondering what had brought on the change. I wasn’t arrogant enough to think she did need me. I’d watched her yesterday.
The Elder Mother (Riftkeepers Book 4) Page 9