by L. C. Davis
"You drive a hard bargain," he mused. "A bit too hard. The vampire souls have been coming to me for quite some time."
"Just three of them, then," I pleaded. No matter what excuses I tried to make for myself, I knew it was horrible to bargain for the three souls I just so happened to care about, but if it meant getting them out of the aether before it closed, the better.
"Three?" Thanatos watched me with a curious glimmer in his eyes. "Who?"
"Sarah, Saban and Victor," I said in a somber tone. "Send them back with Sebastian and you won't get any trouble out of me."
He seemed to be considering it for long enough to give me hope, but our silence drew Victor's attention.
What are you doing? he demanded, loping over to me. Get away from him.
"You really should know better than to leave two immortals alone. We can't help but come to a deal," said Thanatos.
What deal? asked Sebastian. He's our fucking mate, he doesn't have the right to make deals without our permission.
Thanatos rolled his eyes again. "Ah, werewolves. As quaint as your misogynistic little culture is, it is surpassed by divine law."
Take it up with Selene, Victor said. He was truly desperate if he was willing to invoke the goddess' name.
"That's not a bad idea," said Thanatos. "Where is she these days?"
Hiding in a hole somewhere if she knows what's good for her, chuffed Sebastian.
I stared at Thanatos, pleading.
"I'm sorry, hybrid," he said with what seemed to be sincerity. "I can't accept that deal, tempting though it is."
"What deal?" Sebastian demanded.
"Why the hell can't you accept it?" I asked, ignoring him.
"Because his soul won't make the trip," Thanatos replied, pointing at Victor. "A vampire soul wasn't meant to inhabit a wolf's body. He had a few more years on earth at best before he burned through it, and even less time here."
Victor suddenly wouldn't look at any of us.
"You knew?" I cried.
You really think I would have handed you over so easily if I had a full life to give you? he murmured. You're not a toy.
"Victor," I said, my voice cracking. "You should have told me."
Keeping secrets is his specialty, muttered Sebastian. He turned to Thanatos, his lip curling back in a snarl. If he's burned through that soul, stick another one in him.
Thanatos smiled. "It must be nice to live in such a simple world."
"Give him my soul, then," I said quickly. "I have two, don't I?"
No, Victor growled.
Absolutely not, said Sebastian.
Thanatos watched me for a moment, tilting his head. "You would be willing to sacrifice your immortal soul for one man?"
"Yes," I said without hesitation.
I said no, Remus! Victor snapped.
"Let me do this," I pleaded. "You've sacrificed so much for everyone else, Victor, but you never stopped to think about what it would do to us to live without you. This soul, this part of me was made to be sacrificed. Selene herself said so, but at least this way it will be for someone I love."
"He's right," said Thanatos. "He does have two souls. He would no longer partake in the vampire nature, but he would remain himself. His lifespan would be shortened to that of a normal wolf, but you would be able to live out your mortal lives together."
Hesitation flickered on Victor's face for long enough that I seized on it. "You hear that? It's not a sacrifice at all. A thousand years without you and Sebastian is meaningless, Victor."
Think of what you're saying, he murmured. You fought so hard to become whole, to regain your memories and both sides of your true nature.
"I was fighting to hold onto the part of my soul that belonged to you, Victor," I said softly. "It already belongs to you. It always has. Just let me give it back to you."
Victor turned to Sebastian, who seemed deep in thought. Would you say something?
He hesitated. What's the downside, Grim?
"Not the same as it was for the vampire whose soul resides in Victor now," said Thanatos. "Because Victor and Remus are soulmates, as long as his soul remains in close proximity, the difference will be negligible. As I said, he won't require blood to survive any longer. Victor, on the other hand..."
Sebastian winced.
This is insane, Victor snarled. Don't tell me you're even thinking of letting him do this.
It's the only way of getting you both home, said Sebastian. You think it's any worse than the dumbass plan he's gonna spend the rest of his days coming up with to get you back if you stay here?
"He's right about that," I said, swallowing my pride.
Victor gritted his teeth and turned away from us both. At first, I thought he was considering it but when he took off running towards the either, I knew otherwise. He knew we would have no choice but to chase after him, but only two of us were going to make that trip.
Sebastian was after him before I could even put one foot in front of the other. Before Victor could reach the portal, the huge black wolf took him down. They fell as wolves and hit the ground as men, Sebastian's hands closed around his brother's throat with a look of fury on his face.
"Get off me," Victor roared, throwing him off a moment later.
Sebastian's fist reared back and connected with Victor's face, stunning him for long enough to pull him to his knees. When Sebastian grabbed him by the shoulders, I rose to intervene, sure that he was going to hurt him this time. A hand on my shoulder held me back and I looked to see Thanatos standing behind me, watching the scene with a knowing gaze.
"Sometimes it's best to let brothers fight it out," he said softly.
"How would you know about that?"
He smiled. "It was a pleasure to meet you, hybrid. I think you know the way out. Be sure that you find it before the portal closes."
"But what about Victor?"
"You'll know what to do when it's time. You always have."
I watched in confusion as he disappeared into the grey before I turned back to Victor and Sebastian. To my amazement, Sebastian wasn't throttling Victor. Instead, his forehead was pressed against his brother's, his teeth gritted and his fingertips digging into Victor's shoulders in desperation.
"I love you, you fucking idiot," Sebastian seethed, digging his fingers into Victor's hair. "You had no right to do what you did, and if you ever try a stunt like that again, I'll kill you and then you'll have killed us both."
"Sebastian --"
"No. Just shut up. There is no me without you, Victor. You belong to me, and I belong to you. You're not getting away from me that easily."
Victor pulled back as much as Sebastian's vice grip would allow and for a moment, his face registered the shock I felt. Knowing quickly surpassed it and he took Sebastian's face between his hands before closing the negligible gap between them. It seemed to take me less time to process the fact that he had kissed Sebastian than it did for Sebastian himself. Victor pulled him closer and to my amazement, Sebastian didn't fight it.
Sebastian deepened the kiss and Victor's fingers explored his tousled hair. Victor's eyes fell shut as he drew an arm around Sebastian's waist and I realized that it was as much to steady him as to keep him close. The kiss was a gesture of consolation for Victor, but Sebastian returned it as desperately as if it was breath that had been denied to him until the last moment before suffocation.
The indulgence didn't last long. Victor's cradling touch turned into a restraining grasp as he clutched Sebastian to him and the intimate kiss turned violent. Sebastian let out a muffled cry of surprise and for once, even if it was only due to the element of surprise, Victor's strength seemed to surpass his own. Sebastian's struggling soon ceased and he turned as stiff and solid as stone in Victor's unrelenting embrace.
I lurched forward as Sebastian's eyes flew open, widened with fear, but an invisible wall held me back, reminding me of who had taught me how to use psychic force fields. "Victor, you're hurting him," I cried, watching helplessly a
s Victor broke the kiss. He didn't acknowledge me, instead gazing at his brother in a strange mixture of affection and pity. He swept a damp strand of hair out of Sebastian's eyes and gently sank to the ground with him without letting him go.
"It's alright," he murmured. "I've kept it from you long enough. It's time for you to be whole again, brother."
Sebastian doubled over with a cry of agony I recognized all too well, clutching his head. This time when I ran to his side, Victor made no move to stop me.
"You returned his memories," I said, looking up at him in disbelief.
"It was time," Victor said softly. "Knowing what happened is one thing, but feeling it is another. It's the only way I can make him hate me enough to let me go."
"You fucking asshole," Sebastian seethed, his eyes burning with rage as he looked up at his twin. "Did you really have to show me that?"
"You need to see the real me," Victor murmured.
"The real you? You sold your fucking soul, Victor! Who the fuck knows who the real you even is anymore." Sebastian staggered to his feet and Victor followed suit. "How did you think I'd be okay with that?"
"I didn't," he said flatly. "I didn't do it for you, I did it because I was too selfish to let you go. Now I'm going to ask you to prove once and for all that what we've both known all along is true, that you're the better man. Prove it by doing for me what I could never do for you. Go back to our world with Remus. Find a way to stop the Patriarch. If anyone can, it's the two of you. Live a good life. Let me go."
Sebastian looked back at the swirling void, yawning in anticipation of even more soul than the thousands it had already claimed. He turned back to his brother, his eyes narrowed. "Remus, you still ready to do this?"
"Yes," I said quickly.
"Good," he said, grabbing Victor suddenly. He had Victor's hands behind his back before I could blink, holding him in place. No matter how Victor thrashed, it was nothing against Sebastian at his full strength. "Do it."
"No!" Victor cried.
I stepped forward, remembering Thanatos' words. I had no choice but to trust him now. Reaching out, I tentatively stroked Victor's cheek. His skin was so warm to the touch. I wondered if that would change. "I'm sorry, Victor," I said gently. "Letting you go is just too great of a sacrifice to make."
"Don't do this," he pleaded, still straining against Sebastian even though he of all people knew how useless that was.
I leaned in, pressing my lips against his. Just as Victor had done to me so long ago, I began to siphon energy through the kiss, only this time I was the one taking it. I drew it into me until his skin grew cold and when I pulled away, I could feel the foreign energy bubbling in my throat. I let out a slow breath and a shadow identical to the vampire souls I had seen funneling into the aether was released into the grey.
When I turned back to Victor, his skin was pale and his eyes had lost their shine, but he was still watching me in confusion, still alive for the moment. I kissed him again and winced as this time I felt my own soul being pulled out of my body. As violent as the sensation was, it felt natural, like my soul was simply returning to where it had always belonged. Victor's body fell limp in Sebastian's embrace and I stumbled back.
"Are you alright?" asked Sebastian.
I nodded, finding myself unable to speak. I had expected some lapse in consciousness with the transfer, but as far as I could tell, my memories were still intact. I looked up to find Victor's head hanging down and Sebastian shaking him gently. "Vic? Hey, Vic, wake up."
Victor groaned, reaching out for Sebastian's shoulder. He leaned in and what I thought was a gesture to steady himself turned sinister as he raised his head and sank newly sharpened fangs into his brother's neck.
"Victor," I cried, rushing forward.
Sebastian grimaced but held his hand up. "It's fine," he said stiffly, sinking to his knees with Victor still in his arms. He wrapped an arm around the other man's waist, allowing him to continue drinking. Victor's thirst grew more desperate as he pulled his arms around Sebastian's neck. To my amazement, Sebastian held him close and stroked his hair, calm despite his obvious discomfort.
"It's okay," he murmured, burying his face in Victor's neck. "God knows you've given me enough."
As I watched them, my eyes filled with tears. The danger had passed. Victor had a soul, my mind and heart were somehow still intact, and the twins were closer than they had been since my arrival had thrown their world and their relationship into chaos. All we had to do was find our way out of the aether and hope that all the progress we had made didn't unravel in the process.
Chapter 30
ARTHUR
"Are you sure about this?" Hunter asked as the homestead came into view. We had long since ditched Sebastian's "borrowed" truck in the woods. Sneaking up on a compound of hunters was hard enough on foot without that clunky engine giving us away.
"I'm sure I'll be thrilled if no one ever asks me that again," I said, narrowing my eyes. Only a few lights in the compound were on. Looked like everyone was getting a good night's sleep before the hunter's moon the following night. "Remus has been gone for a week and there's no sign that he or the others are coming back. Clarence is gone. The Family will attack tomorrow night. I don't know how they're planning on getting past your ward on the Lodge, but if I know Prentice at all, he'll find a way."
"You really think defiling a bunch of graves is going to put the prince's spirit to rest?" asked Hunter. He had seen the prince's message the same as I had, and even though he wasn't sure about my theory, he was desperate enough to be here with me. None of the others knew where we were. The small army of wolves back at the Lodge would only buy us another few minutes at best at the cost of their lives. They were safe where they were, or at least the safest place that would exist if we didn't succeed come tomorrow night. I wasn't crazy about the fact that Hunter was with me, but I knew it was the only way I was getting out of the Lodge on my own.
The sun was low on the horizon, bathing the ancestral lands in soft hues of gold and orange. It wasn't a bad sight to die to, and I wasn't enough of an optimist to pretend that this was anything other than a suicide mission.
"It's the only idea I have," I admitted. "As for whether I think it'll work, no, I don't. But the prince did say he wasn't able to reincarnate because his remains were desecrated, and if they are here, I'm pretty sure I know where they'd be."
Hunter shrugged, following me through the thick brush that led around to the Walk of Souls. "Works for me."
I glanced back at him. "You're pretty chill for a guy who's probably about to die."
He smiled. "My pack is decimated, my only surviving family member sees me as the asshole who killed his daughter, and the guy who I'm pretty fucking sure is my mate went MIA after teleporting into the aether. I don't have a whole lot left to live for."
"You've got that whole priest gig," I said awkwardly. "That's something."
He snorted. "So, how long is this Walk of Souls?" he asked as we came into view of the garden entrance.
"About a quarter of a mile."
"Yeesh."
"Don't worry, if the remains are here I'm pretty sure they're in William Winters' statue."
"In it?"
"Hunters don't believe in putting remains in the ground once one of us is actually dead. They're cremated, then encased in a monument."
"How quaint," he muttered.
"Gotta love hunter arts and crafts," I said, motioning for him to follow me onto the walk. I glanced behind us to make sure no one had followed us before slipping through the broad ferns lining the entrance.
"This is actually kind of beautiful," he said, looking around. "For zombies, you guys have some serious green thumbs."
"My mother takes care of this place," I admitted. "Guess her nurturing instincts had to go somewhere."
Hunter gave me a sympathetic smile. "Trust me, the over-nurturing type isn't much better. Besides, crappy parenting provides a convenient scapegoat for all your shitty choices a
nd character flaws."
I stopped in front of William's statue. "I guess so."
"This is it?" Hunter asked, squinting up at the statue. The lantern in William's hand wasn't lit as it usually was. It was a red flag, but I brushed it off as an oversight. Even a hunter's faithful routine could become unsettled in the face of a long-prophesied Armageddon. "He looks kind of like Prentice."
"I'm sure he'd be flattered to hear that," I said, reaching up to push on the base of the statue. It became clear when the first shove did nothing that the statue was fastened to the base somehow.
"Allow me," said Hunter. With a casual push, the statue toppled off its pedestal and shattered on the ground in a cloud of white dust.
I coughed, struggling to see Hunter through the plume. "Well, shit."
He grinned. "I'm stronger than I look."
I leaned over, sifting through the rubble with the toe of my sneaker, suddenly sketched out by the idea of what might lie within. At first, all I could see were shards of stone, but soon I unearthed a small, sharp piece of what could only be bone.
"Is that William or Arthur One?" Hunter asked warily.
"Only one way to find out. Lighter?" I held my hand out and flipped the lid back on the skull-and-crossbones lighter he offered me. I slipped a bottle of oil out of my jacket and doused the rubble before letting the lighter fall and stepped back as it went up in flames. Hunter yanked me back as the pile exploded and a golden light made it impossible to see anything.
The light faded just enough to reveal a humanoid figure standing over the pile of burning rubble. "Holy shit," I breathed as a young man's shape began to form. He was just a shadow in the light.
"It worked?" Hunter's voice was hoarse and full of the same apprehension that had me frozen in place.
"I think so." I couldn't even blink as I stared at the being of pure light. It raised its head and even though I couldn't make out any features through the haze, I could feel its eyes boring into mine.
"My vessel," it spoke in a calm yet certain voice. "You have freed my spirit."