She barks out a laugh and looks at me and just like with Faela, I can’t breathe, I can’t move. Her eyes are the richest shade of amber, but they’re so cold, like iced-over honey. I feel a shiver traipse down my spine as she releases me, smiling a little too innocently.
“Listen, you bitch—” I start to snarl, but she holds her hand up and my mouth goes stupid, refusing to form the words, so I lapse into silence as she grins and this time, it’s all too wicked.
“I know my Faela well. She’ll be here, along with her army of freaks. But she’ll be in for a little surprise, now won’t she? My Maxxie, he’s my special warrior.”
My chest tightens. Vashna’s super warrior, the man that Faela was going to pit me against…was MaXXX?
He’s a Souljacker? How did Faela not know? Hell—how did I not know? I remember his bitterly twisted smile, his claim of being a monster, and it hits me like a sack of bricks. Too late. I look at him, grinding my teeth together as I try and demand answers, but the words won’t come. MaXXX refuses to look at me.
“You’re excused,” Vashna says airily and MaXXX ducks out of her grip and disappears down the hall.
Once he’s gone, Vashna smiles once more. “Won’t be long now, little Souljacker, but I promise you, once I’ve destroyed Faela and her team of tagalongs for good, it’ll be your turn.” Then she turns away, her black-as-night hair skimming her shoulders as she saunters off. The doors slam shut behind her, glass rattling.
Words burst back to my throat like neon color splattered on a black and white painting and I’m left screaming obscenities at the mirrored walls.
Chapter 32:
Iofiel
My inner dog pulls at my skin, begging for release, but I hold it in as I barrel down the street. I reach a group of very confused-looking Mithos, the energies swirling around them telling me that they were prepped and ready to do battle right here, right now.
Except…there’s nothing here to fight.
I breathe in, scenting the air. No smell of Pack, no dark twist of Unseelie magic. Nothing.
The alarms are still crying like babies, the citizens of Omega City grumbling in the background, but the world around me fades to silence ever so slowly. My chest clenches at the thought of Lucy. If there was no breach in the first place, then…
I snarl, more animal than human. I tear my gaze across the cluster of people, not surprised when I see Caddie’s bleach-blonde head bobbing amidst the sea of strangers. “Caddie!” I shout, but she doesn’t hear me. I jog over to her, grabbing her arm and pulling her around to face me. Her eyes go wide and her mouth curves into a little smile.
“Hey there, stranger,” she says, but the look I shoot her stops her cold. She frowns. “What’s going on?”
“Where’s Lucy?”
“She’s around here somewhere, dude. She was just here. She was gonna help fight. Why?”
I release her to rake both hands through my hair, nails dragging through tangles and ripping them free. The pain is dull compared to the ache of my heart. This is my fault. I told MaXXX to take care of her. He’d known… He’d known this was a set up, but how?
“I have to find her. Something bad’s happening, I can feel it in my gut.” And the churning storm waging war in my stomach told me that I needed to find her, fast.
“Calm down, Io. I’ll help you look; she couldn’t have gone too far, right? I’ll grab Josh and Lake and we’ll find her. Iofiel.” Her words are hard and I stop pacing to look her in the eye. “She’s fine, okay? We’ll find her, I swear on my momma’s grave.”
“Your mom isn’t dead,” I say quietly.
Her lips quirk. “Then you know I mean business. Let’s go. Oi!” She calls to the gang from Polaris and quickly stakes out the situation. It’s almost amusing how fast Lucy’s become a favorite of theirs—their eyes narrow at the thought of her being in danger and I feel a swell of pride, just because she’s mine.
“Okay, Josh, you and Cele go check the Safe Hall, make sure she didn’t double back there. Lake, you take the girls and go find Faela. Maybe Lucy’s talking to her. Io, you’re with me.” Her eyes soften and she touches my shoulder, reassuring. The wind fills my sails again and I smile. “Let’s find her!”
Luckily, I’m able to pick up her scent, even with my human nose. She was with MaXXX. She’ll be fine, I chant silently to myself. Only with each step I take, my stomach sinks further and further into my gut. I yearn to turn hound; I know I’ll find her that way, but I can’t…not yet. It’s my last resort.
We’re getting farther from the city itself, each yard taking us closer to the wards that keep the bad guys out. Then Lucy’s scent stops completely. It just ends in the middle of the road. “Shit,” I hiss, leaning down to take another whiff, but my nose told me right the first time.
“What’s wrong?” Caddie’s brows furrow.
“I lost Lucy’s scent. It ends right here.” I point to the cement. Sniff again. MaXXX’s scent is still fresh and the tinge of sweat and frustration stings my nostrils. MaXXX wouldn’t dare… What would he have to gain by taking her?
With a growl, I follow his trail to the very edge of Omega City, where the wards sparkle with magic. Not knowing what’s on the other side waiting for me, I motion at Caddie to stay put, then I step through. Immediately, the spicy scent of hound fills my nose. I bite my tongue to keep from screaming at the sky.
I hurry back to Caddie’s side. I’m shaking. “They took her.”
“Who?”
“MaXXX. MaXXX took her. He took her to the Unseelie. Hounds were right fucking here!”
“Why would MaXXX—”
“Because she’s the Souljacker. Faela even said it herself: Without Lucy, they might not stand a chance against the Unseelie. MaXXX could’ve been paid off, he could even be an Unseelie spy!” I snarl, remembering the terrified look on the boy’s face only minutes before. Was everything he told me one big lie? “I told MaXXX to take care of Lucy. I told him to keep her safe. I should’ve done it my damned self.”
“Deep breaths,” Caddie says, rubbing her hands against my back, working the pads of her fingers into the tense muscles. I shudder with a gasping breath in, unable to even think straight. My mind haunts me: Lucy is gone. Lucy is in danger. “We’ll find her, Iofiel. She’s one of us.”
“I’m going to Faela,” I say, jerking out of Caddie’s touch. Her face falls and I feel a wave of guilt. I reach for her, tugging her into a small hug. Lucy’s her friend too. She’s just as worried as I am. “Come on, Cads. We’re going to save Lucy.”
I find Faela deep in conversation with a small group of Fae, who hush as we draw near. I take a deep breath and shove strands of dark hair from my eyes. I clear my throat. “Can I have a moment?”
She smiles sweetly and her curls bounce on a nod. “Of course, Iofiel. What plagues you?”
“Lucy’s been kidnapped.”
Her sweet façade falls, brows knitting together and she looks, for a moment, like a lost little kid. “Are you certain? Omega City is quite vast, and—”
“With all due respect, I am still a cyberhound. I followed her scent. MaXXX took her. He took her outside the barrier and I could smell hounds, several of them. The Unseelie have her, I’m sure of it.” My fists clench at my sides at the nerves ringing through me.
Murmured voices split the crowd like a wave, followed by the smell of uncertainty. Lucy was their warrior of prophecy, the one to beat the Unseelie once and for all, and now? Now none of that mattered. If Vashna was as evil as Faela claimed…Lucy might be dead already.
“I’ll formulate a plan of attack,” Faela says after several moments of hushed whispers. “I’ll make the announcement. We’ll set out at dawn.”
My eyes dart to the horizon, stained pink with sunset. “Dawn? Who knows what they’ll do to Lucy by then.” Fear claws up my throat and I swallow back the bitter taste of bile.
She frowns and touches my shoulder. “I’m sorry, Iofiel, but dawn’s the earliest we can set out. We’d
be fools to set foot on Unseelie territory while night blankets the earth in darkness; the Unseelie draw power from the midnight hours. We’ll be stronger at dawn.”
I jerk away from her touch, stumbling backwards into a couple of Mithos, who shove me back to my feet. I scowl at her. “Dawn better be soon enough,” I say, though my threat is empty and she knows it. My arms trembling and my knees like rubber, I manage to stalk away in what I hope was a dignified manner.
“Iofiel, wait!” Sync bursts out of the crowd, catching my elbow. “Is she really gone?”
I sigh. “Yeah. MaXXX took her. I know he did. I just don’t know why.”
She blinks, taken aback. She adored MaXXX, she and Caddie both did. They worshipped the ground he walked on. I’d spent plenty of evenings back in Polaris, listening to Sync gush about how gentlemanly the rock star was, how great he was with the kids. How much she really liked him. How much she wished he’d like her back.
I reach for her, cupping her cheek. I know she can’t feel it, but she’ll appreciate the gesture. “I’m sorry, Sync. I really am…”
She closes her eyes for a moment, her face void of emotion, and then anger takes its place. “I can’t believe that bastard. To believe that I… No. I hate him. And if we can’t find her, then I’ll—”
I cut her off, hugging her to me. “No. We’re going to find her, Sync. But maybe I’ll let you kick his ass once we get her back.”
She grins. “Works for me.”
Caddie butts in with, “I call second-dibs on the ass kicking!”
“Hell yeah.” I even manage a grin. “So are we doing this?”
“What?”
“We can’t wait for these guys. Dawn’s too long to wait. We should head out now, let them catch up later.”
“Just us? Alone? We’d never make it against the Unseelie, especially if they’ve got hounds patrolling their lair.” Caddie huffs. “But…maybe if the gang went with us, we’d stand a chance?”
“You think they’d actually risk their lives? We’re talking the possibility of death here, Caddie…”
“All we can do is ask them. They like Lucy a lot more than they like you.” She winks.
“Doesn’t take much.”
Caddie punches me on the shoulder with a grin.
Turns out Lucy has a bigger following than either of us expected. Even little Jolee chimes in wanting to fight, but Fallon quickly tells her she can’t go. “That’s unfair! Lucy’s my b-f-f!” she wails and it takes both Fallon and Caddie to shush her up.
“You’re too young, Jojo. I don’t want you to get hurt,” I say quietly, getting down on my knees to face her. Her pretty blue eyes brim with tears and I squeeze her hands in mine. “Besides, I need you to take care of everyone else from Polaris. All the other kids. You know them better than anyone else.”
“Really?” she sniffles.
“Really. We’ll be back before you know it.”
A smile quirks on her lips, mischievous. “Kick those bad guys’ butts!”
But a few of our newfound followers are antsy. “We should at least tell Diesel.”
I look up at him, ready to list off the reasons why that’s not a good idea, when I hear a voice ask, “Tell me what?” and my heart plummets. “Iofiel?” She lifts one eyebrow and taps her boot against the ground.
So I tell her the truth. When she frowns, I quickly add, “Lucy is… I can’t lose her, Diesel. I just can’t. She’s everything to me. She’s my life.”
“She’s my best friend,” Sync says.
“Mine too,” Caddie pipes in.
“And she’s one of us,” Lake says. “We know the risks, but if there’s a chance we can save her? I wanna go for it.”
A chorus of agreement bursts forward and to my surprise, Diesel smiles. “Then won’t you need a little help? I can do light warding myself—how do you think Polaris survived so long before I found Gale?” Her eyes sparkle. “But you realize we’ll have to be careful. We can only use our powers if we’re being attacked; if one of us surges, the cyberhounds will find us and then…you know what happens.” She makes a throat-slitting motion with her fingers.
I turn to her, feeling peaceful for once since I let Lucy out of my sight. We were going to save her. “Thank you,” I manage to say, but Diesel only shakes her head.
“You do crazy shit for the people you love. Come on, kiddos—I know where Faela’s weaponry room is. Let’s go find Lucy!”
***
Decked out with gleaming Faerie knives and daggers, we head into the night. Once we leave the wards behind, I dive back into my hound form, the need building and as soon as I shift, sweet release rushes through me. I shudder, taking a big whiff of the air and find MaXXX’s scent. He had to have carried Lucy, thrown her over his shoulder. There’s no other way her trail would just end here.
My hackles spike a line down my back as Lylan’s stench wafts up my nostrils. The tingle of magic’s on the air and for a moment, I fear they took a Portal back to the Unseelie Court, but although several of the hounds’ tracks disappear, MaXXX’s and Lylan’s don’t.
I take off across the field at a quick trot. I hear my friends jogging after me and make sure I don’t lose them. Diesel is at the lead, warding the group the entire way—she surged behind the walls of Omega City, so as long as she doesn’t drop the protective energies around the kids, we should be in the clear. They’ll be invisible under the cover of nightfall and when the sun rises, only a shimmery blur to the naked eye.
The trail is haphazard, leading us through a thick patch of forest and brambles, then across a river and down a highway. Like Lylan was trying to lose anyone who happened to be following them. Paranoid bastard. Then their scent drops off sharply, as if they were swallowed by the earth. I can feel the crackle of cyberhound magic bouncing off my sleek fur.
Damnit, they Portaled.
I snarl, shifting back to human. I feel around with my bare hands, trying to unwind the magical strands sewn through the air. The magic is fresh; it’s not even been an hour since the Portal was created. If I can just retrace Lylan’s steps and pull the Portal back into existence...
I feel a gentle tug and pull. Sweat beads on my forehead as I focus and slowly drag the Portal open again, caressing the air with my fingertips. If I look really closely, I can see the gleam of a crystalline castle on the other side.
The Unseelie Court.
I turn back to the group, who look suddenly nervous. “Diesel, the magic in the Portal’s gonna wipe your wards, so you might as well drop them. Everyone else: Use your abilities carefully and only in case of an emergency. We need to get in, get Lucy, and get out.”
“What about the ass kicking?”
“We don’t have time for it right now. Once Faela arrives with the Seelie army, we’ll be golden, but until then we need to be careful. I like you guys, even if the feeling’s not mutual. I don’t want to see any of you get hurt, okay?” I feel a little mushy as they grin. Then I take a breath, close my eyes, and step through the Portal.
Lucy, I’m coming…
The city is cast in a blue-violet hue, night looming around every corner, shadows etched by tall, crystalline buildings with no windows. No peeps of light are coming from the walls of glass. Trees speckle the forest floor around us, jutting out of the earth in strange angles, like they were once uprooted and then magically slammed back into the earth. Their roots look like they’re trying to crawl back out of their holes.
I feel a shiver tremble at the base of my spine as I step forwards. The streets are mostly dark, but lit by torches, the flames quivering softly, the color of peacock feathers. I hold my breath and drop down into a crouch as a lumbering cyberhound passes by.
He doesn’t see me. One by one, the kids from Polaris step through the Portal, bumping up against me. I can feel the nerves jumping off their skin like fleas, biting my ankles. I hold my finger to my lips as they all gather around. The Portal slides shut with a hiss of magic. I freeze, straining my ears for the sound of
footsteps.
Nothing. We’re safe…but for how long?
Our destination is no doubt the massive crystal castle in the dead-center of the Unseelie kingdom. It glows in an almost radioactive way, a beacon in the night. It looks close enough, but I know getting there will be a whole different story.
“Follow me,” I whisper. I shift, careful to place my paws down gently. I move through the city, waiting until the sentry cyberhounds’ backs are turned before ushering my group on. I scout ahead, then double back and herd them forwards, nudging at heels that take a little too long to move. When I freeze, they freeze, and I feel a rush of pride, knowing that they trust me. Me, a cyberhound, one of their enemies. Someone they’d hated when I first arrived in Polaris.
We keep moving, slow but steady, and each pace we take brings us closer and closer to the castle. One of the kids in the group is fidgeting, nerves making him antsy. We’re not moving nearly fast enough to burn off the tension. I press my ears back against my head, hoping and praying he can keep it under control. Just a little longer…
Someone upturns a stone and it scrabbles across the pavement, the sound almost like an explosion in the bated-breath silence around us. I hear a hiss from my group and whip my head around. I bite back a growl as a tall man with silver braids and dark skin shouts something. His presence drips with so much magic that it makes my skin crawl.
I hear the roar of a furious hound somewhere behind us, followed by the whimper of one of the Mithos kids.
Shit.
I shift back mid-stride and rear around to face my group. They looked shocked, resigned, terrified, determined. They’re no more warriors than I am, but we’re not given a choice. There was never a choice.
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