by Antara Mann
He scratched his stubble, frowning. “Maybe. It’s possible. I dunno.” His voice sounded honest and his eyes were clear when he looked up at me. For the first time since I’d met him, he seemed insecure and vulnerable. I was so used to the confident, all-knowing and arrogant, badass fae that this version of him felt like a stranger.
“And what about the demonic attacks?” I switched the topic back on them.
Kagan sighed deeply, inhaling a huge breath into his large chest. “Dark energy attracts dark energy — maybe they are preparing the ground for a magical apocalypse, or maybe those attacks are just distracting us from their real intentions.”
He raised valid points, I thought. But I still couldn’t shake off the unsettling feeling in the pit of my stomach that I was missing something major.
“I am not a god, Alex, but I’m trying everything I can to help you put all the pieces of the puzzle together,” Kagan said. “We will find your parents’ killers and punish them. We will also kill that wicked Garrett and his ally. We just need a little faith.”
He came around to stand in front of me and hugged me tightly. I let myself sink into his hug. His muscular, tall body gave me enough comforting warmth to fight the dread that had settled within me. No one said a word; we had no need to. Silence had fallen over us like the foreboding sense of a looming curse.
Chapter 6
“Alex! Alex!” I heard the owl shifter’s voice, the one from the Magic Council. She was calling me in my sleep. I’m working too hard, I thought. I may work myself to insanity. I was about to drop off again, but the voice grew louder and more urgent inside my mind. “Alex, wake up! There’s a new supernatural attack!”
This time I snapped up, wide awake — she had used her shifter power and raised her voice significantly. My ears were still ringing.
“Jeez, you could have woken the dead”, I grunted, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes.
She didn’t pay any notice to my complaint because she continued, just as loudly. I listened to her while braiding my hair into a ponytail. “There’s a massive massacre at the witch coven The Rowan Tree Circle in Brimstone. A group of warlocks have gone berserk and attacked the witches living there. You have to go to the coven ASAP and kill all the warlocks. The mercenary you partnered with yesterday will be there; your duties include assisting him when required.”
“Ugh, Ryan?" This screamed bad news. If I never saw him again it would be too soon. "And at this hour? What’s the time?”
My room was still dark, and I could feel the stillness of the early hours. Besides, I didn’t want to wake up Kagan, who lay next to me. Judging by his slow, rhythmic breathing, he was still sleeping soundly.
“It’s not that early. It’s nearly five in the morning.”
I sighed — still two and a half hours until my normal wake-up time.
“But why me? That’s Chaos Corporation’s responsibility,” I objected. I knew I wasn’t supposed to question the Council’s orders, but I was still baffled by their use of investigators to do a mercenary’s work.
“Aren’t you listening to me, Alex? A warlock group is in The Rowan Tree Circle in Brimstone, killing witches right now. Go and stop the massacre. You’re wasting time.” Her angry voice rose to a high pitch inside my mind, and the mental conversation disconnected.
I got it. She avoided answering my questions and instead bossed me around. A normal day at work. At least this time we had to get rid of warlocks, not demons. That’d be an easier job.
I got out of bed reluctantly, my only motivation the thought that I might be able to save some innocent lives. If I looked in the mirror, I was sure I would see Grumpy Cat staring back at me.
Kagan awoke, feeling my movements, and sat up. “Everything all right, love?” The warmth in his voice reminded me of the past few hours we’d spent together.
I turned on the lights and bent over to kiss him on the lips. “It’s Council work. They are sending me to slay a bunch of warlocks at some local witch coven in Brimstone,” I said nonchalantly, as if I did this every morning, but Kagan’s eyes became instantly wary.
“There’s another attack?” He got to his feet at breakneck speed. “I’m coming with you. But isn’t that supposed to be the work of Chaos Corporation?”
“Yes, it is.” I gritted my teeth. The fact that the owl shifter had avoided answering my question made me angry. “But maybe they are short on mercenaries. The same mage who told me about the strained relationships between the two courts claimed that Chaos Corporation couldn’t handle all these dark supernaturals’ attacks and that’s why they are using Council investigators.”
“Hmm,” Kagan muttered and scratched his stubble. I smiled inwardly, unable to help but appreciate how sexy he looked with it. I’d always had a thing for guys with day-old stubble. The intimacy of the moment tempted me to ask him if what Ryan had said was true, and whether he, as the owner of Chaos Corporation, had outsourced mercenaries from the Council to that firm. It was on the tip of my tongue… but we had no time.
We dressed quickly and grabbed our weapons then Kagan reached for his raw fae magic. It pulsated in the air around us, lighting up the room with a sparkling yellow-white color. His magic hit my senses like roaring ocean waves ready to thunder into the shore. Oh, he was angry. I made a mental note — my sweetheart didn’t like being woken up in the middle of the night.
Kagan reached further for his magic. It touched my skin swishing and sizzling until I got goosebumps. He unleashed it. A strong wind swirled around us, caressing me. He took my hand in his. His touch felt firm and reassuring. I pressed my head against his broad chest and he wrapped his hands around my waist. The air vibrated again in the same yellow-white light, then grew into a big swirl that took us through the ether into the void.
***
The magical portal delivered us to the backyard of a three-story Gothic building. It was shrouded in shadow, and only the occasional fiery blasts flashing inside illuminated the darkness around us, painting the eerie black night in flames of yellow and red. The commotion inside split the silence of the wilderness around us and only intensified the sense of eeriness and overall dread.
Kagan and I exchanged worried glances. The owl shifter hadn’t lied — it looked indeed like a massacre was taking place inside the building. Side by side, we rushed to it, and soon enough we found ourselves in the lobby.
Magical blasts of various colors flew past us; we ducked out of the way. Another magical blast followed; this one passed only inches over my head.
As I sought cover, I couldn’t help thinking this second blast felt different. The former was good, had a protective magic flavor similar to that of the guardians’, while the latter was dark, rotten, it made my skin itch and made me feel slightly nauseated.
Many smashed items littered the floor. We could hear screams from distant rooms, then an inhuman howling pierced the stillness of the early hour. The sound of it froze my blood. A wild cackle followed, echoing off the walls, and Kagan rushed forward.
“This way! Hurry up, Alex!” he shouted running ahead of me like the wind. I followed suit trying to catch up with him. He was just so damn fast and agile because of his fae powers.
We passed a few empty rooms, then we arrived to a huge hall; in the past, it must have been a sizeable ceremonial hall. Now, however, everything lay shattered, broken or still on the charred floor: chandeliers, pictures of the coven’s witch members, candles, tarot cards and whatnot. The unmoving bodies of several witches and quite a few dead dogs were sprawled around, some in grotesque body postures. Fates! My magical sense told me they were summoned dogs, and I guessed the witches had probably conjured them up to defend themselves. Not very successfully, by the looks of it.
But all those thoughts were driven away by the sight of the two remaining witches fighting off a group of about ten warlocks right before our eyes. The witches were desperately trying to hold off the warlocks’ attacks, but they were weakened by the fight. Sweat had formed on their foreh
eads and necks, their hair had fallen loose, and their eyes were glowing with a strange, crazy light. They looked as if they were fighting to stop a raging tornado right in the midst of a hurricane — the drowning making a last-ditch attempt to stay alive.
The warlocks, on the other hand, towered over the witches. Dressed all in black, they wore hoods over their heads. Only their eyes were visible — two small dots glowing crimson or purple. Unnatural.
It took me less than a minute to realize every warlock was drunk as a skunk on magic. Someone must have pumped them up with dark, destructive power, because the magic they had used here felt way more powerful than it could possibly be within their species’ limits.
Something swished above our heads, and we ducked yet again. The air exploded with all the colors of the rainbow. An eerie head and body had formed in front of us, and in the next moment a gigantic beast roared fiercely, his large fangs pointed at us, saliva dripping from his mouth. His fur was red-black and spiky as if it was made of millions of icy barbs.
The sight of the beast made me involuntarily cringe. This was a hellhound. Great, I thought, if we have to fight that thing along with the warlocks, we are in for a hell of a lot of fun.
Don’t worry, Alex, he is good, my inner voice chimed in, but I ignored it.
Then the beast bounded up to land on the floor next to us. Just when I expected him to charge at us, he took me by surprise by growling at the warlocks.
Told you so! my inner voice said.
Well, you can’t blame me for trusting my eyes, I defended myself.
Some of the warlocks turned to us and the hellhound, but before they could fire a blast of magical energy at us, the hellhound pounced on the closest warlock, tearing at his flesh and separating his head from his body with his large claws and teeth. The warlock’s screams chilled my bones before they abruptly stopped.
Kagan took advantage of the commotion and hurled a blast of his fairy magic at the rest of the warlocks. They staggered on the ground, trying hard to keep their balance. Their movements resembled those of drunkards. Kagan’s magic always dazed and threw off balance his opponents. I was just happy it wasn’t me he was fighting this time.
I reached for my own magic inside my core as well — it came to me, singing its ancient song, tempting me to release it. I grasped it firmly, letting the power fill me to the brim, and finally unleashed it. I hurled a large fireball at the warlocks and set all but one of them on fire. The flames swallowed their bodies and their cries of pain filled the air.
One of the warlocks managed, despite the panic and fear, to summon water, which he poured over their burning bodies. He summoned lots of water but it’d take time to extinguish the fiery mess I’d created. In the meantime, the hellhound had jumped to the only warlock unaffected by my blast. The beast ripped off his head. I could see pieces of the warlock’s flesh protruding from the hellhound’s pointy teeth. Savage.
“How is your magic, Alex?” Kagan asked.
“I am good, no worries here.” The fighting had invigorated me, and I felt a strange wave of magic surging through my veins. But I could tell I’d feel exhausted once my adrenaline wore off. “I think they are the ones who are really in trouble and need help, though.” I pointed at the two witches. They had retreated to the far right corner of the hall next to a couch. One of them, visibly hurt, had slumped onto it. Trails of blood snaked around her forearm, and her face was pale. She was in desperate need of healing.
“I gotta heal her. Can you keep an eye on this frenzied bunch?” I asked the fae and darted a look at the warlocks. Only five were left standing — my fireball had killed three. The surviving ones were injured, and their magical abilities were low. Their eyes had lost their glow. Their movements became slower and unbalanced.
“It’s not my first rodeo. I got this,” said Kagan, smiling. “Go, tend to her.” As I moved away, I heard him mutter to himself, “What kind of magic to hurl at you, guys?”
“An illusion spell,” I offered over my shoulder. “Sorry for eavesdropping. It’d disorient them even further, and the hellhound will finish them for good.”
“Hmm, not a bad idea. I like it.” He winked at me and threw a new, bigger magical blast at them. It was light-grayish, and vibrations sizzled inside of it like threads. It hit the warlocks straight in their chests and faces. They went paler, and their muscles began to convulse. I’d have liked to ask the fae what kind of illusion he’d cast, but I had other business to attend to.
When I got to the two witches, the less wounded one visibly tensed, her body stiffening.
“Hold your fire,” I called to her, my hands up, palms facing forward in a pacifying gesture. “I’m from the Magic Council; we were called to help you.”
“Ah, thank fates.” Her face relaxed and she sighed. She wore a big, black, cylindrical hat with a purple stripe across it. Her hair, streaked violet in places, stuck out of it at odd angles. She was tall and lean, and close to my own age, probably mid-twenties. I could barely feel her touch in my core, and given the taste of her magic, I was sure she was a green witch.
I turned to the badly wounded witch. “Is your arm your only injury?” Her coven sister had placed her hand on her wound, probably trying to heal her, her magic no match for the seriousness of injury.
“Yes. The warlocks hit me with their rotten magical energy. But what’s worse — I can feel it eating at my healthy flesh. If I don’t find a way to stop it, the infection will spread all over my body,” she said, anxiety lending her voice a higher pitch.
The witch with the violet strands turned to me. “I’m trying to heal her, but I’m merely a green witch, not a healer.”
“Let me try. I think I can help.”
The green witch took her hands off her coven sister and I placed mine on the wound. The strong toxic magic I came into contact with made me cringe. It took me a few seconds to encompass the whole wounded area. The witch had been right; the infection was spreading fast. It had already reached the witch’s wrist. I focused on stopping its progression first. Light-bluish waves flowed from my hand to her skin, and soon enough her whole body glowed in a silver-bluish shimmering light, making her look like she’d been cocooned inside a magical balloon. A quick flash glimmered, and my magic vibrated with one final flutter before it snapped shut, my work done. The witch stood up, her arm completely healed, no trace of a wound visible on her skin.
“Oh, magic, you are truly gifted!” She laughed out loud and smoothed her fingers over her arm. “Looks like new. Thank you for healing me, whoever you are,” she said, directing her gaze at me.
“I’m Alexandra Shaw, Magic Council investigator.”
Just then, a sparkling, sizzling, purple-blue magical blast caught my attention. I turned back to the fight behind me. Only three warlocks were standing, and one of them had aimed his magical energy at the hellhound. It missed the beast by inches. This only served to further infuriate the hellhound — he leapt on top of his attacker, knocking him out. Before the warlock could blast the beast again, he’d already opened his gigantic mouth, his pointy teeth glistering. Next, we heard the crunching sound of broken bones. The guy screamed for a short moment, then fell silent.
My gaze shifted to my boyfriend’s face. I could see his firm focus in the set of his jaw. He’d obviously had to work harder than usual to manipulate these supernaturals’ will, but he was doing just fine. The warlocks’ eyes looked even more unfocused, their bodies inert and staggering as if they were dizzy. They looked like they would fall to the ground any moment now.
Kagan didn’t need my help, and I was fine with that. I had used quite a lot of energy and feared the crash that always followed this level of effort. True, I was riding high on my magic for now but I didn’t want to push it. Best to save my strength in case it was needed later.
The hellhound pounced on the warlock closest to him, who stood with his back to the beast. Kagan’s illusion had made him think his adversary was the other side of him. The warlock hit the wal
l with his magical energy. Purple-blue waves struck the wall before him and cracked it. Limestone and paint sprinkled the floor.
The hellhound’s savage eye color intensified. His pupils glowed with wild, red flames, and his fur had turned suddenly spikier. He was ready to slay — he looked like a gigantic, straight-out-of-hell demon, living up to its name. In the nick of time, before I could blink, he buried his teeth in the back of the warlock’s neck, bones crunching and blood spurting all around. The cry of agony the man gave was beyond words.
“The end is nigh,” the witch I’d healed said. We were all watching the fight, transfixed.
I nodded. “Yeah, a minute more and the beast will kill the last warlock.”
“And to think we’d lost faith and nearly given up,” the witch with the cylinder hat and violet strands added.
I looked around the room for any hidden traps and dangers, and that’s when I spotted him — Ryan, the arrogant mage I’d partnered with the day before. He stood to the side of the entrance, shrouded in shadows, looking more like a ghostly surreal figure than a living person. I had completely forgotten about him. I knew he was supposed to be here and we had to fight off this bunch of warlocks together, but since I didn’t initially see him, I assumed that, true to form, he hadn’t bothered to show up. Or that he’d gotten lost. I stared harder at him and noticed his gaze was virtually glued to the hellhound, watching his every move. That was unusual. It suddenly dawned on me: He had conjured a similar beast yesterday, though that one had been a three-headed dog.
A new cracking of bones, accompanied by more howls of agony, drew my attention back to the battle. The last warlock lay sprawled on the floor, his chest barely moving. I walked over and watched his eyes darken and become opaque. The magic inside him fluttered as if it wanted to flee from his dying body. In a few seconds his eyes lost their spark completely, and I knew he’d died. His magic drifted in the air around us for a while longer before disintegrating. We all felt it — evil, cut out to hurt, inflict pain and wreak chaos. My heart quivered with glee at the thought that we’d delivered the world from this wicked bastard.