Brailynn wasn’t following. What did upgrading the property have to do with why Derrick would want it?
Andrej pointed toward the projector. But as she stepped closer to it, Brailynn noticed was it really was. A map. But it was topographical.
“This isn’t your ordinary map,” Andrej told the group. “As you can see, there are no mountains, no buildings. This is actually a map of below ground.”
“Tunnels,” Colton said.
“Exactly.”
“So, people built the tunnels?” Brailynn asked.
“Some did, yes.” Andrej pointed to a location. “We are here.”
Everyone moved in closer, gathering around so they could see it.
“All these tunnels branch off from one central location,” he told them. “Right under Wallace’s feet.”
The group turned to see Wallace stand on a rug in the center of the room.
“A trapped door?” Brailynn asked, turning back to her mate.
“Exactly,” Andrej repeated. “These tunnels were meant to safeguard all those who lived here. If we were ever attacked, we could drop below and live in the tunnels.”
“What about food?” Tabatha asked. “Water?”
“It’s all down there.” Andrej shrugged. “Along the tunnels are separate living quarters, kind of like apartments.”
“Wow.” Brailynn didn’t know what else to say.
“Over the years we have had all kinds of shifters stop by and rest for a while,” Wallace added. “Moles, gophers, groundhogs. Hell,” he nodded his chin toward Evan, “even a bear or two that have helped dig the tunnels you see on that map.”
“That’s amazing,” Colton replied. The others in the group nodded in agreement.
“Yeah.” Andrej pulled the candle holders again, and this time the screen rose back into place as the light flickered off and the window’s shutters disappeared back to where they came to allow light back into the room. “So, at the end of the day,” he resumed speaking. “Whoever holds this place, holds the winning hand. People could survive in the tunnels for… years.”
“Damn,” Colton cursed. “Exactly how many people are we talking about here?”
“Hundreds?” Andrej shrugged. “Maybe more.”
“Holy shit,” Tabatha echoed her husbands' last statement. “The Fates knew.”
“You think?” Brailynn asked.
“Think about it,” Tabatha told her, then she looked around the room. “The Fates know about this. They know it all. What better way to win a battle than to build the deck in your favor? They knew it would all come down to us. In this moment. Right now. All of us together. They knew it.”
Brailynn nodded, completely agreeing with her.
Taking deep breaths, she prepared herself for the onslaught of voices that would hammer into her head. Slowly, she lowered her mental shields.
“Boanna?” she called out mentally.
“Yes, Mother Earth?”
Her words hit Brailynn square in the chest. She was Mother Earth. The highest being on the planet.
“Or anywhere, really,” Boanna added. “Nobody has great powers than you. Not even I.”
“Or me,” Tinia’s voice tinkled through her mind,
“Or me,” Vesla added, her voice sounded almost bored.
Brailynn took a moment to breathe away the nausea that seemed to almost overtake her. Being the new Mother Earth, or Great Mother, or whatever it was that she would be called, was nerve-wracking.
What if she messed up? What if she used a spell wrong? What if… Oh, my goodness! she thought. What if she cast a spell and it ended the world? Or turned all humans into puppies!
“Hey, if you can turn all humans into puppies…” Vesla laughed. “Then the world would be a better place.”
“Can you imagine them!” Tinia added. “So soft and cuddly.” She squealed.
“Okay, stop!” Brailynn shouted.
“Um. Okay.” Colton looked at her like she’d lost her mind.
He’s not that far off.
“You aren’t crazy!” Boanna scuffed.
“Sorry,” she told Colton. “Not you.” She shook her head. “I call upon the Wiccan Mothers. Boanna, Vesla, and Tinia – make yourself appear.”
She had no idea how she knew that if she called them, they would come, but she did. There was a lot of information in her head that had suddenly appeared. Even things that happened way before her time.
“Whoa!” Colton exclaimed.
The room startled as the three Wiccan Mothers materialized. For Brailynn, it wasn’t that big of a deal, but she realized that some of the others probably weren’t used to ghostly figures popping up here and there.
“Sorry,” she apologized again. “Didn’t mean to scare you.”
“You can summon the dead?” Colton asked.
“Excuse you!” Vesla flicked her wrist and a fireball formed in the center of her hand. It swirled around itself until it grew to the size of a softball. “Who’s dead here, dragon? I mean, aside from you, if you talk mess again.”
Colton looked at Brailynn, then at Tabatha.
“Trust me firebreather, they can’t help you,” Vesla threatened.
“Alright, that’s enough,” Brailynn jumped in. “He didn’t mean anything by the comment. So back off.”
Vesla eyes narrowed on the man for a moment longer before she huffed a breath and turned away from him and asked Brailynn, “You rang?”
“Since you guys can’t seem to stay quiet in my head and speak one at a time…”
“Wait, you hear them in your head?” Tabatha asked.
“Yeah.”
“Like, constantly?” she questioned.
“Yep.”
“Oy!” Tabatha shook her head. “That would drive me insane.”
“You have no idea,” Brailynn muttered.
“Hey!” Boanna crossed her arms, offended. “That’s rude. We just like to include you. After all, you are the Great Mother now.”
“About that…” Brailynn had a few questions. “Why do I have thoughts in my head that I know aren’t mine?”
“I would assume that when Gaia gave you her powers,” Tinia explained. “That you also inherited some of her memories. Probably ones that she thought you would find useful.”
“Okay.” That made sense, sort of. “Also, was this set up?” She wiggled her finger around to include everyone in the room. “Have you guys manipulated people over the years to come here and set this place up for whatever is to come?”
The three mothers looked at one another curiously. “We are not the Fates,” Boanna answered. “There are things that even we do not know. However, I will admit, we did play in all of this, a bit.”
She turned her back to the group. She didn’t know what to say. Was anything in her life true?
“Don’t be angry,” Tinia said softly. “Even before your birth, Gaia had picked you,” she went on to say. “We had to do what was necessary to ensure that when the time came, you would survive. You would grow to be the strong woman she needed you to be.”
Brailynn spun around, anger shining in her eyes. “Is that why you took my parents from me? My grandmother?” Brailynn snapped.
Somewhere in the distance, a loud clap of lightning struck followed quickly by a roll of thunder. Her unchecked emotions caused a storm to brew out of nowhere.
She felt him move.
“Calm, moje láska,” Andrej whispered in her ear. “Control it. Settle down.”
His words soothed her.
“Remember, without their meddling, we wouldn’t have found each other,” he said, softly kissing the place behind her ear.
The rains slowly began to recede, and the lightning and thunder eventually vanished. “It is what it is,” she muttered, even though she still wasn’t too sure of how she felt.
Anger. Excitement. Sadness. Joy.
They just seemed to bounce between good and bad.
One day she would take the time to examine them more clos
ely, but right now wasn’t the time. If Derrick and the Hunters were really heading toward them, Brailynn need to think of a plan and put it into action – Now.
“Can we send a couple of people down into the tunnels to make sure everything is still good?” she asked Andrej. “Maybe check the structure? Make sure none of the walls need to be repaired.
“Absolutely.”
“We’ll go,” Evan volunteered himself and Paulie.
“Okay,” Andrej agreed. “Check on the food supply, too. It should be fine, but just give it a look through. Also, the ventilation.”
Evan nodded.
Wallace hit the button again and the windows shuttered closed, blocking out all the natural light.
“Why do you do that?” Malcom asked. “Ninety percent of us are supers. We can see in the dark. So, it’s not like y’all are hiding how to enter the tunnel.”
“We aren’t trying to hide it from the people in this room,” Andrej replied. “The shutters were installed to hide the access point from anyone outside of our group. What’s the point in a safe hideout is everyone knows about it?”
“I mean, Derrick kind of already knows about it,” Colton pointed out the obvious.
“Correction,” Andrej said. “He knows of it, but not where it is or how to get to it. And that’s how we intend to keep hidden.”
“Fair enough.” Malcom nodded.
Andrej pulled the candle holder and as Evan and Paulie descended the flight of stairs, Brailynn couldn’t help but wonder, if soon, that hole would be the only safe place for them.
Chapter Eighteen
Andrej
He was worried about her.
Andrej could feel her stress. He could feel the nervous energy that entangled her essence. And he could feel her fear.
It will be okay, moje láska. He sent the words via their link.
At least one of us thinks so, she retorted.
Look around, you have an army, Andrej told her. All these people would die for you.
That’s what I’m afraid of, she admitted. What if I lead them to their deaths?
Then it was their choice.
His beautiful mate was more concerned about everyone else than herself. And Andrej was finding that he liked that quality. So often, people were found to be more centered on themselves than others. So, seeing the care that his mate had for others, was refreshing.
“Alright.” Brailynn cleared her throat. “We need to send out a few people to…” She stopped speaking and tilted her head to the side as if she were listening for something.
“What?” Andrej asked, on alert.
She held up a hand.
Her eyes jumped to the door.
Before Andrej could say anything, she moved. Like a flash, first, she was standing beside him, and the next she wasn’t.
He moved in behind her as she opened the door.
“What’s wrong Brailynn?” Tabatha asked, following behind them.
“I thought…” her words trailed off.
“What?” Andrej whispered low.
“There’s someone, actually a few someone’s, out there.”
He followed her line of sight but saw nothing. Using his enhanced hearing, Andrej listened. “I don’t –”
Before he could finish, Brailynn was off the porch and across the lawn. His heart jumped into his throat as she disappeared into the woods. If Derrick and the Hunters were out there, she would be alone to face them.
As Andrej stepped off the porch to follow, he could hear the others behind him. Someone gasped and commented on how fast Brailynn could move, while others gave it no thought at all and shifted into animal form. She might not realize it yet, but this misfit group of ragtag shifters would follow her anywhere – because they believed in her, that much.
False alarm, her voice whispered through his mind.
Andrej raised a hand to halt the others.
“What is it?” Alfonzo asked.
What’s going on? Andrej asked her.
I thought Derrick was near but turns out, Malcom has members of his Pride in the forest.
Andrej turned toward the lion shifter. “You have a crew in the woods?”
Malcom looked confused for a second before turning toward his mate. “I thought you covered them up, or whatever?”
“I did,” Tabatha answered. “How did you know?” She gave Andrej a weary look.
“Brailynn.” He tapped his temple.
“Oh.” Tabatha looked as confused as everyone else.
“So, are we not under attack?” DeMarcus asked.
“No,” Brailynn answered. They all turned in time to see Brailynn stepping out of the shadows with a group of men. “At least not at the moment.”
“How did you know?” Tabatha asked her.
Brailynn shrugged. “I don’t know.”
“She is the Great Mother.” The entire group turned to see the ghostly Wiccans standing behind them. “Or have you all forgotten? Brailynn knows all. Can hear all and sense all. If she so chooses. No spell can stop her.”
“Wait.” Harper held up her index finger. “You mean to tell us, the Great Mother, can hear us at any given time if she wants?”
“Yes,” The Wiccan’s said in unison.
“She can hear me talking about football?” Alfonzo asked.
“If she tunes into you,” Boanna answered. “Yes.”
“Nice.” Alfonzo nodded.
“Alright,” Harper interrupted. “If she hears and knows everything, why can’t she just find Derrick’s location and zap him? Problem solved. Mission complete. The world is safe.”
“I’m sorry,” Boanna said. “It is not that easy.”
Harper sighed. “Of course, it’s not,” she replied dryly. “It never is.”
“There are certain things that only Fate can change,” Vesla commented.
“And y’all aren’t Fate?” Lolie, the quiet wolf shifter asked.
“No!” The three Wiccans shook their heads. “No. No. No. Like we said before, The Fates are so much more powerful than us. They are the deciders of all.”
“Then who are you?” Lolie questioned.
“We are the Wiccan Mothers,” Vesla replied, her tone stating how obviously stupid his question was. “Witches, as many would say. We control the elements around us and a few other things. That is all. The Fates control everything. They play with humans and the supernatural as if we are all miniature puppets, and they are the puppet masters.”
“That is the most disturbing thing I have ever heard,” Lolie commented, shaking his head.
“If you think that is alarming, just wait,” Vesla countered. “It gets a lot better.”
Andrej could tell his friend was uncomfortable. Hell, they all were. If the Wiccans couldn’t help them stop what was coming, then who would?
“Listen,” Boanna raised her voice. “We understand that there is a lot that you don’t know. We also understand that you all may have questions. But please realize that right now, is not the time. Derrick Petrova and the Hunters are gathering forces. They are just over the horizon and will soon converge upon this sacred ground. And if you aren’t ready, they will destroy you.”
The witch’s words silenced the group.
Andrej looked at his mate and watched her as she looked around, taking in each person who stood there.
“I can call in a few more people,” Colton offered.
“Then do it,” Boanna said. “Because Brailynn and Tabatha will need all the help they can get.”
“Thanks for the vote of confidence,” Tabatha replied.
“It has nothing to do with confidence, Supreme One,” Tinia responded. “It has to do with forces. You can be the strongest on Earth and still be weak.”
“I will also make some calls,” Andrej offered. He knew of a few covens around the world that wouldn’t mind a run-in with some Hunters.
He stepped over and kissed his mate. “I’ll be right back.”
“Okay.” She squeezed his hand.
>
He planted a soft kiss on her forehead before leaving her with the other to go find extra reinforcements.
“…soon,” he told him. “As in now. It would be greatly appreciated.”
“As you wish, brother.”
And they each hung up their phone.
It had been many decades since he’d last spoken to him. So much had changed, yet everything seemed the same. But he guessed that was just how those types of relationships worked sometimes. Friends that could go days, weeks, even years without speaking and then one day, pick up the phone and just continue as nothing happened. Those were the best kind of friendships and he was glad he still had at least one of those, now that Gaia was gone.
However, he did need to warn Brailynn before he got there. It would probably come as quite a shock to learn that your mate had an identical twin, and that twin was also a vampire. However, Anders looked much older than Andrej. That was because he was turned much later in life. Where Andrej had been turned by Vlad when he was a mere twenty-two, Anders wasn’t turned until he was in his late forties and nearly dying from diphtheria.
Back then, Andrej had already lost everyone else he cared for. His brother had been the last family he had remain. He was so desperate to hold on to someone, that without getting Anders’s consent, Andrej had turned him. Cursing him to live out the rest of his days as a vampire.
It was something that Andrej was not proud of, but it was done, and he couldn’t change it. Not that Anders would want him to. Unlike him, his brother had always loved being a vamp. And to be honest, knowing what he knows now, and witnessing the events after, Andrej still didn’t know if he would change history if given the choice.
He stood from his desk and walked out of his office.
Andrej could hear everyone’s voices and followed them to the living room. He stood in the doorway and surveyed them all. So many people, from different areas, with different stories, all coming together to fight one common enemy. He sent up a silent prayer that when all of this was over, that they would all make it back alive – and in one piece.
Andrej cleared his throat. Evan and Paulie were back, so he veered over to them to get an update.
“How was everything?” Andrej asked.
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