Junkyard Queen (Alexa O'Brien Huntress Book 12)

by Trina M. Lee

  When Kale’s Camaro pulled into the parking lot I muttered, “Nobody make this a fucking issue. Not tonight.” I hadn’t wanted him to come, but he’d insisted.

  It should have comforted me that I had a group of people willing to put themselves on the line for the greater good. For the safety of our city. For me. In reality it worried me so much more. I didn’t want to see anyone hurt.

  Arys and Shaz had one of their silent chitchats. I shot them both a death glare, my own wordless communication. They could be pissy and hateful all they liked, except tonight.

  “You got this, Lex,” Jez assured me as we made the four-block walk to the church. “If anyone can pull this off, it’s you.”

  Fear gripped me. The battle for confidence was kicking my ass, and I didn’t think I could win. “I never dreamed I’d have to go up against Willow.” I sighed, shoulders falling. I stared at the cracks in the sidewalk. “I mean, it’s Willow.”

  “I know.” With a solemn nod Jez took my hand. The energy of her beast felt lively. Comforting. I savored that sensation.

  We walked in small groups, spread out along the sidewalk. Kale hung back, going it alone. Jenner too seemed to prefer his space, while Shaz and Arys spoke in hushed tones, keeping to themselves.

  The church loomed against the city skyline as we approached. The large steeple towered above the grand entrance. A stone staircase invited one to ascend, to go inside and explore the grand beauty of the building.

  I sensed Gabriel before I spotted him. Along the side of the church was a snow-covered grassy area. He stood beneath a skeletal tree, having lost its leaves for the winter.

  So where was Willow?

  Wary, I slowed my pace. Sweeping the vicinity, I searched for any sign of the demon. I swallowed hard when he emerged from the shadows to join Gabriel.

  Here goes nothing.

  Black wings cloaked Willow. Clad all in black, the talisman he’d stolen from Brogan’s magic shop hung around his neck. It gleamed in the streetlight.

  Gabriel held a dead rabbit in one hand, a dagger in the other. The closer we drew, the thicker the dark energy surrounding them grew. Murky. Like I had to wade through it, pushing against a flow of sludge.

  All I had in my arsenal was the angel blood in my pocket, my link to the Kayson vampires, and my ability to manipulate energy with my twin flame. Once I locked eyes with Willow, seeing the dark intent within them, I prayed that would be enough.

  Just a bit longer and I would know. No turning back time. No escaping. I’d either be leaving here a failure or a success. And either way, I would likely lose a dear friend.

  “Go back to your nightclub, Alexa,” Willow greeted me like an ant come to ruin his picnic. “There is no point in you being here. It will only make things more difficult for both of us.”

  “Yeah, that’s kind of what I’m counting on.” A brief glance at my phone informed me that we had just minutes. “Did you really think I’d let you do this? I love you, Willow. I’m here to show you how much.”

  Suspicion clouded his face. Eyes narrowed, he scrutinized me, trying to figure out what I intended to do. “Alright then. Have it your way. This is happening whether you stay or go.”

  I crossed my arms and faced him head on. “Fine with me.”

  My fear fled in the face of certainty. There were no ifs, ands, or buts. This had to be done, and I had to be the one to do it. Willow needed me.

  My gaze drifted to the talisman he wore, a large pyramid with a snake embossed over top of it. When I focused I could hear the hum emitted by the charm. Pure evil.

  Poor Gabriel radiated absolute misery. I tried to give him a reassuring smile but didn’t think it manifested on my face. It felt more like a bizarre, twisted grimace.

  “Why bother to go unseen, Falon? I know you’re here.” Willow directed his remark to the streetlight.

  With a huff and a scowl, Falon appeared beneath it. The light shone down from above, the glow casting a halo around him. Strange irony.

  I hadn’t expected the fallen angel to back me. Our recent exchanges had led me to think it best not to expect anything from him at all. I wasn’t naïve enough to think he’d come because of me. The Circle wanted Willow properly dealt with. He was here for them.

  “Don’t mind me.” Falon stuffed his hands into the pockets of his trendy pants. “I’m just here to observe.”

  Willow snickered. “Sure you are.” The demon began to ready himself. He spoke to Gabriel, going over the ritual chant. “Remember, should you try to sabotage this in any way, your mother suffers for it.”

  I gasped. That threat did not come from the Willow I knew. Hearing him speak such evil stabbed me in the soul. This was who he’d become for me. No. Fuck that. I had to change it.

  Arys drew closer as the clock ticked down to the final minute. Him on one side of me, Shaz on the other, I readied myself for what might be the most difficult thing I’d ever attempted.

  Smudge and Jez lurked on the other side of the street. I couldn’t see them as they clung to the shadows, but I could feel their presence. Jenner and Kale both hung back, close enough that their hair rose with the gathering power but removed from the heart of the storm.

  “So,” Willow said, seconds before the clock ran out, “can I ask what you plan to do here?”

  “You’ll find out any minute now,” I replied, tone warm and gentle. I had come here in love, and I wanted him to see that.

  “If you say so.” He turned to Gabriel and held up a finger.

  Nerves gripped me. Apprehension rose to a pulse pounding level. I felt the shift in the atmosphere the moment the planets reached optimal position.

  Willow and Gabriel began to chant, standing a few feet apart, staring at the ground. My gaze went to the pentagram drawn there between them and Willow’s sigil in the middle, a set of antlers.

  No more waiting. The time was now.

  I pulled the vial of angel blood from my pocket along with the vial of human blood I’d obtained from a ready and willing Hayden back at The Wicked Kiss. Now I just needed Willow’s blood.

  Moving fast before he figured out what I had in mind, I rushed him. Slashing claws across his exposed wrist, I rubbed my palm over the blood that surfaced even as the gash healed. Darting back out of reach, I used my other hand to crush the vials, allowing the human and angel blood to mix with Willow’s.

  The angel blood in my hand sang with divinity and promise. And Dear God did it smell good.

  Willow faltered in his chant. Realization dawned on him. Confusion creased his brow. He glanced from me to Gabriel, uncertain. Then he lunged for me.

  Gabriel chose that moment to cut the rabbit’s throat, letting the blood drip onto the pentagram. Sulfuric smoke rose from the center.

  “You have no idea what you’re doing, Alexa,” Willow shouted. Forced back to Gabriel, lest he ruin his great plan, he squandered his last chance to stop this madness. “You’re a fool to even try.”

  “Only twin flames can do what we’re about to do. But you already know that, don’t you? It’s happening, Willow.” The blood in my palm warmed as the varying energy sources mixed. I could feel each of them, could bend them all to my will.

  “Did Salem tell you what it means to make me human?” he countered, desperation in his voice. “Or did he conveniently forget to mention that everything I’ve ever done will be undone. And that includes your keystone.”

  CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

  No. Salem had informed me of no such thing.

  Filled with doubt, I glanced to Arys.

  He gave one shake of his head. That was all.

  We couldn’t stop now. This wasn’t about us and what was in our best interest. We’d come as the reigning vampires of the city to protect what was ours and to save my dear friend.

  Shaz had no obvious reaction to this revelation, but his lack of reaction said enough. The hard set to his jaw and the tension in his frame conveyed his unease. Things were about to change for us it seemed.

 
; “That’s the price I have to pay to save you from yourself,” I said, fighting a swell of emotion. “Because you gave up everything to save me, and I just can’t live with that anymore.”

  Sorrow filled Willow’s scarlet eyes. “Don’t be a fool.”

  We couldn’t wait any longer. The mix of blood cupped in one palm, I reached for Arys with my free hand. He clasped it tightly in his own. Our power united as a spark lit up the night above us.

  I focused hard on Willow, seeing his energy in my mind, feeling it like the dirty smear it had become. I couldn’t grab hold of it without first drawing on all the power in my arsenal. Arys and I pulled hard on the well stored within the two of us. Vast and wide as it was, it still couldn’t take down a demon.

  Not without a little help.

  Jenner and Kale were the first two our energy seized. Being joined to both of us by blood, they were the easiest targets.

  Before we could strip Willow, we first had to strip everyone else. The plan was to take all we could without making their heads explode. No big deal. Right?

  Arys acted as a secondary channel, allowing me to be the main focal point, the one who directed the flow. Because the light dwelled within me, I had the best chance of making the various energy sources play nicely together.

  With a shout Shaz went down beside me. On his knees, he gasped for air. The energy ripped from him, feeding the mass I built. I didn’t expect the power to target Shaz too, yet the spark of my essence within him made him part of this.

  Kale and Jenner managed to stay upright but not without a struggle. In my head I felt the other Harley Kayson vampires, and I drew on them as well. Surely they must be getting used to this by now.

  All the while Willow and Gabriel chanted. The talisman around Willow’s neck began to glow with a slowly flickering red heat, and as they chanted, that light brightened.

  Being ours, Gabriel too succumbed to our draw. His knees buckled and his voice faltered. Willow grabbed his arm and shook him. Knowing his dear mother lay on the line, Gabriel fought to keep going.

  To keep chanting.

  The mass of energies mixed in my head. I struggled to form them into one great force. Once I had control of that force, I concentrated on adding the power of Salem’s blood to the mix.

  And then I went for Willow.

  Blood-filled hand extended to guide the power, I grabbed hold of his demonic essence and pulled with everything I had. Willow’s shriek hurt my ears, as I ripped away the first bit of his demonic essence like a well-stuck Band-Aid. But it encouraged me to keep going.

  Because it was working.

  I tore his energy away, piece by piece. My head pounded as I struggled to rip it off in one great strip. Willow resisted, fighting to shield against me. But he couldn’t resist the power of the angel’s blood.

  Willow paused in his chant, a split second which he used to fling a shot of darkness at us. He managed to sever my tie with Gabriel, though I think he’d been aiming for Arys.

  Willow was weakening.

  We’d also managed to distract him. Now he had a choice to make. Focus on us and screw up his ritual or focus on that and allow us to continue. He had only minutes to make the most of the alignment’s power.

  So did we.

  “Alexa, stop. You’ll kill yourself before you strip me.” Willow spoke through clenched teeth.

  Blood dripped from my nose. That hadn’t happened in ages, pretty much since I became a vampire. The overload of power grew heavy in my head. Channeling so much didn’t come easy. It took massive effort to keep it flowing, to stay focused.

  “If I manage to stop you, then it will be worth it,” I grunted, clutching Arys’s hand tight enough to break bones. The coolness of him eased the scorching heat toasting my insides.

  That would be temporary.

  Muttering curse words colorful enough to make even me blush, Willow abandoned any notion of stopping me. He pulled a bag of orange dust from a pocket and sprinkled it on the pentagram. Some kind of plant material came next.

  He and Gabriel kept up the chant. The sky darkened overhead until the only light came from the streetlights. They began to flicker, threatening to plunge us all into darkness.

  Willow’s movements grew stiff. He fought to continue despite his growing weakness.

  Something was missing. I had everything I needed according to Salem, and yet I needed a little kick. My power sought that missing piece.

  And found it in Falon. Because he was mine.

  The ability to tap Falon’s power as I had my vampires felt both terrifying and kind of satisfying. Once his immortal essence blended with the rest, I had that last boost needed to tear Willow down.

  But his chant had ceased. With a small blade Willow dripped his own blood into the pentagram, and his ritual was complete.

  I’d reached for Falon too late.

  A puff of smoke billowed up from the pentagram. A crack of thunder sounded overhead. Willow fell to his knees, barely holding on. But he’d succeeded where I had failed.

  I stumbled as my legs threatened to fold.

  The great purge erupted in full force. The bar next door vomited forth people already engaged in combat. One by one, so-called evil doers fell victim to Willow’s unholy creation.

  Unfortunately, that included most of my companions.

  Everyone around me snapped, like a switch had been flipped. Arys jerked away from me, turning on Jenner. Kale moved like a possessed man, leaping into the fight.

  Across the street I saw Smudge and Jez turn on each other. Every person with a dark side fell under the spell.

  Everyone except Shaz, Falon, and me.

  “What’s happening?” I shouted, frantically trying to figure out my next move.

  Falon suddenly stood in front of me. Grabbing hold of my arms, he shook me. “Don’t you dare give up now, you bitch. It’s not over.”

  I could understand why Shaz might not be identified as an evil doer. Though his hands were far from clean, there wasn’t an evil bone in his body.

  But why Falon and me?

  “What’s going on? Why aren’t we affected?” My teeth rattled as he shook me. My head hurt.

  “It’s targeting humans, anyone who used to be human,” Falon spoke fast, glancing at Willow who remained down. “That’s not me. And it can’t take you, a creature of light.”

  Everywhere around us people exploded into violence. My head drooped as I accepted defeat. “I failed.”

  “Don’t hold this against me later.” Falon’s hand cracked across my face. “You are the queen of light and dark. Nobody possesses them both the way you do. Now get up and finish this. It’s not over.”

  The sting of his hand snapped my head up. Son of a bitch just slapped me. I bared fangs at him.

  He dragged me to my feet and shoved me toward Willow. “Finish this, Alexa. Do it. Now.”

  Driven by Falon’s encouragement and the spark of light within me, I surged forward. Salem had told me not to let Willow escape to the other side. If he regained much strength, he surely would. Gabriel had joined in the chaos, leaving Willow alone.

  I could do this.

  I had to do this.

  With my bloody hand, I thrust my fingers between Willow’s. Up close and personal I was better able to make him my sole focus.

  The street quickly filled with people intent on causing as much harm to one another as possible. I risked a glance about, finding Shaz and Falon doing all they could do keep our people from killing each other. The chaos grew quickly. I had to hurry.

  “I refuse to accept this.” I stared into Willow’s red eyes, took hold of his waning energy, and jerked hard.

  Queen of light and dark. Falon’s words rang in my ears.

  He was right. If I didn’t reign someone else would. And that just wouldn’t do. By taking on Willow, a friend lost to absolute darkness, I’d be asserting myself as queen of the city. My city.

  Even though my vampires were busy hurting each other, I had no problem
drawing on their power. I weakened them until they could hardly throw punches. With that stolen strength, I wrenched Willow’s power away, leaving him a barren mess.

  Using the angelic essence to guide my intent, I concentrated on the human energy and thrust it into Willow with everything I had left in me. The exertion tore a cry from my battered soul. Guided by my focus, the power did the real work. The human essence filled the void within Willow, locked in place by the twin flame force, helped by the angelic Light Flame of Salem.

  Willow’s back arched, and he screamed as his wings disappeared.

  I held tight to his hand. Power poured from me to him, and I must have screamed too. My insides felt raw. Blood dripped from my nose.

  Gazing into Willow’s wide eyes, I whispered, “I love you.”

  He collapsed face down in the snow and ice atop the pentagram. Motionless he lay there.

  And things started to change.

  People came back to themselves, confused, wondering what the hell had happened. Sadly, several bodies littered the street. My companions were bruised and bloody, but they’d suffered nothing they couldn’t survive. Such a relief.

  Right away I felt something shift as the keystone link to Shaz dissolved.

  Nothing had changed between us. I knew that. But still it saddened me.

  Shaz had been set free. He’d never asked to be our peace bond.

  Yet I feared what this meant for Arys and me. I’d seen Salem’s memories. They were filled with misery. But there had been joy too. Love. Our bond would survive the spirit of conflict. It just had to.

  I searched for Arys, finding him assessing an especially ugly cut on Jez’s face. Killer, a voice whispered through my mind. He’s a monster who sees only your death when he looks at you.

  No. I shook my head to silence the voice. We were one.

  I turned back to Willow. Gently I rolled him onto his back. His chest rose and fell with steady breaths. I could hear the beat of his heart, fragile in its human state but regular.