Apane’s lower lip trembled and she clenched her eyes closed. Meredith had no doubt that the spirit’s hands would also be over her ears if she hadn’t had a tight hold on them. Meredith squeezed her friend’s hand harder.
“If we don’t do this, everything is over. This world, this mortal plane is done. There will no longer be any barrier between us and Aites. What do you think that will mean for the other spirits of the earth and heavens? What do you think that will mean for the people here?”
“It won’t do any good,” she insisted.
“Hey, we can’t know unless we try. I don’t want to see all this end. I don’t think you do either. Now come on. Please. I need your help.”
Apane miserably nodded her head as she stood.
“Who told you of all of this?”
“Tiurma,” Meredith replied as she peeked out around the corner from behind the door.
Apane fell silent behind her and didn’t speak again as they hurried down the corridor to the elevator. The normal silence of the hallway felt like a threatening specter, grinning down at them. Always watching. What was worse was that the shades were following her. Their mouths gaped open in silent howls and screams. Meredith was fortunate that she couldn’t hear them. She didn’t think her mind would’ve been able to deal with that.
The elevator slid soundlessly shut behind them and Meredith turned to scrutinize her friend. She seemed overly anxious, more so than normal. Yeah, they were about to do a pretty risky thing but the lasa seemed utterly withdrawn, her silvery eyes almost glowing as she frowned at the empty space in front of her. When the lasa had taken her exploring the day before, she’d been full of curiosity and mischief; even when they risked going near the door at the rear of the kitchen, her friend had been fearless. This change was alarming for Meredith, so much so that when the elevator slid open, she turned and set a hand on her friend’s shoulder.
“Hey, if you are really scared, you don’t have to do this. I’ll think of something.”
Her friend suddenly looked over with her customary sweet smile, despite the fact that it didn’t seem to quite reach her eyes.
“No, I will not leave you to do this on your own, mistress. We will go together, and I will draw the guard away. Human men can’t resist my kind. You must be quick, though. I do not know how long I can keep his attention diverted.”
Meredith wrapped her arms around Apane, hugging her close. The lasa stiffened but then a hand came up and gripped Meredith’s shoulder, returning the embrace. Pulling back, Meredith smiled.
“You are truly the best.”
“It is nothing. I will give anything to be reunited with my sisters.”
Meredith blinked at the odd phrasing.
“Yes, I’m sure that you will be taken home again once we succeed.”
Apane’s grin widened, her eyes gleaming oddly.
“It is all I’ve been dreaming about, mistress. I can’t wait to return to my lady.”
Meredith stepped back uncomfortably but her friend gripped her arm hard.
“Mistress, I should tell you then, they are not keeping the gatekeeper in the cellar anymore. Forgive me for not saying so earlier, but I was afraid. I am still frightened, but this promise is worth it. It is worth any cost. The gatekeeper is in the reception room. Come quick and follow me.”
Apane took her hand and together they ran through the kitchen, ducking around the staff who were beginning to trickle in. It was a strange sight, since she couldn’t recall anyone being up so early before to attend to anything in the mansion. Not even the human staff.
Stumbling in her wretched high heels, Meredith attempted to keep up. She never would have guessed that the lasa was so quick. She nearly flew over the floor, dragging Meredith behind her.
Despite the morning light coming through the large windows at the front of the house, she could feel darkness seeping all around her. It fell everywhere like a veil, consuming every bit of life in the room. It was more than just the shades this time. It was menacing and crawled through the space with numerous long, thin legs. The darkness was a giant arachnid, spinning its web over the world, preparing to drop down and consume her and everything else. The ceiling bowed under its weight and even the chandelier dipped and was in truth its great multitude of luminous eyes. Meredith whimpered to herself as she was pulled into the ballroom.
A flare of light cut through the darkness and Meredith breathed a sigh of relief as the shadows uncoiled from each other and drew back to the periphery of the room. At the rear of the room was Charu’s cage from the wagon, glowing with an eerie light along the bars and chains that held him in place. On a table beside him sat the lamp, still flaring brightly despite the bloody crimson beams that pulsated through it. She gave it a passing glance, relieved to see it, but her entire being centered on the male tethered to the bars, the light of the chains making the blue muscles of his chest and arms gleam. Even his proud, arching horns seemed to shine.
His eyes devoured her, and his lips parted as he whispered her name on an uneven breath. He made as if to step forward and the chains rattled angrily around him. He growled and Meredith shook off Apane’s hand, consumed with the need to be with him.
Running up to the cage, her eyes greedily took him in. The lines of Charu’s face and body never looked more unforgiving, primed for battle or sex, or maybe both. There was nothing soft or gentle about him as he stood there, muscles standing out against the chains, nothing but the red glow of his eyes that softened just for her. He stretched his hands for her despite being bound tightly to the bars, and Meredith reached through and took his hands in hers.
“Meredith,” he murmured, a trace of sadness in his voice that had her drawing her gaze back up to his face, perplexed. “You should not have come here. It was a trap. You had to come willingly to him for the rite to be recognized by the Fates.”
Her eyes widened and she shook her head. It couldn’t possibly be true. She hadn’t come to anyone but Charu. There was no one else. She turned, her eyes searching for her friend, and froze when she saw Apane walk from a further corner of the room at the side of the lauchume, Lacth.
“Apane, what...?”
The lasa smiled as the wulkwos king stroked her hair gently, dropping a kiss on the top of her head as if she were his favorite child.
“I’m sorry, mistress. I tried to tell you. There is never escape from what the lauchume wants. You shouldn’t have listened to Tiurma, but it will be okay now. You will see. You will be the mate of a powerful ruler and I can go home. He promised. You see, I will be returned to my lady and the eternal meadows.”
“What the fuck have you done?” Meredith cried out as a number of other wulkwos edged closer to where she stood. Charu snarled at them and they responded with their pitchy giggles. Meredith backed against the cage, her heart pounding in her ribs as she stared in disbelief at the female she thought had been her friend. The lasa didn’t even look at her. She was smiling, her eyes unfocused on the distance as if she’d won the lottery.
“It’s going to be wonderful to be home again,” Apane laughed. “I’m going home.”
“Yes, yes, you are,” Lacth agreed, his devilish smile pinning Meredith to the spot. He stepped away from the smaller spirit, who remained unmoving with a doll-like smile on her face, and strolled up to where Meredith stood, pacing before her like a beast toying with its prey.
Charu roared, but Lacth paid him no mind as he reached forward with one hand and skimmed his fingertips down Meredith’s jaw, the claws scoring her skin.
“We are so very happy you chose to join us, Meredith.”
Chapter 29
Meredith was escorted past a chalked diagram to a chair facing it. There, she was told to sit under the watchful eye of guards assigned to her. The activity resumed around her as everyone scurried about and prepared the room. Palearas stood to one side of her and Xavier at the other with another wulkwos whose human vessel she didn’t recognize. They watched her and the crowd of people who bega
n filling up the room as they carried out their tasks.
She cursed herself for being so blinded by her own waking nightmare that she hadn’t noticed the trap when she entered. She’d seen nothing but Charu and the sprawling darkness. Even when the lamp relieved Meredith of the weight of shadows hovering over her, she’d been too absorbed in her relief to take note of much else.
She hadn’t thought to. She had trusted Apane to keep watch.
The people who’d been hiding in the shadows of the room when she entered had multiplied within minutes. Although there were a few wulkwos, there were many humans who’d placed themselves into the service of the lauchume, men and women both. Unlike those she’d seen on the road on their approach to the mansion—those she killed, she reminded herself—these people carried the shine of good health upon them and something more, like a luster of magic dusting them.
Of course. Tiurma’s magic was being used to block the effects of the miasma on those who swore fealty to Lacth. They were animated with happiness as they brought in flowers and decorations as Lacth oversaw the spell he was preparing. It was downright festive as if they were preparing for a festival... or wedding.
Tiurma’s words came rushing back to her and she felt sick.
Of course they were preparing as if for a wedding. In many ways, what Lacth had planned was exactly that. He planned to tie her to him and bring the world beneath his control through her. Just as he bound Tiurma to keep her magic for himself. He seemed to ignore the milling crowd, a smile on his face as he gave his full focus to his task. He almost looked maniacal as he hastily scribbled the marks.
It was clear that everyone who was loyal to the lauchume was present to witness this event. The only one who was missing that she’d expected to see was Kessler. His two remaining human sons, Marcus and Percy, stood apart from the crowd without their father, their faces pale and withdrawn as their eyes shifted restlessly. They seemed to be looking at Charu, whose attention seemed torn between watching Meredith and staring angry holes through the brothers.
Time slipped away from her. As the day began to wane toward evening, the note of expectant enthusiasm seemed to increase exponentially. The wulkwos present, with the exception of dour Palearas, seemed to vibrate with excitement.
Even Apane was happy. She’d been stuck in a delirium of bliss since she abandoned Meredith to her fate. She didn’t understand how Apane had convinced herself that he wasn’t betraying her when all he did was deceive.
No. Meredith couldn’t say that. She did know. Apane wasn’t any different than all the people who fooled themselves into trusting the wulkwos king. She was desperate to cling to whatever was offered to her. She’d believed Lacth because she couldn’t bear to face the alternative—the possibility of being stuck in the mortal world forever.
Apane hummed happily over her, the sound disconnected as if coming from far away. She stood just behind Meredith, her fingers straightening locks of hair and gently coiling them into small braids. These she gathered up and twined with ribbon, leaving the lengths to flutter free.
Meredith wanted nothing more than to slap the lasa’s offending fingers away and rip the ribbons from her hair. The ominous look Xavier was a clear warning to behave. At least Palearas wasn’t glaring at her. His brow was drawn into a scowl as he watched the lauchume work. Every now and again, he shifted his glower to Xavier whenever the other wulkwos inched closer to her.
She looked across the room, meeting Charu’s fierce gaze. His rage had mounted as the hours dragged by. His face was all hard, sharp angles as an angel of death. His hair was no longer contained in a band but hung around his face like a shroud, his eyes two hot coals glowing from within its confines. Most of his face was shadowed except the white of his bared fangs. His angry clicking growl was a constant sound from that part of the room.
His cage was completely isolated, and it made him appear all the more threatening, like a wild creature that would at any moment burst from his confines to destroy anything in his path. The chains and bars of the cage grew brighter as they worked to contain him. Instead of glowing a soft blue, they now appeared white-hot. Wulkwos and humans alike avoided that side of the room, but it didn’t stop many of the males from mocking him at a safe distance. Their disturbing giggles made Meredith’s skin crawl.
The males circled around Charu’s hammer, laughing and shoving each other as they all played with the massive weapon. A few got it off the floor, but never more than a handful of inches before they dropped it with a clatter to the roaring laughter of their companions. It seemed that only the strongest among their number had been able to drag the thing from the cabin, and he wasn’t among them.
Charu didn’t pay them any mind; his eyes feasted on her as if desperate to look at her for as long as he was able. As if these were their last moments together. Her gaze likewise drank him in and constantly gravitated back to him. Even when the room darkened with long shadows cut through only by the candles in sconces all around the room. Though there was a generator, it seemed that for this event it was abandoned. Charu seemed even more and more a specter of death and destruction as the shadows fell, his massive frame only lit by the witch-light of the lantern on the table beside his cage, the red beams defining his blue muscles with purple shadows. His eyes burned with even greater intensity, drawing Meredith in until everything around her was eclipsed by the bound male she loved.
The lantern pulsed again, drawing her reluctant gaze to it. The red light appeared almost macabre. The beams seemed to reach for her as if knowing what needed to be done. The candlelight flickered as the door burst open. The lantern flared as the monstrous forms of the wulkwos entered. They were accompanied by a host of foul beasts. There were no acila to Meredith’s relief, but the visages of the creatures that entered were horrible.
Behemoths that seemed to have been forgotten in the recesses of Aites and the hidden parts between the worlds rambled in. Tusked creatures with saliva dripping from twisted fangs mingled among giant cyclops, their bodies coats with coarse pelts of hair. Harpies shrieked, their faces masks of feral ferocity. Serpentine creatures twisted over the ground, and creatures resembling shaggy beasts with massive teeth loomed over her as they entered. The shadows of the room slid around them and it was a mirror image of her worst episodes of madness. But these were no creatures of her mind.
Lacth smiled as he slowly straightened from the elaborate markings he’d chalked on the floor and dusted off his suit. He opened his arms wide, his grin stretching obscenely over his face in a manner no human could ever manage. She didn’t fail to notice that, unlike the other wulkwos who were surrendering their human appearances for their natural forms, he did not, nor did those which were immediately around Meredith.
She imagined her guards were commanded to retain a human form for her safety, but she wondered why the lauchume bothered, unless it was for vanity. She wondered what he looked like stripped of the masculine human beauty he’d adopted. Somehow, she didn’t think it would be anything near as pleasant to look upon, not if his brethren were themselves walking nightmares. Meredith held absolutely still in her chair, not wanting to attract the attention of the monsters surrounding her at all sides.
Her eyes darted once again to Charu. His expression had darkened to something she’d never seen fall upon his features. Several of the creatures in the room looked nervously in his direction and edged away if they accidentally stepped too near. The lamp lit the room with a powerful hellish light that cast everything in crimson as it flared, impotent without a wielder to unleash its power.
“Welcome, friends, wulkwos, and beings of the courts of Aites. I thank you for attending this most momentous event. For too long, our kind has dwelled in the darkest and most far-flung realms of Aites while other spirits and divinities rule over us. Humanity, the spoiled children of the gods, have enjoyed freedom from the overt control of the gods on this plane. Free to destroy themselves and their world as they wish. No longer. We will sever the bonds with Aites and
take control of this world and the human race. We shall usher in a new era through this unique young woman.”
Hundreds of eyes fastened on her. Some of the creatures had a more humanoid appearance, save for those qualities that marked them as otherworldly creatures of myth. They were strangely alluring, their eyes varied from bright electric gazes to deep pits of unending blackness. Each of them possessed a look far more ravenous than others.
A male at the edge of the crowd appeared beside the Kesslers. The brothers stared at him in terror as the male brushed near. He offered them a wicked smile and then dismissed them from his attention as he pushed through the crowd.
He was massive. Easily as tall as Charu but with a narrower frame. Still, every inch of him was corded with muscle from what she could tell from the open robe he wore over soft pants. He looked like a demonic spirit of sex made flesh if one didn’t pay attention to the fact that he had both the antlers and ears of a stag.
Between those antlers, jewels hung in ornate ropes signifying him as someone of importance. They chimed like bells with his every movement. Meredith watched him slide through the crowd, his eyes passing between the lauchume and Charu. Lacth fell silent and watched him, a stillness falling between them as if two predators were sizing each other up.
His eyes, the milky color of a luminous pearl, shifted and met her gaze.
She’d been caught staring.
He grinned at her, showing rows of needle-like teeth. Fear skittered through her. Charu had lethal fangs that looked like they could tear the throat out of anyone. This male’s smile was so utterly inhuman that it seized onto the primal part of her that shuddered with terror. His appearance was a blend of the familiar and beautiful with the terrible, and for some reason she found that more alarming than the most grotesque monsters that crowded the room with their foul presence.
His gaze settled for a long moment on Charu, his smile widening as he licked his teeth. Every now and then, he seemed to disappear among the shadows as the creatures that filled the room surged back and forth, before reappearing again. The children of Aites thronged around each other as they slid closer and further away in their assembly. Although occasionally obscured behind them, it was never for long.
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