by Jude Marquez
“What happened?”
I stared at the cabinets across from us for a minute. “They were flames. Not like fire. They were white and cold. He shoved me out of the way at the last second. But his arm got caught in the flames. It hurt him. I wanted to stay but when that happened, we heard someone at the front. He told me to leave. So I did.”
Celia was silent.
“Stephen,” a different voice came over the phone.
“Gerri?” I asked.
“Yes. The flames, how high were they?” She asked.
“Twenty, thirty feet.”
“And they only appeared when Azolata got close to them?”
“I’m not sure. He shoved me out of the way, so it could have been me or him.”
“What color were the flames? Just white?” Her voice was just as patient and gentle as Celia’s.
“White, gold, white-blue,” I said.
She fell silent.
“What?” I asked.
“Whoever created that prison has harnessed the power of light, of the sun itself. It could be a weakness,” she said.
“Why? How?” Dante asked.
“The sun isn’t to be tamed. It burns, creates life, grows, but never to be tamed,” she replied.
“Good. That’s good. We can use that,” Savannah said eagerly.
“You are going to use the sun?” A male voice asked and the three of us sat up and looked at the phone.
“Who is that?” Marcus demanded.
There was a long pause. “Nichols,” Celia finally said and it sounded like defeat.
“Who is Nichols?” Dante asked.
“The police officer that Savannah and Celia kidnapped,” Gerri informed us.
We all looked around at each other.
“You know that’s a felony, Celia, right?” Marcus said.
“He shot me. And tased me. We didn’t have a choice,” Celia muttered.
“You’re fine,” Nichols said, and he sounded irritated like he was repeating himself.
“What?” Marcus sputtered.
“I will catch you up when I see you, I promise. But let’s focus on Azolata first, okay? Is there anything that you have, any connection that you might have, that could get him out?” Celia said, neatly changing the subject.
I considered her question. “I have someone I know. Another hunter named Dodge. He’s older, knows his way around magic, that sort of thing. I’ll call him.”
“Good. I’ll call Eli. He and Lou are in Nothing right now. They might ask Deidre for something,” Celia said.
“Deidre. I miss her,” I muttered.
“Nothing?” Marcus asked.
“Deidre?” Dante asked.
“Find out what you can. If you need me, call me. We'll see you soon,” Celia said.
“How far away are you guys from Montana?” Dante blurted out.
“At our rate?” Nichols muttered.
“About fifteen hours. I hope we can get there tomorrow, as long as we don’t-” Savannah abruptly stopped talking.
“As long as what?” Marcus asked.
“We’ve had some issues getting to Montana. Nichols was actually the easiest of them all. Like I said, we’ll catch you up,” Celia said. She sounded tired.
“We’ll talk later,” I promised.
We hung up. “I’ll be right back,” I promised.
They looked hesitant, but they nodded. I went down the hall and around a few corners until I found a classroom that had its own phone. It looked like the art room.
I dialed a familiar number.
“Who is this?” A gruff voice demanded.
“Hey, Dodge. It’s me, Stephen,” I said.
“I wondered when I would hear from you. Last I heard, you were in Glenwood Lock,” he said.
I couldn’t help but relax at the sound of his voice. Billie and I had stayed with him for a few months before going to Deidre’s.
“Yeah, I’m here,” I confirmed.
“You sound tired. Where’s your sister? Have you eaten?” Dodge asked.
I could see him leaning forward, his arms braced on his thighs, dark eyes glaring. His face was a mass of wrinkles behind a set of glasses that hadn’t been replaced since I was born.
“That’s a long story, Dodge,” I said.
“Where’s Billie?” He demanded.
I sighed. “In the fae realm with the Queen.”
Just as I expected, Dodge lost his temper. He demanded to know why and how and where and what exactly I would do about bringing her back.
“Nothing. I’m leaving her there until I can bring her back safely,” I said firmly.
“You what?” Dodge demanded. “Boy, you keep your ass in the spot you are in right now until I get there and knock some sense into you.”
“Wait, wait just a second,” I protested because I did not put it past him to do what he promised.
“You got two minutes, Stephen. The Queen?” He repeated.
I took a deep breath and began explaining everything I knew, up to where Dante fought with his brother and left Marcus and I to our own devices. I figured that would only bring him here to kick Dante’s ass.
And I wanted him to like the people here, for some untold reason.
I told him we found out where Azolata was being kept, but nothing more beyond that.
When I finished, there was nothing but ringing silence.
“Those Ortegas... They know how to attract trouble. No fault of their own, just part of who they are, I guess. Good people. Well, their folks were. I heard what happened to them and I was awful sorry for the loss,” Dodge muttered.
“Celia is amazing. Eli is awesome too. Artie, though? Man, if you could feel the power that kid has wrapped up in his little finger. And that isn’t anything compared to what Lou and Dante have,” I agreed.
“And this guy. This god. Only you could get mixed up in something like this,” Dodge sighed. “You’ve taken a liking to him.”
“I- I’m not sure how I feel about him,” I said.
“Try lying to someone else. Someone who doesn’t know you,” Dodge said.
I fell silent.
“So you found him and you called Ol’ Dodge to see if I had some kind of advice on getting your boyfriend out of god-jail?” He said.
“Yeah, that’s about it,” I said. I kicked at some dried paint on the tile floor. It was red and blue and I thought about the flames around Azolata and all the blood that soaked the ground of this town.
“Well, first, you are fucked because you can’t get into the building. If you can’t get into the building and see what is really keeping him in, then it will be hard to help you, but I can make a few guesses,” Dodge said.
I opened my mouth to correct him but stopped myself. There had to be an obvious reason that Dodge would tell me that. “Why can’t I get into the building?”
“Well, if whoever put him away is smart at all, they would entrap him twice. The first time in a building that only they or someone like them can pass. I bet that only your boyfriend and this guy have that kind of power around there,” Dodge said.
I heard a faint ringing in my ears. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. The ringing in my ears was getting louder as a rush of memories nearly overwhelmed me.
Then why, I asked myself, did he seem as familiar to me as Billie?
Yaotl took him into his arms and during that night, Azolata elevated Yaotl to the status of a God.
...in a moment of grace or mercy or love, Azolata elevated Yaotl’s daughter to the status of a goddess as well.
Yaotl didn’t have a daughter, Tlanextli was his sister.
They were banished to earth and forced to come back over and over in new bodies... They were always together... but they were forced to wander the earth, looking for me.
“And if you could tell me what the second prison is like, then I might be able to help you out, brainstorm a few things. But since you can’t get past that first one, son, I’m sorry,” Dodge said.
&nbs
p; I couldn’t get the sound of Artie’s voice out of my head. It was like I was sitting there hearing the story for the first time.
They are alive. I do know where they are, Azolata's voice whispered.
Of course he knew where we were, because we were sitting five feet from him.
“That’s okay, Dodge. Thanks anyway,” I said.
“Hey, I’ll ask around but I don’t want to promise you anything,” Dodge said.
“Thanks.”
“Get your sister home. Please?”
“I will.”
I hung up without another word and sat in the dark art room for the rest of the night.
Chapter 10
We tried not to stop for the remaining part of our journey. It was fifteen hours and three of us could drive so we began to switch off.
“You can sleep. I promise I won’t drive you to the nearest police station and tell them a werewolf and her fairy friends kidnapped me,” Nichols said.
I felt like I should sleep but I couldn’t get my brain to shut down.
Behind us, Savannah snored.
“I know you wouldn’t. I would hear it. It’s not that,” I said. I plucked at the hole I had already worn in my jeans with my claws.
“You would hear it?” Nichols asked.
“Whenever you lie, your heart rate goes up. I can hear it. So if you tried to do that, imagine what your heart would do. I would hear it,” I explained listlessly and stared out the window.
“You’re worried. More so than usual. Is it about your friend they have?” Nichols asked.
“What’s your first name?” I asked suddenly.
“What?” Nichols said.
“In my head, I keep calling you Nichols. What’s your first name?”
“Oh. Jacob. Jake, if you want,” he said.
I stuck out my hand. “Celia Ortega.”
He shook my hand. “Nice to meet you.”
Our smiles faded quickly, and the silence returned. The rain stopped a while back but the skies were still gray and threatening.
“It feels like there is something trailing us,” Jake said.
I turned to him. “What do you mean?”
“I don’t know. I mean, ever since you took me, it felt like someone was not watching, but following. That doesn’t make sense,” he muttered.
“You’re talking to an alpha werewolf,” I reminded him.
“Yeah, but you’re real, they are real,” Jake said and tilted his head at Gerri and Savannah.
“And what you are feeling isn’t real?” I asked.
He shrugged.
“Tell me.”
“It’s just like I told you. It feels like someone is watching us but not following us. I can’t- it doesn’t make sense.”
“You said that.”
Jake fell silent. “When I was a rookie, I was running after a drug dealer. It was dark; I didn’t know the neighborhood. Then, all of a sudden, I stopped. I didn’t know why, I didn’t have any reason to. But I stopped and instead pushed a trashcan around a corner I was about to turn. The guy shot that trash can four times. It would have killed me.”
I nodded. “You might have some witch in you.”
He turned to me.
I pushed his face back to the road in front of us.
“Humans have been marrying into the supernatural community for years. I dated a cop who is fully human for years. It’s not unusual. And sometimes those instincts will come back when you least expect it,” I explained.
“It’s happened a few times like that. Anyway, this feels like that but different. I keep expecting to see someone in the rearview mirror,” he finished.
“We wondered if this trip was cursed. The Ascendancy has a powerful witch working for them,” I said.
Jake made a face.
“What?” I said.
“Where is our witch?” He asked.
“Well, one of them is with Gerri’s mom and the other one is with my brother. Don’t worry about that part. But if it feels weird or off, tell me. I won’t ignore you. I work better with all the information available.”
He nodded.
The rest of the drive was silent.
The Jeep that we were in was far more comfortable than any other vehicle we had up to this point. And I knew we would need the four-wheel drive where we were going.
“So this is a big park,” Savannah said and brushed her hair out of her face.
“Yup,” I agreed. I narrowed my eyes and studied the road.
“And all Artie said was that it was in the park,” she pointed out.
I nodded.
“I’m trying to ask you subtly where we are going,” Savannah said.
“I have friends here. Well. My mom had friends here that were killed and their kids are still here. We are on friendly terms still. Or, we were, when I was seventeen. Might as well start there,” I said.
“Not to be a downer, but you were seventeen over a decade ago,” Savannah said.
“Do you have any better ideas?”
She sighed. “No.”
“Okay then,” I said and slammed on the brakes. We were all thrown against our seat belts.
“Sorry. Almost missed it,” I said and rolled down my window.
I followed the scent of magic and something that smelled like a home. I put the four-wheel drive to the test, driving over rocks at some point. It took us another thirty minutes before I finally caught sight of the small cottage.
“Hey. Found it,” I said.
“I don’t like that you sound surprised,” Savannah muttered.
I shrugged.
“Who are they?” Gerri said and stuck her head out the window. “They smell lovely.”
“Emily and Ezekiel Montgomery. Don’t attack, please,” I said.
Gerri looked offended.
“Leave all your weapons in here,” I said and looked at Savannah and Jake.
“I don’t like this,” Jake said and glanced around.
“I don’t want to see you on a serving platter,” I replied.
“That’s probably the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me,” he muttered but took his gun out and handed it to Savannah who put it back in the Jeep.
The cottage looked like they plucked it from a storybook and placed it among the trees. There was a small yard and flower boxes in the window. The roof of the cottage was covered in moss and I wondered how the Montgomery siblings had stayed hidden this long.
“So who are they?” Savannah whispered.
It felt sacrilegious to raise our voices out here and I couldn’t help but notice that everything else was silent.
“I told you-” I whispered.
“No, I mean shifters? Vamps?” She asked.
“We aren’t anything so mundane,” a voice called and we turned to the cottage.
Emily Montgomery stood there, leaning against her door frame. She looked cold and fiery, an avenging angel whose time you better not waste. Her long red hair was down and fell past her waist. She was fair skinned and I could see the freckles she had as a kid were still on her nose and cheeks.
“Celia Ortega, why are you so beautiful?” She asked and pushed herself off the doorway and came down to greet us.
“I- um-” I said and frowned.
“Genetics, believe me, because I haven’t seen her put an ounce of work into looking like this. In fact, she hasn’t showered in three days,” Savannah said and I turned to glare at her. So this was what it would be like to have a sister.
“You are Savannah, right? Once worked for the Ascendancy but turned by the dastardly Ortega line to the evil side and now you are something... else,” Emily said as she approached.
Savannah blinked. “That’s about it.”
“Your Highness, I wish I were better dressed,” Emily said and bowed low.
“I love your home,” Gerri confessed in a rush.
“You are welcome here,” Emily said.
Jake was hiding slightly behind me but Emily took a step around me t
o see him. I got a whiff of her and realized that Gerri was right. She smelled good. Like cookies and candy and warmth.
“Jacob Nichols, hero police officer. I believe you should call your parents and reassure them. They worry,” she said.
“You aren’t going to eat me?” He asked.
“I don’t eat people,” she reassured him.
“What do you do?”
“I ferry the dead to their final resting place, wherever that might be. One of many. I’m not on call today so we have plenty of time to talk. Come. I have a phone that they cannot trace and won’t put your group in danger,” Emily said and offered him her hand like he was a child.
“That sounds like an important job,” Jake said and took her hand.
When I turned, Gerri was already stepping into the house and she did not have her shoes on. Again.
Savannah was close behind her. She wiped her feet before entering.
“I feel like a mother with terribly behaved children,” I muttered.
“I have seen much worse. You got here just in time. The roast is ready to come out of the oven,” she said.
“You knew we were coming?” I asked, surprised. I didn’t know that clairvoyance was among her talents but I wasn’t surprised either.
“A little bird told me you might stop by, but I didn’t know when. I have made quite a few meals in the past two days. Good thing Zeke is here to put it all away. I hoped that Eli might come with you,” she confessed.
“You don’t have to go to any trouble,” I said and stepped through the threshold of her house.
“You have been living on gas station food and gods know that can’t be good for a wolf, let alone an alpha. It’s no trouble,” she said and waved my protests off.
The interior of the cabin was just as warm as it seemed from the outside. They polished the hardwood floors to a high sheen and there were overstuffed couches and chairs everywhere. A bookcase was overflowing with books and the kitchen smelled heavenly. I saw two bedrooms on either side of the house and a fireplace in the corner of the room.
“You have a lovely home,” Jake said.
“I would like to move in,” Savannah said and sat down with a sigh.
Gerri was already in the kitchen, removing the roast from the oven with her bare hands.