by Holly Hook
"We're here!" Brett announces, checking his phone and leading us to the front of the tram as we stop. We follow him as he mutters, "I hope the cult hasn't been tracking us. Karina. You're not calling them anymore, are you?"
She responds by lowering her gaze to the tram steps as she disembarks. That's enough answer for me.
The hotel Brett's chosen is smaller than the Portrait one, but still has an awning and potted plants out front. I sniff and everything smells welcoming enough. Brett leads us inside and rents us a few rooms with his father's credit card. "Sucks to be the credit card company," Brett says with an evil grin.
Yes. He's changed his tune on his father very fast.
Alex and Callie manage to get past the woman manning the lobby. Though they wear their leather coats, I can smell the faint metal of their weapons inside their rolling luggage. It's amazing they smuggled it through the airports. Maybe I haven't given the Russells enough credit when it comes to working magic.
Brett leads up to the third story, which brings back memories of my jump out the window, and tells us he's rented three rooms for the next two nights.
"We won't be staying here that long," I say.
"It's just in case," Brett says with an annoyed undertone. "Girls in one room, over here. You, Everly, Callie, and Leonora can have that one. There's two beds in each room."
I look to Callie, who smiles and waves at me. She's just as much a danger as I am, so I'm glad we'll be together.
"A couple of people will have to lay on the floor," I say.
"I will," Callie says. "Not a big deal. It's not as if I let Earl come with me."
"You left without him?" I ask.
"And us?" Alex asks. "I should be in the room next to the girls." He shifts and puts his rolling luggage all the way down. Metal clinks against metal inside. It's a warning, but I wanted Alex here just in case someone needs to stop me and Callie. In case either of us gets possessed. Even Callie agreed to it.
"I agree," I say, despite the fact that Callie will hate that. "Just in case."
Callie nods. She's shaking.
Cayden's not here to try to protect me from the Hunter who could have to kill me.
But it's better that way. The thought brings a lump to my throat, but the people of this city have to be protected.
Alex leans close. "I won't act unless I must."
The guys take a room and Karina separates from her brother. "Girls in one room, right?"
I jump in shock. Karina wants to bunk with us? That's bold after she called the cult on us. But she won't be doing that now. "Girls mostly in one room," I say, despite Leonora shifting in discomfort beside me. Callie does the same. "It'll be fine." I hope I'm not lying.
The guys and Leonora's parents vanish into two separate rooms, though I can tell Mr. Russell doesn't want his daughter with us. I take the key card Brett's handed me and open the door on a small room that has two beds and enough floor space to let all of us sleep. Like I even want to do that at all. Cayden's still out there. Despite my tired limbs, I still want to run across the city, looking for my mate. My arms and legs twitch with desperation, ready to go.
"Enter the room," Everly says, shoving me from behind.
"Fine." I do.
"Lie down on that bed and try to sleep. Try," she orders.
"Who's the alpha here?" I ask as a sudden burst of anger sweeps over me. I whirl to face Everly. Even though I know she's just trying to help, I can't control the urge. Everyone's been pushing against my authority all day. "Maybe Karina should tell us for sure how the cult plans on winning." I look over my shoulder to where Karina stands in the doorway, blocking entry for Leonora and Everly.
She sighs at me. That's what I expect.
"Well, it would be helpful, and the sooner you do that, the sooner you and Brett can go your own way," I say. "I won't force you to stay in the pack if you don't want to. Really."
Her glare softens. "Sounds good. And I don't know for sure what's going to happen at the victory site. I wasn't in the cult for very long. They don't let people in until they're sure someone's ready. Artemis never let me know a whole lot and usually went off by herself."
She's talking too much to be completely truthful. More work has to be done. I turn away once I sense she's not willing to open up yet. Everyone is Karina's enemy right now.
Callie groans and lays on the floor, facing the ceiling.
I sniff, but she still smells of pancakes with no trace of the Savage King. "How have you been doing?"
"Fine. I haven't had any more attacks for a while. Maybe they're gone?" Callie asks.
"I hope so," I say. On the other side of the wall, Alex unpacks his weapons. I listen as he lays his crossbow on the bed. Daggers. And then he starts to sharpen one. I'm glad Callie can't hear that.
If Cayden were here, he'd march over there and deck Alex.
Crossing the room, I close the curtains to make it nice and dark. The air conditioner starts running, filling the room with a soothing hum. As much as I don't like sharing a room with Karina, I realize the air's not thickening with darkness at all. She might still hate us but she's not using dark magic on us at the moment. Even if she is hanging near the bathroom, watching as everyone finds a spot to lay on. Bags hang under her eyes, too. She didn't get quality sleep on the flight.
Or something's eating her on the inside.
My head starts to pound with it all. I listen as the guys settle on the floor and the beds in the next room, and Leonora's parents take their own room. I'm taking a risk like I did on the plane, but who's Karina going to summon on us? The cult, who will kill her?
I flop down on the bed. "Okay. Don't wake me unless you absolutely have to. Or I'm never going to see the end." How can I sleep? I'm messed up enough from the flight and the time changes, let alone the dread of what I'll see.
"Got it," Leonora says.
Karina's eyes glow with revenge. She wants to get back at the cult. "Tell us what you see."
Maybe she doesn't know about the cult's plans after all.
So I close my eyes, hoping it's not the last time I do so as Brie. Thoughts of Cayden in danger swirl through my head, invading every time my muscles start to relax, jarring me out of near-sleep again and again. The others settle and all around me, breathing gets more even as my roommates fall into exhausted sleep. Twisted images dance in the void of my closed eyelids, forming terrifying monsters and screaming faces, but eventually, my tired muscles force my mind to give in and quiet. I float away into the dark.
* * * * *
Two massive Wolves fight, one grayish-brown and one dark with striking blue eyes. The woman in the robe, Allia, screams at Remus over and over. Though I can't understand her Latin, I can: she's screaming at him to stop fighting. To stop trying to kill his brother. She's Noble.
The crowd of Savages close in on the fight, eager to see the outcome. Blood flies as Romulus, the grayish brown Wolf, locks his teeth around his brother's ear and rips part of it off. I can't smell it, but the red droplets shine under the ancient sun as they fall and find their mark in the earth. The dirt sucks up the blood as if thirsty. Allia stops screaming her mate's name and instead watches in stunned silence as Remus backs away, pupils widening. The wind blows her robe against her waist again and I understand why she's not jumping into the fight. She won't risk the child she shares with Remus or the Noble Royal line.
Remus growls at his brother as his ear drips blood. But the dark Wolf, instead of lunging again, takes another breath as if he's trying to calm himself.
Romulus spits out the bit of flesh and stares down his brother. His dark eyes hunger for the fight and for victory. They're calculating, unlike the simple animal eyes of his soldiers. Intelligent. And very, very dangerous. A decision flashes in his eyes and he faces the Savages that stand just behind Allia. A single growl emerges from his throat, low and dangerous, as his hackles rise. I don't know if the Savages can think to each other in Wolf form, but I get the meaning of the look and the growl.
If Remus doesn't fight, they're to rip Allia apart and the unborn baby, too.
Remus takes one look at his mate.
Allia raises her hands to her face as he charges his brother, who dodges to the side and snaps at his tail. Remus crashes into some fallen armor, barely dodging the bite, and topples over.
Romulus salivates, turning towards him. I want to look away. He's going to die and leave his mate alone and it's going to be long and bloody. Allia pales and sways like she might pass out--who wouldn't--and patches of hair spring to life on her bare shoulders. She's about to join the fight. But the Savages growl warnings. She backpedals as the shift stops and retreats into her flesh. She's outnumbered.
Romulus leaps on his brother, who lies on his back, paws flailing.
Remus rises from the ground, teeth bared and blue eyes calculating. His brother falls towards him, claws bared, but the Noble King is faster. He springs up, letting Romulus's throat fall into his jaws, and bites down as the two collapse into the ground.
Droplets of blood fly and a shocked yelp emerges from the Savage King. He thrashes as his brother maintains the deadly grip on the soft flesh of his throat, but as the seconds pass and the Savages growl in shock, his thrashings get slower and weaker. Blood pours from around Remus's teeth and onto his muzzle. Onto the dusty ground. At last, the huge Savage King goes still, and Remus releases his dead brother. Romulus's dark eyes go blank, leaving nothing but a void within, as the Noble King gets up, panting and victorious.
Allia's jaw drops as she lowers her hands from her face.
The Savages go silent and then slowly back away.
And Remus stands above his fallen brother, who is already starting to revert to human form, with blood covering his snout and muzzle. He licks the corners of his mouth, eyes blank like he doesn't comprehend what he's done. But then he looks to Allia as terror widens the pupils of his eyes.
She stifles a sob. Behind her, the Savages all back away and scatter through the weeds, retreating towards the forest line.
I don't understand. He won. We won. Why is that a bad thing? I try to look around in my strange state of consciousness, but that's impossible. But though I'm without my sense of smell, I still have my vision.
Dark figures approach through the weeds even as the Wolves flee. They're coming out of the trees as if they were once part of the shadows and are now taking shape.
Men in dark robes and hoods--thirteen of them--approach and form a half-circle. One carries a scroll that shakes between his nervous hands. He has an old, mean face a lot like Artemis's and scars that run down the sides of his cheeks as if put there in some bizarre ritual. Remus looks in their direction, sniffs, and growls a warning at Allia. She's to run.
Romulus's cult has existed since the beginning. This fight was planned, and judging from the horror in my ancestor's blue eyes, it's gone exactly as Romulus wanted.
Allia protests, but Remus leaps at her and growls again. He's shaking. The cult's closing the distance. The two men behind the head priest carry burning bags of herbs. There's no attacking them.
She turns and runs, feet slapping the ground in hopelessness. Remus faces the cult and lies down as if accepting his fate. Why isn't he running? Why won't he try to escape?
Invisible darkness hangs in the air as Romulus's form continues to slowly shift back into that of a man. Remus lets out a breath and waits. And then I see why he's not running. The head priest holds a lock of dark hair in one hand, shifting the scroll to the other, as he reads low words. It's Remus's hair. He can't run from that.
The air thickens. The darkness comes into view now, like a million dark buzzing insects, and hangs over the Noble King, ready to take over and poison the other Nobles.
The chanting rises from the field now, energizing the edgeless cloud of darkness over the Noble King, who stiffens, trying to resist. But darkness forms around him, too, like a faint aura of sickness and guilt. I watch in horror as Remus's own inner dark rises, forming a link with that of his brother above. The buzzing of the spectral insects intensifies as they begin to swirl, draining down to merge with the energy of the Noble King. The sky above seems to darken from a bright blue to a sickly purple. The trees warp from dark green to almost black. The whole world shifts as if this ritual is infecting everything, turning all of nature dark. Though they stand near the trees, the cult's chanting gets louder and louder, filling my consciousness, and Remus begins to thrash and growl on the ground as his evil brother's spirit launches the real attack.
Other growling fills the air and approaches as Remus rolls on the ground, eyes halfway between blue and dark hatred. Other Wolves emerge from the weeds, surrounding Remus. He bares his teeth at them, lost in limbo. A blond Wolf surveys him in panic. A dark brown one with green eyes. A silvery, majestic Wolf and many others. A Noble pack. They surround their King, their alpha, and look to each other with serious death.
The cult chants faster.
Remus growls in desperation. Though I can't hear his thoughts in this state, I know what it means and I can't bear to look.
The pack leaps on him, biting and tearing.
They're killing him before the Savage King can finish taking over.
And Remus, being the near god he is, doesn't even growl or yelp in protest.
I try to turn away from the carnage, but I can't, as if this vision is punishing me for proceeding this far. This is what you get. I try to groan in horror but nothing comes out. More blood flies as the cult stops chanting. It's too late. They can't salvage Romulus's vessel now. The chanting stops, leaving nothing but the sounds of biting, clawing, and tearing--
I force my eyes open and take a sharp breath. The white, sparkling ceiling of the hotel room spreads over me and I push myself off the bed. A faint ringing fills my ears from my time spent in the vision. The room tilts like I'm adjusting to being in my body again. Trying to swallow is pointless. There's no spit left and my head's pounding with a massive stress headache.
"Well, we didn't wake you, but we wanted to," Everly says.
I turn and face her. She's sitting on the other bed, next to some cards spread out on the covers, and Leonora sits cross-legged on the other side of her. Callie also sits next to the cards, and amazingly, so does Karina, though she turns her stare away from me when my gaze lands on her. Outside the light is paling like the sun's going down. I've slept for hours.
I take a gasping breath.
"Did you see anything?" Leonora asks.
I take my gaze off Karina. No longer does she need to stop clamming up about the victory site, because I know the truth now and I don't need her to tell it to me. I know what the cult's going to do and why they've taken Cayden. Why they cursed Callie. I'm playing right into their plan. I'm to stand in Remus's place, forced to fight someone I care about. Someone who's family. If I don't face my fate at the victory site, Cayden dies. And if I try to save him, Romulus wins.
"Brie?" Leonora asks, eyebrows rising in worry.
I have to choose between my mate and the rest of the Nobles.
Chapter Fourteen
"You think they're going to make you fight me to save Cayden?" Callie asks once we're downstairs in the hotel's dining room. She has a plate in her hands but ignores the food at the buffet.
"Why else would they curse you?" I whisper, keeping my voice low. The dining room has scattered tourists sitting around, pigging out on the food, and I don't want any of them to overhear. I almost drop my plate, which is heaping with local appetizers. The food doesn't smell good to me right now. Like stale, old garbage, even though that's my mental state coloring everything. I've just had all my expectations of the victory site blown away in a single, horrible episode.
The other Nobles had to kill Remus to protect their kind.
Just like how Alex, Edwin, and Abigail tried to kill me. I might die at the victory site. I might have to die and then Cayden will have to run. Aunt May was right to stay behind.
"To make you willing to take it upon yourself?" Callie
answers, bringing me back to the dining room.
"I thought that at first, too." I gulp and heap some pasta onto my plate. There's lots and lots of pasta here. "They'll want to force me to fight someone I'll feel horrible about killing. That's how the door opened for Remus to get possessed. He did not want to kill his brother even if he was a dirt bag. And since he was twins with the guy possessing him, I guess that link was already there."
"But Remus didn't have Romulus's blood. It shouldn't have worked," Leonora says.
"But he did. They shared a womb," I say. "Maybe they did some kind of blood oath. I don't know."
"Can you move down so I can get some food?" Karina asks behind us.
I slide my plate down the buffet and heap some shrimp onto my pasta. Probably not right, but I need to eat something to keep my strength up.
"You don't have to be so rude," Leonora says. "We're feeding you, for crap's sake."
On the other side of the dining room, Brett nods. The guys, not being as affected by my awesome revelation, have already sat down to get some much-needed sustenance. Alex sits beside Brett and Remo. Mr. and Mrs. Russell have also sat down. Cayden should be there, waiting for me, but he's somewhere in chains, waiting to be bait. So I can get possessed and force all the Nobles to turn Savage. That is, unless Aunt May's plan to continue the line can reverse the damage. Maybe it can't?
"Brie, try to calm down. I know I'm telling you to do something impossible, but please try," Everly says. She pats me on the back and motions me over to the long table where the guys sit.
"I know. We need to eat," I say. The more I've seen, the more I understand why Aunt May's done what she has. She's even more selfless than me and doesn't have a mate to worry about. She might not know the real story of the victory site, but she does know the importance of our line continuing. And why she had to make the tough decision to send me off on my own. Aunt May must not be sleeping at night.