by KT Strange
Daria was right. Even my sister didn't deserve to have that happen to her, whether or not she was a crazy bitch who'd tried to hurt me and had cheated on her husband with her brother-in-law.
I kept that in the back of my mind as we came up to the edge of the building. Rough-hewn stone made up the first story, before the smooth, silver-flecked white blocks of marble began. Wolfe muttered to himself as we walked along it, single file. We'd split up inside, once we were down in the bowels of the building, and come at the gathered witches of the council from all sides.
They wouldn't stand a chance.
My palms tingled from nerves, and the back of my neck was sweaty. The creak of a door opening filtered back to me and I held my breath before Wolfe started ushering us in. When I ducked inside I saw we were in some sort of seldom-used pantry storage room, with old platters and plates stacked high on shelves. Dust was thick in the air, sticking to the back of my throat.
"Daria," Wolfe murmured.
"Yessir," she answered. Her magic was like a film of smoke, or gauze, as it winded out of her fingers slowly, curving toward each of us. Near me, Finn stiffened, and held his breath as it wrapped around him, glittering when it touched his skin. He started to fade from sight until he was more a shadow than anything else.
"This is so fucking weird," Max said, her voice hushed as one by one we turned into shadows. I saw Ace move to pinch himself, and when he caught me turning toward him, he shrugged. I couldn't make out more than faint details on each of them, and even those became more blurry until they were just darkened shapes in the dim light.
"Don't bump into anyone, because they will see you," Daria warned, her voice muffled in the small room.
"You know the way? Each of you?" Wolfe asked. "Max, with me, please."
Her shape pulled away from mine, moving toward him, until she seemed to melt against him. I couldn't tell where he began and she ended.
"We'll take Darcy," Eli said.
"Don't worry about us, we'll be fine," Daria said, and I saw a dark shape of her arm reach out, and she tugged at Luka, yanking him toward her.
"Pretty much useless anyway," Luka muttered.
"Alright," Wolfe said, "I would say godspeed, but I might burst into flame. Let the stars guide our hands and powers tonight."
I took a deep breath and moved to the door, my wolves falling in line behind me.
Fifteen
Darcy
"You must be very thrilled, a Hailward! Even if it's disappointing it's from the wrong son..." a male voice drifted toward me as I crept through the servant's hall. The gathering room for the witch's council, on their more secret social gatherings but not the one they used for actual council meetings themselves, was surrounded on all sides by servant halls. Thick curtains stood in place of doors at the mouth of these hallways, so that servants could come and go without making any noise to disturb the room occupants. I tried not to sneer. The council members really were full of themselves.
"Oh don't make that face, Llewellyn," a second voice piped up. "You might have lost a daughter, but at least the brat is alive. You can still bring her in to heel."
I froze in place, Charlie bumping into me from behind, his hand going to my elbow to steady us both. They were talking about me. A wave of anger rose inside me. I would never heel.
I reached for Charlie and grabbed his hand, squeezing it. I'd go forward by myself for the moment, peek through the curtains. We might have been shadows, but we could still make noise, after all. He'd reach for the next guy behind him, squeezing his hand and letting him know not to move forward until I came back.
In another hall, Daria and Luka would wait, in case they were needed in any way for this confrontation. Down yet another hall, Max and Wolfe stood, so that he could direct her to begin her destruction. It needed to be controlled as much as possible. There were too many protection spells for us to take things down from the inside. Plus we needed to take out the source of those protection spells... the men who were standing around talking about bringing me back into the fold.
They had no idea what they were dealing with. Maybe because they'd been keeping their women under magical lock and key for... what, centuries? A fluttery sense of purpose radiated from my chest as I stepped up, sneaking right up to the swag of heavy curtain that fell to the floor. A sliver of light fell to the floor, where the curtain had been disturbed by a servant earlier, probably.
Right there, just beyond it, I saw my father's back to me.
Tamping down on how angry seeing him made me, I listened and watched. They were all there, standing around, talking to one another, congratulating my father and the Hailward patriarch for a hopeful future council-man being born into witching society.
If I had my way, there would be no council for the baby to grow up under. There would be no future wife of my sister's child having her magic locked away because her husband needed her powers to boost his own. I figured it helped them maintain dominance over other witches that way. The thought made me shake with anger.
Then my father said something that made my body go cold.
"I'll have to slaughter those beasts that have corrupted her," he said, with such nonchalance, discussing my guys like they were nothing. My mouth dropped open. "Once their blood runs on the floor, she can bathe in it to pay for her insolence. She's been used, but maybe that will be penance enough."
I felt like I was falling backward at the mental image of what he had planned for the pack.
"You might breed her yourself," mused his friend, "if there's no one you feel would be suitable. Keep your line clear. If she throws a boy, then you'd be well settled with the child in your seat once you're gone."
I... what?
"That's a thought," my father said, sounding amused. "She's no beauty like her mother. I can't imagine she'd be willing..."
"That's a small matter," his friend said with a wave of his hand. "A simple order and she'll fall to her knees like the good whore she is. I can imagine a pack of werewolves would have her well trained by now for the work. You should thank them." He laughed, the sound making me dizzy.
Oh my god. My father was actually... he was actually considering it... considering raping me. When he turned to speak with someone else, his profile to me, there was a curve to his lips that would haunt me for the rest of my life.
That was too much. I nearly vomited in my mouth and I took a step back, reaching for Charlie. He'd heard everything, his body stiff with rage as he wrapped me up in his arms.
"Call it off," Eli whispered, his voice rough with rage. "She's not good for it, that was too much-"
"No, I can do this," I said, trying to stop my whole body from shaking. They needed to die. Every single one of them. I was done waiting. Pushing away from Charlie, I stormed out of the hall.
"Darcy," one of the guys hissed my name, trying to stop me. But it was too late, too late for my father, for his sick friends.
They were murderers, rapists, monsters. It was time for them to pay.
For a moment no one noticed me, not until I got within a foot of my father, who's head jerked around as if he'd seen a ghost. Then his eyes widened, his mouth opening to say something.
"Stop!" Wolfe's voice cut through me.
His power bounced across the room, splattering over me and making my limbs go heavy just as my father's arm raised. The veils of Daria's magic was fading on my skin, it tingled as it disappeared. Lightning crackled around my father's fingers, as everyone in the room went slow, then still.
My mind screamed to be free, to bring down the punishment from the heavens onto the man that had tried to murder me, and planned to murder my pack. I strained under the weight of Wolfe's command, seeing the fear and anger in my father's eyes. That only pushed me further, and deep inside me, the crackling coil of my lightning roared to life. It thundered through me, shaking my fingers as they lifted, hands out, sparks blinding me.
I couldn't see anything, my vision whiting out, but I could hear the half-scre
ams, croaked out of frozen throats and shuddering lungs.
My power boomed, blasting through the room, spears of lightning erupting off my arms, spinning through the air at their target.
They hit him right in the chest, one, two, five, jagged spears of energy and power. I could see it in my mind as my father's face lit up. I blinked slowly, clearing my vision, just in time to watch the power flutter over his body like it had hit some sort of force-field, knocking him to the ground instead of evaporating him on the spot.
The world went from slow like cold honey to hyper-speed when his hand came up in the air and Wolfe's power over us broke like a shattered plate. Sound squealed past my ears and I cried out at the pain, clapping my hands over my ears.
My lightning swirled and spun around my father's body as he lifted himself up off the ground. My powers were trying to find an opening, a crack in his armor, anything. Instead he gave me a humorless smile, and wrapped his fingers around one bolt as if it were something he could hold.
Then he yanked, hard.
My body jerked forward, a puppet on strings that he controlled.
I felt everyone around me burst outward from behind their curtains all at once, as my feet skidded on the floor, my movements stilted as I fought my father while he dragged me closer, with threads of my power in his grasp.
The pack emerged, curtain flying. Charlie wrapped an arm around the neck of the witch closest, a man who reached out, his mouth moving to cast a spell. Cash elbowed him in the head, shutting him up in the next second. The three of them went down to the ground, light flashing up around them.
“Mine,” my father said, the word so soft that I didn’t hear it with my ears, but reverberating across the lightning strikes that connected us. I reached my arms out backward, desperate to grab purchase on anything.
I knew as soon as he got his hands on me, I was dead.
Fingers wrapped around my wrist and I yanked my head around.
Max was there, her eyes pure flame. I gasped and reached for her with my other arm.
“No!” My father’s word shouted through us both. For a moment she shook, nearly dropping me, then flung her hand toward him, fire spiraling into the air and barreling right at him.
His arms came up, crossing over his face, as the flames burst around him, whatever was protecting him keeping him safe. It as enough though, I felt the tight hold he had on me drop. I staggered back into her arms. Finn was there in a moment, skidding in front of us, putting his body between ours and my father’s.
Flashes of power were lighting up the room, overwhelming me. It was all going wrong. We needed to get out of there.
I heard a growl, and I glanced over. Cash was bearing down on a witch, who’s powers were long snakes of water, that were wrapping around Cash’s body, then rippling around his neck. I gasped, the roll of thunder inside me rising up just as Eli appeared, punching the witch right in the face. Blood spurted outward, the man’s head snapping back, and the water splattered to the floor. Eli hauled Cash to his feet, and the second man shook it off, turning to look at me.
My father was getting up too, his movements slow, making me take a step back, and then another. I bumped into Max, who grabbed me hard.
“Wolfe,” I said, hoping he’d hear me. I looked for him, and froze when I saw him. Luka was at his feet, sprawled out and unmoving, Daria shaking the boy hard, trying to get him to wake up. Flashes of light hit the ground around them as Wolfe sparred with an older witch, who’s hunched body wasn’t stopping him from launching a barrage of burning lights at Wolfe. The flares of power coming from Wolfe were raw magic, evaporating the streaking missiles each time they got to reached him, Daria, and Luka, but it was all he could do to just keep up.
We had badly miscalculated. There were too many of them. They were too strong. Dread gripped me, leaving me still when I should have been moving, or fighting. My guys were, growling when they were hit with licks of power. I gasped when I saw Ace fly through the air, slamming into one wall.
I jerked out of my stupor, ready to fight the witch that had thrown him.
“You murdered my son,” a voice rasped, and a hand grabbed me by the throat. Fire licked at my skin and I screamed, the sound choked and grating. Pain, panic, all of it flared inside of me. My magic erupted out of me, jolting the elder Hailward as he lifted me off the ground. His body shook, his eyes going white, and he let out a hideous whine before his arm went limp. I fell away, watching as his skin went white and he crumbled inward, turning to ash.
“Darcy-” Max grabbed me, pulling me back. “We’ve gotta get out!”
The mist of Daria’s powers flung over the room, faster than she’d turned us to shadow, I saw the glitter fly through the air.
The witches fighting us cried out, falling to their knees and clawing at their eyes, including my father. Whatever was happening, whatever she was doing was impacting them only, but not us.
“Fuck,” a snarl distracted me. A few yards away Charlie lifted Ace up; the younger wolf was limp, his head lolling to the side. I rushed to them, just as Eli and Finn got there. Finn tucked an arm around Ace’s back, helping Charlie to lift them.
“Sweetheart,” Cash breathed hard. He was holding Luka in the same way, Daria pale and trembling beside them.
“He got hit,” she said, “he’s not waking up.” Around us the wails of witches began to die down as Daria’s spell, as powerful as it was, faded out.
“Run!” Wolfe snapped, breaking the moment as we all held our breaths.
Max shoved me from behind; Eli picked up Daria and tossed her over his shoulder. I burst into a sprint, toward the curtained hallway we’d come from.
Sixteen
Darcy
I should have known from the start we wouldn’t be fast enough. The wolves were lightning-quick, out stripping me and Max in a heartbeat. Wolfe was close behind them.
As I reached the curtain, a female scream ripped through the air. I turned just in time to see my father’s powers, lightning, wrapping around Max’s body and yanking her backwards. Her hair flashed, swinging upward as her body jerked, her head snapping from side to the side.
There was a still moment, when everyone went quiet, and the world stopped.
Then the flames came.
The floor rumbled at first, underfoot, tossing me over as I lost my balance.
White fire erupted along the floor, the heat-flash of air scorching me and pinning me to the ground like a powerful wave. The heavy fabric of the great curtain swags began to evaporate around us, and ash made the air hazy. The breath was stolen right from my lungs as I inhaled, and it was all I could do to throw my powers up, shielding me with a weak dome of lightning.
Even still, the heat scalded me, at the same time as I heard the horrific screaming of a dozen council witches being burned alive. The noises, their screeching, the roar of the flames, deafened me and I curled up, my powers flickering and dampening out everything around me.
I don’t know how long I lay there, time seemed to swirl and go backward before jumping fast into the future.
The fires raged, I could smell burning flesh, making me gag, and the floor kept shaking underneath me. Max. Max had brought the flames, to save us, to finish the job we’d started. I needed to help her.
I got up, my powers shivering in the heat, the protective shield around me holding against the wrathful flames that pulsed and consumed everything in their path. They stretched from wall to wall, licking up at the wood paneling until the walls of the large gathering room glowed and sparks of soot floated through the air.
There, in the middle of the room, Max had her hands around my father’s throat, just as he had her in the same grip. Max was… she was the fire, glowing from within, ember-bright, her skin yellow with flickers of red. Her hair dripped flames, her clothes gone, the fires forcing my father down onto his knees as she bent over him.
Her triumphant laugh shot through my brain, echoing inside my head as she crowed her victory, his lightning fizz
ling out as both of his legs hit the ground.
He tilted his head to look up at her, and everything was going to be alright.
He brought a hand to her face, covering it with his palm, and the lightning flared. My mouth opened-
She dropped like a stone, and the two of them disappeared in a pillar of fire.
No. No. NO!
Cash grabbed me from behind, lifting me up, just as the pillar expanded, racing toward us. He turned and I saw the way forward, the hall a dark maw. He was taking me. He was taking me away from Max.
I couldn’t even turn my head to look, and instead slammed my power up behind us, just as the flames reached us. It blew around the sides of my shield until I enveloped us both in a cocoon of power, clinging to Cash. We stood stock still in the entrance to the hallway, fire wild around us on all sides, blocking any path to freedom.
Blocking Max from getting to us.
I parted my lips to speak, but couldn’t. Long minutes passed as Cash clung to me, staring all around us as the world was consumed by a phoenix’s storm.
“Darling, I think we gotta get outta here now,” Cash’s voice was edging on panicked. He looked upward and I followed his gaze. Through the flames and heat I could see the stones overhead, blackened, beginning to sag.
The roof was caving in.
“But-”
Cash didn’t let me get another word out, just grabbed me and hauled ass. My powers wrapped around us as the rocks start to fall, catching them and keeping them from crushing us. Cash moved through the fire and smoke, as larger and larger stones slammed into the ground around us. I clung to him, knowing if I slipped, if he faltered, we’d be dead.
The building groaned, the creaking sounds jarring me as Cash took quick turns down one hallway, then another, without pausing to figure out where we were going.
“Almost,” he ground out as a flight of stairs loomed in front of us. “Hang on!”