by JL Madore
Kyrian’s opponent fell to the filthy subway floor, and he advanced to help with Linsale. The guy was a beast. He’d clear seven feet easy and had the hairy, muscled frame of a half-transitioned werewolf from a bad B movie.
Zander wasn’t worried.
They were sparing, as far as he was concerned.
It was Bo who deserved to—
Yep. When the Viking pushed in, Zander and Kyrian stepped off. Filled with the rage of one wronged, he rammed his Chrystaline dagger straight into the guy’s belly.
Linsale howled.
Lifting the hilt, Bo opened a gully, and the demon beast’s innies became a gooey pile of outties, flopping to the floor in a wet kerthud.
The last known leader of the Red Metal Rebellion fell, and Zander hoped this war was well and truly over.
“Take that, you mind-fucking piece of shit.” Bo spit on the guy and gripped his hairy Medusa head to decapitate the ugly bastard.
Zander felt for his brother. Bo had suffered from being mentally compromised a few months ago. It took them all time to heal from his apparent weakness and trust the Viking was of sound mind and control once more.
As Linsale’s head came off, the unharmed Aswang shifted into her animal form and launched. Bo caught the Rottweiler midair and staggered behind the weight.
Zander and Kyrian shifted to help, but in the split-second it took them to get there, the shifter witch fell dead on the platform next to the others. Zander’s gaze skittered around the space, taking in his men, but not much else. “What the hell?”
Bo cursed and rolled his eyes. “Layne. Get your beautiful, disobedient ass out here.”
They turned their heads, searching until they found her. Wearing a black hoodie and black jeans, Bo’s mate stepped out of the shadows. There was a fresh trail of blood running from her nose, and she swiped it away with her sleeve.
“I told you to let us handle this,” Bo said, heading to her.
“And I told you, I fight to protect my own.”
Zander looked down at the dead beast of a dog and shook his head. “You blow up her mind?”
“Who? Little ole me?” Layne wiped her lip again, the toll of using that much mental force obvious.
Bo cursed and collected her to his side. “I had her.”
“I know you did.”
“No. You hurt yourself when you didn’t need to.”
“I needed to.”
Zander and Kyrian knew enough to stay out of that one and helped Brennus and Seth haul the dead into the center of the floor. Layne and Jhaia had waited for justice for their dead. Now they had it.
The Quickenings passed, and they got ready to torch the dead, but waited until Bo escorted his mate back up to the surface. Some images can’t be unseen, and some scents can’t be unsmelled? Unsmelt? Forgotten.
The whimpering of the injured witch writhing on the ground made Zander chuckle. “You get to live and suffer the consequences of your actions. From now on, anything you cast toward us will boomerang back and kick you in the teeth.”
The injured witch shifted into her animal form. She too was a massive Rottweiler, and that rang familiar. He’d come up against these two, or their kin, before. He was about to bring it up when she took to all fours and hightailed it into the vacuous darkness of the abandoned subway tunnel.
“You want us to chase her down, Z?” Seth asked.
“Nah. Let her tell the tale of Watchers reflecting their nasty tricks.”
“I’m sure she will . . . after she takes care of that rabid crotch rash.”
Zander laughed. “Man, Ronnie’s one woman you don’t want to piss off.”
Kyrian held up his phone and smiled. “Hey, let’s wrap this up. We’ve got company back at the ranch.”
Zander pulled out his phone and read Danel’s text. “Cool. Wonder what brought him to town?”
CHAPTER TWENTY
Hark slipped his phone back into his pocket, and snagged one of the sandwiches from the plates Austin brought in for them. Sometimes feeding them was a full-time job for her. Not that she minded. Just the opposite, Austin seemed happiest when she had a houseful of people to care for. “They’re on their way,” he said. “They’re just burning the trash and then they’re good to go.”
Kang, commander of the Atlanta garrison, nodded. “So, that’s it then? You boys think you’ve got your rebellion locked down?”
Danel nodded. “Without jinxing it, yeah, we do.”
Kang resembled Ringo a lot more than the rest of them—and that wasn’t because they were both Asian, dark-haired, and swimming on the vertically-challenged side of the gene pool. They had a similar build and shape of face because Kang, too, was the blooded son of Gabrielle.
The warrior finished his first sandwich and was halfway through a second when he stopped chewing long enough to speak. “Gotta say, if you boys eat like this all the time, I envy the setup. This is nice.”
Danel finished his roasted turkey and grabbed a handful of potato chips. “The Toronto garrison has been domesticated. All the comforts of home, and the only cost was giving up personal privacy.”
Hark chuckled at that. Yeah, after all of them ended up sexing their mates in every corner of the house yesterday, there had been a lot of throat-clearing and sideways glances. Not as bad as when Brennus and Bo returned from Shayton’s Darkworld orgy, but not far off.
“Hey, man,” Seth said a moment later, walking in with the rest of the crew. He met Kang chest to chest, and they clapped backs. “What’s the occasion?”
Kang pulled back and continued the welcome line with Phoenix, Kyrian, and Zander. “I was in the area.”
Z laughed and eyed the empty plate. “Did word get out that there’s southern hospitality north of the Forty-ninth?”
He nodded. “Yeah, the secret is out. It’s a wonder you boys aren’t pushing three-hundy with access to this kind of cooking on the regular.”
Zander took off his vest and hung it on one of the hooks inside the door of the war room. “That might become a problem if things keep slowing down.”
Kang accepted a drink and leaned his ass on the edge of the pool table. “I heard. Is the action on your streets truly slowing that much?”
“Might be. We got the last of the rebel leaders.”
“That we know about,” Seth said.
Zander nodded. “That we know about.”
“Still,” Kang said, “that’s big.”
Kyrian opened the cabinet above the bar and pulled out two more bags of chips. “Between Thea hearing the grievances through the Otherworld Council, Cassi and Storme feeding the blood and tissue species with DonorWatch, and the hard shutdown of the Red Metal Rebellion, we seem to be entering a new era.”
“Are ye not seein’ the same results down south, my brother?” Brennus asked.
Kang swirled his ice in the tumbler. “Otherworld events are definitely on the decline, but lately we’ve got something new brewing.”
“What kind of new?” Zander asked.
He shook his head. “Too early to tell. We discovered a fucked-up ritual scene in a desecrated church a week ago. Dismembered bodies. Symbology. Artwork. Bizarre stuff. Frenchie couldn’t pinpoint the energy, but he’s sure it’s dark and that it’s not Otherworld dark.”
“Is that why you came?” Zander asked. “Do you think Brennus and Colt should pay a visit?”
Kang shrugged. “That would be great, and yeah, partly why I came. I’m here because of Ringo and your issue too.”
“The Michael issue,” Danel clarified. “Kang and the Atlanta boys have a theory about what the fucker is up to.”
That got everyone’s attention.
Zander and Kyrian jogged over to the door and grabbed the two incoming trays Thea and Ronnie were lugging in. “Thank you, ladies,” Zander said, setting out the spread on the polished surface of the bar.
“Austin and Sunshine have been baking,” Ronnie said, stealing a quick kiss from her hubby before heading back out. “When
you’re done your business, can we have a treat in the living room? We want to say hello to Kang too.”
Kang nodded. “I can catch up until after dinner.”
Zander chuckled. “Inviting yourself?”
Kang shrugged. “You assholes never put out the invite. I figure it’s my only shot.”
Ronnie laughed. “I’ll tell Austin and we’ll be sure to set another plate.”
Kang nodded. “Perfect. Then I’ll have to head back for nightfall.”
When the ladies retreated, Zander closed the door and frowned. “Where’s Tanek?”
Danel shrugged. “Haven’t seen him in the house all night. Could he still be pissed at you?”
Zander shook his head. “Nope. We’re good.”
Seth sucked back a sandwich and washed it down with a Corona. “We’ll catch T up later. Kang, give us the scoop on Michael. What do you think he wanted with the kid?”
Hark wanted to know too. They hadn’t gotten into it before Zander and the others got there.
Kang took that as his invitation to put them all out of their misery. “When I told my guys there was a chance to catch one of the assholes up to something, it became a mission to figure it out. By what you said, the kid is way above the curve. We discounted his artistic talent and focused on the precognition.”
“What benefit could knowing the future offer an immortal who pretty much answers to no one?” Danel asked.
“We don’t think it was about what he wants to know, but what he doesn’t want you to know.”
Zander frowned. “Keep talking.”
Kang finished his drink and nodded. “The kid is a direct link to predictions and knowledge, specifically to things that affect this household.”
Danel nodded. “Yeah, we think that his scope will expand now that he’s transitioning, but until now, it was pretty solidly about us and ours.”
“Okay, so, what are the four basic motivations for men like him to do anything?”
“Power, money, revenge, love,” Danel said.
“We can eliminate money and love,” Bo added.
“And revenge doesn’t really play into it,” Kyrian said. “There’s mutual disdain but we haven’t done anything.”
“Okay,” Zander said. “Let’s go with power then.”
Kang nodded. “That’s what we thought too. So, Steig found a reference in the archives about the Celt’s other half, and it got us thinking that Michael might be worried about his own ass.”
“Colt?” Brennus said, his gaze narrowing. “What has he to do with any of it.”
“Not Colt. The Ice God he absorbed—Avestaexa.”
“What about him?” Zander asked. “He’s contained.”
“And none of Michael’s business,” Brennus snapped.
“Avestaexa’s a god while Michael’s only an immortal. With the Ice God active once again, if Colt wanted to, he could end our white-suited headaches once and for all.”
Zander broke into a smile. “Oh, I like the sound of that.”
“We all know Michael doesn’t trust Darkworlders.”
“It’s more paranoia than mistrust,” Seth added.
Kang nodded. “So, what do you think Colt would do if Michael or one of the others harmed the Celt or one of his brothers. There’d be repercussions, right? The Archangels wouldn’t have carte blanche power to push you around.”
Kyrian clapped his hands together. “Have we finally got the leverage to back those assholes off?”
“That might explain why Michael hasn’t come to fry my balls for the exposure,” Z said. “I’ve been waiting for that shoe to drop.”
Seth nodded. “Yeah, maybe he’s worried about his own balls.”
“Turn about is fair play, right?” Danel said. “They’ve held annihilation over our heads for millennia. Ruling us with an iron fist. Now, there’s an equalizer.”
Phoenix nodded. And us knowing that reduces the threat of their control.
Zander laughed. “Heaven forbid they have to deal with us in a civilized way. Totalitarian rule is all they know.”
Kang shrugged. “That’s only part of it. So, they can’t bully you and here you are, working out all your struggles. You’ve got everyone playing nice, and with the elimination of the Red Metal Rebellion, you’ve accomplished something Michael and his heavy hand never has—a shot at peaceful coexistence between the Otherworld and the Human Realm.”
“From your lips, my brother,” Kyrian said.
“I’m not following,” Seth said. “What does us one-upping our sires and being off their torture track have to do with Ringo’s gift?”
Kang shrugged. “What if the exposure was intentional? What if Michael is dirty dealing to discredit you and put you in the hot seat?”
Hark read the same look of W.T.F. on the faces of all his brothers. “You think Michael caused the explosions and our takedown to expose the garrison—to expose the Otherworld?”
Phoenix raised his hands. Storme said the slumber spell was crazy intricate. She didn’t know any High Priestesses with the juice to do it, yet it stemmed from a house of local human witches?
Zander frowned. “Do you think he’d kill humans to put us off?”
“It’s been one helluva decoy,” Seth said.
“And to cover his own ass?” Kyrian asked. “I don’t know that there’s much Michael wouldn’t do.”
“It’s just a theory,” Kang repeated.
Zander waved away the guy’s downplay of the idea. “Okay, let’s walk through it as a possibility. We’re working up to a big win and Daddy dearest is getting the shakes. He’s no longer the golden boy leading the charge, and he no longer has us under his thumb.”
“He contracts a coven of witches to bespell us and make it look like a rebellion attempt to take us down,” Kyrian continues.
“But the witches didna have the juice,” Brennus said.
“So, Michael amps them up and does them in once he’s set the stage.”
“He’d ken we wouldna be killed.”
“But he only needs us exposed,” Zander said.
“Then what?” Seth asks. “We’re licking our wounds and regrouping. What’s his next move?”
“He contracts a female to seduce me and ingratiate herself into our home,” Hark said. When heads turned, he raised his hand. “Ren’s bitch sister—another story altogether. Except I don’t fall for the seduction and he has no eyes on the inside.”
“Fuck me,” Danel says. “That’s when Ringo has his first seizure. Could Michael be behind that somehow? Could he have been worried the kid would spill the beans, and tried to take him out of the equation?”
Cue the burst of eight glowing Marks.
“But he rallied,” Zander growls. “Drina and Kyrian have the skills to bring him out of it, so he tries something else.”
“Lady Divinity sends Ren to watch over Ringo,” Hark says. Damn, he hated that this was making so much sense. “She must have known something was up and wanted to counter it.”
“But he still needs Ringo out of here, and he’d want to take him without a fight.” Bo said, the Viking’s Mark beaming gold. “So, he whammies us with the Dionysus spell. And while we’re all distracted with our mates, he waltzes in and takes our boy.”
The room fell silent as everyone digested that.
“That’s some messed up fiction,” Seth said.
Zander scrubbed a rough hand over his mouth. “Even if that is the way of things, we’ve got no proof and no way to get any. This is all speculation, my brothers.”
“Yeah,” Kyrian said, exhaling. “But for right now, we’ve got the kid back and with his transition unlocked, he’s now immortal. After her seeing what Michael did to him, I’m sure we can convince Lady Divinity to give us guardianship over him. I call that a win.”
“Hells to the yeah,” Danel said. “If we’ve got the Otherworld under control and Ringo’s safe, we can deal with everything else as it comes.”
“What about the exposure?” K
ang asked.
Phoenix fielded that one. Storme and I put a spell on the media footage similar to the one we put out when I levitated the building to save Seth. The coverage images will fade from everyone’s memory, and eventually become something somebody sorta remembers. Then, we’ll be in urban myth territory. It’s not ideal, but it’ll patch the holes until we can figure out a better solution.
Hark shrugged. “And I won’t be strolling down the city streets anytime soon. It’s indoors and shadows for me for the foreseeable future.”
“But,” Kyrian said, raising his beer, “you found your mate. Congrats, my brother. To Hark and his female.”
“To Hark and Ren,” Zander said, raising his glass.
Ren wasn’t sure what the commotion was downstairs, but when Hark came to collect her and Ringo, she was glad for the invitation. “I peeked down the stairwell when Austin’s dog was barking, but couldn’t see what was happening. What’s the big excitement?”
“Company,” Hark said. “It startled us at first. I don’t think we’ve had anyone else ring the doorbell.”
It struck her then, how strange it must’ve been for her to appear in their front foyer. No wonder Tanek reacted the way he had. Hark stepped ahead of them as they reached the landing and walked down the stairs in front of her.
He always did that for some reason.
“So, who’s the company?” Ringo asked, holding the rail as he walked.
“One of our other brothers,” Hark answered.
“What garrison?” Ringo asked, a smile blooming on his face and erasing all the stress of the past days.
“Atlanta.”
“Is it Kang?”
“Yep.”
Hark filled her in about Kang being the head of the Atlanta garrison and escorted them both into the living room where everyone had gathered. Ronnie was kissing the stranger on the cheek, and Kang was soaking it up and razzing Danel about stealing his wife.
“There he is,” Zander said, shifting Niobi to his hip.
Kang jogged over and gave Ringo a back-slapping hug. “Hey, little brother. Danel tells me you’ve had a tough go of it lately. I’m sorry about that.”