part0012

The sun heated her skin from high above, which was strange given the skies were heavy with cloud. From her position on the floor, she could see boots walking across the deck. Certainly, she and Drew made quite a scene, and yet no one looked over at them. No one stopped them or asked Drew what the hell he was doing. Even Emma was certainly gone now. This was just the way it was. It was almost comical what Drew could do without question.

But there was something she still had the upper hand with.

Kelia’s face warmed just thinking about it, and she worried her bottom lip between her teeth, unsure she could pull off such a feat. She had never believed she possessed such talents, but she knew most men were the same, regardless if they were human or Shadow. As such, she cleared her throat and looked up at Drew through her lashes.

“Drew,” she said in a low voice.

Drew furrowed his brow, tilting his head to the side. He seemed confused. Perhaps it was the tone of her voice. She was attempting to make it sound sultry, but perhaps it was coming out the wrong way.

“Yes?” he asked.

“I need you to get up.” She placed her hands on his thighs and slowly rubbed them upward, turning her palms toward the inside of those thighs. “You’re making me feel things I don’t know if I want to feel just yet. With all the changes going on in my body.”

She dropped one hand over her chest, making sure it was placed just over her breasts so his eyes would follow.

“You know,” he said, nestling in closer, “I can assist you with that, should you ever need to indulge in matters of the flesh.”

Kelia feigned surprise. “Don’t tempt me. I might ask you to indulge me right here at the head of the ship.”

She raised her brow, hoping to emphasize her point.

Drew’s eyebrows pulled together, and Kelia used that window of hesitation to shift her body weight and throw him off of her body. He landed on his back, and she plopped on top of him.

“I got you off of me,” she told him flatly. “Train me.”

Drew looked away. “That isn’t fair, you know. That’s cheating.”

She shrugged. “Pirate .”

“Oh, all right,” he said. “But after we get Emma to Adelaide. You need to rid your body of the Siren’s blood first.”

Kelia smiled in triumph and stood. She was starting to feel more powerful already.

The sun dipped low earlier in the day than usual. Or perhaps time had simply moved faster than Drew expected. Either way, he and his crew were all too soon on boats rowing toward the shore. He was not sure he was ready to find Adelaide. And, more importantly, he was not sure he was ready to train Kelia.

As they rowed closer to the island, smoke puffed from the remnants of the fire. What had been a rich green was now black. The dirt was covered with ash. The scent of sulfur was stronger the closer they got to the island. The boats were silent as they cut across the water. No one dared speak, though Drew did not know why. Personally, he felt as though there was nothing for him to say.

Hunger pangs rumbled through Drew’s stomach. When was the last time he had eaten?

He released a growl and looked away from the island and back over to the ocean. He did not want to think about sinking his fangs into Kelia and feeding from her. It caused his body to tense. It caused shudders to ripple down his spine and his toes to curl. He wanted more of her blood. He wanted it in his system. He wanted to bond with her in a way no one had and no one would.

But he could not think about that right now. He, along with his crew, would look for any animals that remained alive on the island, as he had stated just before they docked. They were not allowed to feed on the witches and there was no way in hell they would feed on Kelia. They knew better than to ask. However, Drew was also aware that hunger produced idiotic responses. He needed to get his crew fed in order to keep them loyal.

By the time they reached the docks, Drew had torn nearly every fingernail he had in half, right down to the quick. He grabbed the thick rope from the bottom of the boat and, without saying a word, tied the boat to the wood so the boat would not float away. From the corner of his eye, he noticed his crew do the same before they stepped onto land.

By this time, the sky was an angry grey color. There were no clouds, and there was a chill in the air, the sort that wracked through one’s body until it coated their very bones. The clear air and the salt from the sea did nothing to mask the singed scent of what had transpired. If Drew had to guess, he would say this could not have taken place more than three days ago, if not more recently.

His crew all went their own way to find sustenance, leaving Drew alone with Kelia and the witches.

“Are you sure you want to see her?” Wendy asked. Her voice was still heavy with bitterness, and she had not turned her dark gaze to Drew. Since Christopher perished, she had not really looked at anyone. Instead, her focus was primarily on the horizon, as though she expected him to magically return from somewhere.

“I have no choice.” He stood on the wooden deck and turned, bending down and proceeding to help up everyone else in his boat. “Emma insists the ingredients can only be obtained through her.”

“’Tis true,” Emma said, sounding as though she was in no mood to argue. “And you will thank me when I have cured her.” Emma’s eyes shifted as she stepped on the dock, dusting off the front of her dress. “Your Shadow will thank me, too.”

“She’s not my Shadow,” he muttered, more to himself than to Emma. “She doesn’t belong to anybody. She’s made that very clear.”

“Well, perhaps you should respect that about her,” Emma pointed out. She dropped her hands and turned around. Without waiting for anyone else, she proceeded to head toward town.

Drew let out a frustrated breath, pulling Wendy up, then Daniella, and finally Kelia. With Kelia, he allowed his hand to linger on hers. The feel of her skin on his sent little shocks through his system, and he instantly flashed back to the sole time they were intimate with each other.

He missed her warmth. He missed being inside of her, wrapped in a purity he did not remember ever experiencing in his lifetime.

Kelia pulled her hand away from his, snapping him out of the memory. She did not seem to care one way or the other regarding what they were and what they could be. Her focus, like Emma, remained on getting the ingredients, but only so Drew would hurry up and train her. He refrained from rolling his eyes and muttering some more under his breath. The only women he seemed to know were hardheaded and infuriating.

“Do you think our dear, old aunt will be happy to see us, then?” Wendy asked, falling into step with him.

Kelia and Daniella had caught up to Emma, and the three of them were walking at a faster pace than Drew and Wendy. So long as Drew had them directly in his sight, he did not mind that they were set on walking ahead of him. Perhaps it was best if he took space from all of them lest something he might later regret come out of his mouth.

“Last time I was with her,” Wendy continued, “she shouted that I did not respect her art craft and told me she never wanted to see me again.”

“Art craft?” Drew asked.

“Adelaine is an earth witch, but she treats her potions and concoctions like they’re art rather than simple remedies to ailments,” Wendy said. “I was in love with the wind and thought it much more grand than having earth capabilities and told her as much.”

“Auntie does not like being contradicted.”

A ghost of a smile touched Wendy’s lips. “No,” she agreed. “That she does not.”

The dirt was heavy as they stepped off the docks and onto the road that led through town. It clung to their boots. The ash still being pushed around by the wind found their skin and stayed there. Drew would need to get Emma to draw them all baths after this outing. He did not mind being dirty when the occasion called for it, but this was something different. This left him feeling grimier than he could tolerate.

“The last time I saw Auntie, she slapped me across my face and told me how pathetic I was because of my infatuation for a beautiful monster,” Drew said. “I hate to admit that she was right. She said my choice in women was going to get me killed and, in a way, it did.”

“I’m sure she’s looking forward to telling you she was right.”

Drew snorted. He couldn’t keep a smirk off his face if he tried. Wendy was right about that.

The five continued to walk through town. The brothel Grayson Briggs used to own was still standing, but the wood had been stained black from the fire. There was nothing left inside except a rather large hole.

The brothel did not stand tall at three levels any longer. Rather, the base was the only part of the structure that survived. None of the people who had once populated it were present. Drew did not even smell charred bodies. Either they had been given ample warning to leave the island, they were taken from the island, or they were killed and then taken.

No scenario sounded very good.

Each building that made up the small town was the same. Some parts of the structure had survived, but as a whole, not one building remained. There were no bodies. Just ash and smoke. Drew tried to find something—any hint or clue that might reveal what, exactly, had taken place—but he could find nothing.

“Does it bother you what happened here is eerily similar to what we did to Sangre?” Wendy asked.

Drew had thought it, but putting it into words made the hairs on his arms stand at attention.

“You think this was a counter attack?” Drew asked. “From the Queen?”

“We burned down her island,” Wendy said. “You said her precious house caught on fire. I wouldn’t be surprised.”

“But I thought she wanted us,” Kelia said. Drew looked up, surprised to see her, Emma, and Daniella waiting for them up ahead. “She kept saying she wants us alive. So why would she burn the island? Wouldn’t that kill us if we’d been here?”

“She probably suspected we had to come here for supplies. I’d bet this is a warning. Part of the game she’s playing with you.” Her attention turned to Drew. “You used this island to feed. Your crew did, too. Emma used it to gather ingredients. Take away things essential to life, and you create chaos within a person, which, in turn, creates chaos in a group.”

Drew’s eyebrows shot straight up, hearing the answer come from Daniella, of all people. He opened his mouth to respond before shutting it slowly. As much as he hated to admit it, the girl made sense.

“A mental game?” he asked.

Daniella shrugged. “I don’t know your Queen,” she said. “Does it sound like something she would do?”

Yes, actually, it did.

“What does that mean for us, then?” Kelia asked. “If this is a game, what is she hoping to get out of it?”

“You, love,” came a voice from behind them.

Before Drew’s gaze could catch the speaker, the figure lunged for Kelia. He turned and, using his speed, managed to knock the attacker down, preventing him from reaching his intended target.

However, as Drew picked himself back up, he glanced around and noticed he was familiar with the majority of Shadows surrounding them from his visits to the island. These were Grayson’s Shadows, Shadows he had bought with free blood and sex. Drew’s heart knocked against his chest. There were probably seven of them.

There was no way they would get out of this mess. Seven Shadows against two Shadows and three witches were not good odds.

“Come with us, Drew,” Sammy remarked from Drew’s left. Drew remembered him as one of the more vicarious Shadows who consumed as many women as blood. “You know we will take you. Let’s not prolong this.”

“The Queen called you then?” Drew asked, his voice coming out in clipped, rough words. “I’m surprised you’re not trying to kill me.”

“I begged her to, but the Queen wants you alive,” Sammy replied. He glanced at his cuticles dismissively. “You are nothing more than a pathetic pirate captain with no direction in life. You think you know everything. The truth is, you are selfish. And you know nothing. You are lucky the Queen loves you the way she does. You are lucky she wants you and offers mercy.” He grinned. “Lucky for me , I can make you suffer, even if I cannot kill you.”

Someone leapt forward and tried to grab Kelia. She was fast enough to dodge the attack, but she was still new at being a Shadow, and with the Siren poison coursing through her body, she wouldn’t be able to deflect the attacks for long.

“Grayson thought the same,” Drew said with a smirk. “And yet, he is dead. I am not. Clearly, I am the superior. You should bow before me.”

“You want bowing, hmm?” Sammy leaned forward. “Your Infant will bow to me after I pleasure her over and over again while you watch. And there will be nothing you can do about this.”

“You are going to die tonight,” Drew snarled, his nostrils flaring. “You know this, yes?”

A gust of wind shot out seemingly from nowhere and coiled around two Shadows in front of Wendy. They grabbed their throats, clawing at their skin. Drew couldn’t be sure, but it almost seemed as though Wendy stuffed a gust of wind down their throats and was suffocating them.

Crimson ribbons streaked out of their throats and ran down down their chests as their nails broke the skin. It lasted only a few moments, but the two Shadows she choked were ash. Drew blinked, pressing his lips together so none of the carcass landed in his mouth.

Just as those two died, one of the wenches who used to open the door at the blood brothel jumped on top of Kelia and knocked her down.

Kelia let out a sharp cry. Before Drew could do anything, he was attacked by another Shadow. Claws sank into his shoulder, and he grunted.

From the corner of his eyes, he saw Wendy handling her Shadow as best as she could. Daniella, on the other hand…

“She’s going to endure so much because of you,” Sammy said. He raised his arm up, and Drew rolled away just in time. Dirt hit his face from the attack.

Drew jumped up onto his feet. He glanced over to Kelia. Kelia lifted her foot and kicked the Shadow, causing the creature’s head to snap.

“Daniella!” Kelia shouted, not taking her eyes off the Shadow.

“I’ve got my own problems, Kelia,” Daniella shouted.

“I could use some fire over here.”

“So typical!” Daniella said. “Let me drop what I’m doing and help you because you’re so important.”

Regardless of her outburst, Daniella created a fireball from her hands and sent it flying until it landed on the Shadow. She groaned, her hands caressing her head after Kelia’s kick.

“You bitch!” she shouted.

The minute the fire landed on her, however, she started to scream. A moment later, she was ash as well.

Three down. Four to go.

Instead of waiting to attack, Drew bent his knees and pushed himself high into the sky. From his position, he saw two other Shadows use the opportunity and go after Kelia. Wendy’s Shadow stayed with her, holding her by the throat. But as Drew descended back down, he used the force that came with it, maneuvering his feet to aim at the Shadow fighting his sister.

The jump took less than a few seconds, and the Shadow he landed on did not have time to move before Drew crashed into him with a sickening crunch.

The Shadow landed on his back, his chest caved in from Drew’s weight and impact. Drew reached down and snapped his neck. Instant ash.

Wendy let out a gasp, sucking in air. Her hands went to her throat, but Drew did not ask his sister if she was all right. This fight wasn’t over.

“Wendy!” he shouted. “Shield. Please ?”

Wendy shook her head. It seemed like she was trying to snap herself out of her thoughts. She nodded once and lifted up the shield.

A Shadow quickly broke through it and went for Drew.

“Goddamnit, Wendy, ready yourself!” Drew growled as he dodged the attack.

“Focus,” she muttered to herself. “C’mon, Wend, c’mon.”

A fist knocked Drew to the ground. He closed his eyes and shook his head before reopening them. The Shadow jumped, and Drew mirrored the move, throwing himself into the air. He threw his arm into the Shadow’s chest and squeezed the heart. Ash fell everywhere as he landed on his feet.

Kelia grabbed her blade and proceeded to attack the lone Shadow who could reach any one of them while the other two Shadows kept pounding futilely on the shield.

Wendy grunted as the shield shattered. The Shadows leapt, knocking Wendy and Emma down.

They were going to kill the witches, and there was nothing he could do about it.

He didn’t know whether he should help Kelia or go after the Shadows hovering over Wendy and Emma.

Before he could decide, a loud, guttural cry pierced the air. Everyone froze, lifting their heads and glancing around.

Suddenly, the ground vibrated, shaking so hard that Drew’s head nodded and his teeth clacked together. While the three attacking Shadows stood still, bending their knees as if to keep their balance, Drew darted toward each one and snapped their necks. Ash flew into the air, dancing in jolted patterns due to the earth’s incessant shaking.

After another moment, the earth stilled.

“Emma.” He knew it was her. Besides his aunt, Emma was the only Shadow with the power to do something like that.

“I didn’t think I would be able to do it,” she got out, her breath hitching in her throat. She picked herself up with shaky hands before wiping the front of her dress as though to dust herself off. “We must get to Adelaide’s cabin quickly. Come.”

Drew didn’t need to be told twice. Luckily for them, it was just down this dirt path.

A powerful spell protected the cottage and the land surrounding it in order to ensure Adelaide’s safety, which meant no one could locate the cottage except the few Adelaide wanted to see it. Drew and Wendy had been there before, as had Emma when she had been an apprentice under Adelaide, but Kelia and Daniella would be staring at space until Adelaide gave them permission to see the cottage.

But as they neared the quaint cottage, the eerie silence hanging in the air sent a chill down Drew’s spine.

There was no smoke coming from the chimney, and he could not see his aunt from the window.

“It looks as though she isn’t here,” Daniella said.

“She must be,” Drew said.

Another moment passed, and something struck him as off.

“You can see it?” he asked. “But I don’t see Adelaide.”

Kelia and Daniella shouldn’t have been able to see that cottage until Adelaide gave permission, and if Adelaide saw them, she would surely be coming out to greet them.

“I’m sure she’s just inside,” Wendy offered quietly.

His eyes turned to Emma in order to help him explain better, but she had gone pale, as though she was rooted to her spot.

“Emma?” he asked, taking a step toward the witch.

“Something’s wrong,” she said. “Adelaide’s not here. And this cottage isn’t magicked anymore.”