Chapter 16

“Mel, I need you to be the bridge between Ladinas and me,” I said, my voice tense with urgency. “Keep communications open. Let me know what he’s up to and if they get into trouble while we’re in Maine.”

“Got it, Mercy,” Mel replied, handing me an earpiece. The little device felt cold as I slid it into place, but it was oddly comforting. Like wearing that damn earpiece made me a part of the team again. “I’ll stay in touch.”

“Good,” I nodded, turning to Muggs. “You know where Ramon is, right?”

“Of course,” Muggs replied, his blind eyes aloof but twinkling with mischief. “I can bring you and your friends there.”

“Ready, Goliath?” I asked, looking at the loyal hellhound by my side. He nuzzled my hand, licking it in response. His warm breath and the rough texture of his tongue were both a little gross and comforting at the same time.

“Here we go again,” Sebastian grunted, bracing himself for another topsy-turvy trip via druid portal.

Muggs spun his staff overhead, its energy crackling through the air. A green tornado swirled around us, our surroundings dissolving into a blur of motion before we found ourselves in a new location—an old bottling factory.

The place smelled like stale beer and rust, and I couldn’t help but wrinkle my nose in disgust. I glanced around, taking in the abandoned machinery and broken windows, and wondered how long this forsaken place had been left to rot.

“Are you sure this is the right place?” I asked Muggs, my tone a mixture of doubt and curiosity. “This isn’t really Ramon’s style.”

“Positive,” he replied, a hint of a smirk playing on his lips. “Be on the lookout, though. Those Redcaps are hanging around. They’re mostly harmless under Adam’s command, but they can be a nuisance.”

“Alright, let’s move,” I said, my voice resolute. The earpiece crackled to life as Mel’s voice chimed in.

“Stay safe, Mercy. I’ll keep you updated on Ladinas and the team.”

I nodded, knowing she couldn’t see me, but somehow it felt like the right thing to do. “Thanks, Mel. Did you talk to him yet?”

“Yeah,” Mel replied. “Let’s just say he’s glad you’re back with us. But he’s a little too busy to chat right now. He could really use your help to get those younglings under control.”

“Understood. But we have to deal with these wolves as well. Let Ladinas know I’ll be there as soon as possible. But if things get too nasty with the younglings, let me know, and if I can get away to help, I will.”

With Goliath by my side, Sebastian and Muggs following closely behind, we ventured deeper into the decrepit factory, each step echoing through the silent halls.

Something wet hit my cheek.

Raising a hand to wipe it off, I found myself staring at a spitball. My lips curled into a slight snarl as I scanned the area for the culprit. In the distance, I spotted a Redcap cackling and quickly darting away.

“Little bastards,” I muttered under my breath, my anger flaring. But I knew we had more important matters at hand, so I decided to let it go for now. “Come on, they must be this way.”

We followed the mischievous Redcap down a dark hallway, its worn walls seeming to close in on us. Suddenly, Sebastian yelped. I whipped around to see another Redcap standing just behind the sentinel, with two fists full of underwear, pulling it as high as they could reach.

“Damn it!” Sebastian grunted, his face flushing with embarrassment as he picked his wedgie. “Fucking faeries.”

I couldn’t help but laugh at his misfortune. “Don’t worry, Aquaman. At least you’re making friends.”

He shot me a glare but said nothing as we continued our search. Eventually, we reached a back room set up like a makeshift apartment. Ramon, Clarissa, and Adam were all hanging out, watching television. The moment they saw me, their eyes widened in shock.

“Mercy?” Ramon stood up, his gaze flicking between Muggs and Goliath, clearly trying to figure out if I was still under Calivion’s influence.

“Relax,” I assured them. “It’s really me. Oblivion doesn’t have control over me right now.”

“Thank the gods,” Clarissa breathed, visibly relieved. “I’m glad you’re here. I really need to go get a bite and Ramon won’t take me...”

Ramon shrugged. “She’s fine. I told her that the hunger would pass.”

I rolled my eyes. “Since when was moderation ever your specialty, Ramon?”

Ramon cocked an eyebrow. “Moi? Never! But that does not mean I do not understand the theory.”

“Ramon, Clarissa, Adam,” I began, looking each of them in the eye. “We need your help.”

Ramon’s expression turned serious. “What’s the issue?”

“Maine is crawling with werewolves preparing to launch an all-out assault on a city. We don’t know how many there are, but they’re gearing up for something big. Adam, if you could use the Redcaps to help us fight them off, I would appreciate it.”

Adam hesitated, glancing at the mischievous Redcaps still lurking in the shadows. “I’m not sure how effective they’d be against werewolves. They pretty much stick to themselves and carry on with their games.”

Sebastian tugged at the back of his jeans. “Not a big fan of their games.”

I smirked and slapped my knee. “They aren’t all they’re cracked up to be, are they, Sebas?”

Sebastian narrowed his eyes. “Hilarious. Really, I’m laughing so hard right now. On the inside.”

Adam smiled. “My apologies if they were rude. I know I’m supposed to be the king of the Unseelie, but I don’t feel like a monarch. And I don’t like being told what to do, so I don’t really boss them around too much.”

“Seriously, Adam? They respect you; they’ll listen to you,” I argued, trying to appeal to his sense of responsibility. “We could save a lot of lives.”

“Wait,” Ramon interjected. “Why haven’t you asked Ladinas for help?”

I sighed. “I haven’t spoken to him, but Mel said that Ladinas and the team are dealing with my ‘spawn’—apparently everyone I bit while Oblivion was messing with me turned into a vampire. So, they’re kind of busy.”

“Aïe, aïe, aïe!” Ramon shook his head. “Let me get this straight. There’s a brood of unfettered younglings wreaking havoc in Providence and some kind of werewolf convention that’s converging on a small town in Maine?”

“Exactly,” I continued, my voice laced with urgency. “And with Ladinas and the team occupied, you’re my last hope for stopping the wolves. We need all hands on deck for this. Can we count on you?”

Ramon exchanged glances with Clarissa and Adam. “I’m not sure we’d be much help, to be honest.”

Sebastian stepped forward, eyeing Ramon cautiously. “You used to be a vampire.”

Ramon nodded. “Oui. You’re familiar with my work?”

Sebastian grunted. “I’m aware of your reputation. You were on my list, once. Then, you disappeared.”

“He became human,” I said. “Thanks to the work of a goddess and a cauldron. Then, he became a vampire again, then was turned into a faerie. Ramon here has changed his stripes more frequently than a politician. But in his heart, despite what you might have heard, he’s trustworthy. He’s saved my life more than once.”

Sebastian nodded. “Very well. The point is, I know the havoc you used to cause. Anyone with the potential for great evil also has an equal and opposite potential to do good. I do not doubt you’d be an asset as an ally in battle.”

Ramon bristled, sizing up the sentinel. “Who are you, anyway? Anyone ever tell you that you look like Aquaman?”

I quickly moved between them before things escalated. “He’s a friend, Ramon. This is Sebastian.”

Ramon raised an eyebrow. “You’re friends with a hunter now?”

“I’m not a hunter,” Sebastian corrected. “I’m a sentinel. And I’m no threat unless you’re up to no good.”

I gave Sebastian an appreciative nod. He was really trying here.

“We need help, Ramon,” Sebastian continued solemnly. “There are too many wolves and too many lives at stake.”

I saw Adam watching us intently as we spoke. It was easy to forget he was only a few months old with the way he carried himself. But there was still so much for him to learn about who and what he was. He’d grown up in a matter of weeks. Something to do with being a tribrid of human, vampire, and faerie. He had a soul, so far as we could tell, that his vampirism didn’t suppress. But he could drink blood. It made him stronger, and he had our strength and speed. But as a faerie—the son of Malvessa, the late Unseelie Queen—he had powers he’d barely begun to understand.

Sebastian pressed on urgently. “Come next full moon, we’ll have pandemonium on our hands if we don’t stop them now. What if these wolves turn all of Farmington?”

Ramon sighed, running a hand through his hair. “You raise a fair point, sentinel. Alright, you have our assistance against the wolves. We’ll do what we can. But I was willing to help from the start, for Mercy’s sake. Even if I doubted my ability to make much of a difference.”

I let out a breath I didn’t need. “Thank you, Ramon. This isn’t just about what you can do. Adam’s gifts are unique. He’s our best shot at stopping this horror.”

Adam approached me then, his intense gaze searching my face. Gently, he placed his hands on either side of my head.

“Have you considered these events might be connected?” His eyes were wide with curiosity..

I furrowed my brow, resisting the urge to pull away. I hated it when people touched my face. But there was something about Adam that was... different. When he touched someone, he sensed things others couldn’t. “What do you mean?”

“Think about it,” Adam urged. “Oblivion used you to create those rogue vampires you didn’t even know about. Now this wolf army appears out of nowhere. Are you certain Oblivion isn’t behind them, too?”

I shook my head. “I don’t see how. He’s been trapped inside me all this time.”

But even as I said it, doubt crept in. I’d never heard of wolves gathering and assaulting a town like this. I had to admit, there was a remarkable similarity between the kind of chaos that Providence and Farmington were about to face—and for these issues to come to a head at precisely the same time?

Adam’s expression was grim. “Are you so sure about that? I don’t sense Oblivion within you anymore. Only the other one remains.”

“Caladbolg?” I whispered.

As soon as the name left my lips, a huge broadsword materialized in my grip, glowing with power. Excalibur’s equal, if legends were true. “Oops,” I said. “Didn’t mean to do that. But... that’s not Oblivion. Somehow, the two dragons have separated. I don’t understand... how could that happen without me realizing it?”

Adam released me, his face solemn. “I don’t have those answers. I only know Oblivion is no longer inside you.”

My mind raced, possibilities swirling. If Oblivion had somehow freed himself when I was vulnerable after the wolf bite... he could be possessing any of us now and we’d never know.

Sebastian’s eyes widened, his fingers tightening on the hilt of his sword. “The wolf bite,” he said slowly. “What if when that mutt sank her teeth into you, Oblivion saw his chance? He could have jumped right into her in that moment.”

I sucked in a breath as understanding hit me like a sledgehammer. “You’re right. But when I was staked, when I went to heaven, Caladbolg acted as though Oblivion was still a part of me. He told me how to defeat him, how to gain power over him. If he’d already left me when the wolf bit me, that wouldn’t track.”

Ramon threw his hands up in exasperation. “Oh sure, Sebastian can send you to paradise with a stake through the heart, but all the times you staked me over the years led straight to hell. Real fair, Mercy.”

I rolled my eyes. “That had nothing to do with me and everything to do with this.” I hefted the glowing sword. “Caladbolg took me there for a reason.”

I rubbed my brow. “Adam, can you check Sebastian?”

“Check me for what?” Sebastian took a step back.

“Just want to make sure Oblivion didn’t jump out of me and into you.”

Sebastian took a deep breath. “Alright. Do what you must.”

Adam approached Sebastian and placed his hands on either side of his head—just as he’d done to me moments earlier. “He’s alone,” Adam said with a nod. “The dragon is not within him.”

I tilted my head. “Oblivion has to bind himself to someone in this realm. Caladbolg told me as much. He said if I cast him out, somehow, he’d find another host. That means anyone I’ve been in contact with since I came back could be possessed by the dragon.”

“Donnie,” Sebastian shook his head.

I pulled out my earpiece and covered it with my hands, muffling my voice. “Or Mel,” I whispered.

“Not likely,” Sebastian said. “She’s not involved. She’s staying back at your lair.”

I snickered. “My lair. Right. Where she can coordinate our efforts on two fronts. Think of it, if Oblivion is attached to Mel, he could be feeding her bullshit information to screw up our attempts to stop the chaos he’s causing.”

Sebastian nodded, his expression grim. “Then we take any information she gives us with a grain of salt until we know for sure. We’re running out of time. The werewolves have to be our priority. We can deal with Oblivion after.”

I felt a gentle pressure on my shoulder and glanced over to see Adam’s concerned face.

“Do not fear, Mercy,” he said softly. “I will accompany you to find Oblivion once this crisis is resolved. You won’t have to face him alone.”

Despite the gravity of the situation, his words brought me a small measure of comfort. I managed a faint smile.

“Thanks, Adam. I appreciate that. But Sebastian’s right, we’re almost out of time here. If we don’t get to Farmington now, a lot of innocent people are going to die once that full moon rises.”

Adam nodded. “Then let us make haste. The Redcaps and I stand ready to assist you against the wolves in any way we can.”

I took a deep breath, gripping Caladbolg tightly. “Right. No time to waste worrying about Oblivion now. We’ve got a town to save.”