Chapter Two

 

“Olivia, what the hell is going on? First off, what did you do to your hair?” Kelsey asked.

There were several physical changes to the woman we’d known, the one who used to teach English in the school our kids had attended. Her hair reached her waist, and it was a pitch black that didn’t look natural with her skin. She’d had a warm brown color before. There was something lovely and cold to her appearance now.

“Really? Twelve years and that’s what you say to me?” Liv rolled her brown eyes and for a second her lips started to tug up in a familiar grin.

“Dude, it’s been like four days tops for me. What’s going on with you, bestie? And when did you start to love the leather?” Kelsey took a step toward Liv. “It doesn’t matter. Can you help us get out of here?”

“Kelsey, stop,” Daniel ordered.

Kelsey turned slightly. “It’s Liv. She might look weird, but she’s still my best friend. What are you doing here? Are you spying for Trent?”

Daniel set me on my feet but kept a firm hold of my hand as though he expected me to take off on my own. I wasn’t planning on doing anything of the kind. I shoved my heartache to the side because we were in full-on survival mode now. Kelsey was wrong. I believed Dean. Something had happened to Liv in the years we’d been gone. I’d seen the beginnings of this change when she’d used Arwyna to prove her powers to Nimue and Myrddin.

I looked around, trying to figure out where the pixie queen had gone. I didn’t like the thought of her flying around a place that had been warded against Fae magic. Anything could happen to her.

“Of course,” Liv replied. “Trent knew you would return this very day. He sent me here to save you. The canvas that held the portal went blank years ago. The wizard thought he was safe. But Trent knew you would return. He sent me here after the wizard declared himself king.”

“She’s lying,” Dean whispered.

“And who might you be?” Liv’s eyes lasered in on Dean. “You’re new. And quite powerful.” She frowned. “Your magic…it’s familiar to me. Like a wine I tasted once and never again, but it lingered on the tongue.”

Kelsey stepped back, her eyes going wide. “Okay, who are you and what have you done with Liv? Because you were not this douchey before.”

“Where did you find him?” Liv asked, ignoring Kelsey, but then she shook her head. “It doesn’t matter. We should go. I’ll take you out a back way and then we’ll call Trent.”

“You’re lying.” Dean sounded stronger now. “You’re going to try to trick us into a cage. You want to present us all to your master who will execute us. Can you do it? Can you watch him kill her? There’s still a spark of love in your heart, and it has to do with her. And one other. Casey. You still feel for Kelsey and Casey.”

Daniel squeezed my hand and I turned, seeing what he’d been wanting me to see. There was a group coming up behind us, blocking our path. Three men and a woman. The men all dropped to their knees and in seconds there were two wolves and a panther growling our way. I didn’t recognize any of the men, but the woman had been a witch in the Dallas coven.

“I feel nothing,” Liv snarled back. “I made my choice a long time ago, little boy, and nothing will take me off my path. Now that my friends are here, perhaps we should go upstairs and have a chat. Daniel Donovan, you are named outlaw by the true king of the supernatural world, King Myrddin. You and your consorts have been sentenced to death. Kelsey, your status has not yet been determined. There’s still time for you to accept your place in our court. As the king is not in residence, you will all be taken into custody to await his pleasure.”

“Liv, this is not you,” Kelsey said, but I noticed her arm had changed. Kelsey is a specialized supernatural creature known as a Hunter. When she’s in a fight she can change her dominant arm. Normally she would get a wolf claw, but circumstances had led her to developing something much stronger. Kelsey gets a handy, hard to hurt demon limb when she needs it. She’s got the strength and speed of a werewolf, but with none of the wolf’s normal weaknesses.

As Daniel proved.

He held out a hand, and I felt the power come off of him in a gentle, cool wave.

The wolves stopped snarling and sat back on their haunches, tilting their heads in that doggy way that always made them look all cute and curious.

“Let us go or I’ll have them attack.” Daniel’s eyes had lost their whites and were pure blue orbs now.

“I thought King Myrddin spelled the compound to dampen vampire strength,” the other witch said as she moved away from the wolves.

“There is only one king, and even if you take a portion of his strength, he’ll still win the day.” Dev was a good cheerleader. “Now, Olivia, if you allow us to leave, there might be a pardon for you at the end of this. Daniel will take back his throne. Make no mistake about it.”

“You’re really working with Myrddin?” Kelsey stood between us and Liv.

We still had to get through Liv, her witch friend, and the panther, who wouldn’t be affected by Daniel’s ability to call wolves to his side. Then there was the fact that we were in a building that could house five hundred or so people, and I would bet they hadn’t kept our allies in their homes. Everyone in this building would have sworn an oath to Myrddin, and that meant we had to view anyone who lived here as the enemy.

“I’m a witch. Of course I follow the legendary Myrddin,” Liv replied. “For too long the vampires have ruled our world. Myrddin helped me reach my full potential. He helped me when all any of you would do was tell me to be patient. You have no idea what it means to be vulnerable.”

“Are you kidding me? Did he teach you to rewrite history, too?” Kelsey asked.

“I’ll explain it all to you later.” Liv held up a hand. “Rigescunt indutae.”

Every bone in my body locked into place. I couldn’t move, could barely breathe. Daniel seemed to be in the same position.

“Eximo.” Dean did not have the same trouble. He spoke a single word and I could move again.

Liv’s eyes widened. “Who the hell are you?”

“I’m the spellcaster who’s been up against way better witches than you,” Dean replied. “Meaner, too. You have nothing on the witches of Arete, but I did learn a few of their tricks.”

“Here’s one of mine.” Liv thrust out a hand and suddenly Dev began to choke. “Let the wolves go and I’ll think about allowing the prince some oxygen. Deanna, if you don’t mind helping.”

That was the moment I felt all the oxygen leave my body. Sometimes it sucks to be the king’s wife because what I really am is the king’s weakness. Dev has some superpowers of his own, but as a companion, my only true superpower is my power to attract vampires. It’s a shitty power, if you ask me, and it did nothing to protect me from Liv’s magic. I could feel that magic like a tight fist around my throat.

I looked to Dev, reaching for his hand. He was calm, patiently waiting for Daniel to do whatever it was he was going to do. He squeezed my hand, as though he could lend me strength.

I needed breath. Breath for me. Breath for the baby growing inside me.

Dev’s eyes changed, and I knew I was in the presence of Bris, the god who shared my Fae husband’s body. Bris was an Irish deity who’d brought his unique magic to our lives years ago. He amplified Dev’s fertility magic, and I felt him try to send me a pulse of it.

It wouldn’t come. The wards worked on gods, too, it seemed.

I felt something shimmer around me and I could breathe again. Dean stood in the middle of our group, his hands held out as he shielded us.

“Aren’t you the smart one? I can try harder. Let’s see how long you can keep it up on two fronts,” Liv challenged.

Dean braced as though he’d been hit hard.

“Protect Zoey,” Dev managed to say. “I can hold my breath for a long time.”

Before I could shake my head, Daniel was holding his hands up in the universally acknowledged sign of I give up. “Stop, Olivia. I’ll go with you. We’ll all go with you.”

Dean sagged as the magic was turned off and we were left with three growling werecreatures.

“I’ll get us out of this,” Daniel promised.

There was a low growl, a deep, full-throated sound that hadn’t come from the wolves coming toward us. It had come from the hallway we’d turned down to get here, the one that formed the long end of the T-intersection. I couldn’t see what was coming our way, but I could hear it. A wolf of some kind, and it had the other wolves whimpering.

“What the fuck is that?” Kelsey moved toward Dean as though she was ready to protect the young man who seemed to have used a lot of energy in the last few moments. Dean’s hands trembled.

I turned and watched as an arrow slammed into the panther from the side, and the witch screamed as another pierced her chest.

Arwyna flew in, her ruby wings pumping hard as she made a beeline for us. She landed on Dev’s hair and seemed to hold on as though she knew this was about to be a fight.

Then the largest wolf I’d ever seen prowled into sight. Dark fur and with eyes that glowed with power, there was no question who the alpha was. He attacked the panther, easily biting into the big cat’s neck and breaking it with a crunch.

The other wolves took off running, the witch right behind them. When I looked back, Liv was gone as well.

“Fen?” Kelsey had tears in her eyes.

“Hey,” Daniel began, “we don’t know who that is. Stay back.”

Arwyna was shaking her body, her wings fluttering as if to express her disagreement with the king.

That mega wolf’s tail had started to wag like a puppy’s, and despite the fact that he was covered in blood, he ran straight up to Kelsey and rubbed his face against her leg.

Kelsey dropped to her knees and wrapped her arms around the wolf. “My Fen.”

I stared as a young woman in all black stalked into the hall, an arrow notched in her bow. Her auburn hair was back in a braid, and she looked so much like Summer my heart hurt. “Evangeline?”

“Evan,” Daniel whispered her name.

She turned and stopped, a shocked smile lighting her face. “I can’t believe he was right. You’re here. You’re really here.”

“I told you, sister. I told you this was the correct time and place. Trent and Sasha were being too conservative.” Rhys looked like his father. He was dressed in tactical gear and had a familiar gun in his hand. It was my old Ruger, the one Daniel had modified to hold specialized rounds. And he looked like he knew how to use it. “Mother, Dad, Papa, we need to go. Lee is waiting for us in Ether. Liv and her lackeys might have run, but it won’t take them long to regroup. The pixie queen found us. It’s how we knew for sure you were here.”

“Rhys,” Daniel began.

He shook his head. “No, Dad. You can take charge when we get back to base, but for now this is my mission and I’m calling a retreat. I’m going to get my ass kicked by Sasha and Trent as it is. Fen, do not even think about changing. I know you want to show off how grownass you are, but you’ll have to do it back at base. Kill anyone who tries to stop us.”

Rhys turned and started back down the hallway.

“Rhys, there’s no way out if we go that way,” Dev complained, holding his ground.

Fen growled, an obvious warning that he could herd us if he wanted to.

“I think we should follow the kids,” Kelsey offered.

“Papa, we know what we’re doing,” Evan said encouragingly. “Please follow Rhys. Lee and Eddie are waiting, and the sooner we get out of here, the faster we can explain.”

“I need to get the painting.” I clung to hope that I could find a way out of this nightmare I found myself in. My children weren’t children. They were fighters, warriors, when I’d promised them an easier life, one where I protected them.

The walls started to rattle, the ground beneath us trembling.

“She’s coming back,” Dean warned. “And she’s not alone. I won’t be able to stop them all. There are so many witches here, and I don’t think they’re all from this plane. And I sense others. Demons, Your Highness. There are demons here.”

It was everything I’d feared about that fucking dark temple. It would allow demons easy access to the Council building, but then it wasn’t the Council building anymore.

Evan moved behind me, Fen coming to her side. “Momma, there’s no reason to get the painting. It’s dead. Do you think we haven’t spent a decade trying to figure it out? Again, I’ll explain it when we’re safely back at base. Hurry.”

Kelsey nodded. “Move it or I’ll pick you all up and carry your asses. I want to see Trent. He’ll fill us in on everything.”

Daniel turned and jogged to keep up with Rhys, Devinshea moving in behind me.

“Evan, stay close to me,” Dev said, reaching out to take his daughter’s arm.

Fenrir growled, his hackles coming up.

“Stop it, you jealous wolf. He’s my father,” Evan said, rolling her eyes. “He’s not trying to take me. Sorry, Papa. You have to forgive his bad manners. Fen has trouble with his animal instincts when he’s in wolf form. And he has a lot of animal instincts. You better be nice to my papa or I won’t give you any treats.”

“She won’t give you any treats at all,” Dev swore under his breath. “She’s a child.”

“Fenrir is, too,” Kelsey shot back.

Fen made a grumbly sound like he wanted to argue all those points.

I was numb again, jogging through the halls I’d once known so well, following the children I’d born and now barely recognized. It was a dream. It had to be. There was no way that Olivia Carey had used her powers to try to choke the life out of me, no way my home had been taken over by my worst enemy. No fucking way I’d missed my children’s formative years. They weren’t warriors. They were coddled and protected.

Rhys was an eleven-year-old with a cocky grin who wouldn’t ever think to order his parents around. Rhys was a good boy who followed the rules. He was every teacher’s pet.

Evan played with dolls, not bows and arrows.

I was going to wake up. I had to. I would wake up and be safely in our bed at Summer’s palace. I would be in between Dev and Daniel, and I would tell them all about this awful dream and they would laugh at me. I would go through the portal again, but this time we would find ourselves back in Danny’s office and everyone would be so relieved to see us. We would take down Myrddin and move on with our lives.

I didn’t have to believe that prophecy. I could control this.

If I could only wake up.

“Evan, to your left,” Rhys yelled as he moved by a connecting hallway. He didn’t even look back. He simply tossed the words over his shoulder as he jogged along.

Evan zipped past her fathers and was firing down the hall before either could protest. She had two arrows off and landing in her targets as Fen leapt to her side. He growled and the third shadowy figure who’d been coming down the hall took off running. But not before Evan got off another shot, and I watched the last attacker go down even as Kelsey hustled me along.

“I think the kiddos know what they’re doing,” Kelsey assured me. “Let’s follow their lead. This is their world. They know it far better than we do.”

It was their world. Not mine. It couldn’t be mine.

We ran, the ground still rumbling under us, and suddenly we found ourselves moving through familiar doors into a dark place. Ether. But not Ether.

“What the fuck did he do to my club?” Dev stopped and stared at the changes the years had wrought.

Ether had been a high-tech nightclub where all of the supernatural world came to play. It had a light-up dance floor and a sleek bar. It had been modern and energetic.

Someone had decided to give the whole place a Hell makeover. It had been redone in shades of red and black.

“I win!” A muscular man walked from behind what used to be the bar. It had been exchanged for what appeared to be some kind of shrine. I didn’t have a chance to really look at it because Lee was right there. He held every bit of my attention.

He was so changed, but when he high-fived his brother and then grinned my way, I could see my little boy.

“I bet Rhys that Papa would be way more upset about Ether than he was about how old we are,” Lee admitted.

“I assure you, Rhys wins that bet,” Devinshea promised. “I’m upset about many things. The atrocity they’ve done to my beautiful club is merely one of them. I don’t want to see the penthouse, do I?”

“According to our spies, you do not,” Rhys replied. “Get in a circle. Olivia’s going to try to overpower the bomb we deployed, and if I’m right about it, we’ve got maybe three minutes before our window closes.”

“Bomb?” Daniel asked.

“Think of it like an electromagnetic pulse for some very specific wards, Your Highness.” Eddie stood in front of one of the walls that was now draped in black and red velvet. They’d covered the ultramodern dance floor with heavy hardwoods. “My mistress, it has been such a long time.”

Eddie was Kelsey’s butler, a small, red-skinned demon with the cherubic face that marked his particular class of demons. He was a satan. Normally they were the Hell plane’s lawyers, the keepers and arbitrators of contracts, but Eddie had chosen a different path.

“You, too, Eddie.” Kelsey was wiping away tears, her hand on Fenrir’s back, smoothing his fur down.

Lee started to come my way, but Rhys put a hand on his twin’s chest. God, they weren’t even close to identical anymore. Rhys’s face was still perfect, and Lee had so many scars.

“No, brother. We have to go. Now,” Rhys said.

Lee gestured my way. “Come on, man. It’s Mom. We’ve waited forever.”

“And we can wait a bit longer. There was something we didn’t account for. We’ve got extra passengers.” Rhys nodded our way. “I don’t know who the male is, but he’s not the only one. I just sensed the others. Pregnant women. We need to move.”

I put a hand to my stomach. Rhys had come fully into his power while I’d been gone. He was a Green Man now if he could tell Kelsey and I were both carrying children. He hadn’t even come close to us.

Lee’s eyes went wide and his mouth dropped open as he turned to the wolf. “Fen, you fucker. You said you would wait until she was eighteen. We had a deal.”

Fen was suddenly a broad-shouldered young man with dark hair that hit well below his shoulders and a body that…well, it had changed since he’d been a baby boy running around the Council house without any pants. He needed pants now. Extra-large pants. “We cuddle. That is all.”

“I’m talking about Mom,” Rhys corrected. “Mom and Kelsey.”

Lee made a vomiting sound. “But she’s old. Sorry, Mom. I thought maybe you and Papa would get over that. And Kelsey? Trent is going to be heartbroken. He’s been faithful all these years, and he’s had some good shots. There was a really hot mermaid on this one plane we went to, and she was all over him.”

“Lee, I didn’t cheat. I’ve been gone for four days,” Kelsey complained. “And I want to know where that mermaid is. I know I’m not supposed to have sushi in my condition, but I’ll make an exception.”

“I want to know what the hell you’re doing with my daughter that my son would think she could be pregnant.” Devinshea didn’t care that Fen had a large man part out in the open.

“Dev, maybe we should have this family session somewhere else.” Daniel was trying to be the reasonable one.

Fen’s eyes narrowed, his body going predatory. “What have I been doing with your daughter? I’ve been protecting her. I’ve been bleeding for her, watching over her. Never abandoning her. And she’s my mate. Get used to it, Your Grace. And if that vampire is still planning on coming for her, you should know I’ll pull his heart from his chest.”

Evan moved like she intended to get in between her father and the wicked, dangerous wolf who seemed to have laid claim to her.

“We will get used to nothing if we’re dead.” Rhys took over, cutting off that fight. “Eddie, can you handle us all?”

“We need to leave.” Dean had gone tense again. “She’s almost here, and she’s brought reinforcements.”

“I shall do whatever it takes to protect my king and queen and my mistress,” Eddie said with a light of determination in his eyes.

The doors flew open and Liv floated in, her feet not touching the floor. “You’re not going anywhere. I should have known you would bring the traitor. Little demon, step away from them and the king might be satisfied with merely killing you.”

“Come around me. Put a hand on me,” Eddie bade.

The room was starting to fill up, and yes, there were a whole lot of demons.

Fen had changed again, and he stood before the whole group. It was obvious to me that they had worked together before. They were a team, and Fen was the front line.

“Mom, I need you to touch Eddie.” Lee’s voice was steady even as we were being surrounded.

“I’ll get that ward back up,” Liv promised. “He won’t be able to teleport you out of here. Not all of you. Who are you going to leave behind, Danny? I’ll take the newbie. I’d like to see what makes him tick.”

“I’ll stay behind,” Daniel said. “Son, get your mother and Kelsey out of here.”

“And I win the martyr bet.” Rhys shook his head. “Eddie, do what you need to do. Fen, we’re going now.”

I felt a bubble go around us, and it was like the world’s volume had been turned down. I saw Liv shout something and then the whole crowd rushed our way.

But it was too late, and for the second time that day, I found myself in another place entirely.