Chapter Twenty

HOURS HAD GONE by.

Cam dripped perspiration. The fur across his chest and back lay matted to his skin. Even his usually perky wings drooped in exhaustion.

He straddled Dev’s chest, trying anything and everything to initiate the fae healing abilities.

Nothing. No spark, no fairy light, no eruptions of glittering sequins.

“I don’t get it!”

“Get off of me,” Dev mumbled, his head half buried in the sofa’s cushions.

“Oh my Gods!” Cam yelled.

“Shh! Fuck me, what the hell happened?” Dev’s head rolled forward, as his eyelids peeled open. He tried to lift his arms, but Cam’s body prevented the motion. “Could you get off, please?”

“Oh, yeah, sorry.”

“Why am I all wet?”

“Oh, ah, I might have sweated a little trying to heal you.”

“Gross.” Dev’s voice was a crackly whisper. “Gods, my head…”

As Cam climbed off, thankful he didn’t have to try to initiate any healing fae hoodoo anymore, Dev pulled his hand up to his head and immediately found the large bump.

“What the fuck?”

“You fell down. Hard.”

Dev’s eyes went wide.

“Shit! Shit, shit, shit!”

“What?” Cam glanced around, wondering if there was something in the room causing Dev’s stress.

“It would have been nice if you caught me.” Dev glared at Cam, giving him an evil eye. Dev pulled himself up off the couch, his movements calculated and slow.

“Dude, you went down so fast! Your eyes went all icy and white; then you stiffened and went ramrod straight. You were like that for, I dunno, a minute. So, I thought maybe you were okay. When the ice disappeared, you went limp like a noodle. Then smack.” Cam clapped his hands together for emphasis.

“How long have I been out?”

“I don’t know, like…three hours maybe?”

“Shit.”

“Quit saying that.”

“The sight took over. I’ve had the vision happen before, but only once. Uncle Bart gets them too.”

“Who the hell is Uncle Bart?” Cam tilted his head to one side.

“Tully’s uncle, great-uncle…relative. He owns the house. Tully is his favourite nephew, and Tully helps him out with mowing the lawn, taking care of the house, giving him his meds. He’s like me…kind of. Same sect of magic. Cam, we have to go to the coven house. Byron has Tully and Sparks.”

“How the hell do you know?”

“I just told you—vision.”

“Right, so I should probably tell you, Byron called your phone. So I answered it.”

“For fuck’s sake. What did he say?”

“Blah blah blah, where’s Dev? Blah blah blah, I have Tully and Sparks…man, that guy is an asshole.” Cam rolled his eyes.

“Cam”—Dev’s lips disappeared—“what exactly did he say?”

Cam stared at Dev for the briefest of moments, trying to recall the conversation, but from the scowl on Dev’s face, he needed to say something before his best buddy lost it on him.

“Ah, well, he wanted to talk to you, but I said you were unavailable—which you were—you know, nappy time.” Cam grimaced. “So, when he figured out who he was talking to, the fairy he’d tortured, we had some words. Fun. He rambled on about Tully and Sparks, something about being imprisoned and that you should get to the coven house as quick as possible because people who are caught in soul traps for long periods of time come out brain-dead. I’m paraphrasing, but yeah. I think that was it.”

“Oh my Gods. Okay, we need to go. Like right now.”

“But your head, dude!”

“It’s gonna have to wait. If Tully and Sparks are in trouble, we need to go help.”

“Shit.”

“Believe me, the last thing I want to do is step foot in that house or have to look at Byron Radcliffe. But we gotta go rescue Tully and Sparks. Come on, let’s go.”

 

BYRON AND ADDAS’S coven house resided in the same neighbourhood as Uncle Bart’s sprawling heritage mansion. Old Strathcona was one of the oldest neighbourhoods in the city, and a central location in Edmonton. Very popular with the university crowd, which made sense as the university anchored the area. The community also happened to house the largest hospital in the province, which is where Sparks worked. Cam had spent the vast majority of his early adult life either at the campus taking a variety of courses that never seemed to lead him anywhere or trolling for dates up and down Whyte Avenue.

It didn’t take long for Dev and Cam to walk over to the old coven house. Cam, of course, had to conjure up his human guise for the short journey. Evening had arrived, and with the streetlamps on, the shadows crouched in dark corners. Cam wanted to make the entire trip by jumping the shadows, but he would have arrived long before his friend, and then he would have to wait for Dev to show up. Given Byron would be in close proximity, Cam didn’t trust himself to not barge into the house and kill the ex-high priest. No, it was easier to walk alongside Dev and continue to concentrate hard on maintaining his illusion.

By the time they arrived at Byron’s house, Cam’s head weighed heavy, mentally drained from spellworking.

“This fae magic is hard.” Cam shook his head as a shiver ran down his spine. As the sensation crept down his back, he shed his old human self. In a fairy shimmer, the Eldritch fae flexed, and his wings popped out on each side. Cam stretched his arms toward the sky. A few bones snapped into place. “Better.”

They stood on the stoop.

“So, do we knock, or just enter?” Cam questioned Dev.

“I should be polite and knock, but fuck all of this.” Dev put his hand on the doorknob, twisted the handle, and pushed the door. To their surprise, it swung open.

“Come on. I know where they are.”

“How?”

“I’m a witch. I know things.”

Cam didn’t like the response. It made him uneasy, but he followed his friend faithfully.

They passed through a minimalist living room, what appeared to be a well-stocked kitchen, and when they came to the back door of the house, which had sustained severe damage, they hung a sharp left and descended a steep stairwell.

“This is creepy. I barely remember anything but the dungeon, but I’ll never forget what happened there and the amount of pain Byron put me through. Let’s get this over with, and quick. I don’t like being here.”

“Agreed.” Dev continued down the stairwell.

“Does this go on forever?”

“No. Here.” Dev stopped at a small landing and turned to face a room off the steps. A door hung crooked, only attached by the top hinge.

Inside the room, faintly lit, Byron Radcliffe sat in the same chair Tully had perched in while waiting for Dev to figure out how to tap into his abilities.

“Took you long enough.” Byron sneered. “Not sure how well they’ll fare.” His head canted in the direction where Tully and Sparks bathed in a light amber glow. Their bodies hung in the air as if they were floating in viscous liquid.

Reading the emotional state of the room was something innate in all fae. Cam hadn’t spent a large amount of time in the company of non-fae folk since he had transformed. At least, not until his recent trip to the city. At first, the extrasensory perceptions took him aback with the empathic sensations. They weren’t exactly subtle, and they stormed through him like a thunderous stampede, directly affecting his own mood.

Right now, Byron Radcliffe wore a suit of stoicism, but under the cold exterior the man was anything but calm. Frenetic energy made his insides twitch, all while a deep-seated river of anger greased the lining of every muscle. Byron, though stoked with a palpable ire, struggled to keep his eyes open as exhaustion and pain made his thoughts thick with fog. Cam had to wonder if his recent discharge from the hospital had been too soon.

This man had tortured Everton for over a year and had damn near killed him. The same man who had strapped Cam to a wooden cross and stabbed him repeatedly with monster-sized needles. Cam had spent many a night fantasizing on the reciprocation of pain he had promised himself he would inflict if ever he’d gotten a chance.

And now here he was, face to face with the asshole.

Except now, knowing what the witch was feeling, Cam bit his bottom lip and grasped his midsection as the pangs of guilt washed over him for contemplating his revenge-fuelled scenarios.

Byron’s love for Addas consumed him, hence his reprehensible actions in attempting to cure his boyfriend—the one person in the world who meant anything to him and the man he had seen himself growing old with. Cam shook his head. An undercurrent of need ran through Byron with his love of power and authority as well. But Byron had been well adept at being able to juggle both as priorities. Right now, though, Addas remained the sole concern.

Dev’s lower lip twitched and the anguish in him met similar levels to Byron’s emotive state as Dev glanced toward Tully and Sparks.

“What the fuck did you do to them?” The words flew out in a fit of rage.

Cam focused in on the guys trapped in the warm glow of amber. “They’re okay, Dev. They’re scared as shit, but they are okay.” There were frozen in time, like in science fiction films where astronauts were placed into animated suspension chambers.

Cam peered closer as an unusual flicker within the light made him take note.

There were two of Tully, and Sparks, but the second ones were faint, almost ghostlike, barely even there.

“Get them out of there.” Dev made a move toward Byron.

“Ah, careful, newbie witch. I’ve been at this a while longer.” Byron stumbled as he stood but corrected himself. Holding his hand out, he summoned a ball of flame that sat in the palm of his hand.

“Fuck off, Byron. I might be new at this, but my swooning over you ended a long time ago. Get. Them. Out. Now. Or I’ll bring my own magic to the table. Trust me, in your state right now, I’ll blow you over.” Dev’s face had turned dark, with brows furrowed together and squinted eyes, his expression completed with a deadly sneer. Cam had never seen his lifelong pal look so ominous. He would have never believed Dev capable of hurting anyone—until now.

“They won’t go anywhere until you agree to help me.”

“Ah, let’s see. You knew I was destined for the Shadow Realm for years, and never told me. You had me tailed by Tully. You kidnapped and tortured my best friend and tainted the entire Shadow Realm for me all within the course of a couple of weeks. Tell me, Byron, why the fuck would I want to help you with anything?”

“If you don’t, those two boys will stay in the soul trap until they die. And given how long they’ve been in there, I’d say they only have a couple more hours left. It’s hard to breathe submerged in amber. They will eventually become oxygen deprived.”

“Why are there two of them?” Cam asked.

“What do you—” Dev glanced toward Cam, puzzlement plastered all over his face.

“There are two of each of them in there.” Cam pointed at Sparks and Tully. “The second is so faint I almost didn’t see it.”

“Perceptive little fairy. Yes, that’s the trap at work. The hex ensnares the occupant, and leisurely rips their soul out of the corporeal body. So, I don’t see where you have a choice, Dev. Help me find Addas, and I let them go with their souls intact. You don’t help me, and well…” Bryon gestured toward the guys. “Apparently, you know my Addas is alive.”

“We heard he was alive.” Dev gestured toward Cam.

“Thank you for confirming. Now”—Byron turned to Cam—“lead me to him, or everyone dies.” The flames in Byron’s hand went higher.

Cam flinched away from the heat and crackle of the blaze as it flickered in Byron’s palm and threatened to leap toward him.

“Dev, can’t you use your hoodoo tracking ability to find Addas?” Cam muttered as he put up a hand to block the fire which he swore grew bigger and brighter.

“Jeez, Cam.” Dev glared at him.

“Ah, so your abilities are growing. Witchy tracking now? That’s handy. So, what’s it going to be, Dev?”

Dev’s face contorted as he glanced from Cam to Tully and Sparks.

“I hate you so much. I swear to all the Gods, the minute I get the chance to end you, I will finish you off. Release them. I’ll help you find your monstrosity of a boyfriend.” The anger rolled off Dev, leaving shimmers in the air around him. Cam took another step away.

Byron raised his other arm—the one without the fireball—and uttered a single word.

“Annuler.” With the snap of his fingers, the yellowish radiance dissipated into shimmering sparkles and evaporated, leaving two full-sized, muscular men levitating in mid-air. Their partially wrenched souls became far more apparent.

“Piéger.” Byron blurted out the French word and snapped his fingers a second time. The second copies of Sparks and Tully morphed into white strings of light and descended into two chunks remaining from the original amber stone. Byron bent over and snatched up the egg-sized shards and shoved them into his pocket.

“Insurance. You’ll get these back once I have Addas.”

“You’re a fucking piece of work.” Dev snarled.

Tully and Sparks dropped with a thud.

“Ow.” Tully groaned.

Dev rushed over and checked on Tully.

“I’m okay. I feel weird, but I’m okay. What about Sparks?”

Shifting direction, Dev put a hand on Sparks’s chest, checking his new boyfriend. “I think he’s okay.” He made a slight frown.

“He’ll be fine. Give him a few minutes,” Byron piped up from where he had sat down.

“You, on the other hand…” Tully stood and made his way over to Byron.

Dev, who had been kneeling over Sparks, stood up straight. “Tully, no.”

Cam took another couple of steps away, evaluating the scene before him. At one point Byron had been so large, so intimidating, but seated on the chair, with his head cradled in his hands, Cam succumbed to the waves of exhaustion flowing off him.

“Tully, he’s done. There’s no gas in the fuel tank. The get up and go has got up and went.” Cam found a chair and took a seat, his own weariness and Byron’s fatigue getting the best of him.

“I don’t care. I’m going to snap his fuckin’ neck.”

“Tully.” Dev laid a hand on his lover’s arm, but his tone remained sharp. “I made a deal. We honour that. When this is done, I promise you he’ll get his due. Until then, we follow through.”

Tully snarled at Byron, “You’re lucky he’s a decent human being.” As he pointed toward Dev, spit flew out of his mouth. Tully’s usual optimistic demeanour had vanished. “I wouldn’t have been so nice.”

“Yeah, sure,” Byron mumbled. “Remember, at one point you answered to me.”

“Those days are done.” Tully pulled away from his ex-high priest. “What did you agree to?” He glanced over at Dev.

“He wants us to find Addas.”

“And then what?”

Dev didn’t reveal Tully’s missing soul.

“I don’t know, nor do I care. I’ll help him find Addas, and then we’re done with this asshole. Are you sure you’re okay?”

They embraced. “I’m okay. I promise. Let’s make sure Sparks is too.”

“Absolutely.”

Dev and Tully hoisted Sparks up and settled him down on a settee in the corner of the study, propping him so he’d be comfortable.

“Ah guys…” Cam’s gaze shifted toward Byron. The boys followed his stare.

“So what?” Tully growled. “Would be easier to take him out right now.”

Dev shot Tully a warning glance.

Tully frowned but backed down.

Byron slept on the chair, drained and exhausted from the day’s events. Clearly not fully recuperated from his werewolf wounds and stint in the hospital.