| |
“Light travels faster than sound. That’s why some folks appear bright until they speak.”
~ Gary Apple
––––––––
Bear stumbled forward, unable to see a thing with the stupid black cloth bag over his head. The energy inside him pulsed stronger and stronger with each step, confirming he headed toward something, but he wasn’t sure what. Another one of Lloth’s torture sessions? Her big reveal of her master plan? The possibility of escape? This time was different than the other times they’d hauled him from the cell. This time he had the hood on, and they’d brought Chloe along. Dread twisted his gut at the possibilities.
He didn’t want to become separated from Chloe. Whatever they faced, he wanted to face it together.
Hinges creaked ahead and fresh ocean air washed over him. The guards ushered him forward, their feet shuffling against the stone flooring. Red moonlight brightened the inside of the black hood. Ocean waves crashed nearby, and an overwhelming sensation of corvid energy hit him like a body shot. Lloth’s now familiar power wound around him like a nauseating illness, but more corvid magic danced in the air. There must be hundreds of birds nearby, he sensed them with his inner eye and itched to call to them. But the most potent source of magic he felt in the room, the one he was most drawn to, was Raven’s.
His twin sister was here.
He’d know the signature of her dark energy anywhere. It brushed against his own, strengthening his power as he drew closer. They stopped him beside Chloe, her floral scent comforting, though the distance between them was still too far.
What the fuck was his sister doing here? The only crime she’d ever committed in life was dating an epic douchebag years ago.
“Chloe.” A man swore in a deep rumbling voice.
Bear stiffened. Who was that?
“You would use absolute light to control him?” his sister said. What was she talking about? Light couldn’t control him.
“The brightest light casts the darkest shadow.” Lloth’s voice echoed in the room.
They sounded as if they spoke in riddles. Was any of this supposed to make sense?
Bear focused less on their words and tried to gather information on their surroundings. They must be in a large space and they weren’t alone. Murmurings and mutterings of other people filled in the background sound.
“She cannot control Cole, she empowers him,” Lloth continued. “The only reason Camhanaich doesn’t rule this realm is because he chose not to, and it was my price for helping him. Now, I will harness his power and bolster my own claim.”
Well, fuck. This wasn’t about him at all. Who in the Underworld was Cole? Why had Lloth brought them to this show? What did she plan? More psychological torture? His mind reeled and he missed some of what was said.
Someone growled and boots slapped the stone flooring toward them. Who? What did they plan to do?
“Uh, uh, uh.” Lloth scolded.
Chloe sucked in a breath, and without seeing, he knew Lloth had done something to her using magic. The power buzzed in the air. Those runes. They must allow Lloth to hurt her in some way.
That burning anger rose inside him again. If he got free, he’d make sure Lloth paid for every ounce of pain she inflicted on Chloe. He didn’t believe in harming women, but he’d make an exception for this crazy bitch.
When had he grown so protective of Chloe? Right from the start? When he learned someone stuffed her into a magical box? He shuffled a half step closer to Chloe, so his arm pressed into hers. He might not be able to hold her, but he could let her know he was still here.
Chloe leaned into his arm, sending warmth through his body. Somehow, their situation didn’t feel as dire as before.
“I’m so glad you understand the importance of twins,” Lloth continued. “Imagine my delight when I arrived to retrieve Chloe and found a gem all of his own.”
Wait. That was him.
“So ignorant to his own power, he hasn’t learned how to wield it,” Lloth said. “I could sense his twin nature immediately and Cole’s reasons for hiding you became crystal clear. Your power is so unique I changed my plans.”
Bear froze, now understanding why he’d been spared in the apartment and why they’d healed his stab wounds only to beat him again and draw runes all over his body. They didn’t want him. They wanted to control Raven.
“You plan to threaten my brother to control me, too?” Raven’s voice cracked.
Bear stiffened. He wanted to wrench himself from the bindings, tear off the hood and get her out of here. Why was she here? How had she become involved? Had she tried to find him? He pushed forward and struggled against his bonds, but the guard behind him held him in place.
“Silly child.” Lloth giggled. “I plan to destroy you and control him with your power.”
No! The power within Bear surged, calling the corvids to him. He didn’t sing or serenade them out loud this time. The call came from within. He swayed under the force of power flowing through him.
The guard tugged on his bound arms and he staggered away from Chloe. His arm grew cold from where he’d pressed against her. Bear ground his teeth, ignored the guard and pulled on his power more. The birds would do his bidding He’d force them to comply. It went against his nature to demand instead of ask, but he couldn’t let Lloth harm Raven. He couldn’t stand by while the Corvid Queen took out his twin.
So focused on drawing his power for Raven, he missed some of the conversation again. Lloth being crazy, no doubt.
“I will rip the corvid energy from her inferior body and leave your latest infatuation a dry husk.” Lloth must be talking to someone else in the room. “You will serve me again. You will bow to my commands.”
Bear growled. One of the guards punched him in the back. Bear lurched, but the guard’s grip on his shackles prevented him from falling over. The guard ripped off his hood. Sudden light momentarily blinded him, and he blinked until his eyes adjusted. They stood in a grand hall, the walls opened up to the night sky instead of a ceiling. Pillars, walls and floor tiles made from some sort of black shiny stone shone under the red moonlight. Hundreds of birds perched on the ramparts and watched with their beady black eyes. Lloth stood at the head of the room, wielding the scary looking scythe and wearing another dress made of feathers. If pressed, Bear couldn’t say exactly what made this outfit different from the last. It just was.
Fae lined the runway that led down to where his sister stood. If they didn’t whisper in each other’s ears or move their heads back and forth to study the queen and his sister, he would’ve mistaken them for statues. Fancy dressed statues.
At the other end of a long black runner, Raven defiantly faced Lloth. With messy black hair, some god-awful unflattering shorts and a shirt soaked with what appeared to be dried sweat and blood, Raven didn’t look her best. Yet, she stood straight with her shoulders back, chin up and determination flashing in her gaze. Grandma Lu would’ve been proud to see her granddaughter offer defiance in the face of danger. If anyone could get them out of this, his twin could. She was the resourceful one of the bunch.
After scanning his face and body and evidently noting the injuries, Raven looked as though she wanted to murder someone. Her hands clenched into fists and her lips flattened. The power inside her built like a stoking fire. He pulled more of his own magic and fed her. He had no idea if it would work, but after Chloe talking about soulmates and Lloth being psychotic and planning to use him as a personal battery pack, he had to try something.
“Cole.” Chloe’s delicate voice drew Bear’s attention away from his sister. He followed Chloe’s gaze and choked. Shadow Man. The scary fae from the vault stood near his sister. Light where Chloe was dark, and dark where she was light, Shadow Man, or Cole, appeared the polar opposite of the woman standing beside him. Only his dark Other gaze resembled Chloe’s—deep and powerful. Who was he to Chloe? Her captor? Her...lover?
While he had no answers to those questions, he knew who Cole was to Lloth—the one who broke her heart. He was the reason they were all in this mess. Bear’s sister was in danger because of Cole, and so was Chloe.
Bear cringed.
No. That didn’t sound quite right. Raven was here because of him. His twin got caught up in this clusterfuck because of his involvement.
“If only you stayed with me,” Lloth said to Cole. Her lean figure swayed on the dais at the top of the stairs, as if she fed off the conflicting emotions in the room and found them overwhelming.
“Now you shall be mine for good.” She flicked her finger at Chloe, and the runes flickered again. Chloe cried out.
Bear lunged to reach her, but the guards held him in place. He had little knowledge of runes, but Lloth’s actions needed no explanation. She’d threatened Chloe’s life. Shadow Man couldn’t interfere with whatever she had planned.
Lloth held her hand out toward Bear. The runes on his skin glowed. Lloth’s power twisted inside him, grasped his power and pushed.
Bear grunted.
Lloth swayed. The more Bear’s runes glowed, the more he burned and the more she rocked. She pushed magic from his body, forcing him to use it, to silently call the corvids. The scythe in Lloth’s hand shone. The energy inside him pulsed, calling more and more birds and corvid energy.
Ravens croaked as more corvids swooped into the room from the dark summer night above. More and more, they came in waves. Lloth pushed him harder, his hands shook, his body vibrated, but he kept calling the birds. Too transfixed with her spells and manipulation, she hadn’t caught on to his intent, yet.
Connected to Lloth with these scribblings on his body, he sensed what she wanted. She planned to draw upon the power of the corvids he called, magically feeding off them. But she couldn’t force the direction of his magic. Instead of commanding the corvids to serve her, he continued to subvert her, letting the birds choose who to fuel instead. Some chose poorly, but what Lloth didn’t seem to notice was most were drawn to the other woman capable of drawing on corvid magic.
Lloth screeched something, but he couldn’t make it out. Too consumed with drawing power and redirecting the magic to his sister, he lost himself to the overwhelming sensation of the power coursing through his body. Sweat poured down his face. Hordes of corvids flooded into the grand hall. The Otherworld energy within him twisted and spiraled, aching to emerge, to be set free.
Raven’s magic wound around the corvid energy in the room, including his own. It built and built until it became a tsunami of feral magic waiting to crash down and destroy everything in the room.
Raven screamed. Her body contorted. Bones snapped. Flesh compressed and expanded. Her stained shirt and shorts tore as her body ripped through them like paper. Feathers and scales sprouted. In an instant, her raven essence wiped away what remained of her human form, leaving a large bird in its place.
She towered over the men and women in the room.
“Holy fuck,” he whispered.
Men and women screamed and ran from the courtyard. Some of the guards escaped with them, their heavy boots slapping the hard tile. Lloth’s caomhnóir drew his sword and stepped forward.
Raven launched into the air and pumped her wings to move toward the Corvid Queen. Large gusts of Underworld air blasted past him.
“No,” Lloth sneered. She turned toward his sister and raised her scythe, an evil smile spread across her face. She opened her mouth and mumbled a dark spell. The metal of her weapon glowed and pulsed with the swirling magic.
Raven pulled her wings in and dove.
Lloth threw her arms wide, shrieking ancient words.
Her personal guardian stepped up the dais.
No. Not today.
Bear called to the birds. He sent them his memories of Tasha and his love for the wily raven. The birds turned to the warrior as one. Hundreds of beady eyes focused on the man. Together, they launched from their perches and dove onto Lloth’s caomhnóir, a deadly swarm of sharp beaks and talons. He screamed and thrashed at the birds, but it was futile. They stabbed him while Bear sang the dark and eerie call of corvids.
For Tasha.