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Will be wrought upon Adara
I will not rest until they are all bleeding from my craft
I will not deny that part of me has desired this
For even the just
Can succumb to the darkness,
it tempts even the pure of heart…”
My throat was raw as I tried to swallow. I staggered back watching Luke waver before helping me. The light radiating from me faded and as the dragon shifter held me up, I caught the spark of fear in his eyes. I knew that fear, it was in my heart, too.
The faces, the apparitions had vanished and the moon shone with a brilliance that lit up every detail around us. Sparkling frost on the blades of grass, runes carved into the standing stones and the steam from everyone’s breath in the bitter night air. Grace wrapped her arms around herself, gently stomping to keep warm whilst Austin nodded to her then paced over to me.
He shot a look and nod to Luke, then took my hands. His face was wrought with concern, furrowed brows, his eyes narrow.
“The witches, werewolves, all who have been sacrificed by Adara, their power now resides in you. I will help you to master this darkness. A cliché perhaps but it can be both a blessing and a curse. There are those of us who’ve been touched by evil. Now we will fight evil with evil, but this malevolent magic was birthed by Adara. It is only fitting that, as you said, we reflect it back. In the end, they will be destroyed by their own misuse of magic, by their own power. Come, we don’t have a moment to lose.”
I could feel the weight of Grace and Luke’s stare burn into me.
My voice hoarse, I asked, “What just happened, what did I say?”
Luke glanced at Grace, then back to me. “The accused, those sacrificed spoke through you. As Austin said, their power, their wrath now resides in you. We’ll help, Elsa, but you should tread with care. Malevolent magic is addictive, seductive. It can change you. Steal your soul. Just…be careful.”
THE FACELESS
They were already waiting for us when we arrived. Even fuelled by this wrathful power, fear still stuck in the back of my throat and churned in the pit of my stomach.
Chained up, a curved blade caught the cold rays of the moon as it was pressed to his throat. Lycaon was on his knees.
Beside him, lifeless, grey skin, lay Zale. His throat ruined by the dagger, blood had pooled around him and was drying on the frosty grass.
Lycaon’s eyes met mine, widening, imploring. The palest blue I ever saw, now my heart raced, filled with dread as I held his gaze. The leader stepped forward, his mask hiding his cowardly face, just as the others. As I looked up, their masks reflected us back. His voice was cutting.
“Just as we planned, you acted straight from the rule book. Come to seek vengeance? But the power I can feel from you, it won’t help you now. You see, we’ve amassed magic over the centuries, from every pack, every coven. The blood of angels and vampires flows through us. And now, on this anniversary, we shall make the ultimate sacrifice,Ishall make the ultimate sacrifice, killing you Ms. Brandt!”
What?
He gestured. “Lycaon will add to this, obviously. His blood and the blood of the dragon’s will make for a powerful spell. It will aid us to rid all of those who don’t believe in keeping our species pure, keeping away outsiders.” He lifted his chin, sniffing the air. “You’re defiled by this monstrous thing, giving him your blood, the blood of a witch to a werewolf, the first wolf. Who is to say how this will affect him? As for your bloodline, it is ravaged now.”
He nodded and his feral pets howled, pulling on their shackles. The henchmen who we’d seen before, burly shifters strained to hold them on their chains as the vampires and werewolves tugged, snarling towards me.
The vampires were almost emaciated. Dressed in rags, their skin stretched like latex, charging forwards. They halted as they reached a foot away from us.
My throat tightened. A mixture of faeces and blood, these creatures stank. I prayed to the goddess, to any goddess as fear froze me to the spot. I couldn’t swallow, I could hardly breathe, which next to these fiends was probably a blessing. I heard Luke shuffle beside me. It took all my energy not to turn and look at him and Austin.
Happy with the sound of his own voice and his well thought out trap that we’d walked into, the Adara leader droned on.
“One wrong move and Lycaon is dead. Even your blood won’t help him if we slit his throat. However immortal or powerful, when the neck is severed, you’re as dead as a mortal. You must offer yourself freely, Elsa. Make no mistake, we will bleed your shifter lover, but we will keep him alive. Just as we did Zale one hundred years ago. Lycaon’s blood is more useful to us fresh. And,” he tipped his head, “wewillspare the lives of your friends. So, what will it be?”
Trying not to shake I said, “I’m nothing special, why me? If you knew me, you know I’d give my life for theirs.”
One of the other masked members stepped forward, but the leader shot out his arm. “You’re either incredibly brave, or incredibly stupid, I’m not sure which, Elsa. Why you thought to get mixed up in this is a wonder, I believe you’re touched. Ill in the head. And that makes you dangerous. Not just to us, but to all immortals.”
“I’m scared, there’s no shame in that. Only a fool wouldn’t be scared. I don’t want to die. But if it means they live,” I indicated to Lycaon who widened his eyes at me, still pleading, “if it means he lives, then so be it. You will stop killing others.”
“No, we will not. And you’re not in a position to make any stipulations. As it is, Adara demands you all die. As this is my turn, my sacrifice, I went to great pains to negotiate saving your friends over you.”
