Abraxas's Kismet (Sentinels of Apollo Book 1)

Cerys Chapter 20

I was shaken, and it took a few moments for me to shake it off and check on Twyla. I was lying on top of her. Nightstalker had landed with us on top of him. He rolled with his legs around us. We came to a stop with him on top, but he instantly moved off us. I scrambled to my knees to check on my grandma. I heard rustling, and I knew it was him, but she was my priority.

How stupid of us was the next thing to go through my mind. Why did we think taking a walk alone after dark was okay? I guess it was because we thought the Knights wouldn’t know to look here, and if they did, it would take them time to find us. I knew Brax would have a lot to say to me, and I couldn’t blame him. I deserved the chewing out I was about to get, but that would have to wait until I knew Twyla was unhurt.

“Are you alright? Do you hurt anywhere? Don’t move,” I told her urgently.

“I’ll be fine if you get the rest of the way off me. Damn, Brax weighs a ton. Whew, that’s better, I can breathe,” she said.

Suddenly, Brax’s hands were running all over my body as he frantically asked, “Cerys, baby, are you hurt? Are the babies okay? I tried not to squish them. Stay still.”

“Brax, I’m okay. It’s Twyla I’m worried about. Her bones aren’t as strong as mine. And the babies are well protected in there. I’ll have some bumps and bruises, but that’s all. What about you?”

“Don’t worry about these bones. They’re made from hearty Welsh stock. They’re as strong as steel. Are you sure you’re fine, Cerys? Brax?” Twyla asked. She was sitting up. I tried to hold her down, but she pushed me away and got to her feet to dust herself off. Brax wouldn’t let me stand without his help.

Twyla was moving around easily. I took a step and winced when the weight on my left ankle sent a twinge through it. Of course, Brax saw it, and he instantly had me swung up in his arms. He offered his elbow to Twyla.

“Twyla, one of the guys is coming to get us. Are you sure you’re okay? I think to be safe, we should have you both checked out at the hospital.”

“Brax, honey, I’m good. I’ll have bruises and bumps like Cerys, but that’s it. At the most, your wolf knocked the air out of me. He’s all muscle.” she patted his arm and grinned as she said it.

The sound of an approaching vehicle made me stiffen. It made me think of the car that almost ran us over.

“It’s alright. It’s Gunnar and Banner coming.”

“Who the hell was in that car? They need their license taken away, or at least not to drive at night,” Twyla muttered darkly.

“It wasn’t an accident, was it?” I asked softly.

He shook his head. “No, it wasn’t.”

“Did you see who it was?” I asked next.

“I did. Let me get you home and make sure you’re fine. Then we’ll talk. I was coming to talk to you anyway when I found out you’d left the house.”

I heard the anger in his tone. “I’m sorry. That was stupid of us. I didn’t think, Brax. I knew the Knights were out there, but the chances of them finding us in Needles or this fast seemed impossible. I won’t be that careless again. I could’ve not only gotten Twyla killed but made you lose your chance at children.”

The guys pulled up. He waited until they got out and came to help Twyla get to the car before he set me straight. “I love that we’re having those babies, but I’d fucking mourn the loss of you more than them. I can live without children. I can’t live without you.” he paused to kiss me before proceeding to the car.

It was a tense ride back to the house. We all scanned the area. I didn’t relax until we were in the house. It took a good twenty minutes of denying I needed the hospital after I checked Twyla over before the three men stopped trying to get me to go.

When they stopped, I asked Brax, “Honey, tell me who was driving that car. How did you know them? And what’s taking the others so long to get back? Are they alright? What if they need help?”

“First, let me say that Nico, Royal, Keir, and Fennick are perfectly fine. They were able to catch the driver and are bringing that person here. We have questions that need to be answered. As for who it is and how I know them? I hate to say it, but we all know the driver.” He paused to let that sink in. Before I could begin to rack my brain going through people that I knew in Needles, he continued.

“It was Irene Clark. I saw her face clear as day. She did it on purpose. She’s not talking to them.”

I gasped in shock, and then, as it began to sink in, my anger started to rise. “What is wrong with that bitch!? First, she tried to get me in trouble at work, then fired and arrested, and now she tried to kill me. She’s got a major screw loose. And when did she get back to town?”

I felt remorse come off Brax. He sighed as he answered. “I had an altercation with Irene in town today. I didn’t tell you about it because I didn’t want to add to your stress, and I never thought she’d try something like this. That was what we were coming to tell you when I found you’d left. That, along with something we found out from Eagle Eye.”

I wasn’t happy about him keeping things from me. He knew it, too. “I know, I fucked up. I won’t do it again.”

“Make sure you don’t. I won’t be in a relationship with someone who keeps secrets, Brax, no matter how much I love you,” I warned.

“I know you won’t.”

“Tell me what she said or did today in town,” I demanded.

When he was done telling me what she’d said, I was seething. “When that bitch gets here, I want a word with her,” I snapped.

“Baby, I don’t know if that’s a good idea. Your blood pressure is already up,” he said.

“I’ll talk to her,” Twyla growled as she clenched her fists. There was fire in her eyes.

Two vehicles pulling into the driveway prevented us from saying or asking more. I’d heard them coming. We stayed inside with Brax and Banner while Gunnar went outside.

It wasn’t long before the guys came inside. Gunnar and Nico were dragging a struggling Irene between them. Her face was filled with fury and disgust. When she saw me, it morphed into absolute hatred. She spit at me but was too far away to hit me. Nico slapped his hand over her mouth and growled at her.

“Do it again, and I’ll tape your mouth shut. And I’d think twice before biting me. It’s kind of hard to do without teeth,” he snarled before slowly removing his hand.

“So much for being gentlemen, though why I should be surprised, I don’t know,” she hissed.

“Bitch, your right to be treated gently as a woman ended when you tried to kill our friend’s woman and her grandmother,” Royal snapped impatiently.

“He chose a whore like her over me. Although now that I know what he is, I’m glad he did. Do you know what he is? This man you call your friend. I bet you don’t,” she said happily as if she were about to expose a vast secret.

They pulled out a kitchen chair and shoved her down on it. The rest of us gathered around her. She was glaring at me and Brax.

“What is he?” Nico asked.

“He’s a goddamn abomination! You have to warn the townspeople. He and anyone else like him has to be eradicated!” she shouted.

“Abomination? Eradicated? She’s more nuts than we thought,” Keir muttered.

“You might not want to believe me, but he’s one of them. Most humans don’t know about them, but I do. The public has to be warned.”

Her usage of the word humans made me stiffen. How did she know Brax wasn’t human? He had been in wolf form when she came upon us and gone when he transformed back. I made sure not to look at him.

“You’re making no sense, Irene,” Royal informed her.

“He’s a shifter, an animal. I saw him. He’s a wolf!” she yelled.

“Shifters don’t exist. And if they did, why would you say he was one? Just today, you accosted him in town, declaring how he needed to get rid of Cerys and be with you. Sounds like vindictive woman syndrome,” Gunnar snorted.

“Because I saw a wolf come out of nowhere, and it wrapped its legs around the two of them and took them to the ground and away from my car. That’s not normal behavior for a wild wolf. He would’ve savaged them. They don’t have a mark on them. The only excuse is that he’s the wolf. You may not think they exist, but they do.”

Slowly, smirks spread across the men’s faces. They crossed their arms. “What makes you think Brax is the only shifter in Needles or this room?” Banner taunted.

“Yeah, you could be surrounded by them,” Brax added.

Why Irene thought Brax was the only one, I had no idea. But as the realization that they knew about him and their claims of being shifters as well began to sink in, horror filled her face. She cringed away from them and wrinkled her nose like she smelled something bad. Hatred quickly replaced the horror.

“You’re all filthy wolves! You’re abominations against God.”

“Well, since the cat is out of the bag, we might as well confess. Yes, we’re shifters, but we’re not wolves,” Royal admitted.

She shifted her chair back. “Then what are you?”

“What do you think? Should we tell her?” Nico asked the others.

They all nodded. Brax pointed to Royal first. One by one, they sounded off with pride.

“Dragon.”

“Phoenix.”

“Leopard.”

“Bear.”

“Gryphon.”

“Vampire.”

“And yes, I was the wolf you saw,” Brax finished them off.

“You’re filth. You all have to be eliminated before you breed,” she hissed.

“Too late, Brax and I already have,” I taunted her.

I knew there was no way they’d be able to let her go. Not after what she did and the threat she posed to the Chosen and Precious Ones. I wondered where the Council’s prison was. Delphi? Or did they have them in each region? She let out a strangled scream and lunged at me. She barely got her ass half off the seat before she was slammed back down, only it wasn’t by one of the guys. It was Twyla.

“Move toward my granddaughter again, and I’ll have one of these men rip out your throat. Enough of this show and tell. Where are you taking her?”

“It doesn’t matter because I’ll tell everyone what you are,” Irene said with a mad laugh.

“Woman, where you’re going, there’s no one who’ll listen,” Brax assured her.

I watched as total madness seemed to overtake her. She began to laugh maniacally. She did it for several seconds before she dropped her bomb. “You can lock me away. You can kill me, but it’s too late for him and her.” She pointed to Brax and me. Then she pointed to the others. “As for you, they’ll figure it out. I wish I could be here to witness the purification.”

“What the fuck are you talking about now?” Brax snapped. His patience was almost gone.

“Your friends might’ve caught me, but not before I made a call. I informed them that you’re a disgusting wolf shifter. They’ll be coming. They’ll ensure there are no others here.”

“Who did you call? Those shady men with the fake identities you’ve been hanging out with? It’ll take more than a bunch of pseudo-hunters to kill us,” Brax stated.

I jerked in surprise, then realized that was what he probably wanted to tell me Eagle Eye found.

She had calmed, and the smirk on her face now was more chilling than her previous laughter. “Not pseudo-hunters. These men are the real thing. They’ve returned to the world to purge you once and for all. The Knights of Pytho are coming. There’s nowhere you can run or hide that they won’t eventually find you. And even if you do run, they’ll kill your friends and family to find you.”

Terror filled me. I had to fight not to pass out. How the hell did she know the Knights?

“These knights you speak of. Should we know them? Where have they been that they haven’t purged us, as you call it? And how would you know them?” Royal asked.

She started to babble. “The Knights of Pytho are the natural enemies of all shifters and supernaturals. Their master, Pytho, formed them to remove you unnatural children of the god Apollo. They would’ve done it centuries ago, except they underestimated you. They won’t this time. My family has always known the story of the Knights. It was passed down through our family for centuries. My ancestor was one of the original Knights. When he returned, he came to find me, his last living relative. He has had me watching for signs and helping them acclimate to this time period. There are more of us who are part of the cause. They’ve been recruiting more members to the fight. You don’t stand a chance. And those so-called Sentinels of Apollo have no clue.” She laughed.

Brax leaned down to get in her face. “The Sentinels know now,” he said. Her eyes rounded. Stepping back, Brax issued a command to the guys. “Take her to the cells. We’ll hold her until we hear back from the Council. They have to give us the final okay, but I know who will if they don’t rule in our favor.”

I stood there, numb, as they hustled a screaming and fighting Irene out the door. I had so many questions, but right now, all I wanted to do was sleep. My mind had had enough over the past few days. Brax sensed it because he didn’t waste time hustling me to bed as soon as he ensured Twyla stayed the night. He didn’t want her out of his sight. I was on autopilot, getting ready for bed. All I kept thinking was, had I found the love of my life and started a family only to see it taken away and us all killed?

I passed a restless night. I kept waking up. Every time I did, I found Brax was awake. Sometimes, he was in bed with me. Other times, he was in his office. I knew he was communicating not only with his friends but also with the Council. For all I knew, he might’ve contacted other Sentinels. I could barely move by the time I gave up and got out of bed this morning. However, lying there wasn’t doing me any good.

Walking into the kitchen, I found Twyla was awake and cooking breakfast. When she saw me, she came straight to me and hugged me. Her familiar scent, which I’d known since I was a small child, comforted me. When she let go of me, she gestured to the stool at the island. “Sit. I’ll get you something to drink. The food will be ready in a few minutes.”

I was too tired to argue. When I was seated, I asked, “Where’s Brax?”

“He’ll be here in a minute. I have no doubt he knows you’re awake,” she said.

As soon as she said it, I heard him coming, even though he barely made a sound. He gave me a tender, loving smile as he entered the kitchen. As always, I was his first greeting with a mandatory kiss. When he released my mouth, he frowned as he slid his thumb under my eye.

“ Astéri mou , you should be in bed. You’re still tired. There are shadows here. I know last night was restless. Why don’t you stay in bed today? I’ll come join you as soon as I can.”

“Not anymore restless than it was for you, and even more so, I bet. I can’t lie in that bed for another second, Brax. It’s making my body ache worse. I need to get up and do something to get out of my head. Did you resolve anything while I was asleep? What are the next steps?”

While we were talking, Twyla finished getting the food plated. She slid two plates across the island to us, along with silverware and glasses of juice. She gave me an additional glass, one that contained milk. I grimaced. I hated milk unless it was chocolate. I always had. She shook a finger at me.

“Don’t give me that look, missy. You’re carrying babies. You need the calcium, you know that. And before you ask, no, it can’t all be in the form of chocolate milk. Brax, we’ll have to watch her. Cerys has always hated plain milk. She would only drink it if I put chocolate in it.”

“I promise she’ll drink her milk in whatever form she gets. Although, I might make her a deal. For every glass of plain she drinks, she gets a chocolate one,” he enticed.

I pretended to pout and then thought it over. It was fun to tease a bit after all the heavy topics of the past couple of days. Finally, I gave him a short nod. “Fine, but don’t think I won’t be keeping count. But no trying to slide in any extra glasses of the white stuff,” I shuddered.

They both chuckled. He sat next to me. “Why do you hate it so much?”

“It’s her parents’ fault. When she was small, they’d force her to drink all of it, even if she was full. If she didn’t, they’d make her sit there until she did. It became a battle. They’d force her to drink it even if it got sour. I told them they were making things worse or would end up giving her food poisoning, but they didn’t care. It was always their way,” Twyla told him. I gagged, recalling the taste of the spoiled milk.

His amusement changed instantly to a glower. “Baby, if I see your parents again, I have a list to talk to them about. Thank the gods, they’ll never be allowed near our kids. I believe in discipline to a point, but that’s ridiculous.”

Twyla snorted. “Would that talk include your fist and my son’s face? Because if it does, make sure I’m there. I do love him, deep down, but he makes it so damn hard. I can’t understand how he was so different from me and his dad.”

Wanting to lighten the mood, I giggled. “I know how. And you should, too, Twyla. He’s obviously been exchanged by the fairies for a changeling child. They got your sweet boy, and we got their pain-in-the-ass one.”

It had the desired effect. We all laughed. I’d always been fascinated by the tales told by Twyla when I was a kid about fairies and other beings. The story of changelings had always intrigued me.

I settled in to eat my food before it got cold. I got about half of it down before I had to stop or become sick. I finished my milk by alternating swallows of it with swallows of orange juice. She joined us. When I was done, I wouldn’t let them insist they clean up. I needed something to do. When we were all done and the kitchen was sparkling clean again, Brax took us to the living room. He and I sat on the loveseat, and Twyla was across from us in the recliner.

“You asked if we resolved anything and what the next steps were. Well, I can say that we’ve gotten a lot initiated. I called Theodore. I wish I’d gotten him out of bed, but they’re ten hours ahead of us in Greece. He was less than happy, as you can imagine. He wanted us to bring Irene to central holding so the Council could question her themselves and then deliberate on what is to be done with her. I refused. No way are we moving her for that.

“In the past, they’ve been fine with us holding someone and having us do the questioning. If they chose, they’d attend it via encrypted video conference so they could see, hear, and say things. We asked why not this time. It seems they don’t trust us to be impartial.”

“Were all of you on the call with him? Were there other Oracles on it? Did you ask why they’re questioning you after all these years? This can’t be the first time you’ve disagreed,” I exclaimed.

“The guys were on with me. At first, it was only Theodore, but then the others got on. It seems they’re still smarting from us, not letting them have their way and the verbal smackdown Apollo gave them. They feel we’re trying to take control, we think. When they insisted on moving her, I pointed out that with no idea where or when the Knights might strike, it was too dangerous to leave you or the town unprotected. Plus, why risk her escaping or being rescued? She’s secure here. And honestly, after what she confessed and did by calling the Knights in on me, she’s signed her death warrant.”

I hated to hear of anyone being put to death, but I was seeing it from their point of view. He must’ve thought I was having trouble with it because he defended his remark.

“Cerys, I know that might sound harsh and inhuman, but you need to look at it from the big picture. She can never be let free. Sure, most people will assume she’s crazy, but we can’t risk her convincing a single human she’s not. Two, she’ll stay in contact with the Knights and this ancestor of hers. They don’t need anyone recruiting for them. Third, as long as she’s alive, there’s always a tiny chance she could be rescued or escape, exposing our operations more. Finally, in the past, we’ve held prisoners, and when the verdict was passed for them to be put to death, we were tasked to execute them wherever it was best to keep them from ever being discovered. By the gods, that sounds horrible, doesn’t it?” he groaned and hung his head.

I pressed my palm to his jaw, lifting his head so he had to look at me. There was fear and pain in his eyes. “Brax, I can’t imagine the strength it has taken for all of you to do this for decades, centuries even. However, I don’t doubt you do it honorably and, depending on the case, humanely. In the case of these Knights, I don’t expect them to die easily like others might. As for Irene, she’s signed the death warrant of you and, more than likely, me, Twyla, our babies, your friends, and the other shifters in this town. She can’t be given a chance to do more harm. I do wonder how her mind was twisted by whatever tales she was told over the years. All I ask is, when her time comes, make it quick.”

He gave me a relieved look. “I will.”

“How did you leave it with that Council of Oafs?” Twyla asked.

He grinned. “The Council kept insisting she be brought to Greece. We gave them options. They can come back and question her here, have the Sentinels in Canada do it, or let us ask Apollo what he wants to be done, but it has to be done right away. As you can guess, they didn’t want the last option.” he smirked as he said it.

“I bet not,” I giggled.

“With the subtle threat that I’d have Twyla call Apollo right then and there, they conceded. They’ll witness her questioning via video conference tonight. Her sentence will be passed immediately afterward. We’re not allowing them to deliberate for days or weeks. They never have in the past. It has always been rather decisive.”

“Okay, so what else did you figure out? That sounds like a lot right there,” I asked.

“We insisted they start informing the other Sentinels today of the threat and what it means. They have two days to get that out to them before the general shifters and supernaturals will be informed of the threat and what to do. They hate it. They think that telling the other Sentinels will cause dissension amongst them and hard feelings against the Council. They didn’t say it, but we know that’s a big part of their hesitancy. Plus, it makes them look like assholes, which they are. They absolutely don’t want to tell the regular shifters about the Knights.”

“Why?” Twyla gasped in outrage.

“Because they say it’ll cause undue panic and increase the risk of exposing us to humans. Plus, it’ll mean us Sentinels will be exposing ourselves to the regular Chosen Ones as Sentinels, not ordinary shifters. Remember, they want our number to remain a mystery. I say the time for that is past. Besides, they need to be pulling in more people to join our ranks. This may just be what convinces those with the skills and aptitudes to say yes.”

I didn’t disagree with any of his thinking, so I didn’t question it, but I did have another question. “Last night, you had the others take Irene to the cells. What are those, and where? How do you keep something like that hidden?”

“It’s not really a secret. You know that Gunnar is a bounty hunter. Sometimes, depending on what is happening with one of those, he may have to hold someone overnight. He has to have a secure place to do it. We decided to combine it to be our temporary prison. We built it in one of the large stone outcroppings that dot our properties. It’s centrally located. Inside, we’ve constructed cells. That’s where she’s at.”

“What can we do to help? This all shouldn’t fall on you and the guys,” Twyla told him.

“You’re doing it. Helping to watch over Cerys and staying where we know you’re safe as well is enough.”

“No, it’s not. I meant what we said last night. We can talk to any new Precious Ones who are discovered to help them understand, adjust, and hopefully move closer to Sentinels. Making food is a small thing, so you don’t need to worry about it. What else? Do you need us to talk to any of the other shifters with you?” I asked.

Brax denied we needed to do more, but we weren’t letting it all fall on their shoulders. We’d think about it and see what we could find to do to help. The one thing he didn’t want was for me to return to work on Monday. He said it was too dangerous. We argued for a long time about it until he gave in and said we’d have to see. Not knowing when the Knights might arrive made it unrealistic for me not to work at all. Plus, he had no intention of taking leave from his job.

By the time we came to an impasse, I was drooping with fatigue. He got me to go lie down. Twyla insisted she would be fine reading or watching television. Crawling into bed with him, I let his warmth and the smell of him lull me to sleep. He pressed his hand to my stomach as he held me. The love I felt coming from him and Nightstalker was incredible.