Chapter Twenty-Six
Neith
Taking a deep breath, I reason with myself while I look around. Now, I’m not so focused on getting out of here.
Doc can always teleport me back to the top, it’s okay.
Everything is fine. I’m fine.
I’m actually surprised that Dimitri hasn’t shown up since, apparently, he can feel my panic, but maybe his magic is tired from showing up and nearly ripping that guy's throat out yesterday, or maybe it doesn’t happen every time I panic? I don’t know, I’ll have to ask him about it at some point.
Focus.
It’s really simple in here, there aren’t any fancy floor coverings or furniture.
It is just a cave. There is a huge mural on one wall though that has become faded and cracked with time, but fortunately, it is still clear enough that I can make out a couple standing in front of the altar, with huge smiles on their faces as a bloodstone floats between them.
They’re surrounded by symbols, both magical and not, some that I recognize and some that don’t. It really is stunning.
Directly in front of that mural is the altar that’s depicted on the wall.
It’s old, dusty, and covered in moss, and it’s clear that it hasn’t been used for an extremely long time.
But we know that. Michael said that it had been thousands of years since the last true mate pair was found.
At least I’m pretty sure that he said that.
I know that he said that it had been a really long time, and he referred to it as the old ways coming back.
Considering how long supernaturals live for, I think that it’s safe to assume that it was at least a thousand years ago.
Actually, now that I think about it, I’m surprised that the cave is in as good condition as it is.
“Are you ready?” Griff asks me, and I see a flash of nervousness in his expression.
I smile, trying to ease his nerves and hide my own, “Yep.”
The others all move back, and it doesn’t escape my notice that they’re guarding the cave entrance.
I’m nervous, not because of the ritual but because I don’t know what to expect, and I hate not knowing what to expect.
Michael was really vague about this whole thing, and he didn’t say exactly what would happen. He may not know of course, and that knowledge could have been lost over the years, which would be understandable, but knowing that does nothing whatsoever for my nerves.
I call on Asael, one, because we need something to draw blood, and I do not trust anything else to draw my blood apart from him, but also because I need the comfort that Asael brings me.
I’m clearly a nervous wreck right now.
“Good thinking,” Griff says as we move over the altar.
Griff starts to clear off the moss and debris from the top of it, and I take the opportunity to ask Asael if it's possible to turn himself into a dagger because trying to cut myself with the great big sword is not going to go very well at all, I’ll most likely stab myself, and then I’ll probably accidentally stab Griff.
Then it will be just be a whole thing, and everyone will somehow end up bleeding, and who knows what sort of effect that would have on the ritual and the binding and the whole true mate thing.
“Neith?” Griff asks, looking at me questioningly. I’m guessing that it’s not the first time that he’s tried to get my attention.
“Yes, sorry. My brain did its thing,” I explain, and he simply smiles.
I love that I don’t have to explain it any further, and that he just gets what I’m talking about.
“I figured that was probably the case,” he replies. “Do you remember what is going to happen?”
“Would you go over it again just so that I know for certain?” I ask.
“Yeah, of course. Okay, so we’re each going to prick our fingers with Asael. We need enough blood for a good-sized droplet, but we don’t need any more than that.”
“Phew, I was imagining like cups of blood, and I get dizzy when I lose that much, and then I start talking absolute shit that makes no sense whatsoever,” I ramble. “I mean more than usual.”
“Whoa, hold up,” Baz calls out from the viewing gallery. “Exactly how many times has that happened to you?”
“Dude, you probably don’t want to know the answer to that question,” Coen replies, shadows crossing his expression.
He knows more of my past than the others, so he has a rough idea of how many times that it has happened to me.
Baz growls, and my eyes meet his. They aren’t his usual ones, they’ve shifted, becoming completely black with copper lines running through them and meeting where the pupil of a normal eye would be.
I have never seen eyes like his before.
The Voices titter excitedly, just like they always do when Baz shows some of his magic.
He takes a breath, and the copper disappears, but it takes a moment for the black to fade back to his purple ones.
“I apologize, I did not mean to distract you,” he says formally. “Please continue.”
Oh, he’s pissed.
“That’s okay,” I reply, tearing my eyes away from him and refocusing on Griff.
“We all had the same reaction,” Griff tells Baz, and all I hear is a grunt from behind me. Griff smirks and then returns his attention back to me, “Where was I?”
“You were explaining that we didn’t need that much blood,” I remind him, super proud that I remembered.
That almost never happens.
“Right, so we have to each put a droplet of blood on the altar, and then if we are true mates, a bloodstone will form, and it will be official,” Griff replies, although he is frowning slightly.
“What is it?” I ask.
He hesitates but eventually replies, “It’s just that it seems really simple, and I hope that it really is that simple, but there is a chance that it’s not and that something else is going to happen, and Michael either didn’t tell us because he’s in the dark as well or because it’s a part of it.”
“Don’t worry, we’ll be prepared for whatever happens,” Van says. “I hope we’re being overly cautious though.”
“Me too,” I agree. “Alright, let’s stop stalling and get this done, so that we can all stop worrying about what’s going to happen when we do it.”
I don’t wait for anyone to question me or reply in any way, I simply use Asael, who has managed to transform himself into a dagger for me, and prick my finger, squeezing it so that a drop of blood appears and is big enough that it will fall from my finger, and then I hand Asael to Griff, and he does the same thing.
We both hold our fingers over the altar and watch as first my droplet and then Griff’s hits the basin.
Nothing happens.
“I can’t move my feet,” Griff suddenly says, a hint of panic in his voice.
I try to pick my foot up and find that I am very much cemented in place as well.
Fuck. This can’t be good.
“Aren’t you supposed to say something?” I ask, remembering the note that Michael gave to him.
“Shit, yeah, you’re right,” he replies.
Before he can say anything else, the cave groans and shudders, and to my utter shock, it doesn’t sound like rocks or the ground shifting, it sounds like a voice.
My eyes widen.
“Hmmm,” the fucking cave hums. “Oh, it has been a long time since true mates have visited me.”
I stay silent. This is trippy as fuck.
The cave is talking to me.
To us.
At least I fucking hope that Griff can hear it too.
Even the Voices are silent and not being snarky with me. I think their shock scares me more than anything else could.
My eyes meet Griff’s, and I’m grateful to find that he is just as shocked as I am at the current turn of events.
“Are we true mates?” He asks, his voice full of awe and hesitance.
The cave rumbles, “Oh yes, but wait, that’s not the whole story, is it? Come here.”
I am so confused. We can't get any closer, and closer to what exactly? The wall? The altar?
“Whoa,” Coen yells from behind us.
“Hold up a minute!” Van adds.
“What is happening?” Doc asks with an edge to his voice.
I still can’t move my feet, but I do manage to look over my shoulder and see them all being dragged toward us with supposedly no control over it whatsoever. Their arms are flailing as they try not to fall over.
When all of the other guys are gathered around the altar with us, their arms snap out, and small beads of blood appear on the ends of each of their index fingers. I watch in utter shock as all of the blood hits the altar and swirls with Griff’s and mine.
It occurs to me that our blood shouldn’t still be in liquid form and puddling like it is, but of all of the things to be concerned about right now, that one isn’t even close to being on the list.
Everyone stays silent.
It is clear that we are not in control here, and despite that, I don’t actually feel like we’re under threat, not now that I’ve had the time to adjust to what’s happening.
The magic here is ancient.
“Hmm, close, but there’s one missing,” the cave rumbles.
“What the fuck is happening?” Dimitri asks as he suddenly appears, looking surprised.
“Ah, that’s better,” the cave mutters.
Holy shit, the cave brought Dimitri here.
What the fuck?
Dimitri’s hand is pulled forward, his finger pricked, and a droplet of his blood joins the others swirling on the altar.
“Did the cave just speak?” He asks, as his eyes connect with mine and then do a full scan of me to make sure that I’m okay. As soon as he’s satisfied that I’m okay, he relaxes again.
“Ancient ritual, hasn’t been done in a thousand years, supposed to be for gargoyles to find their true mates, no one knows what's happening, and the cave pulled us all in and made us donate blood,” River tells him quickly, catching him up far quicker than anyone else could have.
Dimitri’s eyes widen, “It’s not just for gargoyles. Something else that has clearly been lost to the sands of time.”
It fascinates me what he knows. Although he loves to read as much as Raiden does so maybe it shouldn’t.
The cave hums and rumbles, and our feet all stayed glued to the floor.
My gaze is drawn to the swirling blood, and it moves faster and faster.
“My my, you are a strong family, complicated, yes, but that just makes you stronger. Rare, you’re all oh so rare, some more than others, but you match, your souls are already so familiar with each other.
” The cave says, and we listen in hushed silence, “What’s this?
Oh, oh my, well, isn’t that interesting? ”
“What?” I can't help but ask.
I don’t expect an answer, so I’m surprised when I get one.
“You, my dear, you shouldn’t exist. They tried to erase your kind, murdered them all, and then removed them from history. They succeeded. Your existence is somewhat of a mystery, curious. Oh, and you’re muddied, not even I can clearly see. Hmm, I have been asleep for far too long, it would appear.”
My vision.
She has to be talking about the same thing the supernaturals in my vision were talking about. But how could I possibly be one of them? Unless what we know about my parents isn’t true?
I need to talk to Pete.
“I have allowed myself to get sidetracked,” the cave comments before I scrounge up the courage to ask anything else.
“You are all true mates, with Neith as your Cridhe. It has been a long time since I have seen a family group this big. Tread carefully, children,” she warns.
Her voice lightens as she adds, “And come back to visit, I don’t think I will get another visit, not one strong enough to wake me. ”
“We will,” I promise. I would love to come back and ask her more questions. Plus, she must be lonely.
I don’t know when she switched from the cave to a she, but she’s very definitely a she.
“Thank you, child,” she replies.
With no warning whatsoever, the cave rumbles, and I feel magic release.
It hits me straight in the chest, and I grunt.
The others are making similar noises as they’re hit with the same thing that I was.
My head becomes fuzzy, my vision blurred, and for a moment, through the blurry haze, I could have sworn that I saw Zephyr, but when I blink again, I realize that I must have just been seeing things because he isn’t standing behind River and Baz like I thought.