Chapter 38
Chapter
Thirty-Eight
A quarius’s face turns red, then purple, before swelling into something cracked and terrible.
I wriggle, struggling to free myself from Caden and Hurstgrove, who are holding me back, so I can reach my friend. But their grips are unyielding.
“Let me go!” I screech. “I must save her!”
As my words peal off the walls, Aquarius’s eyes roll into the back of her head, and she falls limp in Zain’s arms, her entire body bloated, skin blistered. Is she even breathing?
“No!” I flail and curse, redoubling my efforts to reach her.
Neither man restraining me budges an inch.
Despite retaining his hold on me, Caden kicks one of the corpse-like attackers, delivering some martial arts roundhouse that snaps the minion’s spine in half. Blood spurts everywhere. Black blood, just like Chloe described. I gape in horror.
“Humans converted to magical zombies, like the dead soldiers in the tunnel. Bloody hell…” I whisper.
“Anarki. They’re conscripted men minus a soul.” Caden kicks another half-dead creature who tries to sneak up on Bram. Again, the brittle body breaks apart and bleeds black as he collapses.
Bram, who has been slicing and gouging the others in robes with his magically materialized sword, rushes to my side. All around us is a pile of unconscious Mathias followers, some rotting, some not, littered on the ground. Now only Zain and two of his robed peers stand.
“Put the girl down,” Bram says. “Call off the rest of your lackeys. They’re no match. Let’s fight this fairly, you and I.”
Zain scoffs. “I don’t give two fucks about fighting fairly. The girl is alive.” He jostles Aquarius in his grip, and she bounces like a rag doll. “But only just. Give me the book, and I’ll let her live. If not…”
My heart screams with fear.
“Give it to him!” I hurl at Bram.
The wizard huffs. He isn’t budging.
The book must be more powerful than Aquarius told me. Otherwise, Bram would be surrendering it. I suppose that putting it in Zain’s hands would be as good as putting it into Mathias’s, but Aquarius is my friend. If Bram doesn’t comply, I’ve no doubt Zain will kill her.
To my surprise, he eases the book toward Zain, who reaches for it while struggling to maintain his hold on Aquarius. I cast an anxious glance at my friend. She looks horrifyingly still, so close to dead. I bite back a cry.
At the last second, Bram retracts the book, tucking it into his protective clutch as he slings the tip of his wand toward Aquarius. A cooling wind suddenly sweeps her up and sucks her toward Bram.
Zain is having none of it. He brandishes his wand at Aquarius, too, and her body jolts to a shuddering stop as opposing forces battle for her life in mid-air. She keens, the sound rife with agony.
Around me, Hurstgrove dispatches the final two Anarki with a pair of spells. I’m shocked to see that, under their robes, they’re both normal looking men—well, wizards—who clutch wands in their frozen fists.
“Your Anarki are all unconscious or dead. You’re alone and outnumbered,” Bram points out. “Give up or fight me.”
Suddenly, he shoves the book into my hand. Startled, I grasp it and hold on for dear life. My stare meets Bram’s blue gaze, his sharp with warning. Do not give it to Zain . He described it as a weapon of some sort. I understand.
But…Aquarius.
Zain scans my foyer, looking uncertain for the first time. Bram takes advantage of the opening and lunges, hooking one arm around him. With his free hand, he grabs my hippie friend and hurtles her in midair. Hurstgrove takes hold of her wrist.
“Go!” Bram shouts at him.
Instantly, Hurstgrove’s arm tightens around me. A sense of falling assails me. Like being in a dark, endless well. I thrash about, looking for escape, but he and Caden still hold me tight. I squeeze my eyes shut and try not to vomit.
Long moments later, the sensation stops. My feet touch solid ground again. I wobble with vertigo, but it slowly ebbs, and my stomach stops pitching.
With a shuddering breath, I open my eyes to a stunning office filled with weak afternoon sunlight, pricy artwork—and a roomful of men so menacing, I gasp. “Who the hell are these people, where am I, and how did I get here?”
“Meet the Doomsday Brethren,” Caden murmurs, crushing me against him as if he’ll never let me go.
Any other time, I would be relishing the solid feel of him and celebrating his protective possessiveness. But my mind is a whirlwind. Besides my concern for Aquarius and Anka, the reality of this magical world is sinking in. It’s both thrilling and terrifying.
“Anka spoke of them. Only a bit, but…” I wasn’t sure of their role earlier, but after witnessing Zain and the Anarki in action? These imposing wizards must be fighting on the side of right.
“I teleported you here,” Hurstgrove says quietly. “This is Bram’s office, in his manor.”
It’s stunning, but once we’ve helped Aquarius… “How am I getting home?”
The blokes all look at one another. Then Caden sighs. “We’ll work that out.”
There’s something he’s not telling me. Why do I get the feeling that my concept of home just changed? If the Anarki know where I live and believe that I possess the magic book… Obviously, that’s dangerous, just as Caden warned.
Through my curiosity and my insistent pen, I’ve landed in the middle of this magical war. Caden tried to talk me out of running the story on the book, not that he gave me a logical reason to listen. Still, I wish I had.
On the other hand, now that I’m not in imminent danger, my inner journalist is thrilled. This is really the paranormal! My next story for Out of this Realm will turn heads and win awards!
A low moan has me turning. Hurstgrove holds Aquarius’s limp form cradled against his chest, her light brown hair brushing the plush rug beneath. She’s so heartbreakingly still.
“Aquarius!” I shove aside my journalistic urgings and dash for my friend.
Once she’s on the mend, I’ll dig for juicy publishable stories before making haste to somewhere safer for us both. And if I bring proof that magickind exists, maybe my parents will finally look outside their academic boxes and take me seriously. Dare I even hope they’ll be proud of me for uncovering a story no other journalist has?
While restraining Zain with one arm, Bram pops in a few meters away before dropping the unconscious wizard on the ground. He snatches the red diary from my hands.
“That’s mine!” I protest.
“It’s not.” Bram snaps. “It was stolen from us. Thank you for returning it. We will keep it locked down tight.”
“This time, you mean?” Caden fires back.
Bram shoots him a dirty look but saves the rest of his admonishment for me. “After what you saw today, do you honestly believe you can defend yourself against the scum who will hunt you for this book?”
The wizard has a point. At least I have a chance to fend off a normal man, but Zain isn’t normal. None of the wizards I’ve seen today are, Caden included.
Oh, my days! It just hit me that I’ve been shagging someone magical.
As if the thought prompted him, Caden takes me by the hand and leads me to a loveseat. “Let him have the diary, firecracker. Please.”
He’s right. What would I do with it? Coerce him into bed again? Be a target for Mathias?
I hand it to Bram, who accepts the tome with a sigh of relief. Then he nods to all the giant men in the room. “You’re all here. Excellent.”
“Aye. Waiting for news of the book,” says a big bloke with a goatee, a sword at his side, and the look of a battle-hardened warrior. “’Tis a miracle that you recaptured it.”
“Indeed.” Bram sticks his head out the door and yells, “Sabelle!”
A moment later, a breathtaking blonde appears—literally out of nowhere—looking tired and disheveled.
Bram narrows his eyes. “Where have you been?”
“Nowhere you’d disapprove of, big brother. Merely helping Lucan.”
Caden’s brother? Bram’s sister knows him?
“You had safeguards and help, yes?” Bram prompts.
“Of course,” Sabelle assures.
“Did he take your energy?” Caden asks, sounding choked and desperate.
My heart goes out to him. Then I realize… Zain must have been telling the truth about magical people shagging to rev themselves up. Which explains a lot about his stamina with me. Does that mean…brother is bedding Bram’s sister? Maybe so since his missing wife is Anka.
“Some. He’s a bit stronger.” Sabelle settles a soft hand on Caden’s forearm. “I’m trying.”
I don’t like the gorgeous woman touching him. At all.
Gritting my teeth, I say, “Could someone help Aquarius?"
Sabelle turns to me. “Aquarius?”
“Sydney’s friend.” Bram gestures to the figure Hurstgrove still cradles in his arms.
I want to cry. Aquarius desperately needs medical care, or… No, I won’t think the worst.
Suddenly, Bram hands the book back to me. I stare at him as I take it cautiously. Is he mad? Caden just pleaded with me to let Bram keep it.
“Give this to my sister.” His tone doesn’t invite argument.
I press the little book to my chest. “Why? You just told me I couldn’t handle it. Now you want me to give it to another woman who doesn’t look equipped for battle?”
“The book must pass from female to female. The sooner you cooperate, the sooner we can focus on helping your friend.”
Would Bram really be so ruthless? I don’t want to find out the hard way. I don’t understand his female-to-female comment. I don’t really care. I glare at the beautiful blonde as I slap the book into her hands.
“Happy?” I slide a cutting glare to Bram.
“Quite.”
Sabelle grips the tome tightly. “I will guard it with my life.”
“I hope that won’t be necessary,” Bram says grimly. “Just hide it until I say otherwise. Then call for Aunt Millie and have her meet you upstairs.”
Bram glances at Zain on the floor, then kicks him until the sodding prat rolls to his back. Another big bloke on the sofa—shrouded in sunglasses, leather, and bad attitude—glares at everyone with a mien that’s menacing as hell.
“Shock.” Bram sounds almost surprised to see him. “You’ve returned, then?”
What kind of name is that? He takes up the whole sofa.
“As of a few minutes ago. I have news.”
Bram nods. “Good. Will you take the injured woman upstairs? Ice, take Zain to our delightful barred accommodations below. And filch his wand.”
“Can’t we just kill him?” asks the menacing figure with intense green eyes and hair buzzed nearly to his skull.
Shock growls in response, taking a glowering step forward.
Bram raises a hand to ward off a fight. “No, Ice. We can’t. He has useful information.”
With a sigh, Ice hoists up the unconscious Zain as if he’s hauling a big pile of refuse, slams the body over his shoulder, then disappears.
The big man on the couch finally rises to his feet. Holy cow! Shock is enormous, easily topping every other man in the room, except perhaps the one with the goatee and sword. Gingerly, he takes Aquarius in his arms. He dwarfs my friend, but his gentle grip reassures me. The man’s gravelly voice doesn’t.
“I’ll do your bidding this once, but kick Zain again, and I’ll cut off your bloody stones.”
I don't care how big and bad Shock is. If he’s going to defend Zain, he’s going to hear from me. “Zain nearly murdered my friend and threatened to end me. A swift kick is the very least he deserves.”
Shock whips his glare around to me. I can’t see his eyes behind the dark sunglasses, but I’m certain he’s staring at me like I’m a gnat.
“He may be a shit, but he’s my brother. Who the hell are you?”
Caden comes to my rescue, looping his arm around my shoulder with a scowl. “She’s not to be harmed.”
Shock raises a questioning brow, black above the rim of his sunglasses. “Do you think you’re a big, bad wizard now that you transitioned all of ten minutes ago?”
Transitioned? From a man to a wizard? Is that why he needed so much energy? Why there were two of them afterward, his new and old self? What’s happened to the other Caden?
“You two.” Bram points to Caden and Shock. “Bury the animosity. We’ve no time for it.”
“You’re simply going to trust him and hope he doesn’t fuck you over?” Caden challenges.
“He’s my problem. Marrok has warned us repeatedly about these rows. If we’re too busy fighting one another, how will we ever unite against our common enemy?”
“Agreed.” Caden nods. “Focusing on Mathias, Zain, and the Anarki will better help me find Anka and keep Sydney safe.”
“That’s sorted, then. Good to know your loyalties haven’t changed.” Bram’s tone sounds biting. “Shock, take Aquarius upstairs. We haven’t much time to save her.” If it isn’t already too late .
The unspoken words hang in the air.
Shock nods. “As long as you remember I’m not your fucking errand boy.”
Bram sighs. “Duly noted. When that’s done, return here. Sabelle, follow and wait for Aunt Millie. Sydney, you’ll want to stay with your friend, I presume? Go with them.”
With that, I’m dismissed. I cast a gaze toward Caden, feeling lost in Wonderland without a map or any bleeding clue what to do next. He squeezes my hand and nods.
“I’ll find you soon. I promise.”
What choice do I have? Aquarius’s life hangs in the balance, and my friend will likely need love and support to pull through. But the reporter in me wants to stay behind. Something tells me the men are about to have a conversation I would kill to hear. But as the door to that museum-quality office closes behind me, it’s clear I won’t get that chance. At least not today.