Chapter 7
MALICIOUS
It’s been a week, and I still can’t get Summer out of my mind. I’ve spent an unwise amount of magic here in the human realm. A few times, I caught a glimpse of her, finding myself frozen in place as I just stared from a distance.
I’m a monster obsessed. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve used my magic to fuck the magical transparent Summer. Each time I come, sweaty and panting, I swear I’ve finally gotten her out of my system.
I haven’t.
Standing outside my new house, I scent the air, enjoying the night. Stretching my arms wide, I roll my head side-to-side. Maybe I’ll go on a hunt. Even if there aren’t any humans dumb or careless enough to be out at this hour, there are plenty of monsters I could make a deal with, maim, or kill to replenish some of my magic.
My gaze snaps towards Paine’s street. There it is again. The power washes over me like a concussive wave. Magic. Old magic. The same power I felt a few nights ago, but stronger. The same sensation I felt at the bookstore, but this … I’m hit with a spine-tingling rush of magic, and …
MINE.
Delight spears through me as I snap out my wings and take flight. This isn’t some feeble trail like before. I’m easily able to follow the hum of power like it’s an actual thread lit up in the night sky. I could find the source of this magic with my eyes closed.
As I circle above Paine’s street, I’m both unsurprised and frustrated. Ofcourse this strange magic is coming from here.
And I’m not the only one who has come for it. Dozens of monsters are already clawing and battering against a townhouse across the street from where Paine and his mate live … a few doors down from Vex’s mate’s house. The magic pulsing from inside raises the hairs on my body. Mine. Mine. Mine.
In any other circumstance, I would grin at the monsters below tearing at each other to get to the house, only for them to erupt in howling screams as the blood-carvings burn their flesh.
And I can’t really blame them. The taste of strong magic dances in the air. But it’s floating on the scent of blood, of the blood of my mate. Mine.
I had hoped coming to this place would lead me to the one fated for me. I dreamt of finding my one. But in the back of my mind, I couldn’t fully believe, because in all the years of my long, lonely existence, why should fate bless me now?
But there’s no denying it now. The tether of magic pulls at me, and I KNOW. My mate is in that house.
I’m stunned. Shocked into stillness, hovering in the air, nostrils flared.
The door to Paine’s mate’s house flies open, and the dremar bursts out onto the street. Is the pull of this wild magic enough to drag him away from his own mate? He won’t get to whomever is in that house. None of these pathetic monsters will be able to get past the blood-carvings. But the magic of the barriers is the least of their worries, for I am here. No one will touch what is mine.
Paine’s mate, standing inside her open doorway behind the safety of her carvings, yells out, “Oh, god! Summer!”
The dremar shouts over his shoulder, “The blood carvings will hold, Mira.” But still, Paine tears the monsters from the front door and windows, flinging them into the street only to have them claw and scrape their way back. For a long moment, I continue to hover over the scene, my brain slow to put the pieces together.
A window shatters, snapping everything into focus.
The woman from the bookstore. Summer is in that house. Summer is mine.
Fuck. What is it about this place? This town? This street? This can’t all be coincidence. Something is going on here, but I leave the mystery for another day.
I dive, slicing the first monster I reach in half with my metal wings. Blood and gore splash against the house but does nothing to deter the other monsters. Burn marks singe their claws from trying to break through the blood-carvings. And I understand. This magic is beyond tempting. Maddeningly so. And it’s carried on the scent of blood.
Her blood.
It smells like copper and smoke and the hot summer air before a rainfall. It is intoxicating. It is distracting. I am on the verge of throwing every shred of my magic at the house to get to the woman inside.
Because beyond being my mate, Summer’s blood identifies her as a witch—or at the very least, her bloodline comes from a powerful witch family. She has magic. So rare for a human these days. So delicious.
But the smell of blood also means my mate is hurt, and the urge to get to her makes my hands shake. I’m so used to just devouring power from whomever I want without thought. I take without remorse. I don’t … care. After living for so long, I can’t care about anything but myself. I’m selfish. I’m powerful. I’m bored. A dangerous combination.
But the mere scent of my mate has me feeling … feelings.
It’s different. It’s exhilarating. I love it.
Paine goes down as an anza tackles him. Vex? No. This anza is female, and more purple than Vex’s midnight blue. I harden my skin, ripping the poisonous anza from Paine. I kill three more monsters before a large pack of oulurs come barreling down the street. The humans call these demon-like monsters, oni, with their red or black skin, horns, tusks, and pointed tails. Oulurs will eat anything. The bottom feeders of our world. Vicious and cunning. The thought of these monsters so close to my Summer fills me with a trembling rage.
Paine flies to the roof, chasing off a feathered grae, and from the corner of my eye I catch sight of a silver glimmer in the distance. Galathiel hovers in the air, keeping her distance, but I can see the hunger on her face. She wants Summer’s magic too. When she notices me glaring at her, she smartly flies off … in the direction of the bookstore.
I rip four legs off a menace. The spider-like monster stumbles on its remaining serrated legs as it scrambles around me back towards Summer’s house. I move to intercept it, but I notice Paine’s mate. She’s wringing her hands from her doorway, leaning too close to her blood-carvings. Even with her right there in sight, the monsters ignore her.
We all want Summer.
One of the oulurs climbs the outside of the building, its long tongue licking its dark red lips.
Enough!
A burst of instinctive, protective hysteria rips through me. My magic gathers in my chest like a tide surge before a great storm. I’ve lost control.
Shit.
I shout at Paine and catch a glimpse of him flying full speed to his mate’s house. He barrels across her threshold a mere fraction of a second before my power explodes out of me in a flash of light. The entire block lights up brighter than the midday sun in this realm. Every monster turns to ash. The street falls silent, but my heart still beats a loud rage-filled rhythm in my ears.
As my light slowly dies, Paine comes back out, and I bark, “Where is Vex?”
Paine’s gaze shifts to the townhouse a few doors down from Summer’s. “They are in Ekenys. Max, Vex’s mate, likes our realm better. They stay at Vex’s place most of the time.” His eyes travel back to Summer’s house. “There aren’t many humans left with that kind of power in their blood. I haven’t felt something like that in centuries. The fact that she’s here, now …”
I run my fingers through my black hair, the metal points of my crown scraping my hand. “There is something going on here, Paine.”
He nods. “I talked to Mira about moving. She doesn’t want to leave any more than I do. But neither of us can really explain why.” His leathery wings flutter, and his tail swishes. “You have a theory, Malicious?”
I do, but I’m not ready to share it yet. When I don’t answer, Paine sighs. “I’ll catch Vex up on what happened.” I look around the quiet street before Paine’s voice brings my attention back to him as he says, “Something is pulling monsters and their mates to this place. Of all the places Mira could have gone when she moved out of her parent’s house in the country, why here? And why was I here in this exact place the night Mira got caught outside after The Divide fell?” He looks up and down the street. “And the fact that of all the anzas I could have caught and brought here last Christmas, I brought Vex … who just happened to find their mate … who also just happens to live on this street.
Too many coincidences. I know Mira would be safer somewhere else, but I … don’t want to leave. I don’t know why, and that pisses me off.”
Again, I look around. Why, indeed?
Paine lowers his voice, stepping closer. “Is Summer your …?”
I don’t answer. I don’t even turn to face him. I simply stare at the shattered window of the townhouse across the street.
Summer.
Paine’s voice deepens with concern. “Summer is visiting here from overseas. She traveled a very long way. Malicious, this town is nice enough, but it certainly isn’t a vacation destination.” He pauses until I turn back to him, my own trepidation rising. “So why did Summer end up here?”
My gaze is pulled back to Summer’s townhouse. “I don’t know, but I’ll find out.”
After a long silence, Paine’s wings flutter as he turns to go home to his mate. I watch with envy as he tucks his large leathery wings to his back and ducks into this mate’s house. She is there on the other side of her open front door, still safely behind her blood-carvings. As soon as Paine steps across, she’s in his arms, his hand stroking her back. He closes the door, and I look up and down the street, making sure it’s clear.
I’m about to take to the air when a tingle of familiar magic scrapes against my skin. Turning, I scowl at Galathiel. She bows, her silver hair falling around her face.
Still, I snarl. “You must be tired of your wings being attached to your back, Galathiel.”
Her shoulders tense as she shakes her head. “Wait, you’ll want to hear this.” When I don’t say anything, she lifts her gaze a fraction, staring at my chest as she says, “I’m giving you this information, but I need your word, Malicious.”
“What would you ask of me?”
“Lilith.” My lips quirk with the threat of a chuckle, but my mirth fades when she continues, “Lilith is … mine.”
Galathiel’s voice cracks, and I tilt my head. “Your mate?”
She nods, curling her silver wings around her body. “I haven”t claimed her yet, but when the time is right …” Her wings fold along her back, the metallic tips scraping the street. “I will not ask her to uproot her life and leave this place. She’s mine, Malicious, and I need your word that you will leave her alone. That you’ll leave us alone.”
“And what will you give me in return?”
She jerks her chin towards the street behind me. When I look over my shoulder, I notice a deep scorch mark in the asphalt. Galathiel skirts around me, and I follow her
We stand over the mark, and she points at it. “There. I ended up here two nights ago. I couldn’t figure out why. I paced this street for hours, and I realized I kept stopping here, so I marked the spot.”
Her bare toe digs into the scorch mark, and I realize she’s right. It feels like my magic is pooling in my feet like it’s trying to seep into the street. There’s something here, and it’s incredibly powerful. Galathiel could have taken whatever it is for herself, but she’s sacrificing this power to protect her mate.
My gaze stays on the ground as I wave a hand at the silver nepha beside me. “Fine. You and your mate are safe. Go.”
I feel her hesitate, but a second later, a gust of wind caresses my skin as she takes off and flies away. My skin feels too tight. I’m literally itching to get to whatever is buried here. The black asphalt begins to crumble as I push my magic into the street. Rock and earth spill out in a widening circle. I back up and keep digging. The power below surges, and my skin starts glowing.
Deeper and deeper.
And then I hit it. My magic brushes against … something. From the corner of my eye I notice large, branching horns peeking around the corner at the end of the block. A quilen. It doesn’t approach, but it stares, licking its lips, its stone-like skin scraping against the brick of a building as it shifts its weight.
I fully expect more monsters to show up. The fact that I just incinerated a dozen monsters doesn’t mean shit. The magic buried here would drive any creature to take the risk.
Using my power, I scoop up the palm-sized object, and as I pull it to the surface, I realize it’s a jewel. A black jewel. Wrapping my hand around it, the cold surface burns. I harden my skin, but still the sting makes me wince. The hiss of a snake-like grateslung comes from behind me, so I take off.
I should take this to my castle in Ekenys, but the thought of leaving Summer for even a short time makes me sweat. I lead the monsters away from Summer’s street, and with the immense power thrumming off this stone, it’s child’s play to fling open the doors of my new house. Without slowing, I tuck my wings, flying through the entrance.
Scores of monsters slam against my wards at the edge of my property, but I ignore the growls and screeches. I land in the living room, then quickly stride to my bedroom. As I create an addition to my house, I layer thick magical wards, one over the other. I open the newly constructed hidden entrance and descend. Down, down, down. I keep going until I’m deeper than the original hole where I found this gem. Finally reaching my new safe room, I set the stone on the single pedestal. My magic lines the walls, the floor, and the ceiling of this room.
I stare at the gem. So, this is it. This is what was drawing monsters and their mates to this place. Leaning in, I take a deep breath. It doesn”t have a smell. As I circle the pedestal, I realize the bronze light coming from my skin isn’t reflecting in the black facets of the stone. I pause, tapping it with an elongated claw. The resulting sound is high-pitched and musical, like a woman’s moan at the height of her pleasure. I push my magic towards it but can’t penetrate the jewel.
Twenty minutes go by, and I still don’t know anything new about this treasure other than that it’s pulsing with spine-tingling power. I want it. If I could absorb this magic … I think I could take on an ancient and survive.
Reluctantly, I leave the jewel behind, securing magical locks behind me as I climb back to my bedroom. There’s time to figure out how to crack into the power of the stone, but I need to make sure it’s secure.
I layer more of my magic over the hidden door and stand back. My wings shiver as I try to shake off the residual magic of the stone. There’s still a faint resonance coming from below, but with all the wards I’ve placed on the safe room, the stairs, the door, and my entire house, my new prize is as safe as I can make it.
Stepping back outside, I rub my chest. It feels like I’m being pulled in two. I want to stay and keep examining the jewel, but I need to get back to my mate.
Summer wins.
I take to the air, grinning at the monsters prowling around my property. I have what everyone wants, and I’m not only referring to the gem. I have found my mate. Excitement sparks through my blood until I’m nearly vibrating.
As soon as I land on her roof, I prowl across her terrace, making sure the area is clear. The ashes of the monsters I killed still float on the hot evening breeze. I look over the short brick wall down at the street, my bronze laurel leaf crown keeping my hair from falling into my eyes. I spend a small burst of magic to fix the giant hole in the street. I also repair the crack in Summer’s bedroom window and replace the shattered window downstairs. No task is too small or insignificant for the woman inside this house.
All thoughts of the mysterious jewel fade away. Tilting my head back, I smile at the night sky. Those strange sensations I’ve been feeling on and off the past few days were Summer. My mate. I can’t believe it.
And she’s a witch. Does she know?
The scent of her power has almost completely faded, which means she’s stopped bleeding. That’s good, though I miss it, that smoky taste, that zing of magic. Magic that every monster will want for themselves.
My own magic unfurls, but this time, it’s not a violent outpouring of power. It slides from me like honey from a jar, coating the townhouse that holds my little sunshine. My magic seals the building in wards, because even knowing a monster has never gotten past the blood-carvings, they no longer feel like enough when it comes to her.
I want to swoop in and steal Summer away to my castle. Would she struggle? Would she fight me? Would the little human be afraid of me? The thought of playing at fear makes my cock twitch.
With one more sweep of the street below, I spread my wings, and with a strong flap, I leap into the air to patrol my new territory here in the human realm. I have a lot to protect right now.