Chapter 5
CHAPTER 5
I n a rush to get me home, Dominic was barreling through the traffic, taking speed limits as a suggestion, when he received an urgent call from Helena. With a hard set in his jaw, he made a U-turn in the middle of the street. I gathered from their back and forth that there had been an attack and the building where the Conventicle once met was no longer standing.
An entire building gone. Demolished. How the hell were they going to clean that up in a manner that wouldn’t lead to a wave of wild speculation and think pieces that could possibly include magic? Convince the world the building had never existed? That was an unlikely solution. With the sighting of a werewolf on social media, and people who already believed in some variations of magic, the discovery of supernaturals seemed inevitable.
Helena directed us to a gray brick building. Dominic’s eyes swept over the open space as he made his way to his sister and father who kept their distance from the occupants and maintained proximity to one of the two exits from the room. The abandoned warehouse that reminded me of a bunker was a decisive downgrade from the substantial space where the members of the Conventicle used to sit behind a semicircular table, the backdrop of the city visible from the floor-to-ceiling windows that took up the back wall. Now, they were in a large dank space with utilitarian metal tables, boxy complementing metal chairs, and simple recessed white lights that made the room look harsher. Since it was dusk, the room didn’t have the assistance of the sun that could shine through the small, high, circular windows. Strewn throughout the room were an assortment of tools, as if the original occupants had left in a hurry. Bulk boxes that had been opened were in one corner.
Sometimes there’s a miniscule silver lining to a disaster. The destruction of their building had unified the Conventicle and New Conventicle without any intervention from the royals. And based on the scowls directed at a small group of people whose heads were slightly bowed as if they’d been chastised, the disaster had led to changes in conviction. I recognized many of them although I didn’t know their names. My attention was drawn to the Conventicle and New Conventicle members. I paid close attention to the one I was most familiar with, Emory, whose face remained impassive as he scanned the meeting area. The insolent dhole shifter made everyone cautious. It wasn’t just the command he had over his shifting ability. Now, I was more wary of him because he’d survived a fight with Helena, during which she had slashed his neck with her claws. Dominic had warned us of who the tenacious shifters were, and the level of difficulty involved in killing one. Emory was proof of that resilience. Perhaps it was just him. It was hard to kill Emory.
His keen eyes turned to me, and my fight or flight instinct had me taking several steps back.
It might have been the destruction of the building that brought them together, but their mutual hatred of Dominic, Helena, and Areleus bonded them even more.
“What happened?” Dominic asked.
After being prompted, a man a few feet away spoke from where he huddled in a small cluster of people who were wearing similar looks of abject defeat. I assumed he was part of the Awakeners, which was confirmed once he spoke. His low, scratchy voice informed us that they had been approached by the Dark Caster, a woman who had no qualms about telling them her intention to destroy the Underworld and its occupants.
The tremble in his voice settled and evened out and he looked from Madeline to the trio of royals. “We had no problem with that. You have outlived your usefulness. I never felt you all should dictate how we live.”
When I had been approached by one of the Awakeners, she’d made it very clear that by revealing their existence they would put in place plans for a hierarchical system where humans would be on the lowest rung. Once Dominic explained how their magic could do that with ease, I believed that could be our fate. Now, with the Awakeners aligned with the others, the Dark Caster’s plans had to be worse than that.
“But you wanted to dictate how others lived,” Dominic pointed out with a sneer.
It seemed that after the Dark Caster had stolen the magic from me and Peter, her first order of business was to destroy the Conventicle’s meeting place. The second was to threaten the Awakeners into compliance.
Each breath I took was a struggle. Hopelessness crept in and none of the unsubstantiated confidence the people in the room were showing eased it. Coaxing myself into several measured breaths, I managed to control my brewing anxiety.
The best way to fix things was a plan that worked.
“Our way was the right way,” the impertinent acolyte snapped. “But she didn’t want that. It wasn’t just your death that she wanted but that of anyone who didn’t comply with her demands. There wasn’t any reasoning or compromising with her. It was either her way or death.” He swallowed hard. “She’s powerful.” Terror eclipsed his eyes and a frown marred his features. “It makes her bold in her demands and intention. You aren’t a match for her. We managed to escape, but many of us are here because we don’t want to die.” The small group tightened their circle in a show of solidarity. “Your way is not what we wanted.” He directed his eyes to the Conventicles. “We’ve chosen the lesser of two evils.”
The Dark Caster’s plans and tactics were making the case that Dominic’s decision to rid the world of all of them wasn’t as ruthless as it first appeared.
A woman stepped forward from the Conventicle’s side of the room, moving with the effortless grace I’d attributed to vampires. “How did the prisoners escape again?” Her gaze immediately drifted in my direction. I knew I’d been assigned blame for this situation because I had been the beginning of it all. They didn’t have irrefutable evidence, but nor did they need it. Their Seer, Callum, had implicated me and that was evidence enough. No one believed it was coincidence.
“We released them,” Areleus admitted.
A harsh quiet fell over the room.
“Our problems weren’t great enough that you deemed it necessary to release the people who want us dead? Your reason behind such a poor decision? Explain yourselves.” Madeline, the self-appointed leader of the Conventicle, directed the question to the trio of royals.
“No.” Areleus would never have to wonder why they hated him. He provided plenty of reasons while simultaneously making Dominic the more palatable of the two. “The only thing you need to know is once this is over, there will be requirements, of you all. Ones you will follow.”
Dissension and anger swept through the room, and I felt the brewing of more violence. The room came to a halt when the other Seer’s voice rose over the grumbles.
“It doesn’t matter what we agree to because you will fail. You and the human will die first,” the Conventicle’s tattooed Seer offered to Dominic. There was never warmness to his sights, just apathy and arid reporting. “Then you two next. The cruel one first and the other will follow.”
The Seer’s cryptic “cruel one” descriptor left me wondering if he was referring to Helena or Areleus. Taking the sneer that melded over his lips when he looked in Helena’s direction, I figured it was her.
“That is what you see now. The end isn’t definitive,” Anand asserted as he entered the room. A confidence in his stride added a level of reassurance to his words.
Dominic stood taller at the appearance of his friend, and I wrestled with the urge to give Anand an overenthusiastic wave or a hug that he’d surely reject or that would make him downright uncomfortable. I didn’t manage the same discipline when Nailah appeared next to him. Rushing to her, I pulled her into a hug. She stiffened but eventually relaxed into it, returning it with a warmth that I desperately needed. I didn’t know if she was happy to see me, but she had to recognize the intention of the others and knew I needed an ally. With the exception of Dominic and Anand, I was in a room full of people who had wanted me dead at one point, still did, and were waiting for the opportunity to act on their wishes. I needed another person there who didn’t want me dead and wanted to protect life as much as I did.
“You will be fine,” she whispered. Her assurance should have eased my concerns, but it didn’t. Absent from her prediction was the tell-tale violet glow of her eyes that indicated she was using her Seer gift. This was consolation and platitudes. Not the most practical thing but definitely what I needed.
“I hope you are right,” the tattooed Seer countered without putting any effort into trying to sound sincere.
“Roman has been returned to the Perils,” Anand announced, a disapproving frown bracketing his mouth when he looked at the ones who’d released him.
“And Celeste?” Madeline rushed out, making a noticeable effort to mask her panic. She didn’t care about the fate of Roman or Vadim. Their lives meant nothing to her. Celeste had guaranteed that she wouldn’t be the only person invested in her survival by magically linking her life to her bloodline. If she died, so did they. No one had been able to undo the spell.
Anand shook his head. “I can’t find her.”
“How do you plan to take care of this mess you created?” Madeline demanded of Areleus.
“It will be handled,” Areleus offered with a level of unsubstantiated confidence that covered him like a bloom of fragrance and left me awestruck. “But I have requirements of you. Of all of you.” His comfortably arrogant gaze roved slowly around the room, commanding their attention.
Madeline scoffed. “You make a mess and have requirements of us? We should be the ones demanding requirements.”
“Perhaps you don’t value your lives as much as you led me to believe.” Areleus turned to leave, Helena close behind him. Dominic studied the collective panic surging over most of their faces. He charged at the door in a blur of movement, passing his father and sister and grabbing the figure beyond the door, pulling him into the room. He tossed the body across the room, sending the person crashing into the reinforced wall. Plaster fell but the wall stood. It was the vampire from the Perils. His graceful, liquid movements created shadows as he dodged Dominic’s second strike, moving just out of reach. The stranger’s movements were so swift I could only steal glimpses of his ash, low-shorn hair. From the reaction of the people in the room, I gathered who he was. Vadim. His parchment-color skin had a vibrant peachy undertone, presumably from a recent feeding.
Recovering from the attack, he moved with an intensity and blur of motion that I hadn’t seen from other vampires. I didn’t know if it was because he possessed different magic than typical vampires or because of his recent feeding, which gave me the eerie feeling that his victim hadn’t been left alive. His preternatural speed made him flashes of movement. Tearing my eyes from useless attempts to track him, I searched the cluster of bodies that had moved away from the door until I found Nailah. I made my way to her while dividing my attention between Dominic and the others, who still viewed me as some variation of an enemy.
As I neared her, her violet eyes glowed briefly before fading to their gentle brown hue.
“Has he fed?” I asked.
She nodded.
“How many?”
“A lot. He’s always possessed the adroit ability to cause the most damage in the shortest amount of time. Taking lives with the most amount of savagery.” Her response was heavily laced with sorrow that leveled me with sadness and empathy and the wish that I could take some of the burden away.
Her frown deepened. “I couldn’t see anything until we neared one of his victims. We weren’t able to save them, and he fled. Anand spent too much time trying to save the person’s life. It wouldn’t have mattered. His determination to get the person he wants to harm the most meant I doubted even Anand could stop him.”
No elaboration needed. Dominic had captured and imprisoned him. Apparently the only one who could. Vadim’s vendetta was against the only person who could stop him.
He intended to exact his revenge and prevent it happening again. With a vicious throaty rumble that sounded more feral than anything a human could produce, Vadim leapt into the air with shadowy movement, descending on Dominic with his outstretched poisonous claw-like nails ready to rip and tear into Dominic, rendering him magicless for as long as it remained in his system.
Dominic seemed reluctant to test the success of Helena’s spell, dodging the claws at the risk of giving Vadim an advantage when he had to correct his position to keep from falling. Frustration flicked over Vadim’s face as he lunged. Raising his hand, a surge of energy came from Dominic’s palm that plowed the vampire back into the crowd, inches from me. Vadim risked a look in my direction, and his fury poured over me.
In his moment of recognition, I became his target. His hand lashed out to grab me. Lunging out of reach for the closest thing I could use as a weapon, I grabbed one of the tools left behind. A wrench. Heavy and well made. Vadim’s grasp on my leg was met with me slamming the wrench down on his wrist as his hold on me tightened. His nails sinking into my skin caused me to cry out. Pain lanced through me. Another strike from me earned a simple sneer and a reminder of the level of pain they could endure. Before I could deliver more blows, Dominic was at my side, his claws slashing Vadim’s wrist until he loosened his grip on my leg.
Dominic tossed him across the room, but with a display of preternatural speed and fluidity of movement, Vadim recovered from his fall. Despite his need to keep his eye on the real threat—Dominic—I garnered a great deal of Vadim’s attention as he glanced several times in my direction, a covetous look spreading over his face each time. Dominic’s vicious response to release me from Vadim’s hold had exposed a weakness that he seemed determined to exploit. He could retaliate against Dominic by using me. Dominic closed the distance between them. With a wave of his hand, he conjured a wall of fire, encircling the vampire and trapping him.
The vampire roared in frustration and rage and rushed through it. His clothes on fire, he changed course toward the crowd of onlookers. A goal to cause the most amount of damage. Madeline whispered a spell, and a rush of torrent energy that felt like a gust of wind but wasn’t pulled from outdoors.
It smothered the flames. With claws and teeth bared, Vadim was a haze of movement barreling in my direction as I scrambled to get out of his line of sight. Dominic crashed into him, sending him back several feet, then raised his hands. A wave of energy surged from his palms, pushing the vampire back farther. In the burst of movement, I saw only a glint of the sword he’d borrowed from Anand’s sheath. He struck the vampire with it. Beheaded him. Handed off the sword to Anand with the easy transition of an act done countless times. Then he approached the body that still managed to keep standing erect despite missing a necessary component. A resilience I couldn’t imagine possible.
Dominic barely pressed his finger to the vampire’s chest, and seconds later, his solid form became dust on the warehouse floor.
Some of the supernaturals were gaping as they looked at Dominic. They seemed to be getting reacquainted with him—the real Dominic. The man with a harsh, unrelenting set to his jaw, the burst of vibrant flames in his eyes that faded to reveal ruthless amber, and each step that marked a brutality that personified his very being. They had gotten used to the kinder version.
Madeline approached him in the manner one would a feral animal. Stilled when he moved, ignoring her and coming to me. Warmth crept into his expression as he placed a gentle hand on my arm.
“Are you okay?”
“Yes.” He didn’t relax until I lifted the wrench. “I was just about to kick his ass. Glad you got to him first. He wasn’t ready for me.”
“Your leg. I need to see it.”
Pulling up the pant leg, he knelt to examine the angry red cuts. My leg throbbed, but since I didn’t have magic to inhibit it, I was left with the secondary problem. Razor-sharp nails embedded in my skin.
His rumble of dissatisfaction filled the space. A hand covered the wounds, a cool feeling wrapped over them, dulling the fiery throbbing. When he removed his hand, he looked disappointed at the marks that remained.
“It’ll heal,” I said. His expression showed a need to retaliate. But Vadim was gone.
When he stood, I gave his arm a reassuring squeeze. “They’re just small cuts. They’ll heal in no time.” I hoped I was right. If the nails were poisonous, could there be some aftereffect? I just hoped for the best. His fingers stroked my cheek, a soft comforting touch, but from the look he gave me, I suspected he wanted to do more but held back because of the audience.
“What?” he demanded through clenched teeth at Madeline, who’d inched closer.
Her voice was scratchy and soft, and absent was her typical aplomb and indignation. “Celeste cannot be handled in that manner.” Whatever showed on Dominic’s face when he turned to her drained the color from her face. “Please handle her with care. We need her alive. I believe we are close to finding a counterspell.”
“I will honor the agreement I have with you.” The apathy in his response didn’t instill any confidence in the witches. Concern and fear were naked on their faces. He huffed out a breath. “Have I broken any contracts with you?” His steeled gaze held Madeline’s.
“The prisoners were released,” she countered.
“That wasn’t my doing.” They both lobbed acetic glances in Areleus and Helena’s direction.
“They will honor it.” The threat threaded through his words. He kept his eyes on the two. And perhaps the remnants of violence and anger were lingering from his fight with Vadim, but his presence felt like coiled violence ready to be released. He gave them a look that promised retaliation if they disobeyed.
Areleus and Dominic glaring across the room at each other ripped away any fleeting hope I had of a reconciliation between them. It would never happen. When this was over, only one of them would be alive. Their posturing and scowls made no secret of it. That was the known, as well as where Helena’s alliance would fall in the aftermath.
Areleus tore his eyes from his son’s. “Of course, your wishes will be honored,” he said, donning a charming smile that hid the lecherous, power-hungry, untrustworthy lord. “That will be upheld. However , all other agreements must be voided.”
A sly smile crept over Helena’s lips. They were using this opportunity as a lever in preparation for Areleus to be the victor.
Unbothered, Dominic shrugged it off with an aloof smirk. “Do as you will. I will honor whatever is in place.”
His chilly confidence made his father’s expression morph into concern, tracking Dominic’s every move with a heightened awareness. Predator to predator.
Emboldened by the obvious discord between Areleus and Dominic, Madeline’s hubris had reasserted itself. “No changes to current agreements are needed. We will not return to you ruling us as if we were your subjects. Our autonomy is expected. We’ve had our share of problems, but they have been handled. We recognize that we must be more vigilant in squelching discord.” She sent a scathing glance at the group of Awakeners, who dropped their gazes from hers like chided children. “The new directives will handle those who break them in a manner that will satisfy the new addition to the Conventicle.” This was directed at the New Conventicles who shared their beliefs and wanted those who didn’t comply to be met with violence or retribution that would coerce compliance. Her informal inclusion was met with smiles and nods of approval from the New Conventicles.
“Those who have sided with the Dark Caster?” Emory asked.
“They defected. They will be handled accordingly.”
If they’d survived this battle, it would be for naught because they’d be punished by death. This was a cruel world that I desperately needed to abandon.
Listening to the exchange, I felt there was a level of undeserved self-righteousness.
Not to be that person. Screw it, I’m totally that person. The hypocrisy slayer. I had every intention of pointing out that by Madeline’s logic, Helena and Areleus should receive the same punishment since they were the first defectors.
“The concessions that we made in the past will stand. We will not agree to more.”
Areleus remained unfazed. “You will,” he asserted in an unwavering tone that didn’t invite further discussion.
Madeline clenched her jaw, aware that she had no basis for refusal because the royals were the only ones who could get them some semblance of normal by getting rid of the Dark Caster. But it would introduce a new normal, returning them to the royals’ rule. No more autonomy.
Dominic pressed his hand into my back, guiding me toward the exit, with Anand close at his side. Dominic’s withdrawal emboldened Areleus, who produced a contract that the supernaturals would be blood obligated to uphold. This was the part of their interaction that I welcomed and never wanted to witness again. After this issue was resolved, I hoped to emerge from my home to a world that was oblivious to all the creatures that went bump in the night… and the day.