CHAPTER 29
The only thing keeping Caster from tearing Mason to shreds was the subtle command in Marcus’s almost imperceptible shake of the head.
He’d almost leaped out of his skin when he’d materialized, bound and struggling, but with the same air of confidence he always wore.
Would his family survive the multiple betrayals?
Uncle Lucien and Bastian weren’t enough?
It would not do to tear his mother’s younger brother apart, as satisfying as that would be.
But even as all the ways he would kill his uncle played in his mind, there was a tiny part of him that hoped Riley had made a mistake.
It was impossible. Riley didn’t make mistakes, but the potential heartbreak his mother would suffer because of this was not a prospect he wished to entertain.
“What is the meaning…” Mason’s voice trailed off as he took in the room. His eyes landed on Marcus, and he bristled, losing all fight.
Yes. That was the right response. Even in the midst of all the anger coursing through him, Caster couldn’t help his admiration for Marcus’s authority. He was the only person Caster knew who could reduce even the most powerful vampire to a bumbling mess.
“So, you decided to switch allegiances?” Marcus was calm, too calm. That didn’t bode well for Mason.
To his credit, Mason didn’t try to deny it. He stopped moving, stared Marcus down, and said nothing. So, it was true. He did betray them. Because of him, they’d almost died. The witch had almost gotten what she was after.
“Why?” The single word found a way out of Cy’s clenched jaw. His fists were curled tight, but he, too, was held captive by Marcus’s command of the situation.
Mason, resigned to his fate, lowered his gaze. “You wouldn’t understand.” It was a tiny whisper of a confession, but its significance couldn’t be louder.
“Try explaining it.” The tight grip on his forearm, Mark’s tight grip, held Caster in place as he too struggled to contain his anger.
“Enough of this nonsense,” Riley said before the presence of his power overwhelmed the room. He whispered something in Latin, and Mason’s body jerked forward. He felt Mark’s surprised gasp as Riley’s power took control of Mason’s body.
When he relented, Mason’s eyes had lost the blue familiar tint. They rolled back into his head before returning devoid of color, a black emptiness where his eyes used to be.
“Ask him anything,” Riley said.
Marcus nodded, never once taking his eyes off Mason, who had no way to escape Riley’s immense power. This interrogation style had been very useful during the war. A prisoner was immobilized, unable to lie. Torture was unnecessary when Riley was around.
Who is he?
Mark’s question, calm as it was, seemed out of place in a mind consumed with violent images.
He’s my uncle. My mother’s brother.
Mark’s response was the slight tightening of the hold he still maintained on Caster’s arm. Sadness infiltrated the anger as he watched Marcus rise to his full height. Would his family survive the witch and her antics? Would his mother?
Marcus didn’t move too far away from his desk; he pushed his chair away and braced his arms on it as he leaned forward. “Why?”
The same question, but with none of the pain Cy hadn’t been able to dress up as anger.
“There can be no peace between the wolves and us.” Mason’s voice was hollow, like an echo within an echo. “I couldn’t stand by and watch the line between the species blur. I had to do something.”
Caster caught Marcus’s frown. The same frown he wore.
“Explain yourself.” This time, Marcus couldn’t hold back the anger.
“There can be no peace between the wolves and…”
Caster turned to Riley to see confusion in his expression.
“He’s on a loop…” Dean said over the words Mason repeated like a chant.
“Did you break him?” Damien asked Riley.
The powerful witch shook his head, unleashing some of the power he’d only just reined in.
This time, the jerky movements of Mason’s bound form were so violent, Caster worried he might not survive Riley’s power.
But he trusted Riley to maintain control, and the monotone repetition of the same line, even as his body remained in Riley’s control, did not abate.
“What the fuck is this?” Dean’s controlled rage was apparent in each syllable.
“It shouldn’t be possible…” Riley said almost to himself, his attention on Mason, who had since stopped moving and now whispered his chant, his voice losing strength with each repetition.
Caster lost his patience. “What?”
Riley didn’t tear his eyes from Mason. “He’s under some spell’s control.” He tilted his head, studying Mason like a prize. “But why couldn’t I feel…”
“Do you mind explaining it to the rest of us?” Cy asked, earning a glare from Riley.
“It is powerful. If it's a spell. One I’ve never seen.” He moved closer to their bound captive, stopping short of touching him, his focus on the darkness that was once Mason’s blue eyes. “How could the magic control just this one aspect of him?”
“You’re saying even he didn’t know?” Damien asked, and hope bloomed in Caster’s chest. If that was true, his mother would be spared the heartbreak his father suffered every day.
Riley’s nod fertilized that hope. “Yes. But that should be impossible.”
“You can’t possibly think anything is beyond that witch, not after everything we’ve seen,” Dean said.
Mark’s hold on his arm didn’t ease as they watched Riley work. Again, his power filled the space, drawing gasps from everyone. Mason’s body jerked again, but the chanting stopped.
“Will he be OK?” Marcus asked.
Riley shook his head. “Magic this powerful will kill him if we don’t do something fast.”
“He was a tool for her purposes…” Cy said, and the sadness hope had chased away came back. It would be far worse for their mother if Uncle Mason died. At least Lucien and Bastian were still out there, even if the chance they could return to the fold diminished by the day.
“Can you fix him?” Caster asked Riley, and that hope returned when Riley nodded. He released a breath.
Marcus moved around his desk closer to Mason. “I want to know how she could do this.”
Riley nodded again. This time, when he unleashed his considerable power, there was a hush in the room. Mason’s body went limp, the invisible magical bonds the only thing holding him in place.
“How long do you need?” Marcus asked Riley.
“An hour or two. I need to figure out what the magic is first, which might take a while.” He nodded to himself. “He’ll be OK.”
“We keep this from the Queen for now.” Marcus glanced from Caster to Damien and Cy, waiting for their acknowledging nods.
It was the right call. She wouldn’t be happy about it, but telling her now before they had a solution would only worry her.