Chapter 21
Chapter Twenty-One
Tempest
When we walked into the clubhouse, Warrick and Willow were waiting.
Fender had called ahead when we left the Stonebridge property and told War we had information and it would be good if Willow was there as well. A flurry of nerves filled me as we approached them. Willow studied me as we joined them at the table, curiosity in her green eyes.
“What’s going on?” War asked, the huge male aiming the full force of an alpha’s intensity on Fender and me.
“Some developments that you need to know, that everyone needs to know. Lucifer especially.”
“What’s happened?” Willow asked, her gaze sliding between Fender and me.
Fender’s hand slid up my spine, and his thick, long fingers curled around the back of my neck. The hold was possessive but also comforting. “Tell them what you know, peaches.”
My mouth was dry. I cleared my throat several times. “Okay, well.” I turned to Willow. “You’ve heard of the three priestesses?”
Her eyes flared. “Of course.”
“Have you ever heard of the Wraiths of Destruction?”
War straightened, seeming to grow bigger before my eyes.
“I’ve read about them in one of my aunt’s old books,” Willow said.
War made a rough sound. “We thought they were a myth.”
“They’re not,” Willow and I said at the same time.
“Fuck,” War growled.
“About a thousand years ago, there was some kind of natural disaster. In your book, Willow, it said rivers washed away crops, rocks fell from the sky, and the sun was darkened by unrelenting shadow for a full rotation of the sun,” I said, remembering what I read with Fender.
“No one knew if the sun would ever return.”
“The darkest night,” she said, obviously knowing the passage.
“I think it was caused by an event, one that involved very strong magic.” I pushed on, telling them how the wraiths and the sisters fell in love, about the wraiths’ thirst for destruction, because that was who they were, and even love couldn’t change that.
I went on to tell them that the sisters used glyphs and a spell to put the wraiths into a deep sleep and hid them, locking them away to save mankind.
“And you think the darkest night was a result of the sisters imprisoning them?”
“I do.”
She cursed. “Makes sense. And what happened at the Stonebridge cemetery?” Willow asked. “And how did you get past their wards?”
“Temp sorted that,” Fender said, massaging the back of my neck.
Her gaze slid to me again. “She did?”
I inwardly winced. That should be almost impossible. As far as they knew, I was a witch of average power with a gift for healing. I quickly looked away, anxiety churning through me. “The sisters spoke to me.”
“What did they tell you?” War said, his rumbling voice making me flinch.
“It’s okay,” Fender said. “You’re in no danger here.”
“Yes…I know that.” I cleared my throat again and hoped he was right.
It wasn’t War I was afraid of, though, it was the way Willow was looking at me, as if she were trying to figure something out.
“After they imprisoned the wraiths, the sisters became immortal. Their spell was so strong it connected…or, more, tied them to the wraiths’ life force.
Unfortunately, their immortality didn’t save them. ”
“They were decapitated?” Warrick guessed.
“Yes, well, Eartha and Petra were.”
“But the wraiths weren’t released?”
“No,” I said. “Brigid was the only one with the glyphs.”
“And a powerful spell like that would be intrinsically tied to the witch and her magic, and since we still produce magic even after death, the spell would still live on even after death,” Willow added.
“Yes, exactly,” I said. “Which is what happened when Brigid did eventually die…” I swallowed heavily. “After she took her own life.”
Everyone was silent for a moment, then Warrick planted his hands on his hips. “I’m confused. How is this all connected, and who killed Brigid’s sisters?”
“She’s getting to that,” Willow said to her mate. “Let her finish.”
“Apologies,” he said to me.
My face heated having so much attention on me, but I pushed on.
“Uriel was behind their deaths. He found and tortured Eartha and Petra. Somehow, he’d learned about the glyphs, and not knowing which sister concealed them, he…
searched them for the markings. Thankfully, Brigid wasn’t with them that morning.
He demanded to know the wraiths’ location.
The sisters never broke, and they kept the location a secret and protected their younger sister. ”
Willow cursed. “So Uriel was trying to change fate even back then.”
“The forgotten prophecy, that’s his goal. Setting us on an alternate path. That won’t just change fate,” Warrick growled, “it will cause a fucking apocalypse. He wants to start the end of times. That’s what the wraiths do, right? That’s their endgame?”
“Yes.” I couldn’t believe what I was saying, that this was happening.
“We need those weapons more than ever,” Warrick said. “You have any leads on them?”
“Not yet, but I think we’re close,” I said. “You see, after Brigid’s sisters died, she was filled with rage and the need for revenge. She searched and bartered for weapons, the kind capable of killing beings as powerful as angels, and slowly and steadily, she built up her own demon army.”
“There was a shrine by the cave where we found Brigid’s remains. Not all of it old, either. The demons still leave offerings,” Fender said.
Warrick’s head jerked back. “You think that’s why there is such a large presence of them in Oldwood Forest? Were they drawn there by some spell? Drawn to Brigid even in death?”
“I think so, yes,” I said. It made sense. “Her magic’s saturated the blue cliffs, almost as if she sent out a beacon calling for help.”
“And the priestesses told you all of this?” Willow asked, a strange look on her face.
She had to be wondering why me? As a Matilda, I was known to them. They trusted me, like all females did in times of fear or strife. They knew I was safe and powerful enough to help them, but Willow had no way of knowing that, and I was forbidden to tell her. “Yes, and I’m honored they did.”
Her gaze sharpened.
“Do we have this bone?” Warrick asked.
Fender leveled his gaze on his alpha and shook his head. “The bone was gone.”
Willow made a pained sound, realizing exactly what that meant.
“So fucking Uriel got to the Stonebridge cemetery before you,” War said.
“Not even an angel could get through a cemetery ward,” Willow said, her gaze back on me. “There is no ward stronger than the ones protecting our dead.”
“No, they found Brigid’s caves in the cliffs. That’s the only way they could have gotten to it,” Fender said.
“If Uriel couldn’t find Brigid back then, how was he able to now?” Willow asked.
I shook my head. “I don’t know the answer to that, maybe he had some help? She’d obviously gone to pains to conceal herself from him. The cliffs are strongly warded, but she said something dark and powerful came to her cavern, something that scared her.”
Warrick turned to Fender. “What about the wraiths Loth and Rox encountered?”
Fender cursed. “We haven’t seen or heard anything from them since, but Uriel was behind their release,” he explained.
“They weren’t anywhere near as powerful as the Wraiths of Destruction, but even the lesser of their kind are seriously dangerous.
They’re bloodhounds, and if anything could find Brigid’s remains, it’s them.
They usually stick to themselves, but finding and releasing the most powerful of their kind would be incentive enough to do that archangel’s bidding. ”
This wasn’t good, not at all. Wraiths were vicious, relentless beings that never gave up until they found the target they were set to find.
I leaned more heavily on Fender. “I thought I saw…there was a male dressed in black in the clinic, he…there was something about him.” My voice trembled as the truth set in.
He’d touched me and I’d been sick all night.
If I hadn’t been the Matilda, I’d be dead now.
I couldn’t tell them that though. “I saw him again yesterday. He walked through the hall and four people died, all at the same time. It was awful…I didn’t put two and two together.
But now… I should have realized, I should have… ”
Alarm crossed Willow’s face, and she closed the space between us.
“No one’s blaming you, Tempest. No one could have seen this coming.
” She held my gaze. “Your help has been immeasurable. Because of you, we have a chance to stop this before it goes any further. We know that Disease caused the virus and what we’re up against.”
I barely heard her, my soul was so sick with guilt. “I don’t think the virus is targeting certain species. I think Disease has been picking and choosing. He’s been locked away a long time. He’s enjoying himself, he’s toying with us…” I clung tighter to Fender. “I should have seen this.”
“You did good,” Warrick rumbled, so deep I jumped. “I appreciate everything you’ve done to help the pack, Tempest.”
Fender rubbed my back, and I forced myself to pull it together. I needed to remember who I was. I needed to stand on my own two feet. Growing used to Fender’s comfort would only make the end hurt more.
“If Disease is free, why aren’t Mayhem and Annihilation free? Or maybe they already are?” Fender said.
“If they were, we’d already know,” Warrick said.
My heart thudded in my chest. “How?”
Warrick’s gaze slid to his mate when he answered. “The end of times would already be here.”
Willow drew in a sharp breath, even as she gave my arm a squeeze. “I’ll head to the library at the witches council tomorrow and see what I can find. We need a lead on those weapons. We know a lot more now and what we’re dealing with, and that’s down to you, Temp.”
“I’ll speak with Lucifer,” Warrick said. “He needs to know what’s going on, and he might have some insight. If the stories are true, the Wraiths of Destruction were created by some lesser god. Lucifer might know something that could help. I’ll call the pack together when I get back.”