Chapter 11
Genevieve woke in Neil’s embrace. She reached for her magic and got nowhere.
Neil’s big hand covered her stomach as he pulled her closer. “My love,” he murmured against her ear, “you won’t find your magic. I’m sorry for that, but this is better than you slipping from my life.”
She rolled over, losing herself in his gaze. “Habit, though my magic had been slipping away for ages.”
“You’ll get used to being a werelynx. I promise. I’ll help.”
Smiling, she snuggled closer. “I’m worried about Evangeline. I know what my father wanted, what he expected of her, but I also know she’ll never help him. And now he’ll hunt her down.”
“She’s smart. She’ll find a way to stop him,” Neil offered. “And we’ll do whatever we can to help.”
“We have to. My father is on a quest for power he can’t control. And I don’t believe the dagger would ever accept him. The relic he wants won’t go to him if he isn’t worthy. He’s not, but he’ll blame whoever takes it for him.”
“What relic?”
“The Dagger of Change. He’s convinced it will change everything to his favor, make people believe they owe him things they don’t. And I was never strong enough to reach it. Evangeline is, but she will never give it to him.”
“What do you mean?”
She laughed bitterly. “I couldn’t make it that far down the stairs. There’s a stone face carved into the mountain. The mouth is the entrance to a cave, but it’s like entering another world when you step through. And the stairs wrap around the other edge, going down forever. It’s never ending. I never made it to the bottom in all the years I tried. I always walked down the stairs for hours, and when my strength gave out, I tumbled out of the mouth again.”
“He believes it will alter reality to suit him? And what about Evangeline? What do you think she’ll do?”
“Leave it there if she can. I don’t know. She’s been asking me to leave Lake Placid for years. Wanted me to get away from him. I didn’t know how. I felt like I needed to be there, but my health deteriorated. My magic never did me much good anyway.”
“I don’t miss my magic,” he offered.
She laughed softly. “Wish I could say the same, but maybe in time.”
“This will get easier.”
“With you, I’m sure it will.”
Neil caressed her face. “Any idea where we should start with your sister?”
She shook her head. “Wish I knew.”
“But she’s on the mountain?”
Shrugging, she looked up at the ceiling. Her heart beat harder, and her breath came faster.
Neil caressed her cheek. “Okay, relax. I have an idea, but I need you to trust me.”
“Why should I do that?” she asked.
“Because I have a friend who can hypnotize you and follow your link to her.”
“What? My link?”
“She is your twin. You’re bound, even if you don’t access it. If anyone can find her, it’s you.”
Genevieve sat up, her stomach growling. “Yes, definitely. We need to find her.”
He rolled out of bed and pulled on a pair of track pants. “Let’s feed you, and I’ll get in touch with Ty. He should be out here sometime this afternoon.”
“Who is he? And how does he know about this place?” she asked softly.
“Old friend of the family and he’s the one who warded the property. He happens to be a shaman whose spirit animal is a lynx. He’s the one who warded the property against everyone but those I let in through a charm.”
“Will my father be able to track me once we leave behind the wards?”
“Ty will be able to help with that. Your father had a witch keeping tabs on you, but luckily, Vanna was out of the country at the time. By the time she flew in, you were out of her reach.”
“What?” Her father’s secretary had always given her the creeps, but she always seemed so sweet. Shaking her head, she closed her eyes.
Neil explained, “Vanna works for your father. She wove an enchantment to keep track of you. The wards nullify her magic, but Ty can completely remove the spells.”
She nodded. “All right. Then call Ty. While you do that, I’ll fix our lunch.”
* * * *
Bran took the jeep off the dirt road and pulled to a stop. “We need to walk from here.”
Refusing to waste time, he climbed out. After opening the back, he set up one of the backpacks.
Jay joined him and set up the other. He glanced over with a smirk. “At least we’ll look like hikers.”
Bran snorted. “Not worried about people. Something evil is out here. I don’t have a damned clue what but every hair on my body is standing on end.”
“How so?” Jay prompted.
“Not sure. It feels dark, wrong…otherworldly?”
“Says the half-Sylvan Fae.”
Bran rolled his eyes and started into the woods, forgoing the trail to his right. Jay caught up, and Bran hit the lock to the SUV.
“The hard way?”
“That trail won’t take us to her. But I have a feeling the whole trip is going to be the hard damned way. I just hope we don’t run into whatever the hell is out there.”
“That’s helpful,” Jay grumbled.
The journey was rough. Bran could hear people out there, probably hiking. He almost laughed at the idea of Evangeline hiking around. He knew she was capable as a wolf, but he couldn’t recall a single time she did something outdoorsy. Then again, he hadn’t spent much time with her. Something they were going to change.
The shadows seemed to grow longer. The sounds of wolves drew closer. Their howls sounded wrong.
After an hour, Jay asked, “What’s that?”
“Don’t think they want us here. But why?”
Then three wolves careened around a large boulder. Jay started chanting, but Bran stepped forward, staring the biggest one down. “Stop, relax,” he ordered.
All three skidded to a halt before him. Bran knelt, looking their leader in the eyes.
“Holy fuck, Bran, you’re going to get yourself bitten,” muttered Jay.
Bran held up his hand and closed his eyes, looking into the biggest wolf’s memory, searching for some clue about what might be in the forest.
He found it and almost wished he hadn’t.
Something human in appearance lurked in the woods. Shadows seeped from his body, permeating the air around the creature. He stayed higher up the mountain.
He knew Evangeline was making her way down.
Bran pushed images of Evangeline, both in her human form and wolf form at him. The wolf hadn’t seen her, but he darted into the woods to search.
“Okay, that’s creepy,” Jay whispered.
“Hey, I’ve never used my power against you or anyone else, and they can help.”
“You mind-melded with all of them? Shit, you did it to me too. I saw what you did to them.”
“Sorry.” Bran scrubbed a hand over his face. “Should have only gone into the pack leader’s head. I didn’t mean to give you images too.”
“It’s fine. But what did you do? Mind-meld with the whole damned pack?”
“Not exactly, but the thoughts will transfer to the rest as he comes in contact with the other wolves. Though we’ve got a problem. There’s a shadow person out there.”
“Shadow person?”
“Shit, he looks human, but shadows seem to float around him, almost like they’re oozing from his body. I’ve never seen anything like it.”
“Sure you don’t want to call your sister’s mage friends?”
“Fuck, I probably should,” Bran admitted. Though, honestly, he wasn’t sure what good that would do. But he dug out his phone and found Tremaine’s number.
He answered after a couple rings. “This is Tremaine.”
“Hey, uh, this is Bran.”
There was a chuckle, then he got serious. “Yeah, I remember. What’s going on?”
“Know about any kind of creature shadows would surround?”
“Humanoid?”
“Appears that way.”
“Shit,” Tremaine muttered. “Where are you?”
“Near the base of Whiteface Mountain in New York. We’re looking for Evangeline.”
“Fucking hell, why?”
Bran drew a slow breath. “Her father dragged her out here, then the fucker left her stranded in some creepy-ass cave.”
“Face on it?”
“Yeah,” Bran answered slowly.
“There are stories about a powerful Fae that went into a deep slumber under that very mountain. Her purpose was to guard some artifact. There was a dark mystic who was supposed to keep everyone from releasing the Fae. I don’t know more than that, but I can contact some friends who may know more.”
“Ms. Murdock?”
“Her, and Draecyn. If anyone is going to know, one of them will.”
“Call me when you learn something, and hopefully I’ll still have a signal by then.”
“You could wait until I hear back.”
“No fucking way. I need to find her. She’s wandering around alone. The three of us will do better together than apart.”
“If that thing is what I think, then yeah, you’re right. Where did you leave the vehicle?”
Bran gave him a description of the SUV and about where they left it.
“Worst case, we’ll bring Preston, and he can track you both to wherever you go.”
“Sounds good.” Bran ended the call and started jogging through the woods because he could feel Evangeline’s increasing alarm.
Jay didn’t say a word as Bran charged through the terrain. He continued running, sticking to Bran’s side.
* * * *
Tremaine finished tying his boots. “We ready?”
Robert nodded, reached out, and touched Tremaine. In a blink, Robert had translocated them to Preston’s porch. Tremaine knocked.
Five minutes had passed before Preston opened the door with a raised brow. “It’s early. You could have called.”
Robert crossed his arms over his chest. “Figured this would get you moving faster. We need to make a trip to Draecyn’s, then head out to a mountain in New York.”
Preston rubbed at his face and grumbled, “Why?”
Robert nodded inside. Preston stepped aside, and they came in, shutting the door.
Tremaine drew a breath and let it out. “Remember Evangeline Laurent in Silvertail Ridge? And what you dug up about her?”
“Yeah, her evil as fuck father who keeps dragging her into scams and schemes to acquire old relics.”
“Bran called. Jay went with him to search for Evangeline on Whiteface Mountain. Apparently, her father threw her in a cave,” Tremaine explained.
“Olivier wants a dozen different relics rumored to be on that mountain. But in a cave? The only one I can think of is the Dagger of Change.”
Robert nodded. “What do you know about the dagger?”
Preston snorted. “Only that the dagger alters reality for the one it chooses or is given to.”
Tremaine added, “There’s a shadow Fae or mystic, or something up there. We need to go and see what we can learn, after talking to Draecyn and Ceridwen.”
“I need to get dressed and let Dacia know what’s up. I’ll be right back.”
Robert pulled at the sweater Tremaine gave him to wear. He was in hiking boots and pants, thermal shirt and windbreaker, instead of his usual suit. Tremaine wore something similar.
Preston came down in his own gear. “I’ll admit, it’s weird seeing you like this, Robert.” He chuckled and stopped next to Robert. “Let’s get this over with.”
“Anxious to get back?” Tremaine asked.
“Yeah, we just left for several days. Hope this won’t be as long.” Preston looked up the stairs. “Don’t worry, Dacia understands.”
“Neither of us wants to be gone long,” Robert answered, then translocated them to Draecyn’s place.
Ceridwen sat near the fire, looking through an old tome. “Afternoon. Let me guess, you’re here about Evangeline and that pesky dagger?”
“Uh…yeah,” Tremaine answered. “What about it?”
She rolled her eyes. “Not really the dagger’s fault. However, Merova is a stubborn nature Fae. She made a vow to never allow Zariha to possess one of her creations. She locked herself into her mate’s rift when she lost him. And if I’m right, Zariha is somehow bound to her. He cannot roam too far from wherever she resides without declining, even if she isn’t in the realm, he has to be near her rift.”
“Who is Zariha?” Robert asked.
She looked at Preston. “Remember when you dealt with Izakarus? He’s much the same. Only instead of hopping from body to body, he’s stuck in his own body. He was forced into this realm, instead of Faery, because he had shifted to Shadows shortly before the fall of our city. Shadows flow around him. He can’t go in public because he has no way to hide the deformity.”
“Deformity?” Tremaine prodded. “Shadows are a deformity?”
“In his case. Our people were made of light or shadows. Most of the mystics were light. There were some that were dark. And you could be born to the wrong side, and eventually, if your soul stayed the course, you could shift from dark to light and vice versa.”
“So how do we kill this guy?” Preston asked.
“There’s no way to completely destroy a mystic. You can diminish him and lock him away in a soul prison, another realm, or a rift and find a way to keep him there.”
“All right.”
“The dagger can reduce him to a spirit that will be extremely limited in what he can do. The weapon was created to change her destiny. It will alter reality, though I’m not exactly sure how.”
“And if it doesn’t destroy him?”
“Well, you’ll figure something out. Zariha won’t be impossible to disable. You’re going to have to stop Zariha soon.”
“You can’t give me more?” Tremaine prodded.
“The blade breaks the rules of physics and logic. There are stories that a simple cut will send someone away, break down walls, anything the wielder wants,” Draecyn added. “But only the person it’s given to can wield it, and it has to be offered freely.”
“Now go. I don’t have all the details, but I know Zariha will use anyone to get to the blade,” Ceridwen stated.
“We’ll stop him, somehow,” Tremaine promised.
Robert took his arm, and they went to the location of the Jeep, to search for Bran. Hopefully, they’d have found Evangeline by then.