Chapter Twenty-Five
Walking back into The Red Thread was surreal. The place looked the same, smelled the same, but everything was slightly off.
Miranda had spent so many hours there, thinking she had the world mostly figured out—especially with her powers giving her an edge. She’d had no idea what the world was really like.
The silver bell above their head rang frantically as Darren followed her inside. Jack limped out from the kitchen. He was wiping his hands on a towel. He tossed it on the counter as he approached them. When he was close enough, he reached up and touched the bell, silencing it.
In his deep voice, he said, “Welcome to The Red Thread.”
“Thanks for having us.” Darren smirked at him.
“You said you needed to talk,” Jack said.
“Could we sit down?” Miranda had noticed Jack wince when he’d turned off his alarm system. She wanted him to rest if he could.
“Yeah.” He turned around and led them to the back room again.
The smashed furniture had been cleared and a collapsible card table sat in the middle of the room. The cabinets along the counter were gone, along with all the weapons that had been on the walls.
“What happened?” Miranda said.
“Forester happened.” Jack shook his head. “A fairy found our base. We had to move it.”
“The energy’s gone too,” Darren said. He sniffed the air.
“We left the bells in place for now and are going to plant a booby trap for any fairies that might come poking around.” He smiled at Darren. “I recommend you find another establishment to patronize.”
“Wait, are you shutting down The Red Thread?” Miranda’s chest constricted and her stomach lurched.
The Red Thread wasn’t just where she worked. It had been like a second home to her for years. And if Jack was leaving it behind, did that mean he was leaving her too?
She knew she had another family to go to now, even though it hadn’t quite formed yet. But Jack was family, too. She didn’t want to lose him.
“It’s too dangerous to stay,” he said. “I’m a sitting duck now that the Forester knows where I am.”
Miranda was desperate to give Jack a reason to stay.
“Forester doesn’t seem the type to share information,” she said. “If anything, he’ll come back by himself and try to capture or kill you.”
Jack nodded. “I agree. That doesn’t make it any less dangerous to stick around.”
“But we came here to kill him,” she said.
Jack’s eyebrows hiked up his forehead. “You have my attention.”
“Please, sit.” Miranda pulled out a chair for him. He sighed and sat down, then she and Darren joined him at the rickety table.
“I’m listening,” Jack said.
“We have a plan to lure Forester here.” Miranda took the iron box out of her purse and set it on the center of the table. “We’re going to open the box.”
Jack glanced at the box. “You think he’ll show up again when the coin comes back on his radar?”
“Fairies are vindictive,” she said. “After what we did to his pocket of Faerie, I think he’ll come to kill us the moment he knows where we are.”
Jack picked up the box and turned it over in his hands. “You’re probably right. But he’ll be at full strength. If you didn’t kill him, he’ll be healed by now.”
“That’s okay,” Darren said. “I’m pretty close to full strength at this point, too.”
Jack was quiet for a few moments as he stared at Darren. “You look like you’re holding up pretty well.”
“I am.”
“Looks can be deceiving,” Jack said.
Miranda shook her head. “I thought we were past this. Darren is in control. I just watched him kick a vampire’s butt, then back off from the fight and turn himself back, almost entirely on his own.”
“A vampire?” Jack’s brow furrowed.
“It was a long night.” Miranda felt a blush creep over her face.
“Apparently so.” He stared at her neck, which was probably covered in love bites. At least they weren’t vampire bites.
Miranda quickly went on. “The vampire is one of the Knights of Antares, and he’s an ally now. He has a safe room where Darren can spend his first full moon.”
Jack let out a chuff of air. “There are no Knights, Miranda. They’re a legend, like I said. And if that guy was a vampire, he’s yet another fey being. He’ll say anything to get you to lower your guard. You can’t trust them.”
“I can and I do,” she said. “I’m going to have to if we’re going to make it through this apocalypse. And if you’re going to help me, you have to come around on this point.”
He shook his head.
“I’m going to turn,” she said.
Jack’s dark eyes locked on hers.
She went on when he said nothing. “I’ve seen it in my visions. I’m joining Darren’s pack within the next few months.”
The lines at the corners of Jack’s eyes deepened. Moments stretched on.
“Why not sooner?” Jack’s voice sounded thin.
“I’m not sure,” she said. “I have a feeling there’s something I have to do first as a human. I’m trusting my instincts, like you told me to.”
Jack kept staring at her. She reached under the table and rested her hand on Darren’s thigh.
Her mouth went dry and she had to swallow before she could force out the words, “Will you still trust me after I’ve turned?”
“Honestly?” Jack said. “I don’t know. But I won’t be around to find out.”
“What?” Her heart was pounding in her throat.
“When I said we were relocating, I meant in another city,” he said. “You were right about the Fairy Court setting up shop in Olympus. My old team and I talked it over and agree that this place is a lost cause. It’s too dangerous to stay.”
Darren let out a huff of breath. “How can you just leave?”
“Because we’ve been doing this for a long time,” Jack said. “We’ve seen… Things I wish I could un-see a thousand times over. We’ve lost too many of our people already. And all of that was nothing compared to what’s coming. This new Fairy Lord is behind some of the worst catastrophes in human history.”
“Then it’s even more likely that he’s the one behind the impending apocalypse,” Miranda said. “I need your help to stop it.”
“This guy might be the thing behind what happened to Pompeii.” Jack’s voice had a frustrated edge to it that she’d never heard before. “Now, he’s gathering all kinds of fey to his banner—not just High Court Sidhe, like elves. He’s bringing in the Low Court. Vampires, werewolves, ghouls—created fey that are usually left to their own devices. He’s gathering them together and leading them in numbers that we’ve never had to face before. How are we supposed to stand against that?”
She shook her head. Losing the fairy fighters she hadn’t met yet didn’t bother her that much. Losing Jack? That was a blow.
“There isn’t going to be a safe place on the entire planet when this guy is done with it,” she said. “What part of apocalypse are you not understanding?”
“Have you had another vision about it?” Jack asked.
She shook her head. “The details are still fuzzy. It’s like the exact path to that future hasn’t been decided. But I’m clear on one thing. There will be nothing left when this guy is done. It’s like he wants to stamp out every living thing on the planet. Why would he do that?”
“Immortality lasts a long time,” Jack said. “This guy has been around forever as far as we can tell. Fairies get bored, and the most entertaining thing for them is watching others suffer.”
“But if he kills everyone, won’t it be even worse for him?” Darren said.
Jack shook his head. “You can’t attribute reason to an irrational being. Fairies have minds that are alien to us—especially the High Court.”
“That’s all the more reason for us to figure out a way to stop him,” Miranda said.
“Look, I believe in your visions. My colleagues…” Jack shrugged.
“The battlefield has changed,” Darren said. “And there’s more change coming.”
“We don’t stand a chance—” Jack began.
Miranda finished for him. “If you run. You don’t stand a chance if you run. But if you stay, we can work together.”
“If your human friends want to run, that’s fine,” Darren said. “But Miranda needs you. You’ve been like family to her.”
He wasn’t wrong. The thought of losing Jack was almost more than she could bear. She’d been anchoring Darren to his humanity through his change. Jack would absolutely an anchor for her as well. She needed that foundation. She needed him.
Growing desperate, she said, “Have you ever once fought with a werewolf instead of against one?”
That caught Jack’s attention. He stared at Darren for a while.
“I can’t say I have.”
Miranda felt hope flutter in her chest. “Give it a try. We can take down Forester together, then you can decide what kind of chance you think we stand against the Fairy Court that’s in town.”
Jack let out a rumble that almost sounded like one of Darren’s growls. “I would really like to see that Forester taken down.”
Darren grinned at him. “It can be a parting gift—or an incentive to stay.”
“We’re going to need some iron,” Jack said. “Skillets are in the kitchen.”
Miranda closed her eyes and let out a huge breath. She was sure Jack would stay after they defeated Forester. She just had to be sure they won.
“When is the best time to lure him here?” she asked. “Will Darren be stronger at night?”
“Darren will be stronger the closer we get to the full moon—but also less in control,” Jack said. “At least, that’s what I’ve always been led to believe. But Forester will be weaker during the day.”
“Then let’s get to work.” Darren stood up and looked around. “Do you still have those guns handy?”
“I kept a few around,” Jack said.
Miranda wanted to give Jack more to think about while convincing him to stay. “The new head of Ford Security is working on R&D for us and will be coming up with better weapons to use against the fey.”
“Now that is intriguing,” Jack said. “My guy’s been working out of his garage.”
“Mine has access to the most cutting-edge technology available.” Miranda smiled. “It’s like Darren said. The battlefield is changing.”
“Yeah, but not the scenery.” Jack looked around the room. “This place is as good as any for the first fight. It’ll limit the Forester’s ability to teleport.”
“We’ll go get a couple of skillets,” Miranda said. “But while we’re gone, I want you to think about one thing. You say you believe in my visions. You can’t pick and choose which ones you want to be true. Like it or not, Darren will prove himself to be a powerful ally for humanity. And the Knights of Antares are real. They’re here in Olympus. And we can’t afford to turn away any potential ally in this fight.”
Jack’s skin turned ashen and his lips pressed into a thin line. When he leaned forward to set the iron box on the table, his hand was shaking. He stared at it intently for a few moments.
“Good-guy werewolves,” he mumbled. “The Knights are real. The Knights…” He ran both hands over his face, then shook his head. “This is my own private apocalypse. I thought I had things figured out, but the world as I knew it is just shattered. I don’t know what to make of this. How to put it all back together.”
“I’ll help you.” She reached across the table, remembering just in time to grip his wrist instead of his hand. “We’ll help you.”
Jack snorted, then nodded, resting his hand briefly on top of her forearm. He would stay. All they had to do to convince him he should stay was fight together to take down Forester. They could do that. She had to believe it. The thought of Jack leaving and shutting down The Red Thread was more than she could bear.
“You rest for a moment,” she said.
She stood and waited for Darren to join her before they headed out of the room. It wasn’t hard to find the weapons she was looking for. Skillets were still stacked all over the kitchen.
“Are you okay?” Darren said.
“Yeah. There’s just so much riding on this.”
“Are you worried I can’t take Forester?”
She smiled. “After watching you beat the crap out of Shade? No.”
“Good.” He put his hand on her waist and gave her a quick hug.
“I wish I could say I feel sorry for Forester.” She lifted a heavy skillet. “But I don’t.”
“That’s also good. Because I’m going to tear his arms out of their sockets and beat him to death with them.”
“Wow. Full Beowulf, huh?”
“Who?”
“Forget it,” she said. “But we’re going to spend part of your new immortality expanding your reading.”
He grinned at her. “Maybe the Knights and I can start a book club.”
Miranda laughed as she picked up another skillet for Jack. She was pretty sure neither of them would get a chance to use them.
The fight wasn’t as worrisome as Jack’s reaction to it. Her visions had helped her be prepared for seeing Darren in his other form, and it had still been terrifying. What if they won but Jack was still too freaked out by Darren to stay?
One way or another, it was time to find out.
“Are you ready?” she said.
“I just need one thing first.”
“What?”
Darren pulled her close, bending down to kiss her. His heat soaked into her, the hard planes of his chest a barrier that she knew would keep her safe.
After a long while, he released her. His eyes were glowing.
He smiled and said, “Let’s do this.”