Chapter 118
“I’LL KILL YOU!” Kasa screamed as he lunged at Eric, his fangs protruded, his claws extended, in mid-air, his fur was sprouting on his arms, and I could see his clothes straining against his body as his wolf tried to take control. I couldn’t get between them even if I had tried, my revulsion at what Eric had done had made me distance myself from him. My body tensed as I prepared myself to shift or pull them apart when I heard Hyacinth return.
“Enough!” She bellowed, and the two men were thrown into the opposite wall, just as Kasa’s fangs grazed Eric’s neck. “I already told you I used too much essence earlier, so why am I wasting my energy now on you?” She demanded of the men; her arm outstretched keeping both men pinned against the wall. I made my way over to her, picking up the overturned furniture as I went.
“Eric told the vampires we were here; he was posing as their man after he killed him. And from what we can gather, has been using the man’s phone to communicate. He was watching Lander’s son, just not on the device we inspected.” I told Hyacinth, my stomach turned as my mind came up with the different scenarios Lander would have had to witness for him to almost turn feral.
“Oh!” She replied, swallowing her own bile, as she turned her attention to Kasa. “I assume that even without the contract if you die, he will force your mate to return to his pack, as it is the pack of her birth until your child is of age?” Hyacinth asked, sympathetically.
“We don’t have any pups, but yes, if I die while my pack is under attack, and with a power vacuum, for her safety, she will be returned to her birth pack,” Kasa replied, his shoulders sagged, as she released him from his imprisonment. “Why did you ask about a pup?” He suddenly asked like he had only just processed her words, he stared at her with confusion and mistrust.
“Oh? Did I? Hmm, slip of the tongue.” Hyacinth brushed it off with a giggle, but I could see Kasa watching her, his mind desperately trying to connect the dots, but he was blind to what was right in front of him. I couldn’t suppress a smirk watching him and knowing full well Hyacinth wouldn’t have told them about her little party trick, as she sometimes called it, and more than likely saw a child in his near future. “Anyway, what are we going to do with this one? Should we leave him somewhere for those things to eat him? I could whip up a quick paralytic?” Hyacinth suggested, her eyes narrowed on Eric’s squirming form.
“No, he’s too smart for that, he would have told them about his real identity before coming here, I wouldn’t be surprised if they knew all along. He could have contacted them immediately after killing their choice for his replacement.” Kasa grumbled as Eric grinned and laughed at our predicament.
“Then we kill him, I would let you do the honours, but I really would like to avoid getting blood on the floors,” Hyacinth said with barely a glance at the both of us and a completely passive face. Gone was the warm, flirtatious, welcoming Hyacinth, now she was The Warrior Queen of the Witches, a name and role she relished. Kasa stared at her, unnerved by this side of the impressive woman. “It would stain the wood.” She said as if that was our only concern before she raised her hand to cast another spell on Eric.
“Wait!” I yelled I stepped between them instinctually, and Hyacinth turned her cold gaze on me. “Lander’s son! We might need him to get the boy back.” I hurriedly said, a little intimidated.
“Fine.” She said haughtily, before she flicked her wrist, and Eric’s head lolled to the side. “He’s unconscious, same spell I used on Lander, but I wasn’t as careful about when he will wake up,” Hyacinth said with a smirk.
“What does that mean?” Kasa asked, still wary of the Queen.
“That he could wake up in two minutes, or two months, I have no idea, I took my time with Landers, made the spell specific. He will wake up twenty-four hours after he went out, but this one, the spell was less let this man sleep until a specific time and then have him wake without injury, and more, just knock this arse out.” She said with a smile and a skip, as she turned her attention to the books in front of her. Ignoring the unconscious Eric, I followed her to the table she had set the books down on, and began reading the titles, looking for somewhere to start.
“Which ones have you read? Have you seen anything other than silver that works? What I wouldn’t give for a gun and a case of our bullets right now.” I rambled, as my anxiety and frustration got the better of me.
“You Americans and your obsession with guns, I’ll never understand it,” Hyacinth exclaimed as she began taking books off me and arranging them in a system only, she understood. “I have only read these three, and Aine... umm, she read those two, she didn’t find much, but I brought them anyway.” She muttered distracted by memories of her dead friend. “But this is everything I have here at the cottage that has information on vampires.” She replied as she arranged the books how she wanted.
“But do you remember anything about their weaknesses, particularly the bitten ones?” I asked I was getting frustrated.
“Maybe...” She said, as she located the book she had been looking for and began reading it, without another word. I looked around for Kasa, he was standing over Eric, staring at him, with loathing in his eyes.
“Kasa, we need him alive to get Leif back.” I tried to reason with him, I used the boy’s name to make him picture him, even though I doubt he had seen him since he was a baby, like me. I watched Kasa’s whole body sag in defeat.
“I tried my best.” He whispered, still glaring at his brother-in-law. “But I always knew I would have to stop him one day. He’s... not like other people.” Kasa finally dragged his eyes away from the limp body to look at me.
“What do you mean?” I asked, frowning, I had always known Eric to be difficult, annoying, selfish and paranoid, but I didn’t understand what Kasa meant by different.
“He enjoys torturing people, mind games, physically, it doesn’t matter to him, as long as he can make someone suffer,” Kasa said grimly, he stepped over Eric’s body and walked to the window. “Astrid... has scars, and she won’t tell me how she got them. I suspected, but after today, I’m sure, it was him.” Kasa growled as he stared at the creatures that prowled around the perimeter, they were spreading their attacks over the surface of the barrier to try and find a weakness.
“Why didn’t you tell one of us before?” I asked quietly, I wasn’t sure of what else to say.
“She’s so afraid of him, anytime I so much as raised my voice to him, she would panic, stop sleeping, and eating, sometimes for weeks. Over the years, I just tried to keep him contained, not rock the boat, and she got better and stopped having nightmares. But every time I try and bring up having a pup, she freezes, the nightmares come back, worse than before, and she’s up screaming three or four times a night. And she still won’t tell me what he did.” He sighed, he sounded defeated, I had no idea he and Astrid were going through so much.
“I’m sorry, is there anything I can do? My Kappa is a licenced therapist, I don’t follow the old thinking, mental illness isn’t weakness. It’s foolish to believe otherwise.” I offered.
“She won’t talk to him,” Kasa said turning around, a tear escaping his eye.
“Her,” I replied with a shrug.
“She won’t talk to her, or anyone, I’ve tried, driven her into the city, got her appointments with PTS specialists, cognitive behavioural specialists, you name it. The few appointments I got her to go to, she wouldn’t talk. Saw one woman for six months before the therapist told me. She thought she would eventually wear Astrid down, and get her to talk, but she told me, whatever happened to Astrid, was so horrific, she physically can’t talk about it. Her brain is protecting her, by refusing to allow her to talk and remember, and no one but Astrid can stop it. But she’s not ready, so I just have to wait.” Kasa gave me another sad smile and walked out of the room.
“Don’t worry, if I survive this war, I will go visit Kasa, and meet the lovely Astrid in person. I never know if I’m going to see something as it really is, or through the eyes of the person whose future it is. But if she is half as beautiful as she appeared to me, it would be wonderful to see the child born of that union.” Hyacinth said with a grin.
“You can help her?” I asked quietly, as I looked over my shoulder at the door to make sure Kasa couldn’t hear.
“Don’t embarrass me.” Hyacinth said with derision and a snort.
“Have you found anything yet?” I asked, nodding at the book.
“Maybe... here start skimming this one.” She handed me a black, leather-bound, book. Whatever writing had been printed on it had long since peeled away, leaving small scraps of white in a few seemingly random places.
“What is it?” I asked as I flipped open the yellowing pages.
“A diary, from a fae elder,” Hyacinth replied with a huff, taking her hint I sat next to the table and started trying to decipher the handwriting in the book she had handed me. Less than a page later, I nearly jumped out of my skin when Hyacinth leapt up from her seat.
“Yes!” She exclaimed, smiling wide and her nose immediately returned to the book. “Ah... that might not be so good.” She flopped back down on the chair in defeat.
“What?” I practically yelled in frustration.
“There’s a spell, it harnesses the power of the sun. Those old vampire myths in the human world? They have real-life counterparts, and while the born can hunt day or night, the bitten don’t survive long in the sunlight. It speeds up the toxin’s effects, for whatever reason, killing them in months or weeks rather than years, and this spell is like a sunshine bomb. It would speed the toxin up to kill them instantly, but, and it’s a big but... We could destroy the cottage, the other barrier, and maybe even ourselves, and it will only kill those it touches. Any vampires hidden, under cover, and there will be a lot, will be able to attack everyone in the village.” Hyacinth explained, then continued to leaf through the book for another answer.
“Why would it affect the other barrier? Or blow us up?” I asked, I wanted to know more.
“It’s a bomb darling, bombs explode, and to make one the size we need... it’s too risky.” She said and shook her head.
“Maybe, maybe not, tell me more and we will see,” I said raising my eyebrows, it made her laugh, and I saw her resolve soften.
“We don’t have the time to go through it all.” She sighed and picked up the book again.
“So, tell me quickly,” I argued.
“Fine!” She snapped but with a smile on her face.
Log in with Google Account
Chapters
Favorite
Settings
