'Big Surprise'

Dom:

“Malik, meet Dominic Nightshade, Atlas Tatuaje meet Elicia’s maternal grandfather Malik Kashif, Rex’s father.” Morgan gestured quickly between introductions manically scanning over the large tiger oak bookshelf, grabbing a large red stained leather book.

“Pleasure,” Malik spoke in a regal tone, smooth and husky, bowing his tanned face wrapped in a white linen turban, placing his gold and gemstone cladded fingers to his chest in a polite greeting.

“tahiati (Greetings).” Atlas’ narrowed stare didn’t go unnoticed as she silently chastised my sarcasm in reply to Rex’s father, who has been less-than-hospitable toward his son and Randi for quite some time. Silently pleading with her in a pouty lip and puppy dog eyes.

“Enough. Down to business.” Morgan snarled out in a hissing tone, slamming the massive book onto the altar table, causing the stone mortar and glass decanters to clink and clank out in agony against the jolting force.

“Okay. Seeing how we have already done this before; we should be able to locate Elicia and Helmer.” Morgan flipped open the leather-bound book with a creaking groan of the tightly bound leather, shuffling through the pages in chunks before finding what she was looking for, slapping her palms down on the open pages.

“Don’t we need more people for that spell? It took almost twenty elders on our side to give it just enough juice. There’s only three of us.” Atlas pointed between them, keeping the camera steady enough to see the bright twinkling eyes and sneaky grins forming on their faces.

“He was on the other side of the world last time. This time he’s right here.” Morgan pointed to the Altar Room’s floor with both pointer fingers, bending them up and down like a blinking light.

“You’ve been around Damian too long. He’s fucked a few brain cells loose Morgan.” Receiving pointed glares, chuckles, and a visual ‘Death Threat’ all in one as Malik roared out in a chesty laugh.

“Careful young man, she does have your mate within reach.” Choking back my chuckling laugh, snapping my eyes to Morgan’s yellowish-white orbs gleaming in victory.

“Real Smooth.” Atlas hissed through the speaker, receiving a playful wink from Morgan as she turned back to the book.

Flinching back as the Samsung vibrated in my hand, tapping on the notification bar to see a text from Roger.

“Helmer took E. All forms of poofing and links are disabled by something. No way to access the realm. Mom trapped in Feeding Cells, Dad crispy critter. Meet us at the backdoor.”

“Baby, I need to go. The situation is critical.” Sprinting down the bookshelf-lined hallway, coughing out a musty breath as the arched iron-barred gate appeared. Yanking it open with a humming clang of solid metal, skipping down the stone stairs with the rapid clicking of my shoes echoing off the thick stoned walls, sliding around the corner, yanking another iron-barred gate open.

The backdoor was a hidden passageway linking the castle to an underground maze of tunnels that connected to various locations throughout the States. The closest one to Demon Wolf was in the deepest part of the swamps, only accessible by airboat and a rifle because there were some serious monsters, human and animal, waiting to fuck you up. Sliding to a stop, cranking open the airlock lever with a few choice words of annoyance, kicking at the rusty mechanism.

“OPEN UP YOU PIECE OF RUSTY SHIT!” Yanking on the lever with a triumphant creaking crack as the pitch-black tunnel filled with the moldy aroma of rotten swamp water and dead carcass, pushing the heavy vault-styled door open with a growling grunt as the guys appeared looking like ‘Swamp Thing’ times four.

“Fashionably late like always.” Elias chuckled deeply, gripping me tight into a squishy, slimy hug, pulling apart with a disgusted hiss, shaking off the slimy gunk that clung to my hands and arms.

“AW, YUCK! Really Asshole. That shit stinks.” Pulling off my shirt, wiping away the nasty substance as the guys stripped from what was once shirts and sweats, tossing them aside, grabbing spare shorts from an air-sealed tote we had left down here after I had shown them the hidden tunnels.

“Quit your whining you overgrown suckling.” Roger laughed brightly.

“Yeah, Desmond Junior.” Ben flung a clump of mossy-gunk, dodging it in time before it splattered against the stone and earth tunnel wall with a heavy wet slap, before flopping to the damp ground in another strange wet splat.

“Seriously. Dad took a four-inch needle to the jugular and your whining about a little mucky earth. Pussy.” Elias growled out in laughter.

“Well excuse me for not wanting to smell like the swampy wastelands. Check your shit for leeches. Those bastards love the extra-long shlongs.” Pointing to their amused expressions, quickly pulling back their waistbands double-checking their junks.

“Oh, God! It’s in my ass-crack.” Chris growled disgustedly, pulling the long, black slimy bloodsucker up with his fingers, zapping it quickly with an electrical shock. Tossing it away with a grumbling hiss. Roaring out in chesty laughter, grabbing the camping lanterns from another tote.

“Okay, so what’s going on?” Motioning for them to ‘get moving’, sprinting back the way I had just come from.

“Thyra is now in human form, mated to Rocko. She and Peyton renounced their DeLois name. Elicia dropped the mic on Myles and Bain with her revelation of her true father, Otso, Thyra’s uncle. The proud grandpas showed up during the shit smacking, then a black mist appeared around Elicia. Poof! Gone.” Ben chuckled bitterly at my shocked expression, sliding to a stop as a strange aroma lingered through the tunnel.

“What the Fuck!” Chris whisper shouted out our exact thoughts as we slowly approached the gate leading into the castle basement, peeking out into the stone chamber connecting the dungeons and feeding cells to the left, and the burial catacombs to the right. Ducking back quickly with a hissing grunt.

“Fucking Changelings!” Whisper shouting to the four questioning glares staring at me like I had two heads.

“No point in hiding ‘Boys’.” A mocking voice laughed out in a husky tone.

“Who do you think showed my genius brother the hidden access tunnels?” The husky chuckle echoed through the tunnels, growling out in frustration as the haunting reverberation swirled around our raging bodies.

“BOYS, DON’T LIS-…” Mom’s voice cracked the invisible whip across our hearts as her thunderous tone cut short with a coughing gag and the heavy clapping thud of limbs against the stone.

“Motherfucker!” We growled out in unison, stepping out into the dimly lit room crawling with the thirteen changelings Dad and I had rounded up outside of London, but they were stabilized last time I checked, so ‘What the actual Fuck’. Halting our exit as their crimson eyes darted wildly over us, hissing out with their claws drawn in attack mode.

“Careful ‘Boys’, don’t want you to miss the ‘Big Surprise’.” A shadowy silhouette stalked slowly through the dancing shadows, his crimson eyes glowing like two floating orbs of murder as his lean, tall frame emerged from the shadowy cover exposing a carbon copy of Dad but with shorter hair and a rock-biker appearance.

“Where’s our mother?” Snapping my shocked expression over to Roger as they flanked my sides with snarling grunts.

“She’s fine…for now.” Following the shadowy silhouette lifting from the floor with his finger directing the strange swirling mist of bats, swallowing back a grunting snarl as mom appeared floating limply with charred material dangling from her soot-covered body.

“Bastard!” Lunging forward, stopped by strong arms as the changelings snapped wildly in movements, hissing out in a raging ‘bloodlust’.

“I know about the ‘Blood Seal’.” Shaking off the trembling rage that crept up my limbs, exhaling slowly remembering my training. Side glancing the guys nodding to my reserved resolve that was teetering dangerously close to Homicidal.

“Hah. You don’t know shit. It was never meant to last almost twenty years, but that Bitch’s mother betrayed my one act of sympathy. I took pity on the poor thing knowing the horror she had suffered at the hands of the DeLois brothers. I have no problems killing for my gain, but imprisoning women for selfish needs is a fine line that I don’t cross.” Scoffing out at his ‘bleeding heart’ declaration, receiving a warning hiss and a swift slam into the stoned wall behind us.

Flinching against the crushing pressure against my chest, struggling to shift our limbs as he flicked his finger dropping mom to the ground with a thud as our bodies dropped to the stone floor with loud ‘oufs’.

“Even if they were pregnant?” Ben snarled lowly, shifting to his knee with shaky arms holding up his trembling torso.

“I didn’t know she was pregnant. If I had; I would have plunged a dagger into her stomach when her heart stopped.” It was my turn to stop them from advancing on him as the changelings crouched lower to the floor, swaying back and forth with venom dripping from their pearly fangs like rattlesnakes waiting to strike.

“Oh, what’s the matter? You pissed that I would kill an unborn baby or the fact that baby turned out to be your ‘Beloved Mate’? Either way, she will die by my hand.”

Oh, Fuck It!