Jewel of Darkness (32 page)

They were two steps from crossing over into the human realm and out of the protection of Farie when Peri yelled, “FIGHT HIM! Jewel, Anna, you have to fight!” She wanted to shake them, shake them so hard that the evil blood would fall right out of them. If only it were that easy. Jewel’s eyes met Peri’s and she could practically feel the sorrow held in the pale green orbs. She was about to flash up to them but Jewel must have seen Peri’s intention in her face.

“Please don’t,” Jewel bit out in her own voice. “Don’t make me hurt you. Just let us go.”

Peri could tell by the way she shook that Jewel was indeed fighting for control. She was fighting the darkness inside of her in order to give them a message. Jewel’s attention switched to Dalton and her eyes softened. “You have to let me go.” Dalton was shaking his head but Jewel continued to speak, “I will understand.” She paused, taking rapid breaths and clenching her jaw. The shaking was getting worse. “I will understand if you aren’t waiting for me when I get back.”

“If I’m not here when you get back, it will be because I’m out there, looking for you,” Dalton informed her coolly. He was shutting down. Peri saw the minute that Dalton realized he couldn’t keep Jewel here, and it was almost like he flipped a switch in his mind. Gone was the passionate man yearning for his mate and in his place was the stone mountain. As Jewel and Anna took another step back and then another, Dalton never made a move toward her. He simply watched her through a cold glare.

With one last step back, Jewel and Anna slipped through the veil leaving the others staring at an empty space. Peri immediately tried to flash out of her realm and into the human one, but found herself rooted to the spot. Just about that time, Elle and Sorin came crashing through the trees causing the other wolves to turn and snarl. They immediately backed down when they realized it was their own people and not Volcan pulling some trick.

“Nice of you to show up,” Peri snarled.

“I tried to flash as soon as Sally and Costin explained what was going on but I couldn’t move,” Elle told her.

Peri laughed but there was no humor in it. “You can thank your friendly neighborhood dark fae for that little gem.”

“Sorry,” Elle said finally. “We’d turned in for the night. We heard a crash but just figured you had ticked off one of the wolves and they were tearing up your house again.”

Peri waved her off. “There wasn’t anything you could have done had you gotten here sooner.”

“What happened?” Elle asked.

Peri shook her head. “Not here.” Her voice rose as she addressed everyone present. “Let’s all go back to the house. We’ll talk there.” The other wolves all turned and started back for her home but Dalton didn’t move.

“Black, you coming?”

Dalton didn’t look at her as he gave a curt nod.

Peri felt Lucian’s hand slip into hers and she instinctively tried to flash but again was brought up short. “Dammit,” she ground out. “Walking sucks.”

Lucian chuckled as they started off for the house. “How are you?” he asked after several minutes of silence.

“I’m angry.”

“You handled it well.”

“I sort of took over there at the end,” she gave him a sheepish smile. “I’m just used to dishing out the orders.”

Lucian shrugged. “I’ll lead in any way that you need, whenever you need. I am not intimidated nor emasculated because my mate is able to lead and command others.”

She squeezed his hand.
“Thank you for understanding what I need, even when I don’t,”
she told him through the mate bond.

He lifted their clasped hands to his lips and pressed a kiss to hers.
“It is a privilege, beloved.”

When they finally reached her home, Peri stopped before they could reach the door and just stared. There they were again, gathering for a meeting to discuss what their next plan of action would be. And once again, healers had disappeared on her watch. She didn’t have a clue what to say to her comrades. Volcan was beating her at every turn and she was at a loss at how to fight back.

“That’s the great thing about having comrades,” Lucian whispered in her ear. “They might have ideas that you hadn’t considered. A good leader knows when to listen. So in this moment, we may feel at a loss, but we are going to go in there” ― he pointed to the house ― “and we are going to gather around the table with our brothers and sisters in arms and figure out how to beat our foe.”

Peri let out a breath she hadn’t known she’d been holding. She nodded at him as she bit her bottom lip. “Okay,” she told him. “Let’s do this.”

J
ewel and Anna stood just outside the Farie realm, staring up at the fae responsible for their current situation — Volcan. She wanted to hate him, but she couldn’t. She had hated him, but it was like something in her had been activated when she’d shared her blood with Anna. He was ancient. His blood and magic were powerful and that power was flowing through her and Anna begging to be shared with others.

“I am pleased, little Jewel,” he purred at her. “The first two witches in my coven are gypsy healers. Yes, I am well pleased.”

Jewel hated that she felt pleasure over his response. Something inside of her didn’t want to be a disappointment to her master. “Thank you, Volcan,” she responded.

“Things are progressing quite nicely. But there is still more work to do.” Volcan made a motion with his hand and behind him from out of the forest two very large men stepped out. “These are two of my loyal guards. They will be accompanying you on your journey.” Volcan stared at them both and the pleasure that had once been on his face was gone. “Do not veer from your task. You know what the consequences are if you do not obey the power inside of you.”

“How will we know who to add to our coven?” Anna asked him.

“Those worthy of the gift you offer will come to you. They will see that you are powerful and they will be drawn to you. The new sisters will be required to offer a sacrifice as proof of their loyalty. Dark magic always requires a sacrifice.”

“Why did we not have to give a sacrifice?” Jewel asked.

“Because magic already lives inside of you. It just needs to be shaped and molded into what I want it to be. There may come a time that I require a sacrifice from you to prove your loyalty, as well, but that time is not now. What is important now is building our coven. I will take you to your first destination. After that you will travel as the humans do. You need to come in contact with as many people as possible, and flashing with me would not be conducive to that.” Without another word, he snatched Anna and Jewel’s hands and they all disappeared.

They reappeared in a dark alley. Jewel realized that Volcan’s two guards must have grabbed onto him at some point, because they too appeared beside them in the alley. She looked around, trying to see if there was any way she could figure out where he’d brought them, but it could have been any dark alley in any city.

“This is where I leave you,” Volcan spoke up. “Serve me well and I will reward you. But if you fail… those you love will suffer greatly for your transgressions.”

And then he was gone.

Jewel looked at Anna and gave her a smile that she hoped was reassuring. “You okay?”

Anna let out a deep breath and nodded. “I’m okay. Feeling a little strange, like there are two of me inside this body. One minute I’m me, Anna from New Orleans, and the next I’m Anastasia the witch. And the switch from one to the other is seamless. It’s… I don’t know… just…”

“Messed up,” one of the guards offered, reminding them that they weren’t alone.

Jewel turned to face the two large men. The one on the left had dark hair long enough to be secured back with a tie. His eyes were gold in color and his eye lashes were so dark that it almost looked as though he was wearing eyeliner. His jaw was square and strong and his nose had a bump in it testifying to the fact that it had been broken at least once. He was handsome, though a little rough around the edges. The guy on the right was the antithesis of his companion. He had white blonde hair worn just long enough to brush his neck. His eyes were so light they almost seemed transparent. His features were just a bit softer though no less masculine. It was as though the guy on the left was the pencil sketch of a man with sharp angles and lines not quite meeting and the guy on the right was the completed oil painting all smooth and flawless. Though they were big, they didn’t look menacing. But they must have been tough if Volcan was using them to guard his precious witch healers.

“What species are you?” Jewel asked them.

The one on the left, pencil-sketch guy, chuckled, “You don’t beat around the bush.”

When Jewel didn’t respond to the observation, he just shrugged and added, “We’re warlocks.”

“I thought warlocks were supposed to be ugly,” said Anna.

Oil painting guy grinned and it only made his features even smoother. “Well, Sly, at least we have confirmation, via a gypsy healer no less, that we are not ugly.”

The guy on the left, AKA, Sly, raised his brow and nodded.

“Are you evil?” Jewel asked them.

“Why? Is evil supposed to be ugly too?” Sly asked her.

Jewel frowned at him. “Of course not. Why would anyone be lead down the wide path if the flowers were all dead, the trees burnt and charred, and the ground littered with trash? Evil comes adorned in beauty.”

“Then you are evil?” Oil painting warlock asked.

Anna laughed and nudged Jewel’s arm. “Did you see what he just did there? You’re the one who should be named Sly,” she told him.

“Nah, Slygorim doesn’t suit me. And in answer to your question, Jewel, I have a feeling we are no more evil than you and the lovely Anna are.”

Jewel didn’t know what to say to that. Did that mean they’d been forced somehow into service for Volcan?

She looked at pencil sketch guy. “You are Slygorim?”

He bowed, “In the flesh. But please, call me Sly. Humans tend to look at me weird when they hear my whole name.”

“Who are you?” Jewel turned to oil painting guy.

“I like this no-nonsense thing you got going on,” he said in answer. “For some chicks, it would come across as witchy, but with you it works.”

“She’s a genius. Her elevator doesn’t lower to the nonsense floor,” Anna told him.

He laughed and then just as Sly had done, bowed. “I am Zoveus, and I prefer to go by Z.”

Anna snorted. “Sly and Z, I bet you two are a favorite in the club scene.”

“Is that your way of saying we’re not ugly again?” Sly asked.

Anna shook her head. “No, that’s my way of saying your names sound like you made them up, so you could sound cool when you introduce yourself to the girls.”

“Ouch,” Z said taking his fist and bumping it into his chest as though stabbing himself in the heart. “That’s painful, Annie.”

Jewel had to admit, that as far as guards went, the two they’d ended up with could have been worse. She wouldn’t go so far as to say that she trusted them, but she didn’t think they were full on, no-hope-in-sight, evil either.

“So what do we do now?” Anna asked Jewel.

Jewel waited, wondering if the same influence that had taken her over in Farie and had her doing things like climbing out of second story windows and sharing her blood with her friend would suddenly give her some sign as to how she should proceed. But there was nothing. She could still feel Volcan’s magic in her, but it was like it had gone into hibernation.

“I don’t know,” she finally admitted.

Sly raised his hand and gave them a little wave. “We got you covered wheelers.”

“Wheelers?” Jewel and Anna said at the same time.

Z nodded and gave them a grin that Jewel could tell was his signature smile. “Witchy healers, of course.”

Anna smacked her hand against her forehead. “Okay, so not only did I think warlocks were supposed to be ugly but I thought they were supposed to be scary too. You two are like Luke and Bo Duke. At any moment I just know the General is going to show up, and you’re both going to slide in through the windows.”

Jewel couldn’t help but laugh at Anna’s description of the warlock pair. She was right on.

Z and Sly looked at each other and some sort of unspoken communication happened. They both nodded and then looked back at Anna and Jewel.