Origins (2 page)

God, her life had been totally fucked. At least she didn’t have to worry about Valerie. Right now her sister was probably in the arms of
her
mate, who just happened to be Joy’s brother. It kind of helped that Valerie and Joy weren’t blood related—talk about a mind fuck. Max didn’t know about her either until their mutual sperm donor had come to her in a vision just before he died. She’d later found out their dear old dad had appeared to Max too, warning him to the danger heading to the Masters pack. At least that was one thing the old man got right.

Still, things had changed so much in such a short time.

“Joy?”

Right, she had things to do. The anger eased a bit when she saw Zareb on the ground, looking at her with hope in his eyes.

Joy set the machete down and made sure her pack was closed in case it managed to fall over, she didn’t want to have to pick her crap up off the ground. She settled across from Zareb and he held out his arms so they could form a two person circle around the Vessel and begin to chant.

Everything faded away until it was just her and Zareb. His voice flowed over her, but she didn’t understand everything he said. She didn’t speak Afrikaans, after all. She needed to rectify that because Zareb did all of his spells, in his native tongue.

Focus, damn it.

Joy berated herself. They needed to contain the evil from the Vessel. It was seeping out and the anger she had coursing through her was not her own. She knew that. As Joy let Zareb take the lead, she just let her power flow to him.

“Dankie dat jy.”

Joy knew that one.

“No need to thank me. It needed to be done. I’m already irritable because of the situation and the Vessel is taking advantage of that. I know that in my head, but my spirit is allowing itself to be twisted.”

That corrupt piece of pottery was truly evil, in a way an inanimate object had no right to be. It held the souls of demented individuals and it was one of them that had possessed Djimon. It was the reason they were on this journey—to destroy it so it couldn’t harm anyone else. The only issue was that it emanated evil and grabbed your very soul, pushing you to do things you’d normally never do, like chop off someone’s head. It was tempting, but not something she’d ever really do unless under the influence of the oldest known evil in the history of the shifters.

“I will take it for a while. The magical shield should help keep it contained. And we are not lost. Hand me your pack.” Zareb rummaged through his own pack and pulled a few things out before putting the Vessel inside.

Joy watched Zareb’s strong hands as he moved things between the two bags. Then he paused and sat up straighter. Something wasn’t right. Joy closed her eyes and listened. Still she heard nothing. Her ears wouldn’t do the trick; she’d have to use magic to enhance her senses.

Find the disturbance.

She sent her spirit from her body and it journeyed in a circle around the general area. Shit, there it was.

Her spirit slammed back into her body and she fell flat. Zareb hovered over her.

“People—” she managed to croak out. “Coming. Not good.”

Zareb left her and scrambled to hide the Vessel. No way could they let some unknown person stumble over it. And the aura surrounding the group was—bad. Whoever they were, they had blow-darts and she had no way of knowing if they were poisonous or not. Joy gave herself a second before standing. They would have to run.

Things went from bad to worse. They didn’t have much time. Zareb pulled some things from Joy’s pack before tossing it to Ive and Djimon.

“Take the Vessel.” Zareb’s voice echoed around the jungle.

Joy cleared her mind—if these individuals had magic, there was no way she would be the one to give them away. Djimon looked confused. That was good. The less he knew the better. They couldn’t have Dmitri’s soul resurfacing to take over Djimon’s body. Ive took Djimon’s hand and huddled closer.

Time seemed be going in slow motion. Zareb crumbled before her with a dart sticking out of his neck. She couldn’t reach him fast enough—it took her a second to realise she had been hit too. Her legs wouldn’t move and her knees buckled. Joy held out a hand, but she couldn’t make it. With her last ounce of energy she reached for the wolf pendant around her throat. The one Bella, from her sister’s new pack, had given her. Joy used her magic and that of the necklace to send the images to Bella.

Bella was a seer—hopefully she’d get the message and send help. This wasn’t going well at all.

Ive was screaming, but Joy couldn’t make out the words. A tall man had Ive over his shoulder and Djimon was yelling now too. Joy couldn’t understand—it could be the language or the darts were drugged, maybe both, she was confused. She blinked and they were gone. Had she passed out? One second they were there in the clearing, then they were gone. No Ive, no Djimon and no bags. Wait—that wasn’t right. There was one and she was on top of it.

When Joy fell she must have collapsed on top of her satchel. Her movements were still slow, but she was alive—something she hadn’t been sure would be the case. She couldn’t say the same for Ive and Djimon, or even Zareb for that matter. Joy still clutched the wolf necklace. She let it go and hoped Bella got the message. She smacked her lips together—they were so dry. Whatever she was drugged with had given her cotton mouth.

Her neck ached where she’d finally managed to pull the dart out of her skin. She crawled over to Zareb, but he didn’t move.

“Are they gone?” he whispered. Zareb’s lips hadn’t moved. But Joy understood him.

“Yes. As far as I can tell. They took Ive and Djimon. We need to track them.”

“No.”

“What do you mean
no
? We can’t leave them at the mercy of those—people.” Joy stood up and put her hands on her hips. Dizziness washed over her, but she held her position.

“We have no choice. At least not right now. We
have
to get rid of the Vessel. That is our primary goal. Nothing else matters right now. You know our lives are forfeit if the evil isn’t destroyed. It’s why we’re out here, to save the world from the Vessel. Djimon would understand that, as would Ive. She is a warrior.”

“Yeah, well I
don’t
understand. We are stronger as a group. We find them
then
worry about that—that thing!” She was getting hysterical. Everything was wrong.

“Joy…please, listen to me.” Zareb sat up. “If this”—Zareb dragged the bag from its hiding place—“falls into the wrong hands, we will have more to worry about than just our deaths. Do you understand? We are talking about the world changing. No one will be safe.”

“Yeah, dramatic much?” Joy glared.

She’d calmed down a little after his talk of world destruction, her hysterics sounding over the top to even her. They had to have a plan to get the rest of their group back. That was the most important thing—human life.
 

“You saw what it was capable of. You know we need to fix this.” Now Zareb stood and towered over her.

“If you wouldn’t have gone all ‘curious cat’ in the first place this wouldn’t be a problem.” Joy invaded his space. The heat rolled off him. Even when she was upset with him the man was a sexy stud and she wanted sex him up.

Not the time
or
the place.

Joy watch Zareb’s shoulders slump. God, she was such a bitch. What was wrong with her?

“I’m sorry, Zareb.” She stepped back.

“No need. You are correct. If Djimon and I had left the Vessel hidden, none of this would have happened.” Zareb looked down at her. “But did you ever stop to think that this is the path we were meant to take? That we should be here, and now? If the past had not occurred I may have never found—” Zareb stopped mid sentence.

Yep. It was official. She was a stone cold bitch.

“So what do we do now?” Joy huffed out a breath.

“We destroy the Vessel where Djimon and I found it over a century a go.”

“Let’s do this.

* * * *

Zareb was at a loss for the first time in his existence. Every pore in his being wanted to mark his mate. To make her his. But it was not the time, nor the place. They couldn’t afford for her first shift to be out in the jungle. It was too dangerous for Joy and for him when they both knew the mating serum released with each bite would cause her to turn into a shifter. He would have to let his guard down. Zareb knew the dangers of the jungle, but he had no idea what Dmitri had set up before they had got rid of his spirit. There could be traps and Zareb had to be on top of his game.

Through the centuries he had given up the thought of ever having a mate. Zareb figured he would be following his old friend over the globe trying to stop him from taking over. At least now he knew that Djimon wasn’t behind the evil that had taken place. He adjusted the pack on his shoulder. The need to destroy the Vessel was strong, but he ignored it for now, they needed to get it back to the place he found it to ensure it couldn’t surface again. He had too much else going on to hear any singing coming from the Vessel this time. It wouldn’t sway him as it had in the past; Zareb was stronger now.

So many of their kind were dead. And, when all was said and done, it was his fault. He was the one who had talked Dji into going on the walk to find the Vessel before they were transformed into protectors for their tribe. It was his idea to dig up the shiny object and take it back to the tribe.

The Ancients only knew why he was the one who kept his soul. Why he was the one who had to take charge and be the champion of good. It weighed heavily on his mind.

“Zareb?”

He must have zoned out. Joy stood looking at him, resting with her pack on her back. By the Ancients, she was beautiful. Her sparkling green eyes were so full of curiosity, her long black hair pulled back in a band to combat the oppressive heat that surrounded them. Her skin was so light and creamy, like his favourite chocolate and he wanted to lick her.

“Sorry. Yes. We need to go that way.” Zareb pointed to his left.

There was a path, but it was covered with vines.

“Wait. Before we go, I want to leave this necklace Bella gave me. If she got the message I projected, the pack could be sending someone.”

“Why would that matter? There is no guarantee they would send magic users. If they send a group of shifters they would not know what to do with the amulet.”

“So I’ll put an incantation on it. That way whoever picks it up can see what happened.”

“That is all well and good, my siel, but what if one of the others in this jungle picks it up. They will know to look for us. Your scent and signature would be all over that pendant.” Zareb wanted to reason with her, but they were wasting time.

“It’s a chance I’m going to take. If your pack gets here I want them to go after Ive and Djimon. Not us, because they will need more help. Once those men realise that Dmitri is gone there is no telling what they will do and I don’t want Ive and Djimon’s deaths on my conscience.”

“Do what you must, Joy, but hurry. Dark will be here soon and we have much ground to cover.”

Zareb glared at the path, anxious to get this mission over with. He would never fully be at peace. The whole situation was his fault. He could never forget the way to where the Vessel lay. It was mapped in his head. He did not like to think about it, but he made himself—day in and day out. He would never forget the carnage.

Chapter Two

“Fuck!” Joy screamed.

Zareb stopped and turned. He’d got too far ahead. In his haste to get this finished, he had allowed her to fall behind.

“What happened?”

Joy was on the ground, clutching her ankle.