The Seven: Four tales of passion, danger and love (52 page)

Grace couldn’t take the idea that what Nyah said was true. She’d spent her entire life convincing herself that her mother was a wonderful woman who had died of some mysterious illness and if she had lived, Grace’s life would have been so different, happy and filled with love.

To be told that she’d had a mother all along, but one who had no interest in her, one that could turn her back and walk away without a second thought… Well, that was too much.

She ran out of the house and across the yard to the shelter of an old oak.

Walker jumped to his feet and challenged Nyah. “If you’re telling the truth, then fuck you, lady. Stay the hell away from Grace, you hear me? I won’t let you hurt her. I’ll kill you and that bastard, Severin.”

He ran out to where Grace had her hands covering her face, sobbing into them. “It’s okay.” Walker wrapped her in his arms. “It’s okay, baby, I’m here.”

“She’s lying,” Grace choked out the words. “She has to be.”

Walker didn’t know whether to argue or agree. Truth was, he had a hard time buying anything Nyah had told them, despite the way she’d transformed or the fact that her ink had changed him and Grace.

Maybe he just didn’t want to believe. Whatever the case, that wasn’t what mattered right now. Grace was hurting and all he could think about was how to comfort her. “It’s okay,” he whispered into her hair. “I’m here. I’ve got you. It’s going to be okay.”

“Indeed it is.” Nyah’s voice had them both jerking and looking in the direction of her voice.

“I did abandon you, Grace. With intent. I knew your life would be difficult and while it pained me, I knew it had to be. You needed to be strong and resilient, to be able to stand on your own. You needed to be capable of becoming a warrior.”

“A warrior for what?” Grace said, hiccupped back a sob, then wiped her eyes and squared her shoulders. “To fight some insane imaginary battle you have cooked up in your head?”

“To protect this world and the people you love. Your mate and your children. To be there for those who seek you out needing sanctuary and comfort. Only one who has known fear, despair, or loneliness understands those who seek solace against it.”

Walker sensed the change in Grace at those words, and felt it himself. Grace pulled back. “I know you’re playing me and I’m stupid enough to fall for it, but don’t think for a minute that this means I forgive you, because I don’t. I never will.”

“Nor will I ask for it. But I will ask for your help so that we might stop Severin from wrecking havoc on the people in this area before it is too late,” Nyah said.

Grace looked up at Walker. “I stand with you,” she said. She didn’t believe Nyah. Not for an instant. But she wasn’t sure she believed Severin either. At this point, the only thing she did believe was that she loved Walker and wanted to protect him.

The only way she knew to do that was to deceive both Nyah and Severin, and that might prove deadly. But she had to try. So she looked at Walker and he nodded.

“And I stand with you,” he said. “Tell me what you want to do and that’s what we’ll do.”

She nodded and faced Nyah once more. “We’ll help you, but when it’s done I want you to leave here and I don’t want to see you again.”

“As you wish. Now, if you will, please come back inside. We have much to accomplish and little time. What Severin did to you must be undone.”

“No,” Grace said, surprising Walker.

“No?”

“No. I think we should leave it.”

“As long as it is there, you are connected to him,” Nyah said. “You will feel his pull and sense his whereabouts. He will call to you and you will feel that call, feel the urge to succumb.”

“I know.” Grace looked at Walker.

All at once he seemed to understood and so argued her case to Nyah. “Maybe that’s a good thing. If Grace can sense him, then even if you can’t contain him, she’ll always know where he is, know where we need to be vigilant.”

Nyah was silent for a few moments. “It will be difficult for Grace. Severin is seductive and powerful. He will use all of his power to beacon her to him.”

“That’s it,” Grace said, and when Walker looked at her in confusion she explained, “Don’t you get it? He inked me to establish a connection. If we can round up his followers—as many as possible and contain them—Nyah can ink them, establish her own connection and exert her own control.”

Walker grinned at her. “That’s actually pretty smart.” He looked at Nyah. “What do you think?”

She smiled. “What is the old saying? Tit for tat? I think it has merit. But gathering together all of his followers in one place is too massive an undertaking. It will have to be accomplished in stages.”

“Then we start where we are,” Walker said. “We figure a way to round up everyone under his control in this area. Draw them all somewhere it won’t be noticed.”

“Like here,” Grace added. “We lure them here.”

“Yes, that may work,” Nyah agreed, and once again turned toward the house. This time, Grace and Walker followed.

Chapter Eight

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Walker gave Grace’s hand a squeeze as they walked along the lakeside.

“No, but I don’t see another way.”

“I don’t mean luring Severin, I mean the whole damn thing. Do you really buy into all this? I mean, we’ve all heard about The Seven and I know they exist but I’ve never met one and a Vampire is one thing. This transformation thing…that’s something else entirely.”

Grace considered the question for a few moments. Had she not seen and met people who could transform into animals or creature of myth, she would have said no. But she had. She’d seen these people and the abilities they possessed.

If there were people who walked the Dark Path with equal power, then they were dangerous. Not simply because of their abilities but because their way did not adhere to a strict moral code. They saw humans as something less than themselves and therefore expendable.

That was terrifying.

“You know what we can do. And we’re just now learning our powers. There are people a lot older and more skilled than we. Imagine what they could do to the people here.”

“I know.” Walker stopped and faced her. “I get all that. I do. But I’m not convinced that we can pull this off. What if something goes wrong? What if Severin doesn’t take the bait but decides to just snatch you off the street, or out of your apartment, or—”

“Walker, don’t. We can second guess all day but it won’t change anything. This is the safest way for everyone. We have to try.”

“And if we succeed?”

“Then we do what you suggested. We get in your truck and go somewhere far from here. Start over and hope we can keep what we are a secret and not run into any of Nyah’s or Severin’s followers.”

He pulled her to him, enveloping her in a tight hug. “I love you, Grace.”

“And I love you." She squeezed a little tighter, taking comfort in the feel of his arms around her.

They remained as they were for several minutes before she pulled away. “I have to go. I’ll see you at Nyah’s in an hour.”

“If you’re one minute late, I’m coming to find you.”

“I’ll be there. Just make sure she has everything ready.”

Walker gave her a lingering kiss that spoke of promises and fear. When he released her, she smiled at him. “One hour.”

He nodded and walked away. She watched him cross the grass to where he’d parked his truck on the side of the street. When he pulled away, she took out her phone and dialed the number she’d obtained from Nyah.

Severin answered on the second ring. “Yes?”

“This is Grace.”

“To what do I owe the honor of your call, Grace?”

“Mistrust.”

“Pardon?”

“Mistrust. I think maybe you’re right. Maybe Nyah is lying to me and I need the truth.”

“To?”

“A lot of things. Most importantly…is she my mother?”

There was a long silence, so long she thought maybe the call had dropped. “What would lead you to believe that she might be?”

Grace let out the breath she’d been holding. “I don’t want to talk about it on the phone. Meet me in person.”

“Where?”

Grace gave him the address of Nyah’s estate and again held her breath. Did he know the address was Nyah’s?

“Fine. When?”

“One hour.”

“I will be there.”

“See you then.”

She ended the call then placed another. Nyah answered on the first ring. “He’ll be there in an hour.”

“We will be ready.”

“You better be.” Grace ended the call and stood there for a moment, looking out over the surface of the water.

Tonight would change everything. Either they would succeed in determining who the threat was and neutralizing it, or they might just wind up dead. She hoped with everything in her they succeeded .If they did, tomorrow she and Walker would disappear and start over.

And maybe, just maybe, there would be a chance at that happily ever after.

*****

Grace was standing in the driveway waiting when the car pulled up. The man who has been masquerading as the puppy, Phobos, got out of the car via the driver’s door and opened the back passenger door. Severin stepped out and Grace greeted him.

“Thanks for coming. Let’s go inside.”

He took only two steps before stopping. “She is inside.”

Grace stopped. She should have known he would sense Nyah’s presence. Now what?

“Why don’t we take a walk, Grace? It appears to be a lovely estate and there are things we must discuss.”

“Like what?”

“Walk with me.”

Grace hesitated for a moment, then nodded and fell in step with Severin as he started toward the rear of the estate.

“What makes you think Nyah is your mother?"

Grace didn’t see any benefit in lying. “She told me.”

“And I suppose she also told you that she is a Guardian of the Light, consigned to that fate by her vengeful mate?”

Grace stopped and looked at him in surprise and he smiled. “Yes, of course she did.”

“Well, why shouldn’t she? It’s the truth, isn’t it?”

Severin started walking again and after a moment she hurried to catch up with him. “Well?”

“As is most often the case, there is both truth and lie to the tale.”

“Meaning?”

“Truth. She and I did have an affair. Once, a very long time ago. I was in love with her. Foolishly and blindly in love. She had no interest in me. It was my brother she wanted. And it was my brother she mated. She became a princess, destined to rule by his side.

“I was bereft at the rejection, but loved my brother and he was in love with her. But he was as mated to his duty as to her. When we came to this realm, after we were established and the operation was in progress, he turned his attention to other matters, leaving me in charge.

“He often requested Nyah’s company on his journeys, but not always. She became dissatisfied and suspicious, and over time, this created a rift between them. I do believe he would have remained faithful to her if her accusations and unwarranted suspicions had not become a habitual part of their relationship.

“During all this, she turned to me and convinced me that my brother was taking other women to bed, shunning her, his mate in favor of illicit affairs. I tried to speak with my brother about it, but it angered him that I had come to him with what he called ridiculous accusations.

“Nyah convinced me that he had as little respect for me as he did her, and I came to believe her. My feelings for her had never died, so when she came to me and seduced me, I could not resist.

“How was I to know that I was as much a dupe in her game as he? She flaunted our indiscretion in my brother’s face and when he said he would sever their bonds, she incited a riot and led the mob that killed my brother.”

“No, she said you did that.”

“Yes, I imagine she did. However, that would be the part of the tale that is a lie. I admit to my wrongdoing. I lay with my brother’s wife. And I did not prevent her from killing him.

“It was a horrible death. She knew, as did we all, that our magic could resurrect him as long as his body was intact and so she had him dismembered and each part hidden—on this world and many others in different realms.

“I spent countless centuries searching, but finally managed to assemble all of his body. I took him to our home realm and begged our father to have him resurrected. As payment—for what I had done with Nyah and for not preventing his death, my father decreed that upon Zarad’s resurrection, I and his traitorous wife would be sent into exile here on earth. Nyah and I would be forever adversaries, I as Daemon Guardian of Light and she of Darkness.”

“No, that’s a lie. She’s Light, not you.”

“Is she?”

“Yes.” Grace felt a stab of doubt. The truth was, she didn’t have a clue what either of them really were, but she couldn’t discount how Nyah had treated her and Walker. “She’s good and kind and has never hurt me. And look what she did for Walker? Without her, he would be a cripple of sorts—disfigured and unable to cope with his past.”

Severin smiled. “And therein lies the brilliance of evil, Grace. It appears to us in the guise of what we yearn for most, fools us with our own desires. Don’t you see? That is why I was forced to abduct you, to put my ink to you. You are tainted by her ink, her evil, and subject to her control. But my power is stronger and can help you resist her domination.”

“No. She’s never asked me to do anything wrong. You’re lying. And look at Walker. He saves people all the time—does good and she made that possible.”

“Yes, she gave him his desire—made it possible for him to ignore the guilt he feels for surviving when his friend died. She makes him believe that she is a savior, giving him the power to redeem himself."

Severin stopped and faced her. “But know this, Grace. When she commands that he do something dark and horrible, he will do it. He cannot resist her power. She’s too strong. As strong as the jealousy that will keep him from believing the truth.”

“What does that mean?”

“You know what it means. You were attracted to me the first moment we met. You still are. You may love him, but he will always know that you harbor a secret desire for me and his jealousy of that will tear you apart. He will never turn away from Nyah in favor of me because of you.”

Grace shook her head. “You have to be lying. Nyah is…”

“Someone who claims to be your mother—a mother who would walk away from her child without a second glance. Tell me, Grace, does that feel like the actions of an agent of the Light?”

Grace didn’t know how to answer. Severin had not given her any reason to truly trust him, but neither had Nyah. If she was Grace’s mother, then she had been a really sorry one to abandon Grace and her father the way she had.

“I can’t—I can’t believe either of you."

“Then perhaps this will help.” Severin reached inside his jacket to the inner breast pocket and withdrew a tattoo needle, the type Nyah had used on Grace. It was black with dried ink.
“This ink is deadly to those of my kind—to me and to Nyah. Take it. Stab me with it.”

Grace reached for the needle and once it was in her hand he spoke again. “Go on, Grace. If you believe me to be the agent of Darkness, then end it. Now. One prick will see me weakened and sick within minutes. Stab deep and I will die an agonizingly slow but certain death.”

Grace gripped the needle tighter. Was he telling her the truth?  If so, then she could stop all of this now. Just stab him and be done with it. But that nagging voice in her mind stayed her hand. Why would he give her something that would kill him?  Then again, what if he was not lying?

In the end, it didn’t matter.  She didn’t have it in her to do something that might cold-bloodedly take a life.

“I can’t.”

“Nor should you.” The voice behind her had her turning in surprise.

“Mr. Friendly? What are you doing here? You need to leave. It's not safe.”

“It’s fine, Grace. No one will harm me. Will they…brother?”

Grace yelped as Mr. Friendly’s form began to change. In moments, the transformation was complete.

“Dad? What kind of trick is this? Are you one of Severin’s—”

“No. It’s me, Gracie.”

“It can't be. You're dead. Why would you do such a horrible thing? Why are you posing as my dad?”

“I don’t mean it to be, Gracie. And I promise you it is me. At least it is the form I adopted while you were growing up. But you are correct in that it is not my original form.”

“Zarad.”

Severin’s voice had Grace cutting her eyes at him. He smiled at her father. “I thought never to see you again, brother.”

“Brother? What the hell's going on?”

Grace turned at the sound of Walker’s voice to see him coming up behind her. “I don’t have a clue. But that—” She pointed to Zarad. “Looks like my dad, but it can't be because my dad is dead. And he says he’s Severin’s brother. But when he got here, he was Mr. Friendly. Now he says he's Zarad.”

“And that's as clear as mud. But I know he’s not Mr. Friendly because Mr. Friendly was at the fire. He’s the one who warned me you were in the house. And that’s definitely not him.”

Zarad smiled and in a blink he was Mr. Friendly. By the time Grace gasped, he'd changed again, but this time to a man much younger and with a notable resemblance to Severin.

“Okay, what the hell is going on?” Walker took Grace’s arm and pulled her behind him in a protective gesture.

Before anyone could answer, Nyah was there, pointing a
t
Zarad an
d
screaming at Severin. “Kill him!”

Severin looked from her to Zarad.

“Kill him I said!” She ran at Zarad, but he lifted his hand and she was sent stumbling backwards. She opened her mouth to scream again and he waved his hand. Nyah’s hands went to her throat. Her mouth moved but no sound emerged. She jerked and Grace realized that Nyah was unable to move.