27. Chapter Twenty-Seven
2182 Words
27
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Bryar Rose
Knox’s upper body expands. Fur erupts across his skin. His face elongates into a muzzle. His fingers lengthen into claws. I pop my hands over my mouth.
He said his life template was Beauty And The Beast.
This is the Beast.
Knox reaches for me. “Come with us to the pyramids or else.” I step backwards. My inner wolf whines in confusion.
“Why is our mate threatening us?” she whimpers.
“He doesn’t want to do this,” I say. “Not really.”
Grey mist has overtaken Knox’s eyes. Now, that haze swirls even faster. “Come with us or die.”
“Leave Bry alone!” cries Elle. My best friend lunges for Knox. My mate bats her away with one swipe of his massive arm, sending her flying across the room. Elle slides across the temple floor until her head rams into the far wall. A loud CRACK echoes through the stone chamber.
I race toward to her. “Elle!” Kneeling beside my best friend, I set my fingers on her throat. There’s still a pulse. I pull back her eyelid. Her pupils contract. I exhale.
Nearby, Alec’s features tighten with rage as he rounds on Knox. “What have you done?”
“She’ll be fine,” I explain.
“You. Hurt. Her.” Curling his hands into fists, Alec races toward Knox. I’ve never seen Alec go for physical battle before—he’s always reached for some gemstones. That said, I’ve never seen Alec this enraged before, either.
Alec only gets within a few feet of Knox when my mate strikes. Grabbing Alec around the waist, Knox flips the wizard over through the air. Alec ends up slammed back-first onto the temple floor. He doesn’t move afterwards.
No. No, no, no.
If the possessed version of Knox kills Alec, my true mate will never forgive himself. I stare at Alec’s prone form, searching for any sign of life. For a long second, nothing is visible.
Then, Alec’s chest heaves in a shaky breath.
My shoulders slump with relief. Alec is breathing. This will be okay.
With Alec out of the picture, Knox focuses on me. “You can go with us by choice or because you’re in too much pain to fight.” He stalks closer. “What will it be?”
“You won’t hurt me, Knox. You’re my mate.”
“Knox isn’t here anymore,” say the many voices inside him.
Inside my heart, my inner wolf yips with fear. “Our mate is gone for now. We must run for our lives.”
“Right,” I reply in my mind.
Angling my head, I shoot a quick glance at the main archway. It’s the only way in or out. I have shifter speed, same as Knox. Of course, I’m not possessed by Shadowvin, but with any luck, that extra supernatural luggage will only slow my mate down.
Knox stalks closer. “Are you ready to listen to reason? Will you come with us to Egypt?”
I don’t reply with words. Instead, I run toward the exit arch with all my strength. In my peripheral vision, I can see Knox take off after me. My mate’s movements are so fast, he’s little more than a blur.
The next thing I know, Knox crashes into me from behind. I slam face-first onto the stone floor. The right side of my head takes most of the impact. Instantly, my head feels woozy. I’m barely aware of Knox’s teeth clamping onto my neck. With sluggish movements, I try to fight back, but it’s no use.
A thin rivulet of warm blood flows down my neck.
Knox is trying to kill me.
This can’t be happening.
As I keep up my struggle, I hear a familiar voice echo through the temple: “Hover, lover, glover, discover. I’ve come back, better run for cover.”
It takes a moment for my muddled brain to realize the truth. Reggie has returned. My rib cage swells with a combination of elation and relief. Reggie has returned…Who would have thought those three words would bring me pure joy?
Knox leaps to his feet. “You.”
“Bend, fend, tend, mend. I’m come back and brought a friend.”
Another voice gets added into the mix. “Yes, me.” I’d know that southern lilt anywhere. “Hello, sugar. Sorry I’m late.”
Whatever sense of relief I felt before? It’s now doubled. The Colonel is here. Like always, he looks unflappable in his white suit and matching hat. However, I know the Colonel well enough to notice the way his eyes gleam with silver light. He’s enraged. Now, certain supernatural dickheads are going to get what’s coming to them.
It’s a supreme effort, but I force myself to twist my head toward the Colonel. What I’m about to say is important; I simply must be understood.
“Knox is possessed by the Shadowvin,” I whisper. “Don’t hurt him. Please.”
“Would never hurt your mate, sweet pea.” The Colonel raises his arms. Instantly, a thick haze of silver fairy dust encircles his hands. The Colonel lowers his arms and the silver cloud whips toward Knox. As the fairy dust flies through the air, it takes the shape of eight long spears.
I gasp. I’ve seen fairy dust turn into massive fists and knives. Every time, they’ve punched and sliced their way, just like a real weapon would do. Panic zings through my bloodstream. “Don’t hurt him!” I cry.
The Colonel says one word. “Never.”
The silver spears slice right through Knox and come out the other side. When the weapons leave Knox’s back, they have impaled the three Shadowvin on them. The spears keep flying across the room until they stab into the far wall. The three Shadowvin are stuck onto the wall as well, like insects on a pin.
I try to sit up and get a better look at Knox, but it’s no use. I have shifter healing, and even so, I’m still taking some time to recover from whatever whack possessed-Knox gave to my head. I croak out one word. “Knox?”
He races to kneel by my side. “Bry, are you all right? What happened?”
The Colonel strides over. “You did, my boy.” He gestures to the wall. “You were possessed and I took care of the problem. You’re welcome.”
Knox turns to stare at the far wall. The three Shadowvin remain stuck there for a long moment. After that, they slowly vanish.
“The Shadowvin.” Knox clutches his stomach. “I remember them coming at me but after that, nothing.” Even though Knox is kneeling, he sways a bit from side to side. Being possessed by the Shadowvin can’t be good for your health.
The Colonel raises his arms once again. new silver mist forms in his palms. Within a few seconds, the haze takes the form of a crystal ball. The Colonel stares into its depths. “According to this here crystal ball, you’re under some bad mojo, my boy. Seems that the longer you’re with my Bryar Rose, the worse you feel.”
Knox’s eyes narrow. “Yeah. That a problem?”
“As a matter of fact, it is,” says the Colonel. “I want to have a discussion with Bryar Rose, but the topic is a bit disturbing. I think you’d better come along to help. And to do that, you need a little healing magic.” The Colonel scans the room. “You all could use some, as a matter of fact.”
Reggie, who’d been standing by the exit arch this whole time, now steps deeper into the chamber. “New, you, flew, ah-choo. I’m a little sick, so heal me too?”
“Reggie, you’re more than sick,” says the Colonel. “You’re dead as a doornail. I’m not wasting my good magic on such foolishness.” The Colonel lowers his arms. The crystal ball that has been cupped in his palms keeps hovering in space for a moment or two. Then it splits into four smaller orbs. Now, each one of those spheres no longer appears to be made of crystal. Instead, the hovering orbs looks like balls of silver fairy dust. The Colonel snaps his fingers, and the tiny spheres go flying across the chamber. Knox, Alec, Elle and me…One orb slams into each of our chests.
The moment the ball of fairy dust touches my rib cage, a pleasant warmth enters my body. The sphere seeps into my bones and blood. Energy and life flow through me. I hop to my feet and grin. “Thank you, Colonel.”
Knox rubs his chest. “Same here,” he says.
“You’re both most welcome.” The Colonel tips his hat before turning to me. “And Bryar Rose, you’ll notice soon that I put your wolf in stasis as well. Trust me, she needs some rest. And she’ll wake up soon enough.”
Closing my eyes, I reach out to my inner animal. Sure enough, I find her deep within my soul, curled up in an ‘o’ shape and snoring. I eye the Colonel warily. “My wolf is safe and everything, but it’s downright rude to go around putting other people’s inner animals in stasis without permission.”
“You’re quite right. Exceptionally rude. I’ll owe you a boon. How’s that?”
A boon is a get out of jail card from a fairy. They can’t take it back or refuse, no matter what you ask them to do. In fact, I’ve never heard of Colonel Mallory awarding one, ever. “I’ll take it,” I say.
Across the room, Elle and Alec awaken. They’ve been knocked out for a little while, so they’re rubbing their eyes and looking mighty confused.
“What happened?” asks Elle.
Alec points to Knox. “You’re possessed.”
“Whoa, there.” Knox raises his arms and shows Alec his palms. “I’m not possessed any more, thanks to our new visitor.”
The Colonel bows slightly. “Greetings, Mister LeCharme.”
Alec takes a half step backwards. “When did you get here?”
“Reggie brought me,” explains the Colonel. “I asked our undead friend here to keep an eye on y’all, and it’s a good thing I did. The Shadowvin can get rather peevish. I sent them away, but those three are worse than jackrabbits in a carrot patch. You scare them away one minute, they run right back two minutes later.”
“Jackrabbits,” says Elle slowly. “Got it.” In Elle-speak, that means she’s actually having a hard time adjusting to the new reality here. Not that I blame her. It’s been one crazy day, and her world just went from fighting a possessed Knox to chatting up an extremely courteous Colonel Mallory.
“Look,” says the Colonel. “Why don’t y’all stay here with Reggie and sit a spell? He can explain everything. In the meantime, I’ll just take Knox and Bryar Rose on a quick walk. There are a few things we need to discuss. Then we’ll be right back.”
“Talking with Reggie,” says Alec. “We can do that.”
“Good,” says the Colonel. “Oh, just don’t let Reggie run off.”
“We won’t.” Elle shoots him a thumbs-up, which is sign that my best friend is feeling far more in control of the situation.
The Colonel starts for the exit archway, pauses, and then turns around again. “And scream the bejeezus out of your lungs if those Shadowvin show up again.”
“Not a problem,” says Alec. “We don’t want the Shadowvin to get the fountain.”
“Fountain?” asks the Colonel slowly.
Elle gestures to the geyser top. “Sure, this thing right here. The Codex Mechanica confirmed it’s the real fountain of magic, not a replica or anything.”
“Ah, I see,” says the Colonel. “Yes, you guard that thing real well for us all. We’ll be back soon.” With that, the Colonel saunters out the exit archway. Knox and I follow behind, but not before I scoop up the Codex Mechanica from where I’d placed it on the floor. After so much hassle, I am not letting that device out of my sight.
Once we’re outside, the Colonel heads off into a different stretch of forest. “This way, please.” he calls.
“Where are we off to?” I ask.
“My old villa,” replied the Colonel.
I stop in my tracks. “You have a bungalow on Jules’ old estate?”
The Colonel pauses as well. “That I do, sugar. What did you expect?”
“Honestly?” I ask. “I thought you were imprisoned here some time ago. And then, maybe you saw me somehow and cast the curse on me to keep my powers locked up.”
Knox steps closer to my side. “Bry thought you were locked in a dungeon somewhere.”
The Colonel exhales a long sigh. “I’ve done a lot of things I’m not proud of. It’s beyond time I told you some of them.” He glances around at the trees. “But not here.” Without saying another word, the Colonel marches off into the forest.
As we follow along behind the Colonel, Knox links his fingers with mine. His touch is firm and centering. Considering how I’m holding Knox’s hand on one side and gripping the Codex Mechanica on the other, you’d think I’d feel a little better. I don’t, though.
Every few yards, Colonel Mallory glances over his shoulder to me. His face is the definition of the word guilty. His words reverberate through my soul.
I’ve done a lot of things I’m not proud of, sugar.
It’s beyond time I told you some of them.
As conversation starters go, that isn’t very promising. Plus, the Colonel has done some pretty scary things. Point of fact: I watched him transform into a dragon, breathe fire, and fry down a whole forest full of Denarii. I know for a fact that char-broiling all those Denarii wouldn’t even register on his ‘guilt radar.’ So what would a guy like that actually feel badly about?
For better or worse, I’m about to find out.
- Writer
