The Victorious Redemption Complete Series Boxed Set, page 42
The man approached slowly. His boots whispered through grass, and in his long, dark jacket, he looked like a gunslinger. His features came into focus as he drew closer. The edges of his face were as sharp as polygons.
Jasmine shifted uneasily and glanced at her grandmother, prepared once again to fight if necessary.
To her surprise, her grandmother softened. "Well, well. As I live and breathe."
The man came closer, and the moonlight illuminated eyes that were narrowed to near slits. His pupils were dilated, or maybe the darkness hid the whites of his eyes. Every part of him seemed strange, as if there were something unnatural to him. Jasmine couldn’t define it, but it was like viewing a friend through a screen of water. You couldn’t be sure of what you were seeing.
He dug his hands deep into his pockets and cocked his head. "Charlie Fantome. How long has it been?"
Jasmine couldn’t remember the last time she’d heard her grandmother’s full name. She had never experienced life in the city with her grandmother around other people. She had always come to Jasmine’s house, then gone on her way.
The man held out his hands as he approached Jasmine's grandmother. She approached him, slowly closing the gap as they pecked each other on either side of the cheek with a familiarity that Jasmine found startling.
“Eli…” her grandmother breathed. "How long has it been?"
"Too long," Eli claimed. “Every day without your beauty gracing my vision is another day wasted.”
Her grandmother rolled her eyes. “You charmer.”
Jasmine sensed the electricity in the air between them. She smirked as she realized she was seeing something she had never seen before: her grandmother flirting. Had they been lovers once?
She balked at the idea, drawing their attention as she tried to hide her minor revulsion.
"My granddaughter," her grandmother announced, motioning a hand toward Jasmine.
Eli met Jasmine's gaze. A flash of gold winked in the dark pits of his eyes. "I see. So this is the lovely leading lady in our little drama. Oh, how nice it is to finally put a face to the name."
Jasmine cautiously took his offered hand and shook it. His palms were cold and his skin was dry.
“So, you’re not the one who I saw the other day, the hell-hide beast with the table manners?” Jasmine guessed.
Eli turned up his lip and looked at Jasmine’s grandmother. “She’s astute.”
“She’s mine,” her grandmother quipped.
Eli took a deep breath and pushed his hands back into his pockets. "I think you know the answer to that. You would have smelled it on me long before I arrived. You’re referring to a wonderful gentleman by the name of Arthur Tamsen.” He turned to Jasmine’s grandmother, as if confiding a secret. “The latest recruit into the Dark Walkers pack. Quite a significant and impressive specimen if I do say so myself.”
“Quite the find, if I’m to understand correctly,” her grandmother stated.
Eli nodded. “Indeed. A purebred hell-hide. Once a monstrosity, now a powerful ally and tool. He’s actually a student of mine. I suppose I could take most of the credit for helping the poor lad master his chaos and refine it into something…useful.”
Jasmine frowned. "You helped him master the hell-hide? How is that even possible? Can anyone upgrade their form to that of the monster?”
Eli gave a knowing look to Jasmine's grandmother. “So much to learn.”
“I know. I’m working on it,” her grandmother explained. She waved her hand as if to give him permission to continue.
"What you have to understand, Jasmine," Eli explained, "Is that the world isn't just werewolves and humans."
"I know, I know," Jasmine returned. "Vampires and zombies and all that stuff. Revenated. Yada yada yada."
Eli gave an approving nod. "And more." He took a few steps back and held his hands out to either side, palms facing toward Jasmine.
Jasmine wondered what was going on as Eli craned his neck toward the darkened sky. Stars glimmered above him. Eli pressed his lips tight and closed his eyes as he flexed his fingers at the end of his outstretched arms. For a moment, nothing happened. And then…
Holy shit.
Smoke appeared from the ends of his fingertips, growing until it swallowed his entire hand. It looked as though he were on fire as the char and ash spread across his arms and toward his shoulders, ferociously consuming him.
Jasmine frowned, brought suddenly back to her encounter with the necromancer in the fog. She remembered the solid feel of the spikes that burst through her chest and the power and density of something that shouldn’t be able to form a hard frame. She stepped back, and her grandmother’s hand found the small of her back.
Eli's eyes flashed with gold. The smoke was ravenous. It swelled around him and devoured his entire body until he could no longer be seen.
Jasmine’s grandmother attempted to reassure her. “Just wait.”
A ball of smoke drifted where the man had been. It was large and dense and blocked out everything behind them. Inside the constrained maelstrom, sparks of gold flashed across the orb and showed a power Jasmine had never seen before.
The shadow receded. The density of the cloud thinned, and a figure came into view in the center. The gold continued to flash, sparking like electricity. The smoke continued to fade until the shape solidified, and Jasmine saw a near-identical copy of the beast she had encountered the other day.
Arthur—or what looked like Arthur to Jasmine—grinned at her. His snout stretched into a wry smile showing ivory teeth dripping with saliva. His lean chest rippled with impressive muscles. Yet still, something was off about the whole thing.
The beast looked up at the sky and bellowed in a throaty howl. Jasmine took a steadying breath to steel herself.
As the howl rang into the night, smoke snaked up from the beast’s feet. The black tornado swallowed Arthur whole, clouding and blocking his frame once more.
Jasmine’s grandmother smiled with what looked like nostalgia.
The smoke disappeared, and where the hell-hide had been sat a small dark wolf with brown patches of mottled fur across his back.
"Gran, I don't understand," Jasmine started.
Her grandmother stopped her and told her again, "Just wait."
Jasmine did. Once again, the smoke took the form of the wolf away and swallowed the vision.
Her grandmother took her hand. A moment later, she realized why.
The smoke faded, and Jasmine gasped, unable to take in what she was seeing. It was like looking in a funhouse mirror. The dark-skinned man had morphed into a near-perfect clone of Jasmine. She was all there: her dark hair, her pale skin, her thin frame, almost meticulous.
The only thing Eli hadn’t captured was the eyes. She knew these intimately, having seen her own reflection every day in the mirror throughout most of her life. The eyes that stared back at her were just…wrong. Although it didn’t throw off the whole package. Someone who didn’t know Jasmine intimately would be forgiven for believing they’d encountered her in the flesh.
Eli beamed with Jasmine’s face. Another flash of smoke enveloped him. Gold flashed in the black ash. When the smoke faded, her grandmother stood staring back at her. The real grandmother—the one standing beside her, physically touching her—laughed like Eli was performing a trick dedicated to her.
Eli-as-grandmother grinned again, and after one final shift in an array of smoke, he returned to his previous state. There was no damage to his clothes or person, as if even the clothing was a part of the illusion.
"You're a skin-changer," Jasmine guessed, her breath soft." A shifter."
"Among many things," Eli affirmed. "Shifting is merely one arrow in my quiver. Magic helps."
"You’re a wizard?" Jasmine asked.
Eli cocked his head, that confident grin still on his face. "In a sense… I'm more used to hearing the term Warlock."
"How is this possible?" Jasmine mused. "I thought Warlocks and shifters were creatures of legend."
"That's how we like to keep it," Eli explained. "It doesn't do us good to go around advertising our services. It makes people twitchy, nervous. Considering we can shift into almost anything, it's almost impossible to detect us in a crowd, or to find our fault."
Jasmine raised an eyebrow.
Eli laughed. "Of course, you've noticed that it's difficult for us to achieve a full shift upon the first attempt. Having never met you before tonight, I tried my best, but you'll have noticed some distinguishing features that set us apart."
"I was almost offended," Jasmine stated. "I couldn't work out if that's what I really look like, and if my own sense of who I am was just plain wrong."
"No," her grandmother insisted. "You are beautiful.”
“Aw, thanks. You charmer.” Jasmine winked at her grandmother.
Her grandmother rolled her eyes.
Jasmine returned her attention to Eli. "So, you say that the hell-hide beast is called Arthur, yet you can perform a perfect replica. I'm confused. How can I be sure that you didn’t create the hell-hide yourself, and this… Arthur…is bullshit?"
Eli chuckled again and motioned for them to join him at a nearby bench. "Arthur is my student and an apprentice of sorts. He is a wolf, able to switch into hell-hide, and we have been working together tirelessly for the last few months to get him into a position in which he can channel the rage while still keeping control of his faculties. You can't possibly imagine the difficulties of the kind of self-control that takes, constantly putting yourself in harm's way in order to further the development of an asset."
“An asset?” Jasmine pressed.
Eli gave her a knowing look.
"So, let me get this straight," Jasmine clarified. "The Dark Walkers have a Warlock and a hell-hide?"
"Of a sort," Eli confirmed.
"Eli," her grandmother broke in with an imploring tone to her voice. "Why is it that you're here? Why would the pack send the shifter rather than sticking to their bargain and meeting us one-on-one? What use is a messenger when we requested to talk directly to the source?"
Eli lowered his head. "The answer to that one is simple, though I'm sure it'll be more difficult to hear."
He glanced toward Jasmine. "They were keen to meet, but after scenting Jasmine last night, there was some…hesitation in their agency."
"What hesitations are we talking about?" her grandmother wondered. "Jasmine is one of us, she is a Were."
"Oh, if only it were that simple," Eli responded earnestly and turned to Jasmine. "Apologies in advance for what I’m about to say, but these words are not mine. I believe that their specific wording was that they ‘didn’t want to be contaminated by the unnatural seed.’ That bargaining with this ‘half-Were-half…whatever,’ would taint their reputation.”
Jasmine looked down at her feet. Her shoes were growing damp from the dew-soaked grass.
Eli continued. “Let it also be understood that the Dark Walkers and the Ghost Throats are at cross purposes. Negotiations are a tough matter to circumnavigate.”
"What's that supposed to mean?" her grandmother demanded. "We have no quarrel with the Dark Walkers."
"I really shouldn't tell you this," Eli began. That connection between him and her grandmother sparked again, and unseen messages seemed to fly between them. They had a glint in their eyes…affection? Adoration? "It looks as though our packs have allegiances to warring factions. The Dark Walkers have agreed to assist a figure working against the circle of peers. And, if rumor is to be believed as fact, we have caught wind that the Ghost Throats are working now with the circle.” A sadness crossed his eyes as he stood and moved closer to her grandmother. He didn’t need an answer to know the truth. "The next time that we cross paths, it is unlikely it will be under these amicable circumstances, or be this friendly and civil. It will likely be as enemies, though that would be a damn shame."
Jasmine broke in. "And why is it that we should trust what it is that you're saying? What proof have we that you're on the side of right?"
Eli turned his gaze to Jasmine. "You're welcome, by the way."
"I’m welcome? For what?" Jasmine scoffed. "That you stroll in here, show off your talents, and then threaten us to stay off our mission?”
He continued to look at her, now with a note of pity in his eyes. "You’re welcome that you weren’t mauled in the alley last night. There's a reason the Dark Walkers let you go. It wasn't the voice of God that deterred them from their intent."
Jasmine's eyes widened. "It was you? You were the whisper?"
"I was hoping that I'd be able to come here today and draw you both to our way of thinking—to the side of moral right," Eli explained. "After all, the power of Weres working together is immeasurable. I'd much rather Weres tolerating each other than at an all-out war between factions. However, that is turning out much harder than initially suspected. It seems that the Dark Walkers really don’t like you, Jasmine. And word from their associates is that there is no way that yourself or your grandmother will be convinced to change sides."
Jasmine narrowed her eyes. "You're talking about him, aren’t you?" Qadir’s face floated in her mind.
Her grandmother spoke up. "So what have you come here to say, besides betray your own pack and tell us information that would get you in trouble?"
The shifter pushed his hands deeper into his pockets and shrugged. "I was hoping that I'd be able to prove everyone wrong. That there would be a way to change both of your minds and draw you into a situation in which you would be on the right side of history. However, judging from your responses, I fear that is not going to be the case." He moved closer to her grandmother and held out his hands. She looked at his palms, then placed hers in his. "I was also excited to once again see you. The moment I heard your name involved in the discussion, I had to come. It’s been far too long. You’ve never truly left my mind."
Jasmine looked between the pair as her grandmother withdrew her hands and rose to her own feet. "It's not just myself and Jasmine in this… The Ghost Throats are entrenched in our own goals. You are correct. We will not be switching sides. If that means that we find ourselves pitted against the Dark Walkers, then so be it. Though I promise that it will not end well for you and yours."
Eli scratched the back of his neck and looked up at the sky. "Need I remind you, you're setting yourself up for fighting other werewolves. I know how much you hate that." His tone conveyed genuine concern as he looked between Jasmine and her grandmother. His eyes flashed gold, only this time he wasn't shifting, and in that look it was clear that something else was taking place beneath the surface.
Jasmine suddenly felt exposed and naked. His gaze felt like a physical presence examining her body. He drank her in, staring without blinking. Her grandmother drew closer to her.
After a few moments, he shook his head. "It’s stunning work. Really. The spells worked into your blood are truly exquisite, Jasmine, a testament to your father's craft, having taken the right amount of time to mature. I’ve never seen anything like it."
Jasmine stood, suddenly angry. "Excuse me?"
He held up his hands placatingly. "Haven't you ever wondered? It's funny how your father vanishes at just the right moment for all that magic to be ignited by your death, isn't it?"
Blue and red flashing lights interrupted whatever Jasmine would have answered. Sirens squealed and blared as several police cars rounded the corner. Their tires screeched as they sped toward the industrial square.
Jasmine drew her claws as her grandmother turned. "You bastard. This was all a trap!”
Eli shook his head. "No, it wasn't me.” His eyes narrowed at the approaching convoy. "I always knew that fat one was a squealer, little prick spoiled a perfectly planned dramatic exit. He must have seen me heading this way."
Before Jasmine could ask what Eli was talking about, he faded into a cloud of smoke.
CHAPTER FIVE
Private
Jasmine was mesmerized, despite the growing commotion. The cloud of smoke that was Eli shifted and morphed. The strange man’s shape was once again an amorphous thing that was hard to identify.
Wings, twelve feet from tip to tip, spread wide from the smoke. They flapped powerfully and fanned the smoke away. What was once human had become a large dark eagle, beautiful and glorious to behold. It looked like a thing of legend. It was black as the night, and gold orbs shone where its eyes should be.
Jasmine’s grandmother gripped her arm. Her gaze remained fixed on the eagle as it beat its powerful wings and took off into the sky. As it flew higher, its body melted against the darkness and camouflaged with the night. With a quick swoop it was gone, and Jasmine’s grandmother was cursing beside her.
“Son of a bitch!” she stuttered. “Now this triggers some memories I’d rather have forgotten.”
Before Jasmine had a chance to ask her grandmother to expand on that, the police came toward them. The lights were bright and flashing, turning the square into a strobing disco. In the distance, Jasmine identified figures emerging from the place where the young group they had defeated had fled.
"Shit." Her grandmother grabbed her arm and pulled her away. "We need to get out of here. They can't see us. Our kind can't get entangled with the police. No one will win in that situation."
They took a few steps toward her grandmother's car but soon realized they could not get there without running into the oncoming police. Jasmine cursed underneath her breath as they spun and ran away from the cops. They aimed for a nearby passage between the large abandoned buildings.
Their feet beat against the pavement. Jasmine's grandmother kept a good pace but was slower than Jasmine, not being a revenant. They sprinted through the darkness, heading toward the city.
They barely made it to the end of the street before they heard more sirens and saw more police cars flashing their arrival.
"It's a bit of an extreme reaction," Jasmine muttered. "What do they think is going on here?"
