Mortal Magic, page 13
“Dannika’s orders will be followed. Reapers that turn their back on our clan will end up like the one that killed Riley’s psychiatrist,” Ferguson said.
It was the way he said it, that sent a shiver through Riley’s body. “What did you do, Ferguson?”
Ferguson’s eyes softened when they fell on Riley. “I made an example of that traitor. I want it very clear what will happen if you leave the reaper clan. Most of his body was sent back to Breck.”
Riley put her hand over her mouth, to stay the gag reflex, but recovered quickly when the nurse opened the door to her father’s room.
Sarah paused when she saw the men. Her heart beat raced, as sweat beaded on her brow. She looked like a rabbit about to bolt or waiting to see if it would be pursued.
Riley stepped up to her. “If you have the release papers ready. We will take my father and go.”
Sarah nodded and gave the paperwork to Riley. “I checked Daniel’s records. The church has been waiting for you to take over his care. Sign these and drop them off on your way out.” She rushed from the room, almost bumping into Steele as he approached.
Steele stopped the door from closing with his hand. “I have the SUV downstairs. We are ready for Daniel’s transport.”
“Thank you for helping,” Riley said.
“Riley, you have to understand. We are only making this exception for your father because of his condition. He will never leave our property, and if he were to come in contact with a human, raving about people who travel the shadows, his diagnosis would ensure no one believes him,” Steele said.
“I understand, but I’m still thankful for the care he will receive.” Riley turned back to her father’s bed. “Dad, I need you to wake up. It’s time to go.”
Daniel’s eyes snapped open. “Am I late? Is it time for the next sermon?”
Riley helped her father sit up in bed. “Were not going to the church, dad. We are going to your new home. Our new home.”
Daniels’ eyebrows creased as he slipped his legs to the side of the bed. “Is there something wrong with our house?”
“The church needs the little house back. We talked about this before remember?” she said.
Daniel scratched his forehead as Riley helped him stand. She took the jacket Colton had removed from his closet and helped him get into it. “I guess so. Where is our new house? Is it close to the church?”
Riley helped her father put on some slip-on shoes. “It’s in the country. Something we always dreamed of having, but could never afford. You always told me that the forest made you feel closer to God.”
Daniel took Riley’s hand. “I just want you to be happy, sweetie.”
“I will be if you’re with me. It’s beautiful, you’ll see.”
Colton took Daniel’s other arm as they guided him through the hallways and into the elevator. He looked around as if his surroundings were new, although he’d been in that elevator hundreds of times when they would walk the grounds. Those outings had become fewer and fewer as his condition deteriorated. Riley was thankful he had gotten some rest, but it wouldn’t be long before his mind had enough.
They exited the elevator in the parking garage, where Darwin sat behind the wheel of a black SUV. He exited the vehicle and made his way around to open the passenger’s door. Daniel stopped before Riley could get him seated.
“Riley where are we going. I want to go back to the church.”
“We can’t, dad. We don’t have a place there anymore. I’m taking you to our new one.”
“No. I want to go back to my room.”
Riley knew what was coming. This was the hard part about loving somebody with dementia. Confusion could cause emotional and physical outbursts. The last time had resulted in her putting her father in the care facility. Things had been good ever since. She understood when he was at his limits and let him rest as soon is she saw the signs. Now she had to face that again.
“We can’t dad. You no longer have the bed here.”
Daniel’s face reddened. “Riley Simon. You take me home right now.”
His tone took her back to when she was a young girl acting out. His voice held a military firmness, but she knew he loved her. Despite her background this was a happy time in her life. Before her father got sick, and her mother died. “Dad, please.”
Daniel’s body began to shake. His hands balled into fists. When she thought that an outburst was evident, Ferguson appeared behind him. He touched Daniel’s temple before, the elder man’s eyes rolled in the back of his head. Ferguson caught him as he fell.
“What did you do?” Riley gasped.
“He is simply unconscious. His mind cannot process what is happening. He will wake in a few minutes, but I will continue the process until he remains calm.”
Colton helped Ferguson get Daniel into the SUV. “How long have you had this ability? I’ve never seen anything like that.”
Ferguson snapped Daniel’s seatbelt in place, before exiting the SUV. “I’ve always had it. I will monitor your progress from the pathway.” He dissolved in less than a second.
Stern turned to Colton. “Am I the only person who thinks Ferguson is scary as fuck?”
“No.” Ryder and Colton said in unison.
Riley checked on her father, but his slight smile and even breathing eased her fears. “He’s fine. Ferguson didn’t hurt him. I know you fear him, but he is loyal to Dannika.”
Ryder took a seat inside the SUV. “How do you know that?”
Riley went to the third-row seat. “I just do. Don’t ask me to explain it, I can’t. Besides, I would rather focus on getting my dad to the lodge.”
Stern slid into the passenger seat as Colton got in the back with her. They were navigating the streets of Graydon County in minutes.
The stores and shops she had frequented, passed by her window in a blur. The small town she had grown up in, seemed foreign and hostile. Unrecognizable in the wake of recent events. The shops turned to houses, and the properties became larger and larger before they hit the stretch of open land. Daniel groaned before he woke up.
He looked around the vehicle before focusing on the forest in the distance. “Are we going on holiday?”
“This is our new home dad,” Riley said.
His eyes narrowed before he turned to her. “Riley, it isn’t safe.”
She leaned forward in her seat, grabbing his hand. “It is. I promise.”
Daniel’s eyes roamed to each man in the SUV. “It’s too late. They already found you.”
Riley was glad they were on clan property. Even if her father had a meltdown, nobody but the shadow clan would see it. She wasn’t sure if he was lucid, but she needed to know if he had any information about her past. “Who found me?”
Daniel never got a chance to answer. Something hit the side of the SUV, launching it to the side of the road.
Metal crunched as Daniel called out to her. Black mist shrouded the vehicle as screams and shouts echoed around her. One moment she was inside, with the feel of soft leather beneath her, and the next she was slammed against the pavement.
It took her a moment to comprehend what was happening. Colton was fighting a reaper she had never seen before. Metal blades flashed in the air as their shadows coalesced, then disappeared to a new location.
It was Breck’s voice that caught her attention. “It’s nice to see you again, Riley”
Her jaw dropped when she turned to see the reaper traitor, holding her father. His weak struggles did nothing against the reaper that held clawed hands around his throat. “Don’t hurt him.”
Breck’s lips curled over his fangs. “That depends on you. Come with me while the others are busy, and your father won’t be hurt.”
“Stop Ferguson or he dies,” Deruthel said.
Riley turned to the new nightmare. Deruthel held Colton. His claws dug into Colton’s neck and black blood flowed over his gnarled hands. Ferguson growled, poised on the brink of violence, but one wrong move and Colton was dead.
Deruthel’s eyes fell on Riley. “You have a choice.”
CHAPTER 27
The wind blew strands of Riley’s hair over her eyes. Growls and shouts echoed in the night but she was frozen. Caught between the two men in her life. The decision wasn’t conscious, just a simple step towards Breck, and her world crumbled.
Deruthel smiled, exposing bloodstained, serrated teeth. Venom dripped from his fangs as his claws ripped Colton’s throat from his esophagus, and the screaming started.
It took Riley a moment to realize she was the source of the high pitched shrill, attracting the attention of the reapers and demons alike. Her shadow warrior burst forth as she stomped towards Deruthel.
The demon dropped Colton to the ground. His body bounced against the earth as crimson liquid sprayed the grass. Deruthel stepped over Colton’s body to approach Riley. “You were warned,” he said.
“By that coward who attacked me? Did you expect me to listen to that pathetic excuse for a human?” she growled.
“The Bokor had his uses. He was instrumental in this invasion. Now, come with me quietly and your father will live,” he said.
Riley glanced back at Breck. Daniel was struggling in his arms, but was no match for the recently fed reaper. Breck winked at her before she returned her attention to Deruthel. She inserted a steel in her voice she didn’t feel. “My father is at the end of his life, but he would never allow me to put my life above his. I may die for him, but I would never disrespect him.” She launched at Deruthel with her claws extended from her knuckles.
Deruthel moved nimbly for a creature on spindly legs. He sidestepped her attack and slashed her back with his claws. Her stomach slid across the grass before she clutched the ground to stay her momentum. The wounds began to heal before she got to her feet.
Her next attack was far more calculated. She took a page from her boxing mentor. A sport she took up for years after her attack. While she had started because her father wanted her to increase her strength and speed, she liked the hand eye-coordination. Her father had told her that she lacked the killer instinct to compete and go far as a competitor. That may have been true. Life was different now.
She rushed at Deruthel, but appeared to be attacking his left shoulder, but as he moved to protect himself, she punctured his right with her claws. Embedding them deep in his flesh, until black blood stung her hands, and the screams soothed her demon soul.
The problem with her attack, was how to get out of it. Her claws had punctured Deruthel’s collarbone and his metabolism began to repair the damage immediately, trapping her claws within his flesh. He screamed as he tried to dislodge her. His hands wrapped around her throat, before she looked death in the eyes.
She understood that moment. All he had to do was extend his claws and her head would be decapitated. One heartbeat. Two. Nothing. He pushed her so hard her claws ripped his pectoral muscle from his chest. It hung in a strip, dripping with black blood until he secured it in place.
“Why didn’t you kill me?” she blurted.
Deruthel growled. “That is a fate you will be denied. You will beg for it. Plead for death, but I will tie you to me, in ways you can’t comprehend. You will see the end of this world, and the next.”
Riley wasn’t sure if it was fear or her hunger. Both bombarded her as a shadow warrior receded. Deruthel wasn’t lying. He wasn’t going to kill her, but she doubted that would be a blessing. She scrambled to get up, planning to go after her father, but Deruthel slashed her leg with his claws. She screamed as she fell to the ground.
“I said I wouldn’t kill you Riley, but I will hurt you.”
Her stomach rolled as she bit back the pain. “Leave my father alone.”
Deruthel pointed to a body in the distance. “I instructed Breck not to kill him. Go on Riley, see to your father.”
Riley crawled across the ground, leaving a trail of blood on the grass. Her calf burned, but she could feel the tissue melding together. The burden of healing a shadow warrior was hell on their metabolism. Her stomach rolled on itself, begging for its next meal. Her demon soul wept with joy when it smelled human blood. Her chest squeezed when she realized it was her father’s.
“Dad,” she whispered as she rolled him onto his back.
Daniel held a frail hand to the puncture marks on his neck. His eyes darted to his daughter, full of fear and regret. He tried to form words but managed only a low gurgling sound.
“No!” Riley screamed, before biting into her wrist and putting it to her father’s lips.
He shook his head when she tried to press the wound to his lips.
“Please dad, trust me.”
Riley wasn’t sure if it was acceptance or his body was just too weak to fight back, but his shoulders slumped to the ground as she pressed against his mouth. Blood poured down his throat until he was actively sucking at her wrist.
Colton snatched her arm away. “That’s enough.”
Tears streamed down her face. “I wasn’t sure if you were alive. In my heart, I believed you were strong enough to heal, but my father...”
Colton slipped his arm around her. “I know, honey. I’m sorry.”
She held her wrist up as it healed before her eyes. “What are his chances? I need him to be okay.”
Daniel struggled for breath as he watched them with sad eyes.
“I can’t lie to you or him. We don’t know why one male survives transition and the next doesn’t. Also, his age doesn’t work in his favor.” Colton said.
“He is only sixty-four. Dementia hit him relatively young.”
“The oldest male to survive transition was forty-one, and he was in exceptional physical shape. You’ve been through the transition Riley. You understand the toll it takes on your body. If his heart gives out before the transition is complete, his soul dies.”
She grabbed Colton’s shirt. “I don’t care what the odds are. I need him to live.”
They both turned to Daniel when he cried out. The veins in his neck had turned black as his body began to shake.
“It’s happening?” She asked.
Colton touched Daniel’s forehead. “He’s burning up. The combination of demon venom in your blood has accelerated the transformation.”
“What does that mean? Is it good or bad?”
Colton pursed his lips. “I don’t know. It’s going to happen now, but I need you to be prepared.”
Her eyes hardened on his face. “I know his chances aren’t good.”
“I wish it were that simple. He was bitten by a reaper and given demon venom. In the past, the infected were slaughtered before they could do any damage. Since you transformed successfully from a demon bite, we can no longer make that assumption.”
“What assumption? What are you trying to tell me?”
“Your father will transform into something. Either a shadow warrior or an infected.”
“What is an infected, and what do we do if that happens?”
Colton’s eyes flickered. “They are mindless creatures that hunt and kill without remorse. They feed on blood and death. If your father does not transition successfully, he won’t die. We will have to kill him.”
CHAPTER 28
Riley put her hands over her ears as the screeching from a nearby reaper stabbed her eardrums, and forced her vision to blur. “What was that?”
Colton put his hand on Daniel’s chest. “Reaper death scream. It looks like Deruthel has brought every demon and every reaper to the fight.”
Riley surveyed the area. She was so focused on her father; she hadn’t realized how many demons and reapers had shown up. While the Demon general had brought his forces to bear, the shadow cougar clan had done the same. The wind howled through the trees as if it were protesting the massacre happening beneath them. The crushed SUV leaked gas and oil, permeating the air with the smell of crushed metal and chemicals, oblivious to the surrounding melee.
“My God. There are so many of them. How are we going to get my father out of here?” she said.
Colton surveyed the sea of warriors surrounding them. “Your father isn’t a shadow shifter. He can’t be taken into the tunnels. We try to move him and we will be attacked.”
They both looked down when Daniel groaned. His limbs locked into a contorted version of a broken pretzel before the spasm eased and he began to pant. His breath came in short gasps, as if he was unable to grab oxygen from the air. Tears leaked from his eyes though they remained firmly shut.
Riley put her hand on her father’s forehead. “He’s burning up.”
Daniel’s eyes snapped open, revealing black pupils. Smoke moved behind his eyes, as the demon venom consumed his human blood and boiled his intestines from the inside out. “Kill me,” he whispered.
Riley’s heart stuttered. “No dad, you can do this. I need you. I have no idea what the future holds, but it will be better with you in it. Please fight for me.”
His eyes cleared, and she realized she was seeing her father for the first time in years. While his body was dying, the dementia had perished first. “I would do anything for you Riley,” Daniel said.
Riley wanted to reassure her father, but his chest arched in the air as his shoulders dug into the damp earth. His jaw locked in an unshed scream as the bones in his back broke. His body locked in a macabre version of a human crab. Black blood trickled from his mouth as his eyes remained open and unseeing.
Her heart stopped when his eyes glazed over. There was a moment where she could see through the distorted creature before her, a misshapen, elusive image with shadow-imbued eyes. She reached out to touch him but her hand passed through the ghostly version of her father. Colton stopped her when she continued to grasp at his inhuman body.
“He has joined with a demon soul. There is nothing more we can do, than wait to see if he survives,” Colton said.
Breck approached them. “I’m surprised the old man isn’t dead yet.”
“You bastard. Why would you do this to him? He had nothing to do with this war.” Riley hissed.
Breck sneered. “You couldn’t be more wrong. He hid you. Whether he realized your importance or not is irrelevant. He kept you in the one place the demons couldn’t track you.”
