Chapter Eleven

Darren continues to speak but my mind is far away... centuries ago to be exact.

My wicked-ass grandmother killed my parents. Everything I"ve known has been a lie. I remember the day we couldn"t find Elsie. Unfortunately, I remember it clearly. Every fucked up detail is burned into the memory of my brain. My mother"s screams, my father"s howls. I remember holding my brothers as I broke apart.

I even remember when my grandmother dragged us away from the village square telling us a spell would be cast in order to bring Elsie back. All she needed from us were special ingredients from the woods. Crows.

Without hesitation and through the pain, my brothers and I grabbed our nets and went hunting. Crows are carnivorous and we always had to run them off our kills so catching them wouldn"t be difficult.

Using our nets we caught three and brought them back but Merelda stopped us.

"Your mother, foolish woman, went and cast the spell but we must hurry and protect ourselves." The memory of her haggled voice is clear in my head even to this day.

"But we have the crows you said you needed. How can she cast the spell without the birds?" Drac had asked.

But Merelda wasn"t hearing it. She pulled her limbered hand from the pocket of her apron and blew some sort of black powder in our faces while whispering unintelligible words.

My brothers and I soon blacked out but her final words to us before the blackness took our sight was, "Stupid boys."

Shaking myself from the memories, I focus on Drac. Out of us brothers, Drac was closest to our mother. I wouldn"t say he was a momma"s boy but he was always quick to do her bidding and make her special gifts like the carving of a bird he once made her. Draven carved a buck for her, antlers and all, while I carved a miniature tree with a hollow.

We all loved Mother, more than anything in this world but for Drac... this news is like losing her all over again.

"We will avenge her, brother. I promise you here and now. Merelda will suffer for our mother."

Drac"s face is stoic and completely blank of any hint of the raging inferno beneath his surface but when he speaks it shows.

"Each bone will be removed from her body."

"She will need to be tried by the Elders," Darren says like his word is fucking law.

Mine and Drac"s growls echo around the room in response but Ronny speaks up.

"Hell no she won"t, Dar. She killed our parents and theirs, not to mention the countless True Bloods she murdered to save her hide. There"s no way we can leave justice to the very people who work side-by-side with the cunt."

My embers heat at my Black Bird"s words. There"s no one on this planet who can understand what my brothers and I are feeling except these sisters.

"Dare Bear, if you fight us on this I will never forgive you," Roxy says as she stands and rounds the couch to Drac"s side. "We"re doing this with or without your help but we"ll have a better chance if you"re with us."

Darren drops his head for a moment before nodding. "Fine but you three girls need to work on your magic first."

He picks up one of the books and flips it open. The book is aged and looks as if it"ll fall to dust if you handle it without care but Darren flips through it with ease. All of the scents in the air remind me of Merelda and I have to keep myself from tossing hellfire at them.

"This book states that the Blood Crows must have a talisman to keep their magic from becoming unpredictable. Has anything new begun to happen with you?"

Ronny blushes and clears her throat, "Uh, yeah. I think I have levitation abilities. They"re chaotic though and come when I"m surprised or... when my mind is otherwise preoccupied."

She tosses a glance at me and bites her lip. I reach behind her and lightly pull on her hair. Why is she suddenly shy? Ronny doesn"t really give a shit what anyone thinks.

"Oh! So when you guys are fu-"

"Stop! Don"t say any other word, Roxy! I do not want to know." Darren's eyes are glowing brightly as he looks right at me.

I"m most definitely not afraid of this man but Black Bird seems to care for him so I"ll indulge him. For now.

"Listen, I know that you have become bonded to my daughter but let me warn you. I know how to break a bond and if you break her heart in any fucking way, I will cut the ties and feed you to the gators. I don"t give a shit if you"re a hellhound, I will do it. Same for you, Drac. I will not hesitate."

My respect for this man just shot up some. He"s protecting who he sees as his little girl and I can definitely respect that. Drac nods and bites back a smirk.

"Yes, sir. I understand." I"m able to cover my smile much easier. A Fairy will never be able to harm us but I wouldn"t doubt he would leave us with some everlasting marks.

"Listen pops, I appreciate you getting all protective of me but I"ve recently learned that their hellfire doesn"t harm me so if one of these puppies hurts me or my sisters, I will turn them into floor rugs myself. Now let"s focus on how to control our powers."

"I"d dye your fur pink and purple, that"ll really tie up my room." Roxy whispers to Drac. It only makes him smirk and throw his arm around her shoulders. She"s trying to make him smile, I appreciate her for that.

"The writer of this book says the talisman will be hidden in three places. Each place will have been significant to the witch who cast the curse. In this case, Merelda. It also says that once your powers are grounded with the talisman, you three can join together… whatever that means."

Three places that are significant to her? I hated the woman so I never took the time to learn her favorite places. I can only imagine what they"d be. A cave surrounded by rotting corpses or maybe in a pit with venomous snakes as friends perhaps?

"The script is the same for all these books, who is the writer?" Black asks looking through the pages of one. They"re all written in French and the movements of each letter say it"s been written by one person.

"I"m not sure, they"re all signed at the back with the number five."

Darren is right, they"re all signed with the number. We spend the next hour going over everything in the books including the curse itself. If what we"re seeing is correct, it seems werewolves are a created race as well. A witch from long before I was born cast the dark magic upon a family from ancient Russia.

The family was known as Neuri and they somehow pissed off a clan of witches. The Neuri home was cursed and forever changed but as with the Vocem Sanguinis, the Elders at the time broke the curse enough that the family and their offspring could have their human forms back and the ability to change at will.

Suddenly there"s crackling in the air like electricity breaking through a barrier. Black jumps from her spot on the couch and teleports to a bookshelf by the fireplace.

"Weapons! Someone is trying to cross our wards!"

Immediately Drac shifts while Roxy and Black ready for a fight as Darren transforms into his demonic looking Fairy self and runs out the door.

"Find Draven, make sure he"s on the property, I"m sure it"s Merelda."

I shift and follow Darren while the girls are on my heels. Instincts beg me to tie Ronny up somewhere safe but I"d only be doing us more harm than good. Ronny is a damn good fighter and she knows what she"s doing. Having her is an asset not a hindrance.

Fly the perimeter, Black but don"t be reckless or I"ll make some crow soup with your ass later.My telepathic threat to Ronny is met with a wicked little chuckle.

This little birdy needs a spanking later but right now, the whirling wind at the front of the property has my full attention.

Drac, Draven, the intruder is at the gate. Make sure no one is trying to break in through the back while we're focused up here.

South and west are empty.Drac's voice is winded like he's running full speed.

East is clear too. We're heading to you.Draven says as he rounds the east end of the property with a large black crow flying beside him.

Rory"s crow is the same size as Ronny"s but instead of black eyes, her crow has white irises. I don"t have time to compare the two similar yet different familiars because a voice of my childhood screams from the front gate.

My memories did not do justice for the hair raising cackling of Merelda Hound. There"s not a single voice in this realm or any other that can make your skin crawl and your teeth grind.

The wind is causing all the dirt and leaves to fly about, almost like she"s creating a vortex but then everything stops. The wind stills while the leaves settle to the ground and once the dust clears, there stands Merelda.

She wears a long black robe and her hair is black with grey streaks throughout, showing signs of her true age, older than the fucking telephone. Her face and skin though show her to be young and youthful. Magical Botox no doubt.

She looks like the female version of our father which is a stain to his greatness if you ask me.

The old hag sneers at Darren and her green eyes blaze with mockery, "Did you think I wouldn"t see past the weak block you put on my books, Darren Ignis? The simpleton you used paid dearly for your foolishness."

I notice the strap she has around her torso from shoulder to hip. She grabs the strap and pulls the bag off flinging it across the ward.

Still in my Hellhound form, I can smell death as the bag lands with a thud and rolls haphazardly. When it stops the flap opens and the face of a person peeks out. What the fuck!

"I tasked you, Drug! Kill the Crows and be reborn!" Merelda screams as Darren runs to the bag with a roar.