Chapter Twenty-Six

Family.

Family.

Family.

The word echoes in my head, rapidly repeating the curse of a title. This woman, she murdered our family.

My family.

Rory, Roxy and I let out feral screams. With red in our vision, we charge but the Hound brothers stop us.

"She wants you to attack mindlessly. That"s not your family!" Draven yells at us as we fight their holds.

"I feel the kinship, Dray! Move or I will fight you!" Rory hisses in his face but our men won"t budge.

"That may well be family but they will attack you and we don"t know what they"re capable of. What if you kill one of them by accident or you get killed?" Drug shakes me as he says the words.

I know he"s right but I can"t not do anything. I want that bitch"s head on a spear!

The monsters begin charging us, but in unison. Drug and his brothers shoot their flames, creating a barrier between us and them. The monsters don"t stop though, they leap high over the flames forcing the brothers to let us go and fight them off.

"To Merelda, sisters!"

We shift into Crows and fly high above the reaching hands of the monsters as Drug, Drac and Draven keep them distracted. We swoop low while dodging the orbs and stakes Merelda throws at us. Each time one of us is closer, we rip and tear at her scalp and hair but we can"t find an opening to actually land and do some real damage.

I sweep low to the ground, coming up to her back when she turns and hits me with something like a block of ice right on my left wing. I shift into my cobra and slither with unnatural speed below another orb, ready to strike her legs but as I ready for the bite, something grabs my tail.

The delicate bones in a real snake would snap and break under the pressure the monster is using but my cobra"s bones are almost like carbon fiber, practically unbreakable. I spin and strike the creature on instinct but let go before I actually kill the thing. Instead of fighting the beast, I wrap him or her, it"s difficult to tell what the gender of the creatures are, and squeeze around its neck and arms. I use my muscles to cut off the blood flow to its brain until it passes out then I shift back to my natural form.

Everyone is fighting, the men hold off any more monsters coming at us while trying not to kill them, though I do see some laying still on the ground and my heart breaks. My sisters and Darren continue to fight Merelda, looking for an advantage while opening wounds on her but they heal almost as soon as they appear.

In a rage, I grab the horn of the unconscious monster at my feet and break it off near the skull. I hope that didn"t hurt the person under the fucked up curse.

I turn back to Merelda and throw the horn as hard as I can at her back. The pointed bone sails through the air and I watch as it hits its mark on her lower back, leaving a gaping hole big enough for a fist to fit through.

I charge at her as she falls to her knees but Elsie"s voice, unnaturally loud, screams at everyone to stop.

"Grandmother! I"m here and I have your betrayer!"

Everyone stops, including the monsters, who back up to Merelda.

Elsie stands at the door with a bleeding Mayfly at her feet. He looks like he"s dead with blood and lacerations all over his face and back. Elsie has the most vicious look on her face and when her brothers move to her she blasts them back with an invisible force from her hand.

What the hell is happening? Did the potion wear off?

I run right for her and jump when she throws her hand in my direction. I feel the blast of energy flow beneath my body and Elsie"s eyes widen as I land before her. She"s no longer a little girl so I swing, aiming to knock her unconscious but her self-preservation kicks in.

She lets Mayfly"s collar go and blocks my attack while giving me a few of her own. Some of our punches land as others miss their mark but we don"t trade hits for long, in my haste to stop her, she uses her magic to drag Mayfly to Merelda.

"Noo! Elsie, fight her influence! Don"t do this to your mate!" I scream as I land a blow to her stomach. She weaves her fingers as she doubles over and suddenly I"m wrapped tightly with invisible ropes.

Merelda cackles loudly as she leans over to deliver a killing blow to Mayfly with a curved dagger. Just before the blade reaches him, Mayfly rolls to his back, Nymph features on display.

He pushes off the ground while gripping her upper arm and her hand which clutches the dagger. With the loudest and most gruesome snap ever, Mayfly rips off Merelda's arm from the elbow like it's a chicken bone. While she screams in pain, he slams the dagger into her chest and then head butts her so hard it sounds like a pumpkin being smashed on the ground.

Elsie lets me go and runs for Mayfly as Merelda falls to the ground with her legs bent at odd angles. Mayfly gives Elsie a golden looking stone covered in blood and quickly she begins chanting in a language the Witches use.

I forget the monsters around us until they begin to groan and howl which makes me jump a foot in the air. I need a fucking vacation.

"Are you okay, Black?" Drug pulls me to his chest and growls at the monsters who seem to be in pain. I don"t reply or do anything other than grip Drug"s torn and bloodied shirt, my body is weak and the spot where ice hit me is taking a long time to heal. I just want to sit, drink some good whiskey and never move again.

The monsters start to really howl and some drop to the ground writhing in pain.

"What"s happening!" I scream at Elsie.

"She"s releasing the curse on these people!" Mayfly shouts back as he guards Elsie"s back. Who knows what these creatures will do to stop the pain despite the fact that she"s trying to help them.

"Oh my fangs! Look!" Roxy shouts jumping up and down in Drac"s arms as he tries to use his body to protect the little China doll.

I snicker in my mind at the sight but I quickly suck in a sharp breath when I look at what she"s pointing to. The monster near her and every one of the monsters closest to Elsie, begin to vibrate so fast while flakes and dust fall from them. Just like the movie Silent Hill, the grotesque exterior of the beasts fall away and out of the ashes rises Blood Crow from ages gone by.

Generations of Crows stand and look at their hands and bodies. Some touch their faces while others sob in relief. I don"t want to look around, I don"t want to hope but I can"t stop myself from searching the small crowd for the two faces I remember from my childhood memories. Two people I thought didn"t love me or my sisters enough to stick around.

"Ronny?"

My heart beats out of my chest at the familiar voice coming from behind me. I"m shaking as I grip Drug tighter to me, afraid to turn, afraid to see the one whom I"ve needed all these centuries.

"Skunk?"

I spin at the name I haven"t heard since I was a babe and standing before me, looking haggard and wasted, is my father.

I fall to my knees and cover my mouth but nothing can hold back the broken sob that wracks my body, shaking my ribs with so much force it becomes painful.

"Papa?" My voice is barely a whisper but my father hears it nonetheless. He staggers in place like my childhood endearment has hit him just as strong as my nickname hit me. Drug rushes over to him and catches him, bringing him to me.

I should stand and hold my father. I should scream with delight and wrap my arms around him but I don"t. I"ve been in need of my father"s arms for so long, in need of a hug from him. I think he knows because he drops to his knees and wraps me in the most tender hug I"ve ever received.

My sisters tackle us to the ground and hold us with sobs filling the air.

"I never thought I"d see you girls again."

My father"s voice is hoarse but to me, there"s no sweeter sound.