14.

A KSEL

“What have they done to you, my friend?” I heard Genji say from somewhere outside the box where I was being held. “You have to wake up, Aksel.”

I wasn’t sure how long I’d been held here, but knew that I had been drained almost dry and then injected with some sort of poison which had weakened me to the point that I couldn’t even speak. What little blood remained in my body felt like fire as it flowed through my veins. I wondered if I’d ever feel normal again. Thoughts of rescuing Stassi were the only thing stopping me from letting myself succumb to the sweet call of death within my reach.

Genji called my name again, but I knew it was just a trick of my mind. The poison was causing me to hallucinate, and it felt like I was outside my body watching events unfold around me.

Time was eternal and at a stand still at the same time in this dark and painful place. The hallucinations were so vivid that I could feel the breeze on my skin as I watched my son and daughter playing in the grass behind our home. I could even smell the smoke from the fire my wife stoked beneath the bubbling cauldron where she was creating sweet-smelling soap to last us through the next year. The heat from the nearby fireplace warmed my skin as I saw my youngest daughter born and then nurse at her mother’s breast before my wife smiled up at me with tired relief. The sun was almost as bright as the smile on my eldest son’s face when I presented him with a wooden sword I’d carved to match the one I took into battle with me.

I couldn’t stop my sobs as I relived the day that Drasil and his brother came into our home and took me captive and forced me to watch them abuse my wife before he took me away forever. Stassi’s tears joined mine as I laid in bed beside her and told her the story of how I lost my family, and then I saw the joy mixed with sorrow in her eyes when, years later, she told me that she was now the proud mother of two adopted shifters who had lost their parents in a wildfire. I watched Stassi walk across a crowded room toward me with a different light in her eyes right before she took my hand and hurried off to find a secluded spot for our latest interlude and then walk away at a different time after one of our loud arguments.

All of that pain was dulled after so many years, but the heartache at knowing she was in danger while I was locked away in this box was so fresh, it felt like it might kill me before the poison.

“Aksel, we have to hurry. Please drink!” I heard Genji plead before something was pressed against my lips. I tried to turn my head, but the hand resting on my forehead held me still. The scent of fresh blood made my canines react, and when a drop hit my tongue, I couldn’t fight the urge to drink even though I worried that I would just be ingesting even more poison that would add to the fire in my veins. “There you go, my friend. You’ll feel better soon.”

I wasn’t sure how long I’d been drinking when my thoughts cleared and I was able to focus on the sounds around me. I could hear Genji talking to Adair and then a few other voices I didn’t recognize, but when I sat up and looked around, I was sure that I must still be hallucinating.

The creature I drank from was still standing next to the table where I’d been laying, and I took a second to stare at him in shock as I studied the canine features that were mixed with human ones. His arm was still extended toward me with blood dripping from the wound at his wrist, but he didn’t seem to see me or have any concern about the bleeding. There was a man who had the features of a bear standing next to the metal table that held Adair’s prone body. He had his arm extended so Adair could drink, and the blank look on his face told me that he had also been spelled. I looked around the room and found a few other creatures letting other prone forms drink from their wrists, and then Genji appeared in my line of sight.

“We have to find Stassi,” I said as I got up from the table, still a little woozy but retaining all my faculties with my mind clear again. “From what Cas told us, this room will lead to . . .”

“I know where Stassi is,” Genji said as she tugged at my arm. She motioned for Adair to follow us and led me out into the hallway. “There are at least seven other creatures in the building, and I’m not sure how many more outside. When the other witch saw us, she tried to sound the alarm, but I don’t think she was successful. I disabled her and . . .”

“How did you do that?” Adair asked as he walked up on my other side.

“I ripped her head off,” Genji said simply.

“This building isn’t that large, so there must be some underground rooms. I’m sure Stassi is here somewhere. I can feel her nearby,” I said as I looked one way and then the other as if I was waiting for more monsters to appear. “You said there are seven creatures inside, but I only saw three.”

“Stassi is in control of the other four.”

“You’ve seen her? Where is she?”

“We have to get to Anna and the children first, and then we can try to rescue Stassi,” Genji ordered as a frail-looking man walked out into the hall followed by four vampires and three shifters who were in their human form. All of them looked as weak as I felt, and I knew that they’d been captives too.

“Besides Anna, there are two female guards with the children,” the man informed Genji. “I can show you the way.”

“Who is that?”

“That’s Stassi’s brother, Nicholas,” Genji explained. “He’s been Agmund’s prisoner for . . .”

“Agmund?” Adair and I asked in unison.

“The one and only,” Genji mumbled. “Let’s find the children and make sure they’re secure before we . . .”

“I want to find Stassi. You said you saw her. Where is she?” I asked frantically. “I can sense her here, but it’s muted like someone is hiding her from me.”

“Stassi asked me to find the children . . .”

“What children?”

“They’re with Anna. Ivan’s Anna is here,” Genji said in wonder.

“But where is Stassi?” I asked.

“Neema is with her,” Genji said, still not answering my question as she hurried off. “We must go. I don’t know how much time we have.”

“I don’t want to . . .”

Genji spun around and stomped back toward me. She poked me in the chest before she said, “Stassi asked me to do something, and I’m going to keep my word before I rescue her, but I need your help, Aksel. Do this for me because it’s what Stassi wanted.”

“Wanted?” I asked, my heart breaking at the thought of exactly what that meant.

Genji swallowed hard and then blew out a long, frustrated breath. “She took the poison from me before she went to Agmund in the hopes that he’ll drink from her. She asked me to gather everyone and take them outside. I believe she’s going to level this place, Aksel, and I promised her that I’d keep you safe.”

“No,” I whispered. “She’s not going to die here, Genji.”

“If I have my way, none of us are, but the first step towards that is making sure that Anna and the children are safe.”

“You do that, and I’ll go find Stassi.”

“I will remove you from this building physically if I have to, Aksel. I promised her.”

I was angry now but not nearly as upset as Genji seemed to be. Before I could say anything else, tears filled Genji’s eyes, and she said, “She saved my life, Aksel. I can’t let that be in vain.”

I knew it was rare for Genji to show that much emotion but even more rare that Genji needed help in such a way, so I knew that was very upsetting to the strong and capable woman. I also knew that she was much more powerful than me, even in her obviously weakened state, and she would do exactly what she’d said if I didn’t listen to her.

“I’ll help you get the children and Anna to safety, Genji, but then I’m going to find Stassi.”

“And I’ll be right beside you.”

◆◆◆

STASSI

I put my hand up to stop the guard from opening the door in front of us and took a calming breath as I adjusted my posture in the hopes that Agmund wouldn’t sense how much pain I was in. I felt like I had fire flowing through my veins, and it took all of my concentration to put one foot in front of the other, but I knew this was what I had to do.

I hoped to be able to spell Agmund as soon as we got into the room, but I could feel power emanating from the other side of the door and worried that might not be the case. I remembered hearing the tale of how he had been banished years before his brother Drasil, another infamous vampire who had been nothing but trouble until he was banished and then moved into the mortal world where he continued to wreak havoc.

When I found out what was going on in Washington, I knew it had to be the same man that had held me hostage along with my mother. All those years ago, I knew him as Stefan, but that was obviously just one of his aliases he had used over the years. I wanted to believe that there couldn’t be two beings that evil, and it seemed I was right. For so many years, I believed I had fulfilled my mother’s last wish and ended the man who had taken us captive and done such horrible things, but I was wrong.

Now, I had to fulfill that promise I’d made all those years ago. I just hoped that Genji would be able to get everyone out before I did what my mother had ordered and burned it all . . . again. This time, I would make sure to do it right.

I took a few seconds to probe the minds of the four men I could so easily control, trying to see if they had any redeeming qualities that meant they were worth saving, but I found nothing but blackness and evil inside. Snippets of the horrible things they’d done before they came here flickered across my mind like a horror movie, and I knew without a doubt that they deserved the flames almost as much as their leader.

“You will stand outside this door unless I tell you otherwise. No one else is to enter, and no one, including Agmund , is to leave. You will obey no one besides me from now on. Am I clear?”

“Yes, mistress,” all four creatures said in unison.

“Stassi! What are you doing?” Neema hissed in my ear.

I turned toward the voice and addressed the air that I could see shimmering around my friend. When she came inside this compound with us, she wasn’t able to transform back to her physical body because of whatever magic barrier she had crossed, but I knew that wouldn’t help her if what I was planning came to fruition.

“Go find Genji and the others, Neema. Make sure that they have everyone out.”

“Don’t do this, Stassi! Please!”

“Make sure everyone is safe. I’ll hold off for as long as I can, but I’d say you have less than half an hour before I have no choice but to watch him burn.”

“Just poison him, Stassi, and then you can drink from . . .”

“Poison isn’t enough, just like fire wasn’t enough the first time. I plan on dragging that son of a bitch to hell myself just to make sure he can’t ever come back.”

“There has to be another way.”

“I thought I got rid of him all those years ago, but the promise I made to my mother still hasn’t been fulfilled. Tell Aksel and my aunts that I love them and that when they get over their anger at me, they’ll realize just how much.”

“Stassi, please.”

“Go, Neema. Find our friends, and get them out of here. And tell Anna that I’m so glad we could take her back to Ivan, where she belongs.”

“But . . .”

“Blair will know what to do with the children, and make sure she knows to keep a close eye on my brother. I couldn’t find any signs of evil inside him, but some people are better at hiding that than others. If he is who he says he is, he’s a loving father that would do anything for his children. If that’s the case, then Blair shouldn’t have to worry, but I’d like for her to make sure that they’re all okay. I went for years thinking my family was gone, but I’m at the end of my life now and not as alone as I thought.”

“You’ve never been alone, Stassi,” Neema argued. “Your aunts love you and will mourn you for eternity.”

“My nephew and niece will give them plenty of adventures to take their mind off of me, Neema. Thank you, my friend, but this is where we have to say goodbye.”

“I can’t let you do this,” Neema insisted.

“You don’t have a choice.” I stepped in front of one of the guards and said, “You will deliver me to Agmund as if I’ve been fighting your hold. When he dismisses you from the room, you will come back out here and wait.”

“Yes, mistress,” the guard said before he reached out and grabbed my arm. He yanked me toward him, and I instinctually started fighting. That didn’t stop him from opening the door and dragging me inside to the man who assumed he was in charge.

When the guard thrust me toward the man I knew as Stefan, I didn’t have to fake my disgust or revulsion at the thought of him touching me. He looked just as I remembered him, a tall and imposing figure with long ash blonde hair and glittering blue eyes. In any other instance, I’d think the man was strikingly handsome, but since I knew his character, his looks were revolting to me.

“Anastacia,” Agmund said from his throne. Yes. The son of a bitch was actually sitting on a throne like some fucked-up king waiting for his loyal subjects to bow. The second that thought crossed my mind, he ordered me to do just that. “On your knees.”

“I’ll die before I bow to you!” I spat out as I tried to wrest my arm from the guard’s hold.

“So fiery,” Agmund said before he threw his head back and let out an evil laugh. “Look at me. I made a pun.” When I glared at him, his face changed, and his gaze bored into mine as he ordered. “Kneel, Anastacia!”

I knew that he was trying to use magic to subdue me, so I pretended to be affected by his words and growled angrily as I fell to my knees. Considering how hard it was for me to stand upright with the dizziness and pain the toxins from Genji’s blood had caused me, I almost welcomed the new position.

“It’s been a long time, my dear, and you’ve got quite a bit to make up for.”

“I don’t have to do anything!”

“Oh, but you do, whether you want to or not.”

“Just because you can make me bow doesn’t mean you can make me do anything else.”

“I’ll make you do whatever my heart desires,” Agmund said angrily. He jumped up from his throne and stalked toward me before he waved his hand dismissively. The guard who had brought me into the room fell back, and just a few seconds later, I heard the door behind me open and then shut again. I glanced at the hybrid shifter behind Agmund - a man who seemed to have some bear features along with his human ones, but, more importantly, had a different air about him than the other guards I’d encountered so far. When Agmund stopped in front of me, I looked up only to find a devious smile on his face. “I’m going to have great fun making you bend to my will, aren’t I, my little dove?”

“Dove? Seriously. Get some new material. I’m not doing anything for you, Stefan.”

“Ah, but I’m not Stefan anymore. You killed him, remember?”

“I didn’t kill anyone.”

“I had you stripped of your magic so you can’t do anything like that again. It wouldn’t do to have you starting fires now, would it?”

“I’ll burn you to ash, you son of a bitch.”

“Tsk tsk tsk. I don’t think you will, sweetheart. My witch has assured me that your power is subdued beneath his magic and that with very little effort, I can get you to bend to my will.”

“Your witch?” I scoffed. “LIke any self-respecting witch would have anything to do with a creature like you.”

“My son is my witch. You remember Nicholas, don’t you?”

“My brother?” I gasped, pretending to be shocked at the news that he was still alive. “But . . . where has he . . . what . . .”

“He’s my son, Anastacia. Nicholas is loyal to me, just like you soon will be.”

“Never!”

“When a vampire takes blood from their victim, they instantly form a connection that can’t be explained. Isn’t that right?” I let my angry stare be my answer, and he chuckled. “I’m going to drink from you and begin that connection, and when I’m able to gain immortality again, I will spend it with you by my side. A powerful creature such as yourself is the only being that is fit for nobility such as mine, wouldn’t you say?”

“You wouldn’t know noble if it kicked you in the ass.”

“I’m going to enjoy breaking you, Anastacia. I’m going to enjoy it very much.”

Agmund looked at the guard who had been standing behind his throne and asked, “Is everything well in the area? No surprises?”

The guard shook his head. “I sense no one other than the captives she came with.”

“That’s good. See there, my sweet little Anastacia? You’re all mine.”

“What are you going to do with my friends?”

“Your friends?” Agmund scoffed. “Those creatures don’t have friends. They are disloyal and heartless. Every one of them voted to strip me of my immortality and powers because they were jealous. And you, my dear, have brought them to my doorstep like the best wedding gifts. That was very kind of you.”

“Wedding gifts? As if. Nobody in their right mind would marry a clown like you.”

That insult set Agmund on edge even more than my attitude before, and he reached out and fisted his hand in my hair. He yanked my head back painfully and, with a crazed look in his eyes, yelled, “You will not insult me!”

“But you make it so easy,” I said breathlessly as I tried to get past the pain in my scalp that just added to the fire in my veins. “Go ahead and kill me, Agmund. I know you want to.”

“So, that’s your plan. I knew there was something off about your demeanor the second you walked through that door. You’re not as fiery as I had hoped if death is what you’re wishing for.”

“I’d rather die than spend another minute with you.”

“But we have forever, Anastacia. Just me and you.”

“I’ll do everything in my power to make sure that you . . .”

“But you don’t have any power now, do you?” With an evil grin, Agmund boasted, “I’ve got it all.”

I smiled and said, “No matter what you do or whose magic you steal, you’ll never be anything other than a piece of shit. Just like your brother.”

I knew my ploy had worked when Agmund’s eyes widened in shock and then narrowed again with barely-suppressed rage. He yanked my head to the side and bit my neck, his sharp canines piercing my skin effortlessly. I felt the warmth of my blood flowing down my neck and listened to the gluttonous sounds Agmund made as he feasted.

I knew the second the poisoned blood hit his system because he staggered back and wiped his hand over his mouth before he spit on the floor.

“What have you done?”

“What I failed to do all those years ago, Stefan. I’m killing you.”

As Agmund stumbled toward his throne, he called for the guard that was nearby. I stood up as quickly as my aching body would let me as I put my hand out and pushed my will toward him.

“You will not aid him in any way.”

“You don’t have to use magic to get me to agree with that,” the guard assured me as he coldly watched Agmund fall onto the chair. “I’ve been looking forward to this day since the moment I met him.”