Chapter 21

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

PIPER

" I don't understand how you know where the hell to go." I stepped out of the portal with Kylian right beside me. "Can you explain it to me?"

"No."

"No? Just like that?" I looked around. "Like, what makes you think he's going to be in the middle of a field in the middle of the night in winter when we just found his leftovers in a pub?" I motioned to the wide-open field with all the dead brown grass. The trees were shadows against the purple sky. The sun was beginning to rise. Soon it would be a new day, and we were no closer to capturing Grayson.

Kylian rolled his eyes, sucked in a breath, and blew it out slowly. "Because I do."

I shook my head and muttered, "Makes no sense."

"Let me ask you this, little leech." Kylian turned to face me with those vivid, crystal green eyes. His voice was laced with exasperation. "Do I ask you how you do all your little blood magic stuff, or do you just do it?"

I searched my mind, trying to think of how to answer how my magic worked, but I couldn't put into words what it felt like to tap into that well that sat deep inside me. It was too difficult to even explain. My mouth gaped open, then I snapped it shut.

"I find it's best not to ask questions." Beckett moved from the portal and stood on the other side of me.

" Thank you." Kylian threw his arms up and let them flop down to his sides. "If we're through with the twenty questions, I have a job to do."

"Fine." I crossed my arms and pressed my lips together.

Kylian began to walk out into the field, lifting his knees higher to step over the tall brown grass. I followed behind him and Beckett.

Astrid caught up to me and fell into step beside me. She nodded her chin toward Kylian. "Don't pay attention to his moody ass."

"I'm trying not to." The truth was I wanted to know everything about Evermore. How the magic worked, and the world, and anything else that I still have encountered. Being around them made me realize how small the bubble I'd been in with Grayson actually was. Deep down I loved Evermore even though it was incredibly violent. The violence was balanced out by how magical and enchanting this world was.

"When we get this figured out, you should come and hang out at the castle with us. You'll get to see a lot of cool things then." Astrid smiled up at me.

"I would love that." I nervously reached for the necklace Grayson had given me only days ago. I wrapped my hand around the pearl and fiddled with it on the chain. I glanced down, checking the color. It was still a creamy white, and yet I dreaded the moment it would change in color. This necklace would show me if I was moving close to my thirst taking over and needing to feed. The problem was I could only feed from Grayson. Only his blood would keep me from going feral.

Astrid let her eyes swing up toward me again. "You seem nervous. Don't worry, Piper, we'll find him. Kylian is the best."

I was nervous about losing control, nervous about what we would see once we found Grayson, nervous about how the hell she was going to save him.

"That's right. I am the best," he snapped over his shoulder toward us.

Logan, who brought up the rear and was silent until now, gave a humorless chuckle. "And oh so humble."

Astrid began to laugh and glanced back at him in surprise but said nothing. I slowed a bit to let Logan catch up to us. I didn't know what to say to him, he seemed to have a dark feeling about him, and I got the notion that whatever caused it was fairly recent.

When he caught me looking at him, he sighed."Vampire, you're very transparent."

I shook myself. "I'm sorry, what?"

"I was a prisoner of the unseelie for some time." He didn't stop walking.

I tried to keep up with his pace while processing his words. What's an unseelie? How long was he a prisoner? How did he survive? How did he get away? "Umm, what?"

"You were wondering what the hell is wrong with me and why the others so obviously baby me, though I don't want or need it." His voice was level. There was no venom or annoyance to his words. Yet I could tell that the way the others treated him with kid gloves grated on him.

"Ah, well, I didn't want to ask . . ." I lied, even though I really did want to ask all the questions.

Kylian stopped in his tracks and turned to fully face me. His eyes bore into mine and the muscle in his jaw ticked. "Oh, now you don't want to ask questions."

I was getting sick of his attitude, but before I could snap back at him, something moved in the corner of my eye and I stilled. The others noticed my stillness and went motionless as well. I sucked in a breath through my nose, scenting the air, and there it was, the smell of wine and chocolate surrounding me with the hint of blood. Grayson . He was here and I knew it. I felt it in my very being. My eyes darted, but I saw nothing.

I spun in a circle and lowered my voice. "He's here."

"Of course he is." Kylian lifted his chin with a I knew I was right air.

I darted toward Kylian and shoved my hand over his mouth."Shut up. I mean, he's right here."

He took his finger and hooked it around my wrist and pulled my hand away from his face. "Don't touch."

"Then don't be a douche." There was a noise in the distance. I turned toward it, then took off running. I pumped my arms, running faster and letting the world blow by in a blur.

"I really hate when she does that," Logan muttered under his breath, but with my vampire hearing, I could easily catch it as I left them behind.

I found a small patch of forest that separated the large fields and ducked down low behind a tree trunk and some dried bushes. In the dead of winter, it was difficult to hide when there were so few leaves. There before me was Grayson, not looking like himself at all. He walked round the open field with a bucket in his hand and a crappy broken wooden paintbrush. My brow furrowed in confusion. What the hell was he doing?

He slopped the brush around in the bucket and started to write something on the ground. His eyes were wild with madness, and he chuckled. A moment later he mumbled to himself as he moved over the dried field. The others came up behind me. Their footfalls were louder than I'd prefer, but with vampire hearing it was nearly impossible not to catch.

"What the hell is he doing?" Kylian's voice came from right beside me and I startled.

Well, they all were louder, all but him. I gave him the side-eye. "You're creepy as hell."

"Thank you." He nodded toward the field. "Now what's he doing?"

"I'm not sure . . . painting something on the ground?" Then it hit me, the distinct smell. "He's painting it in blood."

Kylian's eyebrows shot up and his face paled. "No, he wouldn't."

"Are you forgetting? The leech you know is not in there." Beckett crouched lower. "He's gone, and we have no idea what that damn curse is doing to him."

"We need to stop him, NOW." Kylian rose to his feet and pulled that stone dagger from his waistband. His face turned dark and determined.

Panic rose in my chest. "What are you gonna do?"

"Stop him from doing what he's doing, that's for damn sure." His grip tightened on the knife. "Whatever I do to him, he'll heal. If he finishes his happy little painting, then we're all fucked."

What?

Astrid crouched down and crawled closer to get a better look. She lifted her head and peeked over the bare branches, trying not to draw attention to us. She lowered her voice and whispered, "What is he doing?"

"From what I can tell, he's about to summon some hell demons." Kylian shook his head. "You all are always fucking about with things you really shouldn't."

"The curse wasn't a choice, you ass." I fought the urge to punch him. The Grayson I knew would never in a million years summon hell demons.

Logan rose to his feet and moved to Kylian's side and watched Grayson's every move. "We have no choice. We have to stop him now or The Fallen will show up and put Grayson to an end before we can even capture him."

"How long do we have?" I sprang to my feet as adrenaline flooded my body.

"Moments. The Fallen respond quickly. As soon as a demon emerges from that spot, they'll be here to kill them and possibly Gray for summoning them." Dark-orange smoke seeped from Logan's hands. "I can try to calm him with my power."

I shrugged. "Couldn't hurt."

Beckett held his hands up and his blue magic swirled up his arms. "We need to move now."

"Don't have to tell me twice." When I looked out over the field, all I could think was this wasn't him at all.

The Grayson I knew was suave, strong, and confident. He was always put together to the point of cockiness. This thing that huddled in the middle of the field in filthy torn clothing and muttered to himself was not him. The others all stared at him, and I felt the need to remind them why we were here.

"Hey," I snapped, "this is the curse at work. He's still our Gray in there."

Astrid placed her hand on my shoulder. "We all know that. It's just shocking to see it for the first time."

"Well, let's not let it continue on. The faster we capture him, the faster we can fix him." I couldn't shake the nagging feeling that the longer the curse held on to him, the further he slipped away.

"That's what we're here for." Astrid nodded, and I felt her power weaving around us.

I gave her a nod and stepped out from our hiding place, and I saw Kylian mutter a curse under his breath. The moment I was out in the open, Grayson's head snapped up and he wrinkled his nose as if he was smelling my scent on the air. I took a step toward him.

"Hey, Prince Grayson! What the hell do you think you're doing?"

His eyes locked on mine, and the moment I saw how black they were, I knew he wasn't in control. He shook his head and went back to his drawing. "Not real. She's not real,"

"I'm real!" I ran out toward him, pumping my arms faster. I stopped just a few feet from him and held my hands out. "Look at me."

He tilted his head to the side in an eerie movement. It reminded me of the way an animal moved when it was confused by something. He took a step back and looked me up and down like he'd never seen me before. "No, it lies."

"What? I'm not lying." I took another step toward him to try and close the distance between us. I so badly just wanted him to touch me, to recognize me. If we could share one real moment, he might snap back to me the way he had before.

A wild chuckle burst from his lips, and he threw his head back. He looked to the sky and smirked as though there were someone standing behind me. "You mustn't yell. Yes, yes I will finish it."

"Gray, who are you talking to?"

But he was too far gone in his own head, hearing voices that weren't there. He bent down and swiped the cruddy paintbrush over the ground, then stood up and admired his handy work. He threw his arms out, tossing the bucket of blood and brush off to the side. Blood splattered in the grass. I thought he was about to dance among the chaos when his hand shot out and his fingers closed around my throat. Pressure gathered in my chest, and I could hear the others running out behind me.

He lifted me up off the ground by the throat and held me there. "What are you doing here . . . Piper?" He hissed my name, and it sounded nothing like his real voice. This voice wasn't smooth or velvety. It was deeper and slightly rough with an enticing hint.

My legs dangled and swayed. I wrapped my hand around his wrist and squeezed hard. The bone in his wrist cracked. He flinched but kept his hold. I scratched my nails over his skin and blood trickled down. Blue smoke shot up between us, and Grayson's grip was ripped from my neck. His nails raked across my skin as I fell to the ground and landed atop his weird drawing. The damp blood stuck to my hands as I lay there on the ground. Grayson sailed away from me and landed outside the circle he'd drawn. Mud and dirt shot up from the ground in a thick dark cloud.

Kylian sprinted toward me, waving his arms and motioning for me to move. "Get out of there! Move!"

I scrambled to my feet feeling the drops of blood running down my neck. I pressed my fingers to them, then pulled my hand away only to watch crimson beads fall to the ground at my feet. The painting illuminated a bright red and the ground cracked beneath my feet. I scrambled back, trying to get out of the circle, but the light only grew brighter. Steam so hot that it burned my skin rose up from the cracks. A scream ripped from my throat, and Kylian dove across the opening and wrapped his arms around my waist. His shoulder slammed into my stomach, knocking the air from my lungs. My feet lifted off the ground and we soared out of the circle and landed on the dead blades of wheat, which were not as soft as they looked.They were straw-like and poking.

We rolled to the side, and dirt and grime coated my body along with Kylian's. When we came to a stop, I lay there for a moment staring up at the sky as it faded from purple to a pinkish color. My chest heaved in time with Kylian's panting breaths.

I turned my head toward him and let it fall back into the muck. "Thanks."

"Never . . ." he sucked in a breath, ". . . walk into a summoning circle again."

"Noted." I nodded.

"SOME HELP OVER HERE!" Beckett's voice carried over the sound of the grinding and cracking earth and we both shot to our feet.

Flames burst from the circle, and the sound of screams echoed from beneath us. My eyes widened. "Like, actual hell!? Like real hell demons?"

"What did you think I meant?" Kylian bellowed back at me.

Beckett had Grayson trapped in a blue sphere that was hovering over the ground. He rolled round inside of it, snarling and ramming his body into the sides, but it bounced back to its shape, holding him there. Sweat beaded Beckett's brow, and his hands shook with the effort to hold him within the bubble. "Our boy is stronggggg."

Logan stood just to the side of the bubble and let his power wrap around Beckett's in an orange swirling mess. "Calm down, Gray."

But his power over emotions wasn't enough. Grayson was still fighting to get his way out. His body looked impossibly bigger, his eyes were black with rage, and those red veins forked out over his skin. His clothing was shredded, and every time he rammed his shoulder into the bubble, it split the skin on his arm just a little more. Red streaks dripped down the inside of it. Beckett and Logan fought to hold him while the world rocked around us.

"You guys! There are arms shooting up from the ground." And they weren't human. I wanted to back away and run in the other direction. But I couldn't, I was part of this now, and I'd dragged the rest of them into it with me. I would stay and do whatever needed to be done.

These things coming from the ground were skeletal with dark skin, like they'd been charred, and long claw-tipped fingers. They dug into the crumbling ground as though they were about to lift themselves from their hellish pit.

I held my hand toward Kylian. "Dagger."

He tossed me the stone dagger. "That's mine."

"You'll make another." I turned from him and raced with my vampire speed across the cracking ground, jumping from one unsteady opening to another. I swung down and severed their hands as quickly as I could, knocking them back into the pit. The ground was littered with limbs in my wake. They spasmed and twisted on the ground like fish out of water.

Astrid marched away from Grayson and let her power roll over the earth like a wave of golden glitter. She lifted the blood painting off the ground and forced it to disintegrate into thin air. But the hell demons kept on coming. They punched at the dirt, forcing their way up toward us. Heat and the smell of rotting flesh surrounded us. She used her magic to force the ground closed and to smooth it over. She gritted her teeth, and her body quaked with the effort it took for her magic to work over this horrific scene. Just as it was almost smoothing over, a large tentacle shot from the earth and wrapped around her ankle. I charged forward but it knocked her off her feet and flung her up into the air, holding her.

It swung her around like a rag doll and her screams drew Beckett's attention. He turned from holding Grayson to look at her. "ASTRID!"

His power faltered for a split second and Grayson shot from the bubble, exploding it into pieces. Energy rippled out from the bubble like a tidal wave. Logan and Beckett flew back, sailing across the field in opposite directions. Logan hit the ground and skidded across the dirt, sending debris flying all around him. He clawed at the ground, trying to stop, but he came to a screeching halt when his back smacked into a tree trunk. His head smacked into it, and he lay there in a heap not moving. Beckett surrounded himself in blue smoke and soared into one of his portals. It opened on the ground where he'd just been. Beckett charged out toward where Grayson had just been, but it was too late. Grayson was free and he was on top of Beckett in an instant. He grabbed Beckett by the throat and threw him up into the sky.

"CATCH!" he called out, and another tentacle slithered from the earth and caught Beckett around the waist as he soared high in the sky.Kylian and I stood there watching this thing swing our friends around. Grayson winked at me, then took off running in the opposite direction.

I took a step in his direction and Kylian snapped, "Don't even think about going after him."

"I wasn't," I lied and turned back toward the flailing tentacles. "How the hell do we kill it?"

"Like this." He bent down and pressed his hands to the ground, and burgundy smoke slithered from his fingers. The dirt packed in hard and transformed itself into two identical swords. When he stood, he tossed me one of his newly made swords. He swung his around in a circle and wagged his eyebrows. "You ready?"

I nodded. "No."

"Vampires have natural strength and ability. Use it." He took off running and the sword he made grew in length. He leapt so high and far I was surprised he wasn't a vampire himself. He bounced from one tentacle to the other using his momentum to climb higher. He swung his sword, hacking at the tentacles as he climbed. It sounded squishy and slime-like as he hacked and cut at whatever got in his path.

"Thanks for the lesson." Well, here goes nothing.

The ground rumbled as a monstrous roar came from below, and I didn't want to stick around to find out what the hell those things were attached to. We needed to stop this now before anything else emerged from below. I ran between the tentacles and used the double swords as best I could, hacking and swinging at the tentacles like my life depended on it. Really, like all our lives did. Slime coated my arms and dripped down my legs. Blood ran in streams down the tentacles and sprayed around us. The smaller demons continued to try and emerge from the ground as we fought to save Beckett and Astrid.

Suddenly, blue smoke poured from Beckett, forming one of his portals. It swallowed the tips of the tentacles, severing them from the body. They were gone, disappearing into his swirling portal. A moment later it opened on the ground beside me, and they stumbled out flicked pieces of slimy tentacles off their bodies. Astrid kicked a particularly large piece off her leg and huffed as she threw her auburn hair from her face. It was knotted and matted around her head and looked like she'd stood in a wind tunnel.

Anger was plain on her face as she marched up to the opening and threw her arms up. Golden magic exploded over the opening in one large wave. It covered the crevasse and forced the ground to smooth over. The cries died out, and the demons were all trapped deep beneath the ground. Pieces of limbs and tentacles littered the ground, and the smell of burnt flesh still clung to the air . . . or maybe it clung to us. We stood there for a moment, all staring at the field that Astrid had forced shut.

"Well, that was . . ." My words trailed off. "There really aren't words."

"How did he know how to summon demons from hell?" Kylian snapped while looking at me.

I pressed my hand to my chest. "Me? How would I know?"

He motioned to the direction Grayson ran in. "He's your soulmate. You'd think you'd know a thing or two."

My eyes widened and anger flared in my chest. ". . . About summoning demons. Really?"

"Alright." Logan groaned as he staggered to his feet and made his way toward us. He pressed his hand to his head and pulled it away. Blood coated his palm and he groaned and shook his head as he took slow, deliberate steps. "This is a whole other level that none of us could know about, especially Piper. How would a brand-new vampire know anything about this?"

"Logan is right." Astrid nodded. "We need to look into this whole thing."

"Yes, but right now we need to get out of here before The Fallen show up and catch us here. If they do, we're going to be in deep shit." Beckett pointed toward the sky, then opened a portal just as quickly. "Like now."

In the distance, four figures with black wings soared toward us. Their silhouettes were so dark against the rising sun, but I knew what that meant. The Fallen had arrived and we needed to be gone before they landed. I hurried toward the portal and dove in, not even daring to look back for fear of being caught and risking their wrath.