Ascended Read online

  “You handled that like a leader.” Reuben nodded, and she could’ve sworn there was pride in his eyes. Vanne looked sad, and Caia knew he was thinking about Marion. The Elders were a little shell-shocked, but Jae, like Reuben, smiled smugly.

  “You kicked ass.”

  She felt a hand on her arm and looked up to see Alexa smirking. “Thanks. I mean it. I’m totally pumped to do this.”

  Caia glanced over Alexa’s long nails and saw her as a lykan, a strong, lithe black wolf with powerful form. “I have no doubt you can take care of yourself.”

  Vanne coughed, drawing back their wandering attention. “As interesting as this little window into pack life has been, I do suggest we get a move on.”

  9

  Game On

  This was it. Caia glanced around at everyone gathered outside Magic Fitness. She couldn’t believe who had turned up to pull through for this coup. Phoebe MacLachlan stood hands akimbo, muttering instructions to three burly male MacLachlans whose faces were pinched with concentration. Alfred Doukas’s eldest son gathered with nine other representatives of the Council’s families, all ready to take on Marita and her soldiers. Their fury crackled around them like the sky before a lightning storm.

  As for Pack Errante, Caia had Magnus, Alexa, Jaeden, Christian, Lucia, Aidan, and Irini. The others had been left behind under the protection of Ella, Dimitri, and Morgan. As for Vil and Laila, Caia had sent them both back to hide out at Ryder’s apartment. Reuben and Vanne stood off to the side with their heads together, and Caia watched them suspiciously.

  “Something we need to know, boys?” she asked in irritation.

  “No.” Reuben shook his head. “Just going over the plan one more time.”

  “Everyone knows the plan. You create a distraction in the reception area while Jaeden and I head toward the containment center. You follow when you get the chance. Lykans use their noses to follow our trail, magiks use the lykans to follow their trail. Okay?” She looked around, waiting for a nod of agreement from all.

  The magiks from the Council members’ families stared at her in awe, and she could tell they were thinking, “Who the hell is this kid?” Nothing for it now, though. They had agreed to this.

  “OK. Let’s get off this street before someone calls the cops,” she cracked. It was dark and there was no one around. She hoped. Caia turned back to the door and used her magik to pop the lock. Like quiet mice in a churchyard, they all made their way inside and followed her to the room with the portal.

  “Lykans.”

  All except Jaeden began the change, magiks and everyone else looking discreetly away as they undressed and underwent the bone-cracking transformation from human to wolf. After what seemed like forever, the last of them finished.

  “Vanne.” She turned to find him. He brushed his way forward with Reuben. They had decided it would be best if he and the vampyre went first because no one would attack Vanne, giving them the element of surprise when the others arrived at their backs.

  With that, he put his hand to the glass, and it shimmered and congealed, turning into what looked like liquid mercury. Without another word, he disappeared into it with Reuben holding on to his shoulder. Once they were through, the glass resolidified. Ignoring the flurry of butterflies in her stomach—and the fact she may be sending these people to their deaths—Caia placed her own hand on the glass and reopened the portal. When it was ready, she ushered them all through.

  At last it was just her and Jaeden.

  “You ready, Cy?” Jae whispered, her usually tan face pale with fear.

  She shook her head numbly at her friend and clasped Jae’s hand tight. “Nope. We’ve got to be brave, though.”

  “I will if you will.”

  They both drew in a huge, shaky gulp of air and stepped into the mirror. She barely had time to get used to the feeling of traveling by portal when the shouts and screams hit her ears. On instinct she dropped to the ground, pulling Jaeden with her, and a blast of power flew over their heads and splintered the wall at their backs.

  Heart pounding, Caia looked up to see the Center’s reception area was already a battleground. Lykans were in the middle of chewing up magiks, battling it out with lykans from the Center and bouncing off protective shields. Water, fire, and earth exploded everywhere, mixing with blood and the pressure in the atmosphere created by air magik. She swung her gaze around to see their way out of the reception was blocked by two magiks fighting off a lykan.

  “Reuben!” Caia yelled to the vampyre. He was choking the life out of a younger vamp as if he were merely a rabbit caught in a trap. He grunted in question as he shook the boy and let him drop. She indicated the blocked pathway, and he nodded. His body was a blur as he crossed the room and shot his entire weight into one of the magiks. The warlock barely had time to scream as his body flew backward into the wall with such force, the brickwork cracked around him. He stuck there almost comically for a minute before collapsing to the ground. Reuben said something to a lykan—Alexa, it seemed—and she tore off after the injured magik to finish him off.

  “Jeez, I never knew he could move that fast. The son of a bitch never moved that fast, not once when we were out hunting,” Jae whispered loudly in her ear.

  Caia smirked. She wasn’t surprised Reuben had been careful to keep quiet about how powerful he really was. It was probably one of the many reasons he’d lived as long as he had. She waited and readied herself as he took the other magik in hand. “OK, you ready? We have to move quick.”

  Jae braced herself like an Olympic sprinter and gave a determined nod.

  “Go!” Caia yelled, and off they shot, dodging fighting supernaturals and trying to ignore the howls and snarls and screams, praying that their side were the ones winning.

  They never slowed, even as they made it out of the reception and into the quieter corridors.

  “The elevator,” Caia puffed, already feeling the burn in her legs.

  They’d almost made it when, out of nowhere, a tall, broad-shouldered vampyre rushed around the corner, his lips drawn back so they could see his lengthened fangs. He swooped on Caia but Jaeden was already in front of her, unsheathing a steel ax from a belt she’d strapped to her hip. Caia watched in awe as Jae ducked the vampyre’s punch and jumped over his side swipe, smashing her elbow into his face in the same motion. Dazed, he staggered back, allowing Jae a few more punches, including an uppercut that sent blood spraying from the vampyre’s nose.

  Caia was sure Jae was about to be declared the winner when, with a terrifying hiss, the vamp blocked another of her punches and grabbed her arm, twisting it behind her back to secure her in a chokehold. Caia didn’t even have time to aid her before Jaeden used her telekinesis to thrust him from her and pin him to the wall. She was on him in a second, slicing the blade of her ax into his neck with such force, it tore through his skin and bones and lodged into the wall behind him. His head rolled off his body and onto the floor before bouncing to a stop.

  Blood and all sorts of nastiness oozed out of the top of his decapitated corpse. A sudden need to vomit overwhelmed Caia. She was never going to get used to the violent art of decapitation.

  Jaeden meanwhile whistled as she cleaned off her ax on the vamp’s leather duster and slid it back into place on her belt. She smiled brightly at Caia and headed toward the elevator. Caia followed, glancing back at the dead vampyre in revulsion as his headless body fell forward. She hit the button on the elevator and turned to her friend. “You are way too comfortable with what you just did.”

  Jaeden shrugged. “Vampyre Hunter, remember.”

  “Uh, bringing up your foray into illegal activities is not reassuring.”

  They stepped into the elevator and while Caia pressed the button that led to the containment center, Jae grinned. “You are too sensitive, Cy. You need to just shut down and get the job done. I thought you’d have done this stuff before.”

  “Yeah, but …”

  “But what?”

  “You were
like … really good at it. You know, quick, efficient. And you seemed to … I don’t know … like it.”

  She shrugged, wiping the sweat from her forehead. “It’s kind of exciting.”

  Caia snorted. “Yeah. Well, I’m sure it’ll still be exciting in ten years’ time.”

  Disgust and horror crossed her friend’s features. “You think we’ll still be doing this in ten years?”

  “This or something like it, according to Reuben.”

  “What the hell do you mean?”

  “Apparently we’ve all been naive to think I’m somehow going to end a two-thousand-year-old war in a year.”

  Jaeden grunted. “When you put it like that …”

  “I know, I know. He’s right. I’m an idiot.”

  “We’re all idiots. Let’s just get through this and worry about tomorrow, tomorrow.”

  The elevator binged and the doors slowly slid open. Caia moved to step out and looked up.

  Her cheeks flooded with heat; her entire body froze. Oh, holy Artemis. Now they were in for it.

  Without another thought, Caia shoved Jaeden back into the corner of the elevator, jumped out of it, and hit the button to send her back up.

  “CY, NO!” Jaeden screamed at her in outrage as the elevator slammed shut, leaving Caia to face Marita and the five magiks before her by herself. They had positioned themselves in the reception hall of the containment center, the center itself locked tight behind them. There was no way she was getting into it unless she went through these guys first.

  Marita’s face twisted with an amalgamation of emotions. Grief, hatred, disbelief … more hatred.

  Caia’s mind raced with some way to stall, counting on conversation to save her somehow. But it seemed Marita was all out of conversation. Before she could protect herself, a blast of power sent her rocketing back into the elevator doors, her head jarring off the steel with a sickening sharpness that shot all the way down her spine and into her toes.

  She crumpled toward the ground and hadn’t even made it there before she felt the world spin, the air rushing through her hair and skin as she was thrown across the room, her feet brushing the ceiling before the energy released her and she dropped like a dead weight, smacking into the floor with enough force to ricochet her chin off the ground. With the impact, the air rushed out of her lungs and she clawed at the floor in panic, desperately trying to pull in oxygen. Ignoring the throbbing of her chin and the blood that trickled out of her mouth, Caia spat a tooth out and wheezed. Through a curtain of her hair, she saw the magiks approach.

  “Have at her,” Marita said softly. “Make it slow.”

  Fire erupted along her arms and legs, the flames licking her skin, the agonizing pain of her crackling flesh like nothing she’d ever experienced before. Caia screamed in release, tears streaking her face, the vomit-inducing smell clogging her nostrils. And then the water filled her lungs and she couldn’t breathe, couldn’t scream, could only writhe in unimaginable torture. Oh goddess, she couldn’t think. She needed to think!

  “CAIA!” She heard Jaeden distantly and her heart almost stopped. No! She wouldn’t be stupid enough to come down here! She twisted in an effort to catch sight of her friend and then watched her in utter amazement. Jaeden stood like an Amazon, rage mottling her pretty features.

  Before Marita and the magiks had time to blink, they were thrown back by Jaeden’s telekinesis. Their magik ceased the attack on Caia as they themselves collided with hurricane force against the containment center entry doors, buckling the metal. And before they could get to their feet, five lykans shot out of the elevator, their muzzles pulled back, some covered with blood and gore.

  They looked ferocious and feral … and ready to rip Marita apart. With a howl from the leader who Caia joyously recognized as Phoebe, they tore after the magiks. Marita’s eyes widened in shock as Phoebe headed directly for her. But the lykan didn’t get within an inch of her. With one last look of determined retribution, Marita disappeared before their eyes. Three of the other magiks followed, but two of the females weren’t quick enough and the lykans converged on them as a pack.

  “Caia!” Jaeden ran to her as she tried to get up. Jae grabbed her arm, and the pain set off another stream of screams and curses.

  “I’m sorry, I’m sorry … oh gods, look what they’ve done. Oh, Cy …” Her eyes swept helplessly over her friend.

  Jeez, she must look a mess, she thought wearily.

  “It’s fine,” Caia croaked, her throat rough from the recent asphyxiation. “Just give me a minute.” One of the lykans parted from the pack, her fur a beautiful raven black. She was a smaller version of Lucien in wolf form, except for the streak of silver that ran from between her eyes to the tip of her black shiny nose. She whined as she approached Caia and stopped to nuzzle her face before licking her cheek.

  “I’m okay.” Caia stroked the lykan’s head. “I’m okay, Irini. Really. Thanks for the help.”

  The bing of the elevator doors startled them all, and they spun to face the next enemy, Jaeden’s hand braced in front of her, ready to use her telekinesis once more. A surge of pride ran through Caia. Jae was getting good at controlling her powers.

  Her pulse slowed when Reuben stepped out, followed by Vanne and a couple of the Council members’ families. Reuben’s eyes narrowed as he took in the scene and then darkened with a menacing disquiet on Caia’s near-prone form. He strode toward her, brushing past Jaeden rudely.

  “What happened?” he asked softly, dropping to his haunches beside her, his eyes taking in her injuries.

  “I’m fine.” She shook him off, unnerved by his concern. “I just need a minute.”

  He nodded tautly and stood to face Jaeden. Caia couldn’t see his expression, but Jaeden tensed—it couldn’t be good.

  “Where were you?” he said, his voice low with anger.

  Jae’s jaw dropped. “Where was I—”

  “Hey!” Caia yelled weakly at him. “It’s not her fault. I shoved her back into the elevator and stupidly took on Marita and the others by myself.”

  The vampyre rolled his eyes at her. “Acting the hero is going to get you killed.”

  Annoyed at his proprietary tone, Caia drew up all her energy and stretched onto all fours. She curled her lip at him. “Don’t worry, vampyre, I’m not going to get myself killed and ruin all your plans.”

  “Caia—”

  But she wasn’t listening to him anymore. She pushed the change and a flow of beautiful, warm energy rushed through her body, soothing her aches. She gave a bark of jagged pain as a rib sealed back into place. She hadn’t even known one had cracked. As her muzzle grew out from her nose and her head morphed into wolf, her ears kicking back with the shock of how fast it was, Caia felt a new tooth grow in where the other had come out. Her wolf eyes watered a little, but she was reassured by the fact that she wouldn’t have to glamour a new tooth and that her burns and blisters would heal enough to leave her with only red marks. Her skin would be a little sensitive, but at least she wouldn’t be in agony.

  When she was sure her wolf had healed her as much as it could, Caia changed back, magikally clothing herself in well-worn jeans and a black T-shirt. Jaeden was by her side in an instant, helping her to her feet.

  “You okay?” she asked anxiously.

  Caia could curse Reuben for making the girl feel bad. “I’m good, thanks.” She turned to her waiting comrades and then glanced at the containment center door. Lucien was right on the other side. Her heart flipped at the thought of seeing him. Goddess, it had felt like forever. “Let’s just get everyone out.”

  Vanne strode by the lykans still standing around their kills. He threw the magiks a quick glance and seemed to shake his head in pity, muttering under his breath. Even from a distance, Caia could make out the words with her lykan ears. She wouldn’t repeat them. They were kind of foul … something about Marita and Hades … with a lot of bad words thrown in.

  He nearly ripped the containment center door off its h
inges, and Caia rushed to follow him inside.

  She was so distracted by the thought of finding Lucien, she was barely aware of Vanne’s heartfelt curse before he ducked in front of her. She soon realized why: he was avoiding the huge lykan that flew at him. Instead it landed square on Caia’s chest, sending her crashing into Jaeden who’d been right on her heels. Jaeden stumbled and fell to the floor, taking Caia and the lykan with her.

  Caia ducked the lykan’s ferocious wide jaws as it lunged for her face and then screamed as its teeth clamped around her shoulder and tore into her skin. She felt it rip through muscle and bone, and the nausea sent her head lolling back, black spots floating in front of her eyes.

  The wolf’s teeth were abruptly gone and its heavy weight collapsed fully on her. A warm, thick liquid soaked her stomach and ran down her hips and legs. She blinked, trying to clear her eyes.

  “Cy? Cy, you alright?”

  Was that Jaeden? She felt a tangle of limbs underneath her, and her vision cleared. Jaeden’s blade was lodged deeply into the lykan’s belly as it lay across her. It wasn’t dead. It was whining and trying to move, snarling and snapping at Caia’s face. She thanked the gods it couldn’t reach. Before she could panic at the thought of getting out from under it without being torn into again, its weight was lifted off her.

  Reuben. Her eyes widened in awe even as her shoulder flamed with pain. Reuben held the wolf with one hand clamped around its thick neck, his lips drawn back in a matching snarl, his fangs the only thing she could see. And then he squeezed, and the most horrific crunching, squishing sound could be heard as he crushed its neck in his bare hand. The lykan’s body went limp, and Reuben promptly let the dead beast drop to the ground.

  Once the initial shock wore off, Caia tried to move so Jae could get out from under her.

  “ARRRGGGH!” she screamed. Her shoulder felt like it was about to detach from her body.

  “Ssh, ssh, Cy,” Jae whispered in her ear. “Don’t move. Oh Gaia, don’t move. Your shoulder, crap—”