Release (The Protector Book 3) (44 page)

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. “It’s always something, isn’t it?”

Willy didn’t respond; he just looked up at me with panicked, innocent eyes.

“Grayson, where’s Marcus?”

“Rayna said he’s with Chief and Jax. They’re gathering supplies and weapons, and trying to find someone named Eric.”

“I’m going to get dressed. You try to get a hold of Marcus or any of them directly. We can’t afford to get sidetracked anymore. This ends now.”

******

Rayna shifted the Jeep into park and we idled at the side of the road. Marcus, Jax, and Chief were unreachable. Either they weren’t getting service, or their phones were off. Whichever it was, voicemail wasn’t helping us at the moment.

The park was dark and full of massive trees with unadorned branches. All their leaves had fallen and decorated the ground, but the colors went unappreciated in the cloudy night.

“Anyone have any last minute ideas?” I asked. Rayna and Willy both remained silent. “Great.”

Since Grayson wasn’t going to be useful in a fight, he had stayed home to continue trying to get a hold of the others. The last thing I needed was to bring cannon fodder to the battle ground.

Arian didn’t need supernatural hearing to know we were coming. The leaves crunched beneath my feet and the park was wide open, leaving little to no chance of throwing any sort of surprise attack. Arian picked this location for exactly that reason.

A playground sat in the middle and a merry-go-round was turning on its own. The wind blew gusts of leaves into the air and it carried a sharp chill—winter wasn’t far off.

Plastic tubes linked one platform to the other and the slides sat vacant; all the children had gone to bed hours ago. The swings clanked and rattled as the wind shook their chains, and on the edge of the swing set was Tiki.

His tanned skin looked dark in the lightless sky, and shadows caressed his body. His arms were bound behind his back and a gag covered his mouth. His body was pinned against the steel pole of the swing set, but his orange eyes were calm.

Willy ran forward and removed the gag from his mouth. “Are yo—yo—you okay?” he asked, fumbling with the ropes.

“I am fine. You should not have come, Chase Williams. We can waste no more time.”

“First, we can’t exactly go anywhere without you. Second, I’m not leaving you or anyone else behind. Especially not with this psycho.”

Arian’s laughter carried on the wind. “Psycho…I like that.” He chuckled again. “Welcome, Chase and friends.”

I ripped a dagger from its sheath and faced him. Rayna, Willy, and Tiki all stepped up beside me. Tiki rubbed his wrists where the ropes had left their mark, and Willy handed him a blade.

“This ends, Arian. Right now.”

“Oh, this is far from the end, Chase. This is but the beginning of an incredible journey together. With you under my command, Riley will have no choice but to bow to me.”

“Riley knows exactly what you’re up to. You aren’t going to surprise him. Riley won’t bow to you, or anyone else for that matter.”

Arian shook his head. “I do not fear your father, Chase, and neither should you. The ability to change into any creature I wish was gifted to me by your father and the Brothers. Let me share it with you and together we will defeat him.”

“Kidnapping my friends, idle threats, and false promises aren’t going to sway me.”

“False promises? Perhaps if I give you a taste of the knowledge you crave, you’ll be more inclined?” Arian crept to the side, crushing the grass beneath his bare feet. “You, my boy, are essential to all this.”

“I’m feeling more enlightened by the second.”

“Spare me your sarcasm. I may not know all the factors involved, but I know something you do not. I know
why
you are essential. I know what your role in all this is. I know this, and even still, your father does not. ”

“You know something about Riley’s grand plans that he doesn’t? That sounds convincing.”

Arian shook his head. “I know because the Brothers know. It is their power that helped Riley give me this gift. And with that gift came a detail they have yet to share with Riley. They’re keeping it close to their chest for…shall we say…insurance? That knowledge can be yours. I will hand it to you myself with a single bite. All you have to do is make this easy.”

“You’re a pawn, Arian. Anything you think you know, Riley and the Brothers have given to you. Riley wants you to think you have the upper hand, but in the end, you’re just a distraction.”

“Why must you make everything a challenge?” Arian growled. “It does not need to be this way.”

“And it won’t be for much longer.” I stepped forward, drawing the second dagger from its sheath.

“You wish to do this, truly? I can give you everything you want, Chase. All you have to do is cooperate.”

I didn’t respond with words. I lunged forward and sliced the dagger through the air. The silver cut across his shoulder and Arian jumped back with a growl.

“We can stop all this, Chase—together. We could both get what we want, but if you wish to make things harder, so be it. I have tricks you have yet to see.”

Arian reached out towards the others, and Rayna and Willy dropped to the ground, screaming as their beasts came to the surface. Clear fluid exploded and their bones snapped and shifted, reforming themselves into their beasts. A black panther and an even larger wolf stood beside Tiki, and their eyes were locked on me.

“This is your big surprise? Tearing the beasts out from inside my friends? You lack imagination.” I moved with a hunter’s speed but Arian caught my arm and threw me to the ground.

“Oh, the show is not over,” he said. Power reverberated around me, and Tiki let out a primal roar unlike any I’d ever heard. The orange of his eyes vanished and the inky blackness took over. His tanned skin stretched and tore as white claws and bones burst from the flesh on his arms and hands.

Fangs dropped from his mouth, each of his teeth morphing into a serrated point. Spikes broke through his knuckles and skin, covering him in razor-sharp edges. His shoulders dropped and popped out of place as his legs grew to thick and long stems from his demonic body. All of his muscles swelled and in seconds, there was a massive orange monster towering above us.

Arian smiled and his dark eyes stared back at me. “I don’t just bring forth beasts, Chase. Not anymore. Now I can tear the demon out of an Underworlder, and I can control them too.”

The ground rumbled as Tiki stomped towards me. Rayna and Willy crept up behind me in their animalistic forms. I was trapped in a triangle of power and each point was ready to attack.

“I withdraw my previous comment,” I said, my eyes studying each of my opponents with caution.

I adjusted my stance and turned as throaty growls came from Rayna.

Willy’s colorless eyes locked onto me as his target. His top lip pulled back in a snarl and he snapped at the air.

Tiki dragged his claws against each other. The bone-on-bone scraping sent a shiver down my spine, and my breath caught in my throat.

“All you have to do is say yes, Chase. Become a part of my pack and let me lead you to greatness.”

“Why me? You can turn anyone you want. It doesn’t need to come to this.”

“I’m afraid it does. The only way to get the attention of someone like your father is to take what he needs. He may not know why just yet, but Riley knows he needs you, and as such, I want to take that control from him.”

“Riley doesn’t control me, I control myself.”

Arian laughed. “For the moment, but you are predictable. Just look what I’ve done by taking one of your precious comrades. All Riley needs to do is threaten your loved ones for you to succumb. If he challenges one life that you care for, the world as we know it changes forever. I can take that fear away from you. I can give you the power to shut off your emotions and disconnect with this world. That will become your greatest asset, and it is exactly what you need to defeat your father. Isn’t that what you want?”

“I don’t need to give up my freedom and will to do that. I’ll stop Riley, but I will do it on my own terms.”

“Now you don’t really believe that, do you?”

Arian entered the circle with me, but my friends’ eyes didn’t stray. There was a hunger that filled them, and in that moment, I was the only thing that could sate their appetite.

I wanted to reply but I couldn’t. My words were stolen by the truths he spoke. I had doubted myself. I didn’t believe I could beat Riley. Not now—especially not without my elements.

“I didn’t think so. Until you complete the circle as the Protector, you will continue to fall apart. Think about it, Chase. You need me and I need you. We can help each other here. We both get what we want. All you have to do is shift.”

“What do you mean complete the circle? You mean there is a way to stop this?”

Arian paused for a moment and then smiled. “Just a little tidbit I picked up from your father…but like I said—you help me, and I’ll help you.”

That was it—a glimmer of light at the tunnel’s end. It was dim, only a pinhole in a shaft of darkness, but it was there. He knew there was a way to stop this, and if he found out, so could I.

“How do you know what to do? You didn’t get that much information from Riley.”

Arian shrugged. “My methods of persuasion will remain my own…for now. One shift and you can end this. What more are you willing to lose, Chase? You’ve lost your mother. Do you wish to sacrifice the girl too? Perhaps your pet wolf or that little bird of yours? You, Chase, can break your father’s quest for power, but how badly do you want it?”

Riley’s face flashed before my eyes. It was the face I remembered from my childhood. His clean-cut blonde hair and deep blue eyes had looked down at me. I’d been young, only coming up to his waist, but even at that age I knew he’d loved me. His eyes had swallowed me with love and his warm laughter had filled me up. His touch had been gentle as he ran his hand through my hair and smiled.

I didn’t know what had happened to him. How did he become so lost? This was the earliest memory I had of my dad. I had been eight or nine years old and I’d never forget it. After this, he’d slowly faded away and become someone new—someone I would spend the rest of my childhood afraid of.

“What do you say, Chase? Are you ready to end your father’s reign before it begins?” Arian hummed the theme to Jeopardy and the sound pulled me out of my vision, but it didn’t fade completely. Instead, it changed.

Riley’s face had morphed into a different version of itself. The smell of his aftershave that had made me feel at home vanished. His warm complexion, over time, had paled, and his body thinned. The blue eyes that had gazed upon me became rippled with darkness, and now, darkness slithered beneath his veins and pushed against his skin.

I closed my eyes and thrust the image away. Watching it fade was nearly as heartbreaking as the memory of who he had been, but I knew he wasn’t that person anymore. He would never be that person again.

Now he was on a mission for power with demigods helping him obtain it. I wasn’t just a hunter; I was the Protector. I was blessed by the goddess to protect all the dimensions from Ithreal, and as much as I knew the odds weren’t in my favor, I would
never
give in. I would never stop fighting. The gods believed in me. Now it was time to believe in myself.

Elyas was with me in that moment. She didn’t speak or show me visions, but she granted me the courage I needed. Her presence pulsed in my head and the smell of fruit filled my senses. She was a small piece of Serephina, and the seductive scent reassured me. She reminded me who I was and who I was fighting for. She made me realize I had the tools within my grasp; I just needed to find them and reach out.

“Yes, I’m ready to stop him, but I won’t be doing it your way.”

Arian’s face shifted and a frown pulled at his lips.

“I am the Protector, and you are nothing more than an obstacle. You’ve gotten in my way time and time again. You’ve attacked me, you’ve hurt my friends, and now you’re trying to use your magic to turn them against me, but it won’t work.”

“I don’t know…I think it’s working quite well, wouldn’t you say?” Arian’s power fluxed and Willy crept forward, snapping at the air in front of me. His red and white fur shifted to black and his white eyes were vibrant.

“That depends on your perspective. They have me on their side. You don’t.”

Arian laughed and shook his head. “Foolish boy.”

“You might think you know who I am, and you might know what my destiny holds, but you have severely underestimated one thing.”

“Have I now? And what might that be?”

“My tolerance for bullshit.” I shoved my dagger into Arian’s stomach and his eyes opened wide.

Arian’s power detonated and Willy, Rayna, and Tiki all lunged at me, but I was ready. I wouldn’t let the pain hold me back. This fight with Arian was about to end at any cost, and I used the tools at my disposal without fear of the consequences.

Shards of rock shot from the earth as my earth element was born. Slabs of stone boxed in all three of my friends and their roars echoed off the stony walls.

The pain was immediate and something sliced across my back. I felt the deep gouge in my flesh, and with each breath, the wound pulled itself open. A million needles drove themselves into my skin. I swallowed the cry of pain trying to escape and focused on Arian.