Wrath (6 page)

That answer seemed to make the most sense based on what both Victor and Sonya had told us, but something about the whole thing bothered me. More than the fact that neither of our sources was very trustworthy. Even if we
could
trust them, there were too many unanswered questions. Like, why make Sonya create such a bloodbath when Kali and Owen together were powerful enough to break our weaker mages’ shield? Were they trying to make some kind of statement? Possibly. But I couldn’t help but wonder if there was more to it. If we were missing something important.

“Do you think Kali could have put one of those faerie stones in Owen?” Sheree asked, her words floating on hope that seemed to suddenly fill the room. All of us wanted to believe in Owen. Including me.

“That would explain a lot,” Blossom said. “But he’s a pretty powerful warlock.”

“He’s
too
powerful.” Charlotte sighed, as though she wanted to believe the possibility, but couldn’t bring herself to allow our hopes to live on. “She wouldn’t be able to force a stone in him. He’d have to
want
it.”

“And he’d never want it,” Vanessa added, her voice glum, full of defeat. “He’d never allow anyone to control him like that. Not after what Kali did to Martin. Whatever he’s doing, he’s doing it on his own volition.”

Charlotte’s narrowed eyes studied the vampire closely. I didn’t have to hear her thoughts to see her suspicion about how Vanessa would know this about Owen. Char didn’t know the two had had some kind of weird relationship.

“I have to agree,” Char finally said. “Owen’s too stubborn and thick-headed to allow it.”

“So you think he willingly did this?” I asked. “And worked with Victor?”

Vanessa blew out a breath. “I don’t know about Victor. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about what he said and what he didn’t. On the one hand, he flat-out said he was there, and he made a point of you seeing the scars Sasha would have left.”

“But he also made a point of showing Owen dropping the dagger next to Sasha and taking Dorian,” I reminded her.

“Right. But on the other hand, if he’d had anything to do with taking your son—the big
trophy
besides you and Tristan—he’d have been bragging all over hell and back about it. We’d have never heard the end of it.” She wrinkled her nose with disgust. “Then again, Victor’s not as stupid as I’ve always made him sound. He’s a pain in the ass and a spoiled brat who always gets to do whatever he wants, which usually consists of parties and girls. Lucas trusts him for a reason, though, and now that things are getting serious, he probably is, too. He said all kinds of things, but there was a lot he
didn’t
say, and any of it could be lies anyway. He could be covering something much bigger, for all we know.”

“That’s comforting,” Blossom muttered.

“Bottom line,” Tristan determined, “both said Kali has Dorian, and Owen is probably with them.”

“We need to find him,” I said. “Them.
All
of them. Dorian, Owen, and Kali. I owe the faeries anyway.”

I snorted. How ironic. I supposedly owed them because I asked them to help Owen. And now he was on my shit list, too.

“It’s time to head out,” I said.

“Are we still going north?” Blossom asked.

I glanced at the clock on the wall. A full day had passed since we’d done the spell. “We should try again. The direction might have changed by now.”

Charlotte’s brows lifted as she cocked her head.

“Blossom worked a tracking spell yesterday,” I explained to all of them. “We didn’t get a lock on Dorian, but we did feel a push that he’s north of here.”

“Did Sophia or Ms. Katerina have anything to say about it?” Charlotte asked.

I frowned as I debated what to tell her, unsure of how she’d react to our plan. Surely she’d want to pursue her son and the sorceress who destroyed her family, but would she go against Mom and Rina’s orders? I knew it wouldn’t be the first time she ignored the Council—there was a reason she and Mom were such good friends—but our orders weren’t only from the Council.

Tristan must have decided the best solution was to tell her because he opened his mouth before I did.

“They haven’t given us a specific direction or area, but our primary mission is to do conversions and build our army. We’re not officially authorized to find Dorian,” he finished, and everyone in the room frowned, including Charlotte.

“That could possibly change if they know Kali has him,” Char suggested.

“Possibly,” Tristan said, “but bringing it to their attention could just as easily cause them to give us more specific orders. Orders that won’t help us and could actually hinder us. I think it’s best that we stick with the plan Alexis and I have already started.”

“Which is?” Sheree asked.

I recited what I’d basically told Mom. “We agree to uphold our purpose of protecting the Normans and converting those who have been infected, allowing us to build an army that we know will be needed.” I paused as everyone nodded, though their mouths twisted in a grimace or a scowl. “But at the same time, we’ll be searching for Dorian. Unless Blossom and I find something different when we’re done here, that means going north, even if it doesn’t make sense for our mission of conversions.”

“And it looks as though we’ll be searching for Kali if we’re to find Dorian,” Tristan said.

“We aren’t certain she has him,” Vanessa said and then added, “though it seems pretty likely.”

“She probably does.” I sighed. “All evidence seems to be pointing that way.”

Blossom and Sheree agreed. We all looked to Charlotte.

“As much as it pisses me off because it means my son was involved, I have to agree,” she said. “I’m not sure of her motive, but based on what she did to all of us with the Tristan fiasco, I’d say it has something to do with gaining power among the Daemoni. She’s capable of anything.”

“She’s extremely powerful,” Vanessa agreed.

“And dangerous,” Tristan added. “So if you don’t feel comfortable with our covert mission or going up against Kali, now’s your chance to speak up.”

Everybody stared at us. Nobody spoke up.

“So everyone agrees?” I asked, specifically looking at Charlotte. “We do our conversions while we seek out Dorian, regardless of where that takes us. And even if it means taking on Kali . . . and maybe Owen, too.”

“Agreed,” Blossom and Sheree said at the same time.

Vanessa made a face, but she nodded. “I’m with you, little sister.”

We all looked at Charlotte again, and her sapphire eyes skimmed over everybody’s faces before ending at mine. She gave me a single nod.

“I’ll kill that sorceress bitch,” she said. “For everything she’s done to my family. And to yours.”

“Not if I get to her first,” I replied, and my mouth tugged up with a small smile of relief that we had a real team and a plan.

Chapter 6

Charlotte, Sheree, and Vanessa returned to their preparations for our departure, while Tristan, Blossom, and I flashed to our house. As I walked into Dorian’s room, I couldn’t believe three days had gone by, and we were still here and not out there looking for him. We’d hopefully have a definite direction to head within an hour or two, but before we could get started, my phone rang. I sighed when I looked at the screen, but I couldn’t ignore the call. I’d been waiting for it.

“Do I need to remind you of your priorities?” Mom asked, her voice curt.

“We already have one convert,” I answered, and I told her about Sonya. Mom gasped at the story about the faerie stone they’d used in the vampire and said she’d warn the Council about this happening again. She didn’t react to the part about Owen’s involvement, though.

“What’s next?” she asked brusquely.

“We’re putting our team together and getting the colony settled. We’ll be taking off tonight, I hope.”

“And where do you plan on going?”

I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply. “We were just about to figure that out but . . . maybe north?”

I purposefully made it a question, hoping she’d give us her blessing to move completely out of the area. No such luck.

“Why would you do that?” Her tone told me she already knew the answer. She’d obviously been keeping her sense of truth focused on my actions. But how could she be so coldhearted? “Alexis, there are people who need you—”

“Dorian needs me.”

“Honey, there are thousands of people’s lives on the line. Their
souls
are at risk if you don’t do what you’re meant to do.”

“How could I forget?” I threw a hand into the air. “Nobody will let me. But I won’t abandon Dorian. I won’t let this go.”

“I understand. I lived with the same fear throughout your childhood. But you have a duty.”

“Why can’t someone else do it? What did you do before me?”

“Everyone else who can convert is already out there. Except you. And now Char.”

I sighed as guilt poked me in the side. “I just need a little time, Mom. Let me go after Dorian and get him back. Maybe take care of Kali once and for all. Then I’ll do whatever the Amadis want me to do.”

“I really wish I could, honey. Believe me. But these are your people. They look up to you. They need to see that you can lead. That you will do what needs to be done for them and all we stand for. A waver like this from our primary creed will create a lot of distrust that you may never be able to rebuild.”

“And abandoning my son won’t? How can they trust me to stay true to them if I can’t do so for my own child?”

“You know how they feel about Dorian. About any Amadis son. And choosing one soul over all others—especially one we know has no hope in the end—”

My temper flared. “There is
always
hope! And I won’t give up on him, Mom. I can’t believe you and Rina gave up on Noah so easily. He was her
son
. Your twin. How
could
you?”

My accusation must have hit Mom unexpectedly because she sucked in an audible breath and didn’t answer for a moment. When she did, her voice came out much softer than it had been. “He was already deeply entrenched in the Daemoni before Mother knew he was still alive.”

“Well, Dorian’s not. And the sooner I find him and rescue him, the less likely he will be. As for the Amadis—they don’t know the future. They don’t know what Dorian could mean for them. Right now he is one of us, and we won’t give up on anyone, no matter who he is. At least
I
won’t! Tell that to anyone who questions my loyalty.”

Mom fell silent again, apparently having no rebuttal for my excellent point.

“So, please,” I continued, softening my tone to more of a plea. “Let us go north. Blossom’s been working a spell, and together we felt Dorian north—at least north of us. We can keep trying until we find exactly where he is. We’ll convert souls along the way, I promise. But please let me do this. I’m useless to the Amadis without Dorian home, where he belongs, if only for a few more years.”

“I’m sorry, Alexis,” she said. “I can’t give that—hold on.”

She paused again, and I assumed someone on her end was speaking to her.

“Honey,” she said when she came back on the line, “Rina wants you to come here to the Island. Immediately.”

Crap. Crap, crap, crap
. I must have pushed a little too far. “Is that really necessary?”

“She wants to speak with you in person.”

I rubbed my forehead, wishing my flash range reached a lot farther than a hundred miles at a time. But it didn’t, and going overseas to the Island meant traveling by plane. I didn’t have time to fly all the way to Greece. And who knew how much farther away from Dorian the trip would take me?

“Tell her I get it. My purpose and all that. I don’t think we should waste any more time, with everything going on.” Hopefully I showed enough agreement to placate them both.

“Alexis, you don’t deny Rina,” Mom said, her voice full of warning. “When the matriarch calls for your audience, you come.”

I frowned, thankful Mom couldn’t see me. “Is that what she’s doing? Because I really don’t need to hear her tell me everything you already have. Like I said, I get it. You two—and the rest of the Amadis—aren’t budging.”

“Come to the Island, Alexis,” Mom said more firmly. “You and your team. Rina wants a personal meeting with all of you, and she’s already sent the jet.”

“
All
of us?”

Mom paused again, and I assumed she spoke with Rina.

“Yes, all of you,” she confirmed when she returned. “When you’re done here, you’ll be starting on your mission. So you and Char ensure the safe house and the colony are settled and will be able to operate without you. I don’t know how long you’ll be gone.”

What?
I didn’t understand them. A minute ago she told me to stay nearby to save those souls in our own backyard, and now they wanted us to fly halfway around the world and didn’t know when we’d be back?
All
of us tied up in this unnecessary trip?

“But—”

“Matriarch’s orders, Alexis. Don’t delay.”

Great. Freakin’ great
. I hung up the phone, and once again, I wanted to hurl it across the room. Instead, I flopped backward onto Dorian’s bed and covered my face with my hands. How could Rina and Mom do this to me? To Dorian? How could they claim to love someone so much but then abandon him? How did I know they wouldn’t do the same to me or Tristan or anyone else? I thought I’d made a valid point—if your own loved ones couldn’t rely on you, how could anyone else? But apparently, the Amadis didn’t believe the same way. Or, at least, the matriarch didn’t foster that kind of culture. When I became matriarch, that would change.

“We’d better get going,” Tristan said. “We don’t want to leave the matriarch waiting, and she’s given us the jet, which could probably be used elsewhere.”

I pulled my hands away from my face to give him a dirty look. Was he as bad as them?

“The sooner we get this done and over with, the sooner we can get on track to find Dorian,” he added.

“We can keep trying the spell while we’re gone.” Blossom glanced around Dorian’s room. “His presence here really helped. I need to take something . . . .”

I sat up and lifted the blanket bunched in my hands. “How about this?” I pushed my face into it once again and inhaled. “It smells so much like him. He’s all over it.”

“A whole blanket is kind of awkward to carry around,” she said. “And I can’t flash with it if we need to.”

Oh, right. I pulled out my dagger and cut away two squares that could be folded and stuffed into a pocket—one for her and one for me. Then I stood and blew out a heavy breath.

“He has a room at Rina’s, too, so maybe we can try again there.” I handed her the piece of fabric. I stuck mine in the back pocket of my leathers and returned my dagger to its sheath. “I guess we get this done with. Another stupid lecture. You ever been to the Island, Blossom?”

Her face paled, and she shook her head. “Oh, no. Never. I don’t even know what to do.”

“Well, we’re going. All of us. Matriarch’s orders.” I let out a hollow chuckle. “This should be especially fun with Vanessa.”

Tristan and I gathered a couple of things we could take with us, secured our home as best as possible, and then flashed to the safe house. With Vanessa and Sheree’s assistance, Charlotte had everything taken care of. The people she’d brought to the mansion with her were experienced converters, and since Sonya proved to be an easy patient, they were already discussing their first target in Fort Myers Beach.

“Don’t worry about a thing here,” Char said to me when my impatience and worry began to show. “They’re a good team. Everything’s taken care of.”

“It’s not that,” I said. “I’m glad they’re here. I just wish we were rushing off for other reasons than for a trip to the damn Island. And it’s my fault Rina’s being a pain.”

Charlotte’s brow shot up. “I’m sure she has her reasons for needing to see us. Remember to never underestimate her.”

Right. A lesson we learned with the Martin/Kali debacle. When we all thought Rina had lost her mind completely to the sorceress, she’d actually been setting up Kali’s downfall and Tristan’s acquittal.

Before we left, Tristan and I took a few minutes to be alone in the suite we’d been using.

“I hate this,” I told him as he pulled me into his arms. “I feel like we’re putting more miles between us and Dorian rather than fewer.”

“I do, too,
ma lykita
, but who knows where they’ve taken him? There’s a chance he could be in Europe or Asia, just as much as here. He could be anywhere by now.”

I let out a sigh. “You’re not making me feel any better.”

He leaned down and brushed a kiss across my lips. “Does that help?”

One corner of my mouth tugged slightly. “Maybe a little.”

“I’d offer a lot, but we’d better get going. The last thing we need to do right now is anger the matriarch.”

I nodded. “Right. We’ll do what we need to do to make them happy so we can get to work on our own plans.”

“While we’re there, do me a favor. In fact, as we move forward, do this for me, please.”

I eyed him with hesitation.

“Don’t do anything stupid,” he warned, not for the first time. I had a bad habit of doing stupid things like jumping into situations that were over my head. “You’re no good to anyone, especially Dorian, if you’re dead.”

I pressed my lips together and nodded again. “I promise I won’t be stupid.”

He pulled me tighter against him, and I leaned up on my toes for a long kiss that didn’t last long enough.

“We need to go,” he murmured, and I frowned. He caught my protruding lower lip between his teeth before delivering another kiss. “Let’s get this over with.”

He scooped up Sasha, whose wing had completely grown back, from the bed and deposited her into my arms before we left the suite. We found the rest of the team waiting for us in my office.

“Are we ready?” Charlotte asked. Blossom, Sheree, and Vanessa all nodded.

“Wait,” came an urgent voice from the foyer. Bree flew into my office and came to a halt, her golden eyes glancing around at everyone. “I need a minute with Alexis, please.”

“The jet’s waiting,” Charlotte said.

“I only need a moment,” the faerie insisted. “Tristan, you can stay, too.”

The others filed out, and Bree closed the door behind them.

“Take off your necklace,” she demanded. I lifted a brow. “Sorry to be blunt, but the jet
is
waiting. For me, too. Ms. Katerina has summoned me as well. But first, just in case, I want to take care of something.”

“What do you need the necklace for?” Tristan asked as he took Sasha from my arms so I could unclasp the chain. He’d fixed it for me last night after Sonya/Kali had ripped it from my neck.

Bree ran a hand through her golden hair. “When I took you through the veil to go to Hades, Tristan, I wasn’t allowed to remain in the Otherworld, but they did allow me to stay temporarily. The Angels—”

“Did they tell you where Dorian is?” I broke in with excitement.

“No.” She frowned. “I’m sorry. It must not be my place to know. But they did say I’ll be meeting them again soon, so maybe . . . .” Her voice trailed off as she gave a noncommittal shrug, leaving me with little confidence they would help. “For now, though, they ordered me to take care of that stone of yours once and for all so we don’t have any more issues with it.”

I reached my hands behind my neck, but paused. “What does that mean? Take care of it?”

She held out her hand and wiggled her fingers. “I’m going to make sure you can’t lose it again so easily—or that it can’t be taken from you. I’m going to make it permanently in your possession.”

Tristan and I exchanged a look, but he gave me a nod of consent. With a little trepidation, I dropped the pendant into Bree’s hand.

“Sorry about the artwork, Tristan,” she said as she twisted the red triangular stone out of the pendant he’d designed, then dropped the silver into his hand. “But this is a better way for Alexis to keep the stone.”

She then moved my leather jacket to the side and pulled the bustier down to expose the Amadis mark on the rise of my breast. Tristan and I traded another look as Bree cupped her hand over the mark and pressed the rock against my skin.

“Is this okay?” she asked.

Understanding now, I gave her my consent, then gasped as a warm tingle fluttered into my flesh, followed by the stone. After several heartbeats, Bree pulled her hand away and nodded her approval. The Angel stone hadn’t sunken down and hidden in my heart, as it had with Tristan when he was a little boy. Rather, it had embedded itself into my skin, a ruby-colored embellishment to my Amadis mark.

“Will my skin grow around it?” I asked, perplexed.

“No,” Bree said. “You want it exposed to do what it needs to do for Tristan. But now your connection will remain strong and steady, and no one can take it away ever again.”

Well. I would take this bit of goodness after all the bad in the past seven days that felt like seven lifetimes. If only we had time to try out the stone’s fertility qualities. But Tristan was right—the sooner we met Rina’s demands, the sooner we could begin the search for our son. And right now, Dorian was more important than the daughter we may never have. At least, in my eyes he was.