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  Mar sat on the edge of the bed. “I always thought I was on the run from her. That she was trying to steal my magic to become stronger.”

  Xiomara’s voice was kind, sympathetic even. “Well, in part she was. Or someone was? We're still trying to piece this together. Look, we needed you to stay away from your mom and everyone around her.”

  “But if I'm not even the so-called vampire child, why not simply tell the vamps and be done with it.”

  Xiomara shook her head. The sadness in her eyes told Mar more than she needed to know. “There is more to this tale than we have time for right now. Your sorcerer father is banished . . . somewhere. Your mother has her own end game on this one, kid.”

  “Why didn't anyone tell me this shit?”

  Xiomara looked at her like Mar was stupid. “Dead, remember? We couldn't talk to you until love opened you.”

  Anger whipped Mar’s voice into a squeal. “I want to put pants on. I'm not having this conversation in a sheet.”

  ~ ~ ~

  Mar pulled on a hot pink wrapper left at the foot of the bed by Glenn. Once covered, she glared at her ancestors. They alternated between giving her looks of condolence and annoyance. Sofia was big with the annoyance face.

  Mar moved closer to them hoping not to disturb Neeren. “You're telling me my mom wanted me hidden this whole time because she's been conning the entire vampire race.”

  “Yeah.” Xiomara shrugged. “What a bitch. Truth is she might be super smart. I mean once she died she'd be out of Olorin's view—That’s your dad’s name. A fresh start. No soul for him to track.”

  “But you don't know for sure. My mom might be trying to keep me hidden from him, or she might be on his side?”

  Xiomara grimaced. “Bet you wish you'd stayed buried in America now, hey?”

  Mar lashed out. “Really? What about you folks? My ancestors. My protectors. Not one of you thought to tell me before now?”

  “I did, Sofia retorted.

  “Oh, shut up, Sof,” Xiomara muttered.

  “I want you guys to leave.” Mar pointed to the door.

  “We can't.” Xiomara replied.

  “You most certainly can.”

  Xiomara raised her hands in surrender. Bangles clinked together like bells. “Look, I get you're pissed. But a darkness is coming. And it might be Daddy. Your lover, and your buddies Collum and Alex, will be called to fight. So will you. You need to be ready. We can't leave unless you're with us. Training starts today and you're doing it with us by your side.”

  Mar's shoulders slumped. Physical and mental exhaustion made it difficult to form words. “This is all a shit show. I hate my mom. I'm not liking you guys much right now either.”

  “Can you hold your rage in until we have more time to talk about everything?” Xiomara asked.

  “Can't I have a night with a great guy before making any more decisions?”

  “Nope,” Xiomara replied. “You're destined to be sorceress to the guardians. And a fight with the darkness is coming soon.”

  “Fine. Then I make the decision to train here. We'll start tomorrow.”

  Sofia cackled. The other ancestors snickered.

  Xiomara sighed. “I was afraid you'd say that. See, we really need you to come with us. There are spells you need to learn from the other realm.”

  The women casually circled Mar as Xiomara spoke. Their soft voices chanting a chorus. Beneath Xiomara’s feet, blue light swirled.

  “What are you doing? Stop.” Mar’s angry gaze sliced each of the women in the circle. She glared at Xiomara as panic began to set in. “Tell them to stop.”

  “Can't, sweetheart. You really do need to come with us.”

  The chanting increased. Behind her Neeren stirred.

  “Big man's going to wake up soon,” Xiomara said. “It's better for him if you keep him out of this.”

  “Fuck you, Xi,” Mar spat. She spun in the circle, kicking away light creeping toward her feet. Raced through spells in her brain. A weight pushed over her mind like a window shutting out all the fresh air. She had no idea how to stop this. “Make them stop. I don't want to go.”

  Xiomara placed hands on her hips. She leveled a glowering look Mar felt right through to her bones. “Look, cupcake. This is bigger than you. It's time to join us. Like it or not.”

  “Well, I don't like it. My body, my choice.” The light rose to Mar’s knees. Her legs felt numb. She tried to pull away, but the light held her captive. “Let me go,” she cried.

  Through the mud in her brain, Mar heard her name. Hope gave her enough strength to turn her upper body toward the sound. Neeren stood beside the bed in full glory. He was huge, towering over them even from across the room. Muscles tight, ready to pounce. His calculated glance swept over her and her ancestors.

  “Do you see them?” she asked.

  He tilted his head slightly. “I see them.”

  “You need to stay out of this, big man,” Xiomara warned.

  “I do not respond well to threats.”

  Mar saw the control in his jaw.

  He looked her in the eye. “Do these ones have human souls, Maria?”

  She knew what he was asking. He'd kill them if Mar asked it. Without question. Without blinking. A strange quiet swept through her. She smiled at him. “I'm falling in love with you, Neeren.”

  His smile blinded her. The brightness outshone the light crawling up her waist. “I know, my queen.”

  She grinned and rolled her eyes. Trust him to behave like a pompous ass, while offering her the world. “They're ghosts. Already dead.”

  He sighed, like he was genuinely disappointed. “Very well. Another way then.”

  “Um, hello. We're on a schedule here.” Xiomara huffed before flinging her arm back. Neeren flew across the room and smashed through the bathroom door.

  Mar laughed out loud. “Well, now you screwed up.”

  “You're making this more difficult than it needs to be. It's not like we're trying to hurt you.”

  Mar glared at Xiomara. “I just found him.”

  Xiomara shook her head. “You have a destiny to fulfill. And parthen-boy is not one of the good guys.”

  “He is good. He saved my life!”

  “He'll be here when you get back,” Xiomara quipped.

  The chanting reached a crescendo. The voices of the women combined in an age-old song. Sweat glistened on Mar's skin. Music overpowered every thought in Mar’s head. She grabbed her hair, trying to focus her mind.

  Roaring erupted in the bathroom. The witches shifted nervously.

  “Don't stop,” Xiomara shouted over the sound of walls giving way.

  A low growl preceded the sound of the bathroom wall collapsing. Neeren, King of the Panthers had shifted. Drywall and cement rained down on silky black fur covering legs larger than tree trunks. Each movement, each step, controlled. A thunderstorm brewed in the beast’s eyes.

  The witches’ voices whipped into a crescendo. Urgency pounded through Mar's own mind.

  Neeren's panther stalked the ghostly woman. Sniffed each of them. Sniffed the light. The women's voices became a single mass of sound. An echo older than time.

  Neeren snuffed at Xiomara. Leaned his huge body against her non-corporeal one. Lifted his paw and pushed it through her into the light. Tested it with his claws. The light pushed back. Scorched his flesh.

  “The other realm, Neeren,” Mar choked out as light wrapped around her neck. The pressure against her throat raw and urgent. Her body paralyzed. Her mind nearly shut down. “They're taking me to the other realm.”

  Neeren forced a paw into the circle. She watched, stricken, as the light burned his paw.

  He remained unflinching as the hair on his paw curled and disintegrated. As the fl
esh bubbled and melted. Held her gaze until she could see no more. Until the light covered her own eyes. Until the light was all she saw. Until she disappeared.

  Chapter 23

  When it was over and her body faded from the room, Neeren shifted back into human form.

  The smell of burnt flesh assaulted his nose. Looking down he realized the skin on his left hand was seared to the bone. He wandered to the bathroom to inspect the damage. Rinsed the flesh methodically, ignoring the pain. Re-washed with soap and water. He searched the bathroom cupboards for a few minutes before finding a jar of Vaseline, lathering what little flesh remained, then wrapping it in a hand towel.

  His bones ached. Exhaustion crept up his neck. Along with something else.

  He stepped through a gaping hole in the wall. Drywall and busted boards crunched under his feet. A nail sliced into his heal. He looked down. Blood trickled out the bottom of his foot to the floor. He studied the bed covered in tangled sheets.

  Something had happened there. Cobwebs lay heavy in his mind. He shook his head. Tried to unplug a memory. Maria. Yes, Maria wasn't in the bed.

  Neeren unwrapped his hand. Studied the bone and scalded flesh. A soft light sparked in the dark corner of his memory. Anxiety tried to cut off his airwaves. He breathed deeply of the heavy hanging, chalky air. Coughed. Fought for control of his own mind.

  He flicked the light on in the room. Rubble from the wall covered everything. The bed, floor, a layer of dust on the dresser. The light made the floating dust look magical.

  Magic. Something involving magic. He shook his head again. Breathed again. A slight scent of fear assaulted his nostrils. A stronger scent of anger. Of frustration.

  Shadowed memories surged in so hard it dropped him to his knees.

  They took her.

  Moments later he wrapped his knuckles on Collum's bedroom door. It was one in the morning. Collum answered immediately.

  “Maria is gone. I need Glenn.”

  Opening the door, Collum backed into the space to let him enter. Neeren vaguely noticed Alex sitting up in bed, wiping sleep from her eyes. Neeren sat in an oversized armchair by the window and stared at the moonlight.

  Light. Blue light.

  Collum’s voice pulled him back from the moon. “Where'd she go? Is she looking for Glenn? She shouldn't be out of bed yet.”

  “What? No. They took her.”

  Alex joined them and reached for his bandage. “What happened to your hand?”

  Neeren snapped his hand back. “Don't touch that. It's healing.”

  Collum's gaze narrowed. “Is Maria in this apartment, Neeren?”

  Neeren shook his head. “I'm fuzzy. They did something to me.”

  Collum’s firm hands gripped Neeren's shoulders grounding him. Pulling him back from the light into the room. The dragon spoke, “Focus. You need to start from the beginning. Alex, go check the room.”

  A she ran from the room, Neeren furrowed his brow trying to concentrate on something important. He knew he needed Glenn. “I need Glenn.”

  Collum handed him a glass of bourbon. “I'll call him now. You drink this and don't move.”

  He nodded. “I will not move until I speak with Glenn.”

  Alex raced back in the room skidding to a halt directly in front of Neeren and Collum. “The bedroom is destroyed. No sign of Mar.” Panic made her voice sound unfamiliar.

  Neeren's chest tightened.

  Collum swore. “You need to wake Glenn. Right now. Do that for me before you lose it.”

  She nodded and raced back out of the room. Neeren drank his whiskey. It burned down his throat. He squeezed his eyes shut and gritted his teeth. This was important. He needed to remember.

  “You able to talk, buddy,” Collum prompted him.

  Neeren fixed his gaze on the man's steady eyes. Focused on the pupils. Breathed fresh air into his lungs. Words flitted through his brain and began to form sentences. “She's the conduit.”

  “Good, what else?” Collum prompted.

  Neeren grabbed the bottle of bourbon and took a long pull from the bottle. Concentrated on her scent. On blue light.

  “There were six witches—ghosts. Her ancestors.” Neeren growled. “They said something about needing her to fight the coming darkness.”

  Neeren shook his head again as shadow memories took shape. Became three dimensional. His hand throbbed and he shook his wrist. Pinched the mangled flesh. The pain broke through whatever they'd done to him. Vivid images flooded his brain. He felt the burning on his flesh. Heard her voice as clearly as if she sat in front of him. Neeren hissed, all pretense of being tame removed. Holding his hand in the light as long as he had, offered him a glimpse of their destination.

  He knew where they'd taken her. “She’s in the other realm.”

  An immediate sense of peace crawled over Neeren's skin as Glenn entered the room wearing a fuzzy pale peach dressing gown. The man walked straight to Neeren and handed him a cup of coffee. Alex followed. They all listened intently as Neeren filled them in.

  “What is the other realm?” Alex asked.

  Holding Neeren's steely gaze, Glenn responded, “The other realm is where immortal warriors rest after they are killed on this earth. Essentially, it’s heaven on earth. Though witches are technically not immortal they pass on to the other realm when they die. They are offered eternal life in death so they may continue to serve.”

  “Like Valhalla?” Alex asked.

  “Yes, exactly like,” Glenn replied. A quiet intensity rung in his voice.

  Neeren paced the room with the bourbon in his hand as he recited the story his mother and father had shared with him at birth. “When an immortal warrior passes from this plane he is taken to the other realm so he may live the rest of his days in peace. Norse mythology calls this place Valhalla. Humans call it Heaven.” He smiled at his sister. “Our father rests there.”

  She swallowed. “How do we find a way into this realm?”

  Neeren sipped his coffee before replying. “A wise man—a raven of some influence, has the answer we seek.”

  Glenn interrupted him before he could say more. “You have to die to pass over, Neeren.”

  An easy smiled covered Neeren's face. “Then you'll kill me.”

  The room exploded around him. Alex freaking out. Collum trying to talk him down. Glenn saying maybe he should have brought tea.

  Neeren sat on the edge of the bed and waited for them to finish carrying on. His feet were cold against the floor. Dried blood coated the bottom of his left foot. Shivers ran up his legs. He needed to soak in a warm bath or stand under a burning hot shower. Anything to take away the chill of losing Mar. No, he hadn't lost her.

  He didn't think the witches were out to hurt her, but they greatly underestimated connection in this family. As soon as Maria declared herself Alex's best friend, she became his family. Or maybe it was before. Maybe it was the first day they met. When she’d brought the dragon to his island through a portal. When she'd head butted him in his own kitchen and called him kitten.

  “Are you done yet?” Neeren asked as he casually sipped his coffee.

  “What do you think, big dummy,” was his sister's reply.

  “If you would let me finish I can explain how easy it will be.”

  “Easy to kill you?” Alex yelled before rounding on Collum. “What did you put in the bourbon you gave him?”

  “Hey, don't blame me for your brother's death wish,” the dragon replied while raising his hands in surrender.

  Neeren would have laughed if they had time. Watching his sister take on the dragon was something he hoped to see many times throughout their very long lives. But not now. Now they needed to pay attention. Neeren stood. His roar shook the rafters. “Sit down and listen to me.”

 
The three beings clamped up and sat down.

  “Thank you. Now, I have a plan. Glenn. I believe if you kill me—” He put his hand up to stop Alex before she could speak again, “in your dream, then I can travel to the other realm to find Maria.”

  “If someone dies in the dream they die in the real world, Neeren,” Alex told him as though he'd forgotten.

  “True. But only if the dreamer wakes up. We all know your boyfriend here can manipulate minds.” He nodded to Collum. “It's very simple. Collum keeps track of Glenn's dream until I bring Mar back. Once she's out, he steps into the dream. Then he manipulates it so I come back to life in the dream. Viola, I'm alive again and Glenn wakes up.”

  All three stared at him like he'd lost his mind.

  “What? It will work.”

  Collum was the first to respond. “Not Glenn. We’ll use me. I won't risk Glenn.”

  “Glenn knows more about the other realm than anyone in this room and I think if I die at his hand, I'm guaranteed entrance.”

  “Don't push this, Neeren,” Collum growled. “I won’t risk Glenn.”

  “Too late. I'm pushing.” Neeren stared into Glenn's magnetic eyes.” I think you were born there, Hugin. And I'm damn sure you can get me in.”

  When Glenn said nothing, Neeren tried again. “She loves you. And I love her.”

  Glenn sighed, seating himself in the chair nearest Neeren while arranging his dressing robe. “I haven't been called that name in a very long time.”

  “Maria has been taken against her will and I believe you know exactly where. If you are truly one of Odin's Ravens then I am asking you to help me find her.”

  “Long ago I chose to be where I am—serving who I serve.”

  “And who is that exactly?” Neeren asked.