Playing with Monsters (12 page)

“What are you?” I screamed when I got close enough to the imposter.

“Lena,” he greeted genially, his ice blue eyes narrowing on me. “Don’t you know your own brother when you see him?”

“I buried my brother,” I growled. Magic? It could be, but glamouring an image was beyond anything we could do. “You’re not my brother,” I continued, keeping it talking while I moved closer.

“He said you’d be a hard one to convince,” he chided with a half-cocked smile. I fucking loved that smile. My brother did it often while he’d taught me how to work on his car. “And here I thought you’d be the easy one. What, with how much time you two spent together.”

Tactics. He was using things I loved about my brother against me. I swallowed as I got closer to him. “You’re not my brother.”

I wanted him to admit it.

Needed whatever it was to show itself.

Its
true
self.

I went down, swiped out my booted foot in a roundhouse kick. Caught off guard, he went down to the floor. The entire room was watching us.

“My brother taught me that; if you were him, you’d have been ready for it.”

He jumped up fluidly; his eyes narrowed as he watched me closely. “Nice move,” he growled as he reached into his pocket and produced a knife. He flipped the blade open and held his arms wide. “I know a few too, sis,” he taunted with the same smile.

“I’m not your sister.” I turned sideways as he sliced through the air. I repeated it, dodging his moves. I didn’t have a weapon, which wasn’t a good thing. Not that I would know what the hell to do with one anyway. 

I kicked his arm, not caring that I was showing the entire club that I was wearing thigh-highs with a sexy little garter. The knife went sailing through the air and the guy jumped at me. I turned just in time for him to bear hug me from behind. Stupid. I couldn’t elbow him, so I started to drop my weight, forcing him to loosen the hold he had on me; it gave me enough room to maneuver my arm around the back of his neck. I bent over, pulling his neck with me and using my balance to flip him over my back. The move caught him off guard, easily flipping him over until he landed on the floor in front of me. A defensive move Joshua had also taught me.

“He taught me that too,” I growled as I moved to kick him, only for him to vanish before my foot could make contact. “Where did he go?” I demanded of the onlookers around me. Many of those were from our coven, and they’d just watched me fighting my dead brother.

“You made him leave!” Kendra sobbed as she folded herself into Dexter’s arms. I felt each sob, knew the pain of the loss she felt. “I wish you’d never come back! He was here, and you made him leave!”

Gut, punch, fuck. That one hurt.

I moved to the doors slowly, and opened them; the moment I did, something erupted in the parking lot. I watched it, as if in slow motion. I was frozen, unable to do anything other than watch as it exploded.

One minute I was in the doorway, watching shrapnel fly towards me, and the next I was on the floor, with Lucian covering me as I heard metal and other things hit the side of the building, as well as a few people inside the club.

“Lena, breathe,” Lucian whispered against my ear.

I didn’t want to. I wanted Joshua back; I wanted to be with him. Kendra would be fine without me. I knew she hadn’t meant it; I’d felt it. Still hurt. Still felt like something was embedded in my chest.

“Dammit, girl, breathe!” Lucian hissed and I gasped for air.

Chapter Thirteen

An hour later, we were sequestered inside Club Chaos. I didn’t know what to think, or how to feel.  That thing had looked exactly like my brother. Its voice was an exact match to his as well. Kat held Kendra’s sobbing form wrapped in her arms and Dexter gently rubbed her back in a comforting motion.

I was numb and unfeeling, mostly because I didn’t know what to feel. Those from our coven had been escorted by Lucian’s employees to a secure room, and, luckily, there was a small bar towards the back of the room. The other patrons and employees who didn’t belong to the coven had been sent to another room, which we hadn’t even known was there until a door opened up in the wall, and people were herded into it.

My mind was racing; a bomb had gone off. Lucian had somehow saved me from the blast, and was being worked on less than a foot away from me. I had a few cuts and abrasions from the blast; however, Lucian had taken the worst of it. His back had small pieces of metal that had cut through his shirt and embedded in his skin. He’d gotten injured protecting me.

I didn’t have time to respond; I’d thought I was dead. Lucian had somehow shielded me with his massive body and saved my life. How had he moved so quickly? It seemed impossible, unless he’d been closer than I thought while I’d been fighting against that thing.

I was calling him a thing; that thing that looked so much like my brother. He’d even smelled like my Joshua. I hadn’t said a word since, because I knew if I did, I’d fall apart. I was keeping it together. Barely. It could have been a Bogey, or a Boggart, but why one of them would be here, impersonating my brother at this particular time was a mystery. A Fae could easily glamour on a Joshua suit, but again, why?

It had known enough about Joshua to dress and smell like he had. His blue eyes had even sparkled with the same mischief that Joshua’s were often filled with. His ivory skin was the same creamy color that made those eyes more vibrant than they really were. Sharp cheekbones…it was all the same. He even had the same crook in his nose, which was from a break that happened when we were kids.

My eyes moved back to Lucian, who watched me silently without making a single noise as yet another piece of metal was dug from his back and made a clink as it was dropped into a glass. Linda worked with deft precision, her eyes only meeting mine when she felt my heavy stare.

It took a strong stomach to remove metal from flesh, and she didn’t seem upset or squeamish at all. She looked like she had done it before, which seemed off to me. No one should ever feel okay with digging metal out of flesh. Or anything else for that matter.

Lucian’s dark indigo eyes remained intense as he continued to watch me, as if he thought at any moment I’d have a mental breakdown. I offered him a small smile before I turned to Vlad, who was also watching me with a worried look.

“I need a drink, please,” I whispered, not trusting my voice to not crack with the emotions I felt.

The entire room was silent; many people watched me, or Kendra, maybe wondering why one of us couldn’t stop crying, while the other was almost catatonic. I understood it; it wasn’t everyday something walked in looking like your dead brother.

“Pick your poison,” he said gently.

“Macallan, top shelf, Vlad, two fingers, make it neat,” Lucian directed, his eyes closing briefly before he turned them on the bartender. “For both of us,” he finished.

“Fifty-five, or younger?” he asked as his eyes moved to me, and then Lucian.

“Fifty-five,” Lucian answered and moved his eyes back to mine. “If she can handle it,” his tonality made it a statement instead of a question.

“I can handle it,” I whispered, barely audible to my own ears.

I watched as Vlad retrieved the gorgeous bottle, which was shaped to take you back to the old world, when it was a luxury to have and own fine whisky. The moment he pulled the crystal decanter out and removed the ornate cap, my nose was filled with the fragrance of smoky spices. I watched as he carefully poured the dark amber liquid, then pushed the glass in my direction.

I lifted it, swirled the whisky and brought it up to my nose to inhale the fragrant beauty of the fifty-five-year-old scotch. I wasn’t big on different types of whiskies, but I knew this was an expensive drink, and highly sought after by those with means to obtain the more extravagant things in life.

I took a sip, and swirled it in my mouth. I enjoyed the burn; the slight taste of citrus was a surprise, but it tasted far better than I expected. Not something I’d pay for; however, it was a rather cool experience in light of everything.

I took another sip and turned to watch as the elders were brought in, with my mother following behind them. Why had they come to us instead of bringing us to the safety of the abbey? I watched as my mom looked for me, and then quickly searched through the crowd for Kendra.

The moment she found us both, relief softened her features. She moved towards Kendra, and I followed. I’d just reached them when Kendra threw herself into Mom’s arms and started relaying what had happened.

I remained silent until the last of Kendra’s emotional explanation had played out. Tears filled our mother’s eyes, and I choked back my own emotions.

“Joshua can’t be alive,” my mother said softly to Kendra. “They sent your brother’s body home to us.”

“It could be him! Just because the Army said it was him, doesn’t mean that they didn’t make a mistake!” Kendra sobbed.

“We buried Joshua,” I whispered.

“You can’t know that! Nobody can say it for sure.”

“We buried Joshua,” I repeated more firmly. “I know it was his body we buried, Kendra.”

“You need to stop, you saw him! It was Joshua!”

“It wasn’t Joshua, dammit, Kendra, I know it wasn’t Josh because I opened that casket, and I saw what was left of him. Grandmother even did the spell to be sure it was him! We made damn sure it was Joshua in that casket!”

The entire room gasped, and I didn’t care.

“Magdalena, he was killed by a bomb,” Mom whispered, sadness coloring her words at understanding exactly what I’d seen in that casket.

“I know, trust me, I know. We had to be sure, so I did what I had to and begged Grandma to do the spell for me. The results of the spell were conclusive, and it’s never wrong. It was Joshua’s body in that casket. He’s dead. Whatever that thing was, it wasn’t our brother, Kendra. We buried him, the real one. No mistake was made, there’s no doubting it. Joshua
is
dead.”

Kendra started up again but mother stopped her. “She’s right, do not argue it. We were lost in grief. That is not the problem now, Kendra. We need to figure out what is posing as Joshua, and…”

“Fiona, tell them,” Grandmother interrupted softly as she placed a gentle wrinkled hand on Mom’s shoulder. “They need to know. You knew eventually that they’d have to be told. Now is the time.”

A chill ran up my spine as I turned to my mother and narrowed my eyes. “Tell us what?”

What could she possibly tell us now that would get us any closer to figuring out what that thing was?

“Mother,” Kendra asked as she sat beside my mom.

“I was eighteen when I became eligible for the Awakening ceremony. My match was chosen by the ancestors at the Harvest ceremony. He was a strong man, powerful. His name was Drake, and he was from the original coven. Nine months later I gave birth to beautiful twin boys, and I rejoiced.”

I turned white. Twins?

“Just as any mother would, I loved my sons. They were beautiful babies, but as Benjamin and Joshua got older, we noticed a change in Benjamin. At two, he was casting magic, far more magic than a child should be able to do before an Awakening ceremony; but then, his tantrums took a dangerous turn. He would fly into fits of rage over Joshua playing with his toys. We had a puppy that was given to both boys and we found the poor thing cut up, with nearly nothing left of it. At first, I made up reasons for why things kept happening. At three, I found Joshua with a bag over his head, and tiny cuts all over his body. I realized that it was no longer safe, and I had to choose between letting Joshua live or continuing to deny the darkness I could see growing inside of Benjamin. I took Benjamin to the seer in the woods, and she quickly saw what I had been denying. Benjamin was born of the darkness, and Joshua of the light. I took Joshua to the neighbors, and went back home to spend the night alone with Benjamin before I had to send him away. Darkness cannot live in the light, and Benjamin would have killed Joshua eventually. Any child who is born with darkness is given to the Guild, as they are better equipped to deal with it. This coven is no different than the others; we do not allow darkness to grow within our ranks. I did what I had to do. I removed all evidence of him from our lives; pictures, toys, anything that could prove he existed was erased.”

“How do you know he wouldn’t change? He was three!” I seethed. “You threw him away, how could you? What about us?” I indicated myself and Kendra. “What if it had been us, would you throw me away too, mother?” I demanded.

“I took you and your sister to the same seer who lives in the woods. When you were three, we took you back to the seer and she said you were pure light, brighter than any she’d seen before you. You and Kendra were inseparable, unlike Josh and Ben; they didn’t bond. They fought over everything. Benjamin was not a happy child. He was sullen, and dark. He was born wrong.”

“And you just took the word of some nutcase witch in the woods who claims to be a seer? Do you have any idea how crazy that sounds?” I asked.

“The witch serves us. She’s the seer of the dark and the light. She’s blind, and yet she sees better because of it,” my grandmother said as she watched me. “Some children are born with a darkness that will kill the light just so they can remain in the shadows. It isn’t their fault; it’s just how they are born. This coven was built to keep light magic,” she continued as she placed a hand on my shoulder. “Your mother’s choice wasn’t easy; she gave up one child to save the other.”

“Did she? Because it seems to me he’s back, and he’s a little bent on the whole ‘being kicked to the motherfucking curb,’ thing. I highly doubt he’s here for a family reunion.”

“Magdalena,” my grandma warned.

“It’s the truth. I couldn’t imagine learning that I’d been abandoned because of what you assumed
I
was. Just because you can sense the darkness doesn’t mean you have to accept it. He could have been taught to fight it.”

“He was born with it. You can’t stop it from growing if they’re not old enough to fight it. He was becoming powerful; so much more than Joshua was or any other child for that matter.”

I stopped talking, because I knew it couldn’t have been easy, and I was jumping to a total stranger’s defense. I was being harsh, but I felt for him. I could understand why he was angry. I could see that she’d believed she needed to protect her son, both of them, and to do that, she’d made a sacrifice that no mother should have to make.

“I’m sorry,” I said softly, but as she stood to hug me, I stepped back. I wasn’t sure why, or what I was doing. This information changed everything for me. Every memory growing up took on a new meaning. All of the coven’s fears of Kendra and I. They had good reason to be afraid for us, and what we would become as we grew into adults. “You should have told us.”

“I wanted to, but I wanted you to enjoy this time. It’s your time now, not a time for us to be worried about something you can’t change.”

“And if it’s him taking the others? The missing witches?” I asked, and knew she hadn’t added it up yet. “He knows who he belonged to; he knows Kendra and I are his sisters. That wasn’t a guess; he came here for a reason.”

“Maybe curiosity brought him here?” my mother said with a hopeful look in her eyes that I couldn’t stand to see.

“I’m sure curiosity made him pull a dagger on me too.”

“He tried to hurt you?” she gasped and covered a sob with her hand.

“He didn’t hurt me, but he did set off a bomb. So if you’re asking if he is capable of murder, my guess would be yes.” I rubbed my forehead as I tried to replay everything. “Which Guild was he sent to?”

“I don’t know, Drake took him away before the coven could and I never saw either of them again,” she said and pulled herself together. “It’s my mess, Lena, not yours.”

“It’s not only yours. We are family, we stick together. If we make a mess, we clean it up together. Is there anything else you left out?” I was tired, sore, and upset.

The reason why Benjamin looked, talked, and smelled like my brother, was because he was. I’d offhandedly rejected him without even knowing it. Wrapping my brain around Joshua being my half-brother was going to have to wait for another day. I was numb; I didn’t want to feel, or hear the answers. I wanted to forget today had ever happened. The moment Helen started adding her input, I wanted to scream.

“Fiona, this is quite the mess you’ve gotten this coven into,” Helen’s condescending voice was loud enough that the entire room could hear.

“Helen,” my grandmother said, her tone carrying a warning.

“Sara, I may not be from one of the original bloodlines, but at least I don’t have any skeletons hiding in my closet.”

“He wasn’t supposed to learn of us.”

Everyone looked at my mother, and Helen’s next words broke my heart.

“Well he did, and now our children are missing because of yours!”

“Helen, shut your freaking stuck-up, got to be in everyone’s fucking business, mouth!” I yelled. Lightning cracked outside, followed almost simultaneously by thunder. “You have no right! None at all,” I continued, feeling the storm coming through me. “You heard what she said; you want someone to blame? Blame the coven,” I seethed, and the entire room gasped. “They told her what to do, and they’re the ones who allowed Drake to take the baby instead of doing it themselves. She did her job; she gave away her child. Ask the coven how the hell he figured it out. If I had to make a guess, I’d guess his father told him.”

“You do not…”

Lighting crashed against something solid, close enough to the club that the power blinked, and went dark; at the second crash, it came back and I was inches from Helen.

“I have every right. She’s my mother,
mine
. You don’t get to point fingers and judge her because something went wrong that was out of her control. The moment Drake took that baby away with the coven’s blessing, her part was done. You want to judge her? Get in line. When it’s your turn, you better have fucking facts that can back your mouth up. We do not judge, we accept. We are one; when one is in trouble, many heed the call to stand beside them. Isn’t that what you all preach to us, or did buying your way onto the elders’ council give you the right to skip being held to the same standard?”

The entire room must have been holding their breath. I wasn’t sure where that had come from, but I’d felt a powerful snap inside of me, and before I could stop myself, I’d shouted at Helen. Emotional overload, I realized; the mind stops processing and starts expelling things when it’s trying to compartmentalize. Like learning you have a brother, and finding out that life wasn’t black and white.