A Stitch on Time 5 (5 page)

The flame-filled night fell away in seconds, leaving me in the now comfortable silence of my dark patch. Not long ago, I’d tried to stay away from this darkness because I believed it tainted my soul and stole a little more of my humanity every time I inhabited it, but I was wrong. The more time I spent inside, the stronger I got. And now that Hecate had properly marked me, I had greater control over my patch.

“Hey!” I yelled, and my voice shattered the silence.

Every hollow-eyed phantasm turned their horrid blobby features towards me. They paused in mid-motion as if drawn by my voice. Or maybe it was a lot more than that—maybe my voice could now command them. After all, only a handful of days ago I’d singlehandedly obliterated an entire shadow patch out of existence.

It was time to test my theory against a different enemy. The phantasms didn’t have their own patch, but I was hoping to manipulate them via mine.

“Hey, you blobs of energy! Come and get me.”

Individual phantasms seemed to merge, becoming one huge blob of multi-colored flickering light. As the mob approached, the air inside my dark patch became positively charged with white arcs. My skin prickled and my hair was static.

I stood my ground, spreading both arms on either side like a martyr. Only the spooks didn’t realize I was the one controlling this gig.

When they struck, I felt every electric jolt flow through me. There was no need to astral project to finish this. Actually, I didn’t even need to touch any of them. I could see and feel how these spooks saw me—as willing bait they desperately wanted to possess. Just like the shadow monsters before them, the phantasms slithered into my mouth, nose, ears, even filled my eyes with their gaudy, shapeless bodies until all I could see were the flashing lights filtering out of me.

“That’s it,” I whispered. “I’ve got room for all of you.”

It didn’t take long for each and every one of the phantasms to fill me to capacity, to creep into each hollow place I’d opened up. My body was crowded with these beings. Every static movement made arcs of electricity zap me from the inside out.

This was just what I’d planned.

I closed my eyes and let go of everything—all the grief, pain, anxiety. Every human complication slid out of me, making more room for their filthy, zingy energy.

My fingers twitched, so I pressed my right palm over the back of my left hand. Heat buzzed below my skin where my tattoo used the phantasms’ charge against them. The energy these creatures expelled helped my body uncoil enough to force their power up my arms, until I pulled my hands apart so they were open wide again. My breath sped, chest heaved as I expelled every single phantasm out of me with one violent motion—sending a shockwave strong enough to shake the ground beneath my feet and make the darkness shimmer around me.

Their energy rushed out of my body in sparks of every color, like the New Year’s Eve fireworks at Sydney Harbour.

My knees buckled.

“Sierra,” Lavie yelled.

I lifted my head and she looked too bright. The energy buzzed inside me.

“Sierra, talk to me.” She reached out and touched my shoulder, causing an electric shock to jolt between us. “You’re electrifying.”

“Yeah, and I’ve got chills too,” I managed to whisper, even though it scratched at my throat. Every single part of me seemed to weigh more than it had before. Was this how my sister felt when she died and brought someone back with her?

Willow. Oren.
They still didn’t know about Ebony. I needed to tell them, but hadn’t wanted to blurt it out over the phone. They deserved to be told in person—I just hoped no one else had beaten me to it.

What strange reflections to have now, but the electricity had sparked bizarre thoughts.

“Shit, look at my arms,” Lavie said.

I looked at her pale skin as she rolled her sleeves up. The demonic seeds were gone, but I knew what would happen as soon as we were out of my dark patch.

As if on cue, the darkness stripped down like paint being cleaned off the walls. The night air filled my lungs but was laced with smoke, forcing a cough out of me. My eyes stung but I didn’t give in to the temptation to rub them.

“Damn, they’re back,” Lavie said, examining her arms. “That’s a neat trick, though.”

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s not your fault. You’re actually helping.” She forced a smile but I didn’t miss the frown when she covered her arms. “They might only disappear for a while, but I think you’re systematically lowering the numbers.”

With her help, I got to my feet. There were several blazes around the compound but I couldn’t see any wolves. I could only hope they had taken my advice and were on their way to safety. The phantasms were also missing. I’d managed to take them all out.

“You just did that destroying thing again, didn’t you?”

I nodded.

“That’s quite the talent you’ve got there.” She grinned. “And just like last time, your injuries are gone.”

“What?”

She pointed at my face. “The cut is gone.”

I was about to answer when I spotted a shimmering up on the hill, near the Papan family mansion that overlooked the other properties. The air wavered, morphing into a humanoid shape constructed from shadow and smoke, before solidifying into a pulsating beast of energy.

“Not again.”

“What’s wrong?”

The pulsing shape reformed into Mace Clamber, and he was staring right at me. The smug bastard was gloating from higher ground, even though I’d just taken out his army.

“Stay here,” I called, jogging away from my friend. If I could finish Mace now, I might be able to thwart the ambitions of the
Obscurus
tonight.

This was the first literal step in running towards them instead of away.

My legs burned as I raced up the incline but I wasn’t tired. If anything, the electricity helped me move faster. When I reached the top, I stopped a few paces away from him.

“Sierra, darling, we really have to stop meeting like this.” His black leather jacket was zipped up and perfectly molded to his lean body, blending with his pants in such a manner that it looked like he was dressed by the night sky itself.

“How do you prefer we meet—inside an upside-down pentagram, with me at your mercy?”

“I love it when you talk dirty.” His chuckle made my skin crawl.

“Why did you do this? These people have done nothing to you.”

He scowled. “Calling them people is too generous, don’t you think? They’re animals.”

“You’re a stinking bastard, you know that?”

“So you keep telling me, but like I said…dirty is my favorite way to talk to you.”

I prepared to close him into my dark patch. My right hand was already formed into a tight fist, ready to smack his face, while my left hovered near my thigh, ready to stab the moonstone boline into him. Hopefully I’d cause more damage than I had last time.

“What do you really want?”

His once brown eyes were now fully black, with sparks. A small smirk twisted his lips as he reached up and caressed my jaw, zapping me. “I saw what you did,” he whispered.

I glared at him. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“I’m demonic. I can see into your demon-trapping patch.” The smirk extended along his lips. “I have to admit that it’s very impressive. I hope you’ll take me in there sometime. Imagine how good it would feel to make love within.”

Anger boiled inside me. This asshole might have touched me in the past, but that was because I’d let him. Now, I’d cut his fucking hands off if he tried.

“Stop playing games with me, Mace. What the fuck do you want?”

“I want you, of course.”

“Don’t bullshit me. If that’s all you wanted, you wouldn’t have shadowed me all afternoon and then waited to strike here. You could’ve run me off the highway.” Why was I playing his game? I knew what he wanted—me on a ritual platter. I was just having a hard time dealing with him attacking a pack of werewolves for the sake of being an asshole.

He moved between blinks and before I could respond, he was cupping my chin. “In spite of everything, you’re the only thing I’ve ever wanted. Everything I’ve done has been to secure you. Sierra, I want you to be mine. I need you to accept that no other man will ever possess you the way I can. I want you to love me like I do you, so that when you finally inherit the power I so desperately crave…you’ll totally surrender to me.”

My heart sped up. Did he just say
when
I inherit the power? Was it possible that he didn’t know I already had it? And could that mean none of the other
Obscurus
freaks knew either? For some reason, I’d thought a loud signal would alert them when I received Grandma’s power.

Keep it together, don’t give anything away.
I couldn’t dwell on this and risk him finding out the truth.

I cleared my throat, trying to get my head back into the conversation. “Wanting someone so you can possess them isn’t love.” I’d already been at the receiving end of his seduction and never believed his admission of love. “You don’t want me—you want the stupid power.”

His black eyes shimmered, the flickers of lightning increased. “You and the power are interchangeable, one and the same.” He leaned forward and whispered, “I’ve wanted you since the day I found out you would one day exist, and waited so many centuries…”

The creepy bastard was spilling a lot more than he had before. I’d known he must be older than he looked because of the many facts Professor Spooker revealed, but
centuries?
Disturbing didn’t even begin to cover it.

“You were mine long before you were born.”

I didn’t move an inch when he closed the distance, until our lips were almost touching. The moonstone boline was already in my hand. Just before our mouths met, I stuck the blade hilt-deep into his gut. He hissed and stepped back.

I intensified my grip on the boline as it slid out of him, the moonstone now warm and gleaming in my palm.

Black blood spilled from his side as he covered the slash with his hand. “Why do you always have to play dirty?”

“That’s not playing dirty,” I said, cleaning the blood from the blade on my jeans and strapping it back onto my thigh. I opened the awareness to my dark patch. “This is.” Just as the darkness descended, he wrapped his fingers around my wrist, holding on so tightly my bones protested.

“Sierra, honey, because you mean so much to me, I’m going to give you one last chance.” He stepped into my private space, his blood dripping onto my boots. “If you come with me, I’ll let him live.”

My heart sped up as I tried to wriggle out of his grip. “You know I won’t.
Ever.
”

“One last chance,” he said, gritting his teeth. “Come willingly or I will take every single ally from you, one at a time.”

I hesitated a moment too long and lost the grasp on my dark patch. “No.”

He released my hand, only to force me to spin around so I was facing the hill. He held my shoulders steady so I couldn’t move. “Are you sure that’s your final answer?”

“You know it is.”

“Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

I concentrated on drawing my patch again, but as the darkness started to close in around us Mace removed his right hand from my shoulder and sent a lightning bolt flying, which struck the clinic. I jerked back when the building exploded, and debris scattered in all directions. Wild orange flames licked at the sky. There was no way anyone could have survived that.

“It won’t be long before you crawl on your hands and knees, begging to be mine,” Mace murmured in my ear. “You’re going to be very much alone soon.”

“You fucking—” The words died in my throat because he was gone.

I willed my shaky legs to run down the hill until I stood in front of the clinic, not giving a shit about the flames being so close. “Papan! Saul!” I screamed their names over and over, but neither answered. The only way to find them was to go inside, but when I took a step, someone grabbed my arm.

“Where are you going?”

“Lavie, I have to get inside.”

“What? Are you crazy? You can’t go inside a burning building!” she screamed, squeezing my arm while trying to pull me back. “Do you hear me? Not even you can do that.”

“I have to!”

“No, you can’t. I’m not going to lose you too, dammit.”

I slid from her grip, collapsing to my knees in defeat and torment. What the phantasms hadn’t been able to do, Mace had. I cried for the loss of more friends. My heart ached as the harsh reality of losing Papan shook me to the core.

Lavie held me until I couldn’t cry any more.

Chapter Three

Time slowed to a crawl, to a series of crackling fires. The electrical charge I’d received from destroying the phantasms was now nothing more than twitches at the tips of my fingers and toes. My confrontation with Mace had left me empty. He’d taken the one person I’d been determined to save. The man I loved more than life itself. And in the process, killed a demon I was connected to.

No wonder I felt like a kite set adrift.

“Sierra, we have to go,” Lavie whispered into my hair. She continued to hold me close, probably as afraid as I was to let go of the only solid thing left—each other.

Mace promised he would take everyone from me, but I hadn’t listened. Maybe I should have gone with him. After all, being captured would help my resolve of putting an end to these crazy freaks. If he took me to wherever they were hiding, I could kill them and finally be done with the
Obscurus
. But no, I hadn’t thought of that until it was too late.

“Come on,” Lavie urged, making a move to stand.

I finally nodded, trying to ignore the taut sensation on my face as we stood together. After so many tears and the rollercoaster of emotions I’d ridden, I wasn’t sure how much more I could take. My head felt light as a feather, body ready for collapse.

I need to sleep for a week.

The sound of coughing caught my attention and I paused to look over my shoulder. Two hunched figures shambled near the clinic’s charred walls. My heart stopped, and when it kicked up again, I felt like I was going to pass out.

It couldn’t be.
I’m hallucinating.

“What’s wrong?” Lavie asked, stopping with me.

“Didn’t you hear the coughing?”

“Sure, but it can’t be…”

The next word proved her wrong. “Fox,” came the raspy whisper, followed by more coughing and shuffling.

“Papan?” I didn’t let myself believe it, didn’t want to go through the heartache of losing him all over again. So I stayed where I was, on the grass, clutching Lavie while debris lay strewn all around us. I watched, all my concentration on the approaching figures until they clearly became two men—the shorter one supporting a taller one. “Oh my god, it
is
him!”

Lavie and I raced towards them.

“Papan?” I called as I ran.

“The one and only,” he said, looking up long enough to wink at me.

I wanted to throw my arms around him, but he looked wrecked and Saul was still supporting him.

“Mate, it looks like you’re the one and only wolf left,” Saul added, helping drag him away from the burning fires. At least some of the flames were already dying down.

“You’re alive.” I didn’t know what else to say, what to do.

He flashed a lopsided grin and I couldn’t stay away a second longer. I threw my arms around his midsection and held on.

“Whoa,” Saul called. “Be careful.”

“It’s okay,” Papan whispered, kissing the top of my head. “I need this.”

“Saul,” Lavie said, excited. “How did you two survive the explosion?”

“We didn’t.” Saul opened his arms, inviting her into his embrace. Lavie didn’t hesitate, but when she got there I noticed he just wanted to lean on her. She didn’t seem to mind. “We were already out of the clinic when it blew up.”

I burrowed my face into Papan’s chest, hating that he smelled of smoke, demon blood and disinfectant. But none of that was enough to keep me from gripping him like I’d never let go. After what felt like hours, I finally drew back enough to look up at him. I needed to make sure he was really there and I hadn’t conjured him after losing my mind.

“Can you walk?”

“I can manage.”

“The car isn’t too far. Come on.” I wrapped an arm around his waist to help him move, but stopped when we spotted a group of werewolves streaming out from the surrounding trees.

“The pack,” Papan whispered. “You were wrong, Saul.”

“Glad to be wrong about this,” the demon said with a smile. His face was as blackened as his clothes, and the cuts were now tiny scabs.

Martha was the last to appear, and the only one in human guise. A smile stretched over her wrinkled lips when she spotted Papan. “Ah, the alpha has survived. I wasn’t placing any bets on your survival.”

“You never were a betting woman, Aunt Martha.” He held out his right hand and she took it, squeezing. “How many survived?”

“This is it.” She swept a hand over the wolves sitting in front of her. “Less than a dozen from the estate.”

“Fuck,” Papan cursed and if it wasn’t for Martha’s hand and my supporting him, he would’ve fallen flat on his face. “The grounds are destroyed.”

“But not the mansion,” Martha said with a nod. “That’s the heart of this place. We can rebuild everything else. I’ll take these wolves to the scattered members of our pack and let them know what happened. I’ll send the others to put out what’s left of the fires and clean up the place, while you claim that inheritance of yours. We’ll need the money.” She quickly glanced my way. “Looks like your mate brings a lot of baggage with her—”

“She didn’t do this,” Saul said, stepping forward.

“This wasn’t her fault,” Papan added. “Besides, her baggage is now ours.”

Martha smiled at them, but spoke to me. “With allies like these two, you might be able to defeat your enemies. But that wasn’t what I meant. I’m just letting you know that the pack will be taken care of until you’re ready. We’re not going anywhere, but it looks like you are.”

“I’m sorry about what happened,” I said.

She shrugged. “You’re not the reason we’ve become a target, but you all need to get as far away as possible.” Martha slid her hand from her nephew’s. “I’ll take care of the pack for now. They need their alpha, but you’re needed somewhere else first.”

“Thank you,” Papan said with a smile. “I appreciate the time.”

“You know where to find us.” Martha ushered the wolves, encouraging them to follow her back into the dense trees. She looked at us one last time before shifting into a beautiful gray and orange wolf. Their receding howls filled the night and Papan looked like he wanted to join in.

“Come on, let’s get out of here.” Saul, with Lavie beside him, continued past us.

“Papan, are you really okay?” A lump formed in my throat when I thought about him being the pack alpha and what it would mean for us. “Are you sure you don’t want to go with them?”

He turned his head to look at me. “I know where they’re going, and more importantly, I know where I need to be.” He kissed the top of my head.

Relief washed over me as I tilted back so I could meet his gaze. “Are you sure?” I had to be certain.

He nodded. “I thought I’d never see you again.”

“You didn’t think I’d give up on you so easily, did you?”

“How could I? I know how stubborn you are.” The flames flickered in his eyes.

I licked my lips.
I might as well get this out of the way.
“Do you know what Saul and I did to get you out of the coma?”

“I can still taste the blood in my mouth, so I’ve got a pretty good idea.” He looked away. “We can discuss this later. Right now I just want to hold you.”

I welcomed the sentiment and wrapped my arms around him. The fact he could taste blood was mildly disturbing but with the threat of attack, Saul probably had no other option than to force Papan to drink his blood. He’d tried the civilized way, but Mace ruined everything.

We stood together, enjoying the moment. I closed my eyes and forced aside thoughts of the fires, and the multiple battles that had taken place on these grounds during the last week. Papan was safe and in my arms. Everything wasn’t right in the world, but some of the balance had shifted back into place.

“I love you,” I said.

“I love you too.”

I got up on my tiptoes with the intention of giving him a quick peck, but he pulled me tighter into the circle of his arms and pressed his mouth firmly over mine. By the end of the kiss, I felt light-headed.

“Wow, I’ve missed that,” I said, licking my lips. Damn, the taste of blood in his mouth was sweeter than I thought it would be. No wonder Lavie drank Saul’s blood with such gusto.

“Me too.”

“Do you want to shift so you can heal faster?”

“That might be a good idea.” He stepped back, but nothing happened. He closed his eyes and tried again. Nope, still a man. “That’s strange.”

I didn’t say anything, but recalled the symbol Lavie painted on Papan’s chest earlier. It was supposed to keep the animal calm, but for how long? Were there residual side effects?

“You’re probably too tired to change,” I said. “Let’s just walk.” Lavie and Saul had already disappeared into the trees.

“Yeah, sure.” Papan nodded, took my hand and we continued on our way.

We walked in companionable silence. I hoped the silver his brother had injected into him, along with the gunk, coma, and the ritual of demonic blood transfusion hadn’t affected his shifting long-term.

If the ritual had done something to stifle the wolf, I’d never forgive myself.

“We’re home,” I called as I switched off the engine and peeked into the rearview mirror to make sure Saul and Lavie were behind us. I’d driven my car with Papan riding shotgun, while the demon and the demon hunter took one of the many black vans at the demon’s disposal.

I turned to look at my wolf and noticed he was still asleep. I hated to wake him, but shook his shoulder lightly. He’d fallen asleep shortly after we got on the road, and even though I secretly wanted him to stay conscious after being in a coma, I let him rest. When he didn’t rouse, I shook him harder and started to worry.

Saul’s headlights switched off, leaving us in the dark.

“Papan, wake up.” When he didn’t respond, I unbuckled my seatbelt and climbed over the seat and onto his lap. “Come on, we’re home. You can rest upstairs in my—
our
—room.” I cradled his face in my hands, willing him to open his eyes. “Come on, Papan.”

“What…what’s going on?” He looked at me and a lazy smile curved his lips. “Oh, this is good. Am I dreaming, or is this really happening?”

I kissed him quickly. “You’re not dreaming, but you scared the hell out of me. You wouldn’t wake up.”

“Sorry, I’m just tired.” His smile widened. “But I think you’ve woken me up now. If you catch my drift…”

Of course I caught his drift—I could feel his erection pressing beneath me. I couldn’t help but rub against him. After everything, finding a ray of sunshine amongst all the darkness made me crave our connection. I’d missed him in my bed, probably the reason I couldn’t rest. I lowered my mouth to his and kissed him so thoroughly I wasn’t sure we were going to make it out of the car without finishing this.

He groaned into my mouth, running his hands along my hips and settling them under my butt. “I missed everything about you.”

A knock on the passenger-side window made me jump. I pulled away from the kiss and rolled the window down. Lavie was grinning from ear to ear, while Saul rolled his eyes.

“You two think you can keep it in your pants until you get inside the house?” he asked.

“You go ahead, give us five minutes,” I returned.

“That’s all the time you need?” Saul snorted, staring at Papan. “What the hell are you doing wrong, Jason?”

I couldn’t help but laugh. “I’m just kidding. Let’s get inside. Willow and Oren will be glad to see you, and I’ve got to tell them—and you—some terrible news.”

Papan didn’t question or try to stop me as I climbed off his lap and back into the driver’s seat, then out of the car. I went around to his side and helped him out. As I was shutting the door, a familiar police sedan stopped in front of the house. I tried to get Papan to move along, hoping he didn’t notice Gareth, but of course he did.

“What the fuck’s he doing here?” he snapped under his breath. “I thought I took care of him.”

“Papan, it’s okay. He’s—”

“The hell it is!” He stepped around me, almost tripping on the concrete path in his haste to reach Gareth.

The constable was slowly making his way up the path, eyes on Papan. The last time these two met, my boyfriend had smacked the man he suspected was trying to come onto me. He’d been right, and Gareth went as far as baiting Papan, but we hadn’t known then that the cop was possessed. While under the influence of a demonic entity, he’d acted like a possessive, ruthless jerk with only one thing on his mind—me.

“Wait!” I caught up to him, but he’d already reached Gareth.

“You’ve got some balls showing up here again,” Papan growled into the cop’s face.

Gareth sighed, took a step back but didn’t respond.

“Did you hear me?” Papan shoved a hand into Gareth’s chest, and still the other man didn’t respond.

I stepped between them. “Take it easy, you’re not fully recovered.”

“Even tanked this badly, I can take this guy on.” He tried to reach around me. “No one makes a move on my girl, gets all snotty about it, and then shows up at her house like nothing’s wrong.”

“Jason, the last time we met things were different,” Gareth said, finally looking Papan in the eye. “I wasn’t myself.”

Papan’s eyes darkened and he clenched his jaw.

I opened my palm over Papan’s chest. “He’s telling the truth.” The last thing he needed to be doing right now was confronting anyone. “Papan, he was possessed by the same demon that attached itself to Jonathan.”

“No way, I would’ve known. I would’ve smelled that horrid stench.” He met my eyes. “And this guy smelled nothing like J.”

“I don’t know how to explain that, but Lavie and I exorcised the demon.”

Gareth stepped closer. “The demon knew you would detect the demonic smell and concealed it. I have no idea how. I was a just a passenger.”

Papan looked away, his teeth clenched. I took his hand and encouraged him to look at me. When he finally did, I said, “The demon’s gone. It’ll never come back, but you have to believe Gareth. He only acted on the demon’s impulse, didn’t you?” I waited for Gareth to agree but when he didn’t, I turned to glare at him. His hazel eyes were shiny. Whether the constable’s feelings for me had been enhanced by the demon or vice versa wasn’t important, but his hesitation wouldn’t help.