Page 20 of The Clash of the Damned
Rolling my eyes at her suggestion, I respond, “I’m bored. Next.”
Then Dom speaks. “Was it all a lie, Sloane?” The pain on his face is almost enough to break me. But he is being just as deceptive as me. He had this whole evening planned and lied to my face. I should be offended, but really, I’m impressed. We’re a better match for each other than I realized.
“No, Dom, it wasn’t. But this isn’t about us, even if I wish it was.”
He turns his back as Luca tries again, and I beat her to what she was about to say. “Let me educate you on some of our history. I’m sure Dom has told you some of it, but let me fill in the gaps. Hecate hunted the first of my kind because he was…defective. She executed him like an animal. Except, he had already knocked someone up, and as we know, Supernatural blood breeds true. That’s how yours truly came to be here.” I wiggle my eyebrows since my hands are supposedly occupied.
“Yes, we know, you’re special, get in line,” Amelia says.
Turning to look at her, I let my disappointment shine through. “What, jealous now that I stole the spotlight from you? You were the Supernatural I was the most excited to meet. Your part in the plan with the Vances was genius, and we had something in common with how we lost ourmothers…yet all you’re showing now is stupidity, and I’ve never been more disappointed. It’s like you’ve forgotten what you’re capable of.”
I see hurt flash across her face as my words find their mark, and I continue sharing the story I’m so familiar with. “We were finally able to settle in New Orleans and create our own lives, away from you, but it was never going to last. Hecate found us. But she didn’t know a secret about herfailedchildren. While we couldn’t partner with other Supernaturals, we could partner with human legends and strengthen our bloodline. Anyone want to take a guess at what I’m talking about? Prove at least one of you isn’t that stupid?”
They think they have the upper hand, but really, even tied up in this chair, I’m in control. Jude chews at her lip before she finally answers. The only one brave enough to. “Dom expected you spent time in New Orleans, and there are enough legends from there to work with. Papa Legba? Marie Leveau? Something I’ve missed?”
I smile. She’s usually all brawns and no brain, yet here she is proving us all wrong. “Well done, Jude, you’re usually not smart enough to come to this conclusion on your own, but you’re right. My ancestors convinced Marie Leveau, the Voodoo Priestess, and her descendants to join forces with us and strengthen our bloodline. When we finally fought back against Hecate, do you know what happened?”
I pause to look at Dom. I have his full attention and see his jaw working as he hangs onto my every word. “My ancestors siphoned all the magic out of her. It seems without it, she would die, a trait her offspring inherited from her. Now her body is dust in the Earth, just like a normal human. The Siphoners have been waiting for someone like me. After that ancestor killed Hecate, they were waiting for someone as strong, if not stronger tohelp our people out of the shadows. I’m the chosen one that will signal the end of the Supernaturals.”
Dom roars in grief at hearing what’s happened to his precious ancestor, and I take that as my cue to go. I stand free from Luca’s magic, having absorbed enough of it. “If you had been paying attention to my story, Luca, you would have stopped using your magic on me immediately. And here I thought you were the best of your generation.” Luca stumbles, but Amelia catches her as she tries to use her magic again, despite what I just said. I ignore her and turn to Jude.
Lifting my hand, I blow a kiss towards Jude and tell her to remember, activating the dormant spell I had placed on her. Almost instantly, she becomes feral. Then I throw my glowing hands towards the glass windows to activate the next part of my spell, and crazed humans break through the glass. With my distractions set, finally, I can run.
Chapter 15 | Poor Unfortunate Souls
Jude
The force of Sloane’s spell throws me through the dining room glass window, pain exploding across my body as I am thrown into the bushes outside. Dazed and confused, memories start coming back to me.
My shoulder bumps someone as I pass through the coffee shop entrance. Turning to offer my apology, I pause. My whole body snaps to attention, as tight as a bow string. The reason for the magical hold steps forward, a woman I’ve never seen before with red hair.
“You will only remember when I activate the spell, and you will bow completely to my control. Do you understand?” I nod mechanically, following her every word, but I have no idea why. “Good. Now put this on and don’t take it off unless I tell you to.” I try to will one of my animal forms to break the hold as it reminds me of a Druid trying to control their shift between forms. Nothing works, and I’m stuck, forced to listen to her commands.
She offers me a braided bracelet, and I accept it, though normally, I wouldn’t be caught dead wearing something as tacky as it. “I will be in touch; forget I was ever here.” Shaking my head clear of the fog, I have no idea whyI’m standing on the sidewalk. Shrugging my shoulders, I walk into the coffee shop to finally meet Brooklyn for our breakfast date.
I come to, laying in the bushes, cuts covering my arms. Lifting one, I touch my temple and wince as blood comes away from it. As much as I want to sit here and recover, fully understanding that my Supernatural abilities protected me from death, the spell on me has other ideas. My missing memory starts flashing in small fragments as the spelled humans show themselves from amongst the bushes.
“Let’s test my magic and see what I’m capable of.” The red head I’ve come to know as Sloane, walks around a barely lit room, and I have no idea how I got here. “Kill her,” she instructs, pointing to the woman tied up in the corner, one of Luca’s Undead. On principle, I refuse, but her magic is stronger. Marching forward mechanically, I shift my hand into claws, and I obey without hesitation, ripping out the Undead’s throat. She’s dead within seconds. Turning to Sloane, I wait for my next instructions.
“Excellent! You’ve done well, Jude. You’ve really helped me solidify our plans. You can go now. I’ll be in touch.”
The practice runs in the warehouse to perfect her commands, like I was some dog she could demand to perform tricks at her beck and call. How she made me murder Parker as he begged me for his life. And the most recent, a Sorcerer that I had straddled and stabbed over and over again, until her chest was a mangled mess, the blood coating my hands in the abandoned warehouse. Over and over the cycle repeats, the missing pieces of my memory returning to me.
I snap out of my reverie into the chaos of what Sloane has set in motion. A wave of emotions hits me. First, relief that I’m not crazy; I’ve been Sloane’s puppet this whole time. That fucking bitch! She spelled me! I try to run after her, but the magic she cast has other ideas. I would kill her in less than ten seconds in a fair fight. Giada screams, snot running down her perfectly made face, and she looks like a raccoon as she runs to the corner, swatting at the approaching spelled humans like a caged animal.
“What are you doing?” Sebastian shouts at her, and I have the same thought. Cornering herself like that when she’s the only human…well I guess that’s where the term natural selection comes from. Sebastian beckons to her like any sudden movements will scare her, and she runs into his arms before he pushes her towards the door, where safety awaits her.
As bodies continue overwhelming the dining room in droves, mine finally lurches forward and joins the fray, aiming for our targets, the heirs.
“Dom! We need weapons!” Sebastian shouts as Luca and Amelia get into fighting position, Luca extending her claws as the guys run off to arm themselves. Jayden catches my eye, concerned, and my only response is grabbing the table cloth from our still warm dinner, looking for anything to slow my approach. Our half eaten meals crash to the floor as we continue surging forward. Jayden tries to run to me, but Amelia intervenes.
“What are you doing?”
“I can’t leave her. I have to do something. Help her!” Jayden exclaims.
“I know you’re a big bad Druid, but there is nothing you can do for her. This is a magical problem, and only Dom can provide the solution. Either fight with us, or get to safety.”
Amelia turns back to the coming fight, ready to defend, and Jayden doesn’t hesitate. He stands next to them, controlling his shift to the point that his arms remain furry, but his body remains human.
