“We were begging for scraps when Beatrice accidentally unleashed her power,” Simon continued. “The natives were so scared that they captured us and kept us tied and locked up.”
“They thought them witches,” Daly guffawed. “They were right. A blessed witch and warlock.”
“Father found us.” Beatrice looked adoringly at Lord Daly. “And freed us so we could get our revenge.”
“As they got rid of the workers, I disposed of the plantation’s owner and took over his identity. Now,” Daly nodded his head at the dagger in Reed’s hand. “Hand that over to me, Your Grace.”
“This?” Reed held up the dagger. “What do you want with this?”
“He needs it to go home,” Cross said.
“Home?” Daly laughed. “Are you kidding me? I have three estates, a fleet of ships, a sugar plantation in the West Indies, and a palace in India. Why the hell would I want to go back home to the shit hole that is New York?” He shook his head menacingly. “I have much bigger plans. I already have one artifact of Magus Aurelius which will allow me to create portals to travel through space.” He grinned. “And I know the location of the other two as well, not to mention,” he turned toward Reed, “a supply of double Alpha blood to magnify their powers. Beatrice!”
The witch raised a hand, sending a small bolt of lightning from the sky straight at Reed. His body convulsed, and he fell to the ground, sending the dagger skittering across the floor toward Daly.
Elise cried out, but when she tried to run to Reed, Julianna held her back.
Daly picked up the blood-soaked dagger. “When I have all three and I have drained His Grace’s body of every drop of blood, the world will see a darkness like it never has.”
“I won’t let that happen,” Reed growled as he struggled to get up. “I’ll die first!”
“No need to be dramatic, Your Grace,” Daly mocked. “Besides, if you don’t come with me, I will hunt you down and kill every last one of your clan and your family. You can’t run anywhere I won’t find you. My children will burn London down to rubble to get you.”
Simon raised his arms, a fireball forming in each palm. Beatrice waved her hand and a bolt of lightning sent a piece of the ceiling crashing down a few feet away from them.
“I’m not going to run,” Reed said. “We will fight you and defeat you.”
“If you come with me now, Your Grace,” Daly said. “I won’t kill your family.”
“You’ll kill them anyway,” Reed shot back as he got to his feet. He signaled to the other Lycans. “Change. Now!”
“You can’t—” She struggled as Julianna held on to her tighter. “Please, let me go! I can’t let them kill him. Or anyone else.”
“We can’t change the past,” Julianna said. “We stick together and grab Daly— or Malachi or whatever the fuck his name is—while you fire up the dagger.”
“What about Beatrice and Simon?” she asked. “Will we let them kill the others?”
“When we take Daly with us, they won’t be able to do anything,” Cross said. “They haven’t begun their transition into mages yet. Plus, with over thirty Lycans here, they’ll be defeated in no time. We already know what will happen, Elise. I’m sorry, but we can’t change it.”
Helplessness and despair made her heart ache. “I—”
A streak of lightning sent more of the ceiling crashing around them. Many of the Lycans in the room had already changed into their wolf forms, but Simon’s fireballs were keeping them away while Beatrice’s lighting strikes scattered them before they could come any closer.
“Get the hybrid!” Daly screamed, pointing to Cross.
Simon turned his attention to them as a giant fireball formed between his hands. In a split second, Cross disappeared with a soft pop before reappearing behind Simon. His hands wrapped around the man’s head and snapped his neck. His eyes rolled up and his body crashed to the ground.
“You bastard!” came Beatrice’s anguished cry. “I’m going to tear you apart!” She raised her hand to bring another streak of lightning down, but Julianna jumped at her, sending both women to the floor.
“Give up, Daly.” Reed approached the mage. “Powers or no, we’ve got you outnumbered.”
“Never,” Daly snarled. “I still have you and I have this!” He raised his arm and sunk the end of the dagger into Reed’s chest. Daly’s face twisted into hate as he held onto the dagger and began to chant some spell and the air around them began to shimmer and distort. Reed grew pale as he sank to his knees.
“No!” Elise tore her gloves off as she dashed toward the mage. “You monster!”
The power building up inside her burst from her fingers, firing streaks of electricity at the mage. His body contorted but he held on, and Elise could feel the power from the dagger emanating like waves.
“Julianna!” she heard Cross scream. “Let’s go.”
As Reed’s body collapsed to the floor, Elise let all her rage flow through her, sending thousands of volts of electricity into Daly. The stench of burned flesh permeated the air as he let out a long, blood-curdling scream.
Hands wrapped around her arms, and a familiar feeling washed over her as the floor seemed to disappear beneath her feet. She directed the electricity coursing through her, keeping it steady as she felt the force pulling her body back before releasing her into the dark, cold, endlessly spinning vortex. Her last thoughts were of Reed and his limp, lifeless body.
Chapter Seventeen
The bright light and the sharp ringing faded away as the feeling came back to her body. Surprisingly, she landed on solid ground, unlike their previous trip through the tunnel that had sent them sprawling across that field.
“Elise!”
She heard someone call her name. Someone familiar, but whose voice she didn’t expect. A
