Wicked Ties (The Tether Trilogy Book 2)

There is only one Mythic I feel we can go to about Warren, and that’s Beatrix. However, after she helped us the last time, I heard she’s become very ill.

While I was on Earth, Alora left a message on my transmitter, relieved that we’d made it out, but worried about Beatrix and her health. Apparently, it’d required an abundance of her energy to get us to Earth, and seeing as she was already wounded from the stabbing of those Decius-controlled Whisper Grovians, well, that made it much worse.

Still, we must go. We don’t have much time. The Council has granted me another day, fortunately, but my time is ticking. We take the four-hour drive from The Trench to Vanora, riding through the city in the truck, the tank trailing us with Warren as cargo. The rest of my men have gone back to Blackwater.

When Veno parks the truck in front of Beatrix’s, the sun is nowhere in sight. It’s pitch black, minus the gold glow radiating from her windows. I walk up the steps, Willow trailing behind me, and give the door a rapid knock.

Footsteps thump on the other side, and when it cracks open, I’m surprised to see an unfamiliar woman with round eyes and a hawkish nose. Her skin is dark like a bruised black plum, her thick copper hair pulled into a low ponytail. She tips her chin, keeping the door cracked just enough so I can see her but nothing inside the house.

Right. Another obstacle. Here we go.

“Wha’ do ya want?” she inquires with a thick accent. She sounds like she’s Vanorian, one of the coastal people. They have their own lives, working in the sun, drowning themselves in coconut water, and surviving off of fish. They hate the city and all its busyness.

“Here to see Beatrix,” I tell her.

“Beatrix hasn’t mentioned a guest, now go’on away, before I blast ya off.”

I sigh. I truly don’t have time for this. “Either you let me in, or I kick the door down. Your choice.”

The woman narrows her eyes, and they flash a hot silver. “Like tah see ya try, boy.”

“Let him in, Kimina!” a voice hollers from inside, one that sounds a lot like Beatrix.

“Best listen to your friend, there, Kimina,” I murmur.

Kimina looks me all over before yanking the door completely open. “You come in but touch nothin’, ya hear?”

I ignore her, brushing past to get into Beatrix’s cottage. Beatrix is sitting on the sofa, wrapped in a blanket. She smiles weakly at me and Willow. “You made it back in one piece, I see,” she says with a grin.

“I did.” I study her in all her frailness. Her hair is grayer, cheeks hollow. “I heard what you did for me. I’m grateful for it and am now in your debt.”

“Yes, well, you can release yourself of that debt. Don’t think I’ll be alive much longer to request anything.”

“Ya about killed my sister, boy,” Kimina proclaims, walking around us to get to the table. She picks up a bowl and sits next to Beatrix, spoon feeding her some kind of broth. Beatrix sips slowly, carefully.

“I’m sorry, Beatrix,” Willow whispers. “I hate that this has happened to you.”

“Ah, well. I’ve lived for five hundred and sixty years. All our time comes to an end eventually.”

“Coulda been longer if ya hadn’t been helping these commonas,” Kimina grumbles. “Wha’ do ya want now, anyway?” She places the bowl and spoon on the coffee table. Some of the broth spills over the lip of the bowl from the impact. “Ya took what’s left of her life. She can’t help ya no mo.”

“We didn’t come to ask her to use more energy,” I assure her, and though the words come out calmly, my fists is clenched so tight I’ll probably cause myself to bleed.

“There’s one thing we wanted to ask…about my brother.” Willow steps forward, taking the lead. “He’s still alive, and apparently Decius was using him and his mate to fuel himself. Now that Decius is gone—”

“Gone?” Kimina interrupts. “There’s no way that demon is gone! He cannot die! It’s been proven!”

I glance at Willow, then focus on Beatrix. “There is something you should know, but I would encourage you to keep it here.”

“I’m listening,” Beatrix murmurs, eyeing me.

“Korah returned to help us. She’s the reason we were able to return to Vakeeli, and she currently has Decius locked away, as well as the dark energy he possessed. Everything he had reign over has washed away.”

“I see,” Beatrix mumbles, and you’d think I told her I love water or something.

“And why would our Korah help ya? We call on her all da time and she never answer. What makes ya special?” Kimina demands.

I shrug, shaking my head. “I don’t know.”

Kimina frowns, focusing on the broth before her.

“Anyway, there is one individual in particular who isn’t from Vakeeli but has survived Decius. Willow’s twin.”

Beatrix focuses on Willow.

“Right now, he’s in some sort of trance,” Willow says. “He won’t snap out of it. Won’t look at anyone. A Mythic told his mate that he needed a mental recharge or something. She said that I have to take some capsule and get into his mind in order for him to snap out of it.”

“That is a possibility.” Beatrix mulls over the facts. “But that’s the harder way. Taking the capsule could have you both sinking into darkness. There is a much easier option.”

“Well? What is it?” Willow asks, desperate.

“Let him sleep.”

Willow frowns. “What?”

“Kimina. Grab the slumber elixir from the shelf,” Beatrix commands, raising a shaking hand and pointing at the shelf. Kimina rises, moving across the room and taking down an amber jar. This jar is medium sized, about the size of coffee mug. Kimina hands it to Willow with her lips pursed in judgement.

“Take your brother somewhere safe, give him about three tablespoons of the slumber elixir, then let him sleep. Fair warning, he will sleep for well over twenty-four hours. Once he wakes the first time, he should gain some recognition, but his mind may still be scrambled, and it is possible he won’t be able to form a coherent sentence. If that does happen, it is normal. Just give him another dose of the elixir and let him sleep again. After the second time waking, he should be fine and back to his normal self.”

“Are you sure that’s all?” I ask.

“Yes. Now, go.” Beatrix sighs, leaning back and sinking into her sofa. “Let me rest.”

“Beatrix, if there’s ever anything we can do to make your life easier…” I trail off, looking the frail woman from head to toe.

“I appreciate the gesture, Monarch Harlow.” Beatrix curls into the couch. “If there is, I’ll let you know.”

Willow lingers, studying Beatrix. I hear her thoughts: This is our fault. She’s dying because of us. This Tether is killing everyone.

I grip her hand, and she shakes out of it, her glassy brown eyes lifting to mine. She thanks Beatrix for the elixir, and we make our way toward the door. Kimina follows us out, and as we make our way down the stoop, she says, “I fear for ya, Monarch Harlow! Ya name floats through the trees and the clay. Your blood is charged, and people will do anything to have it. Betta watch ya back. Yours and hers! She’s watchin’. Watchin’ ya like a vulture in the sky.”

A frown takes over my face, and I whirl around to look at Kimina, but she’s already shut the door. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?” I snap.

“Just leave it, Caz. Please,” Willow pleads, squeezing my hand. “We have to go.” She tugs on my hand, forcing me to move. When we’re inside the truck, the bottle of elixir secure in Willow’s hand, I peer back at Beatrix’s cottage, and can’t help sensing there’s a warning to what Kimina said. How does she know my blood is charged? And who the hell is watching?