Any words I was going to say disappear. I feel faint as I see Alistair for the first time since I left him half alive in the back of his car. His chest is just as destroyed as it was then. A horrific gaping hole through his rib cage. His heart, barely beating is exposed amongst the shattered, torn remains of his chest. Blood no longer pours from the wound that I subjected him to. His hands are bound behind him with writhing black ropes, as Hades sets him down to kneel on the ground. His head is tilted forward with no energy to hold it up. His hair hangs over his face but I can see the painful grimace that he tries so hard to hide.
Tears sting my eyes as I look upon the destruction that I reeked upon him. My stomach flips over from the overwhelming, sickening feeling of guilt and horror. I tear down the obsidian wall in my mind. Ripping it apart as I should have done days ago. Instantly a wave of agony slams into my chest knocking me to one knee. In an instant Alistair slams the wall back up and the agony fades. I look up at him and his grey eyes hold my own in grim determination.
Mum hooks her arm around me and pulls me to my feet. I glare at Hades as rage boils my blood.
“How could you leave him like this?!”
Hades stands at his sons side and strokes his head lovingly. “It is no more than he deserves after failing me once again.” He says softly looking down at his son. “His power is almost as great as my own but his bond to you makes him WEAK!”
He turns and as he does several tendrils of smoke burst forth. Lukas and Izzy try to shift but they're not quick enough. Smoking black tar wraps around their necks in a collar pulling them up on their toes. The rest of the pack are in the sameposition including my Mum who also has her hands bound in shadow.
He strides over to me and grabs my Jaw in a vice like grip lifting me from ground. I struggle against his hold. My hands ripping at his arm as I kick my legs trying to get free.
“I must admit you surprised me with how much power you can wield Krista. Though I suppose that should come as no surprise. For you to be Moira bonded to my son you would have to be his equal in every possible way.” He says as he wraps smoke and darkness around my neck and hands, pinning them to my sides as my toes just about touch the floor. “You forced me to take certain actions that surprised even me. Like making an ally of one of Zeus's pets.” He spits the last word in distaste. “It's comical that you think Gaia took your power for refusing this infernal bond to her son when in actual fact it was Caleb.” He smiles as he releases my face and I'm left hanging by the dark tendrils that feel like cold, clammy hands.
My blood runs cold as I look god-smacked at Caleb who has now been freed from his bonds. He stands tall, rubbing his neck as the eyes of the pack look to him in horror.
“Lies!” My Dads voice is choked as he struggles against the collar at his throat.
“I don't lie Carter.” Hades sneers. “Your dear Caleb sent me a very desperate message on the phone Krista stole from my pathetic son and there was my opening. He has been poisoning your precious daughter with water from the river Styx since I had Meg deliver it to him yesterday. It's lethal to humans but for a Nymph, drinking the dead waters will completely cut off her connection to the earth and thus her power.”
My brain starts running on overdrive. The intruder with the red hair. The same vampire I saw in the visions Gaia showed me of the attack. Her names Meg. Caleb had come from that same direction. Hence why the cameras caught nothing.He knows where our blind spots are. The bottle of whisky he gave me shortly afterwards. The cider he passed me earlier this evening. He said he may yet have a role to play and now it's clear he's a key component.
“Why?” I barely say past the tar around my neck.
He doesn't even look apologetic. He stands under the accusing, heartbroken gazes of the pack, yet doesn't seem the least bit bothered by it.
“I had my reasons.” He answers flatly.
Hades laughs and the sound chills my blood.
“You fucking bastard.” Lukas coughs.
“I saved your life!” My Dad chokes. “And this is how you repay me? The pack?”
“I didn't want to be saved!” Caleb shouts. “Meg was changing me into a Vampire so that we could be together!”
Caleb walks closer to Hades and kneels like a dog waiting for a treat. Hades looks at him with a cruel smile.
“I did what you asked. Please let me go to her.” He begs.
“In time. She has made it clear that she has no interest in a Lycan but... I can make you so much more.” Hades chuckles.
“You can make me a vampire?” Caleb gasps.
Hades simply laughs as if the idea is so easy that the question of whether he can do it is obvious.
“You were already half turned before that alpha mutt got involved and turned you into a wolf. Vampiric power is in your blood as well as human and Lycan.” Hades explains. “My boy you will not be a vampire but something else entirely.”
In one swift motion of his arm, Hades sends a wave of shadow at Caleb. Engulfing him completely. Through the swirling blackness I see glimpses of him. The smoke and shadow invading his eyes, nose and mouth. He thrashes and then his skin blackens. He looks like he's trying to shift into his wolf form. Parts of him looking canine. Another glimpse and hisshoulders look swollen. Like two bowling balls trying to burst free. His cries are smothered by the shadows invading his body. The swirling ball of darkness around him grows and swirls faster.
I watch in horror as I catch a glimpse of an enormous black paw. Hades eyes turn from icy silver to black as the writhing ball grows to 30 feet high. Sparks and embers scatter from the large campfire and wind whips my hair around my face. I look around the pack and see hurt and betrayal in their eyes. Lukas watches his best friend intently. Fury and pain in his eyes at his betrayal.
I look to my mum who is totally still and focused on the billowing campfire.
As I watch, the sparks start to swirl around her and tighten up into a ball before burning hotter and turning into a fireball. She shoots it with deadly speed straight at Hades who is wholly focused on Caleb.
My breath catches but a second before it hits him he turns and it stills in mid-air. He glares at Mum in disbelief as the light of the fire ball burns bright inches from his face. Then he flicks his eyes and it shoots straight at my Dad. Hitting him square in the chest. Sparks and embers explode on impact as Dad barely manages to hold in a cry of pain. He grits his teeth as his shirt burns away leaving blackened and blistered skin.
