“I will have order. Anyone who feels the need to exert their dominance please let me know, and I will remind you why that is not a good idea. This had better not happen again.” He walked back over to the Alphas, effectively dismissing the other wolves.

  “I’m not going to ask how you let this happen because I understand that controlling dominant wolves in this setting is difficult at best. What I am going to ask is what are you going to do to prevent it from happening again? We can’t afford to be at odds with each other. If Desdemona figures out a way to divide us, she will exploit it. Don’t give her that ammunition; she has enough without our help.”

  “Alpha,” Vasile heard from behind him. He turned to see Peri standing there with the other members of the Fae council.

  “Have you been standing there the whole time?” He asked her.

  She nodded nonchalantly.

  “And, you didn’t think to help?” A low growl slipped through with his words.

  Peri stepped forward, not the least bit intimidated. Or at least if she was she didn’t let it show.

  “Excuse me, but I was trying to focus so that I could save your mate, as well as the others, from the spell that has been put on them. So no, I didn’t consider helping. Not to mention, it’s quite a show watching healthy young men phase back and forth. You know, there’s that whole naked thing going on.” Peri looked at him pointedly.

  Vasile rolled his eyes. “So glad to know that you were so concerned that you felt the need to watch the fight instead of trying to stop it.”

  “I pick my battles, Vasile. And, far be it from me to stop fine men from getting naked. If it ever comes to that, just shoot me.”

  “I may just shoot you now and get it over with,” Vasile grumbled. “You say you can take the spell off of Alina?”

  “I believe we can,” she motioned to the other Fae.

  “Let’s go,” he turned to go but stopped and looked over his shoulders at the Alphas. “Deal with your crap, or I will.” Then turned and walked away.

  Peri looked back at the Alphas and grinned. A few of them were naked from their phase. She raised her eyebrows suggestively. “If any of you need help dealing, by all means, let me know,” she told them with a laugh as she watched a few of them blush. She followed Vasile and left the blushing wolves. She had work to do, but that much-needed breather had helped clear her head of all the worry that had been cluttering it up.

  “So how do we break the spell?” Vasile called back.

  “Not a clue,” she volleyed.

  Chapter 17

  “I really thought that eighteen years ago, when I found out that the man that I loved was a werewolf, that I had exceeded the level of weirdness that my life could ever handle. I was wrong, so, so wrong.” ~Lilly

  “Okay, I will admit it, Thalion.” Lilly smiled as they entered a room holding more books than she had ever seen. There were shelves overflowing with bound volumes and table after table stacked full of them. Even the floor of the large room in which she stood boasted piles of more books. “You were right. It didn’t take long.”

  “I tried to tell you.”

  “Yes, well, my track record with supernaturals is a little rough, so forgive me if my first thought was to think that you were full of crap.”

  “I’m going to try and not be offended by that,” Cyn told her.

  Lilly smiled at the Fae as she walked around the room, looking at the shelves of books and papers stacked haphazardly in every corner. From the outside, the building looked like a home from a fairytale. The inside, however, resembled a huge study, containing scattered tables and several different seating areas containing plush couches. A huge fireplace stood on the north wall, boasting a crackling fire that cast a warm glow throughout the room.

  “Why does the outside of this place look like a regular house?” Lilly asked.

  “Keeps anyone who doesn’t belong here, out,” Thalion explained. “Not that we have many visitors, but it’s always better to be safe. There’s a lot of information contained in these tomes, most of which, many other races would not want to be public knowledge.”

  “In other words,” Cypher cut in, “if they found out this place even existed they would burn it to the ground.”

  “Huh,” Lilly nodded, “alright then.”

  “What are we looking for?” Cyn asked.

  Thalion walked slowly around the room, his eyes roaming over the books. “It’s a brown, leather book. The only distinguishing mark on it is the word Nushtonia.”

  Lilly looked over at Thalion. The word was not English and frankly not any language she had ever heard. “What language is that and what does it mean?”

  “It’s the language of the underworld,” Cypher answered.

  “They have their own language?” Lilly’s brow wrinkled as she looked at Cypher doubtfully.

  “Yes, and it is wise not to use it,” Cyn shot Thalion a warning look.

  “They have no power here,” he told her.

  “Word travels faster and farther than you know. You have spent far too much time separated, cut off from everything going on.”

  “Haven’t we already been over this?” Thalion asked.

  “Maybe, but that doesn’t mean you don’t need to hear it again.”

  Lilly held her hand out for a high five from Cyn, who simply looked at it. Lilly rolled her eyes, picked up Cyn's hand, and slapped it against hers.

  “So what does this n-word mean?” Lilly asked again.

  Cyn let out a slow breath before finally answering. “It’s hard to translate into the human tongue, but basically it means open this and the world as you know it, is over.”

  “All that from one little word?” Lilly asked.

  Cyn shrugged. “I said it was hard to translate.”

  “So if the word on the outside is demon language, then is it safe to say that this book was written by demons?” Lilly asked.

  “That is correct,” Thalion, told her as he continued to scan the vast library.

  “How did you come across a book scribed by the demons?” Cypher asked.

  “That is an interesting story,” Thalion said evasively, “and perhaps should be told at a better time.”

  “When exactly would be a better time, considering we need to do the exact opposite of what the title tells us not to?” Lilly asked, dryly.

  Thalion looked over his shoulder at her. “Fair enough. Make yourself useful and help look for the book while I tell you the tale.”

  Lilly, Cyn, and Cypher began going through shelves and stacks of books as Thalion began the story.

  “A very long time ago…”

  “How long exactly?” Lilly asked

  Thalion’s lips tightened, as he narrowed his eyes at Lilly. “If you want me to tell the story you are going to have to listen, and if you are talking, you cannot be listening.”

  Lilly held her hands up. “Proceed,” she muttered.

  “It was so long ago that the Warlock King was not even a thought in the wind,” Thalion continued. “The human world was very young and the disobedient children of God had just fallen, creating the underworld. Your God because of their desire to be like God forsook them. They craved and desired, the one thing that they should have never wanted, and that was to be as great as their creator. During this time of peace, the supernaturals traveled freely between the realms. We all knew of the fallen, the angels that had become demons, and knew that they were never to be released from the hell in which they had been cast. Their evil was beyond anything that we had ever known. The leader of them, Lucifer, had declared war on the human children of God and desired more than anything to take their souls, to drag them to the hell he and his were stuck in for all eternity. All of the supernatural races were warned by an angel of God to never allow the demons from the underworld to escape their own realm. The veil was sealed by the angel and hidden from all.

  Unfortunately, evil always seems to find more evil. All evil things are drawn to each other, seeking out those who would help them in their cause. Though the veil to the underworld was hidden, the evil beyond it was great and as more and more lost souls were cast there after their death, and so the evil grew. It began to permeate the air around the Veil such that other beings could detect it. There was no one who knew how to open it, but that didn’t stop them from trying.

  As the sons of men began to allow evil into their hearts, and as they began to stray farther from their God, they began seeking out other ways to fill that void inside them. They began to worship other beings or objects. They sought out meaning for their lives in ways that caused darkness to creep into their hearts. God desired men to have free will and he would not force their loyalty to him. Sin was corrupting the world and Lucifer was allowed some control in the human realm. That sin gave Lucifer just the opening he needed to whisper lies into the ears of those who would listen. He pointed them in the direction divinity and sorcery where they learned how to contact the dead. They thought that they were contacting loved ones who had passed on, but in reality, they were drawing the demon spirits to them and giving them power, so much power that the demons began to be able to manipulate the actions of men and women still living.

  Once again, an angel of God came to the leaders of the supernatural races. He asked that we keep a close eye on the evil gathering in the world. The veil to the underworld was no longer a secret to all men. They began seeking it out under the direction of the demons that had seeped into their hearts. Surprisingly however it was not a human that became the tool used to make it possible to open the Veil.

  One male continually sought out any interaction from the malevolent beings. Over time the demons relentless bombardment of his thoughts led to actions that they themselves directed through him, and one day he found himself at the Veil. The demons continued their assault on his mind and he became so attuned to their wickedness that he clearly heard, the directions on how to open the Veil. He followed their instructions to write the ritual in a book so that when the appointed time came, the book would be read, and the ritual performed. I happened upon the male when he was attempting to read a language that he didn’t even know, though he had written it. I took the book and tried to destroy it, but nothing I tried was successful, so I hid it in our vast library. It has been here, untouched ever since.”

  The room was quiet once Thalion’s voice no longer filled the space. The group continued to look for the book and it was a while before someone finally said something.

  “That does not explain how the Kings of my people have known how to open the Veil,” Cypher pointed out.

  Thalion did not respond but paused in his searching.

  “Thalion,” Cypher prompted.

  Finally, Thalion turned and looked at the King.

  “The male that found the Veil, the one who wrote the book, he was the Warlock King.”

  Cypher’s eyes widened and he froze where he stood. He felt like he couldn’t get enough air in his lungs and what air he did get in was thick and difficult to exhale.

  “That still doesn’t explain how the others have known,” Lilly said, as she walked over to Cypher’s side. She took his hand and rubbed it gently, a silent reassurance that she was with him.

  “Cypher understands how they all have known,” Thalion said, as he continued to stare at him.

  Cypher nodded. “When the King dies the next in line is given his memories, all of them.”

  “How?” Lilly asked as she tilted her head back so she could fully see his face.

  “Blood,” Cypher told her. “All things come from blood; life, memories, healing, and even evil.”

  “I hate to break up this moment of painful revelation,” Cyn quipped as she walked over to Thalion, “but I found it.” She handed him the very book they had been looking for.

  Thalion felt a chill run through him as he held it. Cypher’s eyes landed on the book and he felt an unexplainable need to take it, to protect it.

  “Cypher?” He heard his name being called, but it sounded like it was coming from far away.

  “What’s he doing?”

  “He’s drawn to the book because of the knowledge that it holds.” Thalion’s words snapped Cypher out of the trance he had been in.

  “Evil is drawn to evil,” he repeated what the elf had said while telling the story. “Is that why? Is the darkness in me trying to connect with the evil in that book?” Cypher's voice was thick with contempt and his heart tightened painfully in his chest as he was once again reminded that he had made poor choices so many times, and some very recently.

  “No,” Lilly said firmly as she planted herself directly in front of him. He looked down at her and he was able to breathe a little easier as he saw the determination in her eyes.

  “You are not evil. Have you made bad choices? Most definitely, but we all have. We have all, at one time or another, done things that were, for lack of a better term, sinful. It’s how we handle the aftermath that determines who we really are and what path we are on.”

  Cypher raised his hand so that he could cup Lilly’s cheek. He touched her gently as if she were precious and fragile. His eyes softened as he leaned down and pressed a gentle kiss to her lips.

  “You make me better; you push out the evil,” he whispered against her lips.

  “Then kick the idea that you are evil to the curb,” she snapped. “My heart could never fall for someone evil, so that settles it.”

  “You’ve fallen for me?” Cypher suddenly forgot about the book, his evil and everything around him, his attention was for Lilly alone.

  “Like that’s news to you,” she answered.

  “I hoped, but I did not know little one. What it means to me to hear you say it is beyond words for me.”

  Lilly let him pull her into his broad chest and, for a few breaths, they took comfort in the love that was growing between them.

  Half an hour later, they crossed back into the human realm. Thalion had called on his warriors again and so a Fae, human, and Warlock King stood, surrounded by the elves.

  “So what do we do now?” Cyn asked.

  “It is time for me to meet with the witch.” Cypher pulled his shoulders back and steeled himself for the coming confrontation. “But, before that, I need to call on my own warriors to meet us at the Veil; along with the wolves, and” he glanced at Cyn, “I’m assuming the Fae?”

  Cyn shrugged. “It’s never wise to count on the Council, they are too selfish, and if they determine it is a risk that they don’t feel worth bearing, then they will not come.”

  “Must be nice to think that you pee gold,” Lilly said, as she crossed her arms across her chest.

  “Do I even want to know what that means?” Thalion asked.

  “You’ll figure it out,” Lilly assured.

  “We could move a lot quicker, Cypher, if you would let me flash,” Cyn told him.

  Cypher didn’t look convinced.

  “Why won’t he let you flash?” Thalion asked.

  “Because she is not the only one I’m keeping from flashing to us,” Cypher explained.

  Thalion nodded. “Right, you’ve been making sure others can’t locate you.”

  “Exactly,” he agreed.

  “That was all fine when we didn’t have the information we needed. We have it now,” Cyn pointed to Thalion who was the caretaker of the book until such a time that Cypher would need it.

  “Let me flash to your people, I will tell them to meet us and then you guys can begin your journey to meet Mona.”

  Cypher thought about it and finally realized the wisdom in her plan.

  “Okay, take this,” Cypher removed a necklace he had tucked under his shirt. “Show it to Gerick, he is the leader of my warriors. He will know that I have sent you if you show him this talisman.”

  Cyn took the necklace and put it over her head. “Okay, see you guys soon.”

  “Cyn,” Thalion stepped towards her. “Be safe.”

  Cyn nodded and gave him a small smile. “If I don’t see you again...”

  “I’ll see you on the other side,” Thalion finished for her.

  Then she was gone.

  Cypher had Lilly climb onto his back, and then with Thalion and the warrior elves, they took off. They moved so quickly that they barely disturbed the forest around them.

  “Where exactly are we going?” Thalion yelled to Cypher.

  “I’m going to have her meet us thirty miles from the home of Vasile, Alpha to the Romanian wolves.”

  “Then you plan to see the wolves?”

  Cypher nodded. “I decided that it would be wiser to combine our forces and devise a plan. We all have a common enemy here.”

  They ran in silence the rest of the way. Finally, when Cypher could feel the magic of the wolves pulsing on the air, he stopped. He wasn’t sure that they were exactly thirty miles from the mansion but he figured if he was feeling the pack magic this strongly he didn’t need to get any closer. He didn’t put Lilly down right away but instead looked around the forest. The air felt off, it was thick with magic.

  “The packs have gathered,” he told Thalion.

  “I can feel it too,” Thalion agreed.

  “Feel what exactly?” Lilly asked as she wiggled to make Cypher put her down.

  “Magic, strong magic,” Cypher explained.

  “What does it feel like?” She asked.

  “Like something crawling across your skin.” Cypher, turned to Thalion, “I think it would be wise if she did not know you were here.”

  Thalion agreed. “Let us take care of your mate while you meet with the witch.”