The Warlock Who Hungered for a Demon (13 page)

moment, nothing in certain. Wait until we find out something, at least,

and enjoy each other’s presence.”

Giving the young family the chance to discuss this among

themselves, Sterling left the gardens. He still had some preparations

he needed to make before his guests arrived. This meeting might very

well shape countless destinies in the future, and Sterling had to make

sure nothing went wrong.

The Warlock Who Hungered for a Demon

81

If Rhys had had any doubt about King Sterling’s tendency to be

all-knowing, it shattered when he arrived to the island only to find his

father, Byron Cunningham, and Kaname Yamamoto already there.

Once he and Noah had reached civilization, they’d notified Sterling of

Kieve’s arrival, but the Sidhe king hadn’t seemed surprised. Not only

that, but he’d also prepared a very elaborate meeting, obviously meant

to discuss what Kieve had revealed to Rhys and Noah.

It was quite a miracle that Rhys and Noah were even allowed into

the throne room that now held so many important people. Between

Sterling’s other guests and Winter and Corbin, who’d also come, the

throne room practically held more people with authority than Noah

had seen together since, most likely, Winter’s wedding. Even Lamont

was here, and in spite of being only a baby, he’d been very quiet, as if

realizing the importance of the moment. Kieve appeared to be quite

intimidated himself, although his manners were impeccable.

“Thank you for receiving me on such short notice, Your Majesty,”

Kieve said. “I honestly would not have known how to approach you

without Mr. Hall and Mr. Whitaker’s visit.”

Sterling just smiled enigmatically. “It’s truly a pleasure to have

you here. It is the first time you’ve left your tribe, correct?”

“Indeed,” Kieve answered. “As a shaman, my father cannot leave

our people, so I come in his stead to discuss our common problem.”

“Related to that…I will require your assistance, and that of

everyone here to weed out or enemy. So far, we have determined that

fiends and demon pixies are undoubtedly cooperated, and, judging by

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the gas that nearly killed the incubi sent by Mr. Whitaker here,

possibly even ghouls. As such, we find ourselves at a crossroads.”

When Sterling paused, Byron Cunningham started speaking.

“Once upon a time, the shifter races were at war. There were clear

differences between predator and prey. That has started to change in

recent years, but with those alliances come new enemies. It seems

clear that the world is dividing into sides, and this resembles the old

human conflicts far too much.”

It was sad, but true. On instinct, Rhys reached for Noah’s hand

and took it. He had never acknowledged just how much was at stake

here. He’d been in too much of a panic over Noah’s disease. But now

that Noah was cured, it scared Rhys that he might lose the warlock,

regardless, perhaps to this war.

“We won’t let it come to that,” Kaname offered. “All of us here

have far too many people too protect.”

That was, perhaps, the truest thing that had been said here. Mates,

friends, children, and family, they were all in this together.

“Very good, Yamamoto-sama,” Sterling concluded. “It seems we

are agreed on this. Now, since several of those here have had contact

or have a link with our foes, I will need them to cast a tracing spell.

You and your brother, Yamamoto-sama. Rhys and Noah, and of

course, Kieve.”

No wonder Kaname’s younger sibling was here. Rhys had

honestly been surprised upon seeing Yakumo with Kaname, but it

must have been a special request from Sterling.

“Will it work, Noah?”
Rhys inquired. He had no real experience

with tracing spells, beyond what he’d seen Noah do.

“Probably. King Sterling is very powerful, and I’m here to shape

the spell and keep it organized. You and I have been recently affected

by the forces of the demons, and it’s likely that the elder Yamamotos

are still with our foes. Kieve’s ability will make the spell able to

weave itself around whatever safeguard the pixies have in place.”

The Warlock Who Hungered for a Demon

83

Noah’s words reassured Rhys. For the first time since this whole

thing had started, it seemed they had a plan. More importantly,

Sterling had managed to gather together a formidable force. If his

experience with Noah’s illness had taught Rhys anything, it was that

togetherness could defeat even the hardest of obstacles.

Sterling got off his throne and lifted his arms. Symbols appeared

on the floor of the room, right in front of the group of gathered

people. Even if Sterling’s guests must have been surprised, none of

them showed it. Instead, those who had not been designated by name

stepped back, giving Sterling space to work. Everyone else came

forward, entering the circle formed by the symbol. Noah and Rhys

quietly joined them, waiting to see what would happen. Winter

handed his son to his mate and followed their example, completing

the formation.

When all the preparations were made, Rhys took the hand of the

person standing next to him, which turned out to be Kaname’s

brother, Yakumo. The younger vampire exuded nervousness, but also

the honest desire to make his elder sibling proud. In the meantime,

other various emotions bombarded Rhys from the rest of those

present. Winter seemed a touch angry, but mostly afraid. Sterling was

all steadiness and determination. Kaname missed his mate, but like

Sterling, was completely decided to find his parents and end this

conflict before something worse happened. Rhys could even feel

Byron and his own father. It was hard for Rhys to concentrate with so

many emotions bubbling around him, but his connection with Noah

gave him an anchor, and Rhys could focus on the magic emanating

from the symbols on the floor.

Sterling started to murmur an incantation, and Winter and Noah

joined in. Rhys found his lips forming the words as well, even if he

hadn’t known the spell beforehand. Power invaded him, and his

vision became dim, then white. It was not unfamiliar, but the intensity

of it still shocked Rhys.

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He struggled to focus on what he had experienced at the imp’s

house. Truly, there had been very little physical trace of anything or

anyone, but the emotions…Rhys could still remember them. The

evilness of the fiend, the coldness of the person Rhys could now

identify as a pixie, and the dark void of the ghoul. He felt his

companions joining in, providing their own insight, an image of the

Yamamotos, a view into the pixie world. Throughout it all, Noah

guided them, with Sterling and Winter a guardian presence, protecting

them and feeding them power.

Slowly, a different picture began to form. At first, Rhys couldn’t

quite believe what he was seeing, but he could not have denied it if he

tried. It was his home, the main Whitaker mansion where both he and

Alexis had grown up.

Demons were gathering all around the mansion, predatorily

preparing for an attack. Normally, there would be guards making sure

the place was safe and equipment that could hold back even an

organized assault like this. But then, Rhys’s view shifted and he found

out the worst thing of all. Elden was working on the electronic

security of the mansion, turning the systems off. The guards on watch

were already on the floor, half-naked and unconscious.

It was more than obvious what had happened. Rhys should have

realized that Elden might be the reason why the demons hadn’t

unleashed a full attack on them during that first meeting. Elden had

been there, and the whole point behind the entire thing had been to get

Elden inside the Whitaker mansion to destroy them from within.

Why was it that Rhys’s family always betrayed him? First, his

father, and now, his brother. Rhys hadn’t felt anything different about

Elden, nothing to hint to this plan, but then, he’d always had trouble

judging the emotions of his loved ones. The problem was that, this

time, Elden had gotten himself in more trouble than Romaine had. His

actions were unforgivable. With everyone here, Elden’s treachery

made the people in the Whitaker mansion vulnerable.

The Warlock Who Hungered for a Demon

85

The spell whirled around, revealing that Kaname and Yakumo’s

parents were also there. Rhys didn’t know who the dead vampire in

the imp’s home had been, but it seemed like it wasn’t any of the

Yamamotos.

And of course, there were the pixies. As his gaze finally fell on

the group, Rhys knew without a doubt that they’d been the ones

behind the awakening of the older Yamamotos. Rhys had the

strangest feeling that they could see him watching them, but Winter’s,

Sterling’s, and Noah’s power blocked the pixies from reaching him.

At last, the spell retreated, and Rhys found himself back in the

throne room of the Sidhe. In spite of still being a bit dizzy, Rhys shot

to his feet and turned toward his father. “We need to contact the

mansion,” he immediately said. “Elden betrayed us. He destroyed the

security systems and allowed the demons inside.”

The older incubus’s eyes widened. “Are you certain?”

“Unfortunately, yes,” Sterling replied in Rhys’s stead. He had

clearly seen what Rhys had, but was, as usual, keeping his cool.

“Your people are outnumbered. They need reinforcements. Until then,

they must retreat because if they don’t, they might all perish.”

Perish.
Rhys’s mind went to his father and his two stepmothers.

Thankfully, Chantay and Isaac were not there, but everyone else, so

many people, friends of Rhys’s, they could all die.

“I’ll contact Soren and Skylar,” Byron offered. “I believe they

might be able to make it in time.”

Even as he spoke, the shark-shifter was retrieving his phone and

dialing a number. Rhys’s father was doing the same thing, and

Kaname Yamamoto followed their example, apparently intent on

mobilizing whatever vampire troops he had in the United States. On

the outside, he seemed composed as well, but Rhys could sense the

vampire’s agitation at seeing his parents once again.

Still in a haze, Rhys was very relieved when Noah pulled him

close.
“It’s okay, baby. Don’t be afraid. Your father is a strong man.

He won’t allow anyone to defeat him.”

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Scarlet Hyacinth

Rhys wished he could believe that, but his mind went back to the

imp’s house and all the dead imps. It was too easy to imagine his

friends and family in that situation. He knew his mate was thinking

about the same thing and ruminating over what they had seen in the

vision. It all made so little sense. If not for having Noah there, Rhys

might have collapsed under the irrationality of it. One thing seemed

certain, though. Elden’s betrayal could bring about very dangerous

consequences. “We need to go back,” he said. “We need to go back

now.”

“Indeed,” Sterling replied. “While I did not expect this exact

development, I have prepared means of transportation for you, and a

group of Sidhe will accompany you, led by Corbin.”

“Very well, then,” Byron said as he ended his short call. “There’s

no time to waste with chatter. Thank you for all your help, King

Sterling. For now, battle awaits.”

* * * *

“Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck.”

Tucker cursed for the millionth time that day. The Whitaker

mansion was overrun with demons of different types. Werewolves

had not fought this type of foe before, and while they’d come here in

a large number, by the time of their arrival, the house had already

been overrun.

“What’s the status of the troops?” Jace Wade asked by his side.

“We’ve taken hold of the main entrance, but the demons are

barricaded inside. The good thing is that our arrival might give the

incubi the chance to escape through the underground tunnels.”

“I wouldn’t place too much hope in that,” Jace’s father, Soren,

said. “The same way Alexis knew about these tunnels, the traitor,

Elden, would probably know as well. It’s likely that the demons