KyriakisTriumph Page 3

  * * *

  Gage sat in complete darkness as he contemplated his next move. To be so close to his goal only to have it snatched away was enough to make anyone lose their mind. When he’d gotten a tip from one of his men that the seraphim hybrid had been found, he just knew that victory was his for the taking. He’d soon have access to an unlimited power of the likes no one had ever possessed. But once again the Kyriakis pack was there, dogging his steps. He hated them with every ounce of his being. No matter how many spies he had all over the world, even some planted within that cursed pack, they always managed to foil his plots. And now, the seraphim was under their protection. His only consolation, for now, was that she wasn’t on the island. That would make it nearly impossible for him to get on without the use of a very powerful spell. Gage wasn’t able to conjure up that amount of dark magic at the moment because he’d used a great deal of it just to get away from those wretched dogs and vampires. There had even been a warlock among them! His enemy had powerful allies but he still had some tricks up his sleeve.

  He’d only managed to get away from Kyriakis and his men because of a cloaking spell where he could not be detected by sight, sound, scent or magic So when they believed that he wasn’t there, he had only been hanging back to catch a glimpse of who was inside that chalet.

  He saw the Kyriakis Alpha bang on the door and to his surprise, he spotted the last person he’d expected to see.

  Gage should have known Gaspard Fortier had his hands in this. He hadn’t been seen in over a century and for him to turn up all of a sudden, made sense. Clearly, he wanted to be in possession of the seraphim’s powers. But now that he knew what he was dealing with, a new plan formulated in his mind. If he couldn’t go to them, he’d make them come to him of their own free will.

  As he formulated his plan, a smile spread across his lips.

  Soon, he’d have the seraphim and then there would be no stopping him.

  Chapter Three

  Paris ran until his lungs felt as if they would explode. He didn’t know how long he’d been running but he knew he couldn’t stop until he managed to burn off the extra energy raging through his veins. Ever since his conversation with Sarah, he was forced to face some inconvenient truths.

  He’d been accused of giving Anisa space because he was afraid of being rejected by her. And though he denied it, deep down, he knew that to be the truth. He couldn’t help thinking about their conversation the last night she’d been on the island. Paris recalled the misery and hurt in her beautiful eyes and that he was the reason she felt that way. He wondered if the fact that she couldn’t remember him was a defense mechanism, suppressing him from her very existence. He couldn’t blame her if that was the case but it hurt nonetheless. And the fucked up part, was that he had no right to be upset about it because he was the one to drive her away in the first place.

  He must have circled the island several times before he slowed down. Finally, he reached the spot where he’d left his clothes before shifting to his human form. As he was getting dressed, he sensed someone approaching. He held his nose in the air to catch the scent.

  Paris turned his back as he put on his pants and shrugged into his shirt. “I’m surprised that you didn’t come to find me sooner,” he addressed his nephew.

  “Actually, the surprise is all on my end. I would have thought that you’d tell me your news when you arrived back on the island, especially since that news was finding the woman you’ve been searching for all these years. She’s also the woman who can cure my mate. Nina is holding on as best she can but I don’t know for how much longer,” Aries announced with a sigh.

  Recently, Aries had found out his mate was a shifter who was trapped in the wolf form that had been eerily similar to Anisa’s. Initially, Paris had believed that she was Anisa but he was disabused of the idea when he realized that it wasn’t Anisa’s aura. Sarah had managed to free Nina from the form she’d been trapped in for many years to reveal that not only was she a rare All Black, a magical bread of shifter, but she was also the source of Malum. But with Sarah being only a quarter seraph, she could only do but so much for Aries’s mate. It was only a matter of time before the illness would take over her body again, and this time warp her mind beyond repair. That was why it was imperative for Anisa to be found, being that she was half seraphim.

  Paris turned around to face his nephew. “I’m sorry. I should have come to you sooner but I’m sure you can appreciate that I really needed time to gather my thoughts. I’ve already had a contentious conversation with Sarah about finding her mother and I guess, I wanted to put off talking to you for as long as possible.”

  “That’s understandable Uncle, but time is of the essence.”

  “You’re not telling me anything I don’t already know. I’m sure your cousin has already told you about my encounter with Anisa.”

  “He filled me in on some details but he said it would be best if I spoke to you. What’s this I hear about her not remembering you?”

  Paris shrugged. “Exactly that. She has no memory of me or of her time on Circe. She’s even going by a different name, Camille.”

  “And this warlock that she’s with?”

  “A warlock by the name of Gaspard Fortier. I’m not familiar with him but I already have some of my contacts looking into him to see what they can find out. He’s claiming to be Anisa’s husband.”

  Aries raised a brow. “Her husband? That seems odd that they refer to each other in human terms. I mean, I know some immortals do have human ceremonies but that’s usually for when they’re mated to humans.”

  Paris nodded. “That had crossed my mind. I don’t have a complete grasp of what’s going on between them, either. But clearly, something isn’t right. Like when did the two of them get together? Obviously, it had to be some time after Gage’s men attacked her, Sarah and Roland Devereaux. Gaspard refused to go into details.”

  “So clearly he’s hiding something.”

  “I think so.” Paris nodded. “Come on. Walk back to my house with me.”

  They walked in silence for several steps before Aries broke the silence. “Do you think Anisa may be in some kind of danger?”

  Paris stopped walking for a moment to gaze at his nephew before resuming his steps. “That briefly crossed my mind but other than memory loss, there doesn’t seem to be any signs of abuse. Although, she does seem very clingy to him. Admittedly, my time with Anisa was brief but she didn’t seem like the type. But then again, that could be the side effect of the trauma she’s experienced. She’s been through a lot what with being imprisoned and tortured by Gage and I have no idea what her relationship was like with Sarah’s father. But to be viciously attacked and separated from a child, couldn’t have been too good for her psyche.”

  “I know. But when I was speaking with Nina about this earlier, she brought up a good point.”

  “And what was that?”

  “This Gaspard must be a powerful warlock to have created a ward that kept out their enemies. And to have eluded Gage for all this time? Ever since Constantine and I found Sarah, Gage and his men have been on our tails.”

  Paris frowned. “I’m not sure what you’re getting at.”

  “Surely a warlock as powerful as Gaspard would have some kind of spell to unlock Anisa’s memories.”

  The statement was so simple Paris felt like an idiot for not thinking of it himself. He looked over at his Beta. “You’re right. It makes no sense why he wouldn’t help her gain her memories unless he doesn’t want to. Maybe by keeping her in the dark, she remains docile.”

  “Exactly. I think he may know what she is and is harnessing her powers somehow. She may be in more trouble than we realized.”

  “I see your point, Aries. I suppose it was foolish of him to have accepted our protection. He had to have known we’d figure it out eventually.”

  “Or, he has an ulterior motive. Perhaps, we should pay them a visit after all.”

  “Absolutely but as you’ve already n
oted, he’s a powerful warlock so it would behoove us to have some magic on our side as well.”

  “Romanov?” Aries inquired.

  “Yes. Steel said he had some business to check on in Russia but it shouldn’t take him more than a day and to call him if we needed any further assistance. I’m sure if I contacted him, he could meet me in Athens by nightfall.”

  “So, this will be a surprise visit?”

  Paris smirked. “Those are the best kind.”

  * * *

  Gaspard watched his Camille rest peacefully. He was fully aware that her name was Anisa Deveraux née Nkrumah. But now, she was his sweet Camille and if he had anything to do with it, she would always remain so. By the time she woke up, she wouldn’t remember any events from the last several days, only that they were in a new home. And, he intended to give her the same explanation he usually gave whenever they needed to relocate: he was keeping her safe from their enemies.

  That explanation had always been sufficient in the past. But in the last few years, she had asked more questions, had become surlier and not as compliant. What happened earlier caused him more than a little worry. Her wolf had nearly returned and he couldn’t have that happen. Shifters were dualistic by nature, even though they were of one mind in their human and beast forms. He could suppress her memories in her current form but not in the other. If she were to shift into her wolf, her memories would return and he’d have to start the brainwashing process, which took a considerable amount of power and energy, all over again. The first time he’d done it had nearly killed him because his powers had only recently been restored.

  He’d grown up within a small coven of warlocks and witches of moderate skill. Mostly, they were healers creating potions and medicines for their human counterparts for a small fee. But as humans were introduced to religion and became more devout, they began to view his coven as evil, ‘du diable’.

  As in most immortal communities, not all of his kind were created equal. There were some warlocks and witches born with greater powers and could easily ward off any human attacks, unfortunately, the members of his coven were not among them. Captured by an angry mob of humans, the leader of his coven was tortured and threatened with death if he didn’t renounce his sinful ways. So, to avoid further harm to himself and the rest of the coven, Jean, their leader, had bound all their powers to prevent them from being used again.

  However, once the coven was left completely vulnerable, the human reneged on their agreement and massacred most of the newly bound witches and warlocks including the children and Jean.

  Gaspard, who had been badly burned, had been left for dead and he probably would have died were he not found by a group of Hunters who’d taken him in and healed him. He’d joined their ranks for a while but he didn’t have the stomach for killing innocent shifters. Although he admittedly, he had no problem benefitting from the power it gave him by consuming their essence. Among this group of hunters was a particularly vicious one, a human, born of bound warlock and witch, Gage. It was clear that this particular Hunter was unhinged from the moment, bitter to be born without the powers that he felt he’d been cheated out of. He saw all other immortals as his enemy and he wanted their power for himself so that he would always be on top.

  Gaspard didn’t quite understand what drove this ambition but it was scary from the outside looking in. But, the dark magic that the group practiced was too seductive for Gaspard to walk away from. He was much more powerful than he’d been when he was simply healing and mixing potions. He was creating spells beyond his wildest imaginings.

  As more time passed, Gage rose up the ranks among them until he had somehow become the leader. Around that time, they discovered the existence of a pack of shifters in a small African village. There had been rumors of a great power within this pack. Upon hearing this, of course, Gage wanted to find out about this power for himself. It turned out that there was a seraphim within the pack’s ranks. It was then the Hunters were introduced to a power unlike any other. Gage had absorbed most of the slain seraphim’s essence for himself but what he’d begrudgingly allowed the rest of his underlings to have was unlike anything Gaspard had ever experienced.

  Gaspard had been told that he could only regain his natural powers back from the one who’d bound him. He’d lost all hope of getting them back after Jean’s death. However, that theory was disproven when the power of the seraphim flowed through him. It not only restored his natural abilities but also had cleansed him of the dark magic he’d practiced over the years. It had also made him stronger.

  For Gage, however, it only strengthened his dark abilities because he wasn’t born with powers rendering him human. That much power at his fingertips had warped him, made him meaner and hungrier for more. He had a grand scheme of becoming the most powerful immortal to walk the Earth. Gage had also become jealous that Gaspard’s natural abilities had returned. It was clear that the other Hunter was out to kill him so Gaspard broke away from the group.

  Even if his unbinding hadn’t happened, he probably would have left the group because their numbers were growing full of people who were basically zealots devoted to Gage. Gaspard didn’t see a place for himself anymore. To make matters worse, this group of captured immortals they hunted, weren’t all immediately killed. Some were kept, tortured and slowly drained of their essence. One particular All-Black bitch seemed to be Gage’s favorite plaything to torture.

  Once Gaspard was free, he settled into the Southern part of the new colonies where he blended in with the humans and kept to himself for many years. He traveled back to France temporarily when the Colonies decided they wanted their independence from Britain and again when the southern states decided they wanted to form their own union. There was something about war that drew immortals out in the open, perhaps for the sheer excitement. But, that also meant more Hunter activity which is why he wanted to stay away. He’d settled back into the Southern part of the US around the turn of the 20th century and led a peaceful life for several decades. He lived a life of isolation and that suited him just fine, until one day he felt a power that he couldn’t quite explain. He was drawn to it in fact.

  So, he sought it out and found a little house on the outskirts of the woods. He saw a tall dark-skinned man and a little girl who couldn’t be more than a few years old. There was enough of a resemblance that he could tell they were related, possibly father and daughter. Gaspard had hung back so he wouldn’t be spotted. There was something about the man. He’d seen him somewhere before but he couldn’t place where.

  But this is where the source of the power originated from because this is where his feeling was the strongest. He was unsure of why so he cloaked himself to observe this duo from afar. He watched them for days and it was his assumption that it was just the two of them until one day, she stepped out of the house.

  It was her. She was the source of the power. Gaspard immediately knew what it was because of the slain seraphim’s essence that flowed through his veins. It was almost as if they shared a bloodline. He didn’t know how but the seraphim they’d murdered all those years ago must have had an offspring and she was it.

  Over the years, he’d lived with regret for the atrocities he’d committed when he was with the Hunters. Briefly, he was tempted to take her for himself and consume her power but he immediately pushed the thought away. So, he hung back and observed. One immediate detail he noted about her was the fact that she was extraordinarily beautiful. She had an ethereal beauty that almost seemed unreal from the top of her head, crowned with a cloud a black hair, her flawless face to the tips of her toes. She was small in stature but she was generously curved in all the right places. She was a goddess.

  And, he watched her. He saw her interact with the man and the girl, recognizing that they were a family. The rare times he saw the three of them together, it was clear that she was adored by the big burly man, who was possibly her husband. And, the little girl clung to her. From what Gaspard could tell, the man was human but still, he co
uldn’t shake the feeling that this man was familiar.

  For months, he watched the little family for reasons he couldn’t quite explain. Perhaps, it was his guilt or maybe because he was falling a little in love with the beautiful seraphim progeny.

  And, then it happened. The little family that he’d monitored for the past couple years was attacked when he wasn’t paying attention. He had left them only for a little while to alleviate some of his monotony. That, however, turned out to be a mistake. When he came up the spot where he’d watched them, he saw the seraphim hybrid frantically yell to the little girl, “Run baby!”

  With tears in her eyes, the child took off running before the seraphim shifted to her wolf form before being attacked by two larger, more sinister wolves.

  Despite being half their size, she fought valiantly but when one of them sank his teeth in her throat, Gaspard knew it was only a matter of time before she’d lose the fight. It was then that Gaspard had intervened.

  He used a distraction spell to get them off of her. Using his most powerful spell, he made a sword out of pure light and sliced one of the rogues in half before he was attacked by the other. But as the creature bit into his neck, his little ally recovered enough to bite the rogue, giving Gaspard enough of an opportunity to sever his enemy’s head. But there were more of them. That was when Gaspard realized what was going on.

  The hunters were involved which confused him because he’d never known them to work in tandem with shifters. Gaspard’s powers were beyond what they originally were and he was able to fight off the two hunters, but it came at a cost. He’d nearly died fighting them off and so did she. She was nearly dead by the time the battle was over.