Born By Moonlight by Krista Street
Chapter 6
~ WYATT ~
“You’re sure this is all you have?” I asked the fairy guard in the palace’s library.
“Yes, Major Jamison. Those are the last of the scrolls.”
My fingers curled around the parchment as the fairy’s Adam’s apple bobbed. Irritation rose inside me, coiling into my magic and fusing with my alpha power. I tried to keep my dominance under wraps, but it had been ten earth days with no answers, and the palace library was my last hope for information in the fae lands.
I stabbed a hand through my hair and peered out the stone spire’s narrow windows that were shaped like icicles.
Below, the fae lands’ sprawling capital spread out in a blanket of thatched roofs, charming boutiques, and cobblestone lanes.
Growling, I turned away from the idyllic scene. The fairy guard jumped when I began pacing.
Ten earth days I’d been searching for answers, which equated to nearly a month in the fae lands. A month here of endless prowling through their various archives. A month of little sleep. And a month without Avery.
My wolf snarled. Images of tearing the fairy guard’s throat out rose in my mind. I suppressed them, knowing my wolf’s instincts to maim and kill, since we hadn’t protected our mate, would only compound my problems.
It wasn’t the guard’s fault that the palace didn’t have any further information. He was just doing his job—fetching me items as I asked for them. He even brought me tea and cakes initially, until he realized they went untouched.
He meant well.
But he also didn’t have the answers I sought.
“Major Jamison?” the fairy squeaked from where he stood in the doorway. His shiny green hair, as bright as a Granny Smith apple, gleamed in the soft lights. “Would you like me to look in the west dungeon? There’s one area there that I haven’t checked. We haven’t stored scrolls there in centuries, but it’s possible one or two got left behind.”
I ground to a halt. “Yes. Check and let me know what you find.”
After the guard scampered away, I retreated to the tall table that filled the middle of the room. My boots kicked up dust motes on the stone floor before I surveyed the piles of manuscripts and scrolls that covered the table like puff pastry.
The king and queen had graciously accepted my request to plunder their archives, although gracious was putting it nicely. It’d cost the SF a thousand rulibs—nearly ten thousand US dollars—for the king and queen to cooperate.
Since the fae lands fell out of the Supernatural Forces’ jurisdiction, the king and queen didn’t have to fulfill our requests. Luckily, money still talked, and Wes had deemed Avery’s condition important enough to pay the hefty fee the king and queen demanded. If Wes hadn’t, I would have paid the fee out of my own pocket.
I growled and balled my hands into fists, barely suppressing the urge to swipe my arm across the massive table and rake it of its contents.
Because all I had to show for that money was this large table piled with scrolls that contained nothing important about the Safrinite comet. The only information I’d found was the date of its last appearance, the fact that it infused the fae lands with new magic, and the date of its next occurrence—basically everything we already knew. There was nothing in the ancient scrolls containing information about the Safrinite comet sickening fairies or other supernatural creatures with its power. Nothing about it harming anyone at all.
I’d literally found zero new information.
And even though the fae lands’ gargoyles had been assisting me during the past few weeks when I’d plundered all of the fae databases, our search had been in vain.
I began pacing again. Scents of old parchment filled the room as distant noise from the city filtered in through the window. My only hope now was the Bulgarian libraries, and that was only if the supernatural courts allowed my entry. According to Wes’s last message, he was still working on securing that permit, but at least our gargoyle representative—Nicholas Fitzpatrick—was on standby.
My lips thinned when I pictured myself meeting with Nicholas.
If the courts allowed my entry, Nicholas would be the first supernatural I’d meet there. A snarl erupted from my throat when my mind flooded with our last encounter. Three months ago, he’d made an appearance at the SF and had dined in the cafeteria with my mate while she’d succumbed to his sexual prowess. I could only thank the Gods she hadn’t acted on it. Still, it wasn’t a memory I cared to dwell on. Scenting Avery’s arousal for the vampire had made me see red.
However, if Nicholas could help me find answers and cure Avery from the comet’s ailments, then I would swallow my abhorrence for him.
“Sir?” the fairy guard called breathlessly from the doorway. I swung around to face him. He wore an apologetic expression. “I’m afraid—”
“It’s fine.” One glance at his empty hands dashed my remaining hope. “Thank you for your time and assistance.”
A wave of alpha power shot from me even though I tried to suppress it. He cringed when it hit him, and I immediately pulled it back inside me and gave him a tight smile.
But it didn’t stop my wolf from snarling internally. For ten earth days my wolf and I had been away from Avery, hoping and praying that she would survive while we were gone, only for us to have wasted all of that time.
I grabbed my backpack that contained my notes from all of my reading during the past month. “I need to get back to earth if there’s nothing here.”
The guard scurried out of my way when I exited the room, then jogged behind me as I headed toward the main entrance. Tapestries lined the tall halls and narrow corridors in the castle. Above, fairy globes lit the dark passages like miniature suns. The stench of magic was everywhere. You couldn’t get away from it in here.
I whipped out my tablet as I strode down a hall. On the chance this moment came, I’d pre-written a plea to the supernatural courts to consider extending me a pass to the Bulgarian libraries. I knew Wes was working on it too. He’d been working on it all week back on earth, but Wes had a hundred other things he was also trying to accomplish.
In other words, I couldn’t wait for some clerk in the courts to process Wes’s multiple requests. I was going outside of the normal chain, sending my plea to every supernatural I’d ever worked with that was employed by the courts. I’d never done that before, and it certainly wasn’t proper, but screw formalities.
My mate was dying.
With a swipe of my finger, I re-read my plea:
Please see multiple requests sent by Wes McCloy, General of the Supernatural Forces, this week regarding Avery Meyers. I’m aware that my contacting you is not the norm when requesting the courts’ help, but I urge you to read this entire message.
We find ourselves in a dire situation. Despite extensively searching the fae lands’ libraries and the royal archives, no further information has been found regarding the Safrinite comet and its effects on half witch, quarter werewolf, new ambassador recruit, Avery Meyers. Attached are her latest medical assessments and scans. As you can see, this illness is progressing rapidly. Time is of the essence. If you are able to help expedite our request, I implore you for your help. We need an immediate pass to the Bulgarian libraries for gargoyle assistance. Avery Meyers’ life depends on it.
Respectfully,
Major Wyatt Jamison, Squad Eleven commander, Supernatural Forces
I sent the message to those I knew in the courts, flagging it as high priority, then sent a copy to Wes so he would know that I’d taken it upon myself to try and facilitate their assistance.
Once the messages showed as sent, I shoved the tablet back into my pocket.
My nostrils flared as I rounded a corner past an ancient rug cloaked in preserving magic. The nauseating aroma made anger rise in me all over again. This realm swam in magic, yet no magic in this universe was able to help me uncover what had happened to my mate.
I made my way down the castle’s endless halls and spiraling staircases leading to the main doors as the guard followed behind me. Once I reached the grand entrance, I paused to address him one last time.
“Please pass along my thanks to the king and queen.”
He bowed, his shiny green hair catching the sun. “Of course, sir. It was their pleasure to assist you.”
I bet. They’re one thousand rulibs richer and didn’t have to lift a finger. My lip curled even though a thousand rulibs was nothing compared to the vast fortune the royal family harbored. That amount of money was pittance to them.
What made it even more maddening was that the money could have been used to feed the poorer families in the fae lands, but I knew the king and queen would keep it for themselves, either storing it in their vaults or squandering it on more jewels they didn’t need.
“Good day, sir.” The guard bowed again when I took my leave.
The sentries stationed at the palace doors watched me with their pitch-black eyes when I strode past. Deadly-looking spears were clenched in their grasps, and their golden-hued skin had an otherworldly glow to it.
I didn’t slow when a shimmer of magic hit me. The huge palace doors, with their ornate golden rims and carved mystical engravings, opened automatically when the magic triggered them. Their heavy solid mass moved soundlessly as I passed between them, but the echo when they slammed shut behind me reverberated through the valley.
Outside, the sun hit me. The pale-green sky was cloudless, the midday sun high. It was already Wednesday morning on earth, which meant that Avery’s final test at the SF was in a few short hours.
Thinking of her made my throat tighten. I’d received daily updates on her condition so I knew she was still alive, but the last update Farrah sent me had set my nerves on edge.
Avery’s magical essence had plummeted a whopping fifty percent over the weekend, and it had declined again on Monday and again yesterday.
When I’d read that report, my heart had nearly stopped, thinking the same would happen to her life force at any moment.
I’d only begun breathing again when I read and re-read three times that her life force was still relatively stable, only dropping another five percent since its plateau last week. It was currently at ninety percent. Still, none of us knew if her life force would take a similar trajectory. For all we knew, come tomorrow, Avery could be dead.
I picked up a jog on the winding road that sloped down from the castle. The nearest portal to the supernatural marketplace in Boise was only a ten-minute walk from the royal palace but even that felt too long. I’d already requested that my bags be shipped back to my apartment in the SF. With any luck, they would arrive before I did.
Ten minutes later, I crossed through the portal into the supernatural marketplace, but I didn’t let the sights, sounds, or smells distract me. I immediately exited the marketplace to the busy downtown Boise streets and waited for the SF ride I’d signaled.
A sleek SUV pulled up to the curb a minute later. I slipped into the backseat as the technician maneuvered expertly away from the curb.
“Major Jamison, good to have you back on earth.”
I grunted, in no mood to talk. All I wanted was to get back to the SF and see Avery. I knew the thrumming unease that pulsed through my veins wouldn’t abate until I laid eyes on her and could confirm that she still lived.
The technician drove swiftly through the downtown streets to the gently undulating hills north of the city. When we passed through the magical barrier that surrounded the SF, the glowing red line of the warded system swept right through the vehicle as we plummeted through the portal transfer. It activated our clearance via the magical element embedded in the car, confirming the identities of the technician and me as SF members.
The technician drove into the garage, easily gliding the SUV around an infinity craft that was being repaired in the center. He pulled into a parking spot near the south door.
“Thanks for the ride,” I said to the technician before climbing out and heading for the underground tunnel.
I didn’t wait for his reply.
∞ ∞ ∞
Her scent hit me the second I stepped into the training room. Avery stood on the sidelines, flanked by Charlotte and Eliza. Chris was sparring in the center with two other wolves, in the midst of his final test. Each wolf came at him relentlessly.
The judges’ panel flanked the far wall. A string of six high-ranking SF members sat behind the table, their astute expressions and demeanors appraising as they assessed Chris’s performance and jotted down their comments.
The rest of the squad were there too—Zaden, Bo, and Nick—cheering him on.
Even from the distance, I was able to pick up on the worried lines around Avery’s eyes and the delicate flare of her nostrils. Her scent flooded my senses amidst the multitude of smells permeating the air. It was as though my body knew which scent was hers and homed in on it.
I slipped through the crowd. Several other groups of new recruits were also being tested on other mats. The training room was alive with excited energy, nervous anticipation, and the active scent of magic being cast.
I kept my attention on Avery as I made my way toward her.
She kept scratching her chest while Chris sprang into the air in the center of the room. However, Avery wasn’t focused on her squad mate. She wasn’t even looking at Chris. Instead, her gaze was focused on the floor a few feet in front of her, her expression worried.
“I wondered if you’d make it here.” Dee Armund, the female werewolf who I’d recruited to train Avery, stepped directly in my path.
Reese stood a few yards behind her, but the sorcerer wasn’t paying us any attention. He kept glancing anxiously at Avery.
“When did you get back?” Dee asked.
“Just now. Has she already gone?” I asked, nodding toward my mate.
Dee’s mouth tightened. “No. She’s next.”
My gaze narrowed when the sorcerer’s fearful scent hit me. “Why’s Reese so nervous?”
“Avery’s been . . . struggling lately. He’s worried about her test.”
I tensed. “Struggling in what way?”
“Her magic’s grown even weaker. For the last two days, she could barely manage the spells she mastered last month. That’s never happened before.”
A stone lodged in my stomach. “Her magical force has sank that much?”
Dee nodded grimly. “It’s nearly gone. She was just told this morning, but she still has some left. Thank the Gods. She’ll need it.”
My breath lodged in my throat. I hadn’t received the healing center’s reports from today yet. “And her life force? Did that sink more too?” I held my breath.
“It fell another ten percent, but it’s not falling as drastically as her magic.”
Ten percent. That meant it was down to eighty.
A snarl threatened to tear from me, but I suppressed it. “That comet is sucking the life right out of her.”
“It is.” Dee shook her head, her expression grim. “I’m getting genuinely concerned about her. What about your assignment. Did you find anything?” She took one look at my face and grimaced. “Shit. That bad?”
“There’s nothing, Dee. Absolutely nothing in the fae lands about the comet negatively affecting anyone. I just wasted ten days searching, and for what?”
She sighed. “It’s not for what. You know this is how it goes. If our jobs were easy, we wouldn’t be such a large organization. What about here, in our SF library? Did Masters Mallory or Alarus find anything?”
“As of last night, no, but I’m still waiting on their report for today. If that comes up with nothing, our last hope is the Bulgarian libraries.”
Avery shuffled her feet, snatching my attention again. She scratched her chest vigorously, and that distracted, panicked expression stole over her face again. It couldn’t just be nerves about her upcoming test that was causing her to look that way.
I took a step toward her, but Reese stopped me. “Easy there, Wyatt. She can do this, and sorry to be frank, but she doesn’t need any further distractions right now.”
A growl rumbled in my chest, but Reese was right. The last thing Avery needed was an alpha wolf prowling all around her.
All I could do was watch as my mate prepared to step into the ring.
