CHAPTER 21 PART 2 | munchies

📎A/N. Whoot Whoot! Both Masked and Buried have made it to the next round of the Wattpad Fiction Awards! Masked, in the category of Best Werewolf and Buried in Best Paranormal.

Voting is now open and are given by going inline next to thestory you want to vote for and writing +1. How simple is that?

You can vote for a single story as many times as you want.  Go check it out and cast your vote for your favorites for each category. https://www.wattpad.com/295504121-the-fiction-awards-2016-voting-open

Thank you so very much for those of you who nominated my stories in the first place :)

Enough of me.. now on to the story. Don't forget to vote.

Take care and thanks for your continued support.

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Keira couldn't believe what they had stumbled upon.

Around the circumference of the ancient site, facing out into the woods as if providing a human shield, was at least fifty people. They stood like sentries, an arm's length apart from the next man.

Small fires had been lit and provided a dull but eerie glow to the area. A small group was gathered near the altar stone. Keira adjusted her position to get a better view. She drew in a sharp breath when she realized a body was strapped to the stone.

Hovering above him was a mountain of a man who could have given Arnold Schwarzenegger a run for his money. His shoulders had shoulders.

"That much muscle in one person is just not natural," whispered Dayna.

Next to Arnie, in direct contrast, was an older, small, wiry man with thinning hair. The long dark robe he wore reminded her of the Monks during the Spanish Inquisition. He clutched onto something around his neck. Her guess, a satanic cross—the cross associated with Leviathan. The older man had to be a Brother Superior within The Order.

They watched Arnie pull out a knife and hold it up to the night sky. Dayna's hand whipped up to her mouth, and she held back a whimper as she stood up. "He's going to kill him," she said in a muffled voice. "We need to do something."

Keira was about to tell her sister to get down when Deacon pulled Dayna to the ground. "It benefits no one if we rush in without a plan."

They watched in horror as the knife was plunged downwards. She closed her eyes at the last moment. There was no way she wanted to witness the taking of a life. When she opened them again, the sacrifice was in a sitting position.

"What the—?"

He had been cut free. The sacrificial lamb was now standing toe to toe with Arnie. He rested his hand on the other man's shoulder; the action was mimicked by the other.

"It's a sign of respect and greeting," whispered Deacon.

Keira felt Ryker stiffen and she turned her head. His features were set in stone, and she could literally feel the rage wash over him in waves. She glanced in the direction he was focused and understood why. How she'd missed it was beyond her. Towards the outer rim of the large circle of sentries was at least two dozen men. They were on their knees, bound and gagged with their hands behind their backs. Ensuring they did not escape, was a small contingent of armed guards. It wasn't the prisoners, nor the guards that caught his attention. A familiar face had set both their teeth on edge.

Former deputy Alan Trudeau, along with another man, pulled one of the prisoners up off the ground and dragged him across towards the altar stone.

She reached out and touched Ryker's arm. "Promise me one thing," she said, "when you kill him, make it as painful as possible."

Ryker's hand reached for hers, and he squeezed it lightly. She didn't need the words to know he'd just made her a promise.

Alan threw the prisoner onto the altar stone. It took two to strap the man to it, he resisted valiantly but was overpowered before he got a chance to escape.

"What are they doing?" Dayna asked.

Ryker rubbed his jaw. "I don't know, but whatever it is I don't like it."

Arnie, the muscle man, stepped forward the moment Alan moved away. The robed man followed, and they stood over the body in the same manner as before. It wasn't long before the prisoner began to convulse and his back arched high off the stone. Even from this distance, she could see he was in agony. But what from? Nothing was touching him.

It was that moment the ground disappeared under her feet. Keira took a closer look at the sentries guarding the circumference then back at the guards hovering near the prisoners. There was a distinct difference between the three groups. The prisoners were cowering, even from this distance they were in fear. Their armed guards were a little too cocky as they pushed around their charges. It was the staunch barrier of sentinels that worried her. Their lack of movement and emotions as they stood vigil, set the hairs on the back of her neck on end.

"No. No. No. Please let me be wrong." Keira's voice came out in a desperate plea. "It's not possible."

"Stop scaring me," Dayna whispered. "What's not possible?"

"Somehow they have found a way to come through without their bodies. They are taking over a host's body."

Dayna bit her bottom lip, and her eyes grew wide. "But... but that's not possible."

"Ockham's Razor. There's no other explanation." Kiera turned back to the unfolding drama within the circle. The man was now limp. The muscled man hadn't ceased speaking. She could only assume it was a chant to allow the Legions to come through and consume a human host.

"Are you sure?" asked Ryker

Keira rubbed her forehead. I don't know what to think.

After a short silence, she said, "Honestly, it's just my best guess."

"Your eyesight is better than ours," said Dayna as she looked between the two vampires. "Can you see anything that would confirm either way?"

Deacon and Ryker shook their heads. "Without knowing for sure, we are at a tactical disadvantage," said Deacon. "We'd need to assess their capabilities outside of their own bodies. I can't imagine they would have retained all their skills. However, I suspect they would still be far stronger than a human."

Dayna let out a whimper. "There must be a way to work it out."

Keira had a sudden thought. "Maybe there is."

"Louise said she could see their aura's. We just need to use our magic to replicate that ability. The question is how?"

Dayna crawled closer to Keira. "I have an idea." She sat back on her knees. "Do you remember the reflection spell in mother's grimoire? The one that reveals true self? Perhaps we could modify it to show us who they really are?"

"I think that would work, but for what we want to do, it will take both of us."

Keira reached into her back pocket and pulled out her onyx crystals. She took stock of their surroundings. "We just need to work out what to use. There's no water to allow us to see the projection."

"A mirror," said Dayna, "we could use a mirror instead of the body of water. It might do the same thing."

"Good idea, but where are we going to find a mirror in the middle of the woods at this time of night."

"No problem, I have one in my bag—" Dayna let out a groan and brought her hands up to her face. "—which I left in the car... and it has my crystals."

Deacon stood. "That's not a problem. I'll be there and back in a few minutes. Where in the car is it?"

"How could I not have brought them with me," said Dayna in exasperation. "I know better than that. Instead, I leave them on the back seat of a car for anyone to steal."

Keira was about to tell her sister to calm down when she stopped mid movement. At first, she was sure she's imagined it. However, from the looks on the others faces it was a mass hallucination. On the ground, in front of Dayna, was a woman's bright red leather tote bag. One minute it was just dirt and leaves; the next, a bag that, until that moment, was locked in a car five miles away.

"What just happened?" Ryker asked.

Keira looked up at her sister. From Dayna's shocked expression, she was as mystified as the rest of them.

"Have you ever done that before?" Keira asked.

Dayna tentatively reached out her hand to touch the bag, then snapped it back. "It's real."

"I'll take that as a no then," said Keira.

For the next few moments they stared at it, not sure how it got there or why.

Ryker tapped at it with his boot. "I don't think it'll explode, but you never know."

"I suggest we worry about this later," said Deacon. He peered over the small mound of dirt they were hidden behind. "We have enough on our plate already."

Kiera crawled closer to her sister. "Deacon's right, we need to work out how to modify that spell."

It took them less time than expected, their lifetime of experience allowed them to know what had the best possibility of working. Keira clutched her crystals and willed them to help her channel the power they would require. She watched in silence as Dayna pulled out a small mirror and placed it on the ground. Even with the miniscule amount of light from the fires, they couldn't see a reflection, it was still too dark. She then retrieved her white crystals.

They placed their crystals around the mirror in alternating colors to ensure their magic was fused and amplified. The spell in the grimoire was for a single person. They needed to perform it for at least ninety men.

"Ready?" she asked Dayna.

Her sister nodded and said, "As much as I will ever be."

In a low voice, Keira began the incantation. "Tenet hodie, in nocte lucet."

Dayna joined her power to the spell. "Silebit ventus, et lucis estis."

As one voice, they weaved their magic. "quæ abscondita est, iam,

in nos videamus,

et verum se referunt ad nos,

removere a negotio extra velum."

This close to the stones, Keira could feel the power surge through her. The familiar energy was a warm comfort on a chilly night. Unlike her previous attempts at this level of magic, the flow was faster and... Keira faltered with her incantation and just as quickly recovered.

Somehow the power she pulled was stronger and more intense. This was not possible. Their source of power had been depleted—not increased.

Pushing the questions to the back of her mind, Keira focused on the small mirror. A faint glow faded in and out as if it were a beacon, always in motion, always searching. It was not enough to be seen from a far distance, but enough to allow them to make out the images that materialized on the reflective surface.

"Are you seeing this?" Ryker asked Deacon.

She didn't see his response. However, his low growl indicated he had; and wasn't happy about it. Once she was sure the spell was locked, she focused on the image. It was as if a satellite projected a video feed to the mirror and the area around the stones.

Both Keira and Dayna leaned in at the same time. "I can see what it is, but it's too small for me to make out any individual forms."

"What did you want to know?" asked Deacon. "We can be your eyes."

"If we got the spell right, you should be able to make out an aura around each living thing. It usually manifests itself as a colored glow."

Keira felt a brush against her side as Ryker inched forward. "We can see it, but what are we looking for specifically?"

She remembered the conversation with Louise, the waitress from the diner. "If any of them are Legions they should have a black aura."

"Nothing has a black aura," said Dayna

Keira tilted her head and raised an eyebrow. "Or so we thought." She turned back to Ryker. "We also need to know what's going on at the altar stone."

The vampires peered into the small mirror. Their faces gave nothing away as they scanned the image.

Ryker sat back and rose up to stare at the unfolding events around the real stones. "We have a problem."

His grim tone sent a wave of panic through her, and she looked across at Dayna. She too had picked up on his demeanor.

"I'd say about sixty-four of them and counting," said Deacon.

Keira bowed her head and held her breath. This was worse than she thought. They were through. But how?

Ryker's hand slip around hers, and he tugged at it lightly. "There's more."

When she looked up, he was inches from her.

"There's some sort of mist seeping out from the large standing stone. It's floating towards the prisoner on the alter and streaming into him. The more it goes in, the weaker the man's aura is becoming."

It was as if someone had hit the last nail into her coffin. They had found a way. How was this even possible? They shouldn't have been able to come through the gaps and transfer their minds into a human host.

"It's only a matter of time before they are strong enough to bring Leviathan through," Dayna said.

"We can't let that happen." Keira crept closer towards the site, she needed to work out how much time they had to avert disaster. "If we assume that they need to take over all those prisoners before they can bring her through, how much time do you think we have?

It took another agonizing twenty minutes of watching two lives struggle for control of the same body. For Keira, it felt like twenty hours. By the time the tragedy was over and another victim was strapped to the altar they calculated they had eighteen hours until the Legion began their assault on the door. Unfortunately, this coincided with the full moon and the summer equinox. They would be at the peak of their power.

They needed a plan, and they needed it now.

"We don't have enough vampires to take on that many Legions," said Deacon as they considered their options. He stood. "We need to regroup to consider our options."

"We are going to need to take another look at mother's grimoire," said Dayna as soon as they were enough of a distance away to not be heard. She held out her arm and lifted her thumb upwards. "Can I hitch a ride, big boy?"

Once she had her arms around his neck, they were gone.

"You okay?" Ryker asked.

Keira raised her eyebrow. "Just peachy. I've just discovered that the end of the world is tomorrow. My mother sacrificed herself for nothing, and... oh yeah... I probably need to do the same."

Ryker cupped her face with his hands. He tilted her head upward to meet his. His eyes bore into hers with an intensity that frightened her. "I do not want to hear you say those words. Ever. Do you hear me? We will find a way to stop this, and it won't include any idiotic heroics on your part."

"That's not your call. She can't be permitted to get through. You know that as w—"

Keira didn't get a chance to finish her sentence. Ryker's lips crushed against hers with such a savage force, her arms fell limp at her sides in surprise. His hands dropped from her face, and she was crushed against his hard body as he molded her against him. With very little effort he teased her lips apart. Ripples of pleasure surged through her body as his tongue skimmed her trembling lip. One moment he was demanding, the next teasing.

A desperate low sultry moan escaped from her throat as he deepened the kiss. Pure, unadulterated lust rose from her core and set her alight. Her arms, now able to move, wrapped themselves around his neck. Their dire predicament temporarily forgotten as the iron-tight control on her emotions shattered. All she could feel, all she wanted to feel was this frustrating man who had stripped away her restraints, layer by layer until she was raw with desire.

Mother Earth.

The fervor of her response scared her. Never before had she given into her desire as wantonly and with such wild abandon. In the past, she had chosen her partners carefully. There was never any danger of either of them becoming emotionally involved. Her vow to never let anyone touch her heart had never wavered; until now. As much at it pained her, she needed to stop this. His kiss was too potent. It felt as though he was branding her. Combined with his tangy taste and male scent, she was ready to sink to the forest floor and finish what the kiss was promising.

Keira trailed her hands down over his shoulders and rested her palms on his chest. It took more effort than it should have to not rip the shirt from off his body and run her hands over his skin. Would his chest taste as divine as his lips?

She fisted his shirt and pushed herself away. While he would come out of this unscathed, she was in great danger of being scalded permanently. There was no way she wanted to be another notch on his bedpost, while she wallowed in chocolate cake and ice cream.

Who cares? You may not live beyond tomorrow night.

At the words from her subconscious, Keira froze. Their predicament thrust itself to the forefront, and she pushed away.

"We need to stop," she said, her voice came out in a breathless pant. "We can't—I can't do this."

Keira noticed his breath was also ragged, and a childish satisfaction pricked at the back of her mind. At least she wasn't the only one affected by the kiss.

Ryker pulled her back to him and bent his head down, so they were almost cheek to cheek, his breath oddly warm against the shell of her ear. "Make no mistake, we will be finishing this." The graveled words uttered against her flesh sent a fresh wave of goosebumps over her skin.

He turned his back to her and indicated for her to climb on. "Let's find a way to kill these bastards, and it will not include any ridiculous ideas of you sacrificing yourself."

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📎A/N.  So what did you think?

Hmmmmm... it looks like Ryker didn't care much for her initial idea on how to deal with the situation... he could just have said to shut up though ;-) LOL!!

How on earth did Dayna get that bag to appear out of thin air?

The clock is now ticking, they need to work out how to stop the Legions before they have enough come through. But how will they get rid of the Legions if they are stronger than humans and there's not enough vampires to take them on?

Next chapter may or may not answer those questions... *evil laugh*

Till next time, don't forget to vote... even you silent stalker readers ;-)

Take care.

❤ ℳ