Chapter 2 ~ Sisters

Dedicated to @Juhiwrites for the amazing covers she designed for my completed book The Devil's Daughter. Definitely check out her work if you need a cover designed!! :D

As I entered the bar that night I was caught somewhere between wishing Kellan would show up and hoping he wouldn't. I still wasn't sure if I could bring myself to help him, but I also didn't know if I could allow myself not to. Customers trickled in at their usual steady rate and it started to seem like he wouldn't come in at all. My eyes drifted to the door every few minutes hoping to see the familiar silver glow of his aura or the dark unkempt mess of his short black hair above his stormy grey eyes.

The night wore on, with no Mythic presence whatsoever. I began to wonder if I'd finally won, maybe he had finally given up after all this time. I hoped that was the case. The thought that he might have become one of the missing Mythics he was trying was another option I had to consider. When that thought had crossed my mind a few hours after is usual arrival time my door checking became obsessive.

It was ridiculous, he was a Mythic just like the rest of them. It was not my responsibility to look after any of them. They had committed genocide on my race. If a few of them went missing, they probably deserved it. And yet my eyes continued to scan the door and checked the room consistently for any sign of him. My hands cleaned the same glass on repeat until another drink was ordered. A brief distraction from the swirl of thoughts in my mind.

I breathed a sigh of relief when Kellan finally walked through the door half an hour before closing. He strode in, looking haggard, his dark eyes were strained and tired, with bags beneath them, his hair even more unkempt than usual as if he'd been runnings his hand through it all evening. His clothes were rumpled and I could smell the blood on him.

He moved easily between the few remaining patrons, on a beeline to where I stood wiping down the bar. His knuckles were covered in dried blood, but there was no sign of the injury that caused it.

"Been hitting someone?" I asked, he drew his brows together in confusion before following my gaze to his hands.

"A wall," he murmured taking the damp cloth I passed across the counter and wiping the red stains away. His voice was distant as if his mind was still somewhere else despite his body being in front of me.

"Are you okay?" I was hesitant to ask, we didn't make small talk. Hell, the last time we spoke more than a word to each other, I'd been ready to strangle him. But he didn't look okay. He looked like shit. His eyes drifted around the room, like he'd never been here before. He shook his head.

"No. No, I'm not." He whispered, "They took Freya," At my blank stare he continued, "My sister. They took my little sister." I pour him a whiskey and slide it across the bar. My heart racing. If he asks again it won't be for a bunch of faceless Mythics. It will be for him. I pray he doesn't say the words. I want to help him. But I haven't used my Fae abilities in years. I'd sworn that day that I never would again.

"Please, Delilah. If there's even the slightest chance that you might be able to find her, please," His hand shook as he pulled a photo from his pocket and sat it on the bar before me. My eyes dropped to the image of the young woman, probably a few years younger than me, laughing heartily at the camera. She looked nothing like the man claiming to be her brother. She had white blonde hair falling in waves down passed her shoulders, her frame was slight, and her features soft and delicate. But her eyes are the same dark stormy grey as Kellans.

"I..." I hesitated, the urge to do what he asked was almost overwhelming.

"What if it was your sister?" He whispered, his dark eyes pierced mine. But his words forced another image to the front of my mind. A younger girl, barely five. Her hair red like all Fae, but darker, almost as dark as mine. Her pale green eyes staring up at me with a gap toothed smile. I felt moisture pooling in my eyes and swiped it away with more force than necessary.

"My sister's dead," I barely got the words out as I sank to the ground behind the bar. I hadn't let myself think about them for so long. The pain in my chest was impossible. I clutched at the skin over my heart clawing at it to try and stop the pain. To ease the tearing ache drilling its way into my heart.

I sensed more than saw when he made his way around the bar and knelt before me. His hands reached for me, probably to comfort but the smell of Wolf and images of my family brought back memories of that day. Of the fear we'd felt as we were attacked before dawn, most of us still asleep in our beds. Of the terror as we'd tried to run, as I'd carried Mia through the woods and tried to hide her from the Mythics that wanted to kill us. I flinched from his touch, breathing ragged.

Conscious of where I was and who was witnessing my complete loss of control. I tried to focus on my breathing, taking long gasping breaths. He moved away, and I just made out distant chatter over my breathing. Minute by minute, my heart rate slowed, my memories sank back down to where they came from and I gained more control of myself.

When I finally wiped the last of the tears from my eyes and stood, the bar was empty. The chairs were up, the keys were on the counter and the door was locked. With my Mythic related emotions once again under firm control, I was once again left wishing I had helped Kellan. After everything I'd done, and with his sister missing, he had still taken the time to close up for me. How was he one of the monsters I hated so much?

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I woke up the next morning with guilt weighing heavy on my chest. I crawled from the comfort of my bed and made myself a cup of coffee. Kat was sitting on the couch already dressed for work, her eyes glued to the TV screen as I made my way over to sit beside her.

"What are we watching?" I needed a distraction from the memory of what had happened the night before. I hadn't told Kat, she'd been well and truly asleep by the time I made it home and it didn't feel right to say it out loud in the day light.

"More people have gone missing," she tilts her head in my direction but doesn't take her eyes off the screen, "There are seventeen now. The police are searching for them but so far they haven't been able to find any connection between the people being taken and they don't have any leads. At least that's what they're telling us. Are they all Mythics?" I turn to the screen and watch the faces flash up on the screen, but it's impossible to tell from an image on the TV whether any of them are Mythics or not.

"According to Kellan, I guess they are. But who's to say they aren't taking humans as well? Maybe they aren't targeting Mythics. They might not even know they've taken Mythics at all." Although, an uniformed human being capable of kidnapping and holding a Mythic seemed unlikely, and seventeen? It would be impossible, Mythics have power, even a human who knew what they were dealing with would struggle.

"Maybe," Kat murmurs, turning the volume down on the TV as it turns to other news, "Do you think they're still alive?" The blood drained from my face and my heart skipped a beat at her words. If they were dead was I responsible? I shook the thought away.

"If they were dead, surely the police would have found a body, or one of the Mythics searching for them would have." I hoped so anyway.

"Maybe," she nodded, her brown eyes searching mine, "Everything okay?"

"I think I'm going to help Kellan. I'll try to find them. If it doesn't work then at least I tried and either way he won't have any reason to keep asking. We can go back to normal." I wasn't sure when I decided to help, but as the words tumbled out, I realise it's a good plan. I try to help, it likely won't help at all, why would a lone Fae succeed where entire races of Mythics had failed? And then we go back to normal. I get to have my normal, human life back.

"Are you sure you want to do that? What if he tries to drag you into more Mythic bullshit after this? If you say yes once, they're more likely to think you'll say yes again next time. I thought you wanted to stay out of it." I knew she hated them almost as much as I did, though she didn't know all the details of the battle, or have any experience with Mythics aside from me.

"I just want it to be over. I'm tired of feeling guilty for not helping them. I hate them and yet the guilt is killing me. And Kellan's sister is one of them."

"When are you going to do it? How do you do it, actually?" She switched from worried friend to intrigued scientist with barely a pause.

"I'm not sure yet. I'll have to wait until I see Kellan tonight, I'll need something to trace them with. I haven't used my power in so long, I don't even know if it will still work." My heart pounded at the thought of allowing myself to use it. I wasn't sure if it was from fear or excitement.

"Okay, well be careful. I hope it doesn't work so they leave you alone," She sighed, "And don't forget, despite what we both wish, you're still a Mythic. If they are targeting them... just watch your back okay?"

"I will, I promise. Have fun at work," I smiled and gave her a wave as she walked out the door.

My mind was occupied by thoughts of finding the missing Mythics for the rest of the day. I hesitated to reach for my power yet, hoping that if I waited until the last moment and only used it for the necessary time, that I wouldn't truly be breaking that promise to myself. To never use my power again. How could I be human if I was still using Fae power? Sure I still used the Sight to see auras but that wasn't something I could turn off, all Fae saw them. If I did this would I lose my dream of a cure? The thoughts swirled around in my head in and endless torrent until night started to darken the last of the day.

I left for work a few minutes later than usual that afternoon, and walked the three blocks from our apartment to the pub. I stood outside staring at the lettered sign over the front door 'The Lone Wolf' wondering, not for the first time, why I'd chosen the name. I flicked the keys around my fingers, hesitant to enter. Kellan wouldn't be in for an hour or two, yet stepping over the threshold felt final. Like once I entered I was committed to helping. To using my power.

I sighed and stepped forward. Unsure of my decision but knowing I couldn't stand outside forever. I'd barely taken two steps toward the door when I heard the crunch of gravel behind me. I turned unsure what anyone else would be doing out here right now, the surrounding buildings were closed for the night and The Lone Wolf wouldn't open for another twenty minutes or so. The sudden thwack across the back of my skull gave me my answer. The blinding pain in my skull only lasted half a second, and then everything went black.