Page 27 of Muted Voices (Broken Ashes #1)

W e shut up the van, leaving it in the small gravel lot, which is empty. There’s no sign that anyone else could be out here. As I step through the tree line, a shiver goes down my spine. This is not a good place, and all of my instincts are telling me that I need to leave.

I won’t though. This is my job, and if we have any hope of finding out what really happened to Navy’s brother and his best friend, not to mention stopping the fucker that’s doing this to these supes, then we need to focus and getting distracted by the bad feeling here is not something that is going to help.

“It feels like that stretch of road,” I mutter out loud as soon as the thought occurs to me.

“What?” Evander questions.

“The part of the road that I got attacked on, and then the guys got attacked too, back near my hometown,” I reply.

“Yeah, what about it?” River asks.

“Well, it's always felt wrong, like I have to move really quickly but not too quickly, or I’ll get caught. Apart from that, I have no idea what I’ll get caught by. It’s only that bit of road nowhere else. My instincts literally scream at me.” I explain.

“And it’s only on that stretch?” Reed asks me.

“Yeah, and here,” I reply, as we walk through the dense trees, “this place feels the same as that. Like I need to leave, and if I don’t, something bad will happen.”

“Do you want to go back to the van?” River asks me.

“Oh hell, no. It takes a lot more than that to scare me off and just proves that there is something here worth finding, so let's find it,” I reply firmly.

They all nod in agreement. We spend the next couple of hours searching through the trees for anything that could give us a clue as to how two relatively strong supernaturals were taken from the same area. Why this area? We manage to find a couple of scraps of fabric that we can have tested to see if they came from either supe, although River says they have the same chemical scent, so we’re pretty confident that they are connected.

“I didn’t expect to find much, I’ll admit,” Griff starts, “but I was hoping for something more. This guy just always seems to be one step ahead of us, all the damn time.”

“There’s nothing here. Or even close to here, no abandoned buildings, no tunnels, nothing. My magic isn’t picking up on anything,” Ransom states, kicking a rock and sounding thoroughly frustrated.

“At least we’ve found the fabric scraps. That’s better than nothing!” River replies, forever the optimist.

They carry on having the conversation, but I tune them out. The voices are buzzing, getting louder, and I’m trying to work out why. Whenever there is a change with the voices, I always listen because in the past, when I haven’t, things have gone very bad very quickly. I follow my instincts along with the voices further through the trees. I pick up speed as I move through them, and I’m only vaguely aware of the guys following behind me.

“What’s going on? Did you see something?” Raiden asks as he matches my pace.

“I’ve got a feeling,” I reply vaguely because I actually have no idea how else to explain what I’m feeling right now and why I’m running deeper into the woods.

“We’re right behind you,” Griff says, and any worry I had about them thinking I was weird or crazy or just not right is completely gone, and I have to admit that my heart squeezes at his words.

I follow my instincts for about ten more minutes before I suddenly come to a stop. We’re in an area of the forest that looks absolutely no different than the rest of the place, but to me it feels different, and the voices are going crazy. They don’t like it here, that’s for fucking certain.

“Neith, why did you stop?” Ransom asks.

“Because there’s something here, I can feel it, but it just looks normal,” I try to explain and then sigh, “I don’t know, maybe I’m going crazy.”

“You’re not crazy.” Van starts and then adds, “I don’t feel anything here, but that doesn’t mean that there isn’t anything here to find.”

I sigh. I feel a bit embarrassed if I’m honest, and I don’t like feeling embarrassed.

“Seriously, Neith, we believe you,” Doc reassures me, somehow knowing that I’m feeling a bit ridiculous right now.

“We’ve been out here all day, and we’ve missed lunch, and it’s now dinner. I think we should head back to the van and get out of here,” Reed suggests.

We all turn back around, away from the area that makes my voices uneasy. We’ve been walking back in the dying light for about twenty minutes when Evander speaks up.

“I didn’t want to mention it too close to that area since if there is something there, we don’t want to be overheard, but I’ve messaged Ty about it, and he’s sending three agents out to watch the area tonight. I gave them the coordinates of where you got that feeling, so if there is anything to find, they’ll find it. They should be meeting us at the van.”

I smile, “Thanks for believing me, Van. I know it doesn’t make sense, but there’s something there I just know there is.”

He shrugs, like it's not a big deal, “No problem. Even if I weren’t sure that it's your magic telling you that something is there, I’d still post agents. Your instincts were very rarely wrong when we were kids, and if you say that there’s something there, then there’s something there, and we’ve just got to find it.”

These men are going to be the death of me.

Until then, though, I wrap my arm around his waist as we walk forward and squeeze him tightly. I forgot what it was like to have unwavering support; he always used to give it to me, but he was the only one. No one since has supported me in any way, apart from Sully, but even he could only do it to a certain extent since my work and life in general only let us see each other once a month, if that. He was the only one since I walked away from Van, and now I have all of the guys and Van supporting me, and it’s a feeling that’s going to take a while to get used to.

Van holds me for a few moments before letting go, and we keep the conversation light as we trek back through the woods. I honestly hadn’t realised how far we had traveled, and my legs are aching when we finally get back to the van and see another one parked up next to ours. As soon as the agents inside see us, they hop out. They look at me curiously but don’t ask any questions as they get the information they need from Evander.

The journey home is quick, but now I’ve sat down, I realise just how painful my legs are. I really should work out more. I mean, I walked every day to Bobby’s; you would think that would mean I could walk through the woods with no problem, but the trail was uneven and twice as long, so I guess that’s why I’ve got achy legs now.

“Anyone want pizza?” River asks as we all start to split up.

“Yes please!” I reply and then add, “just get me whatever. Apparently, I’m super unfit, so I’m going to need to go and soak my muscles if I have any hope of walking like a normal person tomorrow.”

My words make them all laugh, and I chose to take the high road and flip them off.

“Your appetite seems to have tapered off over the last couple of days,” Doc says.

“You mean I’m no longer eating my body weight in food and then some,” I smirk.

“Yep.”

I just smile because there wasn’t a question in that, and I have no answer, even if there was any. “I’m going to have a bath, yell when the pizza gets here in case I’m asleep.”

“You’ve got it.” Evander says and then pauses and turns back to me, “Do you still like your usual?”

I look back over my shoulder, already halfway up the stairs, my thighs screaming at me, “Yeah, not much has changed.”

He mutters something under his breath that I don’t hear and that I’m not willing to question, at least not right now, so I let it go.

When I make it to my room, I’m cursing at how big the house is and hoping that the bath fills up quickly. For some reason, I have the feeling that I need to make sure that my muscles are loose and I’m ready. Ready for what I don’t know, but as always I’m going to listen.

Thanks to my currently limited wardrobe, I quickly find some leggings and an oversized top that are comfy and easy to move in. Why does my outfit need to be easy to move in? I think to myself as the thought registers. I’d warn the guys that my instincts are saying that something is coming, but I’ve already followed my instincts and embarrassed myself today. I’m not doing it again.

As I slide into the warm water, all of my thoughts float away, and I relax. I needed this, and I feel the tension leave me as I float happily, allowing my ears to sink below the surface so all I can hear is the water.

I wake up spluttering, water having gone into my mouth, but I don’t have time to worry about the possibility of drowning right now. We need to fucking go.

I fling my clothes on, throwing my wet hair up into a bun, and grabbing my jacket and Betty. I need Betty.

“Hey, I was just about to come and get you the pizzas here,” River says, and his smile drops as he gets a good look at me, “Wait, why do you have Betty?”

“We need to get back to the forest now. Those agents are in trouble,” I reply.

“Are you sure?”

I nod, “Absolutely.”

“Okay, let’s go,” River says, with no more questions and no hesitation.

“River! Neith!” Raiden shouts up the stairs, “We’ve got to go! Thomas just called; they’ve got movement. The call cut off before they finished, but it sounded like they were being ambushed.”

River’s wide eyes meet mine, “Holy shit. I mean, I believed you but holy fucking shit.”

“I guess I have some sort of precog ability,” I reply as we rush down the stairs, taking them two at a time.

“Are you armed?” Evander demands as we head out of the door.

I nod, “Yep.”

“How are you ready so quick?” Griff asks me as we climb in the van, and Doc’s magic starts to build.

“She met me on the landing, saying that we needed to leave right now because the agents were in trouble,” River explains.

“Wow, okay,” Griff replies, watching me closely.

Thankfully, there’s no time to talk or ask me any more questions since we’ve arrived. We all hop out of the van and draw our weapons as we check our surroundings.

“Oh no,” Raiden mutters as we walk around the side of the van and find the body of one of the agents.

Watch as Raiden crouches down next to the bloodied remains and places his hand on his forehead. It glows for a few seconds before he frowns and stands back up.

“He couldn’t tell me anything. He’s extremely confused, and his sprirt is already decaying for some reason. I’m going to have to cross him over before he decays completely and becomes a vengeful spirit, with the violent way he died, that would be dangerous,” the whole time that he speaks, he doesn’t look at me, and I can’t work out why. That is until he drops his human glamour, and standing before me is an eight-foot-tall robed creature. The hood is up, and he’s carrying the traditional scythe, but I can see his eyes, and they’re kind and comforting. I would feel comforted if he came to take me to the other side.

“So fucking cool,” I murmur, and his head snaps in my direction. I don’t look away. There’s no reason for me to; he’s not scaring me.

Turning away from me, Raiden holds a tattooed hand out to someone I can’t see. The more I study him, the more I realise that his tattoos are moving, and I’m guessing it's something that is linked with his magic. It’s definitely something that I need to ask him about later.

He disappears in a flash of light, and I look at the others, who are all smiling at me.

“Don’t worry, he’s coming back. He’s just taken the agent's spirit across.” Reed explains.

“Oh, okay,” I reply.

“I’m back,” Raiden says.

“That was quick,” I reply and then add because he looks a bit nervous, “and stupidly cool. I have lots of questions, but I acknowledge that now isn’t the best time for those questions.”

“Later,” he smiles and then tilts his head, his eyes glowing slightly, “there’s another spirit, one of the agents, further into the woods.”

“Fuck. Alright, everyone, stay focused and armed, let’s get this shit sorted.” Evander orders.

It’s wrong to think he’s crazy hot right now, right?

I refocus, and we all head into the woods, staying close together. We’re an hour in when we come across the second agent, and much like the first, Riaden says he can’t tell us anything and is decaying. He quickly crosses him over, and then we carry on. That feeling from earlier is intensifying, and I know that the guys can feel it too now because they’re all sharing a look. We’re close to where I felt that the voices led me, and they’re once again screaming in warning.

As the site comes into view, I duck just in time to avoid a bullet flying my way, and we quickly find ourselves surrounded.

“They’re coming through the gap in between those two trees,” Griff shouts as he instantly transforms and rips the head off one of the attackers.

“It’s a good damn portal,” Ransom practically growls. His hands glowing as he shoots out spells far quicker than I thought was possible.

Van uses his gift with water to fill the lungs of the attacker closest to him while simultaneously boiling the water in another one's body.

Watching them fight is fucking impressive, and I wish I could see them all in action, but I need to fucking focus.

“I see the third agent,” I call out, my eyes landing on Reed, whose snapping necks, his magic strangely calm.

I watch in horror as the agent is dragged through the portal, and my feet move to try and get to him before he fully crosses over. I’m too late though, and there’s a flash of light that follows after he’s gone through.

“The portals closed!” one of the fuckers we’re shouting yells.

This makes them fight harder, and I once again find myself moving out of the way, but this time it’s from claws. I grab Betty and shoot, having a moment of panic that I didn’t load her before the shifter drops to the floor dead.

“Betty, darling, I don’t know how you’re producing silver bullets, but keep it up,” I tell her, not caring if I sound crazy.

The numbers are starting to dwindle, but not enough. There are still so many, and while I’m fighting as hard as I can, I am taking hits. Thankfully, nothing is broken, at least not yet. I’m quite enjoying it, that is, until I see someone in the trees to my left.

They have a sharp blade in their hand; it glints in the moonlight, and below the branch is Reed, fighting against two shifters, a vamp, and, I think, some kind of siren that’s nowhere near as strong as Van. I can see the intention, and I know that he’s about to drop down on Reed while Reed is distracted fighting all the other attackers. He’s going to die. I can see it, I can fucking feel it, and I won’t fucking allow it.

I move, dodging and weaving through the attackers and the other guys. I see it in slow motion as the guy drops from the tree, the knife ready to pierce through Reed’s back and into his heart. There is very little chance that he could survive that, no matter what kind of supe he is.

I have to get there in time. Suddenly, the world flashes past me, and I see the shock in the attacker's eyes as his knife plunges into my heart, and my own knife stabs into his. I smile. The pain is overwhelming, but I did it. Reed is safe.

As I crumble to the floor though, I can’t help but think, why does he sound so mad? Before I can figure it out, my heart stops, and the darkness welcomes me.

River

“N eith!” I practically scream as I watch the knife plunge into her heart, too far away to get to her in time.

Reed’s eyes widen in fear, and he snaps the neck of the person he was fighting like it’s a damn toothpick and follows my gaze, turning around in time to see her crumple to the floor, a dead supe next to her and for some damned reason a smile on her lips.

There’s a knife protruding from her chest.

There’s no way she’s survived that. Unable to stop it, a wave of immense grief crashes over me, and I howl. My sound of pain is joined by the cries of my brothers as they realise what has happened. My gaze finds Reed, and he’s dropped all pretense; he’s let the side of him out that he never does. His eyes glow with actual flames as leathery wings arch behind him. His roar is deafening, bringing me to my knees and then pushing me lower so my stomach is on the floor. I’m unable to move his magic, pinning me down.

Fuck.

Fuck.

He hasn’t lost control like this, ever.

Fortunately, I’ve landed so that he’s in my eyeline. I watch as he lifts his hand and clicks; all of the supes that were attacking us explode into tiny bloody bits.

Holy fucking shit, I had no idea he was capable of that. I am incredibly glad that he is still aware enough not to evaporate us too. I watch as he moves to Neith’s side. I’d worry that he could hurt, but I know him too well, and the care that he’s showing as he kneels beside her and hangs his head shows that there is not a single part of him that could hurt her.

“Reed, you need to let your brothers get to Neith,” the familiar sound of Winston commands. There is no acknowledgment from Reed, and I feel an unfamiliar flare of magic as Winston commands firmly, “Now, Reed.”

Suddenly, his magic releases, and I jump up along with the others, and we all rush over to them.

“She’s dead,” Reed’s voice is hollow, and his magic is still free. I can feel it though, and it's fucking sad, like all of us.

I can’t even describe the level of fucking devastation that I’m feeling right now and anger.

“No,” Evander mutters. Although the sound is somewhat defeated, he knows she’s gone. We all do.

“She saved me,” Reed’s voice is broken, “why the fuck would she save me?”

“I can’t fucking find her spirit,” Raiden growls.

“What do you mean?” Griff asks, his voice a low rumble, his gargoyle on full show, in fact, I realise that none of us are in any kind of glamour, and we’re all kicking out a fuck load of power right now.

I don’t care.

“I mean, as soon as I realised she was gone, I tried to find her spirit. I thought, I don’t know what I fucking thought, but it’s not fucking there,” Raiden replies, his voice strained as he stares at her.

“That’s impossible.” Ransom argues.

“No, it’s fucking not,” Winston interrupts, and before any of us can say anything else, he adds, “Ransom, I need you to put a shield up around us. The strongest fucking one that you have ever even thought of. It needs to be completely unpenetrable to magic or any physical hits, and it needs to be completely soundproofed. Do it now.”

There’s something about the way that Winston has requested it that has Ransom doing as he asked. He creates layers and layers of wards and spells, weaving them together and using words to strengthen them before he claps his hands together. As he pulls them apart, a golden glowing ball of magic surrounds our group, including under our feet. All I can see is the glowing light, and I can no longer see the forest anymore, just us.

Seeing her in the light with the knife protruding from her chest, the blood pooling around her body, and her face pale hits me with another wave of grief, and I feel a tear track down my face.

“Now we wait,” Winston says, watching Neith closely, a tightness around his eyes.

“For what?” Reed demands.

“Is that knife moving?” I ask, sure that the grief is making me crazy.

“What the fuck?” Doc growls.

We all drop to the floor, kneeling around her as we watch in stunned silence as the knife is pushed out of her body.

“Are you doing this?” Evander asks Doc.

Doc shakes his head, “I wish, but I can’t bring back the dead. She was gone before I could do anything.”

“It’s not me either before you ask,” Winston says.

We fall silent as we watch in morbid fascination as the knife pushes further and further out of her body and then pulls out completely, floating in the air before moving to the side and dropping to the floor.

Her eyes open, her chest moving up and down, the wound over her heart healing as she props herself up on her elbows and groans.

“Fucking hell, I will never get used to being stabbed in the heart,” she says, like she wasn’t just dead, she smiles at us, a smile I never thought I’d see again, and says, “I could really do with that pizza right about now.”

“What the fuck.” Several of us say together.