Page 29 of Purrfectly Peculiar Pixie: Phlox's Story (Perfect Pixie Series Book 5)

Phlox

My ears rang with Phil’s wail, but that pain was nothing compared to Sedrick’s howl. That howl quickly magnified when Dillon and Ruthie joined their uncle’s horror-stricken one.

“Phil!” Peaches darted to his friend’s side. Phil was on the ground his body contorted into the fetal position, his arms wrapped around his middle and fingers balled into the fabric covering his heart.

“Phil. Baby, tell me what’s happening.” Sedrick grabbed his mate, hauling him onto his lap and holding him close. On his knees, Sedrick rocked Phil, pushing pink strands of hair away from Phil’s pale, sweaty face. Ruthie licked the sweat away while Dillon frantically paced, unsure what to do.

“Moon goddess, he’s… I can feel our bond breaking. It’s shredding, thread by thread.” Sedrick choked on a sob. His body shook as tears fell on Phil’s face. Wings limp, Phil lay there, unable to speak. Frantic trembling shook his body.

“Ambrose!” Vander screamed. “Stop this. No amount of money is worth this.” Vander pointed at Phil and his surrounding family. “You’re killing him.”

Ambrose stood there, eyes wide as he took in the fruits of his labor. The warlock almost looked shocked, as if he hadn’t expected his efforts to work this well. Or maybe he simply hadn’t contemplated what breaking a pixie bond truly meant.

A torrent of fire flew from Ray, aimed directly at Ambrose. The fire slid through Peaches’s barrier, Ray’s aim true. Janus stepped in front of Ambrose, blocking the deadly fire.

Arie Belview was the only one enjoying the scene, glee in his manic eyes. Burning wolf-bright, those eyes glowed amber. “Wishes are beautiful, especially with a djinn backing them up. Janus was instructed to protect Ambrose.”

Janus appeared curious but otherwise bored. Most of Arie Belview’s pack stood there, horrified expressions haunting their gaunt faces.

“You’re welcome to step outside the barrier.” Arie threw his hands wide. “Maybe I’ll make a different wish this time. Without Janus’s protection, Ambrose is easing pickings.”

Ambrose jumped back, eyes flying impossibly wide upon realizing he’d been demoted to bait.

“How in the hell did Ambrose’s casting get past Peaches’s barrier?” Parsnip asked Vander.

“The casting itself wasn’t aimed at an individual, but a magical bond. Peaches’s barrier probably didn’t see it as a threat.” Vander’s jaw ground and his fists tightened. I had an idea what was coming. So did Parsnip.

“Don’t you dare,” Parsnip ordered. “As soon as you step outside that barrier, you’re dead. You know that.”

“And if I do nothing, then Phil’s dead. Sedrick will follow. This is warlock business. It’s my responsibility.”

Parsnip flew high, staring Vander in the eyes. “Then I’m going with you.”

“No, you—”

“Shut up! I’m going with you.” Tears rolled down Parsnip’s cheeks. With fisted hands, Parsnip wiped them away. I stepped closer to Leon’s side. He wasn’t necessarily warm, but Leon’s touch was soothing.

“This can’t be happening,” I muttered. Leon said nothing but I caught the mutual glance he shared with Lucroy. I knew what was coming and wanted to find an argument against it but couldn’t. It was the right decision.

“I’m not letting you go out there alone either, so don’t even think about telling me to stay put,” I said before Leon could verbalize his and Lucroy’s silently brewing plan.

Leon’s lips tilted into a barely there smile. “I would not dream of doing so, beloved.”

Despite the situation, or maybe because of it, my chest warmed. “Damn right.” Blowing out a deep breath, I said, “If we’re doing this, we better get to it.”

Turning in unison, we walked to Vander’s side. Lucroy was by Leon’s side. Peaches was still by Phil’s tortured and fading body. Time was running out.

“Are we ready?” Ray asked.

“No,” Parsnip answered. “But when has that ever stopped us from doing something immensely stupid?”

“Never,” Vander answered. “Gaia, I love you,” he said, voice low.

Parsnip clasped Vander’s hand, entwining their fingers. Leon’s hand found its way into mine. Wendall was by Ray’s side, Trinket on his shoulder, gaping maw open, rows of teeth on full display.

“Feel free to rip out as many throats as you want,” Wendall instructed Trinket.

“I do not think that will be necessary. Yet.” Aurelia’s voice echoed none of the surrounding chaos and pain. “I believe this is who you want.” Aurelia stood there in her ripped jeans, combat boots, tank top and flannel shirt, one shoulder bare to the humid summer night air. Pushing Ambrose forward, the warlock stumbled, nearly falling on his knees.

“Holy shit,” I stammered, mouth open. Leon slid a single finger beneath my chin, closing my gaping jaw.

“Aurelia?” Wendall asked, gaze flicking from the djinn to the warlock she’d neatly snatched.

Aurelia’s narrowed eyes scanned each and every one of us. “I am fulfilling Peaches’s earlier wish,” she simply answered, and yet, that explained nothing.

“My beloved made a wish?” Lucroy sounded just as confused as the rest of us.

“He wished for me to do what I wanted,” Aurelia stated.

It was a dangerous wish. I wondered if Peaches understood just how dangerous.

Phil’s fresh scream sliced through our inaction. When Ray took a step forward, flaming sword held high, Vander placed a hand on his arm and said, “I’ve got this.” Striding forward, Vander’s darkened fingers flew through the air at lightning speed. “Better warlock my ass. Young, stupid, and dangerous is more like it.” Done with his casting, Vander slammed a hand into its center. The diamond holding Ambrose’s spell shattered, glimmering pieces falling to the ground like sparkling rain.

Phil’s cries subsided into heart-wrenching whimpers until an even more disturbing silence took hold. Dillon’s and Ruthie’s echoing whines added unwelcome background music.

Safe for now, we crowded around the Voss werewolf pack. Arie’s screams of fury sounded from outside Peaches’s boundary. Ignoring his growing ire, all our concern was for Phil. He still appeared horribly ashen, and his skin was slicked with cooling sweat. I could hear the frantic beat of his heart, the rhythm far too rapid.

Dillon shifted, naked as the day he was born. Kneeling beside Phil, Dillon ran his fingers through pink strands of hair. It was the only part of Phil that didn’t look faded.

“Uncle Sed…” Dillon’s lower lip wobbled. He was still a child. Ruthie too. They’d already suffered the loss of their mother and father. The fear wafting off the young shifters was palpable. “Is Phil…?” Dillon couldn’t finish that scary sentence.

Sedrick gripped Phil tight, but the pixie remained unconscious and limp. “He’s going to be fine, Dillon.” Ruthie nuzzled in, licking Phil’s face again. Sedrick’s fingers fisted her fur. “He’s going to be just fine.”

I noticed the tremble in Sedrick’s arm. Phil wasn’t the only one physically suffering. They were essentially double mated. Sedrick’s wolf had claimed Phil and Phil’s home-and-hearth pixie nature had bonded to Sedrick. While Phil had suffered the brunt of the blow, Sedrick wasn’t well either.

“Philodendron needs to go home,” Ray said.

Peaches’s wings fluttered, spreading golden-yellow dust. “Ray’s right. We need to get Phil back to his home. Sedrick, Dillon, and Ruthie need to go too. Phil’s bonded to all of them. He’ll stand the best chance if he’s surrounded by that bond. It will help heal him, just like my land heals me.”

“I’ll take him,” Wendall said, pulling our attention to him. “I’ve been working with my fairy side. I can create a portal. Ray should stay here. He’s better in a fight than me.” Swallowing hard, Wendall’s gaze latched onto Ray’s. “I don’t want to leave you, but I think I should stay with them. If something happens, they’ll need a quick exit and—”

“And your plan is sound,” Ray answered, skimming his fingers through Wendall’s wavy blond strands of hair.

“Trinket should stay with you. She’ll give ’em hell.”

“I would be honored to fight alongside the scuttlebutt.” Without further prodding, Trinket hopped from Wendall’s shoulder to Ray’s. Her prehensile tail immediately wrapped around Ray’s arm, holding tight. Twittering, Trinket sounded distressed.

“It’ll be okay.” Wendall scratched her side. “I’ll see you soon. Right now, I need to get Phil home.”

Legs shaking, Sedrick picked up Phil, cradling him in his arms and close to his chest. “I’m sorry. I want to stay, but—”

“Take care of Philodendron,” Lucroy said. “And yourself. Allow us the pleasure of dispatching Arie Belview. You have already paid enough for his trespasses. Let your pack carry some of your burden.”

Sedrick sucked in a harsh breath. “An alpha never had a better pack. Pixies, vampires, warlocks, fairies, humans, dwarves… No alpha has ever been prouder, or more grateful. Thank you, Lucroy.”

Stepping beside his king, Leon answered, “It is our pleasure, Alpha Voss.”

“Ditto on that,” Vander answered. “And don’t worry about Ambrose. He’s out for the count. Activating that shitty charm took a lot out of him. When I shattered the damn thing, Ambrose went down like a sack of potatoes. He’ll be out for a long time and when he does come around, he’ll wish he were still out cold.” With a head shake, Vander lamented, “Damn waste of talent.”

“Bye, Ray.” Going up on tiptoes, Wendall planted a heated kiss on Ray’s lips. “Don’t do anything stupid. If you do, Aunt Silvidia will kick your ass. And if she doesn’t, then I will.” With a final squeeze, Wendall’s fingers trailed down Ray’s arm before those same fingers lifted, creating an atmospheric tear. With the support of Dillon and Ruthie, Sedrick carried Phil across the threshold.

Before they could vanish completely, Dillon yelled into the forest, “Come on, Shawn.” The smaller gray wolf darted from the orchard edge, disappearing behind Dillon right before the tear closed.

With the loss of the wolves and Wendall, our numbers significantly dwindled. Peaches shivered, rubbing his hands up and down his arms. The balmy summer night wasn’t the cause of his chills. When I saw him physically flinch, I knew he was in pain too.

“Beloved?” Lucroy’s hands took hold of Peaches, stilling his actions. “What is wrong?”

Peaches grabbed his forehead. “He’s trying to break through.” When Peaches raised his head, his eyes were pinched, and deep grooves marred his forehead. “Arie won’t succeed, but what he’s doing doesn’t feel good.”

Lucroy’s neck popped, unnaturally twisting from side to side. Talons erupted from his fingers, their touch whisper soft against Peaches’s exposed skin.

“You realize he won’t stop,” Vander bluntly said. “This time it was Phil. Next time it will be Byx or one of your nestmates. Maybe Johnny or Lizbeth. Arie will keep dangling carrots just outside Peaches’s barrier, attempting to lure us out and pick us off one at a time. And while he’s doing that, he’ll make Peaches’s life as hellaciously painful as possible.”

“The warlock is correct,” Aurelia said plainly. “Rarely have I seen a soul as dark as that alpha’s. His core is rotten, and he spreads that rot like a disease. Janus will be all too happy to aid in that endeavor.” Aurelia’s gaze was distant, staring into the night. “There is only one thing Janus values more than death and destruction.”

I started to ask what that was, but Aurelia had already walked away, headed toward the edge of Peaches’s barrier.

“Aurelia,” Peaches yelled after her. “I wish for you to protect yourself.” Peaches bit his bottom lip and scratched at his arms. I knew what the order cost him and yet he’d done it for Aurelia. Djinn had little power if not under the direct command of a wish.

Twisting her head just enough to see her grin, Aurelia said, “Your wish is appreciated and shall be enacted without hesitation.”

“What’s she doing?” Parsnip asked, hovering closer to me.

“I’ve no idea,” I answered. “Any thoughts, Peaches?”

“No, but Arie pulled his pack back. They aren’t trying to breach my barrier any longer so I’m grateful.” When I glanced at Peaches, he was slumped against Lucroy’s side.

“You really wished for Aurelia to ‘do as she liked’?” Vander asked.

“I did. It seemed the right thing to do. It’s the closest I can come to giving her a modicum of freedom,” Peaches answered.

“Beloved, Aurelia herself said it is unwise to free her.”

“Yeah, I know. I just… I can’t stomach thinking of anyone enslaved like that. It’s wrong.”

“No argument here,” Vander agreed. “It’s just a dangerous gambit, that’s all.”

Leon’s lean body stiffened, and his fingers tightened against my side. “Yeah, I know,” I said, confirming his silent agreement with Vander.

Ray remained eerily quiet. Trinket shifted on his shoulder—a coiled snake ready to strike. I wanted to ask what he was thinking, but I swallowed my words when Aurelia reached the edge of Peaches’s boundary and spoke.

“Is this the path you truly desire, Janus?” Aurelia asked.

Janus walked forward, stopping just on the other side of the barrier. Arie’s face flushed and his cheeks puffed. Lips pulled into a snarl, I figured it was killing him that Janus made a move without his specific authorization.

Janus’s gaze slipped past Aurelia, staring each and every one of us down. “I’d say you’ve gone soft, but you always were the weakest of us.” Janus’s beefy arms crossed over his chest. “You lack the necessary instincts to do what’s required.”

Aurelia tilted her head to the side. With her back to us, I couldn’t see her expression, but her voice was bland when she answered, “I rarely saw the necessity in what was required of me. Only the waste of it all.” Hands stuffed into the deep pockets of her camo pants, Aurelia rolled her shoulders. “As a courtesy to one of my own, I will offer this warning: Djinn are not as indestructible as once imagined. I was asked to speak with you, to see if there was any hope of salvaging your current state. If so, then every effort will be made to preserve you. If not…” Aurelia shrugged. “The choice is yours.”

Janus gave an expectedly suspicious smirk. “A new low, even for you. We are too powerful to have use of lies.”

“I am well aware.”

Janus’s smirk temporarily fell but it returned with frightening speed when Arie said, “Janus, I wish for you to do everything in your power to destroy Peaches’s barrier. Use whatever means. Kill anyone not associated with me or my pack.”

Janus’s grin widened into a teeth-revealing smile. “With pleasure, master.”

Hands spread wide, Janus stared Aurelia in the eyes as the ground beneath our feet shook. Anyone with wings took to the air. Leon’s legs widened, bracing himself.

“Goddess, he’s ripping apart the ground,” Peaches gasped.

“I’ll dig deeper than your precious boundary. And when I find the end, I’ll lift the earth, tipping it upside down and destroying the land you love.” The glee lighting Janus’s words shivered down my spine, shaking me more than the ground.

“Do not say I did not warn you, Janus,” Aurelia said before she winked out, disappearing into the night. In her place stood a wholly different creature. Aurelia brought the necromancer onto the playing field.

Head bent and shoulders rounded, Erasmus deeply sighed and said, “I’d hoped it wouldn’t come to this.”

Erasmus. Necromancer. Untested and untried savior. Our only hope had finally shown. I slid my fingers under Leon’s shoulders, ready to pull him off the ground. I wasn’t certain my small body could hold him aloft. What I was certain of was I would expend every ounce of will to make sure I kept Leon safe.

My fingers tightened when Erasmus showed, gripping just shy of pain. “Goddess, is he really going to—”

“I believe he is,” Leon answered. “The question is, will it truly work?”

Regardless, the ground steadied as Janus got his first look at a necromancer. Head cocked to the side, Janus asked, “What are you?”

“Something you haven’t seen before. Something that didn’t exist when you were made.” Raising his head, Erasmus’s dark, sweat-laden hair matted against his neck. “To be fair, I’d never met a djinn before Aurelia. It was a rather eye-opening experience.”

Arie’s temper flared. “I did not wish you to talk the enemy to death. I told you to destroy Peaches’s barrier.”

Janus’s eyes narrowed and his jaw ticked. “I will fulfill your wish in due time.”

“You will do it now!” Arie shot forward, grabbing Janus’s arm and attempting to twirl the djinn his direction. “I’ve waited long enough. I’ve been mocked and disregarded, and I’ll have no more. I am Alpha Arie Belview, and I will have my revenge.” Arie’s bellow rattled the surrounding trees. Most of his pack cringed, rolling in on themselves in an attempt to appear smaller and less noticeable.

“I’m afraid you’re going to have to wait a little longer, Alpha Belview,” Erasmus calmly said. “To answer Janus’s earlier question, I’m a necromancer and—”

“I don’t give a shit what you are,” Arie slung back.

“You should.” Erasmus’s tone was deadly quiet. “You should care a great deal.”

Arie’s mouth snapped, his eyeteeth slipping past the edge of his lips.

“Despite being a necromancer, or maybe because of it, I value life a great deal. I don’t take lives; I bring them back, temporary as those lives might be.” Erasmus’s inhale lifted his shoulders. “Janus, a great and terrible wrong was done to you. To all djinn. I wasn’t certain, just from meeting Aurelia, but now that I’ve had a chance to feel you out, I’m surer than ever. Your life was stolen from you, woven into an object that has kept you trapped. The good news is that I’m about to free you from that trap. The bad news is that I’m not at all certain what that will do to you. I’ll apologize ahead of time if you find the experience painful.”

Only now realizing the potential danger, Janus retreated a step. “You’re lying.”

“I don’t think so. If I am, then it’s not intentional. Either way, let’s find out together.”

Without further conversation, Erasmus raised one hand and said, “Ah, there you are. Time to come home.” The faintest glow lit the area in front of Erasmus’s outstretched hand. Seconds ticked by and I thought perhaps we’d all overestimated what Erasmus was capable of. That fear dissipated when Janus’s mouth opened in a silent scream. Head thrown back, body contorting, Janus’s body lunged forward, as if being shot in the back.