Page 114 of Solar Shadows

“I’m being serious. I want back in.” He pointed afinger at me. “To get my hands on the controls. Without you, there is no way of making this work.”

I threw another Trip spell at him. He barely rocked.

“Give it up, Isaac. There’s no way you can stop a train with no brakes. This can only end one way.”

“What a shame you’re tied to the tracks this train is on,” I tossed back.

He laughed, his people doing the same. The tips of their crystals sparkled.

“It’s sinful to desecrate a Hecate Crystal,” I said. “Did you destroy the garden at The Coral?”

He patted his belly, then tugged on the threads. It seemed we were at a stalemate here. I wasn’t budging, and neither was he. Meaning I just had to ride this out until I figured out how to bring the runaway train down on his head.

Whatever he meant to do with me wouldn’t go his way.

But why the belly rub?

“Are you saying you’ve been eating Hecate Crystals?” I asked.

Horrible understanding landed. “You…you have been, haven’t you?” It made sense as to why he was now part-witch, part wereleopard. An extreme course of action taken to make the magic possible, like the blood rituals of shadow spells.

A sickly bubble popped in the back of my throat.

Tony glanced at the house. “I’m becoming, Isaac.Eating the crystals is changing me, giving me access to power you can only dream of.”

This wasn’t happening.

“But I need your help. I need you to bring the next stage in my evolution.”

How was he eating them? He couldn’t just break one off and chow down on it like beef jerky. There must be some insane method he’d been using to make them digestible.

Another gross bubble popped.

“Let me lay this on the table for you,” he began. “After all, I want to be honest with the man I love.”

What a sickening thing to hear from a twisted lunatic.

“Sort of,” he added with a chuckle. “There’s no time for a full discussion, but know that I found a way to consume the crystals and absorb the power to become new. You know, like how Kane Kingwood made a new form of magic? Now it’s my turn.” He rolled his neck. “I’m becoming all things.” He nodded at Blood House. “This is the next stage.”

My brain ached with horror. “You’re stealing the essence of other creatures to what? Become Frankenstein’s monster?”

He didn’t take that well, his face twisting with fury. “Don’t talk shit, babe. I’m beyond anything your tiny mind can comprehend.”

Didn’t supervillains always say something to that effect? “What’s the endgame?”

He grinned. “You’re made of true sunlight. Thesefigures aren’t you, only replicas to mess you up a bit. Helping to grant me access to your magnificence.”

He’d seriously lost the plot.

“So either you go and kick the door down yourself and kill the vampires in there, or let me back in so I can do it.”

My belly went heavy with an iron presence. “You want…you…” Oh, shit. “I—” My brain couldn’t string words together to make a complete sentence.

“The essence of Shania, the head vampire of Coldharbour, is what I need. Her energy inside me will take me to the next level. She’s the head of a clan in one of the most magical cities on Earth. And difficult to kill. You know how vampires are. This is where you come in.”

This didn’t make sense to me, other than he’d lost it and was dangerous and wanted me to kill for him.

Absolutely fucking not!