Discovery of a Queen: Chapter 4

I usher all of the gathered shifters and witches home, not wanting anyone out when we have no idea where the hell this strange lion came from. Olivia takes several of our most talented trackers to the forest around town to search for any sign of how this guy got into our community without anyone noticing. I assign several witches to scour the area as well, trying to see if there is any magical residue. Kelly takes the shifter back to the infirmary for more healing.

I want answers. None of this sits right with me, and my dragon is practically burning me from the inside, trying to get out and maul the shit out of whoever dared threaten our community. It unsettles me that there isn’t a trace of anything in the area. Shifters can’t just pop in like—oh, fuck. I’m so . So fucking stupid.

, my dragon rumbles, a growl rising in my throat.

.

Which doesn’t make any bloody sense. I pull lightly on the ends of my hair, pacing up and down the street as I think. So witches helped this shifter get into our town. How? Why? Especially in the condition he was in when he arrived. Something did that to him and someone wanted him alive, so they sent him to us. But why?

I close my eyes, inhaling deeply as I release the tight hold I have on my magic. My coven members haven’t been able to detect anything, neither has Olivia. Both parties are keeping in contact through our shared bonds. I clearly need to bring out the big guns, no more playing around. If they can’t get answers, I will. I let my magic flow out of me, allowing it a minute to rejoice in being free before giving it its task.

I relax my body, dropping my hands by my sides and allowing my head to fall back. I give myself over to the magic, permitting it free rein to find any scrap of information it can. Like a heat-seeking missile, my magic homes in on anything that isn’t familiar, anything that isn’t part of this community. I’ve gotten to know the community so well, even in the short time I’ve been alpha, that weeding through foreign magic is easier than I thought it would be.

It doesn’t take long before a chill runs down my spine. My magic appears as a cascading kaleidoscope of colors shining brightly regardless of the lighting outside. It shimmers and moves with a fluidity that suggests it’s always thrilled to be useful. What my magic finds, however, is black and feels like sludge when my power touches it, causing me to gag. I wrap my arms around myself. It feels as though I’ve been plunged into an ice bath, my head held beneath the surface. I know what this is.

Kelly’s head snaps up as I burst through the door of the infirmary. She’s a bit paler than she was an hour ago, so the shifter must be in worse shape than he appeared, which doesn’t seem possible. She’s used a lot of magic to try to get him through the worst of it then. But if I’m right, those wounds are going to take a long time, even for a shifter, to heal. Which is bad, so very, very bad.

“Demons.”

Her eyes go wide. “Come again?” She looks around the room, her body tense as though she’s waiting for an attack at any minute.

“Demons.” I can’t seem to make myself form a coherent sentence. Every instinct screams at me to shift, hunt, fight, and protect. I stalk over to the still unconscious lion shifter, a growl rumbling through my chest. Kelly eases away from him as I draw closer, not wanting to stand in my way. She knows that I’m protecting the community now, and if this shifter has any will to live, he’s going to tell me everything he knows.

“He’s led them straight to us.” My accusation rings with fury. “I need answers. I have to find out how much time we have before they get here.” Rage floods my system, sending fire surging through my veins and causing my heart to flutter wildly. My dragon screeches inside my head, grappling for control so we can take to the skies.

. The room goes out of focus as I train my eyes solely on the lion shifter in front of me. He may not be able to physically answer me, but he will still give me what I want. Making up my mind, knowing what I’m about to do is insane and dangerous, I stride over to the shifter. My community will not be unprepared for a demon attack. Over my dead body.

“Ayla, wha—” Kelly stops speaking when I touch the shifter’s head, placing my palms on his temples. Everything disappears as I dive into the shifter’s mind.

Jonas. His name is Jonas. Good. I push deeper, sending my magic into his brain like little ants running through an anthill. Each tendril of magic has a specific purpose—seek out any information Jonas’s mind has about demons. It’s a complicated process, since memories are stored differently in each person, some by feeling, some by time, some by people, any way that makes sense to that individual. So finding the information I want can be exceedingly difficult. Under normal circumstances, I would never think to dive into someone else’s mind. Not only is it an invasion of privacy, but I also run the risk of permanently damaging the mind I’m diving into. Neither of those things matters right now. All that matters is finding out how close the demons are so I can keep my people safe.

Holy. Shit.

Kelly has a glass of water thrust under my face when I finish with Jonas, but I can’t make myself reach for it, my arms tingling as though they’ve fallen asleep. I’m weak, but the adrenaline that courses through my veins from what I’ve just learned is pushing aside the worst of the effects of the mind dive. I don’t care about the consequences of the act, it’s both illegal, according to the Council, and causes extreme physical pain because of how magic is tied to the soul. Diving into a person’s mind quickly saps the diver’s magic, draining their soul in the process. If you drain too much magic too quickly, you can easily shred a person’s soul. But this was worth the risk. I needed to know if he led demons right to our doorstep. I stare numbly at Jonas, watching his chest rise and fall. I have no idea how to take what I found in his head. I can’t even feel my dragon stir, she’s too shocked as well.

We are so fucked.

No. No, I can’t think like that. I won’t think like that. I scrub my face with my hands, frantic to come up with some semblance of a plan. One that won’t get everyone killed would be a huge bonus. It’s times like now I seriously question my sanity when I challenged Morgan. Then again, they’d still be in this position, and having Morgan at the helm would have gotten every shifter in his pack slaughtered.

“Ayla,” Kelly murmurs softly. She’s trying not to startle me. I want to throw my head back and ugly cackle at the thought. After what I just learned, nothing will startle me again for quite some time.

. My dragon comes roaring back, flooding my system with magic and fire.

She’s right. At least for the moment. I have a decision to make. One that hopefully won’t risk the safety of the entire community.

“Jonas” —I gesture to the shifter on the bed— “is part of the Council. Or employed by the Council, I think is a better way to put it.” Kelly’s eyes go wide as they bounce between Jonas and me. Olivia comes slamming into the room, her eyes glowing, ready to shift and fight. She’s panting, clearly having just sprinted from the woods outside of town to the infirmary, which is in the heart of town, one of the most defensible spots aside from the packhouse.

“I felt…” She stops, looking at the three of us. “What’s happened?”

“Ayla dove into Jonas’s mind.” Kelly’s still staring at me, waiting for me to share what I learned or for me to pass out. Probably both.

“Who the fuck is Jonas?”

Kelly gestures to the unconscious shifter in response.

“What did you find out?” Olivia’s focus turns to me.

The weight of both their gazes settles on me. Strangely, it doesn’t rattle me. Instead, it soothes me, making me feel more confident about what needs to be done. Making me feel stronger.

, my dragon whispers.

“He’s employed by the Council. He was sent here by them.” They’re both staring at me, waiting for me to continue. “The Council is under attack.”

“Demons,” Kelly whispers. She instantly flies into motion, gathering medical supplies from around the room, quietly muttering to herself.

“How the hell do you know it’s demons?” Olivia sounds alarmed as she starts pacing the room.

“

know it’s demons. I felt their tainted aura with my magic. I thought…” I look down at Jonas then back at Olivia. “I thought Jonas had led them right to us. But he hasn’t. He was sent here, both as a warning and to seek help.”

I stand, Olivia stops pacing, and Kelly moves closer to my side, her arms filled with potions and bandages. I take a few deep breaths, a plan forming in the back of my head. It’s stupid, so insanely stupid, but it’s the only thing that’s going to work against what I saw in Jonas’s mind.

“The Council is being attacked by a legion led by an archdemon.”

“I’m sorry,” Olivia all but shouts, “but I could have sworn you just said a legion of demons led by an archdemon is currently attacking the Council.

Council.”

My tone is grim when I reply, “That’s right. They’re in the Rocky Mountains. They were visiting another pack that was having trouble with missing members when they were ambushed. Jonas was sent to us. As far as he knows, things weren’t looking good.”

Shocked silence rings through the room, both of my betas are too stunned to say anything. I can’t just sit here though. I need to act as quickly as possible. I may have come up with a dumb idea, but I was born for this, it’s my very reason for existing. And if I can take out even one of those motherfuckers, it’ll make my life that much better. I stride toward the door, Olivia and Kelly falling into step just behind me.

“What are we going to do?” Kelly asks.

“We’re going to kill as many of those assholes as we can. And I’m going to kill myself an archdemon.”

At my command, Olivia and Kelly have regathered the community, this time outside the packhouse, while I finalize my plan. I wanted to keep myself hidden from the Council, even after becoming alpha, but that’s not possible now. So I may as well let those dicks on the Council know about me in the most spectacular fashion possible. I’m going to do their job for them. I’m going to take down one of the baddest motherfuckers around because I’m the bigger badass. I look out at the shifters and witches assembled around me. If I can’t do this, they’ll be next. I won’t let that happen. My dragon roars her agreement. She’s eager to head into battle, our instincts screaming at us to rain fire down on all those who would threaten our community. She wants to roar to the heavens so demons and supernaturals alike will know that a queen is in town and she isn’t taking prisoners.

“Form groups. I need the strongest ward casters to stand to the right, the berserkers to the left. The healers need to form two units, those who can heal quickly and those who have a slower healing rate. I need my fighters front and center. Everyone else, you’re to stay here at the packhouse, we’re going to need you when we get back.”

Murmurs break out, but everyone does as they’re told. The adults who are staying behind herd the children into the packhouse, not wanting them involved. I glance over at Kelly. She’s looking better than when I first came to see Jonas, which is good. She’s strong, and I don’t want to go into this shitshow without her. I nod as I look out at the community. We may just be able to pull this off, especially if the Council is still fighting. But we don’t have much time, we need to get out of here fast.

“Kelly, take several of the strongest portal casters to the center of town.” I hand her a piece of paper. “This is where we need to go, but don’t open the portals until I say so. We don’t want to let anything in.” Kelly nods, taking a handful of individuals and moving off toward the center of town. I know she’ll tell them what’s going on, leaving me to explain to everyone else.

“The shifter we found is an employee of the Council.” The murmurs all die at once. “The Council was checking on another pack when they were attacked by a legion of demons.” This is the hard part. “And an archdemon.” The murmurs start back up again, so I raise my hands to silence everyone. “All I need you to do is hold the legion off while I take out the archdemon. I can do it, I’m a queen.”

As I watch, amazed and stunned, my shifters and witches all step forward, their hands over their hearts. They’re ready to die if need be, but I don’t want that to happen, and I’m going to do everything in my power to make sure that as many of these amazing people make it home as possible.

“Once Kelly and the others have established portals to our location, I want the witches who can ward to go through first along with the berserkers. Establish a perimeter around the portals.” My gaze focuses on the witches, then the berserkers. “Don’t let any demon through those portals.” They rush off to join Kelly’s crew.

“Those with slower healing powers, stay on this side of the portals. You’ll need to coordinate with the remaining community members to ensure proper care for those who come back injured. As you know, demon wounds heal slower even with the help of magic, so make sure you’re prioritizing correctly. Those with faster healing abilities are going to set up around the portals. I want you to triage, ensuring that everyone who goes through the portals will be able to make it to the other side alive. Don’t focus your efforts on anyone who doesn’t seem that wounded, send them straight through.” They all nod and break away, heading to their respective areas.

“Now my fighters.” They all stand a little straighter. “Half of you are going to stay here. We need you to protect the town. The other half is coming with us, following up behind the berserkers. Help them hold the line long enough for me to do what I need to. Once the archdemon is down, the legion should scatter.” And like that, we’re ready for war. The fighters divide themselves and rush off to their designated positions.

Olivia looks over at me, studying my face. I’ve shut down the bond, so I can’t tell what she’s thinking. I’m not sure I want to know. The expression on her face tells me she isn’t happy. I haven’t specifically given her orders and for a damn good reason. But she’s going to be pissed.

“I need you to stay here,” I whisper. “If I fail, I can’t have both of my betas killed along with me. You have to stay here in case the worst happens. The others will look to you for direction.”

She opens her mouth to argue, thinks better of it, then nods. “Fine. I’ll stay. But if you get your ass killed, I’m going to find a way to bring you back and kill you myself.”

“Fair enough. I can live with that.”

“I’ll make sure we’re ready for the injured.” She hugs me, squeezing so hard I can’t inhale at all. “You better not fucking die.”

“That’s the plan.” We break apart, and she goes into the packhouse to organize the remaining community members. I reach out to Kelly through the bond, letting her know to open the portals. I feel the surge of magic as the portals rip apart time and space. Kelly’s bond shivers as she steps through with the ward casters to start securing the area around the portals. I lock down the rest of my bonds, closing off any potential distractions. Kelly and Olivia both have their bonds open and will be able to tell if someone is in danger. My sole focus is getting to that archdemon.

I take one more deep breath, and then I shift.