Chapter 56

*** Wendell***

The sound of screams is muffled when I slam the door to my office closed. Shed my jacket and toss it on the couch up against the wall. It’s a ratty thing, but it’s all part of the illusion that I run a seedy business. When in fact everything I do is precise and planned even in all its chaos. Things had gone exactly as I planned when I stepped into this world, but what I had not planned for was humans being so childish. They act like petulant toddlers unwilling to share their toys. These term wars as they call them have put a hamper on things more than once.

Why can they not admit defeat and step aside quietly? It’s as if they have no sense of self-preservation. Although it is amusing to see them try so hard to hold on to the little they have, my patience has reached its breaking point. I tried to keep it. My dealing under the radar, but clearly a demonstration of my strength is in order. After Alicia probed into the man I had the Oyster Boys bring in I decided on a new plan.

We’ll let him go so he can carry back a message. I want these small-time men to know the sort of weapon I have at my disposal. With a simple thought I could have their minds turned to mush. They would be foaming at the mouth in a padded room somewhere while I took everything out from under them. I have had Alicia on a tight leash since we arrived, but it’s time to let my little darkling free so she can cause some havoc. She’s unstable and difficult to control but as I said, my patience is gone. I don’t care what kind of mess she will make, and if she is taken in out in the fire then it’s one less mess I’ll have to clean up.

A win either way.

My phone goes off in my pocket. I dig it out and see Lillith’s name on the screen. These odd contraptions have proved helpful but I can’t say I enjoy the way I can be so easily reached by those I don’t care to speak to. Like this bloodsucker bitch.

“What?” I snap at her when I answer the call.

“Is that any way to speak to your queen?” She purrs.

Her seductive ways do not move me, not even that siren voice. She killed too many to acquire these traits and still, she was unable to wield the power she gained properly. She is weak.

“You are no queen here. You are nothing more than I thorn in my flesh. If I could kill you then I would have long ago.” I remind her.

She scoffs. “You need me, but that is not why I called. We have a problem.”

No shit, we have a lot of problems to deal with right now. “What the hell is it? Spit it out.”

“A little surprise from the past. A big fucking troubling surprise.” She says.

I growl in impatience. “Fucking say it!” I yell.

“The prince of hearts…he’s alive and here at the club.”

What?

“How is that possible? You had him killed! Did you not?”

There is a long silence and that's all the answer I need.

“You didn’t kill the child?”

“His father hid him before I could, but I sent in my assassins and assumed he was killed along with everyone else. Apparently, he wasn’t and he ended up here. That is a big problem for us if he figures out who he is. A big problem for both of us Wendell!”

I laugh. “How so? He is no more a king here than you are a queen. His name is nothing here. He is no concern of ours.”

“You’re wrong. He’s bonded to Alicia.”

Shit!

“When?”

“Not long ago, but it’s too late to break the bond that’s for sure. He’s loyal to her. He is also a cop. The one investigating the murders.” She explains.

Double shit.

“Where are they now?”

“With the girl. All of them are with her.”

Boosting her energy levels no doubt.

“I’ll call the Rabbit and the Caterpillar away and weaken her enough for one of the boys to grab the prince,” I tell her.

“She has Cree now too. She’s claimed all of her mates Wendell. You know what that means?”

“She will not be able to break the hold I have on her power. There is no amount of power she can gather from those men that will break it.” I say confidently.

“That’s what you think, but if she breaks through no margin will stop her from killing all of us.”

“Enough! She will not have the chance, and even if she did there is no way for her to go back. She would have to hide in this world, and I would hunt her. Now focus on what you’re good for and get the club ready for tonight.”

“Yes sir.” She grinds out and I end the call.

I drop my phone on the wooden desk in front of me dropping my head and leaning against it. Anger boils up inside me until I scream and throw everything off my desk.

***Alicia***

“The problem is that it’s locked in a spelled room. Most of us weren’t fully awake when we went through the looking glass, so I can’t remember the layout for he room but getting in is a problem.” I continue to explain to the guys. “My dark energy was able to move under the door but when it got too close to the looking glass it repelled it.”

Cayden sits on the edge of my bed. “Makes sense, but how did Wendell manage such a spell? No one has that kind of power anymore.”

“He killed all the spell wielders after all his deals,” Walker adds.

“So we thought. The guy has planned out everything to the last detail. I don’t know how he managed it all, but he got us here.” Hale adds. “He had been planning this for a long time. There had to be a plan for what to do once we came through. I figured he destroyed it, but that would not have been smart. He would need a way to get back if things went wrong here.”

“Alright let me get this straight. The looking glass is not only still intact but spelled so no one can get close to it. Right?” Rowan asks.

“That’s what it seems like,” I say with a nod.

“And nothing is able to get from Wonderland to here either?” He asks.

We all go quiet. “I don’t know. Actually, I had a theory but I don’t know how probable it could be.”

“Go on sweetheart,” Cayden says.

He’s always the planner and the philosopher in our family but he’s letting me take the lead here. I have to admit I like it.

“What if the creature that killed the human outside of the club and attacked Cree came through the looking glass too? It’s not human that much is clear, and I doubt anything able of that kind of killing exists here.”

Rowan shakes his head. “Some have theories about monsters and aliens walking among us, but that’s never been proven.”

I’m not sure how that’s relevant, but that sounds like a no.

“Right, so it had to have come from home. Something must have come through when we did.”

“Why is it only attacking now? We’ve been here long enough that it had plenty of opportunities to attack and yet it only did now.” Hale points out.

He’s right…damn maybe I’m wrong.

“Unless…it could be the Vitala.” Cayden offers and a chill runs through me at the mention of the creature.

“Vitala?” Rowan asks.

“It’s a dark creature that can shapeshift into a bat until it finds a host to possess. It will kill someone and slip its consciousness into the person and then hunt for its next victim.” Walker explains. “We’ve only come across one a handful of times back home. They were used to reanimate soldiers who had been killed, making almost unkillable soldiers. Lilith used them for her army.”

“Lilith? The one…here?”

I nod. “She’s a blood feeder. She had stumbled upon the creatures and swore them an oath if they endued their power on her. They would get access to an immense number of people to feed from and she would gain their longevity of life and strength. She gains power from the blood of others and it keeps her forever young.” I explain. “It also makes her incredibly hard to kill.”

“How did she end up here? She doesn’t seem that powerful.”

“She’s been weakened here just like me. The same spells that keep us trapped here was used to dampen our powers. In a way she has to constantly feed so as not to be too weak to continue surviving.” I try to explain.

“Well, shit.”

“Yep, but I broke free of the spell. Now we have the upper hand. We just need to figure out how we’ll use it.” I look at each of the guys. “Any ideas?”