Shadows from the Past - Book 2 of To Be Claimed By Her

Chapter 11

Luke

"Eveleen!" I roared when I woke up and found her missing. I felt like I'd been hit with a hammer as my head pounded and my vision was blurry. I stumbled from the bed, holding the walls for support. "Eveleen, Nate, Kota, anyone! Help!"

Kota came running down the hall with everyone following him. "Luke, what is it, where's Luna?"

I pitched forward as he caught me, lowering us both to the floor. "G...gone. She's gone, can't find her," I panted, unable to catch my breath.

"Sean!" Kota barked as he came and started looking me over. "Come on, beautiful boy, stay with us now," Kota said softly as he ran his hand through my hair.

"Kota," Nate's strained voice spoke. We turned to see him holding a golden mask. "She...she's gone."

"Don't fucking say that," Axel snapped and grabbed the mask from his hands. "Shadows roam freely and devour the light - and the Queen falls." Tears streamed down his face as we all remained silent.

"They fucking did it," Marc muttered. "Volto and Erebus took her."

"Loki," I yelled, but there wasn't an answer. "Where the fuck is he, and where's Gabe? They should have been back by now," I growled. "Odin get the fuck down here," I screamed as Kota help me sit up.

The Allfather appeared in the middle of the hallway with a confused expression. "Luke? Why are you contacting me?"

"Where the hell are Loki and Gabe?" I demanded.

He stared at us, "I have no idea. I haven't seen them since you all left for Alfheim. What's going on?"

"Son of a bitch!" Owen roared as he punched the wall, "He's got them too. Gabe was right, we're so far behind and they're picking us off, one by one."

"What are you all talking about? Who has them?" Odin fumed.

Axel handed him the mask, "Volto and Erebus. First, they took Victor, then Loki and Gabe left to get your help. We had no idea they were missing until just now. Then North was poisoned with dead blood and Nyx had to take him to the Void to save him. Now they've taken, Dove."

Odin's face was a mixture of rage and grief. "Get everyone to the dining room. We need a full meeting to plan out the rescue missions." In a burst of lightning, he vanished, and we made our way to the room as he said.

All of the patrons except Nyx were already there when we walked in. Jace gave us a sad nod as Kota helped me into a chair. "So what do we know about Erebus?" Cailleach asked.

"Based on the sighting rumors, we can assume he really is free, but oddly enough, the pocket prison is still active. Mother and I are trying to locate it and see if we can figure out how he escaped," Jace said.

"Who is Volto?" Triton asked. "I know you all said he was an old opponent, but obviously he must be far more than that now."

"If what Kaylie said was true, then he's got to be a demon and probably an incubus demon. That's what she poisoned me with the last time we saw her," Marc explained. "We know the girls were working with him, and should assume he turned them into some sort of demon as well."

"When he took her before, Gaia said he wouldn't harm her. Do we think that's still true?" Phil asked.

"That depends on if he has her, or if Erebus does," Owen replied. "I don't think we can rely on Volto's kind nature. In his mind, he isn't hurting her, even when he took Victor and poisoned North."

"So what now?" Helios asked.

"Now we do what we are good at," Kota snapped. "We've tracked both of them before. Now we need to do it again. Corey set up the monitors and maps here. Sean, start gathering medical packs for our go bags. Nate and Raven, you round up magical weapons that might work on them, also anything that would work on Sang and Kaylie. It's time to go hunting gentlemen."

Axel

"We've got a possible location on Dove and Erebus. He's been spotted here," I said pointing to the map. "It's fairly remote, but there is a vampire nest nearby. They reached out to Jace just this morning, and they're willing to help if we need it. Apparently, when someone crosses Nyx, all her charges fall in line to protect her and each other. The attack on North has pissed them all off."

"We need to travel in pairs or groups, no one goes alone," Silas said.

"What are the best skill sets for this location, Nate?" I asked.

"I worked up teams based on magical abilities. Sean is the wildcard since he can mesh with almost any group for healing as well as his other talents. Axel and Silas should split up as well as Marc and Luke, and Corey and Brandon. Placing each of you on different teams gives us more firepower. For the rest of us, it's a case-by-case," he explained.

"We also got a hit on Loki," Luke added. "One of his bonds felt activity here near Scotland. There were no signs of Volto or Erebus, just a bond flare. I'm thinking it might be where they are keeping him, and possibly Gabe and Victor too."

"So we need two teams," Kota said. He let out a frustrated sigh, "Luke take Nathan and check out the Loki location. Axel, take Marc and Owen to the vampire nest. Get information before trying to make a move." He handed each of us a small pouch. "This is an emergency beacon of sorts. Luna made them for us back in Charleston. Cailleach helped modify them with tracker magic. Everyone checks in on the hour - even if you're in a group. Use the link. If you miss a check-in, a backup team will scout the location. If you activate your pouch we will track at a distance and assume you've been captured. We need to be prepared for anything."

We gathered our supplies and made our goodbyes. "Keep watch over each other," Silas said with tears in his eyes. "I love you both so much."

"I love you too," Marc said, kissing him softly.

I grabbed him in a fierce hug and kissed him. "I love you, Silas. We're going to bring her home, love." He nodded and swiped at his tears.

I saw Owen and Sean sharing an embrace as well as Luke, Kota, and Nate. This was worse than any parting we'd had back with the Academy. We couldn't even tell our kids about all of this because we knew they'd try to get involved. That was far more than we could handle.

"Okay gentlemen," Corey said, "Check in within sixty minutes. Set your reminders and good luck."

Owen nodded and in seconds we teleported to the vampire nest only to find it nothing more than a smoking pile of ash.

"Hello boys," Sang waved and grinned as she stood next to Erebus. "Ohh, look, it's a three-for-one sale, Erebus."

He snorted at her comment, "Yes, little Darkling will be quite surprised to see those two."

Well, fuck.

Author's Notes:  Three more fall...