Chapter 16 Plantations

Quinn Shalom...

A mile down the road, Saul was waiting by the highway and honked once. Nicolea held the door open, and we jumped in after we shifted.

"Where is Will?" Jake demanded.

"Guiding the others cross country to Eutawville. He is going to rent a Uhaul panel truck to get the others out of the area," Galen revealed as he appeared in the seat behind us. "Most have lost their skins and wolves again. They need you, Nic."

"What? How?" Nicolea demanded.

"And Chelsey?" I asked, interrupting, fearful of her fate.

"Chelsey told me a Dark Fae was dosing them all with Dust of Rage and experimenting on them. He tried to turn her into a Raver and failed. She is okay, but Ryan and Corey are both blind," Galen revealed.

"She led them and the other Ravers out while we fought the Demonus," Jake added. "They were all blind."

"Thank gawd they weren't killed," I responded in relief then turned to Nicolea. "Do you think you can help them?"

"I hope so." The beautiful Fae nodded, then glanced at Galen. "We need to find out from Bianca and Greyson if there is anything I can do for their blindness, then I'll catch up with them."

"Do you need the messaging mirror? It's in my pack," I offered.

Nodding, the young Fae pulled it out from under the seat. He touched the corner and gold lines appeared on it for a moment.

Handing Justice back to me, Nic crawled over the seats to join Galen. Jake glanced at me as I unclasped my scarlet cloak and pulled a teeshirt over my head. Justice made happy cooing sounds in my lap.

"Get dressed," I snapped at Jake, then turned back to Galen who was glowing slightly as he and Nicolea both stared into the mirror. She opened the window then disappeared out it like a wisp of black smoke, as if Saul wasn't driving away from Cades Depot at far above the speed limit.

"What? What did they say?" I demanded as I slid a pair of cotton shorts over my legs.

"Greyson told us how to treat the Ravers' blindness then Bianca revealed she found the missing vampire princess," Galen revealed then he frowned, "Her soul has been tampered with, just like Justice's was."

"What does that mean?" Jake demanded.

I was glad he asked because my throat was suddenly too dry to speak.

"They tried to make the Rosesea Princess is Justice's mate and he, her beloved."

"The Dark Fae were going to use them to control both kingdoms if Aliza's Human Purity Movement failed to destroy us," Jake growled in realization. He looked ready to rage.

Closing my arms around our son, I trembled as the realization of what had been done to my son before he was born while I was Mr. Black's prisoner shook me. "I knew he was drugging me and my wolf, I knew he wanted my child for his master, but that?" They bound my son's soul to a girl we had never met was terrifying.

"What does that mean for them?" I demanded. "Vampires and Werewolves. Aren't their bites toxic, even fatal to each other?"

"Not always," Galen revealed. "In ancient times, there were cases of inter-species mates. Whether or not they survived the mating bites was the luck of the draw but... but their children were often unstable."

"Unstable?" Jake scoffed, "Tell her the truth, Fae. The offspring of Vampire and Werewolf mating, if they survived, went insane as they matured. They unable to deal with having both a wolf and an inner predator. Most became homicidal and had to be killed which was difficult because they had the gifts of both species. If our son is bound to the Rosesea Princess, they will never be able to have children."

'That woman and that Fae are going to pay,' my wolf snarled in my mind. Jake glanced at me as if he heard her and I felt his wolf agree.

Saul slammed his hand on the steering wheel. "So even if we succeed, the Monarchy ends with Justice."

Galen held up his hands to assuage our combined rage. "It may not be as bad as all that... Because Shalom escaped, the bond-sealing was not completed. We may still be able to break it, or possibly remake it with a male Vampire child. Bianca found the Princess, we only need rescue her then find a suitable beloved for her... But she cannot meet Justice before that or the bond between them will begin to solidify... Only time will show if Justice still has a true mate bond with another, or if he will need to take a choice mate to continue the Vanguard Monarchy."

We rode in silence to a rental vacation home where we planned to stay for the night outside of Eutawville. Jake finished pulling on his clothes and climbed up to sit with Saul. They talked quietly about how to rescue the Princess of the Vampires and where to send her. I nursed my son and put him in the carseat before I reached into the inside pocket of my cloak.

Looking at the addresses, I held up the paper to Galen and tapped one, whispering, "Can you find out if she is there?"

"Shalom, I don't think..." He shook his head slightly, and I knew he could do it, but he didn't want to. He could read my intent to confront her in my mind as I put the paper away.

"You owe me, or do I go by myself," I reminded quietly then he vanished in a shimmer.

Jake turned and looked at me. "Where did that damned Fae go?"

I could feel his anger almost boiling over that our son's destiny and soul had been manipulated like ours. I realized he knew what Galen had told me, how our souls and dreams had been manipulated so we would mark each other again. That he hated the Fae and thought they were just as responsible for our fractured, ruined bond as the Dust of Rage and himself. I asked, "Who told you?"

"He did. He also said he told you what he made Dr. Trinity do."

"It wasn't their fault. She didn't know and neither did he," I defended them.

"Their apologies won't make things right," Jake responded angrily. "We might have had a chance if they hadn't interfered."

"You still do." Saul stopped at a gate and punched a code into a gray metal box. As the gate opened, he looked hard at both of us in the mirror. "You need to forgive yourselves and each other. You need to become friends first, before you move onto being more than co-parents."

As the rental SUV rolled forward toward a plantation-style manor, Jake snapped at him, "You sound like a goddess-damned Fae."

As Saul snorted a laugh, I reminded grumpily, "He should. He spends enough time with them."

Looking at me in the mirror, Saul gave a cheeky wink as he parked then announced unnecessarily, "We're here."

Leaning forward, I glanced at the address on the NaviStar before the SUV turned off. I needed to know where I was before I googled the address where I sent Galen. I busied my thoughts with getting Justice to bed so Jake wouldn't realize it was my hope that the rescues would bring my enemy to a place where I could reach her.

"Will should be here with the others in an hour or so," Jake said as he opened the door for me while Saul went to check the perimeter as was his habit.

As he held the door to the house open, I looked up into his eyes. They looked more silvery than stormy blue in the moonlight. Crushing the fear that tried to strangle me, I lifted up on my toes and kissed his cheek.

"We still have a chance, Jake. When all this is over..." I didn't make any promises I didn't know if I would be alive to keep before I rushed inside and hurried up the stairs. Going into the first bedroom I saw, I shut and locked the door before he followed. After getting Justice settled for the night, I searched the two addresses. I was much closer to my enemy than I expected, my wolf could be there in less than an hour. I began looking through the other data. The Cades Depot facility was gone and with it all the physical evidence. Unless there was another place in the information I stole, we had nowhere left to look for where they were making the Dust of Rage.

VvvvvV

I heard a much lighter footstep an hour later, followed by a gentle tap. "Mrs. Phillips?"

Unlocking the door, I let Chelsey in, and we hugged tightly. "I was so scared they would kill you," I murmured into her hair as tears wet both our cheeks.

"I knew you'd rescue us. I knew you'd send someone to find us," Chelsey gushed as she sobbed. We held each other then I whispered, "I need you to stay with Justice."

She looked up at me in surprise then nodded as realization dawned. "She's here, isn't she? She's close?"

"I don't know, I sent Galen to check an address, but he hasn't come back so I am going," I revealed.

"I want to come with you. I want to kill her for what that sick Demonus put us through. Ryan and Corey are blind, so are most of the others... Nic says they may never get their skin side back." The teen vibrated with rage.

I was horrified to see her teeth becoming fangs and shook her slightly as she started to shift. Speaking in soothing tones, I said things like the stuff Greyson had once said to her father. "Chelsey don't rage. Don't let the world turn red or you might not come back. If you Rage like the Ravers, you might hurt Justice. You don't want to hurt Justice. He's just a baby. He loves you."

Panting, Chelsey managed to calm herself. "What... what is happening to me?"

"It's the Raver Rage. You have to be careful. If you get too angry, you'll become one of them," I reminded.

She nodded, sobbing out, "A blessed Demonus named Liam dosed me with the Dust of Rage. He... he said it took twenty-five times the dose to make me change than it did for a male, then he threw me in with Ryan and Corey to see if I'd attack them. They stopped me from hurting them and didn't mate with me. That sick fuk wanted to know why they wouldn't breed and eat me even after he kept dosing us all for days. I... I told him it was because you said we had to wait until I was eighteen. I still feel my bond with Ryan but it's different... and I feel weird around Corey. You don't think that Demonus did some voodoo thing and ruined my bond with Ryan?" She sounded terrified. "He acted like he thought they were both my mates."

"I don't know. They tried something like that with Justice, tried to bind him to some vampire princess, but Galen thinks they can fix it. I am sure they can undo whatever that Liam tried," I reassured her. Looking in her eyes, I asked again, "Can you keep Justice safe for a few hours?"

"No one will hurt him," she promised.

"Thank you." I laid my cloak on the bed over my son.

"Shouldn't you take that?" She asked worriedly.

"It's more important for him to stay safe than for me." Creeping out the backdoor, I shifted and sprinted into the night. I had a few hours before dawn to get to the address of Aliza Abbott's mother's home on a neighboring plantation.

"She's there." A voice came then I smelled him. "I'll go..."

"Let me do this, Galen," Interrupting, I growled as I let my wolf take over.

The Fae shook his head, "I didn't say I was going to stop you, I said I'll go with you. Liam isn't dead and I don't know where Petra is... After you, Queen Quinn."

My wolf raised her lip to show him her teeth then she turned and ran into the night. We stopped at the gate then backpedaled and hid when a human carrying an assault rifle walked past. Galen tapped my shoulder and I followed him further away before shifting from my wolf. He held out a long trench coat for me to put on. It was an older style but obviously very expensive.

"It was her mother's... I can carry you over the wall. Aliza is in the bedroom on the second floor at the end." Answering my curiosity, Galen scanned the area. "There are four armed humans guarding her, but I sense no other Fae. The one who normally guards her isn't here." He lifted me in his arms as giant feathered wings spread from his back. His wings were as white as his hair now with only a few dark feathers left.

I touch one of the black ones, "I told you I'd hate him enough for both of us."

Galen sighed as his wings lifted us effortlessly, "If only it were that easy. I carried his hate within me for so long... Hating him was the only part of my curse I enjoyed. I actually miss it." He landed silently on a balcony. Setting me on my feet, he reached through the glass and unlocked the door.

I opened the door and went into the room. Looking at Aliza asleep at a desk, I wondered how someone so beautiful could be filled with so much hate. I picked up the glass of cognac over ice and sniffed the smoke and oak scent. She moaned in her sleep.

"Are you doing this?" I waved my hand at her sleeping form as I set the glass back down. She didn't smell like she had drunk herself to sleep.

"Yes. I'm going to go make the guards sleep. Don't kill her before I get back. I have something to show you and her," Galen murmured then vanished, so I waited.

Sitting in a chair that carried the stale scent of generations and the lingering scent of dried blood and gunpowder seeped into the cotton, I wondered what had happened in the room because this plantation house felt like hate and death. Watching her sleep, I thought about Kenneth's letter. His confession of a years' long affair with her still made me want to weep, but as I had read the meticulous notes of her inhumanity, I had begun to understand my late husband's need to do anything to stop her. I was in the same place now, willing to sacrifice anything to stop her insanity because no sane person could hate as deeply as she did for the reasons she held. She ordered children made into monsters, just to have them killed. I was grateful Chelsey and Ryan survived because the things done to them, to Justice and the vampire princess, to everyone who suffered because of her agenda, it was evil in its purest form.

My soul whispered, I forgive you, Kenneth. I understand why you did it.

"Not yet but you will... Are you ready?" Galen whispered in my ear. "To see the nightmare that made a woman who hates the world?" Suddenly, I felt like I was dreaming but it wasn't my dream.