Dark Indiscretions

“She comes,” James said to himself.

Finally. He could have what he’d been waiting for all these centuries. He would especially enjoy killing anyone she brings with her. He and Jenny could enjoy a snack together, in fact. He does love to watch her feed. It gets him hot like nothing else. He turned to address his family.

“Well, people, you heard her. She comes. So now we wait. We will all feed well this night,” James said to them.

“It will be worth it just to see the look on her face when she finds out that we aren’t dead. I can’t wait to pay that little bitch back for killing me in the first place,” Sam Jr. replied.

“Patience, dear boy. All good things in due time,” James said.

“Yes, my boy, no need to rush. She comes to us. She will pay for her betrayal,” Samuel Sr. said.

Ah, James had almost forgotten how bloodthirsty his family was. Almost, but not quite. They could have part of their petty little revenge as long as they remembered in the end that Krista and Jenny were his. If they killed Jenny, the things he would do to them...they would wish that he had never brought them back to the land of the living.

“Before we all get ready to go, I just wanted to tell you a little story from my past. It’s between James and myself. Just so you all know what you’re getting into,” Kain said.

“I don’t think we really have time for this,” Taz said.

“Make time. James loves me more than anyone and this is what happened after we’d been apart for a while.”

Kain had lived alone in the Himalayas for the last 20 years without so much as a peep from James. They had been together for over a thousand years and he threw it all away because of some bullshit prophecy and the promise of a marriage. Apparently their relationship didn’t mean shit. Kain could feel the power boiling under his skin ready to burst up to the surface. He would go between wanting to see James again or shake the shit out of him. Right now, though, he was leaning more toward shaking him. How dare he act like Kain wasn’t enough for him?

Kain hated it here. He missed his life and oddly his parents. Especially his mother. He still saw his grandparents from time to time, but it wasn’t the same. He also felt like his body was going through withdrawal since he was no longer sharing blood with James. He was still extremely powerful, but it was as if the power was becoming too much. It didn’t want to be contained and it was seeking ways to leave his body. Every day was a battle to maintain his sanity.

Kain was taken out of his pity party by a tingling in his spine. Someone was coming. He couldn’t get a precise read, but they were fairly close and on foot. They were trying to hide themselves from him, but it was only a matter of time before he figured out who or what it was. Kain concentrated all his energy on identifying the intruder. What he felt nearly brought him to his knees. James. He was here but why? Before Kain could properly process this revelation, something struck him in his chest and tossed him nearly through the wall of his cabin. What the entire fuck was going on?

“Did you think you could betray me without any consequences, Kain?” James taunted.

What was that psychopath talking about? Kain thought. He was insane! Kain could taste the blood in his mouth.

“Have you lost your mind?” Kain wheezed out.

“No, in fact I think I’ve finally found it! How dare you leave me and never return?”

Leave him? Was he fucking serious? Kain managed to curl his lip at James in disgust.

“Me leave you? I think you’re mistaken. It was you who decided to leave me for some baby that your sister won’t even let you have! We had everything we could ever have wanted and you threw it away. Fuck you, James! Get out of my damn house!”

Kain was livid. What a fucking asshole! Kain felt the sparks of electricity tracing throughout his body. He came here to try to kill him. Well, he wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction. Kain threw out a bolt of lightning and hit James straight in the center of his chest. He watched as James was lifted off the ground and slammed back down. He needed to get up but the bolt James threw at him wasn’t meant to stun but to kill. If he weren’t as powerful, it would have. He could still feel his insides buzzing. He needed to get up and get James out of here.

He looked over to see James groaning and rolling around on the ground. He was trying to get up as well. Kain couldn’t let him or he was sure he would try to kill him again. Kain set aside his love for James, mustered up the last of his energy, and threw a ball of banishing fire that was good for a few centuries. The last thing he heard before unconsciousness took him was the sound of his name hurtling from his only lover’s lips.

“Now do you understand how unstable he can be when he believes he’s been wronged?” Kain asked.

“He’s insane!” Nathan shouted.

“That’s what I was trying to tell you. He can’t be reasoned with. He has his own ideas of right and wrong.”

“If you know this, why were you with him for so long?” Jennifer asked.

“Love makes us irrational.”

“I have no words. Let’s just go and get this done. We will talk about this later,” Jenny said.

Kain shrugged his shoulders. He was just trying to illustrate to these idiots the kind of crazy they were about to walk in on. They can never say he didn’t warn them.

This is it, Jenny thought. Go time. Only two hours and this thing could be over. Finally. Her uncle better pray he didn’t mess up her daughter. She could always get behind a little torture before wiping him from this Earth forever. She wasn’t completely like all other Mystics, but she was still one of them. She could torture with the best of them.

“Everybody have everything?” Jackson asked. “Good. Jenny, when you feel we are about two miles out, let me know. I will lead the way. Everyone, follow my lead. We will park the vehicles where Jenny says the two miles are and go in on foot. Maybe get some element of surprise. Everyone stay sharp and try not to die,” Jackson said.

The drive was long and filled with tension. They had taken two vans for their sixteen people. Jenny’s mind was all over the place. She had come up with another spell, and she hoped it was enough. She had imprinted her soul on it as the Oracle had told her to. She also had two other spells just in case of surprises. She knew her uncle had some up his sleeve as well. He wouldn’t chance being overpowered. He knew she was stronger than him. He would have others to try to distract them.

“So, why exactly do twin Oracles have just a single mate?” Jenny asked the twins.

She could see everyone’s ears perk up at the question. They all wanted to know the answer.

“We’re not sure. We didn’t see this one coming. We are just as surprised. We thought we would find twins.” No offense, mate,” they replied to Kain.

“None taken, mates. I’ve known for centuries before you both were even born that you would be mine. It just came to me one day in a dream,” Kain replied.

Jenny was happy that something good had come out of this messed up situation. She understood everything happened for a reason, but why did it have to be her kid that got the short stick? Damn, she wished her uncle had stayed fucking dead. That’s what people were supposed to do when they got killed. They stayed dead. End of freaking story. But no. Her family had to be all screwed up. How did she not know her uncle’s power before now? She would have never gotten blindsided with this mess. Jenny was getting madder by the second. She couldn’t wait to kill his ass for good.

The rest of the ride was in relative silence until Jenny signaled the two-mile mark to Jackson. They found a secluded area off in the woods to park the vans. They all gathered around to go over the final details of the plan. Jenny wanted to make sure everyone knew what they were supposed to do. She wanted a minimum amount of casualties on their side. Whoever her uncle got to help him in his twisted game could burn in Hell with him.

“I’m going in first. I need five minutes to assess the situation. The rest of the plan is good the way it is, but I need to see who is in there with him. I’ve been thinking about what the Oracle told me today and I think I know who will be with him, but I just need to see it first. If it’s what I think then we are all in a shit-storm of trouble, and this mission is going to be way harder than we originally thought,” Jenny said.

“Alone? Seriously? I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Jackson replied.

“It must happen,” interrupted the twins. “She must face it. We all will be right behind her summoning the strongest protection spell we know.”

“I don’t like it, but if it must be done then it will be. We will be no longer than five minutes behind you. So tell us what you see or need in that time. After that we are coming,” Jackson stated firmly.

“Five minutes is more than enough. If the people I think are with him then you all need to know this. Do not believe anything you see or hear and don’t let them touch you, period. Also, watch out for energy blasts. You must be quick, and most of all—lethal, because none of my uncle’s allies will hesitate to take you out if they see the chance,” Jenny said.

“Okay, everyone knows what to do, so from here we follow Jenny into the tunnel,” Jackson commanded. “We can’t afford any mistakes. We only have this one chance to get who we came for and kill those in the way. No mercy! Wolves, let’s shift now and leave our stuff that we don’t need here. Let’s go.”

Once the wolves shifted, Jenny led them all to the entrance of the tunnels, making sure to stay in the shadows and watch out for anything that wasn’t supposed to be there. She opened all her senses to the night and turned her face up to the sky. A full blood moon. Excellent. Everyone was at their strongest tonight, even her messed up family. She knew that’s who her uncle had with him. Somehow he found a way to bring them back as well. She didn’t want to deal with this shit. Especially right now.

Jenny paused just outside the entrance to the tunnel. Nothing seemed to be off, and no one seemed to be hiding anywhere. She smelled the faint scents of six people. Her sense of smell wasn’t the best but she could hear the wolves’ growling, so she knew they smelled it too. She looked around to make sure no booby traps lay hidden just inside the tunnel. It would suck to be blown up before they could even get in. That would make for a sad tale indeed.

“I don’t see any traps so far. I’m going to go ahead. Give me five minutes and then come in after me. By then everyone will be good and pissed, so put your scary face on. Once you step foot in front of the people we are here to fight, it’s game on, so be prepared to fight to the death. I just hope the only deaths are theirs and not ours,” Jenny said.

“Don’t worry, sweetie. None of us are the good guys, so we fight dirty and we fight to win. No one is dying tonight,” Nathan’s growly voice replied.

Jenny bent down to her mates and they both licked her cheek. Everyone knew the game plan. The twins and Kain had already cast the protection spells, and Jenny just hoped that they did a good job. It would suck if they didn’t work because she knew for certain that they were going to need all the protection they could get from her screwed up family tree.

Jenny used her nose to navigate through the cave tunnels to an enclave in the back. She could smell the scent of blood in the air. Krista was here. She walked right to the doorway and stepped through. She wasn’t in any way shocked to see her parents and brothers along with her uncle and kid. A family reunion—just what she always wanted. She steeled herself to be the cold, calculated killer her species was known for.

“Well, well, well. I see James not only managed to bring himself back, but you assholes as well. No bother, I’ll just have to kill you again,” Jenny deadpanned.

“Why, you little bitch,” her father replied.

“Is that all you can think of after all these years, Father? Pity, I thought you would have more. However, I didn’t come to chitchat or reminisce. Give me my kid. Right fucking now,” Jenny said.

“Mm, I think we have grown rather attached to our granddaughter. She is so much like the rest of us. I’m surprised she came from the likes of you, Jennifer,” her mother added.

Jenny watched her family like a hawk. Anyone of them could snap at any time. She wanted to be prepared for anything. She especially watched James. He was giving her that creepy look of possession. She was not his and never would be. He was going to find that out the hard way tonight.

“Jenny, sweetheart, be a dear and just give me what I want, and I won’t have to kill your friends who tagged along with you,” James finally said.

She hated the smug bastard. To think that she ever thought he was different all those centuries ago because he was the only one who wasn’t pressuring her to marry one of her brothers. It was only because the sick freak wanted her all to himself. She couldn’t believe she trusted his lies.

“I don’t think so. We can end this now if you just give me my kid. You only have about another two and a half minutes to decide before every one of you assholes is dead, but for good this time. No more rising from the ashes for any of you,” Jenny taunted.

“You can’t kill me, Jennifer, so let’s stop this nonsense before people who can be killed die,” James said.

“I have a better idea,” Jenny said.

She was going to kill her parents and brothers before everyone else arrived and cut the drama. She didn’t want her mates to ever lay eyes on them. Her recent mating and the blood moon gave her the extra boost her powers needed tonight. She gathered her courage and spoke the spell she created earlier that day quickly.

Ties that bind,

Blood that flows,

Travel deep down in their souls.

Hearts that beat,

And overflows,

Their lives are no more.

Jenny’s parents and brothers screamed in agony while James wore a look of pure fury. She had never seen him so angry, and she couldn’t bring herself to give a damn about it either. While her family turned to ashes, she said the second part of the spell she wrote so that they could never be brought back by anyone ever again. She wasn’t going to take any chances.

Ash to dust,

Disperse from East to West,

Never to combine again,

Blowing always in the winds.

There. One problem solved. Just as she turned to face her uncle, she sensed her group coming up behind her.

“Well, looks like we missed some of the party. I was so hoping I would get to kill someone today,” Kain remarked.

Jackson and Taylor appeared from behind Jenny, then pushed their way in front of her. Jenny thought it was sweet, really she did, but it wasn’t needed. Besides, for the next spell she needed to be away from them and her uncle.

“Don’t worry, mates. I’m fine. Kisty, get ready to do what you need to do. You as well, Nathan. Remember what we talked about?” Jenny instructed.

She stepped away from the group and faced her uncle. She knew that even if this didn’t work they would all fight to the death to get Krista out of here. She really hoped it didn’t come to that. She also hoped that she came back from the dead, or her mates were going to be extremely pissed at her. Here goes nothing.

“James, you have two choices,” Jenny said.

“Really, you little bitch, do tell what those will be,” James growled out.

“You can give up, run, and never return, or you can die and stay dead,” Jenny told him.

“I’m impressed. You seem to have grown a backbone versus the sniveling little shit you were centuries ago. I’m going to enjoy killing all your friends and making you submit to me.”

“I’d rather die than ever let you touch me, you disgusting pig. Enough talk.”

He moved so fast that Jenny barely saw him coming. But she did see him. She blocked his vicious blow just in time. She could hear the growls of her friends, but she knew they wouldn’t jump in unless she started to lose. She needed to incapacitate him and then move away so she could say the spell that would kill them both. She just didn’t want to mix their ashes.

Jenny jumped up and over her uncle, kicking him in the back of the head as she came down. He fell to his knees but shook the blow off rather quickly. This was going to be harder than she thought. She needed to focus before this became something she couldn’t control.

She had learned many fighting styles over the centuries, and now was the time to use them. She saw Kisty rush over to Krista while James was distracted and untie her from her torture device. At least one thing was going as planned. Krista cried out at being let down, and James turned to look at her.

“WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING? PUT HER BACK UP THERE,” James yelled.

He flew toward them, but Jenny roundhouse kicked him in the chest and he went down.

“Get Krista out of here, now!” Jenny yelled.

She remembered that she could use energy blasts because it was her father’s power. She gathered one as big as she could and then hit her uncle in the chest with it. He went down, hard. She hit him with another one for good measure.

“Now, Jenny! You must say the spell now!” the twins urged.

“Okay, Jackson, Taylor, don’t be angry,” Jenny replied.

They gave twin growls and Jenny could feel their confusion, but she needed to concentrate. “Here goes nothing,” she thought, right before the spell fell from her lips.

Fire, fire burning bright,

Bright as day, dark as night,

Remove this evil from my sight,

Cleanse it with a blinding, killing light.

Jenny felt the burning and heard her uncle’s scream at the same moment. Holy shit did it burn. She heard herself scream as well. She hoped she never had to experience death again. She felt her mates’ anger and sadness as her body burned itself from the inside out. She wished she could tell them it was going to be okay, but she couldn’t speak. After what felt like an eternity, Jenny felt nothing anymore.

Jackson and Taylor’s howls ripped through Nathan’s heart. When Jenny told him the plan, he didn’t know what to say. He really didn’t want to explain to his mate that her mother was dead so hopefully she regenerated pretty damn quick and preferably before her mates killed either themselves or someone else. He had no idea what happened to a mated couple if one mate died.

Nathan hurried over to James’s ashes with the vial containing Jenny’s elixir and poured it on them. Then as he stomped on them, he said the words Jenny told him to say three times.

What once was bound,

Now unbind.

If this didn’t work, they were all so fucking screwed.

Jackson turned back into a man faster than he had ever before. Jenny was fucking gone. How could she do that to them? Hell, how could she do that to him? He could feel Taylor’s pain just as deep as his own. This wasn’t supposed to happen. He took his anger out on the people he thought were responsible.

“How the hell could you let this happen?” Jackson growled out to the Oracle.

“You must have faith in your mate,” they responded in that creepy as hell unison voice.

“Really, you have got to be fucking kidding me. Give me a straight answer. I don’t want fucking riddles,” Jackson screamed.

“Now listen here, wolf boy, you will not talk to my mates that way,” Kain interjected. “They told Jenny their vision. She knew what she was doing. Don’t blame them because your mate left you in the dark.”

“Do you want to die today, asshole?” Jackson asked.

“We can go right here, right fucking now,” Kain replied.

Just as they were getting ready to trade blows, Jenny’s ashes danced around in a circle and started to take shape again. They all watched in fascination as she breathed life once again. After several minutes she was whole.

Jenny thought she was going to be sick. She never wanted to die again. Just as she was trying to pick herself up off the ground she felt four arms wrap tightly around her. Her mates. She felt their relief and anger. She did not look forward to this conversation.

“Have you lost your fucking mind? How could you be so reckless? How could you not have told us this would happen?” Jackson asked.

“Sorry, I couldn’t risk you both trying to stop me. This was the only way. I had to do it, and now we are free of them forever,” Jenny said.

“Well, that was anticlimactic,” Kiateya said. “I thought we were going to get to fight. Nathan, let’s go check on your mate. I’m sure Kisty has her out to the vans by now. I’m hungry.”

“Yeah. Let’s go, Taz, and get our mate,” Nathan said.

Jenny looked at where her uncle’s ashes were soaked with the unbinding mixture. She guessed it worked since she was back and he wasn’t. This nightmare could finally be over, and she could live with her mates in peace. She needed to make sure Krista was okay as well, since her family did a number on her. Jenny let her mates lead her out of the cave and back to the vans. She just wanted a nice, long, hot soak in the bath with her mates. They had won, but at what cost? Only time would tell.

Alexander walked down the stairs to his family’s basement. He had a nagging feeling in the back of his head since he first laid eyes on Isobelle, and he couldn’t ignore it any longer. She was hiding something. He was going to look through the Mooyer Society journals that his family collected. His great-great too many greats grandfather wrote a lot about Oracles. He needed to reread those entries. Something was off. Maybe he would find an answer there. Isobelle knew things no one should know. She didn’t think anyone noticed. But he wasn’t anyone. He was a fucking Carvanis. Nothing got past them.

Alexander pulled out the first journal his ancestor made an appearance in.

“The Journal of the First Mooyers”

10th Entry of Year 1200

Today we tortured an Oracle. Such a barbaric practice, but one that no doubt works on even the toughest predators, given enough motivation. Identical twins this Oracle was. No more than 15 or 16 winters. They were Dylias. Wolves. Male. They didn’t last long before they were spilling secrets that could help us in this war we fight with the monsters. Today I write down those secrets for future Mooyers to study. Hopefully these journals will assist in times of trouble. Hopefully this knowledge persists throughout the years. This entry I will call ‘The Oracle’. Add what you will as it is made known to you.

An Oracle can be any species. As long as they are mirror image twins. If one of the twins dies before they reach Oracle status, it leaves a mark on the soul no matter when the death occurs. Be it in the womb or once they are born. Only other Oracles can see it. The twin left alive will still be able to have lucid dreams. They just don’t understand what to do with them. It comes out as a jumbled puzzle that they can never fully gain all the pieces of. These pieces only come together if the Oracle somehow stumbles upon them. Oracles can see the past, present, and future. They speak in riddles that must be solved. They never come out and say exactly what it is they mean or see. As they age, they become extensions of each other. Meaning the older they are, the easier it is to kill both from killing just one. They speak in unison. They are more liable to give birth to another Oracle. Rarely do they not. Most Oracles have the same powers. Different species sometimes have a few extra abilities, depending on what form of monster they are. Most interesting, however, is that Oracles can be human as well.

The society would do anything to have a human Oracle at their disposal. We must be vigilant. Too bad the Oracle didn’t last long enough to describe any of its visions or tell us what signs to look out for when tyring to spot an Oracle. It would make it easier to know if we find one. Especially one of the human variety. My future Mooyers, be vigilant and share in the knowledge of any species you come across. It is of the utmost importance that we find a human Oracle to do our bidding.

Signed Jacobi Carvanis

Interesting, thought Alexander. But he needed more information. Surely the society had more on these Oracles. Alexander would go through every single journal if he had to. There was bound to be something of importance in one of them. He didn’t care how long it took. All his free time would be devoted to finding out every scrap of insight he could. He would find out what the hell was going on, and when he did he would open the gate wide open. Isobelle Mina better hope she had nothing to hide, because if she did he would find out sooner than later.