Juniper Santiago - Book 2 of The Santiago Series

Klaus looked at the little one as they strapped the weapons onto her. “Now remember Aerie, you have to be quick.”

“You mean quicker than I already am?” she joked, making the other men laugh.

“You know what I mean. Your kind no longer exists, and they were taken out in the most brutal way. We just don’t want anything happening to you,” Klaus argued.

“I promise I’ll be careful. My job is to just go in and rescue her, right?” she asked.

“Yes, it is. However, we have reason to believe that Odessa has some magic in place that will obviously make your mission a difficult one,” Yusuf added.

“I’ve trained my whole life for this day. I’m going to succeed,” she said confidently.

The old men shared wary looks as she collected the rest of her stuff. They had no doubt in her skills and powers, but this was her first big mission and they knew that she couldn’t afford to mess it up.

Or have her or her mission harmed in any way.

“So, after I retrieve her, I take her straight to the mansion, right?” she asked.

“Yes, that’s right. We’re hoping that Balthazar or Boris especially, will be there. They’ll know what to do next,” Duncan said.

She took a deep breath in. “Ok! I’ve got this.”

“Remember, the moment you need help, you link us immediately and we’ll send in backup,” Francis told her.

She nodded. “I remember everything. I’m going to be fine. I need you to believe that so that I can believe in myself.”

“We believe in you little one,” Yusuf smiled.

With everything ready, she set out on her mission. They’d sent her on small rescue missions before, but even she was aware of the weight of this mission. It was the biggest test to see if she could survive out in the world.

And possibly find her mate.

She hadn’t had any luck on all her other missions, but something felt different about this mission. She couldn’t describe it, especially because she wasn’t sure if the feeling was a positive or negative one.

She just knew that it was there.

She stepped up to the portal the Elders created and took one last deep breath before stepping through it. She had to catch her breath at the feeling that always comes with stepping through a portal.

She looked back and the old men were looking at her, pride in their eyes as they waved her off. She waved back before the portal closed shut, leaving her in unfamiliar territory. She heard a sound and quickly ducked to the side, hiding.

“I heard that there’s chaos in the Great House now that Lady Odessa has been banished to the Land of Lost Souls,” she heard a voice say.

“I was there just yesterday. They all don’t know what to do with themselves, but the funniest part is how no-one is listening to Orgella. She was so sure that with Lady Odessa and Saila gone, she was next in line to rule. No one cares one bit about what she has to say,” another voice said.

“That will teach her! We need to leave this place though. With Lady Odessa gone, it’s only a matter of time before they start looking for this place and banishing everyone who follows her,” the first voice said, leading Aerie to believe that there were two of them.

“I know. I’ve already contacted my relatives in Spain and they’re willing to let me come and live with them. They just don’t know where I’d be coming from,” the second voice stated.

“Think I could come along?” the first voice joked.

“We’ll see man,” the second voice laughed.

Aerie saw that as her chance to come out. She was ready, swords drawn, but the last thing she expected to see were two human men. They looked at her in confusion, and she didn’t detect any fear from them.

“Can we help you?” the man who the second voice belonged to asked.

“I’m looking for the oracle named Auriela,” Aerie told them.

“You mean Lady Odessa’s oracle?” the man who the first voice belonged to asked.

She nodded. “Do you know where I can find her?”

“Yeah, we do, but you can put your swords away. We are no threat to you, and we actually want to see her leave this place. She’s one of the nicest people. We just don’t have powers to set her free,” the second man told her.

“Are you humans?” she asked them.

They nodded. “We know about the supernatural world though.”

“And you’re followers of Odessa, but are of no threat to me?” Aerie asked sceptically.

The second man threw his hands up. “Hey look, we follow Lady Odessa, but that doesn’t mean we agree with everything her and the Gouls do and say.”

“The what?” Aerie asked.

“Her team of witches and demons. They’re the beings she keeps close to her. We all know that Auriela isn’t one of them. She exudes a different kind of aura, and like we said, she’s one of the nicest people,” the first man explained.

Aerie was confused. “If you’re so willing to help me, why are you in this place? You are clearly good men.”

“What’s your name?” the first man asked her.

“I’m Aerie,” she informed.

He smiled. “Nice name. I’m Avan, and this is my best friend Zak. We got mixed in with the wrong crowd, and that’s how we ended up here, except leaving isn’t that easy. We’re only looking into it now because Lady Odessa has been banished to the Land of Lost Souls, and there’s chaos over here. We figured they wouldn’t notice that we’re gone.”

“And how are your fighting skills? What if you get caught trying to leave?” she questioned.

Zak scowled. “We hadn’t actually thought the whole plan out as yet. We were just playing around with the idea. However, despite us being human, we are some of the best fighters here. We’ve been trained against almost every specie.”

“Then that’s fantastic!” Aerie beamed.

“It is?” the two men asked, wary of her excitement.

“Yep! That means the two of you are going to help me rescue Auriela, and then the four of us are going to make it out of here safely,” she said enthusiastically, taking off.

They followed after her. “You’re going the wrong way, and what do you mean the four of us are going to make it out of here safely? Where would we be going?”

“Well, we’d be taking Auriela back to her mate, but I’ve also been informed that her mate is not only one of the most powerful beings in the supernatural realm, but that he’s acquaintances with the other powerful beings from different species,” Aerie informed.

“Ok, so we make it out of here then what? They welcome us too?” Avan asked in confusion.

“I imagine things would go down like that. After all, we would’ve saved Auriela. I’d like to think that that’s a big deal,” Aerie argued.

“Are you always this optimistic about everything?” Zak asked her.

“I like to see the brighter side of things, so yes, I am,” she replied.

Zak looked over to his best friend who just shrugged before he sighed. “I guess we’re helping you out then.”

“Oh, I already knew you were going to,” Aerie said happily.

“You did?” they asked.

She nodded. “It’s the power of optimism.”

They both unknowingly had the same thought, thinking about how weirdly adorable she is. She didn’t look a day over twenty, and yet she exuded something they couldn’t quite put their finger on.

They didn’t know that she’s also one of the most powerful people in existence.

Instead they chose to trust her and lead her to the Great House. As commanders, high up in the ranks, their coming and going wouldn’t be questioned, and neither would their guest. It was only once they were in that they had to be careful.

Especially in the direction they were heading in.

They’d both met Auriela by mistake. They were up to no good, touring the Great House one day, when they stumbled upon what was seemingly a secret room, and that’s when they found Auriela.

They learnt all about who she is, and they very quickly became her best friends. They would bring her stuff from outside since she wasn’t allowed to leave the room. She was spelled from doing so.

Something they knew their new acquaintance would find out soon enough.

There was excitement in the air for them. It had been a while since they had anything to do, even before Odessa was banished. She’d become obsessed with perfecting the Red Moon Spell for Dayton, that she’d neglected her followers, leaving them with nothing to do.

They weren’t really allowed to do their own thing.

There were laws that they all knew they had to follow, and there was a clear system in place that everyone was aware of. Everyone knew what was expected of them, and what the final goals were.

Or at least that was the case before Odessa was banished.

Without her or her right hand Saila around, there were clear signs of the beginnings of a power struggle – one that Zak and Avan knew that they didn’t want to be around for. It had the potential to end the very small world that Odessa had managed to build for herself.

They managed to duck and hide from any prying eyes, until they eventually reached Auriela’s room. As per ritual, they knocked on her door using their signature pattern and waited seconds before the door finally swung open.

Aerie was awestruck by the beauty before her. Long golden hair flowed down the woman’s back, while her blood red eyes shone with excitement as her eyes lay on her two best friends.

“Zak! Avan! It’s been forever!” she beamed.

Zak laughed. “It’s only been three days Riela.”

“You know how slowly time moves for me in here,” she pouted.

“Speaking of, we’re here to get you out, or at least our new friend over here is,” Avan informed.

Auriela’s eyes moved to the little girl. There was something powerful about her, and she wasn’t all that surprised to find that she couldn’t get a read on her. All she could pick up was that the girl is stunning and powerful.

“Who are you?” she asked Aerie.

“My name is Aerie and I’ve been sent to rescue you and take you to your mate,” Aerie responded proudly.

Auriela’s eyes widened in disbelief. “Boris? My fiancé is still alive?”

Aerie frowned. “Why would you think otherwise?”

“She told me she killed him. It’s the only reason why I stopped fighting her,” Auriela said.

“I may have never met him before, but your mate is very much alive. From all that I have learnt, he has spent all these years looking for you, but he could never find you because this place is very well hidden,” Aerie informed.

“How did you find it?” Avan asked her.

“There were two Naturalist witches who visited my home and their presence there allowed my elders to use their energy to harness some magic only accessible to Naturalist witches. From there, it was easy to use that magic to find this place since Naturalist energy is all linked together,” Aerie explained.

“If that’s the case, shouldn’t they have found the place because of Balthazar?” Auriela questioned.

Aerie shook her head. “It had to be a pure Naturalist witch.”

“And you just happened to have two stumble onto wherever you come from?” Zak asked sceptically.

They were well aware of the fact that Odessa had wiped out Naturalist witches.

“If you’re referring to the fact that your fearless leader wiped out her kind, I know all about that too, but these witches are young, so we can only assume that they were born after Odessa wiped the others out. We still don’t know much about them, but I’m pretty sure that we need to leave to find our answers,” Aerie said impatiently.

“And how do you know that we will get answers?” Avan asked.

Aerie looked straight at Auriela. “Because, one of the witches happens to be Balthazar’s biological daughter and a direct descendant of Odessa.”

Auriela knew about Balthazar’s past with Odessa. The man had told her and her mate all about who his parents really are after his mother threatened his new mate. She didn’t know that Gail had a child though.

However, she knew then that Aerie knew what she was talking about, despite the holes in her story.

“Ok, how are we getting out? I’ve been spelled from leaving,” Auriela informed Aerie.

“I’ll teleport all of us out of here,” Aerie replied.

“That’s all good and well, except the moment we land wherever we’re going, the Gouls will be on us. They have exceptional tracking skills, on top of the fact that they can teleport as well,” Auriela argued.

Aerie turned to the two men. “Are the two of you ready for battle?”

“You mean you want us to go up against the Gouls?” Zak asked unsurely.

“How badly do the three of you want out of here?” Aerie asked them.

“Badly,” they responded.

“Then you’re going to have to trust me on this,” Aerie said.

She didn’t give them time to think about anything as she grabbed a hold of their hands before teleporting them to Balthazar’s mansion in Rome. The gang were still expecting an answer from Max when they heard a bang outside.

“What was that?” Orion asked.

“We’d better find out considering the mansion is cloaked,” Balthazar suggested.

They all headed outside to find four people running towards the mansion, but that wasn’t what surprised them. It was the army of witches, vampires, werewolves and even trolls that was coming after them.

“Auriela?” Boris said in disbelief when he recognized his mate.

“HELP US!” Aerie shouted, her hair changing colour to a fiery orange.

That was enough to kick everyone into action as they helped to fight off the Gouls. The Gouls are comprised of some of the best of the best creatures from different species who swore their allegiance to Odessa.

Their leader may be banished, but even they knew that they couldn’t let her most prized possession get away.

Auriela ran straight into the arms of her mate, and she couldn’t believe that he was really there. In the middle of the battle, Boris hugged the love of his life back with as much vigour as she was, unbelieving that she’d found her own way back to him.

“Uh Boris, not to ruin your reunion or anything, but we could use your help over here,” Anastasia shouted.

Boris told Auriela to head inside the mansion. Unlike everyone else excluding Zak and Avan, she didn’t have fighting skills, and her powers were useless in this regard. She ran inside the mansion and hoped for the best.

Outside, the battle didn’t last all too long after that. While the Gouls are some of the strongest creatures around, they were up against some of the most powerful. In fact, the fight only lasted as long as it did because of the number of Gouls they were fighting off.

“What the hell just happened?” Jacob asked once he’d shifted back.

“Has your wolf always been like that?” Orion instead asked him.

“Like what?” he asked.

“Black and huge,” Anastasia informed.

“It’s always been black. I don’t know about huge,” Jacob replied.

“Guys! Not the important matter here,” Boris interrupted.

Balthazar looked to the young girl, frowning. “Aerie?”

“Hi Uncle Balthazar,” she smiled.

“It really is you! I haven’t seen you since you were five,” Balthazar said, going over to hug her.

She giggled. “I know. I’ve been hidden with The Elders this whole time.”

“And they’re the ones who sent you on the mission to rescue Auriela?” he asked just as the said oracle ran out and headed back into her mate’s arms.

Aerie nodded. “Yep!”

“How did you know where to find her? I’ve been searching for so long,” Boris questioned, running his hand through his mate’s hair.

“Marissa and Millen,” Aerie informed, before her eyes found the red orbs that were already on her.

No one had even noticed, but Max hadn’t lifted a finger to help in the battle, simply because he was entranced. The moment his eyes landed on the spitfire that had shouted ‘help’, his whole world stood still.

Instead he’d managed to just stand and watch her while his witch’s side formed a barrier around him. Long, bouncy and black waves of hair had transformed to a fiery orange before his very eyes, and he’d been mesmerized by everything she’d done since.

The way she fought off the Gouls.

The way she moved at an almost unrecognizable speed.

The way she would make a small victorious sound after killing someone.

The way her icy silver eyes would gleam every time she drove her sword into her enemies.

Just her.

He watched as the battle ended and her hair returned to its normal raven state. He watched her clean her swords before putting them back in place. He watched her scout the area for any more potential danger.

He just watched her.

Aerie felt her whole universe first flip before falling into place as she stared into the eyes of her fated mate. She already knew who he was just by looking at him, and all she could see was perfection.

Which is why she was stunned when he disappeared before her very eyes.

“Where did Max go?” Orion asked.

Boris sighed. “Really, who knows at this point in time?”

“Max? Is that his name?” Aerie asked softly.

“Maximillan, otherwise known as Max. His witch’s side goes by the name Millen,” Merlin informed.

“Millen,” she whispered.

Gail cocked her head to the side. “I saw the way you just looked at him now. Is he your mate?”

“Why’d he leave?” she instead asked lowly.

Auriela stepped out of Boris’ hold to hug her. “I’m so sorry Aerie.”

“Yeah! He’s a douche for leaving you like that!” Zak added.

“A douche doesn’t even begin,” Avan jumped in, making Aerie laugh as she wiped away some fallen tears.

She’d apparently made some unexpected friends.

“I’m guessing the four of you are friends?” Boris asked, noting the bond between them.

“Yeah,” Zak and Avan said confidently.

Anastasia frowned. “The two of you are humans.”

“Yeah, and you’re a blended witch. What’s your point?” Zak asked.

“You’re able to tell what she is just like that?” Jacob asked.

Avan nodded. “We can tell what all of you are except Aerie.”

“How?” Balthazar asked.

“Lady Odessa trained us on how to tell all supernatural creatures, or at least the most common ones, apart,” Avan replied.

“Lady Odessa? You’re followers of my mother?” Balthazar asked as everyone else suddenly had their walls up.

“Zak and Avan are my best friends. They’re not like the others. I wouldn’t have survived as long as I did without them,” Auriela defended.

“And I wouldn’t have been able to rescue Auriela without them,” Aerie added.

“So, they’re friends and not enemies?” Boris asked.

“Do we really need to spell it out for you babe?” Auriela asked him.

He didn’t even care that she was mocking him – he only cared about the fact that she’d called him babe.

“Well let’s head on inside and determine if any of my wife’s magic followed Auriela,” Merlin suggested.

“You’re Merlin? Lady Odessa’s husband?” Zak asked as they all headed inside.

“She told people about me?” Merlin asked, surprised.

Zak shook his head. “I just happened to catch her on a bad day and she was rambling about how she missed the days when the two of you would have picnics at some willow tree. It was one of the days when she was sick.”

“She still remembers.”

“Sick?”

“It’s not a secret known to many, but Lady Odessa sometimes has days where she gets sick. Her skin becomes super white and black veins appear beneath it. On those days, she either wants to be left alone until she gets stronger on her own, or they have to dip her into the Pool of Powers,” Avan explained.

“Ah gee, who came up with that gem of a name?” Mark taunted.

Zak laughed a little as they all took their seats in the lounge. “We don’t know either.”

“What is the Pool of Powers anyway?” Faith asked.

“It’s exactly that – a pool where she’s collected the powers of all the Naturalist witches that she killed. Whenever she’s sick and they put her in there, she drains up enough of the powers to heal herself before she leaves,” Avan explained.

“Wait! So, she didn’t actually drain all the powers at once?” Mama Deo asked.

“No, she didn’t. She stored them all in this pool that she created and spelled. Like I said, she goes into it whenever she’s sick,” Avan responded.

“So, what? She couldn’t handle draining all their powers at once?” Balthazar asked.

“From what we heard, she tried to but the overload of power almost killed her, hence the Pool of Powers. She managed to create it and transfer all the powers in it before they could kill her,” Zak informed.

“How do the two of you know so much about these things?” Boris asked suspiciously.

“Aside from snooping around and finding this stuff out, and also having Riela tell us some of these things, we’ve worked our way up the ranks and are some of the highest commanders – so we’ve been privy to some information along the way,” Avan explained.

Balthazar turned to Auriela. “You’ve gained some knowledge on her?”

“I’ve learnt a lot over the years, and not just about her, but her schemes and plans too,” Auriela agreed.

“Well, that will definitely be helpful now that she’s been banished. It will give us a chance to right the things she wronged,” Balthazar commented.

“You mean on top of everything else we’re dealing with? Including the biggest thing which is your daughter?” Gail asked, disbelieving of what her mate was saying.

“We’re more than capable of dealing with everything at the same time,” Merlin argued.

“My daughter is the most powerful being there is, and you’re choosing to do other things instead of investing your time into helping her?” Gail shouted.

“Love, calm down. None of us are saying we’re abandoning Juniper, but what can we do at this point? Not even Max knows where we can start, so we can put ourselves to good use until we’ve figured out what to do in that regard. Mateo is in a safe location, and she’s happy with her other mate. There’s nothing we can do,” Balthazar told her.

Gail was having trouble with what her mate was saying simply because she’d already felt like she’d failed her daughter before. She just didn’t want to find herself failing her again, something she felt like she couldn’t communicate to anyone else.

“You just mentioned Max again. Who’s June?” Aerie asked.

“Juniper is Balthazar and Gail’s daughter and Max’s best friend. Max and June are hybrids. Maximillan is his human name, Millen is his witch’s name and Oden is his wolf’s name. Juniper is her human name, Marissa is her witch’s name and Starlet is her wolf’s name,” Orion informed.

“Did you just say that Max’s wolf’s name is Oden?” Balthazar asked.

Orion nodded. “Yeah, why?”

“Why has this not come up before?” Balthazar asked, suddenly antsy.

“What are you thinking?” Gail asked him.

“I think he and I just figured out how Maximillan got his witch.”