Chapter 21: Chapter 21

DEVON

"Luke is not a bad person and he doesn't deserve what Amyra did to him that's why I have become his mate" Lucy explained and I heaved a sigh."He's gone through so much already, Lucy. Please don't hurt him" I said."I would never do that to him" she said."What I don't get is why all this didn't happen before I died " Theo said, running a hand through his hair."Amyra has always known that she's a part of the silver beast. Her mother, Xaira knew about it as well. All she wanted was for her daughter to rule the four lands. Amyra was having a hard time finding her partner in order to activate her powers. When you made Luke the king of the four lands, Amyra felt that she didn't need to activate her powers since she would be ruling alongside Luke. She became selfish though. She wanted the four lands all to herself. She went in search of her partner. But then, she heard that you were back. She was upset. She's the one who sent three incubuses to kill you" I clenched my jaw and walked up to the window, rage pulsing within me.Amyra needs to go down soon. I'm sick of letting her mess with us."We still have to figure out who the other part of the silver beast" Theo sighed "I have an idea" I said.He raised a brow."I was thinking- We all know that Amyra must have found her partner. If she has, I think we need to find out where Amyra is. Then, she can unconsciously lead us to their hide out" I said."So, what you're saying is that we should stalk Amyra" Theo said, leaning on the kitchen counter."Well, that's one way to put it" I said, giving him a sheepish smile."That's not a bad idea but we have a problem. The silver beast can track our scents. Amyra will notice that we're stalking her" Theo said."But there's one person who can mask our scents" Lucy said."Who?" I asked."Luke" she said and I sighed "Lucy, he's not in good shape, you know that. He needs some time to recover and time is not on our side. The blood moon is in eight days" Theo said."Would you rather let the silver beast win? Luke wouldn't want that, not if he can help it" she said

***

The next day, Theo wasn't in bed when I awoke. I was pretty sure he hadn't slept a wink. It was bothering me. When I freshened up and got out of bed, I went to check on Luke. Theo had beat me to it. He was sitting by Luke's bedside, staring at the wall. I walked up to him and placed my hands on his broad shoulders. His muscles were stiff with tension."Good morning" I said, pressing a kiss to his temple.He gave me a small smile and kissed me."Morning, love""You didn't get any sleep, did you?" I asked, noticing the circles under his eyes."I tried" he said, huskily.I started to slowly massage his neck and shoulders."I had a nightmare when I eventually fell asleep"I bit my lower lip, gazing at him with concern."Want to talk about it?" I asked.He heaved a sigh, his gaze resting on Luke who was still unconscious."It was so bad, I ended up throwing up in the bathroom" he said, closing his eyes.My heart sank.Whatever it was, I didn't like the sound of it.I started to glide my fingers through his hair."Luke was killed in the most gruesome way possible, he was bleeding everywhere and I tried to save him but I couldn't.... Then... I saw you.... you were walking towards me. Your neck snapped and your head was dislodged from your body. You started to cry... your tears were blood. I was horrified... Someone else called me 'dad' and when I turned to look at who it was, I saw a little boy staring up at me. His left eye had been ripped out and it was bleeding non-stop.... his other eye was blue... like yours. He looked a lot like me. Right before my eyes, he burst into flames. All along, Amyra was laughing. I can still hear her in my head" Theo rasped, his hands trembling.

***

THEO

"None of that is real. I'm right here, see" Devon said, squatting in front of me as she cupped the side of my face. "I know... I just can't get it out of my head. I feel so miserable" I said. My eyes widened when Luke held my hand with his eyes still closed."She's messing with your head" he croaked as he opened his eyes."You're awake" I breathed."Yeah. I'm thirsty" he rasped."I'll go get you water" Devon said and left us alone."How are you feeling?" I asked"Numb"I bit my lip and frowned."I honestly have no idea if I'm ever going to heal from the pain Amyra caused me. I loved her and I thought she loved me. I want to say that it hurts. But to be honest, my mind is blank. You had a nightmare?"I nodded."She's messing with your head. Don't let her"The door opened and Lucy walked in holding a glass of water with Devon behind her. Luke raised a brow."Cynda? What are you-"She interrupted him by saying, "I'm here to help you heal" His eyes widened."I don't understand" he muttered.She smiled and propped him up, enough to drink from the tumbler. "You don't have to know anything yet. I need you to relax, okay?" She said, stroking his hair.Luke still looked very confused, I don't blame him though. "What's going on?" He said to me I sighed."She's your mate""W-what? How's that possible?""I guess the fates wants you to be happy" I shrugged."Okay, this is a lot to take in" Luke said, closing his eyes."Now you know" Lucy said."Wait, the blood moon is in eight days. We have to stop the silver beast before she completes her transformation" Luke said."We were thinking of stalking her" Lucy said."Stalking Amyra is definitely risky. If things go wrong, it means we've messed everything up" he said.There was a knock on the door. "Come in" I said when I sensed Liam's presence.The door opened and Liam walked in with his face, blank. "I heard about what happened. I'm sorry" he said to Luke who shrugged."I'm alive, that's all that matters" Luke said."Any information, Liam?" Devon asked."Yeah. I did some investigation during the weekend-""Investigation? Didn't know you had it in you" Luke said, amused.Liam rolled his eyes and leaned back on his chair."I've narrowed the search to three people and they are all females. The three of them has a very different aura...." He said, placing three photos on my lap. The first one was Natasha McNeil, I recognized her immeadietly. She worked in Rachel's restaurant. The second one was Valentina Guerrero. She lived only three blocks away and she had a daughter.The last one caught me off guard. Veronica Leech.I won't be surprised if she's actually the silver beast. She's really weird. She still flirts with me at every chance she gets."I can make people talk but sometimes, controlling the beast inside of me is hard. Theo, you should be the one doing the questioning. Besides, you're the best looking male in this room. I suppose you can charm them with your beauty" Liam said. I frowned staring at the photos in my hand. Natasha and Valentina would be easier to question but I had a feeling that Veronica wouldn't give in so easily. I exhaled slowly and placed the photos on the table. "Fine, I'll do it" I said.

***

When I knocked on the front door of Valentina's house, the door opened instantly. Valentina stood there, dressed in sweat pants and a T-shirt. She had a small smile on her face."Do I know you?" She asked, raising a light brow.I smiled and extended a hand. "Theodore Wainwright. I live three blocks away" I said as she accepted my handshake.Her eyes widened by a fraction."Come in" she said, moving aside for me to step in.She shut the door behind us and I sat down on the couch while she brought me a bottle of water. I could see her aura. Waves of neon green and mauve swirled around her. I knew what she was as soon as I saw her aura. She was a witch. A powerful one. "Nice contacts and tattoos" she said and I shrugged."Well, I'm a fan of tattoos too" she said, raising her arm where a dark tattoo glowed. The tattoo had intricate designs and it crept up her arms delicately."They look nice" I said and her cheeks turned pink "Thanks""How did you get the tattoo?" I asked"From a tattoo shop-" she started to say.I clicked my tongue in disapproval."It's not nice to lie, Valentina" I said, my eyes glowing brightly.She rose to her feet, her body trembling with fear "What are you?" She whimpered."Nothing you should worry about. I won't hurt you, not if you give me a reason to" I said and she swallowed hard. "I'll ask you again. I want you to be honest"She nodded frantically."Good. How did you get the tattoo?" I asked."Nowhere" she muttered."Care to elaborate?""I-I I woke up one morning when I was eight. It was on my skin. I don't know who put it on me" she said."Do you know what you are?" I asked."Yes" she breathed."What are you?" I asked."A witch. I'm a witch. My mum told me" she said, her lower lip trembling. "It's okay, Valentina. Sit down. I want to know what you know about being a witch" I said and she nodded."Will you cooperate with me?" I asked."Yes. Yes, I will" she replied and I grinned.

******

My next stop was Rachel's restaurant. I walked in and took a seat on one of the chairs. Rachel was talking to Natasha, animatedly and she hadn't noticed me yet. Natasha started to walk towards me, her blonde hair framing her pale face. Her blue-gray eyes seemed to be glowing.Liam was right. Her aura was indeed, strange. Waves of grey, light blue and yellow swirled around her."Hi. I'm here to take your order" she said, giving me a smile. "Two sandwiches please" I said and she left.I rose to my feet and moved closer to the counter. Rachel had still not noticed me. "Hey, mum" I said and she froze. She turned to look at me, her wide eyes filling up with tears."Theo? Is that-Is that you?" She rasped."Yeah, it's me" I said "Oh. My. God" she breathed and moved away from the counter to embrace me.