The Delta's Daughter Chapter 242

MORGAN

The air shifts. An upward spiral of vaporization climbed the vacant air, forming a dense and rapidly rising green mist twisting and maturing. It begins to take shape into an almost corporeal form, the green mist forming into two men ‘kill the snitch, kill the snitch’ they chant, their arms stretching out before them reaching for Abbas.

Abbas looks on horrified at what is happening before his eyes, eyes flying wide and mouth dropping open. The color drains from his face as I stand and point at him.

"Kill him," I say in a voice that's deeper and commanding, calling forth the whispering echoes. Commanding them to do my bidding. Though never done before, the action comes naturally and feels right. “Kill him,” I repeat. The thirst for Abbas’ blood to be spilled is immense.

Abbas screams, the sound piercing and girly as the two echoes glid towards him. Their hands touch him, and Abbas cowers back, throwing his arms in front of his face like a shield, except it won’t save him. Not today. The echoes ghostly fingers touch him, and Abbas gasps, making a sound close to a wounded animal, I watch with admiration as the echoes pass through him and drain the life force from him. His eyes darken and become hollow and tears of blood seep from the openings before he slumps to the floor. Dead.

I suppose it was strange, it felt strange. I felt strange all over, yet comfortably ok with what I just did.

It came so naturally, feeling for the echoes and calling to their spirits. When I felt them near it was as if I grasped a tether, and pulled it, hauling them into this plane. They did not fight me, rather I could feel their excitement to kill Abbas.

The way they swept through him, their un-corporeal form, bleeding into Abbas and passing through him like mist over the mountains that seep into the forest blanketing the treetops.

When Abbas is silenced and unmoving the two echoes turn to me as if waiting for further instruction. “Keys” I point to the other side of the barred doors where they have fallen. They move in eerie silence passing through the bars and I wonder how they will retrieve the keys for me when one bends down and with a mighty push of his finger sends the set of keys sliding towards me, where I catch them with my foot.

“Thank you,” I tell them, not feeling strange at all that I am attempting to converse with two unknown echoes while completely naked.

I manage to open the lock and push the door open. My echoes are standing on the other side, an arm each stretched out and fingers pointing the way. My naked body shivers, as I head toward the direction, they point in. Stopping when I come to the end of the prison’s corridor spotting extra clothing the soldiers must keep on hand. I grab a shirt and pair of pants, dressing in oversized clothes quickly when I hear the painful grunt of a man.

I remember that Kian’s brother, Rostam had been imprisoned and followed the sound down the corridor in the opposite direction my echoes had pointed to. The grunt of pain comes again, and I stop outside a dark cell, the bars on this one painted silver, and peer in.

“Rostam?” I half-whisper, still in fear of someone hearing me, and Farid coming back.

In the furthest, darkest corner of the cell, something moves. A growl and then that same grunt. Red eyes peer back at me the figure slowly emerges but it’s not what I was expecting to see. Instead of a man, I come face to face with something half wolf, half man, and half… demon creature.

Though his appearance looks harrowing, and the disfigured thing leaves an unsettling fear in the pit of my stomach, the thing's eyes, red and piercing hold a scared and tortured look. His eyes begged for relief from his torment.

“Rostam?” I ask as the figure growls at me, immediately followed by a whimper. His dark hair is long and scraggly and his skin a pale shade of what was once tanned. His claws are long and pointed and his fangs are thin and so sharp they pierce the skin below his lip. It’s as if he half-shifted and became stuck in that state, yet something had been done to him. Something that altered his appearance and shift.

My brain begins to think, and I recall a vision I had last year when my father and his mistress Shayna were conducting experiments on shifters and humans. In my vision, I had seen unholy creatures. Victims of my father’s testing, shifters, and humans who had been injected with a serum that caused them to become monsters. This… figure in front of me reminded me of that vision and I could only wonder what Farid had done to him.

“If you are Rostam, Kian is coming for you. I promise he can help us.” The thing growls again and begins to beat his fists on the concrete floor. His knuckles broke open and blood splattered across the cell floor and walls. The thing sniffed and his eyes began to glow brighter and bigger at the scent of his own blood.

My mother’s voice filled my head at that moment ‘Your blood will set him free,’

I scrunched my eyes, narrowing them on the thing and also at my mother’s words. ‘Your blood is a poison to his illness. Let him have just a little and it will kill the chemicals he is riddled with, he will become himself.’

My mother had never steered me wrong in life or death. I trusted her, even when she spoke to me from the other side of this plane of existence. I looked down at my hand, holy gods, was I really doing this?  I couldn’t help but think.

By far this wasn’t the strangest thing that had happened to me since becoming free and I was sure it wouldn’t be the last. I looked around for something to draw my blood with, and maybe something to put it in. I didn’t see anything of any use. The keys were still in my hand, I could try to cut myself with them.

I look at the thing who was still growling and whimpering, every now and then he would smash his hands against the floor or hit his own head. “I-I need you to bite me,” I hesitantly took a step forward. “Can you understand me?” I looked around, watching and listening for the sounds of any soldiers or Farid that might be coming. When I didn’t hear anything, I turned my attention back to the pained creature behind the bars.

“Bite me, but please don’t kill me.” I nervously stuck my hand through the bars, when my two echoes appeared beside me again. Like two guards ready to protect me at a moment's notice. I thought they had left but apparently, somehow, they were still here. 

The creature moved forward, crouched and head cocked, looking at my hand, then me, and back to my hand again. “B-bite m-me” I stuttered praying I was doing the right thing.

The deformed shifter reached out so fast, grabbing my hand and sinking his teeth into me, I gasped at his sudden movement then squealed when I felt his pointy teeth dig deep into the ball of my palm.

It was over quickly. The thing tearing his mouth from my hand where blood oozed and flew to the back of his cell into the darkest corner once again. Sounds of pain-filled cries rang out and I was scared someone would hear and come to see what all the noise was. The groaning, moaning tortured sound faded and in its place was a low growl followed by heavy panting.

“Rostam?” I asked the thing again after a few beats of silence. I heard shuffling and saw a flicker of movement. “Are, are you ok?”

The figure moved forward, and I reared my head back, shocked at the difference. The monster no longer stood before me, instead, a man taller than Kian but not as built with dark brown eyes and shoulder-length black hair stood in front of me. His skin is no longer colorless but a healthy brown color.

I couldn’t believe it worked and looked back down at my hand, only for my eyes to return to his face.

“Are you Rostam?” I asked, noticing the slight resemblance in their eyes and nose.

“Who are you?” The man croaked.

“I am Morgan Faye Artos, Abbas is dead, and Kian is coming to rescue us.”

“Kian is dead!” The man spat, growling the words.

“No,” I replied shaking my head “He is not, that I promise you….”

“You say Abbas is dead?” He scrubs a hand over his face.

I nod in answer. “I don’t have time to explain. Tell me who you are?”

“I am Rostam, the first prince to the throne of Eririat, and Farid wrongly imprisoned me for treason. He has our father, King Parviz (Panja), in an induced coma and I believe he was looking for you?”

Again, I nod. “He found me, I killed Abbas,” I turned to show him my echoes, but they had vanished as soon as they saw I was in no danger. I hold the keys up and jiggle them, Rostam gives me a knowing smile and I proceed to find the key to his cell.

Thankful the key is on this ring I unlock the cell door and open it for him. Rostam stretches his arms and walks through the open doorway, “If Kian is truly still alive then Farid will bring the whole army down upon him. He will not dare face him one on one. Let’s go help my little brother.”

“I don’t think you are in any condition to fight your highness.” I scowl at him.

“I have more to fight for than you know little witch.” And he brushes past me, his long legs carrying him through the prison swiftly and I have to almost run to keep up with him.

Rostam led me up and out of the prison, it was unsettling that we passed no guards, and I kept expecting to find one around every corner, but we met no one as we reached the palace's main floor and out a side door.

“That was too easy,” Rostam mumbled as if reading my thoughts. His eyes glazed and his expression turned from confused to angry. “The soldiers have Kian blocked in on the streets, Farid has full intentions of his army killing him. Too afraid to face him on his own.”

“Where?” I ask determined to go help my wolfman with the newfound use of my gift.

“That way,” Rostam points down towards a street.

“Then let’s go,” I say, my feet automatically moving that way with purpose.

“What are you going to do? You are as good as a human, they will kill you on-site, you don’t stand a chance, Morgan.”

I turn and smile at the man whom I was supposedly promised to. I know he knows all about me, but maybe not everything. “I got this,” I wink at him.

I look down at the open wound on my hand from where Rostam bit me and squeezed my fingers around the wound, making it bleed some more. A few drops of blood fell to the ground, and I closed my eyes feeling out for any and all echoes that were present. Hundreds of souls are what I felt, and they all answered my call.

Opening my eyes, I saw the same green mist rise and spiral into the forms of the undead. I paid Rostam’s stunned and unnerved expression no mind and concentrated on the hundreds of rising echoes. “Only the soldiers of Eririat, spare the rest,” I commanded them in that deep unearthly tone. The power radiates from me through my eyes, I can feel them glowing, controlling.

I move forward and towards where Rostam said they were fighting. The closer I came the more I heard the battle that was taking place. “Go and do as I command,” I instructed the dead, who glided towards the battle that had come into view.

Watching as they moved through the soldiers like a sweeping wind, leaving a pile of carnage in their wake. Once an echo touched or went through a soldier, killing him – that echo would vaporize, his work - done. It seemed they could not hold onto their form in this plane for long after taking a life. Their energy used - they would return from whence they came.

I walked behind my army of dead, stepping over the bodies they left behind, my eyes searching out for my wolfman. “Where are you Kian?” I mumbled to myself aloud. I turned to look for Rostam who had been behind me only to see him flash by, joining the fight.

“Morgan!” I hear my name called and my knees weaken at the familiar voice as I search for its owner. It had been a few years since I had seen him, but I could never forget the sound of my brother’s voice.

“Finn!” I cry out when my eyes land on his, the same violet eyes as mine and my mother’s. “Oh, god’s Finn!” The sting of fresh tears fills my eyes and I run to him, meeting him halfway as he picks me up and spins me around. His huge arms blanketed me and squeezed me. I could not describe the feelings that came over me, my emotions running too high to make any sense of them. All I knew was my brother was here, he was here for me. 

“Shit little sis, I always knew you were special, but wow! Dad really underestimated your gifts.” He chuckles and places me back on my feet. My arms circled around his waist not ready to let him go.

“LAY DOWN YOUR WEAPONS AND ADMIT DEFEAT!” I look up and peer around my brother's hulking form to see Kian standing on a wall, covered in blood, and addressing the remaining Eririat soldiers. Two men by his side and an army of wolves and bears behind him. “You can not win!” he shouts above the dying fight, “Farid has abandoned you, left you to fight his war! Where is he? Not here fighting alongside the men he is meant to command, no! Instead, the coward hides too afraid to face me himself.”

Kian turns in a circle glancing over the defeated soldiers of the kingdom he once called his home. “I will  challenge Farid Tikaani for the title and the crown, he will face me or I WILL destroy this kingdom!”

Rostam moves towards Kian, his face pale as if he truly had seen a ghost this time. “Kian?” He calls out to his younger brother.

Kian halts his speech and looks down to see his brother making his way through the crowd. “Rostam?” He jumps down from the wall, clutching his brother’s shoulders, “Where, how? I thought Farid…”

“It seems you have a very powerful witch who broke me from my cell and brought me back from a chemically induced state.” Rostam tilted his head over his shoulder looking at me.

As soon as Kian laid eyes on me, he dropped his hands and quickly walked over to me, stopping a mere inch or two from me. His hand came up and tucked my hair behind my ears. His fingers grazed the cut on my face and his thumb gently brushed over my swollen lip sending a fleet of butterflies to flutter through my stomach. “Morgan” He breathed out, his breath fanning across my face. Kian’s eyes locked onto mine and I wanted nothing more than to kiss him. For him to hold me. But he didn’t. His hand dropped and a look of affliction flickered in his now golden brown-colored eyes.

My body took on a life of its own and leaned into him, wanting to feel his warm touch again. My heart broke when he took a step back, an agonizing look on his face as if he was fighting the urge to give me what I so desperately wanted.

“Kian…” I began but he shook his head giving my brother a glance and then training his eyes back on me.

“Kian, we must find Sonia, please. Your sister is in danger,” Rostam pleaded to Kian. Who only nodded his head in acknowledgment.

“Secure the prisoners! I am going after Farid and to find my sister.” Kian instructed the army that stood behind him. Two large men began barking orders at Alpha Zayd and the other Alpha wolf. Kian’s eyes finally fell back on mine. “You are safe now Morgan, Finn is here. Stay with him he will look after you.”

“What about you?” I asked grabbing his arm as he brushed past me.

“It’s not over for me yet,” He pulls his arm from my grasp and he and Rostam start running back toward the palace.  

“Why do people keep calling him Kian?” A large, bearded man asks another, slightly smaller blond-haired guy. Both are equally good looking but the bearded man’s aura pulls my eyes toward his.

I roll my shoulders and neck, my feet moving toward the man until I find myself standing in front of him. “Kian, or Hunji as you may know him, is the rightful heir to this kingdom. He should have been the crowned prince.”

“Hunji is Kian Tikaani?” My brother gasps behind me “The forsaken prince?”

“Wrongly accused,” I state while glancing at my brother who wears a glum expression.

“Hunji is a prince! Well, I never,” The bearded man chuckles, his fingers tangling in the tidy beard and scratching it in bemusement. His light brown eyes hold an astonishing look.

I lock my gaze onto those eyes, peering right into his soul and feeling his Alpha aura, but it feels tainted. “You are not whole?” I ask him.

“What do you mean?” He asks, his face changing to one of stone as he glares back at me in defiance.

“You… You are alive, but you are not. You are in between.” If I sounded cryptic that’s because he was a puzzle that I couldn’t figure out. He was here but he wasn’t. Some part of his soul existed on another plane. I could feel it, just like the echoes, just like they called to me from beyond, part of his soul did too.