Malevolenci Read online

  “Not really. Best we can figure, only a handful remained in the home world after the conjuri stopped. The malevolenci were pretty bad around that time, so our ancestors agreed with the shift in priorities. Besides, no harm was done. Somehow – only Lycan knows how – the werewolves left behind escaped persecution all those centuries ago.”

  Esme understood with a nod. “Over the years, the conjuri have summoned alterni from your home world. The werewolf alterni that came through were still purebloods. That means the werewolf remnant survived.”

  “And thrived,” added Max. “Mynogan was the first werewolf alterni to partner with a king. According to stories we’re told as pups, Mynogan was a great hero in the home world and alpha to his pack. The stories always make it sound like they were few in number but strong and resilient.”

  Esme nodded, having read the same but not wanting to interrupt with her bookishness.

  “Years later, Cahal was another werewolf alterni. She told our people that the story of our disappearance was a legend among the werewolf clan back home. They’d always assumed we escaped into another world, but of course no one knew how or where we’d gone. My ancestors here welcomed her into our pack.” Max frowned. “Not that she survived long with King Orlando.”

  “Yeah…” Esme remembered the story of the werewolf alt-Cahal, then realized something. “You said Cahal told your people here that their kin in the home world believed they’d disappeared into another world. Does that mean the werewolves back home knew about other worlds?”

  Max shrugged. “Guess so. Maybe it’s like we were saying – our ancestors remembered the legend of our alt-world’s origins and passed the stories down to future generations. Or, like we said, maybe our alt-worlds had seers and knew about other alt-worlds that way.”

  Esme had thought these theories through in circles, so she shook it off and turned to another line of questioning. “Your ancestors who came here jumped into the war effort as soon as the malevolenci attacked. Have you ever heard anything to suggest the werewolves knew about malevolenci from back home?”

  Scratching his chin, Max thought a moment. “Not that I remember. In our home world, we were seen as the demons. If there’d been anything worse than us – like malevolenci – I doubt we’d have been persecuted as much.”

  Fair point.

  Max smiled. “Our being dangerous badasses worked out for this world. The Order needed us to fight the malevolenci, and for centuries werewolves have been the best cavali. And the best alterni.”

  “I won’t argue that.” Esme remembered her studies of the Chronicles of Kings. “There’ve been a lot of werewolf alterni who’ve survived a long time and fought bravely. King Douglas’s third Arnost was a werewolf, and he outlived the king. The fourth Nola lived ten years here and had a few pureblood children with a werewolf man who lived in…Germany, I think. Then there was a werewolf alt-Kuba with King Treddian. King Jeffrey had a werewolf Ludek alterni.”

  Max grinned. “If you know all this history, why ask me about it?”

  “Books get boring.”

  Max laughed in appreciation.

  She smiled with a shrug. “Besides, what better way to learn about paranormals than to talk to paranormals?”

  And what better way to learn about demons from an alt-world than to hear weird stories from alt-worlds? Someone in the alt-worlds must know about malevolenci – they get in and kill alterni, after all. Someone must’ve noticed them.

  Esme swallowed. This war wasn’t only about saving this magical world. It wasn’t even about saving all the worlds. In her angriest moments, this war against malevolenci was deeply personal.

  Max, knowing nothing of this, swept hair out of his face and gave Esme a small smile. “Thanks for wanting to hear werewolf history from me. We mixed bloods aren’t usually taken very seriously where werewolves are concerned.”

  This weird racism still bothered Esme, and she smiled back at the tough man. “You and Dax are two of the best cavali I’ve ever seen. You’ve earned the king’s respect enough to be on his own cavali team. If other werewolves are jerks to you guys, I’m guessing it’s from jealousy.”

  “Ha! Thanks. It’s been a lot of work, but I wouldn’t trade my life for anything. Neither would Dax.” Max smiled. “It’s always funny to wonder how soft our alt-selves must be in comparison. Your fourth alterni said the Dax Hoffman in her world was an accountant.”

  Esme chuckled and looked back to where Max’s big brother was still watching a movie. “That’s hard to imagine.”

  “Right?” Max hid a grin in case Dax should look over.

  Remembering a past conversation, Esme shrugged. “According to Hakim, my fourth alterni made up stories about your people’s alt-selves in her world. She said her world’s Hakim was straight. And a womanizer, if I remember correctly.”

  “Which, of course, you do.” Max grinned. “It’s not like you forget anything with that crazy brain of yours.”

  Esme rolled her eyes at this now-common description of her photographic memory. But she had to chuckle.

  It’s funny how things turn out. Max and Dax hated me my first months here. Now they’re two of my biggest supporters. Helps that I don’t suck anymore.

  She smiled. “Whatever your alt-selves are like, Max, I’m glad I ended up with you and Dax just as you are.”

  Max gave her a friendly grin, and when he spoke again he sounded more philosophical than she usually gave him credit for. “It’s a weird thing to know there are different versions of you, isn’t it? It must’ve been a shock when you first got here and learned all this. For those of us who grew up in the Order, it’s something we’re used to. It’s humbling to understand we’re not the only versions of ourselves in existence. At the same time, it’s kind of like being immortal, with alternates living their own lives out there.”

  Except for me. I’m the last alt-Esme. I’m alone. If I die…

  Esme held her expression in check.

  Max is right – everyone in the Order grows up with a sense of extended family. Very few people have ever known they’re alone. I know. But I’m glad Roman agreed to show me the Chronicle of Alterni Endi. I’d feel so much more alone if I didn’t have their stories to connect with… Not that the six before me knew they were alterni endi. I’m alone in that too.

  She frowned down at her castorcas.

  Devon, Cocidius, Regan, Havel, Kayne, Boone… I’ve loved learning more of their stories, but even if my fellow alterni endi were crazy-powerful, only two of them survived. When the last Devon died, King Eglid had to fulfill the Oath of Kings by killing himself so a new cycle of alterni could begin. Same with the last Cocidius and King Nathaniel. Then Regan and King Wallace. Then Boone and King Wentworth less than ten generations ago. Only two alterni endi out of six held back the malevolenci… And now it’s on me. If I die, Owen will have to kill himself to give this world a chance of survival.

  “You okay?”

  Esme looked back at Max and forced a smile. “Yeah, sorry. Just a lot on my mind.”

  “No problem. I’m antsy myself – always get this way around full moons.”

  She’d wanted to ask about this a million times, but it seemed too personal. Since he brought it up… “How does the curse work for mixed blood werewolves, if you don’t mind my asking?”

  “Well, it depends on how much werewolf blood someone has. Dax and I are half-bloods, so we feel the effects more than those who’re a quarter werewolf, for example. We can’t go full wolf or morph or anything. But our canine senses strengthen during full moons – smell, especially. And our testosterone gets amped up. Everyone who’s at least an eighth werewolf experiences a kind of restlessness. It’s hard to explain.”

  “Interesting.”

  I had a friend back home who worked in the ER. She always said there were tons of patients with crazy stories during a full moon. I wonder…

  Before she could ask another question, a yawn escaped. “Excuse me.”

  Max smiled and r
ose from his seat. “Get some rest. I’m sure we’ll be busy as soon as we touch down in KC.”

  “Right. See ya.”

  Esme sat a moment and watched as Max returned to the seat by his brother. All around the cabin, her team continued to rest. For months, these cavali had extinguished malevolenci invasions in Denver, San Francisco, Madison, Nashville, Atlanta, Houston, Portland, and now New York City. They’d never wavered in their duty but followed Owen and Esme into battle after battle, risking their lives nightly for a world that didn’t even know who they were.

  She frowned.

  They do all this and don’t even know the whole truth. Owen agreed with Roman that the Order shouldn’t know I’m the alterni endi. I agreed too, for that matter. This war is bad enough, and our people would panic if they knew how close we are to losing. I feel enough pressure without everyone knowing I’m the last alterni Owen has. I get why we haven’t told the Order… But we’re lying by omission. To our own team. To our friends. That’s a stress we’re putting on ourselves, and is it really necessary?

  With a tired sigh, Esme picked up her notebook and rose from her chair. Since the private room in the back was unoccupied at the moment, she decided to sleep on the secluded bed.

  As she turned to go, she met eyes with Owen, and his questioning look asked if she was okay. Esme gave him a small smile, but she shook her head so he wouldn’t join her.

  No more relapses.

  Looking away, she walked to the back compartment of the plane. They’d land in Kansas City soon enough, but for now she’d take Max’s advice and rest.

  Esme stood at her kitchen island preparing a casual Saturday lunch for Lexi, Hakim, Owen, and herself. This felt like the most natural thing in the world, never mind that it happened so infrequently. A smile on her face, Esme wiped a drop of peach juice on her jeans and looked over to her glass dining table.

  At the end of the table, Hakim was for once dressed casually in slacks and a light sweater, though he still sat reading his phone. Lexi, in a blue sweater dress, set glasses of her famous cider mimosas around the table before sitting to face the open room. Esme’s beagle paced between the pair, whining and now risking a paw on Lexi’s lap.

  “Bethy, down!” Esme shouted.

  Her ever-smiling beagle dropped back to its haunches and looked up at Lexi, who picked up a cracker from her plate of snacks and tossed it to Bethy. The dog caught the cracker midair, and Lexi smiled without guilt at Esme. The gorgeous blonde then popped a piece of cheese in her own mouth. Bethy took interest in this also and whined before licking her lips.

  Esme, stirring a homemade salad dressing, laughed at her friend. “You’ve spoiled her.”

  “Hey, you left me to dog-sit for months. How else was I supposed to make her like me?”

  The noon sun shining through the window sparkled off Hakim’s glass as he lifted it from the table. He took a sip of mimosa, gave it a look of approval, and glanced over at Esme. “Need help with anything?”

  “Now that I’m almost done? No.” Esme laughed and threw a walnut at him from her supplies on the counter.

  Owen walked back into the kitchen in time to see the nut bounce off Hakim’s shoulder and hit the floor. The king sighed as if dealing with children and sat across from Lexi, his back to Esme. She couldn’t help noticing how his arm muscles looked under his thermal crew shirt.

  Turning in his chair, Owen pointed to where Bethy was licking the floor clean of nut debris. “Hey, alterni, stop making a mess in the house I bought you.”

  Hakim set aside his phone. “You keep taking credit for that. I picked out the house.”

  “But I paid for it.” Owen winked at Esme. Then his gaze moved to the food prep on the counter around her. “Need help with anything?”

  Esme saw fit to throw a walnut at a new target.

  Lexi laughed.

  With her salad dressing finished, Esme moved to the plates and piled romaine lettuce onto each. Next went the walnuts, crumbled gorgonzola, grilled peaches, and strips of steak. The final touch was the balsamic, cocoa, and chili pepper dressing. Once she’d plated the food, Esme carried the dishes two at a time to the table and set them before her friends. They each expressed their appreciation and lifted forks to dig in, and Esme smiled to herself as she sat beside Owen.

  This is the most normal I’ve felt in months. But it’s only a brief reprieve until Owen and I jump on a plane and fly off to hunt monsters. If we can’t stop them…

  She forced a smile on her face and sipped her mimosa before taking a bite of salad.

  “By the gods,” exclaimed Owen through a mouthful, “this is amazing. And I’ve never praised a salad in my life.” He hadn’t even swallowed before stuffing in another forkful.

  Lexi looked up from her plate at him in bemused disgust.

  They dated once upon a time, thought Esme with a hidden smirk. Lexi apparently thinks she dodged a bullet.

  Hakim, the better-mannered of the two men, swallowed before asking, “Thaddeus didn’t want to join us?”

  Owen forked a piece of steak and shook his head. “He’s taking the weekend to visit his mom in Texas.”

  Esme smiled. She’d been happy to reunite with her bodyguard/driver/butler when he’d picked her up at the airport. The fatherly man had seemed glad to see her too, even if he was professionally reserved on an average day.

  I missed everyone, thought Esme with a sigh. It’s so nice to be home. These people are my family now. Including my tough old bodyguard.

  “So,” Owen said to his childhood friend, “what’s new since we left?”

  Hakim took another drink and raised his eyebrows. “Back to business?”

  “Well, I’d like to deal with the rifts here as soon as possible. You said only four have opened, right? The cavali on the plane said they were small.”

  “That’s right. The rifts are under cavali surveillance, and nothing weird has happened with them. It’d be great if Esme could close them, but honestly I don’t think there’s any huge hurry.”

  Esme swallowed a bite of peach. “Yeah, it’d be nice to have one night where we don’t have to fight. I can get to them pronto tomorrow night. Only four small rifts shouldn’t be a problem – not to sound cocky, since you never know what the malevolenci will spring.”

  Her three friends nodded at this truth.

  Lexi took a drink before asking, “Anything crazy happen at the rifts in New York? You’d said Portland was an easy stop.”

  Owen shook his head. “Just spindlox and chiroptorx. Not even in significant numbers.”

  “That’s right,” said Hakim. “It’s been the same everywhere, from the reports I’ve read.”

  Lexi shrugged. “The malevolenci are calming down again. Things were awful for a while there, but now this break. Maybe we’re lucky and the worst is over during your reign, Owen.”

  Esme, Owen, and Hakim exchanged a look, then returned to eating. Esme frowned into her salad.

  Lexi’s the only one here who doesn’t know the truth. That’s so unfair. I argued with Owen months ago that Lexi should know. He told his best friend – why can’t I tell mine?

  She took another bite and glanced at Lexi.

  I’m an alterni endi! she wanted to shout in confession. The malevolenci know it, so they’re not going to give up. They know they’re winning the war. If I die, we’re totally screwed. Owen would have to kill himself so the new king could have new alterni.

  Esme glanced at the jinn.

  Even Hakim doesn’t know the part about the Oath of Kings. Cat balls, I hate all these secrets! I’m lying to my best friends!

  Owen took a bite and shook his head at Lexi. “No, I think the malevolenci are regrouping after Esme took out that bentaforx. That’s why these invasions have been relatively docile for months. They’re trying to come up with a new strategy.”

  This was an honest assessment, so Esme nodded in agreement.

  What will the malevolenci do next? This suspense is almost worse than when t
hey were attacking like crazy! At least then we saw the enemy, could figure them out…

  Lexi lifted her knife to cut a piece of steak in half. “Well, if the demons are backing off, maybe we shouldn’t look a gift horse in the mouth.”

  “Ugh.” Hakim made a face. “I hate that expression. Esme, do you have that one in your world?”

  “Looking a gift horse in the mouth?” She had to smile. “Yeah. I never liked it either.”

  Lexi rolled her eyes. “All I’m saying is, if the malevolenci are giving us a break, we should be glad. We have other problems.” She lifted an eyebrow at Hakim.

  Shit. What now?

  Esme looked at the jinn. “What other problems?”

  He glanced at the king before answering. “For a few weeks, there’ve been rumblings amongst the paranormals. The werewolf alphas are unhappy with their status in the Order. Fairies are questioning how truthful the conjuri are about their inability to send paranormals back to their home worlds. Gil and the goblin committee don’t think Order funds are being used wisely. The jinn want more political influence in the civilian world. Young vampires who run private dens are claiming the Order’s healers are slaves.”

  Stunned, Esme looked from Hakim to Lexi and back again. “Why didn’t you mention this sooner?”

  Hakim studied his plate and used his fork to toss the remaining salad.

  “Oh, you little jinn shit…” Esme understood and turned to Owen. “He told you. Why didn’t you tell me?”

  Owen sat back in his chair with a sigh. “I wanted to get home and see for myself what’s going on. I’ll take you with me to the next meeting with the paranormal leaders so we can get to the bottom of this. Besides, I knew you were already talking to the paranormals and gaining their trust, so that seemed like the best thing for you to be doing until we got back.” He looked straight in her eyes. “Anyway, it’s not like you gave me many chances to talk with you privately.”