Karizma: Reborn
Chapter 29: Ryleigh

Ryleigh sat on the floor of Axle Green Industries. She had contemplated projecting to Naomi on the pack grounds, but realized that would only put the pack in danger. The plan is for her to replace me anyway, but that does not mean I will endanger the pack to do it. She had her crimson hair tied in a ponytail. She was wearing a long-sleeved black shirt with a pair of jeans as she sat cross-legged. She closed her eyes and inhaled slowly. The child’s lightning crackled beneath her skin as reassurance. Ryleigh could not explain how the child was communicating with her, just that she was. Ryleigh opened her eyes and looked up.

Lukas was standing directly beside her, his eyes focused on her. He was wearing a black muscle shirt with a pair of black basketball shorts. His eyes were a burnt gold color. Ryleigh could feel his fear and concern since the meeting with Bailey and Jackson. We are almost to the finish line. As if Lukas could hear her thoughts, he grabbed her ponytail, tore her head back to look directly up at him, and bent down and kissed her deeply.

“Both of you are coming back to me,” Lukas growled darkly as he released her lips. “Don’t you dare die on me.”

“We are coming home to you, my love,” Ryleigh whispered.

“When you project, can she…can she take your body from you?” Lukas asked.

“That won’t happen,” Ryleigh answered as she shook her head. “Most of my magic remains within my body when I project, so it is always protected. Plus, our daughter would fight her if she tried.”

“I’m fucking terrified of this going wrong.”

“I know,” Ryleigh whispered. “I am, too.”

Lukas kissed her one more time and released her hair. Ryleigh’s wolf whimpered with anguish. She is afraid, too. If something happens to me, Lukas loses so much. His mate, his child, and his wolf’s counterpoint. Ryleigh inhaled a shaky breath and closed her eyes. If I keep looking at him, I won’t go. She rested her hands palm-face up on her knees. She breathed in deeply and began to steady her breathing. She needed to be calm and in control when she found Naomi. If she senses that something is wrong, Kristopher is dead.

Ryleigh let out a slow exhale, and her magic projected her out of her body with it. Ryleigh gazed down at herself for only a moment because she knew that Lukas was standing beside her. I can’t look at him right now. She pushed herself out of the building and hovered in the sky. It looks like smoke. She pressed forward slightly and realized that it was not smoke in the air, but vampiric auras. Holy shit. She knew that Naomi and Nathan were creating an army, but she did not realize how vast the army was. She had only seen that one assembly line. They have been planning this for much longer than that.

Ryleigh slowly floated between the auras. She studied each one as intently as she could. While each vampiric aura was black, Naomi’s would be tainted with violet. Each aura that Ryleigh passed was good and bad news. The majority of the black auras were located in the city directly, but they were standing still, as if waiting for an order. When the time is right. Naomi and Nathan do not want their army getting trigger happy and acting before they order it. Ryleigh found the violet and black aura located in Knight Life, and she growled. She rushed into the club and followed the aura to the VIP section.

Naomi was sitting on the over-turned couch on the second floor, waiting patiently. Her crimson hair spilled out against her body, the red dress tight against her body. Her lips smirked as her eyes fixated on the point directly in front of her, where Ryleigh’s astral form hovered. “I knew that taking your slave would get your attention,” Naomi said.

“He was not a slave,” Ryleigh’s voice whispered.

“No? You bewitched him as such to have him follow you around like one.”

“And, as such, the punishment should be mine, not his. He was not in control of himself around me.”

“Darling,” Naomi said as she rose to her feet. “Let’s cut the bullshit, shall we? You’ve been back for quite a while. Bewitchment ends once the witch is dead. So, you two must have had something somewhat real for him to bring you back. I would love to know how.” She cocked her head curiously.

“Magic,” Ryleigh answered. “Kristopher and I were intimate, multiple times. I placed some of my magic in him, in case of my demise. An insurance policy.”

“But whom did you replace that could construct such a resurrection with such low volume magic? Surely, you could not have left mass quantities in him. We would have felt that.”

“It doesn’t matter—”

“Oh, but it really fucking does,” Naomi interrupted. “Someone brought back a threat to my existence, which makes that person a threat to me as well.”

“I will give you something better than a name. I will give you myself, in exchange for Kristopher.”

“And allow me to eliminate the threat myself? Oh, I think not. See, I had a thought,” Naomi said as her red eyes brightened. “I assumed that you would try to kill me yourself, with me killing you and kidnapping your slave and all. And, as you are clearly aware since our last encounter, I am in the process of building an army. I do not have time for this little feud between us. So, I had such a wonderful thought. What if this ended the way that it was meant to?”

“What are you talking about?”

“With the Karizma Killer, of course,” Naomi grinned. “See, I had never actually thought about betwitchment on a vampire. I have a soft spot for the species since I am one, of course. But learning of your resurrection?” Naomi purred lightly. “I am too busy to try to locate you under the protection of your magic, but Kristopher would know exactly where you are.”

“Even if he did, he wouldn’t tell you.”

“Oh, of that I’ve no doubt. But, under bewitchment, he’s not in control of himself, is he? He would have sung like a fucking canary if I asked him to, so I did one better.” Naomi’s eyes narrowed briefly, and the smirk on her lips widened. “I do hate to cut this reunion short, but we both have other matters to attend to.”

Naomi waved her hand and thrust Ryleigh’s astral form out of Knight Life. Ryleigh wheezed as her astral form was ripped through the air. She is sending me back. Ryleigh tried to fight the return back to her body, but the air was stripped from her lungs as she struggled. Ryleigh’s wolf began whining loudly while her magic seared her skin. Something is wrong. Ryleigh immediately ceased her struggle and commanded her magic to pull her back.

Ryleigh gasped as she returned to her body and jumped to her feet. Lukas bore his canines as his eyes flickered around the room, unsure where to focus his gaze. Ryleigh’s wolf whined even louder, and her magic sparked against her skin. She looked down in surprise and found a faint glow of gold fire encompassing her skin. “Something is here,” Lukas growled darkly. Ryleigh’s gold eyes burst through as her canines penetrated through her gums. “Lukas, the pack,” Ryleigh realized. “She said that Kristopher would have known where I was. We need to get back.”

“Bailey and Jackson will handle it. Something is here for us,” Lukas replied through clenched teeth.

A sharp screeching sound pierced the air as the front door of the warehouse was peeled from its hinges. Ryleigh inhaled sharply and felt her magic pool into her palms. A thick, black and violet aura trickled into the warehouse. Ryleigh immediately took a step forward. Naomi had mentioned bewitching Kristopher, but he would have gone to the pack land. Who is left? No one knew that we were coming here, outside of the pack.

Kristopher slowly entered the warehouse. He was completely nude, with a collar of barbed wire infused with crimson hair wrapped around his throat. His violet eyes penetrated the darkness, his fangs highlighted against them. Saliva flowed down his lips and his throat as he locked onto Ryleigh. “She tracked me after all,” Ryleigh whispered. “She bewitched Kristopher and sent him straight to me.”

“He looks like an attack dog,” Lukas murmured.

“That’s the idea,” Ryleigh flinched. “She doesn’t want me anymore. She just wants the war, so she is ending me properly, as it was meant to be. With the Karizma Killer.” Kristopher snarled and snapped his fangs as he approached. Ryleigh flinched, and Kristopher’s violet eyes widened. His jaw ticked, and he sprinted right for her.