Secrets of Ravenstone: Keeper of La Tecla (The Key) Book One
ℂ𝕙𝕒𝕡𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝟚𝟜

Kneeling alongside Anthony, helping him sit up, I watched and listened as he moaned softly, squinting from the pain that stomped across his skull; the make shift bandage made from the hem of his white shirt, kept further blood from dripping in his eyes. Glancing back at Sarah, she didn’t know anything about CPR and First Aid training, so thank god I took it in the States, for situations like this, it was all I could.

“Anthony?” I whispered, “Oh thank god.” I sighed in relief.

Poor man, thinking maybe the townsmen had thrown him in with their women, shrieked as he pushed helping hands away, before trying to stumble to his feet, pushing himself tightly in the corner. Keeping his eyes closed, he shook his head in fear and protest, shouting loudly,

“No, don’t touch me!”

“An-Anthony…” my voice pleaded softly.

“Anthony?” Sarah squeaked.

He wasn’t sure how they knew his name, but he covered his face and hunched in place.

“Anthony, it’s me…it’s Sarah…” I pleaded once more, “It’s us.”

Lowering his hands, hearing her soft voice, his vision began to sharpen and as he raised his gaze, two petite figures stood.

“Anthony…” I spoke softly, reaching out touching his arm, “it’s all right, you’re all right.” I frowned, feeling his nerves trembling violently and for a strong man like Anthony, didn’t matter if he was a Lycynian or not, showed the vulnerability of someone, under the right circumstances and pressure.

“Yz-Yzavela?” he muttered, “Wh-what…what happened?” he squinted, pressing his hands around his head, “I feel like my head’s been bashed in.” he felt his knees weaken, so he gently slid his back down the wall, sitting in the corner on the blood stained ground.

“That’s because it was.” Sarah mumbled from the corner.

Glancing back at her, leering with disbelief, she shrugged.

“She’s right…” I looked back at Anthony, “it kind of was.”

Looking at her, then around her petite frame that crouched in front of him, Anthony took in the surroundings of the room.

“Where are we?” his nocturnal vision allowed him to observe the blood on the walls and floors. Grimacing with disgust, he caught the scent in the cold air. Feeling something wrapped around his head, he wondered, “Who made this?” he referred to the makeshift bandage.

“That would be Yza.” Sarah rasped bluntly.

Looking at her, he grinned, thanking her for her kindness.

“You’re welcome.” I shivered, “And as far as where we are, if I were to guess, I’d say their freezers.” I complained softly.

“Their what?” Anthony looked at her.

“Their freezers.” Sarah added clearly.

“Hey, you guys okay?” Jonathan’s voice spoke nearby.

“What’s going on?” Erik added.

“Where’s Erik and Jonathan?” Anthony looked around.

“Next door.” I sat next to him, bending my knees to my chin.

“We can’t stay here.” Sarah complained, walking over, “We’re going to freeze to death in here, and then we’ll be perfect…” she paused, not wanting to think, much less say it, “for their rituals or whatever.”

“Rituals?” Anthony was confused.

“Yes, rituals!” the young woman snapped, “Dog meat!”

“Long story short, they’re cannibals and we’re their dinner.” I finished bluntly, breathing into my hands.

“We have to get out of here!” Erik kicked the wall, “I’ll be damned it if I’m going to be eaten, much less f*cked ten times over by that lot out there!” he huffed. Sitting in the corner, back-to-back with Jonathan for warmth, he held out his hands in front of him, trying to create a spark of magic but all it did was flicker and die, yielding nothing powerful enough to help break them free, “Damn it!” he groaned, pounding a firm fist on the wall to his right.

“Hey, calm down…” Jonathan glanced over his shoulder.

“Calm down?” Erik mocked, “Are you serious?”

“Getting upset isn’t going to get us anywhere!”

“Neither is sitting here doing nothing!” Erik quickly stood.

“How long have we been here?” Anthony leaned back.

“Hours maybe, I don’t know.” I shrugged, “But I…don’t think w…” I shivered, “we’ll last much longer, oh god I’m freezing.” I felt my body shutting down, with stabbing pins and needles.

Looking at her, he reached out, pulling her close, then looked at Sarah gesturing for her to huddle close to him for warmth.

“That feels good.” I rasped, closing my eyes.

“It really does.” Sarah whispered.

“There has to be a way out of here.” Anthony was optimistic. As his Lycynian eyes scanned the room, following the pipes running along the walls, he knew they must have led to their source providing the cold temperatures, preserving the meat. Suddenly, he glanced at the wall behind him, as did Yzavela and Sarah, hearing voices outside speaking rather loudly, and just then, he felt a stabbing pain across his gut, startling the young women in his arms. Grunting deeply, leaning forward, he wrapped his arms around his stomach, knowing what this was, “Per favore no...non ora. Non posso ancora cambiare... non ora!” he whispered fearfully, begging for the shift not to begin.

Walking through, the Elders examined the preparations that were being made for their rituals. This was the first time in a long while, they would have Demons and a Lycynian on their menu, for their last paranormal being was a few years back.

“How are the preparations?” Elder C inquired quickly.

“Perfectly, Sir.” the butcher sharpened his carving tools, “We will be ready for tonight’s feast, the air is good for it and it’s a full moon which will enrich the fancy man’s meat.” he glanced toward the freezers to his left.

“Excellent.” Elder D grinned, then glanced at his brethren.

“What is it?” Elder A looked at him curiously.

“If it is the full moon, how will we contain the Lycynian?” he wondered, “If he shifts before the proper hour, it will ruin the sacrifice, will it not?”

“If we dart him with enough Wolfsbane…” Elder B added, “it should dwindled the urge and natural shift long enough to do what needs to be done.”

“Agreed.” Elder A nodded, “Agreed, indeed.”

“And what of the Demons?” Elder C questioned.

“We will shackle them once more, then drain their blood.” he looked around proudly, “Save every drop for Armiforde, who will want full pints, so no little tastes. Afterwards, take their heads and feed ’em to the dogs.” his green eyes glanced at the butcher.

“Yes, Sir.” the man rasped, “And the women?”

“No worries, we will all have our fun.” Elder B grinned, then glanced toward the freezers, hearing the women shrieking loudly. Approaching, thinking they were endlessly calling for help, he pressed his ear against the door but he was unable to hearing anything clearly enough. Frowning, he turned back to his brethren and the butcher, “Finish your work here, and let us know when the fires are hot enough to start cooking.” he bowed then walked out with the other three Elders.

The butcher turned, adding more stumps of wood to the fires of their oven, large cauldron-like pot and vast stretch of pits where steel rods skewered pieces of meat above the flames.

Sarah and I huddled as close to the wall as possible, watching as Anthony hunched forward, letting out guttural growls.

“Oh my god, he’s not…” Sarah shrieked.

“I think so, tonight’s the full moon.” I worried.

“Yza?!” Erik called out, “Sarah?”

“Sarah?!” Jonathan hollered, “What’s going on?!”

“It’s Anthony, I think he’s shifting!” I feared, watching him.

“What?!” the two Demons shouted, pounding on the wall.

Anthony growled, then raised his gaze, looking toward the two women in the corner of the freezer, with bright yellow wolf-like eyes, and as he reached out his hands with growing nails, he knew from their point-of-view, he was a monster but as he looked deep into Yzavela’s eyes, he could see a sense of compassion behind her fear.

“I…” he choked through a growl, “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t touch us, stay back!” Sarah couldn’t press her back up against the wall any more than she was already, but then she turned, hiding her face.

“An-Anthony…” I stuttered, “you need to breathe, please.” I softly pleaded, “Please, just breathe and fight it for as long as you can…” I felt tears stinging my eyes, then spotting what I guess was an old can or bucket, I reached out my right hand, using my Telekinesis, “I’m sorry.” I whimpered, throwing it against his skull, knocking him unconscious a second time. As I watched him fall, I ran forward, feeling terrible about it but I thought maybe it would cease his shift long enough for us to get out.

Pacing nervously, listening as Sarah whimpered endlessly, I was growing agitated and when that happens, bad things tend to happen. Frowning, I closed my eyes, holding back my anger and temperament then realized, why not use it to escape? It was better than waiting around to freeze or worse. Ceasing my pacing, I opened my eyes, looking around at all the wood walls and floors. Glaring down at Sarah, she rocked back and forth, mumbling to herself, while Anthony, of whom we had to knock unconscious to slow down his shift, sat against the wall in the corner with his head hanging low.

“Yes, that’s right, use it.” a male voice entered my mind, “You must use it, Demoness…you must, or you’ll die.”

“Wh-who are you?” I reached out.

“It matters not.” the man answered, “If you want to escape, it is you and I that will set you free.”

“What about Jonathan and Erik?” I worried, knowing that the man speaking to me, was a Demon of great power, and the very same one that posed as Marxus many times now, for they left a recognizable imprint that I would always sense.

“There is no time for arguments, what is your answer? Live for the future, or die in the present?”

“To live of course!” I argued verbally.

“Wh-what?!” Sarah looked up at her.

“Nothing, sorry.” I frowned, dismissing the outburst, “What do I have to do?” I reached out telepathically.

“Focus.” the man instructed, “Focus on your Aura boiling the coolants running through the pipes then push it backwards in the opposite direction, I will do the rest.”

“But that’s…that’s Thermokinesis, I can’t do that!”

“How do you know, you have never tried.”

“I’m not in the mood for games, god damn it!” I groaned.

“And why not?” the man snapped sharply, “If you do not play, you will never learn to win, now CLOSE YOUR EYES AND FOCUS!” his words were instructive with deep agitation that she was protesting against him, and no one ever argued with him.

“Jonathan?!” Erik I reached out telepathically, but they didn’t answer.

“This is not their moment to discover their powers when they are already established, this is your test NOW DO IT and do not argue with me again, or I will leave you here to suffer the fate worse than death.” the man protested.

“What, like being raped and then eaten?” I complained.

“Indeed, and worse. NOW DO IT!”

“I heard you!” I shouted both verbally and telepathically, and as I released a loud, blood curdling scream, I engulfed in my steam that then turned into my Aura, startling Sarah; who, in a quick moment, jumped to her feet, standing in the opposite corner. Continuing to hold the scream in one long screech, I released a blast wave of my Aura that singed the wood but its heat felt good as it brushed against Sarah’s skin; the pipes on the walls rattled violently, before creaking as the coolants did freeze before boiling, spitting through tiny holes that dripped.

Sarah closed her eyes, and covered her ears, listening as the loud screams pierced her eardrums and stabbed at her mind.

Jonathan and Erik leaned against the wall, then turned as the two young Demons felt them rattling place, as well as all of the pipes on their walls.

“What’s that?” Erik wondered, looking around.

“I don’t know mate, it’s not me. Or you.” he answered softly.

“You don’t think maybe it’s Yza, do you?”

“I-I don’t know Erik, geez!” Jonathan argued impatiently, “Yza?” he reached out telepathically but she didn’t answer, “Yza?!” he suddenly felt a block stabbing at his mind, “What the f*ck was that?” he complained, holding his head as if he were experiencing an unpleasant migraine.

“Jonathan, what is it?” Erik worried.

“I don’t know, I can’t reach Yza. I tried but something’s there blocking her and I couldn’t get through telepathically.” he shook his head.

Molock stood outside behind two of the freezers; the rain just bounced off his tall godly presence, as it trailed off the barrier that outlined his form. Placing his hands on two of the large, old generators that connected to the individual freezers that were in front of him, he conjured Hell fire; his hands glowed in a bright red flame, overheating the pumps, engine and all of the circuits that were involved in operating them properly. As the machines rattled, spat steam and rumbled violently, he watched as the iron and steel sheets of the outer walls, began ejecting the bolts and screw keeping them in place, before the generators shook the ground beneath his feet. The force from inside, breaking the metal sheets grew in strength and just as the two energies combined, from his own hands and that of the half-breed’s powers, the generators and pipes involved, exploded, creating a powerful blast that could be heard through the sounds of the pouring rain and booming thunder from above. As he withdrew his hands, glancing at the outer walls, there was a large hole that blasted through one of them, while the other split along the outer edge, capable of being pulled open, or pushed outward from within.

“The rest is yours, my lovely.” his deep voice reached out to her, “But you must hurry, they are coming.” he took several steps back, hearing cheering of men echoing from one of the freezers. As he stood in the middle of the street, he glanced up over his shoulder toward the tall metal towers buzzing loudly with electricity. Reaching out his left hand, conjuring lightning from above like Thor, the god of Thunder or Zeus, he pulled down several bolts, striking the towers and as he clenched his hand into a tight fist, lowering his hand in what looked like a pulling down motion, the towers and cables, wires and rubber tubing, exploded, sparking brightly as if a series of fireworks were released for the fourth of July. As the Sumerian god and Demon opened his fist, he watched as the old towers continued collapsing; the tall metal beams creaked loudly, shattering nearby structures or unoccupied buildings.

My scream faded as I fell to my knees, feeling weakened, for I knew that was the most energy I used without moderation. As I lowered my head, I felt Sarah brush past me, before she began cheering in relief as she tried pushing against the walls.

“Yza, look…” her voice rasped, “Yza, you did it!” she turned to her, kneeling in front of her. Raising her friends gaze, she pointed toward the wall then smiled, looking at her, “You did it, you got us out.”

Taking deep breaths, feeling drained, all I did was grin then I heard as both Jonathan and Erik cheered both telepathically and verbally.

The young men shared a brief brotherly hug as they gazed at a large hole blown through the wall that was luckily blown outward, instead of inward, or the shards of metal and wood would have been debris they couldn’t reflect with protective barriers. Carefully climbing out, avoiding the sharp edging of the iron and steel sheets, they stood outside momentarily, and took in deep breaths of the fresh air before exhaling deeply; both of their breath fogged from the cold temperatures of the weather. Stepping over the gears, pipes and other pieces that were blown off the generators, the two Demons ran toward the freezer next door, hearing Sarah’s voice and seeing her hands trying to squeeze through the gap of the metal sheets.

“Jonathan! Erik!” she shrieked, seeing them outside, “Yza, it’s Erik and Jonathan…they got out!” she turned to her.

Trying to stand I stumbled, falling against the wall then felt Sarah’s hands holding me up.

“Are you all right?” she worried.

“I don’t know.” I rasped, looking at her, “That was a lot….” I leaned my head back, “for me at once, you know?” I lowered my gaze toward the crack in the walls, “You go, help pry the panels apart.” I watched as she hesitated, “Sarah, go!” I turned her around, pushing her toward the walls.

Looking around, Erik spotted pipes laying nearby. Using his Telekinesis, reaching for them, they flew into his hands.

“Here.” he handed one of them to Jonathan, “Pry them apart.”

Sharing an agreeable nod, the two young men began prying the sheets apart until there was a large enough gap for those inside to squeeze through. Stepping back, they watched as Sarah was first to emerge, hugging Jonathan quickly.

Erik looked at them then glanced at the hole, hoping to see Yzavela, or at least Anthony to emerge next but since neither had, he rushed forward, peeking through.

“Yza?” he called out to her, seeing her standing nearby, “Yza, come on…what’s the matter?” he crawled through the hole, ignoring Jonathan’s pleas.

Looking at him, my vision was blurred.

“I’m fine, I just need a minute.” I whispered.

“We don’t have a minute.” Erik barked, “Now get your little a** through that hole, hmm?” he gestured behind him.

“Anthony, he’s still…” I worried about him.

Frowning, wondering why she cared so much about the man, he glared past her small shoulder toward the man in question that still sat on the ground unconscious.

“Jonathan and I will get him out, now go please…” he urged.

Crawling through, and with Jonathan’s help, I made it out.

“Erik needs your help.” I turned to him.

Nodding quickly, he climbed into the freezer then rushed to his friends side; the two of them struggled to pull the Italian to his feet because he was dead weight and probably heavier than he should have been since he was subconsciously going through the shift.

“Bloody hell, this f*cker’s heavy.” Erik complained.

“Almost there…” Jonathan grunted, then once near the gap, it was then Anthony came to, lashing out against the hands that were helping him, “whoa, Anthony…” he called out, “it’s us, Erik and Jonathan mate…calm down, before you kill us!”

Anthony shuffled, feeling another ache on top of the lingering pains from his previous head wound. Shaking his head, taking heavy breaths, his yellow eyes gazed at the two young men that stood near an opening toward the back and once hearing their calm voices and eager words to get out while they had the chance, he nodded, before leaping through the hole with an agility that both the Demons were surprised to see from a man that had suffered more injury than the rest.

“Oh thank god!” I worried, sighing softly, seeing Anthony.

“Jonathan…” Sarah feared, waiting for him to emerge.

“I’m here!” he answered.

“Anthony?” I worried.

“I’m fine, little Yza…” he grinned at her.

I sighed, nodding quickly, then I looked at the others.

“Let’s go!” I rasped then turned, but stopped, because in the middle of the street a great distance away, stood a tall hooded figure. Even through my cracked and wet eye glass lenses, this figure walked in slow stride before they stopped, turning to us. Squinting, holding my hands above my eyes, blocking the rain, I couldn’t see their faces because their hood had masked their features, “Hey…” I shouted.

“Yza, what is it?” Erik rushed forward, following her line of sight but his gray eyes saw nothing.

“You don’t see him?!” I pointed.

Looking again, he still saw no one.

“Nothing, now come on…” he urged her away from the scene.

Nodding, I turned, following him and Jonathan as they led us through the streets around and behind the buildings so that we weren’t seen by the men and women that stormed nearby with guns and knives, as well as the Elders, who all heard the commotion from the exploding generators that sent a dark smoke into the air, regardless of the rain.

“In here…” Anthony whispered, hiding behind a building that provided some shelter from the rains above, then his dark eyes looked toward the sky, as did everyone else; all of them watched as the towers keeping the Grid in place, loudly creaked and collapsed, “If that wasn’t you…” he looked down at Yzavela, “or you two…” he glared at Jonathan and Erik.

“Who cares mate, look…” the Australian held his hands up; a bright blue hue glowed, as did Erik’s.

Glancing at my hands, I couldn’t conjure my magic as easily, because it was something entirely different and emotionally motivated.

Even during the tension and fear, both Demons looked at her, as she expressed the look of disappointment, as well as the WHERE’S MINE sort of pout they found feminine and sweet. Shaking off the distraction, they leaned against the wall, then crouched down with the others, hearing voices growing close nearby.

“We have to move!” Anthony urged.

“Aren’t you shifting?” Erik argued.

It was in that moment, that he hadn’t thought about it. As he looked around, Anthony growled deeply, ignoring the young man’s outburst for now wasn’t the time to start something, much less complain about his lack of shifting for he guessed having been knocked out a second time, must have held it back but it wouldn’t last much longer for deep down, he felt it crawling and scratching to get out.