The Lost Tribe Complete Collection (12 page)

Lena threw her arms around Troy’s neck. “Sorry I didn’t tell you we were leaving. I thought it would be a short trip and then all of this happened.”

“What’s all of this?” Troy asked, hugging her back.

“Well, let me tell you!” Ellia spent the next few minutes recapping the ladies’ day.

“It’s been four hundred years?” Allen leaned against the wall for support. “I can’t believe it.”

“It has, and Sophia has a huge advantage over us,” Lena said. “She has supporters in this time who will help her. We don’t have any idea how to navigate this time period.”

“Can you open a portal back to Manna?” Tavis asked. “We can just go back and let the authorities here take care of your sister.”

“No,” Lena said firmly. “We have to stop Sophia ourselves. I don’t want the Council to get involved again. It will only end badly for the entire tribe if we let that happen.”

“Why is Hera helping her?” Troy asked.

“I think Hera just wants Sophia out of her hair,” Lena said. “She did try to burn down the whole village.”

After her sister had murdered her guard and likely lover. Lena didn’t mention that she probably could not open a portal back to Manna. Even Sophia didn’t have that kind of power. She had to steal it, and that wasn’t something Lena could even consider doing.

“It will be easy to stop Hera,” Troy said. “She’ll go back once she realizes what Sophia is up to.”

“I think she likes the power,” Ellia said. “I think she loves being the only dragon on the planet. Well, she was, anyway. She’s power-mad now that she’s teamed up with Sophia.”

“I can’t wait to get her back to Manna,” Tavis said sarcastically. “I thought she was bad before, but I bet we’re all in for a real treat.”

“She doesn’t even know that the Princess and Prince Troy are married yet,” Allen said. “She’s going to lose it.”

“So will Sophia.” Ellia shook her head. “What are we going to do about the rest of the tribe running amok?”

“We may have to kill them all,” Lena said. Her heart twisted in her chest. Could she really kill her sister and her tribe in the same day? There had to be something else she could do. “Maybe we could send them to another planet?”

“And pass the problem on to someone else?” Margaret asked, horrified. “How are we even going to pick a place to send them?”

“We could get a ghost to help us,” Lena said. “There aren’t any fae ghosts that I know, but there must be someone willing to help us.”

“Someone’s coming,” Margaret said suddenly. She scrambled to her feet. “It doesn’t smell like Sophia or Hera, either.”

Lena tried to see outside the wall but something was blocking her magic. “It’s a magic user. I can’t see them at all.”

“Just wonderful.” Ellia gathered a ball of light in her hands. “Would anyone like to volunteer to go out and see who it is?”

“Let’s just hide in here,” Tavis said. “At least we’re warm and safe here.”

“I agree,” Allen said. “No need to help whoever is out there.”

The door to the cave opened and a woman popped her head in. “Hello?”

Lena put her hand over her mouth. “Twilla!”

“Lena?” The woman rushed into the room and hugged Lena hard. “Oh, my poor dear! I heard about your mother. How are you doing?”

“We’ve had a few bumps in the road since then,” Ellia said wryly.

“Of course you have, but I never got a chance to say I’m sorry about your mother.” Twilla’s hair turned lavender. “Or to apologize for helping send you to another dimension and all. So sorry about that too, dears.”

The ball of light in Ellia’s hand got bigger. “You were a part of that?”

Troy stepped between Ellia and Twilla. “I don’t think we’ve been introduced.”

Twilla put out her hand. “I’m Twilla Black. Old friend of the Northlands Fae.”

“I’m not so sure about the friend part,” Ellia yelled. “How could you? You traitorous bitch!”

Ellia let the ball of light fly at Twilla. Her hair turned back to pink and she absorbed the light with her hand. “That was fair. You’re surprised about what I did. But do take a moment to consider that I came and told you myself that I had a hand in it. If I meant you any ill will, I could have come in here and killed you all.”

Allen was on his feet and pushing Twilla back. “I never liked you, witch.”

“Witch?” Tavis asked. “What exactly is a witch? I don’t think I’m up to speed here.”

“A witch is another kind of magic user,” Lena explained. “They’re not as human as a shifter, but more human than a fae or a vampire.”

“A fae is the least human of all the supernatural creatures,” Twilla declared. “That’s likely the core cause of the many problems the fae have had with the rest of our kind.”

“Tread lightly,” Allen warned. “We have as much humanity as the next creature. We just happen to be more evolved than you lot.”

“Allen!” Lena admonished. This was exactly the kind of thing that got the tribe in trouble. She knew it was a long-held belief in her tribe but that didn’t mean she had to like it. Twilla was right. It was that kind of thinking that got them all in trouble.

“Who are these two?” Twilla pointed to Troy and Tavis.

“They’re tribe members still loyal to the crown.” Lena didn’t want to tell Twilla she was married or that Tavis and Troy were dragons.

Twilla’s hair turned straw yellow. It was one of her more human colors. “They’re more than that. I can’t quite put my finger on it. What about the blonde poppet? I bet she’s a sister to you. Look at that gorgeous face. That’s Prescott’s face if I’ve ever seen it.”

“Twilla, have you seen my father lately?” Lena asked. She wanted to know how the witch was still alive too but figured it would be rude to ask just now. Lena suspected Twilla was a hybrid too. She was always very chummy with Prescott, even though the witch was quite plain. Prescott wasn’t usually interested in plain people.

Twilla wrinkled her nose. “Sorry. Not in the last hundred years. I moved to a very secluded area and I don’t get many visitors.”

“Are you still in Russia?” Lena asked.

Twilla looked sad. “I’m not, but I’ll take you to my home if you’d like. It can’t be very fun staying here in the cold.”

“Yes!” Tavis said. “Take us somewhere warm, please.”

“How did you know we were here?” Margaret asked. “You aren’t one of the tribe and we’re out in the middle of nowhere. How did you find us?”

“I have my ways.” Twilla closed her eyes and opened a portal at the back of the room. “I had a feeling your sister would come back. Sophia was always very stubborn.”

Margaret looked at the portal and then sniffed the air. “You don’t smell like a witch.”

“And your two handsome friends aren’t fae.” Twilla looked at Lena and then Troy. “I suspect we’re all keeping our cards close today.”

“Can we trust her?” Troy whispered in Lena’s ear.

“I think so,” Lena said cautiously. She’d known Twilla for as long as she’d been alive, but the witch had sent them to Manna. “We could use an ally who knows this time period.”

“Come now, dears.” Twilla shooed them toward the portal. “We should be gone before Sophia comes back.”

Lena held Troy’s hand as they went through the portal. They touched down this time on a solid wood floor. The place looked very similar to Twilla’s place in Russia. And her place in China before that. Twilla had a look she liked that transcended trends. The witch had always lived alone in remote areas. She socialized with powerful supernaturals and was rumored to be the person who had founded the Council.

“Welcome to my home!” Twilla closed the portal behind them. “Would you like something to eat?”

“I could have a bite.” Tavis shrugged. “As long as it’s meat, I would love some.”

“I could make you a cheeseburger,” Twilla said. “But the best burgers are in town. We really should go there. My friends are there, and I think you’d like to meet them.”

“I don’t think so,” Lena said. “We don’t need anyone else to see us.”

“Oh.” Twilla’s face fell. “I’ll invite them here, then.”

“No,” Lena said. ‘Twilla, no one else can know we’re here.”

Twilla put her hands on her hips. “We’re going to need help to wrangle your sister and the rest of your tribe. I’d like to keep this as low key as possible. I know these people and they’re good. They’ll help us.”

“How can you be so sure?” Ellia demanded. “From what I hear, ‘the lost tribe’ isn’t very popular in this century.”

Twilla went to her kitchen and hummed as she took items out of a big box. “Sophia is going to be going after one of their mothers. I think that’s a good reason to help. And they’ve run afoul of the Council before. Even more reason to trust them.”

“The enemy of my enemy if my friend,” Allen muttered. “I still don’t think I trust this, or you, for that matter.”

“Stoic Allen.” Twilla imitated his deep voice. “It’s good that you’re suspicious. This world is full of enemies. Would anyone else like a burger?”

Troy raised his hand while looking at Lena. She nodded and raised her own hand. She didn’t know what a burger was, but food would be nice. They waited while Twilla made all the food.

Troy took Lena to a corner of the house. “Where are we?”

“I have no idea,” Lena said. “I’ve known that woman since I was a child. She knew my parents before I was born and yet she betrayed us.”

“That has to be very painful.” Troy rubbed her arm. “I’m sorry you have to go through all of this. I wish I could make all of this go away.”

Lena smiled. He really was a sweet man. “Thank you. You’re doing enough already. You jumped through a portal for me! That couldn’t have been too comfortable for you.”

“It wasn’t. Why? You seemed to be unaffected by the portal.”

“Shifters don’t do well with magic. It’s why our kinds don’t mix.”

Troy frowned. “But Margaret is a shifter too. And so was her mother. Didn’t seem to stop her parents from making her.”

Lena blushed. “Sex is different from a friendly relationship. My father will have relations with any beautiful creature. I wouldn’t be surprised to learn I had human siblings too. Prescott only discriminates against ugly.”

“Why did you have no problem marrying me, then?” Troy wondered.

“I don’t know,” Lena said. “I trusted you. I think it’s the best decision for my tribe. There are many reasons. I don’t think you’re like the shifters we have on Earth.”

Lena saw something approaching out the window. She couldn’t make heads or tails of what she was seeing.

“Something is coming.”

Troy turned around and looked too. “What is that?”

“It’s a car!” Twilla called from the kitchen. “That’s my friends.”

Lena swung around. “We didn’t tell you to invite them.”

Ellia opened a portal quickly. “Hurry, Lena!”

“Wait!” Twilla closed the portal with a wave of her hand. “I’m telling you, just give them a chance. Allen can meet them first, and if he doesn’t like them, I’ll make them all leave. I didn’t even tell them who you are…or that you were here.”

Allen nodded. “I will agree to this if you like it, Princess.”

“I want to meet them too,” Troy said. “I don’t want my…princess to be in any danger.”

Twilla’s hair turned deep red. “Fine. Both of you come out to the porch with me.”

Troy gave Lena’s hand a squeeze and he followed Allen and Twilla outside.

Two people got out of the car. Troy sniffed the air. There was something wrong with both of these people. The man was tall and had black hair that touched his shoulders. He didn’t smell like Lena or Twilla. Whatever he was, he smelled almost like Margaret. The woman was almost as tall as the man and had smooth black skin. Her face was gorgeous. Troy wondered if there were any ugly women on the planet. Lena had said her father didn’t like “ugly” women, but so far he’d only seen attractive people. The standards on her planet had to be much higher than those on Manna.

The woman smelled of decay. Not like carcass, but like she had recently handled a dead animal and the smell clung to her clothes. Troy didn’t like it.

“Thank you for coming!” Twilla said. “These are my friends, Allen and…”

“Troy.” He supplied his name. “Troy of Clan Blackfire.”

Neither the man nor the woman smiled.

“What is this, Twilla?” the man asked.

The witch’s hair turned a light pink. “No worries, Eric. These are friends. You’re going to want to come in and talk with them.”

“They smell weird,” Eric said.

“I could say the same about you.” Troy was uncomfortable. The two people clearly weren’t human.

“I think he’s a shifter.” Twilla squinted at Troy. “I don’t know what kind, but he has to be a shifter. Allen is a fae.”

The woman put her hands in the pockets of her coat. “What information do they have?”

“Don’t panic, Violet, but your mother is in danger. I think. Maybe. Most likely.”

The woman’s pretty face didn’t betray any emotion. “Is she in danger or not?”

She looked at Troy and then Allen. Neither said anything. Suddenly, the woman was in front of Troy. He blinked twice and backed up. The woman lifted him by the throat.

“What do you know about my mother?”

“Violet,” her companion warned. “You catch more flies with honey.”

“I’m up here on vacation and this is the shit I get.” She bared her fangs at Troy. “You better speak fast.”

The woman flew back as quickly as she had appeared in front of Troy. He dropped to the porch with a thud and put his hands on his neck.

He was no longer tense. He was ready to fight. “What are you? You have fangs.”

“I’m a vampire, you fucking idiot,” Violet said. “We’re getting out of here, Twilla. If anything happens to my mother, I’m going to be back.”

“You will not do any such thing.” Twilla looked serene. She lifted the vampire into the air and Eric’s eyes flashed. “You’re both going to play nice. Come inside and eat. Once you hear the whole story, you’re going to want to help.”

Violet was returned to the ground. “Five minutes. Then I’m leaving.”

“I helped you.” Twilla’s voice was steely. The singsong, syrupy sweet persona was gone. “You will show me respect in my home, and you will be very sorry if you cause any kind of problem. We’re going to have to all work together here.”

Eric nodded. “We won’t start any trouble.”

Allen leaned closer to Troy. “That man is a shifter. I don’t know if I trust them yet.”

“Me either.” Troy moved aside to let Violet and Eric into the house. “I’m not sure I trust this witch, either.”

“I’ll be able to get a portal open to teleport us out in a hurry.” The air shimmered in front of Allen. “If we have to get out, you shift as soon as there’s a problem. The witch is very powerful and she may try to stop us.”

“You just make sure Lena gets through the portal. And what is a vampire?”

“It’s an undead creature. They were once human or another kind of supernatural and then were turned by another vampire. They can use some magic. More than a shifter but less than a witch or fae.”

Troy’s stomach turned. “That girl is dead? Your world is very strange.”

The two men went inside and sat at the table Twilla must have just made. Troy made sure he was seated between Lena and the two newcomers. Ellia was on her other side and the witch was next to Ellia. Not optimal, but it would still give Troy time if he had to act fast.

Twilla passed plates of food around the table.

“Whatever this is, I’ll have three more.” Tavis was licking his lips as he finished his first burger in three bites.

“It’s beef,” Twilla said. “I have plenty, so please eat up.”

The vampire didn’t touch the food, though her friend was eating burgers as fast as Tavis.

“I brought you all here because we face a common problem,” Twilla began. “Everyone here is a member of the Northlands Fae or, as Violet and Eric know you, the Lost Tribe.”

Eric choked on his burger and the vampire was out of her chair.

“Please sit down and let me finish, Violet.” The vampire woman was pushed back into her seat. Troy didn’t correct her that neither he nor his brother was a member of Lena’s clan and neither was Margaret. Lena continued to pick at her food and was looking at her plate. Her face wasn’t giving Troy any idea how she felt about Eric and Violet’s reaction.

“Princess Lena isn’t one of the evil Lost Tribe fae.” Twilla smiled warmly at the princess. “She’s good, but her half-sister Sophia was the leader of the group that perpetrated the violence against the rest of us. Lena and the few who followed her were still punished with the whole lot. I thought this was very unfair, mind you.”

“My father’s going to want to know there are dark fae here.” Eric stood up.

Twilla forced him to sit down. “Maybe you’ll reconsider telling your father until we’ve had a chance to save Melody first.”

Violet hissed. Her pupils were giant black rings in her white irises. She struggled to stand against Twilla’s magic. “What do they want with my mother?”

“These people want nothing to do with Melody. Neither does Sophia, really. The only reason they’re going to attack is Sven. He wants revenge for his brother.”

“Fuck.” Violet slumped in her seat. “We have to get to Iowa right away and warn her.”

“Now we’re on the same page.” Twilla sat up and looked at her door. “I think our final visitor has arrived.”

The front door swung open and Troy stood up fast. An extraordinarily tall man entered the room. Allen moved to stand with Troy between Lena and the man. Next to the man in black, even Allen looked small. Tavis growled as he came to stand with his brother.

“Vlad,” Twilla sang. “How nice of you to join us.”

An invisible wind tried to knock Troy off his feet but he held firm.

“Get out of my way, shifter,” Vlad said. “I have no qualms with you. It’s only the fae I wish to destroy.”

“You’re going to have to go through me if you want to get to her,” Troy snarled. He walked toward the man and forced him out onto the porch.

The man stepped off Twilla’s porch and took a few more steps back for good measure. “I don’t want to hurt an innocent bystander. If you’re with the princess, I will assume you are not as innocent as I first assumed.”

The man threw a ball of fire at Troy’s head. Tavis jumped from the porch and shifted midair. His black dragon landed on his hind feet in front of the house. The fireball hit him in the belly and Tavis roared.

“Holy shit!” Violet was at Troy’s side. “Is that a dragon?”

Eric yanked Violet back onto the porch. “Yes, that’s a dragon. Get back in the house.”

Violet broke out of his grasp. “No way am I going inside! It’s a fucking dragon, Eric!”

Troy looked to the house and saw that Allen and Ellia were both standing in front of Lena. Ellia had put up a shield around the trio and Allen was ready to attack at a moment’s notice. Troy nodded at Allen and shifted too. He wasn’t about to let his brother take on this madman by himself.

Vlad stepped back and put up his hands as he faced the two dragons. “This was unexpected.”

He threw a lightning bolt at Troy. It wasn’t very strong, but he immediately threw three more. Each bolt was stronger than the last. He was trying to find a weak spot. Troy roared and lunged for the small man. Vlad moved out of Troy’s reach at the last second. He was very fast. Troy didn’t know what he was, but he smelled both like Lena and like the vampire.

Tavis lifted up and glided to stand behind the man. Troy wanted to end this. He lunged for the man again but this time Vlad jumped up onto Troy’s back. Troy reared up and tried to buck the man off but Vlad held on tight. He shot a bolt of lightning into Tavis’s eyes. Troy roared as Tavis sank to the ground and rolled around in pain.

“No!” Lena was fighting her way onto the porch. Allen was trying to hold her back but she was dragging him along with her. She raised her hand and Vlad flew off Troy’s back. He hit the ground hard and screamed as he put his hands up to his ears.

“THAT’S ENOUGH!” Twilla yelled. Troy couldn’t move or breathe fire. “Could you two please shift back to human?”

Tavis looked at Troy for what to do. Troy shifted back. He could easily shift up again if there was a problem. The clothes he was in were shredded but they flew into his hands in once piece.

“Get dressed, please.” Twilla turned to Lena. “Could you please release Vlad?”

“Only if he promises not to go after Troy or Tavis.” There were deep lines around Lena’s mouth and her skin looked grey to Troy. He shook his head and she looked her normal self again.

Vlad screamed that he wouldn’t touch the brothers and Lena let him stand. There was blood coming from his nose and ears.

“That was one of the coolest things I have ever seen.” Violet smiled for the first time since Troy had met her. “You two are going to come in handy.”

“Vlad,” Twilla said sternly. “We need your help. Lena means you no harm. Just listen to what I have to say.”

“I’ll stay out here, thank you.” Vlad wiped blood from his face. “Even if she means me no harm, she has already done damage to me.”

Twilla came off the porch and pulled Vlad aside to talk. Troy went inside with Lena. “Are you alright?”

She put her hand on his face. “Are you?”

He nodded. “Tavis?”

Tavis waved his hand in front of his face. “Seems to be alright. I’m not seeing double and I don’t have any blood pouring out of my face.”

“I can’t believe you took down Vlad that easily.” Eric looked Lena up and down. “I’ve never heard of a Princess Lena.”

“I wasn’t a part of the problem,” Lena said coolly. She motioned for Margaret to come stand by her. Ellia put her barrier up again and this time encompassed Tavis, Troy, and Margaret also.

“Sorry,” she said to Eric and Violet. “I don’t trust you two just yet.”

Violet shrugged. “No problem. I understand. So are you going to come and help us protect my mother?”

“Maybe,” Lena said. “If you’ll wait to tell the Council until I have my sister under control, I’ll aid you in defending your mother.”

Eric’s tan skin turned red. “That sounds like you’ll let them attack Melody if we don’t agree.”

“It’s possible,” Lena said. Troy stole a look at his wife. She couldn’t be serious. She would let some woman suffer to keep her sister safe? The first time he met her, Sophia had been trying to kill her. If Tavis had done what they accused Sophia of, Troy didn’t think he would be so magnanimous.

“We won’t tell the Council,” Violet said angrily. “You’re a real piece of work, lady. You say you’re innocent but you’re protecting the bitch who started this all.”

“I’m protecting my people. There are still fae loyal to me.” Lena sounded even angrier than Violet. “They have suffered enough, thanks to my sister.”

“How do you think you’re going to stop her?” Eric demanded. “You may have to kill her. Are you willing to do that?”

Lena looked the shifter in the eye. “I am.”