"There are people who aren't glued to their phones?" Hamish said in amazement.
Most of us laughed in reply, but he wasn't wrong.
"As fun as it would be to travel by helicopter, it would make us vulnerable to attack from…" Nash stopped mid-sentence.
"Phoenixes?" I finished for him. "It's all right to talk about them…us. I am what I am. There's no point in trying to hide from it."
He averted his gaze and I realised this wasn't about me. This was about him and his memories. Had he been given the same concoction I had, to force his dragon form to reveal itself? I had several nightmares about shifting since it had happened. And about killing Fitz and ripping off his head.
I reached for his hand. "Are you okay?" I said softly.
His jaw clenched and for a moment I was sure he'd say nothing. Then he gave a deep sigh.
"I think it's time we talked about our childhoods." He nodded toward Matt, whose lips pressed into a tight line.
"Should we leave?" Ariana asked, her eyes wide with concern.
"No." Nash waved his spare hand toward her. "You should hear this, so you all understand." He sucked in a deep breath.
"My mother was a witch. I have no idea what my father was. A shifter of some kind." He pursed his lips. "She wouldn't talk about it."
I squeezed his hand. He offered me a watery half-smile.
"I assume he was a bird of some kind." Nash glanced toward Kane, whose face reddened at being singled out.
"I was literally born in a Zeta laboratory and removed from my mother almost immediately. We were allowed to see each other once in a while, as a reward for good behaviour of some kind." Nash ran a hand over his hair. His expression was pained. Every word seemed more and more strained.
Matt nodded. "It was the same for me, until my mother took me and left." His eyes glazed and I caught him wiping a tear from the corner of his eye.
Nash nodded. "My mother couldn't leave. Or at least, she didn't. I went to school with other young hybrids, where we learnt how we're superior to other paranormals, and why normals need to be brought under control. Every chance she got, my mother told me otherwise. In spite of that, I was recruited into Zeta and joined the police force. They decided I could help them the best there."
He leaned back and closed his eyes. "The more time went on, the more I saw things I couldn't condone. The breeding, the corruption, infiltration of governments, the murder of normals. I couldn't do it anymore. I changed my name and went rogue."
"That must have been difficult," I said softly.
"The choice to do it was easy," he replied. "Actually doing it was something else entirely. Zeta doesn't like it when their agents run off, especially knowing what I know."
"They came after you?" Dyson asked.
"Yeah, but I knew all their tricks. The hardest part was convincing other paranormals I was really on their side. Some of us have trust issues." He smiled wryly.
"That sounds lonely." I put an arm around him and rested my head on his shoulder.
"It was." He reached down to cup my ass. "Then I met you and everything changed."
"Yeah, now you're stuck with us crazy folk," Dyson joked.
"I wouldn't have it any other way," Nash said firmly.
"Thank the gods for that." I kissed him lightly on the mouth, then drew back and looked him in the eyes. "I knew Nash wasn't your real name."
He smiled slightly. "It's the third or fourth name I've had. It was given to me by a friend. He organised the job at the AMM to hide me from Zeta. I'm not sure it's what I would have chosen, but it'll do."
"I like him, whoever he is." I nodded. I turned to Matt. "So is Matt your real name?"
He smiled, but his eyes looked haunted. "I'll never tell," he replied.
"So it's not," I concluded. "Is it Bartholomew?"
Matt snorted. "Gods, no."
"Waldo?" I asked with a smile.
Matt chuckled. "No. Like I said, I won't tell you, but it's nothing that horrible."
"If you say so." I frowned. "I don't even know your last name." Strange I hadn't realised that until now.
"Ling," he replied. "That's all you're getting from me."
"Sure it is." I gave him one of my crappy winks, where both eyes almost closed. He responded with a snort but the sides of his mouth tugged upward.
"We should probably get packed and get on the road," Nash said reluctantly.
I suspected he had other ideas of how to spend the next few hours. Personally I'd prefer it to sitting in a car for a long period of time, but the sooner we left, the sooner we arrived.
"Illusion Bay or bust," Dyson said.
"Let's not bust." Kane grimaced. He shot his brother a look, then glanced toward me. The message was clear: take care of Peyton or else.
Ah, brotherly love.
"I'll help Peyton to pack," Corinne said. "Otherwise I suspect we'll be here for days."
I blushed, but she wasn't wrong.
4
"Is this where we start asking if we're there yet?" Dyson grinned over at Corinne who sat next to him, in the driver's seat.
I checked the time on my phone. "We've only been on the road for an hour." I sat forward and peered at him over his shoulder.
"So I should have started half an hour ago," he joked.
"Only if you want to walk the rest of the way," Corinne said. She shot him a sideways glance.
He looked to be considering that for a moment before he shook his head. "Naw, I'll get too tired."
I snorted. "If you're lucky, you will. If you're not, you'll be found by a family who decides to keep you as a pet."
He cocked his head. "Right. I could spend the rest of my life lying on a bed in the sunshine and being fed from a huge bowl."
"You'd be fed dog food and might have to sleep outside in a kennel," Corinne pointed out.
"Yep, no ice cream for you," Blake said from the seat beside me.
Dyson groaned. "Great, now I'm craving ice cream. Can we stop for—"
"No," Corinne interrupted. "No stopping until the designated time and place."
"But—"
"Give it up," Blake advised. "You won't change her mind. She's a stickler for the rules."
"The plan was designed to keep us all safe," Corinne replied. "If we deviate from it and something happens, the rest won't know where we are. Zeta would be the least of our worries."
"Right," I agreed. "You'd have to face Nash."
Dyson gave a mock shudder. At least, I think it was a mock one. Angry Nash wasn't for the faint of heart. Though Dyson could handle himself.
"Fine." Dyson sat back and looked out the open window beside him. It blew cold air in my face, but I knew he got carsick, so it was a small price to pay. At least he didn't hang his head out and pant.
"Any sign of the others?" I glanced back, but knew I wouldn't see them. Ariana and Hamish left hours ago, on their mysterious mission. Kane, Nash, and Matt were probably leaving now. I hated the idea everyone was out there somewhere where I couldn't see or talk to them. That left me to worry, which wasn't much help to them or me.
"They'll be okay." Blake leaned over and put a hand on mine. His touch sent butterflies through my stomach. He gave me a soft smile. He really was too damned cute.
I smiled back.
"I know, I just…" Under normal circumstances, a girl might worry if her three boyfriends traveled in a car together. Jealousy or animosity might make things ugly. I knew I had nothing to worry about on that account. There didn't seem to be any hard feelings between them where I was concerned. They might envy the guy I spent the night with, if we spent it alone, but none minded that I had strong feelings for them all.
"I'll be glad when we're there," I said finally. "And safe." I looked back again, but saw no sign of anyone following us. Not, I should add, that I really knew what to look for.
"We should be fine, we're—" Blake cut off when his phone rang. He pulled it out of his back pocket and grimaced.
"What
is it?" I asked.
"It's Zeta," he replied wryly. "They have a job for us."
"They might be testing you," Dyson suggested.
"It could be a trap," I added.
"Um." Blake frowned toward the roof of the car. "I don't think so, but it's possible."
I blinked. "They play games like that with their agents?" Of course they would. Nothing was beneath them. A burst of anger made my blood hot. That was followed immediately by the fear my inner phoenix would burst loose inside the car. I would rip the car to pieces and everyone in it. Then I'd start on the people in the car behind us and the one after…
I sucked in a breath. Forced the fury to cool. I didn't want to kill anyone, no matter the circumstances.
"We're infiltrating them," Corinne said calmly. "We've helped at least a dozen witches to get free and make it to a safe haven. There's a place…" She shook her head. "It doesn't matter now. We're not on their side, and they might suspect that."
"We're absolutely not," Blake agreed. "Corinne is right though, they might try to test us and we can't afford to fail." He exhaled through his teeth. "What do we do about this though? We're only ten kilometres from… Moruya. What a strange name."
"What do they want us to do?" Corinne asked.
"Capture a hybrid," Blake replied.
I frowned. "What makes them think there's a hybrid on the loose in a rural area like this?" I waved out the window. The view was a combination of lush green and black from recent bushfires.
"They found people dead, with marks consistent with a lion," Blake replied. "There aren't any lions in the wild in Australia. Unless a lion escaped from the zoo, which would have been all over the news."
"Wait a minute. You can't be suggesting you're going after this…whatever it is?" Dyson asked.
"If they're killing people," Corinne said. "What choice do we have?"
"We ignore the message and keep driving," Dyson suggested. "Surely there's someone else who can deal with this kind of thing?"
"A whole team of someones," I agreed. "How are you supposed to handle a dangerous hybrid by yourselves? I mean, no offence, you're both badasses."
"We've been trained." Corinne slowed as we approached a small town. "With any luck, this won't take long."
"Those sound like famous last words to me," Dyson pointed out.
"They really do," I agreed.
We rolled to a stop beside a pretty, green park. At the end of the park a wide river ran.
"They hold a market here every Saturday." Corinne opened her door and climbed out. "I've come here for it a few times. Every other day, it's just a nice place for a picnic."
"Are you suggesting Dyson and I stay here and eat sandwiches while you hunt hybrids?" I asked. I followed her example. The sun was warm on my face and the breeze was clean and clear. There was certainly something to be said for living in places like this.
"There's a nice little café just there." Corinne pointed across the road.
"Why don't we all eat, then find our friend?" I suggested.
"Peyton, Nash would—"
I cut Dyson off with a glance. "He's not here. Whatever is going on is better dealt with by four of us than two."
"Or we could take the car and keep driving," Dyson said lightly. "They could catch up."
"How?" I asked.
"Rideshare?"
"Out here?" I waved around me. "They'd be lucky to have a taxi or two."
Dyson hesitated, then sagged. "Yeah, I guess so. But I agree with Peyton. We go together or not at all." He stood like a dog who wouldn't walk past a strange house, no matter how hard anyone tugged on his leash.
Corinne grimaced. "Fine, but we eat first."
I nodded. "I could eat."
"I'll get it," Blake offered.
"I'll go with you." Dyson fell in beside him.
I sat on the grass beside the car and leaned against the trunk of a small tree. "Are we really doing this?"
"Going after a hybrid?" Corinne asked. "We have to. We need to protect the normals. The police can't manage. There are no other teams close."
"How do they know where you are?" I asked carefully.
"We told them." Corinne raised a hand before I jumped up and started toward her. "The most convincing lies are at least partly truthful. They don't know you're here. As far as they're concerned, we're loyal agents, even if we're not the most competent." She scowled.
She was nothing if not competent. Pretending to be lacking just so Dyson and I could escape must rankle a little. I appreciated her ability to put her ego aside to do the right thing. I knew people who wouldn't have done it.
"What happens if they turn up here and demand you hand us over?" I asked. "Neither of us look very restrained."
"I can tie you up, but we know that won't hold you anyway," she replied easily. "We'll just say you came willingly because you couldn't control your shifter form. You wouldn't be the first. Not everyone gets accepted into places like the AMM. Some shifters and witches are on their own." She sighed softly.
"Someone you know?" I guessed.
"Not exactly. Someone I met in the facility. He didn't know how to use magic until he accidentally killed his best friend. A shifter on the police force told him about Zeta. He had his magic siphoned off."
"And?" I prompted.
"And what?" she asked. "He went back to a normal life with a new name and identity, but with no magical means to harm anyone. I don't know what happened to him after that." She averted her face.
"You cared about him, didn't you?" I asked softly.
"I did," she said. "I tried to talk him into seeking help from other magic users."
"You mentioned a safe haven."
She nodded slowly. "Raven's Gate. They train witches and shifters, sometimes demons. Sometimes just the basics, sometimes more. They also train a handful of normals to hunt wayward demons and shifters, but that's incredibly dangerous work for a normal."
"So there are normals who know about paranormals." I frowned. Part of my mother's job was to ensure they weren't able to tell anyone else. I wasn't sure how she did that, I had never dared to ask. I assumed she had them killed, but maybe I was wrong.
"Some are recruited by the Gate," Corinne replied. "Some stumble upon us. Some are friends or lovers. Still others are paranormals stripped of their magic before they were old enough to know they had it. They always feel drawn toward…something, without knowing why."
I thought I caught a glint of tears in her eyes, but she looked away before I could be sure.
I decided to change the subject. "Do you think my mother is really on the board of Zeta?"
"I'm honestly not sure," Corinne replied. "The board is so secretive, I'm not sure they know everyone who is on it with them."
"So, what, they have code names or something?" I was only half joking.
She nodded in response. "From what I can gather, yes. If one decided to betray the others, it could expose the whole organisation and the paranormal community."
"If it was only about them, I'd blow the whole thing apart," I said firmly. "But I care about too many paranormals to risk them."
"Yeah," she agreed. She stopped and glanced around slowly. "Do you feel that?"
"What—" Now she mentioned it, I did and had for a while. Someone or something was sucking on the edge of my magic.
5
I rose slowly, hands out to either side. "Can you tell where it's coming from?"
Corinne stood too. She turned her face slowly to the left, then to the right. "I'm not sure. It feels stronger—"
"From there." I pointed roughly to the east. I only knew that because of the position of the sun. I wouldn't have a clue otherwise. Most people don't anyway, right? Well, I didn't.
I took a step in that direction, then stopped.
"Wait, should we be running away instead of moving closer?" I peered ahead. Was there someone there? A couple of someones maybe? I couldn't be sure from this distance.
"Probably," Corinn
e agreed. She started walking. East. Ish.
"I… Okay." I hurried to catch up, but I kept my arm ready. Or rather, my tattoos. My gargoyle and my tiger were ready to defend me as long as I had access to magic. Here, surrounded by trees and grass, I had lots. Failing that, I could go all phoenix on their asses. That was the last resort, always. I couldn't control that side of me well enough and my jeans were new. I didn't want to risk tearing them. Or worse, losing them altogether. All right, in the scheme of things it wasn't that important, but I really didn't want to shift.
A figure stepped out from behind a tree when we were less than a hundred metres away.
I braced myself, but they gave no sign of aggression. Well, except for standing with his legs slightly apart, hand out, palm up.
"Is that…" I didn't finish the question because I knew the answer. He held the black stone which Zeta used to dampen magic.
"Took you long enough, darlin'," he said. He spoke with an English accent. The kind you hear on British police dramas, not the fancy, upper class kind.
I did a double take. I knew that voice. He didn't have a red face now, but rather a handsome one, with hazel eyes and buzz-cut dark hair. His short sleeved t-shirt revealed muscular arms covered in a layer of tattoos. He wore track pants which hung loose from his hips.
"You're the demon from the Zeta facility," I blurted out.
Corinne glanced at me sharply. "Are you sure?"
"Is the sky blue?" I asked.
"That depends on the weather," she said dryly. "At the moment it is."
I exhaled softly. "I'm sure." To the demon I said, "Right?"
He shrugged his left shoulder. "Guilty as charged, darlin'. Don't be too concerned though, I'm mostly harmless."
"Considering you're holding that," Corinne nodded toward the stone, "excuse me for having my doubts."
"What, this old thing?" He dropped the stone into a small velvet bag. Its influence immediately vanished as if it hadn't been there at all. "It's harmless too, in the right hands."
"Your hands?" I placed a hand on my hip and stuck it out to the side a little.
For some reason, he seemed to find this funny. He laughed for a few moments, then said, "They absolutely are the right hands. Why don't you come here and find out, darlin'?"
Logical Magic (Academy of Modern Magic Book 3) Page 3