by Nicole Hall
Maddie winced at the image that conjured up, but the memory of those jagged teeth made her glad Oskar had thick, stone-like skin. “How far to the nexus?”
He glanced behind them again and pointed in the direction they’d been running. “Like Oskar said, we’re almost there. Only a minute or two more.”
Maddie started walking, but her heart pounded in her throat from the fear followed by the surprise sprinting. Cardio. Need to work on the cardio. “Can your spidey-sense tell us where the kelpie is now?”
“Strangely, no.”
She picked up her pace. “Isn’t that bad?”
“Absolutely.”
The fear crept up again, and Maddie ruthlessly pushed it away. Aiden had told her to use her clever mind, and she fully planned to do that. Just as soon as they found the damn nexus in the middle of the damn forest. She felt the tingle of power ahead of them and breathed a sigh of relief.
They’d reached the nexus, but a twinge of conscience made her pause. Oskar could be injured, were they really going to leave him to fight that thing on his own?
A wave of magic from the necklace at her hip enveloped her. Time seemed to slow down, and she suddenly knew where the kelpie was hiding. She turned to warn Aiden, too late again.
He must have sensed something as well because he whipped them around to position himself between her and the kelpie. It appeared beside them on four silent legs, and its jaw snapped closed with a wet crunch. Fucking ninja kelpies.
Aiden grunted in pain, but she felt a rush of magic slam into the slimy body, sending it skidding a couple of feet back. Her arms were trapped at her sides by Aiden wrapping himself around her, and she could only steady him as he slowly collapsed. Maddie couldn’t track the kelpie with Aiden in her face, and blood slicked his sides, making it hard for her to maintain her grip.
“Call the trod!” Maddie shouted.
Aiden’s head lolled sideways, but the familiar shimmer appeared between the trees. His dead weight made them easy prey. A mix of adrenaline and magic gave Maddie the strength to heft him. She flipped around and wrapped an arm around him, tucking herself under his shoulder to support his weight. Before the kelpie could muster another attack, she dragged him through the sprites and onto the path.
9
MADDIE
The trod closed behind them, leaving Oskar and the kelpie in Norway. Maddie used the magic she’d called to half-carry, half-drag Aiden the blessedly short distance the trod required to get them back to Aiden’s cabin. She’d never been so happy to see log walls before.
With a deep breath, she carefully lowered Aiden to the forest floor so she could dig out the white stone to get through his wards. Once he was face down on the ground, she couldn’t get back under him. They needed to get inside, but Maddie didn’t want to add to his injury. She ended up pulling him by one arm through the circle, up his gravel path, and into his cabin.
Maddie kicked the door closed and released her magic, allowing her strength to return to normal. Blood covered Aiden’s back. The kelpie had torn his shirt to hell and ripped off a chunk of muscle over his shoulder blade. Somehow, the mangled mess barely oozed blood. Maddie tossed her pack by the door and went in search of clean bandages. Maybe boiling water? She wasn’t a medical professional, and Evie’s advice about magical healing only said to let the body do the heavy lifting. Not entirely helpful.
Memories from a first-aid class she’d taken at least a decade ago said to apply pressure and call 911. She snorted as she grabbed a clean towel out of the bathroom. The latter certainly wasn’t going to happen, but she could press on it while she called someone who might actually be able to help.
Aiden hadn’t moved from where she’d left him sprawled on the floor next to his couch, but his shoulder had stopped bleeding. Shiny pink skin around the edges of the wound slowly expanded. Maddie sat down hard on the floor next to him, clutching the towel. As she watched, his shoulder closed up on its own.
They’d left a trail of blood across Aiden’s yard and into the house, so she used the towel to clean it up, checking on him every few minutes. His slow, even breath helped her fight off the anxiety that his sudden healing produced. Her lizard brain insisted she do something to help him, but what?
As a last resort, Maddie checked his pulse. She held her hand to his neck for a good thirty seconds before she gave up. His pulse was…well, he had a pulse. She didn’t know what a normal pulse would be for a human, let alone him. As much as she liked their guessing game, it would be a whole lot more helpful if she knew what he was before she tried to heal him.
With nothing left to do, Maddie flopped on the couch and closed her eyes. Exhaustion made her limbs heavy. They’d taken a nap in…Scotland? All the places they’d journeyed sort of blurred together. Will had interrupted that one. Torix had messed with her sleep the night before. If his plan was to sap her energy through lack of rest, it was working beautifully.
Maddie had expended a lot of magic to get Aiden back to his safe zone, and she questioned the relative safety after busting through his wards. He probably needed to renew them, but she didn’t know how to do that. Guess those instructions would have been a good use of time after all.
Fatigue swamped her. Maddie struggled to stay awake, to come up with a plan for what to do next, but her body was simply shutting down. Her gritty eyelids refused to stay open, so she gave in and let the darkness take her.
For once, nothing interrupted Maddie. When she woke, night had fallen again. She cleared her parched throat, then groaned at the sticky dried sweat on her skin. Her stiff muscles protested when she tried to roll off the couch, almost ending up next to Aiden on the floor. Moonlight lit the room well enough for her to see him breathing, but her expertise maxed out at making sure he wasn’t dead.
Maddie stood over him, hands on her hips, and weighed the risks of showering while he was immobile. Couldn’t be any worse than passing out next to him. Several hours must have gone by, at least. She pulled her phone from her leggings to confirm her suspicion, surprised the pocket had kept it in place. Not bad for the amount of movement she’d done.
Torix had scared her away from Evie’s house the morning of January twenty-third, and if her phone was correct, she’d survived to early morning on the twenty-eighth. They’d been traveling for five days, but maybe a day and a half had passed for her. No wonder all the magical creatures never seemed to age.
She plugged in her phone and pursed her lips. Aiden hadn’t shifted an inch from where she’d dropped him. Maddie flipped on the lamp and crouched next to him to examine his shoulder.
He felt warm, but not feverish. Nothing marked the place he’d been bitten other than his torn shirt. She ran her fingers along his shoulder blade until she hit the jagged edge of fabric. Not even a scar. The smooth skin tempted Maddie to keep going, to slide her hand under his shirt and follow the line of muscle down his back.
Maddie shook her head and lifted her hand. He’d gotten hurt because he’d been shielding her. The least she could do was keep her hands to herself until they could both enjoy it. She blew out a breath and sat back on her heels. Maybe a cold shower was in order.
The cabin door only sported a simple deadbolt. Better than nothing. She locked it, and silently promised Aiden that she’d be quick in the shower. If something attacked them, she’d deal with it when the time came.
His small bathroom came well-stocked. She found plush towels folded inside the cabinet, along with separate bottles of shampoo, conditioner, and body wash, unlike her brother’s all-in-one soap monstrosity. With the door open in case of catastrophe, she stripped off her dirty clothes. The cold shower wasn’t a bad idea considering she’d had to talk herself out of fondling Aiden’s back not five minutes ago, but Maddie couldn’t resist cranking the handle as hot as it would go.
A groan escaped her when she stepped into the water, and for a second, she just stood there with her eyes closed and let it beat on her sore muscles. Steam rose around her, and she didn’t wa
ste any more time.
After the shower, Maddie stood in Aiden’s bedroom, wrapped in one of his towels. The problem with living out of her pack, one of them at least, was the lack of clean clothes. Everything she had with her was either torn or covered in blood and sweat. Most of it was both. Maddie stared speculatively at Aiden’s wardrobe. She really didn’t want to put on dirty clothes now that she’d finally cleaned off the filth.
She shrugged. Better to beg forgiveness than ask permission.
Maddie didn’t have to search long to find some soft, cotton shirts that would work. She chose a deep green option that came down to mid-thigh. Unfortunately, her undies were as dirty as the rest of her clothes. The shirt alone would have to do.
She peeked her head out the doorway to make sure Aiden hadn’t moved, then rinsed her bras and panties in the sink. He’d have to deal with her underthings hanging on his shower rod. The rest of her clothes would have to wait, but she had an idea where she could get more.
Maddie sat cross-legged next to Aiden on the floor, making sure all her good parts were covered in case he woke up, and pulled up the contacts list on her phone. First things first, she had to check on Oskar. It took over fifteen calls before someone picked up Oskar’s phone, but the person who answered wasn’t Oskar. The unidentified troll spoke with deference, but he wouldn’t share specifics. He told her not to worry about Oskar’s recovery, that he’d been injured, but he’d survive. They’d take good care of him because he’d protected her and killed the kelpie. She thanked the troll and hung up.
One less thing to worry about, and at least Oskar would benefit from their encounter.
The next call made her hesitate. Sera had insisted on sharing Zee’s number in case of emergencies. Maddie scowled at her phone while her finger hovered over the call button. The Fae had gotten her into this mess, and now she was supposed to trust them to help her get out of it?
Torix was Fae, but they’d separated themselves by branding him Dark Fae. Did the distinction really make a difference? Sera, who was half-Fae in her own right, said it did. Maddie dropped her hand, letting her phone thunk to the ground as she looked over at Aiden.
He could have died. Oskar could have died. Maddie was beginning to accept that she couldn’t do this on her own. How many more people she cared about needed to get hurt before she sucked it up and asked for help?
The answer had to be none.
Maddie pressed call and counted six rings before Zee picked up, grumpy and half-asleep. A low male voice in the background had to be Ryan, and she smiled at the familiar rumble. He’d always hated being woken up in the middle of the night.
Ryan had been her brother’s best friend since high school, and for a short while, Maddie’s secret boyfriend. Her time with him had been a bright spot in the blur of Torix’s darkness, despite the manipulation she’d been forced to employ. When Ryan cared about someone, he went all in, but she’d always known he wasn’t meant for her. Probably the reason Torix had allowed the relationship as long as he did. A taste of what she couldn’t have.
Her eyes wandered to the man face-down in front of her. Nostalgia aside, she’d never felt for Ryan what she did for Aiden. He believed in her, and made her believe in herself. More importantly, being with Aiden felt right.
And your instincts have always been so trustworthy…
Maddie frowned at her inner voice and asked Zee to meet her at the cabin with a change of clothes. To her surprise, Zee agreed without asking questions. The best directions Maddie could give to the cabin involved either walking around aimlessly or hoping a trod deposited Zee in exactly the right spot. Both options sucked, and even if Zee could control the placement of the trod, the trip through could take an inordinate amount of time that Maddie didn’t have.
Ryan said something in the background, and Zee told Maddie to turn on her phone’s GPS for tracking. They planned for Maddie to wait fifteen minutes, then go outside the circle so Zee could find the cabin. Maddie didn’t like the idea of potentially weakening the circle more by going through it again, but she needed help.
Bringing in another Fae should have made her uneasy, but relief lifted the massive weight of her responsibilities. While she waited, Maddie retrieved the necklace from her wadded-up pants in the bathroom. She examined the medallion, turning it over in her hand. The magic pushed against her, but she was able to resist it. She didn’t plan to tell Zee about the necklace, but she’d have to reveal some secrets if she wanted information. The Fae didn’t give much away for free.
Maddie snorted. Or anything at all.
Her current ensemble didn’t have pockets, so she tucked the necklace into a zippered pouch inside her pack. She considered the option of wearing it, but Maddie wasn’t ready to test its power just yet. Fate seemed insistent that she be the one to carry it around, but would it have protected Aiden from the kelpie’s bite if she’d given it to him? The question haunted her.
Aiden needed to wake up. Maddie missed his touch and his smile and the way he actually paid attention when she talked. He seemed to know way more than her about most things, but when she did have knowledge, he didn’t dismiss her. He listened, and he learned. More than anything else, she missed the way he understood her. He saw her, all of her, and he liked it.
After the requisite fifteen minutes, Maddie put on her boots and tromped across the yard. The cabin hadn’t exactly warmed her with the fire out, but she’d had other things on her mind. Outside, she’d expected to be thoroughly chilled by the time she reached the white circle, but the ambient temperature wasn’t too bad.
The other side of the circle, however, had to have been near the freezing mark. Her breath came out in white puffs as she checked the GPS and held up her phone. Why did it always have to be cold? Maddie wrapped her arms around herself and hopped from one foot to the other to build up warmth. Her phone chimed. Zee’s text said she was almost there.
Trepidation worked its way through Maddie as she stood out in the open with no weapons and practically no clothes. Stupid horror movie heroines often died this way. The thought wasn’t comforting. Maddie glanced at the white circle behind her and considered stepping back inside, but Aiden had assured her the wards kept this place hidden. Without her GPS, she’d be leaving Zee to wander the woods in the middle of the night.
When she turned back, a tall woman with bronze skin and green eyes stood a few feet from her. Zee crossed her arms, showing off impressive biceps in a tight pullover, but her face showed concern instead of the consternation Maddie had feared. A few more intricate braids had made their way into Zee’s long, dark hair since the last time Maddie had seen her in a group chat.
She looked like an Amazon going to battle, and for once, Maddie valued Zee’s resolute attitude toward magical problems.
“Hi, Zee.” Maddie added an awkward wave and instantly regretted it. Zee made her nervous, and she hated feeling anxious.
“You said you needed magical help.”
Maddie nodded. “Let’s go inside. It’s freezing out here.” She turned, intending to go back to the cabin, but Zee grabbed her arm.
“Inside where?”
“The cabin?” Maddie gestured toward the building in front of them.
Zee shook her head. “I only see trees.”
Belatedly, Maddie remembered the wards, the whole reason she’d had to come outside. She grimaced. Not so clever now, are you? When had her inner voice become such a bitch?
Maddie shrugged off Zee’s hand. “Do you know anything about wards?”
Zee’s brows shot up. “Not much, I’m afraid.”
“Okay. I have no idea if this will work.” She clasped Zee’s wrist and tried to pull her across the circle of white stones. They met resistance at first, but Maddie added a quick burst of power around them both, and Zee stumbled through.
Zee’s eyebrows climbed higher. “This is unexpected.” She reached a hand out to touch a tall, fern-like plant near the edge of the property. “Temperature controlled,” she muse
d. “Weather too, probably.”
Maddie waited at the cabin door while Zee adjusted to the change. “I know it’s cool, but Aiden is inside and I’d feel a lot better if you’d look at him.”
Zee left the plants and joined Maddie at the door. “How did you find this place?”
“Aiden brought me here.”
“Who’s Aiden?”
Maddie opened the door, and Zee gasped softly. “That’s Aiden. He got bit by a kelpie protecting me. He passed out pretty quickly, then his shoulder healed itself, but he hasn’t woken up and it’s been hours.” Maddie sucked in a breath. “I need to know how to help him.”
Zee’s gaze hadn’t left his unconscious form. “I know him…” Her eyes narrowed. “The wolf. Of course. He’s a shape-shifter.”
Maddie snorted. “He’s a lot of things.” She ushered Zee further into the room and closed the door. “Can you take a look at him?”
Zee nodded absently and crouched down next to his formerly injured shoulder. She tossed a small bag that Maddie hadn’t noticed earlier onto the couch, then held her hand over the torn area of his shirt. “Clothes for you. How long did you say he’s been asleep?”
Maddie ignored the bag and sat on the other side of Aiden. “I didn’t check the time when we got back, but it was close to mid-day. Maybe twelve hours?”
“Mmm.” Zee stacked her palms and a pale green glow emanated from them. Maddie slid her hand into Aiden’s and watched Zee carefully. She didn’t trust the Fae, but this one had been vetted by her family. Still, if Aiden showed one sign of distress, she’d pull on every drop of magic she had to get Zee the hell away from him.
“What does a kelpie bite do?”
“It kills, usually. Let me concentrate.”
They sat there in silence, and Maddie’s fear ratcheted up with every second that passed. What was wrong? Why was it taking so long? She squeezed Aiden’s hand, and tried not to imagine the worst thing that could happen.