Cam liked Saige? Interesting. He was usually a love them, leave them kind of guy. She must have really gotten underneath his skin. I smiled. Boss was a good man. I knew he loved each of us, and I was happy he had found a connection with someone outside of our group. He needed a good woman to love on, and Saige was looking more and more perfect with each passing day. What he really needed was a partner, aside from us, that he could depend on, that he could trust implicitly, someone he could show his scars.
“I’m going to pick her up tonight at six. Should I take the rental, you think?” Fischer asked the room, but it was Cam who responded.
“That girl loves to ride. Take your bike. Have fun.” A smile took over his normally stoic face as he clearly remembered something from the previous night. I didn’t think I’d ever seen him look so... dreamy.
“For the love of Jupiter’s cock,” Sloane cursed, standing up and walking out of the room.
“Don’t be salty, Sloaney Baloney!” I yelled at his retreating back, receiving double birds in answer as he stormed out of the kitchen and down the hallway.
“I thought he would have mellowed out considering what the two of you got up to last night,” I directed at Fish.
“He could fuck me every day and still be a crabby bastard,” Fish laughed, and it was the truth. Clearing his throat, he continued, “I’ll talk to him if his shitty attitude toward Saige continues, but we all know how he is.”
Cam and I glanced at each other briefly before agreeing that that would probably be the best route.
“Alright, shower time.” Cam pushed off the island and disappeared into the bathroom, leaving Fish and me behind.
“Do you know what you’re going to do with our girl tonight?” I inquired as Fischer got up and took everyone’s mugs to the sink.
“I want to take her somewhere private, so I can get to know her without anybody else’s emotions mucking up our date. She’s a blank slate, K. I’ve never met another woman like her, and I just... I can’t help but hope that maybe this could really be something. Maybe a picnic?” His fingers were tapping again, this time on his knees, his legs bouncing. He was nervous. Aww, how fucking sweet.
“I’ll whip up some subs and stuff for you to take. Wine?” The relief on his face was instant, and I slung an arm around his shoulder. “Don’t worry, bro. I got you. A successful date means our woman is having a great time, and that makes me and Bagheera very happy.”
“Thanks, Kai.” His arm wrapped around my waist as he leaned his head against my shoulder, squeezing me with a half hug. I took the opportunity and mussed up his thick hair with my hand before he pushed me away, laughing.
Even Fischer, the cold interrogator, was thawing out here in Emerald Lakes. Saige was quickly turning into someone that I didn’t want to have to give up when our time on this assignment was over. Two of my best friends were laughing more in the six days that we’d been here than I’d seen them do in the past several years. Speaking for myself, I loved the rush I got when my phone pinged. My Sprout almost never responded in a way I thought she would, and I lived for that surprise. She was by far the most positive thing that had entered our lives to date. Now, if only she could work some magic on Sloane...
Sliding across the vinyl wood flooring on my socks, I stopped in front of the drawer that held sticky notes and pens. I wanted to make the best picnic for Fish and Saige, and the first step was a grocery list.
About half an hour later, I made my way around the store, grabbing the items on my list and some of those random extras you always grab ‘just because.’ Just as I was heading to the checkout, a familiar scent hit my nose, a growl nearly escaping as Bagheera pushed to the front of my mind when a man walked out of an aisle to my right. The water mage from The Pig. He was shorter than me, probably five foot ten, and built like a bear. His blond hair was buzzed, and I noticed a yellowish purple bruise around his eye and swelling on his cheekbone.
This must be the douchebag that thought he could lay hands on our woman. Why was he skulking around Saige’s shop? Bagheera was snarling at the realization that this bastard was standing right here, so close, and my own lip lifted, but I managed to keep the sound inside. He wanted to tear his throat out, and I had to push his predatory ass down so I didn’t shift and trash the place.
Bryce. I snarled his name in my mind. As if he’d heard my thoughts, he crossed his arms over his chest and locked eyes with me.
“Nice shiner,” I growled.
“Yeah? You like this?” He raised his hand and let his fingers trail over the raised skin. “Some little asshole who doesn’t know how things work in this town thought he’d get stupidly brave.” He smiled darkly at me, not knowing when to back down. “Looks like he’s not the only one since you’re still walking around my town too.”
“Do little assholes make you piss your pants, then? That’s what I heard happened.” I shrugged as I started putting my items on the conveyor belt, unafraid to turn my back to this douchebag.
He laughed. Son of a bitch must have a death wish.
“Do me a favor, tell that little slut that her pussy belongs to me. I don’t care how many of you fuck her. In fact, it’ll just make punishing her all the sweeter. Maybe I’ll just have to fuck her tight ass and remind her—”
My eyes flashed to pure animal as my fist shot out and smashed his throat. The cashier screamed, and I knew this would be the talk of the town, but I’d be fucking damned if this piece of shit was going to talk about our woman like that. Douchebag was bent over, holding his throat and gasping for air as Bagheera called for blood.
Dude, we’re in a grocery store for fuck’s sake, I thought, trying to make my cat see reason.
I turned my attention to the cashier, my eyes landing on her name tag. “Joanne, I apologize for scaring you. However, I do not apologize for making him shut his filthy mouth. Nobody should talk about any woman like that.”
She nodded, her permed hair bouncing in agreement. “It’s about time somebody did it,” she whispered under her breath. “Why don’t you get out of here before the manager stops by? It’s a shame that I saw a spider and screamed,” she finished with a wink.
Douche-mage left his basket and slunk off like the bitch ass coward he was, not knowing how lucky he was that I’d run into him today and not Fischer. I couldn’t inflict pain on someone without witnesses noticing, but Fish would’ve slipped right into his brain and scrambled it like a goddamned omelette.
I smiled as I handed over the money for the groceries. “Glad to be of service, then. Keep the change. Have a wonderful day, Joanne.”
Picking up the paper grocery bag, I saluted her with my free hand and waltzed out of the store. Damn, that felt good.
Having packed the food away in Fish’s backpack, I threw in a bottle of wine and a corkscrew. They’ll just have to drink it out of the bottle. Tossing some napkins and a couple of bottles of water in the bag, I sat down on one of the barstools, satisfaction flowing through me as I scrolled through my phone to kill some time. At four, Fischer walked into the kitchen.
“You look nice, brother,” I told him as I took in his black button-down long-sleeved shirt. His deeply bronzed skin practically shimmered as it met the dark fabric. He’d rolled the arms up to his elbows and tucked the shirt into a nice pair of dark wash jeans. His thick black curls were styled back, out of his face, with the help of some product.
“Thanks.” He shook his arms out. “Fuck. I’m nervous, Kai. I can’t get a read on her at all. How will I know how it’s going? I’ve never had this problem before.”
I walked up to him and put my arms on his shoulders. “You've got this, dude. She’s into you. She wouldn’t have agreed to go out with you if she wasn’t.”
“Maybe she felt obligated after I knocked that asshole on his ass,” he worried, voicing his doubt at my statement.
“Then I’ll ask her out next because I throat punched that little bitch in the grocery store earlier.”
“You did what?” He l
aughed as his eyes flashed with darkness, making me shiver. Dude is a scary motherfucker when he wants to be.
“Yeah, he came up behind me in line at the checkout, unwisely cocky. I didn’t like the shit he was spewing, so I jabbed him right in the throat.”
Fischer threw his head back and laughed like hell.
“When we got back from our run last night, I smelled a water mage, but I didn’t realize it was him until we ran into him at the store. I don’t know what the fuck he was up to over here, but he was just leaving when we bounded up. We’re all going to have to watch him. He said some really fucked up shit about our girl, and the piece of shit definitely doesn’t realize who he’s messing with.”
Sloane had just walked into the kitchen, chiming in after hearing my last comment. “Fucking abusive meathead. If he comes at her again, I’ll burn his balls off with my bare hands.” He opened the fridge door and bent over to look inside. Pulling out a beer, he held it up with an eyebrow raised in question. I nodded and he grabbed another.
Nothing got Sloane quite so heated as men who beat on women. His father had been a master of all forms of abuse, and after nearly beating Sloane’s mother to death, he’d been locked up in prison where he couldn’t hurt her anymore. Unfortunately, Sloane’s mom wasn’t the only victim in the house. Eyeing the fire mage, I could practically see the heat billowing off him from merely thinking about a woman suffering at the hands of a man. The water mage would get more than a throat jab if he so much as looked at Saige wrong in Sloane’s presence. Dude might be an asshole to her, but he would torch any bastard who tried to hurt her. See? He’s just a big ol’ sweetie, my Sloaney Baloney.
“Want me to come with you tonight to check out the property at Sprout’s?” I had nothing else going on, and I was curious to see those plants again. If there was something evil targeting her, I wanted it banished as soon as possible.
“Sounds good. I’m going to head out at eight.” Rummaging around in the utensil drawer, he pulled out a bottle opener and popped the lids off the two drinks. “Here.” We clanked our bottles together, each taking a healthy swig.
Leaning against the counter, he surveyed Fischer. “You never dress up for me.”
“I’m never dressed long, so what’s the point?” he fired right back at Sloane, and I laughed.
“I can’t argue with that. For what it’s worth, you clean up nice... pet.” Sloane winked, and Fischer’s cheeks flamed. Fucking hell, the chemistry between the two of them was insane, and I was sporting a damn semi.
“Quit fucking with me. I’m nervous enough as it is without the two of you adding to it. I’m leaving before you get ideas or offer any shitty advice. I need to scope out a few potential locations, anyway.”
“Here, don’t forget the fucking food! What a disaster that would be.” I sped over to him and put the backpack on him like a proud papa sending his kid off to the first day of school. “Now, get the fuck out of here and have fun.” I slapped his ass, and he grumbled out a fuck you that held zero heat.
When the door slammed shut, Sloane and I stood there with our thumbs up our asses for a few moments before I couldn’t take the idle silence. “Well, Sloaney Baloney, our boy’s all grown up. What are we going to do with ourselves?” I asked dramatically.
“I’m gonna sit and watch TV until it’s time to go investigate. Did you hear about that show that everyone’s talking about? Something about a gay redneck who owns a tiger farm?”
My eyes flashed, and Bagheera growled. Big cats are not meant to be confined. Fucking humans. “Show me.” With a smug smile, Sloane led me into the living room.
I’d spent the morning relaxing with Maven and daydreaming about last night’s surprise encounter with Cam. When I finally came back down to Earth and realized it was already two in the afternoon, I got my ass into gear and hopped in the shower, pushing all thoughts of the guys from my mind.
Fifteen hurried minutes later, I shut the water off and grabbed my towel. Opening my eyes, I yelped and almost fell on my ass. All bright colors had been leached from my vision, leaving behind only shades of green, gray, and black. What the hell is going on?
“Sssssaige.” The whispered voice came from my bedroom, the hiss seeming to wrap around my body until I froze, my heart beating so hard I thought I might have a heart attack at any moment. I must be losing my mind.
“Indespectus,” I breathed, invoking the spell that could hide a witch from someone meaning to do them harm. I’d gotten well acquainted with the spell after dating Bryce for so long. Not hearing any more sounds, I dared a peek through the crack in the door. My vision was still fucked as I braved a look into my bedroom, sucking in a breath of surprise.
What are they doing? From what I could tell, the same two figures that I’d seen in the shop were moving around my bedroom, looking at everything they could. More whispers filled the air, but I wasn’t close enough to make out what they were saying.
“Saige, where are you, child?” Gran’s voice called out from downstairs, and the shadows shrieked and dissipated, the lingering hiss of ‘ssssoon’ causing my body to tremble as my vision returned to normal. I walked to my bed and dropped down on the mattress in a heap, taking a shuddering breath. During the short walk from the bathroom to my bed, my body had felt like it was wading through molasses, and I didn’t know if that was from the fear coursing through my system or some lingering effect of the shadow creatures.
My door creaked as it opened, and then Gran was there, concern on her face. Her hands gripped my upper arms as she asked, “What’s happened? Saige, talk to me.”
Sitting up, I threw my arms around her and pulled her to me, tears filling my eyes as the adrenaline began leaving my body. She rubbed my back, shushing me in a soothing way.
“Gran,” I croaked out, “we need to talk.”
Pulling away from me, she nodded. “Get dressed, I’ll be downstairs in the kitchen.”
She quietly left, and I quickly threw on some clothes and ran a brush through my hair, feeling guilty that I hadn’t confided in her yet about the ‘prophecy’ or those shadow things. I’d gotten so wrapped up in Cam that I’d forgotten to give her a call. Now these creatures were showing up again, and they not only knew my name, but where I lived, and from the sounds of it, they were interested in learning more.
Moving down the steps at a swift pace, I headed for the one woman who I knew would always help me, guide me, and love me, no questions asked. She was sitting at the table, a fresh pot of coffee beside our already full mugs.
“Talk to me, child. When I entered the house, I had this sick feeling in my stomach and felt unnatural energy. I need to know everything so that we can protect the house from further invasion.”
Slipping into the chair beside her, I ran my hands down my face. “Gran, I don’t even know where to begin. So many weird things have been happening, so at first, I thought it was all just a fluke. The flowers dying? It’s only the beds I tend to. Did you notice that? Yours are completely fine. Yesterday, Matilda and Roberta showed up at the shop. They were waiting for me when I got there, going on and on about a prophecy and how important it was.”
After a deep breath, I took a sip of my coffee. Gran’s face had this serious expression I hadn’t seen since my lovely mother decided to pay a visit when I was a kid. When she didn’t speak, I continued, sparing her no detail. As I shared the part about the seers’ eyes turning black and the power that had moved through me when they grasped my hands, Gran’s face began to lose its rosy coloring. Well, that’s not fucking good. Keep going, Saige. Get it all out.
With a deep breath to stall the questions running through my mind, I finished describing my change in vision, the shadow creatures, the prophecy, all of it. Still nervous, a tiny undercurrent of relief ran through me at having confided in Gran. Together, we could figure this out.
“And that was the first time you saw these beings?” Gran questioned, lifting her mug to take a sip, her face not quite so pale, though the stern expre
ssion remained.
“Yes. But just now when I finished with my shower, my vision went all weird again, and I heard one of those things whisper my name, Gran. They were creeping around my room and looking at all of my shit. What the fuck are they? Do you know?” I asked, my eyes pleading with her to say yes. Gran reached out and took my hand in her own, searching my face before she released a deep sigh and averted her gaze to the wall. Acceptance and sadness flickered in her expression, and I squeezed her hand in support.
“They’re astral projections, child. They cannot harm you while they’re in that form, thank the gods. It would appear to me that they’re on a fact finding mission for their master, this ‘king’ they spoke about,” Gran informed me, fiddling with the hem of her shirt. That had always been one of her tells. Ever since I was a little girl, she’d fiddle with her clothes when she had something big and uncomfortable to talk to me about.
“But what are they really? If they’re projections, then they must have a physical body, right? Where the hell is their physical body?” Am I going to be freaking abducted?
“They’re demons, Saige.” Gran exhaled, leaning back into her seat.
“Demons. Like, from Hell? I didn’t even think Hell was a real thing.”
“Not Hell. They’re from Besmet, the demon realm,” Gran stated, matter of factly.
The Magic of Discovery: Emerald Lakes Book One Page 16