by Kristie Cook
“I can’t afford to give you our best. I need them where they are.”
“We can make our own team,” Tristan said in my head. “We can build her an army and do this at the same time.”
“Then I’ll make my own team,” I said to Mom. “Tristan’s already coming up with a plan.”
“Alexis—”
“Don’t worry, Mom. It’s all about building the Amadis army.”
“Good. That’s where your energy needs to go. Thank the Angels for Tristan’s level head.”
I rolled my eyes.
“Don’t lose focus,” she warned.
“Don’t worry,” I said again, although my focus was a little wider than hers.
“Don’t abandon your people, Alexis,” she repeated.
“Don’t worry about that, either. Unlike you, Mother, I won’t abandon anyone.”
Chapter 3
“So you have a plan?” I asked Tristan after hanging up with Mom.
“The beginnings of one,” he said, “but the only way you were going to satisfy Sophia was to convince her we’d build an army. Which we’ll do. If you want to do things your way, Alexis, you have to learn how to make her and Rina trust you. Make your goals and theirs one and the same.”
I stood in front of him and jutted a hip out while dropping my hands to my waist. “But they don’t want to try to find Dorian. How am I supposed to agree with that?”
“I’m not saying you have to agree on everything. Only the big things. Build an army and fight the Daemoni. That’s what you’re agreeing to. You don’t have a problem with it, do you?”
“Of course not. As long as we can rescue Dorian in the process.”
“Exactly. Serve their goals, ma lykita. Build and train our army. If Sophia’s right about Dorian not being in Hades, we won’t need to wait on a full army to get to him. We can put together a special ops team for a search-and-rescue mission. All part of the training program.”
For the first time in days, maybe even weeks, a smile tugged at my lips. I threw my arms around him.
“You’re brilliant!” I said.
He shrugged under my embrace. “That is how they made me, isn’t it?”
“And we’re going to use all that brilliance and everything else they gave you against them. We’re going to destroy them. Once and for all.”
He shifted under my hold. I pulled back to study his sublime face. The gold in his eyes shone darkly.
“What?” I asked with trepidation.
“As much as I’d like to decimate them all, we might have to settle for restoring balance.”
I narrowed my eyes.
“That’s how the world works, my love. That part is beyond our control. If the Angels and the Heavens only want balance restored, that’s what we’ll achieve. We can do everything in our power, but in the end, it’s not up to us.”
I huffed out a breath of resignation, knowing he spoke the truth. “Fine. As long as I get to kill Lucas.”
He nodded. “Without Lucas’s direction, the Daemoni will be lost for a long while. He holds them together, keeps them from killing each other. That could restore balance.”
“And Kali,” I added. “And we know that’s okay because the Otherworld wants her soul.”
“Right, but Hades is a no-go. For now, anyway. No use wasting our time and losing lives if Dorian isn’t there.”
“Agreed. But what is the plan?”
He began ticking items off his long fingers. “First, we need to figure out what to do with all the people here. If Sophia still wants it as a safe house, we need to take measures to make sure it’s actually safe, since we won’t be here. And we need a task force. A team of trackers and converters. And a protector.”
He paused and looked up at me, knowing just the word would feel like a stab in my gut.
I pressed my lips together to block out the emotional pain of Owen’s betrayal and shrugged. “I’m sure Mom will give us our best. Hopefully that’s one she’ll give to our cause. The best is no longer ours, but his mother is.”
Tristan nodded. “If they really want us to build an army, Rina and Sophia will send Char to us.”
As if on cue, the warlock’s mind signature entered the safe house, along with a few others belonging to Amadis. The others hung back in the foyer, but Charlotte made a beeline for my office. I waved my hand to open the door for her, and she strode in and up to me and wrapped her arms around me in a bear-hug.
“I’m so sorry, Alexis,” she said. “I feel for you. I really do.”
She knew what it was like to lose her son to the Daemoni. Only, hers had chosen to go. Damn traitor.
She stepped back and assumed a soldier’s stance with her feet spread apart, her spine ramrod straight with her leather-clad chest out, and her hands clasped behind her back. Her straw-colored hair, which she’d cut boy-short after Kali announced that the previous seventy or so years of her life had been a scam, had grown out enough to be pulled back into a tight ponytail. Her sapphire blue eyes fell on me.
“At your service,” she said. “What’s the plan?”
“We’re still formulating one,” Tristan said from his perch on the edge of my desk. “We need a team, and we need to secure the safe house before we set out.”
“I brought people for the safe house on Sophia’s orders.” Charlotte’s posture softened, and she rocked on her feet. “They’ll take care of security for the whole colony so we have room here for any new converts we can make in the area.”
“Good. That’s checked off the list,” I said. “Now, what about our own team? We have the three of us. Who else?”
“We don’t want to be too numerous to be noticeable, but we need enough to protect ourselves,” Tristan said.
“Right,” Charlotte agreed. “You two are an excellent start, but we should have at least one shifter, though two would be better. And a vampire or two.”
Tristan shifted his weight back and leaned against his hands on my desk. “I’m sure Sheree will volunteer.”
My stomach knotted with the idea of taking sweet Sheree on such a dangerous mission. “Shouldn’t she stay here for faith healing?”
“Do you really think she’ll stay?” Tristan asked with a brow raised. Probably not. She felt so indebted to us, and she also loved Dorian, which meant she’d be on our side when it came time to break away from the army.
“She could use the field experience,” Charlotte added. “And a big cat is always nice to have around.”
“Okay,” I relented. “So who else? Do you think Trevor, the werewolf, would come?”
“I’m sure he would for you,” Tristan said, “but he needs to stay for his pack. They’ll be dealing with enough, and he needs to be there to lead them.”
“Too bad Jax is so far away,” I muttered, missing the were-croc who’d helped us in Australia.
“Hmph,” Tristan grunted. “I’m sure he’d do anything for you, too. He’s already come this far for you once.”
“I don’t know if it’s fair to ask, though. He’d be completely out of his element. He’s stayed in the Outback for a reason.”
“We’re at war,” Charlotte said. “Every Amadis knows what that means. If they can fight, they will.”
“I don’t want anyone to feel obligated. Our team should want to be on it.” I began to pace again. “Let’s move on. Who else? What vamps?”
“Vanessa is an obvious one,” Tristan offered.
Charlotte chuckled. “That is one hell of a story. Rumor has it she’s your sister. Lucas’s other daughter.”
“Rumor spreads fast.” I rolled my eyes. “But it’s true. At least, according to Lucas and Vanessa, but I don’t know if I trust her.”
“She’s here. She’s Amadis,” Tristan said. “She’ll be better with us than left behind. What better way to let her prove her loyalty?”
“And if she is loyal, she’ll be able to share insider secrets,” Charlotte pointed out.
I grimaced.
“You kno
w she’s an excellent fighter,” Tristan pressed.
“Fine,” I huffed. “Vanessa. Who else?”
“I’m sure there’s another vamp or two out there who will accompany us,” Char said.
“You don’t think Rina would give up Solomon, would she?” I asked with a small trace of hope.
Charlotte snorted. “Not likely. He’s at the United Nations right now.”
Of course. I could see Solomon being a good diplomat.
“She might give us Julia, though,” Char said.
I cringed at the thought of the raven-haired vamp. She may have apologized for her actions, but she’d still been part of the accusers who almost banished Tristan from the Amadis. Julia wasn’t exactly my favorite vampire in the world.
“She probably won’t leave Rina’s side.” I hoped.
“If Rina asked her to, she would,” Tristan said.
I scowled at this truth. Julia would do anything for Rina, even lie down and die for her. But she remained far from my top choice as a travel companion, especially since our secret mission was to rescue Dorian. She’d try to stop us, probably sabotage any attempt we made. Maybe even accuse us of treason again. Char followed Mom’s orders, but I hoped when the time came, she’d understand my need to go after Dorian. Maybe she wouldn’t go with us, but I didn’t think she’d try to stop us. Having a son herself, she’d understand. Unlike Julia. Plus, if Heather was with him, Charlotte would definitely do what it took to rescue the Norman girl. Again, unlike Julia. The vamp gave me the impression she was loyal to the Amadis, but not necessarily to humanity.
I paused in my tracks to tally up our roster. “We have the three of us, Sheree, if she wants to, and Vanessa. Do we really need anyone else? I don’t know who I would trust.”
“We need another mage,” Charlotte said. “I can’t do it all on my own. Not this kind of job, when I’ll be spending a lot of energy on converting, too.”
“What other warlocks do we have available?” I asked.
“None,” Charlotte answered.
I gaped at her. “None?”
“They’re all on assignment already. Some are protecting colonies and villages around the world. Others are guarding conversion teams.”
“Surely Rina and Mom will give us one.”
“They have.” Char smiled as she cocked her head to the side.
Oh. Right. I supposed if we only got one warlock, at least we had her.
“What other mage would you recommend?” I asked her as I resumed my pacing.
She tapped her fingers against her lips as she thought. “I don’t know who would be available. This mission is important, but the Amadis is already stretched thin, either protecting or doing the same thing we’ll be doing around the rest of the world. And covens are like packs—they stick close to each other. If we ask for one witch or wizard, they’ll all want to come.”
“So we need someone who’s not tied to a specific coven,” Tristan said.
Charlotte joined me in my pacing as she tried to think of a mage who could complement our team. Tristan moved around to the back of my desk, probably to get out of our way.
“Ahem.” The clearing of a throat sounded from the corridor. Damn. I should have had Charlotte muffle the room.
The warlock opened the door, and I lifted my head to see Blossom step into the office. “I’m sorry, but I couldn’t help but overhear.”
I stopped pacing and put my hands on my hips. “No way.”
Her face crumpled.
“Blossom, I love you dearly.” I walked over to her and took her hands into mine. “I really do. You’re my best friend. Which is why there’s absolutely no way I will ask you to do this.”
She flipped her blond hair back and squared her shoulders. “You don’t have to ask me. I’m volunteering.”
“It’s too dangerous.”
“Everything is dangerous now. I’m up for the challenge.”
I shook my head. “No. I’m not taking you out there.”
“I’m stronger than you think I am. My magic is more powerful than anyone wants to admit.”
“You’re not a warlock, though. You’re not built to fight.”
She put her fists on her hips, and her big hazel eyes narrowed with determination. “I can help you, Alexis.”
I leaned back on my heels and crossed my arms over my chest. When she focused, Blossom’s magic wasn’t as weak or sporadic as everyone seemed to think it was. But I couldn’t fathom the idea of sweet Blossom taking on the mages we’d be facing. The Daemoni would have their most powerful warlocks out there, perhaps sorcerers and sorceresses, too. There was a good chance we’d come up against Kali . . . which meant Owen. Which meant even Char could become a problem, if it came to that. Crap. I’d started to feel confident in my team, and now I didn’t know how we were ever going to accomplish all of these objectives.
“Please, Alexis,” Blossom implored. “Let me be on your team.”
“No. It’s too dangerous. And we need you here.”
“Let me make that choice! Let me take the risk. I want to be there for you. Do you really think I can watch you walk out of here without me? Do you really think I’m any good here when I’m worried about you and Tristan? And Dorian? And Heather?” Tears filled her plea. “Those two are like my own. The kids I didn’t have to raise. You’re all family to me. Don’t make me stay behind.”
Unable to look her in the eye, I resumed pacing in front of my desk as Tristan watched me from the seat he’d taken in my chair. With a long exhale, I pushed my hands through my hair.
“Passion and love go a long way,” Charlotte murmured.
I turned sharply and eyed Blossom. “But is it enough to kill for? Because that’s what it might come down to.”
The witch’s eyes widened, then her gaze traveled around the room and to the floor.
“That’s what I thought,” I said. “You don’t have it in you.”
After a moment, Blossom straightened her spine, squared her shoulders again, and lifted her chin. “To protect you or myself, yes. I would.”
“But you shouldn’t have to,” I snapped. The memory of my one and only true kill in the caves of Hades flooded through me, taking my breath and nearly knocking me to my knees. My hands grasped the edge of my desk to keep me from falling to the floor.
He was an evil werewolf trying to kill me, but the way his wolf’s body shrunk into human form . . . his blood spurting from the artery I’d sliced with my dagger . . . I’d never be able to cleanse that from my mind. I shouldn’t have been able to. I. Killed. A. Person. Someone whose soul I might have been able to help. I should have to live with the hellish memory and the sickening feeling in my gut and heart the rest of my life.
“You okay?” Tristan silently asked.
I closed my eyes and nodded.
I should have to live with those images, those feelings, and, sadly, I could live with them. Maybe because I had Daemoni blood flowing in my veins, or maybe because what they’d done to me already had left a dark stain on my soul. But Blossom never should have to live with it. Her heart was too big and too warm. Her soul remained clean. Taking a life would destroy her, and I didn’t want to know the person she’d become. I loved the person she was now too much.
Charlotte cleared her throat. “Tristan, Vanessa, and Sheree—”
“You’ll bring Sheree but not me?” Blossom demanded.
I pushed the memory of my kill back into the dark corner of my heart where it would forever live.
“She’s a tiger, Blossom,” I said, turning back to her. “With big muscles and huge teeth and sharp claws. And she’s a shifter, which means she stands a good chance against a vampire. And she’s killed before.”
Blossom pursed her lips.
“As I was saying,” Charlotte said, eyeing me, “with those three, and especially if we get another shifter and vamp, it’s likely Blossom won’t have to fight, even if you and I are in the middle of a conversion.” She turned toward the witch. “I coul
d train you in conversions, too. So if one of us does need to fight, you can take over.”
Blossom shifted her weight to one leg, threw her hip to the side, and crossed her arms over her ample chest. “See. I can be useful in all kinds of ways. And don’t you deny it, Alexis, because you were the first to raise the idea of me doing conversions.”
With a sigh, I looked across my desk at Tristan, who leaned back in my chair, his hands folded across his stomach.
“I don’t like it either,” he said. “If something happens to her . . .”
Exactly. I’d never forgive myself.
“But if anyone would support our personal mission, she would.”
I made a face at his point. This argument wasted valuable time, and apparently I was in the minority.
“So what else will you be able to do?” I asked her. “Convince me that you’re an asset.”
Blossom blinked at me. “Well, uh . . . you know I’ve been working on my magic, prepping for a disaster, although I hadn’t imagined it would get this bad so soon. But you haven’t seen what I can do now. New spells. And potions—all kinds of new potions that would help.”
I cocked my head with a thought. If she was really determined to help me and would go to any lengths, I had a way for her to prove it.
“Tristan, can you please talk to Sheree and Vanessa?” I requested. “Ask them if they want to be a part of this—I don’t want to force anyone. We don’t need anyone on the team who doesn’t want to be on it. Charlotte, please help your people get settled and take care of the colony. I want to move out as soon as possible.”
“On it,” she said, already on her way out of the office.
“Blossom, come with me.” I headed for the door.
Tristan’s brow wrinkled.
“Sheree and Vanessa,” I reminded him.
He nodded. I could tell he knew I was up to something, but if I told him what, he would probably try to stop me. Besides, I really didn’t want him to know the thoughts in my mind. They weren’t exactly the normal Amadis way.
I led Blossom through the crowd, into the corridor, and down to the suite I’d slept in last night. The one where Dorian had last been seen. My heart squeezed painfully at the sight of his video games and other toys abandoned by the TV. Sasha hadn’t moved—still curled in a ball on the pillow—but her new wing had grown to nearly full size. She lifted her head when we walked in, rose, and stretched, then padded across the bed. I gave her a scratch before turning back to Blossom.