Bonds of the Mazza

by Blake Blessing

  Nato stiffened beside me while Egan worriedly pulled on an earlobe.

  Jari remained immobile where he was but both Rand and Sage took a few steps forward, hanging on every word, as if he was about to share the best secret they didn’t know to look for.

  “Yunez,” the man himself finished dramatically, bowing his head.

  “What?” the nervous energy that was steadily building throughout the room fizzled out.

  “I got you.” Yunez laughed. “I’ve served as a mentor and friend for you men for years, watching over you as you grew up. And you, Isolde. I cared about you even before my sight gave me your face.” He met the gazes of my Lusty Legion plus Rand, taking on a somber tilt of the mouth. “I would not have deceived you about something so important all these years. I promise that my real name is Yunez and you know the real me. Few people have had that privilege, and even the ones who know me, only see what I want them to see.”

  Silence engulfed the room and we all blinked at one another.

  Wowza, I was certainly speechless and I wasn’t as directly affected as the guys.

  They hadn’t even realized he was the person that broke up our little fun fest out in the street. Then to come in here and get a wakeup call about the one person that had been there all their lives. Outside of each other anyway. They probably felt like they were fucked in the face and didn’t even know until it was over.

  “That’s pretty heavy.” I spoke quietly to avoid startling anyone.

  “Uh, damn heavy. Yunez is there anything else you’d like to share?” A thin thread of disbelief tightened around Jari’s words. He was slumped back against the wall, arms hanging limply by his sides.

  “Ah, Jari. There are so many things your family doesn’t know or understand just yet. Soon, everything is coming out so very soon. Maybe even too soon.” Yunez walked up to Jari and hauled him into a tight hug.

  Yunez had a few inches on Jari and it was odd to see them hugging. I witnessed hugs at his cabin out in Colorado, but this hug was much more emotional and more symbolic of their relationship than the simple greeting from before. I kind of had the urge to throw my arms around both of them to make it a group hug.

  “That’s it? Yunez, even you can’t believe you can throw out, there are so many secrets and you don’t know them, and expect us to not pester you about it.” Sage stalked over to the pair.

  Yunez released an arm from around Jari and snagged Sage around the neck, forcing him into the hug. Damn, Yunez must be strong because it didn’t look like Sage went willingly.

  Not one to go against the flow, Jari threw an arm around Sage so they were essentially trapping him in the middle. The sourpuss look on Sage’s face made it damn funny.

  I barked out a short laugh at the sight.

  “There’s plenty of room over here. I think we need to hug it out.” Yunez grinned back at us.

  Nato’s lips twitched as he laid a hand on my back, and together joined in, attaching onto the hug like a thick, gunky outer layer of makeup. I ended up squished between Jari and Rand, then Egan came up to plaster himself against my back.

  Somehow, arms were rearranged, then I was in the center of this group hug. I laughed as I looked up at the smiling faces of Yunez, who had weaseled his way next to me in the middle, Sage, Jari, Nato, and Egan. Rand even joined in on the hug fun.

  The body heat was almost unbearable from being surrounded by all these hot men. My lusty thoughts weren’t helping any either, and I was pretty sure someone just copped a feel of my ass. We may not have had everything solved and it was clear we weren’t going to get any more answers from Yunez right now, but this was everything. We really were a family. And everyone needed the touch of loved ones on occasion.

  I peeked over at Jan and he was still leaning against the wall, staring at the floor.

  Yunez must have illusioned him somehow.

  Someone tugged my hair and when I looked back, Yunez winked at me. I needed to learn some of his tricks. Why hadn’t he taken over the world yet? We probably didn’t even know half of his skills.

  Glass shattered and as one we all fell to the ground.

  A shriek escaped me and against my better judgment, I poked my head up through the tangled mass of arms to see what was going on.

  A bottle with a flaming rag hanging out spun on the floor, while several shadows moved over the window. Dark blue, almost violet smoke hovered over it and my mind immediately went to the attacks.

  “Stay here.” Yunez climbed out of the middle of our pile and ran to the window. He stood completely still, it didn’t even appear that he was breathing.

  Hands gripped my arms and hips, I thought anywhere to assure the guys I was safe and right here with them. Only days ago I’d been abducted and this had to be bringing up bad memories for them.

  Bright moonlight filtered through the window, the ominous shadows gone. Yunez still hadn’t moved, but this cool sense of safety came over me. There was no threat right now.

  I disentangled myself and stepped over Rand. Nato locked onto my ankle but I shook him off. He opened his mouth as if he wanted to argue but something in my face stopped him. His fingers slowly peeled away, like they were ready to snap back into place at any sign of danger.

  Cool air swirled around the naked skin I had on display. Now that I wasn’t wrapped up in a hot man burrito, an uncontrollable shiver rolled over my body from head to toe.

  I padded quietly across the hardwood floor until I was directly behind Yunez. I didn’t want to startle him, but I also needed to know he was okay. He was doing the best impersonation of a statue I’d ever seen and it was equal parts creepy and scary.

  “Yunez?” I whispered as I slid a hand up his back, trailing over hard muscle. I didn’t think it was possible for any of the Fennin to not have a perfect body.

  “I see you Isolde.” His voice was quiet and deliciously molten as if he was drizzling the finest chocolate over me.

  A fog of desire descended over my thoughts but I pushed it away. Now was not the time to succumb to Yunez’s weird powers.

  “What was that?” If he was coherent enough to talk to me, it had to be safe to step to his side. Talking to his back was hella awkward and I needed to look outside for myself.

  I’d always needed to see under my bed or inside my closet before I truly felt safe. The same concept applied here. My heart wouldn’t settle and my brain wouldn’t quiet unless I physically saw that there was no threat.

  I kept my focus firmly on his ear until I was ready to look out of the window. In the light from the moon I could make out his features clearly. His eyes were closed, black eyelashes fanning over high cheekbones, a straight nose perched over sinful lips.

  I was struck with the familiar heat of his presence, and I leaned into him until my breasts were pressed against his arm.

  Cold air danced around the room, lifting strands of my hair, when Yunez snapped his eyes open, locking me in the brilliant amethyst glow of his eyes.

  “They’re coming.” His face contorted into a fierce scowl. “How the hell did they get around me? Fuckers. All right, this is what’s going to happen. You are going with Jari to a safe place. There, you’ll get all the answers you’re seeking. The others and I will be along as soon as we can.” Yunez gripped my arms as if I was a favorite pet threatening to run away if he let go for even a minute.

  “What are you all going to do?” A small drop of sweat slid down the back of my neck. Something about what he said seemed ominous. They couldn’t sacrifice themselves so I could escape. That was ridiculous.

  “We have to cause a distraction. I see you Isolde, and what I see for your future if you stay here will not be good. In fact, it will be extremely bloody with only two survivors. Including me.”

  He stared into my soul, forcing his words into my head. I hated him for telling me that. If I stayed and fought with them, only two people would survive, Yunez and one other person. I couldn’t bring myself to ask who that other person was.

 
“And if we all run?” My voice trembled.

  “Worse. No survivors.”

  I closed my eyes, contemplating the options.

  “Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck.”

  Whatever was in Yunez’s visions was pretty dire. His fingers tightened on my arms until I felt the impression of his nails.

  “There’s no time. Jari,” Yunez called without looking away from me. “Take Isolde through the basement. You remember the game we used to play when you were kids? That’s how you get out.”

  Footsteps pounded across the room, but I only gazed at Yunez, the deep violet of his eyes darkening by the second.

  A rough hand clasped around my own and jerked me out of Yunez’s grip. Yunez let go without a fight and I was pulled to the hallway before I could gain any sense of what was happening behind me.

  I tried to look back but the room was already out of sight. We hit the stairs and flew down three at a time. It made me wonder if Jari had a little of the Caen blood with the amount of grace he exhibited.

  When we reached the bottom, we were submerged in darkness except for a tiny sliver of light from the top of the staircase. Jari held up his hand and a sizzling ball of lightning appeared.

  “This way,” He gripped my hand so tight my bones ground together, pulling a wince over my face. That was my only warning as Jari started hauling me behind him. Dangling roots smacked me in the head as we pressed deeper and deeper into the tunnel, leaving behind flakes of dirt in my hair and on my forehead.

  “How do you know where we’re going?” I gasped, clutching the stitch in my side from his impossible pace.

  “We played a game when we were kids where we played hide and go seek in this big garden maze in town, only we had to take sequential turns until we reached three, then we’d start on the opposite. First left, second right, third left. Then first right, second left, third right. I had no idea where he came up with those crazy rules, but I guess this is why. What a genius way to make someone memorize steps.”

  Jari didn’t even sound like he was winded in the least bit. Fucker.

  We bolted left when we came to an intersection. After ten or twenty minutes passed, we’d taken so many turns I had no idea where we are in the sequence of rules. I couldn’t even tell you the general direction we’d ran since it had been so mixed up.

  “I think just a little farther,” Jari was finally panting.

  “Good,” I wheezed.

  Another ten minutes of running and we hit a dead end with a ladder climbing upward in a small alcove.

  “I’m going first to make sure there’s nothing up there. If they found us at Yunez’s, Rainer’s people clearly have someone powerful on their side.”

  Jari began to step away from me, then he stilled abruptly. He still had his hand up with a blinding white ball of lightning bobbing gently over his palm. The light cast long, curvy shadows over the dirt packed walls. His back expanded slowly with each breath.

  The back of my mouth was parched and my lips were cracked. I propped my hands on my waist as I waited for Jari to figure out what he was doing, attempting not to lick my lips. I needed a damn glass of water after that torture.

  Jari spun, backing me into the wall. Dust crumbled as he pressed the hard length of his body against mine.

  “Sweets, I’m almost positive we’re going to get out of this, but if some godforsaken thing happens where I’m suddenly knocked out and you’re abducted… because let’s face it, it’s happened before, I want you to know that you mean everything to me. I know we’re already bonded and my feelings run deep, but I can’t wait to get to know you better, without all of the danger hanging over our heads. A chance for us to just be… us.”

  He lifted a hand to my face and his cold fingers threaded through my hair. It was a sweet moment but the way the skin crinkled around his eyes betrayed his fear. My own worry dug its spindly little claws into my brain, shoving thoughts of every possible way something could go wrong in front of my eyes.

  A soft sigh passed his lips and he lowered his head closer to mine. When he was a hair’s breadth away he stopped and locked gazes with me. The lightning ball dimmed as he lowered his hand, until the light disappeared completely.

  I held my breath in the darkness. With such dire thoughts at the forefront of my mind, I was almost worried that something was going to jump out at us.

  Our breathing loud in the small space, highlighted how alone we really were. We had complete silence in the tunnel.

  I jumped when Jari’s fingers slid across my stomach, up under my breast where he spread his fingers wide over my rib cage.

  “What are you doing?” I whispered, but even still it echoed in the darkness.

  “Taking a small pleasure for myself before we get out of here. I regretted we didn’t get to spend any time together when we were at the cabin. Fucking Jon had to go and ruin it.”

  A snort escaped my lips as I buried my head in the crook of his neck.

  Fucking Jon, one of the few Fennin who used such an American name, was the man that Rainer sent to capture me. Only, Jari was caught up in the execution. That was the first time I realized that the guys weren’t all powerful. Jon being from the House of Zien, managed to take Jari down easily.

  It was not funny then. Not a freaking bit. But hearing him talk about the kidnapping that way, cleared a little of the fear from my mind.

  His cheek lifted with his smile as he pressed his face against my temple.

  “This is nice, I’d trade my favorite set of emo albums for a day to spend with you without anyone else, threats, or danger.” His hand in my hair tugged just hard enough to make my scalp tingle, shooting warmth straight to the pit of my stomach.

  “That’s huge. You love emo, maybe more than the rest of the Lusty Legion combined.” I smiled.

  “Nah, I wouldn’t trade any of them for the world. We wanted to be together with you. We wanted this, remember?”

  It would have had the same effect if he had doused me in ice water.

  Of course I remembered they always wanted to share the Mazza. It had been one of the hardest things about being bonded to these guys. I never felt Jari didn’t want to be with me, but it was at the forefront of my mind now. Maybe it was a silly insecurity, but I couldn’t help thinking I could be any Betty Sue and they would have fallen all over themselves to be her Lusty Legion.

  “We should get going, Jari.” We did need to leave. Every second we wasted got us closer and closer to getting attacked or worse.

  He made an irritated noise in the back of his throat. “All right, sweets. We’ll go.”

  Cold from the earth seeped through my clothes when he pressed me deeper into the wall.

  His breath fanned across my mouth, and even though I was salty as hell right now I tilted my head up to meet his kiss. It was sweet and soft, pulling on my heartstrings with the heavy emotion in the kiss.

  The kiss said I want you, I need you, I care for you.

  Too soon he ended the kiss with a light peck to my nose and stepped away.

  The ball of light burst back into being and he gazed up into the vertical tunnel. “It’s too far of a climb to see exactly what’s up there. Stay close behind me, okay?” Jari squeezed my hip as he slid by me.

  Little butterflies bounced around my belly, tickling me. How did I get here. How could these men make me salty one minute and soft as Carvel ice cream the next?

  They clearly had some kind of super seduction classes with Yunez.

  Jari grabbed onto a bar with one hand and began the climb up, holding the light to the side. His body had disappeared about halfway in the tunnel when a tittering noise scurried across the ground behind me.

  Oh, shit! If that was a rat or something like that, I needed to get the hell out of here. They freaked me out with their little beady eyes. Good thing Jari took the light with him when he went.

  I scrambled to get on the bars and at least get my feet off the ground. A shiver ran down my spine, adding an unreasonable amount of fire u
nder my ass.

  “Move the fuck up, Jari. I think there are rats down here.”

  He chuckled and continued climbing, light glinting off the shiny stones buried in the walls. It was a fairly short climb when a tunnel to the side of us came into view. We could keep going up, although I still couldn’t quite tell where the end was, or we could take this other little tunnel.

  “That way?” I queried.

  Jari stopped, his eyes toggling between the two options. I kept climbing until I was one rung below him, so I could see exactly what he did.

  “I’m not sure. The game we played was to get us to the ladder, not this section I don’t think.”

  “The tunnel is on our left. You think it’s another sequence of turns?” I dropped down slightly to stretch out my calves.

  “Damn, I really have no clue and we don’t have a way to see where it goes. If Egan were here he could use a bug to see what’s down there.” Jari shifted his weight from foot to foot. It was almost like he was fidgety, but without the use of his hand with the lightning ball, he could only move his feet.

  The fact that I should have been able to use Caen powers went unspoken. That made me feel about as useful as the shiny stones in the wall. Pretty to look at but ultimately not worth a damn.

  I couldn’t wait until the rest of my powers came in.

  I searched inside of me, stretching my mind in hope that something would spark. Nothing. I felt absolutely nothing. Not even the Zien powers, which only seemed to show up when new people were in my presence. It was this nagging feeling that burned the fringes of my mind until I paid attention to it.

  “Iss,” Jari nudged me with his elbow.

  “Hmm.”

  An idea popped into my head. When we came upon Rainer and his ragtag team, I got so sick I could barely stay conscious. That was straight up instinct.

  “I have an idea,” I murmured mostly to myself. “Stay right there.”

  I stepped off the ladder and into the tunnel. Nothing. I took two giant steps in, ignoring the fact I walked away from the light, which showed all of two feet in the tunnel. I sucked in one giant breath, expanding my lungs and stopped. Seconds flew by, then a full minute. Nothing.