"Rory..."
"What?"
"I don't like the idea of you being in danger like that." He looked up, and she could see true fear in his eyes.
"I'm not crazy about the idea myself, but it’s either me, or some unsuspecting human. You can't tell me that any of you would actually be okay with that, because I wouldn’t believe you." She pointed at him dramatically, then went back to eating her breakfast. They might be discussing a murderous necromancer, but there was no way she was letting good food go to waste.
"I know you're right, I just get this horrible feeling something will go wrong."
"When do plans ever go completely right?" she asked rhetorically. "Besides, it's not like I don't know how to use my powers to harm someone, I just choose not to do that."
"Just promise me you'll fly away if things get too bad," he said, and she gave him a funny look.
"I can't fly, Alden," she reminded him. "That's you." He shook his head vigorously.
"You can probably shift now," he said earnestly and she waited for him to continue. "Non-shifter mates tend to take on some shifter traits."
"Seriously?" Rory asked, surprised that was the case. "Does it work the other way too?"
"We're not sure. Most of what we know is coming from Kemnebi Davies," he said. "The panther alpha's younger brother," he added when he saw the confused look on her face.
"Let's pretend I know nothing about any shifters but you," Rory said wryly. She was quick to learn, and considering she'd soon be living in shifter society more than the necromancer one, she knew she'd know more about the others soon.
"Kemnebi's a panther shifter, but he mated with, and married, a dryad a couple of months ago."
"Oh, the whole drama about the Shifter Council moving to get more power." Now that he said it, she remembered it all going down. There had been a lot of annoyed necromancers at the time, and even more since thanks to one of the nymph's attempts to ban blood slaves.
"Yes, we're dwindling in number, but mostly because we didn't realise that our mates could be another kind of paranormal. Though to be fair, for most shifters, even Bjorn and Ari's relationship is pushing it a bit," he explained.
"Okay, so the whole gaining shifter powers thing..."
"So, it turns out that Kemnebi's wife, Xylia, has been able to shift ever since they met. It’s how we figured out that they were already mated. Well, that and the fact that Arabella chose that moment to reveal that it's not the bite that causes the actual mating bond."
"Alden," she started, not really wanting to say what she knew she had to. "I met you weeks ago, I've never once shifted since," she said gently.
"But we didn't have sex until last night," he said, looking crestfallen.
Pushing her breakfast dish away from her, Rory rose from the table and went around to his side. She sat herself down on his lap, and twined her arms around his neck.
"I don't think I'll ever be able to do that, Alden. But it doesn't make me any less of your mate. Nor does it make me love you any less.'' The words slipped out without much thought, and Alden's eyes latched onto hers immediately.
"I love you too," he whispered and Rory's heart soared. It was one thing knowing that it was likely to be true because of their bond, but quite another to hear him say the words. "Maybe it takes time for the shifting bit to happen." Rory sighed. He was completely caught up in the wrong thing.
"I don't think it'll ever happen. It’s my magic that'll stop it. Shifters have a sort of life magic, whereas I don't. My magic is rooted in death. They don't mix well." She looked down, feeling kind of sad that she'd never be able to shift and fly with Alden. Or with their children when that time came.
"But Kemnebi's wife..."
"Is a dryad," Rory cut him off. "How much more connected to life magic can you get than having to keep a tree nearby?"
"How do you know she does that?" Alden asked sharply, making Rory feel ashamed of what she was.
"Nymphs are the best kind of blood slaves. My mother taught me about them," she spat out bitterly. Her mother's lessons had also involved how to capture nymphs, and keep them healthy enough to be effective blood slaves, but not healthy enough to actually be able to escape. Even thinking about it was enough to make Rory feel sick.
"Rory? Baby, are you okay?" Alden asked, concern evident in his eyes.
"Sorry, it's just hard to stomach some of the things my people are willing to do in the name of power." She pulled a face.
"There must be more decent necromancers out there than just you though."
"Yes, I suppose there are. But we're not encouraged to be that way, so most pretend they don't think like me. It's not exactly great being ostracised from your own people," she said.
"So how did you get a political position?" He seemed a little curious, and rightly so. She wasn't exactly the obvious choice to be an ambassador.
"I always figured it was something to do with keeping an eye on me. Up until I got caught up in all this, I'd never had an actual assignment." At least, that's what made the most sense to Rory. When she was first made the offer, she'd had the naive view that maybe she'd be able to change something. Now, she knew better. Though she supposed that she may get her chance, just by working with the Shifter Council instead of her own.
A familiar popping sound distracted them both, and they looked up to see purple smoke unfurling from her kitchen worktop. Rory sighed, and slid off Alden's knee, already knowing what it was likely to be.
"What is it?" he asked.
Unfurling the scroll that had been left behind, yet another example of how behind the times some necromancers were, she read it quickly before handing it to Alden.
"A summons," she answered. And just like every other one of its kind, it was in the same place, at the same time. Talk about stereotypes. "I guess we should tell Bjorn that the plan's in motion."
"I'm going with you," he said instantly, and despite not liking the way he'd told her and not asked, Rory nodded her head. She'd feel better knowing that he was there.
11
Alden landed on the branch of the only tree within sight of the bridge where Rory would be meeting her necromancer contact. Unfortunately, it appeared to mostly be dead, and wouldn't do much to hide him. He’d have to hope that the other necromancer would just think he was a normal owl and not a shifter. It was the only way he could think of to reassure himself that Rory was safe. She'd been trying to act as if this was a no big deal since she'd got the summons, but he knew better, and the furtive glances she was sending his way only confirmed that. She'd need to stop that soon, or their cover would be blown.
He thought over the plan again, hating how little time it would give him alone with Rory. They had no idea when Dean would strike, and so Bjorn was already camped outside Rory's building, with Ari inside the flat. They'd decided to keep Drayce and Nathalie out of it. If everything went south, then it was already going to be bad enough having him and Ari involved, it was better to have the other two Council members on the outside.
"Aurora," a deep and creepy voice, much like the one Rory had described to him beforehand, said. He saw Rory visibly shiver, but she held it together.
"Hello." Her voice shook, and he longed to fly over and comfort her.
"Do you have any news for us?" the voice asked.
"Yes, the shifters have a lead, but they won't tell me what it is," she lied. He imagined that most people probably wouldn't have heard the slight tremor in her voice, but he prided himself on not being most people.
"Try to find out." The voice sounded bored, and at least a little condescending. Alden wished he knew where the man was, then he could punch him in the face for talking to Rory like that. Or scratch his eyes out, he didn't know which would be more enjoyable.
"I will." Rory’s voice sounded stronger this time.
"The Council has some instructions for you." Purple smoke, like that which had left the message in her kitchen earlier, appeared in front of Rory. Without flinching, she bent dow
n to pick it up. "Enjoy your assignment," the voice said, seeming slightly amused.
Alden watched as Rory read the note, his enhanced night vision made every detail clear as the blood drained from her face, and she sunk to the ground, looking like she was crying. No longer caring if the other necromancer was about, Alden swooped down and shifted back the moment his feet hit the floor. He pulled Rory to him, and she buried her head in his shoulder.
"Baby, what is it?" he asked softly, running his hands through her hair. Instead of answering, Rory motioned towards where the note had fallen. He picked it up, and had to read it few times to make sure that he’d read it right. But there, written in elegant script writing, was Rory's next assignment; she had to kill him.
12
She hadn't stopped crying since they'd been at the bridge, and just the thought of what her Council wanted her to do, had the tears flooding back. She knew she couldn't do it. Even if she didn’t know Alden, she didn’t think she’d be able to. It just wasn't in her. She’d never been a killer, and had no intention of ever changing that.
Rory could hear low voices coming from the room next door, but couldn't quite make out what they were saying. She figured that Alden was out there with Bjorn and Ari, who she’d been vaguely aware of when Alden had carried her in earlier. She wasn't too sure how he'd managed to get her all the way back to her flat without someone noticing that he was naked, but that wasn't exactly her biggest problem right now.
"Not happy with your assignment, Aurora?" the voice of her necromancer liaison made her jump, and Rory sat bolt upright in her bed. She clutched the sheet to her chest, despite still being fully dressed.
"What are you doing here?" she hissed, not wanting to let the shifters outside the door know that he was there quite yet. She knew that it was probably counterproductive, but she wanted some answers, and once the other three were in here, she wasn't likely to get any.
"Certain members of the Council doubted that you'd be able to carry out their instructions. They thought it best to send me to check." Smoke swirled in the corner of the room, and a man materialised, with a large grin on his face.
"You," Rory gasped, recognising him from the photo Bjorn had sent them.
"Yes, me." He gave her a slimy grin, and it was all Rory could do not to scream. Logically, she knew that she should be screaming. There were three shifters outside her room, one of which was a bear. She was sure they could take Dean; if this even was Dean. But his complete disregard for life had her wary of putting Alden in his way, even if she knew her mate was more than capable of protecting himself.
"Do the Council know?" she asked, carefully trying to edge her way out of bed without him noticing. While it was just the two of them, he seemed unconcerned.
"Some of them. Others know less than your shifters do." Rory wasn't sure whether to be relieved or not. But at least it seemed like some of the Necromancer Council weren't completely corrupt. "But never mind that. I'm going to have such fun with you, Aurora. Did you know you've been growing a life light these past few weeks?" He smiled again, sending shivers down Rory's spine.
"No," she said softly, shaking her head and wondering what that could mean.
"I suppose you won't have realised that it's suddenly a lot stronger today either then?" he asked.
"No," she said more firmly than she had before. Having a life light meant one thing to Rory; her mating to Alden was the real thing, and that just maybe, the power sharing would happen at some point after all.
"I suggest you stop trying to move toward the door." He studied his nails as he spoke, as if he was bored by her meagre attempts to escape. Instead of listening, Rory jumped to her feet and made a break for the door, unsure how she was actually managing to stay upright given how unsteady she was feeling.
"Alden," she shouted, not caring what Dean might do to her. Behind her, he just laughed.
Rory slammed into a solid feeling wall, and was surprised to discover that it was made entirely of necromancer magic. Turned out, what she knew only scratched the surface of what her powers could do. She shouted Alden's name over and over, the words running together as she trembled in fear.
"He can't hear you, Aurora. I sound proofed the room." He strode forward until he was standing in front of where Rory was still struggling against the wall of magic. He gripped her around the waist and tried to pull her backwards. Not wanting to give up easily, Rory fought back, costing Dean precious moments as he tried to control her. The exact moment he did, Rory's bedroom door flung open, a panicked Alden framed within it.
"Rory," he called out, worry etched on his face. Testing out the only theory she had, Rory shifted her sight so she could see life lights. Alden's flared brightly in front of her, as did the other two shifters' from where they were standing a few steps back. More than that, she could see a faint line between her and Alden, just like she had between Bjorn and Ari last night.
"Alden, follow the bond" she shouted, and confusion washed over his face. Dean cast a spell and whisked the two of them away, laughing as he did.
13
Alden rushed into the room, sinking to his knees in despair. He didn't know what he was going to do without her around to help. He hadn’t even realised how much he relied on her presence until now.
"That was Dean Winters, wasn't it?" Ari asked softly, patting him on the shoulder. Bjorn growled from where he was standing in the doorway, but must have nodded at her, as she didn't ask again.
"The plan worked too well," Alden said, his voice cracking.
"It's not over, Alden. She's a strong woman, she'll get away," Ari tried to soothe him.
"I can't just sit by and hope she can escape from that murderer," Alden spat.
"No one is asking you to," Bjorn said, sounding like he'd moved further into the room. "What did she mean by follow the bond?" The three of them stayed silent and unmoving as the thought up ideas of what she could mean.
"Life lights," Ari finally said, sounding excited. "She was talking about life lights. Alden, have you gained any new powers since you sealed the mating bond?"
"No," he said hesitantly, shaking his head as he did. But his mind was reeling, there hadn't really been any time for them to discover any changes anyway, even if Rory hadn’t already told him what she had. "She said it wasn't possible because of the differences between life and death magic."
"What if she was wrong?" Bjorn asked.
"We never really had the time to test it," he admitted.
"But you've been mated for weeks?" Ari asked, cocking her head, all traces of her normal mischievousness gone.
"We sealed the bond last night," Alden said, not liking what that told them. He didn't mind if they knew about the details of his sex life, but he was sure that Rory would. Ari looked shocked, but didn't say anything, her expression changing as she had an idea.
"I need you to humour me," she started slowly. "Rory told me about life lights last night. She said the three of us had one, but she didn't. But what if that changed when you sealed the bond?"
"How does that help?" Alden muttered bitterly. He was fast giving up hope, and he knew he wouldn't be able to carry on if he lost her now.
"Maybe you can see them now," Ari said gently, just a hint of hope colouring her tone. Not quite knowing what he was doing, or even what he was looking for, Alden focused his eyes on the other two, trying to push his worry for Rory to the side, at least until he had a way to help her. Something flared around Ari, making him blink his eyes a few times, but the light swiftly faded.
"I think I just saw something. What did you just do?" he asked her.
"I thought of Bjorn. Rory said that the light glowed more when I was talking about him."
"Can you do it again?" he asked brusquely. Ari nodded, and Alden began to concentrate again. This time, when the light flared, he latched on, and he could see twin lights glowing from Ari and Bjorn. He was surprised to see a thin cord of light linking the two of them as well, almost like a bond. Looking down, he spot
ted a fainter thread of light pointing out of his chest, and knew exactly what it was that Rory wanted him to do. "I just need to follow the bond," he muttered.
"I'll come with you," Ari said, a slight smile curling at the edge of her mouth as she realised he’d worked it out.
"I'm going to fly," he replied, though he was still grateful for her offer of back up.
"I'll shift too."
"Not without me you won't," Bjorn growled.
"You can't be spotted shifted, Bjorn. You know that. You should go find Aella. Talk her into getting the High Council involved. They're attacking our own now, it's time they did something about it," Ari said. Alden glanced at the two of them, and could clearly see that Bjorn wasn't happy with the suggestion, but they all knew that Ari was right.
Not waiting for the other two to decide, Alden pictured his owl form and shifted effortlessly, flapping his wings and setting off through the open window into the night. He knew that Ari wanted to follow, but he wasn't willing to wait another second to go after Rory.
It took a lot of concentration, but Alden managed to keep the faint light bond in his line of sight, and followed it instinctively, hoping he'd get there in time. Wherever there might be.
14
Rory dropped the ground, but refused to shout out in pain. She was at the point where anger had overtaken her fear, and she didn't want to do anything that gave Dean a sense of satisfaction.
She looked around and almost rolled her eyes in exasperation. Dean Winters really had no idea of what it meant to avoid clichés. Or at least he didn't if the creepy graveyard they were in was any indication.
Purple smoke covered Rory again, and this time she didn't struggle. Partly because she knew that there wasn't much point, and partly because if he was going to do what she thought he was, then she'd already come up with a semblance of a plan. As sure as she was that Alden would figure out what she’d meant, she couldn't wait for him to find her. She just had to hope that their bond was strong enough for what she had planned.
The Paranormal Council Complete Series 1-5 Page 15