Pure Logic

by Jo Penn

  Not only this, the soul defender fights to free souls that have been taken, to aid souls that are grief stricken and damaged, to ease the pain.”

  “Okay. I take it the soul defender uses the globe to help them guide the people?”

  “Yes. It can take a soul into it, releasing it where the defender wants. It draws pain that can destroy a soul and turn the person evil, cleansing and repairing. In the wrong hands it can do the reverse. It can pull souls from people. It can crush their soul. It can trap them forever and bend to the users will.”

  “Well shit, that’s not good. So, where the hell is this globe?”

  “When I was ten years old, an old defender told me about the globe which had gone missing during a battle a few hundred years before. Brethren had searched and discovered that a pouvoir, under attack from enemies, hid the globe to keep it safe. The brethren made a map and hid pieces of it all around the world. Only when those pieces of the map are joined will the location of the globe be known.”

  “Okay. Smart. Are your kind searching for the missing pieces?”

  “I was told of the tale and since, have searched. It was destined, a pouvoir who has visions, told me that I am to lead the way to the soul globe. And I must keep it a secret. If anyone were to know, and they are interested in obtaining the globe for themselves, I may place my kind, and my family in danger.

  “There are those amongst the pouvoirs who could be unknown threats. Sadly, even pouvoirs betray their own kind.”

  Freddie edged closer to the front seats. “Are you close?”

  “The last leg, my mate. This is it. I’m nearly there. I don’t know how the crāwan found out I was searching for the globe, but I’m not prepared to let them get their hands on it, us, or my family. Regardless of what stunts my family pull or what they think of me at the moment.” He gave a strange smile. “I’ve never talked to anyone about this before. In fact, I’ve never really…what’s the word? Shared? Yeah, but it’s right between soul mates.”

  “Is it? Why didn’t you tell your family?”

  “They would want to assist. Daray Darkness, Uriel Golden, and Torrent have immense responsibilities. I don’t want them worrying about this also, and they’re extremely protective of me. As for my younger brother, Callum, he’s a burden carrier. We have to protect him from the worry.”

  “Oh.” Again, Freddie hadn’t a clue what Rico was talking about.

  But he had listened, and what he did understand was Rico was alone. He’d shut out everyone to pursue the globe.

  Freddie thought it noble in one way and disagreed in another way. There was protection in numbers. It was easier with others. Whoever told Rico it was his duty, and his alone, should be ass kicked. Rico had carried this burden alone a long time. But that was over now. Freddie was here. He’d have Rico’s back.

  Rico smiled and pulled the Kombi to a stop at the gas station pump. “Sorry, Freddie, don’t mean to overload you. We’ll talk this through more on the drive. Strange, I think you’re showing me more than I am you.” He turned in his seat. “How about a deal?”

  “What sort of deal?” Freddie was a touch suspicious.

  “One where you don’t run in there telling everyone I kidnapped you or try to climb out the bathroom window. Freddie, the crāwan are gonna come for you because you’ve been seen with me.”

  “I will go to my leader, and we will gather a team.” He nodded. Yes, this was a good idea.

  “No. The more people who know about it, the more chance the crāwan and others will find it. Let’s go use the bathroom and have something to eat. I’ve got a plan to get you out of harm’s way. The Kombi has to go first to throw them off the trail.”

  “Or we could find the globe together,” Freddie said firmly.

  “That’s not a good idea. It’s dangerous.”

  “I’m an excellent map reader. You’re hopeless. You took the wrong turn the last two times.” He looked at Rico, assessing. “You can’t exactly dump me somewhere, Rico. Not safe. Best we stick together.”

  Yeah, using Rico’s concern for him may be underhanded, but he’d pulled Freddie into this by sharing his tale about the soul globe. Freddie couldn’t just walk away knowing how dangerous it was. Freddie was a team player and had moments of being all sorts of noble. Besides, he didn’t like the idea of Rico being chased by the crāwan. Plus, he was a pretty damn good kisser.

  Rico frowned. “It’s not a good idea. I’ll take you to one of the safe houses.”

  “Bad idea. That could expose the safe house to the crāwan.”

  Rico’s green eyes narrowed on Freddie. “I don’t think—”

  “Then don’t. The point is, Rico, you got me out of the cottage and brought me with you because it was probably safer, right?”

  “Yes. I didn’t lie.”

  “Okay. Then we stick together and watch each other’s back. And if the crāwan or anyone else become an issue, we call either my kind or yours.”

  Rico sighed heavily and shook his head. “I see what you are doing, Freddie. I cannot have you in harm’s way.”

  “Fine then. I’ll call the sprite leaders and have them call your kind.” Freddie held up his phone and wiggled it about.

  “Shit! I deliberately meant to leave it behind.” Rico growled. It was sexy in a natural creature way Freddie liked. “How did you get it?”

  “You didn’t check my coat pockets.”

  Rico blinked, his expression stunned. “I’ve never been so stupid in my life.”

  “So, we have a deal?”

  There was a bit of scowling and a few swear words, but Rico eventually gave a sharp nod.

  “The deal’s off and I drop you at a safe house if there is any sign of trouble. Got it?”

  “Well, sure.” Nope. Freddie would just call for backup.

  The globe was important for the safety of everyone. Rico was an Adonis, and when he looked at Freddie with those penetrating green eyes, he smiled. Rico growled and collected his wallet, which was on the dashboard.

  “This is not a good idea,” Rico muttered and got out of the Kombi.

  “Don’t worry. We’ll find your missing globe.”

  Plus, if Freddie were honest, which he generally was with himself, Rico caused such a strong reaction he definitely wanted to spend more time with the man.

  Chapter Four

  “Weapons?” Rico lowered the newspaper he was quickly scanning, frowning at Freddie over the top.

  He still couldn’t believe how Freddie had turned the tables on him. He’d been out-maneuvered and out-played with ease. He could of course drop Freddie off at a safe house, but he knew the sprite would turn Rico in to the sprite and pouvoir leaders immediately. Obviously, Rico had overshared the urgency of the situation.

  There was a high probability Freddie and his sprite friends had done Rico a favor back in the forest. Those after him hadn’t been easy to deter, chasing him then hunting for him in the dark forest. Fighting them had been out of the question. It was six to one, not good odds. Rico couldn’t take the chance of being captured. Finding the soul globe was too important.

  Rico studied Fredrik di Moor. A human unaware of supernaturals wouldn’t see the sprite identifying markers. The slightly pointed ears at the top, the sharp chin, slight build, and narrow nose. Rico noticed this morning when he’d woken in an unfamiliar house and looked around there were a couple of sprite books and symbols. He owed the sprites a debt, particularly his mate.

  Freddie glanced out the window, his wavy cinnamon-colored hair catching the light. This wasn’t the perfect time to find his mate, but he couldn’t deny the spark of joy that lit him up the minute Freddie dropped down from the tree and landed beside him. A sprite, not what he expected. Not that he’d spent any real time thinking of who his destined mate was going to be. In fact, Rico had pretty much given up thinking of even having a soul mate centuries ago. Easier that way. A person could go crazy looking and waiting.

  Plus, he had a lot of other things on his mind,
and logically, dwelling and thinking were not going to make a soul mate suddenly appear. But his had just dropped down from a tree right beside Rico and sent him into a shocked frenzy, his powers surging up and out of control.

  Then Freddie shot him. That had been a shock. Rico wasn’t entirely sure how he felt about that yet. Realistically, it was a reasonable and smart solution. Bringing emotions into it, being shot by his own mate wasn’t the best feeling.

  “Yes, weapons.” Freddie narrowed his eyes. “You do have weapons, don’t you? Or did you lose them all when your car went into the river?”

  “Err…”

  Rico was not sure what to say. Considering not long ago his mate was probably preparing to use a weapon on him, and had already done so once, he wasn’t so sure it was a good idea to even discuss weapons.

  He would rather talk and get to know Freddie. Liquid sherry-colored eyes studied Rico suspiciously.

  “Damn.” Freddie rolled his pretty eyes and looked over the menu. “No weapons. Great. I bet you’re not even a real professor.”

  Frowning, not sure how Freddie had come to that conclusion, he leaned forward. “I am a real professor.”

  “Then why don’t you have any weapons stashed somewhere?”

  Either he was still recovering from the first sighting, and being drugged, or Freddie wasn’t making any sense. What the fuck did being a professor have to do with weapons?

  The first sighting of their mate for a pouvoir was one of high emotion and needs. The pouvoir wanted nothing more than to take hold of their mate, to bond and have. A pouvoir had deep emotions, deep needs, and was often helped through the first sighting so as to not become too aggressive. Knocking Rico out had definitely been beneficial under the circumstances, and he was doing his best to suppress the emotions he was feeling and control his magic, which was being disrupted.

  It was obvious Freddie was not experiencing the same reaction. There was attraction, suspicion, and curiosity. There was no primal need that, if unrestrained, would take over. No pounding desire that wanted to wrap only Freddie and Rico in their own world and never let them out.

  Rico took a calming breath and released it slowly. He would not alarm his mate, nor draw attention to them and bring his brethren and the crāwan. With a hard slam and strong magic, Rico calmed himself.

  “I do not understand your connection between my being a professor and not having weapons, Fredrik. Tell me what you are thinking.” Rico put the newspaper aside and glanced at the menu briefly, before closing it. He didn’t like anything on it but needed nourishment.

  Receiving a look that placed him in the stupid category, he just smiled, finding that he liked Freddie’s ways. Pouvoirs, with their deep emotions, conscience, and understanding fell the instant they saw their soul mate. What Rico was finding, aside from the overwhelming, near out-of-control desire, was that he really liked his sprite mate.

  Freddie had a quick mind. He adapted, thought on his feet, and was resourceful. He wasn’t rushing in blindly to this situation with Rico and the soul globe. Rico suspected Freddie already had an escape plan, or one he was coming up with, and was putting bits of information he was learning from Rico together. If he didn’t like the end result, he’d probably fight Rico or just take off and call his sprite group to help deal with the crazy pouvoir.

  It was a good plan. How Rico convinced Freddie was going to take a bit of time. While Rico had instant feelings for Freddie because they were mates, Freddie didn’t have the same response. But he wasn’t unaffected, and that, Rico suspected, was what gave him the time to work on the bud of interest Freddie did have.

  They were interrupted by the waitress who returned a moment later with drinks then left them alone.

  “Professors are smart, right?” Freddie gave Rico a bland look.

  “I would say a professor should be knowledgeable about the subject they teach, be learned.”

  “So would I. Universities cost a lot of money; you would not want to end up with a dud professor. Anyway, as you claim to be an intelligent professor, which, by the way, I do not believe, as, so far, I have seen nothing but insanity—”

  “Hold up there, mate. Before you go off on the insanity and crazy tangent again, I will remind you I was being chased by…” He lowered his voice. “I saw you for the first time, was shot by you, and am on a strict time schedule. Now what’s this about weapons and professors?”

  Freddie smiled, Rico’s breath catching. “Okay, except everything you said is way out of context and wrong. But I won’t debate that now.” He cut Rico off quickly when Rico opened his mouth to refute those claims. “As a professor and being smart, you should know that when up against crāwan, you need weapons. Where are your weapons?”

  Understanding dawning, Rico grinned. “I have a few things put away, but the point of this mission is to avoid the bastards. We want to get to…” He flicked a look around the café. “That thing we’re after, without alerting anyone to our presence. And to steer clear of fights and injuries. The quicker we get the item, the sooner it’s out of the crāwans’ reach.”

  Contemplating this as their meals arrived, Freddie nodded. Rico had ordered a steak with vegetables and began eating immediately, watching Freddie pick at his meal, his thoughts elsewhere based on the faraway look on his pointed, cute face.

  They didn’t have much time to stop in any one place, and he was concerned with how much time was already lost from the crāwan running him off the road and being drugged.

  As long as they stayed under the radar and got to the next stop by the time on his new schedule, they should still be within range of outpacing the crāwan and his kind. The crāwan would have to find out what happened to the six who’d been sent to pick him up then regroup, and Rico was hoping his kind weren’t even aware he was out of reach. As soon as they finished their meals, Rico paid. Then they used the facilities and walked out to where the Kombi was in the parking lot.

  “I’ll drive.”

  “How about I drive today, you tomorrow.” Rico opened the back door for Freddie. “You look a little tired.”

  That was not a lie. There were dark smudges under Freddie’s eyes that concerned him, but apparently that was the wrong thing to say. Freddie responded with a narrowed look and a hiss before climbing into the front passenger seat and using the rearview mirror to check himself. With a heavy sigh, Freddie finger combed his hair and shot Rico another glare.

  Damn. His last date was…Rico frowned. Hell, he couldn’t even remember when his last date was, and not one to watch television or spend time around others much, he was way out of touch. Shutting the door and climbing into the driver seat, he looked around, using his senses to make sure no one was watching and following. Satisfied they weren’t, he put the Kombi into gear and swore as the old vehicle managed to chug to life enough to move forward.

  The Kombi had to go.

  * * * *

  By Rico’s calculations, he was a few hours ahead of whoever may be looking for them, namely crāwan and the brethren who’d probably seen the email he sent to the sprite group. But that few hours’ grace meant nothing with crāwan out and about and brethren able to teleport.

  Freddie was asleep in the back of the Kombi, as he had been for the last hour. Rico drove through farmland to where he’d hidden a car a few months ago, just in case he needed a backup vehicle. Over the years, Rico learned to be prepared. Each parchment piece was secured under locks of spells, riddles and magic. Sometimes Rico got through the locks reasonably quickly, a few minutes to an hour. Other times it could take months. During those times he searched for spells and potions to aid in unlocking, and prepared for finding the next piece by visiting different places and setting up safe houses, leaving a stash of money or weapons, and hiding vehicles. He was thankful to have been so prepared considering he’d lost the Jeep. Driving this rattling old Kombi around took a lot of attention just to keep it on the road.

  His sprite woke the moment he stopped. “Where are we?”

/>   “A farm.” Rico jumped out.

  After doing a quick scope to make sure no one was around, he opened the back of the van and assisted his mate out. He wished he knew what essence Freddie held. Unfortunately, Rico wasn’t an essence definer.

  Every creature had an essence, a quality in their aura that defined them. Rico held logic and soothing, two qualities that were the most distinctive and highlighted his nature, the way he thought, who he was. If either of these qualities were disrupted, or out of balance, it was more difficult to think and act as he normally would.

  Freddie and the mission were what mattered. Rico would continue the mission for the soul globe and do everything possible to keep his mate safe and happy, even send Freddie to Rico’s family if absolutely necessary. A last resort, one that’d been playing on his mind the last hour.

  Nothing must happen to his Fredrik.

  He brought his attention back to what had to be done now. They needed to keep moving and the Kombi was not covered in potions like his Jeep. The car they were here to pick up was.

  Earlier during the drive, talking to Freddie caused Rico to rethink. He’d become very mortal-like, rarely using his abilities and acting nothing like his kind did.

  Rico was damn confused and annoyed over it. He thought he’d done what was right, but then, opening up to Freddie left him questioning himself. It was an uncomfortable feeling for Rico, who usually never doubted his decisions.

  Sprites were inquisitive about everything. They asked questions and didn’t just accept answers without some reason, fact, or evidence. Freddie had questioned Rico’s reasons for going after the globe alone, and it was apparent Freddie didn’t agree with Rico’s decision.