“Friend,” Tiger said without hesitation.
“Whew.” Ben wiped his brow. “I am glad to hear that, big guy. I do not want you for an enemy. This is Millie. She’s a goblin. Last time I saw her, the earth opened up and tried to eat me.”
“Like I said, that wasn’t my doing.” Millie faced him in indignation, both hands closing on her handbag. “I saw what happened. Saw you.” She jerked her chin at Rhianne. “You rescued him. Then Shifter Bureau took you away. I called my sons, and they tracked you to Shifter Bureau. They watched Mr. Danielson and this large man drive off with you.” She nodded at Tiger. “I did some research and realized they were coming here. I came because I worried about you, Ben dear.”
Ben had to stop and process everything she’d said. Rhianne, with her quicker mind, grasped the essential point.
“Sons?” she asked.
Millie waved a hand to the front yard. “Yes, my sons. Darren and Cyril. They’re right over … Now where have they got to?”
Ben scanned the street and saw that they’d gone as far down as Spike’s house. Spike, tall and tattooed, stood in his yard, hands on hips, gazing down at two men in jeans and leather jackets. Spike’s cub, Jordan, in his jaguar form, scampered between his father and the goblins.
If Spike was letting his cub run around them, he must believe the two goblins were harmless.
Ben started for them, Rhianne behind him. Tiger remained on the porch, close to his cub and to Millie, though Ben felt his watchfulness.
The two goblins in human form were a bit taller than Ben, but had similar dark skin, deep brown eyes, and black hair they both wore trimmed in a military-like cut. No tatts. Under the leather jackets they wore T-shirts, one with a heavy metal band’s name on it, the other bearing a picture of three full glasses of beer: one dark, one amber, one light.
“Hey,” the beer-shirted one said. “You Ben?” His gaze went to Rhianne, and his expression said he liked what he saw.
Ben sent him a warning scowl. “How’d you guess?”
“Millie told us what you look like,” heavy-metal shirt guy said. “Plus you stand out from all the Shifters around here.”
Ben folded his arms. “Explain to me how I never knew about you two. Or your mother.”
Beer guy shrugged. “We keep a low profile? So do you, or we’d have found you before this. I’m Darren. This is Cyril.” He pointed to his brother in the heavy-metal shirt.
“Hey,” Cyril said.
“You could pick any human names in the universe, and those are what you decided to call yourselves?” Ben asked. Spike huffed a laugh.
“Back when we were born, those were respected human names,” Darren said. “Now, they’re not taken as seriously. Which is good, right? Better to not pose a threat.”
Rhianne, who had given heavily tattooed Spike a thorough and curious scrutiny, turned her radiant eyes to the two goblins. “Were you born in this world? Or in Faerie?”
“Here,” Cyril answered. “Mum was preggers with us when we were kicked out. We’re twins, by the way.” The brothers resembled each other greatly, but they weren’t identical. “She went through hell.”
The glint in Cyril’s eyes said that he partly blamed Ben for that.
“We all did.” Ben spoke firmly. “I’m sorry. Why are you here? Now?”
“Because Millie thinks we need to keep you safe,” Darren said. “We’re the last of our kind, and apparently, you’re some kind of special powers guy who might be our salvation.” He shook his head. “She gets ideas. We go with them.”
Jordan, who’d circled the group a few times in energetic jaguar lopes, halted suddenly in front of Rhianne. He changed from jaguar cub to half human, half Shifter, his small body covered with fur. His half-beast would be ferocious when he was fully grown, but for now, he was adorably cute.
“Dad says you can fly,” he said to Rhianne. “Can you fly?”
Rhianne’s throat moved, a flicker of fear in her eyes. When she bent to Jordan, though, she was gentleness itself. “I can. It’s a little scary, but yes.”
“I wish I could fly,” Jordan said. “Will you take me up? I could ride in your claws.”
Spike rumbled. He didn’t have to speak a word. Jordan deflated. “Dad doesn’t want me to.”
“Your dad just wants you to be safe,” Rhianne said. “You wouldn’t want me to drop you.”
“You wouldn’t drop me,” Jordan said with confidence.
Rhianne scratched the top of Jordan’s head, right between his furry ears. “Maybe not, but it’s up to your dad. How about we let him think about it?”
Jordan butted his head up to her hand. He hadn’t yet grown out of wanting to be petted. “Well, okay. But when we go, I want you to fly real high.”
Rhianne met Ben’s gaze. Her eyes had softened as she melted for Jordan. She hadn’t been around cubs much, Ben realized. Or children of any being. Her mother hadn’t given her any brothers or sisters, which was probably a good thing, considering who Lady Aisling had married.
Rhianne’s own cubs would be beautiful. And eagles. Downy feathers, big eyes. In his sudden vision, one of the little eagle chicks had black eyes with a Ben-like glint in them.
He banished the vision with effort. “Your mom is looking for you,” he told the goblin brothers.
“She’s always looking for us,” Darren said without worry.
“Trying to keep you out of trouble?” Ben asked.
“Hell, no. We have to keep her out of trouble. No one notices a middle-aged woman, she says. She thinks that means she can do whatever the hell she wants.”
Ben raised his brows. “Like rush to Shiftertown after another goblin?”
“Goblin?” Cyril scrunched up his face. “Is that what you’re calling yourself?”
Ben fought down irritation. “What do you tell people you are?”
“Party animals,” Darren said. He and his brother laughed. “Seriously, dude. We don’t tell them anything. We let them assume we’re human.”
“That’s because you don’t hang out with Shifters who smell Faerie on you,” Ben said. “I had to give them a word for what I was to keep them from gutting me. Goblin is the closest human equivalent. I tried gnome, but they kept thinking of cute little bearded guys with pointed hats.”
Cyril snorted a laugh. “Okay, we’ll go with goblin. Better than troll.”
“Yeah, too many bad connotations with troll,” Darren agreed.
“Are you done?” Spike’s growl increased. “You all didn’t come here just to shoot the breeze.”
Ben shrugged. “No, but it makes a break from the constant danger and excitement.” Rhianne continued to scratch Jordan’s ears. He returned to full jaguar cub form and leaned against her legs.
“You two up for a trip to Faerie?” Ben asked the goblins. “To kick some Fae ass?”
“That would be cool,” Darren said immediately.
Rhianne snapped her head up. “No.”
Darren and Cyril regarded her in surprise. “It wouldn’t be cool to kick Fae ass?” Cyril asked.
“It wouldn’t be Fae you fought, but a Tuil Erdannan. One of the most powerful. Ben, you can’t ask them to go.”
Ben rocked on his heels. “Rhianne has this wild idea that she can go to Faerie, destroy a vicious Tuil Erdannan on her own, and waltz home in time for tea.”
“No, I don’t.” Rhianne’s mouth firmed. “But nor do I believe a small army of Shifters and goblins can defeat him. You’ll just get everyone killed. Including you.” Her glare cut to Ben.
“The alternative, having you go and confront your stepdad, even with your mother there, is nuts. If we have you, Lady Aisling, and a Shifter-goblin army that contains Tiger and an obnoxious polar bear healer, we might have a chance.”
Rhianne stared at Ben a long moment before Ben realized his slip. “You are saying I will go with you.”
“Not something I want,” Ben said quickly. “But I have to admit, you’re not feeble, you know Ivor well, and y
ou’d understand his weaknesses.”
“He doesn’t have any weaknesses,” Rhianne answered.
Darren raised his hands. “Hold on, hold on. You’re saying you’re recruiting a force to go to Faerie and face one dude?”
“Yes,” Ben and Rhianne replied at the same time. Ben added, “One Tuil Erdannan. There’s a difference.”
“Never met a Tuil Erdannan,” Darren said. “That tough, are they?”
“Rhianne is one. Or half one. She could kick all your asses with her hand tied behind her back.”
Rhianne flushed, but she seemed pleased. “I doubt that.”
“Believe it.” Ben gave Darren and Cyril a pointed nod. “Don’t mess with my girl.”
Darren poked his brother in the arm. “Ooh, they’re an item. A ghallareknoiksnlealous and a Shifter-Tuil Erdannan. Match made in … a blender?”
“Watch your mouth,” Ben growled. “Nothing wrong with a blender. They make hella good frozen cocktails.”
Spike shook his head and turned his back on them. “Come on, Jordan.”
Jordan nuzzled Rhianne one last time and scampered after his father, changing into his Shifter half-beast as he went. “Will you let her take me flying, Dad? Please?”
“Did we piss him off?” Cyril watched Spike lead Jordan into the house. “He doesn’t seem like a guy we should piss off.”
“Spike is good.” Ben found himself drifting toward Rhianne, as though he couldn’t keep away from her. “He’ll pass the word on that we need help. He doesn’t say much, but he’s a terrific tracker. A tracker is a Shifter who can scout, report, and kick serious butt.”
“What now?” Rhianne asked. “My mother is used to handling my father—my stepfather—but I don’t want to leave her to his mercy too long.”
“We also have to deal with the time difference,” Ben reminded her. “Time doesn’t move at the same pace in Faerie as it does in the human world. Kind of ebbs and flows. But there’s a ley line here with a Fae warrior inside it who keeps us posted about what’s going on in Faerie.”
“Is there?” Rhianne asked, just as Darren and Cyril opened their mouths to do the same. “Do you trust him?”
“I wouldn’t say trust exactly, but he’s Sean’s mate’s father. He likes to keep an eye on Andrea and his grandson. He won’t betray her.”
“Would he help against my stepfather?”
“I can ask him, but I wouldn’t count on it. Fionn’s a good fighter, but he is a hoch alfar. He probably wouldn’t risk going against a Tuil Erdannan.”
“Count us in,” Darren said eagerly. “We try not to get into too many fights, so no one figures out what we really are. I’d love to truly let loose on a Fae who needs to learn a lesson.”
“Please, don’t,” Rhianne said. “You’ll get yourselves killed.”
“Nothing better to do.” Cyril shrugged. “You live a thousand or so years in exile, hiding your true nature, and see how bored you get. A good fight to the death is just what we need.”
They were goblins, all right. Ben wanted to break down and cry, and at the same time dance around and laugh. It had been so long since he’d listened to goblins banter—pretending to care nothing for their own safety, itching to fight anything that needed an ass-kicking.
Goblins could glam, and could easily outsmart humans or Fae, or even Shifters, even these two. They acted slightly dimwitted, but Ben saw in their eyes they were anything but. They camouflaged their true nature, as Ben had been doing all his life.
He slid his arm around Rhianne. “We’ll talk about it, love. Why don’t we go back to Liam’s and have a council of war? We’ll have Fionn do some recon inside Faerie, and then we’ll charge in there and save Lady Aisling. Maybe in her gratitude, she’ll shower us with riches. ’Cause I need a new blender.”
The brothers laughed—goblins always ready to have fun. Fight until they died, yes, but have a good time until then. Ben was so happy to hear the familiar bullshit of his own people that he was ready to turn cartwheels.
Rhianne wasn’t convinced. Ben knew that the brothers were aware of the danger, as was he. Even with all of their resources Ivor would be tough to beat. The alternative was to allow Lady Aisling and Rhianne to be at Ivor’s mercy. Ben vowed to do whatever was needed to prevent that.
They walked toward Liam’s house. Ben felt a whisper on the wind he didn’t like, sensed a tingle on his flesh. He glanced around uneasily but heard nothing except the rustle of leaves in the dawn breeze, the voices of cubs playing on the green, and the quiet laughter of the goblin brothers as they followed.
* * *
When they reached Liam’s house, Rhianne saw that the porch had filled with Shifters. Liam and his mate, Dylan and Glory, Connor and Tiger-girl, Andrea the half-Fae Shifter, and with her the man who must be Sean Morrissey, the Guardian.
Sean resembled his brother, Liam, so much that Rhianne at first couldn’t tell the two apart. She saw as she studied them that Sean had a different demeanor, somehow both more tense and more relaxed than Liam. The sword that dispatched Shifter souls and rendered their bodies dust was slung over his back.
With him stood another Shifter also carrying a sword. Rhianne couldn’t place him, but Ben jumped when he saw him.
“That’s Pierce Daniels. Guardian of the North Carolina Shiftertown. What’s he doing so far off his patch?”
Pierce had reddish brown hair and watchful eyes. The Shifter in Rhianne identified him as Feline, but she wasn’t certain what breed of cat.
The only Shifter missing was Tiger. Carly was there, lounging on a porch swing next to Connor, holding Seth and keeping an eye on Katriona, who wandered from her mother to Carly and back, pausing to stare quizzically up at Millie, who stood a little apart from the others.
The mystery of the absent Tiger was solved when he barreled around from the back of the house, shifting as he ran. His half-Shifter, half-human beast was gigantic and ferocious.
“Here!” he roared and then sprinted, fully tiger to the rear of the house and the common ground there.
The Shifters glanced at each other in perplexity, then they began pouring off the porch in pursuit.
Ben followed Tiger at a run, Rhianne immediately behind him, the goblin brothers after her.
Chapter Twenty-One
Rhianne panted after Ben as he sprinted behind Tiger. Tiger charged down the green, the huge Bengal scattering cubs before him. Not to hurt them, Rhianne realized, but to herd them from the middle of the common area, a long strip of grass dotted with live oaks.
Tiger gave a great barking growl, and the cubs, understanding his warning, ran toward the houses. The other Shifters, taking Tiger’s cue, began to snatch up cubs and carry them away from the green.
What Rhianne didn’t understand was why. She saw no danger in the middle of Shiftertown, saw nothing at all except trees moving in the morning sunshine, green grass just starting to brown for autumn.
Almost as soon as her bewildered thoughts formed, a shiver began deep inside her. A wrongness oozed over the middle of Shiftertown. It was invisible, soundless, scentless, but the sensation was there.
The Shifters felt it, voices sharp as they rushed cubs indoors. Tiger sent the last cub back toward Liam with a nudge of his paw, then charged to the center of the green, heading for a circle of trees.
“The ley line,” Ben yelled to Rhianne over his shoulder. “Crap!”
Ripples of nothing spread from the center of the trees, shimmering in the air.
Ben slammed to a halt and Rhianne barely stopped herself from crashing into him. Around them chaos reigned as Shifters ran and dodged, grabbed cubs to shove them inside houses or threw off clothes and shifted. A gray wolf began an ear-piercing howl. Calling other wolves, Rhianne realized.
The ripples hit Tiger, terrible snarls tearing from his throat. He slowed, as though he’d rushed into thick glue, his limbs paddling but his body grinding to a full stop.
Then came a flash so bright Rhianne had to slam her eyes clo
sed and turn away. Shifters screamed around her as the light seared the air.
She pried her eyes open again and saw the mucus-like ripples envelop Tiger like a cocoon. Then Tiger vanished.
“Fuck!” Ben yelled.
Rhianne couldn’t speak, her throat going dry. Tiger, the indestructible, the wise, the one who’d understood Rhianne almost instantly. Gone.
A keening rent the air. Tiger-girl raced toward the circle of trees, desperately pursued by Connor. Carly came after them, Seth screeching in her arms.
“No!” Tiger-girl’s wail cut over the growling, snarling, and howling of the other Shifters. She threw off her shirt, the rest of her clothes falling from her as she shifted into a Bengal tiger nearly the size of her father.
“Shit, shit, shit,” Connor snarled. He loped after her, shifting as he ran into a black-maned lion, his mane not fully grown. Connor sprinted on powerful limbs, trying to catch up to Tiger-girl. She outran him, leaping toward the ripples where Tiger had disappeared.
Ben caught Carly before she could run after them. “No,” he said sternly.
“Let me go.” Carly writhed in Ben’s strong grip. Her son kicked and squirmed, Carly barely able to hold him. “He’s my mate. He’s my mate.”
“Your mate who’d kick my ass if anything happened to you,” Ben growled. “Stay. Let Shifters mess with this.”
“Whatever the hell this is,” Carly shouted back at him.
“My father,” Rhianne said quietly. “He’s come for me.”
Ben sent her a grim look. “Your stepfather. He didn’t sire you. So I don’t have to feel guilty when I rip his heart out.”
“What are you talking about?” Carly demanded. “How could anyone get through the gate? Fionn is there holding it, isn’t he?”
Rhianne’s body flooded with coldness. “This Fionn is only a hoch alfar lord. Ivor de Erkkonen could cut him down without trying.”
Andrea, Fionn’s daughter, must have understood this, because she was racing toward the clearing herself, Sean in hot pursuit. The other Guardian, Pierce, sprinted after them.
The Last Warrior: Shifters Unbound Book 13 Page 22