Damian shot daggers at Breck who only laughed loudly as he walked away. “She was only trying to help.”
Aria’s eyes narrowed. “How, by draping herself all over you?”
Damian grinned at her, leaned in close, and whispered in her ear, causing her to shiver. “You know the only woman I want is you. I’ll show you how much when we’re done here.”
She pulled away from him and tried to act like he hadn’t gotten to her at all, but she shivered again and ruined it. Aria nudged Damian and pointed to where Julie was surrounded by a group of Enforcers. “Aedan doesn’t look very happy.”
Damian was surprised to see his best friend with a scowl. Aedan was perpetually happy and upbeat. The guy hardly every became upset by anything, but it seemed he didn’t like the lovely Julie flirting with his fellow Enforcers. “I’ll be right back,” he told Aria with a smile.
“I’m not missing this!” She quickly followed after him.
Damian stopped next to his friend, but Aria joined Julie and the Enforcers. She wondered if being hot was a requirement for being an enforcer. “Hey, Juls.”
Julie grinned at her. “Ar, do you remember Logan and Steven Weston, Finn, Rage, Daz and of course, Ethan.”
Aria gave them her best smile. “Hi guys. It’s always great to see you. I just wish it was under better circumstances.”
Derrek walked up and cocked an eyebrow. “You didn’t say it was great to see me earlier.”
“Oh, you’re here too? I must have overlooked you there.”
Logan scooped Aria up in a swirling hug. “Ignore him. We do. Where have you been hiding? We haven’t seen you in a long time.” Aria had always been fascinated by Logan. He was so smooth and calm whenever he was on a mission but completely hilarious when relaxing.
“You can put her down now, Logan,” Damian growled.
Logan’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “Damian.” He lowered her to the ground but held onto her for a few seconds longer just to bother his friend. He smirked at Damian over the top of Aria’s head.
Aedan moved in front of Julie, blocking Steven from staring at her. He bumped her shoulder with his, his expression turning somber. “You want to go inside now? I think that everything is starting.”
Julie glanced over at him and was surprised to see his annoyed expression. “What’s wrong with you?”
Damian nudged Aedan. “Why don’t you tell her what’s wrong?” Damian was enjoying his friend’s discomfort until Logan offered his arm to Aria.
Damian shoved Logan out of the way and attempted to take Aria’s hand, but she linked arms with Julie and headed into the palace. Damian was left with his fellow Enforcers gawking after the ladies.
“You two are back together?” Logan asked when they began to follow Aria and Julie.
Damian’s eyes stayed on Aria as she was hugged by a couple more men. She was a beautiful woman with an outgoing personality, so figured he’d better get used to her being the center of attention. He hated it, but he would have to learn to accept it. “We’re working things out.” He didn’t want to think about almost losing her.
“How’d you get her to forgive you?”
Damian was going to blow off the question, but for some unknown reason, he answered honestly. “Almost dying together.” He hurried to catch up to Aria.
Aedan and Damian fell in step with the girls, and as soon as the four of them entered the building, the reality of why they were there came crashing down on them.
The outside had been a flurry of activity and noise as people greeted one another and gossiped, but once inside the great hall, the silence was shocking. Aria could feel the weight of everyone’s emotions, and she battled to keep her own under control.
She was thankful that Damian was at her side through it all. She leaned her head on his shoulder during most of the service. Dozens of people paid tribute to the lost clan. Aria tried her best to be brave, but tears continued to leak from her eyes. She was going to miss Ednah with all of her heart.
After placing the dragon on the dais next to numerous mementos, Aria rushed from the room. Damian followed closely behind her with Julie and Aedan. Markos had taken off with Ethan and wasn’t around.
The other Enforcers joined them and were attempting to monopolize the conversation with Julie and Aria, making Aedan and Damian frown at their friends.
Aedan pointed off to the side, getting the attention of a few of them. “Did you guys see that nymph? I think she was the chief’s daughter.”
Steven glanced toward where Aedan was pointing and grinned. “See ya.” He headed toward the gorgeous leggy blond.
Finn saw what caught Steven’s attention and hurried after him. “Wait up.”
Damian laughed. “Too afraid they were going to hit on Julie some more?”
“Logan and Aria seemed to share a moment,” Aedan said snidely.
Damian shoved Aedan and was going to rough him up some more, but Aria and Julie were watching them.
“I don’t want to stay for the after-party,” Aria told them in a low voice.
Julie gave her a hug. “Let’s go to the beach.” Four girls caught Julie’s eye as they made their way toward Damian and Aedan. Three of the girls whispered together with malicious expressions as they pushed a fourth girl to move ahead of them.
Aria was about to agree when a tall blond with a huge chest spilling out of her tight gold and white dress threw herself into Damian’s arms, crying hysterically. Her three friends stood back and watched the scene unfold.
“Oh Damian! I’ve missed you, baby! Why didn’t you come get me for this? I need you!” She wailed as she pressed herself against him.
3
“Uh, hi, Camellia.” Damian had no idea what to do and knew that whatever he decided would get him into serious trouble. Looking over Camellia’s head at a furious Aria made him want to open a portal and escape. He had completely forgotten about Camellia. She had been after him for years, and he made the mistake of hanging out with her recently after having a few too many drinks. Ever since, he hadn’t been able to ditch her even after telling her he was not interested.
“Take me home!” Camellia cried and continued to cling to him as he attempted to pull her off of him.
“Cami, let go,” Damian commanded to the weeping blond, but his eyes stayed on Aria. He watched as she became more enraged the longer Camellia held onto him. He needed to fix the situation quickly, or he would lose her again.
Aria stood there fuming. The jerk had a girlfriend, and he was trying to get back together with her!
Julie couldn’t help but watch Camellia’s friends. Something about them caught her attention. They attempted to blend into the crowd, but they stuck out to her. She tried to test their magic, but they seemed to be blocking her. Knowing dark magic wasn’t permitted within Legacy’s realm pocket, she knew they couldn’t be dark mystics, but something was wrong.
The three of them were about the same height and age, but that was where the similarities ended. The one on the right was very fair skinned with short blond hair and a tight slinky dress. She seemed to want to move closer, but the girl in the middle, clearly the leader of the group, placed her tanned hand forward to stop her. That girl was wearing a halter dress more fitting for the beach than a funeral. Her eyes looked ancient as she stared at Aria, not her friend Camellia. That was interesting. The last girl was darker skinned with a white gown that could have been in fashion hundreds of years ago. Her skin was smooth and flawless, but she seemed old at the same time. These girls were odd, and she needed to keep an eye on them.
Damian had managed to pry one of Camellia’s arms from around his neck, but she simply moved to his side and held on to him with both of her hands. She continued to sniffle and make soft crying sounds, trying to get his attention. Camellia picked her head up to see what other sympathetic person was around when her eyes locked onto Aria’s. She released Damian’s arm and stomped up to Aria with her hands on her hips, all traces of tears and crying havi
ng disappeared.
Aria wished she had her sword, but it didn’t fit with her dress. She would have to settle for magic. Gathering a ball in her palm, she braced her legs apart, ready to go. If this blond bimbo wanted a fight, she would knock her on her butt and then zap Damian with one heck of a stunning spell. Aria pulled her magic into her hands, ready to fight, but it felt a little off.
“You!” Camellia raged. “I saw you trying to get Damian’s attention earlier. You were making a fool of yourself trying to get him to notice you. Wanting him to hold your hand, but he’s with me! Find your own man. He’s mine, and you can’t have him.” She held herself forward, towering over Aria, trying to intimidate her.
Aria wasn’t worried about Camellia even if she shifted to another form. Shapeshifters never bothered her. If you caused them serious pain, they would shift back to their normal self. She had fought them before. Aria would knock Camellia out if she tried anything at all. This one was not a fighter, so taking her out wouldn’t be a problem.
Before Aria could say a word, Markos ran over to their group with two of his friends. “We need to go now. They found a body in New Orleans,” Markos said gravely. “He’d been drained of his life force and magic.”
Aria switched into warrior mode instantly, the blond bimbo forgotten. “Is the area secure?”
Markos nodded. “Yes. We can quickly change and meet at Lucinda’s in 10 minutes.” Lucinda had agreed to allow them to use her house as a command center. Markos knew she wanted to control the information gathered and contacts they would make, but he was grateful for her assistance.
Julie had already made a portal. She motioned to Aria to hurry up and go through.
Aedan and Damian attempted to follow, but Aria put her hand out to stop them. “We’ve got this now. Go investigate something else,” Aria hissed.
“Aria, let me explain,” Damian pleaded.
“Your girlfriend explained enough. Leave me alone.” Aria jumped through the portal and closed it behind her.
“Damn it!” Damian yelled. Turning to Camellia, he lashed out. “Camellia, we are not a couple! You and I are not dating now and have never been dating. We hung out one time!” He swore again and ran a hand through his hair.
Camellia sulked. “Damy, how can you say that after all we’ve been through? I know you don’t mean that.”
Markos snorted with laughter. “Dude, you are so done for.”
“Camellia, I’ve been trying to tell you this since the one and only night we hung out. We have not been through anything except for me trying to get rid of you!”
Camellia stomped up to him, slapped his face and burst into real tears. Damian watched her run off toward her waiting friends who seemed to find the entire situation humorous.
Aedan winced. “I’m not sure which was worse, the slap she gave you or what you said to her.”
Damian growled. “Damn it!” he repeated. His day was suddenly going to hell. And it had started off so well.
Markos clasped him on the shoulder. “Come on. We have work to do. You can try to fix things with Aria later.”
The three guys disappeared into a portal.
* * *
Julie had opened the step-through straight to Aria’s bedroom. She didn’t think Aria would mind her borrowing some clothes. Aria’s closet was almost endless.
Julie had no idea what to say, so she just headed into the closet to search for something to wear.
Aria pulled off her dress and threw it into a ball in the corner of her bedroom and stalked over to the shelves that held her jeans. Selecting a black pair that fit perfectly into her black leather boots, she shoved her foot savagely into the leg hole.
“You’re going to be upset if you rip your favorite jeans,” Julie said behind her.
Having forgotten that she wasn’t alone, Julie’s voice had startled her. Aria needed to focus on work and not on the Enforcer who had once again broken her heart. She made it a point to dress a little easier. Julie was right. She would be upset if she wrecked her jeans.
“I don’t think Damian was really dating that girl. I was watching her friends, and the whole thing seemed somehow staged.”
Aria swung around to face her. “I didn’t notice her friends. You think she just made it up? Obviously, something had happened between them.”
“And you’ve never dated anyone?” Julie challenged.
“Not recently! And not with anyone who still thought we were dating!” She cringed just thinking about the blond Barbie doll wannabe draped all over Damian.
“So Quintus doesn’t count?” Julie asked with a laugh.
“No,” Aria said but didn’t sound very sure. She had forgotten all about Quintus. He was one of her brother’s friends and sometimes partner who had been asking her out for decades. She had finally said yes, but they had never gotten a chance to actually go out anywhere. They had both been too busy.
“Does he know that?” Julie asked.
“We never went out,” Aria countered.
“Yes, but he’s still waiting for that date.”
“You’re sticking up for him?” Aria couldn’t believe Julie was taking his side.
“I’m not. I just think there’s probably more to the story. You were staring at blondie, and I was looking at the devastation on Damian’s face. It wasn’t guilt. He was clearly distraught that you were upset.”
“Can we not talk about this? We need to finish getting dressed so we can meet Markos at Lucinda’s,” Aria said, tucking her weapons in her boots and zipping them up.
Work sounded good right now. She had some aggression to work off and some magic to expel. Maybe her magic just need to be worked and used some more. It had been a while since she used a significant amount.
* * *
“The magical signature is very similar to that of Pravus, but it doesn’t match.” Lucinda was giving them all a run down on what she’d learned. She had already sent her own people all of the information they could find. Lucinda paid good money to make sure she knew everything that went on in the magical community.
Aria and Julie had been the first two to arrive, but Markos, Aedan, and Damian had showed up shortly after. Damian had tried to speak with her a couple of times, but she ignored every attempt. Now the jerk was giving her puppy dog eyes from across the room. She was not falling for his act.
Lucinda continued. “There was a magical trail that led from the alleyway down Bourbon Street and then disappeared inside one of the bars. We lost it.”
Markos added what he discovered. “A couple of Enforcers tried tracking it, but whoever did this must have created a portal to escape. There was residue from a portal, but it was not traceable.”
A servant led Finn, Daz and Rage into the large drawing room in Lucinda’s mansion, and Aria nodded to the guys. She turned with a groan when she saw Quintus stroll in with Liam and Justin.
Julie leaned close to Aria. “This should be interesting.”
Aria glared at her. “Why? Nothing’s going to happen.”
Julie laughed. “Want to place a bet on that?” Julie watched as Quintus scanned the room, his eyes stopping on Aria. He smiled broadly and moved closer. “Here he comes,” she whispered.
Quintus moved to Aria’s side, bent his head and kissed her cheek in greeting. “Hello there.”
Aria hadn’t expected Quintus to greet her that way. “Hi,” she mumbled. She snuck a glance toward Damian, and she could almost see steam coming off of him. He was radiating anger. Good, she thought. Maybe this could work in her favor and give him a little bit of payback.
She slid closer to Quintus with a grin.
Damian had met Quintus a few times before, but he didn’t know him very well. He also had no idea what was going on with Quintus and Aria, and he didn’t like what he was seeing.
Aedan whispered to Damian, “Looks like you might have some competition.”
Markos continued the update. “We need to comb the city, looking for spikes in magic. Those of us with
a higher concentration and older magic should be able to sense the fluctuations. We are working on two theories right now. The first is Pravus has somehow survived and is back to gaining powers. The second is that a copycat or someone trained by Pravus is now trying to take over where he left off. Either one is not good, and we need to find this guy immediately.”
Aria couldn’t help but comment. “So you’re assuming it’s a man? It could be a woman.”
Markos rolled his eyes. “Correction. We need to find this man or woman.”
“Thank you.” Aria grinned. She never let her brother get away with anything.
“Quintus, did your team find anything?” Markos asked.
Quintus reluctantly left Aria’s side and faced the group. “There was a young woman who was passed out in an upstairs room of the tavern to where we tracked the culprit.” He winked at Aria. “She had her memories erased, but we were able to retrieve a few that showed her with a male mystic. Her memories were fuzzy, so we couldn’t tell exactly who it was, but the guy began sucking her life essence. We could tell he had blond hair. The perpetrator was interrupted when a group of people stumbled upon them. He was wiping her memories as he siphoned, so he must have the ability to control whether he kills or not. This guy obviously likes the kill since we found that body.”
Markos nodded to Quintus. “Thanks Quintus.” He continued addressing the group. “We’re going out in pairs to comb through the city. We need to find this guy.” He stressed the word guy while grinning at his sister. Aria narrowed her eyes at him. “He has to be living somewhere. Which restaurants is he eating at? Where is he buying things? He was in a bar on Bourbon Street. We need to check all of them.”
Julie frowned. “There are too many bars for us to check them all. He could come to one that we had just checked.”
Shadows and Sorcery: A Collection of Urban Fantasy and Paranormal Romance Novels Page 303