I placed my hand on Manuel’s shoulder, not so much as a sign of support, but more a signal that he was to submit. “After he takes the oath, Manuel will assist Rick and François.”
I turned to the startled, frightened humans who’d also been bound by Naberia. “We will find a way to release you from the torcs, but it may take several days. We do not require you to take a blood oath although you must swear not to contact anyone who might be working with the archdemon.” I quickly explained Gregory’s role and what the torcs were capable of doing.
“None of the vampires here will harm you. If you have any trouble at all, Manuel will be held accountable.”
“What about you and Sash?” Rick sent, looking uneasy.
“First things first. Would you lend me your phone, François?” He didn’t hesitate. Jackie’s cell went immediately to voice mail, so I tried the home phone.
I was surprised when one of the dog sitters answered. “Hello, Garrett. The puppies are fine, no worries.”
“I’m glad to hear that, but where is Jackie?”
“Oh. You don’t know? She and the team went on a mission.”
“The Rogues Team went on a mission?” I glanced at Sash. His eyes grew saucer sized. “Where?”
“Oregon.”
Icy claws scraped their way up my spine. “Do you have any idea who went with her?”
“Your team of shifters, but also Liam, Farrell, Kaera, Elle, Aaron and a giant lizard. At least that’s what Sinlae said. Sounds like fun. You guys lead such an exciting life.”
“A giant…”
“Lizard, yes.”
“Thank you, Jennifer.”
“You’re welcome.”
I ended the call and handed the borrowed phone to Sash. “You can try Elle’s cell, but I’m fairly certain you won’t get an answer.”
His call went immediately to voice mail. Sash turned to me.
“They went to Oregon to deal with the vampires who’ve taken over the town.”
“What the fuck!”
“I know.” I looked at the group huddled together, some of them unsuccessfully trying to remove the torcs.
“What are we going to do with them?” Sash asked.
“We may have to ask François to call in Kostas.”
“Uhhh. But I thought we were never supposed to contact Kostas.”
“We aren’t, but Naberia has declared war on vampires and he should be alerted to that fact.”
We stared at the phone Sash still had clutched in his hand. When he raised his head to meet my gaze, I knew I had to let him go to Elle. He’d stay with me if I asked, but how could I?
“Go. Ask our pilot to drop you off in Portland after dusk, unless there’s a closer airport. Keep an eye on Jackie too while you’re at it.”
“Of course. But what are you going to do?”
“I’ll try Kostas first. If he doesn’t respond I’ll have to fall back on Jackie’s go-to plan.”
“What’s that?”
“Call a demon, what else?”
Sash pulled me in for a quick man hug, then squeezed my shoulders. “Thank you.”
“Tell Jackie I’m coming as soon as I can. And I love her.”
“Sure, boss.” He handed me the phone and took off at top speed.
I looked through François’ contacts until I found Kostas. I’d never spoken to François’ four-thousand-year-old maker. He was rumored to be a real prick, but then I was desperate. Desperate to deactivate the torcs before more supernaturals got hurt or killed. Desperate to help the surviving vampires keep out of Naberia’s line of sight and settle under François’ expert guidance.
Desperate to find Jackie, to kiss her hard and hold her tight enough to let her know I’d always be with her even when I couldn’t be.
My territorial streak screamed to shake some sense into her. To push her behind me and take over when I finally did arrive. But Jackie took on this responsibility to save lives even though she was as frightened for me as I was for her. Our partnership extended farther than our mating bond. I would never do anything to crush her confidence or make her doubt her decisions. I’d made that mistake in the past.
I smiled thinking of what the dog sitter had said. Giant lizard or no giant lizard, Jackie managed to gather a powerful team and I had no doubt they’d be successful. I was prouder than ever of my strong, courageous, and clever mate and thankful to the males and females who fought beside her.
I hit redial again. This time a male answered, not bothering with a greeting and speaking with a slow cadence and a soft dry tone. “Yes, I will come, Garrett Cuvier. I will come and we will have many words. It is time.” Kostas Appellas ended the call before I could respond.
He’d known it was me. I’d heard rumors that Master Kostas had the gift of foresight, but he was old enough to have dozens of abilities vampires my age could only imagine.
My hand trembled as I slid the phone into a jacket pocket. Kostas had lived thousands of years, watching hundreds of friends and lovers turn to dust. He’d seen empires rise and fall, war at its worst. Hope lost in destruction. What could possibly keep a vampire from walking into the sun after all that? From going mad?
Maybe he’d remained isolated and hadn’t witnessed as much as I’d imagined. If I outlived my angel, my only mate for all time, I’d expose my body to the sun without a second’s thought. My soul would already be dead.
“Boss?” Heinrich was at my side. My morbid, useless thoughts weren’t helping me come up with solutions. Jackie and I had hundreds of our own years yet to live.
Reality shifted as light that looked a lot like sunshine streamed into Basement Level three, a floor one hundred feet below the ground in a building whose top floors had iron shuttered windows that blocked all light from entering.
The sting of a hard slap on the side of my head had me stumbling backwards.
“You called Kostas?” François hissed the last part of that question.
Oh, good. Now two vampires would be reaming me out instead of just one. I should have left with Sash.
He turned me roughly toward the exit and shoved. “Go now. Heinrich and I will see to the prisoners.”
“But I…”
“Would you rather be locked away in chains while his anger cools?”
I glanced up in time to see a pristine pair of boots floating toward the floor. The figure above was covered completely in black.
Without thinking too long about what a coward I was, I took the lines to Gabe’s Oregon pack. They’d tell me how to find Jackie.
16
Jackie
Travel to Oregon was a breeze with plenty of fae able to bring along the shifters and our equipment. Hana had opted to stay home as ley line travel was difficult for her even under normal conditions. Add in the pregnancy factor and we decided it made more sense for her to stay home with her beautiful little girl. Uncle Aaron’s mate, Cathy, would have watched her, but she had her hands full with two rambunctious school aged kids of her own.
Our dragon had decided that flying the distance while invisible would be extremely educational and entertaining. “I despise taking the lines in either form,” she’d explained. “And I’m going to be spending an inordinate amount of time in my shifter form. I’d rather get a little exercise before I’m trapped with only two legs and no wings.” Indigo had shuddered.
“You don’t have to help with this job.”
“I believe I do. According to Trevora’s foretelling, the mission north will collapse if I am not there to assist you.”
“Nice to know someone has such faith in us. Trevora is the name?”
“You know her. She is the green toned dragon. Quite the chatty beast.”
“Matomato?”
“She does not care for that name, although she has grown fond of the bear.”
“Jay thinks she’s a he.”
“Yes, well, males don’t present their gender in obvious ways in dragon form. No dangly bits to get burned off by other dragons.
Everything is protected. Even our eyelids and nostrils are fireproof.”
“Great design.”
“Ancient Magicks.” She’d shrugged, then smiled. “You carry a bit of that yourself.”
I patted the sheath where my magically spelled dagger rested. “I do. Thanks to Isaiah.”
“A dagger of that sort was crafted for a certain purpose. It chose its wielder carefully. Think on that every time you pull it from its sheath to use against someone.”
I nodded. She might be arrogant or overly formal at times, but I’d grown to respect Indigo. Isaiah and Liam told me the same thing about my demonic dagger.
Ethan and Kyle had done their homework and gotten us an enormous SUV-van combo along with a perfect hideout in the form of an enormous cabin set in the woods. The safe house was too small for our group, although without vampires along, we didn’t need to worry about death by sunshine. If Garrett or the others showed up, as I prayed they would, the finished basement would work just fine.
Garrett and his dangerous situation was always on my mind, but I wouldn’t give in to fear or shut down in despair. These shifters needed our help and I had to stay strong, not just for them but for the team, particularly Kyle and Ethan. My two friends had been part of the original Rogues Inc. team and had trained under Garrett at the same time I had. Now they were looking to me for any updates on what might be happening in Montreal. Unfortunately for all of us, I had no info to share.
The scent of cedar, pine and woodsmoke made every tensed muscle relax. “This is amazing. How many bedrooms?” I asked Kyle.
“Exactly enough. We’ve been taking care of the team’s travel planning for years, Jackie.” Kyle rolled his eyes.
“Is there a room large enough for the dragon?”
“She can sleep outdoors. We’re in the woods. Plenty of places for a dragon to sleep. Might even be some caves in those mountains.”
“If we move the coffee table, she can sleep here.”
“The coffee table almost weighs as much as the dragon. It’s petrified wood. Indigo can sleep on the roof if she wants to be closer.”
The team fell into its usual routine. Kyle and Ethan unpacked the equipment as Liam and I checked food supplies and discussed our first steps. Kyle and Ethan had examined the cabin for magical traps or cameras, so Farrell and Kaera walked the perimeter, giving us a nod when everything checked out.
“Hey, Jackie. Any news about Garrett?” Kyle asked.
“Nothing yet.” He exchanged a glance with Ethan and went back to work. Garrett was more than a former trainer and team boss to those two.
Aaron arrived twenty minutes after us. Last night we’d only had a brief conversation about Garrett and the others, so I took the time to give him the full rundown on what I’d witnessed at NAVA.
“And François is on his way to Garrett?”
“Yes.”
“Then they’ll be fine. Elle’s with you?”
I nodded. “I couldn’t leave her at the villa to worry alone.”
“Good.”
I squeezed Aaron’s forearm. “What information do you have?”
“Call in the others.”
We spread out on cocoa brown leather couches and burgundy armchairs. The morning was cold, my breath clouding up when we’d first arrived, but the large fireplace would have the enormous front room cozy in no time at all.
“The vampires are led by a female and a male who fit the description given by that group of teens you encountered. The town of Longview supports a good number of shifter families. Shifter blood is more powerful than human, so the reason the nest settled here could be as simple as wanting to stay close to a powerful blood source.”
“But three adult leopard shifters have died,” I said, bringing everyone back to the point of our mission.
“Were the deaths caused by blood loss?” Ethan asked.
“The cause of death has not been announced and the sheriff won’t release the bodies. I’m not certain a coroner or medical examiner has even looked at them.” Aaron scratched at his stubble. “This sort of behavior by an officer of the law is disturbing.”
“Do you think he’ll be a problem for us?” I asked, looking at Kyle.
“Looks that way. He asked for everyone’s name on the team and what species of supe we were. Mentioned Oregon State law doesn’t allow illegal aliens to wander around freely. Particularly the fae. I told him we were Rogues Inc team members and he could check the website if he wanted more information. The contact page has our license info. He wasn’t happy.”
Farrell had positioned himself by a window with a good view of the front and right side yard. He chuckled. “Illegal aliens? The sheriff is a cougar shifter, isn’t he? Doesn’t that count as an illegal alien? I’m pretty sure only humans are considered legal citizens in this realm.”
“I mentioned that but he said cougars were native to the North Pacific. Unlike leopards or cheetahs.”
Ethan laughed. “Looks like I’m good!”
“So the town is run by an ignorant idiot. Uch! This is ridiculous,” I grumbled.
“It gets worse. When I mentioned vampires and werewolves, he said he considers them former humans. In other words, my packs can drink in the town bars and eat in the restaurants without a problem and vampires can drink from as many leopards, jaguars or cheetahs as they like. Cougars are exempt of course. The male is determined to keep his town clean as he calls it. He even asked for my help.” Aaron shook his head in disgust.
“Wait until he catches sight of the dragon,” Farrell called out, laughing.
“The law enforcement officer will not be a problem.” Kaera’s tone bordered on menacing.
“We’ll have to approach him in a reasonably courteous way at first,” I warned.
“But listen to this,” Aaron said. “Sheriff Webber and his deputies were recently appointed due to a terrible accident two months ago that killed the former sheriff and his two deputies. The old sheriff was a lion. The two deputies were leopards.”
“They died at the same time?” Kyle asked, pulling out his laptop.
“An explosion. It was in the news.” Aaron nodded.
“From the gas storage tanks in that hardware store? I remember now.” Kyle pulled up the article.
“This is beginning to sound like a bad TV movie,” Farrell said.
“Do you watch made for TV movies?” Aaron asked the slender fae warrior.
“Where else would I go for research? I’ve dedicated my next years to studying the culture of the Mortal Realm.” Farrell’s eyes held a mischievous gleam. “When I’ve learned all there is to learn, I intend to run for president and take over the world. Now that you know my evil plan, you’ll all have to die.”
“Good thing Kellie isn’t here,” Liam said. Kellie was Farrell’s sister.
“And why isn’t she here, bro?” Farrell asked.
Liam narrowed his eyes. “None of your business, bro.” Liam and Farrell did not always see eye to eye. Kellie had business in Faerie that Liam didn’t need to discuss with her brother.
Ethan leaned closer so he could get a better view of Kyle’s laptop screen. “Shady sheriff, huh?”
“Sheriff Webber, his family, and five additional cougar families were kicked out of a large pack in Colorado Springs for extortion and assault. They beat up a few shopkeepers, all leopards and jaguars, after they refused to pay protection money. Damn cougars. Typical bully behavior.” Kyle shook his head.
“What have you got against cougar shifters?” Ethan whacked Kyle playfully on the side of the head.
“Nothin’ except they tend to be aggressive. Leopards are more peace lovin’.” Kyle rubbed his head as if Ethan had hurt him with that tiny slap.
Ethan laughed. “Uh huh. Peter told me that a guy cut you off on the highway in his Mercedes and you-”
“Never mind.” Kyle held up his hands in surrender. “Anyway, the jerk had it comin’. I felt bad for the Benz, though.” Kyle grinned and it was impossible not to re
spond the same way. Kyle could be a burr in your sock, but he was also a friend you could count on. “So you haven’t heard anything about the cougar gang in Colorado or the Oregon invasion?”
All eyes shifted to Ethan. “I’ll check my sources in Colorado. But no, I haven’t heard even a whisper about Sheriff Webber.”
“I’ll do some more digging on the web.” Kyle grinned. After inventing and building weapons and spying equipment for the team, investigating crimes was Kyle’s second favorite occupation.
“So, the vampires and cougars are working together against the leopards and other big cats?” I asked.
“Looks that way.” Aaron nodded.
“But if it isn’t about blood, what is going on?” I asked.
“That’s what we have to find out,” Aaron said.
“Someone is approaching on foot,” Kaera announced. She’d positioned herself on the porch wearing fae battle gear.
Liam released Elle’s hand and stood. Elle had remained quiet, simply listening to our discussion without adding her opinion. Liam’s presence was always comforting and Elle’s concern for Sasha was a wraith floating around the room. I was just as worried for Garrett, for all three, really. But I had more experience locking it away so I could get shit done.
Farrell was out the door before any of us had a chance to decide what to do.
“That idiot will be the death of me. Thinks he’s indestructible,” Liam said, taking off after him. He felt responsible for Kellie’s younger sibling as he and Kellie were a committed couple.
Liam took the lines out the door while Kaera held up her hand to stop anyone else from leaving the warded house. “Those two can easily handle whatever this male has come about. Perhaps it is better to wait here for a moment until we know the area is secure.”
Kaera had a point. We moved closer to the windows and watched.
Farrell and Liam stood sentry on the porch. The stranger was around five-ten with wavy brown hair that hung in his eyes. He wore a blue flannel shirt, jeans, and sneakers.
At Risk Page 19