by Brenda Trim
“Any landmarks we can use to find them?” Hayden asked.
“That direction,” Ronan pointed over his shoulder and hissed at the agony the movement caused. “Follow the stench, you can’t miss it.”
“We’ll take care of it and meet you back at your truck,” Hayden said.
Ronan and Jace were walking out of the stream, closing the distance between them. “Sure thing, but, if you’re here, who is with Pema?” Dizziness almost had him passing out and he shook his head to clear it.
“Pema is fine. The Vampire King and several Dark Warriors are with her. And, there is a contingent of shifters surrounding Zeum. You will be with her soon enough,” Hayden related before he headed off through the trees.
Back at the truck, he sat on the tailgate and watched Jace retrieve his medical kit. As the healer prepped everything, Ronan closed his eyes and focused on the fact that he was going to be with Pema soon.
* * *
CHAPTER TWELVE
Pema tossed a broken jar into the trash and took in the destruction that surrounded her. She wiped her dusty hands on her blue jeans, tears filling her eyes. The store she and her sisters had worked so hard for was in ruins, and it was all because of her and her mate.
It was her job to take care of her sisters, and here she was the reason they nearly lost their lives. It made her feel even worse that they didn’t blame her, but were planning to avenge her. She glanced over and saw Isis was near the front, sweeping the safety glass into a pile while Suvi held a shovel like a dust pan.
“Are you kidding me Suvi?” Pema asked incredulous, noticing for the first time what her sister was wearing.
“What?” Suvi paused and looked up.
Isis stopped, as well, and leaned on the broom with a smirk on her face. “The shoes, Suvi. Only you would wear platform sandals to clean up after a bomb blast,” Isis said with a chuckle.
Suvi picked up her foot and turned it this way and that. “These are my everyday-schlepping-around-shoes. Plus, my toes are drying. I just had a pedicure.”
“No, those would be my going-out-on-the-town-shoes. These are everyday shoes,” Pema said as she pointed to her black and white Converse.
They all burst out laughing before resuming their tasks. Pema glanced around and walked over to the destroyed RockCandy jewelry display. She wanted to burst into tears when she saw that they had lost everything. She knew her sisters were watching her and talking about the same, but she ignored them or she would lose it.
Claire’s name caught her attention and she listened to them plotting which instantly dried her tears and spiked her anger. Claire had tried to kill her again! This time, she had enough evidence to provide the elders with proof of her culpability. Thank the Goddess she caught sight of the car and license plate number. The partial, along with the make and model, allowed Killian to work his magic on the computer and connect the car to Claire. That was enough in the Tehrex Realm to convict her of attempted murder. Things in their world didn’t work like they did in the human world.
She refused to allow Claire to ruin her life, which was why she and her sisters had refused to stay at Zeum any longer. They needed to get back to business and to do that they needed to clean up the ruins of Black Moon. Of course, a contingent of shifters and Dark Warriors had followed them. The Vampire King had refused to take any chances with their safety. She didn’t object, wanting all the help she could get with the repairs.
Ronan had found her knee-deep in rubble two hours ago. Automatically, her eyes traveled back to her sexy shifter. Ronan’s lithe body and bulging muscles rippled in his tight red t-shirt and low-slung black jeans as he and Hayden hung plywood over the empty window frames. The sight made her heart race and her abdomen clench with need as her core ached to have him fill her.
She noted that his injuries weren’t healing as they should have been and cringed when she recalled him telling her about his fight with two hellhounds. Realm leaders were worried that there were portals between realms appearing and disappearing. Apparently, the Vampire Prince, Kyran, had been running from a burning house and slipped through a portal, vanishing into thin air with a human female over his shoulder. No one had heard from him since, or knew where he was.
This latest appearance of hellhounds had the leaders deep in discussion. There had been a huge battle between Dark Warriors and numerous demons and hellhounds, and it wasn’t a good sign that there were still demons coming through the veil to earth.
Pema refocused on the activity around her. Ronan had put significant effort into making sure their shop was restored. She fell more in love with him. No one besides her sisters, had ever worried so much about her, and it was nice. She was beginning to understand some of what her mother must have felt. She didn’t want to sympathize with her mom and was still angry that her father was hurt, but it was there, nonetheless.
After the wood was in place, Ronan turned, sensing her eyes on him, and crossed to her side. Like always when they were together, the rest of the world dropped away. They stood there silently staring at each other, his gaze revealing all the desire and love he felt for her. He reached out and wrapped her in his arms and cupped her cheeks. It was one of the most intimate moments of her life, and she realized that she loved him.
She inhaled his wonderfully masculine, pine scent. It went straight to her head, making her body molten and her arousal instantly painful. She needed him more than she needed to breathe, and for the first time she wanted to complete their mating. Ronan was a passionate male and it was obvious to her how much he loved her. The biggest factor in his favor was that it wasn’t merely the biology of the mating compulsion driving him, he truly saw her. She feared opening herself to loss, but realized true loss would be not having him at all.
But first, she had to take care of Claire. She wasn’t going to live with that danger hanging over them.
Ronan rubbed his thumb across her jaw and leaned down, kissing her lightly on the lips. “I can see your wheels churning. While your determination is sexy as hell, put whatever you are planning out of your head.”
Irritation blazed through her. He may be her mate, but he still had a few things to learn about her. She wasn’t putting anything aside or letting anything go. “That’s not going to happen, but you don’t need to worry. Everything will be fine. My sisters and I will handle it.”
“I don’t like the sound of that, love. I don’t want you doing anything crazy,” he gazed intently into her eyes, “like challenging Claire. I’m told that she and her mother are very powerful witches. Don’t do anything on your own. We have people to help us deal with them. I couldn’t stand it if you were hurt.”
He brought his lips back to hers and this time he kissed her soundly. She gave herself over to the wet slide of their tongues, wanting more when he stopped and pulled away. His eyes were bright cognac with his desire for her. “I love you, Pema. You are my life.”
She stood there stunned beyond belief. Through their connection, she felt the sincerity of his words and tears sprang to her eyes. “I love you too, Ronan,” she declared, shocked by the truth of her words, “but I need to finish this before we can be together.”
“Those three little words have never meant more to me than coming from you. What we have,” he said, gesturing between them, “is the most precious gift the Goddess bestows, and you can’t jeopardize that by doing what you are thinking. You are talented, yes, but you aren’t invincible. Claire’s mother has centuries of untold experience. You risk yourself, and understand that if something happens to you, I can’t be responsible for what I would do. I would destroy the world if you weren’t in it,” he replied, wrapping her in a hug and holding her tight, as if he was afraid she would bolt on him.
She gently cupped his stubbled cheek and met his warm chocolate gaze squarely. “You underestimate me. Besides, I have something they don’t. The power of three, baby,” she boasted, nodding to her sisters.
“Hell yeah, she does,” answered Suvi, moving her ne
ck around to punctuate her words.
“Together, we are the most powerful witches alive, Ronan. United, no one can beat us. And I, for one, have some payback to mete out. That bitch almost killed my sister twice and she wrecked our shop,” Isis vented through gritted teeth.
Ronan glared at her sisters and picked her up. She gladly wrapped her legs around his hips, resting her hands on his broad shoulders.
“Mark my words, I will not risk my mate’s life, end of discussion,” Ronan told her and her sisters. She felt him tremble with his emotions, and knew she couldn’t push him on this.
“Mark my words, mate, everything is up for discussion.” She kissed him feverishly and pulled back when the others began hooting and hollering. “But, I promise not to do anything that will put me in danger.” With her sisters on her side, she had no worries about facing Claire.
*****
Several hours later, Pema stood back and perused the containment circle she and her sisters had set into the earth of the Japanese Garden. It had been a gamble when she had stolen Ronan’s cell phone and used it to send Claire a message asking her to meet at this location.
She felt guilty for deceiving Ronan and placing him under a sleep spell, but she didn’t feel like she had any other choice. He wouldn’t allow her to do what needed to be done, and she didn’t want him caught in the middle. She and her sisters were going to try and get a confession, but Pema knew it wasn’t going to be that easy.
This battle was going to be about magic, not brute force. Ronan had no way to protect against it and Pema would be too distracted, worrying about what might happen to him. She needed all her focus on the coming battle. Taking care of Claire was the only way for them to proceed with their mating.
The circle was hidden, and since Claire wasn’t a strong witch, hopefully she wouldn’t detect anything before she was trapped in the middle of it. Pema tucked her wand in the back waistband of her jeans and zipped up her jacket, shielding herself against the cold of a fall night in Seattle. She was nervous about doing this spell without her usual accoutrements. There would be no candles, herbs, altars or athames. They had to rely solely on their power, and the fact that it was close to a full moon. A full moon would have given them more power, but Pema didn’t want to wait even one more day.
“Tell me again why we can’t just kill her? Why the truth spell?” Isis glanced around the park expectantly. She had disagreed with this whole set-up, saying they should eliminate her altogether.
“If we kill her then that makes us no better than her. I refuse to be anything like her. Getting her to admit what she did will seal her fate. I want the elders to have everything they need. Cele is manipulative, and will find a way out of this for her daughter. We are going to make sure she can’t. Are you ready to record this, Suvi?” The ferocity of her feelings surprised even her. Her blood hummed with anticipation, she was ready to get this over with. Checking the time on her cell phone, she noted Claire should be there in five minutes.
“I was born ready,” Suvi said with a wink, holding up her phone. Pema loved her sisters as much as she loved Ronan. From the moment they were born, they had shared a connection that rivaled that of the mating bond. There wasn’t anything they wouldn’t do for one another, even murder, if Isis had her way.
“Thanks sis, now you two need to go get behind those trees and shield your presence,” she replied, pointing to some maples a few yards away. “She won’t approach if she sees us together and we need her in the circle. Come out after she activates it.” Pema shooed her sisters away, pushing them in the directions of the trees.
Night owls hooted from their perch and crickets sang while the moon shone brightly. Pema closed her eyes and titled her head back, absorbing power from the silver rays. The crunch of dead leaves brought her head down and her eyes open. Claire was crossing the park and had stopped about thirty feet from her, suspicion written all over her face.
“Where is Ronan? What have you done with him? He asked me to meet him here,” Claire snapped, her anger blazing like a sun in the midnight sky. With her pinched features, she looked more like her mother than ever. The only things missing were Cele’s glasses and tight bun.
What the hell did this witch have to be angry about? She was the one who had tried to poison Pema, and blew up Black Moon in an attempt to kill her. Pema was the one with reasons to be pissed.
“Ronan isn’t coming, I’m the one who texted you. We have things to settle. I know it was you that poisoned my drink and planted the bomb in my car. Did you really think you would get away with that?” She watched the female closely, but Claire betrayed nothing. Pema couldn’t help but wonder what Ronan had seen in her. She scowled all the time and snapped at anyone who tried to engage her in conversation. She had never been pleasant or friendly to talk to, and was extremely self-centered. There was nothing attractive about her.
Claire’s voice shrilled, “You have no proof of any of that. I was nowhere near Black Moon last night. I was with my mother. Have you considered one of the many other people who don’t like you? It may be difficult to narrow the field down. If this is the only reason I am here, then I’m leaving.”
Pema fisted her hands and placed them on her hips to keep from closing the distance and decking Claire. Suddenly, Isis’ idea sounded sublime, but she had to keep it together and coax her into the circle. She wasn’t going to stoop to Claire’s level. She told herself to stick to the plan. “Asking your mother would be a waste of time. She’s always cleaned up your messes. That’s the weakest alibi I’ve ever heard. You can admit what you did because we both know what this is really about. You’ve been jealous of me since I was a baby. That’s pathetic when you think about it. Being jealous of a powerless, little baby. Your attempt to kill me has failed, twice. And I’m not going anywhere, not unless my Fated Mate goes with me,” Pema purred, watching shock and anger cross Claire’s pinched features.
“Yeah, that’s right. Ronan is mine, he belongs to me,” Pema declared, relishing Claire’s outrage.
Claire sputtered and stammered, her face turning red. “The Goddess would never bless, or in your case, curse, a male with you as a mate. You were a wretched, poor baby, and you are a wretched adult. I have never understood why the realm went on and on about how you and your sisters were going to take the throne and reshape magic. It was sickening to watch powerful witches and wizards fawn over a bunch of striplings in rags,” she spat.
Pema was momentarily stunned silent. It was only two years ago that she had reached maturity and left her underprivileged stripling years behind. She remembered feeling inferior, and hated the cloud that being poor had cast over her. Claire was born with a silver spoon in her mouth, and had no idea what it meant to work for what you had.
Pema and her sisters had been forced to find work in the human sector to have anything. They had worked triple time to open their shop, and this witch had taken enough from them.
“That must have been a hard pill to swallow, being overshadowed by us peons when you were being groomed to take over. You don’t have enough talent to rule, and my guess is that your mother knows that. You were jealous that my sisters and I rocked the rags and had the guys flocking to us regardless of what we wore,” Pema laughed, taunting her to lure her closer to the circle.
Claire screamed and took a few steps forward before she regained control. Dammit, she was almost in place. Pema would need to work harder to bait her.
“You may have pretty clothes and a fancy car now, but no matter how much perfume you spray on a pile of shit, it’s still just a pile of shit,” Claire retorted.
Pema ignored her words. “You are a bold-faced liar. I have many things you want, talent, power, the respect of the realm, and beauty. Oh, and let’s not forget…Ronan. That is why you came here, after all.” Pema watched Claire’s fury darken her eyes and she took another step forward. She was almost to the edge of the circle. “It must be eating you alive to know that he belongs to me. He will share my bed and my life.
You will never have him again. And, your attempts on my life were laughable. You couldn’t even kill me. Surely, you can do better than that.”
Claire screamed out obscenities and charged. “My attempts aren’t laughable. I almost had you. If Jace hadn’t been there that night, you’d be dead. I have no idea how you survived the blast, but you won’t survive this time!”
Pema put her hand on her wand at the small of her back and stood her ground. The enraged female crossed into their circle, activating the spell with a brilliant flash. She continued forward, lost to her anger and bounced off the outer edge, inches from Pema.
Isis and Suvi came out from their hiding spots with Suvi holding her cell phone. The three of them pulled their wands out and entered the circle. Claire’s eyes widened at the sight. They formed a V with Pema at the head of the formation, closest to Claire who had whipped out her wand, pointing it at them.
“Stay back. Get away from me!” Claire shrilled.
Pema eyed her sisters before turning back to see that Claire’s eyes had taken on a wild look. The witch’s fear was palpable. She was unfairly out-gunned and didn’t stand a chance against the three of them. Pema felt bad for her, but brushed her empathy aside. The female had tried to kill her and didn’t deserve her consideration.
Still, she wasn’t one to take unfair advantage. That was something Claire would do. “This is my fight. Don’t engage,” Pema told her sisters and re-focused on Claire. “It’s just you and me. Let’s see who is more powerful, shall we?”
Claire squared her shoulders and met Pema’s determined gaze. “This’ll be easy. I’m far more powerful.” Claire pointed her wand and muttered a spell before Pema could respond. Silver sparks shot from the wand and flew towards Pema’s chest. Pema fell to the ground, her heart skipped several beats as the charge went through her and she gritted her teeth against the pain. Her hand wavered, but she was able to keep her wand trained on Claire. She uttered a counter spell that sailed past Claire’s shoulder.