by Lauren Dane
He tried to come off as upset and rude, but his fear stank. It didn’t stop him from using yet another chance to lash out at his youngest daughter. “Renee, what are you doing with these people? I thought you knew better than to consort with thugs and idiots. Look at them! Not even human. Shifters. For God’s sake, they’re lesser beings and you give your body to them. And that trash who says she’s your sister, how do you know that for sure?”
Kendra snorted. “Thank goodness I got my intelligence from Mom’s side of the family. I think the question is, what do you think you’re doing?”
“I don’t have to tell you anything. You’re no one to me.”
Gibson punched him in the face.
“Thank you, Gibson. I feel much better now.” Kendra turned back to her father. “Now, shall we do this again? Why don’t we start with why you killed our mother?”
“You can’t win. We’re stronger.”
Mary snorted. “Please. Andrew, you have no real concept of your power and how little you have.” She touched him and Susan sprang to try and keep them separate. Rosemary grabbed a hank of Susan’s hair and yanked her back into place.
“Don’t move again, bitch.”
Kendra sighed. “You’re so silly. You’re not here by choice, are you? Your nose isn’t bleeding because you were so strong you could hold a shifter back when he wanted to punch you. I don’t have a dick to measure against yours so let’s just not play this game.”
He sent a bolt of energy toward her, knocking her sideways. Max made a choking sort of roar that freaked her father out so much, making him so pale, Kendra wondered if he’d pass out. If this didn’t move forward soon, Max would shift and eat him or just flay him alive. Or whatever.
“Oh, now that was ill-advised.” She dusted her hands off while Gibson increased the pressure of his grip on Andrew’s throat. “Dumb of both of us. I shouldn’t have let my guard down and you shouldn’t have thought you’d be successful. The only reason you’re not dinner for my husband right now is me. You got that?”
“Use my energy, Kendra. I know you’re holding back and I’m gonna kick your ass if you don’t do what you need to take care of this,” Max spoke quietly in her ear. She wanted to speak with him in private, but she didn’t want to take her attention away from Susan. The hit had tasted like her magic, not his. Her muddy, disgusting magic fueled most likely by the bloody nose they’d caused. She squeezed Max’s hand.
“Gibson, can you stand back a moment?” Mary asked.
Mary did something, Kendra thought she altered the molecules around her father’s body, starving him of oxygen for just a short burst. Kendra was already skirting the line by using magick to hold him in place, though she told herself it was self-defense. Mary had a different view of her magick and how she could use it. The cost would be between her and the universe, and it was one she willingly and knowingly took on. Kendra was not so vain that she’d tell the other woman what to do in this situation.
He looked to her, his eyes wide as he wheezed until she let go, watching him choke for air.
“You only have yourself to blame. Just be glad he didn’t break your neck instead.” Kendra shrugged.
“Bebe, I may have to start bringing you along when I go out on jobs.” Gibson grinned back at her, his grip on her father’s throat again.
And with that three more mages entered the park. Kendra knew this because she felt the swell of their intent, the beginnings of something dark and unwholesome.
“Get down!” she screamed as she, Mary, Rosemary and Renee stood in a line, keeping Susan and their father behind them. “Don’t you let these assholes get away.” She motioned back at her father and Susan.
That’s when Jack popped Susan one first, and then while Andrew was still shocked, Max growled and punched her father.
“They’re out and you better watch your pretty ass,” Jack called as Max materialized behind her. Wolves and cats fanned out, flanking the three mages who’d entered the park.
“Don’t get too close. Max, if you get yourself hurt I’m going to hurt you even more.”
He snorted in her ear, standing right behind her, his arm around her waist. “And if you don’t draw energy from me, I’ll hurt you.”
Tough guy. If they lived through this, she might go for some old-fashioned punishment. Heh.
“You are not welcome here,” Rosemary called out, and they hit her so hard she lost her footing, falling back.
Slices into her skin.
The coppery tang of blood in the air, in her nose.
Max pushed around her and ran toward the man who’d made her bleed. One moment he wore his human skin, the next he was his cat, black and sleek with razor-sharp teeth and claws that gleamed in the yellowy light of the street lamps.
He hit one of them, taking them down with a scream, a garbled scream and crunch.
She lost focus for a moment and that cost her dearly as she took a hit from one of the remaining mages.
It hurt. So much she could barely hold on to her magick, but she did and she yanked it back from the mage trying to steal it from her. Instead she took his, drawing it from him with a snap that took him to his knees.
Renee, damn, her sister kicked butt as she sent energy to Kendra, healing energy that began to soothe immediately.
“Draw on him. You know it’s what you have to do, Kendra. Take his weapon against you or he will win!” Rosemary screamed as she fought. Sigils sparked in the air between the two groups as magick met stolen magic.
But the stolen magic felt different than her own magick. It didn’t belong to the mage throwing it her way. She’d need to think on that later. If she survived.
But right then she grabbed it and pulled, pulled hard as she drew the magic from the mage nearest to them. It filled her, dark and roiling, but it powered the spell she was working, made her stronger even as her system registered it as an intrusion.
Things were a blur as she worried for Max and her cats, worried for her sister, Mary and Rosemary, worried for the wolves.
In the midst of her worry, she still had a job to do so she did it. She let her magick take over, let that part that intuited her use of power take over. Lights flashed, lights no one outside the park could see.
Her energy waned, but she knew the mages were worse off because she’d drained one. He’d fallen to his knees, disappearing under the weight of a shiny black wolf. Akio, she’d have guessed.
One still stood.
She stumbled forward, feeling Max through the bond but not seeing him. Renee had moved to Rosemary’s side, and Mary stood alone in the middle of the grass, locked in a magical battle with the last mage.
They seemed to be well matched, though she worried for Mary and everyone else. Things happened so fast all around her, shouts, lights, the stench of burning flesh and blood. Her cat pushed forward, relishing the sights and sounds of battle.
And then something hard and heavy struck the back of her head, the world exploding in vibrant color for moments until things faded, and she hit the cold, wet ground.
Chapter Sixteen
She knew she was alive because she hurt too much to be otherwise. She got to her knees in time to see Max running toward her at full speed. He blurred a moment and caught her up into his arms as he shifted back to his human form.
“Are you all right?” One-handed, he felt around and she found enough energy to be amused. Just a tiny bit.
“Put me down. This isn’t over.”
Mary came over. “It is for now, sweetheart. Susan got away, I’m sorry to say. She’s the one who hit you. But we still have your father and the clan witches just arrived.”
Max set her gently back on her feet as two very businesslike witches approached. Mary indicated the newcomers. “Kendra and Max, these are the hunters I spoke of, from the Roda
s Clan down in Providence.”
She reeled at the news of her stepmother escaping, but had to keep her shit together yet one more time. Max squeezed an arm around her.
A tall, broad witch with pale blond hair blowing around his face stood forward. “I’m Callahan Peters. You can call me Cal. And this is Miles Dolan.” He pointed to the man next to him, this one with close-shaven dark hair and wary brown eyes.
“I’m Kendra de La Vega and this is my husband, Max. Thank you for coming to help.”
“I’m sorry Susan Tolliver got away. We’ve been looking for her for years, and I can’t believe she was here in Boston all this time. But we have her accomplice. Your father, I hear?”
Another man approached. This one hummed with power and Kendra knew he was far more powerful than the other two.
“I am Arel Haas, the Hunter of the Rodas Clan.” He shook Max’s hand first, the two men never taking their eyes from the other. Some sort of dominance crap, she assumed, waiting not so patiently for it to be over. Finally he turned to Kendra and shook her hand, speaking to both of them. “Please accept our apologies for not arriving sooner. With your permission, we’ll take your father and the two remaining mages to see what we can find out.”
“Take them where?” Her voice sounded rusty, but she was regaining feeling in her fingers and the cuts all began to heal. They were magical wounds and would take longer to heal, even with her shifter boost, than a normal injury would.
Max held her closer. “My wife is bleeding. Her aunt has an arm that may be broken and my people have been injured. We’re standing in the middle of a public park out in the open, so perhaps now might be the time for you to tell us where you’re taking this trash and why we should let you.”
Arel raised an eyebrow but nodded before he spoke again. “We have facilities where we can hold them without a chance of escape. And if they won’t cooperate, we have...techniques to extract information if they fail to be forthcoming. You’re not equipped to handle this here. You must know that. But we do and we’re happy to share what we find. I know these people murdered your mother, and we’ve been told they attempted to drain one of you and have been attacking other witches in the area. This makes them an enemy to all witchkind and my job to deal with.”
Mary had joined them and spoke up. “He’s telling the truth. I’ve spoken with Sadira Rodas and I’ve followed her career over the years. She runs a tight ship in Providence and I believe they are far better able to handle this than we are. We can’t hold them, Kendra. Not without keeping them so drugged we’d be unable to get any information from them.”
“Sadira would like me to let you know how much she’d enjoy meeting you and working with you in the future. I give you our word to share everything we gain from these people. You are free to come down now if you’d like to watch us work. Or come tomorrow. Whichever you prefer.” With a flourish, Arel handed business cards to them.
Kendra nodded. “All right then. Yes.”
Arel motioned to Cal and Miles, and the remaining mages, including her unconscious father, were whisked away and into a van parked just outside the park entrance.
“She’s not coming tonight. She needs rest.” Mary looked her over and shook her head.
Max hummed his agreement. Jack and Galen were busy fussing over Renee, who allowed it. Kendra didn’t blame her sister, heaven knew how much she wanted to simply let Max drive her home so she could throw up a few times and pass out.
Cal returned to them. “You’ll feel ill for some time from drawing the magic into yourself. But your body knows what to do and you’ll expel it within a few hours.”
“That sounds pleasant.”
Cal laughed. “Well, I’ve done it a few hundred times by this point. It’s not what I’d call fun, but I’m not a shifter either. Your ability to heal yourself should be greater because of that.”
“I will be in contact with you first thing.” Arel bowed slightly toward them. “Sadira would very much like to meet you and speak about this mess. The situation is fluid, changing very quickly and not always for the best.”
“All right. We’ll speak to you then. I’m getting Kendra home. I’d take her to the hospital but she’d refuse to get out of the car. But I know for damned sure I don’t want her standing out here another moment. If you’re lying, I’ll find you. You have my word on that, witch.” Max narrowed his eyes at Arel.
A glimmer of a smile caught Arel’s lips for a moment and skirted away. “I’d expect nothing less.”
And with that he was gone.
Max picked her up and she didn’t complain as he marched to his car. His car that had appeared at the park, already running, her seat heater was even on. Galen assisted Mary while Gibson helped Rosemary load into their car. Renee would see to it that their aunt was taken care of, so Kendra let go of that particular worry.
“Have someone drive their aunt and Mary home, Gibson. Make sure they have what they need. And I want a guard on each of them.”
Gibson rubbed his face along her jaw and the scent of her cats soothed her belly. “You did great out here tonight. I’ll get guards on them right away. Akio has assigned some of Jack’s wolves too. Don’t worry about them, they’ll be safe. Now you go home and get yourself better. I’m going to check on you first thing.”
Max hugged his brother briefly before relaying more instructions. Finally he slid into the seat beside her and without another word, shot off toward home.
* * *
Max winced as the sounds of his wife throwing up, yet again, reached him. He paced, forcing himself to not go to her. She’d warned him the last time that she’d kill him if he didn’t leave her the hell alone while she vomited. From the look in her eyes, he believed that threat.
His cat was agitated. The scent of the wrong magic she’d drawn into herself hung in the air, acrid and stale.
She stumbled from the bathroom and back into bed where he’d tucked her after a hot shower.
“I think I’m done.” She burrowed down beneath her blankets and he settled in behind her, his arms around her body, giving her warmth and, he hoped, comfort. God knew he needed some of his own after the day they’d had.
His brother was a traitor and a group of witches had tried to kill his wife. He’d been there when bloody strips were torn into her skin. Had been there when magic had sent her to her knees.
He’d killed that night. It wasn’t the first time, but it was close. Killing was rare for their people. He didn’t feel guilty. In fact, he wished he’d killed them all for daring to harm Kendra.
Yes, tooth and claw had worked just fine, though he did concede Kendra’s point about it really being a magickal war. This was not a good sign, and he didn’t think they’d seen the last of this mage situation. He’d just have to be ready when they came back at his family.
He wished her father had at least faked being sorry. If for no other reason than to spare Kendra and Renee any more pain. Barring that, he was very sorry he hadn’t killed Andrew and his bitch of a wife. He hated that she had gotten away. Felt as if he’d failed his woman on that.
“You should have taken more energy from me tonight.” He kissed her shoulder and she snuggled back into him. “I hate that you’re so sick. And I’m sorry Susan got away. I’m sorry your father is what he is.”
“Max, I love you so much.” Her words were drowsy, but the love pouring through their bond was clear and let him know she was on the mend. Earlier, the sickness she’d had to rid herself of had done something to their bond, had narrowed the stream of information and emotion back and forth. That had alarmed him nearly as much as the bloody welts.
“I needed to do it my way. I know how hard it was for you to allow that and I thank you for it. She got away because her people came to her rescue. He’s not important and so they abandoned him. She hit me in the back of my head, and before
this is over, I’m going to get some of my own back for that and what she did to my sister and my mother. Using the jamboree and you to get energy to kill without it having been self-defense would have tainted my magick. I did draw from you, from the cats, from the air, the grass, the water, all the people around. But it was me siphoning off their magic that weakened them the most. I need to talk with Mary about it, about how easily their magic came to me. I think it’s because it wasn’t theirs to start with. It made me hella sick, but it weakened them and made me stronger. This is good to know for next time.”
“Next time? Oh, hell no. Kendra.” He broke off into a streak of curse-laced Spanish at how dangerous his wife’s life might be if she hared off on some freaking warpath with these mages. “No next time. You’re mine and I do not give you permission to throw your pretty ass in harm’s way again.”
He caught sight of her quick grin. Her eyes were closed and she lay totally relaxed against him. “God you undo me. You know that? Here I am with a bunch of shape shifters, some witches and my asshole father and two bad-guy witches are in some clan high-security prison of some sort, probably being interrogated at this very moment. It reads like a play, doesn’t it? Or maybe a Tim Burton movie. I won’t do anything that would endanger my cats. And they’re my cats, Max. On top of that scene in the park, we took on your jamboree. It’s my responsibility to protect them. My duty. And I will. I’d never forgive myself if I did something to purposely harm the cats. Even Beth is mine to protect.”
He smiled against her hair. “And you’re mine to protect too.”
“I know. Thank you for that. I’m sorry you had to kill. I’d never want that for you.”
“Don’t be sorry. It’s one less threat to you and he deserved it. It was self-defense and I’d do it again.”
“I don’t think it’s a coincidence that my ex-in-laws called my uncle looking for me on the same night that we find my father.”