Paranormally Yours: A Boxed Set

by Alisha Basso

  “Why don’t you pick on someone your own size, ugly?”

  The tone was cocky and sarcastic, in a warm male voice somewhere above me. Above me? I uncurled enough to see a man sitting cross-legged in the air. He was dressed in sinfully tight red leather pants and red high tops, a black leather tunic with a white T-shirt beneath, an open, stylized military jacket, with gauntlets encircling his wrists ending in half gloves with his fingers peeking through. When my eyes hit his face, I gasped. He was a Realized. I’d seen them before, out and about, and looking just like they were drawn, as if they’d stepped out of a book of manga. Which, of course, they had.

  Only they weren’t fiction anymore. They were real or, as it was said when referring to them, Realized. Flesh and blood real.

  The guy snapped off a quick salute and smirked at me, giving me a quirky upturn of his lips. As smirks went, it was pretty darn good.

  At a flick of his fingers a ginormous bell dropped onto the troll’s head. Laughing softly, the guy said, “Why don’t you go on your merry way, with bells on?” A deep gong shuddered through the back yard, and I looked up to see the troll bellow and stagger toward the floating guy.

  When the troll swiped the air, the guy was already moving, swiftly flying to the other side. “I’m over here, you big oaf.”

  The gong sounded again and the troll bellowed. My breath caught as a huge blue jaguar appeared and sliced at the troll’s ankle. Trapped in the bell, he growled and stomped, but the jaguar was much too fast. He was already out of the danger zone, moving fast and slicing at the monster again. The floating guy threw out a long snake of jingle bells like a whip. It wrapped around the troll’s ankle and half-dragged, half-forced him to walk away from me.

  The Realized tugged the line of bells, jerking the troll off balance while the jaguar continued to attack. The grass was soon awash with blood.

  The little dragon wriggled out of my arms and flew at the troll, breathing fire.

  Then the warden I had met in the basement ran out of the house, her sword glinting in the sun. With two slices she brought the troll to his knees. Dodging out of the way, the floating guy snapped those whip-like bells out and around the troll’s neck and then yanked hard. The troll tumbled and the warden wasted no time as she jumped up onto the troll with the grace and speed of that blue jaguar and stabbed her sword straight down into the troll’s chest.

  Out of the corner of my eye, I heard someone approach, but I couldn’t seem to even move my head. The right side of my body felt…torn and bruised.

  The troll writhed a few times, but with a terrible exhale of breath, he stopped moving.

  Breathing a sigh of relief, feeling disconnected from my body, I passed out.

  #

  When I woke up, I was cradled in warm, strong arms. My head throbbed and blood trickled down my cheek. My whole right side where I crashed into the tree sent waves of excruciating pain radiating through the rest of my body. Apparently the armor protected me from death, but not from serious injury.

  A hummingbird flitted around me, flying on blue, translucent wings, shooting darts of blue flame at me. I turned to look at who was holding me. The healer was the kind of man who made a woman do a double-take and then just stop and stare because she was too bespelled by the man’s looks to remember her manners.

  He was Native American. Full-blooded, I’d have guessed. His hair was parted in the middle and hung in two thick braids over a black and red leather tunic which was embossed with feathers and totems. Bands of leather wrapped around each upper arm just above his bulging biceps. It was too cold to be without a coat, but I had heard that shamans manipulated the air around them to stay warm even in the coldest of weather. He had dark, slashing brows, and a wide, full-lipped mouth. His deep gold eyes seemed to hold the might and energy of the sun, and his sinewed hands moved over me as he chanted softly under his breath with words that, even though whispered, rang with power.

  He smiled, a soft upturn of that amazing mouth, and met my eyes with an appreciative look.

  I looked away quickly, not wanting to encourage him. I already had enough man trouble right now and didn’t need more.

  As the bird worked, I watched a red mist rise and dissipate as many places on my body warmed up. I tried to bat away the hummingbird when it darted around my forehead, but the healer grabbed my wrist and eased my arm back down. That same heat suffused my face and the stinging pain simply disappeared.

  “Whoa,” he said. “Don’t mess with Flit while he’s working.” The little blue bird chirped at me, darting here and there. He flashed down my arm and warmth infused me in a healing wave. The pain disappeared there, too.

  He frowned as his hands moved over my head. “You have had brain trauma, a very debilitating one. It has been damaged.”

  “Yes,” I said. “I lost my memory.” I looked away from him, not daring to hope that he could heal me.

  “I am very skilled. Would you like me to attempt to heal it?” He delivered the statement without even a hint of arrogance.

  Even the hope of getting my memory back excited me and at the same time terrified me. What if I didn’t like the person I used to be?

  “I’m not sure that it can be restored,” he added. “I don’t want to raise your hopes. But I will try if you wish it.”

  Fear jittered through me, and I was shocked to realize that I wasn’t jumping at the chance to be healed. I looked away. I couldn’t understand why I was torn. The dreams I’d had. Something really bad had happened to me. I would need time to acclimate to the possibility.

  “It’s all right. You can think about it. The offer stands.”

  Let me go! shrieked a voice in my throbbing head

  I blinked several times, searching for the source of the voice, until I saw the Realized restraining the tiny red dragon. “Let him go!” I shouted.

  The guy looked at me and smiled again, and I could now see he was holding the small dragon gently, with awe.

  “I wasn’t going to hurt him,” he said as he opened his arms and set the little red dragon free. The dragon flew to me and settled on my shoulder, nestling its head into my neck and cooing.

  I felt contrite, but I was on edge. I looked at the Realized man again. He was still floating, his blond hair also defying gravity. When reality broke, before books and other entertainment could be warded, people like him simply walked out of their stories and into life. These manga Realized lived over in St. Paul, in Animetown.

  The warden cleaned her blade on the troll’s pants and re-sheathed it on her back.

  This was an OS team of hunters. Just my luck they were after the same prey I was.

  “You’re pretty brave, witch,” the Realized said.

  “She’s foolish,” the enforcer said, turning to face me. “But she saved my ass.” She did a forward flip off the massive troll, hitting the ground with balanced grace.

  The shaman leaned over me again, running his big hands over my arm and shoulder, being very careful not to dislodge the red dragon, who rustled its wings at his closeness, then settled again.

  The enforcer eyed me. “She going to live, Fox?”

  “She is. Just some torn muscles, a few bumps and bruises. All better now.”

  He helped me to rise, his hand warm in mine.

  “I’m OS Warden Rayne Parish, the enforcer of this group,” the woman said. “That’s Warden Fox Echohawk, our Shaman,” she said, introducing the healer. She pointed a thumb behind her and said, “And that’s our Forerunner, Warden Valentine Fallow.”

  “Don’t mind him. He’s harmless. Um…unless you’re a troll, I guess,” Fox said, his voice deep and melodious.

  “She ain’t no troll,” Valentine said, giving me a once-over with those striking Realized eyes of his. He pursed his lips and slowly drifted to the ground, then strode over to me. “What’s your name?”

  “Lily Starbuck.” He was even more striking close up. His golden blond hair was cut in layers, with a long queue with a silver clasp resting
on one broad shoulder. The clasp reminded me of Talon, and for a moment my heart contracted painfully until I stiffened my resolve and refused to give into the feeling.

  I noticed that the Realized’s tunic was embossed with all different kinds of bells. His diamond-shaped face wasn’t one you saw on any human or other race. It was a unique rendering by the artist who had created him in the standard anime form. Then there were those eyes, a deep, breath-taking copper. That color did not exist in human genetic code.

  “Pretty name for a pretty girl.”

  “Back off, Val, she’s injured,” Rayne said giving him a hard, sidelong glance.

  “Don’t you know wolves always go after the wounded,” Fox said, giving Val a knowing look.

  “Oh, Fox, you’re killing me.” Val mock laughed. “Yeah right, and you get to feel her up while you’re healing her. I should have been written as a shaman. Good job perk.”

  Fox huffed. “I’m not feeling her up, you pervert.”

  “At least I know I’m a perv. You try to pretend you’re not.” He flashed a devastating grin.

  “Shut the hell up,” the healer growled.

  “Val…”

  “Yes, ma’am,” he said, the warning in her voice making him back up, but he still managed to shoot me a sultry look and another bad-boy grin. That one was trouble. Fun trouble, but still trouble. Way, way too cute. I seemed to be a bad boy magnet. I gave him what I hoped was a discouraging look.

  “What the fuck is going on here! Parish, report!”

  I stiffened at the angry voice. I turned to see a tall man with close-cropped black hair and the unmistakable grace and speed of a vamp. He looked like a cross between a boxer and what had once been called a Navy SEAL, with a compact, tough, battle-ready body. A Rambo vamp. He had a tough, hard appearance to him, like he had an advanced degree in attitude. His skin was tanned, no pale in sight. That made him a living vamp. I breathed a sigh of relief. As a rule, I wasn’t a big fan of vampires. They really scared the crap out of me on a good day. I wasn’t a big fan of pain, and that whole biting the neck thing was a pain in the…well…neck. I had no interest in becoming one or its blood play thing.

  It was that dark power they had. Really, I think their only deterrent was the Vamp Council, made up of seven master vampires. Like bats, vamps considered themselves a cloud, but there were still different factions. So the Council had their work cut out for them. The different faction clouds were organized under the Council, and if any of their people ever stepped out of line, they were severely punished.

  Like bats who were extremely territorial, though, they, like the rest of the races, had their rogues. The Vamp Council relied on the OS to deal with their common criminals, but for rogue bloodsuckers there was an elite team of vamps called Blood Hunters. A chill went down my spine. Talk about scary dudes and dudettes. Let’s just say if I was a vamp, I wouldn’t want them after me.

  “Second Warden Santana,” the enforcer said, facing him without an ounce of fear. She was a really cool cucumber, tough and just as formidable as this man. I glanced at the Realized Val. He had moved a few steps away, but was watching his boss like he was a snake who might strike at any moment. There was also a healthy amount of respect in those remarkable copper eyes.

  On the other hand, the healer was totally unconcerned. He was busy talking to the small hummingbird sitting on his shoulder as if he didn’t have a care in the world. I almost got lost in looking at his mouth again. Hell’s bells, but he was gorgeous.

  “Fox, get down to the basement—”

  “Sir, there are still Daray in the basement. But luckily the game was offline, so no more monsters can come through.”

  “Take Val with you and kill them. Then check out that body.”

  “Yes, sir,” Fox said with a final appreciative glance at me. I couldn’t help but notice the broad shoulders and lean waists of both men as they disappeared into the house, reminding myself again that it would not only be stupid to get involved with an OS warden for the obvious reasons, but also because I had more than enough to handle right now.

  The second warden eyed the troll and then looked at me. The hair on the back of my neck rose at that predatory look. “Who is she?”

  “Sir, she was here and actually saved my life. She told me—”

  His eyes narrowed and he strode up to me. “Who are you?”

  I was right. He did have a degree in attitude, with a minor in nasty. “Lily Starbuck. Who are you?” He was intense, to say the least, and he was poking my bad witch buttons. When that happened, I tended to poke back. Not always prudent. I clenched my fists, but then immediately unclenched them. This man commanded these wardens. He was a warden. Even though he had abysmal people skills, he was due some respect for earning his senior position. The OS wardens had a tough job.

  “OS Second Warden Deangelo Santana. What are you doing here?”

  Even with his snotty attitude, his voice was low and lyrical, a trait that seemed to be common to almost every vamp I had ever met. It was as though sweet-talking was a part of their genetic makeup. My skin reacted almost like he was touching me. His nearness seemed to churn and twist around me, like he was surrounding me. I met his eyes without flinching, even though I was quivering inside. Rayne watched me intently. I lifted my chin, hoping my lips weren’t trembling. “Looking for the same mage you are.”

  There was an immediate stillness to him, a slow inhale, and then his eyes went black. Holy shit!

  Chapter Fourteen

  He stepped closer. He had intimidation down to a science, but I wasn’t budging. The OS had let me down. Olivia had let me down and ripped out my heart. Talon couldn’t take sides. All I had was my resolve and Nock. Oh yeah, and he tended to go invisible a lot.

  “Sir,” Rayne said, touching his arm. “She saved my life and she’s pretty good in a fight. She also has information about the mage that we can use. I say we should hear her out.”

  “She’s a civilian,” he snapped.

  Then the small dragon on my shoulder spoke in a clear, concise, male voice. “It seems to me, OS Second Warden Deangelo Santana, that it would be a good idea to discover what this witch knows.”

  The vamp lasered in on the small dragon. “A dragon of the Tser. You are full of surprises, Ms. Starbuck.”

  “But, I am right? Am I not?” the dragonling persisted.

  “Do you know this dragon?”

  I fought off the shakes as I met his gaze. “No, but he saved me from getting pounded by Mr. Ugly, so he’s all good in my book.”

  “Did he? What are you doing here…?” Tension flowed back as he addressed the little dragon.

  “My name is Flynn and I haven’t a clue how I got here. I was fighting that troll in my realm. The next thing I knew, this witch needed help and I hate trolls, so it was a win/win for me. She saved my life.” He turned his head to look up at me with those fascinating gold eyes, full of an intelligence too big for his tiny body. “I am stranded here in this land until I can find a way back to my realm.”

  I just stared at him for a moment, speechless. Finally I came to and responded. “Um…you’re welcome, and thank you for your help.”

  He rustled his wings and then settled down.

  “What do you know about this situation, Ms. Starbuck?” he asked, shifting to a more relaxed stance.

  I allowed myself to sink against the trunk of the tree, wondering how much of my weakness was from the spent adrenaline and how much was from the vamp pumping the air full of soothing pheromones. Damn, I was so in over my head. He knew it. They all knew it. It couldn’t be more obvious. And, I grumbled to myself, they were freaking right.

  The mage I was hunting had been busy. What had I thought? That I’d be able to walk up to him and casually ask, So, hey, why did you murder my business partner? It finally sank in that I was a bit delusional and really had no real clue about what I was doing. But, the bad witch in me wouldn’t let me back down, even when confronted by all the obstacles in my way.


  But time to answer the Second Warden’s question. “Only that you have a dangerous rogue mage on the loose and not a whole lot of information about him.”

  The Second Warden did not like my response, but I didn’t give a damn. I wasn’t part of his team or beholden to the OS for anything.

  He took a slow breath, frowning as his scent stole over me, the dank smell of black earth. “That mage has created an unwarded video game that is being sold on the black market. He’s releasing game monsters into the Twin Cities, and there have been many deaths attributed to it and will be more if we don’t stop him.”

  He paused to let his words sink in. What I had mistaken for aggression was apparently concern for the people he protected.

  “We have so far eliminated all the threats,” he continued, “but the OS High Command fears those measures are at best a slap-dash effort. We need to apprehend the mage to stop the threat, and do it before this escalates and causes widespread panic and havoc in the city. We have confiscated a large number of the available games, but need to capture their creator to keep him from making more.”

  I cared about the people of the Twin Cities. I did. But this wasn’t about them. This was about what I needed before I could move on with my life. Our purposes meshed, and I was willing to add my toys to the sandbox, but I wanted something in return. “I can help you if you help me.”

  He gave me a once-over and dismissed me between one heartbeat and the next. His expression said that I wasn’t worth the time to even argue with. “Since you’re a civilian, it’s best you just give us what information you have and let us follow up on it. This situation is too dangerous, and you’re not trained.”

  Incensed at being dismissed without a chance to prove myself, I ignored his teeth and his strength and his status at the OS and shoved my face right up to his. “I can hold my own,” I said, my eyes narrowing, my blood racing. My body was running both hot and cold with my anger, and I detested that he could probably read my feelings better than I could. “That man down in the basement,” I pointed toward the house, “isn’t the mage. He’s a thought-form, something the mage created to lure you all into that trap three days ago. Rayne’s instincts are probably spot on. He was probably here and set these additional traps for us, as well as using a coercion spell to bring that troll here against his will. That takes—”