Ada's Protective Mate

by Jo Palmer

  She shifted uneasily in her seat. The look Severo Galindo have given her the first time they met made sense now, especially if she were, as she was beginning to believe, Nate’s mate. But more than this, what Severo held was awe-inspiring and frightening.

  “Sweet destiny!” She murmured, stunned. “Do all of you have unique skills or powers?”

  “Si, we do, in some way. Ruine, he can sense war and fights approaching. Divij, he can change the reality of our world and Chase will lead you to jubilation or death with a look. I can control hundreds, and our Nathaniel can track and fight like no other. Ace brings information from nowhere and enlightens us. But then, so many can do these also.” Nico smiled that charming, lush smile. With a lot of arrogance. “Perhaps though, not quite to our standard.”

  “I can see this now. Dareios, Blaine, and Lucio?”

  “Dareios is a leader, a warrior, and is unrivaled in magic.” Nate was checking their phones and computers to see if they could pick up a connection. “Luc is pretty nifty with making himself appear just about anywhere at any one time, and my cuz is useless at cooking, but legendary for his healing touch.”

  “A werewolf healer? That’s wonderful. He instantly took away my injuries and pain after the wolf attack.”

  “Yeah, he’s a great healer, except if he doesn’t want you to heal.” Nate grinned. “Well, they’ll have Sev well covered. We’ll go to Las Vegas and see what we can see.”

  “We must try every lead.” Nico agreed.

  Ada was still contemplating everything she had learned. “Severo has an outstanding skill; I see why Grydern would wish to steal it. What I do not understand is how Nico came to the conclusion, and so swiftly, that the mad sorcerer has caused all this to take the immortal. I assume he has tried before.”

  “Si, when it was first discovered what Grydern was doing.”

  Ah, when Grydern was experimenting with taking others’ powers. Her eyes widened in shock. “He tried then?”

  “Yep. When Sev discovered what the psycho was doing, Grydern tried to grab him. Grydern may be stronger magically, but Sev is one fierce fighter, and very inventive. He got away and sent out the alarm.”

  “The abomination tried once more.” Nico continued. “But Sev is heavily guarded, Grydern, he did not come close.”

  “It must make Severo annoyed.” She could understand his bad attitude now.

  Nate laughed. “Yeah, that’s our Sev. See, it's hard being a warrior and having to be the one protected. So he gets a bit edgy and locks himself away blacksmithing and making things to keep himself calm. Blood wrath, I don’t know how he stands it. Confined and watched over, kept out of a lot of fights, would drive me bloody mad.”

  Yes, Ada could well imagine. “I just assumed he had issues.”

  “No, our Sev is very level. He is always reserved and enjoys a fight.” Nico toyed with his computer, seeming distracted once more. “I recall many a fun time with him.”

  “Yeah, that’s not to say Sev isn’t a hard head, but he ain’t nothing like bullheaded Ruine—”

  “I heard that.”

  Nate grinned, turning to the big, dark-haired, incredibly handsome demon who had appeared on the plane. Now that was quite a feat. She’d never heard of a creature being able to shift into, or onto, a moving object. Vampires possibly could; they were mere mist, could probably pass through and turn themselves solid once more.

  Funny, Ada realized she had never actually considered other creatures’ skills and magic before now. That was rather foolish of her and very shortsighted and narrow-minded. Sweet Goddess, she had a lot of studying ahead of her if she was going to return to Galdo and deal with creatures once more. Perhaps she should contact Penny; the immortal was very much in the know about everything.

  “Lucio told us you were coming. What’s up?”

  The big demon took a seat on the large U-shaped sofa in the middle of the plane. Not having had much to do with him since joining up with this band of sentinels, Ada studied the demon and thought over what she knew of Prince Ruine. His parents had died when he was very young, and he’d been raised as a son by the demon sultan, Carlos, and his wife Tamara, his aunt by blood. He was a fierce fighter, smart, a blacksmith, and a demon bonded to the fairy prince, Ace. That was the extent of her knowledge. Abysmal.

  “I am coming hunting with you. Carlos is working on the imp’s amulet.”

  “Ah, you require some action.” Nico uncorked a bottle of blood, fangs sliding out.

  “Shit, you’ve got to drink more blood, bro, less coffee,” Nate exclaimed.

  “The smell of fresh blood is always arousing. I am merely peckish, not starving.” Nico leaned back, sipping his drink.

  “Are we even sure we’re on the right track? How many of these supposed Grydern locations are there?” Ada asked impatiently now. Watching a vampire drink blood always made her a little unsettled, as did werewolves tucking into bloody steaks. Brownies were so not blood-and-raw-meat-loving creatures.

  Ruine smirked. “You get used to it, brownie. Ace said there are three places Grydern shows a reoccurring pattern of going to. All we can do is hunt each one.”

  “We will be landing in ten minutes.” The pilot announced over the intercom.

  The big demon prince’s dark blue eyes lit up. “The hunt begins.”

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  Midmorning Vegas was teaming with tourists and locals alike, all heading for the tables, slot machines, and buffets.

  Nate liked the feel of Vegas, the vibes here sending his werewolf senses into high gear and ready for action, any action. Tossing the brownie onto a big, soft bed and rolling around with her would be his first choice of action, brawling his second.

  Unfortunately, he figured Vegas would be a dead end. They were more likely to find Grydern in Morocco; he was an uppity piece of shit who would think Vegas a bit too common for him. Then again, catching sight of Caesars Palace, the dark sorcerer might lower himself to go there.

  But staying there? Nope, Nate was leaning toward places away from the city. Grydern could shift himself into the gambling action and back out again, so he could be staying anywhere. Ace was thinking Grydern stayed close by, so while Nico was busy reading minds to pick up on any thoughts of the sorcerer, Ruine was moving unseen through each casino and hotel. That left Nate to sniff about for a scent. He’d picked up an interesting one and was following it.

  With the brownie safely tucked away in a council safe house, guarded and doing all that mind-numbing law and research work, he was able to concentrate on sniffing things out without worrying she was in danger.

  And right now he was following a scent through a gambling floor of a hotel to a private room where a high-stakes game was in play. This was the fifth hotel he’d checked out, and the second time he’d picked up on a scent to follow. He was hoping it wouldn’t turn out like last time when he’d sprung through a hotel window to discover a couple of creatures on their honeymoon trying illicit demon drugs. The demon couple was not happy to see him, and he wasn’t happy to see them either. For one, he had to waste time telling the idiots they should have picked somewhere no other creature could find them to partake in the drug of their choice. That way he wouldn’t have to bust their asses and take up so much of his frigging valuable time.

  This of course resulted in a scuffle; the demon male ended up unconscious, the female so high she tried to hump Nate’s leg. On top of that, one of the patrollers he’d called out to contain the situation wouldn’t shut up laughing, so Nate ended up clobbering him too. Which he knew would bring him never-ending grief from Galdo Council.

  This time was different, he could feel it. The smell of the creature wasn’t familiar, and there was nothing off-putting about it. It was what the creature carried that sent tingles through him, and not frigging nice ones either. Black blood magic. He wasn’t sure which type of creature magic, but he was getting very negative vibes.

  Outside a high-stakes gambling room, he peered through the small glass
panel in the door and saw a table with empty chairs. Which meant the game was finished and they’d moved on. Not long ago, the scent was fresh and was easy for him to follow. There was nothing evil about it, and as he got closer, he realized it was a demon, a creature who could dampen their scent.

  Demons really loved Vegas. They were the deal brokers and deal makers, and when a human or creature got down on their luck, a demon popped up and offered what appeared to be the deal of the century. The stupid sap soon found out when it was time to keep up their end of the bargain that no deal with a demon was ever fair or good. Not for them, anyway.

  Nate had been stupid enough in his youth to make a demon deal, and it had taught him a valuable lesson. Make sure you have a demon on your side, or an immortal negotiator, otherwise, you were screwed in more ways than you could imagine. Fortunately for him, Chase had found out about the deal and informed the sultan, his father, who told Nate’s father. King Tomas was pissed and called in demons to broker and immortals to negotiate. Nate had gotten out of it, but his father had made him pay for a year afterward. It was a good lesson to learn, and it was good Chase was his friend, or he would have been screwed for life.

  Stepping outside he followed the scent a few streets over where it joined up with a werewolf’s. This scent he knew. Hurrying, he jumped across a few parked cars, over a retaining wall, and landed on a greenhouse, crushing the fragile structure and the plants inside.

  A demon and werewolf stopped circling each other to stare in surprise at Nate’s unexpected, and very loud, arrival.

  “Damn.” He winced, shaking a colorful plant from his shoulder.

  “Hey, cuz, way to make an entrance.” Silla, his second or third cousin—who could keep track of so many werewolf relations—smiled cheekily at him.

  “Not a word,” he warned the irrepressibly happy younger female werewolf. “Who’s this, and what is he carrying?”

  Nate circled the pair, sniffing. The demon was sweating buckets, panicked. Probably because of what he was carrying. “Wowee, whatever you’re carrying smells nasty.”

  The demon tried to bolt, and Silla kicked his feet out from under him. The creature, young, scruffy, and red-eyed, probably on a bit of a high from those illicit demon drugs going around, fell with a large thump and was swiftly cuffed by Nate’s creature cop third cousin.

  Second cousin? Oh, who the hell knew.

  “We’ve been following him for a few days, heard via the underground market he had something to sell to the Revmiras.”

  “Let’s see what it is, cuz.” Nate patted the creature down.

  “It ain’t nothing! I mean—”

  “Ouch!” Nate dropped the sharp crystal, catching it again before it smashed on the ground. “Give me your gloves.”

  Silla handed him her standard issue police gloves that supposedly protected them from magic of any description. The gloves weren’t perfect, but they helped in most cases, as they did here—Nate was able to hold the crystal in his hand without it burning his flesh like acid.

  “Nasty.” Silla sniffed it, one foot on the demon when he tried to move.

  “An informant told you about this crystal?”

  “Yeah. Said it was one of the objects taken from Galdo museum during the latest break-in. My younger brother Duncan, Dante of the demons, and Jaac of the fairies have been helping itemize and catalog—”

  “Duncan’s your brother?” Nate paused, mulling that over.

  Silla rolled her eyes and clucked her tongue. “Geez, you really don’t have a clue on the family relations, and you’re the crown prince?”

  Wincing, knowing that was going to be brought to his clan’s attention and put him in deep shit, he moved Silla along. And shit, she was a werewolf princess—what the hell was she doing playing patroller in seedy Vegas? Who let that happen? He should probably look into that, especially as she was out here alone. Whether she was a royal or not, cops should always have a partner to back them up.

  “You say Jaac is helping?”

  Silla laughed. “Dareios’s punishment for some mischievous fairy crime or another. Though he disappeared an hour ago. We’ve been placed on high alert to bring him in if he crossed into the human side.”

  “Ah, shit, just what we need. A rebellious young fairy sneaking out. If the Revmiras hear about this, they’ll target him; he’s the youngest fairy prince.”

  “That’s why we’re on high alert. Anyway, Duncan, Jaac, and Dante found a very old record of this crystal during the museum cleanup, a record dating back to the 12th century. The surprising thing is, the original owner of the rock is still alive and is being approached to assist in determining how to clean it of the evil.”

  Nate crouched and held the crystal near the demon’s face, the creature flinching and trying to scramble away but unable to with Silla’s big werewolf foot planted in the middle of his back. Damn, she had feet nearly as big as his.

  Nate shook himself and got down to business.

  “Who are you fencing it for? And to whom?”

  “I don’t know anything! I found it a few days ago, I swear! Then some dude rung me and said he’d buy it for mega bucks, all I had to do was bring it downtown tonight at midnight.”

  “Who is this dude? And where did you find it?” Silla asked in her authoritative cop voice.

  “I don’t know, I don’t get involved with the politics—”

  “What politics?” Nate pushed the crystal closer, the demon sweating.

  “Said he was with the cause, but I don’t know anything about that!”

  Revmiras. Damn.

  “Where did you find the crystal?”

  “It was just laying on the side of the road, man. Weird right? Big crystal like that, just sitting there shooting off this nasty, black wave.”

  “So you picked it up and thought you’d make a few bucks.”

  “Comes in handy for the tables, doesn’t it, kid.” Silla pulled the demon to his feet. “This one is always gambling. Used to go to college and worked part-time, then got the gambling bug. Now he’s wasting his life away.”

  “On drugs too.” Nate wrapped the crystal carefully in one of the gloves, then removed the other and wrapped it around them too. Once secured, Nate tucked the bundle into the pocket of his jacket and zipped it. “Better take him to the council. And good job with the shifting disabler.”

  “Thanks, it's working a lot better these days.”

  As demons could simply shift away and avoid arrest, Galdo scientists came up with devices and potions. Every guard, sentinel, and cop was fitted with them. Some hadn’t worked so well and had to be fixed.

  Because neither Nate nor Silla had any magic to cloak themselves from humans, they had to keep to the back streets and dingy allies and avoid anyone who came their way. Ruine joined them after five blocks and shifted them directly to the safe house where Silla secured Carl and took him through the portal to Galdo. Nate got out his phone and put a priority call through to the Chief of Police in Galdo and got his point across that he didn’t like cops out by themselves, especially with Revmiras and Grydern on the loose. He then texted Aidan and ordered him to follow up.

  Ruine growled. “We’ve got cops running around without backup?”

  “Yep. I’ll be making sure that doesn’t happen again.”

  “Good. That pisses me off; it’s damn stupid.” After studying the crystal, Ruine wrapped it back up. “Nasty. The kid just found it beside the road?”

  “That’s what he said.”

  “Might have been placed there for him to find. Think about it, wolf. How would the Revmiras even know he had it? We didn’t, the cops didn’t, but some informant contacts him to make a deal. Seems suspicious.”

  “Know what you mean. This morning my brownie was asking a lot of questions, which made me think of the tricks Grydern pulls. Kicks up a cloud of stink, and while we’re occupied with this, he sneaks in and causes trouble somewhere else. This crystal might have been important to the Revmiras for whatever it is
capable of doing, that’s why he took it from the museum. Or, and this is a shit scary thought, but something my cousin Silla said and what my brownie was talking about on the plane has me approaching this in a different direction.” Nate rubbed his chin, feeling the bristles. He’d have to get rid of those before he had some make-out time with his brownie. She would not appreciate bristle rash.

  “If the disloyal immortal is planning something big, like replicating that old power bowl, he’s gonna want the strongest creatures to drain the power from to make him the most powerful. No point using weak or medium level power wielders or shifters. So he steals some things from the museums, some powerful crystals, weapons, jewels and even books with spells and detailed drawings of other weapons and shit—”

  “Like the power bowl.” Ruine was nodding, dark blue eyes blackening and narrowed. “He’s distracting us to draw us and other high powered creatures out.”

  “Yeah, that’s true.” Nate nodded. “So the crystal here is covered in nasty black magic, not easy for a creature to clean off. Yet Silla said it belonged to someone from some century, I think it was the twelfth, and that creature is still kicking around.”

  “Grydern wants that creature. Who?”

  “Don’t know. There are a few, the demon sultan’s mother is from back in those times, so is my own mother…an imp also, and the immortal king.”

  “A few then. We discover who the crystal belongs to and…blood wrath, you think Grydern is using us.”

  “Yep. Set up the demon kid, set up the Revmiras, all for his own means. He’ll follow where the crystal goes, so whoever it once belonged to may be a target, one he wants to steal the power of. Or whoever it is that can remove the nasty shit that’s on the crystal.”

  “Sounds like Grydern. Damn bastard. Well, I can wipe the magic, so can Chase, Divij…Dare without missing a step, and Ace too. A few demons and fairies, imps also…Not much we can do if we don’t know what he’s up to. Did I hear Jaac disappeared?”