by Susan Illene
“Have you dreamed about her?” Emily asked, peering over at him through the fall of her hair.
Lucas fought the urge to grip the steering wheel and give himself away. She knew that when he’d been in Purgatory Melena had dreamed about him, but only when he was in intense pain. If he admitted to seeing Mel in his sleep, Emily would know things were bad. Yet he couldn’t lie to her, either.
“Yes, but not often.”
She swallowed. “How bad is it?”
“It could be worse.” That much was true. The guardians watching over Melena were not nearly as cruel as Kerbasi had been to him, but he’d rather not see his mate hurt at all. Of course, it would help if the blasted woman wouldn’t antagonize her jailers. He’d seen that part as well. Melena was no better than him at behaving well with her captors.
“Are they torturing her?”
“Not exactly,” he paused, not wishing to go into the details, but not certain how to put the teenager off. “But they have put her in solitary confinement for stirring up trouble.”
“Is she purposely pissing them off?”
Lucas took a turn too fast, and the wheels skidded for a second before regaining traction. Emily squealed. He forced himself to slow down and take it easy. If it were only him, he wouldn’t care as much, but he had to bear in mind the teenager sitting next to him was far more breakable.
“Yes,” he answered a minute later.
She ducked her head, but he thought he caught a glimpse of a smile. “I’ll bet she’s giving them hell.”
He grunted. “Let us hope not too much.”
“Remiel promised he’d watch over Mel,” Emily said, sitting up straighter.
Lucas wished he could feel the same confidence in the archangel, but there was too much bad blood between them. He wouldn’t ruin Emily’s hopes, though. “I’m rather certain the guards in Purgatory are counting down the days until Melena leaves as much as she is.”
He turned off the highway, pulling onto a narrow dirt road. A warning buzzed in his head, and soft whispers urged him to go back. Lesser supernaturals would have difficulty ignoring them. Emily scratched at her arm and scowled at the “keep away” spell. Her abilities told her it was only magic. She could sense it and possibly feel discomfort, but due to her immunity, it couldn’t truly affect her.
Trees towered on either side of the road and branches brushed against the SUV. After they came around a bend, Lucas saw two fallen logs blocking the path. He ignored the illusion and drove right through them. It was another one of the precautions they’d put in place to discourage humans from coming near the nerou training area.
He followed the road for another two miles before coming to a fork. If he went to the right, which appeared to be the most navigable, he’d reach a river after a few hundred feet. Lucas went left. This was his least favorite part of the journey. The vegetation—mostly an illusion—was so thick some of the branches and leaves appeared inside the passenger compartment of the vehicle as he passed through them.
Emily swiped at an intangible twig. “Don’t you ever get tired of this?”
“I usually only drive when I have you with me.” Her immunity to magic prevented him from flashing her into the compound as he would have preferred. On his own, he could reach the compound in a matter of seconds no matter where he was in Alaska.
“Oh, right.” She frowned.
They stopped at a ten-foot tall wrought-iron security gate. Emily grabbed the remote from the visor and pressed the button. With a slight rattle, the gate slowly opened for them. After they had driven to the other side, she pushed the button for it to close. He didn’t continue farther until the gate fully shut.
It took another quarter-mile before the trees broke and the training area appeared up ahead. They’d had to remove a lot of vegetation and build on the land during the coldest month of the year—February. Both supernaturals and angels assisted in the project, using their magic to finish it in less than two weeks.
Two red brick dormitories stood on the far side of the clearing, each of them with central heating and running water. Between them, there was a small dining facility with a large kitchen where they cooked their meals—after some training on how to use the appliances. Solar panels and generators powered everything, rather than connecting the compound to the electrical grid. Water came from a nearby river.
Across a small parking area, there were two large corrugated steel buildings. One served as a lecture hall with six classrooms inside and the other as a gym with exercise equipment and training mats. The nerou had everything they needed to acclimate to human civilization as well as prepare them for their future jobs.
“Is that smoke?” Emily asked, pointing toward the east.
Lucas scowled at the gray plumes rising into the sky. “It appears the forest fires are getting closer.”
Her expression reflected worry. “They’re worse than usual this year.”
“Yes, they are.” He parked next to the lecture hall. “But we’ll fight them off.”
They got out of the car and ran into Micah before reaching the building entrance. His twin brother looked the worse for wear. His shoulder-length blond hair was soaked with sweat and soot, and his jeans and t-shirt were covered in ash.
“We have to do something about this fire. It’s getting out of control,” Micah said, his voice raw.
“How close is it?”
“About five miles away, heading northwest, but it could turn toward us at any time.” Micah shifted on his feet and gave a troubled look at the sky. He rarely showed apprehension, but the expression on his face said he was concerned now.
“Take care not to get too close to it,” Lucas warned. Micah might be immortal, but he could still be burned.
His brother nodded, then his gaze shifted to Emily. “What happened to her?”
Emily’s wounds had healed, but grass stains ruined her jacket and her hair needed a good combing. “A fight at school. I’m handling it.”
The teenager in question leaned against the SUV and glared at them. They hadn’t spoken loudly, but her hearing had improved in recent months. No doubt another side effect of Melena’s blood.
“Let me know if you need any help,” Micah offered.
Lucas didn’t need help so much as a miracle. He pulled his phone from his pocket and handed it over. “Go somewhere with a signal and call the shaman. He might be able to do something to slow this fire down.”
The supernaturals and nerou within the compound had a wide range of abilities, but none of them included controlling the weather on a wide scale. If they were to keep the facility safe, they’d need someone who could call down rain, which fell under a shaman’s skill set. They’d have to hope Ajax, who’d taken on the job less than a year ago, could handle it.
“You don’t want to try Remiel?” Micah asked.
“If he wanted to handle it himself, he’d already be here.” The archangel hadn’t been around since they finished building the training facility. Most of the time, Lucas appreciated that, but today would have been good for him to make an appearance.
Micah nodded. “I’ll call him, but there is one other thing.”
Lucas lifted a brow.
“Sable got out of the house again.”
It had taken a week for her to come back last time. Ever since Melena left, the shape-shifter cat had been disappearing for long periods. They suspected she was looking for the sensor and wouldn’t accept their explanations on her whereabouts, though she normally understood English with no problem. For the past month, they’d been keeping her locked inside. She spent half her time mewling at the door and the rest glaring at them. He didn’t know whether to be frustrated or worried about her.
“We’ll just have to hope she comes back,” Lucas replied.
“And stays away from the fires.”
His brother had a point. “Go. I’ll search for her later tonight if she hasn’t returned.”
After Micah flashed away, Lucas led Emily inside t
he lecture hall. He’d be giving a class to the nerou in less than thirty minutes and needed to prepare for it. As long as the fire didn’t get too much closer, it was best they maintain their regular schedule.
“Hey, Lucas,” Emily said, glancing up at him as they made their way down the brightly lit corridor. “There’s something I need to tell you about that man I met today.”
“What is it?”
He continued walking, not looking at her. If he behaved calmly enough, she’d tell him everything without much prompting now that her initial anger had passed. Patience had never been his strong suit, but he was learning.
Lucas waved Emily into the classroom he used for lectures. It had three rows of tables and twenty-four chairs, as well as a metal desk at the front with a white board behind it. Lucas pulled open a drawer and grabbed the handouts he’d prepared the day before. Of all the things he’d considered doing over the centuries, becoming an instructor had never been one of them.
Emily cleared her throat. “That guy wasn’t exactly a stranger.”
“What do you mean?”
She shifted on her feet. “He was a sensor.”
Lucas froze. Almost all the sensors who could cause trouble for them were confined in a Department of Homeland Security facility in New Mexico. He checked with the agency every week to confirm their status. The only one unaccounted for was Melena’s brother, but he could have allies working for him. Sensors they didn’t know about.
“Did you talk to him?” Lucas asked.
She took a deep breath. “Yeah, and I think he might be my father.”
Chapter Three
Lucas
He braced his hands on the desk. This had to be some sort of trick to catch them off guard. Even if the man who approached her were her father, Lucas couldn’t begin to imagine why he would show up now after all these years. “Why do you think he’s your father?”
“My mom kept a picture of him.” Emily shifted on her feet. “I used to sneak into her room and stare at it when she wasn’t around. He looks a lot like him, except older.”
That could have been a coincidence. “What did he say to you?”
“Well…um.” She ducked her head.
Lucas gritted his teeth. A strange man claiming to be her father showed up when he wasn’t around to protect her. She should never have spoken with him, but that wasn’t the point. Lucas should have done more to keep an eye on her. He’d already failed Melena, and would regret that for the rest of his life. He would not lose Emily.
“What did he say?” he growled.
She took a step back, eyes wide. Emily was feeling the full force of his fury through her senses. He was scaring her, and he had no idea how to calm himself down. One touch from Melena could do it, but she wasn’t here. The longer they were apart and unable to renew their mate bond, the more difficult it became to control his emotions.
Lucas closed his eyes and took several deep breaths. He didn’t mean to make Emily think she couldn’t be open and honest with him, but he didn’t know how to handle her. In his world, he demanded answers and if they didn’t come he forced them out. He couldn’t do that with her. Emily was fragile and needed patience and understanding. It wasn’t the girl’s fault if a man claiming to be her father suddenly showed up and wanted to see her. On the remote chance he might be her sire, she had a right to answers. He could not deny her that, but he needed her to be more careful and aware of the dangers that she might face.
“I’m not angry with you. Just tell me what happened,” he said, then gentled his voice. “All I ask is you be honest, and there will be no repercussions.”
Emily’s shoulders relaxed a fraction. “Really?”
“Yes.” She had no idea what it took for him to say that.
“You won’t kill him or something?”
Lucas counted to three. “As long as he has no intention of harming you or taking you away, I will not kill him.”
“Okay.” She paused and took a deep breath. “Well, he showed up in the parking lot about twenty minutes before school started. Gabby and I were sitting in her car talking. When he pulled up behind us, I recognized him—from that old picture.”
He took a seat, needing to ground himself. “You would have sensed him approaching before that.”
“Yeah,” Emily said, chewing her lip. “But I couldn’t explain to Gabby how I knew he was coming. Plus, she was talking about a fight she had with her boyfriend and got mad when I tried to interrupt her.”
Lucas worked to keep his expression blank. Teenage girls and their priorities baffled him. For all Emily knew, the man had been coming to take her away, but rather than run for the safety of the school she stayed to listen to gossip. As much as he wanted to berate her decision, he couldn’t risk discouraging her now. She’d clam up and not say another word.
“Very well. Go on.” Lucas dipped his chin.
“Anyway, by the time I convinced her to get out of the car the man had already pulled up. He knew my name and said my mother had sent him because she was worried about me.” She paused and looked away. “Then he told me he was my father.”
Emily’s mother, Stephanie, was a deadbeat vampire who was unlikely to give a damn about her daughter. Since Melena had promised to kill her if she ever showed up in Fairbanks, Stephanie seemed to have found a way around that decree. There was no telling what this man wanted, but Lucas would have to find out. If he truly was Emily’s father, he’d been missing for all of the girl’s life. He could have some ulterior motive for showing up now.
“Did he speak the truth?” Lucas asked.
“Yes,” she said, nodding. “That’s why I didn’t run off right away when he showed up. He also told me his name is Patrick, which was what my mom always called him.”
Lucas ran a hand through his hair. It wasn’t down to his shoulders like his brother’s, but it was getting longer than his fingers. Melena would be shocked if she knew how much he’d let himself go. “What else did Patrick say?”
She stuck her hands in her pockets. “He gave me his phone number. I had to get to class, so he told me to call him later.”
“And Gabrielle heard all of this?”
Emily stiffened. “Yes.”
Lucas put it all together. “You were going to meet him after school, and she tried to stop you.”
“Yeah, because you made her spy on me!”
He sighed. He’d worried this would come out at some point, but he’d hoped to avoid it. Having a teenager who could sense emotions and detect lies made it rather difficult to hide anything from her. How did Melena do it so well? He supposed being a sensor herself gave her a lot of practice.
“You knew I’d be coming to pick you up,” Lucas said, narrowing his eyes. “You didn’t think I’d be concerned when you weren’t at school?”
Emily shrugged. “I’m not completely stupid. I was going to meet him at Cori’s tattoo shop down the road. It would have given me enough time to talk to him and send him away before you found me.”
Lucas tilted his face up and gave the “powers that be” a scathing look. It didn’t make him feel that much better. Whether he liked it or not, he would have to compromise in this situation. Otherwise, Emily would go behind his back. “I have Sunday morning free. Call him when we get home tonight and tell him we’ll meet him then.”
“But that’s two days away!”
“You can wait.” And it would give him time to find out more about Patrick.
She narrowed her eyes. “Swear you won’t kill him.”
“I already said I wouldn’t.”
“Fine, but you better keep your promise, or I’ll tell Mel when she gets back.” Emily spun on her heels and stomped from the room.
Lucas stared after her. How low had he fallen that a teenager could threaten him and do it so effectively? He shook his head and went back to work organizing for his class.
The nerou had many historical events to study before they went out into the world. One thing he’d learned over
the centuries was that the past had a way of shaping human and supernatural behavior. To understand people and their motives, you had to dig deep into their history. If the nerou were to be good enforcers, they’d need to learn all the most important details.
Today, he’d be teaching them about the supernatural war that had occurred several centuries ago. The anger and resentment from that period still affected their community today. Thousands of lives were lost, but many of the surviving sups remained, still seeking revenge against the sensors who betrayed them. Lucas knew because he used to be one of them until he met Melena. The nerou needed to know that.
“The shaman is taking care of the fire,” Micah said, entering the room.
He glanced at his brother, noting that he was still covered in ash and soot. “Do you think he can manage it?”
“Ajax says he’s gotten better at calling for rain, but it still takes a heavy toll on him. He won’t be able to do it again for at least a few days.”
They’d have to hope no more fires broke out. “Keep an eye on the situation in case we need to take more drastic measures.”
“You know I will.” Micah glanced at the doorway, and his expression turned critical. “Was it really a good idea to let Kerbasi teach the nerou about human holidays?”
Lucas shrugged. “He volunteered.”
Micah’s lips twitched. “I’m heading home for a shower, but you might want to check on him soon. He told the nerou Thanksgiving is some sort of ritual sacrifice of innocent turkeys because humans have a problem with winged creatures.”
Lucas wasn’t all that surprised. “I’ll go over there in a few minutes.”
“He’s starting on Christmas next. You might want to hurry.” Micah flashed away.
Lucas wanted no part of whatever the guardian taught in his classes, but the nerou didn’t need that kind of misinformation. He couldn’t begin to fathom what the archangels were thinking when they decided to have Kerbasi work at the training center. Perhaps they just wanted to keep the annoying guardian far away from them. If only he had that option.