Forever At Risk: Terror, MN

by Larissa Emerald

  Thankfully, the omelet turned out perfect—he had a tendency to get miffed when it didn’t. He set their plates and silverware on the counter. “Dig in.”

  Breakfast felt right because she was there. It was like old times when things had been good between them. Before he’d messed it up by getting all uptight over his job.

  The chemistry was right when he allowed it to be. Could they make another go of it?

  * * *

  It was drizzling when he assumed his dragon form to fly to Diego’s Bike Shop where the council’s meeting was to be held. Val felt he could come and go less conspicuously in that shape since he wouldn’t have to park his Jeep. That eliminated the problem of drawing suspicion in case someone saw the vehicle.

  Twyla hiked up her black trench coat as she climbed up his arm and onto his back. Her soft steps tickled. They left from her house. He’d taken her home earlier that afternoon so she could tend her plants, change clothes, and check on some things, including a touch-up of her knowledge and spells about demons.

  Fortunately, there wasn’t a lightning storm. He hated those. He flew around the outskirts of town. Diego’s place was on the southeastern side. He came in low and landed in the rear parking lot.

  With a shake of her head to free some of the wetness, Twyla climbed down. “You owe me a hot shower when we get home,” she said as he shifted into his human form.

  “My water heater is on demand, so no problem.”

  Val opened the side door to the bike shop for her to enter. They traveled to the back of the building and into a lounge of sorts. They were the last to arrive. Everyone else was seated except for Nora. Eight sets of eyes focused on them as they entered.

  “What is she doing here?” Omar said in his smooth, song-like voice.

  Val’s gaze shot to Nora. He had filled her in on the latest events, and she had agreed Twyla could attend.

  Omar turned to Nora. “These are closed meetings—even to family.”

  “Calm down, reaper. The sheriff will explain.”

  Simon spoke up in his southern drawl. “Omar is right, y’all. We have rules we must abide by.”

  “Wait.” Val held up his hand. “Twyla is at the center the problem we’re having. Payton blames her for the confinement hex. He’s found a way to call a up a demon.”

  Twyla made a throat clearing sound. “Demons.”

  Diego slid to the edge of his seat. “Gallinero, how many?”

  “We’re not sure. But one less as of last night,” Val said.

  With his open palm and fingers, Diego combed down his face and over his short, neatly cropped beard. “I had a bad run-in with demons before I left Cuba years ago. It’s not an easy fix.”

  “I understand that,” Val said. “Maybe we’ll get lucky and only have to deal with Mammon.”

  Nathaniel moaned in frustration.

  Diego grimaced. “Man, I shouldn’t have given up smoking.”

  “Why’s that?” Twyla asked.

  “Because if I’m gonna die, it should be from something I enjoy and not from some ugly-butt stink bomb.”

  Diego’s words struck a chord in Val. He should have taken Twyla in his arms last night and made love to her all night long. He’d been foolish to think he could push things off. He hadn’t been able to commit to her when she’d wanted him to before—when she’d pressured him about having children someday and giving up this job to making a life for the two of them. But now, suddenly, he wasn’t so sure.

  Sissy LaFleur laughed, and the champagne-colored feathers of her wings ruffled with the movement. “They do reek. But you’re not going to die, you crazy Cuban.”

  Val knew their light-hearted regard for the situation was a ploy to thumb their noses at fate. They all knew what a demon could do. It was just easier not to admit it.

  Diego tossed his head back with a dismissive wolf growl.

  “There must be a way to flush them out,” Nora said.

  “There is.” Nathaniel stood and trudged over to stand beside Val. His eyes were hard, filled with hunting experience.

  “Yes. But I can’t say that I like it.” Val watched Nate’s expression to see if they were on the same page. “We use bait.”

  “Exactly what I was thinking,” Nate concurred.

  “What kind of bait?” Diego inquired.

  “The same bait Ethan used to begin with. Twyla,” Val announced and looked apprehensively at Twyla. A rumble ran through the group. He wished he could think of another way to draw the demons out. And he chided himself for his stupidity and lack of another solution. But as Diego had expressed, once the demons settled in, they were damned hard to get rid of. He couldn’t allow that. He had a duty to the town. He intended to fight the beasts off and protect her. Just as he’d done last night.

  “Now wait a minute. You didn’t mention anything about using my daughter as bait when we spoke earlier.”

  “It’s not my decision to make. It’s up to the council.” Val met the gaze of each member as his eyes swept the room. “We need a unified front. Who’s ready to stand with me in this fight?”

  Justin Smith raised a fist. “I am,” he pledged.

  Val admired his courage, but the ex-Green Baret was the one person he didn’t need on his team. His humanity made him extremely vulnerable. Val nodded at the guy respectfully. “Okay.”

  “I’m in,” Diego said.

  “Me, too,” Sissy added.

  “This is my daughter you’re talking about. You aren’t going anywhere without me.”

  Every single hand went up.

  “Good,” Diego said. “We’re the magnificent ten.”

  “Ten?” Sissy protested.

  “Sure. We have to count Val and Twyla,” Diego pointed out cheerfully.

  “Well, thanks,” Val said, waiting for everyone to settle down again. There was an uneasy feeling in his stomach. “So here is what I propose…”

  Twyla said very little throughout the meeting. She was an outsider…she needed to keep quiet. At least, that’s what she told herself going in. But the nervous tension inside her was building. She didn’t know how much longer she could contain it.

  “Payton wants Twyla to remove the spell on the holding collar. We will tell him she’ll do it if he sends the demons back to hell. The question is, can we do this in another location other than his cell?”

  “I can handle that,” said Nora. “I can create another pentagram star meant to send the demons back.”

  “Okay. I’d like to move him to a larger site. One we can all move in, and one I can change into my dragon should the need arise. I’m thinking Raven’s Roost. It’s abandoned and away from the main part of town.”

  “Excellent,” Nathaniel said.

  “So what is it you want us to do?” Diego asked.

  “Be there in force, prepared with whatever magical powers you possess.”

  “And me? What is the bait to do?” Twyla queried. She hated that her voice cracked.

  Val stood to his full height, faced her, and placed his hands on her shoulders. “We will rehearse exactly what you will say. You are our voice, and we are your armed guards. No harm will come to you. I promise.”

  Twyla swallowed hard and nodded once. She believed him. Trusted him. His voice was confident and sure. And if he would put his arms around her, she’d be even more convinced. But that might compromise his leadership.

  “All right, we’re set. Meet tomorrow evening at ten o’clock sharp,” Val stepped back so the members could leave.

  As an afterthought, he drew Twyla over to her mother. “Nora, I want Twyla to arrive with you. I don’t think she should be alone until we’ve sent those demons back. She can stay with me until late tomorrow. But after that—”

  “Of course, she will go with me. Don’t worry about it, I’ll watch after her. I’ve been doing that her entire life,” Nora said, flipping the dark ends of her hair over her shoulder.

  Satisfied, Val placed his hand around Twyla’s back. “Ready to go?”<
br />
  “Oh yeah.” She grabbed her coat.

  Everyone else had filed out except Diego and Val. Diego walked him out and locked the door. “I glimpsed some beautiful bikes in there. When we’re finished with this, I’ll stop in to look,” Val said.

  “Humph. You need to drop in to buy,” Diego hinted.

  “That, too.”

  “Hey, and then you can join our riding group. We go for a tour every Saturday.”

  Twyla wondered about that pack. They did a lot of charity work, even down south in Minneapolis.

  “Okay.” Val gave him a knuckle bump and guided her to the back parking lot. The rain had stopped, but the air was still thick with moisture.

  On the ride home, she felt tired, so she rested against the smooth scales of Val’s back, wrapping her arms as far as she could around his thick neck. He was surprisingly warm, perhaps from all the heat he stored inside of him. She sighed, a peacefulness rinsing away all her earlier doubts. She closed her eyes and held on. Too soon, he landed and she pushed up.

  They were back at his place. Walking inside, he slipped his hand in hers. “I feel like Genevieve and her knight. I shouldn’t be telling you this—because I’m sure it will go to your head—but there’s something romantic about dragons. I hadn’t thought about it until…I flew with you.”

  * * *

  “Romantic, hmm.” He stopped along the walkway and turned her in his arms. “Hold that thought.” He kissed her with all the warmth and desire tugging at his heart. “I don’t want to pretend any longer that I don’t care about you. Or that I don’t want to hold you. Or that I don’t want you in my life.”

  “Put everything out in the open, huh?”

  “Can we try again? Just see where it leads us?” he said, pressing his lips to her forehead.

  “I’d like that.”

  He kissed her, lifting her feet off the ground and turning her around slowly so her legs swung outward slightly. When he set her down, she asked. “What are you doing?”

  “Rewinding the clock.”

  “Oh.”

  He draped an arm around her shoulders as he guided her into the kitchen. He’d had a crew out this morning to fix the broken front door. It was temporary, because the matching wood had to be special ordered. He paused at the refrigerator. “Would you like some ice cream?”

  “Sure.”

  He dished out black jack cherry ice cream and drizzled syrup over the top the way she liked it. She closed the Hershey’s cap with her finger, getting chocolate on it, and was about to wipe it off, when he took her hand and licked the syrup away.

  Sensations, warm and familiar and right, melted through him. He cupped her cheek with his hand and searched her eyes. “Sleep with me tonight. I want to make love to you.”

  She turned her face into his palm and kissed a fleshy spot at the base of his thumb, feeling the strong throb of his pulse against her lips. “I want that, too.”

  He lifted the two bowls of ice cream and said over his shoulder, “Will you get the spoons? We’ll have this in bed.”

  He paused by the end of the counter and waited for her to open and close a drawer, taking out two spoons. Together, they walked to his bedroom, past the dining room table minus its glass top that was an eerie reminder of the perils they had yet to face.

  Tomorrow, they’d deal with what they had to. Tonight, she was his.

  Twyla woke to the sounds of birds singing outside. Val tucked her within his arm, and she rested her head on his shoulder. “I’ve missed this,” she admitted.

  “Yeah. Me, too.”

  She closed her eyes, feeling his heartbeat against her cheek. Her stomach made a noise. She laughed. “I guess I worked up an appetite.”

  With a kiss, he untangled himself and rose from the bed. “I’ll get us some bagels and coffee.”

  She stretched and wrapped the sheet around her like a Greek robe. “Let’s eat on the porch.” Two sets of glass double doors opened onto a veranda that ran the length of the house. She sat in an Adirondack chair overlooking the back yard. A beautiful rose garden was in full bloom. The scent of the flowers floated on the slight morning breeze.

  She watched the birds anxiously attack the feeder. Val brought out a tray with coffee, toasted cinnamon bagels, and strawberries. He set it on a small table between the two chairs and took the other seat. “Thank you. That looks delicious.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  They ate and absorbed the fresh morning air. She couldn’t believe the way things had turned around for Val and her. Thinking of the night they’d just shared, she sighed. She wasn’t in a hurry to test the relationship. Instead, she intended to relish the moment. Perhaps she’d pushed him too hard last time, been too insistent on labeling what they had and been impatient. And she wished she could say she had changed and mellowed, but that wasn’t the case. If anything, she was more persistent, with the feeling that life was passing her by.

  At the same time, resentment niggled her. When she’d agreed to place the spell on Payton’s collar, she hadn’t planned on the occurrence of him coming after her and terrorizing her. She shivered, recalling the lesser demon.

  She wasn’t the bravest sorceress in the world. That would be her sword-wielding sisters, Luna and Solis. They were both fierce and stubborn and…awesome. She sighed. Not her.

  She liked nature.

  “Are you cold?” Val asked.

  Her brow pinched. “No.”

  He didn’t seem convinced. “I saw you shiver. I can get you a blanket.”

  “It’s not the temperature. I was thinking of the demons. But I’m all right.”

  Lifting his chin and giving his head a ‘come here’ jerk, he coaxed her. “Come sit on my lap.”

  He didn’t have to ask twice. It seemed like the best idea since she’d gotten out of bed. In three large steps, she was there, and he tugged her down, catching her in his arms, resting her head against his neck and shoulder.

  “That’s much better,” he smiled down at her.

  She snuggled against his warm body. They sat for a while, cuddling. Finally, he shifted her so he could see her face.

  “We need to discuss this evening. When you arrive, I want you to stay close to Nora. No heroics. Understand?”

  “I hear ya.”

  “Hearing me and doing what I suggest aren’t the same thing.”

  “They’re not suggestions, they’re orders. And in case you haven’t noticed, I can make up my own mind.”

  “Oh, believe me, I’ve noticed. It’s why I’m getting prematurely gray.” He ran his hand through his coffee brown hair.

  She examined him closely with mock interest. “There isn’t any gray.”

  “Mess up tonight, and you’ll find a shock of white. I promise.” He hesitated. “Seriously. I worry about you. I…don’t know what I’d do if anything happened to you.”

  She shifted in his lap, brushing her mouth over his lips, then touched her nose to his. “It won’t.”

  “I want you to stay with Nora. I’ll be focused on Payton Grey. We will meet. Gathering outside the confines of his prison should get him hyped up. I’m counting on his inflated ego. He’ll think he can beat us and call in the demons he’s summoned. Then Nora will send the beasts back to where they belong. Any suggestions?”

  “What of Payton?”

  “We’ll place a fresh spell on him. Maybe turn him into a frog,” he laughed.

  “Hey, I happen to like frogs. They play an important role in eating insects.”

  “Of course they do.” He set her away from him, finger combing the long strands of her hair down to her waist.

  She stood still, letting him stroke her tresses, one of her most favorite things ever. It felt so good.

  “I could do this all day. But I should get dressed,” she whispered with her eyes closed.

  He reached down to pick up the dishes, and she helped. She wanted to ask him if he really thought they could pull off this plan. She pressed her lips together. He wou
ld be honest with her…that much she knew. She wasn’t quite sure if she was ready for the truth.

  Val’s boots scraped against the cobblestone drive as he traipsed to the porch of the sheriff’s office and jail. His spine straightened as he walked through the opened entrance. “What’s the door doing ajar?” he asked Deputy Trevor.

  Trevor dropped his feet off the desk with a quick “gotta go” into the cell phone. “I don’t know. It seems the latch didn’t catch.”

  Val didn’t like the sound of that. His gut tensed. He glanced around, nothing seemed out of place. He strolled outside. Folding his arms across his chest, he stood on the porch and eyed the area. Maybe it was his nervous energy at play.

  The sky was clear and the moon shone bright, making it easy to distinguish the road, buildings, and neighbors. It had been a pleasant day. He’d spent the morning with Twyla and then dropped her off at the Beauty and the Beast at lunchtime. Nora had fixed him a plate of graveyard greens to go. There was so much that he split it with Trevor.

  It was quiet—too quiet. His heart knocked in his chest every time he recalled the night he and Twyla had spent together.

  Val stood at the window gazing out. The jail was located on the northwestern corner of town, close enough to walk to Nevermore Lane and pick up a pizza or coffee but set back away from the everyday foot traffic. Today was one of those days he was glad for its remote location.

  Val went back inside and shut the door firmly behind him.

  Propping a hip on Deputy Trevor’s desk so he’d be close enough to speak quietly, he explained the plan to him. Vampires had excellent hearing, but he was comfortable with the underground distance and the rock created a buffer.

  “Do you want me to come with?” Deputy Trevor asked, leaning his chair back and rocking it a few times.

  “If you’d like. It’s always good to have backup.”

  “I’d be glad to. With the exception of Payton, things have been really boring lately.”

  “Nothing wrong with boring.” Val chuckled.