by Jayne Hawke
Virtually nothing that needed air made it back out of there, but even with what I knew of jaguar guardians their limits were still a mystery. I very much hoped that they were gone for good, but there was no way to tell short of staying and feeling for life forces, which wasn’t a good game plan – if they were dead, they were dead whether I scanned for it or not. If they weren’t, the solution was to get out of there, which was what I’d be doing anyway. What I was completely certain of was that they were gone for the time being, which was a start. I reached the rooftops a few moments later and began to move across them, off to try and discover what we were up against.
Seth was waiting by my car when I hopped out of a conveniently placed tree down onto the pavement.
“Do you normally run across the rooves?” Seth asked.
“Sure, who doesn’t like to mix things up?”
He raised an eyebrow at me and made no motion to move away from my car.
“Why are you here?” I asked.
“I was curious to see how your investigation was progressing.”
“Well, enough to have two of your kind jump me,” I said drily.
He looked me up and down.
“You look unscathed.”
“What can I say? I’m just that good.”
“Either they were not my kind, or you had help.”
Arrogant prick.
“Fine. I dropped them in a very deep hole. Now, I’m going home.”
“Did you get their names?”
“Oh yea, they were just reeling off their biographical information.”
It was probably in the investigator handbook not to be sarcastic with your clients, but he deserved it.
He smiled and pushed off my car.
“What did they look like?”
“Jaguar guardian-y.”
He snorted.
“Keep me updated.”
“Will do.”
He casually wandered away into the city as though he was just taking in the scenery. Maybe he was, but I suspected he was up to something else entirely.
I texted Elijah and Castor letting them know what had happened before I peeled away down the road and drove recklessly. I needed to burn off the adrenaline and the niggling fear that refused to slip away. They were skilled shadow walkers. That meant they could pop up anywhere with shadow. No wards would keep them out. I hated being scared. It made me feel weak.
Twenty-Two
“Are you ok?” Elijah asked as he rushed over to me and checked me over.
“I dumped them in a big hole before I ran over the rooves. At least I got my workout in for the day,” I said wryly.
“You’re sure they were jaguar guardians?” Castor asked.
“Yea. Seth was waiting at my car too.”
“What did he say?” Elijah growled.
“Not much.”
He pulled out his phone.
“What are you doing?”
“Getting answers. I’m not having you jumped by someone related to Seth.”
“Where are you?” Elijah snarled into the phone.
“Ten minutes.”
“He’ll be at my office in ten minutes. We’re going to find out everything. No more half-truths and bullshit. Not when it’s putting my... you, in danger.”
I handed him my keys. I didn’t have the energy to drive over there. The adrenaline had worn off, leaving a bone deep exhaustion in its place. Castor handed me a bunch of chocolate brownies.
“They’re packed with pixie dust,” he said softly.
Of course he knew what I needed.
“Thanks.”
I climbed into the car, and Elijah tore down the road back towards his office.
“Did they say anything to you?” Elijah asked.
“Nothing of use. They said something about Seth being a bad boy.”
He growled.
“There’s a chance he’s the bad guy in all of this,” Elijah said.
“I know. I’ve considered that. What are we supposed to do if he is?”
Ethics weren’t something I really sat down and thought on. Usually, it was as simple as someone handed me money so I did the job. Normally, the job didn’t put the fate of the Isles in danger.
“If he’s using us to try and harm the Isles, then we take him out and return the pot to wherever it belongs,” Elijah said.
His conviction and surety were sweet in a weird way.
“Let’s hope he’s the good guy. We’re not being paid enough to save the day.”
He laughed, and I found myself laughing along with him. It seemed that no matter what I did, I was going to be dragged into god-related bullshit. It was better to roll with it than let myself crumble.
Seth was waiting for us outside of the elevator. He must have shadow walked inside, as the exterior door was locked with the security system fully engaged. If that wasn’t a display of power, I didn’t know what was.
Elijah strode across the space between them with his shoulders back and alpha power rolling off him. Seth was a good bit smaller than Elijah, and he didn’t seem even slightly fazed.
“Shall we speak upstairs?” Seth asked.
Elijah hit the elevator button, and we rode up to his office with tension hanging in the air like a dense fog.
“I assume you want to know everything,” Seth said.
“You should have told us everything from the beginning,” Elijah snarled as they got out of the elevator, leaving me to wander behind them.
“I didn’t feel they were relevant,” Seth said.
“You were wrong.”
“The guardians your girlfriend ran into are corrupted. They are trying to track me down because they fear that I will mention their corruption to our goddess.”
I couldn’t help but wonder who exactly it was that was corrupted. Something hadn’t sat right with me about Seth from the very beginning. I couldn’t quite explain it and could very well have been wrong. It wouldn’t be the first time I’d worked for a client who’d done some shady shit. It certainly wouldn’t be the last.
“And why exactly did they go after Lily?”
I noticed that Elijah hadn’t corrected Seth about my being his girlfriend. It wasn’t a discussion we’d had. I wasn’t upset about that, he was certainly a lot of fun to be around, I just hadn’t thought about it, not really. It was easy to roll with things, let them happen as they did.
“Likely because she’s been seen with me.”
Elijah bared sharp lupine teeth.
Seth sighed and sat down on the couch as we entered the office.
“Surely you don’t think her so weak and pathetic that a little danger is too much for her.”
“What else haven’t you told us?” Elijah demanded.
“Nothing. As far as I’m aware, there are only two guardians after me. They’re also after the pot. Ms. Harper said she dropped them into a pit, so I see no reason for concern. Where exactly are you with regards to the pot?”
“We believe we’re making progress, but we have nothing concrete yet,” I said.
“Well, keep the stakes in mind as you work,” Seth said as he went to walk away.
Elijah’s hands clenched as though he wanted to throttle the guardian, but he was still a client.
Seth slipped into a shadow and disappeared. Another reminder of what we were dealing with.
Twenty-Three
I’d eaten all but one of the brownies on the ride back to the pack house. I gave the last one to Elijah. His smile which lit up his eyes said that the gesture was firmly appreciated.
“How did it go?” Castor asked as we walked in.
“He said the guardians are corrupted and think Seth is going to rat them out to their goddess,” I said.
Castor’s eyes narrowed.
“I am familiar with their goddess. If he was being honest, then I understand their fear.”
“There’s something wrong with that Seth guy,” Jess said as we walked into the living room.
“Agreed,”
I said.
“Lily thinks he might be a bad guy,” Elijah said.
“I’ll place that bet!” Jess said.
“How much?” Liam asked.
“Three hundred and a month of kitchen cleaning,” Jess said.
“Damn, you’re pretty certain,” Liam said.
“I’m putting the same down on him being a perfectly reasonable guy,” Rex said.
“You would think he’s fine,” Jess said.
“He’s done nothing wrong. He’s just trying to stop a god hurricane from getting loose,” Rex said.
“As much as I don’t like him, I’m betting on him being a good guy,” Elijah said.
I wasn’t sure. My gut said there was something wrong with him, but that could just have been paranoia.
“I’ll bet on him being a bad guy,” Castor said.
“Lily?” Liam asked.
“I’m not ready to bet. I’m not sure one way or the other.”
In the past, I’d have trusted Castor’s call, but I wasn’t sure where he stood. There was the feeling of his slipping away and returning to his goddess. Maybe the pressure of the stalker and everything was getting to me.
“Ok, we have Rex and Elijah voting he’s a good guy. Castor, Jess, and I will bet on him being a bad guy,” Liam said. “Leftovers to coffee fund.”
It was slightly surreal, betting on whether our client was trying to bring about something that would kill tens of thousands, possibly more people. That was my life right there.
Word was spreading about three new groups being present down in the sewers. People were rattled by the presence of the jaguar guardians. I noted the use of the plural there. Of course, I’d known that the two who’d come after me wouldn’t be stuck in the pit forever. That hadn’t stopped me from hoping it would take them a few days at least.
I was planning on heading back to my old house to look through the grimoires for a useful spell. There could be a fresh twist on a location spell that would save us traipsing through the sewers for the next week.
“Be careful, and don’t let your shadow work slip,” Castor said as he got into my passenger seat.
“Can I get a straight bit of information for a change?”
He looked away.
“I get that the goddess is pushing you, but would it really be the worst thing for me to actually know what was going on?”
“I can’t tell you more than I have.”
“Is this like the world’s best surprise party?”
Castor snorted.
“I’m afraid not.”
“Soooo... it’s something bad?”
Silence. I was getting warmer.
“A big battle?”
More silence. This was looking bad.
“Do I have to battle the goddess herself?”
He sighed.
Ok, so I wasn’t going to have to try and kill a goddess. That was definitely above my ability level.
“You should be focused on removing your stalker from the equation,” he said.
“Do you know something more about that, too?”
Silence again.
“Seriously? You’ve sat by and watched him make death threats when we could have set his house on fire and been done with it?”
“I didn’t say that.”
“Do you or do you not know who it is?”
“I don’t. I care about you, Lily. I’ve worked very hard to give you every possible chance.”
“But something bad is coming,” I said.
“Yes.”
“When?”
“I’m not sure.”
Great. Something else to look forward to.
Twenty-Four
A white note was waiting for me on the bottom stair of my old house. The heavy cardstock was far too familiar. A weight formed in the pit of my stomach. The stalker had left me alone for a while now, but now he was back.
It’s time to meet. Ten tonight behind the ancient oak bar.
I read the note twice. There wasn’t a chance that he wanted snuggles. The fact he wanted to meet did give me a chance to try and take him out, though. My mind was spinning with possibilities.
Another note appeared in the same spot the previous one had been sitting. I reached out with my magical senses, trying to follow the trail of magic. It came directly through the wall of my house. Racing outside, I looked for someone, anyone. There wasn’t a soul or a life energy that I could place. He was working from a great distance, which put his skill level even higher than I’d initially thought. Shit.
Castor was holding the note up when I returned inside.
Come alone otherwise I’ll slaughter them all.
Elijah wasn’t going to be happy.
“You can’t go alone,” Elijah said.
“What choice do I have? I can’t put the pack at risk.”
“You’re part of this pack.”
“And that makes it even more important that I help keep it safe. I’ll be fine. I have the shadow magic, remember.”
Elijah pulled me gently into his arms.
“Are you sure there’s no way to get us close so you have back up?” he asked softly.
“I’m sure. The skill he’s shown means he’d spot it immediately.”
He stroked my hair.
“I can’t lose you.”
I rested my head against his chest and allowed myself to sink into the embrace. I couldn’t lose that, lose him. He was increasingly my rock, my light that helped me through the darkness.
“You won’t. I’m the best at what I do.”
“I want texts the moment you get there, and the moment you walk away.”
“Of course.”
He brushed his lips over mine, a tender touch of affection that made my heart swell.
Stepping back, he gave me a sad smile and turned to walk into the kitchen. This was it. Time to see who my stalker was and what his end game had been all this time.
Twenty-Five
Time passed agonisingly slowly as I waited behind the bar. It was a narrow alley that provided a good view of the sky overhead and not much else. There weren’t many people wandering around the area, but the stalker had known that would be the case.
A familiar man entered the alley, and my heart threatened to stop. The once-kind silver eyes had turned hard since I’d last seen him. He’d cut his blond hair into a fashionable cut that highlighted his strong jaw and striking features.
“Cameron,” I whispered.
He’d been someone I’d known and trusted. He’d been a friend during a very dark time. My throat went dry as the betrayal sank in. This was the man who’d been watching and threatening me.
“How? Why?” I hissed.
“Do you remember that spell we cast when we were young? The one which said we’d always belong to each other and be able to find each other?”
I remembered that night when we’d huddled together in the darkness. We’d snuck out of our beds and sat out on the cold grass beneath a full moon. The books we’d been reading together were laid out in front of us as we cast what I’d always thought was a stupid friendship spell. Looking back, I saw that it was something far more serious.
“That spell allowed me to know that you survived the tragedy.” He took a step closer to me. “It also allowed me to feel what had happened to you. You see, Amelia, the time has come for me to claim what I am owed. The coven that I was sold into was an awful affair. They expected me to marry some boorish untalented witch. I removed her from the equation, don’t fear. This is what’s going to happen. You are going to marry me, thus sharing your magic and that very large coven bank account with me.”
I laughed. I couldn’t help myself. The idea of my marrying him after he’d stalked and threatened me was beyond absurd. His expression soured.
“I’m not joking, Amelia.”
“My name is Lily, and if you so much as look at my pack funny I’ll rip your balls off and shove them down your throat.”
“I see that I’m going to hav
e to remind you of your place.”
As if initiating some sort of sorcerer’s duel, he slowly drew the gnarled wizard staff from his back and placed it before him, concentrating on the crystal and beginning to push moon magic into it. I wasn’t clear on what he was doing, but I was extremely done and ready to put this issue down once and for all. I wrapped myself in shadow and disappeared into the dark, summoning a short sword of shadow as I did. Within a few seconds, I approached him from the rear and thrust my sword to within an inch of his left shoulder blade before my blade was caught against a flying aspis, the sound of the sword against the large bronze-faced disc deafening in the still air.
I leapt back into the darkness to figure out what had even happened. No shield, let alone a bronze shield, should have been able to block my shadow blades. That alone was strange. The fact that it was flying, hovering between me and my target like a protective hummingbird, was a spectacle worthy of a moment’s consideration. However, Cameron was still busily playing with his stick, which meant that I needed to do away with him before he finished whatever he was doing. As much as a male witch with a big crystal-tipped staff was hilarious, the funny wouldn’t save me if it turned out to be something powerful.
I had to assume that penetrating the shield was, if not impossible, more trouble than it was worth. I summoned another sword for my off hand, intending to use the dual weapons to attack from more directions that the shield could respond to. It was fast, but it couldn’t be in two places at once. At least, I didn’t think so.
I moved in behind him again and made a chopping attack at his right side. I saw the shield leap to protect him, and when it did I shifted my weight and went for a quick jab to the left side of his head, maximizing the distance between the two points. I had barely moved my second weapon when the shield lashed out and threw me backwards, a textbook shield slam as effective now as on some classical battlefield, though certainly less at home on the streets of Brighton.