"Humor me," he drawled.
Mac shrugged, still lying on the ground with the giant cat on her. Her ribs started to ache, and the cat shifted its weight as if poised to pounce.
"Down, boy," she ordered. "Heel?" she tried again. "He's a...friend," she said finally, and the cat relaxed. Finally, he pushed off her chest, and she gasped in great lungfuls of air, rubbing her sternum. The blood wasn't flowing from its wound anymore. Her magic had neatly cauterized the gash, something she hadn't considered herself capable of. The cat's head was level with her waist when she reached her feet. He wasn't as big as Zar, but nearly.
She cocked a brow at Eli, acutely aware she was covered in wildcat spit, dirt, and blood. "Familiar? He tried to kill me." The adrenaline left her in a rush. She needed another shower - and food. She frowned at the empty paper bag on the ground. Evidently, the Brownie hadn't considered her hunger.
Eli shrugged insolently, adopting his usual arrogance now that he wasn't in danger of losing his arms. "It needed to feel your magic before it would accept you. If you hadn't used your power, it might have attacked and killed you."
Mac's adrenaline surged again, and she launched herself at the cocky blood prophet. He hadn't expected her attack. She pushed him to the ground, straddling him like the cat had done with her.
"You were watching? Were you just going to let him eat me?" She fisted her hands in the collar of his hoodie. He just grinned at her when she shook him.
"Darling, you can climb on me after you've trained your cat better." His eyes flashed to the side, and Mac followed his gaze. A ridge of fur rose along the beast's spine, a snarl escaping his powerful jaws. "Familiars sense emotions. All you have to do is order a kill, and it will follow through."
"It's a he," she snarled, feeling like a cat herself. "And why shouldn't I let him kill you?" She sensed the cat wouldn't attack unless Eli threatened her or she told it to, but she didn't want to test its predatory instincts. She sat back, forcing her body to relax, mentally relaying that he didn't need to attack. Surprisingly, he seemed to respond. He backed down but still watched them with intent silver eyes.
"I wouldn't have let it - uh, him - kill you," Eli said. Now that the cat wasn't in danger of mauling him, the prophet smirked arrogantly. His hazel eyes sparkled. "I would have intervened if you hadn't figured it out - or just gotten lucky, as I figure the case may be. Now, are you going to stay on me all day? This could be fun, but your uncle is going to arrive any minute, and I'd rather not have two animals breathing down my neck."
Her awareness of her precarious position and not the supposed arrival of her uncle made her scramble to her feet. Eli rose more slowly, picking twigs out of his long, straight black hair with a grimace. He sat on the ground, casually shaking out his ponytail and running his hands through the long strands. Mac's mouth went dry. Eli was a good looking man, and she found she liked long hair on a guy. The thought made her look away with an internal curse. She blamed her sudden hormones on being celibate for over a year. It wasn't Eli. She was just horny. Those feelings wouldn't be explored. He was all sorts of wrong for her.
"MacKenzie!" A voice roared through the wall, remarkably loud and fierce.
Mac flinched as the cat's ears twitched. "I'm fine, Davin!" she yelled in reply. "I'll meet you at the gate!" She stared at the cat, pointedly ignoring Eli. "What do I do with you?"
"He'll follow where you go and stay with you for a couple days. You’ll need to cement the bond.” Eli stood at her side.
"I didn't ask you," she spat. "Are you okay to walk, boy?" she asked the cat, crouching down to run her hand along the cat's hind leg. His limbs twitched, but his stance was stable as he crept forward a few steps to test it out. He favored one leg more than the other, but his gait was mostly steady. Mac figured his progress meant he could walk. She headed toward the gate, following the wall.
Eli kept pace with her, even though she didn't acknowledge him. "I wouldn't let you die, Mac." His quiet tone held a seriousness he never employed. His face seemed genuine, his voice firm. Despite her desire not to, Mac believed him.
She sighed. "You keep coming upon me in certain situations. You could choose to make them less dangerous, but you don't. I wonder if you're really on my side."
"Mac." The way he said her name drew her attention. His greenish-brown eyes glowed with intensity. "I told you I couldn't help that time before. As for today - if you didn't connect with your familiar, it might never happen. The chance to forge the connection doesn't happen often. If I interfered, you might have never met your familiar."
Mac shoved back a lock of hair that had fallen in her face, considering her words. She hated how he always had an answer for everything. She didn't really want to forgive him. "I always thought that finding your familiar was an easy process, not a life-threatening one," she replied after a minute, taking her focus off of Eli. "You know, like Eden's."
Eli's lips quirked. "Eden's situation is different. Jenira has already guessed this, but Gideon is not really Eden's familiar. You should ask Alena about how she met her Balthazar some time." He chuckled in amusement.
Mac assumed Alena's connection with Zar had been effortless, like Eden's. "I thought..." She frowned. "I'd thought to be a little more connected." She hoped her voice didn't sound like a whiny child's. When Eden told her she'd have a familiar one day, she'd compared it to having a new best friend. She could sense his emotions, but the connection wasn't stable yet. She didn't even know what to call him.
"It will take a little time," Eli said with a certainty that eased her worries.
She peeked at him through her hair. "How do you know so much?" she asked. "You knew this would happen today."
He shrugged and grinned at her, preparing her for a non-serious answer. "I make it my business to know things. The future holds many possible paths. Some included your familiar and some didn't. The ones where you have your familiar are more favorable to a good outcome. I wanted to ensure it went okay, even if I couldn't really interfere."
"Why couldn't you tell me that using my magic would keep the animal from eating me?" she asked with a flamboyant arm gesture, causing the cat to look sideways at her.
"It wouldn't have been as genuine and might have affected the outcome."
Mac groaned in frustration. "You always have the best answers prepared - ones that make you sound like a good guy."
"Not always," he said so quietly she wasn't sure she'd heard him correctly. "Now, please, tell your uncle that I didn't threaten you. He doesn't like me."
He was right. The closer they came to the gate, the stronger her uncle's fear and anger rose. Two warriors waited for them. Her uncle paced back and forth like a caged animal. Jenira stood confidently, one hip cocked, playing with one of her daggers. Davin stared at Mac, shooting a dangerous look at Eli, before taking in the blood on her clothes and the cat prowling beside her.
The cat looked at her. Mac assumed he was looking for direction because the newcomers smelled like predators. Mac might have smiled at that feline observation if she wasn't worn out and tired. She told the cat they were friends and he eased his low growl but still watched intently.
"Explain," Davin commanded. "Why are you bloody? And the cat?"
"Mine," she sighed. Claiming ownership of the proud beast felt wrong, but she didn't want to give a play-by-play of her morning. She was dirty and hungry.
Jenira's brow rose. "You're going to host a zoo if our group keeps acquiring familiars at such a fast pace."
"And what were you doing outside the wards?" Davin demanded, rounding on Eli.
Mac recognized that look. He needed to take his energy out on someone, and the blood prophet was a convenient target. Although part of her would love to see Eli knocked down a peg or two, she stepped forward and placed a hand on her uncle's corded forearm. "He was helping me," she lied with a shrug.
Davin searched her eyes and settled for glaring at Eli instead of attacking. He gave the cat another appraising glance. "So this is you
r familiar?"
Mac frowned. She wanted to say she didn't know, but she couldn't lie. Every minute she spent in the cat's presence, she grew more attached. "Yes," she said finally. "I don't know what to call him."
Jenira chuckled. "Ask him."
Mac's brows drew together. "But he can't talk, not like Gideon."
"No, but if you throw out a few names, he might give you a mental impression or some preference."
"Hmmm." Mac closed her eyes, focusing on that thin thread that connected them. She asked him for a name, nearly jumping in surprise when an image speared across her mind, the sight of lightning arcing from a sky black with storm clouds. "Seriously?" she asked out loud. "Alena has Balthazar, Eden has Gideon, and I have Lightning?" The cat flicked a glance to its spine and the strangely shaped stripe. If he were a human, she thought he might have shrugged.
Davin and Eli chuckled, although her uncle glared at Eli as if sharing amusement with the blood mage was highly irritating. Eli ignored him, his eyes sparkling.
"Very appropriate, Mac. Your mom always thought you possessed lightning magic."
"Very appropriate, indeed," Eli murmured, his gaze changing from amused to thoughtful.
"I'm hungry," she muttered. She didn't care if the rest of them followed or not, but she heard the gates close and footsteps close behind.
"Make sure he doesn't encounter new people without you," Jenira offered helpfully. "It will prevent anyone from becoming a snack. By the way, he's a Canadian Lynx, if you were wondering."
Mac flashed a look at her. "A Canadian Lynx? We're hundreds of miles south of the border here, though."
Jenira shrugged. "It's a mystery why familiars venture out of their natural territory to meet their humans. I once heard a story of a tiger trying to cross the ocean to get to its human in the Territories. It might have been false, but it was still interesting."
"Mather's fortress is north," Eli mumbled absently.
Mac considered his words as she entered the house. She wanted to pick his brain for knowledge, but she didn't trust him to tell the truth.
Davin obviously shared her opinion. "I want to speak to you about what you know," he directed the blood mage. It wasn't a request. Eli nodded good-naturedly, but Mac sensed his reluctance.
Jay's smiling face met them the moment the door opened. The woman stood in the grand foyer, holding an identical paper bag to the one Mac had brought into the woods. Catching sight of Lightning, the Brownie's apple cheeks glowed with a smile. The cat didn't need to be told she was a friend; he approached the woman without any animosity and purred as he rubbed against her skirts. Maybe Lightning understood where his food would come from.
“He's much too dirty to come inside," Jay mumbled. She shoved the bag into Mac's hands and slid her hands over the cat's fur. A blink and he was clean. "But you need a shower," she told Mac, evidently unwilling to use the same trick on a human. "Elle's put a bed into your room for the cat." And then she was gone, fading into thin air.
"That's going to take some getting used to," Davin muttered under his breath.
Mac left them without a backward glance, leading Lightning toward her room. He made no sound as he walked beside her, his claws pulled into his paws.
A huge cushion rested on the floor. The cat sniffed it before leaping gracefully onto Mac's bed, circling around once before sitting and starting to groom himself with a huge pink tongue.
"I don't blame you, boy. The bed is more comfortable. Just make sure you leave room for me," she told him with a waggle of her finger. He shot her an innocent look before returning to his licking, maybe removing some of the magic the Brownie had used to clean him. Mac merely smiled and began her second shower of the day.
Chapter Six
Jenira
Jenira and Davin led Eli to the sitting room. Curiosity burned through her. The man didn't make her as uncomfortable as he obviously made Davin; he merely intrigued her.
She studied the scars on his face with interest. Typically, blood mages avoided scarring their own faces, especially when he was clearly handsome underneath those scars. A blood mage could cut anywhere, thus keeping their ability hidden from anyone who didn't see them naked. Eli had done many spells. Some of his scars, even the facial ones, seemed as if they were old enough to stem from his childhood. They might not have been self-inflicted. Her brows rose as she pondered those implications.
Eli fell into a chair, sprawling comfortably and looking bored. Blood dried on his hoodie in a couple places, suggesting he'd been in contact with the cat or Mac.
"What do you want with my niece?" Davin demanded, not wasting any time. He leaned against the back of the couch with his arms crossed across his chest. His pose was meant to intimidate, but not much seemed to intimidate Eli.
The prophet sighed. He'd clearly been anticipating this question, and not with pleasure. "I want nothing from your niece that she doesn't want to give me."
Jenira smothered a laugh. She rarely saw anyone burrow under Davin's skin so easily. Her lover gritted his teeth, a muscle twitching in his jaw. She watched their posturing from a nearby armchair, still twirling a dagger on her finger.
Eli smoothly changed the subject. "I don't know what I can tell you about Mather that I haven't already shared. Besides, I grow weary of telling everyone little bits and pieces. We should call a family meeting or something." He bared perfect white teeth in a smile that wasn't exactly friendly.
"You haven't told us where he lives," Davin countered.
"And I won't. Not yet. There's still a chance someone in this household could betray us, and I don't need them going all half-cocked and ruining everything."
Jenira lifted a brow. "Elliott?"
"Yes, it will most likely be Elliott."
"Most likely?" Davin straightened with surprise.
"You see potential futures, don't you?" Jenira asked, trying to get some useful information out of Eli. If she let the men control the situation, nothing would be accomplished.
"Yes. Sometimes two or three, sometimes more. Rarely one. The future is moving in the right direction now that Mac has successfully connected with her familiar. Many of the possible futures without Lightning are less desirable and far more dangerous for everyone involved."
"That's why you were there," Jenira finished for him.
Eli nodded. "I couldn't interfere, but if things went bad, I might have tried. Lightning has an important role to play. Well, actually, it's Mac and Lightning, but Mac is stronger with her familiar."
Davin looked at the ceiling, his muscles bunching in his forearms. Jenira let him simmer; it would take him time to adjust to the idea of sending his beloved niece into danger. Especially after he'd just gotten her back.
"Who else could potentially betray us?" Davin asked.
Eli shook his head. "I can't tell you or it may influence the outcome." He held up both hands before him when Davin twitched as if he might launch himself at the other man.
Even his palms bore scars. Jenira couldn't imagine anyone needing to perform that many spells, but her magic came when she called. When blood mages weren't in the process of casting a spell, their magical makeup resembled a mundane's. No one understood exactly how their powers worked or where they drew the magic from when they let their blood.
"How do we know you're not the betrayer?" Davin continued. Like her, he possessed deep veins of mistrust running through his body. The idea of harboring a traitor bothered them both.
Eli shrugged. "You don't. The worst betrayal would be handing over my sister, which I will never, ever do." Jenira recognized the coldness in his tone. She sounded the same when speaking about her sister.
"Why does Mather want your sister?" Jenira asked.
"Many reasons. One, she is of his blood. It potentially gives him more control over her. Two, she is untrained and new to her magic. There is a greater likelihood that he could control her powers. She's strong, and she'll be stronger once she connects to Alena - which is inevitable in almost e
very future."
"And how do we know that you won't betray your own sister? You haven't protected her thus far."
Eli leaned forward, his eyes darkening dangerously. He pinned Davin with that gaze. "Everything I have done since her birth has been done to protect her," he growled.
"Did you put the locket on her?"
"No," Eli answered Jenira's question with a shrug. "That was all dear old Dad. But I did help her and Mom escape before he could use her. I have hidden her all these years, even though I couldn't come within touching or speaking distance because of the locket. I tried to awaken her magic so she could start training and building her defenses before he found her."
Pieces clicked in Jenira's mind. "You caused the accident," she breathed. Davin's eyes widened as he looked between the other two people in the room. Eli rose, pacing in front of the closed door of the sitting room. He didn't say anything.
"How could you? Knowing she might have died? Knowing she lost her..." Davin's words ended abruptly when Eli sprang toward him with a flash. Their faces were separated by only a couple inches. Jenira tensed, hoping she didn't have to break up a fight.
"Don't presume to understand what I can or can't do or why I did what I did. There was no choice; Mather was too close to finding her. Her loss of consciousness severed the connection, and he had to start all over. If he'd grabbed her then, our whole world would have been doomed." He cocked his head at the larger man. "And I'm not being dramatic. Do you know how important a dreamwalker really is, Dr. Rennert?" He made the appellation sound like a slur, but he did turn away from Davin to resume his pacing.
"Eden losing her arm was - unfortunate - but I didn't have a choice. The ability to see the future forces one to take risks. One of the future paths showed her controlled by Mather, another showed the locket broken. That was the best possible outcome. I had to take the chance, despite the likelihood of injury." His voice tightened with pain and remorse, causing both Jenira and Davin to relax a little.
"Does she know? She should know," she murmured.
Enemies Allied Page 6