Dagger’s voice buzzed from the tiny device. “ETA, two minutes. Status report?”
“The Enforcers are coming in from the West. Go in at the North side of the property. You can take them by surprise,” Julie said as she leaned over and touched the screen in front of Jude.
“Five Enforcers total,” Jude said as he continued to scan the monitors.
“You got five total, be safe,” Julie spoke into the thin wire.
“Copy that. Stand by,” Dagger replied. The speaker hissed before going silent.
“And now we wait,” Jude said as he put more intel up on the wall of monitors.
I held my breath for what seemed like an eternity before the speaker came back to life. Jude swung back around in his chair, hands flying over the keys again.
Edge’s voice vibrated along the air. “Two down, three split. Report location of missing three.”
“I’m tracking them now,” Jude said. “It looks like they’re headed towards the two storey house at the end of Willow Bridge Lane.”
Julie repeated Jude’s instructions into the thin wire. I was impressed by how well they worked together.
Jude switched from his laptop to the monitors on the wall, never staying in one spot. Julie followed him with her eyes as if waiting for information to spill out of him.
“Copy, stand by,” Jessa answered, her breathing sounded choppy from running.
“Good, they’ve all checked in.” Rainy sighed.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“Everyone is supposed to be in communication. That’s how we know they are all okay,” Jude answered as he kept his eyes on the screen.
“How come we aren’t using the connection that the woman in the book gave us?” I asked.
“We can’t use this link between all of us because it would be impossible to decipher everyone’s thoughts at one time,” Jude replied.
The speaker hissed and popped. “Two more down. Report the location of the third,” Dagger said.
“Julie, check the live feed on the wall. I can’t get the location. Too many damn trees in the way,” Jude said as he continued typing quickly.
“He’s running along the back side of the houses to the east of you,” Julie said as she touched the screen on the wall and made the image bigger.
I watched as a small dot of red scurried across the screen. Three white dots were catching up quickly. The white dots surrounded the red one. It disappeared. Yes!
“Clear,” Edge’s voice came again. Moments later, they walked back into the War Room.
“That was way too easy,” Dagger said as he rubbed his jaw.
“It won’t be next time, especially now since five Enforcers won’t be going back to the Triad tonight,” Edge said as he leaned over to look at Jude’s computer.
“Jude, send a private message to a handful of the Covens. Tell them Micah is on his way to speak to them,” Edge said.
“You want him to go now?” Dagger asked.
“I think he’s going to be our best chance at getting the Covens to help respond to future Triad attacks. From here on out, the Triad will know that someone is interfering. The more Coven members we can get to respond, the better. There’s a possibility that he could send out multiple packs of Enforcers and we need to be ready,” Edge explained.
Jude nodded sharply and turned back to his keyboard. “Okay, here’s what I have.” He rattled off a small list of Covens to Micah. “Start with those and I will keep sending you new locations as you go,” Jude said.
I placed my hand on Micah’s arm. “Be careful.”
He nodded with a smile as he squeezed my hand. “Do not worry over me, I will be fine.”
Micah stood from his seat and rounded the table. Dagger stretched his hand out and Micah shook it.
“Let us know if you need anything,” Dagger told him.
“I will, thank you,” Micah said, as he lifted his hand to everyone in farewell and slipped out the door.
“No flash point?” I said aloud.
“Nah, he’s old school,” Jude said with a smirk.
I scrunched my face in confusion. “Old school?”
“He doesn’t need a flash point to get to where he needs to go. He just goes,” Jude said, smiling at my confusion.
“Jude, do you have everything under control for now?” Edge interrupted.
“I got this. You guys go rest in case another call comes in. I’ll sound the alarm if we get one.” Jude waved us off.
“Rainy, Matheson and Julie, are you guys up for the next call if it comes in?” Edge asked them.
“We’re good,” Matheson replied as the three looked at each other with nods of acknowledgement.
Edge linked his fingers with mine as he guided us to the stairs. My mind wandered as we silently made our way to our room. There had been so much going on in the last few hours that I really hadn’t had time to process it. For starters, what was up with the woman coming out of the book like that in front of everyone? Now everyone had the same mark because of her. Did that make us part of her Coven? I ran my hand along my neck feeling nothing but smooth skin.
As soon as the bedroom door closed, Edge was stripping off his clothes. His shirt hit the floor and two steps later, his boots were unlaced and he was toeing them off. His pants fell to the ground and he stepped out of them. He turned around to look at me before he stepped into the bathroom, wiggled his eyebrows and tossed his boxer briefs to land at my feet.
I couldn’t help but laugh. It was like watching something I would have done when the book had me in Edge-seeking mode. I let my mind wander back to those days before I stepped into the bathroom. The steam was hanging thick in the air and I had to wipe the mirror in order to see my reflection. Edge had the hot water turned up so high that the mirror began to fog up again before I could catch a glimpse of myself.
“You don’t need a mirror to tell you how beautiful you are,” Edge said as he bumped my arm with his hand. Soapy water rolled down to my fingers.
“Would you?” he asked, pointing to his back.
I took the washcloth from him. He looked over his shoulder with a heated gaze. I swallowed hard. This was all new to me; the intimacy between two people. I could feel the burning in my cheeks as I left a trail of soap bubbles that started at his shoulders and ended at his feet.
Edge slipped his hands around me and pulled me, fully clothed, under the spray.
“I missed you,” he said, crushing his lips to mine.
We stayed in the shower until the water cooled over our heated skin. Edge kissed my lips and chuckled as my body shuddered from the drastic drop in temperature. I picked up my clothes and started wringing them out, putting each piece over the shower rod to let them dry. Edge grabbed a thick white towel and wrapped it around my body. “You have the loveliest shade of blue to your lips,” he said. “Maybe I should warm them up.”
He pulled me close and carried me to bed, tucking the covers up to my chin, and then slid in close, wrapping his arms around me. His delicious warmth soaked into my skin. I hummed in response.
He ran his finger along my shoulder up to my neck. “I love the little noises you make.”
“Is it there?” I asked, wondering if he could see the mark.
“No, I’m certain it’s a little lower,” he said with a husky laugh.
I elbowed him in the ribs. “The mark, is it there?” I clarified.
“The mark? Yes it’s there, only, not visible right now.”
“I don’t understand. How can it be there but not visible?”
“Every Coven member has a mark that represents their Coven. It’s used in times where you would need to prove you are who you say you are,” he replied as he propped himself up to look down at me. I rolled over onto my back to get a better look at his neck.
“Why did she come out like that and change Micah’s mark? And what did she do to all of us?” I asked.
“She did that for her own benefit more than anything. Now she can keep tabs on us since she
gifted us with the Original Coven’s mark,” Edge answered.
“I really don’t like that we can broadcast our thoughts without really thinking about it.” I gasped. What if the others overheard…oh no, I groaned at the thought. Edge chuckled. “Can you hear me?” I squeaked.
“No,” he said, smoothing my hair back from my face, “I think the reason that we were communicating so well before was because the mark had just been placed on us. The power was still surging which amplified the ability. I’m sure from here on out we’re going to have to be thinking about that person and then connect with their thoughts in order to speak to each other like that.”
“Well, I hope it was just a fluke thing and no one can do it again.”
Edge stared at me, his eyes burning into mine. I could get used to talking to you like this.
“Get out of my head,” I said, shoving at him. He smirked as he leaned down and placed a swift kiss to my lips.
“I thought you’d enjoy that,” he chuckled.
“Yeah, I think I’ll stick to using my mouth.” I swatted at him as he wiggled his eyebrows and smiled.
Edge slipped me under him and started placing soft kisses along my face. His lips were so light, I could hardly feel them. He made me burn at every touch. Preordained or not, I’d follow him to the ends of the earth.
“You would?”
“Would what?” I said with a sigh as he continued kissing a path down my neck.
Every time I think I can’t possibly fall even farther, you go and pull the rug right out from underneath me. I could sink inside of you and never return. You….are….my…..everything. His lips crushed mine as he sought to show me what he meant.
I melted in his arms. There was no point to my life without him. Love was such a small word to compare to what I felt for him. Energy crackled around us, over us, coating our skin in a glow that grew brighter and brighter before it shattered. My life before Edge was shades of muted colors that only he could bring the vibrancy to. Only he could assemble the broken pieces of what I was before I’d met him. I knew this because he was the missing piece that pulled the whole picture together in sharp focus.
We fell asleep, wrapped in each other’s arms. No words were spoken as our thoughts connected. He was mine, I was his. Blips of thoughts flowing back and forth between us as our bodies rested.
Dawn light slipped faint fingers of yellow along the walls. I studied motes of sparkling dust as it danced in and out of the faint sunshine. My head was tucked against Edge’s neck as my hand traced lazy circles on his chest. I soaked up all the little moments, knowing they would be here and gone before the next outbreak of disasters started up.
Edge would want to get a head start on training today. With us monitoring the Covens and sending in our own people to stop the attacks, his time would be limited with me.
I could feel Edge waking up. His arm tightened around me as he shifted slightly. I picked my head up off his chest and smiled as he opened his eyes.
“Good morning,” I whispered.
Before he could wipe the sleep from his eyes, the alarm went off. A Coven was in trouble. We stumbled out of bed and hastily tossed on our clothes. Edge pounded down the stairs with me hot on his heels.
“Report,” Edge said as he stepped up to the wall monitors.
“Enforcers, group of eight just showed up in Naples, Italy. It’s one of the older Covens. More protection there but the Enforcers are blowing through their security like nothing,” Jude replied. “The others have left already. How come you two are so late?” Jude smirked.
Edge ignored him and gestured to one of the screens. “Is that them?”
“Yeah. Rainy and Matheson have taken out three so far. Julie’s coming around the other side of that building.” Jude pointed at the bulky object on the screen.
“They split up?” Edge sounded baffled.
“Had to, there’s too many and the Enforcers split when they got through the first wave of security. She should be taking a couple out right now,” he said, pointing to the white dot that was Julie. Two red dots disappeared and the white dot- Julie- was on the move.
“Here, take this.” Jude handed the headset over to Edge as Julie voice reported as it crackled through the speaker on the table.
“Where to next?” she asked.
Jude’s finger traced the image on the monitor that showed Edge the route.
“Take the next side street and you’ll connect back up with the others. Be careful, you got three more on the move between you,” Edge said into the thin wire that I’d come to realize was a microphone.
“Copy that,” Rainy replied.
“Headed that way,” Julie piped in.
Matheson’s voice filtered out of the speaker. “Two in my sights.”
“Sure glad he spoke up. Haven’t heard too much out of him,” Jude said as he enlarged the screen to show three white dots and two red ones. The red dots disappeared.
“Mission complete,” Matheson announced.
Jude blew out a breath. “I don’t understand. Either we’re really good at taking them by surprise, or the Enforcers that the Triad’s been sending out are a joke.”
The door opened and Rainy, Julie and Matheson were back in the War Room.
“It’s too easy. Something isn’t right,” Julie said as she tossed herself in a chair beside Jude.
“Looked like you were kicking ass out there, babe,” Jude said as he smiled at Julie.
“How would you know what I was doing? All you see are white dots,” she said, rolling her eyes at him.
“I just know these things,” he replied, tapping his finger to his head.
“They have to know something is up by now. That’s two teams of Enforcers that we’ve taken out,” Matheson said.
“Yep, and the fun is just getting started for us. I have a feeling no one will be getting any sleep from here on out,” Jude replied.
“Keep me informed. If the alarm sounds, I’ll be at the beach so you’ll need to call me,” Edge said, tapping his finger at his head.
I guessed the whole communicate-between-each-other link was going to be used like an inner cell phone.
Rainy spoke up. “We may have to take her training in shifts too, just in case. She might need to be ready to use her magic sooner than we expect.”
“I agree. We’ll work out the details tonight,” Edge said as he followed me out the door.
I expected using my magic to be harder, like I’d have to learn the spells and repeat them in order for them to work. I asked Edge about it and he told me that there are those who have to do it that way. For some, like me, it was more of a thought process that just happened while we used our magic.
The ability to connect our thoughts came in handy. I was able to understand what Edge was expecting me to do just by listening to his thoughts. It was like magic by osmosis. I’d learned more about using the elements from him in these past few hours than I had any other time we trained.
“It’s like I just get it now,” I said in wonder.
Edge smiled. “You’re picking things up way faster now, for sure.”
I couldn’t help the yawn that slipped out before I spoke. “Do you think tomorrow we can see what the book has for me to use in my arsenal?”
Edge smiled. “I don’t see why not. Out here is much safer than inside and now that I can listen to your thoughts, I have a better understanding of what you’re doing. I’ll be able to step in if something gets out of control.”
“Tomorrow it is,” I said, slipping my hand in his as we headed back to the house.
Magic was becoming second nature to me, like I’d never been cut off from it at all.
Jude was still sitting at the computer when we stepped into the War Room.
“Have you slept at all?” Edge asked.
Julie huffed from the other side of the room. “Are you kidding me? He won’t even leave that computer to go to the bathroom.” She slammed her hands on her hips. “Believe me, I’ve tried t
o get him to go get some sleep. I even told him I’d watch the screens for a little while.”
“Jude, go get some sleep. You won’t be any help to us later if you pass out,” Edge said, pulling Jude’s chair away from the table. “I got it for now.”
Jude stood up and swayed. Julie grabbed him by the arm and pulled him along behind her. “Thanks, Edge,” she said as Jude staggered behind her, nearly bumping into the wall in his zombie-like state.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
My toes dug into the sand as I braced myself for attack. Edge wiggled his fingers at me. “Ready?” he asked. I nodded sharply once. I had to remember to shield myself and be ready to counter his attack.
His voice whispered in my mind. Make the shield a part of you and it will be. You won’t have to think about it and you can concentrate on defending yourself.
I pulled a steadying breath deep into my lungs. I could do this. I had to do this.
I called forth my shield and felt it wrap itself snugly along my skin. I felt the slight telltale hum when I was fully protected.
Remember that it will fail if you take a powerful hit. Get it back as soon as possible, but never stop defending yourself. Anyone set out to harm you will wait for the shield to weaken and try to take you down, Edge said as he began pushing a steady stream of air at me.
Edge released a ball of energy and it sailed towards me. I sent a burst of air back to block it. The two energies collided and broke apart. I rolled my shoulders in anticipation of the next burst of energy coming from Edge. I could feel the energy gathering in my palms and I turned it loose seconds after he did. Again the energies slammed into each other and fizzled out.
Our magic wasn’t so much spells as it was the use of the four elements. We could use all of them in a culmination, producing an energy we could wield as needed.
It was a lot to think about when you were defending and attacking at the same time. The others had grown up learning how to balance both and still be alert. I couldn’t help but be a little jealous of the fact I’d been robbed of this way of life for so long. My thoughts kept tumbling around in my head, distracting me. I could feel the hum of energy slipping from my skin. Edge’s attack came without warning. A wall of water hit me, knocking me back on the sand head over heels. I came up sputtering.
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