“Don’t look at me. I ain’t never planned a wedding either.”
“Just bring it with you tonight,” Lara said, shaking her head at our collective ineptitude.
“You want me to carry it around with me?” I frowned down at the trail of curled gift-wrap ribbons that fell to my knees. “What if I have to pull my knife?”
Lara laughed. “At dinner? Or while we’re dancing?”
Kandy growled. “Shut it, big mouth.”
Preceded by her sweet peppermint magic, Jasmine stepped onto the sidewalk at the corner of West Fifth and Larch, gazing intently at me. Lara flinched as if the golden-haired vampire had just appeared out of nowhere, but she’d apparently been tucked behind a tall laurel hedge for some odd reason.
“I’m here,” Jasmine murmured, darting a look at the three werewolves.
“So I see,” I said, confused by the intimate wariness of her tone.
“You were supposed to text if you left the apartment,” Kandy snipped.
Jasmine frowned. “Jade texted me.”
“I didn’t.”
She fell into step with me, pulling her phone out of the pocket of her figure-hugging brown suede jacket.
The two pack werewolves dropped back a few steps, as if deliberately separating themselves from association with the vampire. Audrey whispered something that sounded derogatory, but I didn’t bother to work out the actual words. Lara snickered.
Jasmine flicked a backward glance at them, but she ignored the cold shoulder. Kandy tucked up slightly behind my left shoulder. The three of us wouldn’t have been able to walk abreast otherwise.
Jasmine unlocked her phone and stared down at her screen. “I … that’s odd.”
“No text message?”
But instead of answering me, the golden-haired vampire looked up abruptly, glaring past Kandy and at the other werewolves for no reason I could discern.
“What are you looking at, vampire?” Audrey asked with a sneer.
“I’m not certain,” Jasmine said condescendingly. “But it appears to be roadkill walking.”
Lara snarled. The green of her shapeshifter magic rolled across Audrey’s eyes.
“Whoa, whoa!” I kept my pace steady in the hopes of continuing to draw Jasmine with me without having to grab her. Something was definitely up with the vampire, but I didn’t want to exacerbate it unnecessarily. “It’s a party, ladies. Not a catfight.”
Lara opened her mouth to snarl something back at me — presumably regarding the cat comment, which I belatedly realized might have been construed as disparaging by a werewolf. An unfortunate choice of phrase on my part.
“Enough,” Kandy snarled. She spun around to walk backward, her bittersweet-chocolate magic shifting around her with the command.
Lara snapped her mouth shut.
Audrey pinned Kandy with her green-hued gaze — and her gait slowed. For a brief, panicked moment, I thought the green-haired werewolf was going to throw down with her beta. Which would have been a seriously bad idea for Audrey, because Kandy would most likely win — magic cuffs or no magic cuffs. And Kandy didn’t want the rank that would have come with that victory. Or the relocation to Portland.
“The weather is nice, isn’t it?” I tried to sound deliberately perky though something was clearly going on, continuing to stroll down the sidewalk. “Snow on the mountains but practically sweater weather in town.”
Kandy rolled her shoulders, then turned her back on Audrey, stepping up just behind me again.
Jasmine had reverted her attention to her phone.
The three of us crossed Balsam Street without further incident. Only a block and a half to the bakery. And maybe, once we were behind the security of wards, I could figure out what was up with Jasmine. And the testy wolves, though Audrey was always on the edge of —
“I can hear you, assholes,” Jasmine snarled, spinning so suddenly to face the werewolves that I got a mouthful of golden curls. “If you have something to say, try saying it to my face. See how that goes.”
Audrey practically threw herself forward, snapping her teeth only an inch away from Jasmine’s nose. “You’re hearing things, bloodsucker. If I bothered to address your kind, I’d do it with tooth and fang. You’re not worthy of my words.”
“Technically,” I said, “you’re talking to her right now, beta.”
“Stay out of it, dowser,” Lara snarled.
Kandy laughed sharply, drawing Jasmine’s attention. The red of her magic was ringing the vampire’s bright-blue irises. Something was seriously up with her.
Audrey turned her shoulders away, as if stepping back from the situation. Jasmine shook her head oddly, perhaps trying to clear it. Then Audrey shifted her weight, spinning back with her hand raised to slap Jasmine.
I stepped forward, blocking the vampire from the blow she was too inexperienced to expect. So Audrey backhanded me instead. Aiming for Jasmine’s cheek, she got my jaw and upper neck because I was about two inches taller. A bunch of the small bones in her hand snapped, the sound sharp to all our ears.
I turned my head with the blow, hoping to mitigate its effects. For Audrey, that was. I barely felt it myself.
Audrey froze, more wary than frightened. Her hand hung suspended in the air between us.
Lara moaned quietly.
I met the beta’s brown-eyed gaze, unable to keep the challenge out of my look. “Care to try again, wolf?”
Audrey lowered her hand, flexing her fingers as her shifter magic rolled over it, likely healing the multiple breaks. “You move quickly, dowser,” she said, deceptively mildly.
“You ain’t seen nothing yet, werewolf.” I smiled. Possibly nastily.
“Jade.” Kandy’s whisper was muted but tense.
I nodded, trying to temper my tone. I didn’t particularly like being hit, not even if I was the one who’d stepped into it. “In Vancouver, we try to figure out what’s going on with our friends when they act out of character. You know, before ambushing them.”
“Like a coward,” Jasmine added.
Kandy closed her eyes, pained.
Audrey’s chocolate-infused magic rose again — bitter and punctuated by the earthy taste of mushrooms and some sort of nut … brazil nut, maybe. The bones in her face shifted. Dark, wiry hair appeared and disappeared on her neck. She gritted her teeth, fighting the transformation.
Lara pressed her shoulder against her beta’s, but she kept her gaze downcast — likely so I didn’t think she was challenging me.
“I told you.” Jasmine peered over my shoulder. “They’re conspiring against me. Against you, dowser.”
“The vampire is obviously out of her mind,” Audrey said. “Not unexpected, for her kind.”
A wide grin spread across my face. Again. I wasn’t particularly friendly with Audrey, but Jasmine automatically earned my loyalty because she belonged to Kett, and because he’d asked me to watch over her.
Audrey actually stepped back. Most likely because I’d wrapped my hand around the hilt of my knife, though I left it sheathed. For now. Even the beta werewolf wasn’t stupid enough to tangle with my blade.
“We’re supposed to go for dinner,” Kandy said, stepping between me and the other two werewolves. She pinned me with a mournful gaze. “Then dancing.”
“How can you blame this on me?” I cried.
“The vampire needs to be shown her place,” Audrey snarled. “You allow her to be too familiar.”
“You once thought that about me, beta.” I laughed darkly. The magic of the instruments of assassination sleepily curled around my necklace, egging me on. “Maybe you still do?”
“A leader should understand, Jade.” Audrey squared her shoulders, lifting her chin imperiously. “Your example governs the fledglings in your territory.”
I narrowed my eyes at her. It felt as if the conversation was veering seriously close to some sort of lesson — but the beta was in no position to school me.
“Time and place, beta,” Kandy said, keepin
g her tone neutral. “I’m certain your insights would be welcome when requested.”
“You’re crossing a line, Kandy,” Audrey snapped.
Jasmine thrust her arm in front of me, showing me her phone. “See?” she cried. “It’s right there. I’ve uncovered evidence.”
The screen of her phone was blank.
I glanced at Kandy.
She leaned over to look at the phone, then peered at Jasmine. “There’s nothing on the phone, baby girl.”
Frowning, Jasmine withdrew the phone, muttering to herself and fiddling with the screen.
Turning my back on the stupid pissing contest with the werewolves, I grasped the golden-haired vampire by the elbow, steering her swiftly toward the bakery. Well, as quickly as I could without drawing attention from the homes lining either side of the street. It wasn’t dark yet, and people would be coming home from work soon.
The werewolves followed, Kandy at my heels with Audrey and Lara only a step behind.
Energy tickled the back of my hand. Just a hint of something foreign, almost hidden underneath the vampire’s riled, sweet-peppermint magic.
Possibly elven magic by its tenor. But, as far as I could tell, not the illusionist’s power.
“Elf …” I whispered it without otherwise reacting, knowing that Kandy would hear and understand me. “Something’s going on. Like with the injured wolf last night.”
Jasmine’s head shot up. “Elf? Where?” She hissed it through inch-long fangs, which had abruptly made an appearance.
“Keep moving, Jasmine,” I said, smiling as if we were just chatting amicably. “Like we’re in a hurry, but not like we’re panicked. Yes?”
“Yes.” The vampire sounded agreeable enough, but I didn’t like that she was showing fang.
“Circle back a block at the corner,” Kandy whispered to Audrey and Lara behind us.
“Why should we?” Audrey sniffed condescendingly.
“Use your nose, beta,” Kandy murmured.
As we approached the corner of Vine and West Fifth Avenue, Kandy said brightly, “We’ll meet you two back at the bakery. We just have a few things to pick up first.”
Then the three werewolves peeled off in different directions without another word.
As much as I desperately wanted to be leading the elf hunt, I steered Jasmine to the left, heading north to West Fourth Avenue instead.
The disoriented vampire was fiddling with her phone again. “It was right here. Here? No. Right here.”
I didn’t pick up any more of the magic I’d tasted when I first touched Jasmine. And I couldn’t taste any of the illusionist’s magic either. Which seriously bothered me. I had learned to rely on my dowser senses in such situations. You know, when my friends were being hunted — though the elves were taking it a step further if they were managing to influence Jasmine somehow.
And with the vampire compromised, I couldn’t even pause to dowse for the elves’ magic. Not out in the open. Not without first getting Jasmine away from the werewolves, who she seemed to be fixating on. I was hoping that getting the vampire behind the wards of the bakery would mitigate whatever was going on with her.
Thankfully, though, we still had a couple of hours before dinner. So hunting elves wasn’t completely off the menu yet.
I paused at the crosswalk at West Fourth Avenue. The traffic was thick, both vehicle and pedestrian. Jasmine pressed up against me, looking around furtively. Involuntarily, I thought.
I gripped her arm slightly more firmly, trying to impress her with the fact that she’d have a difficult time getting away from me. You know, just in case she was contemplating grabbing an unwilling snack. Then the light changed and I wove through the throng of people crossing the road, dragging Jasmine alongside me.
Up ahead, Kandy jogged across Vine Street, darting into the alley behind the Whole Foods at the corner to scout ahead of us. I followed the green-haired werewolf, meeting up with her by the back door of the bakery just seconds after Lara, who had approached from the opposite direction.
“Nothing,” the purple-clad werewolf said. “Only humans for a block in all directions. Audrey’s doing another —”
Without warning, Jasmine wrenched free from my grasp — leaving the arm of her suede jacket in my hand. The vampire attacked Lara, latching onto the werewolf’s neck and slamming her against the green recycling bin.
I lunged forward to slip a finger into the side of Jasmine’s mouth. Then, hooking her like a fish, I wrenched her away from Lara’s neck.
Kandy grabbed Lara, holding her upright while pressing a hand to her badly bleeding neck. Lara’s shifter magic exploded around us as she instinctively started to transform into a shape better suited for taking on a vampire. A form that wouldn’t remain hidden behind the recycling bin for very long.
“No!” Kandy pressed a hand to Lara’s face, gazing deeply into her eyes. “You’re okay, my friend. You’re safe.”
Leaving the hurt werewolf for Kandy to manage, I dragged a snarling Jasmine toward the exterior door of the bakery. She twisted and fought against my grip the whole way. Thankfully, the door opened to the touch of my magic, rather than needing to fumble with an actual key. That allowed me to get it open one-handed, then to thrust the vampire through the wards.
I glanced back at Lara and Kandy. The purple-clad werewolf’s neck was no longer gushing with blood. She looked completely pissed, of course. But at least she was still human.
Looking through into the kitchen, I realized I was still holding the sleeve of Jasmine’s jacket, though I’d lost the paper-and-ribbon bouquet somewhere. The golden-haired vampire was standing a few steps away from my stainless steel workstation, wearing her ruined jacket and a dazed expression. Thankfully the bakery was closed for the day.
A hulking, hairy monster abruptly appeared behind me, scoring my back with its wicked claws before I could step aside.
“Audrey!” Kandy cried.
Pulling a page from the beta’s own playbook, I took a step over the bakery threshold, then pivoted to backhand Audrey.
Carefully.
She was in her half-wolf, half-human form, first stumbling, then snarling, then coming at me with teeth and claws bared. Yes, right out in the freaking open space of the alley.
I slammed both hands over Audrey’s massive maw, squeezing her jaw shut. Then I tucked my knees and rolled backward into the bakery, pulling the huge werewolf with me. Audrey flipped ass over head, slamming down onto the edge of the workstation. Its stainless steel crumpled underneath her massive, clawed feet.
I stood motionless for a painful moment, cringing at the damage I had just inflicted on my haven.
Unfortunately, I’d also forgotten about Jasmine.
As Audrey staggered to her feet among the wreckage of my steel counter, the golden-haired vampire flung herself around the werewolf’s neck, dangling there like a pretty ornament. Her fangs had retracted. Her blue eyes were wide but determined. Whatever magic had influenced her previously appeared to have been negated by the bakery wards.
Unfortunately, a newly made vampire — even with Kett’s powerful blood running in her veins — was no match for a beta werewolf. At least not a match for Audrey in her half-beast form.
Snarling, the massive monster trashing the tile floor of my kitchen with her clawed feet reached up to engulf Jasmine’s face in her hand. Holding her by the head alone, she pulled the vampire off her shoulder. Then she body slammed Jasmine onto the floor — doing even more damage to my tile, along with what remained of my workstation.
Kandy appeared at my back, but she was trying to hold on to Lara rather than joining the one-sided battle taking place in my kitchen. The wounded werewolf’s eyes blazed green as she desperately struggled to thrust herself into the fight.
Jasmine, still on her back, slammed a kick to Audrey’s leg. I heard bone snap, but the beta barely paused. Snarling viciously, Audrey bit downward, making an earnest attempt to decapitate the vampire with a single chomp.
&nb
sp; Jasmine rolled out of the way at the last moment, leaving a tangle of curls between Audrey’s teeth.
“Jade!” Kandy cried.
Spotting an opening, I lunged forward, getting between Audrey and Jasmine before either had a chance to see me move. I grabbed Audrey in a chokehold. My arm didn’t even come close to circling her neck, but my strength made up for my lack of grip. The beta grabbed my shoulders, but she couldn’t shake me off.
“Get back!” I said to Jasmine, who was looking like she was thinking of wading into the tussle again. The vampire crab-walked backward, clearing the immediate area.
“Dowser!” Audrey snarled, the word mangled by her not-quite-perfectly aligned jaw. “Step aside.”
“The pack has a perfect right to extract revenge, dowser,” Lara said from behind me. “The vampire has broken covenant with us!”
Kandy shook Lara harshly, so much so that the wounded werewolf appeared dazed — though that might have been due to the amount of blood she’d lost.
I shoved Audrey a few steps back as I let go of her. “Jasmine, child of Kettil, the executioner and elder of the Conclave, is under my protection.”
Audrey’s magic welled up and around her. Suddenly, I was looking at the gorgeous, sleek-haired beta in shredded and stretched clothing, instead of the toothy monster. She raised her chin regally. “No matter her lineage, she’s transgressed against the pack.”
“Under the influence of elf magic.”
Audrey curled her lip dismissively. “Elves. Hogwash. Show me some evidence.”
Kandy stepped up beside me. She was still holding Lara, though the wounded werewolf appeared to have calmed down. “You don’t want this fight, beta. You want a cooler head. And to remember the report I sent three months ago.”
“Also,” I said snottily, “the illusion that had you hanging your ass off a cliff last night.” Yep. Unable to keep my mouth shut, as always.
Audrey eyed me. “I believe that was you, Jade.”
“The title is dowser, or even alchemist, if you believe me to be lying, werewolf. Wielder of the instruments of assassination if you’d like to challenge me. Again. Only friends call me by my first name these days.”
Audrey’s face blanked of emotion. She wasn’t necessarily afraid of me, but she was definitely thinking through the consequences of continuing to push me. The beta of the West Coast North American Pack was usually much more diplomatic, which made me even more certain that the foreign magic I’d picked up earlier was at the root of this unfortunate skirmish.
Misfits, Gemstones, and Other Shattered Magic (Dowser 8) Page 9