by Fran Tullo
“What about the whole ‘not breathing’ thing, Braydon? That seems a little more serious than a bit of bruising…” Okay, maybe a little bit of a deal, but she thought he was dead.
“Well, apparently, I wasn’t breathing because the force of the blast busted my sternum. I’m so bruised because my body focused on that to heal instead of the superficial stuff. I was told not to get hit in the chest again until my bruises are gone.”
She nodded, then punched him in the shoulder. “That was for worrying Jace… and me.” She wrapped her arms gently around his waist and put her head against his chest, reveling in the sounds of his breath against her ear.
Braydon groaned and laughed, hugging her tightly. “At least you didn’t hit me in the chest. I promise, I’m fine. Thanks to that amulet you gave me.” He toyed with chain a little, smiling at her.
“Yeah, well, thank Bri for that.” She glanced up as Rev walked past, nodding to him. “Please let them know we’ll be back sometime tomorrow. We have the sat phone still if anyone needs to get in contact with us.”
Once the cavern was cleaned out of its living occupants, Lexi took a little extra time to go over everything. She let out a whoop of excitement when she found the living quarters for the coven, though the term was loose at best. When Jace and Braydon came in, she was already on her knees, digging through one of the five trunks. “What the hell is this, Hogwarts Lite?” Braydon shook his head at Jace’s terrible joke, heading towards one of the trunks.
“Don’t touch them,” warned Lexi, glancing back as she separated things into piles. “They’re all spelled for protection and I haven’t had a chance to break them all yet.” She grinned, holding up an amulet with a snake impaled by two daggers. “Plenty of stuff for the Cleaners to destroy, if I give them the chance.”
“What the hell is that?” Jace peered at the amulet, careful not to touch it.
She shrugged, setting it in the ‘keep’ pile. “No clue. I have a witch friend back home who’ll tell me. He’ll help me destroy the really bad shit, and tell me how to use to good stuff.” She pushed herself up, putting all the magic items she wanted to keep into her bag. When she caught Braydon’s confused look, she grinned. “Holiday gift from him. He called it an boundless bag. Basically, it can hold anything I need to keep in it, as long as it’s small enough to fit in the opening.” She paused, tilting her head. “I didn’t ask him about living things… not sure if they’d be alive in there or not.”
It took another hour for her to go through the other trunks, while Jace and Braydon checked out the rest of the connected caverns. They came back with a few other trinkets and clothes, and Lexi went through those as well. When she finally closed the last trunk, she turned back to them and smiled. “Okay… Once we’re back to the other snowmobiles, I’ll call the Cleaners. We’ll be far enough away that we won’t get caught in the cleansing.”
Braydon nodded and led the way back to the entrance. Once they were outside, Lexi tied everything down a little tighter while the guys started stripping. “You gonna be okay by yourself for a bit? We’re fast, but you’re definitely gonna beat us there.”
She smiled and nodded, straddling the snowmobile. “I’ll be fine. I’ve been on my own for a long time, kitty cat. Just don’t dilly-dally. I don’t want any of the local fauna deciding she looks like a snack… I don’t know what she would do to them.”
Braydon snorted. “Probably nothing good. No offense to your… what, race? Job? Whatever, but she was nasty.”
Lexi smirked as the snowmobile roared to life. “Your guess is as good as mine. But the sooner we get moving, the sooner you can remind yourself how I taste.” She winked and took off, spraying them with snow and laughing at the chorus of protests that faded as she moved.
Chapter 25
Jace
As he watched her disappearing into the distance, Jace wiped his face of the snow, shaking her head. “Bitch,” he grumbled fondly. “All right, let’s get out of here.”
Braydon nodded, pulling him into a quick kiss that Jace was more than happy to deepen for a few seconds before pulling away and shifting. He loved watching Braydon shift… he looked like he was made of pure liquid as he slid into his alternate form. It was only an ability you learned after many painful shifts in your early teens. Now, though… Braydon made it look effortless. One minute, a tall, muscular man with a faint dusting of arctic white and blue hair covering his skin, the next, he was a beautiful snow leopard, larger than the true animal counterpart, but just as graceful and lithe.
Braydon slid along Jace’s flank, purring against the fox’s thicker fur. With a playful yip, Jace jumped straight up, taking off as soon as he landed. He could just barely make out Braydon’s paws against the snow as they raced through the trees. There was nothing more fun than running with his mate…
Another yip ripped from him when there was suddenly when a seventy pound weight pounced on him from above. He rolled, chirping in annoyance at Braydon, who was tumbled over in the snow and huffing out a feline chuckle. Jace pounced him back before spinning and taking off again, darting into the underbrush so Braydon wouldn’t be able to get him again. They ran together, playing between the trees and in the snow drifts as they moved.
It was honestly like a weight had lifted off of him. The fear and uncertainty that had clouded the air over the last couple months had dissipated and he felt like he could breathe again. There was still uncertainty, of course… they were headed towards the biggest uncertainty, the woman who was probably setting up camp by now. He didn’t know what the future would hold, but he was really, really hoping part of his future would be with her.
Chapter 26
Lexi
It only took her an hour to reach the site of the other two snowmobiles, though she drove past it once before noticing a corner of the tarp blowing in the wind. Once she parked, she quickly got to work setting up a small tent and getting wood set out for a fire. The heater would still be good for the tent itself, but she was shivering after the extended time in the over-warm cave. All she needed was to get a cold out here. She really hated being sick.
Once she got the camp set up, she started the fire and sat down, near the tent, waiting for the boys. She wanted to go find the body, bury it and pay her respects, but she promised the boys she’d wait. They’d worry if she wasn’t there when they showed up.
As she stared at the low lick of the flames, her vision blurred and went dim. As the blackness faded, she found herself back in the opulent boudoir from before, staring at two women now, instead of one. The first was the woman she’d already spoken to, the one who’d been… with the dead Red, lounging indolently on an elegant chaise lounge. Her hair was pulled back to flow behind her, leaving her form completely unhidden behind the diaphanous red robe.
The new woman sat straight in a plush armchair that she managed to make look like a throne. Her black hair was straight as string, reminding Lexi of Egyptian pharaohs. The gold glittering around her neck and on her fingers helped sell the look. Spiraling up one of her bare upper arms was a golden coil bracelet with ax heads on either end. She watched Lexi with deep green eyes, lips curled in a slight smile, though Lexi couldn’t tell if it was amusement or derision.
“There’s my good girl. I told you she’d come talk again.” The lounging woman smirked at the other one before turning back to Lexi. “Come back to bury my girl?”
Lexi nodded a little, glancing around before sitting down on the chair she’d used before. “I am. And you two are… what? In my head?”
The regal-looking woman finally spoke, quiet and certain. It was the voice of a woman who never had to shout to command respect. “We are. Some longer than others.” She looked pointedly at the other woman, who just shrugged and smirked.
“All right, now for the $64,000 question… who the hell are you, and why are you in my head?”
The women turned her attention back to Lexi and the raven-haired beauty spoke again. “We are the reason you’re so good at
your job. I have watched over you for years. Since before you killed your first rogue shifter.” She frowned, leaning forward a little to rest a hand on Lexi’s wrist. “I watched as you found Mildred, and decided to leave for the safety of the others you cared about.”
Lexi didn’t pull her hand away immediately, but she did lean back. “That doesn’t tell me who you are… it only tells me what you are. Though, I’m still not completely convinced that I’m not crazy.”
The indolent woman laughed, shaking her head. “Oh, pretty, you are crazy, but that doesn’t mean we’re not real. All Reds are a little… well… not normal.” Sitting up, she leaned against her knees, breasts almost falling free of her robe. “I am Lust, little Red, and she is Pride.”
“We are of the First, and we are Enduring. This is not the first time we have lived in each other’s abode, but we always hope that it will be the last. So far… we have been unsuccessful. Maybe you will change this.” The regal woman… Pride, Lexi reminded herself, leaned back in her chair and crossed her leg over her knee. You must discover the Source for yourself, but we can tell you… look at the legends. The older, the more unreliable… but also containing the most knowledge.”
“And you must find our Others, pretty. Because if you don’t, we will become little more than chattery voices in your head, and you will lose your mind.” Lust frowned deeply, marring her beautiful features with the unfamiliar gesture. “I have no wish to go through that yet again so soon.”
“Others… what Others?” Lexi stood up and paced in front of the mirror, agitated by too much mystery and not enough answers. Though, she could easily see this sort of thing driving her insane. She already felt half-nuts as it was.
Pride sighed softly, looking away. “The Others are the people who, like us, are Enduring. They are reborn every generation. If you find them, they can ease the effects of our presence. You need to find them, Alexandra. It is the only way to avoid the fate of the rest of the Reds.”
Lust gave Pride a coy smile before turning the flirty look on Lexi. “Of course, Ms. Doom and Gloom over there isn’t mentioning that you’ve already found one… We’ll leave it up to you to decide which one it is and what to do with him.”
Lexi sighed, rubbing her hands over her face and through her hair, messing up the already spiky style. “Ya know… maybe the Reds all go nuts because you’re infuriating…”
Lust laughed and nodded. “It’s possible… but sometimes you have to make your own fun. We don’t get a lot of outside interaction. So go be a good girl, bury my sweet Red so the animals don’t get to her, and then, my darling, you need to research.”
She snapped her fingers with a wink, and Lexi’s vision grayed out again. When it returned, the fire had banked a little. As she poked it to stir it back up, the crunch of snow and a cheerful yip announced Jace’s arrival, with Braydon hot on his heels.
You’ve already found one… it’s up to you to decide which one…
She looked up and smiled as they padded to the fire, tossing their bag of clothes toward them. “Took you two long enough.”
Jace was the first to shift, opening the bag to grab his pants quickly. “Shit, it’s cold out here with no fur. That cave was miserable.” Once he’d put his clothes on, he flopped down next to Lexi and pulled her onto his lap as Braydon was pulling his clothes on. “Let’s eat first, and then we’ll get started with burial detail.”
Braydon nodded and rifled around in the pack on the snowmobile, grabbing the extra food and setting up the portable grill over the fire. “Real food this time, not just crappy sandwiches to eat on the run. I think we’ve earned them.”
Lexi just nodded, still lost in studying the two of them, both hoping and dreading that Lust had meant one of them. She didn’t want to drag them from their home, or put some sort of block in their relationship. But she could honestly get used to the idea of having someone at her back again. She didn’t want to admit it when she was alone, but she missed the feeling of relying on someone else when she got into a bind. Her mind raced with the possibilities, both good and bad. She could hear the boys talking around her, but she couldn’t focus on their words as her thoughts spun out of control.
Chapter 27
Lexi
“Lexi? Lex! You still there?” Jace nudged her with his shoulder and she blinked, focusing on the plate of food Braydon was holding out to her. She took it, shaking her head a little to clear it.
“Yeah… yeah, I’m here. Sorry. Got lost in my thoughts a little.” She smiled, picking up the burger Braydon made and taking a bite. Once she had deemed it edible… and surprisingly, more than that, Braydon was a good cook, she turned her attention back to the men who were looking at her with worried frowns. “Guys… I’m good. Just thinking. We’ll bury her as deep as we can, and then in the morning, we can head back to the compound and report to the Elders. On our way back, I’ll call in the Cleaners, to make sure we don’t get caught in their scrub radius.”
Jace frowned, putting his own burger down for a minute and looking at her. “How big exactly is this ‘scrub radius’ and what happens if we’re caught in it?”
Lexi waved him off, swallowing another bite before squeezing his wrist reassuringly. “Well, if we were caught in it, we could be stripped of our magic or killed, depending on the Cleaners and what they’re cleaning up. That being said, I know exactly how far we need to be away from them, and aside from one mistake, I’ve never given the Cleaners a reason to be mad at me, so if I was there, I could get us away from them without any of that.” She rubbed his arm gently before returning to her food. “But like I said, we’ll be way out of the way. And it gives any other creepy crawlies time to come out of the woodwork so they can be swept up too.”
Jace nodded, eyes still showing off a little worry, but he started eating again, so Lexi called it a win. Braydon smiled at her from across the fire and they fell into a comfortable silence, eating the burgers and some fruit Jace had thought to pack. When they were done, Jace cleaned up and banked the fire while Braydon and Lexi grabbed the tarps and shovels.
The trek back to where they’d left the Red’s body was a quiet one, a somber affair considering their end goal. When they got there, Lexi took the time to go over her body again, finding the magic items that Reds tended to carry. Nothing overly powerful… that was probably already in her bag, confiscated by the coven and then… reacquired by her. Once she made sure there was nothing left of value, she removed a necklace from her own neck, a simple silver rose, and laid it on the body before grabbing the last of the folded shovels and helping the boys dig.
It was slow going… the ground was frozen and despite the added strength of the shifters and her own abilities, it was still a huge amount of work. It took them hours to dig a hole large enough and deep enough to cover her body and keep it safe. They were exhausted by the time they were finished, covered in sweat that turned to steam in the frosty air. They carefully put her body on one of their camouflage tarps and lowered into the grave before collapsing onto the ground for a few minutes of rest.
Lexi looked into the grave at the tarp-wrapped corpse and sighed. “There but for the grace of the Old Gods…” She ran her hands over her face, ignoring the dirt and wet that smeared there, mixing with the sweat. “Fuck… okay. We need to get her covered up and get some rest. As it is, we’re not gonna make it back until at least mid-morning.”
Both shifters groaned, but pushed themselves up when Lexi did, grabbing the shovels. Thankfully, it was easier to throw the dirt back into the grave than it was to pull it out, and between the three of them, it only took a little over an hour to finish up. They made up a new camp about a half hour away, with Jace pitching the tent while Braydon got their fire going. Lexi wasn’t much help, too lost in her own thoughts to focus on anything more.
That is, until Braydon slipped up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. She leaned back into his chest and sighed, closing her eyes. “I’m sorry, Bray… I don’t know why this is b
othering me so much. It’s not like I haven’t seen bodies before… hell, it’s not even my first grave. So why…?”
Braydon kissed the top of her head and sighed. “It’s because you’ve never buried someone like you before. When you took off…” She frowned and tried to pull away, but he held her tight. “I’m not blaming you, love. But when you ran off, you didn’t stop to mourn her… or yourself. You took off and you’ve never stopped running. Death is easy, but that poor Red wasn’t killed… she was tortured and mutilated and it’s just now occurring to you that she might have been you if you took a wrong step.”
Lexi nodded, blinking away the tears that Braydon’s words were creating. She turned in his arms instead, burying her face in his shoulder. “It could have easily been me… and that means that coven came from somewhere else. They managed to make their way all the way to my territory, with a captive Red in tow.” She shuddered and clung a little tighter. “I don’t know how I’ve survived this long. I’ve been in some nasty scrapes, and I’m an arrogant bitch, but even I will admit that only pure stupid luck got me out of some of them. So why did I get luckier than her? Hell, she probably deserved the luck more than I did… so why?”