“There are different kinds of death. Different places to be. I’m not going to pretend to understand the afterlife, but I talked to one of the girls. She was so hopeless, so lonely. I wouldn’t wish that on anyone.” Not even my worst enemy.
“Even if the end result is even worse?” Isadora pressed.
I hadn’t thought about that possibility.
Lochlan frowned “It wouldn’t be worse. Isadora, you would be smart to watch your tongue.”
“I’m making sure she’s thought things through. What we’re about to do could backfire.”
“Yet, you are willing to do it too,” Ian pointed out. “It’s not only Mara making this decision. It’s all of us.”
“True, and I’ve considered all the possible outcomes. I’m making sure the rest of you have.”
“Possibilities considered.” Bryant rubbed the back of his neck. “Let’s do this.”
“Why are you in a rush?” Ian narrowed his eyes.
“Because I’d rather not wait for the demon to come to us.”
“Which it will if we do nothing.” Lochlan explained. “I can feel him already.”
“Feel him?” I startled. Was that something Séancers should have been able to do? My view on my abilities had changed completely. Now that I accepted I had them, I wanted them to be at their strongest. “Why can’t I?”
“Because you’re on a high right now.” Lochlan rubbed his hands together as if getting warm. “That’s why.”
“A high?” I asked.
He pointed to Ian. “You can thank him for that. Otherwise you’d probably be finding any excuse possible to get out of this.”
“That’s not exactly reassuring.” I didn’t want to be afraid, but I wanted to understand what I was facing.
“It’s honest. But you have no choice. We have to do this. Your life, and the life of countless others, is on the line.”
“You had better not be lying.”
“You’re the one who met the demon. Not me.”
“Yes, but all your talk about him following us here. That’s what’s motivating me.”
“Wouldn’t you go back to save Netta anyway?” He titled his head to the side.
Netta. Just the mention of her name brought it all back. “Yes. What do we need to do?”
“Before we begin, Ian, I need you to certify that you are the true Alpha of your pack.”
“I am.” He raised his chin.
“He is.” Noah nodded. “I can attest to it.”
“But you weren’t until recently.” Lochlan looked between the brothers. “I did my research.”
“Yes, we have not made the news public, but our brother died.” Ian’s expression didn’t change, but his eyes did. There was a sadness there and something else I couldn’t quite read.
I squeezed Ian’s hand.
“I can call my other brothers to attest to it too,” Ian offered.
“There’s no need.” Lochlan shook his head. “If you’re lying, your mate will be at risk.”
“I’m telling you the truth.” Ian met Lochlan’s gaze.
Lochlan nodded. “Then all that is left is for everyone to swear and to start the binding.”
“Swear what?” I asked. The whole situation was crazy. What was swearing going to do?
“That you are entering into this willingly and completely. This binding is irrevocable.” Lochlan never seemed annoyed at my constant questions. That was something at least.
Entering into anything irrevocable with Bryant sounded like a bad idea, but we had no choice. We needed to do this. “I swear, is that what I do?”
“It’s more than saying.” Isadora put a hand on her hip. “Let me get set up.”
“Set up?” Ian asked. He sounded just as worried as I was.
“Yes. Set up.” She walked back to the car and pulled out a backpack. I hoped she knew what she was doing.
22
Ian
I should have known things would get crazier. I’d been given the most amazing gift. Mara was my mate—but things had to go downhill from there. Fighting a demon should have been enough, but unfortunately it was not. Not by a long shot.
We all waited while Isadora took out a bunch of herbs and crystals from her bag. “As part of the binding you all have to swear not to reveal I have these crystals.”
“What are they?” Mara bent down to examine the bright purple and orange rocks.
“Don’t touch!” Isadora snapped.
“Sorry.” Mara pulled her hand back.
“I’m telling you for your own good. These could hurt you.”
“Really?” Mara’s forehead furrowed.
“Yes. I have to use gloves.” She pulled one on.
“Do you actually know how to use them?” Bryant crossed his arms.
“Yes.” Isadora picked up a crystal with her gloved hand and examined it. “I think.”
“You think.” Bryant laughed dryly. “Fantastic.”
“Give the girl a break.” Noah unexpectedly spoke, he’d been mostly quiet. “What’s the worst that happens? It doesn’t work? We don’t have any other ideas, do we?.”
“True.” Mara nodded. “Good semi-positive attitude.”
Noah laughed. “Semi-positive?”
“Positive would be you saying she can do it. Your spinning that it may not work, but it’s better than nothing,” Mara explained.
“Ah, I see.” Noah smiled.
My cell phone rang. It was an unknown number. I picked it up, not sure I wanted to know who was on the other line. “Hello?”
“Ian?” A light female voice asked.
“Yes. Who is this?” I tried to place the voice.
“It’s Trina,” she lowered her voice.
“Trina?” I asked with surprise as I realized I was speaking with Claire’s little sister. Claire was the only one of the cheetahs that ever called me.
“You need to help.”
“Help with what?” This wasn’t going to be good.
“It’s Claire, and it’s all my fault.”
“What happened?” This wasn’t something I wanted to deal with, but considering the trail Claire was on, I knew it would involve me whether I liked it or not.
“I got her in trouble. I didn’t realize it. Please, Ian. I have no one else to turn to.”
“Where is she?” I asked.
She said nothing at first, and I almost asked the question again before she finally replied. “That’s the problem.”
“What do you mean?”
“I don’t know where they took her.”
“Who’s they?” I dreaded whatever answer she’d give.
“The boss of the guy I’m seeing. His name’s Willem.”
I already knew what name she’d give, but it wasn’t going to get any better.
“Oh, and there’s more.”
“What more?” I froze. Could it be even worse?
“Your brother was here too.”
“Which brother?” I assumed I knew the answer.
“Tyler.”
Damn it. This was exactly what I didn’t need to hear. “Where is he now?”
“Not sure, maybe with Claire.”
“Did they show up at the same time?”
“No. Claire showed up first. She’s going to kill me.”
“Hope she survives long enough to kill you,” I grumbled. Claire wasn’t my favorite person, but she didn’t deserve this mess.
“Are you going to help?” Her voice shook slightly.
“Yes. I’m just not sure how.” I hung up.
“What’s wrong?” Mara wore a panicked expression.
“That was Trina.” I used her name for Noah’s benefit. Mara would have no idea who it was. “Willem has Claire and Tyler.”
“Tyler?” Noah’s expression darkened. “How the hell did they get Tyler?”
“I don’t know, but he was trying to help me. I sent him back to Green Acres to get info from a bartender. She must have been working for him all along.�
�
“Or he was followed,” Noah suggested. “We can’t leave any possibility out.”
“So what happens now?” Mara asked. “Are you going to go find him?” There was fear in her voice. She actually thought I’d leave her to fight a demon on her own.
“We do this first. If a demon gets through to our world we’re all in trouble.” I took her hands in mine. Tyler was tough, and so was Claire. We could get them both.
“I will help in any way once this is through,” Lochlan promised. “And I am sure your mate will be of greater help when this is done. The more she uses her powers, the stronger they will become. Think of them like a muscle.”
“A muscle that involves talking to the dead.” Mara shook her head. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’m kind of getting used to that now.”
Lochlan smiled. “That’s good.”
“Ian, can we talk?” Noah gave me a look that let me know he wasn’t really asking a question.
“Sure.” I kissed Mara on the cheek before walking to the side with Noah. “What’s up?”
Noah glanced over his shoulder at the others before turning back to look at me. “This is all tied to Jonovan. It has to be.”
I nodded. “I know.”
“So what does that mean? Should we be figuring that out before we go any further?”
“We don’t have a choice right now. We have to get done with this demon first.”
“Do you want me here, or do you want me finding Tyler?”
It was splitting up that put Tyler in danger in the first place. I wasn’t risking Noah too. “I need you here.”
“You don’t, but you’re worried about me.” Noah’s lips twisted into the hint of a smile.
“This is my mate we’re talking about—and a Séancer. You know how much she means to me and the pack.”
“Yes, I do, which is why I’m not going to argue. Tyler is a big boy. He can take care of himself.”
“I know he can. But that doesn’t mean I wont worry and blame myself for him being in the mess to begin with.”
“You did it for your mate and our pack. Don’t forget what you just told me.” He patted my back.
“Thanks.”
“No problem. So you ready for this? Whatever the hell we’re doing?”
“No, but I have to be. I need to be here for Mara. I don’t want to let her do this.”
“But you have to.”
“I know I do, so I will. I just wish I could be with her for all of it.” It was going to be hard to let her go into the other dimension, or wherever she had to go.
“You will be with her, just not in the way you want.”
“Exactly. Emphasis on not the way I want.”
“I’ll look out for you in case this somehow incapacitates you.”
“Protect Mara at all costs.” That was the important part. I wasn’t worried about myself.
Noah nodded. “I will. I guess there is a reason for me to be here.”
“Yes, I guess so.”
I watched Mara from afar. She was so damn beautiful. She seemed so confident on the outside, but I knew she was nervous. She was about to face something made of pure evil. I hoped the strength I’d given her helped, and I hoped she could withstand whatever he sent her way. This was way harder to do than I ever imagined.
“Ian?” Mara called my name softly.
I didn’t wait. I hurried over. “I’m here.”
“No matter what happens, I’m glad I got the chance to be with you.”
“Don’t make it sound like this is the end. It’s not. Our time together is just beginning. It’s going to be amazing.”
She smiled. “It will be, won’t it?”
“Yes. There are so many things to do.” I wanted to give her everything and anything she could ever want. I wanted to make her life better than she could have imagined, and I would.
“Like teach me how to work a ranch?” She laughed.
I grinned. “Only if you want to.”
“I do… among other things.” Her expression was unreadable.
I wanted her to explain what she meant, but it could wait. “We can discuss all of that after we do this.”
“And we get your other brother back.”
“True. We have quite a bit to do right now.”
“I love you.” Mara squeezed my hand.
“I love you too.” I pulled her into my arms and crashed my lips into hers. I pushed into her mouth, selfishly soaking up her taste while hoping that my kiss could convey more than my words how much I loved her. She was my everything now, and she would make it through.
“Ok, love birds, you can kiss later. We need to do this now.” Bryant smirked.
I gave her another light kiss on the lips. “Got it.”
“Where do we do this?” Mara stayed close to my side.
“We have to return to where she connected with Netta,” Lochlan explained. Not too far away.
“Wait, what?” Mara’s eyes widened. “I hadn’t thought of that.”
“Well, you can think about it now on our way there.” Bryant pointed at the car. “And this time you have your bear with you so not complaints.”
“That makes it a whole lot better.” She leaned into my side.
23
Mara
I wasn’t ready to face the demon. It was all happening too fast, even though I knew we had no time to lose. The longer we waited, the stronger the demon would get—at least that’s what Lochlan said. Then who knew what the demon would do to Netta? Or me.
Ian kept his arm around me the entire drive. His touch was comforting, but I knew a time was coming when he wouldn’t be able to be with me. I was going to have to face this demon on my own.
“Lochlan?” I called up to the front. Bryant flew to make room for everyone else.
“Yes?” He replied immediately.
“Are you going to be with me?” I hadn’t asked yet mostly because I’d been afraid that the answer would be no, and that wasn’t an answer I wanted to hear.
“Yes, although I can not promise we can communicate.”
“But you’ll be there?” I asked for reiteration.
“Yes. I have no intention of making you do this alone.”
“Then why did I have to do it alone last time? When you sent me back?” Maybe I wasn’t being fair, but none of this was fair to me either.
“I hadn’t realized there was a demon. Had I known I never would have sent you back.” He caught my eye in the rearview mirror. “I want you to know that.”
“But I’m going back now.”
“Far better prepared and not alone. I will sacrifice myself if need be.” His voice was resolute, and I believed him.
“Why?” Believe him or not, I wanted to know why.
“Because you are younger and far more valuable.”
I wasn’t sure exactly what to think. “Thanks, I guess.”
“That being said, I cannot guarantee your safety. Nor anyone else’s.”
“I assumed as much.” There were no guarantees in life.
“Your grandfather would be angry with me.” His voice dropped lower.
“For letting me do this?”
“For not having a better safety net built for you. If we had time I’d like to think I could make one, but I’m not sure I could. I don’t believe it is possible to make facing a Morte-Demon safe.”
“Have you ever faced any demons?” I wanted to see if Lochlan had any experience in this arena. Knowing the stories was different than real-world experience.
“I have faced a demon or two in my life, though none come even close to the power of this one.”
“But you’ve done something similar at least.” I wanted to look on the bright side.
“If it makes you feel better to think about it that way.”
“And there you went and made me feel worse about it.”
“Sorry.” Lochlan shrugged. “I tend to be a realist.”
“So do I.” I closed my eye
s and tried to relax. I was going to be okay. I could do this. The words sounded hollow in my head. I opened my eyes, suddenly worried I’d connect with the demon again without meaning to. How would I sleep again? I wouldn’t until we got the demon under control. There was no way around it. It was important we got this over with as soon as possible.
Ian squeezed my hand. I liked that he didn’t try to say anything reassuring because there was nothing he could say. I had to face the demon, and there was nothing reassuring about that.
“Do you feel up to making a quick check for Netta?” Lochlan asked casually. Far too casually.
“A quick check how?” I leaned forward in my seat.
“Reach out to her, but try to avoid the demon.”
“And you think I know how to reach out for her and avoid it? The fact that I couldn’t avoid the demon is why we’re in this mess to begin with.” Well, really it was because Bryant kidnapped me and made me use my skills. I refused to put all of the blame on myself, but I was the one who tried the exercises, and I would have been lying to myself if I didn’t admit that I’d wanted to try them. I’d wanted to see what I was capable of.
“But now you know the demon is there; you know to avoid him.” Lochlan met my eye in the mirror again.
“I know he’s there, but that doesn’t mean I know how to avoid him.”
“I think we’re just about back to where we were when you connected with her.” Lochlan pointed out the window. “It’s the perfect time to try.”
“But what if I try, and I connect with the demon before we’re ready?” That was a very real and frightening possibility.
“She’s got a point.” Isadora turned toward me in her seat next to me. Noah had taken the front so he’d be able to keep a better eye on Lochlan. At least that’s how he’d sold it. “I say we wait.”
“Ok, but that’s risky.” Lochlan slowed down slightly.
“Riskier than me getting the demon’s attention before we’re ready?” Was he forgetting just how possible that outcome was?
“If you can’t skirt around the demon, we’re in trouble anyway. You have to take him by surprise.” Lochlan pulled over to the side of the road.
“And you’re just telling me this now?” I was tired of only being told things as an afterthought. Lochlan should have warned me about meeting a demon before he taught me the exercises.
Heat (The Grizzly Brothers Chronicles Book 2) Page 13