by Ciara Graves
“Got movement,” Brunie whispered.
“Two guards… No, three.” I peered through the brush at the warehouse across a gravel lot, tucked away a few acres on a chunk of land owned by one T.S. Bogard. They had covered their tracks well, but after going through shell companies and tax records, Moran’s tech team was finally able to use those names and track down their properties. We were still missing any official records on who they were before this shit began, but it was a start. “Chas.”
I perked up when his power kicked in and cursed when his bear form shoved through the underbrush, moving toward the warehouse. Bears were uncommon in these parts, but any idiot with eyes would see the druidic markings in his fur.
Apparently not these idiots though.
The three guards froze at the sight of the massive brown bear as if he was a regular bear. They tilted their heads together, lips moving as they figured out what they should do. One of them stepped forward cautiously and clapped his hands loudly.
“Go on. Get!” he yelled and whistled.
The two guards looked at their companion like he was stupid, walking backward away from the bear who had stopped short, shaking out his furry neck.
What the hell was Chas playing at?
The three of us were only meant to scope out and report back to, not charge in there.
Chas suddenly stood up on his hind legs and roared in the guard’s face.
The man paled, fumbling with his rifle, except Chas was faster. He swiped his paw down on the gun, breaking it in half, while magic swirled around him.
The two guards behind their companion yelled in warning.
Brunie and I charged out of the trees, dragging the soldiers away from the warehouse using a furious gust of wind, while Brunie trapped them to the ground with golden bands of light. Chas picked the first guard up in his jaws, shook him hard and spun around, then tossed him through the doors and into the warehouse.
“So much for laying low,” I yelled at him. “What are you thinking, huh?”
He huffed and snarled at me what I was pretty sure were curses. Then with another angry growl, ran inside as fast as he could.
“Is he always like this?” Brunie asked, leaning on her staff, wincing each time she heard a man yell in pain. “Shouldn’t we go in there and help?”
“No.” I leaned against the outside wall. Our intel from the day before showed maybe ten guards in there, at most. With Chas in a rage and in bear form, he was quite capable of dealing with those bastards alone. I preferred not to get in the way of his anger.
Brunie poked her head around the side and raised her staff, glowing a soft white signifying she was about to heal.
I shook my head.
“He’s bleeding.”
“Is he on the verge of dying?”
“Well, no…”
I raised my brow. “Then don’t heal him. If he wants to be a dumbass, let him deal with the consequences. Save your strength.”
She hesitated but lowered her staff, and the light receded. There was a loud crash, and when two men came sprinting out, I punched one in the face and tripped up the second. Lightning struck the ground around their fallen bodies when they tried to get up again.
“Best you boys just stay down.” I smiled at them and leaned against the wall. “You got them?” I asked Brunie.
“Yeah, I can handle them. Are you sure you can handle him?” She nodded toward the massive bear inside, tearing apart crates and furniture.
“We’ll find out soon enough.”
I called Blade first, to let him know the warehouse was no longer a problem. When he asked why, and I told him, he cursed, then said he’d be there in five with a team, then hung. Shoving my cell in my pocket, I let out a deep breath and strolled inside, taking in the sight of the rest of the guards in various, unconscious positions. Chas stood on his hind legs, shaking a duffel bag with his teeth, his body was surrounded by a green and blue swirling mist
“You finished, or do you want another five minutes?” I asked loudly.
He spat out the duffel. When the blue mist surrounded him more fully, then it parted, and Chas was back to himself, wiping his face on his sleeve. “What? It was faster than waiting for Blade.”
“We are under strict orders to not engage the enemy.”
“Moran’s just scared he’ll lose another one of us. But I am not going to stand around wasting time for other soldiers to come to fight our battles when we need to be looking for her. We’re running out of time and each day she’s with them is one more day they get to torture her, break her!”
“You don’t think I know that?” I snapped, losing patience. “You think I don’t want to find her?”
“You seem content to follow whatever orders Moran hands out at the moment.” He crossed his arms, growling at me quietly under his breath. “We need to find her.”
“And we will, but you can’t rush headlong into the enemy.”
“Why not? Worked, didn’t it?”
“This time. What if next time the place is a trap? Or they have more guards than we originally thought? Moran’s orders are to keep us out of their hands.”
“I can take care of myself.”
I threw my hands up, grunting in annoyance. “Do you even hear how stupid you sound? I’m not questioning your fighting ability. I’m questioning your strategy. We have one of their soldiers, and we’ll get him to talk.”
“When?” he threw back furiously. “When will he give us the answers we need?”
“You have to have faith,” I tried to tell him.
He shook his head. “We need answers now, and I will do whatever I have to do to get her back.”
I glared at him across the warehouse. “What the hell is that supposed to mean? You’re acting like I won’t!”
“You’re the one who’s hesitating to do what’s necessary!”
“I want to find her just as bad as you do. What’s gotten into you?”
Chas rolled his shoulders, and his gaze shifted away from me. “Nothing. I just want to find Rori and their damned leaders and end this war.”
“No, you’re different. Something about you changed in the void.” I stalked closer, and he took a step back as if anticipating an attack. “Why are you so intent on killing everything in your path to get to her?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he muttered. “She’s part of our team. That’s it.”
“Bullshit.”
He took another step back. “Just let it go, Brogan.”
“No, because for a week you’ve been on edge, snapping at everyone, and not talking to me at all. Especially not about Rori,” I pointed out. “What happened between you two?” I sensed it the moment I saw them join the fight back at the outpost. Knew there was a change in the connection between the three of us. I had seen the briefest glimpse of confusion and guilt in Rori’s eyes, but then she was gone, and Chas had refused to tell me. I told myself I knew already what was going on, but I had to hear it from Chas. I had to know the truth, so we could both get over it and move on.
“Chas, tell me.”
Outside, two trucks from the convoy pulled up. Doors slammed, and gravel crunched as our men unloaded, but I kept my gaze focused on Chas.
Waiting.
Blade’s voice reached my ears, but Brunie answered whatever questions he was asking—actually, the demands he was making.
“Chas,” I said through gritted teeth, waiting for the anger and hurt to hit me when he said the words.
I held my breath as he finally sighed, hanging his head.
“We shared a moment,” he said so quietly I almost didn’t catch the words.
“A moment,” I repeated. “What the hell does that mean?”
“We kissed, alright?” he rumbled. “We talked, and then one thing just led to another, and we’re both confused, and she’s lost and… I’m sorry, alright?”
“Sorry you did it, or sorry you lied to me?” I asked quietly.
He ex
haled heavily. “Lied to you. It wasn’t our intention, but then she was taken, and there never seemed to be a good time to explain—”
My fist collided with his face without even meaning to do it. I brought my other fist up and hit him hard enough to send him into a metal table behind him.
Blade yelled my name, but Chas and I were scuffling. Actually, he wasn’t really fighting back, just guarding his face as I tried to hit him again and again.
“Enough!” Blade yelled.
I was thrown backward.
Blade stepped between us. “What the hell has gotten into you two? This is not the time for whatever spat you have with each other!”
Chas wiped the blood from his split lip, not saying a damned word. I tugged my shirt and glowered at him, honestly not even sure what had gotten into me in the first place. I was mad they lied to me, yeah, but if I was honest… somewhere deep down I knew it wasn’t going to last with Rori and me. We had fun together, but these fights, they’d changed us both, and I saw her more as my teammate. More like my companion than the girl I thought I was falling for. I’d become a new person, just as she had when she began embracing both paths.
“You good?” Blade asked sharply. “Brogan? Chas?”
“Yes, sir,” I replied stiffly.
Chas nodded.
“Good, then can someone please explain to me why you all ignored my order?”
I pointed to Chas. “Ask him.”
“Chas? Explain why I shouldn’t throw your ass in a truck and drag you back to Moran and tell him the shit you just pulled.” Blade’s voice was strained.
“We were wasting time. I saw an opening; I took it.”
“You shifted in bear form and charged in,” I corrected. “You didn’t even ask Brunie and me, you just waltzed on in here and had at it!”
“I knew you two were there. You would’ve kept me alive.”
I shook my head, walking away to let my temper cool as Blade lit into Chas about not following orders.
At least, now I knew why he was more hot-tempered than normal.
I thought I had deep feelings for Rori. And I did, as a friend, I realized now. But Chas, he had it bad, and it was killing him slowly, not knowing what was happening to her. He had to think before he acted though, or he was going to get himself killed. I was not going to be the one to tell Rori, if and when we found her, that the guy she might’ve liked more than me got himself killed in the process of looking for her.
“Pack it up,” Blade bellowed. “I want prisoners loaded and every scrap out of here in twenty!”
I said nothing else to Chas as we packed up crates of weapons to be taken back to our labs for examination.
Brunie asked me if I was alright, and I managed a nod but had no words to really tell her exactly what was going on inside my head.
It was a jumbled mess, and it was going to stay a jumbled mess until we got back to the outpost and I could lock myself away for a while.
I hope you enjoyed Conjuring!
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Copyright © 2018 by Ciara Graves
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