by Dianna Love
Given a choice between that or being caged or killed, she would get trained with a blaster.
Kit sounded sad. “It did work, but it was killing me to zap him.” She took a deep breath and let it out, sounding relieved to be at this point. “He hasn’t lost control since the last time and that was ten days ago.”
Scratching her head, which was covered in leaves and dirt, Evalle said, “Okay, I think that’s amazing, but why are you training him? You can’t keep him at Nyght headquarters around Isak, can you?”
“I’ll answer that,” Jasper said, walking up to them in a gray T-shirt and jeans, just as wet as everyone else. He had a friendly voice. “Sorry about attacking you two. As for the training, Kit wants to hire me as her personal nonhuman bodyguard.”
Kit grinned and gave Jasper a loving look that a mom would cast. That Kit took everyone under her wing, including the twin nineteen-year-old male witches living in Evalle and Storm’s building, was a testament to the strong woman she was, who called her own shots.
Isak’s mom was both a born nurturer and tough as nails.
Adrianna brushed dirt off her sodden clothes. “Why would you need a bodyguard when you’re not allowed to be around nonhumans anymore?” That had come out sounding disappointed.
“To quote a favorite line of mine, ‘Isak is not the boss of me’,” Kit replied. “But I understand his fear of losing both parents to nonhumans. A demon killed his father years ago and an Alterant killed his best friend. When Isak saw me captured by that crazy bunch of bad Beladors, he snapped. He’ll come to his senses, Adrianna.”
Kit’s comment about bad Beladors referenced the Laochra Fola, warriors that were part of the original force of Beladors created by a god called Belatucadros.
Evalle had picked up bits of Belador background from time to time after joining their warrior force as a teen, but she’d never been given the entire history. The goddess Macha, former ruler of the Beladors, had been tight-lipped about everything before Daegan showed up to boot her off of Treoir Island. She’d also been stingy when it came to giving aid when needed. Like when Kujoo warriors from thousands of years ago carried forward a grudge, traveling to Atlanta through a portal opened by a witch just to battle descendants of their Belador enemies. Macha and the Kujoo god Shiva had known each other. She could have helped when today’s Beladors battled the Kujoo, but the goddess showed up only when she had no other choice.
Daegan knew things, though. Evalle made a mental note to ask him about the Belador past and how Macha and other deities played into all of it. That information would have come in handy recently when someone gathered a small army of Laochra Fola warriors and secretly brought them into Atlanta.
They’d captured Kit and the twins.
Something clicked for Evalle. She read between the lines of what Kit had just said. Isak’s mother did not want Adrianna to give up on Isak.
Still probably too hurt to give an inch, Adrianna replied, “I seriously doubt Isak will back down from his stance against nonhumans, Kit, but for your sake I hope so.”
“I’d like to think it would be nice for you, too.”
Shaking her head, Adrianna said, “Whatever was going on between us in the past is over, and I’ve moved on.”
Kit arched an eyebrow at the witch that said she didn’t believe her.
Rain started coming down in earnest. Evalle made a decision. “I’m going to report that it was a demon and we disposed of him, but you’ve got a snitch out here.”
“Who?” Kit looked around like a general hunting for a private to ream.
“He’s a little guy who came over from Sweden with his family to hide from persecution. They evidently live somewhere on this property and he sent word through the trolls about a monster out here.”
“I want to talk to him.”
“Not sure that’s possible. We had a hard time having a conversation with him. He’s ornery as all get out, does not like to be called a troll and is unreasonable to deal with.”
“Am not!”
Everyone turned to look up at a tree limb fifteen feet off the ground where Misstag sat with his arms crossed.
“Who are you?” Kit asked.
“No name.”
Evalle groaned. “Can we not go through this again? This is Kit and Jasper.”
“Monster.”
Jasper said, “Troll.”
“Not troll.”
Jasper pointed at himself. “Not monster. I have not hurt you, and if you act right, I’ll keep your family safe.”
That shocked Misstag. “You protect us?”
“Depends on if you’re going to be nice to Kit or not. I’m her bodyguard and she owns the land you’re homesteading on.”
Misstag leaped to the ground, landing lightly on his feet. He walked over to Jasper and lifted his hand. “Friends.”
Jasper smiled and using three fingers, shook hands with the not-troll.
Then Misstag extended his hand to Kit. “Friends.”
Kit didn’t accept his offer right away. “I’m your landlord.”
Misstag lowered his hand. “No money to pay.”
“I don’t want money. I want you to keep an eye out for anyone trespassing and alert Jasper when he’s here. When he’s not, I’ll set up a communication where you can reach me. Agreed?”
“Yes. Yes, I can do,” Misstag said, looking as relieved as he sounded.
Smiling now, Kit extended her hand. “Friends.”
The little guy wrapped his fingers around three of Kit’s to shake.
Evalle asked Adrianna, “You ready to get some ice on that?”
“Absolutely. Let’s go.”
“Wait,” Kit said. When Evalle turned back, Kit swallowed and asked, “Are the twins okay?”
Offering an understanding smile, Evalle told her, “They’re doing just fine, but they do miss you.”
“Tell them I’ll see them soon. They can take that to the bank.”
“I will.” Evalle had seen Kit in action and not even Isak could stop her when she had her mind made up. The woman had taken it upon herself to train a Rías. Evalle wanted to be her when she grew up.
A great idea hit Evalle. She would check with Daegan about Jasper visiting Treoir to train with the other two Rías.
Once Evalle and Adrianna left, they found a gas station where Adrianna fashioned an ice pack from a scarf. The witch would heal quickly just from possessing the Witchlock power, and she could probably do it in seconds if she didn’t have reservations about experimenting with the power so close to humans.
Evalle got a text from Storm that he’d tried calling and was worried about her.
Adrianna spouted off. “You’ve got that stupid-in-love look on your face.”
“You’re just jealous,” Evalle quipped, and regretted the joke when Adrianna said nothing. Seeing Kit had obviously brought up all those hurt feelings about Isak again.
“Anything important?” Adrianna asked, clearly shifting the topic as she leaned against the front fender of her car.
Evalle perched on her motorcycle seat. “Got the text ten minutes ago. He was worried because he couldn’t reach me by phone. Wanted me to know he was heading out to track a suspicious being that was last seen around Woodruff Park. Quinn asked him to look into it. That’s like five minutes from our place if you walk slowly. Said he should be home when I get there. I sent him a text ... ”
Pausing to check her phone, Evalle said, “Huh. The text hasn’t sent yet. Stupid cell service.” She looked at her calls and muttered, “No missed call. I must have been in an internet black hole.”
“It’s nice he lets you know. I’m glad you two worked out,” Adrianna said with sincerity.
“Thanks.”
“You still got the tracking stone on your chest?”
Evalle laughed, touching her shirt where the smooth stone rested beneath it. “The emerald chakra stone? Yes, but not for much longer.”
“Are you saying Mr. Overprotective is giving up that c
onnection to you?”
“Yep. He explained that although we’re mated, we’ve never gone through the bonding ceremony of his father’s people. I’m okay either way, but he’s determined to do the ceremony. He said he should have handled the mating better.”
“Like telling you he’d taken you as a mate,” Adrianna said with a teasing smile then frowned when water from the melting ice leaked down her face. She swiped it off and adjusted her makeshift ice pack.
Evalle agreed, “I think it still bothers him that he didn’t ask me before he claimed me, but let’s just say he was ... distracted at the moment it happened.” Her face heated at the memory of their first time making love.
“I get the picture,” Adrianna muttered, trying to sound annoyed, but failing miserably when she sighed and chuckled. “How much more can you two be bonded than you are now?”
“Storm said it would make more sense when he could show me how this works, but he told me a little for now. He said he doesn’t want me obsessing about it, which we both know I will.” She laughed. “What we have now is sort of like level-one mating. Once we do some ceremony, we’ll have a much deeper connection where we can actually find each other. I’m not sure how that works or if I will be able to find him the way he’s always been able to find me, but once we bond I won’t need the emerald to give him a sense of comfort.”
Adrianna shifted the ice pack. “When are you planning to do all this?”
“As soon as Brina and Tzader have their wedding at the end of this week.”
Adrianna moved the pack from her head to reveal a nasty gash that was swelling. “They’re finally going to get married before she pops out a baby Treoir heir?”
“Yep. Tzader is trying to be cool, but he stays in our world as little time as possible, then gets teleported back to Treoir Island. He’s always there if Daegan is gone.” Evalle snapped her fingers. “That reminds me. Brina wants me to ask you to attend the wedding. It’ll be at Treoir Castle. She said she won’t be able to send out actual invitations since no one except the inner circle knows what’s going on as a precaution against attack.”
Adrianna looked a little pleasantly surprised to be invited. “Please tell her I said yes and thank you for inviting me. I’m flattered to be included.”
“Seriously, Adrianna? Brina and Tzader both appreciate your friendship with me, Storm, the Beladors and Daegan. You’re either family with them or not.” Evalle added, “Daegan would be disappointed, too, if you weren’t there.”
She arched an eyebrow at that. “That dragon? We tolerate each other. Nothing more.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah.” Evalle rolled her eyes and laughed. “Okay, back to what I was saying about my plans with Storm. Once those two get married, I’m asking for a week off so we can go to the Navajo home of Storm’s father.”
“Why does it have to be there? I didn’t think he had anything to do with his father’s people.”
Evalle shoved her phone into her back pocket. Probably not a good idea since her jeans were soaked, but it would be a good test of its durability around her. “Storm told me he’s been in touch with his uncle. His father didn’t hate his brother or anything like that, he was just disappointed when Storm’s uncle built a casino and had bigger plans. As to the reason we’re going there, Storm said the power he inherited from his father would be strongest on his people’s land, which would allow him to form a bond that will last through eternity.”
“Wow. That’s ... ” Adrianna murmured, then looked off into the distance. “That’s amazing. You’re very lucky.”
“I am. I don’t know how I got this lucky, but he is all I could ever want. I want this bond.” To ease the sad look on Adrianna’s face, Evalle quipped, “Besides, I’m so over having a rock majik-glued to my chest.”
Adrianna grinned at that even though they both knew Evalle would happily wear that emerald for the rest of her life and beyond.
Adrianna’s phone dinged at the same time as Evalle’s, which meant an all-agent alert. Evalle waited for the witch to read her message. No point in pulling out her phone when they were both getting the same message.
The witch put her icepack down and said, “Something is going down at Five Points.”
Alarmed, Evalle said, “That’s where Storm was headed. Who sent the message? What’d they say?”
She shouldn’t worry, since Storm shifted into a massive black jaguar and had majik to boot, but this sounded like more than checking out a suspicious character.
“It’s an all-agent blast from VIPER headquarters.” Adrianna scrolled as she shared the information. “All they know is two nonhumans are dead, five more seriously injured and they’re battling to keep it shielded from the humans.” Standing away from the car, Adrianna grabbed the icepack. “Sounds like chaos. I’ll try to reach someone on the way and get more information.”
Evalle’s heart clenched.
Which nonhumans were dead?
Something odd hit Evalle. “Why hasn’t Trey contacted me by telepathy?” As a Belador telepathic powerhouse, Trey could probably contact her in outer space.
“They said no telepathy. They think that’s how someone in the preternatural world set up those early responders and were able to kill the nonhumans.” Adrianna paused. “Evalle, Storm is fine. You know he’s powerful and smart. He isn’t going to fall into anyone’s trap.”
“I know.” The problem was her heart wouldn’t buy what her head was trying to sell. She started to call Storm, then realized he was very likely either in animal form or fighting. She would not distract him. She sent a quick text she knew wouldn’t interfere, then put her phone away.
Opening the door to her car, Adrianna tossed in the icepack. “They’re looking for anyone and everyone. I’ll put my text on speaker in case I get another update.”
“Good. I’ll follow you then,” Evalle called over her shoulder, already mounting her bike. She had no way to access her texts or phone calls while on the motorcycle. That had never been an issue, but after this she might consider outfitting her bike helmet with the voice-operated technology.
Storm would be fine.
She kept telling herself that, but the words wouldn’t slow the panicked beating of her heart.
CHAPTER 4
Evalle hung close to the black McLaren driven by a witch who could hold her own against professionals on a Grand Prix track. Chilly wind that had buffeted her hard on the ride back into Atlanta backed off as she leaned into the curve to exit the eastbound interstate. That dropped them into the south side of downtown.
She had to admit her legs were feeling warmer now that the wind had dried her jeans.
No matter how many distractions riding provided, she couldn’t stop thinking about Storm.
He had to be safe.
She wanted that full bonding more than ever now.
He had the emerald on her chest to keep him assured that she was safe, but she had nothing to reassure her. Although she knew in her heart that she’d feel it if he ... died, she’d feel better with more information.
Plus, his spirit guide, who had helped Evalle locate Storm once in the past when he’d been trapped in a demonic realm, would know if anything happened to him.
She’d definitely let Evalle know.
Nodding to herself as she followed Adrianna, Evalle murmured, “See? No reason for this gut-wrenching worry.”
Adrianna drove efficiently, slowing for traffic lights and speeding ahead as soon as they changed to green.
The usual late-night human activity moved in pairs and singles along the streets, but not so many groups. She caught the occasional flicker of nonhuman energy in dark spots.
That would be the harmless Nightstalkers, the ghoul informants of the preternatural underworld.
The closer she and Adrianna got to their final destination, the fewer people she passed. It might be a holiday weekend, but this city should be busier during prime rowdy hours before midnight.
She lifted her gaze to the tops of buil
dings, looking for any sign of smoke. The throaty sound of her Gixxer’s muffler drowned out many human noises, but she should be able to hear sirens.
Had the problem been contained?
It figured that she’d worried for nothing.
Maybe Sen had shown up to lend a hand.
Heh. Maybe the VIPER liaison would apologize for being an asswipe the entire time she’d known him.
Neither one of those was happening.
If Sen happened to be on site, things had gone really bad and he would be his usual roaring-pain-in-the-ass self over having to clean up someone else’s mess.
At the next corner, Adrianna took a right onto Peachtree Street—the famous road running through the middle of downtown, not one of the many other thoroughfares with a similar name.
Evalle leaned to take the turn smoothly, staying a half block behind Adrianna when she wanted to race around and get to the scene faster. But the witch had her phone on speaker and might be getting updates.
At one time, Evalle wouldn’t be as willing to wait, but they’d come a long way and she now trusted the Sterling witch with her life.
Approaching an intersection near Kenny’s Alley, the traffic light flipped from red to green.
She never caught this light green.
When riding a motorcycle, never complain about a green light.
Up ahead, Adrianna put her foot on the accelerator and zoomed forward.
Ready to get to Storm, Evalle caught a lower gear and rolled on as Adrianna’s car reached the intersection.
Blocked from view by a building on the left, a car shot out from that side as if it was being chased, and plowed into the rear of Adrianna’s car.
Stunned, Evalle watched for two seconds as Adrianna’s car spun wildly and crashed into a building headfirst.
That bastard!
Evalle rolled hard on the accelerator. The front of her bike lifted up for twenty feet, then dropped down as Evalle rode beneath the still-green stoplight to reach Adrianna.
A white blur on her right snatched her attention in time to see a huge white van speeding forward.