by Sharon Kay
“Yeah.”
“Meet me there, okay?” Zeebi was breathy, like she was hurrying as fast as Tessa. “Gotta go.”
“Oh my gods—” Tessa gasped and stared at her blank phone screen. What in the world was going on? With panic in her steps, she ran toward the tree where she and Zeebi had spun wishes and dreams when they were little girls.
In ten minutes she was there, breathing hard and too loud, but her worry for Zeebi outweighed the need to be quiet. “Zeebi?” she whispered, loudly.
Zeebi crept out from behind a nearby bush and threw herself at Tessa. “Oh thank the gods you’re here.”
“Of course. I’m terrified for whatever is happening. Talk to me.” Tessa held her friend in a tight hug.
Zeebi drew a shaky breath. “The men all think I’m some kind of spy.”
“What?” Tessa pulled back and stared into Zeebi’s eyes. “How in the world can you be a spy?”
“Scorpio convinced them all. He led them out here.”
“How could he convince them of that? He wouldn’t do that. He’s not like…” Tessa bit her lip. He’s not a monster. He’s a good man.
“He’s a murderer, Tessa.” Zeebi grabbed her arms. “He’s a master manipulator. He got them all to believe him.”
Tessa shook her head, stunned by her friend’s words.
“Come on, Tess. I know you spent a little more time with him than I have, but how well do you really know him? How do you know anything he says is true?”
“His aura.” Tessa drew a thread of logic from the muddle of shock in her brain. “I’m not wrong about people. And his aura projects honor and steadfastness.”
“I’m telling you, he’s able to manipulate it somehow. He planted a story about me listening in on Hallon’s private meetings and reporting to Damien, and the men all believe it.”
Tessa stared, slack-jawed. She’d known Zeebi all her life, had been through everything with her. They were practically sisters. And she’d only known Scorpio a few weeks…yet the urge to believe he was a good person washed over her like a wave. But either Zeebi was lying, or Scorpio had her totally fooled. And neither outcome was one she could handle. “Can we go back, talk to Hallon and the Elders, and sort this out? He can return to the cage if needed.” Though the very idea made her gag.
He didn’t deserve that. She was certain.
But then what the hell was going on?
“No way. We can’t go back,” Zeebi said.
“Well, we can’t stay here forever,” Tessa said. “We need to all get back within the wards before some nasty creature eats us. Plus, I need you safe and not panicked. If you’re not a spy, which of course you’re not, let’s get all the leaders on board. They know you. They love you.”
“And they’re starting to fall under that demon’s spell too.”
“Spell?” Tessa rubbed her temples and paced the soft dirt under the maple. “This all sounds so crazy, Zee.”
“I know it sounds crazy. But think about it. Most killers are good at deceiving people. Right?”
“Yes, but that’s behind him. He’s a Watcher now.”
“And look how easily he killed the Vespera guards when we got the crystals.” Zeebi folded her arms.
“That’s what Watchers do, when they’re on protection duty.” Not that she had ever really seen the Watchers in action. “And I thought you were pushing me toward him.”
“That was before I saw the real demon that he is. Gods, I wish he had never landed here. You deserve so much better than that monster.”
“He’s not a monster.”
“See?” Zeebi set her hands on her hips. “Even you, now. You think he’s a good guy.”
“Well…yeah.” Tessa frowned. “He saved me, saved all of us—”
“Tessa!” A deep familiar voice cut through the trees.
She whirled to find Scorpio, golden eyes fierce. Red welts shone angrily on his neck and arms. Orser ran up behind him with a black eye and ripped shirt.
Zeebi crowded Tessa, wrapping an arm around her waist. “They’re so mad at me.”
“Tessa, step away from her,” Orser said. “We need to bring her in for questioning.”
“Why?”
“The rest of our men are lying with wraith burns, unable to walk because of her and Damien!” Orser shouted.
“Hear that? Orser t-totally believes Scorpio.” Zeebi’s words trembled.
“You need to explain what’s going on.” Tessa fought to keep her voice level as she glanced from Orser to Scorpio. “Or we’re not going anywhere.”
“Tessa, please. There’s a lot Zeebi needs to account for.” Scorpio took a step closer.
“Why don’t we talk about it right here?” Tessa challenged, unable to believe this. Her psyche grasped at the two wildly different realities as if having an out of body experience. A nightmare where someone was going to be deeply hurt, and she had no way to avoid it.
“Care to fill in your best friend on your extracurricular activities?” Orser growled at Zeebi.
“See?” Zeebi whispered.
“She is not a spy! How could you think that?” Tessa narrowed her eyes at Orser, then Scorpio.
“We don’t think. We know. She was making plans to listen in on meetings and report to Damien. He gave her a special device to enhance her hearing through the office walls.” Scorpio said. His eyes stormed with regret. And truth.
How could he be lying? How could he not?
Tessa couldn’t accept the words from his mouth. “I don’t believe you,” she rasped. Tears pricked her eyes. “I’ve known Zee all my life. She wouldn’t do that.”
Scorpio and Orser both looked at her, pity in their gaze, but also warning. “Step away from her,” Scorpio commanded.
“No.” Tessa jutted her chin. “Not until we sort this out.”
“Walk away, Tessa. Now.” Scorpio’s tone was pure demand, low and dangerous.
A tear escaped and raced down her cheek. How could he be saying this?
I care about you. She wanted to scream. Had she gotten it all wrong? Maybe demons were immune to her perceptive abilities. But Winston had thought the same things about Scorpio. How could they both be wrong?
“No,” she whispered, broken.
Zeebi shifted beside her, arm still wrapped around her. Tessa barely noticed, caught in Scorpio’s mesmerizing eyes. “Tessa.” His articulation was gravelly and deadly serious. “Trust me. Remember what you know to be true.” Anguish and anger poured from him. And leaking through it was a cold calculating vibe. He had a plan.
I will never hurt you. I will never leave you unprotected. His words rang in her mind, but now doubt wrapped its insidious fingers around her heart. “I-I don’t know what’s true anymore.” Her voice cracked. “I don’t understand.”
Lost in a spiral of confusion, her breath came in choppy gasps and dread weighed her arms and legs. According to Lenore, Scorpio was supposed to be hers, even if they could never be together in any permanent way. How could he accuse her best friend of spying? How had things gotten so out of control? It was too much. She leaned on Zeebi, only to hear the words of an unfamiliar spell coming from her friend’s mouth.
“Zee, what are you doing?” Tessa forced the words out around a sudden sluggishness that made her want to drop with exhaustion.
“Fixing this.” Zeebi swung her free arm in an arc, and a thin blue barrier shot up from the ground.
Scorpio growled and summoned a ball of demonfire, holding it in his palm. “Let her go.”
Orser charged at the barrier, striking it with his sword, which glanced off as if hitting a sheer rock wall. “Zeebi! Stop!”
“Too late, moron,” Zeebi mumbled. She pulled a small charm from her pocket and started another spell.
Tessa blinked through the haze that shrouded her mind. “Let’s go to them, they want to help us.”
“Help is the last thing they want to do. Trust me.” Zeebi’s voice was hard.
“What do you mean?” Te
ssa stared as the shimmering ring of a portal opened in front of them. “We need to go home.”
“We’re going home, Tess. Our new home. Walk with me.” Zeebi commanded her toward the iridescent bubble.
Dimly, Tessa heard a roar and blinked as streaks of orange fire bounced off the barrier. The ground shook as impact after impact struck, but the blue shield held firm. Zeebi gripped her hand and pulled her toward the portal. Scorpio was mad. No, furious. She should talk to him. But Zeebi is fixing the problem. Those were the only words in Tessa’s mind, stuck on a loop.
“No, wait…” Tessa started, but her objection refused to fully form.
“Come with me,” Zeebi said. “I’m taking us where we’ll be appreciated. No more lies or murderers. Let’s go.”
Tessa glanced to the side to see Scorpio’s enraged face on the other side of the barrier. She needed to tell him she’d be fine. But her muscles wouldn’t obey. Her hand remained locked with Zeebi’s, her feet following as if they were now listening to her friend instead of her.
“No!” he bellowed. “Tess! Stay with us!”
Tessa looked at him as if in a fog. She knew she should listen to him. But she should listen to Zeebi, too. Right? She needed them both.
Zeebi steered her into the portal, arms around her, and with strength that surprised Tessa, pulled them both in. Tessa gasped at the bright flashes of color that popped in and out of her vision as they hurtled through disorienting darkness. It went on and on, and she clung to Zeebi. And suddenly they were out of the whirlwind, falling. Tessa hit soft dirt with a thud, and everything went dark.
C
HAPTER 26
THE BLUE BARRIER DISAPPEARED WITH the portal. A prickle of magic lingered in the air, then that too dissipated in the wind.
“No!” Scorpio’s bellow of rage shook the leaves above him. His mate had been taken. Tricked. And she’d looked at him like he was a liar. He ran to the spot where she and Zeebi had stood.
Beside him, Orser swore a blue streak. “Zeebi used some dark magic on Tessa. Bet Damien was teaching her some of his tricks.”
Scorpio clenched and unclenched his fists as fury shot through his veins like fire, urging him to pursue the women and get Tessa back. But he couldn’t follow a trail that wasn’t there. Portals didn’t leave clues as to their destinations. This was where the trail ended, like it or not.
Orser pulled out his phone and dialed. “Need to tell Hallon ASAP. And get Inga and some others to help bring back the wounded.”
Scorpio pulled out his own phone. Orser raised an eyebrow, but Scorpio shook his head. “Long story.”
Orser frowned, but shrugged. “We have bigger shit to deal with right now than how you managed to get a phone. I—yes, sir. We have a problem.”
As Orser related the night’s events to his chief, Scorpio dialed Arawn. His commander picked up on the second ring. “This better be good.” A female sigh carried through the phone, but Scorpio didn’t stop to process it.
“We exposed the spy I told you about, but my mate was taken in the process.”
“Ah, fuck. Taken where?”
“They went through a portal. But my guess is, they went to the enemy coven.”
“Scorpio, do not go charging into that shit hole of dark magic until we have a plan. Fucking do not. That’s an order.”
Scorpio ground his molars in frustration. “She may be in danger. I—”
“I understand the severity of the situation. And I understand the need to get to your mate.” Arawn huffed out a breath. “But I don’t discount one goddamn word of Whysper’s analysis of these dark ley lines. And I will not lose you. You stay in Bronwy until we can come up with a plan. I want to send two teams in, plus Whysper and Melixa. You need to get that chief mage on board.”
“Yes, sir. That shouldn’t be too hard. My mate is his daughter.”
Arawn snorted. “You don’t do anything half-assed, do you?”
Scorpio pictured Tessa’s blue eyes, wide with utter confusion, and cursed. “I suspect we’ll be meeting very soon. The rival leader conjured mist wraiths and several of our men sustained burns.”
“Does Bronwy have a decent healer, or should I bring Ashina?”
“No, we—they have a competent one.” We. Already his first thought was of Bronwy being his own to care for.
“Good. Talk with the chief and get back to me. I’ll take care of things here.”
“Yes, sir.”
The line went silent as Arawn ended the call. Scorpio turned to Orser, who stood watching him with narrowed eyes. “I believe I misjudged you, demon,” the guard grunted.
“Pretty sure everyone did.” Scorpio squared his shoulders. “I never denied my past.”
“True. But I denied the possibility that your future might be different, and for that, I apologize.” Orser extended his hand. “You’ve helped in every way you could, and you still are. You could have left at any time.”
“I mean what I say,” Scorpio said.
“And I appreciate a man who doesn’t bullshit around.” Orser cracked a ghost of a grin. “Let’s go back to our injured. Inga and more men are on their way. Once we’re back, we’ll meet with Hallon and the Elders.”
Scorpio nodded. He appreciated Orser’s change of heart, but right now his soul had no room for anything but rage at Tessa’s abduction and the tactics needed to get her back to his arms. With purposeful strides, the two of them headed back to their team.
Thirty minutes later, Scorpio stood in Hallon’s very crowded living room with Orser. Kharv had insisted on coming, though both his arms were bandaged from wrist to shoulder and an ugly red ring encircled his neck. Inga had applied a numbing salve that he swore made the pain disappear.
The Elders all sat while Hallon paced. Fury, disbelief, and worry radiated from him as Kharv and Orser recounted the details for everyone.
“Winston.” Hallon stopped and set his hands on his hips. “How did we miss this about Zeebi? You’re the best at reading people’s auras. Tessa’s not far behind you. And you didn’t pick up on this treachery at all?”
“No.” The old mage’s face sagged with anguish. “I can only surmise that Damien was helping her to cover her aura. Perhaps she recited a spell periodically, or maybe she wore an amulet that projected her usual good nature.”
In the chair next to him, Callia clucked. “Our aura comes from our thoughts, and the deepest desires of our souls. To be able to transform that…” She shook her head. “I believe the next step will be actual physical transformation. They have grown much stronger than I could have imagined.”
Hallon glared out the window into the velvet night sky. “Scorpio.”
“Chief.” Scorpio clasped his hand behind his back as all eyes swung to him.
“You’re a soldier. You deal in predators and their tactics all the time.” Hallon turned to face him. “You asked to set up a night patrol. Tonight. Did you have any suspicions concerning Zeebi?”
Scorpio nodded. “I did.”
Sharp intakes of breath echoed in the otherwise silent room.
“I kept my thought to myself until I could show clear evidence of her actions.” He held his head high, meeting the leader’s dark stare. “I am not a reliable witness here in Bronwy.”
Hallon rubbed the back of his neck and huffed out an angry breath. “No. Not with half the coven still wanting a harsh punishment for you. Dammit.” He resumed pacing. “Zeebi is part of us, has been all her life, and no one would have thought she was capable of anything like this. I can barely comprehend it now. I can say, with a heavy heart, that I doubt I would have believed you had you come forward earlier.”
Scorpio stayed silent. The pain on Hallon’s face was raw, honest, and rueful.
“And because of my prejudice, Tessa is gone.” The chief stopped and regarded Scorpio with the sharp regret that arises from hindsight. “I owe you an apology.”
“Apology accepted.” Scorpio held the man’s eyes. “But we need a plan in place a
s soon as possible. We need to get Tessa back. I’d also like to get you back on your own rightful land. I request that you accept two Watcher teams, plus two of our staff witches. They can be ready to arrive within hours.”
“Witches?” Winston asked. “Who?”
“Whysper and her apprentice, Melixa,” Scorpio said.
Surprised murmurs went through the Elders at the mention of Watcher HQ’s oldest witch, and Winston stood to his full, though modest, height. “Allow the demon’s plan, Hallon. I insist. If we are to combat the dark ley lines, we need power such as Whysper’s.”
The rest of the Elders nodded.
“Okay.” Hallon’s gaze swept the Elders, then looked at Scorpio. “Bring them all in. We’ll accommodate and strategize. And get Tessa back.”
C
HAPTER 27
TESSA SIGHED AND TWISTED IN bed. The remnants of a dream clung to her, trapping her in a limbo of images. Scorpio, tall and strong and desperate to save her. To keep her with him. He wanted her to walk away from Zeebi. Zeebi, scared and alone in the woods, saying the rest were all against her.
Which was true? Zeebi’s fear was real. So was Scorpio’s devotion. Tessa had to decide…she had gone somewhere…
Rocketing upright with a gasp, fully awake, she found herself in a sumptuous bed. Silky sheets and a heavy duvet met her exploring fingers, and four thick posts stood at each corner of the mattress. She strained her ears but heard nothing. “Hello?” she whispered.
A fire bulb flicked on across the room. It was next to a door, which was heavily carved in a lustrous dark wood. Tessa glanced down, relieved to see she was still in the clothes she’d been wearing in the woods.
Zeebi had put a spell on her and taken her into a portal. Was she here? “Zeebi?”
A second fire bulb turned on, on the other side of the door. Tessa could now grasp the dimensions of the room, which was huge. An armoire and dresser sat in one corner, and two chairs and a coffee table occupied another. A door on her right was open. Tessa scooted off the bed and crept toward it.