Or… was it to get everyone to turn on the Shepherds?
Nate opened his mouth to speak into the silence, but the woman took an angry step forward. “This is war, girl. You break into our house, steal from us, injure our alpha, and the church doesn’t back you. You have no idea what you’ve done. You think we will simper back into the shadows like the vampires?” My eyes widened. “Oh, yes,” the blonde woman snarled. “We heard all about what you did there. They are no friends of ours, but unsanctioned attacks like this have consequences. You—”
“You will reconsider your tone. Immediately.” Nate’s words were like a blade sliding across velvet. “If Goldilocks can do this, what else can she do? What else does she dare do?” He turned his back on them, assessing the room. Then he laughed. “You were even warned,” he laughed, slapping his knees. “I just sat back and watched.” He glanced over his shoulder, grinning at them. “That bed was juuuussst right, by the way.” I bit back a laugh at his taunt, comparing them to the three bears in the fairy tale. He finally let out a sigh, rolling his shoulders as he turned back to them lazily. “But a man doesn’t like to be one-upped by a mere slip of a girl. Not too often, anyway. Can one of you attack? Please. I’m growing bored. And I think Callie is done warming up.” He frowned down at the bear under my submission, nudging him with a boot again. “But… if he was the best of you, well… you can always fight for honor. There is honor in fighting lost causes. Like those Greeks from Sparta.”
What was he doing? Didn’t he see I was about to pass out?
But the hairy man finally threw his hands up. “Walk away. You do the same. Someday, you will pay for your crimes, girl.”
Then they were backing away.
I glanced at Nate, and he gave me a shrug, but his eyes showed concern. It had been an act. He was on edge, not that you could tell from his arrogant, almost lazy stance.
I stared down at the bear beneath me, at the back of his head. He had a gouge taken out of one of his ears. “Shift back,” I commanded.
He did, and grunted as my weight was suddenly supported by a much smaller body. I released my sticks and took two calm steps back, ready for the fight of our lives.
The man didn’t move. Nate touched my shoulder. “They are very noble. They won’t renege on their statement. But we should still get out of here.” He leaned closer, and my shoulder tingled where he touched me. I didn’t know what magic he was holding, but it was powerful if I could feel it but not see it. “I think they were telling the truth about the spear,” he added the last in a faint whisper, eyes troubled.
I nodded, not taking my eyes from the alpha bear at my feet. I knew one thing. Even if they weren’t going to come after me right now, I had made a very dangerous enemy tonight. But wasn’t that what I had wanted? I suddenly worried if I had been wrong. So very, very wrong.
“Take us away from here, Temple,” I said in a very low voice.
He obeyed, Shadow Walking us out of bear country.
Chapter 43
We sat on the roof, legs hanging over the edge, watching the city below. Claire had texted me during our altercation with the bears, letting me know she was heading home in about an hour, and that Roland was fine. I texted her back, saying I would call her later.
It gave me relief, as if someone had lifted a great weight from my shoulders. My dad had also checked in via text, complete with a dozen typos in the email length text. He was one of those dads, still unused to the times and new technology.
There had also been an excessive amount of emojis used. If that didn’t confirm it was really my dad, nothing would.
“So…” Nate said, not looking at me, kicking his feet absently.
I leaned back on my palms, thinking. The bear must have hit me at some point, because my forearm ached. But bruises would fade. We were alive, and I had proven a point to the bears. Whether that had made things better or worse in the future, I didn’t yet know. But I had done what I had set out to do. Kicking them in the teeth.
Why did I feel like I had failed?
Because of the Demon.
“None of it makes any sense. She warns the vampires I’m coming, but then sneaks back in to stake them, leaving the weapon behind for me. Then she warns the bears, and again, comes back to steal it, only this time leaving it for me in my dad’s lawn. The only thing I can think of is that she’s trying to turn every monster in the city against me. Or the Shepherds.” Nate nodded, but still looked troubled.
“But if the spear can do what Roland said, wouldn’t it be more advantageous to keep all the pieces and open the Gates of Hell? If the bears were right, this means that the Demon has had all pieces of the spear in her possession at one point. Why give them up?” He scratched his beard.
I nodded, letting out a deep breath. “Exactly. Maybe… Roland was wrong about what it can do? This did all start with him receiving wrong information about the wolves. Like it was a trap.”
Nate sighed. “Still, that would mean someone at the Vatican is trying to sabotage the Shepherds, and possibly working with the Demon. That’s insane.”
I shook my head, angry. At least I knew Roland had two of the pieces. That was better than nothing. Even if it currently painted a target on our heads. We needed that last piece.
“We have to find the Demon bitch,” I said. “Or run with the pieces we have and hope for the best. I can’t believe I failed so horribly,” I muttered, kicking my feet against the wall below.
“No. You didn’t,” he said forcefully. “You kicked some serious ass in there. Like a spider monkey.” Then he was hooting in laughter, the sound spilling out into the night, and I found myself smiling, despite feeling overwhelmed.
“I did, didn’t I?” I said softly.
He nodded. “They won’t forget that…” As if those words had hit too close to home, his laughter faded away.
I nodded. “Yeah, they said that…”
Nate grunted, climbing to his feet and holding out a hand. “They always say stuff like that after you’ve stomped them. But I guarantee you they will think twice about confronting you. You took out their freaking Alpha. Pretty much single-handedly. I helped, but I don’t think you needed it.”
I took his hand, feeling that same thrum of energy as earlier, and smiled, a smile of thanks. He glanced down at our hands thoughtfully, as if feeling the same thing, but he withdrew his hand once I was on my feet.
“Everyone is safe. We have two pieces of the spear. And I’m exhausted from kicking ass in there.” I shot him a disbelieving look at the last comment, but found him smirking. “You should get some sleep. We’ll figure this out tomorrow. I’ve got another Guardian,” he said handing me another of the stone griffins we had used to make a ward. “Or I can take you home.”
I could tell by his tone that he wanted to take me home, to watch over me. It was who he was. Used to taking charge, but he was trying to honor my wishes, giving me space to flex my muscles. This was my city. But he could tell my morale was low, so offered anyway.
“Nah. I’ll just stay here,” I said, not looking at him as I shook my hair back, running a finger through the tangles from our fight.
He flinched as if struck, jerking his head at me. “Oh. Well—”
I smiled tiredly. “Just kidding. Wanted to see you squirm.”
And to test something. He hadn’t offered, but his reaction gave it away. There was… something there, something unspoken between us. Whether it was the fighting, hot blood, or something more, I wasn’t sure. But he had been awfully friendly with the reporter. And I was pretty sure he was used to getting his way with women.
Still, a girl liked to know she broke necks when she walked by.
I turned away, hiding my smile. “Callie?”
I paused, but didn’t look back.
“Have you thought about leaving the church? You’ve never hidden the fact that you don’t follow their creed. And after all this…”
I shook my head. “I haven’t thought about it.” The s
ilence stretched, but I broke first. “That doesn’t matter right now, though. I’m doing a job for them. For Roland.”
He grunted. “Forget Roland for a second. You were impressive tonight. I know you have things to learn, but to be honest, you also have a few things to teach, and I don’t say that often.”
“Maybe.”
I could sense his frustration, but I still didn’t turn around. Didn’t move. “Someone is not who they seem. Following you. And without the protection of the church, you’re likely to have a knife twisted in your spine before you even see it coming. Let me help you.”
I kept my breathing calm, but I felt both comfort and a mild defiance at his words. “By meekly following you to St. Louis? Accepting your protection? You sound like you have enough on your plate. I’m not a stray you found on the street, Nate…” I didn’t make it sound mean, but I did let him know I meant it.
He was suddenly behind me, grabbing my arm to spin me around. That tingle was there, but I was too busy staring into his face, a face torn with anger and frustration. “Let. Me. Help. You.”
He was trembling, and he was only inches away. I licked my lips before I thought about it. “No. I’m not a dainty flower, Nate. I thought I just showed you that. I can take care of myself.” And I shook my hand away lightly, turning back around. “But I appreciate your offer.”
I managed not to show my anxiety as I stared straight ahead. We had been seconds away from a kiss, whether either of us consciously wanted it or not. It had felt carnal. Not love. Lust. Two warriors celebrating a minor victory. Passions already accelerated from the fight spilling over into something else. I didn’t want that, and I was pretty sure he didn’t either. Still, it was tough for me to keep my composure, and judging by the silence, he was having the same problem.
I heard him sigh behind me. “Fine. But I look forward to that dinner. As a friend,” he emphasized. “You’re… not what I expected. Let’s meet up tomorrow morning to figure out this Demon thing, okay? And please call me when you get home and have your ward up. I’m heading to St. Louis, but I’ll be back in an hour. Hemingway needs my help with something.” I nodded, but didn’t turn around. I didn’t know if I could. Because I didn’t know how I felt. Friends? Maybe. Maybe not. More than friends? Maybe. Maybe not. We’d get to that later.
Without another word, I Shadow Walked back home to my apartment, tensing as I materialized in my living room, ready for an attack.
Nothing happened, and I could tell that no one had been here.
I headed towards the front door, ready to place my wards around the building like Nate had taught me. I did need sleep. A lot of it. As I opened the door, a card fell to the floor in the hallway. It had been propped up on my door handle, or slipped into the crack between the trim.
It landed face up. A card with the Kansas City Police Department symbol on the front. I sighed, plucking it up from the ground. I saw the same card on several other doors down the hallway, and a patrolman standing outside the door leading out front. Another one stood at the opposite door. He stared out at the parking lot, not seeing me. It looked like the same guy I had seen in the car outside earlier.
The halls didn’t look too damaged, other than gouges in the floor, which was a relief.
Well, a cop at the entrance was going to make things difficult. He would likely be suspicious if he saw me sneaking around the apartment complex kneeling in the grass. And the Demon could be out there right now, watching me, waiting for me to step outside. I smelled no sulfur, but she had to be out there somewhere. She had stayed one step ahead of me this whole time, and she liked playing games. Because she had obviously been close enough to nab my father, but instead, she had given me a spear piece and left a note.
Then the games with the vampires: killing the guards and Simon, and then leaving the piece for me to find. I couldn’t fathom why she was going to all this trouble with the spear if she didn’t appear to care about it.
The bears had made a comment about getting revenge, even before they had actually confronted me. They had said something about a plan. That I would never see it coming…
I sighed. I needed sleep. But first, ward the place. Against everyone.
My phone vibrated in my pocket, and I flinched instinctively, snapped out of my thoughts. Speak of the devil. Probably Nate checking on me.
I answered without looking at it, watching the policeman outside. “Hey.”
“… Callie…” a voice groaned, stopping my heart.
“Dad?” I shouted. “Dad! Hello?”
I heard chuckling, and then the line went dead.
It sounded familiar. Like that damned bear.
Chapter 44
I thought about calling Nate, but remembered he had said he needed to head back to St. Louis to meet with Hemingway. And I had just told him that I didn’t need his help. What, I was going to call him five minutes later, begging for help?
No. I was going to finish what I had started. Nate had said the bears were noble, but he obviously didn’t know everything. Rather than wasting my dwindling energy to Shadow Walk again — not that I could have Shadow Walked through my dad’s ward anyway — I chose the truck. I didn’t want to accidentally Shadow Walk right into a pile of bears. Hanging out on the roof had given me enough time for my magic to return, if not at full force, at least enough to fight. And I didn’t have to worry about being close and quiet. I would light them up from a distance like Roland always encouraged me to do.
I locked my door and ran down the hall, bursting out the door without acknowledging the cop. I heard him shout, but I was soon climbing into my truck, pulling out of the parking lot in a screech of tires. I saw the cop running after me, shouting into his shoulder rig. Fine. Let them track my plates. Worst case scenario they would show up at my dad’s place, maybe scare away the bears, but I doubted it. I was on my own. It would take them a while to track me down, and I heard no sirens pursuing me. Likely, the cop wasn’t allowed to leave his post after the attack.
But how had the bears gotten through the ward? As I thought about it, it didn’t make sense.
Unless… my dad had chosen to leave the house. Or I had just thought the voice sounded like my dad. It had been raspy. But the bears had already proven they knew where my dad lived. They had pictures of me in the front yard.
I pressed the gas harder, thinking about the darker spells Roland had taught me. I was exhausted, but the sudden burst of adrenaline powered me. I wouldn’t give them a fair fight.
I was just going to kill them. All. Immediately.
Screw what the church thought.
They didn’t own me.
These bastards had attacked my dad.
“Game on, Yogi Bear. Game on…” I snarled, tires screeching as I turned on a side street. I was only minutes away.
My anxiety threatened to overwhelm me as I saw strobing lights up ahead. Right near my father’s house, and the area seemed to be glowing much brighter than it should.
Had the wards gone off?
I rounded the last curve, and my jaw dropped.
The house beside my dad’s house was ablaze, flames licking the air like hell itself had swallowed it. A firetruck was blasting the house with water, and several groups of pajama-wearing people stood in clusters on the sidewalk. Two cop cars blocked off the street. I skidded to a halt, jumping out of my truck, not even bothering to turn it off.
Then I was running. “My dad!” I shouted as the cop standing beside his car began yelling at me. But I was too quick, racing past him before he believed I would, thinking his presence was enough to give me pause.
But it wasn’t, because I knew—
“Hey, those plates are the ones Officer Nelson just called in! Stop her!”
But I didn’t stop. I ran down the sidewalk in front of my dad’s house, extending my magic to find that the wards were still up. What the hell? All the lights were off in the house.
I rounded on the nearest group of people, almost hyperventilating.
“What happened?” I shouted at them, trying to scare them into talking quickly because another cop car had just pulled up, and the first cop was running up behind me, still shouting. “Now! Tell me!” I roared, amplifying my voice with magic.
“Callie! Your father. He saved us. The house went up so quickly, and he was just there—”
Ohmygod…
I ran. Towards the back of the house. I flicked my hand as I ran past a bicycle in the lawn, sending it skidding into the police officer hot on my heels. He tripped and stumbled, cursing as he fell, but the chaos and flames would distract him enough to not see how I had done it. He would think he had just tripped over it.
I needed to find my dad. The bears must have set fire to the house. And my dad had run out to help. Like the stupid hero that he was. I didn’t know if they had planned on the house catching fire to his, or if they had wanted to lure him out, but with so many cops here now, I had little hope of finding any bears. Still, I had to be sure.
I rounded the back corner, angling into the back yard to enter the back door.
An arm latched around my throat, strong as braided steel, and I sucked in a deep breath of surprise as I heard pounding footsteps pursuing me just out of sight. They would see my attacker, and help me.
But I hadn’t noticed the damp cloth around my mouth and nose, and that breath cost me my life as the world faded away to nothing. The last thing I noticed was a faint stench of rotten eggs, then chemicals.
Chapter 45
I came to slowly, eyes feeling like they were layered in mud, and my head pounded. I sucked in a breath through my throat, which felt like I had swallowed sand and acid.
I squinted at a purple twilight stretching across the horizon. How long had I been out of it? Where was I? I blinked slowly, the world swaying back and forth, making me feel slightly nauseated. Not that long if the chemical was still in my system. Chloroform.
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