by K. F. Breene
“We’re not really on our own, Mordecai. Give me a break.” Daisy grabbed her suitcase and paused, clearly waiting for us to head upstairs with her and pick out bedrooms. “Kieran’s team is just getting into position, that’s all.”
“His team, yeah.” Mordecai grabbed his bag. “The team we’re not a part of.”
“What do you think bait is?”
“I just thought maybe I’d be in their group rather than pulling non-magical detail.” Mordecai followed us up the stairs and then stepped in the first room in the hall. He dropped his bag.
Daisy stalled next to him. “You’re his girlfriend’s ward, Mordecai, and one day you’ll be alpha of a wolf pack. You’re not one of his Six. Welcome to reality.”
“He needs a new name for his crew.” I stopped by the next bedroom so Daisy could put her stuff inside, though she jerked her head to keep going.
“Looks like the master’s at the end of the hall,” she said. “I’ll take the one next to you in case you don’t wake up if someone comes in.”
I rolled my eyes but didn’t say anything. It was like they didn’t realize they were teens and I was the adult here. Then again, had they ever?
My phone rang as we reconvened downstairs. I rescued it from my purse.
“Alexis, it’s Amber.”
“Hel—”
“Head down to the diner to eat while we get in position.”
“Okay, do you guys—” I realized the line was dead before I finished. “That woman is really intense.”
“That woman is insanely talented,” Daisy said. “She’s got Henry running in circles. Even Zorn is impressed, and he still hates her from when she worked for Valens.”
“Stop brown-nosing.” Mordecai grabbed his light jacket. “She doesn’t like kids—she won’t be training you.”
Daisy pointed her finger in Mordecai’s face. “Your attitude is starting to piss me off.” He slapped her hand out of the air. She jabbed him in the chest. “How am I brown-nosing, huh?” She jabbed him again. He bristled, his jaw set, and leaned toward her.
“Do not fight in this house,” I berated.
Daisy continued as though she didn’t hear me, fire in her eyes. “She’s not here, genius. When they can’t hear you, it’s not brown-nosing, it’s just talking about them. And I’m not a kid.”
“Well, you’re not an adult,” Mordecai shot back.
“What, and you are? Your balls probably haven’t even dropped yet.”
“Daisy, knock it off!” I shoved them toward the door.
“Well?” Daisy retorted, heading to the car. “Everyone knows girls mature faster than boys.”
“You two are both still knuckleheads despite your age—”
“Shotgun,” Daisy yelled over me, then punched Mordecai in the arm. “Slowpoke.”
I rolled my eyes and locked the door behind us.
“Why wouldn’t they get glasses and flatware if they got everything else?” I mused, climbing into the Jeep.
“Because they clearly want us to go downtown to get the stuff we need, duh,” Daisy replied, shoving Mordecai out of the way and climbing into the front passenger seat. “We’re going to basically throw ourselves in the Lightning Bolt’s path, but they gave us a solid excuse. We aren’t pretending that we need water and ketchup, though freaking glasses might’ve been nice. I’m thirsty.”
“We should make a list, actually,” I muttered, handing my phone to Daisy.
“Yes, exactly. If we were pretending, we wouldn’t think to make a list. See?” She opened the notes app, then looked at me. “What should I put on the list?”
“You guys need to learn to shop. This is ridiculous.”
It was only three miles to the tiny downtown strip, populated mostly with single-story, cabin-like buildings. Green and red Open signs blinked from a few windows, and one dark storefront featured a brightly lit Coors sign. I pulled into the middle of three open spaces in front of a building whose sign declared it to be a café.
“She said diner, not coffee shop,” Daisy whispered, looking down at my phone. “The diner is down the way—can’t you see it?”
I knew that, but I really needed some good coffee first.
“We don’t know this guy’s name,” I realized with horror. “We don’t know what he looks like, either.”
Daisy’s fingers froze and Mordecai pushed up a little. No one said anything. What was there to say? Not one of us had thought to ask for details. We were flying blind.
“I told you we were bait,” Daisy said, her fingers again flying over her screen.
“I’ll be checking that list.” I stepped out of the Jeep.
“What do you think I’m going to put on it? Vodka?” She rolled her eyes at me.
“Well…yes, I hope so. And a bunch of wine. But no sweets. The teeth will rot out of your head.”
I reached the sidewalk and looked down the dimly lit street, tiny pools of butterscotch light circling the cracked and faded concrete. Red maples dotted the way, their usually vibrant red subdued in the failing light. Mountain peaks rose in the distance, pressing in on the town. The cool air delighted my senses, rich with floral and evergreen fragrances, carrying the dewy chill of the coming evening.
“Look, there’s a grocery over there.” I pointed across the street at a shop down the road. It had large windows facing the street and curved brass light fixtures fitted onto a green strip painted across the red brick exterior. The white letters read, “Mitchel’s County Store.”
“It’s a good thing we aren’t looking for extravagant,” Daisy murmured.
“The money has gone to your head,” Mordecai said.
“Yeah. It’s nice to have. Being poor was no fun, or don’t you remember?”
“I haven’t forgotten my roots so easily as you.”
“I swear to God, Mordecai, I will rearrange your stupid face if you don’t can it. You’re getting on my last nerve.”
“And you’re both getting on my last nerve,” I hissed. “Stop fighting, would you? Here, let’s just go in here. We can play bait later. I’m not in the mood.”
I ushered them both into the no-name café.
Daisy stomped in after me, muttering, “It’s a good thing he loves you, or you’d get fired.”
“It’s a good thing I have an aversion to jail, or you’d find yourself in an unmarked grave,” I replied, holding the door open. “We’ll get a quick bite and then get some supplies.”
The deep aroma of coffee was even better than the crisp night air. I nearly floated up to the counter, anticipating the warmth and comfort of a cup of joe.
A plump woman with graying hair and a warm smile greeted me. “May I help you?”
I glanced at the chalkboard, advertising open-faced sandwiches, pastries, pies, and the various coffee offerings. “A slice of quiche and an Americano with a double shot, please.”
“You’re going to be up all night,” Daisy said, sidling up next to me.
I gave her the flat stare of a coffee addict who knows what she can handle. The woman’s smile stretched wider and she nodded.
“May I please have the open-faced chicken sandwich and a glass of apple juice?” Daisy asked sweetly.
“I’ll have the same,” Mordecai said. “Can I also have a side of fries, a hot chocolate, and a piece of blueberry pie?”
“Ew, you glutton, get dessert later. You don’t need to order everything at once.” Daisy elbowed Mordecai. “And you ordered apple juice, so take that off if you’re going to get hot chocolate.”
“If I’m going to eat it all, what’s the point of making two trips?” Mordecai elbowed her back. “I’ll drink them both. Stop micromanaging me.”
“You guys,” I said between my teeth, my face flaming. “Go. Sit. Down.”
“But the—”
“Go,” I said to Daisy, and I knew I had crazy eyes.
“It’s a hard age,” the woman said as the two found a table in the back corner and continued to bicker. “Are they yo
ur…siblings?”
The woman let the question linger. I smiled, knowing why she was confused. With only ten years or so between us, there was no way I could be their biological mother. Besides, our appearances didn’t bear out a connection as simple as blood, what with Daisy’s pale-as-snow complexion, Mordecai’s dark skin and flashing hazel eyes, and my various shades of beige and brown.
The half-truths and outright lies were ready on my tongue.
“My mom took them in as foster kids, but she died a few years ago. I didn’t think they’d let me keep them, but my uncle—my mom’s brother—homeschools them, and I have a steady job that I can do from home, so I guess it’s a team effort.” I shrugged. “We thought we might try a little rock climbing, but I suspect we’ll instead do some rock dangling.”
The woman laughed and stuck a handwritten green ticket in a clamp on the circular ticket holder for whoever was in the kitchen. “That’s really noble of you, a young woman like you looking after those kids. God is smiling down on you for your charity.”
I shrugged again, now feeling bad for lying. “I couldn’t, in good conscience, turn them away.” At least that was the truth.
“Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the Lord, and He will repay him for his deed,” the woman said, her eyes kind.
Guilt flowered within me. Here I was, invading someone’s refuge for personal gain. This Thunderstroke guy had escaped a truly horrible life in a world so corrupt and disgusting that it had been openly known—and accepted—that his Demigod had kept him chained to a bed as a slave. What was I thinking? I couldn’t, in good faith, take his second chance, especially since I was offering nothing but danger as a substitute. Because the truth was that I had no idea if he’d be safe with us. If someone took out Kieran, everyone on our team would be vulnerable. I couldn’t protect this guy any more than he could protect me. He might find himself chained to someone else’s bed, and honestly, I could, too. The future was bleak if things went wrong. I couldn’t force someone to endure that with me, not when they’d already been granted their freedom.
I took the coffee and food back to our table, lost in thought. I didn’t interrupt the kids’ bickering, and shrugged them off when they asked what my problem was. By the time Mordecai took his last bite of pie, I’d made up my mind. Being here was a lot of risk, and a lot of selfishness, and the latter wasn’t a good look on me.
“Come on, finish up. We’re leaving.” I piled my dishes together for easy cleanup. “We’ll stay in the house tonight, but we’re leaving first thing tomorrow.”
“Where are we going?” Mordecai said, his mouth full.
I sighed and gave him a flat stare until he closed his mouth. The door opened, and fresh air swirled through the coffee shop. Daisy put her dishes in a tub near the napkin and flatware stand.
“Here.” I motioned for her to get mine, too.
“I’m not your minion.”
I lifted my eyebrows. “You’re my kid. Kids do stuff. Get to it.”
“I’m not your kid.”
“Daisy, so help me God, if you—” Mordecai’s kick nearly loosed my power on them both. I was in that kinda mood. I turned my scowl on him. “Do you want to sleep outside, is that what—”
“The guy who just walked in is standing in the doorway and staring at us,” Mordecai said under his breath.
I glanced over, only to freeze solid, my hands hovering over my dirty plates and my eyes rounding like saucers.
The man looked about Kieran’s age, late twenties or early thirties, and extremely handsome. His hair, a little wavy and a lot messy, went from light brown at the roots to wheat and then gold, natural highlights women would spend oodles of money for in a salon chair. A light dusting of scruff adorned his angular face, tilting him from pretty boy to pretty damn hot. Brows arched over clear baby blues, framing a gaze as direct as it was beautiful. A tattoo of fire rose from his neckline like actual flames crawling up his skin.
I gulped, not sure what to do. Not sure where to look. This had to be the guy. I could see the conflict in his knowing stare. The rage. He was clearly wondering if he could burn me dead on the spot.
13
Alexis
“Dylan, hello,” the woman at the counter said.
He shook himself slightly, as though waking from a trance. His deeply hooded eyes, like a man in the throes of sex, blinked twice quickly, and then he was walking toward the counter again, fluid and easy.
The small hairs stood up on my arms.
Too easy.
Sweat broke out over my brow. All I could think about was getting my kids to safety. But where the hell would they go?
My mind whirled, going over everything I’d heard about this guy. He could only detect people of Zeus’s magic, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t put his other senses to use. He clearly knew something was up. Still, he wouldn’t light up this whole town. No way. Given the way he was talking to the woman, he liked her. They were friendly. In a small town like this, he was probably friendly with a great many people. He wouldn’t want to rain lightning down on everyone just to get to the kids and me. It wouldn’t be smart, either. A Chester would cry magic, people would figure out what magic, and the game would be up.
“Go,” I said softly, passing the kids the keys. “Go. Drive away. Get out of this town. Right now. Do not come back for me.”
“No,” Daisy said, her body moving like liquid grace as she walked back to the table. Her movements screamed lethal training. “We’re not leaving you here.”
I reached in and grabbed her soul. “You will get out of his town right now. Both of you. You will run.”
She gritted her teeth, fighting the pain in her middle. Mordecai didn’t even have to grit his teeth. He was too used to pain for that—his entire life had been riddled with it until recently. He just watched me placidly, refusing to get up.
“This is the second double-shot Americano I’ve made in the last hour. You young people.” The woman tsked with a smile, moving to prepare the coffee. The man, Dylan, turned and looked at the person who’d obviously ordered the last one, the warning in his suddenly dangerous glare sending tingles scurrying across my skin. His soul, once bright and alive, pulsed dark. Throbbed, even. I had never seen a soul change like that. I wondered if mine did the same thing when I prepared for battle. Like right now.
“What about you?” Mordecai asked.
“Get the fuck out of this town, right now,” I said, standing and yanking him up with me. I shoved him toward the door. “Take your sister. Make her go.”
Daisy yanked her arm out of Mordecai’s grasp. She blinked away the moisture in her eyes, the only remaining sign she’d felt my attack on her spirit box. “We’ve done this before, remember? When you took off to protect our house and left Mordecai and me in safety? Remember how that turned out? We both nearly died. I’m not doing that again. I’m not leaving you or him. We stay together. We’ve always done okay when we’re together.”
I shook my head at her in utter disbelief. This was not the sort of thing heroes had to deal with, their freaking kids refusing to get saved.
Dylan slid a bill over the counter and turned gracefully, heading toward the sugar station behind Daisy.
“Then sit down,” I said through clenched teeth, watching the woman behind the counter busy herself cleaning. “Daisy, go order something. A hot chocolate. Keep that woman in the room.”
“I could do with another slice of pie,” Mordecai said as though we weren’t in extreme danger and Dylan wasn’t slowly loading up on sugar while he worked over why a magical worker with a Demigod’s mark was hanging out in this Chester town. The fact that we were here meant we had fake documents good enough to get us past the very thorough highway patrol station. Only dual-society zones allowed magical people in, and this was far from one of those.
“You’re going to get sick if you eat another slice of pie,” Daisy said.
I shook my head in disbelief for the second time. “Really? Arguing r
ight now? Get the fucking slice of pie. Throw up. Whatever. Just get it now.”
“She does not handle pressure well,” Daisy murmured as they both turned for the counter.
“She’s never come back from the dead, that’s why,” he replied, much too loudly, because I could still hear him and now they were closer to the Lightning Rod than I was.
“I haven’t either,” Daisy replied.
“Yeah, but you were nearly there. You just managed to save yourself before you had to be saved. She’s the one that always saves the day, so she doesn’t ever have to sit and stew in danger.”
“Yeah. This is kinda good for her.”
I couldn’t do much more than stare at them with my mouth open. I honestly couldn’t. Was I dreaming?
Dylan turned from the sugar station before fixing his lid in place. A couple of slow strides and he was at my table. He lowered into Daisy’s chair.
“I can kill you where you sit,” he said softly, like a lover whispering into my ear. My stomach flipped and then cramped in fear.
“I will take your word on that. I don’t honestly know much about how your magic works. But I’m pretty sure I could kill you about as fast as you could kill me.” I rested my touch on his soul casing, light as a feather. His eyes tightened. “But let’s keep this between us. Don’t harm those kids. Please. I tried to make them go, but they are too damn stubborn. They are no threat to you. One isn’t even magical. They were with me before…any of this.”
He leaned forward, baring his teeth just a little. “And what is this?”
“Living in the magical world. I haven’t been involved with it for very long.”
A wry grin twisted his lips. “Maybe not, but you’ve made a loud entrance. I know who gave you that mark. It’s not hard to get around the Chesters’ block on magical news.”
I couldn’t help my brow furrowing. “They have a block on magical news here?” I whispered. “I didn’t even know that was possible. And yes, I did make a loud entrance. It couldn’t be helped. I wasn’t about to let a loved one face Valens alone.”
“How’d you find out about me? Don’t try to say you’re running away with your kids and happened to pick this town. I don’t like being called stupid.”