Rogue Spotter Collection

by Kimberly A Rogers

  “What do you even know about the Nephilim? Anything? He’s not a dragon, Lauren.”

  “I know that,” I snapped. “And, being cryptic helps no one.”

  “I’ve been hunting for information about the Nephilim since he sent that first video. There’s an ancient Lore keeper in Alexandria who knew the name. It comes out of the deepest past before Minoan Eruption collapsed the portal between our world and Faerie and we lost Atlantis, the city between. It’s how the Fae were stranded in our world, and the fabled lost Fae entered our legends. The Nephilim was a poetic name for those who claimed to be descendants and survivors of the lost Fae. Including Nimrod.”

  “And, the Crown of Nimrod was created to counter his evils,” I interrupted. “Yes, I know the story. What does it matter? The Nephilim are like any other Fae. Or were, since they’re extinct.”

  “Rich words for a half-Jinn Spotter who is married to a Myrmidon,” he stated drily. “Lauren, where is your patience?”

  “Do you know how many hoops I have leapt through trying to find help?” My voice trembled and wind brushed against my skin again as I continued, “How much time I have spent attempting to convince some of the most powerful paranormals in the world that they should stick their heads out of their precious shells and do something about Weard? How much time I allowed to pass because I thought surely the powerful would be willing to stand against a blatant threat such as the one we now face? Yet, I am here. A prisoner in all but name of yet another dragon prince who will not screw his courage up enough to stand up to a madman and stop him before he brings destruction on our entire world. It’s bigger than Mathias. I know that and, yet, you all want to see me as a grieving woman who is out of her senses from the strain of my situation.”

  “I realize losing the baby didn’t help and I am sorry for your loss,” Royal interjected cautiously. “However, you must realize that mobilizing across the different species to go to Chicago and ensure we have back up plans to prevent exposure beyond what the norms could handle will take time.”

  “And, you’ve all been wasting that time by refusing to agree to help. Instead, I am sent to this high number or that high number, begging them to take a leap of faith that they won’t be the only ones to go to Chicago because not a single one of you is willing to stick your neck out first. Do you realize how impossible that is when no one else is willing to be one of the first?” I shook my head. “It is no wonder that Weard was able to fall into such sinister hands because not a single one of the powerful, of the high numbers who are supposed to be protectors and guardians, are willing to function like a true community. The Nephilim’s position in Weard is your fault. People will die before this is over, and their blood is on all your hands. Innocent people that you failed to protect. You won’t be able to just wash that away and pretend it’s not the truth.”

  “Don’t you think you’re being a little harsh? The princes have responsibilities to their people and to all the other paranormals living under their protection. The paranormal community is poised to explode messily and with more causalities than Mathias if the situation with Weard is not treated correctly. Open war must be avoided.”

  “What part of my appeal to the Jinn did you miss?” I snapped. Wind stirred my hair although I was careful to keep my hands at my sides. “I went to the Jinn and begged for their help. But even they have politics getting in the way. When you allow politics to stop you from doing the right thing, you are nothing more than cowards looking for excuses to avoid conflict. All I want is for the high numbers to actually use their power the way they should have been all along. Dragons, Fae, Jinn. You all have your excuses as to why you can’t possibly help or interfere, and then you wonder why you stand alone when trouble comes for you.”

  Royal took a step forward, raising his hand to point a finger at me. “Tell me you haven’t done the same thing you accuse the rest of us of doing. Tell me, Lauren Hope, how did you survive all these years on your own? Except by weighing the risks and when exposure was too likely to occur, you turned and slipped away to keep hidden from anyone who might know what you were . . . You were the only rumored Spotter that required extra attention from Weard because you were the only one who almost never gave any signs of being a Spotter. Because you didn’t interfere. You stayed out of it.”

  “Yes and now I am the only one who seems willing to stand in the light to fight back against the Nephilim.” When he took another step toward me, I raised my left hand. A warning vibrated in my voice even as the wind picked up speed, sending papers swirling across the floor between us, as I spoke. “Do not try to restrain me again, Royal. I have had quite enough of dragons telling me what I should and shouldn’t do, what I should and shouldn’t feel, what I should and shouldn’t think! I was a Spotter! Not a high number. I didn’t have true access to my Jinn heritage. I had no means of fighting back against high numbers. So yes, I crafted my entire life around my ability to drop everything and leave on a moment’s notice.”

  Royal took another step toward me and I shoved my hand toward him, the wind following my movement and bending to force him against the door once more. “I told you not to try and restrain me. At the moment, that means you had best stay still. And, I am not going to let you excuse your inaction by pointing to how I was forced to survive. I shouldn’t have needed to spend my life hiding from paranormals! You, the dragons, the Fae, the Therians, the Jinn, all of you should have been strong enough to say no when fear led to targeting Spotters. Even today, it is dangerous to be known as a Spotter because everyone either wants to kill you or to use you. And, you could have stopped it. You are all paranormals with long enough lifespans that many who are alive and ruling today could’ve stopped the purge of weaker paranormals. Instead, you turned a blind eye because it wasn’t your concern. You did the same thing to the Therians when the Great Purge of Western Europe happened, and they only escaped by banding together with Auberon and the High Elves. A fragment of the Fae in the grand scheme because dragons chose not to interfere. They say separation is better. Interference in basic lives is unnecessary, but you turned it into an excuse to preserve ancient grudges and prejudices between paranormal species, to look the other way when one species was in trouble. And, look at where we are now. Look at where we are! The Nephilim is going to win, and he will destroy everything we hold dear. When that happens, people will ask where were the dragons, where were the Fae, where were the Therians and the Jinn? And, history will tell them that no one came because they would not be first. They did not come because they were afraid. They did not come because Weard seized on the fractures of the paranormal community and widened them into great divides. And, no one stopped it because to do so would be inconvenient. It would be messy.”

  I shook my head. “Everyone is so quick to judge Mathias for the crime of being born. So quick to dismiss the both of us as outcasts who should not exist and therefore mean nothing to the world. And, everyone is wrong.”

  I dropped my hand, allowing the wind to die. Royal dropped to the ground, and I realized this time I had struck him with enough force to lift him off his feet. I stared down at my hands for a long moment. Then, I slowly raised my head to stare the dragon in the eyes. “You worked in Weard for years. You know how they bent the rules and took advantage of the divisions between paranormals. You were a hunter, you couldn’t have not known because Mathias shared some of your training tactics with me, and he said Weard trained you to take advantage of those old grudges when necessary.”

  Royal leaned forward to rest his hands on his knees, a show to establish himself as nonthreatening. He was even panting slightly as he broke his silence. “And, what would you do? If you succeeded in removing the Nephilim from power, what would you do? Take his place to force us all to become involved?”

  A bitter laugh worked its way free before I massaged my temples against a growing headache. “Is that all high numbers know? Force and deception and manipulation? If it is, then you have my pity because I most certainly do not want th
at in my life.” I ran a hand over the gold tattoo spiraling around my forearm and the fox’s head resting over my wrist. “I don’t want power or control over anything save my own life. If Mathias . . .” I cleared my throat, forcing the clogging emotions away, then tried again. “If Mathias doesn’t make it out of this situation, I will still fight against the Nephilim and I will fight to stop him because it is the right thing to do. And, should I survive . . . That is when I will walk away from the world because it won’t need me anymore.”

  “You would fight and then hide away again.”

  An unbidden smile curved my lips as I recalled Mathias’ stance on the matter. “I would call it retirement.”

  “And, if Mathias survives by some miracle? What would the two of you do?”

  I paused only a moment before I replied. “You know he had it all planned out. Mathias started talking about it from the moment I completed the Trials of Achilles and became his bride. The two of us on a nice beach where the ocean is warm all the time and where no one could find us. We wouldn’t be pulled into any more of these squabbles or worried someone is hunting for us because of what we carry by blood. We would be . . . retired. And we would finally be able to rest, to have the peace that neither of us was allowed for the majority of our lives. That was Mathias’ plan all along. And, I loved him for dreaming that we could escape the pettiness and the squabbles and the manipulation of the powerful.”

  “Mathias was a man of the sword.”

  “Mathias is a warrior and even warriors earn rest,” I countered. “Just because Mathias is Myrmidon, it doesn’t mean that he deserves to die or cannot be at peace without a weapon in his hands.” Holding Royal’s gaze for a long moment, I sighed. “Since we are running out of days to save him, the only option left to me is to do what I must to prevent his death from being in vain. I will fight the Nephilim. Layla and Hasim are recovering from our journey. However, it won’t be long before we can make our own way again. And, trust me when I say that I will be in Chicago before Yule. I will stop the Nephilim no matter what the cost to myself.”

  Royal nodded slowly, rubbing his short beard, and then his gaze flicked behind me. “I believe her. For the whole of it.”

  My entire body tensed, and I desperately wished I had paid more attention to the room before I decided to face down a dragon. Especially when I could feel the power rolling off of the dragon at my back.

  I slowly turned. The room was set up like the suite we’d been provided, Royal and I had stopped in the sitting room with its carved furniture more suited to tall men and a table that was covered with a weighted down map while papers were strewn across the floor. In the open doorway leading to a bedroom, Prince Ciril stood with arms folded and a contemplative gleam in his eyes that would have sent me running even a few short months back.

  This time I set my feet and raised my chin in silent defiance. And, the dragon prince smiled as though he had tasted something delicious. His eyes were fiery orange as he nodded to me. “I had begun to doubt whether you would remain uncorrupted by inheriting your father’s talent as well. However, it seems you are a woman of simple tastes, though your goals could be deemed earth shaking in nature.”

  “My goals were formed in response to the movements of my enemy,” I stated bluntly. “The only way to succeed is by moving forward.”

  The dragon nodded slowly. “Yes. However, you ask for much of us, Lauren Hope. And, you still do not know everything we do.”

  “Then, I feel certain you are about to enlighten me, great prince.” I tacked the honorific on out of habit more than anything else as my agitation at the situation rose higher. They had me talking in circles and still weren’t truly committed to helping me finish this. It was absolutely maddening.

  “Given the loss of the unborn, the council has nothing to fear from your union with the Myrmidon,” the dragon prince murmured as he pushed away from the wall in favor of approaching me. “If you quietly disappeared in the aftermath of stopping Weard, with or without your Myrmidon, there would be no further reason for the council to check on you. I will continue to claim you under my protection, of course. Aside from that, you would be left to your own devices. Although, perhaps the Myrmidon would be open to certain arrangements within my court.”

  “No conditions on Mathias that would take him out of retirement,” I stated quietly. “Or I will insist we live in Saint Augustine right down from the embassies. A move that would be unappreciated in the wake of recent events, correct?”

  Prince Ciril smirked and waved his hand. “So, the cornered fox promises to bite. Or perhaps she is more wolf than fox?”

  I narrowed my eyes at him. “Tread carefully, great prince. Do dragons not have a saying about provoking the wrath of a woman who has already lost everything?”

  “Fear the woman who has lost everything for you have stolen her mercy, and she will lay you bare with a glance,” he murmured. “Your fear has lessened greatly since our last meeting.”

  “Even then I stood against the chance that all would be lost,” I reminded him.

  “So, I should stand with you now against Weard?”

  “No.”

  It was almost humorous how the dragon almost cracked his neck to look down at me. He raised both eyebrows as he strolled closer. “No? You do not want me to ally with you anymore?”

  “No, for I cannot trust that you or any other high number will keep your word.” I paused contemplating my words before continuing, “And, I don’t want help that I had to wring free like blood from stones. That would only breed resentment, and I know better than to be the source of a dragon’s resentment. I will ask nothing more from you. It’s far too late as it is. All I ask is that you allow my companions and I to leave Perperikon and your territory of Thrace unscathed. We will make our way to Chicago on our own, and we will confront the Nephilim. After that . . . We are no longer your concern.”

  The prince said nothing. I nodded to him and then turned my back on him. Facing Royal, I added, “Thank you for your cooperation.”

  Royal’s eyes widened, and I knew that he was questioning my sanity. So was I. Yet, the snarky words had rolled off my tongue as though Mathias were urging them on. A low rumbling laugh filled the room. I glanced over my shoulder to see the dragon prince of Thrace toss his head back and laugh even louder.

  His shoulders were still shaking when he finally got his laughter under control long enough to look at me. “Oh, I do remember why I decided to let you both go. You have great spirit, Lauren Hope. Great spirit, indeed.” He sobered so quickly that it was nearly enough to cause whiplash as he studied me closely. “However, there is always a danger to being so full of passion. If you go to Chicago with Soslan the Nephilim waiting for you and claiming to have the jewel he covets, you will be walking straight into his trap.”

  “Believe me, Prince Ciril, when I say that I am painfully aware of the consequences and potential fallout to my plan.”

  “Yet, you still intend to go through with it,” he murmured.

  It wasn’t a question. Not really. Still I nodded. “Yes. I am going because the only way to put a stop to this before he makes even more of you suffer as I suffer now is by doing so. And, God knows that I am struggling not to carry hate toward the high numbers, but you don’t deserve this suffering. Neither do your loved ones, since that is who Soslan intends to target first. No matter what it costs me, I intend to beat him.”

  “If he were to offer you the opportunity to save Mathias at the cost of surrendering the jewel to him?”

  I closed my eyes and drew a deep breath as tears threatened to break past my thinning veneer of control. Forcing myself to open them once more, I met Prince Ciril’s fiery orange gaze. “I would stick to the plan. No matter how much . . . No matter how much it will break my heart to choose others over Mathias. I will do it because it would do me no good to accept a bargain with a monster that has already deceived and manipulated me. It would only draw out the torture for a little while longer, and I won’
t do that to him.”

  “You would,” he murmured. “I believe you would if forced to that particular choice. Yet . . . I spoke with a seer yesterday. She shared a single Seeing. The Destroyer must enter the Nephilim’s lair to defeat him or else she will be turned to aiding the destruction of our way of life.”

  My jaw worked and my fingers twitched. “A seer called me the Destroyer. I thought he was mistaken at the time, but now . . .”

  “The seers can be annoying in their accuracy when they call us differently from how we see ourselves,” the dragon mused, which was entirely unhelpful in its convoluted state. He studied me for a moment and then gave a curt nod. “Allow me to make some calls. I believe I can do more than simply allow you to leave my palace. At the least, I can provide a plane. You will land in Chicago in three days.”

  He strode from the room taking all the air with him. I dropped to my knees. I would get to Chicago before the Yule deadline, yes. But, Mathias . . . It would be a full day past his deadline.

  A light touch on my shoulder made me look up. I wasn’t crying. All the tears seemed to have vanished, sucked away by the reality of losing my husband. I could see Royal’s concern even before he crouched down next to me. His hand rested more solidly on my shoulder. “You should be happy.”

  “It will be too late for Mathias.”

  His brow furrowed, and then he shook his head. “No. Lauren, the International Date Line is behind us.”

  I stared at him uncomprehendingly, then shot to my feet as realization struck. “It won’t be December twentieth in Chicago! It will still be the nineteenth!”

  He nodded slowly and I launched myself at him, knocking him out of his crouch as I half sobbed with sheer relief. It would be close. It would be cutting things terrifyingly close. However, there was still a chance for him, that I could save him in spite of everything. If everything else went according to plan.

  Realizing I was still hugging Royal, I quickly scrambled back to my feet and brushed my hair out of my face. He was looking at me a little differently. His gaze dropped to my stomach, and he opened his mouth before closing it again. “No, I don’t think I want to know what secrets you might be hiding.”