CHAPTER ELEVEN
The feel of a piece of ceremonial bowl rising from the bowels of the earth was like a modac slug burrowing through her body leaving a cold, slimy trail.
OK, so she’d never had a disgusting modac slug, an overgrown everyday earthworm with a touch of magic and native to Galdo, burrow through her before. Thank the Gods! But she’d read a chapter from one of the old torture tomes which described the ickiness so felt completely justified in using the comparison to what she was currently experiencing.
The shift brought them to water ravished rocks at the edge of an ocean, Penny swaying precariously as she tried to get her bearings.
Nate planted a firm hand on her arm, stabilizing her. “Where are we?”
“I’m guessing a coastline in Africa somewhere.” Penny peered at the land, trees, and sky.
“Think you’re right.” Nate pulled out his iPhone and texted. Every group, when arriving at their location, text and armed the tracking device in their phones. This way if anything went wrong, they were easily located, and help could get here fast.
“Where’s the piece?” Brownie Ada looked around sharply. “Someone’s coming.”
“I feel it too.” Penny spun around, holding her hands at the ready like weapons. “The piece is at the bottom of the ocean. Do you think you can jump in and grab it, Nate?”
“Not a chance I’m leaving you two up here to face whatever turns up. Use your magic to pull it up.”
Two separate groups popped in around them. One the good guys, the others not so good Penny guessed from Nate’s reaction. The werewolf was bristling up and claws curling. Penny was ready and willing to fight. Getting one was probably not going to happen, not with Ruine, Blaine, and the imp princess, Missy, here now also. So she’d get on with what she was able to do and rushed to the edge of the rocks knowing that the others would protect her. Standing on the very edge, Ada standing between her and the now fighting creatures, Penny crouched and placed both hands palm on top of the gentle waves. For a moment there was no sensation, not even a tingling zing, so she slipped her hands beneath the water and as expected got a full blast of magical energy from the ceremonial bowl.
“Water and currents have power and magic all of their own.” She murmured, concentrating on pulling the piece of bowl upward.
“Immortal, it’d be best if you retrieved the piece quicker.” The brownie said a little agitatedly.
“Problem?” Penny asked distractedly.
“A few more enemies, I have no idea whether they are Revmiras or drones of Grydern’s, have joined the hunt.”
That caught Penny’s attention. “How many?”
“At least a dozen.”
“All strong?”
“Physically and magically. Of course, our side is more than holding its own, but I would feel better if we had that piece of bowl already in our possession and moved securely out of here.”
Penny felt sweat pop on her forehead. There was something holding the bowl from her. “I like that you are expressing your faith in our guys, Ada, that’s an improvement.”
“Improvement?” The brownie sounded quietly suspicious.
“Yes, Remi did mention you have a slight aversion to other creatures. Damnation! Right, I need some of your strength.” Penny reached up, grabbed Ada’s arm and jerked the brownie down to kneel beside her. “Whoever locked this piece into the ground did so with a great amount of magical strength. I’m going to need you to help me. Can you do that?”
“Yes.” The brownie said decisively. “I wasn’t aware you could take magic and power from another.”
“Very few can, and it is not something we do without permission. I can’t without permission, but as I get older and stronger, I will be able to. Dareios can sap anyone of their power without a touch, Ace is pretty good at it, and of course my cousin Divij is right up there. Though if the other creature they’re trying to take power from is strong also and resists, well it could mean a bit of a struggle.”
“Do what you have to do.”
“Thanks. I am going to babble for a moment as it helps me to do this, so excuse my nonsense and if I say anything private or personal, please treat it like client privilege.”
Ada smiled. “Very well. Have at it, sorceress.”
Penny felt a little warm glow inside. “I am touched by your faith in me, and apologize as this won’t be comfortable for you. I’m not as skilled or powerful as those I mentioned before, and I could drain you more than I intend. Anyway.” Penny gripped one of Ada’s hands tightly and held the other over the water while casting a quick glance at the fighting creatures. “More on both sides have arrived. This may be the only piece that has surfaced. Hold on, Ada.” She drew in a sharp breath at the same time she took power from the brownie. “You are quite amazing. Resourceful and highly intelligent, I am really going to enjoy us being great friends. And we are, brownie, Remi always predicted. Anyway, don’t tell my kind I said this, but did you know the most magically powerful creatures are actually the fairies? Yes, they are pure magic, every cell, blood, bone and the rest. Of course, immortals are right up there, as are the demons and imps. We’re probably next, immortals that is, then the imps and demons…piece is nearly here, you’re doing great, Ada.” Penny was sweating, her focus on the piece but worried she was taking too much from Ada. “I’m sorry, really.” She felt Ada going lax and looked around frantically. “So close, I’ll stop—”
“Don’t…for Remi…take everything from m-me, I’ll r-recover.”
Penny could feel the object just below the surface, so close to her fingers but was afraid she would injure the brownie by sapping her completely of her magic and strength. As much as she wanted that piece, to stop Grydern’s creatures from getting it and to get Remi back, it wasn’t in her to risk another. By letting go of Ada, breaking that connection, she would lose the piece of ceremonial bowl. From what she could feel, it would not just sink back to the bottom of the ocean; it would conceal itself once again as per the magic originally cast upon it. Then Grydern would have the opportunity to snag it.
“I have to let go, Ada—”
“Don’t you dare,” a very feminine voice with a firm edge stated clearly. “Here.”
Penny was jolted by Princess Missy of the imps placing a hand on her arm and practically blasting power into her. In an instant the piece of bowl hit her fingers, Penny gripping it tightly and jerking it out of the water.
One of the other sentinels had arrived and was laying a now unconscious Ada down, Penny not able to spare a glance or concern right now.
“Help me break the magic over this.” She said to Missy.
Between them they concentrated, but the magic was ancient, and from what Penny could feel, cast in blood. That was dangerous and ill-advised, only ever used in dire situations. Probably all those years ago it was necessary, now damn near impossible to break when in such a rush and on the edge of a battlefield.
A shadow fell over them. “Allow me.”
With nothing more than a simple wave of his hand, Prince Dareios of the fairies disabled the magic, it floating away as though never been.
“Where were you before I had to drain a brownie?” Penny gave a weary smile. “She OK?”
Dareios glanced at Ada, unemotional as usual. “She made the sacrifice herself?”
“Yes. She’s really awesome.” Penny wrapped the broken piece of bowl in the airtight container and sealed it with magic.
“A dynamo in the hearing earlier today…as was Remika,” Missy said quietly.
With a wave of his hand, Ada’s eyes blinked open, and she gasped, expression shocked. With another wave of his hand, he took the container from Penny via magic then strode off to his sentinel companion, Lucio.
Ada sat up with a jerk. “What happened?”
“Gracious, I do think Dare gave you a boost of magic!” Missy squealed. “Holy Goddesses!”
“My thoughts exactly.” Penny grinned tiredly. “You OK, Ada? I’m sorry I sapped all your energy and magic—”
“You got the piece of bowl?” As usual, the brownie got right to the important points. No mushiness allowed.
“Yes. Royal fairy hotness took it.” Missy’s eyes trailed after the eldest fairy prince. “Shame he has no real emotions.”
“Yes, why is that?” Penny stood and dusted herself off, then helped Ada up. “I’ve always been curious, but everyone clams up.”
“It’s said he was born with the usual fairy nature, though not as frivolous as most. But over the years he slowly lost all animation but for rare occasions.” Missy shrugged. “A curse some say, others say black magic, while there are those who adamantly swear his soul mate passed a long time ago, and with the creature, half his soul died.”
Ada rolled her eyes and dusted salt and grime from her tailored pants. “Always a story. It appears there are prisoners that can be interrogated.”
Nate looped over, eyes carefully surveying all three of them and lingering on his brownie. “You OK?”
“Fine. We have the piece. The prisoners?”
“They won’t know where Grydern is. They’re pawns, nothing else. Drones that Grydern uses to do his bidding.”
“You won’t know until their minds are searched,” Ada said sharply. “They may have seen Remi.”
“Divij and Chase will interrogate. Good job with the bowl retrieval, ladies, but next time I’d prefer no one got drained.”
Ada gave an elegant snort. “That is not up to you. The piece needed to be retrieved. Unfortunately, I do not possess enough juice to adequately assist the immortal—”
“Actually, you are pretty strong,” Penny said truthfully. “That was ancient magic mingled with blood; neither I nor Missy could break it. Yeah, in the years to come, not much of a sweat, but we were struggling, and I wouldn’t have been able to do it without everything you’ve got, I’ve got, and Missy has.” Penny grimaced. “Then Dare comes and waves a hand dismissively and voila! Magic disappearo!”
“Hmm, he does have that certain…touch.” Missy’s eyes lit up, mouth curving in a feminine, mischievous smile. “I wonder—”
“Don’t bother.” Nate grinned. “Come on, let’s get going. You right to shift, Penny? Missy?”
“Fine.”
“The same.”
“Right, give my cousin a lift, Missy,” Nate ordered as Blaine ambled over.
“Were there any other pieces found and collected?” Penny asked hopefully.
“One, a small slither. Could be a dozen more out there. Let’s go.”
The thought of more pieces waiting to be unearthed and magic to be fought sent a shudder through Penny. She’d have to bone up on her blood magic skills before the next bowl retrieval hunt.
So tired she hadn’t even thought of voicing a protest, or outright objecting, Ada spent what remained of the night in an opulent guest room at the werewolf compound in Galdorcwide. The bed was wonderful, the room equipped with everything she could need and in the morning she found clothes and necessities of her own had been delivered from the vampire townhouse in New York.
At this point in time, she didn’t even consider any of the consequences or repercussions of accepting anything from the wolves and vamps. She’d learned a lot and though normally she would have to be more wary and cautious, the lines were down with everyone working toward a common goal.
Breakfast was quite strange. King Thomas studied Ada for longer than was polite and then beamed at her as though she had done something especially good. It left Ada very suspicious. There were also a lot of relatives. First cousins, second cousins, nieces, nephews, Nate’s siblings and an assortment of others. The werewolf queen, Stephanie, was much more relaxed and cheerful. She reminded Ada a bit of Blaine and Nate with the same smile and a happy inner glow.
Apparently there was no time to ponder this strange behavior though as she was taken straight from the werewolf compound to the vampire vortex, a huge, magnificent castle that intermingled very modern with chic, gothic and antique. Every facility was catered for, every whim met in this impressive castle that was like a city within the complex with only the royal section cut off from everyday access. Here she was eyed up and again underwent numerous intent studies.
Prince Dare of the fairies was there which gave her the opportunity to thank him for the jolt of magic last night. Today she was still feeling the effects, and possibly even stronger than she was before.
Normally she disliked owing anyone anything, but in this case felt it was justified in the pursuit of Remi and the destruction of Grydern. After all, they had a common goal, were working together, and she had given her all to the cause.
Strangely enough, approaching him was far more difficult than she thought it would be. He was unapproachable, reserved, standoffish. Unattached emotionally, not just dismissive like Prince Ruine of the demons, or wanting everyone away from him like Lord Severo of the immortals. This fairy had…well, pretty much everything but lacked an elemental spark.
He lacked joy. It made Ada shiver, and for a moment she reconsidered speaking to him, but then she wasn’t one to be put off. Straightening her shoulders, she crossed the big sitting room where she was with Nate, Nico, and Lucio and stood in front of Dare who lounged on a chaise sofa gazing outside.
“Your Highness—”
“Dare or Dareios is fine, brownie.” He murmured without turning his eyes from the high windows.
“Dareios, then. I wanted to thank you for your assistance last night—”
“No need.” Golden eyes turned from the blue skies outside to look up at her. “A common enemy does make for unusual bedfellows.”
He disappeared without a whisper of air displacement and leaving Ada not entirely certain of what just transpired after steeling herself for a big, flamboyant thank you. Goddess, was that not what fairies wanted, and in most cases, demanded? A flamboyant, over-the-top, thank you or sorry? Well, that was peculiar. With a shrug she returned to the other creatures.
“How do we proceed from here?” she asked, interrupting the three men’s coffee drinking.
Vampires adored coffee, the very finest coffees. You wouldn’t catch them drinking instant or office sludge. The bloodsuckers clustered around as though it were gold, or blood, savoring every whiff and sip. Remi had once said vamps had coffee orgies, though now, watching their pure enjoyment of the black brew, Ada saw Remi’s meaning. Not a sexual orgy, an “enjoyment of the senses” orgy.
Of coffee. How strange.
“Firstly, we enjoy our espressos.” Lucio waved a hand elegantly at the empty seat beside Nate. “Try, brownie. You will find that in all the world, there is no coffee as splendid as the vampires’ own blend.”
“I wasn’t aware your kind had your own brand.” She sat and cautiously sipped. Surprise had her sniffing the coffee aroma. “You are right, it is splendid.”
“Si, of course!” Nico exclaimed. “We develop, grow, and harvest our own beans, then design the blends. Truly, cara, you must be updated on Galdo.”
“I do believe you’re right,” Ada murmured, growing quite annoyed with herself for having this lack of knowledge. She actually deserved to be reprimanded for letting herself be so narrow-minded in her views on what knowledge to gain. It certainly didn’t help in her dealings when she didn’t know enough to be prepared and how to approach. She would fix this oversight.
“So no one has heard from Div?” Nate asked.
“Is Divij the leader of the sentinels?” Ada asked with curious interest and was surprised by the burst of laughter from Nate, a scoffing noise from Lucio and Nico’s raised brows. “I do not understand.”
“Div likes to think he is the leader.” Lucio smirked and tsked. “Immortals.”
“Agreed, they are…tiresome with their self-importance,” Nico said airily.
Nate shrugged. “Ain’t no sentinel leader, honey. That’d cause anarchy.”
“Anarchy? Why? Oh, I see. Creature petty jealousies and rivalry.”
No one addressed that comment, Nico holding out a plate of petite éclairs, absolutely divine, and Lucio pouring more espressos.
“Nah, we’re fairly civilized, each with our own ways, strengths, and limitations. Helps us work together. What Div does is use his anal retentive ways to organize.” Nate scoffed three éclairs.
“I don’t think it is anally retentive to want to be organized.” Ada stuck her nose in the air, slightly offended. “How exactly do we proceed? Another Hammer hunt?”
“Too soon, Grydern will be expecting it. Nope, we follow up our other leads.”
“Which are?” After all the commotion yesterday, Ada wasn’t quite sure what other leads they may have come up with.
“The locations Ace researched, ones believed to be to Grydern’s liking. We’ll split into groups and scour them. Meanwhile, Penny, Sev, and Ruine are looking deeper into the charm your imp friend wears. Maybe their pooled magic can override some of Grydern’s—”
“With the right spell, we may be fortunate,” Lucio said.
Nate nodded. “Yep. And then there are those cuffs that Carlos, the demon sultan, forged centuries ago. Chase, Div, Missy and a few others are gonna try to break the magic covering them. Ole Carlos volunteered his services so we might be good on that one.”
“Well, at least there are some avenues to pursue. Where does this leave us?” Ada began to feel the tiniest bit optimistic.
“We’re gonna go check out a couple of the locations Ace came up with. Who knows, we might have a bit of luck between us.” Nate winked. “We could negotiate some more on the land dispute while we’re hunting.”
Ada fought a smile, smoothing her features to classically bored. “Oh? You are willing to relent and return the brownies land?”
“What about the imps? Weren’t you waffling on about them being all glorious and in allegiance with the brownies against the wolves just yesterday at the meeting?”
Ada glanced about without real interest. “Goodness, not an imp in sight. Screw ’em, they’ve got enough land.”
“Shit, lufu, I get shivers from your loyalty.”
Lucio laughed, rising from the table. “Please, excuse me. I have an errant fairy to check up on and numerous tedious tasks to see to while my dear cousin is hunting the disloyal immortal.” He bowed to Ada. “A pleasure, brownie Ada.” He nodded at Nate. “Werewolf.”
Turning to mist, the vamp was gone. Nico excused himself to see to the queen before their departure, leaving Ada and Nate in one of the many private drawing rooms at the vampire vortex.
“What are our chances, do you think?” She asked, tense once more with the thought of them hunting the disloyal immortal.
“Can’t say, realistically.” He stood up and offered a big, masculine hand and leering smile. “But I’m a real good hunter, honey, and I don’t stop until I take down my prey.”
She shivered, taking his double meaning and his hand. Prince Dareios was right; a common enemy did make for strange bedfellows. It wasn’t two days ago she would have scoffed and rolled her eyes at the thought of aligning herself with a werewolf, yet here she was, taking his hand. But more, trusting him implicitly. She knew he’d keep his word, and he’d hunt until there were no leads left, or nothing left to hunt.
And it was funny how in just a few short days she could barely wait to make this werewolf her bedfellow.
Of course, not being a lame brain, Ada was cluing onto a few things. No, she wouldn’t make any decisions yet, and she wasn’t jumping to conclusions. But she was far from stupid. Everything had clicked this morning as she was having a shower, her extreme reaction to the werewolf, her behavior, and this unbelievable draw to him. First, she would analyze the situation, possibly within an inch of its life, but a few little niggling points were circling around her head, and she couldn’t ignore them anymore.
The werewolf was hiding something, and a pretty major something too. Yes, they had a common enemy, and yes, he was a werewolf, and they had the “protect and serve” mentally. She completely understood that. He might want to have a few good tumbles on the bed with her, but this behavior of giving selflessly went beyond mere wooing a casual bed partner. The way he protected her, seemed to worry over her safety, was reaching a bit much for what she thought they were leading toward.
Dammit, she had an inkling this werewolf was keeping something very important to himself, as were all his sentinel buddies. If he was in fact what she was beginning to believe he may be, then destiny’s curse, she had a great deal of deep thinking and research to do.
Mate.
Fates and destiny, she had to be mistaken…right? But that would explain her peculiar attachment to the cheeky, scruffy wolf.
There was no time to analyze though, not with everything going on. She would be paying the utmost attention, and if she were right, and they were mates, then that changed the whole state of play. And that had Ada reeling.
And importantly, how did she feel about this? What were the consequences in every respect of her life—and his? It was more than a simple “How do you do? I appear to be your mate.” It was “throw lives into chaos and upheaval,” two single lives trying to merge into one. But in the end, Ada was beginning to see this came down to what she never would have expected. Was she ready to face this? Had she somehow grown in such a short space of time? Had her ideas and philosophy, her future plans, taken a complete turnaround? It did seem possible they had. And she wasn’t the least bit alarmed, for some reason. That warranted thinking about, but for now, she would quietly face what was most important.
Feelings. Wants. Needs. Oh, yes, it was downright irritating. Her orderly, going-in-the-right-direction life had turned on its tail the moment she received Nana Mae’s call. Nate had her re-evaluating so much about her own beliefs, her own stubbornness, that she needed time to contemplate. If only that were possible.
Instead, she collected what she needed for the day ahead and along with Nate and Nico, left Galdorcwide, coming out on the other side in a hotel room in a small town. A car waited for them, and they drove straight to a little airstrip with a plane fueled up and idling on the tarmac.
Hmm, Ada mused, boarding the plane with Nico’s assistance while Nate double-checked that it was one hundred percent secure.
Apparently there was no discussing anything until Nico received his latte. Ada refrained from rolling her eyes. The vampire had just consumed two espressos not that long ago! She was beginning to think he had a caffeine addiction. Once settled, she demanded to be updated.
Nate was far more forthcoming than she presumed he would be. He went over what Ace had been researching, what others had found, and what the plan was for today. There was no new information.
“Where exactly are we going?” Ada’s mind was clicking over facts, and some things just did not add up.
“Las Vegas. Grydern has, shall we say, a way of turning the cards to his favor.” Nico crossed his long legs, glancing at his iPad. “It is a necessity.”
“He likes to gamble?” Ada did not think this fit Grydern’s mindset. “He is too obsessed with power to lose control over a gambling addiction.”
“His gambling is to make sure he wins money to pay for his pet projects and making problems for us,” Nate explained.
“I see.” Ada tapped her pen absently against a notebook. “Exactly how many problems has Grydern caused, besides the experiments fifty years ago?”
“He’s actually been pretty quiet. Only been two instances in that time, right, Nico?”
“Si, si…what is it you think, caro?”
With his ability to mind thoughts, Nico was most likely receiving jumbled nonsense in her mind as she was trying to make connections with what they knew.
“Grydern has a set purpose. To take power and magic from each species of creature so he can become the most powerful.” She frowned. “Abducting Remi does not make any sense whatsoever. She is only average in power, if above in intelligence, and she uses her skills to achieve what she wants. But realistically he should be going after the most powerful of each species, otherwise what is the point?”
“Yeah, that’s what Chase and Dare said too.” Nate shrugged, wolfing down a roll loaded with beef, cheese and some sort of spicy sauce that had Ada’s eyes watering just from the smell.
“Then what is he really doing taking Remi? A distraction so that all of you are racing around searching for her? But how would he know you would search? And not send out the normal enforcers?”
“Bueno, Ada, we also came to this curious consideration.”
“What did you come up with, Nico?”
The vampire princes elegantly waved a hand. “Grydern, he does many things at once. It is impossible for the sentinels and the council to plan ahead. With so little activity and now so much, we are behind but reaching conclusions.”
“Ones we don’t like. From what we can figure, he took Remi because she was close and convenient. Yeah, a means to rile us up and have us chasing our tails, wondering what he’s up to. While we’re doing that he’s putting plans into motion. He’s got a few, some we don’t even know about, others we’re cluing onto.”
“The ceremonial power bowl for one. I’m assuming he has been searching for it also and coming up against a problem. Perhaps he decided to let you assist in retrieving them. He will then probably attempt to steal them.” Ada mused.
“I’d say he’s trying to replicate it. There have been break-ins at the museums and libraries, some objects taken, some that weren’t cataloged.” Nate smirked at her expression. “Don’t get your panties in a knot, we’ve been taken to task on that and have higher security and catalogers—”
“That certainly does not help after the fact! How do you know what he has taken?” Exasperated, she was momentarily reminded why she felt Galdorcwide was so antiquated. Sometimes creatures were far too sure of their abilities and themselves, and they didn’t think ahead, plan, and be cautious. Now they could be under threat from an ancient artifact that held a power no one was prepared for.
“We can guess to some extent, but—” Nico murmured.
“Ace is a good researcher. Possibly he can go back through the records and identify what was stolen. It’s no good guessing; we must be prepared. Grydern is proving far more irrational and clever than any normal power-hungry brute.”
“True, true, caro. And si, Ace is an excellent researcher, as is Divij. We believe taking your friend Remika was a calculated step in his plan, one we are behind in, certainly, but not unprepared for.”
Still agitated and a bit confused, Ada sighed heavily. “We must find where he is. If he can replicate the bowl, retrieving any more pieces of the original is a waste of our valuable time. He cannot use any pieces he collects, as he would need it to be complete for the ceremony, and we now possess some of those pieces. It would be best to focus on the creatures he would wish to take powers from as we have thwarted his bowl retrieval attempt.”
“You’re right, it’s a good point.” Nate drained a bottle of water and poured both her and Nico glasses. She was no longer surprised by this courtesy, as she knew Nate took care of others. With supernatural speed and skill, he juggled some apples then sliced them up along with strawberries and kiwi fruit and placed them on a plate with cheese and crackers.
“Then who would he want?” She selected a slice of kiwi fruit, apple, and a cracker. “The most powerful are the kings and queens.”
“They are extremely powerful. Dareios is more powerful than his mother, Queen Giselle. Ruine, the war demon may be more powerful than Sultan Carlos, his uncle, but his aunt Tamara, she is powerful also…” Nico paused, popping a strawberry into his mouth.
“So anyone of you could be in danger?” Ada suddenly felt fearful for Nate, and Nico. “Are you two more powerful than your parents? Is Lucio or Blaine?”
“Power struggles are for others.” Nate dismissed. “You’re puzzling something, bro, what gives?” He winked at Ada. “Don’t worry; we can take care of ourselves.”
“Quite possibly, but it is best to be extra careful. Grydern sent Myles after you, though we don’t know if he was meant to kidnap you, or Myles just wanted to kill you for revenge. Or me to make you suffer. Who knows why he thought my death would cause you to suffer. As a Revmiras, he is probably a bit insane.” She covered the fact she was suspicious of being his mate, not yet wanting to bring it out into the open without being completely sure.
“Logical, yeah, but there are other strong werewolves not part of the royal clan. Everyone has to be on guard. Nico?”
Nico had stiffened and was retrieving his phone from beside his computer. “Merda, too high up. I will send a telepathic message to Lucio.”
“What is happening?”
Obviously something she said had Nico reacting. Unfortunately, the way he was reacting gave the impression whatever it was, was more bad news for them. Of course, catching a break wasn’t on the cards. Dammit, this situation was really beginning to piss her off.
“Not sure.” Nate gave her a reassuring smile and squeezed her hand, not letting it go. “So what’s in that big case on wheels you brought along?”
Allowing herself to be distracted, amused by the werewolf being chivalrous, again, she informed him she had brought along her computer, stationery, law books, High Council appointments and the land dispute file.
Dark brows rose. “Yeah? That means you’re gonna work for the council?”
“I am investigating—”
He made a scoffing noise. “Brownie, you either are, or you aren’t.”
Annoyed, she bristled. “Unlike you, werewolf, I take the time to thoroughly check out a situation, not just leap in with a big grin and hairy feet!”
“I don’t have hairy feet.” He gave a lopsided grin. “OK, I do on occasion, but I did take the time to check you out, and I’ve gotta say, love, I’m liking what I’m seeing.”
Ada rolled her eyes, amused despite herself. She actually liked the way he could joke about himself and rather wished she had a small portion of that skill. But she didn’t, so she feigned annoyance and superiority.
“Come on, love, you’re not one to dally over something if you’re not interested.”
Flicking a speck of cracker off her dark green cargo pants, she spared him a dismissive glance.
“I may be contemplating accepting a position with the council, if it is officially offered and meets my standards and requirements.”
Laughing, he squeezed her hand, the one he hadn’t let go of. “That’s my girl.”
“In your dreams, wolf.”
“You know it. My dreams are full of a raven-haired, sharp-tongued brownie goddess.”
She believed him but had no time to respond for Nico had finished his telepathic conversation, a serious expression on the charming vamp’s face.
“Severo. He must be one of Grydern’s plans and a target.”
“Sev? No shit? How’d you come up with that?” Nate growled, looking like he’d just chewed on a lemon instead of a bloody steak. “No fucking way!”
“Oh, indeed, in every way. It is too brilliant, too right. It is one of the ultimate ways to gain insurmountable power.”
“I am completely lost. Count Severo, Penelope’s brother, is Grydern’s target? I am sure I heard a rumor he was far less powerful than his cousin, Divij, his uncle, and Penelope.”
“Sev’s astounding. He lacks much magic the likes of what Div and Penny hold, you’re right on that front. And Div and Penny have their own set of freaky magic skills you don’t wanna go messing with, but Sev’s got something that can—”
“Destroy or bring the greatest joy,” Nico said quietly. “This ability he holds is kept a well-guarded secret, Ada, please do us the honor of holding it safe for us, and especially for Severo.”
Enthralled, she nodded. “You are a lot closer to the sentinels and a few others than I understood you to be. Of course, I will not betray yours or Count Severo’s secret.”
“Grazi. Sev has a unique ability to see who are mates. He can sense them, knows them, can bring them together, or render them apart if so desired.”
She shifted uneasily in her seat. The look Severo Galindo have given her the first time they met made sense now, especially if she were, as she was beginning to believe, Nate’s mate. But more than this, what Severo held was awe-inspiring and frightening.
“Sweet destiny!” She murmured, stunned. “Do all of you have unique skills or powers?”
“Si, we do, in some way. Ruine, he can sense war and fights approaching. Divij, he can change the reality of our world and Chase will lead you to jubilation or death with a look. I can control hundreds, and our Nathaniel can track and fight like no other. Ace brings information from nowhere and enlightens us. But then, so many can do these also.” Nico smiled that charming, lush smile. With a lot of arrogance. “Perhaps though, not quite to our standard.”
“I can see this now. Dareios, Blaine, and Lucio?”
“Dareios is a leader, a warrior, and is unrivaled in magic.” Nate was checking their phones and computers to see if they could pick up a connection. “Luc is pretty nifty with making himself appear just about anywhere at any one time, and my cuz is useless at cooking, but legendary for his healing touch.”
“A werewolf healer? That’s wonderful. He instantly took away my injuries and pain after the wolf attack.”
“Yeah, he’s a great healer, except if he doesn’t want you to heal.” Nate grinned. “Well, they’ll have Sev well covered. We’ll go to Las Vegas and see what we can see.”
“We must try every lead.” Nico agreed.
Ada was still contemplating everything she had learned. “Severo has an outstanding skill; I see why Grydern would wish to steal it. What I do not understand is how Nico came to the conclusion, and so swiftly, that the mad sorcerer has caused all this to take the immortal. I assume he has tried before.”
“Si, when it was first discovered what Grydern was doing.”
Ah, when Grydern was experimenting with taking others’ powers. Her eyes widened in shock. “He tried then?”
“Yep. When Sev discovered what the psycho was doing, Grydern tried to grab him. Grydern may be stronger magically, but Sev is one fierce fighter, and very inventive. He got away and sent out the alarm.”
“The abomination tried once more.” Nico continued. “But Sev is heavily guarded, Grydern, he did not come close.”
“It must make Severo annoyed.” She could understand his bad attitude now.
Nate laughed. “Yeah, that’s our Sev. See, it's hard being a warrior and having to be the one protected. So he gets a bit edgy and locks himself away blacksmithing and making things to keep himself calm. Blood wrath, I don’t know how he stands it. Confined and watched over, kept out of a lot of fights, would drive me bloody mad.”
Yes, Ada could well imagine. “I just assumed he had issues.”
“No, our Sev is very level. He is always reserved and enjoys a fight.” Nico toyed with his computer, seeming distracted once more. “I recall many a fun time with him.”
“Yeah, that’s not to say Sev isn’t a hard head, but he ain’t nothing like bullheaded Ruine—”
“I heard that.”
Nate grinned, turning to the big, dark-haired, incredibly handsome demon who had appeared on the plane. Now that was quite a feat. She’d never heard of a creature being able to shift into, or onto, a moving object. Vampires possibly could; they were mere mist, could probably pass through and turn themselves solid once more.
Funny, Ada realized she had never actually considered other creatures’ skills and magic before now. That was rather foolish of her and very shortsighted and narrow-minded. Sweet Goddess, she had a lot of studying ahead of her if she was going to return to Galdo and deal with creatures once more. Perhaps she should contact Penny; the immortal was very much in the know about everything.
“Lucio told us you were coming. What’s up?”
The big demon took a seat on the large U-shaped sofa in the middle of the plane. Not having had much to do with him since joining up with this band of sentinels, Ada studied the demon and thought over what she knew of Prince Ruine. His parents had died when he was very young, and he’d been raised as a son by the demon sultan, Carlos, and his wife Tamara, his aunt by blood. He was a fierce fighter, smart, a blacksmith, and a demon bonded to the fairy prince, Ace. That was the extent of her knowledge. Abysmal.
“I am coming hunting with you. Carlos is working on the imp’s amulet.”
“Ah, you require some action.” Nico uncorked a bottle of blood, fangs sliding out.
“Shit, you’ve got to drink more blood, bro, less coffee,” Nate exclaimed.
“The smell of fresh blood is always arousing. I am merely peckish, not starving.” Nico leaned back, sipping his drink.
“Are we even sure we’re on the right track? How many of these supposed Grydern locations are there?” Ada asked impatiently now. Watching a vampire drink blood always made her a little unsettled, as did werewolves tucking into bloody steaks. Brownies were so not blood-and-raw-meat-loving creatures.
Ruine smirked. “You get used to it, brownie. Ace said there are three places Grydern shows a reoccurring pattern of going to. All we can do is hunt each one.”
“We will be landing in ten minutes.” The pilot announced over the intercom.
The big demon prince’s dark blue eyes lit up. “The hunt begins.”