CHAPTER 6

~ Threat ~

 

The unknown woman’s magick lands the mated pair smack dab in the middle of Callie Boyd’s consignment store.  Just in time to see two Dimensional Jumpers flash into the room and move to grab their female.  With a scream of outrage, Callie picks up a massive pair of shears from her worktable and stands ready to defend herself.  Nyle and Kazar make quick work of capturing the jumpers, and look around at the strange red-head, who has gone to comfort the frightened Callie.  “Where is her fucking protection detail?” Kazar snarls ferociously, fangs bared.  “I knew that scrawny little mouse couldn’t keep my Callie safe!”

“Oh shut up, asshole,” the redhead snaps absentmindedly while she rubs Callie’s back to reassure her.  “Trinity was called away and Miron was guarding your female.  Sadly, one Werewolf is no match for two Dimensional Jumpers.”  After assuring herself the human female was unharmed, the redheaded warrior tells them to contact Blood.  “I was watching the store from down by the corner.  Those jumpers flashed in to snatch Miron first and carried him away.” 

She shakes her head and drags her hands down her face, a sign of exasperation.  “I don’t know where they took him.  Maybe Blood or someone else at the MC can find him.”  She meets the eyes of the two MC enforcers and smiles wanly.  Kazar is certain he sees true regret in the woman’s gaze.

“I couldn’t leave Callie to follow after, I’m sorry.  I can only follow a Jumper’s trail for the first few moments after they jump.  But I just couldn’t risk leaving her alone to follow Miron.  I was worried about another team jumping in after I went to retrieve the wolf.”  The enforcers can plainly see that the unknown redhead is troubled by her inability to help their MC Brother.

“But you left her to get us,” Kazar reminds quietly.

The redhead nods.  “Aye, I can’t safely flash a preggers woman.  That kind of travel is too unstable for unborn babies.  I know you two have a stake in keeping her safe, so I erected a quickie ward around Callie and then grabbed you to help me protect her.”

Kazar and Nyles look at each other, both wondering who the fuck this female is, and why she seems to have an interest in Callie.  Whatever interest this woman might have in Callie, they still need to report to Blood back at the MC.  Nyle whips out his phone to make the call.  “Yeah boss, some redheaded warrior chick showed up back at the MC and flashed me and Kazar to Callie’s shop.  Miron is gone.”  He pauses as though listening to Blood on the other end.  “Dimensional jumpers grabbed him.”  Nyle casts a hard look at the redhead and demands; “And just who might you be, my lovely warrior?”

The redhead tosses her head back to laugh heartily.  “Just tell ol’ Blood that the Irish Raven has come a callin’.”  Her thick accent makes her words hard to decipher for Kazar and Callie, but to Nyle it sounds like the voice of home. 

Before Nyle can finish relaying the message to his leader, Blood flashes into the store in person.  The Celtic shifter looks at the phone as though it is to blame before he ends the call and stuffs the device in his jeans pocket. The behemoth leader of the MC glares at the two captured jumpers in his enforcers’ custody before asking Callie if she is okay.  Once he’s ascertained that everything is under control, he turns his attention to the mysterious female warrior. 

“Gods be damned, woman!” He roars loudly.  “Does trouble follow you everywhere you go?”

The redhead chuckles.  “Yep.  It just sorta comes with the territory.”

“Did Big Papa send you?” Blood queries without further elaboration.

“Aye, he did indeed,” the redhead assures.

“Obviously, that means big trouble for my MC?”

“Most likely,” the woman concedes agreeably, with a playful grin on her lovely face.  “Don’t yer lot always consider any supernatural trouble in this region to be yer trouble to deal with?”

Blood nods grimly as he jams his massive hands in the front pockets of his faded and grease stained blue jeans before he turns to meet the gaze of his enforcers.  “Kazar, formerly of ancient Alexandria, and Nyle Black, formerly of the Airendell realm, meet The Morrígan.”

Kazar simply watches the woman speculatively as he continues to hold his prisoner, but Nyle explodes.  “Morrígan, as in the freakin’ goddess of war, the dark witch, and betrayer of Merlin?”

The redhead snorts and nods.  “Yep, that would be me.  At least, if you buy the bullshit that’s been spread about me over the centuries.  I’ve become a decent warrior and picked up a bit of magick over the years, and some have come to believe me a goddess.”  She grins and adds; “but that simply isn’t true.  In truth, I am a very old Celtic shifter who was abandoned by my clan eons ago.  Clan and family alike turned their backs on me after I was captured and sullied by a rival clan.”

She shrugs as though to say, what ya gonna do?  “That’s when Cocidius recruited me to do his dirty work.”  She chuckles.  “He calls me his Morrígan - the Deflector, because I’ve kept the attention off him and his cohorts while they worked to bridge the gap left by the annihilation of the Dragon Queens and seek to capture all of their murderers.”

Kazar looks to his leader for confirmation.  At Blood’s nod, the Egyptian demands; “Then why is a servant of Cocidius so interested in Callie Boyd?”

The woman simply laughs and says; “I’m not saying any more in front of the enemy.” Her hate filled glare aimed at the two prisoners leaves no doubt about who she regards as enemies.  She turns her attention to Blood and demands; “You got someone from the UCI on their way to take these two into custody?”  Her tone makes it plain that she has no love for the UCI.

“I do.  MacGregor and his underling, Devlin Fraser, should be here any minute.” 

Callie wonders when the leader of the Twin Ravens had time to call for back up, and voices her confusion.  The Morrígan laughs.  “He’s got a direct telepathic line to just about anybody.  Old Blood here uses some really old magick to get his job done.  Calling for pickup of prisoners is easy for this one.” 

As though on cue, a nondescript black van pulls up in front of Callie’s consignment shop and two massive men get out.  One is probably six and a half feet tall with auburn hair and a vicious scar on his cheek.  The other is the same tall enforcer Callie saw flirting with Susie at the clubhouse last week.  His ice blond hair and easy going charm isn’t something any woman is likely to quickly forget.  She had, quite honestly, been a bit jealous of Susie’s ability to be so comfortable in the company of such a handsome man.  Callie always feels awkward around men and makes every effort to remain off their radar.

Once the men are inside and introductions have been made, Nyle asks; “Why did the UCI send enforcers from the Shifter Protection Unit?  These are not shifters.”

Ean MacGregor, the leader of SPU in North America speaks up; “Because we are only transporting them to your holding cell at the MC.  When Ares gets free from whatever he is working on, he will come pick them up.  Not many are capable of translocating jumpers without losing them in the process,” He casts a look at the bespelled cuffs on both prisoners.  “You can’t take that kind of hardware through a wormhole.  It loses its magick and the fuckers can escape.  It takes a true god to transport a Jumper.”  He looks out at the van parked in the street.  “That van is specially equipped and Ares assured me your holding cell would hold ‘em till the war god can get here, so who am I to argue?”

Once Blood and the SPU enforcers have left with the prisoners, Kazar and Nyle turn their attention to Callie.  “You really okay, éan beag?  You are bate, I can tell.”

“Bate?” Callie asks with a raised eyebrow.

“He means to say that you look exhausted.”  Kazar reaches out as though to take her hand, but hesitates, and then just lets his own hand drop to his side.  “No offense intended, but you do look very tired, love.”

“Aye, you grow a vamp baby in your belly an’ see if you don’t look a wee bit tired,” Morrígan snorts and rolls her eyes derisively.  She strides across the room to take Callie’s hand while declaring; “It is time for you to go rest.”  When Callie opens her mouth to protest, the redheaded warrior cuts her off.  “Nay, dearie.  You are killin’ yourself to try to leave a nest egg for that child, and it’s totally unnecessary.  You will be here for a very long time to watch over your girl, don’ya worry none.”

“Morrígan, are you sure?”

Kazar and Nyle have been watching this exchange with avid interest.  To say they are curious as to why the human is so comfortable with the Celtic/Brythonic goddess of war would be an understatement.  “How do you know Morrígan la Fey?” Kazar asks gently.

Callie giggles.  “I’ve known Morrígan for years.  She’s one of my best customers.  Of course, it wasn’t until after I got attacked that I learned she’s one of you supernatural types.”

“Oh well, we can chat it up back at the MC.  I want to get out of here before they send another team of fucking jumpers after the girl,” Nyle barks out, feeling confused that a female he is attracted to seems to be under the protection of the infamous la Fey witch.

The ride back to the MC passes in stilted silence after Callie flatly refused to allow Nyle to drive her car.  The overly protective alpha male bristled over the human woman’s stubbornness.  Kazar and the war goddess simply chuckled as the redhead clambered into the passenger seat where the Raven demanded the rest of them “hurry the hell up before the bad guys come back.”

Since it’s a Saturday morning, Gin meets them at the door and immediately takes charge of Callie.  Once the human female is out of earshot, Kazar turns to Morrígan for answers.

“Yeah, well you aren’t gonna be the only ones who will be wantin’ answers since I’ve no intention of leavin’ Tulsa in the near future.  Once Blood gets the prisoners settled, he can gather up the enforcers and I’ll tell you all at once.  No way in all the realm’s hells am I going to spend my time repeating myself.”  With that, the redhead stalks off to the bar, where Tara greets her with a sneer and a tall glass of her best hooch.  Apparently, the two deadly females with prickly reputations are old friends, or at least well acquainted.