CHAPTER ELEVEN
My brother is an idiot, Gemma said, stomping along beside me the following afternoon. It took me fifteen years to tell him where the ring was hidden, the least I deserve is to help him retrieve it.
I stepped around a massive mud puddle and headed for the clearing behind the Haven Marketplace. The neon sign at the Hearthstone flashed closed, Bree’s father and brothers likely taking part in the cleanup. We walked the soggy path between the bakery and Iadon’s tailor shop, the sounds of the clearing now audible.
“Bruin’s objections were reasonable,” I said. “The last time he and Mika were at your family Dens, Abaddon controlled the place. They were almost killed. It is safer for the warriors to handle the retrieval alone.”
Great idea. Let the menfolk handle everything and we, the weaker sex, can stay here and work on our needlepoint. Do you really believe that shit? Gemma turned to Savage, my Talon escort of the day.
The nom de guerre system amused me. Savage, Rue, Terror, Agony. Most warriors picked names violently male and dramatic. Then there was Cowboy, Princess, Blaze . . . and, of course, Merlin.
Gemma curtsied low to the ink-covered Enforcer, waving her hand in a flourishing bow only I could see. When she rose, she huffed and rolled her eyes. Helloooo, I’m dead. What could happen?
I released the top toggles of my spring cloak and widened the opening at my neck to get some air. It was unseasonably warm for an April afternoon. Even more so since the storm two nights ago. “Bruin is protective beyond reason with those he loves. Mika suffers for it and you shall too. There are evils strong enough to harm even those walking the spirit world. He wishes to ensure your safety.”
Nothing happened to me so far.
“How do suppose Abaddon and his Scourge minions never found the ring after all these years?”
Gemma waggled her brow, her ire replaced by a look of sly satisfaction. Because I’m just that good. I hid it in our secret hideout. No adult could fit inside the tunnel opening, in fact, by the time Bruin and I were eleven, he couldn’t fit either, so we gave it up. When Father told me to hide his ring somewhere, it seemed the perfect place. And I guess it was.
“Lexi came from Attalos to go with them.”
Gemma nodded as we neared the clearing. She’s tiny enough to get through the opening and down the tunnel. She’ll have no problem retrieving it. Still, I should be there. Stupid, insufferable, overprotective ass of a . . . brother.
I raised my gaze to Galan working in the open area ahead. “I know exactly how you feel.”
Gemma followed my gaze to where almost twenty males worked on cutting and clearing two massive oaks which had been taken down by a freak wind and lightning storm two evenings prior. It was a tragic beauty. Many of the mountain’s trees had snapped or had their roots unearthed under the pressure of the storm. Samuel and I had walked for an hour yesterday, taking in the magnitude of the damage.
Today began the cleanup, and many of the males from Jade’s home, as well as the Academy and Haven proper, had rallied to join the task.
Gemma smiled. Both our brothers might be idiots, but yours gets points for hotness. All your Highborne men do.
Her words struck a chord. None of the Highborne males, save mayhap Galan, were mine. That would likely never change. What male of worth would choose to mate me when it meant a life of confinement and danger? “Highbornes are born of Castian’s blood. It is simply godly genetics at work.”
Gemma snorted. What does a maiden from the Valley of Exiles know of genetics?
“Bree speaks at evening repast. Her insights on the sciences are enlightening.”
Uh-huh, she nodded, no longer listening to me. And Aust’s got it bad for her, eh?
I smiled, our conversation returning to Highborne males. “He holds an obvious affection for her, yes, but waits to act upon it, as is only fitting.”
Why is waiting fitting?
“He must establish himself. Males of my race must offer a potential mate security and standing in the community. Aust could never achieve that in our village, but here—a new world opened to him. With his determination to win Bree’s heart, he is finding his purpose. He is, after all, on his Ambar Lenn—his journey of self-discovery.”
A spongy bit of ground sucked at my boot and altered my balance. Savage caught my elbow and once my foot was freed, he stepped back to resume his position. I nodded my thanks. Though I resented being suffocated by male guards, at least he cared nothing of me speaking to a ghost.
Yeah, I can tell Bree’s all about the coin in his pouch and his standing in the community.
Gemma pointed to where Bree stood amongst Mika, Jade and a crowd of other females gathered along the iron fence of the Haven Cemetery. The coyote’s short hair flew free in the wind, exposing the sleek, sharp lines of her Were breed.
She was beautiful in her own right, captivated by the sight of Aust, Galan, and Iadon splitting the smaller branches from the fallen tree. With her hand hiding her mouth she leaned to Mika’s ear and the two set off in a round of giggles.
Verily, beyond the magic and modernization of the realm, there was something primal about watching the muscular prowess of males hard at work. I stepped over to join them.
“The magnitude of the job is bigger than I imagined.”
Jade gave me a quick shoulder hug. “Reign said these two trees are close to a thousand years old. Luckily, they fell toward the clearing and not the marketplace. It would have been disastrous if either one hit the Hearthstone.”
Bree nodded. “Da sent Rys and Seamus to the Temple of the Gods with a huge offering yesterday morning. He’s counting his blessings the Fates were kind to him for once.”
Gemma bit her lip, her turquoise eyes dancing. If the Fates were smart, they’d demand her foster brothers for the offering instead of food. Were-lions are seriously tasty.
“Kind for once,” Mika laughed. “They must have been having a good night.”
“Or Zophia was there to rein them in,” Jade said.
I nodded. “Zophia is lovely.”
“Not what I expected from one of the Fates,” Mika said.
“She’s nothing like her sisters,” Jade said. “Zana, Zora and Zinnea are cut from a different cloth—or tapestry if you will.”
“Fingers crossed they don’t mess with Bruin while he’s retrieving the ring. He took an army with him but when the Fates are involved, you never know.”
Right? Gemma said, shaking her head. Okay, screw it. I’m going. Bruin won’t even know I’m there and I deserve to be there. We women can’t let the men have all the fun. Laters.
Before I could object, Gemma was gone.
A feminine sigh escaped Jade’s lips and I followed her gaze to where Galan raised an axe over his head.
He and Aust worked on a larger section of branches. In a long, graceful arch, his axe fell with a speed and accuracy I was accustomed to. He heaved down and chips of wood splintered off.
Jade sighed again. “I could watch him like this all day.”
The females chuckled in resounding feminine agreement and I understood their admiration. Since my coming of age, my body had grown highly attuned to the males around me. With the days warming, the majority of them wore only the thinnest of shirts. It was difficult not to get distracted by the corded musculature beneath.
I scanned the clearing—there.
As if on cue, a delicious wave of warmth flooded deep into my belly and expanded. I drew breath and smiled across the clearing to where Samuel, Kobi and Julian held large whining machines. As Samuel lowered the long, rotating blade to the tree trunk, his tool ate the meat of the tree like a sharp sword through flesh.
When he stepped back, he straightened and met my gaze. His expression softened as a grin spread across his handsome face. For the briefest moment, I ignored him comparing me to his sister and allowed myself the delusion that he felt something for me beyond friendship and duty.
Jade laughed beside me and another scenario came to mind. Mayhap his smile was for her and not me. Abruptly my warmth washed away and I felt nauseous.
“Lia?” Jade gripped my elbow. “What’s wrong?”
A buzzing invaded my skull. Stumbling backward, I caught a rail of the cemetery fence as my knees buckled. The buzz in my skull rose to a hiss and I shivered as a frigid cold chilled my lungs.
I saw them then. A dozen spirits. Demented and twisted in anguished purpose, they rushed the iron fence from the inside of the burial grounds. I pushed back, but too late. Chaos erupted. Hands grabbed. Females screamed. Men shouted.
Icy hands clamped my arm as others grabbed my hair and yanked me up and over the fence. Iron pickets tore my skirts, and scored my legs.
Across the clearing, a warrior’s cry rose over the din. Kobi hurled himself from the crowd, his body exploding into a tidal wave of black smoke.
Savage wrapped an arm around my shoulders. Sword swinging, he cut the air, the evil specters unaffected.
Blue bolts of magic zinged through the ghosts.
A great winged demon with flaming eyes landed beside me. Wood chips pelted as he hit the ground like a meteor. His mutated howl vibrated in my bones.
Kobi in his true form.
Savage fell and knocked me to the ground.
I struggled to roll out from under him as a sinister weight crushed my lungs. Evil slithered inside me, edging beneath my flesh like a dark serpent tunneling inside.
My throat closed.
Something . . . some invisible thing slid into my body like an icy hand into an empty glove. A dark euphoria filled me.
Kobi threw Savage clear of the battle and crouched above me. His leathery skin exhaled smoke, his lips black as night. Compound eyes flickered orange and scarlet as the fires of hell burned in his skull. Speaking in tongues, he dragged a jagged yellow claw down my bodice.
Galan dropped to my side and grabbed my hand.
Samuel knelt by my head and a blue field surrounded the four of us. The cemetery silenced—all but the evil entity inside me held at bay.
Kobi hissed a stream of guttural sounds. The dark spirits fought to get to us, beating against Samuel’s shield. “Hold still,” he growled, his voice not his own. “This will hurt.”
Jagged yellow claws closed to fists against my chest. He pulled his fist back like he had hold of an invisible rope. My shoulders arched off the ground. The entity within me sent wiry tendrils into my organs, rooting itself.
Laughter rang in my skull, the dark soul amused.
Samuel chanted incantations. Louder. Harsher. Kobi gripped again with his other hand and heaved. My lungs burned. My spine felt like it would rip from my body.
“Stop. Please,” I screamed.
The demon yanked. Veins stood defined on his arms. Time and again, Kobi grasped and pulled and grasped again while Galan held my shoulders to the cold, wet ground. I went numb, beyond the agony. Distant from reality.
Kobi pulled again, his smoking skin glistening with sweat.
“Let me di—”A violent roar erupted inside my skull and a funnel of evil spewed from my belly.