Chapter 21

Nickie forced her worry for the witch from her mind. It wasn’t that she didn’t care. She did—probably more than she should—but freaking out would only do the woman who had saved them a disservice. She’d known what would happen, yet she’d gone through with it anyway.

She could tell as soon as she opened the door that the truck was warded. She didn’t believe for one second that she’d figured that out on her own, but through Zenon, she knew it to be true. The witch had added protection to the vehicle.

“Where to?” Zenon asked from the passenger seat.

Nickie threw the truck into drive. “I have no idea. Clive said we were north-east of the mountain we sought. Check the glove compartment to see if there’s anything we can use. Maybe they left a map?”

Zenon rooted around for a second but came back empty-handed. He then reached up, where she would have asked him to look next, and flipped the sun visor down. A neatly folded piece of paper fluttered onto his lap.

He opened it. “It’s a letter from Hazel.”

You’ve made it. I knew you would. Time is short, so I’ll be brief. Follow this road until you reach the highway, then make your way south to Red Deer. Once you get there, head west. You will find the phoenix where the Athabasca River flows. Watch out for the bears.

Zenon scraped his palm against his chin. “I suspect we have greater worries than the animal population,” he added after a second.

Nickie snorted as she took the truck over a rough, narrow road. Hopefully, she went in the right direction when they left the clearing. The compass on the dash said she was heading south, so she’d keep going in that direction until she figured out exactly where they were. “I’m guessing that was a joke.”

He looked at her, his brows furrowed. “Perhaps you’re right. She did not direct us to meet your friends.”

Nickie nibbled on her bottom lip, worrying it between her teeth. “No, she didn’t, did she.” That didn’t mean anything, though, right? Maybe the others had been delayed again. Maybe they had gotten the same instructions she and Zenon now had and would meet up with them. Whatever it was, Nickie wasn’t going to panic until she had a reason to do so.

They drove in silence for a few miles before they reached a paved road. She took a right and kept driving. “You might as well get some rest. I don’t know how long we’ll be traveling,” she said, glancing over at Zenon, who was lost in thought.

He glanced in her direction, but she could tell he wasn’t seeing her. “Something is different here. I can…”

Zenon’s sentence faded into nothing, then he drew a harsh breath. This time, when he focused on her, he looked right at her. “I can feel an energy I haven’t felt in centuries.”

The presence in Zenon’s mind was both foreign, yet familiar. She hadn’t yet had to share him with anyone else, but that was happening. She was sure of it. “Your brother?” she asked, breathless as her heart skipped a beat, then raced ahead.

His eyes filled with moisture and he nodded.

“Zandar, are you there?” he asked, his voice a desperate plea that echoed the one screaming from her soul.

Although Nickie heard his words, she could not follow their path.

A moment of dead silence followed, and Nickie’s heart sank. For Zenon’s sake, she wanted his brother to speak with him so badly it hurt. Then, as though an old-fashioned telephone line had opened, a weak crackling sound came through.

“I’m here, brother.”

The impression of agony filled Zenon’s mind, stealing her breath and making her jerk the wheel. She gasped as she righted the vehicle.

“We are near. The connection we share is stronger. Do you feel it?”

The power sizzled again, making the tiny hairs at the back of her neck stand on end. “What is that?” she asked, cutting into their conversation. Something wasn’t right. She couldn’t pinpoint it, but there was something else in the background disrupting the natural flow of their communication.

“Is that her, Zenon? Your mate? I feel her presence there,” Zandar asked, though his voice was still laced with pain, it was more animated.

Zenon smiled at her, oblivious to her worry. “That is her, my Nickie. She is wonderful in every way.”

“How can I hear him if he can’t hear me?” she asked.

“I am projecting his words to you, so you can listen.”

Another stab of pain filtered through Zenon, making her stomach roll. “Something’s wrong. You’re being attacked somehow. It’s like they’re following your conversation. There’s something latching on to it,” she sent into Zenon’s mind, hating the way it made his smile falter.

“Do you feel something malicious on our link, brother?” he asked. “Nickie says it is so.”

Zandar was silent for so long she thought the connection had been lost. “She is right, brother. You cannot come here. The low frequency of magic is difficult to detect, but it is potent. The enemy lies in wait.”

“I will not leave you to them. Do not ask it of me,” Zenon said forcefully as he looked at her, his eyes begging for understanding.

If the shoe was on the other foot, and Jas was the one in danger, she wouldn’t stop until she’d gotten her to safety. Rescuing his brother was no less important to Zenon than that would be to her.

She nodded, reaching out to grasp Zenon’s clenched fist. They were in it together. All the way.

“You cannot,” Zandar protested again, this time, his voice weaker than it had been, as though the effort to communicate was too much of a strain.

The stillness that followed had her heart pounding so hard she thought Zenon might hear it. “They approach. Do not come here, brother. Do not endanger your mate. I will endure. May the goddess wrap her golden arms of protection around you both,” Zandar said before breaking the connection.

Zenon’s pain poured into her in rolling waves.

“We’ll find him. And then we’ll take out the assholes who hurt him,” she promised as much to herself as to Zenon.

***

Speaking to his brother had been both relief and torture. He sounded weak. The pain infused into each of his words had brought him back to his own captivity when every cell in his body had screamed in agony. To days when the mental anguish had been more horrific anything else. Zandar held on to his sanity by the very tips of his fingers. He should know. He had been there many times.

Once the connection was lost, he did not try to form it again. Zandar needed every bit of strength he had for himself. Maintaining a mental link was a simple thing for one who was healthy and strong, but for one near death, it stole much more than it should. Not to mention Nickie’s belief that the enemy had somehow latched on to their conversation. If it were true, and they were able to do so, he would not give them more of an advantage than they already had.

“You okay?” Nickie asked, her fingers squeezing his hand.

He swallowed around the lump in his throat and nodded. “I am well enough. I will be better once we find him and free him from his chains.”

Nickie glanced in his direction. “We’re only about twenty kilometers from Red Deer. I’m not sure how many miles that is, but it’s not far. We’ll head toward the mountains soon enough. If we’re lucky, we’ll reach him by morning.”

How could he have gotten so lucky to have been given such a wonderful mate? Knowing the danger they faced, she readily marched forward into battle. She had no firsthand knowledge of the great man Zandar was. Had no reason to need to see him freed. Her heart would not give out now that they were mated—or, perhaps it would—but she would not perish.

“No reason at all. Except that seeing you happy makes me happy. I may not know Zandar yet, but he’s important to you, and that makes him important to me, too.”

“Now who is listening to my thoughts?” he asked, releasing a sigh.

“You think very loudly. It could not be helped,” she said, grinning as she mimicked the words he’d spoken to her before.

Nickie stifled a yawn and shifted in her seat.

“Shall I drive, my Nickie, so you can rest?” he asked. He did not have the licence of which she’d spoken, but perhaps on these smooth roads, the driving would not be so complicated.

She made a choking sound and shook her head. “No, I’m good. When all this is over, I’m enrolling you in driver’s ed.”

The vision of a frightened old lady with a clipboard in one hand and holding on for her life with the other drifted into his mind. “Is it that bad?” he asked, catching her merriment.

Her giggle quickly grew until her laughter filled the truck, soothing his frayed emotions.

“I love you, my Nickie,” he said, when her laughter died and she smiled at him.

“I love you, too, mate. Now, get some rest.”

He would not, but it was nice to know that she cared enough to attempt to order him to do so.