Ganymede grew still, his gaze distant. Sparkle recognized that expression. She’d bet he was reaching out to Bourne along the mental messaging line they shared. She hoped they talked for a while because she needed some recovery time.

She breathed deeply, trying to clear the red haze of violence that still clawed at her, demanding she punish the witch, demanding blood. Her legs were shaky, so she dropped onto the nearest chair. What had happened? Nothing had ever yanked her out of the zone when she was floating free with the song pulling her along like a big red balloon on the end of a line. Yes, the squirrel had destroyed her concentration for a moment, but she’d started to recover almost immediately. After all, she was a professional. Then what had shattered her so completely?

Fine, so she knew what had happened. She’d lost her inner calm when she’d seen that creature ripping Mede’s shirt from him, touching his body, a body only she had permission to touch. It hadn’t mattered that Sparkle was the one causing the woman’s frenzy—reason didn’t enter into her reaction. Fury had pricked her balloon. She’d lost her song and plummeted to Earth where she lay gasping for air.

His chest. All taut muscle and smooth skin. How often had she rested her hand against it—allowing his heat to seep into her soul, feeling the beat of his heart that quickened at her touch? But somehow seeing his bared chest here in this place where it definitely shouldn’t be bared stoked her desire. She allowed her gaze to drop to the v of flesh exposed where the woman had torn at his jeans. Sparkle wanted to reach out and complete the tearing. Right here. Right now. In front of a roomful of people, dogs, cats, squirrels, and a bunch of pigeons.

Mede blinked and then made eye contact with Bexal. “The Big Boss wants you to tell him something only the two of you would know.”

Bexal thought for a moment. “We were young and new to our human forms when we both fell in love with Idela. We fought over her inside the small cave on his mother’s farm. Part of the cave collapsed, trapping me. There was a danger of further collapse if he used his power to free me. So he had to dig me out carefully, by hand. It took hours.” Bexal smiled. “The fighting was for naught because she chose someone older and much wiser.”

Mede grew silent again. Finally, he took a deep breath and nodded. “Bourne said to bring you home with us.”

Just then, the door to the back room buckled and flew open. Ky had finally broken through Mede’s seal. The teens tumbled out. The animals crowded around Blue. The barking and other assorted animal noises rose to a crescendo. Sparkle glared at Blue, and the teen quieted them.

Ky descended on Mede in all his royal fury. “I’m a prince. You do not treat me as though I was a common…” His creativity seemed to desert him there. “You just don’t do that to me.”

Jill broke in. “Where’s the woman? And who is this man?”

Thankfully, Blue was too busy with the animals to ask anything.

Ky whirled to take in the salon. “What happened? Who tore your shirt? Why wouldn’t you allow me to aid you?” He looked young, his hurt feelings there for Mede to see.

Sparkle waited for Mede to spin a lie for him. So it was a surprise when Mede took the high road and told him the truth. Sort of.

“Look, Sparkle’s power is a little raw for someone your age. Neither one of us wanted you exposed to it.”

Sparkle could see Ky trying to put it together. “Sparkle is the troublemaker in charge of…”

“Sexual chaos,” she finished for him. “And Mede’s right. You didn’t need to see that.”

Ky’s frown said he thought he was plenty old enough, and he’d really wanted to see it.

Sparkle wasn’t ready to meet Mede’s gaze, so she turned to Jill. “Mede sent the woman to another planet where she can’t cause us any more trouble. And this man is Bexal.” Ky didn’t give her a chance to say any more.

“There wasn’t even a small fight? I would prefer to see my enemy dead before me.” Ky sulked but then brightened. “Will you teach me how to send my enemies to faraway places?”

Mede must’ve felt obligated to explain the lack of blood and body parts. “Sometimes you can’t leave bodies lying around. We’re in the middle of a mall. We’ve already scared the people inside this salon. Let’s hope Hydra was able to calm them down before they rushed off to report seeing a woman levitate.” Mede sent Sparkle a meaningful glance even as he spoke to Ky. “We didn’t need more evidence to feed the rumors.” Then he looked away. “Still… A little blood would’ve been nice.”

Sparkle bristled. Who was the destroyer of national monuments to lecture her about keeping a low profile? She opened her mouth to blast him, then thought better of it. This time he’d been able to curb his impulsiveness and hadn’t laid waste to half the town. That was a good thing.

“And no, I won’t teach you how to send people away.” Mede wore his my-decision-is-final expression.

Sparkle watched Ky’s eagerness turn to disappointment.

Mede sighed. “Maybe when you’re older.”

She wondered if he’d stick around that long. If they’d even live that long.

A horde of dogs and cats scrambling past her swung Sparkle’s attention to Blue. The animals were all headed toward the entrance. Blue must be trying to send them home. Luckily, Bexal had left the door open. They reached the door just as a policeman stepped into view. He stood frozen as the animals flowed around him before turning to watch as they scattered across the mall. Ignoring the shouts of mall customers, he glared into the salon at everyone.

“Mede.” She stood and pointed.

“Wonderful.” He wore his long-suffering expression.

The policeman stepped inside. “Okay, what’s going on here?”

Sparkle glanced at Mede. He’d taken care of the zipper, but he was still adjusting the tattered remains of his shirt. He wasn’t ready to face the authorities yet. It was up to her. She smiled at the cop—tall, muscular, and surly—and allowed her power to flow over him. “We don’t know what happened officer. Everything was normal when all of a sudden the door burst open and all of these animals came flooding into the salon. The other ladies ran out the back. My husband…”—she smiled sweetly and tried to look helpless as she gave Mede big eyes—“rushed in to help as soon as he saw what was happening.” She sent Mede her “my hero” gaze. Mede just glared at her.

The policeman blinked then smiled at her. “I’m sure glad you weren’t hurt, ma’am.”

She returned his smile. “There’s nothing you can do here, officer. So why don’t you just forget about it.” Sparkle gave the suggestion more of her sensual power.

The man looked drunk on it. With the loopy grin still in place, he backed out the door. “Nothing to see here. Have a nice day, ma’am.”

Sparkle watched him leave along with the last of the animals. When she turned, Mede was right behind her.

“You had plenty of other powers you could’ve used on the woman. Why that one?” Anger gave a sharp edge to his words.

She paused before answering. Didn’t want to cut herself on those sharp edges. “I grabbed for the first one that came to mind. I was afraid to waste time, afraid she’d kill you.” Not quite the truth. Her anger had stolen every working brain cell. She’d acted without thinking.

“You didn’t believe I could handle her myself?”

Now he sounded insulted. She sighed. Men and their egos. “She worried me, okay? We didn’t know her, didn’t know how powerful she was, and I wasn’t about to take a chance on your life. Sorry if I overstepped.” Sparkle meant that last comment to sound as snarky as it came out.

Without responding, he turned away to speak to the others. “I’m going out back to see if Hydra and her clients are still there.”

Sparkle returned to her seat. Jill sat beside her. Blue and Ky found other chairs.

Bexal headed for the door. “I have to get my car. Where’re you parked?”

Sparkle told him and then he was gone. Silence fell over the group. Jill finally spoke.

“We couldn’t hear anything while we were in that room. We missed all the fun.”

Ky didn’t look happy about something. “You should’ve remembered your place. Women are weaker and should always allow men to wield the power. Mede would’ve handled everything.”

The outraged gasps from Blue and Jill showed what they thought of his comment. Sparkle wished Ky was older so she could prove to him exactly how powerful she was. But she couldn’t allow him to keep thinking men were superior to women.

“I don’t know what your world is like, but with your attitude I hope you never run into a fairy or vampire queen.” She speared him with her hardest stare. “Just because people have different powers doesn’t mean one is less than the other. I don’t know how strong you really are, but if you want to have any female friends, you’ll start showing some respect.” She applauded her restraint. Slapping him upside his clueless young head would’ve taken her to her happy place.

“Sparkle handled it. Maybe you should give her some appreciation, Ky.” Jill nodded at Sparkle. “Good job.”

Sparkle was basking in the glow of Jill’s support even though she had to admit she might have handled it a wee bit wrong when Mede returned with Hydra in tow.

“At least you didn’t trash my place.” Hydra glanced around. “Mede sent everyone home with the suggestion that they’d had to leave because of a gas leak. Everyone in the mall saw the animals. No way to spin that.” She shrugged.

“We’re sorry for ruining your day.” Sparkle edged toward the door. She was ready to head home.

“Yes, well maybe it’s good that you don’t stop by too often.” Hydra smiled to soften the comment.

As they all left the salon, Sparkle told Mede where Bexal was meeting them.

Ganymede glanced in his rearview mirror to make sure Bexal was still behind him. Then he returned his attention to the road…and the silence. He was just about to open a safe conversation about the traffic when Sparkle spoke.

“Do you think the kids will be okay riding with him?”

“Sure. Bourne wouldn’t have told us to bring him home if he had any doubts. Besides, Ky might have a few character flaws, but I don’t doubt his power. At the first sign of trouble, he can teleport them out of there.” It felt peaceful having the whole car to themselves. Too peaceful.

For the first time since leaving the mall, Sparkle looked at him. “When I saw her touching you, I wanted to kill her.”

Careful. “I know how that feels.” Had he put the right amount of sympathy into his voice—enough to express his solidarity without sounding patronizing? He felt as though he was tiptoeing through a minefield of female emotions.

She sighed. “I was wrong to go ballistic because you were jealous.”

“I was an ass.” I was afraid—of losing you, of losing myself.

“You were.”

The least she could’ve done was deny it to make him feel better.

“But then you put up with the kids today. And you helped me choose some fabulous shoes.”

“I did.” From now on, every time he felt the urge to mouth off, he’d think about the agony of having to give his opinion on shoe after shoe after shoe.

Silence filled the empty spots until Ganymede said what needed to be said. “I was trying to recall what it was like back when you were with the Viking. But it’s tough to remember details that long ago.”

He could feel her gaze on him, but he kept his attention on the road. “You left him to go with me.”

“Took you long enough to realize that.”

Ganymede nodded. “And I chose not to remember it when he showed up in Galveston.”

“And I chose to say the ugly things I said at the Castle because I lost my temper.” She frowned. “Lots of poor choices. Do you think I need to take anger management classes?”

He laughed. His first real laugh since he’d left the Castle. “Guess we could take them together.” His laughter died. “I’m sorry for dragging Zendig down on your head. After I left the Castle, I thought…” I thought we were through. And I didn’t want to wander the earth for another thousand years alone. “It was time to make him pay for what he’d done. I figured it would just be him and me. Everyone else would be safe.”

“Then I showed up to spoil your sacrifice.” She sounded angry. “I can’t believe you were going to do this alone. Didn’t you know…?” She took a deep breath. “Never mind. We’re here.”

He cursed silently as he pulled into their driveway. Bexal parked behind them. Ganymede had really wanted to know how that sentence was going to end.

Once inside, they found Bourne sitting in the parlor. Jerry, Orion, Mistral, Holgarth and his son Zane, along with Thorn, aka That Damn Viking, were with him. Must be something major happening for Bourne to gather them all together. And since mostly bad things had been happening, this didn’t bode well for them.

Bexal stood in the doorway staring at Bourne until the Big Boss beckoned him in then waved him to a chair. Ganymede noticed that Bourne didn’t go to him to offer any handshakes or back slaps.

Once everyone was seated, Bourne spoke. “Fill us in on everything, Bexal.” Nothing in his voice said, “Hey, old friend, good to see you.”

Bexal nodded. “Zendig is insane. Every year he gains more and more power. No one can stand against him. He destroys all who try. Ever since he killed all of his opposition and became the sole ruler of Effix, he has turned his complete attention to you. He sees you as the only threat to his rule even though you’ve never hinted that you want to return.”

“Dumbass.” Bourne waved at him to continue.

“He’s recruiting more and more of our people to come to Earth to hunt for you. Those who grow old enough to choose their final forms are forced to become human so they can join his army of searchers. He knows that none of us are powerful enough to kill you, but he still holds out hope that his troublemakers will get the job done. He’s promised great riches to any of his spies who can find you. Once he knows where you are, he’ll send in powerful mercenaries he’s hired from a neighboring world who, working together, can hopefully destroy you.”

Bourne started to speak, but Bexal held up his hand. “There’s more. To get everyone on his side, he’s told them you are the one who has been stealing their children throughout the centuries. I never believed it, but many do.”

There was lots of gasping and muttered curses.

Bourne leaned forward. “Why do you obey him? Why not just stay here and never go back? He won’t come for you personally. And his spies have better things to do than to hunt for a deserter.”

Bexal showed his first real emotion. “He knows we were once friends, so he’s holding my family in a prison on Effix as a guarantee of my loyalty. If I don’t do as I’m told, he’ll kill them.” He dropped his gaze. “I’m taking a chance being here now.”

“Will you betray me, Bexal?”

“No.”

“I see.” Bourne’s voice softened. “You’ve had a tough time of it, old friend.”

Bexal took a deep breath before continuing. “Most of us don’t want to be here. The woman Ganymede sent away was one of the exceptions. She loved the hunt. The search for glory was all she cared about.” He attempted a smile. “No one will mourn her loss.”

Ganymede spoke up. “And what about me?”

Bexal shrugged. “You’re an annoyance. Zendig has a short temper. You were interfering with his plans for his troublemakers.”

“Even though his plans have been a bust?” Ganymede paused. “Wait. Can you go back and forth to Effix whenever you want to?” And here he’d thought he’d have to wait seven years to get his hands on his maker.

“Not exactly. Zendig controls the portal. It only opens if he gives the command.”

Bourne looked thoughtful. “Thanks for the info, Bexal. Now, I think you should leave. When you report to Zendig, say that Ganymede was too powerful for you and your partner. He got away. But you’ll keep searching. That should keep your family safe.”

Bexal stood. “I’d like to help you, but…” He looked regretful.

“Family comes first.” Bourne sounded like he meant it.

Bexal moved toward the door. “Look, I’d better go. Good luck.” He paused in the doorway. “I hope you kill the bastard.”

Bourne waited until he heard Bexal’s car pulling out of the driveway before speaking. “We have to deal with Zendig now.”

“Immediate plans?” Sparkle gripped Ganymede’s hand.

“I can’t count on my past friendship with Bexal to keep our location secret. Besides, I’ve discovered another security risk. I’ll explain as soon as I decide how to handle it. We’ll need someplace safe that we can protect from an attack and where we can train.”

“Because?” Ganymede squeezed Sparkle’s fingers as he asked his question.

“Because we have to find a way to draw Zendig to Earth. He would be too tough to defeat on Effix with the entire population lined up against us.”

“Secure location?” Mistral leaned forward.

Bourne scanned the room, meeting each person’s gaze. “We’re going to the Castle of Dark Dreams. Then we’re going to war.”

Sparkle looked down at Ganymede, tears in her eyes. “We’re going home, Mede.”