Total pages in book: 134
Estimated words: 126030 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 630(@200wpm)___ 504(@250wpm)___ 420(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 126030 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 630(@200wpm)___ 504(@250wpm)___ 420(@300wpm)
“Sebastian, Nessa, Edgar.” The three stepped up, Nessa and Sebastian in black pants and shirts, and Edgar in a muumuu. “Sebastian, you’ll be with Jess and me. I’ll be making contact with him or getting in the way of him attacking someone else. You will help Jess try to tear us apart as peacefully as possible. Detain him if possible. Another of the alphas at Drex’s said he’d heard this guy has some serious power. Possibly on par with my own. He might challenge, but we are not treating it as a challenge. Tear us apart as quickly as possible. Do you understand?”
This was ruining my upbeat disposition. Niamh would probably be glad.
“Yes,” I said as tension built.
“I really hope I don’t resort to my old ways and use you as a shield,” Sebastian told me. I laughed even though he was probably serious.
“Nessa and Edgar.” Austin waited, his intense alpha gaze beating into the vampire until Edgar stopped smiling. “You guys are good at being in the right place at the right time. Stay together. Have a look around. If you think you might’ve spotted him, do not engage. Keep your distance. Edgar, you’ll need to let us know since Nessa doesn’t have a connection. Also, make sure no harm comes to her.”
“Eyes, captain,” Edgar responded, his hands clasped behind his back. He must’ve heard Tristan say “aye, aye, Captain” and misinterpreted.
Austin didn’t acknowledge. He’d learned to let Edgar go his own way and hope the Ivy House crew handled it.
He stepped back to address the group. “The point here is to offer help to a guy who’s been shunned by his own community because of his power. The goal is to offer him a home that will accept him and peace if he wants it. A job if he needs it. Or to leave him alone if he’d prefer it. We’re trying to meet him on his terms, so let’s keep that in mind if things get a little hairy. We’re the intruders here.”
“Shouldn’t we wait for the basajaunak?” I asked Austin quietly. “They’ll be able to easily figure out exactly where he is.”
“They are also prone to aggression, and I’d like to try and keep this situation calm. I’d like to avoid a fight if we can.”
I nodded because that made perfect sense.
Broken Sue and his team shifted to their animal forms and took off into the trees. Fog drifted between the large, ancient trunks, quickly enveloping them. We followed, Austin in the lead. He stepped silently and avoided any reaching branches or brushing against the leaves. I tried my best to mimic him, avoiding what he did and watching where I put my feet.
Edgar waved as he took a deer trail to the right. Nessa followed him, her knives in their sheaths but her hands ready to grab them if needed.
Sebastian pushed in closer to me, his feet shuffling along the tiny deer trail laden with leaves and twigs and patches of grass.
The scent of damp earth and pine perfumed the cool air. Wildflowers bloomed in little patches of light, often giving way to ferns and cushions of thick moss that thankfully seemed to swallow sound. Sebastian wasn’t as good as me at keeping quiet, and I was a long way from shifter material.
Onward we walked. The mist now almost seemed to cling to the trees, a curtain hiding the pooling shadows behind. Bird song echoed in the distance but fell silent as we passed through. Every way I looked, it all seemed the same, a tableau of green and brown and muted colors. I really hoped someone had brought a compass, because I’d get lost in this place almost immediately. Fred hadn’t even gotten out of the car. She’d taken one look at the trees around her and asked if she could stay put and lock the doors. She probably had the right idea.
About twenty minutes in and the first of my connections flared to life.
“Austin.” I pointed off to the right, though he hadn’t looked back at me. He’d be able to feel it himself as I fed it along.
Another connection flared, and then one more, three people in about the same vicinity. They spread out into a large arch and slowed, slinking through the trees so they wouldn’t be noticed. It occurred to me that the side they left open was likely upwind.
“Jess.” Sebastian’s tone was subdued but wary. “Are you monitoring your surroundings?”
He meant magically, something I always forgot about in these situations. I used eyes and ears like a Jane instead of magic like a female gargoyle.
I sent out the spell, felt the feedback, and grabbed the back of Austin’s shirt in alarm bordering on blind panic.
John
The usual screech of the Mountain Jay abruptly fell silent. John hesitated, looping the blue yarn and threading it through. The little crochet whale was really coming along. Very cute, this thing. The kit he’d found at the store was probably meant for kids but was a nice way to pass the time. He could send it to one of his nieces when he’d finished.