“What is your problem?” I kept my voice dangerously low as a warning, one Maura decided to ignore.
“Cecil is dying. Time is ticking. And you’re busy chatting with the enemy.”
“I’m doing everything I can to make sure Cecil doesn’t die. I’ve gone through more than half the gates trying to figure out what that man was talking about. Baron is up to something that goes beyond just attacking all the groups of beings to piss everyone off. I’m trusting you guys to figure this poison out because that is way outside of my capabilities. Otherwise, I would be tearing apart the Woodlands for an answer that would be impossible to find.”
“You would tear the Woodlands apart for her?” She genuinely looked surprised by my words.
“I would kill everyone for her.” When Maura swallowed and her face paled, I knew my eyes flashed with the truth of my words. She was finally getting the picture. She needed to back off.
“And Baron? Why didn’t you kill him?”
“Because if innocents died because of me, Cecil would never talk to me again. She’s told me that repeatedly over the years. So I talked with him. Tried to get to know him better. Besides, he said Cecil would die if I did attack him.”
Her anger dispersed through the air and disappeared. Her shoulders sagged, and she looked suddenly tired, almost catatonic. She was working on fumes.
“I’m sorry.” She sighed. “I’m exhausted and worried about Cecil. It hurts to see her like this. I should have protected her.” She stared at Cecil, and I gave her the time she needed to gather herself. “She’s talked about you often, once compared you to a caged tiger. I never understood what that meant until now.”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
Her shoulders slumped, and she sounded tired as she said, “Have you ever been to a zoo?”
I shuddered at the idea of the zoo and shook my head. A zoo felt so wrong and yet it was an entertainment that had been set up in a few of the cities. I was glad Teragona didn’t have one. I knew I would have snuck in and released them all.
“There are a few ferocious animals in zoos. They stalk behind the glass, they even let the zookeepers feed them and may even learn a few tricks. But the moment the zookeepers forget they are predators, the animal attacks.”
“You think that’s me?” I asked.
“Cecil is your zookeeper, probably the only person who can handle you.”
“I would never hurt Cecil.”
“No. You wouldn’t. But the moment Cecil is no longer around, then there’s no one to stop you if you decided we were your prey.”
I mulled that over, not sure if I should feel offended or not.
Sensing my turmoil, Cecil switched the topic back to Baron. “What did you learn with your conversation with Baron?”
“He’s absolutely bat-shit crazy.”
“That’s it?”
“He wants me to join him. He said he doesn’t hate me despite the fact I’m helping everyone he wants to kill. He thinks he can fix me.”
“Fix you?”
I gave her a small smile. “You’re doing it again.”
“Doing what?”
“Repeating what I say.”
“What did he mean fix you?”
I shrugged despite knowing the answer, but it wasn’t anything I wanted to tell Maura. She knew I knew but she didn’t push me. She wasn’t in a position to demand answers from me.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have gotten cross with you. I think all this stress is finally getting to me,” she said in a soft voice.
“I have my bouts of anger too, nothing to be ashamed about.” I just had them more often, and they were violent.
She nodded and walked back to the door. “Landus and some of his shifters are coming over later. Maybe you will be more open to talk to him about what you talked about with Baron. Maybe we can use your connection with him against him.”
“Not much of a connection.”
“It’s a better connection than anyone else. He’s interested in you and that makes you his weakness.”
My lip curled up in disgust. I didn’t bother with saying anything to deny her reasoning. Just because he liked me in some creepy way didn’t mean I was a weakness. I liked plenty of people but I wouldn’t go charging to help them or save them. I would leave them on their own.
“Are you going to call the vamps and mages to let them know I talked with Baron?”
“If you think they should know, you can tell them yourself.”
I cocked an eyebrow at her.
“The mages and witches don’t get along and we aren’t too happy with the vampires right now. They took a little more than they should have from us recently without proper payment.”
“That’s hard to believe. Vamps may be cunning and sneaky but once locked in an agreement, they honor it.”
“And I’m sure you would know that better than anyone else.”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
She sighed and rubbed at her face. “Nothing, I need to go get a few hours of rest. Landus should be here before I get up. I’ll talk to you later.” She left the room, leaving a trail of snippy magic behind. Maybe the sleep would help clean out whatever crawled up her ass and died. I was going to have to reassess her if this was her real personality instead of that sweet lady I first met.
And I probably needed to fill in the rest of the beings if we want a chance at catching Baron. If there wasn’t open communication between the shifters, witches, mages, and vampires, then Baron would pit them against each other while he slipped right through.
I rubbed at my face, drained. When did I start playing fricken liaison between everyone?
Turning my attention back to Cecil, I desperately wished for her eyes to open, to be healthy again. I needed her more than ever because it seemed as if everyone was putting a new kind of pressure on me, one I wasn’t used to.
What the hell was I supposed to do with all their expectations? Life was easy before Baron decided he wanted to wipe out the four biggest groups of beings in existence.
I sat with Cecil for another hour then checked in with the vampires and the mages. Someone had to do it.
“Thank you for the update,” Mage Thomas said on the other line. “It’s good to know we now have a face and even a personality to go with this mon—.”
A flurry of sounds interrupted Mage Thomas as chaos interrupted on the other end. I was already on my feet, making my way to my car. Something was wrong. I didn’t hang up in case Mage Thomas decided to remember I still existed.
With the yelling, crying, and mass panic I heard on the other end of the phone, I figured they definitely needed help.
“Nyssa, are you still there?” Mage Thomas sounded breathless as he ran. There were other shouts of anger and demand for support. I ignored them. There was nothing I could do until I got there. I jumped into my car, past the witches who watched me with interest and wariness.
“We were hit again. Not as bad but they kidnapped Maris.”
“Shit,” was my only response. What the hell was Baron’s game plan? What was he going to do to everyone? I hated not knowing. Maris was only a mouse. An innocent. She was able to make a gate but most mages could. She wasn’t particularly strong though she did have some tricks up her sleeve, and I wasn’t even sure she was that well liked. She looked like the loner type. Whatever reason he took her could not be good.
“They went through the gate and closed it.”
I swore again. “I’m already on my way. I’ll take a look at the gate and see what I can do.”
“You can reopen a gate?” Very few could but those that could sat on heavy wallets from the money people were willing to pay to reopen gates. It was a bitch, but doable, and it was something DST frowned upon. Having such a strong connection to gates helped. I just needed to reattach the snapped tethers I formed with them to reopen it. Sounded so much easier than it really was, unfortunately.
“I’ll be there in ten.”
I snapped the cell ph
one shut and ignored Landus and his line of shifter cars as I sped past them. Landus’s eyes on me burned before I drove around a bend and out of sight.
As promised, I made the drive to Mage Thomas in under ten minutes despite him being across the city. I was out of the car before the engine was completely turned off. Mage Thomas and a small group of mages were outside, waiting for me. The lines of worry were deep ridges on his face, his eyes wild with fear and anxiety. His peppered brown hair stood up, and when he pulled at it, I knew why it was so messy.
Maris was only a student. Baron should not have dragged an innocent into this. Maris couldn’t even properly defend herself. This was why I didn’t like children. They needed protection. They were liabilities. Weak.
“Where is the gate?” I asked. If I wanted to reopen it, we didn’t have much time. I ran to the trunk of my car, pulled out two duffel bags, and tossed one to Aaron.
He caught it awkwardly, probably surprised by the weight. I slung my weapons bag over my shoulder and followed after Mage Thomas as he practically ran into the woods. He didn’t go far, maybe just a quarter of a mile until he stopped at a spot, breathing heavily. Everyone in the group breathed heavily. They were going to need to rethink their training if they were already out of breath.
“Here.”
I looked around at the spot.
“Can you guys back off about ten yards? I need to focus.”
They nodded and disappeared into the woods. I still felt their presence but they were far enough away that I could focus on the little bit of energy still left in the area. I even felt Maris’s energy dosed heavily with fear. She hadn’t been gone for long.
I sat down where I was pretty sure the gate stood and then closed my eyes. I opened up my senses. The energy was there, but only a trickle. Not enough to grab onto. Not enough to form an attachment with. The mages were far enough away from me that I never formed a tether with the gate. There was only one sole purpose for the gate. To let Baron and his men in and out as quickly as possible. The moment that purpose was completed, he had the gate taken down. Probably had built the gate with that intention, making it even easier to break.
Climbing back to my feet, I dusted myself off and turned to the hidden mages. They came out, and I wasn’t even surprised to see Landus there with them, his expression blank. “I can’t do it. I don’t have enough connection with the gate to reopen it.”
One of the female mages broke out crying. With her dark brown curls and light brown eyes I figured she was Maris’s relative. She looked like her sister, or maybe even mother. Mages had a way of hiding their real ages, most of them chased after at least the impression of immortality, using magic to make themselves look young and healthy. I met a mage once who was pushing seventy and yet he looked like he was in his mid-thirties.
Another mage comforted the crying one, and I felt useless. I didn’t know what to do. There was another option, but that was something I really, really, did not want to do.
I turned towards Landus, who just stood there, staring at me with intensity. “Hon, why are you here?”
“You drove by me like a maniac. I figured something was up, so I followed.”
“Stalker.”
“I can be.” He grinned.
Mage Thomas looked between us, and his face reddened with anger. “Now is n-not th-the time to joke. They have Maris. She’s just a ch-child.”
“They have one of my shifters too.” Landus’s beast peeked through his eyes and some bones shifted underneath his skin. For a moment I thought I got a flash of something feline. Not any feline I knew but definitely had some feline qualities. Then he shook his head and he was back to looking like the Landus I knew.
“Is it just the two? He didn’t take any witches while I was there. What about the vamps?”
“Who cares about the ’pires?” Landus snarled.
I glared at him. “I do because if I don’t then you all would just ignore them, and if they have vital information, they won’t even bother to share with you guys.”
“They can all die for all I care.”
“If the vamps are wiped out, then all I can do is pray for you all because then Baron knows what the hell he’s doing and he will come after your groups. Can someone please check up on them?”
Aaron gave me the bag I had thrown at him. “I’ll give them a call. I’m friends with some of them.” He glanced at Landus briefly, barely containing his anger at the Alpha shifter.
I nodded and Aaron went off to make his call.
“It can’t stay like this, Landus,” I said, turning to him. “Everyone needs to talk with each other. Everyone needs to be united against Baron or he will just use your lack of communication to win.”
“What do you know about communication?” he asked, his words sounding ugly. Why did everyone keep taking their anger out on me? I wasn’t the one attacking them. Landus must have realized what I was thinking because his expression went soft, and he looked away, a little ashamed with his attitude.
“I’m sorry,” he finally said. Holy shit, another apology from the great Alpha. His shifters looked at him, proving my theory to be true. Landus did not apologize.
Instead of poking fun at him, I sighed. “Survivors in the Woodlands learn very quickly to listen to their surroundings. There are some out there who do talk with each other, spreading news about certain beings so others know to avoid them. It isn’t completely savage out there. Granted, those moments of communications are rare but they are crucial. No one wants to walk into an Eater’s territory and not even know it.”
Eaters were nearly at the top of the food chain. They could kill with just a look and they were silent in their movements. I almost came across one once, but a warning saved my life. They were crazy territorial, especially if they were protecting their babies.
“Anyway, does anyone know how to track Maris or the shifter?”
“We were on our way to the witches to see if they had a way. Slade called before I got here. Cecil’s the best at tracing them, but they could try to do a locator spell. Problem is, Baron’s strong and most likely has something in place to block them from being found. If Cecil were awake, they could do it easily.”
“But she isn’t,” I snapped at Landus.
He nodded. “And without her, it will take time—time we don’t necessarily have. They will do it but I prefer not relying on them. I don’t want Heaven with the bastards any longer than necessary.”
“Heaven?”
“Female bear shifter. She’s practically a cub still. She was resting in the woods when she was taken. They didn’t harm anyone else.”
“Ransom, maybe?” I thought out loud. This move didn’t make sense to me. He went from attacking to kidnapping. What did he need? What was he after?
“I need to get her back.”
“Maris too, we need her back.”
Everyone was looking at me like I had a solution. I growled and stepped back, feeling trapped.
“You know something, right?” Landus asked.
“Why do you assume I know something? I’m not a damn magician. I don’t have an answer for everything.”
“But you’re an expert with these gates. Maybe you can, I don’t know, make a gate that goes right to Maris or something,” Mage Thomas nearly begged.
I didn’t say anything and everyone stilled as their eyes widened.
“You can, can’t you,” Landus whispered, but I still heard him loud and clear. That was how quiet everyone was being.
“Not impossible.”
“Then do it.”
I growled just as Aaron came back over, his phone in his hands. “The vampires weren’t hit, but the queen is pissed. She’s ready to tear this city apart to find Baron, and her patience is running very thin.”
He looked between me and everyone else. His eyes flickered with that ever-lasting curiosity he always has.
“What did I miss?”
“Nyssa knows another way to track Maris and Heaven,” Landus said
, his eyes still hard as they stayed on my face. He probably thought I was refusing because I didn’t give a shit or even worse, may have been working with Baron.
Aaron turned to me with wide eyes, trying to believe I could do something so complicated. “Can you do it?” he asked.
“Yes,” I grounded out, my hands fisted at my side.
“Then what are you waiting for, let’s get moving.” He broke out in a huge grin, practically jumping up and down. It wasn’t every day someone created a gate, and it wasn’t every day someone created a gate tied to a person, meaning every time someone went through the gate, they were transported to the person they were tied to, no matter where they were. I had done it once when I was in the Woodlands. I created a gate to hunt down and kill a being and hadn’t done it again since. Never wanted to do it again, in fact.
“Why don’t you seem as excited as I am?” Aaron asked, finally reading the stupid situation.
I unclenched my teeth and let out a breath, preparing myself for the torment I was about to put on myself. “Fine. We will. But we will do it at Landus’s place, where the last gate was taken down. I need some of Maris’s things. I’ll meet you guys there in half an hour, I need to swing by my place to pick up some things.”
“I’ll come with you,” Landus volunteered. I glared at him but nodded.
I stomped back to my car, ignoring Landus. He managed to fit himself into my car and knew to keep his trap shut if he didn’t want me breaking his jaw. He didn’t understand what he was asking me to do. I could probably just tell him, come out and say why this was very dangerous, but I didn’t think it’d matter to him for some reason.
By the time we made it to my house, my skin itched with nerves. Being so close to him played with my emotions. I was high one moment, taking in his scent, the feel of his energy. In the way his eyes lit up when he looked at me. Then I reminded myself of what he was asking me to do and I hated him with a passion that surprised me. Apparently, like and hate was a very fine line, and I was doing jumps from one side to the other.
“You’re quiet,” he said as he followed me inside my house.
I just shrugged and went to one of the doors in the hallway. After flicking on the light, I knelt down, clearing out the few meager belongings I had inside. He stood just behind me, taking in the space.
Emergence Page 20
