“I have many talents, pretty lady,” he replied, winking at me. “I’ll be happy to show you later.”
“He’s a wolf,” Kellen answered with his own growl.
“Kellen would make an amazing wolf,” Matt continued, glancing at Kellen. “He’s fierce, loyal, and has a better growl than half our pack.”
My mouth dropped open. He couldn’t possibly be serious. Matt acted as if he liked Kellen, or at least respected him. Had I judged him wrong? And I really didn’t want to hear I was sitting in the car with a man who could turn into a wolf.
“Kellen didn’t tell you?” he asked. “I’m wounded.” He placed his hand on his heart and feigned an agonizing death. I laughed at his antics, making his smile widen.
“No, he didn’t tell me,” I replied. “But in his defense, we’ve been a little busy.”
“Damn, I was hoping to show you my talents later, but Kellen doesn’t share.” He wagged his eyebrows at me, and my ears grew hot with embarrassment.
“That’s not what I meant,” I said defensively. “Kellen and I just met the day before yesterday. A lot’s happened since then.”
“Then maybe…” Matt winked at me again, and my entire face flushed. I’d never had anyone flirt with me, even if it was feigned. I took a bite of my burger trying to hide my embarrassment.
“When we get to their lodge, stay with me, and try not to speak, AJ,” Kellen said, interrupting Matt’s ogling. “The mutts are easily distracted.”
“He’s testy today,” Matt stated, turning back around in his seat.
Kellen turned onto a dirt road that wound its way through the trees and ended at a large, two-story lodge with a covered porch lining the entire front of the building. Tall pines surrounded the house, nearly blocking out the blue sky. I stuffed the rest of the sandwich in my mouth and washed it down with water.
Kellen parked his SUV and jumped out, then opened my door on the driver’s side. “Stay with me, AJ,” he said, his eyes almost pleading. “Don’t let them separate us.”
“Okay,” I replied, confused by his expression. I didn’t feel threatened by Matt, not like I did with the bear we met earlier.
He once again held his hand out to me. I looked down at his large palm and long fingers, placing my own small hand in his. I smiled at the contrast between them, suppressing a giggle. We probably looked ridiculous. He laced his fingers in mine, and we walked towards the wooden steps leading up to the large home.
Matt opened the door for us, and I gasped. Six leather sofas and three low tables filled the left side. Windows stretched towards the ceiling with nothing covering them, providing a stunning view of the forest beyond. An enormous stone fireplace took up the center of the room, and I realized I could see through it to the other side. Two sweeping staircases flanked each side of the hearth, disappearing behind the stacked stones.
On the right side was the largest dining table I’d ever seen. Dozens of chairs lined the solid wood table, half of them occupied by men, women and several children. They stopped eating and looked at the new arrivals. Snarls and growls erupted immediately. I involuntarily stepped back, but Kellen released my hand and wrapped his arm around my waist, holding me in place.
Matt waved his hand at the group and the growls subsided, but the hostile looks did not.
“Come on, Victor will be in his study.”
Chapter 14
I followed Kellen and Matt through a wooden pocket door that disappeared into the wall. I almost turned around and pulled it back out of the wall, but thought better of it. I shouldn’t behave as if I’d grown up dirt poor and unrefined, even if that was my reality. The transition from wood floors to thick carpet surprised me. A deep brown, area rug covered the wooden planks and ran beneath a large, light oak desk. It reminded me of another lavish room with a desk as the centerpiece. An involuntary shiver ran through me, and Kellen rubbed my back, easing my tension. Did he know about Jack’s office, or was he just trying to calm my nerves? Probably the latter.
The leather office chair at the desk was empty, but the largest man I’d ever seen stood at a dry bar just behind it. His wide shoulders and thick torso supported an equally broad neck. His light brown hair hugged his scalp, and a well-groomed beard covered his square chin. He stared back at me, ignoring Kellen and Matt. His deep brown eyes seemed to search my soul, but I didn’t feel the familiar buzz of magic that usually accompanied that gaze. He inhaled deeply and closed his eyes, holding his breath for several seconds.
“She has more of her grandfather than her mother.” His deep voice reverberated through the room.
He crossed the space between us quickly and stood in front of me. I craned my neck back to look up at him and wrinkled my nose. He had to be six and half feet tall, at least. I was used to feeling small around everyone, because I was, but his size was overwhelming.
“Sit and talk to me,” he commanded and turned towards a grouping of chairs to the left that I hadn’t seen when I came in. “Matt, tell Glen that the bounty is paid. Make sure he spreads the word quickly.”
“Yes, boss.” Matt snapped his heels together, then left.
“I’d tell you to leave as well, Kellen, but I can see that you won’t.” He lowered himself into a large wooden chair with an upholstered seat and motioned for us to do the same. “My name is Victor. I apologize for the unfortunate means for bringing you here.”
“I’m AJ,” I responded, not sure how to reply to his apology.
“And what does that stand for, AJ?” he asked.
“Alisandra Johnson,” I replied.
“Hmmm. Why would you hide such a beautiful name?” He leaned his head to the side and raised his eyebrows. I tried not to think of my neighbor’s German Shepard that did the same thing.
“I had a difficult childhood,” I replied, my thoughts sobering quickly. “Kids are cruel.”
“That, they are.” He glanced at Kellen, then back to me. “How did you end up with our favorite mage?”
I also looked at Kellen, who stared back at me. I didn’t know if I should tell Victor the truth, part of the truth, or make something up.
“She was with a group of mages we rescued from the vampires,” Kellen answered.
Victor scowled at Kellen, his eyebrows joining in the middle. “She is more than capable of speaking for herself.”
“I know more of her capabilities than either of you, Victor,” Kellen said in a low voice. “She was bound until yesterday. She knows nothing of our world.”
Victor’s eyebrows shot towards his hairline as he turned back to me. “Is this true?”
I nodded.
“That is fortunate for us,” he said, leaning back in his chair. “We have the opportunity to train her and teach her the history of our people. You will leave her with me.”
“I will not,” Kellen stated.
Victor’s eyebrows made the trip back together, and a low growl rumbled in his throat. I was enthralled with the animation in his face. “You don’t have a choice, mage.”
“She is my partner,” Kellen stated. “She will stay with me and I will train her. Her elements will respond quicker when paired with mine.”
“Prove it,” Victor commanded. “Prove it, and I’ll allow her to leave.”
“She is not trained,” Kellen argued. “Our elements have not even been introduced to each other. If she tries to command one now, you’ll be left with a pile of logs in place of your home.”
“Then she doesn’t leave.”
Both men leaned forward in their chairs, and the hair on my neck rose with the tension. Why did men always feel the need to thump their chests at one another? I rose from my chair and stood between them, facing off Victor first.
“You will not dictate my life,” I stated, pointing my bony finger at his face. “I’ve spent the last twenty years a victim of bullies who thought they could do whatever they wanted with me. I will choose my fate, not you.”
His eyebrows once again receded to his hairline.
> I turned on Kellen and frowned. “You and I will have a private conversation about the information you have chosen not to share with me.” I shoved my hand at him. “Give me your hand.”
He tentatively reached for me, guilt etched on his face. “You don’t have to prove anything to him, AJ,” Kellen said.
“Apparently I do,” I retorted.
I turned my body so Victor could see our hands. I flipped Kellen’s over so his palm faced the ceiling, then hovered mine over the top of his. I closed my eyes and thought of the little spark that raced through me the day before, then again only an hour ago. A warm glow beneath my fingers forced my eyes open. A tiny flame danced in Kellen’s hand. I rested my fingers near his, and the flame skipped towards me. I felt it hesitate and looked up at Kellen’s face.
“It will burn you,” he said, meeting my gaze.
“Not on purpose,” I replied. “I can feel its intent.”
“Pull the humidity from the air and give it a buffer against your skin.”
“I can do that?” I asked, my eyes widening in surprise.
He rolled his eyes at me, and I stuck out my tongue.
“Remember what we talked about when we removed your binding. It’s the same principle. Just make sure you don’t call on the wind.” The corners of his mouth turned up. “Victor won’t like the results.”
I smiled with him, then thought of the little droplet that rolled around in my hand. The air grew thick around me, and Victor gasped. Moisture clung to my skin, then ran down my arm, filling my cupped palm and running over onto the rug beneath my feet.
“Not all of it, AJ,” Kellen said, presenting his empty hand.
“Sorry. I didn’t put out the fire, did I?”
“Yes, you did.” He chuckled. “But I can bring it back.”
A smaller version of the flame flickered to life once again. I lowered my hand full of water next to Kellen’s. The flame tentatively moved towards me, then jumped the space between us, landing in my palm. The water steamed, but remained in place. The flame flickered, but didn’t run away.
I lowered myself to the floor and smiled. I was holding a little flame in a puddle of water. Magic was awesome.
“Impressive.” Victor’s voice startled me, and I dropped my hand. The pool of water consumed the flame, and I yelped.
“Oh God! Did I kill it?”
“No, it takes more than that to extinguish my fire, little girl.”
I heard the humor in his voice and flushed with embarrassment.
“You will ally with us?” Victor asked, drawing my attention.
“As long as our goals align, we will fight by your side,” Kellen replied. He took my hand and pulled me to my feet.
“Will there be a time when they don’t align?”
“I hope not,” Kellen answered. “You know my intentions and motivations. I believe I know yours. So long as that doesn’t change, we’re allies.”
Chapter 15
“You have a lot of explaining to do,” I said as we drove away from Victor’s lodge.
“You do realize we have only known each other for less than forty-eight hours, right?”
“Of course, I do,” I replied. “But you’ve left out some very important details. Like being partners.”
“I wanted you to be familiar with your elements before we tried to do anything else,” he argued.
“And you thought that was an excuse to not tell me about this partner thing,” I retorted. “I don’t even know what it means.”
“Logan explained it last night.” He flipped his visor down to block the setting sun. “It’s important for mages with a single element.”
“And what about mages with two?” I pressed. “What does that mean for us?”
I watched his profile, perfectly outlined by the sunset. It reminded me of the paintings of the Egyptian Pharaohs. Was his family from the mid-east or northern Africa? My mind continued to wander until I realized he’d stopped the car.
He turned in his seat to face me, and a strange expression crossed his features. He pulled his lips into a tight line and narrowed his eyes, but it wasn’t his normal, foreboding look. This was something else. I waited and watched as he struggled to pull his thoughts together.
“As Logan explained,” he began, looking out the windshield, “dual mages don’t need a partner to balance their elements. They automatically balance each other. Opposing elements would never choose to be together.” He bit his lower lip and turned to me. “Unless the elements chose another dual mage, but even then, it would have to be a mage with the opposing elements. Mine would never choose another mage with fire or earth.”
“That seems a little complicated, doesn’t it?” I asked.
“Any more so than everything else that’s happened to you in the last two days?” he countered.
“I suppose not.” I looked out the window at the pinks and golds stretching across the sky. “So, I’m stuck with you forever?”
“We are mage partners, not lovers,” Kellen replied. “Our magic is strongest when we work together.”
I thought I saw sadness, or disappointment, flicker across his face. I hadn’t forgotten Mike’s comment about Kellen waiting for his partner, so why did he look upset if he found… me?
“And this alliance with Victor?” I asked, moving away from the subject that made him uncomfortable.
“The Magister turned to the vampires to find her immortality. What she got was a ramped-up vampire.” He shook his head. “Logan is one of the few who opposes the vampire council’s plans. The others are being used as weapons against the other supernatural families.”
“Why do the vampires want a war?”
“It’s complicated,” he replied, turning in his seat and putting the SUV back into drive. “Not all of them do. Most are happy to leave everything the way it is, but others are tired of hiding in the dark. Several times throughout history, one or more of the supernatural families decided it was a good idea to reveal themselves to humans. It never works out well. We all know what happens when humans discover something they don’t understand.” He paused, and his frown deepened. “Some of our mages are willingly going to the vampires to become weapons for them.”
I thought of the Salem witch trials, the tales of vampires and werewolves, ogres and Bigfoot. Humans always hunted and killed what they didn’t understand. “Why would our mages want to be a vampire? Doesn’t their element abandon them?”
“Yes, it does,” he replied. “Single mages who don’t find their partner are destined to lose their element and their sanity. I’m not sure what choice I would make if I faced that. Becoming a vampire ensures they keep some magic and their lives.”
“But what about the whole blood-sucking thing? How could they be okay with killing humans to survive?”
“And here I thought you were an avid paranormal romance reader,” he replied, glancing towards me for a second. “Vampires don’t have to kill their victim. Many even have human slaves solely for feeding purposes, so they don’t have to go out into the population and risk exposure.”
“But that doesn’t change my argument,” I said. “How can they be okay with that?”
He stared in silence at the oncoming highlights, and I wondered if he would answer. “Kate hasn’t found her partner,” he finally said. “I can’t stand the thought of losing her. She’s my only family.”
Sadness and understanding washed over me. I didn’t even have a family, but could still imagine losing the one person who mattered most. I didn’t know what to say, so I remained silent.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When we arrived back at Kellen’s estate, three black sedans blocked the front gate. Kellen pulled up next to the lead car and rolled down his window. I leaned across the center console to see who was in the car, but Kellen’s hand pushed me back.
I was tempted to stick my tongue out at him, but he was probably right, again. I pulled my ball cap lower on my head and slouched in the seat.
“Can
I help you?” Kellen asked.
“We’re looking for Kellen Jaber,” a woman’s voice stated from the other car.
“If I see him, who should I say is inquiring?” Kellen asked.
“Commander Smith would like to speak with him about The Sanguis Casino,” she replied.
Kellen leaned out the window for a few seconds. “I’ll be sure to let him know,” he rolled his window half way up, then back down again. “By the way, camping at his gate will not likely get you an audience.”
Kellen drove away, and I turned to watch the cars dropping into line behind us.
“Well, that doesn’t look good,” I muttered.
“Nope.”
“Were they normal humans?”
“The ones I could see, but sometimes it’s hard to tell.” He glanced in the rearview mirror, then handed me a business card. A name and phone number were the only things printed on the plain, white paper.
“Commander Jonathan Smith,” I read out loud. “Do you know who he is?”
“No, which worries me. I thought I knew all the players.” He leaned forward and pulled his cellphone from the dashboard. “I want you to dial that number,” he said handing me the phone. “It’s imperative that you do not speak.”
“Seriously? Why are you always telling me to be quiet?” I asked, taking the phone from his hand.
“I need to know what he wants,” Kellen replied, tersely. “If he knows you’re here, he won’t give me the answers I’m looking for.”
I scowled at him, knowing he was right, again. I tapped the number into his phone and pressed call. The SUV’s Bluetooth picked up a few seconds later, and we listened to four rings before a woman’s voice answered.
“How can I help you?” she asked without announcing a company name or her own.
“I need to speak with Commander Smith,” Kellen replied.
“May I tell him who’s calling?”
“No.”
Light static filled the vehicle for several seconds. Kellen tapped the steering wheel impatiently.
“He may not accept the call if I cannot tell him who it is,” she finally responded.
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