by Sandra Kaye
“Hey, sorry to interrupt your breakfast. I just needed to see you.”
“No bother at all,” Xavier answered for me. “If you need to talk with Ana, I can either stay in here or I can go upstairs. Whatever you want.”
“No need. I know from Reno and Reya if it wasn’t for your help, I might not be standing here now.”
“I have faith that Ana would have found you even without my help. Though, I am glad I was able to assist.”
“Yeah, well, thanks for that. I can’t say I remember if I thanked you when you found me or not.”
“You did. Again, you’re welcome.”
“What can we do for you, Teddy?”
“I know you’ve been calling every day, Ana, but Reno nor Reya would tell me what happened. They said you didn’t want them to. I don’t understand.”
“It’s not that I don’t want them to. It’s that the doctor thought it best that we wait to see what you remembered without our influence.”
“That’s just it, Ana. I’m having dreams, but without some help, I can’t tell what’s real and what’s imagined. It’s driving me fucking crazy. I may be healed on the outside, but my mind’s working overtime to figure out what the hell went wrong. You have got to help me. I’m going to go crazy if you don’t.”
“Okay, Okay. Tell you what. Why don’t you tell me what your dreams are telling you happened, and I’ll do my best to help you piece together what’s real and what isn’t?”
“I can do that. But I warn you. It may sound a bit crazy.”
“Trust me it can’t be any crazier than the little we know so far.”
“So, all I do is tell you my dreams and you promise to tell me what happened?”
“As much as I know, yes.”
“If I may make one suggestion? You can both tell me to butt out and I will.”
Teddy and I both nodded for Xavier to go ahead.
“Well, I was thinking that, since Seslie has a few gaps in her memory also, if we did this as a group with her there, too, the story may come together more clearly.”
“I’m game if you guys are,” Teddy stated, looking to me.
I nodded my agreement and dug around in my purse for my cell. Reya answered Seslie’s phone on the fifth ring.
“Hey, Reya. Where’s Ses?”
“She’s in the shower. Do you need her, or should I just tell her to call you back?”
As I started to answer, Seslie’s voice came across the line. “I’m here, Ana. What’s up?”
“Teddy’s here and he wanted to go over what happened. Xavier thought the story might become clearer if we were to go over the events as a group.”
“I’m game. You want to come here, or should I come to you?”
“We can come to you. Xavier is making omelets, then we will be over.”
“Heck with that. You got a man at your house cooking. I’m on my way. Reya’s in, too. See you soon. Don’t let Teddy eat everything before I get there.”
I hung up the phone, feeling lighter and happier than I had since this whole ordeal began.
“Xavier, I hope you bought enough for an army. Seslie and Reya invited themselves to breakfast.”
He laughed good-naturedly. “No problem. I bought plenty.”
He had, too. We all got full, including Teddy, with food to spare.
Conversation while we ate was light. Everyone complimented Xavier on his stellar cooking abilities. The omelets had three types of cheese, ham, bacon, and a spicy sausage, plus onions, peppers, and mushrooms. They were amazing. It seemed there was nothing that man couldn’t do.
Watching Xavier talking and joking with my family and friends was a total turn-on for me. I always knew when I found the one that he would fit seamlessly with the other people in my life. Xavier did just that. Plus, with that little tease of things to come from the night before, I was getting wet just thinking about what more he had to offer.
“You’re drooling, sis. Might want to clean up the road those thoughts of yours are on,” Seslie whispered.
“You just be quiet. I was not drooling,” I still turned away from everyone and wiped my chin just to be sure. Little sisters could be such pains. She was lucky I loved her and couldn’t live without her.
With everyone’s bellies full, we moved to the living room to get comfortable. Seslie was no longer black-and-blue but she still had the air cast on her leg and required crutches to walk. On the couch, she could easily prop her foot to prevent it from swelling and hurting more.
Teddy kicked off the conversation. “I remember arriving at Sunny Acres Cemetery. I helped Gabe carry Seslie’s witch-working supplies to the mausoleum where the last deaths took place. She thought the newest and most brutal site would give her the best chance of ruling out or confirming who or what was behind everything. While Seslie was setting things up, Gabe was supposed to patrol for any trouble and signal if he found any. I stayed in the vault with her to guard her while she was busy. We didn’t want her to get trapped in there without back-up. Seslie said she had forgotten a couple herbs in the car, so I went to get them. The car was parked about a quarter-mile away, because the vault we needed was in the oldest part of the cemetery and there was no room for cars back there. I reached the car, found the herbs, and was heading back. Until that moment, I hadn’t seen nor heard Gabe, which wasn’t all that unusual with the cemetery’s size. I smelled him before I heard him, but there was something off about his scent. I turned when I heard him, and he wasn’t alone. There was a woman with him. She had magic. Not the fresh ozone-smelling kind you ladies use; this smelled like dirt and sour milk. Not a pleasant smell with a nose as good as mine. His scent was close to hers, but hers was stronger. I don’t ever recall Gabe smelling like that. I went to ask him who the hell she was when I was hit from behind. From there, things get dicey. I know this may sound crazy, but I think a bird man hit me.”
“Like a bird shifter?” Xavier questioned.
“No, this wasn’t like any shifter I’ve ever seen. He had a beak instead of a nose or mouth. His hair was black as night but not hair. It was feathers. The rest of him was a man except for the wings, which looked leathery. Like large bat wings is as close as I can explain.”
“Anything else you remember? Dream or otherwise?”
“I was in and out of it a lot. I think Seslie sent me a message at one point, but I’m not sure.” Seslie nodded, and Teddy continued.
“The woman tried to get me to call you, Analese. I refused, and Gabe kept telling her to let him call. He could get you there. She said she’d handle things and sent him somewhere. But I think she called him by another name. I can’t quite recall what it was. Don, Denny, I don’t know. Something with a “D,” I think. Her name was Jay-something, and I got the feeling they were related. At some point, I woke, and they were with that strange creature again and, heaven help me, but a man that looked to be an angel. It made no sense at all, but that’s what I think I saw. They were talking about the vampire king. Not sure if that was Leon or Pierce, but I get the notion they may have something to do with Leon missing. There are other bits and pieces. Nothing that I can make sense of, though.”
Teddy appeared to know more than he thought. His bird man sounded like it could be our Raven Mocker. I wondered if the man he thought was an angel could be Kalona? If so, it looked as if Gabe, or whatever his name was, and the witch who hurt my sister were behind our current predicament. One look at Seslie told me she was thinking the same thing. She confirmed it a moment later.
“It sounds like you were face to face with a Raven Mocker and a demon lord. You are very lucky to be alive, Teddy. Sounds like we both are.”
She read my mind. If one of those things could do that much damage to a shifter as strong as Teddy, we were in more trouble than we thought.
“On that, we agree.”
Teddy directed his next words to Xavier. “Reya tells me you’re responsible for the working that found us. That must make you mega strong. I always thought Analese and
Seslie were the most powerful witches in these parts.”
“They likely are. While I can’t speak to Seslie’s power, I’ve felt Ana’s first hand. However, I’m not a witch. I’m a Druid.”
“Like a holy man?” Teddy asked.
I nearly choked on the coffee I was drinking. It went down the wrong pipe and left me coughing. Xavier gave me that sexy smirk before he answered.
“Some druids are. I am not. I follow the path of light, but I did not take a vow of chastity.” Wow! I hadn’t even thought of that. Here I was lusting after him, and he could have been like a monk. No, I’d felt his skill in the bedroom. He was definitely no monk.
“I get it, man. Life with no sex would kill me, too,” Teddy replied.
That lightened the mood and got everyone laughing.
Seslie went through her memories next. We knew Gabe, or whoever he was, had hit her with a potion. We also knew that his dark witch wanted to get to me. No one knew why. Seslie gave us a description of her.
“She was petite. Strawberry-blonde hair. Pretty, I guess, if you dismiss the evil bitch part. Looks to be about our age. Right, Teddy?”
“I guess. I didn’t get a good look at her, what with my eyes swelled half shut and all. She came in a couple times to inject me with something. It kept me from shifting and I think it’s why I was still so busted up and weak. It slowed my healing ability. I know she’s small and blonde, I think. Otherwise, I can’t help much. I will remember that squeaky high-pitched voice of hers ‘til the day I die, though.”
“Oh yeah, he’s right. Her voice is high and shrill. Nails-on-a-chalkboard shrill.”
“Nails? Hell. Ice picks in your eyes is more like it.”
That got a round of laughs. It was nice to have a few light moments during such a stressful period. That only happened with a group as tight as ours.
“Did she ask anything of you, Teddy? Or Gabe?”
“No, most of my time was me going in and out of consciousness.”
No matter how light they both tried to make it when they said things like that, it reminded me how we could have lost them and it hurts. “I’m sorry we didn’t get to you both sooner. If I had been there…”
“If you were there, they would have had what they wanted. Then, who would have saved us?” Seslie asked.
On one level, she was right, but on another, it was going to take a long time to get past not being there for her. Xavier threaded his fingers through mine, giving it a squeeze. It helped relieve the guilt a bit. I ignored her question and asked one of my own. “Did she inject you with anything, Ses?”
“Not that I recall, but now that I think about it, I did have a couple areas on my arm that could have been that.”
“Did you try using your powers?”
“Of course, I did. I even tried to travel the grey planes, and you know how I hate that.”
“Not to interrupt, Seslie, but you can travel the gray planes as well?”
“Yeah, not as well as Analese, but yes. Why do you ask?”
“It’s not something I’ve heard many witches have as an ability. It’s more of an elemental power.”
“Yeah, I know. We both have a few elemental powers. Gran seems to think it’s due to our Cherokee heritage.”
“I see.”
From the look on his face, that was a conversation we would be coming back to at a later time.
The back and forth of Teddy’s and Seslie’s memory recall went on for another hour. By that point, we all believed that the creature Teddy remembered was a Raven Mocker and the dark angel Kalona. Teddy thought he may have heard Gabe call the witch “sister” and Seslie thought at some point she had asked her where Leon was, but she couldn’t be sure. If that was the case, we still had an unknown. If Gabe was behind the Raven Mocker and they were what killed the vamps and shifters, which we all agreed they were, then where was Leon and why hadn’t he contacted us? All good questions no one could answer. In the end, it was decided that, with Xavier’s help, we would search for Leon. Since we were pressed for time, we chose to use just the five of us for the spell, with Teddy and Reya as power sources to draw on for enhanced spell strength. Because if Leon hadn’t reached out, surely, he couldn’t.
Chapter Twenty
It was decided our spell would work best if done at night, since the moon makes for stronger magic. The one we had done to find Seslie and Teddy had been done during day hours only because we had no time to waste. While we needed to find Leon, it didn’t seem as if a few hours would greatly change the outcome.
We agreed to meet at the lake at ten that night. Xavier, Seslie, and I arrived early enough to set things up. The thought was that if Gabe and his dark witch had Leon, they’d be expecting us to do a tracking spell for Leon next, which was exactly what we were doing. What they wouldn’t expect was the amount of back-up we had stationed as far out as a mile away. Teddy brought eleven shifters he knew to be loyal not just to us but to Leon, and Reya brought her brother and cousin. Both fae and very strong. That put the numbers and strength in our favor. If they did show, there was little chance they’d walk away this time.
Once everyone was in place, the five of us stepped into our circle and started the tracking spell. Within a few minutes, Xavier and I had found him. This time, I knew Xavier wouldn’t step through unless he was positive it was safe, so when he moved to do just that, I hesitated, causing us to separate and leaving me standing in the Between alone. Just as I was going join him, a large shadow swooped over my head and another knocked me away from where he had exited. The impact flipped me onto my back, looking up at the dark figure, a large man sporting wings spanning twelve feet or more. Coming to my feet, I returned to my body so quickly, I was left panting and gagging on the wet grass. Xavier followed less than thirty seconds later with blood dripping from his chest and arms. The blood was gushing from deep claw marks I was sure had been caused by the same thing that knocked me over. I’d bet almost anything they were Raven Mockers.
Before I could regain my ability to function, Seslie and Reya were binding his wounds while Teddy and three of the shifters he brought took points around us, searching for incoming threats. Everyone stayed that way for several minutes before it was decided they hadn’t followed us through from the Between. By that time, Xavier’s wounds had already started to knit closed. His healing was faster than a shifter. I’d never seen anything like it, but we were vulnerable out in the open, so things were dismantled and the group agreed to meet back at my place.
Teddy brought beer and passed to those who wanted them, and Seslie poured wine for those who didn’t. At that point, all eyes were on Xavier and me to explain what had happened. Xavier told me to go first.
“Well, the good news is we found Leon. The bad is that I didn’t get to see where he was and there were bird men in the Gray Between. They knocked me down, but I was able to get out before they could do more.”
Teddy directed his next question to Xavier. “Is that why they got you? Because you were protecting Analese?”
“No, man. When I stepped out of the Between where your friend was, she and I were separated. When I went back for her, those things were waiting and attacked. They’re strong and fast. There were only two, otherwise, I may not have gotten so lucky.”
“If you call a shredded chest and arms lucky, then sure that’s what you are, man,” was Teddy’s sarcastic reply.
Several of the guys laughed at that, lightening the tension in the room a bit.
“Maybe lucky was a bad term, but it could have been much worse.”
“True that, man. So, did you see Leon? Was he okay?” Reno asked.
“I did. He appeared weak and was bound with vervain. Other than that, he was alive. Depending on when he last fed and his resistance to the vervain, I’d say a few days at most.”
The room was silent as that information was digested.
“Can we save him?” Seslie asked, which was the question on everyone’s minds.
“If we can lo
cate him without those creatures tearing us to shreds, sure. If I knew the area better, it would be a lot easier.”
Kade, a leopard shifter, was the next to speak. “So, that’s it? There’s nothing you can do?”
“I didn’t say that. Though, we can’t risk using another tracking spell or walking the Between. If Analese will agree, I can share my memory of where he was. She may know the area as she did with Teddy and Seslie.” This was said to the room, but his eyes never left mine.
Most everyone there knew me and knew I wouldn’t hesitate, though I wasn’t sure it was something I wanted to do with everyone watching. To share an experience with another was very personal and intimate. I, however, nodded my agreement. It was Seslie who saved me any embarrassment by suggesting we go upstairs where it was quiet to make it easier. I wasn’t sure about easier, but I readily agreed.
He trailed me up the stairs and to my room in silence. I settled on the end of my bed while he looked around the room. The room was very large with a king-sized bed, framed with an oak canopy and matching accessories. The entire room was done in my favorite color, pink.
“I like it,” he said as he settled next to me.
“Really? You don’t think it’s too pink?”
“I think it suits you.”
That made me smile, because it was very true. I was a very girly girl, and proud of it.
“Thanks,” I said, feeling my face flush. He was too damn amazing if a simple statement like that could make me blush.
“I’m assuming you’ve done this before. Am I correct?”
“Just with Seslie. Never with anyone. I mean with someone I’ve been…um... so, um, personal with,” I stammered, feeling like a dork.
With a smirk, he replied, “Personal, huh? Yeah, what we did was rather personal,” he teased.
That put a smile on my face. Even with all that had been going on, he could make me feel better. Gorgeous, sweet, and funny, he just might be the whole package. “Shut up, and let’s see if we can pinpoint where Leon is.”
