“Relax. We’re ready for any attack.” Samiel’s hand tightened.
“I’m always tense when I know there could be an attack.” She shrugged. It seemed like a normal reaction to her.
Jaeson looked back at her and smiled. “It’s just a dragon thing. You’re with him so you should be relaxed when he’s anywhere near you.”
“Kind of egotistical. Especially, since I wasn’t really fearing the Dark Sorcerers, just nervous about what they’ll do.” She slid a grin over at Jaeson.
Samiel moved a step closer drawing her attention. An eyebrow was raised in arrogant challenge. “You shouldn’t worry about anything when I’m near you. Well, except for me.”
Meagan laughed and the tension inside eased but it came back once she watched the doors open in front of them half-expecting to be attacked even before they stepped out of the building. The dragons and vampires fanned out as they descended the steps. She once again found herself behind a wall of males. She shook her head and pushed Jaeson’s shoulder. When he half-turned, she slipped between him and Samiel. Arguing about it wasn’t going to make them change. It was going to take time for that to happen. She was going to be at their side in battle even if she had to keep pushing the issue.
Meagan swept her eyes over the people walking down the street. She didn’t see anyone milling around the area or watching them. She suspected the Dark Sorcerer or one of his minions was there, gathering strength and trying to find a weakness. They could teleport out of there without going any farther, but they wouldn’t learn anything about their enemy if they did.
Jaeson’s head tilted and he put his hand on her arm. “Don’t use your magic for a little bit.”
Meagan raised her brows but nodded. She wondered what had caught his attention. She thought it had to be some kind of magic he sensed, but without her blades she couldn’t sense even a hint of magic. She didn’t call her blades, but she was curious about what he felt.
“Do you feel that, Jadin?” Jaeson asked.
“Witch magic, but tainted. It’s a first for me. I’ve never encountered a Dark Sorceress before,” Jadin responded.
Meagan’s heart lurched. Dark Sorceress. She’d known it was possible for a witch to choose the wrong path, but she’d never thought she’d even see one in her lifetime. She couldn’t understand why a witch would betray her teachings and her friends. Who was it? Which coven did she come from? Meagan knew it could easily be a woman from either coven. With the two cities so isolated by the mountains around them, the witches moved freely and were quite friendly.
“Are you sure?” She looked over at Jaeson, hoping that there was a chance he was mistaken. Mainly because she didn’t want to think one of the women she’d worked with so closely had plotted to destroy the cities.
“Yes, there’s no doubt about it. There’s a Dark Sorceress here now. I can’t tell what she’s doing, but she’s doing something.” Jaeson’s hand settled low on her back and began rubbing in slow circles.
She relaxed into his touch. “Probably creating trouble. We’ll find out soon enough. Are we going to stand here blocking the stairs or can we move?”
“We want to be near the coven, but we can go down the street a little bit.” Samiel nodded and stepped away from the stairway.
Maxim and Jadin began walking slowly down the street to the left. Jaeson’s hand guided her to the right. Only a few people were out strolling now. They were familiar. She knew she’d probably seen them in the village on other visits, but she didn’t recognize any of them from the coven. Even as she continued to search for some sign of attack, she knew the woman probably wouldn’t show herself. She’d hidden among the other women of the coven for a long time. The witch was obviously smart and wanted to use her connection to the coven for as long as possible. If she attacked, it would be from a distance. It infuriated Meagan. She wanted to find the woman now and stop the traitor from doing any more damage to the covens.
A scream drew her attention away from her thoughts and the street in front of her. Another scream sounded even as she spun. She fully expected to see a merdanon on the street. She first saw Maxim and Jadin in the middle of the street. What she didn’t see was the big gray body of one of the Dark Sorcerer’s creations. The running people told her that in spite of the absence of the big beasts something was wrong. She began walking up the street. Her eyes slowly scanned the street as she drew closer to Maxim and Jadin. She was aware of Samiel and Jaeson at her side. They’d shortened their stride to match hers. A streak of red-brown caught her eyes. The streak stopped near a wall. She almost couldn’t believe her eyes. Yellow fur stuck up on its head and arms. The beast shrieked.
“Well, that looks like one of those beasts on the picture, but it’s certainly not acting intelligent.” Samiel’s head tilted.
“They don’t feel much different from merdanons,” Jaeson said. He frowned as the beast ran forward and slammed into their shield. It flew back. Almost immediately, it jumped to its feet.
“Someone is trying to imitate the tandini, but has really only created a smaller, faster merdanon.” Meagan hoped the Sorcerer or Sorceress hadn’t managed to figure out how to make the beast pull power from his victims.
“The fact that they know enough about it to make it look reasonably like the drawings is interesting.” Samiel took the final steps forward and stood beside Jadin.
“Yeah it is, but we can discuss it after we deal with the fake tandini and his little friends.” Meagan summoned her blades.
She had noticed the differences. There was no armor plating. The tandini copy looked far more animal-like than the one in the book with a snout and tusks, drool dribbling from its mouth. The only reason for the differences was that the Dark Sorceress hadn’t seen the actual picture. A swarm of the quick, clawed beasts poured onto the streets.
“Don’t get impatient.” Jaeson ruffled her hair.
She brushed his hand away from her head and frowned at him. She wasn’t some kid who needed encouragement or instruction. With a shake of her head, she focused on the beasts on the street. The small creatures never seemed to stop moving. They swiped at the walls and even each other when they drew too close to each other. They didn’t have the strength or destructive power of a merdanon, but if they came upon someone without a shield they could easily maim or kill. The tandini never seemed to stop moving. Again and again, they threw themselves against the shield, Meagan put up a backup shield. She wasn’t sure whose shield that was but she wanted her own there just in case it was stressed.
A fireball flew down the street and hit one of the beasts. It fell to the ground. Meagan was a little surprised that it hadn’t been shielded. Even if this was just a testing probe she expected the Dark Sorceress to want to prove that she could do some damage, that she would be a formidable enemy. It just didn’t make any sense.
“Are you going to help or just stand there looking at them?” Samiel’s voice broke through her thoughts.
“Oh yeah, I was just a little amazed that they’re not shielded.” Meagan blushed and slung a bolt of energy down the street. It hit one of the short brown-skinned beasts. The tandini fell to the ground.
“You’ll never be able to figure out why a Dark Sorcerer or in this case Sorceress does something. You don’t think like they do.” Jaeson glanced over at her. “But I’d bet the Sorceress has more than this planned. Maybe she’s just seeing how useful these tandini could be.”
In a way, she was glad she couldn’t think like the Dark Sorceress. She wouldn’t want to know what could make a woman betray everything she knew. She still wanted to know what the woman was planning.
Meagan slung two bolts down the street. The first bolt slammed into a tandini. The second just missed. It flared as the energy smashed into the wall with a sizzling hiss. Two fireballs flashed through the air taking down two of the remaining three tandidi. A loud roar sounded, Meagan knew that sound hadn’t come from the lone tandini on the street. She swiped her sword through the air forming a power
ful arc and sending it sailing down the street. She wanted that last tandini defeated before whatever had made that sound arrived. The bolt hit the small creation. It tumbled to the ground just as part of a building exploded. A merdanon rounded the corner. It picked up one of the tandini and threw it. The destroyed creation hit the shield and fell to the ground. Meagan drew in a deep breath. She knew that that beast would be heavily shielded. Stopping the merdanon wasn’t going to be easy.
She straightened and braced her feet a little farther apart. The merdanon drove one of its huge fists into the wall to its right. The stone cracked, chunks falling to the ground. She swiped her sword back and forth gathering power. She wasn’t going to play with this beast. There were too many people who could be hurt. The town hadn’t been evacuated. She didn’t want to chip away at his shield. She wanted to destroy it. With a flick of her wrist, she sent the glowing ball of light hurtling toward the beast. She took a step forward even before the bolt hit.
A hand on her shoulder stopped her. “Whoa, you’re going a little fast. Calm down and take it slowly,” Jaeson urged.
“There’s been enough damage done to this village.” Meagan shot a glare back over her shoulder. This wasn’t the time to play.
“The witch is gone.” Jaeson let his hand glide down her arm. “There won’t be any more beasts.”
“Does it matter? It can still hurt someone. Do we know if those building have been cleared?” She swept her hand to indicate the buildings around them.
“They’ve been cleared.” Samiel sounded totally confident.
She didn’t doubt that they’d been cleared. She just wished they’d tell her what they planned or were doing. She felt as if she was always a step behind on what was happening. Admittedly, she hadn’t pressed it, but this was going to have to change. It could get dangerous. They were going to have to start sharing information with her. She wasn’t going to talk about it now. They had to defeat and destroy the merdanon.
Jaeson tossed a ball of energy down the street. It hit the merdanon’s shield and flared in a bright white shower. Meagan didn’t wait. She slung an arc of energy. A large ball of fire followed only a breath after hers. Hers hit and then Samiel’s exploded, flaring in a wall of fire as the shield fell. The merdanon roared and kicked one of the tandini creations down the street. Maxim threw a ball of silver-white magic. The merdanon jerked as the ball of magic hit. It toppled to the ground. Relief and exultation rushed through her. It was over for now. Meagan moved to the closest tandini. She drove her knife into its thigh and took the power.
“You two need to start talking to me. I’m getting a bit tired of being the last to know things.” She kept her voice even as she moved to the next creation. They were close to her, she knew it. Now that the battle was finished it was time to start clearing a few of the problems.
“Talk about what? What are you the last to know?” Jaeson’s hand curled around her elbow and turned her to face him. His brows were drawn together and he looked genuinely confused.
“Oh things like the houses along the street being cleared. I worried about anyone in them getting hurt for a good portion of the battle. It would have been nice to know. That’s far from the first time I was left wondering what was happening.” She plunged the dagger into another tandini.
“It’s just normal practice for us. If they haven’t been cleared, we get anyone who can’t fight out of the battle.” Samiel stepped up on the other side of her.
Truly their habit of flanking her was getting on her nerves and at times it made her feel trapped. She pushed those thoughts away. She needed to focus and not let them distract her with side issues.
“Have I been with you long enough to know your normal practices? We’re just learning to work together and sometimes that’s in question too.” She glared at Samiel.
“All right, we do need to talk a little more about the battle until you become a little more familiar with our practices. You have a point.” Samiel dropped a kiss on her lips and quickly pulled back. “We’ll talk about it back at the lair. Maybe over a hot meal or a warm bath.”
She shook her head as she moved to the merdanon. She wasn’t going to let him distract her. As good as a meal and a bath sounded, she wanted to get this settled. Too often, she felt as if she was fighting for every step with them. She had to push for every bit of closeness with Samiel and she still hadn’t managed to push past his control issues. And Jaeson, she knew the surface, the easy front he let everyone see, but there was more there. She wanted to know everything.
“Now that you’re finished, let’s go talk.” Jaeson cupped her elbow and lifted her to her feet as the last merdanon dissolved into dust.
“Talk not play.” She saw the gleam in his eyes.
“I’m sure we can do both. You need to relax.” Jaeson palmed her hip and pulled her close.
She stiffened. She had to admit that she was tense and Lady, did she want to lean into him. The heat from his body drew her just as much as his scent did. Relaxing just seemed to be out of her reach. A Dark Sorceress. It was someone within one of the covens. The thought of someone she knew being behind the attacks infuriated her. She wanted to know who it was. Then there was the fact that the magic building inside her was rioting and her arousal was building as well.
Samiel glided up behind her. She swept her hair to the side, baring her throat and shoulder. His fingers trailed up the side of her neck. She shivered and leaned into him. She closed her eyes. He pulled her against him.
“Jaeson, take us home. It’s been a long day and we’re all hungry and tired.” Samiel’s voice rumbled in her ear.
She heard him inhale and felt his lips brush over her neck. His hands lightly clasped her arms. She’d expected him to pull her back against him or wrap his arms around her. That might have been too much. She was almost between them, but it didn’t feel as confining. She knew it was probably because she’d calmed a little, but the fact that they weren’t just picking her up and hauling her around gave her a little hope. Jaeson’s arm hooked around Samiel’s back while his other arm remained at her hip. A dark gray mist rose around them enclosing them. She felt only a slight lifting sensation. A moment later the mist opened and deposited them in the large main cavern of the lair.
“We’ll start the food and while it’s cooking, we’ll take a bath and talk.” Samiel walked over the hearth and started a fire.
She willingly followed the suggestion. She wasn’t sure about the talking and bathing, if it was even possible, but they had to start somewhere. She went to a chest in the corner and pulled out a bag of grain and some vegetables. It didn’t take long to get everything ready.
“Now for that bath.” Samiel turned and his eyes swept over her body like a wave of heat.
Without a doubt, he had more on his mind than simply cleaning away the dust. She led the way into the bathing room with the huge pool, the gems and the golden lamp stands. One of the men really liked the flash of gold and jewels and she had a feeling it was Samiel. The room was warm and toasty. She didn’t know how much talking they’d get done. Even if they had the control, she didn’t think she did. She wanted to touch them.
“Talk to us.” Jaeson began stripping out of his clothes.
“You already know what I want to talk about.” She worked at the small buttons on her shirt.
“We know, but just tell us how you feel again. You were holding back when we were talking earlier.” Jaeson turned and brushed his fingers across her cheek and fell back into the water.
Meagan laughed. She knew he was trying to make her laugh with his antics. She dropped her shirt to the floor and looked back at Samiel. His shirt was off and he watched her intently. She thought she saw a little uncertainty in his eyes. Depending on what he was unsure of, it could be a good thing. She winked at him before jumping into the water.
Chapter Thirteen
Samiel watched as the water closed over her head. She was so beautiful. Meagan made him feel emotions he’d never known existed
. She’d taken the steps toward them and he didn’t want to push her away now. He didn’t know if he’d be able to curb his need to be in control. She seemed small and fragile. He knew he was too strong, too big and at times he felt clumsy around her. He didn’t know how he was going to do it, but he had to find a way to give her what she needed. She’d shown she could handle him at what he knew was his worst. She hadn’t run. That still surprised him. She seemed certain that he would never hurt her. Her faith gave him hope and belief that it was true. She hadn’t been revolted or insulted by his loss of control. The opposite in fact. She’d seemed to revel in it. She wanted him to relax, enjoy himself, to have fun with her. He was going to try.
He took off his shirt. She splashed a wave of water at Jaeson. Jaeson lunged forward and made a grab for her. She dived beneath the water and swam away from him. The sight of them playing made him smile, but he wanted to be part of it. Samiel hurriedly tore out of his pants. He jumped into the water, more than ready to join in the fun. He swam over to Meagan and grasped her hips, pulling her under water. Her eyes widened as her head disappeared beneath the water. He released her and kicked to the surface. She came up sputtering and laughing.
“Oh that’s just wrong. I thought you were going to kiss me.” She splashed water at him.
“I’ll kiss you.” He swam close to her.
She looked so relaxed and happy. In the water, he felt a little more confident that he wouldn’t hurt her with any games they played. And he was going to play now. He stroked closer to her. She paddled back, shaking her head.
“I’m not sure I can trust you. You already pushed me under water and I hadn’t done anything to you.” Her lower lip jutted out in a sexy pout.
Smart girl. He could see she was fighting a smile. Her eyes never left him. He moved forward again. She swam back right into Jaeson’s arms. Jaeson laughed and pushed her forward. Samiel grabbed her before she could edge back out of reach. He laughed pulling her close to him. Samiel brushed his lips across hers. She relaxed against him and her arm curled around his neck. Her tongue traced his lips. He loved the aggressive move. Her fingers tightened in his hair. She nipped his lip. His hands pulled her tighter against him. Her leg hooked around his. She let him keep them both afloat. Her mouth opened and she kissed him hungrily. Without breaking the kiss, he stopped treading water. The water closed over their heads. She stiffened. He released her and kicked to the surface. She bobbed to the surface and glared at him.
Chosen Destiny Page 13
