He shut the door and rounded the hood to the driver’s side.
How could it be okay? Even though Harvey had been teaching her to fight demons, she hadn’t killed any, not until today. And now she’d taken out several of them. Bile rushed up her throat. She swallowed hard, unable to stop the shivers spreading through her body.
An hour later, as they headed toward Manhasset Bay, though it was close to early morning, the night seemed to grow even darker. Shae stared through the windshield, the headlights illuminating the shadowy road.
“What exactly are your abilities?” Dagan asked, pulling her out of her troubled thoughts, his gaze on the road.
“I don’t know. I could always sense demons and Others, but a few months ago, something changed.”
He cut her a sharp look. “Explain.”
Shae lowered the shirt from her nose. “I was working on my laptop…I’m a photographic journalist. This buzzing heat started inside me and grew. Then, I don’t know what happened, but the laptop exploded and the vase and wall mirror in the room shattered. The blast flung everything across the room.” My mother included. “Soon after, I realized that when I’m scared or angry, an energy rises inside me. But never like this.”
He didn’t say anything for a moment. She glanced at him. The light from the dashboard highlighted his stern features and bare, ripped chest. The sight distracted her. No matter how upset she felt, she was woman enough to appreciate his masculine perfection. Hell, she wanted to explore each muscle with her fingers, her—
“What about teleporting?” his voice pulled her back from dangerous thoughts.
“What?”
“Teleporting. You appear to have that ability, too. You vanished and reappeared behind the demons you eliminated.”
“I don’t know anything about that.”
Christ. She rubbed her burning eyes, trying to wipe away images of those bloody bodies lying on the asphalt before they disappeared, not wanting to remember how easily she’d taken lives. Deep down, she understood that they would have killed her and Dagan with no remorse and she’d had no choice, but still...
Fog engulfed them as they drove along a bridge for several minutes before they hit solid ground again. Then huge, wrought-iron gates glided open, and Dagan drove through. Tall evergreens lined the road, the tops disappearing into the starless night. The truck’s bright headlights were the only things breaking the thick gloom.
Moments later, they left the dense trees behind, moonlight casting a silvery glow over the rolling, landscaped gardens. Shae simply stared.
Yes, she lived in luxury, but this ivy-covered, gray stone castle with its sweeping towers, turrets, and crenelated battlement set against the backdrop of the dark sky took her breath away. Lights backlit the windows, adding to the magical aura. “This is so beautiful.”
Dagan’s gaze flickered briefly over the building but he remained silent as he brought the truck to a halt in front of the portico. Shae glanced at him. For some strange reason, she wanted to ease the grimness from his expression.
“You live in a fairytale, so what are you? Prince or beast?” she teased.
A nerve pulsed on his jaw. He jumped out and opened the back door, retrieving another t-shirt from a duffle bag there. He pulled it on, hiding his sexy body once more.
Shae climbed out and wiped her face again with his shirt. Hopefully, she’d gotten rid of all the blood.
“Your face is clean. You’re beautiful,” he said quietly, shocking her. “C’mon.” He headed up the stairs and held open the enormous front door.
Shae stepped into the marbled foyer and gaped at the sweeping grand staircase. A crystal chandelier illuminated the gorgeous stained-glass windows on one side depicting angels, knights, and their women. It was as if she’d stepped into another world.
But Dagan didn’t give her a chance to admire them or the lush plants and armored statues there. He ushered her down a winding corridor, and the smells of something savory drifted to her.
She stopped at the entrance to a huge kitchen with a sea of oak cupboards and gray granite tops. A small flatscreen was mounted in the corner near a window. The French doors were still open, and the familiar aromatic smell of thyme and other herbs wafted inside, adding to whatever was cooking.
A slender, attractive woman with honey-toned skin and a cap of choppily cut ebony hair leaned against the island counter talking to Hedori, a half-eaten carrot stick in her hand.
She glanced at them. Curious mismatched eyes met Shae’s. Wow, but her eyes—one a fiery amber and the other cool like an ice-covered lake—held an otherworldly glow, yet she appeared human. Not that Shae had met any immortal woman. But there was something ethereal about her.
“Shae, this is Echo,” Dagan introduced her. “Aethan’s mate. Echo, Shae Ion.”
Echo seemed startled that he’d spoken to her but she gave Shae a friendly smile. “Hiya, nice to meet you.”
“Thanks.” Not sure what else to say, Shae settled for the truth. “It seems I’m going to be staying here for a while. Someone took a shot at me with a spelled bullet.”
Echo’s face lost all color. Then, just as fast, she appeared to pull herself together. “You can’t be too careful. Those things are really dangerous. You’ll be safe here.”
Dagan spoke to Hedori and said something about showing her to a room—probably in the basement.
“I’ll do that,” Echo offered.
Dagan hesitated, then nodded before cutting Shae a sharp look as if to say behave.
If she hadn’t just been through such a harrowing experience, she might have smirked and said something to irritate him. But she recalled the care he’d taken with her afterwards, so she remained silent.
Still, she relished the way his eyes narrowed suspiciously and couldn’t resist shooting him an innocent glance as she followed Echo. Oh, yes, he’d wonder what she was up to, and that made her smile.
Chapter 5
“Did you pick up any impression of who could have put up the wards?” Dagan asked Hedori the moment the door shut behind the females.
Despite Shae’s mischievous look, which was probably to annoy him or maybe to cover up her shock at what she was capable of, worry took hold. This new ability of hers to teleport would be a problem if she didn’t learn how to lock down her power.
“No, but I’ll recognize it again, and it’s definitely not demon-borne.” Hedori scooped the sliced carrots into a bowl. “There’s always a distinct signature to the species it comes from.”
“Someone like us, then?”
A nod. “There’s more.” Anger seeped into the male’s usually passive features. “One of the bedrooms…so much anguish and despair in there.” His orange-green eyes blazed, which was rare in itself since the Empyrean was more laid back than the rest of them. “Female. And it’s not the girl.”
Dagan frowned. Shae had said her mother took off. What had happened?
The door opened, and Michael strode inside, along with Blaéz and Aethan, back from patrol. Týr followed moments later and dropped onto a chair, his expression tense as if he were riding the edge. Whatever.
“Is she the killer, then?” Blaéz asked, pulling out a chair and dropping down.
Killer? Dagan hesitated. Her slaying those demons earlier with a dagger didn’t mesh with the more dangerous M.O. of killing with the mind. “I don’t think so. But whether she’s psionic or not, I’m not sure. Echo would need to confirm that.”
Aethan dragged out a chair then stopped dead. “Where’s the female?”
“With your mate.”
Gunmetal gray eyes sparked a dangerous white. “Dammit, Dag, you let Echo be alone with a killer—a would-be psychic killer?” he snapped.
Damn pain-in-the-ass mated males. Shae wouldn’t hurt a fly. Hell, she was weighed down with guilt at ending those assholes from the Dark Realm.
“She’s no killer, Aethan,” Echo said, entering the kitchen. “She’s terrified of what’s happening to her.”
“You don’t know that for sure.” Aethan cut her a dark look, sat down and pulled her onto his lap. “Until then, keep away from her.”
Echo rolled her eyes at her mate’s order as Elytani, their newest Guardian recruit who was still on probation glided in. Despite her six-foot height, with her pale hair and delicate features, Dagan wasn’t convinced she could handle this life. But hell, Shae, a human, had just proven him wrong. However, unlike the other females here, Elytani appeared quieter, didn’t speak much.
Darci entered the kitchen behind her. Her unusual sunflower-hued eyes swept over them and settled on Blaéz. “You wanted me?”
“Always, a leannan.” He held out a hand. Frowning, she took it and lowered onto the seat beside him.
“Echo, will you be able to decipher what Shae is?” Michael asked. “Human with the usual abilities or…”
She shook her head and moved off Aethan’s lap to the chair next to him. “Her aura’s too faint for a proper reading. And she’s really scared. Her laptop short-circuited several months ago…” Echo repeated what Shae had told Dagan. “I don’t have to tell you how scary that is to someone who barely had any powers. When Aethan found me, even I wasn’t prepared for all this—” She waved her hand around them. “And what followed.”
Michael leaned his palms on the enormous table, his shattered blue irises sparking an eerie silver. “We have to know for sure, one way or the other, if she’s responsible for those deaths in the alley before anything else happens. And if she possesses any other abilities.”
“She can teleport, too,” Dagan said. “Several demons confronted us on the way back. They wanted her. She took them all out in seconds, and there were easily a dozen of them. I think it’s the first time the ability manifested…” Recalling her terror, his gut twisted. He couldn’t protect her from what she was. She had to learn to adapt, fast.
Michael frowned. “So she can also manipulate time?”
He had no idea—hell, he’d stood there in a dazed awe, watching her. “I don’t think so, but she’s really fast when her ability takes over. There’s more. Her apartment has the kind of protection wards only an immortal would use. No, it’s not demon.”
“You think it could be this kin of hers?” Blaéz asked, playing with Darci’s hair.
Dagan shrugged. “Doubtful. She senses Others, and she would have said something.”
“Maybe. But ask her anyway to be sure,” Aethan said, sliding his hand down Echo’s back as if needing the contact.
Dagan nodded and wondered if he’d ever want someone as much as these two warriors did their mates. They’d both been prepared to give up their lives for their women. Shae’s face flickered in his mind. No. He’d given up wanting things he could never have long ago. His path was a dark, deadly one, and a mate was the last thing he needed.
“BTW,” Týr said, tilting his chair back on two of its legs. “Been hearing whispers in the alleys about a man seeing the devil and a white light appearing and bodies disappearing. The cops are trawling the area now.”
“Damn, should have wiped the drunk’s memories,” Aethan muttered, glancing out the open French doors. “There’s still time to find him before the sun rises.” He pushed to his feet.
“One last thing…” Michael straightened, his eerie blues skimming over them. “Someone needs to shadow Shae and guide her into this life and what it means if she does turn out to be psi. As it stands, chances of her going back to her old life don’t look good.”
Dagan slid his hands into his pants pockets. No one stirred. The mated warriors wouldn’t. That only left… He met Týr’s impenetrable dark gaze.
“I have to get back to the penthouse. Need to check out a few things before morning.” Dagan stepped outside. Yet he didn’t move. The thought of her with another ignited a raging fire within him. He rubbed his stubbled jaw. Shit.
Without turning, he said, “I found her, I’ll do it.”
He dematerialized to The Tower, taking form in the backstreet. Crouching on the asphalt, he studied the rugged surface where the fight had occurred earlier, allowing the vibes to slide over his psyche.
Who the hell wanted Shae?
At the prickles cascading over him, he eased into the shadows, letting them conceal him. A familiar stench drifted to him, one he’d marked for killing not twelve hours earlier.
A hefty, dark-haired demon appeared in the alley, shoulders hunched, his gaze darting around the place. Then another, taller, blond male joined him. Dagan frowned. There was something vaguely familiar about the latter.
“What the hell happened?” he snapped, grabbing the demon by the throat. “A simple job, and you fuck up again?”
“She was with one of ‘em. The same one who took her last night.”
“You mean—”
The demon nodded. “He killed the first two minions, and she killed the rest. One minute, she was cowerin’ behind him, and the next, like a cyclone, she killed everyone. I sure wasn’t stickin’ around.”
Dagan sauntered over. Both turned. The tall, thin male instantly vanished, and the stockier one’s form wavered. Before he flashed, Dagan grabbed him and slammed him against the wall.
The demon wailed. “What the hell, man?”
“Talk. Why do you want the girl? And who’s the Fallen?”
“I-I ain’t speakin’, asshole.”
Obviously, a local demon. “We can do this the easy way, or the hard way.”
“Look, man, I was just mindin’ my own biz, and you come up and scare the shit outta me—”
Dagan smashed the demon’s face into the wall. Bones crunched, a screech of pain echoed. “You do realize I could kill you and none would care? This is the human world. Give me a name. Lie, and I’ll just take what I want from your mind. Trust me, if you want to live a normal life, then you don’t want me inside your head.”
He didn’t have Blaéz’s ability, but most of these fucks didn’t know which Guardians possessed said deadly power.
“You’re bluffing.”
“You’re right.” With his mind, Dagan pinned him to the building wall. The demon’s weapon hidden beneath his coat floated into the air. His eyes widened as the tip of the blade pierced his throat. “But I can kill you without touching you, or…I’ll make you kill yourself. Either way, you’ll die.”
“No-no,” a whimper tore free. He grabbed the hilt and tugged, trying to pull it out of his neck. “I can’t tell you, he’ll k-kill me.”
Dagan folded his arms over his chest and stared at the scourge who’d dared to shoot at Shae. At just the thought of her getting hurt, rage tore through him. He let the dagger plunge deeper. An agonized scream ricocheted in the backstreet.
“You took a shot at her last night.” Cold, brutally cold. “Was it on his order?”
“No. Not kill. Only wanted to retrieve her. He says she belongs to him,” the demon tripped out in a guttural moan. “He goes by Aza,” he sniffed. “I think there’s something going on with the Fallens.”
“What?”
“I don’t know. Now free me,” the demon whimpered.
“Sure.” Dagan let the blade slide out of the demon’s neck, then whipped it around and sliced clean across, decapitating the fucker. There were no second chances with him.
* * *
Dagan took form on the rec room terrace. Too close to the edge, an unexplained restlessness riding him, he headed for the basement, hoping a workout would settle him.
In the training arena, Týr was going through a furious, solo workout with a broadsword.
Dagan changed into black Gi pants and retrieved a katana from the stand. It didn’t matter that they never spoke, he needed a fight, and this one would be…cathartic to a degree.
He strode to the center. Týr slowed, eyes narrowing. No nod of acknowledgement. He stepped back, exchanged his broadsword for the other katana, and strolled to the middle of the mat.
Dagan lunged. Týr didn’t avoid him but met him head-on, their swords clanging, the sou
nd bouncing off the walls. Memories of another time took over...
Arid lands stretched out for miles, and impossible heat surrounded them in the Sumerian temple, now home to the Goddess of Life. Inara was barely eighteen and too young for this immense responsibility, but she was the chosen one.
The fierce sun beating down on him, Dagan swiped the sweat from his brow as he worked his way along the perimeter of the temple and the surrounding buildings. The lush new life that had sprung up in the temple yard didn’t escape his notice. It was because of Inara. She’d touched the dead plants on her arrival, and life had flowed back to the place.
Her caress gave life.
But she was too playful, didn’t want to be sequestered at so young an age—or accept her calling.
Needing to check on her, he headed back for the temple. In the foyer’s cooler interior, he scanned for her. “Inara?”
“In here.”
Dagan stepped into the living area. His jaw hardened at the sight of the soldier slouched on the couch sipping wine. The male jumped up, the pewter goblet flying to the floor in a dull clunk. “My pardon, sire—”
“You’re released from duty. Get out.”
As the soldier scuttled away, he cut his sister a narrow-eyed stare. “They are here to protect this temple and you. You are not to indulge in this frivolousness, Inara. You have your handmaidens for that.”
“You’re too serious, ahu.” She pouted. “Brother, I will die if I don’t have something else to do with my time other than focus on my duties. There’s no harm, they know this.”
He didn’t care. Her life was far too important. His sister needed to understand this. When he got back from patrolling the borders this evening, he would sit her down and explain the danger she put herself in with her playful ways.
“We will talk tonight.”
Laughing, she waved him off, her hazel eyes gleaming with mischief. “I cannot wait.”
With his gift of telepathy, it was easy for him to communicate with the other protectors. Dagan headed out and mind-connected with Týr, his second-in-command and the only male he trusted to be at the temple when he wasn’t around. I’m leaving to the borders.
Guardian Unraveled: Fallen Guardians Page 7
