by C. M. Owens
“Yes it is,” Devin murmurs, and I can see the frustration only building.
“At least you know you’ll be rewarded for your patience,” Hale murmurs with distaste.
“Or punished. It depends on how my Aphrodite feels at the moment,” I daringly add.
“Oh my goddess,” Kry exasperates with a heated tone.
Devin’s smirk becomes all the more menacing before slamming me into a shattering wall. We crash through it, and I feel a new wall behind me as his body presses against mine without offering a moment of retreat.
My legs grip around his waist when he lifts me, and I hear the sound of tearing fabric just before a child’s voice.
“Angel? I’m ready. Where are you?”
Devin groans and grumbles in complete agitation, and I giggle a little louder while he lowers me to the ground.
I fix my shirt, and I realize Devin’s had been the one tearing. He shakes his head again at the clawing seduction we just endured before the heavy ice dropping from her innocent voice doused the still vicious flames.
“I’ll go grab another shirt and our bags,” he huffs, and then he flashes from the room.
“You’re incorrigible,” Camara playfully scolds when I emerge from the room, and Hale is glaring at me in contempt.
“What happened to your blond?” I tease.
“I don’t stick around the same one for long. They tend to fall in love,” he grumbles. “Though right now I’m regretting sending her away.”
“Perhaps a water nymph could distract you,” I tease.
“Hell no. I’m not getting involved with anyone sticking around,” he chuckles. “Don’t you worry, I’ll get mine,” he crudely jokes, and my face actually blushes.
“Okie dokie. On that note, I think I’ll help Devin with the bags,” I joke.
“Oh hell no,” Kry gripes, and then he starts urging me toward the door.
“You two can’t be alone in a room for any amount of time without trying to burn it down to the ground. Devin can’t focus for two seconds around you,” he grouses, and I can’t help but chuckle.
“Can you blame me?” Devin smolders as he returns to the room with a bag over his shoulder.
Kry rolls his eyes in response, and Devin wraps his arm around my shoulders before Nadia comes over to take my hand.
Nina walks up with her arms crossed in front of her, and she deliberately avoids looking at the two of us. Gloria kneels in front of her daughter, and then she strokes her cheek affectionately before kissing her forehead.
“I’ll get you as soon as I can,” she promises, and Nadia drops my hand to hug her mother’s neck.
She rejoins me at my side, and I scoop her up to flash down the fire escape. We disappear into the waiting SUV, and Kry takes over the driver’s seat.
Nadia rests her head in my lap, and Devin’s arm snakes across my shoulders to pull me to him. I only hope Jace’s friend will be up for taking care of a small mortal girl.
Chapter 10
Confusing Threats
The lush green grass competes for attention with the adjacent moss carpeting the rocks that rest beside the trickling creek singing beside us. Nadia’s hand holds mine as we walk down the trail a car couldn’t attempt.
The long flight has taken us to the heart of forest inside Wisconsin. The cooler air that doesn’t affect me like it does when it strikes the summer dressed girl clinging to my hand, and she shivers in response.
I pull her bag from Devin’s shoulder, and I find a jacket inside. She’s grateful for the warmth it provides, and now her legs are the only limbs dealing with the chill bumps.
“We’ll change your clothes when we get inside,” I comfort, and she grips my hand a little tighter.
I feel something odd striking me in the gut as though something’s warning me to stop. I smell danger intertwined with the dank air, but I don’t see anything.
“What is it?” Devin whispers.
“Something is wrong,” I answer while my eyes scour the landscape.
“What?” Jace prompts.
“I don’t know. Get Nadia,” I murmur, and Camara takes her in her arms as wolves under her control emerge to encircle them protectively.
“See if you can get eyes on the house,” I say when her animal friends give me an idea.
She nods, and a hawk screeches as it swoops down and takes lead. It glides down the trail until it disappears, and Camara’s light blue eyes shine to show her power at work.
“It’s quiet… too quiet. The house smells foul, and-” she stops short, and the hawk screeches loudly as it retreats. “We’ve got trouble. Hellhounds and harpies together,” she panics.
“Together? They hate each other,” Jace gasps.
“Keep Nadia safe,” I command, and Camara rushes away with Nadia firmly strapped to her waist.
The wolves follow them, and Devin takes my hand in his while we await the inevitable fight. The fiery growls are getting closer, and the hissing, bright-haired bitches can be heard even clearer.
“I hope that creek is all you need,” Jace mutters to Devin.
“It will be,” Devin menaces, and the water lifts up to threaten the unseen stalkers.
The hellhounds emerge first despite the growls that had sounded more distant and lightning crashes to the ground in front of them as I part the skies.
A girl with pink hair flips toward us, and her hissing threatens us while her claws emerge from her hands.
Jace strikes the hounds over and over, and Devin begins his watery attack. Orange and green hair flash toward me, and I slip between the charging beauties and their deadly intent.
Devin grabs them up, but my mouth almost drops to the ground when I see the hoards of them showing up now. There’s so many… too many.
Why did I block my damn powers?
“Damn it. This is a fucking ambush,” Jace yells, and Deacon is charging them with his conducting staff flinging his attacks.
Kry slices through the hounds, but their skin regenerates quicker than he can slice again. We’re outnumbered, and Devin’s tangled up with too many at once.
I feel my power stirring as the protective instinct kicks into overdrive, and something springs free as I stalk toward the mass of killers.
Yelping whimpers emerge from the trembling mutts dripping fire from their mouths, and screams take the place of the hissing predator bitches as they drop to their knees.
Devin seizes the opportunity to wrap them up in the water while they’re crumbled to the ground and writing in an unexplainable pain. I’ve taken down an army, and I don’t even know how.
Jace flings free the electrical bounds from his body, and the hounds squeal out their pain before ashing into the air. Devin grabs my hand just as the battle is brought to a screeching end, and we all flash to the vehicles.
“What the hell?” Kry growls as soon as we jump in, and I motion for him to lower his voice when Nadia whimpers.
“You want to watch a movie?” I ask softly while grabbing the noise-cancelling headphones.
She nods, and Ther sets up the movie while I cover her ears. She instantly starts smiling as a cartoon plays from the DVD provided by her mother.
“They obviously found out where we were going,” I say to answer.
“Yeah, I figured that part out. I’m talking about this crazy ass power you keep dispelling. You just brought them all to the ground, Adisia. What is it?” he urges.
“You expect me to know?” I mumble in bewilderment.
“I’ll call Persia,” Jace growls.
Devin pulls me to his chest, and a dizzy spell sinks in. I grip his leg as the light bounces around the circling shadows, and Devin’s anxiety materializes as it rolls over his skin.
“Adisia? Baby, are you okay?” he murmurs.
“Just dizzy,” I murmur with a bit of breathlessness.
“Voicemail. They must be moving Adisia’s family,” Jace gripes.
“Find out where they’re going. We’ll take Nadia ther
e,” Devin counters.
“I’ll try Theia,” Jace sighs, and then I feel his hand on my shoulder to help steady me from the other side.
Camara scratching at her ears like a flea infested mutt is the first thing I see when the dizzy spell finally passes. She’s still linked to the wolves apparently.
I assume she’s keeping an eye on our tails to make sure we didn’t miss any of them. I almost laugh, and then curiosity interrupts the humor.
“You can’t see them?” I ask Devin.
“I asked Mom and Persia to block me from your parents. I didn’t want to risk there being a lingering trace of Pyrrha left in me,” he murmurs warily. “Now I think I was right to take precautions. There’s no way the hellhounds and harpies would have known where to look for us. I need to separate from everyone. It’s possible she’s still attached,” he mutters, and guilt is striping his face.
“I’m going with you,” I quickly insert.
“No. Adisia, it’s not safe,” he counters, and I slide into his lap to force my eyes to burn into his.
“I’m never leaving your side again,” I assert, and my eyes tell him I’m not taking no for an answer.
“Adisia, I-”
He’s interrupted when Camara rips Jace’s phone from his hand and snaps it into while still clawing at her ears.
“What the hell?” Jace exclaims.
“It’s not you, Devin,” she barks. “It’s bugs. Our phones have bugs,” she growls.
“Who the hell could have bugged our phones without our knowledge?” I question.
“Not electronic bugs,” Camara hisses, and a small brown beetle emerges from another broken section of the phone once she cracks it open again. “Real bugs.”
I screech as she crushes the crawler in her hand, and Devin’s eyes gape wide.
“Dextro beetles?” he gasps.
“Those have been extinct for centuries,” Jace adds with the same shock.
“It has to be the witch,” Kry interjects. “How the hell did she bring back an ancient, dead bug, and why?”
“She wants to keep an eye on us, and these bloodsuckers do just that. They link to a host and send them Intel like six-legged spies. We all need to keep quiet until they’re gone.”
Devin pulls out his phone, and despite Camara’s demand, he makes a call to Theia.
“Devin, son, we’re busy right now. We’re taking Adisia’s parents to-”
“Don’t tell me,” he huskily interrupts. “Dextro beetles have been planted in our phones. I don’t know when so toss yours too. Break them open first and see if you can find the damn bugs so we know for certain. Unblock me so I can find you,” he continues.
“Oh my gosh. Dextro beetles?” she gasps.
“Just do it,” he prompts, and then he dials someone else.
“Devin, I was hoping you would call. I wanted to talk to you about the whole shadow of doubt deal. I need to know how much of it was you, and how much of it was the witch.”
I get sick when I hear Nina’s voice, and my heart flutters as I await his answer in silence. Everyone else seems so relaxed compared to my rigid posture.
“It was all the witch, Nina,” Devin curtly answers.
“She’s there, isn’t she?” she grumbles.
“If you’re referring to my wife, of course she’s here, but that’s not why I’m saying that. It was never me, not even for a second,” he reports, and I hear her sigh.
Why did he call her?
“Devin, we can talk about this later. It’s obvious you called me for another reason since she’s sitting beside you, so what is it?”
“We won’t talk about this ever. That’s all I have to say on the subject. I’m calling because we have a beetle infestation of the dextro variety. Break open your phones, and kill the beetles. Then get the hell out of the house. Don’t take anything they could be dwelling in, and find a safe place to lay low until I come find you,” he instructs.
“Holy shit. How in the hell-”
“We shouldn’t be discussing it now. Just do as I said. I’ll find you later when we’re done,” he snaps.
“Okay, I’ll see-”
She’s cut short when Devin snaps his phone in half, and then the bronze beetle emerges to try and escape.
Devin smashes the bug, and then he grabs my phone to repeat the action. The sound of cracking phones rattles across the vehicle, and Hale’s beetle jumps to my lap before he can squash it.
I screech uneasily as it scammers across my leg, and Jace swats it before it disappears up my shorts.
“Damn it. I hate bugs,” I gripe as the crawling sensation sends disgusting chills up and down me.
“Is that all of them?” Devin inquires.
“That’s all the phones, but who knows if it’s all the beetles. They can hide in almost anything. We need to leave everything behind and then set the damn car on fire,” Hale grumbles.
“The jet is just ahead. Camara, you can hear them, right?” Devin inquires.
“Yeah. They drive me crazy. I hated the entire three centuries they lived in masses. Just consider me a bug sweeper for the time being,” she scoffs.
“Do you hear anything right now?” Deacon questions.
“They most likely infected our phones back in Miami. I started hearing it very dully there because I wasn’t linked to an animal. The moment I hooked up with the wolves it worsened. It gradually became unbearable during the attack, and Jace’s phone right in my face made it all the more obvious. They had to have crawled on us somewhere between the house and the plane,” she gripes.
“Gross. Bugs were on us?” I shiver out in disgust, and now my skin feels to be crawling even more.
“That’s the least of our concerns. Why would hellhounds and harpies team up?” Jace asks with a flustered tone.
“It has to be related to Pyrrha. Though the reasoning is beyond me,” Devin grumbles, and he pulls me closer to him.
“I love you,” I murmur while my lips graze his neck.
“I love you, baby,” he murmurs back softly, and then Kry groans a little when he worries about our close proximity.
Devin chuckles lightly, and the car behind us grows closer as our second team catches up.
“Pull over. We should have called them before smashing our phones,” Jace murmurs.
Camara hops out to inspect the crew, and Jace follows her. I see Faith wrapping her arms around him when they explain the battle we just stumbled into, and then Gemma rushes over to our car.
“Ther, I’ve been worried to death. What the hell?” she scolds, and tears start to stream down her cheeks.
“I’m sorry,” he says bemused. “I didn’t think about you being worried,” he answers innocently.
He climbs out and pulls her into his arms to comfort her. His lips graze hers, and I look away before it gets too heavy.
Ambora walks over to our car, and Hale leaps over the seat to greet her.
“We saw the destroyed remains of our destination, and there was some panic among the others,” she says with a bit of a rattle.
“Were you worried about me?” Hale seduces, and she blushes in response.
“Someone can take my spot, I’m going to ride with Gemma the rest of the way,” Ther says gently while stroking the hair of his scattered girl.
I never thought it possible for her to care so much about him, and Ambora climbs in to be our new passenger in the oversized SUV.
Nadia is completely tuned out as she stares at the cartoon, and Devin smiles a little at her intense focus.
“I’m going to ride the rest of the way with Faith,” Jace announces. “I wasn’t thinking about them all getting so worked up,” he murmurs lightly, and I cast him a smile.
He rolls his eyes and then disappears into the second car. Deacon stretches out in the very back now that it’s not so cramped, and Camara crawls in to be beside him.
Hale invites Ambora to join him, and then Ember climbs into the front passenger seat beside Kry. He tenses slightly
, and I lean over to whisper to Devin.
“I think Kry might be a little uncomfortable.”
He smirks a little and keeps the low conversation out of reach from anyone else’s immortal ears.
“Furies have always been beautiful but viciously dangerous. Until now, no one’s ever had the chance to enjoy the company of one. As you can see, it’s having a bit of an effect on the boys,” he chuckles out.
“And you?” I question suspiciously.
“Not in the least. I happened to be married to the most seductive, beautiful, and spellbinding woman in the world. It’s impossible for any woman to distract a man’s attention from you,” he smolders.
“Unless you’re a witch with a spell,” I retort to myself, but his saddened face brings me guilt when I see he overheard it.
“Adisia, I’m sorry,” he sighs.
“It wasn’t you, Devin. I shouldn’t have said that,” I murmur apologetically.
He wraps his arms around me tighter, and we finally head back out onto the road.
I lean into his warm embrace, and then I smile when Nadia rests her head against us. Devin lets a smirk escape, and he rests one arm around her.
She’s one of the few women I’ll share his touch with.
“This is ridiculous,” Theia blares. “Harpies, hellhounds, and dextro beetles.”
Oh my. I giggle a little at my silent joke to her ranting panic, but she doesn’t notice.
“I’m glad the beetles weren’t in your phones as well,” Devin murmurs.
“That’s not very much peace of mind,” Persia sighs.
This is getting old, and I’m bored with the whole conversation. I’ve grown weary of the back and forth strategizing and the gasping realities.
“We can talk about this later,” I interrupt. “Right now I need to go speak to my family. I’m sure they’re wondering why all the men around them have gone crazy,” I sigh.
I stomp off toward the house, leaving the crowd of immortals behind me. I’m so sick of all the impossibilities being possibly.
