Iris's Guardian

by Lisa Daniels

  Bree had taken care of all but four of the men when time resumed itself. It would be a while before she could use it again, but there was little need to be concerned. Holding out her hands, two swords seemed to materialize out of the air. Moving with less skill than Annora, she sliced through two of the men before they even realized she was armed. The remaining two circled her.

  The one who appeared to be the leader leered at her, “A little witch traveling like a medic. Afraid that people won’t be hospitable if they knew what you are?”

  Bree released the swords and they disappeared back into the air, “Shifter, I know you are there.”

  “I’m talking to you bitch!” The man lunged at her, Bree held a hand up at him as if he were a naughty child, and the man froze. A pain in her side reminded the woman that there as another man still alive. Looking down she watched as the man pulled a dagger out of her side. The man she had been holding, fell to the ground and rose with his weapon at the ready. Bree looked at him with a curious expression as she heard a sickening sound behind her. It was the sound of metal tearing into flesh. Though she didn’t see what happened, Bree did watch the look on the man’s face in front of her. His eyes went wide in astonishment, then a strange metallic weapon seemed to sprout out of his head. He crumpled in front of her.

  Bree’s head turned toward the forest. Standing there with his arms folded across his chest was the man who had kept her from falling just outside of the Palace Paradise. His arms bulged under the clothing he wore, and she found that their positioning drew her eyes to scan his entire form. Last time she had gotten a good look at his face, this time, her eyes wanted to drink in the rest of him. He was tall, probably about half a foot taller than her. It looked like he spent most of his days working out. Then again, most young shifters did. It was only with great reserve that Bree had been able to keep herself from taking most of the shifters she encountered to more private quarters. They were truly beautiful creatures, much more so than humans.

  His face was unreadable as he spoke, “Why should I come out? I’m not with them.”

  Chapter 3

  A Painful Reminder

  Bree’s heart skipped a beat as she looked at him, “I can see that.” She staggered before she remembered about being stabbed. The man continued to stand there, his expression unchanging. Bree put a hand on her side and muttered a few words. The blood stopped flowing and the skin repaired itself. A couple of seconds later, Bree was tapping the place where the wound had been. “That’s going to leave a mark.”

  “I’m sure you will be alright,” the man was moving forward. Bree’s eyes turned to look at him, her heart racing in a way that was unhealthy after all of the magic she had just used, not to mention the serious injury that had just healed. “Well, you have me out here, but you will have to forgive me for not wanting to fight.”

  Bree finally remembered herself. Allowing her smile to spread across her face, she looked up at the man, “Afraid you might lose?” Her eyes danced with the possibility of the challenge.

  The man looked down at her, “Not particularly.” His eyes took in her face, but he was not looking at the rest of her Bree realized with a hint of disappointment.

  “So you’ve taken on someone like me before?” She was able to hide her disappointment with her usual flirtatious approach to dealing with men.

  He snorted, “Hardly. I’ve never encountered a sorcerer or sorceress before. I thought they had died out a long time ago. Something about forbidding them or something.”

  Bree laughed, “Yes, the old ones did die off, but you know how creatures are, can’t help but see what fresh horrors they can make after enough time has passed. The folly of believing that they know better.”

  “That’s a human condition, not a humanoid one.” He looked down her with no emotion.

  With a sigh, Bree conceded his point, “Yes, I suppose I have been spending so much time with humans that I forget that it’s really only them.” A line creased her brow, “It appears you don’t exactly avoid them either. That’s not exactly normal for shifters. And you aren’t the first one I’ve encountered in the last couple of days.”

  The man opened his mouth to respond, but closed it, “What kind of shifter did you encounter?”

  Bree shrugged, “He didn’t say. Or it’s more like,” she paused and looked thoughtfully at the man, “he refused to say. Not that I expected him to say. He was traveling with a second gen Pixie though. Are you tracking him?”

  The man looked at her, the skepticism very obvious, “You couldn’t tell? You.” He cleared his throat, “I would think that a sorceress would be able to tell without trying.”

  Bree scoffed, “Wow, such a high opinion of my kind based on no experience with us.”

  The man walked around her a little, his eyes on her face, “It’s not an opinion. It’s the little information that I have on those with immense magical power. Your kind nearly ended the world on five separate occasions before being exiled and then condemned to extinction.”

  Bree shrugged, “It’s probably the human in us that keeps us from fulling doing the right thing.” A knowing smile played on her lips.

  The man studied her, “You still haven’t told me why you didn’t know what kind of shifter he was.”

  “And you still haven’t told me if you are tracking him or not. I believe my question was first.”

  The man looked away for a moment and sighed, “I’m not looking for him.”

  “Ahh, you know someone who is though.”

  His startling reddish eyes trained back on her face, “So you honestly couldn’t tell?”

  Bree bit her lip, “I could. But I don’t like to barge in on people’s thoughts like that.” A seductive smile bloomed on her face, “I had already interrupted him and his companion working on making another baby.”

  If not for the blush on the man’s face there would have been no way to tell that he registered what she meant. “That must have been rather embarrassing.”

  Bree chuckled, “It wasn’t anything I hadn’t seen many times before.”

  The man gave his head a very small shake, “I wasn’t talking about for you.”

  Bree gasped, then narrowed her eyes as a sly grin replaced her smile, “Oh, you really don’t like me, do you?”

  The man moved his eyebrows in a way that indicated that he was indifferent. “I don’t know you and have no intention of getting to know you. I am merely being polite and talking as you had asked me to.”

  “If that is the case, don’t let me detain you. I just thought you were part of that group and would have preferred something a little more challenging.” She kicked one of the corpses around her.

  With a bow, the man turned to leave.

  Bree was shocked, “That’s it?”

  The man stopped and turned to look at her, “You said ‘don’t let me detain you’ and I am taking you at your word.”

  Bree clucked her tongue, “If you will only stay to talk because you are scared of me…” her voice trailed off.

  He turned to face her, then he walked toward her, “I am not afraid of you. I just understand enough to know that fighting you is a stupid mistake and I have more pressing things to deal with than a meaningless challenge.”

  Bree pouted as she looked at him, “I’m alright with not fighting, but couldn’t I thank you for your assistance?”

  “It is unnecessary. You needed my intervention like I need a little house with a white picket fence.”

  Bree’s laugh was melodic and beautiful as it echoed off of the rock behind them. She walked toward him, her hand extended, “I’m Bree.”

  The man looked down at her hand, then up at her face. Without extending his own hand, he responded, “Calixto.”

  “Will you not shake hands?”

  “The weapons I’m hiding will not be found by feeling my hands, nor will yours, so it seems pointless.”

  “You do realize that it has evolved into a form of politeness, don’t you?” She gave
him a pointed look.

  “Yes, human civility. I have seen enough of that. I have no desire to adapt any of it.”

  “Speaking from personal experience?”

  The man paused to look at the sky. When his eyes turned back to her, there was a sad expression in them, “What did the shifter you encountered look like? Did he have any tattoos or markings?”

  Bree furrowed her brow, “He was just a little taller than me, at least I think he was. We didn’t exactly look at each other from equal footing.” She emphasized the last word and her heart skipped as the blush emerged on the man’s face again, “He was sinewy. There was no bulk to his muscles, but his entire frame was covered in…he was muscular.” She frowned and looked away, “He did have a tattoo.” She patted her upper arm, “Right here.” Her eyes looked into the man’s, “It was a very elegant looking dragon. Does that mean something?” She added the question when Calixto leaned back and sighed.

  “And you said that he had impregnated the pixie who was with him?”

  “She wasn’t full blooded, more human than pixie. I can’t imagine what the child will be like with so much mixed blood.”

  The man gave her a wry look, “You are one to talk.”

  Bree looked at him for a minute, then burst out laughing, “I know, right? I’m the epitome of living mutts.” She brought the subject back to where she wanted it. “So, you know someone looking for him?” She didn’t need his response to know that was right.

  “He’s not part of my clan, but I know the clan head looking for him. They are so close, but I seriously doubt that Elian and his people will even realize it.” Calixto shrugged, “Not my business though.”

  “Has he run away from his people?” Bree felt apprehensive as she remembered her discussion with Phelan. “From the way he talked, I thought Phelan was on a mission for them.”

  Calixto muttered, “This is none of my business.” A warning look in Bree’s eyes forced another sigh out of him. “I think he is probably trying to atone because he was exiled after something humans did to a woman in his charge. They nearly killed Phelan but-You know what, you go back and talk to him. I have my own problems without getting dragged further into this. The Fiend has been sent up this way to deal with the problem that resulted from that attack, and I have no desire to run into him. I am going to finish my task and return home.”

  Bree stepped closer to him “Calixto,” her eyes looked into his, “is there anything I can do to help?” She placed a hand on his arm.

  He looked down at it, a look of shock on his face. His eyes moved up and met hers, and Bree thought she saw fear behind them. Quickly, he stepped away from her. “What could a sorceress do?”

  “A lot.”

  He frowned at her, “We deal with our own.”

  Bree tilted her head to the side and looked at the man. She wanted him so badly she could not let him slip away. “Sometimes the best thing I can offer is a break from whatever bothers you.”

  The man looked at her, “I am the head of my clan. There will be plenty of time to break when I retire or die.” His face was serious, but there was curiosity in his eyes.

  Bree smiled and reached a hand up to his face. Her smile faded as she looked at Calixto, “I’m afraid.”

  Calixto forgot to shake her hand off as he looked at her in shock, “What could you possibly fear?”

  Bree shook her head, “I don’t want to be alone forever. Even my friends are always at arms length.”

  Calixto looked down at her, and it was clear that he knew exactly what she meant. “It’s lonely being so powerful.”

  Bree nodded and looked toward the forest. She knew exactly what she needed to do to get what she wanted, it was completely instinctive to her, but in this case it required that she opened up in a way that she hadn’t done since it had just been her and Annora. It scared her, but her instincts would not let her stop. Her mind was laughing at the entire situation. The man in front of her appeared to be solid cold, all business, but she was telling him the worst secrets about herself. How was that going to go well?

  Without any warning, she felt warm arms wrap around her. Leaning forward, Bree rested her face against Calixto’s chest and pressed into him. “This isn’t the life I want to live. I don’t want to live this way.” To her surprise, the young woman found she was choking back tears. Not the kind that she used to fool humans, but the honest kind that she hadn’t tasted since she was ten years old.

  A warm hand rubbed her back as a soothing voice murmured over her head, “It will be ok. We all have things we must do, but we must trust that someday it will make us happy. It may not be the lives we want to live, but life isn’t about us.”

  Bree wrapped her arms around his back and cried silently. A few moments later, he pulled back a little and brought a hand under her chin. Forcing her to look at him, Calixto gave her a faint smile, “You will be fine. If this is not the life you want to live, but it is the life you need to live to feel whole, then you are on the right path.”

  Bree had no response to that. Was it a path that was going to make her feel that she had always tried to do the right thing?

  A voice floated through her mind. Someday you are going to quit acting like you are ok with all of this. I really hope you find your peace and finally have a chance to stop running away.

  Was that what she was doing? Had Brandon been right? Suddenly all of her work looked like a silly child’s game. When she had started spying, Bree had been happy. She got to travel anywhere she wanted, meet new and interesting people, and experience things she had never dreamed about. But that was not true anymore. The work was no longer as much fun as it had been. There had been too much betrayal and horror to what she had witnessed. It had been a fun game, but now it just seemed …sad. Bree had always tried to be on the right side, but too often there was no right side in the end.

  Her mind was racing as Calixto looked down at her. He looked like he was about to say something, when he leaned forward and kissed her. Bree’s mind went blank at the unexpected turn of events. She had started this, but her mind had been twisted and turned in on itself so that she forgot all about wanting Calixto. But now that he was kissing her, Bree didn’t care about anything else. Her hands closed around his shirt as she gently pressed into him.

  Calixto pulled away at the sensation, “I’m sorry.” His eyes looked frightened as he stared down at her.

  Bree shook her head, “It’s alright. I’m not angry.”

  His arms began to release her.

  “Please don’t let go of me.” Bree’s voice was barely above a whisper as she buried her face in his chest and her hands balled into fists on either side of her face, “Please.”

  His arms circled around her again, and after a slight hesitation, Calixto rested his head on the top of hers. “Do you want to be mine?” His voice was warm and gentle.

  Bree nodded her head, then placed her forehead on his chest in a submissive gesture. “Thank you Calixto.” Bree leaned into him not even wanting any more than what he was offering her at that moment. Her heart was racing and she had no idea what would happen if things progressed any further. It had been so long since she had last felt anything like love. Lust was easy, but this feeling was so much harder. It made her feel vulnerable and scared. And alive.

  She pulled away and looked up at him, a slight smile on her face and a tear rolling down her cheek. The man’s hand reached up and brushed the tear away, but instead of taking his hand away it went around her head. Without any warning, he was kissing her again.

  Bree’s body reacted immediately to the familiar question his body asked. Pushing into him, she let Calixto know that he was not in the wrong. His movements were quick and fluid as he scooped her up and carried her toward the woods.

  They stopped kissing long enough for her to breathe, “The cave.”

  He stopped walking, but his lips were too preoccupied to ask any questions. Bree pulled back a little as he remained standing on the spot, as if uncer
tain that she had meant what she said. “It’s fine. There’s a nice little fire and bedding in there.”

  Calixto immediately headed toward the cave, his hands working to undo her dress. Once inside, he placed her on the ground and the dress slipped off. Bree stepped out of the dress and flicked her hand at the bedding. She turned her face back to his as she said, “No vermin in the beds n-”

  Calixto had grabbed her roughly, pulling her against him, his hands running down her back. Bree gasped at how animalistic he was behaving after all of his restraint. Her hand worked quickly to undo his clothing because she did not feel certain that she could control her magic enough to do it the easy way. The young woman’s emotions were out of control as her body pushed Calixto down. He looked up at her as Bree straddled him. One of his hands moved up her back and pulled her down to him. His other hand cupped her breast moments before he hungrily began to suck on her nipple. Bree moaned and pushed her hips into his. Her hand reached around and rubbed against his upper thigh. She felt him tense as her hand ran between his thighs and began to stroke him. Calixto leaned his head back and moved his hips up into hers. Bree adjusted her body, gently pulsing in response to the rhythm he had set. Slowly, she slid her body down so that she could feel his head pressing against her. Bree had never been so excited before, and when she pressed herself over him, she was surprised at just how easily he slid into her. Her body tensed and she desperately wanted more. She began to slide down when a strong set of hands wrapped down her back and cupped around her upper thighs, preventing her from moving too quickly. Calixto looked at her as he gently pulled a little, further spreading her legs. Bree moaned as he took control from the floor. He slowly worked himself into her so that by the time he had fully penetrated her Bree was ready to climax.