by Lisa Daniels
“I asked you if you wanted to be mine. Not only did you say yes, you thanked me for it. How was that not agreeing to be my mate?” His red eyes flashed like fire.
“What kind of backward creature takes that as a vow to be someone’s spouse?”
“You aren’t my spouse. You are my mate. And the fact that we mated after you agreed showed that you accepted it.”
Bree was about to take a step back, to turn and run away from him.
I really hope you find your peace and finally have a chance to stop running away.
Brandon’s words rang in her mind, and Bree decided to stand her ground. If she was going to find peace, she needed to stop running. She always played things off like she was ok, that nothing bothered her, but things did bother her, and she was not ok. Her behavior had been getting increasingly more dangerous, not just for her, but for everyone. Bree was bored, and she had no idea how to deal with it.
And now that she realized that, the young woman was starting to feel afraid.
None of this showed in her response, “Get rid of your mark.”
“I can’t.” The man’s perfect face was emotionless now.
“Are you so incompetent that you don’t know how.”
His nostrils flared for a moment before he responded, “I am not incompetent.”
“Are you being vindictive? Is this your way of getting back at me for leaving you?”
He blinked once, as if her question was ridiculous. His answer was slow as he said, “If I had known you were going to leave me the next morning, do you think that I would have mated with you at all?”
The question was like a punch to the gut. Bree was accustomed to men wanting to sleep with her. Even the ones who claimed they didn’t want to had always taken her in the end. The idea that anyone would actually refuse her seemed impossible.
Then she remembered her conversation with Leo. These were a different kind of shifter, the kind who did not take sex lightly.
“What kind of creatures are you that you fight the urge to mate?”
His cold look showed Calixto’s regret very clearly, “We do not resist the urge to mate. We are very picky about the kind of person we will allow to see us be so vulnerable.”
Again, Bree’s thoughts were knocked off kilter.
Calixto continued, “We are picky because we want to do what is best for ourselves and the world we live in. Desperate creatures with miniscule life spans are the only kind that mate with anything that moves. I had not realized that you associated with them so closely.”
Bree sneered at him, “So you regret it as much as I do. All you have to do is remove your mark, and we both stand a chance at being happy.”
He snorted at the idea but said nothing.
Telling herself that she was not running away, Bree turned and stormed off into the forest. A few moments later, she heard Calixto following her. She spun around and snarled at him, “Stop following me like some love sick little puppy.”
His only response was to watch her with disdain.
The woman raised her hand, a fireball at the ready, “I am warning you, shifter, I have just about-”
The ground erupted around her and the air became thick with debris and larvae. Bree extinguished the fire ball and immediately put up a shield around herself. From where she stood, the young woman could see Calixto trying to cover his face. The problem was that these larvae were a unique kind of parasite. If he inhaled even one, it would kill him. Without thinking, Bree reached out a hand and wrapped the air around him, her field stretched along the extended hand and carefully enveloped the man. Having to stretch her shield so thin was going to make the rest tricky. She would need to move fast because all magic had a time limit, and the more it was used, the faster it would be used up. Her feet lifted off of the ground a few inches, and Bree pushed the air so that it shot her and Calixto through the mess that was still erupting into the air. Keeping them suspended over the ground, the young woman began to sweat as the effort took a large toll. Still she kept pressing them further from the forest and the danger.
It was only when they reached a river that she finally dropped them to the ground. She nearly fell over, but strong arms stopped her. She felt a the voice through Calixto’s chest, “We need to get washed off.” He picked her up and began to pull her clothing off.
Struggling against him, Bree protested, “Get your hands off of me.”
“Sure thing.” The next thing she knew, she was falling through the air. The gasp she made at the initial release was soon covered as she splashed into the water. The young woman rose from the water, her face red from the cold and her anger on the verge of being released.
She saw Calixto standing on the beach undressing himself. He turned a bit so that she could not see his front. With caution he walked backward into the water. Bree knew that it was a sign that he had no respect for her. He considered her so far beneath him that she wasn’t even a threat.
In that instant, she wanted to attack him. Her hands pulled forth a giant fist and she was about ready to slam it into him when she noticed him pitch forward into the water. It was the first symptom that came with the infection.
Her anger immediately disappeared as Bree raced forward. She pulled Calixto’s head above water and immediately began to give him mouth to mouth. The larvae should be attracted to her as a greater source of power, but it soon proved a much more difficult fight than she had expected. There were only a few instances of anyone being cured after being exposed, and they all proved that the larvae would detach from the host to seek out the stronger force. They would feed off of the power source until they were ready to change into devils. It was creepy and revolting. No matter how she felt about Calixto, Bree could not condemn him to the fate that came with this kind of infection.
Treading water, she continued to coax the larvae out through his mouth. At first it didn’t seem to work. Then she felt the wiggle of a tiny thing on her tongue. Quickly she pulled her mouth away from Calixto’s and she spat the thing out into the water. Her mouth went back to work as she created a small hand with the water that crushed the tiny creature.
She had no idea how long it took, but she managed to pull three of them out of his body. His breathing began to sound normal, and she finally allowed herself to relax. Gently, she held him in the water until he regained consciousness.
She did not see when his eyes opened as Bree kept Calixto’s head tilted away from her. His head quickly snapped up and he move away from her like she was a serpent.
“You’re welcome,” she said and swam away. “Go get dressed and then get lost.”
There was a loud sigh before he said exactly what she expected, “I can’t.”
“Then you accept that you are probably going to die with me because the demons are not going to stop trying to kill me?” She wanted to turn and look at him, but found that it was nearly impossible to look the man in the eye. It was her fault that he had nearly died, without any warning. The first time was her fault. With this warning, she was absolving herself from whatever happened if he refused to leave her.
"You can insist all you want, but I cannot just leave your side.”
“Fine. When you die, it’s on your head.” She began to swim to the opposite bank when his low voice reached her.
“Yes, it will be.”
She paused for a moment to ponder his words. Either he was too stubborn and was willing to accept death as the price. Or he actually cared about her and wasn’t willing to let her go it alone. The mere thought that he actually cared caused her to laugh.
She could hear him walking out of the water on the other side as she reached the bank. The young woman walked a short distance and dried her clothes with a simple spell that would not attract much attention. A quick smile flashed over her face as she marveled at how well made the dress was to have survived everything it had experienced in the last hour. “I really owe you Isaac.”
A sudden gust of air gave her a momentary chill, but it
stopped nearly as quickly as it had started.
Calixto appeared beside her, “Do you really think you will survive this to be able to repay anyone?”
Bree was immediately on the defensive, “I’m not the one who failed to cover my face when the larvae spewed out of the ground.
“I’m not the one with boundless knowledge about what to be wary of when dealing with something beyond my control.”
Bree glared at the man’s cold face. “Despite being a complete bastard, you are welcome.”
She was trying to walk away from him when his hand shot out and grabbed her wrist. It forced her to turn and look at him. “I am not a bastard like you. Like all of my kind, my birth was planned. But thank you for saving my life.” His voice changed ever so slightly as he expressed his gratitude.
“Are you quite done?” She allowed her anger to simmer under the surface.
Calixto looked into her eyes and nodded.
“Good, because that was hardly a significant attack. It won’t take them long to come up with the next one. If possible, I would like to reach a temporary haven before they prepare whatever they plan to do next.”
“And you know of one near here?” The man’s voice was emotionless as she asked.
“It isn’t too far.”
“If we flew, it would reduce the amount of time, nearly assuring us that we would reach it in safety.”
Bree rolled her eyes, “I’m a sorceress, not a fairy. I can’t fly.”
“But you just did.”
“That was basic levitation, not flying. It only works over very short distances. It would not get us a quarter of the way there, even if I had my full power at this moment, which I do not. And right now, the use of any magic is a really bad idea. The demons will be able to pinpoint us long before we could reach the haven.”
“So we must get there by foot, without magic. Oh, this is going to be fun.” His voice oozed sarcasm.
“No one is forcing you to stay with me, sugar lips.” Bree didn’t even look at the man when he stopped.
“I doubt there is another creature alive who would consider calling me that.”
“I’m glad you approve,” Bree replied without looking over her shoulder.
She paused as the man openly laughed. “Are you insane?” Her voice was raised, “We have got to get moving. There is no time to stand around laughing.”
He gave her a meaningful grin, “No one is forcing you to stop, my dear.”
Bree gave a derisive snort as she tried to dismiss his retort. “You are the height of wisdom and wit.”
“And you are the epitome of wild and reckless.”
“I have a friend you should meet if you think that is true.”
“Do you mean Leonides?” Calixto’s voice was chilly as he asked.
Bree could see the look he was giving her out of the corner of his eye. It looked like he was jealous. A small smile played on her lips for a moment until he spoke again.
“I really like Leonides. He’s every bit the kind of man I wish I could be. Any woman would be lucky to have him.”
“I must agree with that.” Bree thought about her time with the man, but found that she couldn’t quite remember what he looked like. She frowned as she tried to remember his masculine features. Every time she tried to remember what he looked like, Calixto’s face appeared. It was the first time that Bree realized she had spent more time memorizing the face of the man beside her than she had ever spent studying anyone. Her heart clenched at the realization.
“Unfortunately, you are not his type, so even if you didn’t have my mark, you wouldn’t have stood a chance with him.” Calixto continued after a pause.
“What makes you say that?”
“He is the most cold and calculating person I have ever met. Mercy and kindness never affect his decision. It is always about what is best for everyone. Elian is the only man I know who is able to temper that side of Leonides.”
“And why are you telling me this?” Bree tried to make her voice sound disinterested and dispassionate.
“So that you don’t regret that you cannot be with him.”
“There was never a risk of that. I’m not the kind of person who ever wanted to end up being with just one person.”
Calixto fell silent at her words. He stopped walking as they reached the edge of the wood.
“The haven is on the other side of the mountains over there.” To her surprise, the man said nothing. Bree had no desire to look at him, so as soon as she pointed out where they were heading, she began walking. The sound of his footsteps just behind her was the only indication that he was still following her.
Chapter 8
A Sorceresses Fear
They walked across the field without saying a word. Bree was trying unsuccessfully to think of ways to deal with the demons that wouldn’t involve having to go into their lair. Now that they considered her a failure, there was no chance they would let her leave in one piece. No matter how hard she tried though, the red head’s attention kept going back to the man now walking just a little ways behind her. He was no longer trying to converse with her, and the fact that he would no longer walk beside her made the young woman feel ill at ease. While she had no idea what to say to him, or even what had made him fall in step behind her, Bree did not like the idea that he could be upset with her. Of course, it seemed preposterous. The man seemed to have no emotions.
That’s not true, a small part of her spoke up, but Bree ignored it as she tried to drag her mind back to what was important. If I had just stayed focused on the job, none of this would have happened. I would be on to the next job instead of trying to find a way through the plots of demons.
Ever since her encounter with Annora, nothing had seemed to go right. For a moment, she had a different concern as Bree thought about her friend. A part of her now wished that she had gone after Annora. The last time her friend was seen, Annora was rushing off into a forest bleeding, and Bree hadn’t even bothered to find out how much. It was as if she had intentionally avoided learning anything that would persuade her to do what she should have done.
Then there was Saskia. Bree had no idea what had happened, why the young woman had rushed off. What if there was something that Bree could have done? Instead of investigation, she had simply accepted it and went on her way.
The young woman’s justification for her actions was always the same. If she had gone after her friends to help them, it would have brought attention to them. And in the current situation, there was no way that she could guarantee that she could save them. Bree had just barely saved Calixto from what was a relatively easy threat. What if the same thing had happened with her friends around? Bree shook her head trying to get rid of the idea.
She lived a life that was far too risky to subject her friends to it. Naturally, Bree would take the time to talk with them when she was visiting near where they were, but never for long. And the night when she had encountered Annora, she had completely lied. There was nothing that she needed to do, but she felt dirty for having made a deal with demons. Bree just didn’t realize it until she was face to face with Annora. The happiness that she felt for the first few moments had quickly faded as the young woman worried about Annora finding out what she was doing. Instead of spending a pleasant evening with the friend who had raised her, Bree had run away and gotten lost in the attention of men. If she had stayed, would Annora still have run off into the night?
A heavy weight had lodged itself in Bree’s heart. It had been there ever since she had learned the extent of her powers – ever since that time, she had been pushing everyone away. Very little about her personality had changed, but her views of the world had completely shifted. Over time that weight seemed to increase until Bree had no idea how much more she could take.
There were many good reasons why sorcerers and sorceresses had allowed themselves to nearly go extinct. That kind of power was incredibly difficult to contain. Even if someone was strong enough to keep the powers in check
most of the time, a single slip up could have extreme consequences. It didn’t matter to the powerful magic wielders how the rest of the world felt about them – it was a self-loathing that had led to their virtual disappearance.
The young woman’s mind swirled amidst remorse and regret, rendering her completely oblivious to everything around her. She stumbled as her head began to ache. Her thoughts had turned so far inward that it was as if she were watching herself from afar. As the next demon attack started, Bree stopped walking and looked around the field completely indifferent to the danger.
As the world again erupted around her, Bree felt something slam into her back, knocking her to the ground.
A voice near her ear began to yell, “What are you thinking? Gods, you are on fire!”
Bree barely registered the words. She was vaguely aware that the man was working to put out the fire, but Bree felt no pain.
“It’s alright,” she mumbled into the ground.
“Shut up,” the man replied.
Picking her up off of the ground, he began to sprint across the field. Bree began to notice small balls of fire zooming through the air. She reached a hand out to one.
It was slapped away, “Stop being an idiot.”
“What do you care?” Her voice was entirely emotionless as her hand reached out again.
“Gods dammit!” Without losing his stride, Calixto adjusted her position so that she was wrapped around his back, her arms pressed against her body. It didn’t even occur to her to try to get away. Her face watched as the fireballs zoomed past. A few times she laughed and blew at them.
Calixto was nearly breathless as they reached the foot of the mountain. “Stream. In.” It was the only warning he offered before they rushed into a stream that wrapped around the mountain and lazily passed toward the forest. It was the same stream they had been in before, just further up when it was still relatively small.
Bree began to protest the cold that had suddenly hit her, but she was still submerged. Bubbles wafted before her face. Reaching her hand up to touch one, the young woman began laughing, causing more air bubbles to rise from her mouth in a steady stream. Suddenly an arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her out of the water.
