Wicked Wind (Solsti Prophecy #1)

by Sharon Kay

  With a grunt, Brooke took the chef’s knife she twirled between her fingers and stabbed it into the wooden cutting board in front of her. “Goddamn it, Nicole,” she repeated softly.

  “I’m sorry. I really am. I should have told you right away. It’s just that things happened so fast…”

  “You don’t say!” Brooke muttered.

  “I jumped at the chance to get more information, after all these years of being in the dark. When Gunnar made that…that demonfire appear in his hand, I knew he was different too. It seemed like he was kind of a kindred spirit.”

  Brooke rolled her eyes and huffed out an angry breath. “I’m too pissed to talk to you. I’d love to wipe the gym floor with your ass. But instead, I’m going to take it out on some gang member. I’m leaving in five, whether you’re with me or not.”

  “Yeah, I’ll go with you.” Nicole sighed with relief. If Brooke needed to hurt some criminals and was willing to do it with Nicole, they were going to be fine. They knew each other too well to sugar-coat anything. Brooke would accept that Nicole only wanted what they both did—to learn more about their talents.

  Five minutes later the sisters walked out the door. There were several nearby neighborhoods that could use their special kind of help. Bad areas butted right up against nice ones; many gleaming new condo buildings loomed over dilapidated blocks in the name of “gentrification.” Tonight they took a short cab ride and then walked the last few blocks on foot. Weeds sprouted in the endless sidewalk cracks beneath their feet.

  They slipped quietly along a garbage-strewn street. Paper bags drifted along the gutter next to plastic ones, and empty cardboard beer cases were tossed against a dumpster. In the fading autumn light, children unsuccessfully begged their grandmothers to stay outside in their front yard for a few more minutes.

  Nicole and Brooke paused near an alley, low male voices drifting out to them. Without passing the alley entrance, they stopped to listen to two rival gangs snarl at each other over turf and drugs.

  Brooke turned to meet her sister’s eyes. Arguments like this took place every day between one group and another, and as far as the women were concerned, they could fight it out themselves. They didn’t jump into gang fights when they were outnumbered, especially when no innocents were involved.

  The voices grew louder. The sisters stepped further back into the shadows as one gang’s sentry walked out of the alley to stand in the middle of the broken sidewalk. Nicole glanced across the street at the children straggling slowly toward their front porch, willing them to walk faster.

  She froze as the air erupted with the sounds of fighting in the alley. Please don’t open fire. The sentry hadn’t noticed her or Brooke, and he got distracted by another man tackling him to the ground. Two more men made their way out of the alley, circling each other with wary looks, knives in their hands.

  Just then more gang members spilled into view. What had begun in the alley quickly turned into an all-out brawl, with shouts and the thuds of bodies slamming to the ground.

  Brooke touched Nicole’s arm in a silent command to wait, but at that moment a gunshot ripped through the early evening air. The women across the street screamed and tried to drag the last two wide-eyed children inside. Nicole assessed them. Still standing. Unharmed. Thank God.

  “Shit. Here we go,” Brooke muttered.

  Nicole didn’t hesitate as she sent a gale force wind tearing down the block and into the alley. Every last bit of garbage and debris lifted and swirled around the men. Some of them were distracted enough to stop fighting and look around in confusion as they staggered against the gust. Brooke’s eyes locked on the gunman as she pulled a water bottle from her pocket and jerked it upward, sending a spray of droplets into the air. As she gazed at the airborne liquid, the round drops shifted into tiny marquis shapes. Nicole chilled the air temperature in front of them and directed the icy points straight into the man’s eyes. He howled and clutched his face, dropping his weapon.

  Some twenty men filled the street, many who fought with their rivals but, unfortunately, some had noticed the sisters. Nicole guessed that more of them had guns, and she and Brooke needed to get out fast. They started to back away, Nicole continuing to work the wind and the debris.

  Two burly, scarred men had drawn knives and advanced toward them, when a short slight figure darted out of nowhere to slash a blade across one of the men’s calves. The man howled as his leg spurted blood, and as he fell to the pavement the figure pulled out a small bottle and held it close to the wound.

  Nicole gasped. The figure had gray skin and an odd, long face ending in a pointy chin. It turned in her direction. What she initially thought was a short skinny human stared back at her from dull, red eyes beneath its bald head.

  Frozen next to her, Brooke whispered, “What the–” but broke off as a second gray creature appeared and slashed the other man’s arm. It then held a similar container to the fresh blood.

  Nicole’s unnatural gale helped scatter all but a handful of men. The remainder had noticed the gray figures, and pointed at them warily. The sisters stared at the creatures in horror as a third one dropped down directly in front of them. It leaned forward and sniffed.

  Nicole grabbed Brooke’s hand and turned to bolt, when a huge man landed behind the gray figure. What else is going to jump off that roof? She backed up against the side of the building and studied the man’s dark close-cropped hair. Where have I seen him before?

  Her eyes widened in wonder as he swung a sword horizontally and neatly separated the creature’s head from its body. Smoke wafted from the remains, which disintegrated right in front of them.

  A flash near the smoking pile caught her eye, and she extended her foot to draw the thing closer. Bending to pick it up, she saw it was a small silver disk, similar to a coin, with a symbol imprinted on it. She shoved it into her pocket and looked back at the man with the sword.

  “Rhys?” Her memory clicked into place. From Gunnar’s house.

  “Stay back,” he barked, as another massive demon emerged from the alley to send a fireball from his palm and into the other two gray creatures. They both disintegrated in the same manner as the first one.

  “That’s it. Only three tonight.” The other demon looked around. The remaining gang members had taken off running when they’d seen Rhys’ sword. He shot a questioning look at Nicole and Brooke.

  “Nicole, right?” Rhys asked her.

  “Friends of yours?” the other demon said as he took a step closer.

  “Actually, she’s a friend of Gunnar’s. She was at the house today. You would have met her if you hadn’t been...indisposed.” Rhys smirked at his comrade, whose blond hair hung down to the middle of his back. With the weapons he had strapped on, he looked like a modern-day Viking. “Brenin,” Rhys continued, “Meet Nicole, and...”

  “Brooke. We’re sisters.”

  “That’s not all you are,” the demon called Brenin said. “What kind of energy was that?”

  Nicole bit her lip, debating her response. Before she could answer, Rhys interjected, “We should all head back to the house.”

  “We’re not going to your house,” Brooke declared.

  “Most of those Skells can communicate telepathically, so, yeah, we’re going to our house. Odds are that they’ve already told their friends about your unusual power, so unless you want to meet more of them, and some of their closest, ugliest buddies, you’re coming with us. From what I hear, our place is a lot safer than yours anyway.”

  Brooke opened her mouth to protest, but Nicole stopped her. “I think we should go with them. How would we have fought that thing, anyway?”

  “The way we usually do,” Brooke retorted. When Nicole glared at her, she went on, “Obviously they have weaknesses.”

  “Yeah, but we don’t walk around with swords and we can’t fling fireballs.”

  “I suggest we continue this scintillating conversation in our car,” Brenin remarked dryly. “Let’s go before we make any
more new friends.”

  They walked a couple blocks to the demons’ waiting Tahoe, Rhys muttering into his cell phone. “Kai’s still out. Gunnar’s going to meet us at the house.” He ended the call.

  Great. She was so not in the mood for a lecture tonight, and Gunnar was the last person she wanted to talk to. They reached the car, where she and Brooke climbed into the back seat. “What were those gray guys?”

  “Those were Skell demons, also known as Nothing-But-Trouble,” Rhys answered.

  Nicole remembered that those were the demons Gunnar had mentioned earlier. “You guys are...um, observing them, right?”

  Brenin snorted from the passenger seat. “That’s one way to put it. Observe, then kill.” He turned in his seat to look at her. “What the hell were you two doing in the middle of that gang war, anyway?”

  “It’s a long story,” she sighed. “Might as well wait until we get to your house, if you don’t mind.”

  Brenin shrugged and turned back around. Next to her, Brooke reached for Nicole’s hand. “It doesn’t sound like a load of crazy bullshit anymore,” she whispered.

  Nicole squeezed her sister’s hand and smiled. “There’s no going back now.”

  “I’m sorry I got so mad at you earlier. That seems like days ago.”

  “Don’t worry about it. I probably would have reacted the same way if our roles were reversed.” Nicole settled into her seat. “Can you believe we finally might get some answers?”

  Brooke shook her head. “Whatever I may have thought about us, this...tonight... was not it.” Nicole nodded and squeezed her hand again.

  After a quick stop at their condo–over protests from the men–to collect some clothes and other necessities, they got back on the road heading north out of the city. For the second time in less than twenty-four hours, she was riding toward someone who was going to be royally ticked at her.

  Gunnar was a mystery. At times he seemed so gentle, even charming, and at other times it seemed he was barely holding back the blackest fury. She realized he hadn’t told her anything about his life or his family, while she had babbled on about hers. Questions about his life bubbled in her mind. But how far would he let her in?

  Nicole perched with Brooke on a couch in the great room, like a mouse trapped by a huge pacing cat. Or several cats, given that they sat in a room full of demons. Gunnar stopped in front of them and stood with his legs slightly spread, massive arms folded over his chest, blue eyes shooting sparks.

  “What the hell were you thinking?” he growled.

  Nicole gazed up at him, trying to keep her voice neutral. “We were just doing what we usually do. There were children in danger tonight.”

  She couldn’t tell if his anger stemmed from concern, or if he was only pissed because she hadn’t listened to him. Or both? She couldn’t keep up with his mercurial moods. The story had been told multiple times tonight, from both the women’s perspectives and the demons’. Through it all, Gunnar remained silent and glowering.

  “It’s admirable to help those less fortunate or weaker than you, but, shit, you gotta be more careful,” Rhys said, from his position in one of the armchairs. “Skells are not the strongest bad guys out there. I say we start weapons training tomorrow with you two.”

  “We should start training regarding your specific talents as well,” added Rilan. He’d stayed quiet for the summary of the evening’s events. “We must assume that your anonymity has been compromised. You need to be ready to fend off creatures much more treacherous than Skell demons.”

  Even though the Elder had spoken of the Solsti’s great powers, Nicole still felt weak in her newly discovered world of immortals. Resigned, she shoved her hands into her pockets and felt something cool and hard. “Oh, wait!” she exclaimed. “I found this.” She pulled out the odd coin that had laid near the dying Skell.

  Rilan took it, frowning, and closed his eyes. “I don’t recognize it. But Rosa probably will.”

  Before Nicole could ask who Rosa was, Gunnar turned an incredulous look on Rilan. “You want her,” He gestured to Nicole. “To go to Torth? To see Rosa?”

  “You will go with her. She must go, since she found the object. It caught her eye for a reason.”

  “How do you know if Rosa will even speak to us?” Gunnar asked.

  “She’ll be intrigued, both by this item and by the emergence of the Solsti.”

  Hands on his hips, Gunnar blew out a breath. “If she doesn’t singe us first.”

  “Um, who’s Rosa and where is Torth?” Nicole asked. That down-the-rabbit-hole feeling washed over her again.

  Gunnar closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. “You just had to get into trouble tonight. Well, congratulations, because tomorrow you get to travel to the demon realm and meet a witch who’s literally as old as dust.”

  CHAPTER 6

  NICOLE SPUTTERED. “D-DEMON realm?” Silence hung in the room. “I’m guessing you don’t hop on a plane to get there.”

  “Wherever it is, I’m going with you.” Brooke turned to her sister.

  “Only two can go at a time without attracting attention,” Rilan cautioned. “You, child, will stay here and train with the rest of us.”

  Nicole felt her sister’s distress at this new development, but on a deep level she knew that Gunnar would keep her safe. His colleagues would protect Brooke as well. Despite their glares and sarcasm, a sense of honor permeated the group.

  Whether Gunnar wanted to go anywhere with her was the bigger question. She looked at him leaning against the wall, his strong arms crossed over his chest. A lock of black hair fell over his forehead, softening his grim expression.

  “Nic?” Brooke said softly.

  Nicole sighed. This part of the mess, at least, was her fault. Gunnar had warned her to be careful. Because she and Brooke had never encountered any immortal creatures before, she figured their luck would hold out. And Brooke had been itching for a fight this evening, another thing that was Nicole’s fault.

  She squeezed her sister’s hand and hoped her voice sounded reassuring. “I’ll be okay.”

  Brooke fixed her with a look that told her she saw right through Nicole’s show of bravado. “I don’t like this one bit.”

  “You should get some rest. It’s too dangerous to open a portal at night.” Rilan’s voice was quiet, but left no room for argument.

  “P-portal?” Nicole sputtered again. Ugh. They were all going to think something was wrong with her.

  “No planes leaving for Torth tomorrow,” Rhys drawled sarcastically.

  Tomorrow? “Hold on.” Nicole narrowed her eyes at Rilan. She didn’t care how stern he sounded. “You can’t order us around like we’re some of your guys.”

  “You might not be Lash, but you’re part of our world,” Brenin said from his sprawl in one of the oversized armchairs.

  “We just found about your world.” Brooke shot him a glare.

  “Doesn’t matter.” Gunnar’s voice was sharp. “You’ve known about your abilities. You’ve been using them with no idea what you could run up against.”

  “We use our talents to help people.” Irritation simmered in Nicole’s veins. How were they supposed to know demons, elves, and fairies were real?

  Gunnar turned his scowl on her. “Yeah well, in the same neighborhoods where you like to help people, a couple hundred citizens have been attacked by Skell demons.”

  Nicole sucked in a breath.

  “Hundreds?” Brooke whispered.

  “Yeah. And that coin could be a clue to who’s behind it.” Gunnar’s blue eyes pierced Nicole’s. “We need your help.”

  Nicole stared at him, her mind reeling. Hundreds? All she and Brooke wanted was to use their skills in a positive way. Indignation turned to resolve as the scope of Gunnar’s investigation settled over her. “Okay.”

  Gunnar nodded. “Enough discussion. It’s late and you two had a crazy night. We can talk in the morning. Follow me.”

  More than you ever wanted to kn
ow echoed in her head, both a reminder and a prediction. She and Brooke walked behind Gunnar’s towering figure to the foyer and up the stairs. They passed the first door. Rilan’s study. Sconces lit the rest of the hall, spaced far apart and turned down to a dim glow. Dark mahogany wainscoting covered the lower half of the walls. Gunnar walked past another door and then gestured to two rooms.

  The women exchanged a look, and Nicole knew her thoughts mirrored her sister’s. “We’ll share a room,” she said.

  He nodded and started to turn away. Brooke darted into the first room, muttering something about needing a shower.

  “Wait,” Nicole called to Gunnar. He paused and she stepped closer. “I...I owe you an apology.”

  He looked at her coolly, silently, one hand shoved into his pocket.

  “For everything,” she continued. “All of this has been so new, so surprising, so unexpected...and unbelievable. You tried to warn me about what could happen. You’ve been trying to help me, and I haven’t–”

  His mouth came down hard on hers. Gone was the gentleman who had kissed her tenderly in the park last night, replaced by a hardened fighter who took what he wanted. He eased her backward until she bumped the dark panels of the wall, his big hands gripping her upper arms.

  The heat rolling off his body surrounded her, warming every fiber of her body. She breathed in his woodsy, masculine scent as his tongue swept across the seam of her lips. A soft feminine moan stole her breath and she opened to let him in, gripping his shoulders and pressing her body against his. She was engulfed by how incredibly good it felt to be in his arms. All the stress of the day dissipated like dust on the wind–the arguments, the knowledge of her true identity, the street fight, the Skell demons–as his talented tongue teased the roof of her mouth.

  Loving the bulk of him pressing her against the wall, her fingers caressed their way up to his neck to wind in his thick black hair. She licked into his mouth, tangling her tongue with his, exploring, tasting, melting into a hot, delicious haze of desire. He angled her head to deepen the kiss as one hand settled at the small of her back, and she sighed her approval.