by Kimbra Swain
“Aspen is my best friend. My parents are dead,” she said without emotion. She seemed very detached which surprised me, because Nick had always been very emotional. I wondered how these two had ever met and made friends.
“How many are with you?” Nick asked.
“Thirteen, plus the two of us,” she replied.
“They were taken from the parking lot outside Ely House. We believe they were taken by the Sanhedrin or someone using the Sanhedrin’s signature magic. I couldn’t find a scent at all,” Nick said.
“Let’s start there. We will spread out. There has to be a scent,” Lyra said.
“Alright. We will meet you there,” Nick replied.
Lyra’s wolves had searched the area in a four-block radius, but as Nick said, they couldn’t pick up a scent for Rory or Soraya.
“I’ve got to get in touch with Astor,” Nick said.
“Call Mom. Let her do it,” I suggested.
“That’s a good idea. I’ll tell her to convince him to stay in Summer. This might be a ploy by the Sanhedrin to get him into the open. We don’t need a missing Summer king,” Nick said, as he dialed his phone. He didn’t say dead Summer king, but it was implied.
Lyra called her wolves back to the parking lot where the SUV still sat. I’d sifted through it looking for any indication of what happened to Soraya and Rory, but I hadn’t found anything. The magical signature was fading with time. It didn’t matter. I knew Reyna was behind this, and without sounding completely egotistical, I knew she did it to get to me.
“I’ve got to find the Sanhedrin base of operations,” I said.
“We have looked for months to nail them down,” Kyrie said.
“I know, but there has to be something we are missing,” I replied.
“You seem a little high strung,” Lyra said.
I spun around on her with my fists ignited in flame. “What makes you say that, bitch?”
“Whoa!” Kyrie said, jumping in front of me. Lyra snarled as her wolves gathered behind her.
Nick hurriedly finished his phone call. “Stop it! Lyra, thank you for your help. I’ll call you if I need anything else.”
She never took her eyes off me. “Anytime, Falpha.” She winked at me then ran off into the darkness with her pack.
“Hey, I get it. You are worried about Raya, but you gotta calm down,” Kyrie urged.
When I had flown as the Phoenix across Steelshore, I was able to let go, losing the control I’d taken so long to master. My anger and frustration had bubbled to the surface, but in some way, it felt right to just let it be. However, I knew I couldn’t go around threatening people with flaming fists. Reluctantly, I reeled in my anger, dousing the flames.
Kyrie’s cool hands covered mine. I fought the urge to pull away from him. My emotions had always been a roller coaster, but growing up so quickly, plus battling the fire inside of me, I struggled to keep calm and be the mature woman everyone expected of me. Everyone except Kyrie. He didn’t expect anything from me which meant I should give him the most.
“Thank you,” I whispered.
“I didn’t do anything,” he said with his signature smirk.
“You…” My voice cracked, and his smirk turned into a genuine grin. I buried my face into his chest, and his arms wrapped around me.
The flapping of wings caught my attention. Malphas and Echo landed beside Nick. Their shift was a beautiful thing to see. It was like the wing tattoos on their back came to life as they switched to raven, then retreated when they changed back to human. Malphas held an envelope.
“This was on the office door,” he said, handing it to Nick.
Nick tore into the envelope. He unfolded a parchment style piece of paper. “The fairy scourge will be purged from Steelshore and all trafficking operations will cease. Pack your office and leave the city. Only then will the Jinn and the Prince of Summer be released. Your kind belong in Shady Grove or in the world below. Sincerely, the Ordained Servants of the Tree, the Sanhedrin.”
“We are not leaving,” I said.
“Of course, we aren’t, but we might have to make it look like we are,” Nick said.
“How are we going to do that? They seem to know everything we are doing,” Kyrie said.
Nick paced with the note in his hands. “I know someone that can find them.”
“Yeah, who? We’ve looked everywhere. We’ve used magic. I don’t even think my mom could find them,” I said.
Nick grinned deviously, and it made me smile. He dialed his phone, let it ring, then hung up. I cocked my head sideways questioning.
“Give it a minute,” he said.
He sat the phone down and took a seat in the SUV. I sat on the edge of mine, and Kyrie tucked in beside me. All eyes were on the phone. Less than a minute later it rang.
“Hello,” Nick said. He listened to the female on the other end. She ranted at him, but I couldn’t make out her words. Nick grinned the entire time. “Well, you know, I wouldn’t have called if it weren’t an emergency.” We listened to her rant again. “Yes, in Steelshore. You will be compensated accordingly.” Her voice lowered and took on a sultry tone. Nick blushed. “Alright, see you soon.” He hung up the phone and looked at us.
“Well?” I asked.
“She’s coming,” he said.
“She who?” I asked, getting impatient with him.
“Catrina.”
“Holy shit,” Kyrie muttered.
While we waited for Catrina Morales to arrive, Kyrie helped me pack up my apartment. We wanted to make it look like we were actually moving.
“What do you know about her?” Kyrie asked.
“Just that she is a deadly assassin, and that the magical tattoo on her back can track her mark. The problem with it is that the ink used to make her tattoo and my mom’s tattoo once belonged to the Sanhedrin. It was used to track them. The link to my mother’s tattoo was severed by Caiaphas, but I don’t know about Catrina’s,” I explained.
Catrina Morales worked for Tennyson Schuyler, but when Tennyson died, he left his holdings to my Uncle Levi. She now worked for him and my mother. The society known as La Calavera trained her to kill. She carried a spelled athame that would strike down her enemies. She was a gorgeous but deadly woman.
“Want me to pack your panty drawer?” he asked.
“No!” I responded way too quickly to realize he was joking.
“Oh really! What are you hiding in there?”
“Nothing.”
“Naughty panties.”
I turned bright red and turned my face from him. He came up behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist. “Or is there something else in there naughty?”
“Like what?” I pretended that his touch didn’t faze me.
“Toys.”
“I do not have toys in there.” He chuckled in my ear, then nibbled it, sending goosebumps down my neck.
“Good. With me around, you don’t need them.”
I didn’t know whether to turn around and kiss him or slap him. But someone knocked on the door and the moment was broken. He groaned as I pulled away from him. Peeking through the peephole, I saw my neighbor standing outside my door in a towel.
“What the hell?” I muttered, as I opened the door. “Hey, Colton. Is everything okay?”
“I’m sorry to bother you, Wynonna, but my water has been turned off. The apartment manager is working on it, but I’ve got to go to work tonight. Would it be possible to use your shower?” he asked.
His abs had distracted me, and I’d only heard about half of what he had said. “Um, your water?”
“Yeah, I mean, I paid my bill. It’s nothing like that,” he insisted.
“Oh, right. No, that’s fine. You can use mine if it works,” I said, opening the door wide for him to enter. He stepped, then froze.
“Oh, hi,” he said, looking at Kyrie.
“Colton, this is Kyrie,” I said.
“I’d shake your hand, but…” Colton said, as he held on to his towel.
“Yeah. No, that’s cool.” Kyrie said watching the half-naked man in my apartment.
“Come on in,” I said, leading the way to the bedroom. I didn’t look at Kyrie, but I felt his eyes on us. Colton followed me. I stopped outside the door. “Here ya go.”
“Sorry. I didn’t know your boyfriend was here,” he said.
“Yeah, it’s no problem. I don’t mind helping a friend,” I replied. I didn’t deny that Kyrie was my boyfriend. I decided to let Colton think whatever he wanted since Nick told me to keep my distance from him.
He went into the bathroom, shutting the door behind him. I heard the shower start, so I rejoined Kyrie in the other room.
“Well, he’s a looker,” Kyrie said.
“Are you jealous?” I asked.
“Should I be?”
“No.”
“Then, I’m not.”
“Are you for real?” I asked. Guys our age always had a jealous bone. Kyrie’s attitude toward our relationships was an anomaly that I couldn’t explain.
Kyrie sat down on my couch and waved me over to him. When I got close enough, he pulled me down into his lap.
“You aren’t mine, so how can I be jealous? Why would I be jealous of some guy that lives across the hall from you with a six pack and brilliant blue eyes that travel your body when he looks at you?”
“He does? They do?”
“You are fucking gorgeous, Wynonna. Of course, he does. I do it. I’m not ashamed to admit it.”
I told myself to bite the bullet. “You look much better than he does.”
His smirk lifted to a grin. “Oh really? Tell me more, Sunshine.”
“And I don’t belong to anyone, but I am with you,” I said.
Kyrie stopped moving and breathing. I was about to do the stroke test on him, when he swallowed. His Adam’s apple dipped, and his eyes widened. “You mean it?” he asked.
“Yes,” I replied, placing my lips on his. He reacted slowly as if he still didn’t believe me. I’d do whatever it took to reassure him. Of course, that wouldn’t be much with my neighbor in my shower.
He thanked me with soft kisses on my lips and neck. “I’ll take whatever you give me.” He knew I wouldn’t give him everything, and once again, he broke the mold that most placed him in by being exactly what I needed.
“I feel like you give me so much, and I don’t do enough for you,” I said.
“You make me a better man. I assure you that if it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t be here trying to make a difference. That fire and drive inside of you is infectious, and I’ve been heart sick from the moment I saw you. I know I’m right where I should be.”
“You should want to do it because it’s right, not because of me.”
“That’s just it. I want to do it now. You exposed me to it, and now I want to nail these bastards that hurt Ren. Not to mention Reyna and her zealots. I’m just lucky that I get to do it with you.”
I’d figured out why I could never commit to Kyrie. He was too good to be true. I’d always told myself that he had an ulterior motive, but I heard the sincerity in his voice. He meant every word of it. He’d proven himself to me, and it was time I respected it.
“I thought I wanted to do this alone, but I’m so glad you are here,” I said.
“You couldn’t get rid of me if you tried. I know I said I’d stay behind in Shady Grove if that was what you asked me to do, but you ran off and left without saying good-bye. I had to hunt you down. It was the best thing I ever did.”
“Will you shut up and just kiss me?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
We were fully knotted up with each other when Colton appeared from my bedroom. He cleared his throat.
“Oh, hey!” I said, jumping back from Kyrie’s lips.
“Sorry to interrupt,” he said with a grin. “I hope you don’t mind, but I let your cats in.”
“Cats?” Kyrie asked.
“Oh, um, thanks,” I said.
“I’ll let myself out. Thanks for letting me use the shower,” Colton said, as he walked toward the door of the apartment. His towel barely covered his ass, and when he walked, I got a side view. Kyrie nudged me.
“Not jealous, huh?”
“Not at all,” he muttered with a grin. “Good to meet you, Colton.”
“You, too,” Colton said, just as he shut the door.
Kat and Cat sauntered into the living area.
“Oh, Winnie, he is a keeper,” Kat said, flicking her tail.
“Mother fuck!” Kyrie exclaimed.
“Such foul language from a pretty mouth,” Cat said as she jumped on the couch next to Kyrie. “Pet me, Pretty Mouth.”
“What the hell?” Kyrie said, as he began to brush through Cat’s orange hair.
“Kyrie, meet Kat and Cat. They are my friends,” I said, wondering if they really were friends or foes.
“Do you have any more wine?” Kat asked.
“I do, but the deal was that if I helped you, then you would help me,” I reminded her.
She sat down on the carpet, curling her tail to her side. Only the very end of it, flicked back and forth like a nervous twitch.
“I do have some information for you,” Kat said.
“Oh, just give it to her already,” Cat urged. “I want more wine. Pretty Mouth has magic fingers.”
“Pretty Mouth,” I mocked. Kyrie rolled his eyes but continued to stroke the cat.
“The angry woman with the sparkling cat litter has a genie and a prince,” Kat said.
“Raya and Rory. They are our friends. Who is the angry woman with the sparkling cat litter?” I asked.
“She has a shit ton of sparkling cat litter that surrounds her house,” Kat informed me.
“Where is this house?” I asked.
“Not far from here, but you can’t see it,” Kat said.
“How do you see it?”
“Because I’m a cat, duh. I can smell it, too.”
“Smells like shit,” Cat said with a purr. Kat jumped up on the couch, then laid across Kyrie’s lap.
“Is that catnip in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?” Kat asked. She wiggled back and forth on Kyrie’s lap.
My eyes widened when I realized that she was feeling the result of our earlier making out session. I’d felt it too, but Kat was far braver than I was to comment on it. Kyrie closed his eyes and cleared his throat.
“Nothing there for you, Kat,” he said.
“Bummer,” she replied.
“It belongs to Wynonna,” Kyrie said, which caused me to blush.
“Aren’t you a lucky bitch? Why do you smell like death?” Cat asked.
“Hmm, I smell it, too. Death and fire,” Kat added.
“I died and rose tonight.” It felt strange saying it out loud.
“Interesting,” Cat said. “How many lives do you have?”
“As far as I know, there isn’t a limit. I suppose you have nine lives?” I asked.
“I have five left,” Cat said. “Kat has six. Dying sucks.”
“It wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be,” I muttered.
“It was for me,” Kyrie said.
“Oh, Winnie, he’s adorable. This once, we will allow you to keep the man. Which means the wolves are ours,” Kat said.
Kyrie got a good laugh at that one and began to pet both cats. “Can you take us to this house?” Kyrie asked.
“For wine,” Kat said.
Immediately, I turned to the cabinets in the small kitchen and found a bottle of white wine that I had bought when I first arrived to use for cooking. If these cats kept consuming my wine, I’d have to make sure to keep it stocked. I uncorked the bottle and poured the contents into two bowls. The cats jumped from Kyrie’s lap to the floor and began to circle my legs.
“Give us the wine,” Cat cooed.
“Yes, give it to us,” Kat echoed.
“Patience,” I barked as I sat the two bowls on the floor. They began to lap it up. Slipping into my b
edroom, I grabbed my leather jacket and a handful of crystals that Athena had given me. Crystal magic could be used to heal, but Levi had taught me to use them to amplify sound. I was hoping I could use them on whatever ward the Sanhedrin had blocking the building. The cats described the sparkling cat litter, and I knew it had to be a ward. Kyrie joined me. He kept a few items in the top drawer of my dresser.
He stuffed the deck of cards in his pocket, then retrieved his cane from the umbrella holder at the door. Removing his belt, he slipped the sheath for a large knife on it. I watched him buckle the belt.
“Later,” he said.
“I’ll call Nick,” I said.
“Why don’t we just check it out first? We are going on the word of a couple of wine-drinking, talking cats,” he suggested. I saw the logic. I’d told Nick about the cats, but he had seemed skeptical.
Kyrie slid the long knife from my drawer into the sheath, then handed me the pistol my mother had given me for human defense. I shook my head. “I’m not taking that,” I said.
“Better have it than not,” he replied.
“No, this is a magical fight, and there are rules,” I said.
“They are more like guidelines.”
“We aren’t pirates.”
“We could be.”
“We aren’t. Put it back.” He sat the gun back into the drawer and closed it.
Kat and Cat sat next to each other. Their purrs sounded like a drinking song. They hummed and swayed.
“Are they drunk?” Kyrie asked.
“I hope not! Kat! Cat! Let’s go,” I demanded.
“Can’t we just stay here and go in the morning?” Kat asked.
“No, we have to go now.”
“Who needs the patience now?” Cat muttered.
“Meet us in the alley,” I said. They nodded, then jumped out the window to the fire escape.
At first my two new companions seemed distracted, and I was sure that we made a few circles before they led us to an abandoned lot surrounded by a shoulder-high brick wall. Iron finials decorated the pillars of the wall every ten feet. Thorny bushes lined the inside of the wall.
Kat and Cat stopped at the iron gate.
