by Jasmine Walt
I was trying to come up with a snappy remark when Dorius' loud voice got my attention again. "Chick, Darren, places please."
Mom faced off with an immortal that outweighed her by at least a hundred and fifty pounds. Darren had blond hair, angry black eyes and a chest you could play baseball on. I trembled with the urge to get up when she lifted one hand toward him in a 'bring it on' gesture.
I eased to the edge of my chair, ready to pounce if she needed me. Marcus put his hand firmly on my thigh. The rest of my family looked relaxed. I clenched my teeth. "Hey, do any of you care that she's going to get her ass beat out there, or what?'
"I've seen what she can do and I'm not the least bit worried," Jeni said, smiling at me.
"Just watch, Susan. Mom's fine," JoAnn said.
"I didn't see shit! Am I the only one who doesn't know what's going on here?" I felt like the odd girl out.
Gibbie flew over to land in front of me, his hands on his hips. "We all promised to sit here and keep quiet. Don't make me dust you."
I watched Paul lean back, crossing his arms over his chest, a smile on his face.
"I don't like this," I said, my back rigid.
A war cry sent me three inches off my chair and my head jerked in the direction of the little clown center stage. Darren was running at my mother so fast, he was a blur. I tried to push Marcus' iron grip from my leg. It was impossible.
I watched a bolt of gold light shoot across the room and followed it back to my mother. An energy field extended from her outstretched fist to the immortal's midsection. She threw her hand open, flipping it in the opposite direction, her knuckles facing him, and the force-field of gold propelled him at a neck-breaking speed into the far wall. He slid to the floor, unconscious, blood running from his nose.
The room came alive with the thunder of immortal screaming and applause.
The Latin man, his black hair fluttering behind him, ran toward Darren. His boots drummed on the floor.
I laughed. "OK, so what kind of parlor trick was that?"
"It's not a trick, Susan," JoAnn announced with the clarity of a perfectly sane woman. She picked up her "juice box" of blood, lipped the bendy straw sticking out and sipped on it.
"Damn…" Marcus said, letting up his grip on my leg, "Your mother's ability with telekinesis is magnificent!"
Dorius looked like a proud peacock. "That was a mild example of Concetta's ability at telekinetic power." He turned to my mother with admiration. "Concetta put Darren on the bleachers for us. Gently, please."
My mother lifted her hand, much like a conductor in an orchestra, opened her fist and wiggled her fingers at Darren. The huge immortal slowly floated from the floor in a gold haze. The weighty bundle, following her hand, turned circles, swinging from side to side, and then started to spin around in a blur.
What a little actress! She's enjoying this way too much, damn it. It can't be real.
I assure you, my love, it is real. Marcus pushed with an amused smile.
Dorius cleared his throat. Mom stopped her spinning fingers, pointed at Darren, and he floated gently away, landing lightly on the bleachers, shaking his head.
The room leapt to their feet with another round of applause.
My mouth fell open, Marcus laughing in my head.
Dorius looked at us. "Resi, will you step forward?"
"How come I get to be first?" Resi teased.
Resi walked over to Dorius. Mom stepped to the side. I couldn't help feeling this was all a joke. On me.
Dorius began, "Resi has the gift to confuse as well as direct and implant. We call your rare gift, a Manipulator."
They grinned at each other. I seethed with anger.
"Warren, can you come out to the arena, please?" Dorius ordered.
"Give 'um all you got, Baby," Zaire yelled.
Gibbie strutted to the end of the table and smiled at me.
Warren walked forward dressed in jeans and a black t-shirt that strained against his large upper body. He snarled at Zaire. She snarled back.
Dorius nipped it. "Resi, I want you to use your mind to manipulate Warren. Surprise us." Dorius looked directly at me.
"OK…" Resi said, studying Warren.
"Big deal, we can all read minds and plant thoughts," I said.
Marcus gifted me with a sexy grin.
Damn him. I started to tell him just what I thought of this charade when I suddenly forgot what I wanted to say. I got up, shaking my head, frantically. My feet, with a mind of their own, walked toward Christopher, who was sitting on the far side of the room. My lips joined my legs in complete disobedience and smiled at him. "Christopher, have I told you lately that I love you? I appreciate the way you sank your fangs in my neck and made me look thirty years younger."
"No problem, Suzie-Q," Christopher smiled. "I'm a breast man, by the way," he said, eyeing my chest. "Can I touch 'um?"
I battled with myself in my head. I wanted to scream, 'Oh hell no,' as my frigging voice, completely ignorant of my orders, came out as sweet as honey. "I owe you big time, buddy. Step right up and cop a feel." I shook my head violently and heard laugher coming from the whole room. Even Marcus was laughing.
Christopher started walking toward me. I frickin' couldn't move.
My head, totally out of my control, turned to Resi. She winked at me and I was myself again.
"Don't you come near me you little shit!" I immediately yelled at Christopher.
Christopher laughed and wiggled back into his chair.
I faced off with Marcus. His lips turned up in a wicked grin.
"I thought after we were mated, no one was supposed to be able control my frigging mind," I scolded to a background of laughter. "I felt like a damn wind-up doll—you shit."
Marcus burst out laughing. "Sorry, darling, but Dorius asked if I would step back for a few minutes. They were sure you would have a hard time believing all of this so he suggested Resi helps you out a little."
My teeth clenched down hard enough to crack my jaw as I sucked in lungs full of air. "You are in, OH, so much shit!"
I heard Jeni giggle and shot her some angry Italian eyes just like my mother gives me.
Gibbie was all a flutter with laughter as Resi came sauntering up, grinning at me.
"I'm going to kill your happy little ass as soon as I find out what it is I can do to make this little foursome complete," I said with the room full of immortals and God knew what else watching us fight, and loving every minute of it.
"Sorry, Mommy Dearest. Dorius made me do it," Resi said, clapping her hands.
I was steaming to a hard boil as I glared at all of them.
Marcus patted the chair beside him.
"Zaire's turn," Dorius said, saving his brother's ass.
I walked around the table, took a seat next to Marcus and grabbed his thigh in a vice-like grip.
"Ohhh, that's nice, and I believe pleasuring you under the table would top the interlude in the car. Don't you agree?" Marcus' hand slid up my thigh, tickling a place I didn't want tickled.
I sat there trying to find a snarky response, but once again, Dorius got our attention.
"Alright, we have a Seraph with telekinetic power and an immortal with the ability to confuse and manipulate." Dorius shot me a nasty grin. I gave it right back to him, and then some. "It's time to show you what Zaire adds to the combination."
I wanted to puke. I seemed to be the only one in this damn room that didn't have a clue.
"Victoria, Megan, Peter, and Camillio; on the floor please," Dorius shouted.
I'd never watched Zaire in action as a mortal, but I knew she was a boxer before she met Resi. I was looking forward to seeing her fight. It seemed Dorius thought her a formidable opponent to have brought out four immortals to fight her.
"And begin, please," he told them with a wave of his arm.
Zaire advanced slowly with eyes like daggers, mouth in a snarl, her fangs hanging out. With hands in tight fists, her knees bent, she danced around the
m, glancing in several directions while they split up into two groups.
Victoria came at her with a scream of rage, incisors extended, legs pumping. Zaire leapt in the air, right over her head, landing a sharp kick on the small of Victoria's back as she descended. It sent the immortal woman flying into Peter. Both of them hit the floor, sliding at least twenty-five feet from the others.
Camillio and Megan danced closer, and then there was a blur of movement that a mortal would never have been able to keep up with. They were circular winds of flashing bodies as they fought each other. Zaire landed two good kicks, a right hook that had my head spinning, and took a blow to her stomach that sent her flying. She was up in a flash, heading for Megan. Camillio was prancing beside the immortal woman, both waiting in anticipation.
My adrenalin pumping, I sat on the edge of my seat, my incisors extended, and my body ready for a battle I had no business in.
Peter and Victoria recovered to join the other two immortals, all of them spinning around her in a fight that now seemed unfair. Zaire side-kicked Megan in the mouth, just below her nose, blood spewing over the both of them. Megan fell to the floor again, landing hard on her ass, sliding ten feet, a trail of blood following her.
I felt Marcus' eyes on me as his grasp loosened on my knee. I sucked in my breath, my nostrils flared with the smell of blood.
Camillio grabbed Zaire from behind, pulling her to his sharp teeth as Veronica and Peter approached fast. I waited, but knew she was pinned by them, my heart thumping, my mind screaming with a need to assist. I was so caught up in the action, I forgot the others in the room, couldn't hear anything but Zaire's fast heartbeat, and felt her fear.
Instinct took over. With a loud angry growl, I jumped up, hit the top of the table and leapt twenty feet, landing on Camillio's back, pulling him from Zaire's neck. She stumbled forward, shook her head, regained her footing, and shot toward me. I pushed Camillio and Zaire pounced on him.
Victoria smiled, angry fangs dripping saliva. Accompanied by Peter and Megan, they swiftly approached me, all growling with angry fangs flashing.
I could hear screams of encouragement in the background. I ignored them and pounced on Megan who was the closest. I had her by the throat, using her for support like a flagpole; I whirled around swiftly, kicking Peter in the chest with both feet, pushing him away. Zaire had my back and pounced on Peter before his ass hit the floor.
I wrestled with Megan, glancing around to find Camillio. I couldn't see him. I flipped Megan over my head and sent her sailing across the polished teak floor.
Peter was on his feet again, flanked by Victoria. Zaire jumped between them, slamming them both with a roundhouse kick that was frigging awesome.
I stood panting as I watched Megan crawling across the floor, trying to figure out where I was needed next. I heard Zaire somewhere behind me again, breathing heavy. Dorius yelled from the sidelines, getting my attention. He bent, slid something shiny at me, and grinned.
Three small daggers glided across the floor in my direction. With the speed of a demon on an adrenaline high from hell, wondering where in the hell Zaire disappeared to, I lurched toward them, grabbing all three knives the second they were in reach.
I sat on my haunches, still worried about Zaire, but I had a good eye on all four immortals, and shot the first knife at Camillio. It hit him in the chest, dropping him like a fly. The second was for Peter, who growled at me from the left. I threw the knife with as much force as I could muster, while watching for the others. It buried itself in Peter's chest up to the shank before he could rise to come at me. I held the third knife, looking at Victoria as she approached with a wicked grin.
Zaire had her fangs in Megan's shoulder before I could even track her movements, and the immortal fell limp under her.
I turned to Victoria. I could drop her in a heartbeat but I wanted to dance, at least for a little while. I'm getting into this, I thought, glancing at Zaire with a smile. She dropped Megan on the floor in front of her, giving me a bloody grin.
I circled Victoria, waiting for her to pull a weapon on me, daring her to come closer.
This is almost over and we did it, I thought, with adrenalin coursing through my body. I taunted Victoria, waving her on with the knife, feeling pumped and ready for a fight. She stood there watching me with sparkling eyes, and an anticipated silence waved across the room.
In my peripheral vision, I noticed a figure coming at me from my left at a very fast pace. I heard a loud growl. I swung left, and fired the third knife right into Dorius' chest. He fell with a smile on his face.
I stood there shocked. I couldn't move.
Victoria ran at me. I lifted my arms and, out of habit, I prayed for the strength of the elements, just like I did when I was an old woman, playing with my spell books. Only this time, my body responded as if it was being pumped with electric current and suddenly I was looking at the rest of the room through a shield that shimmered and vibrated around me. Victoria hit the shield, bouncing off, laughing as she slid across the floor.
"Wow! Did I make this?" I asked in awe.
"Excellent," Dorius gasped, grabbing the dagger in his chest. The Rican Dragon rushed to his side and the whole room exploded.
"I hate when my mother takes the wind right out of my sails," Resi said from the outside of the shield. "How did you know, Dorius?"
"Your great grandmother was able to draw up a shield. We've found a lot of history on your family in our archived files. The runes at your house were etched in blood - Susan's blood. We were hoping she could shield like her grandmother." Dorius answered, pushing the dragon away, his chest almost healed.
Resi tried to push her hand through the shield but it didn't break. She started laughing with me as we danced around the ten-foot circle shielding me. We were playing like kids in a Mickey D's fun room when Marcus cleared his throat.
"I think you should try to put it back, love," Marcus said with a chuckle.
I looked up at him in a panic. I didn't even know how the hell I brought it here, never mind how was I going to put it back.
"Uh, we may have a little problem here," I said, moving back.
Marcus poked the shield. "I assumed you had never done this before by the way you were running around like a child chasing butterflies, but it never occurred to me that you might not be able to bring it down."
"Anybody got any suggestions on how I get out of here?" I shouted at all of them on the other side. I felt like a hamster in a ball, wondering if it would roll around the room.
Mom ran at the shield, sinking her long fangs in the shimmering force-field. The shield held her captive as she mumbled obscenities at me.
"Oh, this is sweeeet," Gibbie said, hovering in front of Zaire.
"What did you do to make it come out?" Jeni asked, pulling at Mom's flailing arms as everyone gathered around the shield, the whole room exploding with laughter.
I searched my fingers for hangnails, picked at the cuticles, checked the length of each nail and finally raised my eyes to my struggling mother. "I just did a little chant I do when…I'll be damned if I know, Jeni."
JoAnn frowned. "Susan, you can just rot in there for all I care. I get tired of your messes." JoAnn put her hands on her hips, matching the little two-inch fairy on her shoulder. "First you turn into one of my worst nightmares. Then you change the whole family into the Munsters, and now you're playing Alice in a bubble."
I lurched at her, thinking it was time to strangle the bitch. The minute I came in contact with the shield, the whole thing disintegrated. Mom was on the floor scrambling to get up. My hands were wrapped around JoAnn's neck.
"I just love this family," Zaire said.
"Well, that was easy," Jeni remarked.
Three days later, after more extensive practice sessions in the Gym, we were standing outside of the compound ready to be dispatched on our first Critter Control mission. Jeni and JoAnn were inside at a communication's command post at the BAMVC compound until some equipment co
uld be installed at the house. The rest of us had orders to capture the original raccoon and rid our property of all infected animals.
As we waited for the rest of the team, Marcus decided to enlighten me with another little annoying thing about our new relationship.
Having fun darling? He pushed from somewhere in the compound.
Oh, this is rich! I suppose you can talk to me no matter where I am, I pushed back.
Yes, love, and I can see what you are doing as well.
You can see me? This is a frigging nightmare!
While I argued with Marcus in my head, the sexy Latin man stepped out the doors of the compound. He wore khaki linen Docker cargo shorts showing off muscular calves, a light taupe linen shirt rolled up to the elbows, unbuttoned to the center of his chest, a brown leather belt and pair of Minnetonka Moosehide moccasins.
"Jake, you're late," Dorius snapped.
Jake hiccupped, burped a puff of smoke from his mouth, and said, "Sorry, I had to tie-up some loose ends, Sir." He gave Dorius a frightened little smile.
"Ew… what the hell died?" Zaire asked, fanning the air in front of her nose.
Everyone started looking at each other, hands flapping in front of their faces.
"Sorry," Jake said with a coy smile, and let out a loud burp accentuated with a small flame. "I have a bit of a… well it's sometimes hard to control my flatulence issues when I'm nervous."
"Jesus," I said, moving further away from him.
"Ladies," Dorius interrupted. "I've decided to add Jake to your team. His shape-shifting capabilities will be an asset, as well as his ability to heal, should a fang sporting gator nip one of your lovely little asses."
I kept Jake in my peripheral vision as I listened to Dorius continue. "Usually a team consists of a Seraph leader, two surveillance operators and ten immortal Rogue Hunters; thirteen members. But in your case, we made an exception since you are only hunting animals." He looked directly at me with a nasty smile. "Concetta is the team leader since she is the only one that tested to be a true Seraph. She will give each of you instructions - following my orders - dispensed through Jeni and JoAnn. Under no circumstances will you attempt to hunt anything but the animals on your property. Do I make myself clear?"
