by May Dawson
"Yes," I said. "What's the spell doing?"
Yale sighed. "I need... time. To give you an exact answer to that question."
"And we have time," Ryker said, glancing toward me. "The Company doesn't have Ash. There's a team watching over your mom. For once, we can breathe, Firestarter."
"Doesn't feel like it," I said curtly, and then I was embarrassed that I'd spoken so bluntly in front of these men I didn't know yet. I nodded at them, pretending I hadn't just given away so much of how I felt. "Thanks for coming."
"It's no problem. We'll take shifts coming over, making sure she's cared for. And we're always on-call if you need us," Zane said.
"We should get going," Ryker said. "I asked Levi to finish up dinner. Not quite as bad as asking this girl, but..."
Normally I would have been amused by Ryker's teasing. Tonight, I turned and walked out of the room without smiling at his joke. In the foyer, I turned, but Zane and Yale were right behind me. Ryker wasn't.
"I'll be right along," I told them. I walked back, and found Ryker leaning against the edge of the window. He had one ankle crossed over the other, his arms crossed over his muscular chest.
"What are you doing?" I asked him.
"What are we doing?" he asked. "You still mad at me?"
"No."
He quirked an eyebrow at me. He always did that so well. "Sure seems like it."
"Aren't you still mad at me?"
He cocked his head to one side, as if he were considering it. "Sure seems like it."
"Then why wouldn't I be mad at you?"
"Because you're the one who's wrong?"
"Do we really have to do this?" I gestured at my sister. "It doesn't matter. There are bigger things going on than you and me."
He shook his head faintly.
"What?" I asked, my tone coming out flat.
"There's always time to fix things, Ellis," he said, and now his tone wasn't teasing at all. "I just want for you to be okay."
"I'm okay," I said.
"Nah." He straightened from the wall, unfolding his legs. He was shorter than Levi and Jacob, but the way he carried himself was full of confidence, like he was eight feet tall. "You and me, we need each other to be okay."
"Fine. You know what, I do want you on my side. Tell me you don't think we should let my sister's body die."
"She's not coming back, Ellis. It's time for her to go into Heaven. It's cruel to you both to drag out the inevitable."
That word, cruel, felt like a slap. I felt heat rise to my cheeks. "She's happy in the Far right now. I'm just asking that we try."
He continued as if I hadn't spoken. "The Far corrupts. It's not as simple as you think it is, to just leave her there wandering around killing geists and getting tattoos and then you guys can go visit every Friday night and catch up..."
"I don't think that's what's going to happen!"
"It's what you hope for," he said. "It's what I would hope for, too."
"Then why the hell aren't you on my side here? If you get it?"
"I am always on your side." His eyes widened slightly, as if I'd hurt him, before his jaw set. "Whether you like it or not, I'm on your side."
"Doesn't work like that," I said.
"You're getting as cantankerous as one of us. But you still don't know a damn thing about this world or the next, Ellis."
"That's why I want to be able to count on you to teach me." I turned again and headed out of the room. Over the sound of my shoes on the hardwood, I barely heard him.
"Goddamn it, Ellis," he said softly. "I'm trying."
2
I stopped in the doorway from the house, struck by the magical scene: the long table crowded with plates of food, the tiny white lights strung over the deck that twinkled against the falling night, and the chatter of old friends getting reacquainted. Nash, Yale, Zane, and Olivia were taking seats across from Levi and Jacob. The air smelled of woodsmoke from the grill. The summer night was broken by the sound of their banter as they teased each other back and forth, already beginning to pass plates of watermelon and pasta salad.
I felt drawn to their light and noise. At the same time, I had the sudden sense that I didn't quite belong in this magical world of the Hunters.
Ryker touched my lower back gently. "Come sit down, Ellis. It's your house, too."
I glanced up at him, quirking an eyebrow in response to his concerned face and those green eyes that seemed to see too much of me. "I thought you said you weren't a mind-reader."
He touched my jaw with his fingers, just for a second, the gesture fond. "I'm definitely not. Not where you're concerned."
"Then how'd you know what I was thinking?"
"That look on your face," he said. "Like you wanted to run away. Like you'd rather eat Frosted Flakes in your room than sit down with all of us to a feast."
"Wait. We have Frosted Flakes?" I loved breakfast cereal.
Ryker took my hand in his and tugged me toward the deck. "It'll be all right. They're a bunch of hooligans, but they're already your friends. You just have to get to know them. We wouldn't want anyone in our lives who didn't care about you."
"How can you say all the wrong things one minute and all the right things the next?" I asked bluntly, as we crossed the weathered wooden deck to the tables.
I'd practically sent him an invitation to make some barbed comment about how he was right about my sister's situation, but his lips quirked up mischievously. "Every now and then, I might hit on the right thing. But don't get your expectations up."
There were two empty seats, one at the end of the table and one between Jacob and Levi, so I squeezed Ryker's hand in mine to let him know I wasn't rejecting him and then slipped in between the two other boys.
Jacob slung his arm around my shoulders casually, hugging me into his side, and my heart stopped at the casual, affectionate gesture. I hadn't expected it from Jacob. I leaned into his warmth, resting my hand on his thigh, feeling the lean muscles even through his jeans.
"You need to eat," Levi said, grabbing a platter of grilled meat from the center of the table.
"I don't need steak and chicken," I said, laughing, as he tried to pile my plate with enough food for one of these massive Hunters. I definitely had an appetite these days, but I was still on the short side of average. For a girl. I was not like these hulking guys who surrounded me.
I could feel someone watching me from across the table, and I turned to meet Olivia's eyes. She glanced away quickly, down to her plate, a blush rising in her cheeks. I felt myself blush, too. Jacob was touching me, and I was sure it sucked for her. But goddamn it, as much as I wanted to be sensitive to her unrequited crush, I needed Jacob right now. I had three men who loved me, and one man who understood the worst parts of me. The parts of me that would do anything to save my sister.
"So Ellis," Zane said, "since you didn't grow up knowing about harems. How much of a shock was that?"
"And that's a hell of a way to make conversation," Jacob noted.
"I knew about harems," I said. "A Thousand Arabian Nights and Sister-Wives and all that. I didn't expect to have one."
"What do you think about it now?"
"I like it," I said. "When none of them are being assholes. So, Zane, why don't you tell me some of your deepest thoughts and secrets?"
"He doesn't have any," Yale put in.
"I'll tell you Yale's though," Zane said. "I'm always willing to compromise."
Levi sighed. "Now they're off and running."
"Hey," Nash broke in. "Before you two start, I want to hear about the demon's case. We have active demon hives just north of us, in D.C.? We barely talked about this."
"Light dinner conversation," Zane said.
"Pretty typical dinner conversation," Olivia put in. "Unfortunately."
"It wouldn't be boring to you if you'd come hunting with us." Nash said.
"For the hundredth time," Yale said, "She really can't."
"I would like to!" Olivia protested.
>
She'd sounded so sad before when she told me that she couldn't be a Hunter because of heart troubles since childhood. I hadn't realized that at least one of her brothers thought that was an excuse. I glanced over at her, feeling sorry for her suddenly, and met her eyes evenly. Solidarity. These Hunters were an impossible bunch.
She stared back at me for a second, and then glanced away, her messy red curls falling between us.
"There was one half-demon," Jacob said. He eased away from me, letting his arm slip off my shoulders, as he sat forward. I wasn't sure if he had done that to save Olivia or just because Hunter business captured his attention. "And some minions. We killed half a dozen. There could be more."
"He implied there were more in the apartment building," Ryker said. "Maybe minions, maybe vamps. All kinds of fun."
"We should go burn it down," Zane said.
Levi shook his head. "Yeah, we're not going to risk burning down a whole city block. We'll have to figure out their wards and then clear room by room."
"He implied?" Yale said. "You got to have a conversation with the half?"
A flicker of something crossed over Jacob's face, so quickly that I didn't think anyone else noticed. The half. He was the half, too.
"Yeah," Ryker said reluctantly.
"And you didn't tear a full breakdown of what's waiting for us in the apartment building out of him?"
"No one invited you yet," Jacob said.
That was the abrasive man I loved.
"A big job like that, you're going to need us," Nash said confidently. "And we haven't teamed up in a while. It'll be like old times."
"I think we've all had enough nostalgia lately," Levi said, no doubt thinking about how Jacob's torture had been replayed in vivid moving pictures for us in the demon's case.
Nash looked at Levi sharply, as if he were trying to figure out what was wrong. I didn't want to discuss the horrible things we'd seen in the demon's case with these men, no matter how much they were supposed to be on our side. It would only hurt Jacob to hear it all again. I toyed with my fork, but I didn't have much appetite for the smoky barbecued meat and the sides piled on my plate. This whole conversation made me tense.
"Well, I personally do want to hear some nostalgia," I cut in, suddenly inspired. "I didn't know these boys as kids. I was hoping you could tell me something funny about Ryker and Levi."
Ryker groaned, dropping his head dramatically over his plate. The sense of tension in the air seemed to lift. Levi, beneath the table, reached over to squeeze my knee, as if he knew exactly what I was doing. Being Levi, he probably did.
"They haven't really changed that much," Nash said. "Ryker's always been a natural lady's man."
"Let's not go there," Ryker said.
"And Levi's always been the kind-hearted killer type. Like he cried over roadkill once on our way to a Hunt—"
"It was someone's dog," Levi put in, outraged. "And I was eight."
"And then he killed his first demon."
"When you were eight?"
"I was a badass third grader," he said, without arrogance. Just a statement of fact.
"Except for the tears," Nash said.
"I can still kick your ass," Levi said, grinning to take some of the threat out of his words. Even though he also pushed the sleeves of his flannel shirt up slightly, as if he were willing to give ass-kicking a try right here and now.
"I'd pay to see that," Zane said, grinning.
"I'll take you both," Levi said easily. "Two-for-one special."
"Now you're just being cocky."
Levi pushed back from the table.
Zane groaned. "I wouldn't have eaten all those chips if I'd planned on a fight."
Yale raised his hands as if he were washing them of his brothers. "I just want to eat some ice cream. I'm not looking for a fight tonight."
"You and me both," Ryker said, pushing back from the table. He headed for the house. His broad shoulders and straight spine seemed to telegraph irritation.
And also looked dead sexy, the way his t-shirt clung to his shoulders. But I shouldn't notice that right now.
Nash leaned over, whispering to Olivia. His eyes flickered toward Levi, but Levi didn't notice. Zane clapped Levi on the shoulder as the two turned away from the table and headed onto the lawn.
Well, at least they were cordial. No one was going to get too badly hurt. Right?
Zane planted his feet as he turned, his hand still on Levi's shoulder, with a big grin on his face. His fingers curled around Levi's shoulder just before he socked him in the stomach.
I heard Levi's hard breath out. His shoulders curled in slightly as his muscles contracted with the force of the blow, and then he dipped his shoulder down low into Zane's chest. The two of them closed up, throwing punches, looking for the right angle.
Nash jumped on Levi's back, his forearm across Levi's throat. Levi glanced back at the guy choking him and then shoved Zane away. Levi threw himself backward hard, almost springing off the ground.Levi slammed hard onto the ground. With Nash pinned underneath him.
Zane was already staggering forward, back into the fight. Nash, still pinned under Levi and wincing, locked one wrist over the other, tightening his choke hold.
Just as Zane launched himself on top of the pile, Levi twisted to one side, breaking Nash's hold, and rolled out of the way. Zane landed on Nash, and the two of them grunted as they collided.
Levi took a step back, grinning, his hands raised as if to call off the fight. "I guess you did eat too many chips."
"You've got those superpowers, man." Nash groaned briefly as he started to sit up, but he got his legs under him and rolled up smoothly anyway. "Not like when we were kids and I could kick your ass."
"So that's what you're nostalgic for, huh?" Levi asked. "A time that never was?"
"A time that will come again," Nash promised him.
Nash and Zane were edging around Levi, trying to get to a place he couldn't see them both at one time. Levi backed away, watching them circle. His tall, leanly powerful body moved with athletic grace. It always amazed me to see Levi from a distance, with his long blond hair and his tattooed muscular arms and his fists at the ready, and to realize just how dangerous he was. He was so gentle with me. I could almost forget that he fought furiously and killed when he felt he had to.
Jacob hated demons. Ryker was pure fury. But I suddenly had the feeling that if one of my boys killed Nimshi, it would likely be Levi. He would be pragmatic and sorrowful and do whatever it took to protect his family.
The thought made me shiver even in the heat of the summer night.
The two boys closed in on Levi at the same time. As soon as they went for him, he picked Nash and went after him, moving lightning-fast to close the distance. He hit Nash hard and whirled, already expecting Zane to be right behind him, already punching.
Olivia tackled Levi from behind.
Still in fluid motion, he barely stumbled at her weight slamming into him. He grabbed her wrist without seeing her and flipped her over his head. I could see his face change when Olivia was in mid-air, realizing that she was too light to be one of the brothers, but it was too late. He'd already released her as she was on her way to the ground. He tried to catch her, going down hard on one knee.
Olivia cried out when she hit the ground, all her breath rushing out of her body.
"Jesus." Levi was already scrambling to check on her. Zane came at him from one side, and Levi didn't even glance his way as he shot his leg out and kicked Zane's feet out from under him. "Enough. Olivia, are you okay? What the hell were you thinking?"
"I figured you wouldn't mind if Olivia played along," Nash said.
"Two versus one, remember?" Levi's jaw was set in anger, but I could see the worry in his eyes as he checked over Olivia. Olivia was already sitting up, though, wincing. Her cheeks were flushed with embarrassment.
"Sorry," she said in a whisper.
"Not really cheating. Adding in Olivia wasn’t like addin
g in another opponent. Maybe two-point-one?" Nash teased her.
Levi stood and offered Olivia a hand up. He pulled her easily to her feet. She held an arm protectively across her side, as if she'd twisted something when she fell.
"Not cool," Levi told them.
"Yeah," I said, suddenly furious. "I'm pretty sure you're not even point one when it comes to setting up fake checking accounts or hacking through a business's security. I don't know why you think you're so cool."
Zane crossed his arms over his chest. At least he had the sense to look embarrassed. Nash met my eyes evenly. There was a smug little smirk written across his face. It made me want to wallow in the memories of Levi punching him in his stupid face.
"You can train any idiot to swing a sword or throw a punch," I said. "But none of us can do what Olivia does. Without her, we'd be broke and lost."
Olivia glanced away, high color in her cheeks. She turned and walked toward the house.
Levi rested his hand on my shoulder briefly. It was a nice show of support when the rest of the guys were staring at me, their mouths hanging slightly open, as if I'd just insulted their mothers.
"I'll go talk to her," Levi said.
"No, it's okay, I'll go." I said.
I found Olivia in the house, flipping through books in the dining room. There was still angry color in her cheeks.
"I'm stuck here," she announced, without looking up. "We drove together."
"You should take the car," I said. "I'm sure one of the guys can drive your brothers back."
She was still paging through a book without looking it, flipping pages angrily.
"Easy on the books," I said, holding out a hand. "That's a monk's finest handiwork there. I especially like how, when he wasn't copying down the sacred text, he was doodling naked couples in imaginative poses in the margins. Makes you wonder about those monastaries, huh?"
She set the book down. "I don't need you to fight my battles for me, Ellis."
"Oh," I said. "Well, I wasn't."
"That's just how Hunters are," she said. "They have to be cocky. They have to be proud of themselves for swinging those swords and making it look easy—"
"They don't need to be dicks about it," I interrupted.
