“We should be going,” Bannon said after another long pause where they just stared at each other.
“I’ll make you a deal.”
“What deal?”
“You get us out of this alive, and you can claim me.” Bannon grinned as he stood up straight and took Galen’s hand, tugging him toward the door. “I’ll hold ya to it.”
* * * *
He absolutely hated that Galen had to be there with them, but his little mate had become their secret weapon. It was easier, faster, and a hell of a lot safer for Galen to do a scan and tell them how many and what type of paranormals were inside the building. Once his job was finished, he was going to stay put in the car to wait whether he liked it or not, though.
“Do ya need to move closer?” Bannon prayed his lover said no.
Galen closed his eyes and leaned against Bannon’s side in the backseat of the SUV. They could see the abandoned slaughterhouse up the road, but hopefully, they were far enough away that no one could see them.
“One…two…five…seven shifters,” Galen said after a minute, apparently counting them as he came across their—well, whatever it was he could sense. “A faerie, a witch, and I think a goat.”
“A goat?” Raven asked from the driver’s seat. “Seriously?”
Galen opened his eyes and shrugged. “Real animals are harder than shifters, but I think it’s a goat.”
“Well, here’s hoping that witch is Lynk Braddock,” Demos murmured before pushing open his door and climbing out of the vehicle. “Let’s rock and roll.”
Galen reached for his door handle as well, but Bannon stopped him. “Stay here.”
“Okay.” The smaller man slouched back in his seat and kicked his shoes off into the floorboard.
“That’s it?” Bannon had been prepared to beg, plead, and bribe.
Galen’s easy acquiesce left him stumbling for what to say next.
“I can’t fight. I have no super powers, and I don’t heal like you guys. I’m just going to get in the way, distract you, or get hurt. I don’t really care for any of those options, so I’ll stay here. Should I honk the horn if I see someone coming?”
“No. Stay down and keep quiet.” Though it would be nice to have advanced warning that the cavalry was coming, he wouldn’t risk Galen exposing his hiding place. Pulling a dagger from the sheath on his belt, he flipped it around and passed it over handle first. “Take this.”
Galen looked like he’d refuse, but Bannon growled, and he eventually rolled his eyes and took it. “Same thing as last time,” he said firmly. “Come back to me, Bannon Murphy, or I’ll get someone bigger to kick your ass.”
Chuckling under his breath, Bannon bent and kissed Galen’s plump lips before sliding out of the car and jogging over to meet his fellow Enforcers. “Stick together or spread out?” he asked Raven, who was technically in charge in Stavion’s absence, though the Cloud Peak Pack Enforcers could probably care less who gave the orders.
“Stick together until we get inside. We’ll reassess from there.” Everyone nodded their agreement and took off toward the dilapidated barn-like structure that looked downright creepy standing there in the moonlight. Keeping low and sticking to the fences near the paddocks, Bannon was the first to reach the small side door. It was slightly ajar, and looked like it would fall off its hinges if he so much huffed at it.
Sliding around the side of the building, he searched for another way in that would be less conspicuous than basically knocking down the front door. The windows were too high to reach. Damn! He saw no other door along the east side, so he continued on toward the back of the barn where he was again treated to the sight of enormous double doors. Yeah, no one would notice if he just pushed those right open.
Treading quietly, he hurried back around the building to the others still waiting near the paddocks. As he crept toward them, his eyes followed the fence, and a smile spread over his face when he noticed it was actually a chute that led toward a gate instead of a door inside the building.
Waving his hand to get the others’ attention, he jerked his head toward the chute and pointed at the gate. Four sets of eyes follow his movements, and nods went around the group. Sliding between two of the rotting boards, Bannon crouched low inside the chute and waited for the others to join him before taking off toward the gate.
It was metal rather than wood, but he had no trouble hurdling it to land inside the sparsely lit building. Raven and Demos jumped the fence after him, and something furry brushed against his hand where it dangled limply at his side.
Looking down, he found a huge russet wolf peering into the darkness of the cavernous room. Scanning behind him, he found the other wolf standing near Demos’s side with his eyes locked on the darkness at well.
Bending at the knees, he crouched beside the wolf closest to him and pressed his lips to the animal’s ear. “Lead the way,” he breathed as quietly as possible. The wolf’s ear twitched, and he made a quiet snuffling sound before padding forward to be engulfed by the shadows.
Bannon couldn’t see, but he was able to follow the soft padding of the shifter’s feet over the dirt floor. He’d made it no more than half a dozen steps when the other wolf in their group shot past him, barking and snarling. His companion’s voice rose up with his, untamed and vicious.
Their barking and snarling was quickly accompanied by a hellacious cry of a pterodactyl. Realistically, Bannon knew it wasn’t actually a long-extinct reptile-bird-thing, but that was sure as shit what it sounded like.
Caws and shrieks loud enough to shake the walls echoed around the room, and the air trembled around them as the sounds of flapping wings competed with the unholy cries.
“Bannon!” Raven shouted. “Go find the faerie and Braddock. We’ve got this!”
Bannon had never been one to retreat from a fight, but he understood the importance of finding their guys, so he took off jogging deeper into the barn. Unlucky for him, that led right toward whatever monster birds were making all the racket. Thankfully, however, someone was kind enough to choose that exact moment to flip on the fluorescent lights hanging from the rafters.
Squinting against the sudden brightness, Bannon got his first good look at their enemies and almost pissed himself. They were golden eagles—maybe. They looked like what he imagined the birds of prey would be if someone pumped them full of steroids and possibly radioactive waste. Birds that big just did not exist beyond fossils.
It appeared to be to their disadvantage, though, as they were having trouble remaining airborne. While the room was large, it wasn’t big enough to accommodate all seven of them and allow them to turn freely. Even as he watched, one of the eagles knocked itself out by flying into the rafters and then spiraling to the ground.
Deciding that the other Enforcers had things well in hand, Bannon searched the room for whoever had flipped on the lights. Near the back corner of the room, still mostly in the shadows, a dark figure slumped against the wall and slowly slid down to the floor.
Jumping over one of the fallen birds, Bannon sprinted across the room, kicking up dirt behind him as he ran. Slowing to a walk, he approached cautiously with his hands out to show that he wasn’t a threat. “Are you Lynk Braddock?” he yelled over the noise of the fight.
“Yes,” the man croaked. “Dying.”
“Not today, you’re not. Where’s the faerie?” Lynk lifted one shaky hand and pointed to a door in the corner.
Bannon nodded and patted the witch on the shoulder. “I’m comin’ back for ya. Just hold on.” Rising to his feet, he moved cautiously, keeping his back to the wall and checking over his shoulder after every few steps. Once he reached the door, he nudged it open with his foot and peeked around the frame. “Camdin Maywater!” The sound of coughing was his only reply, but it was better than nothing. Nothing meant dead, and dead got his ass handed to him by The Council. Besides, it also kind of sucked for the person doing the dying.
It didn’t take him long to locate the faerie and half carry,
half drag him out of the room to sit him down beside Lynk. “Stay here,” he ordered as if they were in any condition to move. They both looked like they’d be knocking on death’s door at any time.
Sometime while he’d been rescuing the captives, his friends had decided they didn’t like winning. Demos was sprawled out face-first on the ground. Both wolves were slumped on their sides and bleeding profusely. They’d managed to take five of the birds with them, but that still left Raven to battle two on his own. So, of course, he was losing.
A large talon sliced through the air, catching Raven in the chest and flinging him backward off his feet. He didn’t stay down long, before struggling back to his feet and charging forward like a madman, even as blood flowed down his chest from his gaping wound.
If Raven was crazy, Bannon supposed he was, too, because in the next instant he found himself sprinting toward the enormous beasts as well. They were probably going to lose, but he wouldn’t go down without a fight.
It was obviously his night for not being needed, though. Two muffled cracks sounded from the other side of the room, and then the strangest thing happened. Both eagles shifted into naked men in midair and plummeted to the ground where they lay unconscious.
With his mouth hanging open, Bannon looked toward the gate they’d all climbed over to find his mate standing there with a tranquilizer gun in his hands. “I thought I told ya to stay in the car!” Galen shrugged as he sauntered forward. “And I told you not to get yourself killed.” He let the butt of the rifle rest on the ground and puffed his chest out, proud and cocky. “I figured if one of us was breaking a promise, it should be me.” Bannon wasn’t appeased. He growled and grumbled under his breath as he stomped back and forth and waved his hands around like a lunatic, raving on about how Galen could have died. When he finally ran down, he turned and crossed his arms over his chest and glared. “What do ya have to say for yourself?” His mate lifted both eyebrows and smirked. “You’re welcome.”
Chapter Thirteen
“So, did we save the world?” Galen blinked up innocently at Bannon as they all gathered into Torren’s office.
“We’re about to find out,” Bannon answered with a nod toward Torren and Layke. “At least they found Raith.” Galen bobbed his head eagerly in agreement. He really hadn’t been looking forward to going to Missouri and doing everything all over again. “So, you never did tell me what sucked Raith out of that dream.”
Reaching back to take Galen’s hand, Bannon stroked the knuckles with his thumb. “Someone woke him up.” He glanced over at Torren and grimaced. “The boss man nearly took my bloody head off for gettin’ him all riled up about dreamwalkers and other witches. You’d think I did it on purpose.”
There were a lot of damn people in the office, and Galen was starting to feel a little claustrophobic. “Why do I have to be here?” Bannon didn’t have a chance to answer before Torren cleared his throat, drawing everyone’s attention. “First off, I want to say thank you.” He dipped his head at each of the Enforcers in the room. Even Scott and David were there. Galen figured it was a miracle that they’d even lived after the way those birds had shredded them. “Also, to our new sharpshooter.”
Torren winked at him, and Galen felt his face flush. He hadn’t really done much. The tranquilizer gun had just been sitting in its case in the back of the SUV. For the life of him, he hadn’t been able to figure out why no one else had taken it. They were supposed to be trained for shit like that, right?
There had been three different sets of darts—blue, green, and red—and he’d just made a lucky guess by grabbing the blue one.
When those birds turned into men and fell right out of the air, Galen hid it well, but he’d been struggling to keep his dinner down because he thought he’d killed them.
Bannon later explained that the darts were filled with Inhibitors, Inducers, and sedatives. Inhibitors kept shifters from changing forms.
Inducers forced them to shift to either animal or human. And well, sedatives were just sedatives, though specially designed for paranormals. Galen decided it was just a damn good thing he hadn’t unknowingly grabbed the Inhibitor darts.
“So, for those of you who haven’t met him, this is my brother, Raith.” He patted the man on the back, beaming from ear to ear. “His body is still working out the drugs the shifters gave him, but I assure you, he’s a bigger asshole than I am.” Galen decided to reserve judgment.
Raith glared at his brother as he lifted a hand to acknowledge the rest of the room. “Ignore him. I’m feeling much better, and I’m only an asshole to Torren.”
Laughter went around the group, and Galen leaned in closer to Bannon’s side as he joined in. Okay, so he could admit that the whole family reunion thing had been kind of sweet, even if they were still missing ten of their brothers.
Turning to the man on his other side, Torren wrapped his arm around the guy’s shoulder and squeezed him gently. “This is my other brother, Lynk. He’s working some sedatives out of his system as well, but he’s actually a pretty good guy.” While Torren and Raith were gigantic by Galen’s estimates, Lynk appeared to be about his size. It was odd to see all three brothers together—sweet, but odd.
Everyone’s attention turned to Camdin, who was sitting on the sofa with Elder Winters perched on the armrest right beside him.
“This is Camdin Maywater,” Layke said with a fond smile at the faerie. “The doctor has looked him over and says he’ll be as good as new in a few days. Until then, I’m afraid he needs his rest.”
“Wait a minute,” Raven interrupted. “We damn near got ourselves killed to rescue this guy, and no one has yet to give us a reason why. I don’t think I’m the only who’d like an explanation.” He’d hit the nail on the head with that one. Galen sure wanted to know why Torren and Layke had been so secretive, and why even now, they were trying to spirit the man away. As if the combined stare of the people in the room would reduce the six-foot-six behemoth to pile of rubble.
“We can discuss this another time,” Torren said loud enough to be heard over the grumbles that went around the group. “It’s only two weeks until Halloween, and we have a meeting and a party to prepare for. Also, I’d like to spend some time with my family. It’s been a very long time since I’ve seen them.”
“Why is he being so formal and snooty?” Galen whispered to his mate.
“He’s hiding something,” Demos said from Galen’s other side. “I don’t know about you, but I’m not leaving until I find out what it is.”
“Just tell them, Layke. It’s better if they all know. You do trust them, don’t you?” Camdin looked up at the elf and smiled imploringly. There was some history there. Galen wondered if it would also have a future.
Layke and Torren exchanged looks, and then Torren whispered something to each of his brothers. Finally, it appeared they all came to some sort of agreement, because Torren dipped his head curtly, and Layke stood, holding out a hand for Camdin.
It looked almost painful for the faerie to lever himself up off the sofa, but he managed, and stood on unsteady legs beside Layke.
Camdin fumbled with the buttons on the clean shirt The Council had provided for him. After several failed attempts, he finally gave up and turned to Layke for help.
With nimble fingers, Layke undid the buttons swiftly and parted the fabric to reveal Camdin’s smooth chest, broad shoulders, and rippling abs.
“Ya might want to put your eyes back in ya head there, Galen. And maybe wipe the drool from your chin.”
“Oh, hush.” Galen bumped his hip against his mate. “There’s nothing wrong with looking, and he’s a hottie. Admit it.” Bannon pressed his lips together and said nothing, which only made Galen giggle. The man was such a goofball, but it was one of the things Galen loved best about him.
Though it was a magnificent sight, he was having trouble understanding why Torren and Layke were showing off Camdin’s perfect physique. He didn’t start getting worried, though, until Torren stepped forw
ard with a letter opener in his hand.
Before Galen could object, the witch sliced the blade across his thumb so that beads of crimson rushed to the surface and flowed down into his palm. He smeared the blood over Camdin’s chest and bowed his head, chanting words in a language Galen didn’t understand.
Right before his eyes, glowing words appeared not only on Camdin’s chest, but across every inch of bare skin Galen could see.
He had a feeling there were more hidden on the man’s back and beneath his slacks.
“He is the Book of the Banished?” Demos’s mouth hung open.
“Are you shitting me? How is that even possible?”
“And how the hell do you close a fucking person?” Raven interjected.
“Like this,” Torren answered. He wiped the blood away from Camdin’s chest with a handkerchief and murmured more words that Galen didn’t understand. The glowing words disappeared, leaving only smooth, unmarked skin behind.
“Fuck me,” Raven whispered. “So, why didn’t you just tell us?”
“No one could know,” Camdin answered. “Our minds are never as safe as we think.”
“So, have you always been like this?” Galen waved a hand to indicate Camdin’s chest. He wasn’t really sure what “this” was, but he figured he got his point across with the awesome hand motions. Nice move, jackass.
Camdin seemed to catch his drift, though, because he started chuckling while Layke helped him ease back down to the sofa. “Not always, little one. It’s been nearly five centuries since I was cursed, binding me to the Relegatis for eternity.”
“Wow,” Galen breathed. “You’re really old.” Bannon reached back and popped him on the butt in reprimand. Galen jumped and glared up at his lover as he rubbed his stinging backside.
Camdin laughed again, though. “I will be seven hundred and twenty-three in November. So, yes, I guess I am rather old.”
“How do ya know Phillip McCarthy?” Bannon asked with a little growl in his voice.
And he thought Galen was being rude? “Hypocrite,” Galen muttered out of the side of his mouth. As usual, Bannon ignored him, though.
Haven 4: Back Roads Page 12
