Sphinx Transformed (The Sphinx Warriors Series Book 3)

by Christine Murphy

  Giving them a pre-warning, Alexandria shouted out, “Yes, you should have gotten me.” Before she reached the circle, she was closed off from entering. A wall of Warriors and Guardians blocked her way. The distrust and rejection stung but they were only protecting their Power Keeper and Khenti from a deadly enemy. Still, among the many faces of Warrior and Guardian there was a true apology in their expressions. It lightened her heart a little that they still cared for her even though they had to block her way. In the end, she was glad they were on guard around her. She knew she didn’t trust herself as the whispering Wraith inside her was in glee over the nearness of its target. Her beloved brother.

  ****

  “You idiots get the fuck out of my way!” Joshua was beyond furious while he pushed his way out of the tight protecting circle. Before the ranks had closed, he had seen a beautifully flushed Alexandria trying to get to Stormy to help and her heartbroken expression when the Warriors and Guardians closed her out. Inside he knew she was tender hearted and the actions would hurt her. The doctor in her would be just as upset with being rejected to help a member of her family and in front of everyone.

  Pushing past the wall of hardened men and planting a hand to the back of the last one blocking his way moving him quite effectively, Joshua finally stood by Alexandria. He grasped her hand pulling her into his side and positioned himself so he was mostly blocking her from the other men. Taking note of Eleina standing by Alexandria and Warren finally catching up with a medical kit in tow, he nodded to both of them in appreciation of standing by her.

  Joshua turned a dark look at the Warriors he called brothers and the Guardians Elite.

  “Stormy needs help. Do you think anyone else is going to be able to find out what the fuck is going on with her?”

  “Dude. What would you have us do? She’s part, um, Wraith, and out for Michael’s blood.” Ethan pulled at his shirt and rubbed at his wrist where the Sefu resided in obvious discomfort.

  Alexandria squeezed Joshua’s hand and he looked into her thankfully deep blue eyes. She spoke to him through their Link. They’re right in what they’re doing. I’m unpredictable even to myself, Joshua. Please don’t be angry with them.

  He knew she was right but it still ticked him off her family would consider her the enemy. Directing his anger at them anyway, he barked, “Do we want Alexandria’s help or not? Or should we just leave Stormy on the ground half unconscious and in discomfort?”

  When everyone still stood in defense mode, Khenti Michael ordered, “Let my sister through now. Joshua’s right.” The circle parted instantly and Joshua led Alexandria through the wary men into the center.

  The closer Joshua pulled her toward Michael and Stormy, the more Alexandria clung to him. Their Link was still slightly open and he could feel the swirling chaos in her. She shook in his arms and her breathing and heart rate was labored. He stopped gently grasping her face and tilting it up so he could see. Alexandria’s eyes were tightly closed and she grabbed his shirt in a death grip.

  “Alexandria what is it? Talk to me.” He brushed several midnight black strands of her hair behind her ear that had come lose during her quick flight to reach them.

  She visibly swallowed with difficulty and her voice came out raspy, the Wraith’s voice overlaying making it sound dual leveled.

  “Michael. Having him near is agitating the damn Wraith. The creature scents its target. “

  He quickly held Alexandria closer in case she tried to attack or bolt. “Michael, you’re going to have to step back. Alexandria is struggling with the influence of the Wraith and may attack you.”

  Michael growled, “Like hell I will. Stormy needs me.”

  Joshua was at a loss. How was Alexandria going to help Stormy when Michael wouldn’t stand down? What if they lost their Power Keeper because her Power Mate couldn’t let her go and Alexandria couldn’t help her with Michael present?

  Joshua was second in command and should have been able to do something to help his Khenti but he was stuck between a rock and hard place. As he became uncertain and desperate to help his Khenti, Stormy stirred and Joshua watched as she weakly placed her hand on Michael’s cheek.

  “Michael,” she whispered. “You have to let me go. Just for a little bit. Alexandria won’t hurt me. She’s my friend and your sister. Even with the Wraith trying to take over her, she’s fighting for us.”

  Words from a true angel. Joshua could see the entire group of Warriors and Guardians visibly relax. Michael appeared to want to for Stormy’s sake, but he was clearly conflicted between letting her go and wanting her to be healed. Finally, with a growl, he gently laid her on the ground and backed away. Guardian Arik and Hunter flanked him, positioning themselves protectively between their Khenti and Alexandria in case she did go off the deep end.

  The farther away Michael got, the less Alexandria shook. Her breathing evened out and she finally opened her eyes looking up at Joshua. Joshua noted her eyes were still dark blue.

  “Thank the Ancients.” He breathed. Gently he ran his hand over her hair to soothe her but more to soothe himself. “Are you ready?”

  Alexandria smiled tremulously up at him but her eyes started to glitter with her healer determination.

  “Yeah. I’m ready to tackle this one. I have to help Stormy.”

  Joshua had faith in her and knew she would come through as their “Doc” again.

  She stepped out from the embrace of his arms and slowly approached Stormy. Joshua hated the feeling of loss as soon as her warmth left him. Turning to Warren, he held his hand out.

  “The Collar activator. Give it to me.”

  Warren crossed his arms across his chest and Joshua just knew the man was going to make an issue out of his demand.

  “Damn it, Warren. Don’t argue about this with me right now. If ever I wasn’t in the mood, it’s definitely now. Trust me when I say I’m perfectly capable of activating it.”

  Warren’s look clearly indicated he didn’t believe Joshua would activate the Collar if something happened.

  “Yeah, right Joshua. I’ll give it to you but it’s on your head if something happens and your involvement with her gets in the way.”

  Joshua snarled, his Powers spinning up in agitation. Luckily, Warren thought better of challenging his demand and slapped the activator in Joshua’s hand. Turning back to Alexandria, Joshua slipped the device into one of the many pockets of his fatigue pants.

  Already squatted down and leaning over Stormy, she was examining her patient in healer style checking for pulse, consciousness, and all the things someone with her medical expertise did. Once she was satisfied with the findings of the physical exam, Alexandria glanced up to Joshua.

  “Josh, I need you to monitor me while I check her Life Power levels and see what damage is internal.”

  To Joshua, Alexandria appeared uncertain of herself and the ability to control the dark beast inside. Even her hands shook slightly when she brushed a couple of stray strands of hair behind her ear. Everything in him wanted to help her.

  “I’ll stay connected with you, Lexi. Would it help if I monitored you similar to what Michael does during the Transference?”

  “Yes, that would be perfect.” His heart lifted a bit when she gifted him with a breathtaking smile at his suggestion.

  Kneeling down beside her, he reached up under her hair and rested his hand on the back of her neck. Opening his connection with her, Joshua could instantly sense her inner concerns for Stormy’s condition and the contact with Life Power which could set her inner Wraith off. Wanting to reassure her, he reached around her waist and pulled her back against him.

  He placed a kiss behind her delicate ear and whispered just for her, “You can do it, Alexandria. I’m right here for you.”

  Taking a deep breath, Alexandria leaned back over Stormy and began to reach toward her chest to make contact for her examination. Joshua felt her cringe when Michael growled on the other side of the field. She moved not a muscle, but he felt tensio
n running through her.

  Michael cursed under his breath. “I’m sorry, Alexandria. This is hard for me. Please…please continue.”

  Joshua saw her give Michael an impatient look and then she placed her hand over Stormy’s heart.

  “Stormy, I’m going to check on your Life Power like I’ve done in the past.” Stormy nodded and Alexandria closed her eyes.

  The moment Alexandria’s energy passed into Stormy’s body, Joshua was amazed at the feedback he was getting through their shared Link. He could detect Alexandria traveling along the part of Stormy’s nervous system which drew, stored, and transferred Life Power. The damage even to his inexperienced senses indicated Stormy had been over-tasking herself to the point the special cells were raw and inflamed. It was no wonder Stormy had passed out. As their Power Keeper, the pain of drawing Life Power through her swollen system had to have been more than excruciating.

  Joshua shook his head in awe. To him, the women of the Sphinx were amazing. Sometimes they put the Warriors to shame with the amount of giving and agony they went through to support them, save their asses, and yes, put up with them and love them. He realized he hadn’t committed enough of himself to the extraordinary woman he had in his arms.

  He glanced up at his brothers in arms and realized perhaps they felt the same way, because their expressions showed concern and fear for the two women on the ground before them battling to recover to fight another day with the Warriors. Even those Warriors without Mates had a suspicious sparkle in their eyes. Joshua wasn’t surprised the hardcore Raven even appeared to be stressed over the condition of the women.

  Alexandria brought his attention back when she sighed heavily shaking her head. “The good news is Stormy’s not losing her abilities from burnout.” Comments of Thank the Ancients whispered around them at the news, but Alexandria had more to share. “The bad news is Stormy’s system is raw and inflamed.”

  “Damn it, Stormy. I shouldn’t have let you Transfer to us when I knew you were struggling. I’m so sorry, angel.” Michael was obviously beside himself pacing back and forth behind Guardian Arik and Hunter.

  Weakly, Stormy responded, “Michael it’s not your fault. I would have demanded to do it anyway. You know how stubborn I am.”

  Stormy grabbed Alexandria’s arm fixing her with a determined stare. “Alexandria, can you fix me? The Gate’s opening and I need to perform the Transference for the Warriors. Their levels are too low for this battle, especially if it goes south.”

  “I know. I’ll do as much as I can.” Joshua sensed the strong need Alexandria had burning through her to help Stormy. She was already ramping her Power up to heal her.

  “Joshua, stay with me.” And with a squeeze of her unoccupied hand on his arm, Alexandria dove back into Stormy’s system. Her energy coated the inflamed cells of Stormy’s body providing instant relief. Stormy sighed heavily, her body relaxing back onto the grass. After the anti-inflammatory adjustments to the cells, Alexandria continued to heal the cell structure, smooth out the jagged energy patterns, and strengthen the cells with much needed energy. Joshua detected Stormy had been in such pain and pushing Power to others, her own cells hadn’t been receiving the energy they needed.

  Within minutes, Stormy’s color had improved, her energy levels were almost back to normal, and she was sitting up on the grass. Her eyes glittered again with strength and challenge. Watching Alexandria work her magic still held him captivated. When he detected she was finally satisfied with her healing, she slowly pulled her Power from Stormy’s system and withdrew her hand. Stormy, of course, wouldn’t let her get away, grabbing Alexandria in a big hug and almost pulling Joshua down on top of both of them.

  “Thank you, Alexandria.” Stormy was so exuberant in her recovery she bounced back to her feet like a rabbit and grabbed Alexandria in a hug. The movement was such a surprise Alexandria almost fell over. Joshua encircled her with both arms and stood up stabilizing both of them.

  With Alexandria now firmly pressed against his body, he watched his Power Keeper run back over to Michael. Stormy dove around both of Michael’s guards and grabbed him in a hug. Joshua could feel Alexandria’s happiness over being able to help the two Power Mates. She snuggled back into Joshua and he detected her thoughts of hoping she could be with him in that way. You will be, Alexandria. I promise if I have to find Turin and strangle him myself to find the fix for you.

  Alexandria looked up at him with tears in her eyes. “I know you would, Joshua. Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.”

  “Stormy, you can’t, damn it.”

  Joshua glanced over to see Michael beside himself again. He paced in front of his Mate, running his hands through his hair, and growling deep and low. Everyone stood in silence not daring to say a thing while the Khenti worked whatever new issue was up with Stormy. Michael stomped right up to her in obvious frustration, “My sister just risked everyone to heal you and now you want to undo her work? Have you lost your mind?”

  Crossing her arms across her chest, Stormy walked away from Michael until she stood in front of Joshua and Alexandria. Joshua didn’t like the look in Stormy’s eyes either. It boded ill for someone and he had a suspicion it would be Alexandria. He pulled her closer in his arms giving Stormy a back-off look.

  Stormy put her hands on her hips. “Don’t even try it, Warrior. I know Alexandria will agree with me.”

  Joshua almost laughed if the situation hadn’t been so dire when Stormy pointedly ignored him and the other Warriors and focused on Alexandria.

  “Look, the Warriors won’t admit it, but they need Life Power. I was already able to juice up Raven and Hunter and Eleina already took care of Jacob, so that just leaves four Warriors left.” Stormy paused taking a deep breath and continued before Michael could interrupt her.

  “Alexandria, remember before when Caleb was injured, you pulled Life Power from me, changed it to healing energy, and then pushed the Power to Caleb. We know you can pull energy from your surroundings now and could heal any additional damage I inflict on myself. We’ve worked together before as a team, I think we can do that now.”

  Alexandria bit at her lip and Joshua knew her sign of agitation and indecision. She wouldn’t commit to helping in that way unless Michael supported the idea. The entire plan was dangerous for everyone. Stormy could end up causing more damage and overwhelming Alexandria’s healing ability, or Alexandria could lose control and injure someone, or worse Alexandria could be lost forever to the control of the Wraith inside of her. Every exposure to excess Life Power was making the Wraith stronger, and the thought scared the hell out of Joshua that he could lose her forever.

  Everyone looked at Michael, awaiting their leader’s decision. Joshua was glad it wasn’t up to him. Could he use the energy? Hell yeah, but he wouldn’t go against his Khenti’s declaration. They all waited while Michael paced back and forth staying on the other side of the grassy clearing in order not to agitate Alexandria’s condition. Finally, he stopped and looked to Alexandria with a rough acceptance in his expression. “Sis, do you think you can do this? I can’t lie that we don’t need the Life Power, but I won’t risk Stormy and you, even if it costs us…lives.”

  The ensuing chaos of Warriors, Guardians, Eleina, and Stormy denying anyone’s inevitable death when it could be prevented wasn’t a surprise to Joshua. Stormy freaked at the mention of losing any of her Warriors, but before she got spun up, Alexandria replied loudly over the heated discussion.

  “Stormy’s right. The Warriors need Life Power for the battles. I’ve been able to tell you all have been extremely low since I got back. You have been denying yourselves in order to protect Stormy but if you continue, you won’t recover and possibly not survive the upcoming battles. I can do this…if Joshua will help me?”

  A bit taken back by the fact she thought he might leave her in her moment of need, he cupped her face making her meet his eyes. Connecting with her through her Link, he let Alexandria see exactly how committed to her he was, no matter
what happened even if it was his death.

  “Know this, Alexandria, I will not leave you no matter what the consequences. And everyone else knows this.” Joshua pinned all of them with a steely gaze. “I will never give up Alexandria even it costs me expulsion from the Sphinx Warriors or the darkest, most agonizing death ever. She’s mine.”

  Even if Alexandria looked shocked at his declaration before all of his brothers, the other Warriors didn’t look surprised at all. It figured to him they could read him like a book. Everyone knew when Michael was Mated even before he was willing to admit it. So why wouldn’t they know Joshua was basically already Joined to Alexandria before he had actually done it.

  Stormy tackled Alexandria again in another round of hugging. “Oh, thank you, Alexandria. I owe you anything you want. So what do we do?”

  Stormy stepped away trying to look all Power Keeper again and Joshua just wanted to roll his eyes.

  “So what do we do?”

  “Well, never having done this myself, I would guess we need to have contact similar to a Transference hold. I’ll definitely need to be monitored by Joshua in case I have any issues. I know you normally are monitored by Michael, but I don’t know if that’s wise at this point having him that close to me. Lastly, we’ll need a volunteer willing to risk themselves with me.”

  Joshua almost lost his mind with the thought of one of the other Warriors being anywhere near Alexandria.

  Before anyone had the chance, Joshua growled, “No one is going before me.” When Raven started laughing behind him and commenting about whipped Warriors, Joshua cleared his throat and started again.

  “Not because of the Life Power but I want to make sure you’ll be alright during the Transference and I can pull you out if you have issues. Plus, I’m perfectly capable of monitoring you at the same time.”

  Erin suddenly chimed in, “Whatever you’re going to do, you better hurry up. We’re almost out of time, dudes. The Gates getting ready to open.”

  Just that quick, Joshua moved Alexandria into position. He ran one hand back under her hair massaging her neck for a moment before settling at the nape of her neck to monitor her. Stormy stepped up joining them to complete the mini-circle. Joshua slid his hand over Stormy’s arm and gripped her arm before he reached her elbow. She in turn overlaid her arm with his and grasped him mid-forearm in the Transference grip. Joshua drew Alexandria closer to him putting his arm around her and she placed her hand over his heart. Everything was deathly quiet except for the occasional light growling from Khenti Michael. Joshua knew Michael still wasn’t used to others touching his Mate and couldn’t blame him. He felt the same way about Alexandria.