My heart hammered in my chest as I waited in the tense silence.
“Oh, shit.” Lucy’s voice dragged my attention to the front of the car.
The SUV doors opened. Maria stood firm, pushing back her jacket and showing the sidearm.
Two women emerged, standing in their doors.
“That won’t protect you,” one announced, her voice muffled through the glass.
Maria pulled her sidearm. My heart leaped into my throat. I reached over and clung to Lucy’s hand.
Maria aimed at the woman. “Would runed bullets? ‘Cause, that’s what Lexie gave us.”
The witch’s smile faded, her hand turning over palm up.
The gas attendant stepped out of the gas station door and lit up a cigarette. Maria tucked the gun back down by her thigh, hiding it from the worker’s sight. The witches dropped their hands to their sides.
The silence stretched impossibly long as the two groups faced off with each other, neither advancing nor retreating.
The gas nozzle popped.
There was the sound of the nozzle being taken out. Dad was soon at the driver’s door. “Maria.”
Maria kept her firearm out as she climbed back into the car. Dad jumped the curb and squealed out of the gas station.
“How’d they find us?” Maria asked as she looked out the window. “They’re following!”
“I don’t know. They shouldn’t have been able to,” Dad snapped as he pulled out his phone. “We’re going to need some help.”
Lexie
I was walking down the long hallway in the basement when Isaac came down the stairs and spotted me.
“Hey, Red. I was looking for you.” His grin faded once he saw my face. “What’s wrong?”
“I just finished practice with Uma,” I said.
His brows drew down. “How’d it go?”
I shrugged. “I … I don’t really know.”
He took my hand and pulled me closer. “What happened?”
“Apparently, I have some weird ghost-like powers.” I looked up at him. “Why can’t I be normal?”
“What’s a normal necro like?” He grinned.
I shrugged.
“Because then you wouldn’t be you.” He bent down and brushed his lips against my cheek. “And I love you.”
“I love you too.”
He took my hand. “I have a surprise for you, but now I’m not so sure it’s the right time.”
I squeezed his hand and pushed everything else back. “A surprise?”
He grinned. “Come on.”
He led me to another door in the basement and opened it. Flickering candlelight filled the small room. A blanket was spread out over the cement floor with an actual real picnic basket on top of it.
I looked up at him, smiling. “Cookie Monster.”
A blush rose up his neck as he shifted. “I thought we could have a proper date for once.”
I went to my toes and kissed him gently. “You’re the sweetest boyfriend a girl could have.”
He raised an eyebrow at that. “You have five.”
I shrugged as I walked into the room. “And right now, you’re the sweetest.”
I sank down onto the thick blanket that was somewhat familiar. It had to be one of the ones from the linen closet.
Isaac sat across from me and opened up the basket. “So, it’s a changing lineup?”
“It changes day to day,” I teased.
Isaac pulled out two Tupperware boxes and handed me one. I opened it to find fried chicken, pasta salad, and carrots. Wait a minute. “Did you cook?”
He scoffed. “No way. I was going to do sandwiches but then Asher caught me and insisted on making the food.”
Ah. That did sound like Asher. “I love it, Isaac. Thank you.”
He busied himself opening a bottle of sparkling cider. “We’ve all noticed how overwhelmed you’ve been, so I just thought some quiet time would be nice.”
I smiled. “And the candles?”
His face turned red. “Don’t pick at it, Red.”
I chuckled as he poured cider into a champagne flute then handed it to me. I took a sip and enjoyed the crisp apple on my tongue. “So, how are you doing?”
“Don’t do that.” He put the lid back on the bottle before turning to me. “You don’t need to check on me.”
I raised an eyebrow. “You sound like Ethan.”
He shrugged. “He warned me you might try something like this.”
I frowned. “I guess I have been doing that a lot lately.”
“We’ve noticed.” He handed me a fork.
“I want to make sure I’m doing my part as your girlfriend.” I took a bite of my pasta salad. Hmm. Delicious, as always.
“You do your part as my girlfriend,” he said after he swallowed a bite of chicken. “You do more. That’s why this date is about you.”
“About me?”
He nodded. “Yeah, this is your quiet, mellow time. I don’t want you to think about Jadis, or your powers training. I want you to just enjoy being with me and having a meal.”
A slow smile spread across my face at his thoughtfulness. “Thanks, Cookie Monster.”
He met my gaze. “You’re welcome. Now eat.”
We passed the next hour in comfortable conversation. We talked about everything and anything except the big stressors in our lives. He even rubbed the tension out of my shoulders while we talked. It was a great hour that I knew I’d always remember.
All of it ended when shouts erupted upstairs. We looked at each other, then got to our feet and hauled ass up the basement steps. Asher beat us to the living room by seconds.
Brody was kneeling by the couch with several other beaten and bloody werewolves.
“What happened?” Asher asked as he carried a first aid kit to the bleeding werewolf on the couch.
“We had a run-in with Jadis’ witches.” Brody cursed as he held his hand over a bleeding wound. “They were using telekinetic spells.”
“They threw us around like rag dolls,” a man spoke up in a groan.
“What the hell were they on that they got that kind of power?” Brody muttered under his breath.
Not knowing what else to do, I went into the kitchen. After pulling out several bags of frozen veggies, I passed them out among the group. Several put them on their ribs, a couple put them on their faces and shoulders. The group was beat up, that’s for sure, but one thing was obvious and unanimous among them. Jadis had won that fight. How many more would she win before this was over?
Chapter 9
“How is this Jade supposed to get here?” I asked Uma. Everyone was standing in the backyard beyond the pool, looking out over the large lawn behind the house.
“You’ll see.” Uma gave me a knowing grin as she turned back to look out into the woods.
“I’ve got ten on skydiving in,” Isaac announced.
“Through the woods,” Zeke countered.
“There aren’t any roads back there,” Isaac pointed out.
“There’s always roads somewhere.” Zeke shrugged.
“I think she’s in a prop plane and flying in,” Ethan said. “The lawn is freaking big enough.”
I shook my head as they continued to theorize and take bets. I simply watched the evening sky and waited.
Eventually, something caught my eye. A figure I couldn’t quite grasp. Whatever it was, it was large, had wings, and was definitely not a plane.
“Holy shit.” Ethan shifted, moving himself a little in front of me. “Uh, does anyone else see that?”
“Yeah,” the guys answered in unison.
The thing was massive. Its wingspan had to be close to a football field wide.
“That’s a dragon.” Isaac gaped as the large creature turned in the air.
“Dragons are real,” Ethan said, stunned. “Dragons are real. Dragons are real.”
I simply stared in awe.
The long serpent-like body was covered in gleaming dark scales. Only, so
mething made the dark scales stand out in the sky. An edge of neon green lined each and every scale along the enormous body. Neon green ridges ran from the back of its head to the tip of its long tail. Long black talons shone on its four feet while large bat-like wings flapped in the fading light.
The creature moved towards the grass to land. Everyone backed up several feet, but before it even touched the grass the body went up in smoke and green flames. The scent of burning leaves filled the air. Everyone stepped back as a form dropped out of the smoke to land on the grass in a crouch.
Heart slamming, I stared as the woman got to her feet.
She was a small Asian woman in black leather pants and vest. High cheek bones highlighted her pretty, triangular face. Her jet-black hair was streaked with a bright green that matched her bright eyes. She walked toward us with a grin. “So, you’re the troublemakers.”
“You’re Jade, I take it?” Uma smiled. “It’s nice to meet you.”
The woman eyed Uma. “You’re a witch.”
Uma smiled with patience. “Yes.”
Jade nodded as if storing the information away for later and turned to me. “You must be the necromancer.”
I nodded, still flabbergasted. “You’re a dragon.”
She grinned, showing her sharp teeth. “Good eye.” She turned to Asher. “Wolf.” Then she turned to Ethan. “You, I didn’t expect.”
My heart slammed as Ethan straightened to his full height. “You know what I am?”
She raised an eyebrow. “Of course. Don’t you?”
“He was abducted and changed,” Uma explained as she moved behind Ethan. “He’s only just started noticing differences in the last few months.”
Jade eyed Ethan with a critical eye. “Yes, I know what you are.”
“Which is?” I asked, hopeful.
Ethan’s hand found mine as Jade turned to me and seemed to size me up.
“Jade?” Uma asked.
The dragon shook her head. “Sorry, I was just wondering what you are to each other.” Jade turned to Uma. “What did you want to know?”
“What am I?” Ethan asked softly, his grip tightening on my hand.
Those piercing green eyes moved back to Ethan. “You’re a phoenix.”
She had answered!
“A phoenix?” Ethan asked.
“A rare species to encounter, even for the length of time I’ve been around, and supposedly extinct now.” She turned to Uma. “How did he change?”
“You’d have to ask his captors,” Uma said. “No one knows what they did, only the results.”
“Phoenix,” Ethan muttered under his breath, a little put out. “Couldn’t be a dragon.”
I bit back a grin as Jade turned back to him.
“Phoenixes were warriors. They were difficult to kill, so they were the perfect fighters that improved over the centuries as they gained experience throughout their lives.” She looked over our heads to the house. “Do you have any food here?”
Food?
Jade walked past us and towards the house. Everyone turned and scrambled to follow.
“So, he can never die?” Isaac asked as we tried to keep up.
“I didn’t say that,” she sent over her shoulder as she opened the back door. “Everything can die, it just takes a lot more to kill him.”
“Like what?” Ethan followed her inside and we trailed after him.
Jade began rummaging through the kitchen cabinets. “Being crushed under a landslide would be a slow and painful way to do it. However, the main cause of their extinction was the centuries long hunts that witches held. Chopping the bodies of the phoenix up and keeping them separate would stop them from being able to reform.” She turned to us, a box of crackers in her hand. “Do you have any meat? I need to eat after flying such a distance.”
Asher opened the fridge. “I’ll make dinner while you answer questions.”
She stood near the counter and started nibbling on crackers. “A large portion. According to Zahur, I burn a lot of calories.” She seemed to remember something. “Please.”
Asher went about making pork chops while we focused on her.
“So, being crushed can kill me?” Ethan asked, his shoulders straightening.
She nodded. “Yes, as long as your body stays crushed. If the pressure is released, you’d just heal again. As I said, dismemberment, placing your body parts in mirror-lined boxes and sunk in different bodies of water is the only sure way of doing the job.”
I simply stared, fascinated, as the woman finished off a roll of crackers and pulled out another one.
“What about fire?” Zeke asked.
She shook her head. “Fire would help him heal. It’s part of a phoenix’s ability. Get a stab wound, cauterize it and you’ll scar in a few hours or so. A lot of phoenixes were burned as witches over the centuries. It wasn’t remarkably effective.” She frowned down at the crackers then moved over to peek around Asher’s shoulder. “Are you finished?”
Asher sighed as he set the meat on the grill. “Not yet, it’s got to cook.”
She saw the meat on the grill and frowned. “That’s not enough.”
“It’s ten pork chops.” Asher glanced back at her.
She looked up at him with an oddly innocent face and nodded. “Yes, and it’s not enough. Not if you people want to eat as well.”
Asher’s eyebrows went up. “Okay, then the pork chops are for you and I’ll make something else for the others.”
Her smile was brilliant as she thanked him before returning to her crackers and turning back to us. “What were we talking about?”
“How I can die,” Ethan said, his voice strained.
Jade nodded. “Of course. So, punctures are bad but you’re a fast healer so it’s not too bad if you do get stabbed. Your subcutaneous scales just can’t protect against it, but they can against lacerations. Phoenixes were mostly revered.”
“What?” I shook my head not following. “If they were so revered, why were they hunted into extinction?”
She nodded and swallowed her bite as the scent of cooking pork filled the kitchen. “Witches mistook them for dragons. Mostly in what is now Asia, since that’s where we’re from, but that was at least a millennia ago.”
“I thought dragons were a symbol of protection?” Ethan said.
“That came later,” she said around a cracker. “When we became extremely rare, they realized how much we protected our chosen villages. Before that, they wanted us dead.”
“How did you survive?” Isaac asked as he leaned against the breakfast counter.
“I hid. Stayed in human form, moved from village to village. Then, when the hunts finally stopped, I went into hibernation.” Her chewing slowed. “If I don’t fly or shift humans don’t really notice me. Simple.”
Simple, right. “Okay, so, can Ethan shift?”
Asher began to plate her pork chops.
She shook her head as her attention went completely to the plate in Asher’s hands. “Since he wasn’t born a phoenix, I highly doubt it. But he should have their practically immortal lifespans.”
Asher got a knife and fork then delivered the plate to Jade. “Here you go.”
“Thank you.” She took the plate, set it on the kitchen’s breakfast bar, and began to shovel down food. I don’t think she even paused to breathe.
I shared a look with Asher as everyone watched in odd fascination as the tiny woman scarfed down the food.
Ethan sighed.
“What’s wrong?” I whispered as my hand moved to his back.
He shook his head and met my gaze. “For a minute there, I thought I was a dragon.”
I fought back the smile. “And you’re disappointed?”
He turned to Jade. “How sure are you that I’ll have their lifespans?”
She tilted her head to the side and thought about it. “Completely. Hybrid or not.”
Isaac grinned. “That’s fucking awesome.”
Ethan turned to Isaac as he began
to spin his rings. “Yeah, sure. Until you guys start dying around me.”
Jade paused her eating, looking between all of us. One day, Ethan would be alone.
“Ethan …” I didn’t know what to say.
He shook his head and walked out of the kitchen.
“Was it something I said?” Jade asked before taking another enormous bite.
“It wasn’t you,” Uma explained.
Jade nodded then turned to me. “Who is this girl you keep seeing?”
The change of topic was jarring and caught me completely off guard. “Um, I don’t know. It started with dreams.”
“Then she showed up in our bedroom,” Miles added. “And disappeared.”
“Did she say anything?” Jade asked before she popped another piece of meat into her mouth.
“Just to ‘Make it stop.’” I shook my head, still at a loss.
“And she’s not a ghost?” Jade asked.
“No, she wasn’t.” Of that I was certain.
Jade frowned. “She might be astral projecting her spirit, though she’d have to be extremely strong to do it.”
“That was my assessment,” Uma said. “She seems to need help.”
Jade’s gaze focused on me. “What else do you remember?”
I tried to think of anything that might help but I had almost nothing. “She was one of the people they experimented on in New Orleans.”
“Evelyn filled me in on New Orleans,” Jade said. “The girl is probably still imprisoned by them.”
Uma nodded. “We need to rescue her.”
“Ask her where she is next time you see her,” Jade told me before turning to Uma. “What are your forces like here?”
As the conversation around me shifted, I couldn’t help the worry for Ethan that weighed on my mind, making it impossible to focus on what Uma and Jade were talking about. I quietly left the kitchen and looked for him.
I found him in his room, sitting on the side of the bed, his gaze on the floor.
When the Grave Calls Page 13
