by E. M. Moore
Book in hand, I jogged past the older New England style homes until I reached mine and ran up the steps. Jake and Sanders were waiting for me in the living room. Sanders had on Judge Judy which he’d taken a liking to ever since Troian’s trial. Jake was up and out of his seat as soon as he heard the door closed.
“I found something.” I turned the book toward him and ran my finger under the passage.
Confusion flit across his face until understanding dawned. “You want to use Troian to take us to Stonehenge.”
The TV muted. “I know I did not just hear you correctly.”
CHAPTER TEN
I’d spent the next couple of hours convincing Jake that we could travel like that even though I really wasn’t sure it was possible myself. Troian still hadn’t come back. I hoped he was okay. The whole process of him traveling when he didn’t want to looked like it hurt. It would suck if that were the case.
To get any answers, we were just going to have to wait until Troian returned from wherever. I was sure he’d be thrilled that I expected him to give us piggyback rides to Stonehenge like a rented mule.
Since it really wasn’t like any of us to sit around and wait, we decided to head out on patrol. Jake seemed especially excited to go. His smile went from ear-to-ear, reminding me of when we were younger. He noticed me looking and blushed. “Shut up.”
I laughed. “I didn’t say anything.”
We got into the SUV, Sanders in the backseat with me driving and Jake in the passenger side. I drove out to Gallows Hill Park, my usual routine ever since the evil witch bitches turned the ley line on. When we got there, we walked the perimeter. I took out the weyfinder but got nothing except for the shifter with me. The stone was green and revolving slowly.
I looked up just in time to see a net flying at my head. It fell around me, capturing me in its entwined ropes. “What the hell?”
Jake and Sanders were practically rolling around in the grass laughing. My old pal Jake clutched his stomach. “You’ve gone soft Marston.”
Anger mixed with a healthy dose of embarrassment rose up inside me. The more they laughed, the twitchier I got. “I didn’t expect a friend to try and trap me.”
Sanders put on his game face and stalked toward me. “In Elite, you’re expected to be on alert all the time. Peace or in the thick of it. You never know what to expect.”
I pulled at the net until it lay at my feet. Lowering my shoulder, I went for a double leg takedown. Sanders expertly stopped my advance, sprawling on top of me so that my chest hit the ground hard. His chest vibrated from his chuckling which only made me even more mad. “Get off me,” I spat.
“Is that what you would say to a cracked out witch? Get out of it, love. Show me what you got.”
I faked one way to make him off balance, then threw all of my strength and energy the other way, slipping away from him. I jumped to my feet, a satisfied smile curling my lips until I was completely swept off my feet. Air punched from my lungs as I landed square on my back. For one terrifying second, I couldn’t breathe. Choking, I rasped in my first breath.
“What the…?”
Jake towered over me, smirking.
Asshole. Without thinking, I grabbed his leg. Then, leveraging my feet in the air, I grabbed him around the waist with my legs and yanked. He fell on top of me as I reached for an ankle lock. He tapped.
“Good one,” Sanders said. He sat in the grass off to our right looking as calm as if he’d had a bag of popcorn in his hands and a soda next to him.
I was breathing heavy. I’d trained on the punching bag since Damen left but I guessed it was a sore substitute for one-on-one.
“Again,” Sanders yelled.
Jake and I circled each other. His gaze was intense but I could tell he was enjoying himself. “You’re getting some sort of sick pleasure out of this, aren’t you?”
One side of his lips curled up. “If we actually are going to get into Stonehenge, you need to be as strong and as trained as you can be.”
“You act like I’ve just been sitting around doing nothing for all these years. I took you down, didn’t I?”
He jabbed and I parried his punch. “I don’t think you understand. Elite are specially trained for this kind of thing. We train every single day. It’s our life. We talk about strategy every single day.”
“Damen and I do the same thing.”
Jake sighed and rolled his eyes. “I’m not saying you’re not but I don’t think you understand what we could be walking into, Cas. This will be real.”
I stopped circling. “Like it was here with Earth Man. I seem to remember saving your ass.”
Jake’s hand shot out and caught me in the chin. “Keep your hands up,” he scolded. “Never let your guard down even when you think the threat is gone.”
A wave of heat swamped my body. If he wanted to play that way, I could play that way. I feinted a left cross, but lowered my shoulder again and went for the takedown. Unlike with Sanders, I got Jake. I landed on top of him but not for very long. He thrust his hips up until I was in the air, giving him leverage to flip me.
I tried reversing it, but he was heavy. Too heavy for me to move. I’d either have to wait for him to make a mistake or get killed.
He pinned my hands to the ground. The grass smelled sweet and fresh.
“I don’t think you should keep going for the takedown. I know you’re good on the ground, but especially with those who are physically bigger than you, it may be too much for you to handle. You and Damen are about the same size so I can see how it works in training, but in battle…” He shook his head. “Since I turned into a wolf shifter. I’ve put on a good fifteen pounds or so of pure muscle. Remember shifters will, nine times to ten, be bigger and stronger than you.”
Sanders shoe nudged my arm and I looked up at him. The sun streamed down over his head, making me squint to see. “I agree with Jake. Have you ever taken Judo classes?”
Jake hopped off me and offered me his hand. I ignored it and stood myself. “No.”
“It might help you. It’s all about using body mechanics. I’ve seen little girls throw adult men. You should take some classes in it. I think it could really help you.”
I really wanted to lash out at their implication that I wasn’t as well trained as I should be, but part of what they were saying stuck. I was sure what we dealt with in Salem wasn’t as much as some of the things they dealt with. And Judo did sound pretty cool. It would be fun to train in something else.
“How are you with weapons?” Sanders asked.
“She’s great,” Jake said.
I pulled out the Damascus on my hip and threw it up and caught it by the handle on its way back down. Sanders held his hand out and I offered it to him.
He inspected the blade and the handle. “Really cool weapon, Cas. I think I’m in love.”
I smiled as I took it back from him. “What’s your favorite?”
He pulled out a blade with a wicked curve. It was a short dagger, but round like a scythe. It was pretty badass looking. He demonstrated a few moves in the air with it. I take that back. It was super badass.
Sanders and I were sparring when I saw the first sign of disturbance in the air that meant Troian—or some other fae, I supposed—was about to come through. I hadn’t been able to take Sanders down yet like I had with Jake. He was a tough nut to crack. Troian being Troian though, he watched us. He noticed my troubles and decided to step in, smirking the entire time. He stepped forward and tapped Sanders on the shoulder. Before Sanders could go all ninja on his ass, I swept my right foot out and finally, I'd gotten the tricky Elite down on his back. I stabbed him in the neck for the kill shot. Well, not literally, just so he knew I'd finally gotten him.
In between bursts of laughter, Sanders wagged his finger at Troian. “You little asshole.”
I high-fived the laughing fae. “I hadn't been able to take him down yet. Thanks, Green Eyes.”
“Yeah, Sanders is crazy good. You have to distract
him somehow, or learn how to read him which is even harder. Not unheard of but...”
Sanders pushed himself into the air and landed on his feet. Troian let his train of thought trail off. I’d had Sanders pegged all wrong. He was more than just a funny, flirty guy. He had some serious skill. Then again, all the Elites I'd met had some serious fighting chops.
Jake caught my eye and motioned toward Troian. We’d all kind of decided earlier that I’d ask him for the favor alone since I seemed to have the best rapport with him. Sanders might’ve been able to do it, but there was no love loss between him and Jake so he was out of the question.
I pulled the smiling fae off to the side. “What happened to you earlier? I was talking to you one second and the next you were gone.”
“I got called away.”
I clamped my hands together in front of me, suddenly nervous. “Does it hurt?”
Troian stopped and faced me. “Only when I'm holding on too tight.”
“Oh.” If it hurt him to get called, I kind of didn't want to tell him what my idea was. I ran my hands through my hair and smiled. “I’m sorry. I kind of want to ask you a question but I also kind of don’t want to ask you a question now if it hurts you.”
“Spit it out, sunshine.”
“Just promise me you’ll say no if you don’t want to. But please don’t say no. But if it hurts say no.”
He chuckled under his breath. “What is it?”
“Since the portal is shut down into Stonehenge, the only other magical way there is by fae. I was thinking if you went to Stonehenge…”
He stared at me blankly.
“I was thinking if you went to Stonehenge, you could take us with you.”
“Partner travel?”
“So there’s an official name for it? It can happen?”
“I’ve never met anyone who has actually done it but it’s not unheard of. I could ask around to see if someone knows the ins and outs of it.”
“You’d do that?”
“Why wouldn’t I?”
Overcome with gratitude, I threw my arms around him and squeezed. Stepping back, I looked into his emerald green eyes. “Thank you, Troian.”
His eyes closed for a brief second and a shudder rolled through his body.
“I take it he said yes?” Sanders called out.
I didn’t answer, not wanting to put words into Troian’s mouth.
The pink-cheeked fae turned, rubbing his neck, and said, “Yeah, I’ll look into it. Looks like I’m the only person here that’s cool enough to travel in style.”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
The centuries old Necromancer sat across from me at Frankie’s. Like the last time I was in the same room with the two of them, magic filled the air. I was almost suffocating on it. But since we were all off doing our part to further the plan, I’d have to deal. Troian was off in fae land trying to find someone who’d partner traveled before so he could figure out the best—and safest—way. Jake and Sanders were at Command trying to find the best place to land near Stonehenge. I had the task of getting Tomas on board with our plan.
“So, the fae is going to take us to Stonehenge?”
He looked puzzled, which made me nervous. This whole plan was reliant on him fixing the line. “Right,” I said, trying to sound as confident as I could. “Kind of like a piggyback ride.”
His brows furrowed even more. “Piggy-what ride?”
Frankie laughed. He’d taken his stance leaning against the counter again like some sort of sentry. “She just means that you’ll be traveling with that fae.”
“Do we trust him?” Tomas asked.
“Yes,” I said, at the same time Frankie said, “No.”
I gave Frankie an imploring look. “We can trust him. I’m sure of it.”
Slowly, he shook his head. “I’m not sure about that.”
“Neither one of you has let me down yet and it’s not going to happen either.” I looked at Tomas, half-pleading. He was the only one I needed to get on board with the plan anyway. Frankie wouldn’t be coming. “We can trust the fae, I promise.”
The air distorted around me and then suddenly Troian was there. He leaned against the back of my chair and smiled. “No need for Cas to have to vouch for me. I promise I can get you there.”
I jumped when he pulled a strand of my hair. Turning in my seat, I asked, “How can you find me wherever I am?”
Frankie narrowed his gaze. His eyes focused on the two of us. “He’s attuned to you.”
He didn’t make it sound like a good thing, but since Troian often came in handy, I wasn’t going to tell him to stop. “So,” I said, touching his hand to bring his attention back to me and stop the scowl battle that was currently going on between him and the Necromancer. “Did you find out any answers?”
He shrugged, ever cool under pressure. “It’s doable. It isn’t recommended as a long-term solution, but it is doable.”
I chewed at my lip. “Will it hurt?”
He smiled down at me, finally turning his whole focus on me and my line of questioning. “You’ll be fine. I promise.”
I shook my head. “No. You. Will it hurt you?”
His eyes widened. “I’ll be fine, too. We’ll all be okay.” A fond smile formed on his face, but then his head jerked up. He eyed the other two gentleman in the room. So…” He moved away from me and stood in Guardian stance near the doorway. “Is everyone all set with the plan on this end? You’ve got everything for what you need to do, Tomas?”
Tomas and Frankie exchanged glances. Tomas nodded.
“Great. We’ll let you know when launch day is.”
Troian offered me his hand and I stood. “We’ll be in touch. We’re just waiting to hear back from Jake and Sanders about where we’re getting dropped off.”
Troian tugged on my arm and we left the little shop. Once we were out on the sidewalk, he pulled me to a stop. “Slight problem, Peaches. I don’t know if I can take all of you.”
CHAPTER TWELVE
My heart rose up into my throat. No. This wasn’t happening. “What do you mean?”
He looked down at the gray concrete. “You’re not really supposed to do it a lot. It’s like a once in a lifetime thing almost. There are some pretty bad horror stories about fae who tried to take too many and well, they’re just not here anymore to tell them.”
“But you said you’d be fine.”
He rubbed the back of his neck and shifted from foot to foot. “I will. And you’ll be too because you’re not going.”
Icy anger formed in my stomach. “I’m going.”
His stare found mine. His eyes were an intense emerald green. If they weren’t trying to tell me he wasn’t going to budge on this topic, I might’ve even said they were beautiful. “I’m the horsey in this race, remember?” Troian asked. “You don’t hitch a ride with me, you’re not going.”
“But we’re going to get my brother. I’m going.”
“Cas…”
“If it’s between me or one of the others that’s staying. It’s them.”
He shook his head, unwilling to look me in the eyes.
“This is my fight.”
“Listen. You’re so stubborn you’re not even thinking clearly. Jake and Sanders can portal there since the only one even functioning for Elites right now is the one out of Command. I have to take Jimmy Bob-fix-a-line to Stonehenge first, then you. What good are we doing if we don’t take the Necromancer over? Nothing.”
My hands clenched to fists. I was more pissed that I knew he was right than for what he was saying. If it came down to me or Tomas, it would have to be Tomas. End of story.
Anger seething inside me, I spun and walked toward the SUV. Mom always said if you didn’t have anything nice to say, don’t say it at all. Usually I didn’t pay attention to the stupid saying, but right now, I was pretty sure whatever came out of my mouth would be too hateful to take back.
Troian grabbed my hand. “I’m sorry, Cas. I really am. I’ll try everything
.”
Guilt ate away at some of the anger. It wasn’t his fault after all. The truth was, we really didn’t know what would happen. It could work fine. If Tomas hitched a ride fine, I had faith that Troian would come back and get me. And Troian’s safety was important, too. “I know. I just don’t want to get left behind.”
“You’re strong, you know that. I think you’re the strongest woman I’ve ever met.”
“Please,” I scoffed. “You’re an Elite. There are female Elite’s way stronger than me. Your unit leader being one of them. She was pretty badass.”
“She is, but there’s more than one way to be strong, Cas. It’s not about physical ability all of the time. It’s mental, too.”
My cell rang in my pocket, and Troian sighed. “It could be Jake,” I said. Taking it out, I glanced at the screen. “It is Jake.”
“Yay.” Troian said sarcastically.
I rolled my eyes and answered the call. “Hey.”
“We’ve got a spot. Tomorrow night?”
“Tomorrow? Why not right now?”
Used to me being difficult, Jake explained why we needed to wait without any other comment. He’d grown up with me during my pre-teen years after all. “We need a day and it will probably be better for all of us if we try to make this trek at night. Less visibility. Less security. It’s the only way, Cas.”
Resigning myself that I would have absolutely no control over any of this, I stuck my chin out and made a promise to myself to stop being argumentative when all everyone was doing was trying to help me. “I know.”
“Let the fae know. I assume he’s with you?”
“Yeah, he’s right here.”
“Keep your cell with you. I’ll call you if there are any changes.”
After returning to the shop to tell Tomas the news, Troian and I went back to my place. Usually at this time of day, he’d go home, but he hesitated tonight. There seemed to be a lot of things going through his head.
“Are you nervous about tomorrow?” I asked.
