by Ally Shields
The other man, bedraggled and dirty, jeans newly ripped, was held securely by the muscular hand of a large weretiger. The tiger’s other hand held a damaged camera. Both captives complained loudly.
“Get him off of me,” Eddie yelled.
Ari waited until she could master her grin and addressed the dwarf. “So what’s the story?”
“This one comes up friendly as can be.” The dwarf tapped Eddie lightly on the head with his billy club. “Started asking me about the caves, the entrance collapse. He kept babbling on, while that one,” he pointed the club at the man held by the tiger, “sneaked into the cave entrance and took off running. I took this one down.” He waved the club again. “And I left the rest of the fun to the tigers.”
Ryan walked up in time to hear the dwarf’s explanation. He folded his arms and speared Eddie with a hard look. “You were warned.”
“Where’d you catch the other guy?” Ari asked the tiger. “Did he make it as far as your guard station?”
“Not even close. When the dwarf called me, I went looking. This guy was already lost,” the weretiger said in disgust. “But he wasn’t very cooperative about being rescued. I recovered his camera too, but, sorry, I guess it got damaged in the struggle, or maybe when I stomped on it.”
“Ari. Ryan.” Eddie tried a more conciliatory tone than before. “We’re legitimate members of the press. Tell them they can’t do this to us.”
“Looks to me like they can—and did.” She was unable to suppress the grin any longer. “Didn’t I tell you not to be snooping around?”
“This isn’t funny,” Eddie sputtered.
Ryan had obviously been enjoying the show. Now, he scratched his chin. “I believe you gentlemen of the press were trespassing. That’s a misdemeanor worth about thirty days in lockup.”
Ari gurgled but pointed to Eddie. “Let him up. They’re free to go. This time. I don’t think the vampires will press charges unless they try to get inside again.” When Eddie was on his feet and straightening his clothes, she added. “I mean it. Don’t come back. Next time you’ll have to deal with Andreas, and he may let Ryan take you to jail.”
“If you’d talk to me I wouldn’t have to resort to this,” he grumbled, but he didn’t act very upset now that he and his photographer were free. He looked the camera over and shrugged. “I don’t suppose I could send the bill to the city?”
Ari shook her head at the quick adjustment in his attitude. Seasoned members of the press probably learned to take rejection in stride.
“Get out of here.” Ryan waved them off. “Go home, both of you. Before I change my mind.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Without a better plan of action, Ari resumed her regular routine with the addition of regular checks of the cliff area on her nightly patrol. She considered scrying for Dyani, but magical searches weren’t very effective with humans. Hawkson had a strong aura but that seemed to be due to his shaman status and not his race. She abandoned the idea.
Most of Sunday passed with no remarkable incidents. Ursula remained in hiding, the coven had not yet returned to town, and no one tried to enter the caverns. The new tunnel saw no activity. If Dyani was in town, she was laying low.
Instead of relaxing, Ari grew increasingly tense over the afternoon. She took an early run in the park, practiced her knife throwing, and finally tried yoga. Nothing worked. It was only a matter of time before one of their enemies made a move, and the anticipation was taking a toll. Every muscle was tight, and she avoided Andreas’s staff for fear she would snap at them.
She called Claris a couple of times to vent. She said Ari was strung too tight. When Claris locked her shop door at four o’clock, her regular Sunday closing time, she insisted Ari come with her to a late matinee. It was a chick flick that they both giggled over. Ari enjoyed the break, but the moment they left the theater her tension returned.
Late that night she tried scrying for the coven in case they had slipped back into town without her knowledge. When her search failed to locate them, she stomped from her room, banging the door behind her, shaking the solid walls.
“Temper, temper,” Lilith said, racing up the staircase. “I thought we were under attack, rather than having a tantrum.”
The teasing didn’t go over well. “Stuff it.” Ari brushed past her and hurried down the stairs, pausing at the front door. “And stay here. I don’t need or want a bodyguard.”
Clearing the house, Ari broke into a run, letting her legs stretch out, increasing her pace until the wind whipped her hair back from her face. Activity felt good. The breeze felt good. More than anything else, the freedom felt good. She turned into familiar territory, running past her apartment building and through the tree-canopied, residential streets. She leveled out into a pace far beyond the light jog she’d taken earlier. Pushing herself faster and faster, she relished the stretching of her muscles and raced on, fleeing through the darkened town from her inner demons.
She had almost reached the other side of Olde Town before she felt his magic. Andreas fell into step beside her, and they ran in silence. Entering the gates of Goshen Park, they circled both fountains twice before Ari came to a stop in an isolated area. She bent over to rest, hands on knees, catching her breath, then dropped onto the grass.
Andreas sat beside her. “Feel better?”
She looked at his profile. “Did I hurt Lilith’s feelings?”
“She knows you much too well.” He scooted around so he could see her face. “We are all feeling the pressure, cara mia, but it is not safe for any of us to be alone at night.” He raised a finger to draw it along her cheekbone. “I can think of a more pleasurable way of letting off steam.”
“I had to get away. Just for a few minutes.” Ari took a deep breath, inhaling the fragrance of the early April foliage. She plucked at the tender new grass with her fingers. “Sitting here, I can imagine for a while that there is no evil coven, no scary enforcer. And definitely no O-Seven.” A nighthawk called. “Listen to that—there’s nothing bad out here.”
“An illusion, little witch.”
She sighed. “Yes.”
“But this is not.” He bent toward her. “I will keep us safe from all of them.” He captured her mouth in a deep kiss.
Ari let his magic run through her, over her skin, deep into her being, driving the shadows away. Her fingers dug into his shoulders as an inner fire took hold.
She tilted her head up, peeking at him. “Who’s going to keep me safe from you?”
“That is your problem.”
She leaned against him, and he rolled them both to the ground. Andreas’s body trapped her against the earth, revealing his hard lines, making no secret of his desire for her. Ari melted against him as his hands slid under her blouse, and she reached to return the touch.
The nighthawk called again, but this time Ari didn’t care.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Nothing had changed by Monday morning except Ari’s mood. The long run, not to discount Andreas’s private cure, had made a difference. She met with Samuel, Russell, and Lilith at her request shortly after breakfast. Mike, at Prince Daron’s security office in Toronto, was on speakerphone.
“What’s up?” Mike growled in his gruff ex-military voice. “You figured out how to eliminate this vampiress?”
“I’ve figured out how to improve our defenses and exploit her weakness. Since we know she lacks strong psychic abilities, we can eliminate many possible threats and concentrate on the things she can do. She can’t control minds, except for the very weakest willed. So, don’t put your weak links on the front lines. She can’t kill with mental pressure, and that means she can’t kill from a distance. And she can’t teleport.” She paused while they took it in. “She is incredibly strong and will charge through any door—no matter how thick—and bash down walls. Don’t make the mistake of thinking you can keep her out. And she’s lightning fast.”
“Then what do we do? If she moves so fast we can hardly see her,
how do we fight that?” The questions came from Mike over the speaker.
“Slow her down with strong barriers, maybe two lines of them. She’ll break through, but it will take her at least a few seconds. That’s when you attack, immediately, with no hesitation. Give her everything you’ve got. Your defenders must be armed with the right weapons—flamethrowers, shoulder rockets, or high-powered rifles loaded with silver bullets. Bring her down from a distance, then follow through by staking and cutting off her head. She can’t be captured. Don’t even try.”
“At last,” Mike said, “information I can work with. I’ll spread the word up here. If she comes after us again, we’ll be ready and waiting.”
For the remainder of the conversation, they discussed strategic details, including specific weaponry. When Samuel and the two werelions left to turn their ideas into action, Ari stood at the kitchen counter and looked out over Andreas’s well-tended lawn. Steffan’s wolves would return at dusk, like they did every night, but for now it was peaceful.
The morning had started well. At least they had a plan. Ursula’s next attack might not be so one-sided.
She refilled her coffee cup and watched Dona playing with a brand-new fluffy red ball on the kitchen floor. Ari’s lips twitched. One of the dangerous occupants of this house had been buying fuzzy cat toys. She and Claris hadn’t made a final decision on Dona’s future, but the kitten seemed content here. And Andreas had agreed to let her stay.
Ari’s amusement faded as she recalled how that discussion had ended. Andreas hadn’t been pleased when she said she would be moving back to her apartment, but that had always been the plan, hadn’t it?
She settled her hip against the counter, sipped her coffee, and looked around. It was amazing how quickly she had settled into living here. The weretiger staff respected her privacy, and she liked living with Andreas. Too much. Still, her apartment gave her greater independence. Did she want that or need it? That she could even ask herself those questions was something that worried her. Maybe it was time to talk the situation over with Claris. Isn’t that what a BFF was for?
Ari rinsed out her cup and snagged the cat. If she was going to Claris’s, they’d talk about the kitten’s future too. For now, Dona needed to remain in her cat haven, where Andreas’s antiques were safe from her sharp claws.
The ringing of her cell phone had Ari digging in her pocket. Dona settled on her shoulder as Ari started up the staircase, checking the phone screen as she went. Claris. That was timely.
“Hey, I was just thinking about you,” Ari said. “Want some company?”
Ari frowned at the lack of response, then heard a shakily drawn breath. “Y-yes. Can you come now?”
“Goddess, Claris, what’s wrong? Are you crying?”
“No-o.” Claris’s voice didn’t match her denial. “I-I need you.”
“I’ll be right there.” Ari bounded up the stairs, deposited Dona unceremoniously in her room, and was out the door within sixty seconds. She kept Claris on the phone while she sprinted toward the market area and Claris’s shop, but she didn’t get anything intelligible out of her except Brando’s name. Ari didn’t know how to react. Some tragedy involving Brando had occurred, but she couldn’t sort out whether their mutual friend was in trouble, dead, or being a bastard.
When Ari reached the market area of Olde Town, she threaded her way among early morning shoppers and the horse-drawn carriages that were already active. In spite of Claris’s tears on the phone, Ari was shocked to see the “Closed” sign on the front door of Basil & Sage. She could only remember one occasion when Claris hadn’t opened on time, and that was for a funeral. Ari detoured to the back of the shop and entered through the greenhouse door without knocking. Claris must have been watching, for she suddenly appeared and threw herself into Ari’s arms.
The sobbing and mumbling continued for incoherent minutes while Ari helplessly patted her back. Eventually, Claris gulped twice and pulled away. “I got you all wet.” She raised a hand to dab at the spots on Ari’s tear-soaked blouse.
“It doesn’t matter. Tell me what’s happened.” Ari grabbed Claris’s hand and steered her toward the table.
Claris nodded and swallowed hard. “Can I get you some coffee?”
“You sit down.” Ari pointed to a chair. “I’ll pour us both some coffee. Then you can tell me everything.”
Ari’s matter-of-fact manner had a positive effect on Claris, and by the time Ari settled with her own cup of coffee, Claris had wiped her tears with a tissue and looked more composed.
“I’m a mess. Brando dumped me, and I didn’t sleep much last night.” Tears threatened again, and Claris took a quick sip of coffee.
“Dumped you? The prick,” Ari said, immediately consigning their lifelong friend to perdition. “Why didn’t you call me? I’d have come over.”
“You don’t get enough sleep as it is. I was going to call at seven, but I guess I dozed off.”
“Clare, you can call me anytime. So, how did this happen? Is Brando in town?”
“Of course not.” Claris’s lower lip protruded in a sulky look. “That’s mostly what we fought about. But it started over his big news.” She wrinkled her nose. “He called about midnight—the only call he’s made in a week—and at that god-awful hour. Doesn’t he remember I have to work?” Claris blew her nose, and her voice grew stronger as her indignation took hold. “He was all excited about an award he was given at some hot-shot dinner. I guess he thought I wasn’t excited enough because he asked what was wrong with me. So I told him. Yeah, I did. I said I was sick of him never being here. It kind of deteriorated from there.” Her face suddenly crumbled. “Oh, Ari, I know I should have been supportive, but I was feeling miserable that he wasn’t here, and he was all happy about some stupid award.” Claris sniffed and started crying again. “I guess I’m a selfish bitch.”
“Oh, now, stop that. You’re one of the least selfish people I know. Brando’s being a prick, and you…well, you just reacted.”
“By making it worse.” Claris’s words were garbled behind the soggy tissue.
Ari retrieved a box of tissues from the counter and set it on the table. What the hell was Brando thinking? She shook her head in disgust, knowing the real problem was he hadn’t been thinking at all. Brando loved science, was almost obsessed by it, and when he got involved in something he tended to blot out everything else. This time his preoccupation might have cost him his girlfriend.
“I’m guessing something more was said.” Ari stopped and waited, letting her friend get around to it.
“I told him everything.” Claris covered her mouth with one hand, her eyes wide and startled.
“Like what?”
“That Gabriel and I kissed. I…I guess I kind of let him believe there was something more between us. I didn’t say that, but when he accused me, I didn’t deny it.”
Ari suppressed a groan. What a pair. If either one of them had stayed cool, this mess wouldn’t have happened. Funny how easy that was to see when you weren’t one of the combatants. “I bet that got his attention.”
Claris gave a watery chuckle. “Uh, yes. He shouted at me. He’s never done that before. We’ve argued, but not like this. I had to hold the phone away from my ear he was shouting so loud.”
“Just like a man. They always think they’re the injured party. I hope you gave it right back to him.”
“I guess I did. I was pretty awful.” Claris clapped both hands over her mouth this time, as if she could put back the words already said. “He finally hung up.”
“While you were still talking?” Ari scowled. “That’s just rude.”
“It was right after I said I didn’t want to see him again unless he came home today.”
“Oh.” Ari blinked at her friend, stunned by the ultimatum. In her experience—and she had lots of experience with mistakes—ultimatums never turned out well. “I’m so sorry. But don’t you think he’ll come around?”
Claris’s chin trembled. “He sa
id he never wanted to talk to me again.” She burst into tears, accompanied by gulping sobs. “We’re f-finished.”
Ari drew her into a hug. What could she do about this? Claris should never have mentioned Gabriel to Brando, but her friend was honest to a fault. And Brando had overreacted with wounded male pride. Ari suspected he was miserable this morning, too, but the damage was already done. There had to be a way out of this, a way to patch things up, but she sure couldn’t see it.
When Claris quieted and pulled away, the emotional storm had passed. She dabbed at the streaks on her face and blew her nose again. “I have to get on with my life now,” she said in a fatalistic tone.
“Exactly what does that mean? Does it include Gabriel?”
“Oh, I don’t know. He’s so cute and witty, but…”
“But?”
“It’s not the same. Brando and I had plans, future plans. Gabriel’s fun to be with, but I don’t love him. It never was serious between us. It’s always been Brando.”
“So don’t give up on him so fast. Give yourself time. Brando too. Later, you guys can talk when a little time has passed. This could be just what was needed to wake him up.”
Claris frowned. “I’m not counting on that.” She looked toward the front of the building as someone rattle the doorknob. “I guess I should open the shop.”
“Not looking like that, you don’t.” Ari grabbed the magnetic mirror off the fridge and stuck it in her friend’s face. “You have some serious repair work before you can greet customers.”
“Yikes!” Claris squealed and charged into the bathroom.
Ari waited, drumming her fingers on the table and wondering what she could do to help Claris through this. Given what Claris had said about Gabriel just being a friend, maybe it wouldn’t be so bad if he stopped by. As long as they weren’t serious, a little male attention was bound to raise Claris’s spirits. If it made Brando jealous, so what? In fact, it might do him some good.
When Claris stepped out of the bathroom, the ravages of her sleepless night and her earlier tears were almost gone. She produced a determined smile. “Let’s not talk about Brando. OK?”
