by K. F. Breene
Jonas stabbed the ceiling with his eyes from a few paces away. If it wasn’t for Dominicous, he would’ve grabbed me by the scruff of the neck and hauled me out of the house already. His eyes had that wild, impatient look that said he was about to snap.
I didn’t blame him. This night just kept getting weirder.
As if hearing my thoughts, Ann turned away and said, “Well, this is too strange for me.” Before she moved on, though, she couldn’t help glancing back into the room. The man was moving around to the latex butt.
She shook her head, ripping her eyes away. “I don’t even want to know. He’s got a plan, and I don’t even want to know.”
“He’ll probably rip it open with his teeth. She really likes anal stim—”
Ann cut Charles off with a savage punch to his stomach. He wheezed out a breath, trying his damndest not to hunch over.
“I said I didn’t want to know,” Ann reiterated slowly.
His face burned a light red.
“Sir, we need to get going,” Jonas said to Dominicous in a polite snarl.
Dominicous smiled at Jonas agreeably. “Fascinating. I would assume, then, that you would speak to your mage, who is currently in charge of the procession.” It was hard to mistake the sharp edge beneath the words.
Jonas slowly turned his wild-eyed stare my way. His teeth ground together and the scars on his neck looked white against his temper-filled, heated skin. He flashed me a well, come the fuck on kind of smile that resembled a fanged grimace. My butt tingle sounded for the second time that night. While I did need to learn to lead, I did not need to practice on Mr. Bat-Shit-Crazy right out of the gate.
Nodding diplomatically, I said, “Yes, we need to see to that site. Jonas, lead the way.”
“Oh, well, thank you so much, Mage.” His eyes widened further and his smile looked like a contorted snarl. He whipped around and started stalking down the hall, his hands clenching and releasing as he went.
Dominicous watched him in speculation the whole time.
“What?” I asked quietly as Charles fell way back. If Jonas took his temper out on anyone, it would be him. He was no dummy. Anymore.
“I marvel that Stefan is able to keep that male reigned in,” Dominicous noted in a deep voice. “He has a severe problem with authority, and his anger redlines fairly easily.”
“Yeah, Jonas is a real treat,” I said dourly. Ann snickered behind me.
Dominicous turned his steel-infused eyes my way. “A mage should not have to keep on the knife-point with a member of the Watch. I’m sure someone else would step up and take his place beside you …”
I waved his concern away. “Jonas has faults in plenty, but there is no one else, besides you and Stefan, that I would want at my back. That guy would—” I shook my head. “He would jab the devil in the eye to keep me safe. He’s proved it.”
I heard a throat clear behind me.
“And obviously Charles, too. At my back.”
The corner of Dominicous’ lips quirked as he ingested what I said.
As we stepped outside, I slowed for Ann to walk beside me toward Jonas’ Hummer. “How’d you get so far in without someone stopping you?”
“Walked in. No one bothered me.”
“They all know you’re Sasha’s friend. Prudes of a feather flock together.” Charles walked around the far side of the vehicle, steering clear of Jonas, who was waiting at the driver’s side door, watching them all intently.
“What’s that about?” I asked Ann as I hesitated in my walk to the front passenger side door. Regardless of the fact that Dominicous was older than everyone, and the most superior and adult-like, and should probably go in the front like parents were supposed to, as the leader of this crew, that place was reserved for me. I felt awkward.
“When we were at the lodge—the place where you trained in the woods with all the cabins...”
My face lit up in recognition.
“He hit on me. Well, that’s not true. What he actually did was ask me if I wanted to have sex. Just like that. Point blank.” She put on a dopey expression to mimic Charles. “‘Oh hey, animal-human lady— if you’re not doing anything, want to have sex? I’m horny—I could do with a lay. Doggy style is fine—I’m not picky.’” Ann threw a glare into the car.
“So what’d you do?” I laughed.
“I punched him in the nuts, obviously!” Ann scoffed, trying to hide the smile. “He’s hot, though—if he put a little time and effort into it, I might’ve.”
She lowered her voice to a whisper, glancing at the driver’s side where Jonas waited with his forehead against the steering wheel. “Jonas hasn’t freaked out that I’m going. Is that because of Dominicous?”
I matched her tone—it was best not to aggravate the guy any more than he already was. “He’s so mad right now that he has to have some quiet time or he’ll explode. If it was just me, he’d rant and rave and argue. If Dominicous or Stefan is around and he’s like this, he simmers in acute aggression. Word of advice: Don’t badger him until he calms down.”
“I’m not suicidal,” she said, scurrying into the car. She’d sit between the two guys in the back.
I headed to my spot and climbed in, with Dominicous getting in as well. Once we were all settled, Jonas took his head off the steering wheel, flashed me a look promising pain, and jerked the ignition, starting the car.
“Sasha,” Dominicous spoke up over the roar of the motor. You would almost believe he was a gardener of beautiful flowers rather than a lethal predator. “Did you plan to ask Stefan to dine with us, tonight?”
“Uh…” I hadn’t had much time to think about it.
“I would encourage you to bring him, if you like,” Dominicous continued. “I rarely get to see the pair of you outside of a work capacity. Dropping titles for a family dinner would be a luxury.”
A shiver went up my back, both because he said family, and because Stefan had been dropping titles off and on, anyway. Jonas’ lips quirked, probably thinking the same thing. Right before he shoved his phone in my face.
“Jonas, I’ll ask him later,” I mumbled. The man was starting to be as overbearing as Charles.
“He has a million things to prepare and see to. He might have to rearrange his schedule.” The phone inched toward my nose.
“What are you, his secretary? I’ll ask him later.”
“Just text him,” Ann helped from the back. “That way it won’t be embarrassing asking honey-do-dah for a date with your new dad in front of other people.”
“Yes, thanks for saving me all that embarrassment, Ann,” I replied in a dry tone.
“No worries.”
I pushed Jonas’ meaty hand away from my face as we pulled up to Jefferson Park, bringing out my own phone and whipping off a text real quick. I figured I’d leave it open—I’d ask if he wanted to go, but tell him it was totally fine if he didn’t. Because he definitely wouldn’t—he’d be worried he’d finally start a fight…
The night pressed against the windows, the waning moon not giving us much to see by. And by ‘us,’ I really meant me, because even Ann had better night vision than humans.
I climbed out of the car into the stillness of midnight. The lush night harbored a chill that had me pulling my hoody tightly around my body. Large oak trees reached overhead, their leaves littering the ground, a blanket of browns and blacks, the brilliant colors of fall muted in the darkness. Dominicous stepped out beside me, standing close, his body poised, his pleasantness shed like a second skin. His eyes scanned the area, his arms glowing lightly.
Ann gracefully stepped around the car, followed by the stern and serious face of Charles. Last came Jonas, his hulking shoulders and thick arms lightly flexed, prepared for the anti-Christ as a normal course of his duties.
Something felt off about this place. Some weird energy was poking at me. It was like the equivalent of someone swishing the very ends of my hair. Disturbing.
“Something’s not right,” I said slowly, tu
rning toward a black patch between two monstrous oaks. “I feel…”
Charles stepped up beside me, a hand on my shoulder. “Don’t go chasing demons, Sasha. If something pulls at you, you shout that shiznit out.”
“There ain’t no demons.” Jonas stalked by, his glare flaying Ann as he passed her. “Follow me.”
He led the way through the still copse of giant trunks, the ground bumpy with fallen acorns. The thick hush of the night hovered, sound strangely deadened. Another few steps had us nearing the edge of the plant life, the tableau opening up into a flat grassy soccer field with two skeletal frames of soccer goals hunkering in the distance. Beyond that, a playground spread out, shadowed and deserted.
“Mage, I ask permission to assume control of the battle tactics,” Dominicous said officially.
The guy was the Regional, for Christ sakes. He didn’t have to ask for anything, especially of an inexperienced mage. But this was a teach Sasha how to lead session, so I let it go.
“Yes, that would be helpful, thank you,” I replied, feeling that weird magical presence prickling my skin. Like someone tapping me on the shoulder softly, but when I turned, all I found was empty air. It unsettled me. Whatever hovered here was not natural, whispering without sound. Blowing on my face and then disappearing.
“Okay, I’m going to feel this out. You guys should all give me some space. Last time, my magic woke up something awful.” I let the rush of the elements fill me as the guys and gal drifted to the side, even Ann in predator mode, filling in as one of the team. Jonas, for a wonder, let her.
Dominicous gave instructions, but I didn’t hear him. I let my focus hone and my magical feelers drift out, covering the area in a thin fog of black. I could feel the remnants of something magical lingering. Like a rope with the frayed ends singed, the magic had been cauterized. Whatever spell was weaved originally had been snuffed out.
I wandered forward, through the trees, ducking branches and brushing leaves away from my face. The unsettled feeling got stronger, my skin starting to itch. I emerged through a wall of branches and found myself in a small clearing, closed in by trees. A rough circle scarred the trampled grass, the bent and broken blades shimmering with dew in the faint moonlight. My eyes caught a symbol edged in the thick bark of a tree at the edge of the open space.
“A good ol’ pentagram,” I mumbled quietly. “As if that wouldn’t give it away.”
The magic here lay across the ground in a twisted blanket of decay. Spells had been laid, woven and coaxed to life, but whatever came of it had fallen apart. Fallen apart, but not disintegrated back into nature, as elements naturally did. The magic user was working with bad juju on this one. Twenty bucks said he then moved on to experiment in a warehouse.
“Well, at least there isn’t a demon to deal with. That’s something.”
“What’s that, sweet thang?”
I started at the unfamiliar voice. To the right, a man wiped draping branches out of the way and stepped into the small clearing. I flinched as his foot stepped on the line of the circle, my mind registering that he’d interrupted a barrier, my logic late in mentioning that it wasn’t a barrier anymore.
“What are you doing here all alone?” His lust-filled notice raked down my body, blossoming fear and a crawling sensation where they lingered. “Don’t you know there are bad things that go bump in the night?”
Another man, slightly larger and twenty pounds heavier, stepped out beside him.
“Well, that’s lucky,” the second man said, his gaze traveling the same path. It lingered on my crotch. “I thought we would have to smoke a joint alone. Looks like we have a party.”
A sneer worked up the first man’s face. “Yes we do, and plenty to go around.”
My breath started to come out in fast pants. My fingers itched for my rape whistle. My warning butt pucker said run!
Once again, logic was late to the party.
Sasha, you moron, you have magic, remember?
I also had huge guys within screaming distance. Not to mention a mountain lion with a terrible sense of humor about being hit on. Yeah, I was safe. These guys, however…
I tried to quell the rising tide of panic, but a lifetime of knowing, with certainty, what happened when a woman got caught in the middle of the night, in a remote location, with two thugs that probably had arrest warrants, battered at my rational mind. With a thumping heart, I thought about what to do first—blast them with magic, or just call for Dominicous.
Before I could settle on a course of action, though, a third giant man stepped into the clearing. This one came with corded muscle running the length of his body, was coated with silver lines of battle scars, and had eyes brimming with undelivered death. Jonas. My butt puckered for an entirely different reason.
Jonas had just found a target for his building bad mood.
“Look, guys, this is a bad spot for you,” I warned.
“Is that right?” the nearest guy asked, stepping closer. I could see his body tightening, ready to make a grab for me. Waiting for me to run.
“No, seriously…” I pointed at Jonas.
The larger guy in back glanced back quickly, did a sweep right past Jonas with his gaze, and came back to me with a smirk. “I fell for it. But you didn’t run... Feeling lonely tonight? We can help with that…”
Damn logic and its constant dilly-dallying. Of course they couldn’t see Jonas. I’d spent a lifetime hiding the fact that I could.
“Right, okay, you guys—”
The guy in the front stepped forward, cutting me off. Immediately a spell found its way to my lips—I had no idea which one, but I was pretty sure it would be awful. My reflexes were fast, but never pretty.
As the words formed, the thug’s hand reaching for me, Jonas rushed into the clearing. However fast I was, he was lightning.
He snatched the thug’s hand out of the air and whipped it around. He grabbed the man’s throat and held him still while he bashed a fist into the thug’s face, all his force behind it. The man’s nose burst, blood gushing down his face.
“Ease up, Jonas. Let the cops have him,” I bleated.
His face a terrifying mask of rage, Jonas reached back to let another punch fly…but hesitated. His elbow, in the air, ground to a halt. He was defending one of his own, for his Boss, and every instinct in his body said kill. But I’d said stop.
“Ease up,” I said again, injecting a whip crack of command into my words.
Like cement drying, Jonas’ arm quivered where it had stopped. He exhaled slowly, shaking, holding his temper at bay. Following my command.
With a roar of frustration and awesome show of strength, he picked the guy up by his neck and nuts, and bodily threw him to the side. A splash of limbs landed and tumbled within the leaves, their owner long since knocked out.
Charles stepped into the clearing, watching the last remnants of limbs tumbling. Dominicous stepped in next to me, eyes surveying the magical site.
I had just witnessed Jonas taking it easy on someone. Picking them up and throwing them ten feet was him doing the right thing… His being on my side was a blessing and a curse at the same time. I had to remember to ask Stefan if he felt the same way.
A manic grin spread across Jonas’ face as his crazed gaze fell on the other stranger, currently standing with eyes so round they looked like golf balls. “This is your lucky day. Mage says I can’t kill you.”
Jonas heaved a sigh, letting the last of his rage simmer down. “Well, fuck it.”
He stepped forward. The man cowered down, throwing up his hands. I could just see his face peeping out, staring up at Jonas with wide, fear-filled eyes until a dreamy haze settled over his features. As Jonas reached him, the man had a pleasant, lust-filled smile.
“You’re not going to—”
Even as I said it, Jonas put a hand on the man’s shoulder and pushed. The man fell to his knees, eagerly reaching for Jonas’ zipper.
“I either need to beat someone to shit, or get a
load off,” Jonas growled, the anger still lurking at the base of his words.
“Okay, no, I don’t care that he was going to do that to me—that’s not what we’re about—” A light touch on my shoulder stopped me.
“Your human sentimentalities between right and wrong as regards to sexual endeavors are different than ours,” Dominicous said softly. “To lead this clan, you have to understand this clan. You stopped your protector from killing, even though it was his right since his mage was assaulted. And you could stop him now, but denying him his every instinct will make him revolt. And this male, in particular, needs no pushing on that score.”
Dominicous waited a moment for that to sink in.
“That man should be killed,” he continued in a reasoning tone as the man eagerly took Jonas out of his pants. “Instead, you have spared him. Think of the charity you have shown.”
“So, wait,” Ann stepped through the trees with a sour expression. “You’re pissed because that dude was going to rape Sasha, but you’re totally fine when Jonas does it back?”
“But he likes it,” Charles countered in exasperation. “Jonas isn’t even touching the guy. Look. That guy is all over it. Seriously, humans feel like the masters of the universe the next day. Do you know how many porns feature this kinda thing? A. Lot. Let me tell you. Girls dig this whole submission thing, too, don’t say you don’t. I snooped around Ann’s room when we were in the cabins—I know what she reads.”
“You did what?” Ann screeched, losing her calm demeanor.
“Reconnaissance. Romantic comedies didn’t work, so I figured I’d check out the reading material. Kinda dumb, though. If I said some of that stuff to you, you’d punch me in the head. You human women have a screw loose—even the ones that get real hairy, like you.”
“That is a valid point, Ann, regarding mind-altering in order to control for personal gain,” Dominicous said patiently, ignoring the sudden tension between Charles and Ann. “You are making it with the wrong person, however.” Dominicous looked at the pentagram on the tree. “This is the culture, right or wrong. This culture cannot be changed overnight. They have always thought themselves better than humans. They have also held a grudge, since humans are still dominant. Sasha can tell you the stigma a human carries. But these points are extremely valid, and probably need further investigation. The clan needs someone to lead the way. Slowly. Gradually.”
