by Morgan Wylie
“All right. All right, we get it we’re scum of the earth,” Enock mocked and gave them an exasperated look.
“Not all the time,” Gracie innocently interjected, but winked at Enock.
Enock bowed his head in her direction and placed a hand over his heart. “Thank you m’lady. You see?” He pointed to Lola and Mai as they booed and hissed at Gracie which made her giggle.
Rylen watched them all with amusement. They were his family, and he would do anything he had to protect them.
“Down to business. Anyone have anything to report?” He checked in with everyone before meetings to make sure they covered topics that were concerning his people or the Lair.
“Poppy didn’t check in this morning. Tom caught me in the hall and said she hadn’t come into the command center yet. She’s never late,” Lola said, concern etched on her face. Poppy’s reddish-orange hair and bright green eyes accompanied by her contagious smile endeared her to them all. She was one of the best computer techs they had. Gifted with magic of an electronic sort, she was considered one of the witches, but the only vein her magic used was with technology and electronics. It was like she could read them, communicate with them, and direct them.
“Anyone try her cell yet?” Mather asked.
“I’m doing it right now,” Mai followed as she looked up from her iPhone.
Rylen frowned. “If she doesn’t respond by the end of the meeting, I’ll get the witches on it. Maybe they can locate her with a tracer spell. Gracie, do you see anything?” he asked.
Gracie looked like she had checked out. The color in her eyes began to change. When she was using her gift to see, they did that; the irises in her eyes would change color—sometimes multiple times in one sitting. Gracie just shook her head, frustrated. “That’s wrong!” she shouted as she closed her eyes and then tried to focus again. After a moment of silence, and the heavy weight of the stares from the group, Gracie finally looked up defeated. “I can’t see her. All I see is black.” She just shook her head. “I should be better at this. I’ll keep trying.”
“No, it’s not your fault. Your gift is not one to be taken lightly, but it is also still growing,” Lucius supplied. Gracie nodded, but focused her eyes on the far wall and zoned out the rest of the meeting.
Sitting in his throne, Rylen stroked the dusting of a beard at his chin between his fingers while he thought in deep concern. A quiet buzzing sound disrupted his thoughts. Rylen pulled his phone out of his pocket and looked at it, apparently reading a message.
“I got a text from the Widow.” That was all he needed to say to get their immediate attention. All eyes were on him, waiting for what he said next. “She gave me the location of an area where members of the Fairfax Alliance are rumored to be. She believes it’s their base of operations. It’s not far from here which is concerning.” He looked at each of them, noting their expressions torn between worry for one of their own mixed with the anticipation of a possible fight. That was something their team was good at… a fight.
“I’m going to take a small team in for recon. Mather and Luc will come with me. Enock and ladies, you stay here. Let me know if Gracie finds anything new or if you hear anything. Enock, send messages to Tyler, the leader in Alaska, and Jenae in Portland to let them know Fairfax is near and get the witches on Poppy. I want her found. I have a bad feeling.” Next to him, he heard a low emitted growl. He noted Mather’s hands fisted. He seemed on the edge of a shift. Mather usually had extremely good control, but Poppy was one of their cherished. She wasn’t trained in combat like the other girls were. She remained here in the Lair and provided intel and all their gadgets. She could be a bad girl in her own right, but she was more of an innocent. And they all loved her. He could sympathize with what Mather was feeling. She could have simply slept in, but something in his gut told him otherwise. Fairfax being so close didn’t ease his suspicions by any means. The team stood up and dispersed to their responsibilities.
“Get your gear, boys. We’re going hunting,” Rylen said to Mather and Lucius with a wicked sneer. The exhilaration of the game reflected in their own eyes.
~~~~~
After about a forty-five minute drive, they got to an area near the location Widow had texted Rylen. He wanted space to try and sneak in unannounced. They didn’t plan on engaging the alliance, just seeing what they were up to and if they had found Rylen’s clan. Rylen was confident in his team’s abilities, but Fairfax was dangerous and wouldn’t hesitate to take any one of them out. They were always on the search for the different members of the Web and any being with magical or paranormal blood, always spouting they were from the devil or some shit like that. They had made it their vendetta to rid the earth of the supernatural filth and evil magic users.
Lucius squinted and trained his eyes outside the window. “It’s some kind of warehouse district.” His eyesight was especially precise for distances. His dark gold eyes, and a scar that marred the left side of his face running from his cheekbone down to his neck just below his chiseled jaw, and his perma-scowl were definitely factors of intimidation. The only thing in contrast to the black he wore was his hair. Lucius didn’t have specific magic, per say, but he did have intense senses, which was most likely why Rylen chose him for this mission.
“What else do you see? Any people?” Rylen asked.
“It’s quiet,” Mather added as he listened intently. Mather also had very precise senses, as a wolf shifter, which made the two brothers a powerful team.
“Agreed. I don’t see people,” Lucius said as he continued to peer out the tinted black windows of the clan’s black Yukon XL Denali. It wasn’t exactly inconspicuous, thus parking further away helped them remain hidden.
“Wait!” Mather hissed. “Near the far edge of the district, that way,” he pointed off to the right, “there are sounds, but they are extremely muffled like there might be a sound barrier around it.” His ear was to the window. He rolled it down all the way and listened again. Looking to the others, he asked, “Can you hear it?”
Both Luc and Rylen listened carefully. Rylen had excellent hearing as well, being part shifter, and he could add magic to enhance it even further.
“That is definitely people. Good job Mat,” Rylen said. “Ok, so we drive a little closer in that direction, then we go on foot. If you can get closer by shifting, Luc, go ahead, just be careful.”
“I’ll get an overhead view then report back to you,” Lucius said as he began to take his shirt off.
“Do not engage, Luc. At least not until we know what we’re dealing with. If you hear the signal… well, you know what to do,” Rylen added.
Lucius nodded as he pulled each of his heavy boots off. He opened the door and stepped out of the vehicle in order to remove his pants. After he was stripped bare, revealing a pale, but well-sculpted masculine body, he folded his clothes and left them in a pile on his seat. He stretched his arms covered with tattoo sleeves over his head. He inhaled slowly, closed his eyes and lowered his arms in an arc as he exhaled, transforming into a large Gyrfalcon—the largest bird of its species with added size and girth due to his paranormal nature. It was magical watching him turn from a large strong man into a much smaller, yet still large, bird. The head of his bird was white while the rest of his feathers were layered with smattering of black. He let out a screech and took flight into the cloudy, overcast sky.
“Did he really just take the time to fold his clothes?” Rylen chuckled as he asked.
“He does it every time, man, where’ve you been?” Mather laughed shaking his head at the strangeness of his brother.
“I know, it still shocks me every time.”
“You gonna shift, Ry?”
“Somehow, I think I would draw more attention that way than if I were to just sneak in as myself,” Rylen said almost disappointed.
Mather nodded his head understanding. “I’ll go with you on foot. In case something goes down and we need to talk, I don’t want to end up in front of enemies in my birthday suit. Plus, then Luc
doesn’t need to shift unless we need him.” It wasn’t unheard of for shifters to be able to communicate to each other when in animal form; however, it was unique that a shifter could talk telepathically to an unshifted person. But perhaps it was because they were brothers or perhaps it was because they were twins. They weren’t quite sure, but it was handy. Luc and Mather didn’t always see eye to eye, but when it came down to it, they were family—to each other and to the clan.
Rylen laughed. “Good point. Let’s get a little closer.” They drove down toward where the large falcon was flying. “He’s a pretty big bird. If someone were really looking, that would be quite the site. I don’t think we have too many of those near here.”
“True, but he’s not near the site you’d be if you were spotted,” Mather pointed out. Rylen agreed.
“Here’s good,” Rylen said as he parked the SUV near some trees that would shield it a little. “Ok, let’s go. It was convenient for them to put the edge of their district near the tree line. That will help us blend a bit more, assuming people don’t come out.”
“That was nice of them wasn’t it?” Mather said sarcastically as he checked his knives to ensure they were secure in his holster attached to his belt.
Rylen did the same. He checked the pockets on his black cargo pants that were customarily worn on their outings so they could carry all the gadgets and weapons necessary. Rylen preferred to use magic, but he wasn’t above using weapons if it came down to that. He handed Mather an ear-piece so they could talk if they got separated, and so they could signal Headquarters. Putting his own on, Rylen hoped this was a simple recon mission and nothing else. He was worried about Poppy, and a sick gut feeling told him this group before them might have something to do with her disappearance.
CHAPTER SIX
Staying in shadows, Rylen and Mather moved with the natural stealth of predators inching closer to the tree line bordering the warehouse district. Once they targeted building in sight, they looked around for the best observation place. Rylen signaled to Mather and pointed up. Mather nodded and found himself a spot next to a low-lying bush while Rylen shimmied up into a tree. He was agile and strong as he crept from one branch to the next, seeking the ones that would support his weight. Finally perching himself about half way up a sturdy pine tree, he whispered into his earpiece communicator.
“I have a good visual on the building and its surroundings.”
“Copy that,” Mather replied. “Mine is limited.”
“It’s quiet on the ground. I can’t get a read on what’s happening inside,” Rylen whispered back.
“They have some kind of barrier around the building. I can barely hear anything. I’d say it’s magic, but for an organization set on taking out all the magic in the world because it’s evil, I would say that doesn’t seem right.”
“It is some kind of magic. It’s different though… disguised or cloaked. It’s familiar and yet strange all at the same time,” Rylen mused out loud.
“We’ve basically got nothing other than there is something going on here, Ry. For all we can tell, it could be a group of magic users that want privacy.” Mather’s voice was a grumble over the com.
Rylen’s fist hit the tree in frustration, then he leaned his forehead on top of his clenched hand. This could be nothing more than a distraction or a waste of time. “Let’s give it another minute. Check in with Luc, see if he has anything we’re not seeing. We’ve got to be able to find out some kind of information.”
“You could just ask someone,” a female voice came from a little ways behind them in the forest.
Mather and Rylen both whipped their heads around at the sound of the intruder. They looked at each other quickly with confused looks on their faces then back to the girl. She was also up in a tree several trees behind where Rylen was. She wasn’t up quite as high, allowing him the advantage.
“What? You’ve never seen a girl in a tree before?” she said with some snark. “Or you’re possibly wondering how I snuck up on two shifters with excellent hearing?”
At their non-responsive reactions, she continued, “No, I’m not a mind-reader. No, I’m not a shifter. No, I don’t have magic. I simply make good observations. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure that one out, boys.” She stared at Rylen, then looked down below at Mather who was now standing in front of Rylen’s tree with his arms folded, clearly not threatened by the likes of the girl—or young woman judging the looks of her.
“Well, enlighten us then. Who are you? And why are you sneaking up on us?” Rylen asked with casual attitude.
“I’m Alana. I live here,” she said pointing at the building behind them. “I know you are Rylen and I’m guessing you are Mather, the wolf shifter,” she said matter-of-factly as she inclined her head toward a now scowling Mather. She turned quickly back to Rylen. “I wasn’t actually sneaking up on you. Well, not originally. I was out walking like I usually do. I get so confined in there,” she waved her hand toward the building flippantly, “and sometimes I just can’t take it. So I get out and walk. I’m not supposed to, but…” she shrugged her shoulders as if she didn’t care. “I saw what I’m assuming is your vehicle up that way, so I thought I’d do some checking. And here we are.”
Rylen was completely confused as to why this girl would approach them, obviously knowing who they were. “How do you know us?”
“We study you,” she answered honestly. “Well, they make us study you so we know what to do if we ever run into you,” she trailed off like there was more.
“You mean, so you can report to your leaders where we are?” Mather interrogated.
Alana nodded. From what Rylen could tell of her in the tree, she was tall and athletic in a long sleeved tunic-style shirt and leggings mostly covered by her knee-high, flat-heeled boots laced up to the top. On her head, she wore a slouchy purple knit beanie. He couldn’t tell what it was, but there was a partial tattoo sticking out of the neck of her shirt near a shoulder that crept up the side of her neck. She didn’t seem to fit the mold of those from the Fairfax group. Alana looked close to eighteen or nineteen, but perhaps she could even be closer to twenty. She was beautiful with light blonde hair half way down her back and a fair complexion. There was something familiar about her, but he couldn’t put his finger on it. He wondered what she was doing with them.
“Now, I have a question. What are you doing here?” she asked squinting at Rylen as she placed the hand not holding onto a branch on her hip suggesting she wasn’t afraid.
“We got a tip that your group was in this area. We are doing recon to see what you’re up to,” Rylen offered.
“That was honest.”
“You were honest with us. I didn’t think you’d appreciate me bullshitting you: ‘We were just climbing trees in the area, but we’ll go now,’” Rylen mimicked like an idiot.
“Thank you. Now let me return the favor. You shouldn’t be here. The lead council of our group will return shortly. It would be best if you weren’t here,” Alana warned.
“We’re not scared of your leaders,” Mather growled out.
Alana simply stared at him for a moment until she saw his hackles getting in a bunch. She didn’t drop her eyes but returned her stare toward Rylen. He seemed safer.
“Alana, what’s in the building? If it’s nothing, there shouldn’t be anything to report to my boss,” Rylen asked.
“It’s all the women and children mostly. It’s where we stay. Any business the leaders conduct happens in a secret location even to us, their families.” She sounded bitter about that bit of information. Rylen nodded his appreciation.
“We’ll go now. We didn’t want trouble. Just curious,” Rylen said as he began to climb down to the last limb before he jumped down the remaining distance. He and Mather began to walk away.
“You know, you’re not as scary as they say you are,” Alana examined him from up in the tree.
Rylen gave her a sardonic grin. He thumbed toward Mather, “He may be the big bad wolf
, little girl, but don’t be mistaken… I’m the scariest of them all.”
~~~~~
Back at the car, Rylen took off his gear before he got in. Mather did the same.
“Have Lucius follow her for a bit. Maybe he can find out more. We’ll meet him back at the Lair,” Rylen instructed as he pulled the SUV back onto the main road and headed back into downtown Seattle.
Several moments of silence later, Rylen slammed his hand on the steering wheel.
“She was the same girl who was at the last heist! I can’t believe I didn’t recognize her. It’s not like she has a forgettable face,” Rylen berated himself.
“What do you think it means?”
“I don’t know, but it definitely puts more evidence that Fairfax had something behind the ease of the heist at Triumph, but I don’t know why or why they didn’t stop us.” Rylen scowled as he took the freeway exit he needed to take him downtown on 5th past The Fifth Avenue Theatre and Westlake Center.
“It’ll all come to light sooner or later, man,” Mather encouraged.
“Yeah, I just hope it’s not too late for us to protect our own. Something didn’t sit right about that place though. There’s a hitch in my gut that says they have something to do with Poppy,” Rylen said ominously. Mather flexed his fingers out on his knees then balled them up into fists ready to pulverize something. Rylen remained silent, but couldn’t help noting Mather’s reaction. Of course, they were protective of their people, especially the girls, and especially the girls like Poppy, untrained for combat, but something in his friend’s expression told him it might be more than that. Mather may not even be aware of the depth of his reaction.
They pulled into the private parking garage for the hotel that was under the adjacent building. A section was secured for only the members of the PAC use. Both men exited the vehicle and stalked their way to the private doorway guarded with a fingerprint keypad. Rylen placed his thumb on the pad and waited for the green light. The door slid open to the side into the wall and with a quick look behind them, they entered the tunnel that led them underground and to another doorway that opened into the receiving room—aka the “Door room.” Rylen’s thumbprint once again overrode the security system along with his signature magic and they entered into the Lair.
