by Brenda Trim
Pushing up on her elbows, she screamed when the pain shot through her back and right arm. It was too painful to hold any of her weight and she fell back down.
“Don’t move. Jace said it was going to hurt for a while,” Santi relayed as he ran his hands over her body without actually touching her. He settled for gingerly sitting next to her on the bed. She couldn’t see much of the room, only the brown sheets below her face and the hardwood side table. Oh, and the corner of a rug covering the wood floor.
“I don’t know what to say. Even if Lana is going to be pissed that I didn’t handle the contract in her time frame and like she wanted, it was worth it since you saved a female’s life. Thank you. I hate to admit that I hadn’t given the case another thought,” Tori speculated. As head of the Valkyrie Assassins’ Guild, Lana expected her orders to be followed, and Tori doubted she would be happy that the Dark Warriors had interfered. Tori made a note to give her notice as soon as she could write the letter. She was done with the Guild. She had a feeling she was going to be too busy healing to worry about whether she had her own studio anyway.
“You may not have thought about it yet, but I know you. You would have been up and trying to solve it when you should be resting and healing. I was worried I’d overstepped my boundaries,” Santiago hedged, uncertainty clear in his expression.
“You can handle it how you want, you’re the one paying me remember,” she teased half-heartedly. “Now, if you weren’t paying me that would be a whole other story. I’m shocked that you had him arrested and didn’t kill him after hearing what he’d done,” Tori acknowledged.
“That’s not for me to decide,” Santi admitted, shocking her. “I need to stick to hunting demons and human criminals and leave the decisions and punishments to the leaders. That’s what we have them for… along with the rules.”
“Quick, I need my phone. I have got to post this news. Britt will want to hear you admitting I am right, too. Can you repeat that after I get my phone?” she goaded him.
“I’ve already told Britt. In fact, she is downstairs fawning over baby Isobel, waiting for you to wake up,” Santiago added.
“I love you, Santiago,” she let slip, but didn’t regret saying it.
“I love you, too, dulzura,” he said, then leaned over and placed a light kiss on her mouth.
“What’s next? Are they taking you to the dungeons now?” she asked as she laid her hand over his on the bed.
Toying with her fingers, Santiago murmured, “Not yet. That will come after we take care of Angelica. I leave with the warriors after the Rowan triplets locate the bitch,” Santiago revealed.
“Help me get up—and dressed,” she added, realizing she had no top on.
“You aren’t going anywhere. We have no idea if your arm will function. I am not allowing you to face Angelica at such a disadvantage,” Santi practically snarled.
“I have no desire to face that sorceress again. But I am not missing the Rowan sisters in action. They are legendary. It’s not every day one gets to see prophesized triplets at work,” she pointed out.
“It will be if you mate with me,” Santi suggested as he tugged on his goatee in that way of his.
“I’d be honored to mate with you, Santiago. If you’ll have a damaged female, that is,” she threw out. He’d said Jace was uncertain of how she would heal, but she knew she would never be the same. She couldn’t feel her wing, and her arm refused to obey even simple commands.
“I’m the one who is honored to have been given a perfect mate who not only sees past all of my flaws but accepts and loves me. We’re imperfectly perfect together,” he murmured with a smile.
*****
“You doing this sky-clad?” Rhys asked the Rowan sisters, making their mates growl.
It seemed as if everyone and their grandmother were present in the clearing behind Zeum with the Rowan triplets and their mates. Their household had been growing by leaps and bounds over the past year with the additions of the mates, and now Isobel, but it still felt like a close-knit family to Santiago.
“Fucking Rhys,” the group muttered, Santiago included. It was good to see the male hadn’t completely changed. What had changed was the angel wrapped in his arms. If she was bothered by his question, she didn’t show it.
“What? I’m only asking because if you are, I’m taking my mate back to our room. We have unfinished business,” Rhys replied, waggling his eyebrows.
“No, this is a simple spell. All we need is the full moon overhead and the power of three. Even if Angelica has learned a few tricks from her new friends, she won’t be able to hide from us,” Pema announced. Pema was the oldest of the infamous witch triplets and typically the one who initiated the spells. He was surprised to see her not only pregnant, but close to being due.
“Ready?” Pema asked her sisters, Isis and Suvi.
A chorus of yeses came from the other two and then Pema was casting the circle. Taking a salt mixture, Pema dropped it as she walked deosil in a perfect circle. After she had completed her first circuit, white light projected from the salt.
Tori shivered in front of Santiago, and he thought it was the sight of the magic, but realized it was the cold night air. He wanted to wrap her in his arms but didn’t want to cause her more pain. Her wing was hanging low on her back and her arm stiff by her side. She’d been quiet since he helped clean her and get her dressed, but he sensed her pain and discomfort. Not wanting to leave her cold, Santiago stepped close and ran his hands up and down her arms.
On her second turn, Pema began chanting. "I cast this circle to keep us free of all energies that are not of the Light. I allow within this circle only the energies that are of the Light. So mote it be.” On her third circuit, Pema consecrated the space.
Santiago marveled once again at the power of the sisters. The craft spoke to him in a way sorcery didn’t, because it was earth based. His wolf stirred under his skin every time he watched them perform magic, because as a shifter, he had a deeper connection to nature and the wild.
Isis, the fiery redhead with a temper to match, picked up a bowl of white chalk and knelt to call the quarters. Using the powder, she scribed the pentacle into the dirt and invoked the element in each direction as she went. “Hear me, Sentinels of the East, I summon the powers of Air! Hear me, Sentinels of the South, I summon the powers of Fire! Hear me, Sentinels of the West, I summon the powers of Water! Hear me, Sentinels of the North, I summon the powers of Earth! As above, so below. As within, so without. Four stars in this place be, combined to call the fifth to me! So mote it be.”
Izzy clapped her hands when the white light brightened and power filled the area. Santiago wondered how spoiled the princess was. He suspected she was overindulged given her earlier behavior with Isis’s stepson, Donovan. Santi got to see what Orlando had been talking about when Izzy disappeared from Zander’s arms and reappeared next to Donovan and started saying “mine” while reaching for the young male’s candy bar. It had been obvious that it either didn’t bother Donovan or it happened often because the male gave Izzy his candy bar with a smile.
The circle having been cast and the elements called, Suvi, the youngest triplet, who preferred stilettos to combat boots, began chanting. “Live and learn, learn and live. I endeavor to receive what life can give. Bring to me the lessons true, and knowledge of what to do. Amid the mess and chaos fierce, shine a light to darkness pierce. Show the way to knowledge deep, which to let go and which to keep. Clear the way so I might heed the lessons that I truly need. Show me what I need to learn, as life’s pages I do turn. So mote it be,” Suvi called out. The sisters closed their eyes and threw their heads back.
Next to Santiago, Gerrick whispered to his mate, “They’re layering spells to breach any Dark magic they may encounter.” Shae must have asked what the triplets were doing.
The witches proceeded to pull incense from their bag. Santi thought he smelled jasmine, but couldn’t be sure with Tori’s thunderstorm scent surrounding him. Not tha
t he was complaining. It was far better than when she’d been lying on that table dying. He nearly pulled her into his arms to reassure himself she was alive and okay.
Anticipation thickened the air as the sisters joined hands and their mates placed their hands on their shoulders. Santi had seen it before, but Tori threw him a questioning look when the males took part. Leaning down, Santi spoke into Tori’s ear, “I have no idea how it works, but their mates enhance their power. That’s why their mating stones are embedded into their palms.”
Tori’s awe over the ceremony was evident, making Santiago excited to show her his world. She’d shown him hers, but they had yet to explore his friends and life, and he looked forward to it.
The energy from the witches’ collective magic was staggering and distracted him. Thankfully, the sisters were part of the Dark Alliance because if their power ended up in evil hands it would be a devastating weapon. Nothing would stand a chance against them.
“Doiteain,” they chanted together. The candles and incense ignited and the witches knelt before the altar Nate had taken out earlier. Suvi and Isis grabbed Pema’s waist as she reached into the bowl of water and invoked the element of water.
Relaxing into a meditative state, Pema plunged two fingers into the water and swirled in a clockwise motion. Repeating this four times, the sisters began chanting in unison, “Let the water reveal to me the location of Angelica. Let the water show me where she is. So mote it be.”
On completion of the fourth time, lightning cracked, making everyone but Tori jump. She seemed to grow stronger under his touch. The look she threw over his shoulder told him she was thinking of their trysts. He couldn’t wait for her to heal so they could have another.
The water clouded over then cleared to reveal a stone castle. It was medieval, with candelabras adorning the walls between large tapestries of Angelica sitting on a gold throne. The chair was gaudy with flowers carved on the arms and rich velvet upholstery. As he took more of the scene in, he realized the tapestry was a replica of the one Angelica was sitting in. The female appeared to be yelling and waving a bloody towel at someone.
Santiago could see the patch of missing skin on her shoulder. Apparently he’d harmed her more that he’d realized. Blood seeped through her green gown that his claws had left furrows in. The sight made him wonder why the sorceress hadn’t healed. Supernaturals healed at a much faster rate; only silver, Dark magic, or demon venom caused problems. Angelica was imbibed with Dark power so his bite shouldn’t have affected her; unless it was the light fighting the Dark, he mused.
Jace gasped, drawing Santiago’s attention. The male was normally as tan as Santi, but had gone white as a ghost. “It’s Warrich,” Jace explained as he met Zander’s eyes.
“Aye, ’tis that Goddess-cursed castle. I canna fucking believe the female had the balls to go back to that place. We’ve made a mistake in ignoring her for too long,” Zander observed.
“No, liege. We weren’t ignoring her, exactly. We’ve been facing one crisis after another for months with no break. We have been operating on a defensive basis, rather than offensive. She wasn’t squeaking, so why pour resources into finding her?” Santiago asked.
“He’s right,” Jace agreed. “Even I haven’t given her any thought lately, and that’s saying something.”
“Where is that castle located?” Elsie asked. Izzy had been happily cooing in her arms all night but was now quiet and scowling at the water.
“It’s in Scotland,” Zander replied grimly. He had to be thinking the same thing Santiago was. How in the hell did they mobilize their forces and get them all the way across the world and organized to attack?
“Oh. That is a problem,” Elsie observed. “I assumed she was in Seattle.”
“It’s only a small problem,” Cailyn interjected. “Surely one of you has a castle that Jace, Gerrick, and Evzen can create a portal to. I know that is at the limit of their magic, so we will need to coordinate with the Dark Warriors there to have weapons available,” she continued before anyone could ask what she meant.
Cailyn was the quietest of the females to join their house, but she had a great head on her shoulders and was obviously more comfortable expressing her opinions now.
“We wouldn’t be able to hold it open for long,” Jace warned.
“Nay,” Zander acknowledged. “But we only need a few minutes for us to cross into Mallaig. Kyran, call Lachlan and let him know we will be traveling there by portal tomorrow night. We can carry our personal weapons, but we need him to have massive firepower at our disposal. We may need to blow through the walls.”
“Ask him for a rocket launcher,” Orlando tossed out there. At Santiago’s questioning look, his best friend smirked and said, “I’ve always wanted to use one of those. And now I want to blow her little castle to smithereens.”
“How did I not know this before?” Santiago asked Orlando, enjoying their camaraderie.
“It’s a new thing. I’m tired of evil people getting away with murder,” Orlando replied as lines formed between his eyebrows and his fists clenched at his sides.
“Chill out, buddy. Take a lesson from me. That’s not our role. I agree Angelica needs to die, but we’re here to protect innocents from demons and their skirm. She happens to be one of the latter, if you ask me. Be careful not to allow that bitterness to take over,” Santi warned Orlando. He had no idea what had happened to squash his friend’s normally fun-loving attitude, but he would be keeping an eye on him. Belatedly, Santi wondered if Orlando had ever felt this way about him.
“Care to join us?” Zander asked the Rowan triplets.
Pema looked at her mate, then her sisters, who all nodded an affirmative, before responding to Zander. “Hell yeah, I’m not due for another month. Besides, we’ve never been to Scotland.”
“And I have the perfect boots,” Suvi purred.
Chuckling, Zander wrapped his arm around Elsie. “Lock and load, warriors. We leave in ten hours,” Zander responded before heading to the house.
It felt great to be back in the saddle as a Dark Warrior, but it was different this time. He had a mate waiting for him at home and a mating ceremony to plan.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
“You ready, bloodsucker?” Mack asked Kyran. The smirk Kyran gave his mate was so unlike the Vampire Prince, but in a good way. Before meeting Mack, Kyran used to be angry and aggressive and typically wore a scowl.
Watching the easy banter between the couple, Santiago hoped he and Tori would be that comfortable with one another. Leaving Tori behind had been difficult, but she was in no position to go with them with all the healing she had to do. Besides, she wasn’t a warrior. She may have been an assassin, but she was not trained for true battle. Her approach was all about stealth and subtlety. That wouldn’t work when you were storming an evil sorceress’s castle.
None of the warriors were comfortable leaving the females and Izzy at the compound, but they hadn’t left them without any defenses. A dragon and a pack of shifters stayed behind to protect them. Santiago felt better knowing Nate had remained behind. The dragon was capable of more than his fellow shifters, and he had encouraged Tori to go directly to Nate if anything were to happen. She had laughed at his suggestion that a majordomo could protect her better than powerful shifters, until she’d discovered his true nature.
Not all of the mates had remained home, Santiago amended, watching Mack and Kyran. Mack was the only one on the mission. She would never be left behind. She was as capable as any of the warriors and great to have at your back in combat. Of course, you had to get past her T-shirts and sarcasm. Today’s shirt read, “I can resist EVERYTHING except TEMPTATION.”
“Try and keep up, firecracker,” Kyran responded, his Scottish brogue thicker somehow now that they were in their homeland.
“Do you think she knows we’re out here?” Orlando asked from their perch on a hill about a quarter mile away. The Rowan sisters had halted their forward momentum ten minutes ago, saying they fel
t a magical barrier. Santiago hadn’t felt anything until the witches led their group to a patch of trees. The malignant energy seeped from the ground, killing everything in its path.
Five yards in front of their position, the trees were blackened trunks, the grass had turned brown, and no animals roamed. Santiago knew it was from the Dark magic Angelica was using to protect her property.
“She doesna know we’re here yet, but that’s aboot to change,” Zander said, waving his hand toward the Rowan sisters where they stood with their mates in a circle. Their chanting was low, and the energy that poured from them warmed the cold that was seeping into Santiago’s soul. It was a cold that had nothing to do with the weather and everything to do with being so close to pure evil.
“She will know it when we shove a blade up her ass,” Cade and Cael said in unison. Santiago chuckled at the imagery the twins created. The two males had transferred from New Orleans a few months ago and fit in well with their group. Santi still wasn’t used to how deeply connected the two were. At times it seemed as if they were one. Bhric and Breslin, on the other hand, were close and fought together seamlessly, but they had very different personalities. Maybe it was the difference in fraternal versus identical twins.
“Fuck a blade. I’m planning on blowing her ass up. Hey, if she will know we are here the moment they lower her shield, can I use my rocket launcher?” Orlando asked, more excited than Santiago thought he should be. They had no idea what Angelica was capable of, or what demons they may face.
Zander snorted and shook his head. “Aye, why the fuck no’? We need to put her on the defensive and have her scrambling,” the Vampire King told Orlando.
