by Susan Reid
“Ewwww!” She cringed again, levitating slightly above the blankets and sitting Indian-style like a Djinn fresh out of a lamp.
“Really, Isis?” I shook my head.
She giggled. “So, it’s Erian’s and my anniversary coming up next month and I wanted to ask in advance because we wanted to go back to Las Vegas to celebrate. I was hoping that my oh so cool and beautiful boss wouldn’t mind giving me two weeks off…in fact, maybe you guys could come too. We could make a vacay of it or something, you and Gage.”
I flashed a weary look at Isis for her worn out flattery.
“I don’t care Isis. Go and have fun. If you’re gone I’ll have to be here. Besides, the relationship or connection between me and Gage isn’t like that.”
“Yet.” She clarified.
I sighed, then I sat up and narrowed my eyes, switching into infrared vision to pan my room for any signature.
I couldn’t trust that Gage wasn’t spying when he wasn’t physically here.
“What are you doing?”
“Making sure we’re alone.”
Isis furrowed her brows and then understanding hit her as she scanned the room with me.
“Yeah, I don’t like that sneaky thing either. You’re gonna have to watch him.” She added.
“What are you gonna do with the walking dead in your cellar?”
“I don’t know yet. My gut tells me to welcome her. She’s been running away from her family for years. She said she followed me because I looked nice and she wanted to make friends when she saw me on the mainland.”
“Uh-huh. Sounds shady to me. I don’t trust her.”
“I don’t know. From what’s she’s told me so far, I believe some of it.”
“You’re too soft, Kai.”
“And you’re way too mean and paranoid.” I chuckled.
“These days you have to be.” She defended with her arms out on either side of her.
There was a soft knock on the door.
“Come in.” I called out.
Erian slowly opened the door. “Sorry for interrupting, is it alright to talk now?”
“Oh, sure. Sorry.” I quickly sat up and we all headed back out into my living room.
“So, what’s the diagnosis?” I asked plunking down into the plushness of my couch.
“Well first, do you know who you just added as a new patron of the bar?” Erian was beaming.
I looked at Isis who had tossed herself languidly into the armchair across from me. She was as puzzled as I was.
“Who? Gage?”
“Yes. You don’t know who he is, do you?” Erian sat down on the sofa, smiling now.
“She knows he’s sexy and an incredible lover.” Isis replied.
I gaped at her, blushing. “Anyway, I guess not. What about him?” Interest and impatience flooding me all of a sudden as I sat up straighter.
“Gage Del Croix is the founder, owner, and president of over a hundred Bio-Molecular Trans Genome and Cell regeneration facilities worldwide here and universally in our world. He’s a medical and scientific prodigy and he exclusively holds the patents for cures to just about every single deadly disease known to humans and non-humans for the past several centuries! The guy is a complete genius and a saint, not to mention a multi-billionaire —in both worlds.
Hell, he was the ruling leader over Aldeur before letting his brother take over when he stepped down and exiled himself over two decades ago. It’s been a mystery to many for so long but now I understand why he did. His whole family of Phantom Jaguars have been in power for generations. You guys can’t believe how lucky we are to have his knowledge, connections, and expertise in our circle! When science and magic collide, the possibilities are endless and we may be able to reverse your and his condition successfully after all, Kai.” Erian gestured animatedly, nearly orgasmic with excitement.
“Babe, save that excitement for Vegas.” Isis laughed and then she looked over at me, “Big brain and big member to match?” She grinned.
I shook my head as if I hadn’t fully comprehended what Erian just disclosed. “What? How do you know all of that?” I replied, riveted with intrigue and wondering why the hell Gage didn’t tell me any of this.
“I keep my ear to the wind. Many of the powerful Mages and Magicians know all about him and his work. He’s a respectable icon to many. The fact that he’s also a Phantom Jaguar makes it all the more better.”
It felt like a major mind fuck of information that I would have never guessed, and of course Gage chose to beat around the bush to keep from revealing any of it, even when I asked him.
“If he has the cure for all of those serious diseases, why are humans in this world and beings in our world still dying from them?” I had to ask.
Erian looked at me pointedly as if the answer was obvious and I should have known better.
“Money. Many human world governments don’t want the cures. In fact, they’re paying him not to release them, but instead to come up with temporary fixes and meds.”
I frowned, angered by that thought.
“And he’s letting them buy him? That doesn’t sound very saintly to me.”
Erian laughed and shook his head. “He’s been several steps ahead of them for years, marketing and selling these cures disguised as simple vitamins and natural homeopathic medicines in stores globally. He’s making a killing under the radar by both curing and staying hush. To those people and places that can’t afford the meds…he simply provides the treatment and research for free.”
Oh. Ok, I guess I take the greedy asshole sentiment back then. That actually was very smart of him.
Then Isis broke the silence with a huge grin and her fist in the air like a train conductor pulling the horn, “And don’t forget money…Cha- Ching, baby! Gorgeous, a rich martyr, and great in bed? You hit the ultimate trifecta, Kai!”
It was just one night of an extremely powerful connection and delicious sex. He didn’t offer or promise me much more than that and I already knew it when I gave in.
Damn, Kai, you can be so stupid sometimes.
Chapter 34
Gage was a multi-billionaire in both worlds. How was he pulling that off? I mean, I’m sure he had many people in his employment and of course, his power to control and persuade probably played a hand in it all but they had to notice that he wasn’t aging.
Maybe they’ve never seen him. Silent owners and partners were very common. I was both impressed and awestricken. I knew there was something aristocratic about him that screamed refined. The leadership and strategist qualities were clear in the way he spoke, hunted, carried himself, and the approach he took with Nailah.
Why couldn’t he just come right out and tell me all of this though?
I did ask.
The knowledge of dollar signs wasn’t as profound as his level of intellect and what he was doing with it. It was for the good of both humanity and those in our world but way too late for what happened to our race. That thought made me angry more than anything but I know it was unfair to be angry with him. It wasn’t his fault or responsibility...but could he or those before him from Aldeur have done something back then? Was he even in the position to have done or offered something? It saddened me to think about the possibility.
Guardian Tigers were humble but proud. We were a wary and cautious class but that level of paranoia is probably what cost us our home and existence. Maybe someone had offered and we simply rejected it.
All of the ‘what if’s’ kept circling through my mind when I thought back to our family and parents. It made me miss everyone all over again as if our emergency arrival in the human world had just happened yesterday.
No time to ponder any of that now. We had things to do and do quickly.
We were going to combine our monthly meeting and our plan to close the gateway at one time, so we closed the bar early again tonight. The round table consisted of myself, Cole, Clee, Riza, Isis, Jax, Phillip, Stone, Duncan, Noemi, and Elvie.
I tried t
o get in touch with Marq but he was more than likely ignoring my messages and I can’t say that I blamed him.
My mind was still on Gage and what Erian found out about my bloodwork.
Inconclusive.
The only thing he could gather was that my blood had mutated into another form, a form that he was sure was evolving rather than simply changing, so he took a sample of Cole’s blood for comparison. The only definitive thing was the obvious, my blood did indeed have unusual Nocturna-like properties.
He and Gage decided to join intellectual forces and since I understood none of that, I left that to them.
I didn’t know what to think about him now. Of course, I was still attracted to him and I wanted to get to know more about him but it was weird now for some strange reason.
Where did he have to run off to every time anyway? It would serve him right if I just followed and spied on him one day so that I could find out what else he was purposefully not telling me.
Nailah seemed content for the time being.
Taking a chance, I allowed her to stay in the comforts of my apartment, giving her a fresh change of clothes and access to my machines so that she could wash hers.
Her magenta eyes enhanced by her dark brows, lashes, and hair complimented her pale skin very well. She was really pretty fresh-faced and without make-up.
I took a wild chance and invited her to sit in on our meeting, much to everyone’s disagreement and caution. I thought that she could provide valuable information and insight. I wanted for her to get to know everyone and vice versa in order to establish both trust and boundaries. For now, I planned on letting her stick around for a bit until I decided what to do with her.
She seemed extremely grateful and relieved—hell, even Twinkie took a liking to her and she adored him. I was jealous. She’s full Nocturna and I’m only part but he growled at and ran from me in the beginning of my change.
I don’t get that cat at all sometimes.
She sat on a barstool at the bar counter with him purring contentedly in her lap while she gently stroked his back. The television was on but set to a low volume and tuned to a comedy sitcom so that she could watch, but she didn’t seem interested in it.
“You sure having her here is a good idea?” Cole leaned in close to whisper in my ear.
We both glanced at Nailah who seemed more preoccupied with Twinkie than anyone else.
Agitated, I sighed. “Why do you keep questioning my decisions? She wants the portal closed more than anyone else here.”
“I’m not questioning them. I just don’t think she needs to be hearing our plans.” He soothed though still unconvinced.
“I wouldn’t worry about it, Cole. She’s nothing but a walking slurpee to Kai if she decides to betray us in any way.” Isis said loud enough for Nailah to hear on purpose.
Nailah shifted nervously but didn’t respond even when she glanced at me.
Clee stood up, waiting until everyone sat down around the table with their drinks and snacks, before motioning for our attention.
“First order of business now that we’re all here, is to lay out our plans on getting this gateway closed. There’s been a total of five human bodies that have come up dead under mysterious circumstances, according to the local police, and that means that we can’t wait any longer. Kai, I take it that you weren’t able to get in touch with Marq or Syhenna?”
“I haven’t heard anything back yet.”
“Okay, then we’ll have to go with plan B just in case.”
“Wait, first, let me introduce Nailah to you guys.” I stood up and Nailah looked up and skimmed the room with all eyes on her.
I went around the room and introduced everyone and she responded with a smile and a nod. I was grateful that the others returned the polite greeting even though I knew they didn’t like her being here.
I hoped she didn’t prove me wrong after all.
“Her father is Melvick Cristorus. He’s one of the three rulers over the Palace of Night. She’s going to have garde’s constantly all over her tail no matter where she goes.” Noemi informed everyone.
All heads turned to glance at Nailah in serious question and then at me as if I’d lost my mind.
“Which is why we’re getting ready to close this gateway.” I reiterated.
“This is not going to be the only and last gateway created.” Isis commented.
“We’ll take care of them as they occur.” Clee replied.
I appreciated her optimism.
“I can help.” Nailah spoke up.
“Why are you trying to get away from your people anyway?” Cole asked.
I could see a slight twitch in Nailah’s mouth at the mention of ‘your people’. Given the reaction she had with me when I said it, I warned Cole. “Don’t refer to them as her people. She wants nothing to do with the Nocturna as we know them.” I said to him quickly.
The puzzled look on his face begged for me to elaborate but I didn’t have time to further explain the why to him right now.
But to somewhat satisfy his curiosity, I went ahead and addressed everyone else in her defense. “She’s in love with a human for one. The rest is everything against what they believe, like not drinking blood at all.”
“Is that so?” Jax commented looking over at and studying Nailah. I was sure Jax could relate because he was messing around with a human girl himself, although he had yet to bring her to the bar. He’s asked but that kind of possible exposure was something that both Cole and I weren’t too sure about right now.
“You don’t drink blood at all? That’s really odd.” Elvie was incredulous.
Nailah shook her head no.
“We live an existence where stranger things have happened and have become possible, like with Kai.” Clee pointed out.
Everyone was silent in their agreement.
“What are your plans for yourself, seeing that you’re trying to cut ties with your family? I can tell that’s not going to be easy for you.” Cole then asked.
Nailah paused and then shrugged her shoulders.
“I’m not sure but I won’t be a burden to you all, I promise. I’ll probably head to the United States to find my friend.”
“Do you mind wearing protective runes that will warp your location?” Clee then asked her.
Nailah nodded. “Definitely.”
Her enthusiastic agreement seemed to satisfy some of their initial concerns, so I took the brief moment of silence to stop any more questions from coming.
“Let’s get back to this plan. We can grill her later. I’m really tired right now.” I lied. I was agitated but it wasn’t their bombardment of questions.
It was my irritation and mixed feelings over Gage.
“Alright. Los Muertos port is a very busy port. The gateway there is huge and there isn’t any way to close it without being obvious and giving ourselves away…unless we create a massive hurricane and storm to ensure that there will be no humans present. Using the storm as a cover, we can easily shield it from any eyes on the other side while we cast our sealing spell. We’re going to have to be prepared to take care of any possible things that may come through in the process though. All of that is going to take a lot of energy, so we’ll need everyone there and to be at their maximum elemental capacity. I was hoping that Marq and Syhenna could lend themselves along with a few of their friends to create the fake hurricane but if not, then we’ll have to use a weather spell and utilize Isis, Sage, and three other Sylphs to create a strong, constant, wind. Does anyone have any objections, other ideas, or anything to add?”
“Sounds like a plan but will it be enough? Even if we can get all the humans away from the port, it doesn’t mean that what we’re doing will go unseen from other vantage points. Seeing us remaining there will probably be suspicious enough, especially if things turn confrontational with other beings trying to come through.” Jax pointed out.
“We can create an illusion to disguise our presence. Darkness and the storm will help a grea
t deal. If we contain it and prevent anything from coming through before we begin, which is the reasoning for the shielding, then we won’t have to worry about any additional chaos, hopefully.” Clee answered him.
“Just an FYI, there is a huge tropical rainstorm coming tonight around nine in the evening. It should last all night and into the morning. Adding a spell will intensify it enough to create a pretty wild hurricane effect, in case we can’t touch base with Marq and Syhenna. ” Isis said.
“Oh, that’s perfect then.” Clee smiled.
“I can help too.” Nailah suddenly interjected.
All eyes were on her.
“I can create electricity and invoke lightning. People don’t tend to stick around if there’s a possibility of being electrocuted.” She explained.
Everyone thought about that and nodded approval.
“That’s excellent and gracious of you, Nailah. Okay, then we’ll all plan to head to the port five hours from now, which puts us at exactly eleven p.m., in the thick of the storm. Synchronize your watches and time keeping devices now. We’ll have the sealing spells ready ahead of time, so that it’s just a matter of casting them simultaneously. In the meantime, I’ll need the air users to create as much strong wind as possible to affect both the rain and the water. Nailah, your lightning will help to masque the magic effects as we close the gateway. Fire users and hunters, be ready to attack and defend…especially you and Gage.” Clee pointed to me.
I nodded.
“I’ve staked out the position of the gateway on several different occasions and here is where we will all need to be positioned in order to make this work.” Clee explained as she pulled out a diagram on a large sheet of poster board paper and laid it out in the center of the table.
Nailah set Twinkie down and got up to join us and take a peek.
Just then, Erian, Gage, and three of Erian’s Mage associates entered the bar via the steps from the front entrance.
He used the door? I was shocked.
Marq and Syhenna showed up about ten minutes later with Coye and another male and female Undine that I’ve never seen before, much to my relief. He had gotten my messages after all. I’ve never been happier to see him. Despite his obvious disdain for Gage, the gang was all here.
