Jensen lashed out with a powerful punch, which she deflected easily. Isis did a high side kick, aiming for his gut. She followed through with a sweeping kick that knocked him off his feet. Isis stood up, ready to gloat, but he suddenly struck out with his feet, catching her square in the stomach and knocking her on her back. Jensen crawled over to her and pinned her wrists to the mat, grinning in that cocky way of his.
“See,” he panted. “Leaving your middle open.”
“Are you pleased with yourself now?” she asked, smiling.
“Yes, very,” he responded.
“Ahem.” A voice came from behind Isis’ head. She closed her eyes, already knowing who it was. Isis tilted her head back so she could see behind her.
Electra stood there, arms crossed over her chest, an amused expression on her face.
“Am I interrupting something?” she asked, raising one eyebrow.
“Nah, just getting your sister on her back, which isn’t too difficult a feat,” Jensen replied. Isis raised her knee, hitting him in the groin. Jensen let out a grunt as he fell to the side.
“Electra, what’s up?” Isis asked as she got to her feet and brushed herself off.
“Nothing, just thought I’d come down here and visit with my favorite sister,” Electra replied, still smiling. Isis gave her a look that said, Come on.
“I’m your only sister,” Isis pointed out, looking to the side when Shae hopped out of the boxing ring. Alex was leaning against one of the corners, taking a long swig from her water bottle.
“You and Jensen seem to be close,” Electra observed, looking to the side where Jensen was just finding his feet again.
“Him?” Isis asked, laughing. “Maybe in his dreams.”
“Uh huh,” Electra replied. “Do you know if Jet and Lilly have received any new information on Coop?”
Isis shrugged. “Not that I know of.”
Just then, Jade jogged down the stairs. “The Monroes called a meeting in five minutes, mandatory.”
For the first time, Isis was glad for a mandatory meeting. The last thing she wanted to discuss was Jensen or Coop, which seemed to be two of Electra’s favorite topics.
“Oh well, I’ve got to run,” Isis said, stepping around her twin.
“Sure you don’t need a cold shower first?” Electra asked in a playful tone.
“Good one,” Isis called back. Electra chuckled and glanced over her shoulder, watching Isis disappear up the stairs. Jensen bowed his head in respect as he passed by.
“Your secret’s safe with me,” Electra teased. Jensen frowned and twisted back.
“Don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said.
“Sure you don’t,” Electra replied, glancing toward the back of the room. “You forgot your jacket.”
“Ah. Thanks,” Jensen said as he jogged back to retrieve the jacket. He tossed it over his shoulders and buttoned the two bottom buttons. He started for the stairs again, smiling politely at Electra as he passed her by.
*~*~*~*~*
In the meeting room, Jet was sitting with Lilly at the large table. He was tapping the Key against the table, producing a soft rapping noise. Lilly was shuffling through a few papers, her brow creasing as she paused at one particular paper.
Jet glanced over at her and then lifted the flashdrive, examining it. It had been too easy to retrieve, and it worked just a little too perfectly. Jet was certain it wasn’t the actual Key and Lilly agreed with him, though she felt the flashdrive had some importance. He was almost positive not even Roan knew where, or even what, the actual Key was. We would know for sure if the damn High Council would get its act together, he thought irritably.
Jet put the flashdrive on the table as he got up, glancing over at Lilly when she looked up from her papers, offering him a gentle smile. Jet knew she was as frustrated as he was, but she was better at acting diplomatically. He wrapped his hands behind his head. Adonia had told them Roan needed to speak with them and kept requesting to do so. The assassin undoubtedly had important information, but he refused to speak to the guardians, which might be why the Council was taking so long to grant Jet and Lilly permission to question him. It didn’t surprise Jet that he was being so cagey. Roan had never been an open book, even before he became an assassin. Jet was just thankful the man was in a cell where he belonged. Roan knew something, and it was their responsibility to find out exactly what it was. They had to know what they were up against. Running into a fight blind was not only stupid, it was suicidal. He wished the guardians would let them do their jobs. The guardian men anyway, he thought. There was no doubt in his mind it was the older guardian men on the High Council holding up the decision.
“Worry not, my darling,” Lilly’s calm melodic voice drifted to his ears. “The Council can be maddeningly slow, but they shall grant our request. We will be speaking with Roan soon enough.”
Jet dropped his arms to his sides and turned to his wife, smiling. “I know, my dearest Lilly. I just feel as though time is of the essence. Delay could very well cause us more problems.”
Lilly nodded in understanding, turning when at the sound of the door handle’s click as someone entered the room. Ajax stepped inside, nodding to his friends in greeting. He moved over to the table, his eyebrows knitting together when he saw the small flashdrive in front of Jet’s empty seat. He picked it up and looked at it, his eyebrows rising in surprise as he gently bounced the small object in his palm.
“Rather cold, isn’t it?” he observed, his eyes turning back to Lilly and Jet.
“We noticed the same thing,” Lilly replied with a nod. “We’re not sure of the cause.”
Ajax shrugged as he put it back on the long table. He was dressed in a suit as if he were headed to the office or some kind of important meeting. Ajax always dressed professionally for meetings. He was a lot like his late brother, Orion, in that way.
“The Key?” he asked, nodding to the flashdrive. Jet exchanged a look with Lilly before turning his eyes back to Ajax.
“We don’t think so, not anymore. The more I think about it, the less convinced I am.”
Ajax frowned. “What do you mean?”
“It was too easy to retrieve and Roan told Adonia that the real Key is a living being. That’s just something to throw us off track,” Jet responded as he sat down next to Lilly again, interlacing his fingers with hers. “What he didn’t say was who made it or why, and I’m not sure he knows for certain.”
“You believe him?” Ajax asked, glancing at the Monroes. Jet nodded, resting his head between the thumb and index finger of his right hand. Lilly also nodded once.
“May I ask why?”
“We got a call yesterday from a contact who works in the local hospital. A shape shifter came in the previous night. Her tongue had been cleanly sliced out. You want to guess who that shape shifter was?”
Ajax’s eyes widened. “The woman whose husband vanished? The one you think may have familial ties to Coop?”
Jet nodded again.
“We’re sending the Four out tonight to check on Cara,” Lilly explained. “We believe someone is covering up their tracks. Our contact said that the woman had already been cared for, sewn up, as if the removal of her tongue was just a warning.”
“Hell of a warning,” Ajax commented. “Any theories about who might be behind it?”
Jet shook his head. “That’s what we’re trying to figure out. It would help if the guardians would just let us talk to your brother. Lilly and I are beginning think everything that has happened is connected somehow, from the Key to Roan’s return, maybe even Isis meeting Coop.”
“You think Roan would know who’s behind everything?” Ajax asked as he leaned back. “If someone’s really manipulating everything like you suspect, that individual would have an enormous amount of power and sway. If Roan were connected to someone like that, he might have just been the cleaner.”
“I know, but right now, it’s all we have. Roan wouldn’t turn himself in for nothin
g. According to Adonia, he has something he needs to tell us,” Jet agreed.
“He sent us that cryptic note in the book we showed you, but we’re not sure what it meant,” Lilly put in, clasping her hands in front of her.
“Obviously, we’ll take his words with a grain of salt, but we’d be fools to not hear him out,” Jet finished. He sat back as the rest of the Deverells entered along with Jensen. Shae, Alex, Jade, and Isis followed shortly after.
“Jet, can we speed this along? Jensen and I have dates tonight,” Nero griped. Jet shot him a look as the younger protector took his seat. Isis glanced over at Jensen, smirking. He kept his eyes on Jet and Lilly.
“It shouldn’t take more than a few minutes and then you can all leave to do whatever you want,” Jet said, adding, “except for those of you who are going to have jobs tonight.”
Lilly slid a small sheet of paper to Jade. “You four are going to this address and checking on the occupant. Don’t disturb her, just drive past and make sure everything is fine. Only go up to the door if you absolutely have to. She’s trying to lead a normal life and we have to respect that.”
“A human wannabe?” Nero asked, shaking his head. “Can’t say I understand that. Seems downright unhealthy.”
“Honestly, the amount of disdain shape shifters seem to have for humans,” Isis muttered as she looked at the paper.
“Said the cynical misanthrope,” Jensen pointed out and Isis laughed sarcastically.
“We’re still waiting for permission to question Roan,” Jet mentioned. “Ajax, would you want to sit in when it’s finally granted?”
Ajax shook his head. “Not unless you deem it necessary. Roan and I had no special rapport.”
“Roan was always the loner of the family,” Malone added. Isis looked over at Nero, the youngest of the brothers. He was leaning back in his chair and twisting it from side to side.
“Do you have any opinion on him?” Isis asked curiously. Nero looked surprised at the question and shook his head.
“Nah, Roan and Orion were both off doing their own thing by the time I was old enough to have any opinion on either one of them,” he answered.
“Nero’s always been the baby of the family,” Devin explained, winking at his niece. “We protected him from all the skeletons in the Deverell family closet.”
“This is at least a two-hour drive,” Jade mentioned, her shoulders slumping a little.
“We know it’s a bit inconvenient, but we would feel better if we knew she was all right,” Lilly explained. Jade rubbed her forehead.
“Then could we go now?” Jade asked. “I’d prefer to beat as much traffic as possible.”
Jet nodded and Jade stood, nodding for the other three to follow.
*~*~*~*~*
Isis entered her room, moving for the nightstand where she kept her smaller throwing weapons. She knew Jade would likely bring a gun. Though she’d had shooting practice, Isis still wasn’t entirely comfortable with firearms. She was a decent shot, but she wasn’t a great one. Isis glanced over her shoulder when she heard her door open. Jensen was standing in the doorway. He sauntered over to the bed and hopped up on it, resting on his elbow.
“Shouldn’t you be getting ready for your date?” she asked, putting her baton in her messenger bag.
“Nah, I prefer to watch you,” he answered as he looked up at the ceiling, bored. “Shouldn’t you bring a gun? Doesn’t everyone in this country carry one?”
“Just out of curiosity, who is the lucky lady?” she asked, ignoring his question. Jensen looked over at her, grinning.
“Why? Are you jealous?”
Isis scoffed. “You wish.”
Jensen sobered. “I really wish Jet and Lilly were sending the Deverells on this errand instead of the four of you.”
“Why is that?” Isis asked, snapping the bag shut.
“Something isn’t right,” he said, looking down as he tapped his thumbs together. “This woman’s mother had her tongue cut out. Ordinary shape shifters aren’t randomly tortured like that.”
Isis stared at him, unable to conceal her shock. Halley had her tongue cut out? Oh god, I hope it’s not because of me, she thought, swallowing the sick feeling that rose in her throat. Jensen frowned as he studied her face. His eyes widened when it dawned on him.
“Guardians, that’s who you were going to meet at the diner,” he observed as he sat up. Isis went quiet for a moment.
“Yes it was. She was late. Dammit, I should have realized something was up when she didn’t show,” Isis said, picking up her messenger bag. She scrubbed her hand down her face, holding it over her mouth for a minute.
“What did she get herself into?” Isis asked herself as she shook her head and turned to leave.
“Hey, wait a minute,” Jensen got off the bed and reached out, grabbing a hold of her wrist. Isis spun around and found herself standing uncomfortably close to Jensen. She stared at him and they locked eyes for a moment. Jensen cleared his throat and looked down at his hand on her wrist.
“This is … a little awkward,” he mentioned.
“Uh, yeah,” Isis replied, waiting for him to step back and release her wrist. He seemed stuck in the spot.
“I should probably let go.”
“Probably.”
“Right,” he said, hesitantly releasing her wrist. She took a step back, wracking her mind for something to say. The silence felt uncomfortable. Jensen didn’t seem to know what to say and she didn’t either.
“I’ve got to go,” Isis finally said, turning to leave and nearly walking into the door. She gritted her teeth in embarrassment and gripped the edge of the door, pulling it open wider.
“Have fun on your date,” she called over her shoulder as she left. As she hurried down the hall, Isis let out a breath. The air suddenly seemed warm.
*~*~*~*~*
Shae glanced over at her cousin, who was drumming her fingers on the handle of the car door in a near neurotic manner. The sun was setting fast and it was already quite dark out. The night was as bitterly cold as the day. The temperature rarely rose past the teens in the winter.
“Guardians have mercy, Isis,” Alex finally said as she turned around in her seat. “What is with you tonight?”
“Huh, what?” Isis said, finally coming out of her trance.
“You’ve been drumming your fingers on the damn door ever since you got in the car,” Jade answered, glancing at Isis in the rearview mirror.
“Oh, sorry,” Isis muttered, taking her hand away from the door and resting her elbow on it. She rested her head on her hand and started drumming her fingers on her leg.
“You were rather flushed when you came downstairs,” Shae suddenly mentioned with a grin. Isis furrowed her brow and looked at her cousin.
“Come again?”
“Just noticed that you looked rather warm when you came downstairs. As if you were feverish, which of course is impossible for shape shifters and guardians,” Shae replied, her eyes wandering over to Jade and Alex. “Jensen also looked rather warm, even from a distance.”
Isis snorted. “If you’re suggesting that Jensen and I—”
“I’m not suggesting anything, merely an observation,” Shae replied in a tone that was much too innocent. Isis shook her head, laughing softly.
“Sorry to burst your bubble, Shae, but Jensen and I are friends, nothing more. We just had a bit of an … odd moment,” she explained.
“Sexy odd?”
“Awkward odd.”
Shae looked a little disappointed. “Shame.”
Isis made a non-committal noise in response, her attention focused on the landscape. Jade finally pulled up the small driveway in front of a dark house. She frowned as she double-checked the address.
“We’re here,” she said, puzzled.
“Are you sure?” Alex asked as she looked at the dark home. There were no signs of life inside the house from what they could see. None of the lights were on and the windows were bare. Isis looked at the
house out of the corner of her eye and suppressed a shiver that crept up her spine. She glanced toward the basement windows and noticed dead plants poking out of the ground around the house.
Jade shrugged. “Jet and Lilly asked us to check it out, so we better get to it.”
She opened the car door and stepped out, as did the other three.
“Shae and I will knock on the door,” Jade said. “Alex, you and Isis check around back and be subtle. Try not to look like you’re casing the joint.”
Isis followed Alex around back. The shadows swiftly swallowed them up. Jade turned to Shae and nodded her head in the direction of the house.
*~*~*~*~*
Things were peaceful in the Meadows. Most of the guardians were focused entirely on their endless jobs, as was their way. In the Pearl Castle, messengers rushed around the beautiful space, delivering messages and running errands.
Electra sat on her mother’s bed, relaxing on the red satin sheets. She was watching Passion, who sat off to the left in front of a vanity mirror. Passion was running a soft brush through her perfect honey-colored hair, which was over her left shoulder.
“You’re going to see him, aren’t you?” Electra asked as she leaned down so that she was resting on one elbow. Passion flipped her hair over her right shoulder, running the brush through it, glancing at her daughter in the mirror.
“Jet and Lilly need answers. I can get them before the High Council gets around to granting their request, which will be more than a decade at the rate they’re moving. I am more experienced at handling Roan than anyone. I know many of his tells,” Passion said, pausing. “And I have to confront him face-to-face. If I don’t, I doubt I’ll ever have any kind of closure.”
“Have you told Grandmother and great-Grandmother?”
Passion smiled. “Of course. I wouldn’t just waltz into the dungeon. There are some rules even I won’t break.”
Through Storm and Night (The Shape Shifter Chronicles Book 2) Page 17
