They were both young and he could smell the alcohol and some other taint seeping from their pores. His brain computed the scent—drugs. Some things never changed. Males were often aggressive and stupid for no real reason. But if there was one thing that Arand couldn’t stand, it was when they preyed on those they perceived to be weaker than themselves.
The first man, his long blond hair tied back at his nape, waved his weapon, coming closer. “Don’t make me cut you, man. I will.”
“You are welcome to try.” Arand raised his right hand and his sword appeared.
“What the fuck?” The second man stumbled back, rubbing his eyes with his free hand.
Arand allowed his face to morph until it was more wolf than man.
“Werewolf!” the first man yelled before he turned tail and ran. His friend joined them, both of them stumbling over the curb before they righted themselves and kept going.
Arand lowered his sword and it winked out of sight. His face was morphed back into that of a man by the time he turned to Sabrina to find out if she was all right. If they’d frightened her, he was tempted to track them down and teach them a lesson they wouldn’t soon forget. He had their scent now and would be able to find them no matter where they tried to hide.
Sabrina stared up at him, a half smile on her face. “Guess I don’t need to worry about walking the city streets alone at night with you by my side.”
Her praise pleased him, but he didn’t show it. “We cannot waste any more time.” The night was waning and he wanted to be out of the city before daybreak.
Her smile disappeared and was replaced by worry. “Tilly’s place isn’t much farther.” Sabrina hurried down the sidewalk, turning onto another street.
Arand frowned. “I thought your friend’s name was Jessica?”
“It is. Tilly is another friend. She’s the only one of us with a car.”
“So many people should not know what is going on. They could betray us to Hades.” Most people would tell the god anything when face-to-face with him. He was intimidating and held great power.
“Deal with it.” She made another turn, her gait increasing with each step. “And Jessica and Tilly would never betray me.”
He envied her the innocence and naivety she possessed. Arand too had once assumed none of his friends would betray him, but Mordecai had. It had taken him years to realize it. At first, he’d mourned his fellow warrior as he grieved for the loss of Stavros, the jaguar, and Phoenix. But after a woman released Roric, the white tiger, Arand had learned that Mordecai had joined Hades.
The betrayal was especially bitter for him as he and Mordecai had been close friends. Or, at least he’d thought they’d been close. Obviously not, since Mordecai had gone over to the dark side rather than fight and face an honorable death.
“You okay?” Sabrina reached out and rested her hand on his bare arm. The warmth soaked into his skin, reminding him that she was his priority now. There would be time to mourn his lost friendship when this day was done. Maybe.
“Yes.”
She removed her hand and he wanted to grab it and bring it back. Her touch eased the pain inside him, soothed the harsh betrayal. Still, he didn’t reach for her when they continued their trek.
Instead, he watched as she took the lead. His senses were on alert and he knew they were alone except for a woman waiting down the street. Sabrina began to run when the woman stepped out to stand by the streetlamp. The woman was tall, her skin dark, her hair black as night. A faint whiff of power encircled her. She opened her arms to Sabrina and she hugged her tight.
There was no denying the bond of friendship between them. He was glad she had that kind of closeness in her life. She would need it when this ordeal was over and he was gone.
His chest ached and his steps slowed. He didn’t want to leave her, but what choice did he have? Maybe the Lady would allow him to stay with her for the next forty years or so until Sabrina passed from this realm. He would petition the Lady if they survived Hades for the next twenty-four hours.
He glanced at the sky. Probably twenty hours now. Might as well be a lifetime. It was much too long. “We need to go.”
Sabrina had never been happier to see a familiar face in all her life. With everything that had happened lately, being involved in an attempted mugging on the way here was anticlimactic. She hadn’t even been scared for a second, not with Arand standing next to her. It had almost been comical to watch the two men falling all over themselves trying to get away from him. Hopefully, they’d think twice before they tried to rob someone else.
Tilly held her close. “You okay, sweetie?”
“I’m honestly not sure.” What else could she say? The last few weeks of her life had been crazy, but tonight topped them all put together. And she had the deep sense of dread that this was only the beginning. Things were going to get much worse.
“What did Jessica tell you?” Sabrina cringed at the thought of that conversation. It was a wonder her friends didn’t think she was nuts.
“Enough.” Tilly’s dark eyes found Arand lurking in the shadows beside them.
Sabrina cleared her throat. “This is Arand.”
Tilly released her and stepped back, sizing Arand up from head to toe. “So this is what an immortal warrior looks like. Not bad, girl.”
For some unaccountable reason, Sabrina felt her cheeks growing warmer and prayed it was too dark for Tilly to notice she was blushing. There was no way for Tilly to know she’d had sex with the guy, and even if she did, so what? They were both adults.
Arand’s voice was low and gruff. “We need to go.”
“This is Tilly.” Why she cared if he liked her friends was beyond her, but for some silly reason she wanted Arand to like Tilly.
Her friend held out her hand. “Pleased to meet you, Arand. Jessica’s told me a lot about you.”
Arand started to take Tilly’s hand, but Sabrina didn’t like the look in his eyes and stepped in front of her friend. That didn’t stop Arand. He simply lifted her off her feet and set her aside before facing Tilly. “What do you know about me?”
“Relax, big guy. Jessica did some research online, plus that girl has books on everything paranormal.” Tilly turned to Sabrina. “She found a website online devoted to the Lady of the Beasts and emailed them in case they could help.”
Arand grabbed Tilly’s shoulders. “What website? Who did she contact? No one must know about us.”
“The message was vague enough so that if they didn’t know about you and the curse it wouldn’t make any sense.” She shrugged out of Arand’s grasp. “But if they are your friends, they might be able to help.”
Tilly held out a set of keys to Sabrina. “Take the car. I’ve put a few things in the backseat, just some food and candles and some stuff Jessica said you might need. Jessica is going to come over when she’s ready and we’ll find a way to get to you.”
Sabrina shook her head. “No. You guys stay out of this. You’ve already done enough.” No way did she want to be the cause of her friends getting hurt.
Tilly leaned in to hug her again. “Does he really turn into a wolf like Jessica said, or was that just one of those metaphorical things?”
Sabrina laughed and hugged Tilly tighter. “He really does turn into a wolf, a huge gray and black timber wolf. But he’s all alpha in other ways too.”
Tilly’s throaty laughter eased some of the stress weighing Sabrina down. It was such a comfort to have good friends. “I take it you’ve already tried him out,” she whispered.
“Women, I am standing here and can hear every word you are saying.” A quick glance at Arand confirmed he looked more than a little put upon.
“True?” Tilly whispered.
She nodded. “He’s got enhanced eyesight and hearing and I’m not sure what else. He can also conjure a huge sword.” One look at her friend made her smile broaden. She knew what Tilly was thinking. “I’m talking about a real sword, not his…male attributes.”
“Hey,
as long as he can conjure both, he’s a man worth having around. You take care of yourself.” Tilly turned toward Arand, her hands on her hips. “You take care of her, Loup Garou, or I will track you down and skin you alive.” The fierceness of Tilly’s declaration took Sabrina aback and brought tears to her eyes.
Arand studied her friend for a moment and then gave her a slight bow. “You have my word.”
“Good enough. Now get going.” Tilly turned and went back into her house, leaving Sabrina and Arand alone.
“Come on.” Sabrina hurried around to the driver’s seat, unlocked the door and climbed in. Reaching across, she went to unlock Arand’s door, but the lock popped open before she could reach it. She raised an eyebrow in question. “Handy talent.”
Arand lowered himself into the seat and shut the door. “I do have some powers.”
She started the car and yanked on her seatbelt. Safety first, even if Hades himself was after her. She pulled out onto the road and started toward the city limits. A quiet snick broke the silence and she glanced over to see that Arand had fastened his seatbelt too.
“Tell me about your powers.”
“What do you wish to know?”
Sabrina stopped at a red light and drummed her fingers against the steering wheel. “I’m not sure. What can you do? What can’t you do? Where do you come from? Anything and everything?” When the light changed, she accelerated slowly. No way did she want to get pulled over by the cops for speeding.
Arand sighed and peered out the window. She realized that even now he was scanning, watching and searching for any potential danger. He was a true warrior and protector, always on alert.
“The Lady of the Beasts created us.”
“Were you born or did she poof you out of thin air?” Somehow it was impossible to imagine Arand as a small boy.
He gave a short bark of laughter. “I guess she poofed us out of thin air, as you put it. We came into being fully grown male warriors, each of us with certain skills and, of course, paired with an animal.”
Sabrina went over everything he’d told her, trying to get it straight in her head. “There was a jaguar and a phoenix, you said.” The memory of all he’d told her was muddled and she needed to get all her facts straight.
“Yes, there are seven of us. Roric is the white tiger and our unofficial leader. Then there is Marko the bear, Leander the lion, Stavros the jaguar and Phoenix.”
Counting in her head, Sabrina knew that Arand was one short. There was one he hadn’t mentioned. “Who are you leaving out?” There was something he’d told her, something important that she wasn’t remembering.
“Mordecai the serpent.” A low growl punctuated the words. “He has betrayed the rest of us and joined Hades.”
Now she remembered, and her stomach rolled over. “He’s the one who killed the woman who freed him.” It was easy to see why she’d tried to forget him. No way did she want to contemplate such a fate. There was no way she could fight off Arand if he decided to kill her.
The woman who’d freed Mordecai hadn’t had a chance. It was bad enough that the women who’d freed the jaguar and phoenix died, but at least the warriors they’d freed tried to protect them.
Time to put that unsettling thought aside and concentrate on the positive. “But you have powers, right?” That could only be good.
Arand growled in frustration. “My powers are weakened. I can manifest my clothing and weapons and not much else. My senses have always been acute so they are not affected by the long period in stasis. I do not know why my other powers have not returned.”
She could tell that was bothering him a lot. “Maybe you need time to recharge.”
“Time is one thing we do not have.” Arand turned away from her and stared out the window. Their conversation was officially over, for now. She’d give him some time before questioning him again.
Sabrina couldn’t imagine coming awake to a world that no longer remembered you, that was completely different from the one you’d left. Yes, he seemed to have absorbed learning and understanding, but seeing was believing.
She wondered what it was like for him to be sitting in a car watching the world go by. Sure, he’d been in the back of a truck when he was still in the form of the carousel animal. Had he known what was happening to him then?
She wanted to ask him but bit her tongue instead, giving him some time to himself. She tightened her grip on the steering wheel and followed the road out of town. She hit the I-10 and felt herself relax. Not too much longer until she could turn off onto the I-55 toward the Maurepas swamp and her granny’s home.
Jessica willed the taxi to hurry, but she supposed the driver was going as fast as he could. She breathed a sigh of relief when Tilly’s house came into view. “Thank the goddess.”
“You say somethin’, lady?” the driver asked.
“Just talking to myself.” She smiled sweetly at him, although from his startled expression after he glanced at her in the rearview mirror, it had probably looked more like she was baring his teeth at him.
The driver said nothing as he pulled the car to a stop in front of Tilly’s place. She all but threw the money for the fare at him, grabbed her stuff and bolted from the taxi. Tilly was waiting for her, the front door to the shotgun-style house open. Like many older New Orleans’ homes, each room of the small house was directly behind the other, creating a clear view from front to back door so a shotgun blast could go in through the front door and out through the back. Hence the name.
“Did they make it off okay?” Jessica hurried toward Tilly, unable to rid herself of the feeling that time was running out for Sabrina and her warrior.
“They left almost an hour ago and should be there soon.” Tilly waved her into the living room where Jessica dumped her loaded tote bag on the sofa. “You got everything you need in there?” Tilly asked.
“I hope so,” Jessica muttered. She could only pray she wasn’t forgetting anything. “Have you had any luck lining up a ride yet?”
Tilly shook her head. “No. Most folks aren’t real friendly when you wake ’em early in the morning.”
“It’s past dawn now,” Jessica pointed out. The sun was rising over the horizon and the day promised to be a warm one, but a cold shiver raced down Jessica’s spine.
“My Granny Ledet is working on some extra protection for us.”
“You told her about what was going on?”
Tilly nodded. “I figured we could use all the help we could get.”
Jessica couldn’t dispute that. “We have to do something. There are twenty-four-hour rental places or we could spend the money on a cab.” She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Getting worked up wasn’t going to help anyone.
“We will if it comes to that,” Tilly agreed. “But I think we have enough time to find a ride from someone we know.”
“I’m scared,” Jessica blurted out. The minute the words were out she wished she could call them back. There was no room for doubt. The devil would use such misgivings against them. She had to be strong, to believe they could beat this threat away from their friend and from them.
Tilly bent down and hugged her, wrapping Jessica in her strong embrace. Tilly always smelled exotic, like sandalwood or jasmine or a combination of the two. It gave Jessica a sense of safety and bolstered her courage.
“We can do this thing.” Tilly pulled back and their eyes met. “We have to.”
“I know.” This was their destiny, and there was no outrunning it for any of them. “What about Jules? He’s always at his shop early and he has a truck. He did sell Sabrina the carousel animal that broke this whole thing wide open.” It was still hard to wrap her head around the whole idea of a shapeshifting warrior and a curse, but there was no time to question. There was only time for action.
Tilly nodded. “We can ask him.”
“What will we tell him?” That was the thing, knowing how much to tell anyone. Jessica didn’t want to involve anyone else and possibly draw them into the
line of fire, but Jules was already a part of this.
“As little as we have to. I know we both want to get on the road, but it’s better if we give Jules time to wake up before we ask him for his truck. He’ll be in a much better frame of mind.” Tilly glanced at her watch. “Why don’t we go down to the café? That way I can organize staff for the day and we can grab a coffee and something to eat. If I’m going to be gone for a day or two, I need to schedule people in to work.”
Jessica almost protested, but knew Tilly was right. It wouldn’t do to rile Jules up and have him say no. If they didn’t have a car by the time the café opened for business, they could always rent a car. Plan decided on, Jessica was in a hurry to get going. She grabbed her bag and headed to the front door. “Let’s get going. I’ll help you at the café so we’ll be ready to hit Jules up as soon as we figure he’s at his shop.”
Chapter Ten
Arand watched the world speed by outside the glass window. The tension in the vehicle was growing with each passing minute, but he didn’t know how to diffuse it. He hated waiting, not knowing when or how Hades was going to attack them. The only thing he knew for sure was that it was only a matter of time.
The more he thought about it, the more unsettled he was about what happened back at her apartment. Sure, there was a lot of growling and noise outside her apartment door, but no demons had broken through and no demons had attacked them on their way to her friend’s house.
He cursed under his breath.
“What?” Sabrina asked, giving him a quick glance before returning her attention to the road.
“It’s a trap.” It was so obvious he should have seen it sooner.
“What do you mean?” The worry in her voice ripped at his gut. He wanted her somewhere safe from Hades’ grasp.
“We’re being herded out of the city toward a more secluded spot.” He couldn’t believe he hadn’t caught on faster. “Hades will have to expend less energy keeping the fight shielded from others if there is no one else around. We should turn back.”
Sabrina shook her head. “Not happening. No way am I risking any of my friends. They’ve already done enough. I’d rather be isolated and fight Hades on our own than to involve any innocent bystanders.”
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