by Lia Davis
They were true magical mates.
She snatched her hand out of his grasp. “What did you just do?” she asked, moving her arm out of sight under the table.
“Nothing,” he said with a smirk. “Come on. I want to show you something before we leave.”
Chapter 5
Silence encircled Kalissa and Ayden inside the elevator as it glided toward their floor. She didn’t know what to say to him. He was like a stranger, but surges of familiarity seeped into her subconscious. When she tried to recall memories of him from her childhood, sharp pain shot through her temples. The headache became almost crippling when she used her gift of visions to see into the past. A reminder of why she’d locked them down after Liam died.
That only happened once. She wasn’t into self-inflicted pain.
Ayden noticed, too. He looked at her with concern etched on his face and reached out to her. She waved him off, unsure what his touch might do.
What the hell had happened at the table before getting on the elevator? The second his lips had touched her skin, powerful, warm, electric energy coated her fingers and spread down her wrist to her rose birthmark on the inside of her left forearm. Rivers of roaring pleasure sailed through her, and her Divine Rose pulsated like it was alive, a breathing organism.
It had been strangely arousing, and frightening.
Once inside their room, she sat down on the sofa and waited for him to gather his things. A few minutes later, he came out of the bedroom and handed her a file folder before sitting next to her. She took it with a frown, opened the folder, and gasped. Tears sprang to her eyes as a lump formed in her throat. It was her parents’ case file. She closed it and shoved it at him.
“I…can’t.” She moved to stand up, but his hand on her arm stopped her.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t...” He trailed off with a muttered curse. He opened the folder, pulled out a single photo, and handed it to her.
Kalissa hesitantly peered at the picture. When she saw the man in the photo, her mouth fell open. It was the same man she had seen in her vision of the accident and again at the scene. “Who is he?” she said, darting her eyes to Ayden’s face.
“You recognize him?”
“He caused the accident.” Kalissa pushed the photo back to him. “Who is he?” she asked again.
“His name is Demetrius. He was spotted at the other accidents, too. I believe he also had something to do with my parents’ deaths. That’s all I know right now, other than that he’s a demon General for Khan.” Ayden put the photo back inside the folder. “Zach’s looking for more information. Papa gave him access to the archives.”
Kalissa didn’t try to keep the anger out of her voice. “How come it took so long? I mean, it’s been eighteen months.”
“Because none of us knew until I found my father’s note,” Ayden said soothingly. She glared at him in suspicion. What did he know? Was he keeping something from her? “My father left me clues. They led to a note he’d written, explaining what he’d found out and telling me to pick up my final package from his lawyer’s office,” he explained.
His father’s note sounded similar to the one her mother had left; only hers wasn’t so informative. “And Todd knew about Demetrius?” No doubt Zach knew, too. And she’d wasted her guilt on lying to him about this trip.
Ayden dropped his shoulders and nodded. “My father and your mother were actively investigating the disappearances of Angelica and Kristof Rayners, and the death of Caleb.”
Kalissa frowned. “I didn’t know.” He took her hand in his, and she looked back at him.
“We need to pick up our packages and find out where the next destination is.” He stood up and offered his hand to her.
She took it, but only because she needed the support. The new information twirled dizzyingly inside her mind. She’d stepped in the middle of something that was way over her head.
Ten minutes later, they pulled into the parking lot of The Law Offices of Sindee Donnelly. The office building was much smaller than Kalissa had initially pictured. Most law offices in Jacksonville were large, expensive buildings. The modest building in front of her was a house turned into a business. Multi-colored brick covered the exterior, with white trim around the windows and doors. The front porch stretched across the front of the home with two white columns—one on either side of the steps.
She and Ayden entered the law office into a large open room that must have been a living room. They crossed the bamboo floors to the receptionist’s desk located in the center of the room. The dark-haired woman behind the desk had eyes only a magickin possessed, midnight blue with flecks of gold. She smiled in greeting. “Sindee will be right with you.”
Kalissa smiled back and let Ayden place his hand on the small of her back and gently direct her to a light brown leather loveseat against the wall. “Watch what you think. The receptionist is telepathic,” he whispered, his lips inches from her ear.
She tensed, but managed to whisper back, “That’s good to know.” That explained how the receptionist knew they were there to see Sindee. It wasn’t unusual for witches to be telepathic or have other gifts if they were from one of the Divinity bloodlines.
They didn’t wait long before the receptionist called out, “Sindee will see you now.”
Kalissa stood and followed him down the hall without direction from the receptionist. “You’ve been here before?”
“I helped my father with a few things,” he answered, not looking at her.
Stepping inside Sindee’s office, Kalissa’s questioning stare shifted from Ayden’s back to glance around the room. It was large, elegantly furnished with a leather loveseat and two matching recliners on one side. On the other side was a large, cherry-stained oak desk. A woman dressed in a cream-colored pantsuit and wearing a warm, welcoming smile stood up to walk from behind the desk. Her strawberry-blond hair hung loosely, cascading to her waist. She went straight to Ayden and pulled him into a tight hug. He returned it with a brief hug of his own and then reached around his back to take her hands in his. “Sin, this is Kalissa.” His smile was uneasy, almost forced.
He was uncomfortable. Kalissa sensed it as the emotion brushed against her aura. That was strange. Kalissa wasn’t empathic, yet she clearly felt his tension.
Sin, as Ayden had addressed her, turned to look at Kalissa. She let go of Ayden’s hands and smiled. “You look just like your mother.” She gathered Kalissa into a hug, only to pull back with concern in her eyes a moment later. “You must keep your third eye open at all times,” she whispered in Kalissa’s ear, then released her and walked back to her desk.
The third eye was a witch’s psychic intuition. To Kalissa, it was the source of her visions. It was something she had locked down several years ago. How did Sindee know that?
Ayden gestured for Kalissa to take a seat. Together, they sat down in the chairs across the desk from the beautiful lawyer. She pulled out two FedEx envelopes from one of her drawers and handed one to each of them. “Jacen and Lydia Rayners have already retrieved theirs. I tried to hold them off, but that Lydia is very persistent.”
Ayden let out a sigh. “How long ago?”
“Two days ago.”
Ayden muttered a curse. “I’m sorry…”
Sindee held up her hand and shook her head. “No need to be sorry. You didn’t come here on a social call.” She smiled and stood. Ayden and Kalissa stood as well and followed her out of the office to the receptionist’s area. Sindee turned to them. “The two of you will have to visit when things settle down.”
Kalissa thought it was an odd thing to say. Did she actually think they were a couple? Ayden took her arm, pulling her out of her thoughts to guide her out the door and across the parking lot. She waved to Sindee as she got into the Jeep and put her seatbelt on with a click. “That was a little strange. She felt like a Divinity, but different.”
Ayden sighed. Kalissa snapped him a narrow-eyed look. Bad news always followed a sigh like that. “What?”
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“Sindee is what Papa calls a Dark Divine.”
Kalissa almost hated to ask, but curiosity got the better of her. “What are they?”
“They’re the demons’ version of the Divinity. They only started to make an appearance about a century ago. Most are as dark as the demons. Some, like Sindee, were raised by witches and stay loyal to our side of the war.” He fell silent, and she thought about it for a few seconds.
“And the others side with the demons.” It wasn’t a question. She needed to hear it out loud. They were fighting demons and the Dark Divine. “These dark counterparts of ours, are they equal to our powers, or stronger?”
“Equal. As far as we know. Sindee is the only one we have had contact with,” Ayden answered as he pulled out of the parking lot and onto the road.
After a long silence, Kalissa finally spoke. “What about the envelopes?”
He glanced at her from the driver’s seat and then looked back to the road. “Open yours first.”
She tore open the cardboard FedEx envelope, peered inside, and pulled out two sheets of paper. One look at the writing made her frown. “It’s not in English,” she muttered, shifting the pages so he could see.
Ayden glanced over at the papers. “It looks like Latin,” he acknowledged and looked back to the road.
“Can you read them?” Kalissa asked hopefully.
Ayden shook his head. “No. Do you think Khloe can translate them for us?”
“She might. At least, she’ll know of some computer software that could translate them.” Kalissa opened the envelope for Ayden. Inside was a single piece of paper. His message was in English, but it didn’t make any sense to her.
Travel south to the state of peachiness, and then turn west toward the gold. Meet the others at The Wheel.
Kalissa read it three times to herself before reading it out loud. “I hate riddles. I was never good at them.”
“After we get your things from impound and the car taken care of, we’ll stop for lunch. Then we’ll figure out where to go from there.”
Kalissa nodded and rested her head against the seat. Although he was trying to soothe her nerves, her stomach wasn’t so easily convinced.
Chapter 6
Ayden reached over to cover Kalissa’s hand that rested on the console between them and gave it a gentle, comforting squeeze. Her uneasiness drifted from her tense form. “What’s wrong?”
Kalissa gave a little shrug. “I have a weird feeling.”
“What kind of feeling?” he asked, wondering if it was the same old sensation he’d picked up on.
She shook her head. “I don’t know. It’s like I’m being watched, or followed. Maybe I’m being paranoid.”
Ayden released her hand to pull into the driveway of the impound yard. She wasn’t being paranoid. The presence hadn’t shown up until he’d picked her up, and it worried him that she could be right about being followed. Although, that’s all he’d picked up on—a feeling. Whoever or whatever it was, did a good job of masking itself.
They walked into the single-story, slightly rundown building and crossed the white linoleum floor to the chest-high counter. A young girl with brown pigtails and large brown eyes greeted them with a warm-hearted smile. “How can I help you?”
Ayden relaxed as Kalissa’s mood softened. “I’m Kalissa Bradenton. I’m here about the royal blue Mercedes.”
The girl bobbed her head up and down and went to the computer. With a few clicks on the keyboard, she printed out some paperwork and brought it to Kalissa to sign. Ayden took the paperwork from her and sensed her irritated glare on him. “What are you doing?” Kalissa hissed through her teeth.
Ayden smirked. “Just checking everything.”
“And does everything look okay, Sheriff?” Kalissa asked with a hint of teasing.
“Yes. Everything’s in order,” he answered after reading over the report. He smiled widely at her and passed it back.
With a dramatic sigh, she took the papers from him, signed her name, and handed them back to the girl, along with her credit card to pay the fees.
After the payment had been processed and the papers stamped, the girl met Kalissa’s stare. “Do you have things to remove from the vehicle?”
“Yes. My suitcase from the trunk.” Kalissa dug through her purse for the keys.
The teen walked to the side of the counter, unlocked the half door, and advanced toward them. “I have to walk you out to the car.”
Ayden followed them out to the yard and didn’t miss that Kalissa had tensed up again. Something she seemed to do when he got close to her. Her emotions screamed out to him, even though he’d tried to block them since breakfast. Conflict rolled off her in waves. She was nervous one minute, turned on the next, and then annoyed with him in between. He was starting to get seasick riding the emotional tidal wave.
But it was the hint of fear he picked up on that worried him.
Noticing her curiosity as she looked around at the wrecked vehicles lined up in rows and landing her gaze on the back of the lot where a row of new cars were parked, Ayden whispered into her ear, “Drug busts.” He smiled as the heat of desire rolled off her when his breath touched her ear and neck. Okay. So he liked some of her mood swings.
When they arrived at her car, Kalissa gasped and covered her mouth with her hands. Anger bubbled up in him. How in the hell was she walking after that? The front of the car was smashed in on both sides all the way up to the doors. The driver door and the roof of the car were peeled back like a sardine can. It was obvious that they’d used the Jaws of Life to get her out.
The girl cleared her throat. “I could lose my job for saying anything, but I heard about the accident. They said it was a hit and run, right?” Kalissa nodded. “My dad owns a garage in town, and he had a white Beemer come in with royal blue paint on the passenger rear quarter panel this morning. I may be able to get the license plate number for you.”
“That would be great. And no one will ever know where it came from,” Ayden said. He’d take any lead he could get. The plate wouldn’t do the humans any good except to lead them to the owner of the car, whom they would charge and throw in jail for thirty days. But for him, if that owner was a demon—and he was certain it was—it’d be one more piece to the puzzle. If it turned out to be just a drunken human, then he’d just turn the information over to the Charlotte police as an anonymous tip. But if it was a demon….
Ayden pulled out a business card and handed it to the girl. “Just text the tag number to my cell.”
The girl beamed. “I sure will. I hope that guy gets what’s coming to him. It’s not good to run from an accident.”
They stopped at a diner not far from the highway. Kalissa and Ayden chose a booth tucked in the back corner so they had less chance of being overheard. Her mouth watered at the wonderful smells drifting in the air, even though she’d eaten breakfast just a few hours ago.
Around eleven in the morning and not quite lunchtime, the diner was near empty. The experience of owning a café told Kalissa that the few customers that were scattered around the small restaurant were regulars.
An elderly gentleman a few tables away flirted with the waitress like they were old friends. A smile tugged at Kalissa’s lips, and a pang of homesickness crept in.
With a sigh, Kalissa pulled out her phone and dialed Khloe. She so hoped that her techno-geek sister would be able to help them.
Khloe answered on the second ring. “Hey!”
“Hi,” Kalissa said with a smile. Her sister was her life, especially since their parents had died. Hearing her chipper voice was like a soothing melody. She filled her sister in on the messages. “Do you know what the Wheel could be?”
“Not right off.” Kalissa could hear the clicking of the keyboard; Khloe had already started searching the internet.
After a few seconds, Khloe said, “Found it. The Wheel is a family-run diner on Highway 60, right outside Dahlonega. I emailed you the address. Hey, that’s an hour awa
y from the cabin.”
“It sure is.” Kalissa quickly explained what Ayden had said about their mother being in charge of hiding the Sinew. “Do you think Mom hid it somewhere around there?”
“I wouldn’t put it past her,” Khloe answered.
“There are two more messages written in Latin.”
“Not a problem. Unlike you, I paid attention in class,” Khloe teased.
“Good. I’ll call you when we get to the cabin and fax them to you,” Kalissa said, ignoring her sister’s teasing.
“Hey, um…”
Kalissa smiled. She knew her sister all too well. “I’ll call when we get there, and then you can teleport over.” It used a lot of magical energy to teleport. And, other magical beings, demons included, could trace their magical signature. That was why Kalissa had driven to Charlotte. No need to take unnecessary risks. She also assumed that was why Ayden had driven, as well. It was safer that way. They could still be followed, but teleporting made it easier for the demons to know where they were going and possibly be there, waiting for them. They had suspected the demons were involved in their parents’ deaths. Now, Kalissa knew, without a doubt, they were the cause.
“You sure that’s safe? I could drive up now and meet you there.” Khloe had a mix of worry and excitement in her voice.
“It’ll be all right. I’ll call you from the cabin,” Kalissa said. What she didn’t tell her sister was that she had a feeling they were being followed already. There was no way she wanted her sister to drive up by herself. “I’ll talk to you soon. Love ya.”
“Love you, too. Be safe,” Khloe said and hung up.
Kalissa opened her email from her smartphone and wrote the address down on the back of Ayden’s riddle. She looked across the table at his smiling face. “What?”
He shook his head. “I was just wondering if Lo is still as spoiled as she was when we were kids.”
Kalissa laughed. “Oh, yeah. She’s gotten worse with age.”
“Of course, she has. She is the baby,” Ayden teased.
