Blown Away (Rogues Shifter Series Book 4)

by Gayle Parness

  Garrett responded. "Try now, please. I don't believe that Nate will give us the information without a promise from me that he'll live, and I can't give him that."

  I did my best to distract Nathaniel while Liam rooted around in his memories. "We know you're lying. Getting the information isn't worth people's lives. You'd leave and go on killing."

  He snorted in disgust. "Your mate and your friends have all killed and tortured. You've just killed. Are you such a hypocrite? Or perhaps it isn't all that important to you?"

  He gasped suddenly and covered his head with his hands, then snarled at Liam. "Thieving fae half-breed."

  Angel's voice rang out. "Place him in the circle please, Garrett, then cut him with this blade and fill this small container with his blood." While we'd been speaking, Angel had created a circle with salt that he'd mixed with his own blood, then added candles and powerful magical runes. He'd left one section open, so there was a way in and out, but it wasn't really necessary. Liam grabbed Nate and flashed the three of them into the middle, where he then sliced Nate's palm and collected the blood while Garrett held Nathaniel still. Then they both dissolved out again and Angel closed the circle with a few softly spoken words, magically trapping Nate inside.

  "Please bring the others from his nest."

  Sasha and Rick ushered the nervous trio out onto the patio and then stood near the bar, keeping a sharp eye on the prisoners. Christine was dressed the way Heinrich usually did, biker style in leather and denim, although she didn't pull the look off as well as he did. Her shoulder length light brown hair blew around in the breeze as her brown eyes locked on Garrett and then moved to Nathaniel who showed his fangs and hissed at her from inside the circle.

  She ignored Nate and looked Angel over with interest. "Is this going to work? I'd rather not end up like Carlos." She pointed to the blood and gore that covered my clothes.

  Angel blessed her with one of his gorgeous come-hither smiles. "Senorita, my spells are infallible." Heinrich snorted and Sasha groaned quietly. "Pay no attention to the goons by the bar. You should have no concerns regarding your safety."

  Garrett spoke before his nest could react. "Christine, introduce me to your two nest mates."

  "Sure. This is Alex," she indicated a tall robust bodied vampire with a warm smile, dark brown hair and beautiful hazel eyes, "and this is Clark." She motioned toward a man around her height, maybe 5'10'', with blue eyes and blonde hair. His face had a scar that ran from the corner of his eye to his chin, just missing his mouth. "Guys, this is Garrett and his nest."

  She took a closer look at me. "I guess you're Garrett's new mate?"

  I nodded. "Jackie."

  "Sweet." She looked me over with a scowl and took in my scent. There was something creepy about the way she did it, but I met her gaze directly. She figured out pretty fast that she couldn't glamour me so she lost interest and looked at Liam.

  Garrett spoke. "This is my close friend Liam, and Angel here will be doing the reversal spell." Christine nodded. "To be completely fair to him, I need to ask you if Nathaniel has killed any innocents since he's been in my territory."

  "Duh. He drained a whole houseful of humans when we arrived in Tahoe City. There were two teen aged kids. He encouraged Carlos," she pointed to my bloody clothes, "to rape the girl before draining her. Since we've been here, he's gone through at least twelve servants."

  Alex spoke up. "More than that. There were those tourists at that campground just inside the border."

  Nathaniel scowled. "Those were all humans. Surely, you didn't mean humans did you, Garrett?"

  Garrett's glare was deadly. "Under the authority of NAVA, I have the right to decide your fate, based on the laws that govern North American vampires and our supernatural allies. Our current law states that you are not to draw the attention of the human authorities. Yet you killed many humans, where you could've simply glamoured them and let them go, unharmed. Our NAVA scouts have been forced to cover up your mistakes. In addition, you didn't present yourself to me to ask permission to stay in my territory. Your unfortunate case of bad manners doesn't negate your responsibility to follow my rules while you're here. I've prohibited the harming of innocents, so you've broken my laws as well."

  Nathaniel began to shout. "They were fucking cattle! Didn't Eleanor teach you anything?"

  Garrett's eyes erupted in a silver rage as he hissed out, "Eleanor taught me that despots deserve death." He turned to Angel. "Kill him."

  We all ignored Nathaniel's shouting while Angel gave directions to the three remaining members of his nest. "Stand around the circle, each one behind a black candle." As they each took up their positions, he passed out small bowls, then came around with a blade so they could slice their own palms and fill the bowls halfway with blood. He used the same blade for all the cuts, explaining that it was a ritual blade: a blade forged with dark magic, as Liam's was forged in fae magic. When he finished the quiet chanting he moved between the three vampires, cutting himself with the same blade and adding three drops of his own blood to their bowls. Because Nate's sorcerer had used blood magic to invoke the original spell, Angel was forced to use the same to reverse it.

  Garrett draped his arm around me as we stood out of the way and watched the ritual with fascination. Angel began to chant loudly in an ancient language, pulling up power as he did, the magical vibrations it caused stirring the night air. He allowed a few drops of his blood to fall on the salt circle. Flames engulfed the circle surrounding Nathaniel but did not touch him.

  "You really don't want to continue with this, Garrett. This spell is irreversible. You're putting your mate in danger. The sorcerer warned me that there would be a violent back-flash if anyone tried." Mild panic edged his voice and I couldn't blame him. This was some scary shit, but he'd brought it on himself.

  "Pour the blood mixture onto the flames." They all did what he said and then moved back slightly as the flames grew higher. "Kneel behind the candles. I don't want any of you falling headfirst into the flames. This last part will hurt, so you'll be grateful that you're already on the ground."

  He lifted the container of Nathaniel's blood and uncovered it. "Revocare defixus." He sprinkled a few drops into the flames in front of Christine and she cried out and bent over, whimpering with pain as she clutched her stomach. He repeated the ritual in front of Clark and Alex and they both crumpled to the ground, moaning or cursing.

  When the first drop of his blood hit the flames in front of Christine, Nathaniel started to scream. The flames on her side were reaching toward him like claws and his clothes began to burn the moment they touched him. The same thing happened with the other two and before long the whole patio vibrated with death magic and the smell of burning flesh as the fire consumed Nathaniel's life energy. It didn't take long for him to die, but it was too much for me to watch. I buried my eyes against Garrett's chest and covered my ears and nose, the smell making me feel sick.

  "Do you want me to take you inside?"

  "No, just hold me."

  "As long as you need me to, mon ange." He stroked my back and I relaxed into his strength.

  When it was over, we thanked Angel, who smiled, looking drained but satisfied, handed us his invoice, and then disappeared. Garrett told the three remaining vampires, who'd recovered their strength as soon as Nathaniel had died, that they had two days to pack up and get out of his territory. They were never to come back. They all agreed, although Christine was throwing some very seductive glances Garrett's way as she brushed the dirt and ashes off of her extremely short leather dress. I tried not to look too smug when he didn't return her attention.

  When we got back to the house it was after 3 AM and I was exhausted, but not so tired that I wasn't going to ask Liam what he'd found out about the shifter in Nate's mind.

  "There was a shifter named Adele. In his memories she looked very much like you, only shorter. She was living with a sorcerer, although not the one who blood-bound the vampires. Nathaniel didn't know her well, on
ly that she used to frequent a particular club in Reno, Nevada called The Serpent. He saw her there sometimes, but she was usually with the other sorcerer, so he didn't approach her. A few years later he'd heard rumors that she'd died in an accident of some kind.

  Later, when I cuddled in bed with Garrett, we spoke together about Adele. Could she really have been my mother? Nate hadn't seen her pregnant or with children, so we had no way of knowing for sure. We decided to let Maya know about this new development as soon as possible. Maya, a cheetah shapeshifter on the Crescent City Council, had access to sources not available to me or my mate. In the end, we agreed that it was better not to say anything about Adele to Bridgett since she had enough on her plate. Tomorrow I was delivering her to Faerie.

  As I dozed in my mate's arms, I smiled in satisfaction. Everything was falling into place very nicely. I could see my life stretched out before me following an even path, with very few bumps or ruts, at least I hoped so.

  CHAPTER ONE

  I’d been having such a cool dream.

  I was in Faerie with Philladre and Aedus and I was holding their baby, except for some reason they’d had a boy and not a girl as they’d been expecting. We were laughing at the sweet cooing sounds he was making as he reached up to pull on my hair, his lavender eyes filled with curiosity. As I played with him, I was growing faintly aware of disturbing noises in the background. Happily, they didn’t seem to bother the adorable little guy, who’d broken into a belly laugh when I made a silly face at him.

  As the background noises grew louder, turning into the sharp sounds of cabinet doors slamming closed, drawers sliding in and out, accompanied by an occasional grunt or curse, my dream dissolved and I opened my eyes. I sighed in irritation when I realized the source of all the noise. Bridgett was leaving today to serve her two year sentence in Faerie and in my current sleep-deprived state I was not surprised to find that my feelings were mixed to say the least.

  I rolled over, covered my head with the blanket and sent to her mentally, “Bridgett…you’ll wake the dead with all that noise.” There were after all, four vampires resting in the house. They were pretty hard to wake up, but she seemed to be giving it her best effort.

  There was no response and, unfortunately, the noise from her last minute packing continued on. I looked at the clock and groaned. It was 9:00 A.M. I’d stayed up with Garrett until dawn, so I’d only gotten three hours of sleep. The plan, as I vaguely remembered it, was for Bridgett to sit down with me to a farewell brunch together at noon. I rubbed my eyes, sat up, stretched my arms over my head and yawned. No use trying to go back to sleep now that I was wide awake. Of course the noise mysteriously stopped the minute I’d made the decision to get up.

  I sent to Liam, who had to be somewhere in the house at this early hour, “Is French toast a possibility? With bacon?”

  “Bridgett asked for the same thing and just came in to eat. You’re up so early?”

  “Could you sleep through that racket?”

  “Perhaps not. She wants you up, so instead of knocking on your door, she makes noise. She’s afraid of what awaits her in Faerie."

  He was probably right. Since I’d first met my fraternal twin three weeks ago, she’d been a continuous source of anxiety for all the varied residents of our mostly happy home. By making some bad choices, she’d gotten into serious trouble with the fae, almost getting herself executed, and even creating the situation which led to my own kidnapping by Lord Kennet. Although she was very bright on paper, she tended to plunge ahead without forethought and often with disastrous results. So, as I walked into the kitchen this morning for our last breakfast together, I was feeling a little bit relieved.

  However, when I saw her smiling at me, I smiled back with a twinge of remorse. Despite everything, I’d grown to care for her. She’d been raised by a group of werewolves, making her life as a shapeshifter more difficult than most. After a DNA test a couple of weeks ago, we were officially confirmed as sisters. Since then Bridgett had managed to worm herself into a special place in my heart, so when she ran over to hug me, I returned it enthusiastically, feeling guilty about my previously uncharitable thoughts.

  Plus I had to admit that she’d matured in the last couple of weeks, making smarter decisions and showing a lot of courage under dangerous circumstances. Despite experiencing excruciating pain, she’d still done her best to help in my rescue, and she’d also stepped up bravely to help the team fight against some werewolves that were threatening her old pack. William, a young vampire from Garrett's nest with a patient nature and a good head on his shoulders, had claimed her as his mate. I guess there was hope for her yet.

  She stepped away from our hug and I took a closer look at her. Bridgett looked like she’d had a complete makeover, thanks to my team mate, Sinc’s, expertise. Her layered light brown hair was styled professionally and she was wearing some eye makeup and mascara which made her green eyes pop. She was dressed in a beautifully tailored black skirt, short but not too short, leather boots, a nice blouse and a fitted leather jacket. She’d filled out a little bit since she came to live with us, giving her a healthier glow, but was still slim and petite, hitting only around 5’2” when she was barefoot. Her smaller stature never made her shy, however. Bridgett always spoke her mind, whether encouraged to or not.

  “Jackie, did you get enough sleep, ‘cause you look like shit.”

  I rolled my eyes, shook my head and sat down to eat. I’d taken a good look at myself in the mirror this morning, and she was right. I had bags under my green eyes and my blonde hair was frizzed from the humidity of the approaching rain storm. I’d pulled it hurriedly back into a pony tail, but there were still a few stray hairs hanging in my face. The three hours of sleep I’d managed this morning had been peppered with frustrating dreams, most of them about searching frantically for something and always ending up empty-handed. But that last one had been so nice. I smiled when I remembered the baby and his laugh and wondered if Aedus and Philladre were wrong about the sex of their child. My dreams were often prophetic so I tended to take them seriously.

  The smell of cooked bacon snapped me back to the present moment. I glanced at Liam appreciatively. He was still grinning from Bridgett’s comment, enjoying each and every time she annoyed me. He’d been the one who’d wanted her executed after the small part she’d played in the kidnapping and torture of six fae citizens, but the prisoners themselves had agreed to her two years of service. As payback, when Bridgett said something that irritated me, Liam smugly blessed me with his I-told-ya-so look.

  I stuffed delicious French toast into my mouth so my hands would be busy and not reaching out to strangle her. I noticed that she was waiting for an answer, so I said, “Thanks for the heads up.”

  She screwed up her mouth trying to look contrite. “Oh, sorry. I’m just nervous. I shouldn’t have said that, huh?”

  “Ya think? Maybe I should make you take the bus.” I heard Liam laugh but she just looked confused. No buses traveled the road to Faerie. As I took another delicious bite of my breakfast, I felt an unusual churning sensation in my stomach, not anything painful, but annoying as hell. It had been happening often lately, but I'd been chalking it up to aggravation. Maybe I overextended myself last night at Nathaniel's or maybe it was a delayed reaction to the gruesome execution.

  “So tell me about what happened last night. It must have been exciting. Angel's cool."

  "Angel was able to free the three vampires. We handled the ones who resisted. Nathaniel died during the spell." I tried to keep my expression neutral, but I probably didn't succeed too well.

  She noticed that I was upset. "I never say the right thing. I guess you won’t be sorry to see me go, huh?’ She looked down at her plate and pushed around her food with her fork. Lady Dinestri, one of the fae Elders, had given her an extra week before she had to report for duty, mostly because she and I had only had two days together after my kidnapping. The separation would be tough for Bridgett since she was also leaving behind h
er new mate.

  Surprising myself, but meaning every word, I said, “Actually, Bridgett, I am sorry to see you go. It's nice to have someone to talk to in the morning.” I glanced at Liam and whispered, knowing he could hear me. "Someone female." She grinned with relief and took another bite as I looked at her with some regret, wondering, not for the first time, what it would have been like growing up with a sister. Of course, with our two very strong personalities, we might have ended up killing each other.

  “When do you think you’ll be able to come and visit me?” Her mood had brightened as she dug into her breakfast again.

  “Garrett and I will make sure to visit at least once a month. And you can call me once a day, although, somehow I think that those thirty minute calls you’re allowed will be going to William and not me.”

  She laughed. “Yeah, that’s pretty much a definite.” Looking up from her breakfast she said, “I’m gonna miss you too. I guess I’m gonna miss all of you, even Smart-ass.” She made a face and I laughed. Smart-ass was her pet name for Sasha. Bridgett felt the word arrogant was followed by Sasha in the dictionary. I was actually getting pretty curious lately about his life before he was turned. In fact I knew practically nothing about Rick or Will either. Finding out more about them was at the top of my new ‘to do’ list: right after taking Bridgett to Faerie, calling Maya about Adele, talking to Rob about Flynn, packing for Los Altos...

  I twisted my thoughts back to Bridgett’s trip. “What did Lady Dinestri say you’d be doing?” Lady Dinestri was one of only four Elders on the Fae Council. Working for her would be a position of honor and we’d all been surprised when we’d found out that assisting her would be Bridgett’s very first assignment.

  “I think it’ll take me some time to get to know my way around.” She lowered her voice and peeked at Liam who was watering a plant in the corner. “I thought that Faerie would be a lot more—you know—colorful and magical looking. It’s pretty average, don’t you think?” She’d been there for a couple of days right after I’d escaped from Lord Kennet.