by Carmen Caine
“Olivia!” I shouted.
She heard me. She turned back, just enough for me to see the wide, clever grin cutting across her face. And then she kept right on after him.
“Get back here!” I shouted. Ignoring Edna’s warning, I charged right after her. After all, I wasn’t really leaving. I was just going to snatch a wayward impling and dash right back to Imp Haven again without anyone being the wiser.
But the instant my foot hit the sidewalk, I felt it. Something cold. Dark. Soul-chilling. I watched, petrified, as a block of shadows peeled off the building across the street to swirl in my direction.
Strix ran at me like the wind then, covering the ground in great strides and leaping the last ten feet to scoop me up into his arms. Losing my balance, I fell against him as the shadows shifted and began to coalesce. Was that a hand reaching for me?
I felt the muscles of Strix’s chest tighten against my back. In one swift move, he pulled his scarf over his mouth in the Nether Reach Keeper battle stance, a move that prevented their spells from being heard before they were cast.
“No,” I gasped, knowing he was still far too weak to fight.
It was too late. His deep voice ricocheted around me and a bright bolt of light shot down from above to cut straight through the shadows still reaching my way. The shadows curled back. Something screamed, an unholy sound.
“Hold on,” Strix shouted. “We’re getting out of here.”
I reached for Olivia. I couldn’t leave her behind to be eaten by whatever was coming. I’d just caught her when there was a flash of bright light.
I felt the impling’s wispy smoke form slip through my fingers.
“No!” I cried.
But it was too late.
Emergence
I landed on Strix’s hard chest as he slammed to the ground, the impact knocking the breath out of us both, but I scarcely noticed. I thought only of Olivia, trapped with that unknown evil that had emerged from the shadows.
“Olivia!” I screeched, jumping to my feet.
It was dark. I could hardly see a thing. But then, two glowing eyes blinked from the cuff of my sleeve and I gasped, lifting my arm to see the outline of the tiny impling, dangling by her many rows of teeth like a piranha. She’d managed to hitch a last-second ride. Relieved, I pulled her free and suspended her by the scruff of her neck.
“You’re in deep trouble, young lady,” I warned in a near growl. “Go sleep in my pocket and stay there if you don’t want me to bottle you for a month.”
She hissed like a cat and flattened her ears, but promptly obeyed, clearly shaken by the entire experience.
Strix rose and stumbled past me. A moment later, he flipped on a light switch, revealing a spacious living room with the rustic interior and exposed beams of a cabin. A large plasma television hung on the wall opposite a tufted brown leather sofa, and a thick rug covered the pine-board floor. Directly behind me stood a massive bookshelf stuffed with ancient-looking, leather-bound journals and books. The comforting smell of wood smoke permeated the air.
A large window showcased a view of a night sky filled with bright twinkling stars. Stars? I frowned. I’d just exited the Imp Haven to see clouds. My frown deepening, I moved to the window and squinted outside. Instead of a city spreading out before me, I saw only the silhouette of pine trees against a setting moon.
A ball of fire exploded on the ceiling above and I whirled to see Strix holding out his hands, panting the words of a spell in a language I’d never heard before but somehow, instinctively understood. “Abderra treag onxas prubium,” he whispered hoarsely.
Let the light guard this place. Odd. How did I know that?
The ball of blue light growing between his fingers suddenly arced through the room to bathe the walls and fade away.
“There,” he said, bracing himself against the wall. “That, combined with Lucian’s wards, should hold for some time.”
I wasn’t worried about wards—even if I should have been. I was concerned about him. He looked rough. Joining him, I said, “You’re supposed to be resting, not bopping around the place, taking us to…” I paused and glanced around. “Wherever it is we are.”
“I didn’t have a choice,” he answered, swaying on his feet. “I had to get you out of there.”
“Me?” I repeated, surprised.
He drew a long breath, as if in pain, and his wide shoulders sagged with exhaustion. “They’re not after me anymore. The instant you stepped out of Imp Haven, they zeroed in on you like a magnet.”
They. So, the shifting shadow had been a Fallen One? I shuddered, recalling how it had reached out for me … but then, Strix had been nearby. Opening the gates to get us out of there had clearly caused a relapse of some kind. Small wonder he was spouting nonsense. “I don’t think so,” I disagreed in a somewhat condescending tone. “They’re after you, not me. Why would they be after me?” I was just a family dud.
“That’s what I’d like to know,” he said, sounding drained.
He looked downright awful. Sweat glistened on his brow. I reached out and lay the back of my hand against his pale cheek. His skin felt hot and feverish. He closed his eyes under my touch.
“Well, let’s worry about it later, dude,” I said, borderline alarmed at his physical state. “We need to call Dr. Kip.” I patted my pockets for my cell phone but came up short.
Strix opened his eyes with what appeared to be a monumental effort. “We have to lie low until I’ve regained my strength. We can’t have them tracking us here.” He looked like he was going to pass out any second. “No phone calls.”
If I’d had a phone, I would have disagreed. After all, what good would his dying do? As it was, I merely switched subjects. “It’s time for you to rest,” I announced. Grabbing his arm, I pulled it around my neck and wrapping my own arm around his waist, guided him towards the couch.
He leaned on me heavily, breathing hard, and we slowly made our way to the couch. He half fell, half sank down onto the tufted leather and expelling a long breath, leaned back to close his eyes. I stared at him in worried concern. So. I was stuck in some random cabin somewhere with a delirious Reach Keeper on my hands—and with no phone in sight to call for help. The man clearly needed medical attention, regardless of what he thought. I glanced around, looking for a landline but didn’t see one, at least in the living room. Was I going to have to run for help instead? If so, in which direction?
Reaching down, I jiggled his shoulder a little. “Where are we?” I, at least, needed to know that.
He took so long in answering I thought he’d fallen asleep. “The Poconos,” he finally replied in a barely audible voice. “Lord Rowle’s safe house.”
“Lord Lucian Rowle?” I asked in awe.
Everyone knew of Lord Lucian Rowle, one of the most popular celebrities in the Charmed World. My younger sisters had pinned posters of him to their bedroom walls and drooled over them daily.
When Strix didn’t answer, I glanced down to see that this time, he had gone to sleep. I shivered, and not altogether because it was chilly. “First thing’s first, Naz,” I muttered aloud, eyeing my surroundings warily. “Blankets and phone. Get cracking.”
The cabin was a small one. I checked out the kitchen first, a sleek place with a white marble countertop, hand-beaten copper sink, and a glass-faced refrigerator filled with fresh fruit, expensive cheeses, and a loaf of bread. I didn’t see a phone, but I did spy a toaster and coffee machine with a small burlap bag of Guatemalan coffee beans resting on top. I picked them up and took a deep whiff. Fresh. Along with the bread and fruit. That had to be good news. Someone had apparently just stocked the place, and that meant they’d likely return to eat it. Maybe I wasn’t stranded, after all.
I squinted out the windowed back door. Just more trees. Yep. I really was in the Poconos. I caught my breath. I knew Reach Keepers opened gates through the Reaches that enabled them to travel as they pleased, but I’d never thought to experience it myself. It would have been incre
dibly exciting—if not for the fact we were on the run and the Reach Keeper responsible for bringing us here lay passed out in the living room, suffering from a near-fatal wound from a creature I didn’t like to think about. Frowning, I double-checked the deadbolt on the door, though what good a mere deadbolt would do against a Fallen One, I couldn’t say.
With no phone in sight, I ventured up the stairs to a bedroom, a minimalistic elegant affair—again, lacking in a landline but not in blankets. Grabbing a pillow and the counterpane off the bed, I dragged it back to where Strix slumped sideways, sprawled over the couch with one booted foot drooping off the edge.
Hearing me approach, he slowly lifted his lashes.
“You look terrible,” I said, tossing the pillow down and pointing to it. “Lay down and I’ll cover you up. No more spells right now, ok?”
“I couldn’t, even if I wanted to,” he admitted with a rueful smile.
I smiled back and covered him up. “Get some rest. You need to regain your strength.”
He nodded and closed his eyes. Silence fell. After a minute or two, I shivered, noticing the chill in the air for the first time. I couldn’t leave Strix alone and run for help right now. I had to watch over him. Sitting down cross-legged on the couch, I pulled a corner of the counterpane over my legs and stared out the window at the lightening sky.
I yawned.
Dawn would arrive soon.
Yawning again, I closed my eyes…just for a second.
* * *
I awoke with the warm afternoon sun streaming over my face. I stretched, and sat up, bewildered by my surroundings for a few seconds until memory returned with a rush. Right. I’d stepped out onto the street—against Edna’s wishes—and Strix had brought me to the Poconos, claiming the Fallen Ones had suddenly developed a healthy interest in my existence. I glanced over to see the blond Nether Reach Keeper still sound asleep on the couch but already looking much better with a little color in his face.
Rubbing the back of my neck, I arose and moved to the window. A heavy film of condensation had formed on the glass. Odd. Wiping it away with my sleeve, I peered out. The cabin stood on the side of the mountain, surrounded by an expanse of dry winter grass ringed with majestic pines that waved in the afternoon breeze. I grimaced. It probably didn’t matter that I’d lost my cell phone. There wouldn’t be service this far out in the boonies anyway.
My stomach growled. Some of those Guatemalan coffee beans and toast sounded good right about now. Hopefully, Lord Rowle wouldn’t mind if I raided his kitchen. With one last stretch, I headed towards the kitchen, passing the bookcase along the way. The writing on the book spines caught my eye, mysterious, ancient glyphs. I paused and ran my fingers over the letters. They looked so…familiar? I frowned a little. How could that be? I didn’t know any other languages. I laughed at myself and almost turned away, but then, the unintelligible scribbles suddenly shifted and I heard myself murmuring the title aloud, “The Hidden Mysteries and Secrets of the Reaches”. Fascinated, I picked up the book and opened it to the first page.
The next instant, Strix’s hand reached over my shoulder to pluck it right out of my hand.
I whirled.
“How did you read that?” he asked, astonished, slamming the book shut. “How can you?”
I stared up at him, surprised and somewhat flustered.
“Only masters of sorcery can read this tongue,” he continued, reaching over my head to place the book on the highest shelf.
“Well, apparently not only,” I said, trying to make light of it.
He was close. Too close. But he didn’t move away. He just stood there, radiating a fierce sensual intensity, the expression in his gray eyes making me forget the book entirely. Attraction crackled between us.
He spoke first. “So, what manner of creature do you shift into?”
The words felt like a slap in the face, knocking me straight out of the pleasurable haze that had fallen over me. Who had told him that I came from a family of shifters? The imps? Scowling, I stepped back. “I don’t shift,” I replied shortly.
“Pardon?” he asked, lifting a disbelieving brow.
Really? He wasn’t just going to let this go? “Nope,” I answered, and just to make things crystal clear, added, “It’s a bit of a sore subject, so let’s not talk about it, ok?”
His gray eyes narrowed and ignoring my request entirely, continued, “The Fallen Ones were hot on my trail…until they saw you. The instant they saw you, they swooped in for the kill.”
I clamped my mouth shut. What the…? How much clearer did I have to be with the dude?
“Apparently, they know something you don’t,” he said, obstinately crossing his muscled arms.
I couldn’t stop my eyes from flicking over his biceps in admiration, at least for a second, anyway, but then the irritation returned, full force. “No, they don’t. They probably just sensed my lineage. I’m a Beauchene, after all.”
Strix tilted his head to one side and lifted a brow. “The Beauchenes are well known,” he granted politely. “But as powerful as they are, they wouldn’t pique a Fallen One’s interest. Even the mighty lion is no match for a Fallen One.” His gray gaze swept me from head to toe, lingering a moment on my lips before resuming its journey to my eyes. “No,” he said firmly. “It’s something else.”
Under any other circumstances, I probably would have started purring with the bold sensuality of that look, but the subject was a sore one with me. Really, where was his sense of boundary? “Well, they probably found themselves confused by the first family dud,” I snapped.
Astonishment lit his gray eyes. “Dud?” he snorted the word outright, incredulously curling his lip. “With the power I see running through you? You think you’re a dud? Who told you such nonsense?”
For a brief moment, I believed him. I mean, for so many years I’d wanted to believe I had power running through my veins. So had my parents. They’d taken me to every Charmed doctor on the planet and in every Charmed Reach, seeking answers as to why I hadn’t blossomed into a famed Beauchene shifter. Every doctor had given them the same diagnosis: sorry, but your daughter is a dud. So, of course, having a famed Nether Reach Keeper claiming to detect massive amounts of mana coursing through me was nothing short of music to my ears…but then, I remembered the messenger.
“Oh, yeah right.” I sighed, unable to hide my disappointment. “You’re delirious. You should be resting.”
“Delirious?” Strix retorted, looking downright insulted. “I beg to differ.”
“Of course.” I yawned in the most patronizing of ways. Placing my hands on his broad chest—and struggling to ignore the hot, carved muscles beneath my fingers—I pushed him back to the couch. “Whatever you say, dude. It’s time to rest. I’ll make you a sandwich.”
I pushed him down, but he grabbed my wrist and yanked me down beside him. I tripped, practically landing on his lap. Our thighs brushed as I slid over him and my heart began a funky dance. The irritation on his face vanished, replaced with a rush of something else. Both of us froze and yet again, our gazes locked. I could feel his hot breath on my cheek and again, I found myself drowning in his dreamy gray eyes. What would his mouth feel like on mine? Gently nibbling my earlobe? A bolt of warmth coursed through me at the thought and I suddenly realized my fingers rested on his flexed biceps. For a timeless moment, I stayed where I was, enjoying the physical sensations rippling over me from every point where our bodies touched, but then, I blinked and drew back, breaking the spell between us.
“You’ve been misdiagnosed,” Strix stated with firm conviction as I scrambled back to my feet.
“Fine,” I capitulated, just to shut him up. “When I get back to New York, I’ll make an appointment with Dr. Kip and—”
“No,” he interrupted. “You’re coming with me to the Nether Reaches. I can’t leave you unprotected when they’re actively hunting you down. We have to determine what they’re after.”
Protected. I paused. Edna had said the
same thing. I frowned, puzzled, but then shrugged him off. “We can sort it out after you’ve recovered enough to open the gates,” I said, stalking towards the kitchen. “Right now, I think we both need coffee and something to eat.”
He didn’t reply nor did he follow me, but I felt his eyes tracking me across the room.
I escaped to the kitchen, frowning at the odd turn of events and made a beeline for the coffee beans. I’d just closed the lid and punched the last button I hoped would result in a cup of coffee when I remembered Olivia.
I gasped. I’d forgotten all about her. She’d probably long vanished out of my pocket and was who knew where by now. With my heart in my throat, I quickly turned out my hoodie pockets, and to my utter astonishment, found she had miraculously stayed put. She tumbled out onto the kitchen counter in a sleepy ball of smoke.
“Am I glad to see you,” I choked in relief, fanning my cheeks.
The impling yawned and stretched, standing on her toes.
“Want a sandwich?” I asked, fishing the cheese and bread out of the refrigerator. “Or toast? Fruit?”
I returned to the marble countertop with my hands full, only to discover Olivia gone. The little weasel had escaped. Swearing under my breath, I whirled around, scanning the kitchen and knowing she couldn’t have gone far. Why had I disturbed the little trouble-causer? Now, she had tons of energy. I didn’t need an extra helping of havoc right now.
Slamming my palms down flat on the marble countertop, I barked, “Olivia, come out right this instant. I don’t have time for this. This isn’t playtime. We’re in a serious situation here.”
Silence.
I clenched my jaw.
Suddenly, the toaster dinged and Olivia shot out of it like a cannon, squealing in glee and holding onto her toes, every hair on her smoke head frizzled in all directions like a sea urchin.
