by K. F. Breene
“I’ll never get used to how that vampire runs,” Elliot muttered.
“Elliot says that you bit Sebastian. Can you tell a person by the taste of their blood?” I asked.
“Yes, of course. Mostly.”
I lifted my eyebrows, losing confidence. “Okay, well, can you bite him, then?”
Kace walked forward from the flank of my crew. “Alpha, I smelled Sebastian when he was in town. Should I verify?”
“How do we know this isn’t mind control?” Niamh asked. “Sebastian told me that he could control minds if he wanted.”
“I said I could control moods, not minds,” Elliot said. “I cannot implant ideas into people’s minds. If my scent didn’t match, or my blood, I could make you feel okay with that, but I couldn’t erase your knowledge of the discrepancy.”
“All due respect, miss,” Mr. Tom said as the basajaun found the nearest wall and put his hand on it. “How do we know he isn’t lying?”
“Ivy House says he is Sebastian as well,” I replied.
“Yes, miss, and that is interesting, but she is also old and bored and cunning, and she’ll slit a proverbial throat to help you get ahead. I do love that house, but she is rooting for Austin Steele, and I must say one final time that a gargoyle would be just a bit more fitting, don’t you think?”
“He’s never going to let that go,” Austin murmured, and he didn’t seem mad. But then, how could you be with Mr. Tom? There simply was no point.
“The house’s goal is to keep Jessie alive,” Niamh said. “What’s that ye say, Jessie? Ivy House approves of Sebastian?”
“I don’t know that she—”
“I approve of him,” Ivy House cut in.
I gritted my teeth. “Turns out she can hear my conversations no matter how far I am from Ivy House, so that’s something you might not have known, and also, yes, she apparently does.”
“Well, then.” Niamh looked around the room. “That’s fine. Do ye have any whiskey? I could do with a pint. Or maybe a bottle. This situation has made bags of the day, so it has.”
“So, shall I…” Edgar stopped just beside and a little behind Elliot, hands at his sides, looking down at the mage’s neck.
Elliot breathed deeply, his gaze rooted to mine, his expression saying he was not comfortable with Edgar standing there. Which was understandable, really.
“Yes.” I motioned Edgar on.
“I also have those flowers for the basajaun, if he can taste the difference,” Elliot said, his voice strained. He held up his hand. “Oh, wait, this is going to put me out.”
Edgar’s bite caused his victims to temporarily lose consciousness.
“That’s okay. I need time to think anyway.” I nodded at Edgar, and he moved with amazing speed, clamping down on Elliot’s neck.
Elliot gave a shriek, and then he slouched, his limbs relaxing. Edgar gulped twice before straightening up.
“Ah, yes.” He pulled on Elliot’s sleeve and then bent again to dab his mouth. “I remember that taste. Very spicy. Magic will do that. I’ve feasted on many mages. He is the spiciest of them all. He gave me terrible heartburn. Does anyone have any Tums?”
I blew out a breath, remembering all of the time I’d spent with Sebastian, remembering his patience, his easy communication, his eagerness to help.
“Elliot Graves knows an awful lot about shifters,” I finally said, standing up.
“I was thinking the same thing.” Austin joined me. “What will you do?”
“I don’t know. Let’s go home. We’ll talk about it on the way, since it’s pretty clear this affects you and your pack, too.”
“I have your stuff,” came the disembodied voice from earlier. “We have a plane standing by for you. Also, there is something you should know regardless of the decision you make. I can either tell you while hanging from a very strong arm that doesn’t seem to feel my weight, or you can have Broken Sue put me down so I can take a revealing potion first.”
This situation straddled Austin’s domain and mine, but I didn’t have to work through the nuances of who should do what—the details were crystal-clear to me, as if we’d been doing this forever. Broken Sue was his pack, so Austin needed to make the command, but the woman—Nessa—was appealing to me about Elliot, which made it my decision. Perhaps mating had opened up these new insights, or maybe they’d unfurled for me because I’d finally unleashed my gargoyle. Whatever the case, the simple equality between Austin and me made my heart sing. We were bringing our two factions together, and one day we’d build something even greater.
I’d made a good decision with him.
I also wanted to rush him to someplace quiet and rip his clothes off. Would this craving ever cease? Did I want it to?
After a deep breath, I glanced at Austin.
“Drop her,” Austin barked.
Broken Sue pulled his arm away. The sound of the body hitting the floor made Edgar start laughing.
“Not as pleasant as being carried,” Nessa murmured. A moment later, a middle-aged woman with curly brown hair, severe cheekbones, and high-arching black brows nodded at me as she tucked an empty vial into the back pocket of her jeans. “Hello, everyone. I won’t bother asking if you want a seat…or some sweats. This won’t take but a minute, and then we’ll get you some transportation. The jet is standing by to take you home.” She pointed at me. “Do you remember what Chambers said to you before Broken Sue ripped him into pieces?”
“Momar intends to go after Austin’s brother’s pack. How do you know?”
“We have cameras all over this place. Don’t worry, Sebastian turned off the ones in your rooms. You had privacy. No one else did. For every camera they found, there were two they didn’t.” She turned a finger to Austin, and I felt a sinking in my gut. We hadn’t even checked for cameras. Hadn’t even thought about it. “And you remember the deal his people tried to make with you?”
“I wasn’t really listening,” he said gruffly. “I was noticing all their weaknesses. Jess mentioned something about this yesterday evening, but…” He tensed, and I knew he’d just held back one of those twitches that were making Elliot so nervous. “I wasn’t in a logical place.”
“Yes, the mating.” Nessa squinted. “Sebastian knows more about that than I do. I confess, I don’t really get it. Regardless, you better get in your right mind quickly. Momar has his sights set on your brother. This is what Sebastian was going to tell you before the vampire ate him. Momar won’t advance quickly, because your brother is the biggest fish he’s ever gone after. By far. Word is, he’s collecting mages to help advance his cause, and he’ll get them because Kingsley hasn’t been quiet about pushing back on the Mages’ Guild’s influence in the magical world. Momar means to hit him with an overwhelming force.” Broken Sue tensed. Nessa noticed it and nodded at him. “Yes, that’s their jam, as you know. They don’t fight fair. They buy grunts to do the dirty fighting and then follow behind with spells. That’s why they didn’t know how to combat you guys in the colosseum. In a fight with equal numbers, the shifters will clearly dominate. But that’s not how mages fight in real life.”
“What kind of numbers are you talking?” Austin asked.
Nessa studied him for a moment. “We don’t know exactly. We’re working on it. We have some time. A couple months. Maybe a few. After that, Kingsley is going to have his hands full.”
Austin nodded but didn’t comment. I studied his face for a long moment, knowing we’d help, obviously. That wasn’t a question. We’d need more guns. More firepower. We were no strangers to fighting against large odds, but Momar was a growing power in the magical world, and he had access to a huge swell of people who hated shifters, would not balk at helping to take them out, and would fight as dirty as possible.
“I can pull in the gargoyles,” I said softly, touching Austin’s arm. “Nathanial can command them.”
“Yes,” Nathanial said, standing taller.
“And if anyone can bring the various alpha shifters togethe
r, you can,” I told Austin. He’d already been talking about it before we knew about Momar’s next intended victim.
“Not in three months,” he replied.
“Sebastian can help,” Nessa said. “We are owed favors everywhere. He can’t bring in the shifters, but he can get you an audience with some big players.”
“Other alphas are working with Elliot Graves?” Austin asked.
“Obviously not. A good mage deals in secrets and backdoor discussions. Our network, which Sebastian controls, can get you the meetings. And after this, we’ll have some powerful mages who will either stand with us, or stand aside and not interfere.”
“Why would you want to help my brother?” Austin asked.
“Me? I don’t, particularly,” she said without flinching. “If he wants to reclaim his mantle from Momar, there are safer ways of doing it. Shady dealings and double crossings. The mage way. But Sebastian fought beside your brother, I believe, against the phoenix.”
Cyra nodded. “He is noble, that tiger.”
“Sebastian talks about Kingsley with the utmost respect,” Nessa went on. “He also wants to help Miss Ironheart. She’ll want to help you. You will, without a doubt, help your brother. So Sebastian is connected to this cause. Even if you don’t consent to his friendship or his teaching, Jessie—may I call you Jessie?—he will try to help you. He promised as much when he took you on as an apprentice. Those pledges aren’t ironclad among mages, but it was to him.” She spread her hands and stepped back. “Look, you can figure all that out for yourself. You’ll see what you’re up against pretty quickly. Jessie has a crapload of power, but she doesn’t know dick. She needs a teacher, and you won’t find another mage as powerful and knowledgeable as Sebastian who doesn’t want to use you. It was his sister’s dying wish that he follow this journey to the end of his life. A smart woman would realize what that means.”
“A smart woman can deliver a manipulative speech in the guise of sisterly love,” Hollace said.
Nessa laughed. “If she’d killed Sebastian, I would’ve died trying to avenge him, hopefully taking her down with me.” Austin tensed, and power pulsed through the room. Nessa rubbed her arms. “Yeah, yeah, the bear is protective. I get it. Listen, think it over. And if you decide not to allow him into your life, can you leave behind that jewelry we gave you in the basket? That stuff was amazing. I’ll take it, no problem.”
“Let’s go.” Austin turned and strode for the door.
“I’ll arrange transportation to the jet—”
“Don’t bother,” Austin cut in. “Jess, can your people fly us?”
“Yep.”
Kace softly groaned.
“Okay, well,” Nessa called after us. “I guess I’ll just mail your stuff to you?”
“Sir, if I may?” Broken Sue murmured as we walked through the tunnel.
“Go,” Austin said.
“I know that your inclination is to keep the situation with your brother a shifter matter. In times of danger, especially with our families, we feel like we can only rely on those we trust. We stick with our own. I felt the same way, and I lost everything. Your mate is the doorway to survival, for all of us. Even if you get all of the shifters to stand together, it still won’t be enough, not against the kind of might these mages will throw together. They don’t fight even remotely fair. They go after the vulnerable, and they use the mercenaries they bring in like pawns. Lives to be thrown away. They have no loyalty themselves, and so they do not adhere to the normal principles of warfare. If you want to truly help your brother—help us all—you will heed that woman’s words. You will trust your mate to bolster your pack with people you otherwise wouldn’t have access to. To fight beside you with magic. I think you two were brought together for a reason. That is only my opinion, but that’s the way I see it.”
“The stars are guiding us,” the basajaun said. “This mountain is quiet. Peaceful. It does not want violence. This meeting was important. I will call on the elders. The basajaunak will join this fight.” Austin glanced back, shock riding the link. “Edgar, we will need more flowers,” the basajaun continued. “Maybe some of those violent ones. That was tasty.”
“My mother is the biggest busybody in the history of the world,” Ulric chimed in. “She knows gargoyles from all over. You want to talk about a network? My mother has a network. I’ve told her that she isn’t allowed to tell anyone outside of the parish there’s a new female gargoyle—I was waiting until Jessie was a little more up to speed—but say the word and she can make sure the biggest cairns in the world hear about you, Jessie. If there is a big battle on the horizon, they’ll want in because the status of fighting beside a female gargoyle will be passed down their family lines. We can get enough forces to fill the sky.”
“I told my mom,” Jasper murmured. “My village knows, but…”
“And that’s it, right? Yeah. My mom is not a normal gargoyle’s wife. She doesn’t keep business in the cairn. This is the only time I will brag about that fact.”
I slipped my hand in Austin’s and grabbed the muumuu that was still on the little table as we passed by. “Kingsley will be okay. We’ll make sure of it.”
He didn’t say anything as we continued, but I could feel the turmoil roiling within him.
Twenty-Eight
Austin had been quiet the whole plane ride home, us having used the plane waiting there instead of calling in another. It had been stuffed with snack foods and drinks, but by that point, I hadn’t been hungry. Austin had stared out the window, his emotions troubled. It wasn’t just worry. There was a certain prickly protectiveness that suggested Broken Sue had gotten it right. Austin wanted to react to danger the shifter way—banding together with those most trusted and fighting. They reached for loyalty and togetherness to get them through hard times.
I guessed I sided with the mages in how I handled things—I would reach for whatever would help us win.
In the limo on the way back, just the two of us, I said, “I’m going to say yes to Elliot.”
Austin didn’t comment, holding my hand, staring out the window.
“I’m going to have him teach me,” I continued, wanting to soothe his worry. “I’ll be pissed for a while, I’m not saying I won’t, but…I believe him. I hate to say it, but I believe him. And even if I didn’t…we need him. Your brother needs him. I’ll walk into the belly of the beast and come out on fire if I have to, but I will show up in your brother’s town ready to unleash hell. I’ll make you proud to have mated me.”
He met my eyes. “Nothing could make me prouder to have mated you. You’re perfect as you are. Don’t do this for me, or my brother. Do it for you. You need to trust your teacher.”
I leaned against him and rested my head on his shoulder. “I just have to get used to the fact that he seriously tricked me. I had zero idea. Absolutely no inclination. That guy is good.”
“He is. I wasn’t sure about him at first, but he seemed genuine when he was at Ivy House. He only wanted the best for you, and he helped protect you. That wasn’t an act.”
“Yeah.”
He was quiet for a moment. Then he breathed out a sigh and said, “Brochan is right. Every fiber of my being is telling me to push away from all these extra people and join my family with just you and my pack. That we’d be enough to face this thing.”
“And your logic tells you?”
“That if we do it that way, we’ll all die.”
“That’s why you called in Kingsley when Kinsella came,” I said, finally understanding.
“I wasn’t thinking about it at the time, but probably, yes. Call in family when things get too big to handle.”
“Well…I mean, you are calling in family. Extended family. You’re bringing in me, and I’m bringing all my gargoyles and my Ivy House crew. The basajaun is bringing in his family—”
“I can’t believe that. That would be…incredible.”
“Yeah. So you have him. And Ulric’s mother will apparently make my garg
oyle influence bigger, so we have that. And Elliot and his hookups—some families are just really big. But they’re still family.”
He huffed out a laugh and shook his head, putting his arm around me and pulling me in. “I know.” Another quiet beat. “How will you punish Sebastian for lying to you?”
I laughed as we pulled up to the house. The driver came around and opened my door.
“I’m not sure. I have to think of something vile. Maybe Niamh can help me with a practical joke. I don’t even know how I’ll—”
The words died on my lips. Right there on the stoop, holding a long stick topped with a filled kerchief, sat Elliot Graves. He stood as I walked up the path.
“After your battles, I always have the last say,” he said, the stick resting on his shoulder.
“How’d you get here before us?” I asked.
He gave me a smile. “Magic. Do you have a couple hours so I can fill you in on my plans? I’ll tell you everything. We can knock Momar to his knees and signal to the world that you”—he put his hand to the side of his mouth—“and I…aren’t to be messed with, and neither are shifters. The shifters can organize and force the Mages’ Guild to start playing by the rules. I have complete confidence we can pull it off, Jessie, but only if I start training you now. There is no time to lose. When you set foot on that battlefield, you need to own your title as sorceress.”
I gave him a lofty stare. Austin waited behind me, and I could sense the rest of my people climbing out of the limos. Ivy House was, thankfully, quiet.
“Fine, Elliot—”
“No.” He put his hand on his chest. “My birth name is Sebastian. Please, Elliot Graves was a stage name I made up for a different, more ruthless person. Sebastian was what people called me when I was just a weird nerd who liked to play with magic and geek out with Star Wars. I’d like to be your friend again, Jessie. I know I tarnished your trust, but I really did want to stay and train with you. I was happy doing magic in the bowels of Ivy House, or helping Edgar with his flowers. If it was a different world, and I didn’t have the name I do, I’d even love to join your team. I am comfortable here. I feel like I can finally be myself.”
