Awakening Kiss (Watcher's Kiss Book 4) (6 page)

C
HAPTER
6

A
S THE SUN SET ON
the following day, Rhys sprawled on a leather chair in the great room. Brenin and Jude played a heated combat game on the Xbox. Tor, the fourth warrior in the Chicago group, stalked in, fists flexing.

“Last night was too quiet,” he growled. “There’s gotta be someone we can take down in this city.”

“Dude, you missed all the action,” Brenin said. “Shoulda been with us. You would’ve met Rhys’s hot halfling.”

“And she cooks?” Jude leaned forward, a grin on his face even as he blasted animated aliens to bits. “Invite her over.”

“She bakes,” Rhys corrected.

“Eh, food is food, right?” Jude patted his stomach.

Rilan shuffled into the room. As the group’s Elder, the warriors deferred to him in questions of magic, and they always discussed each night’s findings with him. He rarely went into the field, so there, the males drew on their training from Arawn to make the best of whatever situation they were in.

Tor, Jude, and Rilan had already been briefed on yesterday’s Enza-and-elves debacle. Tonight, all four Watchers would again patrol sections of the city, but first, Rilan would ward Enza’s building.

Brenin paused the game. Rilan settled in a wingback chair and ran a hand through his permanently disheveled hair. “I don’t have anything new to report. Does anyone else?”

The fighters shook their heads. Sometimes Arawn ordered them to focus on a certain species or situation, but if not, things would be business as usual. Keeping other supernaturals on the down low, making sure predatory creatures weren’t abusing less powerful ones. And Rhys had a side plan of his own.

“You setting up the ward first?” he asked Rilan.

The Elder nodded. “Sooner rather than later.”

Rhys stood and cracked his neck, first to one side, then the other. “I’ll go with you, and after we’re done I’ll patrol the South Side.”

“That’s fine,” Rilan said. “The rest of you can pick your areas.”

“West,” Tor said.

“I did west last night. I’ll take north.” Brenin rolled his shoulders.

“I’ll stick with tech boy.” Jude smirked at Rhys. “In case he ’ports away again.”

The warriors headed out on foot. In seconds, Brenin and Tor disappeared, leaping to the rooftops and starting their searches. Watchers could run preternaturally fast, so cars only hindered them unless they were going far or had less strong creatures in tow.

“You sure you don’t want us to drive you?” Rhys asked Rilan.

“No,” the Elder said. “It’s good to get out and soak up the vibe of the city.”

By
vibe
he meant the magical kind. Rilan could pick up on traces of magic left behind, or portals that had closed. He also knew more witches than anyone could count. Every time he went out, at least one gravitated toward him. They all wanted to introduce themselves, some wanted to talk shop, and a few flirted shamelessly.

Rhys, Jude, and Rilan covered the distance to Wicker Park quickly, observing nothing unusual, and stopped across the street from Enza’s building. Jude folded his arms. “Could be worse.”

“Kinda describes this whole neighborhood.” Rhys frowned. He wanted Enza in a safer area, and it bugged him that this was where she chose to live.

“This won’t take long,” Rilan said. “Come.”

They crossed the street. Rilan worked quickly, pulling a small glass bottle of colorless liquid from his pocket. He dabbed a drop on each side of the main door and spoke in Demonish. Rhys and Jude stood watchfully, eyes out for any non-humans. To passersby, the three of them probably looked like they were waiting to be let in.

Methodically, they moved to a side door and then a back service door, repeating the process. One lone bulb lit the small area behind the building, and a dumpster hulked off to one side. Alone back there, Rilan raised his arms and began a new spell. Magic crackled like static electricity for a minute, then the nighttime humidity settled back down, draping Rhys in saturated air.

“All done,” Rilan said brightly. “Anyone who doesn’t live here and hasn’t been invited will experience a strong sense of foreboding at the thought of entering. If they ignore it, the dread will intensify until they’re convinced that they must leave immediately.”

Rhys nodded. It was the most basic type, but with so many humans living there, they didn’t want to get too extreme, especially since they had no reason to think Enza was in any kind of danger. Yet.

And Rhys intended to drop by often, just to ensure she was safe.

“You good getting home?” Jude asked Rilan.

“Pfft.” Rilan waved a hand dismissively. “You know better than to ask. I may not carry a sword, but I’ve got plenty of offense and defense spells right here.” He pointed to his temple.

“All right, see you later.” Rhys glanced at Jude. “Ready? We start in Little Italy.”

“Why am I not surprised,” Jude muttered, but followed Rhys into the shadows. They darted behind buildings, heading toward Ashland Avenue and then south several miles. Along the way, they spotted a few Skell demons sitting by a dumpster, gloomy expressions of their long faces. Near the huge sports stadium where the city’s professional teams played, two fairies giggled and held hands as they walked.

Rhys stopped. “Careful around here, ladies. No games tonight, so it’s pretty damn deserted.”

“You don’t have to worry about us, Watcher,” one cooed, tugging her mini skirt down an inch. “We’re going to that bar owned by one of the hockey players. There’s always humans there, reliving the glory of the winning seasons.”

“Woo-hoo! Go, Hawks!” Her friend raised her arms and cheered, pulling her already short top up, exposing her smooth belly.

“Plus, we can charm any big bad grumpy guys,” the first one said, voice dropping to a nymphy cross between pouting and humoring. “Want to come with us?”

“Not this time.” Jude shoved his hands in this pockets. “We’ll see you around.”

“Bye!” They sashayed away, hips swinging, singing the hockey team’s fight song.

Jude ran a hand over his hair. “They always seem so vulnerable to me, though they could be older than us. Could have their own unique powers too.”

“Yep.” Rhys scanned the now-empty street. “Older, not necessarily wiser. But they seem to get out of most human-related messes just fine. Let’s go.”

They set a quick pace for the rest of the way, darting under the expressway and entering a new neighborhood. Colorful store fronts lined the avenues, where restaurants proclaimed the best sausage sandwiches and Italian ice in the city.

“A few more blocks down,” Rhys said.

Jude slid him a look. “You do realize this is borderline stalkerish, right?”

“Not if we’re getting intel.”

“There are probably hundreds of halflings that we don’t investigate.”

Rhys grunted. He couldn’t explain why he needed to know Enza’s background. True, there was a slim chance the dark elves could come after her.

But curiosity had dug its heels into his brain. Something about her shouted to him that she was going to need protection and very soon.

“Hold up.” He stopped in front of a red brick three-flat. Concetta’s condo was on the second floor, easily within reach of his phone’s identification app.

Jude quirked a brow but didn’t say anything as Rhys activated the program. “I’ll check the back.” He slipped into the gangway between the building and its neighbor.

Rhys’s app flashed with results in seconds—nothing but humans. As expected, and as he confirmed with his nose.

Jude came around the other side. “All humans.”

“Yeah. That’s what I got. Next stop.” He walked to the end of the street and kept going south.

“Dude, if her mom’s human, her grandparents will be too.”

“Logically, that makes sense, but I want to check on them anyway.”

They stopped in front of a two-flat. Rhys had already determined that Vicente and Maria lived on the top level, and rented the lower floor to a young couple. The brown brick facade was dark.

“How much you wanna bet they’re asleep?” Jude’s focus shifted skyward as the flitter of bat wings cut through the quiet.

“You’re right,” Rhys said, walking to the back of the home. His screen lit up again. “Human.”

“So.” Jude rocked back on his heels. “You met a hot girl who’s half human and half Deserati. Based on this…we can guess her dad was the Des.”

“Yeah.”

“So, looks like we’re done playing detective. Not sure what you wanna do with this info, but whatever. Up to you. Ready to go find trouble?”

“Yeah.” Rhys pocketed his phone. He wasn’t sure what he was going to do with these facts either, but as least he’d confirmed his suspicions.

They moved south and east, preferring to work east from the lake. Perched on a warehouse roof in a mostly industrial area, they took stock of their surroundings. Bass from a nightclub thumped nearby, and a few human voices shouting in revelry carried across the night air.

“Slow as shit.” Jude cracked his neck. “Is everyone still in a solstice hangover or what?”

Half of the supernatural creatures in the realm were fertile at the time of the solstices, and half at the equinoxes. Though they were a month past the summer solstice, for some of the fae, the frenzy of lust and mating was just dying down.

“Dunno, maybe.” A giggle caught Rhys’s ear and he concentrated on the street below.

Two male Deserati demons walked with two nymphs toward the club entrance. The females clung to them, barely clothed in scraps of clingy fabric. The group paused at the edge of the block and one male pulled out his phone, typing rapidly.

“Scanning us?” Jude spoke in a barely audible tone.

Rhys nodded, his guess confirmed as the demon looked up in their direction.

Rhys and Jude didn’t move. No need to, as long as no fighting was about to go down. Deserati demons were predators but were mostly good. A few rogues caused trouble now and then, but as of this moment, these two could be accused of nothing except imminently fucking nymphs. And there was no law against that.

The nymphs tugged at their companions’ arms, cooing and mock pleading. With the girls in the lead, they entered the club.

Rhys and Jude exchanged a glance and shrugged. No reason to follow them in. Dropping to the ground, they slipped away from the warehouses and across a rail yard, then found themselves in one of the city’s struggling neighborhoods.

The Watchers stuck to rooftops, as it was easier to navigate and observe, and they drew less attention from human gangs that postured and prowled at street level. Not that any Lash demon would be concerned around them, but human messes weren’t on their agenda.

On a flat black roof this time, Rhys studied the men below. Most in dirty tank tops, with guns shoved down the back waistbands of their pants. Cars came and went, with quick exchanges of money and plastic bags. The occasional joke rang out.

Jude inhaled. “I don’t detect anything—wait—”

The heady scent of roses teased Rhys’s nose. He turned.

A curvy red-headed Deserati demoness landed gracefully on their roof, having jumped from the next building over. She straightened from her crouch and tilted her head. “Rhys, right?”

“Miranda?” He walked toward her. The female had collaborated on and off with the Watchers over the years. Her duties were different, but they shared the same end goal of keeping supernatural activity hidden from humans. “You still in the city?” Last he’d heard, she was here because it was flat as a pancake, and she’d gotten in trouble for her power accidentally putting a hole in a mountain.

“Yep. I asked to stay on, actually.” She folded her arms over a tight black tank top that did nothing to hide her full breasts. “I like it here.” She flashed a smile at Jude. “I’m Miranda. I don’t think we’ve met.”

“Jude.” The blond warrior inclined his head, but didn’t take her hand and kiss it like he did with non-predators and humans.

“Are you new to the group?” she asked. Standing with the Lash, who obviously knew what she was, she dropped the magical illusion that hid her horns and tail.

“Not new to the Watchers, but I got here a few months ago.” Jude rocked back on his heels.

“We’ve had some personnel changes lately,” Rhys said. A massive battle last year, along with several Watcher matings, had caused a redistribution of the fighters in both realms.

“I see that,” Miranda murmured. “Looks like our duties line up tonight.”

Rhys dropped his gaze to the street. “Things are really quiet.”

“Tell me about it.” She flicked her leathery tail across the rough rooftop. “I should go get a massage, I’m so bored.”

“Any idea if there are a lot of Deserati in the city right now?” Jude asked.

“Yep. Since the solstice was only a month ago, people are still hanging around. Why?”

“We saw two males earlier, but they were with nymphs and going to a club. They scanned us, but…” Rhys shrugged. “No reason to do anything about it.”

“Any of us would be wise to scan
you
.” She purred the last word. “Alpha predators that you are.”

“What about halflings?” Rhys asked.

“Half Deserati?” Miranda swatted at a June bug buzzing in a lazy loop around her. “Here?”

“Yeah.” Rhys shoved his hands in his pockets.

She shook her head, red locks swishing around tiny horns above her ears. “There are probably lots of them in the world. We don’t keep track.”

“How many?” Jude asked.

She shrugged. “You know how intense the fertile seasons are. And since we can pass for human, we’re not limited to supernatural hangouts or species when we need to scratch that itch. Things happen.”

Rhys frowned at the idea of Enza
happening
. Did she go through heightened lust at each equinox, the fertile time for Deserati demons? A growl rumbled deep in his chest at the thought of her having mindless sex to ease the seasonal ache.

“What is it, warrior?” Miranda asked. “Is a halfling giving you trouble?”

Jude snorted. “Trouble isn’t the right word.”

“Oh?” Curiosity oozed from the demoness.

Rhys rubbed a hand over his jaw, ignoring the suggestive tone from both from them. “Nah. Thing is, I met one last night. I don’t think she knows what she is.”