Edged Blade (30 page)

The MacDonald climbed out of his car and came toward us, each step slow and deliberate.

Three of his men moved in unison at his back.

Megan’s absence was another stab in my heart. Part of me still hoped I was wrong, despite what everything my body—and the others—could already tell.

“What is going on?” Alisdair MacDonald asked softly. His gaze flicked to mine, one straight black brow going up. “What was the meaning of the call I received earlier, Kit?”

“Megan’s gone fucking nuts,” I said, fear and fury eradicating any diplomacy I would have normally shot for.

The shadow at his right took a step forward. “Use care how you—”

Chang stepped between us.

I’d barely noticed him.

And
care
wasn’t in my vocabulary right now. Baring my teeth, I glared at the puppet. “I’ll use
care
after I’m done shoving my sword up Megan’s ass.” Then I shifted my attention to Dair. “She has Justin.”

Dair’s eyes flashed gold and he shot out a hand just as the soldier at his side went to move forward.

Chang was resting on the balls of his feet, almost like he was
hoping
the wolf would attack.

Apparently I wasn’t the only one spoiling for a fight.

“Why would you say this?”

“Because I was at the place where it happened,” I said, fighting the trembling that threatened to overwhelm me. “I might not be able to break down the scent layers like you can, but my nose doesn’t suck. I smelled her, I smelled him and the magic in the air almost knocked me off my feet—I’m
still
choking on it. She attacked him and he fought back.”

“How do you know he didn’t attack her first?” Dair asked.

But he knew.

I saw it in his eyes.

“Because he went there looking for answers,” I said. “And if Justin had attacked first, she’d be dead. Justin knows what a high level wolf is capable of. Hardly anybody knows what a warrior witch is capable of until they’ve fought one. If she had any idea what she was taking on with him, she would have put him out with the first blow. She didn’t and she missed her shot.”

While Dair processed this, Abraham took a step forward. “I caught traces of blood, Alpha MacDonald. The witch bled first—he also bled the most. Your second bled some, but not a great deal. She was burned, as well. I find no fault with Ms. Colbana’s theory.”

“Except of course it requires that I believe my top person has betrayed me,” Dair said, his voice icy.

“You already know she has,” I said quietly. “That’s why you hired outsiders when you started to suspect things were wrong at Howlers. You got even more concerned when the wolf Drake died.”

He didn’t answer.

But the look on his face spoke volumes and we all saw it.

“I’m leaving,” I said gently. Then I looked at Damon.

If Megan had hurt Justin, a man who could—and would—break bones—what would she do to a woman who couldn’t defend herself?

The whisper of Colleen’s wards brushed over my skin like a warm hug from an old friend.

The magic here knew me.

It knew me. It welcomed me.

And it spoke to me.

That hug
clung
to me and didn’t let go, because the wards were living, breathing extensions of Colleen’s magic and they responded to her emotions. Her emotions were full of anger and helplessness and fear and I felt all of them, all over me as I crossed the creekstone path that led to her front door. Glass sparkled in the sun and I fought not to let my expression change even when I caught the scent in the air.

More blood.

How much had Justin lost?

Was he even conscious?

I hit the door with the side of my fist. Hard. “Open up, Coll. I need your help! Justin’s hurt.”

I was going to fake my way through that door. Damon and the rest of them had stayed a mile back. They could hear me—just faintly, if I screamed and they could be here in minutes. I was banking on the protections in Colleen’s house to give me those minutes—well, Colleen’s protections
and
mine. The protection that came in the form of the mean-ass Glock I had holstered to my thigh. The protective strap was off, but most people wouldn’t notice. Cops, other weapons aficionados, sure, they’d notice. But Megan was her own weapon. She didn’t put a lot of stock in what she’d once called my
toys
.

My hands all but itching to draw this particular toy and make her eat every last bullet inside.

There was a faint sound from inside—I heard it, a low grunt. “Come on, Colleen. I hear you moving around in there. I need your help, damn it!”

A few more seconds passed before I heard her voice. It was low and rough and I heard the pain in it. “Kit, I’m sorry, but it’s not a good time.”

“Too fucking bad!” I hit the door again. “Didn’t you hear me? Justin’s in trouble. I
need
…wait. Colleen…?” I let a small note of the fear inside me infuse my voice. “Are you okay?”

I sucked in a breath, made it louder than it needed it to be.

Megan was in there. I could hear her breathing—actually, if I strained, I could hear
three
different breathing patterns.

One of the reasons I always downplayed just
what
I could do was for moments like this. People always assumed I was closer to a human or witch than anything else, and if it was Justin standing on the porch, he wouldn’t have heard Colleen’s breathing, much less three distinctive sets of respirations.

“I’m fine,” Colleen said, and her voice was steadier.

I imagined Megan had given her a good reason—probably was holding her hand right at Justin’s throat, ready to rip it out. Although I had to wonder—why hadn’t she just killed him? It would be easier.

Worry later. Rescue now
.

The gist of the plan was to get inside and make sure she stayed away from Justin and Colleen. Then…

Well, the cavalry expected me to stay a nice safe distance away while they dealt with the wicked wolf.

Not happening.

“I’ll be there in a moment, Kit. I’ve been…” Her voice hitched. “Sick.”

“Oh.” I rolled my eyes. Sometimes I debated on whether or not I should tell Damon and Dair that they’d be wise to educate themselves and their respective peoples about the other races more, but I did so much better when the other NHs were uninformed. If Megan was half as smart as she liked to think she was, she’d know not to give that lie to Colleen. Strong witches like Colleen didn’t really get
sick
. Their bodies healed everything short of normal aging and severe injury. “Okay. I’m really sorry…”

As the shuffling footsteps drew closer to the door, I slid my Glock out, angling my body to the side so I could block my weapon-hand from view.

I slid the safety off just as the door opened.

The sight of Colleen’s pale face and red-rimmed eyes made my heart lurch.

She was alive.

Alive, and unharmed.

And Megan was right behind the door.

Even if Colleen hadn’t let her gaze slide to the right, I would have known.

I met Colleen’s gaze as I moved inside, encircling her with my right arm for a quick, tight hug as we stood in the door way. I continued to keep my left hand shielded.

“You said Justin was in trouble.” She murmured against my ear as she hugged me back and I could feel the minute trembling of her body.

“Yeah. We’ll make it okay, though.” I gave her one last tight hug. “That’s what I do, right?”

She eased back and she darted another glance to the door.

“You’ve still got your wards, right?” She had lowered something. I could feel it—the air here was different and it only made sense. She didn’t know Megan, but she’d allowed her in, probably because Megan had Justin. Megan would have said he was injured or something. She was Dair’s right hand—although she was probably fired now—she’d know the major players in the area, even if they had little use for witches.

Colleen’s wards were designed to protect her against attackers. Although she couldn’t defend herself, her wards were designed to defend her against threats. Justin had worked with her, using his own magic to pump them up so the wards themselves would step in and do what Colleen couldn’t do.

But a threat had gotten through so Colleen had altered or lowered one of the wards, even if it was something as simple as allowing somebody unknown onto her property.

“My wards…” Colleen frowned.

The door squeaked.

“What’s the one…armae?” I pursed my lips, fumbling over the unfamiliar word. I stared at her hard.

Armum
. Latin for shield. Colleen liked Latin.

Her lids flickered in answer.

Drop it
, I mouthed.

“I can do better,” she said. She shot out a hand as the door was torn open. I grabbed her and we both hit the floor. “Blood, Kit!”

The confusion cost me a precious second, but I drew out a knife and whipped it across my neck—yes, my neck. It was a shallow cut and I didn’t have to worry about it making the grip on my sword slippery. Colleen snatched the knife away with a grim shake of her head. She also swiped her fingers through the blood on my neck and flung them on the ground with a whisper, some unintelligible word that made no sense to me, but as the hairs on the back of my neck rose, I caught the intent.

It was a shield spell, something quick and dirty and it would last—

Megan threw herself at us and howled long and loud as she came up against an unseen wall.

She was thrown back and hit the far wall with devastating strength.

Blood-red cracks appeared in thin air before me and then, with an odd shudder of air, like a death sigh, they melted away.

The shield spell was gone.

Megan was already pushing away from the wall, shaking her head as though to clear it.

Colleen sliced the knife down her palm.

She couldn’t wound me—or anybody else—to save her life, but she could slice and dice herself just fine.

I stared at the hot blood welling out of her palm. Magic all but
wept
out of it and I was so fascinated, I didn’t have time to prepare myself. She slammed her open, bleeding hand over the shallow cut in my neck.

“
Defensori
!”

I tensed just as her magic flooded me. It punched through me and lit me up.

I was on my feet in the next blink, as though I had wings and it was none too soon because Megan launched herself at me. She was human when she first started to move.

Flesh began to melt away into fur and muscles began to realign, bones popping and breaking in a vicious shift as she changed forms.

The one and only time we’d ever had any physical contact, I’d broken my hand on her hard-as-rock face.

She’d been human that one time and she could have broken me easily.

If we tangled while she was in wolf form, I’d be shredded. I leaped into her, blade extended.

I felt the impact of her weight as I brought my sword up.

Smoke rose up to fill my nose, the silver in my blade scorching her flesh. She growled in response, her body stiffening from the reaction, but she didn’t pull away.

That’s the difference between a true high-level wolf and those who just think they’re bad asses. A high-level wolf can fight through the pain of a silver-wrought wound.

The rest just curl up and whine.

I really wished Megan would have just curled up and whined.

I wrenched the blade around, trying to widen the injury and she caught me, her claws sinking into my flesh. My skin began to burn as the virus ripped into me. She yanked me back and hurled me away.

I hit the wall and came down hard. My teeth were still rattling when I lifted my gun.

A strangled noise—something between a yelp and howl—escaped her when I shot out her left kneecap.

We both struggled to get upright first and I glared at her as she shot a rage-filled gaze my way.

“You’re done, Megan.” I was already panting. Never go head to head with a wolf, not if you can avoid it. “Dair knows.”

A snarl built in her throat and the rage ate up every other emotion in her eyes. “I’ll kill you.”

“Did you really
think
you could get away with killing Justin, killing a witch of the road…me…and not be found out?”

She rolled onto her knees, her breathing as ragged as mine.

She punched a fist into the floor, her hand going through the boards. I leveled the gun at her bowed head.
Shoot. Just shoot
…

They’d be coming.

Might already be pounding toward the house even now. This would be done in seconds.

Once Dair got here, it was done.

She
was done.

But I had to know.

“
Why
?” I demanded.

She surged upright, a howl ripping out of her. She leaped through the door and I bounced up, my body screaming. I had to know.

“Kit!” Colleen screamed after me, but I ignored her.

Megan hadn’t even made ten yards before her knee went out, the silver in the bullet slowing her ability to heal. She must have sensed the inevitability of it and she shifted back to human. Her body healed with the change and she lurched upright, spinning to face me. Naked, strong and beautiful, she should have looked like a warrior goddess, blood still streaking her body.

But the desperation gripping her changed everything about her and even the threat inherent in her very being was altered by it.

She stared at me for a long moment and then spun on her heel, her body a blur as she ran away.

No
.

It’s not cool to shoot a person in the back. I try to be a fair person and I won’t fight dirty unless I have to.

So I shot her in the lower leg and blood and meat exploded out as the bullet tore the limb apart.

She went down with a scream and I knew she’d stay down—for a few minutes at least. She’d expended too much energy healing herself and shifting. She couldn’t do it again so soon. Gun in one hand, sword in the other, I approached.