Matt: Tales of the Were (Redstone Clan Book 5) (22 page)

Then again, he’d never been in love before.

And what a moment to figure it out. If they got out of this alive, Matt was really going to have to work on his timing.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Cam and Morgan finished their tour and came back to Matt’s position, which wasn’t far from where they’d hidden the first time. The design of this excavation had hidden them before, and it would serve the same purpose now. If they could watch from a safe place for Sidwell’s arrival, they still might be able to surprise the bastard.

“Did you learn anything?” Matt asked quietly when Cam faced him.

“Quite a bit, actually. If I am right in my deductions, then Sidwell is imperfectly trained in the use of fey magic. It might give me an edge. Then again, it might not. I tend to believe now, after seeing what evidence remains of the work they did here, that Sidwell is only part fey. Probably less than half. Possibly much less. He works mostly in the human magecraft ways, with only small uses of the power of other realms.”

“But he can transport. Surely that means he has at least some expertise in fey magic,” Morgan asked quietly, ever cautious.

Cam didn’t look convinced. “He might be talented in that one regard, but I see no evidence here of a half-fey prodigy.”

“Can you really be sure of that?” Matt asked, not willing to underestimate what they might be facing.

“Sure enough to base my strategy on it,” Cam assured them. “I’m afraid, if we see him soon, before reinforcements arrive, I’m going to need you both to distract him while I work the magical attack. Physical attack would be best. Keep him busy while I do my thing. I hate to ask it of you, but I believe that is why you were put here at this time. Both of you.” Cam smiled at them, and it held a hint of sadness. “You are newly mated. This should be a time of celebration. Instead, it is probably the most dangerous moment of your existence. I regret that. Deeply. But if we win the day, I will dance at your wedding gladly.”

Cam offered his hand, and Matt shook it with a solemn expression. The fey knight then turned to Morgan and caught her in a quick hug.

“Best we get in position now,” Cam said briskly, letting Morgan go gently and stepping back. “I’ll take the other side. You two arrange yourselves on this side of the work area. Good hunting, my friends.”

Matt nodded and took Morgan’s hand as Cam walked across the open area to find cover on the other side. She turned toward Matt, and he silenced whatever it was she had been about to say by kissing her quickly.

He’d meant it to be a simple kiss, but he had to tear himself away from her after a few moments, lest he get lost in her. There would be time for that later…if they were successful.

“If Sidwell shows up—and I have to tell you, I really think he will, very shortly—I want you to act as the rear guard. Let me take point, all right?” He felt the urgency of a countdown in his mind. Things were about to happen, and he didn’t have time to argue. “Please. Just do it for me, Morgan. I love you.”

The declaration seemed to stop any argument she would have made. Thank the Goddess.

“It’s about to happen. Don’t ask me how I know, but I feel it in my bones. Go over there and hide, Morgan.” He let go of her hand with one final squeeze. “You’ll be my ace in the hole, okay?”

She walked a step back from him, then stopped. “I love you too, Matt Redstone. And after this is all over, we’re going to have a long talk about your timing.”

Matt bit back a laugh, but he couldn’t help the smile that split his face. That her thoughts should mirror his own so well shouldn’t have surprised him, but it did. He was tickled by the ever-increasing evidence that she was the absolutely perfect match for him in every way.

“I promise we will. Now go, and may the Goddess go with you.” He watched as she backed away.

“You too,” she said softly before turning to move behind cover.

He watched the spot where she hid and was glad to see that she was invisible to view from all sides. She would be as safe as she could be down here while he and Cam took out the sorcerer. Matt un-holstered his weapons and heard the little snicks and creaks that meant Morgan was doing the same in her hiding place.

They hadn’t gone into this unarmed, this time. Matt had taken his own weapons out of the hidden locker in his vehicle and had been surprised by the small arsenal Atticus had put at their disposal. He’d also been surprised by Morgan’s choice of weapons. She seemed to favor blades, though he had been glad to see she’d also chosen a 9mm handgun that she handled with familiar caution.

She knew how to shoot. Marc had assured him of that privately. Marc, her surrogate father and part-time brother figure, had made sure she’d had self-defense and weapons training. Thank the Goddess.

The itch at the back of Matt’s neck began to drive him absolutely nuts, and then, it happened. Between one breath and the next, Sidwell appeared in the center of the open area.

He blinked for a moment, apparently suspicious of the lights already being on before his arrival.
Shit.

“Who’s there?” Sidwell demanded in a firm voice, even while he spread his fingers and opened his hands at his sides, gathering energy. Even Matt could feel the sizzle in the air and see the fire in the man’s palms as he prepared for a confrontation.

Wait a minute. Fire?

Sure enough, when Matt looked again, there were actual flames in the man’s hands. Though he’d never seen such a thing before, Matt had heard the stories about different kinds of magic users who held power over different elements. His new sister-in-law, Trisha, who was part water sprite, could manipulate water to do pretty much anything she wanted it to do. She had told him about the differences between elemental beings, like herself and her family, and magic users who could manipulate certain elements.

It looked for all the world like Sidwell was one of those sorcerers who could call fire. Matt thought about it, for a moment, and realized that, while formidable, in a way, they were lucky that there wasn’t much down here that could burn.

Matt tried to think fast. Fire needed oxygen to burn. There were, however, a sufficient number of air shafts, and a system that allowed for the conveyance of fresh air even into the deepest parts of the old mine. So, while there was no danger of suffocation, it also meant that the mage’s fire could still burn.

“Show yourself,” Sidwell demanded, turning in a slow circle to look all around the open area.

This section of the mine had been a collection and work area, which was in their favor. There was a large open spot in the center with dug-out connecting caverns. Big pillars of rock had been left standing to support the ceiling that were concave on either end and thick enough around the middle to comfortably hid behind.

The lights had only been strung in the main corridor, so the side caverns of varying sizes were filled with deep shadows. The dark meant little to shifter sight, but it was pretty clear Sidwell was having trouble seeing into the darkness. He squinted and squirmed before an idea seemed to come to him.

With a sudden whoosh, he lobbed a fireball against the far wall of the nearest cavern to him. It lit the area, burning for a few seconds against the far wall of rock, allowing Sidwell to see into the chamber. It was empty.

Sidwell turned and repeated the move with the next chamber, firing more quickly now, lighting up each cavern around him. Matt hid behind a rough-hewn stone pillar, confident that his comrades were doing the same. With any luck, Sidwell wouldn’t spot any of them, and nobody would get singed.

But luck wasn’t with them. Matt’s heart practically stopped when he heard Morgan cry out. He held his breath when he saw her come out from behind the pillar she’d been hiding behind, tendrils of flame wrapping around, but not quite touching, her body. The flames moved forward, and she had to move with them or be burned.

Neat trick. But it sucked. Morgan was out in the open, her hands held up, her weapons nowhere in evidence.
Good girl,
Matt thought.

“You’re the lawyer, right?” Sidwell asked as Morgan moved closer, his flames making her move out of hiding and into the open area. “Carlos warned me about you. Said you were too nosey for your own good. And too loyal to the bloodsucker who raised you. How did that work, exactly? He fucked you and fed on you, but never turned you?” Sidwell coaxed her closer, gesturing with his fingers to reinforce the flame’s hold on her. “Sucks to be you, doesn’t it? But I don’t get why you’re still here, now that he’s got some other whore and she’s sucking his blood too.”

Though Sidwell prodded her, Morgan kept silent. Matt was glad. Anything she said could set this guy off, and she was doing just what Cam had asked for—albeit not quite the way they had planned. She was distracting the sorcerer while Cam did his own magic. The longer Sidwell kept talking, playing with Morgan—though Matt was going to step in shortly to take the sorcerer’s focus off his mate—the better for Cam and his spell crafting.

“Well? What have you got to say before I fry you?” Sidwell prodded. If ever there was a time to speak, this was it, and Morgan didn’t disappoint as Matt maneuvered around in the shadows, repositioning himself to best advantage.

As it was, Morgan was in his line of fire. He had to move, to make things safer for her. Not that being wreathed in live flames was what anyone would call
safe
.

“I’m surprised, Mr. Sidwell,” Morgan began. Her voice held just the right amount of panic and knowledge. As long as she remained interesting, Sidwell wouldn’t hurt her. Or so Matt believed. “Your intel seems to be flawed. Or didn’t you know I was Marc’s pet shifter?”

“A shifter? Raised among vampires?” Sidwell looked truly surprised. And distracted. Score one for their side. “I don’t believe it. They would’ve sucked you dry to get a hit off your blood.”

“Actually, no. None of the Brotherhood has ever bitten me. As Marc’s ward, I was considered off limits.”

“Astonishing,” Sidwell commented, still drawing her closer. She was about halfway into the open area now. Matt wouldn’t let her get much closer to the sorcerer, but he was looking for the perfect opening. “But I suppose some of those bloodsuckers are old fashioned and old enough to be eccentric. So, tell me, what sort of animal are you?”

“Now, that would be telling,” Morgan said, crying out when one of the streamers of flame reached up to touch her shoulder, burning through her shirt and causing a red welt to rise on her skin.

Oh, Sidwell was going to pay for that one. Matt was going to slice the bastard into little ribbons with his claws. Slowly.

“Tut, tut, Ms. Chase. I asked nicely. If you prefer not to play, I can always incinerate you, now rather than later.”

“I’m a cat,” she spit out, fear and anger mixing in her voice. “A panther.”

Sidwell seemed to consider her. “I guess I can see that. You’ve got the hair and the eyes. Not to mention the body. You’re not the first shapeshifter I’ve met. Nor the first I’ve killed.”

“Oh, really? Who else did you kill? Anybody I know?” Morgan was doing her job, keeping him talking.

“Not unless you’ve been to Las Vegas lately. There was some action down there a while back that I got to help out with. But they were wolves, I think. Mongrels, really.”

“Ray Fesan?” Morgan connected the dots to come up with an astonishing conclusion. Matt hadn’t realized this mage might be connected to what went down in his hometown. “I heard a werewolf named Ray Fesan was killed in Las Vegas.”

Sidwell bowed his head mockingly. “You are very well informed. Yes, I believe that was his name. He was just one of many that I have killed over the centuries. And I will kill many more of your kind. And all the Others. Vampires, mages who refuse to see the truth. Everyone who stands against me will die.”

The sorcerer was working up to a good head of steam, and the fire around Morgan was flaring. It was time to act. Matt stepped into the light.

“Let her go.” Matt’s assault rifle was aimed at the sorcerer’s heart.

It wasn’t his only weapon, but it would do, for now. Guns had a way of distracting people—even sorcerers.

Matt was prepared for what he figured would come next. A lick of flame lashed out at him from the mage, wrapping around and heating the barrel. Matt had removed the ammo from it the moment he realized flames were the sorcerer’s primary weapon. No exploding bullets would go off in his face, but Sidwell didn’t know that. Not yet, anyway.

Matt threw the empty weapon toward Sidwell and opened fire with a handgun he’d kept ready, catching the sorcerer off guard enough that the flames unwrapped from around Morgan. Sidwell called them back to protect himself. The moment he surrounded himself in a wall of flame, taking back all his tendrils, Morgan leapt clear.

Matt was on his right; Morgan had leapt to the left. She commenced firing with the handgun she’d had hidden in her waistband, behind her back, while Matt reloaded. By keeping up the barrage of bullets, they forced Sidwell to keep his shield of flames around himself. While he was doing that, it seemed like he couldn’t go on the offense, which was exactly what they needed, right now. They had to keep the status quo until Cam was ready with his spell, but it was going to have to be soon. They couldn’t keep this up forever. Eventually, they’d run out of bullets, or Sidwell would try a new tactic.

“Anytime now,” Matt muttered, hoping Cam would hear.

Matt wasn’t sure if Sidwell could hear anything behind the wall of flame he’d erected between himself and the bullets, but Matt wasn’t taking any chances. Cam would show himself when he was good and ready. Matt just prayed it would be soon.

Morgan moved slightly, apparently looking for a better angle, which caused Sidewell’s flame wall to flicker. Or maybe it was something Cam had done, but whatever the cause, one of Matt’s bullets got through. And then another. And another.

They weren’t inflicting any major damage on the sorcerer. The flames were taking a lot of the oomph out of the rounds, slowing them enough that they didn’t really penetrate Sidwell’s skin, but they were hitting, and that was something that hadn’t happened before. The flame wall was becoming more transparent, and Matt could see the panic on Sidwell’s face.