Wicked Flames (Solsti Prophecy) (8 page)

He narrowed his eyes. “Your elf?” She didn’t really mean
elf
…did she?

“That’s what we call each other. Me and my friend Cara. She was supposed to help me wrap gifts today but she has a fever and chills.” She blew out a breath. “Looks like wrapping is the only thing on my agenda now.”

“I can help.” The words popped out of his mouth before he could think twice. No thought required—he just wanted to spend more time with her. Never mind the small fact that he had never wrapped a present before. On Torth, gifts were given with ornate boxes, or sometimes basic concealment spells. Especially for children. They would have to try to undo the spell to find out what their gift was. But the human custom of using colorful paper, with ribbons and bows, always seemed like too much trouble.

“Really? That’d be great!” She beamed that thousand watt smile.

He loved her smile and loved that he’d put it on her face. She practically radiated light, sitting there with the sun in her hair. Bright green eyes and red lips, coffee and muffins, sweet and tart. A tingling pressure settled around his chest, filling him with the need to stay close to her. And not just to do his job.

Whatever the hell that means
. But for now, he’d learn to wrap presents.

C
HAPTER
8

A
ZAP
HIT
X
AVIER
’
S
STERNUM
. He paused mid-way through typing his latest falsified lab results. Warmth spread through his chest.
The communication amulet
.

He’d used the amulet the other day, with perfect results—one good thing to come out of the idiot troll brothers’ visit. The amulet, hanging from a silver chain under his clothing, flared with heat whenever Elegia wanted to speak to him.

Xavier strode to his closed office door and locked it. Pulling the small sphere from his shirt, he murmured the Demonish words inscribed on it. Energy crackled in the air of his meager workspace. A circle of light appeared in front of him, about a foot in diameter. It looked like a small portal.

A few seconds later Elegia’s form appeared in miniature, within the circle. “Xavier.” Her tone was typical: business-bordering-on-animosity. Her expression looked hard enough to add warts to a toad. And he counted himself lucky for that. She often looked pissed or disgusted. And when she was enraged, perversely, she looked insanely happy. Probably thinking up ways to torture the creature who’d dared to cross her.

He bowed, as he always did in her presence. It didn’t matter that she wasn’t physically in the same room. “My lady.” He straightened up to a standing position. “It’s a pleasure to hear from you.”

She flipped a lock of blond hair out of her eyes. “How’s your work progressing?”

“Since my proposal for a new experimental filtration process was accepted, I’ve been given permission to launch the system at several facilities in the region. I’ll start with my current location and then move to the others.”

“How long will this take?”

He shifted his weight. “Initial projection is three months, consider—”

“Three months?” Even in her current tiny image, Elegia’s eyes flashed with anger. “That’s too long. Make it one.”

Xavier swallowed. “I’m expected to stay a given length of time at each facility. These humans proceed slowly and methodically, with any scientif—”

“Make up a reason to shorten your visits. Or I’ll make up a way to kill you.” Her tone didn’t change. She managed to sound almost bored.

Xavier stiffened, forcing his expression to remain stoic. Elegia couldn’t be reasoned with. He’d decided years ago that for all her intelligence, she was simply crazy. He’d seen her end scores of lives for less than this. “Yes, my lady.”

She folded her arms over her chest. “Good. Start where you are, then in two days move to the next location.” She paced, the lighted circle moving with her. Lily plants filtered in and out near its periphery, telling him she was in her lab.

“Xavier, I also need you to keep your ears and eyes open.” She stopped in front of one plant and gently touched its dark petals. “There’s a nasty rumor going around the realm.”

He frowned. Elegia didn’t like surprises. Nor rumors, unless she’d started them. “A rumor?”

“Supposedly.” She widened her eyes and tilted her head, ridicule oozing from her voice and posture. “The Solsti have been seen on Torth.”

“The Solsti?” He couldn’t keep the surprise out of his own voice. “The mythical women? There must be some mistake. Are you hearing this from your captives? Perhaps delusion is a side effect of the extract.”

“That’s one plausible scenario. The problem is, my guards are hearing these stories
before
they deliver the creatures to me!” Her voice rose. “If I hear of any more captives saying ‘the Solsti will save us,’ I’ll rip their goddamn tongues out!”

“You’ve heard this from multiple unrelated sources?”

“From demons to nymphs, different species from all over Torth are talking about them.” She scowled and waved her hand in the air, making her voice a mocking sing-song. “The Solsti and their wonderful powers.” Her coal black eyes pulsed red for a second and a low growl rose in her throat. “If the rumors are true, and they had better not be, two of the women have been here. Usually in the company of Lash demons. And there’s a Lash group in your region.”

He nodded. Yes, he knew there was a group of Lash Watchers nearby, but the Soslti? Was Elegia finally succumbing to full blown insanity and actually believing this? Or was the lily’s potent scent, when concentrated, affecting her judgment? He forced neutrality into his tone. “You’d like me to watch for the Solsti?”

“Yes. If not Solsti, then these women somehow possess powers no one has seen in centuries. They have to be hiding somewhere. And they’re probably together, since legend has it that they’re blood relatives.” She clenched her fist. “What I wouldn’t give to have one of them in my ranks.”

She does believe it.
Was she going to tell him to look out for unicorns next? Not that he could do anything but accept her orders. As her top lieutenant, he was well known among the rapidly-growing ranks of her army. Many would be happy to report a misstep, and the results wouldn’t be pretty.

“They may be looking to join with the Watchers,” she continued. “Be mindful of anything unusual. Any strange creatures you can’t identify, or anyone demonstrating a skill that’s out of character. And move forward with your assignment. Do you have enough extract?”

“Yes, thanks to the latest delivery.”

“Are your kin nearby, if needed?”

“Yes. Ready and waiting your command.”

“Good. Get started. Update me with the results.”

“Yes, my lady. Thank you for this opportunity.” Xavier bowed again and before he could raise his head, the crackle of magic ceased and the circle of light winked out. He blew out a breath. That conversation had gone about as well as possible. Elegia’s temper could be mercurial.

He paced to a table at the side of the room, eyeing the test tubes lined up in a rack. The liquid inside represented today’s samples, perfectly safe for human consumption. Each day, several times a day, tests were performed on stored water that would one day reach the public.

Tests that he would now oversee.

Ria glanced across the street at the cheery downtown storefront that the childrens’ charity was using as their temporary collection, wrap, and distribution center. Gin and Mathias had been inside for a couple of hours. Thanks to the magical listening device she’d installed on Gin’s phone, Ria heard everything. And not just Gin’s phone calls. The weightless device hovered like a rubber band around the phone and recorded every word spoken within the vicinity. As long as it was installed, it remained invisible, and only magic would take it off.

Pretty handy when she couldn’t accompany Gin into the upper level biology classes she taught. If Gin so much as breathed too hard, Ria would know about it. Would be there in a heartbeat.

Thank the gods she wasn’t inside the shop with them now. She’d collapsed in a fit of giggles at Gin’s politely covered shock upon learning that Mathias had never wrapped a gift. And again at his attempt to fold and tape the paper.

She didn’t know whether to gag or high five her brother. “Will you stop with the cheesy lines?” she muttered to herself. She shook her head and the tip of her nose brushed the edge of her scarf. Shifting in the seat of her parked silver Honda, she tapped her foot to an old eighties song called “Cruel Summer.”
Ah, summer
. Beaches and bikinis.

She sang along softly, some line about being too hot to handle, and rolled her eyes. Sounded like her brother and Gin were about to be too hot to handle.

Knowing that Gin was secure with Mathias, Ria had cased the area. She’d driven up and down every street, studied every soul walking about. This college town wasn’t a frequent stop for supernaturals. The bars had their share of fairies every weekend night, but all they wanted was hook ups.
As if they don’t get enough on Torth
. Ria hadn’t seen a single warrior or predatory species since she’d arrived here three months ago.

Satisfied, she’d returned to the storefront, chuckling at Gin’s beloved yellow Volkswagen bug parallel parked at the curb. Mathias had looked so funny unfolding his long legs from the tiny car.

A young man ambled by across the street, pausing to lean on Gin’s car. Ria raised her eyebrows. Bad attitude rolled off him as he glanced around then pulled out his phone. His backwards ball cap was emblazoned with three Greek letters, and he had a backpack slung over one shoulder of his North Face jacket. With model good looks and broad shoulders, he was eye-catching. Too much so, actually…she narrowed her eyes. A tingle of warning crawled down her spine.

She cracked her window, knowing that without the glass barrier, he would pick up her scent as easily as she was about to pick up his. But she had the advantage of being hidden in her car. And of making the first move.

She took a deep inhale.

All her senses screamed.
Warrior.

A Deserati demon. The piney, metallic scent of elven-forged steel told her he was armed. Lethal. As if his hidden tail wasn’t dangerous enough.

In a flash of movement she jumped out of her car and slammed the door shut. He swerved to face her, masking surprise before he pasted on a smile.

She sauntered across the street, needing to get him away from the store. Away from Gin and her brother. The less Gin knew, the better. Ria’d been prepared for this for months. Now it was go time.

“You lost?” she purred.

He licked his lips. “Nope.”

The flare of his nostrils told her that he knew what she was, and probably discerned that she carried her own concealed weapons. “Let’s go somewhere a little more private.”

“You sure you can handle it, little girl?”

Pfft. He didn’t just say that.
Then again, not all men expected to run into a female Watcher. She sauntered right up into his personal space, boots crunching on the salted street. She trailed a finger down his jacket zipper, pausing for a second to tug at the hem, her hand inches from his fly. “I bet I’ve handled bigger than you.” She stepped away, turning to glance at him, then rounded the building’s corner into a service alley.

With nimble fingers, she unbuttoned her coat to grab her dagger, keeping her hand under the soft fabric. His footfalls registered swift and light, his scent saturating the air around her. She had one second—

He was behind her in an instant, pressing her chest against the brick wall. “What’s a pretty demoness like you doing in this nowhere Earth town?”

“I was wondering the same of you.” Her knife hand flexed. There was a slim chance that he may have a legitimate reason for being here, but she was getting nothing-but-nasty vibes from him. No matter the pretty boy exterior. She’d learned to trust her gut long ago.

He ran his hands down her sides, past her waist and down to circle her hips. Not a caress. She knew he was checking for weapons. “I don’t feel like talking,” he said, his hands finding her open coat front.

“Mmm, good. Me neither.” She sagged against the brick, then spun in the blink of an eye. It was one of her tricks. Mathias got the super sniffer and the mind-scrub. She got the speedy spin.

Using the moment of surprise, she whirled him around and pinned him against the wall, facing her, her dagger point resting between his ribs.

“Changed my mind.” Her voice was low with a don’t-fuck-with-me tone. “Why are you here?”

“I’m looking for a special someone.”

“Who?” Ria pushed her blade deeper, piercing his jacket. Two tiny down feathers floated from the jagged edge and danced in the frigid air.

He smirked. “Probably no one you’ve seen. Or maybe you’re looking for one of them, too?”

Them?
“Tell. Me. Who.” Ria growled and jostled her knife.

The scaly scrape of rough skin on brick was her only warning. His tail cracked the cold air like a whip and she ducked, just in time. Her scarf hung suspended from its pointed tip, falling into two red arcs as the point sheared through it.

“That was Prada, asshole!” She lunged forward but he anticipated it, dodging to the side. That damn tail reached for her even as he moved away. It sliced through the air toward her ankle, forcing her to drop and roll. A Deserati’s tail was brute muscle and could easily fling an opponent across a room. Or an alley.

Scrambling to her feet, she assessed him.
Time to get fancy.

She launched her body into a spin, moving faster than he could track. She knew he couldn’t follow her motions. She’d never met anyone who could. Holding her dagger out, maintaining her rotation, she sliced downward, catching every vital organ. The tail, too.

“Ugh.” She stopped and looked at the mess of red blood and tail pieces. She kicked it all together in a pile, then summoned a ball of demon fire. The orange spark grew to the size of an apple, bobbing in her palm. She tossed it on the remains and Mr. Frat-boy-demon was ash in under sixty seconds.

She pulled out her phone and fired off a quick text to Mathias.
Stopped to chat with a stranger. Sent him on his way.
With her brother’s extreme sense of smell, she knew he’d been aware of her presence all day, and had picked up on the Deserati, too.