Awakening the Fire (Guardian Witch #1)

She uncapped a bottle of blessed water and poured two inches in the bowl. Her biggest obstacle was the absence of a foolproof spell. For Ari, that meant she needed the missing family journal, the Book of Shadows. Lacking that, she could only borrow what had worked for her witch mentor in St. Louis.

Ari darkened the room and lit the candles of the four elements. Holding the police photos in one hand and slowly swinging the pendant with the other, she concentrated on the water and summoned the Goddess. Forming the image of Sheila inside her head, she repeated the she-wolf’s name three times, asking the Goddess to grant her wish. The water swirled and clouded, but despite Ari’s repeated efforts, it remained opaque, unreadable.

After an hour, she gave up the effort and went to bed. As she lay there still awake, she was glad she hadn’t mentioned the attempt to Andreas. It was bad enough she had to live with her failures. It would be worse if others knew. Good thing she didn’t have to depend on the witchcraft.

Since they had confirmed the enemy pack was still in town, Ari arrived early at the compound on Saturday morning. It was no longer a question of whether the wolves would attack again, but where and when. She wanted to share the news with her team and make sure they were ready.

When Maleban hadn’t arrived by six, Ari called his home and cell without getting a response. Tension spread through the security room as everyone began to realize something was wrong. Concerned about splitting her team or leaving the compound a man short, Ari refused to send one of them to check his residence. She finally called police dispatch for an assist. Within minutes, they reported no one was home. The patrol officers agreed to cruise the neighborhood for anything unusual.

When Ari disconnected, she shook her head.

“This is bad,” Lilith said.

The stillness at her words proved they were all having that sinkhole in the gut feeling. When the phone rang again, Ari flinched at the sound of Ryan’s voice. Dispatch wouldn’t have alerted the lieutenant on a welfare check, not unless it had gone sour.

“Your guy’s dead, Ari. Looks like a sniper with a high-powered rifle. Two shots. Head, heart. A marksman. Patrol found the body around the corner, not more than a block from his apartment. You want to tell me what’s going on? Is this connected to Sebastian?”

“Probably. Maleban was a member of the security team that protects Prince Daron.”

Ryan sighed audibly. “You better warn me before this explodes all over the community. I don’t want to get caught with my pants down. You hear me?”

“Sure, but so far no humans are involved.” That’s what he really wanted to know. As long as the problems stayed in the Otherworld community, Ryan’s bosses would let the Magic Council take the lead. In fact, they’d prefer it that way.

He grunted an acknowledgment. “You want a lab workup and autopsy?”

“He’s half demon. The body will decay like a vampire’s. Send the remains to the Magic Council.”

“Can do. Anything else?”

“Ballistics. I want to know if the bullets were silver. And, who knows, maybe we’ll get lucky and find a rifle for you to match.”

“Oh, yeah, like that’ll happen,” he said, disconnecting.

As soon as Ari took the phone from her ear, Lilith demanded to know what happened. Ari repeated everything. The team took it in silence. When she asked about notification, no one knew of any family. Nobody to care except the people in that room. And Ari didn’t know how to help them. She felt the loss, and she’d known him only a week. The others had worked with him for years. They needed time to grieve, to recover, but she couldn’t give them that time. The enemy would know their need too, might even try to take advantage of it.

Why had they gone after Maleban? Was he some special threat? He could use fire, but so could she. Or was he just the most accessible? He lived the farthest away, and he lived alone. That might make him an easier target. A first target? Ari’s stomach clenched. With a sniper at their disposal, maybe they intended to pick them off, one by one.

Not on her watch.

“None of you can leave the compound tonight.” Ari’s abrupt words got everyone’s immediate attention. “You’re all targets now. With a sniper it’s not safe to go home. If you need to notify family or friends, do it. Tell anyone who lives with you to lay low, maybe stay somewhere else for a day or two. “

“What about our clothes? Toothbrush?” Lilith asked.

“Make a list of what you need. We’ll ask the vamps to pick them up after dark. Any other questions?” She looked around. “Then let’s figure out where you’re going to sleep.”

When Andreas arrived, Ari broke the news. He didn’t say much, but his jaw hardened. The wolves were collecting bad karma from a bottomless cesspool.

During the following hour, quarters were assigned and set up in nearby rooms. Lilith and Russell in one, Mike and Benny shared another. Once she was satisfied the team was settled for the night, Ari headed for the door.

“Where are you going?” Andreas asked.

“I have work to do. There’s a pack of killers out there, and I’ve got a community to protect. I’m neglecting my other duties. Like patrol, for instance.”

“Not alone. If you go, we go together.” He cocked his head. “And after patrol? What are your plans?”

Ari knew where this was going. “I’ll be fine.”

“Are you serious? You can’t return to your apartment. The wolves know where you live.”

“And I’ve been safe there for days,” she countered. “I don’t need a bodyguard.”

“That was before they had a sniper. Maleban thought he was safe too. Arianna, be reasonable. Take your own advice. You just grounded your team.”

A quick glance around the room confirmed the team was listening to every word. Otherworld ears were too damn good. While they could use some diversion right now, she didn’t think a heated argument with Andreas would help.

“Can we settle this later?” she asked with a significant tilt of her head toward the observers.

“Of course,” he said, his voice amiable enough, “but we will settle it. We have an agreement for your services. I believe that gives me the final word.”

Lilith snickered, and Ari gave her a half-hearted glare. The werelioness returned a knowing smirk.

“He’s right,” Russell offered.

Traitors, Ari thought. This was so not comfortable. She lifted a hand in an abrupt wave and exited the door, Andreas in close pursuit. The cool evening breeze felt good on her flushed cheeks. Andreas caught her with a restraining hand at the curb.

“What?” she grumbled.

He waved at a silver SUV pulling to the curb. A young vampire jumped out, handed the keys to Andreas, and disappeared inside the compound.

Andreas jangled the keys in one hand. “Drive or ride?”

“Drive.”

She caught the toss. Once behind the wheel, she glanced at him before starting the engine. “Why the wheels?”

“I thought that was obvious. If there is a sniper out there, walking the streets is somewhat risky.”

“OK, I buy that, but you had the car waiting. You just tried to get me to stay in the compound.”

“Yes. That is what I wanted.” Andreas stared out the front window. “But I had no illusion you would comply. I called for the car thirty minutes ago.”

Ari jabbed the key in the ignition, and the engine roared to life. Andreas was beginning to know her a little too well. At least he realized she wouldn’t blindly follow his orders.

“But you cannot go home tonight,” he added. “I will not indulge you in something that risky.”

“Indulge me?” Ari couldn’t believe he’d said that. “I’ll quit before I let you order me around.”

“And abandon your team? I doubt that. And if you do something so rash, the Magic Council will no doubt respond to an appeal from Prince Daron.” He eyed her calmly. “If you won’t stay with the team, then Club Dintero will have to do. We can protect you there.”

“I’ll stay with Claris.”

“And endanger her? The wolves targeted you once before. Now you are working with us, which makes you a bigger target. If you stay anywhere that is not secured, you place yourself and others around you at risk. For no good reason I can comprehend.”

Ari subsided, realizing Andreas had a valid point about risking others, but still trying to come up with an alternative. She didn’t need anyone to protect her. They rode in silence for the rest of the trip. Andreas spoke once, directing her to stop at Club Dintero. They left the SUV at the front door. This had become a regular nightly stop, Andreas checking on business while Ari sampled the free food.

Tonight, Andreas had something else in mind. He led her to his office, opened the closet, and pulled the handle on a trap door. “This secret passage leads to Daron’s compound. With the sniper threat, we may need to use it.”

Ari peered down the narrow wooden steps that turned sharply to the right into darkness. “Who knows about this?”

“Hard to say. It hasn’t been much of a secret. On the other hand, it has rarely been used. Daron and I built it when we first bought the Club. The other end is in the hallway near the compound security rooms.” He dropped the trap door in place and stepped back into the office. Glancing at his desk, he frowned at a tall stack of papers, picked up one, and began to read through it. “Can you give me a few minutes? I would like to check if there is anything urgent.”

While he perused the paperwork, Ari wandered around his office. She’d only seen it for brief moments prior to tonight. Not very fancy, she thought, and not nearly the size she’d expect for the owner’s private office. Adequate, although the furniture was definitely upscale. His desk was polished cherrywood, the matching chair upholstered in leather like dark chocolate. She imagined she could smell fudge. A large, pillowy sofa claimed the same lush material. Two leather chairs of similar style, but in an off-white, provided color contrast, and a carved cherrywood file cabinet stood in the corner.