Fused in Fire

He hesitated and his eyes narrowed. “You have two mages and an elder vampire in your home in the middle of the night?”

“I’m popular.”

He paused before starting forward. “Like I said, I’m not here for any trouble.”

“Wow. A guy like Roger Nevin coming for tea is something you don’t see every day.” Callie’s eyes widened.

“The same could be said of Darius,” Dizzy called from the kitchen.

“Do you want something to drink, Roger?” I asked.

“No thanks, I’m fine.” Roger slowly passed through the archway into the kitchen. His gaze swept the area. “You haven’t been by to bother Red in a while.”

“I’m not doing any bounty hunting.” I took up my wine and settled into a chair. “I haven’t needed information. I figured he’d want to be left alone.”

“I’m sure he thanks you for that. As do I.” Roger leaned against the counter.

Darius, who’d disappeared for no more than thirty seconds, reappeared in the archway opposite the shifter, fully dressed, though his clothes were slightly wrinkled. He leaned against the frame gracefully. The two men stared at each other. Heavy silence filled the room.

“Well, this is cozy.” I took a sip of my wine.

“It isn’t helping my buzz any,” Dizzy muttered, looking back and forth between Roger and Darius.

Roger shifted and crossed his arms over his chest. He finally tore his eyes away from Darius and refocused on me. “As you know, I view what you did in Seattle as a selfless act. You were in danger, both from that demon and the Mages’ Guild, and even though it wasn’t your town to save, you didn’t back down until the mages were stopped and the demon was banished. I commend you for that.”

“My people made the first step at beating back the guild in that town, but I don’t recall receiving a formal thanks from your office.” Darius lifted an eyebrow.

“You did what now?” Callie asked.

Roger’s head turned slowly toward Darius, and the shimmer of green surrounded him again. “With vampires, it is never a selfless act. Let’s make one thing clear—you will never rule the supernatural in that town.”

“The guild took over Seattle and you did nothing. But now that they are losing ground you intend to fight?” Darius tsked. “How much money does the guild pay you to stand on the sidelines and look the other way?”

Every muscle on Roger’s body tightened. “We don’t have the resources to beat them back. Not with the magic and power they have at their disposal. Had I found a couple of wild naturals to work with us, like you did, we would be—”

“Naturals? Wait.” Callie held up her hand as suspicion crossed her face. “Are you talking about Penny?”

“We’re off track,” Darius said in a way that cut through the room. He offered me a slight bow. “I apologize.”

Roger’s eyes widened.

“I agree,” I said. “Callie, you can yell at Darius later. Roger, you were saying?”

“One good turn deserves another,” he said. “I have it from a reputable source that the demon you banished didn’t die.”

“Not on the surface, no, but there wasn’t much left of it when it got its ticket back to the underworld,” I replied. “You don’t have to worry about it coming back.”

Roger shifted his weight. “What I mean to say is, it did not die after banishment. The rumor is that it is joining with others of its kind and forming a sort of army.”

My jaw clenched shut as a cold shock of fear washed through me. I’d spent my whole life trying to avoid this. Trying to keep the knowledge of what I was from people who could take it to my dad. And now a high-powered demon, who had seen me in action, was alive and below, holding the key to my entrapment.

The desire to run pumped through me, so acute it was hard to breathe. Not fight, run. I was no match for my father, and I knew it. If he wanted to show up, grab me, and haul me back down to the Dark Kingdom, he would. The people who stood in his way would die, especially if he brought a host of high-powered demons to help him.

Dizzy’s warm hand covered mine.

Roger nodded solemnly, clearly reading my face. “I had heard that you went to great pains to kill it. I thought you’d want to know.”

“How did you come by this news?” Darius asked with a firm expression.

“We’ve gathered the information piecemeal from a few sources before assembling it, as we often do,” Roger answered. “I could be wrong, but I didn’t get to where I am by waiting for trouble to find me. If a demon army is coming to the surface for vengeance, I have to prepare for them.”

“You did nothing to help her kill the demon in Seattle. Why are you suddenly making this your task?” Darius asked, not hiding his suspicion. At least not from me.

Roger squared his body to Darius and uncrossed his arms. It was rare for an alpha to reveal so much agitation in his movements, which meant Darius was tap-dancing on Roger’s I want to kill you! nerves. “The real problem in Seattle was mages killing people. Our hands were tied until the demon went rogue, and as soon as it did, Reagan was on it. She extinguished the problem without calling for—or needing—our aid. But the situations are vastly different. That was one demon, and we need to prepare for an army. As the elves’ right hand in the Brink, sanctioned to protect humans, or at the very least keep them in the dark about magical people, this is my duty. If what is rumored comes to pass, I’ll need all the help I can get.”

He had missed an important bit of information in those rumors. It wouldn’t be him that needed the help—it would be me. Because kidnapping me was clearly their purpose.

He was right on one thing—we’d both need all the help we could get.

I bowed over my hands as irrational emotion surged. Fear-induced tears were trying to get out, of all things. Since when was I a crier in the face of extreme danger?

“Who originated these rumors?” Darius asked.

“I don’t reveal my sources,” Roger replied.

“Then how can we substantiate these claims?”

Dizzy cleared his throat. “We can—”

Callie elbowed Dizzy. He grunted. “Ask some of our friends what they’ve heard.” She shrugged. Being that she normally wasn’t a shrugger about matters of importance, she had to be hiding something. I had a feeling I knew which “friends” she meant.

A crease formed between Roger’s brows and his eyes narrowed. He might not know about the shrugging, but he certainly knew what it meant when someone elbowed someone else in order to shut them up.

The dual mages weren’t very subtle.

“Any additional information would be welcomed,” Roger said slowly.

“The night is getting old.” Darius turned, showing his profile to Roger. It was his polite way of saying get out.

Roger caught the meaning. He pushed off the counter after shooting one last look at the dual mages.

“Thanks for letting me know,” I said, standing.

“Then I can count on you?” Roger asked.

“If I can count on you.” Lord knew I would need the shifters’ help if a bunch of demons came calling.

He stuck out his hand and I shook it. A deal made. I was aligning myself with the shifters. I had already aligned myself with the vampires—a connection that had been doubled down by my discovery of their biggest secret, their alliance with the unicorns. So basically, I was the squishy part between the rock and the hard place. Super.

It belatedly occurred to me that I hadn’t introduced Roger to anyone. I was the world’s worst host. Someone should really get me a trophy for it.

Before I could fix that issue, Roger was striding away. “I’ll be in touch.”

“Right. Okay.” I followed behind him, waving at his back while he headed down my front steps, waving at the side of his head when he turned to get in his car, and finally gave up waving as he closed his door.

“Well, that is shitty news,” I said as I closed the door.

“That information came from Vlad,” Darius said, still in the archway. He was studying me. “I’d bet my life on it.”