“Go, Roland. Let me talk to Ree.” Sophie coughed and Roland leaned down to place a chaste kiss on her head. Standing up, he walked away, his form melting into the shadows. The pain and anger he felt was so strong, Ree couldn’t help but broadcast an echo of it to her Guardians. Melanie and Bryce took off after Roland, leaving Weylin and Juliette with Ree and Paden. Juliette pulled Paden away by his arm so Ree could speak to Sophie alone.
“Don’t let him do anything stupid, Ree. He’s been used by everyone.” Ree looked at Sophie and knew the Guardian meant Roland. Sophie coughed a little and frowned. “He doesn’t know. They didn’t tell him.”
“What do you mean?” Ree brushed some of Sophie’s hair out of the older woman’s face.
“Tria. Not soulmate. Paden.” Sophie coughed again and Ree winced when more blood came out of her mouth.
“Let me get Paden. He can help you.”
“No. Can’t heal a wound from the gods.” Sophie reached up and grabbed Ree’s hand, revealing some of the burnt flesh on her abdomen. “Need you to listen.”
“I am.”
“Paden and Roland. Not him. Ask Ellie. Understand?” Sophie squeezed Ree’s fingers.
“No, Sophie. I don’t get it.” Ree shook her head.
“Part of the plan. All part of the plan.” Sophie’s chest hitched as if she couldn’t breathe and tears slid out of her eyes. “Knew it. Still did it.”
“Sophie.” Ree mumbled the Guardian’s name around the knot in her throat.
“Glad I was the one to find you. See you again.” Sophie smiled at Ree and then her eyes fluttered shut for a moment.
“Sophie! No. Please, don’t do this. Paden!” Ree looked over her shoulder at her friends.
“No, Ree. Time. Don’t blame self, okay? Just take it.” Sophie’s hand tightened on Ree’s.
“Take what?” Ree felt her hand grow warm and she looked down through the tears in her eyes and gasped. Sophie’s hand was glowing a bright green and thin tendrils of light were curling around Ree’s upper arm.
“Yours. Just borrowing it.”
Sparks floated around Ree as Sophie became paler and paler. The thin lines of power darted around Ree, filling the area with bright light. The warm sensation of the power grew in Ree’s chest, growing to envelope her entire body. As if there was too much power to hold in, it flared out of Ree and filled the parking lot with green light. Ree closed her eyes and let the power sweep through her body. It felt right, like a missing part of her had been found.
As the power began to slow, and then turn to a trickle, Ree opened her eyes and looked down at Sophie’s limp form. There was a soft smile on the Guardian’s face. Wiping some of the blood from Sophie’s cheek, Ree let the tears she felt fall on the other woman’s dark hair. Warm hands closed on her shoulders and pulled her up. Paden’s face was sad, but urgent. He pulled her toward the house hurriedly, while Weylin swooped down and picked up Sophie’s body as he followed closely behind them. Juliette slammed the door behind their group and threw the lock.
Paden’s hands traveled over Ree’s arms before turning her face up. His eyes searched hers, but Ree wasn’t sure what he was looking for. With his thumb he brushed some of the tears off of her cheek. After a second, he looked away from Ree and watched as Juliette peeked out the windows.
“What’s going on?” Ree looked at Paden and realized the tension he was feeling wasn’t because of what happened between Sophie and Ree.
“Tristan is outside.” Juliette’s voice was heavy. “You okay?”
“Where are the others?” Ree looked around at her friends, her Guardians, and felt her chest constrict.
“I don’t know. They followed Roland to make sure he didn’t do anything stupid.” Juliette kept her gaze on what was happening, but Ree could feel her friend’s fear simmering underneath the surface.
Weylin was going through the drawers and cabinets, pulling out weapons and laying them on the tables. Paden had moved to check out the front of the store. He peeked out of the swinging door and then looked back into the room.
“There are Dark Ones on the sidewalk out front. Ree, can you sense them anywhere else?”
Ree closed her eyes and reached for the power. Instead of feeling the cold spots like she normally did, Ree actually had glimpses of each Dark One flash on the inside of her eyes lids. She gasped, but kept her eyes shut and tried to sort through the images. Tristan stood staring at the shop, his face rigid with determination. Dark Ones casually stood on the sidewalk, ready to attack the shop at any moment. And there, on the roof, were three Dark Ones kneeling as they listened quietly. Michael looked up as if he had heard Ree gasp, his eyes black and his mouth slightly open, exposing his brand-new fangs.
“Roof. Three of them. Michael is up there and he’s been turned.” Ree looked at Paden with wide eyes.
“How the hell did that happen?” Paden looked upward as if he could see through the roof.
“Doesn’t that take a while? I mean, after the final blood exchange?” Weylin looked at them from where he was checking out the weapons.
“What the hell do I know? No one has bothered to explain much of anything to me and now Sophie is dead!” Ree stalked over to the window and peeked through the blinds.
“Ree, you have to stay calm. They can hear you.” Juliette nodded her head toward Tristan and the Dark Ones standing near him. “Paden, do you think that’s all that are left? Did they waste the majority of their population at Ree’s house?”
“I don’t know.” He pulled a longsword off of the table from next to Weylin and eyed the blade. “Ree, do you still have your dagger?”
Leaning down, Ree pulled up the cuff of her jeans and showed him the knife. A knock sounded on the back door and Ree jumped. Taking a deep breath, Ree grabbed the power and yanked the door open.
Tristan stood in front of the door, his head bowed and his hands folded in front him. He looked up at Ree and she couldn’t help the twinge that accompanied that familiar start. It hurt to know this was her brother; the boy that used to take care of her scratched knees and would share his Christmas candy.
“Ree.”
“Tristan.”“Is it true? Is Sophie dead?” Tristan raised an eyebrow in curiosity, his tone curious. When no one responded, he shook his head. “That’s a shame.”
“What do you want, Tristan?”
“Well, since you wouldn’t let me have Mom, I figured I would finish my dinner with Sophie.” Shrugging, he smiled coyly. “A guy has to eat, after all.”
The house trembled as Ree stared at Tristan blankly. He smiled at her, showing his fangs. The sound of glass shattering in the front and from upstairs filled the shop. Dark Ones rushed down the stairs and through the front of the store. Paden took out two almost immediately, his sword carving through the air to take off one head and then another. Juliette ran for the stairs, her power glowing from under her skin as she moved. Weylin moved toward Ree and flung throwing stars at Tristan as he ran. Tristan dodged and made a tsking sound.
“Well, since the old lady is dead, I’ll just have to settle for one of your Guardians. I think this city is a little overpopulated with them, anyways.” Tristan darted through the door and reached for Weylin. Weylin, however, was ready for him. He hadn’t stopped moving after throwing the stars and he grabbed Ree by the waist. Jumping over the sofa where Sophie’s form was laying, he practically threw Ree upstairs behind Juliette.
Jules had a Dark One held by the throat against the wall, her hand glowing a bright gold. After a moment the man began to crumble, as if he had digested sunlight and it was eating him from the inside out. Juliette whirled on Weylin and frowned at Ree.
“Do the blast, Jules! Supernova!” Weylin ducked into the room where Teagan’s body was resting. Tucking Ree against the inside wall, he threw an arm over both of their faces as Jules filled the shop with a light bright enough to singe hair.
Juliette stepped back into the room and took a deep breath. “That sent Tristan running, but it won’t last for long. I’m not sure if I can do it again anytime soon.”
Footsteps sounded up the stairs and Juliette readied her weapon while Weylin got ready to yank Ree to another corner of the room. Paden entered the room cautiously, a bloody streak on the side of his head.
“We’ve got to get out of here.”
“Really? I was just starting to think it was getting fun.” Weylin rolled his eyes at his friend.
“They started a fire.” Paden walked toward the window and looked out toward the street. Smoke was already billowing out of the broken store windows and creeping up the stairs. “There aren’t many more Dark Ones left that I can tell. A few are still with Tristan, but he was making a beeline away from the flames.”
“He doesn’t want us following him.” Juliette looked back toward the stairs and frowned. “Where are we going to go? If they were able to get into Ree’s house and the shop, I don’t really trust any of the safe houses.”
“Melanie’s house.” Ree looked at the others and gave them a small smile. “Hecate will watch over us there.”
“Ree, how can you know that? You heard them earlier. The other gods are upset with what you want to do.” Paden frowned and walked back toward the door.
“Trust me, Paden. I can’t explain it, but I know she’ll keep us safe.”
Paden nodded and motioned toward the window with a jerk of his chin. “Jules, Wey—lead on. Make sure the path is clear. Ree and I will be right behind you.”
Juliette wasted no time asking questions. Opening the window, she jumped easily to the ground. Weylin looked over his shoulder at Ree and winked. “Don’t worry. I’ll catch you.” With that he jumped out the window, leaving Ree and Paden in a room that was quickly gathering smoke.
Ree looked at the form on the bed and frowned. “What do we do with Teagan? And Sophie?” It was already close to impossible to reach the other Guardian’s body.
“Guardians are usually burned on a pyre. It’s a very old ritual.” Paden looked at the covered form on the bed. “This will have to do, Ree.”
The door behind Paden slammed open and flames crawled in along the ceiling. Michael barreled through the opening, one side of his face a charred mess. Ree froze as her nightmare happened before her eyes. Paden turned to engage the smoking Dark One, his fangs out and his face livid. Michael hit Paden in the gut with a beefy fist before managing to kick the sword out of the Guardian’s hand. Grabbing Michael with both hands, Paden picked up the Dark One and shoved him into the wall. Ree watched as a blond head rose out of the flames and raised a shortsword. It descended with frightening speed and Ree darted across the room and barreled into the attacker. The Dark One flew into the hallway and landed against a wall of flames. In less time than it took for Ree to reach him, the Dark One was nothing but ashes fueling the angry flames.
“Ree!” Paden hauled her back into the doorway and ran for the window. He leapt headfirst, tucking Ree against his chest and twisting in midair. He landed on the balls of his feet, using his momentum to leave the burning store far behind them.
Chapter 38
The porch light was on when they got to Melanie’s house. Ellie was sitting on the front porch, holding a braided rope of grass as if that was all she would need to protect herself. Ree could smell the herbs burning in small pots on the front porch all the way out on the street. Bryce was sitting on the steps a few feet below Melanie’s grandmother and jumped up as soon as he saw their group.
Running down the short walkway, he stopped just at the edge of their yard and looked over his shoulder for Ellie. She walked down the steps quickly and rubbed her toe across the ground. Ree squinted and realized there was a line of salt encircling the property. As soon as Ellie had broken the line, Bryce had Juliette in his arms. He pressed his face into the side of her neck and Ree could hear them murmuring to each other. She walked past them and hugged Ellie.
“Sorry to show up with trouble on our heels.”
“That’s why we stayed, my girl. C’mon. Melanie and your Dark One are inside. He isn’t in the best of shape. Apparently he decided to take on a gang of Dark Ones by himself.” Ellie took Ree by the arm and walked with her up the stairs. “Weylin, can you stay out here with Bryce and Juliette? We need to walk a perimeter and I’ll be out soon to redo the salt circle.”
Weylin nodded and set off at a quick pace to circle the house. Juliette threw herself on the porch, while Bryce headed in the opposite direction of Weylin. Paden walked behind Ellie and Ree, his apprehension only a little lessened. Once they were inside the house, Ree was hit with a wave of anxiety and pain. Roland was leaning against the fireplace, blood dripped from a wound on his side, and there was a cut under his eye. He looked up as Ree entered the sitting room and his anxiety disappeared. Crossing the room in three quick strides, he grabbed her and pulled her to his chest.
“Thank the gods.”
“I wouldn’t thank them.” Paden moved so that he was closer to Ree. She could feel his worry intensify as Roland nuzzled her neck gently. Thinking it was an odd reaction to Roland’s zealous welcome, Ree looked over her shoulder at Paden. His hands were fisted by his side, and his jaw worked angrily.
“Roland.” Paden’s voice was strangely calm. He kept his eyes locked with Ree and she could tell he was trying to not frighten her.
“Mmhmm.” Roland didn’t look up, his mouth grazed Ree’s ear and she shivered. He froze and growled against Ree’s neck. Pulling her closer, Ree felt every inch of his body press against her and a heady sensation enveloped her senses. Her breathing picked up and she closed her eyes. Licking her lips, Ree tried to clear her head and ignore how Roland’s body felt.
“Roland. You need to feed.”
“Yes.” He pressed closer to her and ran a hand up and down her spine.
“No, Roland. She’s already given blood today.” Paden didn’t come any closer and Ree realized somewhere in the foggy depths of her mind that he didn’t want to startle Roland. He was worried the Dark One would hurt her.
“I know. I… can’t.” Roland said it as if he was trying to convince himself, but his hand continued its agonizing trail over her back.
“Roland, you need to get hold of your pheromones.” Ree said the words in a breathy whisper and she took a shaky breath.