Total pages in book: 134
Estimated words: 126030 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 630(@200wpm)___ 504(@250wpm)___ 420(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 126030 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 630(@200wpm)___ 504(@250wpm)___ 420(@300wpm)
Niamh waited beside a beat-up Jeep with scratches along the sides. It was a rental, in the lot right beside a moving truck and three clean and polished passenger vans. We hadn’t bothered with insurance.
“Well,” Niamh said by way of hello. She insisted this peculiar setup had been staged for dramatics. I sincerely hoped her “hunch” was right.
“Miss, watery dredge posing as coffee for the road?” Mr. Tom stopped beside me with a thermos. “I do not understand a town without a coffee shop, but then I also do not understand a town with three morgues and scarcely as many people.”
I frowned, gazing at the deserted highway leading into town. I hadn’t noticed the morgues. That did seem odd.
Austin strode over. He wore a tailored suit jacket and slacks, a dress shirt unbuttoned at the neck, and a pair of loafers without socks. He hadn’t bothered with a tie, cufflinks, or any bells and whistles. He expected to shift and so was keeping up a minimum pretense. Not like I was that much better. I wore a pretty but expendable flowing dress with a stretchy belt around my waist and slip-on shoes. I could shed this in a moment or tear my way out of it.
“Jess.” He wrapped his fingers firmly around my upper arms and looked down into my eyes. “Stay safe, do you hear me? If the worst happens, you fly out of there. You slam them with magic, and you fly. Do not take any chances.”
I smoothed my hand down his hard chest and soaked in those beautiful cobalt eyes. They were filled with concern and love, and they sparkled with unspeakable violence. My accidental pulse of magic felt like a call to arms.
“We’re going to be okay.” I was good at assurances by now. I should be. I said them often enough. “It’s going to work out, you’ll see. We’ll be fine.”
I wished I believed it. I had a bad feeling we were about to find out what was plaguing this mountain.
Austin walked around to the driver’s side door and climbed in. I followed suit.
“Undo that seatbelt, Jess,” he told me. “You might need to get out in a hurry.”
And I would get out in a hurry if he hit a stump and I was ejected from the moving vehicle.
I did as he said. Sometimes it was not easy to override my Jane training.
Austin started forward, leading the procession.
“I forgot to tell Edgar to stay out of trouble,” I murmured, watching the trees rush past. “Or say goodbye to Indigo.”
“I did.” Sebastian reached around the seat to pat my arm. “Indigo was worried, and Edgar gave me an odd smile and possibly a wink.”
“Possibly a wink?”
“One of his eyes randomly closed, which also happens. I think he might be physically falling apart. Is that possible?”
Anything was possible with that vampire.
“I haven’t felt any presences.” Austin directed the Jeep into the center of the road, which had narrowed to a single lane. “If they were watching us back there, they were doing it at a distance.”
“The gargoyles didn’t see anything,” Tristan said. “Though it would be easy to hide from them. I kept them confined to the skies above the motel. How much do you think this pack knows about us?”
“More than enough if they really wanted to.” Austin braced one hand on the wheel and the other on his thigh, his eyes scanning our surroundings.
“A lot of those are rumors, right?” I asked. “As far as they are concerned, I mean.”
“Rumors that have been backed up by many trustworthy sources. I guess it depends on what he’s willing to believe. The more they know, the better. We aren’t trying to hide anything.”
I nodded, sending out a spell to see if anything waited in the woods. Small animals so far, out in the distance. Birds and things in the brush.
“But like…why allow Niamh and Mr. Tom, but not Edgar?”
“Maybe he has something against vampires?” Tristan replied. “They can be incredibly deadly when in their prime. Unpredictable and without loyalty. They are always a wild card. This alpha might not know our vampire is half senile.”
“More than half,” Sebastian muttered.
“Why my gargoyle crew but not any others?” I pushed. “Why not the usual team of gargoyles we bring to match the shifters. You’d think they’d want to know their story.”
Austin shook his head. “Maybe he doesn’t think it matters.”
I bit my lip. “Which would insinuate he doesn’t care about our setup, and he wasn’t planning to join up anyway.”
“Right,” Austin growled. “In which case, why allow us in? He can’t possibly think I would leave my growing and prosperous pack for his. That math just doesn’t work out.”
“Curiosity?” I offered. “He invited Hollace. He’ll get to see a mythical, spectacular being that isn’t as dangerous as a phoenix.”
“Or maybe he wants to pit himself against the biggest, baddest alpha out there,” Tristan said in a low tone. “He wants to see who’s the king of the mountain.”