When her feet landed on dry land, a strong, perfect sense of home gripped her like a tangible force. But danger lurked beneath the sunny sky, like a creeping vine poised to strangle a neighboring plant. Without meaning to she flicked a glance at Scorpio, and met those amber eyes, drinking her in like she was some kind of drug.
No.
She blinked away the unwanted caress of his stare. “Can we get started?” She swung her gaze to the rowan.
He nodded. “No one else here right now.”
“Thank the gods. Let’s dig.” Zeebi beelined for the tree and dropped to her knees beneath the thickly clustered branches. “Ah, feels so good to be here.”
And thankfully, Tessa would be a little farther away from Scorpio. His nearness unnerved her, along with his intense eyes. Somehow, that bugged her more than the fact that he was a murderer. How messed up was that?
Tessa followed Zeebi with purposeful strides. She removed her backpack, knelt near her friend, and pressed her palms into the soft grass. “Do you feel that pull every time we’re here? That feeling of being home?”
“Sure.” Zeebi got out her trowel. “That, and a feeling of being supremely pissed off.”
“True.” Tessa quieted and focused on the earth. Unzipping a small pocket of her backpack, she withdrew an amulet with a shard of amethyst crystal in it. Next, she murmured the words to a spell that would indicate where the crystal’s “brothers” were. She caught Zeebi’s soft whispers as her friend did the same.
Tessa’s right hand tingled and she felt the unerring knowledge that she needed to move it back a bit closer to her knee…
there
. A tiny glow surrounded the amulet. She started to dig.
Down a foot, nestled in rich, dark dirt, she found a big cluster of crystals. Spiky rough edges jutted up, as ants and roly-polys scurried away from the sudden light and from her invading hand. “I found a bunch here,” she whispered over her shoulder to Zeebi.
“Score. I got two.”
Tessa retrieved a large remnant of canvas from her pack and spread it out beside her. She dug carefully around her crystals and lifted them out one by one. She set them all on the fabric, not bothering to brush the dirt off. That could come later when they were safely home.
Two other guards, Fenrick and Samuel, stood close, hands on blade or bow, but also ready with defense spells they’d perfected in the years forced away from Bronwy. Tessa worked quietly, happy to have guards close and not really wanting to know where Scorpio was. At least he wasn’t hovering. Then again, his skills would be better utilized if he was farther out, roaming the trees ringing the single rowan.
Tessa crept to a new spot several feet away, pushing away thoughts of the demon. She repeated the spell and unearthed another cache of crystals. “This is awesome,” she murmured to herself.
A gust of wind rattled the boughs of the poplar trees that stood beyond the rowan. She’d always thought of them like sentries. Tall and more slender than their neighbors, with leaves that made music in the breeze. The curious chirping song of a mockingbird carried beneath the shimmering noise of the greenery.
Pretty, but…trepidation slithered up her spine as the bird’s song abruptly ceased. Some covens had lots of animal familiars. Unfortunately, that wasn’t a skill any of the Bronwy witches had and, right now, Tessa wished fervently that it was. She wished Jinx had a use beyond catching mice and snuggling.
But now you have Scorpio.
She froze, hating the thought that stole into her mind. Scorpio wasn’t hers. And he wasn’t an animal to be used. But he had innate sensory skills and seemed to have no problem using them to help the coven. She glanced around for him.
She was met with trees and Bronwy’s own guards. No demon. That was good, right? He was probably just beyond sight range, checking all around them.
A movement to her left snapped her attention around. Scorpio bounded toward the rowan, moving so fast she couldn’t believe he wasn’t making more noise. Samuel and Fenrick closed in around Tessa and Zeebi with hands on their weapons, an instinctive reaction to a demonic predator.
“Five mages.” Scorpio stopped in front of her and the guards. “Quarter mile away. North. Some have bows, some have daggers.”
And unspoken was the knowledge of who-knows-what kind dark magic they’d use.
Samuel grinned. “They don’t know we’re here.”
Fenrick’s jaw hardened into a line. “Let’s go kick some Vespera ass. You, demon. Stay with the girls.”
“Fen, wait,” Tessa said. “You don’t know what they can do.”
“We have blades that will strike true, thanks to you. We also have the element of surprise.”
Because of Scorpio.
She couldn’t help it and paused a split second, waiting to see if he’d acknowledge their prisoner. “Thanks to Scorpio.” She arched a brow.
Fenrick grunted and moved off, with Samuel behind him. They signaled to the other two guards and all four slipped into the thick brush beyond the poplars.
“Thank you.” The deep baritone of Scorpio’s voice smoked over her skin. “You didn’t have to say that.”
Tessa shook a clump of dirt off her trowel. “Yeah, well, you could have balked at this whole thing and you didn’t.”
“I don’t go back on my word.”
She refused to look up at him, not wanting to see the gaze that had to go along with his tone. Instead, she folded the canvas around her crystals and shoved the bundle into her backpack. She glanced at Zeebi, who was doing the same.
“I heard,” her friend said.
Unsaid was the need to be ready to go, to run, if their guards didn’t return. Or if Vespera’s men came out flinging dark witchfire. She swallowed hard, knowing if that happened, it would mean her own friends, the guards, would have died.
“I can feel your worry.” Scorpio’s voice was softer, without the lethal edge of a minute ago.
She bit her lip, daring a glance at his face. “Vespera gets darker with every encounter.”
“I can help. I can eliminate the threat.” Pensive amber eyes radiated the strength of a warrior. “Release me.”
His words chilled her. His skills had never been in question. It was the motivation behind them. The total lack of emotion it had to take to live the life of a mercenary. It was beyond her understanding. Even if he was now offering those same lethal skills to help her and her friends.
It didn’t seem right to condemn him for killing in one instance, and to encourage it in another. It was hypocritical. Self-serving. Went against her every belief.
Yet Torth was full of contradictions and dangers. And Vespera wasn’t above killing.
“No,” she said finally. “Let our guards do some damage. We aren’t helpless.”
“I acknowledge that.” He flicked a brief glance to Zeebi, who had come to stand beside Tessa. “But I’m better.”
Arrogant words, delivered in a strictly matter-of-fact tone. Deep down she knew he was right. Tessa opened her mouth to protest, not able to let that comment slide by, when a hiss split the poplars behind her.
She and Zeebi jumped. Scorpio moved in front of them. They all stared as a blue ball of witchfire burst through the rustling leaves, its momentum slowed by the branches. It fell to the grass and rolled, then winked out.
“Either our men are in trouble or that was a totally bad throw,” Zeebi muttered.
“They’re close. Moving fast.” A low growl rumbled from his chest. “Someone’s bleeding.”
Tessa swallowed, hoping like hell that she’d see the Vespera mages running in fear, pursued by the Bronwy guards. Noise of crashing feet and snapping branches carried to her ears.
Shouts echoed off the trees as the men came into view.
Tessa’s heart squeezed in terror. She didn’t see Fenrick. Doing a quick count, she did see five Vespera men. One clashed blades with Samuel…but the Vespera’s blade glowed a bright green. Samuel stumbled back, swinging furiously.
Green indicated the most heinous and deadly form of dark magic.
“Shit,” Tessa whispered. She grabbed a small blade from her thigh, murmured a spell, and flung it at the nearest enemy…
Who didn’t even turn around, yet held up a hand. Her blade stopped in midair and fell to the grass.
“What the hell?” Zeebi gasped. “Your knife was on target for his throat.”
“He didn’t even look. He knew it was incoming.” Dread weighted her stomach.
“Samuel!” Zeebi shrieked.
Tessa looked in horror as her friend was steadily and surely outmaneuvered by his opponent. On the ground now, he had become trapped beneath the Vespera, whose sword gleamed extra bright before plunging into his neck. Blood spurted.
“No!” Tessa yelped.
Scorpio positioned his body in front of her and Zeebi, but they were too upset and angry to hide behind anything. They exchanged a glance and raised their hands, summoning witchfire of their own.
The blue orbs shot with precision toward the enemy mages. But again, they were able to stop it midair. And now they turned their attention to the women and Scorpio.
“What’s this?” one cracked. “A handcuffed Lash demon?”
“Tessa.” Scorpio’s words were low and urgent. “Two of our men are down and your spells have done shit so far. Release me. I’ll get us out of here.”
“I can try another spell, it should—”
“Tessa.” He glanced over one shoulder. “I don’t doubt your skills but I won’t risk your life. Any of you.” The blaze in his eyes burned straight through to her heart and she knew, absolutely knew, that he would save all of them if he could. Tiny doubts danced at the edges of her mind, but urgency shoved them away.
She had to trust her gut, trust her skill at reading others. No time to waste on weighing the pros, cons, or repercussions. Her heart pounded against her ribs as she gave in to the fledgling conviction she couldn’t even begin to understand. “Okay.”
On a rapid exhale, the words to unbind his hands flowed from her lips. Next, the spell to release the collar and gloves. Metal thudded to the ground as he yanked off the black leather.
With a last look full of promise and gratitude, he murmured, “Stay here. Both of you.” Then he charged the closest Vespera.
“Holy shit, I hope you know what you’re doing.” Zeebi scooped the restraints from the grass.
“Me too.” Tessa’s gut churned as Scorpio jumped to avoid a green ball of fire. She couldn’t explain her gut reaction—then again, did she need to? Were they not unexplainable by nature?
She watched in awe as he summoned his own twin balls of orange flame in his palms. He feinted a throw to one mage, then switched direction to send them toward two others who lurked near a line of shrubs. His fire flew with unrivaled speed, so much that she could barely track it. Apparently, neither could the mages. Agonized howls split the air as they fell helplessly to the ground. In seconds, they were gone.
The other two Bronwy guards fought, seemingly equally matched in sword skill. Tessa gulped, knowing if the Vespera guards used a dark spell, her guards would go down.
The remaining three Vespera guards turned on Scorpio, hurling blue fire from their hands. Scorpio returned the volley with his own fire, and two huge booms echoed through the air as his demonfire met their witchfire. Blue and orange blazed overhead.
Operating on pure instinct, Tessa grabbed another blade and flung it at one of the males. She hoped that the seconds he’d wasted staring up at the fire ball would benefit her…and her knife sailed according to her intent, sinking into his neck.
With a strangled shout, he dropped to his knees and turned his dark gaze to her. He extended his arm.
“Duck!” Zeebi grabbed her arm and yanked her down.
Tessa dove for the grass, expecting blue fire, but all she heard was a yelp. Peeking through her hands, she saw the Vespera mage engulfed in orange flame.
But the guard still facing off against Scorpio snarled. Tessa’s breath came in choppy gulps as she wrestled with the strange new feeling of wanting to defend the demon.
What is this? I shouldn’t care if he gets hurt.
For reasons she couldn’t explain, she knew she’d do anything to prevent that from happening.
The Vespera mage’s mouth moved, but one of Bronwy’s remaining guards charged him. Orser favored his broadsword, which Tessa had enhanced. With a slice the mage couldn’t anticipate, Orser drove it deep into the male’s side and twisted. A garbled cry escaped the man.
Tessa looked away from the gore, knowing there was one more Vespera.
A rumble vibrated the ground and Tessa jumped to her feet. The mage was speaking, one hand extended as he fought the last Bronwy guard, Kharv. A groan came from the branches high above.
“The trees! Get away from the trees!” Tessa gestured wildly as roots snaked up to wrap around Kharv’s legs.
He cursed but kept swinging at the Vespera.
“You have to kill him to stop his spell!” Tessa yelled to Scorpio.
Scorpio darted toward the Vespera. Lightning fast, a branch dipped low in his path. Without hesitation, Scorpio dropped and rolled under it, barely slowing his momentum. Eyes locked on the last enemy, he was unstoppable.
Roots and branches continued to encircle Kharv, who was forced to drop his sword.
Scorpio was still running full tilt. Tessa had no idea what he had planned. He reached the mage just as a root popped up to grab at his ankle. Ignoring it, he grabbed the Vespera’s head and wrenched it sideways,
“Oh my gods,” Zeebi said softly.
The mage fell to the ground, neck broken.
The roots and branches around Kharv slowly withdrew to their natural places. He heaved out a breath and stepped away from the tree. “I owe you my life, demon.”
Scorpio eyed him. “You don’t owe me anything. I’m doing what was asked of me.”
Orser stepped closer, getting between the women and Scorpio. “And you wouldn’t even be needing to do anything, if you hadn’t killed Pennar all those years ago. We wouldn’t have to be sneaking onto our own land.”
“Orser!” Tessa growled, hitting him on the arm.
Scorpio’s face remained impassive. “Those statements are factually true.”
“But still, we couldn’t have done this without you.” Zeebi glared at Orser then looked at Scorpio. “We need these crystals.”