Authors: Gabrielle Evans
Echo rolled his eyes but graced his lover with a crooked grin. “I know, big guy. You’re all as ferocious as a cuddly kitten.” He held his hand up to forestall Eyce’s argument. “Don’t worry. I’ll take the knowledge to my grave.”
“That’s a shitty promise,” Vapre called to him from up ahead. “You’re immortal now.”
“It was a figure of speech, asshole!”
“I have one, just waiting for y—” Syx shoved Vapre with another force to knock the man to the ground.
“You talk too much, man.”
Echo doubled over in laughter, leaning heavily on Eyce for support. Vapre jumped to his feet, a wicked glint in his eyes. “You asked for it.”
“Children,” Eyce said calmly.
Vapre paused for a just a second before he flipped Eyce off and dove through the air at Syx. He landed on the sodden ground with a squelch when Syx merely sidestepped him. Without even looking at his fallen lover, Syx kicked his foot out, connecting with Vapre’s hip and pulling muffled grunt from the warrior. “You missed.”
* * * *
“Oh, crap!”
Eyce stood on the banks of the lake, staring down into the crimson waters as he held Echo’s hand in his own. His heart felt heavy, his stomach twisted painfully, and he couldn’t seem to get enough air into his lungs. He couldn’t fix this—didn’t even know where to begin.
“This is bad,” Vapre murmured as he stepped up on Eyce’s other side. “Look at the fish.”
Eyce was looking. He’d ever seen anything like it. A dozen or so dead fish floated on top of the water, bloated and unmoving. The stench was almost enough to drive him to his knees. The water looked thick and syrupy, the current slow and sluggish.
“What do we do?”
Eyce hated the waver in Echo’s voice. He wished he had the answers for his mate. “I don’t know,” he admitted. He looked at his lovers hopefully, praying someone would have a solution.
“Let’s go back,” Syx said after a minute. “We need to see how many of the lakes and ponds are affected, find out if this has spread to the drinking water, and do some more research.”
It wasn’t the answer Eyce had looking for, but at least it was a course of action, and a hell of a lot more than he had at the moment. The seriousness of the situation crashed down on him, robbing the breath from his lungs and making his knees shake. This was his battle, his test, and he had a horrible feeling that he was going to fail.
“Stop,” Echo whispered as he clutched at the little sapphire teardrop hanging from the leather braid around his neck. “You can do this. We’ll find the answers.”
Wrapping his arm around Echo’s neck, Eyce pulled the little man to him, resting his chin on the top of his head, letting his mate’s closeness calm him. They’d given Echo the necklace for Christmas, promising that no matter what, he’d always have a shoulder to lean on. It was time for Eyce to man up and get his shit together. “I hope you’re right.”
“For the record, I’m always right.” Echo snickered softly. “It’s just that no one ever listens to me.”
“We listen.”
“Right.” Eyce could almost hear Echo’s eyes rolling. “Do you think this is localized? I mean, is it only happening here because this is where we are?”
“No clue.” Eyce shook his head and released his hold on Echo. “I guess that’s the first thing we need to find out.” The idea that this could be widespread phenomenon didn’t sit well with him. The enormity of his task overwhelmed him already. How was he supposed to combat something on a larger scale?
“I’m pretty sure it’s centralized to our location,” Syx offered. He squeezed Eyce’s shoulder and gave him an encouraging smile. “This may be your test, but you’re not alone.”
Eyce didn’t comment, but he knew the truth. His lovers could only help him so far. At some point, he would have to face this on his own. He only hoped he’d be ready.
Crouching down on the edge of the lake, Eyce reached out to touch the water, but small fingers wrapped around his wrist, halting him.
“Don’t touch it.”
Squinting against the sun as he looked up at his mate, Eyce shook his head. “I just want to see if it’s as slimy as it looks. Maybe we can take a sample to the college.”
“Then get some gloves. Besides, you don’t have anything to carry a sample in.”
Eyce held up his hand and smirked.
“Gross, and no.” Echo shook his head in finality. “Whatever that is, it killed all those fish. You’re not touching it.”
“Echo, I’m a demon. Not to mention, I think the fish probably died because they ingested it. I don’t plan to eat it.”
“I don’t care. This is a disgusting cesspool. You’re not touching it.” He slid his bottom lip out and widened his eyes. “Please, can we just go home now?” Echo asked quietly. “It reeks out here and my feet hurt.” He pointed a finger in Eyce’s face when he opened his mouth. “And I don’t need you to carry me.”
Pressing his lips together firmly to keep from laughing, Eyce nodded. The man could be so damn stubborn sometimes, but at least he wasn’t a doormat. Eyce didn’t know what he’d do with a mate who just let them walk all over him and bowed down to their every whim. He adored that Echo stood up to them and put his foot down when he felt strongly about something.
And apparently, this was something he felt strongly about. “Fine, I’ll come back later and get a sample.”
“Thank you.”
“You are such a pushover,” Vapre mumbled under his breath, but the look on his face said he understood the need to give Echo anything his heart desired.
Standing, Eyce had a smartass comment on the tip of his tongue, but stopped short when his cell phone began vibrating in his pocket. Pulling it out, he frowned at the display before pressing the talk button and putting the phone to his ear.
“Fiero? What’s up, man?”
“Get Echo out of there now! They’re coming!”
“What the hell are you talking about? You couldn’t have made it there yet. It’s only been an hour.”
“They were waiting for us just outside of Columbia Falls. Myst took a bullet in the neck before we could get out of there.”
“Where are you now?” Eyce hoped Fiero would answer his unasked question. He needed to know if Myst was okay, but he didn’t want to worry his mate. Echo was already looking at him suspiciously.
“Hex healed him. He’s fine. A little shaken up, but nothing big.” Eyce sighed in relief as he listened to Fiero talk. “We’re coming up on Lake McDonald now, then on to Heavens Peak.”
“The rest?”
“Everyone’s banged up, but we’re alive. Gage took two in the chest, but we got the bullets out, and he’s healing. Passed out in the backseat. You gotta get out of there. Take Echo and go somewhere. Anywhere.”
“I’m on it. Call if you guys need backup.”
“Be safe. These guys aren’t playing, man.”
Then Fiero hung up, leaving Eyce with the burden of telling Echo what had happened.
“So, where are we going?” Syx asked as he and Vapre moved to form a protective circle around Echo.
“Canada.”
“What happened? Did someone get hurt? Why are we leaving? What the hell is in Canada? Where are the others? Are they coming back soon?”
Vapre reached out casually and placed his hand over Echo’s mouth, instantly silencing his endless stream of questions. “We’re leaving because you’re in danger. The others are fine. We’re going to Canada because it’s as good as anywhere else. Now, I’m going to move my hand and I want you to be quiet. Got it?”
Echo glared, but nodded his understanding. Vapre removed his hand slowly, watching Echo the entire time. Eyce tensed, waiting for the outburst, and prepared to grab Echo if he decided a little physical retaliation was in order.
To his surprise, Echo didn’t say a word. He just turned around and stared walking back toward home. “Where are you going?”
“Home!”
“Didn’t you hear anything we just said?” Eyce growled in frustration and jogged to catch up with his mate. “It’s not safe, Echo. You can’t just go waltzing back into that house. They could be waiting for us.”
“Then I suggest you come up with a better plan.” Echo turned and jabbed his finger in Eyce’s belly. “Because I’m not walking all the way to fucking Canada.”
* * * *
“I would just like to let everyone know that this seriously sucks.” Myst spoke hoarsely as he knelt beside the lake, dipping his hands in the water and gathering enough to scrub away the blood on his neck. “How the hell are we even supposed to get in?”
Fiero shook his head, crossing his arms over his chest and staring at the mountain range in the distance. “We’re going to have to go on foot from here.”
“Is Gage up yet?”
“Hex is working on him.” Fiero tore his gaze away from the mountains and glanced over his shoulder. “He should be up and around soon.”
“I don’t like this,” Onyx said quietly. “They knew we were coming.” He looked over to the SUV. “Are we sure we can trust this guy?”
“I don’t know.” Fiero growled in frustration. Why the hell were they out here risking their necks for a total stranger? Besides protecting their mate from the threat that the lab posed, they had no business here. “We should be home, taking care of Echo and helping Eyce. This isn’t our fight.”
“Agreed.” Myst splashed water over his face once more and stood with a groan. “I’m sorry that the guy might lose his mates. That sucks.” Myst shook his head. “If they’re packing up and moving out, I say good riddance. We deal with this Collector asshole, and then we’re in the clear.”
“I don’t think it’s going to be that easy.” Fiero pictured Echo’s pale face, his trembling lips. His mate had looked scared out of his mind. “So, what do we do? We’ve come this far.”
“Yeah, and getting shot at was the easy part. Do you think they’re just going to let us waltz in that place?” Myst snorted in derision. “This is bullshit.”
“Then why do I feel like I need to rescue these guys?” Onyx asked.
Yeah, Fiero felt it, too. As much as he’d love to say fuck the whole thing and bail, he couldn’t. He felt the draw, the pull, the call toward the mountains. Something waited for them there. He just didn’t know what it was.
“Gage is important, huh?” Myst said grudgingly. “And whoever his little mates are, they’re going to be important as well. Fuck! We don’t have time to be scrambling around picking up strays.”
“Strays,” Fiero said slowly. But that wasn’t what they were doing. They were recruiting. It suddenly seemed so clear, he didn’t know why he hadn’t realized it before. How many more would find them before the war landed on their doorstep?
“I don’t like that look.” Onyx cocked his head to the side and smirked. “What are you thinking, Fiero?”
“We’re not picking up strays.”
“Well, what the hell would you call it?” Myst demanded.
“We’re building an army.”
Chapter Nine
“I don’t think we should leave.” Echo paced the living room while his lovers raced around, packing supplies and preparing for their journey over the Canadian border. “I don’t even have a damn passport. Hell, I didn’t even have a goddamn name until a few weeks ago.”
“There are ways around it,” Syx said distractedly as he rushed by with two suitcases in his hands. “We’ll handle it.”
“But what about the lake? We can’t just leave that.”
“We’ll take care of it,” Vapre said offhandedly as he jogged into the room with another suitcase.