Elementally Priceless by Shannon Mayer Page A

you to the kid.”
    I looked at Rylee, happy to see she wasn’t melting down. “Any idea why a siren would be sent after this Milly?”
    “She’s a very strong witch, with no ties to a coven. I bet it’s so someone can control her.” Rylee pressed her blade and again, I was pleased. She was young, but had a spine of steel and wasn’t afraid to use it.
    “Siren,” I cooed, softening my voice to that of a seducer and not a destroyer, “you will tell us who your master is, and I won’t let my hawk peck out your eyes or my fox eat your testicles while you scream for mercy. Understand?”
    “A vampire. That’s all I know. One with blue eyes who hides in the dark,” he whimpered.
    Rylee stepped back, her face pale. “A vampire. That can’t be good.”
    I shrugged and snapped the siren’s neck, the bone crushing under my fingers like brittle wood. With a heave, I tossed his body to the closest green space which happened to be one of the gardens in front of Caesar’s Palace. As he dropped to the ground, I flicked my hand and asked the earth to flow up and grab him, sucking his body down and into the silence that was the grave of the supernatural.
    Rylee drew in a sharp breath, her eyes going to mine. “You killed him. And where the fuck did he go?”
    “If I’d let him go, he would have killed us, or worse, made a mess of this rescue mission. He didn’t know anything else. And he went to his eternal resting place. It is one of my duties to make sure the supernaturals here are taken care of properly when they die. Normally I can do it from home, the Earth lets me know when a supernatural kicks the bucket and I pull them into the earth from there.” Why I explained it to her, I don’t know. It wasn’t like she’d asked.
    “How did you know he didn’t know anything else?” Her eyes searched mine and again, I was struck by how much she reminded me of Elle. . . I shook it off. There was still a huge task ahead and getting lost in memories would not help.
    “The way his eyes dilated, the sound of his heartbeat, the fear in him. Get good at reading people, you’re going to need it.” I reached out and wiggled my fingers at her. “Now, give me the sword back.”
    She hesitated, then handed it over. “It’s beautiful.”
    “It’ll be yours one day, but not right now.” I tucked it into its sheath. “Go home, Rylee.”
    Sputtering, she grabbed my arm and spun me around, surprising the hell out of me. “I’m not going anywhere, there’s a kid who needs me.”
    I stared down at her hand on my arm, but she didn’t back off. I lifted my eyes to her. “You don’t want to push me on this, you can’t come with me.” I sure as hell couldn’t explain that taking her into certain danger was not a really good idea. Not when the world would need her later.
    “You can’t stop me.”
    From my shoulder, Red clucked his tongue. “She’s a cheeky one, isn’t she?”
    “Goddess above and below. Damned Trackers,” I muttered. “Always so freaking touchy, grumpy, and lippy.”
    Red leaned close to my ear. “She could help you get in and out faster since she has a direct bead on the kid.”
    I let out a soft groan. That part was true enough. I didn’t want her to get killed, the world couldn’t afford to lose her. Then again, if she was with me, I’d be able to keep her safer than if she followed along behind. Which, looking at the determination on her face, was going to happen if I didn’t allow her to go with me. “Fine. You come with me, do what I say. This is dangerous enough that your mentor didn’t want you coming. Not even with her help.”
    Rylee let go of my arm, her eyes narrowing. “Giselle knew about this missing kid?”
    “Isn’t that how you found out?”
    She shook her head. “No, I saw his picture on a bulletin board and knew I had to find him.”
    Damn, that was the elemental in her, touching on the world, drawing her to where she was needed.
    “Well, let’s get our lily white