waiting on the vamps now.”
“And can I just ask, why is the whole world after you now?” Danny added. “Well, other than you’re the only female of our kind, of course.”
“I’ll explain later. We’ll have plenty of time for discussions on the road.” Going into this now with Danny was not on the agenda. I walked around to the back of the beast. “Where’s Ray?”
Danny pointed inside the Humvee. “He’s all ready to go, just one giant teddy bear, that one.”
“Except when he wakes up and bites off a finger.” If Ray somehow managed to get away, we could find him, but it would be a complication we didn’t need, and it certainly wouldn’t help his cause with my father. “Also, please tell me there are plans in place to investigate Jeff the Super while we’re gone?” My building super, Jeff Arnold, a wereweasel shifter, had been caught trying to break into my apartment for some unknownreason. We had to find out whom he was working for and why he’d been there in the first place.
“Yes. I gave a full report to your father this morning. He’s assigned a few wolves to investigate. We should have more answers when we return.”
“Excellent.” Footsteps echoed on the pavement at the other end of the parking lot. I turned to see Nick and James approaching as I lifted my duffel on top of a bed of coolers, tents, sleeping bags, and supplies. My brother was indeed prepared.
While I arranged it, I glanced into the interior at Ray’s silhouette. He sat slumped to the side in the backseat. The ends of his gag were visible and I heard breathing, but he was out cold. He must have given Danny some trouble.
Nick reached me first. “Is that Ray Hart I smell?” He peered into the backseat and took a few more sniffs to be sure.
“Yes. It’s not ideal, but I couldn’t kill him,” I said. “It might be my weak human side talking, but my dad says if he can assimilate, he lives. I know he’s dogged me for years, but other than his being a hard ass, I can’t find any real reason to end his life.”
“You’re not weak,” Nick replied, his voice filled with confidence. “I view your humanness as a gift. In our world compassion is rare. I admire it.” Nick slipped off the backpack he was wearing and set it on the ground. “I took the liberty of gathering some things I thought would be useful. At Tyler’s request, I bought these.” He pulled out a small black box with a sturdy handle. There was a main lever on the side and a bunch of metal buttons across the top. “There are four satellite phones in here”—he pointed to the backpack—“along with this docking kit. They’re all wired with remote GPS, fully charged and ready to use.” He set the box on the ground, then unzipped the front pouch and pulled out a soft black cloth tied with a thick satinribbon. “I also procured several throwing darts, loaded with various spells. There’re a few for sleep and a couple freezers—no kills, just in case they happen to land in the wrong target.” He untied the ribbon, carefully unrolling the concoctions. The spells were in thick glass vials attached to sharp metal tips, hooked in the carrying case by two elastic bands apiece, each potion shining a different vibrant color. “Marcy and I didn’t think her spells would be strong enough for a goddess, so we paid Tally for them. Well, Marcy did anyway, with funds from the firm. She said, because she was family, she was able to get us a two percent discount.” He chuckled. Witches never gave away anything; everything had a cost. It was how their system worked.
“Wow.” I reached out to take the bundle Nick was offering. I cradled the package carefully in my hands. Spells on the whole were incredibly expensive, and Tally’s spells would break the bank, but they would also be super powerful. “I don’t want to know how much you spent, because I’m grateful as hell and I don’t want to ruin my happiness high knowing we won’t have two nickels to
“And can I just ask, why is the whole world after you now?” Danny added. “Well, other than you’re the only female of our kind, of course.”
“I’ll explain later. We’ll have plenty of time for discussions on the road.” Going into this now with Danny was not on the agenda. I walked around to the back of the beast. “Where’s Ray?”
Danny pointed inside the Humvee. “He’s all ready to go, just one giant teddy bear, that one.”
“Except when he wakes up and bites off a finger.” If Ray somehow managed to get away, we could find him, but it would be a complication we didn’t need, and it certainly wouldn’t help his cause with my father. “Also, please tell me there are plans in place to investigate Jeff the Super while we’re gone?” My building super, Jeff Arnold, a wereweasel shifter, had been caught trying to break into my apartment for some unknownreason. We had to find out whom he was working for and why he’d been there in the first place.
“Yes. I gave a full report to your father this morning. He’s assigned a few wolves to investigate. We should have more answers when we return.”
“Excellent.” Footsteps echoed on the pavement at the other end of the parking lot. I turned to see Nick and James approaching as I lifted my duffel on top of a bed of coolers, tents, sleeping bags, and supplies. My brother was indeed prepared.
While I arranged it, I glanced into the interior at Ray’s silhouette. He sat slumped to the side in the backseat. The ends of his gag were visible and I heard breathing, but he was out cold. He must have given Danny some trouble.
Nick reached me first. “Is that Ray Hart I smell?” He peered into the backseat and took a few more sniffs to be sure.
“Yes. It’s not ideal, but I couldn’t kill him,” I said. “It might be my weak human side talking, but my dad says if he can assimilate, he lives. I know he’s dogged me for years, but other than his being a hard ass, I can’t find any real reason to end his life.”
“You’re not weak,” Nick replied, his voice filled with confidence. “I view your humanness as a gift. In our world compassion is rare. I admire it.” Nick slipped off the backpack he was wearing and set it on the ground. “I took the liberty of gathering some things I thought would be useful. At Tyler’s request, I bought these.” He pulled out a small black box with a sturdy handle. There was a main lever on the side and a bunch of metal buttons across the top. “There are four satellite phones in here”—he pointed to the backpack—“along with this docking kit. They’re all wired with remote GPS, fully charged and ready to use.” He set the box on the ground, then unzipped the front pouch and pulled out a soft black cloth tied with a thick satinribbon. “I also procured several throwing darts, loaded with various spells. There’re a few for sleep and a couple freezers—no kills, just in case they happen to land in the wrong target.” He untied the ribbon, carefully unrolling the concoctions. The spells were in thick glass vials attached to sharp metal tips, hooked in the carrying case by two elastic bands apiece, each potion shining a different vibrant color. “Marcy and I didn’t think her spells would be strong enough for a goddess, so we paid Tally for them. Well, Marcy did anyway, with funds from the firm. She said, because she was family, she was able to get us a two percent discount.” He chuckled. Witches never gave away anything; everything had a cost. It was how their system worked.
“Wow.” I reached out to take the bundle Nick was offering. I cradled the package carefully in my hands. Spells on the whole were incredibly expensive, and Tally’s spells would break the bank, but they would also be super powerful. “I don’t want to know how much you spent, because I’m grateful as hell and I don’t want to ruin my happiness high knowing we won’t have two nickels to
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