?” The girl looked at her with big,
innocent eyes.
“No.” The word came out quietly. “He can’t hurt me.” Not
anymore .
“He can kill you!” Cassie blurted out.
Alise’s smile strained when she said, “If he killed me, he’d
be doing me a favor.”
Cassie’s honey-colored eyes widened in shock. “You want to
die?”
“No, of course not.” Alise took a sip of her iced tea. The
ice cubes had already melted. “But in a way, he has killed me already. I tried
living as a human, and it’s not a bad life…” She slowly shook her head. “But
there’s always going to be a part of me missing, and no one can bring that
back.”
The sadness in Alise voice compelled Cassie to climb off the
sofa and offer her a hug. “You’re my friend. I won’t let anything happen to
you,” she whispered against her dark hair.
Alise laughed inside the girl’s embrace. So naïve .
Humans could be so endearing at times with their courage and passion,
especially when they had no grounds to stand on. No wonder she had taken a
liking to the girl beyond her regular debt to her.
“Well, well, well… Isn’t this nice?” Rafe smirked at them
from the doorway.
When had he come back in? Hadn’t he just been in the garden?
“Fraternizing with the enemy now?” he teased.
“Enemy?” Cassie said.
“Okay, bad choice of words,” he amended. “You can’t be the
enemy. Humans can hardly be anyone’s enemy.”
“You think I’m harmless?” Cassie frowned, grinding her foot
in the carpet.
“I know you’re harmless.” With that statement, Rafe sat and
reclined on the couch, stretching out his long legs. “Except to yourselves.
Humans have the uncanny capacity to hurt themselves, and they don’t even have
to try hard to do it.”
“You can’t?” She sounded surprised to discover there was
actually something he couldn’t do.
“None of us can. I’ve never heard of anyone killing
themselves on the other side.” He smiled, distracted by the cloud of
butterflies on the screensaver.
“Can you make it work?” Cassie pointed at her laptop.
“No. Any burst of magic can be traced, and we don’t want
that.” His grin became less friendly, almost menacing.
She blinked, confused. “But you used magic for protection
around the house, didn’t you?”
“That’s different. It’s for protection so it sort of hides
itself.” Rafe turned to Alise. “You haven’t taught her anything. What did you
girls do all morning? Paint your nails?”
“I was just going to.” Alise smiled sweetly at him. The
question that followed was less sweet, though. “So, where is he?”
“Who?”
“You’re supposed to be a Triad. Where’s the third one?” she
asked. It was a shot in the dark. She had no proof for her theory, and Triads
were extremely rare.
Rafe’s face darkened. “Not here.”
He could mean not in town, not in this world, or simply that
he didn’t want to talk about it now. It had to be all three. It explained the
lack of balance in the Guardians’ dynamic, and their inability to keep up the
large blue room. One was missing. She wasn’t happy about the discovery. Two
Guardians fully in tune with each other were stronger and more reliable than a
broken pair. Then again, a Triad was not something easily ignored. A Triad
could fight a Wizard with fair chances to succeed. If she could only figure out
what had happened to the third one.
There wasn’t time for more discussion on the subject. The
dogs trotted excitedly down the corridor on their way to the front door,
chanting, He’s coming! He’s coming!
A moment later, Vale yelled from the main hall, “We have
visitors!”
In an instant, they were all on their feet, rushing to the
closest window that faced the road. A dark blue Audi entered the driveway.
Cassie glared. “Well, here’s the enemy.”
Chapter Ten
The two camps met on the front steps, which was the closest
thing they had to neutral ground. A small carry-on waited by the
innocent eyes.
“No.” The word came out quietly. “He can’t hurt me.” Not
anymore .
“He can kill you!” Cassie blurted out.
Alise’s smile strained when she said, “If he killed me, he’d
be doing me a favor.”
Cassie’s honey-colored eyes widened in shock. “You want to
die?”
“No, of course not.” Alise took a sip of her iced tea. The
ice cubes had already melted. “But in a way, he has killed me already. I tried
living as a human, and it’s not a bad life…” She slowly shook her head. “But
there’s always going to be a part of me missing, and no one can bring that
back.”
The sadness in Alise voice compelled Cassie to climb off the
sofa and offer her a hug. “You’re my friend. I won’t let anything happen to
you,” she whispered against her dark hair.
Alise laughed inside the girl’s embrace. So naïve .
Humans could be so endearing at times with their courage and passion,
especially when they had no grounds to stand on. No wonder she had taken a
liking to the girl beyond her regular debt to her.
“Well, well, well… Isn’t this nice?” Rafe smirked at them
from the doorway.
When had he come back in? Hadn’t he just been in the garden?
“Fraternizing with the enemy now?” he teased.
“Enemy?” Cassie said.
“Okay, bad choice of words,” he amended. “You can’t be the
enemy. Humans can hardly be anyone’s enemy.”
“You think I’m harmless?” Cassie frowned, grinding her foot
in the carpet.
“I know you’re harmless.” With that statement, Rafe sat and
reclined on the couch, stretching out his long legs. “Except to yourselves.
Humans have the uncanny capacity to hurt themselves, and they don’t even have
to try hard to do it.”
“You can’t?” She sounded surprised to discover there was
actually something he couldn’t do.
“None of us can. I’ve never heard of anyone killing
themselves on the other side.” He smiled, distracted by the cloud of
butterflies on the screensaver.
“Can you make it work?” Cassie pointed at her laptop.
“No. Any burst of magic can be traced, and we don’t want
that.” His grin became less friendly, almost menacing.
She blinked, confused. “But you used magic for protection
around the house, didn’t you?”
“That’s different. It’s for protection so it sort of hides
itself.” Rafe turned to Alise. “You haven’t taught her anything. What did you
girls do all morning? Paint your nails?”
“I was just going to.” Alise smiled sweetly at him. The
question that followed was less sweet, though. “So, where is he?”
“Who?”
“You’re supposed to be a Triad. Where’s the third one?” she
asked. It was a shot in the dark. She had no proof for her theory, and Triads
were extremely rare.
Rafe’s face darkened. “Not here.”
He could mean not in town, not in this world, or simply that
he didn’t want to talk about it now. It had to be all three. It explained the
lack of balance in the Guardians’ dynamic, and their inability to keep up the
large blue room. One was missing. She wasn’t happy about the discovery. Two
Guardians fully in tune with each other were stronger and more reliable than a
broken pair. Then again, a Triad was not something easily ignored. A Triad
could fight a Wizard with fair chances to succeed. If she could only figure out
what had happened to the third one.
There wasn’t time for more discussion on the subject. The
dogs trotted excitedly down the corridor on their way to the front door,
chanting, He’s coming! He’s coming!
A moment later, Vale yelled from the main hall, “We have
visitors!”
In an instant, they were all on their feet, rushing to the
closest window that faced the road. A dark blue Audi entered the driveway.
Cassie glared. “Well, here’s the enemy.”
Chapter Ten
The two camps met on the front steps, which was the closest
thing they had to neutral ground. A small carry-on waited by the
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