Soul Guard (Elemental Book 5) (18 page)

I ducked back into the shadows and waited as the
group of teens stepped into view and the girl I was here to save broke away
from the rest. When she started down the alley, I waited.

She stopped and turned to look, as if she could feel
me watching, but then continued down the street. Nothing happened. I waited
until she got to the end of the alley and was out of sight before following
after her.

I followed her down two more streets until she
entered the yard of a house, which I assumed was hers. Even though I wasn’t a
hundred percent sure she was safe, I didn’t want to spend the rest of my life
in jail. My instincts weren’t warning me of danger.

I returned to my apartment to find Darwin asleep in
my bed again and my phone ringing. Only two people had my new number, so I
picked it up. “Hello?”

“Don’t panic,” Kyle said.

“What happened? Is she okay?”

“She isn’t hurt. One of those shadow wizards showed
up again, but Rocky protected us. I’m just calling to tell you she wasn’t
hurt.”

I had to pull the phone away and cuss for a couple of
minutes before I could even get any decent words out. It woke Darwin, but he
seemed to realize the severity of the situation. “They set a trap. They fucking
set a trap,” I said to Darwin. I put my phone back to my ear. “Thank you for
calling me.”

“Well, we’re also going to have to find a new place
to stay for a few days. Rocky and the shadow wizard got a bit rough and… went
through the roof. We’re about to head over to a motel for the night.”

“Come over here.”

“Are you hiding two extra bedrooms that I didn’t hear
about? Your mother needs somewhere quiet to rest.” After a few minutes of
silence, he added, “I know I shouldn’t be telling you what your mother needs.”

“No, I understand. You’re trained for this and I
appreciate how much you care about her.” I didn’t like being told what my
mother needed, but it was a relief at the same time, because Kyle was so much
better than her previous nurse. “I have to figure something out and I’ll call
you back soon with a plan.”

“Alright. I’ll talk to you then.”

I hung up and tossed the phone on the bed. “The
shadow walkers figured out we’re onto their kill list and set a trap. They
didn’t attack the girl and instead attacked my mother when I was in Japan.”

“So, what’s the plan?”

“I’m going to find one of those demon-summoning
rituals, get Krechea’s ass in front of me, and kick it so hard all of Dothra
sees stars.”

*          *          *

Unfortunately, that wasn’t the plan. Darwin, Henry,
Scott, and I were going to meet my mother and Kyle at my office and then drive
up to the university. Darwin and I had to help Henry pack up Scott’s toys
because the kid was apparently unable to stop drawing that morning. When Henry
got frustrated and told Scott that if he didn’t help, we were leaving behind
his drawing supplies, I was impressed. No matter how much the kid had been
through, I was worried he was going to become a nightmare if Henry didn’t stop
spoiling him. Scott didn’t bat an eye, as if he was just waiting for the order,
and started doing his part.

Darwin, on the other hand, only had the clothes on
his back, so we had Maseré send someone to the university with more. Half an
hour after we were supposed to meet Kyle at the office, we finally left the
apartment.

The presence came back as soon as I stepped out of
the front door, although it wasn’t as strong as before. I considered saying
something, but I figured it probably either had something to do with the key or
with the shadow walkers who were watching me. Either way, my friends didn’t
need another thing to worry about.

We pulled into my parking spot next to Kyle’s Sedan
and got out. “I can shift when we get to the school, right?” Scott asked.

“Once we explain things to Devon’s mother,” Henry
said.

The presence was unexpectedly drowned out by the
sudden sensation of danger. In one instant, I was absolutely certain of three
things: Darwin, Henry and Scott were between Henry’s truck and the Sedan, there
was a car rushing up the street behind me, and I didn’t have time to get out of
the way.

That one instant seemed to stretch on for several
minutes, until I heard the gun shot… and the strange sound Scott made. Then,
there was no sound at all as I turned and saw the white van speeding down the
road. I didn’t understand why Scott was standing right there, between me and
the van, until I heard Henry’s terrified shout.

That was when I realized that Scott had moved even
faster than a vampire could to put himself between me and that bullet.

He had been shot.

The next ten seconds felt like an hour as Henry
frantically tried to find the bullet wound. Scott’s shirt had a hole right in
the chest, but there was no hole in his body. He kept trying to say something
over Henry’s shouting, and when he couldn’t, he held out his hand and let three
bullets fall to the ground.

None of us even breathed until we heard them hit the
ground. “How?” Henry finally asked.

“I tried to tell you, Daddy. I’ve been shot before.
They don’t hurt me.”

“What do you mean they don’t hurt you? Who shot you?”

“Dr. Fox. He said I screamed too much when he needed
me awake, so he made something for under my skin. If you cut me slow, it hurts
really bad and I bleed, but if you stab me or shoot me quick, it doesn’t break
the skin.”

Darwin threw up.

“Are you mad at me, Daddy? I tried to save Uncle
Devon because I knew he---”

Henry cut him off by pulling him into a tight hug.
“You scared me so much. I don’t know what I feel; I just want you to be okay.”
Although Henry looked like he wanted to say more, his throat was probably
closing up, which happened when he was extremely upset.

“I’m okay! I’m not even bruised.”

“What’s going on out here?” Kyle asked, stepping out
of my office.

“We all lost ten years off our lives,” I said.
“Someone just drove by and tried to kill me.”

“Did you see a face or get a license plate number?”

“It didn’t have a plate and the van was already too
far away to see in through the windows. I haven’t even been on break long enough
to piss anyone off who would use guns.”

“Call my dad and make sure Sinclair is still in
prison,” Darwin said.

“How did you get into the office?” I asked Kyle.

“It wasn’t locked.”

I looked at Henry. “I locked it behind me,” he said,
pulling his phone out of his pocket. He called Maseré and asked if Marcus’s
father was still locked up. After a few minutes, he thanked the wolf shifter
and hung up. “He’s secure.” When his phone rang in his hand, he groaned. “What
now?” He frowned at the number before answering it. “Hello? Yes, he’s right
here.” He handed it to me.

“Hello, this is Devon Sanders.”

“Mr. Sanders, I’m sorry to bother you. The phone
number you gave me wasn’t working so I was told to try this one. I need your
help.”

It wasn’t until right at that moment that I
recognized the voice of the woman. “Elizabeth? What’s wrong?” It was the mother
of John’s twin sons.

“Jason and Jameson are missing.”

*          *          *

After what happened to Scott, Henry wasn’t in any
condition to go anywhere, so we spread the word to every paranormal we knew
that my brothers were missing. Everyone except Hunt was surprised I had
brothers, but they said they would do what they could to help.

“By your brothers, you mean John Cross’s sons?”
Stephen asked over the phone.

I sighed. “Yes. They’re twin four-year-old boys. At
least one of them is showing signs of having John’s magic… and his evilness.”

“That sounds ominous.”

“Yeah, I would be careful if I were you.”

“I will keep that in mind.”

“Thanks for keeping an eye out. I will talk to you
later.”

Once that was dealt with, we returned to the
apartment to wait for any news. We decided to give it until the rest of the day
before going anywhere to make sure Scott wasn’t going to suddenly become ill or
start bleeding. I argued until I got the address from Elizabeth and she
admitted that the boys had already run away three times in the last six months
and were found all three times trying to steal candy from the convenience store
a few blocks away.

*          *          *

I woke suddenly, not to a suspicious sound or undine
sitting on my chest, but from the cold presence of a very powerful and very
dark wizard. I sat up and clicked on the lamp on the bedside table. Although
the person sitting on the foot of my bed looked like Astrid, I knew that
couldn’t be further from the truth.

“Krechea,” I said.

The demon smirked. While he had Astrid’s face, the
grin was nothing like hers. “You’re quick. Not as quick as you think you are,
though.” He even had her voice. I stood and summoned my staff to me in an
instant. He just smirked again. “Do you really think you could kill me with
that? Would you, even if you could? I thought you loved Astrid. You said she
was what was most important to you.”

“She’s in Dothra.”

“How do you know I’m not possessing her?”

“I know.”

He scoffed. “Would you risk it?”

“In a fucking heartbeat. Astrid would want me to.”

He outright laughed this time. “You and your loved
ones. A woman kills your father, maims your mother, stalks you, and tries
everything she can to drive you away when she takes over Dothra, and you still
crawl back to her?”

“I’m not going to hate her for something she didn’t
do.” I didn’t know where we would go after I saved her, but I would save her
because no one should be trapped in Dothra. “She went there to kill you. Damn
right I’ll do it.”

He sighed. “I’m not your enemy here; Keigan Langril
is.”

“You want my key. To get it, you would have to kill
me.”

He rolled his eyes. “Seriously, you humans have
problems. I need to
use
your key! I don’t need its power. I have power.
I have tons of it. I need you to come to the tower twice; once so I can get to
Langril and a second time so that I can bring all four keys together. The only
one I’m interested in killing is Langril. I only need the rest of you to gather
in front of the tower for a couple of minutes. After that, I’ll be on my way,
you three will go your way, and you’ll never have to see me again.”

“Why do you want to kill Langril?”

“Because he took what was most precious to me. He is
a thousand times worse than me.”

“I doubt that.”

“A hundred times, then. I did have a blood-bath
phase. Langril will kill you if he gets the chance. Help me find his weakness.
In exchange, I will call off all my followers. Furthermore, the man who
attacked you got off easily with such a simple death. My followers know not to
attack you because I know you can be reasoned with.”

“What about my brothers?”

He shrugged. “They’ll be returned to their mother, of
course. The only one who has to die is Langril. Think about it.
He
was
the one to trap Astrid in Dothra in the first place. Just to sweeten the deal
for you, once I get Langril’s key, I will personally go back to Dothra, get
Astrid, and return her to you completely unharmed.”

When he was done, the silence was tense. I wanted to
disagree immediately, but I didn’t really trust Langril anymore than I did
Krechea. “I’ll think about it,” I said after a few minutes.

He smiled warmly. “Good.”

“In the meantime, tell your shadow walkers not to
attack anyone.”

“I will do so as a show of faith in your sensibility.
When you decide to do what’s right, call my name and I will hear you.” With
that, he vanished.

*          *          *

I went into the living room, where Scott was drawing
the scene from the day before. In the kitchen, Darwin and Henry were arguing in
Portuguese. “Are you okay, Scott?” I asked. He didn’t acknowledge me. “Scott?”
Still nothing. “Bryson?”

He looked up at me. “Hi, Uncle Devon.”

“What are you doing?”

“Drawing a picture so that I can remember me when I’m
gone.”

“Gone where? And why would you not remember
yourself?”

“Not where; when. When I die.”

“You’re not going to die.”

He put down his pencil and frowned at me. “I’m not? I
thought everyone dies.” I literally had no answer to that. “I guess I don’t
need a will then.”

“No, you don’t.” I went into the kitchen. “I got a
visit this morning.”

Darwin and Henry stopped arguing and turned to me.
“From who?” Darwin asked.

Henry brought me a mug of coffee. “Thanks. Mr. Evil
himself, in the flesh. Well, Astrid’s flesh.”

“He was possessing Astrid?” Darwin asked with
disgust.

“No. I think he was just using her form. I think he’s
done that before, too. Back at the university, before I found out that Langril
was missing, I had a visit from Remington. I thought it was a dream until she
vanished.”

“And by visit, you mean, in your bed?” Darwin asked.
“Damn. I can’t even have Amelia in my dreams.”

“I thought you were okay with that,” Henry said.

“When I didn’t know I could touch her, yeah. Now I
have to hope she picks up someone else’s mood.”

“Why can’t she get it from you?”

“Because I have fae blood, and apparently, that means
her magic doesn’t work well on me. Anyway, why do you think it has something to
do with Krechea?”

“She kept asking me what was most precious to me.
When I thought it was a dream, I just figured it was because I was about to get
the key and that was on my mind. Then she just vanished when I realized I was
awake. Remy can’t vanish.”

“Were there shadows?”

“No. I don’t think that was it, either. One of the
undine told me that Krechea killed Adesra. She didn’t say when. Remember when
she appeared in front of us right after we learned about the wizard council’s
plan? I always thought there was something different about her.”