The Weight of a Wing (The Stolen Wings Book 1) (7 page)

“Well, this is new,” Rafe said, frowning at the monster
residue, brushing it off his clothes. “I think they were connected.” He looked
up at Alise.

“I don’t feel any others,” she said. “Do you?”

“No. But I’ll check again to make sure. You go.” He nodded
towards the dining room.

She swallowed hard. If he had been taken by surprise, they
were in way over their heads. Gorem was pulling out the big guns. In his
determination to get to her, he was not going to let any Guardian stop him.
“Don’t be long,” Alise murmured and left the kitchen. There was nothing else
they could do.

“We’re going to have an early night, eh, honey?” Rafe said.

It was close to midnight and with no other monsters making
an appearance, the men had bonded over drinks—much to Alise’s dismay. The more
time passed, the less annoying Mark became to all of them. It wasn’t because of
the drinking, alcohol hardly affected the Guardians, but since it gave them a
reason to retire for the night, and after having exchanged a glance with Cassie
to make sure she was going to be all right, Alise nodded submissively.

“I have to study some more for my exam,” Cassie said and
looked at Vale. “You don’t mind, do you?”

“No problem,” he said.

“Oh, right. How’s school?” Mark asked.

School was not a subject to be concerned about. His niece
did well and got good grades more often than not. If there had been a problem,
her mother would have been on it. Cassie deserved some time off from her family
during the school year.

“School’s fine.” Cassie hid a yawn behind her hand.
Everything else was a mess.

They got up from their seats and said goodnight.

“Goodnight, kids!” Mark said as he poured himself one last
drink. “I think I’m going to call Sarah…”

“He’s hopeless,” Cassie said while they walked along the
corridor. “Who wants to bet she’ll be joining us for breakfast tomorrow?” She
grumbled. “I’m not crazy about her, but she really shouldn’t be here right
now.”

“We’ll deal with it when she comes,” Rafe said quietly then
raised his voice to be heard in the living room. “I can’t wait to put that
guestroom to good use!” It earned him an elbow in the ribs and a glare, but he
caught Alise’s arm, preventing her from bringing any more damage to his body.
“Relax. I’m not making you sleep on the floor.”

He kept holding her by the arm until they reached the room
and only then released her. Once he closed the door, they found themselves
alone for the first time since morning.

Alise rubbed her arm and sat on the edge of the wide bed,
frowing at Rafe.

With his hands on his hips, he stood there, a concentrated
expression on his face. “I’m going out to check on things. Don’t leave the
room.”

She wanted to point out that, if there was another attack in
his absence, it would be wiser for her to do it, but he had already left. She
put her feet up and lay back on the bed, staring at the ceiling.

Outside, the dogs were yapping.
Something evil is here!

A shiver ran down her back. Indeed, evil was there.

This time, she got no hint at the place it might strike. She
just had a feeling something bad was going to happen. Absentmindedly, she
scratched at her wrist where the coral had irritated her skin. The itch increased
to the point that she sat up in bed, trying to remove the bracelet, but it
wouldn’t come off. She watched with morbid fascination as her fingertips became
transparent and disappeared. She didn’t have enough magic left to fight the
overwhelming force that slowly dragged her away.

“Rafe?” The word came out more like a whimper.

Unlike her wrist, which kept burning, her palm didn’t hurt,
although the void had eaten more than half her fingers by the time he ran back
into the room.

The Guardian didn’t hesitate. Kneeling on the bed, he caught
her arm with one hand, holding a blade in the other. With no space between the
wrist and the bracelet—the sharp coral pieces were biting deeply into her
skin—he went for the easiest choice. He sliced right through it. The blade tore
her wrist open, blood gushing out freely, but it also split the threads in
half.

Alise clutched the arm against her chest with a stifled cry
of pain.

A louder cry came from the room across the hall, and Rafe
rushed out before she could blink.

Holding the bleeding wrist with her other hand, Alise ran
after him. She arrived in time to hear the last part of Vale’s explanation.
“The necklace was choking her. She was struggling to take it off, but I
couldn’t cut it without killing her. It was too risky.”

There was one extra person in the corridor listening in.
Given the shocked expression on Mark’s face, he had heard, possibly even seen,
more than he needed to. Alise wished he hadn’t. She winced when Rafe punched
him, knocking him to the floor, but it was necessary. They needed time to think
and come up with a plan.

“What the hell happened?” Rafe asked. “Where did she go?”

“I … I think he took her,” Vale said.

“Gorem.” Rafe’s face darkened.

Vale nodded. “He must have a powerful Wizard on his side.”

“And we have none. Damn.”

Not good at all.
Alise gulped.
We’re doomed.

Rafe and Alise were alone in the Guardians’ safe house. In
order to save resources, only one room had been created—Rafe’s. He tossed Alise
the healing stone, saying, “Catch!” Then he paced the floor, aggravated.

Was he worried about Cassie or Vale? Though there was little
hope they could get her back easily, Vale had gone to try and find details
about what happened to her. Not knowing for sure what Rafe was thinking—more
than anything else, Alise suspected he was pissed because someone had gotten
through his precious protective seals—she shook her head and pressed the
healing stone to her wrist.

Nothing happened. The stone refused to react as if she were
a mere human. It couldn’t tell the difference between her and an inanimate
object. Alise held back a sigh. Ever since she had crossed over, she had known
this time would come, the moment when she would run out of magic, and it pained
her to acknowledge it. Once it did happen, it meant her life was over. She
couldn’t be a Fairy without magic, and she couldn’t store the magic without her
wings.

“It’s not working,” she said quietly.

“What?” Rafe spun towards her, and his eyes locked onto her
bloody hands. “Oh…”

He stepped closer and took the healing stone from her. When
he ran it over her wrist, the familiar warmth and vibrations signaled the stone
was doing its job. Only days ago, she had been able to do such things by
herself without the aid of a stone. Now she could only watch as the bleeding
stopped, the flesh healing from within, and the skin was pulled tightly
together, forming scars that quickly disappeared.

She felt funny in the close proximity of the Guardian. His
touch on her skin allowed her to steal a spark of magic from him. If he knew,
he didn’t show any sign that he was bothered by it. Faded golden vines glided
over her skin, wrapping around her wrist, erasing any trace left by foreign
magic and evil spells. It happened so fast that if you blinked, you missed it,
but Rafe hadn’t. He stared at her wrist, pondering, then he brushed his thumb
over the brand new skin covering the spot. With all his fighting and weapon
handling, his hands somehow managed to remain as smooth as hers.

Alise fought against the tingle that spread over her skin.
Her body craved that touch with a ferocity that would only get stronger in
time, but whether it needed the touch or the magic that seeped from it, she
couldn’t tell. She couldn’t think straight. When those quicksilver eyes bore
into hers, she glanced away, feeling weak and inadequate. This was a different
world with different rules, and even they, as people, were different. It didn’t
change the fact that she was his prisoner.

As if reading into her discomfort and seeing right through
it, Rafe casually released her and slipped the stone into his pocket. He moved
away while she kept her eyes on the window, looking outside. It wasn’t a fake
screen or a shot of the city, but a real view of the garden in the back of the
house.

Under the moonlight, a dark silhouette staggered on the
concrete path—Mark. He stopped near a hibiscus bush and started to mechanically
pluck flowers off it. The Guardians had not been gentle when they erased the
memories of the night from his mind. It had left him confused and a little
lost, but with the dogs roaming around him, calm and alert, he was as safe as
he could be.

The pain of the tortured hibiscus resonated through her, and
she turned away from the sore sight, murmuring, “I should go clean up a
little…” Her wrist felt fine, but the blood had trickled down her arm and
dripped on her shirt and pants, drying in sticky patches. She needed a shower
and a new set of clothes.

When she started to leave, Rafe gently pressed his hand on
the back of her shirt. It was the second time he had done that. Couldn’t he
just ask if he wanted something? She stood frozen on the spot, waiting. He
leaned over her shoulder, one hand turning her to face him and tilting her chin
up, and his mouth landed hard on hers, crushing her small gasp of surprise.

Confronted with the skilled assault of his mouth, she had no
other choice but to surrender. Her mouth opened, welcoming his invasion,
vaguely aware of his arm circling her waist, supporting her, and the hand
fisted in her hair that kept her neck at a perfect angle for the kiss. And what
a kiss it was. Colors danced behind her eyelids, and the entire structure of
her world slipped and shifted a little. Magic flew freely between them, making
her body sing with contentment.

This was wrong on so many levels. The Fairies were famous
for their outrageous flirting, but only because they were so beautiful and
everyone wanted them. Hooking up with a Guardian was out of the question. They
didn’t even belong to the same species.

She didn’t know why she felt the need to wrap her arms
around Rafe’s neck and run her fingers through his short, blond hair, but she
did it anyway. His body stood tense and hard in her arms, like a pillar of
strength and undefeated force hidden in leather gear. Her skin tingled all
over, and that sudden whimper of need couldn’t have been hers… 

A possessive growl emerged from somewhere deep inside Rafe’s
chest, and the nature of the kiss changed. He was done imposing his dominance
on her, and he continued their gentle and elaborate kiss for his own enjoyment.

* * *

The click of the lock on the door prompted Rafe to let Alise
go. He stepped back, leaving her wide-eyed and startled, surrounded by a cloud
of sparks that faded fast. Alise’s vision came back into focus, settling on
Vale, who was still holding onto the doorknob. The Guardian shook his head,
letting them know he hadn’t been able to find Cassie. She lowered her head and,
mumbling something about a shower, disappeared inside the bathroom.

“That was risky and unnecessary,” Vale said once he and Rafe
were alone.

“No, it
was
necessary,” Rafe said. “She was running
out of steam, and we need her to be able to defend herself. It’s not ideal, but
it will hold her for a while. It’s like jump-starting a car.”

“And now she’ll consume even those resources she didn’t know
she had. It will weaken her more in the long run,” Vale said. “You’ll have to
do something more drastic than that next time.”

Not a muscle moved on Rafe’s face, and when he spoke, his
voice remained blank. “I’m aware of that.”

Vale shrugged and walked farther into the room. A corridor
formed behind him, the lights from the blue room glittering at its end. “Okay.
I just want to make sure you know what you’re getting yourself into…”

Rafe didn’t answer. They might share a safe house and watch
each other’s backs, but the implications of his actions were for him to
consider. Besides, he had wanted to kiss her from the first time he had laid
eyes on her.

They moved to the blue room where Vale splayed on the couch
and let out a tired sigh. He looked up at Rafe. “So, how was it?” he asked with
a smile.

Rafe pressed his fingers to his lips as if pondering the
answer. “You know that rumor about Fairies’ kisses being poisonous?” He
grinned. “It’s not true.”

* * *

No news wasn’t always good news so, in this particular case,
Alise expected the worst when she returned to the room. Unlike the Guardians,
she knew firsthand what they were dealing with.

“I’ve looked everywhere,” Vale said. “Wherever I turned, I
ran into the same repelling force that prevented me from getting any closer.
Whoever is ensuring his security knows what he’s doing.”

“We need a Wizard,” Rafe concluded with a wave of his hand.

“I don’t see how we’ll find any in this place. If we do, I
don’t see how we’ll convince him to cooperate.”

“Unless you know someone?” Rafe looked at Alise.

She shook her head. Water dripped from her hair onto the
white shirt covering her shoulders—another one of Rafe’s. She hadn’t kept in
touch with anyone after crossing over. For all she knew, they all thought she
was dead. In a way, it was a blessing.

“At least we know she’s not dead,” Rafe said, focused on the
bright side. “They wouldn’t have bothered to kidnap her if they only intended
to kill her.”

Only?
Alise threw him a glare.

“Torturing her is highly unlikely,” he quickly said. “She
doesn’t know anything, so there’s no information he could get from her. Cassie
is safe.”

Alise didn’t share his optimism.

“Of course, we wouldn’t have to worry about her safety if
you weren’t so eager to accept presents from strangers,” Rafe said.

“Excuse me?”

“The necklaces…,” Vale said. “They had a spell on them. The
monster traps didn’t go off because, technically, we let them in. It allowed
the monsters—or monster—to pass and used them as decoys to distract us so it
could get to you.”

“You should have seen that monster,” Rafe said,
gesticulating with both hands. “I swear it could multitask.”

“Yes, I would have liked to have seen it,” Vale said,
sounding as if he was disappointed Rafe hadn’t called for his help.

“No worries. There will be more…,” Rafe replied.

They weren’t going to make any progress tonight. The sofa
looked inviting to Alise. She was exhausted. The lack of magic and the kiss had
taken their toll on her. For the time being, she needed to put Cassie out of
her mind and focus on sleep.

“Okay. We’ll spend the night here,” Rafe said, giving her an
odd look. “Tomorrow, we try again. We
will
get Cassie back.”