“Stupid werewolf,” he muttered.
“We all need to get some rest,” Thomas said. “We still have another demon to hunt.”
The next morning Juliana sat on Jeremiah’s back porch, coffee in hand. Early morning fog blanketed the world, making it hard to see anything past the perimeter of the yard. Knowing the wards and protections on the property, she wasn’t overly concerned about what might be lurking where she couldn’t see. Anna came out to sit beside her. The weight of her gaze made Juliana squirm in her chair.
“Jeremiah says your vampire was rather protective of you yesterday. It seems to me you’re getting rather cozy,” she said finally.
The corner of Juliana’s mouth curled up. “I suppose that’s one way of putting it, though I don’t know that I’d ever call a vampire cozy. They aren’t teddy bears. Well, teddy bears with teeth maybe but definitely not cozy.”
Anna snorted. “Teddy bears with teeth, indeed.” She paused for a moment. “What about your particular vampire?”
With anyone else, Juliana would have given the first smartass comment that came to mind. Anna was different. Besides, she didn’t tolerate flippancy when it came to topics she considered important. “Cozy is the last word I’d use to describe Thomas or our relationship. Dark, dangerous, screwed up, destructive. Any of those would be more fitting descriptors.”
“For him or your feelings for him?”
“Either. To paraphrase our relationship...we had this intense powerful thing. When I asked for time to get used to the idea, he disappeared. Now he’s back telling me the past seven years were just as hard on him as they were on me.”
“Maybe they were,” she said in a soft voice. She met Juliana’s eyes for a moment and then turned her head to look out over the yard. “I’m only saying you should keep an open mind. You don’t know that what he says isn’t true.”
Juliana shifted her gaze to the dissipating fog.
“What aren’t you telling me, child?” Her voice was soft, a thread of comfort woven into it. “Did he hurt you in some way?”
She smiled her half-smile again. “Other than abandoning me and breaking my heart? Not really. I just find it hard to separate him from all the other crap in my life sometimes. So much would have been different if he hadn’t left. I wouldn’t change it. Not all of it anyway, but it’s going to kill him when I finally get up the nerve to tell him. I don’t want anyone else hurt by what happened. It’s over.”
“Does he have to know?”
Juliana gaped in surprise. Anna was the biggest crusader she knew for complete honesty in a relationship. She gave Anna the courtesy of thinking about her answer before giving it. “Yes. As much as I hate it, he has to know. It’s too big a part of who I am now.”
Anna’s smile brightened her whole face. “You love him then.”
She blinked, then remembered just who Anna was. A Celtic demi-goddess of love. “I’ve always loved him. From the moment I first saw him,” she answered truthfully.
Anna patted her knee. “All will be well. You’ll see.”
Juliana didn’t ask if that was a prophecy or a prediction. She preferred not to know.
Her friend moved to go back in the house, pausing when she opened the sliding door. “I’ll send Jeremiah out when he’s ready. You’ve got a lot of work to do.” She stepped inside leaving Juliana with the uneasy feeling she wasn’t talking about demon hunting.
Half an hour later, Juliana’s phone buzzed while she stood beside Jeremiah’s car, waiting for him to unlock the door. James. Maybe the Gathering had information on the book.
“What’s up?”
“I need you. Now.” His voice was sharp, hurried.
Fear straightened her spine. “What’s going on?”
“I’ve got an inkmage spiking spells off in a dozen different directions. He’s already knocked three of my best off the playing field.” He sighed. “That’s not all. I know this kid. I know his family. They play with forbidden magics. I’d have eliminated them long ago but I’ve never had any proof. I’m getting it today.”
“Where are you?”
She snapped her phone shut and rattled off the address to Jeremiah. It was smack dab in the middle of mage territory, the area surrounding the Apocryphan. The Apocryphan was the Gathering’s center of power for the entire region. And right at the top of all of it sat James. Because of various laws, regulations and treaties, the Agency couldn’t get involved in any mage business in that area unless asked for help or there was a threat to the general populace. And knowing James he had that place locked down tighter than a dragon’s horde. Which meant no portals in or out. As Jeremiah peeled away from the curb she filled him in on the details. “If James can’t stop him, what does he expect you to do?” he asked.
“He’s hoping the mage won’t be able to sense me since I’m not one. Not a practicing one anyway. Then he’ll distract the bastard while I put a bullet through his brain.”
Jeremiah’s mouth sat in a grim line. “Your rifle’s in the trunk.”
“It usually is.” She hadn’t worried about it because James would have one waiting for her. When her own weapon was available she preferred to use it, but she wasn’t picky.
Thomas awaited them as they pulled up to the perimeter set by James and his men. She wasn’t even surprised to see him. In fact, she was grateful he was here. She needed someone she could trust to watch her back. Not that Jeremiah couldn’t be trusted, but she spent as much time worrying about him as she did completing the assignment when he was with her. Thomas could take care of himself.
A misty green glow hovered in the air, a visual representation of the containment spell set by the Gathering. She pulled out her phone and dialed James. “Yeah?” The ragged voice that answered didn’t belong to her best friend’s husband.
“It’s Juliana. Who’s this?”
“Rickert.” One of James’s personal guard. “Boss is keeping him busy. Shield will let you through. Vampire, too.”
Rickert never wasted words. “Kendrick?”
A grunt was the reply.
“I’ve got a fire elemental with me, too.”
“Didn’t know about him. Can’t fix it now, no time. Leave him there.” After that pronouncement, he hung up.
She put her phone away and looked at Jeremiah. “Pop the trunk. You’re going to have to stay here. The shield will fry you. It’s only set to accept me and Thomas.”
Jeremiah didn’t look pleased but he merely nodded.
“How large is the perimeter?” she asked.
“About two square miles. Agency’s taking up position around it as we speak.”
James rarely shut down that much area at once. Things must be bad. She grabbed the rifle out of the trunk, loaded it and handed the extra ammunition to Thomas. “Let’s go.”
They stepped through the green and into the unknown beyond.
Thomas glanced at his bride. This was taking some getting used to, the idea that he didn’t have to protect her from every danger. That instead he could head into battle with her by his side. He’d seen her fight, and knew she was more than competent. It didn’t mean he wasn’t going crazy with fear at the thought that something could happen to her. But he knew her, knew if he insisted on keeping her locked up safe from the world, he’d lose her.
So he fell into step beside her, and let her take the lead. He kept his hands behind his back as they strode
