He pressed his thumbs to the ball of my foot as he continued to explain. “What were you thinking about right before you popped out?”
“Spencer and how much I hate him.”
“Bingo.” He winked. I stared, not making the connection. He bounced his attention to Leo. “You get it, right?”
Leo nodded. “She followed Spencer’s echo.”
“He must have teleported there several times before to leave an echo strong enough for your subconscious to pick up,” Clay stated.
“That does explain a few things, like how Alec found us so many times last year. He must have been reading my echo or whatever. Oh, speaking of the dark elemental. He—ahhh. Do that again, Leo.” I fell back once again, loving the dual foot massage. Now other parts of me wanted a massage. “When I followed Spencer to an abandoned warehouse down at the docks, guess who he was there to meet?” I didn’t wait for them to answer and blurted it out. “Alec von freakin’ Leer.”
“No!” Rob barked.
“He’s dead,” Bryan added.
“I thought you killed him,” Leo pointed out.
Clay stopped the massage as he studied me. “It really was him up at the Point, wasn’t it?”
I nodded. “And my handler is his silent partner. Isn’t that awesome?”
“He’s the one who created that creepy fog, isn’t he?”
“Fog?” Bryan stiffened as he darted his attention to Clay, then me. “What fog?”
“We were surrounded by this gray fog that made it impossible to see.” Clay had no idea the connection the fog had to Bryan’s grandfather. He went on before I could stop him, oblivious to how red Bryan had grown, how tense and hard his entire body had gotten, how much the atmosphere had shifted in the room. “And man did it stink, like—”
“Burnt human hair,” Bryan muttered hollowly.
Clay snapped his fingers. “Exactly. Burnt hair and maybe a little singed rubber.”
Bryan collapsed against the wall, his chest deflating from the realization. “It’s back.”
“It’s not your grandfather.” I was sure of it.
“No, I mean the fog. It supposedly died with him. The fact it didn’t means he showed someone else how to create it, how to use it.” He lowered his head, shaking it, looking so close to crumpling to the floor, it pulled at my heart.
“Now that we have proof, we can go to the Council and get him removed.” Rob marched to the door like anyone from the Council would answer a call from the new guy at ten o’clock at night. When no one else moved, he turned with a frown. “What are you waiting for?”
“For Montana to finish.” Clay resumed the foot rub, and I sighed deep. “Something tells me there’s more to the story.”
“A lot more,” I agreed. “Jules was there. She’s having Spencer cozy up to her sister to turn her. The Council thinks this is all part of the grand plan. They have no idea he’s really dark and playing them. He’s using some sort of enchantment spell to keep everyone charmed so they don’t question him or see him for what he really is—a leecher with the ability to conceal it. You want to know the best part? Vanessa knows all the assorted details and has no idea she’s playing right into his hand.” I looked at Rob. “That’s why you can’t go to the Council. They won’t listen. Trust me, been there, done that.”
He sank against the door, his shoulders sagging. “What are we supposed to do? Alec has an in.” He finished in a snarl, “Again.”
“We break the spell.” I sat up, taking my feet back and tucking them under me, and waiting for everyone to look at me before going on. Although I loved the massage, it was too distracting. For what we had to face, we needed everyone’s undivided attention, including mine. I jumped off the bed and padded to Bryan. “How’d the patrol beat your grandfather?”
He didn’t ask me not to bring it up as he shook his head back and forth as if trying to get away from the request. He didn’t deny knowing the answer as he cringed, the solution causing him physical pain. It surprised me when Clay placed his hand on Bryan’s shoulder and squeezed in reassurance. I’m pretty sure it shocked us all. “We got you, Bry. You aren’t going at this alone. We got you.”
Leo stood next to Clay, resting his hand on Bryan’s other shoulder. “Talking about it doesn’t make you dark.”
“Not here.” He finally lifted his gaze, settling it on Rob, who nodded in understanding and joined the rest of the group.
“Let’s head to the cabin.” He hooked me around the waist and grasped Bryan’s wrist. Clay took hold of Leo’s arm while I grabbed his hand so all five of us touched.
The void swallowed us, dropping us in the living room of the cabin. I noticed the window I’d broken by calling earth had been replaced. Rob checked the doors and windows. Although the cabin was heavily warded, there were other threats out there besides dark elementals, Nelem threats like hungry animals.
Leo rested his hands on his knees and drew in deep breaths while Clay immediately took to the kitchen and checked the fridge. “What, no beer?”
“I haven’t even moved in yet.” Rob disappeared down the hall to check the rest of the windows.
“I’m doing a beer run. Something tells me we’re going to need it. Leo? Wanna come?”
Leo shook his head slowly and brought up his hand, still doubled over. “I’m good.”
Clay popped out.
Bryan sank onto the couch, his head in his hands. I sat next to him and ran my hand across his shoulders. He rested up against me and released a shuddering sigh. I hated what this did to him and wished we didn’t need him to walk us through such painful memories. But, unfortunately, we did.
Leo dragged a chair in from the kitchen, placing it on the other side of the
