“Okay everyone,” Omega’s holographic avatar said, suddenly standing in front of the seating area. “Our first target of the night is approaching. Formerly part of a Soviet lift rocket, the object is orbiting earth at a distance of 20,709 miles and is travelling at just a bit over 17,500 miles per hour.”
The three monitors lit up as he spoke, one showing a computer graphic of the rocket and its orbit around Earth, one showing the live view of the actual rocket tube, likely from a drone that was in a matching orbit, and one showing a magnified view of the night sky above us.
I felt a surge of excitement from Declan and glanced his way. The nano-watch on his wrist had morphed, sending a tendril of thin silver up his arm, under his shirt, out his collar, and forming around his left eye. Whichever way the device was feeding him its information, my witch was clearly tickled with it.
“Prepping for shot,” Declan said, still sitting cross-legged and staring straight ahead at the city skyline. A glow over his eyes told me he was likely seeing a projection and not the Big Apple at night.
“Wait,” Kristin whispered in my ear, clearly forgetting how many supernatural ears could hear her. “Aren’t we supposed to watch his back?”
I gave her a pleased smile. It seemed she might be on board after all. “He’s surrounded by the most dangerous beings on this world, but even more than that… watch.”
No sooner had the words left my mouth than a wave of liminal blue light rose in a dome around him, matching the copper circle set into the concrete pad his white board rested on. Kristin sucked in a surprised breath but watched with eyes wide. The dome closed and then disappeared, fading into invisibility. As soon as it was gone from sight, a second, much larger dome rose over all of us, this one a translucent green. It too faded from view.
Suddenly a point of light, just a pinprick of white, appeared above the top of the big dome, glowing like a newborn star.
“Don’t look directly at it,” I warned my young charge.
“It’s hard to take my eyes off it,” she whispered back.
“Look at the monitors,” I suggested.
On the tracking screen, a red dot representing the rocket tube was almost directly over the little diamond of blue that represented our position.
“Firing,” Declan said, sounding distracted.
A tiny star over our heads suddenly shot upward, gone in less than the blink of an eye. The tracking monitor showed a white spot rising rapidly toward the red target. The real-time view of the tumbling rocket tube suddenly flared white, so bright, it blotted out the picture for a microsecond. It cleared rapidly, forming into a ball of glowing gases that disappeared almost as soon as we saw them.
“Direct hit,” Omega said, a pleased smile on his avatar’s face. “Approximately ninety-seven percent consumption of target.”
“Yes!” Declan said, jumping up and looking back at us.
“Is lucky shot,” Arkady rumbled, frowning.
“Don’t care,” Nika said to him, holding out her hand. “Pay up.”
Grumbling, the giant vampire reached into a bag at his feet and pulled an ornate knife in an equally ornate sheath and despite his clear annoyance, gently set it in her outstretched hand.
“Any other wagers that need to be settled at this time?” Omega asked.
“Ours are based on the first three shots,” Chris said, his eyes gleaming, “And we’ll settle them privately.”
“Retch,” Lydia said. “Get a room.”
“I’ve got the whole building,” Tanya replied.
“Use it, and be mindful of my niece and nephew,” the tiny vampire shot back.
“Next target in thirteen minutes and six seconds,” Omega said. “Avail yourselves of the snack buffet now please or hold your peace.” A countdown timer appeared on all three of the big screens.
My witch dropped his personal circle and exchanged high fives with Mack, Bruce Devany, two of the security guys, and, very oddly, Katrina, as he headed straight for me.
“I did it!” he said, grabbing me in a tight hug. The satisfaction I felt through our bond was palpable. He’d been carrying a lot of doubt these last few weeks.
“Was that the first successful shot?” Kristin asked.
“I clipped one last week, but that really was a lucky shot. This nano stuff is exactly what I need. Like having a red dot sight on a rifle or handgun.”
“What was it? That thing you fired. It wasn’t a laser beam; it moved too slow,” Kristin said.
“Plasma,” Chet Atkins said from just behind Declan, who turned and high-fived him.
“Isn’t that extremely difficult to control? And how did you contain it through over twenty thousand miles?”
“He can generate and control extremely complex magnetic fields,” Chet said.
“Get your snacks, folks. Father, time to prepare,” Omega said.
Long-fingered hands slipped up to cradle my head and then my witch’s lips were pressed against mine in a long kiss. He tasted of smoke, rich earth, the tang of the ocean, and the clean air of the mountains. I love kissing my witch when all of his powers are in full force. He moved to pull away, but I grabbed him and returned the kiss with one of my own. His eyes read the promise in mine and he grinned as I finally allowed him to back away.
“Double retch,” a snarky voice said from behind me.
“Watch the mosquitoes,” I warned Declan without turning around. “They’re buzzing quite loudly tonight.”
“But they bite so deliciously,” Bruce Devany said quietly.
“Ewww,” I said simultaneously with another female voice. I turned and saw that Tanya was staring at the werewolf and the pixie-sized vampire, her expression a mirror of my
