Becka’s hands balled into fists. Why had he brought her along just to make her watch from the sidelines?
Caeda nodded to Quinn, and then they headed off towards the cabin, the four wolves flanking their progress. Becka and Saige stood there with the horses, watching them go.
“This blows,” Becka whispered.
Saige yawned in response, again shaking her head.
She watched them split into even teams, and one moved around the front of the cabin.
For a moment there was quiet, and then she heard a scuffle. Becka saw flashes of movement through the windows and around the corners of the cabin but couldn’t make out any detail.
“How do you think it’s going?” Becka asked the shifter.
Saige cocked her head and let out a high-pitched whine in return.
“Well, isn’t this a lovely surprise?” came a low, rich feminine voice from behind her.
Becka’s heart rate spiked as she whipped around to face a curvaceous fae-touched woman standing maybe twenty feet away from her. She wore fitted slacks and a bright, color-blocked blouse like a city dweller. Her hair was short and layered in a carefree manner. Her smoky-eye makeup and shock-red lips matched her self-assured stance. The flash in her amber-toned eyes held no warmth.
Saige stood at her side, hackles raised, teeth bared, and snout wrinkled. The woman didn’t appear at all frightened of the shifter, as her eyes didn’t leave Becka despite the wolf’s warning.
How did the fae sneak up on us? Especially Saige?
She knew she should be afraid, but curiosity got the best of her. “You didn’t expect us to come after Alvilda?”
The sounds of fighting continued behind her. How many were there in total? Becka didn’t dare take her eyes off of the woman in front of her to check how things looked at the cabin.
The fae took a step closer, and Saige growled and snapped, moving between the two of them. Becka took off her gloves, shoving them into her pocket.
“Oh, I did. It’s why I waited for the enforcers to arrive. But I never expected them to bring you along, but I’m pleased we have this opportunity to meet, face to face, as they say.”
She’d hoped I would be here?
Terror gripped her stomach at the woman’s blatant confidence despite the shifters and enforcers closing in. How had she appeared out of thin air, casting no shadow despite the sunny day? Although this fae looked nothing like Woden, Becka was sure of one thing.
She stumbled a step backwards. “You’re a Shadow-Dweller!” And by the ongoing sounds of the fighting nearby, she hadn’t come alone.
The fae raised her hands with flourish and gave a half bow. “I’d heard you were clever… although I suppose not quite clever enough, because here you are.”
The woman took a step towards her, and Saige snapped again, yet the fae continued to inch closer. Becka’s head ached, her telltale that fae magic was nearby. What did this fae have up her sleeve?
Waiting for an opportunity to strike, Becka brought her focus to her hands, extending the reach of her Null gift as far as she could.
“The others will be back soon, and I’m not about to go down without a fight,” Becka replied, hands up defensively in front of her. If the Shadow-Dweller attacked, she’d be ready. “Who are you, and why are you meeting Alvilda?”
“I’m not here to fight you, Becka.” She inched forward. “You can call me Mimir, and I’m here to exact payment due from Alvilda.”
Becka recognized the name from fae myth. “You’re named after the ancient Keeper of Knowledge?”
Mimir smiled, her blood-red lip curling up in a macabre mask of joy. “Something like that.”
Becka noticed the woods behind her were silent. “The fight’s over. They’ll be coming back here to check on me.”
No doubt Saige had noticed too, as she let out a low, keening sound, but remained in front of Becka, blocking Mimir.
Mimir laughed in a carefree manner, taking another step forward. “I doubt that.”
Why are they silent?
Panic flooded her veins.
This isn’t how things were supposed to go.
“Are there more Shadow-Dwellers back there?” Becka asked. She kept trying to move around Saige, but the wolf continued to block her path to Mimir. “Dammit, Saige!” she whispered.
At this point, Mimir stood a mere six to seven feet away. Could Becka reach Mimir and Null her powers before the Shadow-Dweller had a chance to react?
“No. It’s just me here today,” Mimir replied, her smile widening.
Becka breathed a sigh of relief, but then her heart skipped a beat. “Wait, what? Then who are they fighting?”
Mimir scrunched her nose and winked, holding her hand over her chest in a faux-demure manner. “Me!”
Try as she might, Becka’s mind couldn’t wrap around Mimir’s puzzle. Frustrated and fueled by fear, Becka launched at Mimir, hands going for her throat. Saige was right beside her, jaws snapping.
Instead of making contact, Becka and Saige fell forward and through Mimir’s apparition which dissipated on contact. Both remained on their feet, but it took Becka a few steps to catch herself.
What had just happened? Becka scanned the forest around them. Mimir was gone! She’d been speaking to an illusion! That’s why Mimir had no shadow!
Fear, which had fueled her attack on Mimir’s apparition, now urged her towards the cabin. Becka took off at a run, despite the pain in her one bare foot. Saige ran alongside, quickly outpacing her.
Becka was utterly unprepared for the sight which greeted her when she reached the back of the cabin.
Chapter 30
Blood was everywhere.
The bodies of shifters and enforcers sprawled out on the scene before her. In front of the cabin was a lovely set of lounge chairs next to an overturned bistro table. Underneath the table Becka spied Caeda’s body, facedown and unmoving on the ground. Brent’s large white wolf form slumped across the stairs leading up into the cabin, bright red stains spattering across his fur.
Quinn! He lay lifeless, predictably in the middle of the fray, with two
