Chapter One:
Viola Ashwood dreamed of war. She dreamed of rivers of demon blood soaking the ground, battle cries ringing in her ears, and leading an army of demons to victory over Elrachaim. She woke with the scent of gunpowder burning her nose and the bitter tang of blood coating her tongue. Energy crackled at her fingertips and along her arms.
"This has got to stop."
She sat up against the headboard, rubbed her churning stomach, and glared at the man still sleeping beside her. A small, peevish side of her wanted to kick him so he'd wake up; it was his dream that had roused her, after all. She didn’t mind being mentally linked to her husband, but dream-sharing wasn’t something she considered a perk. Careful not to rouse the bed’s other occupant, Viola slid off the bed. She ruffled the hair of the two Wfsals snoring on her nightstand and padded out of the bedroom.
She kept the kitchen lights off while she set the kettle on the burner and prepped a cup of ginger tea. As she waited for the water to boil, she booted up her laptop and opened her e-mail program. She and Tobias Duke, her husband of three and a half months, had returned from a week-long tour of his region of the Network, a federally-backed but autonomously run organization of supernatural specialists. She'd used the trip to scout out several hotels and bed-and-breakfasts for Spirited Stays, her “paranormal experience” travel agency. Between the ghosts and Network meetings, she hadn’t had a chance to do more than scroll through her inbox. It was going to take hours to go through her unread messages.
Viola poured boiling water over the ginger and herb filled infuser and returned to her e-mail. She let the strong aroma of the ginger cleanse the remnants of blood and war from her memory. She patted her stomach when it slowly stopped churning. "Thank you, sweetheart. We'll kick your daddy's ass later." She cocked her head to the side, ears twitching at the sound of footsteps on the stairs. "Isn't that right, Tobias?"
Duke rubbed the grit of sleep his eyes as he stumbled into the kitchen. He dropped a kiss on the top of Viola's auburn head before collapsing onto the chair beside her. "Wha’s tha’?"
"Between your war dreams and the spawn's restlessness, it's a wonder I get any sleep at all." Viola closed the top of her laptop and squeezed Duke's hand. She let the tingle that came from their link chase away her early-morning grouchiness. "You need to put Sebastian's vision out of your mind."
His jaw hardened. All traces of sleepiness disappeared. "He saw a... God, sugar, he saw a damn battlefield. With you leading the damn troops."
"Sebastian watches too much late-night cable." She scowled when a Sebastian-insult failed to lighten his mood. Overprotective by nature, Duke had descended into full-blown paranoia when they'd learned she was pregnant. No matter how many times she tried to assure him that she was more than capable of protecting herself, he insisted on keeping her in a cocoon. It grated on her nerves.
"Your brother had a vision about you commanding an army of demons, about you going to war with your father."
"He's not my father," she bit out, anger darkening her eyes. The demon king Elrachaim had possessed her father, but that thing walking around with Gerard Ashwood's face and voice was not her beloved father; it was a monster. A rabid dog that needed to be put down before it could harm her baby.
"I know, sweetness, I know." Duke guided her off her chair and onto his lap. Mindful of his still-healing shoulder, he cradled her against his chest with her head tucked under his chin. "I'm sorry about that. Blame it on the fact that I'm running on no caffeine."
"You should have stayed in bed."
"I can't sleep when you're not there with me."
Viola's heart melted. Tears stung her eyes. He was so gruff most of the time that his sweeter side still stunned her. She was glad no one else saw the gooey side to the rough, tough Network region head. "Aww, Tobias."
"I mean, lately you've been a little space heater and it's damn cold in that bedroom."
The tears dried. Her lips thinned. She dug her knees into his hips. "You're a jerk."
"Yeah." Duke tilted her head back and kissed her until his lungs burned for oxygen. He smirked at her glazed eyes and stunned expression. It was a surefire way to soften her sharp tongue. "You love it."
"I love you," she corrected once she caught her breath. With the pad of her thumb, she caressed the dark shadows under his eyes. "Sebastian's visions don't always come true. You know that. He's been wrong before, too."
Duke sighed. He knew Sebastian’s track record, and that the other man was still recovering from his addiction to the vision-subverting Dreamless Sleep. Aware of his limitations, Sebastian hadn’t even wanted to share his vision with his sister and brother-in-law. Duke had ripped it out of Sebastian’s brain. The first nightmare had hit him the same night.
Aware that she wasn’t going to get any promises out of Duke, Viola skipped her fingers across the thick bandage under his shirt. When she wasn’t sharing his war nightmares, her dreams were graphic replays of the day he’d been impaled by a Folist. She didn’t think she’d ever get over seeing him so close to death. She hoped she never had to witness anything like it again.
“You have physical therapy this morning.” Much to his annoyance, she’d taken on the role of enforcer by driving him to each of his physical therapy appointments and tattling to his doctor if he did any of the ‘restricted’ activities at home.
He swore under his breath. “I need to go over the rotation schedule with Bert. We’re down three teams, so the guys are overworked. I can’t have anyone getting sloppy. Sloppy equals dead.”
Though it had been almost four months since Jim Pearson and Charlie Hayes had been murdered by Elrachaim, they were still scrabbling to cover the gap in the Network rotation schedule. With Duke on the disabled list because of his shoulder, and Abelardo Cardenas recovering from a nasty bout of pneumonia, there weren’t enough teams to cover the large Houston-Galveston area. That the area had the region’s largest concentration of demons didn’t help matters, either.
“Hook me up with Bert temporarily.” She groaned when Duke glared. Not content simply being a possessive, overprotective husband he was also a possessive, overprotective Network partner. “Stop being an idiot, and think about it. There’s no reason we have to be down three teams when Bert and I are perfectly healthy. We can take a few rotations until you and Abel are back.”
“You’re pregnant.”
“Yeah, so?”
“Tracking’s dangerous.”
“So is walking out of the house every day, but I’m not going to stop doing that. Granny Tracked all the way into her third trimester.” Since she was estranged from her institutionalized mother, Viola had turned to Duke’s grandmother for advice about handling pregnancy and the Network. She adored Aggie Duke and knew the older woman wouldn’t steer her wrong.
“Granny wasn’t…” Duke’s arm tightened around Viola’s waist. He kissed the top of her head, and inhaled the subtle scent of her shampoo. He didn’t want to fight with her, but they’d avoided the topic for long enough. “She wasn’t you, sugar.”
Viola bristled, but didn’t leave the warmth of his embrace. She glared up at him with frosty black eyes. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“She wasn’t reckless, impulsive, or crazy.” He clamped a hand over her mouth when she tried to respond. “I know you wouldn’t do anything to put the baby in danger, but it may not always be up to you, sweetness. As long as your fath – Elrachaim is out there, you’ve got a damn bull’s-eye plastered on your back. He wants you and the baby, and I’ll be damned if I’m going to make it easy for him. If that means I have to keep you where I can see you, then you’re just going to have to deal with it, sugar.”
She kissed his palm. When he released her mouth, she pecked the corner of his lips. The black haze of power slowly faded from her eyes. “I’d wondered when we were going to get around to the three-thousand dollar treadmill that appeared in my office while we were gone.”
“I’m not foolish enough to try and stop you from running when you need to clear your head, but there’s no way in hell I can keep up with you. I figured the treadmill was a good compromise.”
“I like the fresh air.”
“Then open a window.”
Her left eye twitched, her nose wrinkled. Normally such a statement would have earned him a fist to the shoulder, but she was feeling generous. Besides, she couldn’t fault him for wanting to keep her safe. After Elrachaim attacked Granny Duke, she’d tried to send Duke away. She had minimized his contact with Elrachaim as much as possible and contemplated trading the world away for his safety. Buying a treadmill was nothing compared to what she’d done.
Duke closed his eyes and rested his cheek on her head. He didn’t like it, but she was right about the rotation schedule. Without one more team on the roster, there would be very little downtime for his Trackers. “When I talk to Bert, I’ll tell him that you’re his temporary partner. We’ll put you in three times a week to give the others a break.”
“Thanks, Tobias.” She knew how much it had cost him to both admit that he was wrong and to put aside his protective instincts. “I won’t be alone, you know. I’ll have Griff and Pip with me.”
He had taken the two Wfsals, shape-changing demon bodyguards, into consideration. Pip considered himself the baby’s personal guard while Griff was perfectly content defending his beloved Lady Viola. “I’ll be there, too.”
“As what, our cheerleader? You open up that shoulder again, Tobias, and I’m going to have Doc Luna put your ass in a medically-induced coma for the full six weeks.”
“Did you hear what I said about not letting you out of my sight?” His eyes snapped open. He shifted her so he could glare at her without craning his neck. His shoulder throbbed. As he’d done whenever the pain was unbearable or he needed an extra boost of energy, he tapped into Viola’s head and leeched a small measure of power from the thick, pulsating black cord of energy. Though the thinner, warmer pink energy cord offered energy that didn’t burn and lasted longer, he was determined to save it for the baby. He could handle small doses of the dark energy.
“Of course I heard you, Tobias. I just think you’re going a little overboard, that’s all.”
“We don’t know where Elrachaim went. We don’t know how much you weakened him the last time. We don’t know how many minions he has left or what he’s planning next.” Duke clamped a hand on her shoulder and shook her lightly. “All we know is that he needs you and he wants our child. Even if we took the baby out of the equation, the demon’s still threatening one of the most important things in my life. If you think I’m just going to let you go gallivanting off while I’m stuck at home…”
“All right,” she conceded, concerned by his anger and the pallor of his skin. She placed the back of her hand against his forehead, but he didn’t feel feverish. When he turned his head so that she was cupping his cheek, she caught the slightest hint of black in his blue eyes. By the time she’d blinked and leaned in for a better look, it was gone. She filed it away for later contemplation.
“Besides, you and Bert may need a getaway driver. Remember that time he and Abel accidentally broke up a Lilig mating ritual?”
“And ended up in the car surrounded by angry, frustrated Liligs until you and Sebastian had to rescue them? Max spent the next month using that as a teaching tool until Bert threatened him.” Viola grinned. She felt only the slightest pang of sorrow at the memory of her long-deceased Network mentor. Max Sparks hadn’t been her first choice, but he’d been a great teacher. He’d helped fill a void left in her life when her father had disappeared on her sixteenth birthday.
“Yeah.” Duke chuckled. Once they’d rescued Bert and Abelardo, he and Sebastian had laughed so hard they’d been in tears. Every Tracker knew to avoid Liligs during mating season, yet two of the most experienced in the area had made a rookie mistake.
The black power masked the pain but did nothing to repair the damaged joint. He mentally willed his shoulder to heal faster. If anything happened to Viola while he was still incapacitated, he’d never forgive himself. “I know you think I’m being a smothering jackass just for the hell of it, but I need to be there, Vi.”
“I know.” She kissed away the fear churning inside him. She dragged her fingers through his short hair until he was practically purring. “It’ll drive me crazy, but I know. We’ll get through it.”
“At least I’m not dragging Finn along and making it a family outing.”
Viola’s gaze drifted to the dog sleeping on the rug in front of the refrigerator. Finn, her faithful Kuvasv, had been seriously injured during the attack at Granny Duke’s house. He’d been home from the veterinarian’s for two weeks and still couldn’t climb the stairs. He spent most of his time sleeping or laying with her on the couch getting his ears scratched. Her heart ached for Finn. The sooner he got back to his normal, rambunctious self the better.
“He’s not up for it. You’ll be back on rotation long before he can come back out with us.” She blinked back tears, swallowed back a sob. If Finn heard her crying, he’d wake up and do everything in his power to cheer her up. She didn’t want to upset him.
“Oh, sugar.” Duke hugged her tightly. Though not as attached to the mutt as Viola, he was learning to appreciate Finn, especially since the dog had been injured protecting his grandmother. “You saw the report from Finn’s last check-up. The farting machine will be back to stealing my side of the bed and chasing squirrels sooner than you think.”
“Yeah,” she sighed, eyes drifting shut. She slid Duke’s hand so that his palm was over her abdomen then covered his hand with hers. It was too early to feel the baby moving, but she swore there was a little prickle in their link that had to be the kid. “It’s just… I’m going to be busy with the sanctuary, work, and rotation. You’ve got just as much to worry about. Throw Elrachaim and the spawn on top of all that, and we’re stretched pretty thin. I don’t think we can handle much more.”
Grimacing, Duke kissed the back of her head. They were so screwed. “Way to jinx us, sugar.”
Chapter Two:
When the rumble of thundering feet grew louder, Viola pressed closer against the tree she’d spent four minutes hiding behind.Who said she couldn’t be patient when it really counted?She clamped her mouth shut and drew soft, shallow breaths through her nose so her quarry wouldn’t hear her.The nearby branches swayed; the ground beneath her vibrated with every step her prey took in her direction.She tensed, the muscles in her legs tightened as she prepared to spring up from her crouch.With a feral smile stretched across her glowing face, she leaped.
“Gotcha!”
“Ai-ee!”Sebastian crumpled under the flying tackle.The air left his lungs with an audible whoosh when his back hit the hard ground.He blinked until the bursts of red-and-blue stars clouding his vision faded.He and his spinning head were grateful the world stopped tilting after only a few seconds.He tried to sit up but was pinned to the ground by one hundred and fifteen pounds of cackling, snorting Viola.
“S-sweet Mer-mercy, Bas,” Viola panted.She used the cuff of her long-sleeved t-shirt to wipe the tears off her cheeks.“You should have seen your face!”
“You are aware that I’m going to kill you, right?”Having cheerfully delivered his threat, he shoved Viola off his stomach and sat upright.He rubbed the back of his head, felt for a lump.He eyed his still-giggling sister warily.He’d learned, the hard way, never to trust a giggling Viola.“I thought Duke cut your caffeine allowance in half.”
“Yep.Only two cups of black tea in the mornings.Sucks but not worth fighting over.This is an all-natural high, baby.”She grinned, jumped to her feet.She held out a hand to him and wriggled her fingers impatiently when he hesitated.“Come on.I’m not going to trick you.”
He contemplated his options for another second before he slipped his hand into Viola’s.Once he was standing, he released her hand and brushed the leaves and dirt off his back.He had a feeling her sudden attack of silliness had to do with hormones, but was smart enough to keep his mouth shut.The sanctuary was full of demons willing to do anything for her; he was certain that list included disposing of bodies.
“What are you doing here, Vi?”
“Meeting with Voltnor and Tad.Same as I do every morning.Today’s meeting is going to last forever.I wish they had dealt with a few of the bigger things on their own.Voltnor has to get over his need for my approval on everything.I trust him.”
“I meant what are you doing out here and not back at the camp?”
Viola shrugged.“Voltnor’s stuck mediating some tiff between two Preas.Tad mentioned that you’d gone for a run and pointed out your usual route.I told Pip and Griff to keep eating breakfast with Mixie.I had planned on just catching up with you along the trail, but this sounded like more fun.”
“Thanks.”
He rolled his shoulders to try and relieve the tension in his shoulders.Though he’d coached a high school track team, he’d never been a fan of running for pleasure.When he’d joined Burkeholt, the demon sanctuary Viola had created, as an English teacher, the two co-leaders of the sanctuary had put him on a strict exercise and diet regime.They claimed it would help with his Dreamless Sleep rehabilitation, but he swore it was punishment for some crime he didn’t remember committing.
“How far do they have you running today?”Unlike her brother, Viola had always been a fan of running. She’d been the star of her high school track team, and was the fastest runner in their Network region.It was a talent that had helped with Tracking and sneaking out of the house as a teenager.
“Four miles.I’m almost halfway done.”Sebastian glanced up at the sky.Clouds were rushing in faster than he’d anticipated.He needed to find a more reliable weather forecast.“I need to hurry before that rain they were promising dumps on us.”
“Let’s go then.”Without waiting for his response, she started off down the trail at a comfortable jog.It wasn’t as fast as she usually ran when she was alone, but it would allow her to converse with Sebastian.“How’re you doing, Bas?”
“You’d think that since I’m the brother of their darling Lady Viola, they’d go easier on me,” he grumbled.
Voltnor and Tad had wanted her to approve their plans for Sebastian, but she’d made it clear that she wanted no part of it.They had more experience with Dreamless Sleep, and she was afraid she’d cave the first time Sebastian complained.“Maybe they expect more from you because you’re my brother.”
Sebastian’s eyes narrowed in mock-anger.He tried to hide his burgeoning smile.His relationship with Viola was nowhere near as comfortable as it should have been, but they were making progress and healing old hurts.“Well, next time could you try not setting the damn bar so high?The rest of us don’t stand a chance!”
She chuckled.“Now you know I felt having to follow Olivia the Perfect in high school!I’m not an empath, but even I could feel the teachers’ disappointment when they realized I wasn’t a Livy clone.”
He nudged her in the ribs with his elbow.“You ever think that she got on so well with her teachers because she’s an empath?She’d know exactly how each teacher was feeling so there was never a chance of misreading someone.”
Viola gasped.Olivia was a cheater!Viola’s ability to see spirits had only caused trouble for her in high school, but Olivia’s gift had helped her become the teacher’s pet in every one of her classes.She blamed herself for not bringing up the subject with either of her siblings earlier.Before their father’s disappearance and possession, she’d been stuck in an awkward, rebellious stage; after his vanishing act, she’d only grown more unreachable and angry.
She allowed herself a moment of self-pity before moving past it.Remembering her brother’s gift, she slapped his shoulder.How easy would classes have been if she could have simply seen upcoming tests?“What about you?Did you ever use your visions to make school easier?”
“Nope.Never.Not once.I swear.”He chortled when her eyebrows disappeared under her bangs.“I really, really mean it, Vi.”
“You are such a liar!”She was slightly envious, but wouldn’t trade her gift for either of theirs.If she couldn’t interact with ghosts, she never would have started her business or allowed Duke to re-connect with his late father.She just wished she’d been able to turn that ability to her advantage when she was younger.
Sebastian glanced down at the pedometer clipped to his waistband.A mile-and-a-half to go.He swiped at a bead of sweat before it could roll into his eye.“Have you heard from Olivia lately?”
Viola stumbled over an exposed root.She regained her balance and shook off Sebastian’s hand.“Not really.I left her a couple of messages last week.She sent an e-mail on Saturday that didn’t say much.She’s busy with work, catching up on what she missed while she was gone, things like that.”
“You think she’s okay?”Sebastian was at a loss on how to help Olivia.Per her request, Duke had wiped nearly all her memories from her time as Elrachaim’s captive, but there was nothing they could do to heal her psychological wounds.He’d tried to convince her to stick around once she’d been released from the hospital, but she’d insisted on returning to Denton.
“Tobias has two of his Trackers checking on her every other day.They’re sneaky about it, so she won’t suspect a thing.Matt Hoyden, one of the Trackers, says she looks sad, but is otherwise all right.He’s an empath like Liv, so he knows how to get around her shields.”
“I don’t remember a Matt Hoyden.”
“He’s always been in that area, so it’s doubtful you’ve met him.”Viola grinned in a way that never failed to worry Sebastian.“We met him when we were up there recently.He’s cute.Like, nearly Tobias-level cute.He’s a bit conservative for my taste, but maybe Liv can loosen him up.”
Sebastian plugged his fingers in his ears.Watching his baby sister and reformed-playboy friend flirt incessantly was bad enough; he didn’t want to hear about his other sister ‘loosening up’ anyone.They had absolutely no respect for his position or his stomach.He had to change the subject before he lost his breakfast or drove to Denton to punch Matt Hoyden in the face.
“What’s got you in such a chipper mood this morning, Vi?I figured you’d take the day off after your whirlwind tour of the region.”
“Tobias is putting me back on rotation.”
“Really?”
“Yes, really.He refused at first, but I wore him down.Well, me and logic.Abelardo’s still sick, so that meant we were down another team.I finally convinced him that it was a good idea for me to team up with Bert until our partners were back to full-strength.”
Sebastian shook his head.He’d never met anyone so happy to be on rotation before.He cursed their father for getting Viola involved in the Network much earlier than he had Sebastian or Olivia.She’d grown up fascinated with demons and had never entertained the possibility of a life without them or the Network.
“Are you sure it’s a good idea, Vi?It’s hazardous as hell.There’s always a chance of getting hurt, seriously hurt, out there.Don’t you remember all the broken bones and bruises?”Sebastian held up his hands to forestall an argument.“I’m not saying you can’t handle yourself, but you’ve got more than just you to think about now.”
She stopped abruptly, stabbed Sebastian in the chest with her index finger.“Oh no!I already have an overprotective husband, dog, and four Wfsals.I’m sorry, I’ve reached my quota for the next decade.”
Sebastian hung his head.He kicked a small pinecone so hard it shattered upon impact with a nearby pine tree.“I was here first.”
“So now you want to play the big brother card?You used to bet on how much trouble I’d get in.You used to dare me to do stupid things.One time when you were babysitting me, you locked me in the bathroom for two hours.”
“You told my girlfriend I had herpes!”He crossed his arms over his chest and glowered at his smirking sister.“And you were only in that bathroom for fifteen minutes.”
“That’s because that’s how long it too me to pick the lock.If I hadn’t, you would have left me in there until Mom and Dad got home.”She half-heartedly kicked his shin.“How much longer do we have?”
“A mile.”He frowned at the darkening sky.A fat, cold raindrop hit his forehead.He grabbed her wrist and resumed jogging.“Let’s go.If you get sick, Duke’s going to kick my ass.”
“Yup,” she chirped.
By the time they returned to Burkeholt, both were soaking wet and chilled.Viola let three of the Prea women bustle her off to one of the cabins for a hot shower and change of clothes.While she dressed, Pip stood outside the door and castigated her for running in the rain.He ended his lecture with a threat to tell Duke about what she’d done.She wasn’t worried, though.She had a pack of peanut M&Ms in the car that would make a great Wfsal bribe.
Her legs ached from jogging with Sebastian after running five miles on the treadmill, but she almost welcomed the pain.It kept her mind off the agony she could feel coming from Duke through their link.Physical therapy was sheer torture for him, and being helpless while he was so miserable made her ill.She knew that if she said anything to him, he’d slam a wall down during therapy.She wouldn’t mention it; it was her fault he’d been injured so the helplessness and frustration was her penance.
Viola had a small office in the cabin they used for Burkeholt’s center of operations and meeting room.Voltnor, the Prea co-leader of the sanctuary, had tried to give her the largest office, but she’d won that battle of wills.Her argument had been that he and Tad, the Bastiga half of the leadership, lived at Burkeholt fulltime, one of them deserved the larger office.She didn’t know what had transpired between the two men, but Voltnor had the large office while Tad was in the room next to Viola’s.
She greeted Voltnor and Tad warmly when she entered Voltnor’s office.Since it was the largest, it was where they held their daily meeting.She hoped eventually she wouldn’t have to be so involved with the day-to-day running of the sanctuary.Wiff, the fourth Wfsal Viola had quasi-adopted, scurried through the door just before the Prea posted in the hallway pulled it shut.Wiff tipped an imaginary at Viola before hopping onto her knee.
“Where’ve you been, bud?I asked Pip and Griff, but they couldn’t tell me.”Viola stroked the downy, brown hair on top of Wiff’s head.At only six-inches in height, the Wfsals reminded her of the troll dolls Olivia had obsessively collected decades earlier.
Voltnor and Tad exchanged a quick glance.Voltnor nodded subtly.Tad cleared his throat to get Viola’s attention.“He was on an assignment for us, my lady.I apologize for not informing you of it beforehand, but you were occupied with Consort Duke and your Network duties.We did not want to distract you or trouble you unnecessarily.”
Viola’s stomach twisted.Her fingers tingled; the blood drained out of her face.She was going to have a very long talk with them about ‘protecting’ her.They had no chance of stopping Elrachaim if they censored information.“What is it?”
“We tasked Wiff with surreptitiously discerning Elrachaim’s next move.He has spent the last ten days following numerous leads and garnering information from various sources.”Tad reached across Voltnor’s desk to pat Viola’s cold fingers.He winced when she gripped his hands tightly; her short fingernails dug into his thin skin.
“What did he find?”The possibilities were limitless.While she didn’t think she could ever be surprised by anything Elrachaim did, there were plenty of reasons to be fearful.Elrachaim tended to go after the people Viola loved most.
Voltnor and Tad exchanged another long look.Voltnor added his massive paws to the hand-pile on his desk.He let out a small, pained sigh before squeezing Viola’s hand.As it had been his decision to send Wiff on a reconnaissance mission, he felt it was his duty to present the findings to Lady Viola.He would have preferred to have Consort Duke present both to comfort Lady Viola and to offer up strategy suggestions.Tad, however, had insisted that they not withhold the information
“An army, my lady,” Voltnor said.“Elrachaim has amassed an army.”
Chapter Three:
A-an army?Are you…”Viola’s voice cracked.She slipped her hands from under Voltnor’s and Tad’s.There was no hiding their trembling as she fumbled for the thermos of ginger tea on the corner of the desk.The warm tea cleared the lump in her throat and soothed her swirling stomach.
She cradled the thermos in her hands and stared at her fingernails.It was a stupid question.Of course they were certain about Elrachaim’s army.Tad and Voltnor weren’t the type to pass on rumors or speculation.They would have verified the information twice before presenting it to her.She didn’t doubt Wiff, either.He’d proven his loyalty a dozen times over.
“My lady,” Tad started, almond-shaped black eyes warm with compassion.
Viola held up a hand to stop him.She needed a moment to process.She’d failed twice to defeat Elrachaim, and in the three weeks since their last encounter he’d formed an army.She blew out a long, shaky breath.Tears stung her eyes; despair swelled in her aching chest.She hadn’t been able to beat him when they were one-on-one.How in the hell was she supposed to go up against an army?
Duke wasn’t up to full-strength and wouldn’t be for weeks.She had four Wfsals, but they couldn’t take on an entire army.She wouldn’t involve other Trackers because they’d get slaughtered.Trackers were good at handling small pockets of demons; they wouldn’t stand a chance against an entire army.She couldn’t stomach the thought of forming her own army of demons and sending them into battle.There had to be a better option.She had to be the better option.
Ghosts?Not practical.She’d turned a pack of Folists into roman candles but still had no idea how she’d done it.It was likely related to the intense emotion of seeing Duke injured, and that wasn’t going to happen again if she could help it.There hadn’t been time to see what other abilities she’d gained besides accidentally reactivating dormant veil breaches and raising zombies.Zombies!She giggled quietly and ignored the perplexed expressions on the others’ faces.She could raise, literally, an army of demon zombies to take on her nemesis’ forces.Duke would lose his mind!
It was entirely possible that she would, too.She’d always raised one zombie at a time.She didn’t know what her limits were or how much power was required.What if she raised four squadrons of zombies only to be zombie-like herself when it was over?Zombies only obeyed the one who’d reanimated them.If she was down for the count, there would be no one to lead them.She’d have nothing more than a field of cannon fodder.
Viola took another swig from the thermos and closed her eyes.She focused on the bright, hot light radiating from Duke’s half of the link.His love washed over her, eased her racing thoughts, and melted the tension built up between her shoulders.She felt his confusion and walled up thoughts of the army so he wouldn’t be distracted from his physical therapy.Centered once again, she opened her eyes and returned the thermos to the desk.
“So, an army, huh?I think I’m a little flattered.”The grin she flashed her companions felt brittle as glass, but she hoped it was convincing enough.“I mean, Elrachaim didn’t think he could handle me all by himself so he had to recruit a ton of muscle.Personally, I think he’s overcompensating for his inadequacies, but that’s a conversation for a much, much later date.Hopefully a date when I can drink enough tequila to completely wipe my memory.”
Voltnor’s jaw went slack.Tad’s normally red skin turned a pale pink.Giggling and snorting, Wiff fell back against Viola’s abdomen.He wrapped his arms around his aching stomach and buried his face in the soft cotton of her shirt.He’d missed all his silly humans, especially Lady Viola.She could make anything funny.
Viola scooped up Wiff and set him on her shoulder so that he could cuddle up against her neck.She leaned back in her chair, swung her feet onto the edge of the desk and crossed her ankles.“Where is Elrachaim’s headquarters?”
“Twenty miles south of Lubbock.”Tad was the first to recover.He ran a hand over his face and shook his head.Though he’d spent weeks with Lady Viola, he still wasn’t used to her manner of dealing with problems or unexpected news.
“Let’s set the camp on fire.I think Tobias has a buddy who can… acquire… a few bombs.We’ll bomb the hell out of them, start a bonfire, and salt the earth if necessary.Let’s take them out now.”
“They were preparing to move when Wiff was forced to leave.His position within the camp was compromised.He was unable to discern where they were headed.”Voltnor frowned, but his eyes were full of respect.He had also suggested bombing or ambushing the camp before they’d heard the entirety of Wiff’s report.He appreciated her line of reasoning.It gave him hope.
“I’m sorry,” Wiff whispered in her ear.He tugged on a loose strand of Viola’s hair and curled it around his arm.“I didn’t mean to get caught.”
“Nothing to be sorry for, honey.You did an amazing job.Better than anyone else could have done, that’s for sure.”She winked at the morose Wfsal.She teased a smile out of him by tickling his tiny ears.
Voltnor’s attention drifted to the window.Children played tag while women carried on with their daily tasks and men continued to repair the cabins.He longed for the day the moved out from under the specter of Elrachaim.“I commanded troops before Elrachaim drove my people from our home, my lady.Many of the men with us were members of the military.They would be more than willing to stand up together against the tyrant.”
“No.”Viola’s voice was firm.Strands of crimson tinted her hazel eyes.Wiff tensed, but made no move to vacate her shoulder.He cooed and patted her neck.The gentle touch didn’t stand a chance against the rushing tide of anger.
“My lady, they would not hesitate to stand with you.They would consider it an honor…”
“No!”
The temperature in the room plummeted.The windows rattled.Her thermos fell off the desk and rolled across the floor.Voltnor winced.Tad scowled.Wiff hopped off her shoulder and onto the desk.Viola swung her feet to the floor and rose from the chair.She glared at both men before stalking towards the door.
“I refuse to ask anyone to die for me.There has to be another way,” she said, struggling to remain in control.Her feet twitched as the need to escape swelled.“That’s what you two can work on.I need some air.”
She made it as far as the last cabin before her knees gave out.She collapsed against the back wall of the dilapidated cabin, hugged her legs to her chest and hung her head.She felt like an immature idiot for running out of the meeting, but she’d been afraid of losing her temper in front of the others.It would have killed her to accidentally harm any of them.
She clung to Duke’s warmth through the link, but it did little to soothe her.She had entertained the idea of waiting until they had a workable solution to tell Duke about the army.He already worried far too much about her and needed to concentrate on his shoulder.He would have been pissed when he finally found out, but she could handle his anger.
She needed him, though.She needed to hold his hand, to bounce ideas off him, and to know that he would be there to keep her from hurting anyone.Sebastian would have to pick him up from physical therapy.Once she was in the car with Duke, she would be tempted to swing by the house to pick up Finn and drive out of town.There were several hotels in Canada clamoring to be listed with Spirited Stays.They could turn the road trip into a mini-honeymoon.
She stiffened at the crunch of leaves under someone’s feet.Power simmered under her skin ready to lash out at the slightest provocation.She turned her head so that her cheek rested on her knees and her red-tinged eyes faced away from her intruder.The Burkeholt residents were understandably skittish.She didn’t want them to fear her like they did Elrachaim.
“I hear we’re going up against an actual army, sugar.What did I tell you about jinxing us?”
Viola flew off the ground.Her arms wrapped around Duke’s waist like iron bands.She pressed her face into the curve of his neck and tried to sink into him.She breathed in his scent only to inhale a lungful of the residual energy from a teleport instead.
“Wha…?I mean, how did you…?”She coughed as she got another dose of energy.It tasted like burnt plastic.She licked her lips and tried to ignore the nastiness coating her mouth.“Why are you here?”
“Bas called just when the therapist was pulling out his next torture device.I’ll tell you, I’ve never been so tempted to kiss your brother in all my life.”Duke frowned when his joke didn’t get him more than a half-hearted chuckle.He kneaded the tightly corded muscles in the back of her neck.“He told me that my red-eyed, distraught wife had run out of a meeting.He offered to pick me up, but I wasn’t going to wait.You tried to block me off, but you did a crap job of it.”
“You get mad when I put up good walls.I wasn’t in the mood for a lecture on honesty and full-disclosure.”
“At least I confront the problem directly,” he countered.It was a familiar argument.“If I try to hide anything, you go all sulky and start giving me the cold shoulder.You make banana bread full of cayenne pepper and use the parental lock on all my favorite channels.An actual conversation beats passive-aggressiveness any day, as far as I’m concerned.”
“How was the ‘port?” she asked, sinking against his solid heat. Bickering with Duke always lifted her spirits.
Breach-magic fueled teleports weren’t a new concept, but theirs was different.Matching tattoos under their wedding rings directed the energy so that the teleport always took one straight to the other’s side.It was useful in emergencies.Neither had grown used to being yanked out of one place and dumped in another.
“Dizzying as always.”Duke retreated so there was a sliver of space between them.He lifted her chin so she was forced to meet his eyes.“Are we going to talk about this army thing, or are we going to two-step around it all day?”
“I never liked doing the two-step.”
“That’s because you refuse to let your partner lead.You’re doing a damn fine job of avoiding the topic, sugar.”
Viola sighed, slumped forward with her forehead resting against his shoulder.“Elrachaim’s got an army; we don’t.What is there to talk about?”
“What do Tad and Voltnor have to say about this development?”
“Voltnor offered to draft his people into service.I told him it wasn’t an option.”
Duke trailed light kisses from the top of her head to the back of her right ear.The tips of his eyelashes brushed the shell of her ear.She played the unflappable, sarcastic ice queen role so often that most people bought into the act.He knew, however, how soft and squishy her heart truly was and how much it tore her up inside to even contemplate putting others in harm’s way.Once again, it was his job to be the voice of reason.
“It’s going to have to an option, sugar.”He hummed soothingly when she vibrated with indignation.He’d felt the same way when he’d learned being head of the region meant sending Trackers out on rotations with the possibility the wouldn’t return.“I don’t like it either, but we have to be practical about this.”
Her bottom lip jutted out in a petulant pout.Her eyes fluttered shut as she bowed to the inevitable.“I don’t wanna be practical.”
“Yeah, like that’s a surprise.”
“Shut up.”She bopped the back of his head.Though it would have been nice to stay wrapped up in Duke for the rest of the day, they needed to return to the meeting with Voltnor and Tad.She slipped her hand into his and led the way back to the main cabin.
“Can you schedule my first rotation with Bert for tonight?”
“Why?”
“What do I usually do when I’m stressed?”
Duke frowned.“Run.Drink.Make my life miserable.”He yelped when her sneakers made contact with his shin.“Track demons.”
“If I run anymore, my legs are going to revolt.I can’t drink because of the spawn.”She gave his shin another kick for good measure.“Tracking’s the only outlet I have left.I need to work off some of this stress before I burst like a piñata.”
He groaned, glanced around for the Wfsals.“Could you not say that, sweetness?The little terrors even hear something related to candy and we’ll hear about it for the next six hours.Remember what happened when you mentioned Easter.”
She chuckled.“Oh, it wasn’t that bad.I thought Pip’s ‘Ode to Peeps’ was hilarious and creative.”
“Until Mixie had the brilliant idea to put it to music.”He shuddered.Wfsals talents did not include musical ability.The wail of dying demons was better than a warbling Mixie.“I’ll talk to Bert about the rotation.It shouldn’t be a problem, though.He sounded eager to get back into the field.”
“Thanks, Tobias.You’re the best.”
“Oh, I know.”He chuckled, sidestepped the foot aimed at his leg.He had to admit that he was looking forward to a rotation even if he did nothing more than sit in the truck and observe.It wouldn’t be a perfect substitute, but he could feed off of Viola’s exhilaration until he was cleared for action.
She dragged him to a halt just outside the cabin.Her eyes, black and rimmed with red, were fixed on the window in Voltnor’s office.Her voice was quiet but hard.“I’ll allow Voltnor to form an army, but all final decisions are going to go through me.This is my mess, and I’ll accept responsibility for the clean up.”
“I’ll be right there with you, sweetness.”
“Never thought you wouldn’t be.”She squeezed his hand, grateful for the reassurance.“I’m not giving up, though.My agreeing to this doesn’t mean I’m going to stop looking for an alternative.We’re going to stop Elrachaim, but if there’s a better way, I’ll find it.”
Duke stopped mid-stride.He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and kissed her breathless.He chuckled when she swayed unsteadily.
“You wouldn’t be my girl if you did otherwise, sugar.”