Chapter 18 Raven
Raven
With Zane now in my head as well as Maverick and Kenji, it was fair to say it was a little crowded. Worse still, it turned out Maverick and Zane could have their own conversations without including me.
I’d figured that out when the pair of them spent ten minutes staring at each other as snow fell without saying a word. Maverick glared. Zane smirked. No words needed.
Alaric had taken one look at Zane this morning and stormed off outside. Kai hadn’t stormed off exactly, but he’d acted frostier than the snowman some human kid had built on the lawn outside the inn.
The snowman was sort of cute. At least I thought so until I spotted the giant carrot sticking out from its groin area.
Kenji was the only member of the fun crew not in a bad mood. He’d jumped into my arms when we checked out and had spent the rest of the day on my lap, alternating between grooming himself and sleeping.
The further north we traveled, the more my jaw dropped at the sheer beauty of the terrain.
Until a security mage had dropped me at magic school, I’d never traveled very far. Heat, arid desert, and endless blue sky were my normal. The forests and hills around Starfall were pretty, but this landscape was on a whole new level.
I stared up at the snowy mountain range ahead.
We were staying in another small town tonight before crossing the pass tomorrow.
From the increasingly dire weather reports flooding the local radio channels, it was going to be touch and go whether the local rangers would close the mountain pass until after the holidays.
If that happened, we’d be stuck for at least two more days.
I hoped it remained clear. My vampire couldn’t wait much longer. I wasn’t sure how I knew he was still alive, but I did; however, without sustenance, time was rapidly running out.
Glynda had told me vampires went into a hibernation state after an extended period without a blood source, but if they stayed in that state too long, they didn’t recover.
I shuffled uncomfortably on the back seat of the vehicle Maverick had sourced.
When I asked where he’d found it, he just murmured something about a contact.
It ate up the miles just fine, despite the appalling weather, but the seats were hard, and each time we bumped over a pothole, my bladder complained.
The sooner we reached the next inn, the better.
Endless snowy hectares of forest passed by as I sat squished between Alaric and Zane. In front, tall mountains loomed, the upper slopes lost in ominous black cloud. The wind had picked up an hour ago, and with each mile that passed, more snow fell.
The incubus had been surprisingly quiet since our dream tryst. I’d woken to find Maverick on the verge of shifting into an angry bear. Not wishing to get between a bear and his prey, I’d dashed into the bathroom.
By the time I’d washed away sweat and unmentionable things in the shower, Maverick had gotten dressed and was busy checking our route, while Zane had disappeared.
Since we set off, Zane hadn’t said a word to me, although I noticed he stayed close. Always within touching distance.
Was he angry with me? If so, I had no clue why.
Each time I slid a sideways glance at him, the tether in my chest throbbed. My magic wanted us closer. Preferably me sitting on his lap. Only I didn’t think he’d want that.
Were we even soul-bonded now? It had seemed that way in my dream, but what happens in dreams stays in dreams, right?
I rubbed the spot between my breasts where my amulet rested. When I checked this morning, the hairline crack across the black gem had widened a fraction. The stone remained intact, but I wasn’t sure for how much longer.
Whatever had happened to it during the demon attack, when I channeled Kenji’s magic, had weakened the stone.
“Can you think more quietly? I’m trying to sleep.” Kenji dug his claws into my leg, making me wince.
Zane turned to glance at me before looking away again. Oh stars, was I broadcasting my thoughts again?
“Yes, you’re the most useless witch I’ve ever met, and that’s saying something given you share a building with some truly hideous specimens.”
I frowned. “None of the witches at school are hideous.” Most were exceptionally beautiful, which strongly suggested they’d nailed Beauty Magic 101.
“Not on the outside, no, but inside?” Kenji shuddered dramatically before curling into a tight ball with his two fluffy tails covering his ears and eyes. Rude.
Zane’s lips twitched. I wondered if he could hear Kenji. Stars, I hoped not. It was bad enough Maverick sometimes caught Kenji’s inane chatter.
“Are we nearly there yet?” If not, I might pee myself. That would be embarrassing.
“Three more miles,” Maverick said as we drove past a road sign with a picture of a waterfall. Angel Falls. It sounded picturesque. If this were a vacation, we could have gone there and taken some photos.
Only it wasn’t a vacation, and most of the males in this car hated me.
I tried not to dwell on that as we arrived in a snowy small town with a single main street and more pretty lights and decorations.
Once again, the residents had embraced the holiday season with vigor.
Every few feet I saw decorated spruce trees, men in red suits with white beards, and lights dangling from posts.
If I were in a better mood, I would have had a ball wandering up and down the street, oohing at the window displays while drinking hot chocolate from the brightly lit café on my left.
Maverick found a parking spot outside a small inn, and we climbed out. Immediately, my feet sank into a snowdrift. I yelped in shock as wet snow fell into my boots.
Kenji jumped from my arms and disappeared in the same drift before emerging, yipping in excitement. I watched in amazement as my snarky familiar raced in circles before rolling in a patch of virgin snow. Then he shook himself vigorously and panted.
“What? I’m still a young kitsune! We like snow.” He threw me a peeved look and then flounced off toward the inn’s entrance.
Three of the guys trooped inside looking like broody, disgustingly handsome boy band members while I tried not to drool.
“Go, little mate.” Maverick tapped me on the ass, and I jumped.
“I’m going!” I hurried after the broody ones while he picked up our bags.
When we’d checked in and I’d used the facilities with much relief, I sat on the bed while Maverick made a phone call. Zane was nowhere to be seen. When asked who he’d be sharing with tonight, he’d shrugged and blinked out of view, much to the consternation of the woman on reception.
From her nervous disposition, she was human, which meant she gave us a much smaller, less comfortable room than we’d enjoyed the previous night. It was clean, though, so I wasn’t about to complain.
“Time to eat, little mate.” Maverick picked me up and carried me downstairs. None of the others were around, but Kenji sat on a chair by the window near the front desk enjoying the attention of a small girl who stroked his soft fur while her mother yelled something abusive into a phone.
“Do I need to rescue you?”
He shook his head. “The human child is harmless.”
I chuckled, beginning to realize my familiar was soft like marshmallow beneath his snarky exterior.
“Oh my god, Sienna! Stop touching that filthy creature!” My skin prickled with magic as the child’s mother stormed over and wrenched her daughter away from Kenji. The child’s face fell and her lip wobbled, although she didn’t seem surprised by her mother’s reaction.
“It’s disgusting,” she muttered. “I ought to report this place to animal control. What kind of hotel lets wild animals sit in the lobby?”
“Be right back, little mate,” Maverick whispered, ignoring the woman. “Wait right here for me.” I nodded as he stepped outside with his phone held to his ear.
Kenji stood and stretched, wafting both his tails in the air. The woman spotted the second tail and blanched. “Oh my god, it’s… one of those freaky creatures!” Pink-tipped nails dug into the child’s puffy white jacket as she pulled her closer, although the girl seemed more excited than scared.
I stepped forward with a bright smile. “Kenji’s with me. He’s not a wild animal.” My familiar jumped off his chair and trotted over while the little girl tracked his movements with naked longing in her pretty blue eyes.
The woman sniffed loudly and rolled her eyes. “Whatever.” I watched as she teetered over to the reception desk in her stiletto-heeled boots and tapped a fingernail on the counter.
“Can I help you, ma’am?” the receptionist asked.
“Yes, I’d like to order pizza and ice cream to be sent to our room.”
“Pizza? Um, Santo’s doesn’t do gluten-free or dairy-free, ma’am, which is what you told me you needed earlier when you asked the kitchen to prepare a salad.”
The woman waved her hand dismissively. “I’ve changed my mind. I have a craving for cheesy pizza with lots of pepperoni and extra chili.” Her daughter stared up at her mother, probably wondering if she’d been body-snatched by aliens.
My mind traveled back in time to when my nemesis, Demelza, stuffed her vegan-food-loving face with meat after pissing off Kenji. I fixed him with a hard stare.
“Is this your doing?”
He smirked. “The human harridan looks hungry. Her daughter will enjoy eating pizza for the first time in months.”
“I’m sure she will, but if her mother ends up bedridden with unpleasant gastro issues, she might not enjoy that.”
“She can go explore. A bit of freedom is good for kids.”
Kenji trotted over and licked the woman’s hand. She smiled at him and rubbed his furry head. “Cute little doggy,” she cooed while her daughter’s eyes widened.
“Are you feeling alright, Mama?” the kid asked while cuddling my kitsune. Maverick came back in from making yet another phone call to find Kenji getting a belly rub from the woman who’d previously threatened to call animal control.
“What happened?” He stared at the woman in confusion.
“I have no idea, but I suggest we leave before things go sideways.”
He nodded, still confused, and led me outside, leaving Kenji to his games. He seemed to get a kick out of compelling people to do things they wouldn’t normally do, presumably using some kind of manipulation magic.
It was sort of cool, honestly, but if he ever tried it on me, I’d shove his furry little head in a snowdrift.
“Try it and see what happens,” he growled in my head, but I ignored him.
“I have to go deal with a problem, little mate,” Maverick said in a low voice as he tugged me toward a brightly lit restaurant. The sign said Santo’s Pizzeria. Oh, this must be the pizza place the receptionist mentioned.
“What problem?” I asked when we reached the door. Inside, every table was full. Families, mostly human with a few people who looked like shifters, sat eating delicious pizza and garlic bread. Stars, I needed pizza like I needed oxygen. The cheesier the better.
Preferably before Kenji arrived and stole half my slices.
“There’s a feral shifter in the forest nearby. Boon called and asked me to deal with it.”
“Boon?” Maverick tugged me over to a booth in the corner where Alaric sat drinking wine while scowling at his phone.
“An old colleague of mine. I told him where we were going so he could warn me if trouble was heading our way.”
“Trouble?” Maverick threw me an exasperated look. He clearly didn’t appreciate all my questions. Oh well. I had more on the tip of my tongue.
“Yes, mage trouble.” He gave Alaric some side-eye but the mage didn’t look up. His aura swirled listlessly around his head, dull and lacking its usual glow. Even the faint tether between us barely twitched.
“Now stay here with the mage while I fix this problem before it comes into town and causes carnage.”
“By fix, you mean…” I made a slashing movement across my throat and then gulped when Maverick nodded. He pushed me into the booth and waited for Alaric to raise his head.
“I have a job to do. Take care of the witch.” Alaric seemed surprised to be tasked with protecting me, but he nodded anyway.
“The merman is swimming, and the incubus has disappeared, so I am trusting you with her safety. If anything happens…” My bear skewered the mage with a look that promised a slow and painful death if I so much as broke a pinky nail while in his custody.
Alaric rolled his eyes. “She’ll be fine as long as she doesn’t talk me to death with her inane nonsense or burn us all to a crisp when she loses control of her magic.”
I scowled at him. How dare he cast aspersions on my ability to control my magic! Okay, so he was one hundred percent correct. I had no control whatsoever, but still. His lack of faith in me stung.
But I kept my chin high, refusing to acknowledge my hurt feelings. The mage could go suck a bag of dicks. I planned to eat my body weight in pizza, drink some wine, and then return to our inn and catch up on my sleep.
“Be good, little witch. I’ll see you back in our room.” He passed me our keycard and, with a last lingering kiss, stalked back out of the pizzeria. I noted how all the females watched him leave with heart eyes.
Jealousy tugged at the tether between me and my bear, and I heard him chuckle in my head. Good to know my jealousy amused him. I wondered how he’d like it if some random shifter got the hots for me.
Maverick growled when he heard my thoughts. “Anyone other than your mates touches you and they’re dead.” I skipped past his use of the plural mates and went straight for the jugular.
“Good, because that’s exactly how I feel when other females ogle you!”
“You never have to worry about my loyalty. I love you, little mate.”
I sank into a warm, gooey puddle on my faux-leather bench seat. He loved me. Even though I knew he loved me, he’d not said the words before. Probably to avoid spooking me.
“You love me?” I squeaked, unfortunately not in my mind because Alaric’s head snapped up.
“Yes, little mate. I love you to the moon and back. Now fill your belly and stay close to the asshole mage. I’m closing our connection now, but if anything happens, I’ll be back as fast as I can.”
“Stay safe. I love you too.”
“Less of the lovey-dovey shit, please, before I lose my appetite.” Alaric sneered at me before shoving his phone into his pocket. A server appeared and asked us for our drink order.
“A bottle of tequila, please.”
His eyebrows shot up. “A bottle, sir?”
“Yes. I need to get drunk.”
The server looked first at me and then at Alaric. The poor man appeared confused about why we were sitting together when Alaric seemed to hate me. It confused me too, but Maverick’s warning rattled in my brain. Alaric might act like a dick, but I knew he’d keep me safe if trouble came our way.
And while Zane and Kai were AWOL, I’d rather not be alone in a restaurant packed full of humans who might turn on me at any moment.