Chapter Four #2
Ignoring him, Steve waved back toward the three of them. “Theo Bailey delivered as promised.”
Theo groaned although he wasn’t even surprised at the betrayal.
It was just seeing Steve so happy about being a snake made Theo mad.
He didn’t know when and he didn’t know how but Theo was going to get his revenge one day.
Plus, Steve had also put Garrett into danger and that wouldn’t sit right with Josh
The cloaked figure drew the hood back revealing an attractive dark-haired…fae. He had to be fae with those sharp ears and unusual eyes. There was an otherworldly appearance to the fae. More so in their own realm.
“I am Bywater Gilmore,” the cloaked figure stated loudly. “The summoner. Theodore Justin Bailey, come to me.”
Theo tried to dig his feet into the soft soil but he was walking forward against his will.
“No, friend!” Bo grabbed his arm.
The cloaked figure, Bywater, threw a glowing red ball at Bo, who hissed, releasing Theo.
Once again Theo was walking as summoned.
“Theo!” Garrett ran toward him.
Bywater once again tossed a glowing orb, but this time, when it hit Garrett, the gargoyle turned to stone midstride.
“Garrett!” Theo fought the compulsion. Not that it did him any good. He could no more stop walking toward Bywater than he could summon his mates for help. And it would be the perfect time for his wonderful mates to show up.
Like right now.
Oh, mates! Where are you? Theo wondered.
“Theodore Justin Bailey,” Bywater said again. “You will come with me.”
“No!” Theo yelled. Okay, no mates coming to his rescue. “Let me go! What did you do to Garrett?”
Bywater’s eyes narrowed before he threw a third orb. Hitting Bo and covering him with black goo.
“Stop it!” Theo demanded. The asshole needed to stop throwing things at Theo’s friends. The only people that were by his side when Theo needed them. He turned to where Steve stood still smiling. “Why?”
Steve shrugged. “When the unseelie king sends you to recon in the human realm in the form of a tree, it’s just something you do.”
“You will be paid handsomely,” Bywater said. “Just as promised.”
“What about Josh?” Theo asked Steve.
“My goody-goody cousin?” Steve laughed. “He thought he was so special getting permission to go to the human realm to study at the university. Boring! I just need some money and I can make my own way there. And I won’t have to do chores around a mansion to keep my status.”
“Josh earned his place into the human realm,” Theo argued. “He’s proud.”
“He is still tethered to his vow to serve the chosen,” Steve replied. “I serve no one!”
That was the stupidest thing that Theo had ever heard.
Even if Theo was still ignorant about the supernatural and this world that he found himself part of, he would have known making a deal with the bad guys would end up biting him in the ass.
Theo waved a hand toward the men in front of them. “Are you sure about that?”
“Enough!” Bywater demanded. “Titus, take him!”
Again Theo tried to fight, but his feet would not move. Another dark-cloaked figure stepped up. This fae was intimidating. He was almost as big as Mitch. If he got hold of Theo, it was all over for him.
“Don’t come near me!” Theo ordered. “My mates will come for me!”
Bywater laughed. “Your mates have their own journey ahead of them. I wouldn’t worry about them. Well, I would worry, but they won’t be coming for you. Not before the unseelie king gets ahold of you.”
Theo glared, not really having an argument against that. Did that mean his mates were there or not? Had they been summoned somewhere else? Was Theo really in this all alone?
Titus, who must be Bywater’s henchman or something—he totally gave Theo henchman vibes—stepped in front of him and blew a blue powder into his face. Theo tried not to breathe in but was falling before he could blink.
* * * * *
Alek
“Why can’t we just cross?” Wylder demanded.
Alek shook his head, keeping his eyes on the water below the bridge. There should be a troll guarding their passage. If the trolls were asleep for the night, it was going to be a long wait.
“Hello!” Alek called for the third time.
“I can fly over,” Dario suggested.
“It’s not safe,” Mitch told him. “You know that. You could get stuck in your other form. It’s a miracle you were able to shift back once already.”
Dario nodded. Alek wanted to check on his mate but trolls were tricky and he needed to be prepared for an attack. Dario shouldn’t have shifted during the battle although he had saved their lives.
The beasts would have torn them apart. Even as good of fighters as he and Mitch were, they had been facing a rapid pack. If they hadn’t been killed, they would have been badly hurt. Someone had set the worst of the worse after them.
Alek was sick just thinking of what Theo might have faced.
And now they had a troll bridge keeping them from finding their little mate.
“Let’s just try it.” Wylder pushed past Alek to step onto the bridge.
“No!” Alek reached for Wylder and Mitch yelled.
The ground under them rumbled as bubbles erupted from the water below the bridge.
Dario snatched Wylder off the bridge and into his arms.
Slowly, a giant troll rose from the water.
“It is late,” the troll declared. “Who disturbs my slumber?”
“We are just looking for passage across your bridge,” Alek stated with a slight bow.
The troll hummed. “What do you offer, vampire?”
Sliding his hand into his pocket, Alek pulled out the gold coin that Vadir had given him earlier.
His fathers all had their way of dealing with the fae and Vadir appreciated doing things the simple way.
Alek was taking a page out of Vadir’s book instead of trying politics like Tate, Sebastian, or Mah.
Alek just didn’t have the time to play games.
Alek flicked the coin into the air letting the gold catch the waning lught then caught it again.
The troll gasped, his eyes on Alek’s hand.
“A coin for safe passage for me and my mates,” Alek offered.
The troll moved forward, making the ground shake with each step. “You offer gold, yet your youngest mate offered friendship.”
“Theo!” Wylder yelled.
The troll tore his gaze from Alek’s hand toward Wylder and Dario.
“You’ve seen Theo?” Wylder asked.
“The shifter chosen,” the troll replied. “I did not see him. He became friends with my brother.”
“Where? When? How long ago?” Wylder asked in rapid fire.
Alek pulled a second coin out, showing them to the troll. “One coin for safe passage across the bridge and another to answer our questions.”
The troll licked his lips greedily. “One question.”
“Five questions,” Alek negotiated.
“Three coins for five questions,” the Troll responded.
Alek nodded. “You answer our questions first. Honestly.”
“Yes,” the troll agreed.
“How long ago did your brother leave with our mate Theo?” Alek asked.
“Hours now,” the troll said. “Before I went to sleep.”
“What direction did they go?” Alek questioned.
“Toward the poisoned meadow,” the troll answered.
“Why would your brother agree to passage for our mate for friendship?” Alek asked next.
The troll shrugged. “Bo gets bored easily. He just joined me and our older brother here. It’s his first bridge without our parents watching over him. He tends to run off a lot.”
Young trolls were often the easiest to negotiate with as they were just big kids.
“Was our mate injured?” Dario inquired, bringing Wylder and Mitch closer.
“None of the three were injured,” the troll replied.
“Three? Who’s with him?” Wylder blurted out.
“The shifter chosen, gargoyle, and dryad.” The troll held out his hand. “Coins please.”
Alek tossed the coins over to the troll.
“What dryad?” Wylder demanded.
“It couldn’t be Josh,” Alek told him. “Josh was with us when Theo would have crossed.”
“But another dryad is good, right?” Wylder insisted. “The dryads work with your family.”
Alek shook his head. “Dryads, like any fae, can be good or evil. Even the same family can produce both sides of dark and light. If Theo met a dryad in the dark forest, it wouldn’t be someone to help him.”
Wylder gasped. “But—”
“We need to find him,” Dario demanded. “We knew they were following someone in the forest. It had to be the dryad. And Theo would probably trust them since he knows Josh.”
“Especially if this dryad used Josh’s name,” Mitch added.
Alek turned to the troll. “We will cross now.”
“Don’t dawdle,” the troll told him. “I have drinks to buy!” He held his fist up happily.
They didn’t waste any time. Alek led the way across the bridge with Wylder and Dario following and Mitch bringing up the rear. They walked swiftly knowing that more danger could be waiting for them out of sight. They weren’t safe no matter how quiet the realm appeared.
There was no secret that the chosen had arrived.
“Wait!” Mitch grabbed his shoulder before Alek exited the bridge. “The meadow is to the south.”
Alek nodded. “Okay.”
“I can taste magic. I think as soon as we step off the bridge, someone is going to play a trick on us. The magic is the strongest right by the bridge,” Mitch told him.
“They want to confuse us,” Alek offered.
“Yes. Go south no matter what you see. It’s not real,” Mitch said.
Alek nodded. The unseelie wanted to play? Well they were going to find out what made Alek special.
Borrowing from his mage and angel fathers, Alek placed his hand over his eyes and muttered a spell. He turned and did the same for each of his mates. The power in the fae realm was different than back at home.
Stronger in some ways but wonky.
Alek wasn’t an expert in magic or anything but did know how to borrow from Seb and used what he had access to. His spell gave them the sight to see the true path was instant and bright. A yellow glow flowed from the bridge and farther.
“What am I seeing?” Wylder asked, rubbing his eyes.
“The path to our mate,” Alek responded. “We have the mate bond that cannot be altered or manipulated. We follow that and use my fathers’ magic and we should find Theo.”