Chapter Six #2
“Yes.” He closed his eyes, reaching out with his magic to feel the plants throughout his home.
They were everywhere, from the kitchen window to a table next to the back door, to the window in his bedroom, and he connected with all of them to urge them to grow.
Vines, branches, and leaves reached out from the pots he kept on every sill, weaving together into barriers that would make it impossible for the people outside to get in.
It was a lot more magic than he usually used, but he gritted his teeth and pushed harder. He could do this.
He didn’t have a choice.
“Impressive,” Ridge muttered, watching as ivy crawled across the back door. He didn’t look for long, though. His attention kept drifting toward Kael, and his expression was odd, although that could be because of the situation they were in.
“This will hold for a while,” Nymon said. “But not forever. They’ll break through eventually, especially if they have anyone with stronger magic.”
“Then we’ll use the time we have. We can take out the ones outside quickly and quietly. They won’t have the time to warn whoever sent them.”
“And if they are following the elders’ orders?” Kael’s voice was shaky. “These could be people we know, Nymon. People from the community.”
Nymon met his best friend’s eyes. He understood why Kael was distraught, but there was only one way out of this mess.
“I know. But they might be working with that network of demons, Kael. Even if they don’t realize it.
We can’t let them stop us from ending this.
Besides, what do you think they’ll do if I go to them?
They obviously know about Tex, and I’m not giving him up. ”
Kael swallowed hard but nodded.
“All right,” Seymour declared. “Orlando, you and I will take the front. Tex, you handle the back—”
“I should stay with Nymon,” Tex argued.
“No.” Nymon turned to face him. “You need to stop these people, and I need to maintain the barriers to keep myself and Kael safe until we know more. I can do this, Tex.”
“If something happens—” Tex started, but Nymon wouldn’t let him continue.
“It won’t.” Nymon turned to cup Tex’s cheek, forcing him to meet his eyes. “I’m stronger than you think, and I have Kael here with me.”
Kael made a small sound of protest, clearly not thrilled about being volunteered as protection, but he didn’t contradict Nymon.
He couldn’t. It was either that or surrendering, and they didn’t know if the guys out there really had been sent by the elders or if the elders worked with the network of demons selling their magic.
“I don’t like this,” Tex said.
“I know.” Nymon pulled him down for a quick kiss. “But you have to trust me. Besides, you were going to sneak out anyway.”
“Not while you were in danger. I don’t want to leave you and Kael alone.”
“I could stay.”
Everyone turned to look at Ridge, who was still watching Kael. He quickly looked away from him when Kael looked at him. “I mean, someone should stay with them in case Nymon needs help or something. I’ll stay.”
Seymour frowned. “Ridge, we might need—”
“He’s right.” Orlando cut in. “Someone should stay with them, and you, me, and Tex are well-trained. We can probably take on whatever we’ll find at this address on our own, and if we can’t, Seymour can shimmer back here.”
Tex looked between Ridge and Nymon, clearly torn. Nymon could feel how hesitant his mate was, just like he could feel when Tex made his decision.
“Okay. Ridge stays.” Tex turned back to Nymon, his hands coming up to touch his face. “But if anything feels wrong, you drop everything and run. Don’t try to be a hero.”
“I could say the same to you.” Nymon managed a small smile even though he didn’t think he’d ever been so scared. “Don’t do anything stupid.”
“I’ll do my best.” Tex kissed him again, affection flaring through their bond. “I’ll come back to you. I promise.”
“You better.” Nymon’s voice came out rougher than he intended.
Seymour was already at the kitchen window, carefully pulling back the vines just enough to see out. “Three in the back garden. Two moving toward the side of the house.” He glanced back at Tex. “We’ll need to be fast. Take them down before they can alert the others.”
“Non-lethal if possible,” Tex said, though his tone suggested he wasn’t optimistic. Nymon didn’t want to think about that.
“We’ll do what we have to do,” Orlando said. His expression was grim.
Nymon took a deep breath and reached out with his magic again, feeling the vines across the back door. “I can pull back the plants.”
Seymour nodded. “All right. I’ll shimmer out. Orlando and Tex will exit through the door.”
Ridge had moved closer to Kael, positioning himself between Nymon’s best friend and the door. At least by volunteering to stay, he could do both.
“Nymon?” Tex asked.
“Ready.” The magic thrummed through Nymon, and the plants were eager. Through the bond, he felt Tex’s wolf preparing for the fight.
“Be safe,” Nymon whispered, knowing Tex would hear him.
“Always.”
“Now,” Seymour breathed.
Nymon pulled the plants back from the front door in a rush. The vines retracted so quickly they seemed to vanish, leaving nothing but a few leaves slowly falling on the floor. Tex and Orlando were through quickly, disappearing between the trees.
Shouts erupted, then the sounds of a fight.
There was nothing to do but wait.
Nymon pushed his magic through every plant in and around his cottage and covered the door again. He could hear the fight outside. Kael stood by the window, his face white. Ridge had moved even closer to him, one hand hovering near his elbow without quite touching him.
“They’ll be okay,” Ridge said quietly. “They’re good at this.”
“People are getting hurt.” Kael’s voice shook. “People from our community.”
“People who were probably about to hurt Nymon,” Ridge said gently.
A heavy impact against the front door made all three of them jump. Nymon reinforced the vines, adding another layer of thorns. Someone cursed outside, then retreated.
“How long can you hold this?” Ridge asked.
“Long enough.” Nymon hoped it was true. His magic was strong, but maintaining this kind of control was exhausting.
“What if they try to burn us out?” Kael asked.
Nymon met his best friend’s eyes. “Then we run. But I don’t think they will. People would notice, and that’s the last thing the people involved in this want.”
Through the bond, Tex’s presence felt distant. Nymon clung to their connection, even though it was so new.
“How did you learn to do this?” Kael asked quietly, gesturing at the plants surrounding them. “This isn’t what your magic is usually like.”
“I think it’s the bond,” Nymon explained. He was grateful for the distraction.
“Maybe.” Kael huffed. “I can’t believe this.”
Neither could Nymon, but it was all very real. Nymon would hold up his magic until Tex came back to him, no matter how long it took.
He just hoped that by the end of this, he’d still be standing.
* * * *
THE ADDRESS GREGORY had sent led them to the eastern edge of Starhaven. It was still cute in a small town kind of way, but it wasn’t as polished as the other parts of Starhaven Tex had seen.
He was careful as he moved, not knowing what they were about to walk in on. Through the bond, he could feel Nymon’s steady presence. Safe, and the reminder kept Tex focused. As soon as this was over, he and Nymon would leave, and Nymon would be safe.
“There.” Orlando tilted his chin toward a building that looked just like every other building on the street. Warm light spilled from the windows, and Tex could hear voices inside.
Too many voices.
“Thoughts?” Seymour asked quietly. “I really don’t want to have to kill anyone.”
They needed to approach this as carefully as possible. Their goal was to capture these people, not to kill them. “We go in fast, we knock them out, Seymour shimmers them to the shield.”
Seymour groaned. “I’m gonna have to drag all of them through the shield on my own, aren’t I?”
“Or you could come back to get me and Orlando. We’ll know more when we see what’s happening in there.” Tex was glad that their job was limited to the extraction of these people. He doubted it would be easy to get information out of them.
“And if they don’t want to be knocked out?” Orlando’s tone was amused.
“Then we do what we have to do, even if we don’t like it.” All three of them knew it, and they’d do it if they didn’t have a choice.
Seymour nodded. “Give me thirty seconds to get in there and see what’s up.”
It was easy to fall back into their training. They worked together seamlessly, just like they had during training, and it helped soothe something inside Tex. He was still anxious, but he knew they could do this.
Seymour vanished. Tex counted the seconds in his head. After what felt like an hour, but was closer to a minute and a half, Seymour reappeared.
“We have at least six people in there, possibly more. They’re distracted right now. Two of them are arguing, so we should take advantage of that.”
Tex nodded. They all knew what to do. They moved together, Seymour grabbing both Orlando and Tex and shimmering them into the building.
The interior of the bar was what Tex had expected.
Tables and chairs were scattered in the room, while stools were lined up under the bar.
A small group of demons was gathered there, two of them arguing while the others watched.
One demon was behind the bar and held a dish towel.
What he hadn’t expected was the scene of chaos already unfolding.
It took them a second to realize something was happening, and Tex, Seymour, and Orlando took advantage of that. Tex knocked out one orange demon before the demon could even move. He was sure that Orlando and Seymour were working just as quickly.