Chapter 11 #3
The sickly black receded as quickly as it had rolled in, and the sickly green plasma was nowhere to be seen when a sleek black jaguar prowled out of the cleansing mist of a normal fog that lay delicately in the trees and on her driveway.
It was as if the evil had been swept away by a cleansing breath of fog.
She knew the jaguar. It was Mark.
Maybe those sparks hadn’t been hers, after all?
No. There was no way she could weasel her way out of this one.
She had to take ownership of the strange magic that seemed to have taken up residence in her soul.
She had no doubt in her mind that exposure to Mark, and his people, had brought on this strange magic, but she also felt like it was here to stay.
Once awakened, there was no stuffing this genie back in its bottle.
She liked the thought of that. But she wasn’t sure if they were totally out of danger yet. Antony had disappeared into the trees, and she had a good idea what had happened to him after that, considering Mark’s presence. Had Antony come alone? Or did he have friends waiting in the wings?
Shelly sent out her senses in search. She didn’t think the fog would come in and the darkness recede if they were still in danger, but Mark looked extra vigilant as he prowled up to the barrier that still seemed to be in place.
He sniffed at it, even tested it with one paw.
It didn’t reject him like it had Antony, but it also didn’t let him in.
“Is it safe?” she whispered to Mark, so close, yet so far away. She suspected that, if she wanted to cross the barrier, she could, but she wasn’t sure if she would be able to come back.
Mark shifted shape in a shower of dark sparkles. One minute, he was a cat. The next, he was a very handsome, very naked man.
“Better stay behind the ward for now,” he told her. “We took some casualties from the fog and the plasma. I have backup on the way, but we’re going to be busy out here for a little while.”
“Casualties?” She gulped. “Is everyone still alive?” Dear Goddess, she hoped nobody had paid the ultimate price to protect her.
“All alive on our side, and it looks like it’ll stay that way. How about you? Are you okay?” His gaze spoke of his concern, and she felt tears well up behind her eyes.
She’d been so strong up to this point. She wouldn’t weaken now. Not when Mark had others to see to. He needed her to be strong. She knew that. She could fall apart later. When it was just them, alone together.
“I’m fine. You probably saw… He never even got close to the house.
This barrier thing sprung up out of nowhere and encapsulated the whole structure.
Did your people do this?” She looked up at the night sky, once again visible now that the inky blackness Antony had spawned was gone.
Stars sparkled down on them, and a light layer of fog rolled around their ankles.
“No, querida, that was already here. It is something we call a ward. It’s a magical thing created by mages, not usually shifters, and certainly none of the people I left here have this kind of power. Someone else is protecting you.” His gaze turned concerned.
“Seriously?” Shelly couldn’t think who could have possibly put such a thing around her house without her knowing it.
“Do you know any magic users? Mages? Witches? Wizards?” His lopsided smile was both amused and sexy as hell. Damn, she wanted to touch those broad shoulders.
“Um…none of the above. As far as I know.” Just then, her telephone started ringing in the house. It was the landline.
“Your phone lines weren’t working before,” Mark offered.
“None of them?” She’d had her cell phone charging on the desk next to her while she worked and hadn’t heard a single beep from it all night long.
“Not a one. I couldn’t reach you or any of my people. You’d better go see who that is,” he told her gently. “I’m going to be out in the woods for a bit. Meet you back here in fifteen minutes?”
“Deal.” He turned away, and the phone was still ringing, but she had to say something. “And Mark?” He turned back to meet her gaze. “Thank you.” She tried to put everything she was feeling into those two simple words.
He nodded, and she thought he probably understood. He’d helped save her life tonight. She honestly didn’t know how she would have handled Antony alone. She might’ve been able to repulse him with her sparks, but that might have just been beginner’s luck. Mark had done the heavy lifting.
She had a pretty good idea that he’d just killed to save her, and far from being repulsed by the idea, she was more thankful than she could express. He’d proven that he would protect her. He’d put himself on the line for her. To Shelly, there was no greater declaration than that.
A shower of dark sparkles against the fog and Mark was back to his black panther form. He stalked into the woods, disappearing from sight between one moment and the next. He was really good at that stealth stuff.
Shelly raced back into the house to pick up the landline that was still ringing.
“Hello?” She might’ve sounded a little out of breath, but it didn’t matter. Nobody should be calling her this late at night.