Elfin (40 page)

“I’m sorry,” s
he told him in between kisses. “I’m so sorry.”

“Stop saying that Cassie or I’m
going to stop.”

“If you stop kissing me
, Trik, then you have a death wish.”

He chuckled as he laid her down on the bed. His body covered hers as he whispered words of love to her and then showed her just how much he meant them.

It wasn’t until much, much later that Cassie pulled her lips from his and came up for air. She sat up suddenly and Trik followed her movement.

“What’s wrong
, beautiful? Are you hurting again?”

Cassie
shook her head. “Trik, where is Elora? Where are Tamsin and Syndra?”

Trik looked away from her eyes as he berated himself for not mentioning it earlier. “
They’re volunteering for the greater good.”

“Volunteering?” Cassie’s eyes narro
wed. “Where? At the Goodwill?”

“Picture a little less second hand clothes and a lot more danger and mayhem.”

“My best friend has been fighting for her life while we laid here making out?”

“It seemed like a really, really good idea at the time.”

Cassie growled her frustration at him. She jumped up from the bed and headed straight for the mirror.

“Where are you going my love?” Trik asked
, still sitting on the bed, in all his shirtless glory.

“We have to help them
, Trik. You’re a king; surely you have some sort of kingly powers.”

He nodded and stood
, unfolding his body slowly, knowing that she would be watching. She rolled her eyes at him impatiently.

“Cassie
, love,” Trik purred her name and she wanted to kick herself for the warmth it flooded her body with.

“What Trik?
” She snapped.

“
I know you want to help them, and so do I.”

“Good, let’s go,” she interrupted an
d once again turned and headed for the mirror.

“I wan
t to help them,” Trik continued. “And as effective at distracting the enemy might be with you marching into battle in absolutely nothing but a thin, pale, tunic, I would much prefer my eyes be the only ones who see you in such splendor.”

Cassie looked down at her bare legs, and as she felt Trik’s eyes roaming over her
, she realized just how unclothed she was.

“I totally knew that I needed clothes.”

“Of course you did, love.”

“It’s not
like I would have just ran headlong into a battle with my butt on full display.”

“I didn’t doubt you for a second.”

“You are never going to let me live this down are you?”

“Not in this life
or the next.”

“Will you
at least please get me some clothes so that I can rescue my friends and kick Lorsan in the head?”

“I will do better than that
beautiful. I will get you some clothes, a sword, and your very own assassin to join you on your quest.”

“Ooo
h, just what I’ve always wanted. A man whose job title had the word ass in it not once, but two times.”

Trik tossed her some clothes as he muttered under his breath.

Once she was dressed Trik took her hand and led her to the mirror. He looked down at the ring still on her finger, the ring he had given her and smiled. “You kept it.”

Cassie frowned.
“Of course I kept it.”

“Because you love me,” he grinned triumphantly.

She held her hand up with her forefinger and thumb separated slightly. “Just a little.”

This time he rolled his eyes at her. “
Whatever, you are totally in love with me.”

He heard her snort as she
turned and stepped through the mirror and he used his mind to push her where she needed to go. He was right behind her. When they emerged in the light elf castle Trik wrapped an arm around Cassie and pulled her close. His face lost its playfulness as he looked into her eyes.

“You are not
allowed to get yourself killed,” he told her sternly.

S
he let out an exasperated breath but a smile played on her lips and her eyes, so bright and full of life, sparkled. “I’m getting orders from the guy whose job title is essentially ass squared. How seriously am I supposed to take that?”

Trik growled at her and pulled her into a firm kiss.
She pulled back, breathless. Even under the circumstances she wanted to shout from the highest mountain the joy that she felt in her heart.

“
No worries, love,” she winked at him. “I can’t die. Then who would remind you that you’re too cocky for your own good?”

“You’re
right; I have nothing to worry about. You would never allow me to live in such ignorant bliss, nor rob me of the opportunity to spend eternity being called ass squared.”

Cassie laughed for the first time in a very lon
g, dark time. “Damn straight,” she murmured just as she saw Syndra come around the corner.

The Light Elf Queen stopped and put her hands on her hips. She narrowed her eyes and met Cassie’s.

“Took you long enough.”

Cassie sh
ook her head at the snarky she-elf. “I do apologize, your majesty, for not getting over the whole dying from adrug addiction thing a little more quickly.”

“I’ll think about accepting your apology
. In the meantime, get your butts in gear. We have friends to rescue, an enemy to crush, and the human population to save.”

“Oh, is that all?” Cassie retorted nonchalantly.

“Piece of cake
, babe. Piece. Of. Cake.”

“I’m going to tell you where you can shove that piece of cake if you don’t get a
move on,” Syndra growled over her shoulder.

“Take notes my love,”
Trik pointed at Syndra’s retreating form. “That is why she is Queen.”

Cassie nodded.
“Got it. Note to self: Successful Queen equals bitch.”

“I heard that,” Syndra yelled.

Cassie gave Trik a high five. “You’re well on your way, beautiful,” he told her with a wink.

From Quinn:

Thank you so much for taking your time to read Elfin, Book 1 in my new series. I hope that it met your expectations and maybe even exceeded them.

Books by Author Quinn Loftis:

The Grey Wolves Series

Prince of Wolves

Blood Rites

Just One Drop

Out of the Dark

Beyond the Veil

The Elfin Series

Elfin

Now check out this sneak peak of Tiffany King’s
Jordyn

Sneak Peak Tiffany King

Jor
dyn

A Daemon Hunter Novel

By

Tiffany King

www.authortiffanyjking.blogspot.com

I loved the tickling feeling of the sand eroding from underneath my feet as the ocean waves continued to roll in and then back out to sea. I'd stood in this spot so many times over the past year. It was beautiful here, the way the ocean looked like it went on forever in the distance. Still, as significant as this beach was to my new family, the way their entire existence seemed to gravitate around this spot, it didn't hold any significance for me. I'd never dreamt of this place or met some soul mate hottie in my dreams in this spot. It was just a beach where I hung out with friends and family, nothing more.
God, self-pity much?
I thought. This wasn't why I'd come to the beach. I came here to think about the anger-filled blowup during dinner earlier. Coming here always helped me chill out, and I had hoped that for once this spot would finally unlock the memories that were lost to me. The fight I'd had earlier with my supposed aunt and uncle, who were practically my age, by the way, was typical. I was over their evasive answers about my past. They didn't seem to understand how frustrating it is to know nothing about who you are, where you come from, or even worse, why you have no memories of anything like any normal person. At times like this, I missed my best friend, Lynn. I needed someone to vent to, but she had left two weeks ago to join her Protector in Utah on an extended mission. It sucked not having her around. Sure, we texted and Facebooked each other twenty-four/seven, but it wasn't the same. Truthfully, I didn't see why Robert couldn't handle the mission on his own. Of course, I knew how the whole "link" thing worked, which made how I was feeling totally irrational, I realized, but I didn't care. I missed my only friend, damn it.

My errant thoughts were interrupted when my pulse quickened and the hair on the back of my neck felt like it was standing on end. I wasn't the only mystical being on the beach tonight.

Sweeping my eyes over the boardwalk behind me, I spotted the source of my "freak alarm"—Daemons. Two of them by the looks of it. They were using human hosts they'd obviously hijacked from the mortuary, judging by the gaping bullet hole in one of them. They both had waxy complexions courtesy of a mortician's hand. The sky around us was dark enough that the other occupants of the boardwalk paid no attention to the Daemons' odd appearances. It showed how oblivious humans could be.

I walked casually toward them, knowing they couldn't sense me. I didn't emit the same vibe that a Guide or Protector or even an Arch Angel would. I was like the shadow you couldn't see until the s un decided to cast its rays. I watched them for a moment, creeping along the shadow from the wall that separated the boardwalk from the beach. I wouldn't be detected until I was ready. Typical Daemons. Steal human hosts and prey on the weak. They're nothing but cowards themselves. I knew I should have called Haniel the moment I'd sensed them, but I was still pissed off enough at the world right now and decided to throw caution to the wind. I could take them out. I may be an anomaly, but at least I was a badass one.

It wasn't until I was within three yards of them that I spotted their source of entertainment. Homeless Joe was leaning back against the wall in a drunken stupor. One of the body snatchers proceeded to pour tequila down Joe's throat while the other held Joe's head in place.

"Two on one seems a little unfair, don't you think?" I asked as they dropped the bottle to the sand in surprise.

"What the hell are you?" the
bullet-holed Daemon mumbled, breaking through the wire the mortician had used to sew his lips closed. It was obvious they sensed I wasn't ordinary.

"Are you two dipshits normally this stupid
, or did you leave your brains at the mortuary?" I taunted them, placing my hands on my hips. They hesitated to make a move, no doubt thrown off by the fact that they were unable to get a read on me. I rapidly calculated how I would take them out in my head. "Surely you know this area has angelic protection?" I mocked.

"You're no angel," the second Daemon slurred through the dead mouth of his host. He dropped Homeless Joe back to the ground and turned his hulking body toward me.

He was right, but what a dick thing to say. I wasn't an angel, and I never would be. It wasn't in my genetic makeup, but hearing a soul sucker remind me of that fact only pissed me off more.

"Wow, you're a sharp one," I answered, stepping closer. My nose wrinkled from a sudden whiff of embalming fluid the mortician had used on the bodies.

"You're awful cocky for such a small little treat," Bullet Hole taunted, taking a menacing step forward.

His words struck my hilarity button and I burst out laughing
, which I could tell confused them both as they studied me like I'd lost my marbles.

"All I can say is talk about being in the wrong place at the wrong time," I said through my laughter. "Let me guess. Your boss has no idea you're here. You thought you'd win brownie points by bringing back a soul, right?"

My knowledge of their origins seemed to unsettle them.

"What are you?" Bullet H
ole demanded again.

"You
r worst nightmare," I snickered before turning deadly serious. Cheesy, I know, but I heard it in some old movie I'd watched over the weekend.

This time they both laughed
, which came across distorted and eerie around the wires that poked out of their lips on both sides.

"You're one crazy little bitch," the Daemon slurred,
taking a bounding jump toward me.

Anticipating his movement, I used my momentum and his forward motion against him by slamming my small but effective fist into his esophagus. While he was reeling from the blow, I twisted him around and thrusted my foot against his spinal cord, snapping it in half. Without a backbone to hold its host upright, the Daemon dropped to the sand at my feet like a sack of bricks.

"So, pretty girl can fight," Bullet Hole snarled, no longer playing as he slowly circled me.