Guardian Of The Grove (10 page)

Sarah came back into the room as we broke our embrace. She gave us an
oh, really
look, as if questioning my previous we-are-just-friends statement. When she saw Alby’s wet eyes, she reevaluated, but not much from the smirk she was still wearing. I wanted to laugh at her innuendo, but the mood was too serious for that. Damn, Lycans, if they weren’t fighting, they had sex on their minds. “So what did Adam say?” I managed to ask before Alby could pick up on our silent conversation.

“He is sending April and Marcus to assist you. You will have the full power of the Ascendancy behind you. He asked that I continue my recruitment after making an introduction with Shalana for you.”

“Awesome, when will they be here?”

“I’d guess within the hour.”

“So you would vouch for Marcus and April?” Alby asked.

“With my life.”

“Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that,” Alby said. I couldn’t tell if she was being serious or not.

T
rue to her word
, Marcus and April appeared at the house an hour later. They stepped out of the doorway right after my mother scribbled something above it and opened the door. It was interesting that you could use temporary runes to allow access to otherwise guarded property. I was just guessing at the fact the house was guarded, but it made sense. If there hadn’t been some kind of protection built in, then they could have just porteled into my home at any time. God, it felt weird to say that, but it was my home. After they stepped into the room, Sarah wiped her marks off of the door, ensuring no one else could follow.

Marcus walked into the living room, and I saw his eyes widen at the sight of Alby. He extended his arm and shook my hand. April walked in and gave me a very warm hug and then moved to stand by Marcus. Once Sarah came in and we were all assembled, I made introductions. “Guys, this is Alby. Alby, this is April and Marcus.”

April gave her a nod. “Nice to meet you.” Then they sized each other up in the way that women do when they think no one else can tell they are doing it. It was one of those things that happened quickly but almost always happened. After a moment, they seemed to have formed opinions about each other and the quick once-overs stopped.

“Nice to meet you too. Any friend of Jackson’s is a friend of mine,” Alby said.

Marcus was still in shock. He had always been a ladies’ man, but somehow Alby had left him speechless. Finally, he snapped out of it and gave her a wink. “I’d sure like to be your friend.”

Alby looked at me and laughed at Marcus’s comment. “Jackson, is this guy for real?”

I slugged him in the shoulder and then turned to Alby and shrugged my shoulders in apology. “You better believe it.”

April jumped in. “Don’t pay any attention to Marcus. He’s a week off of his last conquest, so his ability to speak properly around women has been damaged by being a man. He does have his uses, though, so we keep him around.”

Marcus shot April a look that said
what did I ever do to you?
Her laughter filled the air and was quickly joined by me and Alby. It had been so long since I heard her laugh like that that it sounded like an angel had whispered into my ear. “What? It’s true.”

Marcus blushed for a second and then regained his composure. “I will not acknowledge or reply to such slanderous remarks. All further remarks should be forwarded to my attorney for verification. Otherwise, we may have to sue for slander.”

He sounded so serious, it got all of us laughing again. “It’s a good thing we don’t need lawyers, or what we did would get out of control quickly. Marcus is actually an all right guy. He just hasn’t settled down yet,” I said, coming to his defense.

“And never will,” Marcus said with a grin.

“You’re not helping your case much, Marcus,” April said.

Alby smiled at all of us, enjoying the byplay. It was nice to be surrounded by my true friends. It was amazing how easy we all fell into a rhythm as soon as we were together. I noticed there was one person missing from our group. I looked at Marcus, and he just shrugged. We would talk about it later, but for now, that was enough of an answer. At least I knew that there were people I could rely on no matter what.

“So what happens now, Alby?” Sarah asked, bringing us all back on point.

“Tonight we get some rest, and tomorrow we go visit my uncle. He will take us to the grove, and then we will meet with Shalana.”

“You guys don’t plan on waking up too early, do you?” Marcus asked.

“My uncle won’t be up until later, so there is no point in waking up too early.”

“Awesome.” Marcus gave a little fist pump. “Any chance you have some food stashed away?”

I pointed him toward the kitchen and watched as April nudged a bag by her feet. “No, you didn’t,” I said, recognizing the bag in question.

“I sure did. You’ve been gone for a few days, and you need to get some practice in.”

Alby just watched us, so I wasn’t going to get saved there. Sarah smiled at me from the hallway and said, “I’ll make some iced tea for when you are done.”

Now Alby had to be wondering what was in the bag, but I already knew. It was the same bag that came to all of our training sessions. “All right, but not with the escrima sticks. That will be too loud for the neighbors, and they already think I’m a freak.”

April kind of winced at my self-deprecating statement. “Oh, you aren’t getting out of it that easy. Marcus can spell the yard for us. Then we are going to get in a little training. Anywhere a girl can change around here?”

I pointed up the stairs. “You can use my room after I grab a pair of shorts. I’ll just change in the bathroom and meet you outside.”

I came downstairs a minute later, and no one was around. I picked up the bag of training equipment and started to head through the kitchen just as April appeared at the top of the stairs. She had tied her red hair back in a ponytail and dressed in a pink sports bra and black yoga pants. It was her face that kept my attention, though. Something in the way she looked at me made my insides turn to mush. It was a feeling unlike any other I’d ever had.

She smiled down at me. “What?”

“Just happy to see you.”

“Well, you might not be in a few minutes.”

“Of that, I have no doubt.” I turned and headed through the kitchen. April followed closely behind me. Opening the door to the back patio, I noticed that everyone else had pulled up a lawn chair and was ready to watch the show. Marcus had somehow conjured some lights around the patio, and I could see the faint shimmer of his spell around the perimeter.

I pulled two of the heavy training sticks out of the bag, and then a thought occurred to me. I didn’t have my swords with me for tomorrow. Depending on what happened, I felt like I needed them here. I looked over at Marcus. “You didn’t happen to bring my go bag, did you?”

“Of course, man, although I’m surprised you left it in the first place.”

“Well, this was supposed to be a relaxing weekend for me to think a few things through. Obviously, that’s all been shot to shit.” Alby looked a little bit worried. “Not because of anything you did, Alby, but those cops ruined my day.”

“Yeah, we saw that on TV. Your girl Britta ran out of the room and got on her phone pretty quick.”

“I bet. Probably couldn’t wait to distance herself from me.”

April gave a slight smile at that, and Marcus just shook his head. Alby was the only one who spoke. “Wait, Jackson has a girlfriend?”

April shot me a nasty glare. I could only imagine that she was thinking me and Alby were an item and that I hadn’t told her about Britta. Marcus jumped into the conversation. “Sure, she is this hot little number,” he said, moving his hand in an exaggerated hourglass. April stared daggers at him. He returned her glare with his lopsided smile. “What? It’s true. Jackson is a good-looking dude. Lots of chicks dig him.”

Alby just started to laugh. “So you finally had the courage to ask one of them out, huh?”

Marcus interrupted before I could say anything. “I’m pretty sure she asked him out.”

Alby gave me a questioning look. “Well, it doesn’t really matter, does it?” Then she smiled. Apparently my omission was enough for her to know it was true.

“That remains to be seen,” Marcus said.

Alby just looked between us, smiling at Marcus for telling her that little tidbit of information. I was sure that she would make sure to remind me of that little fact later. She didn’t ask him any more questions, and for that, I was grateful.

April smacked her sticks together out in the yard. “Come on already. We don’t have all night.”

I tried to shake away some of the frustration I was feeling as I walked over to her. It wouldn’t do me any good in the ring. Tight muscles made you slow, and when your mind wandered in a fight against April, you tended to get reminded of it with a jolt of pain. April gave me a tight-lipped smile, and most of the pressure I had been feeling just washed off my shoulders. I knew that she would be coming at me hard. I couldn’t really blame her for that. She dropped into her fighting stance, and that was the last chance I had to think of anything else for the next ten minutes.

We started our fourth set, and she was up two to one. I actually didn’t feel too bad about that. The first bout she had won handily. The second had been much closer. The third I managed to land a hit that swept one of her legs out, sending her crashing to the ground. It seemed like more luck than skill, but I’d take the win.

“One more and then a round of hand to hand to wrap it up?” April asked, almost as if it was an endurance challenge.

“Let’s do it.”

We both dropped into a fighting stance. In the other three matches, I had let April come out as the aggressor. This time, she tried to do the same thing, but as our sticks collided, I shifted immediately to the offensive. She fell back almost too easily; she was sucking me in for something, but I just couldn’t stop myself from taking the bait. She moved around the yard, positioning me for whatever move she had in mind. The escrima sticks rose and fell. The sound of them was like gunshots at close range.

I pressed the attack, using my longer reach to make her work harder than she would need to with an opponent of the same size. She kept darting back, keeping me at maximum range. I knew something was wrong; even in a defensive position, it made sense for her to stay as close to me as possible. She slipped back a step and moved one of her sticks at an angle. The blow I had been expecting to land solidly slipped off the edge of her stick. It bounced off her shoulder, but before I could recover, I took two vicious shots to the ribs.

The crack her sticks made against my ribs sounded twice as loud as usual out in the open. Alby stood up, about to rush forward, but Marcus put a hand on her arm. I couldn’t hear what he said, but she sat back down. Her face was still streaked with concern. I waved her off, trying to indicate that I would be ok.

When I could breathe again, I asked April, “So you took the hit on purpose knowing it would end the battle?”

“I did,” she said with a smirk, as if I should have known she would take a hit just to win.

“And you probably could have done that anytime?” I wheezed.

“Probably. It took me a while to work up the courage to try it,” she said, rubbing her shoulder.

I dropped my sticks to the ground and placed a hand on her shoulder. I let the magic flow from me into her, and I thought of easing her pain and making the shoulder whole again. It seemed to be working if the look on her face was any indication. I stared into her eyes and brushed a piece of grass away that had been clinging to her cheek. When her shoulder was healed, I held her for a moment longer than was necessary.

“Off with that shirt, big guy,” she said, smiling up into my face. Our eyes locked onto each other’s as she went to work.

I took my shirt off, and she placed both her hands on my ribs. I felt relieved as the pain drifted away. If those had been swords, I’d be dead. Even with the sticks, if it had been a real fight, she could have finished me off as I tried to fight back with the broken ribs. April was a true warrior, but she also had a softer side. I loved the duality of her. It always kept me on my toes.

Once my ribs had healed enough, April tossed me a pair of gloves. I was sliding them on when Alby stood up. “Do you mind if I step in for you?”

“It’s ok Alby. I’m not hurt anymore.”

“I can see that, but I never get the chance to fight anyone with such talent. I’d love to get in a match.”

I looked over at April. “Is it ok with you?”

“Sure is.”

I tossed Alby my gloves, and she slid them on. Marcus sat back in his chair and shouted, “AWESOME!”

I didn’t have to respond this time. My mom hit him before I could. When he turned to look at her, she growled. I think he turned a little white then, which was impressive on his dark brown skin.

I walked over to April. “Hey, take it easy on her. I’m not sure how good of a fighter she is.”

Alby shouted over at me. “You better not be asking her to take it easy on me, Jackson. I can handle myself.”

April met my eyes. She didn’t say anything but gave me a nod. That meant she would go easy early on and try and feel out her skill level before going too hard. I walked back to the patio and accepted a glass of iced tea. It was hot out even after dark. Thank God for the relatively low humidity. I felt a little bit of apprehension about this fight, but I squashed it down. They had both asked for it, so I couldn’t be held responsible for the outcome, right?

I mean, women at the academy fought just as often as men, and some of them much better. April was the perfect example of that. So while my upbringing was screaming that it was wrong for them to do it, I knew that both of them had probably been fighting longer than I had. I shoved my ridiculous prejudice out of mind and sat back to watch them battle.

April started to slowly circle Alby. I knew from experience she was watching her footwork and the way she moved. Years of experience would tell her just what kind of fighter Alby actually was. A little twist in my stomach told me this would only end badly for one of my friends. It was funny; when two guys fought each other, I never wondered about what would happen afterward. I lived in the moment, enjoying the thrill of the fight. I needed to find a way to do that now.

They continued to circle. I almost felt as if I was out there myself, daring one of them to make the first move. It was interesting to see the six-foot Alby versus my tiny little April. Just when I couldn’t take the tension anymore, April darted forward. She jumped in with a kick aimed at Alby’s stomach. Alby easily deflected the blow to the side and then rushed forward, raining a series of blows that April could barely keep up with. I had never seen Alby fight; it shouldn’t have surprised me that she knew how. The Fae had to fight for everything they had, the same as everyone else did. The supernatural world was a violent and dangerous place.

April dropped under a kick aimed at her head and landed a punch to Alby’s thigh. Alby staggered back a step, but before she could regain her balance, April was on her. She landed a flurry of punches to her midsection before stepping back, looking for an opening to land the final blow. Alby limped around in a slow circle. Every part of me wanted to cry out for them to stop so that I could take care of my injured friend. I had to tell myself to stop it. If Marcus and I were fighting, they would never stop the fight because one of us got hit. I had to let this play out.