Spell Bound (Darkly Enchanted) (32 page)

Silence reigned in the room. Even Leo seemed to know not to intrude.

Quinn drew back his fist and hit the wall as hard as he could. Fire shot through his arm and shoulder and down his spine. It cleared his mind of everything but the pain. At least this pain would heal.

“Quinn.” Gabriel’s voice sliced through the tension. He ignored Gabe and pulled back again. Before he connected, Gabriel grabbed his wrist.

“Quinn, you’ll break your hand and we don’t have the time.”

“I hate this, Gabe. I fu—” He caught himself before he singed Leo’s ears. “I just hate it.”

He looked up, found Gabe nodding in agreement. “I know. It sucks. But the alternative, if you’re discovered—if any of us are—is worse. That can’t happen.”

“I know.” He took in a deep breath, held it then let it out again. “I know. But I don’t have to like it. She’s a nice girl. I don’t love her. I’ll never love her. She deserves more than that. And so do I.”

Gabriel heard the frustration in Quinn’s voice, saw the pain in his eyes. He knew where it came from and ached for his best friend. Still, he understood Serena’s reasoning. He couldn’t resist a quick look at Shea. He understood those reasons too well.

He released Quinn’s wrist. “It’s been a long day. For all of us. Why don’t we chill out for a while, get some rest. I’m hoping Matt will get back to me tonight so we can leave. If that’s three in the morning, all the better. Shea.” He turned, found her gaze glued to his, questions he didn’t want to answer right now in her eyes. “Take Leo back to bed, try to get some sleep. I don’t know when we’ll go, but when it’s time, we’ll move fast.”

She paused then nodded, and he was almost sorry she didn’t fight him. He’d given her an order and typically she didn’t take them well. Instead, she nodded at Leo and they left.

His gaze followed them all the way out the door.

When he turned back, Quinn’s grin was shaky but there.

Gabriel glared at him. “Don’t start, furball. Come on. I want to do a little recon.”

* * *

Shea lay with Leo on the bed he’d slept in last night.

He’d fallen asleep the second his head hit the pillow. His sleep patterns were going to be completely screwed up.

Listening to his deep, even breathing in the dark, her hand stroking his back, Shea wasn’t tired at all.

Her heart ached for Quinn. She wasn’t exactly sure what had happened, but she could piece together enough to make sense. Quinn had a girlfriend who knew nothing about his real life. A life he couldn’t disclose without putting a lot of people in danger.

Shea had grown up knowing there were other races in the world besides humans, races like the
lucani
and the winged folletti and the half-hided
salbinelli
.

What would Quinn’s girlfriend do if he told her the truth? If he told her he could grow fur and become a wolf? Would she laugh and think he was joking? Think he was crazy? Would she run screaming if he showed her?

Would she still want him?

She wondered, for like the millionth time, what a normal life would have been like. To grow up in the suburbs with parents who were school teachers or accountants. To believe magic meant pulling a rabbit out of a hat and that people who could scramble your brains with a muttered spell or children who could make things burn with the touch of their hands only existed in the movies.

Would she want to be so clueless?

Blessed Goddess, no.

Sure, there were scary things in the world, but being clueless didn’t mean they wouldn’t get you. She’d much rather know what was coming.

Which was where her parents had gone wrong. They had withheld information and, somehow, she’d known. She’d run away, thinking she could find answers to all her questions in the outside world.

She hadn’t found a damn thing. And her parents had died.

Heavy footsteps stopped outside their door. She forced herself to close her eyes and breathe slowly when Gabriel pushed open the door to the bedroom.

He had to be able to tell she wasn’t asleep but he didn’t say anything. Seconds later, he pulled the door closed. Seconds after that, she heard them enter a room down the hall.

Might as well forget sleep. She needed a cup of tea.

In the kitchen, waiting for the microwave to finish her water, she stood in the open doorway that led to the garden at the back of the house, barely visible in the deepening shadows of early evening. The scents of oregano, basil, thyme and rose calmed her, reminded her of her mom’s greenhouse, where she’d grown her flowers and herbs used in spell-casting.

Stepping out into the garden, she ran her hands over the herbs, plucking a lemon thyme leaf to crush and hold to her nose. The sound of running water caught her ear and she let her gaze run over the garden until she found the small waterfall burbling from a rocky outcrop at the edge of the tree line.

The water flowed in a steady stream out of the earth, down the fall and into a rock pile before seeping back into the ground. Even in the dusk, Shea saw the runes covering each rock. A shrine to the Moon God Tivr. Made sense considering this was a
lucani
safe house and the wolves worshipped the Moon God in particular.

She should make an offering. Even though she wasn’t
lucani
, it couldn’t hurt to have another god on her side. But she didn’t have a traditional votive—a small statue or vase used as an offering.

Looking around, she spied the pale glow of white moon flowers. Perfect.

After snapping off a few blooms, she stood in front of the shrine and pricked her thumb on a sharp rock. Rubbing a few drops of blood on the petals, she tossed the flowers into the water.

“With my blood and this offering, I ask for your protection, Tivr. Lend me your strength to battle those who would harm my brother.”

As the flowers hit the water and nestled in among the rocks, a howl split the air. Startled, she took a step away from the spring. Were there real wolves in these forests? Or had Quinn decided to take a stroll?

A gray wolf emerged from the trees, its loping gait steady but not threatening. Stopping at the top of the fall, the animal sat, staring down at her. He was huge and should have made her fear for her life. But Gods, he was gorgeous, sleek and muscular. And there was something about the way he looked at her, something about his eyes…

Oh, wow.

She dropped into a curtsy, the action a completely spontaneous response to the presence of a god.

“Tivr, Lord of the Silver Light. I am honored by your presence.”

The wolf didn’t come any closer, just stared at her for several moments before inclining his head and letting loose another howl.

Power emanated from him and his beauty amazed her. She wanted to run her fingers through his fur, which looked more luxurious than any mink or sable ever could.

Could you pet a god? Probably not.

So she held her curtsy, even though it hurt her leg to do so, and waited for him to move first.

After a few seconds, he hopped down from the top of the fall to sniff at the flowers she’d offered, then sat at her side, caught her fingers lightly in his teeth and tugged on them. It took her a few seconds to figure out that he wanted her to sit. So she did, cross-legged on the ground in front of the shrine.

Though she knew the Etruscan deities, with the exception of the Involuti, lived among them, she’d never knowingly met one. Should she look him in those silver eyes and tell him what she wanted?

“Yeah, that would probably be a good place to start.”

She gasped as the wolf spoke in a perfectly human voice.

And when he laughed, her mouth dropped open.

“Kinda weird, huh? Wolf talking. You’ll get used to it.” Tivr sat on his haunches and tilted his head to the side. “So, sweetheart. You got yourself a damn fine mess, don’t you?”

For a few brief seconds, Shea considered the possibility that she’d fallen asleep next to Leo and this was all a dream.

“Nope, this is no dream, kid, so just spit it out.”

And what could she say that wouldn’t sound like whining? She so did not want to whine to a god.

“I’m worried about my brother,” she said finally. “I’m afraid I won’t be able to protect him. That I’ll fail my parents and let something happen to him.” She paused, looking up to meet the god’s silver gaze. “Do you… Can you…”

She bit her lip. Could she ask a god a question? Was it allowed?  Oh, what the hell. “Do you know how to break the curse?”

The wolf shook his head. “Sorry, sweets, I don’t. That’s between Uni and Menrva and Veive. None of the other gods know either. Believe me, it’s not the first time someone’s asked.”

Despair hit her with the weight of a ton of bricks. If the deities didn’t have a clue, then her father’s vision was all she had to go on. And that just sucked.

“Hey, now, don’t fall apart on me.” Tivr nudged her shoulder with his snout, his soft warm fur brushing against her arm. “There’s always more than one way to eat a cat, babe. Just because you think you have an idea, doesn’t mean it’s the right one. Sometimes you need to think outside the box. Besides, change is coming, sweets, and you need to be ready.”

The intensity in his tone sent shivers down her back. “Ready for what?”

His fur bristled. “Battle. Gonna be a doozy, too. But then, the
Mal
never did go in for half measures. You need to be ready, babe. You and the kid.”

The
Mal
? Battle? Her and Leo in a battle against the
Mal
? Didn’t they have enough trouble with Dario?

She shook her head, wondering if she’d fallen and hit her head. Was she hallucinating? Goddess save her, she wished she were because Tivr was starting to freak her out. But she really didn’t want to piss off a god by asking too many questions.

“I don’t understand.”

Tivr sighed, a weird sound coming from a wolf. “No reason you would, huh? Not many do anymore. Used to be, we had temples full of priests and priestesses deciphering our every word.” He snorted. “Today, most don’t make it to temple once a month. They don’t practice the old ways. They turn to the Weather Channel to see if it’s going to be a good growing season or watch CNN to know if there’s trouble brewing in the world.