Wicked Wind (Solsti Prophecy #1) (6 page)

“Where the hell do you park your car, anyway?” Gunnar glanced up and down the block.

“My condo has an underground garage for residents.”

He snorted. “Another unguarded entrance.”

“No, it’s not. You have to punch in an access code.”

“A good thief or hacker won’t be stopped by that. Neither will an unfriendly demon.” They got into his car and threaded their way through the busy Lincoln Park streets, toward a thoroughfare that would take them north and out of the city proper. Unable to shake the feeling that she wasn’t safe, three words popped into his mind.
Protect her always
. He rubbed his chest as an odd, warm feeling bloomed behind his ribs.
What the hell?

He blinked and focused on the road. Protection was his job. He stole a glance in her direction, and couldn’t hold back a smile. Her luminous green eyes returned his gaze, studying him.
Damn
. As heat seeped from his chest into his limbs, the knowledge dawned that she was much more than a creature to safeguard. And that was unfamiliar territory.

C
HAPTER
4

B
ITING
INTO
HER
blueberry muffin, Nicole peeked at the man sitting next to her. AC/DC’s “Thunderstruck” churned from the satellite radio. Coffee, tender words, and eighties metal were the last things she expected from a demon. Not that she would have thought of them anyway, because she hadn’t known demons existed until last night.

A little voice in her head told her this was all too strange to believe, but it was drowned out by the sheer presence of his steely, muscular body next to her. The SUV was big, but so was he, and he seemed to fill up all the space inside it. He didn’t look particularly dangerous this morning, in a charcoal gray T-shirt and jeans, but she wondered if he had weapons concealed somewhere.
Would he even need any? He has demonfire.
And she was letting him drive her to his house. Oddly, no warning bells rang out in her mind. She somehow knew, deep down, that he wouldn’t harm her.

He lived with four other Lash demons, one of whom was the Elder.
Will the other three demons be around? Will we all talk to the Elder together?
She wasn’t sure how many others would be with them once they reached his house, so she used the time in the car to pepper him with questions. “Have you been in this area long?”

“A few months. We move around the country as needed. Monitor the larger cities, keep our ears open for signs of trouble.”

“Where were you before Chicago?” She studied his profile, surprised that she’d missed how long and dark his eyelashes were. They framed his azure eyes perfectly, making even the most casual glance seem sensual.

“I was in L.A. for a couple of years.”

Great, the clubs there are full of petite, tanned, artificially curvy women who probably made a habit of throwing themselves at you
. Ridiculous, unbidden jealousy burst like a firework in her mind. Were Gunnar-groupies waiting for him in every city? “Do you have a girlfriend?” she blurted.

He looked at her, eyes twinkling. “No.”

“Are you married?”

This time he chuckled. “Again, no.”

“Do demons even get married?”

“Not in the human sense of the word. Supernaturals sometimes find mates.”

She frowned at the term. “How is a mate different from a spouse?”

“Mating is more permanent. It can only be broken with the death of one partner.” He grinned. “Any more questions I can answer for you?”

“About a million, since you shifted my world off its axis last night,” she replied, and then flushed at the twinkle that lit his eyes. “Um…I mean…you know what I mean.”

His grin turned positively devilish. “Nicole, if last night shifted your world, you haven’t seen anything yet.” It was a good thing they were stopped at a traffic light, because heat rolled off his body as his blue eyes stared deeply into hers. He placed his big hand on her thigh and squeezed gently. “And there’s a lot you need to know about the supernatural world, as well.”

“Yeah,” was all she could manage, as the warmth from his hand sent fluttering waves zinging through her body. The light turned green and she took a deep breath to clear her mind. “So you’re like, on an assignment here in Chicago?”

“We’re keeping an eye on something that may or may not be a problem.”

She raised her eyebrows. “Guess you have to be vague about it. I mean, you wouldn’t want to give away secrets to the new girl.” It came out more sarcastic than she intended.

He shot her a sideways glance. “If there’s a chance you’re able to help, you’ll know more than you ever wanted to pretty soon.”

The phrase
more than you ever wanted to know
had taken on a whole new meaning. Her thoughts bunched in a jumble of conflicts. Was she really putting faith in the tales he told her? Although it was a little late for second thoughts, considering she was in a car with him and on her way to meet his colleagues. And her own life was proof that, if nothing else, some people were just different.
Different enough to be supernatural creatures?
She had a feeling she was about to get a crash course in all things weird and wild.

She glanced down to where Gunnar’s hand rested on her thigh. Her instincts told her to trust him. Focusing on the heat flowing from his body into hers, she pushed the jittery thoughts out of her head and looked out her window. Not even a mile to the east of them she caught glimpses of Lake Michigan, sparkling in the morning sun as they drove.

Soon they pulled into a private, gated lane that crossed a generous yard and led to a large two-story brick house. Tall trees and hedges shielded it from the road. Gunnar pulled around to the back of the house, where two more SUVs were parked. As they exited the car, Nicole prepared to be scrutinized within an inch of her life. Excitement and nerves ping-ponged in her belly.
It’ll be worth it if I can get some answers.

They walked into a large kitchen with gleaming black granite countertops. A coffee machine ticked and hummed quietly near the sink, releasing the aroma of strong, unflavored coffee. In the great room beyond, two muscular men sat playing video games in front of a large flat screen television. Nicole caught some of their running commentary, full of trash-talking insults, as they fired at computer generated aliens. They both looked up when Gunnar and Nicole entered the room.

“Hey man.” One of them stood. He matched Gunnar’s height, but his hair was blond and his eyes sparked with watchful curiosity as he glanced at Nicole and back to Gunnar.

“Kai, this is Nicole,” Gunnar said.

Kai drew in a breath and paused. Guarded brown eyes pierced her. “Fae?”

Nicole stared at him, unsure of what he was talking about. The game console had quieted when the two set down their controllers, and the raucous guitars of Iron Maiden’s “Wasted Years” pounded from the stereo.

Gunnar stepped in without missing a beat. “No. Got any other ideas?”

Now the other guy got up and crossed over to them. “Since when do you fail to identify a female?” He spoke to Gunnar, but kept his eyes on Nicole. He had dark brown hair, cut short all over, and a relaxed attitude. But she couldn’t tell if his grin was sincere or sarcastic.

“Shut up, Rhys, unless you want to offer a helpful suggestion.”

I should say something
. Too bad standing in close quarters with the three of them was a little intimidating. At five foot ten, she never felt petite. But the combined height and size of Gunnar and his friends made her feel like a tiny doll.

“I met Nicole last night. She has a unique ability.” Gunnar went on to describe her talent while the other demons stared at her.

“How ’bout you show us.” The unmistakable edge in Kai’s low voice let her know it wasn’t a request.

She hadn’t planned on stirring any winds indoors. Nicole swallowed hard and focused on the air in the room. She manipulated it into a gentle breeze, lifting their hair as she had done last night in the park with Gunnar. They paused and looked at each other.

“That’s it?” Rhys asked, eyebrows pinched.

“No, that’s not it, but that’s all I want to do inside your home,” Nicole said, finding her voice.

“You really don’t know what you are?” Kai folded his arms across his chest.

Great
. Now she felt intimidated and stupid. “No. I thought I was human until last night.”

“We need to talk to Rilan,” Gunnar muttered.

Kai raked a hand through his hair . “He’s translating some old grimoires. It may be awhile before he’s out of his study. You know how he gets into that old Demonish stuff.”

“Yeah,” Gunnar frowned. He turned to Nicole. “Looks like we’ve got some time to kill. Unless you’re a fan of these Xbox role-playing games, I’ll show you the rest of the house.”

A grin tugged at her mouth. “I’ll pass on the video game.”

He flashed one of his devastating smiles and extended his arm in a sweeping motion. “This is the great room.”

She studied the large high-ceilinged space. Brown leather couches and chairs sat near the television and a central stone fireplace. One side of the room held a long farm-style dining table with distressed white chairs. The other side of the room contained an enormous L-shaped computer desk outfitted with three large flat screen monitors. One of them displayed a map of the city, with little red dots that flashed intermittently.

Tall windows flanked the fireplace and the wood floor gleamed with a lustrous dark finish. The whole room was done in neutral colors: dark browns, grays, and the pale dining chairs. There wasn’t a pop of color anywhere.
Brooke would have a fit
, she mused, thinking of her artistic sister.

Gunnar gestured toward the dining side of the room, which opened to reveal a hallway. “That leads to the front foyer and the staircase to the second floor. And here,” he turned her back around toward the kitchen, “is the second staircase.”

She noticed a closed door just inside the kitchen. Gunnar opened it for her, and they descended the steps to enter a long hallway with walls painted a dark gray. Reaching a glass door, Gunnar repeated his chivalrous gesture and opened it. She smiled and stepped into a giant workout room.

Besides free weights and a large treadmill, it held more weapons than she had ever seen. Short straight knives, wicked looking curved blades, and swords of all lengths were mounted on one wall. The area next to them opened to a wide space for practicing. Beyond that, a wall with a row of windows enclosed a firing range.

“Wow,” she said as she took it all in. “You guys are well-stocked.”

“Gotta be prepared.”

Gingerly picking up a curved blade with a forked tip, she asked, “What do you use this for?”

“Carving the heart out of a Neshi demon.”

Her jaw dropped.

“Sometimes they survive our demonfire, so that’s one way to make sure they’re truly dead.”

She set the blade down and shook her head, almost sorry she asked. He sounded so casual about it. This was his world, and now it was hers as well.
Am I ready?

Nicole crossed over to a table in the weapons area and touched a small silver dagger. Deeply carved lines circled the hilt, which was set with a small round sapphire. She picked it up and tested its weight in her hand, noting the intricate symbols carved on the blade. “May I?” She nodded at the far wall.

“Go for it.” Gunnar grinned.

Eyeing one of the ragged wooden beams against the wall, obviously a well-worn target, she hurled the blade end over end and watched it sink with a resounding thunk into the wood.

“Not bad.” Gunnar glanced at the rest of the weapons. “Try another.”

“I’ve never used a sword. Only small knives and switchblades.”

“You’ll need to learn. Most supernaturals can only be killed by beheading or fire.”

The thought of taking the head of a creature whose existence she probably wasn’t even aware of was so far-fetched that Nicole only nodded. Her world had gone from weird to completely crazy in less than twenty-four hours. Here she stood in a room full of weapons, in a house full of demons, one of which was hopefully going to identify her odd ability. And she hadn’t shared any of it with Brooke yet.

Gunnar broke through her musings. “Want to spar?”

Her eyebrows shot up. “Spar? With you?” She shook her head. “That didn’t go so well for me last night. I ended up with my hair full of dirt.” And with the delicious weight of his big body pressing hers to the ground. Nicole pushed the errant thought from her mind.

“Last night I didn’t want you to run away. Today I want to see what you can do. And there’s no dirt here.” He spread his arms wide, gesturing to the large practice area covered in blue padded mats.

She stared at him with narrowed eyes.
Why not?
“Okay. I need to change clothes, though.”

Gunnar went to get the bag she had left up in the kitchen, and when he returned she ducked into a small changing room off the main area. She emerged shoeless, in white Gi pants and a red workout tank. She walked to the center of the room where he was waiting for her.

She took a second to appreciate his sheer bulk, which made her stomach flutter in more ways than one. Last night he had pinned her so easily...but he didn’t hurt her. She had sparred with the other students in her classes over the years, and she occasionally sparred with Brooke, but she had never taken on anyone as big as Gunnar. He was probably strong enough to snap her neck, though she knew she could move fast.
Faster than him?

She booted her nerves with a mental drop kick. Focused on her muscles and her breathing. He watched her, waiting, a tower of coiled strength. A muscle twitched in his jaw.

In a blur of movement, she turned and whirled, kicking out to connect just below his ribs. He took a step back and reached for her ankle, as she expected. Without setting her foot on the ground she swiftly kicked him again, right in the indent of his waist, before she danced away.

He grinned as they circled one another, his eyes taking on the blue luster she had seen last night. “Again.”

She charged forward, darting to the side as she neared him. She quickly turned and moved to bring her foot down on his knee, a move that could shatter a man’s kneecap. But Gunnar wasn’t a man, and he moved just in time, catching her ankle with his foot.