Wicked Wind (Solsti Prophecy #1) (7 page)

The blue mats raced toward her eyes as she lost her balance, rolling away from him as she fell. She leapt to her feet and didn’t even hesitate before running at him full speed and jumping onto his back. She brought her hand across his throat in a slicing motion.

He caught her wrist and yanked to the side, nearly pulling her over his shoulder. She went airborne. Before her brain even registered that she’d landed, he pounced, pinning her facedown to the mat.

She got the feeling he wasn’t letting his full weight rest on her, but damn, he was heavy. She tried to twist away and couldn’t. Tried to buck with her hips and couldn’t. But that little motion only brought her rear right up against his pelvis.

She froze, fighting the urge to roll her hips against his. Her mind started to melt into a haze of lust as every inch of her reveled in the warm contact of their bodies, from shoulders to knees. He couldn’t have known how much she loved lying just like this. And she wasn’t about to share that bit of information with him. Not now. She found a tiny corner of her mind that was still rational, and rasped, “Again.”

They continued until she was a sweaty mess and he, annoyingly, looked barely ruffled. Not once had she been able to bring him down. She guessed he was holding back, assessing her. And when he moved, it was faster than she could track. That’s when she’d end up on the mat. Where she was at this very minute.

He had her face down again, her arms held behind her, when he gently touched his knee to her back. “This will hurt a lot more when a pissed-off Serus demon does it.”

“Got it,” she grunted, not wanting to know what a Serus demon was. “I think I’m done for today.”

He let her up and crossed the room to retrieve two water bottles from a small fridge. Nicole gulped as she leaned against the wall, still sitting on the floor.

Gunnar sat down next to her. “You didn’t do so bad for your first time fighting a demon.”

“Yeah, right. You could’ve killed me about five times.”

“You didn’t use your power.”

“I thought you just wanted to see my fighting skills. Besides, I didn’t want to wreck your house.”

“These walls are reinforced with spells, so it would take a lot to bring this place down. But thanks anyway.” He pushed a dark lock out of his eyes. “You have a good foundation of skills for battle.”

She grimaced internally at the thought that something she had been doing her entire life was just a foundation, but on a deep level she knew he was right. Nodding, she glanced down at her tank top, now plastered to her chest. “I could use a shower.”

“There’s one over there.” He pointed to another door across the room. “Towels, soap, and stuff are inside. While you do that, I’ll see what’s going on upstairs. And don’t worry–none of the other guys will come down here.”

Relieved at the chance to clean up, she walked into the bathroom. Like the rest of the house, it was large, with a closet stocked full of linens, toiletries, and even a hair dryer. It had two sinks, a full-size shower, and a small room at the far end that housed the commode. She pulled off her sweaty clothes, cranked the faucet, and stepped under the round silver sprayer. It was one of those fancy showerheads that simulated a gentle rainfall.

Images from her morning raced through her mind as she lathered her hair with a citrus-scented shampoo.
So demons aren’t immune to the finer things in life.
This house had some nice features. And the nicest one was an immense dark-haired demon who had just bested her on the mats.

Gunnar climbed the steps from the lower level of the house, trying his best not to think of Nicole’s naked, svelte body in the shower. He tried not to imagine frothy suds and water droplets running down the bare skin of her long neck, between her pert breasts, and down her endless legs. He thoroughly enjoyed sparring with her. For someone raised human, she was a good opponent. No doubt her supernatural lineage boosted her fighting skills. Maybe he was a bastard, but he could feel his body fighting for every chance to press against hers, to hold her tightly, and to feel her lean curves next to him.

He entered the great room to find Rhys asleep on the couch and Kai searching the internet. “Cute female.” Kai turned to face him. “Where’d you find her?”

Gunnar fought the urge to tell his friend to shut up. Nicole didn’t belong to him. Hell, he barely knew her. “Englewood.” He named the neighborhood where he had first seen her.

“No way she lives there.”

“No, she doesn’t live there. Would you believe she picks fights there?”

“Uh, no,” Kai said. “No, I wouldn’t.” He leaned back in his chair. “This should be good.”

Gunnar summed up the previous evening for his fellow warrior. “So she thinks you just happened to meet her at that club?” Kai asked. “Smooth, man. Hope that works for you. Because while you were chasing her tail, we found some maggots over on the west side.”

Probably in one of the crime-ridden areas that Gunnar was supposed to be searching when Nicole walked out of her condo looking like a supermodel. His group constantly watched and investigated any suspicious supernatural activity. They were a loosely organized group called Watchers, with houses in several large American cities. They answered to Arawn, the powerful leader of the Lash demons. Like a general, he moved them around the country as needed.

Gunnar knew he should have been with his comrades last night. He blew out a breath. “How many?”

“Four. We took out three, but one got away. Weird thing was, it was like they were trying to keep us occupied so the other one could escape. And even weirder was what they did before we jumped them.”

Rhys stirred and sat up. “Dude, talk about bat-shit crazy. Skells are
not
that smart.” Despite his laid-back surfer demeanor, Rhys was sharp as a tack and the most technologically savvy of the group.

Gunnar glanced between the two of them and waited.

“The Skells were as sloppy as ever,” Kai continued. “Cut up some crackheads so they bled a lot, but the wounds weren’t deep. Then they held up these, I don’t know, container things–right under the cuts, and collected some of the blood. But not a lot of it, because that’s when we joined their little party. When they realized they were being attacked, they all shoved the containers at the one Skell. He put them in a bag and took off while the rest stayed and fought.”

“They just took a little blood instead of draining the victims?” Gunnar asked. “What could they do with a few drops of blood?”

“That’s the big question.” Kai shook his head. “That, and whatever species your female is.”

Gunnar was about to tell them that Nicole wasn’t his female, but decided to let them think it for the time being. Whatever she was to him, he wanted to figure it out with her on their own, preferably very soon and preferably very naked. And there was the other matter of determining her species. Rilan should be finishing up soon.

As if on cue, Nicole walked out of the kitchen and into the great room. They all turned to look at her. “Am I interrupting something?”

“No,” was the only word Gunnar could manage as he drank her in. All sunshine and sweet peaches, her presence assaulted his senses in a sultry overload. Damp hair, radiant skin, and those tight jeans again. Blood rushed to his groin. She looked sexy as hell and didn’t seem intimidated to be in the presence of three Lash demons. Maybe a bit wary, but he didn’t sense any fear. Whether that was a good thing or a bad thing remained to be seen. She presented herself without hubris, just a calm confidence.

She raised her eyebrows, taking in his lingering stare. A smile tugged at the corner of her lush mouth. Gunnar cleared his throat, noticing Rhys and Kai exchanging eye rolls. He shot a glare over his shoulder at them, then nodded at Nicole. “Let’s go check on Rilan.”

He led her to the stairway in the foyer and up to the second floor of the house. They went into the first door, which opened to a large study crammed with books and other odd objects. There were two overstuffed armchairs and a couch arranged near some small tables, all piled with more books. Rilan sat at a huge desk, his back to them, hunched over an ancient tome. “Good timing, Gunnar,” he grunted without turning around. “I’ve just finished.”

Despite his years, the Elder didn’t look a day over forty. He was short for a Lash demon, only about five and a half feet tall, with brown eyes and thick wavy brown hair that he never seemed to comb. He closed his book, rolled his shoulders, and drew a breath. He paused, then turned to face them. “You brought a friend.” His eyes locked onto Nicole, his expression unreadable.

“This is Nicole. I thought you could answer some questions for her.” A tinge of unease warred with his protective instincts as Rilan scrutinized the willowy woman before him. He honestly didn’t know how the Elder would respond to her. Would he find her to be truly dangerous and a threat to their world, even if she didn’t realize it herself? Or would he be able to identify her species at all? “Nicole was raised as a human, but she isn’t one.”

“No, she’s not.” Rilan stared intently at her. “You must have many questions.” He reached for her hand and she hesitantly took it. Rilan could pick up clues about some people and objects with a simple touch, and Gunnar hoped it would work with Nicole.

“Until last night I thought I was just a regular human who happened to have a weird talent.”

“My dear girl. Let’s sit down and talk about it, shall we?” The Elder muttered something under his breath, and the books cluttering the chairs and couch piled themselves in an orderly fashion on the floor. Releasing her hand, he gestured to the newly straightened seating area. “Please, tell me everything.”

If Rilan asked her to explain, then either his touch hadn’t shed any light on Nicole’s species, or the Elder knew exactly what she was and wanted to see if she lied to them. Gunnar fervently hoped it wasn’t the latter, because she was already under his skin. He listened as Nicole told Rilan the same things she had revealed to him last night, and used her talent to ruffle the Elder’s hair, just as she had with him and the others. Rilan went completely motionless at the release of her power.

A stillness enveloped the room. An old mantle clock, which never told the correct time, ticked in the silence. The Elder closed his eyes, turned his hands palm up, and quietly recited something in a dialect of Demonish so ancient that Gunnar didn’t recognize it. The air in the room swirled along the ceiling, as if a wind was trying to take hold. It wasn’t Nicole’s doing, though. She looked at him, uncertainty in her emerald eyes. Gunnar managed a tight smile which was probably not reassuring at all, and said quietly, “Just wait.”

The Elder’s eyes suddenly flew open, and instead of their usual chocolate brown, they had turned a solid, milky white. Gunnar had only seen Rilan’s eyes this way a handful of times, and each time it was downright eerie. The elder had gone into a state that allowed him to see more and sense more than usual. He tapped into a deep, mystic, demonic energy that Gunnar couldn’t even begin to explain.

Nicole jumped off the couch to stand by Gunnar as Rilan pinned her with that pale stare and slowly intoned one word. “Solsti.”

Nicole turned confused eyes on Gunnar, as Rilan repeated louder, “Solsti.”

Gunnar’s mind filled with a mix of confusion tinged with relief.
Solsti?
Had the Elder discerned that Nicole was one of the four mythical beings? “Rilan, the Solsti aren’t real.”

A chill crawled down his spine as the Elder ignored him and continued staring at Nicole. “You, Solsti. Where are the others?”

“What others?” Nicole whispered. “I’m the only one like me.”

“There are three others. You are linked to them.”

“No.”

“Do not hide them, child. Their bond with you pulses strong in your blood.”

“I don’t understand,” she protested.

Gunnar heard the slightest change in her voice, her confusion suddenly tinged with determination. Questions circled his mind as he looked at her and placed a hand at her elbow.

“You will bring them here, young one.”

“No! I don’t know what you’re talking about!” She turned to leave, but Gunnar gripped her arm firmly. Cool resolve masked her face as she looked up at him. “I told you, there’s no one else like me. What is he talking about?”

“His discernment is a gift, Nicole. He sees many things, especially in this state.” Gunnar didn’t want to scare her, but he needed to get rid of the niggling doubt that had crept into his mind. “Think hard about all the people you know. Do you remember anything unusual about anyone?”

Deflecting his question, she asked, “What’s a Solsti?”

Gunnar didn’t see how she could be a part of the ancient myth. “It’s a well-known story among immortals,” he said. “The Solsti were four females linked by blood. Each possessed an affinity to one of the four elements: air, water, fire, and earth. Each one individually was very powerful, but together the four could potentially bring about the destruction of the world. And they could also save the world.

“Several millennia ago, when the Solsti were alive, they maintained a balance between the good and evil forces. They united to defeat Saykon, a monster who had forcibly taken control of the underworld, the earth, and several different dimensions. After the Solsti had sent him to an excruciating death–one which involved his various body parts being taken to the different areas he controlled, and then burned to ash–they lived out their lives and then simply ceased to exist.”

Nicole’s ivory skin turned white as he relayed the legend. She swallowed hard. “I need to leave.”

Gunnar’s heart sank with disappointment, only to be replaced with anger. She had used the same words last night in the park, tried to run, and then ended up sharing one of her deepest secrets.
But not all of them
. He grasped her upper arms and turned her to face him. “What are you not telling us?”

Green, fear-filled eyes gazed up at him. So much for not scaring her. He needed to check the fury building inside him. With a monumental effort, he softened his voice. “Nicole, you’re safe here. You can tell us.”

She let out a shaky breath and looked at him as if she was gauging how much to trust him.
Good, let her guess
. He wasn’t sure how much he trusted her either. She glanced back at Rilan, whose eyes had returned to their regular brown hue.