Page 12 of Blood Brother Cursed

Phoenix turned and looked at her with concern on his face. “If you want to walk, it might be closer to bedtime when we get there.”

“That didn’t answer my question. Besides, can’t you fly there? Because, I mean, you have wings.”

He started rubbing the area beside his eye. “I realize you have very limited knowledge of the shifter world, but we aren’t supposed to go running around in our other forms, at least not in highly populated areas. That was very poor judgment on my part last week, and I do apologize. I found it difficult not to take your actions as anything other than a display of power. Shifting was the quickest way to shut that down. At least, I thought it was. Shifting in public is a horrible idea, and it will result in us getting hunted again. And even if that were not the case, asking a shifter to carry you is quite rude.”

He looked over at her, the annoyance clear on his face. “So, if you could, please be more reasonable. I’ll drive us there. And if you need to feel safer with me because you fear I might be dangerous in this form, you should be able to use the liquid in my vehicle to interrupt my driving. There’s no gasoline, butthere are plenty of other liquids required to keep it running. Or if you are particularly vindictive, you can probably manipulate the water in my body since we are over 70 percent water in this form.”

Astrid stopped. “You think I can… Is that even possible?”

He stopped a couple of steps ahead of her. “And here you thought I couldn’t teach you anything about your abilities. Come on. If you have to be suspicious, do it on the way because I’m getting hungry.”

She fell in step beside him, not sure what to say. All that she could focus on was the thought of controlling people with her powers – it was so distasteful. “Have you known someone who was able to control people?”

Phoenix unlocked the car and opened the passenger door. “Get in, and we’ll talk.”

Finally, she did as she was told without asking more questions. They rode in silence for a while before she finally asked, “So, what did you want to talk about?”

He didn’t immediately respond, so she looked over at him. It seemed unlikely that he didn’t hear her, leaving her to think that he was just considering his answer. After a bit, she decided just to ignore the question and looked out of the window.

Finally, he said, “The military is working with one of the organizations using people like you. As far as we’ve been able to find, none of them realize that men may also have abilities. Good for them, bad for you and other women. Anyway, you’re being here is incredibly dangerous.”

“I’m not going to go blowing up the base or flooding it or anything. I just want to find out what happened to my brother since he was supposed to be safe. He managed not to die on multiple deployments, only to die on a base far from home. I’m not a threat to the base.”

In her mind, Astrid knew that wasn’t entirely true, depending on what she found out about her brother.

“I meant it’s dangerous for you, not for them. As powerful as your ability is, there are many that are far more potent and dangerous, yet they managed to be manipulated and captured.”

“Even with an entire ocean nearby?” She smiled as she looked over at him. “I’m pretty sure I can protect myself.

His eyes darted over for a second, but he didn’t smile. “Elliott’s sister-in-law can see the future. With that kind of power, she can outplay nearly everyone, yet she was trapped by the Mora family for nearly a decade.”

Astrid’s eyes turned into saucers. “Like a psychic? Are psychics actuallyreal?”

That finally got a chuckle out of him. “No. Those are humans scamming people out of money. She can see the many ways things can work out to choose the right path for the result she wants. It’s a rare ability that is thankfully not likely to happen again for a long time, and there’s no chance that she’ll fall back into the hands of people who will misuse her abilities. So, fortunately, that power is safe and sound.”

Against her better judgment, Astrid found herself wanting to learn more. “How can you be so sure?”

“Because she’s married the eldest Sexton, Elliott’s brother.”

“Is your business protecting them then?”

He snorted. “They don’t need my family’s protection. They’ve been here longer than the country’s been around.”

“What?” Astrid looked at him incredulously. “That can’t be true. People didn’t come out this way until after 1776.”

“There were a lot of people already living here long before Europeans and their descendants started trekking out this way. And shifters have a very long tradition of looking for places far from most cultures and civilizations. The Sextons are a veryold family, and they created what’s essentially a safe haven for people like you out here. About a millennia after they arrived, anyway. There wasn’t much need for them to offer protection before there was a population to protect.”

“So… you aren’t a Sexton then?”

“No. My family’s only been in the area a few decades. Well, working from out of here is probably a better way of describing it. My family moved us around a bit over the years, but we ended up here where my brothers and I finished high school. I left after graduation and only returned more recently. My family made a deal with the Sextons since shifters don’t tend to like having each other in their territories.”

“What kind of deal?”

He looked over at her, then sighed. “The Sextons’ parents died when they were still fairly young. Or at least Elliott was still young. The eldest brother, Cooper, raised him and the rest of the brood.”

“How many Sextons are there?”

“There are eight brothers. Most of them are married or mated now. I think Elliott’s the only one who's still single.”

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