Page 6 of Bewitching the Dragon
“The band. They’re called Warlocks of War, and they were actual, genuine warlocks.”
“But everyone else at the club was human?” Antoinette asked.
“Yes.” Except Rahu. And, apparently, Becca. “And here’s the weird thing: I swear they were targeting Becca.”
“Who’s Becca?” Antoinette asked.
Rahu waved at Ketu. “You remember the human girl who babysat Petra and Noah’s kid?” Ketu nodded. “That’s Becca.”
Ketu frowned. “Why were a band of warlocks targeting a human woman? And since when do warlocks form bands and play in human clubs?”
“Because she isn’t human.”
“She’s not?” Ketu asked.
Rahu shook his head. “It was really weird. I swear she was human at first. And the next minute, she wasn’t.”
“What is she?” Ketu asked.
“I don’t know.”
“If a warlock was after her, she’s probably a witch,” Antoinette said. “They are natural enemies.”
“I thought that war ended a few centuries ago,” Rahu commented. Also, none of this explained why Becca had appeared human one minute and then was obviously a supernatural being the next. Unless she had been concealing herself from the warlocks, but as far as Rahu had been able to tell, she had no idea that shewasn’thuman.
Which was also pretty weird. Hell, this entire evening had become one hugely strange experience.
A knock at the door drew their attention. Ketu headed through the room to answer it, Antoinette on his heels. Rahu paused in his pacing to throw back two fingers’ worth of whiskey to dull the pain making its presence known. Man, he was going to feel like shit tomorrow. Doubly so because he had no idea whether Becca was safe.
After he’d managed to knock out two of the four warlocks, the bouncer had interfered, a massive guy who didn’t take crap from anyone. Unwilling to use magic and expose themselves, Rahu and the warlocks had been forced to break it up.
Rahu had taken precious minutes to search the crowd, looking for Becca, needing to ensure she had gotten the hell out of that place, and then he’d slipped out of the club while the bouncer and the police tried to sort everything out, and had headed straight for the guesthouse where Petra used to live, hoping Becca still lived in the big house across the way. He’d caught a glimpse of her and her friend Charlotte curled up on the couch, looking perfectly well and drinking wine. He’d ducked out of there when Pacey had come rushing across the backyard.
So, yeah, she’d been safe and sound at that point, but if those warlocks were after her, how long was she really secure? Did they know where she lived? Where she worked? Shit, if Rahu weren’t so damn wiped out, he’d limp his sorry ass back over there and insist on sleeping on her couch, just in case.
Do it,his dragon insisted.Shift and fly there. That way you will heal faster and we will know that she’s safe.
His beast had become damned protective of a woman they hardly knew, and who, by the way, wasn’t a dragon.
Ketu returned, followed by Antoinette and his gargoyle friend, Argyle.
“Hey, Argyle,” Rahu said with a lift of his chin. Gargoyles didn’t shake hands.
Argyle inclined his head once. “You look rather worse for wear, Rahu.”
“Yeah, got the shit beat out of me by a couple of warlocks. What do you know about it?”
Argyle was a badass gargoyle who was part of some secret group that made it their mission to protect those who both needed and deserved it. He was stoic and confident and fairly unwavering.
So it was disconcerting to see worry flit across the man’s dark, stony face.
“You saw warlocks here in New Orleans?”
Rahu nodded. “They’re a band. Rock, I’m guessing, although I didn’t stick around long enough to hear them play.”
“A band?” Argyle repeated, his brow furrowing.
“Pretty damn weird, isn’t it?” Rahu said.
