Page 30 of The Mating Frenzy
Gideon waved a hand and the shrieking whistle softened. “We have to get you out of here. I hoped we would have more time before your presence wasdiscovered.”
Taking his arm, Gideon waved a hand. They dematerialized and then appeared inside Xavier’s condo. Xavier showed up a minutelater.
“I warded the restaurant to protect Ella and the Skins inside. But I cannot ward the entire town against the dark magick. Too many Others would find out, and panic.” Xavier dropped into a chair and shoved a hand through hishair.
Kieran touched his ear and it came away with something warm and wet. Nausea churned as he examined his red-tipped finger. Few things could make him bleed like that. “What wasit?”
“A harpy. There have been a few of them spying for the Dark Lord. His followers use them to track down Others who come here from the Fae world, or the Dark Kingdom because your powers are more pronounced. You’ve honed your magick more than Others on earth,” Gideon toldhim.
Others were permitted to use their magick without restraint in the Dark Kingdom and the Fae world. But here, they had to be constantly vigilant against Skins seeing them. Kieran studied the pair of wizards, who did not meet hisgaze.
“This harpy knows what Iam.”
“Not anymore.” Xavier blew on his index finger as if it were a smoking gun. “It’sdead.”
“That’s fine for that one. What if I run into another one?” heasked.
“They can sense your powers, see your aura shine more brightly than the auras of ordinary Others living here on earth. It found you because of us, Kieran. It cannot harm us, but the harpy can discover where we are, and who is withus.”
“Which is why we must leave you before another harpy discovers you,” Gideonsaid.
Fine? He would not be fine if he remained in Skin, vulnerable to cruel humans with guns and knives. But what choice did he have? If he abandoned this mission, Ella would have no one to guide her and watch overher.
That thought bothered him more than anythingelse.
Gideon placed a thick leather wallet on the coffee table, along with a checkbook. “You now have a bank account with a balance of one million dollars. I’ll add more as needed. Your wallet has some cash and several credit cards. You can purchase anything you need. A bus ticket to anywhere in thecountry.”
“How about a bus ticket home to the Winter Kingdom?” He looked hopefully at thewizard.
Gideon sighed. “That, my friend, will be available after Ella comes into her powers. If you still wish toreturn.”
Why would he not? But he didn’t want to ask, for he feared the answer. “That harpy back there?will others trackme?”
“Not if you use your powers sparingly. The more magick you display, the clearer the aura becomes. Like a trail of bread crumbs leading back to you. You may shift here, on these grounds, for I warded the entire complex from evil and from anyone seeing magick,” Xavier toldhim.
Gideon clasped his arm again. “Good luck, my friend. Call upon me only in a graveemergency.”
“Meaning a dire one, and not when I aminthe grave,” he quipped, needing levity to counter the dread raking over him like a cat’s claws. They were leaving him. Under ordinary circumstances, he would notmind.
But he was here in the Skin world, unable to much use his beast to protect Ella andhimself.
As if reading his mind, Gideon tapped his forehead. “You have your wits, Kieran. They will serve you well, much as your beast does. You would not have been a royal bodyguard for centuries ifnot.”
“I’m counting on you,” Xavier told him. “Danu would not have sent you if she didn’t have faith you can complete thistask.”
The wizards vanished before his eyes. Kieran shook his head, his ears still tingling with pain. He paced the living room, measuring out the space with his feet. To not shift into his jaguar form? His beast loved to roam at night, and nap on tree limbs. He felt restricted in this Skin suit, which was as stifling as armor when he knew he couldn’t risk letting his beastout.
Yet this home was safe for shifting. Well, it felt stifling in here. Perhaps he could open thedoor.
Fresh, cool air rushed inside. Drawing in a lungful of it, he stretched out his arms, closed his eyes and summoned hismagick.
In the Winter Kingdom, shifting came as easily as snapping his Skin fingers. Here, he felt an itch and then a burning sensation. Kieran groaned as bones popped and lengthened. Slow, so damnslow!
He opened his mouth to scream from the pain and a roar tore from histhroat.
Kieran closed his eyes. Opened them.Finally.
Luxurious, thick spotted fur covered his enormous, muscled body. He smelled the night air, so cold and sharp and crisp, heard the scuttle of creatures among the trees and bushes. Sensations overwhelmed him, his sharpened vision seeing the rushing river, the trees and blades of grass in exact detail, the small furry creatures scurrying away as if knowing a large predator hademerged.
