Page 22 of The Firebrand
“True, but he wasn’t a devil,” said Rein.
“What was he?”
“An incubus. He was my take-down.”
“Do you readStrange but True?” asked Braelyn.
“It’s a good source of intel. Let’s get to my business, the reason for my visit, Father. I pursued a Kalli who had attacked Melia, the Oread nymph. He used an unauthorized jumper to cross to Earth. That’s problem number one, but not why I’m here. The Firebrands will handle that mess. Problem number two is her.” He pointed at Braelyn. “She eyeballed the Kalli I had pinned.”
Alarik nodded. “Why didn’t you wipe her memory?”
“Problem number three. I tried. It didn’t work.”
“A mystery.” Indigo slapped her palms together, tugged on the bill of her baseball cap, and wiggled her brows at Braelyn with renewed interest.
As Rein and his father bounced around possible explanations, Braelyn stared at Indigo. She was so different from these two serious men.
“I’m a full-blooded witch, unlike my brother, who is part warlock and part incubus, shaken, not stirred.”
Braelyn glanced from Rein to Alarik to Indigo.
“Right-o. That makes my nephew’s mother a vampire. A real family stew, huh? Since you’re interested in our genealogy, I must tell you about Alarik’s heritage. It’stresexciting.”
“She doesn’t wish to know about that, dear.” Alarik bent to retrieve a piece of paper his sister had knocked off his desk.
Indigo gave her brother a dismissive wave. “I think the incubus strain makes you and Rein so sexylicious. Don’t you agree, B?”
Braelyn’s lids flickered. She had no intention of telling the witch that Rein was a worthy eye snack.
Indigo nudged her with an elbow. “That’s nice.”
“Are you reading…?”
“No. Should I call you B, Brae, or Lyn?” Indigo rapped her boot toes on the floor.
“Braelyn’s good.”
“Returning to the problem. You seem to have a resilient mind, my dear.” Alarik rested his chin on his fist, his gaze leveled on his son. “Has this happened before?”
Rein stretched out a thickly muscled leg. “No.”
“We’ve already eliminated a few possibilities. What do you need from me?” Alarik grabbed a pen from his desk, uncapping it.
“You have research labs here. Test her. Find out why I can’t erase her memory.”
“What kind of test?” asked Braelyn, tilting forward, her spine stiff.
Rein threw out his other leg, crossing his ankles. “Blood.”
Not liking the direction of this conversation, Braelyn popped out of her seat. “Whoa, just hold it there. No way. I’ve had a lifetime of tests. I’m not a lab rat. No needles. And no probes. No CAT scans. No MRI’s.”
Rein frowned but returned his focus to Alarik. “What about a spell? One to make her forget. I use my vamp powers for mindwiping. Maybe a mage who specializes in mind control could do better.”
“I don’t want someone in my head.” Braelyn spun toward Rein, finger-stabbing the air. “Spells are out. They don’t sound good.” Thinking she had gotten her point across, she returned to her chair. “What is it you do here anyway, Alarik?”
All three Aeternals stared at her. A witch, a warlock-incubus, and a vampire-warlock-incubus.
Yep.My world has changed.
