Excerpt: Magical Midlife Conclave

Chapter 1- Kingsley

His phone vibrated within the center console as he pulled up to his house. He glanced at the screen, finding a number he didn’t recognize. The area code was in Austin’s area.

He grabbed the phone, his bag, and the bundle of flowers he’d bought as he climbed from the car, fatigue dragging at him. They’d been training hard since Austin had told him about the conclave. There would be rules similar to a gargoyle meeting, apparently, defining the number of pack members that could be brought inside territory limits, but that didn’t give them any assurances. The amount of power amassed would make some shifters spiral. They’d act out, push for dominance, and, possibly, mindlessly rage. There was no telling. Kingsley wanted his people ready to help Austin at a moment’s notice. They had seven months to do so.

Despite the danger and uncertainty, Austin was on the verge of making a name for himself in a major way. He wouldn’t be “Black Sheep Barazza” anymore, Kingsley was sure of it. Austin’s ingenuity in how he planned to structure the conclave was incredible. He’d opened his mind to the different magical types of the world, and he and Jessie were fusing the best each species had to offer.

With a little smile and warmth in his soul, Kingsley slung his bag over his shoulder, balanced the flowers in the crook of his elbow, and made his way up the walk. He slid the bar on the screen to answer the phone.

“Hello?”

“Kingsley Barazza.”

Kingsley didn’t recognize the deep, growling voice, heavily laced with command.

Caught off guard, his hackles rising, he pulled the phone from his ear to check the screen. Definitely an unknown. Who the hell had his private number?

“Yes,” he replied, the question implied in his tone.

“Hello. I got your number from Austin.” The man paused, then added, “Steele,” as though it were an afterthought.

That was…odd. Usually, Austin would give Kingsley a heads-up if he gave his number out.

If this was a game or joke of some kind, Kingsley was too tired to play.

He silently waited for the unknown caller to go on as he opened the front door. The soft, spicy smell of home greeted him.

He dropped his pack beside the little table by the door, readjusted the flowers in his free hand, and continued on toward the kitchen.

“My name is Aljoe,” the man on the phone said, “given to me by the Ivy House crew. You’d know me by my former name, Yazanth.” Again, he paused. “Golden Fang.”

A jolt of adrenaline made Kingsley freeze just inside the archway of the great room. His hand involuntarily squeezed, crushing the flower stems and crinkling the paper.

Earnessa looked up from the kitchen counter in concern.

A game or joke, indeed. Austin was going to get hell for this. Of all the people to let blindside Kingsley, that bastard.

“Alpha,” Kingsley said, trying to keep his cool.

It was not easy. Yazanth Golden Fang was a legend in the shifter community, only a teen when he was forced to take over his large, powerful, sprawling pack. The very people who’d worked with his father and had helped raise him turned on him in the name of greed. He’d fought tooth and nail to keep that pack whole. To protect it against glory seekers and challengers from outside and within.

Despite all that, he’d made that territory blossom. He had an incredible amount of knowledge and had always demonstrated the exemplary application of it. There was a reason his name was said with reverence.

Then, in his final act as alpha, he’d turned the pack over to his sisters and walked away. He’d sacrificed his own future to protect theirs.

There was no more upstanding alpha in the world. Not in Kingsley’s eyes, anyway.

And that legendary alpha had just called Kingsley on his private line…like a friend.

He forced himself to loosen the hold on the flowers. With a deep breath, he kept walking, shaking his head to ward off Earnessa’s alarm.

“Austin mentioned he told you of my plans to join his and Jessie’s convocation,” the alpha went on.

I didn’t tell a soul outside of my household, I promise, he nearly rushed to say. Loose lips sink ships—I know how it goes.

He tempered his urgency. “He did. The knowledge has been kept in the family.”

This alpha wasn’t much older than Kingsley, but Kingsley still felt like a child being allowed at the holiday party adult table. Most alphas would. A planet being compared to the sun. A Honda parked next to a Ferrari.

“Thank you,” Yazanth said.

Kingsley tried to give his mate a smile as he presented her with the flowers, but his expression was still frozen in shock. Or maybe reverence?

Thank God he was at home. This would be very embarrassing if he’d still been training or walking into the office.

“What can I do for you, Alpha?” Kingsley asked.

“Please, call me Aljoe. My title within the convocation is still being determined.”

“Forgive me…but Austin mentioned you go by the name of John now? Is that not correct?”

Now it was Earnessa’s turn to freeze in shock. She knew whom Kingsley was talking to.

“I chose John, yes. John Smith. A normal member of society.”

Kingsley barely stopped from snorting. “Apologies, Al”—he cut off before he said Alpha—“Aljoe, but a rogue with your power and prestige was never going to blend into society.”

“My power and the scars of my past, you mean,” he growled. “Correct. I’d been forced to inharmoniously live in basajaunak territory. Fighting them for the privilege of staying was preferable to pitchforks and torches.”

“May I ask how the name Aljoe came about?” He sat down on the couch.

Earnessa stopped in front of him. In one hand was a beer, in the other a bottle of wine. She lifted her eyebrows.

He gestured at the beer and mouthed, Thank you.

“Like you nearly did, and your daughter and Sue before you, people kept stopping themselves when calling me Alpha. The vampire got confused, mixed up Joe and John, and here we are. I didn’t choose the name—it chose me.”

“Ah. Ivy House antics. Say no more. I was chased around by a bunch of dolls in that house.”

“Yeah.” The word was once again laced with a growl. “The house thinks messing with me is a fun pastime, it seems. I can’t seem to get on top of it.”

“Just ignore it. The house will lose interest.”

“That’s what Jessie said, except it hasn’t. I woke up this morning with a doll standing at the end of my bed, staring at me in the low light.”

Kingsley barked out laughter. He couldn’t help it. The scene was unexpected, as was the flat way Yazanth, now Aljoe, conveyed it.

“Naturally, I tried to kick the thing off—”

“Naturally.”

“—but it scampered away too fast and then giggled as it ran out of the room. I’ve almost stopped running from the gnomes, though. Small victories.”

Kingsley ran his fingers through his hair. “It’s a wonder you stay.”

“This house will not beat me.”

“Which is exactly why it has kept trying.”

Aljoe grunted. A shifter like him wouldn’t stop trying until he’d won. It was why he’d held on to his pack against insurmountable odds.

“How are you finding the Ivy House crew?” Kingsley asked.

“Surprisingly…pleasant. The basajunk are almost charming when they aren’t trying to kill you. Imagine my surprise.”

Did he just say basa-junk?

Kingsley let it go, not wanting to embarrass him.

Instead, he said, “It is absolutely incredible how Jessie has brought them into the fold.”

“Unheard of. My sisters think I’m messing with them.”

“And the phoenix? Odd as ever?”

“The phoenix is eccentric. It’s the computer person who is odd. Hilariously so. The thunderbird is cooler than I have ever been, or ever will be, and the vampire… Well, I’m just going to be honest. The vampire gives me nightmares.”

Kingsley laughed again, responding to the color he could hear in the alpha’s voice. He’d always heard that Golden Fang was as hard and stoic as they came. Not Aljoe. Clearly the Ivy House crew was rubbing off on him. Or maybe the gargoyles. Or the basajaunak—he could take his pick.

“Amazingly, that vampire is incredibly useful in battle,” Kingsley said. “Out of the blue, he appears exactly where and when you need him, followed by that gal pal of his.”

“Nessa. His shadow, yes. I’ve been told. I haven’t seen it in action. She’s got some energy thing she’s working on. I hadn’t heard of that particular magic, but if she can break through whatever blockage she seems to have in her…power, or efficiency, or whatever is going on—I couldn’t understand it—then she might be a real asset.”

Kingsley remembered Nessa doing something with energy when Jessie had been hurt in battle. He would’ve asked how she could be an asset, but it didn’t sound like Yaz—Aljoe understood the particulars. He’d need to remember to ask Austin.

“How are you settling into Austin’s territory?”

Aljoe released a breath and paused before answering. “You were here once, I heard?”

“Yes, to help my brother get established. I was there when the phoenix first came in.”

“Right, right. I half want to take that phoenix on to see if I can best her.”

“I didn’t.”

He laughed; definitely looser than Kingsley had ever heard he could be. “Then you won’t have to guess why I haven’t.” He paused again. “Austin has a lot of power in this territory, and a rock-solid strategy and structure to manage it. He’s an incredible alpha.”

Kingsley widened his eyes. Praise like that from Yazanth Golden Fang was few and far between.

“That territory is wound very tightly,” he said, “but Austin has the ability to manage it.”

“He does. His betas help with that, of course. Sue has come into his own here. I’ve heard of him—the meddling puca told me his original name and pack—but he wasn’t someone I cared to learn more about. He was a middling alpha who adequately managed his pack. Great fitness reports, but no real aspirations for territory expansion.”

Kingsley had looked him up, too. “He didn’t have any proper alpha training. He didn’t have anyone to learn from.”

“He’s a natural. He could’ve reached…but he didn’t. I think he didn’t have anyone to challenge him. Anyone to push him.”

“True.”

“Now he does. Austin seems to have a real affinity for coaxing the best out of his people. No ego, no bluster, just expectation and a helping hand when it’s needed. He said you taught him everything he knows.”

Kingsley huffed. “I trained him, that’s true enough. The nuts and bolts of being an alpha wasn’t hard to teach him. His struggle was with his beast. I couldn’t help him there. He had to work through that the hard way. Since he has, the student has far surpassed the teacher.”

“I can tell you believe that, but you’re not giving yourself nearly enough credit. The foundations of his knowledge are excellent. His training is rock solid and iron tight. I don’t recall you being this well trained. It’s a testament to how you’ve grown as an alpha, surpassing your own teachers. I commend you. Most generational alphas are stunted by tradition. You’ve continued to grow.”

Kingsley could feel his face heating, a surge of pride infusing him. And now he was being complimented by Yazanth freaking Golden Fang. Seriously, was this real life or had he slipped into a dreamscape?

“Thank you. That means a lot coming from you. I should mention, however, that I followed your career and picked up little hints and tricks along the way.”

“Why reinvent the wheel if someone is already doing it better?”

“True.” Kingsley chuckled.

“I’m still adjusting to the change in dynamics here. I’ve learned that the Ivy House crew is easy to get along with if you exist within the chaos—to trust in the team and give up trying to form any sort of cohesive structure. Also to tune out the various random comments and bickering.”

“They are a different walk of life, yes. I think Jessie is the only one who can properly manage them. I was worried about her seemingly loose hold on the reins, but when she was here, I let her do as she would. I was glad I did.”

“Yes. I can see how the loyalty was created. I, myself, have been sucked into her orbit.” He paused again. “I’m just going to come out and say it. The gargoyles are doing my head in. All of them, the females included. Garhettes, I guess. Their insistence on bumping and jostling, touching—it is fraying my control. The females don’t mean any harm, and I’m trying to acclimate myself to that, but the males do it to get a rise. That…is not as easy to ignore.”

“I assume you haven’t mentioned this to Austin or Brochan.”

“He goes by Sue now.” The comment seemed offhanded, as though randomly changing names seemed normal to him. “No. I should be able to figure out how to exist in a pack, even if I am on the outskirts of it.”

“You’re in the Ivy House crew—you’re in the middle of things. But I hear what you’re saying.”

It was pride preventing him from asking. It was training. To look lost and confused—to show a lack of control—reduced one’s status in a pack, especially as an alpha. It made you look weak, and weakness invited challenges. Aljoe, above everyone, could never afford to let down his guard.

“I know you know this,” Kingsley said in an even tone, “but I need to constantly remind myself, and so I will remind you. That convocation is not a pack. You’re in something new that is constantly evolving. Austin and Sue, more than anyone else—except for maybe Aurora—realize this. If you need a road map, catch them when they are having a beer at the bar, or hanging around Ivy House, and ask them about it.”

Aljoe grunted in acknowledgment, but Kingsley wasn’t sure his words would be enough to override the decades of survival mechanisms now ingrained. He’d probably think he should handle it, and so he’d try, and he’d probably blow up and kill someone. Because yes, those gargoyles could rile up a shifter in the worst ways, and they knew it. They delighted in the ensuing challenge. They wouldn’t know the level of raw, lethal power they’d unleash with Yazanth Golden Fang, not until they were bleeding out.

“Or ask one of the Ivy House crew,” Kingsley persisted. “You probably just need to establish yourself as something dangerous. The gargoyles tend to be too hardheaded to notice the hints we give them. They’ll need a show of strength, but check with the Ivy House crew to see…how large of a show.”

“Noted,” Aljoe said, and his tone suggested his gratitude. After a short time—only a month or two—he clearly trusted the Ivy House crew. More, he was willing to be a shifter’s version of vulnerable around them. He’d found a new home.

Kingsley was glad. It couldn’t have been easy, living like he had been. Barely existing.

“The reason I called,” Aljoe said, “concerns Aurora. I’ve spoken to Austin and Jessie about this as convocation leaders, and now I’d like to speak with you as her father.”

Kingsley frowned in confusion. “What about her?”

“As you know, I’ve been granted a special unit within Jessie’s team. I’ll be leading a team of rogues, some likely to be wild and volatile. Some incredibly powerful. Some reckless enough that they may not work out, or that I will have to continually subdue to ensure they mind their manners. I have experience in handling these sorts of shifters, as you likely know. I’m a generational alpha, but I’ve had to carve my own way using new rules, some based solely on survival.”

“Yes, I am aware.”

“I met Aurora with the rest of them. She offered to be my crutch when learning this team, and still always checks in. She’s as respectful as she is tough, a good combo. It’s a credit to your parenting.”

Warmth filled Kingsley. “Thank you.”

“She also has her fair share of Austin’s wildness in her, yes?”

“Yes. She has better control of it, and she doesn’t lose herself nearly as easily to it, but her grandfather has given her a healthy dose of his power and…wildness, as you said.”

“Ruthlessness. She has the exemplary training I see in Austin—which is how I knew Austin’s base level of knowledge must’ve come from you.”

“She was much easier to teach.”

Aljoe laughed. “As women so often are, right? Not as hardheaded as we are. She reminds me of my sisters.” He paused. “And because she reminds me of my sisters, and because she has so graciously helped me without judgment…and mostly because I see raw talent and great drive in her, I want to help her. Right now, she is stuck in the middle of a large pack. Until now, she has been working her way up, tier by tier, as is usual. Given how the pack is growing and evolving, however, the usual method of elevation is changing. Now people are being assessed for different roles—brains or brawn or both—and challenging into those levels. Austin is handling his own level of chaos.”

Austin didn’t have time for the traditional approaches, and they wouldn’t work anyway. He couldn’t do things by the book, not with danger looming.

“Aurora will get to the higher levels, I have no doubt,” Yazanth went on. “Even at the higher levels, however, her forward momentum will stall. She has the training, but she doesn’t have the experience. Some of the shifters challenging in have seen a lot of action. They’re here because they know trouble is brewing—they’ve seen it—and they want to do something about it. They want to fight, and Austin is promising them a front-row seat. Usually, in a generational pack she’d start handling some of the duties. She’d get her feet wet and start working on that experience. She’d command under your umbrella. That just isn’t possible here, for many reasons.”

“I told her that. I explained in detail and I tried to force the issue. She won’t budge.”

“I know. She has fire. She wants the fight, just like those experienced shifters. She saw what was at stake, and she wants to be part of it. I respect that. It’s why I’m here, after all. And so, here is what I would like to offer her, but I want your approval to do so. I would like to stand in as her pseudo-father. Or her pseudo-brother if that is more preferable. Her grandpappy, whatever. I’d like to resume the training. She would be in all the strategic meetings with me, have greater access to the experienced shifters, the betas, and she would get guidance and explanations. She could start to gain experience under my umbrella. She’d also get coached by my sisters and have them as an outlet when trying to deal with me, if she needs it. I can be tough. I’m sure you’ve heard. I don’t think it is anything she can’t handle, though. Not by a long shot.”

Kingsley froze with his beer halfway to the end table. His stomach erupted in butterflies, and he could do nothing but blink stupidly. He never could’ve guessed in a million years that this was why Yazanth Golden Fang was calling him.

No wonder Austin hadn’t warned him. Kingsley was surprised his brother hadn’t set up a camera to catch his reaction.

“I realize the danger of my setup will be significant,” Aljoe went on, “but while Aurora lacks battle experience, she excels one-on-one. I’ll teach her greater access and control over her beast, which will expand her power, as well as a few tricks to increase her power that I learned along the way. I have zero concern about her safety. No more concern than where she is now.”

This was an incredible offer for many reasons, not least of all because Yazanth was an incredible alpha. His sisters, individually, were amazing, and together they were incredible. Yazanth clearly knew how to train, and Aljoe, his new persona, wanted to keep up the mantle.

But this was his little girl they were talking about. She’d be in a small pack, but she’d also be grouped with volatile, unpredictable shifters that might not have had a solid home for years. They might’ve turned feral. It wasn’t just dangerous for her as a shifter, but as a woman. Kingsley would not send her into that with blinders on, no matter how revered Yazanth had been.

“What did Austin and Jessie have to say about this?” he asked. “About the danger?”

“Austin has assessed each rogue or each person he’s moved to my outfit. He’s not at all concerned, and because he’s not concerned, Jessie isn’t. This is a more volatile group, but we still exist within a community. We won’t allow anyone that isn’t safe for the community, including Dicks and Janes.”

Kingsley scratched his chin. “This is true. It’s easy to forget that more exists in that town besides the convocation.”

“Yes, it is certainly power heavy and leaning toward battle. As a whole, it’s wound up tight. For all that, though, there is very rarely a problem. All these volatile creatures somehow mind their manners. It’s pretty extraordinary. I would never have thought it.

“You can ask Austin his thoughts directly, but he did mention that he thinks this is the perfect placement for Aurora. She is close with the Ivy House crew, including the gargoyles. He thinks she’s adapting phenomenally to the various species. She’s open to it. If I can get over my…issues with the gargoyles, we could be a go-between unit. There, she would likely turn teacher, and I would struggle to keep up.”

Kingsley huffed out a laugh. “Oh, I don’t know, you seem to be quite a bit more relaxed than you were in your former role.”

“A bit more, yes. A bit.” Aljoe sighed. “I tried to calm things down for the Dicks and Janes, not that it mattered. My very presence made them nervous. It’s funny, though. The gargoyles are a very loose culture…even though brutal. The basajaunak, too, are a laid-back culture…until they start ripping heads off. It makes me question why shifters try so hard to be buttoned up?”

“Because we can’t change things all at once or we’d be fielding challenges all the time.”

“This is true. You’ll just have to let some gargoyles in.”

“No thanks. I already dread heading back to that territory for the very issue you’re having. I just didn’t want to mention it.”

Yazanth huffed out a laugh.

“Though I will say…give the garhettes a chance. We get routine visits from them now, and my pack absolutely loves them. No garhette wants for a place to stay when they come here. If a husband forbids the spare room…he ends up in a hotel room.”

Yazanth sighed. “They are everywhere I turn, smiling or offering something or being pleasant. But their pleasantness is actually pushy…I just don’t realize it until I get home with new clothes, a new haircut, and a dinner invitation to a new potential friend’s house.”

“And that is probably why gargoyles are so incredibly stubborn.”

Yazanth blurted out laughter. “Maybe you’re right.”

“As to your proposal, yes,” Kingsley said. “It’s a great honor you offer. You’re one of the best alphas I’ve ever heard of, if not the best. She is incredibly lucky you would think of her. If there is anything I can ever do for you, please let me know.”

They chatted a bit more, the experience surreal. After he hung up the phone, he stared at nothing for a while. Yazanth had been his hero. He’d grown up hearing about his mighty feats, and when he was trying and then assuming his place, the legendary alpha seemed to be making all the right choices, increasing the size and wealth of his territory in leaps and bounds. It had truly been inspiring.

And now that man was going to train his little girl. Aurora was going to be taken under the wing of a legend while her uncle, a legend in the making, built an empire around her. He wasn’t sure what he’d done to deserve such good karma, but he felt truly blessed.

He texted Austin: Dick. A little warning would’ve been nice.

He pushed to standing. Austin was probably busy.

Earnessa was in the kitchen, getting dinner ready for them. He took up the flowers again, happy they weren’t ruined.

He held them out to her. “Thank you for all you do. Which, I realize, would mean more if I didn’t just dump them on the counter while I took a call. I assume now I need to get chocolates to apologize…”

She laughed and hugged him tightly. “Thank you.” Her eyebrows lifted. “Was that really Yazanth?” she asked in an incredulous whisper.

He barely knew what to say.

He told her about the call, about what this would mean for Aurora. It wasn’t just training; it was a connection with Yan—Aljoe’s sisters. With their network. It was all so incredible. She’d worked so hard for it, too. She’d chosen her path, stood her ground, and she deserved this opportunity.

He regretted having to tell her he’d earned an I told you so. She’d never let him live it down.

“Do you think she’ll take it?” Earnessa asked, leaning harder into him.

“Yes. I don’t think she’ll hesitate.”

Text from Austin: HAHAHA!! I wish I could’ve seen your face. I assume you’re not a total idiot. You said yes, right??

“Go, go.” Earnessa shooed him away. “Dinner’s almost ready. I’ll yell for Mac.”

Kingsley texted his brother back: I did. Thanks, brother. You made this possible. I mean it.

Austin: Text that to Jess. She enjoys your dramatics. See you tomorrow for the Zoom call. Invitations go out next month. We’ve got a lot to do.

 

Chapter 2 – Sebastian

“Okay.” He scratched his head with the end of his pen.

No, wait. It was the end of a paintbrush.

Why did he have a paintbrush?

He looked around his messy workstation within the crystal room, the sublevel of Ivy House. It was where all the magic originated, the lifeblood of the house.

He loved being down here. He could almost feel the ancient magic pulsing, pushing up into the rest of the house. The first female gargoyle and her extensive sorcery magic lingered, watching over his proceedings with interest. Giving him ideas he never would’ve had in his many other labs over the years.

That was what it seemed like, anyway. His imagination had a habit of running away with him, helped by a general lack of sleep. But how could he sleep when he had so much to do?

What was he doing again?

A pot held a congealed mess, sitting atop one of the cold burners of his camping stove. An experimental potion gone wrong. That was yesterday’s mess. He had to throw that pot out and buy some new ones. There was no point washing some of these. It would only blow up the dishwasher. Or something much more sinister.

He glanced at the pile of papers on the ground next to his right foot, various layouts and notes regarding the grounds, specifically the border areas that were weak for defense. Those had shown up a few days ago, sitting in the middle of the little table near the entrance to this room.

Despite his messy working habits, he kept that area clean at all times. It was where Ivy House randomly placed books or documents or plants or information to help him work out all his various quandaries.

He was sure the plant was a joke.

He’d mentioned—to himself, but out loud—how nice it was to have a sounding board able to understand him. All he’d had in the past were plants. And while they were nice companions, seemingly happy with their green leaves and occasional flowers, they didn’t try to hit him in the butt with slamming doors or randomly feign earthquakes to scare him out of a daze.

Then he mentioned that maybe plants were actually just a bit nicer in that respect.

The next day, the plant had shown up.

The day after that, the vampire had shown up, accusing him of stealing very important natural components to his garden masterpiece.

A shrine in the making? One could never turn their back on a shrine in the making. There was no telling how horrible or dangerous it would turn out to be, so Sebastian had tattled on Edgar to Jessie.

“Hey.”

Sebastian jumped and jabbed himself in the cheek with the paintbrush. He turned to see Nessa strolling into the room.

“Hey,” he said.

“What are you doing?” She took the paintbrush out of his hand.

“You’re just in time to help me figure that out.”

She peered into Sebastian’s eyes for a moment, assessing. She was always so diligent about his wellbeing. From one of these looks, she could determine what he needed. Usually that was sleep, sometimes food, and occasionally to continue his work. They needed an edge that would give them the upper hand against Momar. He was determined to find one.

“I talked with Edgar.” She pulled the pot off the burner and set it on the ground before shuffling through the papers littered around and organizing them.

“Why?” he asked, dumbfounded.

That done, she opened up a folding table and set it near the crystals. She gathered the books strewn around and positioned them on top.

“We need to get you a bookcase. These are all very old volumes. You’re not treating them properly.” She pulled her phone out of her back jeans pocket and tapped the screen, probably to make a note.

She looked up at him before continuing her tidying.

“Edgar is making a shrine in the woods,” she said.

“I know. I already told Jessie.”

“I know. She had me look into it. I think you should talk to him.”

“I’d really rather not. I’m not in the right headspace. He’d probably invite me to a garden party filled with gnomes, and I’d somehow agree, and I’d end up roasted over a spit or something.”

She clucked her tongue. “Sebastian, I’ve told you this—you can’t stay up for days on end anymore. We aren’t locked away in a hidden cave, or holed up in a cabin in the woods, undisturbed and anonymous. We have people counting on us. Jessie is a target and we are part of her defense. You have to be lucid in case something happens.”

“I did sleep…” He squinted, trying to remember when.

“If you don’t regulate yourself, I’ll put Mr. Tom in charge. I have things to do now, too. I can’t be watching you all the time.”

“Please don’t put Mr. Tom in charge. I’ll be fine. I’ll set a timer.”

She held up her finger. “This is your one chance.”

“Okay,” he said dutifully, and looked around for his phone. “Oh. I left my phone somewhere. The second I find that, I’ll set a timer.”

She sighed as she yanked a parchment from under the replacement plant Edgar had provided. It looked exactly the same as the other plant.

“Oh, right,” he murmured to himself. “The invisible ink. I was trying to decide what agent to use to reveal the words.”

“It isn’t pee.” She grabbed his hand and yanked him with her.

“I know. I started to undo my belt because I thought it might be, and Ivy House cut out the lights. She does that when I’m on the wrong track. I wish there was a way I could speak to her directly. It would make things faster.”

Nessa pulled up short. She looked at him for a long moment. “Ivy House, if Sebastian needs to go to sleep, cut out the lights in whatever room he is in. Don’t let him stay up past the delirium stage. He’s totally useless by then. It doesn’t matter if he’s in the middle of something. Force him out. That’ll help Jessie.”

The lights flickered.

“Probably for the best,” Sebastian mumbled.

He already knew he’d hate this setup, because he hated walking away in the middle of something, but now he was always working on two or three things at a time. There was never a good time to pause. He had to be forced.

They exited the crystal room into the interior hallways that ran like veins throughout the house. A few turns and they were suddenly outside. The early July sunshine cut through the bright blue sky, momentarily blinding him.

“Ugh,” he said, tugged along.

“Hello, Nessa.” Dave sat on the wide expanse of grass behind Ivy House, the only area not torn up in Naomi’s efforts to redo the backyard. Jessie had given her a wish list and Naomi would probably exceed Jessie’s wildest dreams. Hopefully Edgar didn’t sneak in any shrines.

Two other basajaunak sat with him. Sebastian didn’t recognize them, but then, he only knew a couple of them, and not really by sight. More often, it was how they made fun of his constant nervousness around them.

They were just so…scary. Pleasant most of the time, yes, but one glimpse of them in battle ruined their “good” sides forever. At any moment, the incredibly aggressive side could emerge—they didn’t even have to shift before attacking! It was enough to make anyone jumpy.

“I bet Momar is training mages to withstand the fear of other magical types,” Sebastian murmured as Nessa pulled him past the basajaunak and through the dirt. “He’s smart enough to know that primal fear is debilitating, and mages aren’t used to that sort of terror. They froze in the battle at Kingsley’s. It made even great, powerful mages useless.”

“They froze in the skirmish at Drex’s, too,” Nessa said, playing devil’s advocate. She knew that helped him confront a problem from all angles. “If they were being trained, that wouldn’t have happened.”

Drex was an alpha whose territory they’d recently visited. Nice guy, scary big bear. Mages had been hiding in the woods, seemingly waiting for the time to strike. That time came when Jessie and crew showed up, which wouldn’t be too worrying if it hadn’t been for the surprise of it. The basajaunak could communicate through the trees. They should’ve been able to feel the lurkers. And while they had known something wasn’t right, they hadn’t known what.

Momar had figured out how to strip away one of Jessie’s defensive measures. He had to be working on the others, and he had a team of powerful, intelligent mages with which to do it.

Jessie only had Sebastian.

“Those were expendable,” Sebastian said, following her along a path through the trees. Tufts of flowers appeared here and there. A sign nestled beside each with a name and a flavor. Edgar had created a buffet for the basajaunak, each culinary delight curated for their tasting pleasure. “Momar seemed to be waiting for Jessie, and he’d know those mages would never survive. We got only rudimentary information from them. Nothing high level. They weren’t prized, so he wouldn’t waste valuable training dollars and even more valuable intel on them.”

“True. But where would he get a basajaun to test on?”

Sebastian chewed his lip, thoughts all of a sudden crowding him. Nessa tugged on his hand to keep him moving, his legs wanting to stop as his brain whirled.

“Anyone can be abducted when you have the right magic,” he murmured. “He knew how to hide from them. That takes research and practice. We need to ask Dave to send word through his relatives, asking if anyone has gone missing. Or if they’ve found any mages sneaking around. They can smell magic if it’s been used, and mages are always using magic. They’d know who was in their territory.”

Nessa stopped and pulled out her phone again. More notes.

“Shifters,” he said next, jerked to a start. “They’d need to practice on shifters. Abducting them would be easier still.”

“Paying them to cooperate would be easy, too.”

“Maybe both.”

Bushes rustled ominously on the right. A moment later, more rustled on the left.

“How’s the gnome hunt going?” he whispered, staring out at the green, squinting as he tried to pierce the shadows lurking at the bottoms of the trees with his gaze.

“Terrible, actually. They keep making friends with Edgar’s flowers and convincing the flowers to turn on Edgar. It’s a dramatic turn of events. Edgar is very distraught, but the basajaunak are gleeful because apparently the killer flowers are good eating.”

“Aren’t they deadly?”

“Yes, which apparently also makes them good sport for the basajaunak.”

It was a wonder anyone ever questioned his nervousness around those creatures. It really was.

“Cyra keeps trying to burn the woods down around them, but Ivy House is cock-blocking her,” Nessa continued, pulling him along. “Her words. I’ve been asked to seek out Patty. She seems to scare the gnomes.”

“We need to get them on our side,” Sebastian murmured, squinting harder at those shadows in case the little devils ambushed. He could use magic to seek them out, but he was too tired for mundane spells.

Nessa was right. This was dangerous. He had more duties now than just playing with potions and reading spell books. He had to be more alert in case a battle landed on their doorstep, and eventually that was exactly what would happen.

“We need a lot of things,” Nessa said noncommittally.

Yes, they did.

Edgar waited in the middle of a clearing, surrounded by lounging basajaunak. Cyra stood next to a tree, facing an outcropping of ferns, her hands out. Indigo sat on a large branch in an oak, surveying the scene from above.

“Ah, yes.” Edgar turned to them with his hands pulled into his chest and his fingers dangling down. It was like he kept researching old vaudeville images in an attempt to be creepier. “The plant thief.”

Sebastian sighed. “I’m telling you, Ivy House did that. I have better things to do than wander out here in search of potted plants.”

“What could be better than searching the woods for a prized potted plant?” Indigo asked. Somehow, she was serious.

“Exactly,” Edgar affirmed. “The foot doesn’t fit the shoe.”

Sebastian blinked at him, wondering if that should make sense and didn’t, or did make sense and shouldn’t.

“Edgar, tell Sebastian what you want to do,” Nessa prompted him. She was never freaked out by this vampire for reasons Sebastian couldn’t understand.

“Oh, yes.” Edgar lowered his hands and clasped his long, spindly fingers in front of him. “Now, I know Jessie is against my accidentally aggressive—”

“Homicidal,” Nessa cut in.

“—flowers, and while I do admit they are still in the experimental stages, I think this is the perfect place for a shrine.”

Sebastian blinked slowly. He was much too tired for this. “A shrine for the flowers?”

Edgar gave him a patient smile. “No, not for the flowers. Though I do like the way you think.”

“Maybe out of bronze,” Indigo said. “It would catch the light correctly.”

“Yes, bronze is a good homage to flowers.” Edgar nodded. “Until then, we can make a shrine out of the people who are fooled into wandering into this clearing. You should set up a series of fake magical pitfalls that our friends the trespassers will avoid. They will magic through the weaker areas, thinking you are not perfect and they are much, much smarter, and they will sneak through here. This clearing. And then the flowers will kill them gruesomely, and we’ll make a shrine that Niamh can send into the spider web.”

Everyone stared at him like it was a plan fully formed. Maybe they were all too tired.

“Spider web?” Sebatian asked.

“Internet,” Nessa said. She put a hand on Sebastian’s arm. “You know how Edgar and I always seem to turn up at the right place and the right time?”

Sebastian ran his hand down his face. “Yes.”

“Right. Well, he has this incredible sixth sense when it comes to impending danger. After more studying, thanks to Ivy House’s resources and…”

Her cheeks colored red. She was probably thinking about Tristan. That happened a lot lately. The gargoyle-monster was doing what no one else had been able to do—break through her thick walls and work his way into her soft, scarred, squishy middle. She wasn’t making it easy on him, though. She was fighting it till the last.

Sebastian hoped Tristan didn’t give up before she finally relented. She was such a good person. She deserved someone to whisk her off her feet and take care of her in a way no one else ever had. She deserved to finally trust someone with her heart, her past, and especially her future. She needed a mate who would love her as completely as she was capable of loving in return.

“I love you,” he blurted. “You deserve the best.”

He’d meant that for Nessa…but forgot to pull his dazed eyes away from the vampire.

“Me?” A slow smile spread across Edgar’s thin face. His canines gleamed. “Well, that is very nice to hear. I did always think we were the best of friends. It’s nice to know that is true.”

Nessa paused with her mouth open.

“Oh, no,” Sebastian whispered.

“Yay!” Indigo clapped.

Nessa’s eyes glittered, her smile wicked. “Best friends, all around.”

“No, no.” Sebastian clutched his neck for unknown reasons. Or maybe very clear reasons, being that he’d just professed brotherly love to a vampire.

“I’m sure Edgar will want to chat about that later,” Nessa said, “but we have business to discuss.”

“Oh, no, that’s not—”

“Yes. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.” Edgar nodded. “Even though this is the best of times.”

“As I was saying, thanks to studying,” Nessa thankfully went on, “I’ve learned that I can sense and map ley lines. I can feel and trace—and use—their energy. It’s part of my magic. And while Edgar doesn’t have the same type of magic, he does have an innate ability to tap into the energy currents around him. He’s always thought his premonitions of danger were intuition, and while part of that is true, realistically, he’s learned to clue in when he feels the danger in the energy currents. It’s a survival mechanism, I think. Something that helped him avoid the vampire-hunting parties.”

“They were tenacious,” Edgar said.

“He can sample the winds of time,” Indigo said.

“Kindaaa,” Nessa drawled with a crooked smile.

“He can read intent,” Sebastian surmised.

“Kinda.” Nessa shrugged. “That’s a fine way to think about it.”

“Yes, I have always been very…” Edgar blinked at him, one of his eyes closing before the other. He didn’t finish.

“And why do I need to think about this?” Sebastian asked.

“Because we are going to need you to follow his plan to the letter and put in the type of magic he asks for, in exactly the places he asks for it.” She pointed at her feet. “It’ll lead to this clearing, which will have an assortment of killer flowers.”

“Except Jessie said not to use those flowers in case they kill lost hikers,” Sebastian said.

“Hikers are trespassers, too,” Edgar replied. Indigo nodded.

“No—” Nessa held up her hand to Edgar. “We don’t want to kill hikers. And we won’t. These woods are full of basajaunak. They can sense the hikers through the trees. They’ll get rid of those. Hell, Ivy House can feel those. It’s the people the basajaunak can’t feel that we’re concerned about. The ones that Ivy House can’t sense. You’ve now come up with three potions to get onto these grounds undetected, right? You’re working on counteracting those, which is great, but what if they come up with a different potion you haven’t figured out how to counteract? We need a plan B in case they get through.”

“If you build it, he will come,” Edgar said gravely.

Sebastian furrowed his brow. “Who will?”

“Kevin Costner.”

Nessa waved that away. “He’s quoting Field of Dreams, the movie. We’re not expecting this to happen right away, but it’s better to get things set up now just in case.”

Sebastian took a deep breath. “Yeah, fine. I don’t have the energy to do this right now, though.”

“I know.” Nessa looked around the clearing. “Edgar has to map out the route.”

“Okay, then…why did you drag me out here? You could’ve just explained all this.”

“Because you need to hear the information from the source to make connections I never would think of. I wanted you to start thinking about it so you’re ready when we are.”

Sebastian rubbed his eyes. He didn’t bother arguing. It was rare she was wrong.

“Okay. Let’s walk back and I’ll explain the ley lines.” She grabbed his hand again. “Thanks, Edgar. Indigo.” She waved at them and tugged him back toward the house. “I’ll chat with you later.”

“Bye, bestie,” Edgar called.

“You should get him a locket,” Indigo said. “You show up in a picture, right? I never thought to try one.”

“I do. I am very handsome in all my pictures.”

“Oh, no,” Sebastian murmured, and Nessa started laughing.

 

 

Nessa wouldn’t let him go straight up to bed, something about it being the afternoon and his needing to keep normal hours. Neither would she let him head back down to the crystal room to pass the time. Instead, she suggested he go to the library and “think about things.” She didn’t say what things, not that she ever needed to. He had a million quandaries he wanted to research at any given time. Most of that required clarity of thought, however, something he didn’t much have at present.

The library’s large double doors stood open. He stepped in and felt calmness wash over him, something this room did every time. Naomi had renovated it into a magical place that still carried the old-world feel about it. The high ceiling was ribbed with dark beams carved with ivy. The air was cool, even on the hottest day. Ivy House regulated the temperature to preserve the old volumes lining the rows upon rows of shelving. Flowers and leafy plants draped the windows and spilled out of planter boxes, fake but incredibly realistic-looking, lending the space natural elements to enhance the carved ivy.

He stepped onto the handwoven rug and meandered toward the stacks near the north wall, letting his mind wander. It took a moment before he felt the prickling sensation of danger.

He stopped and slowly turned to find the new shifter, Aljoe, sitting in the corner in one of the high-backed chairs. His ankle was crossed over his knee and a book rested in his lap. He glanced up from under his lashes as Sebastian surveyed him.

This guy was almost as scary as the basajaunak, with his weighted stare and coiled aggression. He had to shift before he lunged, though, something that slowed him down just enough that Sebastian could shoot magic as he was running away. It was the little things.

The shifter didn’t move, but suddenly Sebastian felt the expectation to explain why he was staring.

“That’s good.” Sebastian nodded at him before turning away. “You should teach that trick to the others.”

He went back to looking at the books, wondering which of his many questions he should focus on right now.

“What’s good?” Aljoe asked, and while he was just talking normally, everything out of his mouth seemed like a growled command. The man must’ve been a very formidable alpha. The whole pack must’ve pissed themselves every time something set this guy off.

Sebastian didn’t glance back, just kinda waved his finger in the former alpha’s general direction.

“Expressing what you want without speaking or moving.” He paused. “I mean, you probably did move, but I couldn’t tell you moved. I still knew what you wanted.”

“You were staring. Most people would deduce I wanted to know why.”

“Oh, you’d be surprised. The point is you communicated in a shifter-like way to a non-shifter. Sue and Aurora could learn a thing or two.”

“Aurora will.”

“Cool.”

A doll tottered in. It stopped in the middle of the room…and stared at Aljoe with a wide, non-human grin.

Sebastian shivered. He didn’t typically mind the dolls, but this one was off-putting. Aljoe glanced at it. His bearing turned hostile, though Sebastian couldn’t pinpoint why. And then…Aljoe slowly looked away, as though practicing his restraint. He clearly wanted to throttle the thing.

Sebastian turned away, scratching his head, his focus wandering. He mumbled his list of wants, pausing when the doll squealed with a weird sorta-laugh before tottering back out the door again.

Odd.

He went back to mumbling his list of wants, then his list of needs, trying to decide what books to pull out. He could put those aside for another day. Then, to pass the time, he could check out some of the grislier spells and see just how crazy things were back in the day. He wondered if his power level could handle them.

He also wondered if there were a better way to connect with Jessie and fuse their power. A way that might bump them up to a higher level than they could collectively reach now. They needed more power. That might give them the edge over anything Momar could throw at them.

“Start with the needs.”

It took him a moment to register Aljoe’s words. He glanced back. “Oh, sorry. I tend to talk to myself when I’m tired. And working. And thinking.”

“Speak louder. Go over your list of needs. It’ll help me understand the defensive issues facing us from your perspective.”

“Oh.” He smiled at the alpha.

A moment later, that intense stare melted the expression into a frown.

“Right.” Sebastian cleared his throat. “Okay. Well…”

He let his fingers trail against the books as he walked the length of the room. He explained about the realization with the basajaunak and the shifters. “I’m not sure basajaunak can be bought. What would they do with the money? They live in trees. But shifters can probably be bought.” He cocked his head. “Gargoyles, too. Even if no one is bought, though, mages will inevitably slip into this territory. It’s only a matter of time. Maybe they already have. Gathering information is just as dangerous, if not more so, than sneaking in to kill.”

He glanced up, expecting Aljoe to ask why. Most people would have.

Instead, he somehow got the picture that the former alpha understood the danger of gathering intel, how it might be used later, and to keep talking.

“Very useful, that trick,” Sebastian muttered. “I need to learn it. Imagine if I can tell people to go away without having to interrupt what I’m doing to actually speak.”

He took a deep breath, stopping in his meandering to look out the window.

“Momar is highly intelligent. Niamh agrees. He’s cunning. If I were him, I’d send in a decoy. I’d send in someone or a few people to try to kill…whoever. They’d probably die, right? But how? That’s useful info.” He chewed his lip. “While they are either getting information or dying, I’d send in one or two highly powerful mages under the radar to get as much useful information as possible. Our weaknesses. I’d leave magic behind to help break in later.”

“We can smell magic. Austin’s patrols are highly organized, and the structure is always changing. If magic is done here, they’ll know it.”

Sebastian shook his head. “Firstly, just so you know—since you’re new to all this—you can smell a person who has done magic. The magic leaves a residue on them. But you can’t seem to smell spells, for whatever reason.

“Second, he’ll already have a spell or potion to deaden a person’s sense of smell. Sight, smell, sound—he’ll have something to entirely hide the person from you. My counter-potion won’t be enough to reveal them, not anymore. At this point, they are smarter than me. They have time on their side. Research. A big team with lots of ideas. I don’t have those things. We can assume I’ll be beaten. I need a way to flip the script.”

He turned to look at the books.

“I need ancient magic.” He scratched his head again. It probably looked like he had fleas. “Magic from an age lost, when there weren’t surveillance cameras. When a moat and castle walls weren’t good enough. And I need a ring of mages to help create the sort of power and complexity that Momar can’t even fathom.”

“You’ll get it,” Aljoe said with absolute conviction—like he’d personally move heaven and earth to make it so. “But it’ll take time. What can you do right now to balance out the odds? Or even get close. Narrow your scope to the bare minimum to level the magical playing field. Deaden their mages and let us handle the rest until we can get this conclave out of the way and focus on the larger goals.”

Sebastian turned to him with widened eyes. “Wow. You’re much better than a plant.”

Aljoe’s expression didn’t change. “Thank you.”

Sebatian nodded. “Okay. Level the playing field.”

He went to push up his sleeves before realizing he didn’t have any.

“Level the playing field,” he whispered. “Think it through.”

“Talk me through it.” Aljoe slid a bookmark into the crease of his book and set it on the table. He clasped his hands in his lap patiently.

So much better than a plant.

 

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