By the Embers Dies the Fire

  Anything to avoid close quarters with her brother-in-law.

  She didn’t miss that Lina edged around the kitchen, to stand closer to Elain’s side.

  Glad it’s not just me.

  * * * *

  Had it not been for the presence of the others, Brighton would have whipped out his own matching knife and plunged it into the heart of the woman his brothers had mated with.

  Elain had to die. That much was now clear.

  That they possessed so much cockatrice dark magick, accumulated so easily in such a short amount of time, was only more proof of it. No telling what evil they’d get up to with all of that power. Two books, three knives, and other items?

  Maybe there was a more sinister reason the old Triad had suddenly vanished and passed on to others. Certainly seemed suspicious that in short order there were three new Seers forming the Triad, with Elain apparently the strongest.

  Brighton had heard the story about the showdown at the rock pile in Maine. How had Elain just “happened” to be able to track the cockatrice who’d abducted Lacey, when several other very experienced shifters hadn’t?

  A woman who’d only supposedly known about her Alpha wolf shifting side for less than two years?

  It boggled his mind that no one but him questioned Elain’s version of events.

  Hence why he knew he had to keep his mouth shut if he wanted to get her out of his brothers’ lives for good. Had to play this smart. He wasn’t sure how she’d managed to discover he’d tampered with the baby monitors, but he didn’t dare try to replace them again and draw suspicion on himself. He’d have to get information some other way.

  No, he hadn’t wanted to move so soon, but suspected had he not moved when he had, they would have asked him to leave. Better he do it this way, with freedom to come and go as he wished and be welcomed there and not totally “uninvited” from the premises.

  The “forgotten” phone charger cord was deliberately left behind, an excuse to get him back into the house.

  He’d hoped to find the house empty, or at least not as many of them gathered in one place, so he could snoop around, but this was even better.

  This was the proof he’d needed to be sure he was correct.

  “Those restraints,” he said. “Silver, yes?”

  “Yeah,” Zack said, reaching out to pick up the collar Aliah had used on Lacey.

  “Used to be a silversmith in Brussels who did work similar to that. I don’t have my laptop with me, so I can’t look through my research, but I’d bet it was him.”

  “So would we,” Zack said, putting it down. “But the guy’s dead. A couple of years now.”

  Mai spoke up. Brighton had never trusted the little coyote Seer. “Where did Aliah get the collar she used on Lacey if the guy who made it was dead?”

  “If it’s the same man, he’d been in business for years,” Brighton said. “Trained his sons in it. That easily could have been made over a hundred years ago and she simply acquired it somehow.”

  “Oh.”

  “What about those little statues?” Zack asked Brighton. “What’s your read on those?”

  Brighton hadn’t missed how Elain had edged away from him. “Some cockatrice, depending on their nest’s history, still pray to what they called the Dark One or Ones. No different than little tchotchkes you’ll find on any witch’s altar, or any Catholic’s dresser.”

  “No, they’re different,” Lina said. “I get the unholy creeps when I touch them.”

  “Then I suggest you don’t touch them. Especially if you don’t have any experience dealing with cockatrice the way I do. That’s just daft.”

  Brighton belatedly realized that comment might have been a mistake when he looked at Lina and it appeared that the very air around her had begun flickering, like heat shimmers.

  And the temperature of the kitchen shot up about ten degrees, the epicenter on Lina.

  “Whoa,” Zack said, quickly standing and rounding the table to grab her by the shoulders. “Brighton, dude, no offense, and this isn’t my house, but I suggest a quick good-bye.”

  “Right. Eh, sorry.” He ducked out, listening to Brodey apologizing to Lina in his wake before he trailed Brighton down to the room he’d used during his stay.

  Brodey followed him in and practically slammed the door shut behind him. “Dude, what the fuck? That was rude even by your standards.”

  Brighton, still rattled, pretended not to know what Brodey meant as he looked behind the dresser for the “missing” charger cord. “Eh? What’s that?”

  “Fuck. She can throw fireballs. She’s a goddamned goddess. And you just pissed her off.”

  “Well, I’m sorry, but it was a very simple answer. Ah, here it is.” He hoped Brodey didn’t spot how his hand was shaking.

  Yes, he’d sensed the power within Lina. Far more than he’d ever dreamed possible.

  Brodey opened the bedroom door. “Zack got her out onto the lanai. Let’s get you the fuck out of here.”

  “What?”

  “Go! Dude, I love you, but they’re doing serious business right now, and we don’t have time for your Ancient Aliens conspiracy theory bullshit.” Brodey grabbed him by the arm and practically dragged him out the front door, shutting it firmly behind him.

  Brighton wasted no time heading for his car. He was going to have to finalize his Maine plans sooner than he’d expected. Whatever powers those three had, if he wasn’t careful and didn’t take Elain out soon, they could very well kill him. Since Elain was apparently the leader, she needed to die first.

  Divide and conquer.

  He didn’t look in the rearview mirror as he headed down the driveway.

  * * * *

  “Just one little fireball, Zack. That’s all I’m asking!”

  “No. Lina, babe, this is not our house.”

  “Elain will forgive me,” she grumbled. “And Brodey won’t mind.”

  “Brighton’s a jackass, but that doesn’t mean you can broil him.”

  “Just a little flambé between friends, come on!”

  “No. Bad goddess. No cookie.”

  Elain stepped outside. “The coast is clear. He’s gone.”

  Zack let out a sigh of relief. “Thank goodness!”

  Lina held up a finger. “You never let me have any fun!” Okay, yes, she shouldn’t have lost control and let Brighton the Boob get under her skin, but something in the way he’d said his comment had punctured every layer of self-control she had and drilled into her very last fricking nerve.

  Elain walked over and hugged her. “As much as I might have enjoyed the spectacle, we had the kids inside.”

  Lina deflated. “Oh. Yeah. Sorry.” She hugged Elain back. “See? This is why you’re apparently the heir-apparent. You have that whole damned logic and self-control thing going for you.” She sighed and dropped her voice. “I told you, I don’t trust Brighton.”

  “Neither do I,” Elain whispered.

  They turned at the sound of the sliders opening again and Brodey stepped out. “Everything all right?”

  “She didn’t roast anyone,” Zack drawled. “I count that as a win.” He headed inside.

  Brodey joined the women’s hug. “Babe, I guess I should have asked if it bothers you if I hug Lina.”

  “Of course it doesn’t, silly,” Elain said. “Lina’s my sister. Does it bother you if I hug Zack and Kael, or Rick and Jan, or Micah and Jim?”

  “Oh. No, it doesn’t.”

  Lina smiled at Elain. “Guys are so cute when they’re dumb.”

  “I’m not dumb,” Brodey said. “I prefer bonehead, thank you very much.”

  Elain rolled her eyes. “Let’s get back to work before he starts in on boner puns.”

  Lina was a little surprised to see Brodey actually look put out over that comment. “Do you really think I’m pushing you for sex when I joke around? I mean, we’ve had sex since Ellie was born, but no way in hell was I going to pressure you about it, or even bring it up, until you were ready
. If you felt I was pushing you for it when I was just joking around, I’m really sorry.”

  Lina was going to try to slip out of the hug, now that it seemed the two of them were having a discussion, but neither Elain nor Brodey moved their arms to let her go. It would have been more of a disruption to peel herself free than to stand there and pretend to be invisible.

  “No, you haven’t. I figured you were scared to.”

  “Babe, give me a little credit. I’m a guy, but I’m not that stupid. If I get horny and you’re not in a mood to play, I’m not going to have my feelings hurt if you say no.”

  Lina tried to interrupt and remind them she was right there. “Uh, hey, guys—”

  “I didn’t say you were stupid,” Elain said. “Lina, don’t you dare move.”

  “Oh. Okay, then.”

  “I love you,” Brodey said. “Is sex great? Duh. But believe me, in two-hundred-plus years, I’ve learned to go without when necessary. I’m a big boy.”

  “I didn’t mean you pressured me,” Elain said. “Believe me, I was ready for it. I just—”

  “How long did Jan and Rick wait to bring up sex with you after the boys were born?” Brodey asked Lina.

  “Um, they were terrified to come near me until I told them it was okay. They’d still be unlaid if I hadn’t gotten horny around week five and my body had healed up.”

  Lina felt Elain let out a breath, of relief or fear or what, Lina wasn’t sure. But Elain tipped her head onto Lina’s shoulder. “You aren’t the only one who needs a shoulder to keep you stable sometimes,” Elain said.

  “That’s fine, girlie, but I really don’t need to hear about your sex life.”

  Brodey snorted. “Considering the walls in this house, I’m sure we’ve all heard more than enough about everyone’s sex lives.”

  “Word,” Lina said.

  Elain finally released them, catching Lina’s gaze. “Thank you,” she said, kissing Lina on the cheek before turning and following Brodey inside.

  Wolves. Crazy damn animals. Lina followed her friends inside.

  Ain was standing inside and talking to Mai, Zack, and Kael when they returned. Lina deliberately didn’t look Ain in the eyes, not wanting to see him trying to silently question her.

  She did not want to be the one to tell the men that Brighton wasn’t just batshit cray-cray, but that there was something…wronger with him.

  No way in hell she wanted to touch Brighton to see if she could sense what that was, but it was like when he’d made that comment, the start of a dark cloud had gathered around him.

  Almost like the heads-up display was trying to come to life.

  No, thank you, she would prefer if anyone roasted Brighton that it was Elain, him being her brother-in-law and all. Sure, in defense of one of the kids or one of their family she’d do it in a heartbeat.

  Lina just didn’t want to have to be the one to pull that metaphorically literal trigger if she didn’t have to.

  The near-fireballing just now notwithstanding.

  * * * *

  With that excitement settled, they all regrouped and gathered in the kitchen again. Zack glanced at the time and started collecting the objects.

  “Okay. It’s getting close to lunch time. Let’s handle that, because I’m sure Elain will be hearing a dinner bell from Ellie fairly soon. We can get back to this after lunch, and I want to make sure I write down notes about this morning. Maybe we’ll make more progress after we’ve had a break and can keep the interruptions to a minimum.”

  Mai sat with her elbows propped on the table, her head hung between her hands. “Can’t we just get drunk, or do ’shrooms, or smoke some weed, or…something? Peyote. Isn’t that what Native Americans sometimes use to help with visions?”

  “You’re pregnant,” they all said.

  “Besides,” Lina added. “You wouldn’t know peyote from pinto beans.”

  “And you wouldn’t know a ’shroom from a shiitake,” Elain added.

  Zack snickered. “And the only weeds you know about—”

  “Okay!” Mai said. “I get it. I’m a good girl. Sorry.”

  “There are no shortcuts for us,” Lina said. “Not that I don’t wish there were, believe me.”

  Brodey headed back out again. With Lina calmed and Elain’s own sudden and surprising burst of emotions settled, Elain sat at the kitchen table, across from Mai.

  “I guess I should try touching those icons,” Elain said just as Zack was reaching for them. “Zack, hold up.”

  “You sure?”

  “Yeah.” She sighed. “We’ve hardly done anything yet.” She made no move to touch them.

  “Don’t get too excited about it,” Lina gently teased.

  “You have a fifty-fifty shot,” Mai pointed out. “Lina squicked, but I got nothing.”

  “Yeah, but the books freaked me out.”

  “The books are also, according to you, made from a real dragon,” Lina said. “Those thingies are stone.”

  “True. But didn’t you say they’re made by being soaked in an enemy’s blood?”

  The statues were each approximately three inches tall and carved from reddish stone. They were all different, each one depicting some sort of malformed, unidentifiable beast.

  The others, except Zack, all shrugged at Elain.

  Zack coughed. “Callie did. They’re made of catlinite. Lina and Callie found some of the raw material at that one shop in Brussels. Probably the same guy made them from that stuff.”

  Elain took a deep breath and reached out for one of the icons, hesitating before finally picking it up, almost expecting an electric shock or something.

  She felt nothing but cool stone in her palm.

  Now with a little more confidence, she rolled it around in her hand, cupped both hands around it, closed her eyes—still nothing.

  She finally opened her eyes and set it aside. “Nope. Next.”

  It was the fourth one she reacted to. So strongly, in fact, that she nearly threw up. Fortunately, she’d slid the towel they were usually wrapped in over to her and when she dropped it, it hit that and fell over on its side instead of skittering off the table and onto the floor.

  “Whoa,” Elain said, hands still up, her eyes wide as she stared at it.

  “What?” Lina said. “What’d you see?”

  She swallowed hard. “I think I saw the dragons whose blood that one was soaked in.”

  “Who?” everyone asked.

  She felt the tears in her eyes and couldn’t hold them back. The entire thing had flashed through her mind almost faster than she could process. “Twin brothers,” she said. “I think it was Sean and Colm.”

  Chapter Seven

  Everyone went silent for a moment.

  Zack was the one who spoke first. “Well, that would certainly explain why they wigged Lina the fuck out,” he said. “George and Luke are Sean and Colm reincarnated. It’s natural she’d have a residual reaction.”

  “But what about me?” Elain said. “That doesn’t explain why I’d react. And so far, it’s only to that one.”

  “I don’t know. I think that’s the first one I touched,” Lina said. “If I have dragon lineage in me anyway, it makes sense I’d react to dragon blood.”

  Elain still had her hands up, afraid to pick it up again and knowing she had to.

  Just like she knew she’d have to put on her big-girl panties and touch the books again. “Again, why would I react?”

  “I. Don’t. Know.” Lina pointed at the offending icon. “We’re flying by the seat of our pants. As usual. Like that’s anything new.” She snapped her fingers at Elain and pointed at the icons. “Come on and get with the program, momma.”

  Elain converted her two upheld hands into flipping birds at Lina. “Then you touch the goddamned things.”

  “No fucking way.”

  “Take one for the team, Lina,” Zack said. “You never did actually touch but the one.”

  “I—” Lina’s mouth snapped shut. “Okay,
fine.”

  Glaring at him, she reached out, her hand hovering over the first one Elain had touched.

  With her wolf-like reflexes, Elain grabbed Lina’s hand and pushed it onto the first stone icon, closing Lina’s fingers around it.

  Lina let out a shriek. “Oh, wait. Nothing. Let go of me, you bitch. Again, Elain, said with all love and affection.”

  Mai snickered as Elain let go of Lina’s hand. “Pussies.”

  “More like chickens,” Zack said.

  Lina glared at him. “You’re lucky I love you.”

  He stuck his tongue out at her. “Come on, goddess girl. Feel up the creepy little stone thingies.”

  Ain had walked over and stood in the kitchen doorway, where he silently watched what was going on.

  Elain reached out and grabbed the last icon, but didn’t have a reaction to it.

  Emboldened, Lina avoided the one Elain had reacted to, leaving it for last. Then, once that was the only one left, no one hassled her when all she could do was reach out and lightly touch it with one finger.

  She jerked her hand back as if shocked. “Nope, from Nopesville, Nopestan, zip code nopety nope nope nope.”

  Mai let out a sarcastic sigh and reached over the table, grabbing the offending icon. She turned it over in her hand before holding it up to the light. “Want me to do some oral on it?”

  “Oh!” The others all yelled, holding their hands up as if to stop her, or perhaps to ward off catching any vision of that.

  “Hell, no!” Lina said.

  “That was a mental image I did not need,” Elain said.

  Mai grinned as she set it back on the table with the others, but a little away from them, off to the side.

  The closest thing Elain could think it looked like was an elephant had been knocked up by a giraffe, and their offspring then tried to get a nose job from a drunk podiatrist with the DTs.

  “Maaaybeee,” Kael said, “you need to hold hands.”

  The women exchanged glances.

  “Huh?” Elain asked.

  “You mean a circle, like for raising power?” Lina asked him.

  Kael nodded.

  “Maybe he’s on to something,” Mai said. “I’m willing to try it.”