Page 27 of Shadow Spirit

“Interesting,” said Colby with a sly grin. “At first, I’d felt sorry for the two of you having to try and handle Adriana, but I’m beginning to suspect that you just may be exactly what she needs.”

“We are,” said Greg.

Decker shot him a knowing grin. “The site where the coven once lived has been razed—nothing left but a few badly charred timbers and a whole lot of ash. Samuel reported he couldn’t even find evidence of their bodies or any graves.”

“You’re sure it was O’Shea?” asked Colby.

Decker nodded. “The priest confirmed that.”

“Really? I find most human priests to be decidedly unhelpful, ignorant, or both where witches and shifters are concerned,” sniffed Adriana with disdain.

Decker caught her fingers, lifting them to his lips and kissing them. “It’s incredibly helpful to have a blade pressed to the throat of someone when you question them. But I digress. Did you know O’Shea has massive land holdings all up and down the western coast of England and eastern coast of Ireland?”

Adriana nodded. “I found that out today when I was stuck here at the abbey doing research instead of being out in the field.”

“Until O’Shea is neutralized,” said Greg, “you’re not going to be doing much of anything outside these walls.”

“But Brie needs me…” Adriana protested.

“I’m afraid I have to agree with them. You are too important to the Shadow Sisters and to the Resistance, I suspect, to be without protection until O’Shea is neutralized,” answered Brie.

Colby nodded. “But I think it’s got to be more than that. Mere wealth wouldn’t have provoked all of this.”

“Said the man who has more money than God,” quipped Brie.

“I agree with him,” said Decker. “When the priest told me about O’Shea’s holdings, he also warned me that the bastard is forcing his people to pay protection money. Given that he has that kind of wealth to begin with, why would he be willing to sell Adriana to Strode? But more than that—no offense, babe—why would he bother with her at all? And why mark her?”

“I’d like to think I’m not chopped liver,” she said.

“You aren’t. In fact, I think you are far more important than any of us have realized. Let me reiterate what Greg said earlier and expound on that. Until we get this figured out and O’Shea is neutralized, you are not to leave the abbey by any means without Greg’s or my permission.”

“We’ll see about that,” snarled Adriana, not liking at all how this evening was progressing.

“Don’t try me, babe. I’ve got dungeons, and your other fated mate knows all about drugs.”

“And I can turn both of you into toads.”

“But only until we mark you,” said Decker evenly.

“Shit. That’s why he marked her,” said Greg. “He doesn’t want her to be able to use her magic against him.”

Decker nodded. “That would be my guess.”

“Makes sense,” said Colby. “Adriana, is there anything you know about O’Shea that you haven’t mentioned? Even if it seems insignificant, it might not be.”

“Eoghan always hinted that he was ‘more than a wolf.’ That’s an exact quote. I didn’t understand what he meant, and I just thought he was being arrogant.”

“Understandable, sweetheart,” said Greg.

“I never saw anything that made me think differently or explained his statement. Wait,” she said bringing up her hands to rub her temples. “After he marked me, he seemed particularly pleased with himself. He told me that now if I managed to kill him—magic or not—I would die, too.”

“That won’t be a problem,” growled Decker. “I plan on reserving the pleasure of killing the bastard for myself.”

“I think we need more information before anyone kills anybody else,” said Colby. “There may be some kind of wolf/witch mate bond thing we don’t yet understand. I’ll put Wordsworth on it…”

“Adriana can help,” offered Greg. “She was pretty restless today.”

“That shouldn’t be a problem for the next few days,” said Decker.

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