Page 128 of Magic of the Damned

He shook his head. “Now it’s time to irreparably change theirs.”

He stepped forward and pressed his palm to the air, sparking to life a silver undulation. It pulsed back with force. A growl reverberated in his chest. Pushing harder into it, the muscles of his neck distended as the barrier in front of us ripped away to reveal a mirror image of the space we’d left. Flowering trees intermingled with brightly colored poplar trees. Several dirt trails led deeper into the forest. Dominic took my hand and we passed through the entrance. With a few movements of his hand he produced flashes of light that wove together the shimmering barrier.

“Where are we?” I whispered.

“Vita. It’s an extension of my home.”

“They don’t seem to want guests,” I pointed out, acknowledging the effort it took to get through the ward.

“It’s better that there’s some resistance. Gives the visitor time to rethink their decision.”

“You have that information and you still decided to enter!” I understood why he sent Anand away, but I was having a hard time figuring out why we were traipsing in places that clearly didn’t want guests.

“He did,” said a sibilant voice from the trees. A long, jagged tail darted out. Dominic grabbed it before the point of it punctured his face. Using his grip he jerked it, bringing a man into view before Dominic used the tail to swing him and slam him into a tree. The man recovered, turning to display fangs and slitted eyes. He charged at Dominic with black nails sharpened to dagger points and putrid green tips. Dominic moved back, avoiding and blocking the creature, human, or whatever the hell the aggressive man was. His face had a rounded docile appearance with full lips, pudge nose, and wide eyes that became slitted on demand. Dominic’s objective seemed to be avoiding being sliced by the man’s nails.

“Dominicus, just a little touch,” the man taunted.

“I don’t have time for your games. Stop it,” Dominic demanded, holding the arms and smashing his head until the man-creature’s nose bled, then pushing him away. Dominic jumped back in time to miss the man-creature’s tail whipping at him. Dominic grabbed it and gave it a jerk, collapsing the man to the ground, then he was on the creature, his claws at its throat.

“Boys, that’s enough,” a melodic voice commanded, immediately bringing them to their feet.

Her dewy copper skin complemented her jade-color dress with a crisscross neckline. The fit hit the pronounced curves of her body. Thick dark hair was pulled back at the nape of her neck in an elegant low bun. Sharply defined cheeks and jawline made her strikingly beautiful. Her amiable smile reached her erudite amber eyes and should have been comforting, but pleasing looks, gentle smiles, and seemingly affable ways had proven lately to be camouflage for cruel and violent people.

Stopping in front of Dominic, she kissed him lightly on the cheek.

“Hello, son. What has Areleus done to bring you to me?”

CHAPTER 20

His mother. The woman Areleus had a transactional relationship with to create his children. Yeah, she was going to be as gentle as kitten cuddles. Right before they claw you. Even with her sweetness to Dominic, I was reluctant to change my opinion.

She gave me a cursory look. I was unable to give her my undivided attention because I was distracted by the unobstructed view of the creature Dominic had fought and the man with the bird-like features who joined him. Set in a humanly round face was a hawkish nose, intense beady eyes, and ears so flat against his head they seemed nonexistent. His silver hair was cut close to the scalp except for a few that were too long and lifted from his head. The avian movement of his head was the most disturbing thing about the man-creature.

“Dragar,” she addressed the creature who fought with Dominic, “let the others know that the trespasser is my son. He will be allowed to leave.”

“And his guest?” he asked, his words a sibilant hiss.

“I don’t know yet. It depends on the reason behind my son’s visit.”

Yeah, I called it. Without another word, she turned and headed back in the direction she came. Dominic started to follow but stopped when he noticed I wasn’t moving.

“Luna?”

“I won’t be a prisoner again. She has to let me leave.”

“She’ll let you leave.”

“Her statement seemed to contradict that,” I challenged.

He sighed, rubbing his hand over the light shadow on his beard. “Luna, we need her help. I will not let her keep you here.”

His mother turned around with a smile so genteel, it urged all my protective defenses to relax. I wasn’t falling for it. Weaponless, the only thing I had was distance and the ability to land enough distracting hits before getting the hell out of the garden of creepy creatures. So I was going to keep that advantage.

“Luna.” With the same quick eerie movement as her son, she was directly in front of me, offering me another of her enchantingly disarming smiles.

Still not buying it.

“He will not make that decision. I will.”

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