Page 12 of Alice Worth and the Elite Death Machine

I didn’t know if kids would ever be in my future, but I couldn’t imagine how Lucas, his wife, and their pack must feel knowing a total stranger would arrive soon to take Noah away for at least ten or fifteen years.

“I only spoke to him for a few minutes,” I told the Stones. “He was certainly the most powerful shifter I’ve ever met, in terms of his magic and…presence, I guess I could say. And with him, I felt safer and more comforted than I ever have, except when I’m with my pack.”

“So he feels like a very dominant alpha?” Noah asked.

“Kind of.” I tried to figure out how to describe the feeling. “Like an alpha of alphas, maybe. I’m not a shifter, though, so maybe that’s not a good analogy. For whatever it’s worth, my instincts told me he’s an honorable and strong man.”

“That’s worth a lot to us.” Lucas squeezed his wife’s hand. “We value what our instincts tell us. Mariah and I may not get to meet this Conor, so we appreciate anything you can tell us.”

I started to ask why they didn’t think they’d meet Conor, but then I remembered what Sean had said about thefaoladhkilling anyone they thought might be a threat to their charge, even if it was the person or people who’d asked for help in the first place. An angry and emotional alpha and his mate could very well qualify as a perceived threat. Lucas and Mariah might have to send Noah outside to meet Conor and say their goodbyes to their son before he walked out the door.

They didn’t need my anger or grief on top of their own, so I did my best to stuff my emotions into a box and put them out of sight and mind until we were well away from this house.

And it was just as well that I did, because a moment later I sensed a little frisson of familiar magic on my skin. Malcolm touched my arm so he could talk to me in my mind.Alice, two demons in battle leathers are approaching from the southwest. Ben and a couple of the Blue Valley werewolves are moving to intercept.

I relayed that information to the group. The shifters’ eyes blazed gold and the tension and anger in the room ratcheted up about ten notches. All but Mariah began to strip off their clothes, preparing to shift.

“Let me take on the demons, along with my ghost and Jesse and Ben,” I told Lucas before anyone went furry. “We can handle them. Theúlfheðnaris a much bigger threat and you’re better suited to fight it.”

Lucas gave me a nod. “Go. Tell my wolves to back off and stay on watch for theúlfheðnar. They already know to let thefaoladhpass.”

Sean and I locked gazes. I read his concern in his eyes and expression, as well as his confidence in me. “If you need me at your side, you know what to do,” I said.

“I do.” He pulled me close for a kiss so fierce that it felt more like lighting a fuse. “Go get ’em, Miss Magic,” he said, his lips against my jaw, before releasing me.

I untied the drawstring on my leather pouch and withdrew the demon blade. One of the Blue Valley wolves whistled in appreciation at its size and vicious appearance.

To test its balance and weight, I swung the blade back and forth in different arcs. Very nice. Magic might be my first and best weapon, but this one felt pretty dang good in my hand. And if my instincts had told me to bring it, there was a good reason why.

“Okay,” I told Malcolm, who floated somewhere to my left. “Let’s hunt.”

Chapter

Five

The house did indeed have a hidden back exit.

Gary the pack historian let Malcolm and me out, then locked and barred the extremely heavy door behind us. Judging by the effort it took for Gary to move the door, not even a shifter with a battering ram would get through it. A very capable mage whose magic I did not recognize had created blood wards on the threshold and obfuscation spells around the doorway, which was built into the side of the hill and partially hidden by trees I figured the pack had planted there for that purpose.

Heavy cloud cover hid the crescent moon. Lack of moonlight did not present a problem for the werewolves, but it left me at something of a disadvantage. While I had no desire to become a werewolf, enhanced senses would have really come in handy. Luckily, I had more senses than just my hearing and eyesight, and my ghost sidekick was the biggest advantage of all.

Malcolm rested his hand on my shoulder.The demons are coming from your left, ahead about a hundred feet. I can guide you.

First find Ben and Jesse,I told him.Have them tell the Blue Valley wolves what Lucas said about watching for theúlfheðnarwhile we deal with the demons, and then lead them to me.

Will do. His cold hand left my shoulder.

While he went to get the others, I slipped from tree to tree in the direction of the demons. If these were the same kind of mid-level soldiers as the one in the tub at the Phoenix Inn, two of them presented enough of a danger that I wanted Jesse and Ben with us. Just because a singleúlfheðnarhad managed to dispatch one with little trouble didn’t mean Malcolm and I could do the same against two. I wasn’t about to underestimate their training, much less their magic. In this business, an overinflated ego could get you dead faster than about anything else. I hadn’t fought blood mages, Titans, sorcerers, and actual-factual dragons to die tonight by a demon’s clawed hands or nasty blade.

The back of my neck prickled with a familiar sensation just before Malcolm returned. Without turning around or hearing a sound, I sensed Jesse and Ben in wolf form behind me. Another shifter attribute I envied: seemingly effortless silent movement. I, on the other hand, spent considerable energy and focus on not giving away my location by stepping on twigs or brushing against branches.

Malcolm led me toward the demons with his hand on my shoulder.They’re wearing spells that mask their odor, he told me.Smart move if you’re going to try to sneak up on a werewolf pack. They’re about the same size as the dead one at the hotel. Two long blades apiece plus whatever they’ve got hidden and their magic.

Fantastic, I replied. Even my mental voice sounded dry as sand.

Abruptly, Malcolm pushed my shoulder in warning. I took cover behind a tree. Ben and Jesse had already disappeared. I heard nothing but the wind and my heartbeat.

Two dark figures crept by about fifteen feet from my hiding place. For their size, the demons moved in perfect eerie silence, keeping at least ten feet between them. As Malcolm reported, I did not smell sulfur. My blood magic tingled, however.Shit. That meant they already had blood on their weapons, probably from at least one member of Lucas’s pack. I had to put my concern aside for now and focus on my job.

---