Page 80 of Cry of the Firebird

Katya was hitting her fifth mile when her phone started buzzing with an unknown number.

"Katya, we saw you while we were dream walking. What crazy shit are you up to now? And why are you with avolk krovi?"Chayton said as soon as she answered.

She started laughing, and turned the machine off so she could catch her breath. "Heya! I was just looking for a numberfor you boys. Have you been spying on me in your crystal ball again?"

"Very funny, smartass, you know looking at balls isn't my thing," Chayton said while his brother, Honaw, laughed in the background.

"Yeah, Katya, what's going on with the wolf? I thought I was your only true love and now I'm feeling rejected," Honaw added.

Katya looked up as Izrayl came into the gym in workout clothes. He raised a curious black brow at her. Of course, he could hear every bloody word the Twins said from the stairs. Katya sat on the weights bench next to her, muttering a curse as her bandages pulled.

"How are the wounds?" Chayton asked.

"Great, so you saw that too, huh?" Katya complained, unwrapping the bindings around her ribs.

Honaw said, "Yes, so you better start talking, hunter. Where are you anyway?"

"Paris. I was attacked a few nights ago, just as you saw. The girl with me, Anya, is so full of magic. I need you and Honaw to come to help me with her. And get this, she is Yanka's line, a gatekeeper, and has no fucking idea what do with it."

"Like none at all? Who is watching her gates?" Chayton demanded.

"No one. That's why I need you."

There was a rustle, and Honaw's more resonant voice said, "We aren't gatekeepers to teach her that magic, Katya."

"No, but you are shamans, and you can dream walk, which she can also do. She's got no one to help her out," Katya replied.

"Dream walking is boundaries magic. Perhaps she will be able to adapt that to apply the same principles to gates—" Chayton began, and Katya could almost hear the wheels in his head turning.

"Or it won't work at all," Honaw interrupted.

"There's something else you need to know. Apparently there's also a prophecy kicking about that has Anya and the firebird defeating Vasilli," Katya said in a rush. There was a long silence at the end of the line.

"We saw it had been reborn. Is the firebird still with you?" Honaw asked.

Katya bit her lip. "Yes?"

"More fun for us with all the danger and excitement," Chayton said, cutting off whatever Honaw was going to say. "We are in Vancouver, so we'll get on the next available flight and talk about how we can help once we assess Anya's abilities. Now, tell me about this wolf? You seemed pretty upset in my vision when he got hurt. You dating him, little one? I never thought I'd see the day you were hanging with avolk krovi. I'm so proud of you getting over your father's prejudice."

Chayton always called her 'little one' every time he was teasing her, and she knew she wouldn't get out of the conversation without talking about Izrayl. They knew her family's history with them, so their surprise wasn't unfounded. She risked a glance over to where the wolf in question was watching her with glowing golden eyes.

"He's helping out with Anya, and he saved my ass, Chay," she said, hoping he would drop it if she was as vague.

"It's not your ass I'm worried about. It's that soft little heart of yours. If he breaks it, it will be his ass in trouble."

"You know I can handle him and his ass. That's not even a concern. We are…colleagues?" Katya said, struggling to find a way to identify him.

"I'm so not in the colleague zone, hunter," Izrayl called with a laugh.

Katya didn't want to admit that he was right. They had been circling each other since they met, and after the fight in the park, she had almost kissed him more than once.

You're getting dangerously close to saying 'friend that I kind of flirt with' there. Subject change.

"Chay, let me know when you land, and I will come to get you, okay?" Katya said.

"Last time I saw you, you were riding a motorcycle. Have you got a sidecar for Honaw?"

Katya heard sharp protests in the background, and she laughed hard and loud. God, she had missed them.

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