Page 93 of Charming Her Monsters

My vengeance for them having dared to invade my home gets the better of my control, and I hear the telltale sound of cracking a skull. I refocus and realize that I haven’t killed Sloan… yet. However, he goes into shock and drops his shields.

Well, that worked out nicely.

Fortunately, Galiana is busy assisting Rob against Arran and Flint, so I now have a moment to probe into Sloan’s mind and rummage through it for information before he dies.

Unfortunately, it’s a freaking mess in his pathetic mind. He’s pretty upset about dying and all the pain.Boohoo.

Maybe he shouldn’t have messed with a demon or his witch.

When I search for his memories of Jade, I see flashes of her. He watched on as Rob interrogated the ghosts they had placed inside her.

Sloan would shift and sneak out of the room when the guinea pig and rabbit were asleep and go through Jade’s computer. He’d send emails of information that she had accidentally channeled from Rob’s victims and written into her books, notes, or journals. I also see he would watch Jade sleep and ask the spirits questions when Rob wasn’t around.

She truly had no clue what was happening to her or who was spying on her right under her nose.

I dig for Sloan’s connection to Rob. From there, they met during a secret Anti-Supernaturals Organization meeting. They had conspired to become major players in the movement. Galiana was already one of their leaders, but Rob has been slithering his way up to the top by being her lackey. Then several faces of the ASO members flicker through my mind, and I make a point of memorizing them.

I see the trio plotting to target Jade. I also get a vague impression Galiana believed there’s something unusual about our witch. Something…other. Galiana first wanted to destroy Jade because of whatever she is, but then realized they could use Jade for her abilities before they finally eliminated her.

Why is Galiana so intent on destroying Jade? What is different about Jade from any other witch?

I try to press for more, but Sloan’s heartbeat falters and I feel his soul slip away. I wish I had gotten more out of him, but he was a minor player even among the three of them. He was expendable enough to live at Jade’s home during the last couple of years. Honestly, he was only a grunt. The real power player is Galiana.

When I turn back to the ongoing fight, Flint and Arran are cornering the witch and warlock against the side of the house.

Galiana sees that I’m free to turn my ire on her, and that they are officially outnumbered. She chants and throws out her hands. A portal opens up, and they both race through, escaping our wrath.

Flint collapses onto the ground and grunts in pain. The warlocks and witch did more damage than I would expect to the magically resistant gargoyle.

Arran is in terrible shape too. Half his berserker’s fur is burnt off. Hopefully, a shift into his human form will heal most of the major damage.

I’m fucking losing my mind with worry, since I don’t sense them in the house or the nearby forest. “Where’s Jade and Calder?” I ask, trying to not lose my wits.

“Rome,” Flint says.

“The bunker?” My eyes widen. “Fuck!”

“Rob activated his spell on Jade,” Flint explains. “It wasn’t safe for her to be around the warlock.”

He couldn’t have known not to send Calder down there, so I remind myself not to be upset with him. It makes sense on a strategic level to have the phoenix take her there. But Calder might freak out with the sight of Osen’s body and take it out on Jade.

“Arran, can you shift?” I ask, because I assume he’s going to want to go down there with me. I need him to heal up and be in his more logical human form to help Jade and Calder.

He howls in agony as he shifts. Painful burns have healed a bit, but his usually gorgeous naked body looks fucking rough, and I wish I could do something to help him. But I can’t even offer him a salve before we find Jade. He wouldn’t accept it even if I did.

“Flint, can you walk?”

“For Jade? Yes.” He struggles to find his feet, and I give him a hand. Not that I can mind-read the gargoyle, but I sense something has changed about him.

“I can’t reach her mind,” he says.

“What? Why would you be able to—” He must have realized she is his mate match, and they have bonded on some level.

The same realization must have occurred to Arran as he asks, “Did you… were you… with Jade?”

“Um, yeah,” Flint blushes his bright peach.

“Goddess.” Arran is shocked, but not upset. “I’m happy for you.”

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