Page 116 of Home to the Hollow

Andromeda snaps out of it first, walking over to him with a fond smile. “Dr. Hamilton, there is no cause for worry. My fellow Guardians and I have neutralized the threat—for the moment—but we came here because of something our foes said while we were banishing them. As you know, there has been a rise in attacks on extranormals—particularly hybrids and lost ones or those connected with them—and the Guardians have been stretched thin between fighting these battles and protecting our charges.”

Wolfie nods. “The meeting after the trial was virtual, but some of the other enclaves expressed concern that their people were being hunted. No one has proved it was more than a theory. Most of the incidents appear to be accidents or job related mishaps.”

“That is a carefully constructed lie, Dr. Fletcher. The Society fears we have a leak or leaks and all general communications with members are crafted to keep those persons from reporting that we are aware they exist. The coven we banished this evening was more powerful than their training or age would normally allow, and they followed us home after an unsuccessful attempt to erase four unemerged lost ones.” Bane shakes her head, looking at the group assembled before pointing at us. “Human!”

Even my hound runs for hills, and my body shifts back into its normal form—well, except for the naked part.

Doyle rolls his eyes at all of us standing there bare as they day we were born, tsking under his breath. “Shifters are so high maintenance.”

With a snap of his fingers, a pile of clothes lands at the feet of every one of us save Andromeda and Hugo. Her banshee form doesn’t strip her, and MacAuley’s supe side doesn’t change him in form at all. Though, after tonight, I’m uncertain I know anything about any of them because I’ll be fucked if I knew Haggerty could do that.

Wolfie chuckles, tilting his head. “You even made sure Prez and I could change. I knew you liked us.”

The red-haired supe waves his hand as if dismissing a fly. “Par for the course, Fletcher. I was tiring of watching people eyeball your arse.” Prez and I whip our heads around at the same time and the jackass collapses in a fit of laughter, clutching his waist. “Ah,there’smy thanks. Oh, that was beautiful boys; we’ll have to do it again sometime.”

Prez is too agitated to deal with him, so I pick up his clothes and toss them at him. It’s odd for me to be the cool head, but considering we’re standing here naked with what used to be a wyvern, a merman, a gorgon, and a banshee, it’s not the weirdest thing that’s happened. Picking up the set in front of me, I nod at the others to indicate we should follow along.

“Not to be a negative Nelly, but I still haven’t heard a reason you’re here or what this has to do with us.” Prez tugs on his jeans and then the tee shirt, glancing at Andromeda.

“Were you not listening, hound? We overhead something concerning while we fought the witches off. Despite the wounds your doctor noticed, we came to warn you,” Julia says with a glare.

After I dress, I turn to the makeshift battalion. “What was this information you heard?”

“They mentioned an event happening on the other side of town that would distract all of those who could defend against their attacks. I doubt the ball is big enough to overshadow a large magickal pulse,” Hugo says quietly. “I believe them.”

My eyes widen, and I look at our guys. “Holy shit. Benjy and Tilly are still MIA.”

“If Jolene is in there with no protection, I fear we’re wasting time out here.” Zasha tosses his long hair over his shoulder, giving the entire crew a serious look. “The witches came here. They could have gone anywhere to regroup, but attacked in this place on this night.”

Motherfucker. Can our girl catch a break just once?

With a jerk of my head, I head for the door flanked by the companions. There’s a lot of muttering, but they all follow as I jog up the steps and stride into the hall. The crowd is thick—packed tightly all the way to the entrance to the ballroom. I have no idea what is going on, but it’s quiet as a pin. I’m not quite tall enough to see over the crowd at this distance, but I nod at Seer.

She climbs up Tharin like he’s a tree, settling on his shoulders to peer over the milling people. “Holy fuck.”

“What the hell is going on, O’Flanagan?” I growl.

“Edgar, we have a problem. Our girl is in the thick of it and I’m not sure she’s got a grip. We need to get in there fast.”

The tone of her voice worries me, so I turn to the group. “Who had the best chance of parting this crowd without making a bigger scene?”

“Turning them to stone or setting them on fire won’t help,” Julia snarks.

“If Boone lets his second out, it’ll start an orgy. Bane will make people run and trample one another. MacAuley isn’t offensive,” Doyle muses. “I could help, but I’d prefer to keep my power under wraps.”

Sighing, I clap Wolfie on the shoulder. “Feel like spreading a little happy dust? It should make the people in the back malleable enough for us to get to her before something bad happens.”

“I knew you just wanted me naked again,” he quips, winking at me. Tugging his shirt over his head, he hands it to Prez and closes his eyes. The change is almost instantaneous, and his colorful wings shine in the low light. Fluttering them gently, he lifts off the ground before the glitter floats across the room.

It won’t be long now. Fae dust is one of the most powerful coercive substances on the planet and our darling pup has the strength of the Royal court in his veins.

“If we didn’t have to tiptoe around the humans or unemerged teens, this would be so much easier,” Zasha grumbles. “This is why I hate children.”

I bark a laugh, shaking my head. “I can’t believe you three were ever Guardians for anyone. You’re all prickly as fuck.”

“We never had children, Boone. We all had lost ones—adults who may or may not emerge. Most of them did, and we met at various Society events,” Julia says observing the surrounding people.

“I think they’re ready.” Prez says. “Let’s push through. I don’t enjoy waiting.”

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