Page 91 of Sundowners
“Yeah,” Mark continued. “I don’t think Stephen has a full handle on things. The Source kept saying over and over, ‘If it’s not right, this will be the end. Too much has passed. Without the four, the ritual will fail and it will end.’ Any idea what that means?”
I thought back to my studies and to the rituals we’d practiced. Mostly we meditated, but the Leaders and Guardians would carry on late into the night. I was there for two Samhains, but the mutiny occurred at the autumnal equinox of my third year, and because of the mutiny, I didn’t learn the rest. Leader Bree led a class on preparing for the eight rituals of the year, but I didn’t recall anything about “the end” of anything.
“Remember Leader Bree’s talk about Samhain? How the veil is thin and the spirit world is closer than ever? The Source taught that their power was an accumulation of all the beings that came before them, that they needed the spiritual infusion of those that came before as part of the rituals.”
Cross stroked his beard. “Question is, are they planning to snatch some spiritual energy from the other side, or are they planning tomakesome spirits, if you catch my drift.”
“Fucking hell, can we just get on with the part where you take us to them?” Rey’s stress had my skin twitching with the need to act as well.
“Hold your horses, policeman. Hey, do you still ride horses in this town?”
Rey sprang forward and pressed Cross up against the car with a forearm against his throat. Mark reached for Rey, but Cross held out a hand.
“No, I was out of line. My apologies, Officer Cabral.”
The fact that Cross allowed Rey to pin him to the car at all was a shock, but there was some connection between the two that went beyond masculine challenge, beyond an energy exchange. Not exactly feral or sexual… It was surprising, and I could tell Mark felt the same as me.
“My family is in danger, and I don’t have time to fuck around with a bunch of vampires, or whatever you are. Now are you going to take us there, or am I going to knock your head into this truck until you fucking cooperate?”
“Easy, cop,” Cross murmured. “Violence is not necessary here.” He breathed in through his nose and his eyes fluttered closed. “You are so good when you’re pissed. Lost my head a bit.”
Rey blinked a couple of times, and then loosened his hold, stepping back from the much larger man.
“Fucking weird shit. Okay, what do we do?”
28
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
Roman
I focusedon my breathing so I wouldn’t freak out and scare Bernadette and Emmanuel any more than they already were.
I showed up at their house to see what was going on, and immediately knew something was up.
When I pulled up mid-afternoon and noticed the porch light was already on and the garage door was open partway, that was odd enough. I just had this bad feeling. I texted Vanessa to let her know I was there before getting out of the car.
I walked in the front door and smelled something…sweet. Too sweet, like a vanilla air freshener that tried to smell nice but had that chemical undertone that made you wrinkle your nose.
Two men stood in the doorway to the kitchen dressed in suits.
“Professor, come in and have a seat, please.”
I felt calm but alert as I sat on the couch next to Bernadette and put my arm around her. My ear started ringing and immediately, I thought of Creed.
These men are like him.
That was what the stench was about. Creed always smelled like cookies to me, and it always got stronger when we were close, and when he’d explained to me about the pheromone, he’d said it smelled unique to each person. I’d teased him that he should have smelled like peaches. But now I figured no one had a choice, because who would choose to smell like this godawful stench?
Emmanuel and Bernadette sat on the couch side by side, staring at the man who’d spoken, but they didn’t seem afraid.
“What can I help you with?” I asked him.
He smiled with a little head tilt, as if he was surprised I could string words together.
“Well, Professor, I’m afraid I’m on a bit of a time crunch at the moment, but I will tell you that I need the three of you to come with me to meet someone very important, and there’s no time to waste. Today is a special day, and we need your help. All you need to do is escort your aunt and cousin into our vehicle and we’ll be on our way, shall we?”
Bernadette and Emmanuel started to stand, and though I wanted to as well, I threw my arm out to hold them back.
