Awakening Kiss (Watcher's Kiss Book 4) (2 page)

Next to him, his fellow warrior Brenin paced the flat black tar roof. The two Watchers were on a joint patrol tonight on the city’s north side, checking for trouble among any supernatural creatures that may be lurking-but staying out of human conflicts. That’s what Chicago’s finest were for. From the avenues below, car horns honked and tires squealed, expected in a city of a couple million people. But on the magical front, Rhys’s senses met a big swath of idleness.

“It’s too quiet,” Rhys said. “I don’t like it.”

“Me neither.” Brenin set his hands on his hips and scrutinized the street.

Rhys stood and walked to the edge of the roof. Four stories below, a few men walked briskly, probably on their way home from work. Young, with messenger bags strapped across their chests, at least they had the sense to be off their phones and paying attention to their surroundings. From the alley next to their building, the thud of a dumpster lid closing echoed. Next, the stink of garbage wafted up, each rotten aroma grating on his enhanced sense of smell.

“Someone had sushi for lunch,” Rhys muttered, scowling.

Foom!

The unmistakable sound of a magic blast being thrown-and missing-reached his ears. He sped to the west edge of the building, next to Brenin, and peered down.

The alley was quiet.

But one building over, a flash of blue lit the darkness.

“Go time.” Brenin backed up, a wide grin on his face. The alley’s width was no problem for them. And the neighboring building was close enough that they could easily jump the distance. Taking off at a full run, Brenin leaped into the air and landed soundlessly on the next roof.

Rhys followed suit, arms and legs pumping as he sailed through the brief void. Concrete yawned below his feet for a split second, then he dropped to the roof like a jaguar.

The two males ran for the far side as more blue flashed. And now, curses broke the quiet.

Reaching the edge, they stopped. In an alley below, next to a dumpster, a supernatural skirmish had broken out. Two Skell demons, small and incompetent, fought taller, mean-tempered dark elves. Neither species was predatory, though the elves were greedy as shit and tried to grab as much power as they could. And right now, the magical blasts were their weapon of choice against their enemy.

“Ah, shit,” Brenin muttered, pushing his hair off his face.

“I would love to let them knock the piss out of each other,” Rhys said.

“Me too.” Brenin’s tone was grim.

They both knew that wasn’t an option. Supernaturals could do whatever they wanted to each other-out of sight of
homo sapiens
. The possibility of drawing human attention was a deal breaker. “Here we go.” Rhys stepped off the edge of the roof.

Four floors of concrete and brick flashed by, then he landed on the pavement with a thud, not bothering to be quiet this time.

The Skell demons pressed against the dumpster. The three dark elves cursed and shrank back as Brenin dropped to Rhys’s side.

“Shut it down, assholes,” Rhys said to the elves. “This place looks like the fucking Fourth of July.”

“This isn’t your concern, Lash,” one elf hissed. “We were dealing with these losers who can’t seem to follow instructions.
You
can go.” It turned to a Skell, the source of its anger.

The Skell demons panted. Dull red eyes gave haunted looks from long faces that resembled humans until you looked closely.

“I don’t care what you’re pissed about. You got one second to get lost or you won’t be around to hold a grudge anymore.” Brenin reached for the sword strapped to his back. Of all the Watchers, he was the fastest, most accurate swordsman Rhys had ever seen.

“True,” Rhys said, pasting on a
you’d-be-dumb-not-to-listen
look. “You don’t want to be on the other end of that.”

The Skells edged away. Rhys saw it, let it go. Of the two creatures, the dark elves were the bigger problem.

As if on cue, one of the elves chanted a spell. A blue flash of light sparked in the air in front of it, and spiraled toward the Watchers. Rhys and Brenin easily ducked.

The Skells took off running. The elves cursed, but charged the Watchers. A gnarled, clawed fist connected with Rhys’s jaw.

Adrenaline fired through Rhys. He and Brenin lived for this shit. A good old-fashioned brawl was the best way to let off steam, other than fucking. Neither of them had a mate, but each had as much female company as he wanted.

Rhys grabbed the elf’s wrist and snapped it to the side. Bone popped and the creature howled. Rhys slammed his head forward into the elf’s skull, hard enough to make it drop.

Brenin’s sword whirled through the air with lightning-fast slices, cutting into one elf’s arm. The other pulled something from his pocket-an amulet-and started a spell. In seconds, the shimmering ring of a portal popped into view and expanded to a six-foot diameter.

“Not so fast, fucker.” Rhys darted across the alley and grabbed the elf.

It fought back with surprising strength, digging a blade into Rhys’s stomach. Rhys grunted and rolled the elf to pin it to the ground. The wound would heal in a few minutes, though right now his blood was splashing all over the dirty asphalt.

“Who do you work for?” Rhys wrenched the elf’s arms back behind it.

It didn’t respond.

Next to the dumpster, Brenin landed one punch after another to his elf’s jaw. Bleeding, it wobbled and collapsed.

Good.
Rhys frowned. The elves seemed more skilled than the last bunch they had fought. But before he could process that thought too deeply, the thump of racing footsteps reached his ears.

A female sprinted down the alley. Dark waves of hair flowed back from a face streaked with determination and…was that fear? As she neared, her eyes raked over their group, then locked on the open portal.

She was headed straight for it as if her life depended on it.
Who the hell is she?
She added a new layer to this mess, if she was involved. The need to apprehend her and contain this situation ratcheted up past skirmish and into problem territory.

“Hey!” Rhys shouted. “Stop!”

She gasped, sparing him a fleeting glimpse as she neared. Then her attention centered once again on the shimmering ring. A sugary scent swirled from her skin, masking something else.

Rhys stared. Humans couldn’t see portals, yet this female was hell bent on reaching it. Whatever creature she was, she could pass for human, where only a few species could. She had to be working with the dark elves somehow.

“Grab her before she goes into the portal!” Brenin yelled.

Rhys leaped up. The elf under him scrambled, putting just enough distance to stab him again. “Fuck!” He turned and punched the thing. Its head snapped back and it slumped.

The female kept up her breakneck pace, focused on her destination.

“I said, stop!” Rhys shouted, yanking the dirty blade out of his side. That would make two matching wounds tonight.

She didn’t slow. She was five feet away from the portal. Three…

She broke the surface awkwardly, falling into it with one shoulder. Her torso disappeared and her still-visible legs flailed.

“Fuck!” Rhys vaulted toward her and grabbed on to one ankle, just above her tennis shoe. Damn if he was going to let her get away. Her colleagues had opened this portal, and if she was jumping into it, so was he.

C
HAPTER
2

E
NZA SCREAMED AS THE CITY DISAPPEARED,
replaced by pitch black. She was falling. No, rocketing into space as if jets were attached to her arms. A bright white light flared for a nanosecond, seeming to race toward her, and she ducked. Screamed again. Could barely breathe. Her lungs burned from her crazed run down the alley.

Where was she? Everything was dark. She reached out and couldn’t see her hands. Tried to walk, but only one foot was free. Her other was stuck—
no!
Something was holding her foot. Something warm, clamped down securely.
Oh god, what is that?

Her hair whipped around her face as she flew, though she had no idea how or where she was moving. The thing gripping her didn’t let up. Over and over she tumbled through dizzying darkness, connecting with nothing.
Am I dead?
Her arms flailed.
Please make this stop!
Her stomach churned, threatening to lose the chocolate almond croissants she’d worked so hard on. Her ears pounded and blood rushed to her head, her only clue that she was upside down once again. At this rate, she would pass out.

Suddenly a rush of cool wind met her skin. The air shifted, and the black turned to gray. It was still dark but she wasn’t in
nothing
. She was falling, and this time, her body felt the familiar leaden effects of gravity. New panic burst in her mind. She was going to slam into something.

“Nooo!” she yelled in terror, twisting to see a forest beneath her...and a man holding on to her leg. A man? She shrieked and kicked.

Her efforts had no effect. With steady movements, he grabbed her other ankle. His grip moved to her knees, then thighs. “I’ll help you land,” he yelled. “Grab on to my shoulders.”

What?
“No!” A branch grazed her cheek. Oh god, she was going to die. She was going to fall to her death and be lost in some forest, and no one would ever find her body.

Except this strange man, who seemed to know what was going on. Was he from the alley?

He cursed and grabbed her waist, pulling her close to his body. With a twist, he switched their positions so he was beneath her, still holding on to her.

Slam!

Enza’s breath whooshed out of her lungs as they hit the ground.

Her heart pounded a wild rhythm against her ribs. How many bones had she broken? Could she walk? Run? She had to get away from this madman. Terror fueled her muscles to scramble off him-

“Not so fast, female.” His arms tightened around her waist. “I have questions and you’re going to answer them.”

“W-what?” Her voice came out as a squeak, throat sore from screaming. And she was painfully aware of how he was holding her, connected from shoulders to hip, so close her breasts crushed against a wide chest. His whole body was hard and unforgiving—and had apparently broken her fall.

She gulped a shaky breath. Wait, had he saved her? Was he hurt? Jumbled thoughts fired through her mind in a rapid burst of confusion.

“We can stay like this. I wouldn’t mind.” His voice was calm, managing not to be creepy, though anyone who saw their position would think they were making out. “Or I can let you up. But if you run, all bets are off.”

“Let me up,” she squeaked. The last thing she wanted was to lay on top of this guy.

He unlocked his hands from her lower back and she got up awkwardly, trying not to touch him anywhere. She ended up sliding to the side and pushing off from the grass. His legs were so damn long, thick thighs encased in jeans.

“What the hell was that?” She tried to sound demanding, but her voice was so gone it came out raspy and broken. Not strong at all.

He rose to a wary crouch and then stood, eyeing her as if she could possibly harm him. She had to look up, and then up some more as he unfolded his big body. He didn’t appear injured in any way, despite whatever had dropped them here. Shit, she could barely hurt a fly, let alone this guy. Thick biceps and shoulders. Dark hair cut so short it was buzzed. She couldn’t tell what color his eyes were but they studied her with hard suspicion. His voice held a casual drawl, but she wasn’t about to stick around to get to know him.

He set his hands on narrow hips and stared at her. “That’s what I need to ask you.”

Why did
he
look wary of
her?
“What just happened? What was that thing we were in? And where are we now?”

“You didn’t know you jumped into a portal?” Sarcasm oozed from his deep voice. “Remember that big ring? You bee-lined for it like hellhounds were on your tail. You headed right for it after your partner opened it up.”

“My partner? Meena?” Enza blinked. Did he know Meena? And did he say
hellhounds
? This guy had to be delusional. “She wasn’t there. Just you and your friends fighting.”

“Think those were your friends, not mine.” He took a step closer.

Oh, no. She backed up. Just because he hadn’t attacked her didn’t mean he wouldn’t kill her. “No. I’ve never seen them before. And what’s a portal?”

“Seriously?” He narrowed his eyes. “Who’s Meena?”

Shit, now he thought she was deliberately messing with him. And she had stupidly mentioned Meena’s name. This was bad, so bad. She backed up and dared a glance around. Nothing but trees and darkness. Far off, the sky held a dull gray glow, the kind you get from streetlights reflecting off clouds. Directly overhead, stars shone brighter than what she was used to in the city. “Look, um…I don’t know what was going on in that alley, or who you were with. Three guys cornered me.” Her voice cracked on the last word at the terror she had avoided, only to face the big, hulking new problem before her. She swallowed. “I-I don’t what they were going to do. I was running for my life. That’s all. And now I’m here, and I don’t know where ‘here’ is.”

He gave her a withering glare. “You’re a bad liar, and good thing I don’t need you to tell me where your goddamn portal sent us.” He pulled out a phone and started tapping the screen.

Phone. Enza’s hands flew to her pockets in a frantic pat-down. She still had her apartment keys, buried securely in one pocket, but no cell. Her purse was gone too. “Shit!” No way to call for help. Trapped in strange woods with a strange man who thought she was a liar.

“The Arboretum?” He quirked an eyebrow. “Interesting place for you and those elves to hang out.”

“Elves?” Her jaw dropped. Maybe he was on drugs. Had to be. Crap. Should she play along to placate him?

“The ones who sent us here.” His tone was matter-of-fact, like everyone ought to know about elves on Earth.

Okay, forget the elf issue for a minute. Focus on where I am.
“We’re in The Arboretum?” Enza stared at their surroundings. That explained the trees and lack of other people, but... “That makes no sense. How could we get here so fast? Isn’t this place, like, way west of the city?”