Breaking the Nexus (Mythrian Realm) (7 page)

“You keep saying ‘she.’ How do you know it’s female?”

A shriek ripped through chaos, this time longer and somehow more chilling. “All banshees are female. Depending on their mood, they take either the form of a hideous old hag or a gorgeous woman who tries to seduce her prey before she attacks.”
 

“That describes half the women in the city. Can we fight it or do we wait it out?”

“Once she’s fixated on a victim, she won’t give up. I can try to fight her but—” She broke off as the dark mass plummeted toward one of the cars, hands tipped with razor sharp claws raking over the hood.
 

Panicked onlookers raced for the nearest buildings, their screams spurring the creature on. Now that he could get a closer look, Connor could see the figure was humanoid, it’s hood falling back to reveal disfigured features. It definitely qualified as a hag. Sudden movement inside the car had him cursing when he realized someone was trapped inside.

“Mother Night, that metal won’t stand up against the banshee for long.”
 

Before he could stop her, Sha was out of the vehicle and issuing a shrill whistle. Son of a bitch, did the woman have a death wish? The banshee let out a triumphant cry, its attention now on Sha. Heart pounding, he dove across the seats, determined to stop her before she got herself killed.
 

Connor grabbed her wrist pulling her close. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

Cool eyes met his, the pulse beneath his fingers steady as a rock. “My job. You wanted to know what I did in Mythria, didn’t you?”
 

He felt his jaw drop in disbelief at the thread of amusement in her question. They were facing a vicious creature hell-bent on ripping them apart and she was
amused
? He had to be mistaken.

As if reading his mind, Sha’s lips curved. “Welcome to my world, Detective. Now give me room to work.”

Releasing her arm, he took a single step back, gun drawn and aimed at the banshee. Casting a sidelong glance at her, he asked, “Anything I can do to help?”

She shook her head. “Your weapon won’t kill her, though it might slow her down. Don’t use it unless you have to because you may just anger her.”

He didn’t like this situation, didn’t like Sha putting herself in danger. It never sat well with him when civilians were in the crossfire, but his mouth had gone dry the instant she’d left the safety of the car.
Relative
safety of the car, he amended when the banshee leapt from the ruined hood, revealing glimpses of the interior and the bone white complexion of the passengers. At least he couldn’t see blood.

Sirens blared in the distance, heralding the arrival of backup. Judging by the way the creature stalked toward them, it had better hurry the hell up.
 

With every step that
thing
advanced, he fought the urge to pull Sha behind him. Considering it had ripped through the roof of a car as easily as opening a can of sardines, it wouldn’t have provided her much protection anyway.

“Sha, talk to me. It’s gonna be on top of us real soon,” he called over to her, hoping she wasn’t in some sort of trance. Their options were limited, their only escape route a narrow alley between buildings a few feet away.

“I’m trying. Something’s blocking my magic, hundreds of people are panicking, and I’ve got a splitting headache, none of which is making my life easier,” she snapped. “I think I’ve broken through.”
 

Taking a deep breath, she raised her hands, a shaft of light pouring from her fingers in the direction of the banshee. It emitted a wail of agony as the light hit it, falling back a few paces. Connor turned his head to look at Sha, gun still at the ready. “Will that be enough to kill it?”

“Maybe, it’s hard to know—”
 

The banshee lunged at them, grotesque face twisted in pain, the action taking them both by surprise. Connor didn’t think, he just reacted, firing multiple rounds into the creature. The bullets slowed it down, giving Sha time to send a burst of pure energy that engulfed it, the banshee exploding in a shower of sparks.

“Well, that was enough,” Connor said a moment later, adrenaline still coursing through his veins.
 

“Uh huh.” Her reply was weak and he turned to see her sway on her feet.

“Shit, were you hurt?” He picked her up, alarmed by her pallor.

“No, just exhausted. That took more out of me that I thought it would. Just need to rest a little while.“ Her eyes drifted closed, dark lashes stark against her milky white skin. Damn she was beautiful.

“Connor? What happened? Is she alright?” Ian’s voice came from behind him.

“She’s going to be fine, I think. We need to secure the scene and get her somewhere safe.”
 

Connor walked to the car and placed her on the seat, buckling her in. The movement roused her a little and she opened her eyes, yawning hugely in the process. “The banshee may not be the only Mythrian here. Tell them to be careful.”

“I will,” he promised. “Do you need anything?”

“Sleep, somewhere private. Too many people around overwhelms me.” Shifting slightly, she closed her eyes again, her breathing deepening as she dropped into sleep.

“What’d she say?”

Connor jerked, head hitting the top of the car. “Damn Ian, warn a guy before you sneak up on him.”

“Sorry, didn’t think I was particularly quiet.” His partner leaned against the hood, amusement in his tone.

He took a minute to fill Ian in on the events, keeping the details to the bare minimum. In the distance, Connor watched as cops took witness statements and began to clear the scene of the cars wrecked during attempts to flee. “She said she needed to go somewhere away from a lot of people.”

“Guess that rules out a hotel. What are you going to do?”

“Take her to my place,” Connor answered without thinking. He didn’t look at his partner as he walked to the driver’s side and got in his car.
 

Ian grabbed the door before he could shut it. “You sure that’s a good idea?”

Not really, he thought, but replied, “Don’t have much of a choice.”

Ian gave him a knowing look before stepping back and letting Connor start the car. “I’ll stop by when I’ve finished up here. It could be a while sorting through the witness statements. Was there really a monster flying around ripping apart cars? Actually, don’t answer that, I’m not sure I want to know.
 
Try not to get into trouble.”

Connor raised his hand in a wave then pulled away. Bringing a beautiful woman to his home, one who’d just taken out a vicious banshee with
magic
, was pretty much a recipe for trouble. At this point, he wasn’t sure he’d be able to fight the desire.

Sha tried to push through the thick layers of sleep when gentle hands lifted her. “Huh? What’s happening?”
 

“Shh, It’s just me.”
 

She relaxed, feeling a grin tease her lips at the thrill of realizing it was Connor speaking. “You can put me down now, I’m capable of walking.” Despite her words, she let her head fall onto his shoulder.

Part of her hoped he wouldn’t release her, content to feel his arms around her. They’d known each other all of a day, but she couldn’t deny he fascinated her more than anyone she’d ever met. Any man who could stare down a banshee hell-bent on rending you limb from limb without flinching more than had her respect, especially considering he hadn’t known banshees existed until tonight.

He chuckled, his chest vibrating beneath her ear. “It’s not far to the house.”

Twining her arms around his neck, she hid her smile against his coat, breathing deep the smell of leather mixed with the musky scent of him. “Is that the only reason?”

His arms tightened just a fraction. “Nothing can happen between us, you must realize that.”

“You didn’t answer my question.”

As he walked up a set of stairs, the movement jostled her. If her lips just
happened
to brush against his neck when her head moved against the crook of his shoulder, it wasn’t her fault. She watched his throat work as he swallowed hard. Good, she was getting to him. Served him right when he’d gotten under her skin.

“Stop that,” he ordered, the command holding no heat. He shifted her weight for a moment while he unlocked the front door and pushed it open.

Unable to resist pushing him a little further, she brushed her lips against his skin once more. “Stop what?” Sha gazed at him, the heat of his eyes making her melt. Those metallic eyes shifted and swirled unlike anything she’d ever seen, even among the Metallum Sorceri she’d met over the years.

He let her body slide down his, hands settling on her hips, holding her body close against him for a moment. “You’re playing with fire,” he warned.

“That’s alright, lucky for you, I’m an Infernum.”

“Really? And what does that mean?” Although he towered over her, his head was bent and she thought she might be able to reach his mouth if she stretched

“It means I happen to like playing with fire,” she whispered, standing on her tiptoes to brush her lips to his.

She’d intended it to be a brief kiss, more of a tease than anything else. They hardly knew each other and had just escaped from a potentially deadly situation, after all. But the moment their lips met, all rational thought became impossible, incinerated by the flash of desire that swept through her.

One hand slid into her hair and fisted, pulling her head back to give him better access to her mouth. His tongue swept over hers, drawing a low moan from her.
By the flame, his taste
. Her hands grasped his coat as she pressed her breasts against his chest, pressure building low in her core. He was staking his claim on her, and she wanted more. Frantic to feel him, she pushed her hands beneath his shirt, running her fingers along the dusting of hair on his chest. Too soon he broke away, both of them breathing heavy.

“That—that probably shouldn’t have happened,” he said after a moment, stepping back to put some distance between them.

Sha touched her lips, swollen from their passion. Kissing him had electrified her senses, energizing her more than when she tapped a node, a direct line to power. It would be all too easy to become addicted to him. “That’s funny, I was thinking it should happen again.”

“Sha, I’m serious. I’m supposed to protect you, not make out with you on my porch.”

“Connor, I’m serious,” she mimicked. “I can protect myself and I don’t know what ‘make out’ means, but if it makes you feel better, I kissed you.”

His hand smoothed over her hair, brushing it from her face. “You’re a witch, aren’t you? Say it again.”

Confused, she cocked her head to the side. “Huh?”

“My name. I liked hearing you say it instead of ‘Detective.’”

Her heart melted a little. She had to tread carefully or she’d end up falling for this man. “Connor. And I’m not a witch, I’m a Sorceri, there’s a difference.” Before he could answer, her stomach rumbled and she winced, embarrassed at how loud it had been. “Sorry, I haven’t eaten all day.”

“Damn, I didn’t think about that. You’ve got to be starving by now. Ian should be here in a couple of hours; in the meantime, let’s see if we can find you something to eat.”

He stepped away and she took time to glance around the property. She wasn’t sure what she’d expected when he said he was bringing her to his home, but it hadn’t been this beautiful house nestled away in among an endless array of pine trees.
 
After the overwhelming noise and chaos of the city, the peaceful quiet of the woods brought forth a pang of longing for home so unexpected she felt a sting of tears. Must be the exhaustion, she told herself. She
never
cried. Mythria had grand cities, though they were nothing like Denver, but she didn’t like to be in them for long. Tall buildings squeezed into cramped areas made her feel claustrophobic. It never failed to amaze her how anyone could live in a place like that instead of having space to breathe.

“Your home is amazing,” she said, fascinated by the rustic cabin feel of it. The two-story home was made from gorgeous white pine logs stacked one atop the other. A beautiful cedar deck wrapped around the house, providing a nice contrast in color. A massive stone chimney rose up along one side of the house and was flanked by enormous windows. Sha wondered what it must be like to wake up and take in the picturesque view every morning. She’d grown up in Fire Falls, a city built on an island surrounded by steep waterfalls and ancient trees. This place reminded her a bit of her home, minus the water of course. It elicited the same feeling of peace and solitude she’d missed when she had moved to the capital city, Elysium, to begin Sentinel training. “I love the architecture, Connor. I don’t think I’d ever want to leave if I lived here.”

He seemed pleased that she approved. “Yup, home sweet home. I’ve always loved this style so I decided to bring a little piece of it to these woods.” He gestured toward the steep pitch of the roof then to the carved wooden door. “One of my sisters married a carpenter and he made that. They actually live outside of Portland so you can imagine that his work is in high demand.”
 

Sha had no idea what Portland was like, although it hardly mattered, It was obvious the man had skill, and even in Mythria, people would’ve been clamoring to employ his talent.

“We may be deep in the woods, but I still don’t think it’s safe to be outside for long. Let’s go inside.” As he spoke, Connor’s eyes tracked over their surroundings, assessing for threats, efficient in the way he conducted the sweep. Gotta love a practical man who knew his property. All too often people grew complacent and complacency could get you killed.

“Lead the way,” she murmured, lowering her lashes to match the low pitch, and enjoying the way his pupils flared. He’d continue denying the lust she knew he must feel, and she supposed she should honor his wishes. She didn’t want to get him in trouble with his captain, and even among the Sentinels, it was frowned upon to fraternize with someone you were assigned to protect.