Soul Guard (Elemental Book 5) (14 page)

The boy looked at me. “No, she’s not. She’s my great
aunt.” He didn’t see the woman’s face twist into an angry sneer. He backed away
from me, right into her range. She grabbed him and the shadows surrounded them
both. My first instinct was to use the red lightning, but my aim wasn’t that
good with magic, so instead, I pulled out my gun and shot her in the head.

She vanished and the boy screamed. Since I heard his
parents rushing to the rescue, I returned to the shadow pass and then home. I
appeared in my living room with Darwin asleep on the couch. Henry and Scott
were out of sight, so I figured they were in their room.

Exhausted, I went to bed without even taking off my
shoes. I felt the same presence over me that had kept me awake at Stephen’s
coven, but I was far too tired to care. My last thought was that Krechea was
really going after children. Although they weren’t even five yet, Jameson and
Jason Vegas were John’s sons, so they were bound to be powerful, which meant
that it was possible Krechea would target them.

“Uncle Devon, there’s a line
out here!” Scott yelled through the door. I groaned and turned the hot water
up. After about five minutes, Scott yelled again. “Uncle Devon, Darwin said get
your ass out here or he’s going to make the couch pink!”

I shut off the water, wrapped the towel around my
waist, and slipped on a squeaky duck as soon as I stepped out. I managed to
grab the towel bar, only to break it off. My knees hit the tile floor hard.

“Uncle Devon, are you okay?”

I climbed back to my feet and threw open the door.
“Darwin, if you color my couch, I’ll paint it with your entrails!”

Scott darted under my arm and into the bathroom.

Darwin stuck his head out of the kitchen. “I have no
idea what you’re talking about. I’m fighting with Henry over breakfast.”

At that point, using my distraction to his advantage,
Scott pushed me with all of his strength and slammed the door shut as soon as I
was out of the way. “Did you just lie to me to get me out of the bathroom?” I
called through the door.

“Sorry, Uncle, but you were taking too long!”

I groaned and banged my head against the door.

“Go away! It’s my turn!” he yelled.

“I need to get my own place. Oh, yeah, this is my
place.” I got dressed quickly and when I walked into the kitchen, Henry and
Darwin were arguing in Portuguese. Since they were in between me and the coffee
maker, I sat down at the table.

Darwin sat next to me with two overfull plates of
bacon, ham, sausage, eggs, pancakes, toast, and hash browns. Then he got up and
poured himself a glass of orange juice and a glass of milk before returning to
the table and stuffing his face. He was slim before he was captured, and now he
was definitely too thin. There were dark circles under his eyes as well as
scratches and bruises all over his hands. He was wearing his favorite hoodie,
so I couldn’t see what other damage he was hiding.

“Did they not feed you at the zoo?” I asked. He
rolled his eyes, not bothering to make enough room in his mouth to respond.

“So, what is on the schedule for today?” Henry asked
as he set a mug of coffee and a plate of bacon, eggs, and hash browns in front
of me.

“I need to finish Julia’s case and then we need to
send someone to protect Jameson and Jason Vegas, just in case Krechea decides
to recruit them. If they’re anything like John, they’ll jump at the
opportunity.”

“Where did you go last night?” Darwin asked, stuffing
his face a little less frantically.

I explained the three visions and how I had to choose
which two of the shadow walkers’ victims to help.

“Couldn’t you have gone after the woman after you
saved the boy?” Henry asked.

“Probably.”

“No,” Darwin said. He shrugged when we looked at him.
“It’s like with shifting. Magic takes energy just like shifting does, and when
you’re out, you’re out. You can’t pull magic when your well is up; your body
needs that energy to keep breathing and keep your heart beating. In fact, I’m
surprised your gargoyle hasn’t popped in to stop you from doing magic. How much
sleep and food have you gotten in the last week?”

I sighed. “Has it only been a week since Quintessence
let out? I feel better than I probably have any right feeling.”

“I bet that’s because of your gargoyle. From your
description, the woman asked for trouble going home with a stranger like that.
Don’t sweat it. Move on so you can help people who don’t throw themselves under
the bus.”

We finished eating while Scott ate cereal at the
coffee table. Like his father, he didn’t eat much for breakfast. When I was
done, I grabbed my wallet and phone out of my room and returned to the living
room to find Henry packing a bag with snacks and toys. “I’m taking Scott to the
park to get some exercise.”

“Great. Can you take Darwin?” Darwin was so engrossed
in my laptop that he didn’t even acknowledge me.

“Not a chance. Where are your shoes, Kitten?” he
asked as Scott walked in barefoot.

Scott shrugged. “I don’t need them.”

“Yes, you do. Where are they?”

“I don’t know.”

“Where were they last?”

“On my feet.”

Laughing at my friend’s frustration, I went outside
to call the number Mr. Emerson had given me. “Hello?” a woman’s voice answered.

“Hello, this is Devon Sanders. Can I speak to Elena
Dosil please?”

“That’s me.”

“I am a private investigator and I am trying to find
out what happened to Julia Emerson.” Silence. “Are you still there?”

“She was in a car accident. I didn’t know there was
anything to investigate. And why now, after two years?”

“Some evidence has come up that this wasn’t an
accident.” Silence again. “Did you visit Mrs. Emerson in the hospital?”

“Of course I did. She was my friend.”

“Was Mr. Emerson with you?”

“No, I went alone. And Julia wasn’t ‘Mrs. Emerson’
anymore. Julia and Chester got divorced. Chester decided to leave Julia and
marry me.”

I was pretty sure that wasn’t the case, just as I was
pretty sure they should have been in a soap opera. “He didn’t indicate that
they were having any problems before the incident.”

“Of course there was. He loved me.”

“Do you know if anyone wanted to hurt Julia?” I
asked.

“No! Everyone loved her, except for Chester. He loved
me.”

“Elena, did you know that hospital records, including
how bad her injuries were and who the other drivers were, were erased?” Silence
again. “Thank you, that’s all I needed,” I said before she could think of
something to say. I hung up. It wasn’t actually all I needed; the case was far
from closed, but I was letting my instincts guide me.

I started to turn to go in, but a black SUV pulled up
right in front of me. The back door opened, and a familiar voice ordered, “Get
in.” I couldn’t see anything or anyone inside, but I knew who it was because
this was the second time this happened to me.

I pulled my gun out of its harness, got in, and
closed the door. “You’re a little far from your club, aren’t you?” I asked.

Internal blue lights switched on, revealing that the
inside of the truck had two back seats facing each other like in a limo. Drake
sat across from me with his Komodo dragon shifter bodyguard to his right. “Are
we going to have to do this every time? Put the gun away, Devon,” he said.

Drake was a human who ran a club near Stephen’s
coven. While it entertained vampires, shifters, and fae, they had to be
cautious because there were also quite a few humans there. With his massive
bodyguard and his usual swagger, he always seemed shadier than I knew he was. I
figured it was mostly a front to deal with the paranormals. Of course, I was
one of those paranormals.

“If I put my gun away, you wouldn’t know I was taking
you seriously.” I gave Kevin a friendly smile that made him sit back. It was
almost amusing watching such a huge shifter try to disappear into the leather
seat.

Drake gave his bodyguard a disapproving glare. “I had
hoped we could do this civilly.”

“You want to break my thumbs and put me in cement
shoes civilly?”

He smirked. “I don’t care what your fetishes are. I
want to offer you a job.”

“No thanks.”

“Hear me out. I know you can control minds. After
everything that’s been going on with the humans and the wizard council’s
collapse, I need someone who can keep those people out. I don’t want my
customers in danger. You can detect it ahead of time and make them leave
peacefully.”

“I’m not going to work for you.”

“I can pay you very well.”

“It wouldn’t cover the gas to drive to your club and
back here every night.”

“There’s a nice little apartment complex right down
the street that has some available units. Take your pick.”

“I already have a job.” I also had to start my last
semester at Quintessence in three months.

Kevin growled at me until I looked at him. Then he
snapped his mouth shut. “I’m offering you a much easier and safer job,” Drake
insisted.

“I don’t want an easier or safer job. I’ll give you
my friend’s phone number, because I keep having to change mine. If you need me,
call him.”

He obviously wasn’t satisfied, and I’m sure he wasn’t
used to being turned down. “Consider it,” he said, pulling a business card out
of his pocket. I took it without looking at it. Kevin handed me a small notepad
and a pen to write the number down. After I gave him Henry’s number, I got out.

The presence was suddenly back, stronger than any of
the previous times it plagued me. I paused before shutting the door. “Kevin, do
your shifter senses pick up anything odd?” I asked.

The massive man stepped out and sniffed the air.
After a moment, he shook his head. “Everything seems fine. Why?”

I reached out with my power, trying to find whatever
was causing the sensation. It wasn’t like I was being watched and my instincts
weren’t warning me that I was about to be attacked. Kevin shuddered, so I let
my magic settle. “It’s nothing, I guess. See you around.” I waited for him to
get back into the car and take off before I turned back to my building.
Something was definitely near me.

Movement made me turn, but there was no one and nothing
there.

I considered driving back to Mr. Emerson’s office to
ask some more questions, and then I saw movement again, right down the street.
I stood there in a stunned stupor for probably a minute before heading to where
I was absolutely certain I had seen John on the street corner. When I reached
the corner, there were a few people in the diner, but the street was mostly
deserted. I didn’t see John anywhere.

“Of course I didn’t see him; he’s dead,” I said to
myself out loud. Then, as if a switch had been flipped, it suddenly started
raining.

*          *          *

I returned to my apartment, reminiscing about the
good old days when I checked contracts and caught cheating spouses. Darwin
didn’t even notice when I entered the living room. I went to my room and
stripped off my soaked clothes. I really should have sensed the presence of the
shadow walker. Maybe I missed it because I was tired or just too far in my own
thoughts, but when I turned, I saw her and froze. “Shit. Not you again.”

Felicity, who was lying on my bed with her head
propped up on her elbow, just grinned. “Were you hoping for someone else in
your bed?” She glanced down at my body and pursed her lips. “Maybe expecting is
more accurate. If you already have plans, I don’t mind joining in.”

“You’re not my type.” I opened my dresser, pulled out
a blue sweatshirt and jeans, and dressed quickly. “Why are you here?”

“Because the soul guards are losing and you need to
fight your battle.”

“I’m sure as hell not helping shadow walkers.”

She stood, dropping her sultry act. “You are a racist
bastard.”

“You are a demon!”

“So is Astrid. We’re not all the same. Many of us
want to escape Dothra and Earth is our only chance. If the Shadow Master makes
Earth like Dothra, everyone loses. You realize what has been going on, right?”
I opened my mouth to answer, but she held out her hands frantically. “Don’t say
his name!”

I rolled my eyes. “The Shadow Master is trying to get
all the powerful wizards on his side or kill them if they can’t be swayed.”

She sighed. “It’s not that simple. All shadow walkers
are forced to obey the Shadow Master because it is our oath. He has five elite
members who would never betray him. He sent these five to spy on you and Logan
Hunt, because he views you both as his strongest opponents with Keigan Langril
out of the picture.”

Well, that explained why Marcus thought someone
was following me
.

“Hunt is the most powerful and you’re the most
indestructible, so he’s looking for your weaknesses and strengths. One of the
five is missing; I have no idea where he is. That’s a problem.”

“Because it’s something really important and you
don’t know what.”

“Right. There’s also a number of other shadow walkers
who came through with the Shadow Master. They don’t all
want
to side
with him, but they have to. He ordered them to kill or convert wizards. Then,
there are the shadow walkers who are soul guards. A dozen of us were already
here in the middle of a contract for a human, and we were overlooked when the
orders were being dealt. There are even more soul guards who completed their
contracts.”

“So as long as you stay under his radar, you don’t
have to take part in it?”

“Yes. We are the last ones who want the Shadow Master
to win. The soul guards have been trying to stop the shadow walkers, but we’re
not enough.”

“Is that why weird things have been happening?”

“Most of it is because the shadow walkers who were
assigned to watch you and find your weaknesses are being hindered by the soul
guards. The Shadow Master is powerful, but he’s a coward; he’s not going to
face you until he knows he can beat you.”

“How am I supposed to help the soul guards? I can’t
have that many visions all the time.”

“All of the shadow walkers are connected psychically
through the Shadow Master. I can show you every person they’re going after and
when. If you can get some other wizards on it, you should be able to at least
slow them down. The problem is you’re human; you can’t handle that much
information in your head at once. Your brain can’t process it.”

I sighed. “I know someone who can.”

“No, there’s only one way I can show you.”

“I don’t like the sound of that.”

“I have to be in your head. I would have to possess
you.”

“No way in Hell. I do the entering people’s minds,
not the other way around.” She laughed. “Yes, I know how that sounded, and I’m
not taking it back.”

“I would tell you to just take one for the team here,
but I know it wouldn’t do any good anyway.”