Page 67 of Changeling (The Incubus Saga #2)

“Well…there’s something new I’ve been meaning to try. Sasha?” Jim looked to the incubus as he dropped down off the haystack. “Can I test something on you?”

Sasha dropped down beside Jim. “Sure.”

“Hey wait,” Nathan called, jumping to the ground after them while Jim raised an arm towards Sasha without so much as a word of explanation, “what are you—” There was a sudden flash of red light that forced Nathan to shield his eyes.

He felt panic swell in his throat. But when he dropped his arm he saw that Sasha was perfectly fine.

Except that he was bound inside a runic trap that was written in manifested red glowing light on the grass. To do something like that without actually drawing the symbols required immense arcane power. It wasn’t something someone just did with a wave of their hand.

“It’ll take less energy to cast a couple dozen of those than to try holding all of the sidhe in place with TK,” Jim said, as if what he had done was nothing special. “If it works. Sasha?”

Sasha nodded, not seeming bothered that Jim had basically caged him. The incubus walked towards the edge of the trap. Like with any normal runic trap it prevented Sasha from moving further than the area the symbols covered.

“Awesome, Jim,” Sasha grinned. “You’re learning so fast.”

Maybe too fast , Nathan thought, but his brother looked so sincerely proud and sure of himself, not frightened or hesitant like he used to be.

With another wave of Jim’s hand, the red light faded and Sasha was free to move again. “Let’s go,” Jim said. He wore a tight smile but his gaze was steady.

Nathan looked back at Jim and gave his brother a firm nod. “You sure you can hold all of them with those red light traps of yours?”

“Absolutely.”

“Okay. Well in case a couple slip free while you’re working your mojo…I got an idea.”

The fun part would be dropping in from the old skylight-like window on top of the roof.

Sasha was able to fly both of them up there, the wood creaking unhappily under their weight, and then once they were ready and Jim swore he knew what he was doing, the elder Grier jumped into the hole, landing unharmed and easily right on top of the platform next to the center sidhe.

Snarls and something like roars erupted from the dark fae, only that center man remaining still and docile.

Jim was fast, Nathan had to give him that, because before the first of the sidhe had even thought to rush him, he had already thrown out his right arm with that same flash of red light.

Over two dozen glowing runic traps formed, capturing all of the sidhe in an instant, including Mr. Super Soldier.

Jim closed his eyes, raised up both hands, and concentrated.

As the process of banishing the many sidhe began, Sasha dove down through the skylight after Jim with Nathan safely in his arms. They landed just below the platform in front of Jim, and Sasha set Nathan on his feet.

The incubus couldn’t risk getting caught in one of the many runic traps.

His job was to stay by Jim and make sure none of the sidhe reached him should they escape.

It was up to Nathan to make sure none of them got out of the building since he was the only one who could move freely throughout the room.

For now they merely watched—scanning for any flickering traps.

Nathan clutched his shotgun in preparation.

As Nathan had feared, the gathered and concentrated power of the sidhe was more than Jim had dealt with before.

A quick glance showed sweat beading on his forehead and a deeply furrowed brow.

He was having trouble holding all of the traps while trying to banish the sidhe back into the Veil at the same time.

“He looking a little strained to you?” Nathan asked the still incubus-looking Sasha.

Sasha bit his lip, his fangs pulling at the skin, but said nothing.

A louder howl erupted from somewhere near the back row of sidhe and Sasha’s wings shot out behind him, tense and ready, his claws curled as a low growl began in his throat. Nathan turned towards the sound as well and saw it. One of the outer traps was flickering.

Nathan immediately took off, shotgun ready, sprinting between sidhe, many of whom tried to grab for him but couldn’t because of the traps.

Just as Nathan reached the one that had been wavering, the red light around that sidhe went out completely.

Nathan stopped and pumped the shotgun, ready to fire a blast of iron into the damn thing’s face should it try and go for Jim.

But it didn’t. It turned tail and ran straight for the main door.

Nathan took off after it. He had to grin when the sidhe reached the door, threw it open, and found he had nowhere to go. They had drawn real runic traps in front of every possible exit out of the barn.

The sidhe turned back to Nathan with bared teeth.

A Blue Man—a storm kelpie. One of those bastards who drowns sailors.

He looked right at home with the rain pouring down outside behind him, his skin an aquamarine blue, his eyes black like a fish, and his steps unsteady as if his feet longed to be in water and return to their natural form as a tail.

“No late checkout today, Fish Man,” Nathan said, raising the shotgun to fire. “So sorry.”

The gun went off with a crack and Nathan hit the barn floor hard, having struck nothing. He looked behind him and saw that two more sidhe had gotten free and now had hold of his ankles.

“Jim!” Nathan yelled, kicking the sidhe away. He managed to free one leg and watched as that sidhe instantly became entrapped again by a red light runic trap. Jim was doing his best. That was as much as Nathan could ask for.

At least Nathan hadn’t lost the shotgun. He rolled over onto his back, having enough leverage now, aimed at the other sidhe’s shoulder, and fired, knocking it back into a second trap that formed. It was wounded, but it would live.

The Blue Man was still free, one too many for Jim to hold, and he lunged as Nathan struggled to his feet.

Nathan slammed back against the doorframe behind him, hitting a spot just between his shoulder blades that made him hiss.

He understood the game now. The sidhe was trying to use Nathan to make a hole so he could go around the trap.

Nathan ducked to the side just as the Blue Man punched into the doorframe where his face had been a moment before, chipping out a chunk of old wood.

Rolling away, Nathan could see that the sidhe closest to Jim were finally giving in as more and more of them began to vanish.

If Nathan could just hold out long enough for Jim to dwindle the numbers then this lone Blue Man would be cake.

“Nathan!” Sasha called over the roars of sidhe and rumbles of thunder and rain from outside.

Rolling further away from the door, Nathan jumped to his feet. “I’m fine! Stay with Jim!”

The Blue Man pounced on him yet again, catching Nathan off guard from behind.

Nathan hung onto his shotgun tightly as he was pushed roughly towards the same spot of doorframe he had already cracked.

His breath hitched as he willed himself to stop, somehow managing to halt his movement inches from making a larger hole.

Relief was short lived, however, because Nathan looked up to see the Blue Man barreling towards him.

He didn’t have time to fire but it was more than enough time to pivot and slam the butt of the gun across the sidhe’s face as it reached him.

Nathan heard a satisfying crack. But it wasn’t enough to slow the sidhe down.

The punch came so fast and hard that Nathan’s jaw burned from impact long before he hit the ground. He had about two seconds to realize he had basically obliterated the rotten half of the doorframe before the sidhe leapt over him out into the night.

“No!” Nathan called after it. He couldn’t let even one sidhe get away. Not one .

Searing jaw be damned, Nathan jumped back up to his feet. He sprinted off in pursuit of the escapee, oblivious to Sasha’s calls after him.

There was a steep slope to the right of the barn that led down into a low, shallow river.

If the Blue Man reached a body of water, he’d be lost to them.

He was already running fell pelt over the muddy ground down that slope, and Nathan bounded after him.

He just needed one clear shot to slow the sidhe down. Just one.

And then Walter flickered into view in front of the Blue Man, which shouldn’t have been possible. He was far enough from Jim, but being in the presence of a sidhe also banished him—at least it used to.

The Blue Man couldn’t see Walter and barreled right toward him.

Nathan watched, awed as Walter braced himself with his arms out and pushed the Blue Man with all his might when he reached him.

Mere feet from the river, the sidhe’s footing faltered as he stumbled back, slipping and sliding in the mud and rain until he stumbled, confused as to what invisible force he had met.

Walter’s image shimmered unsteadily from the contact but he didn’t fade.

A few more fast, sure strides and Nathan was upon them.

He fired at the sidhe’s leg to keep him down, laid out on his back, and the iron burned and sizzled along his slick blue skin.

As Nathan towered over him, just off the bank of the small river, he was surprised to find the Blue Man grinning, lying in the mud with the rain beating down on him.

“Nathan, the rainwater is already healing his wounds—he doesn’t need a body of water. You must hurry!” Walter cried.

The Blue Man laughed aloud amidst the downpour. “I will follow your brother with a glad heart when he leads us into these lands, Nathan Grier. Will you?”

Nathan fell upon the sidhe with a surge of fury, dropping the shotgun so he could yank the bastard up by his neck. “Jim is not your fucking boy king!” he growled.

Then he grinned as red light surrounded them—wherever Jim was he had found them and manifested a trap right where they lay.

“Give my regards to Malak, you fucker.”

The Blue Man didn’t look nearly as smug. With a great shove, he pushed Nathan away, knocking him several feet back to land solidly in the mud. But he couldn’t move further than that, not inside the trap.

With a gurgling, watery cry, the Blue Man vanished, and the red light trap faded soon after, leaving Nathan in darkness and rain.

He huffed in relief and shot a grateful smile at Walter.

He would have been content to just fall back into the mud and lie there, if it hadn’t been right then that he heard the first explosion.

His head snapped to the left to stare horrified at the barn. The barn that was currently on fire and emitting loud pops and bangs into the night.

Nathan was ready to sprint back up the slope in search of his companions, when the next explosion burst flames out of the barn doorway and the sweet miraculous sight of an incubus in flight.

Relief cooled the remaining embers of horror as the first thing Nathan noticed was that Jim was in Sasha’s arms.

Another explosion followed after them, and with the combination of rain and confusion, Sasha’s flight path tilted haphazardly in Nathan’s direction.

As Sasha came in low down the slope, he was having trouble steering.

If Jim could have helped their landing at all he was either too tired or too stunned to do anything.

They crashed into the muddy and wet grass about three yards from where Nathan was sitting, tumbled a few times, and finally came to a stop with Jim sprawled over Sasha’s incubus body.

They immediately started laughing.

Nathan glanced back to Walter but he was, as expected, gone after Jim’s arrival.

He turned back and crawled cautiously toward his companions.

He wanted to ask what the Hell had just happened but he could already tell something was…

off. He could see their twin smiles and hear their wild laughter over the rain as Sasha morphed human and hugged Jim to his chest.

“That was amazing! I almost didn’t think you could do it and then BAM.” Sasha laughed again. “I can still feel it. Fuck . All throughout my body, ya know?”

The answering chuckle from Jim was low and mischievous. He lifted his head to look at Sasha, still pretty much on top of him and allowing the firm hold Sasha had on his body. “I don’t think it’s gonna go away any time soon, either.”

Getting close enough to really see them clearly, finally only a couple feet away, Nathan almost choked at the sight of their eyes.

Jim’s were slit amber with sparks of electricity dancing around them like static.

Sasha was the same, his incubus eyes red even though the rest of him was human, with electricity sparking everywhere.

It was then that Jim and Sasha noticed Nathan, both of them looking to him with those strange eyes at the same time. Nathan shuddered down to his toes.

“Uhh…you guys are kinda…crackling,” he said, feeling a sense of fear that he usually only felt when he was dreaming. He swallowed. They both looked like they were about to eat him alive. And like they would really enjoy it.

“The energy,” Jim said with an almost manic grin, rolling off of Sasha’s body finally to better face Nathan.

Sasha sat up and did the same. “Sending all those sidhe back through the Veil…took a lot of effort. They were so strong. But that guy in the middle was the last to go. And when he went, shit . All that energy they’d been pouring into him just shot out everywhere.

It had to go somewhere, so…it went into the only things available. ”

Nathan felt a cold hand wrap gnarled fingers around his heart and squeeze.

“ Us .”