Page 31

T he next morning, Maddy propped herself on an elbow to stare at the still-sleeping Dom. Her mate. After a sinful amount of time ogling him, she slipped on her robe and sneaked out of the bedroom. Padding across the salon, she walked down the steps and flopped to the grass on the side of the house.

Last night was big. She and Dom had mated. She’d drunk his blood and broken a law. Maddy waited for her OCD to kick in. But, surprise, she was not compelled to re-organize the canned goods in the kitchen or recite the Dewey Decimal Classification System. Her quirks had faded.

Maddy stretched out her legs and leaned back on her hands. A warm breeze blew across her face, ruffling her hair. She tilted toward the rare sunshine.

A warm, furry body curled up beside her. “Hey, Freki. Isn’t it a little early for you?”

“Yes, but I’m in charge of the pack runts today. Brought them on an outing.”

Maddy glanced across the lawn to the edge of the cliff. Sure enough, five wolver pups ran in circles, play-attacked, and piled atop each other. “Cute.”

“Trouble.”

Without warning, the ground shook and rolled, not as bad as sometimes, but disorienting. Maddy stumbled to her feet, throwing out her arms for balance. The pups yelped and howled. When she glanced their way, they bounced frantically, calling for help. She and Freki raced to the cliffside. A pup had tumbled off the edge, lying crumpled on a rock below with its head twisted at an unnatural angle.

Freki called out, “Bolt.”

No answer.

Maddy fell to her stomach and reached as far over the side as she could. She wasn’t able to grab the unmoving ball of fur. “Just a little more. Freki, you and the pups sit on my feet. I think I can scoot far enough to grab him.”

“Too dangerous, Maddy. You could slip over the side.”

She had to try. “No. I think I’ll be okay.” The pup still hadn’t moved.

Freki whistled. “Pile on, runts.” He stretched across Maddy’s calves, the young wolvers also taking positions on her legs.

She inched forward, her upper body stretching farther over the cliff. “A little more.” She wiggled until her fingers touched fur. Taking her eyes off the pup, she stared down. A fucking long fall. But she squirmed nearer, hoping a pile of wolvers could keep her from falling.

Finally, she grabbed a chunk of fur and a bit of skin. Maneuvering backward, she cleared the edge, pup in hand.

Maddy rolled into a seated position. Bolt didn’t move, his body lifeless. The other pups whined while Freki used his snout to nudge the injured juvenile wolver.

Nothing.

Freki’s sad gaze met hers. He howled, his cry plaintiff rolling through the air.

When she cradled Bolt to her chest, a tear fell from her eye and landed on his golden fur. Her hands heated, and the warmth passed to the small, broken creature.

She thought, If only...

Bolt stirred. He shuddered. When Maddy opened her hands, he jumped from her grasp, jacked onto four legs, and shook, ruffling his fur. The pup dropped to the ground and curled into a ball beside her as she stroked his back to the sound of his soft whimpers.

Maddy’s gaze locked on Freki, who said, “What the fuck just happened?”

“I don’t know.”

She continued to pet Bolt. “My blood got very hot. Then the heat seemed to travel to my fingers and into Bolt.”

Freki blinked. “Pretend I’m scratching my head because what you said is crazy.”

At home, birds hit glass windows all the time. Stunned for a time being, they sometimes awakened and flew away. Surely, that’s what occurred in this case. Nonetheless, she couldn’t shake the feeling that something more significant had happened.

“Maybe Bolt was just stunned from the fall.” She gave words to her thoughts.

Freki’s snout bobbed up and down as if he agreed. But slowly he changed direction, shaking his head. “He was dead, Maddy.” He said to Bolt, “How ya doing, champ?”

The pup yipped. Off he scampered to play with the others, careful to stay away from the edge of the cliff and slightly wobbly on his feet.

Maddy chewed her lower lip. “Do you think Dom can explain all this?”

“Sometimes he’s smarter than he looks.”

Despite her worry, she chuckled, stroking a hand over Freki’s head. “You love him. Admit it.”

“I tolerate him.”

That was all she’d get from Freki. She returned to puzzling the strange occurrence. Her blood had heated, warmth flowing through her and into the animal.

Impossible.

How could she use that word after everything she’d been through in OneWorld?

Pushing to her feet, she waved as Freki disappeared with his charges. She strolled across the yard to the gardens where flowers thrived in the morning sun. She bent forward to smell one that looked like a daisy, albeit blue and huge.

Maddy touched the bloom and drew in the fragrant scent. When her blood cooled, frost spread to her fingertips. She gasped as she stared at the flower. Shocked, she moved from plant to plant, getting the same result each time.

As a test, she cradled a bloom in her palm and allowed warmth to travel into it. The desiccated flower sprang to life, as sweet-smelling as a moment before. She experimented again and again. Cold. Heat. Dying. Living.

Oh, shit.

****

D om called out, “Hey ,” when Maddy didn’t answer to her name. She was focused on some bush in the garden.

Then she turned, broke a flower off the plant, and sprinted barefoot into his open arms. With her grip tight around his neck, she waited. And waited. Silent.

“What’s all the commotion out here?” he finally asked.

She popped her head off his chest. “You need to see for yourself.” She opened her hand to reveal a dead flower.

“Okay.”

She arched a brow but didn’t speak.

“Uh ... I’m not up on plants. Disease? Not enough water? Too much water? End of the season?”

“Me,” she said. “Watch.”

The blossom sprang to life as if it had just bloomed.

Dom’s stare flipped from the blue flower to Maddy’s eyes.

“Wait for it.” She killed the flower, showing him its sorry remains.

He shook his head. “I don’t get it.”

“I don’t either. Freki and I thought you might.”

Dom sank to the grass, Maddy dropping beside him. “You’re telling me that you can kill plants and bring them back to life?”

Her hands twisted in her lap, having tossed the flower onto the grass. “That’s not all. Freki dropped by with some rowdy young ones.”

“And?” He leaned back onto his elbows.

“And I brought a dead pup back to life after he fell over the cliff and broke his neck.”

Dom jerked upright. “Impossible.”

“It happened. So, you don’t know any more than I do?”

“No. Are you sure the wolver was dead?”

“Positive.”

Dom held very still. First, they broke the OC’s law and now this. He feared Maddy’s new powers might not sit well in the halls of Sanctuary Keep.

“What are you thinking?” she asked.

He didn’t share his real worries. “I’m wondering if you can extinct Immortals.”

She gasped. “I have no intention of finding out.”

“Whatever you can do, Maddy, it’s important to keep it under wraps. For now. Until we figure out what the fuck is happening.”

“I’m good with that. We’ll just forget about it for a while.” She sat quietly. “I need a distraction.”

“We’ll try the gateway.”

“What? No.”

He unfolded from the grassy lawn and stretched his hand out to Maddy. “We have to. Where’s that fearlessness your famous for?”

“I’m a chicken. Let’s test my Scourge-ness other time.”

“I’ll carry you. I don’t want you crashing into the gateway on your own.”

She sighed, taking Dom’s offered assistance and rising to her feet. “Let me fly on my own for a bit. The physical exertion will push this craziness out of my head.” Maddy snapped out her wings.

The sun was still shining, though a dark cloud threatened to dull it.

“Wait,” shouted Dom. He wiggled his fingers, clothing her since a robe wouldn’t do. With another motion, he donned his usual black garb and teleported his weapons from the house before he joined Maddy in the sky above the house.

Your wings are beautiful , he pathed.

She stalled but then resumed flying. “Did you just talk in my head?”

He nodded.

She chuckled. “Mating seems to be the gift that just keeps giving. Prettier feathers. Life. Death. Telepathy. I should be overwhelmed. And maybe I am but don’t know it.” She pursed her lips and blew out a long breath. “Let me try.” Maddy squeezed her eyes closed as if that would help. Dom, I love you.

Message received and back at you . He soared straight up, flipped, and beelined for the ground, head down, wings back. Just before plowing nose-first into a snow-packed mountain peak, he pulled up, smiling, bumping a fist into the air.

“I want to do that,” pathed Maddy.

“When your wings are stronger.”

Instead of obeying, she angled her neck, tucked her wings, and arrowed toward the peak.

Dom’s heart stuttered. He raced to catch up, to save her if needed. But he couldn’t pass Maddy. Damn female . She was fast. Dom yelled out when she neared the ground.

At the last moment, she arched her wings and shot upward, laughing. Pulling alongside him, she said, “Did you see that?”

Dom growled. “You could have been splattered on the mountain.”

“But I wasn’t.”

“You’re damn fast. Add that to your list of mating perks. But no more stunts. My heart can’t take it.”

They flew side-by-side, taking in the sights below, skimming the ice-capped White Mountains and Loneliness Desert.

Now that we can path, can you read my thoughts? asked Madeline.

Can you read mine?

She furrowed her brows. No.

And I can’t read yours, either.

Good.

Why? Are you planning to keep secrets?

Just some. To maintain my feminine mystique.

Dom grinned.

How close to the gateway are we? pathed Madeline, looking pleased with herself.

He pointed ahead to a shimmer in the air. There. He dropped beneath her. “Pull in your wings.”

When she did, he caught her in his arms and inched forward.

With her arms tight around Dom’s neck, Madeline closed her eyes and muttered, “Please. Please. Please.” When she opened them, she asked, “Well?”

“We made it, Maddy. The gateway didn’t read you as a Scourge.” She was a hybrid. The passage out of Angor proved it.

She rubbed her hand on his chest, begging, “Let’s go further, Dom. Can we fly to Vast?”

He wanted to please her. It might be his last chance. “I don’t see why not.” He tossed her high, and she flicked out her wings with a squeal and shot forward.

They approached from the south and Contemplation Bay. When the Lakelands were below them, Maddy hovered in place, taking in the new dimension. “Everything is so green. The grass. The giant trees. And the blue sparkling water is vivid, almost neon.”

They passed a few Immortals who nodded at him but stared at Madeline. She smiled and waved.

After they spent hours exploring the dimension, the horizon glowed as the sun dipped lower in the sky. “Let’s go home, Dom.”

A pleasant silence accompanied them on their return journey. This time Maddy flew through the gateway on her own. She was an anomaly Dom didn’t understand. His mate was unique among the beings in OneWorld. While glorying in the observation, he also stewed over it. What would the OC make of the new Maddy when he saw her? He expected that to be soon.

As they floated into the salon, she asked, “Do you think everything I can do now is because we mated?”

“I don’t know, Maddy.”

Inside a welcoming committee awaited them. His Feard brothers. Grim expressions all around, and Dom knew why.

He pathed Maddy, Remember, we’ll keep your new-found skills to ourselves until we understand them.

Gotcha.

Madeline greeted the visitors, chattering about her new, improved wings, flicking them out for all to admire. She prattled on about their adventure through the passageway and on to Vast. He didn’t have the heart to stop her. Let her enjoy while she could.

Freki loped up the steps and into the salon. “Great. Visitors.” He snuggled alongside Maddy on the sofa.

Dom circulated with hot cider, appropriate since storm clouds roiled above the house. Afterward, he sat on the other side of Madeline, looping an arm over her shoulders and glaring at the wolver who made himself at home on the couch.

Freki tossed his snout in the air. “Maddy said I’m allowed on the furniture if I don’t shed.”

Having bigger problems, Dom accepted the answer and faced his brothers. “Why are you here?”

Ohngel sipped his drink. “Can’t it just be a friendly visit?”

“I’m not catching that vibe.”

Remi scrubbed a fist along his jaw. “You need to stay calm, Dom. We’re here at the order of the OneCreator.”

Dom’s muscles tensed, preparing for a fight.

Ely said, “Don’t go battle mode on us. We gotta take you in.”

“Is that why the OC sent three of you?” he asked.

Ohngel smirked. “We tried to talk him out of the whole routine, but he wouldn’t listen. He was on a rant, screaming about how you broke the law. He said he’d come for you himself or send Michael if we didn’t bring you in. You gave Madeline your blood. And how damn stupid are you, Dom? You both flew over Vast, where every asshole Immortal reported the presence of a Scourge-like female.”

Remi added, “You know I enjoy pushing boundaries, but blood?”

“I forced him,” said Madeline.

Dom patted her shoulder. “Hush. I made the decision. Willingly.”

Ely shrugged. “I don’t think the OC gives a shit about the whys. We’re to bring both of you to him.”

Dom shot from the couch, spread his feet apart, and flung his black wings out like two giant weapons.

Madeline ducked under one to stroke his arm. “We have no choice, Dom. We knew the consequences.” She looked at the three Feard. “What happens now?”

“You’ll get a trial, but we’ll be there every sec to make sure it’s fair,” said Ely.

“Who’s the judge?” asked Maddy.

Dom’s feathers quivered with his anger. After all these millennia of serving the OC, this was his payment. “The OneCreator is judge and jury.”

“But I’m cured,” said Madeline. “I can fly through the gateway. Surely, he’ll see that as good. Right?”

“He’s unpredictable,” explained Ohngel. “And intolerant when it comes to his laws being broken. I’ve never seen him so angry.”

“I could promise never to take your blood again, Dom,” said Maddy.

“What if that’s the only thing keeping you from being a full-fledged Scourge? If that’s so, I will do it again.” Dom flicked his gaze to Ohngel. “We’re mates.”

Ohngel nodded.

Remi said, “Impossible. Immortals don’t mate.”

“Is it impossible, Ohngel?” asked Dom.

The fire-winged assassin smiled. “You know it’s not, Remi. Indigo is my mate.”

“I thought you just said you were mates. A way of staking claim to your witch.”

“That’s part of it, but I can see and feel the bond with Indy. It’s unbreakable.” His focus flipped back to Dom. “How do you know Madeline is your mate?”

Dom sank into the sofa again, a smile twitching his lips. He drew a deep breath and exhaled. “I see the tie.”

Maddy tapped her chest as she stared at him. “He’s right here.”

“Well, shit,” said Ely. “You’re making eternity interesting, Madeline.”

Freki jumped off the couch. “Am I getting this straight? Madeline fed on Dom. She’s better. She even...”

Dom gave him a slight shake of his head.

“Never mind. The OC, a cantankerous bastard, is pissed because they broke one of his lame laws. He’s ordered you to bring them in for a trial, after which he’ll pass judgment. What are the possible sentences the prickly bastard can dole out?”

Remi ticked them off. “Not guilty. In which case, they go merrily on their way to suck and fuck. Guilty. In which case they could be condemned to Ordeals in Angor. No. I don’t see that happening since Dom isn’t a Scourge, and Maddy is ... I don’t know what. He could order their extinction, or stasis is an option.”

Freki bounded off the couch, growling. “Nobody’s taking them.” He pulled back his gums, revealing very sharp canines.

Maddy reached out to pet the wolver. “You’re sweet.”

“Not true. Who’s gonna feed me?”

She chuckled, “I think it’s more than that.”

“Believe what you want, but you are not leaving with the three asshole assassins.”

“Enough, Freki. They’re right. We have no choice.” Dom unfolded from the sofa, offering Maddy his hand. He had a plan. He stared down his assassin brethren. “I’ll be pissed and very non-compliant if you try to net us. We’ll fly to Vast under our own power.”

Before the Feard could answer, the foundation of Dom’s house started to rock and roll. The motion was so severe that he snagged onto Maddy to steady them both, his feet spread for balance. “Again?”

“Worse than last time,” said Ohngel. Soaring through Dom’s open roof, he beckoned the others to follow.

Flying alongside Maddy, Dom pointed at the shoals below. The ocean savaged the rocks, upset from the quake.