Page 38 of Destined Dawn

“They can’t see us,” Azlan whispers, also peering thatway. “There’s a shield around the house which makes it invisible to others. But they can hear us, smell us.”

“Do you know who they are?”

“Silas,” he says, stepping in front of me. “He was with me when we found this house.”

“Is he a friend?”

Azlan’s eyes narrow. “I can’t be sure.”

I hug Pip closer to my chest, whispering at him to be quiet and we stand there and watch the three people walk straight towards us, pausing several yards before the perimeter of the wall. This close I notice a difference about the enforcer’s cloak. On the front a crest has been sewn onto the fabric – made from scarlet thread. The other woman and man wear similar emblems pinned to their long winter coats. A closed fist.

I don’t know what it means. It’s not something I’ve ever seen before, but it has Azlan frowning.

“There’s nothing here,” the woman says, swinging her gaze right over us, her eyes not seeing us at all.

“There was. The old mansion was right here. I made a note of its position and I remember that dip and those trees.” The enforcer takes a step forward, narrowing his eyes and staring right at us. I hold my breath. “Something’s not right here.”

“Could be a shield,” the woman says, flinging back her arm and firing a bolt of magic right at us.

I gasp and flinch, but the bolt smacks against something unseen in the sky, sparks and shatters to the ground, singeing the grass.

“Did you hear that?” the woman says, her eyes alert and I curse myself for being so dumb.

“Yes, a shield,” the enforcer says, lifting his hand as if he’s feeling the air for magic.

Azlan grabs my elbow and holds it tight.

The enforcer takes another step forward and I feel Azlan’s body grow tense.

“It could be a decoy,” the other man says.

“No, those were werebeast prints we saw down by the stream. They’re here.”

I step closer to Azlan, my blood running cold.

“Azlan!” the enforcer yells. “I know you’re there. I know this is your magic and I know you have the girl. Hand her over now and no one will be hurt.”

I glance towards my mate, who in turn glares at his former colleague.

When there’s no reply, the woman and man fling more magic at the shield, but once again it holds, their magic falling down to the ground.

“It’s no use,” the enforcer hisses to the other two. “This is Azlan Kennedy. We won’t be able to break through his magic. We’ll have to come back with reinforcements – with the Lord Protector himself.”

The woman doesn’t seem convinced. She steps forward, arms raised, until she hits something invisible in front of her, yards from where we stand. She feels along it with her palms, her nose twitching.

“I can smell something cooking.”

I peer back to the house.

Azlan takes a step forward, his entire body rigid and alert.

The enforcer steps forward too, so he’s standing next to the woman. They’re so close I can see the color of their eyes. Hers a brown, his a cool blue, staring straight at me, making me shiver.

“I know you’re there, Azlan,” he whispers. “And I know you know just how foolish this is. The girl’s a menace, adanger, a threat to our country. So make sure you’re on the right side of history and hand her in – before you’re forced to.”

Azlan’s broad shoulders rise and fall but he doesn’t move, and he doesn’t say a word.

The other enforcer shakes his head as if he’s disappointed, then he turns to the others.