Page 21 of The Death Dealer (Sentinels of Magic Book 2)

“Where the fuck is she?”

Trevor’s heart produced whole-body vibrations, and the relentless pounding threatened to break through his chest wall. His gut churned, and acid gnawed away his stomach lining.

“She was reaching for my hand when the portal malfunctioned. I rushed through, but she was gone,”Knox said, bemused. He glanced around as if he still couldn’t believe what had happened.

Shaking his head, Trevor stared at Knox.“What do you mean a portal? What about the Blockers? Stockton had them in place, didn’t he?”He faced Damian.“Didn’t he put them back up after you walked through?”

“He never lowered them for me. Arriving is not an issue for this island.”

The Aether roamed the room, his head cocked as if listening. To what, Trevor didn’t know, but he wouldn’t have heard anything over his thudding pulse anyway.

“What are you searching for?”

“A magical signature.”Damian waved his hand. “Ostendo!”

The daylight disappeared, and a hidden gateway to another location became visible, with a teal ribbon of light crisscrossing the person-sized opening.

“There’s your doorway to whoever took Soleil,”he stated matter-of-factly.

“How do you know?”Trev asked.

“It’s unique to this room.”

With a frown, Knox squatted and studied the edges of the criss-cross pattern.“You don’t believe thiswas createdwhen Soleil and I tried to circumvent the Blockers?”

“No.”Damian pointed to the light source.“It’s brighter on the backside and folds in on itself as it clings to this opening. If I had to guess, they’re leaving this open to either return her or in hopes someone follows.” He met Trevor’s eyes.“I suspect you.”

“But why? Why would they want me to follow her?”

“If your supposition was correct, and a council member from the Authority is behind this, they intend to kill two birds with one stone, as it were. They take Soleil, knowing you’ll chase after her, and through her, they’ll attempt to control you.”

“Still not understanding the why of it, Dethridge.”

“You don’t need to.Theyhave a reason, and we’ll figure it out soon enough.”His eyes swept Trevor’s hands.“Where’s the tanzanite ring we created for you when we went after Morcant?”

“Back at my apartment. It seemed silly to wear it after the danger had passed.”

Damian held up his hand and showed his pinky ring.“My recommendation would be to get used to it. It’s how our team can connect without worrying about cell service.”

“Our team?”Trev asked.

“Your team?”Knox asked.

With a roll of his eyes, Damian waved a hand and restored light to the room. The portal remained highlighted, and Trevor was suitably impressed by the trick.

“Yes, our team of Sentinels, Blane. You’re all under my protection, and I owe each of you a debt of gratitude tobe paidat a time of my choosing.”

“I could give a shit about payback other than to find Soleil,”he said impatiently.“Do I walk through the portal, or what?”

“It depends on how worried you are about your skin. I’d test it first.”Knox crossed to the nightstand and picked up Soleil’s romance novel, preparing to throw it at the opening.

“Wait!”Trev replaced the book in Knox’s hand with a vase.“She’s still reading that one.”

The other two men exchanged an amused glance.

“Fuck off,”he muttered.“Throw the damned vase.”

“Stockton might have a fit if you use that particular one,”Damian said with an arched brow as he closely studied the object in Knox’s grasp.“It’s priceless.”

“Oh, for fuck’s sake!”Trevor stalked across the room and picked up a decorative pillow.“Will this work?”

“I don’t see why not,”Damian replied. His lips were twitching as if he struggled not to laugh. The urge to hurl it at him was strong. Instead, he tossed the pillow into the center of the teal web.

It caught fire.

With a snap of his fingers, the Aether extinguished it.

“I’d worry about your skinas well asthe rest of your person if I were you,”Knox said with a sigh.“That shit’s going to Kentuckyfryyour chicken, dude.”

Rage was born of Trevor’s worry and inability to help Soleil.“Enough with the fucking jokes. She’s on the other side of whatever this damned wall is, probably terrified and fighting for her life if she isn’t de—dea—”He couldn’t voice it aloud. Him, a Death Dealer whose job it was to take life, and he couldn’t say the simple word.

He dropped to his ass on the floor and wrapped his arms around his knees as he struggled to draw a breath. The silence in the room was oppressive and crushed his chest, adding to his struggles. They suspected what he did.

“I’m sorry,”he croaked.“I’m… I…”

Damian placed a hand on his head.“Sleep, son.”

Darkness obscured his vision, and he fought the spell as long as possible.

“Soleil,”he murmured as he pitched sideways.

“Was knocking him out helpful?Don’t we need him to get the girl?”Knox asked as Damian placed a hand under Trevor’s back and lifted him, letting his magic do the work.

“He was spiraling and useless to us until wehave a better grasp ofthe situation.”

“I’m laying odds the guy’s going to be on a rampage when you finally wake him.”Knox checked his watch.“I have to get back to Spring. I don’t trust that whoever did this isn’t after her.”

“Go. And summon me if you need assistance. I’ll consult with Masters and Sullivan before sending the Guardian to you to protect your wife.”

“Did you forget I have a god’s powers?”

“No.But if you feel confident in guardingher, I’ll keephimwith me.”

Knox considered the situation.“Send him if your Seer thinks I need him. Otherwise, we’re good.”

“Did Alastair discover anything in the meantime?”

“Not before all of this. I don’t know ifhedid since I’ve been here, but I’ll havehimcontact you.”

“Fair enough. Thank you, Mr. Carlyle,”Damian said.

“Knox, and you’re welcome, sir.”They shook hands.“Please keep me posted.”

“Certainly.”

After Knox left, Damian considered the problem. He wasn’t surprisedin the leastwhen the door openedandhis daughter peeked her head inside.

“Hello, Beastie.”

“Hello, Papa.”

His lips curled as she stepped to the bed and flicked Trevor’s ear.“Did you think my spell wasn’t foolproof, my love?”

She giggled.“No. Buthe’sfighting it.”

“I imagine he is. He’s worried about your aunt.”

“He loves her.”

“That’s the impression I got.”Damian tugged one of Sabrina’s black curls.“Go ahead and tell me what you intend to reveal so we can help Soleil.”

“They want to make Uncle Trevor do things he doesn’t want to.”

“Uncle Trevor, is it?”he asked dryly.“Be careful about throwing the moniker around until it’s time.”

“Yes, Papa.”

He studied her contrite, pixie-like countenance, admiringthe factshe could keep a straight face while lying. Deciding that correcting her for the lie wasn’t a battle he would win, he disregarded it.“Who’s they, and why keep Soleil alive when they tried so desperately to kill her before?”he asked instead.

“They want to make him stay. Be a Death Dealer forever.”

“The‘they’part of this is the Authority, no doubt?”

She nodded, and the grim expression on his child wasn’t a sight he loved.

“I see. Do you have a name for me, Beastie?”

“Councilwoman Vector and Uncle Trevor’s girlfriend.”

“Girlfriend?”If he were two-timing Soleil, Damian would fry his ass.

“She looks like Aunt Soleil, Papa, but not as pretty.”

“She means Deni,”Trevor rasped from the bed.

“Ah, the elusive Deni who mysteriously disappeared from your life,”Damian replied, turning to face him.“You revived faster than I expected.”

“Healing abilities, remember?”Trevor grimaced as he sat up and clutched his head.“What did you do to me?”

“The magical equivalent of a sleeping pill. It’ll wear off soon enough.”

“Soon enough to find Soleil, or did you intend to be thesavior of the day?”

“Oh, no. I’m leaving the hero mantle for you to wear.”Damian winked at his daughter.“What do you think, Beastie? Will he look good in tights and a cape?”

She clapped a hand over her mouth to suppress her giggles. Despite the direness of the situation,hetook a few precious moments to absorb the sound and catalog the memory for a future date.When one lived as long as an Aether, it wasimportantto remember the good times.

“You sure Deni’s involved, kid?”Trevor asked, expression forbidding.

Both Damian and Sabrina knew the scowl wasn’t for her. If it had been, Trevor would berueinghis birth.

She nodded and crossed to him.“I’m sorry, Uncle Trevor. She’s not a nice person.”

Although he narrowed his eyes on the“Uncle”bit, he never responded to the name. He nodded as he said,“Thanks for letting me know. I’ll keep it in mind when I confront her.”

“Choose her.”

A batto the forehead wouldn’t have stunned Trevor as much as Damian’s kid telling him to choose Deni over Soleil, especially after the girl called him Uncle.“Excuse me?”

“She wants you to choose her over Aunt Soleil. So you have to pick her.”Sabrina shrugged as if it were a given.

“Otherwise?”

The girl sought her father’s permission, and Trevor followed her gaze to Damian, who shook his head.

“If she knows, I need to also, Dethridge. Soleil’s life could depend on it.”

The Aether weighed his strict no-revealing-potential-outcomes rule against what he knew to berightas Trev waitedimpatientlyfor him to decide.

“The future is fluid, Blane,”Damian finally said.“It’s ever-changing. If she tells you what she suspects, but it alters between now andthe momentit’s expectedto happen, you could misstep and make things worse.”

The explanation made perfect sense, but it was no less frustrating to hear.“Fine. I’ll play it by ear.”

“It sounds like the only certainty is that you should stroke your ex-girlfriend’s ego.”

Trev conjured a cup of coffee and a glass of water, using one to chase the other. Hopefully, the fatigue leftover from Damian’s sleeping spell would wear off soon. He couldn’t go into this with a clouded mind, or he’d put Soleil at risk.

“Can anyone tell me how to find her? My Trackersweren’t able todo that over the last two years.”

“We’ll call in Masters.Between the four of us,we can neutralize and rip open the portal.”

Pausing between sips of coffee, Trev raised a brow.“Four?”

“You, Draven, Sabrina, and myself.”Damian tapped his daughter’s nose with a doting father’s smile.

“That works.” Trevor calculated their odds. “It’s doubtful there’s anything stronger than two Aethers and a Guardian.”

“It would be if you added Ronan and Dubheasa,”Sabrina piped in, referring to the two Guardians who watched over her and her brother, Nate.

“Do we need them?”It’s not that Trevor didn’t like Ronan and Dubheasa—heabsolutelydid, going so far as to consider them friends of a sort—but if they needed that much firepower to break through a portal, things were worse than he suspected.

“No,”she said.“But three Guardians are stronger than one.”

“Thanks for the math lesson, kid.”

“You’re welcome.”

Trevor hid a grin behind a sip of coffee. Sabrina Dethridge was a cheeky devil, and they all knew it. She was their future Oracle, and to a man or woman, every Sentinel who served Damian in the past would lay down their life for her. For the entire Dethridge family, if it came to it—and it almost had.

“Okay, I’m caffeinated, and my magical hangover has lessened. Let’s plot this thing out. I want Soleil back where she’s safe.”

Damian and Sabrina smiled their approval. Their favor was a good thing if theywere all going tobe related by marriage someday. Trev hadn’t thought to ever go there with Soleil because of his curse, but if their long-term relationshipwasinevitable, he’d accept his fate and be happy for whatever time they had together.