Assassin's Kiss Page 16

  They started along the western border—the one closest to Vespera. They covered ground in methodical sections, moving out farther from home. And all too soon, a familiar scent reached Scorpio’s nose. Peppermint.

  He followed the scent, searching the grass and shrubs for other clues or tangible signs that would point to the traitor. And there, snagged on a rough section of tree bark, three strands of blond hair danced in the slight breeze.

  “Over here.” Scorpio waved the others over.

  “Hair.” Orser frowned. “That’s good. But it could belong to anyone. Us or them. Any of our coven members could have been out here for a walk.”

  “Still, it’s worth saving.” Kharv gently removed the strands, placed them in a fold of cloth and tucked it in his pocket.

  “Ground is trampled, here.” Orser looked at the ground beneath his boots. “A scuffle? Someone waiting for a chance to sneak in?”

  Hell, no. Neither one of those. Scorpio ground his molars at the signs that screamed to him, and him alone. Sex. A male and female had fucked right here last night. The leaves below reeked of release. He didn’t care who Zeebi fucked, or why she left coven grounds to do it…unless…was she fucking someone in Vespera? Damien?

  The scent of a male witch hung in the air, primarily cedar as Scorpio would expect, but also…he inhaled. Shit. Sulfur and smoke. It may or may not be Damien, but it was the same male who’d handed the note to Zeebi. A growl escaped Scorpio’s lips.

  “What is it, demon?” Kharv asked. “You look ready to throw fire.”

  Scorpio quickly relaxed the tension in his jaw. How much should he reveal? If he told the men, they’d probably laugh it off. There was no law against having outdoor sex. Also, if word traveled back to Zeebi about this, she may realize how obvious she was being and try to hide better. And he needed her to be oblivious to him. “Just ticked at how close a Vespera member got.” He gestured to the tree, then made a show of inspecting the ground. “Footprints.” A set of large boot prints marked the soft ground, and in front of them, facing the same way, lay the print of one pointy toe and spike heel.

  The guards dropped to take a closer look. Scorpio backed up a few feet, focusing on the male’s prints, but the scent of sex taunted him. It slammed him with memories of how his passionate mate had responded to his kiss last night. The way her body arched toward him, the telltale fragrance of her own arousal.

  Yet the same night he had enjoyed her mouth and skin, someone had finagled a way to leave this outside her damn door. If he had to guess, he’d pinpoint the delivery occurring after he left, because he’d detected no recent scents at that time.

  “Let’s track the larger prints,” Scorpio said. At least he’d know where the male had either come from or disappeared to. He studied the surrounding ground and picked up the trail.

  It came to an abrupt end about thirty feet later.

  “What the hell?” Orser grumbled. “Can’t just disappear. The prints weren’t that old and we haven’t had rain.”

  “The individual could have traveled through a portal. Unfortunately that’s one scent I can only identify in the present.” Scorpio’s sniffer was good, but traces of portal magic faded fast. Only the most sensitive noses could detect that scent hours after the portal had closed.

  “Damn it.” Kharv said.

  “These could be a lead, but they could also be any random prints. And hair.” Orser pointed out.

  Scorpio clenched a fist, knowing otherwise. “I suggest we keep this classified, until we learn more about the prints. If these do have something to do with the note, we don’t want to tip our hand. The individual who’s involved may strive to be more cautious in the future.”

  “You make a valid point.” Orser rested his hands on his hips. “We’ll run it by Hallon, but I’m sure he’ll agree. Everyone.” He glanced around the group. “Let’s keep moving, see what else we can find.”

  They resumed their methodical scouring of the western woods. Hours later, they’d found nothing else of interest. Scorpio glared at every shrub, willing a clue to appear. Fury churned his gut over Zeebi’s betrayal, made a hundred times worse by Tessa’s imminent sacrifice.

  C

  HAPTER 19

  THE SUN SAT LOW IN the afternoon sky when Tessa slogged back into the center of the coven. With the others, she’d inspected the wards that lay like invisible barriers all around Bronwy. If someone had passed through, the protective barriers would’ve shown signs of being forcibly weakened. And they had found none of that.

  They’d also checked Tessa’s cabin, focusing on her own wards, and found nothing amiss. Tessa had been grateful the ward witches didn’t have much of a clue about breaking and entering. However Scorpio had picked the lock on her front door, he’d done it so skillfully as to make it unobvious.

  Restlessness made her jumpy as she watched the oldest ward witch enter Hallon’s home to fill him in on what they’d discovered. Or rather, the lack thereof. Tessa didn’t need to go inside and once again sit there full of uncertainty and frustration. She pulled one of her favorite small throwing knives from her thigh holster. Turning it over, she traced the carving in the dull metal hilt of a letter T encircled by vines.

  A gift from the elves, after receipt of an especially large cache of iron. They paid for the delivery, of course, but they liked Tessa. One of the weapons makers created it for her. Elven forged and now, enhanced with her own power, it was one of her favorites.

  “Looks like a good little blade.” Scorpio’s deep voice cut into her musings and she met his twinkling golden eyes. Eyes that bore no stress from the day, and only held…friendliness? Affection? For her.

  “It is. The elves made it for me.” She held it out for him to inspect.

  He picked it up. “Nice. Anything they create is good.” He returned it to her outstretched palm. “Find anything today?”

  She shook her head. “You?”

  He blew out a breath. “Some blond hairs stuck on a tree. Not much to go on.”

  “This doesn’t make any sense.” She tucked the knife away and rubbed her eyes. “My head is about to explode from all the ward checking. I wanted to help, but it doesn’t come as easily to me as to some of the others.”

  He stared, roaming her body in a bold, visual caress. “So what does a witch do to unwind?”

  His lower lip looked so full, so bitable, that the breath left her lungs. Memories of his mouth and hands on her brought all kinds of ideas to the forefront of her brain. Things she would love to do to unwind. And none of them anyone could ever know about. “Walk,” her voice came out cracked. She took a deep breath. “Walk with me.”

  “Lead the way.” Streaks of gold danced in his eyes.

  Tessa began hiking to her meditation spot. The one place no one bothered her. A fleeting thought popped through her mind, to tell someone she was going somewhere with Scorpio. Just so the coven wouldn’t freak out and think he’d deserted them. That would be a headache and would undo the progress she had worked for. “Hang on.” She dug out her phone to call Kharv.

  He picked up on the first ring. “What’s up, Tessa?”

  “Just letting you know I have Scorpio with me. We’re, um, going to check another spot along the western trail.”

  “No problem. Thanks for letting me know.”

  “You’re welcome.” She ended the call and moved to the side of the path so Scorpio could walk next to her.

  “If I didn’t know better, I’d think you’re starting to like me.” He slid a scorching smile her way.

  She swallowed, wanting to grab his hand. But they were too close to the main working and living spaces. “Like I said, you’re not what I expected.”

  “You expected a monster.” It was a statement, delivered without accusation or sarcasm.

  “Well…yes.” She shoved one hand in her pocket. “I knew one fact about you. That was all.”

  “And it was enough to judge.”

  “I thought so, at first.” She kept her gaz
e on the trail ahead. “I’m not proud of that.”

  “I understand,” he said. “On the surface, there are indisputable facts. And they look bad. No one digs down to the reasons that led up to the facts.”

  “Maybe they should.”

  “I don’t need them all to.” He stopped in the middle of the path and took her free hand, halting her and pulling her right in front of him. “I only need you to.”

  “I do. I have,” she whispered. Sycamore leaves rustled high over head as she lost herself in those eyes, wanting to melt into the solid warm wall of his chest. Something deep inside her stirred, desire mixed with guilt over her wrong first impression of him. “I’m sorry I threw that witchfire at you.”

  “I’m not. It showed me how tough you are. How quickly you’ll defend yourself.” He raised a hand and caressed her cheek.

  She craved to lean into him, but stopped him. “We need to keep walking.” Dropping his hand, she led him farther away from possible prying eyes.

  Minutes later they reached her spot. “So this is where I come to meditate,” she murmured.

  He surveyed the area. “It’s a good spot. High. And it smells like you.”

  “What? I haven’t been up here for a few days.” She wrinkled her nose. “What exactly do I smell like anyway?”

  “Honeysuckle.” He stepped closer. “Sweet and earthy.” Strong hands landed at her hips.

  She sucked in a breath and gave in to the temptation to slide her hands up his muscled chest, to his immense shoulders. “I liked kissing you last night.”

  “Yeah? The feeling’s mutual.” A roguish grin tilted his lips up.

  “And this morning I woke up all happy, then I opened my front door.” She frowned. “Talk about a buzzkill.”

  “Ironic that a note from your future husband is a buzzkill. Think that’s a sign that the marriage is doomed from the start.” His tone was light, but his hands tightened on her hips.

  “I told you I can’t change it.” She looked up at him. “And I don’t want to think about him right now. When I’m with you, things are different.”

  “How’s that?” Heat rolled off his body, enveloping her in warmth and safety.

  “I don’t feel like all my problems, or the coven’s problems, are pressing on me.” She curled a hand around his nape. “I feel lighter, less worried about leaving Bronwy.”

  “I’m working on fixing your problems. And the coven’s problems.” He lowered his head to kiss her cheek.

  “H-how?” The word came out sluggish. All she really wanted was to drown in his touch.

  “I have my ways. Never doubt that a Watcher has a plan.” He slid a finger under her chin and tilted her head back. “Or three.”

  She smiled. Letting herself believe for one second that this man, with blood on his hands, could somehow help her and the coven out of their unhappiness. “Oka—”

  A wolf whistle pierced the air just as Scorpio froze. Tessa swiveled right and left, panicked at who from the coven had trailed them. Oh no.

  “Come out, you big bastard.” Scorpio shot a glare over her head.

  Tessa whirled and pressed into him. He moved her to his side, but his posture was relaxed, not alarmed.

  The thick fronds of a bracken fern parted and her mouth dropped wide. A huge blond Lash demon sauntered out, just as muscular as Scorpio and draped in weapons. Long hair hung down past his biceps and blond stubble dusted his jaw. He looked like one of the ancient Earth Vikings she’d read about.

  The male crossed brawny arms over his chest and grinned at Scorpio. “Dude. You have hair.”

  “Dude. You have shitty timing,” Scorpio shot back.

  The Lash laughed. “I’m sorry to interrupt a romantic interlude.” He gave Tessa a slight bow and held out his hand. “I’m Brenin, one of Scorpio’s friends.”

  “Hi. Tessa.” She extended her hand, which Brenin took and kissed.

  A low growl escaped Scorpio and Brenin dropped her hand with a smirk.

  “What are you doing here?” Scorpio asked.

  “Boss sent me. Couple things.” Brenin dug in the pocket of his black fatigues and pulled out a phone. “First off, he wants you to have your own phone. Got all the usual apps and shit.” He tossed it to Scorpio, then pinned blue eyes on Tessa. “I trust you can keep all this on the down-low, little witchling?”

  Tessa raised her eyebrows. “Um, sure.” She flicked a glance to Scorpio.

  “You can say stuff in front of her,” Scorpio said. “I was just telling her I was gonna fix things.”

  “Yeah, about that.” Brenin shoved a hand through his mane. “Fixing this…is gonna require some back up.”

  “Why?”

  “Arawn filled us in on your phone call. He talked to Whysper, too, and she says these dark ley line groupings are serious shit.”

  Scorpio snorted. “Whysper said that.”

  “Eh, you know. In her own words.”

  “Wait, Whysper?” Tessa asked. “She…she works at your headquarters?”

  “Yep.” Scorpio traced a hand down her back. “You know her?”

  “We all know of her.” Tessa sucked in a breath. “She’s so old and powerful. She has a reputation.”

  “Well, you’re about to know her for real and not just by her rep.” Brenin rocked back on his heels. “She’s coming here.”

  “What?” Tessa fought to keep her voice from shriek level, so the word came out more as a whisper-yell.

  “No way,” Scorpio muttered.

  “Yes, way,” Brenin said. “She said there’s no way to get free of the grip of dark ley lines by brute force. No matter how physically strong we are. Said they not only strengthen the users, but they want to be used in that way, so they become almost sentient. You need magic to counter them.”

  “So Arawn’s sending a team plus Whysper?” Scorpio shook his head.” I don’t remember her ever going on a job.”

  “Guess it’s happened once or twice,” Brenin said. “And Melixa’s coming too.”

  “I didn’t ask for an extraction.”

  “Dude, you’re not getting out without one.”

  Tessa looked up at Scorpio, fighting confusion that threatened to take root. “You said you wouldn’t leave.”

  His golden eyes turned hard, aimed at Brenin. “I’m not.”

  “Decision comes from the top, little witchling,” Brenin said. “Arawn ordered it. He knows Scorp won’t leave a mess behind. And this’ll get messier before it gets better.”

  “Arawn would do this for me? For Bronwy?” Tessa asked. “I thought he kind of kept to demon business.”

  “We take care of our own.” Brenin’s eyes twinkled, but his tone was dead serious.

  “But I’m not part of you guys.” She glanced between the two warriors.

  Brenin arched a brow at Scorpio, then at her. “I wouldn’t be so sure,” he said softly.

  Tessa opened her mouth, then closed it, speechless. Mate. The word skated around the edges of her mind. Scorpio thought she was his. She still didn’t understand why he felt so strongly, when he didn’t know her. But did all the Watchers believe it too?

  “I can’t allow anyone to get hurt because of me,” she said. “I made my decision, my arrangement with the rival leader. It will help us.”

  “But it won’t get you your land back,” Scorpio said. “And those dark ley lines will still be misused.”

  She gazed up at him, lost in the sincerity of his eyes. Sincerity that had radiated off him like sunlight ever since she’d first gotten near him. Warrior. Honor. Duty. Protect.

  Brenin cleared his throat, not bothering to hide a grin. “And, that’s my cue to leave. Here.” He tossed an amulet to Scorpio. “I know you won’t use it, but just in case. Maybe someone else will need to get out of somewhere fast.”

  Scorpio caught it and held his palm open for Tessa to see the dull silver orb on a chain. “A transportation amulet. Prespelled to HQ.” He tucked it into her front pocket. “I want you to have it on you a
t all times.”

  The brush of his fingers across her lower belly made her stomach clench. “Okay.” It came out a breathy squeak.

  The air hummed with magic as Brenin used his own amulet to open the large shimmering ring of a portal. With a wink, he stepped in and disappeared.

  “He seems nice. Funny. Kind of a flirt.” She stared as the circle closed, its diameter shrinking down to a tiny light that went out with a soft pop. “Have you worked with him long?”

  “Nah. Arawn usually has him on assignment on Earth. He came over for a problem we had a few months back. And he’s still here.”

  “I bet he gets a lot of attention from the ladies,” Tessa said, turning to face Scorpio and stepping close.

  “Even better reason to keep him on Earth,” Scorpio muttered. “The women there all think he looks like some Norse god.”

  “Let me guess…Thor?”

  “Yeah. That’s the one.”

  “I can see that,” she mused, smiling.

  A growl rumbled from Scorpio’s chest.

  “But they can have him.” She tugged his face closer to hers. “I prefer guys with short hair.”

  “Good. Otherwise I might have to kill him.”

  She giggled. “What did he mean about your hair, anyway?”

  “Oh, that.” Scorpio dropped his forehead to meet hers. “I have the most pansy-assed hair for a fighter. So I keep it shaved. But it’s been a few weeks, so now it’s growing back.”

  “Pansy-assed? Why?” She pushed at his shoulders to back him up. In the fading light, the streaks of gold were no longer visible.

  “It’s full of this, I don’t know, bright highlight crap. Like stripes.” He scowled. “Kira should have gotten my hair. It would be fine on her. On me, it’s fucking weird. And too distinct for someone in my line of work.”

  She tilted her head. “I thought I saw some gold in here.” She ran her hands over the close cropped new growth. “I like it.”