Authors: Rachel Carrington
Rane didn’t bat an eye.
“I am
positive.”
Jaxon’s shoulders didn’t relax.
“Then we have no choice but to honor their decision.
We wish you well.”
Charlemaine leaped to her feet.
“No!
I will not let another son
walk away from me.”
Jaxon held up one hand.
“Mother, we cannot interfere with the path the Fates have chosen for
Rane.
He must make his own way and
follow as he has been bidden.
May the
Fates be with you, Rane.”
Rane clasped his brother’s hand and bestowed a kiss upon his
mother’s cheek.
“Do not worry about me,
Mother.
I am but a window away from your
sight.”
Charlemaine’s eyes glistened with tears.
“That will not stop me from worrying.
You are my child.”
“No longer a child,” Rane corrected.
She smiled slightly.
“Ever
the man.”
He returned her smile.
“Be
well, Mother.”
As the lump welled up in
his throat, he turned and strode away before he could question his own
decision.
***
Six months later
Skye sneezed.
It wasn’t a
particularly loud sneeze, but she froze nevertheless.
Casting furtive glances over her shoulder, she waited for the
approach, any approach that would blow her cover.
Dressed all in black with a stocking cap
covering the wealth of tawny curls, Skye felt the decadent pull of the night,
helping her to hide from the reality of what she knew she must do.
She’d trained for this night for over six months.
The witches had taught her well and while
Emily had learned more than she ever should in the presence of the Coven, Skye
had acquired the applications necessary to eradicate the life of a wizard.
In theory, it appeared simple, but from
information Skye had gleaned about this one wizard in particular, she doubted
simple would be the proper adjective.
After reassuring herself that the sneeze hadn’t alerted any guard
dogs or set off any motion detectors, Skye began to move forward, on her
belly.
Which always looked easier in the
movies than it actually was.
Sticks were
jabbing her abdomen and something slithered under her.
She bit back a scream and pretended it was a
gentle creature, whatever it was.
This
mission was too important.
The brick wall was ahead, impenetrable by every day standards, but
Skye had come prepared.
A certified
techno genius, she hadn’t needed too many minutes to fashion an appropriate
laser that would lock onto the gate’s entry code.
With a few punches of her nimble fingers,
Skye almost crowed with delight when the gate swung wide.
“So much for technology,” she whispered to
herself as her agile frame dashed across the open expanse of grass leading toward
the main house.
The moon was high in the sky and an occasional owl hooted in time
with Skye’s footsteps across the grass.
She leaped up onto the porch, secured the wire harness around her narrow
waist and swung wide.
Repelling herself
up to the second story window took more effort than Skye had thought and by the
time she arrived, she was out of breath, her heart thundering within her
breast.
She leaned against the coolness
of the windowpane, giving herself precious moments to regain her momentum.
Next to her ear, her watch ticked away the
minutes, forcing her to set herself to her task.
To cut the pane was easy, just a few simple swipes of the glass
cutter and her small hand was able to sneak in, unlock the window and slide it
up along the frame.
If her calculations
were correct, she should be inside the first guest bedroom on the second floor
of the old house.
Her soft-soled shoes
hit the carpet and Skye straightened, turning to gather her equipment and reel
in the line.
Okay, so far, so good.
She couldn’t believe she was inside Rane
Hansen’s home.
Or that the wizard didn’t
know she was here.
Apparently, the spell
the witches had used worked better than they’d intended.
Meant to simply conceal her presence long
enough for Skye to move past the high quality security system, the incantation’s
shield had held for even longer, allowing her to move freely into the bedroom.
“Now, to find the owner of this mansion.”
Skye touched one hand to the silver dagger
strapped to her waist and shivered.
“If
there was any other way, Mr. Hansen, believe me, I’d find it.”
“You’ll forgive me if I find that difficult to believe.”
The deep voice grabbed her in the dark and
Skye let out a shriek of terror, flattening herself back against the wall
closest to the window.
Her hand
clutching
her throat, she tried to see into the
darkness, but fear clouded her vision, making sight an impossibility.
The man behind the voice apparently didn’t have that problem.
She heard him approaching her, his footsteps
heavy.
Skye knew the exact moment he
reached her, not because he touched her, but because she could feel him, feel
the heat, the strength emanating from his overwhelming body.
She clutched the windowsill behind her with
her free hand.
“Wh-what are you doing
here?”
“I live here.
So it is I who
should be asking that question of you.”
The voice held amusement, which, the way Skye figured it, was better
than anger.
The wizard wasn’t supposed
to have the upper hand, but for the moment, that was precisely what he
had.
She had no doubt that the large
body blocking her pathway to freedom was much more than just a man.
She didn’t have to search for Rane Hansen
after all.
He’d found her.
Her mind worked furiously, trying to think of a way out.
The witches wouldn’t be pleased when she
returned without completing her mission, but surely they’d give her another
chance.
They wouldn’t kill Emily.
She wouldn’t let them.
Of course, she had no idea how she would go
about stopping them, but she’d think of something.
They’d just have to accept that sometimes
plans went awry, but even as the thought crept into her conscience, she knew
Sabrina would not take the failure lightly.
Skye cleared her throat, realizing the man was waiting on her
response.
He didn’t seem to be in too
much of a hurry, so, she took her time, removing the cap, which, in retrospect,
probably wasn’t a good idea.
Now, he
knew her hair color and her chances of escape were lessening.
He could identify her to the police...or
worse, the Assembly.
But it didn’t
matter.
She was far too nervous to
run.
“I’m a burglar,” she announced in a
slightly haughty tone of voice.
The masculine chuckle unnerved her.
It was mocking.
He was mocking
her.
“I don’t think so.”
“Why not?”
Forgetting her
fear, Skye clamped her hands on her hips.
“You find it difficult to believe I could be a burglar?
How would you know?
Have you seen many of them?”
He snapped his fingers and the room was bathed in light.
Skye blinked rapidly to adjust to the
brightness before turning her watery gaze on the man’s face.
And suddenly, her world tilted.
Pictures hadn’t done the man justice.
Or was it that the captured images hadn’t
been able to project the essence of the wizard?
“Oh my God.”
Skye somehow managed
to remember to breathe.
“Actually, it’s Rane, Rane Hansen, but then, you knew that already
didn’t you, Ms. Logan?”
Rane captured
her elbow.
“Welcome to my home.”
“How could you...”
Skye
tugged her elbow away.
“How do you know
my name?”
Rane simply took hold of her arm once more and began walking toward
the door.
“I make it a habit to know
everything about my enemies.”
***
Skye couldn’t really concentrate on the house as they moved through
the dark corridors, though she heard the whisper of wealth in every
footstep.
She could make out the
expensive art hanging on the walls and the scent of money in the air, but that
didn’t surprise her.
Most wizards had
the advantage of money.
Though
unnecessary in the mystical cities they inhabited, money was a necessary evil
when the wizards chose to make their homes on Earth.
Her shoes sank into plush carpeting as Rane slowed his pace.
Skye had enough time to see a door swinging
wide although she’d missed Rane’s hand actually twisting the doorknob.
A quick touch of his finger had moved the
heavy wood, no doubt.
Paneled from ceiling to floor with heavy drapes concealing the
windows, the room bespoke of simple elegance.
A lone lamp sat atop a rich mahogany desk that curved in front of one
wall.
Shelves lined with old books and
antique picture frames of relatives long gone lent a nostalgic air, but Skye
doubted there was one nostalgic bone in Rane Hansen’s body.
She liked to think that she knew the man and
the wizard as well as she knew herself, her own family.
God knew she’d researched him enough.
Skye drew herself up to her full five feet seven inches of height
and stared directly at Rane’s chest.
“I
appreciate this breezy tour of your office, Mr. Hansen, but I’d really like to
go home now.”
Rane flicked a glance toward the door and it slammed shut at the
unspoken command.
Skye jumped.
“Before you get what you came for?”
He couldn’t know what he came for, could he?
“I’ll chalk it up to a lost evening, so if
you’ll just point me in the direction of the front door, I’ll be on my way.”
His dark eyes penetrated her face, and Skye squeezed her hands into
fists to keep from squirming.
“I’m
afraid I’m going to have to insist that you stay.”
Skye folded her arms.
“Okay,
you have me.
I broke into your
home.
Go ahead and call the police.
They’ll arrest me, of course, and I’ll be out
before dawn.”
She didn’t say how she’d
get out.
She left that for the wizard to
figure out in his head.
Rane leaned one hip against the corner of the desk, his dark eyes
amused.
“Yes, I know that.
But then, there isn’t much I don’t know about
you, Ms. Logan.
You see, I tend to make
it my business to find out about those individuals who have such an
overwhelming curiosity for me and my family.”
Skye swallowed and looked away from the dark intensity in his
eyes.
She’d seen pictures of Rane, but
those black and white prints hadn’t done him justice.
The print of the page couldn’t exude the raw
masculinity or sex appeal that the man in person did.
Charm poured from his smile, even the tilt of
his head was charming.
And the slight
tipping of his lips screamed sexy.
It
was no wonder others had seen Rane with a constant string of sexy females
clinging to his arms like kudzu vines.
Leaving behind the city he’d called home for over three centuries, Rane
had made his place in this world.
“Okay, so you know I’ve been investigating you.
That isn’t a crime, Mr. Hansen.
You have a very intriguing background.”
One dark eyebrow lifted.
He
trailed one finger along the intricate carvings along the ridge of his
desk.
“Do I?”
Skye shifted from foot to foot, uneasy with his continued
scrutiny.
“I suppose you don’t like that
I’m investigating you.”