Wicked Wind (Solsti Prophecy #1) (31 page)

She blew out a breath. “Who knows what kind of shit
I
could do to
him
? I’m here for a reason, and I want to start fighting with you. You know that one day my sisters and I are supposed to battle something nastier than your worst nightmare.”

“We’ll worry about that when it happens. And you can use this time to practice. Today, you stay put.”

“You can’t keep me in a cage!”

“I won’t have you taking a foolish risk.” His tone brokered no argument.

She gritted her teeth and clenched her fists. “I wasn’t foolish at Rivkin.”

“Rivkin was different. We were on friendly turf, with an army of archers. I don’t know what we’ll walk into today.”

She glared at him, her hands still balled into fists. She wanted to scream at him or punch him. Maybe fling him across the room with her mind. Her muscles trembled with rage, but also with the niggling thought that his actions and words were rooted in concern for her.
Then why can’t he care enough to let me grow
?

“Hey.” He took her chin in his fingers and turned her face toward his. “I can’t risk your life. You’re too important.”

“That’s right, the Solsti are here because the world needs them,” she recited numbly.

“And I need you,” he said before hauling her up to his mouth for a rough, demanding kiss that stole her breath. The anger racing through her blood turned to heat as the sweet demands of his tongue coaxed her lips apart. She planted her hands on his chest and pushed, but she may as well have pushed a brick wall. With one of his hands resting at the small of her back, and the other at her nape, her traitorous body softened against him.

She mentally cursed him and fought hard to suppress the moan rising in her throat. Right now she didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of knowing how badly her body craved him.

Giving him another shove, she broke the kiss and took a step back. Still glaring at him, she drew a reluctant, ragged breath.
Damn it.
There was no hiding the way he affected her.

His eyes radiating blue heat, he flicked his gaze to her lips and back up to her eyes. Turning, he stalked away without a backward glance.

She blinked as she watched him go, shaking her head to clear it. A faint echo of his voice reverberated in her mind. But how could that be? One word that she not only heard, but felt deep in her heart.
Mine
.

C
HAPTER
22

N
ICOLE
KNEW
SHE
couldn’t stay in that house all day waiting for the four demons to return. She decided her first order of business was to stock up on fresh foods. The men had driven off in two black Escalades, leaving a white Tahoe and two plain looking Honda sedans behind. She eyed one of the Hondas. That was more like the car she shared with Brooke. Her gaze swept the kitchen, finding a pegboard pierced with hooks near the back door. Flipping through the dangling keys, she found the ones she needed and headed out.

A surreal feeling washed over her as she pushed her cart through the aisles. All the other shoppers bustled about their business, checking their grocery lists and selecting vegetables, having no idea that the world was full of creatures who weren’t supposed to exist. A week ago she was having the same out-of-body experience while walking around Torth; now, being back in the “regular” world seemed even stranger.

All the things she had thought were “normal” had been turned upside down. She had always secretly hoped the talent that ran in her family wasn’t a fluke, that there was a reason behind it. Now she had her reason and she was thrilled to have a purpose. She could only dream about what she, Brooke, and Gin would be able to accomplish together.

She sighed, thinking of her younger sister. Gin thought she and Brooke were crazy for doing what they did in the city at night. She preferred to forget that her ability even existed. Convincing her otherwise would be a major feat.

Nicole finished up her shopping, hurried home, and unpacked the groceries. A huge Denver omelet sounded excellent, and she went looking for Rilan to see if he wanted one, too. Not seeing him, she went upstairs to check his room. The door was closed and she gave a quick knock.
No response
. She shrugged and returned to the big kitchen.

Soon the spacious room was filled with the aroma of eggs, cheese, and bell peppers. She polished off her omelet and sipped her coffee, contemplating what else to do with her time. Two days until Brooke came back. Nicole’s fingers drummed a bored pattern on the smooth granite breakfast bar.

Gunnar had told her to practice, so that’s what she would do to keep from going stir crazy. She quickly washed her dishes, grabbed the car keys, and paused. Scrawling down a quick note so no one would worry, she placed it on the island and left.

It felt good to drive out of civilization, as Brooke called it. She was leaving the strip malls and gated subdivisions behind and getting out into flat fields that stretched as far as the eye could see. Heading southwest, she passed row after neat row of corn and wheat. Grain elevators occasionally punctuated the flat Illinois horizon.

After about an hour of driving, she left the interstate behind in favor of a rural highway that passed through small towns. Pulling onto a tiny dusty lane, she spotted what she wanted: a wide field of prairie grasses with clusters of oaks and other large trees scattered along one side. And most importantly, no people. She didn’t need an audience for the gales she was about to summon.
Especially since I’m still working on my control.

Finding a nice clump of sycamores, she parked the car so that it couldn’t be seen from the road. She got out and stretched limbs that were stiff from sitting for so long, and walked out into the knee-high grass. Eyes closed, she inhaled the scent of sweet meadow and clean air, letting her power build and coil.

Flush with energy, she summoned a breeze to push down the grass on her right. She smiled. But she wanted to split her mental focus, as she had done with the Vipers at Rivkin. Keeping the current constant, she tried to call another breeze to sway the grass on her left.

She ended up with a face full of dust and coughed, breaking her concentration. Maybe she needed more distance between the two areas of activity.

Determined to master the dual forces, she called the wind to blow the grasses low to the ground again. Then she looked to the tops of the trees and summoned a gust to rattle the leaves in the highest branches. This time she was successful. She worked on different skills, like parting the grass in front of her to form a narrow path. She extended it as far as she could see, a thin dark line like a snake arrowing away from her to the other side of the field.

The fights with the Vipers and the Ghazsuls popped into her mind, and she tried to think strategically about what would have helped them. She practiced moving her air currents around in different ways, doubling them back on themselves and changing directions quickly. Her body hummed with so much energy that, too late, she realized she had an audience.

She froze as two hands clapped together slowly and deliberately. “Quite impressive, little fae,” a low voice rasped.

Fear rooted her feet in place, even as it turned her blood to ice. She whirled, but it seemed like moving in slow motion.
No!
Standing in the shade of the towering oak trees stood two Ghazsul demons.

The one who had been clapping stopped and tilted his ugly red head at her. “Although, you’re a little tall to be a fairy.”

Nicole gulped as questions shot though her mind. What were Ghazsul demons doing on Earth? Had they been looking for her? Did they want revenge for the battle in the woods on Torth? Or was this a sick coincidence?

“You’re a pretty thing, whatever you are,” the second one said. They didn’t seem wary; in fact, they looked cocky, like she couldn’t possibly hurt them. Maybe they didn’t know anything about her little adventure on Torth.

“So.” The second demon licked his lips. “Care to divulge your heritage? Your energy is rather unusual.” His black eyes roamed every inch of her body.

She gulped again. There was no way she was going to tell these creatures that she was a Solsti—
they wouldn’t believe me anyway—
but she wasn’t sure what she should pretend to be. She hadn’t exactly thought up a cover story for situations like this, and didn’t know enough about the different types of fairies to fake it.

I’ll dodge the question
. “Who are you?” she asked.

The first demon got in her face so fast that she didn’t even see him move. “I asked you first, little fae.” He leaned in close enough that she could see a sparse coating of wiry hairs along his muscular, red, bare arms. Grabbing her upper arm, he inhaled, then frowned and turned to his friend. “You smell her.”

Nicole jumped and cringed as the other Ghazsul stood way too close on her other side. He took a deep breath, his nose brushing the shell of her ear. “I don’t recognize her scent, either.” She felt like a lab rat alone with two evil scientists.

“You get one more chance to tell us your true nature, little one. Or we’ll all take a trip to see our master. He’ll be intrigued with you. He likes unique things.” The first demon spoke with a laugh that sent chills down her spine.

She fought her rising panic. They were stronger than her. She hadn’t even brought her dagger, because she never would have anticipated needing it in an open field. On
Earth
. Peering at their shoulders, she tried in vain to see behind them. These Ghazsuls either didn’t have wings or they had them tucked away. If she could get them to fly, even if they were holding her, then she could get them to fall.

She turned as if to run, knowing that she wouldn’t be able to break the demon’s hold on her arm.

It chuckled eerily. “Now, now, the party’s just getting started.”

She let her body go limp, and when he relaxed his grip a little, she twisted free, spun around, and aimed a high kick at him. Her strike should have landed a blow to his jaw, but he was so tall that she didn’t make it that far. He grunted as the top of her foot snapped near his shoulder. Before she could recover he grabbed her ankle and flung her to the ground. He did it with as little effort as Gunnar had the day they sparred in the training room. The Ghazsul was much rougher, and she wheezed, trying to get back the breath that had been knocked out of her. Thank goodness the Ghazsul didn’t jump on her to keep her down.

She got up slowly. “I don’t see a car other than mine. What’d you do, fly here?”

“She’s trying to be funny.” The second demon laughed.

Anything to stall them. “Well, if you guys had wings, it would make sense that you were able to sneak up on me.”

“We were able to sneak up on you because we’re predators, little fae,” the first Ghazsul growled. This one was clearly playing the bad cop. “And if you had ever seen one of us with wings, you wouldn’t have lived to tell anyone about it. Our winged brethren are the most elite and vicious fighters in the realms.”

Okay, definitely a good idea to keep quiet about the little incident on Torth
. These two probably wouldn’t take well to hearing about how she and Gunnar had eliminated several of their “elite” fighters.

Gunnar. Her heart tugged with a desperate longing for his presence. The two Ghazsul demons would already be smoking corpses on the ground. She was completely in favor of doing her part, but she knew she was in over her head. If these creatures didn’t have wings, she wasn’t sure how she could escape them.

This mess was her own fault. Then again, he hadn’t told her not to drive around. And no one had mentioned seeing Ghazsul demons on Earth. Maybe they didn’t know the Ghazsuls were here. And if the Lash demons didn’t know Ghazsuls were hanging around, they wouldn’t know how much trouble she was in.

Who was this master of theirs anyway, and why was he here in Illinois? If they took her to another location, her chances of this situation having a good outcome went from slim to almost nonexistent.

Her eyes snapped to the towering trees. They were old, stately and beautiful, and sturdy as hell. She could eventually use enough wind gusts to knock one down, but it would take too long. She’d lose the element of surprise and be unable to defend herself while doing it.

She spied some branches on the ground beneath the nearest elm tree. They must have come down in a recent storm because their leaves were still green, their exposed bark rough and pale. She aimed her energy at the largest branch, causing it to pitch end over jagged end along the ground. When it picked up speed, she focused a sharp gust at it, causing it to become airborne. Nicole concentrated on that branch, imagining it was a flying sword, and sent it straight into the chest of the first Ghazsul.

The demon howled as black blood spurted from its front. The wound wasn’t fatal. Unfortunately, she knew just how hard these things were to kill. She had probably just gotten him really pissed off.

Nicole turned and bolted for her car, hoping she could drive faster than they could run. Or at least if she got near a store or post office, maybe someone could help her. Maybe the Ghazsuls wouldn’t show themselves around humans.

Hands trembling, she fumbled the unfamiliar keys in both her hands. She set one hand on the roof of the car to steady herself and yanked it back, shrieking in pain. The surface of the car had to be five hundred degrees. Behind her, she heard the second Ghazsul laugh. “Fair’s fair, little fae.”

Suddenly he was right next to her. She looked up at him in terror as she cradled her burned hand. He leaned on the car as if it wasn’t hot at all. Maybe he had magically cooled it down, or maybe Ghazsuls were immune to heat. She didn’t know and she sure didn’t want to ask him about it.

He bent and took a deep breath. “I can smell your fear,” he whispered. “And you’re feisty. That’s a good combination. Our master will be beyond pleased to make your acquaintance.” He spoke casually, as if they were friends chatting in a coffee shop.

Nicole didn’t know whether his demeanor was supposed to encourage her to talk. It certainly wasn’t working, and only made her feel more creeped out.