I won’t make that promise, Zane.
He turned to her and she saw his eyes flash with anger. You’re not to put yourself at risk. That’s an order.
At that, she lifted her chin. The shifter part of me absolutely resents those words. Now tell me I’m out of line here. This is my life. These are my choices. I’ll ghost you, but like hell I’ll stand back and not take action if needed. And remember, I helped get you out of the Dead Zone.
Like any man used to command, he stiffened his back.
She put a hand on his chest, which stopped whatever argument he intended to put forward, and added, I’ll make the promise that I won’t enter the fray. But I will do what I need to do.
> He scowled heavily. I guess I’ll have to be content with that.
Yes, you will.
At that moment, two Invictus wraith-pairs flew up the street. They had a couple of unbonded female wraiths with them, dressed in strange, gauzy-red strips and ready to force bonds with the shifters. Any of the bikers would make fierce battling mates once bonded as part of an Invictus pair.
They’re frightening to look at.
Yes, Zane pathed. They are. He turned to her. Be careful, Olivia. Don’t do anything foolish.
At that, she offered a crooked smile. Again, no promises.
She watched his own lips twist, though she could tell he was trying to remain stern.
Wisely, he slipped unnoticed into the forest, moving north and away from the Elf Lords Hideaway.
CHAPTER THREE
Olivia kept her cloak frequency tight and her gaze fixed on the street. At the same time, she ghosted Zane as he flew a mile north. She switched often between her tracking ability and her need to see what was happening in Barker’s Bend.
In the north with Zane, the woodland opened up to a narrow field where twenty or so Vampire Guardsmen had gathered, hovering in the air and waiting to attack.
Across from the bar, more bikers rushed into the street and engaged in the brawl. The whole time, Margetta’s chaos wind blew, the strange odor making Olivia’s nose wrinkle.
Her internal gaze watched as Zane and his troops headed higher into the air, a fearsome sight. The Vampire Guard all dressed the same, in long, sleeveless leather coats padded at the shoulders, and in black leather hip boots, pants in the same material, and maroon woven shirts.
The coats flapped as they moved so that there was a certain sound to the flight, like a soft drum in the background. They flew swiftly south. But about a quarter mile from the bar, Zane lifted his hand and the entire squadron drew up, levitating midair.
Zane, what is it? Olivia asked.
Shit, it’s just like Britchett Falls. My men couldn’t get in then and they can’t get in now. Margetta has some kind of additional spell in place.
Though his men stayed put, he rose another fifteen feet above his troops, probably looking for a way around the spell. This feels like a wall that goes on forever.
As before, he used his battle frequency to break through, but when he waved his men forward, they found the same resistance and couldn’t progress past the spell barrier, even though Zane could.
He drew back immediately to rejoin his troops. To Olivia, he pathed, The hell if I’m falling for that again.
Yeah. Don’t do that.
She heard Zane’s telepathic laughter.
Olivia moved out from the shadows, but stuck close to the shrubbery. Let me get a visual down the street. Maybe there’s something I can do to disrupt the spell from here.
The golden light came into view first, then Margetta. Behind her were at least two dozen wraith-pairs and several single wraiths no doubt looking for new Realm-folk with which to bond. She let Zane know what she saw.
He responded exactly as she expected. Damn.
When more unbonded wraiths began to fly toward the bikers, Olivia’s heart rate rose. Once bonded, those biker-shifters would be tough to defeat for the average Vampire Guardsman. The Invictus bond added power to both the wraith and the bonded mate.