The creature crossing the road is so dark I can’t clearly see its features. It starts on the right side, breaking branches, then rises on its two legs, its head so tall I have to lean all the way forward and still barely see it. Some sort of deep dark fur covers its body, and it crosses the road in lazy steps. The head turns to us, but it chooses to ignore us as it makes its way into the trees again. Apollo waits until it’s out of sight before he turns the lights back on and speeds up.
I put a hand on my chest, but my heart is not thundering. There’s no fear inside me. Whatever that creature was, it meant us no harm. “That was big,” I breathe out, and see Tristan and Ren nodding in my peripheral sight.
“A sasquatch,” says Apollo. “I’ve seen a couple before.”
He has the audacity to say the words with a straight face. I punch his shoulder, and he shoots me a glance, no smile on his lips. “You kidding me.”
“No. It’s a sasquatch.”
“They’re common in heavily forested areas,” Don adds, and though I enjoy when the two agree, I still can’t get over the sasquatch thing. “You were raised as a human,inamorata,” he goes on, “so it’s understandable many stories sound like that. Like they’re just stories. They’re true, though. Werewolves are true.” He points at Ren. “As well as gargoyles. People who say they’ve seen dragons is because they caught dragon shifters flying around.”
I shake my head and lean back against the seat, my gaze on the beautifully strange trees outside. “Not only my human creation, but the way I lived in small towns... There was never anything but humans in them.”
“There may have been other species,” Apollo says, shooting a looking at me through the rearview mirror. “Humans aren’t good with differences, even when they’re imaginary. They like to feel like they’re special and, when they are not, they tend to say others are inferior so they can feel superior. Supernaturals keep to themselves so humans won’t cause tumult. It’s happened before.”
“Many, many times,” says Don. “Humans hate vampires because we’re immortal. They hate shifters because they’re naturally faster, stronger. Mages, because they control elements. On and on the list goes.” He shrugs. “It’s better if we let the humans live by themselves, pretending we others don’t exist.”
A sad existence. I was raised in ignorance to protect humanity’s fragile ego. What a stupid reason. And the way Don and Apollo say it, it sounds like there hasn’t been only tumult, but more than that. Battles. War. It sounds like horrible things went down because humans were envious.
There’s so much I don’t know. So much to learn. I raise my eyes to the road, soft, blue-hued darkness clouding the way ahead. Gentle flakes of something the color of cherry blossoms start to rain down on us and Apollo closes the windows. He doesn’t mention what it is, but it feels ominous. I imagine a huge mushroom releasing poisonous spores in the air, and sink my teeth into my lower lip, avoiding telling the boys that.
Ren squeezes my hand and we watch the way ahead with curious eyes. Apollo takes a turn when Don tells him to, and we leave the main road, bumping over a beaten path, darker than the previous one, until we start climbing. Up and up we go, round and around like circling a mountain. And I guess that’s exactly what we’re doing.
Before I’m ready for it, we burst into sunlight. The space in front of us is plain and wide, the top of the mountain, where the rays of the sun fall down on us with its full strength. A house rises from the ground like a huge tooth, all white walls and straight angles.
Apollo parks, and I’m so curious to see the place, I almost jump over Ren to leave the car. He slides out, offering a hand I take. I smile at him, then turn to the place we’ve been searching for. The place who may offer us either our salvation or our demise.
The house has two stories only, but it’s wide. A porch wraps around it, columns making the building look like the summer house of some rich lord. The ceiling, though, is taken by plants and trees and flowers, as if nature crowns the place. The colorful sight eases us from the sheer brightness.
I step closer, something calling me. Like a pulse. I look at my feet. “How odd.”
“What?” Ren breathes from my right.
“It’s like... The mountain’s breathing.” I have no idea where I took this description from, but it feels like the right thing to say. Like there’s so much beneath my feet. Electricity buzzing. A pulse.
Donatello stands next to me, his lips tilting into a smile. “Your powers are growing. You can feel magic much better.”
Before I can answer him, the front door slams open. Two figures leave the house, glowers on their faces as they stare at us.
Why isn’t anyone ever happy at seeing us?
CHAPTER7
APOLLO
No matter how impressed Cassandra looked, driving into fae lands is never safe. One of them might be having a bad day and just decide to kidnap you for their fun, then poof. You’re gone, and no one will ever hear from you again. If we weren’t so desperate for shelter, I would have cut the vampire off.
Damned policeman. If it wasn’t for him stopping us, we could have driven to New York. We’d be concealed well enough — the place is too big for anyone to be found easily, and I could go to the mage who did my former clan’s wards and ask for some lessons for Cassandra. It wouldn’t be neither free nor cheap, but between the five of us, I know we could think of a way out. Keeping Cassandra safe and allowing her to learn her powers is our top priority.
Something tells me she’ll need those soon enough, and that once she has control, we’ll all be safe under her wings.
We hop off the car, and I slam the door shut just as someone leaves the house. My shoulders pull back immediately. No matter how much Donatello swears this is neutral ground, I can’t quite be sure of it. The dragon inside me considers everyone a threat to our mate, and we can’t really tell what a neutral ground would be like. Stepping closer to Cassandra, I narrow my eyes at the two coming down the steps, twin glowers on their faces.
“What’s that? A troupe of beggars?” The woman says, flicking long, blond hair over her shoulder. Her brows dip over her nose as she studies us. She stops her analysis at Cassandra, her frown deepening. I flare my nostrils, seeking her scent, but she’s in favor of the wind and too far for me to tell. Maybe Ren could, but once I slide a glance at him, I see he’s too focused on keeping Cassandra behind him, out of harm’s way. Good.
“They brought the Shadow Mage.” The man says, crossing his arms over his chest. Dark brown hair falls in a curtain to his chin, and he tilts his face up. “What a merry group.”
“Trevor. Alicia.” Donatello says, starting closer to the two. “It’s good to see you’re well.”