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Anne looked around. "What happened?"

Suddenly, Adam was jolted against the door. Whoever was out there was trying very hard to get in.

"You collapsed. I thought you'd fainted, but your eyes were open." Rheia helped her to sit up.

"I think I was able to reach Kendrick." She put her hand over her chest. "I'm sure of it."

"I hope to the Gods you're right. This door won't last forever," Adam said, repositioning his feet.

Rheia looked across the office to the window. "I suppose putting bars across the windows seemed like a good idea at the time?"

Adam grinned. "We can open them from the inside, they can't be opened from the outside."

Rheia stood. "Then why don't we just go out that way?"

Adam shook his head. "That's how they lost you last time. I have a feeling we'd be running right into a trap. It's better to hunker down here." He looked at Anne. "How sure are you that help is coming?"

Anne stood and faced the doctor. "Kendrick is coming for me."

He nodded. "Then the best thing I can do is hold on. The only way they are getting to my baby sister is by walking over my dead body."

Meryn smiled weakly at Adam then glared at her phone. "When I see Aiden, I'm gonna kill him."

Behind Adam the door began to crack.

Kendrick! Hurry!

*****

"Do you see why we use quartz now?" Kendrick asked.

Basil nodded, his eyes glued to the crystal that was changing colors.

Basil had soaked up everything he had taught him that morning, including the warding spell on the door. He couldn't have picked a finer student.

Kendrick!

Kendrick turned and looked around. He could have sworn he just heard Anne.

Kendrick! Help!

There was no doubt in his mind; that had been Anne.

He whirled to face Basil. "Anne's in trouble. I need you to stay here. These tests are about finished. I need you to stay here and record the results for me; can you do that?"

"Of course!" Basil looked scared.

"Good lad!" Kendrick turned and ran from the room. "Sei!" he yelled as he ran down the stairs. Stress had him reverting to calling Ryuu by his first name.

Ryuu appeared below him in the foyer. "Something has happened hasn't it?"

Kendrick nodded, and they both ran for the door. They headed to the open field where the unit warriors were training. "Aiden, to me!" he yelled.

Aiden's head snapped up. He saw Kendrick and Ryuu running toward him and roared. Kendrick knew that the commander had figured out that if they were running to them, then the women were in danger. Some of the men ran to the small back building and others ran to the garage.

Aiden checked his sidearm. "What do we know?" he asked.

"Nothing, only that Anne called for me."

Ryuu looked at Aiden. "Denka is scared, but also angry at you."

Aiden groaned and ran back to his bag. He dug around and pulled out his phone. He put it on speaker. "Baby, I am so sorry."

"Later. Where are you?" Meryn demanded.

"We're leaving here in about two minutes. What's your situation?"

"Rheia, Anne, Adam, and I are trapped in his office. So far they haven't been able to get through the door."

Kendrick felt his impatience building. He wanted to leave already. Behind them, SUVs began to roll up as the other men jogged forward carrying bags of tactical gear. In less than a minute, the men had mobilized. Normally, he would just use his magic, but there were too many men, and he'd never been to the clinic before to gauge the distance.

"Anything you can tell us about the enemy?" Aiden asked.

"We think they are invisible ferals. They are being persistent and fucking annoying," Meryn yelled.

"There's my Menace," Sascha said, nodding at Aiden.

"Hey guys, you need to hurry, no shit," Meryn said. The hiccup in her voice had the men scattering.

"Wait! Tell them that they are invisible but are shimmering, as if they are giving off heat waves," they heard Anne yell into the phone.

Heat waves?

"Let's move it! Lorcan, your unit is assigned house detail. We don't know where these bastards could pop up next," Aiden yelled.

"Yes, sir!" Lorcan yelled back, and began positioning his men around the house.

Kendrick, Gavriel, Colton, Darian, and Ryuu jumped into the SUV with Aiden. All Kendrick could think about was Anne. If anything happened to her, he didn't know if he would be able to follow her peacefully into the afterlife. He was seriously scared for the men he rode with. Beside him, Ryuu was vibrating with energy. He knew that the squire would be focused on one thing and one thing only, Meryn. Between the two of them, their enemy didn't stand a chance.

*****

When the men arrived, they simply kicked the door in and flooded the halls. When they got to the hallway leading to Adam's office Aiden held up his fist.

Kendrick and Ryuu looked at each other and stepped in front of Aiden.

"Wait, we don't know what's out there!" Aiden hissed.

"Doesn't matter," Kendrick said and turned his attention to the hall. Thanks to Anne's description, he knew what to look for. To Anne's untrained eye, the invisibility spell through his magic looked like heat waves, which meant that he would be able to see them. "Can you detect them?" He asked his friend.

Ryuu's hair floated around his body as if ebbing back and forth in the water. He shook his head. "No, but my magic can follow yours. What is the plan?"


Tags: Alanea Alder Bewitched and Bewildered Romance