deep, rich aroma of the first blossoms of spring, and I could follow that scent across the world if I had to.
The path we strode showed clear signs of damage from others who’d used it before us. Many more than just the twins had followed this trail. It was well-used, leading us right into the densest part of this pocket of forest, toward the mix of storm and machinery noises.
“What the fuck?” I cursed as we dashed into a clearing.
Braxton was already growling, both of us grinding to a halt. The storm noise made sense now. The entire clearing was filled with a massive tornado, twenty feet high and thick enough to almost obscure the objects it surrounded.
“This is magically created,” Braxton said. “So what the hell is it doing all the way out here? There are no magic users in this area.”
None registered to our town anyway, which meant this was probably dark in nature.
As we stepped closer I could just make out the shape of a small house nestled in amongst the trees, and standing before it seemed to be the twins. Or at least twin-shaped shadows.
“Have you ever seen anything like this before?”
Braxton swiveled to meet my gaze. “Never.”
Great. I stepped as close as I could, trying not to flip the hell out. Just the knowledge that something which was clearly dangerous and magical in nature was separating me from Mischa ... I was on the edge of losing it.
“It’s not attacking them,” I said, my eyes darting at vampire speed to try and discern everything from the scene. “But I think the house is made of … candy … which is all kinds of screwed up. Is the house holding them hostage?”
Braxton snarled, very dragon-like, and when I turned toward him I could see the yellow splashed across his eyes; his features were getting that lizard look about them. Most of the quad bond was disabled at the moment, just enough connection remained so Tyson and Jacob could find us, but I still picked up the animalistic nature of his mind.
Braxton’s words were guttural. “The boys are almost here. I’m going to drop the rest of our bond and shift.”
I stepped back. In a flash Braxton was naked and then he was dragon. Stepping to his side, I waited for him to charge the wind barrier. If anyone could break through the magic of this unnatural tornado, it was the dragon. And he wasn’t going in without me.
“Max!”
Jacob’s shout let me know he was almost there, Tyson right behind him. Which was good; I wanted us at full strength. We’d take no chances with the girls or their babies.
My baby. Fuck. Heads were going to roll when I got to the other side. The dragon launched itself toward the wind, but just before his snout crashed through, a filtering of magic washed over the area, slamming into the four of us, knocking us back a few yards.
What the hell? Magic rarely acted so strongly against us like that, especially not the dragon.
Braxton was already moving again, Tyson and I close to his right, Jacob on his left.
“That was dark magic,” Tyson rumbled. That explained the strength. “Someone is casting a spell using demon energy.”
The wizard raised his hands, and as he started to murmur under his breath, I felt his own potent brand of energy zip away.
“Can you tell where it’s coming from?” I asked.
Braxton had paused. One wrong move with dark magic and we might make the situation a lot worse for everyone. Demons were not to be messed with. It was only their inability to live on Earth without a host that gave us any advantage against them.
Tyson took a few minutes to answer, by which time Braxton’s rumbles and fiery breath had increased exponentially. Finally the wizard said: “The darkness originated in that house. Strong sorcery, mixed of so many energies, but … fuck … I’m getting a whiff of the Krass family.”
Those words were an accelerant to the fire inside of Braxton. The dragon tilted his head back, roaring and letting his huge plume of flames spring free. He then
The path we strode showed clear signs of damage from others who’d used it before us. Many more than just the twins had followed this trail. It was well-used, leading us right into the densest part of this pocket of forest, toward the mix of storm and machinery noises.
“What the fuck?” I cursed as we dashed into a clearing.
Braxton was already growling, both of us grinding to a halt. The storm noise made sense now. The entire clearing was filled with a massive tornado, twenty feet high and thick enough to almost obscure the objects it surrounded.
“This is magically created,” Braxton said. “So what the hell is it doing all the way out here? There are no magic users in this area.”
None registered to our town anyway, which meant this was probably dark in nature.
As we stepped closer I could just make out the shape of a small house nestled in amongst the trees, and standing before it seemed to be the twins. Or at least twin-shaped shadows.
“Have you ever seen anything like this before?”
Braxton swiveled to meet my gaze. “Never.”
Great. I stepped as close as I could, trying not to flip the hell out. Just the knowledge that something which was clearly dangerous and magical in nature was separating me from Mischa ... I was on the edge of losing it.
“It’s not attacking them,” I said, my eyes darting at vampire speed to try and discern everything from the scene. “But I think the house is made of … candy … which is all kinds of screwed up. Is the house holding them hostage?”
Braxton snarled, very dragon-like, and when I turned toward him I could see the yellow splashed across his eyes; his features were getting that lizard look about them. Most of the quad bond was disabled at the moment, just enough connection remained so Tyson and Jacob could find us, but I still picked up the animalistic nature of his mind.
Braxton’s words were guttural. “The boys are almost here. I’m going to drop the rest of our bond and shift.”
I stepped back. In a flash Braxton was naked and then he was dragon. Stepping to his side, I waited for him to charge the wind barrier. If anyone could break through the magic of this unnatural tornado, it was the dragon. And he wasn’t going in without me.
“Max!”
Jacob’s shout let me know he was almost there, Tyson right behind him. Which was good; I wanted us at full strength. We’d take no chances with the girls or their babies.
My baby. Fuck. Heads were going to roll when I got to the other side. The dragon launched itself toward the wind, but just before his snout crashed through, a filtering of magic washed over the area, slamming into the four of us, knocking us back a few yards.
What the hell? Magic rarely acted so strongly against us like that, especially not the dragon.
Braxton was already moving again, Tyson and I close to his right, Jacob on his left.
“That was dark magic,” Tyson rumbled. That explained the strength. “Someone is casting a spell using demon energy.”
The wizard raised his hands, and as he started to murmur under his breath, I felt his own potent brand of energy zip away.
“Can you tell where it’s coming from?” I asked.
Braxton had paused. One wrong move with dark magic and we might make the situation a lot worse for everyone. Demons were not to be messed with. It was only their inability to live on Earth without a host that gave us any advantage against them.
Tyson took a few minutes to answer, by which time Braxton’s rumbles and fiery breath had increased exponentially. Finally the wizard said: “The darkness originated in that house. Strong sorcery, mixed of so many energies, but … fuck … I’m getting a whiff of the Krass family.”
Those words were an accelerant to the fire inside of Braxton. The dragon tilted his head back, roaring and letting his huge plume of flames spring free. He then
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