Hair of Gold: Just Right (Urban Fairytales Book 6) by Erik Schubach Page B

with the cloth strips as she said, “That... we are doing again, once all this vrajitoare nonsense is concluded.” She turned her eyes, full of mischief, to mine and she grinned.
    I just nodded dumbly reliving the kiss and realizing I had my toes balled up in my boots. I relaxed them and nodded, squeaking out, “Yes ma'am.”
    Then I narrowed my eyes and looked at the chuffing bears around us. They quickly shut up and looked far too innocent as they looked away to imaginary things in the forest. I muttered, “That's what I thought.”
    She exhaled loudly as she pulled back, inspecting her makeshift bandage then pulled my cloak back over my shoulder and nodded in satisfaction. Then she stared at my shoulder with a proprietary worry which I sort of liked, as she asked absently, “So, is this a typical day for you lot?”
    The bears made keening sounds as they nodded while I shrugged, wincing at the motion, and confirmed, “Da. Pretty much.” This got a sardonic chuckle from both her and Hansel.

Chapter 11 – Kodiak Amulet
    I took a second to catch my breath, cupped her cheek and smiled, then let my hand drop as I stood, sheathing my blade. “We need to end this.”
    Her brow creased in concern as she looked around. Andrei and Pavel had injuries as well, but not bad, their bleeding had already stopped. Then she asked, “The three of you are injured, would it not be more prudent to withdraw for now?”
    I chuckled and motioned toward my shoulder. “This? I have suffered far worse just wrestling with my bears. We need to put an end to Narcisa and Baird's senseless violence.”
    She exhaled heavily shaking her head and muttering something about bullheaded people. This got me smiling. Then I softened as I looked at her profile. Even with her face creased in concern, it was a work of art.
    It was my turn to exhale heavily, and I started walking deeper into the gap between the peaks, my brother's flanking me. I heard her quick footsteps as she hurried to keep pace. She shot a look over to Hansel, who just shrugged and grinned, tightening his grip on the stock of his whip.
    She murmured, “You're all crazy.” Then she shot me a wink as she bumped shoulders with me. I grinned at her and silently welcomed her into our crazy band of idealists.
    Our eyes were flicking around taking everything in, I saw Little Bear's nostrils flaring, taking in all the scents as Vladimir tilted his head, listening intently. For weighing close to a ton each, my brothers moved almost soundlessly, as I padded along, wincing at the crunching of Hansel and Gretel's footsteps in the dying forest.
    My skin was crawling as the power built from the runes and sigils branded into the tree trunks. There were odd charms, talismans, and wards hanging from branches more and more frequently the deeper we traveled. Some had odd crystals in them that seemed to swallow the light. They beckoned with a sickening draw, begging to be touched so they could swallow us whole too. This was the draw of dark magics that had seduced and corrupted so many men and women.
    We approached a crack in the very mountain itself, dark and foreboding, when energy arced from tree to tree around us, penning us in. It was a trap, and we had walked right into it. Andrei stepped close to the purplish-black energy which was crackling and seething like something alive. And he bellowed and moved back. His fur and flesh singed.
    My bears all stood and bellowed as the ring of trees was surrounded by beasts from every man's nightmares that slunk out of the shadows. There had to be a hundred demons of all shapes and sizes. Some that were so hideous they hurt my eyes simply gazing upon them.
    We turned back to the dark crack in the mountain when that unhinged laughter echoed out from it. An old woman and a man who looked to be in his late twenties or early thirties stepped out, arm in arm. It had to be Narcisa and her son.
    If she were truly the sister of Alina, mother of the Lycan Curse, then she