Page 29 of My Eternal Light
“Where are we?”
Liam patted her hand. “This is Éire Danu. The home of the fae. Technically, we’re in a parallel dimension the queen created to keep her people safe. Éire Danu is one of four paranormal pillar cities in the US. The shifters live in Lycaonia, the vampires in Noctem Falls, and witches, like our Kincaid are from Storm Keep.”
“I went crazy, didn’t I? Little Jimmy’s asinine parents put me over the edge.” She kept looking around, taking in the cobble streets and gray overcast sky.
“If you’re crazy, you’re in great company,” Liam said, walking her over to where a group of men were standing around a barely upright Kincaid.
“He should be in bed!” she exclaimed.
“They’re helping, I promise. The tall red-haired man is an older witch named Kendrick Ashwood and from what I’ve heard he’s been mentoring Kincaid. The small woman next to the dark-haired man is Meryn McKenzie and her mate Aiden McKenzie. Aiden is kinda our boss. The two red-haired smaller men are Nigel and Neil Morninglory. They’re also students of Kendrick and good friends of Kincaid.” Liam pointed to the others going over their names.
Under their feet the ground literally rolled, pitching everyone forward. Aiden scooped up his mate before she hit the ground. Nigel and Neil picked themselves up and took positions ten feet away on either side of Kincaid. They each raised their right hands, and a shimmering dome of faint green light encapsulated him. The ground steadied and was stable once more.
Liam helped her to stand. “Did I mention they are earth witches? They should keep the ground steady until Kendrick can figure out what’s wrong with our boy.”
Kendrick looked around and spotted her. He waved her over.
She looked to Liam.
Smiling gently, Liam escorted her over. Right now, he was like a damn lifeline.
“You. What was he like before…” he waved to Kincaid, who had resumed his muttering and was now walking in tight circles spewing nonsense.
“He said he was hot and that his vision was blurry, then it tripled,” she answered.
“There has to be something you’re missing,” Kendrick said, his voice sharp. “What else?” he demanded.
Zadie didn’t know what else to say, that was all she knew. Instinctively she stepped away from Kendrick toward Kincaid.
Moments later a bolt of fire hit Kendrick square in the chest.
Everyone turned to stare at Kincaid, who was snarling. “Mine!”
Kendrick winced a bit and wiped at his shirt. “My apologies Zadie. I didn’t mean to frighten you. But, I think Kincaid just gave us the missing piece of the puzzle.” He looked around. “Zoe, can you and Carson take positions like Nigel and Neil, but from the other cardinal points?”
The woman with a hair like living flames nodded and quickly got into position. She and the one she assumed was Carson lifted their right hands and the barrier now shimmered with red sparks over the misty green.
Another impossibly tall man stepped next to Kendrick. “It’s either air or water,” he licked his lips as if tasting the air. “I taste ozone, so I’m leaning toward air.”
Kendrick was grinning from ear to ear. “Three! Thane! Three all on his own. No wonder I couldn’t bring a power online for him, it had already begun to gear up to protect his mate.”
Thane chuckled. “You know if it were anyone else, I’d be terrified at the abuse of power, but Kincaid might need some of Aiden’s antacids.”
“You all aren’t fucking funny,” the burly man next to the smaller woman said grumpily.
Zadie put her hands on her hips. “Are you going to help him or stand there with idiotic grins on your faces. He’s still in pain you pompous assholes!”
The two men stared down at her in shock, mouths literally hanging open.
The woman behind Kendrick, along with Meryn began to chortle.
Wiping her eyes, the woman pat Kendricks forearm. “She told you honey.” She waved in her direction. “I’m Anne, I’m mated to this particular pompous asshole.”
Kendrick’s frown turned into a pout. “I am not pompous.”
This time more than the women laughed.
Out of the corner of her eye, within the barrier Kincaid dropped to his knees. That was when she realized that the barrier was in place to keep them safe, not to help him.