Page 20 of Charisma
As everyone’s words sink in, I watch Leigh’s countenance change from distress and anger to one of wonder and awe. She turns to Ice, who still looks dejected, and throws her arms around his scruff, yelling, “We’re going to have a baby!”
Without missing a beat, despite being in his bear form, he nuzzles her until she’s astride his back, then turns and lopes toward their bungalow. “Yeah, I think she’s good now,” Landry snickers out. “So, Esmerelda, what did you come up with?”
“It wasn’t just me, the girls helped, as well as quite a few of my friends. However, it’s time-sensitive but we’re going to need a drop of blood from every type of supernatural being in existence. We can, of course, get a lot of them here seeing as we are a blended group, but there are quite a few we’ll still need to track down and prick their fingers for the spell to work.”
“Esmerelda, can we do a conjuring spell and call one of each here to get it?” Maizy queries. “It would save some time, plus we could be specific about what we need in the spell.”
“Child, there’s a reason why you’re going to be a force to be reckoned with when you fully mature into your powers,” Esme praises, smiling at the younger witch. “That’s a brilliant idea. Let’s go look at the spell once more to ensure we have a complete list of who specifically we need to call on then we’ll get busy.”
“They’ll be coming here?” Baldwin growls out. “How will that keep us and the townspeople safe?” He has a good point, but Esme would never endanger another soul.
“The girls and I will congregate the ones we call upon to a communal place and cloak it so they can’t escape, but the downside is that no one can enter once it’s been spelled,” Esmerelda confesses, chewing on her bottom lip knowing that there’s fixing to be a riot from the men. Because knowing my girl, she won’t let anyone ‘non’ witch inside. It’ll be too chaotic to control if she does.
“Absolutely not, sorceress,” Beast bellows. “There’s unequivocally no way you’re putting yourself directly in the line of fire. I won’t accept it. There’s gotta be another way. A safer way.”
“I also am unhappy with you doing this, little witch,” Drakko chuffs. It’s obvious he’s aggravated because despite being in human form, his words are punctuated with small plumes of smoke.
“What if I call Colton and tell him about the impending threat? Surely among the Rogue Enforcers, we’ve got the majority of the supernaturals covered,” Paxton asks. “Then, the ones we don’t have, it would be easy to either go to them or glamor them here, right?”
Esme taps her finger on her chin, a sign she’s deep in thought as she considers what Paxton has suggested. Personally, I think it would work because every kind of shifter is within our loose band of folks. We may not know all of them, but their goal is the same as ours; protect the humans above all else.
“I’ll concede and do things your way, Paxton. “This time. But if Colton isn’t able to pull it off, we’re back to doing it my way. Deal?” Her question isn’t directed at one of the men in particular, it’s to the entire crew. They all reluctantly nod their heads, thinking that Colton will pull through for them and they’ll be clear of their promise to her. “Good.”
“So that’s settled, I’ll get on the phone and place the call. In the meantime, we’ve secured the perimeter as best as we can, and our men and women are worn out from the sparring. While we’re in limbo for Colton to make his decision, we’ll rest, eat, and get to know our friends a little better,” Maverick orders, pulling out his phone and walking away from the audience without another word spoken. Knowing him, he’s not wanting anyone to hear his part of the conversation so he’s separating himself from those who he doesn't know well.
“We will also take a shift when it comes time,” Drakko announces. “We will fly overhead while cloaked so the humans don’t see us. Our scales are impenetrable so we will be safe.”
“Even from demons?” I skeptically question.
“Yes, we’ll be safe from them in our shifted forms,” Buvor asserts.
BALDWIN
Charisma is holding a pow-wow with the women, the non-pregnant ones are bonding over margaritas, and the ones who are expecting are drinking alcohol-free mimosas. Since our newest allies are on their scheduled patrol, I decide to follow them to see what they’re all about.
“What are you doing?” A voice whispers in my ear causing me to jump.
“Where did you come from?” I yowl, pissed that someone got the drop on me while I wasn’t paying attention to my surroundings. My eyes have been laser focused on the way the dragons' scales shimmer from the moonlight. Their claws are sharp and unyielding, nails that I can tell will rip their foes to shreds; even from a distance I can discern how lethal they are.
Paxton laughs in my ear as I take in his nude state. “I was up in the trees, gliding along the limbs, curious about our friends’ intentions.”
“Are you afraid they have bad intentions toward us?” I question, because I don’t get that feeling from them in the least.
“That’s not the vibe I get, but I’ve always been a bit fascinated by them so seeing them in action while also patrolling from above was my plan until I saw you. Whatareyou doing?”
“They do seem to be in their element,” I concur, still watching as they glide through the air. “Same as you. I wanted to watch them as they guarded our land. Did you see Airvyd hover above the trees earlier?”
“How do you know who you were watching was Airvyd?” Pax inquires.
“Because he's red and orange. Drakko is green, and Buvor is blue. They represent the elements of the earth or something like that,” I prattle, excited that I was observant of something that he wasn’t. “Didn’t you pay attention, Pax?”
“Huh. Nope, must’ve missed that fact.” Pax sounds pissed that something so important as that escaped his notice.
“They’re fucking awesome, aren’t they?” I ask, my voice barely above a whisper. “I know we’ve got our abilities, but damn, to be able to breathe out smoke and fire? That would be a kickass addition to what we’re able to do, that’s for sure. Not only that, but do you see their claws? I bet they could rip someone in half without any trouble.”
“We can,” a voice behind us replies, causing us both to jump.
Turning, I see Buvor, in his naked human form, grinning. “You know we can hear you even when you whisper, right?”