On Wicked Ground (Solsti Prophecy Book 4) (32 page)

“I mean, the force that pulls mates together is like magic. You can’t fight it and can’t explain it.”

“But I can’t have it.” Alina punched the elevator button with more force than necessary.

“And that is what I want to find out for sure.”

Several minutes later they stood outside Whysper’s door. Gin knocked loudly. Alina shifted her feet, wondering to herself if they should have waited until morning. What if Whysper was grumpy at being woken? A grumpy witch was probably not a good thing.

Gin raised her hand to knock again and stopped in midair as the door opened. Whysper peered out, gray hair mussed but eyes bright. “Two Solsti? Whatever brings you here?”

“I’m sorry it’s so late,” Alina said.

“Pfft.” Whysper gestured for them to come in. “I was awake. I never sleep through the whole night anymore. These old bones keep me up. Come, come.” She shuffled ahead of them. “I just put a pot of tea on.”

Alina turned back to Gin, who closed the door and mouthed
yes!

They walked to the tiny kitchenette in one corner of Whysper’s living room. A short hallway branched off from it, with two doors visible. “Sit.” Whysper patted the worn surface of a small table pushed against one wall. She set three mugs down, then settled into the chair nearest the stove. She looked up at them, perceptive eyes twinkling. “You,” she looked at Gin, “have a plan. Maybe involving mischief. And you,” she looked at Alina and her expression softened, “find yourself torn.”

Alina sighed and slumped into her chair. “I told Gin about the price that the earth demands of me.”

“And I need to ask you if there is a way around it,” Gin said. She sat, elbows on the table, leaning forward.

“Around it?” Whysper stared at Gin. “Child, the earth poured its essence into her every cell to heal her. Magic and elemental power stronger than anything I’ve seen. She is of the earth now, and it is of her.”

Alina’s chest felt tight and hot tears threatened to spill. She held so much potential at her fingertips, yet Caine was beyond her reach. All the gains she’d made with her power seemed to shrink at the witch’s certainty.

Gin shook her head. “I used to not believe in magic. But this realm,” she made a sweeping gesture with her arm, “turned all my beliefs upside down. It seems there’s always something stronger out there. A stronger spell, a stronger warrior, a stronger plant.”

“Elemental magic is the strongest of all. The four elements work together. They balance each other. Combined, they are even stronger.” The teakettle whistled and Whysper stood to move it from the burner. “You cannot counteract them.”

Gin sat back, arms crossed, expression pensive. “You just said that combined, the four elements are stronger.”

“Yes, yes.” Whysper filled their mugs and set out an assortment of tea bags. “Wind and water create deadly storms. Wind coaxes fire to grow wilder. Water nurtures the earth, and so on.”

“What if all four of us together could do something to counter act it?”

Whysper sat down and dropped a tea bag into her hot water. She toyed with the string for several minutes in silence, looking at Gin and then at Alina. “I do not know for sure, child, but there is one who we can ask.”

Gin and Alina both sat up straighter. Gin opened her mouth, a wide smile starting—

Knock, knock.

All of them turned toward the door. “My stars, I don’t remember when I’ve had this much company.” Whysper started to get up, but Alina stopped her. “Let me.”

She hurried to the door and opened it cautiously, half expecting Caine. But she found herself looking up at Brooke, Kai, and Rilan, the Elder from the Chicago house.

“Oh, hi. What are you—” Alina started.

“Alina? What—” Brooke’s gray eyes held an urgent, worried look.

“We’re looking for Whysper,” Kai said.

“She’s here.” Alina opened the door farther.

“What are you guys doing here?” Gin exclaimed.

Kai and Rilan followed Brooke into the room, their faces grim. “It’s Rosa,” Brooke said. “She’s in trouble.”

C
HAPTER
T
WENTY
-F
IVE

“R
OSA
’
S
IN
TROUBLE
?” G
IN
’
S
RAISED
voice filled Whysper’s living room. “What? How?”

“I don’t know but I had a dream about her. She was being attacked. She—”

“Sit, child. You look like you’ve seen a ghost.” Whysper pointed to a blue couch then shot a look at Gin. “Ghosts exist too, my dear.”

“I believe it,” Gin muttered.

Kai sat down next to Brooke, a move which apparently earned Whysper’s approval. “Yes, good,” the witch murmured. “Be near your mate, Brooke. Draw on his strength. He will calm you.”

Draw on his strength.
Alina felt that awful pinch in her heart again.
Caine
. Gods, this was driving her mad. She ached to go to him, just to press into his warm chest and feel him hold her close.

Brooke took a deep breath. “I should be calm. I’ve already told this to Kai and Rilan.” She clutched Kai’s hand like a lifeline. “It’s just …Rosa…she’s the last person I expected to see fighting for her life.”

“Fighting for her life?” Gin squeaked, then paled. She dropped to a beige wingtip chair. “Oh my god. You better start at the beginning.”

Alina had heard stories of the powerful witch Rosa. As Brooke described her dream of the petite witch, the demons, and the breached barrier, dread slithered up Alina’s spine.
They think Elegia is behind this.
“Is this happening right now?” she asked.

“I don’t think so. My other dreams were before the event, not in real time,” Brooke said.

“Other dreams?” Alina asked.

“One of the Solsti has dreams that are prophetic,” Rilan said. “Rosa determined this about Brooke when she met her.”

“So, we still have time?” Alina asked.

“Yes, but I don’t know how much.” Brooke bit her lip. “We have to help her.”

“Baby, we will.” Kai pulled her close and kissed her hair. “But let’s see if we can bring backup before we charge into a witch-and-demon fight.”

“Okay, but I don’t want to wait too long.” Brooke tucked a dark lock of hair behind her ear.

“I had trouble contacting Rosa,” Rilan said to Whysper. “I was hoping you’d have better luck.”

Whysper let out a low grunt. “The bonds of sister witch-hood?”

Rilan nodded. “As illogical as that is.”

“What are you talking about?” Gin rubbed her eyes, then muttered under her breath. “Half the stuff in this realm is illogical.”

“Rosa and I studied at the same school, and those of us who studied together share an added communication link. Rilan is correct in thinking I will have better luck.” She pushed up from her chair and disappeared into one of the doorways.

Brooke looked up from her curled position against Kai’s torso and glanced from Alina to Gin. “What are you two doing here anyway?”

“It’s a long story,” Gin said.

“It’s not important,” Alina said at the same time. Gin shot her a look that disagreed, but Alina gave her a slight shake of her head.

Gin took a breath and turned to Brooke. “If Rosa’s in trouble, she’s top priority. I mean, your dreams are—”

An orange light flashed under the bottom edge of the door, then went out. Then flashed on and off. The room went still.

Gin pointed to the door, eyes wide. “You guys…?”

“What does that mean?” Brooke whispered.

“Nothing good.” Kai pulled out his phone and started dialing.

“What could—?” Gin asked, then froze with her hand over her heart, then spoke as if questioning a statement heard in her mind. “An alarm?”

The door burst open and Mathias stormed in, crossing to Gin in three strides and pulling her up and into his arms.

“What’s going on?” Alina asked.

“Intruder alarm,” Mathias grunted into Gin’s hair. “No one has breached the wards, but a suspicious group was seen nearby. We have them on camera. We’re running the images through our database to find a match.”

“Elegia?” Alina whispered. Everyone said HQ was safe, but in that meeting the other day, when she’d asked Arawn point-blank if Elegia could track them here, he hadn’t given a clear answer.

“We don’t know who the individuals are,” Mathias said. “We’re on alert due to the unusual circumstances.”

Whysper padded out of her bedroom then, took in the newest visitor, the orange light under her door, and chuckled. “The gang’s almost all here,” she said as she ambled toward the kitchenette. “And we’re on alert. That’s a rare occasion.” She busied herself at the small counter, pulling out bowls and vials. Alina stared at her, wondering why she didn’t seem concerned about the alarm.

Mathias turned to her and arched a brow. “What are you doing, witch?”

“Going to contact Rosa, my dear Hunter.” Whysper transferred her items to the table and sat.

Mathias opened his mouth, but Gin stopped him with a gentle finger on his lips. “Brooke had a dream about her, and Rilan had trouble contacting her.”

“And I needed to contact her anyway.” Whysper crushed a dried leaf and sprinkled it into her bowl.

“You did?” Alina was feeling more lost by the minute.

“Yes, child.” The old witch produced a black star-shaped charm on a silver chain and rubbed it between her thumb and first finger. “She is the one person who may be able to help you.”

Intruder alert.

Caine froze with his curved blade inside a mock Neshi demon’s chest. Ten pairs of eyes shot to him and a low rumble filled the room. “Class is over.” He withdrew his blade. “We’re on alert. Report to your captains for instructions.”

His students leapt to their feet, eyes bright with anticipation.

Caine strode to the doorway, turning to face them. “This is not a drill. I hope you were listening tonight, because you may have to kill one of these fuckers for real.” He whirled and tore down the hall.

Alina. The need to get to her made his skin crawl and his lungs pinch.

Orange flashed in every corridor as he pounded his way from the underground training room to the elevator. Fuck. In all his years here, he’d seen the compound go on alert once.

Reaching the elevator, he punched the button but knew it would take too long. Sweat beaded on his brow as he shoved his way into the stairwell and took the steps two at a time.

At the main floor he pushed out into the cool sparkling marble of the rotunda. About to try his luck with the elevator again, he stopped as a familiar and entrancing scent teased his nose.
Moonflower.

He darted over to the large reception desk where Ana manned her station with calm efficiency. The flashing orange warning lights and the desk phone with all twenty lines blinking red didn’t seem to faze her in the least. “I know this is a bad time but have you seen Alina?”

“She was with one of her sisters. They went…” she paused and held up a finger while she dealt with one of the phone lines. “Yes, sir. I’m on it.” She pushed a button and turned to Caine. “They were going to see Whysper.”

“Thank you,” he said, but Ana was already tapping away at her tablet.

Whysper’s rooms were on this level. Caine ran, closing in. He could see her door…

Several scents converged in the hall as he drew nearer. What the hell?  If this was another day, he’d crack a joke about Whysper having a party. Right now, every cell buzzed with an urgency that overrode the flashing alert.

Twenty feet away…ten…the door was cracked open and he forced his feet to slow so he didn’t knock into the witch or anyone else when he entered.

He stepped into a room full of people, but all he could focus on was the tiny blonde in the corner, looking like she wanted to throw up. She yanked her head up from her numb lost stare at Whysper’s braided rug and met his eyes with a gaze that slayed him.

Relief and a tiny smile, which was stopped by a completely stricken look. He closed the distance and wrapped her in his arms, not caring that they had an audience. “Are you okay?” He bit out the words, knocked sideways by the one-two punch of first needing to see that she was safe. And next, by the absolute calm that infused his body at skin contact with her.

“Yes.” She leaned into him and sighed like she’d been holding her breath for days. “Are you? You were teaching—”

“Class is over.” He pulled back to study her face. She’d showered and smelled like heaven. “Have you been here long?”

“I guess.” She shrugged. “I was with Gin. We were outside for a bit, then we ended up here.”

“You were
outside
?” A protective flare shot through him.

She made a face. “Way before the alarm went off. We were already in here when it did.”

“Woman, you’re going to be the death of me.”

The door burst open and Arawn strode in, radiating controlled fury. “Hunter. I need you at the trespass site. Caine, go with him and see if any footprints, or anything out of place matches something you’ve seen before.” His words were clipped and his dark eyes glowed with a deep amber light. “One of those fuckers has good enough ears to hear our camera. As soon as we zoomed in, he looked right at it and they left in a hurry.”

“What kind of demon was it?” Mathias asked.

“Serus. Three of them. And a hellhound. But there were two more cloaked figures we can’t identify, because the whole area smells like flowers dipped in cleaning fluid or some shit like that.” He looked around, assessing each one in the room. “Hunter, I need you to tell me the scents beneath it.”

“Any luck with the visual database?” Kai asked.

Arawn shook his head. “No matches. Sebastian’s on his way to take a look, see if he can identify any of them as Elegia.”

“The lack of matches makes sense, if they were kidnapped,” Gin spoke up.

Arawn swung a barely contained scowl to her.

“They weren’t criminals before Elegia took them and made them work for her.” Gin folded her arms. “So they won’t be in any database.”

“Duly noted, Solsti.” Arawn’s scowl lessened a fraction. “The rest of you, stay put until we have a plan in place.”