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exclusive relationship with me, for that matter. But the bottom line seared across my
brain and I knew, in that moment, what the most important issue was.
 Oh, Nick. Tell me you didn t do this now just to protect me.
 I hadn t meant to take it this far yet. It just happened.
 No. I shook my head, knowing it was true. He still had two and a half months of
obligation on his debt. A debt he had incurred buying back my life. If we were joined
tighter then a true mating, he d be physically unable to service any woman but me.
 We are so screwed.
* * * *
I paced the length of the living room, nerves jittering for the first time in my life. Not
because I was scared of the bad guys. I was terrified for Nick and, I guess, myself.
Myron and Scott showed up first, took one look at Gareth, then set off for the
kitchen. The others straggled in after that. There was one new addition, who I didn t
notice until Nick and the Knight suddenly glued themselves to my sides.
Following their gazes, I studied the man. He was almost as tall as Big, though not as
bulky. He had rusty blond hair and sea green eyes. He canted a crooked smile at me,
filled with even white teeth. Catching sight of Reynolds, I latched onto his arm as I
headed for the newcomer.  Introduce me.
 Erik Dawson, this is J.C. Bailey. Bailey, Dawson.
 Did anybody scan him? I didn t take my eyes off Dawson as I picked up on the
vibe that emanated from his body. I also happened to notice the way his irises
fluctuated after I d been staring at him for a while.
Big, Sean, and Dryden moved into position behind the guy.
 Big did, Reynolds answered.
 How deep, Big? I started drawing threads of power to me, ready to perform my
own probe.
 I think you should take a look yourself, Dawson said, his grin wide.
Was this a trap?
 Nick, Gareth, anchor me. I felt my two men take up positions at my back, each one
resting a hand on my shoulder. When I felt our bond click into place, I smiled back at the
new guy.  I ll take you up on that offer.
He inclined his head, and I sent my magic in his direction. He threw his shielding
wide open to me and I sped deep inside of his essence at a blinding rate.
I expected to find the enemy, or at the very least a trap.
I didn t expect to find a gift.
Reaching the very center of his being, I was flooded with the strongest, purest magic
I had ever touched. Nick hissed, and nearly broke contact with me. I could actually feel
Dawson shift his very energy to align more with Nick s.
 He s an Adivar, Gareth whispered in my ear, speaking of an almost mythical
people that were said to offer their unparalleled magic when they perceived great
injustice.
 I m Nick s Adivar, Dawson stated.
 Why? Try as I might, I couldn t sense any taint that would challenge his statement.
Dawson shrugged, a very human gesture.  I know more about the situation than you
do.
I dropped my power. I let it snap back into me, then I bled the excess back into the
earth.  Want a beer?
Nick took a step closer to the Adivar. He reached his hand forward, palm out and
brought it close to the man s chest, waving it over the surface, without making contact.
Dawson watched, then reached his own hand forward and lightly brushed Nick s
arm.  Shake my hand, he said with a calm voice.
Nick froze, and I could feel the tension building inside of him. Instinctively, I
stepped forward and placed my hands on Nick s waist. The moment Gareth s hand
touched me, Nick dropped his palm into Dawson s hand.
I flinched, causing Gareth to jerk. But the searing power I expected never came.
Instead a soothing stream of energy flowed through us, its waves undulating as it aligned
itself, altered itself to our individual patterns.
Dawson broke contact.  I ll take that beer now.
The rustle of movement around us alerted me to the fact that the entire team had
closed ranks around us, ready to come to our aid should it have been needed.
For the first time in a very long time, I felt the rush of emotion at what a very special
group of people I belonged to.
We all moved away from each other, spreading out to various chairs about the room
and the kitchen. The pizza arrived, and things fell into a more normal rhythm.
Dawson, however, became part of our little group.
Reinhold cleared his throat, and we dutifully turned our attention in his direction.
 I ve got a treat for you tonight. He grinned, and it occurred to me that he rarely did
that.  The imps are in town for their annual blowout.
I laughed with the others, even if it was a sick kind of joke. See, once a year the imps
came en masse to the surface and had the party to end all parties. They favored drinking a
kind of moonshine that, when tremendously over-imbibed, would cause them to swell to
twice their normal size, often resulting in an explosion. You d think it would be a tragic
loss to their people, but they just weren t that smart. It certainly didn t stop them from
doing it every year.
Our job tonight would be to keep the humans from witnessing a bunch of drunken
imps, exploding or otherwise. They were always a handful, even before they started
bursting and spewing their gelatinous bodies across the room.
I went to my office, grabbed the box of vinyl ponchos I had stashed there, brought it
out to the living room and dropped it on the floor.  You might want to grab more than
one, I told the group at large.  I went through three last year, and I could have used
more.
Reynolds paired off the rest of the team, knowing that the four of us would be
working together.
I was helping myself to another piece of pepperoni, watching Dawson grab a slice of
deluxe.
 What? he asked, noticing my glance, then took a big bite out his piece.
 That s got anchovies on it, I said, when I was really thinking  you guys eat pizza?
like I was some kind of rube who was watching a city slicker.
 Love  em. He smirked as he chewed.
I didn t mean to, but my eyes dropped to his lap, and I was suitably impressed with
the package behind his zipper.
He reached over and placed his finger under my chin, raising my eyes to meet his.
My breath froze in my chest when I saw the hunger burning within him.  I m not so very
different from you, He said, brushing his thumb over my bottom lip.
 Let s wrap this up folks, I ve got a feeling the imps are going to show up early and
stay late, Reynolds barked.
* * * *
We were standing outside of the Sterns and Oar, listening to the squeaky voices that
came from within.
 Now aren t you happy we followed those imps over here? Nick said as he dropped
an arm around my shoulder.
 Ecstatic, I mumbled, glancing down at my poncho to see if I should change it first.
It was still relatively clean, so I led the way inside.
The Adivar s head swiveled as he took everything in at once, and I had to wonder
how sheltered a life his people led if a grungy human pub filled with intoxicated imps
was such fascinating entertainment to him.
 You ll have to take care of the employees later, I told Gareth, meaning for him to
selectively alter those people s memories of the events they were witnessing. As it was, I
gave them a lot of credit for going about business as usual, when they d been overrun by
two-foot high blue creatures.
 One more time. The high-pitched warble of an imp caught my attention as several [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]