“Why? What the—”
Balen charged into the room, the door slamming up against the wall from the force and then tilting as the top hinge gave way. “Danni,” he shouted as he went for me. “Get away from the window.”
Keir was right behind him. He grabbed Anstice, pulling her back against his chest. Balen shoved me behind him.
“What is it? Witch?” Anstice asked.
“No,” Balen said. “Different. It smells like . . . Christ. Wraiths.”
“Balen, take Danni and get her to the Tomb,” Keir ordered.
“Too late for that,” Balen said.
Dampness seeped into the room and the air began to smell of rain and wild roses. Blue mist appeared and swirled around them.
Then, the mist fell and a cloaked woman materialized, wearing a pale blue gown that left nothing to the imagination. Her golden tendrils fell across and down both shoulders to settle on her breasts. The woman’s blue haze faded and her form became solid as she stood facing us.
“Holy hell.” I blinked to see if the woman would disappear. She didn’t. Maybe vampires were real and Anstice could heal with her hands. Or Keir’s drugs were damn powerful and I’d been given a good dose of it. Whichever, the beautiful woman in front of me was staring as if she could read every single ridiculous thought that was steamrolling through my mind.
I TIGHTENED MY GRIP on Danni’s arm. “Genevieve?” I asked Keir without taking my eyes off the woman.
“Yes,” the woman answered, her gaze moving to me. “I am Genevieve, Wraith of Water, and I’m here to help you.” She gestured with her hand toward the window. “The others are coming. I suggest you leave here. And take the woman with you.”
I grunted. “Where to? Because my options are pretty limited right now.”
The Wraith’s eyes began to change from blue to green. “To our homeland. The cave. It’s your only choice if you want Danielle to live.”
“You’ve got to be kidding.” I half laughed at the absurd suggestion. No way in hell was I listening to a Wraith when they were the ones after me.
The ground quivered, and the window shattered, shards of glass crashing to the floor as the wind gusted into the house. Shit, the Wraith of Air was close.
Genevieve said, “She’ll die if they take you. Only as a Scar can she survive the Bonding if you’re taken and put in Rest or die. Waleron knows this. Go. I’ll do what I can to delay them.” She raised both hands into the air and entwined them. A mist of swirling water circled around her. It rushed and groaned, growing with power, driving everything in the room back from her vanishing figure. “Go!” she shouted.
I grabbed Danni’s hand and pulled her from the room. Her skin was cold and trembling, and I knew she was in shock. Seeing the beautiful Wraith and her power was enough to make any human reel in shock. Christ, this was fucked up.
Waleron entered my mind. “Tomb. Now. I’ll meet you there.”
I half dragged Danni down the stairs and into the basement, Keir and Anstice steps behind. Jedrik stood outside his room in his black boxer shorts and no shirt.
“Hey, what’s all the noise? Trying to sleep here,” he said, ruffling his hair and yawning.
A white cloud materialized next to the pool table and Waleron appeared.
Danni gasped.
Jesus, talk about screwing with a person’s mind.
The snake’s eyes on Waleron’s tattoo glowed red for several seconds then went back to black. His stance was tense; the power he exuded filled with rage. This was the Waleron no one wanted to fuck with.
“Don’t use your powers, or they will sense them and be able to track you. You’ll travel by car to Newfoundland. By air, Urtzi can easily find you.” Waleron tossed him keys. “I’ll arrange for the jet to pick you up when it’s safe. You’ll stay with the Talde on the east coast. I trust them implicitly. When it’s safe enough, the plane will take you to Spain. I’ll meet you in Zugarramurdi for her transition.”
“For real?” I asked.
Waleron scowled. “Have I ever not been ‘for real’?”
“Shit. Yeah, okay.”
“Get the hell out of here,” Waleron ordered.
A loud crash sounded upstairs and Waleron instantly vanished. Why my Taldeburu was intent on sticking his ass on the line, I couldn’t figure out. Did they trust me? Or were they doing this to protect Danni since she was Anstice’s best friend?
Keir and Anstice ran back upstairs and Jedrik disappeared back in his room.
I pulled Danni toward the garage. “Balen, what is going on?”
Her face was as white as the Wraith of Water and I could smell fear radiating off her skin. “I’ll explain on the way. We have to get the fuck out of here.”
She stumbled after me as we went down the long hallway. “That woman? The water. I mean, okay, that isn’t possible, right? Water swirling around and . . .”
Another loud crash from upstairs and then something that resembled a howl.
I stopped and grabbed her by the shoulders, my fingers bruising. Her eyes were staring and glassy. “Baby, that water shit you just saw is nothing compared to what is happening upstairs. They’ll take me away from you.” I shook her once. “Separate us.”
Her eyes widened. “But that would . . .”
“Yeah, babe.” I inhaled and smelled fire. “Fuck. Edan.” Edan was going to be one hell of a pissed-off Wraith.