I didn’t have to cover my ears, but it was still loud, and I winced when someone revved an engine too loudly. Bear wrapped his arm around me and sent a loud growl down the street. Several men perked up their heads and gave a curious wave, taking a few steps closer to us for a greeting.
“Not tonight,” Bear yelled down the street. “Later.” His voice clipped, and he wrapped his arm around me. “Anaki, make sure no one comes in except the inner circle.”
Anaki gave a mock salute, opened the door for us, and gave me one last wink.
The open sign was flipped to closed so no one else could enter. A beautiful etched glass was at the front of the store so customers could look inside that I didn’t get a view of. The manikin at the front held clothing of old gypsy clothing, a round table, and a crystal ball.
“Is this her?” A woman, much younger than I expected, pushed over hanging beads that separated the back and the front of the store. “Took you long enough to bring her here, Bear,” she scolded.
Bear wrapped his arm around me and stood in front of me. “I had to claim her.” He gritted his teeth. “I didn’t need anything happening to her.”
I saw the hair rising on Bear’s arm, his body heat doubling as he stood near the woman in front of us. I put my hand over it, rubbing it, trying to calm him. “It’s okay.” I looked up at him. “Everything is fine now.”
I sure hope it was.
“Really, I am okay. When Bear is near me, I don’t have any problems sleeping,” I whispered to her. I felt small, utterly small around the tall woman in the room.
“Except she still has the nightmares,” Bones butted in when he opened the door.
Bones, Hawke, Delilah, Grim, and Journey all came in at the same time. Anaki gave a little wave and stood inside but continued to stay at the door, watching. Who I didn’t see, that surprised me, was Locke.
“I agree, this is strange,” Bear linked to me. “Where is Locke?” Bear asked everyone.
Hawke cleared his throat. “Locke is indisposed right now. Let’s handle one crisis at a time, shall we?” He wrapped his arm around Delilah, who smiled and waved excitedly toward me. Oblivious to the tension in the room.
Grim grunted in agreement with Hawke and nodded for Tajah to continue.
“First, let me introduce myself to our newest member here before I get my magic on her,” she smiled and wiggled her long, manicured fingers.
Bear scowled and pulled me back behind him.
“I was only teasing. You aren’t any fun.” Tajah put her hand on her hip, showing off the intricate detailing of a black corset that tied up the front with a lace buckling. Her knee-high boots matched the corset and the long cape she wore made her look like a complete badass for a witch.
Tajah lowered her shoulders, glanced around the room, and sighed until she leaned against the counter. “I guess it ‘tis to be expected that everyone is acting like a stick is up their ass with everything going on. Anyway, Nadia. My name is Tajah. I am the resident witch and long-standing member of the Iron Fang.”
Tajah didn’t offer her hand to shake, and I’m guessing it was on purpose. Bear had his arm around me tightly, and he wasn’t going to let me budge.
Tajah continued. “The Iron Fang and its physical properties are all protected by sanctions of protection spells to keep out spirits. They also keep us hidden by certain entities of dark magic.” She clasped her hands together. “The reason I tell you this is that we thought a curse was laid upon your mind, but now that we know a spiritual being has come out of your head and reentered you, we believe we are dealing with a spirit. A spirit or demon can only enter a protected area if they are inhabiting a living body.”
As Bear’s hand gripped my shoulder, I could sense the waves of anger and worry emanating from him.
“Wait a minute.” Hawke raised his hand. “You mean to tell me we may be in danger?”
Tajah shook her head. “I didn’t say that. I still need to ask her a few questions first. I’m trying to explain to her that this is very serious.”
“Duke Idris already knows where we are.” Journey spoke up from the corner of the room. “Remember, there was a tracker on me?”
Hawke crossed his arms. “He would have burned us to the ground by now if he did know,” Hawke said.
“He was bluffing,” Grim snarled. “Or he has forgotten when he was burned to a crisp the first go around.”
Bones groaned. “Did we even check Nadia for a tracker? It was a clean sweep, no alarms tripped, only a couple of guards dead, and no trail left behind when she was retrieved. It was almost too easy. I bet Idris gave her to us.”
I held onto Bear’s arm tighter, listening to everyone’s rising voices. I wasn’t scared, but Bear’s rising anger was fueling mine. I wanted to snap at all of them. It was a new emotion I was experiencing, and I wasn’t sure I liked it.
“Cyran’s mate had a collar. Nadia would have had one too. She just has that thing in her head,” Hawke argued back. “Let’s calm down and have Tajah look at her and go from there.”
Bones rolled his eyes. “If Bear wouldn’t fight me all the time, this wouldn’t be an issue.” He raised his voice and came closer to the both of us. “Then I hear from Anaki that this nightmare demon came out of Nadia’s body and was hovering over her. Bear, you can’t handle that shit on your own. She should have been here, at the Iron Fang, getting care from people that know what they are doing!”
