“I’m sorry, I didn’t know you were still here when I locked up.”
“I came in through the back. You should be careful about the locks on your doors.”
Alarm shot through me. “We’re closed now. We’ll be open tomorrow if you’d like something.”
“Oh, I don’t need anything from you. At least, not yet. I thought I’d introduce myself.” She winked and came forward, her eyes glowing red for a moment. I blinked. Unsure what I had seen—if anything. “My name’s Faith. We’ve met before, though you probably didn’t know it was me.”
My back was to the door. It was locked, and I realized there was no way out. “What do you mean?” I asked.
“You met some of my pets earlier. I’m kind of sad that you took care of them so quickly. It’s okay. There’s more where they came from.”
“It’s you,” I breathed. Faith was the necromancer.
“It’s me. It’s amazing how long I’ve been here, and no one noticed. The town of Ravenwood is safe for all creatures, it seems. Even little old me. I wanted to introduce myself. And to give you a warning. Be careful when the darkness comes. Because light fades, and so will you.” Before I could breathe, she held up her hand. Water sliced out, seemingly out of nowhere, and slapped me in the face. A trail of warmth slid down my cheek, and I reached up, only to see my hand come back red.
“You don’t even know how to use your powers and you think to go against me? Oh, honey, you don’t even know. Tell the others I’m here. This was a warning. If we’re not careful, the game’s going to end far too soon for my liking.”
She held up her hands again, and I threw mine up in defense, not knowing what to do. Water pulled out of the small jars of water lilies around the room and flew at her. It soaked her to the bone, but the force of it pushed Faith enough that she slammed her back against the counter. Her eyes widened marginally, and it seemed as if I had surprised her as much as I had shocked myself. She winked, threw out another arm as water sliced into my flesh, and I ducked, holding back a pained groan. I wasn’t trained. Could only do some magic. But she was a water witch, a necromancer. And, apparently, she could use water as a blade. I looked up and saw she was gone, but then the door behind me burst open. I looked over my shoulder as Rome appeared, his eyes gold and wild as he growled, huffing towards me.
“Where is she?” he asked, kneeling in front of me. Jaxton came in behind him, Laurel suddenly beside Jaxton with a sword in her hand.
“Her name was Faith,” I whispered as Rome reached up to my face, carefully wiping away the blood. “She said this was a message.”
I looked at the others and knew that the time of peace and to prepare was over.
Chapter Ten
Rome
My feet sloshed in the water on the floor, and my bear growled. My knee was soaked where I knelt in front of Sage. I reached out, grateful that my claws weren’t extended. It was only by force of will that I kept them from poking out from my fingertips. I didn’t want to scare Sage. She was still so new to everything as it was.
“Her name was Faith,” she whispered, and I nodded tightly. I glanced over at Laurel and Jaxton as they moved to the back of the building, trying to catch whoever had been in here. Whoever this Faith was. Part of me needed to follow them, to discover who would dare touch my mate, who would dare to deface and harm my town. I had no time for that, though. Not when Sage was bleeding in front of me. The coppery scent of her blood burned my nostrils, and my fangs started to slide through my gums. I growled, low, deadly, and my fangs went back to where they should be. Sage’s eyes widened, but she didn’t cower away from me or say anything. Instead, she leaned forward and reached up as if to touch the cut on her cheek. I shook my head and wiped away some more of the blood, careful not to touch the open wound.
“Don’t. I’ll take care of it.” My bear pushed at me, clawing. Needing to do something other than stand there. But I couldn’t leave Sage alone. Not with blood on her face. All I wanted to do was slash at anyone who came near. The others seemed to understand that because they gave us a wide berth—for now.
“Is it bad?” Sage asked, her voice steady. She had to be in shock. That was the only likely reason she could be this calm and controlled.
“It’s not,” I said, knowing it was the truth, even though my bear thought it was the end of the world. I wanted to rip this Faith limb from limb for even daring to harm Sage. Whoever the hell thought they had the authority to touch my mate didn’t deserve to breathe. “We’ll get you cleaned up.”
“Do you want help?” Rowen asked from the front door, her hair flowing around her, her eyes dark with magic.
I shook my head. “I’ve got this. You should go see who it is.”
“I can scent her. It’s the necromancer.”
“Her name is Faith,” Sage repeated. She was still in shock, but we also needed to ensure that she was unharmed in other ways.
“Other than the cuts, are you hurt anywhere else?” I asked, studying her face.
She shook her head and winced. “No, just a little rattled. I wasn’t expecting her to come here when I was alone.”
“And where are your helpers? Your aunt? You shouldn’t have been here by yourself.” My bear was in my voice, and I couldn’t help it.
Sage’s eyes narrowed, and I liked the fire I saw there, even if it was directed at me. “And you think I’d be okay with my aunt getting hurt? You don’t know me, even though you seem to think you do.”
Laurel’s lips quirked, and I glared at her.
“Go help the others.”
“You’re not my alpha, bear. You would do well to remember that.”
“I remember enough,” I growled, my voice low and deadly.
“We will see.”
She moved then, and I watched her walk away as Trace came in, gave me a tight nod, and followed her.
I let out a low snarl. “Seriously, let me get this cleaned up.”
Sage shook her head again and then winced, looking around the room. “There’s so much water damage.”
“We’ll be able to clean it up,” Rowen said as she walked back in, her voice tight. “Faith is gone. Tell us what happened.”
I helped Sage stand. She winced again, and I glared at Rowen for making her move so quickly.
“I was here closing up. I thought I locked all the doors, but apparently, I left the back door open because Faith walked in.”
“She probably used magic or a spell,” Rowen said. “I’ll have to add another layer of protection that you’ll need to learn to deal with quickly. The only reason I haven’t yet is because you needed access to and from your place of business, and I thought I had enough wards on the town.” She rubbed her temples, and I saw the exhaustion there.
“I’m sorry,” Sage said. I growled again, and she sighed. “Stop growling. I am sorry. If I knew more about magic or how to protect myself, Rowen wouldn’t be working herself to exhaustion, trying to take care of me. And I thought a simple lock would work. I was wrong.”