Ada's Protective Mate Read online

  The smoke in the hall was thick enough they had to cover their mouths and noses yet were still affected, coughing as they slowly made their way further into the house. With his eyes watering and hindering his ability to see properly, he followed his phenomenal sense of smell. That was difficult with the smoke, and he had to work overtime filtering out everything but the smell of blood and death to focus in on where the body lay. It was slow going, they may as well have been moving through swampy marshes infested with alligators. He couldn’t tell how far they’d gotten when the distinct smell of death got stronger, Nate’s head whipping in that direction. Putting out a hand he felt along the hot wall that would produce some blisters and found a door.

  “In here. Fires probably out of control, we may not get in.”

  “I’ve got an idea.” Penny practically pushed Ada into Nate’s arms as she shuffled forward. “How about some rain?”

  Penny could be a bit pushy when matchmaking. He’d have to thank her later.

  “Now you’re talking. Make it torrential, honey.” Nate lifted Ada so she was behind him again and kept her there when she wriggled by turning his arm and wrapping it around her and planting a big paw on her back.

  “Wait, put up a shield—” Ada was cut off.

  “Ooh, I do like the way you think, hot stuff.” Penny waved her hands up and down then leaned close to the door. “There. Unfortunately we may lose some evidence, but we’ll be able to get in—”

  “Smoke.” Ada snapped. “Aside from destroying evidence, water gushing over flames will produce mountains of smoke, which will filter out here and choke us.”

  “Hells.” Nate coughed as smoke billowed from around the door frame, covering them. He could barely open his eyes. “We’ll back away and stay low.”

  “A little late for that.” The brownie said whipishly. “Immortal, put a shield around us, one we can move in and will protect us from the heat and smoke. We need to get into that room before the water destroys anything that may lead me to Remi.”

  “Us,” Nate growled. Damn the woman was testy. “We will find the imp.”

  “At the rate we’re going we’ll either be blown up by a car bomb, as you seem to have some unscrupulous enemies, or die of smoke inhalation! It seems both you and the immortal don’t bother to stop and listen.” She snapped right back at him.

  She was infuriating, driving him crazy, and mad with the need to get his paws on her. “Listen up, brownie—”

  “As entertaining as you two are, shouldn’t we check out the dead creature and see if we can track down the warlock’s name?” Penny interrupted. “By the way, that was a good idea about the shield, Ada. Too bad you didn’t mention it before.”

  Ada shot the immortal a glare and received one of Penny’s fun little teasing smiles, which did nothing to lessen the brownie’s annoyance.

  “Sheesh, loosen up, brownie! You see, this is why your kind have such a bad reputation. If you learned to take a joke and relax a little, not take life so seriously, other creatures may actually feel inclined to listen to you lot.”

  “Thank you so much for your unwanted advice, immortal. Perhaps if you have finished, we could proceed. I would like to find Remika sometime this century.”

  With a little shove, Ada pushed passed Nate and reached for the door handle. Nate lurched forward, but Penny beat him there, slapping Ada’s hand away gently.

  “The doorknob will still be hot, brownie.” Penny donned a welding glove with the aid of magic. “Remind me to send this back to Sev. He gets shitty whenever someone touches his stuff, let alone takes it without permission. Though to be honest, I doubt he’d give permission. Sometimes I think he should have been born a vamp, they detest anyone touching their belongings nearly as much as my dear brother.” She opened the door and stepped back as smoke poured out. “Did you know he has actually booby-trapped his entire work room now?”

  “Doesn’t surprise me in the least.” Nate, keeping the brownie and Penny back, peered into the room, eyes going to infrared mode to penetrate through the smoke and darkness to see the condition and layout of the room. “And that would explain why my cousin Blaine was limping yesterday. Stay behind me and be careful where you step.”

  The room, from what he could make out, had once been a witch’s workroom. Here she would have stored ingredients for spells, made potions and tonics and kept a detailed log of clients, spells, and stock. Now the workroom was laid to waste, as was the body five steps away near a work bench. He studied the area around the witch then signaled the two women, letting them know to stay behind him as he carefully made his way to the body.

  Once across the room, he crouched and studied the remains to gain identification, if it were possible. Unfortunately, the body was charred and impossible to tell who it once may have been. All he could make out was it had been a female.

  “Not Remi.” Penny knelt on the other side. “Too tall, and she has blonde hair. This must be the witch.”

  “Hair?”

  “There is a patch on this side beneath her head. Looks to be black or dark brown.”

  “You know Remi?” Ada asked quietly, tone detached, as were her eyes that took in every single detail of the room which was now mostly cleared of smoke.

  “I do. She probably mentioned me, Penny Galindo.”

  Ada studied Penny. She gave a sharp nod after a moment. “She is very fond of you.” The brownie smiled very briefly. “She declared you to be the best source of knowledge and understanding of psychological and emotional nature of both creature and human. You are a psychologist.”

  “Yes, but that is more a hobby. I am a world liaison for my cousin Divij’s company. I love Remi too, Ada, and will do everything I can to find her and bring her safely home.” Penny stood and looked around. “Well, I guess the computer is toast, but the filing cabinets should have been safe from the fire. I’ll check in there for the warlock’s name. Would the receipt for the spell Remi requested be in your name, or hers, Ada?”

  “Remi’s. The witch kept a very accurate and detailed filing system, both paper and computer. Her death is a great loss. I will personally speak to the witch superior and explain. Is that the fire brigade?”

  With their supernatural hearing, they were able to just pick up the very faint siren of the fire brigade. They had to search fast and get out.

  “Yep. Search the filing cabinets; I need to destroy anything that could make humans suspicious.”

  Penny hurried to the filing cabinets while Nate began looking for anything that may alert humans to the very real existence of paranormals. A creature clean-up crew would have to be sent, and as this was murder, definitely murder, the evidence was all around, the Witch Council in New York would have to work with the Galdorcwide High Council. There was tension between the two councils because witches and wizards weren’t really creatures. Witches and warlocks resided in the human world, not in Galdorcwide, and had to apply for permission to enter. The basic fact was, witches and warlocks were human, born with the touch of magic. They had the same biological makeup as humans but held some magic talents and lived up to a hundred and fifty years, only aging in the last decade. Because of this, they were included in some things and excluded in others by Galdorcwide.

  Life could be tough, but that’s the way it was. Nate had no control over that, so he did his best to make everything go easier, smoother.

  “The witch has a client card in her hand.” Ada leaned over the body, not touching. “It doesn’t appear to be badly burned.”

  “Let me see.” Nate moved so he was beside her. He could just see a burned corner of a piece of paper in the witch’s hand. “Strange that it didn’t burn up.”

  “Ada’s right, this witch kept very precise records. She even covers them in a protective spell.” Penny was going through the filing cabinet. “Each file is protected from damage, and from a negative spirit.”

  “What do you mean?” Ada asked.

  After closing the cabinet, Penny joined them at the bod
y. “Witches have a great many valuable spells, and it looks like this witch had some important clients. She took extra care to keep their privacy and to protect her business by ensuring each client and spell record was covered in a magical protection. This fire was magically enhanced, and as I said, it doesn’t feel like the kind a warlock is capable of. This magic is stronger, another creature type, but again, it’s covered to conceal its origin. I cannot quite put my finger on… Familiar.”

  Penny frowned, shaking her head. “Not in a good way though. I’m thinking whoever lit the fire and killed the witch did it because of the protection spell over her records. Because of the ill intent spell, whoever killed the witch wouldn’t have been able to touch a spell or client record; their hand was probably burning or the card returned itself to the cabinet. Nor would a normal fire burn and destroy them, as they were protected from damage, but a fire that is magically lit, and one of this caliber, could.”

  “This bastard is too smart.”

  Nate snapped open the body’s curled fingers, and Ada couldn’t hide the grimace. It had to be done; it was necessary if they were to discover anything about the creature who had done so much destruction. Carefully he opened the stiff, badly burned hand and removed an index card that had been crumbled in the palm. It was surprisingly untouched by damage, he found, as he smoothed it out. He read the details on the card, and his blood ran cold.

  This rescue mission just got a whole lot more deadly.

  “Does the card give us the warlock’s name?” Ada demanded.

  “You said a warlock took the imp.” He growled.

  Fates damnation! If this was right, if the name on this card was the creature who snatched the imp, Nate couldn’t offer much hope of the imp’s chances of survival to his brownie. And it got even worse, for if the imp was taken by this creature, it was for a purpose that had all his instinctual alarms blaring.

  “When Remi called me, frantic that someone was breaking into her apartment and she was unable to stop them, she said the intruder was the warlock,” Ada said firmly. “We acquired a spell from the witch to stop a warlock stalking her. Apparently the spell did not work. Tell me why you ask this.”

  “The spell didn’t work because it was designed to stop a warlock, and we ain’t looking for a warlock.” With hackles raised, mouth set in a snarl, Nate handed the note to Penny. “I’m guessing the witch was confronted and tried to save something to identify who is really behind all this.”

  Penny stumbled back, eyes wide with horror. “Grydern…the Gods help Remi, and us.”

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  Prince Nico lounged elegantly in an antique red and gold velvet wing back chair at the head of the wide conference table. He didn’t appear to be paying any attention to the activities happening around him as creatures entered and took their places, but Nico was in fact observing everything. Creatures’ expressions, thoughts from those who were not blocking, and body language. He was an expert at reading body language.

  Normally, Ada would be studiously studying each and every creature entering the large conference room in the New York vampire building also, but she couldn’t stop thinking of Sandra Lipton and the black sorcerer.

  Despite having very little to do with Galdorcwide and its creatures, Ada stayed up to date with its happenings. It wasn’t about a hidden interest remaining in the place, but all about being prepared for anything that could happen and affect her. And she would’ve had to be deaf, locked up in a box, and buried in the center of the earth to not have heard of Grydern, the black sorcerer. Grydern was once a loyal immortal devoted to his position within the immortal development team. The group worked on creating and designing the healthiest flora and fauna and the most powerful spells. Grydern was respected and admired until the day he was caught performing illegal experiments on creatures. Galdorcwide had been in an uproar, everyone demanding Grydern be imprisoned and charged. He had never been stupid enough to use his powers to brainwash colleagues, students, and those he experimented on. When the authorities came to arrest him, the immortal unleashed those he controlled on the population.

  Ada sat rigidly in the seats behind the conference table that were set up for those observing meetings, her features pale, injuries sustained in the car explosion and burning house, healed. She looked calm and controlled, but inside trembled with the heartache of loss.

  Never would she get the witch’s burned remains out of her mind, just as she had never forgotten every moment of witnessing her parents’ deaths, and that of a dozen brownies and five other creatures. She closed her eyes, briefly, providing a moment to gain focus on the here and now.

  When Ada opened her eyes, she straightened her shoulders. What of Remi? Why did the black sorcerer want her? The index card in the dead witch’s hand was for the spell Remi requested to keep her safe from a warlock. Obviously the spell wouldn’t work against an immortal. The witch had written Not warlock. Grydern. on the card in her own blood, which led Nate to believe the woman lived a short time after the brutal attack and tried to warn whoever found her. It was horrific, and Ada felt awful about Sandra. She had liked the witch and was always impressed by her business entrepreneurially skills, though the woman had a distaste for following the law which saw her in Ada’s office quite often.

  But she couldn’t dwell. No, she needed to put all of her concentration and time into finding Remi and saving her friend. The creature who had her was a frigging lunatic! There was no telling what the twisted creep would do considering he had thought nothing of performing torturous experiments to be the smartest and most powerful immortal.

  At least she had some satisfaction from knowing there were at least three immortals who rivaled the psychotic bastard in power, and who probably surpassed him. Of course Divij Alto, the grand duke was one and his uncle, Emperor Tienn Alto. Then there was Tonya Smithson, a very powerful woman, and Ada would not discount Penny Galindo now that she had witnessed the immortal’s skills. Possibly she required refining and discipline, but Ada felt Penny’s power and knew she would be a force to take on in a few decades.

  There was also Ada’s own intelligence. Surely as the black sorcerer was said to be insane, to some extent, her intelligence could outsmart him.

  A meeting of the sentinels had been called, and nearly everyone was here, approximately twenty in total. At first Ada didn’t feel this was many, not when they were charged with protecting Galdorcwide and all creatures. But Penny reminded her sentinels were fierce, skilled and the most powerful of each of their kinds. If the need arose, they could also call on Galdorcwide police.

  Of course there weren’t any brownies, Ada noticed a tad sourly. This was another reason why she and her kind resented other creatures. They weren’t considered as strong or as powerful. Most other creatures might think brownies wouldn’t care, or they were too busy holding a grudge to do anything about it. Neither of those were true. Brownies had to first get past the fact they were not as strong physically and magically to be considered for some jobs. Unfortunately, after centuries, it became a hurdle and most didn’t bother anymore. But if there were a fight, like the riots forty years past in which her parents and numerous others died, brownies would be immediately and fighting their hardest. There may be looting afterward, but tactfully. You had to take the opportunities where you could get them!

  Her kind were a bunch of cunning, whining thieves, a bit shameful really, but Ada would not be admitting that to anyone. Not all of course, and to be honest, most did it as a way to irritate other creatures for imagined, and real, grievances. Still, brownies should have the right to be sentinels. Maybe after they found and returned Remi, she would confront the Galdorcwide High Court. Hmm, this would actually be a good point to make in the land dispute also, another piece of evidence that brownies were considered lesser creatures.

  Ada frowned. Sweet destiny! What ludicrous thoughts! Deliberately involving herself in creature life was one thing she fought hard against. What was she thinking? Obviously her recent intera
ctions with the werewolf, vampire, and immortal were clouding her normally precise, clear, sensible judgment. This was a timely reminder that she must remain on guard and stay firm to her beliefs. Otherwise there is no telling what mess she would become tangled up in. One careless moment was all it may take.

  Gazing about the room, she noticed a few seats vacant down the other end of the table and wondered briefly if they weren’t filled because of a sentinel dying, or betraying. Nate had only mentioned one sentinel turning against them to join the Revmiras, but there may be more. The thought made her uneasy, and she remembered that the werewolf said he and his vamp companion were here on a job. She glanced at Nico, who was sipping something hot; she could see the steam rising, from a gem encrusted coffee cup.

  Again she pondered why two extremely powerful sentinels would give their services to find Remi, especially when they were searching for an ex-comrade turned deadly Revmiras. Of course now that they suspected Grydern had taken Remi, she completely understood their involvement. It was more than reasonable and definitely required, to have those of their power in the hunt for an immortal who cared nothing about rules, life and maintaining Galdorcwide secrets. But why had they pledged their services before discovering the identity of the abductor? Ada could only come back to they wanted something, and from her. At least she had not made any deals with them, and they pledged themselves without demanding anything in return…but why did this not feel right?

  She was getting too close to these creatures. Unfortunately, she had no choice but to rely on them, she would be much more vigilant though. Fates, this was becoming increasingly more difficult! Even now her eyes were straying to the werewolf who was presently entering the room with his cousin Blaine. Though she chided herself, dragging her gaze from him was damn near impossible. The werewolf attracted her like no one else. Possibly it was opposites attracting? Possibly even a challenge, or that they were thrown together when she was so very emotionally overwrought. Whatever the reasons, Ada was not one to delude herself. The werewolf attracted her, and she was highly susceptible to him. She would consider the best way to deal with this later.