From The Deeps (Seven Wardens Book 1) Read online

  If there was one thing Macey had learned recently, it was that anything was possible. And that if a story existed about something, then there was a good chance it existed somewhere in the world. Maybe not quite in the exact way the stories said, but certainly in some form.

  Are you ready? Cat-Man’s sudden reappearance in her head made her jump.

  For what? she replied.

  To travel the Staran, he said shortly. She could almost hear the ‘duh’ at the end. Except that he wasn’t her brothers, and was centuries old, so wouldn’t be as immature as to actually say it aloud. Or think it. Or whatever they were doing right now. All this magical communication would give Macey a headache if she had time to stop. Or if she didn’t already suffer from magical headaches induced whenever the Voice made an appearance.

  “Yes, I’m ready to travel the Staran,” she said aloud, mostly for the men’s benefits. She needed to remember how much she hated it when Cam and Flint talked in their heads, and that it probably felt the same for the three of them when she was talking to Cat-Man. Then again, it wasn’t like she had a choice with Cat-Man. He couldn’t exactly speak aloud in this form, and she couldn’t ask him to transform back just so she could chat to him. She couldn’t ask him to ever transform back for any reason. Not knowing it was the last time he could do so.

  Thoughts flickered through her mind, mostly centred around if there was a way she could change his fate. To make it so he could shift any time he wanted. That ability wasn’t something she’d ever given much thought to, but now it was the only thing on her mind. Maybe there were other things she took a little for granted too. She needed to watch that in future.

  Cat-Man nodded his big black head, and before Macey had time to even think another word, she found herself being sucked back into the Staran and down their path to...wait, where were they going? No one had actually told her, other than that they were heading towards Ice. Maybe that was all there was to it. Maybe the Staran didn’t just work on visiting a place, maybe visiting just a person was possible too, no matter where they were.

  When they worked at all, anyway. As far as Macey could tell, the Staran very rarely actually did what they were supposed to. Or at least, not for her and her men they didn’t. It was possible that the Staran just didn’t like Wardens. Or that the person who’d made it sick in the first place had programmed it not to like Wardens. Programmed? Spelled? She couldn’t work out the right word for it. Then again, the last thing she’d ever expected was to have to work out a word for a sick travel system. Life had certainly taken a very strange turn.

  Without her being fully aware of it, Macey’s feet found themselves on firm ground again. She frowned. That had been a lot smoother landing than just about every other trip she’d taken through the Staran. Unless she counted the first one, but she didn’t. She’d been unconscious for that one, so it hardly counted.

  “That was almost like it should be,” Cam said, awe written all over his face.

  Macey glanced around, surprised to see the mists were thin here, almost verging on non-existent. She lightened her grip on Cat-Man’s fur but didn’t move her hand away. She wasn’t sure whether or not their connection would survive if they broke contact.

  The advantage of having a Cat Sìth with you, he chuckled down the connection.

  “Does it really make a difference to have you with us?” Macey asked aloud. She knew Cat-Man would hear her, and didn’t want the other three cut out of the conversation.

  Yes, if the damage to the Staran has been done by who I think it has.

  “Cryptic,” she muttered, before relaying back to the men. Flint took a step towards her and pulled her close with a firm hand on her waist. He pressed a kiss onto the top of her head, and she almost melted into him.

  “We know the Voice is behind it anyway,” Cam pointed out.

  “Yes, but what is the Voice?”

  He’s like me, Cat-Man said, taking Macey a little off guard.

  “A Cat Sìth?”

  No, just of a fae line. But that’s bad enough.

  Yes, she imagined it was bad enough. The Voice seemed strong, particularly after what Sharara had said.

  “But aren’t we supposed to be with Ice?” she asked, looking around her for the first time. Unease settled in her stomach as she took in what looked like an abandoned warehouse looming in front of her. The lack of mists didn’t even stop it from being eerie. Which said a lot. “Please tell me we don’t have to go in there?” she asked of her men.

  “I can tell you that, but I don’t want to lie to you,” Cam said.

  “But we’re with you, every step of the way,” Jared added, coming to stand next to her.

  “And Ice is in there?”

  I don’t know, but this is where the Staran brought me when I thought of his name. Cat-Man shrugged. Which in any other situation, may have been comical. As it stood, Macey wasn’t overly amused.

  “Are we on Earth?” Macey asked. With all the travelling and strange places she’d been to recently, it was hard to tell. It looked like a human warehouse in an abandoned industrial area. Most of the glass windows were broken, the rest covered in yellow dust. It could easily stand in as a crime scene in a film. It gave her the creeps.

  At least she had her magic back, so she wasn’t defenceless. Neither were the others, and she was sure that Cat-Man had some decent claws on his furry paws. Then why did she feel such a level of hopelessness and despair? She was tempted to give up and run away, hide somewhere with her men, wait until the Voice found them and she invited it in...

  Wait. Those weren’t her thoughts. She was a kelpie princess, she wasn’t going to run.

  “Something’s wrong,” she whispered. “Do you feel it as well?”

  “Darling, I want to feel all of you.” Suddenly, Jared hugged her from behind, putting his hand on her boobs while whispering in her ear. “I’m going to take you here and now. You’re the most delicious being I’ve ever tasted and I’m going to devour all of you. You’re going to be my entree, dinner and dessert and when I’m done with you, there will be nothing left but a whimpering mess begging me for death.”

  She jumped out of his embrace, staring at him incredulously.

  “What the waves did you just say? What’s wrong with you?”

  Jared ignored her and stalked towards Macey, his eyes crazed. This wasn’t the Jared she knew, this was the incubus he kept locked inside.

  As one, Cam and Flint stepped in front of her. “Stay back, he’s not himself!” Flint shouted and flames appeared around his outstretched hands.

  “Yeah, I kind of figured that out myself,” Macey mumbles. “What’s wrong with him?”

  “You said you were feeling strange? It’s the same for him. Except that he didn’t manage to get himself out of the mental grip of whoever is doing this.”

  “I don’t think it’s the Voice,” Macey said slowly. “It feels different. Less aggressive, more... sneaky. Almost playful. Teasing. A warning, but not a threat yet.”

  “Well, I’m not enjoying this game,” Cam huffed as he kept a barrier of air between them and Jared who was now beating against it, trying to get to Macey. His expression was pure lust and no humanity was left in his eyes. No wonder incubi had such a bad reputation.

  “How are you two not affected?” she asked, inspecting them carefully for any sign of Jared’s madness.

  “Centuries of practice. And with our mental abilities, we’re used to keeping up strong barriers around our minds. It takes someone much stronger than this to break through those.”

  “And can you use these exceptional powers to make him normal again?” Macey asked drily, watching as Jared was ripping off his shirt, presenting his shapely abs to her. As if that would make her go over and touch him. Tempting, yes, but she preferred the normal Jared, not the crazed incubus version.

  “Darling, come to me, I want to drown in your waters,” Jared shouted, his voice the most alluring thing she’d ever heard. She took a step forward, towards t
he beautiful sound, but a hand on her shoulder stopped her.

  She turned to Flint, breaking the spell. “Thanks.”

  “No problem. He’s even making me want to go over and kiss him.”

  She stared at him. “Are you...”

  “I’ve been known to experiment,” he grinned and winked at her. An image of him in Jared’s arms, their hot bodies entwined, fluttered into Macey’s mind. Wow. Was that excitement she felt? Or jealousy? Or a mixture of both? But no, this was not the time for this. They needed to get their incubus back to normal so they could investigate the warehouse.

  “Where’s the cat?” Cam suddenly asked, looking around while still keeping up the barrier around Jared.

  “He was here just a moment ago.... do you think it affected him, too?” Macey asked, but Flint shook his head.

  “His mental strength is as least as good as ours, if not better. He’ll be safe from the influence of whatever this is. But why didn’t he say anything? It’s odd for him to just disappear like that.”

  “Is it?” Cam asked. “He’s not been very happy about coming with us in the first place. Maybe he decided his job was done?”

  “Look, I’ve got no trousers on!” Jared shouted, interrupting them. He was indeed only wearing his boxers now and was in the process of getting rid of those too. Macey cringed. As much as she liked seeing him naked, this was bad timing.

  “Do something about him, please?” she begged the other two, covering her eyes.

  “We could knock him out and see if he’s normal again when he wakes up?” Cam suggested. “Or find some rope and chain him to that lamp post and hope that he’s still there when we’re done?”

  Macey didn’t like either of those options. “Or you stay out here with Jared and I’ll go inside with Flint?”

  Cam growled. “No way. We’re all going together. We don’t know what awaits us in there.”

  “Sweetheart, look how hard I am for you!” Macey whirled around, taking care not to look at his midsection.

  “Oh for waves’ sake, it’s enough!” she shouted and threw a ball of water at him. She’d intended something small, but her magic decided otherwise and drenched Jared in a massive fountain of icy water. He squealed as it pushed him to the ground.

  “Oops,” she muttered, evaporating the rest of the water before it could actually hurt him.

  Jared slowly got up on all fours. “Why am I wet?” he asked slowly? “And why the fuck am I naked?”

  Cam grinned and released the wind barrier. “Good to have you back, mate.”

  Jared picked up his wet clothes and looked at them with confusion. “Did I go incubus?”

  “Yes, you did. I think you have some apologising to do. Some of the stuff you said to Macey wasn’t very polite,” Flint chuckled and waved his hands through the air. A moment later, the clothes were dry again and Jared quickly slipped into them while hiding his blushing face.

  “I’m sorry,” he mumbled, clearly embarrassed. “I usually have it under control... was it very bad?”

  Macey laughed. “You said you were going to have me for dinner.”

  “Oh. But I didn’t...?”

  “They stopped you before you got a little too touchy-feely,” she explained and he breathed a sigh of relief.

  “I can’t believe this happened. It’s been ages since I went full incubus. Anybody know what happened?”

  “I’m pretty sure we’re going to find out once we finally enter that warehouse,” Macey said, a healthy dose of impatience in her voice. They’d lost too much time already. If Ice wasn’t here, it had been a complete waste. And if he was, this chaotic mind fuck may have made everything a lot worse.

  “Let’s go,” she said and walked towards the large metal doors. They were covered in dents and rust. Cam stepped in front of her and put a hand on the door handle.

  “Ready?” he whispered and Macey looked around. Three determined men met her gaze and she squared her shoulders in advance. It was time to solve this mystery.

  The entrance to the warehouse loomed above them, causing something like dread to flow through Macey. Her men were next to her though, and that made everything at least a little easier. Though she’d prefer it if she knew where Cat-Man had gotten to. Despite it all, she was feeling a little attached to the odd creature.

  She took a step forward and gritted her teeth as the urge to shift forms overwhelmed her. She knew she couldn’t give in though. She wouldn’t be able to breathe if she did. Plus, she imagined kelpies were rather ungainly in their aquine form on land. There wasn’t much grip for webbed hooves against a hard floor. A struggle began within as the shift tried to take hold. This wasn’t good. She couldn’t let the shift take hold, no matter what she did.

  “You okay?” Cam asked, his normal calm, coolness cracking slightly as his worry shone through. Despite it all, Macey’s heart skipped a beat. He was worried about her. For her. It was one thing knowing it, but quite another seeing it. She knew that was a silly thing to say, particularly when she bore his mark on her back, but even so.

  “Just struggling against the magic,” she said, nodding towards the warehouse.

  Now do you understand why I’m not with you, Cat-Man said, making her jump. She hadn’t expected him to still be about after his silence during the incubus attack. She didn’t really blame him for leaving during that. Jared had been a sight to behold, that was for sure.

  You’re still here.

  Of course, I promised my sister I’d help you. I can’t break that promise just because one of your husbands gets out of control. Cat-Man sounded amused, filling Macey with relief. She knew he wasn’t about to just get over his sister’s death, but at least he wasn’t in the place where he was ready to end himself over it all. Or give up on life completely and go on a rampage. She wasn’t sure which was worse, though at least he wasn’t still going on about killing Ice. No, not Ice, Izban. She knew his name, she should get used to using it.

  Thank you, but they’re not my husbands, she responded.

  What do you think they are then?

  Macey didn’t respond. She couldn’t. What were they to her? More than just a fling. More than just her boyfriends. But they weren’t married...right? They’d need a ceremony for that. She pushed the thought away. She’d deal with that one when there wasn’t a massive imposing warehouse to deal with.

  I’ll be waiting out here until you return, or the enchantment breaks. But I can’t risk being forced to change forms. A wave of sadness washed over Macey, and she wondered whether it was Cat-Man’s emotions, or whether it was her own reaction to what he was saying. Whatever it was, it distracted her from her concerns of just moments ago.

  Of course, totally understandable.

  Thank you, kelpie. His voice faded, almost like he was walking away. Though surely that shouldn’t be possible? He was a disembodied voice in her head right now, walking away wasn’t physically possible.

  “Earth to Macey.” Jared waved his hand in front of her face.

  “She must be really out of it if she’s not calling you an idiot over that pun,” Flint deadpanned and she looked at him to find an amused smile gracing his face. It didn’t quite cover the seriousness in his eyes as he studied her though.

  “Sorry, I was talking to Cat-Man.”

  “He’s still about then?” Flint raised an eyebrow. If she wasn’t so preoccupied, she might have worried about the hint of jealousy in his tone, but as it was, she was still fighting slightly with her inner kelpie.

  “Yes, he can’t risk a shift though.” Nor could she ask him to. That wasn’t her place. “You ready?” she asked her men.

  “It’s you we’re waiting on, Princess,” Jared said with a laugh. Macey spun on her heels and stared him down.

  “Don’t call me Princess,” she insisted, her face set into hard lines.

  “But you are one?” He didn’t seem to quite be getting how serious she was.

  “Yes. And I’ve been treated as one since the day I was born. Ex
cept for here, except for now. Can we please keep it that way? I’m just a woman, that’s all I want to be.” Her voice trembled at the end, and she had to blink back some of the tears that were forming. By the waves, what was wrong with her? She was never this emotional.

  “You’re hardly just a woman, Macey,” Cam said softly in her ear as he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her back into him. He kissed her cheek as she pushed herself back into him further. “You’re our waffle at the very least,” he pointed out with a chuckle.

  “Stop it with the bloody waffles already, you’re making me hungry,” she half-laughed, half-cried.

  Macey extracted herself from Cam’s arms and reached out to give both Flint and Jared’s hands a squeeze. She didn’t want them feeling left out.

  “Okay, I’m actually ready this time.”

  She faced the warehouse entrance and focused on keeping her kelpie completely under control. She wasn’t happy about it, and Macey could feel her whinnying away within her chest, but there was no alternative. Not without causing a flood of Noah-like proportions, anyway. Putting one step in front of the other, she moved into the gloom.

  19

  It was just as gloomy inside the warehouse, but there was one big difference: there were a lot of flashing lights. Macey tried to time them in her head, but failed each and every time. There didn’t seem to be any kind of rhyme or reason to the gaps between the flashes. Probably because they had nothing to do with the clearly frayed wiring about the place. If she had to take her guess, the electricity hadn’t been working here in a good while.

  And that was without mentioning the smell. It was damp. But not the good damp she liked. This was a damp rotting smell, the one that permeated everything and made whoever could smell it want a ridiculously hot shower in which they could scrape off layers of skin. Safe to say she was burning these clothes when she got a chance. It was a good thing her men lived in a magically enchanted house that could provide what they needed. Between them, and everything that kept happening, she seemed to be going through clothes like they were going out of fashion. She tittered to herself. Maybe they were going out of fashion, and this was the universe’s way of telling her as much.