Eva stopped walking and spun to face us, her face suddenly slack.
“Logan, your place is by Sloane’s side right now. I knew that if I told you, you would come with me or stop me. Neither option I was okay with,” she said tenderly.
He just glared at her. “You didn’t call. You didn’t take Danny. You just left.”
She sighed. “By the time I thought to call, I realized I was being followed, and I’m sure my phone was bugged too. I’m sorry for running off, but if there’s more skyborn, then I’m going to find them. I owe you and them that much.”
Logan looked defeated. “You don’t owe me anything. Just stick around. That’s all I ask.”
Eva smiled. “Always.” She reached out and touched his cheek.
I realized then that Logan had abandonment issues. His parents dying, Marcus leaving, me running away, and now Eva. It messed him up bad. I could feel darkness through our bond. Logan was afraid of being left all alone. Slipping my hand into his, I squeezed and he squeezed back. I’d never leave him again, not as long as I was living.
We reached the front yard, where Isaac and the pack were waiting for us. Isaac jerked his head in my direction and I dropped Logan’s hand, placing a kiss on his cheek and then stepped next to Isaac. The druid’s eyes fell to my feet, and a look of disappointment crossed his gaze. I was wearing shoes.
“What? It’s cold out,” I told him. Oregon was freaking cold in the winter, and today was no exception.
“How can the Earth work with you, when you shut her out?” His voice was so sweet and endearing. He was like the father I never had, someone I wanted to please.
Ugh. Fine.
I quickly stepped out of my boots and socks onto the cold, damp earth, feeling that familiar buzz run through me. Now he was wearing a smile.
“That’s better, isn’t it!” he said cheerily, casting those honey-colored eyes at me.
I had to admit, it was better. I’d gone full hippie. I was like a plant and the bare earth was my food and water. Without further ceremony, Isaac threw open the gate. The pack split up, some fanning out to the sides of the house, some staying in the front yard. Eva, Isaac, Logan, Keegan, and I made our way to the back. It smelled of … burned wood and something salty.
My hand was so tightly gripped around my pistol, I was afraid I’d shoot it off if I didn’t relax. A noise from the roof caused me to turn and aim my weapon, only to see Dom wave at me with at least four guns in his hands and strapped around his thighs. Glad to see he was all healed and feeling trigger-happy again.
I surveyed the yard. Other than a few strewn sticks and one toppled globe, not much looked amiss. Isaac walked right over to the bench where the elf had stood and picked up the piece of fallen paper.
As soon as he read it, he grinned.
I peeked over his shoulder. Seven Sisters, it read.
“Who’s Seven Sisters?” I asked. He clearly knew what this meant. I, however, was clueless.
Isaac tucked it into his pocket. “As I thought, he sent us a message where to find your wand and maybe him. If he’s still alive.”
My heart picked up. “Where?”
Isaac’s posture changed as he got into teacher mode; he leaned forward and whispered as if he was afraid someone might hear. “The Seven Sisters Oak is the largest oak tree on record. It’s fifteen hundred years old, and it’s in Mandeville, Louisiana.”
“So we’re going to Louisiana?” I asked. I’d never been south. Sounded kinda fun actually.
“Incoming!” Dominic screamed from the roof and Eva threw her hands out. Yellow magic blasted past me as Eva erected a yellow geometric bubble around us. Spinning around, my stomach sank as I saw druids pouring over the back of Griddish’s fence. They must have been hiding in the house directly behind the reclusive elf’s property. Dammit!
Isaac’s nostrils flared in anger; he tightened his grip on his staff. “Sloane, don’t use your magic,” my druid master told me. “Not until we get the staff. It’s too dangerous unanchored.”
I nodded, noticing Logan’s brows pinch in concern. Beside me, Logan peeled off his shirt and my head reeled back. “What are you doing?”
He shrugged. “Shifting. They already know what we are. I might as well breathe fire over all of their asses.”
Okay, that was hot. Logan was in warrior mode. I pulled the Ruger at eye level and prepared for the fight.
Danny and the rest of the pack had run in from the front yard, and were fighting the druids head-on. It all happened so fast. From when Dom had screamed and Eva thrown up her protection bubble to now, only half a minute had passed.
“I can’t hold it much longer,” Eva said, and I saw the sweat on her upper lip. The yellow magical dome around us flickered, as red balls of druid fury crashed into it. Logan was nearly fully shifted. Keegan was shifting as well. Isaac’s staff was pulsing, and I had my Ruger out and ready to rock and roll. These assholes were going to die today.
“Drop it!” Isaac shouted to Eva. The shield flickered off just as Isaac slammed his staff into the ground and a ten foot sinkhole opened up in the back yard, swallowing half a dozen druids into it. My jaw went slack.
“Holy shit! You could do that this whole time!” I screamed.
“When the Earth is willing,” he answered cryptically, but there was no time for talking. A very large cat’s growl from the roof told me Dom was in his other form, preying over the top of us, deciding who to pounce on.
Don’t pick me.
Isaac’s sinkhole left about six to eight more druids to deal with, one of whom I could see was Steven, the large Irish man that I had come to loathe. He pointed right at me.
“Don’t hurt her. Kill the rest,” he commanded. Fear and fury crashed through me in equal measure. He didn’t want me dead now? I wasn’t sure I liked the sound of that, and neither did Logan. He roared so loudly that the ground shook. His massive black dragon stood before me like a guard.
Chaos broke out in Griddish’s beautiful back yard. Magic was thrown left and right; gunshots rang out, and animals growled and roared. My eyes were on my mate and anyone who dared step near him. My dragon was in heat, and if they hurt a scale on his hide I would eviscerate them all.
Logan poured fire onto the advancing enemy, but these weren’t powerless hunters. They were full-fledged druids. They had shields and red fireballs that caused awful injuries. I just prayed we were all making it out of this one alive.
I’d kept Steven in the corner of my gaze. So when he blinked out of existence, I spun around, ready for him, afraid to give my back to anyone. Just as I thought, he reappeared right before me, intending to take me from behind. Coward.
“Sloane darling, it’s been too long,” he cooed. His size alone was menacing, but knowing he could freaking teleport scared me to my core. He was like a ghost. A ghost who could kill me.