«When Hastings put out a feeler for more information, he turned up.» Matt nodded toward the newcomer. «I thought you should probably meet.»
«We've already met.» Sebastian strode forward as the stranger stood, hand outstretched in greeting and a broad smile on his face. They pounded each other on the back like old friends and Christy took a moment to scan Sebastian's memories for the stranger's identity.
«Cameron.» The name slipped from her lips as the men broke apart. Blue eyes twinkled at her, taking her measure.
«And who's this wee lassie? Can it be you've found your One, Sebastian?» The teasing light in his eyes belied the almost awed tone of his lightly accented voice. Curious, Christy moved closer.
Sebastian put one strong arm around her. «I have, Cam. May I introduce my mate, Christina.»
«A pleasure to meet you, milady. Though I wish it were under better circumstances.»
Christy quickly searched a few of Sebastian's memories of this man and realized he was a long time friend. There was something different about him though-different from the earthy energy of Matt and not quite the raw sexual energy of Sebastian and his vampire friends. This man was something else altogether.
Christy held out her hand and was charmed by the gallant way Cameron raised it to his lips for a gentle, polite salute. Her hand tingled where he touched. Magic. It had to be. But it was different from any of the magic she'd felt before.
She turned puzzled eyes up to Sebastian.
«What is he?»
On the other side of the couch, Matt laughed and she realized he'd heard her as well. Sebastian sent the shifter a stern look while speculation filled the gaze of their new guest.
«We'll discuss it later,» Sebastian told her quickly. «Shall we sit?» Sebastian invited his guests to relax as he and Christy claimed the cozy love seat.
A troubled expression crossed the newcomer's face as he ran one hand through his fiery red hair. He had freckles too, but his build was that of a giant and he looked like he had muscles on his muscles, though he seemed a gentle soul, on the surface at least.
«So tell me, why are you here, Cam? I haven't seen you in a hundred years or more.»
Christy stifled her gasp at the casual way Sebastian spoke in terms of centuries. She'd have to get used to this immortality stuff.
The other man sighed. «When your shifter friend sent out that information request, red flags went up all over the globe. Of late, there's been some trouble with the Altor Custodis.»
Sebastian leaned forward. «What kind of trouble?»
«After consulting with some of the mountain weretribes and the werefolk's High Priestess in Montana,» Cam said, «we're drawing a rather ugly picture of infiltration at the highest levels. Sebastian, the Venifucus are back. Or perhaps it's more accurate to say, they never completely left.»
Both Sebastian and Matt looked as grave as she'd ever seen them, but Christy had no clue what was going on. All she got from Sebastian's memories-what he'd let her see of them-was a frightening account of a society of watchers. The Altor Custodis watched all kinds of supernaturals, though they had never been known to interfere in any way.
«But if they don't interfere, why are you so worried? I mean, if they only watch and record…» Christy betrayed her knowledge of Sebastian's thoughts, but nobody seemed surprised.
If possible though, Cameron's face grew even darker. «That's the problem, lass. Recently, they've been interfering in a very big way. Last Samhain, a mage who was definitely a member of the Altor Custodis tried to assassinate a young priestess and her werewolf mates. He would have succeeded too, if not for the intervention of two of my kin and one of your kind, a fellow named Dante d'Angleterre.»
Sebastian whistled through his teeth. «I didn't know old Dante was still around, but that explains where Marc got the information. He warned me that the Venifucus might be back, but I was hoping it was some kind of hoax, or maybe a misunderstanding.»
«I heard about this too, Sebastian,» Matt confirmed. «An alert went out to all Alphas after the attack on our priestess. Dante d'Angleterre was given safe passage among all were. It came down from the current Lords themselves.»
Sebastian turned back to Cameron. «So the Altor Custodis have gone bad?»
Cameron tilted his head. «Not all of them. But some? Certainly. It's my belief they've been infiltrated. I think the Venifucus used the Altor Custodis's existing hierarchy to rebuild and hide in plain sight all these years.»
«For what purpose? What could they hope to gain?» Sebastian wanted to know.
«You're not going to believe this, but multiple reliable witnesses heard it from the Venifucus mage himself before he was dispersed. They've got a plan to bring back Eslpeth. They want to return her to power in this mortal realm.»
«Good Lord!» Sebastian shot to his feet, while Christy was left to wonder who the heck this Elspeth was. Suddenly, the words came to her from Sebastian's agitated mind. Elspeth, Destroyer of Worlds.
«Destroyer of Worlds?» Christy's voice rose with shock. «You mean like the apocalypse or something?»
«The very same, lass.» Cameron's blue eyes focused on her. «If Elspeth comes back to this realm she'll finish what she started eons ago. It will be the end of this world. That's the honest truth.»
«Well then, we've got to stop it.» It seemed straight forward to Christy and her stark statement won the attention of all three men.
«We? Good lord, woman!» Sebastian was clearly upset as he stalked over to her. «You're newly turned. You're my mate! I'm not risking your safety for anything in the world.»
His arms caged her in the seat and she withdrew, memory shooting her back to the times Jeff had physically threatened her. She knew it was unreasonable, but she couldn't help it. Sebastian was just so much bigger than she was. Even though she knew in her heart he would never hurt her, in that moment, she grew afraid.
She knew Sebastian read the fear in their shared minds as anguish etched his face. He calmed and dropped down beside her on the love seat, pulling her into his arms and snuggling her close with gentle hands.
«I would never hurt you, my love,» he crooned in a low whisper, rocking her as the fight or flight reaction shook her body. «I'm sorry, Christina. I didn't mean to frighten you. Please forgive me.»
She became self-conscious, knowing the other men were watching, but when she peeked up at them, they wore expressions of compassion. Pushing against Sebastian's hold, she worked to gather her scattered emotions. She had to pull herself together. This wouldn't do. She refused to be a coward.
She felt Sebastian kiss her head as he let her go. «You were never a coward, my love,» he whispered in her mind. «You're the bravest woman I know.»
«So where does all this leave us?» She tried to breathe deep, and calm her racing pulse. Somehow Jeff was mixed up in all this. Her problem marriage had just become a much bigger problem for them all.
Christy didn't miss the significant look that passed between Cameron and Sebastian before the redhead resumed speaking. They all seemed to realize her predicament.
«It leaves me wondering just where Benjamin Steel's loyalties lie. I've been tracking him for a few months, but he's a wily son of a gun. For the safety of all supernaturals, we need to find out if the Altor Custodis organization is aware of its own problems and if so, what they're doing about it. My goal is to locate and talk to Steel. Your difficulties lie in the fact that he might or might not be a damned Venifucus agent. Or even if he's still loyal to the Altor Custodis traditions, those in his chain of command may not be. If such is the case, they won't like what you've become, Lady Christina. Female supernaturals, most of all, threaten the return of Elspeth, for it was prophesied eons ago that Elspeth would finally fall at the hands of a woman of great power and that lady were, vampire, priestess and fey would be there, working together against her at the end. As a result, they target our women when they're young and just coming into their powers. Like you.»