Khloe understood the anger, the need to hide the pain from the others. Lydia hadn’t only lost her father and husband, but her mother was missing, and she was possibly in the hands of the demons.
Hell, she was handling it a lot better than Khloe would have. Then again, she wasn’t the one about to be a mother, so she didn’t know what it was like to possess the mother’s instinct to love, to protect, and be strong for the sake of a child. Still, it wasn’t healthy to keep everything bottled up inside.
“We can relax in the hot tub when we get home,” Khloe said, moving ahead of the other two women.
“That would be nice,” Lydia replied with a real smile this time, not the forced I’m-not-hiding-my-pain smile she usually offered everyone.
Stepping off the curb to head to the car, Khloe stilled and let the warm air caress her skin. An electrical charge that only the select few magickin—like her and the other Divinities—could detect was palpable in the humid summer air.
Her spine tingled as the supernatural energy drifted on the wind, putting her on full alert.
Reaching out with her senses, she relaxed. A little. The energy was familiar in an odd kind of way. Her admirer was nearby.
More like a stalker, really, without the creepy love letters and phone calls.
For the last month, someone had watched her and followed her every move. When the entity was near, a warm shiver rolled over her skin like a caress. The energy didn’t come from a human. Demon?
Maybe. But, the power was too intense to be any demonic creature she’d come in contact with. She considered one of the gods, but that didn’t make sense either. The gods wouldn’t stalk her. They would send a messenger or deliver their message in person. She and the others had also thought it could be a guardian.
Whatever the entity was, it annoyed the hell out of her to be followed around and spied upon.
She scanned to mall parking lot and the sidewalk that lead to the various shops. Nothing remotely threatening came into view or reached out to her supernatural senses. Then again, she never saw anything when she sensed the presence. It had shown up last month, right after she and Kalissa had been thrust into an ancient war between witches and demons.
That was when she and Kalissa found a note from their mother telling them about the Sinew—a crystal sphere that held the magic of the worlds—and sent Kalissa on a mission to retrieve it. As Divinities, it was their duty to protect magickin from Khan, the new Bastard Lord of the Underworld.
Khloe gladly pledged to take a stand in the war. After all, it was Khan and his demonic army who’d taken her parents away from her almost two years ago. She was going to make them pay, no matter how long it took. Being long-lived, time was something she had plenty of.
The wind picked up, bringing a hint of coolness and the scent of coming rain. She looked up, inhaled, and smiled. Dark storm clouds filled the afternoon sky. She loved storms. Being able to call upon the elements and bend them to her will was her divine gift. So, she took every opportunity she could to enjoy them. “There’s a powerful storm headed our way.”
“It’s a good thing we’re going straight home.” Kalissa reached out to snatch Khloe’s cell from her.
She jerked away before Kalissa could grab it, laughed, and jogged ahead of the other two women.
Kalissa’s blond curls, a shade darker than Khloe’s, and without pink streaks, were pulled back in ponytail, but it was the annoyance across her slightly oval face that made Khloe giggle with mischief.
Walking backward in the direction of Kalissa’s new Beamer, Khloe scrolled through the pictures she had snapped of them shopping. Her twin hated having her picture taken and would delete the photos once she got a hold of the phone. No way, Khloe had plans for these babies, like uploading them to the magickin social network, Magical Enchantments.
“Lo, stop.”
Khloe froze and snapped her head up to meet Kalissa’s violet, anxious gaze. The psychic connection to her twin told her she wasn’t talking about the phone. Hairs stood up on the back of her neck rose, and a cold shiver rolled down her spine. A new demonic power touched her awareness, different, colder than their daily stalker.
“Here.” She shoved her shopping bags to Kalissa and put the cell in her back pocket of her shorts.
“You and Lydia head home. I’ll catch up to you.”
Kalissa shook her head. “I don’t like this.”
Neither did she, but they had gone over it. The plan was that anytime they were out and shit got critical they split up. When her sister had bonded with and married the sheriff of Maxville, Ayden Daniels, the bond between Ayden and Kalissa extended through the twin bond to Khloe. All three of them could connect telepathically and emotionally, and the three of them could use the gift to tap into other magical beings’ powers. To keep the gift from falling into Khan’s hands, they agreed they should never be caught together because, together, they were both more powerful and also more vulnerable.
Khan would drain them of their magic, which would kill them instantly because a Divinity’s magic was tied to their life force. They couldn’t survive without it. Khan would then use that magic in his plans to merge the natural world and the Afterworld to the Underworld.
Today, they’d taken a huge risk with Lydia. She was eight months pregnant and, according to the magickin birth cycle, was due any day.
“Look, you said yourself that our stalker might be a guardian sent to watch over us. If that’s the case, then I’m not alone.”
“That’s just a hunch. We’re not sure.”
“Please, Lis. Go. I’ll be okay.”
Kalissa let out a heavy sigh and urged Lydia in front of her to shield the other Divinity from harm as they rushed toward the car.
The squealing of tires and the sight of a white mini-van barreling toward them sent Khloe’s heart into marathon speed. She gave her sister and her new best friend a kiss on their cheeks and took off through the parking lot, hoping the demon would take the bait.
She glanced over her shoulder to the BWM. Kalissa and Lydia were safe inside and pulling out of the parking space. Thank the gods. A pang of relief rolled through her and she prayed Kalissa and Lydia would make it home safe.
The roar of an engine drew her attention to the white box on wheels speeding toward her much too fast for a parking lot, closing in on her. She hit the sidewalk and ran toward the road. She wanted to lead them out of the city limits without becoming the next demon delicacy. The farther away from witnesses, the better. They had enough to deal with because of the demons. They didn’t need a twenty-first century lynch mob to contend with.
A quick glance at the advancing vehicle caused her heart to slam against her ribcage. The van’s side door slid open, and a demon jumped out, tucked his head, and rolled across the pavement into the grass. He jumped up and ran straight for her.
Shit!
She pushed her legs as fast as they could go. The racing engine of the van grew louder. She flashed a couple of miles up the road. Without a set destination, she couldn’t teleport far. Where would she go anyway?
Outrunning that damn van wasn’t happening. She might be a powerful witch, but she didn’t know where she could go or how many demons were packed inside that van. Judging by the strength and power rolling off the ones chasing her, they were Amiddians, the middle class citizens of the Underworld.
She whirled and thrust an energy ball at the demon, knocking him backward a few feet. Quickly, she threw a softball size fireball at him. It hit him square in the chest. The flames covered his body and, within seconds, he disappeared into a pile of ash.