all. Julija. His woman with her compassion. She was good. That he understood. The reasoning made perfect sense to him.
What are they talking about? Julija sounded confused.
You, my little mage. They are loyal to you.
She was silent a moment, turning that over in her mind. I treated wounds on some of them. Phaedra and Comet wouldn’t allow me near them.
But they saw your kindness.
I don’t want anything to happen to them.
As opposed to me? he teased.
I am well aware you can take care of yourself.
Even though she sounded snippy, he felt her underlying worry. She didn’t like him putting himself in the hot zone. Blue, take the others and get to safety.
The cat hesitated. With you.
He didn’t want the cats with him. Not yet. He was used to working alone. He wanted them always to protect his lifemate, but if he said that, she’d fall out of the sky in indignation. He needed to stay in her mind to ensure she remained safe, just as she was.
It would make this battle much easier for you if I had my feet on the ground, Julija pointed out. Your attention can’t be divided.
She was very astute, or she was more adept at reading his mind than he realized, and he had to be careful when he conspired with the cats to keep her safe. He turned to the four shadow cats. All eyes were on him.
He signaled toward Blue and then pointed toward the sky where Julija was hovering. It took a moment and then the cat swung toward the others, clearly communicating. Isai hoped they got it.
Take position on the bluff about a mile from here. I will need you to tell me where they are. He swept his arm toward the bluff. Three of the four shadows slipped into the fog, sliding around and over boulders. Only Blue remained. Looking at him. Watching. Very still.
Isai wasn’t prone to arguing. He had a choice of freezing the animal right where it was, or letting it come with him. He shrugged and began inching slowly down the mountain, moving with the fog, his mind firmly entrenched in Julija’s.
I’m good now. In cover. On the ground. You can do your thing without worry.
He would always worry. He would always need to know she was safe. Do not go to sleep while you wait for me. Contemplate on where Iulian might have gone. He wanted her mind on something other than the fact that he was going to kill her brothers.
He broke off his connection with her and reached for Comet, Phaedra and Belle. Guard her with your lives.
The moment he felt their affirmations, he took to the air, not bothering to hide his trail through the fog. There was no drifting with it. No pretense. Mages didn’t force him into hiding, they hid from him.
Below him, the mages were spread out, each finding their way up to the spot where Julija had been sitting. The last they’d seen of Isai was when he’d made his dive to save Phaedra from a bullet.
He would have had Blue call to the young shadow cats with them, but Julija’s two brothers had them leashed. That meant he couldn’t attack them from a distance in the air, not if he wanted to keep the cats alive. He turned toward the first of the three mages traveling with her brothers. Julija had identified him as Terry. The man was halfway up the side of the steep pass. Isai sent the entire side rolling down on him from above.
Big chunks of granite broke off in rolling boulders, sweeping everything in their path with them as they rushed down the mountain, picking up speed. Terry, warned by dirt, debris and the shaking of the ground, looked up, trying to peer through the fog. The largest boulder hit him dead center, crushing him under it as it rolled over him. Isai dropped down to make certain he was dead or dying.
The body was mangled, dirt covering most of it. Shockingly, although half of his face was gone, the other only had a few specks of dirt and grass. He was dead, his eyes staring up at the fog in a kind of horror.
Isai took to the air to hunt Sam. Sam had felt the movement of the earth and heard the boulders, the sound like a clap of thunder. He dropped low, crouching, using a natural overhang to protect himself from a slide. He was in a good position to defend