it?”
“Before you were trapped in the mirror realm. Or maybe right around when you were. It’s unclear, since you don’t remember what year it was. All we know is that the warlocks were trying to imprison the Dullahan when you were cast into the mirror realm. At some point around that time, the Dullahan also lost his head, which might sound like a big deal, but this is the Headless Horseman we’re talking about, so not as big a deal as you may think. Except this time, his body was dragged from the battlefield before he could get it back.
“According to legend, the Dullahan has always ridden with his head in his right hand and never spoke much except to call the names of the dead. Since he was unable to find his head on the battlefield, he became weaker, which is why I believe the warlocks’ spell worked, even though they had to rope you in to get it to do so. If he still had his head, it’s unlikely that they ever would have been able to imprison him,” Alastair said as he pushed his glasses up on his nose.
“Nerd,” Ellis whispered in a fake cough.
“Sexy nerd that is going to save all our asses,” I replied, elbowing him in the ribs.
“Sexy huh? What am I then?” he replied with a grin.
“You’re sexy too, don’t get all out of shape about it,” I said before leaning in and dropping a kiss on his lips.
I intended for it to be brief, but Ellis had other ideas. His hand came up around the back of my neck and pulled me closer. This time, his lips claimed mine, there was no other way to describe it. I kissed him back just as fiercely, excited that he was finally letting his guard down.
A throat cleared in front of us, and we separated like kids getting caught by their parents.
“I need to concentrate on driving, not on you two making out in the back seat and giving me a hard-on,” Hunter said.
When I turned to face them, I caught the naked hunger on Alastair’s face before he hid it by looking at his map again. “Sorry, Hunter,” I said, trying to sound sufficiently apologetic, even though I wasn’t, not one bit.
Knowing that he was hard because he was watching me make out with Ellis did things to me. My pussy had already been throbbing from the kiss, but now it ached. Plus, Alastair’s reaction was just the cherry on top. If Grim had been there, then I probably would have combusted with need.
The image of the four of them in bed with me floated through my mind, and I had to suppress a groan. As it was, I bit my lower lip, trying to think about everything else that was going on and not get sucked down into this fantasy in my imagination.
“Stop doing that!” Hunter called from the driver’s seat.
I blinked and found him glaring at me in the rearview mirror. “Me? What was I doing?”
“Biting your lip. Stop it. No more sexy Mae. I’m serious,” Hunter said.
“I wasn’t trying to be sexy, Hunter, seriously. I’m sorry if I distracted you,” I said, actually sorry this time, since he seemed to be glancing at me in the rearview mirror every few seconds, and the last thing I wanted was for all of us to die in a car crash.
“That’s the trouble. You don’t have to try, Mae, you just are,” Alastair said quietly from the front seat, not even looking up.
Part of me wondered if he was even aware of what he’d said. I glanced at the others and saw that I wasn’t the only one looking shocked though.
Before I could reply, he said, “Take the next left.”
I couldn’t deny I was curious about this battlefield that was as old as I was. I just hoped that we would find the answers we were seeking there.
We drove for a little while longer, each of us watching the scenery in anticipation, knowing we were close from the tension that had taken up residence in Alastair’s shoulders.
“We’re here,” the warlock said as we rounded a corner.
23
Hunter
The map had said this was the location of the battlefield, but something didn’t look right. For one, this place was built right off the freeway and there were houses around it. Usually, places of great evil were avoided by all, especially humans who did it on an unconscious level. So instead of just stopping where Alastair suggested, I