Heart of Vengeance (Alice Worth #6) - Lisa Edmonds Page 0,86

and headed in the direction of the front parking lot. She gave Charles a wave. He raised his hand and watched as we drove away into the night.

The bright lights, loud voices, and full parking lot of Hawthorne’s were an oasis of relative safety. As Lucy turned onto the highway and accelerated away from the roadhouse, the pitch black of night closed in on our jeep. All kinds of potential dangers, most of which were entirely unknown to me, filled the darkness around us. Lucy remained on high alert, as did Daisy.

Once the roadhouse disappeared from view in the rearview mirror, Lucy switched from standard headlights to a different set. They were brighter than the standard lights, with a bluish tint, and they illuminated not just the road in front of us, but the sides of the road as well.

“What are those lights?” I asked.

She kept her eyes on the road and our surroundings. Her caution upped my anxiety level considerably. “We call them supe lights. You’ll see a lot of them around buildings and in towns, but they’re not common on civilian vehicles.”

“What do they do?”

“You’ll see for yourself soon,” she told me. “Just watch.”

I didn’t have to wait long to get my answer. Ahead, on our right, the silhouette of a man appeared alongside the road. He glowed in the supe lights. “A ghost,” Malcolm said in wonder. We passed the ghost so closely he could reach out and touch the jeep as we went by.

Something large and dark moved in the trees on the other side of the road. I didn’t get a good look at it, but I thought it might have been one of the raccoon-bears that had tried to attack us the previous night.

“The supe lights make it easier to spot supernatural creatures,” I said.

She nodded. “During the day, too. Some things can change shape or use glamour to look like something else. The supe lights let you see beyond the glamour in most cases and reflect different wavelengths and colors if something is supernatural.”

“Ghosts glow white?” Malcolm asked.

“It’s more of an opalescent glow,” Lucy told him. “With the supe lights on, we’ll see all kinds of spirits. I kind of tune them out, since I’m keeping an eye out for bigger, nastier things.”

“Like the Donestre?” I asked. “What are those?”

“Definitely something you want to avoid. They prey on travelers, especially people traveling alone. Their natural form looks like a human male with long hair, green eyes, and furry ears, though they’ve been known to cut their hair short and hide their ears with hats.”

“You said they prey on travelers,” Malcolm said. “What do they do?”

“Eat them,” Lucy said matter-of-factly. “Everything but the head. They leave that behind. That’s how you know it was a Donestre kill.”

“Yikes,” Malcolm said.

“Yup.” She glanced at me. “So, obviously I have some questions. I’m sure you do too.”

“So many, it’s difficult to pick which ones to ask. I’ll start with maybe an easy one: can I have a magical invisible sword?”

“Do you know how to fight with a sword?”

“Sure. The pointy end goes in the bad guy.”

Lucy chuckled. “You’re not wrong, though sometimes it’s harder than you might think to know who the bad guys are.” She sobered. “Then again, if you’re a mage, you probably knew that. Actually, the sword itself isn’t magical. My ability to hide my sword is part of my Guardian heritage.”

“I wondered if there was more to being a Guardian than just joining up,” Malcolm said. “Can you tell us more about the League?”

“The origin of the Guardians is rooted in myth. The legend says that Cadmus, founder of the city of Thebes, slayed a water dragon that killed many of his soldiers. On the goddess Athena’s advice, he planted the dragon’s teeth. From the earth rose a legion of fierce and bloodthirsty warriors, the Spartoi. They were vicious—so much so that Cadmus supposedly attempted to wipe them out by setting them against each other. Those who could better control their bloodlust survived. They were faster and stronger than humans, able to go long periods without food or water, and train for days without tiring.”

“Sounds like a scary bunch,” Malcolm said. “If all that’s true.”

She shrugged. “No one has ever come up with an alternate explanation for the Spartoi’s existence—and by extension, the existence of the Guardians. Their children, both male and female, inherited the Spartoi’s physical strength and abilities. Their most sacred law forbade them to marry or have children with anyone