Cloud class, as he’d started affectionately calling the time they spent staring at the clouds, had become quite popular with the kids. He now had over a dozen of them staring up at the sky, snapping pictures of their favorites, and scribbling in their journals as they prepared for the day ahead.
Of course, his thoughts were interrupted when Marigold came and sat on his lap with a confused frown on her face.
“What’s up, buttercup?”
She wrinkled her nose at his teasing. “Marigold.”
“Wait. I know it’s a flower. Hold on. Rose? Petunia?”
She laughed and bumped her nose against his cheek. “You’re so silly.”
“I know. But I like making you laugh. What’s a guy to do?”
She let out a put-upon sigh before settling back against his chest. He glanced at the rest of the kids and found them all still captivated by the clouds, so he returned his attention to her.
“Why the frown?”
“I don’t know what that is, Toby.”
Toby frowned. “What?”
She pointed upward, and Toby turned his attention to the sky. There was something… “What is that?”
Marigold shrugged.
There were little specks in the sky. Possibly birds, but whatever it was didn’t move like any bird he’d seen before. Something in him sparked a danger signal.
“Come on, guys. Let’s go get our pictures pasted into our journals. Then we’ll check the weather and see if today’s clouds match the forecast.”
It was the same routine they’d had for the past few days, but these kids weren’t dumb. They glanced nervously at the sky before turning back to him.
“Let’s hurry inside, and I’ll get Alpha, okay?”
They nodded, rushing to do as he’d asked.
Jeremy paused and pointed toward the trees. “Vampire.”
“Get the kids inside for me? I’ll be right behind you.”
Jeremy nodded and herded the few younger ones who were dawdling. Toby darted toward the trees, waving to the vampire guard he could barely make out.
“Yes?”
Toby hadn’t grown accustomed to the hard-eyed stares of the guards, or the fact that they walked around armed with swords at all times. “There’s something up there.”
He pointed. The vampire stepped from beneath the covering and glared. The specks weren’t really noticeable, but there was definitely something up there. “What is that?”
“I have no idea. I was hoping you would.”
The guard let out a shrill whistle that pierced Toby’s ears. A half dozen guards emerged from the woods, as well as a tiger in shifted form.
“We have a flyer?” the vampire asked.
“Asher is visiting with Nick. Victor is here as well.”
Toby gulped.
The dark patch in the sky had grown darker. There were more of them. He whipped out his phone and dialed Keziah. Whatever this was, they needed to strengthen the ward, and fast.
“Hey, Toby!” Keziah sounded half-buzzed again, but happy.
“Come to the field. There’s something out here.”
“On my way.”
When the call ended, Toby dialed again. Nick answered on the first ring, and Toby repeated his message. His answer was a snarl and a dead line.
In less than a minute, both Nick and Keziah were beside them in the field. A man Toby hadn’t seen before stood with the alpha, glaring up at the sky. Nick’s phone rang a second later.
“Can you fly?” Nick asked the stranger.
“I can,” the man responded.
“Go, Asher.”
Asher transformed into a dragon between one step and the next. He unfurled his wings and flew a moment later.
“Whoa,” Toby gasped. “That is… so cool.”
Keziah hissed. “Whatever it is, the wards are weakening.”
“Get the coven,” Nick barked.
The dragon let out a burst of fire, but it didn’t seem to have an effect. He flipped midair and dove toward them, transforming back into his human form the moment his feet hit the ground.
“Pixies.”
The vampire guard groaned. “Not pixies.”
“What?”
“They’re fricking termites,” the vampire complained. “We’ll have to get some more flyers over here, stat. They’re going to eat the ward’s magic, and then it’s open season. Little fuckers are hard to kill.”
“My fire didn’t hurt them.” Asher didn’t seem impressed by the statement at all.
“My blade will.”
But even Toby could see the flaw in the plan forming. They had one dragon who could get one vampire with one sword into the sky. There were a heck of a lot more pixies than one, and there seemed to be more appearing as each minute passed.
The rest of the coven members came running toward them, and Brooks was right behind them. He ran to Toby first, his hand going around Toby’s neck in the now-familiar comforting gesture before he turned to Nick. “What’s the plan?”