April's Fools - Ophelia Bell Page 0,29

in a linen robe who stood from his seat by the window when we entered.

“You have a message?” I asked, not bothering with introductions.

The man gave a grave nod. “I’m to speak with Tate, Eddie, or Chayton. No one else.”

“That’s us. What’s the message?” Eddie said, leaning on the table so he was at eye level with the smaller man. The messenger shot a look toward Elden, who’d paused to stir a pot on the little potbelly stove. Elden caught his silent message and nodded, then disappeared back out the door, shutting it behind him.

“You’re needed in the Pacific Northwest. Your friend has found a powerful convergence of earth and fire, but Chaos seeks to steal it. He requests your help defending this convergence, and says if the six of you succeed, it could become your new home.”

I frowned. “Is that some kind of code?”

The turul shrugged. “That’s for you to decide. I’m only the messenger. I delivered the message exactly as it was given to me and two other messengers sent to find your other friends. But I didn’t speak directly with the person who wrote it. It was sent via Magnus to avoid being traced. Wherever he or she is, they need it kept a secret. The only other information I have is coordinates.” He held out a small wooden tube, which Eddie snatched and opened up, pulling out a scroll of paper and unrolling it. I peered over his shoulder at the small printed map he held.

“It’s north of Seattle. We should go right away,” I said.

Eddie shook his head. “We should get back to the nearest city and call Kol Magnus first. If he was Gray’s first contact, Stuart and Murdoc are likely to head to him too.”

Chayton crossed his arms. “Perhaps we should speak to Chaos first? See if we can find out what he wants with this…convergence. More information is always better.”

The turul raised his hands. “Ball’s in your court, guys. I need to fly. Good luck.”

He shed his robe, then headed out the door naked without a look back, shifting into a large falcon and flying away before the door closed behind him. We were left debating the meaning of the message and our best course of action.

I was all for leaving right away and driving straight through to Seattle. If Gray went to the trouble of summoning us, there was no time to waste, and if there were two other messengers, Stuart and Murdoc had likely received the same message already.

Eddie and Chayton had different ideas, which we circled around and around, barely noticing when Elden returned and shoved steaming bowls of delicious stew in our faces along with slabs of flatbread.

With the turul gone, we had no issue discussing the message in front of Elden. Ursa portal guardians were chosen for their loyalty to our race and would never betray something told in confidence. He listened in silence for a few minutes while he ate, then shoved his empty bowl to the center of the table and leaned in.

“It’s a woman,” he said.

All three of us stopped eating to stare at him. He sat back, looking around the table at us.

“What makes you say that?” I asked.

“The three of you need a mate. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be ending your pilgrimage to head home. How long has it been, Chay? Ten years now? Except for the war, you’ve avoided returning. You and those three dragons had something good. You’re close. Close enough that Gray knows how important finding the right mate is to a trio of bonded ursa males. He wouldn’t pull you away from that path if he didn’t believe he had an answer to that problem.”

“How in the world did you deduce woman out of that message?” Chayton asked, incredulous.

Elden shrugged. “It’s the simplest answer. A convergence of earth and fire… She’s probably Bloodline and has a mix of higher races blood. Ursa and dragon. Earth and fire. Sounds like the perfect woman for you guys.”

He cleared our empty bowls without another word, leaving us staring at each other as the suggestion sank in. But he was right. Gray wouldn’t pull us away from the possibility of finding a mate unless he had a better option. And if that option was at risk of being taken by Chaos, no matter the reason, he would need our help to protect her.

“We’re going straight to Seattle,” Chayton said. “Fuck Chaos.”

10

April

By an amazing stroke of luck, the place had power and a landline.