My Warrior (Bewitched and Bewildered #12) - Alanea Alder Page 0,12

"Have one of the witches check for a barrier of some kind. There is bloating, but no sign that they have been ravaged by either pests or insects."

"Son of a bitch," Cadoc whispered under his breath. "Okay, Doc, you're in charge here."

"I appreciate that. Now, help me start lifting the bodies out so they lay side by side," his crisp voice ordered.

"Yes, sir."

Ari turned his head as they began to pull bodies out of the large pile. He couldn't get past the fact that they were fae. Growing up in Éire Danu, he'd always associated fae with being eternally beautiful, ageless, immortal.

To see them thrown together in a trash heap of rotting flesh, discarded, and unequivocally dead, disturbed him on every level.

A gut-wrenching cry had them all turning to where Darian knelt on the ground beside Liam, who was lifting out a tiny body. Ari gasped. Not even the children had been spared. Oron physically pulled Darian back until they both sat on the cold hard concrete. Oron cradled his younger brother as Darian just shook his head. "I'm so sorry, Darian," he whispered.

"It's not your fault, none of this is your fault." Darian replied, hanging his head.

"Found something," Kendrick called out, pulling Ari's attention away from the suffering brothers. He, Aiden, and the others jogged to the far wall where Kendrick was running his hands over the wall.

"River is a genius. Even I missed the lack of insects." He let his hands drop. "There is a barrier."

Thane whistled and held up his hand, palm side facing the dull gray wall. "It's so damn subtle."

Kendrick nodded, looking pissed. "I should have caught this."

Aiden simply placed a hand on his shoulder. "We were all distracted by the senseless tragic deaths of the fae. You would have found it when the immediate demands were met and you were allowed to think."

Thane grunted. "One of us should have seen it."

"What is it exactly?" Ari asked. He didn't really care who saw it; he didn't know what 'it' was.

Kendrick pointed. "There is thin barrier in place that uses the walls, ceiling, and floor as guidelines."

"Explain," Aiden demanded.

Thane continued. "The barrier follows the natural lines of the room, but aren't dictated by them. For example, it extends across the door's threshold, but isn't broken by the door being opened and closed."

"Can you take it down?" Ari asked.

Kendrick nodded. "Easily, but should we?" He turned to Thane. "Thoughts?"

Thane, then Justice sighed as they both frowned, before they began to glow with the color of their magic. Justice surprisingly spoke first. "There are no ties to any other components to trigger any traps," he said, his magic glow fading.

Thane’s magic dimmed and he looked up at the ceiling. "It's not blocking sound or smell." He pointed upward to the skylight. "Light is able to pass through."

Kendrick tapped his lips. "So, what is it for?"

Aiden shrugged. "Unless you want to stay here and study it, as long as you don't think it poses a threat, take it down and find out."

Kendrick glared at their commander. "Meryn's brutal practicality is rubbing off on you."

Aiden just grinned. "She is the best part of me."

"Thane, if you would?" Kendrick pointed to the barrier, then stepped back to close his eyes.

Thane reached up, touched the wall, then stepped away. Everyone turned their attention to Kendrick who opened his eyes. "I sense nothing."

Ari let out the breath he didn't even know he had been holding. Moments later, his phone rang, he saw it was his brother. "Hey, Rex."

"Are you safe!" Rex demanded immediately.

"Yes, why?"

"Gods! Fae are wailing in the streets, there must have been more killings."

"Rex, calm down!"

Aiden and the rest of the men went on alert. "What's going on? Is the palace secure?"

"Rex, is the palace safe?"

"Yes, hold on." Ari heard muffled voices before Rex returned to the phone. "Portia is getting preliminary reports in now from Molvan who has taken charge of this crisis. She is saying the newly slain are from families from Monroe. The fae in the city are all saying the same thing. Their family trees changed all at once, registering the deaths of whole families. Multiple branches petrified, some of the Spirit Guardians have gone into shock."

"Shit!" Kendrick exclaimed. "The barrier masked their deaths, not from humans, but from the fae."

"Why?" Thane asked.

"River! Move faster. I want us out of here now!" Aiden began barking orders.

"Rex, we're moving now. I think the deaths that are registering are of the dead we discovered. I'll explain later, but Aiden