surprised and confused. Nowhere near as scared as I probably should be.”
Baer grinned at him. “I’d never hurt you. You’re one of us. It will all make sense to you soon. You’ve stumbled into a world that’s pretty damn unbelievable, at first. But it’s also special—this brotherhood. Wait until you meet Clay and Grey. You’ll love them. Oh, and Dane. He’s not technically a part of the brotherhood; he’s Clay’s boyfriend, but he’s just as cool. You’ll also meet the goddesses.”
Wiley’s breath got caught in his throat and he coughed. “Brotherhood? Goddesses? Wait…goddesses?”
Baer chuckled. “Yeah, and they’re a trip. Each one of them holds our magic until we arrive, but we’ll go into that more when we’re there. The brotherhood was pulled together to fight those things that were at the bakery. We call them pestilents.”
He curled his lip. “Awful name.”
“But it fits. You noticed how rank they were, right?”
Wiley hadn’t noticed that, but then, he’d been overwhelmed by being caught up in a battle with supernatural elements. It was like something out of the comic books he worked on. Excitement thrummed through his veins, and he rubbed his hands down his jean-clad thighs as they started perspiring. “I did see they weren’t quite human. One of them had glowing red eyes. What are pestilents, exactly?”
“They’re beings from another dimension, and they’re trying to steal all the energy from ours. In a way, I feel for them, with their world dying. That makes them desperate. And dangerous as fuck. But they’re working to destroy our world.”
“And that’s where your brotherhood comes into play?”
Baer nodded. “Your brotherhood now, too. You’ll see. I can’t wait to see what powers you get.”
His heart knocked hard against his ribs. He sucked in a deep breath, then let it out in a huge whoosh. “I’m getting powers?”
What the hell had he wandered into? He’d just wanted some freaking doughnuts. If he couldn’t feel his heart hammering, he’d have been positive he was still asleep in his bed. But then, his dreams were never this vivid.
“All the brothers have them. And believe me, we need them to fight these things and keep our world safe.”
Wiley’s mind lurched. Powers? Him? The idea was ridiculous. He looked at his hands, which had spent hours drawing things just like this. Most of his adulthood and teen years were passed in endless fantasies about supernatural beings and superheroes with powers.
His heart picked up pace even harder, and he felt a little dizzy with the knowledge that little old him might be meant for something bigger than just idle daydreams. He stared at Baer, taking in the shoulder-length red hair and whiskers. This guy was a shifter. What powers was he going to get? Eagerness had him vibrating in his seat. He held back a shout of glee.
Maybe he could become invisible. Or fly—hell, he’d love to fly.
Baer looked at him again. “You’re taking this so well. The rest of us had a little harder of a time coming to grips with everything.”
Wiley snorted. “This is like a dream come true for me. I draw comic books for a living, so my world is already filled with things like this. Only they aren’t real. I can’t believe this is happening.”
“Comic book artist, huh?” Baer’s grin was there again, wide and so sexy. “You’ll hit it off with Grey, then. He’s a writer.”
“What do you do?”
“I worked in forestry. Now I’m at the plantation house, trying to save the world.”
That could have sounded cheesy, but it somehow didn’t. Probably due to the matter-of-fact tone Baer used. Like this was just another day in his supernatural world.
Baer swerved to miss a pothole and righted the Jeep with a soft curse.
Wiley looked out at scenery he’d been staring at his whole life. The moss-covered trees that lined the sides of the road. The same old country back roads. All this time, magic had really existed and not been something he made up on the pages of his books.
“Have these pestilents been chasing you your entire life?”
“Nah, just a year or two. They found a way to break into this world through a rift, and the more they can open it, the more life they can steal from our world. Right now, they’re sending—for want of a better word—troops through to search out me and my brothers. They’ll be after you now, too. From what I understand, some have actual magic to fight us with. We call the brotherhood the Weavers Circle.”