Guilt hit me. I had taken Tyr away from his apprenticeship. He'd left work to come to deal with the fallout. I rested my head on my knees again. I was supposed to hold it together better than this, to look after them. Not the other way around.

  Tyr's voice was low. "But Connor had made the kid leave already."

  Good. Something about Ben rubbed me the wrong way. It was probably the paranoia talking.

  Tyr gave me a thoughtful look. "I don't know what was going on with Connor, but he was a lot calmer about a stranger in the house than I would have been."

  Huh, so I wasn’t the only one who thought that was strange.

  "What's going on with Brooke? She's never acted like this before." I heard the whine in my voice. "She's not our Brooke right now." I was petulant, I recognized it, but I couldn't help the resentment that was building within me. I’d bottled it up for too long, and with so little sleep, the cork was about to pop.

  Then, suddenly, the resentment fizzled, replaced with more guilt. Was this all my fault? Was I spending too much time at work? Was there something going on with Brooke that I'd missed because I was never home? I was so out of my depth, it scared me. At her age, I'd been raising four kids, killing people, and getting beaten by my trainers. When they were her age, the boys had been hiding in caves and living off the land. We hadn't had the luxury of tantrums.

  Tyr heaved a sigh and looked at the ceiling. "She's a teenager with her first crush. She's testing her boundaries, seeing what she can get away with." He chuckled. "Believe it or not, from the complaints I hear at the firehouse, this is considered normal teenage behavior." His statement didn't help. It only made me feel like I'd failed even more. "We don't understand it because we had to grow up way too fast. It was never safe for us to rebel."

  Had they wanted to rebel? Did they resent how I'd raised them? By the Old God, was I that bad?

  "When it was safe to rebel, we were old enough to know better." Tyr laid a hand on my shoulder as my mind spiraled. I should have gotten us out sooner. Maybe I hadn't deserved a childhood, but the boys had.

  Strong arms wrapped around me. "Stop this now." Tyr's tone had changed. Guardian, having read the minute changes in my facial features and not liking what he saw, was surfacing.

  Guardian was Tyr's secondary power, a set of instincts that gave him heightened sense. But Guardian had a rudimentary mind of his own. When he rose, he pushed Tyr aside. The two of them had been working on merging, both sharing the same space. It was still hit or miss.

  Tyr's eyes glowed with a crimson light. I could tell from his posture that Tyr was still in control. Barely.

  He pushed me to arm's length, his crimson eyes boring into mine. "Listen to me! Nothing that happened to us in the past was your fault. We all know you've done your best, that we are free because of the sacrifices you've made." He crushed me back to his chest. I let out an oomph at the force.

  From the corner of my eye, I saw Tyr's eyes close. "I know more than the others about what you sacrificed in that lab to protect us. Guardian emerged earlier than you think." He buried his nose in my tangled hair. "I couldn't stop him from taking over, and he couldn't shut me out completely." A shiver ran through him. "I could hear your screams, Kenzie, the clack of the tools they used to torture you, the threats they made against us. You suffered so much to spare us. The rest just don't realize how much." Unshed tears clouded my eyes. "Brooke was young when we escaped, sheltered. She doesn't understand how much you bled and cried and damaged your soul to protect us." The crimson light had receded.

  His chest muffled my words. "But it wasn't enough, was it? I'm smothering you all with my rules and check-ins—my paranoia." I gripped the front of Tyr's shirt and let out a barked laugh. "I see it, Tyr, but I can't stop. It's the only thing that lets me sleep at night. The only way I can bear to let any of you out of my sight in the morning." My voice lowered to a whisper. "I can't lose you, any of you."

  I was this close to having a total melt-down. I couldn't, though. I couldn't put that kind of burden on my brother.

  Tyr kissed the top of my head. "We know that too." I curled into Tyr's warm body, his strength keeping my panic at bay. "Kenzie, your rules are good ones. The warehouse is our home, our sanctuary, our safe place, and it stays that way because no one knows we're here." He gave me a soft look. "Brooke knows that too. She's just angry and dealing with hormones, emotions, and other shit she doesn't understand. She's lashing out. She'll come around." Tyr's words made sense, but they did nothing to ease the pain in my heart.

  Chapter 5

  We sat on the floor for a while, just taking comfort from each other. Eventually, I knew my pity party had to end. I pulled away from Tyr and he let me go with a final squeeze to my shoulder.

  Then my stoic brother froze. “Uh, Kenzie. What the hell is that?”

  He jumped to his feet, his hands becoming wreathed in flames that extended to his elbows. A low, steady growl, likely from Guardian, emanated from his chest.

  I looked over and laughed. Saber had come out of the garden and stalked his way towards me, his tails lashing and his fangs bared at my brother.

  “Is he causing you distress?” Saber’s voice touched my mind. Tyr didn’t react, so I figured Saber had only reached out to me.

  “No,” I replied through the same line. “Tyr, this is Saber. He’s my familiar, highly intelligent, and me being slightly hypocritical.” I motioned for the cat to join us. “Saber, this is my brother, Tyr. He’s a fire mage.”

  I wasn’t going to lie to Saber, but I wasn’t up for discussing the distinctions between mages and elementals this early in the morning.

  “Greetings, fire mage. I am happy to meet you.” Judging by the way Tyr stumbled back and the smug expression on my cat's lips, Saber had managed to project to both of us. I got the impression my new partner wasn’t sincere. Tyr must have sensed it too.

  “Really, Kenzie? This is new for you. Though I disagree about the hypocrisy of it. Kitty here is bound to you. You’d know the instant he betrayed you. It makes him safe, in a way.” His lips twitched and the flames coating his arms snuffed out.

  I sighed. “I guess.” I stood up slowly and tucked my problems away for another time. “Okay, let's go and introduce Saber to Connor, and if she’s still around, Brooke.”

  Tyr turned towards the doorway, and with a glance at the cat, he pulled me into another hug. "Do you want me to call Alec and let him know what's going on?"

  I shook my head. "No, this is supposed to be his honeymoon, a happy time. He and Quinn put it off until I was better. They deserve time to themselves."

  Tyr looked like he was going to argue, so I put up a hand. "I'll call him if things between Brooke and I get worse, promise." That mollified him for now.

  “Are you going to tell him about your new friend?” Tyr asked, a cheekiness in his tone he rarely brought out.

  “Nah, I’ll let it be a welcome home surprise,” I said, and Tyr chuckled. Saber prowled next to us, seemingly unconcerned with our conversation.

  Accepting my paranoia, unlike someone at the moment, Tyr let me know where he’d be for the rest of the day as we descended the stairs. Bless him.

  “I have to head into work at noon. I’m not sure when I’ll be home,” I replied, and the routine calmed me. My posture became looser. By the Old God, I was like a junkie, jonesing for a fix.

  That left me about three hours before I had to go.

  "I'm guessing Connor heard that Brooke is grounded?" I asked.

  Tyr nodded. "Ya, and he's willing to keep an eye on her today. We'll work something out for the next two weeks." Tyr let go of my hand and looked at me. "It was the right call. We've got your back." I smiled.

  “Connor,” I called out at the bottom of the stairs. “Come and meet the newest member of the family.”

  Saber took off, and I could hear cursing from the dining room. My shitty, rotten morning was looking brighter already.

  ***

  I left home on my bright green bicycle. It was junky enough not to get stolen the instant I left it unattended, but it got me from A to B without issue. I'd lost my last bike when I'd gone toe to toe with a female gryphon shifter a couple of months ago and lost. While I'd been bleeding out, some miscreants had taken off with it. You just can't trust anyone these days.

  My bicycle was necessary. Horses were expensive, and the old ways of transportation, like cars, were a thing of the past. Fifty years ago, the world was a sparkling testament to innovation. We had synthetic materials that replaced almost every natural one known to man, including a few that were straight out of science fiction.

  Then the Resurgence hit. Magic flooded the earth in a tidal wave of power. It destroyed all synthetic materials, disintegrating them to dust. Select humans gained powers beyond their wildest dreams. Or, in some cases, nightmares.

  Mages and shifters emerged from the population. Billions died in the transfer of power. Vampires, who had spent millennia hiding in the shadows, made themselves known and took advantage of the chaos to carve themselves places in the new world order.

  Even now, we lived in a transition period. Society was finally learning how to manage and re-create the things that were lost. Cell phones had been high on the list.

  My relief at not having another confrontation with Brooke sat heavy in my stomach, and I didn't rush as I left Old City—one of the poorest and most underdeveloped areas in the city—and crossed into Market Row. The dingy streets became bright and bustling. Vendors, shoppers, and street kids surged about in an intricate dance. Horses stomped down the middle of the road, their riders unconcerned if they trampled anyone.

  I nodded to a woman selling meat pastries from a bustling stand. She smiled at me and waved while pointing to one of her pies with her other hand. I shook my head. I'd met Carrie when she’d been selling her wares illegally. With a tip from a warden—one of the city’s human protectors—I'd helped her enter an annual competition and win a vendor’s spot in the market. Her business was booming, and being grateful, she gave me a meat pastry on the house every time I stopped by. I tried not to abuse her generosity, but it was hard.

  I passed Middle Bridge. The founder of GreenRiver hadn't been too original when he’d gone about naming things. The river was simply “The River,” and the three bridges were named East, Middle, and West. The only irony was that the West bridge was on the east end of town, and the East bridge was on the west. An easy fix, but the locals liked the quirk.

  I made it to East bridge with no problems. In the distance, an island loomed. It was home to the Omni shifters—one of the three Terran shifter Tribes. The Omni Tribe took in standard animal shifters that didn’t fall into canine or feline categories. Our guild bought horses from them every once in a while. They were known for the quality of their beasts.

  Over the bridge, I passed through the North Market and into the Working District. The sound of hammers on anvils, the smell of brine, and the flutter of brightly woven fabrics was all found within a few city blocks.

  At last, I came to Mercenary Row. It was a single street that housed all the mercenary guilds in the city that operated with the consent of the Guild Council. Whatever you wanted done, someone here would do it for a price.

  Catch and Release sat halfway down on a well-manicured patch of land. The old Victorian-Colonial monstrosity was three stories high and housed multiple wings. She was old—even by Pre-Resurgence standards—but she'd been made well and was kept meticulously updated by our Guild Master.

  I stashed my bike and walked up the front stairs, only to be met by a raven-haired tornado.

  "Kenzie, Kenzie, Kenzie!" Liz, a fellow Lifer, came bounding up to me, looking around wildly.

  I turned to follow her as she bounced around. "Hey, Liz." I wasn't known for socializing with anyone other than Quinn, but that had never stopped Liz from attempting to be my friend.

  "Where’s your new friend? I wanted to say hi.” She bounced around me as if I was keeping my two-hundred-pound familiar in my pocket.

  “He decided yesterday was too exhausting and chose to stay home.” I shook my head. “He was teasing one of my brothers when I left.” See, I can share.

  Liz pouted, then did a one-eighty to bubbly again. “Okay, next time.” Her eyes twinkled. “You should have seen who just came in. He was so handsome. He stalked up the stairs like he owned the place. Didn’t even look around.” Liz stopped bouncing and fanned herself with one hand. “I could use me a man like that.”

  I groaned as Liz licked her lips. Please, someone, anyone, save me from girl talk.

  "Did you recognize him?" I asked. Maybe I could nudge this conversation back into a more comfortable path.

  A sly glint entered Liz's eye. "Maybe."

  I couldn't help my smile. Liz was a crow shifter, and besides her love of shiny objects, she enjoyed nothing more than teasing and playing pranks on her fellow hunters.

  "Are you going to tell me who it is?"

  Liz considered my question for a moment, then shook her head and bounded away.

  "Nope!"

  I laughed.

  Off the entryway, there was a games room. We hunters spent a lot of time idle in between assignments, so the place was stocked with things to keep us occupied and out of trouble. Only one person sat in an overstuffed chair. Kevin.

  Kevin was the newest addition to our dysfunctional guild family. Only nineteen, he still hadn't grown into his body. His baby face served him well as a Reaper, though. No one ever suspected him.

  Reapers were the guild’s assassins, and they went into a hunt expecting a dead body at the end. Kevin seemed to be doing okay. He had the skills necessary to do the job, except for his attitude towards female hunters. He’d already gotten a couple of warnings about his behavior from Curtis. Only time would tell if he could get his act together.

  “Kevin.” I smiled at him as I grabbed a book on earth magic and settled into one of the other chairs.

  I didn’t get any return acknowledgment. I hadn’t expected one.

  I flipped through the book to find where I’d left off. As an earth elemental, I had an immense potential for magic, but my knowledge was limited. The people who’d raised me had honed me into a weapon. As long as I could inflict damage and cause chaos, my trainers didn't care if I conserved energy.

  After my last battle, I realized that I wasn't pushing myself. There was so much more I could do with my magic. A gut feeling told me I might need those skills sooner rather than later.

  Struggling through three pages, I gave up. The morning's events made it impossible for me to concentrate. I put the book down and steepled my fingers. Time to think things through and work through the emotions coursing around in my head. If I didn't, my mind would never give it a rest.

  ***

  An indeterminate amount of time later, a light cough forced me out of my brooding. I looked at the clock. Okay, it had only been an hour. I sighed. Despite the self-reflection, I was still no closer to inner peace than I'd been before. The only thing I knew for sure was that there was something hinky about Ben.

  "Earth to Mackenzie." Chris stood in front of me.

  "Sorry, I have a lot on my mind. Have you been standing there long?"

  "Only for the last five minutes," the pixie-haired woman snarked. "You could knit a whole herd of sweaters with all that wool you were gathering. What's wrong?"

  Chris perched herself on the side of my chair. The look on her face was expectant. Obviously, I wasn't allowed to leave until I bared my dark secrets.

  "Teenage troubles. My sister broke one of the house rules this morning." I ran a hand down my face in exasperation. "I let my temper get the better of me. Now I'm worried I overreacted and that she hates me." It felt right to confide in someone outside the situation, someone who could be objective.

  "Of course, she hates you," Chris said and I looked at her with disbelief. She held up a hand. "And tomorrow, she'll be back to loving you again. She's a teenager. Her emotions and hormones are all over the place. You, my friend, are in for one wild ride." She smiled at me sympathetically.

  "I'm not sure if that makes me feel any better," I said honestly.

  "I'm sure it doesn't. Unfortunately, for the next few years, all you can do is endure." Chris gave a dramatic sigh and patted me on the shoulder.

  I pondered her words. Her insight surprised me. Never would I have pegged Chris as someone wise in the ways of teenage girls. As a retired Reaper, it didn't seem to fit with her style.

  "I can see your awe and wonder," she teased. “I have a few nieces. They made my sister’s life hell at that age.”

  Chris smiled nostalgically. She was in her forties, having survived her twenty years as a mercenary, and had earned her platinum badge—a considerable feat considering she was wholly human. Too young—her words, not mine—to retire, she'd taken a position as Curtis's aid.

  My badge was glass. I had two more years until I got my bronze badge. Every five years you survived, you earned your next one.

  "You didn't come all this way just to hear my tales of woe, did you?" I put my book down on the table beside my chair.

  "No. Curtis has a gig for you. Another client is requesting you personally." Even though her voice was light, her body's posture suggested she didn't like the person. Maybe it was a guard job for a lecherous old man.

  I sighed. Even if the money was good, I hated personal requests. It meant I was becoming more well-known in the city. And being well-known was the last thing I needed.

  Two months ago, a case bought me to the public eye—a hunt for a young girl taken from her mother. Lucan, the Dragon Protector, had contracted me to find her. It seemed straightforward at first, but nothing about that case was what it appeared. Two close brushes with death and a broken contract later, the girl was safe and in hiding, and I was back to my usual work for the guild. I had tried to keep a low profile, but word had leaked, and now I was the talk of the town. The one thing I knew for sure, this new client couldn’t be Lucan. Not only was he blacklisted from our guild, he also barely tolerated me.

 

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