The moment that the words were out, the woman regained her colour and her spasm stopped. She felt better, but Asha felt much worse.
Without a word to the assembled, Asha ran for the exit, Tuartha only a moment behind her.
As the doors swung shut, she heard one of the forest guards repeat what she had just heard.
"A demon is on its way to kill her cousin."
Hearing it spoken by another voice made it more real and Asha ran faster, hoping to reach Elhara before the assassin did.
Chapter Ten
The energy in the care centre was askew. Asha warded herself and Tuartha as they made their way toward Elhara's bed.
A demon was leaning over her cousin and the posture of the woman filled Asha with rage. A succubus draining the life from her cousin was enough to fill her vision with crimson.
She let out a roar of fury and grabbed the woman with a hand of magic, slamming the succubus to the floor and pinning her in place. The demon struggled against the magic, so Asha switched from leprechaun magic to a ward and locked the succubus in a shell of fury.
Asha used her grip to lift the demon to her feet and she tightened the shell until she heard ribs crack. "Why, why Elhara?"
The demon hissed and choked. "She has what is mine and I want it back."
"She has nothing of yours and you will soon be unable to even remember why you came after her."
"Asha. Stop." Tuartha came from behind her and spoke in her ear. "You are better than this."
"Elhara is far better than me and she is almost dead. This demon is responsible." Asha tightened her grip and the demon screamed.
"Asha. Stop." The voice wasn't Tuartha's or either of her grandparents. Elhara.
Keeping her grip on the demoness, Asha turned toward her cousin's bed. Elhara was sitting up in the arms of her grandparents and was wearing a shamrock necklace that radiated power.
"Ash, don't kill her."
"El, how are you…you are awake?"
"I won't say I am fine, but I am awake and my memories have stopped unravelling. The charm is slowly rebuilding my thoughts and the healers here think I should have everything back in place by the end of the week." Elhara's eyes were surrounded by dark circles, but she smiled her familiar smile.
Asha could feel the demoness struggling against her grip and put a quick cage around the power to hold it together. Demons could slip through the ether, so Asha also wrapped the entire room in a blanket of magical mesh. If her primary containment blew, the mesh would wrap around her spirit and tangle her.
A searing pain struck her as an outside source of power ripped through the mesh she had laid. Her prisoner smirked at the pain that ruptured the wrap around her, but her expression faded when the knife blade slid through her ribs from behind her.
Asha watched in shock as a male demon made of shadows appeared, stabbed the succubus and disappeared back through the rip he had made.
The demoness dropped to the floor, her back arched obscenely over the hilt of the dagger. Blood pooled under her and she was gone in seconds.
Asha leaned back against Tuartha, her head pounding from the effort of a demon strong enough to rupture the gauzy ward.
She looked up at her husband, his deep green features and gold eyes. "What the hell just happened here?"
She slumped into his grasp and heard Elhara shout, but then everything went dark and Asha slept.
Waking in the arms of Tuartha was nice. Much nicer than waking on her own. She turned and smiled up at him. "Good morning?"
"Afternoon."
She winced and turned toward him, her lack of clothing making the contact far more fun than would otherwise have been. "Good afternoon. How is El?"
"Getting better every hour. She is still at the care centre, but there are guards posted now." He ran his hands over her back and smiled down at her. "You had me worried."
"I was adjusting and that demon ripped a helluva hole through my lightweight ward when he came through. It drained me of the power I had used to construct it."
He sighed and continued his hand's slow exploration while they talked. "I thought Warders used anchors so that could not happen."
She blushed. "We usually do, but I was kind of angry when we found that bitch draining my cousin."
He laughed. "I noticed. Remind me not to get you angry."
She started her own caress on his torso, taking in the contrast of textures between his chest, nipples, the skin under his arms, the heat from the column of his neck with its fascinating pulse.
She chuckled. "You love me when I am angry."
He laughed and rolled with her, coming to a halt with her under him. "That I do. I love you when you are angry, sad, happy or any other way. I especially love you under me."
He shifted his hips forward and the bar of his cock rocked against her belly.
She purred and raised her hips to his.
He kissed her and they rocked together until he slipped between her spread thighs, nestling between her folds. Tuartha's insistent pressure pushed past her body's initial resistance and soon, his thrusts were inside her working deeply until she took him completely.
They locked gazes as he thrust and she responded, twisting and rocking for minutes, hours, days or seconds, she wasn't sure. She only knew that she didn't want it to end.
When he reached between their sweating and shifting bodies to stroke her clit, she arched against him and locked her ankles behind his back, holding him inside her as she came.
He grunted and she felt his throbbing pulse within her. Magic came with him and she was sent into another round of spasms in reaction.
She mewled in complaint when he withdrew but sighed happily when he tucked her against him. "Beds are better."
He laughed. "I am still fond of the memories now associated with my desk."
She snorted and nuzzled against his chest, tracing patterns in the sweat on his emerald flesh. "Twice a week maximum, Tuartha. I have my standards and that desk isn't comfy."
His smile showed his startlingly white teeth and the glow of his molten gold eyes. "I will take it. Now, we have today off, but tomorrow, we have to get back to duty."
She could feel her face take on a sultry expression that she didn't know she had. She kept trailing her fingers over his skin and he groaned and rolled to his back, taking her with him.
Laughter rippled through her and she straddled her leprechaun, moving to take him inside her and ride him until they both reached their peak. It was a good goal and she intended to spend as much time as she could practicing until it was perfect.
As Asha rose and fell, watching him watching her, she realized that all those years ago that found object was truly her lucky charm.
* * * *
Elhara sat in the care centre and let her mind show her what it was remembering. Red skin, black hair and a smile that made her heart beat faster even in memory.
When she whispered his name, she could swear that he was right in front of her.
"Solar."
Her apparition smiled and reached to lift her from the bed.
The leprechaun guards were frozen in place, as if time itself was standing still. She smiled and reached for him like a child for a parent.
As he lifted her in his arms, she felt the click of rightness and asked him the one question that she couldn't let go of. "Who are you?"
He grinned and she felt his magic taking them from the leprechaun city. "All in good time, beloved. All in good time."
Author's Note
I am sorry it took me so long to get back to the Warders. While folks liked them, the sci-fi stuff is just easier to write.
Stay tuned for
The Warder's Demon
in two weeks. Find out what happened to Elhara before we arrived in the leprechaun city and what the hell is going on. Frankly, I look forward to finding out myself, because at this point, I have no idea.
Thanks for coming to play in the Warder's Universe,
Viola Grace
http://www.devinedestinies.com
About the Author
Viola Grace was born in Manitoba, Canada where she still resides today. She really likes it there. She has no pets and can barely keep sea monkeys alive for a reasonable amount of time. Her line of day job tends to be analytical which leaves her mind hopping to weave stories. No co-worker is safe from her character analysis. In keeping with busy hands are happy hands, her hobbies have included cross-stitch, needlepoint, quilting, costuming, cake decorating, baking, cooking, metal work, beading, sculpting, painting, doll making, henna tattoos, chain mail, and a few others that have been forgotten. It is quite often that these hobbies make their way into her tales.
Viola's fetishes include boots and corsetry, and her greatest weakness is her uncontrollable blush. Her writing actively pursues the Happily Ever After that so rarely occurs in nature. It is an admirable thing and something that we should all strive for. To find one that we truly like, as well as love.