Four-Letter Words by Evans, Gabrielle (top 10 books of all time .txt) 📗

“Any injuries?”

“No, sir.” Not the type of injuries his leader was referring to, anyway. “Most have been syphoned. They’ve had their magical abilities drained, and their immune systems are having trouble fighting off infections and viruses.” Of the eight who remained, four of them had contracted the flu, two had bronchitis, one had come down with the chicken pox, and the other had pneumonia.

Being a preternatural was partly biology, encoded in their genetic makeup. However, a larger part of their strength, power, endurance, longevity, and the like was deeply rooted in magic. Remove the magic, and paranormals were mostly human—at least in physical body—and the human body was not designed for cross-species transformations, accelerated healing, or immortality.

Their genes allowed shifters and werewolves to transition. Magic allowed them to do it without ending up in bloody pile of bones and tissue. The magic was so intricately woven within them it would take some truly dark and evil energy to strip it away.

Sadly, that was exactly what had happened to these children. Not only were they now susceptible to disease and other ailments, but the two shifters of the group would be at added risk as they neared puberty.

“We may want to think about bringing in a human doctor or transferring them to a human hospital,” October said after a lengthy pause. “Do we even have the medicine to treat them?”

“Dr. Jo has actually requested a meeting with you to discuss just that. He knows a human who could help. Apparently, this guy knows all about supes as well, so we don’t have to worry about freaking him out.”

“I like uncomplicated. Tell the doc to come by around four.”

“I’ve already scheduled you to meet with him at four-fifteen.”

“This is why I pay you the big bucks.” October pushed away from his desk and winked.

“You pay me a slave’s wage,” Zasha returned calmly. It wasn’t true. He was probably the highest paid assistant in the country, possibly the world. It was an added bonus that he actually liked and respected the man who employed him. “If that’s all, I need to make some phone calls and let the kitchen know that dinner will be served in the formal dining room.” He was halfway out the door before he really thought about that last statement. “We will be conducting the meeting during dinner, correct?”

October laughed and shook his head, appearing much more like an indulgent father than a powerful leader. “I don’t see why we can’t. Go arrange it, Zasha. I’ll meet you at dinner.”

Satisfied with the answer, Zasha slipped from the room, closing the door quietly behind him. He was nervous about the meeting, anxious to find out what Thane thought about his theories, and he was struggling to keep the paranoia at bay. Something big and bad was coming, but it wasn’t coming right then. They had time to prepare. They’d be ready this time.

It sounded pretty when he said it like that. Too bad he wasn’t buying it. Gods, he wished he could just talk to Thane. They’d been trying since their return to Snake River to repeat the telepathic connection they’d shared inside the mines. So far, it wasn’t working, though. Apparently, it had been a one-time fluke, brought on by extreme distress.

Well, fuck it all, he was sure as hell distressed now. Something cold, dark, and evil was slithering toward them, and though he couldn’t put a name to it, the very air around him seemed to be alive with the coming threat. He’d fight if he had to, but it would be nice if he had some kind of guarantee…

He did have a guarantee, though. Nix had told him that he’d live a long and happy life with Thane. If Nix could see that in his future, just maybe, he could see something about their enemies’ plans.

Changing directions, Zasha jogged along the corridor and took the stairs two at a time to the second floor, intent of finding Nix and begging the guy to spill everything he knew.

Chapter Sixteen

“Oh, we’re having a dinner meeting tonight.” Nix rose up on his toes and then swayed back on his heels. “That’ll be nice.”

Sweet hell, Thane had missed his brother. He’d missed all of them, looked forward to being reunited with those still missing, but there was just something about Nix. Sure, he was a little odd at times. Thane imagined being constantly bombarded with events of the future would do that to anyone, though. Nix took it all in stride, always had, and his never-waning optimism was as infectious as it was welcomed.

“What are we meeting about?”

“Not sure.” Nix shrugged, but the smile never left his face. “Doesn’t work like that. I just see what I see.” His smile slid away, replaced by an unhappy pout. “Well, fish sticks. That’s no good. He’ll not be very happy with me.”

“You’re going to have to give me more than that, man.”

“Your dashing vampire will be arriving at my bedroom door momentarily. He won’t be happy to find me missing.”

Thane didn’t know why Zasha would go looking for Nix, and it made him uneasy. “Is something wrong?” His mate was searching for his brother, and there was a dinner meeting. If he was guessing, he’d say the two were related.

“Again, I only see what I see.”

“You could make this a lot easier on yourself.” Torren growled as he paced the small holding cell like a caged animal.

The witch was beginning to lose his cool, and frankly, Thane was surprised it had taken this long. Torren wasn’t exactly known for his patience, and the fact that they’d been trying to get answers out of the witches for nearly four hours was even beginning to take its toll on him. Hell, at that point, he was just glad Torren or Raith hadn’t snapped and broken someone’s neck.

“This is getting us nowhere,” Lynk grumbled. “Let’s