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Silence dominated the room for several seconds as they looked at each other. The road ahead of them was going to be deadly. Would they all make it? Baer prayed they would.
The Soul Weaver shifted in his seat and picked up his coffee. “Dinner? I was thinking a nice thick lasagna,” he asked, keeping his tone light and a bit blasé.
Baer smiled at him, pushing away the last of his fears. Grey was likely drowning in all their worries and anxiety, but he wasn’t letting any of it show. “Only if we can turn that French loaf you’ve been hoarding into garlic bread.”
“Fine, heathen. Use the bread,” Grey said dramatically.
Dane snickered and turned to the fridge to pull out what they’d need for the meal. The tension in the room broke, and it was suddenly a little easier to breathe.
Wiley pinched his side and Baer looked down into narrowed eyes. “Centuries, huh?”
“Think you could put up with me that long?”
Wiley’s smile was a beautiful thing to behold as it spread across his face. “That might be just enough time to do all the naughty things I have planned for you.”
Baer hugged him tight and brushed a kiss across his temple. Centuries wasn’t nearly long enough, but it was a start. He planned to enjoy all that time with Wiley, and no one was going to stand in his way. Not Ardette. Not any pestilent. He was going to keep his soul mate safe.Chapter 26Baer’s skin crawled at the overwhelming silence of the woods. They’d entered the state park well after sundown, leaving the Jeep and Jo’s truck at the ranger’s station. Bold-colored signs announced that the park was closed due to dangerous animal attacks. Obviously Ardette’s doing.
It had taken Clay and Grey nearly two days of searching to get a bead on the new location of the pestilents. The time had been spent training Wiley as much as Baer possibly could to use not only his new powers, but to also use a gun and knife. As much as he wanted it to be otherwise, there was no way Baer could remain by Wiley’s side throughout the fight. His strength was in being able to shift quickly and attack. Though they would be separated, Grey had promised to watch Wiley’s back while he focused on the witch’s spells.
Baer would have preferred Wiley not being anywhere near the park and the coming fight. His soul mate was a gentle, sweet man who should not be in the middle of this. Except Wiley was also a fierce fighter when his mind was set on something. And right now, his mind was very set on getting all animals free of Ardette’s power.
The night was chilly, colder than it had been recently. The dew on the grass was seeping through his shoes and starting to dampen his socks. Ahead of them, Clay held up a hand, calling a stop to their slow progress through the woods. They’d left the paved path and were cutting among the trees. Not far away was the soft slosh of water. Part of the park was marshlands, which didn’t give Baer a good feeling. Lots of snakes and gators were in this area.
“Close?” Baer whispered.
“Very,” Clay replied. He turned and looked at Baer, then Wiley. “What are you feeling?”
Baer rubbed his head against the ache that had started there before they’d even parked. “Darkness. It’s like my powers are continuously hammering on a brick wall.”
“I’m not much better,” Wiley admitted. “It’s like a black fog closed around us as soon as we drove into the park.”
“Do we retreat? We can return to the plantation and think of a new plan. There’s no point in continuing if we don’t have some kind of advantage here.”
Baer looked over his shoulder at Wiley. His lover’s face was screwed up in concentration. He could feel the pain that was throbbing in Wiley’s head, but it was nothing compared to the young man’s determination. Pride swelled in Baer’s chest, and he nearly reached out to pull him closer.
“No,” Wiley said and added a shake of his head. “This may be just a cloaking spell or something to confuse us. The moment I see the animals under her control, I know I’ll be able to push out her spell. Baer can then steal them for his army.”
As plans went, it wasn’t the greatest. They were hoping to simply steal away Ardette’s army and use it against her and the rest of the pestilents. Combined with Clay and Lucien’s gifts, it should be enough to overwhelm them and wipe the pestilents out. Of course, part of that plan was also dependent on taking out Ardette as quickly as possible.
Clay grunted his agreement and turned to face the direction they’d been heading. Lucien was directly behind him, while Grey was bringing up the rear and carrying enough firepower to take control of a small town.
