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“What’s a Keeper?” Orion asked.
“He rules the underworld,” Izel answered.
“That isn’t going to help any of us if he sucks us back in,” Duncan argued.
“And the more he forces you to return, the stronger he becomes,” Jaden explained. “I don’t want you men returning any more than you want to return.”
“Then what do we do?” Orion asked. “You have to tell us how to defend ourselves if we end up back there.”
“For now, I can shield all three of you from his detection.” Jaden closed his eyes, waved his hand from left to right, and spoke so low that even Izel couldn’t hear what he was saying.
When he opened his eyes, he looked at them. “The shield will only work if you three remain in Midnight Falls.” Jaden turned toward Izel. “For now, your duties are suspended until Panahasi and I, along with the Keeper, can find a solution. You can still call on your scythe, Izel. That may or may not be the only weapon that will work against the Slayer.”
Izel didn’t like the unknown. When battling, he liked to strategize, to know what he was up against. That was what had made him such a superior warrior when he was alive.
Except when his father, a man Izel should have been able to trust, drugged him and killed him.
“What about my job?” Orion asked. “I mean, it’s in Midnight Falls, but what if the shield weakens or something and he sucks me back without Duncan or Izel?”
Jaden smirked. “You are very inquisitive.”
Orion shrugged. “It’s one of my shortcomings.”
“I don’t think so,” Izel said. “I love your inquisitiveness.”
“Same,” Duncan replied, though Izel had a feeling the cheetah was just showing solidary in front of Jaden.
“I didn’t say it was bad,” Jaden replied. “There is knowledge to gain in curiosity.”
Izel was more than relieved he wasn’t going to face any wrath for finding his mates or that he would be taken from them. He wasn’t sure what Jaden would do when he found out, and he was glad to discover his boss wasn’t pissed.
“You should be safe, Orion,” Jaden said.
“I never told you my name,” Orion replied.
Jaden smirked. “If you’re that worried, stick with Duncan and Izel.”
“But what am I going to do about money?” Orion asked.
Izel lay a hand over Orion’s mouth. As patient as Jaden seemed to be with the human, Izel could also tell that Orion’s questions were wearing on Jaden’s nerves.
Orion glared up at him, but for now, Izel ignored him. “We’ll stick close to each other,” he told Jaden.
“Call out my name if the Slayer sucks you back into his cell.” Then Jaden vanished.
Orion knocked Izel’s hand away. “Why’d you cover my mouth? He said he didn’t mind my inquisitiveness.”
“Yes, but even Death has a limit,” Izel replied. Then he inwardly cursed. He’d forgotten to ask Jaden if his mates were now immortal since they’d bonded. One might assume they would be, but when it came to preternatural, it was always good to ask.
“Don’t worry about money,” Duncan said to Orion. “Whatever you need, I have you covered.”
“Thanks, but I like my independence.” Orion sat on the edge of the bed. “I don’t like relying on anyone for my needs.”
“For now, you’ll have to.” Duncan sat next to him and took Orion’s hand. “We’re all going to have to rely on each other, because my gut tells me we haven’t seen the last of that forest.”
Izel’s gut told him the same thing. Thankfully he could still call upon his scythe. To some, it might look like just a fancy weed cutter, but it was so much more powerful than anyone knew.
And Izel would need that power if he had to face the Slayer.
