Free Daughter of Anat by Cyndi Goodgame Page A

But yes, he’s done worse.  It’s why he feels unworthy of you.”
    I assumed he registered himself the same.  “It doesn ’t make you who you are now.”  I was speaking to him as well as referring to Cas.
    “It doesn ’t make a man feel any better about holding a woman that surpasses the punishment he deserves.  Forgive me Stace for saying so, but you are a chink in our armor.  We can never live up to what you want of us.  We are loyal, yes.  Worthy, no.”
    I knew Cas felt this way.  He ’d said as much.  Hearing someone else put it into perspective gave reality to it. 
    “Okay.  Suppose I agree with the conclusions you both have made up in your heads.  Can ’t we just moved past them and find a way to accept each other for the misshapen choices in our lives and see that innocent or not, we can get through this only if we do it together.”
    Tough call.
    He turned his head to me as he pulled into a dark parking space I didn’t recognize.  Obsidian orbs of sadness drilled into me.  “Yeah.  For now. ”
    Why do men always think they have it all figured out?
    “I went to see my father first.  He confirmed that Lee called him and told him Cas was here.” 
    Cord parked a block away.
    We walked the length of the sidewalk to place where Lee told me the old decrepit shack would be.  They didn’t meet us this time.  Why, oh why Elves were holding anyone captive in a rundown old house in the middle of a huge city was beyond me.
    It ’s now or never.  It felt like I’d been crouched in the dark corner of the alley letting my imagination create disturbing images of what could be happening to Cas for more than an hour, but really was only ten minutes.  In the back of my mind the amount of danger was ever present, but I just didn’t want to think about it.  I’d let my normal careless attitude drift me from Szar’s ornery bliss, to Lee’s bizarre hidden messages, and now Cords revealing nature.  I just wanted Cas safe and something called FRANTICALLY NUTS was about to settle in. 
    Shaking my limbs and closing the back door to the car cautiously after grabbing an extra blade for comfort, I checked the inventory of my weapons.  Cord nodded as he headed for the back.  I headed for the front feeling the prickle of awareness to Cas crawling its way up my torso and resting all over my body like a hummingbird.  Right then I was so thankful for it, but there were times that I questioned its purpose.  Calum’s electric connection also.
    But the real question was why I hadn ’t caught it when we were here earlier.  I usually only need to be a few feet away to feel him which only means that coming to the sidewalk before didn’t put me close enough.  I knew now he was right in the next room, but I still should have known.  It had been hidden somehow before.  I wanted to know how, but that could come later.
    I didn ’t knock.
    They sat at a round table.  Me on one side, them on the other.  I could tell their weapons were drawn under the table like my own at the ready.  I could also tell they left themselves a wide birth from the distance of the table for standing quick enough to land a dagger between an intruder’s eyes.
    Course, staring at Vampire Elf zombies that spewed ill-content in my direction didn’t improve my staying power for just taking them out now.  I was also relying on the fact that they also didn’t know a Werewolf stood a mere six feet from the room and could hold me back.  Boy was he wrong.
    If they had Cas, they were as good as dead by my knife or not.
    I watched each of them subtly reminding myself that this situation needed caution and intellect.  A gimmick.  Take them by surprise and they’d never know what hit them.
    Their blood lust.   That was it.
    On the side of my belt I sliced my finger just enough their necks stiffened, their bodies yanked into erect positions.  Their noses were on alert.  They were definitely new Vampires.  Just then, the only inside