Free Through The Veil by Christi Snow

halted their forward momentum and looked up. “We’re
here.”
    She reached up gingerly around his neck so he could fly her
up to the platform. She tried to ignore the little thrill which went through
her system at the feel of his hips meeting hers and his hard chest against her
breasts.
    An elegant woman with amazingly colored wings met them
outside. This had to be Bethany. She was beautiful and had an extremely
confident air about her. Dressed in a flowing skirt, she wore a top which creatively
wrapped and wove around her body to encompass her torso. Like Marcus, she also
wore a sword, but hers was strapped to her waist rather than her back. Lori
realized Bethany looked similar to Brooklyn. Reexamining her wings, she saw
they also shared the turquoise blue in them.
    Marcus made the introduction. “Bethany, this is our guest,
Lori. Lori, our leader of the WS, Bethany.”
    Bethany had been watching Lori closely as Lori examined her.
    “It’s nice to meet you,” Lori said. “Forgive me if this is too
forward, but are you related to Brooklyn?”
    A wide smile lit up her whole face. Lori could see how she
became their leader. She appeared very charismatic and hadn’t even spoken yet.
“Yes, she’s my little sister, even if she does tower above me now.”
    “She is very tall isn’t she?” Lori was 5’6” and Brooklyn had
several inches on her. Appearing just slightly taller than Lori, Bethany
probably hit 5’7”.
      “Lucky for us, she’s
equally efficient as a Warrior as she is medical assistant to Malcolm. Come in
and let’s chat. Marcus, you may stay out here. I’ll call you when I need you to
return.”
    For a moment, panic zinged through Lori. She didn’t want him
to leave her side. Something about the man made her feel secure. Even though
he’d reverted back to the hard man she’d met yesterday as they approached
Bethany’s, there was a level of comfort and safety with him.   She knew she was being silly. She meant
nothing more than a job to him and he’d put his professional face back on and
she needed to do the same.
No weakness.
Not even with him.
    He gave a quick nod to Bethany, before he turned back to
Lori. “Are you going to be okay without me?”
    He brushed her forehead with his lips. She knew he was
sneaking in a check of her temperature before he left. “
She’s running a fever
so don’t let her get too worn out.”
She heard him in her head, although he
obviously spoke to Bethany, not her.
    Her gaze flew to his, at the same time she heard Bethany
respond. “
She’ll be fine. I’ll take good care of her. Don’t worry, Marcus.”
    “Damn, you heard that didn’t you?” he observed.
    She nodded, wondering what this meant. Her telepathic
abilities were normally pretty wretched, but Marcus seemed to boost her
perception somehow.
    Bethany’s eyebrows quirked up. “Well, that’s interesting,
isn’t it? I think your appearance in our little village is going to make life
very exciting.” She linked her arm through Lori’s and waved off Marcus, who
seemed reluctant to leave.
    Lori gave him a reassuring smile and sent him a mental
message,
“Don’t worry. I’ll be fine.”
She’d never spoken to him
directly through their link before.
    She could hear the surprise in his voice as he answered
gruffly,
“Just call to me if you need me. I’ll be close by.”
    Entering Bethany’s house, she found it to be much like
Marcus’s although slightly larger with more fabrics and color to give it a more
feminine feel. A tall, muscular, brooding man with midnight black wings stood
in the corner scowling at her. His upper arms were huge and covered with
swirling tribal tattoos.
    Her footsteps faltered and Bethany came back to pull her
into the room. She scowled at the man. “Don’t let Aaron bother you. He’s the
head of my Warriors and he’s here to make sure you don’t murder me.” She tilted
her head and looked seriously at Lori. “You’re not going to kill me, are