Chapter 7

I've faced a lot of situations in my life, some pleasant, some not and some that were downright dangerous. But it's a fact that I never dreamed I'd be riding down the highway with a shifter at the wheel, on my way to meet a vampire, a demon, and a wizard. That sounds like the start of a really bad joke.

Who said fiction was strange? My life, of late, puts fiction to shame.

I am curious. Rock says that the demon—correction daemon—is named Severin and is one of the most upstanding and honorable men he's ever known. Men? I asked about that. How can you call a daemon a man?

According to Rock, the word daemon stems from Greek and the original meaning was Deity. Daemons are like some spawns from hell. They aren't inherently evil. They are immortal, however, or virtually so. He says he's known a few in his life and has never known one to die of natural causes.

A few have been killed, but it takes a lot to kill a daemon.

Wizards, are sort of a daemon/fae hybrid species. They have extreme longevity and powers that belong to both fae and daemon, but their powers are somewhat diluted.

Vampires? They don't have to hide from the sun. At least not all of them. Some are weaker than others and develop serious burns from overexposure.

For the most part, the Seven aren't evil beings. At least according to Rock and what I learned from Stanzia. There are evil ones among them, but as a human I can't cast any stones over that. We have our fair share of evil.

I've been thinking about Stanzia a lot. Why would she enlist me to guard Rock when he seems pretty damn competent of handling that on his own? And why doesn't he know her? If he's so important to her, why is she just now making a move to help safeguard him?

It doesn't add up and things that don't add up make me nervous. And suspicious.

Which is why I'm curious to hear what Rock's friends have to say.

After the lavish style of Rock's house, Jazz was surprised when they pulled up in front of a small house with a wrap-around porch. There were lights on inside.

"You won't need your guns," Rock commented as he parked the car.

"You never know."

He shrugged and got out of the car. She did likewise and followed him to the door. He rapped on it twice. A few seconds later it opened.

Her initial reaction was holy shit. The man who stood inside the house was gorgeous. Long hair that just begged to have hands tangled in it, eyes the color of twilight and a face that she was not likely to ever forget.

He was tall and lean, the kind of lean that bespoke of wiry strength and a flexibility that conjured up lascivious imaginings.

"Conner." The man smiled and extended his hand.

"Severin." Rock clasped his hand and pulled the man to him. They embraced in the manner of brothers.

"I am Severin." The man's attention switched to Jazz.

And earned another mental holy shit. Something blazed from his eyes, something with power.

"Jazz Boudreaux." She offered her hand.

His touch produced literal sparks, something that shocked the hell out of her and seemed to surprise him as well the way his eyes widened.

"Ms. Boudreaux. Please come in."

That's when she noticed the second man. He rose from his seat. "Conner. Good to see you."

"Same here, Andre." Conner embraced Andre as well and then gestured toward Jazz. "Jazz this is Andre. Andre, Jazz."

"A pleasure." Andre did not offer his hand.

Good god, are all the Seven this sexy? Jazz had seen her share of good-looking men but the three in the room with her now were off the charts sexy.

"Please, have a seat." Severin gestured to the sofa.

Rock settled on the couch and patted the cushion beside him. Jazz took a seat and waited as the other two men sat.

"Augustus was not able to be here," Severin said. "But we can video conference him in."

"You have a secure connection?" Rock asked.

"The one you so generously provided." Severin got up and left the room. When he returned, he carried a tablet. He set it up on a table on one side of the room.

Jazz watched as he set about establishing a connection. A few seconds passed before Augustus Thurinus' image appeared.

"Sorry I couldn't make it."

"No problem." Rock answered.

"And this is Ms. Boudreaux?"

"Jazz." Jazz offered.

"Jazz. I'm Augustus. As I understand it, you say you were... transported to another place—a castle by a woman, Stanzia, and there she convinced you that Conner—pardon Rock—was in need of protection. In fact, the fate of the world hangs in the balance. Is this correct?"

"In a nutshell, yes."

"And you believe this to be true?"

"Yes."

"Then it is imperative that we ascertain if what you experienced did in fact happen and this is not the result of a spell or some form of mental control."

"And how do you plan on doing that?" She noticed that no one else was chiming in. Apparently Augustus was the big dog in this show.

"I am going to ask you to allow Severin to join minds with you."

"Excuse me?"

Augustus smiled. "Yes, I know it sounds impossible but I assure you it can be done."

"How?"

"Severin?"

Severin looked at Jazz. "I merely need to touch your face."

"And then what?"

"And then I will look inside your mind."

Jazz looked from him, to Rock and then at Augustus. "Forgive me, but I don't know how comfortable I am with the idea of someone being inside my head."

"I will only touch those memories you have of the woman Stanzia and the time you were with her."

"And I guess I have your guarantee on that."

"Yes, you do."

Color her crazy, but she believed him. "Okay, fine."

"Thank you. We will begin shortly, but for now, Andre has something to report."

Everyone's focus turned to Andre. He turned his attention to the tablet. "After we got the call from Conner, I requested information from our network. I'd heard the name Stanzia but wanted to verify the information I had."

"And? Is she fae? Daemon?"

"No. She is wizard. In fact, to the best of our knowledge she is the oldest living wizard on this planet and has been in seclusion since shortly after she arrived here."

"So she is one of us."

"Indeed, but as I said, she has not interacted with us in over a thousand years."

"The why did she choose Jazz to protect Conner?"

"Why do you all keep calling him Conner?" Jazz interrupted.

"That's my name," Rock answered. "My real name."

"So you're not Rockwell Burns?"

"I am, but it is an alias."

"Could the two of you discuss that later?" Augustus asked. "We have limited time on this connection before we open ourselves to possible notice."

"Oh sorry. Sure," Jazz agreed. "After just one question. Why would a wizard choose me to protect Rock if you all can do it better?"

"Because we can't."

"Pardon?" Augustus said.

"She's part daemon."

"No I'm not." His statement shocked Jazz.

"You are."

"No. I'm not."

"Then perhaps you could tell us about your family. Where you grew up."

"Fine. I grew up in New Orleans. I was raised by a woman who took me in when I was two. I don't know who my parents were, not even their names. She gave me my name."

"And this woman who raised you? What is her name."

"Abella Boudreaux."

Severin's gaze moved to Andre and Jazz took note of the look that passed between them. It was a couple of seconds before they both turned their eyes at her.

"Abella Boudreaux is quite old. Born of a daemon father and wizard mother, her powers are considerable. She is, even today, one of the most formidable of the Seven in terms of ability."

"You must be thinking about someone else." Jazz looked at Rock for a moment. "Seriously. She was just a kind and caring lady. And besides she died ten years ago."

"Hardly." Andre's comment had her turning her attention to him and he continued. "She did not die. She left New Orleans and took residence in France."

"No." Jazz would not accept that. Abella died. Jazz went to her funeral, scattered the ashes herself over the bayou where she and Abella would go on weekends to fish and gather wild herbs. "She died. I'd know if she were alive. She wouldn't fake her own death."

"She would if she were trying to protect you."

Jazz gaped at Andre in disbelief. "That's crazy."

"Or maybe not." Rock spoke up and when Jazz looked at him he held up one hand. "Just consider. If you are mixed race and she thought you were in danger from either humans or the Seven, being with you might have drawn attention to you. Our kind changes identities and locations every seventy-five to a hundred years, as a general rule. We have to in order to keep from drawing attention to ourselves.

"It may have been simply time for her to move on, or she may have been protecting you. We won't know until we talk to her."

He looked at Andre. "I'm assuming that can be arranged?"

"Yes. We will make arrangements, and we will endeavor to locate and contact Stanzia as well."

"And that leaves us where?" Rock asked. "Why would I need protection? Against humans? My security far exceeds human standards and we all know I can disappear if cornered so who am I being protected from?"

"That is an excellent question." Augustus spoke up. "If there is someone planning you harm then what would be their motivation? What are you working on?"

"Alternative power and the portal project."

"Ahhh," Augustus nodded. "The portal."

"You know something the rest of us don't?"

"No, but consider, who is threatened by your success in reopening the portal and being able to monitor and maintain it?"

Rock sat up ramrod straight. "Asha."

"Precisely. We have her contained, but she still has support. And if this wizard, Stanzia has reason to believe that you're in danger it could only be from one of two fronts—Asha and her supporters or Seven who support the darkness."

"Well, my home is secure as it can be, and unless they send a Seven from the dark side against me, I'll be fine.

"And I'll be there." Jazz added. "I might not be a Seven but I can fight and shoot to kill and I will protect him."

"And she's agreed to the mind link to prove her trustworthiness." Rock added.

The way he phrased it gave her a twinge of hurt feelings, but she told herself she was being too sensitive.

"And are you ready for the joining?" Augustus asked.

"Sure. I guess." She looked at Severin. "What do you want me to do?"

"May I?" Severin gestured to the sofa.

"Oh yeah, sure." She scooted over to make room.

He took a seat, angled to face her, and then reached over and placed his hands on either side of her head, his thumbs resting on her temples and his hands cupping her head.

"Look at me, Jasmine."

That was no hardship. She looked into his eyes and in the space of a heartbeat, reality fell away. She was swept up in a maelstrom of images, memories rushing at her so fast it was chaos.

As suddenly as it had started, it ended, leaving her feeling a bit lightheaded.

"Are you all right?" Severin did not remove his hands.

"Yes. Just a little... Yes, I'm fine. Did you find what you wanted?"

"I did, thank you." He walked over to the window and stood staring out. Everyone was silent, waiting on him to speak. When several minutes had passed, Andre broke the silence.

"Severin?"

Severin turned. "Forgive me. This... I was surprised and needed a few moments for the information to assimilate."

"Surprised?" Augustus asked. "In what way."

Severin gesture toward Jazz. "As we surmised, she is not entirely human. Not wizard, but certainly part daemon and... and something else. Something I am not familiar with."

Everyone looked at Jazz and she looked at Rock. "What does that mean?"

"Ask him." Rock pointed to Severin. "Can you elaborate?"

Severin took a seat. "There are many kinds of magic, many forms of power. What I found is connected to the old religions that migrated to New Orleans."

"Clarify. Please." Augustus said.

"Vodoun."

"Vodoun?" Rock asked at the same time Jazz blurted "Voodoo?"

"Yes."

"Now that's just insane," she protested. "I grew up in New Orleans and heard about Voodoo my entire life—the mambos and houngans and bokors—all the mumbo jumbo. It's all just a bunch of superstitious crap."

"Hardly." Andre said. "Those are the wizards and witches of the people who migrated from Africa, the Yoruba, and they have powerful magic."

"Yes." Severin added. "Our people are to be credited with having a hand in that. There were some among us who interbred with the Yoruba and those offspring are possessed of impressive abilities.

"Indeed," Andre agreed. "Their magic stems from that of their own kind and that of ours. It is far from superstitious crap."

"Well that doesn't mean I have any of that... stuff." Jazz argued.

"And yet you can locate people." Severin pointed out.

"Whatever." She jumped to her feet. "You people do what you need to do, talk to who you need to talk to and... and whatever. I'll be beside Rock and will do everything I can to keep him safe, but I've had enough of... of this."

She didn't wait for an argument or comment, she just walked out of the door and kept walking until she hit the beach. She took off her shoes, walked to the edge of the water and stood there, watching the waves. She didn't want to believe that she was anything other than what she knew herself to be. A woman who was good at what she did.

What Severin and Andre said scared her. But that was because she'd lied to them. She did believe in the power of Vodoun. She feared it. And she wanted to have nothing to do with it.

"I once read a science fiction book about a young man of a noble family. This family accepted the stewardship of a desert planet. Since this planet was the only source of a rare and valuable spice, control of the planet was coveted and replete with danger."

Jazz turned as Severin approached her. "Dune," she said. "Yeah, I read it."

"While the book explored multi-layered interactions of technology and politics, religion and ecology, the exploration into human emotion was one of the things that stood out in my reading. And to this day I remember a quote about fear from that book."

"The Bene Gesserit Litany Against Fear."

"You know it, then."

She nodded. "As silly as it may sound, it's gotten me through more than one tough scrape."

"Yes, I suppose in a profession such as yours fear is very much a mind killer."

"Yeah, but why are we talking about words from a sci fi novel?"

"Because right now fear threatens you."

"What makes you think that?"

"I saw inside you, Jasmine. And like it or not, that gives me insight into who you are. You see Vodoun, or Voodoo as you call it as something evil and if you are connected to such a thing then by association you must also be evil."

Jazz opened her mouth to argue then closed it. What was the point in arguing with someone who'd just been inside your head?

"And?"

"And a label is simply that—a word. It does not define you."

"Easy for you to say."

Severin laughed and she was shocked at how incredibly handsome he was when the severity was removed from his face. "Indeed, easy," he said. "As someone who walks the earth with the label daemon."

"Oh, well, I guess you have a point there. But Rock said it's not like you're from hell or anything."

"Not to my knowledge."

"And he said the word originated from a Greek word that meant deity. It's a big jump from that, to daemon so how exactly did you get stuck with that label?"

He shrugged. "Originally we were thought of as deities, and selfishly I will admit that was not unpleasant. However, following the onset of the Protestant Reformation in Europe there were a series of religious wars. Some refer to it as the great witch hunts. It was during that time that daemon was subverted to demon and we were labeled as creatures of a supernatural being of supreme evil."

"And that doesn't bug the holy shit out of you?"

He shrugged. "There have been times, but for the most part, no. It is simply a word and does not describe or define me. Any more than your heritage defines you. We are what we make of ourselves, Jasmine. The choices we make, the path we choose to walk define us."

"I haven't exactly been a saint."

"Who has? Even angels have been known to make bad choices and they are the most moral among us. But an evil person, of whatever race, is one who chooses to do harm to others."

She looked at him for a moment then smiled. "So my... locator ability. You think that's some kind of power I inherited?"

"I would venture to guess that it is."

"And that's all I got?"

"Perhaps that is the extent of your power and perhaps there is more. Only time will tell—and your willingness to explore that aspect of yourself.

"That's for you to decide. Right now, I want to speak to you of something personal. I know you have fallen in love with Conner—"

"I never said I was in love with him."

"You did not have to say it. It's inside you, but if it is more palatable, let me rephrase. You have strong feelings for him and I wonder if your emotions will hamper your…clear-headedness where he is concerned. While the technology he is working on for alternative energy is vital to this world, his project for unlocking and controlling the portal to the other dimension is vital for our people on the other side, and perhaps for humanity as well.

"Peace does not seem promising and already we are being hunted. Make no mistake. We will hide as best we can, but if forced, we will fight. And if we fight we will win. We are many and we are powerful. Humanity cannot stand against us.

"And that is what we do not want to happen. There are those among us who would prefer having all of the Seven return to the other dimension rather than go to war.

"War benefits no one, despite what your history leads you to believe."

"I won't argue with that. But I will say that my feelings for Rock—Conner, won't get in the way of what I need to do. You have my promise on that."

Severin smiled and held out his hand. "Give me your phone."

She pulled out her phone and put it in his hand. He spoke as he worked. "I am entering my private contact number. If you ever have need of me all you have to do is call."

"Same here." She said as he returned the phone to her.

Severin smiled and gestured toward the house. "Shall we rejoin?"

Jazz shrugged and accompanied him to the house. Everyone was standing on the front porch. "It's time we left." Andre said to Severin."

He nodded and looked at Rock. "If you have need..."

"It'll be my first call. Thank you my friends."

Jazz gave Andre a nod as he and Severin made their way to their car. Once the car pulled away, she looked up at Rock. "So, what do I call you. Rock? Conner?"

"Honey, baby, lover boy?" He asked and chuckled. "Okay, fine. Rock is fine. No sense in trying to use one name in public and another in private."

"I am capable of remembering to do that."

"Okay, then Conner."

"Conner."

He pulled her to him. "I like the way you say it."

"Conner," she whispered.

His lips captured hers and his arms went around her. She lost herself in the kiss. When he pulled back, he stared down at her. "Let's stay here tonight."

"I'm guessing it's safe?"

"Completely."

"Fine by me. You ready to turn in?"

"Yes."

"Then lead the way."

To her surprise, once they were undressed and in the bed, Rock had no desire to make love.

"Lie in my arms, Jazz and sleep with me."

"Whatever you want."

Within minutes, he was asleep. She listened to the sound of his breathing, resisting sleep, wanting to prolong the blissful moment. But his warm body wrapped around her gave her a feeling of safety and belonging she'd never known and it was too strong to resist. With a sigh she gave in, drifting into a dream world where Conner, the man she knew as Rock, wasn't her assignment. He was her love.