Read Online Guardian by Sam Cheever - Free Book Online Page A

move. A deep, rumbly voice came out of the darkness. “You’re late, hada.”
    Ian shrugged and said nothing.
    After another moment the guns slid back into the darkness. “The meeting’s started. I think they’ve already decided to obliterate your girlfriend. Sux to be her.” The first voice broke out into quiet laughter and was joined by a second.
    If I squinted really hard I could see the two men standing there, but they weren’t much more than outlines in the lightless space.
    Shadows. Holy shit! What were a pair of shadow men doing there? What the hell was Ian mixed up in?
    Ian moved further into the building and I followed, careful not to create any disturbance on the air. I wondered how he could see where he was going. The building was completely and claustrophobically dark.
    After a couple of minutes I started to hear the rumble of voices. When Ian finally stopped to open a door deep in the center of the building, the light that poured out, though dim by normal standards, felt blinding to my light challenged eyes.
    Ian stood there a moment, allowing the dense blackness of the building behind him to outline his wide stanced form in the door. I knew what he was doing. And so did the creatures in that room. The room had fallen silent and they were watching him. Some of the faces in that room paled as he stood there, unmoving and silent.
    Interesting.
    Finally he spoke. “This meeting will now begin.”
    “You’re late.” The voice was high pitched and most definitely feminine. I moved up to Ian’s shoulder and peered into the room. It was filled with all manner of creatures, from human to Elvin and even demon. The humans looked pale and nervous. The monsters looked smug and sure. The woman at the front of the room just looked pissed.
    She was tall, elegant, and beautiful. And I realized at once that she was faery.
    “We’ve already decided Tana’s fate,” the woman said. “You’re too late.”
    Ian walked into the room, leaving the door open. Probably for my benefit. I slid into the room and prayed he wouldn’t get too deeply enmeshed in the crowd because I wouldn’t be able to follow him without raising some eyebrows. I cursed silently as he stepped into the middle of it, wishing we’d had time to plan.
    I heard the door slam shut and turned to see the young woman Mack and I’d been trying to rescue, the one who’d killed Mack, standing beside it looking petulant. My hand flew to my weapon but I realized, with a sinking heart, that I wouldn’t be able to take her down. I forced my gaze away from her as Ian spoke.
    “You wasted no time with that vote, Dawnia. What if I’d been on time?”
    She smiled a smug smile. “You’d have had to be early.”
    A few in the room chuckled at this but Ian’s deadly gaze slid through the room, silencing them like a knife across the throat. “We will vote again.”
    Dawnia’s pretty face darkened and she stepped forward, her lithe, slightly green flesh glowing with anger and power. “We…will…not!”
    Ian was on her almost before my eyes could register that he’d moved. He held the tip of his sword under her throat and her pretty green eyes looked a little wild. “Yes…We…Will!” Then he smiled, and it wasn’t a pleasant sight.
    I shivered.
    Dawnia’s glittering green gaze pierced him for a few more seconds. She held herself rigid, with her hands clenched at her sides, but finally she gave the slightest of nods and Ian stepped away. “Call it out.”
    Dawnia seemed to have trouble speaking. I wondered she could speak at all with her jaw clenched like that. But, with an effort, she managed to grind out the words. “The vote on usurping Queen Tana of the Faeries is null and void. We will now recast the vote.” She turned hate filled eyes on Ian. “With a show of hands. Do we strip the crown from Tana…”
    “Queen Tana!” Ian interjected with a scowl. “We make a huge mistake if we forget her role in the magical realm, and her