Queen of Ruin(Book three of the Immortals Series)
CHAPTER THIRTY THE ALAMO

"Damn!" Snapping her fingers, Tessa shook her head as she placed her hand on Rafik's arm. "Hold on a minute. I forgot to get something."

Rafik nodded to her as the clerk asked where they were from and whether they wanted to see his band later. Answering back to him in Russian, Rafik saw the top of Tessa's head above the aisle as he glanced over his shoulder to check up on her.

Blue, dim light like the pilot on a gas stove ready to ignite at any time always shined over her. Today, however, her aura melted from blue to silver to orange, and Rafik knew that they needed to reach the Realm quickly before it was too late. This life they were living couldn't last much longer; she needed a home to be comfortable in.

Before he even heard the window smash, Teddy grabbed Rafik's arm. "Oh, shit." As the black mist swirled around their feet, he yelled over his shoulder for his sister. "Alamo, Tessa!"

Their hearts beat violently amongst the swirling tornado of the rushed mist until the whole universe was one prolonged silent pause, and all the air sucked from their lungs.

When his feet hit the dark wood planks of Haldir's house in Norway, Rafik glanced around for Tessa, then pushed Teddy to the floor. "You left her! We have to go back!" As he tried to mist back to the shop they just left, Teddy threw an immobilization spell at Rafik that sent him crashing to the floor.

Pushing himself off his ass, he rubbed his wrist and stood over Rafik. "She made me promise to save you first, Rafik, no matter what. Do you think I like this? She's my sister, for Pete's sake."

He lowered his tone and pointed at the paralyzed man. "So, just lay there and chill the fuck out while I think for a goddamn minute."

Storming into the kitchen, he talked over his shoulder as he rummaged through the cupboards. "We can't get to her anyway because we have no idea where they are."

After he opened a jar of peanut butter, he set it on the counter and dug through the flatware for a spoon. "They must have knocked her out. She would be running her mouth to me by now otherwise."

He licked the spoon clean, then ran his tongue over his teeth and sighed. "If you go back there, they'll kill you, and I won't be any closer to being able to replace her, so we're going to wait until she shows up or reaches out to me."

Trying to reassure himself as much as he was Rafik, he took another bite. "Rafik, if something bad happened to her, I'd know it. She's smart, and she's strong; she'll be okay. We just need to wait this out."

Laying down on the couch, he closed his eyes and searched for Tessa. "Alright. Whenever you're ready, I'll be waiting."

The ticking of the clock on the wall took him back to the hospital room. "How'd they know where we were? Shit, Momma said her people were psychics, didn't she? Moscow's a pretty recognizable city. Goddamn it!" Taking a drink of Haldir's best vodka straight from the bottle, Teddy saw Rafik's fingers move.

Pushing himself off the couch, he went to his side and held out his hand. "Come on. Let's get you a drink."

As Rafik shook off the rest of his stupor while he sat next to him on the couch, Teddy poured him a shot then handed him the glass. "How long has it been?"

Teddy took another drink from his bottle and cleared his throat. "Just a shade over three hours."

Licking the tear from his lip, Rafik glanced at Teddy with eyes that pleaded for some kind of miracle. "We have to replace her."

With his elbows on his knees, Teddy nodded and swirled the bottle. "I realize that. Do you have any suggestions on where we look? We know they live in Africa somewhere, or at least that's where Momma grew up, but that's a fairly goddamn big place, in case you weren't aware."

As the shaking man took the glass in his hand, he shook his head. "No." Rafik's nerves got the best of him, and he cried into the air around him. "I can't just sit here."

After swallowing his drink, Teddy set his bottle down on the coffee table. "That's exactly what you're going to do, Rafik. If I let anything happen to you, she'll kill me." Slapping his knee, Teddy stood and walked towards the kitchen. "You need to eat something."

"She's pregnant." Teddy gasped back a breath when the icy hand of guilt slapped his back as Rafik's words sunk in. Turning back to face him, Teddy hissed out through gritted teeth and rolled his eyes away to the window. Slapping his hand over the ache in his heart, Rafik shook his head. "I only saw it on her this morning, but she's been having visions of it for weeks now." Sinking into his hand with his forehead, he groaned back a breath. "I should have made her stay in bed."

A blast of sarcastic air shot from Teddy's mouth when he smirked and squatted down in front of Rafik and nodded to the kitchen. "Don't be stupid; there isn't a man alive that can make Tessa do anything. Come on. You're no use at all to her if you don't take of yourself. You got to eat."

Following him to the kitchen island, Rafik sunk onto a barstool and rubbed the pounding in his head. "I didn't even realize she was in Season. I would never have allowed this to happen, not until we were in the Realm."

Teddy slapped some peanut butter on the bread he thawed out. "It happens. I take it she's not aware." As he realized what a dumb question that was, he snickered out loud. "Of course, she's not. That girl can't keep a damn secret." Setting the plate in front of Rafik, he sighed and gave him a sympathetic grin. "Congratulations, though. I know it's not ideal, but everything's going to be alright. They're our grandparents; they won't hurt her. If anything, they're probably spoiling her rotten to try to turn her against you. That's what I'd do if I were them."

"She just..." Rafik swallowed the food he was chewing and licked his lips. "She has such an explosive temper."

A huff of a laugh came from Teddy as he raised his eyebrows. "You got that right. Shit, if we wait long enough, they may bring her ass back."

Wiping his hand across his mouth as he leaned back against the counter, Teddy clicked his tongue a few times. "I ought to let Billy in on all this. I know Haldir doesn't want me using a phone at a time like this, but Billy might know which way to turn next. Maybe has an idea where they're located; that would at least be something."

With his fingers drumming on the counter, he curled his lips under as he stared at the phone. "Not this one, though. If anyone is tracing things, I'd rather use the one down at the bar."

Looking back to Rafik, he shook his head. "Can't exactly trust you not to disappear the minute I leave the house, so you better put on something warm because it's colder than a witch's tit out there."

The sick feeling of worry too thick to swallow, Rafik threw down the rest of his sandwich and gave up. "What if she comes and we're not here?" Closing his eyes and pinching his lips together tight, he rocked against the seat in pain. "What if..." "Well, then, you best behave yourself and stick with me. If she comes here and you've gone off on your own, she'll be a mess." With a tilt of his chin, Teddy motioned to the bed. "Go on. Haldir's got clothes that ought to fit you." While Rafik sulked off to the bedroom, Teddy tossed the food in the bin then set the plate in the sink. As he stared out the window across the darkening horizon, the blackness sucked him in, and the walls collapsed around him as he stood next to Tessa in the dark room.

Sliding on a pair of flannel-lined pants, Rafik went over all he knew about the Abioye family and tried to guess where they might be. "Tessa likes the heat. Firebreathers need to be warm. The desert. She's in the Sahara." He pulled the waffle knit thermal shirt over his head and yelled back to Teddy. "I think she's in the desert. She must be."

As he buckled his belt, he walked into the kitchen. "She has to be there. It's a start, at least."

When he didn't answer, Rafik glanced up and saw him swaying back and forth ever so slightly. "Teddy?"

When he rushed to his side, Rafik snapped his fingers in front of Teddy's face. Realizing he was in a trance talking to Tessa, he shook his shoulders. "Teddy, tell her I love her. Please, tell her I'll replace her. Tell her not to fight them." His head jerked left as he blinked his way out of the trance and slapped his hand to Rafik's arm. "She's alright."

Rafik's shaking hands went to his hips, and he bent over as he wailed out in relief. Teddy put his hand on his arm and pulled him into his shoulder. "She's alright. You're right; she's in the desert. They grounded her, but they're treating her well. She's okay."

As Rafik groaned and writhed into his shoulder, Teddy placed his hand around his head. "They're using her to bring you in. Don't you take that bait, Rafik."

Teddy grabbed the back of his head and pulled him back to look in his eyes to reinforce what he was saying. "She said to tell you she loves you and that you better stay the fuck put. Do you understand me?"

The devastated man nodded and pressed his forehead into Teddy's shoulder. "If they harm one hair on her head, you kill them all."

Rolling his eyes away to the window, they flashed from black to red before he shook the spirits away. "I'm going to do that regardless, Rafik. They're all dead; they just don't know it yet."