Elfhome

Dust billows, revealing and hiding a body laying on the ground. Elf long hair, wyvern armor, sekasha tattoos.

After the thunder of guns, the silence rang loud in his ears.

Slowly the warriors moved closer to look at the phantom body.

“Can they do that?” The one asked. “Be invisible?”

The other was shaking his head like a wet dog. “Isn’t right. Isn’t right.” The male growled.

“Can they or can’t they?” The first asked.

The second worked his nose, sniffing. “Not the right scent.” The male growled. “I smell that damn cat.”

Shit. How good was the warrior’s nose? Would he be able to track Tommy?

The three that had charged into the woods, though, were returning. He reached for their minds and made them see two elves standing over the fallen oni. Their response was satisfyingly violent. In the matter of minutes, only one warrior was left alive.

And one warrior he could completely blindside easily.

From the woods came Spot’s cry of anger. Tommy’s heart leap in his chest, followed hard with anger. He told the boy to stay put! He dashed toward the sound, rejecting the spent clip and inserting a new one.

The lone oni warrior had caught the elf female by her long dark hair, but as he had struggled to subdue her, Spot had jumped the oni from behind. Tommy couldn’t shoot in fear of hitting his cousin. The oni reached over his shoulder, and grabbed the boy. Spot bit down hard on the oni’s hand. Roaring with pain and anger, the oni flung the boy down onto the ground, stomped down on Spot, and pulled his gutting knife. Pinned, the boy was at least out of the line of fire. Tommy took aim and shot.

The oni went down, and both Spot and Jewel went for the knife. The elf was closer, and snatched it up with her tied hands.

“Don’t hurt him!” Tommy roared in Elvish, leveling the gun at her. “Hurt him and I’ll gut you myself!”

Jewel backed away from the boy, bound arms bent at the elbow to hold the knife ready to strike.

Spot scrambled up and dashed to Tommy, wrapping his arms around him and burying his head into Tommy’s side. The boy was shaking hard.

“Are you okay?” Tommy asked him in Mandarin. The boy only whimpered. “Damn it, are you hurt or not?”

Spot shook his head. Tommy sighed out relief and patted the boy on the back. Reassured, he focused back on Jewel Tear. The greater blood oni bred for brute force, not caring that the lesser bloods looked like monsters. In the case of the oni warriors, it might even be a benefit. The elves went for looks; there was no such thing as an ugly elf. Jewel Tear was radiant even muddy, bruised, and battered. Her rich sable-colored hair fell to her knees. Her eyes were a stunning amber brown with thick long lashes and dark elegant eyebrows. Her skin was the warm caramel color. The oni had torn rends into her green silk gown and through the tears, Tommy could see tantalizing glimpses of her body.

That she was bound and yet armed and ready to fight only made her more erotic to him. They eyed each other over the oni gutting blade.

“I don’t want to hurt you.” He indicated with his pistol that she should drop the knife. “But I will if I have to.”

“You will have to kill me. I will not submit.”

He reach out with his ability and projected an image of him standing before her, gun leveled, thinking out the problem. Keeping that firm in her mind, he holstered his gun, stepped forward, jerked the knife out of her hand and shoved her to the ground. She landed with a cry of dismay. He stepped back of her range and let go of her mind.

“What — What did you do?” she cried.

“I told you, I don’t want to hurt you.” Tommy handed the gutting knife to Spot. It had been a mistake not arming the boy so he could defend himself. “If you haven’t noticed, I’m trying to rescue you.”

Her eyes narrowed in study of them. She in took in Tommy’s cat-like ears and Spot’s dog-like features. “You’re Wolf Who Rule’s half-oni?”

“We don’t belong to the viceroy.”

“But you’re saving me? For him?”

“True Flame thinks I had something to do with your kidnapping.”

She grasped it instantly. “Because the oni used the kitsune’s illusions? And you have that mind trick of yours.”

“Yes.” Tommy hauled her to her feet. “Come on. I’m taking you back to Pittsburgh.”

She gave a laugh that ended with a sob. “Back? Back to what? The ruined shambles of my life?”

Tommy scoffed and put a hand to her slender neck. “I could kill you and end all your suffering.”

She gasped in surprise and gazed at him with doe-eyed amazement.

“Well?” He ran his thumb down her windpipe, feeling her pulse flutter like a moth under his palm. God, he found holding the life of a little, naïve female in the palm of his hand such a turn on. It made him want to tear off what remained of her clothes and take her, but he controlled the urge. That was his father’s way — to force himself on unwilling females.

Her eyes flicked to Spot, reminding Tommy that the boy watched. “Your son?”