Guardians of the Boundary (Book 3 of The Conjurors Series)

Chapter 6

Valerie's first action was to find Chisisi in order to strategize on how to protect humans from the Fractus who had already come to Earth.

She didn't have a charm to locate Chisisi, so finding him was difficult. He wasn't at his home, the gravesite of his brother, or any of the hidden Guardian locations on Earth that he had told her about. She was ready to give up and try again another day when she thought of one person on Earth who might be able to find Chisisi with less magical means. Thai had Chisisi's phone number.

The part of Valerie that was a teenager with a broken heart balked. But she set her face into a calm mask and dug around her dresser drawer for Thai's charm. She drew a breath and touched it.

The first thing she saw when her mind reached Earth were the yellow eyes of one of her oldest tormentors—Zunya. Her heart went to her stomach at the sight of him, but she quickly reined in her emotions. Zunya was a vampyre who fed on fear, and she wouldn't give him any extra ammunition.

"You've made your point," Chisisi's voice was cool, but Valerie could hear a thread of fear beneath it that he was struggling to hide.

Valerie turned at the sound of Chisisi's voice, and saw that he was clutching an unmoving Thai in his arms. At the sight of Thai's pale face, her pulse skyrocketed.

Zunya was on Earth in person, and he'd already found and hurt the person she loved most.

"Get away from him!" Valerie shrieked, dropping to her knees beside Thai.

Zunya's surprise was quickly replaced by a smug smile.

"I had so hoped we'd meet again soon," Zunya's oily voice made Valerie sick to her stomach. "But even I could never have orchestrated such perfect timing. This is a warning. You and your brother have friends on Earth you'd like to remain intact."

Thai groaned, and Valerie almost collapsed with relief. He wasn't dead.

"Mind your business and leave us to ours," Zunya continued. "Or my next warning will make this one seem friendly."

Chisisi gently laid Thai on the ground. When he stood up, his face was tense with anger.

"You're not welcome here," Chisisi said.

"What do you think you can do about it, human?" Zunya snarled.

Zunya's surprised gasp matched Valerie's when Chisisi whipped out two throwing stars from his sleeves and hurtled them at the vampyre.

Zunya moved quickly, but his arm was sliced cleanly. He snarled and leapt for Chisisi, but the lithe Guardian was ready for the attack. In a move that reminded Valerie of one of her own, Chisisi used Zunya's momentum against him and hurtled him over his shoulder, slamming him into the ground.

Chisisi winced at the physical contact with the vampyre, which Valerie knew was incredibly painful, even for those who didn't have magic that Zunya could steal. Zunya could rip away Chisisi's life with prolonged contact.

Chisisi didn't give him the chance. He grabbed a strange silver wire off a wall near the door of the room and hit Zunya's leg with it, hard. The wire latched around the vampyre's ankle, and Zunya made a noise of pain. His body shook as if he were having a seizure.

The cords of muscle on Chisisi's arms flexed as he gripped the wire and dragged Zunya out of the room. Zunya struggled weakly, but before he could fully recover Chisisi had yanked him through the open door.

Chisisi quickly reentered the room and pushed the door shut behind him. It was metal, with an elaborate wheel attached to it. He spun the wheel quickly, and Valerie heard a lock slide into place.