Wild Warrior (The Weavers Circle 2)

“Yeah, some of us are still enjoying using the pool while the weather is holding,” Baer added.

“And even then, warn someone if you try it,” Clay finished. “We don’t have a Weaver who can cool it down again.”

Lucien winced. “Good point. I don’t want to accidentally boil someone if they cannonball into the pool.”

Clay walked over to his favorite tree and sat, leaning his back against the broad trunk. “That’s why we’re careful to use our powers mostly out here. If you want to try boiling water, we can bring a large bucket or pitcher of water with us next time.” He kicked off his shoes and pressed his bare feet into the soil while running his hands through the grass. Baer couldn’t help but smile to see his friend relax even more as he regained a full connection with the earth.

His powers didn’t work the same way. Baer didn’t get overwhelmed with energy, but the cacophony of noise from the animals around him could get to be a bit much. Luckily, he was getting better at turning down the dial in his brain, reducing their chatter to little more than white noise. As it was now, the birds in the trees were sending a relentless barrage of images to him about searching for food. Squirrels were also out to find food to store for winter, though there was less hibernating this far south. A few were stopping and watching them, annoyed by their presence when they had work to get done.

“I understand the rule for not using powers in the house,” Lucien said with a nod.

“There’s also the rule of not using powers when you’ve been drinking,” Clay added.

“That’s how tables get broken,” Grey said with a smirk at Baer.

Baer flipped off the Soul Weaver. “Screw you. A guy breaks one little table and he’s suddenly banned for life from being a peacock!” Baer joked.

Grey snorted. “You know, I still haven’t seen your peacock.”

“And if you keep teasing me, you ain’t never gonna see my peacock.”

“Why do I feel like peacock means something different here?” Lucien muttered.

Grey shook his head. “We actually mean a peacock, I swear. It was the night I arrived. Baer had just unloaded the full story on me, while we were drinking some really horrible whiskey.”

“Hey! It was before we realized we could afford to buy the good stuff,” Baer interrupted. Even though he didn’t come out looking so shining, he really did like this story, simply because it made everyone happy.

“You mean the whole goddesses, aliens, and powers thing?”

Grey nodded. “Even though I had been chased for two years and caught a hint of Clay’s powers before we made it to the plantation, it was a lot to swallow.”

“Drunk or sober,” Clay mumbled.

“So, I decided to shift in the living room to prove it all to him,” Baer tossed in.

“Into a peacock?”

Baer nodded and Grey laughed.

“Oh, I’m sure he tried for peacock,” Grey said.

“But I ended up an ostrich,” Baer groaned. “To this day, I don’t know how I confused the two. Wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t seen the feathers on the floor the next morning.”

Grey busted out laughing, and even Lucien was chortling now. Baer smiled at the two of them as he added, “Smashed right through the coffee table and freaked Grey out. He dove over the couch.”

“There was an eight-foot bird suddenly flapping its wings in front of me! Of course I dove for cover!” Grey shouted, then gasped for air.

Lucien turned and looked at Clay. “And what were you doing during all this chaos?”

Baer almost fell over laughing when he saw pink stain Clay’s cheeks.

“He was busy having angry sex with Dane,” Grey answered before Clay could speak. “Or was it make-up sex?”

Clay’s smile turned a little wicked. “Yes, to all of the above.”

Grey groaned and Baer grinned at his friend. “You did ask,” he teased Grey.

“Yeah, well, let’s stop there,” Lucien grumbled. He shook his head as he turned where he stood near the middle of the open field, his hands on his narrow hips. The Fire Weaver was wearing a pair of jeans and a plain T-shirt today, but there was still something classy about his appearance.

“For most humans, nothing has changed in their world,” Grey said suddenly.

Lucien jerked around to look at the Soul Weaver, his mouth hanging open in surprise.

The writer looked a little tired, but the man had been hanging around them more the past couple of days. The constant onslaught of emotions and thoughts had to be wearing on him.

“The harder you’re thinking about something, the louder those thoughts are for me,” Grey explained. “I can try to block some things, but it’s not always possible. It’s why I stay in the apartment over the garage.”

“That’s gotta suck,” Lucien murmured, his voice sounding a bit speculative, as if he didn’t quite know what to make of the Soul Weaver and his powers.