“Are you nervous?” Peri asked.

“Not really,” Sally answered. “What’s the point? It won’t change anything.”

“True,” Peri conceded, “but sometimes nerves are what keep us on our toes.”

“Peri, are you going to tell me more about the stones? I would feel more comfortable using them if I knew more about them.”

“I will tell you more about them on our drive down,” Peri answered.

“You’re going with us?” Sally asked as her eyebrows rose in surprise.

Peri nodded. “Decebel, Vasile, and I decided that you need me more than Rachel at this point. Vasile doesn't want two healers in the same place. Too risky.  That is why he is splitting you up.”

“That makes sense.” Sally nodded.

Decebel had decided to temporarily house the Serbian pack in a mansion located in the Romanian city of Ramnicu-Valcea.  He wanted to be close to Vasile’s pack until things had settled down and the Serbian pack was more stable. The drive from the Serbian mansion was going to be an hour shorter to Ruse than it would have been from Brasov, where the Romanian pack mansion was. To Sally this was both good and bad. Good, because obviously that meant less time cooped up in a van. Bad, because it meant they would arrive at the bar sooner. The bar, which was close to the forest where who knows what waited for them.  Although, she decided this trip was much better than the ten plus hours that Jacque and the others would spend on their way to the Carpathian Mountains. That was going to be a doozy.

“You ready to go, beautiful?” Sally jumped when she heard Costin’s voice directly behind her.

“You okay?” he asked as he gently turned her to face him.

“Yeah, I was just lost in thought. You surprised me.” She smiled at him.

“Peri has informed me that I am not allowed to flirt with or distract you,” he told her as he raised his eyebrows in question, a playful grin stretched across his face.

Sally laughed. “She said she was going to talk to me more about the Fae stones. I just want to understand their power a little more. I think I would feel more comfortable using them if I understood where the power comes from and how I can direct it. Does that make sense?”

“Definitely. It’s always important to know and understand the weapon you are wielding.” Costin grabbed her hand and tugged her toward the vehicles and helped her inside.

Fane and Jacque got into the van they would be sharing with their group and watched as she stared longingly at the other vehicle.

“They will be fine, love,” he assured her.

“I know they will, but who’s going to keep them out of trouble?” Jacque asked.

“I’m sure Costin and Decebel can handle it.”

Jacque shot him a look, her eyes narrowed. “Really, Fane? The Alpha who can’t get his mate to keep her clothes on and the bartender who encourages such behavior? These are the individuals you aresuggesting can keep those two out of trouble?”

Fane shrugged. “I see your point. Perhaps Sorin and Peri will be able to help.”

Jacque groaned a she flopped into her temporary home for the next ten hours. “It’s going to be a disaster. I can see Jen now, dancing on the bar, Sally trying to be a bartender and spraying some poor guy with beer, Decebel trying to kill every guy looking at Jen, and all the while Costin is trying to keep Sally from wasting more alcohol than they sell.”

“And where are the others in this little scenario of yours?” Fane asked with a crooked smile.

“They’re standing in the back of the bar laughing their supernatural asses off,” Jacque grumbled.

Fane laughed. “You are right, Luna. It is going to be a disaster. I will have to ask Sorin to video some of it on his phone.”

“Well, at least I won’t be the only one on film,” she muttered, remembering the pixies.

Fane looked at her curiously.

“I’ll tell you later.” She shook her head as she rolled her eyes.

“Stop worrying, Jacqueline. Everything will be fine.”

“I’ll remember you said that.”

“Tombstone,” Fane said with a grin.

Jacque grinned back at him. “Good call, wolf-man. Good call.”

Fane wrapped an arm around Jacque’s shoulder and tucked her in close as they waited for the others to board the van.  With any luck, by this time tomorrow Jacque would mert her first pixie.

~

As Decebel pulled away from the Serbian mansion he glanced over at Jen, who was looking back at the van Jacque was in.

“She will be fine.”

“I know.” She nodded. “It’s just weird to be separated from her.”

Decebel reached over and took her hand. He raised it to his lips and kissed it gently, a silent reminder that he was there for her and always would be.

“So you want to know about the stones?” Peri asked Sally.

Sally nodded.

“First things first – the stones can only be used if the motives of the wielder are pure. They cannot be used for ill.”

“Good to know. So if they get into enemy hands they are useless.”

“Exactly,” Peri agreed. “Second, the stones are magic in and of themselves, but their magic can only be used and directed by the magic inside of you. Your body is of the earth, and so you are, in essence, an element. The most common use for the stones is to render an enemy’s magic void. They basically negate any dark magic. If you want to go on the offensive, the stones are capable of this as well. While holding the stones, simply picture what it is that you want to do and the magic drawn from you and into the stone will take care of the rest. When all of the stones are being used together they are a force to be reckoned with. The more powerful the wielder, then the more effective the stones will be.”