Keepers & Killers (The Alchemy Series) by Donna Augustine Page B

He got it open all of an eighth of an inch before he crumpled to the ground.
    "That bad?" I asked as I saw the cold sweat on his brow.
    "Worse than when you shot me in the knee." His breathing was labored and he still gripped his arm.
    "It 's got to be something worth reading if they went through all of this to protect it," I said.
    "Not necessarily," Cormac replied, as Dodd still lay on the ground.
    Cormac and I turned as we heard Buzz and Vitor walk in the room. Vitor strolled in and walked directly to the book, giving me a small smile in greeting and pretty much ignoring everyone else.
    "So what exactly happened?" he asked no one in particular. Cormac relayed the details of how we got the book.
    "This is getting quite sticky," Vitor replied after hearing the entire story.
    "Really, I 'm so glad you came over here to offer us such wisdom," Cormac said.
    A look passed between them and all I could think was oh God, not this again.
    "I 'm shutting down the portal for now," Cormac threw out at him in a what are you going to do about it tone.
    "You can 't shut it down. We've got a contract."
    That might have worked with Cormac a few months ago, but something had been changing in him lately. I didn't know what was bringing on the transformation but I'd sensed his disregard for the agreements he used to spend his life protecting and upholding. This confirmed what I'd suspected. I just didn't know what had caused the change.
    "Which you and I are going to break," Cormac replied as he stepped into Vitor 's personal space. 
    I looked to Dodd and Buzz, hoping they would try to calm the situation down, to see that all they were doing was moving in to position to watch Cormac's back. Goddamn men for you.
    "And what about the wolves? It 's their contract too. You just going to shut them out?"
    Shit. Vitor, why can 't you just stand down, I thought to myself. I swear, once you pick up that cape you just can't seem to get rid of the thing. It's like a bad holiday sweater and everyone wants to know why you aren't wearing the hideous thing. Because it's ugly, that's why! That's how I felt about my new 'good person' role. I was sick of wearing it. Why? Because it sucked. I longed for the days when I didn't care about anyone or anything. I would have just gone and sat out of range of the blows and maybe even gotten a snack for the show.
    "Don 't act like the wolves have any say in this. I've felt the magic that binds that contract. There isn't a single iota of wolf signature on that. Now, we are ending this contract tonight."
    I watched as the vein in Cormac 's neck pulsed and the quicker it throbbed, the more I lost hope that this would be resolved peacefully.
    "That might be, but they still have a say," Vitor replied , standing nose to nose with Cormac.
    You dum b, stupid Fae. Yep, that was my cue. I wasn't sure why, but the idea of Vitor getting pounded into submission still made me feel bad, even if he was a bit of a selfish jerk.
    I stepped up to them and placed a hand on each of their chests, trying to nudge them apart.
    "Stay out of this , Jo. I don't want you to get hurt," Vitor said.
    "She can get as involved as she wants to. She 's not the one that's going to get hurt."
    I looked up into Cormac 's eyes and saw something had snapped. We had now hit def con five.
    "Vitor, if we open up that portal, there is going to be a swarm of angry wolves headed right for us." I waited a second then added, "Coming for me," just to make sure it was beyond question. I wasn 't sure Cormac's death would weigh on his conscience much.
    When he took a step back, I knew I was starting to make some headway.
    "What of my people?" he asked Cormac. "You shut the portal, but I still have family there."
    "Well? Is there something we can do about that?" I asked Cormac. In my head, I was wondering when I had become the most mature person in the room. Things really were spiraling out of control now. "Cormac, there must be some compromise here. I mean, Vitor is the