Mandy said, “Holy shit, someone just dropped a fuel air bomb on us.”

  I quipped, “Going to need new landscaping. Umm, fuel air bomb?”

  “Think as close to nuclear as you can get without splitting an atom, the house is probably sitting in a mushroom cloud right now. The first explosion dispersed the fuel, the second explosion lit it in time to coincide with the maximum saturation of fuel per oxygen in the atmosphere. In layman’s terms. That was an impressive air shield, to hold all but part of the concussion back and all the fire. If the full power of the compression wave had hit the house we’d be pulped, and the mansion would be matchsticks. Think the military’s version of a pyroclastic cloud.”

  I bit my lip, and felt Gary’s power surge, and a potent inky darkness replaced the firestorm outside. I wondered if he’d been orgasming at the critical moment, something had delayed his shield anyway. It’d all happened pretty fast, just a few seconds after the jet passed over.

  “What about the neighbors?”

  Her description hadn’t sounded like a fuel air bomb was a tactical weapon meant to avoid collateral damage, and while I had several hundred acres the closest neighbor was just a half mile away.

  She tilted her head, then sighed, “They’re alive, but their house is half demolished, all the trees around the house are down as well. It’s a damned mess.”

  I scowled, “I doubt the government would do this.”

  Mandy shook her head, “If they wanted us dead, they’d have probably dropped a bunker buster on us. Someone was behind this, compelled it to happen, which is messed up. The government is going to be furious at all of us for this, not to mention be paranoid their weapons aren’t as secure as they believed. I’d have said if one of the others on the council were going to come after you and Gary that they wouldn’t do something so stupid.”

  The darkness faded, and I cringed at what I saw out the window. The fountain was broken into a million pieces, and all the bushes, grass, and other landscaping was wiped clean. It was all dirt, and the air was thick with dust making it hard to see more than fifty to sixty feet away. If there’d been a mushroom cloud it was gone now, the explosion that should’ve lingered for a long time swallowed up in darkness.

  She frowned, “The fighter crashed into Lake Michigan. That pretty much makes it certain, if it’d been government ordered the pilot wouldn’t have committed suicide. That’s a cover up tactic so we can’t find out who ordered this.”

  Gary growled as he walked in, “We need proof, I wonder why your father didn’t see this?”

  I sighed, “He can’t see us, and we’re alive so I doubt Sara or one of the other fates would interfere just to save the pool house, deck, and lawn ornaments. We need to call Freda to put pressure on them to figure it out.”

  Mandy nodded, “At least one other was involved, the military officer that approved the live bomb being loaded and a mission to ensure the pilot could take off without questions being raised. No one on the base would question it, and the pilot was probably compelled too, to go off whatever mission the one that gave the orders set up as a fake. Chances are though, that general or colonel has a self-inflicted bullet hole in his head right now.”

  That wasn’t good, but she was probably right. They’d have covered their asses, but what else could we do?

  I grimaced at my phone, “Cell service is down, I bet it wrecked the tower near the house,” I giggled, even if it was inappropriate, as I quipped, “Bet the internet and cable is down too.”

  There were a few strained chuckles.

  Gary shook his head, “There’s too much reasonable doubt in this to accuse one of the others, and it’s entirely possible we have another enemy that was behind this. Doubtful, but possible.”

  Mandy waggled her hand, “it’s foolish enough and with no proof, that they’ll be able to blow it off and deny it. But not everyone on the council is as worried or concerned about humans as they should be.”

  Gary said, “I considered that. That one of them would want revenge for our idea, and only seemed to be solidly on board so they’d have plausible deniability when they took us out. Tatiana comes to mind, but I wouldn’t think any of them would be this stupid.”

  I nodded, “Sirens, Chicago’s finest are on the way. I expect we’re about to be busy with local law enforcement and the feds all day long. Worse, we don’t dare share our suspicions, we have no proof and there’s little they could do about it anyway.”

  Gary said, “Mandy, go to Mark’s and tell him what happened here. Have him call Freda and get on it. I doubt it’ll go anywhere, that assumed general is probably dead too, but we have to do something and at the very least Freda needs to get ahead of the fallout as soon as possible. Get back here as fast as you can.”

  I nodded in agreement as I fixed her up with my beauty power, and then I did everyone else as well. At least we’d look good, when the cops were questioning us.

  “Be back soon,” Mandy said, and Mandy disappeared in a flash of golden light rising around her in a bubble.

  I also got why Gary sent her and not someone else, she was the only one besides us in the bond, and we’d know if she was in trouble. Communications down or not, my love bond was firmly in place, and it was a comfort to be able to feel her in the back of my head and in my heart.

  The shock of it was hitting me too, the house had survived, but would need all the windows replaced, and the beautiful landscaping and natural growth on my land had been scrubbed away. It was disturbing. It would’ve killed us, if I hadn’t gotten that shield up and running fast enough. If I’d hesitated even one more second to think it through.

  It was disturbing, and I went to Gary and melted into his arms, and I waved the others in too.

  I wasn’t sure when, I wasn’t sure how, but when we found out who did this, they would pay.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Gary

  The sounds of power tools, loud knocking, and louder voices came from the house. It was a week later, and we had an army of contractors replacing the windows, which had until now been sealed with magic to prevent the winter air from getting inside.

  The outside was an entirely different story. Caitria, one of Mark’s servants and lovers had completely transformed the backyard. It was no longer a furnace blasted area with no life, on the contrary in less than a week’s time, it’d become a fae wonderland. I’d rarely seen anything so beautiful than the rich greenery and wild colors of flora in the landscaping we now had. The pool, deck, fire pit, and Jacuzzi, not to mention the pool house, wouldn’t be replaced for weeks. Probably right around the time we all had to get to college and work.

  It was a bit chilly in the new year, but the fae magic had the backyard extremely comfortable, even without witchcraft to keep our bodies warm.

  The fallout from the bomb had been about as we’d expected. The general that had given the orders to load the fighter with live ordinance and that had cleared it for takeoff, had been found dead in his office, with a bullet in his head and a gun in his hand. We had no idea who was responsible, outside the likelihood of it being Tatiana, Steven, or Bruce. We had no proof, and they certainly weren’t going to allow their memories to be scanned or to speak under a truth spell.

  We’d get whoever it was, eventually. But for now, all we knew for sure was that they’d gotten away with it, save that we’d survived the attack thanks to Natasha’s quick thinking and spellcasting.

  For now, we were at a dead end, and the next move was our hidden enemy’s.

  On the grand scale of fallout over the last week, the government seemed to be losing their mind. They hadn’t been very happy at all that we both refused to speculate or to come down to their offices which were probably warded to make us helpless inside of them. That wasn’t going to happen, and we were the victims, so at least they hadn’t pushed too hard on that.

  That didn’t stop them from hanging around for days, asking us the same questions over and over again, however.

  As far as the public knew, it’d been a training accident and it was all being hushed and covered up. The stories that ran on it had already faded into obscurity in favor of some moronic actor saying something stupid, which was typical of our age.

  But inside the government behind closed doors, it was another story. I think Freda was even angrier about the attack than we were, and all the headaches it was causing her efforts. The timing was atrocious, as it’d happened before we could establish a new government in the minds of the human governments. To them, the incident was proof that with Nate dead the gods were not under control any longer.

  Freda had a long uphill battle to prove otherwise, thanks to some jackass on the council who was put out with us for stealing their opportunity at greatness. Or whatever it was. Regardless, the NSA had started an intense scrutiny of gods, and the CIA as well for those outside America which were most of them. They were also no doubt gaming war in their heads as well, tensions were a little high, but I had hope they’d pass, if uneasily on their side.

  As for our government, we just had to deal with Bruce, and more often than not his second. Which was fine with us. Bruce was possibly the most arrogant among the council, but he was also pretty laid back about it. That could be an act. I didn’t think it was, but I hadn’t closed my mind to the idea that it couldn’t be any one of them on the council. Who knows what kind of long game they were playing, and we were hanging in the wind until they’d made their next move.

  Who knows when that would be? Until then all we could do was bide our time and be prepared. To that end over the last week Amelia and Vicki had joined our bonds of love. The nascent love still new and growing, but strong enough to bond us, and with that bond our sex lives were even richer.

  I wasn’t sure what was next, but I was damned sure we’d be ready for it. We had to be.

  Amelia looked amazing bending over at the waist in a tight skirt that completely hugged her mouthwateringly petite and sexy ass cheeks. I could also feel how needy she was in the moment to be used and degraded. In love, wickedly depraved and only able to cum to degradation and pain or not, and being claimed like an object, she was still rather coy of personality. Bending over and other seemingly innocent activities were her favored forms of seducing me.

  She really did have an amazing ass, and I was already half hard as I set the illusion spell so we didn’t give the workers a show, and came up behind her to spank and grope that ass like it belonged to me, because she totally did, belong to me that is.

  That was one thing that hadn’t changed, we were still as insatiable as ever, and loving one of my women was a great way to relieve the stress.

  Life was good, despite all the craziness, thanks to our family.

  The future had some dark spots, but also bright, fun, and worthwhile spots, and that was life for anyone. Wasn’t it?

  Afterword:

  I hope you enjoyed the story. This was the second book of a trilogy. The third book will be out soon. There will also be one more series in this world.

  If you can, please take the time to leave a review on Amazon and/or Goodreads. Reviews are the lifeblood of independent authors, and they have a bigger impact than you’d believe.

  About the Author: If you have any comments or suggestions you can send me an email at magicwrtr@gmail.com. I started out posting short stories online and at readers’ requests started to publish them. If you like my work, or even if you don’t, please consider leaving a review of this book.

  Other erotic fantasies by D. R. Rosier:

  Cirenthian Chronicles – Book one is Out of Darkness.

  Marcus, an ancient vampire, finds himself moved to another world where suddenly he is alive again, and magic is a known and powerful danger. No longer a vampire and dealing with emotions he hasn’t felt in over a millennium, will he be able to start a new life? This series is now complete.

  Necromancer Chronicles – Book one is The Necromancer.

  Vincent is a necromancer and has an even darker secret. Feared by the rest of the supernatural community he lives on his own, often struggling with his powers, and how to use them. But change is coming, and he will soon find himself dragged into the middle of a suspicious and untrusting community.

  Anise is a sorceress, but she has secrets of her own. She is an ancient being, who has walked the earth for time immemorial. She lives in a never ending cycle of life, forever watching those she dares to care about age and die. But she is about to find something new that will offer her hope, if she can live long enough to find it.

  Cytherean Chronicles – Book one is Flame of Cytherea.

  This two book series follows the chosen champion of a goddess, brought to her world and healed after he was mortally wounded on Earth. At first Justin is a little lost, not knowing anything about the world he finds himself in or even why he is there.

  Ashley’s Tale – This two book series follows the tale of a woman with unique parentage in a world greatly different from our own Earth. It is twenty-five years in the future, and the supernatural have long since been exposed. Ashley must struggle with her conflicting nature to find a balance, and her hidden power, as she is taken unwillingly into an extraordinary destiny.

  Ashley’s Daughters – This three book trilogy is about Ashley’s three daughters. It’s about a new world of dragons, and a second new world of human mages and all the fallout involved. Of course, it’s also about them finding love, and their place in the worlds. It starts about twenty-eight years after the end of Ashley’s tale.

  Sentient – This is the standalone book following an artificial intelligence from an advanced race, a man who comes back from war a little broken, along with diverse others as the Earth itself is put into danger as they are dragged into an interstellar war against their will.

  Sentient: Evolution – This is a sequel to the stand alone book Sentient. It takes place a thousand years later, when Aide finds herself alone and broken, yet still following her programming. Others join her as a new menace approaches, one that makes the Sthellan look like a great neighbor in comparison.

  Will Aide be able to recover and rise to a new challenge? She’s been alive too long, she must either evolve, or wither away, if only she could bring herself to care…

  More books and series can be found on my author’s page at amazon.com/author/drrosier

  The Dragon Slayer and the… This is a series of novelettes in a unique world, each story will be different characters with HEA endings. These will be about eighty pages long and priced appropriately. The first book, The Dragon Slayer and the Princess, is now available:

  Sir Lance Spears, Baron, knight dragon hunter, has been hunting dragons for ten years. It’s what he’s dedicated his life too, eradicating the dragons that destroy human villages and see humans as prey.

  He’s also been alone for ten years, and tired of the women of the peerage that see nothing of him, only of his titles and money. Not to mention, they all play the courtly game and faint at his feet. That’s not what he wants. He wants a challenging intelligent woman who will help make life interesting.

  He should have been more careful about what he wished for, as his life is about to become very complicated as nothing seems to make sense about his next dragon hunt. It doesn’t fit in his world view as he enters a neighboring kingdom to help slay a dragon. He’s not sure what’s going on, and he also can’t get a certain princess with fiery eyes and attitude out of his head either. He better figure it out though, or he could lose everything… including his life.

  Return of Magic - This epic fantasy series follows Katie Merlin’s successor, and diverse others as magic reemerges in our world in response to a dire threat. The government is in tatters, technology stops working, and most of the world’s population is dead. A new era for mankind has started, and they must share it with other races, such as elves and dragons.

  Melody Smith Novels – This is an urban fantasy that follows Melody Smith, a siren with hidden depths.

  Melody Smith is a siren. It isn’t an easy life, most of the people around her are affected by her mere presence, and she has very few true friends in her life. Her love life is a disaster, and her boss and guardian, Brent, has been keeping secrets.

  She’s about to find out she can become more than she ever would have guessed, if she can survive.

  Shawn Moore Novels – This trilogy is an urban fantasy that follows a warlock named Shawn Moore

  Shawn is a young man down on his luck, living in the streets. He isn’t lazy, it’s just for some reason people don’t like to be around him, and even fear him to a certain extent. They’d always had.

  His life is about to change though, as a man named Ben tells him he had an uncle, an uncle that died and left him an estate. He isn’t sure he buys it, and has no idea he’ll soon be fighting for his very life.

  Not to mention, fighting for his soul.

  Ted Stedman Novels – This series is a mashup of litrpg, sci-fi, and other things. The first title in this series is Ted Online:

  Ted Stedman had a pretty good life so far. He’s forty-three years old, and still in good shape when something at work happens to put him in wheelchair. He finds his life is over, or at least the one he’d always known. That is, until a research doctor at his own company walks into his hospital room, and offers him a deal that seems too good to be true.

  Join Ted as he enters a fully immersive online world, and finds that everything isn’t quite how he imagined it to be. He’ll have his new virtual life, access to the real world, and a game world to explore as well. As if three worlds to keep straight wasn’t complicated enough, he has even more surprises coming his way.

  Mike Stedman Novels – This series is erotic sci-fi space opera. The first title in the series is Invasion:

  Mike Stedman is unique. Not human. Not A.I.