by Ciara Graves
A few of them were located in museums, and the others were in the private residences of some very powerful supernaturals in this country. “How did you get this much detail on their security systems? And the guard schedule?”
Rufus nodded over his shoulder at Todd. “Been quite handy having him around. Thanks for killing him, Mercy.”
Guilt stabbed me as Todd glided over to join us. “I’m over it. Don’t worry about it.”
“Hard not to.” I worried my bottom lip. I needed to warn them all that Rafael was going to end up remembering everything he witnessed at some point. The smart move would be to take this operation somewhere else, away from the Underground. I was about to suggest it when there was a knock at the door.
I went for my gun. Bowen bared his fangs. Rufus picked up the shotgun on the table and aimed it at the door.
“Expecting company?” Todd asked.
Rufus didn’t have a chance to reply when the door crashed open. I expected to see goblins or more of Shuval’s hybrids.
Nope. Damn the luck.
Damian’s red eyes and furious snarl greeted us.
I gulped as his gaze scoured the room from one end to the other. Rufus lowered the shotgun as Damian took one step, then another, shutting the door behind him.
“What is going on here?” he demanded, and then his gaze shifted again.
I followed his gaze and mentally willed myself to be anywhere but here.
Enraged, Damian shouted and threw himself across the room at Todd. “You bastard.” He reached out to grab hold of the werewolf ghost, but he passed right through the body. Confused, he whirled around and tried again.
“Yeah, sorry. Someone beat you to it,” Todd informed Damian. “Nice try, though.”
“Do you ever stop with the attitude?” I holstered my gun as Rufus set the shotgun on the table.
“What else do you expect me to be like in death?”
“Ghost. You’re a bloody ghost.” Damian spun around and had me against the wall a second later. “What did you do?”
There wasn’t a point in lying anymore. “I killed him.”
“You what?’
“I said I killed him. I waited for him to show his face then I planted a bullet in his skull. Happy?”
The red faded from his eyes as his hands tightened on my shoulders. “Why?”
“I was pissed. Alright? I was pissed at you and Bowen, about everything I found out.” I rambled on, wondering when I got so bad at keeping my mouth shut when I should. “I was nearly killed by this prick, and I didn’t want to wait around for the Feds to find him. So I took care of it. Turns out, it’s good I killed him.”
“Do you even hear yourself? You’re not a murderer.”
“I am now.”
Damian hung his head and backed off. “And Rufus? How is he here?”
“I broke him out because I knew you wouldn’t help me.”
“And you,” he snarled, whirling around on Bowen and Rufus, “neither of you thought I should know what’s going on?” He glowered at the table. “What is all this? What the hell is going on around here?”
“Looks like our night’s not over yet.” Bowen kicked a chair toward Damian. “Have a seat. Let’s talk.”
Talking was the last thing Damian looked like he wanted to do. I waited for him to start yelling at me, but he held back, and sat down. Not that it mattered. The moment we brought up Envy and the fight, it would be over for me. He’d never let me leave his sight again.
“Talk,” he said roughly. “Or I start knocking heads around.”
Why did everything have to come out at once? I was exhausted from Rafael showing up at my door and both of us admitting our true feelings. Then the gargoyles, then poor Gigi, and now Damian. I was beyond tired and longingly looked at the couch. Wouldn’t be the first time I pulled an all-nighter. I told them I was going to put a pot of coffee on and as Bowen started explaining what we’d been up to, the air in the room grew tenser. If I made it out of this room without getting in a fistfight with Damian, I’d be amazed. When Bowen mentioned Rafael being mixed up in all of this, Damian snapped my full name, and I flinched at the force of it.
“You let the Fed know before telling me?”
“Not like I had a choice. He wasn’t exactly himself, and I wasn’t going to let him wander around on his own with no memory.”
I’d never seen Damian look so lost. “Mercy, how much have you been lying to me about?”
“Not like you gave me much of a choice.”
“I’m trying to protect you. How can you not see that?” he shouted, getting up so abruptly he knocked the chair over.
“You’re also putting us all at risk.”
“How? Nothing you’ve told me so far makes me believe any of this is necessary.”
“Envy.”
Damian reeled away from me. “What did you say?”
“Envy. The sick bastard who cursed me. He’s involved.”
“No. There have been no sightings of Envy anywhere in Tennessee.”
“I fought him less than a week ago.” I slipped my coat off and showed him the wounds on my arms, still healing from the battle. “I almost had him, but he got away.”
Damian took hold of my hand and examined the wounds, his expression unreadable. “You are going to tell me everything that’s happened since we got back from Sector 18. And I mean everything, Mercy. No more lying. Not to me.”
Funny how he and Rafael demanded the truth from me.
My amusement turned bitter when I realized how much the truth was going to cut them both.
Chapter 3
Rafael
I rubbed my tired eyes as I downed my third cup of coffee. I hadn’t managed to get much sleep after leaving the crime scene. When I awoke, there was a brief text from Mercy, giving me the rundown of what she learned about gargoyles from Damian. I asked her what her plan was for the rest of the day, but all she said was that she’d swing by later.
No time was mentioned in the text. Nor did she say where she’d swing by. I frowned as I checked my cell again. It was going on noon. I hated to call her if she was sleeping, but something was odd. I didn’t like how we left our earlier conversation, and I wanted to pick it back up. I called, but after four rings, hung up.
“Problems?” Nor stood at my desk, holding several folders.
“Just waiting for word from Mercy.”
“You two took quite a hit last night.”
“We’re fine, sir. Anything else on the gargoyles?”
“Nothing on my end. There have been no sightings since they flew off. Wherever they’re hiding out, it’s off our radar for the moment.”
“We’ll find them, sir.”
“And the apartment? Where are we on Greg Sherwood?”
“That’s actually what I was going to come and talk to you about.” I tapped my screen, and he walked around to peer over my shoulder. “You want me to go and talk to him or not?”
“He’s one of the Gathered? That certainly makes this more interesting.”
“My thoughts, too.” If the gargoyles had been sent after a mage, it could explain why he targeted Mercy during the fight. He clearly sensed the mage power within her.
A strange whisper rushed through my mind.
I froze.
Nor was talking, but I didn’t catch the words, I was too intent on focusing on the memory unfolding inside my head. Mercy had been talking to me. We’d been in her apartment. Bowen was there. Whatever she said pissed him off. What had she told me?
“Rafael? Are you with me?”
“Huh? Sorry, sir,” I mumbled quickly. “Bit tired, is all.”
“Get some more coffee then get your ass over to the Citadel of the Gathered. I want you to speak with this Sherwood and see why he wasn’t home at the time of the attack. And find out whatever information the mages have on gargoyles. Our database is severely lacking anything useful.”
“Mercy sent over what she found out so far.” I showed him the te
xt.
“Helpful. Our agents need to know this. Print it up, would you? Then you can head out.”
As I typed up the information and waited for it to print, I tried Mercy. This time I left her a voicemail letting her know I had a lead on the guy living in the apartment. I wanted her to go with me. After seeing how the weres reacted to her presence, I hoped having her with me would do the same with the mages and get them to talk. It was a dirty tactic, but if she could scare the shit out of them, we might get some answers faster. They might be the strongest mages, but Mercy had a reputation she earned.
“I hear you’re heading out.” Iris joined me by the printer.
“I am. And no, you’re not coming with me.”
“Going with Mercy?”
“Nope. Going by myself. Mercy is otherwise occupied.”
Iris tugged on her hair as she watched me shuffle the pages together then set them on a nearby desk. “I just want you to know that if you need anything, I’m here for you.”
“Thanks, but I’m fine.”
“I mean as a friend,” she said in a rush, laying her hand on my arm. “I get it, you don’t want to be with me, and that’s fine. But I’m here for you all the same. Want you to know.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
“You do look better by the way,” she added as I walked away. “I’m going to assume you spent all your time off with Mercy?”
That was a loaded question. Technically I was with Mercy. Though I had yet to remember what all we did. I wasn’t about to tell Iris what was causing all my nightmares and dark thoughts of late.
“I was,” I finally answered. “We didn’t do much. Just talked.”
“Good, I’m glad to hear you opened up to someone. I’m just sad it wasn’t me.”
Thankfully, she went back to her desk saving me from coming up with something polite to respond with. My cell went off, and I sighed in relief at the sight of Mercy’s name on my screen. “Hey, you alright?”
“Yeah. Sorry I didn’t answer before,” she said, but her words are strained.
“Did I wake you up?’
“No. Not sleeping.”
I waited for her to elaborate, but there was only silence. No, not silence. Voices sounded in the background then quieted down after a sound like a door closing came through the phone. “Are you still with Damian?”
“Yeah, he’s making some calls to see if anyone knows anything about gargoyles.”
“I’m on my way to see this Greg Sherwood. He’s the guy the apartment belongs to. Want me to swing by and get you?”
“No, I—uh, I’m going to be here for a while.”
“Is Damian giving you shit for last night?”
“Something like that. You know how overprotective he is.”
A flicker of another memory slammed into me, and I squinted my eyes shut as it rolled over me.
“Rafael?”
“Sorry, headache,” I lied. “I guess I’ll catch up with you later then.”
“Yeah, I’ll call you. Where are you going to see this guy?”
“He’s part of the Gathered.” I only mentioned the guy’s name in my message, not thinking it was too important yet about what group he belonged with. We had no way of knowing if the attack was random or on purpose.
She cursed sharply.
I wondered what was wrong. “Mercy?”
“Are you going by yourself?”
“I’ll be fine, just a bunch of mages.”
“I know, but—”
“Mercy? We’re not finished.” Damian said on the other side of the phone. I was pretty sure that was his angry voice.
“I have to go,” Mercy told me. “Take Iris with you, please.”
“You want Iris to go with me?” I kept my voice low as I looked across the office to the very siren in question. “Why would you want her to go with me?”
“I just don’t trust them.”
“They’re mages. Good mages.”
“Mercy. Now.”
“I have to go. Please, Rafael? For my sanity’s sake? I’ll call you later,” she said, then hung up without giving me a chance to argue.
I looked at my phone for a long while.
The same memory rushed through my mind again. Mercy was in a room, but not her apartment. There were two other figures there, but their faces remained blurry. They were talking about artifacts? And a Blood Moon. I remembered the notes on Mercy’s coffee table. She’d been doing something with a Blood Moon. Did it all lead back to Envy and why we’d been in that clearing with the tree? I was supposed to be tracking him down with her, but these damned gargoyles threw our plans off course. As soon as we took care of this latest issue, we’d get back to hunting down the mage who cursed her and tried to kill those innocents. With any luck, Nor would be alright with my taking my vacation back.
I stopped by my desk long enough to jot down a couple things—Blood Moon, artifacts with a question mark after them—then I headed toward Iris. “You busy?”
She stopped typing. “No. Something wrong?”
“Changed my mind. Up for a drive?”
Iris smiled and grabbed her coat off the back of her chair. “Sure.”
We took a cab to the Gathered’s Citadel in downtown Sector 21.
The front of the building looked like an old cathedral, complete with statues lining the front, going all the way up to the top. There were small, hunched figures on the corners.
I paused.
Gargoyles. But those were too small to be the ones that attacked us. And from what Mercy’d said, they didn’t always turn to stone. The sky was overcast today, so if they were real, they’d be living and breathing right now. The front door was unguarded from what I could tell.
Iris and I approached slowly, only to find ourselves back at the end of the front walk near the street.
“What was that?” Iris held her gut like she was going to be sick.
“Magic of some kind. Guess they don’t like visitors.”
We tried again and got the same result.
“There has to be a camera or a buzzer somewhere.”
We scoured the columns at the front gate. I finally saw a button covered in vines. I pressed it, and a harsh buzzing rang in my ears.
“Yes, may I help you?” a deep male voice asked.
“We’re federal agents.” I held up my badge. “We’re here to speak with one of your members.”
“Which one?’
“Greg Sherwood.”
“I see. Please, come inside. I shall meet you in the foyer.”
I frowned at the speaker but shoved my badge in my pocket and walked up the path for the third time. We reached the door without an issue. I pushed on it.
We found ourselves standing inside the building, a massive candlelit chandelier overhead, a dark green rug at our feet, and the door closing behind us. It was a damned good thing I got rid of that bit of my brother’s soul that had been hanging around. I’d be having a fit in this place with so much magic if I hadn’t.
“Agents,” the same voice from the speaker said as a man in dark blue robes entered the foyer. “Pleasure to meet you. Joseph Sycamore. You can call me Joseph.”
“Pleasure to meet you.” I shook the man’s hand. “I’m Rafael. Iris, my partner.”
“Ah, a siren.” He kissed the back of her hand and Iris blushed.
The mage appeared to be only a few years older than us, but the power radiating off him rivaled what I sensed coming off Mercy.
“Please come in. Shall I fetch us some tea? Or coffee?”
We followed him deeper into the building, going through a long corridor that emptied into a hexagonal room.
Signs indicated which sectors were which way.
I paused. “What is this place?”
“In this building, and in many others controlled by the Gathered, we have direct access to other sectors. Makes doing business with our kin less tedious.”
“And this is sanctioned by the governor?”
There was no dark intent there, but this room bothered me. If anyone other than the Gathered managed to get control of this building, they could easily get anywhere they wanted. I didn’t have to ask to know these transports were probably not connected to the main grid, which meant they couldn’t be shut down.
I hurried to catch up as Joseph and Iris reached the opposite end of the room.
We passed through an arched doorway, then entered a quiet study. A fire crackled in the hearth and with a snap of his fingers, Joseph poured the three of us coffee from a carafe.
“I like to be prepared,” he replied, in answer to my curious glance.
I took a seat in a winged armchair. Iris, in the other.
Joseph sat in a third, sipping his coffee. “I’m sure you know why we’re here.”
“Not entirely, no. I’m a mage. Not a seer or a psychic.”
“Right, well, there was an attack last night, here in Sector 21. An apartment was destroyed.”
“And this has to do with Greg?”
“It was his apartment,” I informed Joseph.
His mug paused halfway to his mouth.
“Luckily, he wasn’t at home,” I added.
“That’s awful. I’m surprised no one’s told him yet. Who attacked it?”
I exchanged a look with Iris then blew out a breath. “Gargoyles.”
Joseph held my gaze for a solid thirty seconds then burst out laughing. “Ah, Agent—Rafael, you have a marvelous sense of humor.”
“I would thank you, but I’m serious. Gargoyles attacked me and another last night.”
He blinked furiously, then set his mug down, hands shaking. “Gargoyles are extinct.”
“Tell that to the ones we saw last night. My friend was nearly thrown out of the building to her death. That was after it tried to take off with her.”
Joseph’s brow furrowed as he looked at Iris.
“Not me,” she told him.
“A half-mage.” I had been about to drink the coffee, needing the extra caffeine, but my stomach rebelled at the idea of anything right now. If it had been the old me, I’d say the magic in this place was setting me on edge, only it wasn’t. There was something older here. Stranger. It pricked at my skin, but if Iris felt it, she kept it to herself. I never would’ve noticed it before and wondered vaguely if this was linked to the old magic Mercy sensed at the apartment.
