by Ciara Graves
“Thought you heard me,” he said as he joined me at the table.
“Bit lost in thought.”
“Noticed. Any ideas?”
“On?”
“Tonight. Dealing with Morris.” He pulled the hotel layout closer, brow furrowing as he ran his fingers along the map. “Does this place have a basement? Onyx said she saw cages disappearing through another door. Nothing on the itinerary seems to deal with cages.”
“Not that I can tell. And who says it has to take place in a basement?”
“Most horrible things end up in basements.”
He had a point, but there was no basement anywhere on the map. I hadn’t seen any stairwells leading down either. Nor a B button in the elevators. “Could be off-site.”
“Off is bad news.”
“Yeah, no shit.” I ran my fingers through my damp hair, dragging my mind away from darkening thoughts of being tortured and eventually killed to thoughts of saving Gigi. One thing first. “You said Morris did know Gigi.”
“According to some very intoxicated witches. They could’ve been mistaken.”
“Or not. I’ll stick with Morris today, see if I can’t get him to spill anything else until we head to the event tonight.”
His growl followed me to the couch where I tossed my dress last night.
“You have any better ideas? He clearly likes me.”
“And I had to play off that I’m your bodyguard last night.” He coughed and mumbled something else I didn’t quite catch.
“What was that?”
“He thinks I’m in love with you and promised to back off for my sake. He might not want to be around you.”
With the dress in hand, I kept facing the wall as I asked, “Do you?”
“Do I what?”
What was I thinking? Get it together, Mercy. You’re here to save Gigi, and as soon as you get back to Sector 21, Rafael will go back to his happy life as a Fed and forget about you. That kiss last night meant nothing. None of it meant anything. “Nothing, never mind. I’ll convince him to stick with me for a while. I can be persuasive when the need arises.”
“Don’t I know it.”
Ignoring his last comment, I dressed in the bathroom and did a simple braid with my hair. Not that it’d matter. Once I put the amulet on, it’d give me a fancier-looking hairdo. I wasn’t sure how much longer we needed the magic to last. With any luck, we’d uncover a better lead on Gigi and be able to escape out of here with her while our disguises were still intact. Rafael had dressed in the room and was buttoning up his black silk shirt when I exited the bathroom. Our eyes locked and my heart pounded violently in my chest. I’d been involved in intense life or death situations plenty of times before.
This was much worse.
Each time I took a breath, he mirrored me, and his hands paused with his shirt only half buttoned. Every subtle movement either one of us made was watched by the other. Licking my lips as my mind imagined striding across the room and kissing him as he had kissed me last night. He took a step as if reading my mind, but I blinked, and an image of Gigi hurt, or dying tore me away from the moment. I scooped up my boots, tugged them on along with my daggers, then aimed for the door.
“See you downstairs.”
“Mercy. Amulet.” He held it out to me.
The disappointment in his eyes lit a sudden angry fire in me. Good, he could be disappointed. I took the amulet, slipped it on, then left him behind. Gigi. I was here to find Gigi. Nothing more.
The lobby was bustling when the elevator door opened. A late lunch—well, breakfast, really, since it appeared everyone else was just waking up now too—was being served in the dining hall. I followed the crowd inside, but didn’t think I could stomach more than coffee. Once I had a mug, I sauntered around the room and found an empty table where I could keep a close eye on the doors.
Morris eventually appeared. I called his name as I waved at him. He left the warlocks he was speaking with behind and hurried to join me.
“You’re looking much better today,” he said as sat down.
“Yes, I’m not sure what came over me last night.”
He glanced around. “And Roger?”
“He should be down shortly. Listen, I was hoping you’d still be willing to show me around today. I promise not to faint again.” I held my hand over my heart as we both laughed.
Morris sighed. “As much as I would love to, I don’t want to make Roger jealous.”
“Jealous? Why would that make him jealous?” Yes, please, make him jealous. As soon as I thought it, I wanted to kick myself, but Rafael could deal with some uncomfortable emotions for a while. “Morris?”
“It’s just I think Roger feels more for you than you realize.”
“Oh?” Loud giggling met my ears. “You sure about that?” I nodded to the doorway where Rafael had finally appeared, the witch from yesterday clinging to his arm.
“Huh, I could’ve sworn he was into you. Guess I’m not as good at reading people as I used to be.” He laughed. “Well then, I would love to be your escort for the day. Did you have a chance to see what was going on this evening?”
“I did.” I ran my finger lazily over the rim of my mug.
He watched me intently.
“Last night Roger mentioned you had something special in mind.”
“Ah, that is a surprise for later. Trust me. You’ll both enjoy it.” He winked then kissed my cheek.
My hand was raised to punch him when he pulled back, and I quickly rested it on his shoulder instead. He tilted his head with curiosity, but the moment passed, and he asked if I’d eaten.
“Yes, but please help yourself.”
While he was grabbing food, I followed Rafael and the witch around the room with my gaze. He was grinning like an idiot as she practically sat in his lap while they shared a plate of food. If looks could kill, that witch would be dead on the floor. Sparks flickered to life at my fingertips, and I shoved my hands out of sight. Of course, now my magic would start acting up when I was pissed off about Rafael. When she kissed his cheek, I bristled and glared into my coffee until Morris returned to the table. Then it was back to smiling and flirting. I wanted him to like me so later when I confronted him about Gigi, he’d talk to me.
Or he’d realize I wasn’t who I said was and then we’d really have some fun.
At eleven at night, Morris and I made our way to the lobby to wait for Rafael. My stomach was in knots, and I was glad I hadn’t eaten anything. The workshops we attended had all been focused on combining different forms of magic. Hybrids. They were giving the covens lessons on being hybrids without them even realizing it. Was Shuval going to turn them without even asking? Each session was worse than the one before it, and I was ready to burn this place to the ground, with all the Elders inside. The witches and warlocks here might use dark magic, but no one deserved to be turned into a damned slave for their magic.
While we waited, I leaned into Morris’s side. We sat on one of the couches after a very long seminar on using the right type of horn in certain potions. Not that I paid any attention to it.
“Morris, I was wondering if you knew someone, a friend of mine.”
He shifted subtly away from me. “Oh? And who might that be?”
“Gigi. She was supposed to be here, but I haven’t seen her or heard from her. Just worried.”
“I’m not sure. There are so many witches here.”
“I know, I was just wondering is all.”
He was lying to my face. His right eye twitched, and his left hand nervously fidgeted on the arm of the couch.
“If I see her around, I’ll let you know.”
“Thanks, that’d be great.”
If he saw her, which meant he knew what she looked like. If nothing else came from this night, I’d be dragging Morris into our room and beating the truth out of him then take his unconscious body and dump him somewhere very far away.
“Ah, there’s Roger now.”
Rafael was alo
ne, and though he grinned, it was clear, he was beyond tense.
Clarissa, the witch Morris told me about a few hours ago, must’ve been driving him nuts. She had a reputation at these gatherings for finding those warlocks she deemed worthy of her and digging her claws in as deep as she could. She was nothing but a dark witch looking for a strong protector and someone to spoil her. Morris said she already ruined a few good warlocks.
“Good evening to you both.” Rafael gave me a quick once over. His brow wrinkled, as it always did when he was worried, but I shook my head, and he left it alone. “I trust you had a pleasant evening so far?”
“That we have, but the night is far from over.” Morris held out his hand and helped me to my feet. “You two are going to enjoy this, I think.”
“All the secrecy makes it sound like not everyone knows about whatever it is we’re doing.”
Morris chuckled as he led us to the elevator. “They don’t. I’m among the few who get to choose those lucky enough to see the best entertainment the covens and our new friends have to offer.”
“New friends. The Elders mentioned that last night,” I said once the three of us were alone in the elevator. “Who are they talking about?”
Morris hit three buttons at once, the main floor, first, and second.
The elevator descended.
So there was a basement.
Rafael grunted.
I hated to agree, but basements were always trouble.
“It’s just you seem to be one of the more informed warlocks.” I wrapped my hand around his arm as I said it, purposely pressing myself against him.
Rafael turned away, but he couldn’t complain. Clarissa probably spent the entire day flirting with him, and he would’ve flirted back to get information.
Morris smiled as he tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. “I am at that.”
“So? These new allies?”
“Don’t you worry your pretty little head about it. All will be revealed in due time. First, the covens have to be prepared then everyone will share in the glory of what’s to come.”
Morris was definitely our go-to guy when the time came to beating the answers out of someone. He seemed to be in on whatever plans the Elders made. The faster we made it through whatever this was, the faster I could tell Rafael what I thought the Elders were up to. The doors opened, and two large shifters stood guard outside a set of double doors. Music pulsed from the other side along with shouting and yells.
My gut said I should turn around and go back upstairs, but Morris was pulling me along, with Rafael behind us.
“They’re with me,” he said firmly to the shifters.
Their eyes flared yellow, and I panicked. What if they smelled demon? Or mage? Our covers would be blown. There weren’t supposed to be shifters here.
“You may enter,” the one on the right said gruffly and opened the doors.
As soon as we were through, the door slammed shut behind us, but I wasn’t too focused on an escape route. The shouting grew to a crescendo then burst, nearly deafening me. My feet became stuck to the floor as my jaw dropped.
“I know, right?” Morris yelled to be heard over the crowd surrounding us. “Isn’t this great?”
Great was not a word I’d use to describe what was before us.
A circular cage took up the center of the massive space. The floor was covered in dried blood, some of the stains seemed old. The cage was surrounded by stadium seating, and it was packed with witches and warlocks. Morris maneuvered us to a bench with empty seats in the front of the cage. A warlock stood in the center of the cage, making an announcement about the fight we saw the tail end of.
I was deaf to his words. I sat on the edge of the hardwood.
Morris evidently mistook my shock as excitement. “I thought you two might like this,” he said to Rafael. “You can even put some money on the fights if you want. This is how I made my small fortune over the years.”
There were always rumors fights like these went on, but I never ran across them. Damian hadn’t either in all his years living with the underbelly of our society. And here I was sitting in the middle of one. Paranormal fights to the death. That’s what this was.
Morris yelled and clapped with the rest of the audience, but Rafael and I exchanged pissed off glares. We had to get out of here before either one of us lost our shit and blew our covers.
Rafael tilted his head then did it again.
I frowned. What was he trying to tell me?
I looked through the bars of the iron cage to a raised platform situated on the other side. It was higher than all the other seats. Several of the Elders were present, but they weren’t the ones that made me wish I had a few of Rufus’s magical bombs.
I grabbed hold of the bench harder as I counted the dragonborn on that stage. No, not dragonborn. Hybrids. They were all freaking hybrids like the one we faced down weeks ago. Some of them were mages, too.
What of Envy? Was he here?
My scar throbbed, but I didn’t see any hint of Envy.
In the center of them all, was a seated figure, but whoever it was remained in shadow. I couldn’t make out any details at all, only a silhouette. From here, it could’ve been a man or a woman.
“Next to the ring we have a shifter, hungry for blood,” the warlock announced from the center of the cage. A door cranked open as the crowd went crazy. He was shoved into the cage, eyes bright yellow as he roared and shouted in rage. He shifted easily into a large and dangerous-looking wolf, then prowled around the cage. He threw himself at the bars in front of us, and I jumped. Those yellow eyes latched onto me. We had to get out of here. I did not want to watch two paranormal beings tear each other apart for sport. I was almost on my feet when the announcer said, “And his opponent is the last of his kind. An ancient being of great power. Send in the gryphon!”
“What?” I snapped and shot to my feet.
“Maggie, you alright?” Morris was asking even as Rafael was shaking his head furiously.
“Yeah, just—uh, can’t believe they found a gryphon.” Wesley. He was the only gryphon I knew of. Another door cranked open, and a figure shambled inside the cage. As soon as I saw his face, I grabbed hold of the bars, desperate to get to him. He looked so much worse than the last time I saw him, when he was being dragged away by gobs. His clothes were ragged, and he was dirty, covered in dried blood. How many times had he fought in the cage already?
“You might want to sit back for this,” Morris warned.
Reluctantly, I let go of the bars but didn’t sit down.
Wesley stepped to the center of the cage as the warlock exited through a side door. A horn blew, and the fight began. In all the years I’d known Wesley, I never saw him leave his damned couch. And he was mostly blind. How was he supposed to stand against an old and experienced shifter?
The beast circled Wesley, who made no movement whatsoever. He stood there, a damned smirk on his face, waiting. The crowd started to turn restless, and the shifter pounced.
I gasped.
Wesley easily sidestepped the attack and did the same when the wolf came at him again and again.
I blew out a sigh of relief, though I wondered if my relief would be short-lived.
The shifter snarled in rage and swiped at Wesley. His massive paw caught him across his chest. The claws tore into his flesh and blood bloomed at his chest.
He staggered backward.
I was back to grabbing the bars. Then I was yelling for him to fight.
Wesley’s head whipped around and his blind eyes saw me, not this disguise, me. I knew they did.
He grinned wider then laughed loudly.
The shifter was ready to tear him apart, but Wesley ducked at the last second, and the shifter flew over his head.
How long could he keep this up? Eventually, the shifter would get lucky.
I was looking for a way to get inside the cage, not giving a damn about keeping my cover anymore when the shifter launched himself at Wesley’s
back.
I screamed in warning.
Wesley moved faster than I’d ever seen and grabbed hold of the shifter by his jaw. He held on tight, gripping his snout in his other hand. The shifter clawed and snarled, but Wesley didn’t let up. He shoved the shifter to the hard, concrete floor then yanked with a furious yell that turned into a sharp cry, coming from the gryphon left within him.
A sharp crack echoed, and the crowd fell silent. The shifter’s body went limp. Wesley let it go and it slithered to the floor. He’d killed his opponent.
Wesley glanced back toward me then turned for the door he came in through and waited.
“Well now,” the announcer was saying, sounding as stunned as everyone else, “the gryphon is the winner!”
The crowd went crazy, cheering for Wesley as he disappeared through the door.
I sighed in relief, but now we had a new mission. We had to get Wesley out. I was not going to let him be killed in a cage for the amusement of these evil bastards.
“That was the best damned fight I’ve seen in a long while,” Morris commented as I returned to my seat. “Didn’t I tell you this would be a great time?”
I somehow put a smile on my face as Rafael nodded then covered for me, asking Morris all sorts of questions. I’d have to thank him later.
I let them talk and turned my attention back to the stage. The figure remained in shadow, but this time when I focused on the darkness, I knew I was being watched in return. Whoever it was, he or she had to be either a very important hybrid or perhaps an Elder who didn’t want to be seen down here. Large, dragon eyes filled with fire suddenly flooded my mind’s eye, and I gasped.
Or it was Shuval? Maybe I wasn’t merely staring at some hybrid. I was staring at the bitch herself. Could she see through this magic? The eyes came again and this time with a growl that was loud enough to drown out the crowd. We had to get out of here, fast.
I was working on an excuse of some kind when Rafael was saying something about forgetting to check in with our coven that day.
Morris seemed upset that we were leaving so soon, but we promised we’d come back tomorrow night and stay for the whole thing. Morris kissed my cheek then offered to see us out. We convinced him to stay and enjoy the show for us.
