Garalina used her magic to blast the door off the hinges, and the three of us charged through the opening, Rylan in the lead.
Four Garaian men were in the cellar, herding a group of battered-looking women dressed in skimpy clothing. Sex slaves, I thought, and a burst of anger heated my blood. Without even thinking about it, I hurled my cleaver at the biggest thug. It landed in the center of his chest with a sickening squelch, and he released the woman and dropped to his knees, his eyes wide with pain and shock.
The other three men tossed their women aside and drew their swords, yelling angrily. But Rylan and Terpan were already on them, and their angry cries turned to shrieks of pain and terror as the two shifters ripped into them with fangs and claws. Within moments, all four men were reduced to a bloody pile of bodies.
“Stay there!” I shouted at the women, who were huddled behind a stack of barrels. They were Garaians, all slim and beautiful with fine black hair and dark, slanted eyes, and I’d be damned if a single one of them was older than eighteen. They made me think of Noria, and I yanked my cleaver out of the dead man’s chest, fury urging me up the stairs and into the back of the club. Rylan and Terpan were way ahead of me—the guard posted outside the basement was lying in the hall, his throat torn out, and judging by the screams echoing through the club, the shifters had already found more thugs.
My boots rang out against the glossy black tile as I raced into the main area of the club. Two more men were lying dead on the ground, and Rylan and Terpan were facing off against three others.
“You bitch!” A thug poked his head out from the balcony above us, this one sporting a shaved head and covered in tattoos. He clutched a cylindrical object in his ink-stained fingers, and dread rippled through me as he pulled a pin from the top and tossed it to the ground. I braced myself for an explosion, but Garalina conjured a golden shield around the weapon, containing the blast. The ground shook beneath us, throwing off my balance a little, and another thug, coming out of nowhere, took the opportunity to slash at me with his blade.
“Fuck!” I swore as his weapon sliced through the side of my jacket and into my ribs. But the pain was already fading as Garalina’s magic washed over my skin, fighting to seal the wound. The thug screamed angrily, slashing at me again, but I dodged easily, then raked the side of his neck with my handsaw. Blood spurted everywhere as he screamed, clutching the wound, and I used the opportunity to punch him in the temple. His eyes rolled back in his head, and he fell to the ground in a slump.
Another wave of men charged into the room, and the next ten minutes were absolute pandemonium. Jumping over the dead body, I engaged with yet another attacker, this time with both my weapons and my magic. The men yelped in surprise as I used magic to disarm them, their swords and knives flying across the room to embed themselves into the wall. The man standing on the balcony tried to lob another explosive at us, but I used my magic to toss it back. His face blanched as he realized what was about to happen, and he threw himself to the ground as the weapon exploded, rocking the upper floor and sending tremors through to the foundations below.
Rylan and Terpan tore into the rest of the men, taking them down easily now that they were unarmed. But as Terpan leaped over what I assumed was a dead body, the man beneath him pulled a knife and jabbed it between his ribs. A howl of pain and rage tore through the club, and Rylan and I both froze.
“Dammit!” I cried as Terpan collapsed. The man pushed up onto his knees, ready to stab him again, but I grabbed a broken chair and threw it at his head. The impact knocked him back onto the ground, and I stomped on his head for good measure. Kicking him aside, I knelt next to Terpan to inspect the wound.
Rylan trotted over to me and nudged my shoulder with his muzzle. “He says he wants to sweep the rest of the club and make sure there aren’t any stragglers,” Garalina said. “I will go with him while you help Terpan.”
“Wha—” I started, but they were already leaving.
I sighed as Terpan gazed up at me pitifully. His beautiful white fur was stained with blood, his ice-blue eyes glazed over with pain and exhaustion.
“You need a healing,” I said quietly.
Terpan growled, but the sound was weak, half-hearted.
“You’ve got two choices,” I said, placing a hand over the gash in his ribs. “Either let me heal you with my magic, or lie here and die. Do you want me to save you?”
Terpan let out a huff that I could only interpret as exasperation, but he nodded his great head. Satisfied, I pressed both hands against his wound. Then, for the first time, I drew on both Garalina’s magic and her memories. With her experience to guide me, I began the slow, painful process of healing Terpan’s wounds, both internal and external.
By the time I’d finished, I was lightheaded and trembling. Terpan had passed out, so I felt no shame as I allowed myself to collapse against the floor. Perhaps I’d overdone it a little—I was still recovering from my own injury—but I didn’t regret it. Just because Terpan was an asshole didn’t mean he deserved to die. And if he decided to have me ostracized for my magic, so be it. At least my conscience would be clear.
“Annia!” Rylan rushed back into the room, in human form once more. He dropped to the ground and scooped me into his arms. “Are you all right? You’re not hurt, are you?” he asked, brushing his thumb along my cheekbone. His tender touch warmed me, and for a brief moment I had to resist the urge to snuggle deeper into his embrace.
“I’m fine,” I said tiredly. “Just exhausted.” Craning my neck, I glanced behind him to see ten girls, including the ones from the cellar. All were bruised, all young and beautiful, all dressed in practically nothing. “You find the others upstairs?”
Rylan nodded. “Chained up in bedrooms decorated to look like the rooms of a brothel. They only speak Garaian, so I’m not completely sure what happened, but I can take a good guess.” His expression darkened as he helped me to my feet.
Sex slaves. Sympathy pooled inside my chest as I stared at the women, who looked frightened and miserable. They flinched when I approached, and I held up my hands, trying to appear as non-threatening as possible.
“It’s okay,” I said, placing my arm around one of the girls who’d been in the cellar. “We’re here to help.”
The girl immediately dissolved into tears, and I pulled her into my arms for a hug. The others, seeing this, began crying too, tears of pain and relief, their walls crashing down now that they knew I wasn’t a threat.
“Come with me,” I said, gesturing for them to follow us to the doorway. I might not be able to speak Garaian, but I knew someone who could.
14
“What is the meaning of this?” Canter cried as I led the girls into the foyer of Solantha Palace. He jumped to his feet, his entire body quivering with shock and outrage as he took in the scantily clad women who filed in behind me. “You can’t bring these…these…people through the front door like this!”
“I’m going to ignore your complete lack of compassion,” I said, and marched past the desk.
The girls cast wary glances at Canter, but Rylan encouraged them to move along, bringing up the rear. I wished I had something to cover them up with—several of them wore see-through tops where you could see their nipples—but I’d brought them straight here by cab, and I was so broke at this point I would never have been able to outfit them all anyway.
Ignoring the gawks and stares from the mages we passed, Rylan and I led the girls into the Mages Guild. “We need to speak to Director Chen right away,” I told the receptionist, who looked like she was about to call security on us.
“Director Chen is in a meeting,” the woman said stiffly, disapproval written all over her elegant features. “If you’d like to make an appoint—”
“Annia?” Sunaya walked into the reception area, holding an armful of books and papers. Her face went slack with shock as she took in the girls. “What’s going on here?”
“Rylan and I just finished clearing out an organized crime ope
ration masquerading as a night club,” I explained. “These girls were being used as sex slaves, and they only speak Garaian. I was hoping Director Chen could help.”
“Of course she can,” Sunaya said, giving the receptionist a severe look. “Chen’s in a meeting right now, but she’ll be done soon. In the meantime, why don’t we get these girls cleaned up and into something more comfortable?”
Sunaya called for her assistant, Nelia, who took the girls away to go get cleaned up and changed. At first they refused to go, terrified at being taken away, but when I agreed to come along, they relented. Nelia commandeered a guest suite for them and, with the help of a small army of servants, got them all cleaned up and dressed in soft, fluffy robes.
“Sorry I don’t have real clothes for them,” Nelia said apologetically to me as we sat with the girls in one of the parlor rooms. A mage healer had arrived from the infirmary, and was healing their cuts and bruises. Hopefully he would give them all in-depth examinations later. “I’ll have some ordered from the shops and delivered, but it will take a few hours.”
“This is more than fine.” I looked over at the girls, who were huddled together on the couches. They still looked uneasy, but at least they were clean and safe. Many of them were painfully thin, yet only three of them had dared touch the tea sandwiches that had been brought in for them.
They were still afraid, still in shock. It was going to take time for them to heal. But this was still much, much better than where they were at just a few hours ago.
“Miss Melcott.” Director Chen walked in, dressed in blue and gold silk robes.
The girls all sat up straighter, recognizing a fellow Garaian, and Chen’s normally implacable gaze softened with grief and sympathy for them. “These are the girls you found?”
I nodded as Sunaya and Rylan filed in behind her. “They don’t speak Northian, so I was hoping you could talk to them and find out what happened.”
Director Chen sat down next to the oldest girl of the bunch. I thought she would be stiff and formal with them, since she was a mage and they were humans, but she took the girl’s hand in both of hers and spoke softly in Garaian.
Tears dripped down the girl’s face as she bowed her head, and the two of them conversed quietly for a few minutes.
“Rylan told me a bit about what went down,” Sunaya said in a low voice, pulling me aside. “I can’t believe you didn’t tell me you lost your bracelet!” She grabbed my arm and yanked back my sleeve, exposing my bare wrist. “Why didn’t you tell me about any of this? I could have helped you.”
“Because I didn’t want you to worry.” My cheeks burned with embarrassment and I yanked my wrist back. “I knew the accusations being leveled against me were bogus, so I figured everything would be cleared up.”
“Fine, except you ignored your suspension and decided to go chasing criminals anyway, with only this lug-head as backup.” She smacked Rylan in the shoulder. “I don’t know whether to scold you for encouraging her or thank you for being her backup.”
Rylan smirked. “Pregnancy is obviously turning you into a mother hen, cousin. Back when you were on the streets, you’d have told Captain Skonel and Terpan to go fuck themselves, then gone after the criminals anyway.”
“And dragged my ass along with you as backup,” I pointed out, amused at the look of dawning horror on Sunaya’s face.
“By Magorah.” Sunaya groaned, scraping a hand through her riotous black curls. “You’re right. I’m becoming a stick in the mud. But that still doesn’t excuse you”—she jabbed a finger into my chest—“for hiding this from me. We’re best friends, Annia, and we help each other out when we’re in trouble. Me being pregnant doesn’t change any of that.”
She pulled me into a tight hug, and tears stung at the corners of my eyes. “It was awful,” I whispered into her hair, knowing only she and Rylan could hear. “Seeing Yolian’s body discarded on the floor like a piece of trash…knowing that I was responsible…” Flashes of the horrific images flitted through my mind’s eye, and I shuddered. “By the Ur-God, how am I going to tell his parents?” Was I going to have to drive out there, to the little farm he grew up on, to tell his family that their son had been murdered? Usually I didn’t have a problem doing family notifications, but I could barely handle even the thought of doing this one.
“Hey.” Sunaya patted me on the shoulder and pulled away to look me in the eye. “Don’t worry about that now. What happened to Yolian isn’t your fault, and, in the end, he accomplished what he set out to do. Thanks to you, Dove Street is getting cleaned up.”
“Excuse me.” Director Chen cleared her throat, and I realized she’d left the girls and was standing with us now. “I’ve finished interviewing these young women. As I suspected, they were sold into slavery while in Garai and brought over here by their owners to serve as prostitutes. I’ve informed them that both slavery and prostitution are illegal here in the Federation, and that they are free, but they will need assistance to get on their feet and start a new life here.”
Sunaya nodded. “They’re free to stay in the palace until you can get them situated.”
“You don’t seem very shocked or surprised by any of this,” I noted to Director Chen.
Chen nodded grimly. “Gangs and slavery are both very common in Garai, and with the influx of immigrants I knew it was only a matter of time before something like this happened. This gang activity must be stamped out immediately before it’s allowed to take root and infest the rest of the city. Are there any remaining gang members alive?”
“Yeah, two survived,” Rylan said. “They should be in holding cells at the Enforcer’s Guild right now.” Rylan and I had managed to revive Terpan with a combination of magic and hamburgers we’d purchased from a vendor around the corner. Once he’d gotten his strength back, he’d carted off the surviving gang members while Rylan and I escorted the girls to the palace.
“Excellent. I will interview them now.” She gave me a slight smile. “You and Rylan have done very well to flush out this gang and rescue these women. I’ll speak to Captain Skonel about giving you a commendation.”
Sunaya snorted. “That might be a bit of a problem, considering that Annia’s supposed to be suspended right now.” She glared pointedly at my bare wrist.
Director Chen’s eyes widened. “Suspended? What do you mean?”
I sighed. “It’s a long story.”
“And one you will tell to Director Chen, since she has the power to sort this all out,” Sunaya said severely. “You three go on. I’ll take care of the girls for now.”
Sunaya ushered the girls out of the room, and the three of us partook of the leftover tea and sandwiches while I explained everything to Director Chen. When I told the part about how Garalina and I met, and the subsequent trouble her magic had caused, Rylan sat open-mouthed, but Chen, to her credit, seemed to take it in stride.
“Damn, Annia,” Rylan said, seeming awed and baffled all at once. “I knew your scent had changed a bit since you came back from Southia, but I never expected this. You’re practically a mage now!”
“Well, I don’t know about that,” I said hastily. “Garalina’s magic doesn’t work the same way as a mage’s does.”
“I would be interested in learning exactly how her magic does work,” Director Chen said, her gaze resting on my torque. “That necklace has far too strong of a magical signature to ever be mistaken as a mere amulet, so I am not surprised that Dalmouth was suspicious of it.”
“And what does that mean?” Garalina demanded, materializing on the sofa next to me. Director Chen jerked, startled at her sudden appearance, but to my surprise, Rylan grinned this time. “Are you siding with that overbearing cretin?”
“Not at all,” Director Chen said, recovering quickly from the shock. “If Annia were a wild talent, that would be one thing, but you are clearly in control of the magic, and trained besides.” She studied Garalina for a moment, taking in the geometric symbols stitched into her flowing white dress and the cer
emonial paint decorating her striking face. “Your magical aura is quite something to behold.”
“Why, thank you.” Garalina beamed. “It is very nice to be appreciated for once.” She gave me a dirty look.
“Hey.” I held up both hands. “I agreed to your terms, didn’t I? I’m going to start using your magic more freely now.”
She sniffed, turning her nose up at me. “We’ll see about that.”
“So what now?” Rylan asked, before this conversation could go completely off the rails. “Are you going to help her get her suspension lifted?”
“Absolutely.” Chen pulled a clipboard and pen out of her sleeve and started writing on a piece of letterhead. “Take this note to Captain Skonel.” She stamped it with her seal and handed it to me. “It is an order that requires them to accept your torque as a legal magical artifact. As for the emerald, I’ll make sure that’s taken care of as well, but the two of you need to have a stern talk with the Tua the next time you see them. They need to be more careful with these research expeditions.”
“Thank you,” I said, relieved. There was no way I could explain to either Dalmouth or Skonel that a Tua had given me the stone—even mages barely believed in their existence, and most considered them the stuff of myth and legend. Now that Director Chen had my back, there was nothing stopping me from getting my enforcer bracelet back and putting Terpan in his place once and for all.
15
“When I woke up, hanging from that meat hook with those shackles on my wrists, I thought I was done for,” Terpan was saying as I walked onto the third floor. The entire Third Squad was gathered around in a circle as he stood in the middle of the bullpen, listening with rapt attention. Hell, even Captain Skonel was there, standing a little off to the side. Was Terpan about to take all the credit for my bust?
Tempted by Magic: Mischief and Magic: Book One Page 15
