Chapter Thirteen
I felt my captor lumber down the street. On occasion, I could see the two men running ahead of the monster. In a vain effort, I tried to remember what it was that held me in its grasp but failed. We traipsed past what looked like a park with a big bonfire. The importance of the enormous fire escaped me. Another block of travel and the redheaded man dashed into a building. The other one danced around the feet of the monster, occasionally bashing it in the shins with the pole—a pole that jingled in a familiar way.
A moment or two later and the redhead returned. He threw something at the monster, hitting it in the belly. Whatever he threw lit the monster on fire. It bellowed loud enough that I wanted to cover my ears; I just couldn't find my hands. I suddenly felt like I was flying, and the painful cold that had surrounded me eased.
I landed with a thud, shattering something beneath my weight. It didn't seem like a good idea to move, or maybe it was just that my muscles were too frozen. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw something burning. Was it the bonfire from the park or something else? I couldn't remember.
Having feelings and being unable to remember what they're called is a strange sensation. I lay where I had fallen, watching the dark clouds thin and begin to reveal bright stars. The stars twinkled at me and I felt my lips pull up in a smile. I'm not sure why I was smiling. In fact, I wasn't sure why I was laying on something slightly poky and watching the stars.
A minute later, or maybe an hour, someone pulled me off the car I'd landed on and cradled me in their arms. It was one of the men, the one with red hair. I knew that I knew him, but I couldn't remember how or what his name was.
“We need to get her warm,” the redhead semi-stranger said.
“First, we need to get off the street.”
By this time the men had stopped at a non-smashed car. The one not carrying me glanced around before pulling the door open by sheer elbow grease. The metal screeched loudly as he broke the door lock. He flipped the switch to unlock the other doors. The redhead got the back door open and dumped me into the seat before following. The car was already running; the other man was very fast.
We drove a short distance and stopped. I was dragged out of the car through the other door and hoisted back into someone's arms. It was the taller man. We went down a dark alley, one that I would have had a sarcastic comment about had my brain been functioning. The redheaded man opened a door and ushered us in. We descended a case of dark stairs and into a concrete hallway. Like so many things today, it seemed familiar yet foreign. I couldn't wrap my brain around it.
“What happened?” asked a voice.
“Frost troll. We need to get her warm. I don't think she's conscious,” the man said. Nik was his name. Yes, Nik.
“A frost troll?”
“Not the point, Mikhail,” Nik said. Nik placed me on the floor next to a warm fire and draped a blanket over me. I was suddenly feeling cold again. I began to shake violently. This lasted until I thought my muscles would shake right out of my skin in protest.
Suddenly, the shaking stopped and my mind began to clear. The haze around my thoughts eased. Concerned faces came into focus. “Nik? What happened?” I remembered the basic images of the past half hour, I just couldn't figure out what they meant.
“You remember the frost troll?”
After a moment of thought, I nodded. Yes, the really cold monster. “I thought vamps didn't have these issues with the cold,” I said weakly.
He chuckled. “Had you been human you would have been dead within the first minute or two of him touching you.” Nik looked at Mikhail. I followed his gaze.
“I take it Josh failed in finding you in time.”
“He arrived just before the troll attacked, and it was he who got it to stop chasing us.”
Mikhail's normally calm face took on a look of genuine astonishment. “Is that so?”
Nik nodded. “Without Josh, I doubt I would be alive and Ashley would be in someone else's control. On top of all that, we were attacked by the Summer Court just before Josh arrived. Though we didn't exactly have a conversation on the topic, they were clearly after Ashley too.”
“So this means Richard, the wolves, and both fae courts are after her. What have we gotten ourselves into?” Mikhail stared into the flames for a moment.
“There's more. It might be Phonoi is the one after her. Maybe hiring Richard or the wolves,” sighed Nik. “Are you sure you don't want me to just get rid of her?”
I pulled my knees up to my chest and ran my fingers through my hair until they reached a knot at the back of my head. The warmth of the fire tickled my back as the skin began to regain feeling. My eyes squeezed shut on their own accord. For a brief moment, I'd thought Nik had changed his mind about wanting to end my life. After all, he had refused to give me over, even when his flock of human blood bags had been in danger. Evidently, they had meant even less to him than I realized. Or maybe he just followed Mikhail's orders no matter what.
“Phonoi?”
“Yes. Kind of a long story. But it turns out Ashley's cat is a fae, or was. Phonoi turned him into a cat because he had impregnated Phonoi's sister.”
“Corinna?” Mikhail turned to me. “Your cat is the father of Mnemosyne?”
“Who are Phonoi and Mnemosyne?” I asked from my seat by the fire.
“They're fae,” whispered Josh, shifting over to sit next to me on the floor.
“Could Phonoi get both fae courts to seek out Ashley and her cat?”
“Possibly. Phonoi is hard to predict. Always has been,” responded Nik. “Mikhail. This is too big for us. Phonoi, much less the fae queens, is more powerful than us. We need to end this.”
I flinched, knowing what he meant. Josh wrapped a comforting arm around my shoulders.
Mikhail's eyes flashed at him, brightening with excitement. “We will not be killing her, Nik, until I know what’s going on. Do you understand me?”
For a short second, I thought Nik was going to argue. His jaw tightened, the muscles flexing as he glared back at his leader. I noticed Josh wasn't breathing. Then again, neither was I. The tension in the room rose as the two old vampires stared each other down. I could see Nik thinking through his options. Finally, he nodded, lowering his eyes to the floor.
“Josh, join Nik. The two of you keep her alive. And figure out who is actually after her. All we have are questions.” Mikhail stalked over to the shorter man and glared down at him. “This is your chance to prove yourself. Consider your life tied to hers. If she dies… ” Mikhail smiled, causing a shiver to run down my spine. “Now, all of you get out.” He moved back to his desk.
Nik reached down and lifted me to my feet. I left the blanket on the floor and followed them out. In the hallway, we stopped. I glanced between the two men, my two obligated protectors. Boy, this was getting out of hand.
“So now what?” Josh asked. I looked at him, really seeing him for the first time. He wore cargo pants, low top cons, and a light blue T-shirt with a brightly smiling sun on it. Odd shirt for a vampire, I thought. But then again, I got the impression Josh was little off all around. I liked that about him.
“We need information.”
“Guess it's time for some Chinese food! Let's go to my place. Fagan still delivers there.”
“Good, let's go!” said Nik.
“Wait… what?” I asked as I scrambled to follow them up the steps directly across from the double doors. I had yet to climb these stairs. They led into a tiny entry way. The walls were painted drywall, without any form of decoration. At the other end of the tiny room, another door barred the way. Nik tapped a code into the ten-key built into the wall and the door swung open.
We stepped into a narrow space divided from the rest of the room by an elegant screen that subtly hinted at Asian origins. Nik led us around the partition into an enormous room. I instantly knew where we were. We were on the first floor of The Viewer’s Lounge—a high-class restaurant I had only dreamed of visiting after seeing its p
ictures in the papers.
Nik and Josh stopped only when they noticed I was still standing by the partition, my jaw resting comfortably on the floor.
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