“You guys ready? Let’s agree on one thing here – no talking. Period,” Mathias said. “I’ll go in first. Get behind me if it gets dangerous. I’ll take the Taser too.”
Luna thought it was cute that he thought they’d hide behind him if danger was present. She glanced at Miss Elva and could just barely make out her grin in the darkness.
“Yes sir,” Luna whispered and they all cracked their doors open, sliding quietly from the car and shutting them softly. Mathias deposited the key in his pocket and began to walk up the lane, his feet crunching against the gravel.
“That’s cute he thinks he’ll protect us,” Miss Elva whispered to Luna.
“I know. He’s trying to do the manly thing,” Luna agreed.
Mathias turned in front of them and threw his hands in the air, gesturing angrily at them before he drew his hand across his lips in a ‘zip it’ motion.
“Okay, let’s get our shields going,” Miss Elva murmured, ignoring Mathias’s command as she began to mutter and hum to herself.
“I’ll act as a lookout ahead, my queen,” Rafe announced, flitting past Mathias and disappearing around a bend.
Luna reached down inside of her to pull on her ball of magick. She wouldn’t even necessarily call it a ball, but that is how she envisioned it in her head. A sphere of white light, constantly changing and fluid. She reached for that and threw it out in front of Mathias, enclosing him in her protective shield.
“Bulletproof?” Miss Elva asked her.
“Should be,” Luna muttered.
“I’ve got something planned for anyone who rushes us,” Miss Elva whispered.
“Ladies, seriously?” Mathias had stopped in front of them, and they almost ran into him.
“Sorry,” they both chorused dutifully.
Luna was too focused on running her spell to care anyway.
She stiffened as movement caught her eye, but then realized it was Rafe flitting back around the corner.
“Two men with guns out front. Another three inside. I don’t see the margarita man,” Rafe said.
Luna repeated his words and Mathias looked annoyed for a second before he realized what he was being told.
“Get behind me,” Mathias ordered as they came around a bend.
“Not happening,” Luna muttered as they turned the corner and stepped from the road into a gravel parking lot.
The lot was dark, only one solitary light shining over a small doorway that housed the entrance to the huge building. Three loading dock doors were closed tight, and the light shone off the grey cinderblock building. The margarita man had chosen his spot well. The warehouse was virtually a fortress.
One man patrolled the front door – clearly not doing his job well, as his gun was down at his side and he was scrolling through a phone.
Luna jolted as Mathias jerked his hand up, lofting a flash bang into the sky. They all watched as it fluttered through the air.
Mathias looked at Luna.
“Game on.”
Chapter Thirteen
The bag landed across the lot from the warehouse, closer to the line of trees. They all held their breath.
Boom!
A flash of light had Luna gasping, as did the level of explosion that came with it. Branches went flying as the man dropped his phone and began to run across the lot.
“Let’s move,” Mathias ordered, already running.
Luna looked back at Miss Elva.
“Just a little bang?”
Miss Elva shrugged one shoulder.
“Let’s go,” Mathias shouted over his shoulder, clearly annoyed with the two of them and their ambling pace.
“That man needs to calm down,” Miss Elva said.
“This is his first break and entry,” Luna observed.
The patrolman, clothed all in black, had reached the spot of the bombing. Looking around quickly, he saw Mathias and raised his gun.
“Nope,” Miss Elva said, throwing her palm out.
“What the –?” The man screamed and dropped the gun, shaking his hands as he cried out in pain and dropped to his knees.
“I’m big into elements lately,” Miss Elva said casually as they walked across the lot. “Playing with heat. Playing with ice.”
So she had fried the gun, Luna thought with a nod. Not a bad idea. But it didn’t incapacitate the man.
Observing his duty, the man jumped up and began to race across the lot towards them.
“Not happening,” Miss Elva said again, and lifted her palm out once more. This time the man froze in mid-stride. He looked around desperately, but his body wouldn’t move.
“What’s happening?” the man shrieked.
Miss Elva waved at him, “You’re letting us visit your warehouse. That’s what.”
Mathias’s mouth had dropped open by the time Luna and Miss Elva had sauntered over to where he stood by the smaller door.
“I don’t even know what to say,” he began.
“I’d say duck, but Luna’s got this one,” Miss Elva observed and a small ping caused them to look where a bullet shell clattered to their feet, having bounced off Luna’s shield.
“I almost felt that one,” Luna mused, turning to train her eyes at the dark tree line. Another flash told her where the shooter was.
“He’s there,” Luna said to Miss Elva, pointing in a direction.
“Got it,” Miss Elva muttered, closing her eyes and chanting, her hand lifted in the direction of the trees.
A scream echoed through the night.
“That should take care of that. Now, let’s get in the building,” Miss Elva said, turning to observe the loading dock doors.
“Can’t we just go in this door?” Mathias asked, gesturing to the small door they stood in front of.
“Now, child. Miss Elva doesn’t do anything small. Plus, I think we’re going to want an unobstructed view of what’s going on,” Miss Elva said, focusing her eyes on the loading dock doors.
“Men coming from inside,” Rafe warned, flowing through the wall of the building.
“Let’s redirect them then,” Miss Elva said, throwing her hands out. In seconds, the three loading dock doors trembled, their locks snapping as they rolled open of their own accord.
Shouts rang out from inside, and Luna felt adrenalin pump through her.
“Let’s find Beau,” she said.
They moved forward as a unit, coming just to the edge of the first door when a man burst out. Before Luna and Miss Elva could do anything, Mathias’ hand shot out and he tasered the man.
A squeak sounded from his lips before he went down to the ground, convulsing against the gravel.
“Damn, this thing works well,” Mathias said, looking down at the Taser, before moving forward into the warehouse.
Luna kept her shield spell working as they followed Mathias, her eyes widening at the sight before her.
The warehouse was huge, almost a football field in length. The margarita truck was tucked to the side in one corner, and two other half-semi trucks, painted a bright red, were parked near the drink truck. And to her left, was, well…what she imagined a combat hospital had to look like. Row after row of gurneys lined the open room, saline pouches at the foot of each bed, the beds’ occupants still. There were easily fifty beds in the room and Luna felt tears prick her eyes, not knowing if these people had already been hurt.
“Watch out,” Miss Elva called, lifting her hand as a man raced towards them, a large gun in his hand. She froze the man in his tracks, similar to the trick she had done outside. “Go on, now. Find Beau.”
Luna raced past the frozen man, Mathias at her side. They reached the row of people, Rafe hovering over their heads.
“He’s down here. At this end,” Rafe called, flitting down the length of the row to float over a bed.
If Luna hadn’t known better, she’d have been convinced that all these people lying on the gurneys were already dead. Not a sound escaped them, and no movement rustled from beneath the sheets that covered
them. Terror raced through Luna at the thought of peeling the sheet back to see if any surgeries had been performed on them. She followed Mathias past the people, feeling guilty for not stopping to check on them, but wanting to find Beau first.
“He’s here,” Mathias called back to her, and then his face went white as he looked over Luna’s shoulder.
Without thinking, Luna threw a blast of power behind her, then glanced behind her to see a man being blown back by a flash of white light.
“I’ll take him,” Miss Elva shouted and Luna ran to Mathias’s side.
“Beau?” Luna asked.
Beau lay on the gurney, a sheet pulled to his chin. His face looked pale beneath his tan skin, and he didn’t move at Luna’s words. Luna held her breath as Mathias whipped the sheet back.
Beau’s shirt was tucked in; no blood stained his clothes or his body.
“Oh thank the Goddess,” Luna breathed, reaching into her bag for one of the syringes they had prepared on the ride over.
Mathias didn’t even say a word; instead, he reached out for the syringe and Luna handed it to him. She pulled the shirt from Beau’s shorts and cleared his abdomen for Mathias, gratitude rushing through her to see the muscles of his stomach un-cut and unharmed.
“What are you doing?” Luna hissed as Mathias injected the cord of the saline drip with the antidote.
“Faster this way. Straight into the bloodstream,” Mathias said, and even as he was speaking, Beau’s arm flinched. Luna held her breath as she watched Beau.
His dark eyelashes fluttered against his cheeks.
Luna squealed as Beau opened his eyes, centering his gaze on her.
“Luna… Luna what happened?” he whispered, his eyes darting fearfully from Mathias to Luna.
“Long story. Listen, we’ve got to save a buttload of people right now. We’re in danger,” Luna whispered hurriedly into his ear as she leaned over to hug him briefly. “If you think you can sit up or walk, do it. We won’t be able to carry you out.”
Luna had to give Beau credit. He licked his lips once, absorbing her words, before he nodded.
“Give me a moment to recover from whatever happened…”
“You were poisoned. The antidote is working through your system,” Mathias explained tersely, his hand already reaching out to Luna for more syringes.
“I… I was what?”
“The margaritas were poisoned. Just let the antidote work. I’ve got you shielded, so just sit for a moment,” Luna instructed, digging in her bag for more syringes as she moved from Beau’s side. Beau nodded, not bothering to question Luna’s shielding powers.
“Shielded? Is that what that bullet-bouncing-off trick you did outside was?” Mathias asked as they moved to the next gurney, where a woman with dark curls lay.
“Yes. Here, we’re going to split up and I’ll take the back row. You work this one,” Luna decided, realizing that working separately was going to accomplish their goal much faster. She handed off an armload of syringes and moved around Beau to the line of gurneys behind him. Working quickly, she began to inject the antidote into the saline tubes, praying their time wouldn’t run out.
“Uh oh,” Luna heard Beau say, just before a flash of light and loud bang made her momentarily drop to her knees.
“The margarita man is back.”
Chapter Fourteen
Luna stood from her crouch to see a haze of smoke where Miss Elva had been standing.
“Shit.” What if her shield hadn’t covered Miss Elva?
Luna froze as the smoke began to clear and a man’s silhouette formed. He was lit from behind, his face shadowed. Luna stiffened as he began to clap slowly.
Clap. Clap. Clap. The sound echoed across the large warehouse.
“Bravo. You’ve managed to get much further than I first expected when I learned about your little magickal powers.” His gravelly voice sent chills up Luna’s spine.
“Who are you?” Mathias asked, straightening.
“Well, how kind of you to ask,” the man said, stepping into the light to reveal his face. He looked the same as earlier today, Luna thought, but almost as if he was lit from within. Joy creased his face as he smiled at them, his arms spread wide.
“Why, I’m Clarence le Loup, the most famous sorcerer you’ve never heard of. Or, I suppose you could call me Voodoo. But I’m so much more than that.” He smiled at Luna, his teeth showing against the pale skin of his face. His black hair appeared to be slicked back with grease, and his wiry frame was clad all in black. A white skull belt buckle was the only decoration on him.
And his eyes were white.
Luna squinted at them, wondering if they were just a very pale blue; then she realized he must be wearing white contacts to conceal the color of his eyes. The effect was terribly creepy, making his pupils just a black pinpoint against the white orbs.
“What did you do to Miss Elva?” Luna hissed, moving around to stand in front of Beau’s gurney.
“Oh? Is she the so-called voodoo priestess? Please, she’s no match for me. I gave her a little taste of her own medicine, is all. She’s frozen somewhere,” Clarence laughed, the staccato sound like gunshots in the stillness of the warehouse.
Crap. Luna looked around desperately, hoping it wasn’t true. Calling on her power, she breathed calm into her body. Now was not the time to lose it.
“I’ve see you’ve found my little… nest here,” Clarence said, looking around proudly at the beds of people.
“Is that what you’re calling it? Interesting,” Luna said, doubling down on reinforcing her shields, desperately worried about Miss Elva.
“Of course. This is where I harvest my babies,” Clarence said, completely calm, at ease in this private little world he’d created.
“Your babies? I thought you were harvesting organs,” Luna said, keeping her eyes on Clarence as she saw Mathias begin to move at the edge of her vision.
“Well, yes, I suppose I do that as well,” Clarence hummed, his eyes lit with excitement. “But I’m playing with other things too. You know, mind control, slaves, that kind of thing.”
“I don’t understand,” Luna said, honestly confused by what he was saying. “Like Frankenstein?”
Clarence threw his head back and gave his sharp staccato laugh again.
“Oh, darling, that’s quite amusing. I suppose you could say it’s something like that.”
Luna couldn’t believe the level of evil that was pulsing from this man. It washed over her like a sticky black sludge, completely at odds with the purity of her magick. This wouldn’t be the first bad guy she had dealt with, but he was certainly one of the worst.
“Did you really think you were going to pull this off?” Luna asked, her eyes locked on the white orbs of Clarence’s eyes.
“Well, dear, who is going to stop me?”
“I am,” Mathias, said, right before he launched himself at Clarence in a flying tackle.
“Mathias! No!” Luna screamed.
Clarence laughed, as Mathias seemed to freeze in mid-air, falling to the concrete floor with a thud, his face rolling to the side.
“I like him. He’s got spunk,” Clarence decided, smiling down at Mathias’s inert body. “Now, where were we?”
“We were discussing the fact that you seem to think you can kidnap and kill over fifty people from a small town and get away with it.”
“Ah, yes. That little detail. I’ll be long gone before they figure out what happened. In fact, I’m a little surprised that you found me. Pleased, actually. You’re going to make a fine addition to my collection of wives.”
Luna’s tongue felt like it had turned to sandpaper and she almost choked at the thought of being this heathen’s wife. Luna felt the brush of his power against hers, as though he was sizing her up, getting a taste for what she had to offer. His smile grew wider.
“It’ll be easier on you if you come to me of your own accord,” Clarence said softly and Luna almost gagged.
“Never,” she sai
d, surprising him as she threw a ball of her power at him, causing him to fly backwards. Clarence landed on his feet, the smile still plastered across his face.
“Not bad. I’ve heard about you. You’re the white witch. I’ve often considered adding you to my collection, as I suspect your powers are greater than most. Yours will complement mine nicely,” Clarence said, licking his lips and causing Luna to squirm.
“So not happening,” Luna said, and she began to draw on her power for a spell that was deeply buried in her mind. It was old magick, but sometimes that’s the best kind.
“By the way, your little priestess failed my expectations. I was quite disappointed in her. I’d honestly thought she’d have been an even match for me. Ah, well, so it goes,” Clarence said cheerfully.
Luna’s heart clenched as he talked about Miss Elva in the past tense.
“So it does go,” Miss Elva said from across the warehouse, and as Clarence’s head whipped around in rage, Luna almost cheered.
They still had a fighting chance.
Chapter Fifteen
“I thought I took care of you,” Clarence said, showing annoyance for the first time. As though Miss Elva was a fly he had swatted but hadn’t managed to fully smush.
“Miss Elva takes care of Miss Elva,” Miss Elva said saucily as she stepped closer.
“And Rafe! Rafe takes care of Miss Elva,” Rafe screeched, flying out of the darkness to whisk through Clarence’s body as he pummeled the evil man with his fists.
Clarence visibly shuddered, which surprised Luna. Most people couldn’t actually feel Rafe when he was near.
“You’ve got a friend, I see,” Clarence said, glancing at the spot where Rafe hovered protectively by Miss Elva. Clarence’s lips began to move as he muttered a spell.
“No!” Luna shouted, throwing out a hand to block the spell Clarence was directing at Rafe. His power clashed dramatically with Luna’s and sent sparks into the air. Luna groaned as she tried to hold strong against the wave of his spell, but she almost lost hold as his sticky darkness clawed at her light. Luna gasped and dropped to her knees.
Tequila Will Kill Ya: (The Althea Rose Series Book 2.5) Page 5
