Shattered (Alchemy Series Book #3)

by Augustine, Donna

  "Lick?" the voice said again and I felt a wet tongue on my hand.

  Opening my good eye, I saw one of the bunnies licking my hand. Then its head popped up, and that of its companion as well. They stood perfectly still for a moment before they ran.

  I heard the rustling of someone approaching and tried to drag myself upward. Maybe I could pull myself behind a bush until I healed some more. I strained upward and barely made it an inch off the ground. Change of plans: playing dead it was.

  There was the sound of someone walking near my head before I felt the hands gently feeling me up and down.

  I opened myself up to get a sense of who or what was touching me and my eye snapped open. Maybe snapped wasn't the right term but I managed to open the good eye a slit.

  Cormac was squatting down on his haunches in front of me, looking at my one good eye, then grimaced as he looked at the rest of me.

  "That bad?" I asked.

  "Bad, but you'll heal."

  "How did you know I was here?"

  "I told you that you couldn't leave," he joked in a soft voice. His eyes looked down toward my legs and I could see the concern. "I should probably set your leg."

  "I know."

  He paused and I wondered if he paused to give me time or him.

  "It's going to hurt."

  "I know," I responded, trying to lighten the subject. He seemed to have more trepidation than I did. "You know I can take it. I'm getting pretty good at this pain stuff."

  "I guess that happens when you're constantly breaking stuff."

  "Ha ha ha. Just do it. I'm ready."

  He nodded but didn't speak. He disappeared from my line of vision. He touched my legs and everything went black. I was glad. I didn't feel like screaming for the whole of Vegas to hear.

  When I awoke next, I was cradled in Cormac's arms, being carried down the Vegas Strip.

  "Why did he go under so early?" he asked.

  "He just said he got called early. How'd you know?" I'd just done it.

  "I saw the sealed ground," he explained.

  "How did you find me out here? We're you following me?"

  "I had things to take care of," he said.

  "What stuff? Me?"

  "Not everything has to do with you."

  I gave up. He wasn't going to let me nail him down to an answer.

  "What happened after you did it?"

  "The light I think. The light I made. Is that normal? Did I trip some sort of magical alarm?"

  "You're the maker. You can't trip it."

  This was the first time we'd been together that hadn't been angry fighting or ignoring the other person. I wanted to lean my head back on his shoulder just be with him. I missed him. But he kicked me out and said we were done so instead of staying in his arms the way I wanted to, I said, "I can walk."

  "Your knee was pretty bad," he said and kept walking, and I didn't argue.

  He stopped a few blocks away and dropped my legs to the ground. I instinctively put all my weight on the good leg.

  "Can you walk?"

  I tested my weight, taking a couple of steps with a slight limp. "Not perfect but I'll make it."

  It was early morning hours so only the security detail was up and a couple stragglers when we walked in.

  "Do you need help getting up to your room?" Cormac asked.

  No, but can you come with me anyway, or better yet, take me home with you? "I'm fine. Thanks." I limped toward the stairwell and I didn't look back.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Other than a slight stiffness from growing back new cartilage, my knee was almost perfect by the next morning as I observed the chaos on the seventh floor. I wasn't surprised that Burrom hadn't left anyone in charge. He'd think it was their problem to straighten things out after he was gone. I also remembered him talking about how people should find the natural leader among them, all others were doomed to fail anyway.

  Nobody really took notice of me with all the chattering going on about where Burrom was, but I wasn't sure how long that would last. I was accepted here because of Burrom; now that he was gone, that could change quickly. My castle unit was a bit spooky but it was starting to grow on me.

  I strolled down to the room where the Fae had a little restaurant area set up. They didn't like being forced to eat with other races and would dine here often. I poured myself a coffee from the large coffee urn on the table.

  I took a sip and walked over to where the garbage was. When I'd returned last night, the full magnitude of my situation hit me. I was living in a place filled with enemies. I couldn't rely on Cormac. Even Burrom, who I never fully trusted, was gone. I didn't have the luxury of making any more mistakes.

  I reached into my back pocket and grabbed my flask and threw it in the trash. It was time to grow up. That meant no more rash decisions and no more emotional crutches. It was one thing to have a drink but I couldn't afford to be fuzzy half the time.

  I was turning to walk out when Buzz surprised me as he stepped into the room.

  "Do you know where Cormac is?" Buzz asked in a nonchalant manner, contrasting the impression I had gotten from his rushed entrance.

  It didn't make sense that he'd ask me where Cormac was. I knew he'd heard I'd moved out, or been kicked out if you wanted to get technical.

  I shrugged. "How would I know? Maybe he's downstairs."

  "Can you come with me?"

  If it was going to be about Cormac, I didn't want to talk about it. He made his choice. Last night didn't change any of that. I wanted to say no, but Buzz looked so stressed out I didn't have the heart. I nodded, took my coffee and led him back to my room. One of the pluses of the castle room is the stone was real enough and thick enough to buffer out most noises and afforded a nice amount of privacy.

  I opened the antique looking wooden door that stood out like a sore thumb in the hallway and welcomed him in.

  "Have a seat," I said and motioned to the archaic looking velvet throne chair in the corner that had shown up a day after I'd moved in.

  "Your room's a little scary."

  "I know, but it grows on you," I said as I pulled out a stray feather that had already half escaped the feather mattress that was surprisingly comfortable. It made me wonder why we'd ever moved to springs. "Why are you all worked up?"

  "The wolves are taking the humans’ food rations in exchange for protection."

  I leaned my forehead onto my palm. I'd suspected that was going on. It was hard not to hear the whispers but I was a lot happier before it had been laid at my feet.

  "Protection from whom?" Anybody but the wolves, please. If I opened up that can of worms, it wouldn't be simply fixing a problem. I had too many raw nerves in that area and this was supposed to be my first day without booze?

  I still hadn't decided what to do about the situation with my mother. The wolves had killed her. I'd decided to drink that thought away for a while but if I was going to be sober now there would be no buffer left to disguise that issue. At some point, I'd have to deal with it and I wasn't ready yet.

  "The wolves."

  "Does Cormac know about this?"

  "I don't think he realizes how bad it's gotten."

  Or thinks that the humans should handle some of their own problems, was more like it. I wished I could turn a blind eye but there were kids probably going hungry because of this. I knew what it was like to go hungry.

  I'd decided to take my life into my own hands when I was thirteen. When you don't have a family calling the police and pressuring them to find you, it's not that hard to disappear. Laying low for a month was all it took to fall off the radar.

  The idea of kids being extorted for their food and …. I wasn't going to think about what else.

  "What about Vitor?" I asked. Vitor was my last ditch hope of staying out of this mess. Between the kids and my mother, the wolves were an emotional minefield.

  "Have you seen Vitor lately?" Buzz asked.

  Vitor was a walking disaster, and in a world full
of people barely hanging on to their sanity, if you stood out as worse than the rest, you were a hair away from Bedlam.

  I got to my feet and did a little hop, making sure my knee was in full working order first. Good as new.

  "Where's Rogo?"

  "He's on fourteen, holding court like usual. But you can't piss them off."

  I walked to my old ancient door and held it open, waiting for Buzz. "You came here wanting help. I'm helping, but it's going to be done my way. Do you want me to do something or not?" I offered him a choice that didn't exist. I was going, with or without him.

  "Maybe we should wait for Cormac?"

  "You just said Cormac is missing. If I don't handle this now they'll think it's a free for all whenever Cormac is gone."

  He started to follow me and I shut the door behind us.

  "Should we get Dodd?" he asked.

  "Nope," I said as we entered the busy stairwell. If magic was going to take the elevators, it should have at least added another staircase. The foot traffic could drive me back to drinking and I didn't even have my flask anymore.

  "But what about the bad blood with you and them?"

  "So you did think of that before dragging me into this. Thanks. And that's why we aren't getting Dodd. If we go to Rogo with a large entourage, it escalates it. It also makes him think I'm scared of him."

  "He is a little rough around the edges."

  "He's a show boater. I can handle him." I laid a hand on Buzz's arm. "Unless I'm on the verge of dying…don't step in. Just stand by me and look scary."

  "I'm not sure I did the right thing," Buzz mumbled under his breath.

  "Too late."

  I needed to assert myself over these thugs if I wanted any chance of getting this under control. With them, you were either an alpha or you were stepped on. I couldn't turn to Cormac for every problem and I didn't know if I would ever leave this place. If I was going to stay, I was determined to be a force to be reckoned with.

  I opened the door to the fourteenth floor. It was strange how each level, which used to be almost identical, now had its own flavor. Burrom's was mystical but slightly seedy, almost like how I would imagine an opium den.

  Rogo's floor, on the other hand, was like stepping into a boxing club. Testosterone ruled this floor. It didn't matter how many women there were, it screamed boys’ club. All the tank tops displaying bulging muscles pissed me off from the moment I hit the floor. Didn't any of them own a shirt with sleeves?

  No one guarded the entrance because no one in his or her right mind would want to be here.

  They all stared at Buzz and I, as we took a few steps into what they thought of as their domain. That was their first mistake. This place wasn't theirs. If they were a little smarter, they'd realize that most of the people here, unless you were a Keeper, were tools to Cormac. They had no power, but that sort of thinking came down from the top.

  Rogo thought their contribution made them special. They were as favored as the newest tool in the shed. And just like the tool, they would be used and abused and thrown to the curb when they had nothing left to give.

  "I need Rogo," I demanded of the first group of guys I neared.

  I got a couple sneers but one of them jerked his thumb toward the right. "Room sixty-nine."

  I rolled my eyes. It was so easy I didn't bother commenting. My sarcastic mockery deserved loftier targets.

  I walked past several open doors and tried not to look into any, no matter what odd noises I heard. I didn't want to see anything. I already had too many bad visions stored in my "I wish I hadn't seen that" mental album.

  The door marked sixty-nine was closed when we got there and I rapped my knuckles on the surface.

  When it cracked open, I recognized the face but couldn't recall the name.

  "What do you want?" the goon asked.

  I took a deep calming breath. Don't flip out, at least not yet. You need to get in the room and near Rogo. No more stupid decisions that don’t get you anywhere. Buzz, on the other hand, was ready to lose his shit completely and he was supposed to be the calm one.

  "I'd like to talk to Rogo."

  His eyes slowly worked down the length of me. By time they hit my waist, I'd had enough. There was being tactical and there was being a disrespected schmuck. "Now."

  A little of the mist seeped out of my mouth with the word. Anger. I had to remember the magic was linked to intense emotions. When I was upset around the humans, it might not be a good idea to speak. Right now, I was quite happy about it.

  It didn't affect him like the rippers or make him do anything, but it scared him enough to back away from the door and let us in.

  Not surprisingly, this was one of the suites as well, just as I'd expected. I looked around, eight men, four women. We were totally outnumbered. It was the story of my life. Why should this time be any different?

  Rogo was reclined in the corner, a part of the group but somehow slightly removed.

  "We need to talk," I said. There was a room off to the side. If he was going to play nice, he'd offer me privacy.

  "Go ahead," he said.

  He wasn't going to play nice. Fine by me. I felt many things about him, but nice wasn't on the list.

  The jackass didn't even bother standing and he eyed me up like I was wearing a mini skirt and halter top instead of jeans and a long sleeve tee.

  No problem. I walked over to him, stopping just within striking distance. If he caused a problem, I'd take the head off the snake.

  "Stop scaring the humans and then taking their food for protection."

  He snorted before he replied. "Why do you care about them? They hate your guts, or haven’t you noticed?" The room filled with laughter, everyone there knowing. It would be impossible not to. Living in this casino was like living in a small town with lots of little old ladies staring out their windows and gossiping every day.

  "They hate us all," Buzz said. I cringed, knowing the opening he'd just handed him.

  One, two, three…

  "Not like her. They like anyone better than her."

  There it was.

  "I don't care who likes who. I'm telling you to stop it."

  "Cormac's the big man." The way he said it wasn't flattering. "If he doesn’t like it, he can stop it."

  "You don't understand. This isn't a debate."

  Rogo finally decided to stand, thinking he could use his larger frame to intimidate me. If Cormac couldn't make that tactic work, Rogo had no shot. I felt Buzz move closer behind me but I threw him a look that told him he better stand down. I didn't want it to look like I needed protecting. I didn't.

  Rogo, at his full height, towered over me. It gave him the wrong impression that he had a chance of taking me down. He didn't. What felt like ages ago, I'd taken his predecessor down a couple of pegs and I'd take him down just as easily.

  He stepped in a little closer and I felt his hand cup my ass. I choked on my nausea as I let him pull me close to him.

  "Why's a pretty little thing like you running around playing cop anyway? You should be with a real man who knows what a girl like you needs, a man who could protect you."

  I laid a hand on his chest as if I were being compliant. Please, Buzz, just give me a minute. I turned my head down a moment, playing at being coy to buy time.

  Sweat started accumulating on his brow and his shirt grew moist. I got a little nervous I'd given him a bit too much umph. I knew the gist of what I was doing, swelling the cells in his chest near his heart, making it harder for the blood to flow, but I didn't have any real practice. Up until now, I'd just thought of it in theory. If I actually killed the guy, it might not look too good. I stopped quickly, hoping it hadn't been too much.

  He dropped his hands from me at almost the same time and tried to back away out of reach, but I just followed him backward.

  "What's wrong, Rogo? You not feeling good? You look a little pale and sweaty." My voice was pitched higher than I normally talked.

  He looked down at
me, the light in his eyes going off. He tried to shove me away but I locked my free arm around him while I kept my other hand near his shoulder, not too far from his heart.

  "What are you doing?"

  "Nothing," I think. "I thought we were just getting familiar with each other. Now that we’re all cozy, do I have your word you'll back off the humans, or do I have to get a little more personal, maybe a more permanent relationship, until you learn?"

  "I'll stop," he whispered, barely getting the words past his lips.

  "Somehow I knew you would." I let go and stepped back from Rogo. "Would anyone else care to get friendly?" I looked around the room, meeting each stare, assessing who had the balls to come for me at some later point. A slightly smaller wolf stood in the back of the room. He looked a little more scared than the others did. Petrified might have been a good description. I'd have to remember him and check into that.

  "Let's go," I said to Buzz.

  We walked from the room, wolves jumping out of the way to avoid me. The wolves in the hall had all planted themselves against the wall as we passed, proving they'd been eavesdropping.

  "If Cormac hears about this, when Cormac hears about this, he's going to have my head on a fucking platter," Buzz groaned next to me as we entered the stairwell.

  "Cormac doesn't own me and we aren't like that."

  "I am soooo fucked," he continued, ignoring me as he banged his head against wall.

  "Are you hearing me?"

  "Yeah…I know. You're not Cormac's. You and Cormac are nothing. Uh huh," he said but then banged his head again. "The only people that believe that are you and Cormac."

  I stopped and rested a hand on Buzz's shoulder and spoke in the nicest voice I could muster up after almost killing a man. "Can you stop banging your head before more people see you? It's not a good look."

  Luckily, he turned around and started acting normal before we entered the lobby and saw Crash. He stood in front of the spot the elevators used to be, no longer dressed in fatigues and in the bright lights of the casino. A couple thoughts popped into my head, competing for attention. One, couldn't we dim these things? We didn't have this kind of fuel to be wasting. The second was I hadn't realized Crash was good looking.