“Harper?”
“No, Virginia,” she scoffed with a nervous laugh.
“Harper’s fine. Knowing her, she’s probably got Chance at her side.”
“Do you think they’d let Chance in?”
“I doubt she would let them bring her down here without some kind of bodyguard.” He looked away, but not before she caught a glimpse of the worry in his eyes. The speed of his footsteps increased.
She hurried to stay beside him. “What do you think they would do to us if they find out that we are running around headquarters, or they find Devon in our room?”
“I think it’s better if we don’t find out.”
She tried to shrug off the feeling of malevolence that spread through her as they made their way into the dining hall.
Sitting at the far table was a group of men and women, making Starling forget about her dreams of food. The group of people looked up at them.
“What are you doing?” a man with a southern accent asked as he stood up.
Starling stopped and started to turn on her heel. They shouldn’t have come this way. They should have kept to the shadows and avoided anywhere they could run into the shifters. Her body tingled with fear.
Jasper laid his hand on the small of her back. “Just stay quiet,” he whispered, with a reassuring pat. “We’ll get out of this.”
The vulture man walked toward them. “Hear me? What’re y’all doing?”
Starling tensed, ready for a fight.
“We were just on the way to sanctuary. Got a little lost.”
“I’d say. And you guys are late. They started twenty minutes ago,” the man said. “Where y’all from?” he asked as he led them out of the dining hall through a far door.
“Idaho,” Jasper said.
“That’s great. Glad y’all could make it down for the meeting. This is a big one—could change it all.” The man glanced over at her. “Which way you gonna vote?”
What could she possibly say that wouldn’t draw the man’s suspicion? She swallowed back the lump in her throat. “There’s only one vote, am I right?” She gave a nervous laugh.
“Right. Right.” The man nodded. “That Virginia is a crazy bitch. We can’t let her get what she wants from the council.”
“You got that right,” Jasper said. “You have any idea how the voting is going to play out?”
The man walked them down a hall. “It’s hard to say.” He shrugged. “Right now she has a lot of support from the local group. They want blood for everything that has happened with the nymphs. But for the rest of us … well, you know.”
No, she didn’t, but now was hardly the time to ask. “The nymphs aren’t to blame. It was Dr. Redbird who started that war.”
The shifter turned and looked at her with a raised brow. “I agree. Virginia’s sister was just as crazy, but this war has been a long time coming. The old nymph president had given her word to work with us. I don’t care if they overthrew their president—they should follow through on their agreements.”
What was he talking about? Was all this the former leader of the Sisterhood, Katarina’s, fault? Had Katarina made some kind of deal with the vultures? What other deals had she made? More than that, if Kat had made a deal, it meant Ariadne must have known, or at the very least she must have found out. Why hadn’t she told the Sisterhood? Or why had the Sisterhood left the rest of the nymphs in the dark?
“I agree. Deals are important, but Dr. Redbird took it too far,” Jasper said, running his fingers over the bruise under his eye.
“There’s no question about that, but you know her—act first, think later.” He stopped outside of a large black door. “She’s just like her sister. If it hadn’t been for Virginia, we would have never had the problems we do now. It’s just a damn fine thing that we have President Kitchings—without him we would have never gotten our hands on the bank. We would still be struggling to meet our financial needs.”
“Absolutely,” Starling said. So this was the story behind those hundreds of websites she found in her search for the lockbox that had cited the former bank with fraud. “The vultures had something to do with the bank’s takedown?” As soon as the words fell from her lips, Jasper cringed.
“What?” the man said, a shocked look on his face. “We took a vote five years ago. We set them up to take a fall. Don’t you remember?”
“I’m sure you remember, don’t you?” Jasper gripped her shoulder like she was a good friend … who had made a fatal mistake.
“I’m such a moron sometimes. I just forgot!” Starling replied, her tone two octaves too high. She gave another nervous laugh. It was a good thing she never wanted to be a professional gambler; cool and collected would never be her strong suit.
The man stared at her like he was trying to read her mind. “The sanctuary is that way,” he said, pointing vaguely down the hall.
If the group had the power to take down a national bank, it was hard to think of a way she and Jasper could make it out of their headquarters. She could feel the possibility of survival slipping out of her grasp.
Jasper stepped forward and put his hand on the doorknob. “Thanks for showing us the way to the sanctuary. Appreciate your help.”
“Mmm hmm,” the man replied as he continued to stare. He glanced over at Jasper. “Why don’t I walk you in? Hate for you two to get lost again.”
The way he talked made her skin prickle with nervousness. She slipped out of Jasper’s grasp.
“We’ll be fine, really.” She stepped next to the man and put her hand over his. “We have everything under control.” The energy seeped out of her, the warmth reminding her of the way it felt to shift into her swan form, but different, more intense. “Why don’t you stay here, make sure no one comes or goes from the room?” She reached up with her other hand and ran her finger over the weak line of his jaw.
His eyes widened as her spell took effect. “What’s your name?” he asked, his voice low and sultry.
“Don’t worry, sweetheart. Just remember that you must protect me and my friend. No matter what you hear, do not enter the room. Just wait for us to return. Understand?”
“Yes, ma’am.” The man leaned in, taking in a long inhale. “You smell like magnolias. I love magnolias.”
She sniffed but smelled nothing but the dank, earthy scent of the underground lair. “Watch the doors.”
She glanced over at Jasper. His eyes had widened, but it wasn’t like the last time she’d used her gift with Devon. This time, Jasper’s mouth hadn’t grown slack. Perhaps he was more immune to her charms or, just maybe, she had gotten more control over her ability for seduction. She hoped for the latter.
The man walked over to a keypad on the wall by the doors and entered a few numbers. The door buzzed. “Here, let me get that for you,” he said, stepping between Starling and Jasper as if he didn’t even realize there was another person in the hall.
The door squeaked as he pulled it open, exposing a long, entrance hall that looked eerily similar to the one she had snuck into from the mausoleum. There was row after row of pictures of former presidents and vice presidents, but nothing else to give away the significance of the place.
She walked through the entrance, Jasper close at her heels. On their left were three doors identical to the ones on their right. “What do you think is in here?”
“I don’t know, but this place is a helluva lot bigger than what I thought. There could be thousands of Catharterians.”
“At least we know Walter and his men have left.”
“But there could be many more. I underestimated their power.”
The ball in her stomach tightened as he voiced her fear. “Devon made it sound like it was only going to be Virginia and Harper. Let’s hope they are the only ones here.”
“Sure, but the people in the dining hall hinted this was a huge meeting of superiors. Do you think Virginia was going to tell them about us?”
“I have no idea, but we better get to Harper before they
figure out she doesn’t have any more GX 149 to offer—otherwise there are going to be three of us who don’t make it out of here.”
They moved down the hall as Starling listened for any sound. Nearing the middle door on their right, she was met by the quiet murmur of women talking. “There’s really no need,” Virginia’s rasping voice echoed out into the corridor. “Devon will be along any time. What harm can a barely legal nymph and her Neanderthal of a bodyguard do?”
“You’re right, Ms. Virginia,” a man answered.
“I’ve heard that voice,” Jasper whispered. “It’s the man who took me hostage. The old guy.”
“Do you think we should go back and search for the president? Maybe the guy outside the doors could tell him where we could find him?”
“Why would we do that?”
“If Virginia is keeping secrets from him, maybe we can use her sedition to our advantage.”
“I think we’re damned if we do and damned if we don’t. There’s no telling what the president will do to us if he finds out we are here—Virginia might be the weaker link, as hard as that is to believe. If we can just take her and her goon squad down, we might have a chance.”
“That doesn’t move us any closer to finding the books, Jasper.”
“Right … the damned books.”
“They’re not just some damned books. Those books are the only chance I have not to lose my mind as soon as we get out of here. Without them I’ll never be able to get a handle on the spirits—and what happens if you or someone else I lo—” She stopped mid-word. “I mean, care about, is possessed? I can’t go through that again.”
His eyes softened as he gazed at her. The oasis of blue had disappeared, leaving only a glimpse of light in the darkness of his eyes. “Starling, what if we don’t get those books?”
“Then I’m as good as dead—either I will go crazy or one of the spirits will take me down. Asclepius made it more than clear that they wouldn’t leave me alone until I got the books—I think they need them as badly as I do. If I go above without them, it is hard to tell what they will do to me.”
Jasper wrapped his arm around her and nuzzled her hair. He took in a long breath. Being that close to him made tears well in her eyes. So many things could go wrong. This could be the last time they would have the chance to be together. And even if they made it out of here, they could never be together, thanks to her curse. She sank into his arms, letting the heat of his touch melt into a memory.
“Don’t worry, sweetheart. I will get the books for you. No matter what it takes. But first we need to find out if Harper is in there or if Devon was only bluffing.”
The voices on the other side of the door grew louder and the door handle shifted. Starling started to move toward the door, but Jasper held on, stopping her from advancing. “This way,” he said, pointing in the opposite direction down the hall.
She took a step toward Jasper as the door opened. He pushed her behind him, shielding her from whatever or whoever was behind the door.
“Just keep Kitchings away from here. Got it?” Virginia’s shrill voice pitched into the hall.
“No prob—” the man paused. “What in the holy hell?”
Starling stepped out from behind Jasper to see a bald old man, his eyes squinted and his nostrils flared with rage.
“What is it, Jim?”
“Our guests are here, without their keeper.”
“What?” Virginia stepped out into the hallway and she stared at them. “Where’s Devon?”
The man’s lips pulled back into a sneering smile. “Y’all didn’t touch our boy, did ya?”
“Not at all. I think he was just getting tired of your company,” Starling said.
“Shut up. Where’s Devon?” Virginia repeated the man’s question.
“I have no idea,” Jasper answered.
“I told you we couldn’t trust him. He only wanted in that lil tramp’s pants. He never really believed in the cause,” Jim grumbled.
“Shut up, Jim. Devon would never turn against us.”
“Walter did. What if he’s with Kitchings now? What if he’s tellin’ him all about our plan?”
“I said shut up, Jim.” Virginia turned toward him, her lips turned up like a growling dog. “Walter is gone. He told me he was leaving.”
“Is Harper here?” Starling asked, trying not to let the rising tide of fear crash over into her voice.
Virginia’s eyes narrowed into tight slits. “She will be arriving any minute. There was a slight hiccup in her arrival.”
“Is she okay?” Starling pressed.
“If I were you,” Virginia said, her tone low and menacing, “I would be more worried about myself.”
“Well, that is the difference between you and me, Virginia,” she said, summoning every ounce of her courage. “I care more about others than about myself.”
“That’s fine, but that stupidity is very close to getting you killed.”
A wiggle of hope stole through Starling. Maybe Harper had done the right thing and not allowed herself to be put in danger with the Catharterians—or better yet, maybe she had started taking them down. Starling smiled as she thought of Harper breaking into headquarters, guns ablaze.
Chapter Nineteen
Inadequate wasn’t just a state of being. No, for Jasper it was all encompassing. He had never felt so helpless, but then again he’d never been held hostage in an underground headquarters. At least he could take a small amount of comfort in the fact that Virginia had chosen not to tie him to a chair as Jim had done.
Yet, there was little comfort in the cardboard box-sized room. He, Virginia, and Starling could barely squeeze around the desk without each of them touching elbows.
“This is one hell of a sanctuary,” he grumbled.
“This isn’t the sanctuary,” Virginia said. “This is my office.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me. They have one empty room after another, but they find the smallest of all of them and give it to you? Either you are a college professor or someone out there hates you.”
Virginia answered him with a glare. Opening a drawer, she pulled out a black cloak that matched his and Starling’s. “As soon as Jim gets back with Devon, I will join the rest of the council—they are already having their meeting. If everything goes according to plan, they will see the value in my proposal. From there, we will swing the vote my way and then begin the fertility treatments.”
“Does that mean you will let us go?” Starling asked.
“I told you,” Virginia closed the desk’s drawer. “I need proof that it works. Until then, you will have to stay with us. If the drugs you give us fail, then we will have to take other, more invasive measures to study what in your chemistry allows the drugs to work.”
“That won’t happen.” Jasper slammed his fist down on Virginia’s desk. “Once you get the drugs from Harper you have to let us go.”
“I don’t have to do anything. Did you forget that you are a prisoner here? You have no rights … not even to live. In fact, you’re lucky that I have allowed you to live this long, Jasper.”
Some of his anger seeped out. She was right. Why had they let him live so long?
“You need me,” he countered.
Virginia laughed. “Why would we need some worthless bodyguard?”
“He’s not worthless,” Starling said with a jerk.
“Really? He’s failed to save you every time you needed him. In fact, even now, he’s done nothing to help you.” Virginia dropped the cloak into her lap. “If we had bodyguards as bad as yours, we’d all be dead.”
His laughter exploded deep from his core. “No matter how good your bodyguards are, they won’t be able keep you alive. After we get out of here, I will make sure that you die.”
“Then I have nothing to worry about.”
The door to the office flew open. “What in the hell are you doing, Virginia?” A man burst in, his black cloak pulled tightly over his stout belly. His face was long and rou
nd and pulled into an angry pucker. “I told you to stay the hell out of this mess.”
The man stopped and stared at Jasper and Starling. “You have got to be kidding me. I thought Devon had just gone off his rocker.”
“What happened to Devon?” Virginia blanched.
“Our guards found him walking down the dorm hall. He was acting crazy; talking nonsense about a nymph and her bodyguard being inside the walls of headquarters. He even hit one of the guards when they tried to restrain him. Kept repeating how he was looking for his nymph.”
Virginia glanced over at Starling.
“It wasn’t hard to connect the dots, Virginia.” The man seethed. “I told you not to do anything stupid. Yet, here we are. Once again.” He stared at Starling as he took deep, long breaths followed with even longer exhales as he tried to calm his temper. “Now, I can assume that as this woman isn’t one of us, she must be the nymph, Starling, that Devon was talking about.”
Virginia jumped to her feet. “Steve, it’s not what you think. Really.”
“How is this not what I think it is? I told you to stay the fuck away from the nymphs. I told you we would find another way. But no, you and your shoot-now-ask-questions-later attitude is the reason that I’m voting to have you removed from your role as vice president.”
“Steve, you don’t understand … ”
“Don’t call me Steve. I’m the president. You lost any right to call me Steve when I moved out of our marital bed. Did you really think you could get me back by going rogue? We had a strategy. The council voted on a strategy.”
“Just give me a chance.”
“Your chances disappeared when you went against us … Damn it, you went against me.”
Virginia’s face turned from white to a pale green. “President Kitchings, I wanted to bring it up to the council at today’s meeting. I have a plan. You just need to listen.”
“Shut your mouth. You are nothing but a pain in my ass. Put on your cloak. I will meet you and your friends,” he said, motioning toward Jasper and Starling, “in the sanctuary. You have two minutes. If you’re late, I will have you taken care of.”
“You wouldn’t go against the council. You need a full vote to strip me of my position … or my life.”
The Nymph's Curse: The Collection Page 74
