by Bonnie Vanak
She’d given her pursuer’s position. Good girl.
Kelly hooked a right and ran toward Shay. His twin was on her heels. Seeing Shay, Kelly dropped and rolled clear. Shay fired at his twin’s left thigh.
The Mage screamed and released a string of curses Shay knew too well as he clutched his leg and fell down.
Shay dragged him into the hotel lobby and searched his quarry. Kelly ran inside and shut and locked the door.
“Draw the curtains,” he ordered. He trained his gun on the fake Shay. “Where the hell are those kids?”
“I don’t know.” His twin was cursing as blood seeped between the fingers pressed against his leg. “Goddammit, that hurts, you bastard.”
Placing a foot on the man’s groin, he aimed the pistol at his other leg. “A shattered kneecap hurts worse. First, another bullet in your thigh, right into the muscle. Then a kneecap. I’ve got time and ammo. Tell me where the children are.”
Panic flared in the man’s hazel gaze. Shay felt disoriented, as if looking into a mirror image of himself.
It’s not you.
“You’ve got ten seconds. Nine, eight, seven...”
“They aren’t here,” the twin burst out. “They’re not even in the country!”
Behind him, Kelly gasped.
“Where. Are. They?”
“The master refused to tell me. My orders were to find you both and kill you but not damage your body too much. Her, it didn’t matter.” Shay’s twin pointed to Kelly.
Frustration and anger snaked through him. “Are they in the United States?”
No answer. Shay fired a bullet into his other thigh. The man screamed. Kelly paled but remained silent.
“Yes, but I don’t know where! Only the master knows.”
“Who set us up at the LZ? The admiral? Curt?”
“I’m just like you. I’ll never tell.”
Holding on to his fraying temper, Shay shook his head. “You’re too weak to pull this off alone. No matter how much you look like me, you’re not.”
“Fuck you.”
Shay retained his cool. No way would this bastard get under his skin. But the man’s expression shifted and turned crafty. A chill snaked down his spine. He knew the expression, knew what it meant. Had used it on the enemy before to interrogate. Find the weak spots...
“I may look like you, but I’m stronger. I’d never let a stupid yearly tradition weaken me. Sentimental rubbish.”
Shay went still.
“The one time of year when the big, bad navy SEAL turns to mush.” The other tilted his head as if listening. “I can hear the Christmas carols playing now. The favorites, of course. So pathetic. A ritual for rotting corpses.”
“Stop it,” Shay ordered. The knife in his heart gave a vicious twist.
“Pretty, shining, sparkling tinsel,” he murmured. “So festive, fluttering in the wind. His favorite. You couldn’t save him because you were too busy fucking that slut, so every year you invade the stores like the other losers. But you’re all alone, Samuel Shaymore, so sad and alone, celebrating a holiday no one will celebrate with you. Your father would be so ashamed....”
Fury and grief collided together, adrenaline shooting through his body. Shay pointed his weapon at the man’s face.
“Good thing he’s dead and you can’t disappoint him anymore.”
“Shut up,” he screamed.
“Sam, don’t let him do this to you.”
Shay glanced at Kelly and saw the pity and anger tightening her face. “Kelly, get back, now!”
“You went from rebelling against the old man to trying to make him proud. Do exactly as he would have wanted. That’s the only reason you became a SEAL. You rescue others but couldn’t save your own little brother.”
A beseeching look from his twin. “Please, Sammy, save me. Please, it’s hot. It’s so hot, and you promised to sing for me. You promised, you lied...”
“Oh, Sam,” Kelly whispered.
“Oh, Sam,” the other mocked. “You saved yourself and let them die.”
“Don’t listen to him. This bastard wanted you as a sacrifice because of your courage and honor, remember?”
Shay’s fingers curled tightly around his weapon. Courage. Honor. He was a U.S. Navy SEAL and a powerful Phantom Mage, not some ass-kicked whimpering fool....
He was a soldier, and no one caught him off guard....
Goddammit!
“Kelly, down,” he yelled, spying the move, seeing the stiletto the fake Shay fished out of one boot.
Shay dropped and fired as his twin threw the knife. The blade landed in the wall, where Kelly’s chest would have been.
Blood dribbled from the hole in his twin’s forehead as the man stared sightlessly at the ceiling. Shay put a finger against the man’s neck and checked his pulse to make certain.
This is what I’ll look like dead.
And then the corpse shimmered and shifted into a square-jawed man with features nothing like his, a body that had gone to fat. The duplicate’s true form.
Taking a deep breath, he expunged the grief and shame, purging it from his system.
“Sam, are you okay?”
“Fine,” he snapped. “Next time, listen to me when I tell you to stay back. Do I have to save your life twice?”
Hurt filled her wide blue eyes. Shay rubbed his nape. “I’m sorry, Kelly. But you need to listen to me when I give an order.”
Her gaze fell to the dead man. “We have to bury him before someone finds the body.”
“No need,” he said curtly. “Stand over there, by the door.”
Summoning his powers, he directed a sizzling current of energy at the corpse. It imploded, leaving behind a mound of gray ash. He went to the wall and leaned against it. Gods, he was exhausted.
Kelly placed a reassuring hand on his arm as he holstered the pistol. He hated how she kept looking at him as if expecting him to break down and cry.
Not him. That was saved for one precious day every year.
“We need answers,” he muttered, more to himself. “Someone here has to know something.”
“Even if we could question the villagers, it’s useless. They’re enchanted. There’s no way to break the spell.”
He remembered the book of spells. “Maybe there is.”
* * *
A hardened soldier walked beside her, gaze scanning the area, his muscled body tensed and coiled for action. When they reached the shop, they found the book of spells still open on the counter, and Sam slid on black gloves he’d found in his pack. With extreme care, he turned the pages. “The spell to enchant them has to be in this book, so the counterspell must be here, as well.”
Kelly shook her head. “You won’t find it like that. Every Arcane spell has a counterspell, but they’re hidden.”
She pointed to the spidery writing. “This is a book of darkness, so the opposite would be...”
“Light,” Sam finished.
Outside, he placed the book on the ground in the direct sunlight. Nothing happened.
And then she walked around the book to read it upside down. Faint writing appeared around the edges of each page.
“Here.”
Sam squinted and shook his head. “Singing chant. I can try this, but I’m no Arcane. I can’t carry the correct notes.”
“I can.”
Lifting her hands skyward, she closed her eyes. Power hummed through her body. She recited the spell, calling on the good, strong light to cast away the darkness of sleep holding the townspeople hostage.
Kelly opened her eyes and caught Sam’s sharpened gaze. “I felt something in the air. Let’s see if it worked.”
“Wait.” He knelt down and leafed through the pages. “We need to find a spell to
contain this book, keep the dark magick at bay.”
Sam scanned the pages and tapped the parchment. “Here’s a locking spell. Try this.”
Stunned, she stared at him. They’d been in such a hurry before, she’d failed to notice.
“Sam, this is a book for Arcanes. How can you read the spells? They should be obstructed to an Elemental. My ancestors guarded this book from your people.”
He glanced down. “I’ll be damned.”
Expression guarded, he touched the book. “Doesn’t matter now. Chant the spell and lock up the book. We need to take it with us.”
After, they gathered their packs and went into the street. People looked dazed as they stumbled down the sidewalks, shaking their heads as if dispelling a long sleep. Sam went still and swore.
Kelly’s heart dropped to her stomach.
The dark enchantment holding the townspeople hostage had cloaked them, as well. People of all ages and races walked the streets. Dark-skinned. Pale. She glimpsed a redheaded girl about her age accompanying an Asian boy. They looked like college students.
A golden haze surrounded each person. Kelly gasped.
“They’re not locals. They’re Elementals. How did they get here?”
His jaw turned to granite. “The rogue Arcanes probably rounded them up to make the mass extermination easier.”
Kelly stopped a woman wearing skinny jeans and a scoop-necked yellow shirt. She looked American and about eighteen years old. The girl hoisted her backpack, looked at her and smiled.
“Are you an Elemental?” Kelly asked in English.
The girl beamed. “You headed to the festival, too? Sweet. I heard there’s a record number of attendees this year. This town rocks. None of those slimy Arcanes for miles.”
The insult stung. “I’m an Arcane,” Kelly said.
Immediately the girl squinted, as if examining Kelly’s aura. Her expression changed. “What the hell do you want, bitch? I’m late meeting my friends.”
“Whoa.” Sam pushed himself between the girl and Kelly. “Easy now. We’re looking for answers. What brought you here?”
The girl’s eyes narrowed as she scanned him. “I can see your aura. You’re one of us.”
Wrinkling her nose, she skirted around Kelly. Okay, I’m not back in elementary school and this isn’t the popular girl tossing eggs at me. Still, it stung.
“It’s the Festival of Summer Solstice. We heard it was held in this town this year and decided to visit.”
“Then what?” Sam demanded.
“After backpacking across Central America, Bob and I came here. We joined up with friends from school, got a hotel and went to the restaurant for dinner. That was last night.”
The girl looked bewildered. “Wasn’t it?”
Sam smiled. “Go meet your friends. It’s fine now.”
As the girl rushed away, he gave Kelly a meaningful look. “The annual festival of the sun was four weeks ago.”
Her mouth went dry. “They’ve been here that long. Gods, how many weeks have these Arcanes planned this?”
“Maybe months, even years.”
“My agency never got any missing persons reports.” Kelly pointed to the girl scurrying away from them. “I’m sure she has parents who are worried about her.”
“Unless the parents are here. It’s a big village, and it’s an important festival to Mages.”
“Elementals,” she corrected. “Your people cull power from the four elements of earth, sun, sky and water. Mine can’t. Mine don’t celebrate the summer solstice.”
Sam’s gaze hardened. “And mine do, which made it easier for these rogues to lure them into a trap. Goddamn Arcanes. Damn them to hell.”
His words sliced her, jabbing deep. Seeing her face, he softened his expression. “I’m sorry, Kel. Spoke before I thought. Not all your people are like that.”
“For a moment, you sounded as if they were. And I’m one. What your people consider the enemy.”
His voice went husky. He stroked a finger down her cheek. “Not you.”
Kelly closed her eyes, relishing the tender touch. Remembering what they once shared. Time had crushed all her young hopes, replacing them with cold reality.
Her eyes snapped open. “Not me, Sam? Even though I belong to the group targeting your kind?”
Bleakness shadowed his face. “Sometimes I wish we could go back in time, when it was you and me, not Arcane and Elemental. Life was easier, Kelly.”
“But it isn’t now. We’re on opposite sides. When everything is said and done, I’m still Kelly Denning, Arcane.”
A hollow ache settled in her chest. “Always the enemy in the eyes of your people.”
His palm cupped her cheek. With a gentle thumb, he stroked over her skin, arousing feelings she tried so hard to bury. “Screw the labels. Arcane. Elemental. You’re Kelly Denning. A courageous and stubborn woman. When I pulled you from the room, thinking you were dead, part of me wanted to die, as well. I wasn’t thinking of what group you belong to, Kel. All I could think of was you.”
Kelly’s heart skipped a beat. “I’ve missed you, Sam,” she said, her voice catching.
This man had saved her life, had risked defying his lieutenant to save innocents. He was a true hero.
If only he could be hers once more. Once he had been. Could they ever go back again? Or would they always have their loyal alliances to their own people come first?
* * *
Stroking her cheek, Shay felt like drowning in her eyes. So sweet, pretty and seemingly fragile, yet inside Kelly was a core of solid steel.
Gods, he missed her with every single breath he drew into his lungs. For so long, he’d tried to forget her and erase her from his heart.
Didn’t work.
Now he told himself to concentrate on the mission.
Stepping away from her, Shay sent streams of white energy into the streets. Good, pure magick shot through the village, touching everyone inside.
He lowered his hands. “I sent an exposure shield through the town to protect the villagers. It’s not as powerful as I’d like, but it should suffice. With a small bonus.”
“Which is?” she challenged.
Shay rubbed the back of his neck. “Any Arcane will have an extremely visible aura to Elementals.”
Kelly turned over her palms, as if trying to discern her own natural aura. “Smacks of profiling to me.”
“I know,” he said gently. “But it’s the only way we can identify the Arcanes. We know what the potential enemy is, but not which ones.”
“Sam, you painted a bull’s-eye on my back. What if an Elemental decides on target practice?”
“They won’t, as long as you’re with me.”
“So as long as I’m with you, an Elemental, I’m okay. Because they’ll assume you’re restraining me. Like keeping a vicious dog on a leash.” Kelly bit her lip. “No matter what I do, or even how many of your people I save, I’ll never be free, will I? Your kind will always despise me. Use me, but hate me.”
Shay went still. Her stricken expression twisted his heart. She spoke the truth.
His gaze swept the streets, filled with the soft gold glow of Elemental auras. His people. The righteous ones, who thought themselves better than Arcanes. The thought disgusted him.
“You’re right. They will never value you for who you are, Kel. I can’t promise things will change. But I will promise to do everything in my power to convince my people of how wrong they are. Until then, I need you to stick close to me.”
Something in his chest eased. He released a deep breath.
And what about later, when he had to turn her over to the authorities? Could he make the pigheaded council listen to reason?
Somehow, he must. Because not only Kelly’s life
depended on it, but that of her entire people.
They went to a small restaurant, where Kelly ordered tea. Outside, he called Dakota, relieved to finally contact his lieutenant.
Shay quickly explained what had happened.
His lieutenant’s voice crackled over the phone. “Plans have changed. Get your ass on the next flight from Tegus with Kelly until we figure out what the hell is going on.”
“No way, LT. Too dangerous on these roads at night. We’ll leave tomorrow.” Shay told him about the village filled with Elemental Mages.
“And you’re a target. Stay out of sight. Need a safe house?” Dakota asked.
Shay closed his eyes, leaning his forehead against the lamppost. He remembered one place no one would ever look for them. “Got it. Need a car, though. Have one waiting for me at the Atlanta airport.”
“We’re finishing up here, cutting this training op short.” Dakota hesitated. “Take good care of her, Shay. Kelly is our only link to this, and if something happens to her, we’re screwed. No one else can see the Death Mask.”
He hung up and then made a reservation on his cell. Then he returned to Kelly and tossed some lemps on the table. “Dakota officially ordered me to take good care of you.”
“Forget me. We have to find those kids, and they’re back in the States.”
“We’ll find them. We’ll get a room for tonight and head out tomorrow. I booked us on the afternoon flight from Tegus to Miami and then Miami to Atlanta.”
As she started to protest he put a finger against her lips. “It’s getting late and I’m not risking driving in the dark and running into another Arcane itching to kill you.”
A morass of politics muddied everything. Soon as they returned to the States, Shay knew the council would be riding his ass to hand Kelly over to its custody.
Chapter 16
Sam clearly had no intentions of leaving her alone. Placing a proprietary hand on the small of her back, he scanned the crowd as they walked the cracked sidewalk paralleling the main street. Seeing his scowl, and the pistol he now carried openly, Elementals gave them a wide berth.
He booked them into a single room in a small hotel in a private cul-de-sac. Frying peppers and onions from the little restaurant downstairs scented the air as they climbed the narrow staircase. Inside the room, he set down their packs. Kelly gazed at the sapphire-and-emerald-embroidered quilt on the wide bed.
