“Yeah, that’s dad for you.” Cross’ words echoed my thoughts about my own father. But I never knew my father, or grew up with him. Cross was literally raised by the man who helped my greatest enemy. When he continued looking at the ground, I could almost see him waiting for us to send him packing.
“Let me ask you this—”
“No, I am not part of his cause. No, I’m not as evil as he is. And no, I will not tell him what’s going on here,” he snapped at me, then held his chin higher, as though waiting for me to insult him and his family, but I was not one to talk.
“Um, okay. That wasn’t what I was going to ask.” I rose from the cot and grabbed up a swath of fabric from Tuck’s bedside and ran it across his forehead, dabbing away his fever. When I glanced up, Cross’ jaw dropped.
“Okay, what were you going to ask me?”
“Why does your father support m…” I nearly said mine. “Alataris?”
Cross’ brow furrowed. “Oh, um, I think because he’s from an old-school way of thinking. You know, warlocks traditionally think those of us who have magic in our blood are superior in some way.” He lowered his voice. “They lean toward dark magic to get what they want.”
“So why would you help us? I’m not saying I don’t trust you.” I didn’t. “Or that you’ll betray us.” He might. “But why would you help us with your dad and Alataris?”
His gold eyes met mine, and I swore I could see myself in them. “Because, Zin, some of us can’t choose who our parents are, can we?”
In that moment, I knew two things. First, Cross Malback knew exactly who my father was, and second, I couldn’t trust him worth a damn, but he was all I had. “In that case, what do you suggest we do?”
“Grab my father instead. He’ll be much easier to take, and he’ll know the hex for sure.” He crossed his arms over his chest, looking as confident as ever.
Nova stepped between us. “You can’t be serious. Kidnap Alataris’ right-hand guy? Are you people out of your minds?”
I shook my head. I honestly saw her point, but… “Desperate times call for desperate measures.” I dabbed at Tuck’s head once more before I dropped the rag and took my seat next to him. I turned back to Cross. “If you were going to grab him, then how would you do it?”
“I’d take him at the black market. He goes every Tuesday evening, and today just happens to be Tuesday.” He shrugged.
This could be a trap. We could all fall to Alataris tonight because of Cross. But it was chance I wanted to take. “Where’s the black market?”
“Zin, you can’t be serious.” Grayson stood straight and buttoned his jacket. “This could go wrong in so many ways, love. Are you sure it’s worth the try?”
“Is it worth the try?” My blood boiled in my veins. “I don’t see any of us coming up with a better idea. Do you? Look at him, Gray. Just look!” I motioned to where Tucker lay unconscious and fighting for every breath he took. His cheeks were hollow, and his lips were as pale as his skin. “We have no time left. It’s now or never.”
Cross rose from his spot on his cot. “Beckett knows where the market is, don’t you, Becks?”
All eyes swung toward him, and he narrowed his gaze at Cross. “I’m sure I can find it just fine.”
When Cross turned for the door, I called out after him. “Wait. How will we know where to find him?”
“There’s a specific herb my dad is looking for, and there’s only one guy who will have it. Ali Chantra. You’ll see his stand when you get there.” He spun around and headed for the door.
“Hey, Cross, why are you helping us get your dad?” I had to know.
“Let’s just say the pretty blonde he’ll be with is not my mom. He’s got it coming to him.” Before I could ask him anything else, he disappeared behind the doors.
I shot to my feet and marched out behind him. “Okay, people. We are doing this. If you’re in, I’ll meet you in the basement. If you’re out, stay here and watch Tuck. It’s time to save our leader.”
Chapter 11
Zinnia
The black market was anything but black. I expected shady knife-wielding characters in dark tents covered in masks…I was wrong. The market was unlike anything I’d ever seen before. It rose up in the middle of the desert and was completely hidden from the human eye. But the architecture was as old as any I’d ever seen in pictures of the Middle East. Each building held an array of browns that camouflaged with the surrounding desert. The limestone and mud structures formed a large main avenue, with tents and awnings in a rainbow of brightness.
Baskets of herbs and brightly-colored crystals lined the streets. Animals I’d never seen in the human world rattled about in cages. Something hissed at me as I passed its cage, baring its razor-sharp teeth at me. I leaned in closer, and a small lizard with an umbrella for a neck ran at the thin wooden bars and slammed its face into them. Then it scurried back. “Hey there, little guy.”
“Zinnia.” Nova wrapped her hand around my arm and yanked me back.
“Wha—?” Just then, a ball of fire exploded out of the cage. The heat licked at my face as the small pillow of fire floated up and out of view. “Wow, thanks?”
Nova tucked her hair behind her ear. “No problem.”
I knew I’d been a wild card lately, but I couldn’t stop myself. Tuck was all that mattered. But through this whole thing, Nova had been by my side, a silent comforting presence I needed. She’d even given me the right clothing I needed to blend in here. The colorful sari fell from my hips to the ground. When I’d originally put the soft dress on, I didn’t think I’d blend in, and bright yellow wasn’t my color. But the red beads that adorned the hem of my skirt covered my combat boots perfectly, and only some of my stomach showed below the crop top. Stick-on jewels lined my eyebrows and the corners of my eyes. “Remind me again why we have to wear this.”
Nova turned in her normal black goth clothing for a violet sari that covered her from head to toe, including her white-blond hair. “Because if we show up here in our normal clothes, they’ll know something is up with teenagers in leather leggings and combat boots. This place caters to all types of magical people, but for where we are going, we either need to blend in with the locals or embrace our darker sides and warlock ourselves up. I opted for locals. It’s less intimidating.”
“Ah, but what about your gloves?” I motioned to them.
She shrugged. “It works. What can I say?”
It didn’t work, but I wasn’t going to say anything else. At some point, she would tell me her secrets. “Where’s everyone else?”
Her dark eyes darted upward. “Exactly where they’re supposed to be. Beckett and Grayson are watching from the rooftops. Serrina and Tabi are just behind us, and Brax is up ahead.”
I didn’t dare look at any of them. I closed my eyes for a brief second and could feel all their powers around me. The colors of their magic danced behind my eyes, Nova’s purple, Serrina’s red, and Tabi’s yellow. Even Adrienne, our substitute queen, had a faint blue glow. The guardians were a whole other old energy I didn’t understand but felt all the same. “Where is this place at?”
“Beckett said we would know it by the big purple awning with a golden ring of fire embordered into it.”
I scanned the busy streets, looking at each tent, every piece of fabric I could lay my eyes on. Under my sari, my body quaked with nerves. This was our last chance. How many more times would I get to save Tuck’s life? This was it. It had to work.
Nova pressed her hand to my arm. “This will work.”
I couldn’t say for sure that it would. When I turned back toward the end of the street, there stood a small flag with a tiny flaming circle embordered into it and an arrow pointing down a dark alley. Of course it’s down a dark alley. I stepped forward. “Come on. This way.”
Nova moved to my side as we turned in the direction the arrow pointed. I threw my shoulders back and held my head high. No warlock would show fear to walk in here, and I wouldn’t either
. The buildings rose up so high they blocked the scorching sun and cast us into shadows. The vibrancy of the main street was all but forgotten. Beggars huddled on the ground, while small broken-down tables held object I felt held the darkest of magic. I wrapped my hand around Nova’s elbow and pulled her next to me. “There at the end.”
I wanted this tent to be bright violet with golden symbols. What I got was dingy scrap of fabric with a faded gold ripped circle on it. The merchant behind the wooden planked table barely glanced up from the onyx stone he was polishing in his hand. “What you want?”
His Middle Eastern accent was thick and rolling. The way he spit his words at me made me feel as though I was more an ant under his shoe than a paying customer. At five-foot-eight, he only stood four inches taller than me, though his paunch of a stomach hung well over his waistline, giving him at least seventy-five pounds extra over me. I pulled the picture of the orchid that I’d ripped from the book out from between the folds of my dress. “I seek the seeds of this flower.” I tossed the paper out onto the countertop.
The man rolled his eyes and sighed before he grabbed it up then flattened it out. He took one look at the paper and rolled his beady little eyes. “Don’t have it.”
“Look again.” I spoke through gritted teeth. If this scum had the flower then we could avoid going after Dario all together, if not. Then we would have to proceed as planned.
He held the picture up, glanced at it, then crumpled it up into a ball and used it to wipe the sweat from his oily round face. “Go away, little girl. I have no time for games.”
Proceed as planned it is.
Another smaller person came up beside us. Judging from how small they were, I thought it was a woman, but I couldn’t tell. She was covered from head to toe with a black mask, dark black pants and a black shirt hanging loose on her body. A large sword stuck out from the holder around her tiny waist.
He turned his attention toward her. “Can I help you?”
She gave me a sideways glance, then answered. “I need twenty death caps.”
“Any size? Color?” He smiled at her. He actually smiled. All this time, he’d given us not even a glance.
“Surprise me.” She reached across the table and snatched a crystal from a small sack on the table and tossed it up in the air and caught it. “This too.”
He inclined his head in toward her in a bow of respect. “Anything for you.”
No time for games. That was it! Rage flooded my veins hot and heavy. I shoved the smaller woman to the side and leapt over the table, drawing my blade. I shoved the merchant through the flaps of his tent and up against the wall. I pressed my blade to his throat, nicking his skin enough so his blood would drip onto the sharp edge. “I’m so glad I got your attention now.”
Nova shoved into the tent behind me. “Drop your sword!”
“What?” I shoved into him harder. “I’m not letting him go.”
“Not you, him.” She moved right next to me and yanked a sword from his hand, a sword I hadn’t seen.
I tilted my head, wanting for the first time to pull the blade across his skin to punish him. Instead, I let my magic slither over my body in swirling streams of silver that wound down my arm toward the weapon I pressed to his neck. My magic turned into thick bands. In my mind, I saw them as two cobras ready to strike. Then it formed into exactly what I wanted. Silver metallic cobra heads lifted up off my arm and stopped inches from his face.
Their mouths hung open, and a low hiss erupted from each of them. The man held his hands up. “I tell the truth. I have no orchid poppy seeds.”
“Good thing that’s not what we’re here for.” I let my magical snakes slide from my arms and around his neck.
“What do you want?” His eyes bulged from his head.
“Dario Malback will be here at any moment. I want him.”
The merchant shook his head back and forth. “If I do that, I die.”
Nova shoved in beside me and pulled one of her gloves off. Her fingers hovered over his cheek, and her voice went low, hypnotic, threating. “Imagine if you will, knowing exactly how you’re going to die. But never knowing when. Living your whole life running from death, knowing you can’t change the way it’s going to happen. Will you die an old man in a bed surrounded by family, or will your…?” She glanced around the dark tent. “Your shady dealings finally catch up to you? One touch. With only one touch, your fate will be sealed.”
He whimpered but pressed his lips together.
“Hold him still. This is going to hurt. And after that, I hope it doesn’t drive you to madness.” She rose up on her tiptoes and stared him in the eye. “Because it has to all those who have come before you.”
The flaps to the tent flew open, and Beckett shoved his way through. “What are you two doing?”
“Getting results,” Nova snapped back at him.
“This isn’t how we do things.” He reached out toward Nova, about to grab her hand.
“Don’t touch her!” I kicked my leg back just enough to block him from touching her. Beckett held his hands out in surrender. I glanced over my shoulder at him. “Trust me, you don’t want to.”
The merchant leaned away from Nova, but my magical snakes pulled him back toward her. He turned his head away. “What do I have to do?”
A slow smile spread across my lips. “All you have to do is bring him back here. Leave the rest to us.”
He closed his eyes and sighed. “Deal.”
Chapter 12
Nova
“This is going to work. I know it.” I crossed my arms and leaned back up against the wall in the back of the tent. If the tent hadn’t been pushed up against a building, I would’ve fallen right through. Each wall was covered by the faded purple fabric. A thread bare carpet barely covered the hard-packed dirt floor.
Zinnia paced back and forth. “I need this to work.”
“I know you do. And I think this will.” I wanted to reassure her, to promise everything would be okay. But I didn’t know if it would be.
She looked down at my gloves and back up to my face. “Is that why you wear the gloves? So you don’t see people’s deaths?”
It wasn’t something I liked to talk about now or ever, but she’d seen me do it, and I couldn’t not answer her. “Yeah.”
“How does it work?” She stopped pacing and leaned up against the wall next to me. “Like, how did it start?”
“It started when I was a little kid. First with my pets. I’d pet them and then I could see it so clearly how they would die, and no matter how hard I tried to change it, death would always come for them.” I didn’t want to cry. Not now, not ever. But I had cried for every single death I couldn’t prevent.
Zinnia rested her hand on my shoulder. “I’m sorry you had to go through that.”
“We all have our burdens to bear.”
“Is it only in your hands, or is it all over?” She slowly lifted her hand from my shoulder. It was a reaction I’d grown so used to. People didn’t want to know about their death. I understood that. If they knew how they would die, then their lives would be consumed with a way to try and stop it.
I nodded. “Only on my hands, the front and back. I guess that was kind of a blessing, huh?”
Zinnia threw her arm over my shoulder. “Well, I’m not scared of you, so there’s that.”
I didn’t think she’d be so easy going about it. I leaned into her and bumped her with my hip. “At least now you know I can threaten people with the best of them. I mean, magical cobras were pretty badass too.”
She shrugged. “Nah, it was you who threw him over the edge.” She lifted her arm and moved to the tent flap. “Do you think Beckett will forgive us?”
“I think Beckett has his own set of secrets to keep and ours are nothing compared to this. It’s true what you said. We all have our things.”
Zinnia waved her hand behind her. “He’s coming.” She peeked over her shoulder at me. “And you should see his mistress. She looks like
a bleach blonde Playboy playmate from the eighties. Huge blonde hair. I mean, huge. And let’s just say her chest matches the hair.”
She dropped the flap and took a few steps back. “When he comes in, I’ll have to drain as much of his power as possible. Then you do your thing, okay?”
I pulled my swords from beneath my skirts and held them loose at my sides. “I’m ready.”
Zinnia stood as still as stone with her magic swirling around her. Her wild midnight locks crackled with power. My own rose to match hers, and purple sparks flew from my fingertips. Two queens ready to take down the right hand of an evil king. What could go wrong?
Chapter 13
Zinnia
My magic pulsed around my body. It was ramped up by my uncontrollable nerves. Outside the tent, I watch as Dario beamed and cooed at his mistress. I could see why Cross wouldn’t mind us capturing his father for a while. She was slightly smaller than him but only by an inch or two. What she lacked in height her hair made up for. A tight corset synched her waist in and pushed her breasts up to the point of almost choking her. Red velvet pants encased her legs like sausages. Each time he presented her with some gem or crystal, she giggled and nodded, and he would dump them into her purse.
I motioned for Nova to come up beside me. “Look at this.”
Nova grabbed a corner of the tent and peeked through. “He’s spending a small fortune on her.”
“I’m guessing he has it to spend.” I rolled my eyes. Dario Malback was exactly how I remembered him. His long black hair fell back from a widow’s peak at the top of his head all the way below the middle of his back. A leather cord bound his hair at the nape of his neck. Though he wore a black leather jacket, it was styled like a suit coat, which seemed like a contradiction to me, and even worse were the matching pants.
The merchant motioned for Dario to follow him into the tent. “If you’ll just follow me this way, sir. I have the herbs which you ordered the last time you were here.”
Wicked Hex (The Royals: Witch Court Book 3) Page 7
