I blew out an irritated breath and gave them my hardest stare, complete with the eyebrow raise that profoundly said I wasn’t one to mess with. A look that didn’t faze them.
“I’m relieving you of your duties,” I said as I attempted to move past the body barricade they’d put in front of me.
“That can only be done by Mr. Westin,” said one of the guards. And that wasn’t likely to happen.
They held identical looks of frustration when I attempted to go out the back door only to find them waiting for me. Their eyes were onyx abysses. We were deadlocked, and they returned the same hard glare I gave them tenfold. Even when they finally broke their rigid scowls to smile when they caught me trying to leave out the back for the second time, it was a lethally amused look—cats playing with a mouse.
I accepted that I wasn’t going to get rid of these guys. Once we were on the curb they took one look at my Ford Focus and frowned. Even if the drive to Kalen’s was only forty-five minutes it was going to be an uncomfortable one for them. Even with my height I found it difficult to get the legroom I needed.
“You can follow me,” I offered.
They looked at each other for a brief moment, their eyes narrowed in suspicion as they looked at the car and then to the SUV that was parked behind me.
“Look, I understand this is going to happen. Why should you be uncomfortable? It’s not like you don’t know where I’m going. I’m going to stop by SG headquarters first, then I’m going to head to work. I have no doubts that you know where both of those places are, and if you need to you can track me in the city.” I wasn’t sure if they could track me, something that Gareth could do which I found simultaneously intriguing and creepy.
It didn’t take very long for them to decide to drive the SUV. And even if I had assumed I was going to get away from them, they tailed me so closely it was impossible to do. Since my run-in with the Trackers I’d begun taking a different route, one that had more traffic, but at least I didn’t have to worry about another orchestrated attack.
Four blocks away from SG headquarters, panicked screams rang so loudly I could hear them over the music I’d been blaring. Now people were running by, arms flailing, and I heard a roaring sound. Some idiots had cameras in hand, swiftly walking backward while still trying to take pictures. I stopped my car abruptly, the guards stopping short to keep from slamming into the back of it. I put the car in park and grabbed my sai before jumping out. I had only made it a couple of feet before one of them grabbed me. I snatched my arm away. “Either you help me or stay in the car but you’re not going to stop me.”
“You don’t even know what they’re running from,” he said in a rough voice, scanning the area. He inhaled, and then made a face. The roar, deep and aggressive, reverberated and skipped off the buildings and pavement, echoing off in the distance. I winced. Moments later I saw the source of the panic, a monstrosity of a griffin. No, those had the body of a lion and the head and wings of an eagle. This thing had many features of a griffin but also a dinosaur-looking tail that moved wildly throughout the crowd. Instead of fur, the tawny hide was rough, thick, and seemingly impenetrable. My sai might not break on it, but how much force would I need to get through it? The heaviness of the skin and the massive body made me question the purpose of the wings. How powerful would they have to be in order to make flight possible? I couldn’t decide which was more overwhelming: the monstrosity of the creature or the heavy magic that wafted off of it. Swiping people out of its way, its tail slammed into cars, collapsing the metal. Each step it took pounded into the ground, making it shake, and it seemed to be looking to destroy anything in its path. People ran away in terror, screaming; the ones who weren’t victims of its tail were crushed under its massive feet or picked up by its beak and tossed several long feet away. Bones crunching from impact, metal bending, ragged gurgled wet noises from people crushed made up the brutal, pain-filled din, punctuated by the heavy raspy breathing of the creature as it ravaged the area.
I saw SG cars, and behind them three mages stood; embers of purple covered their hands before large balls of magic formed in them. They readied themselves for the strike. When they tossed them at the creature, they hit hard. And then nothing. Nothing. The animal wasn’t even fazed as the powerful balls hit its body and spread along it. A light glow covered the creature, engulfing it before dissipating into the air as though it never existed. They lobbed more, stronger and harder. I could feel the magic coating the air. A blanket of it lingered, but they were unsuccessful. Fuck, this thing is a shifter. Its thirst for destruction was probably why it had been put away in the Baratrum. I could taste my anger and frustration and tried to quell them before they became distracting. The SG had allowed this creature- immune to magic, with an appetite for destruction- to exist, yet they were okay with Trackers being unleashed on Legacy without any repercussions.
I focused on the task at hand. I’d address the Legacy hunt situation later. Shots were fired from shotguns by the officers standing at my right. The bullets that hit the armored scales didn’t penetrate. The creature turned, plucking up one of the officers as if it was grabbing a worm and slinging him out of the way. Before it could grab the other one, I let magic flow through me, strong and powerful, and pushed it out, hitting the creature. It stumbled back, but only a few inches. I blasted another ball of magic straight into its chest, sending it moving back farther. It lost its footing, stumbling to the side. The officers shot at it again. They must have used different bullets because these penetrated. Blood spilled and the creature let out an angry sound. Then the massive wings expanded with one big flap and a swoosh of air. The animal didn’t take flight, but nearly everyone within a five-foot radius had been tossed to the ground. It spun around, its tail clearing the area and smacking into bodies. Another string of screams split the air as more bones broke, metal groaned under the impact, and panic reached a crescendo. Terrified people bumped into me as they made their escape.
I stepped a little bit closer, and when one of my guards cupped my shoulder I shrugged his hand off. “I’ll be careful” was the only thing I could offer him. Sai gripped in my hands, I approached the creature. It stopped for a moment. I wondered if it could sense the difference in my magic or if it didn’t even care. The keen eyes homed in on me. Up close I could see the sharp points of its beak, which could easily puncture me without much effort.
Animancy was one of the skills we possessed. I didn’t have experience with it and assumed it was nothing more than manipulating the mind of the animal as opposed to that of a supernatural, which I’d done before. I hoped the aberration had enough animal characteristics to be controlled in this way. I connected with the creature, trying to get through the barriers of its mind. Bile crept up my throat. This felt different, leaving a dank taste in my mouth and what felt like a needle plucking at my mind.
Sit.
Its head tilted slightly, hearing the command but fighting it. I delivered the command again more forcefully, pushing, trying to delve into its needs and thoughts. Deeper than survival, there was a lust for carnage and violence. I gave the command again, making it a need. You need to sit down. Its will was stronger than that of any other mind that I’d ever attempted to manipulate—too primal to control, too driven by violence. Magic rolled through me, another blast of it hit the creature, and it stumbled back. Several bullets hit it, and it stopped moving. Its massive body collapsed in the middle of the street.
For a moment there was calm, relief, but it didn’t last long. People started to stare at me. I’d used magic—magic that had subdued the monster when others couldn’t. I wondered how many of them knew that there were only certain people who could use magic against shapeshifters. They’d witnessed how ineffectual the magic from the mages had been. I gripped my sai even tighter, but the cautious curiosity quickly disappeared. Eyes that were focused on me became glazed over before they flickered with anger. I felt a familiar magic coursing through the air, along with the panic, anger, and frustratio
n that it instilled. Within moments people had turned on one another and were shoving, punching, and clawing while screaming obscenities.
The Maxwells, I thought angrily. What was Conner’s endgame? I didn’t have to think about it long; I knew what it was. He was going to cause enough chaos, panic, and fear that people wouldn’t consider the Legacy bad. The Cleanse would no longer be considered a deplorable act. Humans would consider it a rational decision to get rid of the supernaturals who were destroying their world. They’d forget about the alliance, the camaraderie, and the things that they enjoyed about the supernaturals. That would become nothing more than history, the yammering tales of their parents’ and grandparents’ years of yore. I backed away, bumping into a woman beside me; angered, she attempted to punch me. One of my guards stopped her, grabbing her fist and pushing her against the car as she lurched and resisted.
“Get your hands off of her!” a police officer demanded, aiming his firearm at my vampire guard. A flash of movement and the other vampire was behind the cop, disarming him. The vampire’s knee was on the officer’s back while he pressed him against the ground, securing him there.
I ran, following the lingering bands of magic that would lead me to the chaos mages. I knew the Maxwells would be close and I wanted to secure them in this location instead of allowing them to migrate farther out and cause more havoc. So much magic was in the air from the effort to subdue the creature that it was hard to detect the nuance that was exclusively theirs. But I got a hint of its dank smell, the ominous aura, and I felt it: the rage, paranoia, and violence that coiled in me demanding to be released. It was overpowering, coaxing a response.
I inhaled and pushed magic from me, erecting a shield as I ran through the city, ignoring the fighting and violence that was taking place. Perfect timing: morning, when most people were on their way to work or appointments. Create a nightmare with the creature and then end it with a brawl of people hopped up on fear and anger-induced adrenaline, now ready to pummel and accost anyone in sight.
I only had to stop one of the chaos triplets. Their power was linked—wound one and the rest became magically neutered.
I knew they wouldn’t be out in the open, instead choosing to skulk in the shadows as they caused trouble. The area near the SG was mostly buildings: a technical college, small banks, law offices, and several restaurants. The majority of the buildings were close together, separated by just garbage bins and minimal space for moving between them. Just enough space for three bodies to hide. I walked past several of the openings, peeking in trying to get a look. The triplets’ strawberry hair wouldn’t be hard to miss, and one of them was extremely tall. Each alleyway reeked mostly of garbage more than anything else, overpowering my senses; I had to rely on the feel, the prickle of magic as it moved over my skin, causing the hairs on my arms to stand up.
Their chartreuse eyes shone as bright at the sun. I advanced toward them, ready to attack. Before I could reach them, something or someone grabbed my legs and yanked them from under me. I crashed to the ground face-first. My assailant maintained their tight grip on my legs as they dragged me back toward them with another hard jerk. I was too far from the Maxwells but they were distracted by fear of my attack, which was good. They couldn’t do magic if they were distracted. I turned and found the assailant, his eyes black lava, his body stout, solid—a troll. His massive tree trunk arms were big, but slow. His torso was larger than his stumpy legs, making it a perfect target for my sai.
I slung a ball of magic, but before it could reach the troll, a wall rose up in front of him, sending it back at me. I dodged to the right and my own missile barely missed me as it crashed into the ground, creating cracks in the pavement.
“Tsk tsk,” Conner’s voice whispered in the air. I turned to find him there and the Maxwells gone. He smiled. “Now, little warrior, we’ll have none of that cheating, will we?” I lunged at him. He disappeared, and I spun to find him standing in front of the troll. “I want a fair fight. If for no other reason than to entertain me.”
I wanted to entertain him all right. “Why don’t we play a nice game of tag and whoever gets the blade through their chest, loses,” I suggested, sneering at him.
He tossed his head back, laughing. “You are always a delight.”
Anticipating my intention, which was to start the game then, he disappeared. The troll’s large arms swung in my direction; I twisted around, plunging one blade into an arm. The other I jammed into his foot. He used his other hand to lay into my side; my ribs groaned under the pressure and then yielded, breaking. I cursed before sucking in a rough breath. I winced as I moved to block his arm from coming in for another strike. A sharp pain shot through me, and I saw colors, different from those of magic. It was agonizing taking each breath, and I hoped I wouldn’t black out from the pain.
I was able to get a few glimpses around me, trying to find Conner.
“I’m still here, love,” he said from behind me, his tone an amused taunt. I could easily picture his haughty look of satisfaction. I yanked the sai out of the troll’s foot and then jammed it into his neck just as he landed another blow into the side of my head. I stumbled but ignored the pain, blurred vision, and swimming of my head. I was able to see the troll step back and drop to the ground with a thud. I took in another painful breath and then called the magic, stronger than anything I’d used today, and pushed it into the direction Conner’s voice came from. His laughter floated in the air in the opposite direction.
“You fight even to the bitter end, such an admirable trait.”
Narrowing his eyes on me with interest, he disappeared. Magic was still a heavy dense shawl that curled around the air, a combination of the Maxwells’, mine, and Conner’s. I lifted my eyes to look at the troll, wondering if he was one of the things that had been kept in the special prison of Baratrum or another one of Conner’s little pets. I was in too much pain to really care. I rested back, placing my hand over my ribs, chanting, the magic wrapping around me, a gentle warmth that shadowed the throbbing pain. A gentle cradle of it surrounded me as it healed, but it was not without consequences. I was exhausted and knew I wasn’t in a position to fight anyone again.
“You shouldn’t have left,” barked the shorter vampire guard, the other taking up a position next to him, blocking out the sun, casting a nebulous shadow over me.
“What should I have done, nothing?”
They both made sounds that gave me the distinct impression that that was exactly what they’d expected. I knew how humans felt about the tenuous and frail relationship that existed between them and supernaturals, but I’d never considered the impact the arrangement had upon the supernaturals. Supernaturals were predators by nature and in earlier times had preyed upon humans. Now they were forced to walk the fine line between being guardians to humans and losing themselves. Vampires needed humans for food, but they were restricted by rules of engagement. They couldn’t compel anyone, it was illegal. They now had to rely on skills of seduction and appeal to humans. Shapeshifters traditionally didn’t prey on humans, but it was obvious they would rather not deal with them. They seemed to have limited patience with other shapeshifters. The magics of fae and mages were restricted by numerous laws to protect humans.
A fragile relationship was being fractured by Conner.
My vampire guards gave me some time to regain the ability to walk back to the car. I stood and stumbled, and like moments before, they were ready to pick me up and carry me. I sighed. “Only in the movies do women want people sweeping them up and carrying them places,” I advised. Based on the blank looks they gave me, they didn’t know that and were reluctant to believe it.
CHAPTER 8
In the mirror the raspberry coloring wrapped around my torso looked a lot more painful than it actually was. I’d healed the broken ribs, and it felt good to breathe without the overwhelming pain. My thoughts were the things giving me the most concern now. Conner was an enigma, a psycho with chaotic plans that were going to work. He�
�d killed Daniel, the founder and leader of Humans First, which had led to another director, a credible one. The group was no longer seen as a conglomeration of rabid, crazy conspiracy theorists spouting separation between the supernaturals and humans. They were about to become a political force.
Conner was breaking out the most dangerous supernaturals and unleashing them on society just to cause havoc and feed people’s fears. He’d demonstrated that the Legacy were alive and real. Perhaps if he caused enough chaos, HF would approach him and encourage him to do the Cleanse. Ignorant fear would lead to their demise.
The room felt stuffy despite having the window open; the crisp air wafted into my room, but it wasn’t cleansing enough. I needed to be out there allowing the wind to gently brush against my face, inhaling all the scents of the city, feeling the ground pounding against my feet during a good run, and figuring out how to fix this mess. I wished I’d heard something from Gareth. At least if I knew what the SG and the Magic Council planned to do, I had a direction. I didn’t like being unfocused.
I tried to clear my head as I laced up my running shoes and went out the door. I had taken just a few steps when the guardian Suits flanked me, running alongside and making it painfully obvious that my speed was just a fraction of theirs. It was the best I could do because my ribs were still sore.
As I sped up, so did they. My babysitters. Are you freaking kidding me?
I stopped abruptly, just about a block from my apartment, aware that I wasn’t going to be able to think with them following me and pushing me into a state of high alert, which was a place I wasn’t too far from on my own. I decided just to return home. When I got back to the apartment, I found Lucas standing just outside the doorway, dressed more casually than usual in just a simple shirt and slacks.
I shook my head at the little smile that lifted his lip just a bit too high, showing the edges of his fangs.
Renegade Magic (Legacy Series Book 3) Page 8
