Thrall

by Jennifer Blackstream

  “We don’t know that there will be a fight,” Liam said, fooling no one. “Iman, what did you see in Moghadam’s mind?”

  “I didn’t have time to see much,” she said, her voice tense as if remembering the pain. “With the contract reacting like that, I couldn’t afford to hold the bond for long, or I risked suffering the same fate. But I very clearly saw that he was trying to tell you Nikolaos Sideris is the Emperor. And there was something about the Acme Building.”

  “It would certainly have been the last place I looked,” I admitted. “It’s where we beat Stavros and the Sanctum last time. It’s not even safe, not with the tsuchinokos.”

  “He could have cleared them out,” Peasblossom argued. “Him and his Sanctum. Especially if he hired more people.”

  “Maybe Stafford was trying to point us toward Stavros’ safehouse, or Stavros Acme,” I wondered aloud. “Maybe Stavros was just part of it.”

  “We’re sure he’s not alive?” Liam asked. “There’s no magical way Stavros could have survived?”

  I rubbed the bridge of my nose. “I can’t say it’s impossible. But I would be shocked. The options for surviving what happened to him…” I dropped my hand. “But that altar does make me wonder. Human sacrifice. That’s some powerful magic.”

  “Evil magic,” Peasblossom said darkly.

  “The stuff of nightmares,” Iman murmured. She gave a weak smile. “Yes. And I know nightmares.”

  It might have been a joke, but no one laughed. The only one in the truck who didn’t seem worried was Scath. The cat shifter sat in the back seat, reclining against the door, with Majesty in his little satchel. She stroked his fur, and Majesty purred as if he was being treated to a car ride for no reason whatsoever.

  “Did you set him off before we left?” I asked.

  She shook her head. “Thought it might be better if he goes off at the Acme Building.”

  “He’s chaos,” I reminded her. “It’s just as likely if he goes off that he’ll hurt our side.”

  Scath shrugged.

  Fantastic.

  “Iman?” I asked. “Did you happen to get any sense of how Moghadam knew Nikolaos is the Emperor? We talked to him this morning, and he didn’t seem to have any idea who the Emperor was. We even discussed Nikolaos specifically, and he said he’d been nothing but kind and respectful to Renee and Jamila.”

  “I’m afraid I didn’t get that deep,” Iman said apologetically. “With that awful magic on him, I was afraid to maintain the connection very long, let alone probe deeper. All I got was that Nikolaos is the Emperor, and images of the Acme Building. That’s what Moghadam was thinking of, willing me to see.”

  I kept my eyes on the road ahead, but I tried to watch Liam out of my peripheral vision. I wondered if he was having the same thoughts I was. That Iman could be lying. That we were getting an awful lot of evidence now that Iman had been accused of being the Emperor. A lot of evidence that pointed to anyone but her. That for all we knew, Iman and Nikolaos were partners. And of course, it would have been very easy for Iman to lure Moghadam to Suite Dreams after the photos of Nikolaos arrived for Liam. Easy to set up the hedge fund manager, let him take the fall.

  It made the back of my neck itch to have her behind me, but I couldn’t leave her back at Suite Dreams. Arianne had insisted Liam withdraw his men from the hotel as soon as Kurt and Toby “cleared” her wife. Liam had to make a choice between keeping them there and risking war with an angry sorceress, or making them leave. So he’d let them leave. Which left us with the choice of leaving her at Suite Dreams, alone and with the freedom and power to take care of any loose ends in our absence.

  I gritted my teeth. I hated this case.

  The National Acme Building was exactly as I remembered it. The long, broken building lay in the distance as if a god had lifted up a small city, then changed its mind and let it fall back to earth. The day was growing overcast, and the threat of rain gave the industrial wreckage the gloomy backdrop it deserved. It was hard not to imagine the broken windows like slitted eyes, watching us approach. Destroyed doorways gaping like mouths, open and ready to consume anyone who wandered too close.

  “Is it just me, or are they waiting for us?”

  The grim tone in Liam’s voice made me lean forward, and my heart stopped with one last shuddering beat. He’d turned off the road, maneuvering carefully over the destroyed parking lot with its broken glass and debris waiting to gnaw on his tires. Now we were inside the decrepit wall that had once blocked off the industrial building’s shipping area.

  Nikolaos Sideris stood at the back of the lot, close to the building and its open shipping doors. His dark eyes glittered even in the muted light. His arms hung at his sides, his feet shoulder width apart. Waiting.

  “He knew we were coming.” I rolled my shoulders, trying to get rid of the tension building there.

  “How?” Iman shifted uneasily. “I will be less than useless in a fight. My gifts are—”

  “You don’t fight,” I said firmly, trying not to sound as panicked as I felt at the thought of having to face Arianne, having to tell the dream sorceress her wife had been hurt—or worse—on my watch. Even if Iman wasn’t involved in any criminal activity, she could still get me killed just by getting hurt on my watch. When I’d been the one who made her leave the hotel to come with us. “The Sanctum are followers. If we can remove Nikolaos from the fight, they’ll back off. We have to remove him first.”

  “I’ll take the giant,” Scath said evenly.

  I winced and looked out the windshield. I remembered the giant. If I closed my eyes, I could still feel his arms tightening around my body, crushing the life out of me. He was over seven feet tall, maybe closer to eight. Thick and broad enough to be slow, but not slow enough to dismiss as a threat.

  “Wolfman is mine.” Liam’s jaw tightened. “Does he always keep a shifter?”

  “I don’t know about Nikolaos, but Stavros liked the classics,” I murmured. “Strong man, fortune teller, wolfman. His sword swallower died by goblin in the last fight, as did the women who used their shape-changing ability to be the lion and the lion tamer.”

  “They’re new,” Peasblossom said.

  I followed where she was pointing. Beside Nikolaos stood two men. At first, there didn’t seem to be anything different about them. Nothing that would fit on one of the sideshows marquee posters. But when I looked carefully, I noticed that they stood too close, and at an odd angle.

  “Siamese twins,” Peasblossom said.

  “Conjoined twins,” I corrected her.

  Peasblossom fell down to my shoulder. “It’s a sideshow. They’ll be billed as Siamese twins.”

  She wasn’t wrong, so I didn’t argue.

  “Who’s she?” Iman asked.

  I didn’t look where she was pointing. I knew. And we’d all avoided saying anything for Peasblossom’s sake. But not talking about her wouldn’t make her disappear.

  “That’s Serena the telekinetic,” I said quietly.

  Iman fell silent, staring out the windshield. I didn’t know if it was on purpose or not, but the telekinetic looked exactly as she had the last time we’d fought. Same kohl-lined eyes and sleek penciled eyebrows. Same teal colored dress with a plunging neckline and a matching choker. The same gold beads dangled from the circlet on top of her head, with identical gold pieces hanging from her earlobes. Even her straight brown hair was styled in the same high ponytail.

  I thought it was on purpose. A tactic to scare us, remind us of last time.

  It made me hate her a little more.

  “She’s mine,” Peasblossom whispered.

  My heart leapt into my throat. “No.”

  “Yes.” Peasblossom’s wings beat the air, buzzing so hard it vibrated my shoulder where her feet met my skin. “I’ll be invisible. And I’ll put her eyes out.”

  Behind Peasblossom, Scath lifted Majesty out of the satchel. She pointed him at Peasblossom and whispered something in his ear. Majesty, as far as I coul
d tell, didn’t take instructions or seem to understand any more than a mundane kitten. But in this moment, I chose to believe he did. And I chose to believe Scath was telling him to guard my familiar.

  “Will you come out, then?” Nikolaos opened his arms, gesturing at his companions. “We’re waiting.”

  Liam opened his door and slid out, his eyes fixed on the sorcerer. “You know why we’re here?”

  Nikolaos nodded. “I do. You believe I’m responsible for Jamila’s death.”

  “Not just her death,” I said coldly. “Connor’s too. And let’s not forget the little matter of enslavement.”

  “A fight is unnecessary,” Liam said firmly. “A waste of all our time.”

  “I agree,” Nikolaos said. “Give up now. Agree to abandon your persecution of me, and I’ll leave your city.”

  “And start over somewhere else?” I asked.

  He smiled. “I have to make a living.” He gestured at the members of the Sanctum. “Mouths to feed.”

  “No,” I said. “This stops now.”

  Nikolaos tilted his head. “How many dead bodies do you think your ghoul friend can resist? Two? Five? Fifty? You know, it’s not uncommon for there to be more than one dead body at a crime scene. I could arrange for her to have many more opportunities to help herself to a nice, rotted corpse.”

  “Leave her alone,” Liam snarled.

  “No.” Nikolaos’ face hardened. “No, I will not leave her alone. Leave now. Abandon this fruitless pursuit now. Or I will destroy each of your loved ones, one by one. Tell me, Ms. Renard, how is Agent Bradford faring with his standoff with the kelpies? Have they figured out where he lives yet?”

  The spell fled my body like a cannonball, knocking the wind from me even as I hissed the word. Energy shot from my palm toward Nikolaos’ chest, churning with a sucking negative power that would drain his magic and wipe that smug look off his smarmy face. Without my third eye, I couldn’t see his shield, but I felt it when my spell struck it, felt the spell explode harmlessly into bits of ether.

  Nikolaos raised a hand, and I braced myself for a retaliatory spell. Vaguely, I was aware Peasblossom had gone invisible, knew she was launching herself at the telekinetic. But Stavros didn’t send his spell at just me.

  A pale green glow erupted around me, coating me in translucent light. It wasn’t very bright in the early evening light, but it was enough that anyone could see it, could easily spot me. The fact that I could see it even without my third eye meant the point of the spell was to be seen. To make people visible.

  Fairy fire.

  Peasblossom’s invisibility was useless.

  My familiar glowed with the same pale green light, making her an easy target for the telekinetic. The woman’s eyes had already locked on to the incoming pixie, and I saw Peasblossom stutter in the air, swinging into a loop to stop her forward momentum. I felt a sharp spike of fear through our empathic link as she realized the telekinetic was staring right at her.

  I knew the second the telekinetic trapped her. Peasblossom’s terror washed over me as she was pulled forward. I had no breath to scream, no time to save her.

  Majesty leapt between the telekinetic and my trapped familiar, seeming to appear out of nowhere. His fur stood straight up, and his blue eyes glowed as he hissed at the overly made-up woman. I felt something coming, and instinct made me look away. I barely caught the lightshow out of my peripheral vision, and it was enough to make dark spots dance over my line of sight.

  The telekinetic shouted, and I looked back to see her blinking, one hand waving in front of her face.

  Blinded.

  A crow of satisfaction rose in my throat, and I didn’t bother trying to keep it in. Behind me, Liam had engaged the shifter. I wasn’t worried about him. There was a reason he was the alpha.

  Likewise, I didn’t worry about Scath. I wasn’t entirely sure what she was, exactly, but any creature with a connection to the Unseelie Queen—frightening as that connection made her, even to her allies—was more than enough to take on a giant.

  I returned my gaze to Nikolaos and the conjoined twins at his side. The twins didn’t move. And they didn’t look at me. In fact, they seemed to be mostly surveillance, each one looking in opposite directions. As if they were waiting.

  Waiting for what?

  Don’t think about that now. I fixed my gaze on Nikolaos. Take out the wizard.

  The conjoined twins tensed. Each arm reached back, and a flood of adrenaline poured into my bloodstream as they drew their guns. I didn’t know anything about guns, but I’d seen more than one person die by them, and I had a great deal of respect for the damage they could do—to humans and Others. Defensive spells didn’t stop bullets.

  Then I realized why they’d drawn the weapons.

  Asher was the first goblin on the scene. In what seemed very much like a cosmic joke, the fight continued to echo my last experience here. Asher and a handful of his brethren swarmed toward the makeshift arena, heavy breathing and creepy anticipatory laughter echoing in my ears. The twins raised their weapons, and the air rang with gunfire.

  I raised my hands, my magic rising inside me. I had to take out the guns.

  I called my magic, but taking my attention off the sorcerer cost me. Nikolaos took advantage of my distraction, and the full force of his spell caught me off guard. All the breath left my body as every nerve shrieked in sudden agony. I couldn’t speak, couldn’t breathe. Everything hurt. Every limb, every cell. It was a hundred hours of being beaten, whipped, and stabbed, all rolled into one. My legs collapsed beneath me, and I couldn’t move enough to catch myself. My head struck the ground hard and stars exploded in my vision. I stared up at the sky and saw nothing.

  “Shade!”

  Iman’s voice. If I could have drawn the breath, I’d have called out for her to get away, get back in the truck. If I survived this, I didn’t want to die by Arianne’s hand right after. But I couldn’t breathe, and I couldn’t speak. Tears ran down my face and sweat poured off of me as my body struggled to fight, struggled to remember I wasn’t dying. At least, I didn’t think so.

  “Shade, what did he do?” Iman asked.

  I closed my eyes, unable to tell her anything. Someone touched my body. I screamed, but no sound came out. Just a dry gasp.

  “She’s in pain.”

  Asher’s voice. He sounded happy, almost in awe. I didn’t know if he was getting pleasure from imagining my pain, or if he’d been shot. Either way, I didn’t like it.

  “Shade, I’m going to try something. I need your permission to bond you with Asher.”

  My eyes flew open. Or I thought they did. I still couldn’t see. White light ate my vision, and I thought I felt a tear slide down my cheek. I tried to shake my head, but my body wouldn’t listen to me, and as soon as I tried to move, another wave of pain rolled over me, turning any sound I might have made into a low whimper.

  Iman laid a hand on my forehead. I tried again to say no, to make her stop.

  But it was too late.

  Chapter 20

  Pain turned to pleasure. My lungs that hardly worked at all a second ago suddenly went into overtime, dragging in breath. I sat up, every fiber of my being alive as it had never been before. Colors were brighter, sounds crisper. I laughed.

  Asher stood beside me, his red eyes bright, his grin revealing sharp, jagged teeth. He didn’t touch me, didn’t say anything. He just stood by my side. Waiting.

  I peeled myself off the ground and looked toward the shipping bay doors. Nikolaos stared at me, unabashed interest arresting his features, his body still in that loose, spell-slinging stance. I ignored him and looked at the twins. The sound of gunfire still filled the air like illegal fireworks, controlling the goblin presence with ruthless precision. I threw out one arm, relishing the pull of muscle. “Sinae!”

  The weeds at the feet of the twins exploded from the ground. Tiny stems and pathetic leaves thickened into limbs the size of large snakes, twisting around the shared body of the tw
ins, wrapping around their arms and necks. A giggle escaped me as thorns erupted along the vines. Green limbs swelled as if being inflated like a balloon artist’s creation, then exploded outward, firing the thorns like tiny arrows. One thorn buried itself in the left twin’s eye, and he cried out and dropped his gun, his hand flying to his face to get the thorn out.

  As soon as the gunfire ceased, the roar of the goblins rose. I didn’t need to look around to know they were taking over. I could hear it. And what’s more, I could feel it in the air, feel the hum of enthusiasm. I looked at Nikolaos and smiled.

  “Your turn,” I whispered.

  “Inside!” Nikolaos ordered as he flung a hand at the thorny plant entangling the twins. The writhing greenery seized, grew black and crumbled like ash. The twins ran for the shipping bay doors. Scath was on the giant, but at Nikolaos’ order, he threw her like a toy kitten, rolled to his side, and used his massive legs to hurl himself toward the Acme Building. He snatched up the telekinetic on the way, carrying the blind woman after the others. The telekinetic bled from a myriad of small cuts, each one welling with blood until her entire face turned red—Peasblossom’s work.

  A sharp bark made me turn in time to see the wolfman bolt from Liam. The alpha had taken it easy on him, working to defend and keep the other man busy as opposed to killing him. The goblins tried to follow, at least six of them still on their feet and coming forward, leaping over their injured brethren who’d been culled by the twins’ initial volley. The twin with two good eyes stood by the door, picking off any goblin that threatened to detain one of their companions. Liam spotted him and stopped running after the wolfman.

  It all happened so fast. One minute, I was facing a glorious battle, and the next my enemies had fled. All except for Nikolaos, who stood there staring us down, his mouth set in a grim line. My mouth fell open as he raised his hands in surrender.

  Surrender?

  Liam recovered first. He approached Nikolaos, with Scath prowling beside him. The cat shifter locked her green eyes on the sorcerer, her teeth bared, muscles tensed to pounce at the first sign of aggression. “Nikolaos Sideris,” Liam said grimly. “You’re under arrest on suspicion of the murder of Jamila Samaha, Aubrey Fakhoury, and Janet Simms.”