Grave Debt

by T. G. Ayer

  Logan's brow furrowed, and his question would have been why she would bother to be so kind, but he swallowed the words, already aware of the answer.

  Mel had a heart of gold.

  Then, Ivy changed the subject slightly. “While I was reading through the investigative notes, I came across some communications between an agent from Division 7 and Fulbright. He’d been encouraging the detective to keep hounding you, implying that one day you will break.”

  Mel shook her head. “Are you saying that whatever he’s done to me in the past was because some agent was twisting his mind?”

  “No, the guy’s not that lucky.” Grams let the files drop onto the desk. “His passion and ongoing tenacity in remaining on your case must have flagged him. The Division 7 Agent approached him a couple of years ago, just keeping himself in the loop, promising to put in a good word for Fulbright, dangling a carrot too, nice cushy agent office job.”

  “Bulldust,” was Mel's most appropriate response.

  “Of course.” Grams smirked. “But, Fulbright did keep him in the loop, so even you’ve had someone surveilling you for at least the last couple years.”

  Logan gritted his teeth. Omega seemed to have had their hooks in everyone.

  “I feel so blessed at having been included.” Mel’s tone simmered with amusement as she looked over at Kai.

  Ivy clapped her hands to dispel the tense silence within the room. “Shall we get this show on the road? I ain’t getting any younger.”

  Logan shook his head, well aware of where Kai got some of her sass.

  “You heard the woman,” said Mel.

  Logan was only too happy to get the mission under way.

  Chapter 39

  Mel walked over to the embankment and glanced over her shoulder, giving the team a once-over. Logan too scanned the tense expressions on the faces of the group, making sure he knew where they all were. Just in case.

  With a firm nod, Mel faced the water and tossed the key into the air where it rose then drew to a stop to levitate over the surface of the pond.

  As the key began to spin, the tension within the team rose, and Logan squeezed Kai’s hand. Her entire body was rigid and even Ivy looked tense as grandmother and granddaughter shared a look of support and encouragement.

  A column of light flashed and enabled the key’s magic, Mel taking it as her cue. The tracker jumped for the portal, hit the white column, and disappeared into the brightness.

  And a split second later, the column exploded, throwing Mel out of its center. The force of the explosion hit the gathered team head-on, so strong that it threw Mel more than twelve feet until she hit the trunk of an oak broadside.

  The rest of the team were also tossed into the air, bodies flying back away from the force of the blast. Kai and Logan fell in a heap of arms and legs but though he was aware that she was fine, his peripheral vision told a different story for Grams.

  Kai moaned, holding her head as she tried to rise. “Wait a second. Don’t move for a bit.” Logan shifted to his feet. “I’ll be right back. I have to check if everyone else if ok.”

  Right then, Logan didn’t want to make Kai aware of Ivy’s condition until he was certain.

  Logan crouched before Ivy’s unmoving body as he stared at the branch which had impaled the walker through her side. Her breathing was shallow but Logan would take it. He didn’t know how he would have dealt with the reality of Ivy’s death.

  Natasha crouched down at Logan’s side, her face white with horror. Without a word she peered through the bodies as the team began to regain consciousness. Nerina’s head rose too, as she scanned the embankment and caught the witch’s eye. The DeathTalker blinked away and was at Logan’s side almost instantly.

  “Let’s take her inside. To my storeroom. There’s a bed in there.” Nerina nodded and was bending to take ahold of Ivy when Kai rushed toward them.

  She sank to her knees beside Logan. “Grams?” Kai’s voice broke as she faced the full extent of Ivy’s injuries. “No. No, no. Please.” Tears filled Kai’s eyes and she looked over at Logan.

  He wanted to hold her and comfort her but something told him that if he only touched her, she’d fall apart. Instead he gave a slow sober nod, keeping his features expressionless. He’d be her rock.

  Kai took a sobbing breath, then slowed her breathing. “Sorry, Nerina. I’ll meet you inside?”

  The DeathTalker smiled and reached out a hand for Kai. The moment Kai took Nerina’s hand, the DeathTalker blinked away, taking the two walkers with her.

  Logan glanced up at the house, then at the disaster around him. Thankfully, everyone other than Ivy seemed to be okay, with Natasha and Drake checking them one at a time.

  Mel’s groan echoed from the tree where she’d fallen, followed by a cry of pain.

  “Stay where you are until I check you out,” yelled Natasha from beside Steph, who had just come to, a hint of fear in her voice as she beckoned Logan to take over.

  Natasha rushed over to Mel and dropped to her knees.

  “What the hell happened?” Mel’s voice drifted to Logan, filled with confusion and pain.

  “Something went wrong with the portal key,” Natasha replied as she inspected Mel’s injuries. “Whatever it was, the blast hit everyone head-on.”

  Logan checked Steph over, glad to find she was mostly uninjured.

  “Was everyone jumping? Were you hurt? Is Nerina okay?”

  The witch ignored Mel’s questions and said, “We’ll need you in the house to sort this out.” Natasha boosted to her feet and waved at Logan, her eyes filled with fear. Logan wasted no time in sprinting over. Natasha’s voice was even as she asked, “Can you get her to the house for me? Be careful with her though.”

  “Can someone please tell me what’s wrong?” Mel snapped, staring daggers at Natasha. “And where’s Nerina?”

  Logan studied Mel’s injuries and frowned, aware why Natasha was attempting to avoid stressing the tracker out. He bent and gently lifted her off the ground. “You have a branch embedded in your back. It looks a little too close to your ribs for comfort so I’d be careful with any movement you make. We don’t know how close it is to your lungs.”

  Mel’s mouth was open, but Logan didn’t give her a chance to say anything more. He faced the house and boosted into the air, shifting from human to dragon in mid-jump.

  Mel’s shriek confirmed she’d registered either the flight, or the dragon. Or both.

  At Natasha’s homestead, Logan landed and shifted smoothly, feet hitting the ground as he strode inside the house and down the hall toward the bedroom.

  Kai and Ivy were nowhere to be seen, likely in the storeroom she’d mentioned.

  Logan reached the door and nudged it open with his foot, but as he reached the bed and was about to lay the tracker on it, she opened her eyes and squawked like an injured bird.

  At first, Logan thought he’d hurt her somehow, but then she lifted a finger, aiming a dark glare at his face as she said, “Wait. Not on that.”

  “Huh?” Logan replied, eyes narrowed. He looked at the bed, and then at Mel, wondering what the woman was on about. Maybe she hit her head harder than he’d thought?

  “That’s satin,” Mel replied, dead serious as she rolled her eyes. “And probably expensive knowing Natasha. We need a blanket or something…to cover the beautiful fabric.”

  Logan couldn't help smirking. Mel was amusing with her serious face even while her muscles clenched with pain. Logan also knew he couldn't be standing around wasting time. He met Mel’s earnest gaze and said, “I think the witch will have some magical laundering skills. She could just as easily make blood stains disappear as she can make people go poof.”

  “Men,” Mel replied with a disgusted shake of her head. “You don’t get it, do you?”

  “No. Sadly I don’t. Kindly enlighten me.”

  “It’s the principle. You don’t intentionally set a bloody body onto expensive fabric. You can accidentally stain it with blood, yes, bu
t on purpose is bad karma.”

  Logan wasn’t sure what to do with that argument. On one hand, Mel could well be delirious. On the other, what if she was right. Women did tend to be temperamental when it came to things they liked. And he assumed the white witch liked her bedspread a lot.

  “What are you doing?” Natasha spoke from behind Logan, and he shifted to look over at her, spotting Kai in the witch’s wake. Natasha’s eyes were wide as she stared at Logan, perplexed as he hovered in the middle of the floor with Mel in his arms. “I told you to put her on the bed.”

  “She wouldn’t go,” Logan replied, shifting from one foot to the other as he evaded the witch’s gaze.

  “What?” Logan had to suffocate a groan as the white witch’s eyes flared with a silver fire. When she propped her bloodied hands on her hips, Logan’s gut told him he was done for. The big bad dragon king afraid of a little white witch.

  Natasha pointed at the bed. “There's the bed. Put her on it.”

  Logan blinked, then caught Kai’s grin, though the strength of her amusement was decidedly dulled by her pain. Logan wanted to hold her in his arms and cradle her as she cried. But they didn’t have time.

  Chapter 40

  “What in the name of the sweet mother Crone are you babbling about?” Natasha asked, her tone sharp.

  Mel winced then cleared her throat before saying, “Sorry, that was my fault. I didn’t want to ruin your bed covers. I asked him to look for a sheet or something to protect it from bloodstains…”

  When the witch let out a loud laugh, Logan felt somewhat vindicated that the bedspread wasn't all that big a deal. “Who the fuck cares about stained bedsheets at this point in time?” She looked at Logan, raised an eyebrow, and aimed a finger at the bed.

  Logan obeyed the witch, smirking as he made his way to the bed and laid his burden down. “Told you so,” he whispered before joining Kai at the door.

  Logan swallowed a chuckle as Natasha said, “You’re all just a bunch of idiots, fools, and nincompoops.”

  He curled his arms around Kai, his heart aching for her as her pain drew a pool of tears to her eyes.

  “What’s going on?” asked Mel sharply from the bed where Natasha was turning her over to inspect the wound on her back.

  Logan squeezed Kai and then said, “The blast threw everyone back. Some of the team are injured, but everyone will be fine except…”

  “Except for?” Mel asked slowly.

  “It’s Ivy,” Logan replied after glancing briefly at Kai. “She’s hurt real bad. It’s going to take a while before she recovers.”

  Mel’s eyes darkened as a dozen emotions flitted across her face. Logan tensed and so did Kai and they both shared a look that said they knew exactly what Mel was doing—blaming herself for Ivy’s injuries.

  “Don’t you dare.”

  Kai moved out of Logan’s embrace toward the bed, the air around her shimmering with a feline force. Her voice rumbled between a purr and a growl as she spoke.

  “She’s a strong woman,” Kai said, “capable of making her own decisions. Nobody, and I mean nobody, tells that woman what to do. She joined the team because she felt she could contribute, and believe me when I say she was well and truly aware of the possible outcomes. Grams doesn’t do anything without being aware of all variables. It could have happened to any one of us, including you.” Kai stopped and inhaled slowly, both to calm herself and get some oxygen. “If I know her at all, she’ll fight damn hard to recover, so the next thing I think we need to focus on is what in Ailuros’ name do we do now that the portal key’s fucked.”

  Mel’s smile was weak as she rested back onto the pillow. Then Natasha said, “You need to hold on for a moment. I have to get this branch out of you before the wounds become infected. But it’s going to be painful.”

  Kai’s voice quavered as she asked, “Can’t we give her something for the pain?”

  But Mel was shaking her head. “No time. We need to get it out and go to plan B.”

  “Plan B? I wasn’t aware of Plan B.” Kai glanced back at Logan who shrugged.

  “I was hoping we wouldn't need it at all,” Mel replied. “We have to break Aisha out. And I don’t give a damn whether she wants to come or not.”

  Beside Mel, Natasha glanced over at Logan, pointing discreetly at the branch in Mel’s back. A silent message that they had to distract the tracker while Natasha did her work.

  Logan shook his head and Kai’s laughter was filled with forced surprise and approval as she said, “You want to abduct a powerful djinn queen from a high-security prison even though she won’t want to go? Pray tell how you’re planning on achieving that?”

  Logan tensed as Mel let out a scream, and he knew it took all of Kai’s strength to stay in place.

  Neither Kai nor Mel enjoyed looking weak.

  Now, almost sobbing, Mel said, “Explain, beg. If that doesn’t work, then bind her with magic. Plan Z is knocking her out.”

  “I’d love to say that such a plan is ridiculously dangerous and impossible, but I won’t,” Kai chuckled. “Instead, I’ll say that such a plan is ridiculously dangerous and possible.”

  “You’re hilariously funny,” said Mel before she screamed again.

  This time Kai didn’t hold back. She hurried to her friend’s side and took Mel’s hand, then glanced over at Logan. “You think your fire magic can help her at all?”

  Logan wasn’t surprised at the question; though he had to admit he hadn’t considered his fire as a possible treatment solution.

  A glance at Natasha drew a quick response. “Should work. Let me get this done. I need a few more minutes. In the meantime, you two get the team in triage in the front room, help Nerina and Drake look after the rest of them. We have to be up and running ASAP.”

  “Yes. ASAP. ‘Cause Saleem gave us a time and the longer we take, the higher the chances are that we will miss the window he gave us. Ugh. You know, I’d trade that pain anytime for a zap or two from a ShadowWraith.”

  With Mel showing signs of recovery, and Logan suspecting his fire wouldn’t be needed after all, he and Kai left the room.

  “How’s Ivy? What did Nerina say?” Logan asked as Kai led him to the witch’s storeroom.

  Natasha was just behind them when she called out loudly, “Don’t you dare sit on my silk. You’ll get your blood all over it.”

  Logan blinked at the witch’s words and Natasha chuckled.

  “I’m just messing with her. Let’s see what Ivy has in store for us.”

  Mel’s words echoed toward them.

  “Witch.”

  “I heard that,” the witch yelled back as they stopped on the threshold and stared inside the room.

  Logan grunted. “This is not a storeroom, Natasha.”

  The witch grinned as they stepped into a library-slash-living-room space twice the size of Natasha’s bedroom.

  Her only response was. “I know.”

  Chapter 41

  Logan and the djinn queen extraction team were checking their weapons in preparation for the mission when Natasha hurried inside, brow creased as she handed three small glass bottles to Mel.

  “Be careful. This poison cannot come into contact with anyone else. It’s deadly to every other being other than a djinn, and even then it’s capable of killing a djinn who isn’t all that strong. There’s enough in each bottle for a single use. Keep them apart just in case you lose one.”

  With a nod and a shaky breath, Mel said, “Right, it’s do or die. Let’s do this.”

  Kai gave Logan a small smile and her fingers tightened around her crossbow. She glanced at Mel and said, “You don’t sound all that ready. Wanna chicken out?” Kai’s eyes were still shadowed by Ivy’s condition, but she was holding it together as best as she could.

  Mel only snorted and glanced at Nerina—who was checking her weapons inside her gray DeathTalker cloak—before speaking to Natasha. “So can we at least establish what happened to the portal key? I have a feeling the problem was
at Mithras, but I want to be sure.” Natasha nodded and the DeathTalker glanced up as Mel said, “Darcy was on the right track, only she didn’t realize how spot on she was.”

  “Was she?” The subject of Mel’s announcement limped in with Cassandra into the kitchen. For some reason Natasha’s kitchen had become the meeting hub for their missions and Logan almost felt sorry for the witch.

  Natasha gave a quick nod. “What was the extent of your understanding of the kind of wards that would have been erected around Mithras?”

  Darcy thought for a minute, squinting at the ceiling as though the whitewashed wood bore the answer. “Dark magic for one thing. Definitely blood magic. Nothing a MindMelder like Ward could create. Creating a ward around an entire realm is not possible is it?”

  “Only the access points in the Veil can be warded.” Natasha replied. “Or I should say, they can’t be warded by less powerful beings. Realm wards are under the skill arena of Ancients and the greater immortal Fae, and perhaps one or two level X demons.”

  “Level X?” Kai asked raising a questioning finger.

  Logan stilled, thinking of Baa’ruk, and wondering if the demon was available to help out. He didn’t say anything yet though.

  “Yes,” said the white witch with a smile. “Demons with excessively powerful magical abilities, usually ones either born with such powers or those who received those abilities through learning.”

  Mel arched an eyebrow. “And by learning, I assume you mean death, darkness, and blood?”

  “You forgot pain,” Nerina said with an innocent smile.

  Logan suppressed a grin when Kai let out a snort-grunt before asking, “Where’s a Level X demon when you need one?”

  Taking that as his cue, Logan cleared his throat and said, “Well…if we need one, I can certainly check my little black book.”

  All eyes turned to Logan and he smiled. “Well, I do happen to know one Level X. He’s currently a Demon Overlord in the Boston area.”

  Kai shifted her head to look at Logan, her eyes a little concerned as she said, “Demon Overlording sounds like not a very good thing. You telling me you trust this powerful demon?”