by K. F. Breene
“And this has nothing to do with Sasha?” Stefan clarified, studying the face of the man in front of him intently.
Andris cocked his head. “When did you get so noble? No, this has nothing to do with that harebrained human. I have one of my own—one that actually works in the capacity I need her. When you’re gone, your human will be no good to me.”
A wave of relief washed through Stefan. This situation wasn’t ideal, no, but it was much better than expected. Sasha had Charles and Jonas to protect her, not to mention Dominicous and Toa, and he would even admit to Tim and his crew. Jameson would see to it that she continued as mage. He might not follow her strictly yet, but he understood her value. He’d make sure she had a good, safe life.
Shedding the need to get at that blood link, Stefan focused on the situation at hand. At present, even if he could get out of his bindings, Andris was a worthy adversary, and these other males presented more of a roadblock. There wasn’t any point in trying to escape here.
“Nice ride,” Stefan offered as he relaxed.
Andris’ mouth quirked. “Always were level-headed.” He glanced around, settling back into the cushion of his seat. “Yes. It wasn’t so comfortable on the way here, but changing roles has really agreed with me.”
“I can see that. Most of the dirt of the dungeon has been scraped away. Tell me, what happened to your caped brother-in-arms?”
A flash of irritation crossed Andris’ face. “He is riding in your motorhome, actually. The brief stay in the basement… addled him. Somewhat.”
“Ah. So you’ve always been leading the show. I figured as much.”
“Yes, well, kudos on seeing through my ruse.”
Stefan couldn’t help a chuckle. He took a deep breath, wishing he could just feel Sasha for one moment. Just to see if everything was going okay. Hoping beyond hope Charles and Jonas got her out of danger in time.
Then something occurred to him. “Did you say you have your own human?”
The smug grin was back. Andris’ eyes sparkled. “Unlike you and your… decaying Council, I immerse myself with humans constantly. Most are useless, yes. Weak-willed fools as terrified of our power as they are turned on by it, but some do exist. The one I found was hosting a séance. Can you believe that? She apparently thinks she can communicate with the dead.”
Andris shook his head and laughed to himself. “Ridiculous. But she did see me right away. No fear.”
“And she is a black power level?”
Andris tapped the air with this finger. “The thing about humans is, when they develop their own sense of their magic, they really go with it. They push and pull and get a hold of it. Maybe we would, too—we never have that option, do we? But this woman was nearly there. All she needed was to be taught how to properly work with the elements, and voilà, myth reincarnate.”
Stefan barely kept his mouth from dropping. “She knows how to use it? You were able to train her?”
“Like I said—”
“Sir,” the driver interrupted. “We’re approaching the compound.”
“Ah.” Andris’ smile broadened. He nodded at Stefan before he stood. “I did not find a harebrained child, I found an educated adult, no matter what profession she chose. Given an apt pupil, I am an excellent teacher.”
As Andris moved away, Stefan was barely able to see a large facility looming in the window. “Where is this?”
Andris rested a hand on the passenger chair in the front of the motorhome. He turned back, glancing at the male behind Stefan. Hazel eyes fell on him a moment later. “Hope you don’t mind, I had to stop and pick up one or two things. I need to set some plans in action so mayhem rules the day within your precious democratic system. Don’t worry, we’ll be heading towards home, and your torture, soon enough.”
A bag pushed down onto his head as the motorhome shimmied to a stop.
Chapter 10
“Where is he?” I shouted as I stood in the middle of my room. Charles and Jonas looked at Tim, who minutely shook his head.
“What does that mean, the head shaking?” I demanded, panic choking me. “Have you tried calling him?”
“Yes.” Jonas paced toward the window. “No answer.”
“Where’s Dominicous? Has anyone checked in?” I asked Charles.
“Dominicous said he came back here looking for you. You guys were cleared to go home. Cato gave his nod and Mage June said she’d be in touch. Said they had some house-cleaning to do.”
“House-cleaning to do—house-cleaning to do?! Yeah, I’ll say they have some fucking house-cleaning to do! One of their damn minions just tried to force a blood link on me, then KIDNAP ME.”
“Sasha,” Jonas said quietly. “This isn’t the time to lose yourself. You need to figure out—”
“Shut up, Jonas.” I squeezed my eyes shut and rubbed my temples. “Where’s Ann? Did anyone hear from Ann?”
“She’s here!” John peeked in the door before backing out of the way quickly.
A mountain lion loped in and stopped in the middle of the floor. Green magic burst from its body. A naked human form taking the place of the lion. Charles jogged two steps, ripped one of the suitcases open, and pulled out a dress for Ann to cover up. She nodded at him in thanks, exhaustion from two changes in a short period of time drawing down her features.
“Saw Stefan,” she panted, bending down to put her hands on the ground. She didn’t bother with the dress.
“What?” I bent forward to her. “Where? Is he okay? What happened?”
“I was chasing… that guy. Almost… had him, but saw a group… of men carrying Stefan… out to the parking lot. Thought you’d want me… to follow them, instead. Did I do okay?”
“Yes! Oh god, yes. Where’d they take him? What guys?”
Charles helped Ann stand so he could dress her like a child. She leaned against him heavily with closed eyes, trying to will a second wind as she said, “Andris. It was… bloody Andris.”
Jonas stared, cellphone clutched in whitened fingers. “Did you follow the car?”
“Motorhome.” Ann filled her lungs and continued. “He took the motorhome. Both, actually. Had Trek, too.”
“But not Rudy.” I waited for her to nod before pacing while I bit my lip. That hurt, so I switched to biting my fingernail.
I spun toward Jonas. “What the hell would Andris want with Stefan? It was me he wanted last time.”
“To lure you?” Charles asked, an arm around Ann’s middle to hold her up.
I shook my head, continuing to pace across the floor. “They wouldn’t have known Rudy failed.”
“Insurance in case he failed? To lure you?” Charles tried again.
I looked upwards in thought, but all that lurked in my brain was panic-stricken fear for losing Stefan.
I walked it out, shaking my arms. What does Andris want with Stefan?
Well, he’d always hated Stefan, so there was that. But to snatch him from here? During an escape? For revenge?
I nodded at myself. Andris was that crazy.
Okay, but what else? He could’ve just killed him here. Why take him? Stefan was a huge liability—he wouldn’t be easy to keep as a hostage.
A weeping angel flashed into my head. “He’s going to sacrifice him,” I breathed quietly. “Stefan’s got a lot of power—a lot of life-force. Andris is going to sacrifice him.”
I turned to Jonas, pleading that I was wrong. Jonas stared back, calm and icy.
“Shit, that’s plausible.” My heart beat so hard it hurt. “And he’s got a head start. A way head start. We’ll never catch him. It’s been like… what, two hours? Maybe more since he was getting taken while I had my debacle? We don’t even know where he’s going. Ann, you didn’t follow him?”
“He got on the freeway.” She looped an arm around Charles’ shoulders. “I followed him that far, but four legs wasn’t keeping up with six tires. I couldn’t find a way to jump onto the motorhome.”
I nodded. Right before the tears w
elled up and overflowed down my cheeks. “Andris is going to kill him.”
Jonas stepped forward before Tim could, grabbed me by the front of the shirt, and slapped me across the face. A spark of anger lit deep inside as I looked up slowly, my bottom lip quivering. Jonas’ crazy eyes stared down at me.
“There is one person that can get the Boss back, and that is you, Sasha.” Jonas hit me with each word. “You are the mage. Now, you are the acting leader. You have the shifters, you have magic, you have Dominicous, and you have authority. You need to bring it all together. You need to own your place. Your time to step up and lead is now.”
A tear leaked down my face. My world fractured, fear and the enormity of what Jonas was saying competing against a long-standing insecurity. At the bottom of it all, though, sat the love of my life. In trouble. Alone. Probably getting beat up and shoved around. On his death bed.
He’d probably go quietly, too, thinking I was safe.
That asshole.
I let my concern for Stefan consume me. My fear of losing him tethered me to the ground. My need to survive shot right past me and latched onto him. A goal in mind, I let my body lead. I let the action part of my brain take over. I let my intuition rule.
I took a deep breath through a tight chest. Another tear leaked out as I stared at Jonas, but determination hardened my resolve. I needed to own my role or Stefan would surely die. I had to do this. For him, and for myself.
I nodded once.
Jonas let go of my shirt and stepped back. Charles removed his hand from Tim’s chest.
My mind whirled. “Okay, here’s what we know. Andris has been plaguing our territory for years. Way before I got there. He was practicing with the demons there. There’s no way he would move shop.”
My gaze swiveled to Tim. A blast of strength and power hit me as we connected eyes, the alpha in control. I summoned everything I had and matched that gaze, spilling out my hidden reserves of strength to fortify me. “I need to call in that kin-status.”
“Done.”
“Andris must be around that town somewhere. Can you guys try to source it out?”
Tim quirked his head. “We’ve been looking since that first demon attack. I don’t know where he’s hiding, but you’re right. He wouldn’t uproot his whole operation.”
“So we can’t sniff him out, but get everyone ready, anyway. Knowing Andris, he isn’t going to waste Stefan in one go. He knows how to make a demon—he’s shown us that. But making one, and controlling one, are two different things. He is still riding that failure with the last one—he couldn’t keep it in line. He’ll start small to make sure he can keep it in his command to build his confidence. Then, when he manages that, he’ll destroy his practice creation and then use Stefan for the big time.”
“Ann.” Tim fired the name across me. “Get some plane tickets. Call Bruce. Get everyone ready. Spread them out.”
“Plane tickets, good idea.” I paced. “Where’d that pecker-head Rudy go? That bastard must know something. He talked to Andris alone for Christ’s sake.”
Everyone stared at me. Then glanced at Ann. She shook her head slowly. “He crossed the courtyard into the far wing. After that, I had to go in a different direction.”
“What about the guards?” John called in through the doorway. “We should ask them.”
“Yes!” I stabbed the air toward the doorway. “And who can wrangle them up? My new best friend. Let’s go pay a visit to Cato.”
The crew was following me out the door a second later. Halfway down the hall something occurred to me. “Where are all the guys that came with us? Where’s Jessie?”
“Three are healing—they came close to a hole in the ground. We’ll scoop them up when we know what we’re doing,” Jonas answered behind me.
“Is Jessie one of those three?”
“He didn’t pick up his phone,” Charles answered.
“Damn it. If he turned traitor I will… do something extremely awful.” I clenched and unclenched my fists. My emotions threatened to break free.
Get hard. You can do this, Sasha. You can lead these guys. This is not too big. You are able for it.
I took the stairs with quick steps. We exited the stairwell and pushed through the main floor, dawn approaching but the floors still busy with the escape of Andris and whoever else. A thick woman pretending to be willowy stood in our path. A human woman stood next to her, fawning like a fool.
“Move!” I commanded. My voice boomed.
Startled, she looked up and met my eyes. It took a split second for her to realize I was human. Arrogance flowed over her like a drape, some sort of cutting remark at the ready to put me in my place.
She never got the chance.
I opened up and let the elements pour in, flooding me with the bite of magic. I threw a binding spell at her right before I magically shoved her out of the way. Ass over end, she somersaulted through the lobby and crashed against a couch, turning the whole thing over.
Sound stopped, but not because of one of Cato’s spells. Every eye, most of them wide, stared at me out of shocked faces.
“I’m one of those mean humans that don’t take shit from anyone.” I flicked some cracklers toward the ceiling; Toa’s rendition of a crowd-confusion tactic. Pops, bangs and sizzles flashed.
Gasps and shrieks filled the room as we left out the side, aiming for the right wing of the complex where I knew Cato was supposed to reside. We had hardly entered the hallway before three men approached with swords and fierce expressions.
Luckily for us, we were turning left down a corridor and wouldn’t have to go past them.
Using red power, I rocketed my famous bug spell beyond them down the hall. I slowed for the spell to settle. The men braced, staring at the arsenal of warriors I had at my side. They were grossly outnumbered and they knew it.
The magic settled into the ground.
“Yup, it worked. And they are going to be feisty.” I turned and kept going. My crew followed.
“Which spell is this?” Charles asked. The slide of metal scraping sheath meant he had just pulled his sword.
“The one where magical bugs sprout up, chase me, and bite anything in its way.”
“Oh, yeah. Nasty little suckers.”
“They chase you?” Tim asked.
“Yeah. Long story.”
The men in the way, not understanding why we didn’t step forward to engage, had thirty seconds of confusion before they got a nasty surprise.
“Can’t you sic them on other people?” Tim watched the bugs in rapt attention, walking backwards to do so.
I shrugged. “Maybe. I’ve never actually tried. I learned how to work with magic and kind of forgot about all of these spells until recently.”
“Hey, where do you think—ahhhh!” The sound of the man’s voice turned into a shriek.
“Okay, hurry.” I started jogging down the corridor. “Some will get by them and I don’t want you guys to get hit from behind.”
“It’s going to catch us, Sasha,” Charles intoned, pushing me faster from behind. He’d seen those bugs a great many times.
“I’ll unravel the spell shortly, but I want them to delay those other guys.”
“Why didn’t you just take them out, human?” Jonas asked in a growl.
“One, they were just doing their job—I’d just flipped some woman across the room. Security was needed. And two, it would’ve taken a lot of energy, which I might need right now.”
This seemed to appease the grump, but I thought I would clarify one little thing. “Just so you know, Jonas, going forward, you are the only one that addresses me by ‘human’. And then only among my immediate crew who realize you are a shitty ol’ sod without a nice nerve in your body.”
“You don’t need to tell me my job. You need to learn yours.”
I couldn’t help but crack a smile. That was his way of saying, “Duly noted, Senator.”
We pushed on, nearly there, when Dave, one of Tim’s shifters, y
elled up, “Here they come!”
“Are the guards coming behind them?” I yelled back, reaching with my magic towards those spells.
“No. But damn it, Sasha, they’re fast!”
I unraveled the spell as we reached a giant marble door with the name “Cato” engraved in the middle. Shiny and smooth, it looked like something that would guard a tomb.
“Um.” I didn’t know what else to say. The thing didn’t have a doorknob.
“Push?” Charles stepped forward and placed his palm in the middle of the door. His fingers turned white and his muscles flexed. “Nope.”
“They’re coming!” Dave yelled again.
“More bugs?” I asked in confusion as I tried to peer through a wall of muscle down the hallway.
“No. White-faced males. The Guards. They didn’t like that spell by the look of it. Don’t blame them—hurts like the bejesus.” Charles chuckled. “I’ll take care of this right quick.”
“Let my men handle it,” Tim spoke up quickly. “We don’t know what’s beyond this door.”
“Hopefully an old man with a clue.” Charles stepped back beside me.
“Tim’s right,” I agreed. “Let his people handle it.”
Jonas nodded in approval as I laid my hand on that smooth, cool marble. Tingles entered my palm and tickled up my arm, spicy and light. Some sort of spell.
“So… invite only, then. Hmm.” I closed my eyes and focused on that feeling. That intricate, lacy hum of a delicate mix of elements. Weaves so tight, so complex, I was in awe at the same time as frustrated.
“Blow it up, human.” Jonas stepped back.
“I doubt I can blow through this door.” I shook my head in frustration, my mind drifting back to Stefan. A pang pierced my heart, forcing moisture to my eyes. I took a deep breath, focusing. Trying to let my intuition guide me. Trying to find a way through or around that spell.
A dull thunk permeated the hall.
“Did you just stomp your foot like a housewife?” Charles asked in exasperation. “What, do you think the door is afraid of getting spanked with a spatula?”
