by Ioana Visan
“Outside the restaurant.” Rafe headed towards the elevator. “She’s with Vale. They’re keeping an eye on things.” He pressed the UP button.
“Have they already arrived?” Alise asked.
“Oh, yeah. And they’re very cozy.”
“Wow…” She found it hard to believe. Sarah, who had clung to Mark for years, flirting with a stranger? Very unlikely.
A middle-aged couple stepped out of the elevator, and Rafe and Alise took their place. One look from Rafe made the older lady waiting behind them move back and let them have it all to themselves.
The moment the doors closed, Alise ran out of air. She felt Rafe’s presence next to her. So much magic in one place drew her like a magnet, and the poison added to the ordeal, needing the magic to conquer her body faster. The double pull on her system was excruciating.
“Just breathe.” Rafe’s words were a mere whisper.
She inhaled deeply and then slowly exhaled. The entire process had to be repeated a couple of times—it took forever to get to the twelfth floor—but it did the trick. She was calm and in control when they walked out and into the hall. Fortunately, she was calm enough not to glare at Cassie when they met her.
“I told you not to come!” Cassie wailed as soon as she laid eyes on her.
Rafe’s quiet chuckle tickled Alise’s ears.
“How’s it going?” she asked as they walked to the restaurant entrance.
Vale emerged from behind a big ornamental plant. “They’re having lunch.”
He waved his hand at them to follow him through a corridor that led around the restaurant, straight to the terrace on the opposite side. From there, they could watch the action going on inside and had plenty of ground to maneuver around.
Sarah and Fabian occupied a table away from the windows. The Wizard looked at ease in his smart business suit. He returned the menu to the waiter and said something. Sarah laughed, revealing more teeth than usual on her narrow face.
Cozy indeed.
“He must have put a spell on her, right?” Cassie frowned at them.
“Yeah, his charm,” Vale muttered.
“He’s not charming,” Cassie mumbled.
“He is when he wants to be,” Rafe said, eyeing the couple. “It might come as a surprise to you, but unlike some people,”—he smirked at Alise—“humans are quite into us.”
Cassie looked from him to Vale as if asking if he was serious.
“It’s the magic they never knew they were missing that attracts them,” Vale said.
“The fact that we’re mysterious, smarter, and better-looking doesn’t hurt, either,” Rafe said.
A roll of her eyes was not worth the effort. Besides, her eyes were getting tired of doing that. Alise said, “Smarter?”
“On occasion.” Rafe grinned.
“But … I’m not attracted to you,” Cassie said.
“Are you kidding?” Rafe asked. “You live with a Fairy, and you let two Guardians into your home without giving it a second thought. You’re hooked on it already.”
Alise considered Rafe’s theory. She had been around for a while, and they had spent plenty of time together, but there had been little magic involved. A few more days spent with the Guardians were not going to change that. She shook her head. Cassie was safe.
On the other side of the window, the second course arrived at the table. Rafe sniffed the air as if he were able to take in the scent of the seafood dish.
“At least we know he’s not cheap,” he said. “I’m curious how he’ll pay…”
This was the least of Alise’s concerns. She worried more about getting to the billing part of the meal. Who knew what the Wizard’s plans were? If he wanted Sarah, for whatever reason, he could take her. He didn’t have to socialize with her first.
“Aren’t you going to do anything?” Cassie asked, bouncing on the soles of her feet.
“No.” Rafe’s gaze focused on the couple sitting at the table as Fabian said something else. “He’s putting on a show for us, so we do as expected. We watch.”
At least they weren’t going to engage him in open confrontation. Alise was grateful for that. What they were going to do next, though, worried her a little more.
“Don’t tell me they’re having dessert, too.” Rafe’s stomach growled. “I’m not having pasta for lunch.”
The so-called business lunch was lasting too long. Rafe paced on the terrace, and even Vale twitched from time to time. Their agitation transmitted to Cassie, who wrung her hands while staring at the scene with terrified eyes.
The meal ended with a cup of coffee, black by the look of it. A group of chatty women, who had arrived after them, was already leaving. Seated by the window, they were loud and kept glancing at the handsome men outside, tossing them smiles. One of them had the guts to wave a hand at them on the way out.
Rafe smiled and winked back at the woman, who looked like she was in her late fifties but dressed like forty.
Finally, Fabian raised his hand, asking for the check.
“Gentleman until the end,” Rafe said.
Considering the look on Vale’s face, he definitely didn’t agree.
After Fabian paid, he and Sarah got up.
“Here we go…” Rafe’s quiet words were carried away by the breeze.
Before walking away from the table, Fabian turned and bowed his head in their direction, his cold and daring smile mocking them. He knew they were there, and he had the upper hand.
“Bastard,” Rafe said between gritted teeth.
He was on the move the instant he uttered the word, Vale right next to him, blade in hand. They didn’t take a shortcut through the restaurant, but headed back to the corridor. Alise and Cassie ran after them, doing their best to keep up.
But the Guardians were too late. By the time they ran around the last corner, Fabian and Sarah had entered the elevator, and the doors were closing. The same cold smile was stuck to the Wizard’s smug face as he raised his hand and waved. Sarah stood beside him, frozen in place.
The air in the elevator became tinged with purple, and it rolled around Fabian and Sarah. At the last moment, Sarah’s face twisted in pain. She looked like she was about to scream, although no sound came out of her mouth, and her body sagged, falling back against the wall as her eyes rolled in her head.
Cassie gasped. “Oh, my God!”
The doors closed, hiding the terrifying sight.
Chapter Forty
The short run had left Alise breathless, so she leaned against the wall for support.
Several meters ahead, Rafe and Vale exchanged a glance, their faces grim and jaw muscles tense. Their blades had already disappeared back inside their clothes.
“Why—why are they stopping?” Cassie asked. Since Alise didn’t answer fast enough, she addressed her next question to them, “What’s going on?”
“It’s done,” Rafe said, his voice flat. “He’s already taken her to wherever his new hiding place is.”
“Well, go after him!”
Vale shook his head. “I’m not going in for more torture. I’m not suicidal.”
A pained look flashed over Cassie’s face.
Rafe sighed. “Look. We could run down the stairs, and we might even catch it, but they’re not in there anymore. You saw the ripples. They’re gone.”
Tears glittered in the girl’s eyes. “What do we do now?” she croaked.
“We…” Rafe shrugged.
Vale continued, “Come up with a plan…”
“While we eat,” added Rafe.
“It’s what we always do,” Vale said.
They obviously also lost people. Alise cursed under her breath for being forced to dump her work and run out of the office in this heat only to see yet another human she knew being abducted. Gorem didn’t need Sarah, so this was just Fabian’s show of power. He could reach anyone connected to her, and he was getting closer. Alise suppressed a shudder.
Rafe put an arm around Cassie’s shoulders and t
ried to steer her towards the restaurant. “We’ll get her back. We need a better angle.”
Cassie let him guide her for a couple of steps then she firmly planted her feet on the floor and refused to move. “Can’t your friend help you? He already saved you once…”
“Our friend?” Rafe’s eyebrows arched up.
“Nate?” Vale asked, surprise in his voice.
“Yeah,” Cassie said.” He was there, so maybe he knows where they went.”
“There?” Rafe said, turning to look back. “There where?”
“Inside the elevator,” she said. Confronted with puzzled looks, she murmured, “Oh, you couldn’t see him…”
But how could Cassie see him? What kind of magic allowed humans to see what magical people couldn’t?
The Guardians stared at each other then their piercing gazes lowered to Alise.
“What? I didn’t see him!” she said.
Rafe turned to Cassie. “Are you sure it was him?”
“Uhh…” The girl looked at her feet and shifted her weight. “I think so. His face wasn’t exactly clear, but it was less shadowed than at the university. I’m pretty sure it was the same person.” She looked up. “About your size, dark hair, clear eyes, square jaw … and a big grin?”
“That’s Nate,” Vale said. “Except for the grin.”
“Unbelievable. He escaped again!” Rafe paced the floor, throwing daggers with his eyes. “And I told him to stay put and not get into any more trouble, at least until we’re done here. I’m going to smother him when we get back.”
This put the situation in a whole new perspective. It could give them a certain advantage if they played their cards right. But for this to work, they needed a plan.
Alise started towards the restaurant without looking back to see if they had followed her. They sat in a booth in a corner, and a waiter showed up with menus for everyone.
“Surprise us.” Alise waved him off.
“But…,” Rafe protested, looking longingly after the menus. “I wanted a steak,” he muttered. Alise’s frown made him shut up.
Vale picked a breadstick from the basket in the middle of the table and proceeded to break it into small pieces. He seemed to think better when he kept his hands occupied. Bread crumbs piled up in front of him on the fancy tablecloth.
“You need to cross back,” Alise told them, taking control over the situation.
“And let the Council know we failed our mission?” Rafe asked. “That will sure look good on our records.”
“Forget the records. This is important.”
“Not that I care to argue with you, but the Council’s opinion is important. You know what they’re capable of.”
She did, but she didn’t care right now. The Council wasn’t here to deal with the madman.
Vale uttered one word, “Why?”
“Are you asking me or her?” Rafe put on a fake smile.
Alise aimed a sharp glare at him before saying, “Because it’s obvious we ran into a dead end, and Nate is the only lead we’ve got. You better go and have a chat with him to find out what he knows.”
“Provided he didn’t get stuck in some weird timeline,” Rafe muttered and shook his head. “No way. If we ask to see him, and it turns out he’s missing…”
“Where is he exactly?” Alise asked.
Rafe narrowed his eyes at her as if trying to figure out whether she was worthy of knowing that piece of information. “He’s … detained.”
“Imprisoned?” Her eyes opened wide in surprise. Well, that was something. The golden cages had been empty for ages. If they had caught Gorem, he would have been the first inmate in centuries. “Wonderful. So, your reputation is already tarnished.” Alise crossed her arms and sank back in her seat. Why had the Council entrusted them with the delicate matter of capturing Gorem then? Was the hunt for real, or was this a wild goose chase? What the hell was going on?
The waiter showed up with drinks that, given their exotic looks, had to be highly over-priced. “Lunch will be ready in a minute.” Then he walked away.
“Since it appears that we will have to cross over to free the hostage,” Vale said, “I’d rather go back than use the other portal.”
Cassie shifted in her seat and asked quietly, “Wouldn’t it be safer to take Alise with you if you crossed back?”
“No,” Rafe said and cursed under his breath at the girl’s ability to make him tell the truth. “If we take her there, she’ll be left all alone when we go after Gorem.”
“Can’t other Guardians protect her?” Cassie asked.
Vale sniffed at the contents of his glass. “She’s a key witness in Gorem’s case. Without him, though, we can’t officially protect her. The case is not about her.”
“But it makes no sense!” Cassie said. “He tried to kill her!”
“Tell that to the Council,” Rafe said in a dry voice.
Alise gave him a long, pensive look. She wasn’t dead. Yet. “So what you’re saying is that this is not about my wings. It’s about the dead Fairies.” She had never thought there would come a day when such a small detail like her being still alive would work against her.
“Technically, yes.” Rafe nodded. “Sorry.”
“But I wasn’t killed, which makes me an unreliable witness,” she murmured, talking to herself. Weird logic, but not so weird when the Council was involved.
“You’re the only witness we’ve got. And while we’re on this side, or any other side except our own, we can apply the rules the way we see it fit. I say we need to protect you.”
“And we will,” Vale said.
Despite their reassurance, Alise’s voice came out grim, “He’s never going to pay for what he did, is he?”
“You don’t know that,” Rafe said. “We need to catch him first. Lots of things can happen after that.”
If there was a promise in that, she couldn’t tell. There could have been. She stifled a sigh. She would have to wait and see. There was no other choice. While on a mission, the Guardians had power of life and death over everyone involved. That included her and Gorem. She could only hope she would be the one left alive in the end. After letting her get bitten by the Mermaid, they owed her that much.
The first course arrived, and Rafe stared at the tiny slice of cheese with a piece of shrimp on top. “Who ordered this?”
Chapter Forty-One
It wasn’t unusual for Alise to be the last one to leave the office. After taking an extended weekend off and with the upcoming deadline, it surprised no one. She had her own rhythm, but she always delivered, so her colleagues went out for drinks and let her finish her work in peace. She liked it that way.
This time, she had a different reason. She wanted to make sure everyone was long gone before she left so she wouldn’t be seen if someone happened to linger outside. There was enough gossip going around because of a phone call Rafe had picked up for her during the weekend. Who knew what he had told them, but the girls were taken with the charming stranger she was supposedly hiding.
Pain crept up along her spine, and it had nothing to do with the absence of her wings. The damned desk was too low, forcing her to bend over it whenever she wanted to draw something. She preferred to do it by hand because the stupid computers never got it right, and the artificial light applied on the rendered images didn’t look realistic enough for her, but the job’s requirements said otherwise. She stretched her back and turned off the tablet. She had already pushed her luck. It wouldn’t take long until someone burst in to check on her. Cassie had sent her several messages, asking when she was coming home for dinner. Alise wasn’t hungry, but if Cassie wanted to maintain a sense of normality in their messed up life, who was she to argue?
After she gathered her things, Alise locked the door then walked down the small flight of stairs leading to the entrance. The late afternoon heat hit her with a vengeance, drawing the air out of her lungs and closing her throat. She used to like the warm weather, but not this kind of heat. She brac
ed herself and crossed the platform separating her from the street.
She was still trying to decide whether to walk the whole three blocks up to the apartment when her vision blurred, the air around her flickering and turning all shades of purple. No, it couldn’t be. Gorem had no reason to be this desperate and try to abduct her in the middle of the street. Just like with Sarah, there were easier ways to do it. Besides, as far as they knew, he hadn’t crossed back from The Mists.
Had the hallucinations started already? Less than forty-eight hours had passed since the bite. In most cases, the victims died in the first twelve hours. She was lucky the absence of the magic in her body had slowed down the process, but it hadn’t put an end to it. Madness and pain were still going to be an overwhelming part of her future.
She stood still and waited for her head to clear. A strong hand gripped her elbow, offering her the support she needed, and she closed her eyes as the familiar magic enveloped her. Gradually, the world stopped spinning, and the bright colors began to fade away. So, this was how it was going to be from now on. She’d better get used to it.
“Did it pass?” Rafe’s low voice rumbled in her ear.
Alise opened her eyes. The light was less bright—it filtered through the foliage of a thick tree—and the colors had returned to normal.
“Yes.”
She straightened herself up, aware that she was leaning against him too much and people might get the wrong idea. He obviously didn’t mind, but she did. They looked like a couple stopped in the shade for a moment. Rafe continued to hold onto her arm, his powerful presence impossible to ignore.
“What are you doing here?” she asked.
“Cassie thought it fit for a woman of your status to have a driver,” he said. “Come on. The car’s in the back.” He nodded for her to turn around. “She also seems to think I’m some sort of errand boy. She wants us to stop by the market and get fresh fruit on the way back. Is she always like that, or is this because of another spell you put on her?”
“Oh, that’s not a spell.” Alise smiled to herself. “She always gets what she wants. I pity those who try to stand up her.”
