by Devyn Quinn
But Kenneth wasn’t listening. The last time they’d been attacked, he’d failed to protect her and her sisters. It hadn’t been his fault. He was outgunned and outarmed.
Not this time. He was prepared to defend his family. “No way.”
“Don’t,” she started to say, but it was it too late. Kenneth squeezed the trigger, sending a shot straight toward Jake Massey.
Jake screamed as the missile tore into his shoulder. One hand flying to cover the wound, he dropped to his knees. “You shot me, you fuck!”
“They can’t take you to prison if you’re dead, Jake. Behind bars is where I want to see you next.” Kenneth aimed the gun toward Magaera. He wasn’t afraid and he wasn’t messing around. By the look on his face, he would shoot with the intent to kill. Seconds later another shot rang out.
At that exact moment, everything seemed to decelerate, turning every action and reaction into a slow-motion ballet.
Queen Magaera laughed as she raised her free hand. The bullet slowed, so much so that Tessa was able to clearly follow its trajectory.
Without so much as blinking, Magaera simply reached out and plucked the bullet out of the air. Holding the small projectile between thumb and forefinger, she examined it from every angle. “Is that all you humans have?” She laughed, flicking it away.
“Hurry up,” Jake howled in pain and rage. “I’m going to fucking bleed to death here.”
“Let me go,” Tessa said, realizing that she was pleading and that her voice was shaking uncontrollably. “If I don’t, she’ll kill everyone here.”
Kenneth shook his head. “No way.” He fired again—and again. The gun in his hand recoiled. Violent flashes and the smell of gunpowder seared the air.
The Mer queen merely swatted them away. And then, with the most casual of moves, she turned up her palm. A small orb of light burst into life above her hand. It blazed with the intensity of a live coal.
Tessa gasped. Magaera was powering herself up from the crystals embedded in the scepter. Fighting panic, she knew there was no way anyone would survive once the blast hit its mark.
Magaera smiled. The soul-stone around her neck blazed with a luminescence that lent her pale skin an unearthly glow. She seemed to tower above them all, a goddess stepped down from the realm of heaven to wreak havoc on the lesser mortals.
“For your defiance, I’m going to burn your man down into a little cinder.” The orb in her hand took flight, winging its way straight toward Kenneth. With each passing second it got bigger and menacingly brighter. There was no way to dodge it.
Without thinking, Tessa threw herself in front of her husband. Vaguely she was aware of the high-pitched whine cutting through her ears. The atmosphere around her crackled with an eerie glow.
Aware that her heart was pounding hard against her ribs, she lifted her hands. It was a panicked reaction, done without rational thought. A moment of consideration would have reminded her she wasn’t strong enough to ward off the threat. Drawing on every ounce of energy she had, even that of her unborn children, she threw up a shield around Kenneth. A shower of blue sparks twinkled in the air around her.
But it wasn’t enough.
An instant later the world exploded.
“Tessa!” She heard panic in Kenneth’s voice but couldn’t respond. The terror ripping through her overrode her sense of self-preservation. She would die to protect her husband.
The concussion whacked Tessa like a giant’s fist. Heat seared through her, burning the clothes off her body. Vaguely aware that her feet were no longer touching the ground, she flew through the air.
The violence of the impact crushed the air out of her lungs. Struggling to breathe, she couldn’t catch her breath before wave after wave of pain flashed brutally throughout her entire body. The only sound she heard was a low moan, and it was her own.
Tessa blinked, disbelief and horror rising inside her. All she could do was stare in shock at the flames, smoke, and debris surrounding her. Where’s Kenneth? she first thought, dazed but coherent.
Concern for his safety overrode agony, giving her the strength to sit up. She got one arm under her, but when she tried to move, a white-hot spike burned its way through her shoulder and up her neck. She would have cried out, but there was suddenly no oxygen to breathe.
Clamping her jaw, Tessa rode the wave, struggling to remain conscious. But the pain was too much for her abused body to endure. Unable to stop the assault, she spiraled into pitch-black darkness…
Chapter 5
Heart pounding a mile a minute, Addison hurried toward the wreckage of the Itty Bitty Baby Boutique. The last text she’d received from Tessa had said she and Kenneth were shopping there.
The next message she’d received hadn’t been from Tessa, though. A 911 call had come through on her work pager, instructing all available emergency personnel to report to the mall. Details were sketchy, but word of a terrorist attack was going around.
She didn’t remember getting out of the car; nor did she exactly recall the fire chief’s warning that rescuers should proceed with all due caution. Putting her feet into motion, she’d dodged around the barriers police were in the process of setting up. And even though she hadn’t invited him along, Mason McKenzie was managing to keep up with her.
People stumbled past her, unaware where they should go or what they should do. Some were sobbing piteously. Others were blank faced with shock.
Addison’s fear ran so thick, it made her light-headed. “My sister and her husband were in there,” she yelled at Mason.
As an EMT and search and rescue worker, Addison had witnessed her share of tragedy. But she’d never beheld such utter devastation firsthand. What had formerly been a beautiful little shop snuggled amid many others in the midsized mall was presently a wreck, little more than ruins. Everywhere she looked, chaos prevailed. People were still hysterical and confused.
“By the goddess,” she gasped, “it looks like a war zone.”
Aid workers were already on the scene, performing triage on those who had been injured in what looked like an intense blast. The entire rear wall of the store was gone. An empty space gaped out into the parking lot behind the mall. The moans and groans of the wounded people surrounding her threatened to rip through her sanity.
Addison swore under her breath. A dozen scenarios ran through her mind. She didn’t care what had happened or how. All she cared about was finding Tessa and Kenneth. She’d already tried both their cells a dozen times but had received no response. If they were safe, Tessa would answer, she thought.
Aware that her heart was bashing against her ribs, Addison began to search through the victims. Since she was still in uniform, nobody questioned her presence. She couldn’t begin to think where to look for them in the rubble. “My sister,” she asked any and every aid worker. “Have you seen a Tessa? Or a Kenneth?”
Mason McKenzie gently took her arm. “The paramedics are working on a man named Randall,” he said quietly. “That’s your sister’s last name, isn’t it?”
His words were as sharp and painful as a hot blade shoved between her ribs.
Addison whirled. A couple of paramedics from the hospital were bent over a man stretched out on the floor. A battered mess, he was evidently the victim of a horrible scorching. Most of his clothing looked as if it had been burned away. What little remained had been torn away so rescue workers could administer CPR. An oxygen mask covered his face.
Instant recognition slammed into her brain. She stared in dazed horror. The shock of seeing her big strong brother-in-law little more than a helpless victim was so sudden and so deep that she couldn’t take a breath.
More terrified than she’d ever been in her life, Addison stared at him for in interminable minute. Somehow, she managed to shake off the numb feeling and hurried over to the paramedics. “That’s my sister’s husband,” she said briskly, fighting to keep the emotion out of her voice. “How is he?”
One of the medics glanced up. “It’s not good…
He’s got burns over sixty percent of his body. He’s already flatlined once. We’ve got him stable and are waiting for transport.” Even as they spoke, two rescue workers bearing a stretcher were heading their way.
Addison’s gaze zeroed in on Kenneth’s torn, seared skin. A tear slid down her cheek. She swiped it away with an angry hand. Not now. Her personal feelings had no place in the middle of an emergency. “His wife, Tessa, was with him. Have you seen her?”
The medic shook his head. “Could be she’s still in there. We haven’t gotten everybody out yet.”
Addison glanced toward the ruins of the store. Racks of merchandise still smoldered amid the deep piles of rubble. The parts of the roof that were still intact looked unstable, ready to crumble at any given second.
“If Tessa’s in there, I’ve got to find her.” She refused to consider the possibility that Tessa might be dead among the rubble. It was something she would know.
“Tessa…” She’d intended to shout her sister’s name, but it came out as little more than a sob between numb lips. She’d never lost it in the middle of an emergency. But then again, members of her family had never been involved. Her thoughts were so jumbled that she couldn’t think straight.
She headed toward the debris.
Mason McKenzie grabbed her arm. “This isn’t the time to play hero.” He nodded toward the medic lifting Kenneth onto the stretcher. “You need to go to the hospital with him.”
Addison immediately broke away, shaking her head. “My sister’s in there.” Her voice cracked briefly before she was able to continue. “If anyone can find her, I can.”
Captain McKenzie’s features might have been carved of stone for all the emotion he revealed. His intelligent blue gaze assessed the chaos around them in a calm and efficient manner. “She might already be on her way to the hospital,” he noted. “She’ll need you there.”
Forcing herself to focus, she drew a steadying breath. The acrid odor of smoldering merchandise scorched the air around them. “Other people still need help,” came her stubborn reply. “My job is to help them.”
Although she couldn’t be sure, Addison thought she saw a glint of admiration in Captain McKenzie’s eyes. Clad in his full dress blues, he towered over her like a mountain. With his blond crew cut, high cheekbones, and square jaw, he looked like the epitome of the all-American male. His tan emphasized that this was a man who spent a lot of time out of doors. Broad shouldered, narrow hipped, and with legs that stretched for a mile, he definitely looked like the peak of physical perfection—like a Roman god stepped down from the heavens.
A shudder whisked down her spine. The sheer presence of the man was overwhelming.
Her chest tightened in a most uncomfortable way. Pull yourself together, she warned herself.
Captain McKenzie nodded gravely. “I’ll help,” he answered without hesitation.
Addison blinked and tried to refocus. Having a teammate helped. McKenzie even had the good sense to grab a trauma bag, something that had completely escaped her. Hers was still in the car.
As they approached the destruction, Fire Chief Williams motioned for their attention. “Good to see you, Lonike,” he said, lowering the walkie-talkie pressed against his ear. “I’m sorry this is your first call on the department’s team. We’d hoped to break you in easy.”
Addison didn’t waste any time. “I’m ready, sir. But I need to let you know that my sister and her husband were shopping here when the blast occurred.”
“Aw, shit,” Williams muttered. “That’s not good news.”
“They’re taking Kenneth to the hospital now, but I can’t find out anything about Tessa.” She risked another glance at the devastation. By the look of things, anyone who’d survived was damn lucky. “Does anyone know what happened?”
“Just that there was some crazy-ass woman with a glowing stick,” the fire chief answered. “If that makes any sense. Witnesses have reported that one of the invaders was shot. Past that, nobody seems to remember anything. There was some kind of second explosion, like a fireball tearing through the place.” The chief shook his head as if he could hardly believe what he was saying.
Captain McKenzie shook his head. “Looks as if they lobbed a handful of grenades around in here.”
Williams eyed the uniform. “You here for a reason, Captain?”
“Just to help render assistance to the wounded,” McKenzie answered. “I have training in first aid.”
“He’s with me,” Addison filled in.
Her answer seemed to satisfy Williams. His attention shifted back to the matter at hand. “The feds are on their way now. This has been declared a terrorist attack, and all personnel are on red alert. All security precautions are being implemented now.” He cocked his head, giving her a knowing look. Of course, he knew she was a Mer. He’d been aching to snatch her from harbor patrol for years. “You know what this means.”
Addison stared at him with dawning comprehension. The implications of what he’d said began to hit her.
For ten, maybe twenty, seconds she couldn’t react. How could she not have known? Her heart had to be pushing more than a hundred beats per minute. The blood roaring through her veins all but deafened her. It took only seconds for her to put two and two together.
Queen Magaera had come back. And Jake Massey was apparently still acting as her faithful lackey.
Her shoulders sagged in relief. “Tessa’s not in there,” she murmured to no one in particular. But any sense of relief she might have felt was short-lived. There was no doubt in her mind that the vengeful monarch had achieved her objective of taking Tessa hostage.
They had all known this day would come. They should have been ready; better prepared. The first rogue Mer attack on their family should have warned them Magaera would stop at nothing to gain what she wanted.
Now Tessa was in more danger than ever before.
The ER was in chaos. The small county hospital didn’t have enough resources to deal with such a major public emergency, and victims of the attack lined the hallways. Most weren’t hurt badly, suffering mostly from shock and the trauma of having a perfectly normal day go haywire right before their eyes.
Mason hurried behind Addison as she frantically tried to find out about Kenneth. The facility was already crammed with sick adults and crying babies brought in for other reasons, making navigation difficult.
“My brother-in-law just came in,” she said to anyone who would listen. “Kenneth Randall.”
A nurse clad in scrubs paused to answer her. “The burn victim?”
Addison nodded eagerly. “Yes, that’s him.”
“He’s in trauma room three,” the nurse answered.
“Thanks.” The words had barely left Addison’s mouth when a redheaded woman carrying a little boy hurried their way. A tall, dark man followed at her heels. They were, Mason assumed, Addison’s sister, Gwen, and her fiancé, Blake Whittaker. Two more men trailed behind him. Their dark suits and impenetrable sunglasses immediately pegged them as federal agents.
Protection, he thought. That was fast. Since the first attack on the Lonike girls, and their subsequent release back into the human population, A51 undercover agents had been assigned to keep an eye on the girls and their family. Both fellows did a double take at the sight of his dress blues, but they said nothing. They were, for all intents and purposes, on the same team.
Both his cell phone and pager were buzzing wildly, but he ignored them both. Adam Webber had probably received word of the attack. But he wasn’t in the position to talk or answer any questions. Right now he was sticking close to Addison.
“We got here as fast as we could,” Gwen said, shifting the child on her hip to a more comfortable position. The little boy’s arms were clutched around her neck in a death grip. By the look on his face, the child was obviously frightened. “The agents… They’re saying we’ve been attacked again by the Mer.”
Addison grimaced. “Kenneth and Tessa were in the middle of the blast. Kennet
h’s in trauma room three. But Tessa—” She choked, unable to make herself say more.
Everyone went pale. “By the goddess… ,” Gwen murmured. “We knew they’d try again, but not so soon. Where’s Tessa?”
Addison ducked her head to hide the tears welling in her eyes. “They got her,” she mumbled under her breath. “Magaera and Jake. They did this.”
“Jesus Christ.” Blake Whittaker cast a glance over his shoulder. “No wonder we’ve got company. The boys in black have been hot on our tails since we left the hotel.”
Gwen’s jaw tightened. “I was afraid this would happen. As long as Magaera’s out there, she’s going to be a danger to all of us.”
Addison nodded in agreement. “I don’t think they will hurt her. She’s the key to the sea-gate. They need to keep her alive.”
Gwen pressed her lips together. “We can deal with only one thing at a time. Kenneth’s the one who needs our help now.”
Although he felt a little bit guilty about eavesdropping on the family in their time of tragedy, Mason was aware that every little piece of knowledge he gleaned might help when the USET team went after Magaera again.
This time we’re not going to lose, he told himself. The devastation these creatures could cause was enormous. What’s more, they did so with little regard for human lives. After witnessing the aftermath in the mall, he was more convinced than ever that eliminating the Mer entirely would be the wise thing to do.
Mason glanced toward Addison and her sister. He didn’t fail to notice that Gwen Lonike took a lot of care to make sure her scale pattern was concealed. Addison, on the other hand, didn’t seem to care if other people gaped at the design covering her arms.
But still another question begged for an answer in his mind. What should be done with the Mer already integrated among the human race? Should they be dealt with differently from the rogue Mer, or should the entire species be lumped together?
But there was no time to ponder the question. They arrived to find doctors and nurses streaming out of the ICU.
