“Let me go.” She wished her voice would stop shaking.
“Sorry.” He leaned over the back of his seat. Kara was driving. “We went to a lot of trouble to get you in the first place.”
“What are you going to do with me?”
“We can talk about that later. When the drugs have worn off.”
“You’re going to do something useful for the first time in your life.” Kara’s voice seethed with venom. “You—”
“Later.” Alberic’s voice snapped out, and Kara fell silent.
It was obvious to Jewel who was in charge. The car slowed down, and Jewel assumed they were at the coven headquarters, Kara’s mansion. She must only have been unconscious for minutes. The car halted as gates opened with a groan and then started moving again. The light changed, and Jewel realised they had driven into the underground garage.
The sound of the front door opening had Jewel waiting to be released; instead, Alberic went round to the boot and opened it. A breath of air drifted over Jewel, something thudded to the ground, and a minute later Alberic opened the back door of the car and reached in. Jewel shrank as far away as possible, which wasn’t far. He hooked his hands under her arms and hauled her out. She staggered on her bound legs and collapsed onto the concrete.
Alberic looked down at her with a frown. “I don’t suppose you can walk.” He hauled her to her feet, balancing her carefully, but her legs still felt liquid, and she flopped to the ground again. She would be covered in bruises at this rate. Fortunately, the residue of whatever drug they’d given her muffled the pain.
Alberic sighed and picked her up, hoisting her over his shoulder. She squeaked and closed her eyes. When she opened them again, they were behind the car. Seawitch lay on the ground, one arm twisted beneath her.
“Watch her.” Alberic nodded at Seawitch.
“Hurry then.” Kara sounded sullen.
“I’ll get her tucked away.” Alberic moved towards the door leading to the underground rooms, his shoulder digging into her already queasy stomach. To add insult to injury, his hand caressed her bottom, squeezing her buttock as he walked along. Although her body tingled with returning feeling, she still had no strength.
The only part of her surroundings visible, from her upside-down position, was the concrete floor beneath, but she had a bad feeling about where they were headed. She heard the sound of a key being turned in a lock and felt Alberic twist to push the heavy metal door with one shoulder. Lowering her onto a narrow bunk in a small cell, he arranged her in a sitting position and regarded her.
“Why are you doing this?” She raised her eyes to his face but looked away almost immediately. Something about him made her stomach churn. How her mother let him touch her, she couldn’t understand, but her mother’s behaviour was completely incomprehensible anyway.
“I told you,” he said. “Blood is important. You have a role to play.” He stroked one hand down her cheek, and she jerked her head away. The effort made her tremble all over. “Don’t be unfriendly. If things were different, I might be your stepfather.” He stroked the top of her head.
“Different?” Her voice came out husky with fear.
“Different,” he agreed. “I’ve always liked those stories about pretty girls and their stepfathers.” He dragged his hand down her neck and cupped a breast.
Jewel’s body still wouldn’t obey her. “Get off me.”
He shook his head. “But life can’t all be about pleasure.” He stepped away from her, and she let out a sigh of relief. “I’ve another guest to deal with.”
“What do you want with Seawitch?” Jewel asked his back.
He paused. “Seawitch? Her name’s Meryll, and she belongs to me.”
“Belongs to you?” Jewel felt stupid, but she wasn’t following him at all.
“I took her from the dark master,” he said. “After the upheavals in his coven. I lost her, though. In the Indian Ocean when my ship was attacked by pirates. About a year ago. I don’t know where she’s been since then.” He smirked. “I suppose I could look for a trail of bodies.”
“Pirates?”
“I took her bracelets off and hoped the death magic would stop the pirates. It did, but not before she was swept away.”
“But—”
Alberic stroked her shoulder, dark eyes glowing. “Her blood is powerful, a strong charm. And I thought I might be able to use the death magic the master had stored in her.”
Jewel wondered why he was telling her all this. She had a sinking feeling that if he had things his way, she wasn’t going to be talking to anyone again. “So your master did this to her?”
“Not my master. The dark master. I immobilised her, though. I thought she’d be much less trouble that way.” Alberic smiled. “It was a huge bonus finding her in Maya’s flat. She’s still got a lot of the magic in her.”
“What will you do with us?” Jewel’s voice shook.
Alberic lifted one shoulder. “You’ll both help the family. You’ll lend your strength to your unborn sister.”
His smile chilled her to the bone.
“And I’ve had a brilliant idea of how to amplify that strength.” He patted her on the head and left the cell, locking the door behind him.
Rann sprinted up the stairs and pushed open the door into Maya’s hallway. Without waiting for his brother, he headed into the sitting room.
“No one here?” Lykos followed him. “They’re not back yet?”
“Jewel’s not here.” Uneasiness preyed on Rann’s mind. He wasn’t sure why, but something didn’t feel right. A tray with a carafe and two coffee mugs stood on the table. The carafe was full, the mugs empty. He ran his hand over the carafe. Almost cold. “Something’s wrong.”
“How do you know?” Lykos peered out of the window.
“I’m not sure.” Rann turned through three hundred and sixty degrees. Nothing was out of place; the only odd thing in the room was the cold coffee. His skin itched with premonition. “I’ll just check on Seawitch.”
He’d almost expected it, but the empty space in Maya’s bedroom made his pulse rate rise. He returned to the sitting room where Lykos still stared out the window at the rain, waiting for Lila to return.
“Seawitch is missing.”
“What?” Lykos swung round.
“She’s not there.” Rann picked up the phone and pressed in Jewel’s number. It went straight to voicemail again. “Fuck.” He stared at it.
“I’ll call Lila.” Lykos pulled his phone from his pocket.
Rann listened to his half of the conversation.
“Lila? . . . We’re at Maya’s flat . . . She’s not here.”
There was a longer pause this time.
“I think you’d better.” He disconnected and put the phone back in his pocket.
“They’re coming back.”
“What did they say about Jewel?”
“Headache. She wanted to rest.” Lykos ran a hand through his hair. “Maybe she felt better. She might have gone out. Shopping? For coffee?” He didn’t sound convinced.
“And took Seawitch with her?” Rann didn’t try to hide his incredulity. He paced to the door and then whirled round. “I’m going to call Annis and Connor.”
Lykos raised an eyebrow.
“Just in case. Annis’s speciality is finding things and people.”
“Good idea.”
“She’s probably just gone out.” He couldn’t explain why he felt so worried.
“Probably.” Lykos move to join him. “I think you’re right, though. And if not, then your investigators get paid for their time anyway.”
Rann took a deep breath and called Annis.
“They’re on their way.”
“I’m going to have a look at Maya’s bedroom.
” Lykos headed out.
Rann followed him. The room looked as always. Bright, slightly messy, colourful. Nothing out of place, except the missing witch.
“Come on.” Rann couldn’t stand still. “The others won’t be long.” He headed back to the sitting room and paused at the door, inspecting the space carefully. He narrowed his eyes and squinted, but there was no clue to where Jewel might have gone.
The doorbell rang.
“The investigators.” He headed for the intercom, but before he pressed it, the sound of several people climbing the stairs echoed through the flat. Lykos pulled the door open, and Lila ran in.
“What’s going on?” she asked. “Where’s Jewel?”
Maya pushed past her, and headed for her bedroom. Only a couple of seconds passed before she burst back into the hall. “She’s definitely gone.”
“Seawitch?” Lila glanced at her.
“Yes. And Jewel wouldn’t have taken her anywhere. Not by herself.”
“And not without calling us.” Lila chewed on her index finger.
“You trust Jewel?” Fergal stood in the hall.
Rann felt rage slip from his control and begin to whip the air round him. Papers flew from the hallway table, and Fergal’s newly tidied hair blew across his face.
“Of course we do.” Maya placed her arm on Rann’s forearm. “We’ve been friends since we were children.”
“Kara is her mother, though, and—”
Rann inhaled deeply and forced his power down. The wind died. “Jewel would never go back to her mother.”
Fergal nodded, but the frown stayed on his face.
“Can we look around?” Annis spoke from the doorway.
“That’s why you’re here.” Rann pointed at Maya’s bedroom door. “Why don’t you look in there first?” He waited until Annis and Connor disappeared through the door. He breathed deeply, grounding himself. “Let’s get out of the hall.” It was extremely crowded with two large demigods, two witches, and a mage crammed into it. Everyone drifted into the sitting room.
“What could have happened?” Lila still chewed on her fingers, and Lykos took her hand, gently pulling it away from her mouth.
“We’ll find out.” He sounded sure.
Rann was glad one of them did. He had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. Jewel should never have left the island. I should have forbidden it. I should never have listened to her idiotic notions.
“We’ll find her”—Maya stared at the door—“and Seawitch.”
Annis came back into the room, closely followed by Connor.
“Well?” Rann knew he sounded impatient.
“Witch’s magic.” Connor bared his teeth. “Dark magic. A mage was there.”
“Albert.” Maya clenched her teeth.
“Maybe.” Connor wasn’t committing himself. “Let me have a look in here.”
Everyone edged away as he circled the room. He stopped at the coffee table and sniffed. “There’s something here.” He glanced up. “I’m going to change. That’ll help.”
The air shimmered; a flash of skin, fur, and hair spun in a shower of light, and when Rann looked again, a large, dark gray wolf sniffed at the carpet. It nudged the edge of the coffee table with its muzzle then checked out the sofa. Finally, it covered the whole room in diagonal paths, its head down. With a growl, it sat back on its haunches and stared up at Annis.
“You’ll have to change back,” she told it. “You know I can’t understand what you’re going on about when you’re in that form.”
The wolf huffed, snapped at its own shoulder, and shimmered into human form again.
“What did you find?” Rann asked.
“The coven leader was here.” Connor pushed his hair away from his face and bent to pick up his jeans. “There’s a chemical smell as well. By the sofa. And a needle.” He scooped it up and dropped it on the table.
“What—”
“I think they used drugs.”
“On Jewel?” Rage bubbled through Rann, and he had to make a conscious effort to clamp it down. It would not be good to lose it here, and he’d had to struggle for control earlier.
“Probably.” Connor’s eyes narrowed. “No point in drugging Seawitch.”
“Kara?” Maya sounded incredulous. “What does she think she’s playing at?”
“And if she was here, then the mage scent must be Alberic.” Lila said. “We’ve got to find them.”
“Would your coven have any idea what they’re up to?” Annis asked.
“I doubt it.” Maya dismissed the suggestion but pulled her phone out. “I’ll check if Charlie knows anything.”
Rann waited impatiently while Maya talked to the mage. She listened to his response with an eye roll.
“You and Maria are the most senior members after Kara,” she said eventually. “If you don’t think it’s your responsibility, then whose could it possibly be?” Her face tensed, and she bit hard on her lip in an obvious attempt to control her temper. “Charlie . . .” There was a silence while she listened. “If you’d dealt with this earlier, then we might not have a situation.” She pressed the disconnect button with a stabbing index finger and looked round at her audience. “Useless tosser.”
“He’s Kara’s second?” Fergal stepped forward.
“Kara doesn’t have a second.” Maya glowered at her phone. “Charlie and Maria are the closest in power to her. I don’t know what they’re thinking. They can’t always have been this feeble.”
Fergal shook his head. “It looks like your coven needs a thorough shake up.”
Rann stirred restlessly. “Where would they have taken Jewel? And Seawitch?” His temper rose, and again he fought it back. He wanted to smite Jewel’s mother and any supporters she might have. He understood Lykos’s urge to kill Alberic completely.
“The mansion.” Maya looked at him. “You’re right. We need to go now.”
“You’re sure it was Kara and Alberic?” Rann stared at Connor.
“They’ve been here. Jewel’s gone. Seawitch is gone. We haven’t any other leads.”
Rann continued staring at him.
Connor took a step backwards, holding up his hands. “There were no other scents in the flat. Either they left voluntarily, or they were taken by Kara and the dark mage.”
“Right.” Rann surveyed his companions. “I’m going after them.”
“And me.” Maya pulled her jacket back on.
“We’ll all go.” Lila took Lykos’s arm.
He stared at her. “You’re not going. It’s dangerous.”
Lila tugged on his arm. “Don’t be ridiculous.”
Rann turned away. He couldn’t afford to wait while they argued. “Annis? I think you and Connor should leave. This isn’t your fight, and if I can’t deal with a couple of renegade magic users, then I’d be surprised.”
He headed for the door, followed closely by Fergal, Maya, Lila, and finally Lykos, who had obviously lost the argument. They clattered down the stairs and piled into the street.
A man waited at the front door—a tall, dark man dressed in an expensive suit and a gleaming white shirt. Power rolled off him.
Chapter 23
“Damnam.” Rann recognised his half-brother immediately, although he hadn’t seen him in almost a thousand years. The glimpse he’d caught of him a few years ago in Glasgow didn’t really count. “About time.”
“Seawitch?” Damnam wasn’t wasting time on small talk. “You have a seawitch.” His sapphire eyes moved over his brother and focussed on Maya. A small smile lifted the corner of his lips. “Maya. All grown up.”
Maya opened her mouth.
Rann didn’t give her time to speak. “Come on.” He didn’t have time to update his brother, but he suspe
cted he might be useful. “She’s been kidnapped.”
“Kidnapped?”
“We think.” Rann strode up the hill, while Maya and Damnam flanked him. Lila and Lykos trailed a few yards behind them, deep in an intense conversation. The sky darkened, and a persistent drizzle began to fall.
“What are those two doing here?” Damnam nodded at Lykos and Lila. “Besides ruining the weather? And who’s he?” Fergal had passed Lykos and caught up with Rann.
“My father.”
Damnam glanced at Maya and raised one dark, perfectly groomed eyebrow. Fergal was slight and fair; he looked like Lila and a little like Jewel, but it was hard to picture him as the father of Amazonian Maya. Rann didn’t have time to think about that now, so he ignored the implied question and kept walking.
“Fergal’s daughter, Jewel, was abducted as well,” he said. “We need to get them both back.”
“Who’s kidnapped them?” Damnam kept up with no trouble. “I finally find evidence my seawitches still exist, and you let someone walk off with it. Careless.”
“Our coven leader.” Maya also had no problem keeping up with Rann’s pace. “We’ll deal with her.”
“I’m not understanding this,” Damnam said.
“Doesn’t matter.” Rann kept walking. “Either help us get them back or go back where you came from.”
“Japan.” Damnam sounded amused. It was obvious to Rann that he didn’t realize how delicate the situation was or what danger his seawitch was in.
Sensation limped back into Jewel’s body, bringing needles of pain with it. She could move again. Or at least she would have been able to if her wrists and ankles weren’t tied. She wriggled and pulled on the restraints but fell off the seat and collapsed onto the floor for no gain at all. This time the impact slammed through her, and she couldn’t repress a gasp of pain. She shuffled along until she sensed the wall behind her back and adjusted her position until her legs bent in front of her. It was difficult with her hands tied together, but she picked at the ties round her ankles. The knots were fairly simple to undo, and eventually the ropes fell from her legs. She stretched them out and struggled to her feet, staggering as she shook the cramps out of them. Now she could work on her hands. Pursing her lips, she studied the binding, trying and failing to move her wrists apart. Eventually she gave in and started to work on the knots with her teeth. When the ropes fell away, she gave a sigh of relief and shook her hands out. Now the only problem was the nullsilver, and there was no way she was going to get that off.
Children of Poseidon: Rann Page 25
