by Helen Scott
Pulling the last chunk away, she could see the key was set into the wood of the hilt. She was so thankful that her daggers hadn’t disappeared yet. Sliding one from its sheath, she wiggled the tip of the blade between the metal of the key and the old wood. Prying it up didn’t seem to work, so she tried to twist the blade slightly, instead, to see if she could break off part of the wood surrounding the one thing standing between her and her soulmate. As soon as she did, the whole thing shattered. It seemed as though the age and excessive use had finally caught up with it, and without the bindings to hold it together, it fell apart.
The wood disappeared before it fell as far as her knees. She froze for a split second as she watched the key fall before instinct kicked in and her hand darted out, grabbing the shiny metal out of the air. It was warm to the touch and smooth against her rough, dry skin. It lay in her hand for a moment while she just stared at it, unable to move. If this wasn’t the key she needed, then she was screwed. Carefully she held it up in front of the keyhole and inserted it. It fit perfectly. As she turned it in the lock, she heard groaning, clicking noises, as though it didn’t want to let her go but couldn’t resist the power of the key. Finally, the key stopped moving, and she pushed ever so slightly. The world around her gave way and light streamed in, making her squint and shield her eyes against the brightness of it.
Her eyes had completely closed at some point, and she blinked them open, but nothing made sense. Everything was upside down, so she closed them again, hoping for a better result next time. She took one great, shuddering breath, and sensations began to pound against her. Alec’s scent, Vivienne’s voice, something else that smelled foul, and pain, so much pain. Ellie let out a soft whimper, and her body seemed to suddenly hit something hard, as though she’d fallen. Her whimper turned into a cry as her poor, battered body took yet another beating. This time when she opened her eyes, Alec was there next to her, tears streaming down his face.
Chapter 21
Alec wasn’t sure what to do. Ellie was alive and in pain right in front of him, and he couldn’t fix it. Vivienne had pushed him out of the way as soon as Ellie had opened her eyes. They hadn’t been open for long, but it was long enough to let him know she was alive. She’d passed out, and based on the noises she’d made when she fell to the floor, he was willing to bet it was because of the pain. Ever since then, Vivienne had been throwing every scrap of healing magic she had at his soulmate. He needed to ask about Hal, but he knew he ran the risk of offending the witch, but if it came down to her offense and Ellie’s safety, he knew what he’d pick, and it would be the same thing every time.
“Do you want me to call my brother? He’s gifted with healing water.”
Her eyes were sharp on him as she assessed his question. She looked away, and for a moment, he thought she was going to be so affronted that she’d stop working on Ellie, but he should have known better than to think she’d do something like that. Once she’d taken a breath, she looked back at him, her exhaustion showing on her face.
“That would be good. I don’t know how much longer I can work before I’m tapped out.”
Pulling out his phone, he sent a nine-one-one text to Hal, who appeared moments later.
“What the hell’s been goin’ on here?” his burly brother said as he appeared in the doorway.
“Can you help Vivienne heal Ellie?”
Without another word, Hal dropped to his knees by the witch, and Alec tossed him the water bottle that he’d been drinking out of moments before. “I’ll get you more, but that’s enough to get you started, right?”
Hal nodded, uncapping the bottle and extracting the water. Once it was floating in front of him, Vivienne rolled Ellie over and Hal went to work. Seeing the blood-soaked material of the doctor’s treatments and deep gashes on his love’s back was almost too much, so he stood and carefully maneuvered his way around the two healers so he could get more water for Hal.
As he left the room, he felt lightheaded. The tension he’d been holding in all this time was finally catching up to him. Going to the sink in the small bathroom, he pulled the fake flowers out from a decorative vase and filled it with water, returning as quickly as he could to the action.
Vivienne was speaking quietly, whether to herself or Hal, he had no idea, but he left them to it, placing the water close at hand for his brother, who would find it when he needed it. Alec sat on the couch and watched. As they worked, the doctor removed the poultices that she’d placed on Ellie’s wounds to try to staunch the bleeding, and Alec’s heart froze in his chest, but when she pulled the fabric away, the wounds had already healed. The scars were slightly more prominent than they had been before, but Ellie’s skin was beautifully whole. Hal worked on closing up the other wounds, mainly around her upper shoulders and neck. That was when Alec noticed it.
Ellie had markings going from the tops of each shoulder down her upper arms, which, if he wasn’t mistaken, looked like neatly folded wings. He had been awake for most of three days, though, so he might be starting to see things. Alec quickly brought the heels of his palms up to his eyes and tried to rub the strange image from his sight. By the gods, he was exhausted, and he’d sleep for a week after Ellie was okay. When he pulled his hands away and looked at the small cluster of people in front of him, hardly anything in the image had changed except the amount of blood. Vivienne had somehow found a bowl of water somewhere and was using it to wash the dried blood and the remains of the poultices from Ellie’s skin. The wings were definitely still there and seemed to be darker than they had been a moment ago.
The good doctor must have caught the panic on his face and what his eyes were fixed on, because she spoke up. “Talk to the Morrigan. She’ll help you with your questions.”
“If you know, can’t you just tell me?”
“It’s not mine to tell. All I’ll say is that it’s nothing harmful.” She turned and began to pack her things away. “I’m going to head out. Hal’s finishing up the last cut, and all she needs now is sleep, a good meal, and a shower.”
“Thank you for everything, Vivienne. I don’t think either of us would have survived this without you.”
“I’ll send you my bill,” she said, winking at him before giving Hal’s shoulder a quick squeeze and disappearing.
A few minutes later, Hal sat back, looking more worn out than Alec would have expected. “Seriously, Brother, what the hell happened?”
“Blood magic, a locking spell, a resurrection spell, and possibly a summon-the-dead spell all mingled, and Ellie was caught in the center.”
“By the gods,” Hal exclaimed under his breath, “MacLeod?”
“It was one of his journals, yes. I’ve looked through the rest of them, and this was the only one that contained any magic, but it was a doozy.”
“What was he doing with magic like that?” Hal sighed and rubbed the back of his neck.
“Trying to save or bring back his wife, depending on where you look in the journal.”
“Mother of Zeus . . .” Hal muttered under his breath.
“How far would you go to save Robin?” When he saw the knowing look from his brother, Alec nodded and said, “Exactly.”
Bending over, Alec scooped Ellie into his arms. “Thanks for your help, Brother, seriously. I appreciate that I can always depend on you.”
“Anytime,” Hal said, clapping him on the back before jumping out.
Alec wrapped the filaments of the universe around them and used the last ounce of his energy to move them to their bedroom. He stripped Ellie of her remaining clothes and tucked her into bed before following the same steps for himself.
When he woke up, Ellie was sitting straight up in bed, watching him.
“Hey, love. What are you doing awake?”
“Is this real?” She pulled the covers high, almost up to her neck, while her wide eyes roamed the room.
“Ellie . . .” Alec reached out to touch her, and she flinched away. Disappointment flooded him. The distance that had bee
n growing between them seemed to be wider than ever.
“I just need some time. Purgatory was a constant fight for survival, and I’m not convinced this is real yet.”
“That’s fine, love. Let me know if I can help at all. I’m always here for you. I hope you know that.”
Alec swung his leaden legs over the side of the bed and got up, pulling a pair of pants on as quickly as possible. The last thing he wanted to do was make her uncomfortable. “Come on, we need to go talk to the Morrigan.”
She nodded at him, and he went into their bathroom to give her space to get dressed. By the time he came back out, she was fully clothed and seemingly waiting on him.
“How does breakfast sound while you chat with her?”
“Eggs and sausage?” A small smile sat beautifully on her face. His Ellie was still in there.
They made their way downstairs, only to discover that it was still night outside and the Morrigan was pacing in their kitchen. As soon as she saw them, she froze, her eyes immediately moving down to Ellie’s shoulders before she jerked them back up.
“Any news?” she asked in a hushed tone, as though she was afraid of the answer.
“Not yet. Any moment, though.” Alec’s tone was more clipped than he’d intended, but it has been a long couple days. “Vivienne said you might be able to help us with some answers about the marks on Ellie’s shoulders?” he asked as he began making food for all of them.
“I haven’t seen markings like that in a very long time.” She took a deep breath before continuing. “It means she is one of my descendants, directly part of my lineage. I didn’t know there were any of mine left in the world.” The goddess choked up slightly at the end, her voice becoming tight with emotion.
Ellie remained silent through it all and tucked into her eggs as soon as he placed them in front of her.
“What does that mean for Ellie?”
Before the Morrigan could answer, his phone began beeping insistently in his pocket. Alec fished his phone out. There were multiple nine-one-one texts from Ben.
“Ben’s found them, but he and our tracker are in trouble. I need to go,” Alec said. He expected the war goddess to want to come, but she simply hugged her arms around herself and nodded.
Ellie pushed her plate away and said, “I need a short sword or a pair of daggers.”
“No, you need to stay and rest.” Alec shook his head. There was no way his soulmate was putting herself in danger again so quickly.
“I’m fully charged and just ate more than I have in a long time. Give me a weapon and let me back you up.” She paused, seeming to sense that she wasn’t getting anywhere with him, and her eyes turned flinty, a vicious expression on her face that he’d never seen before. “If you don’t take me, I’ll have someone else drop me off. If we go together, you can make sure I’m safe.”
She made a damn strong argument, and he knew she wasn’t bluffing. The idea of her fighting anywhere other than where he could protect her was intolerable. Quickly, he jumped to the armory and grabbed a short sword and some daggers for both Ellie and himself. If this was a controlled op where they knew the location or any information, he’d be packing nonlethal weapons, but something like this, he wasn’t going to risk anyone’s life, especially Imogen’s. Not only was this not her fight, but if she got hurt, then it would leave ill will between the brothers and the pack.
When he reappeared, Ellie had grabbed an old leather jacket from the closet and pulled on some boots. The look on her face was enough to make him pause. When she extended her hand, he gave her the short sword, and after she’d swiftly attached it to her belt, he handed her the daggers. She pulled each one out of its sheath and tested their weight in her hands. Satisfied, she strapped them on and nodded.
He grabbed her hand, and they jumped out.
Chapter 22
Alec and Ellie arrived in a warehouse district. Everything looked run down and empty, which would have made him worry had he not received specific instructions from Ben about how to get to them and the fact that there was a glamor spell in place. As they moved forward, he kept an eye on Ellie. He knew she shouldn’t be here and that she’d be a hell of a distraction for him in a fight, but he also wanted her there, wanted her close to him.
The glamor faded around them as they passed one building, revealing the sleek, modern campus of warehouse buildings behind it. There was the long white wall that Ben had used to give them a starting point for his directions, and beyond that were the three warehouses. Ben and Imogen were trapped in the middle one, which sat opposite the wall.
“Ready?” Alec asked, glancing over his shoulder.
Ellie simply nodded.
He expected her to unsheathe a weapon of some sort, but she didn’t, and when they started moving, he could tell it was because she didn’t want it to get in her way. Each and every movement left her in a battle-ready stance. It was a simple thing, but it reminded him of how much he didn’t know about the time she’d spent in what she called Purgatory.
When they passed the end of the warehouse on their right, the doorway that Ben had mentioned came into view. Alec knew that as soon as they went in, their lives would be at risk, not just Ellie’s and his own but Ben’s and Imogen’s lives, too, and if the guards realized which prisoners they were going for, then the fae would be in danger, as well. Not going in wasn’t an option, though, so he braced on one side of the door and Ellie aligned herself on the other.
Alec silently lowered the handle and eased the door open a little. There were no guards within his line of sight, but Ben’s text had said that they were pinned down by a group of them. They eased in through the door and found a long hallway with an elevator on one end and a sitting area on the other. Quickly, Alec popped open the other two side doors in the room before going through the door Ben had indicated. All the while, Ellie silently followed at his heels. Only his occasional glimpses of her as he moved around let him know she was still there.
As he opened the final door, he could see the guards at the end of the open space. It was a prison of sorts, just like Ben had said, and on each side of him was a room that had a glass wall facing him. The occupants looked at them curiously, and Alec knew without being told that they were all supernatural beings of some kind, or at the very least, had some control over magic.
The cluster of men at the end of the oversized hallway area were all highly trained guards who gave off an almost militia vibe. It didn’t hurt that they were all wearing matching black cargo pants, black shirts, and black boots. If it were night, their outfits would make sense to him, but standing in a room made up of glass, metal, and pale concrete, they stood out like sore thumbs, but then, maybe that was the point. It would be easy to strike fear into the captives with heavily armed, obviously trained security guards who looked like they would kick anyone’s ass for any reason they felt like.
The sounds of low murmurs reached his ears as the men at the other end of the hall, who were still oblivious to their entrance, discussed how to open the cage without letting the wolf out. Agitation flowed through the air like heat off a fire. The men were antsy and didn’t want to wait, but the tall man who Alec assumed was the one in charge was forcing them to take it one step at a time. Alec was grateful that there was one cool head among them, since that had given him and Ellie enough time to arrive and make their way to the party.
Together, they edged toward one wall, which would have them at the back of the guards as they approached, hopefully giving them the element of surprise. As they moved, he could feel the magic that protected the glass rasping against his senses like a cat’s tongue. It wasn’t unpleasant, just not something he was used to. When he glanced back at Ellie, he saw that the daggers were now in her hands and was blown away that he hadn’t heard her unsheathe them. He forcibly pushed away his curiosity as he walked further down the wall, occasionally glancing at the people inside the cells.
Most looked completely human, but occasionally he’d catch eyes staring at him
that shouldn’t be in a human body—some reptilian, some blood red, even some that looked like starlight, all of which watching and waiting for the coming fight. If he concentrated, he could almost feel the energy pouring through the glass as they paced back and forth in their cages like animals, which, he supposed, was exactly how their captors saw them.
Alec knew the exact moment everything went to hell.
He hadn’t wanted to waste energy on keeping them glamored, and now he was kicking himself for it. One of the guards on the edge spotted their reflections in the glass. He turned and took aim with the matte-black handgun clenched in his fingers. Alec’s training kicked in, and centuries of fighting allowed him to take in the movements all around him and make split-second decisions, almost as if he could slow time down. He dove and rolled toward the man who blew their cover, pushing back up into a standing position with his own weapons drawn. He sliced into the man’s stomach, shattering the illusion of safety that the gun gave while the thin black material of the uniform offered no protection. The man sputtered and jerked, the gun firing mercifully into the floor as Alec spun the soon-to-be-dead guy around and used him as a shield against the wave of gun muzzles just raised in his direction.
Ellie was on his right, her moves effortless and efficient, causing maximum damage with minimal effort, but when a bullet grazed her upper arm, his ability came roaring to life, which was good since the gun muzzles in front of him were beginning to flash in his vision. He poured the energy of his ability into the corpse in front of him, turning all the remaining fluid in the body solid. The bullets thudded into the icy mass and were stopped in their tracks. He shoved the body into the group of guards, following directly behind it as he began to slice into anything he could reach.
Something squeaked to the side, and he saw Ellie sliding on her knees, daggers out as she cut the tender flesh of the back of the knees of two of their opponents, bringing them to the ground so they were at the same level as her before stabbing them in the chest. She was definitely different. He’d never seen her fight like that before, and as the smell of burned flesh reached his nose, he realized that the reason he hadn’t seen her usual display of power was because she had been channeling it into her weapons. She was fierce, and the way she was interweaving magic and her fighting skills let Alec know that he had been worried about her for nothing.
