city of dragons 03 - fire magic

by crowe, val st

  Caleb’s expression turned sour. “I’m not just anyone.”

  Lachlan shrugged. “You’re a prisoner. We’re only interested in you because you were in a cell next to Alastair Cooper.”

  “Cooper?” said Caleb. “What could you possibly find interesting about that one? He was boring, let me tell you. He was straight, and he was controlling, and there was nothing to him. He sprang to life from the pages of some textbook on narcissists. I can’t imagine he did anything interesting.”

  “Oh, but he did,” said Lachlan. “He died in a very interesting way. No one knows exactly how it happened. And not knowing? That’s interesting.”

  “There’s lots you don’t know about me,” said Caleb suggestively.

  “I know everything about you,” said Lachlan.

  “You don’t,” said Caleb, drawing himself up. “You thought I ate people.”

  Lachlan laughed. “I knew you didn’t do anything nearly that shocking.”

  Caleb folded his arms over his chest. “I like you. What was your name again, pretty man?”

  Lachlan smiled. He leaned forward. “Lachlan,” he drawled. “Lachlan Flint.”

  Jesus Christ. He was flirting with the serial killer. How could he possibly be doing that? I half-wanted to intervene, but I figured Lachlan had a good reason for doing it, so I let it be. Still, it made me feel a little ragey, and I wasn’t going to deny it.

  “You’re good, Lachlan Flint,” said Caleb. “Got me all twitchy and worked up and wanting to expose… my knowledge.”

  “You know something?” said Lachlan.

  “Oh, sure,” said Caleb. “I know how Cooper died. I saw the whole thing.”

  “Wait,” I said, moving forward. “He died here? In his cell?”

  Caleb ignored me. “But as much as I want to show you mine, Lachlan, I’m just not that giving of a person.”

  “I thought he escaped,” I said. “Darla Tell said he escaped.”

  Caleb still ignored me. “I know what happened. I know everything that happened.”

  “So, tell me what happened,” said Lachlan.

  Caleb smirked. “Tit for tat, Lachlan. You show me yours, and then I’ll show you mine.” His gaze zeroed in on Lachlan’s crotch like a target.

  Lachlan raised his eyebrows. “That really the way this would work? All you want is—”

  I grabbed Lachlan by the arm and tugged. “Let’s go.”

  Lachlan turned to look at me, annoyed.

  “Alastair escaped. Stop trying to play us,” I said to Caleb.

  Caleb only smiled.

  “Let’s go,” I said to Lachlan in a low voice.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

  Darla raised her eyebrows. “Of course Alastair escaped,” she said. “He didn’t die in that cell, I can assure you of that. Caleb couldn’t have seen anything, because he’s never left his own cell.”

  “What if someone broke in and killed Alastair and then took his body?” I said.

  “No one breaks into this place,” said Darla. “I would have known.”

  “But maybe you wouldn’t have,” said Lachlan. “Maybe the person who came for Alastair was so powerful, they knew how to be undetectable.”

  “That’s not possible,” said Darla. “There is no one more powerful than the Order. The magic that we siphon and concentrate makes us incredibly powerful—more powerful than anything you can imagine.”

  More powerful than a blood bond? I wondered. Was she threatening us? Why was it that I could never figure out where I stood with Darla?

  “I thought I saw cameras down there,” said Lachlan. “Do you have security tapes that we could look at?”

  “I’m afraid those cameras are just for show,” said Darla. “We put them up to make the prisoners think they’re being watched. We find the threat is such a deterrent that we don’t need to invest in an actual security system.”

  Lachlan sighed. “Well, then, I think we need to talk to Caleb more. Hear him out.”

  “That’s a ridiculous idea,” said Darla. “He’s lying. He’s probably just attracted to Lachlan.”

  “Of course he’s attracted to me,” said Lachlan. “That’s the only thing I could use against him. The only bait I have. If he says he wants something from me, what’s that going to be?”

  “Don’t play games with him,” said Darla. “He’ll only use you. And he’s got no good information.”

  “How would he use me?” said Lachlan.

  “Yeah,” I said. “How?”

  “Oh, he would want you to debase yourself in some horrible manner, I’m sure,” said Darla. “I suppose you’ve never heard of him? The things he did to men before we captured him? No, I guess you wouldn’t. Because we didn’t publicize that he was the killer the authorities sought. We simply quietly locked him away.”

  “What did he do?” I said.

  “Actually,” said Lachlan, “do you have files on him? Could we have that?”

  Darla sighed. “Oh, I suppose, if you really want it. But I’m telling you that you’re wasting your time.”

  * * *

  “So, there’s nothing all that out of the ordinary here,” said Lachlan. “Typical serial killer stuff. Sexual fascination with victims. Desire to put them completely under his control. It seems like most of the men he killed died because the magical compulsion he was using on them was too strong for them. Just fried their brains.”

  “Eew,” I said from the kitchen, where I was stir-frying broccoli and mushrooms. “Do we have to talk about this while I’m cooking?”

  “Better than while you’re eating,” said Lachlan. He was in the living room, hunched over Caleb’s file.

  “What if we’re just chasing ghosts here?” I said. “Darla says that Caleb doesn’t know anything, that he couldn’t know anything.”

  “Well, maybe Darla doesn’t know everything,” said Lachlan. “I get the impression she’s still trying to impress you with all her power and knowledge. She wouldn’t admit that she might have gaps in what she knows. Not in front of you.”

  I grimaced into the skillet. “I wish she wasn’t into me like that.”

  “Well, we’ve both got admirers there now,” Lachlan smirked.

  “It’s not funny that he’s attracted to you,” I said. “The man is dangerous.”

  “He’s not going to hurt me,” said Lachlan. “That’s not how killers like him work. They like to control everything or it doesn’t feel quite right. If he wanted to kill me, he’d lure me to some secluded spot where he could subdue me in some way and keep me there to do whatever he wanted to me.”

  “Ugh, stop talking about it.” I turned around from the stove. “I don’t want to think about anything happening to you.”

  “Nothing’s going to happen to me,” he said.

  I pointed at him with the wooden spoon I’d been using to stir the broccoli. “You’re going to go back and talk to him.”

  “I have to,” said Lachlan. “He might know something. This is where the trail led us, and I have to see where it ends.”

  I sighed, turning back to the skillet. The broccoli was turning bright green. It would have that just-cooked crunch when I bit into it. Perfect. I turned off the burner. “Well, okay. But I guess I don’t really like it.”

  “You probably shouldn’t be there.”

  I whirled. “What?”

  “He’ll be more likely to open up to me if you aren’t around,” said Lachlan. “You destroy the fantasy. If you’re around, he knows that he can’t have me.”

  “He can’t have you.”

  “Of course not,” said Lachlan.

  “What exactly are you planning to do for this guy?” I said. “He said he wanted something from us. What did he do to his victims? How did he kill them?”

  “I told you already, the compulsion he was using on them fried their brains. It was too intense.”

  “But what was he putting them under compulsion for?”

  “Oh, I don’t know. Sex, I guess. It’s usua
lly sex.” Lachlan flipped through the files. “Yeah. I think he was trying to make the perfect living sex slave. It’s a lot like, uh, what’s his name? Jeffrey Dahmer. Only with magic.”

  I stared at Lachlan as if he were insane. “I’m not letting you talk to him alone.”

  “Come on, Penny, this is our future we’re talking about. This guy might have the answers that will keep us from getting locked up in Roxbone away from our son, and we have to do this right.”

  “What if something happens to you? I need to be there. I have strong magic.”

  “It’s not as if I have no magic on my own.”

  “You get magic from drinking my blood,” I said.

  “Right,” he said. “So, you let me drink your blood before I go in there—”

  “I can breathe fire.”

  He sighed.

  “And if I’m close, we can touch, we can use our blood bond.”

  “You are seriously overreacting about this,” he said. “I can take care of myself.”

  “I’m not saying you can’t,” I said. “Look, I’ll stay out of sight. I’ll stay further back, away from the cell, so that I can watch, but he can’t see me. But I’m not leaving you all by yourself. I couldn’t handle it if I lost you.”

  “All right,” he said. “That works. You’ll be my backup.”

  I turned back to the stove and seized a bottle of soy sauce. I began liberally dousing the broccoli and mushrooms. “We’re a team, Lachlan, don’t forget it.”

  He was behind me, wrapping his arms around me. “I won’t,” he whispered in my ear.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

  When we got to the Order the next day, the doors were locked. We’d never really had to get in without Darla’s being there to greet us right away, so it was a bit strange.

  We knocked on the door, but no one came.

  Just then, a guy came up from one of the nearby restaurants. He was carrying two bags full of take-out food. “Hey there,” he said. “Door locked?”

  We nodded.

  He tried both the knobs, but for him—the door opened just fine.

  “How’d you do that?” I asked.

  “Little trick to it,” he said. “You gotta put your shoulder into it.” He pulled the door shut and demonstrated. “I come here all the time. Usually, I deliver to the front door, but every once and a while, someone meets me at the back door on the other side of the building.”

  I had seen that door when we were driving up the other day. It was the only other door to the building I could see.

  When we got inside, there was no one in the foyer for a minute.

  All three of us walked about four feet into the room, and two men in uniforms like Sid’s came out.

  “Stop!” they said.

  The delivery guy held up his bags.

  “You got food?” said one of the guards. “Go on through.”

  The other guard turned to us. “And you?”

  “Uh, we’re—”

  “I recognize them,” said the other guard. “Darla vouches for them.”

  “Oh, good,” said the first guard. “Go on ahead, then.”

  We went directly to the wing where Caleb was being kept.

  Sid was there, sitting at his post, which was a desk with a series of dials and switches that controlled different aspects of the cells. They were all controlled by magic, which explained why they looked like they’d been created in the 1800s. Truth was, knowing how old the Order was, they probably had.

  “We need to talk to Caleb again,” said Lachlan.

  Sid shook his head. “Can’t let you do that.”

  “What?” I said. “Why not?”

  “Darla said that she doesn’t think it’s safe for you to have any more contact with Caleb,” said Sid. He looked at me. “She’s especially concerned about your well-being, since you’re pregnant.”

  “We’ll be fine,” I said. “I have magic.”

  “Well, magic doesn’t work inside the cells,” said Sid. “Anyway, it doesn’t matter if you would be okay or not. I’ve got orders from Darla.”

  “We’re not going inside the cell,” said Lachlan. “It’ll be just like last time. We’ll talk to him outside, through the bars.”

  “Like I said, I have my orders,” said Sid.

  Lachlan glared at him. “Come on, Sid. Darla doesn’t have to know. Why don’t you go and take a break for a few minutes, and pretend you never saw us?”

  Sid furrowed his brow. “I can’t do that.”

  “Caleb might have very important information for us,” said Lachlan. “Information that we need to clear our names.”

  Sid looked unsure. “Darla said—”

  “We’re going to have a baby,” said Lachlan, “and unless we figure out who actually killed Alastair Cooper, we’re both going to jail for the rest of our lives. Our son will be left without his parents. We can’t let that happen. Please, Sid?”

  Sid squeezed his eyes shut. “How long do you need?”

  “Thank you,” said Lachlan.

  “Yes, thank you, Sid,” I said.

  “We only need fifteen minutes or so,” said Lachlan.

  “All right,” said Sid. “I don’t take breaks, but I can say that I got a false alarm for help with another cell block.” He pointed at a red light at the top of his desk. “Thing flashes all the time when it’s not supposed to. Magic’s buggy.”

  “Thank you,” Lachlan said again.

  Sid started for the door. “Fifteen minutes. I never saw you.”

  “Fifteen minutes,” said Lachlan.

  Sid disappeared through the door.

  Lachlan turned to me, eyebrows raised. “Let’s do this.”

  I nodded.

  Lachlan went first, and I followed a few paces back. After all, we were trying to convince Caleb that Lachlan was alone, so I didn’t want Caleb to be able to see me.

  When we got closer, I stopped, sticking to the shadows, while Lachlan approached.

  I could see Caleb’s cell and Lachlan standing in front of it, but I was too shadowed for Caleb to see me.

  Lachlan stopped in front of the cell and stared inside, hands in his pockets. He looked casual, as if he was waiting for a bus or something.

  For several seconds, nothing happened.

  Caleb wasn’t visible from my view of the cell. He was further back somewhere. He probably hadn’t seen Lachlan yet.

  Lachlan didn’t make his presence known. He simply waited.

  “Lachlan!” came the cheerful voice of Caleb. “You’re back.”

  “Couldn’t stay away,” said Lachlan, giving Caleb a knowing grin.

  Caleb sauntered into view. “Now, you’re teasing me.”

  “I’m here to make a deal,” said Lachlan. “You said that you’d tell me what you knew about Alastair Cooper’s death if I did something in return for you. What do you want?”

  Caleb raised his eyebrows. “You wouldn’t do what I want, I don’t think.”

  “Why’s that?” Lachlan lowered his voice. “Isn’t it… decent?”

  Caleb snickered. “You’re a very naughty man, Lachlan.” He stepped forward, all the way up to the bars. He gripped them and took Lachlan in greedily, gazing at every inch of his body. “A beautiful, naughty man. And I don’t trust you.”

  “Well, I don’t trust you either,” said Lachlan. “I’ve been assured that you’re lying to me, that you’re just going to use me for your own little sick games.”

  Caleb laughed softly. “I wouldn’t mind playing with you, Lachlan, I’ll admit that.”

  Lachlan took a step closer. “What’s the deal, Caleb? What do you want from me?”

  Caleb dragged his top teeth over his bottom lip.

  Lachlan lifted his chin. He licked his lips.

  Caleb swallowed visibly, his Adam’s apple bobbing. “Come inside the cell with me.” He was breathless.

  “You know I can’t do that,” said Lachlan. “The cell is locked.”

  “You have magic, right?�
� said Caleb. “Open it. You can manipulate the catch easily enough.” He pointed.

  Lachlan looked up at the catch to the door.

  It couldn’t be that easy to open the cells, could it? If it was, then why were we bothering with this? It was easy enough to understand how all this went down. Alastair’s magic hadn’t been completely drained. He’d been too powerful. So, he’d used his magic to open the cell and escaped. It was that simple. We didn’t need Caleb at all, and he was obviously lying about everything.

  I really didn’t like the way Caleb was looking at Lachlan.

  Not only because I felt fairly possessive of Lachlan, but because there was malevolence there. Caleb desired Lachlan, but he was also keen on hurting him. That made me feel itchy.

  Lachlan gestured at the cell door, and it opened. A visible spark of bright magic went through the bars, lighting them up for a moment. The air crackled.

  No. What was he doing?

  I rushed forward, but Lachlan was already through the door, blocking Caleb, who’d run toward the opening.

  Lachlan pushed the door closed behind himself. The locked clicked back into place.

  I stood in front of the bars, my heart in my throat.

  Caleb saw me. “Well, well, what have we here?”

  My toes curled. “Lachlan, get out of there.”

  Lachlan waved me away. “Forget about her, Caleb,” he said, his voice rich and intense as he focused on the other man. “I’m here. Right here. Let’s make a deal.”

  Caleb reached out and grabbed Lachlan by the throat.

  Lachlan thrust out one hand, trying to use magic to force Caleb off him, but nothing happened.

  Sid had said that magic didn’t work inside the cells!

  I let out a little cry of dismay, and I threw power at the cell, aiming for Caleb’s head.

  The magic hit the bars and the bars lit up again, sparks flying.

  Caleb chuckled.

  Lachlan struggled.

  “What’s the deal?” Caleb whispered. “Oh, I don’t know, Lachlan. What did you have in mind? You think I’d trade important information for a cheap thrill? You think all I want is to look at your body, to touch your body? Or would you have offered to touch mine?”

  Lachlan aimed a kick at Caleb, catching him in the upper thigh. A miss, I thought. He had been going for the groin.