Dangerous Dalliances (Maxwell Investigations)

by Ibanez, Dawn

  “What about you, Gramps?” Madison asked as Pan stood over her. “I loved you. Do you love a mask of mine too? Or is this where you talk about how you’re the only person to ever really understand me.”

  He laughed. “You loved one of my masks,” he confessed. “It’s only fair. My caring mentor adored your little orphan.” Pan reached into his pocket and pulled out a small gold coin. “Do you remember your lessons about the End of Days?” He looked down at her mutinous expression and smiled. “Of course you do. You have the mind of a steel trap. It was one of the things I’ve always adored about you.” Pan lifted the coin and showed it to Madison. “Seven Seals were hidden. This is one of them.” He smiled as he tested the weight of it in his hands. “My plans were thrown for a loop when we found out that each Horseman has a specific seal. I really wanted to take your sister at the same time.”

  “Stay away from Dylan,” Madison snapped. When she tried to sit up again, she felt the pressure from Pan’s magic keeping her down. “I swear Gramps, if you touch her I will rip your heart out with my bare hands.”

  Pan laughed as her eyes slowly turned crimson. “My, sweet Madi,” he sighed brushing her hair away from her face. “While I would normally let you rest, it’s time for Death to wake up.” She shook her head wildly as he held the coin over her chest and snapped it in two.

  Madison’s eyes were terrified as a black miasma escaped the broken seal. She looked at Pan one last time and shook her head. “I will hate you forever for this,” she whispered before the mist started to enter her ears, nose, and mouth.

  Pan’s jovial expression fell as he watched his most powerful apprentice. “Of this, I have no doubt,” he said as her back bowed off of the bed and she started to scream. “But a new world must be ushered in.”

  * * * * *

  Lily felt ill.

  Hours had passed since Madison disappeared. Tina had members of the Council trying to investigate. Dylan and Crispin had taken over the hospital’s security office. Sloane and James left to see if there was any word on the streets about the coming doomsday.

  Lily found herself in the nursery after spending a while at Eric’s bedside. Her eyes easily found the small bundle of pink under the name Davenport. Little Aurora was going to be a heartbreaker one day, but no one knew if her mother would be found in time to see it. Lily’s shoulders fell as she tried to move her thoughts away from Madison.

  “Lily,” Troy called as he came down the hall.

  She looked at him and painted a smile on her face. “I just wanted to take a peek,” she said as she glanced back at the baby. “I didn’t want to be a bother to anyone.”

  He shook his head. “To tell you the truth, I’m glad you’re here,” he confessed. “With everything going on, I don’t think it’s a good idea for her to be alone.” His eyes clouded for a moment. “If you can, would you stay with her?” he asked softly. He saw the way Lily’s face paled, and shook his head. “It’s only for a little while. Leigh is on her way in, but after this afternoon, I don’t want to trust the hospital staff.”

  Lily looked at the darling baby sleeping with her hands up close by her face. “It won’t be a problem,” she said with a small smile.

  Troy nodded, his attention snared by his vibrating cell phone. He glanced at his phone and clenched his jaw. “I’ll be a second,” he muttered. He looked up and smiled at the nurse opening the door to the nursery. “Delia, this is Lily. She’s Aurora’s aunt. Don’t let anyone take her without Lily’s okay,” he said before putting his phone to his ear and walking down the hall.

  Lily looked at the nurse with critical eyes. She had a small but powerful build. “You’re another Wolf?” she asked as she walked into the nursery.

  Delia nodded as she went to Aurora’s bassinet. “And you’re a Succubus,” she said plainly. She met Lily’s eyes with challenging brown ones of her own. “But I won’t hold that against you if you don’t hold it against me.”

  Lily’s eyes widened a fraction. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to insult you. With everything going on, I found it weird that Troy was leaving the baby with anyone. I just figured that you were a member of his Pack.”

  A laugh escaped Delia. “There’s no need to apologize,” she said easily. “I’m used to the questions. It’s just so rare that I’m meeting someone other than a Mage.” She picked the baby up and motioned towards a nearby chair. “Do you want to feed her? It’s almost that time, and I’m sure it would make everyone feel a little better.”

  Lily looked at Aurora and nervously bit her lip. “I’ve never held one before. What if I drop her?”

  Delia shook her head. “Sit down. I’ll be right here. But I can’t check on the others with her in my arms.” She nodded when Lily sat in the rocking chair. “Now, just hold your arms like this, and she can rest comfortably right here.”

  Lily couldn’t stop the smile that crossed her face when Aurora started to grunt and whine. She didn’t like having her sleep disturbed. Lily glanced at Delia when the nurse pressed a small bottle into her hand. “It’s not too hot or anything?”

  “Everything was ready for Troy to feed her. Just put the nipple near her mouth. She’ll latch on and drain it dry, watch.”

  Lily did as instructed and mused when Aurora latched onto the bottle and started to drink. “You are a precious little thing aren’t you,” Lily whispered as she started to slowly rock the chair back and forth. She smiled gently when Aurora opened honey brown eyes and looked at her. “Everyone should be fussing over you, but there are some stupid people out in the world and they want to hurt your mom.” Lily smiled as the baby reached out and grabbed one of her fingers. “The only reason why they took her was because they’re scared of her. I bet you didn’t know that your mom is one of the most powerful people I know. Nothing is going to keep her away from you. And your daddy and uncles and everyone are going to move Heaven and Earth to find her.”

  “We will find her,” Barry said softly. When Lily looked up, he stepped closer to them and looked down at his niece. “It’s how we find her that worries me.”

  Lily looked up into his face and saw how torn he was. Part of her wanted to rant at him. It had been stupid of him to keep something as important as the End Days under his hat. Another part understood why he did it. She shook her head and turned her attention back to the baby. “We can’t think about that. Not right now. The boys will need everyone to be strong. And then we also have to make sure hot heads stay cool.”

  Barry nodded as he knelt next to the rocking chair. “That’s why Dad sent Sloane out with Jimmy. I’m pretty sure he’s ready to tear the DMV apart looking for Madi.” Barry reached out and brushed a lock of hair behind Lily’s ear. He watched her for a long moment before he turned his attention to the baby in her arms. “But why go after Madison?”

  “Why not?” Lily noticed Aurora’s slack jaw and gently pulled the bottle away from her. She looked around the nursery and saw that Delia was walking towards her with a white cloth in her hand. “She’s finished.”

  Delia smiled as she took the baby away from Lily and lifted her up onto her own shoulder. With practiced ease, she started patting the baby on the back. “I just got a call from the front desk. Troy and Dennis are on their way. We’re going to have Aurora checked out a little earlier than expected,” she told them.

  There wasn’t a doubt in Lily’s mind that Dennis pulled some strings to get his granddaughter out of here and safely tucked away with the Wolf Pack. “That’s fine,” Lily said. Without thinking, she stood and took Barry’s hand into her own. “I want to talk with Barry in the hall. If it’s not too much trouble, can you leave her someplace where I can see her?”

  From the look in Delia’s eyes, Lily’s worth just went up. “That won’t be a problem,” she replied before taking the baby to the bassinette in front of the large window.

  Lily nodded her thanks and guided Barry out of the room. When the door closed behind them, she turned to Barry. “I’ve been thinking,” she starte
d. “To answer your question earlier, Madison was the easiest target. She just had a baby. She’s weak, and everyone was more concerned about Aurora than they were about Madison. That’s just the way childbirth is.” She waited for him to nod before going on. “As for this whole Apocalypse prophesy, Daddy always taught me that Fate won’t be denied. So there would have been no amount of preparation that could have stopped this, so don’t think that I blame you. But I think there may be an out clause, or something that could stop this.”

  “Like what?”

  She chewed on her bottom lip as she looked back at the sleeping baby. “Revelations said something about seven seals right?” she asked. Bright green eyes looked at him. “Seven seals have to be broken in order to call all four horsemen, right? What if the last ones are never broken?”

  “It’s the last four seals that call them,” Troy said as he and Dennis approached. He walked over to Lily and gave her a gentle hug. “Thank you for trying though. And for staying with the baby,” he whispered into her ear.

  Lily returned the embrace. “Feeding her was fun. Think nothing of it.” She then stepped back and looked into his troubled golden eyes. “And I still have a few of my father’s journals. Maybe I can find out something that could help us find her.”

  Troy nodded. “Do that, please.” He then looked into the nursery and gazed at his daughter. “And keep us posted. I have to move the kids someplace safe. There’s no telling what’s going to come after them now that their mother’s gone.”

  Dennis frowned as his son went into the nursery. He then looked at Barry and Lily. “If the person that took her wants this mess to come about, it’s easy to know what’s going to come after everyone.”

  Barry nodded in agreement. “Madison herself.”

  Lily’s eyes locked onto his. “What?”

  “You said it yourself. She’s one of the best. If there are seals missing, she would be the perfect person to send after them.”

  Her heart broke as she realized the full implications of what he was telling her. “So you may have to fight your own sister.” As Barry nodded, she wrapped her arms around him. “Do you think you’ll be able to?”

  Barry was silent for a long moment as he thought about his little sister. He had seen some of her skills while she was growing up. Then as a Keeper, there had been times when he had to clean up after one of her missions. He shook his head, hating his answer. “I wouldn’t stand a chance against her.”

  Lily looked at Barry. There was nothing she could say that would make this any better for him. He looked worn and beaten compared to the way he looked when she walked into Eric’s hospital room. “Let me take you home,” she said softly. When he raised an eyebrow, she smiled. The last time they had gone to his apartment didn’t end well. “We’ll go to my place. I’ll look through my father’s stuff, and you can sit on my couch, watch the fight, and drink my beer. Okay?”

  Barry pulled her close and buried his nose in her long wine colored locks. “That sounds perfect,” he said into her hair.

  Chapter 4

  Barry stood back as Lily opened the door to her apartment. Since leaving the hospital they remained mostly silent. From his point of view, it had been a comfortable silence. Lily sung along with a few songs on the radio. Of course, when she realized he was still in the car with her, she stopped. A small smile crossed his face as she allowed him into her home. There were many sides to Lilavanti Dallas. She wasn’t the mousey woman she portrayed at work, nor was she the seductress her nature demanded her to be.

  He looked around the apartment and smiled. Lily’s apartment looked to be a mirror of the woman. Everything was covered in vibrant colors or spoke of comfort. A familiar orange couch caught his eye, making him laugh. “You kept this?” he asked.

  Lily smiled as she took off her coat. “Dylan said that I could keep anything I wanted,” she answered. “It was comfortable and matched the window treatments. So why not?”

  Barry laughed. Before she married Crispin, this was Dylan’s apartment. His youngest sister lived for comfort and shock value. That couch had become the joke of many family meals. “I’m surprised Sloane didn’t sneak up here and burn it while she was gone.” He sat on the sofa and sighed in pleasure when he sank into the cushions.

  “He loves this thing,” Lily laughed. She went over to the kitchen area and grabbed two beers. “There have been plenty of Housewives marathons watched on it.”

  Barry couldn’t deny how good it felt to just sit back and laugh. He accepted the beer Lily held out to him and popped it open. When she looked at him, his smile started to slowly fade. “What? Did I do something wrong?”

  She shook her head. “No, you didn’t do anything wrong. I’m just used to Sloane. He waves his hand and the cap disappears.” Lily shrugged as she opened her own bottle. “As much as I hate to admit it, he’s basically the only person that’s been here.”

  Barry zeroed in on that. “Not even the friend you’ve been hanging out with?”

  Lily leaned into the cushions and sighed. “I may have embellished a little,” she confessed. When he looked at her, she shrugged. “There was a fox shifter that I tried to date. We hooked up the last two times I needed to feed. He’s never even come into this neighborhood.”

  Without thinking, he reached out and brushed her hair out of her face. “Well then, his loss.” When she looked at him, he smiled. “I mean, this is one of the finest, most comfortable couches in the world.” The vice around his heart eased when she started to laugh. “I mean it. I think there were songs written about it in Russia.”

  “You’re being ridiculous,” Lily said as she drank.

  Barry couldn’t help but watch her. This was one of the first times he ever saw her with her guard down and she was radiant. He turned away from her and stood. She wouldn’t appreciate his staring. It didn’t matter that her eyes were so vivid, he could fall in them and not care about drowning. Barry ran his hand over his hair before taking another drink. “Do you think you’ll need any help going through your father’s stuff?” he asked.

  Lily’s smile faded. It wasn’t fair that she and Barry were sitting in her apartment sharing drinks while his sister was facing who knew what. “I don’t know,” she said honestly. “Most of the stuff from his apartment is in my spare room. I haven’t had the heart to go through any of it.” She stood and ran her hand through her hair. “I guess I should get started, huh?” she asked before turning and walking down the hall.

  He couldn’t help but follow her. “I can help,” he offered. When she turned and looked at him, he shrugged. “I need something to do. And I’ve seen the prophesy. Maybe I can finally be of some type of help.”

  Lily looked into his eyes for a long moment. Biting her lip, she nodded and opened the door to the room she housed all of her foster father’s belongings.

  * * * * *

  Jimmy growled as he slammed his car door. None of his contacts knew anything about what was going down with Madison. Ever since the family meeting with Barry, he had been busy combing the streets trying to find something, anything, that could lead them to his sister. He looked at the small house one of his informants dwelled. Tsukiko wasn’t going to be happy to see him, but she would have to get over it.

  He walked up to the door and glanced back at his car. Sloane sat in the passenger seat. The Metal Worker was just as anxious as he was, but he possessed the good sense to know that the Japanese Oracle wouldn’t utter a word to anyone but Jimmy.

  “Tsukiko, you know why I’m here,” he said as he knocked on the door. As expected, the door opened to reveal a young girl with long black pigtails. Jimmy looked at the little girl and hugged her tightly. “Hi Dori-chan. Is she going to make me fight her?” he asked.

  The little girl smiled brightly and shook her head. She stepped around Jimmy and motioned for Sloane to come as well. “Mama said that our family needs help. And that you’ll be going on a long trip soon, so you have to be ready.”

  Jimmy looked at the g
irl with a raised eyebrow. Tsukiko was never this helpful. At least not in all of his years of knowing her. He moved past the 10 year old and walked into the house where a woman with long black hair stood over a pot of miso. “What do you know?” he asked sharply.

  Tsukiko Himura looked at him and fought the urge to snap at him. She stayed silent for a moment before turning back to her soup. “Things are about to change soon, Jimmy,” she said as she slowly stirred her pot. “Your sister is going to do things she won’t forgive herself for.”

  Jimmy looked over his shoulder and saw Dori leading Sloane into the house. He smiled at her as she settled next to him. “We’ve put that much together, Tsukiko. Can you tell us anything else? We heard that she’s one of the Horsemen of the Apocalypse.”

  “You are connected to all Four Horsemen. I have not seen your connection to Conquest, but there will be a bond between you two. War is your Alchemist. Famine is your Succubus. Death is the one you seek.” She looked at the two men and shook her head slowly. “There is a lot of pain headed your way. I don’t envy any of you.”

  “Again, we know this,” Jimmy mumbled. He ran his hand through Dori’s hair and held back a sigh. “Is there anything we can do to get Madison back? Do you know where she might be?” He glanced over to Sloane and knew one of his biggest secrets was about to be brought to light. “If you know anything, for our daughter, tell me.”

  Tsukiko pressed her lips together as she looked at the man with Jimmy. She shook her hair away from her face and met his stunned gaze. “You will have to construct another horn. The last one was broken, and your heart is going to need a bigger one,” she said simply. Before Jimmy could say anything, she turned to him. “As for my daughter’s aunt, she will find you soon enough. She will be hunting for two Seals; one for War, the other for Famine. If those break, Hell will be unleashed on Earth.”