Frustration bubbled up inside of me, and I curled my hands into fists. How much more of this could I take? I couldn’t look at the two of them anymore. I spun on my heels and walked over to Nova hoping for a distraction from them. “Are you okay?”
“I’m great. I love dogs.” I’d never seen Nova so animated before. Usually she was quiet, somber even. She stretched her arms high above her head and scratched under Cerberus’ neck. He belly flopped down in front of her with a loud thud. The ground shook under my feet, and he rolled over onto his back with his many tongues hanging out the sides of his mouths. And I swear those three heads were smiling as she continued to pet him.
Nova giggled. She actually giggled. “Good puppy.”
Good puppy? “Come on, Nova. We’ve got to get going.” I motioned toward the end of the tunnel. I didn’t want to end her time with Cerberus or ruin what little fun she was having, but we had to get to the Space Needle, and we had to get there soon. I waved for her to follow me, but when I turned, I was once again following behind Zinnia and Grayson. Ashryn filed in beside me. I had Nova on one side and Ash on the other.
Nova glanced over her shoulder and waved. “Bye, puppy!”
In answer, Cerberus yelped and wagged his tail, again knocking against the walls and sending dust and rocks raining down behind us. As we approached the small opening of the tunnel, the wall shifted and spun wide open to accommodate us walking through. We came out just under the Space Needle. We’d stepped through an opening in a wall, but when we came out on the other side the world tilted and we were suddenly standing above the opening to the underworld, like it was a manhole in the middle of the street. I bent over the hole and watched Cerberus flip back to his feet and trot off in the opposite direction. “Thanks bud!”
The resounding bark that came out of the hole before it spun and closed up told me he’d heard me. A smile tugged at my lips. The guys will never believe we road Cerberus! No matter how hard this mission has been I’d seen somethings I’d never dreamed of. Even now I stood in a city I’d never thought I’d see under a landmark I’d only read about in books. A small thrill went through me as I turned to look up at the space needle.
Three sloping legs held the saucer-shaped building high in the sky, and a needle stood straight up, reaching for the stars. The sun had just begun to set, and I knew we’d have to wait until the Needle closed to visitors to be able to open the combination lock and get the key out. The five of us stood side by side, gazing up toward our next mission. What lay in wait for us, I didn’t know.
My cell that’d been silent since we’d been in the prison went haywire, vibrating like mad in my pocket with unanswered messages. I shoved my hand in my jeans and pulled it out.
Beckett:
Where are you?
Things aren’t good here
You better not be dead, or I’ll kill you
Call me
Call me now
Fighting a losing battle. Hope you’re doing better.
I hit the keys in quick succession: In Seattle going to see about a key. Hold on just a bit longer.
Then his text came back through. We don’t have much longer.
To punctuate his words, the skies opened up and sheets of rain fell down on us, soaking me clear through. I shoved my phone back in my pocket and strode toward the entrance to the Space Needle. “Come on. We haven’t got much time.”
Chapter 28
Zinnia
I’m in a closet…again. Tucker stood so close to me that each time I took a breath his warm woodsy scent mixed with cleaning supplies was all I could smell. Heat drifted off his body, warming the small room to a steamy degree. Standing this close to him, my clothes were nearly dried. Though he was hot as could be, he was treating me with a coolness I didn’t like. The more attention Gray showed to me, the angrier Tucker grew. Since the beginning, I knew there was something between us, but now standing here with him, I had to wonder if he was my soulmate. Grayson said soulmates were traditionally within the same species. I was a witch, and Tuck was a shifter. Did that mean we weren’t a traditional couple? Or did it mean my soulmate was someone else?
“I can’t believe you,” he hissed under his breath.
“Me?” I pressed my hand to my chest. “What did I do?”
“Nothing.”
I was glad the others had to take up other hiding places in the Needle. It was the first time he and I had been alone since arriving at the prison. That seemed like a lifetime ago. “You might as well say it.”
“Do you think it wise to flaunt your relationship with Grayson? Niche made it perfectly clear there was to be no fraternizing between all of us. It’s safer that way.” The only light in the closet was coming from the cracks around the door. Even so, it was enough for me to see the hard planes of his face were turned down into a scowl.
“Not that it’s any of your business, but Grayson and I aren’t in a relationship.” I crossed my arms over my chest.
“Psh, could’ve fooled me.”
“What’s it to you? Are you jealous? Or are you just that bossy?” Either way, he was pissing me off with his mood swings. He likes me, he doesn’t, he’s jealous, he’s not. A girl could get whiplash from him.
“No.” He pressed his lips together.
Always with the short answers. They were no answer at all. “You know what? I’m fed up with this.” I shoved the door wide open and walked out.
“Zinnia, don’t.” He grabbed my arm and pulled me back in. “We need to wait just a bit longer to make sure no one is left here.”
“Tucker, it’s been quiet for two hours. I think we’re good.”
“Oye, you lot. Let’s get a move on. We haven’t got all night,” Grayson called from the other side of the door.
“I couldn’t agree more,” I mumbled and pushed through the closet door. The inside of the Space Needle was surprisingly high class. I’d expected just a blank viewing room to look out the windows. What I got was something else. Table and chairs were placed around the whole room, with thick dark furniture and plush carpets in a high end restaurant. Closer to the windows, there was a room for people to stand and take in the view. High above Seattle this late at night, all I could see were the pinpricks of light from the city below.
Tucker marched out past me. “Since we’ve all decided to go.” He glanced over his shoulder at me. “I guess we’re going.”
I wanted to stick my tongue out at him, in truth I barely resisted the urge. But I stopped myself and followed in his wake. The tension between us was so thick I could chop it with an axe. How much longer could we go on like this? Each time we were close it was electric between us. I was aware of his every move and each time I looked at him he seemed to be right there. It was too much and not enough all at the same time. It was getting more and more difficult to focus on the mission at hand. We were getting close to a breaking point, but I didn’t know which way we’d go. Head in the game, Zin. Head in the game. I shook myself and turned to focus on navigating our way through this and finding the key.
At the center of the Needle was a bank of elevators, and a little past that was a service stairwell. Tucker grabbed the handle and jammed his shoulder into the door. The metal groaned and scraped open. Before us was the service stairwell with its concrete walls and steps, with a metal hand rail running along them. The railings were the round gray ones that seemed to be universal in every building I’d ever been in. The walls were a boring cream color that the overhead florescent lights reflected off of.
Tucker pressed himself up against the wall and looked up the stairwell, then pressed his finger to his lips. He held up three fingers, then pointed upward. I nodded in understanding that three men were standing guard. I gathered a ball of magic in my hand, ready for anything. Behind me, Grayson pulled his throwing stars from his inner pocket. Ashryn’s bow was at the ready, notched with an arrow, and Nova pulled her gloves off and shoved them into her pocket. Purple sparks gathered on her fingertips.
I expected Tuck to pull out his swords, but he didn’t. Instead, he ran up the first flight of stairs soundlessly. He came up behind the first guard, wrapped his hands around the man’s chest and threw him over the railing. The man plummeted down the center of the stairs, and from behind me, an arrow shot straight into his chest. Before he hit the ground, he burst into black ash. Thralls! I should’ve known by the outfit. During my last encounter with Alataris’ Thralls, they’d all been wearing black track pants, neon yellow shirts and dark sunglasses.
These weren’t men at all. They used to be witches but were now soulless, mindless soldiers Alataris made using his black magic. Another body came flying back toward us, and I didn’t hesitate. I threw a ball of magic, hitting him right in the face. We didn’t wait to see if he turned to ash. We just kept on following Tuck higher and higher. When we were only one flight of stairs from the top, one of Alataris’ Thralls smacked a big red button on the side of the wall. The lights went out, and an alarm wailed to life. Overhead, the exit lighting flashed on and off like a red strobe light. The door we’d came in flew open and banged into the cement wall. Thralls flooded into the stairwell. My heart leapt into my throat, and I ran up the stairs after Tuck.
“Move, move, move!” he called out to me and the rest of the crew. Just as I was about to reach him, he leapt up over my head. His wings shot out of his back, and he dove down behind Ashryn, who was bringing up the back.
I turned. “Tucker!”
Grayson pushed both of his hands into my shoulders. “Keep going. The faster we all get out, the faster he gets out.”
I leaned over the railing just a second longer fighting against Gray’s hold. Tuck was like an avenging angel with his wings of fire and his flaming swords. He landed behind Ashryn on the stairs and held his swords at the ready. The Thralls attacked in a wave. Tuck swung his blades like they were extensions of his arms. Black dust rained down whichever way he moved. Yet the Thralls kept pushing him further up the stairs.
“Zinnia, get to the door!” This time, Grayson shoved me harder, and I had to take my eyes off of Tuck. On the landing, only a few steps away stood two more guards. I closed my eyes for a second, remembering the blades that Tuck had made for me. White beams of light glowed in my hands, then suddenly, the hilts hit my palms. I wrapped my fingers around them and threw the one in my right hand followed by the one in my left. I didn’t know how I summoned them, all I knew was Tucker needed me. My adrenaline pumped through my body and my magic answered the call.
They spun like frisbees at the Thralls. The first one smacked right into its chest, exploding it into black dust, and the second slashed across the Thrall’s neck. It clucked its throat a second before it too turned to ash. The two blades didn’t stop spinning. They turned around and headed back toward me like a boomerang. One flew right by my head. I reached out and snagged it. The blade stopped less than an inch away from Gray’s face.
“Nice catch there.”
I pulled it back and opened my other hand for the second blade. The moment it hit my palm I turned to run. “Let’s move.”
The muscles in my legs burned, and I sucked in panting breaths. I have got to start doing more cardio. When I reached the door, I pressed the handle down, but it didn’t budge. I rammed my shoulder into it over and over again. Each time I boomed against the door, pain shot through one side of my body to the other. “It won’t move.”
“Step back.” Grayson raced past me with his vampire speed and nailed the door head-on.
It blasted wide open, and I ran out onto the roof of the Space Needle. Freezing rain poured down on me. My hair clung to the sides of my face as I spun around ready for what was to come next. Nova charged through the door followed by Ashryn.
I waited for him to come through next. “Where’s Tuck?”
No sooner had the question left my mouth did Tuck fly through the door and slam it shut. He pressed his back to it as loud pounding came from the other side. The door opened just a fraction, and he braced his legs and shoved backwards. “Gray, hold the door.”
Grayson ran to his side, then pressed his hands to it and spread his legs. “Got it.”
“This might hurt.” Tucker held his hands out, and fire flew from his palms like blow torches. He aimed them around the edge of the door, melting the metal frame and the steal door together inch by inch.
“Getting hot, mate.” Sweat rolled down the sides of Gray’s face and dripped from his chin.
“Just another second.” Tucker pressed his lips together and focused on the bottom corner of the door. “And…we’re…done.”
Grayson leapt back and shook out his hands, then blew across his palms. “Let’s not do that again.”
Boom. Boom. Boom. The Thralls rammed at the door as we all stood there breathless and soaking wet.
Grayson pushed his dark locks back from his face. He glanced at the door. “How do we get the key and get out of here?”
Nova yelled over the pounding rain. “Hades said there was a combination lock on the roof. Let’s spread out and look for it.”
This wasn’t going to be like walking across the street. The roof had a slight slope to it, which gave it that dome-like look. I held my hands out and stepped carefully, trying not to slip off one of the tallest buildings I’d ever seen in person. “Okay.”
I began walking toward the edge. The metal under my feet looked like a race track. Each lane was a different color and connected. In my mind, I pictured the top of the Space Needle looking like a CD with each track connecting around it in a perfect circle. On the inside track, there were different symbols carved into bronze-like metal. They seemed so familiar, but I couldn’t place them. After that came Roman numerals in a silver, then lastly in the golden track were all the phases of the moon.
“Guys!” I rubbed the water from my eyes. “I found it.”
Grayson and Tuck were the first to get to my side. Tucker looked around. “Found what?”
“The combination lock. It’s…well, it’s the roof.”
“What?” He glanced down at his feet. Nova and Ashryn strolled up to stand beside Gray.
I pointed to each of the tracks. “Look, I’m not sure what the first signs mean. They look familiar, but the second one is definitely Roman numerals, and the third looks like phases of the moon.”
Nova bent down and ran her fingers over the sign at her feet. It resembled a sideways sixty-nine. “Cancer.” She moved to the next one that started with a small circle with a cursive N attached to it. “Leo.” She straightened her stance. “It’s zodiac signs.”
I held my hands out to my sides, looking at each of them. “Oh my god, it’s a date. A specific date. With the phase of the moon on that date.”
Tucker threw his hands up into the air. “How the hell are we going to know a date that’s important to Alataris? It could be anything. The first day he killed someone, the day he got into power, the day he killed his father and took the thrown. Who knows?”
“Wait a second. Maybe we don’t have to guess.” I squatted down and pressed my hand to the cold soaking metal. “Maybe all we need is a spell.”
Boom! Again, the Thralls crashed at the door. The center of it dented in. Tucker looked from the door back to me. “Whatever you’re going to do, you need to do it fast.”
There was no way of knowing what Alataris was thinking, but if I could just get a glimpse into his mind for even a moment just to see what he was thinking. “If I use a spell, I might be able to get the combination.”
“Don’t you think other witches would’ve tried a spell to crack the combination?” Nova looked from me toward the door. Water ran down the hair sticking to the sides of her face.
“Yes, but what if they were only going after the combo, not insight into him?” I stepped out into the middle of the roof and held my hands out at my sides.
“I hate to interrupt you ladies, but do something now.” Grayson raced back toward the door and pressed his back to it. Ashryn joined him. They both bounced
every time the door was slammed against.
I closed my eyes and called my magic to my hands. I felt it swirling around my body, an array of powers I’d gotten from the other queens but hadn’t worn off yet. “Moon and stars bring me your magic from afar. Lend me your power, and grant me sight of times passed under your light. Bless me with visions of the one I seek, give me the knowledge of that which I seek.”
When I opened my eyes, the rain had stopped, and the others were nowhere to be found. What did I do? Had I sent myself to another point in time? There standing in front of me was Alataris. I sucked in a breath and took a step back. I glanced around, looking for a place to hide, then I froze. Alataris looked so different than the last time I’d seen him. Only days ago he’d looked gaunt and skinny with ill-fitting clothing and long spider-like limbs. Now the man standing before me wasn’t like that. He might even be considered handsome. He had thick dark hair combed back from his face and well-made black trousers falling from his slim hips down to polished dress shoes. One side of his dress shirt hung out from his waistband, while the other was tucked in. He tilted his head back and looked up at the stars. A bouquet of wildflowers hung limply in his hands, and a single tear rolled down his cheek.
He looked devastated as he dropped to his knees and opened his mouth in an agonizing bellow. “Why, why, why, Catherine?”
I took a step toward him and waved my hand. He didn’t look up. I moved in closer and kneeled across from him, convinced I was in a vision of the past. Suddenly, he sprung to his feet and marched forward. I held my hand out, trying to stop him, but he passed right through me the way a ghost would pass through a wall.
“Damn you, Catherine.” He slammed his fist down to the ground, and the many pieces of the roof started spinning. The bronze circle with the zodiac signs spun to the right, the silver ring with the Roman numerals spun to the left and the last ring with the moons on it spun to the right. Alataris bowed his head and took a necklace off of his neck and held it up. An old skeleton key hung from a long thin golden chain. He stood with his arms out to his sides. “Remember this day, remember this time. This now in keeping to hide.”
Wicked Magic (The Royals: Witch Court Book 2) Page 15
