Compelled

by D. B. Reynolds

  “Oh,” she said, letting her surprise show. “Good thinking.”

  “Gee thanks, Cyn,” he responded dryly. “So what’s our next move, oh wise one?”

  “I’m going to ping Gary’s cell and get a location. But I need my equipment for that.”

  “Back to the airport, then.”

  “Right,” she agreed. She didn’t mention that it was the Kansas City airport she needed to get to.

  NICK DROVE BACK to the airport, stealing the occasional sideways glance at Cyn. She was on her cell phone, not talking, but scrolling and typing. She couldn’t be talking to Raphael, so maybe she was contacting one of her sources, or checking in with the vampire’s daylight security people. He was more than a little surprised that she’d been allowed to go off with him alone this afternoon. Although, for all his teasing about Raphael controlling her every movement, he knew her better than to think the vampire or anyone else could dictate to her.

  Satisfying his curiosity over Cyn’s relationship with the vampire was one of the side benefits of being here. He rarely was out in the field like this, hunting down artifacts. He had people for this sort of thing. But he had a special interest in the manacles, one that he didn’t intend to share. He would have tracked them down regardless, but he hadn’t been able to resist calling Cyn on her promise from Hawaii. Unfortunately, the vampire had come along, too. He didn’t know what Raphael had told her about the history between sorcerers and vampires, but he knew it couldn’t be good. Raphael hadn’t been alive back then, so whatever he knew would be based on hearsay and stories told over the centuries, some of which would likely even be true. Any way you looked at it, theirs was a bloody history, and he’d played his part in it. But there had been brutality on both sides, and he suspected that part hadn’t been included in the vampires’ retelling of those events. Still, it grated on him that Cyn would know only the vampires’ one-sided version.

  “So what did the vampire tell you about me?”

  Cyn looked over at him, shaking her head. “His name is Raphael, and he said only that it was a bloody time, and that you were there.”

  “I’m sure his account presented me in a good light,” he said with heavy sarcasm.

  “I don’t know that person, Nick, the one you were all that time ago. I only know you. Or I thought I did.”

  “You do know me, Cyn. I’m not the man I was then.”

  “No, but you’re not the man I thought you were, either. So who are you? Are you even human?”

  He laughed. “I certainly am. My parents were both as human as you. I just happened to be born with a unique talent, one that was rare all those millennia ago and is nearly extinct now.”

  “Sorcery,” she said.

  “To put it simply, yes. Some children can sing or paint, others are brilliant or beautiful. I can work magic.”

  “I still have trouble with that. The whole idea that magic exists.”

  “And yet, you have a vampire lover.”

  “Right,” she said softly. “Raphael.”

  He hated the way she said the vampire’s name. There was so much emotion in that single word.

  “How old are you, Nick?” she asked. “Even Raphael didn’t know.”

  “What a shock. Something the great Raphael doesn’t know.”

  She shook her head and looked away.

  “Why do you care?” he asked.

  “About you?” she said, turning back to give him a surprised look. “Because I love you. Because we’re friends.”

  Nick felt a sudden warmth in his chest at her declaration. He knew she didn’t love him the way she did the vampire. But then, what she’d said before had been true; they’d never had that kind of connection. They’d been friends, sure. And lovers, too, but only casually.

  “Honestly,” he said, “I don’t know exactly how old I am. I was born so long ago that there’s no human record of my time.”

  She was quiet for a moment and then asked, “What’s it like to live for so long? Don’t you get . . . tired of life?”

  “It’s a little more complicated than that. I haven’t exactly lived all of those years.”

  She frowned. “You mean you’ve been in some sort of sleep? Under a spell or something?”

  Nick had circled back toward the airport and now turned down the side road that would take them to the private hangar which housed Raphael’s Learjet.

  “A spell was cast,” he agreed. “But the intent was not to put me to sleep. It was far more malicious than that. You see, sorcerers are a competitive lot, and we don’t like to share. I can say with no exaggeration that I was one of the preeminent sorcerers of my time. Only one other even came close to my level of power. His name was Sotiris, and we hated each other with a passion that knew no reason. We were constantly at war, forever sending our human armies out to fight and die in our names.”

  Nick didn’t know why he was telling her this. He’d never even been tempted to tell anyone before. Maybe he was just tired of being alone, tired of being the only being alive who knew who he was and what drove him to the choices he’d made.

  He pulled to a stop in front of the hangar, leaving the engine running.

  “I had a great army,” he said, staring into the middle distance, as if he could conjure up the images of that fateful day. “I was their general, their god, and they believed in me . . . in my leadership and my cause—even though that cause was nothing more than the defeat of Sotiris. We were on the verge of victory, when my enemy acted.”

  “What did he do?” Cyn asked, and he could hear the trepidation in her voice. She wanted to know, but she was afraid of the answer.

  “My army numbered in the thousands, but they were strangers to me for the most part. My inner circle—four great warriors whom I’d called from the far corners of the earth—they were the ones who planned and fought by my side, the ones I fought for. Their lives meant as much to me as my own. Sotiris understood this. He knew what their loss would mean to me.”

  “No,” she breathed.

  “There was a traitor among us. I don’t know what Sotiris promised him to betray us, but I know what his final reward was for his treachery, because I hunted him down and delivered that reward myself. He screamed for days, begging for death before I finally released him, and still, it wasn’t punishment enough for what he’d done.”

  “What happened to your men?”

  He looked over at her. “My men,” he said thoughtfully. “My brothers in every way that counted. Sotiris cast a great spell. It must have taken weeks to plot, to lay all of the elements in place, but it took only seconds to cast. My men were shaped in stone and hurled into the sands of time, leaving me with no way to know where or when they’d gone. I searched for months, using every bit of magic at my disposal, but I found nothing. Finally, in desperation, I used elements of Sotiris’s own spell and cast it upon myself, thinking it would bring me closer to wherever my lost brothers had ended up.” He shook his head. “That was more than two thousand years ago, and I’ve spent every day since then searching, following the slightest clues, and still I’ve found nothing. Not a trace.”

  Cyn studied him for a moment. “You said you have a team of hunters.”

  “Strictly speaking, my hunters are not mine. They’re employed by your FBI, but they report only to me. Their job is to locate and recover dangerous magical artifacts.”

  “The FBI believes in magic?”

  He chuckled cynically. “The FBI believes in control, especially of things they cannot understand.”

  “I have a feeling your FBI hunters are searching for more than magical artifacts.”

  Nick smiled. He wondered again if the vampire appreciated what he had in Cyn. “None of them know the entire truth of it,” he admitted. “I’ve never told anyone else what I just told you. But my hunter
s do know that I’m particularly interested in unusual statuary, anything that gives off a magical buzz.”

  “Your people are all over the world?”

  He shook his head. “There aren’t that many of them. The ability to detect magic is rare, and most of the people who possess it don’t even know what they have. You, for instance.”

  “So you say.”

  He chuckled again. “You always were stubborn. Ask your vampire. He knows I’m right.”

  She scowled. “How do you find people to work for you?”

  “For the most part, they come in through the regular FBI intake process. Agents-in-training are given any number of tests, including one that measures magical sensitivity, though it’s not called that, of course. Those few who test positive are screened more extensively, and then referred to me. I take the best of the best for my team.”

  “How many?”

  “It varies. Right now, I have a dozen agents, all based in the US, but their searches take them all over the world.”

  She studied him for a moment. “I’m sorry, Nick.”

  He sighed. “I’ll find them someday. I won’t stop until I do. I think if I could only find one of them, the others would be easier. There’d be a trace of the spell Sotiris cast, enough to enhance my search efforts.”

  “Where do the manacles fit in?”

  “The Amber Manacles. A nasty little bit of magic created by a long-ago sorcerer with more arrogance than talent.”

  “Are they something the FBI wants?”

  “The FBI has no claim on the artifacts my team locates.”

  “But you said—”

  “I said my team were employed by the FBI, but I’m not. And the FBI is no more qualified to protect those magical items than the average man on the street. The artifacts become part of my collection, secured at my home, by my magic.”

  “Where is your home?”

  “You already know that, Cyn.”

  “I know what you told me, but nothing else was true, so—”

  “It’s Florida. Pompano Beach. You should come visit my collection sometime. But leave the vampire behind.”

  She shook her head in disgust. “That’s going to get really old by the time we finish this.”

  Nick gave her his most charming grin. “I told you not to bring him.”

  She groaned and opened the SUV’s door, then seemed to remember this was her vehicle. “Get out of my truck,” she muttered. She reached over and snatched the keys from the ignition, as if worried he’d drive away without her, then slid from the vehicle and walked around to the driver’s side door.

  Nick stepped out to meet her. “You’ll call later?”

  She nodded. “As soon as I have something. If Briley’s phone is on, it’ll be fast. If not, I’ll have to wait until he turns it on to call home, which shouldn’t be long since he’s talked to his mom every day this week. Either way, I’ll call you as soon as I get a ping.”

  Nick nodded, then looked up as the distinct sound of his Ferrari announced the car’s arrival, driven by what he assumed was one of Raphael’s daylight guards. The man eyed him steadily as he climbed from the car, not displaying even the tiniest sign of appreciation for the fine motorcar he’d just had the privilege of driving, even for a short distance.

  “Don’t make me wait too long,” he told Cyn. “Patience isn’t my strong suit.”

  She made a face. “I remember.”

  He laughed. “Don’t tell the vampire that.” Then he climbed into his car and drove away, giving her a wave through the open window.

  CYN SMILED AND lifted her hand to wave back at Nick, but inside, she ached with sadness. She couldn’t believe she’d known him all this time, without really knowing him. He’d never even hinted at the tragedy that had shaped almost his entire life. She’d wanted to hug him, to tell him he wasn’t alone, but there was Raphael to consider. For all that he trusted her, he wouldn’t be happy if she hugged Nick, no matter what sentiment drove it. And he would know. Mostly because she’d tell him up front, but also because he was probably following her in his dreams while he slept. He could do that if he was really determined, especially if she was in danger. Today’s outing hadn’t been terribly dangerous, but just being with Nick would be danger enough for Raphael. That also meant that he’d know everything Nick had just told her. She wondered if Nick knew enough about vampires to understand that. Although, to be fair, Raphael’s ability to follow her in daytime was unusual, even among vampire lords.

  She sighed and climbed into the driver’s seat of the Escalade. She had a long drive back to Kansas City ahead of her, and at the end of it, she’d have work to do. But, most important of all, she needed to be there when her vampire woke for the night.

  Chapter Four

  CYN WAVED A greeting to Steve Sipes, who headed up Raphael’s daylight security team. Whether they were home on the estate or traveling, Steve was an important part of Raphael’s close-in security team, and she trusted him completely. She nodded at the two guards stationed at the foot of the stairs, then made her way quickly up and into the jet. The heavy door at the top was closed, but by now, she was an old hand at opening those things. The guards would have been happy to help, but she was the only one allowed up the stairs. Steve was an exception to the rule, but only in an emergency. And if the emergency was severe enough, like if the plane was on fire or something, Steve had discretion to bring his team all the way on board. That alone was the measure of Raphael’s trust in him.

  But there was no emergency this afternoon, so Cyn was alone as she closed the hatch behind her and made her way down the quiet aisle. Most of Raphael’s vampires slept in the special temporary quarters set up for them in the hangar itself, but a few slept on board the plane. She and Raphael had a private bedroom, while the others shared a windowless sleeping chamber to one side of the aircraft that doubled as a seating area at night. No one liked to sleep on the plane, but sometimes it was necessary, and it was as comfortable as money and ingenuity could make it.

  She let herself into their dimly lit bedroom. There were no windows back here at all, so no danger of any sunlight intruding, but there was a dim lamp burning on her side of the bed. Raphael needed that light too when he first rose. Vampires had remarkable night vision, but even they needed a little bit of light to see by.

  Going right to the small, utilitarian desk, she booted up both of the computers she had there and entered everything she had on Gary Briley, Jr. One system was put to work on an in-depth search, casting a wide net for just about anything her searchbots could find, while the other began tracking his cell phone, digging up all activity for the last month. Not only where he’d been, but calls made and received. That particular search was quite illegal, just as it was illegal for her to have access to those phone records at all, but there were vampires occupying sensitive positions all over the United States, including inside the various phone companies, and their loyalties were unhindered by human law.

  Rather than sit and watch the screens, she stripped off her clothes and hung them neatly in the tiny closet, all the while wishing she were back home in Malibu. She knew she shouldn’t complain—the bedroom in this 707 was as elegant as one could make it. But it was still an airplane, which meant she had to make do with limited space and, even worse, nothing but a quick, warm shower. This was Cyn’s definition of camping. No long, hot pummeling of water, no soothing session in a deep soaker tub . . . no room service, either. Although Raphael would certainly be having room service when he woke up, she thought grumpily.

  She could have used the relaxation of a hot shower about now. Between the lack of sleep necessary to join Nick for his visit to Mrs. Briley and remaining awake all night with Raphael—not to mention the high stress levels of dealing with the hostility between the two men—she was worn out. Raphael had promised her a vacation after Haw
aii, which seemed counterintuitive, now that she thought about it. Most people took vacations in Hawaii. But, regardless, she’d accepted that there wouldn’t be any vacations until the European invasion had been completely defeated, and there was no end in sight to that. Not that she could see. In fact, she was deathly worried about her friend Colin, who was mated to Sophia, the vampire lord who ruled over all of Canada. Sophia had finally reached out to consult with Raphael, and he’d brought Aden into the conversation, since his territory was one of those bordering Canada. Colin was missing, and while Cyn knew his fate was in good hands, she still wished she could be looking for him herself. She was worried.

  Unfortunately, Raphael didn’t have the luxury of dealing with one crisis at a time. Any of the eight North American lords could stand against the European invasion, singly or together. But only she and Raphael could deal with Nick. They’d made a promise and had to make good on it. Not to mention the fact that the manacles were extremely dangerous and could very well come back and bite them in the ass someday if they didn’t deal with it now.

  She walked out of the bathroom, still toweling off as she sat down in front of her computer. The detailed search she’d set up on Gary Briley, Jr. and his family was still digging away, but the results she had so far didn’t add much to what Nick had already told her. The phone search was more interesting, however. Gary, Jr., it seemed, was on the move. Running scared, maybe? But from whom? His buyer? The auction where he’d sold the manacles was a darknet site. She didn’t do much on the darknet, but she knew the basics. It overlaid the Internet, using specific software and protocols to limit participation to only those who were invited. Nick seemed to be more familiar with it than she was—big surprise there—so she was leaving that part of the search up to him. But she didn’t need details to know that the kind of person who would buy something like the manacles—the kind who, first of all, would even know such a thing existed and, secondly, where to find it—might be someone to avoid. Maybe Gary, Jr. had bit off more than he could chew. Maybe his buyer wanted to be sure no one could track the manacles back to him, and Gary, Jr. had become a liability.