Phoenix removed his hand from the handle, flexed his fingers then grabbed it again. If he knew I was a Necromancer, he didn’t show it. It wasn’t something that either Ian or I had made public knowledge, and SINS preferred to keep my services for their own use. I didn’t want every grieving person flocking to me begging for one last chance to talk to their departed loved ones. It didn’t work like that anyway. A fact clearly proven when Tabitha Walden rose from the dead and killed her grandfather.
With one fluid pull, the morgue drawer slid open. Before it had even stopped its progress, an arm flew out and grabbed Phoenix by the neck.
I had the distinct pleasure of seeing fear widen his eyes and drop his jaw.
The man—for clearly the corpse had been male——lifted Phoenix off his feet. Had he been alive and in need of air he would have been gasping for breath by now. The reanimated dead man, or what was once a man, clambered out of the morgue box and turned his misshapen head toward me. His torso was naked and only the remnants of blue jeans covered his groin area. His face was frozen mid-shift between animal and human, although I wasn’t entirely sure what type of shifter he was meant to be. At least until he opened his mouth, exposing oversized canine teeth. Wolf.
Kat had begun to scream sometime during this. Long, wrenching shrieks that were sure to bring Phoenix some help soon.
“Kill him,” I commanded the beast. “Please.”
He held Phoenix up higher in one hand as his other elongated into the claws of a cat. Wolf and mountain lion? A hybrid. Holy shit! Phoenix was creating hybrids.
Phoenix reached frantically behind him as his feet started to dangle in the air and I heard metal drawers clanging open. When he turned back toward me, I could see a large silver blade in his hand.
“Machete!” I yelled, not even knowing if the beast would understand me. It didn’t matter. Phoenix took a long swing just as the beast was bringing its other hand across the side of his head. In one horrifying crack of bone and flesh, the hybrid collapsed to floor, body going one way, the head another.
Hector and Ajax sprinted into the lab, nearly sliding to a stop as they surveyed the grisly scene before them. “What the…” Hector began as Ajax offered Phoenix a hand up from the floor.
“Take her to the hole!” Phoenix barked in a gravelly voice.
I couldn’t stop the grin from spreading across my face as I saw him push Ajax’s hand away and stumble to his feet, wiping his blood from his face. I knew his injuries wouldn’t be permanent or nearly as macabre as the ones he’d given Kat, but it was still satisfying.
“Now!” Phoenix roared, causing me to jump.
They looked from Kat to me and back again. “Which one?” Hector asked, confusion marring his features.
“Wolfe!” he spat. “It would appear she is a Necromancer.”
“That’s a myth.” Hector spoke softly, not quite sure of his own statement.
“Aren’t we all,” Kat replied, having finally regained her composure.
* * * *
“The hole” seemed to be pretty much what its name implied. Hector and Ajax, followed closely by a still bleeding Phoenix—led me to a new section of the facility, then dropped me into a small room that was completely devoid of light. They’d removed the shackles and I climbed to my feet and felt my way around in the darkness. I estimated the room to be no larger than six feet wide and slightly longer. The walls were damp and the musky scent of underground permeated the tiny space. I could not see my hand even when I placed it upon my face—the dark was so complete. I tried to track the time but had no true way to gauge it, and once my weary eyes betrayed me and I nodded off, I was truly lost for how long I had been trapped down there. My stomach started to protest when a strip of light sliced from above. I saw a shadow as it dropped into the room and felt a body circling around me.
“What is it that makes you crave your freedom so desperately, Miss Wolfe?” The voice of Phoenix grated down my spine. “Is it love? Are you foolish enough to believe that Nightwalker actually loves you? He is a Marquis Vampire and you are but a pitiful human. Your lifespan is but a small portion of his existence.”
I winced as his hand brushed against my hair.
“You will die, as have his many women before you. And the many lovers that will come after you’ve gone.”
“How many lovers have you taken since you found Alse swinging from the rafters of a human courthouse?” I let the viciousness of my words flow from my tongue.
Phoenix’s laugh echoed in the small cavern just before his hand cracked against the side of my face, sending me flying into the nearby wall. “You have no respect, Leah Wolfe, for those who are more powerful than you. It is something that your master should have taught you.”
“Ian is not my master!” I spit out the fresh batch of blood from my mouth as I spoke.
“Oh?” I felt Phoenix move closer even though I still could not see. “He is one of the craftiest masters that I have ever known. You actually think he loves you.” His cold finger raked across my cheek as he chuckled in amusement.
“I know he loves me.”
“Perhaps,” he conceded. “Or perhaps he is simply using you for your own powers. I have existed for many centuries and have never come across another Necromancer. I can see why Ian wanted to keep you all to himself.”
I had often wondered what a man like Ian saw in me and I’d be lying if I said Phoenix’s words didn’t sting. “Is that why you used Alse?” Another sharp blow sent me reeling and I felt the warm streak of blood trickle down my face.
“You are not to speak her name!” Phoenix raged. His next words came out eerily calm. “Love can make you do such foolish things.” He hoisted me up by my elbow then climbed out of the hole. “You are free to roam around as you wish.” His teeth gleamed in the stream of light. “As far as the microchip will allow.” His laugh echoed as he disappeared.
I didn’t waste any time getting out of the small, damp cell that I’d been kept in, but paused for a few moments to let my eyes adjust to the blaring light from the industrial fluorescents that bounced off the antiseptic white walls. Following the scent of coffee and food led me to an open doorway at the end of the corridor. A small buffet was set out on a long table. Two additional long tables were centered in the room. Before I could decide whether or not I trusted the food, Ajax and Hector and strode in and made a beeline for the buffet. They silently piled their plates with beef, noodles, potatoes, and vegetables.
Hector made a show of stuffing a forkful into his mouth. “It’s not poisoned, if that’s what you’re thinking. You should eat; you look like crap.”
My stomach rumbled in agreement and I gave in, avoiding the coffee in favor of bottled water. I kept my hair over my face, hiding the welts and cuts Phoenix had left there. I wasn’t giving him the satisfaction of knowing how much it hurt. I took my food to the table and sat down across from the two men, keeping the door in my line of sight.
“The coffee’s fine too,” Ajax added, lifting his cup to his lips.
“Thirsty,” I muttered, then chugged the water though grudgingly admitting he was right. They wouldn’t be eating the food or drinking the coffee if it was poisoned.
“He kept you down there too long. You really pissed him off.”
Ajax laughed. “She damn near killed him. Nearly gave me a heart attack too. That’s a pretty neat trick you got there, Leah.”
“It’s not a trick.” I stuffed more food in my mouth, giving in to my hunger.
“Well, Phoenix had us lock up every corpse in the building. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him so rattled. You’re lucky he didn’t beat the shit out of you.”
I stood to get some coffee, letting my hair fall away from my face and glaring at them with defiance and rage.
“Holy shit!” Hector stood to take a closer look. “That may need stitches. You should get that cleaned up.”
“Sure, why don’t you show me how to get the hell out of here and I’ll make an appointment with m
y family doctor,” I snapped.
Hector took a step back and raised his arms, palms forward. “Whoa. We told you, Leah, we’re not the bad guys here. If we knew how to get out, do you really think we’d still be here?”
I looked for some twitch in his body language, any little sign to tell me whether he was lying. I’d never wished more in my life that I had Jess’s ability to see truth or lies in someone’s eyes.
“Take her back to her room. I’ll bring some coffee and a first-aid kit.” Ajax stood.
“I’ll get my own coffee.” I softened my tone. “And thanks.”
Ajax brought by a first-aid kit as promised. It had everything you could want for a quick-fix job, minus a pair of scissors.
As Hector explained, “I wouldn’t want to get stabbed with them and you don’t exactly trust us yet.”
He was right, of course. What he didn’t know was that I still had a blade tucked into each boot. I wasn’t willing to play that hand yet; I’d only get one chance to use them and I’d prefer that be in the form of an escape. He did, however, offer to patch me up. I refused and they left me to my own devices.
Exhausted, I sat back in the bed and fought to keep my eyes open.
“Leah?” I heard light footsteps cross the floor. “You okay?” Kat stood on the side of my bed, eyes downcast and filled with the helpless look that I’d first seen in them.
“I’m good.” I tried to make my voice hide the lie.
“Here.” Kat held her hand out, slowly and tentatively, as if she was afraid I’d bite if she moved too fast. “I thought you might need an ice pack.”
I smiled, even though it hurt to do so, and took the pack. “Thank you,” I said with genuine relief as the cold soothed my wounded face.
“He seems to enjoy marring the face.” Sadness filled her eyes.
I wanted to ask her how long she’d been here but before I could speak she walked toward the door. Hesitating at the doorway she said, “I meant what I said before, Leah. Don’t trust anyone in here.”
I shuddered to think of what Kat had suffered at the hands of Phoenix and it fueled my determination to get us out of this place more than anything else could have.
Or so I thought.
“My love, are you there?” Static echoed in my ear.
I sat bolt upright in bed. “Ian?” I asked tentatively.
I heard his sigh of relief. “My love, I am here.” I could almost see his smile. “Are you well?”
“Yeah.” Just fucking peachy. “I’m okay.”
“We have your location and are on our way. It won’t be long.”
“I may have help in here. Two of the guards seem to be on my side.”
“Do you trust them, my love?”
If I said I did, then that would be good enough for Ian. But I wouldn’t risk the lives of those I loved on the assurances of people I’d just met. “I don’t know.”
“Just tell me what you can, my love.”
So I did. I told him everything I knew about the place I was in and the people there. “I won’t leave without my blood, Ian.”
“You are my first concern, my love. We have to get you out of there.”
“He can track me with my blood. Whether it’s true or not, I won’t take that risk.”
“There are things you do not know.”
“Tell me then.”
“No.”
“Ian!” I failed to keep the desperation from my voice. “What the hell don’t I know?”
“My love,” Ian whispered. “This is not how you should find out.”
“Find out what, Ian?”
“Alli took blood at your last visit.” It was a statement, not a question. “Yes.”
“Alli got your lab work results.”
“And?”
“You’re pregnant. We’re going to have a child together.”
The room took one giant spin. I must be dreaming.
“My love.” Concern grew in his voice.
“That’s not possible, Ian.” The words came out on a breath.
He laughed. “It obviously is, my love.”
“How?” I murmured.
“Let us discuss that later,” he crooned. “When you are safe at home.”
How the hell could he be so calm! Discuss it later? I’d spent my entire adult life knowing, knowing that I couldn’t have children. Now he tells me I’m pregnant and he wants to talk about it later. Phoenix had my blood; he could find me anywhere like a damn paranormal bloodhound and…
“If he can track me with my blood, Ian, can he track our baby as well?”
Silence echoed across the line.
“I do not know,” he finally replied.
“Then we can’t leave without it.”
Again, silence hung heavy between us until Ian finally said, “I have an alternate plan.”
I took a long, deep breath and let it out slowly, realizing that my hands were clasped across my abdomen. “Is Alli sure?” I whispered. “I mean…” I had to swallow to moisten my throat before I could continue. “I’m going to have a baby?”
“We are going to have a baby, my love. Our child.”
“Our child.” I needed to pinch myself. I must have been dreaming. Pregnant? Me? A mom?
“We will arrive soon. Are you in a safe place?”
“I’m in the room he’s keeping me in but I’m free to roam about the complex.” My fingers brushed my neck. “He micro chipped me. If I go anywhere near an exit an alarm sounds.”
I heard muffled chatter then Ian said, “Mouse is working on it. Stay in your room. Relax, my love. Just breathe.”
And I did, feeling oddly safe with only Ian’s voice softly humming in my ear until the lights flickered then died. I heard the door to my room slide shut and the awful sound of the lock clicking into place.
“Brace yourself, my love.”
An explosion rocked the building and I lost all contact with Ian. I yanked the knives out of the heels of my boots and headed toward the door. It was still locked. I was trapped, listening to the crack of bones and tearing of flesh beyond my reach and not knowing whose cries of pain I was hearing. I used one knife to try to pry the door open, clawing at it with my other hand until my fingers bled.
Another explosion knocked me back a few feet. The door slid open this time. Then I heard Hector’s voice. He poked his head around the door and I lunged. I caught him off guard and he fell to the floor. I stomped on his neck, hoping to cut off his air supply, not kill him, which made using my knives pretty useless as the silver content could prove fatal. I lifted him by his shoulders and slammed his head into the concrete floor. I still didn’t really know whose side he was on.
Satisfied that he was disabled, I sprinted to the central corridor. I rifled through the drawers. Only one was locked and with a simple twist, it yielded to me and slid open. I had never been so happy to find my guns waiting for me.
While tucking my knives back into my boots and strapping on my holsters, I caught a reflection in a glass wall of a man sidling up behind me, military dress. He must have been one of the exterior guards. I turned; gun raised, and stopped his motion midair as he took a dive at me. He fell to the floor as a crimson blossom of blood grew on his chest.
“My love!” Ian’s voice filled my head. He was close enough that I could hear him through mind speak.
“In the central corridor.”
“I am on my way.”
I heard footsteps pounding down the hall and ducked behind the central desk. Until I knew who was coming, I’d keep cover. I doubted that I’d hear Ian approach, or any other vampire for that matter. I felt a rush of air behind me and whirled, gun raised. It was knocked out of my hand before I completed the gesture and I found myself twisted in Phoenix’s grip. He stood behind me and held one hand across my forehead while his other held a very large knife that was leveled across my stomach.
“You’ve been keeping a secret from me, Miss Wolfe.” The blade slid, razor sharp, across my middle, just deep
enough to slice through the material of my shirt and break the skin. A thin line of red cut across my body as the sharp sting burned my abdomen. I gritted my teeth against the pain.
Ian stepped through the doorway, his sharp angles darkened, blue eyes flashing nearly black with fury. “Let. Her. Go.”
Phoenix laughed. “I stand here with the life of your mate and child within my hands and you demand her release as if I would quiver in your mere presence. You are as arrogant as always, Nightwalker.”
“Let. Her. Go.” Ian’s body shook with barely controlled rage.
The knife wobbled in Phoenix’s hand as he casually twisted it above my stomach. “And what would you offer in return?”
“My life.”
Phoenix used the point of the knife to press a button on the central desk that I’d been hiding behind. A clang of metal filled the room as a silver mesh fell from the ceiling, trapping Ian beneath it. “Then it shall be done.”
The primal scream wrenched from my throat was silenced by Phoenix moving the knife back to my midsection. He twisted my head so that I had no choice but to look at him. “Your boyfriend’s back,” he chimed just before something hard hit the back of my head and I lost consciousness.
* * * *
Harsh laughter from Phoenix greeted me as I regained consciousness. I felt the cold steel of chains weighing down my arms and legs. As my eyes cleared I could see the stark steel drawers that held the dead bodies of Phoenix’s failed experiments, only now they were chained and padlocked. The harsh fluorescents cast beaming lights on the counter, highlighting bloodied medical instruments, yet shrouding the corners of the room in darkness.
“You and your marquis brethren have ruled the immortal world for far too long. Hiding us behind a veil of secrecy and preventing us from taking our true place as leaders. You weaken us!” Phoenix scribbled something in a binder that I’d recognized as the same one he’d used to record his observations of Kat.
Phoenix Page 7
