Phoe shook her head. “No, he wouldn’t. He wouldn’t do this to me.”
“Oh grow up, Phoebe. Do you know what Cage was before the Splice? Before he became a mercenary for the highest bidder?”
“He was an operative with MI six. He told me.”
“Wrong. Cage was no regular operative. He was an assassin. The best anyone had ever seen. He seemed to have this talent for finding new and interesting ways to kill people. Even people that some might say were invincible.”
“I’m not going to listen to this,” Phoe said, more for her own benefit than Eve’s.
“I remember this one time,” Eve continued with a chuckle. “The head of this terror cell had become increasingly troublesome, and so in the British government’s infinite wisdom, they decided that she should be taken out. The only problem was, this woman just would not stay dead. No matter how many men they sent to kill her, she’d always show up again the next week. They started calling her The Phoenix because she seemed to rise from the ashes. It finally got so bad that the powers that be called on Macijah personally to take care of it.
“See, the problem was, The Phoenix had been fitted with this impermeable suit. It was like dragon scales, really, that went from her neck to her ankles, rendering her completely immune to guns and knives unless you could get close to deliver a straight shot. They even had sharpshooters going after her, but no luck. So Cage had the brilliant idea to seduce her. For weeks, he pursued her. Wined and dined her good and proper. As you know, Cage can be pretty damned charming when he wants to be.”
Phoe was trying her best to ignore Eve’s venomous words. She was trying to cloud Phoe’s judgment. Throw her off. Make her question everything.
“We have to get off of this thing and get back to Earth, Eve. You and Cage were right. That amulet is going to bring something terrible into our world, and we have to stop Machine from using it. It has to be destroyed.”
Eve snickered, completely ignoring Phoe’s warnings. “Sure enough, it only took about a month to get in her pants. He made her believe that he loved her. She shed that bodysuit like a snakeskin. They say he shot her straight through the heart while she was still writhing in orgasm beneath him. The joke was always that Cage had fucked her to death.”
Phoe refused to drop her gaze, staring down Eve and trying to look unaffected. Could it be possible that her Cage could be so heartless? “I’m sure there’s some point to this trip through the sordid memoirs of Macijah St. John.”
“No, not really. Just that you can’t be surprised. Perhaps you shouldn’t be so trusting.”
“What makes you say that?”
“Well, surely you don’t think that your getting on the wrong train was by accident. Or the fact that he fell in love with you so quickly. He exposed your weaknesses and gave you exactly what you wanted. So you’d give him what he wanted.”
“I don’t believe you,” Phoe spat.
Eve laughed bitterly. “It doesn’t really matter if you believe me or not. But if he’s so noble, then where is he now? Look, Phoe, I know how you feel. I mean I fell for him too. The first time I met Cage, I was just a child falling at the feet of a god. That’s what I thought he was. I worshipped him, just as you are now. But it’s an illusion. Men like Cage don’t feel things the way we do.”
“What about Corinne?” She tried hard not to sound as unsure as she felt. Eve had planted seeds of doubt, and as hard as Phoe was trying, it was difficult not to listen. That gnawing voice in the back of her mind that always threatened to rear its ugly head was whispering, “You’re not good enough.” She had put so much trust in Cage. “Surely those are not the actions of a bad man.”
“Ah yes, sweet, saintly Corinne. The only woman he’d ever love, or so he told me. His reason for getting the Splice in the first place. Now he’d do anything to get rid of it. Including seducing librarians. Don’t you get it? He’s a mercenary. Machine promised him the antidote if he brought you to New London. He knew that you’d never get off the planet without help. So he sent you a savior.”
Phoe thought over Eve’s gambit. Was there any truth there? Something just didn’t seem right. He could have killed her at any time and took what he needed. “What about you, Eve? What part do you have to play in this? If Cage already got me, then why are you here?”
“Merely a safety precaution.”
“Oh, so you’re my guard?”
“In a manner of speaking, I suppose. Cage, as you know, hates New London. I’m to deliver you safely into Machine’s hands. And as long as you hand over the amulet, all will be well. You and your sister can return to Earth and go back to your boring, Hicksville lives.” Eve winked and turned to walk away.
“So what did Machine promise you?” Eve stopped dead in her tracks and turned to Phoe. “Surely he must have promised you something. You don’t look like the charitable type. Nothing is free, remember? Cage’s prize was the antidote, right? So what about you?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Eve’s expression remained stoic, but Phoe could tell she was rattled. Her fists clenched, and she took a step back. Suddenly it became clear.
“Oh wait. I think I see. It’s Cage, isn’t it? Machine promised that you could have Cage if you did what he wanted.”
Eve lunged at Phoe, slapping her across the face. The edge of her ring caught Phoe’s lip, and blood dripped over her chin. The taste of the blood offered a little more clarity, and Phoe began to laugh.
“Shut your stupid mouth, bitch,” Eve said.
Phoe wiped the blood with the back of her sleeve. “Well, that struck a nerve, didn’t it?”
“You know nothing.”
“Oh I think I’m seeing pretty clearly now.” Phoe smiled. She could play mind games too. “The only thing I can’t figure is the payment. I mean that’s a pretty impressive prize for accompanying a simple librarian. What did you promise Machine? Government secrets from the IU? Your own brother’s research?”
This time when Eve hit her, it was a closed fist that threw her to the floor. She could feel her eye swelling and the dull throb of pain, but it was just as Cage had told her. It made her feel alive.
“We’ll be landing in an hour. You would do well to keep your mouth shut. That is, if you want to stay alive.”
“I’m not afraid of you,” Phoe whispered.
“Oh sweet one,” Eve purred, kneeling over her. She trailed a single fingertip through the blood that still dribbled down her chin. “It’s not me you should be afraid of.”
She drew her fingers across her lips, tasting Phoe’s blood with a shudder. She stepped back from the girl and nodded to a mirror across the room. Instantly three large men in solid black suits stepped through a hidden doorway, grabbing Phoe by the arms, dragging her toward the bed she’d been lying on. Phoe fought hard, kicking and screaming, but the men were much too strong. She could feel their fingers digging into the tender skin of her upper arm, and she knew there would be angry bruises later.
“Let me go,” she shrieked. “Cage.”
Eve laughed. “Go ahead and shout, little one. No one around can hear or would come to your rescue. Your savior has forsaken you.”
Phoe’s vision was blurred by the tears that collected in a film over her eyes. She bit down on her lip, not wanting to give this bitch the satisfaction of seeing her cry, but it was no use. The men forced her down on the bed, strapping her arms and legs down so tightly she could barely move. She jerked her arm and the cuff around her wrist seemed to tighten, nearly cutting off the circulation to her hand. She shrieked in pain, thrashing her head around to see Eve standing over her.
“Shush, little thing,” she soothed, drawing a syringe gently along Phoe’s cheekbone. “Just sleep. It will all be over soon.”
* * *
The screaming in his head brought Cage around. He opened his eyes, squinting at the oppressive light. The screaming was pain. He tried to press fingers to his temple, but found he could not move his arm. The clink and scrapin
g of metal on concrete was so loud as he twisted, it stabbed into his brain like a knife.
He raised his head and groaned once more as the ruined flesh over his eye clung to the filthy mattress he lay on. That tacky, viscous sensation could only be blood.
“Phoe,” he croaked, twisting around to sit up. Then memory careened back into the forefront of his mind. The hotel. She was still waiting at the hotel. The IU goons had caught up with him first. What had they sedated him with? He remembered a stinging pain at his spine and then everything went black.
He laughed when he saw the chains around his wrists and ankles. “Kinky,” he rasped. How long did they think these ordinary bonds would hold him? Obviously the IU knew he could shift at will; that’s why they were after him in the first place.
“Do your research,” he shouted into the empty room. They were surely watching him from someplace else. CCTV or at the very least a two-way mirror. The shift would have to be quick. He winced as another throb of pain nearly blinded him.
“Bloody hell,” he cursed, closing his eyes. How fucking hard had they hit him? They must have beaten him to a pulp after he was out. It was the only explanation. And why wasn’t he healing faster? The skin across the back of his knuckles was still broken and jagged from where he’d hit the leader over and over.
No, he couldn’t think about any of this now. If he focused on the pain, he’d never be able to shift. He licked his lips, tasting his own blood. It made his mouth water, and he took a deep breath. Looking up at the ceiling, he gauged the height. “At least ten feet,” he said to himself as he assessed the bare walls, exposed beams, and raw concrete floor.
It must be a cellar of some kind. Which meant that there was space above. The walls were cinderblocks. He would have to shift to something strong to be able to burst through the steel door opposite where he lay. Something they wouldn’t be able to stop.
So much for being inconspicuous.
Cage closed his eyes and visualized the shift, his mind mapping out the rearranging of bone and muscle. He could feel the burning under his skin as the serum that lived in his cells began to activate and expand. It felt like a slow simmer that would eventually become a boil roughly akin to the magma in a volcano just before the explosion. “I hate fucking dragons,” he growled, tensing for the change.
And nothing happened.
He tried again and nothing. A shred of panic pierced his heart, and he jerked against the chains, kneeling up on the mattress.
“Shit,” he growled, stretching his spine and trying to clear his thoughts. Over and over he tried to shift, each time becoming more and more hopeless. He had to get out of here and get back to Phoe. She was in terrible danger that grew worse the longer he stayed here.
“Fuck,” he shouted, jerking at the chain holding his arm.
“Mr. St. John, do calm down. You’ll hurt yourself.” Cage stopped, hearing a voice like an oilskin. The door opened with a creaking sound, and a man with heavy footsteps strolled inside. His foot dragged slightly across the concrete floor, and Cage could just make out the outline of the other man’s shoe.
“Derek Machine,” Cage answered, his voice sounding ragged and ill-used.
“Very good. You’re a perceptive boy.” Machine walked into the light where Cage could see him. He was tall and wan. His cold eyes, angular features, and nearly white blond hair made him look almost like a photo negative of Cage.
He walked with a cane, but there was no sign of weakness save for one foot that was turned slightly inward. “Though I have to say I’m a little surprised that you knew me.”
“Anyone that’s ever smelled New London could identify you,” Cage snarled.
Machine chuckled. “You know, that’s why I like you, Macijah. You’re so damned witty.” Machine circled him, his fingertips poised beneath his chin as if deep in thought. Cage could tell that Machine was trying to decide what to do with him. Cage might not be able to shift, but Machine was smart enough to know that Cage was a dangerous man regardless. He had been trained to be an efficient killer long before his “condition.”
“Working for the Interplanetary Union, are we?” Cage asked. “It seems odd considering that the last time I saw you, you had your fingers in several pies, but none of them were what you’d call reputable.”
“Don’t be stupid,” Machine answered. “The IU works for me. Didn’t you know that money rules the world?” He smiled. “All worlds, as a matter of fact.”
“So it would appear.” Cage tested his bonds once more, and Machine laughed. “Why can’t I shift? What have you done to me?”
“Well, I thought that you and I should have a little talk. And the shifting wouldn’t be conducive to that. Don’t you think?”
“If you mean that once I was able to shift, I’d break out of these chains and tear your testicles out through your nose? Perhaps you may be on to something.”
Machine stared down his nose, looking disgusted. “Idle threats, Macijah. They don’t become you. Besides, you haven’t even heard what I have to say.”
“What difference would that make to me?”
“Oh it should make a great deal of difference.” He ambled up to where Cage knelt, panting and struggling against his bonds. In an almost sexual gesture, Machine tipped Cage’s head back and Cage had to look up. “I can see why she likes you. Such a shame that my boys had to restrain you in such a way. They’ve nearly broken your cheekbone.” Cage jerked away. “So full of rage. You should get that under control.”
“Enough chatter,” Cage said. “Just tell me what you want. I loathe these little tête-à-têtes where the evil villain rambles on and on about his devious plan.”
“Quite right. But I’m hardly an evil villain, Macijah. I’m here to help you.”
Cage snorted. “What could you possibly have that would help me?”
“You were looking for a cure for your condition. How do you like it so far?”
“What are you talking about?”
“How does it feel not being able to shift? I can assure you that the drugs coursing through your veins right now have rendered you completely mortal. Come on, Macijah, surely you’ve noticed that you aren’t healing. I thought you were smart. Your friend Manning is quite the scientist. He’s been developing this for a while. As a means to control monsters like you.”
“What are you talking about? Those things can’t be controlled. They’ve tried. The beast inside always comes back.”
“Well, you of all people should know about that.” Machine smirked. “Oh yes, I know all about why you’re in hiding. That little accident in the lab in Westminster. I believe they said the death toll from the explosion was pretty significant. And then of course your adventures in Somalia.”
“Is there a point to any of this?”
“Just that you might want to listen to my offer before you go off half-cocked.”
“I can’t imagine that anything you have to say will sway my opinion of you, Machine. Besides, we both know that my abilities are not why we’re both here. You need that Sin’khari artifact. And I must tell you that I have no intention of helping you get to it.”
Machine doubled over in laughter. It was the high-pitched squeal of a lunatic that made Cage’s skin crawl. Evidently there was some joke to which he was not privy.
“Do you really think that’s why I’m here? Why you’re here? Why any of us are here? It’s true that Miss Addison and her sister had their roles to play. And I do intend to use that key.” Cage raised his eyebrow in surprise. “Oh yes, I’m well aware that it’s a key. The question is, to what? But I have all the time in the world to figure that out. No, I had a much more interesting plan in mind once I found out that you were the one helping our long-suffering librarian.”
Suddenly, that feeling in his gut flared once more, and he was certain that Phoe was in danger. Just the look in Machine’s eye. The cool reserve.
“Where is Phoe?”
“Miss Addison, the younger? Don’t worry for her, Mac
ijah. I can assure you that she’s in good hands. Her and her sister both. For the time being, at least. I’m sure that Dr. Manning will treat them both with the utmost care.”
“Oliver?”
“Funny old world, isn’t it? Once the IU fired him after all your shenanigans, he came to work for me. He’s been enjoying the luxury of the private sector. It’s amazing what can be accomplished with a generous benefactor and the complete lack of government interference.”
“Oliver would never work for you.”
“Oh really? Would you like to see him? Though I’m told he’s busy with a new experiment.”
At this, Machine grinned toothily, pulling a tiny remote from his pocket and pointing it at a bank of video monitors in front of Cage. When the picture flickered to life, he could see Phoe lying on a glass and metal table, her arms and wrists strapped down. His fists tightened at his sides.
“At any rate, he found the key to the Sin’khari’s beasts. Turns out that while everyone was trying to fight them, control is what really matters.”
“Let her go,” Cage growled. “Let her go or I swear to God I’ll kill you if I have to do it with my bare hands.”
Machine shook his head. “Simmer down, Macijah. You couldn’t stomp a particularly annoying ant at the moment.”
He struggled against the chains, giving a violent growl and pulling so hard that for a moment, he saw the blood drain from Machine’s face.
“You’ll never be safe. I have an extensive memory, and I will hunt you from now on. You won’t be able to keep me chained up forever.”
“Just relax, Macijah. She won’t be harmed. As long as she hands over the key, all will be well. I only want to enhance her a bit so that she can fight at your side. Haven’t you always wanted to save the world?”
“You have no interest in saving the world. And what makes you think that I’d work for you?” Cage spat.
“I’m quite certain that you will, Macijah. If not for the antidote, then for her life.”
He nodded toward the CCTV once more where Phoe was screaming silently for help.
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