MATHER (The Tangled Web Book 2)

by Morgan Wylie

  “Do you have the key, Bastion?” a male voice shouted from outside the door.

  Alana jerked toward the voice. She had to try again. From the beginning, she tried the spell over again, but slower this time. She nailed it, but her nerves were so frayed that she didn’t feel that familiar stirring of her magical energy that she was getting used to experiencing. One more time, she said the spell with deep conviction and finished it just as the door clicked and began to swing inwardly into the Door Room.

  “Get the lights on!” one of the guards shouted.

  Instantly, the lights flickered on. Alana squinted her eyes and then blinked them rapidly, adjusting to the brightness. The three guards filed in, two with weapons drawn, not knowing who they would find in their entryway. They never expected someone trying to get out. They looked around the small room with confused expressions on their faces.

  “There’s no one in here,” one guard said to the others.

  “I see that. Has the alarm ever just gone off before?”

  “Could it be malfunctioning?” the third guard asked as he held a baton in his hands then dropped it to his side as if disappointed he wouldn’t get to use it.

  “No, it’s never done that I’m aware of. Page Poppy to come here. She helped design it; she would know.”

  “I’ll get her. She should be in her office; Alana just went to visit her,” offered the guard Alana had spoken with earlier.

  Alana was baffled that the spell worked. They couldn’t see her—she was invisible. She was so excited it worked, she almost wanted to shout and reveal herself just to share it with someone… anyone. But then she gathered her wits about her and remembered her mission. The gravity of what she needed to do quickly dampened her spirit but drove forward her persistence. As the guards, moved away from the doorway, she slowly and quietly slid sideways toward it. Once at the doorway, she noticed a few more guards standing around outside it, keeping an eye on the hallway. Damn, she would need to hurry and remain quiet. She didn’t know how long the spell would last. She wasn’t even sure if she was still holding onto the spell she evoked in Headquarters, but she could renew it once outside in the real world.

  Tiptoeing swiftly, she had made it to the end of the hall. The guards who had been covering the exit were now in the hall outside the Door Room, leaving the door to the outside unguarded. This was her chance—if only she could figure out a way to open the door without setting off another alarm—but then, spying the elevator that led upstairs to the hotel lobby, she had another idea. No one usually used it unless they were checking on the hotel or if a message was being brought down for the Lair by the guard and doorman who was one of their own. If she remembered right, he was a vampire but couldn’t recall his name.

  Alana pushed on the handle of the exit and put her shoulder into the door with all her might to open it. It was a large heavy door made of solid wood, reinforced with rebar and metal. Sure enough, another set of alarms went off. Heavy footfalls sounded like thunder as they ran down the hall.

  “What the hell is going on here today?” one guard shouted.

  “Lucius is going to kill us. The one time he leaves us in charge,” the other grumbled.

  “Nothing seems to be happening, though,” the first guard retorted.

  As they were coming up on the door, Alana slipped into the elevator, and the doors shut just as they came within her line of sight. While the alarm was blaring, she had pressed the up button, and the elevator door opened, the ding covered by the obnoxious overhead noise.

  Standing inside the elevator, she thought of releasing the invisibility spell but then thought better of it. There was no way the doorman/guard would ever let Gracie or herself through the front doors without an escort of one of the inner circle. That was a command. No, she needed to stay invisible for as long as she could so she could get away.

  The hotel lobby wasn’t crowded, but there were several patrons either sitting on the luxurious furniture enjoying a drink or the paper, registering for the evening at the check-in desk, or patronizing the in-hotel bar. The decor featured high-end antiques and more modern touches. It was an eclectic mix, but the overall effect seemed to work. Rylen had mentioned to her that he had collected a lot of the decor over the centuries he’d been alive. It was like a museum showcase of his life, where he had been, and the time periods he had favored.

  Alana could see the finish line. Out the front windows, she saw the dark Seattle sky and the lights from the surrounding establishments illuminating the sidewalk and the passersby who were still out enjoying the crisp, rain-free evening. She sucked in her breath and moved carefully through the lobby, watching for people as they moved too close to where she was. Alana had to dodge a woman with one of those tiny purse dogs. It could sense Alana and began to growl and yip at her. The woman tried to shush the little yappy dog as she held it in her arms. Annoyed by the display, Alana hurried away. She had never liked those kinds of dogs—if you could even call it a dog—but she was happy that at least the woman held on to her dog, not letting it on the ground to cause a scene.

  A man stumbled away from the bar and almost ran into her. She backpedaled into a corner where the wall changed, creating a bit of a hiding space between her and the man. Otherwise, he would have plowed her right into the wall. At least he was drunk, he probably wouldn’t have had a clue what was happening. And if he said anything, no one would believe him. Luck would have it that it wasn’t necessary. He stumbled some more until one of the attendants came to assist him to a seat and told him to wait for his wife to retrieve him. She assumed the clerk went off to call the man’s wife, perhaps it was not the first occurrence. A ding came from the registration desk and the bellhop hurried to help a customer with their luggage. Alana was almost to the rotating door when she realized that she wouldn’t be able to just waltz through it. The vampire would be too leery, plus, he would probably be able to hear her heart or smell her or something. She wasn’t entirely sure what they as a race were able to do beyond what Enock had told her. Alana stood against the wall near the bar but close to the door. She figured her scent and whatever else the vampire might be able to determine about her would blend in with the many people at the bar. She wondered if that drove him crazy to have to be on guard up here—she knew they were all scheduled to take turns as employees of the hotel not to draw any undue attention to themselves, but still, it couldn’t be the best job in the rotation.

  Alana knew she wasn’t a prisoner at the Lair, but Rylen didn’t want her leaving without him, at least until the danger of all they were facing was over. Neither did she feel like she was being held captive. For the first time in her life, she felt protected and loved. She felt cherished and like she was a part of something bigger, and maybe she could be a contributing member. She had never been allowed to participate in life before now, and there was something exhilarating about it.

  Finally, after several minutes of waiting and fretting that either her spell would wear off or that someone from downstairs would come running up to check the hotel, a small group of people gathered in the lobby with intent to leave. A group of women chatted loudly and animatedly about going to see some show and get some drinks, though, from the smell wafting away from them, Alana was pretty sure they had already had their fill. Either way, they were her ticket out. She moved in behind them but not too close that she touched them. She followed them right out the door with no one the wiser. However, as she turned back to see the vampire, his brow furrowed in confusion as he inconspicuously sniffed the air. But to Alana’s relief, that was all he did, and he went back to focusing on his post. She moved quickly down the sidewalk, continuing to follow the loud group of women as it would help open her passage on the sidewalk. Maybe her mission would be easier than she thought. Although, walking straight into the enemy’s camp wouldn’t be as easy as escaping her new home. Or would it?

  Chapter Sixteen

  Rylen and his team had just come storming through the door from the garage. The men h
ad controlled fury burning in their eyes. Lucius pushed past them all quickly and went straight to the closest intercom. Behind him, Rylen’s eyes glowed a wild greenish-yellow, shifting quickly around the small entry they still stood in. Something had happened while they were gone, but he couldn’t figure out what it was, and it was driving his beast to the point of feral. He needed his mate. He brushed behind Lucius.

  “Throne Room, and call Alana,” Rylen growled out then looked at Mather who ushered in their prisoner, his hands bound behind his back. Looking a little roughed up, the prisoner had a gash on his head; dried blood still surrounded the wound. His hair was military buzz-cut short and his eyes spewed hatred as he took in as much as he could.

  Mather nodded a response to the silent command. Rylen moved past them all, straight into the Throne Room. The thrown-open double doors crashed into the walls on either side.

  “Enock, with me.” Mather nodded to their guest. The two men directed the prisoner down a different hall, taking him to get settled into his new room… in the dungeon.

  “Alana to the Throne Room. PAC… Throne Room,” Lucius commanded into the intercom. “Now.”

  They found Rylen pacing furiously at the end of the room in front of his throne. His barely-contained rage was about to boil over. He was on the verge of an out of control shift, and that wasn’t ever good. The team was wary but in charge as they entered. Mai and Lola stood off to the side as they awaited the rest of the PAC. Several of the guards came swiftly into the room, took note of the tension and went on alert. Others came in more slowly, unaware of the current mood. Next, Poppy came running down the hall, yelling for Rylen at the same time the Oracle, supported by Vi, came around the corner. Poppy looked frantic, Gracie was crying, and her face had fallen in devastation as her eyes swirled in uncontrollable kaleidoscopes of color.

  “What happened?” Rylen roared. He stomped his way toward Gracie, taking in her and Poppy’s look of panic simultaneously.

  “I saw it too late,” Gracie bellowed with unseeing eyes.

  “What? What did you see?” Lucius asked as he pushed toward her where Rylen was staring her down, waiting for an answer. He would never hurt Gracie, but his cat was about to break out of its cage.

  “I didn’t see where she was going. It’s too late, and it’s all my fault. I didn’t see her plan.” Gracie hiccuped as she sobbed, folding in on herself as Vi and Lucius helped guide her to the floor gently so she didn’t damage her knees. Lucius looked up with a fleeting glimpse of panic in his eyes.

  “Who, Gracie?”

  “Alana.”

  Rylen and his beast let out the piercing shriek of a wounded jungle cat. The hairs on everyone’s skin stood on end; it was a chill-inducing sound. He paced, forcing himself away from Gracie and anyone close in case he lost control. He was barely hanging on, the threads of his control fraying to the point of snapping.

  Mather and Enock had walked in just moments before and as a team walked toward Rylen, placing themselves as a front of security between the wild cat and their vulnerable team members. Mather turned his head slightly, taking in Poppy’s frazzled appearance and frowned.

  “How?” Rylen scratched out, his voice a shrill combination of man and beast. “How? Did she get out?”

  Lucius scrutinized his guard he had left behind. “Explain,” he commanded Bastion, whom he had left in charge.

  Bastion stepped forward; he stood tall, proud to be a guard. Shoulders back and head held high, he directed his eyes just to the side of Lucius’ head so as not to present a challenge. His hands both lay straight at his sides, but his fists fidgeted in nervousness, the only thing to move on his body as he spoke.

  “Things were fine until about an hour ago. We did regular rotations, everything was sealed with no issues.” He took a breath then continued. “Jackson was on guard upstairs. He brought down another letter.” The room grew silent with nervous anticipation. Rumors had circulated around the Lair about the letters, but exactly what they contained or what was being done about them remained within the inner circle with few exceptions. Rylen’s eyes shot to the guard speaking as if what he was saying mattered for the first time. He stared Bastion down, looking deep into his soul until the guard flinched and a sweat broke out on his brow. Lucius shot a look back at Rylen.

  “Then what?” Lucius prompted.

  “Miss Alana overheard us. Said she was going to visit Poppy and would take the letter straight to her.” Bastion sighed, knowing it was his mistake. “I shouldn’t have given it to her, but I did.” He looked at Lucius’ eyes for the first time. “I apologize, I let you down.” He turned his head before he looked back at Rylen. “After that, it seemed like chaos ensued.” Bastion ran his fingers through his brown wavy hair. “First, the alarms in the Door Room went off, but there was nothing and no one there. Then, the alarm at the alley door was tripped by the door opening.”

  “She just went out the door, and you couldn’t catch her?” Rylen seethed from behind Lucius.

  “No, sir. We looked all up and down that alley. There was no way she got out that way without us knowing.”

  One of the other guards stepped up next to Bastion, requesting he be heard with a direct glance toward Lucius. Lucius nodded at him.

  “We think that while we were distracted with checking the alley and the rest of the Lair, she went upstairs and out through the lobby.”

  “Think?” Mather inquired suspiciously.

  “We can’t prove it,” Bastion answered. “Jackson thought he smelled a faint scent of Alana at one point, but he didn’t see her. She never passed through the front door, except for that faint scent. No one upstairs saw a girl of her description.”

  “Don’t we have surveillance footage of that area? How could they not see her?” Mather pressed.

  “Because she used her magic,” Enock scoffed. “I gave her a book of spells. She must have learned how to cast an invisibility spell on herself. I didn’t think she had progressed so far with her spells.” Enock shook his head and swore under his breath.

  “So she just walked out the front door,” Mather stated the obvious. “But why? Did something happen?”

  “I think I know why.” Poppy’s voice was small in the room drenched in an abundance of testosterone. She waved a golden envelope in her hand.

  “What did you find, Poppy? What’s in your hand?” Mather asked, trying to understand all that had transpired in the few minutes he and Enock were in the basement. They had heard Rylen’s cat scream and ran the rest of the way to the Throne Room.

  “I found this on my desk with a note from Alana asking me to work my magic on it,” Poppy began, her hand holding the envelope shaking slightly. “I went straight to work, checking for prints, magic traces, everything and anything I could find.” She breathed in slowly through her nose. “It had already been opened and Alana’s prints were on the outer envelope. She was very careful to not touch much more than a tiny corner of the actual letter… an invitation, actually.”

  “What did you find?” Mather repeated, prompting her with his impatience.

  “Basically, it’s the same as the others, except I was able to distinguish two separate magic strains; one from the first letter and the second from the last two. The letters are from two different people. And if Alana is throwing herself into the mix, I’d say it’s a pretty good guess that at least one is from the Fairfax group.”

  “What does this one say, Poppy?” Rylen asked through his teeth. She knew he wasn’t mad at her, but the harsh sound of his voice caused her to flinch.

  “We cordially invite you to turn over the girl. There is no hiding her from us anymore, and it is in everyone’s best interest if you oblige. It would be our honor to host her as our guest from now on. If you cannot or will not rendezvous at the location enclosed, we will take her by force. Respectfully yours… and then there is no signature after that.” Poppy finished reading and waved the nefarious invitation toward them for their viewing.

  “Well, that�
��s obviously a ruse,” Enock scoffed. “They couldn’t get in if they tried. Like we would just turn over one of our own!”

  “Alana wouldn’t know that, though, not with how she’s been treated by some of us,” Lola whispered. “Did she go after them? By herself?”

  A shuddered sob erupted from Gracie’s throat. “No! I saw her in my vision. She must have found more of her magic—she looked…” Another series of sobs wracked her thin frame. Gracie couldn’t even look at any of them. She bent her head down, tangles of her long blonde hair shielding her face.

  “What did she look like, Gracie?” Luc asked, startling her out of her torment.

  “Me! She looked like me!” Then she looked up at Rylen with grief so stricken it made his chest hurt. “This is all because of me, isn’t it? They wanted me, and she went in my place. What if they kill her?!” She erupted into more sobs as she fell in on herself, clinging to Luc’s arm with fierce desperation.

  “They won’t kill her, Gracie.” Rylen sighed then crouched down in front of her. His control seemed to be intact with some strain, but he needed to be their leader just now. He lifted her chin gently for her to see his eyes. “They won’t kill her, even if they think she is you. They want to use your gifts for their own benefit.” He paused and looked up to the others for information. “How long she can keep up the facade, I don’t know. We need to get the witches in on this, Enock, and find out what they know.”