With a grunt, the Talos hit a cold, hard floor and rolled, sheltering Ellie, catching her against his chest, his hand under her head, protecting her vulnerable human skull from the impact. Dizziness washed over him, a sensation he wasn’t used to in this form. His stomach roiled. For a few seconds, he lay there on his elbows, body weight suspended over Ellie’s to keep from crushing her while he regained control of his senses. Finally, the Talos raised its head, looking around.
Darkness.
His initial concern was that they somehow hadn’t completed the trip. That they’d simply landed somewhere in-between, in some nether region.
No. He recognized the rough, uneven hardness beneath him. It was a floor. Concrete. As his eyes adjusted to the dim light, he saw steel beams overhead. Steel posts supporting the ceiling. Wooden pallets. Stacks of goods. A forklift in the corner. They were in some kind of warehouse. Why here, wherever it was?
Before bothering to ascertain that, he checked on Ellie first. Letting go of the Talos, Carter resumed his human form so he could feel her pulse with human fingertips, flesh on flesh. Her heartbeat thrummed strong and steady. She’d simply passed out during the crossing. Gently, he eased her head down, wishing he had something to put under her and even over her. It was a bit chilly in the warehouse, and, as usual, his shirt was gone, ruined during his transformation into the Talos.
In his hand he still gripped the sword, and the shard of Stone still bit into his palm. Carter shook his head wryly. All this warring between Sean and Nosizwe over the Stones of Fire. Maybe they weren’t anything more than portals to another dimension. Maybe whoever originally had them didn’t gain anything, except a vehicle to travel to another world. But, like any vehicle, it had to be powered by a fuel source. Apparently that fuel source was him, the Talos; or the Talos’ blood. He mulled that over as he climbed to his feet, looking around.
At the opposite end of the vast space was a closed door. Light leaked into the warehouse from around it. He couldn’t see or hear anything human. He slid the shard of Stone back into his pants pocket, but held onto the sword. Carter didn’t know anything about the proper techniques for sword fighting, but if push came to shove it couldn’t be too difficult to ram a blade into someone’s gut. Anyway, it was a viable alternative, at least until he could get his hands back on his normal weapons.
There were no windows in the warehouse, so Carter started for the door, winding his way around pallets and posts, trying to keep quiet. He didn’t want to risk alerting anyone unnecessarily. Unluckily, it was dark enough in the warehouse that as he crept around one post, he didn’t see the edge of the pallet sticking out past the load that was stacked on it. His foot caught, ramming into the wood, and he swore softly at the pain.
Carter heard a soft intake of air and a woman’s voice.
“Who’s there?”
He froze, his mind racing. Should he answer? The woman, whoever she was, might think it was a rat or some other critter sneaking about. He was tempted to keep his head down and attempt to sneak out until she spoke again.
“I heard you,” she said, her voice a little firmer now. “I know somebody’s there. Who is it? If you’re bringing me food, could you at least turn a light on? How would that hurt you?”
This time, the voice struck a chord of familiarity. Carter raced through a line of women he’d known, trying to process it. Memory quickly came back with a reply. That cop. Detective Ewing. She’d been there on the country club grounds, and was supposed to get Ellie to safety after he sacrificed his life for hers.
Standing from his crouch, he called her name quietly.
“Detective? Detective Ewing? It’s Carter Ballis.”
A heartbeat of silence. She didn’t gasp this time, but when she spoke, he registered the shock in her voice.
“Carter Ballis? But you’re—” She stopped, switching gears mid-sentence. “Where’s Ellie? How is she?”
“She’s here. She’s fine. Where are you?”
“Over here in the northwest corner. Cuffed to a post.”
“I’m coming over.”
As Carter headed that direction, his eyes adjusted better to the lighting—or lack thereof. He approached, seeing the cop’s figure firming up out of the darkness. She sat with her back against a steel post, just like she’d said. Her arms were stretched behind her, bound behind the post. She squinted up at him as he knelt next to her.
“What happened to you?” he asked.
“What happened to you?” she shot back. “And Ellie? You two disappeared into that—that ring of fire, or whatever it was. And now you’re here like nothing ever happened.”
“Long story. We’re both fine, though. Ellie passed out on the way back.”
“The way back?”
“We had to return the same way we went.”
“Through a fire ring,” the cop observed.
“Something like that. Can’t go into it all now. You know of anything I can use to get these off?”
She was secured with handcuffs.
“There’s a key somewhere. I think the office is past that doorway,” the detective said, nodding towards the closed door he’d already noticed.
“Do you know if anyone’s there?”
“I think someone is nearly all the time, but I don’t know who or how many. Different people bring me meals and take me to the toilet. I haven’t been able to discern a pattern of who or how many. I know they have to keep people here all the time, though, because of those.”
She nodded her head in the general direction from where he’d come, where he and Ellie had been deposited, and where Ellie still lay.
“Why? What’s over there?”
The detective craned her neck to study him.
“The Stones, of course,” she said impatiently. “Isn’t that what all this crap has been about?”
Carter had wondered what happened to the Stones after he and Ellie had vanished into the portal. He wanted to inquire what had gone down, but now wasn’t the time. Instead, he said, “You’ll have to fill me in later. Right now, our best bet is getting out of here before anyone sees us. Since the Stones are here, this place will be guarded by shifters. I don’t want to take on one of Nosizwe’s crews by myself while trying to guard you and Ellie.”
“I’d argue that I can take care of myself and help you out, but they took my piece,” the cop admitted grimly.
“Not surprised. I miss mine too. We’ll get us both fixed up once we’re clear of this place. In the meantime, I may have something that can help.”
He reached for the sword, which he’d stuck through his belt before he started searching around.
“What is that?” the detective eyed him suspiciously. “Looks like you’re going medieval rogue on me.”
“You may not be far off.” Carter flicked his wrist and the blade wreathed itself in light.
“Holy crap!” With the sword’s glow, he could see the detective’s eyes widen. “What is that thing?” she demanded again.
“I’m not sure myself,” Carter confessed. He passed the sword around behind her back to see what his best option would be as far as freeing her. “It was given to me by another shifter in that place Ellie and I went. Wherever that was.”
“This is sounding more and more like a damned comic book adventure,” the cop complained through gritted teeth.
Carter chuckled grimly. “I can’t argue with that.”
Taking a chance, he carefully pressed the glowing blade to the thinnest portion of the metal handcuffs. There was a sizzling noise. Carter held his breath, pensive. Would it work? Could the magical flames melt steel? Yes, after a slight pause he saw the metal transforming, drooping, congealing into a gloopy mess. One hand was free in a matter of seconds, and shortly thereafter Detective Ewing pulled the other out.
“Thank you,” she said, rubbing her wrists. “I don’t know how long I’ve been here, but those things get uncomfortable pretty quickly.”
“How many meals did they bring you?” C
arter questioned, offering her a hand, which she took. He pulled her carefully to her feet. She swayed, her legs undoubtedly stiff and cramped after sitting so long, but regained her equilibrium quickly.
Shaking out her legs, she replied, “Four? Five? I’m thinking I’ve been here around 24 hours. Maybe a little more.”
Carter calculated the numbers in his brain. His best guess? About the same amount of time as he and Ellie had been gone. He felt a wash of relief to know the world hadn’t gone totally insane while they were absent. Like they hadn’t lost twenty years here on Earth during their brief absence.
“Let’s get Ellie and get out of here,” the cop said next. “Where did you say she was? Oh, and you might want to put that thing out,” she advised, pointing at the sword. “If anyone comes to check on me they can’t miss it.”
“It’s our only weapon right now.”
“Yes, and it took you no time to light it up. How’d you do that anyway? Never mind. Look, I’m just saying, we might be able to sneak out of here and not need a weapon at all, but if somebody peeks in here to check on me or the Stones and sees a glowing sword, we have a snowball’s chance in July of sneaking out. We’ll have to fight our way out. One sword against we don’t know how many guns? Not the kind of odds I like, my friend. I’d rather leave without starting World War Three, if that’s at all possible.
“Although I think World War Three’s coming anyway,” she added as Carter thrust the weapon back into his belt, securing it. Once it no longer touched his skin, the fire vanished. “And I don’t want to be around when it breaks out.”
Chapter Ten
“You’re talking about Sean and Nosizwe—Elia,” Carter guessed, as he led her through the dim warehouse back over to Ellie.
“Yes, and those Stones they’re warring over.”
“Does Sean know they’re here?”
He caught the detective’s shrug in the shadows.
“I don’t know. Once you and Ellie disappeared into the voodoo fire, the flames disappeared. The fire on the Stones also went out. Instantly. Nothing was left but a bunch of people standing around looking at each other. Elia said, ‘We came all this way for this? Did all this work for this?’ Then Mrs. Costas, she accused Elia of not having a better handle on her people. Said it was her fault Ellie got you into the fire. That she was incompetent. The two women started arguing. Next thing I knew, somebody got a call that Mr. Costas was looking for his wife.”
By now they were stooped next to Ellie, who was still unconscious.
“She okay?” the cop asked, concern in her voice.
“I think so.” Again, Carter quickly checked her pulse. “Pulse is steady. She’s breathing fine. Here.”
He handed the cop Ellie’s glasses which she accepted and pocketed for him. She then continued to talk quietly as he scooped Ellie up. “Long and short of it is, since their mission failed, they decided for now to break ranks and try to cover up what happened. At least until they could regroup and replan. Elia’s people took me and the Stones back here. Elia went back to the country club to perform. And Mrs. Costas went home to her husband. I think.”
Interesting. Carter wondered what they’d told Sean to cover up his and Ellie’s disappearance. As Sean’s head of security, his absence would hardly go unnoticed.
The cop paused, glancing around. “Which way?”
Carter screened his annoyance. “I figured you’d know better than me. You’re the one who’s been here.”
The detective’s eyes narrowed. “I’m so sorry, Mr. Ballis. They blindfolded me before they brought me here, and I’ve been kept in the dark—literally—ever since. The only exit I know for sure is through the office. I’m asking you if you want to chance that or try and find an alternate route?”
He scanned the perimeter of the murky warehouse, wishing his shifter alter had the ability to see in the dark, like some.
“Ah, the hell with it. We could stand here all day arguing, or waste a lot of time trying to find an exit that doesn’t exist, or we could go for the one sure option we have. Since you’re not a shifter, they may not have many guards on it anyway.”
“They may have more than you think since the Stones are here,” warned Detective Ewing as she trailed him towards the office.
It was a fair point. And here he was, carrying an unconscious Ellie, which limited his range of motion, to say the least. They both crept towards the closed door. Before Carter opened it, he paused long enough to allow the shiver of power to race through his system. He felt the old magic, the familiar sense of coming into his truest sense, and then Carter the man was gone and the Talos had assumed his place. Behind him, he heard the cop’s quick intake of breath.
“I’ll never get used to seeing that, as long as I live,” she muttered.
He might’ve been amused, but the situation was too grim. Instead, he switched his hold on Ellie, draping her over his shoulder instead of carrying her in both arms. In the event of a catastrophe, at least his hands would be free.
“Ready?” his companion asked.
The Talos nodded towards the closed door. Ready.
The cop took point, opening the door and glancing around, then shifted to the side, beckoning him to go through. He obeyed, sidling past her. The explosion of light against his senses temporarily blinded him. He shook his head, dispelling the spot that danced across his vision, his eyes adjusting to the brightness after being in the warehouse for so long. The detective reached out an arm, pointing past him. A guard in human form—although Carter reckoned it had to be some type of shifter—sat in a black office chair, her feet propped up on the desk in front of her. She wore earbuds and bobbed her head to the music she was listening to.
Carter glanced at the detective, a silent question. She nodded back. He was holding Ellie, so she’d take care of it.
A heavy lamp sat on the wraparound desk. It was no trouble for Detective Ewing to unplug and retrieve it as she snuck up on the guard. It may have been more trouble for her to raise the lamp and bring it down on the back of the other woman’s skull. Carter saw her freeze and wince before she lowered her arms, but she went through with it. The guard let out a funny sound—a half choked, half yelp, half whimper as she crumpled, her legs falling from the desk, her body sliding down to the floor in a heap.
The detective released a heavy breath.
“Hate doing stuff like that,” she murmured. The Talos heard the self-recrimination in her tone, but she’d done what she had to do to get them out of there, and he admired her grit.
“I’m going to check for my gun,” she added, and the Talos nodded. She opened a drawer or two, and found success. “Ah ha.” Rising, she showed off a Beretta and SIG. “Yours and mine, I think.”
Even in his Talos form, Carter felt a sense of relief to have his regular weapon back. The detective secured her own weapon with the holster on her thigh before wordlessly assisting him into loosening then shrugging on his gun harness. He’d left both the gun and the harness in his car that night on the country club grounds. One of Nosizwe’s people had been sent to retrieve them. He was lucky they’d wound up here. Detective Ewing placed the SIG in its holster, then stepped back to check him over.
“A bronze man with a voodoo sword and a gun. Can’t get much better prepared than that.”
She said it half-jokingly, but her humor melted when the woman on the floor stirred, releasing a quiet moan.
The detective caught his eye. “Time to go.”
The Talos nodded in agreement.
Withdrawing her weapon from its holster, she eased open the rear door to the office. Her gun arm went out first, followed by her head, her body. She signaled for him to follow. He did, stepping into a narrow corridor. A couple of doors branched off to the left and right, but they were closed. Silent. Dead in front of them was a large, metal door with a push bar and a glowing red “Exit” above it. Again, Detective Ewing took point, leaning her weight into the silvery bar, pushing the door open. The Talos braced in case
an alarm should go off, but there was no keypad on the wall next to the door, so hopefully any alarm systems were meant to keep people—shifters—from coming in, not going out.
He couldn’t believe their luck as she ushered them outside into the cool night without incident. The cop must have been thinking the same thing as she maneuvered the thigh high slit in her now not-so-pristine evening gown and slid her weapon back into its holster.
“Shee, we got lucky there,” she whistled.
She spoke too soon.
The Talos heard the displacing of air, the flap of powerful wings, the sound of a descent. He craned his neck to glance back over his shoulder in time to see the winged shifter descending in some type of bird form with a lizard’s head and body, looking almost like one of those flying dinosaurs in the dinosaur park movies.
“Look out,” the cop exclaimed, but there wasn’t time to look out. Ellie was on the shoulder closest to the enemy. There was only time to raise his forearm and brace himself for impact.
He got his arm up in the nick of time, grunting as the flying shifter struck. His bronze arm absorbed most of the impact, but his attacker’s weight scooted him back several paces. Even as the shifter struck, he flung out the same hand, reaching for its neck. It screeched as his bronze fingers closed around its slender throat. In one motion he caught the thing and threw his arm and body weight in an arc, flinging it off him and away from Ellie. The shifter flapped its wings as it hurtled through the air, screeching, managing to regain equilibrium and escape colliding with the pavement. It was quick, Carter would give it that. In an instant, it was back in the air, squawking, either in anger or trying to warn other guards. But only for an instant. The next thing he knew a shot rang out, and the shifter dropped like a sack of potatoes, dead on the damp pavement, a bullet through its lizard head.
Repairer of the Breach (Stones of Fire Book 4) Page 7
