by Linda Wisdom
“Cuz.” Wreaker reached out to halt Declan before he followed them. “As sexy as she is, she’s also poison for you,” Wreaker told him. “She’s a Guard, Declan. If push came to shove, she’d destroy you as quick as you can blink an eye. The Guard would be happy if we were all gone. So don’t shit a brick if she decides she wants nothing more to do with you.”
“Thanks for the family chat, Wreaker,” Declan said, brushing past. “And cuz, if you ever bring a human back here again, even more so an underage human, I will make sure you never leave the deepest and darkest realm I can find, where exquisite pain will be the least of your worries.”
Maggie ignored the suggestive remarks as she escorted Mick through the club to the exit. And did her best not to laugh, since most of them were directed at Mick. She heard Courtney whimper and keep a tight hold on her waistband, trailing her like a chick following a mama hen. After tonight, she doubted the girl would do anything to get into trouble for a very long time.
Mick paled when a vampire swept in front of him, dropping fang and revealing eyes red with hunger.
“He’s too anemic for you,” Maggie said, grabbing Mick’s arm and pulling him around the vampire.
“Tell me you wish my assistance, human, and I will kill the Guard for you,” the vampire said.
Maggie conjured up a needle-sharp stake and spun around. “Do you really want to get into it with me? Because I wouldn’t mind dusting you.” When she didn’t receive a reply, she continued on until they were outside.
A black SUV sat with its engine running near the entrance. The creatures lined alongside the building waiting to get into the club were properly subdued, as if they knew just what waited inside the vehicle. The Hellion Guard didn’t need shiny decals on their transportation nor did they wear fancy patches on their clothing to identify themselves. And yet it was apparent who they were and what kind of justice they dealt.
It was an unspoken secret that the Guard was everywhere—and woe be to any creature that messed with them.
Courtney squeaked when Frebus climbed out of the driver’s seat. He shook himself lightly, his thick blond fur settling into place while his pink eyes surveyed the parking lot. He grinned, showing his razor-sharp teeth.
“Is there a reason why you can’t go out and have a bitchin’ time like anyone else, Mags?” he asked, walking around to the rear and opening the back. “How much of the place did you mess up this time?”
“Just the kid here.” She pushed Mick forward. “Here’s your package. When you get back to the compound, hand him over to Sybil. She knows he’s coming.”
Mick spun around, his arm cocked back and ready to punch her in the face. Before he could move his arm any further, Maggie flipped him around and had him on the ground with her foot resting against his throat. He coughed and choked.
“You just don’t listen, do you?” Her magick sparked around her. “I could make fireworks go off inside you. So I suggest you get up and behave yourself because Frebus doesn’t have my patience.” She stepped back and watched him struggle to his feet.
Mick started to limp over to the SUV.
“Wait a minute.” Courtney edged around Maggie and walked over to Mick, who turned around to face her.
He smirked at her. “Can’t get enough of me, can you? Too bad you’re nothing more than a little kid.”
She placed her hand on his shoulder as if she was going to hug him, and then she quickly raised her knee to connect with his groin. Mick’s mouth opened in an O of pure pain.
“You asshole,” she snarled. “Eat shit and die.”
Mick’s mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water before he crumpled to his knees.
“Now that’s nasty.” Maggie commented serenely.
Frebus walked over and grabbed Mick by his collar, lifting him easily to his feet. He threw the boy into the back of the SUV and slammed the door with the boom of heavy metal.
“Good for you, kid.” He sketched Courtney a salute and got in the SUV and drove off.
“What is he?” Courtney tugged on Maggie’s arm.
“One of my team members. Frebus is really an old softie, but no reason to let Mick think so.” Maggie lightly grasped the girl’s chin and lifted her face so she could see it better under the sodium-vapor lights.
“I’d say the son of a whore should pay for that bruise, but I think you already took care of that.” She smiled briefly. “I hope you enjoyed your much-deserved revenge. But you’re still grounded for the next hundred years.”
“Why did you tell him you’re a hedgehog when I couldn’t say it?” Courtney asked, smart enough not to say anything about the grounding.
“Because I wanted to make sure to put the fear into him, plus he’d find out in there anyway.”
“Are you taking her out to the compound?” Declan asked.
“It’s too late to get a baby-sitter, and no way can I ask you to baby-sit her, so yes, she’s going with me.” She cut a quick glance at the girl to make sure she wasn’t watching and then blew him a kiss. Later, she mouthed.
As Maggie drove off, she noticed Snips had come out and stood by Declan’s side with a proprietary air.
“I’m really in trouble, aren’t I?” Courtney asked, bringing her back to the moment at hand. The teen slumped in the passenger seat, not even looking out the window.
“What part of grounded for the next hundred years don’t you understand?” Maggie punched the Viper’s accelerator, ready to catch up with Frebus.
“Knowing you, you’ll find a way to keep me alive that long just to make me suffer.”
Maggie started laughing, feeling freer than she had since she first realized what had happened to Courtney.
“I’m sure I can find a way. For now, consider that every privilege you think you have has been revoked.” As she spoke the words, she realized just what it meant.
Maggie sounded just like a mom.
Chapter 17
Maggie watched Courtney’s face as Maggie’s car crossed the invisible shield that protected the compound.
“This is magick?” Her mouth dropped open. “I said the word! You’re a witch.” She squealed with delight as she danced around. “How come I can say it now?”
“Because you’re in a place where all is magick, so it doesn’t matter. Once we leave here, you’ll have your old alternate vocabulary again.”
She parked the car and waited for Courtney to bounce out. “But there are rules you have to follow. No staring, no screaming, no calling anyone a monster—and you obey everything I say. Trust me, this isn’t a good place to break any rules.”
When they reached the entrance kiosk, Maggie stopped long enough to sign in and pick up a visitor medallion for Courtney. “Do you know what Mick did with the necklace I gave you?”
“He said he could get good money for it. He gave it to someone at the club,” she mourned. “This creepy guy told him it was valuable.”
“Don’t worry about it. Whoever has it will discover it’s not what they thought it was.” She knew anyone not associated with the Guard would find that the necklace was nothing more than cheap metal. How she loved the safeguards that were always in place.
Maggie had to keep grabbing Courtney’s arm as the girl tended to wander away, staring at the creatures that bustled about. “Remember my rule about not staring? It’s also known as rude.”
“But I’ve never seen anything like this,” Courtney explained, her head almost spinning around as she tried to take it all in. “How many ferrets are there here?” She pointed at a silver one that flashed by.
“More than you can count. They’re our messengers. And don’t get in their way. They will run you over. Are you hungry? We offer pretty much anything you can think of here.” She gestured toward the building holding the dining halls.
“No, I’m good.” Courtney had to be pulled along as she scanned the grounds. She finally dug in her heels, forcing Maggie to stop. “I think I’ve figured it out. It’s because of what almos
t happened at Declan’s club. That’s why you taught me to fight, wasn’t it?”
Maggie looked at Courtney’s face, seeing fear in the young features. She thought of all the girl had lost: her family and home, the boy she thought loved her, and if Maggie didn’t do her job, she could lose her very life.
“We will talk,” she said softly. “I promise you will know everything. But right now I have to see what’s going on with Mick. I’ll take you to my quarters. You can take a shower and borrow some clean clothing, because… well, you smell like demon.”
“Demon?”
Maggie steered her around a cluster of trolls who looked at the duo with curiosity.
“What is this place?”
“Where I live and work. A lot of it you don’t need to know about, and you’re best off not knowing.”
Maggie settled Courtney in her rooms and left Elle to keep an eye on things.
“Does it have to stay here?” Courtney asked, gaping as the spider popped off Maggie’s skin and skittered up to her web. The girl looked as if she wanted a shoe to smash Elle with.
“Tell the girl I do not harm humans,” Elle said demurely, her ruby eyes flashing.
“I’ll be back as soon as I can.” Maggie pointed out the TV remote and controls for her CD player. “All I ask is that you don’t leave my suite. That medallion you’re wearing lets them know you’re a visitor here, and it also ensures you can’t enter all the buildings. But don’t think of it as absolute protection.”
“You don’t have to worry about that.” Courtney plopped down on the couch. “I’m totally finished walking on the wild side.” She looked up. “I don’t have to see Mick again, do I?”
Maggie looked at the forlorn expression on Courtney’s face. She knew no girl should go through so much in such a short time. She hated to think what Courtney’s reaction would be when she found out a Mayan priest had her on the menu to be sliced and diced.
“No, never again. Think of him as a bad dream that won’t be revisiting you.”
Maggie held up her hand in a wait a second gesture and ducked into her bedroom. She returned with a large cream-colored teddy bear in her arms and set him in Courtney’s lap.
The teen almost crawled up the back of the couch. “What does he do?”
“Nothing. He’s just there for you to hug. He’s only a toy, Courtney.” She leaned down and dropped a kiss on top of her head. “Sometimes the best magick isn’t magick at all.” With that she left.
“Mal’s busting a gut you brought a human here.” Meech met Maggie as she reached what she called Sybil’s lair, even if the lovely elf wasn’t the only interrogator in there.
“I call it not having a choice. Good childcare’s not easy to come by.” She pulled open the door and stepped inside. She paused and leaned against the wall. “What else is there?”
He grimaced. “He’s also wondering what’s going on between you and the demon.”
“Demon as in Declan.” The pit of her stomach warmed at just saying the name. Was she turning into one of those moonstruck heroines in a romance novel or what?
“That’s the one. The girl shouldn’t be here.”
She felt her face tighten with remembered anger. “The girl was taken to an underground preternatural club, and I’m convinced the one who took her would have gladly sold her to the first skin trader he encountered. That bastard had an agenda, and I mean to find out what it was.”
“Hey, keep all that temper for him, then,” Meech teased. “I did hear the kid took out the guy’s gonads.”
Nothing like laughter to relax the body. “She did me proud, Meech. I honestly thought she was going to hug him and cry all over him. Instead, she let him have it where it did the most good. She may only be fifteen, but she’s got grit I didn’t see in her at first. And it’s a good thing, because she’s going to need it. How’s the baby doing?”
His ugly face wreathed in a broad smile. “Great. She eats more than I do. She’ll be a fine Guard one day.”
“She might take after her mother and become a weaver or a spell caster,” Maggie said. “She’s got the world in front of her, Meech.” She pushed away from the wall and started down the hallway with her team member walking beside her.
“I saw the thug Frebus brought in,” he told her. “Frebus said you felt something was off about him, and it seemed that way to me, too. Forensics should have something for you soon. Sybil’s in Room Two with him now. First thing the asshole did was try to hit on her.” He chuckled. “She set him straight real fast.”
Maggie shook her head. “You’d think he would have learned his lesson after Courtney.”
“You don’t call. You don’t write. Why the Hades do I keep you around?” A door slammed against the wall, and Mal waddled into the hallway. His glare was directed at Maggie.
“I didn’t want to bother you until I knew something for sure.”
“And that’s why the girl’s in your quarters when she shouldn’t even be here?” He pushed past them.
“We both know this is the safest place for her, and no way I’d leave her home alone while I was here.” She ignored the moaning sounds coming from the cells below, although one drawn-out sound almost made her jump.
“Banshee,” Meech said. “Tried to take out a village, and the compound in Ireland didn’t think they should keep it there.” He smirked and coughed out a laugh. “I sent them a water dragon in return. Let them deal with that fucker.”
Mal puffed away on his ever-present cigar. He made an abrupt turn and pushed open the door with Maggie and Meech following.
Instead of a two-way mirror, they had an entire wall to peek into the interrogation room, making them feel as if they were in there, although Mick couldn’t see them. Maggie could tell by the slight tilt of Sybil’s head that she was aware of their presence.
Mick sat slouched in his chair, one arm draped over the back, while he faced Sybil with a smirk on his face.
Maggie was pleased to see the bruises on his throat and that when he spoke his voice was a little raspy.
“Why Courtney, Mick?” Sybil asked in a soft voice that invited confidences. “You’re nineteen, good-looking, and you like to party hard. So why a fifteen-year-old virgin?”
“I felt sorry for her. I mean, look at her. She needed someone to show her a good time, and I could do it.” He preened. “You didn’t see that foster home she was in. It was more like a prison, and she hated it there.”
“That doesn’t tell me why.” Sybil’s wings fluttered with the calming scent of lavender.
“It didn’t affect him,” Maggie murmured, leaning forward and almost touching the invisible barrier. “Usually it relaxes the suspect, but he hasn’t changed his position.”
“You know all I gotta do is call the cops and all your skanky asses will be in jail for kidnapping,” he told Sybil. “So I took an underage kid to a club. It’s not like it hasn’t been done before. Courtney’s not all sweet and innocent the way she makes Maggie think she is. And what the hell are you, anyway, with the freaky wings and purple face?”
“Nothing you need to worry about. We’re just curious why you chose her. She isn’t your usual type, is she?”
“What does it matter? Some guy paid me to pick her up six months ago. Said all I had to do was keep an eye on her. Only way to do that was to date her. At least she’s cute, but yeah, not someone I want to spend a lot of time with. I’d get texts with suggestions where to take her.”
“Bingo,” Maggie whispered. “The raves.”
“Do you mean like the raves?” Sybil picked up on what Maggie wanted to know. “Why would they want you taking her to raves?”
“To keep an eye on her.” He shifted around in the chair, lifting his hand to pluck at his T-shirt neckline. “Can’t you turn on some air in here or something?”
“What do you know about the raves?” she pushed.
“Just that weird stuff goes on there. Kids disappear.” He shrugged, clearly not considering it important.
“That tells me you know more about the supernatural than you let on.” Sybil jotted down a few notes on the paper in front of her.
“Yeah, so?” He fidgeted again. “I’m serious. Turn on the AC or something.” His face looked flushed.
“Oh, no.” Maggie started for the door with Meech on her heels. She whipped open the door to the interrogation room and grabbed Sybil, almost dislocating the elf’s shoulder as she threw her out of the room.
“What the fuck is going on?” By now, Mick’s face was the color of a ripe tomato and looked swollen. He started to get up and then fell back. “What are you doing?”
Maggie exited the room and slammed the door behind her, leaning against it. A moment later, a loud pop was heard followed by a squishy sound.
“He was booby trapped,” she said, disgusted with herself for not thinking of it sooner. “That way, if he started to say too much, he’d be pureed.” She turned around and glanced in the small window. “Not as bad as that Bloater, but bad enough.”
“So what do the raves have to do with Courtney?” Sybil asked.
“Maybe nothing more than what he said. Just a way to check on her.” She turned to Mal. “Nothing else about Zouk and his team?”
He shook his head. “The trackers couldn’t find any kind of scent. Two teenagers turned up dead in the next town over. Same thing as before. They were nothing but empty husks. The local sheriff managed to keep the parents from seeing the kids by saying they should remember them the way they were.”
“Then we track down the raves. There’s got to be a connection. Maybe the kids are early sacrifices for the final ritual.” She threw up her hands. “As if I know what I’m talking about. Knowledge of the Mayan culture has never been high on my reading list.” She paced back and forth and then stopped. “Wreaker.”
“The incubus?” Mal asked. “How do you know him?”
