by Kim Faulks
One yank and I dragged the thing free.
A tiny click echoed before a blinding glare cut through the forest and we were blessed with thirty-two thousand lumens of flashlight.
“Fuck!”
The thunderous roar came from in front of me.
My hold on the flashlight wobbled as I jerked toward the sound…and in an instant, the Unseelie forest melted away.
We were back in the underground hall of the Circle. Concrete walls to the sides and on the floor, the smell of the forest fading under the musty stench of basement long forgotten.
Redemption stood in front of me, arm raised to the brilliance.
“I’m fucking blind!” he roared and stumbled sideways.
Melkor’s voice crowded in. My heartbeat was thundering, swallowing the sound. I turned toward him and the luminescence followed. “What did you say?”
“Purity!” Melkor roared as he ducked his head away from the light.
Black hair shone along his arms in the blinding beam. Claws slashed the air before he shielded the glare from his eyes.
And the hallways of the Circle dissolved into chaos.
“I’m trying to train you for the Shadowed Kind…and you…you blind me with a damn flashlight?” Redemption roared and smacked into the wall.
“Get it out of my face!” Jesse barked as I stumbled from one snarl to another.
“Of all the things I anticipated…I did not anticipate you,” the Unseelie growled, and lowered his hand.
He winced and blinked, cutting me a savage glare in the blinding light.
“I didn’t know it was a trick,” I snapped. “How the hell was I to know?”
“Goddamnit,” Melkor waved his hand in front of his face blindly.
Disappointment and annoyance burst like the damn Dragon’s Breath. “You know…you can all go suck a dick. A thank you, is all you needed to say.”
I turned, lowered my goddamn flashlight, and strode back along the hallway, which was now just a damn hallway, and yanked open the rear door of the building.
Sunlight poured into my eyes. I blinked as my eyes adjusted and hit the switch of my flashlight.
“Get it out of my eyes,” I mimicked as the door slammed shut behind me.
I lifted my kick-ass blinding sword and pressed the steel to my lips. “Thank you for saving my ass. Take that Unseelie.” And I reached around to shove the flashlight into the pocket of my pack again.
The crowd was growing at the front of the building. Most seemed concerned with an old Corolla as it nosed into the driveway and a woman leaned through the window to hit the buttons on the keypad.
I watched her as the old car rolled past and the gate closed. She pulled under the canopy two spots down from Jesse’s Lamborghini and then climbed from the car, not even bothering to roll up the windows.
She was young, about the same age as me, with fiery red hair and a snarl I felt across the parking lot. I stared at her small, tight ass as she turned, and sucked in my belly. I could never be thin like her, ever, and for the first time in a long time, I felt self-conscious.
That’s what a real hunter looked like, all sass and aggression. She lifted her head and our gazes connected across the parking lot. But there was no slide of her focus, no smirk as she took in my belly and my thighs, there was just a small nod of acknowledgement before she made for the pathway to the front of the building.
The door opened behind me, and moaning and bitching spilled out.
But this time, there was also sniggers and muffled laughter. I dragged my hand to my hip and turned. Melkor was smiling and shaking his head as he came close and leaned in to give me a peck on the cheek. “You are amazing, you know that?”
My gaze narrowed. I didn’t believe a damn word he uttered.
Jesse was behind him, still blinking and waving a hand in front like a lunatic. But it was the Unseelie I looked to. His expression was stony, hard midnight eyes glinting as he stepped out into the sun. But there was an ease which hadn’t been there before as he let the door swing shut behind him and strode forward, then held out his hand. “Show me…show me the damn thing.”
I glanced at his open palm and then lifted my gaze. “Show you what?”
“The damn flashlight, mortal,” he spat the word.
I could deny him, but I’d probably piss him off more than he already was.
And I did blind him…so there was that. “What are you going to do with it?”
One brow rose. He glanced toward Melkor and snarled. “Is she always this difficult?”
Mel rubbed the back of his neck and answered. “Pretty much, yeah.”
Still the Unseelie’s hand waited, outstretched, and even though the hint of amusement lingered in his gaze, I knew there was no getting out of it.
With a sigh, I reached around to the side pocket of my pack and handed him the flashlight.
He looked at the damn thing, testing the weight in his palm. “You know, in all my years of throwing warriors in the deep end, I’ve never had a response quite like that one. Did you know Shadowed creatures have trouble adjusting to bright lights?”
His brow rose when he met my gaze. I shifted, glancing at Melkor before I answered. “No, but it seemed pretty simple from where I stood. We needed to know what we were dealing with.”
Redemption stifled a chuckle and shook his head, then handed the flashlight back.
“Told you,” Mel muttered.
A tortured sound cut through the air at my right. I glanced toward Jesse, who just stood in the bright sunlight and shook. His eyes were wide, skin ashen. He just stared at Redemption.
“Jesse,” I murmured. “You okay?”
There was a tiny shake of his head. “I just want to get out of here. I just want to find my mom.”
Redemption cut Melkor a glare. “Why the hell did you bring a mortal, and where the hell is his mother?”
Mel looked to me for guidance, but there was none I could give.
“He’s from Purity’s school, said his mom was taken by a Soulless,” Mel answered.
“It’s not a Soulless, they don’t take mortals. They kill them,” Redemption turned to Jesse.
“It is one of those things,” the jock answered, and clenched his jaw. I almost felt sorry for him as he stared down the towering Unseelie. “I’m going back there, with or without you.”
“What place?” Redemption jerked his gaze to Melkor.
“His mom left a frantic message telling him to go to her work. And Purity and I,” Mel turned to me and I nodded, “we think it’s a Soulless, as well.”
Midnight eyes glinted as Redemption shifted his gaze from one to another of us and settled on Jesse, who shifted nervously under the scrutiny. “I think I need to listen to this message, then.”
Jesse glanced at me and then Melkor and, with a look of relief, reached for his phone.
Chapter Eight
Melkor
The warrior never said a word, just stared at the cell phone outstretched in Jesse’s hand and muttered, “Play it again.”
Jesse pressed the buttons and the same frantic voice of his mother spilled from the speaker again. Redemption stared at the hand drawn image and the scratched-out name above Soulless as the recording ended. “And you said she worked at this place called…”
“Varday Corporation,” I answered, watching for a hint of what he was thinking.
“And you went to this Varday Corporation?”
Jesse nodded. “We tried, and were turned away at the gate.”
Redemption just stared at the sketch and gave a nod. “Then you need to try a little harder, don’t you?”
He went toward a massive truck parked at the end of the parking lot. Purity looked my way, gave a shrug, and followed. Indicator lights flashed once as the locks disengaged. The Unseelie warrior climbed inside and started the truck before he lifted his head and stared through the windshield at me.
I strode to the passenger’s side, yanking open the door as the truck’s e
ngine rumbled. Purity and Jesse followed, climbing into the rear seat before Redemption shoved the big truck into gear and pulled out of the parking space.
He leaned forward, pressing buttons on the dash GPS system, and mapped the quickest route. “This Varday Corporation, what the hell is it?”
I glanced over my shoulder, catching Purity’s gaze as she pulled up her phone.
“From what we can find, it’s in aerospace, security, and defense.”
Redemption shot me a gaze. “I thought you said she was in shipping?”
I gave a shrug.
“It’s all she ever told me,” Jesse murmured. “How was I to know it was important?”
The gates of the parking lot slowly opened, then closed behind us. Redemption handled the truck with care, crawling out onto the street as the crowd slowly rose.
I watched them through the window. Their pain. Their suffering. That was Jesse yesterday.
The truck weaved in and out of the city streets, picking up speed as we went. Suburb after suburb blurred as we made our way back along the same streets until the manicured green lawn stretched out in front of us and I lifted my gaze to the towering building in the distance.
Redemption stopped the truck at the gate and waited for the guard to appear. Movement came from behind the tinted, mirrored windows and, just as yesterday, a muscle-bound mortal strode toward us, semi-automatic cradled in his arm.
“You’re going to have to turn your truck around and leave the premises, sir.”
Redemption stared at the building straight ahead. “No.”
“Sir?” The guard turned from the Unseelie to me.
Redemption turned his head, meeting the mortal’s gaze and in a calm voice answered. “Can’t do that. Now, run along into your little hut there, and call someone in charge.”
There was a twitch in the corner of the guard’s eye. He didn’t like it.
He didn’t like it one bit.
His fingers pressed against the steel of the semi-automatic weapon.
A mortal wouldn’t have noticed.
“Unclench your weapon, officer,” the Unseelie warrior growled. “You don’t want to piss me off.”
Darkness glinted in his eyes. He reached for the dashboard, keeping his hands in view, and flipped open the flap of a black leather wallet. The same kind he’d given us…
The guard took one look at the ID, his gaze freezing on the words…Origin: Unseelie. There was a widening of his eyes. He jerked his focus to Redemption, face paling in the morning light.
“Now.” Redemption commanded.
Boots scuffed the pavement as the guard stumbled backwards and then turned, racing for the open door of the hut beside the lowered boom gate.
Minutes later, a car swung into the driveway from beyond Varday’s towering white wall. The car took the corner fast, tires skidding as it pulled to a stop in the middle of the exit.
A man climbed out, pasty faced, balding hairline. He straightened his navy blue suit jacket and turned toward the guard standing in the doorway. Low words reached through Redemption’s open window before the guard gave a nod and stepped back inside.
“Mr…Redemption?” Quick eyes met the Unseelie’s gaze and then found mine, before glancing into the rear seat. “My name’s Roger Tuft. I’m head of Security and Police Liaison. How can Varday Corporation assist you today?
“First of all, you can explain why the police haven’t been called for a missing person.”
My breath caught, my pulse hammered. Redemption was wasting no time getting to the point.
But there was no flinch of surprise, no furrowing of his brow. No hint of anything at all…only a stony mask. “And the missing person would be?”
Redemption turned his head, glancing into the back seat toward Jesse.
“Elizabeth Harkin,” Jesse leaned forward. “My mom.”
“She’s been missing for days now. Went to work and never came home. So her son’s been sitting there waiting for some kind of call from your company…he’s tired of waiting…and so are we.”
“I can see that,” the asshole in blue murmured.
Beads of sweat shone on his forehead. He glanced toward us once more, throat muscles moving as he tried to swallow.
“So, I suggest you lift this boom gate, and Varday Corporation better tell us what’s going on. Because this…” Redemption leaned forward and grasped the hand drawn image of the Soulless., “isn’t something you want to hide.”
Roger stilled, eyes widening on the sketch, and swallowed once more.
Redemption folded the paper and slipped it onto the dashboard. “Now, if you haven’t already noticed, this world is under attack…and time is of the essence.”
Mr. Tuft jerked his head upwards, and cleared his throat. “We didn’t know. We can’t be held responsible…not if we didn’t know.”
There was a heartbeat of silence before Redemption softened his tone. “No one is blaming anyone. We just want to find her…we just want answers. This is important for the survival of the mortal realm…I don’t think you understand how important.”
One slow nod of his head, and Roger turned toward the guard and motioned with his hand.
The boom gate lifted, and Redemption put the truck into motion. But it was Roger who moved faster than expected. He turned and hurried for the sedan parked and waiting.
The car door opened and then closed, engine starting before he reversed and then pulled to a stop. The nose of the car swung outward as the vehicle turned. The truck pulled ahead, catching up to the sedan as it raced toward the shining white Goliath.
The sedan pulled up hard close to the entrance, and Redemption stopped close behind. I was already reaching for the handle, already spilling out as a whisper of other raced through me. I lifted my head, hand stopping on the door as the others slammed in unison.
“Everything okay, Hound?” Redemption questioned as he closed the driver’s door.
I gave a nod and shoved, waiting for him to press the lock before I turned toward the building. Inside, my Hound was panting, drawing in the faint traces of…something into my nose.
I stepped forward, passing the sedan and then Roger Tuft as he waited for the others to catch up.
The place was impressive. Glinting high windows stretching up one side. People strode past, glimpses of a mortal’s life.
“This way,” Roger waved us forward as he made for a side access door.
He lifted a fob from the pocket of his trousers. One wave and the locked access door opened. He held it open as Redemption and the others stepped through.
I stepped in behind Jesse as the door locked behind us. Heavy footsteps echoed as we made our way along the corridor and out into a massive foyer.
Gigantic orbs hung suspended from the ceiling. The sunlight glinted from steel ropes, blinding me for a second as I lifted my gaze.
“Where is my mom?” Jesse growled. “I’ve searched through all her stuff. No one’s contacted me. I want to know…and I want to know now!”
His voice echoed inside the foyer, rebounding off the walls.
“Why don’t we discuss this in her office?” Roger lifted his hand, trying to calm Jesse down. “This way.”
I followed Redemption, until something made me still. Purity still stood there, staring at the polished marbled floor.
“You okay?” I murmured, glancing at the others as they left.
Redemption turned, glancing over his shoulder to her and slowed. “Wait up. What’s going on?”
Footsteps stilled, confused murmurs crowded in. But I didn’t care about them…only her. “Purity?”
She flinched as I called her and met my gaze. Her brown eyes were darkening, breaths rushed through her parted lips. I could almost hear her heart racing, almost feel her fear. “What is it?”
There was a shake of her head. “I don’t know. I…feel strange.”
I lifted my hand, brushing strands of hair from her forehead. She was cool to the touch, maybe a little too
cool. Her body trembled, fingers twitching, as I reached down and grasped her hand. “I’m right here.”
She was stronger than she ever knew, taking a step as we caught up to the others.
I worried about her…as Roger stopped at a bank of elevators and pressed a button.
I worried about her as we followed the others inside the elevator car and rose the four floors, to a floor where the sunlight didn’t stream through the towering windows.
I worried about her as she turned her head to a shadowed doorway at the far end of the hall.
“Talk to me?” I squeezed her hand.
Still she said nothing. Haunted eyes met mine before she followed the others as Roger opened a door with a pass key and waited.
My body swallowed the tremors from her hand. I gave her my strength and stepped into a neat, expansive office.
Open gray military cases were on display along one side of the office, weapons stood in racks on the other, from pistols all the way to what looked like hand-held rocket launchers.
Redemption cut Jesse a glare. “Shipping, my ass.”
“He’s right,” Roger closed the door behind us, and the locks engaged. “Only the most secret, state-of-the-art shipping boxes the world has ever seen. This was what your mother was working on. This was her pride and joy.”
There was an empty space at the end of the display. Roger turned, and then froze. He scanned the other boxes and then the rest of the room. “That’s strange. There’s one missing.”
One case missing…just like the woman.
I followed Roger as he rounded the desk in the middle of the room. Blueprints and sketches covered the gleaming glass top. “The last contact anyone had with Elizabeth was three days ago. She came into the building after hours. I received a notification when I came in the next day that she’d been in.”
He shoved the curled edge of a blueprint aside and stabbed the keyboard of her computer. “I haven’t been in here, not since the first day.”
“Hey,” Redemption snarled. “We want to know what the hell happened here?”
Roger jerked his gaze toward the Unseelie. “You don’t understand… These cases, they’re intelligent energy-distribution compartments, lead lined. You could put the most dangerous warhead into one of these things and they are virtually undetectable.”
