There were bodies and ash scattered near where Jaxon had stood when I last saw him. Blake was bleeding from his cheek and arm, but didn’t appear to be slowing down, and Mason was still full of energy with a gleam in his eyes that told me how pissed off he truly was. Wrath simmered on the surface I’d never seen before, and I was glad to see we weren’t down yet.
Jaxon’s hands grabbed hold of me and kicked Gillian in the head with everything he had as the warden was recovering from Nixie’s blast. “Are you okay?”
“I think so.” I was actually completely unsure of that answer. I could still sense the dark magic I’d absorbed, but the negative aspect of it was gone. My body shuddered as I realized how fast it had made me change my outlook and how close I’d been to letting the warden beat me.
“Spencer is stuck outside with the others. Deacon thought Rick was on our side, but more than a handful of guards had been ready for us. If we’d tried to leave, then the fight would have followed us anyway.”
“How the hell do you know this?” I always joked they had silent conversations with each other, but if they could really mind-speak and hadn’t told me, I was going to kick all of their asses.
“Nixie went to find out while you were fighting with Alex.”
Well, that made a lot more sense than telepathy.
Gillian began to stir again, and all the time for talk was gone. We needed to end him before anyone else got hurt.
Jaxon lifted the warden by the collar of his shirt. “You’re going to die today.” Then he placed his hand over Gillian’s chest while I stood there like an idiot, just watching as magic moved from the psycho to Jaxon.
“Stop!” I finally yelled when I realized Jaxon was only making himself susceptible like I had. When he didn’t listen to me and continued to take in the dark magic that made the warden powerful, I smashed into them, breaking the contact and sending Jaxon to the ground.
Gillian latched onto me, but I was ready for that and sent a blast of power into his chest. He stumbled but didn’t falter in his hold like I hoped.
“I’m done playing games with you,” Gillian snarled.
As crimson magic emanated from his hands, I worried this would be a killing blow, one nobody could save me from. I kicked and bucked against him, refusing to give up, but the strength he drew from the darkness was no match for me, regardless of how hard I had trained.
Jaxon was back on his feet, and everything happened in slow motion.
He darted in front of me, a mere second from taking the killing shot, but I wouldn’t let him do that. The world needed him a lot more than it needed me. Regardless of the demon residing within Jaxon, I knew he held a certain type of goodness that would keep supernaturals safe for many decades to come.
Using every bit of strength that I had, I pushed Jaxon back and accepted the hit intended for me.
Gillian smirked at me as his hand pressed into my chest, just above my heart. “Such a waste, but I’m going to enjoy every second as I watch the life leave your body.”
Jaxon recovered quickly, but it was too late. All he could do was drag Gillian off of me. Though, it wouldn’t save me. I could already feel the coldness that started in my chest and expanded through my extremities.
As I toppled to the ground, Mason appeared behind me, catching my head as I fell. “No, Siren. Not today.” Emotion filled his words as I mumbled my apology. I still wasn’t going to stop fighting, but I also didn’t have much hope.
“Help... Jaxon,” I choked, knowing he wouldn’t stop until Gillian or he was dead.
Just as Mason was about to argue with me, the walls around us shook, causing even Gillian to pause in his attack.
Mason’s body covered mine as the outside wall came crashing in and debris went flying everywhere. A sorrowful bellow sounded, and my heart ached just hearing the sound.
“Clarence Gillian. You are going to die today,” the deep voice snarled, and I realized I’d never heard a single person use the warden’s first name before. Interesting that the newcomer knew what it was.
“Holy shit. Greggor is…” Mason didn’t finish the sentence as I heard shouts from anyone smart enough to get out of the way before becoming collateral damage.
“Greggor, don’t let emotions cloud your judgement. You’re a businessman. We can work this out,” Gillian stammered.
“You killed my dogs.”
Oh, shit. Butch and Cassidy. Even I knew the demon loved those beasts. The warden was even more of an imbecile that I thought.
Mason handed me over to Jaxon who had been smart enough to back away from Gillian as Greggor moved through the room, destroying anything in his path.
The demon was three times his normal size. His normally red horns were ablaze with fire, and everything about him screamed “Run, bitch!”
“That should have never happened. I was angry that I’d been lied to, and you refused to listen to reason. But you don’t understand. I’m so close to ruining the vampires. I have what they want, and as soon as I get my son back, everything can be put into motion. You and I can have all the freedoms we’ve ever―”
Greggor didn’t let Gillian finish as he reached a hand out and grasped hold of the fae. Lifting his body like it was nothing, Greggor leaned forward. “The time for talking was over the moment you touched my babies.”
Before I could blink, Greggor used his other hand to rip Gillian’s heart straight from his chest. I wanted to celebrate. I wanted to scream for joy. The psycho was finally dead. But just as he took his last breath, the iciness within me intensified, and my body began to convulse.
Jaxon and Mason had their full attention on me. “Flower, tell me what’s happening,” Jaxon demanded, but I couldn’t answer.
My mouth opened, but no words came out as I pleaded with him to walk away with my eyes. Blood pooled in my mouth, and I didn’t want him or anyone else to see me this way. There was nothing they could do. As much as I wanted to keep fighting, I wasn’t that naïve. I knew it was bad. If the death of Gillian didn’t stop whatever he’d used on me, then I was certain nothing would.
“Move.” The one word came from a shrinking Greggor. The fire in his horns was diminishing, and he was almost back to normal size. “What did he do to her?”
“He hit her with dark magic. It was crimson in color,” Jaxon answered through gritted teeth. “I tried to take the shot, but she pushed me out of the way.”
Greggor nodded. “You’re lucky she did, or you’d have died by now. She is the only one strong enough in the room to withstand the darkness.”
Confusion crossed Jaxon’s face, but he was pushed further out of the way before he could question Greggor’s words.
The demon’s massive hands picked me up with a gentleness I wasn’t aware he was capable of. “I won’t let you die, Cara. As much as you annoy the shit out of me, I need you alive for a little bit longer.”
I wanted to laugh, but everything hurt. Instead, I stared wide-eyed at him as his free hand circled above my chest. With every rotation he made, there was a tugging sensation pulling from my core. As it increased, so did the pain, and I was no longer able to hide the anguish. Tears leaked from my eyes and blood dripped from my mouth.
“What the hell are you doing to her?” Jaxon growled.
“Saving her life. So shut the hell up while I concentrate.”
Light zipped around the room above me. When it stopped, my fairy friend landed on my face. “What did you do, Cara?” she chastised. At least my potential death was preventing her from yelling at us for sending her back to the room. Not that it had done much good, considering she was already back.
Nixie’s tiny hands held my cheeks as she kept my attention on her instead of what Greggor was doing to me. Jaxon held one of my hands while Mason had the other. Blake and Spencer were missing, but I knew they’d be with me if they could be.
“Almost there. Don’t move,” Greggor said, his voice tight, but I couldn’t see anything beyond Nixie’s flapping wings.
&
nbsp; Jaxon’s grip tightened on my hand, and Mason mumbled several curse words under his breath. Finally, the coldness left my body and my muscles relaxed. Then, Jaxon took me from Greggor, his body trembling against me with what I could only guess was pure rage.
Nixie flew from my face to avoid being squished between me and Jaxon as he whispered, “It’s going to be okay, Flower.”
Even though I felt better, I had a strong suspicion nothing was actually alright. In the time it took for Greggor to save me, something had happened, and I needed to know what. The tension in the room was suffocating, which shouldn’t have been the case considering we’d just won.
Several moments later, Jaxon finally released me, and I turned toward the others. Spencer and Blake were back, looking worse for the wear, but alive, which was most important.
“What happened?” I asked, looking to Nixie and Greggor, knowing they were my best chance at getting the truth without fighting for it.
They exchanged a look before Nixie flew toward me. She suspended herself in the air at my eye level. “You have the Luccovino mark.”
Her eyes darted toward my chest and mine followed. There was a light brown mark right above my left breast that had never been there before. It was a jagged infinity symbol with a line slashing through the center.
“How is that possible?” I asked as my fingers traced over the smooth surface.
“You should have come to see me when I told you. Now, it’s too late. They will know you exist, and they will come for you,” Greggor said ominously.
“What the hell are you talking about?” I had forgotten all about his magical note. We hadn’t really had a free moment since it appeared for me to follow up on the message.
The Fabled Four surrounded us, and I felt their hands on me as Jaxon spoke to Greggor. “We won’t let them have her.”
“Then prepare for the fight of your life.”
Thank you for reading Capture! I hope you enjoyed the second installment of Elite Supernatural Trackers. Escape, the third and final book will be available soon!
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About the Author
Heather Renee is a USA Today bestselling author who lives in Oregon. She writes urban fantasy and paranormal romance novels with a mixture of adventure, humor, and sass. Her love of reading eventually led to her passion for writing and giving the gift of escapism.
When Heather’s not writing, she is spending time with her loving husband and beautiful daughter, going on their own adventures. For more ways to connect with her, visit www.HeatherReneeAuthor.com.
Capture (Elite Supernatural Trackers Book 2) Page 14
