by Gina LaManna
My Comm beeped as I finished turning and found Cynthia waiting for me in the doorway.
She smiled. “Hello, Detective.”
I steadied my voice. “Tell me you didn’t kidnap your own mother.”
“Thanks for your help on the trolley back there,” she said smoothly, ignoring my question. She then curiously raised her hands and gave a slow clap that echoed around the cavernous room. “I think I’m fine, now.”
I pulled out my Stunner, but Cynthia was ready. She’d walked me right into a trap and wasn’t planning on letting me out of here alive. On the third clap, she raised her hands, palms facing outward, and the motion was accompanied by a flash.
There was ensuing bright light, then a sudden darkness as a thorough numbness snaked through my limbs. A slow paralysis that left my entire body frozen as I collapsed to the floor, every muscle a black hole in my body.
Cynthia took her time walking over, letting me struggle while she basked in my helplessness. Then she leaned forward, whispered a curse, and ran her hand over my face. In the next moment, everything went black.
Chapter 26
“Good morning, sunshine.”
My head pounded and screeched as the Darkening Curse wore off. My vision and speech returned, though it took longer to shake the paralysis from my limbs. I blinked, struggling to take in my surroundings while simultaneously issuing a scowl at the man who’d spoken.
“Welcome to the club,” Marcus said, giving me a thin smile as I met his gaze. “They got you too?”
“If they let you in this club,” I growled, “the bar’s obviously not set very high.”
“You’re lucky I got you on the guest list, sweetheart.”
“Where am I?” I snapped, glancing around as I scrambled to a seated position. “How long have you been here?”
“No clue,” Marcus said. “But it can’t have been that long. I went to Dust to look for Damien, and I don’t remember much after that.”
“Karma.”
“Maybe, but you ended up in the same place as me, so I’m not sure what that says about you,” Marcus said easily. “We’re partners once again.”
“You and I were never partners,” I said. “Nor will we ever be.”
I dropped the conversation with Marcus to focus on my surroundings. I idly wondered why Cynthia hadn’t killed us already, and I settled on the theory that she must need us for something. A sort of bargaining chip.
Maybe Cynthia wanted a free pass out of Wicked and a head start... in exchange for our lives. Her games in Wicked were undoubtedly over. The second Matthew had discovered Cynthia’s prints at the crime scene, her gig was up.
She’d only made things worse by kidnapping two police officers, which made me think she was feeling cornered and desperate. Not that I blamed her because there wasn’t a place she could hide in Wicked and not be found once Matthew was on her trail.
“Where are the others?” I demanded as my eyes adjusted to the darkness. “Have you seen the other women? Has Cynthia mentioned anything about them?”
“Cool your jets, Detective,” Marcus said. “Look around.”
I blinked, a long, hard blink, hating that my limbs trembled from lack of use. “How long have I been out?”
“Your Highness napped for, oh, I’d guess four hours.”
The very sound of Marcus’s voice grated on me, even though it was the only familiar thing in this dim, dark basement. I wondered what I’d done wrong in a previous life to get trapped in a cage with my worst enemy. Sharing a cell with Cynthia would almost be more enjoyable than sitting next to Marcus. At least then I could have answers. And that wasn’t saying a whole lot for Marcus, seeing as Cynthia wanted to kill me.
I squinted, leaned forward, and brought a finger close to one of the thin bars holding us captive.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Marcus said.
It was too late. My skin struck metal, issuing a jolt that sent me flying backward and landing with a crash against Marcus.
I struggled to pull away from him, but our limbs were hopelessly tangled. Once I finally righted myself, I came face to face with a grinning Marcus.
“I usually don’t get that far until the third date,” he said with a grin.
“Bite me.”
“That’s sort of your thing, isn’t it?” Marcus gave a smug grin. “Judging by the pictures of you and King, I mean.”
I turned away from him before I lost my temper. I didn’t have enough strength to argue with Marcus and get out of here, so I chose to live. That’s when I heard the sound of breathing.
My eyes finished adjusting to the darkness, and I squinted deeper into the recesses of the cavernous dungeon. This time when I looked out, I could see the whites of someone’s eyes.
We weren’t alone.
“LISA,” I WHISPERED, once recognition set in and I made out the form of the petite elf. “Are you okay? Have you been hurt?”
Lisa stood in a cage similar to ours. It appeared Cynthia had set up her own private lair in a one-roomed dungeon. Each of the four corners of the room were barred to form four separate cages. The middle of the room had also been barred off, creating the center point around which the rest of the captives were held. The cage of honor had been reserved for Marcus and me.
“I’m fine,” she said. “But my daughter—”
“Tink is so, so brave,” I assured her. “And safe. She’s at the pizzeria with a trusted friend and my brother.”
“I know. Thank you for taking care of her, and for giving her a second chance when I didn’t give you a first.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Last night at Dust.” Though Lisa was apologizing, she held my gaze steady and proud through the bars between us. “You said you were a detective, but I didn’t trust you or the man you were with, and I ran.”
“You did what you thought you needed to do in order to survive,” I said. “If it helps, we were looking for you. I had a HoloHex drawn up, but before the results came back, Tink wandered into our lives.”
“She has a way of doing that,” Lisa said with a gentle smile.
“Like I said, she’s brave, and charming, and sweet, and...” I hesitated, emphasizing my point with the last word. “Powerful.”
“Very powerful,” Lisa said somberly. “I hope you understand that your knowledge—”
“I understand,” I said quickly, before Marcus could jump in and start asking questions. “Of course. Nobody else knows.”
“Knows what?” Marcus asked.
“A way out of here,” I said to Marcus. “You’ve been in here long enough. I hope you’ve come up with something.”
“We’re in an undisclosed location,” Marcus said. “In a dark basement, trapped between magically reinforced bars and unarmed. You tell me a way out, and I’ll be happy to help make it happen.”
I felt up and down my body, but as Marcus had predicted, I was unarmed. Cynthia had relieved me of my Stunner while I was under the paralysis curse, as well as the vials I kept on the belt around my waist. I had nothing.
“You have something,” Lisa said, as if reading my mind. “You are armed. Tink has given you everything you need.”
“But she gave me...” I reached up, fingered the necklace.
“Yes,” Lisa said, her eyes glittering across the dark room. “And I believe you have the bracelet to match?”
Sure enough, I glanced down and found the bangle still attached to my wrist. I must have slapped it over my forearm during the mad rush onto the trolley. It’d been hidden beneath the leather of my jacket, and Cynthia must have missed it in the pat-down.
Or, she’d seen it but hadn’t assumed it was dangerous. If Reina hadn’t told her the bracelet was missing, there’d be no reason for Cynthia to suspect foul play with a piece of jewelry. Same of the necklace. But apparently, Tink and her mother had known this all along.
“Yes, my daughter is very powerful,” Lisa said. “The necklace is a protective spell
between mother and daughter. However, because she’s given it to you, entrusted it willingly to a friend, the protective bonds are now linked between us.”
I closed my eyes, murmured a little paralysis jinx of my own. It was largely illegal to concoct our own spells and jinxes on the job, but I considered this to be extenuating circumstances. I sent the ball of light flying toward the bars, aiming at an empty spot on the wall, but the light fizzled, sparked, and died before it reached the edges.
“Magic dampener,” Marcus said dully. “Think I haven’t given it a shot?”
“But it doesn’t dampen our magic,” Lisa said. “A mother and daughter’s bond isn’t a spell or a charm. It’s something inherent that can’t be dampened by a curse. Still, it won’t be enough to save you.”
“Then what good is the protection in the first place?” Marcus spat.
Lisa ignored Marcus and continued speaking to me in urgent, hushed whispers. “We’ll need help. Though I’m afraid the only one who can help us now is very weak.”
I followed Lisa’s gaze. At first sight, it looked like a body draped across a crucifix. Linsey Luca’s arms had been tied up on either side of her body and bound to wooden posts. Her feet had been confined in the same way. Linsey’s head drooped down to her chest, her entire body sagging.
I felt the boil of fury building inside my chest. “She is just a child!”
“A very powerful child,” Lisa said, and there was a note of sorrow in her voice. As if she was picturing her own daughter in Linsey’s place, hanging by thin rope as her power was systematically drained from her body. “Cynthia has been running her dry. I think—I know—Cynthia senses the end is near, and she’s taking it out on us. She’s been running through Linsey’s power as if it’s an unlimited resource.”
“But it’s not,” I finished. “And when it’s gone, she dies.”
Lisa nodded. “I will be next.”
“How can she help us?” I asked. “Linsey’s barely conscious. We can’t ask any more of her.”
“The Siphoning Spell,” Lisa said, flinching at the name. “It’s old magic infamous within the Golden District. We’re not afraid of much, but from this, we flee.”
“I can see why,” I said dryly. “It’s killed two women already, and it looks as if it’s made a good dent in Linsey, too. We need to get her out of that harness.”
“We tried,” Marcus said, raising a hand at the same time I raised mine. “If you’re going to send a Slicing Spell her way, I’d recommend you don’t.”
I turned, holding the ball of magic in my hand. “I have to try something.”
“I’ve already tried it and nearly took off a toe,” he said. “Magic either bounces back or dies in these chambers, and it’s hard to tell which. Wouldn’t want you to lose that pretty head of yours in a mistimed spell, Detective.”
I let the anger and frustration course through me, causing the spell to flame brighter and brighter, until Lisa shook her head. With a sigh, I let it burn out as I dropped my hand to my side.
“She’s aware,” Lisa said. “But she’s very, very weak. You will need to call on her for help. It’s what Cynthia is doing. I’m afraid you’ll have to tap into Linsey’s power in the same way she is, or we will all die here.”
“What if I kill her?” I asked in a low hiss. “I can’t take that risk.”
“You must. We must—for her,” Lisa said. “And Linsey would want you to. She’s just as brave as my Tink, and I know for a fact that if it were Tink being drained, she would do the same thing. You have to trust her.”
“How do we do it?” Marcus pulled himself up, dangerously close to the bars of the cage. “I’ll do it.”
“You won’t,” Lisa said. “It’s Detective DeMarco’s choice to make. If you do this, Detective, I’ll need you to concentrate. I can help you.”
“How do you know the spell?”
“We’ve been taught it,” Lisa said. “The elders teach us so that we can recognize it... and run.”
Something from the inside, something distinctly paranormal, started happening in my chest, and my breathing constricted. I reached up, clasped a hand to the necklace, and understood that elfin magic was at work, and I was just a conduit for it.
“How does it work?” I trailed off mid-sentence as something rocked my body.
Tink had known I’d need this link to her mother. She’d seen the future with her extraordinary abilities. But what did that mean? Did it mean I was supposed to use Linsey’s power to help us all escape, or would I kill her in the process?
When I opened my eyes, I knew. I had the words to the ancient Siphoning Spell gifted to me from Lisa. She’d known the forbidden magic, knew the way to invoke its power. I felt the bracelet burn on my wrist—the tool that would be used to funnel Linsey’s power through my limbs.
I looked to Linsey, wishing her awake, and I spotted the matching bangle on her wrist. The Siphoning Spell linked us together. All I needed to do was invoke its magic, and Linsey’s powers would flow through me. It was our only hope of escape.
And there was a very real possibility it would leave her for dead.
I closed my eyes. As a cop, as a human, as a witch—I couldn’t trade lives. I couldn’t sacrifice Linsey for the rest of us. It was my duty to protect the innocents. All of them. Not some of them. If I began choosing lives, playing God, I would no longer be a protector. I would be a destroyer as well.
I opened my eyes, my mind searching tirelessly for other ways out of this mess. Matthew knew I was in trouble, I thought with hope. But I knew just as quickly that he wouldn’t be able to find us in time. Wherever Cynthia had stashed us, she’d hidden it well. She’d been planning this for months, if not years.
“Where’s Cynthia’s mother?” I asked. “Is she here, too?”
“Her mother?” Lisa asked, looking genuinely confused. “No, why? Why would she be here?”
“I think she’s the link—”
“You think right.” A cool, collected voice spoke from a particularly dark shadow on the wall. A doorway. “Hello, Detective. How are you feeling?”
“Cynthia,” I spat. “How could you do this? Maybelline and Lillie were your friends. Linsey is just a girl. Lisa has a small daughter who needs her. Marcus—well, you can have him.”
“Thanks, DeMarco,” Marcus said dryly. “Appreciate it.”
Cynthia let out a tinkling laugh. “A sense of humor in the face of danger—I can appreciate that, Detective.”
“Let them all go,” I said. “And you can have me.”
Cynthia shrugged. “I don’t want you. I’d prefer wealth. Revenge, maybe. A bit of it all.”
“Is this because of Maybelline and Lillie?” I asked. “You knew they were...something more?”
“My mother was one of them, too.” Cynthia snapped her fingers and four torches—one on each wall—burst to life. In the flickering glow, she wrinkled her nose at the question. “When I realized she wasn’t as crazy as I first thought, I began investigating these magical powers. Once I opened Pandora’s box, well... it’s hard to close.”
“Why the casino?”
“It’s expensive to be evil,” Cynthia said with a huge, burdened sigh. “Cover stories, informants...” She raised her hands and gestured to the room. “Prisons.”
“Did Reina know anything?”
Cynthia laughed. “No. She’s just an ambitious young woman who wasn’t opposed to being put under a spell in order to make a quick burst of cash. She won’t remember anything.”
“Damien,” I said. “And Jim?”
“Also unfortunate casualties,” Cynthia said, flicking her tongue across her lips in thought. “Then again, I’m not sure Damien was so unfortunate. He was freaking annoying.”
“You met him at Dust,” I said, filling in the pieces and doing my best to keep Cynthia talking. If I wasn’t mistaken, I’d seen Linsey flicker with a hint of movement, and I wanted to keep Cynthia distracted for long enough to see if I’d been correct.
“Yes, it was an excellent scouting ground,” Cynthia said. “I perfected the potion to test for this unique power Maybelline and Lillie had. They were the guinea pigs, if you will. Once I used it on them successfully, the rest was history.”
The jealousy radiated off Cynthia, off the pout in her lips. Her eyes flashed every time she mentioned special powers in one form or another. But she must have realized she sounded petty because she quickly planted a grim smile on her face.
“Well, this has been fun, but I’m tired of talking.” Without warning, Cynthia raised a glowing hand and shot a burst of lightning at Linsey. The girl screamed, and even over her screams, Cynthia shouted louder. “Not so special now, are you?”
“Stop it!” I yelled at Cynthia. “She’s been hurt enough! Let her live, and we’ll cut you a deal. I swear it.”
Cynthia let up on the electricity bolts. In an odd twist of events, the spell seemed to have the slight benefit of waking Linsey—at a painful cost. Her head still hung low, but her breathing was loud and ragged, and her eyes had opened to stare at the floor. She was listening. And like the rest of us, she was helpless to act.
“Seeing as I don’t trust you,” Cynthia said, “I’d rather do things my way. I’m planning on killing you first, Detective, because it will obviously distract the vamp.”
“Distract him,” Marcus snorted a laugh and gave a shake of his head. “Yeah, right. You touch DeMarco, and King will tear you limb from limb—if you’re lucky.”
“I expect that,” Cynthia said. “Which is why I’ll be gone, and you all will be dead. But first, we’ll need the detective’s body as an offering. I promise you, DeMarco—hold still, and this won’t hurt.”
“Who was driving the carriage the night you tried to kidnap Lisa?” I interrupted. “Was it Damien?”
“Of course it was Damien. I’d already killed his father,” Cynthia said. “Then again, Damien didn’t really like that. So, he had to go, too.”
“I guess we owe you a thank you then,” Marcus said wryly. “You’re taking care of everyone involved. Now, all we have left to manage is you.”
