Dark Dream’s Trap

by I. T. Lucas

  Lokan was a smart and careful bastard, and he wasn’t taking any chances.

  “It’s this one.” He pointed at the screen. “And I think I know where it’s heading.”

  As Magnus and Julian got behind him, Turner zoomed out and pointed at the airport they’d arrived at. “That’s where he’s heading. Which means that he has a plane waiting for him and he’s going to take off as soon as they get there.”

  Julian groaned. “We are never going to make it on time.”

  “Not necessarily.” Turner pulled out his phone. “As I’ve mentioned before, I have many friends in Washington who owe me favors.”

  “Cops can’t stop a helicopter,” Magnus said. “What are you going to do, call the air force base and have them send fighter jets after him?”

  Turner shook his head and waited for his friend to pick up.

  “Hello?”

  “Hi, Fred. It’s Turner. I need a favor.”

  50

  Ella

  Logan’s private jet was very similar to the one they’d arrived on. Apparently, Navuh’s son didn’t enjoy the kind of luxury Gorchenco did. Was there more money in selling weapons than using them?

  It seemed so.

  Still, Gorchenco’s legitimate business was an executive plane service, and he used the fleet’s jets for his own needs.

  “Are you comfortable?” Logan asked as they were seated with the safety belts on.

  As usual, Ella’s tongue ran faster than her brain. “What if we are not?”

  He smiled. “It doesn't matter. Unless there is an emergency, and I mean the plane is on fire, don’t move. If you need to use the bathroom, let my men know and they will call me. Understood?”

  The two Doomers guarding them wore twin impassive expressions as they nodded their understanding, even though Logan hadn’t been talking to them.

  Experimentally, Ella tried to lift her hand, but the compulsion held her immobilized. “It’s not comfortable to sit like that. Can you modify your command and just tell us not to get out of our seats?”

  “I can do that.” He smiled indulgently. “I want you to be as comfortable as possible. Don’t get out of your seats. Otherwise, you are allowed to move.”

  “Thank you. Where are you taking us? Are we going to your homeland?”

  Logan liked to talk about his brilliant plans. Maybe if she managed to engage him in a conversation, she could buy them some time.

  “No, not right away. For now, I just want to get out of this country and away from your government’s reach.”

  “What if they send fighter jets after you?”

  He smirked. “You are so naive, Ella. That’s not how governments work. It’s not like one big machine with all the cogs working in sync. Each department is its own machine, and they don’t cooperate with each other unless they are forced to by the higher-ups, and then it takes a lot of red tape. The organization in charge of paranormal abilities research is highly classified and not rich in resources. They are not going to involve other agencies in the chase.”

  “How do you know so much?”

  “I’ve been hanging around Washington for a long time. I can tell you so many stories, but it will have to wait for after takeoff. We are in a bit of a rush.” He winked and ducked into the cockpit, leaving them in the company of the two somber Doomers.

  Ella wondered if he was going to pilot the plane himself.

  Probably not.

  But who knew? It didn’t look like he had limitless resources at his disposal. Not that it mattered one way or another. Hopefully, he wasn’t going to take off anytime soon, and the Guardians were going to catch up to them.

  Except, her hopes took a nosedive when the dual jet engines roared to life. She tried to remember how long it had taken the clan’s jet to warm up its engines, but she hadn’t been paying attention. Bhathian had explained something about the pilot going through a pre-flight checklist, but she had no idea how long that took.

  Next to her, Vivian sniffled. “You were right. We are so screwed.”

  Reaching over the armrests, Ella took her mother’s hand and gave it a squeeze. “At least we are together.”

  Now that it seemed like they were not getting rescued, Ella was even more afraid to open a channel to her mother. She would have to be extra careful not to leave even the tiniest opening for Logan to dive inside her head, and she would have to keep doing that indefinitely.

  Could she even maintain her reinforced shields for so long?

  “Parker is going to be all alone.” Tears started flowing down her mother’s cheeks. “I was afraid to move forward because I didn’t want to leave him. And you. You might think that you’re all grown up, but you still need me.”

  “Of course, I need you. And I always will.”

  Vivian nodded. “I wish I could be as brave as you.”

  Fighting her own tears, Ella snorted. “I’m not brave. I’m terrified. I’m just good at fronting confidence I don’t have.”

  Was she ever going to have the wonderful future she’d imagined with Julian? Was she ever going to experience the passion that now flowed freely from her and yearned for him?

  Fate couldn't be so cruel, dangling the best life had to offer in front of her nose and then yanking it out of her reach.

  “You know what I think?”

  Vivian wiped her eyes with her sleeve. “What?”

  “I think that Loki is real and that he is the one in charge, playing tricks on us mortals. Do you think I should pray to him? Or maybe I should flip him the finger? What would make him stop toying with us like this?”

  That got a sad smile out of her mother. “Praying is a safer bet. But since we don’t know who’s in charge, let’s just address it to whoever is listening.”

  “Good plan.”

  Ella glanced at the two Doomers, but they were acting as if they were deaf and mute. If she didn’t know better, she would’ve suspected Logan of compelling their silence as well. But according to Dalhu, he couldn't compel other immortals.

  She really hoped Dalhu was right about that. If he wasn’t, she and her mother were doomed for sure.

  As the plane started moving, Ella squeezed her mother’s hand harder and fought to keep her tears from spilling. But as it slowed down and then stopped, it wasn’t in preparation for takeoff because the engines didn’t rev up. Instead, they revved down, and a moment later Logan stepped out of the cockpit.

  “There is a slight delay. A foreign dignitary’s jet is about to land, and there has been a terror attack warning. No one is allowed to take off or land until he’s out of the airport.”

  It was Turner’s doing. She was sure of that.

  How the hell had he pulled off shutting down the entire airport?

  Glancing at her mother, Ella saw the same hope she felt reflected in Vivian’s eyes.

  51

  Turner

  With Magnus driving like a maniac, Turner had to remind himself that he was an immortal now, and that a car accident was not going to kill him. But it was damn hard to concentrate on making phone calls when the car was taking such sharp turns and tilting this way and that. He was clutching the phone so hard the thing was about to break even though it was clan issue and had been built with immortals in mind.

  “Charlie, what do you have for me?”

  He had one man at the airport, and that was the pilot. Luckily, Charlie had decided to sleep on the plane. Regrettably, he was not a Guardian, but a civilian pilot.

  Except, that was what he had to work with and it was better than nothing.

  “I found the Doomer’s jet. After the shutdown order your guy issued, they opened the door, and I saw Lokan leave the plane and head inside the terminal. He left Vivian and Ella inside the cabin, guarded by two men. There is also the pilot, who we have to assume is a Doomer as well. Other than that I didn’t see anyone else. I think that’s all he has with him.”

  “He has other men driving away from the city with the trackers he removed from Ella a
nd Vivian. He might have compelled humans to do this for him, but we can’t assume that. Stay at a safe distance and let me know the moment anything changes. The team that was following the right tracker should be there any moment. We are about fifteen minutes behind them.”

  “Got it.”

  Frank was preparing a hangar for their use, and he was supposed to supply them with airport security uniforms and vehicles. It was a lot to ask on such short notice, but Turner had served with Frank in Special Ops, and he knew that the guy could pull it off.

  “How much longer?” Julian asked for the hundredth time.

  “Five minutes or less,” Magnus bit out.

  Turner’s phone rang again. This time it was Frank with the same question. “How much longer do you need? I’m going to eat shit for this.”

  “You’re not. If anyone asks, direct them to me. No one wants an international incident because we allowed a foreign dignitary’s wife and daughter to get kidnapped. For obvious reasons, the husband wants to keep it quiet, but if we fail to retrieve them, he’s going to raise hell.”

  Fortunately, it wasn't the first time he’d been charged with taking care of a diplomatic mess like that, and his reputation as a private operator who dealt with such situations was well known. The story he’d told Frank was believable enough, and if his friend got in trouble for that, Turner had other friends in high places who could clear this for him.

  The downside was that he would be cashing in a lot of owed favors, which meant he would have to work hard to earn more.

  “You didn’t answer how much longer you need me to keep the place on lockdown,” Frank said.

  “Give me an hour. But don’t do anything until you hear from me.”

  “Roger that.”

  “We are turning into the airport right now. Do you have the airport security vehicles I asked for ready?”

  “They are waiting for you by the storage hangar. Do you know where that is?”

  “I do.”

  “Use entrance C. The guards are expecting a taxi with a bald guy sitting up front.”

  “I had a hair transplant.”

  “No kidding? I need to call them with the update.”

  “There are three other vehicles following behind me, and later on I expect three more. The drivers all have the code you gave me.”

  “I know. I was just kidding about the bald head.”

  “Thanks, Frank.”

  “Yeah, yeah. You owe me.”

  “I know.”

  Disconnecting the call, he pointed. “Turn here and then take a left.”

  “I can see the signs,” Magnus said.

  Turner tapped his earpiece. “When you reach the airport, follow the signs to entrance C.” He waited for the other drivers to acknowledge the instructions. When they were done, he asked, “What’s your ETA?”

  52

  Ella

  Logan returned to the plane looking pissed as hell and barking orders at his men. “Airport security is looking for terrorists, and they plan on boarding every aircraft on the field. Try to look more friendly and less menacing.”

  Confused, the two Doomers looked at him as if he asked them to grow horns. Nevertheless, each nodded in turn and offered a yes sir.

  Shaking his head, Logan waved a dismissive hand. “If anyone asks, you are my bodyguards. That will fit your expressions.”

  He turned to Ella. “You will say that you’re my fiancée and use your fake name. I have your passports here. Vivian, you are Victoria MacBain, Kelly’s mother. You will tell whoever asks that you are coming with us to meet my family in the Maldives. Understood?”

  Ella nodded. “What if they ask where we met?”

  It wasn’t that she expected anyone to do that. Most likely the terror threat had been fabricated by Turner, and he and the Guardians were impersonating airport security personnel. But now that her mood was up, she felt like messing with Logan.

  He smirked. “You can tell them that we met on the beach in San Diego, and that I swept you off your feet. You just couldn't resist my charm and good looks. You agreed to marry me on our third date. I took you with me to Washington because I had business to conduct here, and I invited your mother as a chaperone.” He winked. “I’m old-fashioned and come from a traditional family who doesn’t believe in premarital sex.”

  “Good story.”

  He looked smug as he took his seat across from them. “I know.”

  An exceptional liar, Logan was good at coming up with plausible stories. The one he invented about his whirlwind courtship would explain why she knew next to nothing about him.

  Why had he bothered with it, though? If the airport security people were human, he could just compel them to walk away and say that they’d checked the plane and found nothing suspicious.

  Maybe not everyone was susceptible to compulsion?

  Just as not all humans could be hypnotized or thralled, some must be immune to compulsion too. Logan couldn’t take the risk that he might fail to control one or more of the security people.

  Therefore, he had to invent a convincing story and compel those he knew were susceptible to repeat it.

  He thought he had it covered.

  Ella couldn’t wait to see that smug expression of his melt away when he realized who he was dealing with, and how completely wrong he’d been about the people aiding her. He thought he was so smart figuring out that the government had her. It would be one hell of a blow to his ego when he learned his mistake.

  Except, that would be the least of his concerns. Logan was about to get taken, and he was never going to be free again.

  Crap, as much as she resented him for kidnapping her and her mother, the thought of him losing his freedom and living the rest of his immortal life in captivity bothered her.

  It shouldn’t have, but it did.

  She wondered when exactly he was going to realize what was really going on. Was it going to happen as soon as the Guardians climbed the stairs?

  Julian had told her about the tingling alarm all immortal males were equipped with to detect the presence of unfamiliar males of their kind, but she didn’t know how close they needed to be to each other for it to activate.

  What would Logan do when his alarm went off?

  Would he try to slam the plane’s door shut and take off?

  Or, would he grab her and put a knife at her throat, threatening to kill her if the Guardians didn’t back off?

  Damn, if she could only move, she could duck for cover as soon as it started, but she was literally a sitting duck. Heck, he could command her to put a knife to her own throat, or to her mother’s.

  53

  Turner

  “Don’t do this to me, Turner. I have to come with you,” Julian said while buttoning up the uniform’s shirt.

  “You need to tuck your hair under the hat. Airport security personnel don’t look like hippies.”

  To say that Julian didn’t like getting assigned to backup was an understatement. But he was a civilian, and Turner needed to keep his mate’s son safe. Besides, the kid was going to understand why Turner had to go in alone once he explained the plan to everyone.

  Including Julian and Magnus, Turner had twenty Guardians with him inside the warehouse, all of them busy getting into the uniforms Fred had kindly provided for them. The others were still chasing after the decoy trackers. Those Doomers had to be captured as well. And if the drivers were compelled humans, they would have to be brought back, and Turner would have no choice but to ask Parker to release them from the compulsion.

  Twenty Guardians made up a formidable force, unfortunately though, useless for what he needed them to do.

  “There is a good reason for why you’re coming in the second vehicle, and Magnus is going to be there with you. I’m the only one who does not trigger the immortal alarm, and that’s why I have to get inside that plane by myself. I can’t even have the humans accompany me because they are too vulnerable to both thralling and compulsion. They are going to stay
in the Jeep.”

  Julian shook his head. “You can’t take on three Doomers all by yourself and at the same time ensure that Ella and Vivian don’t get hurt. Worse, he can use them as hostages and take off.”

  “Don’t worry. I have it covered.”

  Turner hated going in with a half-assed plan that he’d hatched on the way, but it was the best he could do.

  Turning around, he clapped his hands. “Okay, people, gather around.”

  When he had their attention, he signaled for Arwel to cast a shroud around the group. Per his request, Frank had ordered all the employees out of the warehouse, but Turner preferred to play it safe.

  “Here is how we are going to do this. We have five vehicles. I’m taking the bulletproof one, and the rest of you will have to squeeze into the remaining four.”

  He pulled out his iPad and showed them an aerial picture of the airport with all the grounded planes waiting for takeoff.

  “This is Lokan’s plane.” He pointed. “And those are ours.” He pointed at the two clan jets. “We don’t start with him. We start with those closest to the terminal. You go in, ask the pilot, crew, and passengers to come down two at the time, check their passports, pretend to double check with headquarters, and then let them back up and ask for the next two to come down. That’s what Lokan is going to observe and that’s what he’s going to expect.”

  He glanced at Julian before continuing. “When I go up, I’ll ask the pilot and Lokan to come down first, check their papers and then let them back up.”

  “He’s going to try to compel you,” Magnus said.

  “I was immune as a human, and there are more like me out there. He would assume I’m one of the anomalies.”

  “I hope he doesn’t do something stupid once he realizes that you are immune.”

  “He’s not. After I’m done with him and the pilot, I’m going to do the same with the two Doomers, and lastly with Ella and Vivian.”