by Lisa Edmonds
I already had some stuff at Sean’s house, so I didn’t need much. I filled one suitcase with clothes and put a few personal items and toiletries in a duffel bag. Sean carried them out to the car as I made my way slowly down the stairs, using the handrail and the opposite wall for support.
The exertion left me wobbly, but I had to go down to the basement to get my magic supplies and fetch Malcolm. My basement, protected by heavy-duty wards of its own, contained my library and my magic workshop.
I declined Sean’s offer to carry me down the basement stairs, since I was clinging to the shreds of dignity I had left after barfing in front of him. He carried a second suitcase and followed me down, his hand outstretched and ready to grab me at the first sign of trouble.
I couldn’t understand why him being close by made me itch between my shoulder blades. It was probably part of my new anxiety about Bell and the threat his cabal represented to the pack.
I packed the second suitcase full of magic-related items, including some blood magic implements. I wasn’t sure what I might need to find and rescue Jana and Aden, so I took anything I thought might come in handy. Transporting those illegal items was moderately risky, but when did I ever do anything that wasn’t at least moderately risky?
As Sean carried my second suitcase upstairs and stowed it in the car, I turned my attention to what to do with Malcolm. I thought about just taking the ghost with me in the crystal he’d jumped into from Jana’s house, but it didn’t have the kind of heavy-duty protection and containment spells that the one on my bracelet did. Mine would protect him from any attempts to recall him and only I could release him from it, unlike the one he was in, from which he could come and go freely. The safest option was to boot him out of his crystal, let him know what was going on, and then stash him in mine. I needed to get him somewhere where he could safely regenerate his magic.
When I picked up the medium-sized blue crystal from the work table, it buzzed faintly against my palm. That told me Malcolm was inside and still low on energy. “Release.”
Malcolm appeared next to me. “Hey,” I said, relieved to see him.
Instead of responding, he drifted back from me, saying nothing.
Worried, I put the crystal back on the table. “What’s wrong?”
“What’s wrong? How can you ask me that?” he demanded. Despite his diminished energy, his anger buzzed on my skin.
I rubbed my face. “Malcolm, I feel like I’ve been run over by a fleet of trucks, so you’re going to have to explain what you’re upset about because I am just not capable of figuring it out right now.”
“I just watched you cut someone’s hand off and threaten to take her apart piece by piece. Believe it or not, I find that pretty damn upsetting.” He flitted in place, an indication of how furious he was.
The basement door opened and closed and Sean came downstairs. “Did you get Malcolm relocated?”
The ghost and I stared at each other. “Not yet,” I said finally.
Sean frowned. “What’s wrong?”
I sighed. “Malcolm doesn’t think my actions at Jana’s were justified—specifically, what I did to Nora.”
Sean’s frown deepened. He turned toward where I was looking and addressed Malcolm. “Nora Keegan had knowledge of Aden’s whereabouts. She would have killed Alice and taken you to Bell if given the chance. What would you have wanted Alice to do, other than what she did?”
“I wasn’t going to let her walk out of there, not after she recognized you,” I added. “She was a dead woman already, as far as I was concerned. I figured I might as well do everything in my power to find out where Aden is.”
“You told Nora it wouldn’t be the first time you’d gotten answers by torturing someone,” Malcolm said hotly. “How could you do that after what you’ve been through?”
I was taken aback by Malcolm’s ire until I realized that seeing me hurt Nora had probably triggered some very traumatic memories for him. Even so, I was angry and tired of being berated. “You know where I was when I was being tortured? In the hands of a cabal, which is where Aden is right now. When I was twelve, they were already cutting me up and burning me to get me to do what they wanted. I wasn’t much older than Aden the first time they stripped skin off my back.”
Sean reached out to touch my arm, but I didn’t want comfort. I sidestepped him and put my hands on my hips. “We don’t have the luxury of a moral high ground here, not when we’re dealing with monsters like Bell and the people who work for him. If you think Aden’s age protects him from the same kind of suffering we went through, think again. Bell is more than capable of doing all of that and more to Aden if he thinks it will make him compliant. They don’t look at young mages as kids; they see them as assets. An asset only has value as long as they’re of use, as evidenced by Nora’s dead partner, Mr. Double-Tap.”
Malcolm and I eyed each other.
I rubbed my arms. “Look, I know you’re angry, but we have to put a bookmark here for now. I need to put you in my bracelet for the drive over to Sean’s house. You’ll regenerate faster that way and be safer in case they try to recall you with some kind of magic we don’t know about.”
He sighed. “I understand, but let me just say this: I don’t think the moral high ground is a luxury—it’s a necessity. Our morals are what make us different from them. I’m not saying we shouldn’t do what’s necessary to protect ourselves and the people we care about, because I’m not that idealistic. I’m not sure cutting off her hand was necessary and I think you did it just a little too easily. You’re better than that.”
“After all the suffering she’s inflicted on people and the enjoyment she got from watching them torture you to death, what’s your justification for making me the bad guy here?”
“You’re not the bad guy, but two wrongs don’t make a right. Nora is a monster and maybe she deserves to die. I could accept that as justice. But taking someone apart piece by piece isn’t justice. It’s sadistic and it’s wrong. I know that’s not the person you want to be.”
“She knew where Aden is,” I pointed out.
“Maybe she did, maybe she didn’t, but she wasn’t going to tell you no matter what you did. Unlike you and I, she doesn’t work for her boss under duress; she works for him because she likes it. She’s one of his best lieutenants and she takes a lot of pleasure in her work. I’m sure you knew people like that in the cabal you belonged to.”
I certainly had known a lot of people like Nora. Most of my grandfather’s lieutenants were sadistic psychopaths eager to inflict pain and suffering on command. Worst among them was Carter Kade, who’d enjoyed watching torture in general and mine in particular. Next to Moses himself, Kade was the person from the Murphy cabal I most wanted dead, and preferably not in any quick or merciful way.
I took a deep breath and exhaled. “All right, you’ve said your piece and maybe some of it makes sense, but here’s where I stand. I’m going to get Aden and Jana back from Bell because I know what happens to mage kids who belong to a cabal. They end up dead like you, or they turn into people like me and Nora. If that means I have to slice-and-dice my way through some bad people, I’m prepared to do that because Aden deserves to have a better life than you and I have had. You don’t have to like my methods, but I’m going to need your help to get him and his mother out and I want to know that I can count on you to have my back.”
“Of course I have your back,” Malcolm said, exasperated. “Let’s just try to get him back without severing any more appendages, okay?”
I rubbed my arms, which were itchy, I supposed from the hot shower I’d taken. “I’m not making any promises, but I’ll try.”
Sean was getting antsy. “We need to go.”
“You ready?” I asked the ghost.
He nodded. “Don’t go up against anyone without me.”
“I won’t,” I promised. “Contain.”
Malcolm vanished. The green crystal on my bracelet buzzed.
Sean sighed. “I’m sor
ry Nora put you in that position, Alice. I don’t have any issue with what you did, but I wish to hell you hadn’t had to do it. I agree with Malcolm on one point: I know that’s not the person you want to be.”
“It might not be the person I want to be, but it might just be the kind of person I am,” I said quietly.
“I don’t believe that for one minute,” he stated. “But we’ll argue about it another time.”
Sean followed me as I slowly climbed the stairs. He turned off all the main floor lights except the one in the foyer.
When we heard vehicles out front, Sean went to the window next to the front door and pulled the curtain aside. “Three SUVs just parked in front of the house,” he reported. “No one has gotten out, but I think we both know who they work for.”
An icy calm settled over me. “I’m all packed and ready to leave. Let’s go.”
He didn’t argue. I turned the deadbolt and opened the front door. We stepped out on the porch.
The rear doors of the first and third SUVs opened as we walked down the front steps. Four people—three men and a woman—exited the vehicles and took up positions on either side of the back door of the middle SUV. I wondered who was in the center SUV. No doubt Nora was still out of commission getting her hand put back on, so it was probably another of Bell’s lieutenants.
I wasn’t surprised they’d shown up, but the big show of force was unexpected. Was it just posturing, or did they intend to say to hell with pissing off the pack and the Were Ruling Council and try and capture me?
Sean’s eyes glowed bright gold. He radiated alpha power as we crossed the yard and stopped just inside the perimeter wards. They were currently dormant except for the spellwork that alerted Malcolm and me when someone crossed them, but they could be activated instantly.
The rear door of the second SUV opened and Darius Bell stepped out.
I’d never seen him in person, but I recognized him. Judging by the surge of tension I sensed from Sean, he did too. I kept my face carefully neutral, as if the heads of crime syndicates routinely made stops at my house.
His escorts stayed with the SUV as Bell stood on the sidewalk. We studied each other. He was in his late forties and African American. He wore a button-up shirt with the sleeves rolled up and suit pants—no tie or jacket. His watch probably cost more than my car. The overall effect was a businessman relaxing after a long day at the office, or wherever he was holed up now, with his compound and several of his businesses destroyed.
Bell was a high-level air and blood mage, though he rarely used his magic, preferring to leave that to mages who worked for him. He was attractive if tall, muscular, and murderous was your thing. There were fan sites devoted to him. I didn’t understand the appeal myself. When I looked at him, all I saw was hard, soulless eyes and expensive clothes and cars bought with people’s lives.
I didn’t wait for him to speak first. “We were just about to leave.”
“I can see that.” His voice was very deep. “I don’t intend to keep you long. I’m on my way to a dinner meeting.”
“What brings you to my door?”
He stuck his hands in his pockets, feigning a casual pose. It was meant as an insult; he wanted to give the impression he considered me perfectly harmless. The number of escorts he’d brought indicated quite the opposite. “Curiosity. Nora speaks so highly of you. I thought I must meet the person who made such an impression on my lieutenant. She sends her regards, by the way, and hopes to see you again soon.”
“I’m also hoping our paths cross again.” I smiled slightly. “I have to hand it to her—she got the best of me today, but things might turn out differently next time.”
Bell chuckled. “You might be interested to know she said much the same thing to me.” He glanced at Sean. “Mr. Maclin. I trust you’re feeling no ill effects from the mishap with the shifter relic a few weeks ago?”
“None whatsoever,” Sean said coldly.
I wasn’t surprised Bell knew about the cuff that had attached itself to Sean and nearly killed him. Bringing it up was his way of demonstrating he had insider information about the pack. It was a subtle threat. Everyone was being so very polite. I wondered when the gloves would come off.
“We need to leave. Have you satisfied your curiosity?” Sean asked.
I sensed a rise in magic from Bell, an indicator that he was irritated. “For the most part. I also came to present an offer to Ms. Worth.”
I shook my head. “I’m sure I’m not interested in any offer you might make.”
“Even so, do hear me out.” He tilted his head. “Your presence at Jana Peters’s home today leads me to believe she hired you to look for her son. Some of my associates think your interference makes you a problem that needs fixing.”
Beside me, Sean tensed. Shifter magic rose and crackled along my skin.
Bell kept his gaze on me. “At the moment, I’m inclined to see this as an opportunity for both of us. I feel quite certain you and I are destined to have a mutually beneficial arrangement in which you, Mr. Maclin’s pack, and your ghost remain safe, and you profit handsomely in return for performing the occasional magical feat on my behalf.”
“I’m just a mid-level earth and air mage, Mr. Bell,” I said, raising my hands, palms up. “You have people like Nora working for you who are far more powerful than me. I’m not capable of any feats, magical or otherwise.” The masking spells in the stars tattooed on my left side hid my true level of power and made me feel like a mid-level mage to anyone with magic.
“Please don’t insult my intelligence by playing dumb.” Bell’s expression hardened. “You’re registered as such, but no mid-level mage would have been able to kill the blood mage tasked with recalling Malcolm. I have a good idea of what you’re capable of, yet you work as a mage PI for a pitiful wage when you should be rewarded for your power and skills. Your abilities make you a valuable commodity.”
My stomach lurched at his categorization of me as a commodity. That was all I’d been when I belonged to Moses. When I’d escaped his cabal, I’d sworn I would die before I’d let myself be treated that way again.
“I’m not a commodity and I’m not for sale to anyone at any price,” I stated. “You think you have an idea of what I’m capable of? You talked to Nora, so you know what she thinks of me. You’ve had a chance to form your own opinion in the past five minutes.” I spooled just enough blood magic for my eyes to glow. Beside me, Sean fixed his own bright stare on Bell. “You have no idea what I’m capable of, Bell. And while you’re thinking about that, you might want to look behind you.” I gestured at the street.
He glanced to his left. Four black Vampire Court SUVs cruised through the stop sign at the corner and turned onto my street. Several of Bell’s security team exchanged glances as the motorcade glided to a stop in front of my house, forming a barricade around Bell’s vehicles.
Bell raised an eyebrow. “Did you summon them?”
I smiled. “I didn’t have to.” Let him chew on that.
The rear door of the lead vehicle opened and Ezekiel Monroe emerged. He was Valas’s daytime representative and arguably the most powerful human associated with the Vampire Court. Monroe appeared to be in his mid-forties, but rumor had it his age was closer to twice that. Drinking vampire blood regularly—especially the blood of one of the oldest and most powerful vampires in the nation, if not the world—had effects not dissimilar to the mythical Fountain of Youth. As always, he wore a tailored suit, his blond hair loose around his shoulders.
To my surprise, Bryan Smith, Charles’s head enforcer, stepped out of the second SUV. The entire vehicle moved when he got out. Bryan was the size of a small mountain. He joined Monroe as he strode up the sidewalk toward us. A half dozen black-clad enforcers followed them.
Bell held his ground as they approached. “Monroe, you’re a long way from Northbourne Manor.”
“Bell,” Monroe acknowledged him, standing to my right with Bryan behind him. “You’re a long way from the se
wer.”
To my surprise, Bell chuckled with what sounded like genuine amusement. “What brings you to this part of town?” His tone indicated exactly what he thought about my neighborhood. It was a petty insult, which told me he was more thrown by Monroe’s arrival than he’d let on. Point to Monroe.
“On behalf of Madame Valas, we came to personally present an invitation to Ms. Worth for an event at the Manor.” Monroe took a red envelope from his interior jacket pocket. Bryan took it from him and brought it to me. The front bore my name in shiny gold leaf. Fancy.
Bell glanced at the four SUVs parked strategically around his own and the six enforcers flanking Monroe and Bryan. “This seems like overkill for delivering an invitation. One would think a simple courier would suffice.”
“Ms. Worth is a valued associate of the Court and a personal favorite of Madame Valas,” Monroe said smoothly, putting a bit of emphasis on personal favorite. “It was very important that we deliver the message without delay to ensure there are no misunderstandings.”
Bell seemed to be weighing Monroe’s words. If my status as Sean’s consort wasn’t enough to hold Bell off, being named a favorite of the head of the Vampire Court should buy me some time. Even if Bell was willing to take on the pack and the Were Ruling Council, only an idiot—and a suicidal one at that—would cross Valas and the Court.
Bell’s eyes went to Sean. Perhaps Monroe had designated me as off-limits, but he’d said nothing about Sean, the pack, or Malcolm. Maybe Bell couldn’t come straight at me for the time being, but he was clearly thinking that I might have other vulnerabilities.
Sean’s thoughts must have mirrored mine. He took a step toward Bell, his eyes shining like golden lanterns. “The Were Ruling Council is aware of the situation,” he said, which was news to me. He must have reported today’s events either before I woke up or while I was packing my suitcases. “Alice is my consort and a pack associate. The Council and the pack stand with her in all matters, and she with us. No one here is for sale, Bell, least of all Alice.”
