by Trina M. Lee
“Nobody else does though,” I offered, trying to flip the way she viewed her circumstances. Not that I’d have felt any different in her shoes. “I believe you’ll get in and out, no problem. Nova must believe it too, or he’d be more of a dick than usual.”
“Yeah right,” she scoffed. “Why would he expect you to swoop in and save my ass then? What a jerkwad move.”
As wary as I was of Nova’s interest in Blaze, I couldn’t bring myself to be a dick about it. “He can’t be everywhere at once. I guess it’s his way of keeping you safe. Or trying to. Clearly, the asshole cares about you. Between you and me, I don’t think he’s familiar with the feeling.”
She chuckled then, a laugh filled with genuine mirth. Turning to me in the dark of the car she asked, “What’s going on with you two anyway? I thought I’d have to break you guys up with the way you were glaring at each other. Is it because of me? ’Cause I don’t want that, Rayne.”
“No worries, babe. We disliked each other before you showed up. It’s nothing personal. He’s just a hard guy to get along with, especially when he’s pulling rank.” I gave her hand a warm squeeze, rubbing the back of her fingers. Then I brought her hand up and sucked the tip of her pinky finger into my mouth.
It got her laughing again and squirming in her seat. As we drove through the city I took as many side roads and alternate paths I could. Once Nova and the others had drawn the FPA out, we’d get an alert from the watchdog team, but nearing our destination made my fingers tighten on the wheel.
“I was in love once,” I heard myself say, cringing as the past drove me to address the present. “Her name was Sadie. After the attack, I couldn’t face her with the truth, and I couldn’t lie to her forever. So I left.”
Blaze listened attentively, leaning in her seat to better see me as I told the story about how I’d left Sadie behind. To protect her. I wasn’t sure why this felt like the right time to tell Blaze about it. Maybe because I’d spent a long time thinking about all the things I never got to say.
When I finished I ended with, “I’m falling for you, Blaze. And it scares the shit out of me. I don’t want to fuck things up this time.”
“Pull over.”
Her command surprised me. We’d just turned into the residential neighborhood that housed the FPA base. I pulled the car to a stop and put it in park.
Blaze grabbed my face with both hands and forced me to look into her tranquil blue eyes. How she managed to be so calm right now I didn’t know. With a coy smile she said, “I’m in like with you too.”
Then her mouth was on mine, saying more than either of us were ready to voice aloud. But I couldn’t just let her walk in there without saying anything at all. Letting her into my past felt vulnerable but right. Her reference to our silly inside joke chased away any ill will I’d felt toward Nova’s attraction to her. Whatever they had, they could have it. It would never replicate what I shared with her. This was unique only to us.
When she pulled back a new expression had stolen over her features, one I’d come to know as her game face. “You’re the first person to make me feel safe in as long as I can remember. Like I can let down my guard with you. I’m scared too, Rayne, but I’m still in this for one night at a time if you are.”
We’d agreed to take things by the day, since we couldn’t see further ahead than that anyway. Hearing her voice so much trust in me hit home, and it hit hard. Hard enough that I had to stuff down the emotion it evoked. Now wasn’t the time. She had to go. Any minute now.
“You know I am, beauty.” I kissed her again, ignoring the awkwardness of the console between us.
My phone went off with the alert I’d been dreading.
Blaze wore a matching disappointed frown. “I’ll just get out here. Don’t let anyone see you.”
I pulled her in for one more kiss before responding to the message, confirming it had been received. “Hey, I know that Nova said sunrise, but I’m not waiting that long. If I don’t hear from you in an hour, I’m coming in. The Circle never said specifically that I couldn’t help you, only that Nova couldn’t. Not that I think you need help. But you shouldn’t have to do this at all, let alone by yourself.”
Blaze paused while double checking that she had everything she’d need inside. “You don’t have to do that. Really. It’s cool.”
“I do though. Even if you could convince me to stay put, you couldn’t convince the wolf.” I flashed her a cheeky grin before shoving her playfully toward the door. Though all I wanted to do was lock the doors and hit the road, just get out of here. Away. Fuck The Circle of the Veil. Fuck all of them.
She’d never do it though, run off and leave the others behind at Mayhem House, which was why I would never ask. Werewolves might be many things, but when we knew who our family was, our loyalty stood the test of time. I’d follow Blaze to the ends of the earth and back if she asked.
“Let me know when you get into the control room if you can,” I said as she got out of the car. “I’ll stay close enough to grab you as soon as you get out. If I don’t hear from you, well, you know.”
“Stay out of trouble, you big bad wolf.” With a wink, she closed the door and disappeared into the night. Vampires had an uncanny way of doing that, just becoming the night.
Keeping on the move was safer than staying in the same place this close to FPA turf. Reluctantly, I put the car in gear and glided down the street. I couldn’t stop glancing at the time on the dash.
That hour started now.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Leaving Rayne after the talk we’d had felt wrong. If anything it made me that much more determined to pull this off and get back to him in one piece. Within an hour.
Rayne had said he’d come in after me, and as much as I appreciated the wolf’s deep loyalty, I couldn’t let him risk himself for me. Although, if it took more than an hour to do this, my odds of getting out unscathed were incredibly slim.
Moving among the shadows I drew closer to the looming hospital. Fuck, it looked like a horror movie waiting to happen. Glancing around at the many houses nearby, I couldn’t help but wonder who wanted to see that thing out their window every night. The street was deathly quiet. Like nobody ventured out after dark in this part of the city. Following the darkness and avoiding the streetlights, I stepped onto the grounds, hating the sudden sinking sensation that followed.
Too many spirits here.
Being back so soon felt a little daunting. But nobody knew I was here yet, and the longer I could keep it that way, the better my chances of doing this. My biggest concern was the thumb drive in my jeans pocket. What if I couldn’t find the proof they needed? What then?
I slipped up on the closest side of the building and made my way around to the same door Ghost and I had been taken in through. The stairs there led to the top floor where Nova said the control room would be.
Before entering the building, I paused to ensure I was still alone. Then I pulled out the new phone Nova gave me to replace the one I’d lost and set a timer for forty-five minutes. Just to keep me on task.
Stuffing the phone in my back pocket, I pulled the bullet-deflecting dagger Nova had given me from its sheath and put my other hand on the door handle. Would an alarm go off when I opened it? Would I be fucked before I could even get started?
Nova wasn’t allowed to help me, so even though I could take the dagger along, he couldn’t give me any charms, amulets, or other handy trinkets. Not this time. He’d encouraged me to use the symbols he’d shown me. To be honest, I only remembered the illusion symbol. Still, if I could muster more than savage bunnies, maybe it would prove useful. Or make me look like a total idiot. One or the other.
Gritting my teeth, I opened the door. It wasn’t even locked. No alarm. Unless it was a silent alarm. I didn’t wait around to find out. Opening the door just wide enough for me to slip inside, I headed right for the stairwell I’d glimpsed during my last visit. Time was ticking.
The stairwell proved a danger zo
ne and an obstacle course all in one. And so damn dark. Unnaturally so. It took my eyes a moment to adjust, and even then I had a hard time picking my way through the rubble that littered the stairs. A psi ball glowing in my palm helped me see that it was mostly construction debris that snagged at my feet. Broken window shards gleamed in the red light of my energy ball.
My demon energy ball. Because apparently I was fathered by a demon. A fucking demon.
Nova could have been lying, and he had said it was just a theory. Still it would explain so much.
Sharp objects were not my friends. I knew that I’d probably have to bleed to get out of here, but I wanted it to be on my terms. Which was why I’d used a permanent marker to draw the illusion symbol on the palm of my left hand.
By the time I reached the top of what had to be seven or eight flights of stairs, it felt like it had taken hours. According to my phone it had been eight minutes. Still too long.
I paused at the door at the top. One of the doors was supposed to be alarmed, but I didn’t know which. “Here goes nothing.”
The door was locked, but after a little telekinetic push it opened without incident. Entering a hallway much cleaner than the death stairs, I made my way toward the light at one end. Several sets of heavy security doors separated me from the control room. One of them, at least, would be alarmed. I needed a plan that didn’t include busting my way in. Every agent in the building would be on me then.
If they hadn’t already picked up sight of me on their cameras, they soon would. I could try to pass myself off as one of them, but that seemed risky. Keeping my back pressed to the wall, I moved down the dark hallway. The only light coming in streamed through the windows. The electricity didn’t run throughout the entire building.
For this to work I needed an agent to open the security doors. I didn’t want to wait—no time for that—but wait I did. Back pressed to the wall, I watched the light at the end of the hall. Eventually someone had to come in or out, right?
Two ghostly soldiers emerged from the wall beside me, making me jump. I clapped a hand over my mouth to muffle a startled shriek. They didn’t acknowledge me. In unison they marched down the hallway before disappearing into mist. So much unrest in this place. I could feel the presence of the bigger, darker force deep down below. Sitting back, it watched me.
I was about to text Rayne to extend his hour when a man in a suit with a gun on his hip came striding down the hall toward me from the control room. Using a swipe card he made it through the alarmed security doors with no problem.
As he drew closer to where I stood cloaked in shadow, he paused to radio to someone to grab another agent and check the basement. “There’s nobody up here.”
Crap. They knew I was here. Of course they did. They were the Feds. Waiting for him to get closer was killing me, especially when he kept stopping and glancing back the way he’d come. Just a little closer.
One more step and then he saw me. Eyes wide, he fumbled for both his gun and his radio. Out of the darkness I lunged at him. Moving too fast for his human eyes to follow, I slid around behind him and slashed the dagger blade across his throat.
Sure I could have taken him as a hostage instead, but that would only send the message that I was willing to negotiate. And I wasn’t. Not tonight. This was dog eat dog. Knocking him out would only let him creep up behind me later. I wasn’t taking any chances.
Swiping the guy’s keycard, I left him to bleed out on the floor and made my way quickly through the security doors. I knew that if the Feds inside the building had figured out I was on the top floor, they’d be on their way. I had to hurry.
I burst into the control room to find a bank of monitors and computers manned by four people. They’d seen me coming on the screens. Two of them held guns, another grabbed for the phone.
Slapping the phone out of her hand, I jerked her close and pressed the bloody dagger blade to her neck. So much for not taking a hostage. Fishing the thumb drive from my pocket, I tossed it to the closest guy.
“Everything you have on the agents you employ, put it on that thing. Don’t leave anything out. You have thirty seconds or I slit her throat.” With my life on the line, I held nothing back. I couldn’t afford to.
I half expected them to put up a fight or take a shot anyway, but they responded calmly, likely having trained for such an incident. The man closest to me slowly leaned forward and bent down to retrieve the drive. Another man nodded, and the first stuck it into his computer.
“Is that all you want?” asked a curly-haired guy with glasses. “Because we’ll give it to you. Nobody has to get hurt. Please.”
His gentle plea made me feel bad about the guy back in the hall. But one even-toned Fed didn’t suddenly make them the good guys. They’d take the first chance they could to kill me.
“Twenty-five seconds.” I tightened my grip on the woman.
She didn’t make a move or say a word. Hands held up beside her, she seemed to be doing all she could not to trigger my predatory instincts. Smart.
“It’s coming; it’s coming.” The man copying the files waved a hand at the screen like that would make it go faster.
Maybe it did. A few seconds later he ejected the drive and tossed it back to me. “Pick it up and hand it to me,” I instructed the woman. “Slowly. Don’t try anything else.”
Once the drive was back in my pocket, I eased toward the door, dragging the woman with me. In the doorway I let her go and ran back down the hall, slamming through the security doors with the key card held ready. If the agents in the control room didn’t come after me, those from the basement surely would.
Skittering down the decrepit stairs back to the ground floor, I couldn’t move as carefully as I had on the way up. I skipped several stairs at a time, picking my way through the cluttered landings to the next flight. When I reached the bottom, I paused to find a small shard of glass, knowing I’d need it, whether I wanted to or not.
Glass in one hand, dagger in the other, I crept around the corner into the tiny entryway I’d come through. Something had me on high alert. I rounded the corner expecting to find a fleet of crossbow pistols pointed at me. The entryway was empty. Still instinct had served me long enough to know when someone was sneaking up on me.
There was only one way out from here, and that was the door I’d come through. Aside from the stairwell, there was an elevator, but I sure as hell wasn’t taking it down below.
Staring at the door that led outside, back to certain freedom, I knew without a doubt there were Feds on the other side, waiting for me to come out. If Nova and the others had succeeded in luring most of their people to various locations around the city, then hopefully there wouldn’t be many.
No putting this off.
Ducking back into the base of the stairwell, I sucked in a breath of harsh, musty air. I stared at the glass shard, willing myself to do this with ease, take command of what was mine. Stop being afraid. Fear whispered in my ear, telling me that I was trapped, that there was no way out.
“Fuck this shit,” I muttered, anger rising in response to that fear. “And fuck The Circle of the Veil for putting me in this position.”
Beneath me the dark spirit slithered closer. Its genderless voice oozed power in my ear as it murmured one word: “Bleed.”
Even it knew what I had to do to get out of here alive. And alive it would be, even if I had to take out every person that stood in my way. I was a survivor. And whether my birth father was a demon or I was just unlucky, it didn’t matter. The blood magic had saved my life many times. Though it might have hurt many people, it had never hurt me. It protected me. I couldn’t fear its explosive nature anymore. I had to harness it.
Steeling myself, I sliced a small gash in my forearm and dropped the shard. I’d wait until I’d made it outside to use the illusion symbol. Using the charge of the blood that spilled from the cut, I sheathed the dagger and headed for the door with both hands raised for a telekinetic hit.
Without lettin
g myself hesitate or think at all, I just acted. Kicking the door open, I released a supercharged shock of energy that slammed into the waiting agents. Thanks to my team’s efforts, there were only four of them.
My attack took three of them down. I pulled my dagger free in time to block the shot the fourth agent took at me, hitting him with a counter shot of my own. In my peripheral view I saw a black SUV pull up. Two more agents burst out the door I’d just exited, and I turned to hit them with a large psi ball.
As I nailed some, others recovered. Rayne would be coming soon, and I couldn’t have him happen upon this scene. The blood had only been enough for one shot. This would require more than a few drops.
“Stop resisting or we will shoot to kill.” One of the Feds shouted at me, but they were all in dark suits, weapons aimed.
I didn’t know who ordered me to surrender, and I didn’t care. It wasn’t happening.
The occupants of the newly arrived SUV had yet to get out. I’d have found it odd if I didn’t have six crossbow pistols aimed at my heart and head. First things first.
I held the dagger ready, its blade glowing protective gold. I needed an opportunity to flee without giving them a chance to give chase. Driven by nothing but the need to survive if only to finally get the chance to laugh in The Circle’s face because they were so wrong about me, I dragged the glowing blade over my wrist.
The gash that opened up was much bigger than the small slice I’d made with the glass. The blood magic bubbled up like lava, and I hurriedly smeared blood on the illusion symbol in my palm while envisioning a pack of vicious dogs. I wasn’t crazy enough to try for a dragon or something fantastical like that.
Six growling, red-eyed rottweilers suddenly surrounded me. Lips peeled back into angry snarls, they exploded forward, driven by the force of my magic, lunging at the Feds. Screams rang out as agents were wrestled to the ground by imaginary dogs that felt and acted real. Those still on their feet either ran for the door or turned their weapons on the dogs, a futile effort.