by Jami Gray
He grabbed it, ignoring the jagged edges, and pulled, his muscles straining against the weight. It groaned as it began to pull away from the wall. Warrick would have to balance it until she could get whoever was trapped under it free. No tossing pieces aside until they found both men.
As Warrick maneuvered the piece back, Xander knelt in the rubble, sifting through the smaller pieces covering the form curled up against the base of the wall. Long black hair made gray by the heavy layer of dust clued her in. “It’s Cheveyo,” she told Warrick.
Cheveyo blinked at her, dazed. The Magi managed to protect his back and head, but as she removed a piece of plaster lying across his legs, she discovered it hadn’t been enough. A jagged metal chair leg bisected his calf and embedded itself in the floor. The pool of blood was small but the minute she pulled him free, that would change.
Warrick was still struggling with the metal, so she yelled over her shoulder, “Ryuu, I need you!”
Cheveyo’s lips were moving but she couldn’t hear him, so she leaned closer.
“Mulcahy okay?” His question was just above a whisper but she caught it.
Drawing back, she brushed his hair off his face, noting the knot coming up on his forehead. The witch was in for a hell of a headache.
“I don’t know yet. Gavin and Raine are looking for him.” It was all the comfort she could give. Ryuu appeared at her shoulder. “We have to get this piece out of his leg,” she told him. “But it’s stuck to the floor.”
“You hold him, I’ll pull it out,” Ryuu said.
Curled into the corner as Cheveyo was, it made it difficult to find a way to hold him down. Warrick grunted and the metal finally shifted to rest against the back wall. Xander took advantage of the newly created space and managed to get into position.
“Cheveyo.” She waited until he was able to focus on her face. “This is going to hurt but we have to get the piece of chair out of your leg, okay?”
He closed his eyes, sweat popping out on his forehead, and nodded. No matter how stoic Cheveyo was, it wouldn’t be enough. It was going to hurt like a bitch. Through her jeans, sharp fragments cut into her knees, but she ignored it and lay over Cheveyo’s chest, her hands on his shoulders. Twisting until she could see Ryuu, she nodded and braced.
Ryuu pulled the jagged metal free and Cheveyo jerked under her hands, his hoarse scream making her wince. Ryuu was tearing his shirt into strips to bind the wound. “We need a healer,” his voice was grim as his hands worked quickly.
“Can you get him out of here?” Xander asked as Cheveyo stilled under her. Looking down, she realized he had passed out. All the better.
“Yeah,” Ryuu answered. “I’ll take him to the front.”
“Be careful,” Warrick warned. “It’s early enough the explosion may not have been heard by anyone, but I can guarantee Natasha will be here shortly.”
Ryuu gathered Cheveyo in his arms. “What do you want me to tell her?”
Warrick ran a hand through his dust-coated hair. “Have her run interference with anyone who comes poking around. She’s good at coming up with a believable story.”
Ryuu nodded. It should have looked awkward, but he managed to carry the taller man out despite his uncertain footing.
Xander looked around and found Gavin and Raine across from Sebastian’s dead body. There was something in their posture that left a sick dread tightening around her. Nerves flared and her hands began to shake. She shared a worried look with Warrick before picking her way over, grateful for his reassuring presence at her back.
Her knees weakened as she got closer. They had found Mulcahy. Raine was cradling him in her lap, her head bowed while Gavin knelt in front of her, his face pale under the streaks of gray dust.
Unmindful of the debris, Xander dropped next to Gavin, reached out, but stopped as an unseen wave of magic brushed against her. It was thick, heavy, and gave her the creeps. Gavin’s eyes glowed an eerie, luminescent green, his entire focus on the woman in front of him.
“Raine, enough,” his voice was hoarse as if he’d inhaled a lungful of smoke. “He’s gone, love. Let him go.”
Xander did a quick visual scan of Mulcahy’s body but couldn’t see any obvious mortal wounds. Panic clawed at her throat. Mulcahy couldn’t be gone. Gavin had to be wrong. But she couldn’t hear a heartbeat from the man in Raine’s lap, nor did his chest move.
Warrick crouched behind her, his hand curling over her shoulder. Shock and something that felt like sorrow leaked through their bond. A terrible premonition crept around the edge of her mind, leaving a soul-numbing chill behind, but she pushed it back, trying to understand the picture in front of her.
Raine lifted her head, silver eyes glowing with an uncomfortable light. Xander’s heart clenched. Gone was the hard-ass warrior who could shred someone with words alone and face down any monster without flinching. In her place was a grieving child.
“No.” Raine’s one word answer trembled in the air with brutal fury.
Gavin’s expression hardened and he grabbed her face between his hands. “You let him go right fucking now or I will tear you loose. Do you hear me?”
Vicious anger and sharp-edged grief carved Raine’s features down to something inhuman and lethal.
Xander would have heeded the warning and backed off, but not Gavin. He didn’t flinch and didn’t let her go. “Let. Him. Go.”
Xander couldn’t miss the flare of energy tightening the air between them as Gavin hammered home his command.
For an endless moment, Xander was worried Raine was going to go after Gavin, something she knew her friend would never forgive herself for once she calmed down. But instead, Raine dipped her chin and the sudden release of tension was so strong, Xander actually felt it like a physical punch.
Gavin released her, his muscles uncoiling.
Raine dropped her head and curled over Mulcahy’s chest. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry,” she repeated, tears thickening her voice.
A painful helplessness pinched Gavin’s face but he dropped a chaste kiss on Raine’s bent head. “Let me take him.”
Raine didn’t answer but her desperate hold loosened. It was all Gavin needed.
Xander scooted back to give him room to gather Mulcahy in his arms. Warrick stepped forward and helped, giving Gavin someone to lean on as he rose to his feet, his arms full.
Watching Warrick and Gavin handle Mulcahy with such care broke through the numbing chains holding Xander’s emotions in check. Her chest ached with unshed tears, her eyes burned, and it was hard to breathe around the lump in her throat. Under her grief, fury awoke and began to burn.
“It was meant for Vidis.” If words could cut, Raine’s would have sliced through bone.
Xander looked at her, feeling the truth of Raine’s statement as it shed a ruthless light on the needling suspicions that crept into the depths of her mind. The words sang with crystal clarity and reverberated through her soul until they drowned out all other thoughts, leaving only a horrifying glimpse of what could have been.
It could have been Warrick.
With that one thought, fury changed to savage practicality. Behind Raine, Sebastian’s body served as mute testimony of one man’s demented need for power. Under Xander’s skin, the need to hunt, to kill, rose until her human form felt too tight, as if the lightest touch would set her wolf free. She met Raine’s gaze and found an answering rage as the vicious leopard that lived in her friend stared back.
Chapter Thirty
The scene at the front desk could have served as the aftermath shot in some action flick. A now conscious Cheveyo was propped on the only couch, clothes torn and bloody, a thunderous expression on his dust-streaked face. “Dammit, Natasha, don’t be such a bitch. We have enough problems right now!” The edge to his voice would have done any shifter proud.
“It’s called being practical, Cheveyo.” The picture-perfect, petite blonde was so out of place, but it didn’t detract from the authority oozing like some high-priced perfume. “
Mulcahy’s death leaves us vulnerable on too many fronts.”
Cheveyo glowered at her and when he caught sight of Xander and Raine at the edge of the hall, he hissed, “We are not discussing this now.”
Oblivious to their presence, Natasha ignored him, throwing her hands up in the air. “When do you want to discuss it? When the Council decides to send in their personally chosen replacement? I don’t care who steps in to take over the Fey House, but I won’t allow his other responsibilities to be delegated to some puppet.”
Raine brushed past Xander, and it was only due to her quick reflexes that Xander managed to snag her friend’s arm before she jumped the Head of the Amanusa House in a hail of fists and fury. Even that wouldn’t have stopped her, but Gavin, who just stepped out of the hall leading to Mulcahy’s office, managed to get between Raine and her target.
Gavin’s tall body hid Natasha’s smaller form and Raine pulled up short. Her hands curled into fists and a purely feline snarl sounded as she stood before him. “Get out of my way.”
He folded his arms across his chest, his face grim. “She’s not the one you want.”
“Trust me, she’ll do.”
Xander could see the fine tremors running through Raine and knew Natasha’s presence was just salt on the gaping wound of Mulcahy’s death. Every time the two women got in the same room, they managed to make verbal sushi out of each other.
There were three men Xander knew who could keep Raine under control right now. One was dead, one was currently staring her down, and the other was coming up behind Gavin.
Catching Warrick’s attention, she sent him a wordless plea to intervene. There was enough to deal with without another head of house being murdered tonight.
Warrick grabbed Raine’s arm and none too gently dragged her to a chair as far from Natasha as possible. “Sit down and be quiet, Raine.”
For a second, Xander thought she’d have to beat her friend as Raine’s fist swung up for a hit. Xander turned and rolled to the balls of her feet, prepared to leap into action. The only one who got to hit Warrick was her. But Raine hesitated, and common sense obviously prevailed as her fist dropped under Warrick’s unwavering stare. She ripped her arm from his grasp and slammed into the chair. Only then did she switch her glare to someone behind Xander. Probably Gavin.
Satisfied his point was made, Warrick left Raine. Gavin stepped aside, giving Warrick a clear shot at Natasha, then went to stand by Raine.
One disaster down, an endless supply to go. Xander sighed and kept her position behind Warrick. Natasha might look harmless in her blonde-china-doll way, but Xander knew better. No demon-blooded Kyn was ever harmless. They thrived on chaos and strife. As a matter of fact, the more innocent and sweet an Amanusan appeared, the more dangerous they were. Natasha more than most, as evidenced by the wavering image of a looming beast hovering around her like a mirage—the only sign that tonight’s events had pushed even the untouchable demon queen’s control.
Warrick towered over her, ignoring the strange illusion. “Our first priority is to provide the humans with a believable story, one even Division will buy. That is why you are here, Natasha, not to indulge in your love of manipulative games. When we have hunted down the one behind this, then we’ll address the rest of your concerns.”
Undaunted, Natasha poked a manicured nail into Warrick’s chest. “I am not one of your creatures, Vidis. I am fully aware of my responsibilities. However, unlike you and Cheveyo, I am not blinded by useless emotion. Mulcahy,” her voice stuttered, then steadied, “held the reins to our most lethal hunters. I will not allow such tools to fall into the hands of a Council puppet. There’s no room for Cheveyo’s damn Threefold Law in that position. You have made it abundantly clear that the only ones you would be responsible for were your precious Lycans. Which leaves only me.”
From his position beside the couch holding Cheveyo, Ryuu shot Xander a speculative look. She refused to react, wondering when Natasha would realize that he was still in the room. Everyone else here knew who the lethal hunters were. She, Gavin, and Raine were all Wraiths. Neither Warrick nor Cheveyo betrayed any worry about Ryuu’s silent presence.
“They served Mulcahy because they trusted his judgment. You may find garnering their respect more difficult,” Warrick’s voice was laced in ice. “Be very certain you wish to take them on, because I can guarantee if they find you lacking, it will be the last position you hold.”
The warped mirage strengthened revealing something huge and monstrous wavering around Natasha’s body. A hint of sulfur and something burnt teased Xander’s nose. Natasha’s voice was several octaves deeper when she spoke. “Do not threaten me, Warrick Vidis.”
Warrick bared his teeth, amber flooding his gaze. “That’s not a threat, Ms. Bertoi. It’s a statement of fact.”
The two stood toe-to-toe for a long moment. Then the skin-ruffling clash of their powers retreated and the lingering scent dissipated. Without a word, Natasha turned on one very slender heel and stalked out of the office. Warrick watched her leave then turned back to Ryuu and Cheveyo.
He pinned Ryuu in place with an amber-tinted glare, the power of his position vibrating in the air between them. “What’s said here goes no farther, understood?”
Ryuu dipped his head in agreement.
Warrick stared down at Cheveyo. “What the hell happened in there?”
Cheveyo slumped into the couch and ran a shaky hand over his face. “A mistake.”
“Mistake?” Raine hissed. “Is that what you’re calling it?”
“Enough!” Warrick swung his head toward her and barked, “You aren’t helping.”
Since standing between the two was the last place Xander wanted to be, she moved to the reception desk and slid down until her butt hit the floor. Let Gavin run interference. Her emotional balance was shot to hell and she needed a minute. Resting her head against the hard surface, she closed her eyes and listened.
For a moment, there was nothing but a taut silence. Dollars to doughnuts, her mate was engaged in a stare down with Raine and Xander had no doubt who’d win.
Sure enough, Warrick’s sharp demand sliced through the room. “Explain.” Not only was he down to one-word sentences, but his wolf was sneaking out in the rough growl of his voice.
“After we hung up with you, Mulcahy said he wanted to take another look at the spell on Sebastian,” Cheveyo answered. “So we went back in, taking Raine and Gavin with us. Mulcahy had Raine describe what she saw.”
“What did you see?” Xander broke in, not bothering to open her eyes.
“A snarled mass of threads.” Raine’s answer was flat. “Mulcahy wouldn’t let me untangle it. He said—” There was a pause then, “I might trip something.”
Xander’s heart clenched for her friend. “So he must have recognized it.”
“That’s what Raine and I were discussing when you came in,” Gavin cut in.
“He recognized it,” Cheveyo added. “He told me it looked familiar but he couldn’t place it.”
“If he knew what it was, what possessed him to go poking around?” This time it was Warrick.
“And what exactly was he messing around with?” Raine asked. “The whole reason you had me in there was because I’m supposedly the only one who can actually see magic. If he couldn’t see anything, what did he do?”
Everyone fell silent then Ryuu offered quietly, “Mulcahy’s been around for a long time, longer than either Vidis or Cheveyo. Considering his position, I think it’s safe to assume he wouldn’t willingly reveal every skill at his disposal.”
Xander blinked her eyes open at Ryuu’s very intuitive answer. She considered Cheveyo and Warrick in a new light. Maybe it was time to stop taking things for granted. Power wasn’t going to be enough. Their leaders weren’t invulnerable. Mulcahy’s body in the other room was more than enough proof of that.
Frustration tinted Cheveyo’s response. “There are more ways to deal with spells than just ‘seeing’ it, Raine. Mulcahy was very
proficient in some very delicate magics. Unraveling a blood-tie spell shouldn’t have been dangerous.”
“Well, you were both wrong,” Raine hissed.
Warrick stepped in before the argument could get off the ground. “Give me something to work with, something we can use.”
Cheveyo’s jaw tightened. “Considering the aftermath of the spell and what little Mulcahy said, all I can give you is guesswork.”
“It’s a starting point.”
“Fine.” Cheveyo straightened painfully on the couch. “I would assume that the blood spell was interfering with your pack ties and acting as a blind to another, more ancient spell. One Mulcahy recognized because, as Ryuu pointed out, he’s been around awhile. If he was still here, I have a feeling he’d have a name for us.”
Warrick folded his arms. “Any guesses as to who that would be?”
Cheveyo shook his head. “But if your brother is the one behind the blood spell, you have two situations to consider. One—” He held up a finger. “—he was given both spells, knowing full well what the outcome of each would be. Or—” He held up a second finger. “—he requested the blood spell and the second, older spell was hidden within it without his knowledge.”
Xander saw where the Magi was going. “So we may not just have Dmitri to worry about?”
“Maybe,” Cheveyo said. “I don’t know. It could be that whoever Dmitri got the spell from just wanted to cause as much harm and chaos as possible, regardless of who the intended victim was. There’s one very old spell that could match, but to verify I’d have to ask certain people some very specific questions.” He paused. “I’m not sure that’s such an intelligent thing to be doing right now.”
“Why?” Xander asked.
“Because outside Vidis and Natasha, I’m not so inclined to trust anyone I get answers from once Mulcahy’s death is widely known.”
“Fucking politics,” Raine muttered and Xander had to agree.
With Mulcahy’s death, the Northwest Kyn would have to be very careful with the questions they asked. There would be no avoiding the Council’s attention now. Gaping holes in an upper-level power structure didn’t stay empty long.