Double Down on Demons (Pandora's Pride Book 1)

by Annabel Chase

  I glanced at the sheet. “You had time to laminate this?”

  Jonas’s cheeks turned red enough to match his hair. “It keeps it from creasing, you see.”

  I pretended to try to fold it. “Yes, I do see. Thank you, Jonas.” I started toward the elevator.

  “Be sure to go to training room C, not A,” he called after me.

  I hit the elevator button and the doors opened immediately. The revised schedule didn’t offer details other than room changes, so I had no idea what to expect for my first session. Part of me hoped it involved Evadne, but I wasn’t sure I felt ready to face off against the tri-brid.

  When I entered the training room—C not A—I was pleasantly surprised to see Saxon chatting with a white-haired man I didn’t recognize.

  “Here she is now.” Saxon greeted me with a smile that warmed me from the inside out. Maybe it was a strange side effect of his hybrid nature because my body never responded to a man the way it responded to the vampire-angel.

  “Good morning,” I said, hoping to the gods that this stranger didn’t turn out to be a mind-reader.

  “Callie Wendell, meet Lloyd Simmons.”

  Phew. Lloyd was the wizard consultant they mentioned last night. No mind-reading abilities then.

  The older wizard’s eyes crinkled at the corners. “A pleasure to meet you.”

  “I was just telling Lloyd that quarantine agrees with him,” Saxon said. “He looks about ten years younger than when he went in.”

  “That’s surprising, considering you were holed up with Evadne for the past two weeks,” I said.

  The wizard smiled. “The magic of ear plugs, dear friends.”

  I cut a glance at Saxon. “Am I working with you now? There’s been a few tweaks to the schedule, apparently.” I waved the laminated schedule.

  “No, you’ll be working with me for this session,” Lloyd said.

  A wizard? “What about Tate? I thought she was handling the art of magic.”

  Lloyd scratched the back of his head and I worried that the exit from quarantine had been too soon. “After a rather intense discussion, the management team agreed that you should practice magic with me for the foreseeable future.”

  “Because of Nevada?” I asked. I shouldn’t have bothered with the question; I knew Nevada was the reason. They’d appeared to take the information in stride during the debriefing, when really they were as freaked out as I was.

  Lloyd gestured to a small table in the center of the floor. “Why don’t we begin?”

  Saxon held up his hands and started to walk to the corner of the room. “Pretend I’m not here.”

  Easier said than done.

  Saxon settled in the corner, leaning his back against the wall and I tried my best to focus on the wizard. “Which category of magic do you specialize in?”

  His lips pulled into a vague smile. “All of them.”

  “Then you’re like Abra.”

  “Yes, we have that in common.” He pulled out a chair and motioned for me to sit, then seated himself across from me. “What do you know of symbols, Callie?” He removed a deck of cards from his pocket.

  “If you want to play poker, we can head over to Salt.”

  “These are not playing cards.” The wizard set them on the table and spread them apart so that I could see their faces.

  “Tarot cards? Aren’t those for psychics?”

  “Not the way I use them.” He slid a card closer to me. “Do you know this one?”

  “The Magician,” I read aloud. “I’ve never had my cards read, so no.” My father encouraged me to steer clear of psychics, seers, and others who offered to glimpse my fate.

  “Each card is laden with symbols and each symbol can provide the trigger for a spell,” Lloyd said.

  “You use those cards to conjure spells?” I hadn’t heard of anyone doing magic with cards.

  “I use them the way some wizards might use a wand. For example, magicians are known as tricksters, are they not? So if I would like to cast an illusion or change a target’s perception, I might choose to play this card.”

  I pulled the card closer to examine it. “How does that work?”

  “I enchant the cards before I use them. I only need the desired card on my person to perform the spell. It can be in pocket or even in a bag, as long as it’s appurtenant to me.”

  “Clever. What else can you do with them?”

  Lloyd pushed another card toward me. The Empress. “This one’s a favorite. I went through so many of these when I was an agent.” He chuckled softly. “Thank the gods for an expense budget. Can you guess which spell I used her for?”

  I scrutinized the card. With her crown and scepter, the figure had an air of authority. “If you want someone to see you as an official? To cut through red tape?” Bureaucracy hadn’t featured much in my life, but I was aware of its frustrating existence thanks to stories I’d heard over the years.

  Lloyd wagged a finger. “No, but I like it. Here. This might help.” He slid another card forward. The Priestess. “Name an obvious difference between their appearances.”

  They both wore crowns and were in a seated position. “The Priestess has her arms across her front, whereas the Empress’s arms are open.”

  The wizard’s smile was infectious and I found myself smiling back at him. “Excellent. Yes, exactly. The Priestess guards something, whereas the Empress reveals something.”

  An idea sparked in my mind. “You used the Empress card to extract information from suspects.”

  He nodded. “Not only suspects, but anyone I questioned for any purpose. All I needed to do was enchant the card beforehand and keep it close to me.” He paused. “Needless to say, I was a top interrogator for the Pride for many years.”

  “Have you taught Tate how to use enchanted cards?”

  The wizard slid the cards back to the deck. “Alas, I’ve tried, but this type of magic simply isn’t in her repertoire. It’s more complicated that it seems.”

  I glanced at the deck. “And you want to see if I can do it.”

  He angled his head. “I suspect you might possess the necessary traits.”

  “Based on what? The fact that I’m a mage? Mages are nowhere near as skilled as witches and wizards. You know that.”

  “Ah, but you’re a special mage, aren’t you?”

  Did he know about my heritage? My hand moved instinctively to my strand of hot pink hair. “I’m from an ancient line of mages. My father said I shouldn’t talk about it.”

  “Did he now? And why is that?”

  “Because it would look like I was bragging, and that others would want to test me or use me because of it.”

  In the corner, Saxon burst into laughter. “I’d say that’s happening anyway.”

  I couldn’t resist a smile. He wasn’t wrong.

  “Truth be told, I requested this session with you,” Lloyd said.

  I rested my hands on the table. “Why?”

  “Because I don’t want them to have another Evadne on their hands. One is quite enough.”

  I barked a laugh. “I don’t think there’s any cause for alarm. I’m a mage. I don’t have near as many traits as Evadne does.”

  Lloyd’s expression grew serious. “You eviscerated an entire legion of Tzitzimime demons, my dear. If you think Evadne can do that, then you’re sorely mistaken.”

  “Is that why they’re keeping me around? I mean, the whole point of having me was to sub for Evadne while she was quarantined, but she’s out now.”

  “They’re wise to keep you on the team. I’d certainly want you on mine.”

  My gaze drifted back to the deck, my curiosity piqued. “So how do we do this?”

  After an hour and a half with Lloyd, I left the training room with a pocketful of cards and a big smile. Although I’d only managed to enchant a few of the cards, the fact that I’d had even a modicum of success was thrilling news. Even when the wizard assigned me homework—i.e., practice enchantments on the rest of the card
s—I didn’t complain. I was eager to master The Magician. The ability to create illusions seemed like the kind of magic that would be handy in a pinch.

  “You’re in a good mood,” Saxon said. We sat together outside the snack bar and he watched as I gobbled down pretzel bites and a fruit smoothie.

  “That was actually fun,” I said. “Lloyd doesn’t seem as stodgy as the management team.”

  “He’s more like an eccentric uncle.” Saxon plucked one of my pretzel bites from my plate and I was in such a positive state of mind that I let him.

  “There you are.” Jonas appeared by the table, looking frazzled.

  “What’s the haps, J-man?” I asked.

  Saxon frowned. “Is this what you’re like in a good mood?”

  “I’m sorry to interrupt, but Callie is needed in training room A.”

  I sucked down my smoothie. “But the revised schedule says…”

  Jonas pressed his lips together. “I know what it says, but Natasha would like to see you.”

  I glanced at the half-eaten pretzel bites with longing. “Now?”

  “She seems adamant,” Jonas said. “I wouldn’t advise keeping her waiting. She gets very testy.”

  No kidding. I never would have guessed.

  “I’ll finish your pretzel bites if you don’t want them to go to waste,” Saxon offered.

  “You know what? You should. Because it’s the unhealthiest thing I’ve seen you eat yet and everyone should have a weakness…when it comes to food.”

  I left Saxon with the remaining pretzel bites and made my way to training room A. The moment I entered the room, I sensed the tension. I also saw that half the floor was covered with weapons, which did nothing to ease said tension.

  “What’s going on?” I asked, reluctant to move any further into the room.

  Natasha barreled toward me with an escrima stick in each hand. “Are you out of your mind?” The vampire whipped the sticks in the air and I instinctively backed against the wall. “Why didn’t you mention you had drinks with Kingsley Bryant? Do you know what she’s capable of?” She held one of the sticks horizontally across my neck and pressed.

  “She kidnapped…me,” I croaked. I tried to push the stick away, but Natasha’s anger held it in place.

  “With her two goons? You should’ve been able to beat them, no problem. The only way they got their claws into you is because you let them.”

  I managed to get a firm grip on the stick and knocked it back, startling Natasha in the process. She stared at me in disbelief before looking at the stick as though it had betrayed her by moving.

  “I was curious, okay? I wanted to see what she wanted.”

  Her body language seemed more relaxed now and I inched away from the wall. “And what did she want?”

  “For me to tell you that she misses you.”

  The vampire flinched. “Kingsley and I are ancient history and she knows it. She’s only toying with you.”

  “I don’t know. She seemed pretty genuine to me.”

  Her fangs gleamed under the artificial lights. “Then good thing you’re here because you have a lot to learn.” She handed me a stick.

  “You want to have a training session with me? We’re going way off the schedule now. Jonas won’t like it.”

  “Why? Did he laminate it?” Natasha asked.

  I reached into my pocket and held up the shiny schedule. The vampire smothered a laugh.

  “He’ll survive. Come on. Might as well spar while you’re here. I’ll show you a few moves in the event that Kingsley sends her thugs after you again.”

  I took the stick uneasily. The last thing I needed was for Natasha to get riled up again. She was stronger than she looked and, not for the first time, I wondered exactly how old she was.

  “Fine.” I carried the stick over to the mat. “One stick each? That’s it?”

  Natasha cracked a devilish smile. “That’s it.” She began to circle me with a wicked gleam in her eye. “What did you and Lloyd talk about in your session?”

  “We played cards,” I said.

  “Poker?” She swung the stick at my ankles and I leaped over the weapon in the nick of time.

  “No. Tarot.”

  “Oh, right. Magic.” She attacked again with renewed vigor and managed a glancing blow on my shoulder as I turned away. “You’re quick. That one would’ve gotten Leto and Tate for sure.”

  “I wasn’t hiding my meetup with Kingsley from you,” I said. “I assumed Abra told you when it happened.”

  “The old witch likes to keep her secrets. You’ll see.” The vampire tossed the stick aside and lunged at me with her fangs exposed. With a simple thought, I activated one of the enchanted cards in my pocket and landed a punch square on Natasha’s jaw. The vampire jerked to the side and pressed a hand to her cheek. “Nice one. How did you manage to hit me that hard?”

  I patted the Strength card in my pocket. “Putting Lloyd’s lesson to good use.”

  She retracted her fangs and smiled. “That wizard still has a few tricks up his sleeve.” Her gaze shifted to the doorway. “What is it, Nita?”

  I turned around to see the werewolf hovering. She clutched a file to her chest. “Can I speak to Callie for a minute?”

  Natasha gave me a dismissive nod and I hurried over to Nita. The werewolf stepped into the hall, out of earshot of the others.

  “I was able to identify the demon that killed your father thanks to this poker chip,” Nita said, returning the necklace to me.

  My heart stammered as I fastened the chain around my neck. “And?”

  “His name was Canute, not sure if that’s a first name or a surname, but it’s the only one on record. I tracked his former location to Baltimore.”

  “He lived there?”

  “In a sense. He was imprisoned there.”

  Double wow. “So someone hired him immediately out of prison to go and murder my father?” Someone to whom he presumably owed a debt.

  “I can’t tell any of that from the record. What I can tell you is that he served twenty years for murder before being released.”

  I wasn’t much of a hugger, but I was sorely tempted to throw my arms around Nita right now. “Thank you so much. You have no idea what this means to me.”

  Nita smiled. “I’m glad I could help.” She turned and walked away as Saxon emerged from the training room.

  “That’s great news.”

  “You weren’t supposed to be eavesdropping.”

  “A hazard of the job, I’m afraid. So how soon do you want to leave? We can take my car.”

  I gaped at him. “You want to come with me to Baltimore?”

  “Ideally no, but I know you’re going to go the second you get a chance, so I might as well go with you.”

  Natasha leaned against the doorjamb. “Tell me the name of the prison and I’ll make a few calls. You won’t get in there without help.”

  I nearly burst into tears right there and then, but I held back the floodgates. I didn’t want to embarrass myself in front of two badass supernaturals.

  “Are you sure it’s okay? What if we get a lead on Supai?”

  “Baltimore’s only a few hours’ drive,” Saxon said. “We can manage it.”

  “What about Abra? Won’t she object?” I asked. The witch seemed adamant about keeping the focus on the current priority.

  Natasha’s brown eyes glittered with malice. “She didn’t tell me about Kingsley,” the vampire said with a haughty shrug. “Now we’re even.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  The closest I’d ever been to a prison was the police station in a tiny hamlet near Colorado Springs where they kept the drunks overnight, the troublemakers for a few days, and all the prisoners were human. Baltimore was a different story. After the Plague, the city was divided into two parts—one controlled by vampires and one controlled by a local coven. Natasha was able to pull strings with the vampire side to get me access to the prison, which was filled with all variety of supernaturals, no
t just the Big Five. Any non-supernatural criminals were transported to the nearest human-only facility with availability.

  Saxon parked the car—a sleek black Mercedes that was part of the Pandora’s Pride ‘transportation fleet’—in front of the long, L-shaped building. There was no information posted outside the building, no official name or even the word ‘prison.’ If you were here, then presumably you knew what awaited you inside.

  “Fair warning.” I tugged on the passenger-side door handle. “I know you’re Captain of the Universe and everything, but this is my mission and I’m going to do the talking in there.”

  Saxon gave me a wry smile. “Is that my official title?”

  “Of course, and you’ll wear a cape and carry a shield with a picture of your own face.” We exited the car and walked toward the entrance.

  “Are you implying that I’m some kind of narcissist?” He sounded more amused than insulted.

  “No, you’re right. That sounds more like Liam.” Nerves bundled in my stomach as we entered the building. I wasn’t sure what I expected to learn here, but I held onto hope the way a vampire held onto a carotid artery.

  Saxon and I were met in the lobby by a stern-looking vampire with eyebrows thicker than two caterpillars on the verge of metamorphosis.

  I extended a hand. “My name is Calandra Wendell and this is my associate, Saxon Hanley.”

  “You don’t look like vampires,” he said, slowly accepting my handshake.

  Saxon’s fangs slid into place. “You know what they say about assumptions.”

  The vampire appeared slightly taken aback. “This way.” He started toward a heavy metal door that slid aside when he approached. Once we crossed the threshold, he handed us each a lanyard with a visitor badge. “You must wear this at all times inside the building or you run the risk of getting stunned…or worse.”

  “Lovely.” I slipped the lanyard over my head.

  “You don’t check for weapons or any contraband?” Saxon asked.

  The vampire craned his neck to look at us. “What makes you think we haven’t?”