by Lillian Lark
I think my composure is going to crack if we have to wait a single minute longer. Demons always hold their inner selves with tight control. We aren’t creatures who are meant for this plane; when we lose control of our base selves, fire and brimstone are the least of our worries.
Sophia bursts through the front door. Her face is tear-stained and hectic waves of urgency and guilt come from her. It makes sense since she was the one who involved Zephyrine with Henderson. I force myself not to blame her for this.
“Dad and Luca tried to do a locator spell, but it isn’t working. Our harpy family bonds have also been snuffed.” Sophia looks pale with anxiety.
Mace just nods, tallying the information. “Henderson is a very successful slaver, so the location he took her to is probably warded against those types of spells and bonds of all types for this plane.”
This plane. My head snaps to Mace. Hope sparks in my soul.
“What about demon bonds? You and I are bonded; you could find me no matter the plane I reside on,” I say.
Gregory growls at that and I take in my mate. The air around him tastes jealous. Mace interrupts my train of thought.
“Yes, but that is you and me. I can’t trace Zeph through our bond.” Mace’s face is confused.
“Not Zephyrine, the young. One of the young is mine by blood.”
Mace’s eyes widen and I swell with pride. Gregory looks lost and my pride deflates. I hadn’t told this to him or Zephyrine yet. Mace does some mental gymnastics before answering.
“That could work.” Mace pauses for a moment. “I’m happy for you my friend.”
“What can I do?” Sophia asks and we all jump, having forgotten her presence.
Mace furrows his brows at her, no doubt weighing her abilities against her closeness to the situation. Mace nods, making a decision. “Send out whatever feelers you can. I’ll text you my number so you can let me know if you find anything. In the meantime, keep your family calm.”
Sophia looks like she’s going to argue but closes her mouth. The vulnerability on her face spikes. “Find my sister, please. Bring her back no matter what it takes.”
The air shifts in a way that is familiar and there is an edge of hunger to Mace’s face. His demon nature.
“I will grant this favor.” Mace’s words come out in a binding way, and the sensation of a made promise skitters away. Sophia looks a little lost at this exchange but nods and takes back off toward the house.
“Mace—” I’m tempted to smack my friend for what he’s just done.
“Who am I to reject such a request?” Mace’s face is full of faux innocence before it falls away and we are back to the matter at hand.
I grit my teeth but take Gregory’s hand. “Mace is a very good tracker. In another life we worked as a retrieval team in situations just like this one. If anyone can find her, it’s Mace.”
Mace looks grim.
“Well, let’s see if this works.”
Zephyrine
Henderson of the Terrible Proclamations had left after chilling me with his willingness to take my young from me. If I’m reading the man correctly, he’d actually enjoy enacting the punishment for the compounded crimes Asa and I have committed against him.
I try not to hyperventilate. It’s not working. The world blurs.
The threat shouldn’t change anything. I still have to get away. I can’t let my clutch be raised as someone’s pets. But the possibility that Henderson isn’t bluffing, and I don’t think he is, does change things. It makes me hesitate. Just like it’s supposed to.
I can’t risk trying to escape unless success is guaranteed. The consequence of failure freezes me. Frustration has me wanting to scream.
Regret tastes bitter. If it all ends here, if I never see my mates again, I have never told them that I love them. They haven’t pushed me to say it. Greg has no control and has rained down the words on me and Asa. I’ve let myself bask in the man’s love but have held myself back.
My mind has taken weeks to fully accept the pregnancy. Embracing my feelings about the two males in my life has been too much to handle on top of it.
If my mates can find me, they will. If they can’t find me … I won’t let that happen. This will not be where this harpy goes to die.
As I get my mind and breath under control, a rustling notifies me that the guard is still here. I want to castigate myself; I could have missed an opportunity to escape while I mentally freaked out. I reel in my control again when Jamie, the Guard Whose Name Doesn’t Match His Face, looks like he’s going to speak but stops just as Henderson strides back into the room.
Henderson’s glee is exuberant and poisonous, sickening me as he skips. “Your buyer will be here within the hour, harpy. They are very excited.”
Asa
Mace portals us some distance away from where he had tracked the bond to my young. We land in an alleyway a couple of buildings away from the target location. The bond leads to a building that appears deserted in this forgotten part of town. The brick crumbles away in parts and all the windows are either broken or boarded up. The structure does not look stable enough for my peace of mind.
We watch the location. Movement belies the abandoned feel. Every so often a guard patrols the location. Mercenaries who must be willing to take a job that pays after the fact since Henderson doesn’t have access to funds. Only the worst mercenaries take those jobs.
“It will be less risky if we perform reconnaissance and find a way around the guards,” Mace muses. Gregory’s shoulders bunch and I know he wants to charge in and tear them all apart.
“Mace, can you portal to Zephyrine and get her out? Since you are getting a favor from all of this,” I ask my friend. My annoyance flavors the air that he took Sophia’s request as a favor. I don’t know what type of game he plans to play with the harpy but that is his business. I only know that I don’t want Gregory or Zephyrine in more danger if we can help it.
Mace considers my request, magically probing the location probably. “There is a ward around the location, so no.”
“You can’t go in there!”
The whispered shout comes from a familiar gray-haired man who appears in the alley. I’d pray for patience if I weren’t a demon.
Zephyrine
Thankfully, Henderson doesn’t stay after his announcement. He is enjoying building my terror. Taunting me. Threatening my clutch. Leaving me with a silent guard. A silent guard who looks uncomfortable. I glare at “Jamie.”
“Are you really King’s mate?” The man’s face might be scarred but his voice is deep and inappropriately pleasant.
I hesitate to answer because what if this is one more enemy I don’t know about? But it’s pointless to deny, it had been easy enough to figure out if Henderson knows.
“Last I checked.” It doesn’t matter that we had a fight. I still claim the stubborn ass. And if the guard taking out the crimes of my mate on me gives me an opportunity to escape, all the better.
Instead of my answer sparking anger in the guard, he looks … irked. As if my presence is inconvenient. I watch the scars pucker on the man’s face as Jamie has an internal debate. He finally sighs and brings out his phone. He types out a quick message before putting it away.
“Asa saved my life years ago. The least I can do is try to get you out of here.” Jamie isn’t happy about his decision.
“How can I trust you’re telling me the truth? I’ve been told I’m a great payday.” It isn’t just my life on the line. Henderson had been clear about that.
Jamie leans forward and at the wave of his hand, the symbols spelling the cage waver out of existence.
“I’m not here for the great payday, Madam Harpy. I’m here to apprehend Henderson’s buyer.” He doesn’t expand on that. He doesn’t need to.
Jamie, the scary guard, is working undercover. Which means the Council knows where Henderson is and is risking everything to get another big fish. I have the urge to punch something.
My life, my clut
ch’s lives were put in danger for this. They’ll say it is for the greater good, but it isn’t like the Council has any harpies on it to object.
Jamie unlocks the cage and helps me out. When I see him up close, he isn’t so horrendous looking. By the time he takes off the magical collar, I could kiss him.
“Thank you,” I say, rubbing the skin of my neck in relief.
Jamie’s face screws up. “Please don’t thank me. I would have been forced to watch whatever Henderson did to you to keep my cover. I’m not a good man.”
I take a moment to absorb that information and read his soul now that my powers aren’t being suppressed. He thinks he would have done that, but he wouldn’t have. I can tell in the same way I can tell it will rain tomorrow.
“Yes, you are. You need to get a different job, Jamie.” Because there will come a time when he’ll find out he can’t just watch and that will be dangerous. The man snorts before becoming stern again. We aren’t out of danger yet.
It looks like we’re in an abandoned brewery or some similar business.
Jamie gestures to the stairwell. “Let’s go.”
Chapter 18
Asa
“Cooper,” Mace says with a small sneer. “To what do we owe the pleasure of your company?”
Mace and I have butted heads with the head of Crimes Against Paranormal Persons more times than we wished when we worked at retrieving individuals at the behest of their families. In short, the best action for a captured individual is not the best action for apprehending those responsible. We have a difference in goals.
“We are in the middle of an operation! You cannot screw this up now!” Cooper spits in vehemence. “We are on the verge of bringing down a major buyer, so your retrieval will have to wait until afterward.”
The air thickens with aggression. Even the insensitive Cooper stops and looks confused. We all turn toward Gregory, attention pulled by the rumbling growl coming from him. His eyes are pure wolf right now.
“You would put my mate’s safety at stake for an operation?” Gregory’s voice is like grinding rocks and I see Cooper take a step back.
“Your mate? But the captured is a harpy.” Cooper stumbles over his words. A stab of rage hits me low.
“She is my mate as well, Cooper. You’re not going to get in our way.” I keep my voice cool but forceful.
Cooper looks doubly confused and frustration tempts me to take him out of the equation entirely. But, we still live in a lawful world and there will be consequences if a lawman disappears. I’ll accept those consequences if I have to.
“Well, it doesn’t matter whose mate she is. This operation is vital, and with the authority the Council has bestowed on me, I forbid you to interfere.” Cooper tries to keep his voice low. It’s clear that he is fighting his temper for all of the other times Mace and I have messed his plans up over the years.
Mace and I share a look but Gregory moves faster than I’ve ever seen, grabbing Cooper by the neck and holding the witch against the wall. Not many would stand up to a shifter in a full rage. I’m willing to do it but this works toward our goal, as long as Gregory doesn’t take it too far.
“You won’t stand in the way of us saving our mate,” Gregory says.
Cooper struggles to breathe, beginning to panic. Cooper is many things, but he isn’t a stupid witch.
“Cooper, I don’t need to remind you that to keep a shifter separated from his mate is unlawful,” my voice coaxes. I’d rather snap at him, approach the problem the way Gregory is, but I hold to my calm.
Some benefits come from having a good portion of the sitting Council being shifter. Special protections for mates is one such benefit.
Cooper sputters but nods; he can’t speak past Gregory’s hand on his throat. I press a hand into Gregory’s back and feel his body relax. I take a small amount of comfort that Gregory still responds to me in such a way. Gregory slowly releases the lawman and takes a step back into my space. I let my senses fill with my wolf shifter, it calms me.
Gregory
I’m seeing red. The man struggles for breath under my grip. My wolf wants to tear Cooper apart and I want to let it. The press of Asa’s hand on my back releases a small part of my fury. It calms the animal inside. I loosen my grip slightly.
“He isn’t going to stop us, but it would be beneficial to work with them,” Asa says.
Cooper looks like he’s going to argue but stops himself and nods stiffly. I take a breath for control and release the man’s throat. Cooper rubs his throat and glares at Asa and me.
“We will do our best to keep your mate safe during the operation.”
“That isn’t what I mean by us working with you. We want your intel about the location, the timeline for the buyer, and who Henderson has hired.” Asa keeps rubbing my back as he makes his demands of Cooper. I continue to rein in my wolf. Asa knows what he’s doing. We’ll get Zeph back.
Asa continues, “If you don’t comply, we’ll go over your head. Mace, aren’t there more shifters on the Council than witches this decade?”
Mace exaggerates thinking it over. “You know, I think you’re right.”
The air crackles around Asa. “And if any harm comes to our mate, not even the full force of the Council will be able to save you.”
Zephyrine
I look at the stairway in confusion. Jaime sighs, impatient. He keeps his voice low.
“The building is surrounded with men who actually work with Henderson. But I was the one in charge of putting wards on the roof. So, I didn’t.”
I hurry to the stairs then, not wanting to waste any more time. The dust on the ground will show our footprints. We have another silent showdown at the stairs though.
“Ladies first,” Jamie says.
“You want me to give you my back?” I whisper.
“I’m going to make sure you get out of this. I want you to give me your back so I can watch it.”
It is a do or die moment and I throw myself into it. There is no room to doubt, to hesitate. I can feel Jamie climb the stairs behind me. We reach a second staircase when Jamie swears.
“Where are you going with the prisoner?”
It’s a voice I don’t recognize and comes from down the hallway to the staircase. Jamie pushes me forward. I see a flash of light from a spell he throws.
“Now is the time to run, harpy.”
Asa
Cooper yanks out a cell phone, to do what I’m not sure, but he pauses when he sees something on it and curses. He looks at us with hate.
“If this all goes wrong, it will be your fault!” he says.
At that ominous proclamation a commotion breaks out in the street. We all rush out of the alleyway to see the hired mercenaries locked in combat with the lawmen who work under Cooper. Some wrestle around in physical combat and others are lobbying spells at each other.
Fear spikes in me. This isn’t a covert mission anymore. With this kind of action, Zephyrine is vulnerable and we have no strategic advantage to ensure anyone’s safety.
Henderson could take the turbulence as an opportunity to run. If we are lucky, he’ll save his own skin and leave Zephyrine wherever he has restrained her instead of impeding his own escape by trying to take her with him.
The lawmen are quickly taking down the mercenaries. Gregory runs toward the building and I can do nothing but follow after him. Mace swears but runs after us, trying to provide a voice of reason.
“We should go around the back of the building and infiltrate there. If Henderson escapes through that way, we can head him off,” Mace says. It’s a good plan in case he does take Zephyrine with him.
I grab Gregory to lead him to the back entrance when the world explodes. The ground rocks and we all stumble. There is an absence of a shock wave that itches over my skin. A magic incendiary device, they keep destruction contained to a space. They are used as ambush devices.
Horror deafens me as the building goes up unnaturally fast in flames that will reduce the rubble to a
sh. Gregory screams and thoughtlessly I hold him back from the fire. I try to make sense of the situation, but despair is rushing toward me.
If Zephyrine had been in there, she would have died from the initial blast. I try to think logically as Gregory clutches at me, distraught. If Henderson escaped, it’s possible he took her with him. We need to keep calm.
My hold on my emotions goes out the window when a fanatical laugh sounds over the roar of the flames.
The man laughing is on the ground being restrained. I recognize Henderson. He gives me a look of zealous delight.
“At least I can have the pleasure of taking her away from you, King!”
My desolation freezes me. Restraints in me that are rarely disturbed on this plane snap. Darkness rises as hope drains. My surroundings blur and not even Gregory stops the demon hunger for revenge that only wants to destroy everything in my path.
Pain brings me back to myself. A slap across my face. Mace looks at me with concern and urgency. I don’t doubt my eyes have gone black with my inner self’s readiness to implode.
“Goddammit Asa, hold your mate and focus. Zeph isn’t dead!” Mace shouts and I wonder if he’s been repeating himself. Gregory has gone from clinging to me in grief to running his hands over my back, trying to calm me.
I had been lost for a moment. The shock brings me back completely, I could have hurt Gregory.
Now that I can breathe again, I focus as Mace instructs and he’s right. I’m not as good at sensing bonds as Mace, he has always been the better tracker, but the bond to my young rings through me. Gregory must feel his bond to Zephyrine. Whatever had muffled it has disappeared.
I look around in confusion; she must be close if even I can sense it.
“This entire operation literally went up in flames because of you! I lost an operative!” Cooper is yelling at me, apparently unable to determine that now is not the time to confront a demon that almost lost control.