“In that case …” I inched back from her uncomfortable closeness and tugged my hands free. “How long until the bounty hunters turn him over to MagiPol?”
“One day, perhaps two. The location of his capture is remote, but they can travel quickly.”
That was so not enough time to plan and execute a rescue mission. “We have to get him away from them before they reach the city. Are they part of a Vancouver guild? Do you know the guild’s name?”
The slightest twitch tarnished her expression, gone in an instant. “He was not captured here. This is not the city where he will be taken.”
“Huh? Then where are they taking him?”
“Los Angeles.”
“Oh.” I cringed. “Well, that complicates things.”
* * *
I paced back and forth in front of the stairs that descended into my apartment. Bad, bad, bad. This was bad. And stupid. I should not even be considering a jaunt down south.
Zak was in California. Lallakai hadn’t been kidding when she said they’d wandered far. Twelve hundred miles, no big deal.
I rubbed my sweaty palms on my pants. I had less than a week to figure out the demon amulet before Eterran’s deadline, but Zak had a day or two before he disappeared into MPD lockup, and once that happened, they’d figure out his identity. Shane Davila was already putting the pieces together, and I wondered if Zak’s farm being “laid to ruin” had anything to do with Shane getting his psychic hands on my old shoes.
As for who had done the laying of the ruin, I had my suspicions. Varvara, the nasty old sorceress who’d kidnapped one of Zak’s teen wards, had struck me as the vengeful type—and she’d been furious with the druid for stealing Nadine back. Varvara was the reason he’d shut his farm down and gone into hiding.
A quiet knock sounded on the door at the top of the stairs, then it clacked open. A moment of rustling, then Kai descended with near-silent steps. I rushed to intercept him as he reached the fake hardwood floor.
“Tori.” His dark eyes slashed across me as he unzipped his leather biker jacket. “What—”
“Are you alone?” I asked urgently. “Do Aaron and Ezra know where you are?”
“No.” He touched my elbow, stilling my anxious fidgeting. “What’s going on, Tori?”
I gauged his level of calm. When it came to sneaky dealings, Kai was my go-to man, and this issue required maximum discretion. Also, he didn’t dislike Zak as much as Aaron did, which was a huge plus.
“Don’t freak, okay?” I took his wrist, then hesitated. “And, um, keep a clear head—if you can.”
His forehead wrinkled with confusion. Deciding to get it over with, I pulled him into the main room.
Lallakai, still in her womanly form, sat on a stool at my breakfast bar, her long legs crossed at the knee and hands resting demurely in her lap. Her not-so-modest outfit exposed miles of soft, porcelain skin, and her silky hair was draped around her.
Kai jerked to an abrupt stop, his mouth hanging open.
I coughed. “Kai, this is Zak’s familiar, Lallakai. She—”
“Consort,” she corrected, her sultry voice caressing the word.
“Er, right. This is Zak’s consort, Lalla—”
“No, child.” Her lips curved up. “He is my consort.”
I shivered at the layers of possessiveness in those two words. “This is Lallakai. She and Zak have a thing.”
Kai didn’t respond, and I looked over to find him staring at the fae, eyes glazed. I pinched his arm and he started.
“Zak needs help,” I told him, putting some bite in my voice. “According to Lallakai, I’m basically his only hope. That’s why I called you.”
He pulled himself together. “I see. What kind of help does he need?”
“A bounty hunting guild captured him—in California.”
“California?”
“They haven’t figured out who he is, but once they dump him at a MagiPol precinct, someone will.”
“I see.” He scanned my face. “And you’re planning to go to California and break him free from this guild before he ends up in MPD custody?”
“Um, well, I’m thinking about it.”
He nodded—then, inexplicably, pushed up his jacket sleeves. “Is there any chance you’re going to come quietly?”
I blinked. “Come quietly where?”
“Back to the house.”
“But I just called you here—”
“And I’m glad you did, because going to California to pick a fight with a bounty hunting guild is suicide. If you aren’t outright killed, you’ll end up tagged, bagged, and dumped at the MPD right alongside Zak. Any guild that can capture him will flatten you.”
I folded my arms, glaring furiously. “I called you for help, not so you could veto the whole idea before you even hear the details.”
“The details won’t change anything.”
“But Zak is—”
“—a rogue who actively engages in criminal activity.” He squeezed my upper arms. “He wasn’t framed or set up. You’re thinking of him as a friend you need to rescue from danger, but what you’re planning is the equivalent of springing a convict from prison.”
“But …” I bit my lip. “If you went to prison, I’d try to spring you.”
He laughed softly. “I appreciate the thought, Tori, but I really hope you wouldn’t. If I ever go to prison, I’ll have earned it—just like Zak.”
My eyes stung and I blinked quickly. I couldn’t just abandon Zak, but …
“You are so eager to surrender your freedom, mage?”
Kai and I jumped. Lallakai stood at his shoulder, but I hadn’t seen her leave her stool. She leaned close to him, smiling a sweet little smile that raised my hackles. My nose filled with the alluring scent of a wildflower glade on a cool night. She and the electramage were the same height, their eyes locked.
“Forsake my druid,” she purred, “and you will join him in the iron confines of the MPD.”
“Why is that?” he asked cautiously.
“Secrets, mage.” She brushed a fingertip down the side of his temple. “So many secrets kept safe in my druid’s mind. So many secrets for the MPD to pry from him once they realize his identity.”
Kai stiffened.
“Is it not a crime to shield a rogue from justice? Is it not a crime to pretend a human is a witch?” Her emerald gaze drifted to me. “Is it not a crime to give a lost child into a rogue’s care?”
Oh … right. I had sort of done that, hadn’t I? After we’d rescued Nadine from Varvara, all she’d wanted was to go back to Zak’s farm with him. At least now she was reunited with relatives in England.
“Should they tear these truths from my druid, what will become of you, mage, and your beloved Victoria? What of your guild, entangled in your law-breaking as well?”
A faint crackle ran across Kai’s skin. “Back up.”
Her coy smile widening, Lallakai stepped away from the electramage.
He scrutinized her coldly. “Would I be wrong to suspect that, if we fail to save Zak, you’ll make certain the MPD hears all about our involvement with him?”
“I seek only to shield us from such a disaster.”
“Sure you do,” he muttered. “How was Zak captured?”
“We were approaching a crossroads. My druid planned to call for a fae to carry him north, but these guild hunters had set an ambush intended for another rogue. By unlucky chance, we sprang their trap instead.”
“Even walking into a trap, I’m surprised he couldn’t escape.”
“Their expected quarry was also a user of fae power. The hunters possessed magic that drove me away.” She blinked slowly, but the motion couldn’t hide the feral, dangerous fury building in her breathtaking eyes. “They took him, and I could not stop them.”
“Then what?”
“I attempted to reach him, and I heard the hunters as they conversed. They planned to wait three days for their true target to appear, then they would return to th
eir home city and hand over their prisoners. That was nearly two days past.”
Leaving us around twenty-four hours to find and extricate Zak—assuming Kai didn’t truss me up, throw me over the back of his bike, and drive me straight to Aaron’s house instead.
Kai arched a disbelieving eyebrow at Lallakai. “And there wasn’t a single person between here and California who could help him?”
She stroked her fingertips down my face instead of his. “None who would not learn of my druid’s quandary and see naught but an opportunity to profit.”
I stepped closer to Kai. “Hands to yourself, bird lady.”
“There are fae who would help him without question,” she added as though there was nothing at all weird about the touchy-feely petting thing she kept doing, “but none who could pierce their accursed magic barrier.”
“Abjuration sorcery,” Kai murmured. “It’s the only thing that can reliably interrupt fae magic.”
“The dragon lord could annihilate them,” she added, “but he will not answer my call.”
My fingers drifted to my wrist, where Echo had once placed his mark, but I’d used up my favor from the dragon months ago. Did I mention his “help” had nearly gotten me killed in about ten different ways?
“Depending on what guild has him and how good they are, freeing Zak could be impossible,” Kai said. “That’s not even taking the timeline into consideration. Plus, Shane Davila is on the Ghost’s case, and I don’t want to know how much he’s already figured out.”
I winced. “Yeah, speaking of that … he knows Zak kidnapped me for two weeks. He tried interrogating me after you left the bar.”
Swearing under his breath, Kai stared moodily at the floor, then refocused on me. “Rescuing Zak is a huge risk. The MPD already tried to connect you to him, and now Shane is doing the same. If you’re caught freeing him from a guild, you’re looking at jail time or worse, depending on how violently this guild protects their catch.”
I swallowed hard.
“However, if we leave him to MagiPol and he talks, you’ll end up in an MPD cell for sure. Aaron, Ezra, and I will get fined at best or arrested at worst. And …” His jaw tightened. “And I really don’t want anyone taking a close look at our past activities. Ezra’s records can pass muster at a glance, but it wouldn’t take much to reveal they’re all forgeries.”
All forgeries? I’d suspected Ezra’s records, which didn’t extend beyond the past six years, weren’t completely legit, but I hadn’t realized everything was fake.
I twisted my hands together. “If we can save Zak, we can ask him for help. Ezra’s time is running out. I know you and Aaron did years of research, but Zak knows things we don’t. He has resources we don’t.”
It was something that’d been in the back of my thoughts since Christmas. Zak knew all sorts of scary dark magic things. He could steer me in the right direction for researching the demon amulet, but before now, I’d had no clue where he was or how to contact him.
“That’s a long shot, Tori.”
“Saving either of them is a long shot, but we need to try.” I breathed deeply. “Will you help me?”
His dark eyes moved from me to Lallakai. He studied the fae, who gazed back at him without expression, waiting for his decision.
A slow minute passed, then he asked resignedly, “Where is the guild taking him?”
My heart swelled and I blinked away silly tears before he noticed. “Los Angeles.”
He jerked like I’d smacked him. “LA?”
“Yeah. Is that a problem?”
He hesitated, then pulled his phone out of his pocket. “It’s fine.”
I watched nervously as he brought up his contacts list. “Are you calling Aaron?”
“No. I won’t ask Aaron and Ezra to help with this, and you shouldn’t either. Let them keep their hands clean.” He gave me a long look, his expression unreadable. “We won’t be heroes this time, Tori. We’ll be the bad guys. We’re breaking a fugitive out of rightful custody for selfish reasons.”
“I’ve always thought you were a bad boy at heart, Kai.”
A dark, dangerous smile flickered across his lips. “You have no idea.” He scrolled through his contacts list. “We don’t have much time, so we need to move fast. Get your combat gear together, plus a change of clothes. Nothing that can identify you.”
I nodded earnestly.
“I need to make a few calls, and I have to pack my gear too. I’ll meet you back here in an hour.” He stuffed his cell in his pocket. “Give me your phone.”
I obediently passed it to him. “What do you need it for?”
“I’m going to leave it at our house. I’ll get Aaron and Ezra to stay home tomorrow as well.” He swung toward Lallakai. “You wait here too. I have more questions about these bounty hunters.”
Her emerald eyes flashed at his command, but she dipped her chin.
Confused, I followed him to the stairs. “Kai? Why are you leaving my phone at Aaron’s? I might need it for, you know, calling people. Navigating in LA. That sort of thing.”
“Two reasons.” He zipped his coat and started up the stairs. “One, your phone can’t go to LA, because then anyone who tracked your phone would know you went to LA. And two, Aaron and Ezra will be our alibis. Your phone needs to be where we’re pretending to be.”
Anxiety unfurled in my chest as we reached the back landing. “We won’t march in there and announce our names and citizenship. Two random, unidentified mythics are going to spring a random, unidentified druid from a guild’s custody. How could anyone possibly tie that to us?”
“Better safe than sorry. We aren’t taking any chances.” He pulled on his shoes and tugged his keys out of his pocket. “No phones. No names. No credit cards, passports, or paper trails that can prove we ever left the city.”
My eyes widened. “No passports? How will we get to LA?”
“I’m calling in a favor.” He pulled open the door, letting an icy breeze inside. “How familiar are you with international smuggling?”
“S-smuggling?” I stammered.
That dangerous smile returned. “Like I said, we’re the bad guys this time, Tori.”
With no more explanation than that, he strode into the night.
Chapter Four
I stepped out of the cab and straightened. An icy winter wind whipped down the narrow highway, and it was so dark I could only see what the vehicle’s headlights illuminated—namely, a small but cute sign on a wooden fence that read “Ladner Bed & Breakfast.” Peeking through the treed front yard was the roof of a house.
Kai passed the driver some cash, pulled his backpack out of the car, and shut the door. The cab accelerated away, taillights glowing.
“So … we’re going to get some sleep now?” I asked, attempting to stifle a yawn and a shiver at the same time. I failed at both, shuddering my way through a long yawn.
“The B&B is the drop-off point. Walking off into an open field would draw too much attention.” He slung his nondescript black backpack, which contained our gear, a laptop, and a change of clothes each, over his shoulder. “It’s a twenty-minute walk to our real destination.”
“Which is what? What’s even out here?” I had no idea where we were. All I knew was that the cab had driven us straight out of the suburbs, across—or rather, under the Fraser River, and through several miles of empty farmland.
“To our plane.” He pulled a cell phone from his pocket—a cheap burner that couldn’t be linked to us—and turned on its camera flash to light our way. “Let’s go.”
I had a million questions, but he set a grueling pace and I had no spare breath for talking. Our footsteps crunched in a chilly silence, his light the only illumination. It was four in the morning and the world slept—except us.
Zak was gonna owe me big time for all this missed sleep.
We followed the unlit two-lane road, bordered by more farms, for ten minutes before turning onto another equally rural road. We seemed to be well o
utside city limits—so imagine my surprise when we passed a bus stop. Brow scrunched as I puffed after Kai, I squinted ahead. Lights glowed from an unseen point on the horizon.
Five minutes later, his flashlight illuminated a sign featuring a small airplane. “Turn left,” it read, “and come fly with us!”
“Huh,” I muttered. “There’s an airport here?”
Unfortunately for my frozen ears, Kai didn’t take the next left as the sign instructed. Striding past a large gray building, he switched off his flashlight and turned, leading me into a maze of blocky buildings, hangars, and parking lots.
When it seemed like we’d passed every single building, he cut around one. A chain-link fence blocked our path, “No Trespassing” and “Emergency Lane” signs all over it. On the other side was a wide stretch of pavement, then the glowing lights of a runway.
Kai boosted me over the fence, then jumped it after me. Moving more cautiously, he skulked to the edge of the building and peered around it.
Basking in the airway’s lights, a handful of dinky little planes with nose propellers were parked in neat rows, and positioned off to one side like their aloof big brother was a significantly larger plane. Though it was no commercial passenger jet, it had two big propellers on the wings, five windows along the side, and a far more impressive presence.
Lights gleamed through its windows, and a door near the tail, which swung down to form a short staircase, was open and waiting.
Kai broke into a swift walk and I rushed after him, eyes wide. Nothing moved on the tarmac, the whole place abandoned as far as I could see. Unhesitatingly, he strode to the lit-up plane.
A silhouette appeared in the doorway. A short Asian man wearing a headset hurried down the steps. He waved at us to keep moving, and Kai nodded as he climbed the steps. I followed him on board.
It wasn’t exactly glamorous. Heavy-duty mesh straps strained over a stack of unmarked cardboard boxes in the tail of the plane, and six basic seats filled the rest of the interior. Kai dropped into the rearmost seat and put his backpack on the floor, so I took the spot beside him. The center aisle running between us was so narrow it was like sitting together on a sofa.
Druid Vices and a Vodka: The Guild Codex: Spellbound / Six Page 4