Yes, I thought of them as my captors, because they considered themselves as such. I intended to get Farin and Watson away when I saw them, while praying to whoever might listen that they were still alive.
The company van, driven by an obsessed George, turned into the long drive that led toward Claudia's home on the hill overlooking acres of grapevines. We took a left, however, before we reached the house.
Just as Kory imagined, the wine cave that eventually came into view was large enough to drive a vehicle into. The double doors opened automatically to allow us inside, then closed behind us.
It would have been very dark inside the man-made cave, had it not been for the fluorescent lighting overhead. I couldn't see where the end of the cave was—farther ahead, that part was still in darkness.
Two smaller caves branched off from the main one on either side; those had been added recently, I could tell.
"If you want to see your friends, step out of the vehicle," Milton ordered.
Without a word, I opened my door and slid off the seat. Only bare walls surrounded me as my shoes touched the concrete floor of the cave.
"They're in the smaller cave on the left," Milton pointed and flashed his teeth in a grin. I wanted to snatch his neck in my hands and see how long it took to kill him. A thin stream of smoke escaped my nostrils as I considered that.
Milton had turned away; he'd missed seeing my cloudy breath.
We're in Claudia's wine cave, I sent to Kory. I haven't seen Farin or Watson, yet.
I'm standing by, he responded. Anita took Davis and Thomas to gather more troops.
Wait until I see them, I said. I have no idea what I'll find.
Understood.
Milton walked ahead of me, Deris behind as we made our way into the smaller cave on the left. My breath stopped for a moment.
Watson's cage was on one side of the cave, Farin's on the other. Both were pressed against the back walls of their cages while a lion snake shapeshifter in snake mode guarded the front. Both cages were small enough that the snakes were within striking distance.
If either hostage were bitten, they'd die within seconds.
Kory, they brought lion snake shapeshifters with them to Earth, I said. If we manage to save one of ours, the other will die.
Chapter 18
Kordevik
"We have a problem." I scanned the ten werewolf agents currently occupying Lexsi's kitchen, in addition to Davis, Thomas, Anita and Tiburon. I considered the best way to describe lion snake shapeshifters to a crowd of werewolves, a Sirenali and a rat shapeshifter.
Thankfully, Anita knew exactly what I was talking about. Getting the others to believe me took a bit longer.
Meanwhile, Lexsi informed me that another cage had been brought for her. Unlike the others, hers had a chair and no snake inside it.
I wondered if this were merely a concession, or whether the warlock knew that High Demons weren't susceptible to poisons. Perhaps they only had two lion snake shapeshifters and placed them where they'd do the most good to keep Lexsi under control.
Either way, it didn't look good for one of our friends.
What do you think they're waiting for? I sent to Lexsi.
Granger wants me, came the reply. I think they're waiting for nightfall.
I cursed at length in the High Demon language before explaining Lexsi's conversation to Davis.
"Better for us to wait for nightfall," he shrugged. "We have vamps who can go in with us."
"Not if it gets Farin or Watson killed," Anita snapped. I understood, then, that Anita cared more for Watson than she—or anyone else—thought.
"You know what will happen at nightfall," Tibby said. "It is the full moon, tonight. We cannot handle weapons; we will only have our animals. These snake shapeshifters you describe—they will also become quite dangerous. When the wolf turns, he may be bitten, just from the act of turning. It will be automatic, you understand, and will likely mean his death."
I could hear several growls from werewolf throats. They didn't like that assessment at all. They knew Tibby spoke the truth, however. Our enemy had planned this carefully. The Romes were in Peru, which had now closed its borders. In all probability, the government now in charge of the country would sever all ties with other countries.
The Romes had extremely wealthy friends across the globe. They'd asked for investment funds so they could control an entire country.
The Romes and their partners needed to get Lexsi and me out of the way, probably because we could interfere with the spells their warlocks cast. If they were keeping count, too, on our skirmishes, the scoreboard would read Enemy—0, Kordevik—3.
For them, even one High Demon could destroy what they'd built. They had two to contend with, although Lexsi wasn't as great a threat as I was.
This was what we were made for in the beginning, I reminded myself. To keep the dark worlds in line and prevent them from interfering in the worlds of light.
In the here and now, Kifirin, our homeworld, was still responsible for those things. That would change in the future, but for now, I felt obligated. My father, Nedevik Weth, would expect nothing less.
We'll work this out, I sent to Lexsi. Hang on; we have to devise a plan.
* * *
Lexsi
I felt awful that I had a chair to sit on while Farin and Watson could only stand at the back of their cage, watching in horror as the large snakes inside their small prisons studied them as if they were a meal.
I'd also been warned by Deris that skipping away would result in the deaths of both hostages. I wanted to kill him for that; he'd offered a nasty smile when I glared at him. I held back a scathing retort, too.
I wanted to apologize to Farin and Watson; so many others would have figured this mess out already. Instead, they were stuck with a neophyte who'd only turned Thifilatha once and merely practiced going to mist in the safety of her own bathroom.
I had no field combat experience. The most I'd done was punch a woolly mammoth of a vampire in the face before skipping away like a coward.
We may have a solution, thanks to Tiburon, Kory's mental sending interrupted my thoughts. You'll have to tell me exactly where the three of you are and then keep me updated on the progress our first wave makes. If they're successful, Anita and I will bring the rest in and take care of business.
When? I asked. Farin and Watson are forced to stand, and her legs are getting shaky. If she moves, I'm afraid she'll be bitten.
It has to be near nightfall, so the snakes feel the effects of the moon and are more animal than usual, Kory replied.
Who's coming in first?
Tibby and two of his cousins. I hope you're not afraid of rats.
How are they getting in? I asked, after pausing to consider what Tibby's animal was.
Are you kidding? Rats can get in just about anywhere.
But what if they're bitten?
It's a chance they're willing to take, Kory said, including a mental sigh in his mindspeech. The good part of this, of course, is that fool of a warlock can't do anything while you're close by—it'll take normal measures to chase down rats. I've already told Tibby not to wander too far away from you.
If he can get the snakes' attention, that's all I'll need, I said.
Let me handle this, he said, his mental voice stiff.
You handle Watson, I snapped back. I'll get Farin.
* * *
Kordevik
"She may be better than you think," Anita pointed out.
"Two lives hang in the balance," I fumed.
"You doubt her capacity to understand that?"
"I think you're giving her more credit than is due," I blew a cloud of smoke to emphasize my point.
"I think you consider her less than she is, merely because she's female," Anita informed me. "How do you think I survived when the bomb went off in my apartment? Lexsi's Thifilatha saved me, that's how. I hoped she'd tell you herself, but it's obvious she didn't."
"What the
bloody fuck are you talking about?" I shouted.
"Don't shout at me. She feels unworthy enough next to big, strong, Thifilathi man," Anita retorted.
"Please, no fighting," Davis held up one hand while using the other to rub his forehead. It was clear he had a headache, likely due to lack of sleep.
All of us were in the same boat, or nearly so. None of us had rested. Tibby was back to pacing after speaking to his cousins on the phone.
I worried we'd have an exhausted army to lead into a wine cave we might not escape. At least Anita's information regarding Lexsi's Thifilatha was welcome news—if I had to turn up the heat, it would protect her. The rest—they'd burn just like anything else. Employing my fire had to be a last resort, because for most involved, it would be the final resort.
Yes, I realized how selfish that act could be—that I'd save Lexsi and leave the others to die, but some things are worse than death. A terrible obsession by a less than virtuous Sirenali could make someone do things they'd rather die than commit.
"Lexsi, baby, you'd better be as good as Anita thinks you are," I breathed. "And hope they don't have ranos weapons," I added.
A ranos rifle, from close range, could kill a High Demon. I could survive a shot from a ranos pistol, but it could still injure me; that's how effective they were. My fire could cancel the blast of a ranos weapon, but it had to be timed properly, before it reached me. That meant a fraction of a second.
Almost futile, when you applied logic to the scenario.
Fuck.
"I think we should eat and have a planning session," Anita suggested. "Then rest as much as we can before we go in."
* * *
Lexsi
Deris and Milton had left our branch of the cave; probably to get far enough away from me so Deris' spells would work. I didn't intend to let the opportunity slip past. Farin's legs were shaking; it was obvious to me that she could drop to the floor at any moment.
Farin, can you hear me? I sent.
She closed her eyes as I carefully studied her; I almost didn't catch the tiny nod as she opened her eyes to watch the snake again.
Don't react when I speak, I said. Watson, can you hear me?
The werewolf wasn't as bad off as Farin—at least his legs weren't trembling so much I feared he'd fall.
Another small nod came from him.
Good. Don't react when I speak, then. All right?
I was rewarded with a second slight nod.
"Ai, grz-gitch," I announced aloud.
Both snakes' heads whipped in my direction.
Yeah, they understood me, all right. I'd just called them bastards in their own snake language.
I suppose it helped if two of your uncles were lion snake shapeshifters. That's how I'd recognized these so easily. Uncle Farzi would be proud of me for learning his language.
I also understood something else—these probably didn't know English—or knew so little it didn't matter.
They would, in all probability, understand Alliance Common, however.
"When I get my hands on both of you," I said in Alliance Common while I had their attention, "I'm gonna have belts and boots made from both of you."
Farzi always said that was the worst—for a humanoid to wear the skin of a lion snake shapeshifter. It infuriated them, for some reason.
Probably because it would infuriate me if somebody made boots or a belt out of my skin.
Farin's snake slithered out of her cage before he became humanoid.
As tall as I, he glared at me with eyes going strange with the approach of a full moon.
Watson's snake also slithered out of his cage before becoming humanoid next to his brother.
Twin lion snakes. I'd never seen that before.
Farin collapsed in her cage and began weeping. The shifters barely paid attention to her—I'd insulted both of them. Now I was going to pay.
"What the hell is going on in here?" Milton was back—with a gun. It wasn't just any gun, either. I knew a ranos pistol when I saw one.
Sit down, I barked mentally at Watson, who was now at the front of his cage, gripping the bars tightly.
"You two, get back in those cages," Milton waved the pistol at the shifters. Yeah, they knew what the pistol was, too, even if they didn't understand Milton's English.
Both turned back to snake and crawled into a cage. Yes, they'd stood before me naked.
I was used to that—shapeshifters not having clothing when they returned to their humanoid selves. Thifilathis and Thifilathas didn't either—theirs burned off them. Shapeshifters either burst through their clothing or crawled out of it, depending on their size.
All I'd accomplished was allowing Farin and Watson to sit instead of standing, but at least that was something.
Perhaps I should have skipped out of my cage and took on both snakes, but I didn't. Milton, satisfied that things were back to what they should be, dragged in a chair for himself and sat near the entrance while he held the gun loosely in his hands.
Uncle Lendill would have snatched the weapon away and pistol-whipped him with it.
I didn't have to remind myself that I wasn't Uncle Lendill.
They have ranos weapons, I sent to Kory and Anita.
What kind? Came the prompt reply.
So far, I've only seen a pistol, but if there's one, there are probably more where it came from.
True. Another half hour, onion. Tibby and his cousins will come in, then. We may have reinforcements, too; Davis has been on the phone, calling in favors.
Please don't do anything to get Farin and Watson killed, I begged. I felt I'd done as much as I could, calling the snakes out of their cages once. With Milton on guard, who knew what could happen if I opened my mouth again?
I didn't want to wait another half hour, but I had to. Lives depended on it.
* * *
Kordevik
I explained carefully to Tibby how dangerous a ranos weapon was. Hell, a normal pistol would blow a rat apart. I think he understood that much, but there wouldn't be a toenail left to bury if he were hit by a ranos pistol. He and the wall behind him would be obliterated.
He only had Farin's safety on his mind, I think. His cousins, Martin and Diego, listened better than Tibby. What concerned me most was that like their cousin Tibby, neither appeared worried.
How would I explain those three deaths to their families? Rubbing my forehead, I nodded to Anita, who'd fold space with them in her arms, then set them down near the wine cave's entrance before folding space to a designated spot at another vineyard across the road.
Davis had set that up for us; we could use the neighboring vineyard to launch an attack, provided we paid for any damages afterward.
The rest of Davis' plans involved things I'd never considered, but I was used to fighting battles with other High Demons at my side, not werewolves or vampires. His expertise involved using only werewolves, vampires and shapeshifters. He'd never had the opportunity to work with a High Demon before.
"We're going in," Anita announced, pulling me out of my mental wandering. Tibby, Martin and Diego changed, leaving their clothing in a puddle on the floor. Anita gathered them into her arms; I was grateful she didn't appear troubled about holding rats.
They were big rats, too.
It made sense—most shapeshifters were larger than their animal counterparts. I could tell which one was Tibby; he wore an angry expression—more so than his cousins. With no idea how they would survive this experience, I nodded to Anita, who disappeared with her passengers.
The first part of the plan was in motion.
* * *
Lexsi
Tibby and his cousins are in the vineyard, near the cave entrance, Anita informed me. I drew a deep breath as softly as I could.
In the past half hour, I'd heard the sounds of electric carts driving back and forth in the main cave, voices farther down and other noises, as if things were either being loaded or unloaded onto the carts.
All three cages w
ere placed in our branch of the cave so we couldn't see what was happening in the main cave.
By design, no doubt. Still, I relayed what I heard to Kory, who informed Davis. Surely, Deris knew I had mindspeech.
Surely.
If he didn't, so much the worse for him.
Don't react if you see rats come in, I informed Watson and Farin. They're on our side.
Farin's eyes locked on mine. She was crying again. Neither she nor Watson had been given anything to eat or drink the whole time I'd been there. That concerned me; anyone interested in keeping hostages alive would have attended to that.
They intended to get rid of anyone who knew anything about them or their operation. The Ravens had been killed for the same reason—I was suddenly sure of that. Abe Raven's private investigator was killed too, because he'd gathered information.
Too bad his office had been looted; I suspected that any information he'd gathered regarding the investigation was already destroyed.
After all this time, everything went back to those first two murders. Something had bothered me about it in the beginning, but I hadn't kept on it as I should have. The Raven's daughters should have been contacted in the beginning. At least that would have led us toward Peru.
I realized I was letting my mind wander; Farin squeaked, causing the snake shifter in her cage to turn sharply in her direction.
I blinked—three large rats had gathered beneath Milton's chair. Milton, who was now scrolling through his cell phone while holding onto the gun, had no idea there were rats at his feet.
The snake in Watson's cage, however, had scented them.
Farin, who couldn't stop staring at the rats, made her snake turn in their direction, too.
What followed would have made a good bedtime story for children, if it hadn't been so deadly serious.
When the snakes slipped out of their cages for the second time, both headed for the rats beneath Milton's chair, I waited for a moment, just to make sure they were out of range of both Farin and Watson.
The rats are here, I sent to Kory.
That's when one of the rats locked his teeth on Milton's calf, causing him to scream, leap from his chair and attempt to knock the small rodent shifter off his leg. It resulted in a comical dance while Milton alternately cursed and shouted, which caused both snakes to back up.
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