by Bonnie Vanak
Until it vanished with a soft pop.
With a small cry, Kelly fell back against the wall. Shay draped the pendant around her neck. Gently, he grasped her injured arm. Ugly, bloodied wounds scored the flesh. She offered a brave smile. “It’s not too bad.”
Shay touched her cheek with a finger, marveling at this woman’s courage. “Let’s get outside, so you can heal.”
Her gaze shot to the store’s front. “Someone’s coming.”
He tugged Kelly toward a stack of boxes to hide. Cupping his pistol, he peered around the cover.
The front door opened and closed. A middle-aged man stood in the doorway. He had brown hair and skin tanned by the sun, and he wore chinos and a plain white shirt. He looked ordinary, a man sent to the store by his wife to fetch a jar of peppers.
Only what were in the jars weren’t peppers.
Kelly stole a look. “Arcane,” she whispered. “One of the men guarding the stolen children. I saw him in the photographs Fernando took.”
They needed to get the hell out of here. He motioned to the window and then helped her climb out.
Racing down the alleyway, he herded her toward the end. It opened onto another narrow, cobblestoned street leading to a small village square and a whitewashed church. Voices drifted from the square.
He tucked away the weapon, found a stone bench in the sun and sat her down. Kelly leaned back, her face pale as she absorbed the sunlight. Standing guard, he scanned their surroundings.
This section of the village seemed untouched by darkness. People went about their business. Women sold vegetables in small stands on the sidewalk.
The wounds on her arm stitched together. Shay ran a finger over the pink flesh, marveling at her healing ability.
Kelly gave a wan smile. “Stupid of me to remove the triskele.”
He knelt beside her. “But not the reason you did it. For me,” he whispered. Shay kissed her hand. “Thank you, Kel. I needed to hear that.”
Swallowing hard, she nodded. “You hungry?”
“Ravenous.”
Shay spotted an open-air restaurant and motioned her toward it. He seated her at a table covered with a tablecloth embroidered with tiny pink flowers.
Anxiety shone in her eyes. He took her hand and squeezed it in reassurance.
A young waitress came with a pad to take their order. She had large brown eyes, a hesitant smile and rounded cheeks.
He almost missed the shine of terror in those dark eyes.
Shay set down the menu and leaned back, smiling with the air of a man intent on flirting. “What do you recommend?” he asked conversationally in Spanish. “My sister brags her pupusas are the best, but I tell her she should not be boastful. Shall I try yours?”
The pad shook in the girl’s hands. She nodded.
“Two, and lemonade cut with soda.”
When the waitress scurried away, Kelly raised her eyebrows. “Flirt much?”
“I need information,” he said in a clipped tone. “Let me do my job.”
He’d gathered intel before. He was good, chatting up the friendlies, assessing the area and enemy movement. Sometimes he did it in the local bar, offering drinks and making contacts, using his charm with the ladies. It amazed him how women liked to spill secrets after sex. No need for magick, just good, solid insight into human and paranormal nature.
Unfortunately in this village, he sensed he couldn’t pry out information with a crowbar and the Jaws of Life. The pall of fear layered the air, threading through the delicious smell of grilled meat and fried peppers. And the idea of using seduction to gain intel turned his stomach.
Especially when the only woman he really wanted in his bed sat two feet away.
“Look around.” He lowered his voice. “I need your eyes and ears. Tell me what you see.”
Scanning the area, she shook her head. “Everyone’s too cheerful, too fake. They’re sweating, nervous. I don’t see any little ones. There are always children, no matter where you go.”
“No kids, even in the streets.” He dipped a tortilla in the mixture of beans and cheese the waitress brought to the table and ate it. “Odd for a country where the average age is below thirty.”
It was as if the villagers kept their children hidden, out of fear of someone stealing them....
They ate quickly. Shay excused himself and headed for the restroom, using the opportunity to scan the café.
In a corner table, a man sat alone, a glass of yellow foaming beer in front of him. The man glanced up with dead, cold eyes.
A chill snaked down Shay’s spine. But he detected no dark aura. Just a nasty-tempered villager?
Someone to keep eyes on.
When he returned, Kelly’s attention was riveted to a child in the street. Shay’s heart skipped a beat.
From this distance, the towheaded boy in a rumpled blue shirt and navy trousers could have been his little brother trudging home from school. Pete. The name hovered on his tongue.
Pete was dead.
Shay shook free the memory and focused. This child carried a red backpack, hurrying along the sidewalk and glancing over one thin shoulder with a frightened look. Kelly stood as if entranced.
“Oliver,” she breathed. “One of the missing Phantoms.”
Shay tossed a few lemps on the table. “Hold on. We follow, but from a distance.”
Tailing the child, Shay kept Kelly behind him. The narrow cobblestone street ran straight for a few blocks and then curved to the left. Garbage littered the gutter. Inside an open door, two men played dominoes.
The boy vanished around a corner.
Shay’s instincts tingled. As they turned the corner, he motioned for Kelly to stop at a lamppost.
“What?”
“Not sure. Something.”
The child ran into an open doorway.
The street was deserted, not even a stray dog sniffing at the garbage-riddled gutters. Shay hesitated. Every cell screamed to leave Kelly there.
“Glue yourself to this lamppost. Don’t move. I’ll be back.”
He removed his sidearm and cupped it, holding it low.
“I need to see, make sure it’s him,” she protested.
“I’ll bring him out to you.”
Kelly lurched forward. “Sam, don’t stop me from doing my job.”
Shay gave her a gentle push back against the lamppost. “Don’t stop me from doing mine. Now, stay here, or do I get out the cuffs again?”
Slumping against the post, she gave him a sullen look.
The open doorway was an invitation. Too easy. He checked right and left and ran across the street. No noise, no sounds inside. For the first time, Shay cursed the bond he’d put between himself and Kelly. If he got into trouble, she couldn’t run for it.
Culling his magick, he prepared to fire, bullets or energy.
His senses tingled as he crept inside. Light from a small lamp burned from a back room. Making no noise, he stole through the room and saw an abandoned red backpack on the floor.
Soft, snuffling sounds, like crying. Shay’s guts kicked. Couldn’t stand hearing a child in distress. Poor kid. He advanced slowly.
Checking the corner, he saw the little boy sitting at a table. Cradling his head in his arms, he sobbed loudly. Shay’s throat closed tight. The kid had the same vulnerable air as his little brother.
Then he raised his head, tears streaking his grimy face.
“It’s okay,” Shay soothed, lowering his sidearm. “Who are you?”
“I’m Oliver. I escaped when they weren’t looking. I’m so scared. Please don’t shoot me!” the boy beseeched. “The bad men pointed a gun at me.”
Shay checked the room and sensed no danger. He set the gun on the floor and stepped inside.
Heavy chains fell upon him. Burning pain like acid. This wasn’t a Phantom child in trouble, and he’d walked directly into a trap.
Chapter 14
The silver stung his eyes and ate into his clothing, searing his flesh. Shay instinctively put his hands in front of his face to shield his eyes, holding the chains away.
“It hurts,” the little boy said in a singsongy voice. “But the hurt goes away after a minute. I know because I tested it on myself.”
The pain eased and Shay opened his eyes. The child shape-shifted in an eye blink. Into himself.
With all his might, Shay fought the chains.
“It’s about time you arrived. For a navy SEAL, you sure are slow.” His twin gave a cocky grin.
Shay aimed a bolt of energy at the bonds but emitted only a few sparks. His powers were bound, as well. Dammit.
“We used your DNA, figured out what could hold you. Works good, huh?” His twin gave a mocking grin. “I set others at the café to keep an eye on you. Nice touch, flirting with the waitress. She’s a pretty piece of ass. I’m sure you’d enjoy fucking her, had you the chance.”
A distressed cry outside. Kelly! Frantic, he fought the bonds. If only he could shape-shift. But the chains stripped his magick.
“You thought you could hide.” Shay’s twin laughed. “I have your DNA. I know you, Chief Shaymore. I know your scent. As for the shape-shifting...”
His twin pushed into his face. “Two words, Elemental scum. Didn’t. Work.”
Shay’s mind raced. Had to get to her...
“You can’t break free, Phantom.”
Going still, he examined the bonds. Silver, but the chains weren’t steel. Some kind of alloy laced with magick.
Finding one of the links with his fingers, he tested it. He pulled harder, keeping his gaze on himself. How weird this was, listening to the lies and bragging while looking his twin in the eye to keep his attention from Shay’s hands.
There. Pulling at a link, he felt it give slightly. He analyzed it. In layering the chains with alloy, the idiot had weakened the links.
Three men entered the room. Shay recognized the brown-haired one from the shop. “Move him into the back room,” Shay’s duplicate instructed.
Shay didn’t fight, because he couldn’t risk expending energy. The concrete floor came up hard as they tossed him into a whitewashed room. Dust motes danced on sunlight streaming from a window near the ceiling.
The room resembled a bomb shelter or a basement. The floor sloped toward a trench and a drain. His pulse kicked up as he saw the spigots jutting out from the wall. He inhaled. A sharp, coppery smell. Blood.
A slaughterhouse.
A length of similar silver chains wrapped around her body, Kelly was tossed into the room, landing on her side. Her mouth was sealed with duct tape. Shay growled at the Arcanes laughing as they hovered in the doorway.
Inching over toward her, he bent his head. “You okay?”
Eyes wide with fear, she nodded.
He wished he could touch her in reassurance. “Hang in there,” he said softly. “We can beat this.”
His twin smirked as he leaned against the doorway. “The mighty Phantom, big-shot navy SEAL. Now look at you. Trussed up like a chicken before the chopping block.” The smirk turned into a dark smile. “Except we’re not going to cut off your head. We need your body whole for the ritual. The less damage, the more pure the power.”
Shay said nothing, watching Kelly’s eyes widen as she studied the Arcanes.
“You’re a disgrace, Shaymore. You can’t stop us. We’re gathering our forces, and soon we’ll have enough power to blast the strongest Elemental to the netherworld.”
“Let her go.” Shay jerked his head at Kelly. “She’s one of you, and there’s no need to kill her.”
Something flickered in the other’s eyes. “She’s not one of us. Kelly Denning chose the wrong side when she rescued Billy Rogers and fucked up our plans.”
But a pulse jumped in his jaw. Shay’s heartbeat accelerated. Damn bastard was lying. Why?
The doppelgänger gave a chilling smile. “All it took to capture you was the right bait. You’re such a sucker for saving children. Especially little boys. I am you, and I know everything you know.”
Not going there, bastard. You think you’re me, but you’re everything I struggled to change about myself.
“Wrong, asshole. I never miss a shot like you did on the ridge. And I never wet my pants when someone’s firing live rounds at me,” Shay taunted.
A Mage standing in the doorway snickered. The doppelgänger reddened and then turned and backhanded the Mage hard across the mouth. “Shut up. All of you, turn on the water. Then get the car and head to Tegus to await the arrival of our leader.”
Vehemently, Shay hoped the bastard’s plane crashed.
“What about the tenth child?” one of the Arcanes asked. “We need one for the ritual.”
“Soon. We located one in the States.”
“What about the villagers? Kill them?” asked the brown-haired Mage.
An odd look entered his twin’s eyes. “Don’t touch them. They’ll keep existing in their dream state.”
Two of the Mages went to the faucets and twisted the spigots. Another plugged the drain. Water gushed onto the floor and ran down the trench.
Shay struggled to a sitting position, nudging Kelly to do the same.
“Have a nice swim,” his twin sang out.
The door closed behind them.
Forcing himself to relax, he waited until the chains loosened enough to give him room. Shay snapped the first link with his fingers. Then he snapped another and another until he could wriggle his fingers and then his right hand through the hole he’d made.
“Bend over and I’ll remove your gag.”
Though he tried to be gentle, she winced as he ripped off the duct tape. “Sorry, sweetheart. I know that hurts.”
Returning his attention to the links, he concentrated on breaking more.
“I guess these guys are really bad.” She gave a small, shaky laugh. “Because the triskele isn’t working against them.”
“They’ve discovered a way past our magick. Stripped my powers, too.”
“If they did that, how can you break your chains, Sam?”
“That son of a bitch may have my looks, but not my brains or strength. A baby could break these links.”
Snap. Snap. The water began rising up the trench, to their toes.
“Hurry,” she begged.
Too slow. Taking too long. With a last burst of strength, he focused and pushed with all his might.
Silver links burst apart, clinking on the floor. Shay ran to the door. Locked. Skimming the door with his hands, he looked for a weakness. None. The door was steel.
Searching the pockets of his cargo pants, he found a small tool. He picked the lock, turned the knob and pushed. They’d bolted it from the outside.
“Are you sure your powers are gone?” Kelly asked.
Without the chains binding him, his abilities might have returned, he thought. Shay closed his eyes and culled his magick. Feeling his powers surge like currents of electricity, he summoned them into his hand.
Opening his eyes, he looked at his palm. The faintest of sparks glistened and then died.
The door. But brute force wouldn’t budge it. After body slamming it a few times, he gave up. Water rose to his ankles as he went to untie Kelly.
“Try your powers. Use the triskele,” he urged.
Maybe without the silver binding her, it would work. Kelly grabbed the medallion but nothing happened. Her panicked gaze searched the room. “I don’t understand.”
Shay went to one wall and ran a hand across it, feeling a slight tingle. He swore. “Bast
ards lined the walls with a shield that negates all magick.”
“They planned for this,” she whispered. “They needed you and knew you’d come here to rescue the children with me. I’m sorry, Sam. If it weren’t for me...”
His heart gave a lurch at her woebegone look. Shay stroked a finger down her cheek. “Don’t. I make my own choices, and this is one I won’t regret. Help me search the room. Look for weak spots, cracks, anything that might help us get out of here.”
Kelly ran to the faucets to shut off the water, but the Mages had broken them.
His gaze shot up to the window and then to Kelly.
“I’ll give you a hand up.” Crouching, he cupped his hands as a step and lifted her up as she climbed onto his shoulders. Kelly supported herself against the wall, but her fingers barely touched the bottom of the windowsill.
Shay caught her in his arms and lowered her. Wide-eyed, she studied the room. “There has to be another way out. We can’t reach the window.”
“Then we’ll have to swim for it.”
* * *
Drowning was not a good way to die, Kelly thought as the water rose to her knees. Swim for the window? They’d die before opening it.
“I was kind of hoping you could shift into a seal. The animal kind, not the navy kind.”
“Listen, sweetheart. You’re going to have to trust me. Look at me, Kel.” He pointed to his eyes with two fingers. “Focus. Right here. Focus on me.”
“Okay,” she whispered.
“We can only reach the window when the room fills up with water. I need you to concentrate and stay calm. Panic uses up air. We’re going to float in the water until it gets too high, and then you’ll fill your lungs with air and hold your breath as the water covers our heads. Take a deep, deep breath.”
“Like Rose in Titanic?”
Shay smiled and stroked a finger down her cheek. “Just like Rose.”
“I don’t know if I can.”
“You will,” he stated. “I believe in you, Kelly. I’m your Jack and I’m telling you, hold on to my belt and swim out with me. I’ll keep you safe.”