by Tate James
“Of course I wouldn’t. Your human upbringing has made you soft if you’ve even considered any other option.” Even staring down death, Bridget was as arrogant and snide as ever.
I nodded like I agreed with her. “Well, be that as it may, I think I will let you live.”
Sounds of protest came from my guys, but I held up a hand to silence them.
Bridget looked stunned for a moment, then burst out laughing. “You really are dumber than you look!”
“Am I, though?” I cocked my head to the side as I looked down on her, my fingers gripping the amulet at my throat.
Whatever she said next was drowned out by the deafening whoosh of magic as I opened myself to the power of the amulet in a totally different way than I’d used it before. With breaking Vic and Lachlan’s bonds, it had just aided me—boosted my own actions with the necessary ingredient.
This, though, this was different. More instinctual, almost natural. My magic welcomed the amulet’s power and merged with it effortlessly as we reached out and wrapped a mental fist around the glowing power inside of Bridget.
As my magic snared hers, she let out a gasp. All the blood drained from her face, and her eyes began to panic.
Panic, she should.
Tightening my grip on the core of her magic—something no one should be able to do to another supernatural being—I yanked it from her with all my strength. At first, it didn’t budge. But the amulet worked as a corrosive, breaking down all the tethers to her soul until there was nothing left to tie it down, and the whole thing slid free like an octopus that had lost its fight.
I kept pulling, watching with my mind’s eye to be sure every last trace of magic was gone from her being before I released the slippery mass. It dropped from my magical grip, feeling wet and spongy, but when it hit the hard-packed salt of the earth, it shattered like it had been made of the finest glass.
As it impacted, the ground shook, and a shock wave burst from the shattered pieces like someone had just detonated an EMP. The force of it all knocked us from our feet, scattering us over fifty feet or more until it died away in the far distance.
“Everyone okay?” River called out, and I groaned, pushing myself back up on weary feet.
“Is she dead?” Austin asked, picking himself up and stalking over to where Bridget lay crumpled on the crimson salt.
I grunted and shook my head, checking her aura with my own magic. “No,” I replied, “she only wishes she was.”
“What did you do to her?” Cole rumbled, using the toe of his boot to roll my mother’s unconscious form over.
Yawning at the sudden wave of exhaustion hitting me, I tilted my head as I peered down at the woman at my feet. “Just a little karmic justice,” I admitted, feeling my lips tilting in a smug smile. “I made her into the thing she seems to hate the most. A human. Now she can live out her days comfortably in a filthy cell of our choosing and grow old. Just like a human.”
Bridget moaned as she started to regain consciousness, and a rush of satisfaction and relief ran through me when not a single spark of magic ignited within her as she woke.
And to think, she’d assumed death was the worst thing awaiting her.
32
A sharp knock on my office door was the only warning we got before Finn came bursting in with Lachlan and Vic tight on his heels.
Luckily, he hadn’t waited a minute longer, or the position they’d caught Caleb and I in could have been a whole lot more embarrassing. Even as it was, I needed to re-button my blouse and wiggle my skirt back down before hopping off the desk.
“You have a TV in here?” Finn demanded, looking around and spotting the large flat-screen set into the bookshelf. “How do I...” He fumbled around with the controls to try and turn it on but was really just getting nowhere with it.
“Here,” Wes offered, picking up the remote from the little table beside it where he’d been sitting to, er, watch... things... “What channel do you want?”
“Doesn’t matter,” Lachlan replied in a grim voice. “It’s on all the channels.”
I raised my brows at this ominous statement and turned my attention to the TV as it flickered to life. It didn’t take long to see what he was talking about.
Chaos. Pure chaos.
“Reports are coming in from all across the globe that this is not an isolated situation,” the harried news reporter told the camera, and something exploded behind her as a furred creature flew past, its claws narrowly missing her hair. “From what we currently know, around one third of the world’s population has somehow... mutated, over the past three days. It is unclear whether this was a deliberate act, but speculation is leaning toward some sort of chemical warfare. President Stunich and her advisors are in discussions with the United Nations today to discuss military action and how best to handle the chaos.”
The report cut short then as the camera got knocked to the ground, and a woman screamed. We’d seen all we needed to see, though, so Wes flicked the TV off.
There was a long, tense silence in my office as I stared at the black screen and tried to process what I’d just seen.
“Well shit,” I breathed, dropping into one of the masculine leather chairs. “Do we think that shock wave... after Bridget...”
“Seems to have reversed the effects of Tasha’s magical plague,” Vic finished for me. “It certainly looks that way.”
“And everyone thinks this is some sort of terrorist attack?” I gaped up at the man who had fathered me. “How? Why?” Okay, I was a little at a loss for words, but little aftershocks of that info bomb were still going off in my head.
“It’s the most logical human reasoning to explain such inexplicable phenomena,” Wesley commented, tapping at his lower lip in thought. “I mean, prior to us knowing about magic, we would have thought the same thing had people started turning into animals or throwing fireballs or”—he indicated to the blank TV— “flying!”
“So, what do we do?” I turned my attention back to Vic and Lachlan, who I had sort of been leaning on for guidance in the days after our battle in Bolivia. Lachlan was crazy skilled, so much so that he could even teach Austin a thing or two with magic, and Vic, I could tell, was really trying to make an effort to get to know me now that Bridget’s geas was out of the way.
The two of them exchanged a look with Finn, who I was still having a hard time processing as one of my parents’ peers. I mean, he had been dating Lucy, for fuck’s sake.
“Why do you guys look a bit ill with what you’re going to say next?” I demanded, pushing up from my seat so that I didn’t have to look up at them.
As though through unspoken agreement, Vic was the one who answered me. “Kit, hon, we think that the best course of action is to get ahead of this before the world leaders start taking drastic measures with quarantines and whatnot. This is not a virus; we know what it is... and that there is no cure. The best thing right now is working together to find a safer future, isn’t it? For everyone.”
I blinked at him a few times. “Yeah, I agree with you on that. But are you saying that you’re somehow going to get a meeting with all the world leaders to discuss magic? How the hell are you going to manage that?”
Vic smiled at me, his scarred skin crinkling. “We’re not. You are.”
“Sometimes,” I murmured to Vali as I picked imaginary pieces of lint from my sharply tailored pant suit, “your skills in blackmail and bribery scare the crap out of me.”
He huffed a short laugh, grabbing my fussing hand and squeezing it. “Only sometimes, regina mea?”
“Yes, then I remember you’re on my team and just marvel in awe. Still, getting us into a meeting with the United Nations is pretty damn badass, even for you.” I pursed my lips, then freaked out that I’d smeared lipstick on my teeth and started rubbing at them with my tongue.
“Take a deep breath, Kitten,” River murmured in my ear, stroking a sure hand down my spine. “These people are just people. They need you, not the other way around. R
emember what we discussed.”
I nodded, letting Vali keep my hand for a bit longer so I didn’t pick holes in my serious business outfit. “I remember,” I assured them. “The second we get in there, scan the room for magical signatures.” We had all agreed that it would have been far too much of a coincidence if the entire United Nations had been unaffected by my magical EMP. It was far more likely they were just keeping it under wraps so as not to lose their footings of power.
Not that I blamed them. Those people would be the ones who would end up being my greatest allies in the long run.
“It’s a damn handy trick being able to do that,” Caleb commented, scratching at his viper ink in a way that told me Sam wanted to be let out. “Being able to see magic in humans, I mean.”
He was right; it was a handy trick. Especially now. I couldn’t quite pinpoint when it had developed for me, but I was grateful nonetheless. It also served as a reminder that my Ban Dia powers were nowhere near full maturity, so who knew what new skill I would gain next.
“Has there been any word on Nicholai?” I blurted out, totally off subject, but it was something that kept weighing on my mind. His absence in Bridget’s last stand had been curious, but to not show up after she was imprisoned? Worrying.
Austin shook his head. “No, but we have Bridget’s cell well-guarded. If he shows up, we’ll know about it.”
“We suspect he’s done the smart thing and run far and fast, though,” Wesley added with a reassuring smile. “I don’t blame him, either.”
I nodded, fighting the urge to nervously chew my lip. “How’s Grant?” I asked Wes, shoving aside the anxiety that thinking of Bridget brought up.
Wes smiled broadly at the mention of his little brother. “He’s doing great,” he assured me. “After this is all over, I’ll go and spend some time with him. Maybe see if he wants to train in Caora or come to Omega.”
His little brother had been paralyzed for years, but when we’d discovered the aftershocks of stripping Bridget’s magic, we had immediately reached out to his mom and brother. Grant’s back had been healed, just as surely as their neighbor had turned furry, but it became painfully clear that Wes had no recollection of even having a brother at all. Turns out the babdh had taken something pretty important from him after all.
He’d handled this revelation well though, and had been throwing himself into getting to know Grant again, speaking to him on the phone for hours every night.
“Good, that’s good.” I sucked in a deep breath and then let it out with a gust, letting this news help to calm me. “What about Elena?” I asked Cole and Vali. “Is she coping okay with the scales?”
Vali grimaced. “We sent her to stay with Bunica.”
My eyes widened at the mention of the cranky old woman. I opened my mouth to say more, but they knew I was stalling.
“You’ve got this, Vixen,” Cole encouraged me, using strong fingers to turn my face toward his. “We will be waiting right here.”
Call it stupidity or feminism or whatever you wanted, but I felt strongly about addressing the United Nations alone. They wouldn’t allow all seven of us to attend, so I had opted for none of the guys rather than just two.
Besides, this was the absolute last place I needed to show weakness. I would go in there with my head held high, knowing I had the love and support of these six men at my back. They didn’t need to stand guard over me like I was weak or needed protection. I was a strong, independent woman, dammit, and this group of world leaders was about to learn exactly what that meant in this new age of magic.
“Here goes nothing.” I sucked another deep breath, straightened my spine, and entered the room that held the fate of the world.
33
Epilogue
The unusual painting held me captive, unable to tear my eyes away from the incredible detail that had gone into the image of a sheep protecting her dying lamb while flocks of ravens waited to pick apart the carcass. It sent a shiver through me, and I pondered on the mindset of the artist who’d created such a chilling piece.
“Sixteen minutes and fourteen seconds until security systems are back online. Quit gawking at the pretty paintings and hurry the fuck up, girl.” Lucy’s irritated voice spoke in my ear as surely as if she’d been standing right beside me, and I grinned.
How the hell had she known what I was doing? Our comms were strictly audio only, as stated in the agreed-upon rules. Old school tech only, no magic permitted.
Still, she had a point. Without the help of magic, I should seriously be paying more attention to the job at hand.
“Sixteen minutes,” I murmured in a soft voice, knowing she could hear me just fine. “That’s forever. Don’t stress, babe; it’ll make your feathers fall out.”
“Ha-ha, another feather joke. Hilarious,” she muttered in a growl. “I think I have safely proven that angels can swear just fucking fine without losing a single—” She cut off with a yelp. “Seriously? That was so uncalled for, Finn! Gimme a sec, Kit. This twat just yanked a feather out, and I need to shove it up his ass now.”
I snickered a soft laugh as she hit mute on her end of the comms to deal with her estranged demon lover. The fact that they seemed to be working things out made me insanely happy for her, especially seeing as things had gone really badly with Elena finding out Lucy was alive-ish. Somehow, I didn’t see that particular relationship getting mended anytime soon. But such was life; not every love lasts forever.
“So, ah, want to tell me where you are?” One of my definitely forever loves asked in my ear, and I jumped with fright.
“Wes? What the hell are you doing on my comms? This is against the rules!” I probably looked like a lunatic, standing in the middle of a museum at three in the morning and yelling to myself. But then again, I was robbing the place, so…
“I will have you know, sweetheart, that hacking Lucy’s comm unit while Finn distracts her is entirely within the rules. I should know, I wrote them.” He sounded smug as all fuck, and I growled under my breath.
I couldn’t concentrate with him lurking inside my head, even if he was using human-tech. “Nope, not doing this,” I muttered. “I’m cutting you off. Tell Luce to enjoy herself, but I’ve got this handled now.”
Whatever his protests were, they became silenced when I removed the earpiece and tucked it into the pocket of my faded black jeans. This job was simple enough I shouldn’t really have any further need for Lucy, so better safe than sorry.
I crept farther into the museum on silent feet, staying wary for any active security systems we might have missed or pesky bonded guardians who might have found me already, but the way was clear.
Well shit. They really did underestimate how badass I am, even without my magic.
Just as I was mentally congratulating myself, the scuff of a shoe around the corner sent my heart flying into my throat, and I quickly used a nearby sculpture to launch myself up onto an ornate iron chandelier hanging from the ceiling.
My timing couldn’t have been any more perfect, as two uniformed museum guards came strolling through the doorway a second later. In a mark of how incredibly times had changed in the eighteen months since my magical blast had restored magic to over half the world’s population, one of the guards was a half-man, half-rhino type creature. His huge form passed under my hiding place with barely a few inches to spare, and I held on for dear life. The last thing I needed was to sneeze now.
When they were gone from sight, I released the breath I was holding and dropped silently back to the floor.
It could have been worse. Those guards could have been two of my guys.
This was the second year we had run this little game of ours, and as I’d won the first year, I now had a reputation to uphold. The stakes were higher when pride was involved.
Tension sang through my muscles as I slipped into the next room and spotted my target: a god-awful, canary-yellow diamond ring, surrounded by chartreuse green stones and inset in a band of pink sapphires. The item itsel
f was revolting, but it held a certain level of nostalgia for us, so it was to be our target every year.
Our impartial third party, Vic, had been tasked with hiding it somewhere inside the city of Paris, and it looked like Lucy and I were the only ones smart enough to work out where he would have stashed it.
Of course, he had chosen the most obvious place—not to mention the hardest nut to crack—the Louvre.
“Hello, old friend,” I whispered to the gaudy ring, which was worth more than some small countries. “Long time, no steal. You’ll be coming with me again tonight.”
It barely took me two minutes to work my magic—metaphorical, not literal—on the fancy, alarmed display case and tuck the glittering jewel into my bra.
Time to bail out, Kit! Another win for team Fox.
“Ahem,” Vali’s deep voice fake-coughed across the room, and I whirled around to face him.
“Too late, hot stuff,” I gloated, “I’ve already won.”
His lips pulled into a grin as he padded across the room toward me, looking like sex and death in his all-black attire. “Who said I was here to catch you, regina? I have no side in this game, remember?”
I squinted at him, trying to work out if he was playing me or not. It was true, though. As he hadn’t been involved in the first robbery that had set Alpha Team on my doorstep, Vali was an enigma in our annual game. He was neither Fox Team nor Alpha Team; he was a wild card.
“So, you’re on my side this time?” I asked him with suspicion. Last time, he’d been solidly on the boys’ side and had damn well nearly caught me before I outsmarted them.
He spread his hands wide and shrugged. “Can’t I be on my own team? I am merely supporting the result that will gain me the most favor with my lover when we get home.”
“Aha,” I chuckled. “Smart man. So, do you have an escape route planned, or are you just tagging along for fun?”