by Jami Gray
“Who took this?” She leaned into his waxen face.
He clamped his mouth shut, his body shaking so hard, it forced Xander to pulled the blade back before he slit his own throat. His muddy colored eyes frantically flicked from the man Cheveyo held to the two huntresses accosting him.
“He won’t answer you,” Xander drawled to Raine. “You’re scaring him to death.”
Raine felt a fierce smile bloom. “Yeah, well, I guess we’ll light a fire under him to help find his voice.” With a small movement, she brought a flare of white flame to her left palm. The blond’s eyes widened and latched onto the eerily silent tongues of white flames flickering over her left hand.
Leaning in, she brought her burning hand up as if to caress the side of his face. He jerked back, frantically trying to get away from the flame. Her voice was low, soft, deadly, “Who took the skin?”
His frantic movements became jerky and wild causing Xander to lose her grip. The man pulled back sharply, stumbled, and scrambled with hands and feet in a desperate bid for the door. Sobs and gasps accompanied his frantic dash. He managed to get halfway across the lab before Raine’s flying blade impaled itself to the hilt at the base of his skull. His body jerked upright, as if by strings, and then did a half-turn, revealing the dimming light in his eyes as he crumpled to the floor.
She felt no sympathy as she yanked the small knife out of his neck. Wiping the bloodied blade on the white lab coat, she lifted her ice-cold gaze to the remaining man shaking in Cheveyo’s grasp, his face a horrified mask.
Her voice sounded remote, even to her. “I guess he took the sample.”
“Nice aim,” Ryder commented as he casually walked around the dead lab tech.
Raine stalked back to Cheveyo and his prisoner and re-sheathed her throwing blade. The scientist stumbled back against the tall witch as she approached. “Xander, Ryder, clear the rest of this level.” She motioned to Cheveyo. “Let’s move.”
Cheveyo dragged the man with him as they headed toward the elevator that would take them down to the lab. At the card-reader on the button panel, she reached out and yanked the cringing man’s ID card off his neck, leaving angry red marks behind.
She flicked a glance at his picture. “Ethan Carver. Nice to meet you, Ethan.” She swiped the card through the reader, watching the lights go from red to green. The door slid silently open and she gestured, “After you.”
Cheveyo shoved him to the back of the car while Raine slipped inside and hit the button sending the elevator to the basement.
She directed Cheveyo to move Ethan to the front of the elevator until he was centered in front of the doors. Standing to the side, she kept her blades sheathed. She needed her hands free as she mentally gathered her magic together in anticipation. Tension held her body poised for action.
The elevator gave a soft ding as it came to a smooth stop. The doors slid open. The first thing she saw was the empty examining table standing in the center of the room, enclosed in reinforced glass. A distant voice in her head wondered why evil labs prominently displayed that cold metal slab. Ranged around the edges of it were various machines.
Behind the glass cage, there were three locked doors with small windows carved into each entry. Chance were they were one-way glass, so the lab coats could observe whoever was inside. All three windows were dark, giving no clue as to which one held Gavin. On the left side of the basement a door opened, and out stepped Eden Lawson.
Catching sight of Ethan bound and held immobile by Cheveyo, the elegantly coiffed redhead drew up short. When Raine moved out of the elevator and into the room, Eden’s eyes went from startled to wary.
“Well, Ms. McCord. To what do I owe the honor of this visit?” Still framed in the office doorway, Eden was cool and composed.
Raine kept a tight rein on her emotions. “It seems you took someone who doesn’t belong to you.”
As Raine shifted forward, Eden pulled a small device from the pocket of her lab coat and shook her head. “You might want to stand still.” A small smile played around her lips. “Do you know what this is?” She didn’t wait for an answer. “This will send an electric current into the collar attached to my guest—a strong enough current, even a Kyn might have some problems recovering. Not to mention what it will do to his cells when the current hits a few of our injections now running through his body.”
Raine stopped, gut churning. “Following in your father’s footsteps?” She needed to keep the doctor talking, it give her or Cheveyo an opening.
Ethan began struggling in Cheveyo’s grip, drawing Eden’s attention. She frowned at Raine. “Do I dare ask what happen to Toby?”
“He ran into a knife.” There was no inflection in Raine’s voice, and Eden’s eyes hardened. Raine moved from behind Cheveyo keeping her hands casually at her sides.
“Is that so?” Some of the anger held in the scientist’s eyes leaked through and her grip on the small device tightened, causing Raine’s breath to stop. “You do realize how hard it is to find good help these days? He was such a bright young man, quite filled with potential.”
Raine shrugged and kept her voice conversational, “Want to trade? You can have Ethan here back. I’ll take Gavin.” She shifted back a step placing her left side partially behind the petrified Ethan.
A twisted smile lit Eden’s face. “No, that’s all right. I think I’ll get more out of Gavin than you will out of Ethan.”
“In that case.” Keeping her eyes on Eden, Raine dropped her left wrist blade into her palm and with deadly speed, slammed the lethal weapon into the base of the helpless man’s skull, giving it a sharp twist. When she pulled it back, Cheveyo let go. The lifeless body fell to the floor.
Eden’s face paled, but her voice was steady, “That was unnecessary.”
Raine shook her head. “I disagree.” She brought her other hand up and reached for the twisted magic running through her. “I think I have something better to bargain with.” Her nails lengthened and her arm began to shift.
Eden let out a small, excited gasp. “There were rumors some of the tests were successful, but I haven’t been able to find any proof.”
Raine dropped her arm, letting it return to normal, and managed to move a step closer. “Oh, they were very successful, at least for me.” She lowered her voice, “I can’t say the results were the same for others.”
Derision swept across Eden’s elegant face. “Bane Mayson was a failure from the beginning. I read the initial reports and lab findings. They should have never used him.”
Raine’s mind sped through options as Eden talked. If Cheveyo threw a spell, there was a chance Eden could depress the button before his spell hit. It wasn’t a risk she wanted to take. That meant she needed to lure the scientist closer, and to do that she needed to use the curiosity that started this, while the good doctor was in a talkative mood.
Obviously, Cheveyo was thinking along the same lines. His voice drew Eden’s gaze away from Raine. “What did your father miss, Dr. Lawson? What did you find?”
Raine didn’t hesitate, but used Cheveyo’s distraction to move a few more inches forward.
Eden flicked her gaze between her and Cheveyo and edged out of the doorway. “No more moving forward, Ms. McCord.” Then she answered Cheveyo’s question, “The strength of the test subject’s inherent magic. Mayson was a human psychic, but his magic was too weak. It twisted the results so they were unusable. The stronger the magic, the more defined the results become.”
“You’re going to blame Mayson for his own torture?” Raine asked. Old anger and resentments simmered as she watched the woman move slowly down the hall.
Cheveyo shifted toward the other side, creating more room between him and Raine. He was trying to split Eden’s attention.
“It wasn’t torture,” Eden’s voice was practical. “It’s science. Don’t you understand the benefits these discoveries will create?” Fervent belief lit her face. “Do you understand how many diseases we can eradicate once we isolate thi
s DNA strand? Not only will we save countless human lives, but we will be able to de-mystify what sets Kyn and humans apart.”
The slight brush of Cheveyo’s magic rushed over Raine’s skin and she caught his casual hand gesture to move forward. Together, they slid another step closer. When Eden’s expression remained unchanged, Raine realized Cheveyo was once again utilizing the Conspicio spell, hiding their changing positions. It would work in small increments, and maybe give enough time for Xander and Ryder to join their little party.
“So if a few Kyn died in the process, it’s all worth it in the long run?” She kept Eden talking.
Eden’s light laugh sounded so normal, it gave Raine the creeps. The echoes of the laugh faded. “You’re a dying breed. The rewards such a discovery will generate for the human world heavily outweigh the lives of a few Kyn.”
“I’m surprised Talbot agreed to your research, considering his father’s reputation.” Raine felt another soft brush from Cheveyo and slid with him another few inches.
“Aaron Talbot was a man of vision.” Irritation filled Eden’s face. “His son, on the other hand, is hampered by his misplaced sense of compassion.”
“Jonah doesn’t know about this?” Raine reeled from the shock of Eden’s revelation.
“Of course not.” She absently waved the hand holding the electronic device, making Raine tense. “He would have never let me get this far. This is my discovery, and it will set me far apart from the Talbot Foundation. I’m going to change the history of humanity.”
“What about what General Cawley wants?” Cheveyo asked, his voice smooth.
“The perfect solider?” The words were mocking, disdainful. “I needed funding, and the government is a wonderful source of income. Cawley believes my research is going to give him some kind of superhuman soldier.”
“But?” Cheveyo prompted.
“The magic skews the results so radically, it’s a lost cause.” Her smile was angelic. “However, I won’t be sharing that with him. He’s doing this behind his agency’s back. Did you know that? In the meantime, I can continue my research.”
Eden drew level with the first barred door and stopped, her shoulders straightening.
Raine sucked in a breath knowing Gavin was behind that door. “How about you give Cawley me? Won’t it bring in more funding if you can prove to him such a solider exists?”
“You want to take Mr. Durand’s place, Ms. McCord?” Eden asked, dryly. “How self-sacrificing.”
Undaunted, Raine kept pushing. “I’ll let Cheveyo chain my hands and feet. I’ll put all my weapons on the floor.” She dropped the bloodied blade from her left hand. “You can get Gavin out of that room and pass him off to Cheveyo so he can take him out of here. They’ll leave. No retaliation.” She watched Eden give the suggestion serious consideration. “I’m a much better weapon than Gavin will ever be. Jonah’s father made sure of it.”
Eden tilted her head to the side, almost birdlike. “How long did they have you?”
Raine let nothing of her emotions show. “Three months.”
Eden’s fingers moved over the keypad by the door. It unlocked with a quiet snick. There was no movement from inside the dark cell. Fear for Gavin, mixed with the simmering rage Raine held tight to all night, formed a leaden ball in her stomach.
Eden didn’t even glance inside the unlit cell. “You’d make an excellent study, Ms. McCord, but I’m afraid you’re too much of an unknown to take such a risk.”
Her gaze was still locked on Raine when Ryder’s grinning face appeared out of the shadows behind her. Quick as a snake, he wrapped her left wrist in a crushing grip, causing her fingers to loosen on the device.
Raine sprang forward and caught the little black remote before it hit the ground.
Eden shrieked and raked Ryder’s face with her long nails, scoring three long gashes before he could stop her.
He cursed and yanked her arms behind her back, forcing her to face forward. Without sparing her a glance, Raine dashed into the cell with Cheveyo right behind her. She summoned a small ball of light to chase back the darkness.
Gavin huddled in the corner, naked. Fresh cuts, seeping burns, and trickles of blood, threw macabre abstracts over his shaking arms, which were wrapped around his drawn-up legs. His sweat-drenched, tangled hair curtained his face.
Seeing him like this broke some-thing inside her. Furious tears burned the back of her eyes. Ignoring them, she motioned for Cheveyo to back out.
Remembering her own time in captivity, she could only imagine what nightmares stalked Gavin’s mind, twisting his reality. Trying not to set him off, she edged closer, her voice a bare whisper of sound, “Gavin, can you hear me? It’s Raine.”
Eden’s angry shrieks echoed through the room. Gavin’s bruised shoulders tensed. Raine didn’t take her attention off him, but directed her next statement to Ryder, “Get that bitch out of here. I’ll deal with her in a minute.”
The shrieks faded as Ryder pulled Eden down the hall. Raine sensed Cheveyo poised in the doorway.
“Gavin?” Raine crouched a few feet away from his huddled form. “Gavin, look at me, please.”
His shaking stopped abruptly. He raised his head, his eyes blind to everything except what crawled through his mind.
A wave of cold, bitter fury surged over Raine, as she noted the deep lines of pain and fear etched into his strong face. Struggling to hide her raging emotions, she kept her voice soft and calming, “Gavin, do you recognize me?”
His jade green eyes focused on her for a brief second then narrowed at something over her shoulder. Instinctively glancing to her left she was unprepared for his swift attack.
He leapt, knocking her backwards, hands locking around her neck. The noises coming from his mouth weren’t even words, more the sounds of an animal in unbearable pain.
Cheveyo moved in, but Raine signaled for him to stop. She managed to get both arms in-between Gavin’s, breaking his hold. She twisted her hands and shackled his wrists. Using his own weight as leverage, she threw him off.
It took all her strength to hold him down until Cheveyo could use a spell to put him under. As his struggles ceased, she loosened her grip and cupped his large hands in hers before gently laying them down next to him. With the barest touch, she shifted the long dark hair out of his face and tenderly traced his cheek. “I’m so sorry, Gavin.”
“Raine?” Cheveyo put a hand on her shoulder. “I need to get him out of here.”
She took a shaky breath. “I’ll send Ryder to help you. Take him back and get a healer.” She got stiffly to her feet. “Have Mulcahy use whichever healer he used with me.”
“Are you bringing Lawson back to Taliesin?” Cheveyo asked.
She faced the one-way mirror, watching the red marks from Gavin’s fingers on her neck fade. Distracted by her merciless face and glowing silver eyes, swirling with rage, she didn’t answer, just turned and left the cell.
Her emotions blew before her like an ill wind as she headed down the hall toward the still struggling Eden and the bored-looking Ryder. “Go help Cheveyo get Gavin out of here.”
Ryder nodded and let go of Eden’s wrist. Raine snatched a handful of the scientist’s unraveling hair and yanked hard enough to bring a short scream of pain from the woman. Using her hair as a handle, Raine dragged the scientist down the hallway toward the glass enclosed exam room. Eden’s French-manicured fingernails ripped and broke as she clawed at Raine’s hand. She lost a shoe. Her nylon-clad foot scrambled frantically against the smooth floor.
None of it fazed Raine. She tightened her grip and lugged the cursing, sobbing bitch down the hall.
Eden grabbed the examination room doorframe, obviously trying to halt their forward progress. Raine wrenched her free with one sharp, hard jerk. Eden screamed—a high-pitched screech of pain—as more fingernails ricocheted off the floor.
Ripping her hand free of Eden’s hair, Raine brought it around in a vicious slap. Eden’s shocked silence filled the room, and
she froze momentarily—long enough for Raine to body-slam her onto the frigid metal table. The force of her back hitting the icy steel knocked the breath—and the fight—out of her, allowing Raine time to shackle one wrist and ankle before Eden began struggling in earnest.
The restraints, a combination of iron and silver, brought stinging warmth to Raine’s hands, but she welcomed it. It spurred her on and focused her mind on her goal. She snagged Eden’s chin, forcing her eyes to meet the glacial steel of Raine’s gaze. Ice coated her voice, “Give me a reason. Just one.”
The metallic stink of fear radiated from Eden, pleasing the wilder side of Raine. The whimpers escaping from Eden’s bloodless lips added a savage spark of glee to Raine’s soul as she made quick work of the remaining two restraints.
With Eden strapped to the table, Raine studied the room. She spotted a number of syringes, loaded with some clear liquid, lying in the cooling unit and smiled.
While Eden’s terrified eyes followed her every move, Raine strode over and grabbed one of the syringes. She knew her eyes glowed with predatory delight when Eden’s breath hitched.
Raine dragged a small, backless chair over to Eden’s left side. “Now what could this little syringe hold that scares you so much?” Her voice was a purr of malice.
Eden’s eyes never left the syringe.
Making sure to hold the small instrument in clear view, Raine kept her voice calm, “Where shall we start? Hmm?” She tapped the syringe lightly against her palm. “I know, let’s start with how you managed to get Quinn to turn over other Kyn to you.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Eden declared, her voice shaky, but determined.
Raine made a tsking sound. “Wrong answer.” She jabbed the syringe into the vein threading the inside of Eden’s elbow. Eden gave a short scream and began to pant. Raine wiggled the syringe. “Would you like to try again?”