She whispered a prayer of thanks that Atlanta’s notorious traffic had thinned enough for her to cruise above the speed limit. She checked the GPS as she took the off-ramp. She was roughly another mile away. No further calls from Gilead meant they still hadn’t heard back from the special response team. Did they abort but were unable to radio in? Had they been captured? Taken out themselves? She had to hope that they’d extracted themselves but needed to maintain radio silence until they entered a safe zone. She didn’t want anyone else to die. Not if she could help it.
Extinguishing the vehicle lights, she turned off the main road into a parking lot the Gilead-programmed GPS indicated, then killed the engine. There was no sign of the Gilead team or their vehicle. She dialed up her extrasense, allowing it to slowly spread outward. Nothing, nothing . . . there. Something from the southeast corner of the building, near the loading dock, a steady yellow glow.
She slipped out of the SUV, drew her Lightblade. Not a seeker demon. If it had been, she’d be fighting it already. It had to be the Avatar. He was inside, just past the loading dock, waiting for her.
Apprehension raised the hairs on the back of her neck. It was a trap, with the Avatar using himself as irresistible bait. Kira knew it and the Avatar probably knew she knew. The perfect lure and all he had to do was wait to see what she’d do next.
Leaving wasn’t an option, especially since she didn’t know if the Gilead team had safely retreated. The only person she’d dare call as backup was the one person who shouldn’t come. Kira had no choice but to engage the enemy alone.
She advanced slowly, her blade and the Glock at the ready. Just because it was a trap didn’t mean she had to rush headlong into it. Her goal was to get in and back out as close to unscathed as possible.
Something whizzed by her ear. Not a bullet; she knew those sounds. Georgia had some giant flying insects, but none that flew that quick—
Sharp stinging pain blossomed in her neck. Kira had only a moment to realize that it wasn’t a mosquito, but a dart. Stupid, stupid, to be so careless. Her extrasense flared, responding to the presence of the potent toxin. She pulled the dart out of her neck, tried to focus on it in the deepening dark that invaded her. Since when did Shadowlings use high-tech darts to neutralize people?
Her heart pounded loud and slow, the bass beat filling her ears. The Glock fell from her grip, the sound of it clattering to the asphalt echoing through her brain. Despite the paralysis sweeping through her, she still held on to her Lightblade, even though the sudden weight of it made it impossible to lift.
Indistinct figures separated from the building’s shadows, resolving into several people in black uniforms. The special response team. “Guys.” The word came out slurred and delayed. “Could use some help.” Kira toppled over, her extrasense flickering and dimming. By the Light, what was happening to her?
Two of them held her while a third used a booted foot to kick her blade out of reach. “Target acquired.”
Target? Gilead had tricked her? She rolled her head, trying to catch a glimpse of them. Each of them stared down at her, yellow flickering in their eyes. They’d been taken by Shadow, and in turn had taken her.
It was the last coherent thought she had.
She’d taken off without him.
Khefar stood in the parking lot, staring at the spot where the SUV had been. He couldn’t blame Kira for leaving, for needing to clear her head, but still . . . He found it difficult to believe that their conversation had upset her to the point that she’d do something so abrupt. Kira knew how to set things aside to do what needed to be done.
He dug out his cell phone, dialed her number. No answer.
Unease settled between his shoulder blades. The Chaser knew she’d left him without a ride and darkness had fallen. No matter how upset she was at him, he was willing to bet she wouldn’t deliberately leave anyone stranded without cause.
He dialed another number. “Anansi,” he said aloud, “think you could show up here with the car?”
He didn’t have to articulate the “where.” Anansi was an expert at roads, wires, communications, the Internet. He’d be along soon enough.
Anansi arrived in less than five minutes. “Where’s our beautiful Shadowchaser?”
“I don’t know.” Khefar took the wheel as the demigod slid over. “She took off and stranded me. Now she’s not answering her phone.”
“Really?” Anansi wiggled his bushy eyebrows. “Lovers’ quarrel?”
He just glanced at Anansi as he headed for Charms and Arms. “You should know better than that. It was still daylight when she left. Even if she just wanted to cool off, she would have been back by now. And she’s not answering her cell. Only one thing would make her go off like that.”
“She found the Avatar.”
He grit his teeth. When it came to Shadowchasing, Kira would think nothing of going off on her own, confident that her extrasense and her Lightblade would protect her.
“Can you sense her?”
Anansi’s expression blanked as he focused on Kira. He frowned. “No.”
Khefar’s unease deepened, setting him on edge. The demigod should have been able to find Kira no matter where on the planet she was. If the spider god couldn’t find her, did that mean that she was . . . ?
No, he refused to believe it. Kira was a Shadowchaser. She was tough. She could survive.
“Let’s get to Wynne and Zoo. I bet they have ways to track her.”
He hoped he was right.
Chapter 20
Cold water shocked her back to awareness. She shook her drenched braids out of her eyes and discovered she was chained to a metal fence, half-sprawled on a concrete floor. Her blade and most of her clothing were missing.
People ringed her. At least, some of them used to be people. Some of them had never been anything other than what they were: hybrids and Shadowlings. They seemed thrilled to have her as a guest, if the leers and snarls were any indication.
A melodic masculine voice cut through the buzz. “Welcome, Kira Solomon, to my temporary home.”
The Shadowlings parted and the voice’s owner walked through the crowd toward her. He was, without a doubt, the most beautifully breathtaking man she’d ever seen: dark curly hair, silver eyes, knew how to wear a suit but she knew he’d look just as good—or better—in anything he wore . . . or didn’t wear. She wondered if he’d been that beautiful when he was still human or if becoming an Avatar for one of the Fallen had given him the ethereal, gut-clenching gorgeousness.
“You may call me Enig, for now.” He leaned over her. “I trust that you rested well?”
“You’ve tied me up, taken my clothes and my Lightblade,” she reminded him, sounding extremely reasonable considering the circumstances. “Stop pretending that I’m anything other than a prisoner.”
“Restraining you was a necessary precaution. I can’t have you taking out my helpers, now can I?”
“Why not? I could use some more exercise.”
“Surely you got enough exercise destroying my seeker demon? It took a lot of energy to raise the seeker and I’m a bit perturbed that you destroyed it so easily.”
“Hope you got your deposit back.”
He clapped once, the sound of booming thunder. “Such bravado. If all I wanted was amusement, I’d still choose you.”
That didn’t sound good. “Choose me for what?”
“I originally wanted the dagger,” he said. “Since you returned it to the Nubian, I decided I’d have you instead. I’m beginning to think you are a much better weapon.”
Her blood chilled, the fragile false confidence seeping away. “I’m no one’s weapon.”
“Really? I think the Gilead Commission and quite a few children of Shadow would disagree with you.”
The air around them seemed to change, grow darker. Bile rose in her throat. She ground her teeth, wanting nothing more than to break free and reclaim her blade. She tried pushing through the Veil again, but it wouldn’t give, as if
someone had dropped an unyielding barrier between her and her extrasense. Why couldn’t she call her power?
“What have you done to me?” Now her voice had an edge to it, not nearly enough of it fury. She needed fury, not fear. Fear could cripple. Fury had been a part of her life for far too long to be anything other than a tool, a weapon. Where was her well of anger? “Damn you, answer me!”
“It’s a block, one you should already be familiar with. It’s temporary for now, so that you’ll listen instead of attack. I couldn’t have you going all Super Shadowchaser on me, now could I?”
“Oh, I don’t know. I’d certainly like to try.” What did he mean—a block she was familiar with?
He grabbed a length of the chain, then casually pulled her upright. Even through the drugs she could feel his power radiating outward, battering at her. Fear slithered down her back and she had to struggle against it, struggle not to let it show. She had a feeling that he’d more than work her fear to his advantage; he’d use it to control her.
“I am here to establish a new order to this world,” he told her, his voice as beautiful as his expression. Only his eyes betrayed the ugliness inside. “The order that only pure Chaos can bring. You would do well to stand with me now, else you’ll fall hard later.”
“I’m not going to let you destroy this world.”
“Destroy it?” He laughed. “Please. Do you know how long it would take to rebuild the infrastructure? No, I don’t want to destroy this world. Just take it over and unite it, finally, under one flag. My flag.”
“You’re insane.”
“I am a child of Chaos. I can’t be insane. I’m just being true to my nature.” He gave her another beautiful smile. “With a healthy dose of ambition thrown in.”
She tried to call her extrasense again. Nothing. “You know the other Fallen will not stand for this. Neither will the Shadowchasers. There are more who will stand against you than will stand with you. You’re not going to win.”
Again the amused smile. “I’ve been planning this for longer than you’ve been alive, Kira Solomon, working my way onward and upward through my brethren. I am the personification of the free market system at work, Darwin triumphant. I am the fittest and I alone will reign. My plans are coming to fruition. All I need now is the Dagger of Kheferatum.”
He nodded and one of the hybrids came forward with a key. “I’m going to let you go.”
That surprised her—and made her suspicious. “Why?”
“So you can kill the Nubian, retrieve the Dagger of Kheferatum, and bring it to me.”
Absolutely not. It was obvious that he had already started to gather his army. Like hell she’d give him a weapon of mass destruction. “I know what the Dagger of Kheferatum is, what it’s reputed to do. What makes you think I’d do something as stupid as give you the power to obliterate existence?”
“Because you’re going to join with me,” Enig said, as if stating the obvious. “Of your own free will, you will return and you will bring the dagger. In return I’ll give you what you long for most.”
“What I long for most?” She smiled grimly. “As if you know what that is.”
“Don’t I?” He stepped forward, one hand reaching up to caress the air about her head. She felt his touch even though he had not made contact with her flesh. “There’s one thing you want above all else. One thing you desire even more than being touched and touching without killing. I can give you that. I can give you whatever you want.”
“You have no concept of what I want.” She had to taunt him to cover a sudden, sickening wrench of fear.
“You want a key. And that key is information to unlock the mystery of who—or what—you are and where you come from. Who your parents are. Why you have this singular ability. I can give you that key, that truth, if you join with me.”
Kira burst out laughing. “Good speech. Forgive me for not applauding, but I’m a little tied up at the moment.”
Enig’s smile widened, but the glint in his eyes warned her a second before the back of his hand connected with her right cheek. “You dare to reject my truth?”
It took a moment to blink back the pain and reply. “You’d gift me with lies. You know it. I know it. That’s all your kind is capable of.”
His eyes flashed like an amped-up traffic light: red-yellow-green. “You’re mistaken, Kira Solomon. Lies are what humanity craves. It’s always been truth that’s been shunned and relegated to Shadow. Humans need the lies, the bright and pretty baubles, because truth isn’t pretty.”
He gripped her chin, perfectly manicured claws digging into her skin. “Truth isn’t soft and cuddly and perfect. Truth is hard and sweaty and bloody. Truth is pain and bitterness and loneliness. Truth is ugly and that’s why humanity rejects it. They only want the pretty with the least amount of effort possible.”
“Like your version would be any better.” She spat at him. Why the hell couldn’t she call her power? “I don’t want your lies or anything else from you!”
“Not yet. But you will. You belong to me, to Shadow, already. You just haven’t realized it yet.”
No. She didn’t belong to Shadow. She’d never belong to Shadow. “I reject you. I reject your truth.”
Enig smiled. “Resistance. So pretty, coming from you. That makes this all the more delicious.”
He held out his free hand. One of his underlings slithered forward to hand him a long-needled syringe. Whatever it was wouldn’t be good, even if the sludgy liquid inside didn’t glow a sickly peachy-orange color when he brought it near her. “What the hell is that?”
“Something to make you more . . . malleable.”
“You’d better hope it’s something that makes me more dead. Because when I get free, I will kill you.”
Laughter answered her. “Oh no, you don’t get the easy way. You don’t get the lies. Breaking your body is novice-demon stuff.”
His hold tightened on her jaw. “I’m going to break your mind, piece by delicious piece, Kira Solomon. Then I’m going to break your spirit. Once you are broken you will come to me. You will come to me, on your hands and knees and begging, because no one else will have you. You will know my mercy because I will claim you as mine and make you welcome. And all in Shadow and Light will know that I am the master.”
He shoved the needle deep into her neck, piercing her jugular vein. Pain stole her ability to scream. Her eyes bulged as fire raced to her heart, then exploded through her body. She could feel her power gathering intensity, her skin pulsing. The bonds holding her melted off her wrists, and her heart leaped in response. Finally! She’d make them pay for what they’d done.
Something was terribly wrong. Power flared, burning away layer upon layer of blocks and controls. Not just her hands, her entire body throbbed with light. Ma’at protect me!
Hands touched her, triggering her defenses. Power ripped from her, her vision going blue-white as the drug hit her brain like a bullet.
Then the screams began.
Chapter 21
Wynne was just locking up as Khefar shouldered his way into the shop. “Kira’s missing. She’s not answering her cell phone. Where is she?”
“That’s what we’ve been trying to find out since her blade sent a warning about fifteen minutes ago that she’s incapacitated.”
Dread slid down his spine. “What do you mean, incapacitated?”
“Injured or captured. Either way, it means she’s in deep shit and she needs our help.” Wynne, already wearing one-piece Nomex coveralls, walked to the back of the shop and pulled on a white Tyvek jumpsuit over it—hazmat gear commonly called a “bunny suit.”
“When Kira goes out on a solo Chase, we’re usually on standby. She’ll give us a two-hour window before we’re to try to contact or track her down, but she didn’t inform us to stand by and with the blade’s warning . . . ”
Wynne gestured over her shoulder. Her husband had a map spread atop the glass counter, four quartz clusters at each cardinal point, and a PDA in h
is hand. “Zoo’s looking now, but even with his magical enhancement of the GPS it isn’t turning up anything—and that always works.” Wynne zipped up, then hooked on a tactical belt. “Or it did before now.”
“Perhaps I can be of assistance?” Nansee joined the male witch.
Khefar turned back to Wynne. “She’s in trouble. I can feel it.”
“I know. We’ve got locator spells on her Lightblade and her bike, but the bike’s still at the house. We thought you were with her.” Wynne didn’t bother to disguise the slight hint of accusation in her voice.
“I was. We went to the museum and then to the faculty gym on the campus, just as planned. We sparred and she told me she was going to take a shower, then meet me outside, but she never showed up. I went to the parking lot and the SUV was gone. She’s disappeared. Do you think Gilead called her about the Avatar?”
“It’s the only thing I can think of that would make her cut and run like that.” Wynne waited a moment, as if waiting for Khefar to volunteer more information about why Kira might have taken off without him. He remained silent. Wynne could intuit something had happened between the two of them all she wanted, but it was obvious that as far as Khefar was concerned, whatever happened between him and Kira would remain between him and Kira.
“I’m going to find her,” Khefar said. He reined in his impatience with an effort. If Kira was in danger, he had to save her. If he couldn’t save her, he’d be that much further from his goal. And, the Nubian realized, even if she weren’t now part of his mission, he would still be committed to saving her because she was . . . Kira.
“You’re going to need our help,” Wynne said calmly. “And we’re going to need yours. Kira will recognize us, I think, but even in protective gear, we could be vulnerable.”
“What? Why?”
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