Bone Magic (Winter Wayne Book 3)

by D. N. Hoxa

  My mind was still not my own. Thoughts about what the fuck was Xander Ramos doing here couldn’t register in my brain just yet. The pain, like white noise, made my ears whistle while I blinked and blinked—and every time I did, Xander was closer to me, dressed in a shiny white suit with a sky blue shirt. He held a champagne glass in his hands with two strawberries in it, and his smile was even bigger now than when I’d told him about the dragon blood.

  The dragon blood…

  Laughing couldn’t be helped. Everything was already starting to make sense. “You fucking bastard,” I said. He joined my laughter.

  “You know, I’ve got contact lenses of all colors you could use. And my stylist would love to work on that hair of yours to hide your ears. I really do want to see the real you again,” Xander said as he went to stand by the floor-to-ceiling windows. It was too dark outside, so I couldn’t see what he was looking at.

  “This is the real me, Xander,” I said, still grinning as if his words didn’t get to me at all. “Now, can we get to the part where you tell me why the fuck you brought me here against my will, not to mention tied up?” My beads swirled faster around my hands as if to remind me that they were there, but I already knew. I was counting on them, too. I could get this over with real fast, but common sense said that, if Xander had brought me there, he wasn’t alone. At least three guns were probably pointed at my head at the moment, and the werewolves holding them would not hesitate to pull the trigger. No, Xander knew about my beads. That’s why I needed to be extra careful when I used them to kill him and get the hell out of there.

  “Now, now, Winter. Let’s not rush ourselves and forget whose life is in whose hands here,” he said with that plastic grin of his. Shivers rushed down my back and anger made me see red for a second.

  “If you don’t let me go right now, I’m going to kill you. I’ll die next, sure, but you’re crossing hell’s gates first,” I hissed.

  Xander froze for a second. “There’s no need to be hostile.”

  I laughed again. Was this guy serious? “The ropes, Xander!” I didn’t care if he could kill me—I would not be tied like a dog and let him have his way with me. I’d rather die, anyway.

  With a sigh, Xander lowered his head. The next second, footsteps echoed against the high ceiling. I didn’t need to look back to see that it was one of his werewolves. I held my breath as whoever he was cut the ropes from around my hands and walked right back where he came from. I got rid of the rope around my ankles myself and finally stood up.

  “Feeling better?” Xander said. His smile was still as bright because he knew that, tied or not, I’d know he had people all around us, ready to shoot me dead at the first sign of danger. What he didn’t know was the number of fucks I gave about that (zero).

  “This is low, even for you, Xander. I mean, going behind my back and knocking me unconscious? What the hell happened to you?” Not that I knew anything more about him than everybody else, but I had to win myself some time somehow, so I could figure out how the hell to get out of there.

  “Careful with that voice of yours, fairy,” he said, raising a brow. I rolled my eyes. “I needed to speak to you.”

  “Why not ask me? I didn’t kidnap you the last time I wanted to speak to you, did I? I came to see you.” It would have made this so much easier.

  “I’m a much more complex creature,” Xander claimed. “I do need my fun every now and then.”

  So kidnapping people was what he did for fun. Good to know.

  “You can shove your fun right up your ass, asshole,” I muttered. My head still hurt really bad.

  “Relax, my dear fairy. We’re here now. Nobody’s going to interrupt us.”

  Oh. He didn’t know.

  Of course he didn’t know! He had no idea about Julian or about Bender. No idea that they were probably already looking for me—if they by some miracle managed to see through their egos and get over their pissing contest.

  Suddenly, I wanted to kiss the werewolf for taking me. This was perfect. He fell right in my lap!

  “What do you want from me, Xander?” I asked. Now, it was more important than ever to drag the conversation on until Julian and Bender found us. If everything went right, we’d be out of this house with the dragon blood in our hands—and lots of wounds on our bodies, too.

  “Like I said, I wanted to talk to you about something,” he said. “Something important.”

  I sat back down on the comfy sofa. No point in standing since I couldn’t move a single muscle without being seen, unfortunately. Good thing that now I didn’t want to hurt Xander. Not without having the dragon blood in my hands first, at least.

  “You robbed the ECU,” I said when he began to walk to me, and he stopped moving, completely shocked. I grinned. That’s more like it.

  “Still well informed, I see,” was his way of asking me how I knew.

  “Always. But then again, I knew you were going to do it when I told you about it.” Crossing my legs, I rested my back on the sofa. I was taking advantage of it while I could. “In fact, I was kind of hoping that you would.”

  Xander laughed like his heart was on fire. “Oh, you nasty little fairy!” he sang. “I knew I liked you for a reason. If you looked different, we could have had so much fun together.” And he winked. Ew.

  “Good thing I don’t, then.” I didn’t bother to try and hide the flinch. “I’d love to hear about how you did it.”

  Xander shook his head and sipped his champagne. It looked really delicious. “I’ll tell you all about it—if you tell me something first.” Here it was. The reason he’d kidnapped me.

  “Ask away,” I said with a nod.

  Smiling like a snake, Xander actually came and sat down right next to me. I didn’t think he’d have the guts to do it, but he obviously trusted me more than he should have. I was taking advantage of that, too. Returning his smile, I turned my body towards him and batted my lashes until he began to speak.

  “When you told me about the blood, I have to say I didn’t really believe you. It wasn’t until I was in the presence of someone who knew all about it that I began to wonder. And to ask.” Sipping his champagne, Xander’s eyes scrolled down my body in a way that would have had me blushing, if he were anybody else. “It seemed you were right. There was such a thing as dragon blood and the ECU had it. Other people wanted it, too. So much, they were willing to pay a lot for it—and you know what I’d do for a lot.”

  “Rob the ECU?” It was exactly what he’d done. Julian had been right. Xander already had a buyer.

  “That’s right, my dear fairy,” he said. “But after all was said and done, I got to wondering.” Clamping his mouth shut, he stood up again and this time went to the fireplace. He looked down at it, as interested in it as if it was full of flames, when it was completely empty. Impatience threatened to get the best of me, but I bit my tongue and waited. “What exactly does dragon blood do? Why would anyone offer to pay me that much for it? It’s a number that would make you dizzy.” He laughed a little. “And I’ve already received half of it!”

  I could have been wrong, but that seemed to surprise him. He turned to me, shaking his head and smiling.

  “I had made the deal, yes, but I didn’t think anybody would go through with it. Now that they had, I really want to know why.” Walking back to me with the gracefulness of a feline, Xander sat down and left the champagne on the table. “So tell me, my dear fairy friend, what does the blood do?”

  Curiosity sparked in his grey eyes. He looked even more dangerous than normal, and the white of his suit made his teeth shine in a scary way. I almost leaned away from him.

  “I thought you already spoke to people who knew all about it.” Shit. I had no idea what to say to keep him talking. Where the hell were Julian and Bender?

  “Don’t you find people too secretive? I could have asked nicely, and then not so nicely, but what impression of me would that give?”

  I rolled my eyes. “So you kidnapped me because it was
easier than to make yourself look bad in front of your friends?” It seemed he was right. He was a very complex creature.

  “I don’t have friends, fortunately, but yes, I didn’t want to risk ruining a deal of that size. So I asked you,” he said. “Do I need to ask again?” The asshole was trying to intimidate me, but I was more intimidated by the thought that Julian and Bender weren’t even looking for me yet. What if they couldn’t tell I was taken?

  Shit.

  “You can ask me as many times as you like, but my answer will be the same: I don’t know. I have no clue what dragon blood does.” My beads buzzed as if they knew Xander could smell the lie. He wasn’t going to like it.

  I was right. His grey eyes took on a yellow hue as he clenched his jaw but maintained his smile. “Perhaps I wasn’t clear enough. I’ll pay you for this information, of course. Name your price.”

  I shook my head. “I’d tell you if I knew, but I don’t. Sorry.”

  Usually, I was very attentive of the movements of the person sitting next to me, but this time, Xander caught me off guard because I was too busy thinking about what to say next to buy time. That’s why, when he slapped me with the back of his hand, I didn’t even see it coming.

  I fell against the sofa, my cheek throbbing. Anger filled my head with the color of my magic, and I jumped to my feet.

  My beads flew forward with the command of my fingers, and they stopped right in front of Xander’s smug face. God, I wanted to hurt him, so badly. But through the corner of my eye, I could see the six figures standing by the kitchen cabinets to my side. I could also see their guns, pointed at my head.

  Goddamn sonovabitch!

  I lowered my beads.

  “Liars push my buttons real fast, especially your kind of liars, fairy,” Xander spit as he looked up at me.

  “Touch me again, and it’ll be the last thing you touch.” I had my limits, and he was walking dangerously close to them now.

  “Let’s try this again, shall we?”

  He nodded at the sofa, and as much as I hated to do it, I sat down. Julian and Bender were nowhere to be seen, and I needed a plan. I needed to get the hell out of there, and fast. “What does the blood do?”

  “It heals,” I hissed. “There. You happy?”

  Xander raised a brow in suspicion. “What does it heal?”

  “Wounds. Magical wounds. Fairies used to mix it into their drinks. A spoonful and you’ll be as good as new,” I mumbled, remembering everything Julian had told me about it before I knew that he was a fairy, too. “That’s why people are after it,” I added. If I could convince Xander that this healing thing was a big enough deal, he wouldn’t push for more information.

  “Does it require a spell?” he asked.

  My heart beat like crazy in my chest.

  “Not that I know of. Fairy magic doesn’t need spells,” I mumbled.

  Xander was silent for a long second. He kept looking at me, and I could practically hear him thinking about what I’d said and deciding whether to believe me or not. I swallowed hard and held his eyes, though I wanted to look at anything else in the room, even the werewolves with their guns who were right behind us.

  The entrance to the living room was through the kitchen. Unfortunately, the werewolves were right by it. There were no other doors I could see. It looked like my only option was the floor-to-ceiling windows. But it was too dark to see outside. For all I knew, we could be on the tenth floor. Jumping out would mean dying.

  Did I want to take that risk?

  There were six werewolves I could see—seven, if I counted Xander. He’d get his hands dirty if necessary. He’d fight me without a second thought. I needed to move my beads faster than ever before if I wanted to take them out all at once and give myself enough time to break a window and jump through it.

  But with my hand still not completely healed, it was going to be hard. Maybe even impossible.

  Before I could make a decision, one of the werewolves standing behind us slowly approached Xander. He got close to his ear and whispered: “He’s here.”

  Xander’s eyes turned back to their normal grey color—not a hint of yellow. He stood up and buttoned his jacket.

  “My buyer has arrived,” he said to me. “Shall we?” And he offered me his arm.

  What the fuck was I going to do now?

  Fifteen

  Lacing my arm with Xander’s was as disgusting to me as it was to him. Which further confirmed Julian’s theory: the buyer was definitely a fairy. Xander would never risk being seen with me like that if the buyer were anything else.

  He took me through a narrow corridor and to the main hallway of the house, which was just as beautiful as the living room and the kitchen. Dark wooden floors, beautiful peach-colored walls, amazing paintings mounted every few steps. The shiny double doors opened for us by Xander’s werewolves. When we walked outside and I counted twenty-two of them, I almost passed out. He had more people guarding him than I realized. Good thing I hadn’t tried anything without knowing this.

  The front yard was set in stone and beautiful lamps illuminated the round space in front of the stairs. I could see nothing but trees around us, which could work to my benefit when I ran away.

  In the middle of the yard were three cars, and four people stood in front of them, hands folded in front, as still as statues. Fairies, all of them. My heart picked up the beating. I’d never seen so many fairies in one place before.

  When Xander and I took the three stairs and were right in front of them, the door to the first car opened and another fairy came out. He was broad shouldered and had an aura about him that no other fairy I knew had—except for Julian. He held his chin high and his violet eyes stopped on me first. He looked at me without an expression on his square face, and when he was done with the analyzing, he turned to Xander.

  “Martell, my dear fairy,” Xander said and finally let go of me to go shake the fairy’s hand. Thank God. I stayed behind and looked around for details, anything that could help me plan my escape more carefully.

  Sadly, there were no lights beyond the ones around the yard and the trees around it made it impossible for me to see which direction would provide the best escape route. It looked like I was going to have to take what I could get.

  Focusing on the werewolf and the fairy in front of me, I took in a deep breath. Now was time to decide whether I wanted to try and get the dragon blood before the fairy took it, or get as much information as I could, so that we could go after him when this was over.

  “Good to see you again, Xander,” the fairy said. His voice was deep and a bit scratchy. “Do you have it?” He didn’t even question me.

  “Of course I do,” Xander said, and just when I thought he’d pull Julian’s necklace out of his pocket, he instead turned to me. “I was just speaking to my friend Winter, who is also a fairy, as you can see.” With a nod, Xander ordered me to go stand next to him. I silently obeyed. “She was telling me about the healing abilities of the dragon blood.”

  As soon as he said “dragon blood,” Martell paled a little. When he looked at me, his violet eyes screamed suspicion. Probably because not everyone knew about what dragon blood did, and I definitely didn’t look like a fairy who should have that kind of information. I said nothing as I held his eyes.

  “I’d love to know more about it over a drink inside,” Xander continued. “What do you say, my dear fairy friend?”

  Martell’s brows narrowed. “I’m afraid that won’t be possible. If you have what we spoke about, I have the rest of the payment with me.”

  “But I insist, Martell. Allow me to be your host for this fine evening. You will get what you were promised, I can assure you,” Xander said.

  His voice was no longer as polite. He was pissed off and we all could see it, no matter that he still tried to hide it.

  It didn’t take a genius to realize that Martell didn’t trust Xander. Martell, it seemed, was a smart guy.

  “I don’t mean to offend you, but my
plane is waiting for me as we speak. As soon as I return,” the fairy said with a nod, as if his promise was worth anything.

  Xander smiled and looked worse than a snake with its fangs in full sight. He really wanted to know more about the dragon blood, but he also didn’t want to lose the money that Martell had promised him. Dang, the guy was in a really tight spot. I would have grinned, but I didn’t want the attention.

  “Very well,” Xander finally said, and it felt like everybody let go of their held breaths. “Let’s do business.”

  With a wave of his hand back without even looking, Xander put some of his men in motion. Three werewolves went inside the house just as Martell nodded his head to his fairies. The four of them immediately walked to the last of three cars and opened the backdoor. That’s when I saw that the cars were full of fairies, too. Twelve of them, if I could count correctly. My odds were definitely not looking good.

  The werewolves came out of the house holding a black leather box and handed it to Xander. Martell’s fairies handed him a silver suitcase. The dragon blood and the money.

  This was it. The exchange was happening right in front of my eyes. I could try to grab the box from Xander’s hands and run, but I’d end up dead before I could take the second step. I looked at Martell’s pale face and committed every detail about him to memory. It looked like we were going to rob him instead of Xander.

  “If you will,” Martell said to Xander, nodding at the box.

  “Of course,” Xander said and opened the box to show us what was inside. Julian’s necklace with the leather tie and the three cylinders. My heartbeat tripled. It was so close, I could touch it. Fuck.

  Martell’s violet eyes illuminated when he saw it, then pulled up his suitcase to open it.

  “No, no, that won’t be necessary. I do trust you,” Xander said.

  I bit my tongue to keep my body from doing anything stupid. Don’t move, don’t move, I chanted at myself. Xander offered the box to Martell. Martell offered the suitcase to Xander.

  “Everybody, freeze!”

  Bright light fell on all of our faces before we could blink. I fell back, adrenaline already rushing through my veins. All I could see were guns—everywhere. Xander’s werewolves were all around him, and the fairies surrounded Martell.