She answered the call in the living room. “Yeah?”
“It's Jeremy. I thought I'd give you an update on your murdered dealer.”
“What did you find?”
“Forensics tested the sample of venom I pulled from Henry,” he paused. “And then took a sample from the body to retest.”
She leaned against the wall for support.
“Beth, it looks like we've found the last Leroux.” Each word fell like a hammer on the silver stake in her chest.
“I guess that means Adrian's case will be put on the back burner for awhile,” she said with a hard laugh.
“Sayer informed The Keep. They're flying in from Erewhon today to lead the search. They think she's been using Illusions and moving from one refugee home to another to bypass them.” Voices called his name in the background. “Listen, Beth, it looks like we are heading out. I'll keep you posted.”
Maura smashed the cell against the wall.
Chapter Twenty-Five: The Mistake
Heidi paced Adrian’s study. Sayer had called with bad news. Dangerous news. Her insides turned to liquid. She placed a shaky hand over her stomach.
“How am I supposed to tell Adrian?” she said to Claus, who stood by the window, his hands jammed into his pockets. “He’ll kill me.” For the last year, she’d tracked Beth, never thinking she could've been Maura Leroux until Sayer called moments ago. The venom from Henry traced back to Maura Leroux. To Beth Hollings.
“He won't kill you,” Claus said, his voice steady, exhausted. “He needs you.”
“I spent a year with the woman! Worked with her for eight hours every day. What excuse do I have for not realizing?” She sat on the piano stool, thinking she'd vomit.
“Maura knows how to hide.” Claus turned from the window. “He's here.”
“Shit,” Heidi croaked. “Do you think Sayer called him already?” She hoped he'd broken the bad news. A better chance Adrian already blew off some steam.
“He didn't drive the car into the front doors. I'll take it he doesn't know.” Claus poured Heidi a drink.
She knocked it back, chewed a piece of ice to keep herself distracted. “That doesn't mean anything.”
“He's as much to blame for this as you are.” Claus sat on the window cushion. “Maura spoke to him, danced with him.” He sipped his drink. “He didn't realize it either.”
“It's never his fault.” Heidi rubbed her churning stomach. “Did you know?” She met his sharp gaze. “Did you know who she was?”
“No.”
The front doors unlocked. The sound echoed in the cold house. Heidi’s heart leaped into her throat. I'm dead. Footsteps fell evenly in the marble vestibule, nearing closer, louder. I'm dead. The study door eased open. Adrian walked in, shut the door, locked it. Pins and needles brought a cold sweat to the back of Heidi’s neck. I'm dead.
Adrian blocked the door. He regarded Heidi with the same hate he had when someone uttered the name Leroux. It blazed in his dead eyes, seethed in his blood to distend the veins in his neck. His nostrils flared, lips tight.
Heidi gulped.
Claus disappeared into the shadows of the room. The clink of his ice cubes, as he drank, was the only notion he existed.
“What. Happened,” Adrian said through clenched teeth.
Where do I begin? “Sayer called.” She tried to act relaxed, unafraid. She lounged in a love seat, arms sprawled out on the backboard, her legs crossed, her fingers clenching her glass. “They found evidence Maura Leroux is still alive.”
“I'm aware,” he hissed. “I danced with her last night.” He stepped forward. Heidi winced. “You've worked with her for a year. Explain how we've only found her now.” He moved closer with every passing second Heidi didn't answer.
Tears stung her eyes. She didn't have an explanation. One that would save her life. She'd failed at her one job, allowed Maura to run under their noses, and jeopardized the future Adrian aimed for. I'm dead.
Adrian placed his hands on either side of Heidi. He leaned forward until their noses grazed. His features blurred so close to her face. The red of his eyes held hers. The tangible agitation rolling off of him kept her seated in paralyzing fear. Intimidating the answer out of her did nothing but constrict her bladder until she thought she'd piss herself.
“Maura slipped through all of our fingers,” Claus said from the dark. “She's worked for Sayer for how long, Heidi?”
Adrian's glare strangled her words. “Twenty years,” she croaked.
“For the last two decades, you've been paying off Sayer for tips on Maura. She's worked in his own department for twenty years,” Claus said. “Heidi's been there for only a year. What do you expect?”
“I don't believe I was asking you,” Adrian growled. “I was asking Heidi.” His smirk distorted from her idling tears.
“I don't…I don't–”
“You don't have an answer,” Adrian interrupted.
Heidi shook her head. Her mind went blank with excuses.
Adrian slapped her across the face. She whimpered, her cheek stinging.
“Adrian,” Claus warned.
“How about now?” Adrian said. “Do you know now?”
Hot tears rolled down her cheeks, irritating the red mark that pulsed beneath her eye.
He hit her again, harder. The sharp snap of his hand connecting with her face echoed longer in the room. “What about now?”
“Adrian,” Claus growled.
Heidi's whimpers turned to soft cries. Her red, hot face stung. He'd kill her if she didn't answer. He'd kill her if she gave the wrong answer. She didn't know what to say. She didn't know Maura had been by her side the last year. She didn't know what words would save her. Her tears thickened, clogged her throat, made it impossible to speak.
Adrian grabbed her by the shoulders and threw her to the ground. Her head smacked off the corner of the glass table. Exploding stars hazed her vision. Adrian's hands coming around her throat looked like thin, wavy lines but felt like a bear’s claws against her windpipe. He squeezed harder. The lights flashed brighter.
“I should kill you for the inconvenience,” he spat.
She reached for his rigid fingers. Blood made her grasp slippery against his. The pounding in her head made it hard to think. The tightness in her chest and want to breathe pulled the looming darkness in faster.
Heavy footfalls shook the floor. A mix of words, a push, and a shove, and she could breathe again. She rolled to her side, gasping and choking.
Claus brushed the hair from her face.
“Get her out of here,” Adrian said from across the room. “She's to bring Maura to me, or she's not to come back at all.” Glass shattered, a door slammed shut, and footsteps stomped away from the room.
Heidi shook in a ball of tears and blood. If not for Claus, Adrian would've killed her. The thought struck every bone in her body with fear. She never feared him until now. He'd killed with her, but she never realized he'd turn on her. Once wanting to be by his side, now she wanted to run.
She sat up, head spinning. Claus steadied her in his hands and led her to the couch. “Can I get you anything?” He adjusted the straps of her dress to cover her shoulders.
She clutched her head. “A ride.”
“Where am I taking you?”
Heidi stood, straightened her dress, and combed back her hair. “The Keep. Sayer is sending Collectors to Mystic Academy. Adrian wants Maura for himself, right?” She swallowed her fear. “I'm going to kill her.”
Chapter Twenty-Six: Under the Radar
Maura didn't waste time. With The Keep still persecuting Vessels, Liam and Maura raced to Mystic Academy to warn Kyle.
“Check his classroom,” Maura said to Liam once at the school.
She jogged to the first floor, around the library, toward the back entrance, and then made a sharp left into a small alcove where she found his office. She walked over the threshold to find everything had been stripped from the room. Framed pictures left dusty outl
ines on the walls. Moved furniture created crop circles in the green carpeting. The personality of the room now resided within several large leather bags piled high on the redwood desk at the heart of the office.
Kyle appeared from behind a stack of books, carrying a briefcase that looked like it would burst.
“Jessica announced to the staff that The Keep will be paying us a visit sometime this week.” He spun on his heels, a knowing look on his face. “That sounds like my resignation to me.”
“Today, Kyle. They're coming today.”
Kyle nodded and moved to his desk silently.
A turquoise glow flashed through the windows. The voice of a professor echoed in the hall, telling everyone to converge in the auditorium.
A cold shiver ran down Maura’s spine. They were here.
“We can't run,” she said. “The Keep will put up a force field.”
He looked up from his papers. The gravity of the situation weighed his lips down. “We can't be sitting ducks either.” Amnesia Dust?
“I don't have any more.” She glanced around the room, like the answers to their problem would jump out from behind the golden statue or off the top of the ceiling-to-floor bookcase. “I need a minute.”
Maura paced from one end of the square room to the other.
The Keep was here. Running made them suspicious and wouldn't get them anywhere. Staying made them sitting ducks. There had to be an in-between. A way to run under the radar.
She spun to Kyle. At the sound of a thought, he turned with a smirk.
“How do you feel about a new look, Kyle?”
***
Maura walked briskly through the waves of oncoming students. They filed downstairs, chatting about how they were supposed to spend the day at the beach or had been studying for an exam. She tuned them out, bumping their shoulders in the haste, searching for Liam.
A deep knock echoed in the foyer.
She twisted down an emptying corridor. A tight grip wrapped around her upper arm. “All students are to report to the auditorium,” Jessica said.
Maura ripped free and ran to the bathroom.
A chill tumbled from the window across the room. The earthly breeze mixed with the odor of cheap soap and bleach.
She yanked open the window enough to shimmy through and twisted on the windowsill to grab the limestone ledge above. Pulling up to stand, she wished Jessica didn’t have an anti-Wend charm over the school. Within seconds, she’d counted the number of windows to her old room and swung along until she reached it. She slipped inside, rolled over the bed, and dusted off.
Maura pulled open the door and crept across the hallway to the balcony that overlooked the foyer. She recognized the voices of several Keep officials conversing on the floors below. The deep sounds tapered off. She continued down the hall where the faintest hints of honey lingered. She smiled. Shadows expanded along the wall beside the grand staircase. Heels clicked on the wood landing. A sigh oozed from someone’s lips. The whisper mixed with the taste of honey.
A slender leg reached the top landing, followed by a flowing blue dress that sparkled with the woman’s movements.
Maura released a quick spell down the hallway that slammed an open door shut. She wedged deeper between the column and the wall, listening to the stilettos clack to the other end of the corridor. Once in the clear, she stalked behind the platinum blonde. Her Song, like a cloud, enveloped the hall.
“Your charm could use some work,” Maura shouted.
Heidi whipped around. Her eyes searched the dark shadow cast by one of the marble statues.
Grinning, Maura knocked her back with a simple spell. Heidi flew into one of the archways and tumbled to the ground. Her white fangs out, she went on all fours to pick herself up, hissing.
“I wouldn't do that if I were you,” Maura said.
Heidi lunged, teeth bared and snarling.
Maura let her take her to the ground. A wave of Heidi’s Song pinned her like a waterfall beat down on her. Maura squirmed beneath Heidi’s invisible hold, her mind falling into the ecstasy her spell produced.
Heidi anchored her hands on either side of Maura. Her aura looked to will Maura into submission. Faint hints of honey mixed with the burn of strong whiskey. The substance nudged The Void. Maura's head swam, her thoughts wispy like clouds.
Through half-lidded eyes, she followed Heidi's gaze as it danced over her body. She put her knees on either side of Maura and straddled her waist with a few wiggles of her hips. Heidi’s hands glided along the silk fabric of Maura’s blouse.
A coy smile ran along Heidi's lips. She cocked her head to the side and inched closer. Her smile widened. Her wordless Song echoed in the air as tangible temptation and lust.
Maura let her head fall back. The Song caressed every curve, tickled every sensitive spot. Heidi slipped her hand along Maura’s thigh. Her lips lingered over the base of Maura’s throat, their shadow leaving a tingling presence behind.
Maura let out a breathless moan and worked to reorient herself. She established a block that lessened the intensity of Heidi’s Song, and soon coherent thoughts came flooding back. She ran her hands down Heidi’s waist to where a dagger pricked her fingers. Another moan masked the sound of the blade hitting a wooden post at the end of the hall.
Heidi's fangs skimmed the line of Maura’s steady pulse, skated to the curve of her collarbone, and paused as she stopped breathing.
Maura opened her eyes and flung Heidi through the stained-glass window that overlooked the indoor pool. She sealed the sound of the shattering glass.
Maura stood frozen in the hall, waiting for a rush of Keep officials to flood the staircase. No one came. She sprinted to the broken window and leaped onto the white arbors over the pool.
Heidi pulled herself from the water, dripping and panting. She dragged herself onto the marble floor.
Maura planted herself against the only exit. “You could make this less pathetic.”
Heidi yanked a silver blade from her ankle and curled her gloved fingers around the handle.
“That's what I like to see,” Maura smirked. “I missed that one.”
Heidi lunged again in the same manner as before. Maura jumped to one of the arbors to escape Heidi’s reach. “I thought we could chat for a minute.”
Heidi swung her dagger from one hand to the other. “I was sent to kill. Not chat.”
“Fine,” she rolled her eyes. “You can kill me after we chat.”
A quick flick of Heidi’s wrist sent the blade flying through the air.
Maura deflected its path with a Shield. The silver dagger burned away the black magic and continued forward before lodging into the wall. “What have I told you about throwing your only weapon?” Maura jumped down. “I didn't expect much from Adrian's lover, but shit, I expected a little more from my partner.” She withdrew a silver blade that glowed turquoise in the faint sunlight.
Heidi fled toward the exit.
Maura sealed the door with a Shock Guard spell that knocked Heidi back when she reached for the brass doorknob. Maura took her to the ground. Heidi screamed, writhed and kicked against the wet floor. Her frail, bony arms, only useful for looking fabulous in sleeveless dresses, did very little to pry Maura’s hold from her.
“Quit your fussing.” Maura nudged the blade to Heidi’s neck. She climbed onto her chest, tightened the grip on her with her legs, and pinned her arms above her head with one hand. Maura used her other hand to rip Heidi’s chandelier earrings from her ears and dangled them in front of her. “I told you that would happen if you kept wearing them.”
It took a moment of concentration and a few mumbled words to summon the pool water to pound over them. In the quiet of Heidi’s drowning, Maura was able to read her thoughts.
She shuffled through the ones that revolved around her being a bitch and how she would pay for this. Adrian was coming for her. She’d tell The Keep. Blah. Blah. Blah.
She dug deeper until she found a conversation with Adrian. Heidi
had told him about the forensic reports that revealed Beth Hollings, Vera Hart, a Siren hiding within The Keep and the head of his case, was Maura Leroux. His anger at how she’d slipped between his fingers tightened Maura’s choke on Heidi. Her thoughts veered to memories involving Sayer, Dimitri, Adrian, wads of money, and a promise of power for their cooperation and help.
Disgust rolled Maura’s stomach, and she released the hold on Heidi’s mind.
Heidi gasped when the water stopped.
Maura dropped her black fangs, leaning close.
Heidi’s wide eyes looked up with fear.
“Trust me,” Maura bent Heidi’s head back by her hair. “I don't want to be Adrian's lover.”
Chapter Twenty-Seven: Heads Will Roll
“I found one,” Maura said.
Two Keep officials dropped Heidi, wearing Vera Hart's face, onto the ground at the back of the auditorium.
The sounds of hundreds of bodies turning in unison enveloped the cathedral-style room. Several screamed. Others clasped their hands over their mouths. A young girl a row away nearly fainted. She stumbled into her friend, who eased her into a seat.
It had taken twenty minutes to adjust to how Heidi spoke, walked, and purred seductively. Several practice walks down empty hallways, and Maura had perfected Heidi enough to slip by Keep officials unnoticed for a little while. The hardest part would be biting her tongue long enough not to blow the Illusion.
She tossed her useless authorization card onto the blood-soaked body. “Vera Hart. One of your own, a Collector. Also known as Beth Hollings.”
Liam jumped from his seat.
There he is.
Sayer leaped from the stage and marched up the red-carpeted aisle. His followers bit at his heels. “A Leroux?”
Liam's eyes grew whiter. His face paled until Maura thought he’d faint. In a flash, his shock turned to anger. His red eyes blazed among the sea of blue-eyed Mystics. Muscles tightened in his arms. He took a step forward into the aisle. Keep officials held him back, but his eyes never tore from hers. The heat of his glare almost set fire to her skin.
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