All Hell Breaks Loose

by Sharon Hannaford

  When she joined the rest of them in the kitchen, Derek seemed to have regained his good humour. Trish was excited that she had made a breakthrough in tracking the group they were after. The computer geek talk was going over her head.

  “What’s up, Wolf?” she said to Kyle. “I tried you earlier and couldn’t get hold of you.”

  He shifted uncomfortably, and she wondered if something had happened that he didn’t want the others to know about.

  “Uh, I think there’s something wrong with my phone,” he said shortly.

  “Oh,” Gabi replied sceptically. “So, you’re here with Trish because…” she left it hanging.

  “Once I heard you’d taken Derek with you, I figured he might need a lift back to the Estate, and Trish here,” he looked over and gave her a little smile, “looked like she needed to get outside for a bit, so we decided to come for a drive.”

  “Huh,” Gabi muttered, going around the kitchen counter to put on the coffee maker. There was an odd niggle in the back of her brain, and something was making the little hairs on the back of her neck stand up. She automatically sent out her senses to check for danger, but nothing showed up clearly.

  “I like the new car, by the way,” Kyle commented as she reached for mugs and sugar.

  “It’s just a loaner from Julius,” she said, “a replacement Mustang could be weeks away.”

  Trish was looking around the living area. “You have a beautiful home,” she sighed to Gabi. “It’s so lovely here, away from the hustle of the City.”

  “Thank you.” Gabi smiled. “It’s my little slice of heaven. When things settle down, you’ll have to come for a run in the woods out back, I have a few hectares of land.” She poured coffee and was just opening the fridge when a low warning growl issued from the living room. Damn, Razor had heard the guests. Before she could move to put herself between him and her guests, the huge cat charged them, hissing and growling like a wild thing.

  “Razor, no!” Gabi yelled. “What’s got into you? It’s Kyle, you daft creature.”

  The cat stopped two feet from Kyle, puffed up with all his fur on end, a vicious snarl erupting from his throat.

  “For fuck’s sakes, will someone give me a looking glass and call me Alice today,” she muttered, making a grab for Razor.

  And then things turned truly bizarre. Tiny Rocky shot out from under a chair, jumped off the ground onto Gabi’s leg, scampering up her body, and made a leap at Kyle, landing on his shoulder. The little critter immediately launched itself at his head and bit him on the ear. Kyle leapt backward, batting at the squirrel and yelping.

  “Holy shoot,” he squeaked, “get it off me, get it off me.”

  And Gabi froze. It took a full second once the pieces fell into place for her to understand the picture that emerged.

  “Fuck,” she breathed as she quickly twisted the signet ring. “Sorry, Trish,” she whispered and began the counter incantation. At the same instant Kyle launched himself at her, fury on his unfamiliar features. She heard Derek and Trish both yell and Razor’s snarl of fury as Kyle ploughed into her, sending her flying backwards. Her head connected with something hard and sharp, and pain exploded in her skull as she felt the ward kick in. She collapsed to the floor with Kyle on top of her. His body suddenly bucked against hers, spasming before rolling away to one side. Blackness swirled, and she fought to stay conscious.

  “Gabi, Trish,” Derek shouted. “What the hell?”

  Razor’s huge fuzzy face popped into her field of vision, blotting out everything else, he was purring, but anxiety was pouring from him. His whiskers tickled her nose.

  “Gabi, are you okay? No, don’t try to move, you hit your head really hard.” Derek bravely nudged Razor out of the way a little to peer down at her. “What the fuck just happened?” he demanded.

  “Doppelganger.” She whispered the word, gritting her teeth against the pain in her head. “Not Kyle, a Doppelganger. Call Byron.” And then the darkness won.

  Five, no wait, maybe it was six trolls with jackhammers had taken up residence inside her skull. She was sure of it. She’d suffered a migraine once at college; this was worse. It took her a minute to compartmentalise the pain so that she could finally concentrate on her surroundings. A man was talking, just the one voice, and he sounded anxious, maybe even frantic. Damn. That probably meant she couldn’t just curl up in a ball and die peacefully. Double damn. She cracked her eyelids open and rolled her head towards the voice. Huh, since when did Derek have a twin brother? An identical twin brother. Or was that just a ghost of a brother? And since when did fairies exist? Little sparkly orbs danced in mid-air. And two Razors peered worriedly at her. Oh, that wasn’t good.

  “Hang on, she’s conscious, let me check on her,” Derek’s voice said. “Gabi, stay still.”

  There was an unusual air of command in his voice. The rest of her was very uncomfortable, and she wanted to move. It felt like she was lying on tiles; they were cold and hard. What was she doing lying on tiles with jackhammers in her head? Oh. Fuck. The memory of the Doppelganger came flooding back. She dragged herself into a sitting position just as Derek reached her and tried to push her back down. Too late. Nausea swamped her, and she only just had time to turn her head away from Derek before her stomach revolted against her.

  “Shit, sorry,” she mumbled, trying to control the last of the dry heaves.

  “Gods, Gabi, I told you to stay still,” Derek admonished. “You’ve probably got a serious head injury. Byron, I’m putting you on speakerphone for a second while I help Gabi.”

  She heard the faint clunk of the phone landing on the counter. And then Byron’s voice.

  “Gabi, honey, listen to Derek. I’m on my way. The ward will keep you safe until I get there.”

  She could hear the sound of an engine in the background. She hadn’t been out long if—

  Derek knelt next to her, interrupting her thoughts. He settled one of her arms over his neck. “I’m sure I’m breaking the paramedic rules,” he muttered, “but let’s get you onto the couch.”

  He carefully scooped her off the floor. The world spun, her stomach threatened mutiny again, and more fairies joined the party. She shut one eye, hoping to see just one Derek. It didn’t help, so she shut both eyes instead. She felt the soft give of the couch under her, and Derek was gone. Then he was back, holding a cloth to the side of her head.

  “Hold this,” he said, directing her hand to it.

  Next, she heard him scrabbling through the kitchen, and he was back with a large plastic basin, which he positioned near her on the floor.

  “Gabi, I need something to tie the Doppelganger up with. Do you have rope or something else I can use?”

  It took real effort to think through his question and form a coherent answer.

  “There should be duct tape in the hall closet. Top shelf, I think,” she said eventually.

  He was gone again, and she could hear him speaking. Hopefully it wasn’t to her. The loud rip of tape being yanked off the roll pierced her skull, and she groaned.

  “Gabs?” Derek’s voice came from near the kitchen.

  “Fine,” she moaned. “Noise. Headache.” Single word sentences were about all she could manage.

  “Sorry, I’ll be done in a minute.”

  It felt more like an hour later that Derek was happy with his duct tape job. He came back into the lounge and crouched in front of her with a glass of water.

  “Just a sip, rinse your mouth,” he said. “Byron will be here with reinforcements soon.”

  “Sorry about Trish,” she said.

  He lifted her hand away from the cloth on her head and grimaced before putting it back. “I’m sure she’ll understand. Besides, she got off lighter than you did. I put her on the spare bed. Hang on, I’m going to grab a towel before you bleed all over your couch.” He was back almost before she realised he’d gone. He gently tucked a towel under her head and neck.

  “I can lift the ward, and Trish will come around,”
Gabi offered.

  “No, don’t do that. We can wait for Byron. I’m not sure what that woman is capable of.”

  “It’s a woman?” Gabi asked, though with the ‘holy shoot’ comment that finally tipped her off, it made sense. “She shifted back to her true form?”

  “Well, I’m guessing it’s her true form,” Derek said, “but she doesn’t look like Kyle anymore. Gods. And to think I didn’t believe you when you told me about them. How freaky is that?”

  “Yeah, just send in the white rabbit, add a tea party, and we’ll be in Wonderland,” she muttered.

  “Your Cheshire cat isn’t smiling wide enough, and he sure isn’t invisible,” Derek commented, eyeing Razor who was perched protectively on the back of the couch, watching Gabi intently.

  Gabi snorted, but before she could comment further, a car pulled up outside. Byron rushed inside, pausing for a moment near the kitchen before joining them in the lounge.

  “Gabrielle Bradford,” he said sternly, “you really are a trouble magnet.” Then he leaned over her to brush a kiss on her forehead.

  “Hmm,” she harrumphed, “not you too. I was accused of giving Vampires grey hairs last night.”

  That brought a wry smile to Byron’s concerned face.

  “Has there been any word from Kyle yet?” Anxiety was a tight knot in her stomach.

  Byron’s grim expression answered her question. “Are you feeling strong enough to cancel the ward?” he asked instead. “Melinda and Athena are outside, and a team are on their way in a secure van.”

  Gabi pulled a face. She didn’t like other people in her house, especially Athena, but concern for Kyle overrode her personal space issues.

  “Is the Doppelganger secure?” she asked.

  Derek and Byron both nodded. She touched the ring and went through the incantation. She felt the familiar change in air pressure as the ward disengaged. Footsteps sounded in the front hallway and then halted.

  “Melinda?” Byron called. “We need you in here, please.”

  The young Healer Magus hurried into the lounge. She joined the men looking over Gabi and shook her head.

  “Lord and Lady, Gabi,” she muttered. “What have you been up to?”

  Gabi managed a lopsided grin. “Oh, you know, the usual. Bomb blasts, Doppelganger attacks,” she said as the sound of groaning came from the hallway. “Derek, go and check on Trish.”

  Melinda gently nudged Byron out of her way so she could lay her fingers on Gabi’s temples. “You have a lot of injuries,” Melinda noted as she assessed Gabi.

  “Hmmm,” Gabi agreed, “never mind the small stuff. If you can stop me seeing double and ease the headache enough for me to function, that’ll be enough.”

  “You need rest, even if I heal your head wound,” Melinda warned.

  “Not gonna happen until we find Kyle,” Gabi said shortly. “Just get me upright. I need to have a chat with my uninvited guest.” Her voice had gone hard and cold, and she could feel the rage beginning to burn through her body.

  Chapter 17

  A little frown puckered Melinda’s forehead as she moved her fingers from Gabi’s head to pick up her strapped wrist. She studied it and then turned it over, starting to pull the strapping off. Gabi yanked it away.

  “Just the head, Melinda, the rest is fine,” she warned darkly. She knew it wasn’t fair to the Healer, but the anger didn’t care about fair, it cared about finding Kyle. It didn’t need to be distracted by the embarrassment of a healing Vampire bite.

  The Magus’s eyes widened a little in shock, but she recovered quickly and put her hands back to Gabi’s head. She began a soft chant, and Gabi felt a warm tingle flow into her skull, easing the tight band of pain and silencing the jackhammers.

  When Melinda pulled her hands away from Gabi’s head, the Magus looked pale and tired. Gabi sat up slowly, not wanting a repeat of the nausea.

  “Thanks,” she said to Melinda. “It looks like you need this more than me.” She patted the couch. “Sit down before you fall down. I’ll get Byron to bring you some tea,” she said.

  Luckily Rose drank the noxious leafy stuff, so there’d be some in the kitchen somewhere. Byron was one step ahead of her and came in bearing a steaming mug of something herbal and honeyed.

  Gabi stood up and was relieved that the world was steady and the fairies were gone. The rest of her still ached, and she could feel both wounds in her scalp. The pain would help feed the anger. She narrowed her eyes and stalked to the kitchen. Athena and Derek were busy in the dining room, wrestling a struggling, screaming woman dressed in Kyle’s clothes into one of Gabi’s dining table chairs. Trish was standing by with the roll of duct tape ready to pounce. Gabi grimaced, hoping her chair survived the ordeal. She decided the three of them could cope without her for a minute and went to stick her abandoned cup of coffee in the microwave. It wouldn’t be the same as fresh-brewed, but it was better than nothing. There was a smear of blood on the corner of the wall where she’d hit her head, but someone had cleaned up the mess her bout of nausea had left. She wondered who she owed a debt to for that one. Razor had beaten her to the kitchen, and little Rocky chittered at her from the floor. She picked up the squirrel and set her on the counter.

  “You two did good,” she told them both, sending waves of praise their way. “Nothing gets past you lot, does it?” Gabi was pretty sure that the imposter would’ve accomplished her mission if it wasn’t for the animals. She gulped her reheated coffee and transferred the baby squirrel to the ground with a mental nudge to go and curl up with Slinky in the wash basket. She didn’t bother to clean the blood from her hair and neck and allowed her Angeli Morte mask to slide into place—the one that made Vampires beg and Werewolves cower. Then she retrieved Nex from her battered and burned sheath on the countertop and strode into the dining room, Razor close on her heels.

  The woman stopped struggling the instant she walked in. Trish quickly taped her left arm to the chair, the right was already secured. Kyle’s jeans sat askew and his T-shirt hung loosely on her smaller frame. Her strawberry-blonde hair was cut short, in a chic modern style, though her roots hinted that she was naturally a light brunette. She was on the plain-looking side, but with the bone structure that suggested she could be stunning with a bit of make-up. Right now her eyes flashed with a mixture of fear and resentment. As the natural scent of her fear hit Gabi’s sensitive nose, she knew for sure that the Doppelganger was able to mask her own scent; even in Gabi’s current state of health, her nose had never betrayed her. She would undoubtedly have noticed if Kyle hadn’t smelled like Kyle.

  The other three backed away from the Shape-shifter a couple of steps now that she was secured to the chair. Athena was panting a little, and a couple of hairs were out of place. Under other circumstances, Gabi would’ve enjoyed the sight.

  “Where is Kyle?” Gabi ground out, stopping less than two feet from the other woman.

  Razor leapt nimbly onto the dining room table just to the woman’s left. His stance was pure aggression, and the low growl issuing from his chest left the group in no doubt that he would rip the woman apart if she made one wrong move.

  “I’m not saying anything,” the woman hissed. Her eyes flickered nervously from Razor to Gabi and then to the side of Gabi as Byron walked into the room.

  “Kimberley,” he said, aghast. “Kimberley, what is going on?”

  Gabi spun on him. “Kimberley? You know this woman?” she demanded.

  “Yes,” Byron replied. “This is Kimberley Adams. One of the few Doppelganger Shape-shifters in existence. A couple of years ago, I offered her a job with the SMV, but she turned me down. Apparently we didn’t pay well enough for her.” The chime from the gate sounded again, interrupting him. “That’s probably the team. Athena, would you be kind enough to check and let them in?”

  The Magus nodded and left without a word.

  Gabi’s eyes hadn’t left the captive’s face. A flicker of shame had crossed her features when Byron had spoken. Gabi dove
in. “So, you’ve turned on your own kind for profit?” Gabi guessed, watching the bullet strike home.

  The woman flinched, but then resolution flared. “Not for profit, for love. True love. Not the whoring around with Werewolves and Vampires kind of love you’re famous for,” she spat, glaring spitefully at Gabi.

  Gabi smiled. It wasn’t a nice smile. Kimberley suddenly sat back in the chair, as though trying to push right through it.

  “I’m going to ask you nicely one more time. After that I’m going to ask the rest of them to leave the house while you, me and Razor talk…privately.” Gabi switched her grip on Nex and slammed the tip of the blade into the wooden arm of the chair, right between Kimberley’s right thumb and forefinger. Kimberley squealed, and the scent of adrenaline and urine drenched the air. Gods be damned, a small part of her brain wished they hadn’t had to use her house for the interrogation.

  “Where is Kyle?” she demanded in a voice one step short of shouting.

  Kimberley’s eyes were still staring fixedly at the sword sticking out of the wood between her fingers. She was breathing so hard she sounded like she was panting. Gabi felt Byron shift uneasily behind her.

  “He’s…he’s…Jason has him,” Kimberley finally choked out.

  “What?” Gabi asked. “Jason who?” But she already knew the answer.

  “Jason King. He’s gonna come for me,” Kimberley shouted, glaring around the room, her bravado streaming back. “You’ll see. He won’t let you torture me.”

  “What does he want with Kyle,” Gabi asked her, shifting Nex a little to bring the woman’s attention back to the razor-sharp blade.