Blue Blooded

by Amanda Carlson

  This time it was a double tug.

  He was conscious, and he could hear me!

  I frantically drummed my fist on the wall, standing on my tiptoes, and then going down on my knees. Nothing gave way. I should have been able to hear him or scent him if he was this close.

  “Enid!” I called angrily. “You’re masking a doorway, aren’t you? Why? I’m here alone, just as you asked. I know Danny has information you want me to have. It’s time to be done with this! Show me the damn door.” I refrained from cursing more, which was what I wanted to do.

  All of a sudden, I was shoved backward, my spine smashing into the wall, followed by my head.

  My phone clattered to the ground, the flashlight instantly blinking off. I couldn’t move. My teeth gnashed together. “What…do…you want, Enid?” I grated. “Are you going to kill me now?”

  Cold air brushed by my neck, and a different ghostly voice whispered, I want you to pay for what you did.

  I had no idea if the ghost was Enid or if Enid was channeling the ghost. It was a little beside the point at the moment. “I’m trying to make it right,” I told her through a clenched jaw. “Your sister believes there’s a way to fix this. I’m sorry about Bianca. I really am. Search my heart and you’ll know I speak the truth. I had no idea that ending Ardat Lili’s life would have such a dire consequence. But I’m willing to make a sacrifice to get us back on track.” The pressure on my chest increased, instead of decreased. Any more and I would lose all ability to breathe. She could easily kill me right here, but she was holding back. I grasped on to that. I sputtered, “If you kill me now, that glimmer of hope dies along with me and you know it. Along with a whole lot of innocent people. I don’t know if you’re a sadist, but if you’re not, give me a chance and I will do everything in my power to make it right. I swear!”

  All the pressure let up at once, and I collapsed to my knees.

  I rubbed my neck, gasping for air.

  Fists began to pound on the stone wall across from me. “Jessica, is that you?” Danny’s voice was frantic. “Bloody hell, get me out of this tomb!”

  I jumped up, searching for my phone in the dirt, my fingers finally brushing it. Luckily, it was still working. I flipped the flashlight on and scanned the wall. “Danny! I’m here!” There was no door to be found. “How did you get in there? Is there a door on your side?”

  “I don’t know how she stuffed me in here,” he replied. “I was knocked out, which is her favorite pastime. It’s as dark as the devil’s arse in here, but I’m working my way around the room now.”

  I was so relieved to hear his voice. He was okay! And he still had his sense of humor. I hoped that meant things hadn’t been too dire for him and Naomi during their capture. “I’m going to walk around out here,” I called to him. “There has to be a way in.”

  The orb of light popped through the wall in front of me, startling me. A moment later, coldness touched my cheek. Look…down, the breathy voice told me.

  This was definitely not Enid.

  The ground below me was caked with dirt and old, moldy straw. I got down on my knees and began to dig with my hands, elongating my claws to help with the job. Less than a foot down, my nails scraped metal. It was a grate of some kind. “Danny!” I called. “Check the floor. I just found a grate, and I can hear water below. This must have been a place to smuggle goods in and out of the city back in the day.”

  A moment later, Danny replied, “I found one! It’s going to take me a minute to dig it out.” I could hear him cursing and complaining, and smiled.

  I propped my flashlight against the wall so Kayla could see while I used both hands to uncover the rest of the grate. This must’ve been a main way to get goods to the bridge, because it was large. Four feet long by three feet wide. As the dirt and straw were cleared away, a little light filtered in from below. I could see black water lapping ten feet down.

  I straddled the steel, curling my fingers around the slats. We’re going to need all our strength here, I told my wolf. Energy raced through me as I hefted upward.

  The thing wouldn’t budge.

  I got back on my knees, tracing the outline with my hands. I found the problem. The ends were bolted deeply into the stone walls.

  I heard metal clang in the next room. A moment later, Danny yelled, “I ripped the bloody thing out of the floor! I’m going to jump into the water. When I come up, call for me, and I’ll follow your voice.”

  Before I had a chance to tell him that I hadn’t gotten my end up yet, I heard a splash. He was in the water. I grabbed on to the metal bars near a large bolt and tugged with all my strength. “Danny!” I called. “I’m trying to get this thing up, but it’s secured tightly to the stone.” A face emerged in the water below, and I couldn’t contain my shout of joy. “Danny! It’s so great to see you.”

  “I’m happy to see you, too, but I need out of this water. My most sensitive parts are turning blue already.” He was too far down to help me by pushing upward.

  “Kayla,” I called over my shoulder, “are any of your guys strong enough to help me? I need to get this metal barrier up. I’ve got it loosened on one side, but if I had more hands, it would go quicker.” Four skeletons stepped forward. They each maneuvered to a different part of the grate. I couldn’t believe bare bones would be much help, but it was worth a try. “Okay, on the count of two. One…two.” I pulled hard, channeling my Lycan side, shifting just enough until I heard a satisfying crack as the barrier gave way on all sides.

  The dead guys had actually been stronger than I’d imagined. One of them had loosened the other side enough to give me the leverage I needed.

  “Step back,” I told the skeletons. They obeyed immediately. I called down to Danny, “Almost there. Just let me set this thing down.” I placed the heavy grate along the stone wall.

  “That’s all well and good,” he answered, shock in his voice. “But who the feck are they?”

  13

  “They are a bunch of reanimated bodies,” I said. “Kayla’s helping me out. She’s a necromancer we bumped into on our way home from the swamp. There’s a lot to fill you in on, but in a nutshell, the reason I’m down here with a bunch of skeletons is that Enid wouldn’t let me bring another living person down here, so this was our solution.”

  Danny had no trouble climbing the ten feet out of the hole. He was dripping wet as he emerged. I hugged him fiercely, stinky water and all, trying not to get overly emotional.

  It wasn’t working.

  “It’s good to see you, too, Jessica.” He patted my shoulder. “There, there. No need to get worked up. I’m fine. Alive and well. See? No worse for wear.”

  I pulled back, scrutinizing his appearance, looking for any ill treatment, but finding none. “It’s wonderful to see that you’re fine, but how are Naomi and Jax? I hope they were treated just as well.” My voice was a little disbelieving. “I don’t see a single scratch on you. I thought Enid would be rougher on her prisoners.”

  Danny paled visibly. “What do you mean, how is Naomi? And who is Jax?” His voice was agitated. “I was snatched by the Hag on my own. Naomi and I had just finished—” He cleared his throat. “Well, then, that’s none of your business, then, is it?” He combed his dark hair off his face with his fingers, and water trickled down over his shoulders. “I’d gotten up to go to the washroom after the single best night of my life and—that witch had no decency whatsoever. She snatched me right off the bloody toilet!” His voice was indignant. “Honestly, I don’t remember much else. I awoke in some sort of supernatural-proof bunker. It was boring as hell, but all in all, I was fine. Then I awoke here.” He glanced around. “By the way, where is here?”

  “We’re currently standing inside a piling of the Ponte Vecchio in Florence, Italy.” His eyebrows shot up. “And there’s no easy way to tell you this,” I started, not wanting to tell him but knowing I had to, “but Enid took Naomi that same night. She also snatched a teenager named Ajax, who’s an ice troll and the y
ounger brother of Kayla, who is currently helping us out with these dead guys.” I thumbed behind me. “I’ll tell you more, but we need to get out of here right now. Everyone is waiting for us up top.” The skeletons turned in unison and started to march back the way we’d come. The clacking bones sounded so strange. Not a melody I wanted to remember.

  Before I could turn to follow them, Danny placed both his hands on my shoulders, his face imploring. “Where are they, then? Where is she keeping Naomi and the boy? I have to find her.” His face was a mask of anger mixed with pain. “We must leave right now.”

  I knew how he felt.

  “We don’t know where they are, but we’re working on it,” I told him. “We will get them back. I promise you. Enid is playing with us. We’re assuming you have information to share and that’s why she let you go.”

  He shook his head. “I have nothing to contribute. I was down in that blasted bunker the entire time, alone. Had I known she’d taken Naomi, I would’ve gone crazy to get out of there! Instead, I just lay there counting the ways I wanted to tear her head off when we met face-to-face.”

  I grabbed him and began to haul him after the skeletons. “Danny, I know this is a lot to take in, but we have to get out of here. Naomi isn’t on the bridge, so the best thing we can do to help your mate is find the others.” I tugged him along. “Rourke’s up top, not so patiently waiting for me to return. Ray is outside this piling. But I swear to you, we will find her and Jax and get them back. I’ll fill you in on everything once we get out. Just trust me.”

  “I trust you implicitly.”

  It didn’t take long to find the steps. In front of us, the skeletons spread out to either side, pressing themselves against the walls. And then, as one, they fell to the ground, bones clattering, sounding like a giant box of matchsticks being upended.

  Danny slapped a palm over his heart. “Well, that was quite horrifying.” He arched a look at me. “A necromancer, you say? I suppose it’s a handy skill, but it’s too morbid for my tastes. I’ll take a blood-sucking vampire any day.”

  We took the steps two at a time, trying not to lose our footing. At the top, the steel door was firmly sealed. I reached for the deadbolt and wrenched it open.

  Bright sunshine bathed us as we stepped out. We both blinked.

  Rourke pulled me into his arms immediately. “Thank goodness,” he murmured into my hair. “When we lost internal contact I was worried. Then Kayla saw you being hurt. Once the flashlight you were holding went out, I tried in vain to get the door open, but it wouldn’t budge. I was just about to go over the side of the bridge to try to find you.” His relief washed over me.

  I pressed my lips to his neck. “I’ll make it up to you later,” I whispered as I drew back. “But it was a success. Look who I found down there.”

  Tyler and Danny had just finished reuniting with a big hug. “How’d you get wet?” Tyler asked. “Decided to go for a swim in the Arno, huh?”

  “Something like that,” Danny replied, his voice distracted. “Listen, do you have any information on where my mate is? Do you know where the Hag has taken her?”

  Tyler looked stricken. “We thought she was with you.” He darted a look my way.

  “Apparently, Enid took them separately,” I said. Ray landed by my side a second later. “Danny didn’t know she was missing until a few moments ago.”

  “Damn right I didn’t know she was missing,” Danny swore. We all stood in the small space next to the jewelry store, looking like a group of tourists regrouping. If Danny had had more room, he would’ve begun to pace. “We have to find her immediately. Enid is powerful. That Hag could end her life if she wanted to! There’s no time to waste.”

  “Finding her is our top priority,” I assured him. I couldn’t tell Danny about what had happened earlier. I struggled to keep the encounter completely out of my mind. My wolf picked up on it and began to help, throwing energy at me. Thanks, I told her. “Danny, I promise we’ll have more information soon. But right now, we have to head back to the Compound. There’s a reason why Enid let you go, and we’re going to have to figure out what it is.”

  Tyler placed his arm around Kayla’s shoulders. She didn’t look any worse for wear after reanimating twenty dead bodies. “I’d like to introduce you to Kayla,” he told Danny. “She helped Jessica down there with the bodies.” He glanced at me, his grin wide enough to show a dimple. “How was it, anyway? As cool as I imagined?”

  “Cool wouldn’t be the exact word I’d use to describe it,” I replied wryly. “It was fine—as far as hanging out with a bunch of skeletons goes.” I shrugged. “Now that I think about it, it was actually less creepy than I thought.” I addressed Kayla. “There’s a ghost down there who ended up helping me. It begged me to free it in return. I feel like I owe it a favor, but I have no idea what to do.”

  Ray surprised me by replying first. “I’ll take care of it.” Without another word, he hauled open the door and walked inside.

  Kayla nodded. “He’s the better man for the job. I would have to search for its body, which would take a while.”

  Danny held his hand out to Kayla. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. Necromancy is quite…impressive.” They shook hands. “We appreciate your assistance, of course.”

  Kayla’s face was hopeful. “Do you have any news about my brother? His name is Ajax, Jax for short. I realize you weren’t with the others, but did Enid happen to mention anything?”

  “No, I’m sorry. I have no news,” he said. “I never had words with the Hag.”

  Kayla looked crestfallen, so I asked, “If you never spoke to her, how did you know it was Enid who took you?”

  “Well…” Danny scratched his head, and errant drops of water flicked to the ground. “I’m not sure…I just knew.” He glanced up to the sky and then back at me, his face confused. “To tell you the truth, it’s all a bit hazy. I do remember the loo, then bits of the bunker, then here. But, honestly, when I heard your voice, it was like I’d just awoken from a deep trance.”

  I patted his shoulder. “Don’t worry about it,” I said. “I have a feeling it’s going to come back to you bit by bit. Enid wouldn’t want to show her cards all at once. We should head out.”

  “Good idea,” James agreed. “Callum will be landing in a few hours, and we need to figure out our plan before then.”

  Lucas pulled out a phone. “I’ll call the driver. He can pick us up a few blocks from here. Unless, that is, you’d like to go check out another museum? There are many statues we can still look for.” His voice was insinuating, and I appreciated Lucas trying to keep us on track.

  “No,” I replied. “I think we’ve done enough for today. There are more pressing matters to attend to. The first of them being to figure out why Enid let Danny go.”

  Nick quickly introduced Lucas to Danny, and Danny stuck out his hand. “Nice to meet you, mate. Are you from around here?”

  Lucas nodded. “Yes, I was born in Southern Italy. I am part of the Mediterranean Pack. Julian is my Alpha.”

  Danny bunched his nose, cocking his head. “You don’t smell like a wolf. Well, a little bit like a wolf, but not entirely. What are you?” We were smooth when it came to sleuthing out supernaturals. It seemed we could all use an etiquette lesson…or two or three.

  “I’m half Kitsune,” Lucas replied, holding up his finger as he spoke into the phone, directing the driver where to go.

  “Kit-what?” Danny asked, looking confused.

  I grabbed Danny’s wet sleeve and began to lead him off the bridge. “Kitsune. He’s part Japanese fox,” I told him. “Like I said, we have a lot to fill you in on. You’re going to have to be patient.”

  Danny met my gaze, and I registered the pain and loss in his eyes. “Patience is not my strongest virtue, Jessica.”

  I tightened my grip on him. “I know. You’re worried about your mate, which is totally understandable. But we’re going to find her. My guess is she’s staying strong for Jax. I can only assume Enid p
ut them together for a reason. The Hag must not have wanted Jax to be alone. Either he’s too innocent or too strong. Either way, they’re together.” Maybe Enid had some redeeming qualities after all. I hadn’t had a chance to tell the group about our encounter in the piling, but I was hopeful she let me go because she wanted to give me a chance. “And, just so you know, I’m prepared to swap my life for theirs, if that’s what it takes.”

  Danny looked both horrified and relieved. He shook his head. “It won’t come to that, I’m certain.”

  “How can you be so sure?” I asked.

  “Because after Naomi and I…consummated our bond,” he said, trying hard to not be his normal, Danny self and reveal too much, which I appreciated, “our internal connection sprang to life. I’ve been calling to her since you told me she was gone.” He grinned. “I’m finally getting something back.”

  14

  “Just try relaxing,” I coaxed. “It could take some time to establish a connection.” We were walking along the Arno, moving toward the meeting point with the driver. Danny had just lost the tenuous connection he’d established with Naomi.

  “I’m telling you she’s gone,” Danny said, fear and anger ringing in his voice. “It was there one moment, gone the next. Like a plug had been pulled from the socket. Enid has to be controlling this. And she’s taunting me. That blasted Hag!”

  I rubbed his shoulder. “It’s been five minutes,” I consoled. “Enid might be moving her. We don’t know what’s going on. Take a break and try again in a little while.”

  Before he could respond, Marcy let out a shriek from behind.

  My head whipped around, my fists automatically going up. “What? What is it?”

  Marcy gestured wildly toward a crowd to her right. “I just saw that witch from Tally’s coven! The haughty one. Oh, dang it, what’s her name? Exotic-looking and a total nasty-pants. Ceres, the Goddess of Fertility, is her sister. I think she was the one who made you get on that joke of a scooter and ride into the lake.”