by Deanna Chase
He sobered and smoothed his gray silk suit. “What everyone else wants, I suppose. But that’s not the question you should be asking.”
I clenched my teeth, knocking back the fear threatening to immobilize me. “I’m not in the mood for games, vampire. Let Talisen go and maybe we’ll talk. Until then, you’ll get nothing.”
Narrowing his eyes, his voice came out in a low growl. “You’ll do whatever I tell you to, faery. I’ve got the upper hand here.” He stretched his arm out and snapped his fingers.
Light filled the warehouse, making my eyes water. I blinked rapidly, trying to clear my vision. He had his attention focused off to the left and his smile was back. I glanced to the side and did a double take.
Son of a bitch! Lined up against the wall were Harrison, Phoebe, and Nicola, another witch who was Pandora’s half sister. Phoebe must have been ambushed as soon as she entered the building. They’d known we were here. But how had Harrison and Nicola gotten there?
“Let them go,” I said. “I’ll get you what you want, but you have to let them go first.”
The vampire walked casually over to Phoebe and ran a finger along the gag keeping her silent. “You’ll do what I want, but there won’t be any negotiating about what happens to these criminals.”
Criminals? He’d lost his mind.
He turned back to me. “Breaking and entering is still a crime, you know.”
“But abduction isn’t?” Anger coursed through my limbs and my wings flared.
His lifted one eyebrow. “Dominance, faery?” He waved a hand to his two sidekicks. One had a needle pressed to Tal’s arm. “I think we can agree who’s really in charge here.”
I took in a deep, ragged breath and forced my wings down. Dammit. It would be really helpful if I’d brought that sweater to keep my wings in check. At this point every movement was involuntary. I couldn’t help it. “Leave him out of this.”
He closed his eyes and shook his head as if he was praying for patience. “The two of you are at the center of everything I need. But I’m not unwilling to make a deal.”‘ He gestured to a metal chair a few feet from Tal’s Plexiglas cage. “Have a seat and we’ll see if we can come to some agreement.”
Me? He’d said the two of us. What did he want with me? My Influence gift or did he want to be turned into a daywalker? How could he know about that? Forcing the panic down, I took a moment to search Phoebe’s expression, but the only read I could get from her was righteous anger. If she managed to get free, he was going to pay for a long time before she dusted his ass. I didn’t think I’d ever seen her look so dangerous, despite the bindings that kept her trapped against the wall. I could see it in the deep dark pools of her eyes.
The amusement on the vamp’s face when he glanced at her told me he saw the same thing and welcomed the challenge. The fear coiled deeper inside me.
Nicola was struggling with her bindings, only succeeding in making them cut into her wrists. Harrison met my eyes, but I had no idea what he was trying to tell me. Maybe nothing. He couldn’t do or say anything in his current state.
Without any backup other than Link waiting outside, I didn’t have much of a choice. I walked slowly but with purpose to the metal chair, trying not to keep my eyes glued to Tal. Looking at him only made my heart break.
You can do this, Willow. One step at a time.
I positioned the chair so I could see Phoebe and the vamp and sat back, leaning against the cool metal. I waved a hand in the vamp’s direction. “Maybe you should start by telling me who you are.”
He pulled out another metal chair, positioning it backward, and straddled it when he sat. It was so out of character from his stiff demeanor that the action threw me off for a moment. This wasn’t a brainstorming session. “I want to know a little more about you first.”
I said nothing as my defensive walls shot up around me. Did he know who I was, besides Tal’s friend?
The vampire pulled out a smart phone and tapped a button. Was he recording? “Tell me about your brother.”
I jerked at the mention of Beau. “What about him?”
“Anything you want to tell me.”
I tried for a normal tone, not wanting him to know how much the question bothered me, but I failed miserably as my words came out low and angry. “There isn’t anything I want to tell you. This session was your idea, remember?”
He leaned forward as if my answer interested him. Of course it did. He’d chosen a topic that riled me up and I’d failed at hiding it. “How did he die?”
There was no reason to lie. His death was public record. “He was murdered. Throat cut and left to bleed out.”
“Do you know why?”
I shrugged. I did know, but I sure as hell wasn’t going to tell this asshole. “Random act of violence?”
He stared at me, his crazy eyes piercing me as if he could see right into my mind. Thank the Goddess vampires didn’t harbor that particular gift. Then he said in a dry tone, “Don’t fuck with me, Rhoswen. You’ll only piss me off.”
I scoffed. “If you have something you want to say, then spit it out. I don’t have any information about my brother. He never hurt anyone. He led a quiet life. Then he was killed. End of story. Unless you’re trying to tell me you had a hand in it. And if that’s the case, then this conversation is over.” I stood to make my point clear.
But before I could move, he flew out of his chair. He landed inches from me and even though he wasn’t touching my skin, everything started to burn. I bit back a wince and tried to keep a neutral face. I couldn’t risk letting him know how much his vampire state hurt me. I’d be tortured until every last drop of life was torn from my body.
“The reason this conversation is relevant is because I know who did kill him. He’ll kill you, too, if you’re not careful.”
My heart skipped a couple of beats. Asher knew about my ability. He had to if he was willing to kill me. And this vamp knew it, too. “Who are you?” I breathed.
He backed up just enough that the burning eased. “The second-in-command to the vampire who killed your brother.”
The second-in-command. This vampire had straight-out told me he worked for the vamp who’d killed Beau. Why? Unless he planned to kill all of us. My body tensed, on the edge of flight, but the words stirred a deep-seated promise I’d made to myself four years ago. To find and take down Beau’s killer. And now his second-in-command was moments from killing Tal as well. I used my thumb to flick the stun gun on, and before I could stop myself, I jabbed it at the vamp, missing him by less than an inch.
He jumped back, eyeing the weapon in irritation. “You have to know that won’t bring me down.” He snapped his fingers and the two guards who had been waiting for the vamp’s order to inject Tal moved forward. One of them was Pittman. The traitor. “If she tries that again, restrain her.”
“Yes, sir,” they said in unison as Pittman leered at me and winked. Total sociopath.
If they got anywhere near me, they’d both be in a Taser coma for days. It was the vamp-grade weapon Phoebe had stolen from the Void. The vamp would survive, but the humans wouldn’t stand a chance. Doubt took up residence in my mind. What about humans on Tal’s drug? It would slow them down for sure, but would it neutralize them? I could only hope.
“What’s your name?” I asked the vampire through my haze. I wanted to know who I was taking out. Wanted to know that he was involved in Beau’s death, but I couldn’t force the words out. It was too painful.
“Sit,” he ordered. When I didn’t move, he growled. “Take a seat or I’ll rip your arm off. The one holding the gun.”
Angry vamp wasn’t nearly as terrifying as calm vamp had been. I didn’t care for being ordered around, and the thought of following his orders made bile rise in my throat, but I swallowed it down, refusing to let him have that power over me. The knowledge that I’d gotten under his skin was satisfying enough for now. Besides, I had no doubt he would follow through on his threat if pushed hard enough. I inched ba
ck to my chair and sat with my back straight.
He stalked to his chair and sat heavily. “Now. You can call me Von. Got it?”
I nodded. “I’m not an idiot.”
“All evidence to the contrary.”
I glared.
“Most faeries in your position would not challenge a vampire keeping her friends hostage,” he pointed out.
“I’m not most faeries.”
“No,” he said softly. “You most definitely are not.”
Silence stretched between us. I wanted to shout at him to let my friends go, to ask what he wanted of me, but I didn’t. I just stared him down in some ridiculous mind war, waiting for him to cave.
Finally he started laughing. “Now I know why Allcot likes you so much.”
“What?” I jumped, nearly falling right out of my chair. He knew about my relationship with Allcot? And he thought Allcot liked me? He couldn’t be further from the truth. Allcot tolerated me because of my abilities and my ties to Beau Junior, who was, for better or worse, going to always be a part of Allcot’s family. “Why do you say that?”
“You’re not easily intimidated. It’s rare to find anyone besides a witch who fights back.”
What a sadistic bastard. He was getting off on my fight reflex. Dark, twisted piece of vamp turd. “I don’t appreciate those who hurt my friends.”
He sat back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest. “Let’s get down to business then, shall we?”
“Let’s. How about you let my friends go and we’ll let you continue to exist.”
He smiled a savage grin as he shook his head at my demand. Clearly any negotiations we made would not involve us just walking out of the building. “Tempting, but I think we’ll go another direction. You tell me about the abilities your brother had and which ones you inherited, get me the test samples of your friend’s new superhuman drug, and then we’ll see what we can do for you.”
Yeah. That was closer to what I thought he’d say. I mimicked his posture. “As far as I knew, Beau never had any special abilities besides his natural fae gifts.” And that was the absolute truth. I’d only learned about Beau’s vampire gifts less than two weeks ago.
“But you know now.” He saw right through my ploy to sidestep his question.
“So I’ve been told. But I never saw him use any of it, so how can I be sure this isn’t all a lie?” There. That was the truth, too.
“Maybe because you have the same gifts.” He kept those eyes glued to me, clearly waiting for a reaction.
I didn’t give him one. The only person who’d ever seen me use my gift was Phoebe. Allcot and his people knew about it, but no one had actually seen me in action. Deny, deny, deny. If I told this vamp his mere presence sucked the life out of me and that if he touched me, it would be worse than being beaten with an iron rod, I’d be a sitting duck.
And I sure as hell wasn’t going to tell him I could turn vampires into daywalkers. I didn’t even know if I could repeat the experience. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m a skilled baker who can infuse plants with magic. That’s all.”
He jumped to his feet and growled, “Don’t lie!”
I shrank back, wishing I wasn’t sitting. But if I stood, I’d have no choice but to push Von backward and I was pretty sure if I touched him, he’d snap.
“Tell me!” His face contorted as his fangs elongated and a snarl erupted from his throat. “What are your gifts? Why is Asher obsessed with you?”
I never saw him move. One minute he was glaring down at me, the controlled vampire I’d met gone, replaced by a crazed monster. The next, his hands were clutching my shoulders and my feet were dangling off the floor. The fire erupted in my arms and spread rapidly to my chest. I was going to die of shock or a heart attack if he didn’t put me down.
I cried out in pure agony and reflex took over. There was so much pain I don’t even know how I moved my arm, but the moment I touched him with the stun gun, the shock was so powerful it went right through him and into me through his fingertips.
We stayed locked together, frozen by the current. My synapses misfired and although my brain was screaming for me to drop the gun, I couldn’t. I couldn’t do anything but stand there, zapping the vampire while I screamed in pure agony until my world went black.
Chapter 19
I awoke to bright lights and shouting. Was that Tal? His voice rose above the others, calling my name. He was awake. I sat up, my head spinning and my limbs still on fire. Ugh. I’d nearly wiped myself out with my own Taser.
Blinking, I rubbed my eyes and stumbled to my feet, praying I hadn’t been out for long. Across the room, Phoebe was free of her restraints and had Von shackled to the wall in her place. Harrison and Nicola were fighting both the guards who had been watching over Tal while he continued to struggle with the bindings still holding him to the chair.
How had the three of them gotten free? I shook the unimportant thought from my mind and rushed into the lab to Tal’s side, half-flying, half-hobbling. My unsteady equilibrium had me tilting to the side and I lost my footing, landing face-first at Tal’s feet.
“Willow. What the hell are you doing here?” His tone was full of admonishment, but when I pulled myself up, ready to give him a piece of my mind, the clear relief in his eyes stopped my verbal assault. I pressed my lips together into a thin line and shook my head, trying not to focus on the bruises marring the right side of his face. Had they broken his jaw when they’d taken him? If so, it appeared he’d managed to heal his bones already. Without speaking, I pulled a small knife from my pocket and slashed the bindings tying him to the chair. As soon as he was free, he swept me into a full body hug and walked me out of the lab backward toward what I assumed was the exit.
“Wait!” I planted my feet, prepared to fight him off if necessary, but he stopped and stared down at me.
“Why?”
“I can’t leave Phoebe here.” I glanced over his shoulder. The vampire was restrained, but he was conscious and struggling to get free. The chains were already showing signs of weakness. Any moment now, they’d come loose from the wall. Phoebe was chanting, spinning a binding spell that appeared to be winding around him.
Grunts and curses came from the pair fighting the guards. My eyes widened as I took in the scene. Nicola was throwing spell after spell at the tall, broad-shouldered one, but he remained unaffected, easily blocking each one. I recognized a few of the incantations from the various times I’d been on vampire patrol with Phoebe. With the amount of power she was tossing his way, he should’ve been dead by now.
Was he not human?
Another spell hit him and this one slammed into his nose, causing it to spurt blood. Definitely human. He lunged, catching her around the ankle, and the pair went down in a heap.
I rushed forward, pulling Tal with me, but was cut off by the shorter, black-haired guard going blow for blow with Harrison. Left punch. Right punch. Gut check. They each took their beating in stride as if the other hadn’t so much as swatted at him.
Tal wrapped his arms around me, shielding me from the violence.
My insides heated with dread, making my head spin. They were all hopped up on Tal’s drug. Why did they want the elixir if they already had it? Did they want to keep it out of Allcot’s hands? Or the Void’s?
The tall one had Nicola pinned as she squirmed beneath him. I pulled myself from Tal’s grip and ran.
“Willow, no!” he called. Guilt seized my mind, but I kept going. I had to help her. Just as I reached the guard’s side, he turned and knocked me halfway across the room, causing my Taser to skitter between some abandoned crates. “Shit.”
Nicola was now fully restrained under the guard and Harrison was breathing heavily, his boxing match continuing with no end in sight. Phoebe was still working to hold the vampire. And where was Tal? He’d disappeared. Panic pushed away the guilt. Had they gotten him again?
“Phoebe!” I called as I sprinted to find my gun.
“Use the tranq,” she called back, tossing the gun in my direction. Vampire grade. I caught it, unlatched the safety, and aimed. Right before I pulled the trigger, Link leaped out of nowhere and sank his teeth into the guard. With a vicious growl, he pulled the guard off Nicola and dragged him from her reach.
The guard screamed in blatant terror. I rolled my eyes. He’d managed to fight off a witch and yet he was afraid of the wolf? Idiot.
I glanced back at Phoebe. She was busy checking the restraints of the vamp. Then I turned my gun on the guard fighting Harrison. “Hold it,” I demanded. “One more punch and I’ll put you out.”
The guard ignored me and landed a roundhouse kick to Harrison’s kidney. Harrison grunted and fell, clutching his side.
So much for giving him a chance. Without hesitation, I squeezed the trigger and the dart landed in the middle of the guard’s back. He went still and then fell face-first.
“That’s one,” Tal said, walking slowly across the room. He must’ve been the one that let Link in. He nodded to the one still struggling to get away from Link. “He doesn’t know anything. Dart him.”
I paused for half a moment, then let the dart fly. If Tal said he didn’t know anything, then he probably didn’t. No need to keep him conscious. The second guard went still in Link’s jaws.
“Tie them up,” Tal said, unmistakable hatred ringing from his gravelly voice.
Harrison and Nicola went to work on securing the unconscious guards.
“Hey,” I said. “How did you two end up here?”
Nicola raised her eyebrows in surprise. “Phoebe sent for us.”
“What?” More anger built, threatening to eat away at me from the inside out. Freaking Phoebe was keeping secrets from me again. Important ones.
Phoebe cleared her throat. “I texted them.” She shrugged and sent me an apologetic look. “We needed backup and I didn’t want to argue with you about it. You were pretty upset with David and there was a good chance he might find out, but I was out of options.”