by Jaime Rush
Ferro would be displeased that she’d disobeyed him by taking care of the girl now, but that was nothing new. They were running out of time, and the Fringers weren’t erupting into a blood war as she had thought they would. Killing this girl would do it. Onyx would gain no power, so she hadn’t Catalyzed. No need; the kid wouldn’t fight. She would be surprised by the pleasant woman who’d gotten lost in the woods. This girl didn’t grow up in the era of fear and blood. She wouldn’t have reason to suspect a thing until Onyx drew the knife across her throat.
“Kaitlyn!”
Panicked voices called from the near distance, feet stomping across the dirt. Dragon feet. In broad daylight. Shrill and urgent whistles pierced the air.
The girl lifted her head and whistled in response. Onyx stepped way back into the shadows as five Dragons raced into view. Two women and three men Catalyzed back to human as they reached her.
“What’s wrong, Mama, Daddy?” she asked, as insipid and clueless as Snow White.
A woman pulled her into her arms, making Onyx ache at the sight. Her own mother, gone. Her daddy, dead.
“We didn’t know where you were,” the mother said, relief saturating her voice.
“But I always wander the woods, and you never got worried before.”
“Violet was pulling our leg,” one man said.
“Maybe she was trying to get us away from the house. Let’s go.”
Three of them Catalyzed and raced back. The other two walked with the girl, who wasn’t Awakened yet and so couldn’t become Dragon.
Violet had warned them. How the hell had she known? But wait. Violet was dead. Had she warned them before Ferro’s trusty Vega had offed her and her boyfriend? Onyx slipped through the forest to her car.
She drove toward the vacant land next to the Castanegas, intending to spy on Violet’s house. She didn’t have to go far. Violet pulled out of Ernie’s just ahead of her. Her two brothers followed in their truck.
Onyx fumbled for her phone and called Ferro. He answered on the third ring. “I can’t talk right now—”
“Violet’s alive. I’m driving right behind her.”
“You’re supposed to be home recuperating.”
She ignored his chastisement. “Didn’t you hear me?”
“I suspected as much. I’m in the middle of a situation. One of my officers came in and tried to kill me. I’ll have to call you back.”
That officer had to be Kade Kavanaugh. Ferro was with others and couldn’t talk candidly; she recognized that formal tone in his voice.
She focused on Violet again, could almost feel her blood oozing through her hands. Could taste it. Red Lust licked at her, breathing down her neck with its seductive heat.
Kill, her Dragon whispered. She put her hand to her stomach, where its energy resided. “Soon. Very soon.”
Both vehicles turned into the Castanega entrance. Onyx continued on and made her way down the weed-overgrown driveway, past the abandoned buildings, and parked. And waited. But Violet never made it to her home. Onyx waited at the edge of the property. The bitch would come home sometime.
Jessup parked his truck at the main house, and he and Ryan got into Violet’s car. They drove into the congested city and followed the directions Mia had given to the marina. Violet spotted her waiting at the end of Dock C, the breeze tossing her dark hair. Worry darkened the mist in her eyes and curved her mouth into a frown. She came forward when she saw Violet, though her expression grew wary at seeing her brothers following close behind. Jessup and Ryan flanked Violet when she stopped in front of Mia, looking thorny as always in the presence of authority.
Mia shored her shoulders. “Who are you?”
Violet made quick introductions. “They’re coming in with me.”
Jessup said, “We don’t like your brother, but Violet’s got it in her head that she owes him.”
Ryan rolled his eyes at Jessup. “You think she’s doing this because she owes him? Dude, get a reality check. She’s in love with the guy.”
Violet gave them both a quelling look and turned back to Mia. “Let’s go where we can talk.”
Mia searched Violet’s face. “Are you? In love with Kade?”
Several answers crashed into Violet’s mind at once, but she didn’t allow herself time to sort through them. “I don’t know what I feel for him. He was sent to kill me, after all. But he didn’t. I do know I’m scared for him. And I’m scared not to see him again.”
Mia nodded, then gestured for them to follow her down the dock. She’d said “Kade’s boat.” Violet didn’t even know he had a boat, but then again, she knew so little about him.
The boat Mia led them to was vintage, about thirty-six feet long, and in beautiful condition. Mia stepped onto the flat railing agilely, though Ryan put his hand out to steady her. She ignored it, jumping down and lifting her hand to Violet.
There were two retro-looking chairs beneath a blue tarp, along with a small table. She could clearly imagine Kade sitting there, a beer in hand, talking about the designer who’d come up with the chair. The image tweaked her heart.
Her brothers showed off, launching themselves over the railing and landing with a thump on the deck. Mia waved them down into the cabin. The place was neat, with cups and plates stored in tilt-proof bins above the counter in a miniature kitchen. This was where Kade was more himself. She could see that, with curtains so tropically garish they had to be a joke. One shelf held empty beer bottles from different places. On the sofa sat a banged-up guitar.
Mia followed Violet’s gaze to it, hers heavy and sad. “Kade told me he was jamming to ‘Wild Thing’ on his guitar. Naked. Someone called the cops on him, and he went up on deck with nothing but that guitar. They threatened to haul him in for indecent exposure. I can’t even imagine him doing that.”
“That was the part he gave up for the Guard.”
And the part that called to Violet, that pulled and twisted.
They crammed in at the table, and Violet opened her folder. “I’m going to give you a quick rundown of what Kade and I have been investigating, so you’ll understand why he did what he did.”
“He said he was thinking. Trusting his gut.” Mia put her hand on her stomach. “And that I should do the same. When you told me what he’d told you…it hurt. Hurt that he told you things he never told me. But once I got past that, and what he was doing, I realized my gut is saying my brother’s not crazy.”
Kade had shared things, intimate things, about himself. If he were putting on a show to gain her trust, he would have focused on seducing her. But when they’d been kissing in her living room, it was Kade who had stopped. At least he’d tried to. Violet had seduced him, as it turned out.
I’m a bad, bad man, Vee.
Now she knew why he’d said that. He had tried to keep them from getting too close. Because he was a good man.
Violet told Mia about the territory map she saw in Ferro’s office and what Kade had reported. “Have you heard about the Dragon deaths lately? A lot of them. I looked up some of the names Kade gave me. The ones I could find—dead. I don’t know whether they were Breathed or not, but given what’s been happening here, I’d assume so.”
Mia gave her an odd look. “You’re different than I thought you’d be.”
Jessup leaned closer to her, making Mia shift away. “Thought we were all idjits, din’t ya?”
Ryan smacked his arm. “Don’t mind him. He can be a butthead.”
“Boys,” Violet admonished.
Mia gave Ryan a softer look before laying out two pieces of paper she’d taped together. On it was a rough outline of a building. “Here are the exits, and over here is where the prisoners are kept. Over here is the psych ward, where…well, that’s where Kade will probably be. I had prison duty a few years back so I know how it works.” Her mouth tightened when she met Violet’s eyes. “And I’m going with you.”
“Are you sure? You can stay out of this, preserve your career.”
“My career
with an agency that would kill innocent people? Who put my brother in prison for doing the right thing?”
“We don’t know if the Guard is wholly corrupt or if it’s just Ferro.”
“Either way, I’m in.”
Drakos met with his two…well, he wouldn’t consider them friends by any means. Cohorts, he supposed. Once the gods existed in a magnificent plane, privy to all of the humans’ doings, receptive to their adulation and prayers. Then the humans turned their backs on them, more concerned with the physical world.
Alas, he was among the many gods who pooled their power to become physical, falling to the pleasures of physicality and even to the thrill of creating progeny. He and his cohorts, collectively known as the Tryah, were the first to see what a mistake that was as each “bundle of joy” sucked out a little more of their power. Inciting the war was a brilliant idea, reducing the numbers of both humans and Crescents.
Too bad it had resulted in the sinking of the island, condemning the fallen gods to a featureless plane and tethering them to earth and the Crescents they bore. But some of those Crescents had proven useful, tempted into service with their dreams, their weaknesses. Or for the rewards promised them.
“Things are not going well with your plan,” Drakos said to the Deuce god.
Fallon’s long, dour countenance soured even more. “My minions are being bedeviled by a Dragon duo. Worry not. It will be remedied by Purcell, my dedicated Crescent.”
Each god had their own way to see the plan through. Each thought his part of the plan was the best. Time would tell.
Drakos said, “My progeny, too, has run into trouble with a Deuce and Dragon. Amazing what one or two mere Crescents can do when they set their minds on something.”
Fallon made a growling sound. “They have become attached to one another. I suppose not unlike the lust we felt for the humans of Lucifera. But we would not sacrifice ourselves for their safety and well-being as some Crescents are willing to do for each other. It confounds me.”
“Love, they call it,” Drakos said, lifting his upper lip in a snarl.
Demis pulled his wings close around him. “Put your fangs away,” the fallen angel said. “They are unsightly.”
Demis was as stuck here as the rest of them. He thought he was better than a god. When he got too invested in his superiority, Drakos liked to remind him of his gaffe during their physicality. Demis had unknowingly mated with Dragon gods in human form, producing unstable, powerful hybrids.
Fallon lifted his hands. “Fight not. Once our plan succeeds, we can go back to hating one another. For now, we must work together. It helped us to succeed before and will do so again.” He turned to Drakos. “Remember, that dedication you so disdain is the same that they give to us. Those few who still do, anyway. Our minions are invaluable to our plan, after all.”
Drakos would not admit that he was right. “But they have weaknesses. My descendant has not been able to dispatch the troublesome Crescents.” Drakos filled them in on the circumstances regarding Violet and Kade.
Fallon nodded. “I can help where the Vega is concerned. Tell your minion that I will send my servant to him. Purcell will bring him something useful.”
“Thank you.” The words were always hard to push out. Gods rarely asked for help, rarely needed it, back in the—as the humans called it—“good old days.” It pained him, but the end of this torment was near.
From their plane, Drakos could see the energy of the solar storm approaching like a fiery tsunami. Small waves and flares already reached the physical plane. He took in the beauty of the coming storm. Freedom…at last.
Kade knew he’d played right into Ferro’s hands. Everyone in the building had seen evidence that he’d attacked his superior officer without provocation. His rants about conspiracies only lent credence to Ferro’s assertion that Kade had gone off the rails. It happened to Vegas sometimes. The pressures of the job, nightmares, and lack of a personal life all contributed.
The worst part was not being able to complete a mission that mattered more than any other Guard mission he’d ever taken.
No, the worst was not seeing Violet again, not helping her. Keeping her safe.
He could hardly do that sitting in the sterile white room, bound in a straightjacket reinforced with Lucifer’s Gold. They weren’t going to keep him in there for long. Ferro would dispatch him at the earliest convenience.
Kade thought of his father, who must have come here to visit the prisoner. Now Kade knew in the depths of his gut that his father hadn’t gone crazy. He had suspected truth in whatever the woman told him. Someone with a corrupt plan had wanted her out of the picture. Just like Ferro wanted Violet out of the picture.
Stewart Kavanaugh had put everything on the line in that most important mission—and failed. For the first time in twenty years, Kade felt pride in his father’s actions. He knew him in a much deeper way. At least he had that. But now Kade was going to fail in the same way.
The door opened and an orderly came in, eyeing him warily. Kade had seen the guy around but couldn’t bring a name to mind. No nametag in sight. The Argus jail staff rarely mingled with Vegas or even Arguses. By design, for this very reason.
The man closed the door and assessed Kade’s jacket. Then he approached, testing the straps. “Got to be too much, eh?” he said, opening a metal case mounted on the wall and pulling out a clipboard. “You guys think you’re so tough and important, but when you fall, you fall hard.” But he wasn’t really talking to Kade as he filled out something, just making lame conversation.
“How many Vegas go nuts?” Kade asked, and he could tell the man was surprised at how sane he sounded.
“I’ve been working the psych ward for thirty years, seen…” He looked up and counted off with his fingers. “Twelve, maybe, go completely insane. Others just need some downtime.”
Kade latched onto the first number. “You were here when my father tried to break out the prisoner twenty years ago. Stewart Kavanaugh.”
“Yeah, heard you’re his son. You think crazy runs in the genes?”
“I’m not crazy.”
He chuckled. “Heard that before.”
“Is that what the woman my father tried to break out said?”
He shook his head. “She had an elaborate story, that one of the Concilium members was kidnapping kids and sucking out their essence. Said her name was…Willow, I think, though she didn’t remember her last name. She claimed she’d been kidnapped as a young child and the Concilium member had kept her all those years.”
“Who was the member?”
“Can’t repeat that kind of hearsay.”
“Did anyone ever check into her story? Just to make sure?”
He shrugged, hanging up the clipboard. “I heard she was homeless, a wreck of a Crescent. She was better off dead. You shoulda seen her, banging herself against the walls, screaming. Thing was, she started out just telling her story over and over again, but she went downhill fast.” He tilted his head. “What’s your story?”
Kade laughed, shaking his head. He would sound just as crazy. “Ferro’s trying to incite clan wars down in the Fringe. He’s going to kill me in here.”
“Well, you did try to kill him. Those guys don’t like that, you know.” The orderly was used to dealing with insane people. He spoke softly and evenly.
“He tried to have me killed first. I didn’t like it either. He wants me out of the picture to shut me up.”
The man gave a slow shake of his head. “You people concoct the nuttiest stories…”
“What if the stories are true? You think the Guard is immune to corruption? What happens if someone figures it out? They get brought here. Labeled insane. Dispatched.”
The man met his gaze dead-on. “I follow orders. I don’t question. I do what I’m told and then go home at the end of the day. I spend time with my kids and wife. And I stay alive.” He left, making sure the door locked properly. After one last glance through the large window, he left.
<
br /> Hell.
Ferro appeared in the window a few minutes later, unlocking the door. The man with him was an old Deuce. Kade couldn’t place his name.
Ferro gestured for the man to precede him into the room, following and locking the door behind him. The stranger held an ornate box—a spell box. This couldn’t be good. Kade had heard of them, possessed by those who practiced Shadow Magick. The man handed the box to Ferro and waved his hand over the window. He produced an illusion spell so anyone walking past would see only what the conjurer wanted him to see. Which would not be Kade getting whatever was in that box.
The man took the box back. Something was moving inside it, bumping against the sides.
Triple hell. He skipped right past double.
Ferro approached Kade, kneeling down to his level. “This is a harsh lesson in the evils of insubordination. I do not enjoy this. Despite your reckless past, you’ve been a good officer. You chose the wrong mission to abort, I’m afraid. And for that, you must go away.”
“That’s a nice way of putting being executed.”
“I’m not executing you. There would be questions. Procedures. Paperwork.” He shook his head. “Messy. You’ve already created quite the spectacle, but you’ve managed to offer a solution as well.” He stood. “You won’t die, not right away. You will simply go insane. Everyone already thinks you’ve snapped, so if they come to visit—someone like your sister, perhaps—they will see for themselves that you are truly out of your mind.”
The mention of Mia spiked even more fear into him. “She has nothing to do with this. She already thinks I’m mad, so you don’t need to bring her here.”
Ferro smiled. “As long as she accepts the story and leaves well enough alone, she’ll be fine.”
“And Violet?”
His smile mingled with an expression of disbelief. He shook his head. “All this over a woman.”