Stolen Relics

by Karina Espinosa

  “Excellent.” I sipped on my coffee. “Now what about the rest of the plan?”

  “I’ve been thinking about that,” Cas said. “We’re obviously going to use you as bait, along with the box the stone came in, just without the actual stone inside. We’ll even get some random rock from the street and chuck it in there just in case. But there’s nothing we can do that won’t be apparent it’s a trap, so we do the opposite. We contact Cardona and offer a trade.”

  I frowned. “Say what now?”

  “You can’t be serious, Chang!” Michaels leaned forward on the table. Finn kept quiet.

  “Just hear me out. We tell him Grey’s been attacked too much by those who wish to collect the bounty, so in exchange for him cancelling the bounty, we’ll give him what he wants—the stone.” Cas crossed his big arms over his chest. “He might suspect it’s a trap, but he’ll think twice about it because there’s a level of truth to it. And he won’t risk the possibility that we might actually trade the stone for Grey’s safety.”

  “Hm …” Finn thought about it. “And because he’ll know it’s a possible trap, he’ll double up on warlocks for precaution. This could work.”

  It wasn’t a bad plan. There were holes in it, sure – but none we couldn’t easily cover up. It was pretty solid, and our best chance at catching Cardona. We had to take it.

  “Let’s do it.”

  I was at my desk working on some reports and trying to get ahold of Maximos. Unfortunately, he wasn’t answering our calls and I still hadn’t figured out what his link to Cardona was. Something bothered me about the whole situation. Maximos had always had a connection within the police force that cleared him every time he brushed against the law, and we always assumed it was within the SIU. But what if it wasn’t? What if it was Cardona? And if it was, why would Cardona steal from a friend? These were all theories, and I wanted to get to the bottom of it by speaking to the bar owner as soon as possible, but it was almost as if he’d disappeared. I decided to run by The Third Eye myself.

  Cassidy was out, checking in with the wolves, and Finn was gods knew where. Ranulf left for a meeting with Alexander back in Brooklyn, though he made me promise not to leave the station until he returned. It was just me and Michaels doing paperwork, with a few other detectives milling around the squad room. I hated to leave Michaels alone, but I had to follow my gut.

  I stood and ducked down to grab my bag from beneath my desk. In that moment, a sharp ache started in my abdomen. It felt as if someone had just punched me in the gut and I hunched over automatically, groaning. I held onto my stomach for fear I was about to vomit when the pain struck again. This time it was so severe, I dropped to one knee and let out a gritted shriek.

  “Grey!” Michaels dropped his papers and met me down on the ground. “What’s wrong? What hurts?”

  Sweat beaded on my face and my breath came out heavily. I didn’t know how to explain what I was feeling. It was like someone was ripping out one of my ribs.

  “Ahh!” I clutched the edge of my desk and gasped as the pain hit me again. My wolf awoke and my eyes silvered.

  “Grey … your eyes.” Michaels backed up a little.

  My wolf started to whine and I realized she was feeling the pain as well. It had been a while since she’d awakened on her own, which meant something was very wrong.

  What’s wrong, girl? I internally asked.

  The bond! she cried.

  I wrapped my arms around my abdomen and rocked back and forth. Sebastian. Something was wrong with Bash.

  How could it cripple me like this? Was he feeling the same debilitating pain?

  My gaze whipped up and scanned the squad room as other detectives stood around watching us. “I need … Cas.” I swallowed the lump in my throat. “Hurry!”

  Michaels didn’t hesitate. He shot up from the floor and hustled out of the room, leaving me crouched in a puddle of agony.

  I bit down on my lip as I let the pain course through me, trying not to scream. It felt like hours until Michaels returned with Cas, who gingerly picked me up immediately.

  “Mackenzie,” he said quietly. “Hang in there.” I didn’t know where he was taking me, but I clung to him as tightly as possible, gripping his shirt and refusing to let go.

  “It’s … Bash,” I muttered. “He’s … hurting.”

  Cas nodded. “I just got the call from my Alpha. He’s been taken. I was just coming to get you when Michaels found me. We need to get you to Belinda so she can reduce the pain. You won’t be able to function, otherwise.”

  I dimly heard the ding of the elevator, but my eyes stayed tightly clenched. My head lolled against Cas’s chest as he moved. When we got to the witches’ station, I was placed on a gurney. I could hear the Head Witch’s voice from a mile away.

  “What happened, Cassidy?” Belinda asked as a flashlight shined in my eyes.

  “She’s feeling her Anam’s pain, or distress, or, I really don’t know how it works,” Cas rambled. “Sebastian Steel was taken from the Brooklyn Pack’s Compound not long ago. Can you ease her pain?”

  “I don’t know if I can. Your best bet is finding Mr. Steel,” she answered as she checked my pulse.

  Cas sucked his teeth. “She’s our best bet at finding him, using their bond!” I imagined him pointing at me. Now he understood my frustrations with Belinda. I wished Amara hadn’t betrayed me during the Freedom Wars and been killed. If not, she would have still been the Head Witch around here.

  I attempted to sit up on the gurney, but someone pushed me back down and I collapsed. “I have … to … get to him.” No matter how much I hurt, he was hurting more. I had to find him.

  “I’ll find him, Kenz. I promise,” Cas whispered.

  I shook my head. “No. I’m … coming with you.” I sat up again, leaning on my forearms and blinking a couple times to focus my vision. “I have to.”

  Belinda sighed. “I can’t give you anything for the pain. Nothing is powerful enough for an Anam bond, but I can give you a stamina potion if you’re that mule-headed and insist on going.”

  “Give it to me,” I gasped.

  “Very well,” she sniffed, walking back to her workstation.

  The pain didn’t subside, but it was almost like my body was getting used to it. I was able to move a little better, but it was still incapacitating. I just had to be careful or else we’d both be dead.

  When Belinda returned, I was sitting on the gurney with my legs hanging over the edge, shivering.

  “This will only help for a limited time, so find him fast,” Belinda warned, handing me a vial of red potion. It looked like Kool-Aid, but I knew better.

  “Bottoms up, Grey,” Cas said as I took the bottle from the witch.

  In one fell swoop, I took the drink in one swig and swallowed. At least it was fruity and didn’t have a bad aftertaste.

  I felt the effects almost immediately. My eyes widened and I shot up from the gurney. The pain was there, but it was almost like background noise.

  “Oh, hell yeah!” I crowed as I shook out my arms. “I could get used to this.” I felt like I’d been injected with a shot of adrenaline.

  “Don’t,” Belinda said dryly. “I only use that for emergencies. Now hurry, you’re on a timeline.”

  Cassidy and I left the SIU. As soon as I stepped outside, I closed my eyes and tuned into my wolf. I’d never intentionally tracked Bash this way before, though when I came back from Scotland and was trying to keep my distance from everyone, I would always find myself standing across the street from the warehouse in Brooklyn. It was the bond leading me to him. Now, I just needed to find a way to have it lead me to him again.

  I tapped into that warm feeling inside me, the part that felt like home, and latched onto it like a tether. I opened my eyes, knowing they were silver and started to walk, following that invisible rope. Cas followed silently behind me, trusting I would lead him in the right direction.

  The tug led us all around the city for almost an hour, and for
a moment, I thought I was just walking around aimlessly and there was nothing actually leading us, but then I felt the warmth inside me get hotter, like a signal that I was getting closer. Once we passed the Grand Bazaar—New York City’s indoor/outdoor, year-round flea market—I knew exactly where we were going. Without following the tether anymore, I headed for the Seventy-ninth Street transverse entrance to Central Park.

  “They’re in Central Park?” Cas asked as he trailed behind me, trying to keep up with my quick steps.

  “I don’t know how he did it, but I’m almost positive they’re in the fae realm,” I answered as we jogged through the park and headed for the lake that heralded the entrance to the realm.

  Cas grabbed my arm to stop me and we skidded to a halt. “We need to inform the team. We also need to get Malakai to open the realm. Slow down, Kenz.”

  I shrugged off his hand. “No time. Remember? I can get in.”

  He grabbed for me again. “We need back-up, Grey. Think for a minute!”

  “I am thinking!” I shouted. “I feel him, Cas! I need to get to him now!” I said with so much desperation, I thought I would start crying right in front of him. But I wouldn’t. I was stronger than that.

  “Just … just let me call the team, Grey. Please.” Cas released me tentatively and turned for some privacy to pull out his cell phone and call the others.

  I could have just left. I would have. The old Mackenzie would have. But if I did, it would just take them longer to reach me because they’d have to wait for Malakai to open the fae realm for them. By then, both Bash and I could be dead. There was no point ditching him now, no matter how badly every cell in my body wanted to. Cas was right, I needed the team to back me up. I might be juiced up on that stamina potion, but I still felt the pain of the bond in the furthest edges of my mind. Whenever the potion’s effects finally wore off, I’d feel everything all over again.

  “The team is on their way and they’re bringing Malakai with them, so we can go ahead without them.” With Cas’s words, I didn’t wait a second more. I hurried into the park and headed straight for the lake. I pushed past humans, not caring if I bumped into them or not as long as I got to my destination.

  When we arrived at the lake, I stepped to the edge and placed my hand on top of the water, feeling the ripple beneath me. The water spread apart like the Red Sea and made a pathway for me and Cas. At the far end was a waterfall that shimmered with iridescent rainbows. Cas and I hurried between the two walls of water until we reached the end and walked straight into the waterfall. Not a single droplet landed on us as we emerged into the brightness of the fae realm.

  The warmth in my abdomen was on fire now and I knew we were close.

  “He’s here.” I swiveled around the green pasture, wondering where to go. “I just don’t know where.”

  “They won’t be in the woods.” Cas shook his head in deep thought. “Without a fae guide, it’s too easy to get lost.”

  “They must have one. How else would they have gotten here?” I said, hysteria in my voice. I should have just given the fae what they wanted. “What if it was the fae who took him, and not Cardona?”

  “No. The fae wouldn’t start another war with the Lycan. They’re not that stupid.”

  “If they helped Cardona kidnap Sebastian, they’re well on their way to starting another war!” I yelled into the vastness. The minute they took Bash, they declared war. I would never forgive them.

  A buzzing sound came from the forest. It was far away, but getting louder by the second.

  “What is that?” I mumbled as I turned in the direction of the woods.

  Cas placed his arm in front of me and pushed me behind him. “I don’t know, but it sounds like it’s coming toward us fast.” Cassidy growled as he went into a half shift and crouched in front of me in a protective stance.

  The bushes rattled before a little ball of light came bursting out of them. Cas straightened when a pixie emerged. As it got closer, we realized it was Nyx, the pixie who guided us through the forest last time.

  “Queen Slayer.” She buzzed in front of our faces, her hands on her hips as she floated before us. “It’s about time you got here.”

  I frowned. “What are you talking about?”

  “The Alpha of the Brooklyn Pack is here, but he won’t last much longer,” she said as she flew in an agitated circle around us. “You are here to rescue him, aren’t you?”

  I pushed past Cas. “Where is he?” I growled.

  “Touchy, touchy,” she squeaked. “Follow me.” She buzzed away and we had to run to keep up. Instead of going into the woods, she flew in the opposite direction, going down a path made of clear glass that zig-zagged across a green pasture that suddenly felt very familiar. This was the same general path Ranulf and I had taken through the forest when we tried to enter the Queen’s castle.

  “Are you taking us to the glass castle?” I asked, because this wasn’t exactly the way I remembered Ranulf and I taking. Then again, we didn’t have the luxury of a fae guide back then.

  “Not exactly,” Nyx said over her shoulder. “I’m taking you to the dungeons. It’s where they’re holding your Alpha.”

  “Hold on a minute!” Cas stopped us and it took Nyx a moment before she realized we’d stopped running.

  “We don’t have much time, Queen Slayer.”

  “You said the dungeons, as in the Queen’s dungeons?” Cas asked.

  She nodded. “Correct.”

  Cas snarled. “Rumor has it, those dungeons are laced with silver. Are you walking us into a trap?”

  Never trust a fae. That should have been obvious. I was so desperate to help Bash, I completely overlooked the fact that Nyx could be walking us into a bloodbath. I needed to be more objective, but my emotions were scattered everywhere. All I could think about was getting to Bash, no matter what.

  I snatched Nyx from the air and gripped her in my palm. “You better start talking, pixie,” I growled.

  She whined as she wriggled to free herself from my grasp; it felt like a caterpillar tickling my hand. “I swear it’s not a trick, Queen Slayer!” she cried. “There is silver in the dungeons, but that is where your Alpha is. I do not lie!”

  “We need to wait for the others, Grey. Neither of us can go down there,” Cas relented.

  “No!” I let Nyx go. “Lead us to the dungeons. I’ll go down by myself.”

  The pixie shook herself off indignantly and started to fly in the direction we needed to go, but Cas stopped me from following by grabbing my arm.

  “Are you insane?” he muttered. “Sebastian is probably passed out from the silver, and you won’t get past the first cell. We can’t take that risk.”

  I ripped my arm away. “I’m not leaving him down there for one more second!” I seethed. “I’m going, and that’s final. You can wait for the others.”

  Without waiting for his response, I followed Nyx and ran to catch up.

  17

  The meandering road led us to the Queen’s glass castle. What was once a vibrant, shining home was now dim and full of cobwebs. It was evident that no one had lived there in a long time. Once she passed, the fae abandoned it.

  Instead of going through the front door, we went around to the back of the glass castle where there was an underground entrance that looked like a tornado shelter. Cassidy opened the wooden double doors, but Nyx stopped him from going further.

  “Once you go down these steps, the silver will hit you,” she said. “Do with that as you please.”

  Both Cas and I peered down at the entrance. It was pitch black, except for a flickering lantern situated at the far bottom. It was a long way down. If the silver hit while we were going down the stairs, we could easily fall.

  “Rethink this, Kenz,” Cas murmured. “We can always wait for back-up.”

  “No. I’m not waiting. He needs me now.” I looked into the abyss once again and had an idea. “I promise we’ll make it out, Cas.” I looked at him and grinned. “You can’t get r
id of me that easily.”

  He rolled his eyes. “As if I could.”

  I took a couple steps back and waved him back as well. “I need some space.” He moved out of the way, as did Nyx.

  “What are you going to do—”

  I didn’t respond. I gave myself a running head start before jumping into the gaping hole of darkness. The whoosh of air blew across my face, whipping my hair as I held my arms out beside me and slightly bent my legs for landing. The small drop in my gut receded and I relaxed into the fall. I looked down at the lantern to gauge when I was getting close to the ground, and then suddenly, I was crouching on the ground, landing perfectly with only a slight vibration rattling through my bones from the force of the land.

  “Kenzie!” Cassidy whisper-shouted.

  “I’m okay!” I shouted back.

  “You’re officially insane! You nearly gave me a heart attack!”

  I chuckled and took the lantern that hung on the wall. “I’ll be back.”

  After only a couple steps into the damp, concrete tunnel, I started to wobble. A sleepiness took over me and I stumbled to the side, falling against the concrete wall to prop myself up. The silver.

  I jumped the staircase to prevent the silver from getting me while I was going down the stairs, but it wasn’t until you started walking into the tunnel that you started feeling the effects.

  I shook my head a couple times to clear my vision and stumbled forward while holding myself up by the wall. I had to stay alert—I had to stay awake. I’d never felt this way from silver before. What were the fae doing with so much silver? Or what had Drusilla been doing with so much silver?

  The tunnel finally opened to a room full of cells on either side of the narrow walkway. I grabbed the first cell bar I saw to hold myself up, but as soon as I touched it, it burned through my flesh and I screamed.