Andromeda's Reign

by K. S. Haigwood

  Out of my periphery, I saw Rainey walk up beside me. “Look, I know you have faith that we will rescue her in time, but we need to be prepared in case we don’t. I need a few things for the spell. I found a few stores in Vegas by using Google, but I figure some of them are only novelty shops and won’t have what I’m looking for.”

  Releasing the air in my lungs through my nose, I cut my eyes over to look at her. “Aren’t you a psychic? Can’t you tell me where she is?”

  “My ability doesn’t work like that, Ace. Believe me, I would tell you where she is if I could.”

  Three loud pops sounded through the night, and I flinched before realizing that the ex-demons had arrived by way of invisible air transportation.

  Damien walked up to me. “They have us surrounded. There are at least fifty of them, but they will need more than that to stop us.”

  “Go,” I told Rainey, and then looked at the three ex-demons. “You got that right. We’ve got Hell on our side tonight.”

  Baddon winked. “Raising a little hell never hurt anybody.”

  Fallis’ eyebrows peaked. “Actually, raising hell is what landed us in Hell, buddy.”

  Damien shrugged. “And raising hell was what got us out of Hell, too, so what’s your point, genius?”

  Fallis shook his head. “Good point. It’s best to have angels on your side, though.”

  “Don’t do anything that I wouldn’t do,” Rainey said, and then gave Déus a quick kiss before she started toward the rental.

  “I’m going with you,” Clay said as he fell into step beside his sister.

  My lips thinned as I watched my best friend walk away. We needed all the people we could get to help us take down Andra’s captors. Of course, Clay wasn’t immortal and, as far as I knew, didn’t know how to use a weapon, but victory came in numbers. “Why do you need to go?”

  “I’ll just get in your way and possibly get hurt or get someone else hurt, Ace. Plus, someone needs to make sure Rainey doesn’t forget anything that is used in the spell. She’s bad about that,” Clay threw back at me, but I didn’t think the scared look in his eyes had anything to do with fighting the people who had Andra. “Embyr, you need to come, too,” Clay said.

  “I can take care of myself—” Embyr started, but Clay shot her a hard glare, shutting her up and making her feet move toward the car.

  “Fine,” Embyr said on a huff.

  One of Rainey’s eyebrows popped up as she grabbed the handle and pulled the driver’s side door open. “Don’t be ridiculous, Clay,” she said. “I never forget anything.”

  Clay was hiding something and didn’t want me to find out. I could feel it in my gut. My eyes narrowed on him as he climbed in the passenger seat of the Focus and shut the door. His face was several shades paler as he made eye contact with me through the windshield. He knew I knew something was up. What, I didn’t know yet, but I would find out. Later, though. Now was not the time.

  A few more vehicles pulled in the lot as Rainey took a right and headed away from the Strip. If she hadn’t left her mate here, I would have been forced to believe that they were all running.

  Phoenix’s eyes were glistening with amusement when I looked back at him.

  “What?” I barked.

  He only chuckled as a response, and then walked over to stand beside Brad and Heath to wait for the rest of my pride to show up.

  I didn’t know why I let him get under my skin so much. Clay was right. It didn’t matter who the hero was as long as Andra got out alive. She wouldn’t forget me. Phoenix was only trying to push my buttons, thinking I would make a mistake and he would get the girl in the end. That wasn’t happening. My concentration is better when I’m pissed off.

  “Thought you were going to twist him into a vampire pretzel there for a moment,” Slade said.

  I chewed on the inside of my cheek as I glared at the side of Phoenix’s head. “I thought about it. The night is young. It could still happen.”

  “You know I have your back.”

  “And you know I won’t need any help.” Slade stayed quiet, so I turned my head to look at him. “You do know that, right?”

  He was looking at Phoenix, with an uneasy expression on his face. After a moment, his eyes shifted to me. “Any other time, yes.”

  My eyebrows popped up. “Are you serious? You don’t think I could take—”

  Slade shook his head. “Don’t put words that I didn’t say in my mouth, Ace. The vampire is nearly nine hundred years old and Andra was the first woman he ever loved. He just flew over seventeen hundred miles in the daylight to try and win her back. I just suspect he has a few dirty tricks up his sleeve, is all.”

  “Did you hear what he said?” I said.

  “About her forgetting you?” Slade nodded. “Yeah, I did. What do you think he meant by it? Think he was just blowing smoke up your ass?”

  “Not sure. Maybe… maybe not. Clay said earlier that if her feelings for me were true then she would still have them after the bond was broken… if it has to be broken. Andra’s feelings are real, Slade. I know they are. It took me long enough to get her to admit it, but she really does love me.” For the first time, I actually wondered whom I was trying to convince.

  “I don’t think you have anything to worry about then,” Slade said.

  “Then why the hell am I worrying about it? Clay’s acting shady. Did you notice?”

  “Yep,” Slade said. “Don’t know what to make of that, either.”

  I shook my head. “Maybe the vamp will fuck up and let something slip. If he has a weakness, I’ll find it. In the meantime, I need to get this party started. It looks like we’re all here. I’ll let Phoenix lead the way, since Andra’s blood is in his system. Mayhap we’ll get lucky and the enemy will take him out for me. Luck used to be on my side, you know. Watch him.”

  Slade grinned. “Will do.”

  Friday, February 6th 2015 8:38 p.m. PST

  Las Vegas, Nevada

  Andromeda

  Andra tried several times to reach out to Ace since their connection dropped, but had come to the conclusion that she wouldn’t hear him until that door opened again. The silver in the walls must be blocking the bond, and their connection was rejoined when the door was open. If her theory was correct, that meant that Ace was close enough to her that the telepathy worked and the room she was in was the only one lined with silver. It made sense, but it was only a theory. She would have to get out of the room in order to get her facts straight.

  Since the last memory of Ace’s that she visited was of his accident, she was convinced he had no idea how to pick a lock with the pin side of a brooch. It was possible she could have overlooked that door, but she was running out of time. Going back through all of them would take too much time, and time wasn’t on her side today.

  “Think like an Alpha, Mena. What would Ace do if he were in this situation?” Shaking her head, she slumped back against the wall. “Ace would never be in this kind of situation, because he thinks before he acts… most of the time.” He definitely wouldn’t run right into danger, knowing people were hunting him, she thought. Her mouth pulled to one side as she thought about that. Actually, he would. Ace would have definitely hunted the predators if he could see. No challenge is ever turned down. He is such a strong Alpha. “And I am a weak one,” she said aloud.

  As she assessed her injuries, she wondered if Phoenix had given up and gone back home after she told him she loved Ace. She wouldn’t blame him if he did, but she imagined him staying after he found out that she’d gone missing. And she knew they all knew by now. Freedom mentioned that she’d warned Ace against searching for her. And she knew he was looking for her. But first, he would find the people who took her, and that scared her. What if he got hurt? What if others got hurt? If Roel wasn’t here already, he would be soon. His flight had left several hours ago. Brad, Heath, Tracy, Heather, Roel, Alex, Clay and his sisters, all of Ace’s pride. Andra knew Ace would make everyone search for her. She had to find
a way out of this mess she brought upon herself on her own. She couldn’t let anyone she cared about get hurt.

  It was time to fight back.

  “Hey!” she shouted, having absolutely no clue what she would say or do if anybody opened the door, but she had to do something different. Just sitting here waiting to be executed was a stupid idea. “Let me out of here!” she screamed.

  A slot that she hadn’t noticed before slid open on the door and a black tube, about the diameter of a dime pushed through it. Andra narrowed her eyes, trying to determine what the object was, with her no-better-than-human eye sight. The moment she realized what it was, her eyes widened in horror and she opened her mouth to scream. But before any sound came from her vocal chords, there was a whistle on the air and a sting in her neck.

  She had a brief moment of dizziness, and then all went black.

  Chapter 51

  Friday, February 6th 2015 8:51 p.m. PST

  Las Vegas, Nevada

  Roel

  “Peanut,” Roel said as he gently shook Alex’s shoulder. “Wake up, man—”

  Alex startled awake, arms swinging. The seatbelt around his waist was the only thing keeping him from flying out of the seat. “I’m not going, Roel,” he said in a rush of words that jumbled together. “You can’t make me. I’ll refuse a direct order. I don’t care, but I’m not getting on a plane.”

  Roel chuckled under his breath. “Dude, we’re in Las Vegas. You missed seeing the pretty lights from the sky.”

  Alex’s eyes were wide as he stared at Roel in horror. The artery in his neck was jumping so fiercely that Roel thought he might witness the first ever heart attack of a shifter. “We’re…” Alex swallowed, that Adam’s apple in his throat doing a bobbing action, “…we are in Vegas?”

  Roel gave him a big, cheesy grin. “Yep. Help me grab our carry-ons. I need to help Lea.” he said as he unbuckled then stood up from his seat.

  Alex looked around Roel to the seat on the other side of him. Roel knew what the guy was seeing. Lea had been staring at the back of the seat in front of her the whole flight, all six miserable hours of it. She had nodded or shook her head when spoken to, and had refused any refreshments the attendants offered. Alex blinked. “I slept the whole flight?”

  “Yes, and thank God. I don’t think I could have stood it if you were awake and screaming like a little girl.” Roel nodded to the couple and little boy in the aisle, getting their carry-ons from the compartment above their heads. “That four-year-old did better than you. He beat me at Eye-Spy eight times, by the way. I didn’t know kids that small could talk so much.” Roel smiled. “He digs scary stories about shifters and vampires, though. He’s a pretty cool kid.”

  Roel turned to Lea and took her arm. “C’mon, baby. We need to get off the plane now.” She simply nodded as she stood. Roel opened the compartment above, took out Lea’s bag and handed it to Alex, and then he grabbed his bag, shouldered it and took her hand, leading her down the narrow aisle.

  As they entered the terminal, Roel took his cell off airplane mode and called Mena. It rang three times before the call was answered. “Mena, hey, we just landed. Want to come pick us up at the airport or should we grab a cab?”

  There was some background noise and some shuffling around, as if the phone was being handed to someone else. A male’s voice spoke away from the phone. “I can’t deal with this shit right now. Here. Talk to Roel.”

  “Mena?” Roel said.

  There was a long sigh, and then, “I’ve got some bad news, Roel,” Tracy said.

  His grip tightened around the phone as he stopped walking. “Tell me.”

  Friday, February 6th 2015 9:10 p.m. PST

  Las Vegas, Nevada

  Ace

  We had been on the hunt for a half hour when Roel called, giving us the great news that he had arrived at the airport, with Phoenix’s human assistant and the cop in tow. Awesome fucking news, let me tell ya. I was thrilled. Another distraction from the task at hand. I nearly punched a hole in the cinderblock wall next to me. Instead, I sent Heather and Tracy after them, and Phoenix instructed them to take Lea to my house. Heather volunteered to stay there with her. We lost one on the search for Andra, but gained two more. It wasn’t a bad deal, but I didn’t have time to argue with Roel about… well, about anything that had happened.

  As it turned out, Phoenix wasn’t much help after all. He could sense her when we were at the parking lot where the vehicles were parked, but the signal he had on her faded in any direction we went from there.

  It also turned out that I couldn’t sense her at all, either, so there was that. I was getting frustrated and pissy, snapping out orders and biting the heads off—metaphorically speaking, of course—anyone who did or said something I thought was wrong.

  “Want me to shift and see if I can catch their scent better?” Heath said. “I can feel their eyes on us, but I haven’t seen anyone.”

  “I know exactly where they are,” Baddon said, and I glanced over to see that he was looking to the top of the buildings around us. “Finding them isn’t the problem. I think catching them will be an issue, though. They are quick and stealthy, never making a sound.”

  “Can’t you dematerialize and reappear where they are?” I said as my temper flared again.

  He nodded. “I could, but they are traveling in groups of fifteen to twenty. Even if we three fleeted to them, I’m not sure we could take on all of them at once. We are immortal, not invincible. If we die, we go back to Hell. I’m not willing to commit suicide for you, brother. Sorry. It wouldn’t help you anyway. We might take some of them out, but it wouldn’t be enough to matter.”

  “We need them to lead us to her,” Damien said. “But, for now, they are only watching us, which means that we aren’t close to finding the entrance to their hideout or they would be taking action.”

  “We need a new plan then,” I said. “Walking around in circles is getting us nowhere.”

  “Who has rifles?” Fallis asked, and a dozen of my pride stepped forward, their weapons ready for action. He lowered his voice to just above a whisper. “Lead the group back in the direction of the vehicles. I’ll sneak away and scout the top of the tallest buildings to make sure they’re clear. I’ll meet back up and take one at a time to the new locations.” His eyes shifted to the rifle carriers. “If you see anything move on top of the other buildings, shoot to kill and hope to God it’s not an innocent life you’re taking. Take as many out as you can.”

  “Won’t they know where we are shooting from and come after us?” Jensen said.

  Fallis nodded. “Hopefully—”

  “Hopefully?” Nikon said, aghast. “We’ll be sitting ducks up on a roof with no way down!”

  “Shut up,” I hissed.

  “If my plan works, all three groups will go looking for you. I can temporarily cloak you. You will still be able to see each other, but they won’t be able to see you. It’s only an illusion, and it will probably only last long enough for us to get to you right after they do. Element of surprise. They’ll be toast. I hope,” he said, then frowned.

  I sighed. “I don’t have a good feeling about it, but it’s better than standing here with our thumbs up our asses.

  “What if they all run back to their base?” Karma said. I’d noticed she had been sticking pretty close to Phoenix since we started the search. That was fine with me. Maybe she would keep the vampire occupied and out of my face. The urge to re-gift his sucker punches was growing stronger by the minute.

  “If they do, then we come up with a new strategy,” Damien said. “Maybe we’ll see which direction they go in.”

  I nodded once. “Let’s do it.” I turned and made my way back toward the vehicles, knowing my pride was following me. I was running low on time. Andra and I only had a little over an hour before the sand ran out of our hourglass. 10:44. That was panic time. I prayed I could get to her by then.

  My cell pinged from my pocket. As I read the text from Roel, my temper ros
e to a dangerous level. You are a dead man, the text said.

  I replied with, Help us kill these fuckers and get her back and the challenge is yours.

  My pleasure, came his immediate reply.

  Heather knows where we keep the weapons. Load up. After I sent that last text, I dropped my cell back in the BDU leg pocket and continued walking.

  We were almost back to the parking lot when I heard a familiar pop. I glanced back, but didn’t see Fallis. Meeting Damien’s eyes, he gave me a small nod, and then Nikon disappeared from beside him. The guy was just gone. There one second and gone the next. I turned back around and blew out a breath. This was the craziest shit I had ever seen in my life, and that was saying something.

  Over the next few minutes, several more pops sounded and more of my pride disappeared. I’m not going to lie, it was beginning to freak me out.

  Just as we reached the back of Silvia, someone pulled Finley into the parking lot so fast that they almost hit Phoenix. Not that it would have been a tragedy for the vampire to have tire marks on his face. I’m sure I would have laughed a little.

  The driver’s door of the Suburban was thrown open and Roel jumped out with murder in his expression and a whole lot of ammo strapped to his body.

  He didn’t stop once he reached me. His hands flew up to my chest and he shoved me back about five feet. I had to hand it to the guy, he was pretty stout, but not strong enough to beat me. “Three days! You had her three days and she ends up with a shattered cheek bone and abducted by our enemy. Yeah, you’re perfect for her,” he said, sarcasm dripping from his tongue over his anger. “Whether or not we find her in time before you both pass out, the spell to reverse the bond will be done tonight. If you can’t take any better care of her than that, you don’t deserve her.”

  I glared at him from under my brow and spoke through my teeth. “We’re running out of time, Roel. Save this fight for later. We’re being watched,” I said in a lower voice.