“My Rosita, was she in that facility?” He glanced at me, then back to the dark road in front of us, ignoring what was behind.
I shivered, not because I was afraid, but because there was nowhere on my body that didn’t sing as if I’d been stuck inside a medieval torture chamber and had hot spikes driven into me. The boys rubbed at their necks and knees, but my entire body hummed with heat and pain.
“No, she wasn’t there. I met all those who came in after me. There was no Rosita; they always changed our names to something similar, and no one came in that was Hispanic with an R name,” I said.
His second question was no surprise. “Could you find her? I could get you a picture and I could pay. I have money.”
I breathed through another ripple of muscle tremors before I answered.
“Possibly. Cowboy thinks there are other facilities like this one,” I said. “But I have to find my own boy, Carlos. He’s young, not even twelve years old.”
“I’ll send you with a picture,” he said, the pain in his voice audible. “And if you find her . . . please. Just get her out. Please? I helped you.”
He choked up on that last word and I closed my eyes, hating his pain. A father’s pain, a mother’s love, I understood that. I clenched my jaw, fighting off the part of me that wanted to ease his hurt. Caring about other people’s pain was a good way to lose everyone I loved.
My boy had been taken from me once, and I had thought he was dead. For a long time, I’d lived in a fog, believing he’d been killed in a hit meant for me. But I’d found him. I’d found him, and I’d found Killian, a man I’d thought would stand beside me through anything that came our way. He had stood beside me until that last night.
The night he’d let me go.
My eyes snapped open, and I stared at the road in front of us, refusing to relive that memory. The shakes continued and I wondered if it was all from the machine or the distant memories trying to surface. I rubbed at my arms, trying to banish a phantom itch.
“Withdrawal from the drugs they had you on,” Peter said. “You’ve got all the symptoms. Irritability, itching, paranoia.” He grinned. “Maybe you were always like that?”
Dinah piped up. “Irritable and paranoid, yes, but that comes with the territory.”
“They take us when we’re sleeping, so we have to sleep in shifts.” I changed the subject. Not because I thought the Magelore was wrong, but because there was nothing I could do but ride it out.
Cowboy and Peter nodded. Carlos looked at me again. I was in the front passenger seat, my dog’s head in my lap, Dinah clutched in my left hand.
“Left-handed?” Carlos asked.
“Both,” Dinah replied for me. “She’s faster with her left, though.”
Cowboy leaned forward. “Didn’t you have two guns? I thought it was always two in the stories I heard.”
I missed having two guns. Missed having Eleanor there to be the hard line when I needed her. “Yeah, I did. One was destroyed.”
Destroyed saving me.
“You should get another,” Carlos said quietly. It struck me that he was totally unfazed by the fact that my gun had just spoken. He hadn’t reacted earlier, either, to her comment about Cowboy. I twisted in my seat with a grimace as a cold shiver ran through me, followed by a serious hot flash.
“Carlos.” I stared at the side of his face, at the complete lack of nerves he was showing. Something had felt off about him from the very beginning. Too cool around abnormals and the way he’d given us the story about his daughter had rung true but also . . . not. I drew a deep breath, but he didn’t smell like an abnormal.
“Yes?”
I stared at him, my thoughts whipping around faster and faster. “Who are you really?”
“I am Carlos.” He didn’t take his eyes off the road, but he frowned. “I’m not sure who else I could be?”
Peter snort-laughed. “Phoenix, you’re too paranoid. He’s human. I can smell it all over him.”
Except the most powerful abnormals didn’t smell feral or wild like the weaker ones. In fact, they smelled just like a human. Like nothing.
I had Dinah up and pressed against Carlos’s head before another heartbeat passed. “Pull over.”
He did as I said, cool as a summer breeze. “It is not as you think, Nix.”
Nix.
The name only my friends dared to call me.
Carlos turned the car off, and as the engine idled to nothing, I lowered Dinah.
“Who and what are you?”
“Rio would like to speak with you,” he said, and his image wavered, the aura around him sparkling and dancing like a heatwave over a road. A Hider was an abnormal who could mask his own abilities to appear human, and a strong Hider could also mask those around him. I’d seen the ability before. My surrogate father, Zee, had been a Hider, and one of the very best. He’d given me almost eleven years living as a mother to Bear before I’d lost him.
Cowboy gave a low whistle. “A Hider! Shit, dude, you . . .”
“That’s why they didn’t find us at the hospital,” I said, the pieces of that tiny puzzle slipping into place. “You’d be about the only kind of abnormal safe from a purge like what has been happening here in North America.”
He nodded. “But it wasn’t enough to keep my daughter safe. She was too determined to help others, to try to figure out why this was happening and stop it. Her partner in the local department, he has been hunting for her with no luck. I sent him to New York. That seems to be where the last of the abnormals are in hiding.”
I frowned. “Can you hide all three of us?”
“For tonight, then you must get to Rio. He is in New York too.”
I went over what I knew about Rio in my head. At the time I’d stepped away from my father’s business, Rio had been a small fry, barely a blip on the radar. Prostitution was his main money maker, hidden behind three strip clubs, but he’d dabbled in some money laundering. That was the minor connection he’d had to my father, washing the money as it came through the clubs.
That had been a long time ago, though—when I’d stormed back into the picture looking for vengeance, there hadn’t been even a whisper of the Latin mob boss. Again though, I hadn’t been looking for Rio then. I’d been looking for Mancini and my father.
Peter shook his head. “No, I’m not going to New York. They’ll be looking for us there. It’s a fucking hotbed of abnormals. Or it was.”
Carlos motioned at the car. “May we continue? My wife has dinner waiting for us. Late, but I think you three need a good meal.”
“Already eaten, thanks,” Peter said with a pointed grin.
I eased back in my seat. “Drive.”
Dinah settled on my lap and the dog got comfortable too. I traced her scars—the bite marks, but also several cuts from a razor-sharp knife. Those scars were perfect, clean, and as numerous as the ones from other dogs.
It felt weird, like touching my own skin, tracing my scars.
She sighed and melted into my lap.
Much as I wanted Carlos to talk to me, I didn’t actually trust Peter or Cowboy. I was no fool. They were not my friends. Current partners, yes, but not friends.
In the real world, the Magelore and I would have tried to kill each other ten times over by now. And Cowboy? I would have walked by the squeaky-clean kid without a second look. He wasn’t part of our world of darkness and death. Or at least he shouldn’t be, despite his abilities. At the same time, I knew my odds at finding my boy would be better if they tagged along. Their odds of survival would be better too. If I left the kid behind, he’d be bagged and tagged again in no time. Peter might last longer, but not by much. He’d been taken near the beginning of the purge, not long after me as far as I could see.
Carlos drove through a lovely suburban area lit up with fake tiki torches and summer patio lanterns on most houses.
“Nice,” Peter said. “You really live here?”
“Benefits of being a Hider,” Carlos said.
And the power that glittered back at me telling me she was stronger even than her husband.
“Two Hiders,” I said.
She gave a slow nod. “Come in. Eat and talk. You are safe here.”
Eat and talk, if only this was going to be that easy.
10
“Tell me exactly what happened from the beginning. I was taken before I heard anything about a purge,” I said as we sat at the oversized dinner table in Carlos and Anita’s house.
She had laid out a full meal with soup, salad, a main course of roast beef and potatoes, and a selection of other dishes I just glanced at. Much as my stomach growled and my body shook with the withdrawal from the drugs, I needed information as much as I needed a plate of real food. Cowboy knew some stuff, but he didn’t strike me as understanding the ebb and flow of the abnormal world. This couple had ties to the mob and the police. They’d have more information.
I slid a stack of beef and potatoes onto a plate and lowered it to the floor for the dog. I really needed to name her.
Carlos folded his hands on the table and spoke quietly. “It started before the public knew there was going to be a purge of abnormals. As you know, the strongest abnormals were taken as quickly and as quietly as they could be taken, mostly in their sleep using an airborne mist that suppressed not only their minds, but their abilities.
“The heads of the mob families were targeted, and Rio barely escaped. Mostly with our help, but that is not to brag. It is to say that with two Hiders of our strength helping him, he was nearly caught.”
Chills rippled through me and my skin rose in goose flesh. No one was eating apart from the dog and Cowboy.
“When the bill was passed, it was unanimous. Abnormals had been acknowledged in the past but were not openly accepted. We had our place in certain parts of every town. We were outsiders, but there was no real issue. A certain flavor of hatred and fear that most normals barely held contained.”
The boys nodded. I didn’t move.
“The bill stated that abnormals were hiding in plain sight and were manipulating the government. Senators Rylee, Alexander, and Ashspur were all immediately outed as abnormals and taken.”
Well, shit. That explained that side of things.
“Taken where? They weren’t in our facility,” I said.
Carlos shook his head. “I don’t know. Rosita was looking for them when she went missing. When they took her.”
He handed me a picture of his daughter. Dark-haired with deeply intense amber eyes, she was younger than me by a few years and would stand out in any crowd with her natural beauty and the curves she’d inherited from her mother. She hadn’t been in our facility, but I already knew that. I held the picture. “Go on.”
Carlos spread his hands on the table. “After that, abnormals were scooped up left and right. The majority of humans didn’t even seem to understand what was happening or why. The bill was vague at best, but it gave the government the right to remove abnormals from society.”
“With no reason?”
He nodded. “Zero reason. Specially trained and equipped squads were sent out at night, and they used the airborne mist to knock out entire apartment buildings so they could scoop up the abnormals. I saw it happen once, so it is not a rumor.”
His story rang of truth, but there was something missing. “Someone has to be heading this up. Who is it? Which senator?”
“As far as we can tell, no one. The bill was put forward and was passed, but when we tried to find out who had done it, there was no senator behind it. It just showed up and they passed it. The facility you were in was the only one I knew about at the time. Which is why I got the job at the hospital. I hoped they would bring an injured abnormal in for treatment. Rio agreed it was a good plan. I never expected to find three escapees. And certainly not you, Nix.”
His wife put her hand to her mouth. “The Phoenix?”
I nodded.
Dinah laughed. “She had her wings clipped. Shocking, isn’t it?”
“Shut it, Dinah.” I slapped a hand over her.
Anita put her hand to her chest. “I knew Zee. He trained me.”
That stuck a sharp stab right through my heart. “He died protecting me,” I said softly. “He used too much ability and lost his mind.” That was the nice way of putting it, but I wasn’t going to give her the details of his death. Not here, not now.
She closed her eyes and a tear slid from one. Either she was an extraordinary actress, or she was truly hurt by that news.
Call me cruel, but part of me wondered if it was an act. I’d been duped by tears a few times, so I didn’t like to give too much weight to them and the emotions they evoked.
“And now?”
“The squads still make regular hits on different buildings, but they’re taking in fewer prisoners each time. The abnormals left on the streets are savvy and avoiding them easier and easier. But they are still being taken,” Carlos said. “How many new abnormals do you get?”
“They just fill in the blanks when one dies.” I tapped one finger on the table. “There was no one new in our neck of the woods other than Cowboy here.” I tipped my head toward the kid.
“You sure he’s not a plant?” Anita asked.
I snorted. “Because they knew we were going to break out? That I’d have a soft spot for the kid? No, they were in our heads but not in mine like that.”
Now it was my turn to fill them in, and I did as quickly as I could. The fingers in our minds, the blank looks, the guards, and Eligor.
“I know that name,” Anita said. She turned and grabbed a book, the name scrawled out on it popping out to me. Demonology.
I nodded. “Me too. I believe . . . it’s the name of a demon. I’m sure of it—I studied them after my last run-in. Demons doing this makes sense, but they still must have someone driving them. The other names he mentioned I’m not as sure of. But Eligor, I am.” I could already see the players lining up. “If I were to guess right now and lay money on it, I would say that someone has called in a big player, a powerful demon who has his own underlings, and the demon is eliminating anyone who could stand in his way. Once the abnormals are locked up, who can stop the demons? A human priest? Doubtful. All the good priests were abnormals hiding in plain sight.”
“This is why you need to go see Rio. He has connections to the few others still in play. A Hider is helping him. She’s young but strong.”
My only plan was to go to New York to find intel on Killian. I was going after my son, not some demon on a vendetta.
A wash of fatigue hit me hard and I closed my eyes, breathing through it. Anita noticed first. “They are exhausted, Carlos. Come, I will show you where you can sleep. Carlos and I will hide this place for the night so you can all sleep in peace. But you must go in the morning.”
Peter followed her as if he were a well-trained pup. A Magelore sleeping peacefully in the same house as me, under the protection of a couple of Hiders. I wouldn’t have guessed I’d be ending my day this way if I’d had a million guesses.
Cowboy stretched and then leaned across the table to me. “You trust the Magelore?” he asked in an undertone.
“About as much as I trust you,” I said.
Dinah laughed and Cowboy drew back as if I’d slapped him. “Seriously?”
“I didn’t say I didn’t trust either of you. I said I trust you the same.” I reached for the food on the table and filled my plate. I needed food, real food, and then I would sleep.
Anita led a sullen Cowboy to another room so it was just me and Carlos at the table. I shoved food in my mouth, moaning as the flavors hit my tongue.
“Go
od stuff.” Carlos smiled as he cupped a coffee mug in his hands. “My Anita is quite a cook.” I kept on shoveling as he watched, his eyes sad. “If you are right about the demons, we are in deep trouble. But you will look for Rosita? When you are stopping this? Keep an eye out for her at least?”
I slowed my chewing and spoke around a mouthful of food. Telling him I wasn’t going after Rosita was a bad idea, so I figured I’d sidestep the question. “I need to check a few things, but I can find out if it’s a demon real quick.” I paused, then asked, “Are the tracers really destroyed?” The MRI machine had been almost too slick, too easy. And they found us at the hospital.
His smile slid off his face. “Yes. They are out of commission. But I hid you from the moment I realized who you were, what you were. It bought us time. Likely the vehicle you were driving had a tracer too. That is where I’d lay my guess.”
“Why did you hide what you were from us?” I asked.
“I was trying to protect my wife. You are known for your shoot first and never bother to ask questions style of working. I hoped that we would be able to appeal to you to go after our daughter. I have heard the stories of how you took down Mancini to save your own son.”
I tapped a finger on the table again. “That was when I worked for my father, I had no pull then. It was not my job to ask questions.”
“So you are a freelance assassin now?” His eyebrows shot up.
I sighed and kept eating. “I am a mother whose children are missing, Carlos. The same as yours.”
Children. No. Child. My gut clenched and I snapped my teeth shut to keep the food in my belly.
Carlos reached across the table and put a hand on top of mine. “My Rosita, I saw her the day before she went missing. You see from the picture she has her mother’s beauty and fire? She was determined to help the missing abnormals. Many of them were her friends. Those she’d grown up with. Good people.”
I stared at him as he stared down at the picture of his daughter. Her long dark hair had been caught up in the wind, and really, she looked like a model as she smiled coyly over her shoulder at the camera. Unusually bright amber eyes peered out from under long dark lashes, sparkling with laughter, with life.
A Savage Spell (The Nix Series Book 4) Page 9