Head Above Water (Gemini: A Black Dog #2) (11 page)

Thierry was bringing a trusted friend along, and that woman would be responsible for getting us inside the facility.

Accepting my excuse with a raised eyebrow, Dell resumed staring ahead. “So how do you know we’re in the right place?”

“The conclave uses glamour to conceal its bases, buildings and properties.” Her blank stare prompted me to continue. “It’s illusionary magic. It makes one thing look like another. Some fae use personal glamour to hide their inhuman attributes so they can blend with humans. Others use terrestrial glamour to manipulate houses, buildings, property. Some of the more talented fae can make it feel real too, to a certain extent, but in most cases it doesn’t have to pass more than the look test. Terrestrial glamours tend to be used to hide things, meaning there are enchantments layered in the magic that push against the minds of anyone who gets too close. It says:
Keep walking. There’s nothing to see here.
”

“Huh.” She cocked her head. “It doesn’t fool you, though?”

“I have a knack for reading glamour.” It helped Geminis gauge the strength of a potential donor, as well as allowing us to see exactly what we were getting ourselves into by borrowing from a source. “With personal glamour, I have to touch it to read it, but terrestrial glamour is in the air. I can breathe it in, make contact that way, and unravel it.”

“You know all the cool tricks.”

“Shifting into a wolf is a pretty cool trick too.”

“Maybe. I guess.” She shrugged. “I’ve been a wolf, been raised with wolves, my whole life. Furred and fanged is my normal.”

I caught myself worrying the pearl bracelet Harlow had given me and twisted in my seat. “Any word on the Garzas?”

“They aren’t returning my calls.” With her thumb and finger, she flicked the plastic notice warning passengers to wear seat belts. “Either they’re back and not ready for company or they’re still traveling and don’t want to be disturbed.”

Hearing they embraced technology was promising at least. “There’s no way to be sure?”

“Only if you want to piss them off.” She half-smiled. “Trust me. When they’re ready, they’ll let us know.”

Flashing headlights in the rearview mirror tugged my attention away from her. “We’ve got company.”

No cars had passed since we pulled off the side of the road to wait. That we saw motion now set my nerves chiming with anticipation. This could be it.

A sporty car, an eye-catching shade of light green even in the dark, grew larger as it neared, and at the last minute it swerved off the road and squealed to a stop behind us. I powered down my window and waited.

Two women sat in the car. The one with a hand clamped over her mouth like she might be carsick I recognized. The other woman rolled her eyes, stepped out of the car and set about smoothing her pantsuit.

Average height and wafer thin, she wore her expensive ensemble well. Her chestnut hair twisted in an elegant topknot on her head was held in place by lacquered chopsticks in a nod to her Asian ancestry. Her warm brown eyes sparkled as she watched Thierry climb from the car with a wobble in her step.

“My driving isn’t that bad,” the newcomer assured me, spinning her keys around her pointer. “Thierry is overly dramatic.”

“Let’s get this done. I need to organize a search party.” Thierry put a hand over her gut. “I think I left my stomach back there.”

I got out and met them on the shoulder of the road, and Dell ghosted from the car, a silent threat behind me.

“Thierry, good to see you again.” I stuck out my hand, braced for the burn of potent magic that raced up my arm. “This is Dell Preston of the Chandler Pack.”

“Good to see you too. Nice to meet you, Dell.” She bumped shoulders with the woman beside her. “Mai, this is Camille Ellis.” To us, she said, “Ladies, this is Mai Hayashi, my best friend who thinks she’s a NASCAR driver, and your ticket inside the Edelweiss Institution.”

“I work for the conclave.” Mai extended her hand toward me. “I’m interning for a counselor who specializes in displaced fae youth. I’m sad to say several of the parents responsible for the rise in abandoned kids are locked up here and in other places like this. Some can’t cope with this side of the veil but can’t go home either. Others are locked up before they can become a danger to themselves or others.” Her cool fingers closed over mine. “Either way, no one will look twice at me being here. I usually work third-shift hours and deal with the nocturnal fae, so I can pass this off as routine.”

The rush of wild magic in her touch sang to me, a gentler note than that of the wargs. “You’re a kitsune.”

Thierry coughed into her fist then snapped her fingers.

“Hold your horses.” Mai reached in her pocket, removed a slim wallet and passed Thierry a twenty-dollar bill. “There. Extortionist.” She crossed her arms and studied me. “How’d you guess?”

“It’s a talent of mine.” Another weapon in the Gemini tool kit to help us identify creatures with complementary magic that we could use as our own. “Legacies are the only fae I have trouble reading.”

“Legacies?” Understanding sparked behind her eyes. “You mean like Thierry. It’s a bloodline thing?” She narrowed her eyes at her friend. “You’re a dirty cheat.”

“Showered this morning, thank you very much.” She snapped the cash between her fingers. “Would you feel better if I used my winnings to buy us some Thai food on the way home?”

Mai scowled. “Why do I feel like you just tricked me into buying you dinner?”

“Probably because I did.” She pocketed the cash. “Sucker.”

A throat cleared behind me, and Dell shifted her weight. “The night’s not getting any younger.”

“Sorry,” they said in unison.

“We don’t get much girl time these days,” Mai explained. “Our mates are overprotective, and we had to bribe them to sit this one out.” She slung an arm around Thierry’s waist. “Breaking the law is more fun with a girlfriend, am I right?”

“Right,” I said at the same time as Dell murmured, “Sure.”

“Let’s get this show on the road.” Thierry clapped her hands. “Dell, we’re holding down the fort.”

“Camille, you’re with me.” Mai jingled her keys. “We need to get moving, though. I have to cover my tracks once I leave here to keep the conclave off my back, and I need time to make that happen.”

“Hold up.” Dell gripped my elbow when I stepped forward, and held on tight. “Cam’s not going anywhere without me.”

“Getting in one extra person is hard enough.” Mai glanced between us. “I won’t risk two.”

“You’re not fae,” Thierry pointed out. “If you walk in there without ID and a damn good excuse, you’ll all three be detained. Camille works for the conclave, and she consults. It makes more sense to let her go with Mai.”

“I don’t like this,” Dell growled. “Cord wanted me to stick by you. He’ll be pissed when he finds out I let you go alone.”

“He’ll get over it.” I walked to the passenger side of the coupe. “What will you two be doing?”

“Playing damsels in distress.” Thierry opened the driver door, leaned in, and the hazard lights started flashing. “Not much traffic comes out this way. We should be able to twiddle our thumbs in relative peace. Should anyone ask, Mai and I stopped to offer assistance. Cell reception out here is crap. Her car is a two-seater. We’ll stretch the truth and say she drove you up the road to make a call while I waited with your friend.”

With our lies rehearsed, Mai and I climbed into her car.

A whisper of unease slid over me as I noticed Dell sizing up Thierry. A distinctly predatory gleam lit her eyes, and Mai’s headlights reflected gold back at us. Apparently Dell had no trouble drawing on her inner she-wolf when there were no other wargs around to temper her instincts.

“Here’s the deal.” Mai shifted into reverse and stomped the pedal. “There’s a paper trail a mile long linking you to the Charybdis file.”

That answered the question of how much Mai knew about our mission.
All of it.

“The best lies are half-truths,” she continued. “Our cover story is that you need to talk to the patient in connection with a case. Since she checked herself in, and the level where she’s being held is non-secure, we should be able to zip in and out without raising any eyebrows.”

The car stopped on a dime, and I caught my breath before she pressed the accelerator flat to the floorboard. She wiped a stray hair from her eye, and my heart stuttered when her hand left the wheel. Thierry must have a cast-iron stomach compared to mine. I was about to lose the bag of chips I ate at the airport.

“You’re risking a lot to help us.” There was no guarantee this lead would pan out.

“I was there at the portal breach,” she said quietly. “I…froze.” Her lips mashed together. “Fae here are tame, young, compared to what’s in Faerie. If I hadn’t been so afraid, I might have made a difference. I might have stopped this thing—whatever he is—from breaking through.”

This was atonement for her, setting right a perceived wrong at great risk to herself, half-believing if things fell apart, she deserved it. That I understood.

“Were you there when he crossed?” I hadn’t seen her on the footage, and I had it memorized.

“No.” Her eyes shut for a heart-stopping second. “After the initial blowout, Tee packed me up and sent me home where I’d be safe. Like a coward, I tucked tail and went.”

A thread of unease sifted through me. “Thierry was there too?”

“So.” She flashed a blinding smile at me. “Your job must be exciting, huh? Chasing bad guys cross-country.”

“You didn’t answer my question.” It felt important to know where Thierry fit into this whole timeline.

More teeth, wider smile. “No, I didn’t.”

The niggling sense of unease kept prodding the back of my mind. “You’re not going to tell me.”

“Nope.” The playful mien she wore so casually lifted to reveal stone-cold determination. “There’s a lot about Thierry that’s need-to-know. As the saying goes—you don’t need to know. Don’t pick at that string because it’s wriggling in front of you. Do it, and you’ll regret it. You’ll unravel a whole heap of trouble that’s got nothing to do with you or the killer you’re tracking.”

I leaned back in the seat and watched the institution loom as we neared the circular drive. “That sounded almost like a threat.”

A quick jerk of the wheel, and Mai all but stood on the brake. Gravel spun as we slid into a parking space marked
Employees Only
. Twisting sideways, she studied me with the same barely leashed ferocity Dell wore when we left her with Thierry.

“Tee has a savior complex. She can’t help getting involved. It’s a sickness.” She huffed out an exasperated breath. “That said, you should know that if tonight blows back on her, I will hunt you down, point my manicured finger in your face and tell the magistrates everything I know about you and what you’re doing.”

Thinking of Harlow, my anger rose a notch. “Even if it condemns an innocent woman to death?”

“For Thierry?” An airy growl vibrated her throat. “Yes.”

I dipped my head, wondering if I would say the same in her place. I was risking my job, possibly jail time, by pulling this stunt to save a friend. But was I as willing as Mai to exchange a life for a life? I hoped to never have to answer that question.

“How good is your acting?” Half twisting in the seat, Mai raked her gaze up and down me. “Can you pull off cool professional, or are you the nervous, babbling type?”

I bent my lips to approximate a smile. “I can act.”

After all, I played the role of well-adjusted conclave agent every day, even when the eight-year-old girl trapped inside me was screaming.

G
etting
inside Edelweiss was as simple as Mai signing a sheet pinned to a clipboard at the receptionist’s desk thanks to the fact said receptionist was nowhere to be seen. The exterior’s sweeping architecture had me hypothesizing the building had once been a private residence. Most likely it had been left in a trust for conclave use. From there, they must have converted it into a mental health facility while maintaining its elegant appearance. The interior, however, had been gutted of luxury. There was no difference between walking its halls and strolling any sterilized corridor in a major hospital.

Pity if this had once been a home. It was a cutting-edge medical prison now.

Mai waved me on toward a set of double doors. We pushed through, and a curvy woman with a pin-tight bun snagged us on the other side.

“Ms. Hayashi.” A warm smile brightened her face. “What can I help you with tonight?”

“I’m here to see Marshal Ayer.” She gestured toward me. “My associate is consulting on a case involving Ms. Ayer. I volunteered to escort her down here since I’m familiar with Edelweiss and its exemplary staff.”

Preening, the woman tittered. “I’ve got a minute. Why don’t I walk you there myself?”

Mai beamed. “That would be great.”

The orderly turned on her heel, white Crocs squeaking on the shiny floor, keys jingling where they bounced against her ample hip. We followed her through single doorways and double doorways, down long halls and past short alcoves, until my sense of direction muddled. Thank the gods for Mai’s familiarity with the complex. The place was a labyrinth.

“Here we are.” The orderly pulled a clipboard from a bin screwed into the door of a room on a hall lined with such bins. “Ms. Ayer has been sedated, but she’s capable of holding a short conversation. I can allow you ten minutes, then I’m afraid the patient needs her rest.”

“Gotcha.” Mai signed her name then passed the board back. “We’ll try to keep this as low-key as possible.”

After plucking a key from the wide ring attached to her belt loop, the woman opened the door and stepped away so we could enter. Once we were shut inside the room, I shivered.

There was no doubting this was the same woman from the grainy surveillance video, but she managed to appear more washed out in person than on the black-and-white recording. The healthy grayish—for an Unseelie—cast to her skin had paled. She sat in a wingback chair positioned in front of a tall window. Soft pink pajamas swallowed her, washing out her complexion. Her wispy hair settled in gentle waves across her shoulders. She didn’t turn to look at us. I’m not sure she knew we were there.

Fingers tingling with nerves, I advanced on Marshal Ayer. “I’m not here to hurt you. I just need to touch your skin.”

Glassy brown eyes stared forward in answer.

I pressed two fingers against her forearm, and a corresponding
ping
of magic told me several things. She was a dhampir, half fae and half vampire. Most damning was that even all this time later her skin held the signature I associated with waterlogged corpses and amputated children.

“She didn’t just see him,” I told Mai. “He touched her, infected her with his magical signature.”

“Is that a good thing or a bad thing?”

“I’m not sure.” I waved a hand in front of Ayer’s face. “On the video, he steps into the hall and vanishes. She flinches, like maybe she saw him pull his disappearing trick, rubs her eyes as if it’s been a long night, then leaves the frame.”

“Marshal Ayer.” Mai came around and squatted in front of her. “We’d like to ask you a few questions, if you don’t mind.”

Ayer kept her gaze fixed on the moonlit horizon.

I took point questioning her. “What can you tell us about the night of the portal breach?”

A tic developed beneath her left eye.

“Did you see someone step from the portal?” I circled her. “Did he touch you? Speak to you?”

The marshal kept staring ahead.

“This is getting us nowhere.” I restrained the urge to kick the wall. “She’s too sedated—or too far gone—to be of any use.”

“I’ve got an idea.” Mai removed a tube of lipstick from her pocket. A nasty comment about her primping readied itself then died when she removed the cap, twisted the base and a short blade extended. She cut her eyes toward me as she sliced a gash across her wrist. “This will either jumpstart her metabolism or make a mess. You ready?”

Unsure what I was agreeing to, I nodded and moved closer as Mai brought her wound against the woman’s lips. Being half vampire meant Ayer required blood, but I wasn’t sure how much sway its siren song held with her fae half.

A soft rumble vibrated in Ayer’s throat, seeming to come from hundreds of miles away. Mai’s blood hit her tongue, and her eyes dilated. Black voids latched on to that fresh source of blood, and Ayer lunged, knocking over her chair and tackling Mai to the floor.

I gripped Ayer by the nape and hauled her off the bleeding kitsune. Weakened as Ayer was from her time here, I had no trouble restraining her. “Feel up to answering our questions now?”

Snarled words almost below my hearing told me she was revived enough to curse at us.

Mai stood and cupped her hand against the shallow cut she’d given herself. “We don’t have much time.”

With minimal effort, I righted the chair and dumped Ayer in the seat. I uttered a universal restraining Word, one I’d learned during marshal academy, and experienced the satisfaction of hearing her yelp as her wrists snapped together, bound by magic.

“Let’s try this again.” I rounded on her. “Did you see someone step from the portal?”

Blood smearing her mouth, she curled her lip. “Yes.”

A brief thrill zinged through me. “Did he touch you? Talk to you?”

“He took me.” Her feral expression crumpled. “I didn’t want him to. I said no.”

That fast my high flatlined. “He raped you?”

“Yes.” Her brow puckered. “No. He was inside me, but not that way. He was under my skin, in my head. He told me what to do, and I did it. I couldn’t stop myself. I lost control.” Her throat flexed when she swallowed. “He taunted me with things no one knows.
No one
.”

Treading carefully over her pain, I had to press for answers. “How did he get to you?”

“He…” Her eyelids fluttered.

“Marshal Ayer?” I shook her shoulder gently. “How did he take control of you?”

The adrenaline rush was fading, and Ayer was too weak to climb back out of her stupor. Mai could try a few more drops of blood, but we only had minutes left, and I wasn’t convinced the trick would work twice. She slumped back, lids heavy, mouth gone slack.

“Stay with me,” I gritted out while shaking Ayer, whose eyes closed.

“She’s done.” Mai touched my shoulder. “All that shaking is going to give her brain damage.”

“Do you think she was lucid?” Or had it been the drugs, the sensory deprivation talking? “Do you think we can trust anything she said?”

“I don’t know.”

A snapping sound lifted my head as Mai clasped a wide leather bracelet around her wrist, covering the cut. I leaned over to take a better look. “Are you okay?”

“The best way to cover tracks is not to leave any in the first place.” She examined her wrist then clothes before pulling out a compact to check her face. All the blood from the attack was gone. “Vamp saliva coagulates to clot blood so their prey doesn’t bleed out. Dhampirs don’t have it, and whatever they pumped her full of is causing me to heal slower than usual.”

I got on my feet and posed Ayer into comfortable lines. “I wish we’d found her sooner.”

The door opened on a breath of fresh air, and the orderly greeted us with a smile. “It’s time for Ms. Ayer’s bath. I’m going to have to ask you to leave.” She waited as we filed out in the hall. “I hope you got what you needed.”

What we got was more questions than answers. There was no doubt he had touched her, violated her, but how? What was at the root of the infection? Until I figured that part out, Ayer had no clues left to offer us.

“We did.” Mai beamed as she signed out. “Thanks for your help.”

At the receptionist’s desk, Mai greeted a slight brunette with buns pinned to either side of her head. Pen in hand, Mai scribbled her name and turned to go.

“Ms. Hayashi.” The receptionist stood. “You’re good to go, but I don’t see where your friend signed in.” She eyeballed the sheet. “Or out.” She extended the clipboard. “I have to ask you to sign in, ma’am. I’ll also need to see some ID.”

“I left my wallet in the car.” Not a lie. I hadn’t planned on needing ID since the whole idea was to get in and out without leaving a trace. “I can go get it if you like.”

“Wait there.” She sat and reached for the phone. “I’ll have security escort you.”

“Isn’t that a little extreme?” Mai chuckled. “You know my car, and I parked right outside.”

The woman paled, proof she was indeed familiar with Mai’s vehicular prowess. “You know the rules, Ms. Hayashi.”

“Of course.” She caught my eye. “I have to use the little fox’s room.” She winked at me. “I’ll meet you—”
wink wink
, “—at the car, okay?”

“Sure thing,” I said, masking my irritation for the receptionist’s benefit.

Left to fend for myself, I awaited my escort’s arrival. Threats aside, I hadn’t expected Mai to abandon me the first chance she got. Showing my ID wouldn’t have raised red flags, at least not tonight. When the guard realized I had none, they would ask me to call in and get a copy faxed over for their records. That shot past red flags and blasted straight into pyrotechnics.

If Vause had tagged my file, she’d know within minutes where I was and demand I put in an appearance to explain my actions. That would sink me and drag Mai down too, not to mention it was a short hop from Mai to Thierry. Without Thierry’s access to conclave resources, I would be forced to sit on my hands and wait out my suspension.

This whole night was turning into a lost cause. Any hopes I had of following up with Ayer burst.

“This is Officer Lam,” the receptionist chimed. “He’ll be escorting you.”

The lanky young man who breezed into the lobby wearing aviator sunglasses flung a grin my way. “It would be my pleasure.”

Heart thumping, I headed for the doors. Things were about to go downhill fast.

The guard beat me to them and held one side open. “After you, miss.”

Outside, the night air teased hairs into my eyes. We reached the coup, and I stalled. “I don’t have the keys. We’ll have to wait for Mai.”

“No need.” He reached into his pocket and brought out a sleek fob that made the car chirp. “Get in there and pretend you’re searching your purse. We need to buy her some time.”

I caught the fob when he tossed it to me. “Who are you?”

“A friend. Mai helped out my kid brother and me when our mom… It doesn’t matter.” He folded his arms and made a show of being impatient while I got in and pretended to search the car. “When Mai gets here, strap in and hold on tight. She’s going to be in a hurry.”

“What about the receptionist?”

He tipped his shades down his nose, revealing mercurial eyes that swirled with power. “I’ll handle it.”

That brief glimpse made my bones melt the way a hot bath at the end of a long day might. Assuming the bath also involved a glass of chilled wine, a tray of decadent chocolates and a blindfolded cellist serenading away your cares while a masseuse gave you the foot massage of your life.

My spine had dissolved, leaving me in a puddle. “Wow.”

“I aim to please.” He nudged the glasses back into place. “Trust me now?”

“Mmm-hmm.”

“Lam,” Mai snapped. “Tell me you didn’t whammy her.”

“Whammy? Really? That’s the best you can do?” His lips twisted. “It cheapens the experience.”

“So that’s a
yes
. Wonderful.” She huffed. “I hope her friend knows how to drive.”

“She does,” I replied helpfully. “Dell kidnapped me once. In a black SUV.”

Both of them turned to look at me.

Mai flung a disgusted sound in Lam’s direction then tossed a plastic bag at my chest. “Do what you do, and be careful. Call if you hit any snags.” She slanted a glance at my dopey grin. “Did you wipe her too?”

“I’m a self-preservationist. What do you think?” He tipped an imaginary hat and grinned at me. “Hold on, Blondie.”

The car shifted when Mai slid behind the wheel. She leaned over, snapped my seat belt and hauled the door shut, jarring my elbow. “We have to be long gone by the time he works his mojo.”

“Mojo,” I agreed dazedly, wondering who she was talking about.

Seat belt on, Mai cranked the car and revved the engine. The tiny car spun out, and my head hit the seat rest. That warm, fuzzy feeling lapping over me evaporated in the nine-point-three seconds it took her to go from zero to sixty.

Clutching the plastic bag to my chest, I reevaluated my religious beliefs as we sped back to where we’d left Dell and Thierry. My weight slammed forward, eyes squinching as we came to a gut-lurching stop. No sooner had I caught my breath than the door wrenched open and Thierry gripped my arm.

“Something’s wrong with Dell.” She took the bag and helped me out. “One minute she was pacing the road, the next she hit the asphalt screaming
Ellis
.”

Dell didn’t call me Ellis. She never had. But there was one warg who did, and he was plugged into her head.

I bolted for the rental. The rear doors were open, and Dell’s tall frame spilled out either end. I ducked inside and checked her pulse. Steady. She groaned and stirred, curling around my arm.

“Cord,” she moaned. “He’s gone.”

Ice encased my spine. “What do you mean
gone
? Gone where?” I pushed tangled hairs off her damp face. “Dell, what’s wrong with Graeson?”

“I don’t feel him.” Rocking, she pressed her face against me. “The pack bond… It’s gone.”

My spur emerged without thought, and I barely restrained myself long enough to get permission before taking Dell’s blood. The shift ripped through me, and I gasped as platinum hairs dipped in inky blackness sprung from my fingertips to shoulders. Never had the change swept over me so far so fast.

A hazy golden glow encased Dell, and her stream of consciousness fed into mine. That was the only indication I had the pack bond was active. There were no other voices, no other lights, no other thoughts.