Authors: AE Jones
“Thanks, that’s what I was going for.”
He backhanded me and I staggered, pain piercing my jaw.
“Enough of your insolence. Where is it?”
I touched my cheek gingerly. Clearly we were done with the pleasantries. Before I could answer, a horrific screeching interrupted me. Booger was outside the window mewling at the top of his lungs and scratching to get in.
“What the hell is that?”
“My cat. If I don’t let him in, the neighbors will call the cops on me again.”
“Fine, let him in.”
I opened the window and he leapt through it. With his tail high in the air, he walked into the center of the room and stared at me. I wasn’t exactly sure what he was going to do in his cat form, but for some reason a sense of calm came over me. Then he opened his mouth and caterwauled again.
“Either shut him up or I will wring his neck.”
“Stanley, stop it right now! Stanley, go into the bedroom. Go on now.”
Booger stopped screaming and ran out of the room. I stared at his retreating form, hoping he remembered what Stanley was, and that it was strapped behind my headboard.
“I’m done playing games now. Where is the key?”
I walked away from the bedroom, hoping to distract the vamp from Booger/Matthew. I opened the trunk to dig around in it. I only had a few seconds to figure out something before he got suspicious.
I peered up in time to see Matthew slink down the hallway, naked as a jaybird. He aimed and shot the guard twice in the heart. The vamp went down on his knees. Matthew walked over and shot him again. The vamp fell face-first onto the floor.
I gripped the sides of the trunk and pushed myself up on shaky legs. “Thank you.”
Matthew nodded. “No problem. You better get going before he starts healing.”
“Cover him while I find his keys.” I reached down and pulled them out of his pocket. Luckily he didn’t move. I stood up. “Are you going to be okay here?”
“Yeah. Here, take Stanley. I have backup on the way. I’m good.”
“I owe you one.”
He smiled. “I’ll remember that.”
I ran to the car and took off, calling Jean Luc.
“Kyle, where are you?”
“I’m driving back from my apartment to Dalton’s house. Sebastian’s holding him hostage there.”
“I am at Dalton’s house now. No one is here.”
“That doesn’t make any sense. Why did he leave? I was supposed to come back with the key.”
“Maybe he sensed something went wrong,” Jean Luc added.
Damn.
“Would he sense if one of his guards had been shot?”
“Yes, there would be a strong enough link for him to feel something.”
“Where would he take Dalton?” I asked.
“I am not sure. Come back to the safe house so we can figure out what to do next.”
I took a deep breath, unable to speak for a second.
“Kyle, if he had wanted Dalton dead, he would have killed him at the house. He is using him as a bargaining chip.”
“I know.” But it didn’t make me feel better.
* * *
I stopped pacing long enough to glare at Misha. “What’s taking so long?”
Misha glanced up from the computer screen. “Sebastian owns multiple properties, little one. I’m sorting through them to see where he might take Dalton.”
I turned to Jean Luc. “Have you reached Doc?”
“Yes, she is available when we need her. She is doing research on the straends right now so that she can treat Dalton when we find him.”
“Why hasn’t Sebastian contacted me? He knows Dalton doesn’t have the key.”
Jean Luc stood up and put his arm around me. “He is regrouping. Dalton’s house was not his territory, and when he felt something go wrong with the guard, he ran for safer ground.”
“What is it with vamps and marking territory?”
Before Jean Luc could answer, my phone rang. I yanked it out of my pocket. It was an unlisted number. “Hello.”
“I warned you not to play me for a fool,” Sebastian hissed.
“I didn’t play you for a fool, your guard did.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Your guard double-crossed you. When he saw the key, he tried to kill me. Unless you ordered him to do that, I’m pretty sure he was planning to make a run for it.”
“You lie. He would not have the ability to betray me, I am his sire.”
“Who knows what possessing the key might do? Maybe he thought it would break your hold over him.” I waited, holding my breath to see if he bought it.
“How did you get away from him?”
“I had a gun hidden in my apartment and I shot him.”
“I think you are playing me yet again.”
I scrambled quickly for the next words. “Has your guard called you yet or come back to you?” Silence. So I pushed the envelope a little more. “I think your puppy has run off so he doesn’t have to face your wrath.”
He ignored my dig. “You have the key?”
I stared at the box with the strange markings sitting on the table. “Yes.”
“Bring it to the following address. And if I see Jean Luc or Misha, I will kill Dalton immediately.”
I scribbled down the address. “I already told you, they’re not involved in this.”
“Good. And I would hurry, Kyle. Your lieutenant is not doing very well.”
Chapter 41
I drove up to yet another warehouse, and, ignoring my internal warning bells, parked smack dab in front of it. Knowing Sebastian, there were probably cameras recording my arrival. Taking a deep breath, I rehearsed what I was going to say while I climbed out of the car. I stopped myself from checking on Stanley, tucked safely into my waistband, and prayed the unbuttoned shirt I was wearing over my tank covered the gun. Grabbing the key box, I ran to the door. It was unlocked. I rushed inside.
There were a few large cardboard boxes stacked in the corner, but otherwise it was pretty barren. Vamps must just be square footage junkies. I took a few steps into the warehouse.
Sebastian’s disjointed voice echoed toward me. “Why are you scared?”
I gulped. “I think Jean Luc is after me.”
“I told you not to bring him here,” he hissed.
“I didn’t bring him here, he’s following me!”
“Why?”
“I called him earlier and told him I wouldn’t be at work. I think he’s suspicious, since Dalton opened the box yesterday. I don’t want to be anywhere near him right now. If he knew I had the key, he would compel me to give it to him.”
“Let me see the key.”
I held the box up in front of me.
“Open it so I can see the inside.”
I pulled open the box and showed him both pieces, as well as the key I had placed inside. I shut the box again with a resounding click.
“Show me Dalton,” I demanded.
Sebastian walked from behind the boxes, holding Dalton by the arm. He was in a stupor. I locked my knees to stop myself from running toward him. He was pale and bleeding, and the straend was still in his neck.
“Give me the key.”
I started toward them when Sebastian tensed, looking around quickly. “There’s a vampire close by.”
“Damn. Here, take the key and give me Dalton. We need to get out of here.”
The air moved around us and Jean Luc appeared. He seized my arms and shook me hard. “You dare betray me!”
“No, no…I would never betray you.”
“Why are you here, then?” he growled.
“Sebastian kidnapped Dalton, I was trying to get him back for you. I know he’s your favorite.”
Jean Luc sniffed me and scoffed. “You stink of lies.”
Sebastian chuckled maniacally. “I told you centuries ago not to trust humans. They are greedy bugs. This little ant was bringing me the key.”
Jean Luc yanked the box from my hand and slapped me. I fell to the ground. The action brought Dalton out of his stupor and he growled, wrenching his arm away from Sebastian. He took a menacing step toward Jean Luc.
“Do not even think about it.” Jean Luc’s tone was one of an irritated father speaking to a petulant child.
I stood up and grabbed Dalton’s arm. He trembled slightly, and I longed to gather him in my arms and tell him everything would be all right. He leaned against me heavily as we slowly backed toward the door.
Jean Luc opened the box and fished out the key. “This is what all the fuss is about?”
Sebastian nodded. “Yes, we can rule the world with it.”
“How does it work?”
“I don’t know the specifics. Father Cowell shared his translations with Hampton. This key is called
custos arcanorum
.” At the sound of the name, Dalton flinched and then stopped his retreat. I pulled hard on his arms, but he refused to move toward the door.
My heart pounded even louder in my chest as I eased Stanley out of my waistband. But Sebastian didn’t seem to notice and kept blathering on. “If we, rather than the angels, are in possession of the key, the balance tips in our favor. Those smug bastards won’t be able to stop us. So what do you think, Jean Luc? We can rule together.”
Jean Luc grinned and wrapped his fingers around the key, forming a fist. When he reopened his hand, the key was bent in half.
Sebastian backed away. “What have you done?”
“You will never have the key,” Jean Luc declared.
Sebastian scowled and flashed. A split-second later, Jean Luc flashed as well. The air whooshed around me and Dalton, the sounds of grunts and fists pounding flesh echoing through the empty space. Jean Luc reappeared first, with blood running from his mouth. Sebastian came into view next, across the room. He surged toward me and I fired Stanley, hitting him twice in the chest. He barely flinched, flashing again.
At the sound of gunshots, Jason rushed in from the back door and raced across the warehouse. In the next instant Sebastian stood in front of Jason and threw him across the room like he weighed nothing. I gasped, waiting for Jason to slam into the concrete. Instead, he stopped mid-flight. Misha stood at the back of the warehouse, arms in the air. He lowered Jason to the ground with his telekinesis.
Sebastian’s eyes widened in surprise, but quickly recovered. “Did you honestly think bullets can stop me?”
Jason shook his head. “Those aren’t normal bullets, asshole. You should be feeling the sting shortly.”
Sebastian’s cocky veneer slipped. Gazing down at his shirt, he seemed puzzled to see that blood continued to flow from his bullet wounds. Misha reached behind his head and pulled a sword from a sheath tied to his back. I gaped at him. I was in a
Highlander
episode.
I reached for Dalton, making another futile effort to pull him out of the way. I heard a warning yell, and then a rush of motion surrounded me. Sebastian wrenched me from Dalton’s side and Stanley slipped from my hands and clattered on the ground. He carried me on a wave of speed toward the back of the warehouse. He kicked open the door, and we emerged on a concrete landing overlooking a loading dock. Slamming the door shut, he bent the handle down with his bare hands to jam the door.
I tried to stop my head and stomach from spinning. Sebastian’s fingers tightened on my left arm. His fingernails lengthened and I screamed when they punctured my skin. While he hauled me down the stairs, Misha and Jason ran around the back of the building toward us. Jason was carrying Stanley, but Misha’s sword was gone.
The back bay door went up and Dalton stood in the opening. He was mumbling something to himself as he stared down at Sebastian. Surrounded, Sebastian’s last vestige of humanity left him and he became a beast, fangs extending as his face distorted into a feral caricature of its normal self.
Dalton spoke calmly. “Let her go. Take me instead.”
“Why would I want you?” Sebastian scoffed.
“Because I know where the key is.”
“Dalton, no!” I yelled.
“Where is it?”
“I am the key.” And then he started speaking what sounded like Latin. Sebastian released me and flashed for a second before reappearing and stumbling a step. Were the bullets getting to him? But then he leapt onto the truck dock, and lunged for Dalton. Jean Luc appeared, brandishing the missing sword.
Jean Luc swung the blade so fast I barely registered the motion. Sebastian still had a look of wide-eyed surprise on his face as his head tipped forward and fell to the concrete, rolling off the dock onto the ground below with a resounding thud.
I gazed up in astonishment at Dalton, who smiled at me just before he clutched his head in agony and collapsed.
Chapter 42
“What aren’t you telling me?” I glared at Doc, Jean Luc and Misha as we stood in the hallway outside of Dalton’s room.
Doc hesitated as if choosing the right words. “Even though I was able to remove the straend, his neural pathways are damaged.”
“Damaged how?”
“Every time he thinks about what happened, he relives the pain. It is similar to the phantom pain patients experience when they lose a limb.”