Savage Magic (6 page)

She slung me against the closed door, next to Miller. "If he lives through the first attack, we're safe. But you need to stay back."

In his cell, Knox flipped to his hands and knees, and his face contorted with anguish. A murky ball of yellow light ignited between his shoulder blades and through his chest, casting a sickly glow around him.
 

"It's not the right color," I said, panic shooting up from my gut and wrapping around my throat. "It's supposed to be white." I glanced at Rosalind. "Why isn't it white?"

Apprehension hovered beneath the determination in her eyes. "It'll be over soon, one way or the other," she said, moving to stand in front of Cooper's cell.
 

Knox lifted his head and his gaze met mine, pleading, frightened, and then a rough cry tore from his throat as the light expanded, dissolving his clothing as it went. His hands curled into fists and then melted into stumps of murky light as his body became a shapeless mass, writhing and pulsing.
 

Long, painful seconds passed in that half-formed state and I held my breath, afraid for him and the horrible death ahead if his body couldn't restructure correctly. Finally, there was a dull
pop
of sound and the yellow light disappeared, leaving a gray wolf in the middle of the cell. Knox gave a confused whine and collapsed to the floor.

From his cot, Danny smirked at us. "Congratulations," he drawled as he picked through the food in his rations box. "Now you're all off the hook."
 

Rosalind let Sharon out of her cell but still refused to release Cooper, which kept her at the top of my enemy list with no amnesty in sight. I hated leaving him in there next to that bastard, Danny. But Miller assured me we didn't have a choice at the moment, and that the more trouble I made, the harder it would be to get any kind of reprieve for him.
 

His reasoning was sound, so I reluctantly trailed after Rosalind and the others, impressed as hell at how Miller kept his dignity when the female Were picked him up and carried him out of the underground maze, and then up the steep stone steps of the fortress to the second tier where she said we'd be staying.

The furnished apartment she assigned to us was a roomy two bedroom, two bath unit with a sizable kitchen and a standard living room area. There was a stocked bookcase, but no radio or TV, which didn't surprise me. Hard to get reception in the middle of a mountain.

I left Miller with Dr. Barrett, wanting to be alone until I could process the shock of what had happened to Knox. If what he'd just gone through was happening in all the Clans, then I understood where their extreme precautions and hyper diligence were coming from. To lose control during your shift was dangerous, if not deadly, and all Weres feared it.

I found Noah in the hall, sitting across from the apartment, and was struck again by how familiar he looked, though I had no idea why. Whatever. It would come to me.
 

Walking past him, I headed in what I hoped was the direction of the breezeway. He got up and followed me. "I don't need a babysitter," I said, not looking at him.

"I tried to tell the Captain you wouldn't like it."

I glanced at him then. He looked as put out about his current assignment as I felt. He didn't deserve to have my bad mood taken out on him. "How about something to eat. Got any suggestions?"

As expected, the idea of food caught his attention, but his moment of perking up dove quickly into disappointment. "The dining hall's not open for two more hours."

"It's called pilfering, kid." I started down the hall again at a brisk pace. "All respectable teenagers rely on it for survival."
 

With only a few hints from Noah, I found my way to the second tier breezeway and from the bottom of the stone stairs it was a straight shot to the row of buildings on the left, which he claimed housed the kitchen.
 

We passed the training ring where a few Weres of both genders practiced hand-to-hand combat while another group spared with swords. The guy that had helped capture us was with them and as we passed, his friends nudged him and they all stopped to stare at us. Like I cared.

The day was clear, the air drenched with the crisp bite of autumn, and I pulled in a deep, appreciative breath, wondering how I was going to get Cooper out of that miserable dungeon. Maybe fighting Rosalind to get to Ryker would do it, a thought that cheered me considerably.
 

As Noah and I crossed the wide grassy area, the enticing smell of baking bread, coffee, and best of all bacon drifted over us, and we picked up our pace. We were almost to our goal when the stocky male stepped in front of me.
 

"Human," he said with a sneer. "What's so special about you that our
Aesei
freely claims you?" Prejudiced much?
 

I looked him up and down and wasn't impressed. "Yeah, someone's really going to have to explain that
Aesei
part to me. But for now, let's leave the answer to your amazingly unintelligent question as 'hidden talents' and move on."
 

The Were crowded in on me. He was only slightly taller than me, which meant that with my kick-ass logger boots on, I could comfortably look him in his hostile, almond-shaped hazel eyes. "As in,
move
," I clarified.

"We're on Clan business," Noah said hastily.

"To the infirmary? I don't see any injuries." He fisted up his hands, making the muscles along his arms bulge. "Though that could change."

Maybe not tall, but thickly muscled, I amended, which put him at probably twice my weight. If I wasn't hamstrung with keeping my secret, I might have been able to take him anyway. As it was...
 

"Degotoga, please let us pass," the kid said.

"And if I don't want to?"

I took exception to the clear threat in his voice and the quiver of fear underlying the kid's. I mean, seriously, nobody likes a bully. "Noah, go see if you can find us something to eat."

"Deg," the boy tried again. "She's just a human."

"Go, Noah," I warned. As he reluctantly shuffled off a few yards, I let my expression relax into neutral lines and focused my full attention on the angry Were in front of me. "How about you get back to your friends now?"
 

"How about we use you to practice our punches?" His hot smelly breath fanned across my face and I grimaced.

"Or we could move along peaceably and pretend this never happened." Who said I couldn't be civilized around minors?

He growled low in his throat and did his best to intimidate me with his glowing Were stare. Yeah, like that had never been tried on me before. I felt him tense, preparing to either slug me or push me, which I really wasn't in the mood to deal with.

When he shifted his weight, I stepped back, ducking as his palm came up, and then darting to the side. Instead of sending me flying, he hit air, the momentum of the intended strike carrying him forward a few steps. As he staggered to regain his balance, I swept my foot under his leg. He went down like a sack of rocks.

I didn't wait to see how he'd react to me landing his butt in the dirt, and instead strode quickly for the outbuilding, trusting Noah to follow me. Weres had a lot of respect for food, and I hoped the moron with an attitude would think twice before starting a fight in the kitchen.
 

The feeling of being watched tingled across the back of my neck, and I paused with my hand on the door handle to look around. Lounging on a sunny bench on the porch of the adjoining building, Danny watched me while a grumpy looking guard stood in the shade watching him. I told the kid to get started without me and changed direction, heading for Danny as irritation dug in between my shoulder blades. My little display with Deg must have left an impression, because Noah only hesitated a moment before scurrying inside.

I debated the merits of sitting next to the vamp on the bench and pretending to be friendly, but since I couldn't bring myself to go that far, I opted for coming to a stop in front of him and looming.
 

"You're blocking my sun," he said, leaning back and studying me, amusement in his cold blue eyes. "If my tan's uneven when I get out of here, I'll know who to blame."

"How did Bellmonte know we were here? Why did he send you?"

Danny scooted to the other end of the bench and closed his eyes, tilting his face up to the sun. "Isn't it sad that you don't have anything to bargain with for answers?"
 

"I'm more than a match for you without the PRC. Imagine how easy it would be to get answers out of you with it," I hissed.
 

"I can still taste that one sweet drop of your blood on my lips." He smiled, his eyes still closed. "Intoxicating."

My lip curled up as repulsion crawled across my skin. "Sounds like you think I do have something to bargain with," I said, barely keeping myself from gagging on the words.

"So many long weeks on cheese and bread. Imagine the strain."
 

My Were blood was poisonous to vampires. If he got more than a drop, he'd know I wasn't human. Of course, if it killed him it might be worth the risk.

His eyes slitted open, curiosity glittering in their depths. "Beginning to think it might be worth it?"

I propped my boot on the seat next to him and leaned in. "Not even. I'm in the mood for a little more drama." I hooked my forefinger up under his PRC and gave a light tug. His eyes flew open, his smarmy confidence gone.

"So tell me—" I pulled a little harder and he came with it, his alarm spiking into full out fear as the collar gave off the high-pitched warning signal. I leaned in close, keeping just enough tension on the collar to make losing his head a real possibility. "Just between us girls. Why are you here?"

"He needs you," he said, sweat beading up across his forehead. He licked his lips and his gaze dropped to my mouth, reminding me of another disgusting encounter. "I'm beginning to understand why."

Except this time, I wasn't confronting a powerful and cunning vampire who was close to three hundred years old. This jackass nephew of Bellmonte's had probably been turned somewhere around the seventies and with his massive ego, he'd never be as dangerous as his uncle.
 

I flexed my finger and the alarm on the collar beeped faster. "
If
you get out of here alive, I have a message for your lord and master." I leaned in close to his ear. "Piss off." Releasing him, I slid my foot off the bench, making sure my boot would have crushed his toes if he hadn't moved them out of the way in time. PRCs definitely came in handy when they were used on the right people.

Sauntering back to the kitchen side of the building, I glanced toward the training ring across the compound where Deg watched me, hostility radiating off of him as strongly as Danny's sunbeam.
 

Of course in some cases, a specially modified Browning was even better.

*
 
*
 
*

"How do I get my gun back?"

Noah and I sat at a broad table next to a window that overlooked the grounds, a feast of roast beef sandwiches on homemade bread and mugs of sweet tea in front of each of us. Heaven. Even without a Dr. Pepper.

The kid stopped chewing for a minute and glanced up at me in alarm. "Gun?"

"I left it in our camp. The camp somebody raided when they grabbed Agent...Practitioner Miller."

He swallowed. "Captain Grey probably has it."

I took a long swallow from my mug. Sweet tea always made me appreciate living in the South. "Grey, huh," I said, thinking about her long silver hair. "Appropriate."

"She was close to the Alpha's wife. They grew up together."

"Was?" I asked, picking up the remaining half of my sandwich.
 

He dropped his gaze to his plate.

"Oh. I'm sorry," I said, and I meant it. I wondered if that was why Ryker had sent for his brother. Putting my sandwich down, I went for the fortification of draining the rest of my tea as sadness brushed through me. I wished I could still feel the comfort of Cooper's presence. "What does
Aesei
mean, Noah?"

The kid shrugged. "'Next to lead', sort of."

"You mean like a prince or a king?" I asked, remembering some of the vamp's snide remarks when we'd first been thrown into the dungeon.

"Sure." Adequately distracted from his moment of sadness, Noah bit into his sandwich and chewed, his expression thoughtful. "But the definition can change depending on what it's paired with.
Aesei ull Arr
means 'protector of all'.
Aesei
Siian
is 'one who dies for all'."

"Ay-say See-ahn?" I repeated, testing out the strange words.
 

"There are a few more, but it's been a long time since I had
Nyi A'ph
." Noah took a gulp of his tea. "Um, 'the wolves' tongue'," he added.

Of course Cooper was some kind of prince. I'd suspected that he had some seriously high up connections when Ryker had gotten us out of a tight spot last summer. Still, it would have been nice to hear it from him.
 

Did Cooper think it would make any difference to me where he ranked in his Clan? He had to know that I didn't care about any of that crap. Someone I could respect, also great in bed, a good fighter, smart, that's what I liked in a guy. Being so good looking it made my knees melt was also a nice bonus.

"Be careful of Deg," Noah said as he got up from the table and picked up his empty plate. "He hates humans."

"No kidding." I finished off my sandwich and followed him to the sink with my dishes.

"He was captured early in the war and they say the human scientists tortured and experimented on him."

"That would certainly do it," I conceded as he filled the sink with soapy water. Though I had my doubts as to the reliability of playground gossip. Still... "See why I need my gun to feel safe?"

I pretended not to notice the sideways glance Noah gave me as he started washing our dishes. "Better to be helpless," he said, a glimpse of the man he'd turn into coming through in his tone. "It's a bad time for us right now. Everyone's on edge."