A Curse Unbroken (11 page)

She leaned back in her high-back leather seat. “First answer me this: Do the mongrels know where
he
is?”

I tried not to grumble. The Alliance had picked the name more for show it seemed. “They have a lead and are tracking him now.”

She smiled. “Where?”

“I’m not sure.”

Her smile widened and she exchanged glances with Tim. Like
weres,
vamps could sniff lies. “Where?” she asked again.

This time I couldn’t hold back my grumbling. “Malaysia.”

My news seemed to please her. She swiveled in her seat and smirked at Tim. “Told you I was right. Alert the team. We leave in an hour.”

Ordinarily, her smugness would have annoyed me. But who was I kidding? We needed to find Shah. If I had to confirm suspicions in the process, I’d do it.

Tim left like a passing breeze. If not for the
squeak squeak
of his boots and the chunks of ice he tossed over his shoulder, I wouldn’t have even heard him.

This time, it was my turn to smile. “Now, tell me what you know.”

Agnes adjusted her glasses, annoyed. She didn’t like being ordered around unless it was by Misha specifically. But Misha had given me the title of Mistress of the House. And that title came with power. Power over his undead.
Mwahahaha
.

“He’s being held by Dilip Singh, the lead geek who created the videogame based on Shah’s legend. Dilip was raised in India and frequently returns to visit family.” She clicked her tongue. “One of his last few trips was to Ajanur village—nowhere near any of his relatives, but coincidentally the same village where the Madiyan Kulom temple is located.”

“Shah’s last known home sweet home.”

“Correct,” Agnes said.

My tigress perked up. “How do you know Dilip’s the one who has him for sure? Weren’t there three other programmers who helped develop the game?”

Agnes played with one of her long thick braids. “He took eight people with him to Ajanur. Three were his fellow programmers like you said, one was his girlfriend, two were young archaeologists, and the two others were locals familiar with the area. Five have died since the profits from Shah’s videogame started rolling in.” She lifted her phone when it buzzed in a text and checked the screen. “Make that six. The first was Dilip’s girlfriend, the next were his programmers. Guess who died next?”

“The archaeologists.” Unlike Agnes, I didn’t see this as a fun game of Clue.

“You’re right,” she said, barely batting an eye. “The female died first. It took Dilip longer to find the male.” She tapped the screen of her phone. “But now he has. If the locals he hired aren’t dead yet, they soon will be.”

“What about the police?”

“What about them?” she asked.

I held out my hand. “Millions at stake. Nine people involved—eight dead—or on the to-die list. It doesn’t take much to narrow down Dilip as a suspect.”

Agnes leaned forward and glared at me like I was too stupid to breathe. “He has Shah, and therefore all the power he needs to keep suspicion off him, or send the police after the kid who pushed him off the swing in second grade if he wanted to.” She laughed without humor. “The thing is, this fool doesn’t know everything he’s in for with Shah.”

I crossed my arms. Agnes was having too much fun. “What’s Shah going to do to him, Agnes?”

“Whatever he wants now,” she sang. “Dilip’s his holder, but not his master. To think he ruled over Shah was his first mistake.”

“Just tell me what he’s going to do,” I said, growling as a result of my mounting impatience.

Agnes narrowed her eyes at my command, but told me anyway, motioning toward the stack of old scrolls. “These scriptures describe the magic worked and incidences surrounding Shah the last time he was used for personal gain. It seems he wasn’t hidden to keep others from stealing him. He was being punished for being an asshole.”

“An asshole?” I asked slowly.

“That’s right. Basically, once Shah feels he’s made a fair trade, he starts to fuck with his holder.”

Okay. This wasn’t necessarily a good thing for us
. “In what way?”

“Any way he pleases. Let’s say Dilip wants world domination now, riches beyond his wildest dreams.” She giggled. “Or say an ice cream sandwich. Shah could choose to fill his entire house with ice cream sandwiches and nothing more.”

I considered what she told me. “Shah has reached notoriety and fame because of the game Dilip created for him.” Agnes nodded. “In exchange, he’s given Dilip money, power, protection, and exoneration from possible murder.”

“Again you’re correct,” Agnes agreed.

“And now that he’s fulfilled his duties, it’s time for him to have fun with Dilip.”

Agnes’s wicked grin was confirmation enough.

A thought occurred to me. “Tell me this, does Shah have to be with Dilip at all times?”

“No. Dilip just has to be the last one to touch him to still be considered his holder.”

“If that’s the case, Shah could be anywhere.”

“Technically yes, but Dilip’s too greedy and too paranoid to leave him behind.” She frowned when her laptop
swooshed,
announcing she had an email. I watched her scroll down her screen, her eyes taking in everything quickly. When she finished, she leaned back in her chair, scrutinizing me closely. “A
were
team invaded Dilip’s Malaysian compound tonight. It seems they failed,” she said when I didn’t respond. “Their bodies were just found in a nearby river, riddled with cursed gold bullets.”

I hadn’t bothered to sit when I first entered the library. Now I wish I had. I felt sick. My only comfort was that I knew Aric and his Warriors weren’t among those dead. I’d only left them about an hour ago.

Agnes returned to playing with her braids. “Dilip is a fool, but he’s not stupid, and very much wants to hang on to what he thinks is his. One of his wishes must have been for protection against influence, seeing as he can’t be hypnotized by vampires.”

“He can’t?” I was sort of counting on that.

She shook her head. “That was the first thing we tried. His other wishes must have included protection against his enemies, and protection against theft. This debacle of a
were
invasion proves as much.”

“Yeah. It does.” I released a breath. “Shah will be moved from the compound, won’t he?”

“Most likely. But Dilip’s still in Malaysia, so Shah must still be there, too.” She tapped her fingers across the keyboard as she replied to the email. “We can keep him there with some red tape, but not for long.”

“Okay. But then how do we get to Shah? We can’t influence Dilip. As a human he can’t be killed or tortured. And he’s wished for protection against his enemies and against theft.”

“But you’re not his enemy, Celia. We are.”

I smiled at Agnes. It wasn’t a friendly grin. “You’re speaking in code again, Agnes.”

She lifted her long legs and placed them on the marble table, not bothering to remove her platform Mary Janes or tug down her plaid miniskirt. “How can I put this politely?”

“You probably can’t, Agnes. It’s just not in you.” I rubbed at my chest again. God, it hurt. Why did it hurt?

“True,” she agreed. “Celia, you’re an oddity among us. As preternaturals we view all beings in one of two ways, friend or prey. There is no in-between for us.” She shrugged. “You don’t think that way, which means Shah won’t technically see you as an enemy he’s indebted to Dilip to annihilate.”

As much as Dilip sounded like a monstrous idiot and likely a murderer, Agnes was right. I didn’t see him as prey—something that needed to be destroyed or,
ew,
eaten. I saw him as something that needed to be stopped. “Okay, but Dilip still has protection against being robbed.”

This made her flash me some fang. “I didn’t say it was going to be easy.”

I narrowed my eyes. “I’m glad you’re enjoying our little sit-down, but you still haven’t told me how I’m going to figure out Dilip’s new hiding spot for Shah. Something tells me if I smack him around, he’s going to count me among his enemies.”

“He’s a
nerd,
Celia,” Agnes said, like it was obvious. “Everything we need to find Shah is probably encoded into Dilip’s gadgets. The problem is, no one has been successful in snagging anything—Dilip’s phone, his laptop, not even his damn eReader.”

She removed her glasses and pegged me with sly grin. “The plan is for you to get close to Dilip. Real close. His phone should contain everything I need to gain access to his personal information and files. So even if he skips out of Malaysia, I’ll be able to find him and Shah anywhere.”

I crossed my arms, feeling more than a little leery. “What’s happened to those who have tried to take Dilip’s toys? His phone and tech stuff, I mean.”

“The first seven were discovered strangled with their own intestines and missing all their fingers. The last three were never seen again.” She smiled. “Good luck.”

Sometimes I really hated Agnes. “Even if we figure out Shah’s location, he’s going to be ready for us—to protect Dilip against theft, remember?”

Agnes stood and leaned forward, placing her palms on the table. “This is where it pays to be a freak. Shah can only guard against what he knows. He knows
weres,
he knows vampires, and he knows witches. He doesn’t know you, or your sisters. Your magic isn’t familiar because it didn’t come from the earth—nor has it existed before.” She smiled. “If you play your cards right, Shah will never see you coming.”

And if I don’t, I could end up riddled with bullets, missing fingers, and, ah, yeah, wearing my lower intestine like a scarf. Being a hero just plain sucked.

Another phone buzzed. This time it was mine. I reached into my purse and pulled it out.

Aric had sent me a text.
I’m headed to Malaysia.

I paused before texting him back:
So am I
.

Chapter 9

Aric took my news as well as could be expected.

Okay. Not really.

“Are you out of your mind!” he’d yelled.

“You’re going,” was my awesome comeback.

Our video conference call from separate planes made it easier, but not by much. Misha was brought into the call first. The air around the private jet’s cabin shifted as soon as his image appeared on the screen. The vampires stood a little straighter and adoration lit their eyes.

Aw, the bloodsucking pain in the asses had missed their master.

I laughed a little. Maybe I had, too. “Hi, Misha.”

It must have been chilly in Transylvania this time of year. A black turtleneck sweater covered Misha’s muscular body, highlighting his gray eyes. His blond hair was longer, and draped just past his shoulders. He returned my smile. “Hello, kitten. You look well.”

“Because I’m not banged-up and bloody,
yet,
” I told him.

“Forgive me, Master,” Agnes interrupted, demonstrating respect she’d never managed to show me. “But the mongrels are ready to meet.”

The corners of Misha’s mouth lifted into one of his more wicked grins. “Put them through,” he said.

The giant roll-down screen took up most of the right side of the cabin. Misha’s image reduced, allowing the remaining Alliance members involved to take up the other half of the screen. Aric, his Warriors, Martin, and the witches stared back at us. No one seemed happy.

Except for Shayna. “Hey, puppy!”

She smiled and waved to Koda like it was prom night. He muttered something in wolf that sounded very similar to swearing. Shayna leaned close to me. “He’s a little upset I’m joining you on this mission,” she whispered.

He growled again. “Uh, he can hear you,” I told her.

Aric was so angry, his jaw could have ground walnuts to powder. He wasn’t moving, wasn’t speaking. And yet he still didn’t seem as pissed as Taran when Genevieve appeared and sat directly beside Gemini. A spark of blue and white fire appeared over Taran’s head. Followed by another, and another, until the whole top of her head exploded in flames.

The vampires hissed and scattered like roaches. Master vampires were immune to fire. But none of Misha’s vamps were masters. I yanked off my jacket and used it to beat out the flames engulfing her head.

Taran smacked my hands away. “What the hell. I’m fine!”

Yeah…separate planes was probably a good idea.

I only sat because her fire was extinguished for the moment. The vamps slowly returned to their seats, giving Taran plenty of space.

“Shall we begin?” Misha suggested. He appeared calm, but I caught the questioning glance he shot my way. He wasn’t aware of Taran’s lack of control, or how much worse she’d become. But no way was I leaving my sister behind.

Taran had other strengths besides her magic.

Martin was the first to speak. “Ordinarily we don’t permit mates together on missions. We find emotions can negatively affect strategies and outcomes.” His voice served as a warning, as did his narrowing eyes as they passed along Aric, Gemini, and Koda. “But our need to find Shah is great. Club Sunba, which Dilip Singh frequents, has already been wired for communication. We’ll position
weres
inside to serve as protection against any possible threat and to shadow the Wird sisters to ensure their safety. We wouldn’t want them escorted from the premises without their consent.”

By “escorted without our consent,” Martin meant drugged, dragged, and possibly wounded.

Shayna spoke up. “We’ll be inside first. Taran and I will be posing as part of the, uh, staff.” She tossed me a nervous glance. “Emme and Celia will arrive shortly after to serve as um, club-hoppers, so to speak.”

Shayna was a horrible liar. And about as smooth as broken glass along a sidewalk. Not a great combo when you’re already dealing with irate wolves.

Aric straightened, growing suspicious. “When you say club-hoppers, what exactly do you mean?” he growled.

“I’m the one who’s going to get close to Dilip,” I answered before Shayna could sing like a canary. “One of the vamps on the inside is going to make sure Emme and I are brought directly to him.”

Now wasn’t a good time to mention Dilip was a fan of high-priced prostitutes. Or that Emme and I would be posing as them.