Burning Both Ends (12 page)

“Do not lose heart. I know you will find Steffan soon.”

She’d better. Noon was less than twelve hours away. Even thinking about it seemed to make the clock sprint forward.

“I hope you’re right. Now tell me what’s going on with you. How bad are things?” she asked. She almost missed his slight hesitation.

“Nothing I cannot handle. I met with the nest leaders and am slowly learning the varied backgrounds of those who reside inside the court. Sebastian collected an unusual group around him.”

“Are they still accepting your leadership?” His hesitation was more noticeable this time, and she jumped into the silence. “Andreas? Has something gone wrong?”

“No, you do not need to worry. A few vampires have left the court, which was probably a good thing. The rest are waiting to see what I do next, and I am surrounded by friends. Gordon and six more vampires arrived from Riverdale, so I sent Marcus home to manage Club Dintero.”

“He’s awfully young for that much responsibility,” Ari said, picturing Marcus’s youthful face.

“Listen to who’s talking.”

“You know what I mean. Can he really run it by himself? Long term, I mean?” Until a year ago, Marcus had been one of a group of young waiters at the club, new to vampirism, eager but inexperienced. Then he’d become a target of Sebastian’s tangled plots and suffered a near-death experience. He’d come out stronger and had grown up a lot since then, but it still didn’t give him the years of hands-on practice to run a major supper club.

“He has been a good student. There will be mistakes, but he is honest and will try to do the right thing. Eventually I will make permanent arrangements. I do not know whether those will put Marcus fully in charge, but for now he will do fine. The Club is not my top priority at the moment.”

“When this thing with Steffan is over, I’ll check on him and do what I can. Maybe offer moral support, if nothing else.”

“I am sure he would appreciate that, but I hope you will return to Toronto.”

Andreas’s words sat there like the elephant in the room. Ari didn’t know what to say. He must know she couldn’t return on a permanent basis. Of course she’d return to help for a while, if he needed her. And then maybe visits—or maybe not. Phone calls were hard enough. Would a clean break be better?

“Arianna, are you still there?” The magic of his voice curled around her, offering unspoken promises, asking for promises in return. And her magic reached across the airways, until she pulled it back. How could he do that over so many miles?

“Stop the magical stuff, Andreas, or I’m going to hang up. I’ll be back, but you know I can’t stay. Even you can’t weave a fairy tale for us to live in. Real life doesn’t work that way.”

“It would, if you let it,” he said. “I do not want you to hang up, so I promise to behave, but I will not deny that I want you here with me.”

Oh, Andreas. Her throat tightened. “What can I say? I want to be with you, too, but my job, my life, is here. People depend on me. When Steffan’s found, I’ll come but only until things are settled. Riverdale is where I belong.”

His sigh echoed across the phone. “Let us not worry about that decision now. It is enough that you will come. Sometimes time and circumstances have a way of taking care of these things.”

Or they build insurmountable obstacles. “I hope—”

The sound of a phone ringing in the Deliberation Room interrupted.

“I have to go,” she said. “A call is coming in, and it could be the kidnappers.” Her words tumbled over one another, as much from relief at the interruption as urgency to pursue the in-coming call. “I’m sorry, but I’ll have to call you back tomorrow. We’ll talk more then. I promise. Take care of yourself.”

“You, too. Good luck to us both.” The line went dead. Ari frowned, suspicious his last words might have meaning beyond the obvious. Was he keeping something from her or was she over-analyzing?

The door opened behind her. “It’s him,” Vita whispered. “The kidnapper’s on the phone, and Jena’s talking to him.”

“I’m coming.” Ari forced her concerns about Andreas to the back of her mind and stepped inside the council room, her cell phone already at her ear as she set up the trace.

Jena’s end of the phone conversation was heated.

“You didn’t think we would sit and wait for you to kill or kidnap the rest of us, did you?” Jena listened a moment, then snapped, “A safe place.” Then came a series of short responses: “Yes… I get it… I’ll try… One hour…” And finally, “I said I’ll try but I can’t guarantee anything.”

The voice on the other end yelled so loudly that everyone in the room heard his chilling words: “You damn well better try. If not, Steffan is a dead man.” The loud click as he disconnected brought an ominous silence to the room.

Jena looked at Ari. “Was it long enough?”

“I sure hope so.” She waved her phone. “Gilbert’s checking. He’ll call as soon as he knows.”

Three minutes later they heard the good news.

“We have the location, and I’ve sent two scouts to see what we’re getting into,” Gilbert said. “The call came from fairly close, no more than fifteen miles from here. Our people can cover that amount of ground pretty quickly. What did the kidnapper have to say?”

Ari put her phone on speaker and they listened as Jena repeated her conversation to the wizard and wolf leaders.

“He wanted us to know Steffan was unharmed.” Jena grimaced. “I guess he got the information we spread. Anyway, he promised Steffan would be released immediately if we agreed to drop the coalition, completely abandon the idea.”

“And how did he hope to enforce that once Steffan was released?” Ari demanded.

Jena shook her head. “I don’t know, but I think he meant it when he said he’d kill him. He sounded frustrated, like he was running out of patience. I’m not sure he’s going to agree to anything else. Should we give him what he wants?”

“Goddess no!” Ari said, frowning at Jena. Why was she caving to his demands so quickly? “It’s too early to make that kind of decision. Let’s see what happens during the next call.” She gave Jena a pointed look. “Are you sure you can go through with this?”

“Yeah, I can. I’m just worried about Steffan.”

“Did he say anything else?” Robert demanded.

“Not really, but I thought it was odd he didn’t push me to tell him where we are. He asked, and then let it drop. I expected him to try harder.”

“I’m not surprised. He thinks he already knows,” Vita offered. “If the decoy plan worked, he believes we’re at Steffan’s house.”

It was a reasonable explanation. In fact, that had been part of the plan, but somehow it didn’t feel right. It was too easy. Her witch senses were twitching, but why wouldn’t they be? The air was charged with tension, Otherworld energy, and negative vibes.

“Are you hearing all this?” Ari asked, taking the phone off speaker and moving to a quiet corner to talk with Gilbert privately.

“Most of it. Jena seems worried.”

“Yes, and I’m not sure why,” Ari said. “But we’ll proceed as planned. When he calls back, Jena is going to refuse his terms and make a demand of our own. I can’t tell you what it will be right now, but it may piss him off. So expect anything, and be extra careful.”

“No sweat. I’m always careful, and everyone is out of the house now. If he comes here, he’ll find it empty until we close in on him.”

“Good. Have you seen anyone yet?”

“Only neighbors. Which is weird. If he thought they were here, wouldn’t he have sent someone to check?”

Good point. Ari rubbed her neck. If the kidnappers had fallen for their ruse, they would at least be watching Steffan’s house. “Maybe we’ve figured this wrong.”

“Hold on, Ari, my line’s beeping. Could be our scouts reporting back.” He clicked over to the incoming call.

Ari walked back toward the others. “We may have our answer coming now,” she said.

Gilbert was back thirty seconds later. “Found ’em. GPS location was accurate. Farm house on Fuller Road, about fifteen miles east of town. Lots of activity. At least a dozen wolves, maybe more. My scouts don’t recognize anyone so far—no Fagan or his friends—but that doesn’t mean they aren’t inside. They don’t see Steffan either.”

“Tell your scouts to sit tight and watch for now. If anyone leaves, call me ASAP.”

“Got it.”

“Leave someone to watch Steffan’s place, and meet me by the Willow Creek Bridge in…um, half an hour.”

When Ari ended the call, she turned to find Robert putting on a jacket.

“You heard?”

Jena and the wizard nodded. The others were grabbing coats and jackets.

“You can’t go,” she said to Robert.

“Try to stop me.” He put his hands in his pockets. “Look, Ari. We’ve allowed you to run things for the last several hours. Now it’s time for us to take action. We know where the enemy is. Let’s go confront the bastards and finish this.”

Ari shook her head. “What if something goes wrong? We can’t lose any more of you. Jena has to come, because the kidnappers are calling her cell phone, and I need to be part of that conversation. The rest of you have to stay here, where we can guard you.”

They broke into loud protests.

“That’s ridiculous,” Vita spat. “I’m going.”

“You don’t have any authority over us,” Warren added, his voice softer but no less determined. “You don’t get to decide.” He stood tall, hitched his pants and glared at Ari.

The Magic Council president intervened. “Friends. Friends, please.” When their voices grew quieter, he said, “I must support Arianna on this. No, you need to listen, Robert. The risk to all of you is simply too great. If you went, you would distract and divide our forces, in order to keep you safe.”

“Nobody has to protect me,” Robert growled. “The others can stay, but I’m going.”

“Who protects the Magic Hall, the president and the others?” Ari asked. “What if the wolves come here while we’re gone? Are you willing to leave everyone unprotected?”

That stopped him for a moment. “Then all the wolves go with us and everyone else goes home,” he suggested. With a hint of triumph, he added, “If the kidnappers attack the hall, no one will be here.”

Ari heaved a deep sigh. She was going to have to play her ace in the hole.

“Sorry,” she said, glancing at Vita and apologizing before she exposed the woman’s secret. “I’m not willing to let Vita take an unnecessary risk with her unborn child.”

The wolves stared at the she-wolf in shocked disbelief.

"Extraordinary," the wizard murmured into his beard.

“How did you know?” Vita demanded, automatically laying a defensive hand on her stomach.

“I can sense wolves, see their auras,” Ari explained. “You register on my radar as two.”

“Damn. I didn’t expect that. OK, it’s true,” she said, a stubborn pout on her lips. “I’m pregnant, but that doesn’t mean I can’t fight.”

“Yes, it does,” Warren said. “Full-blooded, silver wolf babes are too rare. I’ll stay here with her.”

“Derik knows this?” Robert demanded.

“Naturally,” Vita snapped. “I hope you’re not implying anything with that question.”

“Only that you two have been very secretive. This is a cause for celebration. Why hide the news?”

“It was early in the pregnancy. We wanted to wait until the critical period was over. But,” she said with a budding smile, “last weekend we passed three months."

“Since she can’t go, we all must stay.” Robert dropped his hands in resignation but gave Ari a bitter look. “Our duty is clear. The future of our species takes precedence. That leaves Steffan’s rescue in your hands. Don’t blow it.”

Chapter Eleven

It was almost 4:00 a.m. by the time Lilith, two of the weretigers, and Ari reached the bridge near the enemy camp. Ari’s companions were heavily armed; she had the usual silver dagger and derringer, with her pockets full of spells and potions. Her witch blood hummed, her fingers tingled, ready for action.

At first glimpse, the area seemed deserted, but she could feel the power of Otherworld beings. She spotted Gilbert and several wolves huddled in the shadows under the bridge structure. Some were in creature form, but Gilbert had retained his man-shape to handle the assault rifle clutched in his hands. It was equipped with a night scope. He walked over to join her.

“Any news?” Ari kept her voice to a whisper.

Gilbert showed her his cell phone and put it on mute. “We’re keeping an open line with the two scouts near the farm. No change there. They’ve counted at least sixteen, with more inside. Still no sight of Steffan or Fagan, but we can’t get close without risking exposure.” He pointed to his nose.

Yeah, she got it. The wolves’ sense of smell worked for and against both sides. It made sneaking up on them an iffy proposition.

“How far away are your people?” Jena asked.

“About half a mile and using long-range night scopes, but even that’s risky.”

Ari frowned. “An acceptable risk, I gather? Would they pay any attention to the scent of two lone wolves, even if they picked it up?”

Jena and Gilbert looked at each other and shrugged. “Under normal circumstances, probably not,” he said. “But I’d guess they’re being super vigilant tonight.”

“What if we switch them out with tigers?” Lilith broke in with the suggestion. “It would be a different scent. They’ll notice the new arrivals, but as long as the tigers move around and don’t approach the farmhouse, it may not seem suspicious. Lots of Otherworlders hunt in these woods. And the kidnappers will be looking for other wolves, won’t they?”

“It’s a good thought,” Gilbert said, looking at Ari. “Can’t hurt, and they might fall for it.”

“Then let’s do it.” She gave Lilith an approving nod. The lioness had a good head on her shoulders. Andreas should consider a promotion for her when this was over and Lilith returned to Toronto. Ari would miss her.

* * *

Time moved with an erratic tempo in the early morning hours. Either it crawled at a snail’s pace or forged ahead at blistering speeds, depending on the stage of events. The first fifteen minutes slowed to an eternity. Ari and her companions huddled under the bridge, waiting for the kidnapper’s next call or updates from the tigers watching the farmhouse. They couldn’t make a move until they’d verified Steffan was present and could approach without putting him at greater risk. The wind was cold, and everyone was strung tight. Ari shivered, stomped her feet, and pulled her jacket collar up around her ears.

Jena, who had been leaning causally against a bridge support, jumped to attention when her phone rang. She hit speaker.

“What’s your decision?” The caller’s voice was masculine, gruff.

“How do we know Steffan’s still alive?” Jena countered.

“You’ll have to take my word on it. Quit stalling.”

Jena took a deep breath, glanced at Ari, then continued with the prearranged script known only to the two of them. “I can’t do that. We’re prepared to agree to your demands, but only if we see for ourselves that Steffan is alive. If you won’t do that, we’ll know he’s dead and any deal is off.”

The kidnapper was silent for a moment.

Good. They’d caught him off guard. Ari held her breath. Jena’s breathing was ragged. It was an enormous risk, but beyond the obvious need to verify Steffan’s safety, Ari wanted a look at the kidnapper. And, if she could pull enough of the wolves out of the farm house, Gilbert’s group might be able to take the rest of them down. She didn’t have time to wait or starve them out, and storming the farmhouse under current conditions would turn into a scene of carnage.

“Unacceptable,” he said. The phone line went dead.

“Well, shit,” Jena squeaked.

Ari let out her breath with a whoosh. “He’ll call back. He must be deciding what to do.” She wished she was as confident as she sounded. But his hesitation made her think he was uncertain, a little rattled by their demand.

She paced the small area under the bridge. Gilbert and his wolves were more stoic as they all waited.

Jena kept checking her phone, as if she could make it ring by force of will.

“Heads up,” Gilbert said. “They’re on the move.” He held the phone glued to his ear. “Four men… No, five, six…uh, nine came out of the house. They’re shifting into furry form and leaving. Headed south toward town.” Gilbert’s attention swung to Ari. “What do you want the tigers to do? Follow or let them go?”

“Follow, but tell them to stay well behind. Send your original wolf team in to cover the farmhouse, and let your team at Steffan’s place know they may have visitors soon. And Jena, call Robert, just in case they’d headed toward the Magic Hall.”

While Jena and Gilbert were following those instructions, Ari’s phone buzzed. Unknown caller? What the hell?

Almost expecting to hear the kidnapper’s voice, she answered with a cautious, “Yes?”

“Ari, this is Gabriel.”

Aw, hell. Talk about bad timing.

“Sorry, Gabriel, I can’t talk right now. I’ll have to call you back.”

“No! Don’t hang up. This is important.”

“It can’t be more important than a man’s life. I’ll call.” She put her finger over the disconnection button.

“More important than Andreas’s life?”

“What’s that mean? What happened to him?” Ari’s pulse went into double-time.

“Nothing yet.”

“Dammit, Gabriel.” Relief nearly buckled her knees. She’d been sucker-punched—maybe several times. “Then spit it out, and be quick.”

“He needs you here. We’ve got multiple challenges. Andreas won’t ask you, but I will.”

Holy crap! “How many is multiple? It’s happening now, tonight? Dammit, why didn’t he call me?”

“He knows you’re tied up on this search for someone. No, it’s not tonight, but…”

“Then it’ll have to wait.” Ari hung up, taking deep breaths and muttering curses on Gabriel, his ancestors, and the sire who’d made him a vampire so he could hang around long enough to nearly give her heart failure. He rang back within seconds, and she ignored the call. She grimaced as it stopped abruptly, imaging his reaction when he reached voice mail.

“What’s up?” Lilith whispered.

“More trouble.” She explained the call. “I’ll call him back and get the details later. And possibly apologize for hanging up,” she added ruefully. “First, we have to get Steffan back alive.”

“I’ll talk to Russell.” Lilith glanced at the clock on Ari’s phone screen. “He should be up in a couple hours, and by that time the vamps will be safely asleep until tomorrow night.” She glanced at Ari’s face. “I promise I’ll stay on top of this. Keep your focus on Steffan.”

Ari wanted to do that, but despite the relatively calm face she showed to Lilith, her head was spinning. What if Andreas was in real danger right now? What could she do from here?

Not one damned thing.

Her palms turned clammy, and she fought the urge to run to the nearest airport. Could she abandon Steffan? Damn, damn, damn. Before Ari could marshal her thoughts around an answer, the kidnapper called.

She snapped into focus, waiting to hear what he’d say.

Jena had forgotten to hit the speaker button and listened for several seconds, while Ari and the wolves hovered. “Give us a minute,” Jena finally said. She handed the phone to Gilbert and motioned for Ari to follow her. When they were several feet away, Jena whispered, “He agreed to one of us seeing Steffan, but alone, and at a place of his choosing. It sounds like a trap. He may just snatch another hostage. What do I tell him?”

“Tell him I’m coming, and make sure he knows I’m a Guardian. If he hoped to kidnap another wolf leader, he’ll probably object to your choice. Don’t give in. I want him to know the Magic Council’s involved. It might make him think twice about how far he carries this.” When Jena looked like she wanted to protest, Ari added, “I can handle this. Tell him, before he gets tired of waiting and hangs up.”

Jena delivered the message. Standing next to Jena, Ari heard his loud, negative reaction. At first he flat out refused, threatening to break off contact. They argued back and forth a couple of times, but with Ari waving her hands and mouthing encouragement, Jena brushed off his threats. She reminded him this was the only way to get what he wanted.

When he suddenly agreed, setting a time and place, a reluctant smile tugged at Ari’s lips. It had come too easily, too quickly. He must have a really good trap in mind.

So be it. Two could play. She tapped her lips with one finger, already planning how she could get the upper hand. She was developing a grudging respect for his abilities. Despite their efforts to outsmart him, he kept adapting, staying one step ahead. Still, she’d made a couple of observations. He didn’t indulge in unnecessary violence—or hadn’t so far, and he was a control freak. He’d handled every contact himself. Either he found it impossible to delegate or he didn’t trust his followers. Whichever was the motivation, Ari could almost guarantee he would come to meet her in person. She looked forward to it, and she planned to have a surprise or two of her own.

* * *

Ari stopped to scan the area. She was fifteen minutes early by design. Time to get the feel of the place, filter out the normal sounds and smells. The kidnapper had chosen the east shelter in Riverdale’s Goshen Park, 5:30 a.m. Since the park didn’t open for ordinary traffic until 8 o’clock, they had plenty of time to conduct their business. The location was an odd choice for a stranger. How did he know they’d have privacy, that the area was restricted to Otherworlders at night? If Steffan had made the suggestion, it would mean her friend was not only alive but interacting with his captor. An encouraging fact. Or maybe she was grabbing at straws.

All the way to the park Ari had struggled to make sense of this case, but she’d come up with more questions than answers. Wasn’t kidnapping a strange way to influence the vote? It seemed like a poorly conceived last minute act of desperation. Yet, their access to inside information would seem to require a certain amount of pre-planning.

Why had no one been harmed? Despite the threats and dire warnings, nothing bad had actually happened. The kidnapper grumbled and yelled every time his demands weren’t met, but he ultimately accepted everything. That didn’t sound like any hardened criminal or terrorist type she’d heard of.

So maybe they were normally law-abiding wolves who were trying to make a statement and had gotten overly zealous. Genuine believers in a cause. Not hired killers. Not pros. Would that make them more or less dangerous? What about a coalition could rouse that kind of passion?

Ari sighed. Fitting the right pieces together wasn’t an easy task, and her judgment might be impaired. Her head was in two places, her loyalties divided. Andreas. Steffan. She had responsibilities to both. On the way over, Lilith had tried to convince her that Andreas wasn’t in immediate danger, but she couldn’t be sure. How could she leave him to face the challenges alone? Whatever they were to each other, she belonged at his side. If she didn’t get there in time, she would have let him down.

Damn, she was tired. Ari massaged her temples and forced her attention back to the present scene. She needed to get this over with quickly, so she didn’t let either man down.

She slowly turned around, releasing tendrils of magic into the surrounding woods. The only being she found was Lilith, hidden about fifty yards away. Ari had done a masking spell to cover the lioness’s scent and given her a vial of the cloaking potion. The potion was about eighty percent reliable. Not perfect, but hopefully it would be enough until Ari needed her.

Gilbert and his pack waited at a local bar two blocks from the park. No one had heard from the two weretigers who were tracking the first splinter group of nine wolves. A man bundled in a cloak and the remaining wolves, another eight or nine, had left the farm, with Steffan—or someone covered in a blanket—nearly half an hour ago. They had piled into two vans and disappeared into a traffic snarl on the freeway.

She tapped her watch. Still running. The kidnapper and Steffan were nine minutes late.

She was poised to call Gilbert and discuss the situation, when her witch senses roared to life. Werewolves. Five distinct scents, and she recognized one of them. The hairs on her arms quivered. The wolves were approaching from two separate directions. Three from behind her; two in front. One of the two was Steffan.

“Ari?” It was Lilith on the open cell Ari held to her ear. “We’ve got company. I’m behind three, headed toward you, and they’re armed with sawed off shotguns.”

“Did both potions work?” Ari whispered.

“Yep. They seem oblivious.”

“Atta girl. Steffan and another wolf are approaching from the south.” Ari turned to face the direction where Steffan should appear. “You know what to do.”

“We should be with you shortly.” Lilith disconnected.

Less than three minutes later, a heavily cloaked figure appeared at the southern edge of the clearing. In the dim moonlight Ari saw a reddish-brown wolf with an uneven gait trotting beside him. Ari stiffened, smothering an angry protest when she saw the muzzle, collar, and leash. Rope hobbles restrained Steffan’s front paws. The kidnapper wasn’t taking any chances. Although Steffan didn’t appear to be in pain, the humiliation was infuriating to Ari. She locked down her temper, knowing losing it would give her opponent an advantage. The situation demanded a clear head.

She strained for a glimpse of the man’s face, but the long cloak covered him from head to foot. The hood was pulled up and over, keeping his face in shadow. An effective disguise. Her witch senses and nose confirmed he was a wolf, with a significant power aura.

“Guardian, are you satisfied?” It was the male voice from the phone.