Chaos Burning (30 page)

She could have sworn he groaned, but he moved back enough to let her pass.

Up the stairs and she found nothing but bedrooms she bet the mages had been using. Back down and she found what appeared to be a holding room of sorts. Handcuffs and chains. Silver. They brought vamps and Weres here too it would seem. When she got back out, she called Quinn and gave him the address. He’d come with some of their crew to gather evidence while she and Simon interrogated their prisoners.

“Clear.”

Simon shifted back, but naked, he was just as scary. Though my goodness he was so big. He caught her looking and raised a single brow before they both turned their attention back to the prisoners.

She released the one who seemed to be in charge.

“Here’s how this will go. I will ask and you will answer. If you lie to me, I’ll shoot you. Not to kill you. At first.”

“Fuck off.”

She shot him in the right leg. In the thigh. He buckled on a howl of pain.

“Lots of blood to be lost with a wound like that. So, do you need me to go over the rules again?”

He kept whining so she shot him in the other leg.

Finally the fear seemed to get him thinking clearer and he managed to sit up against the side of the couch.

“Bitch.”

“You bet. And I’m really mad at you. So you know, oopsie and stuff. But I’ll shoot you again and again and you won’t die until I’m ready. I know a few things being a witch and all. So, how about you tell me about this house the pregnant witch has been taken to. Because if you don’t, I’ll get in your head and take it and then I’ll leave you to bleed out.”

“I don’t know anything.”

“Yes, you do. You see, I know the rest of you all act as small cells.
This is a headquarters of some type. It was totally stupid of you to pick Tweedledum over there up and bring him back. Even if I hadn’t been following, he’s bound to get caught again and spill all he knows.”

“I don’t—”

But before he could say another thing she simply dove into his head, not bothering to be slow or careful. She didn’t give a shit if she broke his brain. She just needed the info and she needed it right then.

When she finally emerged, it was to find Quinn and Teo there with Simon. The others had been tied up. The one she’d been inside slumped to the side.

“He doesn’t know the exact location. But it’s in the Cascades. We need to take this place apart to see what else we can figure out.”

“What do you want me to do with the others? And that one?” Teo indicated the guy on the ground she’d just been inside of.

“This one right here is responsible for the couple in Toronto. He raped the woman before he gave them over to the helper. He’s not going to be hurting anyone now.” His brain was a mess and one of the shots she’d delivered had hit a major vein in his thigh. He wasn’t long for the world and she didn’t give a shit. “Have a problem with that?”

Quinn shook his head. “Harm ye none doesn’t mean to lie down and take fucking genocide. We’re allowed to defend ourselves. This piece of garbage is out to kill us all. All of them.” He shrugged. “If you act like victims, you make yourself an easy mark. I’m no one’s victim.”

Teo blew out a breath. “I wish I was upset. I’ve seen a lot. Saw more than my share of horrors in Iraq. Let’s do what needs to be done and if people try to kill us, I say we kill them first.”

“All right then. I’m going inside the other two to see what they might know. I questioned this one here when we had him in custody first, but time has passed and I’m done waiting around.”

She went to her knees and sank into the mind of one of the prisoners, taking what she needed as she knew the others in the room would get things done.

Simon watched her work, knew what a toll it was taking as she used her magick and then some to get into the heads of these thugs.

“She’s out of control with all this killing,” one of the witches said to Teo. “How are we any better than they are? Shouldn’t they go on trial?”

“We’re already better than they are. They’re trying to render us extinct. This is defense. We didn’t stalk them and kidnap them. And trial where? Will Nell be alive while we set up an entire system to try them? And build a prison to hold them? This isn’t a usual situation, Craig.”

“Well, probably not. But this one is going to bleed to death. She made him brain-dead. Nell would never do that.”

“Don’t be so sure. Nell’s no freaking fluffy kitten herself.” Teo worked, going through drawers and tossing anything that looked important into a box.

He lowered his voice, Simon figured to try not to be heard. “If we all three take her now while she’s in the guy’s head, we can subdue her. Call Meriel or Gage to come take over.”

“Do you care about Nell at all? We had these prisoners and you notice none of them have been forthcoming. They’re killing us within a day or two of taking us. Time is of the essence and you’re wasting it with all this stuff. She’s working under the gun to find Nell. She’s doing all she can and in case you haven’t noticed it’s pretty freaking bad out there right now.” Teo kept moving and working, but his tone suggested he was close to punching someone in the nose.

“Maybe we could make a deal with them. If we gave them all our lawbreaker witches, they might leave us alone.”

Simon’s beast surged against his human skin, wanting at this weak fuck.

“What the hell are you talking about? Cooperate with them? This is bullshit. You’re talking insubordination and I’m not having it. Lark is in charge. She’s making the calls and she asked if we were on board. If you weren’t, you should have said so. But you can’t do this now while she’s in there getting answers.” Quinn’s gaze slid to where Simon had been standing, guarding Lark.

“She’s not right. I’m calling Meriel.”

Simon half turned. “Go on ahead and call her. I won’t stop you. But I’m going to recommend to Lark that she excise you from her hunter team when she’s finished up. I’d never allow this sort of nonsense on any crew I ran. This lack of discipline won’t get your friend back. And it won’t stop the Magister from sucking you all dry. So go ahead on and pretend you’re better because you’re too weak to defend yourself. And imagine how it is you think these mages will ever see justice. Real justice, for what they’ve done to you.”

Simon turned his back again, letting the witch know just what he thought of him. He watched Lark work, saw her aura brighten as she pulled energy from the font to keep working. She was pale and sweaty, but she never paused. Her features always intent and focused.

When she came out she looked up to Simon and held his gaze. “The Magister is using the energy to fully manifest.” She stood on shaky legs and he moved to her to hold her steady.

“Manifest how? What’s next then? What else did you find out?”

“I don’t know. I have a feeling it means he’s drawing power to fully come into this plane of existence. But I don’t know for sure. They don’t know where the Magister is in any case. But I have some more info about the place in the Cascades. We’re going to have to track on our own. I need to speak with Meriel and fill her in.”

She turned to Quinn. “I need you to secure this scene. I need the two mages moved back to a cell and the body of the other cleaned up.” She narrowed her gaze when it got to Craig. “You. Did you make your call?”

The one who’d been complaining paled. “I… I should be able to bring up any concerns I have.”

“Yes. At the appropriate time. While your commander is out of communication and in the middle of a difficult spell used to find your boss isn’t what I’d call appropriate. It’s not that you disagree with my measures. That’s your right. How you did it is the problem. But in any case, make your call and when you do, ask for a transfer because I don’t have time for anyone who can’t speak to me face-to-face.” She turned her back and grabbed her phone to call Meriel.

He should have known she would hear. Simon helped load the two remaining mages into the car outside and kept an eye on the witch who’d been whining. She didn’t trust this one, which meant he didn’t either. He already thought the witch was a useless twat, but the way she’d reacted meant something else.

She didn’t reveal it for a reason so he trusted her to do so when it was time.

Chapter 25

A
group of witches arrived to clean the house and Simon recognized one of them and nudged Lark.

Lark looked up from where she’d been poring over a map.

Nell’s mother, Pam, headed toward her. “What can I do?’

Lark looked around and then back to the woman who’d been the Hunter before Nell. “Quinn is going to need some help on all the leads we got here tonight. Or if you prefer, Ginger is doing sweeps of the city. The Weres are working with us on that. If you need to kick some butt, that might be a better option.”

“What are you up to? Can I help you?”

Lark looked over at the witch who’d been talking about her behind her back and then to Nell’s mother again. “Tracking. We have a lead on where they’ve taken Nell.” She said this very quietly and it occurred to Simon with sick dread that Lark suspected the witch of something far worse than talking out of school about her methods.

Nell’s mother got it too. “What do you suggest?”

“Stay on the sweeps with Ginger. You know Seattle
better than most. They can use another perspective and if you’re lucky, you might get to land a few punches.”

“Is there anything specific you want me to look out for?” Nell’s mother pretended to idly look around the room, but Simon saw the calculation in her eyes. She knew Lark suspected someone in their clan.

“Let me have you look at a spot outside. It’s an energy signature I don’t recognize.” She linked her arm with Pam and they left, Simon following.

“I really did have something I’d like you to look at. It’s there, near the planter.”

Nell’s mother bent and examined it closely, walking around as she did to see it from several angles, before turning back to Meriel. “I’ve never seen anything like it before.”

“None of us have.”

“Well that’s not entirely true.” Simon stepped forward. “Whatever it is, it comes from the other side of the Veil. I can’t identify it, but there are infinite options. Universes and realities we’ve never even dreamed of.”

“If so, how did it get here and why?”

“I think it might be the helper they keep talking about. If he’s with… well, with the bad guy, it’s not unbelievable that he’d be something we’ve never seen, or haven’t in a very long time. Commit that signature to memory. I want to know if you see it anywhere out there tonight.”

Pam took Lark’s hand. “Who do you suspect? Inside, I mean.”

“Craig. I’ve got beef with him already because I overheard him sniping about my methods while I was under a spell and in one of the prisoner’s heads. I could be imagining it.”

“You’re not the type to imagine things for no reason.” Simon crossed his arms over his chest.

“The first prisoner I went into tonight… he had some memories of information that could only have come from someone inside the clan. Craig didn’t know where the second location is, but he knew where the first was. And that’s the place that was breached. And Meriel and Dom’s place. And the addresses of different witches? There are directories in the database.”

Pam’s brows flew up and then her gaze narrowed to infuriated slits. “If he did anything to hurt any of our witches, he’s a dead man.”

Lark shrugged. “Yes. But I don’t want him to know I suspect him. I don’t want him running off. I want him close where we can keep an eye on what he’s up to. I told Meriel to stay away. I don’t want a bunch of people over here raising eyebrows. The humans are quiet. It’s late enough that if we can finish this up within the hour, we can get out without anyone seeing. Just keep it casual in his presence and obviously don’t give him anything critical that he could use against us. I’m going to have Quinn look into his background. I’d feel a lot better if we could clear him totally.”

Gage came out and Lark filled him in as well.

“You and Simon need to get moving. It’ll take you a bit to get up there before you can even start tracking. I’ll handle things back here. Quinn will lead the investigation and Pam and I will handle the streets. I’m going to pop a homing spell on Craig to keep an eye on him. If he’s guilty, Lark…”

“Let’s take this a step at a time. Protect our witches. Find Nell and bring her and the baby home. Deal with the big bad and then we handle any problems we have internally.”

Gage hugged her. “You need to be careful.”

“Simon’s coming with me. He’s pretty good at keeping me out of trouble. I’ll be okay.”

Simon hoped that was true.

“Let’s go. Call me with any details.”

“You may have trouble getting a signal out there. It’s pretty remote in some places.”

Lark held her phone up. “It’s got a special spell, roaming essentially. I can get a signal when I need it.”

“Go on then. Bring Nell home.”

“If that witch had one fucking thing to do with this, he’d better hope you all get to him before I do.” Simon pulled his car away from the curb and headed back to his place.

“Manifesting.” She ignored the comment about the witch. She knew what he meant and felt the same. “How so? Damn it, why can’t the Fae just answer?”

“Don’t go getting your hopes pinned on them. You
know how they are. You can’t control the Fae. You can’t anticipate how they’ll react to any particular thing. There are some good Fae. Strong and willing to help humans. Some have even gone to war over it to protect the human race.”

“If he took a pregnant witch, he’s going to get a double hit. Is the Magister a physical thing? Is it a physical thing elsewhere and he needs to draw magick to get through? You said only those who have the blood of those from the other side of the Veil are able to transport to one side or the other. So does that mean the Magister isn’t? Or it could pop in for Sunday dinner if it was?”

“The way can be closed.”

She scratched her head. “By who and what for?”

“The Fae have banned members of their own race from traveling here to Earth or to anywhere else. Usually as punishment for a transgression or to protect others. My father can do it too. I suppose Pere would be able to once he takes over as well. It’s never done lightly.” Pere was Simon’s oldest brother and would take over from Cross when the time came.