Frozen Desires (Asylums for Magical Threats) (20 page)

my life, Sinclair.”

Gio raised an eyebrow. “Then go ahead, correct me if I’m wrong.”

Gio kept mum, and after about sixty seconds, Evans finally spoke again. “Nothing could ever be worse

than Leyna’s death.”

“Then will you help me?”

“For now.”

Chapter Twenty-Three

The world came back into focus just before Marco crashed down onto a cement floor. The combination

of the impact, and whatever had just happened, dazed him. Before he could move, his hands were secured

behind his back with plastic ties. Rough hands flipped him over, and Marco recognized the man’s face.

“Who are you and what the hell just happened?”

The shadow-shifter he’d chased from the market a few days ago glanced out of the barred window

above him, and then back to Marco. His reply was in Spanish. “First tell me if DEFEND is real, or if it’s just a rumor.”

Marco blinked. “You used some kind of weird shifter magic just so you could ask me that question?”

The shadow-shifter drew a long knife out of his boot and held the point between his fingers. “Let’s just

say the answer is very important to me.” The man repositioned his hand and gripped the knife’s handle.

“Now talk.”

Marco instinctively knew his hands weren’t pointing to the west. Keeping the man talking would give

Marco a better chance of repositioning his hands. If he could just get a finger in the right direction, he could get free.

Even now, Cam could already be in Ekstrom’s custody. The timing of Marco’s capture was no

coincidence—the shifter and Ekstrom had to be working together, and he needed to find out why.

He decided to walk the line of ambiguity and shrugged a shoulder. “I’m sure you’ve heard the same

rumors as me. No one has any proof that DEFEND exists.”

The shifter swung his arm with the knife and embedded it into the wall two inches from Marco’s face.

Thanks to years of training, he didn’t flinch.

Marco kept his voice bored. “Don’t you know that violence isn’t the way to win me over? Try being

polite and you might get better results.”

The man yanked the knife from the wall and pointed it at him. “Stop with the games and nonchalance

bullshit. The longer you play around, the greater the danger you put your lady in. I may have owed

Ekstrom, but he’s not the same person he once was, and I wouldn’t trust him with my car, let alone my

girlfriend.”

So this man had no loyalty to Ekstrom. Marco could use that. “Let’s say, for the sake of argument, that

DEFEND exists. Why do you care? Do you need their help? Or do you want to hunt them down? If they

exist, no one will help you without knowing your motive. If you’ve worked with the likes of Ekstrom, then

I’m sure you’re familiar with that concept.”

The shifter said nothing at first, but then he moved close to him and repositioned the knife at his throat.

“Do you have a little sister?”

Marco was curious to see where this was going. “Two, in fact.”

“Then imagine your teenage sister had been taken, and her kidnapper kept forcing you to use your latent

abilities however the kidnapper liked, in order to guarantee your sister’s safety.” The shifter paused a

second, almost as if he was trying to get his anger under control before he continued. “And then imagine

you’re only one of an ever-growing army of
Feiru
with latent abilities, made to do things against their will, to fulfill one person’s greed. I’d think if DEFEND existed, they’d want to stop the bitch in charge of the coerced army sooner rather than later. Especially if the rumors I’ve heard about the anti-prison activist

group are true.”

If there were as many
Feiru
with latent abilities as the shifter’s words implied, then the Four Talents were closer to awakening than he’d previously thought. Part of Marco’s Elemental Master training had

focused on the old
Feiru
legends. According to those legends, by the time all of the Talents awoke, nearly one out of every eleven or twelve
Feiru
would have a latent ability of some sort.

They’d been able to hide those abilities in the past. But this was the first time since the advent of TV and the internet that anything like this had happened. The
Feiru
High Council had been strict before, it was only going to get stricter in the future if they wanted to keep humans in ignorance.

Did Neena and Aislinn already know about the surge in latent abilities? If not, this would start a

shitstorm flurry of activity—DEFEND against this unknown party, fighting for control, all while trying to

keep out of the High Council’s notice.

As if all of that wasn’t enough to take in, Marco also now realized the shadow-shifter hadn’t been after

their information about the Talents, that first day back in the market. “You’re here for Cam, to take her back to this person gathering
Feiru
with latent abilities.”

The shifter pressed the knife hard enough against his throat to prick his skin. “If you don’t answer my

question about DEFEND, you’ll never find out the answer.”

Marco took that as a yes. “Killing me won’t accomplish anything. If I’m not working with DEFEND,

then you’ve murdered an innocent. And if I am working with DEFEND, well, they’ll never help someone

who murdered one of their own.” Marco raised his eyebrows. “So how about you lower your knife, and

stop with the threats. I’d much rather have a conversation.”

The shifter stared at Marco, but eventually he lowered his knife. “You have no fucking idea what that

woman—she calls herself the Collector—is planning to do. Any
Feiru
with a latent ability is in danger.”

“See, talking like that may get you somewhere.” Marco motioned with his head. “So, how about you tell

me what you want.”

“Are you going to actually listen, or are you plotting how to move your hands to the west, so you can

take me out.”

The corner of Marco’s mouth rose. “Not a stupid one, eh?”

“I wouldn’t have been sent after Camilla Melini if I were.”

He sobered at Cam’s name. “As long as you give me actual information, I won’t try to reach to the

west.” The shifter stared, and Marco resisted a sigh. Did everyone have to be so suspicious? “I’d cross my heart and hope to die, but I’m a little tied up at the moment.”

The shifter shook his head. “Your reputation is true, then, about not taking things seriously.”

“So it seems. Now that we’ve gotten the displays of manliness out of the way, tell me what you want.

My ass is getting cold here on the floor.”

The shifter took a step back and leaned against the wall. “I want my sister free of the Collector’s prison, and stashed away some place where the bitch can’t find her.”

“And what about yourself?”

“While I’d like to live, that probably won’t happen once my sister is free. I’m not the only shadow-

shifter the Collector has in her camp. I’m disposable.”

At the mention of other shadow-shifters, Marco remembered the one back in Washington State. “By any

chance, did this Collector have a shadow-shifter working for her named Vanessa?”

The shifter kept his face expressionless. “You need to tell me what you can do to help my sister before I

tell you anything else. I’m not about to give away all of my information for free.”

Marco needed something more concrete before he risked exposing DEFEND’s existence. “Answer this

last question, and I’ll see what I can do.” The shifter started to shake his head, so Marco said, “All you’ve told me so far are vague statements about a woman collecting
Feiru
with latent abilities. I need something specific to work with, something that isn’t easily investigated.”

The shifter stared at him a moment. When he finally spoke, his voice was quiet. “Just tell me if rescuing

my sister is even possible.”

The look of desperation in the shifter’s eyes was genuine. “I believe so, yes.”

His answer must’ve convinced the shifter, because he continued. “What I’m about to tell you can’t be

shared with anyone you don’t trust. The Collector is a powerful woman, and she’ll hunt you down if she

sees you as a threat.” Marco nodded, and the shifter continued. “Vanessa was the previous shifter assigned

to Cam’s capture, but once V disappeared, the assignment fell to me.”

Everyone—including Marco—had assumed Vanessa had been after Kiarra. But if Vanessa had known

Kiarra was Cam’s sister, then capturing her to use as leverage made sense. How Vanessa had found out

about Kiarra’s escape from the AMT so quickly was proof she either she had powerful connections, or this

Collector woman did.

He now not only needed to see what he could do about this shifter’s sister, he needed to find a way to

get in touch with Darius. His friend was currently working with Vanessa, and no doubt he could

corroborate the story, if it were true. “Do you have a cell phone?”

“Why?”

“In order to see what I can do for your sister, I need to make a call.”

Cam walked beside Richard in silence, taking note of the surrounding landmarks and street names. She

didn’t expect a rescue and escape attempt to be easy, but she’d use every little thing she could.

Her hatred of what Richard had done to her cousin Adella outstripped any lingering fear from yesterday.

Her adopted sister had gone through hell twice. The first as leverage to make Cam accept her assassination assignment, but the second time because Cam had run to Richard for help after refusing to kill her child

targets in Merida four years ago.

Her adopted sister had spent days curled into a ball after the second attempt, refusing to eat or speak, no matter how much her family coaxed her. It’d taken months before she’d even talked with her family, let

alone functioned normally again.

Even now, years later, Adella still had trouble going to new places by herself.

In truth, part of the reason Cam had joined DEFEND was to avoid seeing her cousin. Even though

Adella had long forgiven her for what had happened, each time she’d seen her, it had brought back painful

memories for them both.

Cam had never been able to let her fuck-up go.

She’d long accepted Adella’s pain had been her fault—all because she’d trusted the man now walking

beside her. Somehow, some way, she wanted to make sure that Richard couldn’t hurt anyone else ever

again. But until Zalika and Jacek were safe, she’d have to be patient.

Richard stopped in front of an old yellow VW Beetle, unlocked the passenger door, and motioned with

his hand. “Ladies first.”

She decided to test some boundaries. “So, I’m a lady now?”

“You may hide it well, but I know firsthand that you are.” He motioned again. “Now, get in the car.”

The thought of being in an enclosed space with Richard wasn’t a pleasant one, but since he hadn’t

frisked her, she still had her weapons strapped to her thighs. She only hoped she didn’t need them until she knew that Jacek and Zalika were okay.

Cam peeked into the car, but while it smelled faintly of cigarettes, it was empty. Taking one last glance at her surroundings, she slid inside.

But as she settled her weight on the seat, something pricked her through the thin fabric of her skirt, and she jumped back out. On closer inspection, she saw the silver tip of a needle poking out of the crease

between the top and bottom halves of the seat.

She half expected to fall unconscious, but nothing happened.

She looked to Richard, but he was smiling. “Obviously your trick didn’t work, so why are you so

happy?”

Richard’s smile turned devious. “It did what it was supposed to do, now get in the car.”

Cam glared, and careful not to sit on the needle, she slid into the Beetle and shut the door.

She wondered what had been inside the pressure-triggered syringe. Richard obviously wanted her

conscious, so the only possible answer she could come up with was that she’d been pumped with rowanberry juice—an illegal truth serum of sorts for the
Feiru
.

She needed to test that theory, because while she’d had training to resist answering questions while

under the influence of rowanberry juice, she could put DEFEND and its people in danger if she didn’t

prepare her mind properly.

Richard started the car. “Take out your cell phone, remove the battery, and toss it out the window.”

She waited to see if she felt compelled to follow his order—one of the side effects of rowanberry juice

—but nothing.

Shit. Now she really was worried about what he’d injected into her body.

Of her own free will, Cam took the phone out and did what he asked. “So now that you know I’m not

being tracked, care to tell me where we’re going? Or are you going to be vague as hell, and continue acting like some caricature of a bad guy?”

“Just shut up and sit there. We’ll be there soon enough.”

Chapter Twenty-Four

Marco waited to see what the shadow-shifter would do. Time was ticking, and the longer he was here,

the longer Cam was on her own.

The shifter finally said, “If I let you make a call, you’re going to do it on speaker phone, just to make

sure you’re not trying to play me.”

Relief washed over Marco, but he didn’t let it show. He shrugged a shoulder. “Fair enough. Put in this

number.” He rattled off the number, and the phone rang.

After three rings, Aislinn—one of the DEFEND co-leaders—picked up. “Hello?”

Marco switched to English. “Hey, I have a situation. What do you know about a woman called the

Collector?”

Aislinn paused, and then said, “Why am I on speaker phone?”

He glanced at the shifter. “Caught that did you?”

“Answer the question.”