Frozen Desires (Asylums for Magical Threats) (24 page)

first-borns controlled elemental energy particles in the air to do their “magic”—it would take a little bit of faith to accept such a radical idea.

Liang looked at Evans, then to Gio, and back again. “So you would gather these
Feiru
with strange abilities, place them in my empty wing, and conduct tests on the sources of their power?” Gio and Evans

both nodded. “That’s all fine and well, but how will you contain these abilities? I have no idea what these

‘latent abilities’ entail, and I’m not about to have my compound explode or whatever else they can do to

destroy it.”

Gio spoke up. “Before bringing them in large numbers, I’d like to have one or two with milder abilities

brought here and tested by Dr. Evans. That way he can find a way to contain their abilities, much like how the elemental dampers stop elemental magic.” Gio paused, but since Liang looked unconvinced, he added,

“Of course, you would approve or deny any new entrants into your compound before they would be

brought here.”

He waited. If Liang said no, they’d have to leave tomorrow. If he said yes, Gio could finally ask for a

tour of the facilities and do a little snooping around.

Liang unfolded his hands and leaned forward on his desk. “I want to know, in detail, about what types

of abilities have appeared and their dangers. Once I see the list, I can determine if any of them are safe enough to allow here for a trial run.”

At least that wasn’t an outright no. Gio nodded. “We’ll do that today. But in order to better pitch

possible dangers and risks, is it possible to have a tour of the whole facility, not just the empty wing?”

“While you were given clearance, Mr. Sinclair, Dr. Evans was not. If you wish to have a tour, you’ll

have to do it alone.”

Gio looked to Evans, and Evans said, “I have work to do. Just show me to a lab with computers, a

secure phone line, and database access. I’ll start compiling the list for you straight away.”

“Done.” Liang pressed a button on his desk and stood up.

The door opened to show a short woman, and she said, “Yes, sir?”

“Set up a lab for Dr. Evans in the empty wing, and give him what he asks for.” The woman nodded, and

Liang looked back to Gio. “I’ll have someone come round to your room later and give you a tour. Will that

work?”

“Yes. Thank you, Mr. Liang.”

“I’m looking forward to maybe working together. The sooner I get the list, the sooner I can give you a

more definitive answer.”

Evans nodded. “I should have a full report ready for you in a few days.”

“All right, gentlemen, if there is anything else you need, just ask Mrs. Wu. She can schedule a meeting

once you’re ready.”

The woman named Mrs. Wu motioned for them to follow her, and they started walking.

So far, so good. Things were going according to plan.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Richard stopped the little inflatable motor boat next to the large yacht, and someone threw down a rope

ladder.

He nudged her to get up, but Cam couldn’t manage it. She felt like she’d just woken up from a severe

bout of food poisoning, and even lying down, she felt woozy. “I can’t do it, Richard, I just can’t.”

He frowned down at her, and for a second she thought he might care if she lived or died, but then a

hard expression returned to his face. “I think you have gone soft with age.” He shouted to the people above for something to haul her up.

She was too exhausted to reply. A stretcher board secured on all four sides with rope came into view.

Richard picked her up, placed her on the board, and strapped her in.

As they hauled her up, she wondered what the hell had happened to Marco. It’d been hours since she’d

seen the ice flower in her window. And no doubt he’d done more than just put a flower. If she’d been in his place, she would’ve planted a tracking device, too.

Yet as far as she could see, there weren’t any other boats on the water. He had to know her current

location, so where was he?

When she was nearly to the railing on the ship, Cam tried one last time to extend her claws, but nothing

happened. She truly was going into this as an underdog.

A man finally came into view—lean with a long torso and broad shoulders—and he hauled her up and

over the railing. There was no way to tell if he was human or
Feiru
, but since Richard had said these people would give her a new way to get her sister out of the AMT, she reckoned the man was
Feiru
. And with her luck, he was either a first-born or someone with a latent ability.

The man undid the last strap, stood, and frowned down at her. “So this is the great Camilla Melini, eh? I

had expected more.”

These people knew of her, so no sense trying to play the part of a weakling. Besides, in her experience,

showing attitude earned respect with mercenary-types. “Fuck you.”

The man chuckled and looked to a woman with short blond hair standing behind him. “Her spirit is the

first thing that’s got to go.”

Over her dead body.

A third person came into view, and the pair addressed the middle-aged Hispanic man as “captain.” He

merely stood five feet away from her and stared.

They all kept silent until Richard jumped over the rail and said, “I brought her to you, just as you

asked.”

The man who’d hauled her up replied, “First we’re going to test her. If she passes, then we’ll discuss

terms.”

Richard took a step forward. “If you couldn’t tell, she’s seasick. Besides, the formula won’t wear off for another few hours, and I don’t plan on waiting around.”

The blonde woman who’d been silently watching from the shadows finally spoke up. “Leave her test to

me.”

Cam didn’t like the sound of that. Using her peripheral vision, she tried to spot something she could use

to get away—a life jacket, a life ring, or even an automatic inflatable boat would do. But the closest life boat, where she could find some of those supplies, was twenty feet down the deck.

The blonde woman was now standing over her, and she looked to be about twenty years old, reminding

Cam of her own fuck-ups in her early adulthood. She wondered if this woman had been coerced into

helping, or if she had joined of her own free will.

The woman opened her mouth, and her blue eyes started to glow as she sang:

“
Sister of my race, heed my call. Let your claws grow as nature intended.
”

At first, nothing happened, but the woman kept singing the same two sentences over and over again.

Her eyes grew brighter with each pass, and Cam tried to remember the stories from her childhood,

desperate to place what kind of latent power this might be so that she could exploit its weakness.

But on the eighth time around of the woman singing those words, Cam felt the area just below her

fingernails start to tingle. Usually, she would feel nothing more than a light stretch when her claws

extended, but as they began to grow ever so slowly, it felt as if someone were tearing her fingernails off with a pair of pliers.

Cam gritted her teeth. She’d experienced worse, and she wasn’t about to give these people any sort of

sick satisfaction.

The blonde woman stopped singing. Cam looked down and saw that her claws were fully extended.

The tall man leaned down, grabbed her hand, took out a mini-metal flashlight from one of his pockets,

and used one of her claws to slice through it.

As he dropped her hand and stepped away, the woman said, “Only Blue Demons have claws strong

enough to slice through titanium.” She looked to Richard. “You did as you said you would. The Collector’s

handler will be in touch.”

Cam tried not to blink. How in the hell did they know about Blue Demons? More than ever, she wished

she’d heard of this Collector person before.

Richard replied, “And when is that supposed to be? I don’t want to leave until I have some sort of proof

that the Collector will follow through.”

The woman opened her mouth again, but the middle-aged captain spoke up. “You’ve delivered the

cargo, and it’s time for you to get off my ship.”

Richard opened his mouth to argue, but the captain whistled, and ten crew members appeared with guns

in their hands.

Great. She had been hoping that since they were doing an illegal exchange that the ship would have

minimal staff. Apparently, she’d been wrong.

She watched Richard stand his ground. Maybe he’d be cocky, and she could see what these people

could do.

Richard eyed the crew. “I want to hear from the Collector’s handler by tomorrow.”

The captain said, “You’re a bit of a fool. But the Collector wishes to use you again, so I will pass on

your words. That will have to be good enough.”

“Fine.” Richard headed for the ladder on the rail, but stopped, turned around and looked at her. “Don’t

worry, Cam, they want you alive. I wouldn’t have traded you otherwise.”

As if that was comforting. But before she could reply, Richard was gone.

Unsure of how long she could get such a good look at everyone, Cam memorized as many faces as

possible before the tall, lean man unstrapped her from the board, picked her up, and carried her inside to one of the cabins. As they passed the captain, she swore that the man’s face flickered, but she brushed it aside—she’d never met anyone who could change their appearance before. And if such a person existed,

Neena would’ve let them know about it.

Marco sat in a small boat that he’d surrounded with a low wall of water to hide them from the prying

eyes of the other boats.

As soon as Aislinn had told him that his boat was ready, he’d gathered the two local DEFEND soldiers

who’d agreed to help him and headed toward the location of his tracking device. They’d arrived before

Ekstrom had traded Cam, so he’d had to sit and merely watch as the bastard had tossed her over the side of the ship. Luckily for Ekstrom, Cam had surfaced, otherwise Marco might’ve had to disobey Aislinn and

teach the other man a lesson.

But Cam was still alive, at least for now.

He moved the water to create a small hole in the protective wall. He then used his high-powered

binoculars to check and see if Richard Ekstrom was still on the other vessel or not. Because of Aislinn’s

order, he couldn’t do anything for Cam until Ekstrom was safely away.

He spotted Ekstrom back in his own little inflatable boat. The man started the motor, glanced over his

shoulder, and drove away.

Marco gripped the binoculars tight as he pulled back and filled the hole with water. Just like that,

Ekstrom had left Cam behind. If he hadn’t already promised Aislinn that he’d let Ekstrom get away, he’d be tempted to use his elemental water magic to capsize the man’s boat.

Just a little longer. She’s alive, you saw her not five minutes ago.
The sight of her being tied to a stretcher and hauled up to the deck wasn’t something he was going to forget any time soon.

He turned toward the two DEFEND soldiers he’d borrowed for this rescue operation and nodded his

head. “Let the other two boats know that Ekstrom is on his way, and that I’m going to attack soon. Double-

check that they’re in the safe zone I designated. I’m not taking any chances.”

The woman named Santos nodded, and took out her satellite phone. While she focused on sending the

message, Marco turned toward the other person, a man named Jimenez. “Give me two of the inflatable life

preservers, and then put on your own.”

Jimenez opened the back seat and handed him two of the instant inflatable preservers. “Are you sure

Santos and I need one? We grew up along the sea, and have been swimming since we could walk.”

“This boat isn’t meant to survive a major storm, and I’m not about to put your lives in danger.” Marco

motioned to the low wall of water that surrounded them. “This is child’s play compared to what’s coming

next.”

Jimenez looked skeptical. But Marco had worked with Santos a few times before, and, thankfully, she

spoke up. “Usually Marco is more charming with his explanations. Just do what he says, because the sooner

we get his lady friend back, the sooner he’ll stop growling at us.”

He resisted a growl. “Are you done notifying the others yet?”

Santos took her free hand, made an exaggerated show of raising her hand, pressed a button on the

phone, and said, “Done.”

Marco sighed. He was starting to understand why his old boss Jaxton had sighed and rolled his eyes so

often—Santos was irritating him on purpose, much like he had done with Jax. “Take a jacket, stow the

phone and the guns in the waterproof, inflatable bag, and wait for the signal.”

Once both Jimenez and Santos nodded, he put both of his hands to the west and concentrated on the

elemental energy in the air. He was going to need massive amounts of it to pull this off, and he’d only used this much elemental magic once, during his training years ago.

While there was always a possibility he’d burn out, Cam’s life was at stake, and he’d do anything to

save her.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Petra handed Millie her fake UK ID card. She glanced down at it, and frowned. “Do I really look like a

Donna?”

“Does it matter? Now, hurry up or we’ll miss the check-in for the ferry.”

Millie tucked the card into the pocket of her jeans. Once they’d gotten off Lofoten Island, Petra had

surprised her with a full suitcase of clothes, toiletries, and now an ID card. Good thing, because they were taking the overnight ferry from Norway to Denmark.

They made the rest of the way to the check-in station in silence.

She hoped that once they were inside their private cabin, Petra would start talking. While she was