Magick Marked (The DarqRealm Series) (21 page)

He lowered his gun and nudged his head toward the door. “I’ll cover you.”

She flashed a quick, victorious smile before she pushed the door open and ran through the doorway. True to his word, he stalked behind her, his movements low to the ground as he inventoried the periphery in less than three seconds.

Preshea was sitting on her knees, a paper clutched in her hand. Tim’s massive arms were wrapped around her body.

Eldon shoved the gun back in its home and ran forward.

“What’s going on here?” Rho asked, falling to her knees beside Preshea. “What is this?”

Preshea’s cheeks were flushed, her eyes shut tight as her brows puckered together in a worried line. Her chin quivered. She extended a shaking hand, offering the letter as her only response. Rho took it from her carefully. Eldon hovered over her shoulder to get a better view.

Dearest Preshea,

You will be pleased to know Vectra is still alive and in my care. Should you wish to keep her that way, you will bring us the items you seek. If you fail or refuse, your sister will die. Choose wisely.

Kindest regards,

- A.

The items they seek? Did they want the Kamens?

Eldon snatched the paper from Rho’s hand and stood up. Someone had a lot of nerve. “Who’s Vectra?”

Rho rose to stand beside him and snatched the paper back. “And who’s ‘A?’”

Preshea let out a sob, her harsh persona completely shattered as Tim clutched her tighter. Her crumpled figure seemed smaller surrounded by Tim’s larger frame, her fierce independence somehow completely undermined by her current state. As tough as she was, she’d been broken—which scared the shit out of him. People as cold as Preshea didn’t break.

“Vectra is her sister,” Tim answered. “Her little sister. She’s fourteen.”

Eldon cursed. The overwhelming urge to strangle the elusive Mr. A washed over him, followed by the thought of his own sisters. If someone took one of them? He’d kill them. With his bare hands. While smiling.

“Who is ‘A?’” Rho demanded again, shaking the paper in her hand.

Tim glanced up and shrugged a shoulder.

“Alex—Alexander.” Preshea sniffled and wiped her eyes on a shirt sleeve.

Eldon stared down at the pair. “Who’s that?”

“You met him at the ball,” Preshea said.

Tim pulled away to meet her stare. “The ShiftMaster?”

As in, the leader of the shifter nation. The Collective included a plethora of self-righteous, self-entitled asses, but none of them would ever pull something like this. At least, he didn’t think they would.

“I’ll kill him. I’ll kill him myself, that bastard.” Preshea sprang to her feet, sending Tim flying backwards on his ass. “I can’t believe my own people would be behind this. Alex sent me on this mission to get rid of me so he could go after Vectra, and now he wants to use her and force my obedience to sway the team? Fuck him.”

Tim got to his feet as she broke into a run and busted through the door and into the night. He disappeared right behind her.

Eldon frowned and stared at the door. A small part of him wanted to run after Preshea, too, but he knew it wouldn’t help. That shifter obviously had a history with Tim. If anyone could get through to her, it would be that wolf. He’d let them work it out.

Eldon glanced at Rho, still clutching the paper in her white-knuckled fist. Alex wanted them to know he was in control. That he held the ace and he’d get what he wanted. Why he wanted the Kamens, he had no idea, but clearly they wanted them badly. Badly enough to kidnap a child.

He extended a hand. “Let me see that.”

“Why?”

“Just hand it over.”

He took it from Rho’s hand, the paper soft and thick between his fingers. He brought the sheet to his nose and drew a deep breath. A billow of moss and wet earth permeated his senses, the recognition registering in his brain immediately. “No way.”

“What is it?” Rho asked.

He released the paper from his grip and let it cascade to the ground. The scent lingered in his sinuses. He hoped it wasn’t what he suspected.

“Stand back.”

“Why? What is it?” Rho asked.

“We’re about to find out.”

“But what is it?” She took a step forward.

He glared up at her. “You can’t follow my directions, can you?”

She shrugged. “I never follow anyone’s directions.”

“Try.”

She wrinkled her nose in distaste but did as she was told.

Eldon reached out with his senses, feeling for the familiar lines of energy beneath his feet. A little forward and to the right… there. Calling the blue fire, he kneeled over the paper.

He extended his hands, blue fire spitting from his fingertips, anticipation stirring in his gut. It had been years since he’d performed an identification spell.

He ran his finger along the edges of the page, allowing his aura to soak up the presence held within. The smell still burned in his nose, the hint of tropical flowers growing stronger by the second.

“
Qui vos a, ubi sunt a
.” He rested the tip of his finger to the center of the page. “
Cognosco
.”

His stomach dropped to his feet. And he’d thought things couldn’t get any worse.

Eldon stared up at Rho. “We need to get out of here. Right now.”

His jaw flexed as he stared at her intently.

Did he think a little staring contest would make her cower in the corner? She settled her hands on her hips. “Newsflash, cowboy. You’re not in charge of everyone around here. You may get to play big brother at home, but here we’re a team. So start acting like it.” She rolled her shoulders back. “Now talk, damn it or I’ll—”

“I never said I wouldn’t tell you.” He raised his hands in defeat. “But you seriously do need to pack. I have to make a call and then I promise we’ll talk.”

Pulling a phone out of the pocket of his jeans, he raised a brow. “Move it.” He hit the speed dial.

That cocky expression made her want to smack him. Or—yeah, just smack him.

“Whatever.” She grabbed her dirty jeans off the back of a dusty office chair and shoved them into her backpack. Piles of laundry and shoes were strewn across the floor, her bed and the desk. How had those coven keepers gotten it all in the bag in the first place? There was no way all of her crap was going to fit.

“Adelle? It’s me.” His voice was low, but she could hear every word. “Yeah. Yeah. I miss you, too, but—Adelle, I don’t have time to talk right now. We’re in trouble… Yes, all of us. Pack your stuff and meet me at the safe house as quick as you can. Bring Jess. Yes… Yes… No. Love you, too… Bye.”

Eldon turned and glanced down at Rho. “Faster.”

“Don’t push me, mover boy.” She shoved a wad of cotton shorts on top of a pair of filthy sneakers. “Are you going to start talking or is this an exercise in patience?”

“Just keep moving.” He leaned against the doorjamb. “No one should know we’re here.”

“No shit, Sherlock.”

“Especially not the fae.”

She froze then stared up at him. “Who said anything about the fae?”

“This paper.” He held up the crumpled message to Preshea. “It’s imprinted with their magick.”

“How would you know that?”

“Magick knows magick. It may be different than mine, but it’s the same craft. The spell I did confirmed it.”

“What tipped you off?”

He extended the paper toward her. “Smell this.”

She leaned forward hesitantly and took a whiff. The scent of damp soil overcame all others, pungent but somehow artificial. “Smells like… wet dirt.”

“Smells like fae magick. And they shouldn’t know we’re here.”

No, they shouldn’t. “Because they’re not part of the team. And because they still have their Kamen.”

“Exactly.”

She zipped up the outer zipper of her bag. “Why would they come forward now? There are only four of us. They could take us if they wanted to.”

Eldon folded the paper carefully. “They want to. I think the letter to Preshea was a diversion to break us up and rattle Preshea. Maybe it’s not even real.”

“Divide and conquer. Smart.” They’d certainly accomplished that objective. “But why now?”

He shrugged a shoulder. “The fae love to play games, but they aren’t good losers. They must want the Kamens, although I can’t imagine why.”

“But we don’t have them.”

“If the fae want something, they’ll stop at nothing to get it.” He tilted his head. “They’ll make us find them. Turn us into servants. Whatever it takes.”

Being a slave to one crown sucked enough, thank you very much. “Not if I have something to say about it.”

He cast a glance around the room. “Finish up here. I’ll jump you through the lines to our safe house then come back for the others.”

Oh, hell, where had she put that tank—wait, what the… “I’m sorry, jump through the what?”

“The safe house is too far from here, and we need to get there fast.” The note disappeared into his pocket. “We can’t risk being followed. It’s the only way.”

“You can’t jump me through the lines. What if I don’t make it out alive?”

Eldon rolled his eyes. “Relax, I’ve jumped people plenty of times before. Although I can only handle one at a time. Any more than that and you risk being burned by the lines.”

Was he hearing himself? “Are you nuts? I’m not Johnny Cash. I don’t do burning rings of fire. Not happening. No way.” The idea of being hurtled through a ley line and having no power over the outcome had zero appeal. There had to be another way.

He folded his arms across his broad chest. “You’re going to the safe house and the lines are the only way to get there.”

“Bu—”

“No buts. Zip up that bag. It’s time to go.”

She opened her mouth to protest, but the expression on Eldon’s face told her she wasn’t going to win. They were running out of time and he was running out of patience, and both were her fault.

If anything happened to her teammates because she was being a coward, she wouldn’t forgive herself. Failure for the sake of fear was not an option.

Rho met Eldon’s eyes. “Just don’t kill me, okay?”

His lips curled into a smile as he gave an answering nod. T minus nothing. It was go-time. Eldon crouched over the bag at the ground by Rho’s feet.

She let out a breath she’d forgotten she was holding. “I can’t take the bag with me through the lines?”

He extended his hands. “Not like this. I’ll need to shrink it.”

“My weapons are in there. You break it, you buy it.”

He glanced up. “That’s the least of our problems right now. But no, I won’t ruin your stuff.” His focus returned to the bag as his fingertips glowed blue.

Rho watched in wonder as he started to move his hands like a spider weaving a delicate web. The movements were precise but graceful, and clearly well practiced as he murmured foreign incantations. It was everything she could do to refrain from asking questions while he worked.

Pop.

“Holy crap!” Rho exclaimed, eyeing the tiny prize.

With the blink of an eye, her backpack shrank to the size of a paperclip.

Eldon rose, the bag pinched between his fingers. “What? It’s just smaller now.”

She extended her hand to him palm up and accepted the offering.

“I can fix it when we get to the other side.” He placed the bag at the center of the triquetra penned in her skin. “It’s easier for me this way.”

She swallowed hard, trying to squelch her irrational fear. Movers traveled by ley lines all the time. Eldon was skilled and obviously this wasn’t his first try. There was nothing to worry about.

His concerned eyes met hers. “I’m not going to hurt you, I swear.”

Here went nothing. She nodded and tucked the tiny bag into the pocket of her jeans. “Let’s do this.”

Eldon stepped forward and wrapped his strong arms around her waist, pulling her tight against his firm chest. “Just hold on and close your eyes. Don’t let go.”

Panic rolled through her mind as she clasped her hands around his waist. Yeah, jumping headfirst into a ley line while clutching a warm-blooded block of muscle definitely took the prize for the least brilliant move she’d ever made.

Clutching tighter, she squeezed her lids shut. “Okay. Go.”

A door slammed.

“Preshea, you’re being ridiculous!” The sound of Tim shouting barreled down the hallway, followed by the slam of another door and a slew of profanity.

Eldon released his warm grip on Rho’s body. “Tim?” He rushed out into the hall. “Where are you?”