Pure Magic (Black Dog Book 3) (24 page)

Ezekiel paced the full length of the balcony again, then stopped, set his fists on his hips, ad gave Ethan a narrow-eyed glare. “A handful of refugees from some minor offshoot of The Dacha? The hell it is. The Dacha owned a good many wolves. I’m starting to think most of them abandoned their own territory and joined Zinaida Kologrivova in her bid to take ours. Or whatever it is that she actually intends. Ethan, you remember the Dacha bloodlines?”

Ethan shrugged. “Not really. Always figured Lumondiere and Gehorsam were the important houses for us to keep track of.”

“The war changed that,” Ezekiel said, his tone grim. “Alejandro, your father teach you about this stuff?”

“Only Dimilioc. Miguel would know these things.” Alejandro realized he should ask Miguel to tell him all those important things. He ought to have thought of that already. It had not occurred to him. Even after Grayson had suggested maybe he was thinking of Alejandro for a possible heir. He should have thought of that then. He glanced down, embarrassed.

But Ezekiel only gave an amused nod, not seeming irritated. “Well, Miguel. Of course he would. I had to learn all this because Thos definitely believed his executioner should have a rough familiarity with all Dimilioc’s rivals—he thought of all of ’em as enemies waiting to happen, I expect. He was right about that, whatever else you can say about him. Wish I’d paid better attention. All right, let’s see. Sergei Leushin was Anatoliy’s cousin, and The Dacha’s executioner. He could be here. I think he’d have wanted to challenge me personally, not set up all this nonsense with guns and silver. But Zinaida Kologrivova could be keeping him on a tight leash. And her uncle Valentin Kologrivov. He’s a mean bastard, by all reports. If I recall correctly, he dislikes the Pure—thinks they weaken black dogs, wanted to model The Dacha more after the nastier Middle Eastern families. God knows how he thinks a house can breed for both strength and control without the Pure. Personally, I wonder whether he doesn’t just dislike women. Though apparently he’s made an exception for his niece.”

Alejandro’s mouth tightened. “They tried to take Natividad.”

“Yes, and don’t think that doesn’t worry me.”

“We don’t understand those harpoons yet, either,” commented Ethan. “If they just wanted to kill us all, bullets would be better.”

Alejandro frowned, realizing this was true.

Ezekiel gave Ethan an approving glance. “Indeed. I have one or two guesses about that, in fact.” But he did not share these. He said instead, “I think it’s time to call Grayson. Interim reports are often tedious, but I think I’d like a second opinion on all this.”

But that conversation did not go as anyone expected, not once they finished their part and Grayson began to explain what had been happening at Dimilioc. The part about El Paso was merely
alarmante
, but the part about Natividad was
verdaderamente alarmante
.

“Missing?” Ezekiel said sharply, when Grayson, driven by Ezekiel’s insistence that he needed her in Boston, admitted that she was gone. “What do you mean, she is
missing
?” His voice had gone tight, sharp, dangerous—not a tone Alejandro would have dared take with Grayson Lanning. Alejandro was vindictively glad that Ezekiel obviously felt no such hesitation, but also afraid. He did not want to imagine Dimilioc with Ezekiel Korte and Grayson Lanning at odds. He said quickly, “She is well, she is fine, I would know if she was frightened or hurt—”

Ezekiel gave him a narrow look that stopped his voice. “And how long do you think that’ll last, with her out in the world, just her and that damn fool Pure boy, with no one to protect them?” He snapped into the phone, “How could you let this happen?”

There was a slight pause, which was probably Grayson taking tight hold of his temper. Then the Master said—being black dogs, they could all hear his response—” I admit I was careless. However, Keziah has gone after them—

“Keziah!” Ezekiel said. “Are you
insane
?”

There was a second, grimmer, pause. But Ezekiel did not apologize. Perhaps if he had been confronting Grayson in person, it might have been different. Though Alejandro was just as relieved there were many miles between the Master of Dimilioc and Dimilioc’s executioner. Ezekiel’s breathing had quickened, and his eyes had gone bright yellow, and the bones of his face subtly shifted beneath his skin—the merest suggestion of the black dog that was plainly pressing hard against his control. Ezekiel never lost control, except when he did. The last time had involved Natividad, too. If the
verdugo
lost control again, no one could be more dangerous.

Alejandro, himself angry and upset, nevertheless felt his own shadow flatten out, intimidated, in the face of Ezekiel’s fury. He did not dare make a sound. He wanted to move back a step, but did not dare even that. Ethan, who had by chance been on the other side of the balcony, stayed there, staring intently at the floor.

At last the Master said, in a harsh, deliberate tone, “Ezekiel, you know perfectly well that Keziah will harm neither Natividad nor Justin. I am quite confident that she intends to find them, protect them, and bring them back to Dimilioc’s safekeeping. If I do not hear from her within a reasonable time, I shall go after them myself.
You
, however, will stay in Boston, and finish hunting down these Dacha wolves while you have them off balance and at a disadvantage. I am certain you understand the urgency of this situation.”

“No,” Ezekiel said flatly.

“And after you have taken care of this
very serious and pressing
problem in Boston, you will go south, to address the
even more serious
situation that has arisen in El Paso—”

“No!” snapped Ezekiel. “Do you seriously believe Keziah will be able to track
Natividad
? Natividad, who kept herself and her brothers clear of
Malvern Vonhausal
for weeks? How many Pure women has Dimilioc
ever
known who were more skilled with magic? She can do things with magic
no one
can do! And you sent Keziah after her? Keziah hates her!”

“Keziah does not hate her—”

Ezekiel spoke right over the Master. “And I know damned well where she’s gone. So do you, damn your eyes, Grayson!” His voice rose toward a snarl. “It’s not Justin making the decisions for that pair! You let Natividad find out about this damned mess in El Paso, didn’t you? Where else would she go, when she
knows
they begged you to send them help and you refused?”

“
Ezekiel
.”

“No.”
Ezekiel crushed the phone in his hand, then flung down the resulting handful of ruined plastic splinters and memory chips. Then he stopped, and closed his eyes, and stood very, very still. His chest rose and fell: one breath. Another. A third. At last he opened his eyes. They were still a fiery, inhuman yellow.

Instinct drove Alejandro to the balcony floor before he even thought about it. He didn’t try to fight the impulse. He definitely did not look up to meet Ezekiel’s hot stare. He wanted to say,
Natividad is
my
sister,
I
will go after her
, but he did not dare. He wanted to say,
It is one thing if I disobey Grayson Lanning; if
you
disobey him, I think the world may end
, but still less did he dare say that. He said instead, very meekly, “I can find my way past any
maraña
mágica
she can make. I can find her more quickly than you can.”

Ezekiel looked down at him. Alejandro did not look up, but he felt the pressure of the
verdugo’s
stare on his back. There was a long pause. Alejandro wondered whether he would have any chance of forcing Ezekiel’s shadow back, if the other black dog’s control began to slip. With Ezekiel so angry, he doubted he could even slow him down.

“I don’t think so,” Ezekiel said at last. His voice, though still retaining a faint echo of his suppressed fury, was much calmer. Alejandro dared to glance up. Ezekiel’s eyes were human again: a pale, wintry blue.

“You’ll stay here,” Ezekiel told him. “Or, no. You had better withdraw to Dimilioc: I don’t want you facing Zinaida Kologrivova alone. Call Grayson back, let him decide whether to pull you out or send you adequate backup.” He glanced coolly from Alejandro to Ethan. “Either way, you two won’t fight each other. You’ll work together. Ethan, you’ll take Alejandro’s orders.”

Alejandro looked sharply at Ezekiel, who did not seem to notice the impudence, and then warily at Ethan, who would obviously be offended.

Indeed, Ethan began to protest, but cut whatever he’d begun to say off short when Ezekiel raised an eyebrow. He looked aside immediately, but said stubbornly, “Why him?”

“Because I said so, and I will be unhappy if you don’t do as I tell you,” snapped Ezekiel. Then he paused, plainly to take a harder grip on his temper, and added, less sharply, “Because Alejandro has the gift for rolling over other black dogs’ shadows, and because he isn’t as distracted by the need to look like a Lanning—”

“I am not—”

“Shut up. And because he’ll take advice a hell of a lot better from you than you would from him. That’s why. You get that I am not joking, here?”

Alejandro looked warily at Ethan. Ethan stared back at him, frowned, and looked deliberately away. He shrugged, a grudging gesture, but one that showed reluctant acceptance. “Whatever.”

“Good,” said Ezekiel. “Mind you, Alejandro, if Grayson sends Thaddeus to pick up this mission, you’ll both obey
his
orders, and I will not be amused to hear that any damn-fool crap about bloodlines got in the way of
getting the job done
.” This time, the
verdugo
turned his wintry gaze on Alejandro as well as Ethan. “Understand?”

“I understand,” agreed Alejandro

Ethan shrugged angrily and muttered, “Yeah, sure,
whatever
. Thaddeus still isn’t completely used to working as part of a team, you get that, right?”

“He will do very well,” Ezekiel said shortly. “You will not allow your own dominance issues to get in the way of dealing with Dimilioc’s actual enemies. Right?”

Alejandro glanced sidelong at Ethan. Ethan glared back, far too directly for politeness. But then he looked deliberately away again, dropping the challenge.

Ezekiel gave them both a very small nod. “Good. Lead with your heads,” he told them. “Don’t let Zinaida Kologrivova or her Dacha wolves kill you, or I’ll be
seriously
annoyed
, understand?”

“Ezekiel—” Ethan began, and then broke off as Ezekiel looked at him, one pale eyebrow rising. But then, though Ethan lowered his head, he went on, “This is all stupid. You should call Grayson back yourself. Tell him you’re still here, you’ll take care of these damned Dacha black wolves. Look, you know if you walk away from this—”

“Enough,” said Ezekiel. His tone was almost gentle, but his eyes were shifting once more from human blue to flame-yellow.

Ethan said stubbornly, “He wouldn’t have even told you anything, except he trusted you not to fly off—”

“Then he should have known better,” Ezekiel snapped. He stalked to the edge of the balcony, put a hand on the railing, and vaulted over without seeming to look. His shadow flared around and above him, carrying his weight, so he would land on the pavement below as lightly as a cat—more lightly, because even a cat would break bones, dropped from this height.

Ethan looked at Alejandro. Alejandro stared back. Ethan shut his eyes, took a deep breath, let it out, and opened his eyes again. They were ordinary human eyes, dark and angry with ordinary human anger. He jerked a gesture at the railing where Ezekiel had vanished. “I tried. But Grayson . . .” he shrugged.

Alejandro nodded. “Either Ezekiel will change his mind and come back, or he will go south to look for Natividad. Either way . . . ” he returned Ethan’s shrug. “
Nos fregamos
.”

“Yeah,” said Ethan, and shook his head. “Yeah.
Nos
whatever.
Damn
.”

“Right,” said Alejandro. He turned away, stared out at the night, out and down, the way Ezekiel had gone. There was no sign of Ezekiel’s passage through the city, only ordinary night sounds of the streets and the hotel.

He was careful not to look directly at Ethan. He did not wish to begin some stupid struggle for dominance. He could see, out of the corner of his eye, how Ethan had also turned his face away, avoiding any chance of confrontation. After a little while, Ethan even sank down to sit on the floor, leaning back against the railing, legs drawn up, his fingers laced nonchalantly around his knees. He said absolutely nothing. Almost anything he said would sound like a challenge, now. Especially after that cool judgment that Alejandro took advice better than he did. That would make even good advice sound like a challenge, and both of them knew it. So Ethan kept his mouth shut, staring out into the night in silence.

Alejandro said abruptly, “You have another phone, yes?”

Ethan didn’t look at him. “Sure,” he said, his tone completely neutral.