Whisper of Shadows (The Diamond City Magic Novels) (18 page)

“Helluva way to treat your girlfriend,” I said. Sort of rasped in between the coughing. “I’m not sure I want to spend two weeks alone together after all.”

He lunged at me again. “Bitch!”

He vaulted over the table, and I dodged around the end. His fingertips caught my collar. I twisted free and got the table between us again. The black of his eyes had swallowed the blue. Whatever reason he’d been clinging to seemed to have vanished. Worse, the pressure of the magic in the room had doubled, and the rainbow colors prismed through the air all around me.

“I will kill you, just like every other time I’ve killed you,” he said in a singsongy voice. “Maybe this time you will learn that I will
never
let you use Riley to get to me.”

I don’t know what would have happened next if Dalton hadn’t shown up. One second he wasn’t there, the next he appeared just inside the door. Before Price realized he was there, Dalton chopped down on the back of his head with the butt of his gun. Price crumpled.

I scrabbled around the table and fell to my knees beside him and pulled his head up onto to my knees. Blood smeared one of my hands. Words clogged my throat. I stroked his face.

“You’re okay. I’m with you. I’m going to get you out of here.”

Abruptly, the steel door melted away, and my family stepped inside. Mel came first, followed by Leo and Jamie. Arnow was next and finally Taylor.

“Are you okay?” Mel asked.

I nodded.

“Jesus, Riley! What the hell did he do to you?” Jamie rushed in and gripped my chin, tilting it to see my neck. His hand shook with fury.

“I’m fine. A dreamer’s been at him. He doesn’t know it’s really me. He thinks I’m a figment of the FBI’s imagination.”

Jamie’s faced hardened, his upper lip curling. He said nothing. I couldn’t tell if he was still pissed at Price or the FBI. Didn’t matter.

“Get some clothes for him and some shoes. I’ve got to get him out of here before he goes nova.”

Dalton responded, swiftly disappearing out of the room.

“Nova?” Leo repeated.

“The cascade is peaking,” I said. “I don’t know how he’s held on this long.” I would have thought knocking him out would have released his stranglehold on the magic altogether. Then again, he’d been suppressing his talent for a long time. It was probably something he did automatically, on a gut level. Like breathing.

The others exchanged looks.

“Give me something for his head, would you?”

Taylor handed me a stained microfiber cloth from her pocket. She’d grabbed it at the hangar. I pressed it to the blood leaking from Price’s head. That’s when I caught sight of the other woman through the doorway. She stood back in the shadows of the outer room. She was tall, with dark hair. That’s about all I could see of her.

“Who’s that?” I asked.

I didn’t hear the answer. Price’s eyes flickered, and he stiffened. His eyes opened and met mine. Time stretched as I waited for him to decide what to do.

“What happened?” he asked finally.

“Dalton hit you on the back of the head.”

He frowned. “Dalton? The asshole working for your dad?”

“That’s him.”

“What’s he doing here?”

“Helping to rescue you. Spying for my dad. Who knows what else.”

He reached up to touch my neck. I was pretty sure I was wearing a black-and-blue choker necklace of bruises. A flicker of something flashed through his eyes, then vanished. Anger returned. His hand pulled back. I half expected him to hit me.

He twisted his head and glanced past me. “What are they doing here?”

“I told you, they came to help me break you out.”

Scowling again. “Where’s Gregg?”

I didn’t know if I ought to tell him, but maybe it would motivate him to believe me. To believe
in
me. Inwardly, I snorted. Like I was Santa Claus or Big Foot or something. “Savannah Morrell has him.”

His eyes widened, and he rolled away onto his stomach and then up to his feet. “What?”

I got up, the microfiber rag wadded in my fingers. “After you were arrested, he and I got pulled into a trap. I got away. He didn’t.”

I wrapped my arms around my stomach. Guilt balled in my chest. That I got away. That Touray hadn’t. That I hadn’t stayed to help him. I drew in a breath and blew it out. If I’d tried to help him, I’d have been captured and no one would be out to help either of the two brothers. At least I was free and could organize a rescue. Sometimes retreat was the smartest thing to do.

To my surprise, Price grabbed my shoulders and jerked me to him. “You’re okay?”

“Asks the man who tried to choke you to death,” Jamie said. “Let go of my sister and step back or I’ll rip your head off.” His tone was utterly calm and utterly cold. He meant every word. I guess that meant he’d decided to blame Price for hurting me.

Price ignored him, his attention riveted on me. He brushed my throat lightly with his fingertips, but his expression remained shuttered. I had no idea what he was thinking. At least he seemed to be leaning toward believing I was actually who I claimed to be.

Snaking steel curled between us and wrapped his torso, arms, and hands. His fingers straightened and his arms dropped to his sides. Price fought the pressure, but though his muscles strained, he was completely incapacitated. He didn’t seem to notice. He kept his gaze fixed on me like I was his lifeline. Or maybe it was the predator in him, fixing on his prey with single-minded intent.

At that point, Dalton returned with a blue jumpsuit, a shirt, and a pair of loafers and some socks.

“We have to go. Now.”

“What’s going on?” That was Arnow. She was back to looking more like her professional self, this time with a sleek designer pantsuit. Her hair was pulled up in an elegant chignon, and she wore a pair of stiletto heels.

I wanted to roll my eyes. Who wore heels like that on a mission? But then again, this was her professional agent look. I supposed if she’d shown up in boots and fatigues, someone might have twigged to the fact that she was up to no good. Of course, in my experience, she was
always
up to no good, no matter how she was dressed. Her very presence should have set off warning bells.

“There’s a small army on the way. Someone managed to call in the cavalry before everything shut down. They’ll have to come from the city. Your people’s diversion has kept them busy til now,” Dalton announced out of the blue.

“How do you know?” Leo asked skeptically.

Dalton gave a little shrug, and I knew exactly how. Vernon. And they were clearly in real-time communication. I exchanged a look with Taylor, and she nodded sour agreement.

“He’s probably telling the truth,” I said. “Pull the cage off Price. He can’t go outside without clothes and shoes.”

Leo and Jamie didn’t argue about accepting Dalton’s word. The cage drew back and shrank into a waist-high tube. Dalton handed Price the bundle of clothes, finally breaking the lock of Price’s stare on me. I just wish to hell I knew what he was thinking. Did he really believe I was me? Or was he just playing along for the moment?

Didn’t matter. Getting him out of here was the goal. I’d worry about the rest later.

While he dressed, Mel beckoned to me. She eyed my neck and brushed her hand over the side of my head. “Are you okay?”

Given that she read emotions, she knew I wasn’t. All the same, I nodded. “Totally fine.”

She smiled as if expecting that answer. She looked at Price. He’d pulled on the shirt and zipped the jumpsuit over it.
FBI
was printed on the back of it in yellow. The narrow confines of the tube made it impossible for him to get the shoes on. I wasn’t even sure they’d fit.

“He’s terrified,” Mel said. “And angry. Every time he looks at you, he’s swamped with helplessness and love mixed with doubt and hatred and that spikes both the terror and anger to new levels. He’s started to feel guilty as well and that’s pushing him right over the edge.”

“He doesn’t believe I’m me. He can’t yet.”

She nodded. “The guilt may mean he’s starting to change his mind.”

I’d thought the same thing. At least I’d hoped. “I’ve got to get him to my place where I can use my nulls to control the explosion of magic.”

She frowned. “Is that wise? You’ll be alone with him. If he decides to attack again, he could kill you.”

“He won’t,” I said, with more certainty than I felt. “He loves me. He’ll figure it out. Besides, I can’t let him go into full cascade here.”

“Ready?” Dalton asked before Mel could answer.

Price straightened and set his hands on the top of the tube to lever himself out. He hissed and yanked them back. Streaks of blood smeared his palms. The top held a knife edge.

“Shit, Jamie. What were you thinking? Let him out.”

My stepbrother didn’t look remotely apologetic. He folded his arms over his chest and stuck out his chin defiantly. “Fucker hurt you. He deserves what he gets.”

“He doesn’t even know I’m real. It’s not his fault.” I looked around for something to bandage his hands. “Is there a first-aid kit?”

“Here,” the dark woman said, pulling the yellow-and-red box off the wall in the outer room and bringing it to me. She cast a sidelong look at Price as she did.

She was older, probably in her late forties or early fifties. Her hair shined black with artful reddish highlights. Polished pink fingernails tipped elegant fingers. Her face was sharply drawn, and though she’d put on covering makeup, dark half-moons underscored her eyes. She was taller than me, probably about five foot nine, and was dressed in black wool slacks and a dark green sweater. Everything about her screamed sophistication and money. I had no idea who she was or why she was here. Something about her was familiar, but I couldn’t place it. Or maybe it was the intensity of her gaze that threw me. Like she could see inside me, like she was measuring me.

“Thanks,” I said, giving her a frowning nod before I went to help Price. The metal tube imprisoning him remained, though the top edge had now been rolled into a soft edge. I glared at an unrepentant Jamie and then set about wrapping Price’s hands. I itched to take him out of here, but he might not let me give him first aid once we were at my place. His hands needed tending now.

I carefully didn’t look into Price’s face as I ministered to him. I wasn’t sure I could handle it. I loved him so damned much, and he didn’t even know I was me. That hurt. And pissed me off. A totally unreasonable and juvenile part of me demanded that he should recognize me no matter what. That there should be some essential quality, some elemental, crucial connection that let us know each other anywhere. I rolled my eyes at myself.
Oh please.
We weren’t living in some sappy movie, and his failure to know me most definitely wasn’t his fault.

I opened the first-aid kit. Taylor started to come over to hold it for me, but Leo pushed her aside and grabbed the box. Apparently, he thought Price too dangerous to get close to. For her, at least. Taylor’s teeth gritted together loud enough for me to hear, but she stood back. Mel touched her arm, and they bent their heads together, talking quietly.

I pulled out what I thought I’d need and turned to examined Price’s hands. He held them fisted, and blood dripped onto the floor.

“Let me see,” I told him.

He uncurled his fingers, and I gasped.

“Fuck, Jamie. You cut him to the bone.”

My brother didn’t bother answering, which was probably smart. He wasn’t going to be apologetic, which meant I’d have to kick him in the balls. Silence kept us reasonably civilized and focused.

I kept swearing as I packed thick gauze pads across Price’s right hand and wrapped it tightly with a bandage, then repeated the process on the other. By the time I finished, blood was already soaking through the first bandage. All the while, I was aware of Price’s gaze drilling into the back of my head and the way he held himself still, hardly breathing. He never said a word, never flinched.

Finally, I stepped back. “That’s as good as it’s going to get until you can see Maya.” She was the best tinker I’d ever met. She’d healed me on more than one occasion. Wouldn’t she be surprised
not
to be treating me this time? I almost smiled.

“Here,” Dalton said, holding out his hand. He dropped a necklace into mine.

If I hadn’t been so happy to see the heal-all, I would have rolled my eyes at him. He seemed to carry an endless supply of them. I’d meant to invest in some for myself, but I hadn’t yet had a chance. I slid the chain over Price’s head and activated it. Instantly, he quivered as the wormy magic delved inside him.

“Time to go,” I said.

The tube surrounding Price melted away. Jamie wasn’t giving in so easily, though. Loops of steel circled Price’s wrists and pulled together, handcuffing him.

I growled. “Don’t be an ass. His hands are still practically hamburger. Let him go.”

“He’ll be healed up in a minute and we’re not going to take any chances.” This time it was Leo who replied. “He’s too dangerous.” He looked pointedly at my throat.

“This isn’t his fault,” I argued. “They’ve fucked with his head.”

“He’s not safe, either,” Leo declared. “Any more than a dog provoked to kill. I’m not going to let him hurt you again.” I opened my mouth, and he raised his hand to forestall me. “I’m not changing my mind, so get used to it.”

I looked at Taylor, Jamie, and Mel. All of them sported the same set expression. No support for me there. I didn’t know how I was going to cut the damned things off at home, but I’d figure something out.

“Change of plans for me,” I announced with an encouraging nod from Mel. “I’ve got to take Price out of here to my place.”

Before anyone could respond, the magic in the room swelled. Rainbow colors solidified. I could barely see. The trapped energies boiled. Panic roared through me.
Don’t let Price lose it now! Not now, not with my family so close!

I whirled around, hoping I could find a way to calm him, or channel the eruption of power. As if.