17. Chapter Seventeen
1982 Words
17
Chapter Seventeen
Knox
I follow the darkened sidewalk that leads to Elle’s condo. With every step, my mind whirs through what I’ll say to Bry. How do you convince someone that they’re a werewolf and need to shift immediately?
Not easily.
I’m still obsessing over that question when the familiar outline of Elle’s building appears on my right. The way it looks has changed, though. I stop. The main door hangs cockeyed and open on its frame.
That’s wrong. Way wrong.
No one leaves a door open in the city. Not unless they have a death wish. The residents in this building would have the thing Super Glued shut if they knew. Which means someone just broke in.
My senses go on alert. Someone just broke into Elle’s building. My protective instincts go into overdrive. Whoever it was, they could still be here.
My wolf paces inside me. “Danger. Mate.”
“We don’t know that, buddy. People break into buildings all the time. This is New York. The crooks are probably long gone, and with someone else’s stuff.” Still, I speed inside and rush up the stairs to Elle’s place. My heartbeat pulses double-time in my chest.
I pause at the hallway that leads to Elle’s condo. Her door is wide open. I take in a deep breath, looking for any familiar scents. There’s Bryar Rose’s scent of cinnamon, honey, and sunshine, along with that nasty cologne that Philpot wears.
What’s that freak doing here?
I rush inside Elle’s place. It isn’t huge, so it’s easy to see that Bry isn’t here. Elle is sacked out on the couch. There’s another scent in the air here. It’s acidic and sweet, all at once. I know I’ve come across this aroma before, but I just can’t place it.
Well, whatever’s going on, I don’t like it.
I grip Elle by the shoulders. “It’s me. Knox. Wake up.”
She doesn’t flinch, let alone open her eyes.
I’ve hung around Alec long enough to know when someone’s been knocked out with a spell. I whip out my cell and dial his number. Alec picks up on the first ring.
“What’s up, man? I’m on level twelve of my new game, and so help me, if you make me lose a life, I will hunt you down.”
“I’m at Elle’s place. The door was wide open. Bry isn’t here, and Elle’s knocked out on the couch. I think something’s wrong.”
“So, make her some coffee. She’ll perk up.”
Coffee? Clearly, Alec isn’t getting the sense of urgency here. “I wouldn’t call you if that’s all it was. Elle’s under a major spell. I tried waking her up, but it’s no use, so poof your ass over here right now. Elle needs to tell us what happened to Bryar Rose.”
“Got it. I’ll be right there.” I’m glad to hear that Alec has his future CEO voice on. It means he knows this is serious and will show up ASAP.
Sure enough, a reddish haze appears by the door. Within a few seconds, the light solidifies into the shape of Alec. He raises his right hand, which still glows from whatever magical jewels are in there. Whoa. I’ve never seen Alec cast a transporter spell this quickly before.
The moment Alec fully appears, he tosses the now-darkened diamonds into the pocket of his suit coat. Alec has a whole system for which pockets go with which magical jewels. All the blackened gems end up in his left pocket.
He doesn’t waste any time with hellos. “Where’s Elle?”
“On the couch.”
Alec rushes over to her side. The guy looks totally freaked. His normally strategically messed-up hair just looks like a rat’s nest after the magical transport. He kneels beside Elle and reaches into an inside pocket of his suit jacket. When he pulls his hand out again, his fist holds emeralds. Some gemstones and crystals naturally soak up power, like a battery. Alec can pull that energy out and turn it into magic. Now, emeralds carry power for spell-breaking. I’ve only ever seen him use one or two small stones before. But this time, he’s pulled out three gems the size of golf balls. My buddy means business.
Alec closes his eyes and raises his hand. The gemstones now glow red inside his palm. No matter what the stone, wizard magic always shines red.
The stones keep glowing brighter, but that’s it. Nothing else happens.
Alec opens his hand again and stares at the now-darkened stones. “What the hell? That should have broken the spell easy.”
“Who can even cast a spell that strong?”
“I don’t know.” Alec reaches into another pocket of his jacket and pulls out a huge blue sapphire.
“You sure you want to use that?” Alec has been dragging that stone around for years. It’s a super-powerful, all-purpose gem, the kind you only use in case of major emergency. I finger the black opal claw that I wear on a chain around my neck. This gem is the same kind of super-powerful stone, only it’s to help me escape from wizards. Either way, these aren’t things that you use lightly.
Alec closes his eyes once more. A flash of red light shows through the fingers on his closed fist. The illumination becomes brighter and brighter until the entire condo is bathed in crimson. An ear-piercing crack fills the air as the sapphire breaks inside Alec’s palm. It blackens and turns into soot. Bits of dust float through his fingers and onto the floor.
Damn. Alec just used up all the power in that sapphire to cast his spell…and nothing happened. Elle is still asleep. I’ve never seen anything like it.
Bile creeps up my throat. If someone was powerful enough to do this to Elle, what happened to Bry?
Finally, Elle’s eyes flutter open. I exhale. At least, my friend’s magic is still working.
“Alec?” she asks. “What are you doing here?”
He scoops her up into his arms. “You scared me to death, Elle. Knox came by just like he promised. He found your door open, you asleep, and Bryar Rose gone, so—”
Elle breaks free from his hold and stands. “Bry is gone?” She doesn’t wait for an answer. Instead, Elle stalks around the condo. She even quickly scales up the ladder to the loft. “Bry is gone. What happened to her?”
I step forward. “We were hoping you could tell us.”
“All I know is that Colonel Mallory the Magnificent came by.”
My voice lowers to a growl. “The fairy who cursed her?”
“He may have cast a curse on her, but I think he meant it to be helpful.”
“Never trust a fairy.”
Elle and Alec exchange a long look. There’s a whole conversation in that stare, and I think back to how cagey Alec has been about whatever the hell is going on with him and Elle. I take a deeper whiff of Elle’s scent.
In a flash, I know at least part of the story. “You’re fae, aren’t you?”
Elle nods. “I always told Bry I was human.” She sighs. “That’s why I could tell Colonel Mallory was speaking the truth. Call it a sixth sense for my people. We can mislead humans, but it’s harder between fairies.”
“So where is Bry?”
Elle shakes her head. “I don’t know.”
I stalk around the small apartment. That scent of sickly-sweet acid hits my nostrils again. Suddenly, I remember what it is. “Someone used a knock-out drug on Bry.” My blood heats with rage. “My money is on Philpot. His stench is all over this place.” I round on Elle. “How did he get in here? You’re a fairy. Don’t you have protection spells on this place?”
“I do, but if Bry opened the door for him, then they wouldn’t have worked.”
I narrow my eyes. “Great. Just great.”
Alec steps between us. “Look. This is getting us nowhere. Let me cast a tracer spell on Bry.” He focuses on Elle. “Do you have something of hers I can use?”
“Sure.” Elle rushes up the ladder to her loft and comes down holding a scarf. “Bry left this here. Will this work?”
Alec turns the silk over in his hands. “Yeah, this ought to do it.” While holding the scarf in his left, Alec reaches into yet another hidden pocket in his jacket and pulls out a small white crystal. He grips the stone in his right hand and closes his eyes. A small flash of white light glows inside his palm. If you didn’t know to look for it, you might have missed the whole thing. Alec opens his eyes once more. “I have bad news.”
I can’t help the angry edge in my voice. “Don’t tell me she’s hurt.”
“Bryar Rose is fine. But Philpot took her to a conversion zone in the Adirondacks.”
His words send my inner wolf into a frenzy. “Save mate! Save mate!” I’m not too far behind him either. Conversion zones are bad news.
Elle frowns. “A conversion zone. What’s that?”
“It’s where they take humans and turn them into Denarii,” explains Alec.
“So, why do you both act like that’s a bad thing?” asks Elle. “The Denarii who run our group seem nice enough. Mostly.”
I could go easy on Elle, but we don’t have time for that. “Let me put it to you plainly. Denarii—I mean, the real Denarii—are actually a cross between mummies and zombies. Bry will either get turned into a monster or eaten for lunch.”
Elle rolls her eyes. “Mummies and zombies? No way. I con people for a living, and even I don’t believe that story.”
Right. This is what happens any time we have to explain the true nature of Denarii. It’s also why Alec and I keep Reggie around. He saves us days of convincing and disbelief.
I decide to try a different approach. “Look, how about I boil this down? Philpot has kidnapped Bry. The place where he’s got her is a magically guarded compound near the mountains. Alec and I have been trying to sneak in for years without success. Now, either you’ll help us, or you’ll get out of the way, because we are going after her.” I don’t need to ask Alec if he’s going along. That’s a given.
Elle’s intelligent gaze flickers between Alec and me. “Fine. I’m convinced. And what about Philpot?”
“I didn’t sense anything strange about him,” says Alec. “And I checked. I don’t like people making a scene in my family’s building. Either he’s a master wizard, or he’s a regular human.”
I sniff. There’s no way Philpot is a master wizard. The guy is too big of a loser. “My guess is that Philpot is one of the human stooges the Denarii employ from time to time. You’d be amazed what people will do for money.”
“Actually, I wouldn’t be surprised at all.” Elle chuckles, but there’s no humor in it. “Who’s driving?”
Alec stands behind her, points at her head, and mouths four words: I love this girl.
I lift my brows. The reply is out there without my even needing to say it. You love this girl?
Alec waves me off. “It’s a figure of speech.”
Obviously, Elle hears that one. She turns around to scope out Alec. “Are you two having a conversation over my head without me?”
I shrug. “Yeah. We do that kind of thing all the time.”
“Well, you can do it in the car from now on, because we’re leaving.”
Alec heads toward the door. “I have the perfect vehicle for this occasion, too.”
“Cool. I’m calling shotgun.” Elle pulls up the couch cushions until she finds her phone. After that, she starts speed-typing on the thing. “I also have some friends in low places who owe me a few favors. I’m calling them in.”
“Thanks, Elle.” Alec turns to me. “I have some special gems and spells I can bring along as well. What about you and werewolf friends?”
“I’ve got a few surprises up my sleeve.”
I pull out my own phone and hit the number for Lucky’s. Ready or not, I’m talking to Azizi. I need his special brand of help right now.
No matter what comes, I’ll free Bry. And after that, I will save her wolf. Anything else is simply unthinkable.
- Writer
