Suck It by Linsey Hall
16
Mac
I watched Valerie carefully, sensing that she was telling the truth.
“Fine.” I nodded. “We’ll do it that way.”
From behind me, I heard the shifters murmur their agreement.
“Then let’s go.” Valerie grinned widely, and I felt suspicion tug at the edges of my mind.
She was telling the truth about how to get into Ludovic’s lair, but it wasn’t going to go as smoothly as she promised.
It never did.
And yet, it was our best option.
Drakon, Donahue, and I followed her to the other side of the warehouse. When we reached it, Valerie pulled open a second door. Silky jazz music flowed from the interior, along with the scent of candle wax and expensive perfume.
Suddenly, I was glad I’d worn the nice clothes. I’d definitely have drawn attention if I’d worn my usual to a place like this.
The thought was confirmed as we entered and I caught my first glimpse of the bar. Green crystal chandeliers hung from the ceiling, sending glittering light across the dark wooden tables. They’d been polished to a mirrored sheen, the opposite of the deep black walls that had been draped in velvet.
The entire place reeked of money and sin, the patrons all beautiful and well dressed as they drank strange little green cocktails out of crystal glasses. I’d never had absinthe before—it was a far cry from my preferred wine coolers—and I wasn’t keen to try.
“Follow me,” Valerie murmured.
She headed straight through the crowd, her steps confident and her pose relaxed. We were halfway through when a waiter approached.
Valerie stopped, a bored smile on her face. The rest of us stopped alongside her, and I could feel everyone trying hard to mask their irritation.
“Valerie.” The waiter smiled in a friendly fashion, but I could see the suspicion in his eyes. One of Ludovic’s men. “So good to see you,” he said. “Here for a drink?”
“Here on business. Just passing through.”
The waiter frowned. “Ludovic mentioned he hadn’t seen you in a couple days.”
Shit. We didn’t need a scene amongst all these people.
I stepped forward, gripping his shoulder and calling upon my old magic. I disoriented him with a touch, a skill that seemed stronger than it had been, and said, “Everything is fine. Forget you saw us and return to work.”
The man’s eyes fogged over, and he nodded. I smiled as he walked away. It had been a few days since I’d used that skill, and I was pleased to see that it was stronger.
“You’re a strange one, all right,” Valerie said. “Odd set of powers.”
“You’re telling me.” I turned to her. “Lead on.”
We cut through the bar, following her to the back. A curtain made of jet crystal beads rustled as we passed into the fortune teller’s lair. As soon as the curtain closed behind us, silence fell, the sound of the jazz band cut off.
Good. If we made a ruckus, I didn’t want the bar knowing.
The interior of the space was exactly as one would expect—heavy velvet wall coverings in deep jewel tones, shining brass lamps, and a woman wearing a colorful dress with her hair tied up in scarves.
She was vaguely familiar, with her dark hair and patrician features, but it wasn't until she spoke that I realized.
Valerie. She sounded and looked a hell of a lot like Valerie.
Sisters. I’d bet my life on it.
Her sharp green gaze riveted to the woman who had led us there. “Ludovic said he hasn’t seen you lately.”
“I was captured.”
I gripped Valerie’s arm and hissed, “What are you doing?”
She was supposed to keep our secret. We needed to buy time until the wolves arrived. And yet she was telling this woman too much of the truth.
Definitely sisters.
The fortune teller’s eyes snapped to us, narrowing.
I’d expected that a trap was possible, but not so quickly.
“Drakon,” I murmured.
He was at the fortune teller’s side in an instant, gripping her arm. His voice was low and hard when he spoke. “Don’t try anything.”
The fortune teller laughed, her gaze still on Valerie. She arched a brow. “Well? Is this it?”
Valerie nodded. “There are more coming.”
Suspicion streaked through me.
“Tell us right away what’s happening,” Drakon demanded. “Immediately.”
“Nothing that involves you,” Valerie said. “But rest assured, we will get you into Ludovic’s lair.”
The fortune teller nodded. “We will. I promise.”
I believed them both, my magic buzzing slightly to indicate they were telling the truth. I nodded to Drakon, and his shoulders relaxed a fraction of an inch. At my side, Donahue stayed wary, but she said nothing.
The fortune teller looked between Drakon and me, but her gaze lingered on me. “You’re interesting, aren’t you?”
“Yes. For a lot of reasons.” But my curiosity was piqued. This woman’s magic was powerful, though I wasn’t sure exactly what it was. Some kind of sight, definitely. “What are you seeing?”
“Your past.” She pursed her lips. “It’s ancient. Far older than you realize.”
“What do you mean?” My heart raced. “Do you know who my parents are? Who I am?”
She shook her head. “No. I see nothing from the last twenty-five years of your life. But you’ve lived before.”
“I’m not a reincarnate.”
“You’re not. But your soul is older than your physical form, and it has wandered the earth.”
Behind her, Drakon stiffened. Something flickered in his eyes—something almost like knowledge—and I stared at him.
Had he heard this before? Was it familiar to him?
Yes.
Somehow, he knew something about this.
Betrayal flashed through me. He hadn't told me. He knew something about my past, and yet he’d kept it to himself.
“You two are connected.” The fortune teller tilted her head toward Drakon and then toward me.
“She’s my fated mate,” Drakon said.
“It’s more than that. More ancient, from a time when you were different.”
Frustration seethed through me. She was giving a lot of information, but the words were so vague. “You’re going to need to explain yourself better.”
The crystal curtain rustled behind me, and I felt the wolves show up.
Shit.
Time was up.
But when we were done here, I’d come back and ask her more questions.
“We need to hurry,” McCabe said. “There were more than a few eyes on us as we headed back here. Some people aren’t very good at playing drunk.” He shot the witches a glare, and they hissed back.
My brows shot up.
All right. Our backup team didn’t actually like each other. Fantastic.
“Yes, we need to be quick.” The fortune teller turned to the wall. “I can’t draw unwanted attention here. My position is precarious enough as it is.”
She shared a loaded look with Valerie, and suspicion made my hackles raise.
There was something going on between the two of them. I met Drakon’s gaze, and he nodded.
The fortune teller waved a hand toward the cold hearth, her magic sparking on the air. Magic shimmered in front of the structure, and a portal appeared.
A split second later, she picked up a small stone statue from the shelf at her side and hurled it to the ground. A blast of green smoke rose into the air, and Valerie tore away from me with a strength that caught me by surprise.
She disappeared into the smoke, joining the fortune teller. Her voice echoed behind her. “The portal will only be open for a few moments. You can find your friends, or you can follow us.”
Damn it.
There was only one choice.
Drakon appeared through the smoke, his gaze on me. I could just barely make out the rest of our team, and we didn’t need to speak to know which way we were all headed.
I let the sisters disappear and raced through the portal into Ludovic’s lair. Together, our group stumbled out into a quiet city.
I blinked, stopping abruptly to take in my surroundings. The entire group stopped with me.
The place was far more ancient than I’d expected and dead empty, from the feel of it. Every street was made of cobblestones, and the two-story buildings were ancient and ramshackle. Some were built of stone, others of wood.
There were no streetlamps, the only light provided by the moon and stars above.
“Well, it’s creepy, all right,” McCabe said. “But let’s get a move on.”
I nodded. He was right. The comet would be passing overhead in a few hours. We needed to find the shifters before then.
Except the city was big. Really big. We stood at the base of a gradual hill. The incline was just enough that I could see buildings marching up the street for what seemed like miles. There had to be hundreds of them.
“Where would he stash the bodies?” Donahue asked.
My gaze caught on a tall church steeple, and memories of our last encounter flashed through my mind.
“The church.” I pointed to it. “He used a church last time. I think he’s partial to them.”
“There’s magic in churches,” Donahue said. “I’m not surprised.”
“Let’s go.” Drakon started up the street, sticking to the shadows.
We joined him, careful to keep our footsteps silent and not step out into the middle of the road where we’d be easily spotted. Though I couldn’t sense anyone in the vicinity, that didn’t mean Ludovic hadn’t posted guards.
As we walked, I peered into all the buildings, seeking his lair. He had to have one here. It could be in the church, but it was more likely to be in one of these buildings. He’d keep his life and his ceremonies separate, I suspected.
Finally, we reached the lawn in front of the church. It was possibly the only patch of grass in the entire city, and it had grown wild with small flowers and grass. The scent was welcoming and lovely, a totally unexpected addition to this creepy abandoned village.
In front of us, the church rose toward the dark sky, ornate and mysterious in the way of so many French churches.
I could feel the presence of other supernaturals now, their magic drifting on the faint wind.
“I feel our pack members,” McCabe said.
“So do I.” Relief sounded in Donahue’s voice. “They’re still alive.”
Several of the stained-glass windows were broken, and my gaze riveted to them.
“Let’s sneak through the windows at the side, not the door,” I said.
Donahue nodded. “I like that idea.”
We crept around the edge of the grassy area, sticking to the shadows of the ramshackle city buildings. The side of the church had a few broken windows that beckoned, and I started toward them.
I’d only taken a few steps when magic seemed to grip me tight, making it impossible to move.
“Stop!” I whispered. “There’s a trap.”
Donahue had followed me the closest, and she appeared stuck as well. The rest might have avoided it. I craned my neck to see.
Fortunately, they seemed to have more control of their bodies, but I could see the magic sparking faintly around them.
“Let me try something,” Tabitha said, her eyes glowing with a witchy green light. She ran her hand through the air as if it were water, magic sparking from her palm.
I held my breath as I watched, feeling her magic grow as she began to tear away the invisible fabric of the spell.
“Tabitha and Lucy specialize in breaking magic,” Donahue explained. “That’s why we brought them, despite their poor attitudes.”
Lucy hissed like an angry cat. She seemed to do that a lot, and I shot her a wary look. She just smiled as if nothing were unusual.
Finally, Tabitha was able to clear away the spell. I felt it dissipate, my shoulders sagging with relief.
“Let’s go,” Donahue whispered.
We started forward again, approaching one of the large windows that had been shattered. Colorful glass scattered the ground beneath it, and I carefully avoided the largest shards.
We stopped at the window just as a figure appeared within. A guard stared out at us, eyes wide with shock. He opened his mouth to shout, but Drakon grabbed him and pulled him out.
The man thrashed, but Drakon was too fast. He sank his fangs into the man’s throat and tore out his jugular, then tossed him aside.
Next to me, Donahue winced.
The vampire wiped his mouth, then nodded at the window. “I’ll go first.”
He disappeared through the opening, carefully avoiding any of the shards of glass that stuck up from the stone. I followed, slipping silently into the massive church. The ceiling soared high overhead, candles lighting the space with a pale golden glow.
We stood at the edge of the main space, right beneath a balcony above. It circled the entire central space, and columns separated us from the main part of the church. I could see the bodies of the shifters laid out on the pews.
Jackpot.
I stepped toward them, careful to keep my footsteps silent and my body in the shadows. There would be more guards, of course. Many more.
As I approached the middle of the church, my vision began to go fuzzy. In a split second, I could no longer see the church. I blinked, trying to force my vision to return.
Nothing happened
I was blind.