Suck It by Linsey Hall
3
Mac
For the briefest second, I stared in horror at the room full of guards.
“Escape!” yelled one.
The shout spurred me to action, and I lunged into the room, dagger drawn. The group surged up from the table. There were six total, and dread opened a hole within me.
Too many.
Genevieve charged past me and leapt onto one of the guards. I left her to it, swiping my dagger across the chest of the nearest guard. The blade cut deep, driving him back. Another took his place, swinging a sword right for my neck.
I ducked, then plowed my shoulder into his gut. We slammed into the table behind him, sending it crashing to the floor.
Hands grabbed me and yanked me off him. I thrashed, trying to break free of the fierce grip.
“Oh, no, you don’t,” a voice grumbled as he dragged me back toward the door.
On the other side of the room, Genevieve was hurled against the wall by a bloodied guard. She wasn’t quite quick enough this time and didn’t manage to disappear. When she slammed into the wall and dropped to the ground, I screamed and lunged for her.
The shock of the movement must have broken the guard’s grip, because he let me go. I stumbled forward as Genevieve rose to her feet.
I’m fine. Get the miserable sods.
Relieved, I whirled from her and faced the guards. Four of them advanced on me. The two in the back tossed fireballs lazily in their hands.
Shit, shit, shit. Six was a lot. But I couldn’t go back to the cell.
“We won’t hurt you unless you give us no choice,” grumbled the leader.
“I’m definitely going to give you no choice.”
Quickly, I took stock of their weaknesses, hoping to find an advantage. One had a limp, and another was covered in Genevieve’s scratches.
That was about as much advantage as having an extra golf club at a hockey match.
Still, I wouldn’t give up.
One of the guards in the back hurled a fireball at my legs. I lunged left, right into the fiery blast sent by another fire mage.
Pain exploded against my shin, and I hissed, barely managing to keep myself from toppling over.
The leader smirked. “Just give up.”
Magic sparked on the air, and a voice sounded from behind me. “I hardly think that’s necessary.”
My heart leapt.
Drakon.
I’d have known the lazy power in his voice anywhere. I wanted to turn around and see him. Instead, I lunged for the nearest guard and sliced out with my blade. He darted backward, but I charged him, sinking my dagger into his shoulder.
Fireballs flew past me, headed for Drakon.
I didn’t have time to look. The guard that I’d stabbed swung a big fist at my face, landing a blow to my temple that made my vision go temporarily black. I staggered away, barely managing to keep my grip on the dagger.
Blinking frantically, I managed to catch sight of Drakon charging toward the other guards. He was unburned, of course. The first vampire was so fast that dodging fireballs was a walk in the park.
My attacker lumbered toward me, swinging out with a big fist. I ducked his blow. Crouched, I thrust my dagger up into his gut. He hissed and reached for the blade that was sunk into his flesh. Before he could grip it, I withdrew it and darted backward.
Blood poured as he stumbled away. Genevieve leapt onto him to finish the job. As posh as she was, she fought like a street thug, and I didn’t envy the guard.
I spun to find the rest of the fight nearly over. All but one of the guards lay on the ground with their throats torn out, and Drakon was finishing off the last with a vicious bite.
Panting, I leaned against the wall and tried to catch my breath. The carnage around me turned my stomach. I’d been hoping to just incapacitate most of the guards and make my escape.
That had not gone as planned.
The last body thudded to the ground and Drakon turned to me. He wiped a hand across his mouth to remove the blood and strode toward me, concern creasing his brow.
“Are you all right?” His brilliant blue eyes swept over me, looking for injuries. “You look like you’ve been in an explosion.”
“I’m fine. How did you find me?”
“I marked you, remember? I could feel you. Not just your location, but that you were afraid.”
I wrinkled my nose. “I don’t think I like that.”
“Not much you can do about it.” He looked at the bodies scattered around us. “In any case, it worked in your favor.”
I couldn't argue with that. Genevieve and I could handle ourselves, but this had been particularly dicey. “Thank you.”
“Let’s go.” He held out a hand. “I can transport us out of here.”
“Not yet. There are answers here. Answers about me and about you.”
Drakon frowned. “What do you mean, answers?”
“Ludovic said they have the solution to whatever has trapped your soul in granite. You still can’t be apart from me without suffering great pain, right?”
A deep frown cut across his face right before his form flickered slightly, like a light bulb experiencing a power surge.
He’s disappearing.
Fear clutched me. The witches had said he’d have only a week, and the visible reminder of his situation made my heart clutch.
“It’s too dangerous.” Drakon loomed over me, concern in his eyes.
“It will be fine.”
Frustration flashed on his face, and his gaze dropped from my eyes to my lips. Suddenly, I realized how close we were standing. He seemed to realize it, too, and the tension tightened between us.
He shook his head. “We need to get out of here. I can’t risk you.”
I can’t risk you?
A shiver ran through me. The words were intense. The look in his eyes even more so.
No way in hell was I ready for that.
I stepped back. “Not your choice. And I need those answers.”
A low growl escaped Drakon, but he bit it back. “You’re sure he wasn’t lying about having answers?”
“Of course I’m sure. My seer power might be a bit wonky, but it works well enough for that. He was telling the truth, and there are answers here. I can feel it.”
And not just answers about Drakon. Answers about me. About what it meant to be a Daughter of the Arcane Order.
“Stubborn.” His eyes flashed.
“I’m going to go look for answers. Come with me, and we can transport out of here as soon as it gets dicey.” I turned to go, not waiting for a response.
It was dangerous to be around him, but his help would be invaluable. Having a quick ticket out of here would make all the difference. I couldn’t afford to run into another group of guards without an escape route.
He sighed, but I heard him follow.
Whew.
Genevieve had disappeared, no doubt to go clean the blood off her normally pristine fur, but she’d be back if I needed her.
Together, Drakon and I crept out of the guards’ break room and headed down the wide hall. The walls were paneled in dark wood and dotted with brass sconces that cast a golden glow over the crimson carpet.
“Do you know where you want to look?” Drakon murmured.
“No.” I wanted to capture and interrogate Ludovic, but odds on getting that lucky were slim. And it was dangerous. “Maybe we can find an office of some kind.”
We searched in silence, narrowly avoiding a passing maid while turning up empty on several rooms. We got lucky a few minutes later, stumbling upon a chamber crowded with books. A massive desk sat beneath a mountain of loose papers.
“Jackpot,” I murmured, heading straight to the desk. Drakon followed me, and I caught his gaze. “I’ve got this. You check the rest of the room.”
He nodded and began to search. I turned my attention to the desk, quickly rifling through the papers. The ones on the top seemed boring enough, but a massive map at the bottom made my heart race.
It appeared to be a map of some kind of festival grounds. There was no distinguishing marker to say which festival grounds, but the labels made it clear enough. Worse, there were spots all around the future crowd that were marked with an X.
A small key at the bottom had one word written next to the X—Attack Points.
Ice rushed over me.
Shit.
Double shit.
They were planning to attack some kind of festival. There could be thousands of people present, but if Ludovic brought the right kind of supernaturals and was smart about his attack points—which this map indicated he was—they would be able to cause a lot of damage.
I pulled out my phone and took a picture of the map. I’d prefer to take the map itself—or even burn the damned thing, I was so disgusted by the destruction the plan could cause—but it would be better if Ludovic didn’t know we’d seen this.
Quickly, I flipped through the rest of the papers, looking for any other clues. The only thing I could find was a timetable of the moon’s phases.
Were they interested in shifters?
What else could it be?
If only the map had given a location.
“What did you find?” Drakon asked.
“A map of a festival of some kind, marked with attack points. Definitely fishy.” I looked up to meet his gaze. “Did you find anything?”
“Not yet. Nothing obvious on the shelves, and no secret entrances to another room that I could find.”
I frowned. It would be too good to be true to hope that the answers to our problems would be labeled on the spine of one of the books. “Anything about the Arcane Order?”
He shook his head.
Damn. I’d done a little searching these last few days, but hadn’t had any luck.
A thudding noise sounded from the corridor, then a shout.
“Someone’s coming.” I returned the papers to their original location and moved around the desk to join him.
“Let’s get out of here.”
I nodded. We could stay and fight, but there’d be nothing to be gained by it. And if we left now, Ludovic might have no idea we’d seen his mysterious plan.
Because one thing had become apparent--we had to stop it. Whatever it was would be bad, and now that I knew about it, I couldn’t just do nothing. People were going to be hurt.
A shout sounded from the hallway, and I met Drakon’s gaze as I stuck my hand out for his. “Take me home.”
He gripped my hand, and a shiver of heat raced up my arm. My heart leapt into my throat, and I closed my eyes, unable to bear the intensity of his gaze. It pulled at me stronger than ever, and the only way to resist it was to not look.
The ether sucked us in and spat us out onto the familiar scrubby grass in front of the Shadow Guild tower. I opened my eyes, gratitude welling inside me. The tall stone building covered by climbing roses was a welcome sight.
I’d been a captive for a record-breaking short period of time, but it had been more than long enough.
I let go of Drakon’s hand just as Carrow raced out the door, her golden hair wild and her jacket halfway pulled on. When her gaze met mine, she stumbled to a halt.
“You’re here,” she said.
“Yep.”
“Thank fates.” She sagged against the door frame. “We were just coming to look for you. Heard you didn’t show up for work, and after the craziness of the last few days, we were worried. What happened?”
“You were right to be worried,” Drakon said.
Her brow furrowed. Before she could speak, Eve and Beatrix spilled out of the tower, each of them dressed in clothing suitable for a mission.
Eve’s gaze landed on me, and she heaved a sigh of relief. “Oh, thank fates you’re back. We had no idea where to look.”
Beatrix grinned.
“I was abducted by Ludovic,” I clarified Drakon’s vague statement.
“Shiiite.” Beatrix grimaced.
Carrow looked at Drakon. “And you got her out?”
“I got myself out. Mostly.” I caught sight of Drakon nodding in curt agreement. “He got me here.”
“I just provided transportation,” he said.
It had been a bit more than that, but before I could say it, questions were spilling from my friends’ lips.
“Why did he take you?”
“Where did he grab you?”
“Did you kill him?”
“Slow down and I’ll tell you.” I turned to Drakon. “But first, now that we have backup, should we go back there and see if we can catch him?”
“I like this plan.” Carrow grinned.
Skepticism flashed on Drakon’s face. “If he’s as smart as we think he is, he’s already transported away. At best, some of his people might be there.”
“We could grab one and question them.”
“I’ll go check it out,” he said. “It’s too dangerous for you.”
I scowled. “Is not. That’s just the mate bond talking. You know I can handle myself.”
He opened his mouth as if to argue, then shut it. “You’re right. You can. If Ludovic is there, I’ll return immediately to collect you. If he’s not, I’ll perform reconnaissance of the house with Dorian. In the meantime, you could work on finding out where they’re planning the attack. That’s our best chance at finding him.”
“I want to hear more about this attack.” Eve leaned forward. “But first, I agree that it’s best he go alone, especially if Ludovic is that determined to get you. And I think I’ve got something that could help. A new potion I’ve been working on that will hide you from his sight.”
“Hide me from his sight?
“Yes. If you seek him out, he’ll see you. But if he sends his goons after you, or comes after you himself, they won’t be able to find you. It’ll be like you’ve disappeared.”
“That’s amazing.”
“I know.” She grinned. “It’s new. I’ve been working on it for a while. There’s a chance that if he gets close enough to you, the potion will fail. But it should provide a lot of protection.”
“Well done.” I turned to Drakon. “Okay, we’ll do your plan. But be careful.”
Something flashed in his eyes, and I swore I could read the question in his mind. You care?
Because funny thing was—I did.
We’d spent too much time together. No matter how dangerous and frustrating he was, an annoying part of me had become attached to him.
Drakon
I left Mac with her friends, my heart still thundering from the fear I’d felt when I’d realized she was in trouble. I could feel it like ice water in my veins, and it never seemed to warm.
It didn’t help that my movements felt odd—almost like my limbs were floating through water. I could move like normal, but it was very clear that my body wasn’t truly there.
I shook away the dreadful thought as the ether ejected me back onto the lawn in front of the foreboding house that Ludovic had chosen for his secret headquarters.
Immediately, I could feel that he wasn’t there. When Mac’s distress had drawn me the first time, I’d felt his foul magic on the air.
Now, it was gone. He’d realized what had happened and had abandoned the property.
Smart of him.
If I could find him, I’d kill him. I knew Mac wanted answers about her past—hell, I wanted answers about Mac’s past. It was still a mystery why she’d buried me alive in that tomb.
But he posed such a threat to her that I couldn’t imagine letting him live—not even long enough to question him. We still didn’t even know what species he was—just that he’d been capable of inhabiting the body of the man who’d called himself Ludovic.
He likely had a name of his own, but I didn’t know it.
Perhaps there would be records still in the house.
Perhaps there was truly information about the prophecy that cursed me. Even now, I could feel that my time was limited. The only way I knew to break the curse was to kill Mac, and that wasn’t going to happen.
The mere idea made me ill.
In truth, it was the oddest damned feeling. The idea of violence had never bothered me before. I was capable of almost anything. But killing her?
There was a massive part of my mind that resisted so strongly that it nearly gave me a headache. I shook the thoughts away, unwilling to entertain them, and stepped toward the house.
I’d search the place from top to bottom. With any luck, I could take one of his minions hostage and get some answers. I didn’t need backup for a job so small, even though I’d promised to get Dorian when I’d seen the worry in her gaze.
Worry for me.
No.
It was insane to think that. I’d misread her, of course. No one worried for me. That was ridiculous.
Not only was it unnecessary, but I didn’t have a personality that invited it. I’d been alone all my life for good reason.
I was still several dozen meters away when the entire place went up in brilliant blue flames. I lurched backward, shielding my eyes from the blaze as heat blasted toward me. Magic consumed the structure in seconds.
Damn it.
Without a backward glance, I transported myself back to my home.