Chapter 12
zuko
. . .
I slept for exactly an hour and three minutes before my phone went off with yet another mission alert.
Jesper Wyvernheart
Back to HQ. We have another kidnapping.
I groaned, pushing up off my bed and pulling that skin-tight suit back on. Stumbling out of House of Torment, I bumped into Raze, who yawned as he walked through the door.
“Shit, dude. Another one?” His brows raised.
I nodded, yawning. “Unfortunately.”
“I’m thinking assassin life would be less stressful,” he grumbled, moving past me and heading toward his room. “Good luck, Zuko. Catch ya later.”
“You, too,” I mumbled, rubbing my eyes before tying my bandage over them again.
Professor Emberveil said I couldn’t take it off until after graduation, and while I thought that was bullshit, I had no choice but to follow the protocol.
I trudged out of the house and onto the wayfaer portal by muscle memory, going to headquarters and heading toward our squad’s meeting room. I was the last one to show up even though we only got the text five minutes ago. It made me wonder if they’d slept in their suits.
I plopped down in a seat next to Slater, wishing I could sit next to Rune.
“Great response time. We have another kidnapping,” Jesper announced, voice tight.
“It’s becoming more prevalent. There are four other squads working kidnapping cases of supernaturals of all ages throughout all the territories.
All evidence points to the Human Resistance Network.
Our case covers a basilisk man from the Apex Capital. ”
On the holographic screen behind him was a map of the capital, showing the buildings and narrow streets.
“As I’m sure you know, supernaturals being taken is a common occurrence the past few days,” Jesper explained. “All cases have the same extraction method, surveillance loop, and the trail cuts off usually at the border of the human territory.”
My fangs clicked against my bottom teeth in irritation.
“What’s odd,” Jesper said, brow furrowing, “is that the basilisk they took today has weak venom. There’s no reason the humans would target him over someone stronger.”
My stomach sank.
“What’s the victim’s name?” I asked.
Jesper read from his tablet. “Carson Bleu.”
Cold swept through my chest. “I know him. We went to school together.”
Guilt and worry rippled through the matebond with Rune and sank into my bones. I wanted to take her into an empty room and sink my cock into her over and over again until she realized none of this was her fault.
Jesper exhaled slowly. “Another personal target, then. Let’s move.”
Carson’s apartment building in the capital smelled like old coffee, patchy basilisk magic, and fear.
His front door hung crooked on its hinges, venom marks sprayed into the floorboards as if he’d been fighting. A shattered lamp lay in the hallway, sparks still twitching from its broken enchantment.
Rune crouched near the wall, picking up a small syringe and swiping her finger over the liquid at the end of the needle. A shiver worked through her. “Tourmalyke Type II.”
My jaw tightened.
Kyle moved past me, plucking two darts from the doorframe. “Human-made darts. Military tier. Whoever did this was trained. They knew what they were walking into.”
Sylver knelt beside the vial Rune held, her magic shimmering a faint blue.
“Carson’s power is weak. There’s no tactical reason for humans to want him,” Sylver murmured, staring at his venom on the floor as Kane cast a spell to test his magical essence.
Except there was.
He knew me, and Allison was trying to get back at my mate. That realization hit me like a punch to the gut.
“This isn’t about strength,” I muttered quietly. “It could be about building a library of supernatural DNA.”
Rune’s hand squeezed my shoulder again, and worry flooded the bond again. “That’s not the only reason, but I will make the Whettlocks pay, Zuko.”
“I know,” I told her. “We all will.”
Slater and Corin had set up a portable terminal, screens already flickering with corrupted footage.
“It’s looped again,” Corin said. “Same glitch pattern as the phoenix kidnapping.”
“Same cloaking,” Slater added. “Same hooded extraction team, but instead of one, there are two. These bastards are getting bold.”
Anger flared through me again. Carson wasn’t strong, so he was essentially useless to the humans’ DNA scavenging.
This was clearly personal.
“There’s a venom trail down the stairs, through the back alley, and into the tunnels,” Kyle said as he jogged back into the room.
“Enforcers, with me,” Jesper growled out. “Lysa, Sylver, and Kane, stay here and gather all the evidence you can. Everyone else, go back to HQ and wait for us in the meeting room. Slater and Corin, when you get back, do a deep dive through all surveillance in the capital.”
I let out a frustrated hiss, my fists clenching at my sides.
If I could’ve just gotten my hands on a fucking human…
Rune’s phone buzzed the moment we entered the meeting room back at HQ.
Her expression hardened as she checked it. “Fucking bitch.”
“Who is it, little vixen?” Koa asked.
Rune turned the screen so that we could see the message.
Unknown
Your mates are the link. We’re experimenting with something new…
My vision tinted red for a moment.
“It’s Allison again. She’s targeting us, using these kidnappings to bait us.” Her fury crackled down our matebond. There was a ripple of guilt with it. “To bait me. I did something that must’ve really pissed her off.”
“No,” I cut in. “Don’t do that, Rune. This is that bitch’s fault. Not yours.”
Still, the weight pressed into both of us. The matebond was heavy with frustration from all of us.
“Trail goes cold,” Tobias updated us through the comms.
“No additional evidence here, either,” Kane muttered.
Another fucking trail gone cold.
Our comms crackled again, and Jesper’s voice came through sharply. “…We have another kidnapping.”
My gut twisted.
“A demon this time,” Jesper continued. “Taken from the Demon Capital.”
“They’re escalating,” I muttered.
“No,” Rune whispered. “They’re trying to make us declare war.”
“Let me guess.” Slater let out a hissed breath. “I know them?”
“Their last name is Fester…Cole Fester,” Jesper answered.
“Motherfucker,” he muttered. “I know him. He went to the reform academy with my brother…he’s a decent demon who had a fucked up family life.”
Great…another fucking supernatural taken because they knew us.