Chapter Twenty – Wren #2
“I won’t ruin this for you. You’re doing great, the mission is advancing beyond our hopes, and I’m sorry. I lost my mind for a minute. It won’t happen again.”
“Are you sure it’s okay for me to go back?”
“Yes.”
I walk out of the stall and go to the mirror, checking my reflection. I smooth down my hair and adjust my blouse, making sure everything looks professional and put together. When I exit the bathroom, Roman is leaning against the wall, checking his watch with obvious impatience.
“You’ve been in there for ages.”
“I’ve only been in there for five minutes.”
He scoffs and walks me back to the terrace without another word.
The next thirty minutes are an absolute nightmare. I sit on the couch with a glass of champagne, sipping from it without tasting it. Viktor and Olivia are all over each other, touching and kissing, whispering like newlyweds instead of crime lords in their seventies.
Two more women join the party, approaching Lucien and Cesar, and their familiarity makes me guess they’re the brothers’ wives. They’re not as openly affectionate as Olivia, but there’s warmth and genuine connection there. Everyone talks and laughs like this is a normal family gathering.
Roman resorts to drinking whiskey and pacing the length of the terrace, staring out at the city below us.
I feel like I’m trapped in a den of vipers, and all I can do is sit here with my fake smile and nod whenever someone pays me any attention. Inside me, Zeth is coiled so tight I’m afraid he might snap. Every second feels like an eternity.
Finally, the door opens and Garrett returns carrying a small ornate box. Viktor snaps his fingers, and everyone goes quiet. Roman abandons his pacing and rejoins me on the sofa as his father opens the box and places it on the table, sliding it over to me.
Inside is a phoenix feather, and it’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. It glows in the firelight like it’s made of flame itself, orange and red dancing along the barbs. The feather seems alive, pulsing with an inner heat.
“May I?” I ask.
Viktor motions for me to go ahead.
I hold the feather in the palm of my hand, feeling the warmth radiating from it, and I carefully pluck a single barb with just the tips of my fingers. Then I place the feather back in the box and uncork the vial of Crimson Haze. I drop the barb into the red liquid.
The Crimson Haze catches fire. Flames dance inside the vial, and everyone leans in to watch. The fire burns for several seconds before settling down, and when it does, the color has shifted to orange like molten lava.
“Now what? Is it done?” asks Viktor.
“Someone should try it,” I say.
Garrett takes out his smartphone and makes a quick call.
A few minutes later, the golem guard walks in.
I notice, not for the first time, that whenever they need someone to test a drug, the golem is their candidate.
It’s probably because he’s an addict, but also because his physiology processes drugs differently than humans and most monsters.
His body burns through substances fast, leaving him functional.
Doses that would kill others barely affect him.
I stand and hold the vial out to the golem, but before he can take it, I pull it back slightly.
“Don’t drink it just yet. First, scrape a bit of your skin off and add it to the mixture.”
I turn to Viktor to explain.
“It’s easier with hair, but our friend here doesn’t have any.”
Everyone laughs, and the golem just shrugs.
“Skin cells will work, too. Maybe a fingernail. The idea is that the person’s DNA should be added to the mixture.”
The golem holds his massive fist over the vial and grinds his fingers together. Fine dust falls into the orange liquid, pieces of his stone skin breaking away. The liquid swirls once more and settles into a silvery color. I hear several people gasp.
I nod at the golem, and he takes the vial from my hand and downs it in one gulp.
The second he swallows, his eyes go wide.
He drops the empty vial, and it shatters on the floor, but he doesn’t seem to notice.
He rubs his hands over his face, stumbles backward, and then his face transforms into an expression of pure bliss.
He’s grinning so wide it looks painful, and he’s so ecstatic that he can’t form words.
He just makes these sounds of pleasure, like he’s been transported somewhere beyond language.
Viktor leans forward, impressed.
“I’ve never seen him like this. Drugs that render normal people and monsters speechless barely affect him. But this...” He studies the golem with keen interest. “It’s like he’s been transported to another world.”
Lucien addresses me directly for the first time tonight.
“Is it dangerous?”
“It’s not more dangerous than Crimson Haze and other drugs. If anything, it’s pure and adapted to the person’s DNA, so the experience is unique,” I assure him.
“What do you call it?” asks Cesar.
“How about the Flame?”
Viktor nods appreciatively, and when he looks at me, there’s respect in his eyes.
“We’ll do great business together, Wren Hayes.”
I smile and hold his gaze.
Olivia claps her hands together, her face lit with excitement.
“This is wonderful! Viktor, darling, imagine what this will do for the business.”
Viktor turns to Garrett.
“Walk Miss Hayes out, will you? I believe she’s tired, and as I hear, she didn’t have a very pleasant week.”
He doesn’t say it like he disagrees with my kidnapping and imprisonment. It’s more for show, to maintain the illusion of civility. What I understand is that he wants me gone so he can talk privately with his family. My audience with the boss is over.
Garrett leads me out through the dragon’s maw and down the stairs. Outside, Dale is waiting by the car, engine already running.
Garrett stops at the curb.
“Dale will take you anywhere you want.”
I turn to him, surprised.
“No supervision? I’m just free to leave?”
“As long as Dale knows where to pick you up tomorrow to take you to the lab.”
I don’t question him further. I get into the car quickly, desperate to get away from this place.
The moment the door closes, I feel Zeth relax inside me.
But it’s not a good kind of relaxation. It’s more like a complete collapse, like a puppet with its strings cut.
I realize my whole body is sore from hours of his tension.
Every muscle aches, my joints feel stiff, and I expect him to heal me like he usually does.
He doesn’t. He just seems lost, distant, and unreachable.
“What’s wrong? Zeth, please talk to me.”
“I’m not ready.”
“It’s okay. I’ll wait.”
Dale drives in silence, and I’m grateful for it.
I couldn’t make small talk right now if my life depended on it.
I rub my tired eyes and stare out the window at the passing city lights.
I have no idea how the hell I’m going to deal with this if Zeth has that kind of reaction to Olivia every time.
She’s Viktor’s wife. She’ll be around. This complicates everything, and I don’t have any answers, only questions, and Zeth is locked away inside me with whatever demons Olivia represents.