CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Brokk
The cat sith fades from view, and this time, he’s truly stealthy, leaving behind no lingering smile to tease his passing.
A short and thin man stands in the center of the doorway, his pale face untouched by the sun. He wears a three-piece linen suit in the heat and humidity of the jungle, his fancy shoes horrible for any kind of hiking. This is a man who’s never done a day of honest labor in his life.
My lips pull back from my tusks in contempt.
He points to where Grey just stood and speaks in an English accent. “Vito, check that out.”
The dark-haired man Grey tackled yesterday does as the Englishman says.
I pull Lara behind me and flash my tusks at the blond man, whose gun remains centered on my chest. “I’m surprised to see you up and about. Why don’t you put down the gun and meet me one on one for another round?”
His face is a mess of bruises, the ruddy skin purple. The swelling from his two black eyes forces his gaze into tiny slits. He tries to sneer at me, then winces. Ha! Moving his face hurts. Serves him right for daring to ever touch Lara.
“Watch out for the green fucker,” he spits. “He’s smarter than he looks.”
“Hey!” Lara tries to edge around my side, and I have to hold her back to keep her from exposing herself to the gun.
“Didn’t your mother ever tell you that you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, Klaus?” She jabs a finger at the bruised blond. “Brokk’s not just a pretty face!”
My little spitfire, willing to go to verbal war for me. I’m blessed to have such a mate!
“Enough.” The Englishman says.
“Who is this?” I ask Lara, hooking a thumb toward the annoying man.
“That’s Elton Edgerton. He’s the one who kidnapped me.”
Rage washes over me as I take in the small man. I caught only the tiniest glimpse of him back at the convention center in Miami, since his body had been blocked by the two larger men at his back.
“The cat isn’t here, boss,” Vito says.
Fuck. I really hoped Grey would reappear and take out Vito again so that I could tackle Klaus.
But before any of that can happen, Edgerton waves six more men and women into the room, each armed with a firearm.
A growl rumbles deep in my throat. The odds just shifted in my enemy’s favor. By the goddess! How will I save Lara now?
While three hold their guns on me, one demands I empty my pockets. She smirks when I pull out my enspelled crystals and Lara’s high-heeled shoes and lets me keep them. I hand over my knife reluctantly, hating being left weaponless, even if a blade won’t do much against guns.
“How did you pick up our trail?” Lara asks.
I wonder the same. Doing so should have been impossible—there’s no way these humans accessed the shadow roads.
“I didn’t need to follow you,” Edgerton says. “I knew exactly where you were going, so I made sure my plane got me here first. I’ve actually been waiting for you since yesterday evening, though I will admit you got here faster than I expected.” He cocks an eyebrow, as if waiting for us to explain.
Lara blows a lock of hair off her face but otherwise says nothing.
“Now, if you’ll allow me…” Edgerton makes a flourish with one hand and steps forward.
Klaus uses his gun to gesture me out of the way. I slide aside, one arm reaching back to make sure Lara comes with me. My attention never wavers, remaining locked on the blond with the gun.
Edgerton steps up to the wall I just examined. It’s the same shimmering gray stone as the rest of the building, only instead of the large slabs used elsewhere, it’s made up of small bricks. He touches certain ones in a specific order, making a complex pattern as his arm rises and falls, darting from side to side. A tune fills the air, an ancient song of Faerie I hum under my breath. When he pushes on the last brick, instead of a musical note, a click resounds through the room, and the wall splits down the middle.
“How the hell did you figure that out?” Lara asks, wonder filling her voice.
“It’s amazing what money can do. I paid three code breakers to write a computer program that would map every possible combination,” Edgerton says, his tone casual, as if all of this is nothing. “Then I paid another team to suss out which works. It took them over three weeks and several thousand attempts before they found the right song.”
“You’re insane.” Lara lifts her hand and pats the air with her palm. “I don’t mean that as a pejorative—okay, maybe partly as one, because you’re the asshole who kidnapped me, and who even does that?—but none of this is what a sane person does.”
“Really, Ms. Jade? That’s rather rich coming from you.”
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“I paid for a very extensive background report on you. It’s amazing how much of our lives we put on the internet these days.” He shakes his head and tsks. “You’ve spent your entire life obsessed by Faerie. You want to go there just as badly as I do.”
“What?” Her voice hits a false note as her face twists into an exaggerated grimace and she shifts from foot to foot. “No.”
“Ha!” Edgerton barks out a dismissive laugh and points at her. “You really are a shit liar, aren’t you? That’s going to make the rest of this much easier. Because mark my words—I want you to unlock this magical artifact, and I always get what I want.”
Lara squirms, looking miserable, and I vow then and there to take her to Faerie as soon as possible to make her dream come true. I want to give her all the joy possible to wipe away the trauma of this kidnapping.
But for any of that to happen, I need to save her first.
Edgerton waves his people forward, and two of them strain against each side of the wall until the halves hinge inward like a massive double door.
The room beyond is everything the first chamber isn’t. Instead of plain walls, intricate carvings decorate fluted columns. Sunlight pours through arched windows that aren’t visible from the outside. A long oval pool fills the length of the room, tiled with a colorful mosaic of sea creatures, its water fresh and clear.
I crouch beside it, scooping up a handful of the warm water and splashing it across my bare chest. Then I flick my fingers at Lara, wetting her face.
She blinks and winces, then throws me a frown.
I stare into her eyes, willing her to see that I do not do this lightly. This is a ritual pool, here for a reason. No matter what comes next, it might go easier for us if we’re anointed in its waters. To make certain I got enough on her, I reach out and drag my wet hand across the back of hers.
Understanding flashes across her face, and Lara squats and dips her hands in the pool and pats some of the liquid onto the exposed skin of her chest. Goddess, she’s brilliant. I couldn’t be any prouder to call her mine.
The hard muzzle of a gun pokes into my back, and Klaus growls, “Stop flirting.”
I suppress a snarl, hating that I need to bide my time until a better opportunity to strike presents itself. I’m an excellent fighter, but even the best orc warrior would be hard pressed to take on eight foes armed with human guns.
“Let them play,” Edgerton says. “It’s a good thing they like it so much.” He waves a lazy hand, and Klaus pushes Lara into the pool.
Ice digs claws into my heart. My mate isn’t a good swimmer, and to be thrown into the water with no warning…
“Lara!” I spring forward, diving after her.