Chapter 16
Zane
The inky sky twinkled with a million stars as we sat outside Adam’s farmhouse. I leaned back in the rickety old chair and craned my neck as I traced the constellations I recognized. My mate must have spent many nights beneath these same stars. That comforted me in a way I didn’t expect.
Could she see the stars right now? I hoped so. The thought of her being locked in a windowless room made me want to kill someone. Lots of someones. Way more someones than I’d killed already.
How many dead mages were enough?
Trick question! There was no such thing as too many dead mages. Ha!
Two witches watched us from the kitchen doorway, both middle-aged and frumpy as hell. Was this Adam Vane’s harem? If so, he was punching below his weight by a wide margin.
Like Tiberius, the older Vane brother enjoyed good looks and charisma.
But that was where the similarities ended.
Weathered skin and wiry muscles spoke of days spent outdoors.
Unlike the dickhead leader of the Mage Council, this male didn’t wear designer suits and travel in private jets for human business meetings.
He poured us each a glass of bourbon. Even fish boy accepted a drink, which surprised me as he usually drank nothing but water.
Fig the pig fidgeted on fish boy’s lap until he huffed and set him down. I watched from the corner of my eye as the fat thing sniffed around and then ran into the kitchen with an excited squeak.
“He’s hungry,” I called. “And possibly thirsty.” I wasn’t great at keeping small creatures alive, but I was keen not to let the pig die. My pet seemed to like it, so she’d be upset if he died on our watch.
Adam set his glass down and folded his arms.
“Why are you all here?” I had teleported us to the nearest regional town under cover of darkness, so Rasmus didn’t barbecue, and from there I borrowed a car. We arrived here a couple of hours later.
It hadn’t been the most pleasant journey.
The bear reeked of aggression; the vampire appeared to have descended into some sort of murder haze, much like my own; and the female he’d recovered from Vane’s mansion was hardly good company.
Despite numerous attempts at small talk, she remained catatonic.
Not even describing in gruesome detail what I planned to do to Tiberius Vane had provoked a reaction.
My foot tapped the wooden deck as Maverick cleared his throat, no doubt trying to work out how to break the news.
Rasmus had stayed near the car with the shifter female, not wanting to alarm the witches.
They all acted like scared little sparrows around us.
From their jumpy attitudes, anyone would think we were a bunch of crazed psycho killers on the run from the law.
Oh wait…
“Tiberius has taken Raven, and we can’t find her,” I blurted.
The bear glared at me. Okay, so this was not what we’d agreed to in the car on the way here, but fuck that.
I wasn’t in the mood to drag the conversation out.
Not with the Supernatural Council’s security forces on our trail.
I mean, I loved a good fight, but the more mages I had to murder, the longer it would take to find my pet.
Adam poured himself another large measure of bourbon and downed it in two gulps.
“Tiberius used Alaric to kidnap her,” Maverick explained. “We think he coerced the storm mage with a dark magic enchantment, as I doubt Alaric would willingly hurt his soul-bonded mate.”
A violent blast of anger hit me right in the solar plexus before Raven’s guardian locked his emotions down. I almost choked on the vile taste but soaked it up without hesitation. My magic was running low after all the drama of the last twenty-four hours.
“We need to know if you have any idea where Tiberius would have taken her.”
Adam rubbed his eyes and stared into space. “Tiberius doesn’t trust me with his plans. Not since I went off-grid for several years.”
“Why did you do that?” I totally got why he’d want to wash his hands of his psychopath brother, but as the eldest son, he should have stepped up when their father, Wendall Vane, snuffed it.
Instead he disappeared. Not long after, Tiberius took over the family holdings, ultimately claiming the mage seat on the Supernatural Council.
“That isn’t important.” He glared at each of us. “You were supposed to fucking protect her!” Damn, our dad-in-law was mad.
“We killed a lot of Tiberius’s guards.” I winked. In my book, murdering those that hurt my pet helped balance the scales a teeny bit. “Oh, and Rink’s dead,” I added.
“We searched for her, but Tiberius’s house was empty except for security mages,” Maverick said. “Tiberius must have given the servants the night off.”
A shifting shadow to my left alerted me to the vampire’s presence. He stepped onto the deck carrying the shifter female. Adam’s glass slid from his fingers and smashed to smithereens.
“Nula?” The mage’s voice broke as he stared down at the tiny female. Her eyelids fluttered open. “I thought you were dead!”