Chapter 23
Chapter
Twenty-Three
Shae’s List of Life Goals
14. Laugh a lot. Find the humor and joy in life.
(Addendum: Stay by Griffin’s side and this one will be a piece of cake.)
Shae
The ninety-minute drive from Malibu to Long Beach tests my patience. It’s bad enough that I’m starting to mimic Griffin; my leg is bouncing nonstop from too much pent-up stress and worry. Leaving Haku behind with Lucy probably isn’t helping either. I know why the drakes were safer staying at home, but I miss having my trusty companion on my shoulder.
As we speed south on the 405, Harper fills us in on the plan the two councils coordinated with the LAPD. “Here’s how things are going to go down. The human authorities will send a fifteen-person team to serve the warrant and process the scene. They’re going to handle the front entrance of the facility. However, we don’t want anyone inside to have time to get rid of evidence or start evacuating, so we’ve been tasked with breaking in from the back.”
“Fuck yeah!” Cal pumps his fist in the air. “Man, my adrenaline’s racing. It’s been way too long since we had an op like this.”
Dallas and Harper concur enthusiastically.
“Um, you guys do all realize that we’re not a SWAT team or anything along those lines, right?” I ask, starting to sweat a little.
Griffin gives me a sweet, unfazed smile. “It’s all good. Don’t worry, babe. With our trio of powerhouses, aka Harper, Cal, and Dallas, there aren’t many instances when we can’t take control of a situation on our own.”
I stare at him in disbelief. “These are humans we’re talking about. And this is America. They probably have a bajillion guns in there!”
Griffin laughs. “I don’t know about a bajillion …”
I growl at him, but it only makes him laugh more.
Why am I the only one who’s worried right now?
“We’re technically a unit of Otherkind law enforcement, so we can use our powers on a job like this when we’re being contracted to work with the LAPD,” Dallas explains.
Cal cracks his knuckles, his eyes sparkling with glee. “Any fool who points a gun at us will have to deal with me.”
“Only if I don’t get to them first,” Harper says.
He and Cal grin at each other as if in mutual understanding. It’s honestly a smidge creepy.
What. The. Fuck?
“Guns aren’t a problem,” Cal assures me.
I hit him with a look full of every ounce of skepticism I’m feeling at this precise moment—which is quite a lot.
He just seems to find that more amusing. “Trust me. You have your powers and I have mine.”
I arch a dubious eyebrow. “I thought your power was hacking other people’s magic. That won’t do much against a bullet.”
“Magic hacking is my specialty, but it’s not the only thing I can do. I can also use magic of my own.” He grins. “I have a particular talent for fucking with any kind of technology. Most fools are using semi-automatic weapons or higher grade than that these days. I can make ’em stop working, no problem.”
Griffin pats my bouncing leg. “I told you before. Cal’s totally one of the strongest mages in the whole world. He’s top class. Believe me, he’s got our backs.”
“That’s right, bro,” Cal agrees, ruffling his hair.
I blow out a frustrated breath. “There could be a lot of staff on duty in there. What if they overpower us?”
“Doubtful,” Harper chimes in. “We’re staging the break-in after hours, when most of them are likely to be out of the building. Plus, we’ll have an armed team of human law enforcement officers entering from the front to support us.”
“And you’re confident these humans won’t turn on us?” Anemone says, disbelief clear in her voice.
Harper turns around and flashes his impressive fangs at us. “Human LEOs may have no love for Otherkind, but they’re not foolish enough to make enemies of the Vampiric Council, whose money and power are old and run deep. If the LAPD were to even try it, they’d be making an enemy that would carefully and methodically destroy them.” His eyes glow red. “Besides, I’m more than enough to take down a team of them.” He hisses. “And if I had to, I’d make them wish they’d never been born.”
I shiver at his words. It’s the first time I’ve witnessed Harper’s more dangerous vampire side. He’s usually so calm, cool, and elegant. But I’m beginning to realize he’s quite terrifying all on his own. Definitely not someone to mess with.
“Harper’s a total badass,” Griffin says, his voice dreamy and full of pride. “He’s, like, a fighting machine. That and his vampire powers make him even cooler than Blade from the Marvel comic books.”
“Awww,” Harper coos. “Thanks, Griff. You’re a sweetheart, as always.”
I don’t entirely know what my mate’s talking about, but I take his word for it. The vibe emanating off Harper a moment ago was enough to make me understand how some people can piss their pants when scared enough.
I’m secretly glad the beautiful vampire’s on our side.
“It’ll be okay, Shae,” Ruby says from the back seat, where she’s cuddled up with Emma. “This isn’t our first rodeo and our vanguard—Harper, Dallas, and Cal—is one of the toughest around. We’ve definitely got this.”
I take a deep breath and let it out slowly. Deep down, I understand that I have to trust the rest of this team if I want to be a part of it. They know what they’re doing, and they’ll do their utmost to make sure we all make it out safe and sound.
“Don’t forget,” Emma pipes up. “You have powers of your own that you can use in a pinch.”
Her words make me jolt in surprise.
She’s right. For so long, I was used to being helpless, but I don’t have that damn collar around my neck anymore. I may not be some tough warrior, but my voice has power that I can use to protect myself.
Dallas slows down as we make our way into a more run-down industrial part of Long Beach.
“Well, this is super sketch,” Ruby remarks.
It’s not hard to see why such a desolate location was chosen for Divine Beauty’s secret laboratory.
As we get closer to our destination, Dallas turns the SUV’s headlights off and parks along the curb in front of a chain-link fence topped with barbed wire. Beyond the fence is a large lot and a cement building that’s seen better days. It appears to have been a former factory that Margaret and her people have converted to serve their nefarious purposes.
“Okay, Cal,” Dallas says, unbuckling his seat belt and turning around to face the back. “We need you to take out their lighting and external security cameras.”
“On it, Cap.” Cal pulls out a pocketknife and slashes a deep gash in his thumb that makes me wince.
Blood wells to the surface immediately, and Cal uses it to trace a line down his forearm so the blood can ignite the magic of the black sigils tattooed into his skin. They move and roil like animated creatures as they begin to glow silver.
The pressure in the air around us changes, and the hairs on the back of my neck and forearms rise like I’ve been hit with a heavy dose of static electricity.
That’s when we hear a cascade of popping sounds and the streetlights go out one by one.
“All done,” Cal says with a self-satisfied smirk.
“Come here,” Ruby says with an exasperated sigh. She takes his thumb and quickly heals it with her powers.
We all exit the vehicle and face the next challenge—the chain-link fence.
“What are we going to do about this?” I gesture toward it.
Harper pulls out his ever-present parasol. I watch in amazement as he presses a button and an impressive metal blade appears at the end of it.
“Always so freaking cool,” Griffin marvels.
He’s basically a one-man fan club for each member of MEOW Squad.
Fucking hell. Just when I think he can’t get any cuter, he does.
With a graceful flourish, Harper uses the blade to cut through the fence
with several lightning-quick slashes. A wide segment falls to the ground, leaving a large gaping hole for us to enter unobstructed.
“Holy shit,” I whisper in awe. “That’s an enchanted blade, isn’t it?”
Harper’s mysterious smile at my question only makes me more curious.
“I’ll tell you more about it someday, but for now, let’s move out.”
Under the cover of darkness, Harper, who has the best night vision of us all, leads the way forward, and we follow. I can tell he’s slowing down his speed to accommodate us, but it still doesn’t take us long to reach a docking area in the back of the building.
While we remain hidden in the shadows, Cal does his thing again and manages to take out the exterior security cameras. I really need to learn more about his powers because they’re coming in awfully handy right now.
The solid metal back door to the building has a security keypad but no one guarding it, at least not from the outside. To my surprise, Harper steps forward confidently and enters a code in the keypad, which opens the door immediately.
My mouth drops open. “How?—”
“It’s your stepmother’s building so I thought I’d try her birthday, and it worked. Humans are so obvious about these kinds of things.”
Well, then. Evidently, Harper is as brilliant as he is beautiful.
Note to self—find out what his favorite blood type is and get him several bags of high-quality stuff!
“This is where things are going to get dicey, folks,” Dallas says. “We’ll take the lead and the rest of you follow.”
Cal cracks his knuckles. “I have come here to chew bubblegum and kick ass—and I’m all out of bubblegum.”
Griff beams at him. “Don’t worry, bro. I’ve got some of that grape gum you like in my pocket. Want some?”
Harper pets Griffin’s cheek. “Sweet summer child, ignore him. Cal’s quoting an old movie from before you were born.”
Cal cackles. “Dude, I’ll introduce you to the awesomeness that is John Carpenter’s They Live after all this is over.”
Griff gives him a thumbs-up. “Right on.”
Dallas, Harper, and Cal flank out in a triangular formation with Harper in the front as we move deeper into the building.
It’s oddly quiet and seems almost empty at first.
“Do we even know where we’re going?” I whisper to Griffin.
“Harper was able to get some kind of map of the interior of the building,” he whispers back. “He’s guiding us to where we think the main research labs are located.”
When we reach a T-shaped intersection in the hallway, Harper turns left. I notice there’s brighter lighting ahead.
Cal immediately sets to work on disabling any security cameras along the way, but eventually we start to hear noises in the distance.
“The LAPD team is here,” Dallas confirms. “Let’s pick up our pace. We don’t have a lot of time.”
Before long, we spot three people wearing white lab coats scurrying somewhere awfully fast. We hide around a corner to observe them covertly.
“Hurry!” one of them calls out. “We have to get rid of the data.”
“There’s never going to be enough time to dump all the samples we have in process,” another one cries.
The third one, looking torn, decides to turn tail and run. “I’m outta here!” he cries before fleeing down another hallway.
We race toward the other two just as they disappear into a lab room up ahead. The door locks behind them, but Dallas uses his large body like a battering ram and slams into it, sending the door flying off its hinges. The two human scientists in the room scream, and that’s when Emma steps forward with a Nerf Super Soaker she’d somehow hidden in her backpack. She sprays them both in the face with her famous knockout potion that has them flat on their asses and sound asleep in seconds.
“You totally reminded me of Ripley with the flamethrower in Aliens ,” Griffin says appreciatively. “Right on, Emma.”
Ruby squeals and grabs Emma’s face, planting a big, wet kiss on her lips. “Damn, baby. You were so sexy. I thought my panties might fall off right then and there.”
Emma’s cheeks flush, but she looks inordinately pleased.
Cal makes a gagging noise. “Oh. My. Gawd . Now you two? I’m surrounded by lovesick fools.” He shakes his head and elbows Dallas. “It’s just you, me, and Harper now. We’ll form our own club of fabulous single bachelors.”
Emma and Ruby start looking around the lab. It doesn’t take long for Emma to access a computer, and she whips out a thumb drive to start copying data.
“Not that I don’t trust the human authorities,” she says with a smirk, “but I don’t.”
Anemone gives her an approving nod. “Good work. We should have copies of our own evidence if possible.”
Ruby searches through several special refrigerators where samples are being stored, a grim look on her face. “They’ve got illegal biological samples in there. Cocky idiots labelled them. More of what we’ve seen so far and…” She trails off. “Other stuff.”
That doesn’t sound good.
Ruby continues. “Emma and I will stay and get copies of as much data as we can before the LAPD officers show up in here.”
Dallas nods. “Remember to use the panic button I gave you if needed, and we’ll come back for you right away.”
Emma pulls two smaller squirt guns out of the backpack. “Don’t worry, Dallas. I’ve got this under control. Anyone tries to mess with us and I’ll dose them with a rather unpleasant temporary paralytic.”
“Ooh,” Ruby coos, rubbing up against Emma. “You didn’t tell me you played with poisons too.”
Emma licks her lips. “I dabble a little.”
“Tell me more,” Ruby says breathily.
“Fucking hell,” Cal groans. “Please save me. I can’t handle all this schmoopy crap I’m getting from all corners lately.”
He casts a mock glare in my and Griffin’s direction.
Griffin laughs. “Just wait until it’s your turn, bro.”
Cal shakes his head vehemently. “Nope, never. Never gonna happen.”
“I think he doth protest too much,” I tell Griffin.
“Cal’s actually a secret romantic at heart. At least, that’s what I believe,” Griffin confides.
Cal ignores us and turns to Harper. “Any bright ideas as to where they might be secretly hiding the Otherkind folks we’re looking for?”
Harper pulls up a schematic of the building on his phone and points to an area up ahead. “My intel indicates this part of the building has a higher than usual security contingent with round-the-clock guards focused on one door. This is most likely where they’re at.”
“Let’s go,” Dallas declares.
Emma hands me her Super Soaker. “Take this.”
“Won’t you need it?”
She gestures to the two water guns and her still-packed backpack. “I’m good.”
I take the Super Soaker and follow as Harper once again leads the way, taking us deeper into the building.
We run into a handful of fleeing personnel along our route and I make good use of Emma’s Super Soaker, downing them easily.
“You’re ruthless,” Cal says appreciatively. “Nice work.”
I shrug. “Don’t want any of these fuckers getting away. They’re all guilty if you ask me.”
“We’ll leave them to the human team,” Dallas says. “Stay focused.”
We know we’re getting close when we hear agitated voices filled with rising panic up ahead.
“What the fuck are we supposed to do now?” someone says.
“Did you call the boss?”
“Yeah, but she can’t get here fast enough. The cops are already in the building. They’ll be here any minute.”
“Then we execute Code Red protocol. Destroy all the specimens. Leave no evidence behind.”
That’s our cue to speed the fuck up.
We round the corner to find half a dozen armed security guards opening up a fortified room.
Harper is a deadly blur as he takes down the entire group before I can even lift my Super Soaker.
Dallas quickly moves to each person, takes away their weapons, and tosses them in a storage closet that he locks behind him once he’s done. “They’re out cold, but best to be safe in case they wake up and decide to do anything stupid.”
We follow Harper into the room the men had been guarding and come to a standstill, staring around in horror.
The bare walls are lined with enormous prison-like cages all too similar to the one I was contained in at my father’s house. Each and every one contains a person wearing the same type of collar I had been forced to endure—for seven long agonizing years.
My breathing gets weird and my hands start to tingle before I realize I’m hyperventilating.
Griffin takes me in his arms and cradles my head against his chest. “I’ve got you, babe. If you can’t be in here, we can leave and wait outside. The others can handle this without us if they have to.”
I focus on his soothing scent—sunshine and coconut—and the comforting warmth of his touch as I willfully calm my breathing, then pull back. I’m still shaky, but I’m not going to let this beat me. “I have to help them,” I manage to choke out. “I need this.”
He nods in understanding. “Okay. I’m here with you the whole way.”
Once again, Cal works his magic and is able to short-circuit the access panel for the cages, automatically unlocking them all. We quickly manage to get everyone out, but they’re all in need of medical aid. We count three young vampires, two dryads, a gnome, a satyr, a basilisk, and two kobolds.
Dallas pulls out his phone and dials someone. “We need you, Ruby. We’ve got a number of captives who require medical aid.”
I hear her voice through the speaker. “On our way, Captain. We’re just about done here. I’ve got you on my GPS locator. Be there in two minutes.”
Anemone and I look around the room, our worry mounting because we don’t see my mother anywhere.
I hasten to approach the poor people we’ve rescued. “I’m sorry. I know this is all a lot right now, but have any of you seen a siren being held here?”
Most of them shake their heads, but a frail-looking dryad wordlessly points an emaciated finger toward another door at the back of the room.
My aunt and I look at each other before racing toward it. The heavy door’s locked with a keypad like the one on the back entrance of the building, and I yank on it, unable to get it to move.
“Dammit!”
Harper’s at my side in an instant. He tries the code from earlier, but it doesn’t work. Then he attempts another with no success.
“Never fear, my blade can handle this.” Harper stands with his parasol sword at the ready and with a graceful swing, he cuts through the thick metal door in one smooth slice as if it were a soft stick of butter.
The broken door falls inward and we hurry across the threshold and into a smaller room containing a large, aboveground, glass-sided pool. The water inside is murky, and it doesn’t look as if the pool’s been cleaned in a long time.
“Oh god,” I whisper.
“Tempest,” my aunt says.
As if in a trance, we both move closer, gasping when a hand presses against the inside of the glass.
We scamper up a ladder along the edge and discover that the top of the pool is covered with a secure panel. Fortunately, it has a simple open-and-close lever and we flip it, then retract the cover inch by slow inch.
Once it’s fully open, we hover frozen for a moment, watching and waiting. The water is too opaque for us to see much of anything, but just when I think my aunt’s about ready to dive in, something comes shooting to the surface.
That’s when I realize it’s a person—or, to be more precise, a siren.
She looks weak and far too thin. Her hair is matted and an indiscernible dull color while the scales on her tail are fraying and a worrying gray. To be honest, she looks quite ill.
But when she turns her gaunt face toward me, I gasp.
All these years later, I still recognize her.
“Mom?” I whisper.
“Shae?” she croaks out.
Then I have to catch her as she faints in my arms.