CHAPTER 26 RAGNOR
CHAPTER 26
RAGNOR
Ragnor paced in front of the large skyscraper in downtown Rochester, feeling as though someone had torn through his chest and squeezed.
“My Lord,” Logan now said as he walked alongside him. “Maika called.”
“And?” Ragnor prompted in a growl as he continued pacing, his strides quicker and wider.
Logan caught up with his pace. “She was told the Atalon League is under lockdown.”
Under different circumstances, Ragnor would’ve understood. The Jinn had just destroyed the Atalonian Hall and the invaluable art collection that had been on display. That, and the fact a few vampires had gone missing from the event, some of them members of the Atalon League.
But these were not normal circumstances. Because Atalon hadn’t simply put his League on lockdown—he refused Ragnor’s requests to meet him.
Hardly anyone ever dared to say no to Ragnor.
And so Ragnor was on high alert. Something wasn’t right within the Atalon League—not only the surprise attack of the Jinn. Atalon had abandoned his League members and guests to save not just his own ass—but unconscious Aileen’s.
As if Aileen was worth more to him than anyone else.
But Ragnor had known Atalon for years. He knew the chances of Atalon falling for Aileen were slim, if only because he doubted Atalon was capable of such a deep emotion.
This mystery, added by Atalon’s refusal to see Ragnor after such a massive attack, made Ragnor more than simply uneasy.
“Tell Maika to call them again,” Ragnor now ordered Logan. “If that fails, we move to the next step.”
“Yes, my Lord,” Logan said at once and walked away, toward the Rayne League van waiting in the parking lot.
Once his Troop Commander was gone, Ragnor took out his phone and dialed a familiar number. After one ring, a tight voice answered. “How’s Cassidy?”
“She’s fine. Resting,” Ragnor replied in a rush. “Magnus, I’m going off the radar for a while.”
Magnus was quiet for a few moments before he asked, “What do you need me to do?”
“Take care of the League until I send word,” Ragnor replied curtly.
Magnus let out a rough sigh. “Do I want to know what you’re up to?”
Ragnor didn’t want to go into detail. It was out of the question to tell Magnus that the moment he awoke at the van after the gala fiasco, his heart fell and he felt fear for the first time in centuries. Telling him this fear was for a woman, a Common who was no longer a Rayne League member, was beyond his capabilities at the moment.
He would explain everything to his oldest friend after he had Aileen back in the safety of his arms.
“Just text Logan that they can head back,” Ragnor now said and hung up, feeling a sense of urgency. He glanced back at the van momentarily before he squared his shoulders and walked inside the skyscraper.
The lobby was empty, since it was close to dawn, and Ragnor’s footsteps echoed off the marble walls. He’d reached the elevator when the sound of flapping wings resounded behind him.
Without turning around, Ragnor said, “Is the ether still uneasy around here?”
Luceras came to stand next to him as Ragnor pressed the elevator button. “Yes,” the Malachi replied. “So you’ve encountered the Jinn, then.”
“They attacked a hall full of vampires and humans,” Ragnor explained quietly as the elevator doors opened. The two of them walked in, and Ragnor pressed the button for negative three—the lowest parking floor. “You must’ve heard about it by now.”
Luceras’s silence was answer enough.
They descended slowly, and once they reached the destination, Ragnor stepped out and turned to face the Malachi. “Is it stronger here?”
With a nod, Luceras looked around him before he began moving deep into the parking floor. Ragnor followed him, knowing Luceras was busy connecting with the ether to find exactly the point where the ether was making a fuss.
Stopping abruptly at a seemingly random spot—an empty parking space in the middle of the lot—Luceras turned to Ragnor and said, “If you go directly down a few floors from here, you’ll find a few Jinn. I can’t tell you exactly how many there are.”
Ragnor stared at the patch of asphalt. Even though he could access the ether to a certain level, it was nowhere near close to the degree that the Malachi could. The Malachi were able to “bond” with the ether intimately enough to tell when it was unstable, while Ragnor could see the translucent thin dimension colored red as nothing but a tool to be used. He couldn’t “bond” with the ether.
Though sometimes, he wished he still could.
“Thank you, Luceras.” Ragnor glanced at the Malachi, who was now staring at him. “I’ll take it from here.”
“As you should, Deveran,” Luceras replied quietly. “Don’t forget; you owe me two favors now.”
Ragnor nodded gravely and watched as, without farewells, Luceras disappeared into thin air.
Staring at the asphalt again, Ragnor calculated how long it would take him to do what he planned. His Lifeblood levels were still low after his latest excursion and exposure to the Jinn, even after he drank from Logan, a Gifted. Waiting for his Lifeblood to return to normal by resting for a few days was out of the question.
So Ragnor sat down on the asphalt, closed his eyes, and did what he had to do.