37. Chapter 37
Chapter 37
Tessa opened her eyes, and the unfamiliar room spun around her. Slamming her eyes shut, she took a deep breath, but that only made her gag at the metallic taste in her mouth. She opened her eyes again, slowly this time, and the room came into focus. It was a huge empty room with a concrete floor and cinder-block walls. A breeze to her right had her turning. The air was coming from a large floor-to-ceiling window with the glass broken out. From what she could see, she was in some sort of abandoned building several stories up.
She blinked again to try and push the fuzzy thoughts from her brain so she could figure out what was going on. Why she was sitting in a rickety chair with her hands tied in front of her. She willed her legs to stand, but they refused and she coughed again at the gritty coating in her mouth.
“That’s the sedative. It leaves a nasty aftertaste,” Nadia said as she walked into Tessa’s line of sight.
Acrid fear surged up her throat, warring with the sedative. “What am I doing here?”
“I told you. We need to talk. You have been asking a lot of questions.”
Lie, lie, lie. “So? That’s my job. I find art for my client.”
“Bull, Sydney. If that’s even your name. You’re going to answer my questions.”
“Or what?” She looked around and saw they were alone. “Where’s your backup? Having his balls checked?”
Nadia smiled but it didn’t reach her eyes. “You have been asleep for quite a while, and he had things to do.”
Show no fear. “Other people to kidnap?”
Nadia didn’t rise to the bait. “Plus I wanted to have some one-on-one time with you. Didn’t want anyone to overhear us. Now I’m going to ask you again. What game are you playing?”
Tessa wanted to throw up, but she had to keep this going as long as possible. Once Nadia got whatever answers she wanted, it wouldn’t end well for Tessa. So she needed to do what she did best. Fake it till you make it. “I play all kinds of games. Darts, corn hole, poker, Monopoly.”
Nadia frowned. “Stop it!”
Tessa blinked and hoped she looked confused. “Stop what? This is a mistake. I’m not who you think I am.”
Nadia’s eyes narrowed. “I know who Megan Campbell is. Or should I say Megan Simonson now?”
Tessa’s heart was beating so hard it thrummed in her ears, threatening to block out what she was saying. “And?”
“How is dear old Eric doing? He was a bit forgetful the last time I saw him.”
Tessa’s brain came to a stutter-stop. “You…you’re the witch that cast the memory spell.”
“Ding, ding, ding. Wow, I have to say, you are really good at acting surprised.”
“Can you reverse it?” Tessa blurted before she stopped herself.
Nadia took a step closer. “Why would you ask me that? You already know the answer. Of course I can’t reverse it. And even if I could, it’s been over a year. The damage is done. Enough of this playacting. Who do you work for?”
“No one.” Tessa tried to wiggle her toes. She was starting to get some feeling back in her feet.
“How did you convince Megan to help you?” Nadia said.
Help her with what? “I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about!” Tessa shouted before she could think of something sarcastic to say.
“Looks like your interrogation is not going well,” a voice said from behind Tessa, causing her to flinch.
Nadia apparently hadn’t heard her approach either since she started as well.
“They are looking for her by now, and your cover at the art gallery has been blown. You can’t go back there. And for what? Has she given you any useful information?”
Was Tessa imagining it, or had Nadia’s face gone pale?
“Not yet. But we just started.”
“I’m going to take over.”
“Just give me some more time,” Nadia insisted.
“No. Go outside and wait by the car. I won’t be long.”
I won’t be long. Tessa had a hard time breathing. She had a feeling whoever was behind her was not going to put up with her smart mouth. Smart mouth… Ben’s face came to mind, and she tried to find strength in it.
Nadia left without another word.
Time to change tactics. “I’m glad you’re here. You sound like you have some sense. Obviously there has been some sort of mistake. If you let me go, I won’t say anything.”
A chuckle right behind her had Tessa jerking in her seat.
“You are as good with your words as you are with your feet. I saw you fight back in the parking lot.”
“You were there?” Tessa asked.
“Not directly. Let’s just say I was watching.”
Steps came closer to Tessa, and she held still, willing her heart to stop trying to bust out of her chest. “This is like a bad mafia movie.” Shut up, Tessa!
Another laugh. “You’re surprising. But we’re running out of time, and I need some answers from you, Tessa .”
Son of a biscuit. “You know who I am. A quick online search should fill you in on the rest.”
“Yes. But it doesn’t explain how you and Megan Campbell ended up entrenched in a dragon clan. How she ended up married to one. Imagine my surprise when I saw Eric and Adam Simonson show up tonight at the gallery looking for you. Didn’t realize dragons could come back from the dead,” the woman said as she came into view.
Tessa stared at her. Darker hair and possibly colored contacts? But Tessa had studied her picture long enough to recognize her even with the changes. Time to play hardball. “It’s actually your fault, Mia .”
The woman smiled but didn’t say anything.
“Everyone wanted you to study the Death of Magic painting, and when they couldn’t find you, they reached out to Megan at the museum.”
“And where Megan goes, you follow?”
“Yes. What am I doing here?” she said with as much indignation as she could muster.
“It wasn’t my idea to take you. Nadia made decisions above her pay grade. But since you’ve been asking questions about me, the powers that be are nervous.”
“What’s with the masquerade?” Tessa looked her up and down for a moment, and her breath caught when she saw a small red cross tattoo on her hand.
Mia followed her eyes and flexed her hand, looking at it as well. “You know what this is.” It was more a statement than a question. “Why don’t you ask Adam about masquerades.”
“I can’t. Your witch, Nadia, made him forget who he is. He’s been trying to figure out the truth since then. So you might want to put a leash on her.”
Mia’s eyes flared for a moment before she composed herself again.
“Why are you coming after the dragons now?” Tessa pushed. “Templars haven’t been around for over a thousand years.”
Mia shook her head. “They’ve been around , they just haven’t been visible. But things have escalated.”
“Since the curse is being taken seriously now by the dragon clans?” Tessa said.
“Partly.”
“Because of—” Tessa stopped herself from saying Lily’s name. Did she really want to let Mia know that she knew who Lily was and that she and Evelyn were with the dragon clan?
Mia took a step forward. “Because of what?”
Tessa shook her head. “Why would you want to destroy dragons? You spent your life learning about them through mythology and art. Megan and your students admired you.”
Mia walked over to the window. “I’m not anyone to be admired.”
Could Tessa appeal to her somehow? “You can change things, you know.”
Mia kept looking out the empty window. “The winged calvary have finally arrived.”
Tessa’s heart stopped. “Don’t hurt them.”
Mia turned to her. “That’s not part of the plan.”
Maybe Mia wasn’t the bad guy here. “Come with me. With us.”
“Can’t do that. I have to finish what I started.”
“What about Nadia? Can you stop her from going after the clan again?”
Mia walked toward her. “Nadia will be handled. As will you.” She grabbed her arm and yanked her up and Tessa’s legs trembled. With her hands tied, Tessa raised them and swung her elbow as a weapon, slamming it into Mia’s cheekbone. Mia staggered back a step.
Before Tessa could escape, Mia pulled out a gun and pointed it at her.
She motioned for Tessa to walk over to the open window while she stayed hidden by the wall. “Stand still. We want your hero to see you.”
Had she totally lost it? “What are you doing?”
“Nothing if you stay still. I don’t want to shoot your savior, but I will.”
Tessa swallowed down her panic. “You won’t get away from him.”
Mia smiled. “I will if he’s busy rescuing you.” She watched through a crack in the bricks. “You’re going to jump when I tell you to.”
She backed up a step and struggled to breathe. “Hell no!”
“Either you jump, or I shoot him. And in case you’re wondering, I’m a damn good shot.”
She had lost her grip on reality. “Mia, come with us. We can help you.”
Mia peered through the crack. “No. Do what I say or he dies.”
Ben flew closer. Tessa’s heartbeat thumped in her ears. Would he catch her in time?
“Now!”
She jumped.
A scream tore from her as she plummeted toward the ground.
Ben’s roar blasted over her scream. He dived and caught her. She was in his arms again. Safe. She gulped, trying to pull air into her lungs as he righted them both with his wings.
“Are you okay?”
Tessa looked down and then quickly shut her eyes.
“It’s okay. I’ll have you down in a minute.”
They landed and she was finally able to breathe again.
He furled his wings and held her. “Are you okay? Talk to me.”
She swallowed. “Thanks, Superman.”
His eyes widened. “Does that make you Lois Lane?”
Another shaky breath. “Outspoken, gutsy, the brains of the pair? Absolutely.”
He hugged her closer and she flinched.
“I’m sorry. You’re hurt.” He set her down and started checking her over.
She rested her hands over his to stop him. “I’m okay. Just sore.”
Eric flew from the other direction and landed next to them. “Jesus. Are you okay?”
“Yes. Did you see them?” Tessa said.
“I was at the other end of the buildings. I didn’t see anyone leave.”
“Who did this to you?” Eric said.
“It was Mia.”
“What!” Ben barked. “That doesn’t make any sense.”
No, it didn’t. But Tessa didn’t live in a world that made sense any longer. None of them did. The words on the scroll were playing out in spectacular fashion. There was more going on than any of them could have imagined. And they would need to get to the bottom of it all to protect the clan.