Dominic
He latched the collar back around Onyx’s throat before unshackling him and lifting him to carry him back out of the warehouse.
Once the dome came down, the other security personnel rushed around to put out any lingering fires and ensure that the area was fully secured while he headed back to the vehicle with Shane.
“Any issues?” he asked Shane.
The werewolf shook his head. “None. Everything looks good.”
Which was also why he had everyone involved under binding magical NDAs.
Still. One could never prepare too much, and even with every contingency ruthlessly examined, there were always things that got through.
Even as he had the thought, the escort vehicle exploded.
The force of the explosion slammed into their SUV, sending it skidding and spinning across the road. Burning shrapnel sank deep into the side of the vehicle.
Dominic instantly and instinctively wrapped impact barriers around the center portion of the SUV and the participants in it, which helped protect himself, Shane, and most critically Onyx from being as battered as the vehicle flipped and tumbled onto its side and over.
“Fuck!” Shane yelled.
Dominic cried out as a sharp piece of metal scored through the back of his shields and tore a gash up the back of his shoulder. He curled protectively around the witch he was cradling, layering shields upon shields until the vehicle finally crashed to a stop.
Sound wasn’t moving properly, but Dominic ignored everything else to check and ensure that Onyx was undamaged. Thanks to the shields and barriers, he was.
“Can you get us out of here?” Dominic asked Shane.
The werewolf had made it through the initial attack with some damage as well, and he was bleeding from his thigh. “Yeah. Hold on.”
Even a lightly armored vehicle could get broken into — or out of — by a determined werewolf, and Shane was able to pry the door open with a screech of angry metal. Shane popped out of the SUV and immediately looked around while Dominic got himself and Onyx out of the car.
Shit. Shit. Fuck.
With his shoulder the way it was, Dominic couldn’t carry Onyx, and his ability to do anything magically was severely hampered — both defensively and offensively.
“Anything?” Dominic asked.
“Nothing. Yet.” The werewolf’s voice was grim.
Somewhere out there were the individuals who had just blown up his other security vehicle, and they had no idea where, or more importantly who they were. Dominic hadn’t heard a single whisper of anything like this.
“Waking Onyx,” Dominic warned Shane before removing the sleeping spell.
Onyx came alert all at once, sitting bolt upright. “What happened?” he asked as he cast a quick glance around them.
“Attacked,” Dominic said grimly. He’d have preferred not to even admit to that much, but since it was far more dangerous to have Onyx asleep and a potential target than awake… well, here they were.
“Someon—” Shane started to say before a series of gunshots rang out.
“Stay down,” Dominic ordered Onyx as he started to cast a series of spells to set up a defensive perimeter of sorts, and cast a bird’s-eye view over the area.
“Six to the south, four west, seven north,” Dominic rattled off as a series of electrical strikes came down not far from their position against the back of the flipped over vehicle.
“Three west,” Shane responded, shooting in that direction.
“Who are they?” Dominic snapped.
“No one else needs to die,” a voice rang out, as clearly as if someone had spoken directly into his ear. “Give us the boy, and you may leave.”
The boy.
Onyx.
They wanted Onyx.
Dominic was losing a lot of blood, which didn’t matter in the slightest compared to the knowledge that someone wanted Onyx. Someone had attacked his security team and himself to get his Onyx.
His laugh was ice cold. “Oh, I’m afraid you have it very wrong,” he said conversationally. “I’m afraid all of you dearly need to die.”
He started casting, and a funnel of air grew into a mini tornado in place as he chanted.
Projectiles started slicing out from the high winds, shooting quickly in all directions.
More and more projectiles shot out, and screams rang out from around them where they dug deep into flesh and bone… and many, many trees.
The winds slowly died down as the casting took its toll on him, and Dominic leaned against the car, desperately trying to keep himself from slumping.
“Impressive,” the voice continued. “We have more. How many do you have?”
“Shit,” Shane hissed. “More of them.”
“If they want me, they won’t risk any large scale attacks,” Onyx said, his voice detached. “I don’t know what those are.”
“Onyx Rayne?” the voice called out. “Stand up. Walk to the south. We’ll take you away from Bancroft. You do want to be free, don’t you?”
“Who are you?” Onyx demanded. “I don’t trust people who don’t identify themselves.”
“We’re friends,” the voice replied. “Introductions can wait, and so can negotiations. Walk away from that car, Onyx.”
Onyx eyed Dominic.
Dominic laughed again. “Ah, Ambrose. I would say that it’s a pleasure to see you again, but I’m afraid that would be a lie, and I do try to avoid lying.
Onyx, do not trust anything that he says.
” He canted his head, continuing when no further words were immediately forthcoming, “Did you think I wouldn’t recognize you, Ambrose?
Or your magical touch in the constructs?
Creative, that. If foolish. How many did you make? You’ll run out of them eventually.”
“I have enough,” Ambrose told him. “Do you think we wouldn’t come prepared? I know you, Dominic Bancroft.”
“Doesn’t sound like you’re very good friends,” Onyx remarked, his eyes tracking the movement of the constructs.
“We are not,” Dominic said coldly. “There are steps to which even I would not lower myself. I have ethics.”
Whether or not Onyx agreed with any of his ethics and morals, he did have them. There were rules that he followed, that all of their kind followed. He was a sadist, certainly. But he knew when to impose limits on himself, and he was not driven purely by his sadism.
“We want your help, Onyx Rayne,” Ambrose continued. “Surely you’d like to get revenge on Dominic and the system that sent you to him?”
“How many?” Dominic asked Shane, who’d shot several more times.
“Twelve that I see,” Shane replied. “Not including the ones that are partially working.”
Dominic hissed. “How long before backup arrives?”
Shane checked his phone. “Fifteen minutes, at least.”
Fuck.
Dominic started to cast the tornado of projectiles again, but pain lanced down his back and the spell faltered.
“We’re not going to last fifteen minutes like this,” Onyx noted in that same flat voice.
“Surrender, and I’ll show you mercy,” Ambrose droned. “We only want the boy, Dominic. Don’t risk your precious hide for a slave.”
“Spare me your lies,” Dominic hissed.
“I can take them.” Onyx turned, looking at Dominic.
Dominic stared at Onyx while he assessed pros and cons. Possibilities and outcomes.
All of Dominic’s default, latent defensive spells were fine, but he was hindered in his casting. He was still losing blood, too. Not enough that he’d be at risk of dying before support arrived, but enough to be a problem, and the limited mobility of his left arm was also an issue.
The constructs would overwhelm them if he couldn’t do anything but hold defensive shields up.
Onyx could destroy all of them.
Even after spending three hours using his magic, and especially if he took Dominic’s advice about using fire as projectiles, he could tear through the constructs easily.
Ambrose would likely escape. The thought was infuriating, but Dominic couldn’t identify a way that he — they — might be able to take him down.
Did he have a choice?
What would Onyx do?
Would Onyx turn on him the moment he had the ability to do so?
Dominic’s defenses would hold.
He thought.
After destroying the constructs, could Onyx escape, then?
Potentially. Maybe.
Dominic could still spell him asleep if he had to, but if he was right about Onyx’s ability to get through his shields, Onyx could kill him before he could cast the spell.
Risk versus outcome.
Let Lady Fate swing her blade.