Wicked Edge Page 24

  Ivan cleared his throat. “By the way, we have all the surrounding area covered with land mines. Anybody trying to leave here by any way other than teleporting will be blown into tiny pieces even a witch couldn’t put back together.”

  The Humpty Dumpty nursery rhyme trilled through her head. There had to be a place for a helicopter to land.

  “We’re covered by trees with no cleared space,” Ivan continued as if slapping away each idea that occurred to her. “Any clearing big enough for a helicopter is fully planted with explosives.” His voice remained matter of fact and almost cheerful.

  Felicity kept her face stoic. Her only chance was to somehow get word to Zane as to where they were, so he could teleport in and get Logan out of there. But first she had to find Logan.

  The elevator door opened, and bright light cut inside. She blinked several times and followed Ivan into an opulent dining room with full floor-to-ceiling windows looking out over a cliff. The world outside was blue and white. Blue sky, blue condensed ice, and white ground with white covering the trees. Sunshine sparkled off particles in the ice, glittering and cold.

  “This is so weird,” she muttered, stomping forward to take one of the two seats at the table decorated with fine red linens and sterling silver accents.

  Ivan reached for a bottle of 1973 Richebourg and poured them each a glass. “A nice Pinot Noir for lunch,” he said as the red wine filled their glasses. Then he sat across from her.

  A waiter, impeccably dressed in a white uniform, entered from a side room and quickly deposited soup in front of them. The fragrant scent wafted up, and Felicity’s stomach growled. There was only a soup spoon on the table, but the candlesticks appeared to be pure silver. While they were elegantly shaped with no sharp points, she could still use them. Blunt force trauma to the temple might take down Ivan.

  He sipped his wine. “Eat up so we can get you healthy.”

  She frowned, the spoon halfway to her mouth. “Why do you care so much about my health?”

  He swirled the wine in the glass and watched the play of light. “My doctors have informed me that we can’t inject you with the mutated Virus-Twenty-Seven until all of the current drug is out of your system.”

  She dropped her spoon. “You have vials of the mutated virus?”

  “Yes. The queen doesn’t believe in proprietary information and made the concoction available to the world at large.” He smiled. “It didn’t take much of an effort to find a clinic and buy samples. Of course, the queen also sent very strong directions that the samples were for research purposes only.”

  Nausea swirled down Felicity’s throat to thud in her stomach. “The mutation is still experimental.”

  “Right, but as I can see, the drug already worked on you, or you wouldn’t have been able to mate Daire Dunne.” Ivan smiled.

  She shook her head. “No. I mean, yes, it worked. But the queen made a few tweaks before we experimented, and you probably don’t have the newest samples. In addition, nobody has ever tried to negate a mating bond twice in the same body.” God only knew what the mutated sample would do once inside Felicity.

  “I’m willing to take the chance.”

  Felicity sat back in the velvet chair. “Why?” she breathed. “I really don’t understand. Why is this so important to you?”

  He blew on soup before shoving the spoon in his mouth. “Your brother and I had an agreement.”

  She cocked her head to the side. “Why else?”

  His dark eyes darkened further. “You’ve been in my dreams for a century. Perfect golden hair and black eyes. A purebred female demon.”

  “I’m not some trophy.”

  “Sure you are.” He smiled again. “Do you have any idea how rare you are?”

  She leaned back. “Yes.” The guy was a narcissistic asshole who’d rather see her dead than living away from him. “Have you tried seeking professional help for your narcissistic, sociopathic tendencies?” Steeling her shoulders, she dug into the soup to banish the dizziness.

  He chuckled. “I like your spirit. You’ve caused me so much trouble, I now have my own people wanting to spill my blood. Mating you, the mother to Zane Kyllwood and a purebred demon, will put me back in control. Especially when I combine your fortune with mine and start investing again.”

  “I’m broke.” She finished the bowl and sat back. As if by magic, the waiter appeared with her next course, a big steak. She winced.

  “We both know you have plenty of money.” Ivan handed over his soup bowl. “You still don’t like meat?” He shrugged. “For now, I’d eat it anyway. Protein is the key to flushing your system of the current drug and preparing you for the next one.”

  Yes. The queen had had Felicity eat a high-protein diet for a month before trying out the mutated drug. But Felicity had taken time to find protein she liked and didn’t have to eat meat. She had no objection to anybody else eating meat . . . she just didn’t like the taste or texture. Even so, she immediately reached for the fork and steak knife left by the waiter. The knife would come in handy.

  She cleared her throat and tried to use reason when all she wanted to do was shove the blade through Ivan’s jugular. “Listen, Ivan. I hate you. With a white hot, raw need to see you decapitated.” Her voice shook, and she forced air into her lungs. “I want you dead. That is not going to change ever. So if we stay in the same vicinity, I will kill you. Dead.”

  He sighed. “I know.”

  “So what the hell?”

  He wiped his pale mouth and set his napkin back on his lap. “Since you’re being so honest, so will I.” His dark eyes burned with an odd light. “You’ll take the drug and negate the mating bond with the lowlife witch. You and I will mate, or I’ll kill Logan.” Ivan sat back and eyed his steak. “Mating you will get me back on track professionally and personally? I want two kids. Purebred demons.”

  She shook her head, her chest aching. “You’re crazy. No way will I have children with you.”

  He lifted a shoulder. “My doctors tell me all I need is to mate you and then harvest your eggs.”

  Her mouth dropped open. “What?”

  “Yes. Using the technology created by humans, I can just harvest your genetic material and use a surrogate.” His face lacked any sense of humor. “But we have to mate first, or the pregnancy won’t take, as you probably already know.”

  He was over the moon crazy, but what if a crazy plan like that actually worked? She couldn’t leave any of her kids alone, and no way could she have a kid with the bastard. “Under no circumstances am I giving you genetic material.”

  He smiled. “After we’re mated, I don’t see that you’ll have a choice. You’re stuck on this mountain, Felicity. And if you want Logan to live to see his next birthday, you’ll mate with me.”

  She coughed out and tried to keep from puking. While the plan was absolutely insane, Ivan did have the resources to make it happen. “Then what?”

  He smiled, his canines glinting. “Then I’m going to cut off your beautiful head.”

  Chapter 29

  Daire took the stairs two at a time, rushing up the stairwell and bursting into the hallway. A still smoking hole gaped where the wall to his apartment had been. Somebody, probably Kellach, had created a shield in the air that would keep humans from seeing or smelling the smoke and fire. At least for a while. Quantum physics and magic at its finest. He gingerly stepped through, his heart thundering.

  Rain and wind billowed inside from a hole in the outside wall. Sam and Kellach sat with their backs to the couch, bruises covering their faces and blood flowing from various injuries. Both were typing furiously on their phones and grunting something at each other. Simone sat over on a burned ottoman, an icepack against her face, her lip fat and bleeding.

  Zane paced near the smoldering kitchen, barking orders into a cell phone.

  Daire took a deep breath.

  Simone saw him first. “We’re trying to find her, but so far, no luck.”

  His knees wobbled a
nd he growled.

  Zane ended a call. “Six-man team, smoke grenade, and some kind of drug that knocked us on our asses. Well trained and prepared for both demons and witches.” He rubbed a hand over a series of bruises on his forehead. “Mom fought hard, but the drug took her out.”

  Sam looked up, anger and concern in his green eyes. “We’ll find her. Garrett is hitting the pavement up and down the block, trying to talk to anybody who might have seen them. Kell and I are working on traffic cams, store surveillance, and hopefully satellite pictures.”

  Kellach didn’t even look up, his fingers were flying so quickly over his phone. “I have a German satellite that may have been in the correct position. The Realm boys are on it, and they’ll relay all data to me.”

  Daire fought the urge to hit something. “She’s smart and she’s tough.” He was reassuring himself more than anybody else. “Her main concern is Logan, so she’ll play along until she finds him.” That was crucial, because based on the information he’d gleaned about Bychkov, the guy would ultimately decide to kill her. He wanted to make her pay for making a fool out of him years ago. Mating a full-bred demon would help him with his followers for a while, but he’d have to kill her at some point, or she’d definitely kill him.

  Daire coughed out smoke, his gut churning. His mate was in the hands of the enemy, and he had no clue where she was being held. He nodded at Simone. “Let’s take this to your apartment.”

  She glanced around, her eyes unfocused. “Oh. Good idea.” Her hand visibly trembled when she pushed off the chair, and Daire braced himself to catch her if necessary. But she made it over the legs of the two sitting soldiers and toward the door.

  Kellach shoved to stand and reached down a hand to help Sam. A bone protruded from Sam’s upper thigh.

  Daire winced. “You need to fix that before you do anything else.”

  He nodded and didn’t protest when Kellach ducked under his arm and helped him out the door and down the hall.

  Bear crashed into the room, his eyes wide, rain dripping from his shaggy hair. “Holy crap.” He looked around the demolished room. “What’s our plan?”

  “Next door,” Daire said. “Simone’s place wasn’t hit, and we’re going to plan there.”

  Bear nodded and loped through the gaping hole and down the hallway.

  Zane stared at Daire.

  “What?” Daire asked.

  “I have an idea, and it’s far-fetched, but we at least need to try.” The demon crossed his arms.

  “Fine, but heal that bleeding wound in your forehead.” Daire tried not to look at the wound.

  Zane wiped blood from his head and set his stance, his chest moving as he inhaled and slowly exhaled. The hole closed. “Better?”

  “Somewhat.” Daire eyed his ruined penthouse. “What’s your plan?”

  “You’ve mated. It’s probably too early, but there may be a chance to communicate telepathically,” Zane said.

  Daire lifted his head. He’d totally forgotten that mated couples could usually reach each other through thoughts. Hope unfurled in his chest, and he shoved the emotion way down. “We’ve only been mated a couple of days,” he warned Zane.

  “I know, but demons have stronger telepathic gifts than other species, so it’s not unheard of to learn the skill quickly.” Zane stretched out his hand to reveal several broken fingers. With a growl, he narrowed his gaze and the breaks healed. “Plus, she’s done it before with my father. At least give it a try.”

  Daire nodded. “Since Felicity can’t attack minds, do you think she’ll be able to read thoughts?”

  “Yes. It’s a totally different ability.” Zane leaned back against the ripped and torn wall. “Well?”

  Daire shut his eyes and centered himself. Then he sent out a call for Felicity.

  Nothing.

  He tried again.

  Nothing.

  “I feel like a dumbass,” he muttered, opening his eyes.

  Zane rubbed his chin. “I know, but it’s our only shot right now. You have to believe you can do it, or it won’t matter.”

  “Can you speak to your mate?” Daire asked.

  “Yes. Easily.”

  Well, all right then. Daire inhaled the scent of smoke and blood. He then exhaled slowly, pushing out all the bad air. His mind wandered to the arctic and their night in the tent. Their first night together. He smiled and concentrated. Felicity? If you can hear me, or sense me, ah, say something?

  A buzz tickled through his brain. He stilled. Felicity?

  What?

  The word stormed through his brain, sizzling along his synapses and shooting down his spine. He dropped to one knee, his heart convulsing. “Holy shit.”

  Zane winced. “She, ah, couldn’t control the power with my dad, either.”

  Daire pushed to stand. “You’re telling me that the woman who can’t attack minds has the ability to destroy mine since we’ve mated?”

  Zane’s lip twisted. “Yeah. I mean, she probably won’t.”

  “I’m the one person in the world she can mind attack?” Daire asked, his breath heating.

  “Yeah. I guess you are.” Zane studied him thoughtfully.

  Well, shit. His heart warmed that he could actually get into Cee Cee’s head, but the idea of her melting his brain accidentally didn’t set well. “Why isn’t she calling out?”

  Zane shrugged, his eyes a little wild. “Maybe she remembered how dangerous she is.”

  Daire didn’t care. He forced away thoughts of what could be happening to her and tried to focus. Cee Cee? I’m fine, baby. Tell me where you are.

  The Sjenerøse Mine! shrieked through his head.

  He staggered but kept his feet this time. Holy fuck. She was across the world. He focused on an intent Zane. “She’s at the Sjenerøse mine on Fryser Island.”

  “The asshole teleported her,” Zane muttered.

  Daire nodded and tried to send another message. We’ll be right there.

  No! Entire place surrounded by land mines and covered in planekite!

  His left eardrum exploded, and he clapped a hand over it. Her power was frightening. Got it. You okay?

  Yes! You can’t come get me—I think there’s planekite everywhere.

  I understand, but I’ll deal with that when I get there. His head jerked twice, and blood dribbled from his ear. He blinked away blindness. Find Logan?

  Not yet!

  Pain exploded at the base of his neck and reverberated through his vertebra. Nausea exploded, and he turned to the side, his hand going to his stomach. It took several deep swallows, but he didn’t puke. Hold tight, baby. We’re coming for you.

  Thankfully, she didn’t answer.

  He crammed the palm of his hand against his right eye to regain sight. “How many people can you teleport?”

  Zane bit his lip. “I can probably take two in, but after we fight, if we find a fight, I may not be able to bring two out immediately. And weapons can’t teleport.”

  Shit. He’d forgotten that fact. “I already know that Logan hasn’t developed the skill yet. Can Sam teleport?”

  “Yes.”

  So he had two demons who could teleport with him, and two to rescue who couldn’t teleport. If the fight was fierce, then whoever Zane and Sam took in might not make it out. “Okay. Here’s the plan. You, Sam, and I go in. You and Sam get Felicity and Logan to safety, and then when you’re strong, come back for me. I’ll take care of Bychkov and anybody else.”

  “That plan gets you killed,” Zane said, crossing his arms.

  Maybe. “The key is that we get your mom and brother to safety.” Daire put it into words Zane couldn’t dispute. “That’s all that matters.”

  Felicity followed Ivan through a labyrinth of tunnels along thick carpet, then thinner carpet, then a series of bath mats, and then cold, hard stone. The jerk had confiscated her knife and eyeliner, damn it.

  The hallways narrowed and the lights dimmed. Her mind spun. Daire had reached her, somehow. Man, she hoped
she hadn’t hurt him when she’d responded. She’d actually blinded her first mate for a week once years ago. Since she’d never had the ability to attack minds, she hadn’t learned to control the skill.

  Finally, they reached a secured room guarded by two men.

  She stopped breathing. Was Logan inside?

  Ivan unlocked the door and stalked into the chamber. She ran after him, frantically looking around. It was a war room.

  A sprawling onyx table surrounded by heavy chairs took up the center of the room. Computer screens covered one full wall, and maps concealed the other side. A group of computers and stations were currently empty across the room. “This is where I work,” Ivan said.

  The door shut behind her and she jumped. “Where is my son?”

  Ivan turned and smiled. “I think we’ll wait to see Logan until after you are injected with the mutated virus. It’ll be much easier to get along, I think.”

  Temper roared through her. “Is he alive?”

  “Yes.” No expression settled on Ivan’s angled face. “I give you my word, he’s alive, and he’s here.”

  “Your word doesn’t mean shit to me.”

  He sighed. “Language.”

  “Oh, fuck you.” She wandered over to the maps, which clearly showed his mines. “You should probably use a different colored pin for the mines I’ve destroyed.”

  He swore. “That was very unkind of you, you know.”

  Her fingers itched with the need to draw his blood. But she couldn’t harm him until she found Logan. Keeping casual, she studied the maps. “Who’s your partner in these mines?”

  Ivan laughed. “I’m afraid he’s the silent type.”

  “I’m thinking he has a couple more planekite mines out there that you don’t know about.” She recognized all the known mines.

  “Maybe, but he still needed my mines, so I guess he doesn’t produce enough.”

  The door opened, and a blond demon in white coat walked inside. He had a medical bag under one arm and a syringe in his hand.