A Final Touch: The Complete Series, page 65
I started blushing.
She fobbed a hand at me. “Never mind. I really don’t want to know the answer. Our dear leader never usually stoops to committing crimes. I guess he has different motivations around you.”
“Is this where you’re going to launch into chastising me for kissing him again?”
“You’re a grown woman. You knew exactly what you were doing. And by the sounds of it,” she snorted, “so did he. But understand, Virginia thinks he’s her property. She won’t stop fighting you – won’t stop until one of you goes down.”
It was a brutal warning, and my back shook. Every word of it was true. Virginia had already started fighting me to the death. I guess it was time I stepped up to the ring.
Stay here another second, and we’d be inviting disaster. I imagined the police would make it down here pretty soon.
Kelsey had already gone through the witch’s pockets. There was nothing much there: some blank spelled paper that wouldn’t lead to anything, a few crystals, and some car keys. Kelsey wanted to discard those, but I picked them back up from the metal table, my nose crinkling.
“Planning on driving her car into a wall to really ruin her day?” Kelsey asked.
“What if she’s got something inside her ride?”
“Maybe. I doubt it, though. If you’re looking for weapons, she doesn’t look like the kind to just leave them in her trunk.”
A snort rattled out of my nose. “You really haven’t seen what’s going on in the city streets, have you? All the rules are out the window. People are doing what they want. To make it down to the Kings, we’re gonna need some real firepower. Hell, we’re gonna need a car to drive us to the tunnels. I’d say that witch volunteered.”
I couldn’t believe how quickly I’d graduated from stealing one car to pretty much stealing them all. Kelsey didn’t stop me. She fell into step behind me.
I tried not to think of Jace. He would most definitely know that I’d already run away. Perhaps he erroneously thought I’d be coming back. But by now, he’d spent enough time with me to know that once I wound myself up, I didn’t stop until I had what I wanted.
Virginia’s tone kept echoing through my head, anyway. She might not have started all of this, but she would maneuver to ensure it benefited her every step of the way. Likely, by the time I made it out of the flood tunnels, she would already be married to Jace.
I’d never get to know exactly what he felt like. And I’d never get to go through with the urge that we belonged together.
Kelsey might look like death, but her senses still worked. She was the one who helped me escape the hospital. The police now completely filled it.
Shaking her head, Kelsey hissed, “I hope they know what they’re doing. It looks like they’ve drained the main police station in town to come here. That’ll let the Kings do whatever the hell they want with the rest of town.”
“Until we shove our fists down their throat.”
Chuckling, she leaned close, probably to get a little more analgesic power from me. “Were you always this way? You seemed pretty timid the day I met you.”
“A week of non-stop shit sure can change a girl.”
“Nope. Sorry. I don’t buy that you changed that quickly,” she said flatly, flicking her hair over her ear. “I’m gonna go back to my favorite pet theory. You always had this magic in you. It just took M-day and recent incidents to make it rise.”
My brain ticked back to the library. Crap, I hadn’t told Kelsey any of that yet. It took seconds to loosen my lips. “I think I’m ancient, Kelsey. Something that arose way before vampires.”
Blinking, she shook her head. “You’ve misunderstood. I’m sure your powers existed before M-day, but not before the dawn of time.”
Catching my wrist, I ran my hand up and down my arm. “Back in the library, Jace and I discovered a vampire. We think he was one of the first ones. I guess the library kept him on the equivalent of magical ice to help people or something? Maybe as a historical record? He seemed to recognize me. And he freaked the hell out.”
Kelsey opened her mouth in her trademark quick snap to say something. Those lips crumpled back in. “Who cares what you are?” she said in a direct tone that echoed Jace. Maybe it was a wolf thing.
Spluttering, I ran my hand through my hair. “I do. What if it turns out that I’m some kind of monster?”
A snort ripped through the air. “Well, you’re a pretty good freaking monster. And you’re fighting the real bad guys. So you’ll get my vote.”
“I’m serious, Kelsey. In the last day and a half, my power has practically tripled. It’s like I can just think of something and do it. It’s insane.”
“And you’ve shoved all that glorious power down their throats. What’s wrong with that?”
“I don’t know what I might become,” I said in a frustrated gasp.
Her hands settled on my shoulder. “I do. It’ll roughly be the same thing you currently are. Good but irritating,” she said in that honest voice. “And if you think you’ve got more power in you, investigate it. I’ve got your back for now.”
With that resounding promise, we made it to the car park. I didn’t see how we would find the witch’s car. I had this crazy idea that I could do what Jace did, and simply sniff the keys then walk around, meandering between the vehicles to find the right one.
But a pounding headache was now sizzling through my temples. Not enough food, right? Maybe I was dehydrated?
It felt like more. This weird heavy sensation was developing between my shoulder blades, and I didn’t know why. Oh. Wait. I’d slept on the couch, right? An adequate explanation. It still fell flat.
Kelsey grabbed the keys and sniffed them. In her current state, she didn’t have the brain power to find the car. Both of us stood there kind of frustrated, knowing this could help us, unless I’d grossly overestimated what could be in the witch’s trunk.
I ran my fingers through my hair, ready to call this off, but I stopped. My sense of smell might be unreliable currently, but I wasn’t focusing right. Critically, I wasn’t concentrating on the one thing that usually helped my sense of smell calm down. Jace.
“Hand over the keys,” I said softly.
Immediately, Kelsey put them in my palm. With a long, strong breath, I grounded myself. Then I smelled the keys.
I stood there, letting the wind whip the scent of the vehicles toward me. At first, I couldn’t even differentiate it from all of the other scents around this half-burnt hospital. I’m pretty sure I could smell the cathedral several miles off, too. But I couldn’t get distracted.
With another exhale, I focused. Then I thought of Jace. My mind went from one thing to another until I practically felt his lips on mine and my legs around his hips.
Bam. It was like setting light to dynamite. My nose actually tingled. Racing now, I smelled the car beside me, then the one beside that. It extended outward until I got a 3D map of every single vehicle in the parking lot.
Kelsey knew something was up, because she clapped her hand around my elbow protectively. “You OK?”
When I opened my eyes, they rolled into the back of my head. Then I flapped a hand over my tingling nose. “Feels like it’s going to fall off.”
“Stop pushing yourself,” she begged.
“No—” I began. I suddenly got it. My brain locked onto a specific scent. Without telling Kelsey anything, I ran through the car park, feet quick. It took two minutes to find a pretty nice SUV. It was modern, had big wheels, even had real four-wheel drive traction. There was a little mud splattered over the back, suggesting that the witch actually went off-road with it.
I tried the keys, and the door opened.
“Holy hell,” Kelsey hissed. “You actually did it.”
Flopping a hand over my chest, I nodded. “Did you think I wouldn’t?”
She snorted, a long, almost twisted move, as if she were pushing a breath through a straw. “With you, who can tell? How’d you do it, anyway?”
I’d already told Kelsey that I’d kissed Jace. What exactly would she do if I shared my theory that we were starting to align?
Kelsey could read me. When my cheeks warmed with red, she shook her head. “It’s got something to do with the fair Alpha, doesn’t it?”
“He has dark hair.”
“It’s a saying about his character—”
“And you think hanging out with me is ruining him, do you?”
Kelsey snorted and looked me up and down, eyes locking on my figure. “I think you’re purpose-built to ruin his character.”
“Huh? I’m diametrically opposed to Virginia.”
“Yeah. And I’m pretty sure that’s the point. Have I ever actually told you about wolf desire—”
This could be a long, possibly thrilling, but very distracting conversation. We’d made it to the car. I didn’t know how long we’d have to search it in peace. The blare of more police sirens filled the air, and pretty soon they’d start checking through the car park. By the sounds of it, they’d already locked down the main building. Now they’d want to widen the net in case there were things around the hospital that had something to do with the attack.
I immediately opened the back. There was camping equipment: little burners, a pot set, some clothes, even a sleeping bag. It wasn’t that strange to find in a senior witch’s car. A lot of them spent time in the forest, reconnecting with nature.
Kelsey frowned, though. It was her turn to scent it. “God, I smell something powerful in there. Can you pick it up?”
I took a deep breath, distracting myself from any thoughts of aligning with Jace. Yeah. It was something powerful. While Kelsey dragged a camping bag over and started checking through it, I headed straight for the front seat and jumped into the driver’s side. Then I leaned over and yanked open the dash. I pulled out paraphernalia to do with the car, then stopped, my hand closing around something. It was a small silk pouch embroidered with little magical symbols. I wasn’t that crafty, but I could tell this was expensive. The silk felt like a pillow under my touch. More importantly, my nose started to tingle like crazy.
Kelsey could tell something was wrong. Abandoning the back and closing it with a soft click, she raced into the passenger seat. “What is it?” she breathed.
By that time I’d gathered the gumption to pull open the little lace strings. I dumped three rings into my hand. They were golden, 24 karats if I was any judge, and dotted with tiny little runes. I knew they were magical, and boy did they smell, but I had no clue what they did.
A gasp rattled Kelsey’s throat. Immediately, she jerked over and plucked one up. “Holy hell.” From the shake in her voice, these were either expensive or incredibly powerful.
Perhaps it was both.
“What is it?” I hissed. I hunkered closer to the wheel. Several police cars were coming down the opposite side toward the car park. Fortunately, we could still exit around the back.
Whipping her eyes up, Kelsey saw. “Get out of here. I’ll explain on the way.”
I started the car. A hybrid, fortunately, it was pretty quiet. I waited until the police drove to the other side of the car park. Then I very carefully turned in the opposite direction and headed out of here. My heart was in my throat the whole way until I got onto the road and disappeared out of sight.
Kelsey was still playing with the golden rings. Abruptly, wincing as if this could kill her, she shoved one on. Then, right in front of me, she transformed into a young witch: relatively the same age, about the same size, but a completely different appearance. It even changed the scent of her magic.
I almost slammed my foot on the brake. “What the hell?”
Kelsey grinned from ear to ear, quite a feat considering how damaged her lips and skin were. But I couldn’t see that. I only knew it academically.
“Remind me never to doubt one of your theories again. That witch was keeping the best freaking gear in her car,” the wolf whistled.
“Is this… some kind of disguise ring?”
“Better. Those are three disguise rings. Who the hell knows what that witch was up to, but these things are over $500,000 a pop. The woman is either incredibly rich—”
“Or she stole them. But from whom?”
“Who cares? Do you know what we can do with these?”
Yeah, I did.
A grin ripped across Kelsey’s lips, flattening her cheeks. It was distracting as hell, not because the wolf looked cheeky, despite her underlying condition, but because I had to read her emotions on a completely different face. Long blond-red hair hung down in tousles to her waist. She had a ruddy complexion, bright blue eyes, and a fuller figure. She assessed herself, then reached over and handed one of the rings to me. “Put it on.”
“While I’m driving?”
“Yeah, while you’re driving,” she snapped over me. “What better time? We can head to the flood tunnels in a frickin’ disguise. Then we can go right down to the Kings with perfect anonymity.”
“I don’t think it’s perfect.”
“Trust me. This is the real deal.” She gestured with the gold ring, and sunlight glinted along the glimmering surface. She didn’t need to attract my eye to it. I couldn’t look away. Kelsey no longer smelled like herself. Maybe if I got really close and I took some of her blood, I’d be able to detect it.
… Was this really the silver bullet we were looking for? It certainly sounded like it. But unless we used this chance wisely, it would blow up in our faces.
I was almost proud of that train of thought. If Jace were here, he would be too. Then he’d immediately turn around and tell me to wait for him.
For how long? Until Virginia finally had everything she wanted? By the time Jace was fully wrapped around her finger, he’d never be able to move again.
“Put the ring on. I’ll hold the wheel.”
I really didn’t know the wisdom of transforming one’s appearance while driving, but I also didn’t want to pull off the road. There were too many emergency services vehicles.
“Head up there and turn down that road. There’s nobody for now. No cameras, either.” Kelsey seemed to know what she was talking about. She didn’t even need to check the nearby premises. I could assume that was bluster, but considering her job with the pack was to walk around town looking for trouble, maybe she really did know where all the CCTV footage was taken.
With a gulp, wondering if this would hurt, I crammed the ring on. The answer was it didn’t tingle. Nor did it bite. There was no pain. I didn’t even sense the fact that it had any weight. It was a completely invisible process. Not to Kelsey. She pursed her lips and whistled. “You look great as a 60-year-old crone.”
My fingers raced up to my cheek. “60 years old?”
“Yep. Gorgeous silver hair, too. Nobody’s gonna have any clue it’s you. Same rough size, completely different look. Wow. And to think, we have a third one.”
Yeah, we do. “But aren’t people going to figure out we’re wearing disguise rings?”
“Nope. They’re going to think we’re married. Simple gold bands, right?” Kelsey hadn’t put hers on her wedding finger, but she switched now. I’d already put mine on the right finger. I played with it as I pulled out of the laneway in front of traffic. There were a lot of police. They even peered into the car. But nobody looked suspicious. They sure would’ve if they’d seen Kelsey’s actual form, splattered with blood, covered in deep, dark veins.
This was a boon. But it wasn’t a weapon. Even if we made it down to the Kings, then what?
“We’ve now got disguises. We’ve got your dagger, too, so don’t worry.”
“Don’t worry, Kelsey? Your condition has deteriorated.”
She sucked her bottom lip in, holding it hard against her teeth. Her expression told me she couldn’t be angrier at me. “My condition is my business. I’ll push through. Trust me. The Kings have screwed with me too much this week.”
“Kelsey, I don’t want to see you get hurt.”
“And I want to see this city get hurt even less. This is my body. It’s my choice. I’ll tell you if I’m about to die. Honest.”
I hated the joke. Kelsey laughed at it. Then she stared ahead, playing with the final disguise ring in her hand.
“What should we do with it? Take it with us?” I asked.
She scrunched her lips. “It would be pretty suspicious if we were found with another gold band on us. People might start thinking they’re disguise rings. We’ll leave it in the car.”
“That’d be worse. They might track us back to this vehicle and check it? How about we bury it somewhere close by? Or we can throw it out onto the side of the road.”
“It’s worth $500,000,” she snapped.
This operation would have to be smooth. The entrance of the flood tunnels would be watched. We certainly wouldn’t have time to go find a freaking spade and bury an important magical object. So I snatched the ring off Kelsey. I remembered where we were, rolled down the window, and tossed it into the drain.
“Serena!” she snapped at me, her voice lurching up higher.
“Sorry,” I said, “but we can’t afford for anything to go wrong at this point.”
We couldn’t afford for anything to have gone wrong earlier, either. Yet we’d successfully managed to weather the storm. Mythos City, on the other hand, looked like it was drowning. The closer I got to the flood tunnels, the more things looked like they descended into chaos. There weren’t riots. Yet. But I swear we were getting close. I passed several skirmishes. I reckon most of them had been simple fender-benders that got out of hand.
But even Kelsey noticed. Her fingers clutched her seat belt, the usually proud wolf rolling her shoulders in. “… Drive faster, OK? We have to reach the Kings now.”
I shoved my foot on the accelerator, didn’t say another word, and concentrated.
It took about another 20 minutes. But we approached the right area. I didn’t park in the car park. Kelsey picked a position on the street. Then she turned to me when we pulled off the road. “I was serious before. No matter what happens, I know that I’m going in there willingly. If I die—”
“I’m not gonna freaking let you die—”
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