“I will be going back to my castle,” Andrak said, but he didn’t elaborate on the fact that he wouldn’t be around long enough for movie marathons and that the dead didn’t need the internet.

  Time Bomb and his ex-field partner Drag had been known to marathon rom-coms on their days off. They invited me once, but I’d never been into romance movies. Now I wished life would imitate art, as my heart sank. Love was impossible. That’s what he’d said. But it hadn’t been on my part. I’d caught feelings for the stupid dragon, and it sucked being the only one in the relationship who did.

  It didn’t matter, I wasn’t doing this for him out of some romantic notion that true love would find a way. I was ethically and morally bound to help him retrieve the fragments. Whatever happened beyond that was completely out of my control. I’d live with it the same as I’d lived with other disappointments in my life.

  I brought the conversation back to the task at hand. “It won’t matter whether they believe us or not. We just need to get inside. We’ll have the element of surprise on our hands. Besides, how many first-born warlock sons born on a Saturday and willing to practice black magic can there be? There were only seven sabbatianoí at the Ravenblood compound, and Andrak roasted one of them like a marshmallow over an open fire. If they can’t be captured, they can be killed.”

  “Okay. We’ll follow your lead.” Monty said. He had a black bag of his own. He pulled out five small earbud cases.

  I looked around at my ragtag crew with a mixture of pride and gratitude. I’d needed their help, and they’d heeded the call. “Thank you for coming,” I told them. The exhilaration that always hit me when I joined them on a mission lit me up faster than a bodybuilder with roid-rage. “Now, everyone, bud up, and let’s get to doing the do.”

  I wanted a fight. As a matter of fact, magic or no magic, I was spoiling for one. And before the morning was over, I was going to make the sabbatianoí wish they’d been born on a Monday.

  Chapter Thirteen

  —Andrak—

  Trying to steal a last kiss and failing miserably. Stubborn witch.

  The way Shirley took charge made my blood boil for her. Varge’s sack-like dirty coveralls had not diminished her beauty in any way. The blonde witch was sexy as hell.

  We scouted around the perimeter, Time Bomb going one way while Shirley and I went the other. Going through the front door was still the plan, but if we could sneak in without being noticed, more the better.

  “This way,” Shirley said when we saw an alley behind the old factory building.

  Goddess, how could I have hurt someone so magnificent? I put my hand out and stopped her as we approached a large dumpster.

  She whipped her gaze to me. “Did you hear something?” she whispered.

  I shook my head. “Can I kiss you?”

  “No,” she said, a little too quickly for my taste. “If you want to kiss me, stick around for a while, and you can have all the kisses you want.”

  “Ouch,” I muttered as we continued around the back.

  “There,” Shirley said. She pointed to an open window on the third floor.

  “I won’t fit in that, and unless you’ve suddenly developed the ability to sprout wings….” I let the implication lie there.

  “Smart ass.” She opened the bag Gigi had given her.

  “Don’t shoot me,” I teased, trying to ease the tension between us.

  “I’m not in the mood,” she said. She took out a three-prong titanium grappling hook that was connected to a bundled nylon cord. “Can you toss this up there?”

  “I can,” I told her. “But I don’t know about accuracy.”

  She unclipped the cord and handed it to me. “Just don’t break the glass.”

  I frowned, my brow furrowed, as I swung the hook in a circle before releasing it. It went straight up past the window, and then it came right back down. I grabbed Shirley and yanked her to me to get her out of the way of its path. It clanked on the ground where she’d been standing a second earlier.

  Her breath felt cool against my neck, and I realized I was still holding her tight. “Uhm, sorry,” I said. “I’ll try again.”

  Shirley's palm moved down my chest. “Good,” she rasped. “Excellent.”

  The look in her eyes as I met her gaze stoked my desire.

  “Oh, uhm, well,” Shirley took a step back. “Wrong place, wrong time.”

  Wrong guy, I added silently. I was the wrong guy for Shirley. I needed to get that through my thick skull.

  Shirley stood several feet away as I made another attempt. It hit the metal frame before sailing back to the concrete alley floor.

  Shirley and I hid for a moment, waiting to see if anyone heard the noise. No one checked. “What a relief,” Shirley said.

  “I’ve got an idea,” I said. “It’ll be easier than this, but it’s not without risk.”

  “Lay it on me, Andy.”

  “You’re not going to let that go, are you?”

  She wrinkled her nose. “Nope. What’s your idea?”

  “I’ll fly you up to the window.”

  “We can’t have dragon sightings in Kansas City.”

  “I’ll go wings only.”

  “Can you do that?”

  “It’s not comfortable, but yes.”

  Shirley considered the plan for a moment, then nodded. “Okay. I’m in.”

  I took my shirt off.

  The blonde witch licked her lips. Her eyes were wide as she stared at my chest. “What are you doing?”

  “I’m not ruining another shirt today. I’ll need it after.”

  “Oh, yeah. Okay. Right,” she stammered. She waved her hand at me in a shooing gesture. “Go on and do you.”

  A pleased smile tugged at my lips. I enjoyed the way I flustered the normally large and in charge witch. So, I might have taken an extra moment before bursting my wings from my back. “Ow.” A full transformation felt like nothing but having dragon wings poke through flesh was not a fun time. “Come here.” I held my arms out to her.

  She walked over to me and put her arms around my neck. “You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?”

  “A little,” I admitted as I wrapped my arms around her and lifted her off the ground. I groaned as my body reacted to the memory of her legs wrapped around my waist the night before.

  “That better be a baseball bat this time,” she said.

  I chuckled. “It’s not.”

  “You’re on comms,” Monty said in my earpiece. “Keep it PG, folks.”

  Shirley giggled, and it made me even harder. Damn it, this was going to be uncomfortable for so many reasons. “Roger that,” I said to the warlock. And on that note, I vaulted us into the air toward the open window.

  —Shirley—

  In the lair of the Saturday fuckers, trying to find the fragments before they find me.

  The third floor was a dusty, grungy unused level of the building. There were a few racks of windshields left over from when the place housed auto glass. Pigeons flew along the ceiling beams, disturbed that someone had invaded their home. A white glop of poop hit my shoulder, and no matter what the wives’ tale said, it didn’t feel lucky to me. The boots clunked when I walked, so I took them off. Quickly and quietly, I made my way across the old wooden floor to the stairs.

  “How’s it going?” Monty said over the earpiece.

  “Fine,” I told him. “Taking the steps to the second floor. Where’s Time Bomb and Andrak?”

  “Out front,” Time Bomb answered. “We’re together. Ready to go in and cause a distraction on your signal.”

  Now that I was inside the building, we’d finessed the plan. The boys would keep the sabbatianoí busy while I searched for the fragments. “I’ll let you know,” I told him.

  I eased my way down, testing each step to avoid creaks. Even so, one of them let out a loud errreeeeeeeaat when I put my weight on it. Gah. Where was a silencing spell when I needed one? I knew the bracelet was a necessary evil, but damn, I wanted it off so badly. Magic was like the backspace key on a keyboard. I hadn’t realized how much I relied upon it until the moment it stopped working.

  There was a closed-door after the bottom step. I could hear voices on the other side. They were speaking in unison. I tapped my ear mic. “I’ve got bad dudes on the second floor,” I whispered. “Sounds like more than a few. Hold.”

  “Copy,” Time Bomb answered.

  I made a face as I ever so slowly turned the doorknob. The door wasn’t locked. I prayed to the Goddess for a quiet hinge as I cracked the door open an inch.

  Thirteen robed men stood in a circle around a pentagram centered on the symbol of Saturn. Their voices raised as their chanting became almost fevered. Their arms were raised as they prayed for the power of their god. I shivered as I watched the display of unwavering devotion.

  I was dumbstruck when one of the sabbatianoí grabbed a struggling woman and threw her into the center of the circle. She was gagged, her hands and feet bound. I recognized her, and the realization that I was responsible felt as if someone had kicked me in the guts. “No,” I hissed. “Alma Peters.”

  I’d sent the negotiator back to the RMCA. How in the world had she fallen into the hands of this cult?

  One of the robed guys stepped forward, a curved knife held high in his hand. “Saturn on high, lord of lord, god of gods, provider of abundance and restoration, we implore you to accept this sacrifice and bestow upon us your mercy as we do thine will.”

  Why wasn’t Alma running? Had they found a way to shield her magic, like what Leelu had done to me? Was this the bitchy witch’s doing? Had she made a deal with the sabbatianoí to screw me over? To gain more power? I’d always known she was a self-serving asshole, but a traitor? I couldn’t let this evil stand. I would trade places with Alma if I had to.

  The situation had moved past tasing. I took a knife and the weighted baton from the bag then shoved them into a coverall pocket. Next, I grabbed the gun. I tapped my earpiece again. “Go, go, go.” Then I burst through the door. “Stop!” I yelled. “Get away from the witch, or you’ll all be worshiping the holes I make in your bodies.”

  The man with a curved knife, his hood covering his face, said, “We’ve been waiting for you, Shirley.”

  That’s when I saw four large ballistae with heavy silver-tipped spears loaded and pointing at all the exits and entrances. Dragon and Shifter killers.

  No, no, I thought. “It’s a trap,” I told my team. “Stay away. It’s a freaking trap.”

  “It’s too late,” the hooded asshole said. He paused for a moment. “How come you’re not using your magic?”

  “You’re a smart guy,” I told him. “You figure it out.” I had to find a way to keep TB and Andrak off the second floor, whatever it took. “And while you’re at it, how about you eat lead?”

  I shot the weapon, but every bullet fell harmlessly to the wooden floors. “Son of a bitch!”

  Another man grabbed Alma by the neck. “Try something again, and I’ll slice her throat wide open.”

  “Don’t.” I held up my hands. “Take me. You don’t need anyone else,” I said. “Don’t hurt her. She’s got nothing to do with any of this.”

  “That’s where you’re wrong,” the first man said. “We will banish all the unclean filth from this world, including the witches.” He retrieved something that looked like a pickle jar from an ornately carved box. “And the only thing we need to get the job done is a few powerful sacrifices.” He held up the jar to the light. “And one dragon heart.”

  I gasped. How did he know? How could he? Someone had betrayed us. Fucking miserable Leelu. This traitorous act bordered on evil.

  There was a loud pop, and in a cloud of smoke and theatrics, the devil herself apparated into the room, her face beaming with a triumphant smile. “Found you,” she said.

  I took the baton from my pocket and threw it at Leelu. I gave a triumphant, “yes,” when the heavy rod smacked her in the side of the head, knocked her off her feet and onto her ass.

  The ice-blonde witch sat up, holding her head where I’d landed the blow. She glared at me. “Hey! That hurt.”

  Rage swelled inside me. Leelu didn’t care that she’d betrayed witch-kind by working with the necromancers. I couldn’t let that stand. I wouldn’t.

  “I’ll kill you,” I screamed as I lunged toward her.

  Two robed dudes tackled me to the ground before I could grab her.

  The smug expression on Leelu’s face had been wiped clean and replaced with a look of horror as she took in the scene. “Why did you attack me? You’ll never see the light of day after this….” Her words trailed off when she spotted Alma tied up in the middle of the pentagram. “What’s this?”

  “What you wanted, you idiot,” I spat. “Welcome to the shitshow.”

  “I didn’t…” she shook her head. “No, I got an anonymous call….” If she were a cartoon character, I would’ve seen the light bulb go off over her head.

  A large silver net fell from the ceiling, and before Leelu could react, she was trapped by the very same magic she’d used to nullify me.

  Well, shit. Leelu might be a rotten apple, but she wasn’t the rotten apple spoiling this bunch. How was the sabbatianoí this organized?

  The man holding the curved knife took a couple of steps toward me. “Hello, boss,” he said as he pushed the hood back to reveal a shock of red hair.

  I blew out a noisy exhale. “Cardinal,” I seethed. It was the newest member of Monty’s team, the one I’d been trying to keep out of harm’s way. Only, in this case, he was the harm. Crap, how had we let a sabbatianoí infiltrate the RMCA? “You won’t get away with this.”

  He grinned wickedly. “Oh, but Boss, I already have.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  —Andrak—

  In the lair of the sabbatianoí, trying to save my love’s life while avoiding the shit as it hits the fan.

  When Shirley had given us the go, go, go, Time Bomb and I had sprinted through the first floor and up the steps to the second. The thick steel door wasn’t going to go down easy.

  “I’ve got this,” I told TB when his forced entry technique, aka hitting it with his body, didn’t work. I could generate high enough heat to melt most metals.

  “I think it’s spelled,” he said. “It feels like there’s a magic barrier.”

  I’d heard Shirley yell, “I’ll kill you!” in a way that turned me cold. She wasn’t supposed to go in on her own. What in the world was she thinking?

  If magic was the only thing keeping the bear Shifter out, then I wouldn’t need flames, only force. I narrowed my gaze on the door, and with all the force I could generate, I kicked it right before the door handle. The force snapped the bolt.

  Time Bomb shoved me to the side as a six-foot steal lance flew at high velocity. It stabbed him through the shoulder, and he cried out in pain as he ripped it from where it had lodged.

  His dark blood oozed from the wound, but thanks to my heart remaking him, it slowly began to close.

  Thirteen robed necromancers were in the room. Two of them were sitting on Shirley. Mother pus-buckets. I would turn their flesh to ash and grind their bones.

  I roared, belching fire to the rafters. Another rod shot in my direction. I snatched it from the air as I transformed. The sabbatianoí backed away.

  “Fear me,” I growled out. “Because I am your demise.”

  Four of the men tried to run, but I burned them with a white-hot blaze.

  “Get this damn thing off me,” Leelu shouted.

  Time Bomb, already in his half-beast form, grabbed the net from Leelu and chucked it aside. Then he stalked toward the two assholes holding Shirley.

  “Ecrutiatousio,” one of the men barked. He held up his hand, his face pure surprise and shock when nothing happened.

  Shirley threw her elbow back and connected with the guy’s jaw, and with her other elbow, she hit the second guy in his junk. They both let her go, but the minute they were no longer touching her, their fingers sparked with angry magic.

  “Time Bomb,” Shirley shouted. She jumped into a tuck and roll between the two men and came up behind them. Grasping both their arms, she said, “I’m a magic nullifier, asswipes.” And then the bear Shifter ripped off their heads.

  Leelu was throwing a barrage of lightning bolts at the remaining sabbatianoí, but the magic bounced away from them. The red-haired one named Cardinal laughed.

  “You can’t touch us!” he gloated. “We are the chosen!”

  “Cardie,” Leelu said. “How could you do this to me? To us? We made plans.”

  Another spear launched at me. I dove sideways as it clipped my wing. Then I saw it. Cardinal was holding my heart in a large jar. His hands were glowing with pale blue light.

  “Stay back, Dragon,” he shouted. “I will destroy the contents of this jar if you don’t stay back.”

  I shrieked with dismay as I watched the water inside the jar turn red. He’d added some kind of magic to salt water, and it felt as if the fragments of my heart were dying. I couldn’t live like this anymore. I wouldn’t.

  And that’s when Shirley, with the fierce cry of a warrior princess, pulled a blade from her coveralls, launched herself at the guy, and wrestled him to the ground.

  “The man,” she bellowed as she took a hit from a glowing green ball of something. Her face contorted in pain. She grimaced at me, her teeth clenched as she said, “Throw the man.”

  I understood then. I was a creature who existed outside of magic, so I never thought about it, or it might have dawned on me sooner. She didn’t want me to throw a man. She wanted me to throw the MAN. The net. The one the sabbatianoí had used to trap Leelu.

  I lifted it from the floor with my talons and dragged it across the room. There wasn’t enough space to fly, so in the end, I had to take a giant leap, carrying the net over the top of the Saturn cult in the process. Leelu’s magical bolts hit their targets then, but they were also striking Shirley.

 

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