King Cave

My lips thinned, the woman crazy to believe anyone else was coming to this place. “Won’t you please tell me what that Mys did to you? It won’t weigh so heavily on my conscience.”

She sighed heavily, eyeing me. “You’re as righteous as the man who raised you.” She chuckled, shaking her head. “He deserves his ache.” She studied me, then muttered, “I want him dead enough that I will tell you.” She walked forward, standing directly before me, and my nostrils flared as she said, “He murdered a dear friend of mine in cold blood to better himself.” Truth.

I blinked. Never would I have thought him capable of murder. “I’m sorry for your loss.” She gave me a condescending look but nodded at my words anyway. I would have done the deeds either way because I was going to save my husband, but her words comforted me for the actions I would commit. “You have a deal.”

She grabbed my right arm and I flinched, feeling a burning sensation on my forearm. Bonnie hissed at her as I jerked my arm away and yanked up my sleeve. There were three golden circles between my wrist and halfway up my forearm. I watched as they sank into my skin, now unseen and unfelt.

Bound magically.

No turning back. I held out my hand. “The vial and spell, please.”

She cackled, placing the vial in my hand, which was hot to the touch, before bending to retrieve a pad of paper and a pencil from her end table next to the couch. She scribbled on it and then tore the sheet out. Extending the paper to me, she said, “Read it, memorize it, but don’t speak the words aloud until after you have drunk the potion and placed your hand over his Core.”

I did as told. It was only one line. Her handwriting was remarkably tidy. “Got it.”

She took the sheet back and it instantly burst into flame. Releasing it, it fluttered to the ground, the fire out and the sheet ash before it hit the floor. “Then it’s time for you to leave. Pick up your Vizoac.”

Placing the vial in my pocket, a thought occurred. “Will I be able to get through a protection ward with,” I patted my pocket, “this?” After putting my gun in the back of my pants, I switched the case to my left hand and lifted Bonnie from the floor, cuddling her close.

She nodded. “It was all given willingly. Not black. It’s a life-giving spell.” She raised her aged hand and touched my shoulder. “Your deed there is righteous, too, not black, so you will be able to enter.”

I froze as creepy-crawlies ran all over my body, the feeling all kinds of uncomfortable. But, within a blink of my eyes, the feeling was gone and I was instantly staring at the beach I had left probably an hour before. Now, that hadn’t been so bad. Not at all.

I turned and stepped easily through the warded barrier to King Cave. She hadn’t lied. I sighed in relief, my thoughts focused on saving Ezra. I needed to get back into his room. And I was betting Cahal wouldn’t allow me to enter and exit freely after I had snuck into his rooms once already. Which meant I would have to wait until they were gone and break in.

Breaking into Cahal’s suite again was easier said than done. Vampires were entering and exiting more frequently than before. With waning patience, I waited another hour, before I gave up and dialed Jack.

He answered on the first ring. “Lily, is that you? The medic said you left the infirmary over two hours ago.”

“Yeah, it’s me,” I whispered. “I need a favor.”

Instant. “Name it.”

Already having decided to not tell him the extent of what I was doing, since he might try to talk me out of it as there was the possibility of death hanging over my head if I screwed up, I lied, definitely not telling the whole truth. “I want to see Ezra, but Vampires are surrounding him. Can you create a distraction so I can say goodbye?”

“Lily, I’m so sorry,” Jack said softly with a small hiccup to his words. “Pearl and I will make something happen.”

“Thank you,” I told him wholeheartedly. “Jack, I love you and Pearl. You know that.”

“Yes. We know that,” Jack whispered. A pause. “Give us five minutes.” He hung up.

Exactly five minutes later, Vampires began pouring out of the suite, alarms that I hadn’t even realized we had blaring overhead. I ducked further into the shadows, holding Bonnie close when she growled at the noisy alarms. Cahal was the last to leave, shouting back into the suite for Bindi to watch over Ezra.

Slamming his suite door shut, he paused. I held my breath and masked with every ounce of strength I had in me, hoping the other Vampire’s heartbeats overrode mine. A few anxiety-driven ticks flew by, then he was rushing after the Vampires calling to him for help, never once looking in my direction.

I blew out a sigh of relief when the hallway cleared, setting Bonnie down and running to the door. Unable to hear anything behind it over the God-awful noise, I opened it, praying the room was mostly empty. And it was. The only sound was Bindi pacing inside the room that held Ezra.

Not bothering to lock the door this time, or even shut it, deducing I didn’t have much time, I raced on silent feet. Ezra’s door was locked, though, and I sighed silently. I gently used my Shifter strength, squeezing and turning the doorknob until the latch broke with barely a sound, Bindi never once stopping her pacing on the other side.

Bonnie slid in behind me as I entered, and not bothering to shut that door either since it wouldn’t close now, I dropped my items on the bed, staring into Bindi’s startled eyes. “I need a few moments alone with him.”

Her face became carefully void of any emotion. “I understand. I’ll be in the other room.” She quickly left as I had hoped she would, giving us privacy.

There was no time for anything refined, so I swiftly crawled over the mattress to straddle his waist and yanked the vial out of my pocket. I uncorked it and, like it was a shot of vile liquor, I chugged the liquid. Instantly, I covered my mouth to keep from puking, tossing the vial and cork to the side.

It tasted like Mage magic, but there was a Mys aftertaste, one that I couldn’t define from the overriding Mage spells and time — the potion fuzzy and bubbling with so much life it wanted to be released.

I swallowed repeatedly, my eyes tearing as my body trembled worse than Ezra’s.

This was some strong shit.

Hastily, keeping a firm hand clamped over my mouth, I slammed my other hand on Ezra’s chest directly over his Core and then whispered the spell the Mage had written: “From the willing to the dying take from me your life.”