A Touch of Magic, page 20
part #8 of True Mates Generations Series
“Lizzie’s close,” the Alpha answered. “But nothing solid yet. Let’s go check in with her.” Lucas crossed the room, and they followed him to one of the enclosed offices at the back of the room. The Alpha opened the door and gestured for them to follow him inside.
His cousin, Lizzie Martin, was seated behind her desk, tapping furiously on a keyboard. As the head of tech for GI, anything technology related was under her jurisdiction. She was a genius hacker, not to mention, a hybrid who had the power to control and communicate with computers—a technopath. Usually, Lizzie had a smart retort or quip when people came into her office. That, or she was playing pranks on the phone. But he knew she must really be working hard as she barely looked up at them as she continued to tap furiously on the keyboard.
“Any luck, Lizzie?” Lucas asked.
She sighed dramatically then leaned back into her beat-up leather chair. “Strohen’s information was solid and helped me find the right path, but I’m still untangling this web. The transfers and records go back years and years, and the money hopped from country to country, under at least a hundred shell companies. There’s just so much to go through, and I can’t get the info I need fast enough.”
“Have you thought of using CDNs?”
All eyes turned to the source of the voice—Snake.
Lizzie flicked an annoyed glance at him. “Does a bear shit in the woods? Of course I used CDNs.”
“Ah.” Snake dashed behind the desk to stand over Lizzie. He peered down at her screen. “Let me see.”
The female let out an exasperated sighed and tapped on the keyboard. “Go ahead.”
The Lone Wolf tapped his chin and narrowed his eyes. “Hmmm. You don’t have enough servers. And the networks are too far apart, thus the latency in your data. Here, let me—”
“Hey!” Lizzie protested when he grabbed her keyboard. “Do you even know what you’re doing, you caveman?”
“Lucky for you, I can access a couple more CDNs run by friends of mine.” Ignoring her protests, he tapped on the keyboards for several seconds. “Aha! Yes!” He fist-pumped in the air and then handed her back the keyboard. “See what you can do with that.”
She sent him dagger eyes but grabbed the keyboard anyway, then went back to typing. “Oh!” she exclaimed excitedly. “Holy guacamole, you did it!” Lizzie hopped to her feet and kissed him on the cheek. “Now we’re cooking! Pull up a chair and help me with this. We can get through this quicker together.” Snake grabbed a stool and positioned himself on the PC behind Lizzie as her fingers moved like lightning across the keyboard.
Cross picked up a soft growl behind him. Wyatt bared his teeth for a second before he cleared his throat and tugged at the knot on his tie. “I should go check on what’s happening upstairs,” Wyatt mumbled.
“Good idea,” Lucas said. “We should all go. Lizzie, call us as soon as you get anything.”
But Lizzie was too busy and simply waved them away. Everyone else proceeded to go up to the top floor where the main command center was located.
If it was busy downstairs, then it was even more hectic up here. Cross saw that the conference room was turned into some kind of war room. It was crowded too, as several people sat on the chairs or simply propped themselves up against the corners as they listened to the woman speaking at the front of the room.
“… and so, if we need San Francisco, they’re our closest—Alpha!” Mika Westbrooke greeted, but she frowned once she saw Ransom and Hawk. “What’s going on?”
“I brought help,” Cross said and quickly introduced them to everyone. “Looks like we’ve got a full house.”
All the members of GI were there—Mika, her mate Delacroix, Killian Jones, his son, Arch, Cliff Forrest, and Jacob Martin, but so were Julianna, Duncan, Elise, and Reed. Plus, there were two more people he didn’t know—a woman who looked to be in her mid-forties and a young girl who looked to be about thirteen or fourteen—though he did recognize them from a few days ago when he appeared in the Alpha’s office and his association with the ring had been outed.
“You weren’t formally introduced,” Mika began. “But this is Delacroix’s aunt and cousin, Gabrielle Beaumont, and her daughter, Marina. They also happen to be powerful witches, and they’re here to help too.”
The young girl looked at him, and her face lit up. “You fixed your glow!” she said happily.
Cross eyed her curiously. “What do you mean, glow?”
Lucas cleared his throat. “Can we do this later? We do have more important things to take care of right now.”
“Of course, Alpha,” he said.
“Now,” Lucas began. “Mika, let us know what your team’s been up to.”
“Right,” she said. “Let me continue. Now this.…”
Cross, Ransom, and Hawk each found an empty spot in the back of the conference room. As they settled in, however, Cross only half listened to what Mika was explaining. Worry was beginning to nag at his brain. There was something wrong. He didn’t know why, but he could feel it.
What disturbed him was the presence of two people in particular: Was it a coincidence that two of the people in Gunnar’s vision—Julianna and Elise—were here in New York while they were about to launch a full-scale attack on the mages?
Over a year ago, he and the two females had accidentally traveled back in time when they all touched the dagger dipped in Lucas’s blood and powered by Elise’s electricity-generating abilities. Though they were lost in time, it was Gunnar’s vision that told him that eventually all three of them would find their way back to the present, and so they did. But did that mean that Gunnar’s vision was about to come true?
It was a good thing Sabrina was safe back in Zhobghadi. She would be annoyed at him—maybe even hate him, but there was no way he was going to just let the mages take her. If they got ahold of her and the ring, then that would mean the premonition really would happen.
But, no one could get to her in Zhobghadi. Despite that pit forming in his stomach, he told himself that everything would be all right.
Beside him, Ransom shifted his weight from one foot to the other but didn’t say a word. The Lone Wolf had been quiet the entire time, acting like his usual aloof self. However, Cross did notice him glancing at Lucas every now and then, and when he did, that look came back on his face. Was it loathing? Hatred? It seemed strange. Ransom surely had many enemies, but there was something visceral about the way he looked at the Alpha. Cross only hoped Gunnar was correct in insisting he be brought back here. He didn’t have the time or the energy to watch over Ransom while fighting the mages.
The rest of the day was spent planning and rounding up their resources, creating several plans of action to cover any kind of eventuality, as well as making sure their most vulnerable clan members would be taken care of. Lucas insisted they all take a break in the afternoon, and try to relax and rest or take care of any personal business.
While Cross was too agitated to relax, he did show Ransom and Hawk to spare rooms in the GI dormitories where they could have some privacy and get cleaned up. Cross was tempted to go back to Zhobghadi to check on Sabrina, but he knew that would be a bad idea. Instead, he decided to go with his father as they did some checks of the spells and defenses around The Enclave and their loft. Later, after dinner in the cafeteria, everyone gathered in the conference room again.
“Welcome back,” Mika greeted. “Since this afternoon, we’ve managed to contact more—”
The door to the conference room flew open, and Lizzie burst in, Snake right behind her. “I found them!” she exclaimed.
“You mean we found ’em,” Snake said.
“Yeah, yeah, whatever, Worm,” she snorted.
“It’s Snake,” he reminded her.
Lizzie ignored him and waved the tablet PC in her hand triumphantly “I—we have a location on the mages.”
“Where are they?” Lucas asked.
“You won’t believe this, but”—she flipped the tablet toward them—“they’re right here. In New York. Headquartered in a building on Fifth Avenue, a couple blocks down the road from The Plaza Hotel. They’re hiding under a company called Sur Elian Corporation.”
“What?” Lucas roared, his eyes glowing with his wolf. The dominant vibes emanating from him made almost everyone visibly uncomfortable. “Those bastards! Right here in my city? How dare they.” His voice was edgy as a well-honed blade. “We need to get them, right now. Get our forces together—”
“Alpha,” Mika began. “We can’t possibly attack them right this moment.”
“I don’t care!” Lucas growled. “I want them exterminated from my city.”
“Please, Alpha.” Daric’s said. “Use reason. Fifth Avenue is teeming with tourists right now. There would be too many casualties and witnesses.”
“I—” Lucas raked his fingers though his hair in frustration. “I know you’re right. I just want those bastards out of here.” He blew out a breath. “Let’s sit and prepare a game plan.”
“We’ll need all the help we can get,” Mika said, massaging her temple. “I guess we always thought we’d meet the mages somewhere remote, like in the battle of Norway. A fight right here in New York wasn’t something we prepared for, but I’m sure if we all put our heads together, we can think of a way to contain it.”
“My people can help,” Gabrielle said. “The shadows can help conceal many things.”
“And we have our guys ready,” Cliff added. “We’ve all trained for this.”
“You know you have our help,” Elise said.
“Aye, as you do ours,” Duncan said.
“Thank you.” Lucas looked around him. “Today might be the day we end this war. So.” He clasped his hands together. “Let’s get to work. Now—”
A knife-like pain suddenly sliced into Cross head. “Argh!” The world began to spin and he had to brace himself against the wall to keep from falling over.
“Cross?” Ransom asked. “What the hell is the matter?”
“Son!” Daric rushed over to him. “What’s happening?”
“I don’t—” Air rushed out of his lungs as his vision went black.
Central Park. The Obelisk. Midnight. The voice in his head said.
Not again.
Bring the girl and the dagger.
“No!” he screamed. “You’ll never have her.”
Bring them or her father dies.
Jonathan. But the thing was, what he was hearing in his head was Jonathan’s voice.
Everyone dies.
When the pain receded, Cross took in gasps of air and sat up. He didn’t even realize that he had fallen down.
“What happened, son?” Daric looked visibly pale as he knelt down beside him.
“Dad,” he gasped. “The mages … where’s Jonathan?”
“He went home,” Lucas said, his brows knitting together. “He gave us all of the information he had and then asked to be brought home. I sent two Lycan guards with him, though.”
“The mages have him,” Cross said. “And they’re going to kill him, possibly others.” He blinked. “The rest of the clan … where are they? Are they safe?”
Lucas’s face suddenly became a mask of rage, then he turned to everyone. “I need an accounting of all clan members,” he ordered. “Make sure your family and loved ones are secured. If they’re not at The Enclave, make sure they get there ASAP!” He ran his hands through his hair.
“The Lupa?” Cross asked.
“She’s at home with Alessandro. I just got off the phone with her after dinner, thank God,” he said. “What happened? Did you get a vision?”
He shook his head. “No. But the mages, they found a way to send me messages. Just like Stefan did with you, Dad,” he said to Daric.
“What did they want?” his father asked.
“They want me to go to Central Park at midnight. And … to bring the dagger and Sabrina.”
Lucas’s mismatched eyes glowed with anger. “Over my dead body. I’m not handing over anything or anyone to them!”
Cross breathed a sigh of relief. “She’s safe and far away from here. I had to make sure to keep her away.” He paused and realized he hadn’t had time to tell the Alpha what Gunnar had discovered. “Alpha, there’s something you should know. Something Gunnar found out.”
“What?”
“Remember how your blood could make the power of the dagger stronger? Well, I think … I mean, Gunnar had a vision, and he saw that dipping the ring in double Alpha blood could kill a pregnant True Mate.”
His normally unflappable father seemed to falter. “That’s disturbing news.”
“Well, then,” Lucas cracked his knuckles. “I want this to end tonight. Mika,” he called. “Let’s put all this preparation to good use. We need a plan.”
Chapter Fifteen
As the jet touched down on the private airstrip in New Jersey, Sabrina felt her anxiety—real this time, not a magical side effect—shoot up. Her palms were sweaty, her mouth was as dry as a desert, and her hands couldn’t stop fidgeting. Despite the luxuriousness of King Karim’s private plane, she still couldn’t relax. Exhaustion had knocked her out enough so that she slept for two or three hours, maybe. On the other hand, her seemingly never-ending hunger had her eating through most of the ten-hour flight. But when she wasn’t stuffing her face with food, she was either nervously tapping her fingers or fidgeting on the plush leather seats.
The jet slowed down, and a few minutes later, the polite young steward came out of the galley. “Is there anything else I can get you or assist you with before you deplane, Ms. Strohen?”
“No, Makir, I’m good. Everything was great. Thank you so much.”
He bowed his head. “I’m at your service. The captain is just going through some formalities, and then you may go.”
Not long after, Makir opened the doors and motioned for her to exit. As she headed toward the stairs, the two hulking members of the Almoravid, the royal family’s personal guard, followed behind her. King Karim had insisted she take them with her for protection and said they were well-trained in combat, and just as formidable as any Lycan.
There were two black SUVs waiting at the foot of the stairs. She was halfway down when the passenger-side door of the first one opened, and Astrid practically flew out and met her halfway. The younger woman enveloped her in a tight hug before her feet had even touched the ground.
“Oh, my God, Sabrina.” Astrid tugged her toward the vehicle. “I didn’t get Deedee’s message until about an hour ago and by then …”
“What’s happening?” she asked as she sidled into the car after Astrid.
“I should have checked my phone, but everything happened so fast.” She worried her lip. “I’m doing a terrible job of being Beta.”
“Stop saying that, sweetheart.” The man in the driver’s seat looked back at them, his hand reaching out to touch Astrid’s knee. “You’re doing a great job.”
“Sabrina, this is my husband, Zac Vrost.”
“Nice to meet you.”
Zac turned to her, ice blue eyes twinkling. “Nice to finally meet you too, Sabrina. You’re all Astrid’s been talking about for the past twenty-four hours.”
“Zac, we should get going,” Astrid said. “Your bodyguards are in the car behind us, Sabrina. They’ll follow along.”
As Zac turned back and started the engine, Astrid enveloped Sabrina’s hands in hers. “Deedee said you could help. That you can stop all this from happening.”
She swallowed hard. “What’s happening?”
Astrid took a deep breath. “Originally, we were going to find the mage hideout and attack them there. However, it turns out they’ve been here in New York City all along. Then, one of them sends a message to Cross, telling him to meet them at Central Park at midnight, with you and the dagger or else.” She gripped Sabrina’s hand tighter. “I’m sorry … they … they have your dad and two of our guys. The mages are probably controlling him with their necklace.”
Sabrina gasped as dread wrapped around her like a vice. “No!”
“I’m sorry. We tried to protect him, and we failed.”
Now panic was starting to overwhelm her. “We need to go. I have to go save my father,” she cried. “They’ll kill him if I’m not there!”
“That’s why I came all the way here when Deedee said you were on your way,” Astrid said. “Lucas and Cross, they came up with this plan.” She let out a frustrated sound. “I told them it was a terrible one, but they wouldn’t listen!”
“What plan?”
“They’re going to meet the mages with the dagger and someone … someone glamoured to look like you.”
“Glamoured?”
“It’s a type of magic that can make you look like anyone,” Astrid explained. “Usually, it would be easy for any other magical being to see through a glamour potion, but we have these new allies, the Beaumont witches, who can perform a different type of magic. One of them has the power of shadow glamour or something like that, I’m not entirely sure how it works. But anyway, she’s going in to look like you to fool the mages.”
“But what use would that be?”
“Once they’re within the vicinity, Cross plans to transport your father out to safety, and then our forces will attack. We’re going all out, apparently, just in case. A couple of people are staying behind, including me since I’m Beta and my job is to protect the clan and I’m not involved with GI stuff. But Lucas wants this done now.”
A terrible feeling made Sabrina’s stomach turn in knots. “If the mages find out it’s not me—”
“They’ll be furious. Who knows what they’ll do?”
She had a suspicion, but didn’t want to vocalize it. “We need to get to Central Park.”
“Are you sure you want to go there, Sabrina?” Astrid asked. “Really sure? I mean, I could take you away and keep you safe. Or send you back to Zhobghadi.”
“No.” She squared her shoulders, mind made up. No, she’d made up her mind even before she got here. Gunnar’s words were the key. How it was going to work out, she didn’t know, but she had to trust her instinct. “Let’s go, please.”
