Coyote Calling, page 26
Stopping in front of me, she bent down, grabbed my chin, and tilted my head this way and that. Everything in me wanted to resist, to tear from her grasp. But I refused to give her the satisfaction of feeling like she had more power over me.
“Not much without your reaper friend, are you? Probably can’t even call down lightning without her,” she said. Her breath reeked of cigarettes covered by mints.
The way she spoke at me rather than to me made me want to lunge forward and bite her. With how my luck was going, I’d just end up toppling over on my face. So instead, I showed some restraint by retracting my fangs and drawing my power back behind an imaginary wall so Doctor Psycho couldn’t feel it.
Her eyes shot wide open. “Impressive,” she murmured. “It’s like she flipped a switch and her power is just gone.”
A growl rumbled from me. “She can do even more. If you untie her, she just might show you how much more,” I snarled.
Still her gaze didn’t meet mine. The words rolled off her like oil, as if I hadn’t even spoke.
Behind her, Declan and Hansson exchanged an eager look. I’d met a lot of wastes of flesh in my life, but these guys took the cake.
Doctor Psycho gestured over her shoulder to her escort. “Pay them the agreed-upon amount.”
Okay, Halona one-upped them as far as evil and took the cake and ice cream. Any woman who could purchase and throw away other women like they were things, belongings, made me want to rethink my dislike of violence.
The escort took a bulging envelope from his back pocket and handed it to Declan, who opened it and thumbed through the bills. His eyes grew huge. From the looks of it, the contents would have paid for at least my first two years of med school.
“Got any used-up ones you want us to take off your hands?” Declan asked.
I wanted to bite the evil, greedy son of a bitch. On second thought, he’d probably give me indigestion.
Halona glanced over her shoulder and shook her head. “Not yet. Contact me next week.” Not even the slightest hint of remorse tinged her voice. Her I would bite, no matter how she tasted.
“Will do, Doc,” Declan said.
Grinning like idiots at each other, he and Hansson headed for the door. As their footsteps retreated down the hallway, Halona’s attention returned to me. The gleam in her eyes made me suppress a shudder. Against my better judgment—because why not roll with the theme since it seemed to be my thing tonight—I decided to try to appeal to her logical side.
“You have your prize. Let the others go,” I said, pushing a bit of power into the words.
A muscle in her cheek twitched. Genuine, deep-throated laughter bubbled from her, covering the reaction. After a moment, she shook it off and put a hand on her hip, looking into my eyes for the first time. I should have known it would take more than that to make a Caninus Councilor obey. “You say that as if you are in a position to bargain.”
Shouts followed by a few loud bangs—something solid and soft hitting metal—sounded from beyond the door. Halona whipped her head in Muscles’s direction. “Go check on that,” she commanded.
He inclined his head slightly to her before turning and jogging for the door. When it opened, I caught a glimpse of an empty hallway before it swung shut. It might be help on the way, or it might not. Even if it was, I needed to hurry things along and try to get to the captives still being held here before Halona’s goons could secret them away.
Not taking her bait, I focused on what might give me an edge. “This will be easier on you if I cooperate.” Whoever was out there had horrible timing. Halona would be a lot less likely to slip up and give me any information now. Still, I had to try.
Mirth filled her eyes again. She held her lab coat open, revealing a pocket from which the top of a needle poked. “I don’t need you to cooperate,” she said.
My hands clenched instinctively into fists, but the sharp pain of my own claws biting into my palms made me open them back up again. Drips throughout the room increased as rain started to beat down on the metal roof. Pressure built in the air, whispering to me that a storm was on its way. If only the roof weren’t shielding me from it, I’d have a chance if this came to a fight.
I needed time to think. Doctors liked to talk about their work, about themselves, so maybe I could distract her. Plus, the more I learned, the better our chances of finding the others would be.
“Where are the others?” I demanded.
“Oh, don’t worry, you’re going to get to see them very soon.”
That made it sound like they were close, probably in this building, at least the ones she hadn’t given back to Declan and his goons. “What are you doing to the women?” I asked.
She made a scoffing sound. “You are misinformed if you think it’s only women I’m experimenting on.”
Declan had only mentioned women. Either he’d been withholding information or lying. No surprise either way.
Needing to find out more, I decided to try a different approach. “What are you trying to accomplish?”
The doc waved a single finger in front of my face. “Tsk, tsk. You really are clueless, aren’t you? It’s no wonder Declan was able to capture you. Of all my suppliers, I did not expect him to be the one to deliver. But then, with Agent Hansson as a partner, I should have guessed he had the best odds.”
The way she said Hansson’s name, lustful and almost gentle, clicked pieces together in my mind. That day on the beach in Newfoundland, when I’d seen her riding some redheaded man…it had been Hansson. A growl issued from me before I could stop it. The way she said supplier, like we were things to be acquired, made me see all kinds of shades of red.
Lips quirking up into a little smirk, she began to walk around my chair again. Click, click, click went her heels. I longed to stab her with one of them.
“There is a war coming, you know,” she said.
Oh no. Not this again. I thought we’d shut down the radical groups when we sent Bane and Morene through the gate to Muspelheimr for judgment.
“You can’t seriously tell me you’re willing to expose us and start a war knowing it would mean a one-way trip to Muspelheimr via the Valkyrie Express?” I asked.
She stopped in front of me, a hand going over her heart. “Oh, I’m not the instrument of exposure or war. I’m only ensuring supernatural kind come out on top once it happens.”
Come out on top? Oh Gods… “You’re engineering soldiers.”
Eyes going wide with excitement, she pointed a finger at me. “Bingo! Maybe you aren’t completely dense after all.”
It took a quadruple shot of control not to bite her finger off. Thunder shook the building, making her flinch. To distract her, and because I really wanted to know, I asked, “How can you care about our kind coming out on top, but not care about the lives you destroy to get us there? The lives of your own people?”
Sighing dramatically, she rolled her eyes to the side. “Wolves, always sneering down from their moral high ground.” Her gaze snapped back to me, and she leaned in close. “Lives are lost in war to save the majority. That’s how it works, pup. And I’m working to empower ma’ii women, to make them into something stronger.”
“Oh, you must mean those you don’t sell into the sex slave when you’re done with them,” I interrupted her diatribe.
Not so much as a hint of guilt crossed her face. “Eggs must be cracked to make an omelet. Speaking of which…” She reached in her coat’s inner pocket and pulled out a needle. “This will hurt you so much more than it’s going to hurt me,” she said through a twisted grin.
Without the help of the storm building outside, I would need to be a little more clever.
Making my eyes go all big and watery, I pretended to cower back into my chair. Overconfident like I wanted her, she came in nice and close, needle raised. Before she could get it near my arm, I kicked her in the groin with all my might—no easy task while tied to a chair. Sucking wind, mouth dropping open, and eyes going wide, she stumbled back and went to a knee. Man or woman, a groin kick hurt like a mother due to the bundles of nerves there—as was evident by the way she croaked and groaned. The scream of a very pissed-off raven preceded a flash of black feathers that shot from the gaping hole in the roof and headed straight for Halona. Flapping wings and splayed tail feathers obscured my view of the woman. Her screams told me all I needed to know.
The needle clanked as it tumbled onto the concrete. Unfortunately, it didn’t break. But it landed within my reach. With Gripp distracting her, I had time to stomp on the needle. Glass shattered with a satisfying pop beneath my boot. A flap of his wings carried Gripp up away from Halona. He turned to me and mimicked the popping noise of the needle, somehow managing to make it sound triumphant and almost gleeful. Or maybe it was just me.
Face a mask of hatred, she lunged for my raven. Oh, Goddess of the Underworld and sister to Fenrir, no. Screaming in rage, I launched to my feet in a crouched position forced by the chair. Then I promptly threw myself—chair and all—onto Halona. She cried out as we both crashed to the ground. My weight and momentum combined to shatter the wood. The ropes around my wrists came loose enough I was able to slip them over my butt and get my hands in front of me. As I moved away, she lunged for me. A swift kick to the ribs knocked the air from her lungs in the form of a pained grunt and stopped her.
The door to the hallway flew open, and Muscles—her guard—stumbled in. One leg of his pants gaped wide open, and bloody claw marks peeked from under it. Had he beaten whoever was out in the hallway—one of my friends, or even Ty—and come to Halona’s aid? Or had he fled the fight when he heard her cry out? No one came in after him. My heartbeat ratcheted up at least a dozen notches until it was all I could hear. Ty could be hurt, or Vidar, maybe even Ayra. Skin crawling with the desire to change, to fight and protect those I cared about, I took a step toward Muscles. Emitting a loud call of warning, Gripp landed on my left shoulder.
A high-pitched whistle cut at my ears so painfully, my hands flew up to cover them. Talons digging deep into my trapezius, Gripp screeched and flapped his wings, smacking me in the head. Through our connection, I felt the very distinct need to get out, fast. Since my only exit was blocked by the hulking form of Muscles, I ran for the back wall. Gripp calmed, tucking his wings in and hanging on—a good sign I was headed in the direction he wanted me to go.
Muscles started toward me just as I put my back to the wall and braced.
Something fiery blew through the wall to the right of the door, tearing the metal to pieces and sending shrapnel flying before barreling through the roof. The ground shook as the hurling thing exploded somewhere outside. Flames licked up the wooden trusses remaining around the hole. Whether it was just blind good luck, or it had been aimed at the roof on purpose didn’t matter. What did was now I had a means to defend myself.
“What the fuck?” Muscles called from where he’d hit the ground. In a fraction of a second, he was back on his feet in a crouch. “Is someone shooting a rocket launcher at us?” he asked, as if I would know.
His brows pulled together, and his lips curled up to expose fangs. Dammit. Of course my luck would have me running into a werewolf with enough power to partially shift. Accusatory eyes glared down a prominent nose at me. Energy rippled around him in preparation to shift. Looking up at the angry gray sky through the now-destroyed roof, I pulled at the storm, calling it with everything in me. For good measure, I also whispered a prayer to Frigg.
In an explosion of fabric, Muscles shifted into a huge gray and black wolf, fangs bared as he bunched up to lunge at me. The tangy taste of copper made my mouth water.
“Gripp, you should go!” I shouted, mentally willing him to fly away. The talons of his good foot only clutched tighter. “GO!” He refused.
I tried to push the impending strike from the storm away, something I hadn’t attempted since I’d been a kid. It hadn’t worked then. It didn’t work now.
Energy crackled as a bolt of lightning shot down through the now massive hole in the roof. It flowed through my body at the same time Muscles launched himself at me. He hit the energy and flew backward from the force of the massive amount of power. The wolf tumbled as he met the ground. Whimpering, he struggled and failed to get his legs back under him.
Gripp let out a cronk, wings flapping. One hand going up to catch him in case he fell, I turned my head to check on him. I wouldn’t have thought birds could smile, but by Hel, it looked like he was trying. Tendrils of electrical arcs danced through his unique brown and gold irises and danced around the tips of his wings. He looked a little more fluffed up than usual, but otherwise unharmed.
“You’re okay?” I asked. He rubbed his head against my palm.
Above us, flames licked out from the hole in the roof, hungry for the wood frame of the building.
Using the extra strength the lightning lent me, I thrust my hands apart, shredding the ropes binding my hands. It felt somewhat like setting a line of black powder on fire around my wrists. But I was free. Totally worth it. I started for the door, only to pull up short as it burst open. Long black hair loose and flying about her like a cloak, the last woman on all the nine planets I expected to come across here dashed into the room.
“Mother?” I asked in utter disbelief.
Dressed in a blue ribbed tank top, black BDU pants, black leather combat boots, and holding what looked like a rocket launcher, she appeared ready for war. My couch potato, reality TV watching, paranormal romance book loving—not to mention recovering drug addict—mother looked badass as hell. I had to be seeing things. Her rich brown eyes took me in before her gaze shot to the downed wolf, then the huge hole in the roof.
“Looks like my shot hit its mark,” she said.
Straight to the point, that was my mother. “It definitely sounds like you,” I muttered.
“Of course it’s me, Sonya. And don’t mutter.”
Yep, undoubtably her. “Why… How… Where?”
Black brows rising, she swung the rocket launcher behind her. “This is why you struggled with college level English. We can chat about the details later. Right now, we’ve got to get out of here.” Her gaze flicked up to the fire spreading steadily throughout the trusses and then to the man groaning on the ground. Halona was gone.
“The other women?” I asked, hoping she would know what I meant.
She jerked her head toward the door she’d come through. “They’re being held a level down. Your people are working on freeing them right now.”
My people—she had to mean Ty, Ayra, and Vidar. But this place was likely crawling with guards. “I have to help them.”
“No. You have to get out of here. I promised them we’d get you out.”
“We?” As the word left my mouth, a man jogged into the room, dragging a second one alongside him.
Dark blond hair mussed, in a preppy button-up flannel and gray drawstring shorts, he looked better suited to a desk than a rescue mission. That was if one didn’t notice the handgun in his right hand and a paracord looking leash in his left. Beside him, at the end of that very short leash attached to his bound hands, stood Declan. Blood ran in a river down the side of the ma’ii’s face, and he moved with a prominent limp.
“Einstein?” I asked.
The dark blond man nodded, inclining his head and dipping his shoulder in a hint of a bow. “It is my honor to meet you, Seeker,” he said.
“Yeah, yeah, yeah. Groveling later,” Mother said. “How are we doing, Ein?”
He looked down at a watch on his wrist. “They’ll be on us in thirty-seven seconds.”
Declan’s brown eyes popped wide open. “I can get you out of here, for a price,” he said.
Jaw working as she ground her teeth, my mother walked up and punched him right in the face. Declan’s head snapped to the side from the force of the blow.
“Damn, Mom,” I murmured, kind of impressed.
She ignored me and spoke to him. “Shut it. The only reason you’re alive is because the detective wanted you for questioning. Keep talking, and you’ll end up like your agent cohort.” To me, she said, “Let’s go, little bird.”
Dammit. That meant Hansson was likely dead. He would have been much more valuable to question than Declan. But I wasn’t about to criticize my “helpers.”
At her words, Einstein started back toward the door, Declan in tow. He paused just before the threshold, gun at a low-ready position, and carefully checked the hallway. It almost looked like the man had either law enforcement or military training. Not exactly what I’d expected of the mastermind werewolf inventor. He nodded and stepped out, yanking Declan along none too gently.
“I’m not leaving without Ty,” I said. Smoke began to press down on us, intensifying the urgency coursing through me. As if to emphasize the urgency, Gripp made a popping noise near my ear.
Mother smirked at me. “He said you’d say that. And he said to ask you to trust him just as he is trusting you by going to save the others instead of you.”
Warmth and strength flooded through me. Even after I’d been so reckless, so stupid, venturing off into the woods with an enemy in our midst and then getting myself captured, he was trusting me. I did not deserve this amazing man. Talons clamped tighter onto my shoulder, and Gripp made his weird bird gurgle noise in my ear. With all the bullets flying around, I couldn’t risk him staying with us.
“Gripp, I need you to fly out the roof and wait for me outside.” I pointed to the widening hole in the roof. Though fire ringed it, at the moment it gaped big enough he’d be able to get through. “Please, Gripp, go. I’ll be fine,” I said with such confidence I almost believed it myself.
Whether he understood me, or just knew when the getting was good, he took to the air. He disappeared through the hole in the roof, cronking all the way. Arcs of electricity danced between his feathers as his wings flexed.
I nodded, and Mom and I followed Einstein out the door.
