Caged, page 24
“I have no idea.” I forced myself off the wall and headed for the stairway, leaving Ruth to follow me. “I have to talk to you, but let’s get somewhere private first.”
Ruth lowered her voice. “I know what you’re going to say. And I’ll admit, something is…off.”
She didn’t say Liam’s name, but she didn’t have too. I headed for the stairs, but Ruth pulled me toward the elevator. As soon as the doors closed, she turned to face me.
“Liam’s gone beyond showing strength. He’s losing control and I don’t understand it.” She leaned against the wall, staring at the heavy metal doors. “I’ve seen him go through stressful situations before, life-or-death situations. He’s never lost control like that. He’s never struck a patient who was clearly afraid. He’s never had to.”
I nodded grimly. “When we went to the fight club, there was violence all around us and wolves coming out of the woodwork to face him down. He backed them away with a look. He didn’t have to hit that man.”
“He’s not sleeping, but that shouldn’t be enough to do this to him,” Ruth muttered. “He’s eating, so that’s not it.”
“Someone put a dream spell in Stephen and Emma’s room,” I told her.
She jerked her head around, green eyes sharp. “What?”
“I couldn’t get a good look at it without giving it away to Stephen and Emma. But someone put something in their room to give them nightmares. And I’m guessing if it was in their room…”
“Then it was in everyone else’s.” Ruth closed her eyes. “Shit.”
“If we’re dealing with a witch, then whatever’s going on with Liam could be magical,” I said quietly. “I’ll try to get a good look at him and see if I can pick up on anything.”
“Don’t let him know you’re doing it,” Ruth warned, lowering her voice when the elevator doors slid open. “In his current mood, he’ll be even less inclined to appreciate magic than usual. And keep the dream spell stuff under your hat too. He needs to calm down before he finds out New Moon’s been violated that way. I’ll have Blake and Sonar check the room. Any idea what to look for?”
“My first guess would be amethyst, but it could be any number of minerals or herbs. I don’t think Blake or Sonar could find it, but I’ll do it before anyone goes to sleep tonight. It won’t hurt anyone during the day.”
That was a less than comforting note to end on, but we’d reached the conference room, and Liam was still obviously agitated.
“I know it’s never easy to think that someone on the inside is betraying you, but it’s something I think you have to consider,” Andy was saying. “And if Brenna did have romantic feelings for him, that could have blinded her. And his track record with women speaks for itself.”
“You’re talking about St. John?” Ruth guessed.
Liam stood in front of the whiteboard again, staring at the pictures as if he could force them to tell him what had happened. His aura pulsed, and something about the way his eyes darted around the board made me think he was having a hard time concentrating.
“Agent Bradford thinks we should consider him a strong suspect in case what happened with Brenna, Paul, and Varca is unrelated to the other missing women,” Liam said without looking away from the board.
“St. John and Brenna were in a relationship,” Andy pointed out. “Affection can blind anyone, no matter how experienced they are in psychology or criminal behavior. She would have trusted him, and that would have made her vulnerable.”
“He has magic items in his room too,” I agreed, surreptitiously taking a seat that put me almost out of Liam’s eyesight. “He said he took them from his ex-girlfriend. He obviously knows enough to use them, so maybe he has the know-how to use the collar to trap Brenna.”
“He’s been vocal about the fact he doesn’t feel welcome here,” Ruth added. She positioned herself opposite me with Liam between us, trying to keep his focus on her. “I understand where he’s coming from, it can’t be easy to be the only fox in a building full of wolves. And his flirtatious personality doesn’t exactly endear him to the men.”
Liam listened to all of us, but still didn’t take his eyes off the board. I didn’t know if he was still studying the information, or if the battle to control his temper just took up that much of his concentration.
Carefully, I drew my magic. Magic detection spells were second nature to me now, and it took no more than a flex of my will to send silver tendrils toward Liam, feeling around for any trace of a spell that might be responsible for his uncharacteristic temper. Hope burned inside me, hope that whatever was causing these surges of violence in Liam was something as simple as a spell. The silver net fell over him, lying on top of his aura in a silvery wash.
Nothing.
No answering sparks of color, no pulse of energy. Liam was completely and utterly himself.
I must have made some sound of disappointment. One minute I was staring at Liam’s back, the next he’d craned his head to face me. His eyes lightened, blue irises shifting to gold.
“And then there’s Edwin,” Ruth said, her voice a little louder than necessary.
Liam jerked his gaze to her. “Edwin?”
Ruth nodded. “He’s made it clear that he thinks you aren’t doing enough as alpha. He thinks you took it too easy on Stephen and he’s been saying all along that your relaxed attitude is going to lead to trouble.”
“You think he did this to prove he’s right?”
Ruth took a step closer. “Well, if he did, then he succeeded, didn’t he? No one can say you haven’t been flexing your authority. And you’re certainly taking less backtalk from Stephen.”
I bit the inside of my cheek. I couldn’t feel a spell on Liam, but the more I thought about it, the more I was sure it was there. Maybe it was wishful thinking, but my instinct told me something was wrong. And a witch never ignored her instincts. If I was right, and we were dealing with someone powerful enough to hide from shifters and magic users alike, then I’d need a stronger spell to find what they’d done.
“Open your third eye,” Peasblossom whispered.
A shiver ran down my spine. “There’s got to be another way.”
Again, Liam started to turn to me, and again, Ruth interrupted. “And Edwin was clear earlier that he considers Brenna a threat to this pack,” she said seriously.
Liam’s jaw tightened. “I remember.”
“And I’m not saying he’s a bad man, but we know what service he performed for his last alpha. He was a cleaner, and he was very, very good at what he did.”
Peasblossom patted my neck. I glanced down to see her looking at me, her tiny pink face serious. She nodded.
I did not want to open my third eye. Yes, it would show me anything there was to see affecting Liam. Opening my third eye would position me halfway between the astral plane and the physical world, straddling the boundary with one foot in each, aware of what was going on, but with an extrasensory perception that would show me astral reflections. Magical signatures.
It would also leave my body open to possession. My astral form open to attack.
I gritted my teeth. Just a peek, I promised myself. A teeny, tiny peek.
My third eye had been torn open long ago, right around the time when my patron—whoever, or whatever, that was—had dumped their magic into me and turned me into a witch. Back then, my third eye opened on its own, randomly. And when it did, it struck me down and left me in epileptic paralysis, frozen and forced to see the monsters of the world my human eyes were blessedly blind to while everyone around me whispered things like “demonic possession.” Mother Hazel had taught me to close it, and I’d kept it closed.
Till now.
Peasblossom wrapped her tiny arms around my neck, her pulse against mine a reassuring thrum. I focused on Liam, looking at his face as if I were concentrating on what he was saying. With one deep breath, I let my third eye open.
A wolf looked back at me.
I jumped in my seat, then sneezed to cover it up. The wolf didn’t move, didn’t look away. It knew I was watching it. Liam didn’t spare me a glance as Andy said something about Edwin and a soldier’s choices.
I forced myself to look away from the ghostly specter of Liam’s beast, into his head, searching for some spell that might cloud his thoughts, make it harder for him to control his temper.
“What are you doing?”
Liam moved faster than I’d been ready for, distracted as I was. He stood close enough that my gaze landed on his stomach, and before I could look up to meet his eyes, I saw it.
“It’s a parasite.”
I leaned closer, dragging the small circle of focus to center on the shifter’s stomach and the bulging red worm of energy with the pulsing grayish purple veins. The parasite was gorging itself on Liam’s stomach contents, squirming around to suck up everything there was, every tidbit that might have given the shifter nourishment. I stared, my lips parting. Blood and bone, how was he not a slathering mess of fur and fangs right now? He had to be starving.
“Parasite?” Liam asked.
He still sounded mad, but curiosity had leaked in.
I forced myself to meet his eyes. “Yes. An astral parasite. A creature of energy more than flesh.” I frowned as I found it hard to concentrate on Liam when his wolf’s face was superimposed over his features. I closed my third eye, and immediately breathed a little easier.
“There’s a parasite in your digestive tract. It’s eating the food from your stomach before your body can absorb it.”
“Do you feel hungry all the time?” Ruth asked.
I noticed she didn’t point out the obvious connection to Liam’s thinning temper. Smart woman.
“No,” Liam said. “I’ve been eating, I feel fine.” He narrowed his eyes at me. “Are you sure?”
“I’m positive, I saw it clear as day. And you might not have felt hungry because you’re too distracted by everything that’s going on.” I drummed my fingers on the table, staring at his stomach. “Unfortunately, stealing your food isn’t all it’s doing. Parasites like that also excrete a toxin that increases testosterone levels. They spread like a virus, raising testosterone until their host gives in to more violent urges, then they spread through blood.”
“Liam drew blood when he attacked Edwin earlier,” Kylie spoke up. The half-ghoul rose and approached Liam, frowning at his stomach as if she could see the parasite. “We need to see him immediately and make sure he hasn’t been contaminated.”
“I’ll go,” I offered grimly.
“No,” Kylie said. “Let Vincent go. I’ll get started on an antidote.” She frowned. “It will take a while to make. I might be able to have it by tomorrow.”
“You should go home,” I told Liam. “That parasite is only going to keep making things worse. Eat as much as you can, get some sleep, and if you can meditate, I suggest—”
“I’m not going home,” Liam interrupted, staring at me as if I’d lost my mind. “Someone did this to me. This…parasite, was intentional?”
I hesitated. “It’s possible it could have been an accident. Have you been in a fight in the last forty-eight hours where your blood was spilled?”
“Not since the fight club,” he said.
I shook my head. “No, that was too long ago. If you’d been contaminated there, the parasite would have returned to the astral plane by now. They can’t survive on this plane for much longer than seventy-two hours. That’s why they escalate so quickly. You were already upset over Brenna’s disappearance, then the murder, and finding she’d been at the scene and was helping Stephen start his own pack. Stephen and Edwin pushing you, criticizing your leadership. All of that would have been bad enough. Someone did this knowing you were already on the edge, knowing your control is very impressive, and knowing this would be their only chance to make this parasite work. Someone wants to discredit you.”
“Someone knew Paul would see Ruth and she would give him tea with more wolfsbane in it,” Liam said calmly. “Someone gave me this…parasite. And someone funneled people out of this center, trapped them in wolf form, and sold them as pets. I’m not going anywhere until I find the traitor.”
Ruth opened her mouth, then shut it. I watched the conflict play over her face before she finally looked at me. I understood. Liam was on edge and irrational. Being questioned by a submissive in his pack would only push him further over the edge. Unfortunately, I’d bet the same would be true of a witch bossing him around.
“We haven’t searched May’s home yet, just her office, right?” Andy asked, breaking into the tension with his calm, questing tone.
I nodded slowly.
“If she’s a witch, would you be able to tell by getting a look at her house?”
“Maybe. But if she’s deep in the broom closet, maybe not.”
“Let’s go look around.” Andy gathered his things. “Even if we can’t prove she’s a witch, there’s always a chance we can find proof of something else. Maybe she kept a record of the wolves she gave out.”
Andy’s calm and simple plan of action seemed to be just what Liam needed. Like a missile armed with GPS coordinates, he followed Andy out of the room, taking his roaring aura with him. Before I could reach the threshold, Kylie called out to me.
“Shade.”
I turned, pleasantly surprised. “Yes?”
Kylie had risen from her seat and circled the tables to reach me. I searched her face for some sign she was softening, some sign that the cold mask she used when she looked at me was falling away.
“Can you take Liam down if he loses control?”
I blinked. That was not what I’d been expecting. “I—” I stopped, straightened my spine. “Yes.”
“Without killing him?”
My lips moved before I found my voice again to answer. “Yes.”
“Good.” Kylie passed me and headed for the door. “Because we all know how your FBI partner would handle it if I’m too late for this cure.”
Chapter 22
“Let me go first, I can pick the lock.”
Liam paused with his hand on SUV’s door. “So can I.”
It was on the tip of my tongue to point out that in his current state, he was more likely to rip May’s front door off the hinges than pick the lock. Knowing he had a parasite inside him hadn’t done anything for his mood, and there was a flush to his skin that reminded me of a giant red flag. Warning, werewolf on the edge. Do not approach.
Andy turned in the driver’s seat so he could see Liam and me at once. He was wearing his FBI poker face, but the look in his eyes when he met mine was clear. If Liam lost control, there was a bullet in Andy’s gun with the alpha’s name on it. Bean bag gun comparison or not.
My brain filled with images of strategic head-shots, questions about how much of a shifter’s brain had to remain intact to survive long enough to heal. I shook those thoughts off. It wouldn’t come to that. I wouldn’t let it.
I drew my magic, letting it pool in violet puddles in my palms. Staring into Liam’s face, I brushed my hands from the top of my head, all the way down my body. His eyes followed my hands, a side effect I should have expected but hadn’t. I ignored the warm tingling sensation low in my body, concentrating instead on guiding the magic to do what I needed it to do. Thankfully, when I finished and leaned over to look in the rearview mirror, I saw May Lin looking back at me.
The werewolf’s gaze roved over my body with more intensity than was necessary to confirm my disguise was sufficient. I thought I saw Andy’s arm twitch, as if his hand had dropped closer to his gun.
“If someone sees me picking the lock, they’ll assume I locked myself out,” I pointed out, speaking a little louder than necessary to get Liam’s attention. “No reason to risk someone calling the cops.”
Liam dragged in a deep breath and tightened his grip on his door handle. “Fine.”
Andy smoothed his hands down the lapels of his suit jacket, and if I didn’t know better, I’d have sworn he was counting to ten. I paused with my own car door partially open, but he exited his side of the SUV and closed his door before I could say anything.
“Lot of tension,” I muttered under my breath. “Am I the only one who can’t breathe?”
“I’ll bet you three honey packets that Andy’s going to shoot Liam before this case is done.” Peasblossom slid down my shirt and landed on the waist pouch. “I’m getting in the pouch until those two are separated.”
“No honey until after you eat,” I warned, watching her tug on the zipper.
Peasblossom scowled, but didn’t argue.
I got out and held the door open for Scath. The large black cat wore her dog glamour, but I didn’t need to see her true face to know she was in pain. She didn’t move with the same rolling grace as before, and her head sagged as if she wanted to lie down.
“Is she okay?” Peasblossom worried.
“She’s alive,” I said. “Which is a miracle in and of itself.” I hesitated. “But I do wish you’d stayed home to rest,” I told Scath.
The cat sith ignored me, her gaze focused on the front door of May’s small ranch-style house in the suburbs. I wasn’t the least bit surprised to see she had a big backyard with a beautiful wooden fence. I guessed a lot of puppies spent time in that backyard.
Liam and Andy stood together in front of the SUV, neither of them looking particularly patient. I straightened my spine and walked past them with the authoritative confidence that I’d seen May display.
“Credit card, please, Bizbee,” I said, looking at the gap in the zipper of my pouch.
The grig handed over the piece of plastic without comment, blessedly. I slipped the card between the door and the frame, wiggling it back and forth and praying there was no deadbolt. A few seconds later, I was rewarded when the door swung open.
Scath passed over the threshold. Tension seized her body, turning her into a canine shaped statue. I held up a hand, stopping Liam and Andy from spreading out to search. “Wait.”
Scath lowered her head, staring into the distance for a long moment before taking one, slow step forward. Stalking.
