Irresistible Magic (32 page)

David scowled and yanked Harrison back. Harrison sent him a bland smile and stood with his thumbs in the belt loops of his jeans.

“The plan?” I asked Phoebe.

“We break up into groups. Nicola will go with Tal, Harrison with me, and you and Link with David.”

I glanced at Tal’s tense stance and David’s casual one and then gaped at Phoebe. “Wait, what? Why am I with David? You’re my partner.”

Phoebe glanced over my head at David. “Told ya.”

David shrugged.

“I think it’s a good plan,” Talisen said quietly.

I spun. “What?”

Tal took my hand in his. I could almost feel David’s stare burning into our connection. But I knew Tal wasn’t doing it to show dominance. It was just a natural gesture. One he’d done a thousand times before. “The vampire is the strongest and quickest. If anyone can keep you safe, it’s him.”

“Phoebe and Link have kept me safe hundreds of times before,” I argued.

“Not against superhumans. And what if there’s a bunch of vampires in there?”

“There isn’t—” I cut myself off, almost revealing to Harrison that I could sense vamps. “I mean, we don’t have any reason to believe there is.”

Harrison gave me an odd look.

“Either way, I’ll feel better if David’s watching your back.” Tal dropped my hand and moved to stand next to Nicola.

Not wanting to hold the rescue mission up any longer, I reluctantly agreed. “All right. I’ll partner with David.”

“Good.” Phoebe glanced around at all of us. “Now, here’s the plan.”

Chapter 25

The white antebellum home took up half a city block in the Lake Vista neighborhood and was surrounded by a black wrought-iron fence. The entire place was dark except for one light shining from the far upper right-hand window.

David pointed to a balcony on the left side. “That’s where we’ll enter.”

“Right.” Out of the six of us, it was easiest for David and me to deal with second floors.

I turned to Tal, who was standing behind me. There was no way I was getting Link up there with me. “Link is too charged to change into puppy form. Take him with you.”

Talisen put his hand out to Link. The wolf nudged Tal’s palm with his nose. The tight ball in my chest loosened a tiny bit. Not that I didn’t have confidence in Talisen and Nicola’s abilities, but they were the weakest pair. Tal was very gifted in healing…not fighting. He could hold his own in a brawl, but dealing with superhumans was another matter. And while Nicola was powerful, she wasn’t very experienced.

They needed Link more than I did. Because let’s face it, I had David, badass vampire, on my team. As long as I didn’t get in the way, he would be able to protect me from almost anyone. Hopefully.

“Go,” Phoebe said. “We’ll be right behind you.”

David glanced down at me. “I’ll meet you up there.”

I took a deep breath, shrugged off the sweater I’d borrowed from Phoebe, and fluttered my wings, instantly feeling more in control.

I hovered under a tree and watched Phoebe and Harrison jump the iron fence. Phoebe paused at the front gate. A faint light glowed from her palm and a second later, the gate swung open. Link bounded in and she closed it.

Phoebe joined Harrison near the front door of the house. Below me, Talisen scaled the large oak with Nicola right behind him. They were headed for the backyard. Once Phoebe was in and disarmed the alarm, they would sneak in through the back door.

I kept one eye on Phoebe’s progress and the other on the shadows of the balcony. David was already there, waiting for me.

Phoebe waved in my direction, giving me the signal. Time to get this party started. I flew soundlessly to the balcony and landed beside David, catching a glimpse of Link as he followed on Talisen’s heels and disappeared into the backyard.

Everyone was in place. David had his hand on the knob of the French door and as soon as Phoebe had the front door open, he twisted his wrist. The flimsy lock broke easily and David ushered me inside the dark room.

This was it. Our job was to clear the way for Tal and Nicola to get Dawson out. But first, we needed to find whoever was here without tipping them off. We had the best advantage coming in from the second floor. And that meant we had no time to waste.

The more individuals we could neutralize, the easier it would be for the rest of the team. A dark walnut canopy bed took up almost the entire room. With super vampire speed, David maneuvered to the other side and checked the closet. Empty.

He cracked open the door, poked his head out, and waved me forward. We needed to check every room.

I stayed a half step behind him, listening carefully for sounds below. The house was pin-drop silent right up until I stepped on a creaky floorboard. Shit. I froze, but David grabbed my arm and yanked me into a room to the left.

My breathing quickened and sweat broke out on my neck. He pulled me to the far corner of the room and did his cursory check, then he swept a glance over me and raised one quizzical eyebrow.

His question was clear. Was I okay to continue? I mouthed
I’m fine
and smoothed my shirt. We hadn’t even seen anyone yet and I was ready to jump right out of my skin. He paused by the door, listening. I wasn’t sure if he was giving me another moment or if he actually heard something. But I wasn’t going to ask.

We made our way down the hall and were almost to the stairs separating the west and east wings when we heard a loud crash followed by a vicious growl.

“Fuck!” Phoebe’s angry voice floated up the stairs. “Resist and you’ll end up six feet under, dirtbag.”

Another crash, this time sounding like glass on tile.

“Move!” David ushered me down the hall. He only paused momentarily at each door, listening briefly. It appeared no one was upstairs at all…except that room at the end with the light shining from beneath the door.

When we reached the end of the hall, David pressed me against the door with one arm and listened. After a brief moment he nodded. Someone was in there.

He glanced at the door handle and then back at me to ask if I was ready. I wasn’t, but we couldn’t wait. If Dawson was in there, this could be our only chance to save him.

The clatter of heavy boots sounded on the stairwell and David spun.

So much for ending this mission early. I pulled the stun gun out of my pocket and held it with the hand wearing Phoebe’s ring. If anyone lunged for me, vampire or superhuman, hopefully the ring’s magic would slow them down.

A wiry guy with shockingly white-blond hair bounded up the stairs and into the hallway, followed closely by a stocky bodybuilder type.

David pushed me behind him and grabbed the first guy, barely catching him by his bloody T-shirt.

Where’d all that blood come from? Someone was seriously wounded. What if it was Tal? No! I refused to believe it. I hadn’t heard Link and surely if Tal had been hurt, Link would’ve lost his shit.

Bloody T-shirt twisted at the last moment and kicked out, hitting David in the knee. My vampire crumpled but brought Bloody T-shirt down with him. David’s hand wrapped around his attacker’s neck and the muscles in his forearm flexed as he squeezed. Bloody’s eyes started to bug out.

I took another step back, but then the bodybuilder lunged and he lost his balance, crashing into me. His heavy weight slammed us both into the wall. A sharp pain shot through my left wing, but I bit back a cry and ignored it. The bodybuilder’s beady gray eyes leered into mine. He snarled and said, “Pretty. Too bad I’m going to have to crush your throat.”

Was that the standard operating procedure for these fights? Because that’s exactly what it looked like David was doing to the bloody guy. My attacker was too busy ogling me to notice me shift to stand on the balls of my feet, bracing myself. The stun gun hit him in the ribs and a zap of electricity shot into my shoulder where his hand still clutched me. My body spasmed, but I didn’t let go.

He jerked backward with fire in his eyes. “Stupid bitch.”

I smirked. “I’m not the one with a two-inch burn mark on my torso.”

“You’re gonna—argh!” Link lunged from the top of the stairs and sank his teeth into the man’s thigh. He shook his head with enough violence that I was almost certain my wolf was trying to rip Bodybuilder’s leg right off.

Someone shouted from below. An explosion ripped through the air. “Talisen,” I cried and on pure reflex ran for the stairs. Was the place booby-trapped? “Phoebe!”

Talisen and Nicola rushed up the stairs, almost colliding with me.

“Willow,” Talisen said. “Are you all right?”

“Yes. What the hell was that?” I clutched at his good arm and let out a sigh of relief.

“A spell Phoebe and Nicola threw. They took out a half dozen guards.” He pulled me back down the hall, away from the brawls David and Link were still engaged in.

“Did you find Dawson?”

Nicola shook her head and glanced over her shoulder. “No. There’s a small army of superhuman guards. Phoebe and I cast a holding spell over the rest. They’re trapped in an invisible bubble right now, but it won’t last.”

“We’ve checked everywhere except there.” I pointed to the room behind me.

“Come on.” Tal dragged me forward, desperate to search that room.

“But—”

“Move,” Nicola gasped as blue magic sprang from her hands and collided with the guard who had dislodged Link.

Talisen pressed me into the wall, shielding me with his body. I clung to his arms, staring wide-eyed over his shoulder.

Link was back on his feet, stalking the guard and waiting for his opening. As soon as Nicola’s spell dissipated, Link lunged, this time mauling the guard until he crashed to the floor.

“Willow, go with Talisen,” David huffed out. His guard had gotten away from his death grip, and the pair were going blow for blow with one another.

Link’s maw was full of blood, but the guard he’d bitten just kept coming back for more. My stomach rolled. This was a literal bloodbath. One of them should’ve been knocked out by now. Tal’s drug was even more dangerous than I’d first imagined.

Tal, who’d left my side, yanked open the last bedroom door and stood inside the doorframe.

What in the world was he doing? I ran. If anyone wanted to ambush him, he was a sitting duck standing there like that. But right before I reached his side, his shoulders relaxed slightly and he strode into the room.

Crack!

Behind me, a piece of the railing from the banister slammed into the wall and stuck out like an arrow. It had landed two inches from Nicola’s skull.

“Goddammit!” Nicola cried. “Willow, go with Tal. The bubble burst. Phoebe needs my help.” She dodged another piece of debris, launched herself over Link, and hurried down the stairs.

I didn’t hesitate. There wasn’t anything flying from that bedroom. Surely it was safer than the hallway.

The door had closed behind Tal. I forced myself to slow down, pay attention to my surroundings, and carefully turned the knob. Locked. What the hell?

I yanked and kicked the door with everything I had. When that didn’t work, I started to bang on the door. “Tal! Open up. What’s going on it there?”

Nothing. Dead silence.

“Talisen!”

The door swung open with gusto, pulling me into the room. As soon as I stumbled over the threshold, I fell to my knees, nearly crushed by the thick weight of vampire energy. I raised my gaze, the only part of me that I could move, to meet the gleeful expression of a vampire I knew.

The other daywalker.

I sucked in a painful gasp, almost unable to even fill my lungs. Everything hurt as if I were being stabbed with a thousand needles from every angle. My skin burned and my muscles ached, all while I was trapped in my own personal prison.

The vampire closed the door with a soft click. He pressed his fingers to his lips, indicating I should stay quiet.

Fear-driven adrenaline rushed through me. I scanned the empty room for Talisen, wanted to scream for him. To find out if he was all right. But I could barely breathe, let alone form words.

“That’s a good faery,” he crowed. “Stay quiet and your fae won’t suffer as terrible a death as your brother.”