o f31e4a444fa175b2 (21 page)

Gianna sniffed, pushing to her feet and heading for the exit, addressing her final words to Scott over her shoulder. “You will want to get more of the remedies from your sister, or the Fury there will be useless to you. Mark my words well. That knee will never heal.”

And with those words of hope and inspiration, she disappeared.

DENIAL, SUCH A WONDERFUL THING. I WALlowed
in it like a pig in mud, refusing to discuss the Oracle’s prediction with Scott, shutting him up by pretending to sleep. Only when one of his mercs showed up with a care package from Kiara—along with a brief, hearts-and-flowers-covered note from Con updating me on the family’s progress researching—did I actually bother to sit up in bed again.

Despite his obvious annoyance with me, he tended my knee with gentle hands. Tears welled despite his great care. It hurt so damned bad I almost had to confront the truth head-on. But then the bandage slipped into place, and blessed relief stilled the raging inferno that was my knee.

I blew my breath out in an explosive rush.
Thank the gods!
Scott held out a hand and helped me to -my feet. I walked toward the door, placing as little weight on my left leg as possible. Absolutely nothing. No pain, not even the slightest twinge. Ha! The Oracle had obviously exaggerated. Crippled, my ass. I hadn’t so much as broken a leg since high school, and the thought of my indestructible Fury nature failing me just when I needed it most had my stomach twisting in knots all over again. So, naturally, I completely and totally ignored it.

“Hmm, remind me to give Kiara a big fat kiss next time I see her.”

Scott grinned when I turned toward him. “I’ll be sure and do that, if only to see her beat you down when you do. You know you’re not butch enough for her tastes.”

I sneered. “As if she could.” My eyes glanced down at the plain white tee I was wearing. Warmth suffused my cheeks when I realized it must be his. “Ah, got anything else I can wear?”

He arched a brow. “Going somewhere?”

My arms folded across my chest. “Uh, yeah. We’ve got a case to crack, remember? Places to go, people to kill. I mean save.”

Scott tapped his watch. “Not tonight, princess.”

“What, I only slept a couple hours? Feels like longer.”

“It
was
longer. Like thirty hours longer.”

“That’s—that’s impossible.” Shock gave way to suspicion. “You let me lie there killing the girls for thirty hours before you sent for the Oracle?”

“You weren’t killing the girls at first. They seemed to have things under control most of last night and this morning. It only became obvious then that they weren’t really making much progress. That’s when they started dying themselves.”

“What time is it now?”

“Just after eight P.M
.”

“And it took another what? Ten, twelve hours to call in an Oracle?”

He hesitated, arms falling to his side and eyes roving around the room as if he didn’t want to meet my eyes.

“Murphy. Answer me.”

“We started trying to get an Oracle in early this morning.”

“What do you mean, trying?”

“Exactly that, Riss.” He sighed, crossing to me and pulling me to his chest. At first, the open display of affection took me by surprise. It felt good, though. Damned good. “You’ve got a bit of a—reputation—among the Oracles. It took us hours just to find one willing to come and take a look at you. And that only because of her cousin.”

It took him
hours
just to find someone willing to keep me alive? I fought back the sting of rejection and focused on his last statement. “What the hell would her cousin have to do with this?” He tilted his head in a
Go on, guess
gesture. “Oh fuck. Are you telling me they got an
Oracle,
too?”

He nodded, and Rage welled up stronger than ever. No matter my personal opinions of the soothsayers, Oracles were inviolate, one of the few groups of arcanes who usually held themselves neutral during magical disputes. Other arcanes ignored their sacrosanct nature at great peril. Rather than fighting the Rage, I channeled it, stalking to the bathroom and rifling through the duffel bag Kiara had packed for me

—what was it now? Two days ago?

Scott came up behind me. Rather than arguing, he simply leaned against the doorway. “It’s awful late to be starting anything.”

I shoved on a sweatshirt, words muffled by the thick cotton. “Which is why I’m finishing something instead.”

“And that would be?”

“Getting ready to take our people back. Tomorrow.”

His hands pushed mine away from the sweatshirt, and he stretched the material enough to fit my head through. “No way can we be ready to strike by tomorrow.”

My grin was predatory as I slipped into another pair of slightly loose jeans, followed by a comfy pair of sneakers. “Watch us.”

“Riss, you know how much I want to get Amaya—and Nessa—back, but I don’t think—”

“Stop thinking, Scott, and
help me.
One way or another, I want this finished. The sooner the better.”

“You were dying just a few minutes ago.”

“And now I’m perfectly fine.” I jumped up and down, waving my arms wildly. “See?” . -

He shook his head. “Gods, you are a stubborn bitch.”

My lips quirked. “Just the way you like ‘em.”

A matching grin spread across his face. “Maybe.”

I stretched to my full height and wiggled slightly. “Definitely.”

He made a visible effort not to watch my jiggling body parts, focusing on a spot just over my head instead. “Fine, then. Let me change into something more practical. Though I’m still not sure what that devious little mind of yours has planned.”

I wrapped my arms around myself, taking pleasure in the fact that he trusted me enough to follow where I led.

“Where else would a woman want to go after a near-death experience? Shopping!”

GRANTED, MY IDEA OF THE PERFECT SHOP
ping trip was a bit different from the average woman’s. Instead of searching for a bitching outfit or pair of shoes, I went hunting for commando gear and weapons. The arcane version.

Scott needn’t have worried about it being too late. In fact, the place we needed to go was open twenty-four/seven nearly every day of the year. Gunmetal Alley, where everyone went when they wanted the best of mundane weapons blended with the finest of arcane spells. Normally, I didn’t mess with hybrid weps, but there was an occasion for everything. Busting into a military outpost definitely qualified as one.

Ellie and Mac tagged along with us, eyes searching the dimly lit alley for any hint of trouble, I still hadn’t figured out exactly what Ellie’s Scottish hunk of a husband was. An absolute magician when it came to mundane technology, he nevertheless walked with the grace and assurance of an arcane being.

But the number of arcanes who truly excelled when it came to using mundane technology without magical modifications was exceedingly small. The only thing I could be sure of was that he wasn’t Sidhe.

“Why are you staring at Mac?” Scott’s voice tickled my ear.

I shivered and huddled deeper into my sweatshirt. “Just trying to figure out what he is.”

“What do you mean, what he is?”

My mouth opened to respond, but I closed it when we reached the outskirts of Gunmetal Alley. Two bouncers stood to each side of the makeshift entrance, arms folded across their massive chests and night-dark sunglasses obscuring their eyes. Those shades gave them both night vision and the ability to pick out anyone trying to sneak past them via magical means.

The bouncer to the right stepped into our path and raised a meaty hand. “Now, now, now, you know I can’t let you in here, sweetheart.”

I amped up my vision magically, squinting up at the eight-foot-tall man grinning down at me like a maniac. “Holy—Charlie, is that you? Oh my gods, I thought you were dead.” A major reason I’d gone crawling back to Scott for help.

The Giant—literally—gathered me up in a bear hug, nearly taking my breath away. I caught Scott frowning out of the corner of my eye and couldn’t help a small smirk. Nice to know I wasn’t the only one hit by the green-eyed monster.

“Nah, just laying low for a while. I’d heard the same thing about you lately, sweetheart, and I’m glad to see those rumors were
also
wrong?’

Charlie set me back on my feet. Hard. I managed not to trip, planting my feet in an aggressive stance and tilting my head~ “And what do you mean, you can’t let me in?”

The other bouncer coughed, but remained silent. Charlie’s grin grew even bigger, splitting the huge but handsome features of his face in half. “You’re a full member of the Boston PD
,
Riss. And the Alley’s proprietors don’t want any trouble with the mundane authorities.”

Translation: Some of the stuff in here isn’t exactly legal, and they didn’t want me turning them in.

“Well then, there shouldn’t be a problem since I’m

currently on suspension.” My voice hardened. “And I need our kind of firepower to finish handling the case that got me suspended.”

He hesitated. “What case?”

If he’d been anyone but Charlie, I would have told him to mind his own freaking business. But Charlie and I went way back, and we’d saved each other’s lives a few times. I trusted him, probably as much as I trusted Scott. Maybe more, since
he’d
never broken my heart. Then again, to him-I
was
the size of a small child.

“Arcanes have been vanishing lately. I’ve figured out the who, what, and why; now I just have to track down where. And when I do, I’m going to need as much firepower as I can come up with?’

He exchanged a glance with the other bouncer. Their expressions had grown somber, more somber than my words deserved. Which meant...

“Oh hell. They got one of you, too?”

“Two. Husband and wife.” Charlie’s eyes flashed with anger. Though his kind were nowhere near as slow and stupid as mortal folklore portrayed them, they could be every bit as vicious when their anger was aroused. “Just last night.”

The other bouncer’s fingers tightened. “If you need more backup, Fury, you have but to ask. Several of us would welcome the chance to take back our brethren.”

My pulse picked up speed as I considered the possibilities. Four or five Giants would even the score considerably. Each Giant warrior was worth several times their smaller counterparts when it came to taking out enemies. “We could use four of you. Five tops.” Would be hard to be stealthy with too many more than that.

His lips curved into a hungry smile. “Done.”

Charlie nodded in satisfaction. “Fighting alongside you again will be an honor.”

My cheeks reddened slightly. Fortunately, the dim light concealed that fact. “The honor will be mine.

Now, about those weapons?”

Charlie gestured to the entrance. “Just make sure you keep a low profile. If anyone tries to give you trouble, send them to us. Oh, and make sure you stop by on your way out so we can coordinate.”

This time I was the one to nod. “Done.”

We passed them by, stepping straight into the heart of Gunmetal Alley. Ramshackle lean-tos lined each side of the alley, butting directly against buildings that housed slightly more reputable establishments like taverns, inns, and pawnshops. Yeah, even arcanes got desperate enough to put beloved possessions in hock to stave off starvation another day. Or keep all kneecaps intact.

This portion of the Alley was better lit than the part we’d left behind, thanks in no small part to the hybrid security system the Alley’s proprietors employed.

Only slightly better lit, however, because most of their clientele required anonymity to conduct their business. This wasn’t—exactly—a black market, but it marched right up to the line dividing gray from black, as evidenced by the fact that they had initially barred me entrance.

Ellie put hands on hips and broke the silence. “So, just
what
are you looking for?”

“Exactly what I told Charlie. Firepower, and lots of it. You can be sure the mundanes will have enough for a small army, and we’d best have the same. Magic will only get us so far. Hell, they may have blocked off access to most of the underground reservoirs, so we may only be able to call on our own inner reserves.” I swept an arm toward the rickety storefronts. “Hybrid weps will pack the biggest bang for our buck since they come equipped with their own magical reserves.”

She blinked. Something like admiration flickered across her expression, gone so quickly I must have imagined it. “They’re also hella expensive.”

My lips twitched, but I held back the smile. “Don’t worry. It’s all on the Sisterhood tonight.”

Avarice gleamed in her eyes. “In that case, I know the perfect weps for Mac and me. . .“ She tugged her husband along in her wake, scurrying across the Alley and into a nearby store.

“Should I be worried?” I mused aloud.

Scott patted me on the shoulder. “Worried?”

“Yeah. She looked way too greedy just now. The Elders
do
have their limits, after all.”

He laughed. “Trust me, when you successfully rescue your missing sister along with my missing sister and the other arcanes, not to mention reveal the existence of the captive Sidhe, they’re not going to argue the cost.”

I perked up. “True. Especially since they can then spread the bill out among the other arcanes when they get their people back.”

“Exactly.”

“Come on, then. We’ve got a lot to do and not a whole lot of time in which to do it.” I tugged the hood of my sweatshirt up, doing my best to follow Charlie’s advice to keep a low profile. Scott shadowed me, his eyes darting around the dimly lit alley for the slightest hint of trouble. A goofy smile split my face when I noticed. I couldn’t believe he still cared about me. Dared I hope for more? Despite the accusations we’d hurled back and forth, all the reasons it would be monumentally stupid to start things back up between us, working together again just felt
right—being
together felt right. If I closed my eyes, I could pretend we had already spoken everything out loud, that we were on the road to getting back together and headed straight for our own happily ever after. That, quite honestly, scared the bejeebus out of me, and I was too scared to say anything to him. Too scared to hope I was right, too scared that speaking the words out loud would break the spell and this would all turn out to be a pipe dream.