THURSDAY, DECEMBER 5
CHAPTER ONE
ZEKE
Zeke linked his hands over his head and stretched as he pondered whether not having a Dragă might be a blessing. It would have been amusing to see Thunder, his black warhorse, who faced down armies and monsters without hesitation, so freaked out and helpless about his mate if Zeke hadn't been worried about Bolt, too.
He watched the horses in the grassy paddock behind the stables at the Ildum's compound. The golden mare was pregnant, and while she hadn't seemed to be in pain, she'd paced in endless circles, head hung low, all day long. She was having twins, and those were always tricky with horses, especially with the heritage of their parents.
Thunder's dam, Gullfaxi, a horse equally as fast on water or in the air as she was on land, and his sire, Longma, a scaled horse that was part dragon, would provide interesting genetics. Nevermind his granddam, a man-eating mare of Diomedes, and his grandsire, Bucephalus, born of a pegasus and the nuckelavee, who Zeke was sure was at least part demon.
Bolt was a mixture, too. Born of Balius, whose parents were a harpy and the Zephyrus wind, and Xanthus, whose parentage was a bit murky, but seemed to include two centaurs and the god Poseidon, in a triangle Zeke didn't really want to think about too much. There was no way to tell what kind of babies Bolt and Thunder had cooked up, or how long this pregnancy would last.
Thunder tried to appease his mate by bringing her gifts -- he pulled up flowers and presented them to her, dragged her favorite blanket out of the stable, dumped the bucket of grooming tools at Zeke's feet, in a not-so-subtle hint to spoil Bolt, then pushed Zeke around until he gave in and cut up some apples, adding raisins, pumpkin, and some strawberries for a fruit salad.
It would be nice if Bolt had inherited her father's penchant for talking, so she could tell us what to do. Zeke had determined long ago that the safest route with females of any species was to always do what they said. He debated calling the veterinarian, but couldn't see how that would help. She knew about Other World creatures, but would likely make a wasted trip.
Nothing settled the mare, and she continued trudging in endless circles throughout the day as Thunder alternatively paced and stopped to glare at Zeke.
"Sorry, my friend." Zeke patted the warhorse's shoulder. "I had nothing to do with this situation. I feel confident in saying this is pretty much all on you."
Thunder snorted, gave Zeke another shove, and returned to pacing next to Bolt.
Finally, as the sun set, Bolt lifted her head, nickered, and nuzzled Thunder. The warhorse let out a tremendous sigh and relaxed.
As the horses leaned against one another in the waning light of day, Zeke realized he'd been wrong. Having a Dragă would never be less than the best thing that happened to him. He touched his chest over his still heart. What would it feel like to have a heartbeat again? See colors while the sun was up? Feel human emotions?
Share an eternal bond.
For a thousand years, the vampires of the Ildum hadn't thought it possible. The Dragă massacre had annihilated those chances.
Until yesterday, when Stryx, the Esag of their Ildum, found his Dragă. After an explosive battle with the traffickers who had kidnapped Ember, Stryx brought her home safe this afternoon. Ember was the first Dragă. Now Stryx and a few of the others were on a mission to rescue her twin, and likely the second Dragă, discovered in two days.
Zeke's cell trilled. He slid a hand into his pocket to retrieve his phone. "Hello, Hybrid."
"Hello, Knight." Ciaran chewed and swallowed. A sandwich, no doubt. "I have a quest for you."
Uh oh. Ciaran used quest because he knew Zeke couldn't refuse one of those. "What do you want?"
"Hey, you don't have to sound so suspicious."
"I wouldn't be suspicious if you hadn't said quest. You want me to do something that I will probably not want to do."
"The thing is... Ember is leaving."
"What?" She'd only been with Stryx for a few hours. How had that gone so wrong already? "Why?"
Ciaran cleared his throat. "Let's just say Ember and Stryx don't see eye to eye on a few things. Or most things. Or, well, anything, really. Selene told me to help Ember, so I showed her the garage. But you should follow her to make sure she's okay. Whatever you do, do not approach her."
That sounded ominous. "But... aren't they bringing her sister back here?"
"Ember thinks she can find her twin on her own."
After she'd already been kidnapped by mages once. They'd be after her again, and if she went somewhere they were watching for her...
"And you can't do this because..."
"I've got some more assignments from Selene. Karov is online with the rescue party. Ember took one of Drake's bikes, so I don't think sending him to follow her is a good idea, and he doesn't really do blending in all that well. Norrix is doing research. That leaves you."
Zeke sighed, and after a final look at the horses, began the hike across the lawn in front of the compound. "Fine. I'll follow her, but only until Stryx can take over. I don't want to get my head ripped off." Figuratively or literally.
"Good. I gave her a Plan D. You know. Just in case."
That meant explosions.
Why did Dragăs make nothing simple?
CHAPTER TWO
BIJOU
Done at the hospital for the day, Bijou slid into her Fiat 500, held the door open long enough for Seeri, the foot-tall, crimson-haired, red-winged fairy, to fly in, and tapped her fingers on the steering wheel. Catching sight of the scars on her hands and arms, light against her black skin, she pulled the sleeves of her sweater down to her fingers.
Where to go? There were five women, including her friend Poppy, she had to figure out how to help at home. But the gang who'd kidnapped her friend, and put the others into their catatonic conditions, was still on the loose, and that didn't sit well with her.
Yesterday, Poppy had escaped barefoot, wearing another woman's clothes, and driving a stolen car full of unresponsive witches. She knew Bijou as a doctor in the emergency room, and that she tended to unusual medical cases, which is why she brought the witches to Bijou.
Bijou hadn't realized Poppy was missing. The Man, an administrator at the hospital, had put a note in the computer that Poppy was on leave. Things never ran quite the same when Poppy, Bijou's favorite nurse, wasn't around, so she'd checked. Poppy hadn't mentioned taking time off, and a kidnapping didn't allow people to prepare in advance, so how had The Man known to put that note about her in the system?
It wasn't there now, but Bijou had taken a photo of the screen. She had proof she wasn't crazy. The Man gave her an uneasy feeling. Had since the first day she'd started at the hospital. Always skulking around and watching everyone. She couldn't figure out what he actually did, other than complain about Bijou wasting resources.
She should head home, but Uwa and Uba were there, and her parents were capable of dealing with the witches as they recovered from their ordeals. Uba would call if he needed help. Poppy had pointed out on a map where she'd been held in the warehouse district. The area needed checking out -- and possibly burning to the ground. There could be hints as to how the gang chose victims or something that led her to where the women were supposed to be sent.
Normally, Bijou contented herself with leaving humans to humans. The police could deal with them. But this group had made it personal. Staying out of human crime went out the window when these men kidnapped her friend. Now, Bijou was making it her business to shut them down.
So, while Uwa and Uba took care of the guests at home, Bijou would track the traffickers. And this coincided with her side job of hunting monsters. Although, after ten years, Bijou was at a dead end tracking the Obayifo. These kidnappers and traffickers could stand in until she unearthed a new lead. The only one she had at the moment was underground grave, which didn't narrow anything down since practically all graves were underground.
She also couldn't be sure how dependable her source was. Crow had suffered at the hands of a mage, and while he'd survived the physical torture, there were some mental deficits he lived with.
When she'd found him on her search for the Obayifo, he'd introduced her to a network of Other Worlders who tried to prevent kidnappings and abuse. Their group was an unlikely coalition, to be sure. Crow, a boy infected with the blood of hungry things. A dream walker no one had ever actually seen. An incubus, who she would have thought a predator, not an ally. Some other assorted demons and male witches. A banshee. Herself. And Allister -- the son of a mage.
Working with them was logical, since the Obayifo took and fed on children. The collaboration would let her know if children went missing. While abductions of witches had gone up, kidnappings of children had gone down. Still, the group did worthwhile work, even though she was no closer to the Obayifo.
Bijou turned her attention to the fairy. "What do you think, Seeri? Do you want to go home, or see what trouble we can find?"
Seeri had accompanied Bijou's father from their home in Africa when Bijou began hunting for the Obayifo. One of the red Mmoatia fairies, she loved causing mischief, and it was a toss up whether or not she'd actually help on any given hunt. Cherry gum, her favorite reward, and the flavor she'd been named for, usually bought her cooperation.
The fairy flew to the glove compartment, opened it, and extracted the all black outfit and weapons she liked to wear on their hunts for monsters.
Bijou laughed, hitting the button to pop the trunk and retrieve her hunting clothes. "Trouble, it is."
Pulled to the side of the road, Bijou watched several trucks pass through the open, black metal gates. Poppy was right. Beyond the fence, it was like a city of warehouses, all lined up in neat rows and columns for as far as Bijou could see. Poppy had said the place was dead -- but today the area bustled.
No one inspected the vehicles or talked to the drivers. A car drove out, the driver and passenger both women who appeared to be in no danger. They left unimpeded. Seemed like business as usual.
Seeri stood, backwards-facing feet braced on the armrest, and peered out of the passenger window. She glanced over her shoulder, pointed at the gate, and nodded.
The fairy could sense magic. If she thought it was okay to enter, it probably was.
Bijou put the car in gear and drove in, taking turns at random. Three miles long, a mile deep. Where to start? While Poppy had pinpointed the warehouses, she wasn't sure which one she'd been held in.
When they neared the center of the warehouse city, Seeri offered directions until they arrived near one warehouse with a group of people gathered outside. The windows lacked glass, and several charred holes gaped in the roof. Bullet holes riddled the walls and metal roll-up door. What happened here? Poppy hadn't mentioned a war in the streets.
