Pair of fools, p.18
Pair of Fools, page 18
I hang my head and let the tears fall, wishing I could keep my goddess, knowing that stopping this now is better. Stopping this before Sophia tells me she loves me. It had been selfish to think I could keep her.
To let Sophia trust someone who couldn’t keep her safe.
I may be weak, but I have the strength to keep my harpy from becoming invested in someone like me.
My tears are dry by the time Sophia exits the bedroom. My emotions have ravaged my senses, but I keep them from Sophia. I won’t inflict my feelings on her now that I’ve drawn the line in the sand.
Sophia inhales and my eyes are drawn to her, no matter that I’m determined to distance myself. The ache of loss grows at the sight of her red-rimmed eyes.
“Sophia—” I start, my voice soft, but my harpy’s eyes narrow.
“Stop it,” she hisses, and I flinch at the venom of it. Sophia lifts her chin. “We still have work to do, and I have a debt to pay off so don’t distract me with telling me how sorry you are. Save it for someone who cares.”
We stare at each other, the sun beginning to set, all orange light and blue shadows. As if my mind wants to torture me further, it reminds me of that moment in the penthouse. The precipice of our relationship.
“I’ve been talking with Gage.” Sophia’s words startle me.
I’d heard her talking and just assumed it had been with one of her sisters.
“He didn’t contact me,” I say, though it’s not as if I’ve checked. I’ve been too busy wallowing. To distract myself from that seemed like respite I didn’t deserve.
Sophia rolls her eyes. “You didn’t answer your phone. I’m sure you have an email in your inbox matching what was sent to me. We have a plan to implement. The ring is going down tonight.”
The guilt that wells in my soul is poisonous. There are still captives missing and I’ve allowed myself to be distracted. Is there no end to my selfishness?
I clear my throat. “What’s the plan?”
“Gage’s team was able to set up a meeting posing as a vetted but mysterious seller. The individuals running the acquirement for the group have been trying to supply a particular type of creature for months.”
My heart sinks. “A harpy.”
Sophia nods.
“I don’t like—”
“I don’t care.” Sophia cuts me off. “We’ll go through the process of selling me and I’ll lead Gage’s team to the location, and we’ll get everyone back. Game over for the group.”
“The risk—”
“This is why you wanted my help. Don’t stop this plan because you doubt my abilities. I can do this. I will do this.” My fierce harpy glares at me.
I swallow. “Okay.”
“And when I finish this job, the favor you’re going to grant in payment is to sever our bond,” Sophia says.
My throat constricts, expecting to lose Sophia’s presence in my life doesn’t make it any easier to accept it happening.
Veto it. Keep her.
Keep her when I offer nothing more than my company. Not protection, not safety. Keep her when I might lose her.
It’s better to suffer this loss instead.
“Okay,” I say.
Sophia rocks back on her heels. The placid features of her face breaking for a single second before she pulls her mask back down.
She turns from me, words traveling over her shoulder. “I wish you had been with me for me and not because you thought I was strong.”
It’s a stab in my heart, and I deserve it.
“I can’t be the reason you get hurt,” I say. The words are weak, like me.
“Too late.”
32
Sophia
Mace tries to avoid watching me, but he’s terrible at it. My body reacts with each glance he gives me, and it causes a surge of anger every time.
“Everything settling okay? No pinching or weird magic interactions?” Leo asks, his questions soft.
“Yes.” I rattle the restraints on my wrists, they hold. A clever bit of magic has the suppression collar on my neck humming as if activated, but it doesn’t actually suppress my abilities. “Thank you.”
Gage’s team is incredibly proficient. It’s only been ten minutes since they’d met up with us a short distance away from the meeting location and we’re ready to go.
The spell caster of the group, Leo, had quickly become my favorite. His spells are seamless and custom designed to sit against my skin. They’re almost as good as Alice’s experiments, and he didn’t have the benefit of trial and error to do them.
Leo is also incredibly cheerful and nice. Maybe he’s dialing that up to combat with the awkward tension Mace and I bring to our huddle.
I had to leave my trusty leather jacket at Mace’s. It had been partially damaged by the fireball spell and the charms set into it would have been obvious to anyone looking for them. I don’t like the absence, it’s like being naked.
Appearing as vulnerable as possible is my role. It’s an essential part for this plan. We need our targets to bring me to the rest of their captives. I’ll serve as a tracking beacon for our team. Leo meticulously painted a spell that he can track, a symbol the size of my hand in gold on my back. It’s invisible to even those who can see magic.
The man who will be “selling” me to the group is a big shifter named Kane. He’s been quiet since being introduced, but it doesn’t seem to be unusual for him.
We’d all agreed, except for Mace, that with the possibility of Nero being involved, Mace couldn’t be my partner for this mission. The demon is not happy with any of us.
I’m enjoying his discomfort more than I should. It’s like having revenge and it’s utterly ridiculous, but feelings are feelings.
“Is everyone ready?” Gage asks, his voice inspiring the hairs on the back of my neck to raise.
I don’t know what Gage is, he hides it under a human-appearing glamour, but the reptilian quality of his movements and his yellow eyes make me think dragon. He won’t be a part of the transaction. Rare species are better left unidentified by these groups.
My family is known in the paranormal community, especially after the business with Zeph. So the added danger of them recognizing me isn’t an issue. I’m exactly what they’re looking for after all.
We nod and Mace shoots a look to the rest of the men who wander a few steps away. He steps in front of me, and our bond vibrates to life with a throb of worry. I gasp and it quiets, ripping Mace’s emotions from me yet again.
I glare but Mace leans his face next to mine, his posture communicating all the things the bond will no longer tell me. Worry, care, and maybe heartbreak.
“Be safe, my fierce harpy. May the winds favor you,” Mace says, and I want to pull him to me, let the warmth of him soothe my racing heart. I want to find the solace he’d given me before. The type of solace brought by support.
I don’t.
Because those soft feelings won’t help me with this. Mace has already made his decision. I refuse to beg for affection.
“It’ll be a walk in the park.”
Mace arches a brow. “A dark park filled with vampires?”
I cough a laugh. “I’ll be fine. Someone once told me they’re snobs.”
“You’d have to fight your way out. They always go for the highest quality.”
How is it that this demon can always take my breath away?
Mace takes a step back, maybe realizing he’s gone too far.
I start walking in the direction of the meeting, stopping to call out to Kane. “Are you ready to party?”
The giant’s mouth twitches, and he nods, catching up to me quickly. I stop to let him slip a leash-like chain through the restraints. The tug drives home just how much I’m trusting Mace and Gage’s team to rescue me. My breath is shaky, but I will not fail now.
“You’ve got to stop smiling like that. You have to be the scary one and I have to be the scared one.” I tease to take my mind off everything.
That has a snort escaping Kane.
“Be good,” he says, his smooth voice full of mirth.
“Never.”
By the time we get to the meeting location, an abandoned warehouse, my adrenaline is pumping and the dangerous edge of excitement presses against my throat.
“You just walked here with a harpy on a leash?” The question comes from a man who steps into the light. More shadows move, more men milling around as if they’ve always been here and didn’t just appear. My eyes count what I can. There are maybe five.
The speaker has thinning dark hair and a thick body. He’d look average if his sneer didn’t make my skin crawl.
“You must be Frank,” Kane says. “She’s been obedient. Knows I have access to her phone and will go after her family if she makes even a peep.” The big shifter on the other end of my leash is good at being the scary one. He makes his voice so monotone and chilling that Frank pauses.
Frank looks at a different man, this one rangy, his motions jittery. The jittery man sniffs the air and nods. I’d bet money that he’s the spell caster. The nod must mean that we’re clean of nefarious magic.
Thank you, Leo.
Kane shrugs. “But if you’re not interested, I’ll take her elsewhere.”
He yanks on the chain leashing me as if we’re turning to leave.
“Wait! Don’t be so hasty, friend. We’re interested.”
Kane turns back. “Then transfer the money. I have other plans for tonight.”
Frank’s face scrunches in frustration, and he slides a thick envelope from his pocket, holding it out. Kane takes the envelope with a movement so quick it has me blinking.
“Cash?” Kane asks as he flips through the contents.
“We always deal in cash,” Frank explains with a hint of condescension.
Kane sighs as if this is an inconvenience but tosses the end of my leash to the man who just bought me. I’m yanked forward when Frank hands the end to the spell caster.
“Should I contact you when I have more harpies? I’ve found quite the nest of them.” Kane’s tone is droll. Now it’s my turn to perform. I try and manifest every helpless feeling I had when Zeph was taken.
“You said they’d be safe!” I yank on the chain, trying to simulate the strength I’d have if the suppression collar was really working. Even that much has the spell caster cursing, but he doesn’t lose his grip.
“Not much you can do about it now, is there?” Kane smiles. It’s so cold I shiver.
Frank makes a sound of annoyance. “So much for an obedient harpy.”
Kane shrugs. “Your problem now.”
Frank scowls and answers the question. “Yes, we have a buyer interested in harpies. It’s got something to do with feathers.”
Knowing my kind has been hunted for parts and hearing about it currently happening has a sick feeling rising in my stomach. Feathers, really?
Kane walks backward, exhibiting the correct amount of caution that this meeting entails. He waves on the way out. “Good doing business with you.”
And I’m alone with the traffickers.
I suppress the panic. Mace will come after me as soon as I signal. This is a business group. They’ll want to store me with the merchandise as soon as possible.
That’s the clearest cut scenario we’d gone through as a team. There had been many other disgusting scenarios. Mace had almost lost it when we covered the options of sexual assault. This is a group dealing in people as if they are objects. The risk is present.
It’s unlikely for a group this proficient to choose to do anything to me in an area that isn’t secure. If these men had intentions of abusing me before transporting me… that’s the reason my suppression collar doesn’t work. It’s the only thing that provides me any comfort.
“Be a good birdie. We’d hate to rough you up,” Frank says, and a man in the shadows laughs. A different shadow smacks the laugher.
They seem to be all about business. Mace will find me; we’ll save the captives. As if my thoughts summon him, he’s suddenly there, strolling out of the shadows.
My heart jumps into my throat and I stare, looking away when the man narrows his eyes at me.
“Okay, demon, let’s go,” Frank says.
“She’s bonded.” Not-Mace’s voice rolls lazily.
I freeze. I hadn’t known that Nero would look so much like Mace. We hadn’t even been sure he was involved, but the similarities are uncanny. Nero’s face has a sharper quality to it, leaner and his eyes are darker.
Frank frowns. “A bonded harpy? Weird. Can she be tracked through it?”
The demon mulls the question over as if he doesn’t care one way or the other about the answer. “Not by many.”
“I don’t care,” he snaps. “Take care of it, but don’t damage the merchandise.”
Nero sighs. “If you insist.”
I’m slow to react but Nero isn’t. He makes a hand gesture in the air, and I come undone.
The threads of my soul snap. The impact of the slingshot of my own threads returning to me has a cry leaving my mouth with no volume. The pain is bad. I’m on the dusty warehouse floor, and I try to curl up to defend against it, but it’s over quickly and all that’s left is weakness.
Weakness and utter emptiness.
33
Mace
Gage lifts me from where I’d fallen on the stained carpet of the motel room we’ve rented by the hour. The worst of the pain leaves but the shorn bond reaches out achingly for its pair. I wipe the tears from my eyes, clenching my jaw.
“They’ve broken our bond,” I say.
Gage nods. It was a scenario we’d brushed on briefly. The bond between Sophia and I wouldn’t be visible to any magic user, but there are a few types that would see it. The breaking of the bond doesn’t change anything about our plan other than it’s possible Sophia has lost consciousness.
Maybe not. She wanted the bond broken and if she didn’t fight it, it wouldn’t drain her. I’m a little dizzy, but the true effect of being without an anchor won’t happen until I start traveling through the in-between.
Gage’s brow creases. “Do you need a bond?”
My soul rejects the possibility of bonding to someone other than my harpy, but I press my hand to my heart, trying to quiet it.
“Your succubus would carve out my eyeballs,” I say instead. Trying to figure out how many travels through the in-between I have left before I lose the luxury of being able to be picky about who I bond to.
Leo snorts and Gage looks uncomfortable. “It’s not like that with Katherine.”
The topic is successfully tabled and Kane bursts through the door.
“How is she?” he asks.
“They’ve broken the bond between her and Mace. We’re just waiting for her to activate the beacon when they relocate her,” Gage answers.
Kane curses. “They had at least five men. We’ll need to take the Council Enforcers up on their offer, they outnumber us and undoubtedly have more at their main location.”
Everyone makes sounds of aggravation, but Gage pulls out his phone and walks away to make the call. Enforcers are no one’s favorite group of people to deal with.
After some quiet back and forth, Gage hangs up, his jaw tight. “They are on standby for when we have a location. Remember, our mission is freeing the captives and theirs is apprehending the culprits.”
I nod. “Did you tell them it’s possible that they have someone with teleporting capabilities?”
“Cooper didn’t seem overly concerned.” Gage’s upper lip curls up in disgust.
My head falls back. Cooper had been the enforcer leading the team when Zeph was taken. I should have let Greg rip his head from his body.
The enforcer isn’t a bad man. Just one with priorities about captives that I don’t agree with. His the-end-justifies-the-means methods leave much to be desired.
As a reflex, I reach for the bond, only to wince at the gaping emptiness. I force myself to focus on the conversations of the room as we detail our plans now that the Council has been called in.
I will find you, my goddess.
34
Sophia
I tremble as I’m led down a cement corridor, still dealing with random waves of nausea and weakness from having the bond severed. I’d almost completely lost consciousness when Nero had teleported the group to this dank location.
The trip through the in-between had been more jarring than I’d ever experienced. As fast as the blink of an eye with no playful shadows pulling on me.
Seeing between the planes must have been an ability I’d been given from being bonded to Mace. The loss of our bond… Stop it! This is what you wanted. Suck it up.
My pep talk lacks conviction. I did want the bond broken. I just didn’t realize how much I’d miss it. How lonely it would be.
We turn a corner, the spell caster leads me by the chain. Nero walks behind us; my skin crawls. Why is he watching me?
We finally get to a larger room with a few large jail cells made by bars going from floor to ceiling. People huddle in the cells, too many to count on one pass. The spell caster holds a hand in front of the door and the people cower, forcing them from the opening. Every person has a suppression collar.
“Hands,” the spell caster says to me, and I offer up my wrists. He orients me behind the bars, and I make sure to stumble, showing the weakness strategically.
The spell caster snorts at my act and the anger that rises is hot. I fist my hands, trying to keep my talons from showing, the urge to disembowel him is strong.
“There was something familiar about that bond.”
I freeze at Nero’s words.
“What?” I force myself to sound confused. Could he sense it was his brother’s bond that he severed?
Nero tilts his head. “I can’t quite put my finger on it, but I’ll figure it out.”
“Don’t touch the bars,” the spell caster says, ignoring the interaction I’m having with the demon while he removes the wrist restraints and slides the cell door shut.
