Dark Deceiver (18 page)

“We're on the fifth floor,” she gasped.

Kaderil sucked air into his lungs, reeling from the onslaught of terrible understanding. With an effort, he shook off the debilitating shock. He had to get Autumn to safety.

“That gives us about five minutes before he's completely healed. Get your keys and your purse. We've got to get out of here.”

Autumn disappeared into the bedroom to emerge a moment later with her purse. “You threw your own man out the window? Is he going to forgive you for that?”

“No. He'll know what it means.”

“What's that?”

“That I've turned traitor.”

“T
he stairs,” Kade gasped. “Faster.”

Autumn stared at him, at the way he was nearly bent over with pain after whatever that Esri colleague of his had done to him. “Not the way you're feeling.”

“I'll…be fine. Soon.”

“We're taking the elevator. You said we have five minutes before he heals from that five-story fall and comes after us. Hopefully the elevator won't take
that
long.”

Inch by inch, Kade straightened, the look of pain sliding from his face. “I'm healed well enough. The elevator takes too long.” He took her hand. “Come on.”

“Kade…I'm in flip-flops!”

But he tugged her to the stairwell without breaking stride. He ushered her through the door, then bent over, pushing his butt into her hips.

She looked at him in disbelief. “
Excuse
me?”

“Climb on.”

“Oh. You're kidding.”

“Autumn.”

“Okay, okay.” Feeling suddenly like a little girl again, she climbed onto his back and flung her arms around his neck. “Are you sure about this?”

“I've got speed and strength. They've got to be good for something.”

“Yeah, but you're injured.”

As he leaped down the entire first flight, Autumn squealed, locked her legs around his waist and ducked her head. He was going to kill them. But the landing wasn't nearly as bad as she'd expected.

“I heard what he said about the walls between the worlds being torn down,” she said into his shoulder. “Can they do that? Take us over like that?”

“Unfortunately, yes. But not without the stones. And I'm going to get them first.”

Her chin hit his shoulder blade at the next landing, clacking her teeth together. “What do you mean?” she asked, when she could get the words out.

“I'm not going to let it happen. Princess Ilaria was right to give the stones to the humans. She may have known Rith was dangerous.”

“So you're going to try to get the two stones your guys already have?”

“Yes. And they're not my guys. Not anymore.”

“Do we need them all? We have four of the seven and there's one more coming in the mail if we can get it first.”

“For Rith to take over this world, he needs all seven stones. But to cause other damage, no. A power wielder with a streak of greed or malice is the most dangerous creature in either world. If it suited him, he could call enough power from a single stone to make the entire population of this city walk into the Potomac River and drown themselves. Imagine how long the Sitheen will last against that kind of power. How long
any
of us will last.”

Autumn shuddered. “Not long.”

“No. And once the resistance is eliminated, he'll have his seven stones.”

Finally, Kade landed for the last time and Autumn slipped off his back. He pushed her behind him and eased out into the lobby.

“Any sign of him?” she asked.

“No. Let's go.”

Autumn slipped off her flip-flops, picked them up and ran for the car she'd had to park in the public parking garage down the street. She remembered driving up to this building last night when she still believed in fairy-tale princes and love-at-almost-first-sight. As she ran down the street at a speed too fast to credit, Kade grabbed her hand and pulled her closer. And she wondered if maybe she still believed.

They ducked into the dimly lit garage and ran up the first ramp to where she'd parked her car.

“Autumn!” The shout came from behind. “Run! Get away from him!”

Jack.
They were here to rescue her.

They were here to kill Kade.

She pressed the button on her key fob to unlock the car.

“Go with them, Autumn,” Kade said as she wrenched open the driver's door. “You'll be safer.”

“No. Get in the car.”

“I'll run. I can escape them easily.”

“They're blocking the exit. Get in the car!” Slowly Kade joined her.

She started the ignition and threw the car into Reverse.

“I could make you go with them.”

Autumn slammed on the brakes and turned on him. “If you ever use your power on me like that again, it's over, Kade.”

“Autumn!” Jack's voice rang out, nearer.

“Hells bells. They probably think you've enchanted me.” She hit the gas, shooting the car backward, out of the space, then headed for the exit, praying Jack didn't have cops following him with cruisers to block the exit.

“Autumn, you need to go with them. I'll run.”

“And what if they catch you? What if Zander catches you?”

“I'm faster than all of them. I'm probably safer on foot than in this car that can be stopped and surrounded.”

“Oh…stop it! You're right. I know you're right, but I'm not losing you again.” She squealed the tires around the corner.

“You've never lost me. You'll never lose me unless you want to.”

Her heart swelled at his words, her eyes burning even as she saw Jack and Harrison blocking her escape. If she stopped, Kade was dead. She honked the horn and stepped on the gas.

“Autumn, you'll kill them!”

“No chance. They're not expecting me to stop. They think I'm enchanted, remember?”

Harrison moved, but Jack held his ground. “Dammit.” She laid on the horn. Finally, at the last second, Jack dove out of the way. “He expected me to stop.”

“He doesn't know I'm Esri.”

Kade's words startled her as she crashed through the gate arm. The midday sun blinded her as she roared onto the street, nearly sideswiping a trash truck.

“You attacked him.”

“I hit him from behind. I used no magic. He doesn't know I'm Esri.”

“He thinks you're just a thief?”

“Yes.”

“I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing.”

“Nor do I.”

But her mind kept moving. “It's a bad thing. He's going to send the cops after us. If he knew you were Esri, he'd keep them away. Cops and Esri have proven to be a dangerous combination.” She brushed a lock of hair out of her eyes. “We need to tell him.”

“He won't believe you. The voices that advise him told him I'm Sitheen.”

“And if he thinks you're Esri, he'll be coming after you with fire and a death chant instead of a gun. We can't win, can we?”

“There's another problem.”

She glanced at him. His voice was so calm, so reasonable, she wanted to hit him.

“What?”

“Zander may go after them.”

“Do you think he's seen them before?”

“It doesn't matter. He can sense power in others. He'll know there are Sitheen in the area and will go after them.”

Chills raced over her skin. “We've got to call Jack. Quick. Get my phone out of my purse.”

She hit the speed dial and put the phone to her ear.

“Autumn?” Jack snapped. “What in the hell are you doing?”

“Jack, listen to me. There's an Esri nearby. Kade threw him out a fifth-story window, but they heal fast.”

“Autumn, Kade stole the draggon stone. Get away from him. He's dangerous.”

“Jack,
listen.
You're in grave danger. That Esri can sense power, even the little bit that a Sitheen has. He hunts Sitheen. He probably already knows you're there. Get out of there!”

“Autumn…”

“'Bye, Jack.” She snapped the phone closed and glanced at Kade. “We've got to get out of here before someone comes after us.” She made a right turn but got caught behind half a dozen cars at the light at the end of the block. If someone did come after them, what was she going to do? She couldn't run a red light. She couldn't even reach the red light through all the traffic to run it!

“Where are we going?” Autumn asked.

“The marina. We need to get that last stone before Ustanis does and get your lead box so maybe he won't be able to sense them.”

“But Zander can follow us, right? He can sense your power?”

“
Our
power. Apparently you've acquired some of your own. And, yes, he can sense it, but only if he's close. He can't follow the scent the way Ustanis can the stones.”

“Okay. The marina it is.” But a flash of light in her rearview mirror caught her eye, sending her stomach into spasms. Two police cars a couple of blocks back.

“Cops. Oh, Jack, you didn't.”

“Go faster.”

“I can't outrun cops! I can't even figure out how to run a red light!”

“Autumn, I can't allow them to catch me. If they're wearing holly, I won't be able to control them and I'm not that much stronger than humans. I'll get stuck in one of your jails with no ability to escape. The full moon is tomorrow night. I must get those stones from Ustanis before then.”

She knew he was right. And if the cops called Jack and he had finally figured out Kade was Esri, he'd kill him. “Okay, I'll try to lose the cops.” But even as she was wondering how in the heck she was supposed to do that, the sound of sirens ahead made the question moot. The light turned green and no one moved as two more patrol cars, lights flashing, sirens wailing, blocked the intersection in front of them.

“We're trapped.” Autumn's heart sank as she turned to Kade. “You've got to get away.
Now,
while you still have a chance.”

His expression grim, he shook his head. “I'm not leaving you here alone. Zander's still nearby. We're going to have to run.” Tension radiated through Kade's muscles. He thought of himself as Kade, now. If only he'd run in the parking garage and sent Autumn to pick up Jack and Charlie. She wouldn't be trapped with him now, surrounded by police. With guns.

The thought of the damage one of those weapons could do to her made his blood run cold. He couldn't allow her to get harmed, but neither could he risk getting captured himself, or her world was doomed.

He wrenched the door open. “Grab your purse. We've got to get out of here.” He took her hand and they ran between the stopped cars for the curb as the cars behind them set up a wild honking.

“Police! Freeze!” The shouts came from the cops in front. The sirens continued to wail behind them. Escape in either direction was cut off and there were no breaks between buildings along the entire block. They were going to have to go through one of the shops. He ran for the closest one, an antique store.

“Hi!” Autumn called as the proprietor stared. “Just passing through!” They ran through the back and out the door into an alley. The alley opened onto a side street that led straight back, away from the cops chasing them from either side.

“We're faster. They won't be able to catch us on foot.” Autumn's voice rang with an excited tension that had him looking at her with surprise and admiration.

“Yes, but they're in cars. We've got to get off the street.”

The sirens were indeed getting closer again. They entered another alley behind a row of stores. One door, from which wafted the smells of food, stood open.

“This way!” They ducked into the back of a Chinese restaurant, nearly knocking over a small, dark-haired human. Kade grabbed the man's neck and said in Mandarin, “You will hide us and tell no one we're here.”

He let go and the man bowed and motioned him to follow. Unfortunately, he led them right through the middle of a busy kitchen full of steaming pots and curious workers. He might have controlled the one, but he could not control them all. He had to touch them to control them and the minute he started grabbing for them, others would escape. No, he would have to hope the first held sway with the others. If not, they were in trouble.

The smaller man opened the door to a small, crowded, unlit storage closet and ushered them inside. Kade again touched his neck. “You will command the others to tell no one we're here. Not even the police. The fate of the world is at stake.”

Again, the man bowed and backed out of the closet, closing the door.

Kade tried to move and kicked a large heavy can.

“It's a little tight,” Autumn whispered at his back. “What did you tell him? And how did you learn Chinese? For that matter, how did you learn English?”

He blinked, having to think about it as he turned and pulled her against him. “I don't learn language. I understand the words spoken and use the language of the speaker. Or in this case, of the one I'm controlling. It's not intentional. It just happens.”

“Another of your Esri gifts?”