Banded Brothers 03 - To Enchant An Eagle (6 page)

Maybe if he left the room, he could find somebody with food. He was obviously in someone’s house. There must be a kitchen. A brief scan didn’t reveal his shoes, but if he stayed inside that shouldn’t be a problem.

Working on the theory that all homes had places to prepare food, especially ones with rooms this nice, Eaton headed for the door.

The knob turned easily. Eaton paused, wondering why he thought it might not. Did he think he’d been abducted? Eaton laughed at his own silliness. Who would steal him?

After opening the door, he peeked outside to the hallway, looking for dangers or people of any kind. No one. Confident the house was apparently free of ninjas, Eaton exited the room. A quick glance up and down the hall determined there was only one way, which appeared to have a staircase. The other end led to a long row of doorways that dead-ended with a solid wall.

Instinct had him trying to walk silently, but eagles were only graceful in the air. For the first time, Eaton wished he’d been born a cat shifter. Broden could’ve scoped out the entire building and no one would’ve heard him.

A man stood at the bottom of the stairs. Tall with cropped dark hair and insanely broad shoulders, he eyed Eaton with a cold gaze. He had the air of a bodyguard, probably why the house was ninja free.

“Oh. Um.” Eaton looked down at his feet. “I’m not sure where my shoes are.”
The man sighed as if Eaton had turned into way more work than he was prepared for. “Come with me.”
Eaton followed the man like a lost puppy who’d found the first nice stranger and decided to follow him home. He really wanted to ask who was waiting for him and why, but he had a feeling he could ask all the questions in the world only to have them completely ignored.
The room he was led to was a giant closet with dozens of shoes and outfits placed according to size if the signs were any indication.
A pair of sneakers with a familiar star caught Eaton’s eyes. “Cool, I love these kicks.” He snatched them up, happy they were in his size.
Once his feet were covered, he straightened. “Take me to your leader.”
The dark-haired man’s mouth kicked up on one side. “You are taking all this rather well.”
Eaton tilted his head as he examined the man. “I’ve learned to go with the flow.”
Aden taught him to assess all threats before attacking, in order to have a better chance of success. Eaton wouldn’t do anything without knowing his odds. If they thought of him as a simple, easy-going prisoner, all the better to escape.
He followed the man, whose name he still didn’t know, back down the hall and through a pair of double doors. At least twenty people sat around a long dining table. He recognized one.
“Eaton, you’re awake,” Gallen rushed to his side. “Come sit with me.”
Without giving Eaton a chance to ask any questions, Gallen pressed his hand along Eaton’s back and escorted him close to the head of the table and to an empty seat three spots down.
“Everyone, this is Eaton, my bonded. He’s an eagle shifter.”
Murmurs of approval went around the table.
“Nice job, son!” a deep voice resonated through the air.
Eaton turned his attention to the speaker. He looked like an older version of Gallen, if the younger man had been stripped of his soul and pure evil had been stuffed inside.
He still didn’t know why he was there, but if this man had anything to do with it, it wouldn’t be anything good.
“That’s my father,” Gallen whispered. “Everyone calls him Theos.”
Eaton decided people probably had several names for the scary bastard, but kept that thought to himself. Somehow, he didn’t think they’d appreciate his sense of humor.
“Although I wish you were born at least bisexual, you have brought honor to the clan,” the man grudgingly said.
“Thank you, Father,” Gallen bowed his head as if he were just given the highest praise. From the stench of animosity pouring off Gallen’s father, he probably didn’t give even half-hearted backward compliments very often.
Eaton kept his gaze empty and let the man think he was completely under their control. A tingle along the chain on his neck had him wondering if there were some sort of spell on it.
Good thing Aden had inoculated them all with anti-spell venom when the four of them were young. Anti-magic shots were super rare and outrageously expensive, but Aden had saved the life of the inventor’s son, and in return had everyone injected several years ago. Sometimes, Eaton wondered if Aden had a little seer in his blood. The man had considered every possibility. Some people might call him paranoid, but so far, everything he’d taught them had come in handy at some point in their life. As much as they bitched about his lessons in escaping handcuffs and unbinding rope, not one of them ever refused a lesson by Aden Gage.
A covert glance around the table revealed others were wearing the same sort of chain. Their empty eyes and wooden motions had a stilted aspect as if they weren’t completely moving under their own power.
It was like a freaky puppet paranormal show. Chills raced up and down Eaton’s back. This was what Gallen had wanted for Eaton. Eaton swallowed the bile rising in his throat. He’d have to be more careful and pretend to be just as affected. The spell must’ve worked at least momentarily before the antidote kicked in or Eaton would never have agreed to come along.
Marty was going to have a fit.
Marty!
Eaton’s inner eagle screamed it’s discontent at their separation. He wondered if Gallen had truly healed Marty or if he’d just put on a good show. Memories of Marty unmoving had him biting his lip. He quickly released it. Any sign of nerves or indeed any emotion would only draw attention he didn’t want.
“Did he bond yet?” Gallen’s father asked.
“Nope. His mate had an accident which shattered him. He was unable to solidify the bond.”
“Excellent.”
Gallen motioned for a servant. “Please bring Eaton a plate of food. He prefers salmon and rice.”
Eaton wondered when Gallen had learned his preferences. Apparently, this wasn’t a kidnapping of opportunity. Gallen had studied Eaton’s habits.
It didn’t take long before the servant set a plate of food before Eaton. He waited for direction.
“Go ahead and eat, love,” Gallen said, sliding a finger down Eaton’s arm.
Eaton stomped down the urge to slap Gallen’s hand away. He had to pretend to accept Gallen’s advances or at least not flinch away from them.
“Introduce me to your man, Gallen?” A soft musical voice cut through the silence only punctuated by the clatter of metal against china.
“Eaton, this is my mother, Bellion.”
Eaton glanced up to meet the eyes of a woman who all but glowed in the dim room. Her eyes were a piercing blue as if created by someone cutting out a piece of the sky on a perfect day. Her skin gave off a faint shimmer and her lips had a violet tint to them Eaton was certain didn’t come from a tube of makeup.
Her gaze held his for a moment and he could tell she knew he wasn’t under the thrall of enchantment.
“Nice to meet you, Eaton.”
Eaton nodded, not speaking. He didn’t know if his voice would give him away.
“Eaton just arrived. He’s not up to talking yet, Mother.” Gallen’s condescending tone made Eaton want to shift just to claw out Gallen’s eyes. He could feel the eagle just beneath the surface ready to take charge, talons ready. However, if he shifted in the middle of this elegant dining room with these equally elegant and cold people, he had no doubt their combined magic could more than take him out.
He needed to be sneaky. Luckily, birds tended to be crafty as a default.
Eaton let the people talk around him. From eavesdropping, he learned Harris’s friendly neighborhood powerful vampire was giving the sorcerers a run for their money. The sorcerers wanted the prime land around Capitol Hill and the vampires weren’t giving in. They claimed the territory from the hill all the way into downtown and apparently a huge chunk of the local crime cartel.
“We need to expand our property.” Gallen’s father slammed his fist down on the table, making the silverware clatter. “We can’t let the vampires take over. If we give on this, we might as well roll over and show our bellies.”
“It is unfortunate the Salties didn’t work out as planned,” Bellion said.
Eaton wondered if he was the only one who detected a note of satisfaction in her voice.
“We still haven’t discovered what scared them away. They were supposed to be our
in
for the brothels,” Theos complained.
The urge to enlighten the ass teased the tip of his tongue, but Eaton resisted. It was in his best interests to stay silent. He now wondered if the vamps had a hand in the Salties sudden disappearance. They had given up a bit too easily.
“Our new plan will take care of them. Once they drink the poisoned blood, it will be all over.” Theos grinned at the idea.
Eaton set down his fork. The salmon swirled uneasily in his stomach. He needed to get the word to Harris. His friend would be devastated if his love interest died. Eaton didn’t know if Harris and Rohan were mates, but rarely did anyone catch Harris’s attention more than his art.
Keeping his eyes down, Eaton set his hands on his lap. No way could he eat any more. He had to find a way out of this place and get a note to Harris somehow.
From beneath his lashes, he scanned his choices of possible accomplices. All of the sorcerers were immediately crossed off his list. He contemplated using Gallen’s mother for a brief moment, but he didn’t know if she had grown used to her captivity and now was one of them or not. If she’d been captive since Gallen’s birth, she might have grown to love Mr. Evil beside her.
Eaton didn’t see the attraction, but not everyone understood his obsession with a motorcycle biker gang leader either.
To each his own.
The people he spotted with necklaces like his own looked too brainwashed to be of much help. Eaton didn’t understand the appeal of having a zombie for a mate, but maybe that was the sorcerer tradition to make sure your mate couldn’t turn on you. Almost all the people Eaton identified as sorcerers had a zombie/mate beside them. The few that didn’t had an empty chair between them and the next person. Eaton wondered if it were a mark of shame to not have your own special mind-controlled other half.
Gallen certainly had seemed proud of his accomplishment.
The rest of the conversations didn’t reveal anything new to Eaton. Besides the fact they were a table full of whiners who had ungrateful children, lazy servants and paid too many taxes. Apparently, buying a politician cost more every year.
Eaton’s head began to ache even more. He wondered if it was the effect of the necklace fighting his inoculation.
Gallen rubbed a hand across Eaton’s back.
“Excuse us, Father. I think Eaton is feeling unwell, probably from the bonding. If you’ll please excuse us.”
“Of course. Let me know if you need me to send for a physician.”
The man sounded actually solicitous. If Eaton didn’t know Gallen’s father would probably slit his throat as soon as he became a problem, he might like the guy. He wondered how Marty was doing. Asking would more than likely send up red flags so he had to stay quiet for now.
Gallen led him back to the room he’d snuck out of.
“Here we go. This is your room. Mine is through those doors. Father believes it’s important that everyone has their own space. I always suspected it was because Mother didn’t want to share with him,” Gallen muttered.
Eaton suppressed his smile.
Gallen sighed. “It didn’t work, did it?”
Eaton dared to glance up, fear drying his throat. “What didn’t work?”
“The necklace. I followed all the proper steps, too. Maybe eagle shifters are just different.”
Eaton opened his mouth, but then quickly shut it again. He didn’t dare tell Gallen the true reason. For all he knew, the man’s father kept an antidote in the fridge.
“Sorry?” Gallen looked so defeated Eaton almost felt bad for the guy.
Gallen plopped down on Eaton’s bed. “What are we going to do now?”
“You could free me,” Eaton proposed. “I won’t tell anyone.”
For a moment, it appeared as if Gallen was going to give that idea a proper thought. Then he shook his head. “No, Father would gut me if he thought I let you go unbound.”
“Well, I have to get back to my mate!” Eaton said, anger rising to the surface.
“He can’t find you here,” Gallen said. “The entire place has been reinforced by layers of magic. Most people forget it’s even here.”
Eaton almost asked where they were, but he knew it was a step too far. “If I can get word to my friends, they’ll come get me. You can’t be blamed if outsiders take me back, right?”
Gallen lifted his head. “Marty would gut me.”
Eaton sat down beside Gallen. “Did you really heal him?”
A long silence almost had Eaton ready to gut Gallen himself.
“I healed his bones, but I put a temporary suppression on his hawk. Both because shifting too soon would rebreak his newly healed wounds and because I thought he’d find you faster in his animal form.”
“What were you going to do if he found me?”
Gallen shrugged. “I was hoping if you were under my spell, you would tell him to go. I can make your life good here. Please consider it, Eaton.”
“What’s with the zombie thing?” Eaton asked, genuinely curious.
“It has to do with an ancient sorcerer, Ballinea. Her lover turned on her when she had taught him all about her power. Now we bind our mates so they can never betray us.”
“But don’t you want genuine emotion? Real feelings? All those people out there had nothing going on inside. Except your mother.”
Gallen’s miserable expression softened Eaton’s heart. “I know. I do. I just wanted Father to be proud of me for once. And you’re so beautiful, so full of energy and happiness, I wanted that for myself. I didn’t mean to destroy your life, Eaton. I just wanted some of your joy for myself.”
“Maybe you just need to get away from this place.” Eaton waved a hand, indicating the building around him. “This house has a toxic atmosphere. And don’t take this wrong, but your father gives me the chills.”
“I know. I think he uses me to keep mother in line. I’m never allowed to talk to her alone, so I don’t know how she feels about everything. Besides, where would I go? No one wants to harbor a sorcerer. Not only will the others hunt me down, but Father would take great joy in making an example of me.” The fear in Gallen’s eyes went bone deep.
After meeting his father, Eaton wished he could say the terror was exaggerated, but he worried it wasn’t. “We’ll think of something.”
Eaton kicked off his new shoes and curled up on the bed. Gallen pushed his shoes off, too. When he caught Eaton’s expression, he gave a wry smile. “I just want to cuddle, besides it will make them less suspicious.”
“True.” Eaton scooted over. He still wanted to kick Gallen’s ass, but he better understood the man now.
“Try to get some rest. We’ll figure out what to do tomorrow.”
He doubted he’d be able to sleep, but apparently fighting magic drained a person. In no time, darkness claimed him.