Crest (Ondine Quartet Book 3) (9 page)

"When are we doing this?"

If the tiniest possibility of getting to the Lieutenant existed, we needed to be there.

"Tomorrow night at the DuBois Building in SoHo. Rebecca is on the building's Board of Directors."

Her role was clear. She lined up buyers and provided access to a facility for the sale.

For the first time since we arrived in Manhattan, excitement tingled. We were close.

The Lieutenant would be there tomorrow. I could feel it.

Something unreadable flickered in Tristan's eyes. "Is a direct approach the best way to handle this?"

Ideally, I would've been more comfortable working surveillance for a few days until we had more information.

But we were out of time and options. The event was tomorrow. If we missed our window of opportunity, the Lieutenant would go under and who knew how long it'd be before he resurfaced.

Julian's eyes turned hard. "I'm sure you'll come up with some way to shoot me down, Your Highness."

"I'm simply stating running into a situation without knowing much about what we're facing is risky," Tristan said quietly.

Julian muttered something unintelligible under his breath.

"We need to find the Lieutenant." I said. "We go in tomorrow."

Doubt brewed in Tristan's eyes but he gave a reluctant nod of agreement.

Julian was right about this and I'd stand by my partner.

Time to go big or go home empty-handed.

CATRIN USED HER CITY CONNECTIONS to secure our headquarters for tonight's operation. Located on the first floor of the building directly across from the DuBois, the intimate cafe lounge provided an abundance of plush sofas and tables.

Rivelleu's gardinels and chevaliers spoke in muted tones, their grief and determination palpable in the air. Cai and Bianca's deaths weighed heavily on everyone here.

Fujio quietly consulted with Julian along the opposite wall. Dark blue eyes flickered toward me for an instant, then away.

After last night's discussion, he'd gone into his room and I didn't see him until later this morning. He'd spoken ten sentences to me the entire day.

Tristan joined me at the table and glanced down at the building blueprint.

Urian approached, expression solemn. "Fifteen minutes, Your Highness."

He nodded. "Get everyone ready."

I studied the intricate scheme and embedded details to memory.

Constructed fifteen years ago, the DuBois building was an arts complex in the city's downtown cluster of galleries.

It was a tricky layout. Ten floors, dozens of smaller studios, larger rehearsal spaces, equipment storage rooms with criss-crossing stairwells and a five-hundred-seat theater in the center of the fifth floor.

A few gardinels shot Tristan nervous glances.

Rawness emanated from the power that was usually so well-controlled. Almost as if something wild strained inside him to break free.

I wasn't sure if it was over tonight's offensive or the awkward situation at the brownstone last night. Maybe he really just didn't like the city.

But the subtle tension radiating off him left me uneasy. It almost seemed like he was waiting for something.

"Are you okay?"

"Fine," he said abruptly. "What do you think?"

I took a deep breath and concentrated. Virtue carefully ran through the building again.

"I count forty-eight, all congregated in the theater on the fifth floor."

"Any humans?"

"Buyers aren't there yet." I paused. "Or I just can't sense them."

That was a worst case scenario.

Tristan exhaled. "Nix blood."

Frustration coursed through me. "I can't tell if they're using it or not."

If they were, that'd explain why I couldn't find the buyers in the building. Nix blood would cover their essence and make them invisible to Empath.

The bigger danger, of course, was that it could also mask Aquidae.

We wouldn't know until we were inside. And then there'd be nothing I could do to protect the others.

"Just focus on the Lieutenant, Kendra," he said softly.

His voice eased some of the anxiety. "Do they know —"

"Everyone has been instructed to bring him in alive."

Hands flexed and anticipation tingled. For the first time, I felt close. If I could question the Lieutenant, I had a real shot of obtaining information on the Shadow.

"Do you have a moment, Your Highness?"

Tristan walked over to a group of younger selkies and listened as they spoke to him, eyes bright with eagerness. I studied his beautiful profile and felt a trickle of disappointment.

Despite what he said, I knew something was bothering him. A part of me had hoped he'd share it with me.

"So he's the mystery guy you've been mooning over."

Renee's amused voice came over my shoulder. She'd lobbied hard to participate tonight, but Tristan had refused.

Unfortunately, Julian still brought her along as an observer. Whatever that meant.

I refocused my attention on the blueprint. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"I always thought the Prince was hot. If I'd known he had a thing for ondines —"

I grabbed her wrist. Not hard, just tight enough to cut her off.

"We're about to launch an offensive strike. Now is not the time."

A very self-satisfied look flickered over her face. "Uh-huh."

She'd gotten exactly what she wanted but I didn't care.

Tonight's goal was to secure the Lieutenant and have the people in this room walk out alive.

Clearly, Renee didn't understand the concept of priorities.

We broke into three groups, each responsible for a separate entry point. Tristan and I exchanged one last glance before I joined Fujio and his team.

Nerves fluttered. With strong, well-prepared reinforcements, we were as ready as we could possibly be. The plan's probability of success was close to ninety-five percent.

It was that remaining five percent that made my stomach twist.

After synchronizing our watches, the teams slipped out into the night.

One of Ian's nix friends had hacked the security system and provided the code needed to bypass the alarm and enter the building.

Our group's entry point was the delivery door along the east side. Midnight on a weekday in SoHo allowed us to navigate the streets in relative quiet.

We made it past the entrance and moved toward the stairwell as silent shadows. Fujio glanced at me and Empath swept the floor above.

I nodded. All-clear.

Breathing stayed in check, Virtue trained ahead for any unwanted visitors. We padded up to the fifth floor and exited onto the mini lobby surrounding the theater.

Two entrances here at the back. Another two on the east and west walls for the other teams. Empath pulsed, sensing the empty voids just beyond the doors.

The gardinel beside Fujio cocked his head.

A slight disturbance in the air. Not Aquidae. The other teams had moved into place.

Sweat trickled down the back of my neck. Hand palmed my dagger.

Watches ticked.

Four...three...two...one.

We stormed in.

Forty-eight Aquidae occupied the theater's velvet seats. Nothing else.

Empty stage. No buyers or art. No event.

Only a mass of waiting demons.

It was a trap.

Lights suddenly dimmed as if a performance were beginning.

A shadow leaped from above. Dagger sliced through its ribs. Fist flew toward my head and I dodged a moment too late.

Ringing blow rammed into my shoulder. Pain reverberated up my jaw and down my back.

Aquidae, cloaked in nix blood, descended like a swarm of locusts. Demonic screeches cracked through the air and the battle roared to life.

Virtue strengthened and elemental awareness swiftly rose to guide me.

Air shifted. I whipped around, arm raised high.

Thrust. Stab. Kill.

Another kick curving from the left. I ducked and lunged. Dagger drove deep into the demon's stomach.

Blade cut through meat, arcing up into its chest.

I yanked out my weapon and pivoted.

There, where the air cringed. Origin.

A fierce blow hammered my back. I staggered forward and rolled on the aisle, barely avoiding the foot coming down on my ribs.

The Aquidae kept coming, foot battering at me with each step. I slipped left, right, left, avoiding impact by a fraction of a second.

Legs crunched up to my chest. It neared again, poised for another strike.

Feet shot out and sent it stumbling.

I rolled up, pierced its scar, and leaped onto a seat.

A screech an instant before a form hurtled at me from the right. Body angled and heel of my left hand smashed its face.

Head whipped back, black blood spurting from its broken nose. Origin staked.

I kicked him off my blade and surveyed the scene.

Heart boomed in my chest.

The theater had become an enclosed arena of pure chaos. I couldn't get a measure on what anyone else was doing.

Blinding golden flickers from
kouperets
lit up the darkened set like a string of camera flashes.

That was it.

He'd listened over the phone as Julian and I took out Mark, Barry, and two more of his men. The hundreds of hours of video we'd found in Mark's apartment.

The Lieutenant was a voyeur. He directed from the shadows, watching and listening as everything unfolded before him.

Eyes scoured the havoc, searching for anyone not participating in the fight.

Another Aquidae, mouth gaping in violent fury, raged up the aisle and pounced. I crouched, sliced through its thigh, then shoved my dagger into its back.

Where are you?

He wouldn't watch from down here. It wasn't a good enough view.

I looked up. There.

A narrow rectangular glass window up on the back wall. Darkness enveloped the theater's control room.

Something pulsed there. An energy that repelled my Virtue.

I raced up the aisle, leaped over bodies twisted on the floor, and exited the back door. Up another flight of stairs to a plain white door marked "Staff Only".

Magic sensed the taint in the air. But no empty void.

He'd camouflaged himself in nix blood and shadows.

Cautious, I opened the door. The lights snapped on.

A tall male in his twenties sat in a rolling chair in front of the main control panel. Dressed in a black turtleneck and jeans, he leaned back, long fingers steepled under his chin.

Curly brown hair tumbled around his face and his thin, small mouth tilted up with amusement. If it weren't for the glint of inhuman calculation in his eyes, I would've thought he was an aspiring, hipster director at an indie film festival.

"Well hello,
sondaleur
." His voice was mellifluous, disturbingly pleasant. "We meet at last."

Keeping my dagger loosely by my side, I shut the door behind me and walked over to a small folding table stacked with DVDs.

I gauged the space between us. "Can't say it's really a pleasure."

"No," he said ruefully. "I suppose not."

Being Lieutenant meant he was turned by the Shadow. That indicated superb strength and speed, traits he concealed with the deceptive carelessness of his stance.

"Quite the show you put on down there."

I watched him the way one predator would watch another. Limbs relaxed, eyes wary, no fear or sudden moves. Nothing that would incite him to attack.

He shrugged. "Directing is tricky. You need to create the right circumstances for the actors to come to life. But you also have to maintain the integrity of the story."

And you are one sick demon.

Mind ran through every possible scenario. I needed to find a way to subdue him.

He stood and looked out the glass again. Bastard really wasn't afraid to turn his back on me.

"All of us are bit characters,
sondaleur
. The great bard once called life a stage and truer words have never been spoken. Sometimes, a brilliant director can shape a narrative so things line up..." His hand fluttered in the air. "Just so."

I took a step. "Not a big fan of drama to tell you the truth."

"But you're still a player, Kendra." He turned to face me again."You remain the central character of this story and a narrative has built around you and those in your life."

Uneasiness slithered up my spine. I didn't want him focused on anyone else.

"You got bad information there." I kept my tone indifferent. "I don't share the stage easily."

"Really?" The Lieutenant raised his brow in mock surprise. "But there are so many of them. The clever red-head, Aubrey. The nix, Ian. Chloe, the lovely blonde. Your fellow elites. That old crone, Nexa, and her grandson. And of course, your family."

With each name, a terrible fear lacerated my insides.

The Shadow's words from a month ago echoed.

I've watched you. Your entire life.

The Lieutenant gestured grandly. "So many characters to play with."

Heart pounded against my ribs. "Enough games. We both know who I came for."

"Did you know one of the deadliest predators in the world is the Nile crocodile? When it hunts, it waits patiently. Concealed in the water, it remains still and unmoving for however long it takes until the prey it wants comes along." He snapped his fingers. "And then it attacks."

"Your point?"

"I'm not the one you should be worried about. A crocodile lies hidden in your world. One that has waited for more years than you can imagine."

The traitor.

"Let me guess. You want to tell me who it is in exchange for what? Letting you go?"

"Please, nothing so crude." He sat in the rolling chair and laced his fingers behind his head. "I just want you to consider where the real threat lies."

Rage pumped through my veins. He'd had Bianca and Peter killed. The girl in Mark's cage, the footage of unspeakable violence inflicted on humans.

"You expect me to believe this elemental is worse than you?"

"Nothing is what it seems. Illusion is the art of showing what someone wishes to see."

He fiddled with a knob on the controls. Dark blue light splashed across the stage.