Irresistible Magic (31 page)

“That had better not have been a text to Allcot. I don’t need him fucking this up,” Phoebe said.

David shot her an irritated look. “Someone has to interrogate the prisoners. Father has the best chance of obtaining any useful information.”

“And what happens when he’s done with them?” I asked. A week ago Allcot had ordered the former Void director killed without letting the Void get their hands on him first. “Kill them?”

David shrugged. “Maybe. It depends on what they say.”

Fuck. Just when I thought the old David was back, the new version reared his ugly head. Goddess, that pissed me off. Through clenched teeth I said, “Please tell him to do what it takes to get information on Asher but to not kill them. I have questions of my own.”

David nodded and typed out another text, then he climbed into the Suburban.

Harrison followed him while Tal and I headed for Phoebe’s Camry.

“Wil?” Phoebe called.

I reached for the driver’s side handle and looked up at her. “Yeah?”

“Be careful.”

“She’ll be fine,” Talisen answered for me.

I raised my eyebrows at Phoebe and jabbed my head toward Tal as if to say, “You heard him.”

She held her hands up in front of her. “Okay. I got the message. Follow me, but don’t make a move until I signal.”

“What’s the signal?”

“When it happens, you’ll know.”

Chapter 24

Following the Suburban down the dark street, I turned to Tal. “Thank you.”

“For?”

“Sticking up for me.” Everyone else had a habit of treating me like I was a liability instead of an asset. Tal never did that.

He turned in his seat until he was giving me his full attention. The moonlight shone in through the window, illuminating one narrowed eye. “I’m not so sure you
should
be going.”

“What? Then why—”

“Do you think I want you anywhere near the people who did this to me? That I won’t be distracted and worried about you while trying to find Dawson? That I’m not aware I was taken in order to lure you into their hands? Damn it, Wil, if I had my way, I’d have locked you up in David’s house until this is all over. Or better yet, at Allcot’s with your mom and Carrie.”

I stomped on the brake, jerking both of us forward. Pain seared through my chest from the bite of the seatbelt. “Did you just say that I should put my lot in with Allcot?”

A horn blew from behind us. I ignored it.

“Hell no. I said I’d prefer it if you were locked away under his protection, because I know you. You’re not going to sit back and let everyone fight your battles for you. Especially if those people are Phoebe and me.”

“What does that mean, especially you and Phoebe?” I eased back onto the road, scanning ahead for the giant Suburban I was supposed to be following.

“You’re not going to step aside while the people you care about are in danger.”

Oh. Well, he had a point. “Neither would you.” Ahead, the gold Suburban made a sharp right turn and I sped up to follow.

“No, but a lot of people would.”

“Not everyone was cut out to wear a superhero cape,” I joked.

He smiled and rested his foot across his knee. The casual posture turned him back into the laid-back Talisen I’d known my whole life. “Do you wear anything under that cape?”

My lips twitched. “Did you have something in mind?”

His low chuckle reverberated through me and went straight to my heart. “I think black lace has some possibilities.”

My mouth went dry from the husky desire suddenly lacing his tone. I cleared my throat. “I’ll take that under consideration.”

We turned right again and stopped under a streetlamp. His emerald-green eyes sparkled with mischief. “On second thought, forget the cape. Just wear the lace.”

Laughter bubbled from deep in my throat. “Are you implying I should fight the bad guys in my underwear?”

He reached over and smoothed my hair back, caressing my cheek in the process. “No, love. I’m imagining what it might be like if we ever find more than a few moments alone together.”

A shiver ran down my spine and spread to my wings. I arched my neck, pressing into his fingers, reveling in his touch.

This was who I was meant to be with. Our connection, the way we understood each other, our history, the attraction. The shiver turned to chills as I realized what I’d be giving up if I let things get out of hand with David again. I’d have to tell Tal about that kiss if I wanted us to have a real chance at a relationship, but this wasn’t the time. We were headed into unknown enemy territory and I couldn’t have him distracted.

“We’ll find out who’s targeting you, Wil,” Tal said, dropping the innuendo and staring at me with concern. “And we’ll do whatever it takes to stop them.”

I clamped my hand over his and squeezed. There weren’t enough words to express exactly how I felt about him. Tal was my person. And no matter what, I wasn’t going to lose him.

The lights on the Suburban went out half a block ahead of us. “We’re here,” I said.

Tal pulled Nicola’s amethyst out of his pocket and slipped the chain over his neck.

I patted my pocket to ensure I still had my stun gun. A fleeting desire for a batch of Orange Influence seized me. It was my one edible that could help me in battle. I shook my head, trying to dislodge the horrible thought. The only time I’d ever willfully used Orange Influence on anyone had been when I’d been locked in the basement of the Arcane, destined to be a lab rat. I’d used it to save myself. But it was a dangerous drug. One that I wished I could go back and never invent.

I eased the Camry past the Suburban and parked in front of a large truck, hoping it was enough to keep the car at least partially hidden.

“Ready?” Tal asked.

I glanced back at Link. He took one look at me and started vibrating. A moment later, my white-and-gray wolf filled the back seat.

“Now I am.” I climbed out of the car and let Link out. The pair of us waited in silence for Tal.

He moved slowly, taking careful steps.

“Tal?”

“I’m fine.” His gait evened out as he led the way toward Phoebe.

I kept a critical eye on him, but he took long, purposeful strides, appearing as right as rain. I didn’t buy it for a second. He had one tell. If he hadn’t put the amethyst on, I might not have noticed his neck muscles flexing and pulsing with tension beneath the silver chain.

Nothing I could say would stop him, though. I suspected part of the mission had something to do with the fact we’d lost Beau. That neither of us had been there to help him after he’d been left for dead in my mother’s lavender fields. I felt the ache of total helplessness deep down and although we’d never talked about it, I knew he felt the same way. It wasn’t that either of us blamed ourselves, but we had that awful vulnerability that doesn’t go away, that makes one question everything they did right up until their life changed forever.

And that’s why Talisen wouldn’t let another friend go without a fight. And exactly why I’d battle right alongside him.

A slight whistle sounded from the shadows. I couldn’t see her, but I knew it was Phoebe. Link put his nose to the ground and headed in her general direction. Tal fell in step beside me and we followed him to Phoebe’s side.

She was busy clasping a silver locket around her neck when she finally came into focus. I eyed the locket, then noticed the silver cuff and the four rings adorning her slender fingers. “Where’s Nicola?” I whispered.

“With David and Harrison. They’re scoping out the building.”

I eyed her locket and rings. “How dangerous are those?”

She ran a light hand over the round locket. “More dangerous than the death spell Nicola was carrying around last week.”

Whoa. I took a small step back. Nicola had almost killed Phoebe with that death spell. “I didn’t know there was such a thing.”

Phoebe nodded once. “Just make sure you’re well out of the way if I have to use one.”

“Got it.”

One of her rings started to glow blue. I jumped back, pulling Tal with me.

She reached out and grabbed me by the shirt. “No. Don’t move,” she whispered harshly. “This one detects threats. Light blue, like what you just saw, means someone with ill intent is in the vicinity. If it starts to turn green, then you can run.”

I glanced around. “Is the threat out here?”

“Unlikely. It’s too faint.”

That made me breathe a little easier.

Phoebe adjusted an earpiece in her right ear, cocking her head to hear whoever was speaking to her. “Okay, let’s move,” she told Tal and me.

“Coast clear?” I asked her.

She put her finger to her lips, indicating now wasn’t the time to ask questions. It drove me insane, but I’d been on enough vampire hunts with her to understand how she worked. Tal, on the other hand, was new to all this.

“Phoebe,” he said, impatience in his tone, “what exactly is the plan?”

She glared at him with her narrowed eyes. This time she reached out and covered his mouth with her hand and shook her head violently. If he didn’t get the picture after that, she was likely to spell him into silence. If she had any power left after the locator spell.

I grabbed Tal’s hand and traced what I hoped was a soothing circle over his knuckles. He didn’t pull back, so I decided to go with it. Link flanked him on the other side, occasionally leaning in to nuzzle Tal’s leg.

He was picking up on my worry for Talisen. The knowledge that Link would protect Tal the same way he protected me eased some of my anxiety.

“Here.” Phoebe pressed one of her rings into my hand.

I held it with the tips of my thumb and forefinger, inspecting it. “What does it do?”

“It’s a protection ring. It won’t stop an attacker, but it will slow them down. Just put it on. It’ll help.”

“But won’t it affect anyone fighting alongside me?” I asked as Nicola, David, and Harrison returned.

She shook her head. “Only someone who is directly attacking you.” She glanced at our entourage. “And if any one of them ends up attacking you, then this will be the least of their worries after I get done with them.”

I slipped the ring over my middle finger and inclined my head in thanks. “This is new?”

“Sort of. It’s a variation on a binding spell. But it’s the ring itself that makes it work. The metal specifically.”

I eyed the ring. “Silver?”

“Witch’s silver.”

Oh, very rare indeed. This was a family heirloom. I pulled it off and stuffed it back into her hand. “I can’t take this.”

“You can and you will.” She held her hand palm up, the silver ring appearing as harmless as could be.

“Phoebs. It holds your family’s power. It’s too risky for you to give it away.”

“I’m not giving it away to a random stranger. You’re my family.” With that, she grabbed my hand and forced the ring back on my finger. “You know my family history. This is not only encouraged, but expected.”

Of course I knew about her family. She had a brother. But no one else. She’d never known her father, and both her mother and grandmother had died well before their time. She had an uncle she only saw once a year and that was only to go over family business. She’d told me once she was expected to adopt friends as family, but I’d always assumed she meant other witches. In fact, I’d been sure that was what her time with Nicola was about. Witches could feed off power from other witches, but not with fae.

“When you put it that way, I accept,” I said, trying to choke back the unexpected emotion clogging my throat.

She reached out and pulled me to her in a fierce hug. I returned the embrace, pouring everything I had into the brief contact.

When we pulled apart, her eyes were brighter than usual. “Now be careful, dammit.”

I chuckled. “You, too.”

Harrison stepped between us. “If the love fest is over, maybe we should get on with it.”

“Shut up, Harrison,” David and Tal said at the same time.

Harrison rolled his eyes. “Somebody has to get this show moving.”