Last Chance (DarkWorld: SkinWalker Book 3) (26 page)

Her bright gray eyes were soft as she gave me a reassuring smile. Then she turned her full attention on the portal key. She dusted her hands out, then took a breath, whether to calm herself or draw on her ability I didn’t know. All I did know was her inhalation made me do the same and it forced me to relax a little.

She settled into her chair and then took the metal disk into her hands. Then she stiffened and fell silent. I felt my own muscles tensing as I watched her and had to force myself to calm down. My gaze remained on her face, as if any change in her expression may hint at what was happening in her projection, but her expression remained serene.

The silence in the room kept me company. Even the refrigerator didn’t disturb Mel as I waited in silence. Soon she moved again, the slightest shift of her eyes beneath closed lids. Then she blinked and was back. I leaned toward her, studying her face. “Are you all right? Do you need anything.”

She held out her hand and gave me a strained smile. “I’m totally fine.”

“Did you see her?” I asked. I was probably moving too fast, but Mel nodded and swallowed hard. “Is she okay?”

Mel shook her head. “I’m not sure. I arrived right beside her. She’s conscious, but I think she’s been injured or maybe… I’m not sure… I think she’s being bled. There were soiled bandages around her arms. And she looked thin, emaciated. I’m not entirely sure what they’re doing to her.”

I gritted my teeth, a spike of fear stabbing straight through my heart. Poor Mom. “I think I know.”

“What is it?” Mel was shaking her head, her eyes filled with the turmoil of what she’d seen.

“They probably know about the glow.” I couldn’t get my mind to focus. I fell silent as my fears built up into an inaudible scream inside my brain.

“What glow?” Mel’s tone was a little high-pitched with concern, but she rested her hand on my arm and waited for me to answer when I was ready.

The words felt like they were stuck in my throat and I had to swallow hard. “It’s my fault. The Wraiths know about the glow. It’s what happens when my killing power comes into play. My hands glow golden and the Wraith I’m touching dies.”

“That sounds cool in a gross way.” She made a face somewhere between impressed and weirded out. “So you’re saying the Wraiths found out about this glow and think your mother has the same power because she’s also a Hunter?”

I nodded, the movement jerky and painful. The headache was returning with full force. “And it’s my fault. They never would have learned about it if I hadn’t told Illyria how it works.” I felt sick to my stomach for the second time in one day. Had I confided in the one person who had passed that information on to Widd’en’s army? Was Illyria the mole?

Then I shook my head, recalling that the generals knew as well. What if one of the generals was the traitor? I had to let Illyria know. And I had to save Mom.

Now.

I blinked away the thoughts that crowded my head and gazed across the table at Mel. “Tell me, did you manage to get a good idea of where she’s being held?”

Mel nodded. “I got a feel for the room, then did a little exploring. She’s in a warehouse by the docks somewhere. She’s being kept in a disused commercial refrigerator. It’s fortunate I can project through anything, even metal. Or else I won’t be able to get her out.”

“I thought jumpers couldn’t pass through lead and… What was the other metal…? Silver?”

Mel grinned a little too triumphantly. “Metals are no match for a Master Teleporter. I can get her out.”

“Can we go now?” I asked impatiently. Every moment we waited was an extra moment in which they could hurt Mom.

“We can, but just because I can project in doesn’t mean I can jump in. So be aware that it might not work on the first run.” I nodded, feeling disappointment well up in my gut. I’d hoped it would be a quick in-and-out to bring Mom safely home. Then Mel spoke again. “There could also be another problem. Sometimes I can jump in, but I can’t bring the person through.”

“Why would that be?”

“Many reasons. Blood magic preventing the person from moving through the Veil. Or the person could be too weak.” She looked at me sadly, and I knew where she was going with her line of thought. My heart sank.

“You think Mom will be too weak for a jump?”

“I’m sorry, Kai. I’m almost sure she’s too weak. She’s pale and she looked very undernourished. A jump could kill her.”

My shoulders slumped. I hadn’t been prepared for disappointment.

“We can still go in, Kai. We just need be well prepared.”

I nodded, swallowing a little of the disappointment. We could still save her. It just wouldn’t be that easy. And when had anything I ever did been easy? “Will we need backup?” I asked, strengthening my resolve. I had to regroup, be strong in mind and body. These Wraiths were not going to beat me. I wouldn’t allow them to.

“Yes, I usually don’t go anywhere without knowing what I’m up against. I don’t always have the luxury of backup, but when I do have it, I take it, no questions asked. It’s always better to go in with company.”

“I can arrange a few people,” I said, my brain already listing all available bodies.

“I can wrangle a couple as well if needed,” she offered. She looked ready to tackle anything, and I was glad. She may look all feminine and fragile, but Mel was tough as nails and I appreciated that.

“That depends on what you saw. What are we up against? How many Wraiths in the building? How secure is her prison?”

Mel fell silent as she sank back into the astral projection. She returned within a few minutes. “So there are two guards on each corner of the building, two at the end of the drive. Inside, spread along all three floors, there are forty odd Wraiths, and they have weapons.”

“Weapons? Not spears and swords?”

She shook her head, looking more worried than before. “No, they have guns, revolvers and rifles.”

“Looks like they’ve upgraded.” I gritted my teeth. Seems the Wraiths had smartened up, and I didn’t like it one bit. “So it means we have to amp up our ammo as well.”

“Do you have sufficient Wraith ammo?”

I pursed my lips. “I’m not sure. I wasn’t planning on an all-out war. And with Tara gone, I can’t commission more ammo.” I sighed and rubbed my forehead. Determined to see this through, I said, “Right. Are there guards where they’re holding her?”

“No. They have her sealed from the outside, in that commercial fridge. There are vents near the ceiling so she does have air. But she’s weak, hooked up to what looked like an IV. She’ll need to be carried out.”

I nodded. “Okay. What about other jumpers?” I asked.

“The more jumpers the better, I say.” I was glad to see she wasn’t the territorial type. Must be the fact that she was a Master Teleporter. From what I knew, there were only a handful in existence.

“I think I can round up one or two,” I said.

She smiled and looked like she was about to say something, then closed her mouth, having thought better of it. I was curious, but I didn’t have the time to get sidetracked. Then she said, “Okay, so how much time do you need?”

“Half a day? A day at most?”

“So tomorrow, sundown?”

“Yeah, if we could time it to the instant the sun sets, we have an advantage. They are at their weakest at change of light.”

“Okay, so sunset and sunrise makes them weak. Are they stronger at night?” When I nodded, she said, “I thought so. Too late for an early morning raid, unless you can round up your people that quickly?” She looked at me, the question clear in her face.

I got to my feet, more determined now than ever. “Let’s aim for sunrise,” I said, pulling out my phone.

She got up too and started dialing as I did. Soon we were talking and dialing, calling in favors and calling up our backup.

Within half an hour, Lily, Anjelo, and Cassandra had all called back. I arranged for them to meet me at the apartment at four in the morning. Logan was harder to track down, and I set the phone down a little too hard. That got Mel’s attention. “What’s wrong?”

“I’m trying to get ahold of Logan, but he must be on a job. He’s not answering.” I knew I sounded more frustrated than he deserved, so I took a deep breath.

“I’m about to call Saleem. Do you want me to ask him if he knows where Logan is?”

I raised my eyebrow and her cheeks turned pink. So that’s what she’d been holding back. Mel and Saleem. That was a happy little surprise. She gave me an impatient glare, then began dialing.

Not ten minutes had passed when my phone began to ring, with Logan on the other end of the line. “What’s wrong, Kai? Saleem said he got an urgent call from Mel. And I see you’ve been trying me?”

“Yeah. I need you here stat. Mel’s found Mom and we want to go in at dawn. They have her at a warehouse on the docks. Mel’s got the lay of the place, but we need manpower.”

“Right. I’ll see what I can do.” His tone was all business, serious.

“Oh, and, Logan?”

“Yeah?”

“I have a couple of Sentinel people on board for this. Is that going to be a problem?” I’d been worried that throwing opposite organizations into this mission would cause undue friction, so it was important I remained upfront with everyone.

Logan answered immediately, no hesitation whatsoever. “Not a problem at all. I’ll be there in a couple hours. You need weapons, of course?”

“Yes. Mel said they have revolvers and rifles. Not sure what else they have up their sleeves.”

We rang off and Mel was already moving toward me. “I have to go home, but I will be back soon. I’ll come back with my car and hopefully with my partner. I’d rather not do too many jumps right now. Not until it’s necessary.”

She gave me a quick smile, then disappeared into thin air.

I was never going to get used to that.

***

I was left to my own devices for a while, and although I knew I should probably be resting, instead I paced. I tried Grams again and got no answer. Then I texted Iain to keep him in the loop. Something made me think he would want to come with us on this mission. I wasn’t sure how connected Iain was in Sentinel, or if getting Cassie and her jumper friend involved would mean the Sentinel hierarchy would also be aware of the mission, but I hadn’t told anyone that this was meant to be super secret, so nobody had any need for silence.

Illyria and her mole still bothered me, and I wondered if there was a way to get the information over to her. Despite the possibility that she herself could be the leak, I still felt like I owed her my trust.

Thinking about the Rebel leader made me text Cassie with an idea.

The phone rang within seconds. “Hello, Kailin. Are you sure you want to do this?” she asked, her voice still holding a touch of disbelief. Even I couldn’t believe I’d asked her to send word to Illyria.

I nodded. “Yes, we have to take the chance that she is trustworthy. She should know what Widd’en’s men are up to here in Chicago. As she herself said, we have no idea how widespread the infiltration is. Chicago could be just the tip of the iceberg.”

“Fine. I cannot say I like the idea, but I do see where you’re coming from. Perhaps you’re right. So what is it you wish to tell her?”

“Where Widd’en’s men are holed up. That they have resorted to using human weaponry and they’re experimenting on my mother.”

“What?” Cassie’s shocked voice leaped through the phone. “How do you know this?”

“The tracker saw it. They have her in a warehouse on the docks, and she’s been drained of her blood.”

“The glow,” said Cassie softly. She too had made the immediate connection. “But how did they find out? Surely the Wraiths who saw your hands glow would have been pretty dead minutes afterward. No chance to go back and report to their commanders.”

“Exactly what I was thinking. The only people who knew about it were us, Illyria, and her generals.”

“And don’t forget her personal guard.”

“That’s one of the reasons I need to take the risk. If she is the mole, then this is a waste of time. If not, her life may very well be in danger.”

After a moment of dead air, she responded, “Yes, that is a distinct possibility. I will have a message sent to Illyria. In fact, I may make the trip myself.”

“Thanks. You and Larsson will be here by four in the morning?” I asked, knowing I was being pedantic, but I asked anyway.

“With bells on,” she said, then rang off.

***

Logan arrived at three with Saleem in tow. I opened the door to the two men who were weighed down by four large army-issue bags. From their bulk, I was pretty sure they’d brought enough weapons for an army. It took my mind back to Tara and her absence. I hadn’t expected it to affect me so deeply, but I did miss her, and not just for her amazing weapons.

Logan dropped his bags to the floor and slung an arm around me. Kissing me on the top of my head, he asked, “How you holding up?”

I nodded. “I’ll survive.”

Then I laughed as Saleem pushed away Logan’s arm and wrapped me in a big squishy hug. “How is my favorite feline feeling today?”