When Malik came to, he was shackled again. It was dark, but he didn’t need light to see to know he was in the vehicle Master used when he transported several guards at once. They were all chained to the wall.
A glance at his chest told him they hadn’t reinstalled the stake, but then again, why would they? Malik would die. As soon as they were away from people who didn’t belong to the house, he’d die.
“Why did you do it?” Dante’s voice was low, and Malik looked up at him. He was shackled to the opposite wall.
“Sorry about the knee.”
Dante shrugged. “It’s healing. Why did you put yourself at risk?”
Malik took a deep breath. “I don’t know.”
“You could have run. Agent Snow removed the stake, and he’s not strong enough to force you to stay.”
Malik sighed. “I didn’t want to run.”
Dante shook his head. “He’ll force us to kill you.” His voice broke.
“I’m sorry.” Switching seats was out of the question, but Malik managed to touch his foot to Dante’s. “He’s mine. I’d rather die in an attempt to help him escape than live in the basement, never seeing him again.”
The strangled sound coming from Dante told Malik he was fighting tears.
“It’ll be fine, brother. I hope you don’t have to be the one doing it, but I’ll never hold it against you if it is.”
“Dammit, Malik.”
“Quite.” He tried to smile but a lump was growing in his throat. He looked around and took in the empty spots around them. “Where are the others?”
Dante blew out a breath. “Guarding the hotel. Master thinks Agent Snow is still in there.”
Ice filled Malik’s chest. That was not the plan. Everyone should go back home to the estate and witness Malik’s death.
Dante blew out a breath. “I didn’t tell anyone, but he’s in the wall. How can he be inside the wall?”
Malik thumped his head against the metal bar behind him. “He’s…phantasm.”
Dante chuckled, though it held no joy. “You don’t believe that shit, do you?”
Malik’s muscles stiffened. “He is one. He’s wearing contact lenses or whatever they’re called. One eye is blue, he showed me. And he can melt into things.”
“I noticed.”
Malik held in a growl. Had the plan failed? Had they seen Ivan walk into the wall?
“He touched my hand.”
This time Malik didn’t stop the growl wanting out.
Dante sighed. “I don’t think a human ever has touched me if not to cause pain.”
“He’s not human.” Though Malik thought of him as human, too.
“Close enough.”
“Phantasm.”
“Don’t be stupid. There is no in-between with life and death. You’re either alive or you’re not. It doesn’t matter.”
“It matters.” It mattered because if Ivan wasn’t a phantasm, then Malik could take him for his mate, for real.
“You won’t live much longer.”
Malik tested the shackles. He’d always been too scared to fight with the stake ready to pierce his heart, but he didn’t have it now. Remington couldn’t push a button and paralyze him.
He pulled and yanked. The metal of the hoop keeping the chain in place across his chest groaned in protest.
“What are you doing?” Dante’s voice held a note of panic.
It didn’t take long until Malik noted he didn’t have his old chains. The cuffs didn’t have stakes going through his wrists. With a roar, he pulled on the chains. He put as much of his weight and strength into each tug as he could, and with a snap, the hoop broke.
“Shit. Can you run?”
Malik shook his head while panting. He’d freed his upper body but the shackles around his feet were still attached to a hoop in the floor, and it looked to be thicker. “Floor.”
When the driver hit the brakes hard enough to make the tires squeal, Malik fell forward. He crashed into Dante with a grunt.
Malik chanced a glance at Dante. “I guess they heard the hoop break.”
Dante flashed fangs, and Malik scrambled off him and readied himself to meet whoever opened the back door. When nothing happened, he glanced at Dante. “What’s going on? Who’s driving?”
“Urien. Master is with him.”
The door opened and Malik peeled his lips back and showed his fangs.
“Let’s be civil about this, Malik. Ivan wouldn’t be pleased if you bit me.”
Malik instantly concealed his teeth as Raina waved a gun at Remington and Urien. Zev was by her side, a gun in hand, too. He wanted to believe in the relief filling him, but how had they gotten here? Where had they found guns?
“Unchain him.” Raina grinned at Remington.
“He is my—”
“I don’t care, Remi. I’m stealing him. You remember our deal, yes? Me stealing one of your vampires without triggering the alarm.” She shrugged.
“Him, too.” Malik gestured at Dante.
Raina stiffened. “It wasn’t the plan, Malik.”
“He’s my brother.”
Raina looked Dante up and down. “Ah, fuck.” She glanced at Zev. “What do we do?”
He shrugged. “Whatever we’re doing, we need to do it fast.” He looked around—cars were slowing down.
“Crap!” She waved the gun at Remington. “Unchain them.”
Remington grinned, looking like a reptile when he did. “I can’t. They’re bound by magic.”
Raina laughed, not a pleasant laugh, but one that sent a chill down Malik’s spine. “I know you think I’m stupid, Remi, but I know a thing or two about magic.”
Remington’s eyes narrowed.
“I know you need a wizard or someone equally powerful to bind the chain to the cuffs. I removed Malik’s cuffs, and I see you haven’t put them back on. The cuffs he’s wearing now don’t go through the bone, the chain isn’t magic, and since the brother was in the hotel without chains, my guess is his aren’t either.”
Dante stared down at his chains, then at Malik with a frown.
“If you take him, I’ll trigger the stake.”
Raina chortled. “Been there, done that. It might not be my favorite thing to deal with. Blood doesn’t go well with my complexion—” She gestured at her body. “—but we sorted it.”
“He’ll die.” Remington’s face was so red, Malik suspected he’d die of heatstroke soon. “His stake is of ash wood.”
Malik glanced at Dante, who gave a short shake of his head. Raina saw it, too and grinned wider.
“It’s been interesting doing business with you, Remi. I say the debt is paid off, yes?”
“No.”
“Yes, it is. I’ll send you the necklace. It’s worth enough to pay for three vampires, yes?” She nodded. “Thought so.”
“Three?” Remington’s breaths were wheezing out in rapid succession.
“Yes, it would be unfair to leave one behind, and I’m a lot of things, but I do try to be fair.” She gestured at Urien, and Malik suspected he was dreaming, then she focused on Remington again. “Hop in.” She motioned with the gun.
Remington spluttered but climbed into the van. He unlocked the chains, but Dante was wearing the same cuffs as Malik had, the ones with a spike going through the wrist.
“Great.” Raina smiled as Remington pulled the chains from the cuffs around Dante’s and Malik’s feet. “Now, lock yourself up.” Remington didn’t have any cuffs. Raina rolled her eyes when Remington gestured at his wrists.
“You.” She waved her gun at Urien. “Have him remove your chain, too.” Urien didn’t have any around his legs. Not many of them were allowed to drive, but Urien was one of them, and therefore he was often spared the chains other than those around his wrists. That Remington had allowed them all to go without chains in the hotel was something Malik didn’t think had happened before.
Urien’s hands shook slightly as he held them out to Remington.
“You’re too late.” Remington ignored Urien and focused on Raina.
“Yeah?” She tilted her head.
“Yes. I know he’s still at the hotel, and I sent the wizard there to get him.”
Raina tsked. “Wenior? Yeah, we know.”
Remington looked stunned for a moment, then he glared at Urien. “Jack, attack!”
No one moved.
“I said attack!” Remington put his hand in his pocket. Malik did attack then. He’d believed he’d left the device to trigger the stake in the front of the vehicle since he hadn’t used it yet, but the motion of him reaching into his pocket was way too familiar.
The wrestling match was short, vampires were much stronger than humans, and while Malik was afraid of accidentally triggering the stake, he quickly got the device away from Remington.
“Exactly what does Wenior plan to do with Ivan?” Raina climbed into the van; her gun aimed at Remington.
“I don’t know.” Remington glared at her. “After Jack’s stake was triggered, I changed the plan. Instead of me handing Snow over at my estate, I told Wenior to get him at the hotel. I don’t care what he does.”
Raina shook her head. “Your greed is astonishing. I mean, I knew, but to think you’ll have the only shadow walker born this century sacrificed for some small cash.”
Remington stared at Raina. “What?”
“Shadow walker. You didn’t know?” She shrugged and glanced at Zev. “Strange, I always thought it was why he framed me, so he could get to Ivan.”
“It was!”
Zev growled and Remington jumped at the sound. Malik didn’t think he’d realized Zev wasn’t human.
“All right, we need to get going. I want to get my brother out of the hotel alive. Wizards are a crazy bunch.” She turned to Malik. “Can you wrap the chain tightly around him?”
Malik’s hands shook as he did what she asked. Then Dante jumped as she handed him the gun and got closer to Remington. “Hold them tight.”
Malik nodded and pulled the chain tighter around Remington’s middle, trapping his arms close to the body. Raina held out her hand, mumbled something, and her eyes went the same dark as Ivan’s. Remington gasped, but Malik stared at her without making a sound. She was the same. Ivan had one dark eye and one blue, while both of Raina’s shifted from blue to dark.
The chain melted under her hand. “I don’t dare do more, or it’ll melt onto his skin.” She grinned at Malik. “You might think I’m a tough cookie, but in reality, I’m a bit squeamish.”
“You melt things, too?” Should he have known?
“Yeah, but I can’t melt into things. Blending in has never been my thing.”
Zev snorted. “We need to leave. We’ve already drawn too much attention to ourselves.”
Raina nodded. “Let’s go.”
They all climbed out of the van. Both Dante and Urien looked lost.
“Okay, hop in, boys.” Raina motioned toward the car blocking the van’s way. “We need to get to the hotel, fast.”
Malik opened the car door when there was a sound next to him. In the same moment, Urien fell to the ground, his stake having been triggered.
“Crap!” Raina stared. “He had another device in his pocket, didn’t he?”
Malik nodded. Why hadn’t he checked? So stupid.
“Can you carry him? Do we need to take the stake out now, or can we do it later?”
“He won’t die.” Malik didn’t want to leave Urien, but right now he was more worried about Ivan.
“Load him in the car. We’ll fix him once we have Ivan.”
Malik nodded and with Dante’s help, they got Urien into the trunk of the car. Blood was slowly trickling from his chest, but it wasn’t too bad.