When Brendan found Caleb alone in his room, anxiety radiated from Caleb’s aura in plumes of burgundy smoke as he sat cross-legged on his bed, vaping his lungs out. One of these days he was going to have to teach Caleb how to conceal his aura. But it could wait until things were less strained between them. He approached from behind and placed a comforting hand on Caleb’s shoulder. ‘You’re not the only one feeling nervous.’
Leaning back against Brendan, Caleb’s free hand found his. ‘I still can’t believe you volunteered to organise this shit-show. You weren’t even the boss man at the time.’
In the week since the vote, Brendan had dedicated most of his time to planning the crime they were about to commit. A grunt slipped from his lips as the weight of Caleb’s head pressing against his crotch stirred his arousal. But it was not the time to give in to his carnal desires, so he dropped to the bed beside Caleb. ‘I’m gonna be honest with you, ’cause I think you deserve to know. When I first suggested taking on this job, I had an ulterior motive, though it’s no longer relevant.’
Caleb’s jaw dropped. ‘Shit! You were gonna try to escape, weren’t you?’
He nodded.
‘So that’s it: you were gonna leave me, like you left Alannah?’
Feeling ashamed, he lowered his gaze to his hands. ‘If you weren’t in love with your sister, I would have taken you with me. But I know you can’t live without her. Doesn’t matter now that I’m free.’
‘It does matter to me, ’cause of how much I love you, Brendan.’ Tears trickled down Caleb’s silver cheeks. ‘You didn’t care enough to stay.’
‘Hey,’ Brendan wiped away the droplets of anguish, ‘don’t forget, even as a free man, I chose to stay here.’
Bitterness filled Caleb’s eyes as he glared at Brendan. ‘Only because Bridey offered you protection.’
‘Icing on the cake, Thornsy. You are the real reason I’m still in this house.’ Brendan claimed his mouth in a fervent kiss, then jerked back, before things escalated to the sort of all-consuming passion that can last the whole night. ‘Come on, we’d better get to work.’
Caleb’s voice turned breathy. ‘Yeah.’
Dressed all in black, Brendan drove Caleb and Levi to their rendezvous point in Kings Cross. It was gratifying to get behind the wheel of his Jag again after what seemed like months. In reality, a trifling shy of four weeks had transpired since he walked out of Alannah’s life.
They pulled into the unmarked warehouse and let the roller-door close before getting out of the car. Climbing the steep ladder in gloomy darkness brought them to a cramped office in the loft space. Three other guys and two girls sat around the table, talking in hushed voices while they waited.
Brendan retrieved the tablet from his pocket and pulled up his notes. ‘Hey everyone. Have you all reviewed the schematics and schedule?’
The chorus of ‘Yes, sir’ felt oddly formal, but Brendan knew he would need to get used to it.
He turned to the newly recruited endarkened guy. ‘Kyle, did you manage to get a police radio scanner and Council comms interceptor for the getaway car?’
‘Yes, sir.’
‘Excellent. Any questions before we start?’ His eyes scanned the group.
‘Yes, actually,’ replied Kyle. ‘I was wondering how we are all gonna fit in my car?’
‘Well, Zach will be staying here, and Mason is taking his motorbike.’
‘Still makes six of us.’
Sierra, the four-foot-tall pixie stood and approached Caleb. ‘Do you think I could ride in your lap, sugar?’
When Caleb cautiously glanced at him, Brendan was grinning. Caleb was gorgeous, but he was not accustomed to being hit on. Caleb smiled at Sierra. ‘Um, yeah, sure.’
‘Right,’ continued Brendan, ‘with Erin up front, the rest of us should fit easily in the back. Come on, time’s a-wasting.’ He led them all downstairs to the black Subaru WRX Kyle had recently modified with bulletproof, tinted windows.
They all stopped beside the vehicle, allowing Zach, their illusionist, to cast strong glamour spells on each of them. The idea was for them to be invisible to the untrained eye. It would take an extremely powerful mage to pierce through such a strong veil and there were not many of those around. But they all knew the spell would only last an hour, which made Caleb’s role as timekeeper critical.
As the initial team member to gain concealment, Brendan would lose his cover first. But he was their enchanter, so he ought to be able to get himself out of trouble if it came to it. Caleb set the master timer going, while each person set their own watches as soon as Zach cloaked them.
Things were cosy in the back seat, but Brendan did not mind pressing himself up against Caleb and the sexy pixie who snuggled into them. Levi did not even blink an eye at the apparent intimacy the guys shared. After all, the other members of Bridey’s household knew all about their sexual relationship.
The Australian Museum came into view within record time thanks to Kyle’s driving skills and his souped-up Subie2. They parked at the bus stop outside, waiting for Sierra to perform her magic. With her attunement to nether, it was her job to bypass any wards protecting the building.
During this time, Erin got to work on the human security systems using her hacking skills. Being half elf, her magic abilities were limited, but she made up for it with her smarts. ‘I’m in,’ she announced, even before Sierra had finished.
‘And?’ Brendan asked.
‘The alarms are disabled, and I looped the camera feed.’
‘Good.’
A steel gate opened, granting them access to the business entry and Kyle moved the car behind the large stone wall. Mason arrived on his bike a minute later. The orc was their hired muscle and with any luck, they would not need him. But it always paid to prepare.
With a sigh, Sierra leaned back into Caleb’s arms. ‘Those were some strong wards, but I got ’em all.’
Brendan gave her a seductive smile. ‘Great work, sweetie. Let’s go, guys.’ Except for Kyle, they all piled out of the car, meeting Mason at the door.
Brendan planted a quick kiss on Caleb’s cheek before sending him to his lookout post by the gate. While Levi made use of his magic lockpicking skills, Brendan tested his telepathic comms. ‘Can everyone hear me, over?’
The replies came in their designated order starting with Caleb, ‘Stirling reading you, over.’
‘Erin reading you, over.’
Kyle, Levi, Mason, and Sierra checked in. The door opened for them as soon as Brendan had finished confirming a connection with all his present team members.
Being the spell breaker, Sierra took point, followed by Levi, Erin, Brendan, and Mason. She followed the map on her iPad, leading them past a series of locked offices, up the stairs, and directly to the Ancient Egyptian collection. A few pieces of art on plinths surrounded the central exhibit—a large black sarcophagus containing ‘The Black Mummy.’ Glass cases lined the walls, displaying an assortment of artifacts from earthenware pots to gold statues of the gods. The shiny blue beetle was easy enough to find alongside some other magic jewellery. ‘This display case is warded.’ Closing her eyes, Sierra channelled the stygian element to dispel the protections.
After a quick scan using one of her electronic gadgets, Erin smiled as her thoughts filled Brendan’s mind. ‘No further electronic systems.’
As soon as Sierra gave him the all-clear, Brendan nodded toward Levi, who made quick work of the lock. Brendan grabbed the scarab and two other items catching his eye: a shimmering gold ankh pendant on a chain, and a lazurite cartouche. He let the others each select their own treasure as part of their cut. They knew the extra item he took was for Caleb and Levi claimed the loot for Kyle and Zach.
Kyle’s voice boomed in Brendan’s head. ‘Council en route, over.’
Shit! ‘We’ve gotta go, now!’
Mason was still choosing his prize and Sierra pouted at Brendan. ‘I haven’t got mine yet!’
Brendan wanted to groan, but he held back, not willing to risk making a sound and alerting the guards. ‘Fucking hurry! We’ve got unwanted company coming.’
With everything out in the open, it was a relief for Tyler to be able to hold Samantha in his arms whilst watching television in the living room. Jaxon did not exactly like it, but he was not going to stop them. Aside from playful hints of jealousy, Shane did not care.
Samantha had redeemed herself by giving them all the real intel she could. Of course, striking the Cult at their core was going to be a big undertaking, one that would take time to plan. In the meantime, Tyler was going to enjoy every moment he got with his Firecracker.
As she laughed at the sitcom, Tyler’s gaze focussed on Samantha. With a glance, she caught him looking at her. ‘What?’
Tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, Tyler smiled. ‘Just admiring the woman I love.’
Her eyes bugged out. ‘I didn’t know Tyler Quirke could be so cheesy.’
He laughed. ‘I was going for sweet and romantic. But hey, if you’re not into hearts and flowers, I could stick to wildly inappropriate.’
After biting her lip for a second, she grinned. ‘I love your wild side, but I can handle romance so long as you don’t lock your beast away when in the bedroom.’
‘Ah hell, I don’t think that’s even possible with you.’
‘Glad to hear it.’ She leaned in to claim his lips in a fierce kiss.
But Jaxon’s voice killed their moment. ‘Gear up Quirky, we’ve got an urgent job to attend.’
Tyler whipped his head around to face Jaxon. ‘What?’
‘Probable Cult-related robbery going on in the city. We have to move now.’
He rose to his feet. ‘But what about Sam?’
‘Shane and Tanya will stay here to watch her.’
‘Why can’t Shane go with you instead?’
‘Because I need you.’ Jaxon swapped over his guns for a bunch of imbued blades.
Samantha jumped up from the couch. ‘But what if this is a trap to capture Tyler?’
Jaxon scowled at her. ‘Your concern is endearing, really. But Quirky is more than capable of holding his own in a fight.’
Pulling her into his arms, Tyler kissed Samantha on the forehead. ‘He’s right, babe: I’ll be fine. Stay close to Shane and don’t let anyone in while I’m gone, okay?’
She nodded and pressed her lips to his fleetingly.
Having armed himself, Tyler followed Jaxon outside. ‘So, what’s going on here?’
‘I got a call from the High Magus. The wards at the Australian Museum went down, which can only mean one thing.’
Puzzled, Tyler looked at him blankly.
‘Someone is going after the artifacts the Council stored there for safekeeping.’
‘How do we know this is Cult business? Surely the City’s regular warlocks can handle this?’
‘Well for one thing, most dark mages wouldn’t have the means to break into this place. Plus, those artifacts they are after are Egyptian—Ancient to be precise.’
‘Shit! Sam said her master was Egyptian.’
Jaxon glanced at him with an arched brow. ‘Exactly.’
They magiported to the station and Jaxon jumped behind the wheel of his patrol car. It did not take them long to negotiate traffic with the sirens blaring. When they arrived, Tyler could not see anyone.
Jaxon grabbed his glamour-piercing glasses from the console and put them on. ‘Christ! Put yours on too, Quirky.’
As the lenses slipped in front of his eyes, the scene came into focus. A group of people wearing balaclavas were running from the opposite side of the building toward a black Subaru, while two more guys approached their patrol unit. Tyler jumped out of the car, along with Jaxon who sent a kinetic shockwave designed to knock their opponents to the ground.
But the guy in front put up an Aether shield in time to deflect the blow, causing it to rebound.
Despite bracing himself for the impact, the spell pushed Tyler back a couple of feet. ‘These two guys are the distraction, boss. We gotta get the rest of ’em.’
‘On it. Keep these folks busy.’
Retrieving a sword from its hilt, Tyler advanced on the front man. It was curious how they had put the skinny guy up front when the man behind him was clearly stronger and the only one drawing a weapon. Skinny Guy appeared frozen in place with his gaze locked on Tyler. What the hell? Why isn’t he preparing to fight?
‘Fuck!’ Jaxon cried as his second attack rebounded off the shield and he fell on his arse.
The transitory distraction allowed Muscle Man to run at Tyler, almost catching him off guard. But Tyler parried at the last second. Damn it! These guys know exactly what they’re doing. I need to take out the man attuned to Aether if we are gonna have any hope of getting attacks through. With that in mind, Tyler shifted the sword fight toward his target.
As the sound of swords clashing filled the night air, Tyler ducked and wove until he was in arm’s reach of the other man. Lunging, Tyler pulled Skinny Guy up to his chest and pressed the sharp edge of his blade against the silvery skin of his throat. ‘Drop your weapon,’ he demanded of Muscle Man, ‘or your friend will lose his head.’
‘Stirling! No!’ The pained cry pierced the night, and it came from one of the men who had reached the getaway car. It sounded like the distressed call of someone who deeply cared.
A brother? Or maybe a lover? Tyler was not about to shift his attention from the man wielding a sword to see who it was, though. He applied a touch more pressure, letting blood trickle down his captive’s throat. ‘I said drop. Your. Weapon.’
His opponent obeyed this time, letting the sword fall noisily to the concrete.
‘Hands in the air where I can see them.’
The guy’s sleeves slipped back over his wrists, and his biceps bulged as he extended his arms upward. The olive-coloured skin showing through and the horns protruding through the ski mask suggested the man was an orc.
Odd to see them siding with the bad guys. He must be a mercenary. ‘Surrender now and I will put in a good word for you.’
He nodded his thanks and let Tyler handcuff him to Skinny Guy. Without the threat of immediate danger, Tyler looked at the other group and noticed them trying to pull one of the guys into the car. The one who hesitated exchanged a look with Tyler’s prisoners as Jaxon approached the car with a fireball forming in his hand. Seconds later, the other man let his associate drag him away and the car sped off into the distance.
Jaxon lobbed his fireball, but it did not reach them in time. ‘Damn it! Come on Quirky, we may as well see what we can get out of these arseholes.’ He stormed off toward the car and opened the back door.
Tyler clamped separate pairs of cold iron cuffs on each of the robbers and removed their masks, confirming that Skinny Guy was endarkened. Sam didn’t mention the Cult was recruiting them too. Not that it mattered. He had always considered them to be the scum of the Earth. With no care for the unseelie man’s comfort, he pushed him into the back of the car, along with the Orc, and climbed in next to Jaxon.
The warlock manhandling Caleb could’ve been his lover’s twin. Combining the disconcerting resemblance with the rough treatment evoked a similar response in Caleb’s body to when Brendan touched him. It almost didn’t matter that this guy’s intentions were anything but sexual.
When they reached the evidence room, the Brendan lookalike released the cuffs on his hands. ‘Lose the clothes.’
This must be the infamous warlock strip-search I’ve heard so much about. It was embarrassing how much his dick twitched at the thought. Remembering the reality of his predicament helped to subdue his arousal as he slipped out of the plain black clothes, leaving his jeans and underpants until last.
While the sexy warlock explored Caleb’s depths, the other one snickered.
‘What the hell are you laughing at, Hayes?’
‘I think he likes that a bit too much, Quirky.’
When Quirky—or whatever the hell his name was—looked between Caleb’s legs, he swore. Jerking his hand back, he shoved Caleb, knocking him to his hands and knees. ‘Get dressed.’
It was a relief to reclaim his clothes and sit with a table between him and Quirky. But when Caleb realised he was in an interrogation room, panic seized his heart in a vice.
The blond warlock set his phone to film their conversation, sat back and stared at Caleb a moment. ‘I am Warlock Jaxon Hayes, and this is Tyler Quirke. Please state your name for the records.’
Caleb remained silent.
Jaxon sighed and retrieved the evidence bag containing Caleb’s wallet. After snapping on a pair of blue nitrile gloves, he retrieved several cards from it. ‘Are you Caleb Hawthorn?’
He nodded.
Tyler sniggered. ‘What’s wrong, faggot? Cat got your tongue? Oh wait, you probably don’t put that thing near pussies.’
With a sneer, Caleb replied, ‘Listen, you homophobic arsehole: just ’cause I like fucking men, doesn’t mean I don’t love women too.’
‘Hey, I don’t have a problem with gays, or bi people. It’s criminal trash like you I detest.’
‘Quirky, please,’ Jaxon reprimanded his partner before turning his attention back to Caleb. ‘What were you doing at the museum?’
‘I was on a school excursion. What the fuck do you think I was doing there?’
‘Do you admit to being party to the theft of several magic artifacts?’
Caleb shrugged. ‘Maybe we were borrowing them.’
‘Right, because unseelie scum like you are known for returning the shit you take.’ Vitriol oozed from Tyler’s tone.
‘Oh, on top of being sexist, you’re a racist bigot too?’ Caleb challenged him.
‘Don’t make me shut that smart mouth of yours.’
A grin crossed Caleb’s lips as he pressed them tightly together.
‘Shit! We want him to talk, Quirky.’ Jaxon raked his hands through his hair with a frustrated huff. ‘Who were you working for tonight, Caleb?’
‘A friend.’ As much as he tried to avoid it, Caleb couldn’t help casting lustful eyes at Tyler. He looks so much like Brendan. Those deep-set emerald eyes, the perfect fucking jawline with enough stubble to graze my skin….
‘Can you be more specific?’ Jaxon continued the questioning while Tyler glared at Caleb.
‘No.’
‘Why not?’
‘I don’t wanna.’
Tyler squirmed. ‘Why the hell do you keep looking at me with bedroom eyes?’
Caleb couldn’t keep the wicked grin from his face. ‘You look like someone I know.’
With wide eyes, Tyler snatched the evidence bag with the loose contents of Caleb’s wallet. ‘South Australian licence,’ he mumbled. ‘Do you know Brendan Winters?’
His lips continued curling upwards. ‘You might say I know him very well.’
Tyler paled, and his mouth fell agape when the implication hit home. ‘Do you have a sister named Bridey?’
Taken aback by the leftfield question, Caleb’s expression turned serious. ‘Why do you ask?’
‘Answer the damn question.’
‘Yeah, I do.’
Rising from his seat, Tyler tossed Caleb’s stuff on the table. ‘These guys are Dark Syndicate.’
‘Yeah but remember what your friend said about Brendan?’ replied Jaxon. He turned back to Caleb. ‘Have you or your sister joined any cults recently?’
‘Hell no. We don’t touch that shit.’
Tyler scowled maliciously. ‘And what about your beloved Brendan?’
He tensed. ‘What about him?’
‘Has he joined any cults?’
Hiding his trembling hands under the table, Caleb steadied his breathing. ‘I don’t know, you’ll have to ask him.’
‘I guess I will. You gonna tell me where I can find him?’
‘Is the Arch Mage a woman?’ Caleb scoffed.
‘You know, we could call Brendan or Bridey from your phone and trace the call,’ Tyler explained.
Caleb laughed, knowing they wouldn’t be able to find those numbers in his contacts. ‘Yeah, good luck.’
Tyler dropped Caleb’s phone on the table. ‘I guess you’ll have to take us home to meet the family.’
‘Not gonna happen.’
‘Oh, you don’t want to go home? Let’s see if you still feel that way after a few days in the lockup.’ Tyler pulled him out of the chair and dragged him down to the basement of the cop shop. After shoving him into a cell, he removed the cuffs and locked the cage-like door with a big-arse smirk. ‘Be sure to let the guards know when you are ready to post bail.’
Flying through the front door, Brendan did not even stop to don his collar as he sought out Bridey. He flung the bedroom door open and found her riding Damien like a rodeo bull.
‘Jet, sweetheart, what’s going on?’ Bridey’s voice betrayed her apprehension.
He tossed the scarab on the bed. ‘There’s your damn beetle, now please leave us, Damien.’
Bridey sat back on the bed to let Damien gather his things and get dressed.
Damien inspected the artifact and smiled. ‘Thank you, Lord Jet. I’ll be in touch,’ stopping once more to shake Brendan’s hand on the way out.
He watched to be sure Damien was out of earshot before turning back to Bridey. This time, he did not hold back the emotion in his voice. ‘They got him, Bry. The Council got Caleb!’
‘Oh Gods. What happened?’ The fear in her eyes was plain to see.
‘A couple of warlocks rocked up as we were leaving.’ Brendan gulped back the lump forming in his throat. ‘One of them grabbed him and held him at sword point and forced Mason to disarm. I wanted to go after him, but Levi and the others held me back.’
‘He was doing his job protecting us,’ Levi explained from the doorway. ‘You knew there was a risk of this happening.’
‘Doesn’t make it any easier to deal with. I’m so fucking sorry, Bry.’ The tears sprang free.
Leaping from the bed, Bridey embraced him. ‘Please give us some privacy, slave.’
‘Yes, Madame.’ Levi closed the door, leaving Brendan alone in Bridey’s arms.
‘It’s not your fault, handsome.’
‘Yes, it is. You heard Levi. Caleb got caught trying to protect me. And it was my goddamn plan. I screwed up and—’
‘Shh.’ Bridey pressed a finger to his lips. ‘I reviewed the plan with you, and it was flawless. Obviously, the Council has magic technology beyond our understanding.’
‘Shit!’ Brendan lifted his head to look into her eyes. ‘They were wearing glasses. Must have been how they saw through our glamour.’
‘Interesting. Sounds like the work of a powerful conjurer.’
‘How can you be calm about this? Aren’t you worried about Caleb?’
‘Of course I am,’ Bridey sighed. ‘I’m trying to be strong for you, handsome.’
The raw truth in her eyes floored him. This woman was hurting as much, if not more than Brendan, but she was putting his needs first. It threw all his previous opinions of her out the window. He pulled her against him, holding her tight.
‘I have a few contacts I can call tomorrow. With any luck I should be able to get him out of there.’
‘Fuck, I hope so.’ He dug his fingers into her shoulder blades.
She ran soothing strokes along his back. ‘Trust me, sweetie, Caleb’s gonna be okay.’ With a tug of her arms on his, Bridey drew Brendan down into her bed where she wrapped herself around him. She continued to comfort him with her gentle touch, helping him drift off to sleep. It was the first time he had shared Bridey’s bed without her demanding sexual gratification. And for once, he got a proper feel for the real Bridey Hawthorn.