Cassandra's Dilemma (6 page)

“Thank you. I’d appreciate that.”

The words were smooth, but the tone was smoother. Women probably lined up to just listen to him talk in that melted-butter-over-hot-popcorn-with-chocolate-thrown-in way. He would probably taste just as sweet and salty.

“No problem at all, ma’am. First question, what clients were you arranging the press conference for?”

The words jerked her attention away from the lascivious journey her mind embarked on. Professionalism clanked into place.

“I’m afraid I can’t answer that question, Agent Book. I signed a nondisclosure agreement with my client that stated quite categorically that I would not reveal their identities under any circumstances, prior to the launch of their campaign.”

“I can get a warrant.” Book’s eyes narrowed, and the silken tone gave way to steel and maybe, just maybe, a hint of respect.

“You can try.” Cassie knew that he could force the issue. Investigating terrorism meant that courts gave them a lot of leeway. But he would still have to take the time to get the warrant. Time she could use.

“I’ll succeed.” Yes, the respect was there, but so was a hint of reproach and disappointment. He wanted her to cooperate, and that desire tugged at her.

Damn it, she wanted to cooperate with him. Her insides quivered with the need to just open her mouth and tell him everything, but her honor-bound word left that need straining in bondage.

“All right.” Cassie managed to squeeze out those two words against the tidal wave pulling at her. She’d never wanted to answer a question so much in her life.

He stared at her, searching her expression. Whatever he saw there seemed to mollify him, and he released her gaze. Cassie nearly sagged in the chair. Had Book not looked away, she didn’t think she would have been able to.

“And your second question?” She was proud of the calmness in her voice.

“What?”

“You said you had a couple more questions—”

Special Agent Book surged to his feet, cutting off her words with a sweep of his hands. “We have company.”

Chapter Four

Helcyon produced a sword from thin air, slid forward, and jerked Cassie from the chair. Book let out an oath, but his hand slid into his jacket for the gun tucked in the holster. Cassie barely had time to register either man’s actions when a blow struck along her spine, welts of fire stinging her flesh and robbing her of breath.

She collapsed forward, slamming into Book’s legs, but she barely rocked him as he brought his gun to bear, legs apart, feet braced. She gaped at the fierce expression darkening the agent’s features. The soft, autumn-brown eyes blazed hot. His jaw was clenched, a muscle leaping in his cheek, and the shadows of the room seemed to lengthen, elongating around them and casting first Book and then Helcyon in stark relief.

Cassie shot a look over her shoulder, heart in her throat. What could paint such an ugly expression on two beautiful men? “What the hell?”

“Stay down,” Helcyon and Book barked simultaneously.

The situation might almost have been funny, but malevolence oozed off the man—no, that wasn’t a man. It was a creature, a mass of twisting, sinuous shadows—whatever it was. Eyes the color of pitch bored into her, rooting through her soul, freezing her blood. Her heart thumped in her chest, the rushing sound of water flooded her ears, and the floor fell away from beneath her hands.

“Grab her!” Helcyon snarled something else in another language. The silver of his sword flashed and screaming rent the air.

Cassie tried to blot the sound out with her hands. Book seized her shoulders in strong hands, dragging her upward just as an inky, black tentacle wrapped around her left leg and yanked.

Helcyon’s sword flashed again, and this time Cassie joined the screaming as it severed the tentacle wrapping around her leg. The world exploded in burning cordite as a gun popped close to her face. Book’s arm secured itself around her middle, and he backed up, Cassie pressed hard to him.

Cassie stared, openmouthed, at the scene unfolding in front of her. The quiet, nondescript hospital room was alive with shadows and silver. In front of them, Helcyon danced with the black tentacles that struck out suddenly, looking for a weakness. When one tentacle snaked through an opening, Book shot it. Wetness soaked Cassie’s leg, and she looked down to see a crimson stain pooling at her feet.

The world tipped on its axis. Cassie couldn’t stop staring at the bloody pool. She leaned forward, a hand outstretched, only to have Book slap it sharply. She jerked her wounded hand back with a muttered oath.

“Hands to yourself, girly,” Book snapped, hauling her across the room toward the door. Another black tentacle reached for her, drawing her attention. It arched toward her and she ducked away as Helcyon slid between her and the tentacle, sword cutting.

“We need to get out of here.” Book spoke to the Elven warrior, who continued to move with inhuman grace, pivoting, spinning, and sword blocking, dancing, slicing, and deflecting.

“The doorway,” Helcyon replied smoothly, evading another piercing tentacle.

“Gate?” Book threw the question out there with another shot as tentacles tried to slip past Helcyon’s guard.

“Yes.”

Cassie blinked at the rapid exchange, swallowing another yelp as she was yanked back into the doorway. Suddenly Helcyon was there, his back pressed against her, sandwiching her effectively between the two men.

“Lose the gun!” Helcyon ordered.

“Dammit.”

“Now.”

Book fingered his weapon, emptying the clip, and then flung the gun away from them. The world tipped sideways. Cassie recovered her voice, shrieking as they fell. Her head slammed into cotton-sheathed muscle, cutting off her cries. She felt another body pin hers before Helcyon bounced to his feet.

Helcyon hauled her to her feet and thrust her behind him. Raising his sword, he faced Book with the same cool expression he’d worn dancing with the black tentacle thing.

The agent bounced to a crouch, eyeing Helcyon with wariness. Aggression thickened the air between the two men. Cassie put a hand on Helcyon’s arm, but the steel muscles beneath her fingers locked to push her back another step. He kept his gaze firmly on the agent.

The coppery scent of blood marred the night air flavored with jasmine and orchids. Cassie sucked in a deep breath. Her head was spinning. Looking around, she recognized the garden from her earlier visit, but it seemed darker, more sinister. The stars above shocked the senses as the Milky Way spiraled across the velvety darkness.

“What was that thing?” she asked, trying to get a grip on her equilibrium. Park. Explosion. Hospital. Underhill. Hospital. Special agent. Attack. Underhill again. Her head swam from the possibilities. So many questions.

No answers.

When neither man answered, Cassie focused on their antagonistic stances. Helcyon’s sword reflected the pale light of the crescent moon. Black blood marred the surface. Book stood a few feet away, hands spread, but not in supplication. Instead, his hands were actually glowing.

“Helcyon? Special Agent Book?”

The men ignored her, focused on each other. Cassie sucked in the perfumed air and stumbled forward, only to be pushed back. Helcyon shifted so that he remained between her and Book.

“Why are you two fighting?” Her heart raced, her head spun, and she thought she might throw up at any moment.

“He sees through the glamour, and he has magic,” Helcyon replied, silken steel in his voice.

“He’s a fucking Elf, and he just took us Underhill.” Raw fury lined the special agent’s face.

“So?” Cassie blinked, digesting their nuggets of information and feeling a little belligerent. Her leg was on fire and she wanted desperately to sit down and not worry that the Homeland Security agent and her Elven bodyguard were about to tear each other into pieces.

“That thing we were fighting came from here.” Book said the last between his teeth. Sweat beaded along his forehead as though whatever he was doing took actual effort.

“Okay.” Cassie hated the weakened note in her voice, but the spinning in her head grew too intense to ignore. She sank to her knees. The edges of her vision went fuzzy. She touched a hand to the bloody welt on her leg. The leg felt on fire, but the skin was icy. Odd. “You two go ahead and kill each other. I’m going to pass out. Whoever wins should wake me up.”

“Cassandra?”

“Ms. Belle?”

Cassie faded away from the conversation, divorced from her own body. It was better to not feel the icy burn crawling through her veins. She floated between one moment and the next.

Appropriate, since she was Underhill.

“Truce?” Helcyon’s voice whispered along her consciousness like the gentlest of caresses.

“Peace.” The agent’s voice moved closer. “Did it mark her?”

“I see blood. I thought we moved her away before it could.”

“It was there for her.”

“I agree.”

“Why were you there, Elf?”

“Why were you there, Wizard?”

“My job.”

“Mine as well. Her leg. See the mark—poison in the blood.”

“What the hell was it?”

“It doesn’t matter now. We must get it out. You draw the poison. I will ease the pain.”

Cassie drifted along, listening to their odd conversation. Warm fingers cupped her cheek. The scent of vanilla and soft spices tickled her nose. Opening her eyes took extreme effort, but she managed to drag her eyelids open.

Helcyon’s face was just centimeters from her own. She looked into eyes the color of the deep, green forest. She’d thought his eyes were black, but they were dark, like the woods at night, filled with mystery and promise. The scent of vanilla mingled with pine, loam, and rich earth. She inhaled deeply, sighing at the heady combination. His breath whispered across her face. Her lips parted in anticipation. The soft velvet of his lips rushed across her mouth, capturing the gasp of pain she released as jagged ice and fire ripped through her leg.

The fingers on her cheek caressed away the tears. Her mouth parted under the tentative probing of his tongue. Pain faded away, leaving only the sensations of his lips moving on hers. Languorous heat spread through her body, leaving her limp. She whimpered a soft sound as he pulled away, but his finger stroked across her lips. “Sleep, Cassandra. Sleep.”