Chaos (Book 4) (The Omega Group) (6 page)

She grabbed a crystal from the uppermost shelf, rolling it
between her slender fingers.
This should do the trick.

They’d decided to stay clear of Gracey’s apartment on the
off chance that her allegations of a break-in were true, and checked into a
small hotel near the beach. Orano grabbed the keys from the front desk clerk
for the two rooms. The minute they’d arrived, Gracey dropped her overstuffed
bag at his feet and rushed to the lobby restroom.

 “So, one of us is going to have to stay in the room with her,
you know,” Phoenix said, wearing a lascivious grin. “I have no problem making
that sacrifice. After all, her doctor did say she needed twenty-four-hour
supervision.”

“Not that kind of supervision.” Although he wanted nothing
more than to spend the night in quiet solitude, the thought of Phoenix alone
with Gracey for an entire evening irked him more than it should have. “I’ll
share the room with her.” Orano stared down his partner.

Phoenix raised both of his hands, palms out. “Sorry, I
didn’t realize you had something going with her.”

“I don’t!” Orano answered a little too quickly and a little
too loudly.

“Sure. Then you wouldn’t mind if I took a crack at her?” The
glint in Phoenix’s eyes almost matched the brightness of his smile.

 “I’m starving,” Gracey said, returning from the restroom.
“Any chance we can grab some dinner? I know a really great place not far from
here.” She glanced first at Orano and then at Phoenix. “Am I interrupting
something?”

Phoenix’s thousand-watt smile grew as he wrapped one arm
around her shoulder. “Of course not. Orano was just telling me how much he’s
looking forward to sharing a room with you tonight. You two must have a lot of
catching up to do.”

“Uh huh,” Gracey said with one eyebrow raised. “And next
you’ll tell me he can’t wait to spend the entire night chatting about old
times.”

Phoenix laughed as he pulled his arm back and eyed Orano.
“Wow, she really does know you.”

Orano’s brow furrowed. “Let’s put our stuff in the rooms and
go get dinner.”

“Yes, sir,” Gracey said, giving a comical salute.

********

The small restaurant wasn’t much to look at, but the food
exceeded Orano’s expectations. They’d each polished off enormous portions of home-style
Southern fare and waited for Gracey to finish her dessert. Orano couldn’t imagine
where she would put the triple decker ice cream sundae she’d ordered after
watching her eat a dinner that would have been difficult for him to finish.
Nevertheless, her spoon clattered in the bottom of the bowl after the last of
the caramel sauce had been scraped up.

“I’ve never seen a woman of your stature pack away so much
food. How are you not four hundred pounds?” Phoenix asked, apparently just as
surprised as Orano.

Gracey twisted her mouth into a lopsided grin. “What can I
say? I love food.”

“You’ve got a little ice cream on your cheek.” Phoenix
pointed to a spot just beside Gracey’s lips, and she wiped it with her hand.
“Nope, not quite—”

“There’s nothing there,” Orano grumbled.

Phoenix used his thumb to gently rub Gracey’s cheek, and she
blushed at the contact.

“Can we please get down to business now?” Orano asked,
feeling the need to quash his partner’s practiced seduction. “Without any proof
to back up your claims, we’re not going to be able to stay much longer.”

Leaning back in her chair, Gracey took a deep breath. “Okay,
though I’m not sure how to get you the proof you want. The day before the solar
flares blacked out that town in California, I saw a slip of paper on Tori’s
desk. I couldn’t make out everything written on it, but I did see the words
‘Diablo Canyon.’ It didn’t mean anything at the time, but when I saw the news
about that nuclear power plant, I knew she’d done it.”

“Any chance that paper is still there?” Phoenix asked.

“I doubt it. I asked her about it after I saw the news and she
claimed she had no idea what I was talking about. That’s when I broke into her
shop and called Robert. That’s also when Tori put the ‘crazy curse’ on me.”
Gracey stared off into space for a moment as though figuring something out. “I
think it’s worn off. I haven’t had an outburst in a couple of hours.”

“Even if we believed every word you said—and I’m not saying
that’s the case—we’ll need a lot more than a slip of paper to convince our boss
that there’s a threat. Is there anyone in your coven who you still trust?
Someone who could do some snooping for us?” Phoenix asked.

“Yes and no. There are lots of members who I trust, but no
one in Tori’s inner circle. The only reason I got as close as I did was my lineage.”

Orano raised his eyebrows and waited for her to explain.

“Tori’s been our leader for years, but she’s always been
worried that I might use my bloodline as a way to take her position. My family
has led the coven for most of its three-hundred-year existence. Unless no
magical Sherwoods live in the area, we’re always at the helm. Not many of the
original Grace Sherwood’s descendants wield magic, so when one does, it’s
expected that she’ll be leader.”

“Then, why aren’t you?” Orano asked.

“Because I don’t want to be. At least I didn’t before all of
this. Don’t get me wrong—I love being a witch, but I’ve never felt qualified to
be a leader. I didn’t grow up with witchcraft. My father was Grace’s descendent
through his father, and the men in our bloodline have never wielded magic. I
didn’t even know I had it until my senior year of high school. And let me tell
you, that’s a prom I’ll never forget.” Gracey let out a snort at the memory.
“Tori’s always had her sights set on being the coven leader. We were counselors
at a kids’ camp after we graduated high school, and it’s all she talked about
the entire summer. She freaked a little when she found out about my Sherwood
blood. She’s got this thing about lineage. I guess her father is some rich guy
who never married her mom. And her stepdad and half-brother don’t exactly
measure up. I’ve never met any of them, so I have no idea, but suffice it to
say she’s a bit touchy on the subject of bloodlines.”

Orano tried to rein in her rambling and get her back on
track. “So, Tori’s threatened by you.”

“I don’t think so. I’m pretty sure I convinced her I had no
ambitions for the high priestess position,” Gracey said.

“But now you do want to be leader,” Phoenix said. “And
discrediting Tori would facilitate that.”

“What? No! That’s not what I meant at all. I considered
being the leader now
because
of what she’s done and is going to do.”
Gracey sent Orano an imploring look. “You have to believe me.”

Orano was saved from having to respond by the waitress
bringing their bill. After checking each of the charges, he handed over his credit
card, being sure to avert his gaze from his childhood friend.

“Gracey,” Phoenix continued. “You seem like a nice person,
but look at this from our perspective. You say you have magic but you can’t
show us any. You say your magical leader is behind the solar flare activity,
but every scientist has deemed it a natural occurrence. You say you’re not
crazy, but we found you in a mental institution. What do you expect us to
believe?”

Orano’s heart clenched as Gracey’s eyes glistened over, but
he couldn’t disagree with his partner’s appraisal of the situation. “I’m sorry
but, without anything solid to back you up, we’ve got nowhere to go with this.
We’ll be heading back to Jacksonville in the morning.”

“And what about me?” she asked.

“You’ll have to go back to the institution to wait for your
hearing.” Orano kept his gaze on the floor.

When the waitress returned, he quickly signed his name to
the ticket and stood. “We should go.”

The night air outside smelled of salt and seaweed. Though
they weren’t directly on the beach, Orano could hear the surf crashing against
the shore in the distance. The restaurant exited into a small alley. No one was
around, but that would change once they arrived at the main street. Thirty
yards to their left, throngs of people strolled by on their way to whatever
social gathering they had planned.

For the first time that he could remember, Orano actually
looked forward to getting lost in a crowd. Anything would be better than
enduring the silent accusations flowing from a very disappointed Gracey.

A noise to his right, like a Dumpster being kicked, drew his
attention. One of the streetlights illuminating the alley exploded in a shower
of glass, blanketing the area in darkness. The hairs on the back of Orano’s
neck stood at attention while he scanned for movement.

“Phoenix,” he said.

“I’m on it.”

Without the benefit of night vision goggles, their human
eyes had no hope of penetrating the shadows. Phoenix, on the other hand, didn’t
need to rely solely on his own eyes. His ability to share his consciousness
with birds allowed him to use their senses at the same time. It also happened
to be the only power between the two of them that could be used in front of
civilians without them being aware of it.

“Will one of you please tell me what’s happening?” Gracey
asked before being shushed.

“All right. It looks like we’ve got a few gang bangers
planning on relieving us of our wallets,” Phoenix whispered. “Three behind the
Dumpster and two in the alcove.” The bird he’d connected with fluttered just
above their heads.

Orano grabbed Gracey above the elbow and pushed her toward
the restaurant’s door. He’d already ruined her day by announcing their
departure and didn’t want a mugging to be the icing on the cake. He grabbed the
handle and pulled, but it refused to open. Another tug, this time with the
force of his substantial muscles behind it, produced the same results.

“Hang on,” Phoenix said. “There’s more of them. They’re
covering both ends of the alley.”

“Keep trying this door,” Orano said to Gracey. “Bang on it
as loud as you can until someone comes to unlock it.”

“But what about you?” she asked, eyes wide with fear.

“We’ll be fine. They’re just some punks who picked the wrong
targets,” Phoenix said with one corner of his mouth curling up.

They turned their backs on Gracey, Phoenix angling to the
left and Orano to the right. Until she could get through that door, they would
have to stand their ground in order to protect her.

“They’re moving in. Be ready,” Phoenix said.

Orano strained to hear any movement, as he still couldn’t
see their soon-to-be attackers. They’d remained quiet since the initial kick to
the Dumpster, which seemed odd considering their vocation. He’d expected to be
on the receiving end of taunting at the very least. Silence just didn’t fit the
situation, especially since Gracey should have been banging on the door behind
them.

Orano turned to chastise her for not following his orders,
but instead saw her doing just that. Her tiny fists pounded against the metal
door, yet no sound erupted with the contact. Like some surreal mime acting out
a futile scene, her face contorted in fear and pain as she continued to assail
the door.

********

Tori pressed the crystal between the palms of her clasped
hands and leaned over the age-tarnished mirror lying on her desk. Although the
mirror had been created almost seventy-five years ago for the purposes of
catching a thief amongst the coven members, Tori utilized it as her own private
surveillance system.

Using it allowed her to peer down from above on anyone or
anything she chose. There were, of course, limitations. No matter what spells
she tried, she’d never been able to see images of anything more than a few
miles away. She’d travelled with the mirror many times to overcome that
particular shortcoming. This evening, however, her subjects were close to home.

Her three closest allies—her inner circle—stood on the other
side of her desk, hands joined. She’d given them the responsibility of
shielding the alley and its occupants from outside interference. Tori needed
their combined power so she could focus on orchestrating the attack.

The crystal warmed in her hands as the action began. Each of
the gang members had been under her temporary control at one point or another
since she’d connected them to the crystal through wax totems two years prior,
but this was the first time she’d controlled all of them at the same time.

Excitement bubbled through her as the thugs surrounded
Gracey and the government men. Soon three more fatalities would be added to the
growing victim list of Virginia Beach gang violence.

********

Orano felt a wisp of air on his arm and spun around in time
to block the amateur wielding a switchblade. Grabbing the guy by his wrist, he
pulled the attacker in and landed a clean right jab to his jaw.

The next thug tripped over his fallen comrade, landing hard
against Orano’s chest.

“Gun! By the Dumpster!” Phoenix yelled.

Orano jerked the clumsy gang member around and held him as a
shield while stripping him of his blade. “Where?” he yelled.

“Thirty feet down, three feet from the wall.”

The newly acquired blade flew from Orano’s hand, flipping
end over end into the blackness. He heard a muted gunshot as his human shield
slammed into his chest and became dead weight, collapsing to the ground. A low
grunt from the direction of the Dumpster followed a second later as the knife
presumably hit its target.

“I don’t think they’re after our wallets,” Orano said.

Phoenix held his extendable baton in his right hand and was
in the process of cracking a skull as he answered. “They’re after our heads,
and they won’t be stupid enough to come at us one at a time for much longer.”

As though to punctuate the statement, three inky figures
emerged from the shadows. A quick glance to his left showed three more, with
the possibility of others remaining hidden.

“Can you call in some cover? There are a lot of people close
by,” Orano yelled.