Seized: An Urban Fantasy Novel (The Thrice Cursed Mage Book 4) (17 page)

Was it because I was a Cursed or was it due to my magical trench coat? I was really hoping it was from one of those two things or some combination thereof and not because of whatever the Bat in the Hat had done to me. If it was because of the bat, though, I wasn’t sure how it was a bad thing.

I sighed and rubbed my face with my hands. As soon as I got out of here, I was going to sit down with a witchdoctor and get a meta-physical done. Unfortunately, given my limited resources I was pretty sure that meant I was probably going to have to strip down in front of Sera and cough. It was official, she was definitely the least fun female to be naked around ever.

“What’s your thing?” I asked, crossing the landing so I was standing next to Marvin. Gooseflesh stood out on his skin as he pressed his cut hand against the steel door handle. As he did, the metal door shuddered violently.

“I said ‘thang’ not ‘thing,’” he said as he calmly unzipped the backpack, pulled the Wendy doll out, and shoved it into my hands. “And my thang is dying.” He shrugged. “Mostly.”

“What?” I asked, watching him toss the straight razor into the pack and hurl it a few feet away.

“If you don’t stand back you might get blood on you.” He looked me up and down. “Then again, I’m not sure it matters at this point.”

“Is this another one of those sacrifice doors?” I asked, taking his advice and moving back a couple steps. I wasn’t sure what was going to happen, but even if he was lying I couldn’t see why standing back a few steps would hurt me. Then again…

“Not in the way you’re thinking,” he replied, twisting the door handle and pulling on it.

As the door creaked open, and snow fell from the sky, a hand of pure darkness reached out from the crack in the doorway and grabbed Marvin. Its jet-black fingers were so large, the only thing I could see of the teen through its grip was the top of his head and the bottom of his feet.

“The door is trapped,” Vitaly said from behind me. “Anyone can open it, but one who does, dies.”

His words made me realize why Marvin had opened the door, and also why he’d been getting testier by the moment. He was going to go back to being a doll, and if I was in the same situation, I’d have probably been pretty pissed off too. It made me wonder why they were doing this job at all. Was Vassago paying them or did he just have some scratch on them like he did me? Whatever it was, I hoped it was worth it.

“Sayonara—arg!” Marvin cried as the black hand squeezed, causing Marvin’s head to shoot off like a champagne cork. Gore fountained from his neck, spraying me even though I was a couple feet back. Guess I should have moved farther away… and brought a raincoat.

As Marvin’s head hit the ice next to me, the hand evaporated into mist, leaving Marvin’s crushed corpse to fall emptily to the ground. Blood poured out of it as the Wendy doll began to glow in my hands like a nuclear sapphire.

“Put me down,” she said, and her voice startled me so much I dropped her. As she hit the icy ground on her butt, I realized a full-grown Wendy sitting on the ice in front of me. I hadn’t even seen her transform from doll to teenager per se. One moment she’d been the doll and the next she was all grown up as it were.

“Well, thanks for dropping me, jackass,” Wendy said, brushing herself off and glaring at me. “Don’t bother to help me up, either.”

“Oh, erm, sorry,” I said, reaching out and taking her hand. I hauled her to her feet still unable to comprehend what had just happened. I’d been holding Wendy while she transformed, and I still hadn’t managed to see the nuts and bolts of it. Man, I needed to get on the ball and fast, otherwise there was no way I was going to succeed in rescuing those kids.

“Apology accepted,” Wendy said, walking past her brother’s corpse to the discarded backpack. With practiced ease, she jerked the razor from the pack and dropped down on her knees next to her brother’s corpse. One quick slash later and Marvin’s broken, bloody corpse was slit open from crotch to throat. Plumes of steam rose from the wound as Wendy pocketed the straight razor and pulled the gore-covered Marvin doll free.

“Thanks—” Wendy clapped her hand over the doll’s mouth, cutting him off.

“Don’t mention it,” she said before unceremoniously shoving him in the backpack. “I’m serious. One word out of you and I’ll zip the backpack shut. You’ve been a real jerk to me, and this time I haven’t been in doll form long enough to be grateful I’m free.”

Marvin looked like he was going to say something, but evidently decided on discretion because he sank back into the backpack until I could no longer see him. I wasn’t sure what their relationship was, but I was glad I wouldn’t have to deal with either of them much longer. As soon as this job was over, I could leave all this weirdness behind and go back to my own special blend of weirdness.

“So what happens if you can’t recover the body?” I asked as Wendy pulled the bloodstained letterman jacket off of her brother’s corpse and put it on. It seemed a bit macabre, but then again, she was shivering so violently, I almost gave her my trench coat. I didn’t because it didn’t seem to matter if she died, and besides, what would Jenna think? She was huddled against Vitaly for warmth, and I hadn’t given her my coat either.

I’d almost done it a couple times, but something told me I should keep wearing it at all costs. Just because these people were on my team didn’t mean they were on my team, if you know what I mean. The last thing I needed was to get caught in a double-cross without my bulletproof trench coat. No amount of good intentions would block bullets, and I doubted good deeds would make me feel better as I bled out on the ground.

“I’m not sure. It’s never happened, and we’ve never bothered to find out for obvious reasons,” Wendy said, staring at me so hard I almost flinched. “Now, if we could get out of the cold, that’d be great.”

“That sounds fucking awesome,” Jenna snapped, her words coming out in a spray of icy fog. She pushed past us and as she stepped up to the door that had just killed Marvin, glared at us over her shoulder. “There were three guys, and none of you offered your jacket to the girl in a skin tight black dress.”

I’ll admit it, her words made me feel like a bit inconsiderate, but then again, I hadn’t told her to go adventuring in a black cocktail dress. It was a little weird too because as I thought about it, the outfit didn’t make sense. Jenna seemed like a trained operative, and I doubted she’d normally go on a job in a dress unless it was required. She definitely seemed more like a jeans and sweater type of girl.

So why had she worn a short, tight-fitting dress? Was it just because we had gotten caught off-guard by the nuns at Le Château de Tissu Extraordinaire? It seemed possible but unlikely. Maybe when this was over, I’d ask her. Then again, maybe not. After all, it wouldn’t be wise for me to critique her fashion sense after what I’d done to her.

“You are American woman,” Vitaly said, apology heavy in his voice as he stepped past Wendy and I and followed Jenna through the doorway. “Is it not offense to offer you jacket?”

I didn’t hear her response because Wendy turned and looked at me. Her eyes burned as she grabbed my hands, pulling me down toward her as she spoke. “Mac, we’re close to Beleth. I can feel her presence.” She swallowed hard. “Whatever happens when we get there, remember the mission. We need to get the Prescott’s daughter out of here. If we don’t…” She looked at her shoes like they were the most interesting thing in the world. “Since you’re the only one who can resist Beleth’s charms, make sure you get the girl out of here. No matter what.”

“Are you asking me to leave you behind if something happens?” I asked, raising an eyebrow at her. I could hardly believe she would suggest something like that to me, of all people. Judging by what had been going on, I was the least likely one to leave anyone behind, even my teammates. Besides, it didn’t matter, the only reason I’d leave her behind was if it was the only way to get all the kids out, and even then, I wouldn’t want to.

“Yes,” she said, nodding very slightly. “If it’s a choice between us and her. That is exactly what I’m asking you to do.”

“I don’t think I can do that,” I said. It was one thing to kill people for the greater good but leave my team behind? That was a whole different matter. Then again, all of them were monsters. Maybe leaving them trapped in Hell was a good idea after all. Still, I’d seen enough television shows to know how that ended. They’d survive and come looking for me bent on revenge.

“You’d better,” Wendy said, reaching up like she was going to touch my face. She evidently thought better of it because she blushed and spun on her heel. “Come on.”

It was a little weird because I wasn’t sure what was happening with her. This had been the second time she’d blushed around me, and I still didn’t know why. I mean, okay, maybe she was attracted to me, but for some reason, I didn’t think that was it. Ugh, the women on this mission were going to drive me crazy.

“Mac and Wendy sitting in a tree,” Marvin sang as I followed her through the doorway and stepped into nearly total darkness. “K-I-S-S-I-N-G.”

“Shh,” Wendy said, zipping the backpack closed and muffling her brother’s voice, which was good because I’d had it up to here with his stupid.

A blush spread across Wendy’s cheeks as we moved toward the light at the end of the tunnel. I wasn’t sure what was casting the orange glow, but whatever it was had already drawn Vitaly and Jenna toward it like a moth to a flame.

As we approached, Vitaly took a huge swig from his flask, and without a word, offered it to Jenna. She took one longing glance at it before shaking her head. The big Russian shrugged and took another gulp before pocketing it.

When we got to them, I realized why. We were on a sheer cliff overlooking a room. At least a hundred Sisters of the Black Flame were spread out on the glittering orange floor below, prostrating themselves before an onyx altar. Purple and orange torches filled the space below with dancing light. Shadows crept along the ground in a way completely divorced from the torchlight.

Beleth stood in the center of the room, overlooking the desiccated corpse upon the altar. I wasn’t sure how I could tell it was her since she was wearing a robe that covered her from head to toe, but I could. The sight of her made my blood run cold with fear, although it wasn’t for my own personal safety. No, it was because she was covered in blood. The altar and floor around her was filled with a slowly congealing pool of the stuff.

Over a hundred corpses of various ages, sexes, and creeds were strung up above her on a rack that reminded me of the ones at dry-cleaning places. Blood leaked from their slit throats, painting the altar and all the ground around it in crimson. Just beyond the bodies, I could see a set of stairs that led up to a platform with what looked like a winch. Was that where they exchanged the victims? It seemed likely, and not just because the wall behind the winch was lined with over a dozen prison-grade cages. I couldn’t make out how many people were still inside those cells, but judging by the pile of corpses off to the side, I was guessing it wasn’t too many.

A chant in that same language I’d heard the Princess of Mirrors use, emanated from Beleth’s throat as she waved a dagger made of flecked obsidian across the charred, goat-headed corpse in front of her, and I was immediately thankful I was far enough away that I couldn’t make out the words. Even from here, the sound irritated my eardrums and made my temples throb.

“So what’s the plan?” Jenna asked, looking at Vitaly and gesturing below with her gun. “I don’t have nearly enough bullets for all of them, and while you can all handle yourself, I’m not sure any of us can stand up to an angry demon.”

“Whatever it is, it had better be quick,” Wendy said, her voice hushed as she stared wide-eyed at the scene below. “Because that corpse on the table is Baphomet, and judging by the demonic power swirling around him, Beleth’s nearly succeeded in calling him back from oblivion. If that happens, we’ll be fighting two demons.”

“What are you talking about?” I asked, glancing from the corpse to Wendy and back again.

“Legend says that Beleth’s brother, Baphomet was smote good and hard by the archangel Raphael. Since then, Beleth has been trying to bring her brother back.” She gestured at the corpse. “Looks like now’s the time.”

“Awesome,” Jenna muttered, rubbing her temples with one hand. “So we might have to deal with two demons, and even if we interrupt the ritual, Beleth is going to rip us apart because she’s been working on this for who knows how long.”

“Stopping ritual is not our concern,” Vitaly said, creeping along the edge of the cliff toward the cages. He pointed at the cages. “I can smell Angela Prescott. If we can retrieve her and vanish, all will be good. We can make escape.”

“What about the other kids?” I asked, trying to figure out how we could cross over a hundred feet of air, get to the platform, incapacitate the two nuns standing by the cages, open said cages, and get back with one hostage, let alone all of them.

“They are not part of the deal,” Vitaly said, taking a sip from his flask. “I am paid for Prescott only. Not even bonus money for others.”

“Besides,” Marvin piped up. “Once Beleth realizes you’ve snatched a kid, she’ll be on us like flies on shit. We’ll want as much of a head start as possible.”

“I’m not going to leave kids to die down here,” I growled, about ready to blow a gasket. Were they seriously implying we were only going to save Angela Prescott when faced with the very real possibility of the rest of those kids being strung up like slaughtered cattle. Well, fuck that.

“Mac,” Jenna said, swallowing hard. “I don’t like it either, but they’re right. We came here for one kid, not ten. We can’t get that many out. If it was one or two more, I’d be with you on this but ten? That’s impossible.” She shook her head, looking away from the cages. “We need to leave them or no one gets out.”

“Is okay. You fill spot in your humanity with money,” Vitaly said, clapping one big hand on my shoulder. “And if that doesn’t work, use vodka.” He offered me the flask. “Here is some good stuff.”

“That’s not going to work for me,” I said, shaking my head. “I guess I’m just not wired for douchebag.”