Smoke and Mirrors (24 page)

“The Bear,” Anna whispered.

****

Rodion had hoped, when the Guardian didn’t appear immediately he’d fried the children’s jailers, that he might get away with it until his siblings were away safe. But while he might have stunned her for a few minutes simply by being still alive, she’d never been slow on the uptake.

And it was probably as well to do it now, before he’d used up too much strength. Pushing Vadim behind him, he tensed and let her slam off him and halt, glaring at him with her burning, weirdly beautiful eyes.

When he was an adolescent, he’d fantasised about sex with the fiery Guardian—back in the days when fire had been all about beauty and not anger and death and the screams of burning men. He’d invented all sorts of wonderfully erotic possibilities for himself and the loveliest, most amazing creature he’d ever encountered. He wondered if she knew that, if it had made her take his obedience and his love too much for granted. Maybe that was what had inspired such fury at his continued defiance that she’d actually been prepared to kill him.

“Did you imagine you could hide from
me
, imbecile?” Her contempt licked at him like flames up a pyre.

“Not now, Ashara,” he warned, deliberately using her name. “This isn’t about me, now; it’s about the children’s safety. Help me guard them, or get out of my way.”

She surged at him with such force it was all he could do not to explode into melting flesh. “You
dare
to dictate to
me
?” she roared. “After what you’ve done?”

He stood his ground, forcing the words out through the powerful roar of flames and his misty, failing shields. “In this I do. They’re innocents, Ashara, and here because of me. Let me make it right.”

“Too late, Rodion. Much, much too late.” She pulled back as if breathing in, and he knew this would be the breath of fire that blew away all his most powerful protection.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” he shouted. It seemed to be the only way he could speak now. “Your power comes from us, remember?”

“I’m still stronger than you!”

“Only with the council and the village behind you. And it isn’t. If you push it, they’ll stand with me.”

“
I
am the Guardian! Not you!”

He narrowed his eyes. He had no need to act now. The words had been forming for a long, long time, desperate to get out. “Guardian?” he uttered. “Who guarded the village when the Russian soldiers came? Nobody, so I bloody did it. And when I was in prison you just sat on your burning backside and let my brother and sister be taken. Trust me, I’m not the only one aware of that. But now
I’m
guarding the children, and I won’t ever stop. Stand aside, Ashara, or you’ll gather hate, not worship.”

Fury burned her brighter, dancing gold and orange and white. Her fiery arms lifted high above her head, calling on the strength of her people to add to her own. And nothing happened. Instead, it was Rodion’s energy that surged, so fast and so powerfully that he cried out in pain as well as triumph.

Alexei had done it. The village psychics, surely even some of the council, were channelling power to Rodion, not to the Guardian. And she couldn’t and wouldn’t destroy them all.

The Guardian’s cry of pain and loss drowned his. “You were my most beloved son, Rodion—don’t make an enemy of
me
!”

He stepped forward, saw the preternatural glow around his hands and legs and feet—was this the aura that Nell saw? “Ashara, I’m not your enemy,” he said softly. “I’d have done anything for you if you’d just saved my treasure. We all would. Maybe we will again, once this is over. But you won’t stop me now, whatever your reasons. You can’t.”

The roar of her voice rose high with the volume of the crackling flames and exploded in a howl of pure grief. In an instant, she whipped back into Arkady’s burned body and vanished into silence.

Rodion swallowed. He had no time for regret or sorrow, to let himself feel anything for her. He swung around and seized Vadim in his arms.

“Wow,” his brother said distinctly. “You really pissed
her
off.”

Laughter surged up his throat in a lump that threatened to turn to tears, so he squashed it back and leapt up the rope to the skylight. As Liza had done, Vadim blinked blindly in the daylight, and Rodion had to hold him as they slid down the roof slope, and then tied him into the sling.

Boris and Liza stood below, side by side where he’d left them. Rodion tied himself onto the rope and began to abseil down the building with his brother.
Nearly there, nearly…

The scrape of a window opening gave him an instant’s warning. A tousled young woman stuck her head out just as he landed right beside her, eye to eye. She was the barmaid who’d served him beer the night he’d met Nell in the club.

She stared. “What the…?”

Rodion grinned. “Birthday treat for my little brother,” he said. “Join in if you like. Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you…”

“This place has become a fucking madhouse,” the girl announced and slammed the window shut.

“News from the front,” Boris rumbled as they landed at the bottom and he helped untie Vadim. “Bear’s arrived.”

In spite of everything he’d just done, including clip the wings of the most powerful supernatural being he’d ever encountered, Rodion felt his flesh crawl. But he managed to nod. “Go. Take the kids and get out of here. Pick Anna up as planned.”

He already had his phone in his hand, punching Anna’s number. He didn’t even wait for her to speak. “We’ve got them. Disengage.” Then, breaking the connection, he ran along the alley with Boris, each of them carrying a passive child.

The car was parked exactly where it should be. Efficiently, they bundled each child inside and fastened their seat belts. Liza still clutched the cuddly wolf, staring at it. But as Rodion went to close the door, she suddenly whispered, “Rodya.” And looked up at him.

Oh Jesus, don’t do this to me now. I have to go back for the Bear.

A frown twitched on Liza’s pale brow. She rubbed the wolf cub against her cheek. “Nell?” she said uncertainly.

Rodion’s breath caught. Hope flooded him, because her mind, her inner mind, still functioned. Surely she could recover from this.

“I’ll bring you Nell,” he promised. “Boris is going to take you somewhere safe now. You’ll pick Anna up on the way, and I’ll join you very soon.” He shut the door on her smile, winked at Vadim, and ran away before he jumped in the car with them. He’d never imagined it would be so hard to leave them again.

****

The large, black limousine with tinted windows had parked as close to the dancers as it could get without actually running over the crowd, and just sat there like some oppressive, evil monster overseeing the proceedings. At least, Nell felt oppressed, her stomach knotted with anxiety. But no one else showed any signs of it. On the contrary, the presence of real money in the shape of the limousine had spurred the dancers to new enthusiasm, and Anna and Ilya, who must have been at least as terrified as Nell, worked their socks off to engage the crowd, distributing the free tickets by means of silly contests and even dares. They even had a few members of the crowd joining the dancers.

From the car, the only reaction was when a young man in a suit got out and strolled around the edges of the crowd. Nell, interspersing Tom Jones—whom she’d never be able to hear again without her nerves shrieking in protest— with a couple of CDs borrowed from the club, kept a surreptitious watch on him. He moved behind the dancers, slowly working his way along the building toward the club. But he didn’t do much, didn’t molest the dancers or make any lunges at Anna. He just placed the palm of his gloved hand against each door he passed, and pushed. Checking to see if the locks had been melted.

He knows. The Bear knows he’s here.

Although that was a central part of Rodion’s plan, she couldn’t prevent the upsurge of panic. Because the most difficult part of this had to be done under the Bear’s suspicious nose. Anna was working her way back toward the club when Nell saw her answer her phone. Ilya stepped smoothly in to continue whatever nonsense Anna had begun. But even so, Anna shared a natural performance ability with her brother. Someone shouted out, pointing to the ridiculous sight of a cat on a mobile phone, and Anna played it up, pretending to wash her face cat-style and miaowing into the phone in between demands for more Cat’s Eye tickets for the cool people of Zavrek.

The admin woman, whose name was Katya, having entered into the spirit of this adventure now that she was pretty sure her boss was present, promptly ran to fetch more.

The young suit pressed against the last door before the club, the one Rodion had used only fifteen minutes ago. It didn’t give. Rodion had been careful not to damage the lock, which had simply clicked back in as the door closed behind him. The suit spoke into his mobile phone and met Nell’s gaze.

She gave him a twirl and put Tom Jones back on. The crowd cheered, particularly when Anna grabbed up the tickets and threw a handful into the crowd. Nell twirled forward, the blaster still high on her shoulder, and she and Anna passed each other.

“He’s got them,” Anna breathed. “They’re out.”

Her knees wobbled. She wanted to shout and cry with triumph, and yet this was the moment that could ruin it all. Anna had to get away without the Bear or his minions noticing her, and she couldn’t wait for Rodion’s main distraction, or she’d hold up the children’s escape. It had always been the weak point in the plan, but both Rodion and Anna had insisted that one of them had to be with the children. And it couldn’t be Rodion.

It was up to Nell. She lifted the blaster high above her head, and the crowd cheered some more. She said, “Don’t go back to the hotel, Anna. I mean it.”

“What?”

“Get the hell out,” Nell breathed and began to whirl and dance her way down the street as if it was some kind of grand finale. Which it had to be to keep all eyes on her while Anna effaced herself, got rid of the mask, and, hopefully, joined her siblings and Boris in the getaway car that would take them out of Zavrek—please, God, without stopping at the brothel first.

But then she’d never really thought they would stop off. She knew from Edinburgh and the Royal Hotel that Rodion never left anything behind that he wasn’t prepared to abandon at a moment’s notice. But searching the rooms should keep Derryn busy. She just needed to be
sure
Anna would stay away.

She had to stop before she fell over from dizziness and finished the performance on a very undignified note. So she sprang to face the crowd, lifted the blaster up and down a couple of times while the dizziness receded.

Someone was getting out of the limousine. A big man in a woollen overcoat with a black fur collar, sunglasses, and a shock of black, curly hair that might have been dyed. Surely the Bear. Of Anna there was, mercifully, no sign. But her relief was short-lived.

A car drove up the street in the direction Anna had just taken. The grey car with the untraceable number plates. Zavreki secret police.

Fuck!

Desperately trying to think, she jumped to face the dancers and the building behind them. And saw Rodion on the ridge of the roof.

Her breath caught all over again. He wore his cat mask and stood perfectly still. Unseen hands took the sound blaster from her shoulder and switched it off.

The dancers froze. Nell turned slowly to see the Bear right behind her, holding the ridiculous pink sound machine. But he wasn’t looking at her. He was gazing up at the figure on the roof.

The Bear lifted his free hand and crooked one deliberate finger. Rodion waved and threw himself forward off the building.

Chapter Eighteen

Nell cried out in terror. She and most of the rest of the watching crowd. Even knowing it would happen couldn’t prevent that.

Rodion spun in midair and knocked feetfirst against the building.

“Shit!” someone exclaimed in the mingled relief and irritated amusement of the completely fooled. “He’s got a rope!”

And so, convinced this too was part of the show, the crowd hung around, happy, now that they all had free tickets, to waste another few minutes on some more exciting entertainment. This was necessary. Even the Bear couldn’t kill people in front of quite so many witnesses.

Although he could take them away in his limousine and kill them somewhere else. Circumspectly, Nell eased farther away from the black car. But no one was interested in her. Or in Ilya, who’d materialised at her side.

Nell took out her phone and dialled Anna.

“I’m in,” Anna’s voice answered breathlessly. It sounded strange, shaky for the normally cool woman she portrayed. “I’m with them.”

“You’ve got a tail,” Nell said, as Rodion had once said to her. “Secret police. Same car.”

There was a pause. “Okay. Thanks.” The connection broke.

Nell murmured to Ilya, “She’s with them in the car.”

“Thank God… But how did the police know?” Ilya speculated. “Were they just watching this place because Rodion was seen here?”

“Maybe.” It couldn’t have been at Derryn’s direction, because Derryn shouldn’t have known the rescue would be here. “The Bear,” she said slowly. “The Bear’s using them to do his dirty work.” She glanced up at Ilya in his ridiculous mask—Boris had drawn spectacles on it. “Is that even possible?”

Ilya let out a hiss of contemptuous laughter. “Corrupt police? In Zavrekestan? Oh yes.”

“Then what do we do?”

“Play it out. Rodion will have thought of it.”

Although his faith was touching, Nell wasn’t entirely convinced.

****

Rodion landed on the ground to wild applause. He untied his rope while he bowed and preened for the crowd’s entertainment.

He’d done it: found the treasure, got them out, got Anna away with them, and abseiled down a tall building in full view of all the Bear’s gun sights that he knew must be trained on him from the car, from the windows of any or all of his apartments. Rodion had seen the two henchmen go in the front door that led up to the prison attic. By now, they knew the children had gone, and just as soon as they plucked up the courage to tell him, so would the Bear.

And only now, as he faced the last act of his plan, did he realise he was shaking. Because if this went wrong, the rest was for nothing.

Everyone’s safety in his terrified, trembling hands.

Brazen it out, Kosar. You always do.

The Bear stepped forward through the dancers, still slowly, rhythmically clapping as the rest of the applause died back. “A fine performance as always, Rodion Andreyevich. Why don’t you take off the mask and bow to your new fans?”

He’d only put the mask back on to show the crowd this was still part of the act, to keep them there. And to give him a few precious moments when he didn’t need to guard every muscle on his face.

Let’s play.
He stretched his mouth into a smile as he took off the cat hood and dropped it carelessly to the ground. He bowed to right and left with exaggerated humility.

Somebody’s phone rang. One of the Bear’s bodyguards answered. Nice move. Make one of the tough guys take the strain if the Bear elected to kill the messenger. The Bear didn’t even look at his henchman; he locked gazes with Rodion while the bodyguard murmured in his ear. A twitch of his left eye was the only sign that the Bear had received bad news. By now, he must have expected it, although he must have hoped against hope that Rodion had been on his way in rather than on his way out.

There were times when Rodion loved to disappoint.

“So that’s the point of the costume,” the Bear drawled in Russian. “You’re a cat burglar.”

Rodion broadened his smile. “I knew you’d see the joke.”

“Nobody burgles
me
.” Although the Bear kept his voice soft, it had enough of icy danger in it to send a ripple of unease through the crowd, the first suspicion that the play might have changed to something altogether less safe to be around.

But Rodion needed them just a little longer. So he laughed. “Burgle
you
? Heaven forfend. I just dropped by to pick up the kids. Didn’t want them overstaying their welcome. And while I was here, I thought I’d lose you a little money by supplying all these wonderful people with tickets for your fabulous nightclub. Let’s hear it for the Cat’s Eye dancers!”

Through the cheers, he heard the sounds he’d been waiting for. Three phones going off in rapid succession. Rodion strolled a little nearer to the Bear. Big, powerful, and without compassion of any kind, he made Rodion’s flesh crawl. Just as he had the first time they’d met, a lifetime ago, in the village over the dying body of his father.

Rodion wanted to smash his fists into that smug face for what had been done to his siblings and to so many others. He wanted to kick the bastard’s head in and stamp on it and set fire to whatever was left. If ever anyone deserved payback, it was the Bear.

One day he’d get it too. Rodion hoped, he really hoped he would be the one to deal it out. But for the moment, he had to rein back the vengeance and the blinding blood lust and just keep his people safe. That alone was payback of sorts.

The Bear took off his sunglasses. He was listening to his phone while two of his bodyguards prattled in his ear. He waved them off like flies.

“Was that you?” he said to Rodion.

“Was what me?” Rodion said innocently. The crowd liked that. With no idea what was going on, they laughed.

The Bear stepped closer. It was all Rodion could do not to clench his fists. “You can’t do that,” the Bear hissed, and yes, there was real panic in his voice, still veiled but definitely there.

“Can’t do what?” Rodion murmured. He glanced at the nightclub—just a flicker of the eyes, and then focused without blinking on the Bear’s face.

“Set fire to things without seeing them, without being there. I know you can’t.”

Rodion smiled. “You know I
couldn’t.
What doesn’t kill me makes me stronger, and trust me, I came
this
close to dying in Scotland”—he held up his thumb and forefinger with an infinitesimal space between—“from entirely paranormal sources. And now I can do whatever the fuck I like. I can set fire to all your properties from here to St. Petersburg, just as I’m currently burning your Zavrek office and a couple of your retail outlets.”

Of course, he’d done it with timed incendiary devices planted last night on his way to check out the roof of this building, but the Bear didn’t know that.

Rodion said dreamily, “I can burn your drugs, melt your arms, set fire to your own ugly heart so that you burn from the inside out. As you know, that’s a spectacularly horrible way to die, if it’s done right. And the beauty of it is, I don’t even need to be in the same country.”

“I’ll kill you,” the Bear said hoarsely. “I’ll rape your family and kill everyone in your fucking weird village—”

“No, you won’t,” Rodion said, and this time there wasn’t even pretend levity in his voice. “Because if you or any of your goons go within fifty miles of my village, if anything happens to anyone I’ve so much as spoken to on the phone—even if it’s nothing to do with you—I’ll start burning your operation. Trust me, I’ll do it quickly. Until I get to you.”

The Bear searched his face, made a discovery. “You’re insane,” he whispered.

Rodion laughed. “Whoops,” he said. “There goes another.” Without taking his eyes from the Bear, he jerked his head toward the club, and the Bear caught sight of the flames just licking up the front window.

Of course, Rodion had started the fire before they started this conversation, but at such a low level that it was only now apparent, and the Bear thought exactly what he was supposed to think. That Rodion had done it without so much as a glance.

“Fire!” the Bear yelled. “In the club. Put it out, for fuck’s sake!”

It was the cue for panic. The dancers, encouraged by Nell, bless her, scattered, as did the crowd, finally understanding that this little episode was turning nasty. The Bear’s thugs all ran to put out the fire. Even the Bear himself swung away to save his precious property. Rodion took the opportunity to pop off a fire in the limousine’s engine before he seized the Bear’s arm in a grip that must have hurt.

The Bear swung on him with the glare that had terrified thousands of people, and rightly so. It had intimidated Rodion, kept him in thrall for years, because it was the glare of a man who’d carry out any atrocity without compunction. Even without much reason.

Rodion wasn’t too proud to learn from a master. While two more thugs spilled out of the burning limo, Rodion gave the Bear back the same stare and knew that on him it had the added blast of insanity.

“So that’s the deal, you fucking pile of shit. You’re finished with me and mine. You do not even think of fucking with me or mine again. And I might just let you live.”

The Bear swallowed, frozen in the act of trying to shake off a grip he’d never expected to be so strong. Rodion gave him a little tickle, a little temperature surge from the heart, and God help him, it took a hell of a lot of willpower not to keep going.

But the Bear’s sudden, open terror brought him back on plan. He let the temperature drop back.

“Why?” the Bear asked hoarsely.

Why.
Why would he let him live? It was the question that needed to be answered. Why didn’t he just fry him here? Because behind the Bear was a whole organization of other bastards almost as bad as the boss, just waiting to replace him. And it was
this
boss he finally had under control.

But the Bear wouldn’t believe for long in the new powers Rodion said he had unless he convinced him with a reason the Bear could understand.

Rodion leaned forward until his lips almost touched the Bear’s ear. He could feel the revulsion in the man’s rigid body, in the involuntary pulling away that he wouldn’t allow.

“Because one day,” he murmured, “I might just drop in for a piece of the action. And when I do, you’ll fucking give it to me.”

A moment longer, he stared at his enemy. From the corner of his eye, he saw the thugs from the car running to protect their master. Time to go. He smiled and stepped back, opening his hand with very obvious relief to let the bastard go.

Then he pushed past, shouldering the thugs on the way. One reached for him, but the Bear barked, “Let him go, idiot!” And Rodion smiled.

Ilya and Nell waited for him in the middle of the road, still in their ridiculous masks. Suddenly, walking toward them, he felt light-headed and knew it wouldn’t be long before total exhaustion paralyzed him in mind and body. But not yet, not yet. He was still steady on his feet, still thinking. He just needed fresh air and a spurt of exercise.

Just as they’d planned, he linked hands with Ilya and Nell. And then they ran.

The wind whooshed through his hair as if blowing away all the anguish and terror of the last two years and more, and all the ugly, violent nastiness with which he’d been forced to live through the Bear’s hold on him. Emotion, triumph began to surge through him from his toes.

He’d done it. He’d fucking done it. And the soft, trembling hand clinging so strongly to his fingers was his reward, his icing on the cake of freedom, his own addition to the family he’d just made whole again.

Nell. His Nell.

****

Nell tore off the cat mask which had become insufferably hot as they ran around the corner away from the club.

Rodion stopped beside the second parked car, dropped his sleeves lower over his hands, and opened the door. Here, they were deviating from his rule of always knowing where your getaway is. Although he might have spotted it from the roof of the club, she was fairly sure he didn’t care which car he stole.

“How are you getting all this past the Guardian?” Ilya asked.

“Blackmail and bullying,” Rodion said. “I’ll be grovelling for the rest of my life.”

Ilya got in the back without another word. As Nell climbed into the front passenger’s seat, she saw the relief with which Rodion almost fell into the car. Now that she was up close, she made out the same signs of exhaustion she’d witnessed in Edinburgh: the swollen shadows under his eyes, the lines around his eyes and mouth, the thinned shape of his normally relaxed, sensual lips. And the fingers that tried to hotwire the car shook with rare clumsiness.

He couldn’t take time out for a simple hug. So she just put her arm around him from the side, taking care not to impede him, and pressed her cheek to his shoulder. “You’re amazing,” she said huskily. “And I love you. We’re nearly home. Should I drive? Or Ilya?”

He shook his head as the engine revved into life. “I need something to do, or I’ll explode or fall asleep. Or both at the same time.” He pulled away from the kerb and sped down the road and around the first corner. “Well done, guys. I hope Boris has got a
very
large bottle of vodka waiting for us.”

Ilya leaned between the front seats, “Did you see the car from yesterday? Secret police? They followed Anna.”

“Fuck.”

They both looked at him.

“You’ve got a plan for that, right?” Ilya said with a first hint of unease.

“Oh yes,” Rodion said vaguely, taking a left turn far too fast. “Sort of… Do we know Anna made it to the car?”

“Yes.”

Rodion nodded but said nothing more. He looked pale and tired, and Nell’s throat closed up. Maybe now would be the time to tell him, to give him all the facts… She considered it, hard, until she realised his hands resting on the wheel were looser and no longer shook. Everything was still okay, and she’d leave it that way until they were all safe.

“Aren’t we going to swap cars?” Ilya suggested at last.

“No point,” Rodion said grimly. “Everyone knows we’re coming.”

Nell stared at him.

Ilya’s head appeared between the seats again. “Everyone? What do you mean? What’s going on?”