The Emerald Key (23 page)

The redhead sported a livid bruise on her cheek and the blonde had a cut lip. All three were disheveled and dirty. But none looked seriously injured.

A quick look around showed no one else in the room. They appeared to be in some sort of storage room. No windows, one door, shut, and a dozen or so large metal drums. A bare bulb high overhead provided the illumination. He figured his imagination supplied the background. He grinned and attempted to imagine other details. Maybe he could put them in different clothes. As much as he tried, he couldn’t get anything in his vision to change. Okay, so not his imagination. What else could it be?

“Who are you?” Phoebe asked.

Surprised, Nic turned to her. “You can see me?”

“Of course I can see you.” Her gaze drifted down and her eyebrow rose. “All of you.”

Nic felt a blush cover him but he stayed with her. His imagination, or whatever this turned out to be, was getting a little too real, but he’d go along with the idea. Enough weird things had happened over the past couple of days that he accepted he might actually be seeing and talking with Phoebe. “I’m with Cass.”

Phoebe sat straighter. “Is she okay? Can she help us? Can she get us out of here?”

“Yes, yes, and yes. We’re trying to figure out where you are.” He looked around. Nothing gave away their location. Then he heard a loud rumbling noise and saw the light move like vibrations shook the room. That coupled with the symbols on the drums told him the probable location of the women. He grinned at Phoebe. “Got it. We’ll be here as soon as we can. Where are your Protectors?”

“Our what? Oh, our partners. One is probably dead. Unknown on the other two.” A tear escaped Phoebe’s eye, and Nic swallowed against an unfamiliar emotion. If these women’s connections to their Protectors came anywhere close to what he and Cass had, the loss would be devastating. Then Nic’s heart nearly stopped beating. One dead? He glanced at Dori’s face again. Oh, God. Greg. “Dori?”

She continued to stare at nothing, not even acknowledging him.

“She’s been like that since we got here. If you want to help her, get us the hell out of here,” Phoebe said.

“We’ll find you. I promise.”

Nic closed his eyes. When he opened them again, Cass stood outside the shower staring at him. He turned off the water and shivered as she wrapped a warm towel around him.

“What happened? I’ve been calling you for five minutes. You didn’t move, didn’t answer. And I couldn’t sense you. It was like you weren’t here.”

“Technically, I guess I wasn’t. I saw Phoebe. At least I think I did.”

“What? How?”

“You tell me. I think I did something like that astral projection thing you told me about.”

“But I thought you couldn’t do anything.”

Nic shrugged and finished dressing. “Seems like we opened more doors than we knew. Anyway, I sort of know where they are.”

“Tell me what happened.”

Nic told her everything he’d seen. “Dori didn’t move. She just sat there.”

Cass held him tightly as tears streamed down her face. “Not Greg. Oh, God. Not Greg.”

They turned as the alarm went off. Nic went to the bedroom and checked the monitor. “Damn!”

* * * *

William made several phone calls. He’d lost four men when the hotel came down. Fortunately, the others had been out working on their various duties. They’d had to resort to a makeshift meeting room in the courthouse. And had scattered to outlying hotels. Instead of having everyone together, now they’d been spread apart making his work even more difficult.

And he’d not been able to contact either his lieutenant or Sheila. Or the other three women. Odd. He called in all his favors. Used all his influence, all his contacts and connections. He needed to make this all come together now. He needed to find them all now.

Unfortunately, the old witch still lived. He’d searched for her, but she’d evaded him. Still, he had others looking for her with orders to kill her. She was just one old woman. One would think even these idiots could take care of her. But he needed to concentrate on Cassandra. He’d take care of the old woman once he had his power restored and the door open. Soon he would have it all. Very soon.

Nic tore out of the cabin, Cass close behind. Halfway down the lane, he knelt in the stones next to a body, frantically checking for a pulse. “Greg? Come on, buddy. Don’t do this to me.”

A horrible bloody gash ran from Greg’s left shoulder to his right hip. Both eyes were blackened and swollen, and bruises covered his jaw and hands.

Cass knelt next to Nic, her hands shaking. “Let me.” She held the amulet over Greg’s chest. “Spirits of healing, please hear me.”

Nic paced while Cass worked on Greg. He spotted the trail of blood leading down the lane. “I’m going to go get his car.”

Cass nodded but did not stop her chanting. Nic trotted down the stony path. At the end, Greg’s car sat, driver’s side door open and motor still running. Blood pooled on the seat and made the steering wheel sticky. Nic ignored the mess and pulled the car through the barrier, then jumped out to relock the gate. A minute later, he drove up to where Cass still knelt next to Greg and he feared the worst.

“Cass?”

“I don’t know, Nic. We need to get him inside.” Cass rubbed her head and her face had gone pale.

“Cass? Are you okay?”

“I’ve got a murderous headache, and I feel like I’ve just finished running a marathon. But I’ll be okay. We need to worry about Greg.”

Nic gently picked up his friend and placed him on the backseat. The quick drive to the cabin felt like the longest of his life. Once there, he carried Greg inside and put him on the futon, then went to get first-aid supplies.

When he returned, he found Cass sitting on the coffee table still working on Greg. His color definitely looked better and he seemed to be breathing easier. Nic studied the gash. It still bled a little, but had mostly closed up. He cleaned off the blood and dabbed what remained of the cut with antibiotic cream, then covered that with gauze and tape.

“Cass?”

She stretched her arms over her head, fatigue drawing her face. “I can’t do any more. The rest is up to him and the spirits.”

Greg’s eyes opened. “Nic?” His voice emerged as a croak.

“You’re safe, Greg. We got you.”

“Dori. They have Dori.”

“We know. She’s okay for the moment. We’re going to go after her.”

Greg struggled to sit up. “I’m going.”

“To do what? You can barely move.”

“Where?” Greg asked.

“An airport. But I don’t know where it is.”

Cass gave him a tired grin. “I do. There’s a small one about five miles from here.”

“Do they have private hangars?”

“Yes.”

Nic kissed her soundly. “Let’s go find your friends.”

“What do we need?” Cass followed Nic to the bedroom. Her eyebrows rose when he strapped on the sword over his dark clothes. She quickly wound her hair into a braided knot at her neck.

“Wow. How’d you do that so fast?”

“Years of practice.” She picked up the shotgun and checked the load, then did the same with the rifle. “Shall we go?”

Nic shook his head, a grin covering his face. “Woman, you are incredible, you know that? But you’re not doing so hot. I think whatever you did to Greg took a lot out of you. Can you make it?”

“Just pour some coffee into me and I’ll be fine.”

“No time to brew coffee. Will a kiss do?” He wiggled his eyebrows at her.

She grinned. “Make it a chocolate one. We don’t have time for the other.”

He held his hand over his heart. “Ouch. I’ve been upstaged by candy.” He tossed her several pieces from a dish on the headboard.

When they got back to the living room, Greg stood by the door, leaning against the wall. “I’m going.”

Nic studied him. The man could barely stand. But would he do any less if it had been Cass? “Fine.”

“I need something from my car,” Greg said.

“What?” Nic asked.

“My sword.”

Nic stared at him. “You too?”

Greg glanced at Nic’s sword. “Yes. I didn’t find out about Dori until after we married. I didn’t know about you until you got Cass to go to that seedy hotel.” He grinned at them. “I was sure once I saw you with that thing at the other hotel.”

“Hey! Believe it or not, I’m the one who got
him
to go to the seedy one. What’s Dori’s power element?” Cass asked.

“You don’t know? Water. What’s yours?”

“Earth. Do Phoebe and Kyrie have powers too?”

“I don’t know, but it wouldn’t surprise me. I think your guardians have been hiding secrets for a long time.”

Nic interrupted them. “I hate to break this up, but we need to go. I want to do this before daylight gives us problems.”

“So what’s the plan?” Greg asked once they got on the road.

“All I know is, they’re in a storage room. I’m assuming one of the private hangars.”

“There are six,” Greg said from the backseat. “The private ones are on the far side of the main building.”

“How much surveillance this time of morning?” Nic studied the sky. Dawn barely lit the east, but low clouds kept it darker than the hour. They didn’t have much time before full daylight.

“Most of it’s around the main hangar. Low level around the private ones. Cameras, motion detectors,” Greg said.

“Tell me about them.”

“One, three, and four are corporate. Six is empty. Two is rented by a friend of mine. We can park in there. Five is unknown. All but one of them are standard aluminum construction. The first one is block, mostly used for repairs and storage.”

“Number five it is,” Nic said as they arrived at the entrance to the airport.

“Why there and not one of the corporate ones?” Greg asked.

Nic shrugged. “Call it a hunch. I have a feeling this guy’s not into business, at least not anything legitimate. Greg, do you think you can find the power grid and take it out?”

“I’ll manage. I know where they are. I did the security for most of them.”

“You have ten minutes after Cass and I leave,” Nic said. He glanced at Greg in the rearview mirror. “Greg?”

“I won’t let you down.” Greg sat back and closed his eyes. Nic hoped he’d be able to do his job. If not, they’d have to improvise and that could lead to problems.

They drove to the second hangar and parked in the cavernous building. Nic studied the space.

“Are all the hangars built like this one?” Nic asked.

“Yes, all identical,” Greg said.

Nic strode to a walled-off area on the left. To the right he saw a small office. The rest of the area was open. He checked out the storeroom. No way to get in from above and only one door. Cass joined him.

“What do you think?”

“Construction is wood and beam. One door with simple lock. Should be easy access.”

“Any idea how many you’ll face?” Greg asked.

“Nope,” Nic said.

“How well armed?”

“Nope.”

“Just like old times, huh?”

“Yep.” Nic grinned at him. “Ten minutes.”

“Got it.” Greg left and Nic glanced at Cass. He really didn’t want to drag her into this, but he would not leave her out of his sight. At least some color had returned to her face, and she didn’t appear as exhausted as earlier. “Ready?”

“Yes.”

They headed for the fifth hangar, sticking to the shadows as much as possible.

* * * *

“Four. Three. Two.” The lights went out. Cass gripped the shotgun as Nic kicked open the door. She’d head for the storage room, and let Nic handle whoever faced them. A small plane sat between them and the back of the space. Cass headed left while Nic went right. Greg burst in on their heels. She didn’t know how he could even stand, let alone be ready to fight, but he seemed to be moving okay. She changed direction and went to back him up.

The four men, who jumped from their cots at the group’s entry, put up a token fight. When Greg and Nic whipped out their swords, the two on the lethal ends backed off. “Cass, watch them!”

Cass took Nic’s handgun and held it steadily on the two men. The other two put up more of a fight. One, more awake than the others, managed to get off a couple of shots with his gun, but in the melee, his aim was off and the shots went wide, missing their intended targets. Greg’s thug quickly joined the other two on the cot. The fourth fought on until Greg joined Nic. Two against one, especially expert fighters with very long swords, were not good odds. He stepped back and put his hands up.

Nic found plastic binder straps in the office and they quickly bound all four men, securing them to a sturdy pipe so they couldn’t get away.

“Recognize any of them?” Nic asked Greg.

“Yeah. All four. They’re part of the gang who took us out.” He kicked the foot of the one who’d kept fighting. “I owe this one big time.” He held his sword against the man’s chest.

“Greg?” Nic knew Greg wasn’t normally a violent man, but these weren’t normal circumstances.

Greg backed off. “No worries. I’ll take care of him the legal way. I want to see him put away for a very long time. Where’s Dori?”

Cass tried the door to the storage room—locked, with a heavy-duty padlock. And solid block walls. No easy way to break through without risking hurting her friends. “Nic! I need keys!”

Nic searched the men and the area. “Nothing.” He went to the last man. “Where are the keys?”

“In your ass.”

Nic backhanded him across the cheek. “Try again?”

The man glared at him but said nothing. Nic stepped to the next man. “The keys?”

“Don’t know, man. He’s the brains.” He nodded at the first man.

“Let me see what I can find out,” Greg said. “After all, he doesn’t have to show up in court with all his body parts.”

Nic left Greg to guard the men and joined Cass. He studied the padlock and heavy door. “That’s the kind of lock I can’t shoot off. Whatever they use this for, they don’t want anyone in.”

He studied the space. “Awful lot of security here. Different than the other hangars.”

“You suspect something?” Cass asked.

“Too much security for just a kidnapping.” He glanced at Greg as he joined them. Greg appeared better every moment. “You okay?”