Page 56 of Sins of the Fathers
“Get up,” Daelin ordered. “I’ve had enough of your nonsense.”
Grady shot to his feet with the nail clutched in his fist and slammed it into Daelin’s throat.
Blinding white light made Grady twist away, and a banshee-like scream threatened to pierce his eardrums. He tried to jerk free of the bone whip while pain distracted his captor, only to be cruelly disappointed when the lash remained tight.
“You worthless wretch!” the dark fae screeched as the light faded. To Grady’s horror, Daelin’s throat bore only a faint shadow of a wound which vanished as he stared.
“When the time comes, I will cleave open your ribs and rip out your heart as tribute with my own hands,” Daelin threatened.
Between one breath and the next, the bone whip uncoiled from Grady’s wrist and wrapped itself around his throat, nearly cutting off his air, burning his skin like dry ice.
Daelin turned his back and jerked the whip like a leash, forcing Grady to stumble after him to keep up on the hike back to the cabin. Any time Grady lagged, the bony lash tightened on his windpipe, making him wheeze for breath, digging into his flesh.
The dark fae stormed into the cabin, slamming open the door with a wave of his hand. When Ophelia’s two guards appeared from the shadows with guns raised, another gesture from Daelin sent them flying across the room.
Ophelia stalked forward to challenge him, eyes wild with rage. “What is the meaning of this?”
Daelin yanked Grady forward and forced him to his knees before finally releasing him from the bone whip. Grady heaved for breath but vowed that he would not give either Daelin or Ophelia the satisfaction of seeing his fear or his dashed hopes of escape.
“He got out. You need to be more careful,” Daelin snapped as if Ophelia were an errant pupil. “Can’t work the ritual without him. You need the blood of a King to break the old covenant.”
Grady didn’t think he could feel more fear, but a new frisson slithered down his spine.The blood of a King. I’m a King by name but not by blood. Maybe Richardson blood will be what saves us all if sacrificing me fucks up the spell.
I’ve screwed up escaping, and I can’t fight my way free. But maybe, just maybe, I can still turn the tables somehow. For Daw. For family.
9
DAWSON
“Grady’s gone,”Dawson said when Denny picked up his call. “He was right behind me, and there was an SUV, and then Gray vanished—”
“Slow down, boy. You aren’t making a lick of sense. Start over and tell me what happened.”
“Gray was right behind me leaving the shop. We crossed the street, and a white SUV pulled between us. Then Gray was gone. Someone must have snatched him and dragged him into the car,” Dawson said, fighting to stay calm and knowing he was losing the battle.
“I’ve been driving around for a half hour, trying to catch a glimpse of them, but they’ve just…disappeared,” he said, admitting defeat. Dawson had pulled into a parking lot, not sure that he trusted himself to talk and drive with how rattled he felt.
“No one disappears into thin air with a whole SUV,” Denny told him. “Call your fed friends and come to the house. I’ll have food. In the meantime, tell me the intersection where they grabbed him, and I’ll see what I can get from the traffic cams.”
Dawson repeated the information and promised Denny he’d be there soon. He thumbed Gibson’s contact on speed dial, gratified when the TBSI agent picked up his call.
“Grady’s been kidnapped—and I think it was Ophelia,” Dawson said and repeated what he had told Denny. “I’m going after him. I’d appreciate backup, but I’m going one way or another.”
“Slow down,” Gibson replied, and Dawson heard a muffled recap as he relayed comments to Tucker. “Don’t do anything stupid—or at least, don’t do it without us.”
“I’m heading to Denny’s. Can you meet me there? We can plan our attack. I’ve got some ideas.”
“Ophelia’s not at her full strength, but she’s still a powerful witch,” Gibson cautioned. “We need to be strategic.”
“She kidnapped Grady!”
“And the only way we might get him back alive is by not running in blindly,” Gibson snapped. “We can meet you at your uncle’s house in twenty minutes. Go there and stay there—we’ll be right along. Got some additional tidbits to share as well.”
Dawson ended the call and dropped the phone onto the seat. “Fuck!” he shouted to the windshield, slamming his palms down on the steering wheel in pure frustration.
Desperate, he dialed Sheriff Rollins. “What is it, King? I’m up to my ass in alligators.”
“Grady’s been kidnapped. We think it’s the same witch who killed my parents and Grady’s grandparents.”
