Page 115 of Bound
Chapter 41
Gage
“And that’s where they were?” Ruin asks, his dark gaze tracking over the observation room.
Under the light spilling from Caine’s hands, the place is even more sinister than before. I nod. “They had the lords hooked up to quite the cocktail.”
Tanner slips past me to the bank of computers. He whistles. “They covered their tracks well.”
Every screen is smashed and every damn modem looks like they beat it with a sledgehammer.
“Perhaps not well enough,” Horan calls from behind the glass.
We walk toward him and he steps into the doorway, a single glass vial in hand.
Caine feeds power into the air and the vial glitters with a viscous fluid. “Is that—”
Ruin takes the ampule. “If it is, they were playing with something they don’t understand.” He peers at me. “Did you see any trace of Brightex on the screens?”
I shake my head, trepidation lacing my gut. “No. It was like thorazine on steroids. And none of them showed amped abilities or strengths. They were weak. Drained.”
He turns the tube, his dark eyes tight. “I want a full workup when we get back.” He passes the vial to Caine and the demon engulfs it in hellfire. Sealing it away with his dastardly magick.
“The men,” Ruin continues, “You said they called themselves Night Stalkers?”
“And they had an emblem on their jackets. Like a moon and a lightning bolt.”
“There is a sector for the Air Force called Night Stalkers,” Tanner says. “But I doubt these guys belong to that unit.”
“They were … human,” I mutter. “But enhanced somehow.”
“Enhanced?” Ruin asks.
I walk back toward the tunnel and they follow. “Caine, can you shine your evil glory on that wall?” I point.
He shifts his magick to illuminate the hallway.
Cracks run across a two foot space high in the stone and bits of debris litter the floor.
Tanner steps up to the wall and inhales, his silver eyes bright in the dimness. “Definitely human,” he breathes. “But there is a chemical trace. Something … It’s like nothing I’ve ever smelled.”
“We have a human councilman that is kidnapping Fae, a group of unknown soldiers, and the possible return of our arch nemesis drug?” Caine drolls. “Can this day get any better?”
I slug him in the shoulder before Horan can.
Caine just smirks.
Shaking my head, I glance at Ruin. “Whatever they were doing …” I pause and force out a long breath. “Amoret said Jarrah’s mother worked for the Black Tower. She was crafting magick to remove another Fae’s power. I think that is what Jarrah was doing to Bran and the others. He was after their magick.”
“But why?” Tanner asks. “He had his own.”
“He didn’t want it for himself. He wanted it for Amoret.”
“What do you mean?” Ruin shifts closer to me. “She has power. She used it on you.”
“Amoret’s magick absorbs the powers in others. She isn’t like a siphon. Not really. She can take the magick, but instead of storing it, it’s like the magick becomes hers. That’s how she can handle my fire. She … swallows it, for lack of a better word, and can use it later.”
“I bet she swallows quite a bit from you.” Caine’s tone is lascivious.
