Fatal Assassin (Fatal Fae Book 2) Page 19

  Nikala studied the door, then shrugged and stepped forward to press her palm against the wood.

  Runes glowed orange around the doorframe and Cian memorized their order and structure.

  “Satisfied?” She tapped her fingertips on the oak. “It’s a cellar door.” Again, she shrugged.

  “You see nothing?”

  “Nope. And please, don’t tell me you see something because after the day I’ve had, I might be tempted to believe whatever ridiculous story you make up.” She removed her hand from the door and wiped it on her blue jeans.

  Only beings with magic could use the doorways. If she couldn’t see the runes, it meant either he was wrong about her, or that she was heavily warded. Cian wavered between the two options. Rarely was he wrong about someone, but it was possible she didn’t have magical abilities herself. Which could mean she was a scyver and very good at deceiving him because a scyver would’ve seen the magic runes. He seriously doubted she was a scyver or had deceived him. Which meant, most likely she was warded. But by whom and why?

  He took her hand in his and placed it against the wood. His hand covered hers and the glow returned, brighter. More runes appeared; several he recognized as symbols for Faerie. Most, he didn’t know. “Do you see anything now?”

  Nikala’s eyes were huge disks of midnight in her pale face. “How’d you do that?”

  Her phone rang and she gave him an apologetic look before tugging it from a pocket.

  “Yes?” she said by way of answering.

  “Where are you? Not at the office, I hope. Something’s happened.”

  Cian clearly heard the male voice on the other end, and the rise of panic in his words.

  “No, I’m not there. What’s going on?” Nikala lowered her voice and turned her back to Cian, but in the small space it did no good.

  “Get here right away. I’ll send you the address. There’s no time for a car to retrieve you. Grab a cab.” The man on the other end took a deep breath and sighed. “I’d thought—never mind what I thought. Just get here soon.”

  “What happened?” Impatience rang in her words, but also a note of concern.

  “There’s been an incident at SIRE. Someone destroyed the lab.”

  “You’re kidding?”

  Cian saw the shake of Nikala’s shoulders, the tremor that ran down her body. She ducked her head and held the phone against her ear at the same time she leaned against the wall. He resisted the urge to wrap her in his arms. Instead, he placed a steadying hand on her shoulder and gave a small squeeze. The muscles beneath his touch were wound tight, ready to spring with the slightest provocation.

  “I wish I was. Years of work, gone.” Silence stretched across the line. Then, “You didn’t do it, did you?”

  “Seriously? You think I’d do that? I’m not an idiot. Besides, I was at the pub with Dony. You can ask her.” The tremors beneath his hand turned to full-on spasms and Cian stepped closer until his body curved against hers. She relaxed into him. “I can’t believe someone did that. Why?”

  “Get here as soon as you can. We’ll discuss this further then.” Nikala was about to reply when the voice asked, “Are you alone?”

  “I’m still at the pub. Why?”

  “Speak to no one. Do you hear me? Not even Donyatella.”

  “You don’t have to be so dramatic. I get it. Silence and sealed lips.” Nikala took a deep breath. “Where’s Malcolm?”

  “We’ll discuss him when you get here.”

  Nikala held the phone in front of her and said, “Well, goodbye to you, too.” She turned and looked up at Cian with something close to terror in her eyes. “I suppose you heard that?”

  “It was hard not to. I’m sorry.”

  She pushed a hand through her hair and rolled her bottom lip between her teeth. A blip sounded from her phone and she glanced at the text message. “I can’t go there. I don’t know what’s going on, but I can’t go there. Not tonight.”

  Cian didn’t reply. Her musings were more for herself than him.

  “Can I stay with you?” When she glanced at him, it was with fear and something else. Not remorse or lust or longing, but hope. The word sanctuary came to mind.

  “I thought you’d never ask.” Then he did enfold her in his arms and held her tightly against him. “I won’t let anything hurt you.”

  Her laughter bubbled from within his hug.

  “I’m not a princess, you know. I can take care of myself.”

  Cian rested his chin on her head and inhaled her scent. “I know plenty of kickass princesses. They’re not all damsels waiting to be rescued, you know.”

  She pulled away and grimaced. “I don’t even know if you’re joking right now and that’s disturbing.” She headed for the stairs and beckoned he follow. “I need to get something from Dony first.” A shadow crossed her features.

  They found the gargoyle at her usual seat by the front door. Nikala leaned in and whispered, “I need what Malcolm left here for me.”

  Donyatella didn’t move for a moment, then she reluctantly rose and hitched her head toward the office. Cian studied the pair, noting the slight flaring of Nikala’s nostrils and the tightness of Dony’s jaw. After a brief hesitation, he followed the women.

  He felt Nikala’s fury before he heard her angry words. “Where is it?”

  “It was here, where you last saw it. I swear to you, I have not moved it.” Donyatella’s granite eyes flicked from shelf to shelf and razed the floor. “Guardians are neutral in these affairs, but if asked, we will provide assistance. Malcolm asked me to keep the bag until someone came to us and retrieved it. He did not specify you, but I assumed.”

  Nikala blew out a breath and spun away from the office, her face red, eyes narrowed. “Fuck.”

  Dony called over a waiter and asked whether anyone had been in the office. His gaze slid to Nikala and his face blanched. “You said if anyone came here asking for the bag, to fetch you, but you weren’t around. I gave it to them. I hope you don’t mind.”

  “Don’t mind? I could bloody kill you.” Nikala advanced on the boy and Cian stepped to keep her from seeing through her threat.

  “Perhaps a calmer head should prevail.” Cian stared down Nikala until she backed off. To the waiter, he said, “Can you describe them?”

  His flustered words came out halted, but he said enough that Cian recognized the pair as the same thugs who had followed him from Malcolm’s building.

  Sirens sounded in the distance. “We should go.”

  Nikala fumed and pounded a fist against her palm. “They stole it while we were upstairs. Now Hunter has the shipment.” She turned in a semi-circle then back to Cian. “We can catch them. Let’s go.”

  They left through a side door and headed east on Lower Thames Street. Sirens and flashing police lights came from one hundred meters up the alley, where SIRE’s offices were located.

  Their hurried steps were drowned out by the chorus of onlookers who’d gathered to see what the excitement was all about. Cian listened for any clue as to what had happened, but all he could make out was fire and explosion. A few whispers mentioned terrorists and a wave of anxiety rippled through the crowd.

  Nikala searched the street, her flushed face unreadable. “They’re gone. Bollocks.” She touched a hand to her back and winced.

  Cian turned them away from the activity, toward Tower Hill and the Underground. Half a block from the Tube entrance, Nikala’s pace slowed and she darted inside a doorway. He scanned the area as he joined her, noting the two black-clad bikers. They circled the street, then revved their engines and rode off, away from where they hid.

  “Asshole sent the B-team.” She shook her head, a scowl cutting across her features.

  “Nikala, if you’re in some kind of danger, I can help.”

  She looked up at him with a wry smile. “It’s not your problem to fix, but thanks.”

  A group of tourists ambled along the sidewalk, lugging their bags to the subway. Cian and Nikala skirted
them and jogged to the brightly lit entry. She whipped out her card and he waved his hand over the reader, using a spark of magic to confuse the machine and allow him access. She glared at him with a sardonic grin, which made his belly pinch in the most delightful way.

  Two figures rose from their lazy, reclining positions against a wall and his senses went on full alert. What were two scyvers doing together? As far as he knew, they didn’t travel in packs, yet here they were, eyeing him and Nikala like lions sizing up a gazelle.

  As Rori would say, futnuckers and cocklespaz. The Tube was the fastest route to his flat. It wasn’t coincidence they were here, waiting.

  21

  Cian grabbed Nikala’s elbow and spun them toward the exit. She started to protest, but saw the grim determination in his scowl. They hopped through the turnstiles and she turned in time to see a spark of silver flow from his fingertips to the machines. If she’d blinked, she would’ve missed it.

  Two men moved quickly through the crowded station and she hurried out of the building. Angry shouts came from behind them.

  “Who were those men? I don’t recognize them.” Nikala glanced over her shoulder and kept walking.

  “Scyvers.”

  “Do they normally run in pairs?” She easily kept pace with his long strides.

  “This way.”

  They turned toward the Tower and embankment. At this time of night, there would be plenty of people to hide them.

  “Not that I’ve ever seen. And they don’t usually stake out a place. They were waiting for us, or someone else, I’m sure of it.” Cian kept hold of her elbow as they jogged across the street.

  A slow tremor worked its way through her veins. Hunter had sent not only the B-team, but backups of his backups. He had the amulets and Malcolm. All he needed now was her. She had to get away from the men following them and clear her mind. At the moment, Cian was her best bet for survival.

  The smell of roasted nuts came from a street vendor and Cian stopped to buy a cup. He paid the man and resumed his hastened pace.

  “Eat some.” He handed the cup to her after taking a large handful for himself. “Almonds confuse scyvers.”

  “Really?” She shoved a bunch of the warm mess into her mouth. It was delicious, but she didn’t linger on the taste. “Although,” she said between chews, “you could tell me witches and vampires are real and I would probably believe you.”

  The grin Cian gave her made her knees go weak and stomach roil. Nikala made a mental note never to ask whether vampires were real. The day had already proved anything was possible.

  They wove in and out of crowds, with Cian directing her to rub along as many people as she could without being obvious. Something about transferring magic and keeping the scyvers off their trail. Every so often she’d chance a glance behind them and see a head bob above the others, searching. She didn’t get a good enough look at the men to know whether these were the same ones from the station, and she didn’t really care. They were being followed and in her experience, she could either keep running, or stay and fight.

  “We can’t keep up this pace all the way to your flat.” She held onto Cian’s sleeve, slowing him down. “You and I can easily handle them.”

  “Murder isn’t always the answer, Nikala.”

  “And running is?”

  Cian ran a hand through his hair, and swore under his breath. “Once we’re at my place, we’ll be safe. I’d rather they not follow us the entire way.”

  “Then what do you suggest?” She fanned her jacket, allowing cool air to run beneath the leather. The gun melded against her side, pinching her skin. After a moment’s hesitation, she took it out and handed it to Cian. “Something tells me you’d be better with this than me.”

  He took it with a low chuckle. “You never cease to surprise me.” He tucked the gun into an inner pocket of his coat. “Let’s keep moving.”

  They strode past a restaurant to a small grassy area dotted with trees. The budding leaves gave slim cover. In the distance, a pair of golden eyes surrounded by dark fur emerged from beneath a shrub and Nikala took a step backward. “Please tell me that’s not a wolf. Why is there a wolf in London?”

  Cian followed her outstretched hand and squinted into the darkness.

  “Not a wolf—a lycan.” He took several steps toward the huge beast and knelt, his hand outstretched.

  “What the fuck is a lycan? Do you really think that’s a good idea? It looks hungry.” Nikala stayed firmly behind him, ready to bolt in the opposite direction if the creature so much as snarled.

  “Not hungry, injured. See how it’s limping?”

  Nikala only saw the shimmering black fur and glowing golden eyes. Well, and the huge paws. And yes, one was bent at an odd angle, making the thing stagger a little. A crack in her heart opened toward the beast.

  “I won’t hurt you,” Cian cooed to the lycan. “Who did this to you?”

  The lycan limped forward with a whimper. Its head came to the same height as her waist, and it probably weighed a stone more than her. About a foot from Cian’s outstretched hand, it stopped and glared up at Nikala.

  “She’s a friend. She means you no harm.” To Nikala, Cian said, “Kneel down beside me and put out your hand.”

  Nikala glanced behind her to where the scyvers were certainly catching up to them. Should she risk getting mauled by a wolf, or murdered by psychos? What was wrong with her life that those were her only choices? She seriously needed a holiday. Somewhere tropical, like Malcolm had suggested, without crazy men or magic hunters or whatever the hell a lycan was.

  She knelt beside Cian and held out a shaking hand. The lycan crept forward and sniffed her fingers. The beast’s fangs dripped slobber on her and she held her breath, hoping the thing didn’t see her as a tasty snack. A cold nose sniffed her fingertips while golden eyes held her stare.

  “That’s it, boy, come here.” Cian stroked a hand over the lycan’s fur and down his left leg to his paw.

  The beast snarled and Nikala swallowed a whimper. She rather liked her fingers where they were—attached to her hand. One wrong move and the beast could end her life before she drew her blade.

  “We don’t have time for this,” Nikala whispered, fully aware the lycan could hear the blood rushing through her veins.

  “No, but should I ever need the kindness of strangers, I would hope they don’t pass me by.”

  Properly chastised, Nikala flexed her fingers to stroke the beast’s muzzle. “What happened to him?”

  “Hard to say.” A faint glow emanated from Cian’s palm and covered the lycan’s paw. He whined and tugged to get away, but Cian kept a firm grip on his leg. “Easy now. That’s it. You’ve got a nasty cut that needs time to heal.” He sucked in a breath and shook his head. “How’d you get here?”

  The lycan looked over his shoulder toward the river.

  “Do you have somewhere safe to stay tonight? I can’t take you with me, but I’ll come back to check on you tomorrow.” Cian released the beast’s paw and patted him on the shoulder.

  To Nikala’s astonishment, the lycan dropped his head and nudged Cian’s hand so that he could pet the beast’s ruff. If she didn’t know any better, she would’ve thought it was a domesticated dog looking for a tummy rub.

  “Off you go now.” Cian rose and Nikala followed. The lycan shuffled to the shrubs and disappeared with a swish of his tail. “It pains me to leave him, but as you said, we can’t spare the time.”

  As they hurried past the bushes, Nikala felt the glowing eyes following her and shuddered. She raised a hand in farewell, hoping the thing survived the night.

  They kept close to the wall as they sprinted toward Temple Church and Cian’s flat. Without warning, he turned right and she skidded to adjust the trajectory of her run. As she did, she glanced toward where they’d come and saw two figures bobbing through the shadows a short distance away.

  “They’re close.” She caught up to Cian and heard a slight wheeze in his breath. He c
ouldn’t keep this pace up the entire way to his flat. “What’s your plan?”

  He tilted his chin toward the busy street in front of them where several cabs waited at a taxi rank. They ran full out to the first one and jumped into the backseat, startling the driver. Cian gave the address, with instructions to drive across the river and back on another bridge a mile away. Within moments, they were speeding away.

  Nikala checked behind them, but didn’t see the scyvers. She settled into her seat, too amped to relax.

  The day’s events played on a loop through her mind as the cab wove in and out of traffic, turning where Cian directed, and backtracking across several streets. By the time they reached Cian’s flat, Nikala was dizzy from all the twists and turns they’d made.

  She checked the street as she waited for Cian to pay. Nothing out of the ordinary caught her attention. No scyvers waited in doorways, no wolves huddled in bushes. The street was quiet, but not too quiet.

  Cian strode past her without a word and waved his hand over the entry door’s lock. It clicked open and she followed him inside. They jogged up the stairs to the long hallway leading to his flat. Cian paused to listen before striding across the thick carpet to his door. Once again he waved his hand over the lock and it opened.

  “That’s a pretty neat trick. Does it work on every lock?”

  “Most.” Cian grinned. “Some are harder than others.”

  The look he gave went straight to the apex of her legs. A little thrill curled itself around her heart. She’d forgotten her warning of that morning—this man was Dangerous.

  Once he’d locked the door behind them and drew all the curtains, he cracked his neck and flexed his hands. Nikala stood in the middle of the lounge, unsure what to do. It hadn’t been that long ago that she’d been in this very room, against that very wall, with Cian. At the time, she thought she’d never see him again and was fine with that, but now everything had changed. She couldn’t just bang him for information and kill him. He’d helped her—she owed him at least a little debt of gratitude.

  Plus, the way he’d cared for the lycan, despite being pursued, pinched her in places she never thought to feel again.