Chapter 29

Chapter Twenty-Nine

SIMON

" Are they gone?" Gage glanced at Davina .

" What do you think?" She put her hands on her hips and tapped her foot on the gravel like she couldn't believe he had to ask.

" Good ." He nodded, making the sunlight ricochet off his dark horns.

" I have the whistle," I whispered to Gage . I hadn't wanted to say anything in front of the other officers. " Should I use it?"

" No ." Gage's reply was loud and firm. " You are already bound to Ogden , so it won't work on him again. If you blow on it now, it'll pull another unbound supe to you. Probably a dragon, but if none are within range, it'll latch onto someone else."

A sharp pain sliced through my chest. " I thought… But …"

" Don't worry. We have a plan. Alright , Teague , let's do this." Gage beckoned the death mage over.

" What's going on?" I shivered.

Yes , I'd accepted Teague's help when I had to, but he was still a death mage, and I still didn't know what his magic could do. I'd already lost one life; I didn't want to lose another so soon. My eyebrows rose as Teague once again crouched next to me. Besides , he was supposed to be saving his energy to help Ogden .

" I can see your bond with Ogden . Congratulations on that, by the way."

" Thanks , I guess. But how does that help?"

The mage looked earnest as he smiled at me. Something about his unassuming good looks made me want to trust him, despite my misgivings about his magic. And he had already healed me, so that helped too. " We're going to use it to find him."

" Why did you send the others away?" Something was going on, and I wasn't keen on secrets. Secrets led to problems and problems put lives at risk. I only had eight left. I had to be careful.

" They'd be useless in fighting a demon," Gage , who was also a demon, said it like it was obvious.

" So we're going to find Ogden ?"

Gage rolled his eyes like I was wasting his time with questions like that, but Teague smiled reassuringly and nodded.

I don't know why he thought we'd all be better off with half the people we could have, especially when I was pretty sure those police officers from Aspen Bay would be better at fighting a demon than I would, but whatever. The most important thing was getting Ogden back, and I trusted these people to do that. After that, I needed to make sure no one ever kidnapped him again.

" Okay . What do you need from me?" I asked.

" I'm going to put my hand here," Teague said as he rested his hand over my chest. " And then I'll work a short spell. It's as easy as that. Then we'll go and find your dragon."

I swallowed. " Okay . Do that."

As Teague mumbled his way through some kind of incantation, magic stirred through the air, making the fine hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. Then his eyes snapped open. They were glowing. I'd seen fire in Van's eyes showing his hellhound and I'd seen golden light flare in Hayden's showing his werewolf, but the mage's eyes were creepy as all get out. They were pitch black. No iris. No white. They looked robotic.

" That way," Teague said, pointing to the empty field behind me.

" How far? Can you tell?" Van asked.

" Not far." Then he stood and started walking across the ditch in the direction he'd pointed.

I scooped up the pouch with the tracking device from the front seat of the police vehicle I'd come in and shoved it in my pocket beside the whistle. As soon as I found Ogden , I would give it to him. I needed to know I could find him again. Easily . Even if the death mage wasn't around. Then I followed the mage, and everyone else did too. No one spoke .

Was I the only one wondering why we were walking into a wheat field? The tall seed heads nodded lazily at us as we trampled through the thigh-high plants, heading straight east. The early morning sun was low enough on the horizon that it made looking ahead difficult. I wished I had sunglasses like Van did because my eyes were burning and watering like crazy as I strained to see a building or Ogden or anything at all under the harsh, bright sunlight.

Nothing made a sound. There were no birds, no insects, no sounds of engines on the road, nor planes in the air overhead. It was eerie and unnatural. It took every ounce of the tiny amount of courage I had to press forward and keep up with the others.

Then Gage held up his hand and made a fist. Everyone froze. I'd only seen a gesture like that in military or cop shows. Apparently , shit was getting real.

And now I'd gone and sworn.

And I really wanted to swear a whole lot more, but I didn't think chanting fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck while hoping Ogden would miraculously appear was going to work. I'd performed one miracle the day I'd blown on that whistle. I was pretty sure that meant I'd already reached my lifetime's quota on miracles.

My heart was pounding frantically in my chest like it needed to beat its way out. Sweat poured down my face like I was standing under a faucet. And I desperately wanted to shift so I could hightail it out of there and hide.

Except Ogden needed me.

And … I still had eight of my nine lives left.

I'd be okay.

For Ogden , I could do this. And I could sacrifice another life if it meant getting him back. The realization made me lightheaded, but it was true. I'd sacrifice all of them if it'd keep him safe.

Gage reached up with both hands, palms facing out, then he leaned forward as if bracing against something. The heavy feeling of magic rolled over me, nearly knocking me off my still unsteady feet. Gage grunted, and the scent of brimstone clogged the air. Then a crackling sound broke the oppressive silence.

Everything changed at that moment.

The wheat field disappeared, and suddenly we were standing before a concrete block building in what looked like an abandoned farmyard. No house was in sight, but there were a few other rundown shacks around the place. The concrete structure with its chipped paint and rusted metal roof looked newer than those little outbuildings, but it was still old.

Sounds of people crying and the stink of fear crashed over me. Not my fear. But someone else's… a lot of someones.

" Ogden !" I raced forward, shifting mid-stride into my cat form.

Van tried to stop me, but I ducked around him. Then Gage reached for me, and I evaded him too. I was a cat. I may not be a brave or big cat, but I was cat enough to get away from someone who tried to stop me.

Scrambling around the corner of the building, I looked for a door. Then it was there. Ajar . I darted inside without stopping to think about what I might find.

Large cages, stacked two and three high, crowded the interior of the long, narrow building .

Someone was running ahead of me. Was that the human who'd helped kidnap Ogden ? He'd know where Ogden was. I surged forward, determined to catch him. I may not be the best runner in the family, but I could beat a simple human in a race any day. The human ran through the building. By the time he reached the large door at the far end of the building, I was snapping at his heels. All I needed to do was trip him and I'd have him.

" That noise! Did you hear it? They found us," the human— Edgar —shouted.

Then I realized he'd led me right to his cohorts. And I was alone. I skidded to a halt and scrambled back a couple of steps.

" Open the portal, demon. Troll , go get the dragon and the unicorn. Take your pet with you so he doesn't get in my way," Teddy the mage directed his underlings.

Vala the troll scurried off to do his bidding. The human followed. I guessed that was who Teddy called her pet. I didn't think trolls liked humans all that much. Was it a star-crossed lovers thing?

" Fuck ," Teddy muttered. " We'll have to leave the rest of these. Start from scratch. Again ." He huffed out a breath like this whole situation was an irritating inconvenience.

The demon growled but did as the mage said and opened a portal. How on earth was a mage controlling a demon? That was crazy. The demon didn't move or say anything else.

" Hello , kitty cat." The murderous bear shifter grinned at me as he waggled his fingers in the creepiest wave I'd ever seen. I hated that he called me by the same name Ogden used. " If only I had twisted your little neck when I found your broken body in that alley. I won't make that mistake again."

" We don't have time for that," Teddy snapped, stopping the bear's advance on me.

Meanwhile , Vala and Edgar had returned. They pushed a wheeled cage toward the portal. The cage was just as Ogden had described it, but this one didn't hold my dragon. The small man had shimmering curls, round cheeks, and big expressive eyes. I recognized him from the oracle's painting. This had to be the unicorn.

" Morgan !" I shouted, remembering at the last moment what Odgen had called him.

The man looked up at the sound of his name. He lifted his hand in a little wave; a small shy smile played over his face. I chased after them, hoping to stop the troll before she pushed the pretty man through the portal, but the bear swatted me with one of his massive paws. The impact sent me flying into the concrete wall. All my partly healed injuries screamed in agony. By the time I'd shaken off the hurt, the cage with the unicorn was gone.

The bear glanced at the mage to see if he was distracted, then he started stalking toward me again. He froze when a loud roar shook the building. The sound came from behind me. It had to be Gage and the others. The beast turned back and lumbered toward the mage. Obviously , he didn't consider me a threat, which was okay with me.

" Get back here, Gus . We have more important things to worry about than a little shifter like that." Teddy once again stopped the bear's advance on me. Then he scowled at the demon. " I thought you reinforced the ward this morning, Solon ."

" I told you someone broke through already," the human muttered, crossing his arms over his chest. " Why does no one ever listen to me?"

" I listen to you, baby," the troll said softly.

The bear shifter ignored the exchange, and Solon didn't speak. The demon's face, though, betrayed how much he was hating this.

" How many are there?" the mage asked.

The demon closed his eyes and his magic pulsed. I didn't know how I knew this, but there was something wrong with it.

" Four . Two wolves, a medium, and a mage." Solon's eyes snapped open, and he looked at me. " Plus that one, the cat."

I barely registered that the demon had lied when everyone's head swiveled to look at me. I squeaked—and, no, I absolutely didn't sound like a mouse—and dove behind some boxes close to the shimmering portal. When no one pounced on me, I peeked over the boxes. I was sure that bear would be coming for me again, but Teddy snapped his fingers to get everyone's attention. Perfect .

Before I could second guess what I was doing, my shift flowed over me. This shift to my human form didn't hurt as much as when Hayden had forced my last one, but it wasn't as easy as usual. After using so much magic today, I was going to need a boatload of fish sticks to balance my magic. I crouched behind the boxes and prayed they would forget about me— I was just a little cat shifter, so I wasn't a threat, right? They wouldn't waste their time coming after little old me.

I pulled out the pouch with the tracking device.

" We need to do something," Edgar begged. " A cat is one thing; even I can handle a cat that size. But wolves? Jesus , Vala , we need to get the hell out of here." He tried to drag the troll toward the portal.

Everyone turned to stare at the panicking human. Good . It took their attention off me.

" Relax , Edgar . It'll be fine. Teddy knows what he's doing," Vala said. Then she pried her hand out of Edgar's and went scurrying back into the stacks of cages.

I peeked over the boxes again. The portal was right there. I squeezed the pouch. I could do this. A braver cat would jump through it, but my priority would always be Ogden . I could do this one thing, though, for that unicorn. My gaze darted to the group again. No one was watching me except the demon. He dipped his head a little, like he was encouraging me to act. I jumped up and hurled the pouch through the portal.

I ducked back down again and waited for the demon to cry out, letting everyone know what I'd done. He didn't.

" For fuck's sake." The mage huffed like this was all a terrible inconvenience. He polished the big gaudy ring he was wearing with the hem of his T -shirt. That ring was important. It had to be that Coven of One ring. Shoot . I'd forgotten to tell Van about that, hadn't I ? Son of a tomcat, how had I forgotten about that? " If there are only five, we can take them. That way we won't lose all this inventory. Close the portal, demon."

The portal vanished .

" But the wolves…" the human complained, eyeing the spot where the portal had been.

" We've dealt with shifters before. We can do it again. Besides we can make good money if we sell them, even if there are so many of them around. Don't worry about taking the mage or the medium alive. Nobody wants them. Can't give them away."

That was ironic, right? Since it was a mage who said that? Ogden would know if that was irony. He was smarter than I was.

" Okay . Vala , you take—" the mage stopped and scowled. He cast his gaze around for the troll. " Where is she?"

A squeaky wheel, like something you'd hear at a supermarket, announced the troll's arrival. They were distracted, so I shifted to my cat form. It was time to sink away and find Ogden .

" What are you doing, troll?" Teddy demanded.

" You told me to get this one too," Vala said. She looked around and scratched her cheek. " Uh … Where is the portal?"

" Pay attention." The mage snapped his fingers at her. " We have to deal with the intruders first. Go secure the back door. It'll be better if we only have to defend from one side."

Vala scurried off to do as he wished. I didn't follow. I didn't care what she did because my entire focus was on the cage with the squeaky wheel that held my dragon. My Ogden .

He was alive!

" Gus , you deal with the cat. You've been bitching and complaining about him ever since we retrieved the dragon."

Uh oh.

I didn't hear what order the mage gave to Edgar . My blood was pounding too loudly in my ears. The bear shifter's smirk had a downright evil twist to it as he stomped across the floor toward my hiding place. Fu — Fish bones! I should have moved while they were talking.

Ogden blinked. His head wobbled as if he wasn't fully awake yet. When his eyes caught on mine, he paled. We stared at one another for what seemed like an eternity, but had to have only been a second or two. Ogden shook himself, as if trying to shake off the lingering effects of whatever they'd used to incapacitate him.

" You won't get away this time," the bear promised.

Yeah . That didn't sound good. That was pretty much the opposite of good.

Ogden struggled to break the bars of his cage, but they didn't budge. Then I had to look away from my mate because the bear was closing in on me. My first instinct was to run and hide, but I fought it. I couldn't abandon Ogden to these people. What if the demon opened another portal and pushed Ogden through it to some faraway place? What if he was sent so far away Teague couldn't follow our connection?

No . I wasn't leaving Ogden .

I had to help him. I had to get him out. And if that didn't work, and they opened another portal, I'd follow Ogden through it. I would follow him anywhere. I still had eight lives. I could do this .

The bear's deep and menacing chuckle made me hiss. My back arched. I didn't know what I thought I was doing—no supe the size of this bear would be intimated by my puffed-up size or hisses—but my instincts had taken over and were doing whatever they wanted.

Before I could figure out what to do next, fire and electricity arced out of the cage and hit the bear. The massive supe shrieked in terror and pain. He spun wildly. The fire and electricity didn't stop. The smell of burnt flesh assaulted my nose, making me gag. The bear staggered one way, then the other, before falling with a thud to the ground. His skin was steaming and sizzling, but he didn't move.

" Simon ! Run !" my dragon yelled at me from inside that cage. He'd saved me. Now I had to save him too.

" Ogden !" I rushed to the cage.

The troll snarled and snapped at me, blocking my path to Ogden . Where had she come from? It obviously hadn't taken her long to lock the back door. She kicked out at me, but I dodged her foot.

Then I was at the cage. Ogden was right there. After expending his magic, he had slumped against the bars, not moving except for the steady rise and fall of his chest. Throwing that electricity-charged shot at the bear had exhausted him. But he was safe and in one piece, and that's what mattered. He was right on the other side of those stupid magic-covered bars, and I would get him out. I clawed at the cage, but the door wouldn't budge. Of course it wouldn't. I knew that. Ogden had said as much when he'd talked about the stupid cages.

There had to be a key somewhere. I had to find it .

The troll shuffled sluggishly toward me. I was confident I could dodge her again. But what if I was mistaken, and she caught me under her foot? That'd be at least one more life gone.

But if she had the key…

I had five brothers. I hadn't done everything they'd done, but it would have been impossible not to pick up a few things from them over the years. They'd forced me to learn to climb trees when they chased me up them. They'd forced me to learn to steal back my belongings when they stole from me. They'd forced me to do things even when I didn't want to.

And right now, as I eyed that troll, I hoped I'd learned enough.

I had to get the timing right. She swayed with each step. Her arms swung. Everything was so predictable and rhythmic. Another shuffling step. Another swing. And … there! Go !

I jumped on the troll. I sank my claws into her pockets and pulled as hard as I could. My claws sliced through the fabric. Vala screamed, but like all trolls, she wasn't agile. I jumped away. I'd damaged her pockets, but they weren't open yet. I gritted my teeth.

I could do this.

I had to do this.

I did the same thing again. This time, the fabric gaped open to reveal… nothing.

Absolutely nothing dropped out of the troll's pockets. Not a thing. How did someone go through life with nothing in their pockets? Shouldn't she at least have a cellphone or a favorite pebble ?

" I'll get you, you little bastard," the troll shouted. She spun away and stalked off. I didn't know where she was going, but I wasn't about to call her back.

I glanced around the room. The mage and the demon weren't there; all that remained were the bear, who still hadn't moved, and the human, aka the troll's pet, aka Edgar . Not that it mattered if I knew his name. We weren't destined to be friends.

I eyed him from top to bottom. He was an average height, an average build. He didn't appear athletic. I could handle him, right? He was a human. In my shifted form, I might only be a slightly chunky house cat, but I was still a supe.

" Fuck off," the human said, waving his hands at me like he was trying to shoo me away. " Go on."

His front pocket was bulging… and no, I wasn't checking out his junk. And if his junk was that lumpy and weird looking, he had a big problem. That bulge had to be keys. I bounded toward the human and clawed at his pocket. He batted at me, but I dug in and hung on. The fabric gave way. Amongst the coins were a fancy pocketknife, a packet of gum, and a comb, but no keys.

I jumped away and shrieked my frustration.

Why couldn't this be easy?

And then, suddenly, it got worse.

The mage and demon were in the doorway. The light from the bright day made them look like dark and featureless silhouettes as they raced inside. Well , the mage ran. The demon looked like he was just being dragged along by the mage .

" Seal the door, demon," the mage demanded. " We'll defend from here."

Solon's body took his demon form right in front of my eyes. Black wings sprouted from his back, his fingertips changed to black claws, and his eyes turned red. His skin wasn't black like I'd thought when I'd seen him on the roof, but a deep dark burgundy. It reminded me of dried blood. My tail puffed up as I hissed at the intimidating creature, but he wasn't looking at me. He was eyeing the mage.

His muscles bulged and rippled like he was fighting against a command.

Huh ?

Oh !

This demon hadn't snapped. He wasn't one of those wild ones that inspired scary campfire stories. I'd bet anything the mage had trapped him in the same way the whistle could have done with Ogden . There had been another whistle missing, right? And when coupled with the Coven of One ring, the demon wouldn't have escaped.

He wasn't the instigator. He was an unwilling participant, a victim.

It was hurting him to fight the mage's order. My stomach rolled. How could anyone do that to another person? Was that what Ogden had thought I'd do to him when I summoned him? Bile shot up the back of my throat. I couldn't. I wouldn't. Never .

As if summoned by my thoughts, Gage , Van , and the others appeared from all directions. Some entered through the doorway that the mage and the demon were supposed to be defending. Others came from behind me, probably through the door that the troll had been tasked with locking. I knew she hadn't been gone long enough to do that.

I needed to tell them to leave the demon alone!

" You lied." The mage's accusation was low and full of menace as he glared at the demon. Then he did something with his hand, squeezing it into a fist. Solon's whole body trembled, and his limbs flailed.

" They … must… have… used… portal…" he lied.

Teddy's nostrils flared. The ring on his finger glowed an eerie lime green color. " Good fucking idea. Open a portal, now."

But Solon gritted his teeth and fought the order. His body convulsed and jerked under whatever power the mage wielded.

" Now , demon!"

No portal appeared.

" The demon isn't bad!" I shouted and prayed my deduction was right.

Gage scanned the room, taking in the whole situation.

" The mage is controlling the demon," I shouted again—you know, just in case the others, who were far smarter than me, hadn't figured it out yet.

Then everyone seemed to move at once. The human was running in one direction. The troll was waddling after him. The mage was still squeezing the life out of the demon. And all my… friends? Yes . I guess they were my friends after going through all this with me. My friends were all chasing down the bad guys or rushing to fight the mage.

But me?

I only had eyes for my dragon. His eyelids fluttered like he was fighting to wake up. I suspected he still had drugs in his system and he'd spent his energy spewing his fiery electrical cocktail at the bear. Even seated as he was, he tilted to the side like a drunk at closing time.

" Ogden ?"

He didn't respond.

" Ogden !"

Still nothing.

What had they done to him?

I eyed the bars of the cage. They weren't too close together… I brought my head up to the cage. The bars brushed my whiskers, but not uncomfortably so. I pushed forward, squeezing through the bars. Then I was in. I brushed up against my dragon, nudging my head against his hand. When he still didn't move, I nipped at his finger.

Ogden startled awake.

" Simon ," he whispered. His voice sounded hoarse and scratchy. The scent of his fear grew stronger. " Run , kitty cat. You gotta get out of here."

" I'm not leaving you," I said. " We're going to get you out of here. Now cross your legs so I can sit in your lap. No one needs to see your…" The word wouldn't leave my mouth. It was bad enough that I'd sworn in my head earlier. I couldn't say the first word that came to mind. And now I couldn't think of what else to call… um, it.

Ogden's laugh sounded a bit like a sob as he picked me up with trembling arms and hugged me.

" I love you, my kitty cat," he said. He pushed his tear-dampened face into my fur. " I didn't think I'd get to tell you that."

" I love you too, Ogden ." My words sounded odd and rumbly, because I couldn't stop purring. I searched for the link that joined us. It wasn't as obvious to me as it might have been to Teague , but I found it. And when I did, I poured all the love and energy I could into it. " I was so scared we wouldn't find you in time and that I'd lost you."

" I wish you weren't in your cat form right now," Ogden whispered against my fur. " You don't know how badly I want to hug you and kiss you. But I don't think we'd both fit in here if you shifted now."