Frozen Desires (Asylums for Magical Threats) (31 page)

“Speaking of which, I was wondering—” Cam started moving, as if someone were shaking her

shoulder. “Damn it, already?”

Neena winked. “Your lover boy awaits.”

Before Cam could reply, the world blanked out.

Cam heard Marco’s voice say, “Camilla, we’re nearly there. Wake up.”

She snuggled into his chest, not wanting to wake up. Then his fingers flitted over her sides. She started

to squirm and opened her eyes to see Marco grinning. Because she wasn’t the cheeriest person when she

first woke up she pinched him and said, “You interrupted my dream. I’d found the golden temple, and was

in the process of taking the treasure.”

His grin faded. Dreaming about “the golden temple” was the code for dream-speaking with Neena, and

“taking the treasure” meant getting information.

Marco asked, “Do you want to tell me about your dream?”

Cam sat up and stretched her arms over her head. “Maybe later, once I’ve had some coffee and we’re in

a more secure location.”

The loudspeaker came on, informing them in English and Spanish that they were approaching Quito

International Airport. Cam put her seat in the upright position and tried to remember the ship captain’s

flickering face. Thanks to her mother, Cam knew a lot of the old stories about the
Feiru
, but she’d never heard of anyone being able to wear a false face.

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Marco sat next to Cam inside a taxi and resisted pulling her up against his side. They’d arrived late last night in Quito, and barely had time to reach out to their contacts and put together their plan before going to sleep. Sex, once again, had been put on the back burner. But, at least, Cam had let him hold her through the night as they slept.

He hadn’t had a chance to tell her about the other Elemental Masters yet, but that was something else

that would just have to wait. Their mission took priority. For now.

Since it was Friday, and he’d learned from one of his contacts that not all tour company offices were

open on the weekend in Quito, they’d woken up early and were now heading to meet this mysterious

Diego. Cam and Marco were to play friends, not lovers, to avoid showing a possible weakness to Diego or

anyone he worked with.

However, not being able to touch Cam was proving to be harder than he’d thought. He’d barely gotten a

taste of her, and he was hungry for more.

The taxi stopped in front of a door on the corner of a building, and he focused. The dilapidated sign

above the door said, “
Agencia de Viajes, D&D Tours
.” The same company the note had mentioned. Cam gave him a look, and he nodded.

He paid the taxi driver, and exited the car. Once the car drove away, he looked at Cam and said,

“Ready?”

Cam, decked out in an oversized t-shirt and cargo Capri pants, nodded and tugged at her t-shirt. “Yes.”

Since he’d watched her load up this morning, he knew every weapon she had tucked under her shirt or

inside the pockets of her Capri pants. If Diego were human, and things turned bad, they wouldn’t be able to use either of their powers. Even so, Cam would only use her weapons as a last resort.

He opened the door of the travel agency and entered the small shop first, to check out the interior. Since nothing jumped out or attacked him, he motioned Cam to follow him.

Inside, he saw faded tourism posters on the walls in a mixture of English and Spanish. There was also a

single desk in the corner, with two chairs in front of it and a man sitting behind it. The man spoke to Marco in Spanish. “Can I help you?”

“Yes, a friend recommended this place as the go-to place for tours of the local area. My friend and I just wanted to see what you had, and go from there.”

The man behind the desk stood up. “You’re in the right place, my friend. My name is Diego.” He moved

to a display of pamphlets. “What did your friend recommend? A tour of the historical Old Town? A visit to

the Maquipucuna Cloud Rainforest Reserve? Or maybe my custom tour of the famous churches and

buildings in Quito?”

Marco had to admit that Diego was enthusiastic about his job. He shook his head. “No, she mentioned a

private tour to San Rafael, via the scenic route. Is that something you still do?”

Diego put his hands in his pockets and studied him. “Maybe. Where was this friend from? And who

was it? I only ask because I give certain friends of mine bigger discounts than others.”

“Rosa Elena, back in Campeche, Mexico.”

The man darted his eyes to Cam and then back to him. “I see.” He walked to the front door and flipped

the sign from “open” to “closed.”

He motioned toward the chairs and went to sit back behind his desk. “Tell me how you found Rosa

Elena, and I’ll tell you if I still do that special private tour.”

He and Cam sat down, and he noted the slight irritation in her manner. Diego wouldn’t pick up on it,

but Marco was fast becoming attuned to everything about the woman next to him.

He had an idea of why she was irritated, so he asked Diego, “Since you cater to foreign tourists, I’m

assuming you speak English. So can we finish this meeting in English?”

Diego switched. “Okay, so tell me how you met this Rosa Elena.”

Cam looked at him and he nodded for her to take over. She turned back toward Diego and said, “Does

the Great-Tailed Grackle mean anything to you?”

“Perhaps.”

“And what if I also mentioned the observatory?”

Diego glanced at the two of them, and then nodded. “So you found the message. But before I say

anything else, I need to know why you went looking for it in the first place.” Cam leaned forward. “You

haven’t earned the right to that information.”

Diego raised an eyebrow. “I don’t need to earn anything. You’re the one who needs my help, so give me

an answer or you can leave.”

Cam opened her mouth, but Marco put up a hand to silence her. This man seemed a little overprotective

for a mere messenger, but then he put it together. “You’re acting this way because you’re close to the person who left that message. Am I right?”

Diego’s eyes widened a fraction before his face returned to a neutral expression. “Then you understand

my caution.”

Cam touched Marco’s knee to silence him, and she said, “Yes, if the wrong person got to this person

you’re protecting, then things could get bad. But we’re trying to help. You have no reason to trust us, but the Four Talents are meant to be protected.”

The man leaned back in his chair. “And how do I know that you’re not just putting on an act? Just

because you mention the Four Talents proves nothing. For all I know, you’re one of those people who want

to use their powers for your own personal gain.”

Cam extended a claw. “Because I’ve got my own ‘special skills’ and I’m part of the damn army that’s

going to help protect them.”

The man stared at Cam’s claw and Marco waited to see how he’d react. Mentioning the Four Talents

was their last card to play before they resorted to force, and personally, he wanted to avoid that.

The man studied them for a few more seconds before he smiled and started whispering something

Marco couldn’t hear. The man started to blur before his eyes, and Marco felt the urge to look away.

Before he could react, the whispering stopped and the man came into focus again, except this time he

was smiling. “Then we have a lot in common, because so am I.”

Marco had no idea what kind of ability he’d just seen, but it put him on his guard. Latent abilities now

made him think of the Collector, and while they’d been careful to cover their tracks—the giant DEFEND

network of contacts was on alert for anything suspicious—he couldn’t let down his guard. Especially since

thanks to Cam, he now knew that even Neena was on the hunt for this Collector woman. And any person

who gave Neena trouble was dangerous.

Still, trying to charm the man in front of him would be useless. Maybe a more direct method would

work, so Marco asked, “Okay, so where does that leave us now? Are we going to sit here and dodge

questions, trying to outsmart the other into revealing information, or can we discuss how to help this person you’re protecting?”

“I was never a fan of beating around the bush. I think it’s time to take a little trip and meet Eduardo.”

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Cam sat next to Marco in the back seat of an old jeep, their wrists cuffed together with some kind of

special handcuffs. She didn’t know how it worked, but they prevented her from using her abilities. She

reckoned that the same went for Marco, but with his elemental magic.

Diego had offered them a now-or-never ride, and since they’d predicted this might happen, they’d taken

it.

The prep work she and Marco had put into place last night and this morning should pay off, and help

them survive no matter what happened to them. While Diego had confiscated her weapons earlier, he hadn’t

found the tracker hidden inside one of Marco’s buttons. Unless Diego had a signal jammer in the jeep,

Zalika and Jacek should be tracking their location.

The jeep went over another rough spot and she resisted leaning against Marco to help keep her balance.

They were still playing the role of friends, and they needed to keep it that way to avoid becoming

weaknesses to one another. The thought of Marco being tortured in front of her to gain her cooperation

made her sick to the stomach.

She tried not to think about how quickly he’d come to mean something to her.

Assuming Cam was merely battling carsickness, Marco tapped her foot in sympathy, and she resisted a

sigh. She usually had no problem riding in cars, but they were on something she’d call more a path than a

road, and the ride wasn’t pleasant.

They’d been at it for hours, traveling through the mountains. She’d had little else to do than to watch

the scenery and keep track of how far the sun had sunk in the sky. Even the foliage was different now,

which told her they had traveled to a different elevation.

Diego finally turned onto a slightly smoother road, sparsely lined with small shack-like houses. He

stopped at one that was at least a mile from all of the others, and said, “We’ll rest here and eat. Then we’ll continue on.”

Because Diego had appreciated Marco’s straightforward manner earlier, Cam decided to try that tactic

again. “If we have to go back onto that road again, I’d suggest getting me some motion sickness medicine,

or I might throw up in your car.”

Diego turned around in his seat and asked Marco something in Spanish. When Marco replied in the

same language, she decided then and there that she was tired of not being able to understand what was

going on. As soon as they were free again, she would ask Marco to start teaching her Spanish. She’d need it if she were to make any sort of good impression on his family.

She resisted a frown. That was the last thing she should be worried about right now.

Diego switched back to English. “The rest of our journey is on foot.” He exited the car and opened her

door. “Now, come on.”

She gave Marco a quick glance, and he gave two slow blinks, telling her that he was ready to attack if

she gave the right signal. She blinked in return to confirm the same, and climbed out of the jeep with Marco right behind her.

Diego shut their door just as some frantic Spanish starting blaring from the in-car radio. He reached in

and said something. Judging from his facial expression, the radio reply wasn’t good news.

Marco listened as the man on the other side of Diego’s radio detailed a recent ambush by one of the

drug cartels in the area. Apparently, some trucks filled with gun-happy lackeys had spotted them, and were nearly at their location.

When Diego started to reply, Marco took advantage of the distraction to lean over and whisper in Cam’s ear. “Some angry drug cartel guys are heading in this direction. Blink twice if you’re ready to fight.”

He leaned back and saw Cam blink twice right before Diego signed off on the radio and turned toward

them. “Promise me that you won’t run, and I’ll release you. One of the local cartels is heading this way, and I need your help in case we’re ambushed.”

Marco wasn’t about to agree to something without question. “How do we know that you won’t use us as

bargaining chips to secure your own safety?”

“You don’t. But unless I remove those special cuffs, you’ll be facing the cartel guys at a serious

disadvantage.”

He was right, of course. However, as long as he removed the cuffs, Marco would agree to anything.

“Fine. But if you turn on us, don’t expect me to go easy on you.”

Diego shrugged. “I’d like to see you try.” He unlocked their handcuffs, and then headed toward the

small shack. “Come on. We need to grab some supplies and get out of here ASAP.”

As soon as Diego turned around, Marco touched Cam on her lower back and said, “If you’re captured

alone, play up your American-ness. That way you have a chance of being held for ransom, giving you time

to contact Neena via dream-speaking.”

Cam touched his arm and whispered, “But what about you?”

He grimaced. “I’ll have to find a way to use my elemental magic without them noticing. Of course, I

hope it doesn’t come to that.”

Diego opened the door of the shack and Marco reluctantly moved away from Cam. He wanted to kiss

her and tell her, well, something. “Good luck” was inadequate. So was “be careful.”

In reality, he wanted to tell her to protect her ass so he could kiss the living shit out of her later. But that would reveal his doubts about surviving capture.