His Witch To Keep (Keepers of the Veil) (15 page)

“Are you working with Jainukul?” Serenity asked.

Liz cocked her head in condescension. “Oh, dear sister. You always were so blind to what’s right in front of you. I’ve worked for a decade to create my empire.”

Serenity sucked in a breath. “
You
are Jainukul? Please…tell me that’s not true.”

Liz’s arrogant sneer held a reptilian quality, a coldness that Alexi recognized from years of dealing with the dregs of the human species.

“Oh, God, Liz. Are you really responsible for the explosion at the Olympics last year…all those thousands of innocent people dead? And what of the London Underground explosion eighteen months ago?”

“Those paid very well.” She waved an arm as if they didn’t matter. “Now I will be immortal and all powerful. All I need is for you to oblige me by dying.”

Serenity snorted and then chuckled.

“What’s so funny?” Liz asked. Her confident facade cracked.

“I would gladly give you this Pleiades curse if I could. Do you even understand what it means to be this? To have this responsibility?”

“You get all the powers. And what—your one obligation is to spit out a girl baby?” She shrugged. “I could probably even surrogate that, if needed.”

“If only it was that simple. There’s this business of bonding and destineds that’s…well, it’s a royal pain in the ass.” Serenity’s gaze slid to meet his for a second.

His gut clenched. Was she saying she thought
he
was her destined? Holy fuck.

Serenity said, “You get no choice on
the guy
, and he could be a real dickhead.”

Liz shrugged. “Whatever. I could find any druid to step up for that.”

She shook her head. “You really don’t get it. This isn’t about you or me deciding what you’re going to do, or who’s the Pleiad. Or who’s going to be your destined. Hell, if I had my way I would’ve ditched this whole business eons ago. I’d have left it to you, if that’s what you wanted. This is about gods and goddesses—deities who you cannot control. They dictate our lives.” Softly she added, “They’ve probably already decided our fates.”

“I don’t believe in deterministic bullshit,” Liz said.

Serenity squinted at her and whispered, “You don’t believe in the goddesses? If you don’t believe, then how can you possibly become one of us? They’re very real. I saw it. I’ve lived this shit since Mom died.”

“Enough. Just die. Please.” Liz raised her gun and motioned to one of her guys.

The beefy guy with ferret eyes advanced on them. Serenity disappeared.

“Oh, no, you don’t,” yelled Liz. “
Light of moon. Dark of night. Make this woman show to light. Come to light.
” She waved her hands wildly.

Alexi watched Serenity from his peripherals, where she’d taken up residence on his left. Her form remained hazy for seconds before she materialized to normal. She stood too calmly. Was she playing games with Liz? That spell seemed absurdly inadequate when dealing with a woman of Serenity’s abilities. She might not be able to dimension hop with her hands cuffed behind her back, but the restraint did not prohibit her other gifts from working.

Liz targeted Serenity’s chest with her gun.

Serenity glanced down, meeting his gaze. He read apology and a depth of emotion for him that staked him in the center in the chest. Like hell he’d let her die for him. Or die at all.

She glared into Liz’s sneer but didn’t beg for life. She stood her ground—silent and upright, accepting her fate. Spectacular.

When Liz’s gun fired, he blocked Serenity with his body, moving her left and out of fatality range. But not out of range of the nine-millimeter bullet that rocketed through his stomach like a nuclear bomb.

It burned. Really fucking burned.

He reached behind Serenity with preternatural speed and unlocked her cuffs. To onlookers everything would seem instantaneous and inexplicable.

“You’re shot,” Serenity said. He glimpsed her hand moving toward him where the bullet had passed through. But he’d already moved.

It got you, too
, he thought. His temper was held in check by his self-control. But he wanted to unleash and annihilate everything in this building in a spectacular bloodbath. Just for hurting her, he wanted to grant maximal pain to that bitch sister of hers. He was on the closest unfriendly without even thinking. With a twist he freed the guy’s gun and jabbed at his throat to push him backward. As the guy fell, he shot him through the skull. Pivoting, he bull’s-eyed lead into six hostiles. One to go. With a quick punch forward he slammed the butt of the now empty Smith & Wesson into the face of the last man, giving the evil minion a split second of tweety birds before he whirled behind him and broke the guy’s neck.

Strain thinned Serenity’s lips. He might’ve gotten her out of the line of fire, but she hurt. Her safety was the only thing that mattered. He might not survive this, but he’d do his damnedest to ensure she did.

He faced off against the female threat. Liz shot at him, which he dodged with a humorless grin. He grabbed Liz’s gun hand, twisting the weapon free. With a lean in, he closed his fist around her neck and gritted out, “Your soul has been chosen.”

“This can’t be true,” Serenity pleaded behind him.

He couldn’t look Serenity’s way to see her begging for the life of this evil creature. There was no option but to eradicate Liz. The power of Hades whipped through his body, energizing every cell.

Liz’s eyes widened in terror. “What are you?”

“Death. Today, you were chosen.”

“I don’t think so.” Liz jabbed a knife deep into his abdomen.

Hadn’t seen that. Shit, that hurt. He disregarded the screaming urge to cave onto the floor. Instead, he leaned in to draw her soul from her body.

The door exploded inward. He was thrown away from Liz before he completed his task. He rolled, anticipating the metal trash can flying toward his head. The metal can’s impact rang in his ears. A blond giant glared around the room, taking in the dead guards, the wounded Serenity, and Liz, who had slumped into a heap, weakened by the soul ripping.

Go invisible
, he thought toward Serenity.

“Shane? You? I thought you got kicked off Sentry duty after you tried to rape me, which if I remember didn’t go so well for you,” Serenity said. “You cried like a four-year-old when I shattered your arm.”

“I’m looking forward to killing you.” Shane targeted her with a gun and smiled. “We’re going to be one of those powerful bonded pairs.”

Serenity shook her head sadly. “Liz doesn’t plan to keep you for any longer than you’re useful. She doesn’t love you. Don’t you get that she’s using you?”

“We’re destined. You just need to die for us to complete the bond.”

“You’re not this evil, Shane. A horny bully, yes. But to kill people? Masses of people? That’s not power. That’s psychotic. Sentry druids don’t do that.” Her gaze darted toward the trash can that had missed him.

What the hell? Serenity was stalling Shane to give him time to get his shit together and move. Damn, he loved this woman.

Shane’s gaze darkened. Serenity went invisible seconds before he shot, confirming Liz’s spell hadn’t worked on her. Shane shot at random around the room, alternating between him and Serenity. Alexi ran at super speed toward Shane but was tossed away and into the wall. Shane smirked and stalked toward Alexi. “Bet you didn’t expect that. Now what the hell are you?”

“No one move,” Liz ordered with a gun pointed at Alexi. She stumbled but managed to hold the gun steady. “Show yourself, Serenity, or I’ll shoot him.”

“Don’t shoot,” Alexi ordered Serenity. He stared at where she stood just beyond Liz with a gun targeted at Liz’s head. This had to be done the right way or Liz’s soul would not be available for Hades.

Liz fired. “I’m not kidding.”

Blood oozed from Shane’s neck. He futilely pawed at his neck against the riptide of life streaming from his body. In silent shock he flopped to the floor.

“Told you I meant it,” Liz said. “That weak dickhead would never have killed you, Serenity. But I will.” Liz glanced wildly around the room to find her.

Alexi gazed at Serenity, pleading silently that she not fire. Serenity kept invisible but lowered her gun. She said out loud, “It’s your game, then.” She slipped right and out of the path of Liz’s bullet. But remained invisible.

In an eye blink, he disarmed Liz and headlocked her. With power revving, he released her soul entirely. Now the duty fell to Hades to capture it. Liz slumped to the floor. Dead.

Shooting, shouts, and chaos echoed through the hallways. Good guys. For an instant he acknowledged Serenity’s wide-eyed shock, wishing he had anything comforting to offer her. But he had nothing.

All she said was, “You killed my sister.”

“It’ll be okay,” he said. “I promise.”

“Nothing will ever be okay again.”

He ignored the pain searing his gut to force his body to stand. And move. With an awkward shuffle he made it to the door. “What can be fixed has been. You are free to find your chosen man and live your life.”

“What? Don’t leave me. Not now.”

“You’re going to be okay. I’ve got more to do here today.”

Serenity slowly collapsed to a kneel a few feet away from Liz’s body. “Did Hades have you do this, because she was Jainukul?”

“I had no choice. Like Losev, Hades slated her soul for hell as penalty for her evil deeds.” He didn’t want to leave her here, hurt and confused. But this was the end. Their journey was over. Barely able to choke out the words, he whispered, “Good-bye.”
I love you.

He turned and fled into the shadows. Away from her. Back into the darkness, where he belonged.

Chapter Seventeen

“S
erenity. Serenity.”

Some male voice repeated her name, but the reality of her sister’s evil spun her brain like a stuck DVD. Liz’s lifeless body rested a few feet away. Hoping Liz would reanimate and be a different being was sci-fi bullshit. Yet she hoped. Stranger things had happened in her life.

Someone shook her body to the point she rocked with each shake. Reluctantly, she shifted focus onto her torturer. “Matt?”

“It’s Eli.” His eyes narrowed, silently cajoling her to play along with the identity hoax. “Are you okay?” he demanded in his fake British accent. Behind him a mixture of MI6 and FBI agents swarmed. “Look at me, Serenity. Are you hurt?”

“What are you doing here? Where’s your brother? What are all of these people doing here?”

“We’re here to take down this major terrorist operation and Jainukul.”

She waved at the body of her sister. “Liz was Jainukul.”

“I know. You beat us to her. Are you hurt?” Matt asked while he conducted a less than gentle once-over on her.

“You knew?” She hissed when he touched her left side. Her body bowed away from his probing fingers.

“You’re hurt. Bullet or knife or something else?” he demanded.

“How would you know about Liz?”

“Tell me if you’re hurt.”

“I’ll be fine. How did
you
know to be here?”

Matt’s cheeks turned a dark red. His gaze skittered away from hers.

“Did
he
contact you before all this?” she asked, despising the edge of hysteria in her tone.

Matt didn’t answer.

“Did he?” she demanded.

Matt still didn’t meet her gaze.

She gritted her teeth. “He did. Damn it. You both played me. Or did you all three play me? Where’s your brother?”

“I’m Eli.”

“Your accent sucks and at the moment I don’t give a crap about whatever bullshit you’ve got going on.”

“Shh.” His head darted around. “Pull yourself together.”

“How’re you any better than that conniving bastard you coordinated with? He just waltzed in here with everyone but me in the know. He murdered her…sucked the soul out of her.”

“I suspected he would…kill her, that is. I’m not sure on the life-sucking thing. You’re safe now. He’s gone. He probably won’t bother you again.”

But I don’t want him to leave me alone.
Anger swept through her mind, wiping away that pitiful sentiment. He couldn’t even stick around to make sure she was okay and explain this mess. He’d just taken over her life, “fixed” things, and then strolled out of it. Damn him. She’d relied on him, and like every other time in her life when she’d depended on another, he’d disappointed her, and he might possibly be on his way to dead.

Please don’t let him die
, she begged silently to the goddesses. Cripes, she was messed up over this.

Matt said, “Give me a moment…”

Her body tingled with warmth that converged on her injured side. That snapped her brain firmly out of its seesaw between hate and panic over Alexi. “Get away from me.” She scrambled away. She deserved every second of the bullet wound’s agony for missing the obvious about her own sister—the world’s most evil monster. She deserved the pain for being so blind. And for trusting Alexi.

Where was the slippery bastard? She expected him to be lurking in the shadows, as usual. One glance around…

Nope.

She struggled to a less than graceful stand, intent on finding him. Three steps later, the world teetered and her vision went blurry. Blackness hazed her mind with the threat of a floor ass-kiss blackout. How she hated being shackled by an injury. With a clumsy tilt, she rested against the wall.

Matt advanced.

“Piss off,” she said to him.

He whispered, “Don’t hop with all these people here. Let me help you.”

Her glare stopped his approach.

“Good job, Agent Danssaert,” announced a deep British voice she knew well. Her supervisor from MI6 nodded as if the business was closed. “You nailed Jainukul. We’ve been tracking and trying to trace him…er, her for years. You know I despise being kept in the dark. You and Eli in deep cover…” He shook his head as if the vastness of that idea was incomprehensible. “And to think it was your own sister. That bites.” A slightly feral smile dipped his lips upward. It didn’t improve his sagging jowly face. He waved his arm, and all his boys began the task of searching bodies.

Her ex-boss’s eyes widened when they lit on Matt. “Eli? I saw you downstairs minutes ago. Guess you weren’t as gone to shit as you looked?”

What did that mean? Was the real Eli hurt?

Her ex-boss asked her, “How in the world did you get the Shadow to work with you and then not leave you dead?”

I slept with him.
How much more cliché did it get than that? “You did send me after him last year. Let’s say that we…came to an agreement when he had the upper hand in that confrontation.” She hoped she’d done a decent enough job masking her
what the hell
over this whole predicament.

“Well done, not that I consider him a friendly.” He waggled his eyebrows. “That connection might just come in as a handy contact in the future.”

“He walks his own line,” she said noncommittally.

Her ex-boss, perhaps now again boss, turned away to speak to the men examining the bodies.

She drew upright and asked Matt, “Deep cover?”

“Both of us have been in deep cover for the past year to find Jainukul. Remember? Did you get your head whacked or something?”

“Maybe,” she said softly.
Or something
covered it well enough. Her mind zipped back to Alexi. “What did
he
arrange?”

Matt whispered, “He must’ve hacked into…everything is solid. He’s got some damned good contacts in the intel business. You and Eli were deep cover MI6. Your dismissal was fake in order to let you search for the terrorist. Can you walk? We’ve got to go.”

She wobbled. He reached out to catch her. She jerked away. “Don’t touch me. I’ll walk out of here myself.”

“You’re about to fall over.”

“I might. But don’t you dare fix me. I want the scar to remind me of my stupidity every day for the rest of my life.”

“Stop being dramatic.” He gripped her arm as she swayed.

Adrenaline infused her system. She right hooked his nose, hearing a gratifying crunch. “Don’t patronize me.”

Matt cursed and staggered away, gripping his nose.

“Where’s Eli? I need to find him.”
Please don’t let him be hurt.
She stumbled out of the conference room. All thoughts about Alexi took a backseat behind her need to find the man who’d been her best friend and partner for years. FBI agents swarmed everywhere. She asked one nearby. “Are there any wounded agents? I’m looking for one. A British male.”

He pushed his ear communicator and spoke low. He nodded. “Fourth floor. That’s where they had the standoff.”

She shuffled to the elevator, resting hard against the wall while she waited for the elevator to ascend. Her brain swirled. Passing out was not an option.

Matt stormed down the hall behind her. He paused well out of striking distance. When the elevator’s doors popped open, he unclasped his nose. “I’m riding down with you. No option.” He moved into the car next to her.

“I’m not leaving until I see Eli.” She couldn’t lose both him and her sister in one day.

As the elevator moved down, she shifted her feet to dissipate the pain. Panic that Eli might be on his way to gone snapped her out of her tailspin of self-pity. He couldn’t be. He had a beautiful soul waiting to achieve his destiny. He was meant for something big. It just hadn’t claimed him yet. She might not be his destiny, but she loved him like a brother.

Matt started, “Serenity—”

“Don’t,” she interrupted. She dodged his large hand as it reached out to comfort her.

When the elevator door slid open, she shuffled out, ignoring the darkness pressing on her mind and the spiking pain that jolted her body with each step.
You will
not
pass out
. More FBI agents swarmed the floor. She asked the first one, “We’re looking for injured agents. A British male.”

“Down the hall,” the guy pointed.

Her top speed was a disgraceful shuffle. She stumbled once. Matt caught her elbow, but her snarl had him backing off. Finally, she reached the right room. There on the floor sprawled Eli’s large frame. She knelt beside him and lifted his head to rest it on her lap. “You with me, Eli?” She smoothed his hair away from his face.

His unfocused, dilated eyes roamed her face. He slurred, “Hey. Knew you’d eventually come.”

Thank you, thank you, thank you
, she sent up to the gods. She choked and then the true sobs hit her hard. Eli wrestled to a sit and pulled her into his embrace.

He held her tight and whispered, “Shh. I’ll live. I’m just high as a bloody kite on the morphine some do-gooder medic shot me up with.”

She sobbed. “Just so glad you’re okay.” She clung to him.

“I’m glad that you’re alive, too. More than glad.” He scooted backward to prop himself against the wall, dragging her with him. “Shh. Don’t cry. I’m fine. We’re going to make it. Both of us.” He glanced around as if disoriented, his gaze drifting over the dead bodies piled around the room.

She brushed away tears, still choke sobbing, and tried to make sense of the mess. “What happened in here?”

“They had me cornered. Then
he
appeared like a bloody terrifying angel of death. He took all of them out in seconds.” Eli hugged her tighter and whispered, “He knocked out the other friendlies to tell me you were on the way and you were hurt. Are you?”

“A little bit, but I’m better now.” She clasped him tight. “I’m just so glad you’re okay.”

He massaged his forehead. “My head’s spinning.”

Between sobs she choked out, “Liz is dead.”

He didn’t immediately respond. In a neutral tone he said, “Did the agents kill her?”

She pulled away from him and took a few deep breaths. “She faked the kidnapping in order to try to get me killed. She’s Jainukul. I can’t believe this was all about her wanting to be the Pleiad. How could she be a psychotic international terrorist?” She inhaled on another sob. “Oh my God. The things she did. The thousands she killed…”

“Did you kill her?” he asked.

“No.
He
did.”

“Good. I wouldn’t want you to have…had to do it.”

Her vision dimmed. She shook off the threatening blackness. “I’m pissed at you for colluding with him. For keeping me in the dark.”

“He gave you your life back. All of it. You’re legit in MI6 again. Everyone thinks you’re amazing to have worked with
him
. I’m back in, if I want it.” He shook his head. “I hate owing him.”

In a small voice she said, “I didn’t want my old life back. I wanted him.”

Eli stroked her hair and whispered, “I know.”

The tears fell harder. “But he doesn’t want me.” She gave in to the crushing pain in her heart and the weakness drawing her into a dark tunnel.

“Serenity. Don’t pass out. Listen to me. That bastard is not worth dying over. Hold on, baby.”

As if floating outside herself, she heard Eli yelling, “Get over here, Matt. Heal her or use whatever you’ve got. I’m tapped out.”

Then Matt was there. She heard the hum of Eli’s voice but not the distinct words. Her body tingled. The pain disappeared. Her body felt floaty.

She worried about Alexi. Although livid at how he handled things, she prayed to the goddess,
Please, let him live. His blood lineage forced him to be a killer, but he’s good at heart.

Then she gave in to the darkness she could no longer fight.