Priceless (33 page)

“
Come on, I found the way in
.
”
I jogg
ed
back the way we
’
d come. He followed and I felt him pause as I headed toward the crevice in the wall.

“
What are you doing?
”

“
You have to trust me. This is the entrance
,
”
I said, slipping into the crack.

He followed right on my heels.
“
You were going to go in without me.
”
His accusation hit the mark
,
but I didn
’
t flinch.

“
You have no idea what this all is
, the supernatural is something you don
’
t understand, which makes it dangerous not only for you, but me
and India
.
”
M
y anxiety gr
e
w
and it was apparent in my voice
. This
was taking too long
.
A
t any moment
,
we could be dealing with more of the
Coven
members, looking for their missing people
.
“
If you
’
re going to come with me, you
’
re going to do what I say, when I say it. Got it
,
Agent O
’
Shea?
”

Jaw clenched
,
he gave a curt nod, but said nothing.

Letting out a breath, I turned my back to him and put my hand on the lock he couldn
’
t see.
“
Hang on to me, and close your eyes until I tell you otherwise.
”

H
is h
ands
grabbed
the waistband of my jeans, finger
s brushed
against my spine.
I fit the key into the lock and turned the handle, the mechanism clicking as it unlatched, b
ut otherwise
it
was quiet
.

I stepped through, O
’
Shea tight behind me, his hand not loosening on my jeans. The veil shimmered around me and I glanced back at O
’
Shea. His eyes were dutifully closed, but his face twisted in a grimace like he
’
d smelled something bad. I took one more step
,
which pulled him all the way across and his face eased as did my tension.

Reaching back
,
I loosened his fingers.
“
You can open your eyes.
”

He did
,
and I took the opportunity to look around myself. The thing with crossing the veil was you never knew where exactly you were going to end up. Today, it looked as though we were in a medieval castle
.
C
arved stone walls partially covered with expensive tapestries
and oil paintings.
Other than that, I couldn
’
t tell
where
exactly we were. For all I knew
,
we were in
England or France
.

“
Where . . .
”
O
’
Shea started to ask
.

I lifted a finger to my lips. Reaching for India, I could feel her life force stronger than ever, pulsating with a steady
rhythm
that would have given me hope if not for her lack of emotion. She was alive, but no one was home.

Pressing up against the wall, I skirt
ed
the edges of the room. I didn
’
t have to look back to know O
’
Shea would be doing the same.

Now
that I was
on the same side of the veil as India, I could pinpoint her with ease. Following the pull of her life force, I jog
ged
, wanting to get to her as fast as possible. Distracted by my concern for her lack of emotions,
I wasn’t paying attention as I should have been;
took a sharp right and ran straight into the back of a tall
,
cloaked figure.

I had a moment of uncertainty, back
pedalling as if I could take back my blunder
, putting distance between us
.

The figure turned
;
his face only partially visible in the light flicker
ing
around us.
H
e looked like someone I knew, or had known a long time ago.
Eyes that spoke of pain and suffering, yet light and beauty
also
captured their azure depths.

“
Well, Rylee, it seems the
Coven
was right. You did turn up after all.
”
His voice was smooth
,
and I had images flashing through my mind of black satin bed
-
sheets, rose petals and crisp white wine. I struggled against his hold on my mind
.
E
xcept for the Unicorn, no one had been able to turn my gifts on me
before
.
Yet
,
while
I
’
d
had no doubt the Unicorn meant me no harm, this man could hurt me without a single moment of lost sleep.

Something pulled me back and I blinked, unaware I
’
d been slowly moving toward those blue eyes and hypnotizing voice.

“
Adamson, focus!
”
A growl rumbled in my ear, O
’
Shea pulling me back to myself.

With a speed that surprised even me, I whipped my sword up
,
pressing the point into the hollow of the cloaked man
’
s throat.

He lifted his hands as if he meant no harm
. The
bright slash of a silver ring on his left hand caught the light as he moved.
“
I
won
’
t
try to stop you
;
go rescue the child if you want
.
I
t
’
s of no consequence to me.
”

My mouth was dry.
“
Who are you?
”
Not that it mattered, not to India, but I had to know.

He smiled, the edges of his lips creeping up over a glimpse of white teeth.
“
I don
’
t think I
’
ll tell you. Not today. Rylee.
”

A shiver rippled through me
;
my name on his lips made me want to throw my clothes on the floor, and writhe naked against him. Trembling, I fought the urge, but again
,
it was O
’
Shea who snapped me out of it.

“
Let
’
s go.
”
The agent shoved me in the back, jabbing at my spine to prod me forward and around the man who
’
d so fully caught me in his snare. That thought was what it took to drive me out of my stupor.

I didn
’
t dare look back as we rounded a corner.
“
Is he following us?
”

O
’
Shea checked
and
turned back to me, shaking his head
.
“
He
’
s gone. What the hell was that?
”

I shiver
ed
all over, my body and mind a mass of confusion.
“
I don
’
t know.
”

I placed my hands on my thighs and leaned forward,
swallowed hard on the fear and confusion
attempting to choke me,
struggled to get a hold of myself.

O
’
Shea grabbed my arms and stood m
e
upright.
“
You can
’
t lose it now
.
W
e
’
re too close and we have to get the kid out of here. So pull your shit together and move.
”

Clenching my fists
,
I gave him a shar
p
nod
. He was right,
there was
nothing I could do about that man, and if he wasn
’
t going to stop us, then I didn
’
t
need to worry about him.

India was close, only a few doors down. I strode in that direction, pausing in front of the door.
There was something
bothering me besides my reaction to the man in the cloak.

“
Where
the hell
is
everyone?
”
I
hardly
realiz
ed
spoke
n
out loud.

“
I wondered the same thing. This is not good.” He strode to the far side of the hallway and checked it. “For now, I say we t
ake it as a good sign, don
’
t poke the sleeping bear unless you have to
,
”
O
’
Shea said, keeping his voice low.

“
Fine,
then
shut it
.
”
I growl
ed
the words at him. I knew he was right,
but
that didn
’
t mean I should just run through the halls like we were in a
daisy-
filled field with bright sunshine and butterflies.
But s
omething was off, and because I couldn
’
t pinpoint it
,
my skin itch
ed
with the feeling.

A low hum started to fill the air around us,
coming from inside the room
,
which made t
h
e
itch I already had turn into a knot of nerves.

“
This is not good
,
”
I said, putting my hand on the door
,
discovering
the dark wood panelling
was
hot under my hand
. India was in the room, I knew that much, but suddenly I knew why we hadn
’
t seen anyone else
.
T
he hum of multiple voices
filled the air
,
confirming my worst fear.

India was about to be possessed by a demon.

23

A shuffle down the hall behind us was the only warning we had before a woman stepped around the corner, her hands lifted as she prepped a spell. I lunged at her, my blade catching her just in the crook of her left elbow, slicing deep down to the bone.
I f
ollow
ed up
the slice with a kick to her
hip
,
She dropped
to the floor
,
and
I
pinned her head down with my foot. Of course, it would have all been good if she
’
d been the only one.

“
Let her go, Rylee.
”

Blinking
,
I turned to look into Milly
’
s face, her eyes hard as she held a deadly spell just inches from my nose. I could see the black spiral of the death magic quivering in her hand, but even so
,
I
had
a hard time putting two and two together. O
’
Shea moved up beside me, a steady presence that helped me get my bearings.
Of course, both Milly and I knew the spell would
likely
dissipate
around me. But the other woman
,
who was nodding at Milly
,
didn
’
t know that.