“Why are we wasting our time with this guy?” asked the taller of the two men with Zacharias. “I agree he’s not your usual homeless guy. He’s built like a brick building. But what else could he be? My guess is he was sleeping on the streets, climbed the fire escape to try and break into one of these apartments, then saw Zacharias and AJ. We need to kill him and get on with why we’re here.”
“I’ve no intention of letting the homeless man live,” Zacharias said, tightening his grip on AJ’s arm. A bruise was forming on her face where Zacharias must have hit her, and yet she no longer looked afraid. The Dragon fire he had banked simmered as he focused on her bruised skin.There deserves to be a special place in Hell reserved for those who prey on and harm the innocent.
She turned to focus on Stryker, her expressive eyes reflecting trust.
He gave her a slight nod, hoping she would understand that all would be well.
“Final warning. Let this woman go.”
“Isn’t this lovely?” Zacharias sneered. “Homeless guy and my ex-office assistant have bonded. Men, I’ve changed my mind. Kill him.”
The two men stalked Stryker, one on his left, and the other on his right, just as they had flanked AJ earlier. He almost felt sorry for them. Almost. He caught the first man to reach him around the throat and broke his neck. As the man slumped to the ground, the second drew his gun, lowered his stance, and squeezed off a round.
As though in slow motion, Stryker saw the bullet leave the chamber and speed toward him. He turned away from the bullet’s path, spinning around behind the man and yanking the gun out of his grasp. He crushed the metal with his bare hand and tossed it across the room like a broken toy.
“I don’t like guns. Too impersonal.”
“What are you?” The man lunged for Stryker and took a swing. Stryker moved to the side and the intended blow connected only with air. As he warmed up for another attempt, Stryker slammed his fist into the man’s face. The force knocked him to the ground, where he lay, his eyes open, his head tilted at an odd angle.
Zacharias stepped back, taking AJ with him. “You must be a Wizard. A human can’t move that fast.” Zacharias’s eyes widened as he pressed a gun against Alexandra’s head. “Stay back or I’ll kill her.”
“Not a Wizard.”
“Don’t kill him,” AJ said to Stryker. “Your brother thinks he might know who is murdering Wizards.”
“Wizards are my enemy. Why should I care?”
She hesitated, locking her gaze with his. “Okay. What am I missing? This is new for me. I just learned there is a magical community in Seattle, but aren’t you a Wizard? They tried to kill you with their poison. Don’t you remember?”
He did not remember. Or perhaps the human part of him wanted to forget. “I am a Dragon Wizard, and it is complicated and this is not my fight.”
“Well, I know about complicated,” she said, taking a calming breath. “There is a poem by Martin Niemöller. It reads: First they came for the Communists, and I did not speak out because I was not a Communist. Then they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out because I was not a Socialist. Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out because I was not a Trade Unionist. Then they came for the Jews and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me and there was no one left to speak out for me.”
Gods take it! His mother had often quoted these lines. If someone was killing Wizards, his kind might be next. Stryker paused, gauging his opponent. An easy kill. But the words AJ spoke had hit a chord. What would have happened if Dragons had had allies to help them in their fight for survival? He turned toward Zacharias. “AJ wants you alive for some reason, but she did not say in one piece. I’m in the mood to break a few bones.”
“You’re crazy.”
“Pretty sure I am not.”
With a tight grip on AJ, Zacharias edged over to the sliding glass door. “Seems we have a standoff.”
AJ brought her heel down on Zacharias’s toe. He yelped, easing his grip. Stryker moved in, pulling AJ out of the way as he disarmed Zacharias with one hand and then pushed him against the balcony’s railing with the other.
“A standoff?” AJ said, rubbing her neck. “That only happens when both sides are equal.”
“Let me guess,” Zacharias said with a sneer. “You’re going to hold me by my ankles and threaten to drop me if I don’t talk. But a fast death is better than what they’ll do to me if I spill the beans.”
“He has a point,” AJ said, making a phone call. “We’ll turn him over to Detective Lyons. Just an FYI, he is my father, and I can’t wait to tell him all about what you had planned for me.”
“Lyons is your dad?” Zacharias’s voice dropped. “He’ll skin me alive or have someone in the magical community do it for him. I’m dead either way.”
AJ nodded. “That sounds like a good bet, except my dad believes in the law. If you agree to turning state’s evidence, he’ll put you into protective custody and witness protection. The phone’s ringing.”
“I don’t know anything,” Zacharias said turning to Stryker. “Make her stop.”
“Detective Lyons? Dad, this is AJ. Yes, I’m okay. We have someone in…”
Zacharias yanked the phone out of her grasp and threw it out the window. “I told you. I don’t know anything.”
