“Oh, I'm sure it's possible but first, you'd have to make those infusions of magic safe.” I lifted a scathing brow. “But you haven't done that, and I expect you know that already. It hasn't stopped you from selling the magic to the highest bidders though. Which makes you a murderer and a thief with a pathetically short life span.”
“Iwillperfect it!” Bishop hissed as he stood. “In fact, I believe you are the key to that, Ms. Redding. Your healing magic will counteract any negative effects from the transfer. All I have to do is add it to the magic I confiscate from these criminals.”
“You can try. Magic doesn't normally play well with other magic, but you're the scientist. What do I know? I'm just a creature.”
“Yes, you are,” he growled. “But I'm still unsure of what kind of creature exactly. There is more to you than rapid healing. What are you, Ms. Redding? I hear you're Triari, but that doesn't explain the healing, your chameleon magic, or what happened today.”
I didn't move a muscle even though I wanted to grin. Bishop had just confirmed that they were watching and listening to us. He'd also confirmed that none of his employees knew Dralmarin. So, he hadn't understood anything I'd said to Rain.
“Am I?” I asked blithely.
Bishop grinned as if he'd just won a round with me. “You are indeed. How fascinating. I didn't think the Triari allowed their citizens to come to Earth, only the warriors. And you don't seem like a warrior to me.”
“Hardly,” I huffed.
“You have one chance to tell me what you are, Amanda,” Bishop said in a dangerous tone. “And then I'm going to use alternative methods of compelling you to speak.”
“Fine. I'm Triari,” I confessed. “I'm a diplomat. I work in the Triari Embassy in D.C. and the President asked for my help in investigating a supernatural incident involving Edward Leshing.”
“A Triari Embassy?” Bishop asked in surprise. “I had no idea there was such a thing.”
“There is, and you've just abducted a Triari diplomat, Mr. Bishop. If I were you, I'd get as far away from me as possible. Theywillfind me—they have far more advanced technology than yours—and then they will send the Host. There will be nothing left of this island when they're done with it.”
Bishop blanched. The mere mention of the Host—the Triari Army—was enough to make most men, even supes, quake in their boots. All those epic battles in the Bible? The stories about Angels and Demons destroying entire cities? That was the Triari Host and the Bleiten Horde having one of their little tiffs. And I had both armies on my side.
“They won't find you. We were very careful.”
“If you say so.” I smiled and held his stare. “That is the only warning I'm going to give you.”
“And this is your last warning, Amanda!” Bishop leaned forward and sneered at me. “Tell me what you are or you will regret it.”
“I just told you everything,” I hissed back. “There isn't anything more to tell.”
“No Triari has the ability to make forty-six supes pass out in seconds,” he said coolly.
“I had nothing to do with that. I thought it was you.”
“Right.” He grinned bitterly. “I get why you spared the Dralmar, but why the Fury? Did he not come after you?”
“I told you, I have no idea what made those men pass out.”
“So, we're going the alternative route.” He stood up and motioned toward me.
Two of his guards stepped forward and pulled me to my feet. They didn't bother with the handcuffs, just escorted me out of the room and down a wood-paneled corridor. At the end of the hallway, we went down a set of stairs into a basement. It wasn't your normal basement. Instead, it was a laboratory.
“Why do supervillains always put their labs in the basement?” I mused. “Is it a villain law or something?”
Bishop didn't bother to respond but one of the men escorting me cracked a smile. Briefly. They took me through the enormous lab, passing work tables full of shiny equipment where Chinese men and women in lab coats stared into microscopes or swirled liquid in test tubes, barely glancing at us as we passed by. We stepped into a corridor beyond the lab and they shoved me through the first doorway on the right. I stumbled, caught myself, and spun, getting a glimpse of Bishop as he strode past, a grim and determined expression on his face. Then the door slammed shut.
I looked around warily. I was in an empty room with metal walls and a cement floor. Scratches marred the metal, but it was the drain in the center of the floor that disturbed me the most. I looked from it to the camera in the upper, far corner, its light already blinking. Bishop knew I was powerless, so this wasn't about getting footage of what I could do. It was intimidation and entertainment. He wanted a show and was probably sitting back in a comfy chair with a hot beverage in hand, waiting for the fun to begin. The question was, who would I be performing with?
The door opened again. I whirled about and backed up as they shoved a man inside with me. A huge man who I gaped at. His face bore distinct racial features that I instantly recognized. The man lifted his eyes to me and grinned. I grinned back, but it was for an entirely different reason.
“Ms. Redding,” Bishop's voice came through a speaker, “meet Mr. Juriksel. I believe your people are well acquainted. As soon as you decide to be honest with me, I'll be happy to let you out. Just give a scream and we'll be right in to collect you.”
I almost burst into laughter. Bishop thought he was so cunning. What would a Triari civilian be frightened of? A Bleiten, of course. And if I were a regular Triari woman, I would have been cowering in the corner because that is exactly who they put in the room with me—a Bleiten warrior. But I wasn't a regular Triari woman, I was this man's Princess. Unfortunately, he didn't seem to recognize me. Of course, he didn't. He'd probably been there, imprisoned, when I married Malik.
“How long have you been imprisoned, warrior?” I asked him in Bleiten.
