I cannot stand to hear him speak so dispassionately of Zoe’s suffering, so I head for Eve’s office and shut the door. The conversation I need to have now requires privacy.
“Sin?” Mad’s sleepy voice is full of concern. “It’s the middle of the bloody night. What’s wrong?”
“I need you, brother. You and your witch.”
“Warlock,” Killian slurs, clearly listening in. Of course. They’re in bed together.
“Fine. Warlock,” I say. “Get here in the next three hours, and Killian can call himself whatever he wants. Lord of all magic? King of the witches? Ruler of all creation? I do not give a fuck.“
Sheets rustle, and Killian groans as Mad says, “Hang on, Sin.”
I do, for all of two minutes, pacing the whole time. I am about to start cursing my own brother’s name when he and Killian appear in front of me. Staggering back, I hit Eve’s desk and have to brace myself so I do not land on my ass.
“Fuck. When you said ‘hang on,’ I did not think—“
Maddox pulls me into a tight embrace, and I return the gesture, an unfamiliar burning sensation in my eyes and a lump in my throat. “I know you, Sin,” Mad says quietly. “You are not one to ask for help unless there is no other way.”
With my brother’s arms around me, I cannot hold my emotions in any longer, and a hoarse sob escapes before I can speak again. “There is no other way.”
Mad draws back to stare at me. “So, what do you need?”
I turn to Killian. I have never met the man, but Mad discovered video chatting a few months ago, and he was eager to have me virtually “meet” his fated mate. Killian’s eyes are kind, but slightly wary.
From my experience, witches are attuned to evil, and Killian will surely sense my demon side.
“Warlock, do you have much experience with transfiguration?”
Killian’s brows shoot up, and he whistles. “Transfiguration spells are some of the most dangerous—and unstable—spells in existence. Why do you need to appear to be someone else?”
“Not only me. The three of us…and the archangel Gabriel. We must impersonate four of the most depraved demons in town, infiltrate an auction where the most powerful incubus in all of history sells his victims for sport, and rescue the woman I love.”
Rubbing his hands together, Killian offers me a wry smile. “All right, then. Sounds like a bloody good time.”
Thirty-One
Zoe
The cold water shocks me awake, and I scream and thrash, tearing the wounds on my back open. But the pain brings a moment of clarity, and I’ve had few of those since Thorn branded me.
His influence ebbs as two of his men take me by the arms and hold me up while Regina hoses me down. I don’t know where my red blouse went. Or my panties. I’m completely naked now, and the frigid deluge makes me shiver. Across the room, Dion sits meekly, dressed in a white silk gown. Her black hair gleams in the light from the Edison lamps around this, the largest cavern I’ve seen since I was taken.
I’m turned enough for Regina to spray down my back, and now, I can see Dion’s eyes enough to try to sense her thoughts. It takes me forever to find any part of her. It’s like she’s cowering in the back of a massive cave, afraid of the monsters guarding the entrance.
“Hold on for me, Dion. Please.”
She flinches once, and her consciousness flares, but quickly fades away. It’s enough, though. If I can send Thorn to Hell, maybe she’ll be able to fight her way back.
The faery tattoo flares, and I can feel my awareness slipping from my grasp. Fighting him takes everything I have in me, and my knees buckle.
The next thing I know, I’m wearing a dress identical to Dion’s, sitting next to her with another woman, the girl with frizzy hair who disappeared the night Sin went to Loup Noir. I don’t risk turning my head to look into her eyes. Not yet.
A fourth woman is being hosed down now, and a fifth stands stock still waiting for her turn. The auction won’t take place down here. They’ll move us to another location. With only three human men in his thrall, plus Regina, there’s no way Thorn will risk us being awake and aware. He’ll drug us, I’m sure.
“This looks like a fresh needle mark. Made less than twelve hours before she died.”Dr. Breslin’s words rattle around in my head. Of course.
The drugs will make it harder for me to resist his influence. But once he hands me over to one of hiscustomers, he’ll relinquish control. If he doesn’t, he won’t be able to feed off of my terror. That will be my best chance.
I know his mind. I’ve been in it before. But can I latch on to his consciousness from a distance?
