Page 52

“Kill you? Gods, no.” Pope looked genuinely offended. “You’re far too valuable. Do you have any idea how rare beacons are? There are collectors who would pay millions for a live specimen. Researchers who’ve spent decades trying to understand why certain humans can see shadow entities while others remain blind. And here you are already bonded and marked - a walking case study in Eldritch biology.”

Ethan’s stomach turned. “Trafficking beacons?”

“Trafficking implies a lack of consent.” Pope smiled. “I prefer to think of it as specialized acquisitions. Your mate and his friends have been very inconvenient for my network. Marcus Vane was a lucrative client before they destroyed him. Richard Ashford was proving similarly profitable until your interference in the past week.”

“So this is revenge.”

“This is business.” Pope moved to a display case and retrieved a black velvet bundle. He unwrapped it carefully, revealing a dagger covered in the same sigils as the suppression device. “The guardians have operated unchecked in Madison for years. They hunt criminals, consume corruption, supposedly to maintain some form of community balance. But they’ve never encountered someone who understands their weaknesses. Better yet, someone who can neutralize their advantages.”

The bond thrummed with Rook’s fury. Ethan felt shadows straining against wards two blocks away. Not yet, Ethan thought. Wait for my signal.

“Ashford gave you the suppression technology,” Ethan said, stalling. “You’ve been developing it together, I assume.”

“Ashford financed the research. I provided the occult expertise. Vane was our first successful application. His cage held three guardians simultaneously. Imagine what we could accomplish with refined versions of the same thing. Specialized weapons, portable containment fields, and permanent binding circles.” Pope’s eyes gleamed. “The black market for supernatural restraint technology is vast and underserved - it’s the perfect niche market.”

Ethan’s mind raced through scenarios. Pope had planned carefully - wards to block guardian entry, suppression devices to neutralize shadows, Ethan as bait to lure Rook into a trap. But Pope’s overconfidence created vulnerabilities. He was monologuing for a start, giving Ethan time to think.

The primary ward seal was behind the third display case, approximately twelve feet from Ethan’s current position. It was a blood-drawn sigil on the floor, concealed beneath an antique carpet. Ethan had felt it when he’d walked past - the same cold signature as the warehouse wards, with the same Eldritch-specific resonance.

“Where’s Grant Voss?” Ethan asked, more to keep Pope talking than anything else.

“Mr. Voss is currently assisting with quality control.” Pope gestured toward the hallway. “He’s quite motivated to cooperate after your friends’ dramatic warehouse rescue. Turns out watching your entire operation crumble in a single evening makes one eager to demonstrate continued value.”

“You’re using him to refine the suppression wards.”

“Among other things. He’s provided excellent intelligence on theater district staff, victim selection criteria, and transportation logistics. He kept very thorough records, that man. One would think he worried about being caught.”

The bond pulsed. Rook was hearing everything through the body cam feed. Ethan felt Rook calculating entry points and attack vectors while simultaneously fighting the instinct to break down Pope’s front door.

Ethan took a step sideways, angling toward the display case. “And when Rook comes for me?”

“When your guardian arrives, he’ll find my wards significantly stronger than those at the warehouse.” Pope touched the dagger’s blade. “These sigils don’t just block shadows, they drain them. The longer he pushes against my barriers, the weaker he becomes. Eventually, his desperation to reach you will override his common sense, and he’ll exhaust himself trying to break through.”

“I assume then you’ll capture him.”

“Then I’ll have leverage.” Pope smiled. “A bonded guardian is worth exponentially more than an unbonded one. The bond creates emotional vulnerabilities that can be exploited. Your mate will agree to remarkably unfavorable terms to keep you alive and unharmed.”

Fury spiked through the bond - not Ethan’s, but Rook’s. He was beyond furious.

Ethan took another few steps, reaching for the display case as if steadying himself. “You’ve studied Eldritch guardians for forty years, but you’ve never encountered a bonded pair, have you?”

“True. You’re my first practical application.”

“That would explain why you made a fundamental error in your research.”

Pope’s smile faltered. “What error?”

“You assumed the beacon was the weakness.” Ethan’s hand touched the display case, his fingers sliding along the wood. “You assumed Rook would be so desperate to reach me that he’d sacrifice any advantage he might have had. You built your entire strategy around the idea of exploiting a bond-driven irrationality.”

“That’s exactly what will happen. Most paranormals are the same in similar situations.”

“No, not a guardian.” Ethan met Pope’s eyes. “I’m not afraid of you, so I’m not screaming for rescue. And without that, Rook isn’t going to crash through your wards like a battering ram. He trusts me to handle things myself.”

The bond hummed with Rook’s understanding that his mate was buying time.

Pope’s expression darkened. “You’re stalling.”

“I’m explaining why you’ve already lost.” Ethan shifted his weight, calculating angles. The primary seal was eighteen inches beneath the carpet’s edge. One good kick would disrupt the blood pattern. “You studied guardians as isolated variables. You never considered what happens when they have support from someone who thinks like I do.”