Wingless (The Lia Hunter Chronicles #1)

Parked across the street from Black Ice we watched through the tinted windows of my car – the only splurge I’d made on the rust bucket – as Quinn argued with a person hidden in the shadows of a ratty jumper. Somehow I doubted it was the same man from when Levi and I visited Black Ice, he didn’t seem like the type to be caught dead in a jumper like that. No, he’d seemed far too meticulous for that.

Quinn’s gestures grew erratic as he pulled at his hair, pacing back and forth on the sidewalk. He was talking furiously with the man in the alley who began to grow unsettled as well. He tugged at his jumper, shuffled his feet. Both of them looked like they were ready to explode at any moment and I couldn’t decide whether or not I wanted to be in the room when it happened.

“Who is that?” Jake asked, posing the question that had been running rampant through my mind since we’d arrived.

“I don’t know,” I murmured cursing as the two men parted ways, Quinn entering the building the stranger retreating into the alleyway, “and we don’t have time to find out. Come on.”

Opening my car door, I slipped outside, lugging my bag of goodies with me. We’d made a quick stop at the station to pick up supplies, much to Jake’s impatience. Together we crossed the street, casually strolling towards the building that housed Black Ice. Pausing before the entrance, I glanced into the alleyway. Shadows blanketed the space but I could see just enough to know the stranger had disappeared. Entering the building, the cool air-conditioned air wash over me. The entrance was a simple empty room with a sign detailing the different levels. We bypassed the bank of elevators, instead heading straight for the stairs. As we began the long climb finally Jake let loose on the torrent of questions I knew he’d been struggling to withhold.

“So why are we breaking into Quinn’s office?” He said, voice echoing throughout the cement stairwell.

Glancing over my shoulder I sent him a reprimanding look. He grimaced before repeating his question quietly.

“Because Jehiel has given me a chance to find the real killer before the Seraphim declare war on the Hydros.”

The sound of shoes scuffing on stone was followed by a meaty thud as Jake tripped over his next step. Pushing to his feet he looked up at me with wide eyes.

“Seriously?”

“Yep, I have until midnight to produce evidence that Quinn isn’t the killer. If there’s anything that can prove his innocence it’s something on that phone.” I replied, my gut tightening at the reminder of my approaching deadline.

“No pressure.” Jake bleated weakly from behind me.

Regret for having him tag along with me had me pausing on the steps. He was young and despite what he’d say he was inexperienced. There was a very likely chance that this would end in bloodshed. While I had no doubt he knew his way around the silver blades concealed somewhere on his body I wasn’t too sure how he’d deal with actual combat, not just training drills. Staring at his pale, worried face I knew I needed to make the offer.

“I know I asked for your help but this could get dangerous. There’s still time for you to back out.”

Determination sparked in his blue eyes and his body relaxed into a slouch, a mischievous grin tipping his lips.

“And let you soak up all the glory? Not likely, Lia. When word of this spreads I’ll have all the babes swooning over me.”

Beneath his bravado, I could see the edge of worry that lingered. It would do no good to psych him out now. If you went into a fight believing you were going to lose, then you’d lost before it had even begun. We needed this win so badly I wasn’t above plumping up his oversized ego if it helped boost his confidence. So rather than call him out on the anxiety I saw creasing the corners of his mouth I rolled my eyes, grinning.

“You’re forgetting all the assholes who give you shit over your mother. You return home with this victory hanging around your neck and they’ll all be lining up to eat slices of humble pie.”

Excitement worked through him like an electric shock, his forced smile turning real.

“I forgot about them. Oh boy, is the look on their faces going to be good.” He hooted in delight.

Shaking my head, I continued our journey up the stairs, cursing Quinn yet again for building a club on the fifth floor. We finally reached the landing with the door marked clearly with a large five. Sighing, I walked past it, continuing up the stairs.

“I thought Black Ice was on the fifth floor?” Jake asked, confusion clear in his voice.

“It is,” I replied, readjusting the strap of my duffle bag so it wasn’t biting into my shoulder. “But we can’t just stroll on into Quinn’s office and I highly doubt the whole fire alarm trick will work twice.”

Reaching the door labeled with a large black six, I pulled it open, stepping to the side to allow Jake to enter first. Looking at me curiously he strolled inside, I followed letting the door slide shut behind me.

The floor above Black Ice had once been a massage parlour. The Pink Lotus offered a relaxing meditative experience designed to soothe and relax. According to the online reviews, it had been quite popular but when Black Ice moved in beneath it the customer base had all but dried up. Apparently, loud music wasn’t exactly conducive to a soothing environment. The owners had been forced out of business six months ago and now the floor sat abandoned, as the owners desperately tried to sell it off. While that sucked for them it was exactly what I needed.

“A spa?” Jake turned to me, cocking an eyebrow.

“An abandoned spa.” I corrected walking over to the glass doors.

A small tug on them confirmed they were locked tight but there was no tingle of magic and I shook my head in disgust. Nowadays most places were secured with both locks and wards. While it might cost a pretty penny to have to latter installed, it was well worth the added safety.

Placing my hand over the lock I concentrated my power, picturing it as a glowing silver ball in the center of my chest. Carefully, I let a sliver trail off, flowing down my arm and into my hand. From there I pushed it outwards sending it into the lock. A small click sounded and I pulled my magic back into the ball before letting it dissipate completely. I tugged on the door once more, this time it slid open smoothly and Jake whistled appreciatively from behind me.

“Nice.”

“Simple enough magic,” I said, shrugging it off.

“Maybe, but I’ve never been able to gain that much control over my magic,” Jake admitted as we entered the massage parlor’s empty reception.

“Some people never do,” I remarked distractedly.

Either they didn’t have the patience to learn, were never taught how or simply didn’t care to control their magic.

“I know, I just never figured I’d be one of them.”

The embarrassment in his reply had me pausing in my inspection of an empty room. Turning around I focused my attention on Jake.

“I figured as a guard you would’ve been taught by the best the Seraphim had to offer?”

He shrugged uncomfortably, not meeting my gaze. Planting my hands on my hips I narrowed my eyes.

“Let me guess, your attendance to those classes was less than stellar?”

Embarrassment formed two circles of red on his cheeks and he dipped his head, scuffing his feet on the floor.

“Maybe.”

I sighed, feeling a lot like a disappointed parent. “If you don’t train you won’t get any better.”

“Yeah, well after the first three lessons it became pretty clear that I wasn’t cut out for precise magic use. My teacher even said I should just stick to bursts of power.”

Hurt and embarrassment radiated off him and realization hit me up the side of the head.

“Your teacher was one of the assholes who gave you shit about your mom.”

Jake jerked his head in a rough nod and I felt my heart soften for the poor kid. I couldn’t blame him, I wouldn’t have wanted to learn from some bigoted asshole either. Fortunately, I’d had Mallory to teach me control and although I’d started later than most I’d managed to gain control in a shockingly fast amount of time.

“You know what, if we make it out of this whole thing in one piece, I’ll give you private lessons once a week,” I said softly even knowing it meant further strengthening the ties that bound me to the Seraphim. Ties that for the majority of my life I hadn’t wanted to exist. But as excitement and hope lit up Jake’s eyes I knew I’d follow through.

“Really?” He asked, trying – and failing – to smother an eager smile.

“Someone’s got to make sure you survive out here in the big bad world.”

Even as the words left my lips I realized that I did feel responsible for keeping Jake safe. Something about his wide-eyed innocence set off my protective instincts like crazy. My stomach turned as I acknowledged that sometime in the past few days my objectivity for the Seraphim had vanished into thin air.

“Thanks, Lia.” Jake interrupted my thoughts.

Uncomfortable with the admiration I saw on his face, I waved it off. “Don’t worry about it.”

Turning on my heel I continued to walk through the building, searching for my target. It took peeking into another four rooms until we finally struck gold. The empty room still smelled faintly of exotic oils and incense but what captured my attention was the large window. I pulled it open, sticking my head out to glance around.

Perfect.

Pulling myself back inside, I slid the duffle off my shoulder. It hit the ground with a loud thud and I winced as I rubbed at the deep impression it made on my skin. Jake’s eyes darted between the open window and my duffle bag, understanding dawning on his face before a thrilled grin quickly covered it.

“Now this is going to be fun.” He stated as I unzipped the bag, throwing a pair of black gloves at him.

“Try to contain yourself, please,” I said dryly.

Slipping on my own pair of gloves, I pulled out the large grappling hook, checking that the rope was tied properly.

“Are you kidding me?” Jake squawked, “We’re about to climb down the side of a building, break into a Hydro lords office, and steal something. This is about as cool as it gets.”

“Don’t forget the risk of possible death.”

Coiling the rope around my shoulder I walked over to the window, securing the grappling hook on the edge of the windowsill. I pulled on the attached rope with all my strength, blowing out a breath of relief when it held.

“Would you survive a six-story fall?” Jake watched me with worried eyes.

“I’ll be fine,” I reassured him, although I wasn’t quite sure.

I’d never fallen from such a large height before and I didn’t really like my chances. I pushed the thought out of my mind, it wasn’t like I was intending to test the theory out today anyway.

“Here’s the plan.” I told Jake, his body immediately snapping to attention, “Right now we should be exactly above Quinn’s office, using the rope I’m going to lower myself to the next level, I’m going to draw Quinn to the window. Once he opens it I’ll throw this inside.”

Reaching into my pocket, I pulled out a sleep bomb. Polished and shiny, the black sphere was about the size of a golf ball and when broken it activated a sleeping spell that knocked out anyone in the room with it. It was an extremely tricky piece of magic, requiring a mixture of rare herbs and precise magic. The maker had to inject their spell into the fragile object without overloading it and causing it to break or not channeling enough magic and having the bomb fail. Thankfully the DIC had a guy who provided some for our station each month. The bomb would have Quinn knocked out for at least an hour but I didn’t want to risk being interrupted before then. I rubbed a finger absently over the raised scar on my side. Last time hadn’t ended so well.

“Once Quinn is out,” I continued, tucking the bomb back into my pocket, “we’ll enter his office and I’ll search for the phone while you stand guard. Okay?”

I met his gaze searching for signs of indecision but Jake remained firm.

“Got it.” He replied and I almost expected him to salute me.

Nodding, I turned back to the window, gently unwinding the cord of rope. The fact it was still daytime worked against us. Anyone on the street could look up and spot us climbing down the building, but we didn’t have time to wait for the cloak of darkness to conceal us. When the last of the rope was hanging on the other side of the window I glanced back at Jake. He looked so serious I couldn’t help the grin that split my face.

“See you on the other side.” I chirped before grabbing hold of the rope and pulling myself through the window.

Wind buffeted me as I slowly turned around, my feet planted firmly on the building’s wall. Slowly I began to lower myself, taking careful steps backward. I took a quick glance down, noting the large and no doubt painful drop that awaited me should I fall. Somehow it hadn’t seemed so big when I was jumping into Levi’s arms two nights ago.

Pushing aside that thought I made the quick journey to the next level, stopping just above Quinn’s office window. Not really having thought this far ahead I pondered over how to draw Quinn over to the window. Giving a mental shrug I lowered one leg, tapping the tip of my boot against the window in three quick raps. Pulling the leg back up, I waited. After a few minutes passed and there was no reaction, I lowered my leg and repeated the process. My ears strained as they picked up the sounds of approaching footsteps. Energy coursed through me and I tightly grasped the rope with one hand while I dug through my pocket with the other. Thank god for enhanced strength making that particular feat possible.

The window slid open and the wind carried a deep confused voice to me.

“What the-” I watched as a hand reached out and grabbed onto the rope dangling in front of the window.

Knowing I had seconds to act I loosened my grip on the rope, letting it slide through my fingers. I dropped like a stone and as I flew past Quinn’s office window I caught a flash of his confused face as I lobbed the bomb inside before I zipped further down the rope. Tightening my hand I stopped my rapid descent. Looking up I checked for signs of Quinn in the window frame but he wasn’t there. Further up Jake’s head was hanging out, watching me.

Quickly I began to climb. Reaching Quinn’s office, I tumbled awkwardly inside, landing on top of a completely unconscious Quinn. Struggling to my feet, I maneuvered his body to the couch, plopping him on the pillows as Jake came swinging inside. Of course, he landed with the grace of a swan.

Rolling my eyes at his grin, I gestured him towards the door as I began to search Quinn for the phone. Turning out his pockets revealed nothing but a few stray pieces of lint and a couple of coins. Hissing in frustration I pushed to my feet, moving towards the painting. Pulling it off the wall, I brushed a hand over the safe cursing as magic stung my fingers. He’d placed a new ward over the safe, this one stronger than the last. It would take longer to break and considerably more power.

I glanced sideways at Jake in worry before raising my hand and summoning my magic. My eyes burnt hot as the power filled me and I quickly focused upon the ward. Its image filled my mind, a beautiful tapestry of interwoven magic. Dozens of strands of magic were bound together tightly forming a protective shield around the safe.

To disable a ward you needed to pick apart the strands with your own magic. If you weren’t powerful enough they wouldn’t even budge. I searched the ward for the weak spot, the loose thread that would help me unravel it. It took me a moment but I found it. Carefully, I sent out my own magic latching onto that thread and slowly peeled it away. It resisted at first, sticking tightly to the other strands and I experienced a flash of worry that I wasn’t strong enough to disable the war before finally it peeled away. As it was detached from the others it faded from existence. From there I began to work my way through the strands, picking them apart one by one. When I reached the halfway point the ward began to collapse in on itself, fading in and out of existence. After a few more tendrils were loosened it finally vanished completely.

Pulling my magic back inside, I let it dissipate on a sigh of relief. Sweat beaded on my face and exhaustion pulled at me. The use of such magic depleting my energy to extremely low levels. I wanted nothing more than to just lie down on the floor and sleep but I refused to quit. Pulling open the safe I barely stopped myself from shouting in triumph as I spotted the phone inside. It took me mere heartbeats to grab and unlock it. My hands shaking with a mixture of fatigue and desperation. Opening up the messages I clicked on the only conversation there. My heart stopped beating as I read the short message.

Harry Lumbard. Tonight. Drop him off at the same place as the others. Fail and you know the consequences.

Below it was a picture of a young girl, no older than ten. Her hair was a knotted mess, skin smudged with dirt and a couple of bruises. Tears poured down her face as she sobbed around a piece of tape placed over her mouth. Held at her neck was a sharp knife, the pointy edge digging softly into the skin of her neck. It only took me a moment of scanning her features to know who she was.

Quinn’s daughter.

The killer had kidnapped Quinn’s daughter and threatened to kill her if Quinn didn’t kidnap the Seraphim for him. Disbelief, hope, and excitement all battled inside of me. This was it. This was the proof that would prevent the war. I almost couldn’t believe it.

I turned to Jake astonished.

“Well?” he asked.

“The killer has Quinn’s daughter,” I said softly.

Shock rocked him back a step, “I didn’t know Quinn had a daughter.”

“Yeah, me too. I don’t think a lot of people know.”

“So we got what we need?” Jake asked anxiously, glancing at Quinn who was still knocked out.

“Yeah,” I replied, “we have everything we need to prevent the war from happening.”

His face lit up in a grin, “Then what are we waiting for, let’s get out of here.”

Nodding, I stumbled towards the window, already dreading the upcoming climb. Jake refused to go first and I was too tired to argue with him so I grabbed the rope and slowly – painfully – began to climb up to the next floor. It took me much longer to reach the sixth-floor window and when I tumbled inside I didn’t even bother getting up until Jake appeared mere seconds later.

Show off.

Lying on the floor I let Jake take care of the rope and grappling hook, focusing on not falling asleep. Packing up all the stuff he slung the duffel onto his shoulder, eyeing me warily.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

Groaning, I pushed to my feet, waving aside his hovering body. “I’m fine, just a little tired.”

“Maybe I should carry you?” I could tell he was only half teasing and it managed to put the starch back into my spine.

“Kid the moment I let you carry me from a building it better be because I’ve been shot and am bleeding to death.”

Raising his hands in surrender, Jake laughed. “Alright, alright. Can you blame a guy for trying?”

I shot him a look, making a mental note to punch him when I regained the strength to lift my arms. Together we made the long journey back down the stairs. By the time we reached the ground floor my legs were shaking like leaves and I knew Jake was going to have to drive. The thought sent shivers creeping up my spine.

As we left the building I passed him my keys, “If you scratch my car I will kill you.”

“That car has enough scratches o-” he stopped mid-sentence jerking backward.

“Jake?” I asked concerned.

He stumbled a few steps before falling to his knees. His wide eyes were focused on something behind me and he opened his mouth garbling out a few sounds before he collapsed to the ground.

“Jake!” I shouted, rushing over to his body.

Crouching over him I checked his pulse, letting out a shaky breath when I found the steady beat with my fingers. Glancing up I watched in shock as the hooded man from earlier came strolling towards us, a gun clutched in his right hand. Stunned I stared at his face, anger, betrayal, and confusion rushing through me.

“You?” I whispered in shock.

A sick grin twisted his lips as he raised the gun, pointing it directly at me. He pulled the trigger and I felt the tranq dart slam into my chest. Felt the harsh caress of concrete against my cheek.

And then I felt nothing at all.