"Then perhaps we can speak with you in your office," Mr. Dark suggested.
"Perhaps you should just leave," she insisted.
His smile faltered and he shook his head. He took a step towards her. "I'm afraid I was instructed to-" He didn't get a chance to finish before Germain slipped around his mistress and grabbed the man by the throat. Mr. Dark grabbed the vampire's hand and choked out a few words. "O-our agreement."
Lilith moved to stand beside Germain. "Our agreement was that no business was to be done without prior arrangement, and not here. You broke both those rules, so you don't get what you want." She turned to Ian and smiled at him. "You, however, have persuaded me a private conference would be best. Let's step into my office."
Ian smiled and offered her his arm. "Lead the way."
She took his arm and Germain dropped the man. The pair walked towards the back wall, and Jenny and I followed. Mr. Dark tried to bring up the rear, but the silent vampire stepped in his path. Lilith stopped behind her bodyguard and grinned over his shoulder at the Whisperer. She gave him a wink.
"Sorry, partner, but this is a private meeting. Maybe I'll see you later."
The man pursed his lips. "Maybe." Mr. Dark spun on his heels and marched away with his small army behind him.
Lilith sneered at his retreating back. "Whisperers have no manners these days. If he'd done that a hundred years ago I would have knocked his head off."
"You'd be doing us a favor if you still did that," Ian spoke up.
She turned to Ian with a smile and pressed her scantily-clad side against his. "Enough of him. Let's you and me talk business." I coughed. She glanced over her shoulder at Jenny and me. "Do you need some water?"
My eyes flickered to Ian. "Only if it's in a five gallon size."
"Business before pleasure, Lilith," he scolded our hostess.
Lilith sighed. "Very well. Let's go."
CHAPTER 7
We walked to the back of the room. Hidden behind more red satin curtains was a door. The door led into a classy, but windowless, office. The cabinets were stainless steel, the plush chairs were black, and the large desk at the rear of the room was red cherry. A red leather couch stood to the right of the door, and it was to this that Lilith led Ian and set them down. Jenny and I stood awkwardly by.
"Now what were you wanting to know?" she asked him.
"You're sure your partner will agree to your telling me anything?" he pointed out.
She frowned and waved her hand. "As far as I'm concerned our agreement is breached, if only partially. That means I can partially breach it myself. Unless, of course, what you're asking for is the name of the man in charge. I can't give that because I don't have it."
"That's a strange way to do business, even for you," he mused.
She smiled and shrugged. "The Whisperers insisted on it, and they've paid me well enough for the trouble. But you still haven't answered my question."
"What can you tell us about these stones?" he wondered.
"Only that they're the finest quality from a sacred spring, and my dwarves shape them into the same round shape for use by my clients," she replied.
"Dwarves?" I spoke up.
"And the buyer?" Ian questioned her.
"A woman named Keres, but I have a feeling that's just an alias," Lilith told us.
I noticed Jenny stiffened.
"Why do you think it's an alias?" I wondered.
She rolled her eyes. "Because nobody uses those old Greek names anymore, and who would name their kid 'evil spirit?'"
"When is the next shipment?" he asked her.
"Tonight at exactly one at the second pier," she revealed.
Ian stood and turned to smile at her. "Thanks for the info."
Lilith shrugged. "Don't thank me, get revenge for me. Oh, and when you meet Keres and whoever she's working for-"
"How do you know we'll meet her?" Ian returned.
Lilith smiled and sauntered over to him. My blood boiled when she wrapped her arms around his neck and pecked a teasing kiss on his lips. "Because you have a way with women, my dear Ian, and when you want one you won't let them get away." I coughed. Lilith turned to me. "That does sound like a nasty cough."
Ian pulled Lilith off him. "Yes, well, thanks for the help. We'll give your regards to this Keres woman."
"You'd better," she insisted. We turned to leave, but Lilith grabbed Ian's sleeve. "And Ian, darling, maybe you should go this way."
She guided him over to her desk where she pressed a button. The back wall of the office slid out and revealed a staircase to the rear alley.
"If I know you, and I do, then you'll have no trouble reaching your car from here," she cooed.
Ian grinned and pecked a small kiss on her cheek. "Thanks. I owe you."
"And do you," she teased.
Ian led our little troupe up the stairs and to the fresh air of the smelly alley. Trash never smelled so good. The door shut behind us and blended in with the brick wall so it couldn't be spotted.
I turned to Ian and raised an eyebrow. "Dwarves? A hundred years ago?"
He shrugged. "She's not your typical businesswoman."
I snorted. "No kidding." My eyes caught on Jenny. She stood a little ways from us and stared hard at the ground. "You okay?" I asked her.
She started and shook herself from her reverie. "What? Oh, yeah. I'm fine. Which way's the car?"
Ian jerked his thumb behind him down that alley. She wandered past us and in the direction of the vehicle.
I nodded at Jenny's retreating back and lowered my voice. "You think she knows something?"
He lit up a cigarette. "I don't think it."
"So shouldn't we ask her about it?" I suggested.
He tossed the match into a puddle and shook his head. "Nope."
"Why not?"
"Because she's not an enemy. We don't interrogate allies," he told me.
"But if she-"
"If she knows something then she'll tell us when she's ready," he insisted. He took a puff of his cigarette and shrugged. "Besides, she might seem like a ditz but if she thought she knew something that would put us in danger she'd tell us."
I tilted my head to one side and studied him. "Something else is bothering you, isn't it?"
He grinned. "It shows?"
"You're a pretty easy book to read," I teased.
Ian sighed and pulled out his cigarette. He flicked the cigarette into the shadows and his eyes flickered to me. "Lilith is full of info, but she's always got her angle. We have to watch out for that."
"So what's her angle this time?" I wondered.
He shook his head. "I don't know, but I have a feeling we're going to find out. If something does happen, you take Jenny and get out of there, okay?"
I frowned and crossed my arms over my chest. "I'm not leaving you to get yourself killed."
"And I'm not asking you to. I'm asking you to save your butts before I save mine."
"That still sounds like getting you killed," I argued.
He stepped up to me and grasped my shoulders. I tilted my head back and looked up into his bright eyes. A blush covered my cheeks as he smiled down at me. "You really think I'd get myself killed when I've got a lovely lady like you waiting for me?"
"Yes."
He leaned down and his lips ghosted against mine. "You sure about that?" he whispered.
A sensual warmth arose inside me. "M-maybe."
We both jumped when there came a noise to my left. I squinted into the darkness, but saw nothing but overflowing cans and empty boxes.
"What was that?" I asked him.
Ian stepped back and chuckled. "Must be a cat, but come on. We'd better go before we miss the pickup at the pier."
We got back to the car and found Jenny in the rear seat. She sat in one corner with that far-off look in her eyes. We took our seats and drove from the red light district southward to the mouth of the river. The piers were located there along with the steel warehouses that stored all the
cargo. The time was a quarter to one by the time we parked behind a warehouse and got out.
"So what's the plan?" I asked Ian.
"Not die," he told me.
"Anything else?"
"Try to capture the person in charge, if we can figure out who that is," he added.
"With a plan like this what could go wrong?" I quipped.
"Just remember the Plan B I told you about and everything should be fine," he assured me.
I snorted. "So running is Plan B?"
"Pretty much."
Ian led us through the maze of warehouses, stacked crates, and steel shipping containers to the front of the docks. Each pier was numbered by a big white sign with black numbers. The one we wanted was the second closest to the mouth of the river. Rows of wooden crates and forklifts blocked our view of the water. The quiet was broken only by the lapping water against the pier posts and the rocking of the boats.
Ian guided our group from one stack of crates to another until we hid behind the last row of the wooden boxes. He pressed a finger to his lips and peeked around the corner.
A scratching noise behind us caught our attention. We spun around and watched a man's body drop hard to the ground five yards from us. He'd fallen from the top of the pile. A figure still stood there, but they jumped to the ground beside the still man. My eyes widened when I recognized the red sword in his hand.
"What is this? Payback for me flipping my cigarette at you in the alley?" Ian hissed.
Cronus glared back at him and pointed at the fallen man. I noticed there wasn't much breathing going on with him. "This Whisperer was about to call to the others."
Ian frowned and lifted his nose to the air. "I don't smell anyone."
"They have masked their scent with strong witch magic," Cronus explained.
"Crap. . ." Ian muttered. "So how many are there?"
"Too many," Cronus replied.
"Ah." Ian turned to us and smiled. "All right, ladies, I think it's time for us to-" A light shone on us and blinded us.
"Halt!" a voice yelled behind the flashlight.
"Plan B!" he called back.
He picked up Jenny and me, tucked us under each arm and ran towards the warehouses. We were backwards, so I had a great view of the flashlight-wielding Whisperers as they let loose their Phantoms. The dark shadows flew from pockets and tote bags, and raced after us. Each of our feet they gained a yard.
"Must go faster! Must go faster!" I chanted.
"You're not that light!" Ian snapped.
Cronus ran beside Ian. He slid to a stop on the loose gravel of the concrete and turned to face the oncoming spirits. His sword slashed the air in front of him, and the first row of Phantoms were cut to pieces before they exploded in showers of glitter. That was twelve down, and another two dozen to go. Things got worse when more Whisperers popped out of the wood works of crates and tossed their Phantoms like they were Pokeballs.
"Show off," Jenny muttered beside me. We both gasped as Ian made an abrupt stop and our guts dug into his sharp shoulder blades. Jenny twisted her head to glare at him. "What's the-" Her eyes widened. "Oh shit."
CHAPTER 8
I didn't like the sound of that, so I glanced over my shoulder. If there was a lot of Whisperers behind us than there was a shit-load ahead of us. They stood in a long line that blocked off the exit between the crates. Each of them had at least four Whisperers on them.
The crowd behind us got worse as the Whisperers stacked up. Cronus stepped back until he was almost against us. Ian took a step back and grimaced. One of the Whisperers from the group in front of us stepped to the forefront. It was the asshole from the Four Horsemen. He grinned.
"It was so nice of Lilith to invite you out here to see us, don't you think?" he mocked us.
My eyebrows crashed down. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"
"It means that bitch sent us into a trap," Jenny explained.
"Trap is such an ugly word. I prefer the term 'required invitation,'" the man argued.
Jenny snorted. "And I prefer to knock all your teeth out." She squirmed in Ian's hold and turned her wrath on our handler. "Just let me at him for a few minutes."
"Stop squirming and hold on," Ian whispered.
My eyes widened. I knew that tone. That was the we're-about-to-do-something-stupid tone. I clutched onto him and Jenny did the same as Ian lunged to the side. The Whisperers had the path blocked, but not the crates. Ian jumped onto the crates and used them as stairs. The ground receded beneath us until we were thirty feet above our foes. I was surprised to watch Cronus scale the crates with as much skill, but further thoughts had to wait until later.
We reached the top and found ourselves level with the top of one of the warehouses that stood behind the front group of Whisperers. There was a good twenty feet between the edge of the crate and the top of the warehouse.
"No! No no no no!" I yelled.
Ian ignored me and raced to the edge. He leapt into the void. I had a great view of the Whisperers beneath us. Some of them gawked, but others released their Phantoms. The dark shadows curled into the air and made straight for us. Cronus sailed behind us and fended some off, but others broke through his defense.
Those ones slammed into Ian's chest. That knocked us off our course. Ian swung out his arms and managed to grab the edge of the metal room. We dangled thirty feet above the ground with no way down but a quick drop and stop.
"Don't kill them, you fools!" the leader shouted.
Cronus landed even shorter. He dropped into the middle of the group of Whisperers and started slicing them. His sword worked almost as well on humans than it did Phantoms. The blade sliced and diced them. I turned away from the carnage.
"Hold. . .on," Ian gasped.
He grunted and slowly pulled his stomach onto the roof. Jenny and I crawled off him, and we each grabbed an arm. We had him most of the way on when two Phantoms floated up and grabbed his feet. They tugged him towards the void. We tugged back.
"Let go!" I yelled at them.
Their red eyes only glowed brighter, and they tugged harder.
"Forget about me! Just run!" Ian insisted.
"I'm not leaving you!" I argued.
Ian yanked his hands out of ours. The Phantoms, surprised by the sudden loss of pull, flew backwards and released their hold on him. Ian disappeared from sight. Jenny and I rushed to the edge of the warehouse and looked down. Ian landed neatly amid the carnage created by Cronus and joined in the fray, but not before he looked up at us.
"Run, you idiots!" he yelled.
I noticed movement and looked up. The Phantoms of Ian's feet flew at us. Jenny lifted a hand and blasted them with her pink power. She grabbed my wrist and pulled me from the edge.
"You heard the werewolf!" she shouted.
"We can't leave them!" I insisted.
"We're only dead weight, or will be if we stick around!" she argued.
We sprinted across the roof of the warehouse to a hatch. The hatch led into the building via a ladder. Jenny shoved me down first and followed close above me.
The ladder followed one of the support columns to the floor. My feet hit the ground at the same time the large garage door behind me burst open. Phantoms flew through a hole in the door and straight at us.
Jenny dropped to the ground beside me and blasted them with her pink power. The first wave was obliterated, but the second and third ones didn't even flinch. They dove down and grabbed her arms. She was lifted off the ground and flown towards the opposite side of the warehouse.
"Get your nasty hands off me!" she demanded.
I reached out for to grab Jenny, but a Phantom grabbed my wrist. Another dark spirit snatched my arm and I, too, was lifted off the ground. My feet flailed and kicked beneath me as I was pulled to the door at the head of the warehouse. The entrance opened and I glimpsed a black car parked just outside. The trunk was open.
I just reached the front when a searing red light cut into the rear large door. The light
cut a large hole into the metal, and the cutout dropped to the ground with a large clatter. Ian and Cronus leapt through the hole, both looking the worse for wear with their torn clothing and disheveled hair.
"Ian!" I shouted.
"Enid!" he called back.
He rushed forward, but a wave of Phantoms followed in their footsteps. The creatures surrounded the pair in a vortex of their circling bodies. The men slashed and hacked at the things, but they just kept coming, supplied by the insane number of Whisperers who hurried into the warehouse from both ends.
Jenny and I were dragged outside and the door was shut behind us. The Phantoms deposited us in the trunk and one of the Whisperers grabbed the trunk lid. Others rushed over and grabbed out legs and hands. They bound our wrists and ankles tightly with rope, and stepped back.
The man from the club watched the proceedings with his stupid grin. "Your friends are a great deal of trouble, but not for long," he commented.
He stopped laughing when the ground shook. Beams of light burst from the seams of the warehouse panels and lit up the area like it was daylight. The front door burst off its hinges and flew across the ground, taking several of the Whisperers with it. Both slammed into the ground twenty yards from the warehouse. The Whisperers didn't emerge from beneath the heavy door.
"Shut it and let's get out of here!" the leader yelled.
The man slammed the trunk shut and the car bounced as they jumped into the seats. The bright light shone through the cracks in the trunk and illuminated our shocked faces. We winced when the driver stepped on the gas. The wheels spun for a few seconds before the vehicle leapt forward. The light kept pace with us for a short distance before it faded.
The car bumped on its way for a few moments before I tried to free myself from the ropes. No doing. They were tight.
I squirmed over to Jenny until we bumped bodies. "You okay?" I whispered.
She shifted and groaned. "I'm okay, but they bound my hands pretty tight."
"Yeah. When they invite someone to go with them they don't want them to change their minds," I commented as I looked over the space. My weak eyes couldn't pick up the details of the trunk. "Ian's gonna have a hell of a time trying to sniff us out when we're inside here."
"He can't. Even his nose isn't that strong," she told me.
"Damn." I tried the ropes again. Nothing doing. "Any idea what that light was? The Whisperers seemed pretty terrified of it."