Ian stared up at the ceiling and tried not to notice how big and empty his bed felt without Fiona in it. It was strange how before he’d had her in it, the bed had been a soft, cozy place to rest. Now it was just a cold, flat place to lie down while he didn’t sleep. Not that he’d gotten a lot of sleep over the past week. But, staying up half the night talking and making love to Fiona had been well worth the weariness the next day.
Now, all he could do was stare at the ceiling with bleary eyes and play their last conversation back in his head, over and over. He couldn’t believe he had lost her. No, he refused to believe it. He was certain that though she may have meant everything she said when she said it… her motivations had been fear, weariness, and stress. Besides, she’d said she couldn’t love him, not that she didn’t love him. There was a very distinct difference. He would give her time and space, but he wouldn’t give up on her. Not just yet.
She was hurting, and what he really wanted to do was hold her and comfort her, then go kick the ass of everyone and everything that had ever caused her pain. But all he could do was take a step back. He would do as she asked, get another partner on this case, and continue to try to find Millie and the other missing mages. And when it was all over, he would go to her and try to sort things out… if he didn’t die from the hole in his heart first.
With a sigh, Ian heaved himself out of bed and stumbled across the room to pour a stiff drink. It wasn’t the first time he’d had to drink himself to sleep over Fiona Moon, and he doubted it would be the last. As he raised the whiskey to his lips, his large, wall-mounted scry-crystal began to buzz and pulse with color.
It was very late. Maybe it was Fiona. He half dropped the glass onto the table, whiskey sloshing over the side, and rushed to his desk. He waved his hand over the crystal to activate it, but when the fog cleared, it was Jarrett Campbell’s face he saw, not Fiona’s.
Ian scowled. “Campbell,” he said, by way of greeting.
“Barroes.” Jarrett returned the greeting. “I’m sorry to bother you so late, but Fiona left her scry-crystal here and I need to speak with her. We have a bit of a situation.”
Confusion, and then fear washed over Ian. “Jarrett, Fiona isn’t here. Why isn’t she there? What the hell is going on?”
In the crystal, Jarrett went rigid. “I don’t know. About half an hour ago, River woke up, terrified, from a dream. She’s convinced it was a vision. She isn’t completely coherent yet, but she refuses to go back to bed until she speaks to Fiona. We went up to her room, but she wasn’t there. Her scry-crystal is on her dresser. She left a note saying she went to the library. But I just scryed the Corsinis and Mateo said she was there, but left just under three hours ago. I figured she would be with you.”
“I’ll be there in ten minutes,” Ian snapped, slapping his hand across the crystal and cutting the connection before Jarrett could say anything. Clad in just his pants, he stuck his feet in his boots, leaving them unlaced. Grabbing his shirt, vest, and his rarely worn sword, he headed out the door, dressing as he went.
Ian’s guard, Daniels, drove the rickshaw at breakneck speed while Ian sat in the back, dressing and peering out along the side of the road for any sign of Fiona. When Ian entered the pub, it was full of people. River and Anya sat side by side in two chairs pulled together. River was leaning against Anya, her head on her older sister’s shoulder as Anya hugged and soothed her. Carly Corsini sat at the table on the other side of River, one of River’s hands in hers, speaking in low tones.
Mateo and Pinky were at the bar, bent over a piece of paper, and Jarrett paced the far side of the room, speaking into his scry-crystal. “Okay,” he said, and then snapped the crystal closed. He looked up and started walking toward Ian. “That was Sam. He’s headed into Headquarters to start gathering a team for a search.”
“A search? What the hell is going on?” Ian bellowed.
“We aren’t sure, but we think Fiona went after Bokor, alone.”
“What? How? She wouldn’t even know where to look. Where would she have gone?”
Carly cleared her throat. “We think she went to the Parthenon.”
Ian searched his memory for the word but came up blank. “What is that? Where?”
“It’s a pre-Cataclysm building that was once a part of a park. It’s a couple of miles outside the city walls,” Carly told him.
“Okay, can someone start from the beginning?” Ian said, his irritation rising. Nothing they said made any sense.
Carly and Mateo recounted their conversation with Fiona. “When Jarrett called looking for her, I was afraid something had happened, so I redrew the map I gave her and brought it over,” Mateo finished up the tale.
“Why didn’t you go with her?” Ian raged.
“Hey, man.” Mateo held up his hand. “I thought she was headed to Blade Headquarters to assemble an assault team. That is what she said she was going to do. I had no idea there had been a threat on her life, or I never would have let her go alone.”
“It’s true; she said she was going to the headquarters building,” Carly reinforced.
“But she either changed her mind or didn’t make it there,” Ian said, suddenly very sure Fiona hadn’t went after Bokor by herself. Despite her sense of responsibility for Millie, Fiona was too smart to put them both in danger by rushing in unprepared. “My money is on she didn’t make it there. River, you had a vision?”
“Yes,” she said, her face tear stained, and her voice creaky. “But it was just flashes. I saw Fiona; her eyes were closed. Her wrists were in chains. It was dark. I couldn’t really see.”
Fear gripped Ian so hard he could hardly breathe. “Was she hurt? Who else was there? Damn it, River. Is she alive?” His voice rose with every word.
“I don’t know. I don’t know.” River dissolved into a fit of sobs.
Before Ian could blink, Pinky was in front of him. The man’s nostrils flared and his eyes were wide with rage, but his voice was icily quiet. “Ian, I know you are worried about Fiona, and that is the only reason your heart is on the inside of your chest right now. You need to take your voice down a notch. If I ever hear you speak to River, or any of my daughters, in that tone again, I will break every bone in your body before I rip out your throat.”
Ian took a step back. For all that he looked like a harmless kid and had the easiest-going demeanor Ian had ever seen, the scrawny vampire was not someone Ian wanted angry with him. “I’m sorry,” he said, meaning it.
“I know,” Pinky said, clapping Ian on the shoulder. His normal tone of voice returned. “And I suppose I should take back some of that promise. I can’t really blame you if you use that tone on Fiona once in a while; I think we all do. She kind of brings it out in a person.”
“No need to worry about that,” Ian replied. “She’ll break my bones herself if I get out of line.”
Pinky laughed. “That’s true. Try to remember that. My little girl is tough as nails. She’ll get through this.”
Ian nodded, then walked over to River and knelt beside her chair. “River,” he said, softly. “I’m sorry I yelled at you. I’m just frightened. Forgive me?”
River gave him a shaky smile through a wall of tears. “It’s okay,” she said, her voice tremulous. Then she leaned over and whispered into his ear. “You love her.”
Ian kissed River’s cheek. “I do. Try not to worry. I’ll find her and bring her back, I promise.”
River smiled again, this time a little more brightly. “I know.”
“We should head over to the headquarters building; Sam said he would have the team ready to leave in an hour,” Jarrett said.
Ian rose. “Mateo, you have the map. Can you draw another one?”
“Yes, from memory at this point. Why?”
“I’m taking that map, so can you go draw another one for Sam and make sure they get to the right place?”
“No problem. I have a general idea of where the place is, so I’ll go with them.”
Carly looked
like she was going to protest, but then just nodded at her husband.
“Ian, you can’t be meaning to go after her alone. Isn’t that what landed Fiona in trouble?” Anya said.
“She didn’t go off by herself. She wouldn’t. She is too damned smart for that. I think Bokor got her some other way. He’s already had her three hours. I can’t sit around and wait another one while everyone gets ready. I’m going now,” he said, determined.
“He’s right. She is too smart for that,” Jarrett agreed. “I’m coming with you.” Going to the back room, he returned with a heavy, black cloak and a sword. He slid the sword into the scabbard at his waist.
“It may be well past dawn before we return,” Ian said.
Jarrett grinned and held up the cloak. “That’s what this for.”
“Let’s go,” Pinky said, a cloak in his hand.
“Pinky, I’ve heard the stories, man. I know you can hold your own in a fight, which is why you need to stay here.” He cut his eyes to River and Anya as they talked to Carly and back to Pinky. “I know Anya can protect herself and River, but she is no match against this guy if he comes back here.”
Pinky sighed and tossed the cloak over a chair. “You are right. You just make sure you bring my little girl back to me,” he said to both Ian and Jarrett, his voice hard. “If you don’t, you may not want to come back yourselves.”
“Understood,” Ian said. If he couldn’t bring Fiona home safe and sound, he would welcome Pinky’s rage.