Guardian Witch: Burning Both Ends Part 15

He laughed. "Surrounded by three? I have the advantage-I have Steffan." He was unruffled. The man had a cool head, not easily rattled. If he wasn't a kidnapper, she might have liked him.

"What's your point?" Ari asked. "You're not going anywhere, and we can wait all day."

He made no immediate response. Was he a.s.sessing, adapting again? It's what he'd done every step of the way. A full minute pa.s.sed, then two. Maybe he was through talking. The idea of a prolonged standoff was not appealing.

"Guardian? Are my wolves alive?"

"I told you they were."

"If I send Steffan out, will you let them go?"

"I don't see that you're in any position to bargain," she countered. She and Lilith exchanged looks. What was he up to? Was he actually agreeing to a peaceful resolution?

"I'm trying to save lives here," the kidnapper said. "You said it yourself in the park. No one else needs to die."

"Then we agree on something. So you're willing to surrender and return Steffan unharmed if we let the others go? Is that the deal?"

He laughed, a deep roar of genuine amus.e.m.e.nt. "I don't believe I said anything about surrendering. You'll have to come and get me, Guardian. But only after the others, including Steffan, are safely out of the way. Do we have a deal or not?"

She frowned. Did he really think he could get away? Or was this an honor thing, a suicide by cop? Her first thought was to ensure the safety of her friend and worry about the bad guy later. To h.e.l.l with it. She didn't need a second thought.

"Deal," she said. "When we're both ready, you send Steffan out first."

"Bring up the prisoners and unchain them," Ari told Gilbert. He motioned to his pack mates, and the two chained wolves shuffled forward until they stood sullenly beside her. While Gilbert unlocked the chains, Lilith drew her guns to cover the prisoners.

"We're ready," Ari called.

The cabin door opened, and Steffan stepped out. He was in human form, his face set in tired lines, his red hair rumpled. He looked unharmed. A black wolf stood on either side.

"Stop right there," the kidnapper shouted. "OK, Guardian, send my wolves over."

Lilith guns stayed trained on them as they started walking toward the cabin.

"Now, my men are going to shift into wolf form," the voice continued, "and the four of them will leave unharmed. Steffan will join you."

"Works for me."

By the time she finished talking, the enemy wolves were already trotting into the woods, and Steffan was half-way across the clearing. As he drew close, Gilbert pulled him to safety behind a tree. Ari looked over and gave Steffan a big thumbs-up. He grinned back.

The crash of breaking gla.s.s jerked her attention to the cabin, and she charged forward, dashing around the back corner of the building in time to see a large grey wolf, his fur tipped with white, disappear into the brush. Ari sent a blue stunner arcing after him, but it thudded harmlessly against a maple tree. Gilbert and his wolves ran past her, racing toward the woods. They spread out in a v-shaped chase pattern, but Ari doubted they'd find anything. The four guard wolves had too much of a head start, and the leader had timed his departure to the instant Steffan reached them, giving him a second or two of advantage. It would be enough. Did a tiny part of her think that would be OK? Not really, but he'd revealed a strong, pragmatic side that made her think he would no longer be a danger to Steffan or the coalition. He'd lost the war of wills. A bitter punishment for such a man.

"They won't catch him," Steffan said, verbalizing her thoughts as he came up beside her. "Now I know what he meant when he pushed me out the door. He said he was sorry he wouldn't get to meet you."

By the time they reached the Magic Hall, the others had heard of the rescue and waited in the main council chambers.

"Any problems here?" Ari demanded, preempting the questions soon to be showered on Steffan. "We still have a missing van."

The weretiger leader stepped forward. "They might have been here. I had my eye on a black van idling down the street for a while, but it finally drove away about an hour ago. No sign of it since."

Ari absorbed the information. Had the kidnapper called them off once he lost Steffan? Maybe. It would fit the realistic way he'd handled everything else, but they might never know. She'd didn't plan to lift the protection teams or surveillance until the vote was finalized.

The wizard produced a can of beer from somewhere, and Steffan related his story while downing the contents. "You can't imagine how happy I was to hear Ari's voice outside the cabin," he finished.

"So the culprit got away," the president said. "He caused a lot of fear and anxiety to walk away unscathed."

"Too bad you didn't see his face," Vita said. "It's impossible to identify suspects without a decent description."

"You're right." Steffan pursed his lips, as if reviewing his days in captivity. "The guy was very careful to reveal nothing about himself. Always kept his face covered. It was his insistence on anonymity, the care he took to insure it, that gave me hope I would survive." He smiled at Ari. "That...and the fact I knew Ari was hot on his trail."

Chapter Fourteen.

With the kidnapper on the run and Steffan safely returned to the protection of his pack, Ari's only thought was to get to Toronto. But last minute tickets were hard to find-at any price. Pa.s.senger-lists were filled, with many names on stand-by.

Ari and Lilith hung around the airport, hara.s.sing airline agents to the point of drawing a wary eye from airport security. After numerous phone conferences with supervisors from the airlines, after Ari heard "no" and "sorry" more times than she could count, the Global Connect ticket desk suddenly found them tickets. They weren't seated together for the first leg of their trip, but they were on the same flight. Ari didn't care where she sat. She would have gone alone or in the luggage compartment, if necessary.

Ari let out a pent-up breath as they hurried toward the gate, knowing she was lucky to be on a flight less than three hours after Steffan's rescue. She was grateful for whatever ticket miracle had occurred, but all she could think about was reaching Andreas.

She called Zoe while standing with Lilith in the boarding line. The Toronto Guardian had no news. Thirty minutes earlier, Lilith had checked with Russell, with the same results. Ari hadn't expected to hear anything else, but she couldn't stop from checking. Most vamps were still asleep. Most. But Andreas was an early riser, often up as early as mid-afternoon. About now. Surely, he'd call someone soon.

The boarding line onto the plane proceeded at a snail's pace. Every pa.s.senger ahead of them appeared to have multiple bags and parcels they needed to stow. When Ari realized she was tapping a toe, she shifted her weight. When they finally reached the cabin, Lilith slipped into row eleven. Ari's ticket was in seventeen. She boosted her carry-on into the overhead bin and turned to sit down. Her portly seat companion lifted his head from the magazine he'd been reading.

"Good afternoon."

Despite her consuming worry about Andreas, Ari stifled a laugh. "Why, Uncle Horatio, I had no idea you'd be on this flight."

"Didn't you, my dear? You must be terribly distracted." He twinkled at her and patted the empty seat. "Please, sit down. You're blocking the aisle."

She apologized to the waiting pa.s.sengers and took her seat. "Do I have you to thank for getting us on this plane?"

"Not me personally," he said. "But my employers do have a bit of clout. We might have managed first cla.s.s seats, if you had called me," he mused. "But all is well that ends well, as my fellow countryman would say. How are you, my dear?"

"I'll tell you when I catch my breath."

He gave her a knowing smile. "And your friend Steffan, is he well?"

"He is now."

Horatio nodded his head as if he had expected nothing less. "You do look tired. I'm sure you would like to catch a short nap, but first, can you indulge your old uncle by giving me the details of your recent adventure? My employer is curious, as am I." He peered at her from under lowered brows. "I understand you're anxious about affairs in Toronto, but there is nothing you can do during the flight, and my friends did find you the tickets."

A debriefing. No matter how gentle the questioner, the government wanted an accounting. For the next half hour, she related the events of the past forty-eight hours. The numerous calls, the false trails laid by both sides, and eventually the recovery of Steffan.

"You say the kidnapper just let him go?" Horatio's face was impa.s.sive.

"He did." Ari frowned in thought. "I don't think he ever intended to kill anyone, and he ran out of other options."

"And you traded his freedom for Steffan?"

Her response was clipped. "I traded the other four wolves for Steffan. The leader wasn't part of the deal. He escaped on his own."

"I see. My employer may take a skeptical view of your solution. But I suppose you know that." She didn't like the knowing quirk of Horatio's bushy brow.

"Are you suggesting I allowed him to escape, that it was deliberate?"

"Was it?"

"No." When Horatio waited for her to elaborate, she added, "He'd planned ahead. But I'm not too worried that he got away. I don't think Steffan was either. This guy's not a terrorist, Horatio, and he didn't kill anyone. I hold him responsible for Lilith killing one of his people, but he'll have to live with that. Your boss should let the wolves handle it from here."

"I heard Steffan could not identify him."

"That's true. He didn't get a look at the kidnapper's face. The guy was careful, kept his ident.i.ty hidden."

"I almost hate to ask, but do you know who he is?"

Ari sucked in her breath. She didn't want to answer that. "I have some ideas..."

"That you're not willing to share," he finished.

"Not officially. I don't think this is a matter for your agency to settle. They'd only be interfering...but I could use a favor, a personal favor. Nothing official, you understand." She handed him a slip of paper with a name on it. "I'd like you to check out this name, see if it appears anywhere it shouldn't. In particular, I'd like to know this person's movements during the past two weeks."

Jones glanced at the paper, folded it, and placed it in his pocket. "What do I receive in return?"

"If I'm right, you'll have the personal satisfaction of knowing the answer. And my thanks." She gave him a steady look. "I promise I'll share the name with the wolf authorities who can protect the interests of the coalition."

"A fair solution. In my day, I've done favors for less." Horatio smiled and patted his pocket. "Leave it to me. Now, what's happening with the vote? Is Steffan still the tie breaker?"

"They're still split. Steffan could break the tie, but he's worried that will leave the coalition in a weakened position, without full support from everyone. So they've taken a break. Steffan is resting up, and the other leaders have gone home to discuss and consider their vote. They'll be back in Riverdale on Monday for a final tally."

Horatio patted his pocket again. "Will this make a difference?"

"I think it will."

"Then I'll make sure you have an answer before Monday."

"Now it's your turn. I want to hear everything about your meetings with Tobias."

Punctuated by a lot of chuckles and hand gestures, Jones regaled her with Tobias's posturing and bl.u.s.tering, his red-faced explosion at the wolves' escape from the resort, Jones's pretense to share his indignation and finally the last phone call that resulted in Tobias's scurrying off to Chicago to protect his files.

"I have made a call to the IRS. They'll be contacting him about a review of his last three years of tax returns."

"Awesome," Ari said with a satisfied smile. "No less than he deserves. You were a champ to step in like you did."

"A pleasure. I rather enjoyed myself and am sorry our adventure is over." He glanced at her. "But it isn't for you. Now you're off to rescue your vampire friends."

She let out a short laugh. "I wouldn't say that. They've survived for centuries without me. But I'd like to be there to see them win." All true, except this time Ari sensed she was needed.

She lay back and pretended to sleep. Already swamped with guilt, she didn't want to discuss Andreas or Toronto with Jones. But the moment her mind wasn't actively engaged with other things, an overwhelming urgency enveloped her. Couldn't this plane go any faster?

Horatio seemed to understand. He left her alone, and the monotonous droning of the plane allowed her to doze off and on. Ari woke and said good-bye to him when she and Lilith deplaned to switch flights. They had a two-hour layover. Lilith grabbed something to eat, and Ari fidgeted until it was time for the next flight. Once on board, Ari finally fell into a deep sleep for the last leg of the trip.

One moment Ari was sleeping on board a plane at 35,000 feet; the next instant, she was looking at the dark, unfamiliar streets of a large metropolis. Somehow she knew she was tracking someone, a primordial hunt, and the creatures she sought were about a block ahead. She sensed her prey, three of them, but most clearly she could smell them. Vampires.

For a moment Ari was confused. Why weren't her witch senses sounding an alarm? Why could she hardly feel her magic? Yet, magic was all around her. And why was the scent of the vampires so overwhelming from a block away? With a start, she realized other senses were uber-heightened, too. Her eyes saw a kaleidoscope of things she'd never noticed before. A spider on the wall. She heard the legs sc.r.a.ping against the brick. The sound of the wind made music on the spider web.

She forgot about the spider as her blood grew heated and a potent urge drew her down the street. She heard furtive movement beside her and realized she had two companions, friends she sensed, who moved as swiftly, as silently and with a similar sense of purpose. They covered the ground in flashes of speed, darting into cover to avoid detection.

The street was crowded. Bar crowd. She had entered an entertainment district. Flashing neon lights, loud music spilling out whenever doors opened. People celebrating. A drunken individual here and there, smelling of cheap whiskey. The mingled odors of human sweat and yeasty beer floated from the doorways. The growing street crowd finally forced her and her two companions to slow their pace in order to avoid attracting too much attention.

The vampires ahead of them turned into a narrow side street, and Ari-or the body that was Ari but not Ari-slowed, as she approached the corner.

Her confusion was turning to fear. What the h.e.l.l had happened to her? Where was she? Who was she?

Stopping abruptly, she edged forward to peer around the corner and saw her prey. Yes, three male vampires. They hadn't noticed her presence yet. But why was she tracking them? She waited until they disappeared around the next corner, then she and her companions followed.

She flew down the alley, feet barely touching the pavement, moving with a blinding speed she'd never experienced. Doorways rushed past in a blur. She halted at the next street to check the vamps' current location.

Ari spotted her quarry crossing the pavement into a small city park, filled with trees, mostly barren at this time of year. The leaves on the ground gave off a musty odor. She heard the mice in the dead gra.s.s, the birds fluffing their feathers as they settled in the trees, their hearts beating: a-rat-a-tat-tat. The vamps ahead slowed their pace, moving in and out of the park's trees. Her nostrils flared. Her mind spiked hot with a rage that was more than her own. The vampires were blood-hunting-tracking humans.

The rogues were so intensely focused they still didn't know they were also being hunted. Ari and her companions fanned out, slipping from cover to cover, following behind the vampires' steps, yet forming a larger net.

Voices rose from somewhere ahead, and a new scent wafted in her direction. Humans. Hearts thudding, blood pumping, a male and a female. The vampires had found their victims.

She saw the young couple enter the park and walk directly toward the rogue hunters. Ari took advantage of the overpowering human scent to cover her approach and lengthened her stride, pulling up short of the walkway. Her companions circled through the trees to the other side of the developing scene.

The tall, blond, male vampire approached the couple, and they stopped. The other rogues moved in from behind, trapping them in a triangle. Suddenly alarmed, the young humans tried to ease past the blond, but he stepped directly into their path.

"Going somewhere?" he asked.

"We don't want any trouble." The young man grabbed the girl's hand. "We'd just like to pa.s.s."

"Don't think I can allow that. What do you think, Barnabas?"

The dark, more muscular of his two companions was the one who answered. "I think they should stay. It'll be fun."

"At least for us," the third vamp added with a mocking laugh. He was shorter and stocky. His broad face was dominated by a wide, flat nose. Becoming a vampire had not improved his looks.

"What do you want?" the young man asked, a crack in his voice betraying him. "If it's money, I don't have much, but you can have it."

"Oh, no, not money." The blond's smile was cold, calculating. "You have something much more precious. My friends and I are thirsty."