"Don't be so sure," she whispered.
She let me go and wiped her cheeks as Lucas embraced me.
"We're going to fix this," he said. "Someone has directly contravened the laws of demonic bargaining. And when we find out who it was, there will be an accounting and the effects will be reversed."
"Can we sue for damages, too?"
A faint smile as he released me. "We'll see. First, though, we have no intention of waiting to discover who did this or why. I find it impossible to believe your spells have been completely bound. Thorough testing may reveal deficiencies in the procedure--loopholes that we can exploit and recover at least part of your powers as we pursue the guilty party. We'll need to do a complete accounting of spells and rituals--"
"Make a list," Paige said, taking my hand and starting to lead me off the plane. "We'll get to it later. Right now, this girl needs food and rest."
When we got into the hangar, Clay and Karl were there, along with Benicio, Hope, and a battalion of guards ringing the perimeter, trying to look inconspicuous.
I glanced past the guards and looked around. "Let me guess. Adam's already off on a mission without me. Didn't take him long."
I tried not to let my disappointment show. But as I looked across the faces and saw eyes dart away, I started to hope he had gone off without me, because the alternative--
"He must have missed our message," Paige said quickly, leading me toward the exit. "I should have called him directly. You know how he gets when he's up to his eyeballs in research."
So he was at Cabal headquarters, doing nothing more pressing than research.
"Hope? Karl?" Benicio said as we headed outside. "I'd like you to ride with Savannah and me. We need to discuss Jasper Haig."
The four of us took Benicio's SUV. His bodyguards--Troy and Griffin--rode up front, Troy pulling double-duty as chauffeur. The SUV had been modified so the middle seats could swing around to face the back ones.
Benicio spent the first few minutes fussing with Hope, making sure she had cold water and a snack, and that the air-conditioning was enough, but not too much. Typical Benicio. He knew that the way to win over Karl was through Hope. The one flaw in Benicio's plan? Karl was just as Machiavellian as Benicio, meaning he knew exactly what the old fox was doing and was unmoved by the fact that the most powerful man in our world was taking such great care of his wife. I don't think Hope bought it either, but at least she feigned appreciation for his efforts.
Hope looked tinier than ever, her brown skin sallow, makeup barely disguising the circles under her dark eyes, her black curls left loose around her face, as if they could hide her exhaustion. She was still gorgeous, though. Hope and Karl looked like they stepped off a movie screen. Bollywood meets James Bond.
"Rhys mentioned these people are interested in Jasper," Benicio said as he finally settled into his seat. "Can you tell me what they said, please, Savannah?"
I did. Then I said, "Has anyone looked up this Phalegian Prophecy yet?"
"Everyone has," Benicio said. "We've checked our Cabal records and Adam has checked the council ones. His father has double-checked. We even asked the Boyd Cabal, because they're concerned about this movement and have offered their services. There's no record of it. We suspect this Giles has invented it."
"Even if he hasn't, that only means some other guy invented it a few hundred years ago," Hope said. "Either way, it's meaningless propaganda to promote an agenda. I just wish that agenda didn't involve me or Jasper Haig."
Karl grumbled his agreement.
"We will take care of that," Benicio said. "So their plan seems to be to entice Jasper to their side, by offering him Hope."
"Which means they think they can break him out," I said. "That isn't possible."
"Of course it is." Karl barely unhinged his jaw as he spoke. "There's no such thing as perfect security. That's why I didn't want him being held anywhere. There's no reason to hold him. How many people did he kill? But that's not important, is it? What matters is that Jasper Haig is a scientific anomaly, a new supernatural race that evolved over only a few generations, and you have to study that, even if it means keeping alive the man who murdered two of your own sons."
Karl's gaze locked with Benicio's. "My child hasn't even been born yet, and I'd kill anyone who even tried to harm her, so excuse me if I don't share your sentiments on Jasper Haig."
Benicio didn't flinch. "One could argue that a lifetime of imprisonment is a worse punishment than a merciful death."
"Oh, I never said anything about merciful. The point is that as long as Jasper is in custody, he runs the risk of leaving custody."
"I would never let--"
"You don't have any say in the matter. He can escape, and eventually he will."
"Karl's right," I said. "Jaz isn't just any prisoner. He's a psychopathic criminal mastermind with the ability to alter his appearance to look like anyone."
"Not anyone," Benicio said. "He has to work within the limits of his own physiology, which is why all his guards are significantly taller than he is. And as for 'criminal mastermind'? Clever, yes. Genius, no."
Hope spoke up, her voice soft. "I take it you didn't ask us along to discuss the wisdom of locking up Jasper Haig. You're wondering whether this Giles person has an actual plan, and if he has a plan for freeing Jaz. If so, it's likely he's made contact already. There's only one person Jaz would share that information with."
"Absolutely not." Karl turned on Benicio. "We're in Miami for one reason, and only one reason. Because you've promised that Hope's health is a priority, over any help she could provide. If you've changed your mind, you can pull over right now--"
"I'm only asking Hope to meet with Jasper briefly. We'll have a medical team standing by. We'll equip her with a cordless heart and fetal monitor and pull her out if there's any distress to her or the baby."
"Any distress? How can there not be--?"
Hope cut him off. "If there is a plan to help Jaz escape, I can get him to tell me about it. Then we can stop it. Or we can run off to Europe with the others and wait until he does escape and comes after me."
There wasn't much Karl could say to that, except to lay out exactly what he wanted from Benicio to make the meeting as safe as it could be. Benicio agreed, and asked me to be there, too, in case Jaz said something that I'd recognize from my dealings with the group.
Adam didn't meet us in the secured parking lot. Or inside the offices. I got the hint. I'd screwed up so badly he wanted nothing to do with me. I won't say how much that hurt. I can't.
But I didn't have time to dwell on it. I had to tell them so much--including my encounter with Balaam. My debriefing went on for hours as a Cabal expert prodded my brain until they had every scrap I could remember, then continued poking until Paige said "enough."
Then Paige and Lucas walked me to a small lounge where food was waiting. Lunch, I guess, though I'd lost track of time. As we ate, they put me through another kind of interrogation, this one on my power outage. What did I feel when I cast? What spells had I tried? Had I attempted any rituals?
"We can conduct more thorough tests later," Lucas said as he jotted notes. "We'll determine the exact parameters of the problem. It may be that not all your spells are affected."
"And even if they are, we'll deal with that," Paige said.
"Yes, of course." Lucas snapped his notebook shut and leaned forward. "We know how upset you must be, but your ability to cast spells is only a small part of who you are, Savannah. Remember how rarely you cast spells in your daily life."
"Let me rephrase that," Paige said. "Think of how rarely you need to cast them. Which excludes things like an unlock spell so you don't have to dig out your keys."
I looked at them both, sitting on the couch, trying to assess my mood, not wanting to smother me with reassurances, but wanting to be sure I understood that I'd be fine without my spells. That it wouldn't change anything. Wouldn't change how they felt. If I'd been worried about that, I'd been a fool.
I'd been a fool about a lot of things.
"When we test my spells," I said, "I've got some we need to add to the regime. Some of my mom's."
Lucas nodded. "Dark magic. Yes, we should do that. The materials and techniques are slightly dissimilar and it may make a difference."
He opened his book and made a note.
"We'll need a list of ingredients," Paige said. "I'm sure the Cabal has everything here, but if these are spells they might not have access to, then we need to be careful how we ask for them. We don't want to give them more dark magic than they already have."
And that was that. No "what spells do you mean?" Or "where did you get them?" My deepest, darkest secret revealed, only to discover it hadn't been a secret at all.
"We should find a room where we can do the testing," Paige said to Lucas.
A look passed between them.
He got to his feet. "I'll do that now."
He left and Paige motioned me over to the sofa. I sat beside her.
"So," she said. "How are you holding up?"
I tried to say I was fine, but the words wouldn't come. Finally, all I could do was shake my head.
"Do you want to talk about it?"
I nodded. I told her everything, starting from the moment Jesse Aanes walked into my office and offered me the case in Columbus. I told her everything that had happened since then, even the parts she already knew, because this was different, now she was here, finally here, and she could put her arms around me and I could let it all spill out. And I could cry. I could let myself cry, which I did, until there was nothing left and I fell asleep with my head on her lap.
Paige woke me up a while later. Hope was ready to visit Jaz, and I had to go down to watch. Although there was an observation room adjoining Jaz's cell, they were using a secret video link instead, so he'd think he was alone with Hope.
I had to use a special set of elevators that led to the secured basement. I was on my way to them when a voice called, "Savannah," and I nearly tripped over myself stopping.
Adam stepped from the archive room.
"Hey," he said.
"Hey yourself." I struggled to keep my tone light. "I heard you're eyeball deep in research. How's it going?"
"Okay." He lowered his voice. "Are you okay? I mean, I know you didn't get hurt, but . . . are you okay?"
"Just kidnapped again. I'm used to it by now."
His eyes clouded with concern and he stood there, undecided. He knew it hadn't been as easy for me as I pretended, and he wanted to say something, do something.
I could use this. Let my armor crack, maybe even fake a little more residual anxiety than I felt, and he'd put his anger aside to be there for me.
"I'm okay," I said. "I had my moments on the inside, but I'm out now, with lots else to focus on. I'm ready for work. Speaking of which, if you need any help, I'm around."
He nodded, glanced over his shoulder and lifted a finger to someone, then turned to me. "Okay. I just wanted to . . . say hi. I should get back to work. I'll catch up with you later."
"Sure. I'm around, like I said. Maybe we can--"
He was already gone. The door swung shut behind him and I was left standing there, staring at it. When I turned, I saw Clay in another doorway, further down, watching me.
I took a step toward him. He went back inside and shut the door. I paused, then took a deep breath and continued toward the elevator.
twenty-three
Jasper Haig was reading in bed when the guards escorted Hope in. His "cell" looked like a fantasy college dorm, complete with an Xbox, Wii, laptop, and high-def TV. Of course the computer wasn't hooked up to an external network and even his e-book reader couldn't download anything from the outside world, but it didn't look like the kind of accommodations you'd expect for the man who'd killed two of Benicio's sons.
Karl was right. Any need for revenge Benicio felt was superseded by his need to uncover whatever evolutionary and supernatural secrets were locked in Jaz's DNA.
The problem was that studying Jaz's physical makeup wasn't enough. They had to study his transformations, and discover what triggers allowed him to reshape his features. That couldn't be done without his consent. So for four years Jaz and his captors had been locked in this weird relationship of control and reward, and Jaz lived like the proverbial canary in the gilded cage, getting everything except the two things he wanted most. Freedom and Hope.
Why was Jaz obsessed with Hope? What makes the heart latch onto one person and refuse to let go? I wish I knew.
In Hope, Jaz thought he'd found his perfect partner, someone who loved chaos as much as he did. They'd met when Benicio had asked Hope to infiltrate a Miami gang of supernaturals. Jaz and his brother, Jason--known as Sonny--had seemed like just two ordinary members. They'd befriended her, and Jaz fell for her, and I think maybe Hope fell a little in return, until Karl came back into her life, and swept aside all the competition. And then she'd discovered what Jaz really was. A murderous psychopath.
It had been three years since they'd seen each other, yet when that door opened, Jaz's grin was so big and so bright that Hope faltered in her tracks. I couldn't blame her. It was a heart-stopper of a smile, and Jaz was a gorgeous guy, with black curls and deep green eyes.
Jaz started to scramble off the bed.
One of the guards lifted his hand. "You know the routine, Jasper. Stand on the other side of the bed and place your hands behind your back."
Hope laid her fingers on the guard's arm. "That won't be necessary."
"We're under orders--"
"Call Mr. Cortez. I'm sure he'll agree."
He did, and Benicio did, and Karl said nothing, namely because they'd already hashed this one out. Now they were only playing their parts.
When the guards left, Hope walked to a chair. She'd dressed in a flowing peasant shirt with a strategically draped scarf, trying to hide her pregnancy.
"He isn't fooled," I murmured.
"I know," Benicio said.
The way he watched her, his gaze intent, told me Jaz would notice any change in her, however slight.
"It doesn't seem to be bothering him," I said.
"It won't," Karl said, his gaze glued to Jaz with the same intensity. "A child would simply be a minor obstacle to him. One easily overcome."
Easily gotten rid of, he meant, and when I looked back at Jaz, I knew Karl was right. I understood why he wanted him dead. Yes, Karl feared for his child's life and, yes, he feared losing Hope, but more than that he knew that if Jaz ever got Hope, he'd finally realize he'd never have her, not the way he wanted. If he couldn't have her, no one else would. He'd take away everything she loved, and when she didn't love him instead, he'd kill her.
"How much longer until you have what you need from him?" I asked Benicio.
"Soon."
"You should speed that up," I said. "Give Hope one less thing to worry about."
Karl glanced over. His expression said he wasn't sure if I meant it or was just trying to win points. I wasn't. If it was me, I'd want Jaz dead. The sooner, the better.
I turned back to the video feed.
"So you wanted to speak to me?" Jaz said to Hope.
"I did."
"Let me guess. Karl Marsten isn't doing it for you anymore. When it comes to chaos, he's a wine spritzer. It worked for a while, but you need something stronger."
She offered an enigmatic smile. "Would you believe that?"
"I believe it's the truth. But would I believe you've figured it out already? No."
"I didn't think so."
Benicio glanced at Karl. "What's she doing?"
"Going off script, it would appear. Odd, really. She usually follows orders so well."
I stifled a laugh.
"She'd better know what she's doing," Benicio said.
"She usually does," Karl said.
We turned back to the video screen. Jaz had slid off the bed and was pulling a chair over to Hope. She tensed, and I could tell s
he was fighting the urge to ease back.
"You've changed," he said. "And I don't just mean that." A dismissive wave at her stomach. "Yes, I can tell you're pregnant. You look like shit, Hope. He's not taking care of you. Oh, I'm sure he's trying, but he has no idea how."
"And you do."
"Of course I do. First thing? I'd never tie you down with a squalling brat. That's what he's doing, you know. Tying you to him. He knows he can't hold on to you otherwise, so he's got to throw on all the ropes he can. First a wedding ring. Then a baby. Then more babies. Make it harder and harder for you to leave."
Hope said nothing. I glanced over at Karl, but his expression was unreadable.
"But you have changed," Jaz said. "You're calmer. More centered. You're not as conflicted about the chaos. Learning to live with it. Learning to feed it."
"I'm managing."
"But not lately." He eased his chair forward. "It isn't the baby wearing you down, is it?"
Hope shook her head, then looked up at him. "You know why I'm here, and what it means. They know about the plan, so you aren't going to get what you've been promised."
"No? Damn. And it seemed like such a good plan, too." He grinned and rested his elbows on his knees, leaning forward until her curls brushed his face. "Did it seem like a good plan to you, Hope?"
"Not particularly. But if you were desperate enough, you might bite."
He lifted his face to hers, and Hope's hands clenched at her side. But he only hovered there, his face so close to hers they had to be touching.
"I'm not that desperate," he said. "Not that stupid. Not that gullible. And not about to become a pawn in someone else's scheme. I have my own."
His lips brushed hers, and she jerked back, but he only settled into his chair and grinned. "Sorry. Couldn't resist. Now let's talk about the plan. That's the point of this reunion, isn't it? The plan, the plan. A ridiculous plan, but that's the point, is it? It must be the point. Otherwise, there is no point."
"You're losing me, Jaz."
"Am I? I don't think I am. I think you're tired. I think all this talk of kidnapping and oracles and prophecies has your brain spinning, and you don't know where to focus. But when you get past all the noise, you'll know where to focus. On the plan."
I looked at Benicio. "What the hell is he talking about?"