THIRTY-FOUR
Leila couldn’t see the face of the man who was holding a dagger to her throat, his other arm holding her in a vice-like grip. The cold blade pressing against her skin was disincentive enough to turning her head.
“Now listen very carefully, or I’ll carve up your pretty neck,” he hissed into her ear.
Her vocal cords clamped down, and she didn’t dare nod; however, her attacker seemed to take her silence as an agreement.
“Good. Into the command room, now. Move.”
He pushed against her back, making her move forward with tentative steps, always aware of the knife that remained at her throat as he held her arms behind her back with his free hand.
“Leila? Where are you?” Pearce’s voice came from the dark room.
Her captor catapulted them inside, just as lights flickered above and suddenly illuminated the room.
“Finally, the backup generator kicked in,” Pearce acknowledged with relief in his voice and turned on his chair.
His expression turned to horror as he saw her.
“F*ck!” Pearce cursed.
“Couldn’t have said it any better,” the men behind her drawled.
“Council member Finlay,” Pearce greeted him with an icy voice, his eyes darting about the room as if looking for something.
Would he help her? Would he be able to defeat her attacker?
“So it’s you.”
“Indeed,” Finlay acknowledged. “But you green boys thought I was stupid and would fall for your little tricks. I’ve been around longer than you, and you think you could put a simple trace on my cell?”
“You found it then.” Pearce seemed calm now.
Was he not going to do anything to help her? Leila gave him a pleading look, but he concentrated on Finlay instead.
“Of course I did. That’s why my cell phone is still at the council building.”
Pearce tipped up his chin. “What do you want?”
“Isn’t that obvious?” He laughed, the cold sound making her shiver despite the jacket she wore. “I want Dr. Cruickshank.”
“To kill her?”
“To trade her. But enough of it. We don’t have much time. Your friends will call in soon and realize you’re not answering. And I want to be far away from here by then.”
“You’ll never get away with it. The council will hear of this.”
Finlay chuckled. “The council? I don’t give a f*ck about the council! They have no power.”
Pearce’s mouth dropped open. “They’ll know it’s you.”
“So what? They can’t stop me now. Neither can you. The real power is with the demons.”
“How can you betray us like that? They’re evil.”
“Evil? That’s just a matter of perception. You think you’re so much better than the demons? We all have our agendas. And the Stealth Guardians’ doesn’t suit me anymore. They’re stifling my ambitions.”
He tugged on Leila’s arms, pulling her backwards.
Pearce took a step forward.
“No farther!” Finlay warned. “Or I’ll kill her.”
As if to prove his intent, he pressed the knife harder to her skin. She gasped.
“You won’t kill her. The demons want her,” Pearce guessed. “A corpse won’t do them any good.”
Finlay grunted. “A little cut won’t kill her, but I’m sure it’ll hurt.” He moved his mouth to her ear. “Won’t it, dear?”
“I’ll never help the demons,” she professed. She would never betray Aiden like that. She’d promised him that.
“Oh, trust me. You will. They have ways of making you submit.”
As he slowly moved the knife downward, fear and pain collided. She felt a burning sensation, then liquid trickling down her skin. He’d cut her.
“No!” she begged.
“Stop!” Pearce ordered.
“Well, then we’re all in agreement, aren’t we?”
Finlay’s nonchalant tone seemed to infuriate Pearce.
“No, we’re not in agreement, council member. You’re a traitor, and you will pay for this.”
Her attacker simply laughed at Pearce’s warning. “Get real.”
Clearly scrambling to buy more time, Pearce made another attempt at engaging Finlay. “What are the demons promising? What is it that you don’t already have as a council member?”
“Power.”
Leila couldn’t see Finlay’s eyes, but she imagined how they lit up now.
“Yes, power. Real power. The council has no true power. All they do is talk and vote and discuss everything ad nauseam. I’m sick of nobody ever taking real action. We could have taken over the world long ago, made the humans work for us instead of the other way around. What are we? Servants? Why should we devote our lives to this ungrateful race?”
Leila swallowed hard, almost choking on the lump in her throat. She felt the hatred rolling off him in waves, the frustration that must have built up over years if not centuries. And now she was at his mercy.
“Why me?” she whispered, careful not to move her neck to avoid being cut again.
He pulled on her arms, making her bend her head back.
“Because you’re the key to world domination. When I deliver you, I’ll become their leader. Nobody will be more powerful than I!”
An ice-cold shudder ran down her spine, chilling her to the core. He was crazy. Consumed by delusions of grandeur.
“Finlay, don’t do this,” Pearce warned.
“We’ve wasted enough time,” he suddenly said and motioned toward Pearce. “It’s the lead cell for you.”
Pearce’s eyes flashed in panic.
A chuckle was Finlay’s response. “You didn’t think I’d leave you here so you could alert your friends, did you now?” Then he moved the knife in an unmistakable gesture. “Now, lead, or I’ll carve her up.”
“What’s a lead cell?” Leila asked.
“Shall I explain it to her, or would you?” Finlay answered.
Pearce gave her a resigned look. “It’s a room lined with lead. If a Stealth Guardian is locked up there, it drains all his powers, making it impossible for him to walk through walls or make himself invisible. If left there for too long, the loss of power is irreversible.”
Her breath hitched. People were being hurt because of her. She couldn’t allow this.
“Don’t do it, Pearce. Let him kill me.”
“So heroic all of a sudden?” Finlay hissed at her ear. “And here I had you pegged for a coward. Or maybe you’re just bluffing. I know a thing or two about that. Trust me, once you’re in the demons’ hands, you won’t be that brave anymore. Once you stare death in the face, you—”
Finlay’s voice died as Pearce unexpectedly charged him. In the same instant, Leila felt Finlay’s arm push her away from him with such force that she lost her balance and slammed against the wall. As she scrambled to get up, pain radiating up her side, Pearce and Finlay were already engaged in a fight. An uneven one, she realized with horror, because Pearce had no weapon.
Yet that didn’t seem to stop the younger Stealth Guardian from fighting as ferociously as if he were armed to the teeth. With cunning Karate kicks and blows, he kept Finlay’s dagger at bay. But the traitor was strong and agile. Evading yet another kick, he whirled sideways, managing to slice Pearce’s bicep open with his dagger.
Leila witnessed as blood gushed from the wound, but Pearce didn’t even stop for a split-second and launched another blow at his opponent. Angry grunts and groans accompanied every blow and kick, every punch and strike.
She wanted to run and get help, but the two fought too closely to the door, making her escape impossible. Her heart beat frantically as she had no choice but to watch the fight.
All of a sudden, Pearce seemed to gain the upper hand, knocking Finlay off his feet with a vicious kick. But even lying on the floor, Finlay didn’t give up. As Pearce moved in to finish him off, the council member’s dagger hand lashed out with lightening speed.
Pearce’s scream filled the room.
Confused, Leila watched as he fought to keep his balance, but lost the struggle and fell to the floor. When his hands went to his foot, she finally saw what had happened: Finlay had sliced through Pearce’s Achilles tendon. Blood gushed from the wound.
Triumphantly, Finlay jumped up.
“Bad move, boy. Hope you’ll enjoy your lead cell.”
Leila shivered and cast the wounded Stealth Guardian a sad look. Now another person was hurt because of her. “I’m so sorry,” she whispered.
Pearce motioned his head toward Finlay, his face a mask of pain. “It’s not your fault, it’s his.”
A tear loosened from her eye and rolled down her cheek. “Tell Aiden, I’ll never betray him. Please.”
Finlay let out an evil laugh. “Oh, you will betray him. Trust me on that.”
The hatred that fumed in his eyes chilled her to her bones.