Doomsday Brethren: Seduce Me In Shadow Part 22

"Think, you sod. Well trained."

Caden let the insult slide. He was too infuriated about Mathias forcing servicemen into his ranks to respond to Shock's petty s.h.i.+t.

"How many, a few dozen?" Bram asked.

"A few hundred. At least. The speed of the conversions defies logic."

"Each one usually takes days, perhaps weeks." Bram's blue eyes threatened to bulge.

"I've overheard Mathias talking about an object he recently acquired. I've offered to help Zain and the others for appearance's sake." He shrugged. "They haven't taken me up on it yet."

"Mathias isn't converting them?" Bram sounded surprised.

"Too weak."

"Ah. I thought surely he'd be up for some ma.s.s torture. He so enjoys others' pain. Nice to know we've deprived him of his fun. Does he stay abed, then?"

"Yes. He is draining women of their energy daily. I can hear their screams." Shock blanched, swallowed.

How could any normal man stand to listen to a woman being brutalized? Then again, Shock wasn't normal. Did those events truly disturb him?

"I hate it, but if I blow my cover many will die," Shock added somberly.

Caden fisted his hands, hating the b.a.s.t.a.r.d more every minute. But he was right.

Bram paced, his thoughts clearly racing. "This can't go on. The Council isn't willing to admit that Mathias has returned. Against my best advice, I've been ordered to quell the rumors and I've had some success.

But clearly, no one except us will help magickind. It's imperative we devise a game plan to defeat Mathias that b.l.o.o.d.y works."

"Now that Zain has been captured," said Shock, "the Anarki will be in disarray, even with the new army, if Mathias isn't strong enough to lead them. I can give you all you need to stage an attack on his secret location."

Or all he needed to lead the Doomsday Brethren into a trap.

"If he's weak, and the ranks are in chaos, perhaps the time is right." Bram regarded the others. "Duke?

Marrok? Ice?"

Duke crossed his arms over his chest, and despite recently having battled a dozen men, he still looked surprisingly GQ. "We'll need to train a bit more. But the idea sounds reasonable."

"Aye," Marrok added. "The strategy must be sound. I want nothing left to chance." Ice merely gave a humorless laugh. "I'm always in favor of kicking Anarki a.r.s.e."

"What if he's leading us into a trap?" Caden couldn't keep his suspicion silent. Bram didn't want dissension. But good G.o.d, could they not see the obvious?

The men cast measuring glances at Shock. He stood tall, arms crossed, legs akimbo.

"Think what you want. Ignore me if you like." He shrugged. "Just a suggestion."

"A calculated risk I think we must take," Bram replied.

Caden tried not to let his jaw hit the ground. "What about Anka? We can't just leave her alone and afraid, by herself."

"What do you mean?" Shock growled and he grabbed Caden by the arms and shook him.

Caden jerked free, fighting the urge to plow a fist in the man's jaw. "Don't b.l.o.o.d.y touch me!"

"He means," Duke added, "that we discovered Anka had been staying with her cousin Aquarius all these weeks and apparently left a few hours ago of her own free will." Relief swept across Shock's face. "She's alive?"

"And belongs with my brother," Caden pointed out.

Shock sent him a tight smile. "Not necessarily."

"Stop bickering!" Bram demanded. "Caden, you, Duke and Ice go out now and search for Anka.

Marrok, Shock and I will stay behind to formulate an attack plan. We'll advise you when it's ready." Exhaustion wound like molten lead through Caden's veins, weighing him down. The adrenaline from the battle was wearing off, and all he wanted to do was lie down and sleep for a week, preferably with Sydney wrapped around him. But Anka needed him.

Suddenly, Bram turned to him. "Now that you've transitioned, your magic will be helpful to the cause.

You'll need a wand. Normally, your family would-"

"No one in my family is in any position to give me one." Thank G.o.d.

"I'll do it," Bram offered. "Give me an hour or two and I'll present it to you." As much as he hated to admit it, Caden owed Bram, especially now that he'd lent more warriors to the search. He'd even offered to perform this sacred family ritual with him. But Caden wanted as little involvement with magic as possible. Besides, taking a wand from Bram made his position in both magickind and the Doomsday Brethren feel permanent.

"I don't need or want a wand. I still prefer to be a man, not a wizard."

"But you are a wizard."

"Only if I choose to exercise my powers. And I don't." Hours later, Caden woke slowly to an unfamiliar room and an unfamiliar bed, the effects of last night's exhaustion slowly fading. A familiar warmth lay beside him. Sydney. It was reckless, but he snuggled up to her. After spending fruitless hours looking for Anka, he'd returned to Bram's after midnight, fatigued to the core, and found her cozy in a big bed. Wanting her warmth, to rea.s.sure himself of her safety, he'd joined her. In the past, he'd talked to Sydney, argued with her, touched her, worried about her. But he really hadn't had the opportunity to simply lie with her and hold her in his arms. Right away, he knew he'd missed something special.

Soft, warm, quiet-at least for her. Burying his face in her hair, he smiled . . . until the noises below woke him. Men's voices. A shout-Bram. The slamming of a door. Then outside the clank of metal on metal, the report of firearms. Marrok was training the others. He frowned.

A moment later, Duke popped his head in the door and said, "Everyone is outside. Well, everyone but Shock."

Typical. The elder Denzell brother claimed to be a double agent, but why would Shock turn against his family, allow his own brother to be captured, and battle the rest of his cla.s.s to defeat the man who supposedly wanted to uplift them? As far as Caden could see, unless Shock had a hidden altruistic streak his "loyalty" to Bram made no b.l.o.o.d.y sense.

Briefly, Caden pondered staying beside Sydney. More than once, he'd wanted to tell Bram to shove his request for training. But they'd struck a deal when he first arrived: His help in exchange for theirs in finding Anka.

"I'll be there shortly," he said, then glanced regretfully at Sydney.

He owed her answers-loads of them. Inadvertently, he'd plucked her from her ordinary world and plopped her down in the middle of a war zone. And given that Mathias's minions knew exactly where she lived, she couldn't go back now. Until the threat ended, he'd do whatever necessary to keep her out of harm's way.

Carefully, he rolled away from her, extricating his arm from beneath her neck, unwrapping his legs from hers. Now separate, he sat up, trying not to disturb her. After yesterday's ordeal, she needed rest. Time to adjust.

A feminine hand touched his bare back. "Where are you going?"

"To help with the combat training. Go back to sleep." He glanced over his shoulder. She looked so sweet and sleep-tousled. Until he stared into her eyes.

There a million questions lurked-along with an equal number of worries. The reporter in her was clearly determined to get answers. But the woman in her looked unsettled, and for the first time, afraid.

"Wait. You're in midst of a war." Her voice was raspy and heavy with sleep. "And I've just realized that includes me now." She bit her lip, looking lost and confused.

That expression squeezed his chest. Caden eased back on the bed and took her hand. "I'm sorry. I didn't want this for you."

"What's happening here, really? What is this war truly about? What are you fighting against? Anka spoke of oppression, but Mathias doesn't seem to be the answer."

"Sydney, I only meant to answer your questions about the past few days at your flat, perhaps the book's real purpose. What you're asking for is very dangerous knowledge." She huffed in frustration. "Without the larger picture, it's impossible to take in. I wanted the paranormal to be real. Believed in it. Part of me is happy to be proven right. The other part . . ." When her brave face crumpled, Caden couldn't deny her. He opened his arms and folded them around her. "Is scared, I know."

Sydney went to him eagerly, cuddling against his chest. "I never imagined knowing the truth would be so dangerous. I only saw the accolades and Pulitzers. Never the down side." His first instinct was to tell her that nothing good could come from her knowing all of magickind's secrets.

There'd only be more danger.

"But I have to know. If I'm involved now, what good will come from burying my head in the sand and not understanding the danger?"

None. She was up to her pretty neck in magical war. Ignorance could only get her killed.

"The war is about oppression on the surface, but that's bunk. Oppression exists in the magical world, yes. There are two distinct cla.s.ses, the Privileged and the Deprived, and other than here in Bram's house because the war demands it, they don't mix. It's simply not done, since some long-ago magical Council separated the cla.s.ses for 'safety's' sake. That has to change. The Council needs to stop being feudal and update their laws. But Mathias uses that division as an excuse to cause chaos. Ultimately, he's just another powermonger."

"Mathias wants that book badly. How does he think it will help? Power-hungry tyrants aren't usually looking to fulfill their s.e.xual fantasies."

She blinked up at him, brown eyes sober and open. He noticed that she wore a little white negligee, likely courtesy of Sabelle or Olivia. It dipped off one shoulder to reveal creamy skin dotted with cinnamon freckles. His unruly libido stood at attention, but he tamped it down. Now was hardly the time.

"The book grants wishes, s.e.xual or otherwise. It's known as the Doomsday Diary because, in the hands of a woman powerful enough, it could bring about doomsday." Sydney c.o.c.ked her head. "Woman, not a man?"

Caden shook his head, preparing to launch into a history lesson. "You were right when you wrote in your article that King Arthur's half sister, Morganna le Fay, created the book. She used it as a means to curse people. The theory is that if a witch writes in the book, her wish will come true. A powerful witch could work seriously dangerous magic with it. As with all magic, the one casting it must have the power and the pa.s.sion to back it up."

Sydney frowned, looking somewhat perturbed. "So it grants wishes only when a witch writes in it?"

"As far as I know. But perhaps any woman can. We don't know everything about it. The diary disappeared a millennium and a half ago, and just a few weeks past, Bram discovered Marrok had been keeping it all that time."

"You mean in his family, right? He-he can't be that old."

"Incredible, isn't it? Morganna cursed him with immortality, using the diary. He stole it from her to try to uncurse himself, but nothing worked until he met Olivia. Bram tracked down the book and Marrok when he realized Mathias was returning from exile."

"What did he do to earn his exile?"

"This is not the first time he's tried to control magickind by foul means. If someone doesn't stop him, he'll oppress everyone and likely go on a killing spree that will make Ted Bundy look like an angel." She gasped as the words sunk in. "Wow. You tried to tell me that Mathias was no savior."

"I couldn't explain exactly why without giving away magickind's secrets to a human. I never meant to drag you into this muck."

"Human? You say that as if you're another species. Though I suppose you are. Those two days we spent in my bed-"

"I transitioned from man to wizard," he admitted the inescapable truth.

"I suspected as much after yesterday's discussion."

"It's not something I asked for or wanted. I spent a lot of years praying the gene would pa.s.s me by. If I hurt or upset you as I transitioned, I apologize."

"You were urgent but careful. Tell me the truth." She turned her profile to him and stared at the wall.

"Was I bedding more than one of you during those two days?" Caden winced. This would be a tough admission, but she deserved it. "You weren't. I would never abuse your trust by sneaking a copy of myself into your bed."

"Then why did I see two of you? Did I see your human self and your magical self at once? Can you separate them at will? What happened to your human half?"

"It's not like that. At the end of any magical being's transition, the power that is uniquely theirs materializes, whether they want it or not. Mine is the ability to . . . ah, clone myself." "Amazing." Sydney sat back against her pillows and drew her knees to her chest. "Yet you seem less than thrilled. If anyone should be rattled about all this, it's me."

"Little firecracker, given where you work and the stories you've been developing, you were much more prepared for magic's emergence in your life than I. Until Sabelle appeared in my living room to tell me that Lucan was ill, I'd been blissfully ignoring it all." She frowned. "Until Lucan's illness, you avoided this war. You weren't fighting?"

"No."

Her expression jerked into a frown. "So for weeks- months-the war has been raging, your people dying, and you stayed away?"

d.a.m.n, when the woman put it like that, he sounded cowardly. "They aren't my people."

"They are now."

In name only. "I have a life and a job in Texas. I merely stepped into my brother's shoes in the Doomsday Brethren until we find Anka. He's in no condition to fight."

"Any luck finding her last night?"

Regret skittered through him. He didn't know what else he could have done to locate his brother's mate, let alone something that would have rescued her before she'd been thrust alone in a dangerous world.

"No."

"I'm sorry. I know you're concerned."

"Thank you." He rose reluctantly from the bed. "I should go. Will you be all right? Sabelle and Olivia should both be about."

"Perhaps they'll help me find a shower and a toothbrush?" He smiled softly. "I've no doubt. Then they'll direct you to breakfast and keep you company for a bit."

"Hmm. Actually, I think I'd like to work on my next story." He froze. "You can't write about everything I've just said."

"Not until Mathias is vanquished and all is safe," she a.s.sured. "I would never do anything to endanger you or your friends. I want to stay and help them, in fact. But this is amazing material." He shook his head. "Bram will fight your printing a word."

"I'll be careful, change names and places . . . whatever needed. But a story of oppression and war and heroism is something all humans will relate to, even if it's about magickind. Besides, getting this story into the open may benefit magickind too."

Caden raked a hand through his hair, largely to keep from grabbing her and shaking sense into her. "By inciting panic? How do you think humans will react when they know the bloke next door could be a wizard? Twenty-first century witch hunts aren't that far-fetched."

"You're being paranoid. Hysteria like that hasn't happened in hundreds of years. I'll make certain it doesn't happen. I would never let anything happen to these people."

"You can't write this story."

Why the devil didn't he tell her to work it through Bram, let him be the bad guy? Magickind wasn't where he belonged. Why was he feeling protective?

"You'd have me bury the biggest story of my career?" She crossed her arms over her chest. "The one incredible story that could make me and show my parents that I'm every bit as successful-"

"And even if Mathias is defeated, magickind's story will still be dangerous to tell, for everyone. No." She sucked in a breath and stood, her small curves outlined in gossamer ivory. "That's not your decision."

Caden wanted to refute that. Since transition, his instincts about Sydney had been clawing at him. Seeing her so pa.s.sionate stirred his libido. Battling her defiance brought out his every instinct to claim her and make it his decision.