“S-s-summer,” he stuttered.
“And you know him how?” Maybe we could knock out the basics and narrow our suspect pool down.
“I c-c-can’t tell you.” He tried to break my hold by looking away, so I wrapped my hand around his jaw.
“Do you share mage blood?” I hardened my tone to keep his attention.
“Yes,” he ground out.
“What’s your father's name?”
“Alric.”
“Alric who?”
“Alric Moore.” He silently wept into his hands. Now we were getting somewhere.
“When does your brother visit you next?”
“He-he doesn’t.”
That was interesting. He didn’t do his own pickups. So clearly he didn’t travel from his base much. I twirled another knife in my hand as I proceeded with my line of questioning. “Who does he send?”
“Kadence.” Who the fuck was that?
“Kadence Moore?” Novak spoke up from behind me, disbelief ringing clear in his words.
“Yes,” Kelvin angrily bit out before a sobbing hiccup.
“What does she have to do with this?” Novak dangled four glowing crystals in front of Kelvin’s face. Fae crystals. He didn’t answer, so I repeated it to him while maintaining the dizzying connection.
“She’s doing the same thing--” hiccup “--just on a smaller scale.” Hiccup. “I don’t know what she does with--” hiccup “--them after she visits.” Hiccup.
The man was a mess. I’d barely touched him! I snatched the knife from the top of his foot. As he shrieked in pain, I let go of his jaw. I adjusted the angle of my body to face him head on. “Do you have anything else you can tell us, Kelvin?”
“They’re using the power for a magic mixed drug,” he stammered out before another hiccup. “They’ve been testing it on the shifters--” hiccup “--or months, and they started trials--” hiccup “on the vampires a couple weeks ago,” he rushed out before he could hiccup yet again. He tried to calm his breathing, and those fucking hiccups finally started to fade away.
“Is that all you know?”
“Yes! That’s it!!” he screamed before lowering his voice, “That’s more than they told me. I had to search their minds for some of that information.”
“Thank you, Kelvin. I think you’ve extended your usefulness.” I released the compulsion as I smiled awkwardly at him, showing more teeth than necessary. They were retracting more with each word, but they wouldn’t fully recede until I let go of my partial demon shift. I sliced open the insides of my cheeks every time I spoke, and they knitted back together before my teeth tore through them again. The minimal discomfort was nothing compared to what York went through down here.
“You’re going to kill me!?” he bleated.
“Let me tell you something.” I faked happiness that I didn't feel, kneeling before him again. I reached out and stroked his head lovingly a few times while I continued to battle my rage. “The druid you were draining, you know him, right?” He flinched. “He’s one of my mates, and although I’m pretty angry with him right now, it doesn’t make him any less my mate.” He looked up at me with wide, fearful eyes as I soothingly stroked through his hair.
“You see those marks on the wall over there? That’s a mark for every day he was here. In this very cell. Eight hundred and fifty-eight marks.” I was losing the battle inside myself. It got harder and harder to fight with each calm word that rolled off my tongue. I petted his head rougher. “My original plan was to mark you as many times as he did the wall and then paint this dingy cell red with your blood. That’s why I sent my other mates out. But… you were so helpful, Kelvin,” I praised him after my honesty. “It’s not nice to return your favor like that. Even though the Devil is one of my parents, I was raised with manners. The High Coven Master taught me those manners. The Supreme Alpha, however; he taught me how to get what I want,” I admitted with a snotty attitude.
I stopped running my hand over his head as I summed up my mood swing. “So, I changed my mind. I mean, I’m still going to kill you, but first I’m going to drain your power so I can make sure my druid is nice and healthy. Then I’m going to give you the quick death I had planned against. Sounds like a good deal, right?” I inquired sweetly. He didn’t say a word.
“Now, the last thing I need from you,” I paused to make sure I still had his attention, “is for you to tell me how to release the power in these crystals. You think you can explain that to me?” I coaxed.
“No! You crazy fucking bitch! I’m not telling you a godsdamn thing,” he raged at me.
“Got it,” Novak whispered in my mind.
I tsked at Kelvin. “That’s the wrong answer,” I informed him politely before I stood back up. “I guess we’ll just bury you down here. Would that be a better deal?” I pondered more to myself than him. Thankfully Novak saw what I was doing. We had all the information we needed now.
He jumped to his feet before I stepped through the cell door, following the guys, “You can’t leave me down here!” he bellowed. “I’ll just dig my way out. I’m not weak like that fucking druid,” he spat. “I’ll never stay down here, and when I get out, I’ll come for you again,” he threatened. “I’ll kill you, bitch! And before I kill you, I’ll make you watch while I kill all your mates.” Ohhh, that appeared to be a button of mine now. Here came the psycho. Just a little taste.
I spun to the right, pulling my knee up. As I pivoted on my left foot, I kicked it up and extended my left leg out straight. Tornado kick, motherfucker. It looked like I’d missed the mark with my kick but the knife popped out of the toe of my boot, adding five inches to my reach. Just in time to slice through his neck. His hands shot up to grab at his gaping throat in slow motion. When he dropped to his knees, I stepped forward and leaned in to whisper, “I told you what would happen if you gave me the wrong answer.” I sank my dagger through his heart. “And that, Kelvin, was the wrong. Fucking. Answer.” I twisted my weapon to punctuate the last three words. Then I jerked it out, slinging blood around the cell and sliced through the remaining tendons and skin attaching his neck to his torso.
His head rolled away just as Grim stepped through the doorway. He nodded to me, and his scythe formed in his hand while all his flesh began to disappear. Fun fact about Grim Reapers: Their scythes are made from their flesh. That’s why they look like skeletons when they reap souls. Kelvin’s soul was going to a special place in the Underworld. My bedroom in the Devil’s palace. To sit in a glass display box like a signed fucking baseball on my shelf. His soul was forever mine. I hope he enjoyed his eternal suffering formed by my own imagination.
Novak held my hand in his as we climbed the stairs to see the approaching dawn. Jack was waiting for me by the door, looking pleased. “Go back to your clubhouse, babe. We’ll take care of this and I’ll get Helios home,” he assured me as he kissed my cheek.
“Okay, just let me know if you need a hand.” My anger was fading with every step I took away from that horrid cell. The adrenaline of the night was quickly fleeing. I relaxed enough to force my shift back into my body. Having a tail felt weird without my wings. Parading around with gigantic horns on my human head gave me a headache. All I wanted was a hot shower, clean clothes, and coffee. Gallons of coffee. And maybe a short nap.