“Call Medusa,” I said. “Let them know that we have a lot of bodies, including those of their own people, but none of them are Jess and Daniel.”
“How did they know where to find them?” Brooke asked, taking out her phone. “No reception.”
“It’s the runes,” I said.
We both left the staff room and used the door at the end of the corridor, stepping out to the rear of the pharmacy, where the loading bay sat. There were black tire marks on the ground next to a large lorry and three more cars, which I would have bet money had once belonged to the staff. While I walked off to see if I could spot anything or anyone, Brooke made her call to Medusa.
She found me a few minutes later standing outside the rear of the pharmacy. “This was done fast and hard,” I said. “No way in hell this was those Nazi fuck-knuckles. They weren’t going to get the jump on Medusa’s people.”
“So who was it? Avalon?”
I nodded. “Harbingers.”
“I would have thought they’d use their abilities to do this kind of thing.”
I shrugged. “They normally would have, but I’m guessing this was an order to keep it low and quiet. You start throwing around magic and elemental powers, and you get a lot of noise very fast. And coming in here as werewolves or something is just going to cause issues if anyone loses control. Harbingers are all about control. And they like to get things done quickly. My guess is they grabbed Daniel and Jess while they were inside here, forced everyone to the rear of the pharmacy, and executed everyone they didn’t need.”
“You think they’ve been taken to Clockwork?” Brooke asked. “Medusa told me to tell you to stay here, by the way.”
I removed my own phone and called Medusa. “If you’re going to Clockwork, I’m going to kick you in the ass,” she said upon answering.
“I’m going to Clockwork,” I said. “I’m already closer than you are.”
“By five minutes.”
“Yes, but I think I know where they’ll have taken Daniel and Jess, and I’d rather a small group of people checked it out before anyone descends on it. If we can get them out without turning the area into a war zone, that’s probably a good idea.”
“Nate, it’s Isis,” she said. “Medusa has you on speaker. We’ll contact Chris and have him meet you at the outskirts of Clockwork.”
“Deal,” I said.
“We still don’t know why Clockwork is so damn important to them,” Medusa said. “Beyond Robert wanting revenge.”
“That’s why they’ve taken them to Clockwork,” I said. “Robert wants revenge. If he can’t get to Jess through Simon, he’ll do it another way.”
“Yeah, that sounds like a plan to me,” Isis said.
Brooke tapped me on the shoulder, and I turned around to see several armed men wearing black tactical gear advancing toward us. I didn’t recognize any of them, but their guns were aimed at Brooke and me, and one of them raised a finger to his lips to ensure I understand their need for me to behave. The guns already ensured that.
“Gotta go,” I said. “I’ll see you both soon.”
One of the men removed the phone from my ear and, after ripping it in half with his bare hands, tossed it aside.
“Well, this is nice,” I said as I was pushed to the ground and my hands tied behind my back.
Brooke suffered the same treatment, until we were both left kneeling on the tarmac, our hands bound with cable ties as the five armed men stood guard.
A car pulled up, and a young man stepped out. He had dark skin, and his eyes certainly didn’t belong to a human. They had a reptilian sheen to them, and when he looked down at me, a tongue flicked out, separating into a fork and then reforming into one.
“Apep, I assume,” I said.
“Nathan Carpenter,” he said, crouching down in front of me. “Daniel and Jess said that you’d be coming to find them. Congratulations.”
“I am a lucky man,” I said. “Why not do this while we were inside the pharmacy?”
“Well, you’re lucky enough to stay alive,” he told me, not answering the question.
“The others in this shop weren’t,” I snapped back. “All of this just because Robert is pissy that he got dumped?”
Apep stared at me and laughed. “That’s what you think this is about?”
“I did before I got here,” I said. “You tested some sort of drug on those people. That’s why you didn’t take us in the pharmacy—you were worried we might have come into contact with it, and you didn’t want to kill either of us. Nice open space, lots of room to watch from afar before deciding how to proceed. What’s the drug?”
“You’ll see,” Apep said. “You have been requested by Robert to be our guest. Apparently, you made quite the impression on him.”
“And me?” Brooke asked.
“Oh, you too,” Apep said. “If you both behave and do as you’re told, maybe you’ll both live through this.”
I doubted that very much.
“Get up; get into the car. Do not misbehave,” Apep said.
Brooke and I both climbed into the gray Jeep Grand Cherokee. Two Harbingers climbed into the rear two seats of the seven-seat vehicle, sitting behind Brooke and me, but not before making sure we knew that they had guns.
Apep climbed into the front passenger seat, and another Harbinger sat between Brooke and me. The fourth Harbinger got into the driver’s seat, leaving the last one to drive the Aston Martin to wherever we were going, and I felt a pang of irritation at having one of the Harbingers remove the keys from my pocket and pass them over.
“You break it, you bought it,” I told him.
“I’ll be real gentle,” he said with a grin that obviously meant the exact opposite.
“Off to Clockwork, then,” I said.
“This should be a nice surprise for you,” Apep said with a lot more happiness in his voice than I liked.
I wondered whether or not calling him a dick was worth being hit. I decided against it, which was considerably harder than I expected. I didn’t want to be at anything other than peak condition by the time we arrived wherever it was we were actually going.
I looked down at my hand and willed my magic to return to me. I closed my eyes and tried to feel it, tried to bring it out, but there was nothing. Just a void where it had once been. I opened my eyes again to see that Apep was staring at me.
“Don’t be scared, little human,” he said with a creepy smile. “If Robert does decide to kill you, I’m sure it won’t be quick.” He laughed, turning back to face the road.
“What about Baldr?” I asked.
Apep’s head snapped around toward me. “Baldr? How do you know about Baldr?”
“Heard someone talk about him,” Brooke said. “He was on the news.”
The Harbinger beside me hit Brooke in the ribs after Apep nodded at him, and then he did the same to me.
“I asked you, Nathan,” Apep said. “Not your friend. She needs to remember her place.”
“Like she said,” I stated. “We saw him on the news.”
“Where is Frigg?” Apep asked.