On the way out, I tried her once more. Still no answer, and a sense of unease built in my gut like pools of acid. Cell service was spotty anywhere in town and the whole way into Virginia, but she would’ve made it to Winchester by now and Kat…she would’ve returned my calls, especially after everything that had gone down. Her going radio silent was not normal.
I stopped over at the Thompsons’ house before going home. Sorrow clung to the walls like mold. Spending time with them, I found myself at a loss when it came to what I could say or do. A rare moment in my life, but death was a void that even I couldn’t fully understand. Here one moment and gone the next. Death was that quick. There’d be a private funeral within the community. Adam’s body would be cremated, as was the tradition, and then there’d be nothing.
There was already nothing but memories.
Heavy with those thoughts, I headed to our empty house, where I paced back and forth like a lunatic. Several hours had passed, and with no word from Kat, I started to feel desperate. What if her mom had passed away and she was too distraught to call? What if she had gotten into an accident on the way to the hospital? Her car was still in the driveway next door, so that meant Mr. Michaels most likely picked her up.
Immediately I thought about the link between Will and Bethany. He was her uncle—her sick uncle, but the DOD had no doubt been watching Bethany and Dawson like they’d been watching Kat and me. No one needed to turn them over. The DOD had probably seen everything that had gone down.
Just like they had with Kat and me.
I was halfway to where I left my phone on the coffee table, about to start calling every hospital I could think of, when it rang. There was a dip in my stomach as I shot through the room, picking it up.
“Kat?” I answered.
There was a stretch of silence and then, “No. This isn’t Kat.”
Concern exploded. “Mr. Michaels? Where’s Kat? Is she okay? What—?”
“She’s not…really okay, Daemon.”
I reached out, planting my hand on the wall, legs suddenly weak. That off-kilter sensation was the same thing I felt before the officers had told me about Dawson. I knew Kat had to be alive, but…
“Daemon?”
I took a deep breath. “What happened to her?”
“Nothing irreversible at this point.”
Wait. What? I pushed off the wall, my whole world centering on what Mr. Michaels was saying. “What do you mean by that, Will?”
There was a pause. “Kat is okay. Sort of. Well, she’s definitely not having a lot of fun right now.”
Fury rose like a heat wave. My fingers curled around the cell, grinding the plastic and metal. I didn’t know why he’d done something to Kat. I didn’t care. All I knew was that I would kill him for this. “You son—”
“Now, let’s not waste time. You can fix this, Daemon. Are you listening? You don’t want to miss this.”
“Oh, I’m listening. I’m also taking notes.”
Mr. Michaels laughed drily. “Come to the warehouse. You know exactly which one—and Daemon? I’d hurry if I were you.”
The bastard hung up before I could respond. For a second, I stood there staring at the phone. Shit. Shit. Shit. My skin tingled, and I felt myself lose control of my human form. Tossing the phone aside, I shot toward the door and was halfway down the driveway before I spun back around, heading for the SUV. I didn’t know what was going on with Kat or if she was hurt and how badly. I would need to take the car, which would slow me down.
I broke about ten different speed laws as I raced out of town, toward the warehouse where those two officers had cornered Kat. I called Matthew, who was with Dee and the Thompsons, telling him what happened. They wanted to help, but I told them to go to our house and stay there, just in case…well, just in case shit went real bad.
My mind was blank during the drive. I couldn’t let myself think about anything. I had to keep my cool. I couldn’t let my head go down that road—the one where she was hurt—because after Blake and Adam, I wasn’t sure how I’d deal.
I’d probably lose my shit and expose my entire race.
The sky was a deep blue and cloudless as I pulled into the back of the warehouse. Parking Dolly, I flew out of the car and around the building. The first door I came to was unlocked, which had me on high alert.
Dim lighting in the ceiling cast yellow light over a metal desk and chairs. The stale smell of cigarettes lingered, but there was nothing else. From memory, I darted to the right and up the stairs. There was no time to prepare myself, to really even think about what might be waiting for me. I hit the second-floor landing and pushed the double doors open. The door slammed off cement walls.
What I saw almost brought me to my knees.
Disregarding where Will stood, my eyes locked on Kat. She was in a cage—a fucking cage. Like some kind of rabid animal, chained up. So many emotions rushed me I almost lost complete hold of my human form. Rage and desperation warred with just a flicker of relief. There was Kat. She was in one piece—
Kat made the slightest movement toward me, and her body spasmed. Her mouth dropped open in a silent scream.
Cold fear whipped through me as I shot forward and gripped the bars. Sharp red-hot pain lanced my palms, and I jerked back. “What is this?” I glanced down at my palms and then at where the metal circled her wrists. I was going to be sick, for the first time in my life.
“Onyx mixed with ruby and hematite,” Will answered. “A nice combination that doesn’t sit well with the Luxen or hybrids.”
I looked at Will. “I will kill you.”
“No, I don’t think you will.” Will moved a few steps back, though. “Onyx covers every entrance to this building, so I know you can’t pull in any power or use the light. I also have the keys to that cage and those handcuffs. And only I can touch any part of that.”
“Maybe not now, but I will,” I growled low in my throat. “You can believe that.”
That was a promise I would keep.
“And you can believe that I’ll be ready for that day.” Will arched an eyebrow at Kat. “She’s been in there for a while. I think you understand what that means. Shall we move this along?”
Turning away from him, I approached the other side of the pen and knelt. Kat turned her head toward me. Pressure clamped down on my chest. Dear God, seeing her like this ripped me into shreds. “I’m going to get you out of there, Kitten. I swear to you.”
“As sweet as your declaration is, the only way you’ll get her out of there is to do as I say, and we only have”—he checked his Rolex—“about thirty minutes before the next round of officers arrives, and while I have every intention of letting you both go, they won’t.”
I lifted my head, seconds from planting my fist in his face. “What do you want?”
“I want you to mutate me.”
I stared at Will, wondering if he’d lost his damn mind. I laughed. “Are you insane?”
Will’s eyes narrowed. “I don’t need to explain everything to you. She knows. She can fill you in. I want you to change me.” He reached over the cage, wrapping his fingers around the bundle of chains. “I want to become what she is.”
“I can’t just twitch my nose and make it happen.”
“I know how it works.” He sneered. “I have to be wounded. You have to heal me, and the rest I can take care of.”
I shook my head. “What is the rest?”
Once again, Will looked at Kat and smiled. “Katy can fill you in on that.”
“You’ll fill me in right now,” I snarled, losing whatever control I had.
“Or not.” Will yanked on the chains, and Kat buckled.
Her scream was just a whimper, but it cut through me like a rusted knife. I shot up. “Stop it. Let the chains go.”
“But you haven’t even heard what I’m offering.” He yanked on the chains.
Kat’s back bowed completely off the dirty floor of the pen. Her lashes swept down and her face took on a fine sheen of sweat.
Horror roared through me like a tempest. I moved to the front of the cage, hands closing into useless fists. “Let the chains go. Please.”