Drake wrinkled his nose. “I thought she was Trinity’s?”

Odin laughed. “She’s Trinity’s servant, but she’s Kerestyan’s woman.”

“Oh, my bad. Sorry, Kerestyan.” He waved a pointed finger back in Kerestyan’s direction. “You just keep your beastie over there. Odin’s I can deal with. The whole shifting right into a dragon and burning villagers…that’s a little creepy, even for me.”

“That’s why I called you,” Odin said. “One of Kerestyan’s Fledglings beat up Logan and kidnapped her. Would you be willing to go get her for us?”

“Sure thing. Where’s she at?”

Kerestyan closed his eyes and shook his head. Although Odin always meant well, sometimes he didn’t think situations through. “We don’t know. If we did, I would’ve traveled the wind and retrieved her myself.”

Drake reached up and scratched the back of his head. “Well, do you know why the Fledgling took her?”

Kerestyan slid his gaze over to Raze. That was a very good question, and one he hadn’t considered. “Why did Craig take Logan? How would he even know about her?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe it was random. It’s not like he hasn’t done this before.”

“Who cares about the why right now guys, we can figure that out later,” Odin said. He clapped his hands and grinned up at Drake. “Drake, my man, can’t you teleport straight to a person you’ve met instead of a place you’ve already been like the rest of us?”

Drake let out a hearty laugh. “Why, yes, yes I can.” He motioned between himself and Odin. “I’m with you. Forgive me for the momentary brain fart. Work’s been a real bitch lately. I haven’t gotten much sleep.” He smiled again. “I’ll go get her without the benefit of a formal contract, but you’ll owe me.”

Kerestyan nodded at him. “No matter the cost, I’ll pay it.”

Drake turned and headed back towards the closet. “Give me ten minutes. I’d take you with me,” he added over his shoulder, “but something tells me—”

“No!” Raze shrieked. “I can’t imagine Craig snatched Logan only to dump her somewhere then take off. I, as the protector of humanity, cannot have a huge dragon flying around New York City spitting fire all over the place. And I think we all know that’s exactly what will happen if Kerestyan so much as sees Craig’s stupid face.” She pinned Kerestyan with her unnatural eyes. “For once in your life, you’re going to have to let someone else be the knight in shining armor.”

As much as he wanted to, and his beast wanted to, Kerestyan couldn’t argue her logic. If he laid eyes on Craig before Logan was safely in his arms again, he would lose control. Then the city, all of its inhabitants, as well as the Veil, would be in grave danger.

“If you had let me finish,” Drake said as he stepped into the closet. “I was going to say, but something tells me it’s not a good idea. It goes back to the whole people running around on fire theory.”

When the door clicked into place, Kerestyan turned to his brother. Perhaps he’d been wrong to believe he couldn’t benefit from Odin’s guidance anymore. “Thank you. I would’ve never thought to ask Drake.”

“I know. Most people never do unless they want someone dead. I don’t care what the rumors say, Drake’s good people.”

Kerestyan moved to stand in front of the closet and folded his arms behind his back. For the fourth time since he’d met Logan, time was his enemy. However, he was willing to wager the next ten minutes…would be the longest ten minutes he’d ever known.

***

Logan winced as she opened her eyes and pain wrapped burning fingers around her skull. Although the lights in the room were dim, she squinted against them anyway, wishing someone would plunge her back into the darkness.

In the darkness her body didn’t ache, her ears didn’t ring…and the only person standing around her was Kerestyan. No words passed between his soft lips. He just stood there next to her, proud and regal, as if somehow he always had been.

She only wished he was here with her now.

She sucked in a sharp breath and groaned as angry shouts cut through the chiming bells in her ears. As the words became more than loud, unintelligible growls, the fog clouding her eyes lifted, revealing all ten of her attackers standing around what appeared to be a rather nice living room.

But she wasn’t standing. She sat on a hard wooden chair, her upright position only maintained by the chains wrapped around her shoulders and chest, binding her to the tall ladder back. And they weren’t even cool, menacing chains; they were the thin, silver links used to keep a small dog in his yard. She scrunched up her face at the offense, realizing how stupid the action was the minute the cartilage forming the bridge of her nose crunched.

The bastards had broken her nose. And, if she wasn’t mistaken, the orbit of her left eye, a handful of ribs, a few fingers, her right arm…and her left leg.

She knew her body had already gone to work healing her internal injuries because her mouth wasn’t full of blood anymore, but she didn’t dare expend any more power than she involuntarily had. The last thing she wanted was to grow fangs and put herself on a twelve hour timetable with death.

Honestly, she’d had more than her share of deadlines over the last two weeks. All of which, strangely enough, seemed to shove her towards the sickle wielding Grim Reaper himself.

She looked up from her restraints as Frank’s angry voice filled her throbbing ears. “I don’t fuckin’ think this is a good idea any more, Craig. The bitch is awake. She’s gonna tell him where we are! He’s gonna kill all of us.”

If only. If it were that easy to use telepathy, which she wasn’t nearly old enough to do yet, she’d have done it back in the subway and saved herself the disrespect of being bound to a chair with doggie chains.

Craig, or Shaggy as she preferred, flipped Frank the New York one-finger salute. “She’s not gonna tell him anything. And if she does,” he tapped a finger against his temple, “I’ll know. Calm the fuck down.” He turned and smiled at her. “She’s gonna tell us where his Lordship sleeps.”

Even though it hurt in ways she couldn’t begin to find words for, Logan laughed the most amused sound she could muster. “I wouldn’t tell you what I ate for breakfast, let alone where Kerestyan sleeps. Go fuck yourself, Shaggy.” She inclined her pounding head towards the tall, slimy-tongued blond, who stood only a few feet away. “And take Scooby Doo with you.”

Heavy applause and hearty laughter thundered through the room, causing the bell symphony to perform a frantic encore in Logan’s ears. She squeezed her eyes closed tight, trying to stave off the tide of nausea rising inside her.

“Now that was a great line,” a deep voice laughed.

Logan opened her eyes just in time to see Drake step out of a dark doorway across from where she sat. Half of his face scrunched up as he sucked a breath through his teeth. “Wow. They really did a number on you.”

Relief pounded a fast rhythm through every inch of Logan’s broken body. She had no clue how Drake had found her, no idea how he’d stepped out of a dark room, but she’d buy him as much beer as he could possibly drink if he took her back to Kerestyan.

She opened her mouth to tell him those exact words but stopped when she realized the room had gone silent. Disbelief and horror marked ten wide-eyed faces. Ten mouths gaped open, forty limbs trembled, and if their bodies still worked, she was sure ten pairs of pants would have turned dark yellow right in front of her very sober eyes.

When Logan slid her gaze back to Drake, he flashed a lopsided grin. “They all know who I am, and they also know what that means. You see,” he crossed his scarred arms over his chest and scanned the room, “I have a bit of a reputation in New York, among other places, for killing supernatural creatures the ‘powers that be’ don’t believe deserve to live any more. But someone thinks our fair Logan here…definitely deserves to keep breathing. So unless I hear any objections, I’m gonna take her, and we’re gonna leave.” He paused for no more than three seconds. “No?” He laughed. “I didn’t think so.”

With nothing more than the wave of Drake’s large hand, the chains binding Logan to the chair fell, tinkling against the hardwood floor. She fought to stay upright and did her best to smile up at him.

“Thanks for the save.”

“Sure thing.” He took a step forward, but stopped short when the tip of a blade punched through his neck, barely to the left of his Adam’s apple. A red glow flashed behind his blue eyes as every shadow in the room gained some kind of tangible substance. The black patches under the chairs and furniture writhed and mottled, reminding her instantly of Stefan’s wall.

Drake raised a finger and stared down at it for a second before he pushed the blade out the way it came in. He turned around to face Shaggy, whose eyes were glued to the boot knife lying on the floor. “You must be the brains of this operation.” He cast a glance over his shoulder at her. “This the leader?”