Part 19 (2/2)

Charles sighed in disappointment. Power surged, magic so strong it made even Mich.e.l.le's formidable energy pale in comparison. Charles flicked a finger as if knocking away a piece of lint, and the large shapes.h.i.+fter grunted as his feet flew out from under him and his body flipped over the banister and barreled into the wall. The drywall buckled when he crashed into it, and the man sank to the floor, unconscious.

”I've had quite enough of traitors,” Charles said, his voice chillingly casual. Jackson realized too late that he'd turned to watch the shapes.h.i.+fter fly against the wall. He yanked his attention back to Charles.

Charles held a gun in his hand. The world slowed, the time between each heartbeat an eternity as Jackson scrambled for his magic. Mich.e.l.le gasped softly, and Alec swore and aimed his own gun at Charles.

Too slow. The barrel of Charles's gun swung in a perfect arch to point directly at Steven's head. His finger twitched once, and he fired.

Mahalia screamed, and chaos erupted.

Nick caught Steven as he slumped toward the floor, and Aaron s.h.i.+elded Mich.e.l.le's body with his own. Alec and Jackson returned fire, but their bullets skittered to a stop a foot shy of Charles and clattered to the marble stairs.

Charles smiled at them and rasped in a labored breath. Mahalia chanted, her dark eyes alight with fury, and the Seer clutched his throat.

Under Aaron, Mich.e.l.le gasped. Magic gathered in the room, taking on visible colors as Mahalia's voice grew louder. Mahalia wasn't incredibly strong, but rage fed her power, and Jackson felt the tug as she reached out and gathered magic from every available source.

Charles's response was more direct. He dropped one hand to clench around the shoulder of his last remaining ally. The small spell caster sucked in a sharp breath, and Jackson had only a heartbeat to brace himself as Charles ripped the power from the man's body.

The caster screamed, high and pained, and the world exploded. Darkness engulfed Jackson, and he cursed as everything fell away.

Chapter Twenty-One.

Mackenzie ate, showered and flipped through every channel on the television. Twice. She brushed out her hair and braided it tightly. She unwove it and left it hanging around her shoulders. She paged through the phonebook on a whim, and called directory a.s.sistance once looking for John Peyton in New York City. She even called thirteen of the twenty-seven results before she gave up.

Marcus slept through all of it, dead to the world, and so worn and exhausted even in sleep that she didn't have the heart to wake him.

She was on her third pa.s.s through the television when the phone finally rang. She lunged for it, heart in her chest, and answered in a shaking voice. ”h.e.l.lo?”

”Mackenzie?” The voice was young and female, but so nervous she didn't recognize it at first. ”Holy s.h.i.+t, where are you? Is Jackson there?”

”Kat?” Mackenzie's fingers clenched around the phone. ”No. Have you heard from him? Is Mahalia all right? I tried to call her house-”

”Wait, wait-” Mackenzie heard Kat's muttered curses clearly, as well as the sound of keys clacking on a keyboard. ”Jackson didn't find you? You're not with him?”

”I'm in Boston.”

”f.u.c.k.”

The panic in Kat's voice set Mackenzie's heart to racing, and she curled her free hand around the edge of the bed and tried to control her breathing. ”What's going on, Kat?”

”s.h.i.+t. Nothing, don't freak out.” More keys clacked, and Kat swore again. ”Hey, can I put you on hold for a second?”

”No! Kat, what's going on?”

”They're going in to get you. Or they think they are-” Kat's voice stopped abruptly. ”s.h.i.+t, this is all coming out wrong. Just hold on a second, okay? I want to try their phones.”

Mackenzie's heart pounded so loudly she could barely hear Kat's words. ”Hurry.”

”Stay on the line, I'll be right back.”

Mackenzie listened to the silence on the other end of the phone and tried not to think of how many things could go wrong if Jackson and Alec and Nick were trying to get into Charles's house to rescue her.

The line clicked again all too soon, and Kat's worried voice filled her ears. ”No one's answering. Everything's going straight to voicemail. They're probably already on their way in, or maybe on their way out-”

”s.h.i.+t. Kat, it's dangerous. Charles Talbot is crazy. He's so d.a.m.n strong.”

”They know that, Mackenzie.” Kat sounded like she was trying to convince both of them. ”Don't underestimate Jackson. He's smart and really good, and Alec's a scary motherf.u.c.ker. They've got Nick and Nick's dad and even Nick's sister-oh-oh!”

Mackenzie's heart jumped. ”What?”

”Nick's dad. I can try to call Nick's dad. There's no way he went in with them.”

”You have his number? I can call him.”

Kat cut her off. ”No. Oh, h.e.l.l no. The f.u.c.king Alpha? I haven't got his number, but I can find it.”

”How?”

Kat laughed nervously. ”Did Jackson and Alec tell you anything about me?”

”Just that you're their a.s.sistant. And psychic.”

”Yeah, I'm not really a secretary, though. I mean, I answer their phones, but they pay me for my other skills.”

The roundabout explanation frustrated Mackenzie. ”Jesus, Kat. Just spit it out.”

”Sorry. I'm a nervous babbler. I mean, when I get nervous sometimes I talk a lot-” Obviously. Mackenzie ground her teeth and to keep from interrupting. ”But what I'm trying to say... I'm sort of a computer whiz. I mean, good with the less-than-legal stuff.”

”You're a hacker?” Mackenzie asked incredulously. It was hard to reconcile the cute, sweet-faced young woman in the girly sundress with that mental image.

Then again, she hadn't expected Jackson to be some kind of wizard. She didn't feel like a shapes.h.i.+fter.

”Hacker. I don't care what Mari says, that word is so misused. There's all this craziness about computer geeks trying to reappropriate it, and all the c.r.a.p about it being a benign phrase, but it really is insulting since the etymology-”

”Kat.” Mackenzie cut her off. ”Focus, would you?”

”Right. John Peyton.” The noise of keys clacking returned. ”Hey, I'm going to go so I can make some calls. I'll call you back when I can, okay? If I get Jackson, I'll give him your number.”

”Okay.” She took a breath. ”Thanks, Kat.”

”Sure, Mackenzie. Hang in there, okay? I'm glad you're not all caught in the evil clutches of a crazy criminal mastermind anymore.”

”Thanks. Me too, I guess.”

”Yeah. Talk to you soon.”

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