Chapter Nine

 

 

Lindemere didn’t particularly like the idea of Iago being hit by lightning or being attacked by... anyone, but he understood what he was saying. His amina was letting go of his fears. Using the hold he had on Iago’s nape, Lindemere closed the distance between them and sealed his lips over his amina’s once more.

While the last kiss Lindemere had given Iago had been to soothe and relax, this one fired the blood in his veins. He delved deep, stroking and lapping, tasting and teasing. After a moment of exploring Iago’s mouth, Lindemere eased the kiss to an end.

His breath came in heaving gasps, and he growled softly upon seeing Iago’s widely dilated eyes. The scent of his human’s arousal perfumed the air. His own shaft throbbed in response, leaking pre-cum against the flaps of his fly.

Groaning softly, Lindemere reached down and adjusted himself. “Damn,” he whispered, grinning at Iago. “You drive every thought from my head.”

They had been having a serious conversation, and Lindemere prayed to all the gods that Iago’s fears wouldn’t manage to creep up on him again. Hopefully, his amina would remember these moments. And if the fear did find Iago again, his human would come to him with his concerns and allow him to soothe him once more.

A person couldn’t live life in fear, and listening to Iago’s what ifs, the realization of what had been driving his human had hit Lindemere hard.

“As much as I want to take you to your bed and lay you down, we really should go,” Lindemere rumbled huskily. “Do you wish to gather a few things? I’m not certain when we’ll be back.”

Iago nodded even as his chest heaved. “Sure I couldn’t talk you into relieving our aches in my bed?” He peered at Lindemere through his lashes, his glowing cheeks and dilated eyes betraying his hunger. “I could really go for more of the bliss you offered me earlier, and it’s not very nice to leave your amina in such a state.” Iago waved his hand toward his groin, blatantly drawing attention to the erection behind the fly of his jeans.

Lindemere groaned, his own erection throbbing. “Minx!” Gods, he wanted to give in so badly, but—”I’m sorry, Iago. It’s just not safe.”

“But your magick hides us, doesn’t it?” Even as Iago asked the question, he still rose and began heading toward the bedroom. As he opened the door, he peered over his shoulder at Lindemere, concern filling his blue eyes. “Or wouldn’t you be able to hide us while you’re lost in pleasure?”

“I can,” Lindemere admitted, following. “But that broker has a warlock in his employ. He warded the warehouse. That’s why my master had to get help from another to locate me.” Shaking his head, Lindemere rubbed the back of his neck. “I don’t fear for me, but I’ll never do anything that could put you in harm’s way.”

“A warlock?” Iago headed into his bedroom and grabbed a suitcase from the floor of his closet. He placed it on the bed and opened it. “As in a real live person who can use magick?”

Lindemere nodded. “Yes. Witches and warlocks are real, too.” Seeing Iago’s jaw sag open, he hurried to explain, “They are humans with the ability to manipulate the matter around us. They can create wards, which are barriers that certain beings can’t cross. They can remove wards created by others, given enough time and if they’re powerful enough.” Searching for more of an explanation, Lindemere explained, “While it’s rare for one to be strong enough to injure a demon, there is always that possibility. Plus, if an entire circle of witches work together, or a few warlocks get together on a spell, for that matter, they could seriously hurt someone.”

Iago nodded, and to Lindemere’s relief, he swiftly filled his suitcase. Once he was done, Lindemere stepped forward and grabbed it, easily hefting it. He followed as Iago returned to his office and gathered a few electronic devices into another case.

“Uh, those won’t work in the demon realm.” Lindemere figured he should warn his human.

Iago finished zipping the bag, then straightened to peer at him. “But we won’t be there all the time, right? I mean...” He paused, nibbling his lip.

Lindemere waited patiently for Iago to gather his thoughts.

Cocking his head, Iago stated, “I still want to do research with one of those other labs you were talking about. Um, the humane ones.”

Nodding in understanding, Lindemere told him, “Then we’ll have to go there first.” Pointing at the laptop bag Iago rested his hand on, he admitted, “All electronics stop working if someone takes them through the mists.”

“Oh, good to know.” Iago lifted the bag and headed toward him.

Lindemere turned and led the way back to the dining room. He pointed at the files, adding, “We should take these, too. It would be advantageous to figure out how your directors even managed to connect these with paranormals.”

Nodding, Iago set his bag on a chair, then gathered the files and returned them to the leather satchel. “Okay. So where to then?”

Before Lindemere could answer, the splintering crash of wood giving way reverberated through the room. He immediately dropped the suitcase and wrapped his arms and wings around Iago, shielding him from the shards that flew toward them from the direction of the apartment’s destroyed front door. The problem with that was by him releasing the suitcase, it was no longer covered by his shielding spell.

A second later, someone cried, “Look. A suitcase. They might still be here.”

With his hand over Iago’s mouth, keeping his human silent, Lindemere peered over his shoulder. He watched as half a dozen men dressed in black slipped into the room. All of them carried weapons in their hands.

“I had no idea gargoyles had such abilities.”

This was stated by a slender male who’d paused in the doorway. His eyes were beady and a pair of glasses perched on his hawk-like nose. While he had a handgun in the holster strapped onto his thigh, he hadn’t drawn the weapon. He was obviously relying on the half dozen armed men with him.

Peering down at Iago, Lindemere took in his wide-eyed expression. He lifted his hand from his amina’s mouth, moving it to rest on his chest. As Lindemere watched, Iago peered pointedly at the man in the doorway, then mouthed Doctor Rubicon.

Well, fuck!

They’d gotten there far faster than he’d hoped.

Did I miss a guard?

He had no way of knowing unless he managed to get close enough to the doctor to ease into his mind.

Lindemere quickly assessed the situation. The men had spread out, and he knew that even with his demon speed, he would be hard pressed to kill them all before one could get a shot off at Iago. There was no way he wanted his amina even remotely in danger.

That meant waiting it out until they left. As galling as the idea of hiding was to Lindemere, he accepted it as the best option. Plus, if the last guy moved out of the doorway, Lindemere could walk them right out the door.

“The place is clear. I don’t see anyone,” stated a guard from his position near the bedroom doorway. “Maybe they forgot the suitcase or were coming back for it?”

“No, I don’t think so,” the man who was obviously the ringleader countered. “Release the gas. Let’s see what happens then.”

To Lindemere’s frustration, as one man pulled a canister from his utility belt, all the others pulled gas masks over their heads. He wasn’t even certain where they had them hidden. It wasn’t until the final man had thrown the can, which was busy spraying a white, mist-like substance every which way as it rolled across the floor toward the kitchen, that Lindemere spotted the strap around the guy’s neck. With a twist and tug, the can thrower moved his mask from where it must have been hanging at the back of his neck and pulled it over his face.

Options flitted in and out of Lindemere’s mind. He could create a bubble around them, but that would immediately reveal their location when the mist-like fumes reached their confinement. He could reappear before the nearest gunman and use his own weapon against everyone, but that left Iago vulnerable. If he zipped them along a lei line, it would reveal the existence of demons to the mad-man. As much as Lindemere didn’t like that idea, it was the best one. There was no telling what the gas would do to Iago.

Too bad. I seriously wanted a chance at the fucking doctor’s mind.

Just as Lindemere prepared to whisk them away, the gas hit his sensitive nostrils. The sickly sweet scent was cloying and strong... and his mind began to cloud as his eyelids grew heavy. To Lindemere’s shock, he felt his muscles loosen, and his arms and wings fell away from Iago.

Lindemere could do nothing when Iago fell to the floor, for he quickly followed. His last conscious thought was—where the fuck did they get a sleeping gas that works on demons?

 

A dull, throbbing pain pulsed through Lindemere’s head. He breathed slow and even, searching his scrambled brain for why the hell his head hurt. Lindemere couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt so shitty... if ever.

In the next instant, it all came back. It took everything in Lindemere not to tense or jerk upright. That Doctor Rubicon asshole had somehow designed a sleeping gas that worked on demons.

Was it made for paranormals in general and the fact that it worked on demons a lucky happenstance? Or did the doctor know about demons, too?

One way or another, Lindemere intended to find out.

First, however, he needed to locate his Iago.

Without opening his eyes, Lindemere spread tendrils of demon magick, checking out the area. He was alone, locked in a twelve-by-twenty-four-foot room. Because he hadn’t moved before, Lindemere hadn’t noticed the fact that he was manacled to a bed, but he knew it now.

Oh well.

Opening his eyes, Lindemere peered down at the metal straps holding him. They were of good quality, and if he had actually been a gargoyle, they might have been a problem. However, since he wasn’t...

With a softly spoken spell, Lindemere had the cuffs releasing. He sat up, rubbing his wrists as he swung his leg over the side of the bed. Spotting the camera in the corner, he muttered another spell, knowing the outcome would be a black screen that would come across looking like a technical failure.

That’ll have them checking their systems for a few minutes, at least.

Lindemere strode to the door and opened that with the same spell he’d used on the manacles. Pausing in the doorway, he again sought out the area. As his magick maneuvered silent and unseen through the corridor’s twists and turns, he made a mental map and fit it over the one he’d stolen from Claude’s mind.

Knowing exactly where he was, Lindemere waited only long enough to ascertain in which direction his amina was. He easily located Iago using their connection, then began jogging that way. The four guards he ran into were easily taken out. All Lindemere had to do was lock gazes with the human, and he would automatically be under his thrall. That allowed him to draw close, so he could snap their neck.

Good thing these morons don’t patrol in pairs.

Reaching a room that, according to Claude’s information, was used as a briefing room, Lindemere paused. There wasn’t a seal and lock on this door like the cages, so he easily made out the voices within.

What he heard caused his blood to run cold.