Part 22 (1/2)

The panther jumped back to his feet just as a big, white wolf burst into the room.

”Two of you?” Simon taunted. ”How is that fair?”

The panther and wolf both launched at him. They all went down, cras.h.i.+ng onto the floor as fangs and claws flew out.

Rose heaved against the bands. She broke two of them and slid her body out of the others, hauling herself up to freedom. She jumped off the table just as Simon heaved the wolf off him.

But he didn't escape from Julian. The panther locked his powerful jaws around Simon's neck. He bent down and she knew- Simon's body jerked and went still.

She knew Julian had just severed the top of Simon's spinal cord, the way he'd told her that his kind attacked. But after that terrible bite, the panther didn't let Simon go. His head turned and his powerful teeth raked open Simon's throat, sending a spray of blood into the air.

”Please, please say the panther is with you.” The witch called out. ”I need you to say that right now, vamp.”

She took a step forward and pain burned through her chest. ”He's...with me. So is the wolf.”

And the wolf was rising right then. Stalking toward Simon and the panther but...

The panther swung his head toward Rose. She tried to smile at him, but it was hard considering she'd just nearly had her heart ripped out and Julian was covered in a dead man's blood.

The muse yelled, ”We need to hurry here! Get us out, now! We don't have long before he's back!”

Back? No, not again. No way. The guy's head was barely attached to his body.

The panther's bones began to pop and snap. The wolf was already s.h.i.+fting, too.

”Get us out!” The muse jerked against her bars. ”Hurry!”

Julian rose to his feet, once more in the form of a man. Rose ran to him, ignoring the blood on her, on him, and she threw herself against him. She held him tight, her body shuddering.

”I never, ever liked your plan,” he rasped.

She hugged him harder. ”We found them.” She wouldn't explain just how close she'd come to losing her heart, not right then.

”How the h.e.l.l do I get the cells open?” Rayce's voice blasted.

”You need his index finger...get the index finger from Simon's right hand,” the witch yelled back. ”And the code is 1031. Halloween...because the d.i.c.k thought that was some kind of awesome joke. But hurry, before he rises.”

Julian stiffened. ”Rises?”

Rose and Julian both whirled to look at Simon. He hadn't moved. His body was still splayed on the blood covered floor and his head was-yes, um, barely there. He didn't look like he was rising.

”He doesn't have a heart,” Rose whispered. ”He cut it out. I don't...how did he even live without a heart?”

But Julian swore. ”f.u.c.k. Sounds like he made a deal with someone...”

A deal?

And then understanding dawned. Of course, of course. A human must have made a deal to keep living that way. Humans couldn't work that kind of magic, not on their own.

But Luke Thorne would never make a deal with humans.

So that meant... ”Where's Leo?” Rose asked, her voice sharp.

The ceiling fell in on them. Just gave way as something-someone-came cras.h.i.+ng through it. Julian grabbed Rose, yanking her out of the way of the falling debris and s.h.i.+elding her with his body. And Rayce-he covered the angel who was still on the floor.

Dust and wood, metal and stone-they kept tumbling down.

”Where's the angel?” Leo's bellow. Because it had been Leo who'd come cras.h.i.+ng through that ceiling.

And if anyone had made a deal with Simon Lorne, Rose knew it must have been Leo.

Chapter Seventeen.

Julian straightened. He and Rose turned to face the so-called Lord of the Light.

”This c.r.a.p is why I said hurry!” The muse yanked against her bars. ”Because trouble just keeps coming.”

Leo glanced around, not appearing even a little concerned that two women were still caged-and that a seemingly dead man was on the floor, with most of his neck gone.

Rayce rose. The angel looked at up at him. Tears were on her cheeks.

”Dammit, why are s.h.i.+fters always naked?” Leo waved his hand and jeans appeared on both Julian and Rayce.

Julian growled. ”You b.a.s.t.a.r.d. You did this.”

Leo marched toward Rayce and the angel. ”Gave you clothes? Yes, I did, you're welcome.”

But Julian ran forward and grabbed Leo's arm. He swung the guy to face him. ”You made a deal with Simon. Didn't you? You gave him some kind of power?”

”Get your hand off me. Panther, you don't want to p.i.s.s me off.”

”He had Rose on his table! Her blood was on his hands! You came to me, saying that some being called the Collector was after her. You said I had to protect her. You said I had to find him and stop him...so you could get your angel back.” Fury shook each word.

Rayce moved closer to the angel. She hadn't spoken. Her head was down. She seemed to be staring at the feathers on the floor around her.

”You said you couldn't see the Collector's location.” Julian's voice thundered out. ”That he was using magic to block you.”

”Maybe the witch was helping him,” Leo said flatly as he inclined his head toward the cells and the witch who watched the scene with wide eyes. ”Now, last warning, let go of me.”

Julian didn't let him go. ”I think Simon may have been getting a lot of help-”

The witch immediately denied, ”It wasn't from me!” Then she shouted, ”a.s.sholes, will someone open the cell? He will come back. He got too much power from her wings.”

They needed to get out of those cells. Rose bounded to the body. She grabbed the fallen knife-the same knife that Simon had shoved into her chest-and she cut off his index finger. Then she ran to the witch's cell. She used the finger and she typed in the code. The door opened with a click.

”Thank you,” the witch whispered. ”I owe you.”