Page 41 of Curses & Keys (Curses & Gods #1)

JAMISON

B ased on the surveillance data, we realized the group was too large for us to take on by ourselves.

Requesting security forces from the council without revealing the details was tricky, but it was the only way I was willing to proceed.

The motion barely passed, but they were unanimous in their message—any exposure of our supernatural world would mean my immediate removal as head of security and a trial.

Not that there would be much of one, since they serve as both jury and executioner.

Coordinates were given to the two planes after takeoff. Mathias went on one plane to debrief those teams, and I boarded the other to do the same. Gatlin left ahead of us to meet with the surveillance team. Once we have boots on the ground, we’ll coordinate an attack based on his observations.

“We land in twenty minutes,” I tell the teams, then take my seat near the front.

Preliminary reports suggest at least a hundred in the enemy camp, but all of the soldiers are human.

Normally, I’d take a team of forty, but with their reinforced suits and extensive resources, I decided to match them in numbers.

I glance at my phone. Hawthorne sent me a message letting me know they arrived at the temple in Athens. That was yesterday. Nothing since. I don’t like it. What if they’ve already run into trouble? Maybe we should have gone with them. Tackled this group later. Damn. I hope he sends an update soon.

I trace the photo he sent of her sleeping across from him, lips swollen from our kiss at the airport.

I stare at it. Every moment she challenges me.

I’m not into public displays, but all the rules go out the window when I’m around her.

That kiss. The world faded around us. All I wanted was her.

Her lips beneath mine, her soft curves pressed into me, but mostly, her surrender.

Damn if she didn’t hesitate to give it to me.

The sound of landing gear interrupts the rest of my thoughts. I grimace. A good thing as I shift uncomfortably. The plane touches down and comes to a halt. I stand and circle my hand to tell them to move out.

“What have you got for me?” I ask Gatlin when he answers.

“Camp is huge. We need to come at it from all sides. As you know, there are six roads in and out. Four teams on each entrance. First wave will focus on taking out as many as possible. We’ll capture any stragglers at the end.

Leadership tent identified. I’ll need at least ten to secure it,” he tells me in a strained voice.

“What’s wrong?” I ask, startled to hear something besides his usual calm voice.

“A team of eight left yesterday in two SUVs. We tracked them to Athens but lost them in the city,” he informs me, his voice tight with worry.

“Do you think they know Hawthorne and Phaedra are at the temple?” I ask, my voice sharp with alarm. Hawthorne can handle himself, but a large team would be near impossible. The pit in my stomach grows.

“Probable,” he replies, his voice tight. “I tried to get ahold of Hawthorne, but nothing. You hear from them?”

His use of the word them tells me everything I need to know. Gatlin’s nature is that of a protector, and it’s obvious he sees her as one of us. Something is wrong. I can feel it in my gut. Fuck.

“Yesterday. They arrived in Athens. Nothing today. I’ll keep trying. Right now, we need to focus on this attack. Got it?” Even though it’s the last fucking thing I want to do.

“Affirmative,” he states reluctantly. “But I want to check on them as soon as possible.” His hard tone tells me how worried he is about them.

“We’ll head to Athens after we take this group down,” I promise with a harsh laugh. “We’re loading up. Be there in twenty. Set the timer.”

Mathias, standing beside me, raises a brow.

“Let’s get this over with. Be safe.”

His lips compress and with a set face, he strides over to the first vehicle and gets in the passenger seat.

Gone is the nerd who stays in the background playing with computers and digging up data. This is the fighter I saw when I met him a few centuries back. He’s the vampire Nolan Westgate feared the most. Mathias, the king’s commander, back in his home world of Kallias.

He blames himself for having volunteered to walk through the portal.

His king would have spared him, but his honor wouldn’t let him.

There was no way he was going to send his men alone.

In doing so, he lost the one person he valued most in life—his daughter.

Once the war with the gods was settled, he threw himself into searching for a way to return but could never find one.

Resigned, he drifted for a long time. Adapted to this world. Found he had a knack for tech and making money. Became the man he portrays to the world today. Except when cornered.

It’s been a long time since I’ve seen that expression on his face and those knives strapped to his shoulders. My smile is grim as I contemplate the surprise on his team’s faces when they see the predator behind the mask.

I slide into the passenger seat and nod for us to head out. “Remember, split when we hit the next intersection.” Everyone already knows which of the six roads they will follow into the compound. “Watch your backs and stay away from glowing weapons.”

I pick up my phone and text Hawthorne, telling him about the team headed to Athens. He doesn’t respond, which is unlike him. My gut is churning with dread, but I can’t do anything about it at this moment. Our best bet is to capture the rest of this group and get some damn answers out of them.

“Intersection,” I call out over comms. “Five minutes to target.”

The fight begins the second each team hits the compound.

Gunfire rings out across the land. Soldiers shift into animals.

Some on the ground and others in the air.

Vampires strike hard as they speed through the enemy ranks.

The smell of magic burns the air as potions, spells, and fire spread from the outside to the center.

Coming to a stop, Gatlin strides over. With him by my side, we make our way to the leadership tent he identified earlier.

“Roughly twenty to thirty inside. Fighters, every one of them. Hand to hand combat is what they want. Between the weapons that can nullify magic and their inherent combat skills, they’re good enough to win.

Don’t let them draw you into a fight. Use your magic. ”

He steps away from me, transforming into his gryphon. He dips his head and immediately heads up to tear away the tent. We follow on the ground, killing those who rush to escape his fierce talons.

Surprisingly, most of them stay to fight, blue weapons glowing in their hands. This is what Gatlin was saying. I draw a golden lasso with my magic and use it to keep them at bay. One particular soldier gets too close, and I drop it around his neck and sever his head from his shoulders.

I hear a scream to my right and see one of my mages getting stabbed with the same type of weapon that took out Letz.

Furious, I whip my rope around the guy’s wrist and cut off the hand with the weapon.

Without missing a beat, he bends down to pick it up with his other hand but never makes it.

A talon flings him into the hands of a vampire waiting nearby.

“Surrender!” I shout. “And we’ll spare your men!”

A massive grey-haired man in the back laughs. “Never. We’ve given too much to you bastards over the years. It’s time to take back this world. Make it safe for humans again.” I see him raise his phone to his ear. “Now.”

I hear the first detonation and see Gatlin’s eagle head jerk up.

Running outside, I watch in horror as explosions go off around the camp.

Screams are heard from every corner. I see a shimmer to my right and turn as a portal opens.

The enemy rushes into it. Another shimmer across from me. Another portal.

“Cover the portals,” I yell into the comms. “Take down as many as you can before they escape.” I glance up at Gatlin and turn to rush back inside, but a bomb goes off, sending me flying back from the tent in the other direction.

Darkness closes in on me.

Beeping machines. Pain everywhere. I pry my eyes open and see white walls and Mathias typing furiously on a computer beside me. Bright lights pierce my eyes, making my headache worse.

“Turn the damn lights off,” I order in a gravelly voice.

Mathias turns off the lights and closes the curtains. “Better?”

“Water,” I plead, my throat scratching like sandpaper. He holds a glass to my lips, and I take a few sips. “Thanks. How long have I been out?”

“A week,” Mathias tersely replies.

Damn.

“Status,” I demand with a grimace, knowing it’s going to be bad.

“The council has placed you on medical leave until further notice,” he begins. When I raise a demanding eyebrow, he shakes his head. “It’s bad. The entire place was one big minefield ready to blow. Forty-seven of ours gone. Most from the explosions. They were laced with magical fire.”

“And the enemy?” I ask, exhaling heavily. “They had one hell of an exit plan.”

“Quite a few died but almost half escaped,” he says, sitting on the bed beside me. “We don’t know who opened the portals.” He pauses and flashes me a look, telling me he has an idea, then he subtly nods at the window of my room where a guard is posted.

Who are they guarding? Me from the enemy? Or are they here to prevent me from leaving? Probably all of the above.

“Where is everyone?” I ask with a frown. Is Phaedra safe?

“Gatlin’s on a rampage, but he’s good,” Mathias informs me.

“We haven’t heard from Hawthorne or Phaedra.

Somehow, they’re blocking all messages and calls between us.

” He curses. “I don’t know how they’re fucking doing it.

” Anger flares in the depths of his eyes.

He’s pissed he missed it. “I’ve ordered phones, but she won’t have our new numbers.

And the locator on the laptop is still off. ”

He leans down and whispers to me. “I’ve been in touch with Charlie. He dropped them off in Rome, but he doesn’t have an address. I’m searching all the available footage but haven’t located them yet.”

My brows draw together. “Why did they go there?”

Mathias darts a glance at the guard and shakes his head. “Later.”

“I do have good news,” Mathias says with a sardonic smile. “We captured a few of the leaders. That’s where Gatlin is now. He insisted on being in on the interrogation despite the council’s best efforts to keep him out of it.”

I push to my elbows, trying to sit up, but the world spins around me.

“Damn it, be careful. The blast nearly killed you,” he spits out. “There isn’t anything you can do except get better. This is getting nasty. We need you at your best.”

“What did the doctor say?” I ask, easing back down on the bed.

“A week,” Mathias retorts. “But I doubt you’ll wait that long. Give it at least another day. Two would be better. We’re working on figuring a few things out anyway.”

I shake my head. “We need to search for them. In person. Now.”

What if something happened to her? My mind goes to the last time I saw her. Our kiss. Gatlin’s right. We never should have split up. At the time, it seemed safer for them to go to Athens, but it was a bad call.

Mathias turns his phone toward me. “If you wait, you can have first crack at this.”

On the screen is a picture of a blue glowing knife. One of their weapons. I look up at him. “Who knows you have this?”

“Gatlin, me, you,” he murmurs with a dangerous glint in his eye. “Apparently, it only works on those who have or use magic like shifters, mages, elves, and demons. Funny enough, it has zero effect on vampires.”