Page 30

Chapter Thirty

Calyx

G emma, Cohen, and I stand around the storage unit door. Despite Cohen’s attempts to shield us, I’m not confident that it would hold if we breached the ward.

I’m physically unable to portal into the unit, and that alone tells me there’s a solid chance my phylactery is on the other side of the ridiculous rolling door.

It’s unsettling as fuck not to be able to sense it, but I’m honed in. I will find a way to gain access to it, even if drastic measures have to be taken.

Cohen stands in front of the unit with his hands extended while his magic examines the ward.

Gemma leans against the wall, seeming quite bored. Her familial connection to Rogue allows me to trust her as much as I’m capable of, but I would be speaking much more freely if she wasn’t here. It’s nothing personal; I’d just rather not give my mate’s sister any ammunition to hate me.

My patience is officially gone.

I’m over being separated from my soul, and Delta is about to learn what happens when someone crosses me. All lich have a great capacity for darkness, but I’ve mostly curbed my urges over the many lifetimes I’ve been forced to endure.

I still remember how to rain down hell, though. And it might be time to remind the world exactly what I’m capable of when someone annoys me.

Gemma gets a strange look on her face and frowns. “I’ll be back.”

“That wasn’t weird or anything,” Cohen says, shoving up his glasses. I don’t know why he doesn’t just spell them in place, but it’s not my face, so I don’t heckle him about it.

“What’s the verdict?” I nod at the ward.

Cohen sighs, pulling his hands down. “I think I can break it, but I need to do a little research. Once I have a game plan for how to tackle the different layers, it’ll take some time to dismantle.

It’ll take even longer if we want to demolish it without alerting Delta that her spells have been tampered with. ”

I’m not surprised, but that wasn’t what I was hoping to hear. “And if I boost your magic?”

“That’s with your assistance,” he says. “She’s more powerful than she lets on. That, or her partner is.”

Hmm.

If it comes down to it, I’ll kill her. Her wards will fail within days, in that case.

The only thing that makes me hesitant to do so is that if she’s not proven to be behind the heists, the paranormal council will continue to hunt me.

It would bother me none, but Rogue and Cohen are much softer.

I don’t want them to have to put their lives on hold or to experience what it’s like constantly being hunted.

“Shit, I was right,” Gemma says, appearing in a smoky mass of shadows. “Delta and her warlock boyfriend are on the way.”

“Okay, so, let’s standby, wait for them to open the unit, and Calyx can kill them,” Cohen says, shrugging.

“Or…” Gemma rolls her eyes. “You could let me take you back to the sithen. If they’re about to use the phylactery to fuel another heist, this could be our chance to catch them red-handed.”

“That is true. Or they could be about to attempt to sell my soul to the highest bidder,” I say with a scoff.

It’s hard not to be bitter, considering the circumstances.

“I’ll watch them. If they try to leave with it, I’ll simply siphon in, snatch it, and siphon back out again,” Gemma says, grabbing Cohen’s arm.

“Once it’s no longer behind the ward, I’ll be able to steal it before they can blink.

” She doesn’t give me the opportunity to protest. Her hand meets my forearm, then we’re spilling through the shadows.

We land in the living room of the sithen, and Gemma disappears before I can tell her what a poor choice I think this is.

Rogue and Owen are waiting for us, and they shove to their feet before I’ve even caught my bearings.

“What happened?” my mate asks, crossing the room and stopping at my side.

“I have to check a few things in my books.” Cohen speaks before I have the chance.

“Okay, I’ll come with you,” Rogue says. “You can fill me in while Owen fills in Calyx and vice versa.”

Cohen’s eyes widen, but he shrugs. “I’m not opposed to having an extra set of eyes to help me look up the spells she used.”

Rogue leans up, kissing my cheek and giving my back a pat before following Cohen out of the room.

Owen’s gaze immediately zeroes in on me.

Well, this should be interesting.

A plan sizzles in the back of my mind, but I’m unsure how Rogue would tolerate it.

If I can get to my phylactery, there’s no question I would be able to break through Delta’s ward to get back out. Even if some alarm system were to be tripped, it wouldn’t matter. I could end the witch and her partner with little difficulty.

Owen and I take turns explaining what happened while we were apart.

“If she’s at the storage unit now, why don’t I just call Maxwell and have him meet us there?” Owen suggests.

“Do you truly believe he would arrest Delta and let me walk away?” My eyebrows rise. “Because I wouldn’t put that much faith in anyone from the council.”

Owen doesn’t get the chance to answer. His phone rings, breaking the silence of the moment. He tugs it free of his pocket and frowns. “No fucking way. Speak of the devil—it’s Delta.” He answers and puts the call on speakerphone before I can ask. “This is Owen.”

“Boss? I’ve got a situation,” a female voice says over the line. “I just got a tip of where the Market Heist Crew is expected to strike, but I have a personal emergency that came up. I won’t be able to lead my team in the takedown.”

Owen’s head shakes, but he keeps cool, asking, “What can I do to help? Do you want me to send another team in your place?”

She sighs heavily, making a real show of it. “You’ll have to. As much as I wanted to be the one to take down those assholes, I know I won’t be able to make it in time.”

“Text me the details, and I’ll handle it,” Owen says, and they disconnect. The look on his face is grim. “Everything in me says she found a buyer. She’s trying to distract us with a final heist because she knows she won’t have access to your magic for much longer.”

I nod.

We can agree on that.

Gemma siphons back into the living room before I can even speak. “So, yeah, they’re definitely trying to sell your special soul jar.” She points at me. “But unless it’s tiny enough to fit in one of their pockets, she didn’t have it when she left.”

“Fucking hell,” Owen growls, typing away on his phone. “I’m sending a backup team and the council agent to the address Delta just gave me. It’s close to an hour and a half away, so at least we won’t have to worry about the council swarming the storage unit facility. What do we do now?”

I frown, but I’ve already made up my mind. There’s only one course of action we can take, and I’m pretty sure it’s going to royally piss off my mate.

“Now you rip out my heart and remove my head,” I say, focusing on the berserker. “It will take less than an hour for my body to regenerate next to my phylactery, but every minute counts…” I wave a hand, indicating that he should come closer. “That means we should get right to it.”

An hour is technically the fastest I’ve ever regenerated. Normally it’s closer to two full hours, but I’m trusting my energy to know how important this is. It better focus and speed up the process while we have the chance.

“I thought your heart was in the soul jar,” Gemma says, sounding suspicious.

“It is,” I assure her. “There’s a shell in its place that must be destroyed.

It’s one half of the process. Removing my head is the other…

” I give Owen a look to impart how time sensitive this matter is.

“If my head is not separated from my shoulders at the same time the shell in my chest is damaged beyond repair… My body will simply begin the slow process of healing itself. It has to be both, and it needs to be as close to simultaneous as possible.” I look at Gemma.

“Once I’m dead, take them to the storage unit.

I’ll be able to break the ward from the inside out once I’m at full power.

I’m also counting on you to monitor Delta and her man friend.

We need enough time to allow my resurrection to complete, but don’t allow them to go through with the sale. ”

“How am I supposed to pull that off?” she asks with wide eyes.

“If it comes down to it, siphon them to the storage unit, and I’ll handle them.

” Owen finally steps closer, but he stares down at his hand almost like the appendage has betrayed him.

His eyes bounce up, meeting mine. “We have a problem. Our matebond with Rogue won’t allow me to physically harm you. Not in any way that would count.”

“Shit,” I mutter, swiveling to face Gemma. “Sorry, nightmare. That means you’re up.”

“You want me to kill you?” Gemma points at her chest, almost like she’s asking if I’m speaking to her. “Hell no, my sister would never forgive me.”

“It’s not a permanent death,” I assure her calmly. “I will regenerate with my phylactery, and we can finally be free of this entire mess.”

“Are you sure?” she asks.

“Positive.”

“You better be right, or my sister will never forgive me,” she grumbles, disappearing and reappearing in front of me in a smoky mass of shadows.

Everything in me aches to dodge as her clawed hand flies at my chest, but I resist the urge. Pain ravages my system, and a half second later, everything goes black.