H Mallory - To Kill A Warlock

I wanted to believe him, but look where my trust had gotten me so far. “Looks like you got in way over your head,” I said and he nodded. “That's why you shouldn't have trusted them in the first place. God, Quillan, I never picked you for the dumb type.”

He swallowed, his face downcast, and disregarded my comment. “I never wanted anyone killed, Dulcie, and I never would've summoned the creature.”

“So, why get involved in the first place, Quillan?”

“I’ve regretted it since the day I decided to do something with those potions. It was the biggest mistake I’ve ever made.”

I wasn’t interested in a regretful Quillan. I needed to get the details of the case more than anything else. “So, you put the spell on Trey and you used an illegal ingredient so it would take us longer to crack it.”

He nodded. “I had to. The gnome is a sensitive so he was able to tell every time Trey had a vision. Frank wanted to put a hit out on Trey, but of course, I couldn't allow that. To keep Trey safe, I put him under the sleeping spell and told Frank I'd taken care of him. When the gnome didn't get any more hints that Trey was having visions, I guess they believed me.”

“And Frank put the hit out on me then that day in the woods outside my apartment?”

Quillan bobbed his head. “I had to tell him I was pretending to investigate the case with you. I guess he got scared and decided it was better to have you out of the picture.”

I remembered that night-how frightened I'd been, how Quillan had seemed so nonchalant, so unconcerned about what had been out there. Then I remembered the gremlins. “You ordered the gremlins?”

“Yes, when the Relations Office said you were on hiatus, I suggested they send gremlins to further protect you. I thought it would be a good idea.” Then he paused. “How did the Relations Office happen to know you were involved in this?”

I shrugged, feigning innocence. “I have no idea. That was my next question for you.” Ha, my acting was getting better and better.

“No idea.”

I sighed, figuring I knew as much as I needed to. Then I remembered Knight telling me to keep everyone in the living room and figured I should start corralling them. I waved the gun in a motion of “get up” and Quillan did as he was told. “We're going back into the living room. You walk in front of me and don't try anything because I won’t hesitate to shoot you.” He nodded solemnly. “There's no way I can talk you out of this, is there?” I shook my head. “Eight ball's sources say no.” He laughed quietly but it was a sad sound. “I will miss you, Dulcie. Whatever happens, I'm going to miss you.”

I didn't care to think about what exactly he thought might happen or how ominous his words sounded. Whatever I'd felt for Quillan was in the process of being blocked up by an impervious wall, never to see the light of my emotions again.

“Okay, out you go,” I said, my voice hoarse with fatigue.

Just as soon as the words left my mouth, the lights twitched like they were blinking and then died, leaving us in total darkness. I grabbed Quillan's collar and pressed the cold nose of the gun into the back of his neck. “Don't do anything stupid.”

Seconds later, the sound of crashing glass shattered the still of the night, followed by scuffling, and I figured Knight had finally arrived. And it was about goddamned time.

I pushed Quillan forward, the gun still threatening his lower neck just as two gunshots rang out. My heart in my throat, I continued pushing Quillan into the hallway and down the long corridor. It seemed like it took years to get out of the hallway and emerge into the living room.

In the darkness, I could just make out the shapes of two large lumps on the floor. It took my fairy vision a second to kick in, but once it did, I realized the gnome and the human were dead, a single bullet wound in each of their heads. Two points for Knight. Then I suddenly realized Knight, the creature and the vamp were nowhere to be found.

“Who's with you?” Quillan asked.

“No one you need to concern yourself with.”

Thinking Knight had gone outside to battle against them, I pushed Quillan toward the door, imagining I could walk him to the Wrangler and hogtie him with some horsehair rope in my trunk. The rope would keep him from using his magic to escape-horses' hair being one of the few substances immune to magic.

“You and I are going to go for a quick walk,” I said.

Quillan didn't say anything but stepped over the shards of broken glass that used to be the living room doors and jumped onto the dirt below. I was directly behind him. When we hit the ground, he started walking a bit too fast for my comfort. “Slow the hell down.”

He didn't slow down but, instead, took off running. I had the split-second thought to shoot him in the leg but the dragon blood bullets in his gun would kill him as soon as they made contact with his blood. And I definitely didn’t want to kill him, so I started after him, running full bore. There weren't any fences or anything else that might slow Quillan down-just a hill with a clear path to the highway below, and a few pepper trees dotting the landscape.

“Quillan, I WILL shoot you,” I yelled.

Surprisingly, he stopped and held his hands up, turning around to face me. If I thought he was surrendering, the little smile pulling at his lips made me think otherwise. I was prohibited from any other thoughts as a maniacal laugh pierced the air. Quillan and I glanced at each other, question marks clearly emanating from each of our eyes. “Goddamit!” Knight. Knight's voice was followed by the sound of someone landing on the ground…hard. I could only hope it wasn't him. “Let me go, Dulcie. It sounds like your friend is in over his head.”

Maybe Knight was in over his head. I tightened my grip around the gun, ignoring the thundering pain in my hand. But, if Knight wasn't in over his head, I'd be making a crucial mistake.

“I'm not letting you go,” I said, hoping Knight could take care of himself. He had said he was as strong as three men. But, that hadn't included a vamp and they were renowned for their physical strength. And the creature wasn’t anything to scoff at either.

Quillan started walking backward. “Let me go, Dulcie, it's a lot easier than killing me.”

I kept the Op 7 aimed on him but he continued to back away. I wasn’t sure why he didn’t just resort to using magic-he could’ve escaped me a lot easier by surrounding me in a thick fog or just becoming invisible. Instead, he was playing by the rules. Admirable. “Stop walking now.”

“Dulcie, you know if you take me into custody, the Netherworld will order me dead. I can't have that. I'd hope you wouldn't want it either.”

Damn him to hell. Of course I didn't want his blood on my hands. But, I had to let justice run its course. “Stop walking, Quillan.”

He didn't, and I squeezed the trigger ever so slightly. He was within range. If I hit him, I'd definitely kill him. And it was at that moment I realized I couldn't do it. As much as I hated admitting it, I still cared for Quillan and I couldn't kill him. The sound of grunting and fists meeting flesh assaulted my ears. I had to make my choice. Either go after Quillan or help Knight. The choice was already made. I lowered the gun and Quillan smiled gratefully. “I'll make it up to you, Dulce.” “I don't ever want to see your face again. You were lucky this time; you won't be lucky next time.”

He didn't respond but turned away and started down the hill, disappearing into the distance. Fighting the soreness in my gut, I prepared to confront a more important subject-Knight.

I didn’t have time to regret letting Quillan go.