Илона Эндрюс - Emerald Blaze (Hidden Legacy)

All through the night.

While the weary world is sleeping,

All through the night.

O’er thy spirit gently stealing,

Visions of delight revealing,

Breathes a pure and holy feeling,

All through the night . . .”

The Abyss’ grip slid off the construct’s mind and vanished. The creature scooted closer to me, its flower glowing, and wrapped itself around my body, like an affectionate dog. Its metal scales vibrated, making a soft mechanical purr . . .

A body dropped from above and landed on top of the construct in a flash of orange magic. Alessandro swung and buried Linus’ sword in the creature’s eye. The construct fell apart into bands of metal and reeds.

Alessandro glared at me. “I leave you alone for six hours and this is what happens?”

I scrambled to my feet. “I had it! I took it away from the Abyss! You—”

He kissed me. The world spun sideways. A whirlwind of emotions tore through me—relief, need, want, outrage—and I didn’t know which one to pick. Outrage won.

Alessandro’s lips left mine. He squeezed me to him, a huge grin on his face. “You’re alive.”

“You killed my construct,” I ground out.

“You can’t keep it,” Alessandro said. “It’s bad.”

“Let go of me!”

I pushed away from him and swayed. He caught me. Alarm skewed his face. “Are you okay?”

The words fell out one by one. “Tired. Dirty. Wet. Hurt. Frustrated.” My brain suddenly came up with a complete thought and I spat it out. “Now? Of all the times you could have kissed me, you thought now was a good idea? I have mud and algae in my mouth.”

He grinned again, wrapped his arm around my waist, and half steered, half carried me up the slope to a narrow, paved sidewalk leading up the bank. My legs barely moved.

“Where were you?” I squeezed out.

“Busting Arkan’s HQ in Houston.”

“Are you okay?” He looked okay, but that didn’t mean he was okay.

“Yes.”

“Is Linus okay?”

“Yes.”

“Are they dead?”

“Some of them. The telekinetic wasn’t there.”

“I can’t believe you kissed me. You’ve lost your mind.”

“You were dragged off by a monster into the river. You can’t blame me.”

Oh yes, I could.

“What did it want?” he asked.

“Me.”

“It can’t have you.”

“It’s a he.”

“What?”

“It’s a he, Alessandro. He thinks he should. He showed me images.”

A hot spike of pain shot through my right hip. My leg folded, but Alessandro caught me.

“I can carry you.”

“No!” After that kiss, being carried by him was the last thing I needed.

We trudged up the sidewalk.

“What kind of images?”

“The impress-your-date kind. He showed me his crib, demonstrated that he was a good provider, and I wouldn’t starve, and then he showed me what he did for work, and how creative he was.”

Alessandro put his hand on my forehead.

“I don’t have a fever!”

“Did you hit your head?”

“No!” We were almost to the road. “He killed a guard and used the dead man’s brain and nervous system to make a five-foot-tall replica of my dog.”

“That might be the creepiest thing I’ve ever heard.”

“Yeah, it wasn’t a ton of fun to watch.”

We reached the bridge and walked onto the pedestrian access, separated from the traffic by a narrow barrier. Alessandro’s Spider waited just a few yards ahead.

“You should dump this on Linus.”

“That’s not how it works. He gave me the job, I’m doing the job. Besides, what is Linus going to do against a Saito construct?”

“What is that?”

“A construct that’s alive, capable of independent decisions, self-repair, and growth, physical and mental. It’s not supposed to exist, but it’s in the Pit right now preparing a lovely lily pad for me and feeding dead bodies to fish to fatten them up so he can serve them for dinner.”

Alessandro stopped. I leaned on him, resting all of my weight on his arm. It was that or kiss the pavement with my face.

“Is this what the rest of your life is going to be like, Catalina?”

“If I’m lucky.”

“I’m being serious.”

“I know you are.”

“ Giuro ! Mi sembra di parlare al muro .”

Uh-huh, talking to me is like talking with a wall? Okay. “Da che pulpito !”

He opened his mouth. Nothing came out. I had just demanded to know from what pulpit he was delivering that sermon.

Alessandro finally recovered. “Ma sai parlare italiano ?”

Duh. I answered in Italian. “Did you think you’re the only person in the world who can learn a foreign language?”

“How long?”

“For years.” I learned so I could read his Italian posts. “If you’re wondering if I understood all of your mutterings and curses, and every time you called me your treasure or your angel, I did.”

He looked like he was about to have an aneurism.

I slumped onto the Spider’s hood. I would have to fold my battered body into that tiny car. I switched back to English. “Would it kill you to have a normal-sized car?”

Alessandro opened the passenger door and all but stuffed me into the seat. He got in on the driver’s side and we were off.

He pressed a button on the steering wheel and said, “Call Leon.”

What?

“Did you think you are the only person who can call your cousin from the car?”

Leon’s voice spilled from the speakers. “Did you find her?”

“I have her. She’s okay, but I’m driving her to Dr. Arias.”

Leon swore quietly, the relief plain in his voice.

“Are you okay?” I asked.

“Yes. Don’t come back here. Half of Houston PD is here and Sabrian is in beast mode.”

“She’s going to need a change of clothes,” Alessandro said. “She’s due at Victoria Tremaine’s in ninety minutes.”

He remembered.

“I’ll send some over with Beetle. I want her in an armored car. Keep her safe.”

“I will,” Alessandro promised.

Leon hung up.

“How did you even find me?”

“I will always find you,” he said. “I told you, Catalina. I won’t abandon you.”

He said it with complete sincerity, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. He’d come for me. Even if the thing dragged me into the river, he would find it, kill it, and pull me out. If the Abyss took me into the Pit, Alessandro would follow and bring me out.

Nobody besides my family would ever do that for me.

The realization of that was too big for me to deal with. I slumped on my seat. “Just tell me.”

“I was there when you made the arrangements with the Primes, so I knew where you would be. Once Linus and I finished, I drove to House Jiang and ran into your cousin and your sister. I saw the trail leading to the river, realized that it was dragging you back to the Pit, so it would be heading northwest against the current, and drove to this bridge very fast.”

“Why do you have my sword?”

“It’s not yours. This is mine. It’s a gift from your . . . supervisor.”

I glanced at him.

“He said it was the prototype of the prototype. He thought I might need it.” Alessandro grimaced. “Aside from the null space, it’s a shit blade.”

“He usually makes ranged weapons.”

“I noticed.”

Houston slid by outside the window. Alessandro reached over and squeezed my hand. I squeezed back.

Chapter 13

The Shenandoah State Correctional Facility, nicknamed the Spa, loomed ahead as I steered Beetle down the smoothly curving road. A four-story-high masonry fort built with Austin limestone, it rose above the ten-foot wall like a luxury hotel and offered an indoor pool, tennis courts, a track, a driving range, and a garden. The rich and powerful didn’t like to be inconvenienced, even in incarceration.