Once more, she forced herself to relax and to take in the entire situation, not just the needs of the wolves. She half-turned toward the open doorway. She listened and extended her other senses. She still held Warren’s arm. A critical force flowed between them passing from him to her and back, a sense of her witchness and his wolf, at the same time.
She couldn’t hear sounds of battle outside the apartment. In fact, Julio’s rooms were dead silent.
Warren had withdrawn his cell from his pocket. “Fergus, where are you? What’s happening?”
She turned toward Warren. His hair rose again, lifting at the ends and floating. Where she touched him, small arcs of storm power bounced against her hand.
“Fergus?” He spoke louder this time.
Warren met her gaze. His brow was pulled into a tight line, the remnants of the scars puckering. He shook his head. “Nothing.” He put his phone away.
Another of the wolves whimpered. They hung in their chains in painful poses.
“Go to them. I’ll try Fergus again.”
She hated losing contact with Warren, but the women were suffering horribly. She might not be able to release them, but she could ease their pain.
She went to the first one. The woman had cuts all over her body, though most of the blood had dried in streaks. Kiara placed her hand on top of her head, summoned her witch healing power and let it flow.
A grateful cry left the woman’s throat.
She went to the others and repeated the process.
She returned to the first wolf whose eyes were now open. “Thank you. But you have to know—” She swallowed hard. “This room. Soundproof. Like a tomb. You’ve got to get out. I heard Julio and the wizard. They’re going to subdue Fergus and his men then return here to finish you off. Hurry.”
Kiara felt as though she’d been slapped across the face.
She turned to Warren. He was holding the phone away from his ear and staring at her. He’d heard the woman as well.
He put his phone back into his pants pocked, pivoted swiftly and raced into the other room. She followed him.
He went straight to the apartment door. He tried to pull it open, but it wouldn’t budge and there wasn’t a lock.
“Shit.”
He slammed his fist against the door, then whirled away cursing. “This is a steel door like Ralph’s safe room. I knew it was a trap, but I thought we’d be battling them, here, inside. Instead, they locked us in.”
Kiara knew exactly what it meant. If they hadn’t done so already, Glissane and Julio intended to use the wave power on Fergus and his troops.
Kiara drew close and caught his hand in a tight grip. He returned the pressure. They were in this together. “We’ve got to break out of here,” she said. “Fergus is in mortal danger. They intend to kill him.”
“I’ve been a fool. I thought they were after me.”
“You still don’t get it. They are after you, but they’re taking this opportunity to get rid of Fergus first.”
~ ~ ~
Warren felt the horror of the situation like fire in his brain. He tried to pull away from Kiara, but she wouldn’t have it.
He heard her call his name and her grip on his hand became painful.
Suddenly, a wave passed through him. He was light-headed for a moment, then peace descended, and he could think.
He realized his hair was flipping wildly around his head and Kiara’s long hair was doing the same.
She now stood in front of him and held both his hands in a firm grip. Her eyes glowed with a fiery, silver light. He met her gaze and a familiar warlike sensation, born of battling bad guys at the Border for the past eight years, came over him. He processed not just what had happened or the reality that Fergus was in imminent danger, but the events of the last two nights. The latter, of working beside Kiara, brought his storm ability to the fore.
“We have to break this door down.”