“Here we are,” Gaze said, as warmly as if welcoming them to another Christmas party. “Please don’t consider trying anything foolish, Hugh, or our young friend here will regret it.”
The world spun about her head as the thug dumped her onto the cold ground. He snapped a chain onto her handcuffs with a quick, practiced motion. The other end was secured to an iron ring set into the concrete floor.
Rolling onto her side, Hope managed to prop herself up enough to look around. A chill ran down her spine.
Large steel hooks hung from thick chains above their heads, half-visible in the gloom. The concrete underneath them was marked by old, rusty splotches. A gutter ran down the middle of the long room. It must have once been some sort of abattoir or meat-processing plant, but now the air smelled of mold and dust.
There was new thing that was clean and new, though. It gleamed in the middle of the dimly lit space, stark and ominous.
A cage.
“In you go.” Gaze shoved Hugh into the cage, still smiling brightly. “I apologize if it’s a little small. I had to guess at the dimensions.”
Hugh straightened. Despite Gaze’s words, there was plenty of room in the cage even for his tall, broad-shouldered form. It could have held a large animal l
ike a horse or a bull.
Hugh looked around at the bars with the jaded air of a business traveler confronted with yet another bland hotel suite. “Charming. I’m sure I’ll be very comfortable.”
“I’m afraid not.” Gaze glanced at the henchman still standing guard over Hope. “Wait outside. Don’t let anyone in. And don’t come in again yourself. No matter what you hear.”
The goon nodded, his craggy face not betraying a hint of curiosity. “Yes boss.”
“You shouldn’t listen to him,” Hugh called as the man headed for the door. “He’s cheating you out of a fortune. I can pay you far more than he is.”
“Yeah.” The henchman didn’t even pause. “They all say that.”
The thick steel door slammed shut, leaving the two of them alone with Gaze in the gloom. It was the best chance they were ever likely to have. Hope wracked her brain, staring frantically around at the rusted equipment in search of inspiration.
There has to be some way I can hurt him. Or at least delay him. Ivy’s on her way, I know she is, she has to be…
“Well now.” Gaze strolled over to a wheeled metal table placed next to the cage. Hope was too low down to see what was on top of it, but given that it bore a suspicious resemblance to a surgical trolley, she was betting it wasn’t anything good. “Shall we begin?”
Hugh folded his arms, looking bored. “You still can’t force me to shift. You don’t have any leverage.”
That’s right, Hugh, Hope silently urged him. She didn’t know if he could use his mythic shifter telepathy to pick her thoughts out of her mind, but it was worth a try. Keep stalling him. Don’t worry about me.
She still couldn’t help flinching as Gaze gestured in her direction. He had some kind of surgical tool in his hand. It looked something like a power drill, except that it had a serrated saw blade sticking out the front.
“Oh, I think I have all the leverage I need.” The saw blade whined into a lethal blur for a second as Gaze idly pressed a button. “You know, I’ve often wondered how the torment of being trapped in my stare compares to more traditional forms of persuasion. Shall we find out?”
Hugh’s fingers dug into his biceps, but his haughty expression didn’t waver. “Seems to me that there’s nothing stopping you from hurting Hope anyway, once I’m out of the way. So I might as well make sure you don’t get what you want.”
“Now you’re the one who isn’t thinking things through.” Gaze’s tone was light and pleasant, as if this was a perfectly civil conversation. “I do want to live to enjoy my new treasure, after all. That means I need insurance against a certain vengeful little wyvern. Even after I’ve killed you, Ivy won’t dare to come after me as long as I’m holding her sister. I’ll keep Hope safe and secret, never fear.”
Hugh’s eyes flicked from Gaze to Hope. She shook her head frantically at him, willing him not to listen to the basilisk shifter.
“You’re insane if you think you can get away with this,” Hugh said to Gaze. “Ivy isn’t the only one you need to worry about.”
“You mean the Phoenix? Your erstwhile friends on Alpha Team?” Gaze’s smile stretched wider. “Seems they can’t be such good friends after all, given how fast you were to abandon them. I’ll take my chances. Now, are you really going to put your young friend here through some very unpleasant experiences, just to spite me?”
Hugh gripped the bars of the cage, all ironic detachment abandoned. “Don’t you dare touch her.”
“Then do what I want.” The basilisk too had lost all fake civility, his tone hard as steel. “Last chance, Hugh Argent. Shift.”
Hugh’s knuckles whitened. For a moment, he matched stares with the basilisk shifter, cold blue eyes locked with hidden crimson ones.
Hugh looked away first. Bowing his head, he leaned on the bars, drawing in a deep, shuddering breath.