Top Gun Tiger (Protection, Inc 7)

At least, the humans were. But their pets could move, and they did. Catalina’s butterfly kitten arched its back, spread its wings wide, and let out a tiny hiss. Shane’s gray moth kitten flew up toward the ceiling, where Ethan lost sight of it. Nick’s blue dragon breathed out a tiny puff of flame. The Cerberus puppy tugged at Justin’s sleeve with one head, while another whined to get his attention and the third growled at their unseen enemy.

Ethan’s right hand was still on the cage latch that he’d just lifted. He felt it move as whatever creature had been inside pushed the door open.

“No!” shouted the enemy behind him. “McNeil, close that door! Don’t let that beast open a portal!”

Ethan tried not to obey, but his hand moved anyway, slamming the cage door shut. But it seemed to be too late, based on the angry yell from their unseen enemy.

Though he strained to look down and around, to see what creature had emerged, he couldn’t do that anymore than he could turn and see his enemy. All he could do was use the blurred edges of his peripheral vision to observe the abrupt flurry of movement from the cages that had been unlatched but not yet opened. He couldn’t see what creatures were fleeing their cages or where they went. But he heard doors banging open, a chorus of squeaks and yelps and flapping wings, and saw a confusion of multicolored movement.

There was a flash of brilliant light. And then total silence. All the imprisoned beasts were gone, except for Catalina’s butterfly kitten, Nick’s miniature dragon, and Justin’s Cerberus puppy. Ethan wasn’t sure about Shane’s moth kitten, but suspected that it was out of his line of sight rather than vanished through the portal. Whatever the portal was.

The unseen man spoke again. “Everyone with animals, control them. Hold them and don’t let them attack. That is the only way you are permitted to move.”

Catalina, Nick, and Justin pulled their pets into their arms and held them, gently but firmly. None of them spoke, but he could see the fear and fury and confusion in their eyes. Worst of all, he could see it in Destiny’s, as they stood beside each other and couldn’t touch, couldn’t comfort each other, couldn’t do anything but share the same helplessness.

Shane hadn’t moved. His ice blue eyes held neither fear nor rage, but a chilly detachment coupled with a touch of ironic amusement, as if to say, And what am I supposed to do?

With a tinge of annoyance in his voice, the enemy behind them said, “Garrity, just capture your feline the next time it comes within your reach. Now, everyone, turn and gaze upon your master.”

Ethan felt himself move without volition, as if his body was no more than a puppet controlled by another. But as horrifying as that was, he was relieved as well. At least now he’d see his enemy. There was nothing worse than being controlled by some unknown force.

The man before him had apparently stepped out of some hidden door. Or teleported. Or walked through a wall. Who the hell even knew. Ethan gave up on trying to figure out how the enemy had gotten in, and focused on who he was. The man had gray hair and a gray beard, both neatly trimmed, and wore a long white coat embroidered in black thread.

“My name is Lamorat,” said the man in the white coat. “I forbid you from attacking me or leaving your places. But you may move your bodies otherwise.”

Ethan couldn’t help breathing a sigh of relief as he found that he could shake out his stiff muscles, look around, and take Destiny’s hand. She squeezed it tight.

“And don’t bother expecting a rescue,” Lamorat went on. “The doors are sealed with an override lock. Mere security IDs won’t open them. Yes, that includes the secret door I entered from. Only I can open them now.”

Ethan had first focused on the white coat, and thought, He’s a doctor or a scientist. Then he noticed the embroidery, and thought, to his own disbelief, He’s a wizard.

His third inspection left him more confused than his first two. He knew some of the embroidered symbols: the two snakes twining around a stick that symbolized medicine, the skull and crossbones for poison, and, most eerily of all, an atom. But others looked distinctly magical: a pentagram in a circle, a staring eye, and a snake with its tail in its mouth. There were others that he’d never seen before.

Then he saw something he recognized all too easily: the smug sneer of the enemy who thinks he’s better than you, and can’t wait to make sure you know it too.

“You seemed intrigued by the symbols on my robe, McNeil,” Lamorat said, and the sneer deepened. “Would you like to know what they represent?”

Here comes the monologue, Ethan thought, resigned.

Then his mood brightened. Monologues were good. Monologues should be encouraged. Ayers’s monologue had led to his defeat. And this man’s monologue would keep him there, doing nothing more harmful than boring them, until Fiona and Rafa and Lucas got the jump on him.

He caught Destiny’s eyes, and she gave him the very subtlest of winks. Ethan relaxed. He was with his mate, who understood him perfectly. All they had to do was stall for time, and encourage the blabbermouth to keep on blabbering.

“Yes, I would like to know,” Ethan said.

Lamorat cleared his throat as if he was a professor about to begin a lecture. “They represent the mystic marriage of magic and science, which enables those of us with the greatest intellect and power to rule lower beings like yourselves. I suppose you’re all ignorant enough to believe that you have been captured by Apex?”

“The thought did occur to me,” Justin remarked. “I can’t imagine why.”

Lamorat missed the sarcasm entirely. “It’s because this base was built by Apex and is staffed by personnel who believe that it’s an Apex facility. But the council of wizard-scientists is its true owner, and we don’t answer to anything so small and petty. We’re only making use of its infrastructure and techniques for our own purposes.” To Ethan’s dismay, he glanced at the clock on the wall. “But, alas, time is getting on. Enough talk—”

“Hey, Lamo-rat-face,” Nick interrupted. “You know what my mate is? She’s a dragon. When she finds out what you’re doing to me, she’s gonna be fucking pissed.”

“Be silent, dog,” said Lamorat. Nick’s face turned red as he tried and failed to speak. “I am well aware of who your mate is. We have ways of dealing with mythic shifters here. Or has your puny canine brain failed to register the meaning of shiftsilver?”

Nick rolled his eyes and shrugged: Don’t know and don’t care.

“The metal on the magical animal cages.” Lamorat waved his hand at the empty cages, then indicate