Darkness Unleashed (Guardians of Eternity #5)(67)

She scowled in frustration, ridiculously pleased when he took a wary step backward.

“What did you do to me?” she rasped.

With an effort, the cur managed a brittle hint of his former arrogance.

“Just a little spell bomb I borrowed from Sadie’s pet witch before I ripped out her throat.”

Regan blinked, strangely shocked by the blunt confession. “You killed the witch?”

“The amulets hold a spell to mask the scent of anyone wearing it.” Duncan grimaced. “Unfortunately, it also holds an added spell, so the witch can track it from anywhere in the world. Sadie’s nasty way of keeping control of her pack. No witch, no GPS.”

“Christ, you couldn’t just take it off?”

“And announce my scent to every Were and vampire who has flocked to Hannibal? Not bloody likely. Without the witch, I have all the benefits of the amulet, without any of the unpleasant side effects.”

Her lips twisted. “Who says there’s no honor among thieves?”

“You should be thanking me, luv.” His gaze deliberately dropped to the pocket where she had hidden the amulet she’d stolen from Culligan. Obviously he’d searched her before tying her up. “Besides, I lost any claim to honor when I threw my lot in with Caine thirty years ago. I should have known better, but the man does have a way with words. He’s kissed the blarney stone, as my mum would say, and he convinced me that his crazy ideas were actually possible.”

“Caine.” Her eyes narrowed in fury as she futilely struggled against the burning chains. “You were with the cur who stole us. You bastard. How did he get his hands on four pureblooded children?”

Shock rippled over his face. “How did you…” He cut off his words as he shoved his hands through his tangled hair. “Never mind. Caine has never been willing to admit how he got a hold of you and your sisters. All I know is that he showed up at the Illinois hunting grounds with the four of you, claiming that he’d been given a prophecy that the blood of the Weres would make us whole.”

Ah, yes, the cornerstone of every great cult. Some mysterious prophecy…the promise of greatness…yadda yadda.

“A prophecy from whom?” she demanded.

Duncan shrugged. “That’s one of those questions no one had the balls to ask. Or maybe we just didn’t want to ask. He promised power, immortality. The opportunity to go from the bottom of the dung heap to the top.” The cur snorted in self-disgust. “Blimey, I should have known he was full of shit when he took us to Chicago and nearly got us arrested.”

His story confirmed what she’d learned from Gaynor and Culligan, but it didn’t explain how or why the cur had managed to steal four pureblooded Weres.

Regan turned her mind away from the past. She might never discover how Caine had gotten his filthy hands on her, and for the moment it didn’t really matter. All she truly cared about was finding some means of getting free so she could get to Jagr.

“If he’s so full of shit, then why have you kidnapped me?” she snapped.

His expression tightened with annoyance. “I didn’t intend to kidnap you. I went back to the cabin to capture Sadie. Of course, the bitch is never around when I actually need her.”

Capture Sadie?

Okay, that made about zero sense.

“I thought the two of you were packmates?”

“She’s as psychotic as Caine, and I’m not taking the fall for either of them.”

Regan shook her head. Obviously the spell bomb had left her as thick as a stump. She didn’t have a clue what he was yammering about.

And in truth, she didn’t really care.

Within minutes the sun would disappear. She had to get to Jagr.

“So if you wanted Sadie, why did you kidnap me?”

Yanking his hands through his hair yet again, Duncan paced the small clearing.

“I have to hope you’ll do.”

“Do for what?”

The cur halted, sucking in a deep breath before slowly turning to stab her with a hard, ruthless gaze.

“I want to negotiate a deal.”

“A deal with Caine?”

“No, Salvatore.”

Yep. Definitely thick as a stump.

“You…want to negotiate with Salvatore?” she at last managed to sputter. “Why?”

Resignation chased away the brittle arrogance, offering the first genuine glimpse of the cur.

“Because I’m weary of this suicide mission. Not to mention being Sadie’s whipping boy,” he confessed, his voice harsh. “I’m willing to trade everything I know about Caine and his plot against the lair if I can get a promise the Weres will offer me protection.”

Regan suddenly didn’t doubt his sincerity, just his sanity.

“Have you ever met Salvatore?” she demanded. “He’s not the forgive and forget type. I doubt a bit of gossip about Caine is going to change that.”

Duncan’s eyes snapped with fury. “Fine, if he doesn’t care about Caine, then what about your sister?”

Against her will, Regan’s heart halted, easily revealing to the cur’s sensitive ears just how much the information about her sister meant to her. Damn, she knew that the unwelcome emotions would be a pain in the ass.

She gritted her teeth. “You know where Caine’s holding her?”