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The guard stepped up to the window. “Wait here. I need to fetch the boss’s factor.”
“We ain’t got nowhere better to be,” Boudreaux replied.
The silence stretched as they waited for the factor to show up. No doubt a lowly security guard didn’t have access to The Collector. The Rat didn’t know The Collector’s name, just where his collection resided. The mansion sat on the bluff where most of the city’s big money congregated, but even by the standards of the bluff, the Collector’s house was particularly palatial.
“Lights on,” the security guard said, announcing his return.
Dax checked to make sure he hadn’t slipped out of his partial form. Everything felt right. A second later, the doors opened again, and a flashlight was shined in his face, adding weight to the lead ball of tension in his center. He could only make out two silhouettes.
“You weren’t kidding,” a new voice said. “He’ll definitely be interested.” He pulled a phone from his pocket and made a call. “Yes, sir. I think you’ll definitely want to see this specimen. It’s…unlike anything I’ve ever seen.” The factor put away his phone.
“Can you move it?” the security guard asked loudly enough for Boudreaux and Tomi to hear.
“Yeah. I’ve got some manacles we can put on his ankles, if that’ll make you feel more comfortable. But I’m going to need to bring out my shotgun to make sure he doesn’t try to get up to trouble,” Boudreaux replied.
“I’ve got a gun,” the security replied, his voice going serious.
“But yours isn’t loaded with magical bullets. How do you think I captured it in the first place? Lead or steel jacket, your gun might as well be a pillow. Don’t worry, Mr. Security Guard, we’ll get him manacled, then I’ll holster it and you can keep your gun on me to make sure I don’t get up to any mischief.”
Dax had no idea if the bullets were magical or not, but it was certainly a good bluff.
The security guard and the factor mumbled a hasty conversation. When they finished, the guard jogged off and returned with three more of his comrades.
“OK. You’re clear to come back and manacle the specimen,” the factor said. “We have four guns ready, so be slow and deliberate.”
“Gotcha.” Boudreaux slipped out of the driver’s side. Tomi joined him as well.
Standing to the side of the open back doors of the van, Boudreaux leveled a sawed-off shotgun at Dax. “No movements, or you’ll regret it.”
Tomi climbed into the back of the van and quickly applied manacles to Dax’s ankles, then unlocked the chain from the floor of the van. Yanking his chain, Tomi stood as high as he could in the cargo area and walked out, pulling Dax out behind him.
The guards surrounded their little party, guns raised. They were all human as far as Dax could tell, but they acted as if he wasn’t the first supernatural being they’d seen. Even a thoroughgoing professional might be thrown for a loop when their target wasn’t a standard issue human. These men showed none of the signs of fear or wonder one might see when encountering magic for the first time.
Boudreaux, nonchalant as always, strolled behind him, his hands in his pockets as he looked around, admiring the architecture and then the fine furnishings once they entered the back halls of what looked to be the main part of the house.
They didn’t see a single living being as they walked the winding hallways. Occasionally, Tomi would tug on the chain to speed Dax up a bit, but no one said anything as the factor led them to their destination. When he stopped at the end of the hall next to two doors and turned around, Dax nearly ran into Tomi’s back, stopping himself before they created a pileup.
“Does your creature talk?” the factor asked.
“I can speak for myself,” Dax said, letting a touch of the creepy harmonics slip into his voice.
The factor shivered but quickly quashed it. “Very well. Are you a creature of the night, or can you stand the daylight?”
“I may walk at all hours.”
The factor nodded and opened the door to the right, waving the two nearest security guards in before following and waving Tomi forward. The other pair of guards brought up the rear, shutting and locking the door behind themselves.
If Dax had eyes, they would have widened in shock. He stood in a large solarium with tropical plants and trees. Save for the back wall they’d just emerged from and the adjoining one to his right, the rest of the walls and the ceiling were glass. As he swept his gaze around, periodic perfectly straight lines and metal stood out in contrast to the natural layout of the greenery.
The factor gestured for them to follow. Tomi kept his eyes pinned to the factor’s back, but Dax, keeping his head still, looked around him. They passed a pair of empty cages on their way into the solarium. When someone gasped to his left, he found the source of the sound.
Shit.
Minh.
He had no idea she was a supernatural, unless she was here for some other reason. At least she hadn’t been a victim of Rory’s beast. Willing Tomi not to notice, he forced himself to look away from Minh and stare a hole in Tomi’s back. But when Tomi stopped, Dax plowed into his back and shoved him forward. Fortunately, Tomi picked up the hint and continued behind the factor.
Minh probably recognized Tomi since he stopped at the convenience store regularly when she was behind the counter, but Dax wondered if she’d recognize his clothes. They weren’t the most unique combo—dark jeans, motorcycle boots, a black T-shirt, and a leather jacket—but in the context of being there with Tomi, his secret might have just spread to one more person.
