The Isis Collar

I didn’t even hear the sound of the Taser charging until it was too late and I lay twitching on the cold, hard linoleum. At first, I wasn’t too worried. I’ve been tased before and heal from it pretty fast. But I hadn’t expected that he would push the button over and over before my muscles could recover, sending charges of electricity through me until I was screaming. I’d heard you could stop a heart with enough jolts, but he didn’t stop until I was totally helpless, nearly unconscious. I couldn’t stop him from taking my cell phone and keys away, then dragging me by my feet into the casting circle set into the floor to join a wide-eyed Simone, who was gagged and bound with layers of silver duct tape—her arms fastened behind her and her legs strapped so tight her ankles were already swelling. I only noticed because they were right next to my nose.

Soon I looked just like her, shiny with silver tape, except for my mouth. Damn it.

Jean-Baptiste took a step away from the circle. With will and a word he powered up the magic, creating a barrier that would be impassible from the inside. Any living creature could break it just by crossing from the outside to in. But there was no one in the building to do it. I was just as much his prisoner as Simone.

He strolled over to the phone on the wall next to the chicken roosts. With nimble fingers he pulled a slip of paper from his pocket and dialed a number. Someone must have answered, because he said, “Tell Glinda I’ve got the siren. I’ll turn her over tomorrow at midnight in exchange for a hundred thousand dollars.”

Son of a bitch.

He frowned at whatever the person on the other end said. “No, that’s not negotiable. Tell her to have the full amount ready. I’ll call with a location.” He shook his head in wry amusement as he hung up the phone and addressed us like we were pals in the process or something. “Really, can you believe the gall? Trying to dicker? Please. If I were actually doing this for the money I’d be furious.”

I was still lying on the floor unable to move. I couldn’t really even think clearly yet. I knew I needed to, vaguely and distantly. But the surge of electricity through my body seemed to have affected my ability to feel as well as think clearly or act.

My captor walked calmly up to the very edge of the circle, but was careful not to cross it. He peered at me for a long moment, lips pursed. Apparently he didn’t like what he was seeing, because he went and put on a headdress. When he returned he started muttering: first a spell, then profanities.

“You, Ms. Graves, are extremely annoying. The spell I put on the front door was not a weak one. You should have been overwhelmed with uncontrollable bloodlust that would send you hunting the nearest humans. You should have torn into Simone like a ravenous beast.”

I still wasn’t capable of movement, but my mind was starting to clear, enough that I could hear Simone trying to curse him through the duct tape. She strained against the bonds, the sinews in her neck stretching taut with rage and terror. And I didn’t feel a thing.

He tapped his lip thoughtfully with one finger. “Perhaps I should have used a lower setting. You’re not a large woman. But I couldn’t take the risk, particularly after you fought off my spell.”

He was talking to himself more than to me. I’d seen it in a couple of other doctors in all my medical visits of the past few days. It was almost as if I wasn’t real to them as a person, but bedside manner requires they at least act like they care. So they’d talk, but they really didn’t want or expect a response. Good thing in this case. Strength and clarity were seeping back into me, but it was a slow seep … a trickle of water through the solid stone of frozen muscles.

He stripped off the headdress and turned away. Setting it on the counter next to the monkey staff I remembered so well, he said, “You’ll have to excuse me. I need to e-mail my wife that I’m going to be late. I’ll be back in a few minutes to check in on you and see how things are progressing.” He left, closing the door behind him. The instant he was gone Simone began working her arms back and forth, trying to loosen the duct tape and free her arms.

Good luck with that, I thought. I’ve been bound like that before. Duct tape is a lot sturdier than most people realize from casual use.

If you have a better suggestion, I’d love to hear it.

Her voice in my head was acerbic. I blinked. You’re a telepath.

Yes, which means I have absolutely no excuse for him getting the better of me. Fool that I am I trusted him. By the way, what is wrong with your voice? It’s really garbled and rough, like fingernails on chalkboard. I can only understand about every third word. It hurts my head.

Apparently I sound like a gull. Or so say the other sirens. The pain in her mental voice was scalding. “Sorry.” I tried to say the word out loud. It came out sounding like I’d just come from the dentist, but the fact my mouth actually was working at all was good news. In a few minutes I might actually start feeling like a human being again. I was looking forward to it.

I’ll do what I can to pull the words out of your head, so you don’t have to send them. It’ll give me a migraine in the morning, but at least we might have a morning if I do. Can you function at all? He won’t be gone long.

The way she said that “he.” Ouch. They’d been lovers and it had ended badly. I could just sense it. So there was no chance she was going to survive this. I had even less chance. Could I function? I sure as hell was going to function, whether or not I could. I tried moving. I was still a little uncoordinated, but I managed to get my arms and legs to work enough to start dragging myself across the floor. Movement was helping. The energy and will I’d lost were coming back more rapidly now and I knew that in a few minutes I’d actually be more like myself again.

Simone moved with a combination of rolling and an awkward caterpillar crawl until she was lying next to me, her back turned so that I had a clear view of her bound wrists. He’d done a fine job of it. I really needed a knife to cut her loose. I could tear the tape if I could get both hands in position, but the force it would take would probably snap her wrist.

I worked myself awkwardly into a sitting position and tried to work at the tape with my fingers, back-to-back. But it was too tight. Lack of circulation was making her arms swell up, the sticky fabric digging painfully into the skin.

Use your teeth.

I shook my head. Bad idea. The way your skin’s swollen up I’d be bound to nick your skin. I didn’t want to think about what would happen next. Yes, I was full. But the same adrenaline that was bringing me back to my senses was bringing the inner beast to the forefront. Tasting blood would be really, really bad.

Well, we have to do something! He wants to turn you completely. He’s not just a mage. He has necromantic magic as well. I saw it all in his head just now. He wants to use you to get close to Glinda, then kill her. Then he’ll take the collar for himself.

Wow. That was unexpected and yet totally logical. How does he even know about the collar? It was supposed to be a myth.

She let out a harsh breath through her nose, obviously still annoyed with herself she was in this predicament. He had it years ago, but George Miller stole it from him. Or so he claimed. Obviously, I’m starting to doubt anything he told me. But I do know when he saw the memory spells affecting you, he knew the collar was being used. It wasn’t rocket science to figure out by whom. Who else would it be but a pretender to the throne? After all, Miller had power. John Creede has power. He would just keep it locked away the way Miller had. So it had to be someone new to the game. He did a tracking spell and there she was.

So maybe the way to Glinda was through the doctor. Backward, but it could work. Does he know where she is?

I don’t think so. But he doesn’t need to. She wants you dead. He believes she’ll come to him.

How did he know she wants me dead?

I don’t know. But he does. Are you making any progress?

I’d been pulling at the edge of the tape with my fingernails and had managed to get an end loose, but he’d gone around her wrists enough times that it wasn’t exactly progress. We needed a better plan. As I pulled at the tape binding her I looked around the room.

Just use your damned teeth!

No. Damn it, you just listen with your mind and let me know if you can sense him