He sighed. "Believe me, I took no pleasure in it. Alex was my friend. We were partners at the SRA. But he left me no choice."
Rage was bubbling up inside me, but I tamped it down. I couldn't let him see he was getting to me. I had to keep his attention on me as long as possible without goading him into pulling that trigger. No easy task. I listened carefully for the rustling to tell me Inigo was awake, but I heard nothing. Had I imagined it? I cleared my throat. "So really, you're just trying to rule the world. For the good of humanity, of course."
"Of course." He seemed quite pleased with himself. "My family has been protecting humanity for centuries. I am only trying to finish what they started."
In other words, wipe out anyone who wasn't human and put himself on top of the food chain. "What about the book? The grimoire? How does that fit into the plan?" As we talked the gun had lowered slowly. Now was pointed more in the general direction of Inigo's stomach. Still not what I would've preferred, but it was better than his head.
Alister tsked. "That's two things. You said you only wanted to know one."
"Come on, Alister. You're going to kill us both anyway. So why not tell me what the book is for? What's your end game?" I prodded. "You can tell me. You know you want to. What's the harm?"
"Do you really think I'm just going to tell you everything I have planned like I'm some kind of cheap movie villain?" Alister's tone turned from pleasant into something closer to a snarl. The gun returned to point at Inigo's head. "Now give me what I want."
The Darkness inside me reared its head, responding to the anger. I mentally pushed it down with no little force. Now was not the time to let it out unless I wanted to get myself shot. I strained, listening for some sound to tell me I wasn't alone in facing Alister.
Alister's forefinger hovered over the trigger, and I went absolutely still. "Well, Ms. Bailey. It's been fun, but I've got better things to do than to play twenty questions with you." His finger tightened.
This was it. Now or never. I took a deep breath.
"All right. I'll do what you want. As long as you promise to leave Inigo alone."
"Very well," he said. "I promise." But I could taste the lie.
Alister reached into his jacket again and pulled out the grimoire. Holding it out, face up, he nodded. "Take off your amulet and place it in the book. I don't want to see any more of those icicles, either."
I carefully lifted the chain from around my neck. I walked slowly toward Alister, the amulet in my palm. As I approached, I glanced down at Inigo, but he was so still and pale, I figured I must have imagined the sounds I'd heard. I couldn't risk Alister pulling the trigger. I was on my own. My only hope was that whatever happened, it would distract Alister enough for me to take him.
With trembling hands, I placed the amulet carefully in the middle of the gold filigree. It slid into the slight depression and clicked easily into place. Alister and I both stared at the book in expectation. Nothing happened.
"What have you done?" Alister snarled, pointing the gun at my head.
"Nothing," I insisted. "I did exactly as you asked. I have no idea…"
Before I could finish my sentence, a bright beam of blue light shot from the heart of the amulet, straight up into the heavens. The sapphire's blue glow lit up the woods like a beacon. This was it.
I swept my arm upward, knocking Alister's right hand away. The gun went off, shattering the night air, but the bullet buried itself harmlessly in a tree trunk. A kick to a knee, and Alister collapsed, dropping the book. The amulet tumbled from the filigree and rolled under a bush. The light went out, plunging us into darkness, but I could still see well enough as Alister raised his gun to fire at Inigo.
I kicked Alister's hand away just as Inigo surged to his feet. Thank the gods. Unfortunately, Alister had more tricks up his sleeve.
From the small of his back he pulled a blade. To my Darkness-enhanced vision, the blade glowed with an eerie white light. Sidhe made. The only way a human like Alister could get his hands on a sidhe made blade was from the Fairy Queen herself. And a sidhe blade was one of the few things that could kill a dragon.
"Inigo," I hissed.
"I know," he answered, carefully circling out of the way of the deadly knife.
Then Alister did something really freaky. As he twirled the blade in an intricate pattern, he began to chant. I only recognized the language because I'd heard Kabita use it during her spellcasting. Alister had finally embraced his Witch blood, but what he was doing was far beyond a normal cast. This was something dark and ugly and…evil. I could see the darkness building in his black aura. If he finished the spell…