Read The Keepers (The Alchemy Series) for Free Online

quickly and motioned toward the other direction. He let go of my arm as soon as I turned around so it didn’t set off any alarm bells. He had been sent to protect me last night, perhaps Hawking had been the one having me followed?
    “What was that thing?”
    “I can’t speak about it.”
    “ You know what? That’s completely okay with me. I’m just glad you showed. Those guys looked like they wanted to rip me to pieces.” He didn’t respond, and I didn’t care. I was just happy I wasn’t a bloodied mess chewed up for dinner. The one guy, or creature, or whatever he was, looked like he’d have been a tough fight in his new form. I wasn’t sure my little trick would work through a thick coat of hair. I’d never zapped an animal before.
    I turned to make sure we weren’t being followed.
    “They aren’t following us. I locked the door. They won’t get out until I send someone back there.”
    “Where we going?”
    “To the top.”
    I looked and saw the elevator at the end of the hall. Boarding the elevator, I suspected he meant we were going to Hawking. I watched the buttons light up until it blinked on the top level, Hawking’s level. I didn’t realize it initially, but this must be Hawking’s private elevator.
    The doors opened to the familiar tan hallway of art, but this time the penthouse door opened for us as if on cue. The butler type person didn’t speak, just shook his head, shut the door after us, and left the room.
    A muscular man in his mid thirties, the type you would expect to see at Gold’s Gym, came out of the living room area. He was tall and muscular like Hawking, but without any of the refined feeling to offset it. He seemed a bit brutish, closer to the impression Buzz gave. He had very dark hair, but it was brown, not the true black of Hawking’s.
    “What’s this?” he asked Buzz.
    “She saw Tracker change,” Buzz replied.
    Right then and there I got a sinking feeling in my gut. He hadn’t been saving me at all. On the outside, I played it cool, but on the inside, I was shooting off a list of expletives that would do the most jaded streetwalker proud. After all these years, I knew better.
    “Can I use the bathroom?” I asked, trying to act dumb. They both looked at me and shook their heads in unison. Okay, so they w eren’t as stupid as they looked I guess. I scanned the foyer, but there was nothing I could use as a weapon. I’d never had to take on two men at once. I guess today I’d see how special I really was. Was I X-Men special, or just a little different? You know, in the movies they always learned about their powers slowly. God my life sucked.
    “Why did you bring her here?” the guy asked.
    “Cormac had me watch her the other day. I didn’t want to just handle it without checking. I got a weird vibe that he liked this one.”
    Okay, whatever they planned, they wouldn’t do it without Hawking. I’d gotten the same vibe. I wasn’t sure if wanting me in his bed was exactly something to take to the bank, but it was better than nothing. Cormac was in charge. He wouldn’t let these people kill me, even if he didn’t want to sleep with me. I mean, that would just be insane. No one does that.
    “You better bring her in, then. I’ll go get him.”
    “Thanks , Dodd,” Buzz said to the other man’s retreating back, and then he waived me in the direction of the other room.
    We were alone in the foyer. It might be the best odds I’d get. I’d never be able to get away from three of them, so I lunged at him and concentrated on my hands. I didn’t know exactly what happened when I did this, but it was usually painful for the other person.
    I stood there, hands on his chest but he wasn’t moving. Looking up, I saw Buzz looked down at my hands. I felt a deep rumbling in his chest before his laughter broke the silence.
    “Not going to work,” was all he said.
    I dropped my arms to my side, a tad embarrassed. “I had to try.”
    “Of course.” He held out his hand