by K. C. Hamby
And now I have to lie about knowing Daniel is dead.
This is going to be a train wreck.
“Oh, wow…that...well, that’s great...”
“Nini,” Dad clips and pauses, squinting. He sees through me as he always has. “Ya don’t sound very surprised.”
Crap.
“Uh, sure I am…I uh, I’m just..”
“Ya know he’s dead, don’t ya?”
“I…” I groan. Dammit. “Yes.”
His blue eyes widen, calculating how I could have possibly been aware before he got the chance to tell me. He knows I would never seek out the information on my own because even reading about Daniel is triggering. He twists his lips and regards me with a hand on his hip.
“Did ya ever tell Fal about him?”
Double dammit. “…yes.”
“The news said no one can figure out who killed him. The cameras in that part of the prison were somehow turned off, and Daniel was pretty messed up when he was found.” He puts both of his hands on his hips and stares at me. “What did ya say Fal does again?”
Triple dammit.
Fal. I’m sorry. I need you. I suck so bad.
She chuckles softly and calm blankets my mind. I’ve been listening instead of sleeping. I’m coming.
My bedroom door opens and Fal walks into the kitchen to lean against the counter across from my dad. Her eyes are darker than they were earlier and anger swirls in her energy, brushing against me as storm clouds ready to release their lightning. “There are a lot of parts to my job, so I could never explain it concisely. But the part you can know is I take care of very bad people.”
I blink and I blink some more, not really believing my ears. Fal is dead serious, elbows propping her up on the countertop and long hair flowing down the bar like a black waterfall. This is not how I thought she was going to go about this.
At least she didn’t explain it to him like she did to me the first time, I guess. ‘Get rid of people like that.’ Not subtle in the slightest.
“Well,” my dad mutters and stares at the floor, shuffling his feet in time with his surely flustered thoughts. “Was, uh, Daniel considered ‘bad people’? I know he was to me, but I’m not sure of the government’s definition of bad.”
Fal doesn’t smile. She doesn’t laugh. Her brows furrow and a small growl slips out of her mouth as her eyes turn almost black. Like her dad’s eyes. “He was bad. And I am in a position where I can ensure he could never hurt Nina again.”
My hand covers my mouth, my shock warm against my skin. Fal should just wear a sign on her forehead saying ‘assassin’ written in big, scarlet letters.
My dad nods after growing quiet for a moment, brows furrowed and deep in thought. He seems to look at Fal differently somehow when he eventually meets her dark eyes. Like an equal. Like an avenging angel sent to protect me. Like he is relieved Fal is who she is and takes care of me.
He doesn’t seem to be phased at all about the whole…implied murder Fal just basically admitted to.
“The, uh, the news said they couldn’t figure out who did him in. Cameras were cut off and everythin’,” he mutters, watching Fal with twisted lips.
Fal’s soft laugh is…scary. She pushes herself off the counter and crosses her muscular arms over her chest. “And they will never figure it out, either. Things were very…discreet on my end.”
I press my lips into a hard line and swallow the discomfort rolling around in my belly. Fal told me she was the one who had Daniel’s untimely demise arranged, but we’ve never talked about it beyond that. I think…I think she’s proud of herself.
My daddy walks around the counter, places a large hand on Fal’s shoulder, and fondly watches her for a second before saying, “Thank ya, Fal. Truly.”
She drops her crossed arms to her sides and faces my dad head on. “I’d do anything to keep Nina safe. Anything.” She looks at me over her shoulder, love glowing in the depths of her sincerity. “She means more to me than anything on this earth.”
My heart warms and I smile, taking the strong hand she holds out. My thumb brushes over the perfectly soft skin of her fingers.
I guess immortality smoothed out her years of calluses, too.
My dad makes his way back to the pot of potatoes after a nod and takes them to the sink to strain. He clears his throat after wiping small beads of sweat off his brow with the towel. “Well, Nini. I approve, so ya can marry the gal.”
“Daddy!” I yell and giggle at the wink he throws me over his shoulder.
Chapter 48
Ash
Despite Fal Pal being a major asshole and hurting my man feelings, I still need to check on what the Council is going to do about Raven like she wanted.
But seriously, what a jerk. I don’t like this new Fal at all. She broke Eddie’s fucking arm and cheekbone, for goddess sakes. The Fal I know would definitely punch Eddie in the face, but break bones? She’s smarter than that.
But now she just doesn’t care about anyone. Seemingly not even about me.
Don’t get me started on what she said in the Pit. Hateful dickhead.
And yet…I still don’t want to believe the old Fal is gone. Fal Pal wouldn’t give up a fight so easily, so I won’t either. She’s gotta still be in there somewhere under all that…that…evil.
I walk up to the ancient building everyone refers to as the Council Chamber. It has big ass white columns holding up the heavy, granite roof. The columns start their major weightlifting job at the top of the few steps I climb.
Fal Pal seriously called me pathetic. And lame. She and I joke all the time and call each other shitty things, but we never mean them. This time, though, she intended for those words to stab me straight in the heart.
Fuck, I can’t help but think about what she said. Fal is my best friend. She always has been. Ever since mom put her little wide-eyed, thick-haired self in my arms the day she was born, I promised I would always be the best brother and friend I could for her. We always have each other’s backs even when the whole world is fighting against us.
I never thought she could turn on me. In fact, if someone held a gun to my head and told me to say that Fal is the worst sister in the fucking world and is capable of calling me pathetic, I would look the gunman straight in the face and tell them to kiss my ass.
I grumble nonsense to myself as I walk into the Council Chamber with my hands in my pants pockets, cool guy striding to the middle of the room. My boots clomp on the shimmery and white marble floor, my shadow flickering weirdly in the light of the lit sconces on the walls.
I’ll deal with my hurt feelings later.
The Council is all here, minus Nina, so hopefully someone will have some goddamn sense and see reason.
“Ash!” Sloane yells with a big smile spread across his bearded face, his yellow eyes watching me approach. “What’s up, man?”
He has always reminded me of a scruffy John Smith. Yeah, like the guy from that indigenous princess movie. He’s just brown-headed instead of blond and has a full, trimmed beard.
“Hey, guys,” I wave and stand in front of the table. It’s like I’m about to speak in front of Congress or something.
“To what do we owe the pleasure?” Thane purrs from his spot between Hida and Sloane. His seafoam eyes are weird. Like they are full of secrets and can strip you emotionally naked with the right lighting. His light brown skin is perfectly smooth. Like how is he Lupi without even one visible scratch?
I sigh and shove my hands back in my pants pockets. “I wanted to follow up with what Fal and Nina talked to Winema and Althea about before they left.” I look over at the women and they nod.
“About Raven, correct?” Hida asks, for once not sneering in my general direction. She’s actually seeming to take this seriously. Her face—littered with scars—is attentive without the usually present annoyance.
It gives me a little hope, at least.
“Yeah, and what we are going to do about her and then about the Poachers knowi
ng of Olympia. Althea and Winema probably told you all about Nina’s vision.”
“We did,” Althea agrees, glancing to Winema who nods in confirmation.
“One problem with visions,” Thane interjects as he clasps his hands on the table, “is they can be completely subjective. What Nina interprets may simply be that she is taking something metaphorical and making it real. And Raven has also seen a vision from the goddess.”
My anger skyrockets.
“I’m sorry, but that’s bullshit and you all know it,” I snap, yanking my hand out of my pocket to point an accusing finger at him. “Nina’s visions have always been real. It doesn’t matter if you agree with Nina being the Prophetess or not, you know that’s true. And Hecate would never make that Raven jerk her Prophetess.”
“I agree with Ash,” Sloane says, being a real bro, cutting apologetic eyes to Thane. He gestures up to the ceiling with his scarred hands. “This vision has shown Nina a threat to Olympia from the universe and I think we should take it seriously. There is no proof Raven is being truthful. And, considering her attempt to capture Eddie, I think we all know she’s not exactly on the side of good.”
“We are taking it seriously,” Hida snaps. “Another problem is you are all claiming Raven is a traitor of our kind. We cannot simply kill a Lupi without offering a fair trial. I’m afraid we don’t have any evidence other than this vision to hold against Raven. The girl could always say Nina made it up. Since she is also claiming to be the Prophetess, she could make our whole species think we are killing the Lupi link to Hecate and the future.”
“Nina isn’t a liar,” I growl. “Raven is.”
“We know this, Ash,” Winema insists with a soft voice and Hida nods her agreement. “But without physical evidence, we cannot in good conscience try her for treason. I don’t agree with it. I think we should be able to take Hecate’s Prophetess at her word, but not everyone in our world sees it this way. Especially because Nina is not Lupi herself.”
“That’s not her fault, though,” I argue, my fingers turning into claws at my sides. Goddess, I just want to shake some goddamn sense into these fucking idiots. “She’s Marked Predestined. That doesn’t just happen without Hecate approving.” I glare at Thane and he actually looks away.
Huh. Am I more dominant than he is?
Cool.
“And we all realize this, mijo.” Althea pushes thick, brown hair from her face and sets her chocolate eyes on me. “Unless we have undeniable proof, we can’t do anything. Our hands are tied. Raven claims Hecate sent her and, in doing this, she has basically invoked sanctuary on Olympia regardless of if she is truthful or not. It gives her a sort of immunity for a while. If we kill her without proof, we are breaking the laws we ourselves put in place. It could cause an uproar.”
This is so not good. They can do something, but they won’t. Call it what they will, this is just an excuse to waste time or appease Thane. That jerk-off has never been okay with Nina and now he has an opportunity to get rid of her.
“With all due respect,” I growl and turn around to leave. I look back at all of them once, ensuring all my disdain is evident in my stare. “That’s fucking stupid.”
And I walk out without another word.
***
The darkness covers me as I stand in the shadow of a tree in the park, watching him.
My eyes are painted over in black menace and I thumb out the self-refrigerated poison bottle and syringe in the pocket of my leather jacket.
Normally, I like to take out targets by more…violent means. It definitely helps to quench my bloodlust for longer. But I don’t have the patience to clean off my weapons tonight. I’m agitated with the Council and I just want to get this mission over with and go home to my Mate.
I slip my hood over my head and carefully pull a lethal dose of Batrachotoxin into the syringe, not caring enough to tap the bubbles out. It won’t matter if air gets into his bloodstream, anyway. He’ll be dead soon.
Batrachotoxin is a poison taken from the skin of small frogs called golden Phyllobates terribilis. To get it, the toxin must be sweat out of the frogs’ backs and collected very carefully.
It’s my personal favorite poison because it is so gnarly. It messes with the sodium ion channels in muscle and nerve cells. Basically, it holds the channels open and prevents them from closing. So, sodium ions continuously travel around the body and cause paralysis because it doesn’t allow nerves to fire signals to the brain. It causes heart arrhythmias and eventually leads to cardiac arrest.
And there is no anecdote to combat Batrachotoxin.
My target is a large man, and by that, I mean he is short with a huge stomach. He doesn’t seem too far from heart failure on his own. His hair is obviously fake and covering aging baldness and his pockets are figuratively busting at the seams with the amount of money he carries.
Bastard.
He uses that money to pay off his scandals; he loads his underage sexual assault victims up with millions to keep them quiet, letting them deal with the trauma he causes in silence. He is wealthy enough to get away with it in the human world.
But not in mine.
The wind pushes against my back as I leave the shadows of the tree and head in his direction. The syringe is ready in my hand as I am carried by the darkness. I stop blending and pretend I am a late-night jogger, just exercising along the path he happens to be standing on as he speaks quietly on the phone.
He pays me no mind until I accidently trip and ram into his side, needle cleanly piercing through his shirt and into his skin. I slam the plunger, emptying the poison into his flesh in an instant.
“Hey! Watch where you’re going!” he yells, shoving me away in a pathetic show of strength.
I look him in the eyes and let mine flash once before going on my way. The fear takes over his posture in an instant as he rubs his affected side.
I dial a Voὶtheia and let them know they will have a body to pick up soon. I don’t care enough to follow him to his end. We don’t have to get Proofs of blood on our targets here anyway. We are trusted to get the job done.
Now I just need to make the short walk back to the ferry and head home.
On my way, sweet cheeks.
Oi. Watch yourself with your daft name callin’, Ashy. You wouldnae want me to get on to you.
Nope. I would totally never want that ever. Nope.
She just laughs across my mind and I smile a bit to myself. I can’t wait for snuggles that will probably most definitely lead to getting laid.
What can I say? We can’t keep our hands off each other. I, for one, am not mad about it.
“I dinnae care, you bawbag.”
I slide to a stop and blend into the shadow of the closest building.
I know that voice.
Across the street, Raven is standing, facing an open door of an unmarked building, anger covering her face.
“Isnae my fault your pals cannae watch their backs. I’m nae gonnae protect them. They knew what they were agreein’ to just like you did. I willnae give you back the money, so dinnae try me. I am fulfillin’ my end of the bargain.” She turns to walk away but gives one last bitchy look. “If you want her, you are gonnae havetae go get her.”
She’s talking about the money the masked guy took when we were in the alley. She has to be.
She’s talking about Eddie.
Babe. I need you to look through my eyes like Fal did to Nina at the bar. Right now.
What’s goin’ on? she asks, but I feel her warmth across my thoughts as I let her in. Ah, shite. Are you gonnae follow her, mo chridhe?
Yeah, I am. She may give me something I can take to the Council.
Eddie says nothing for a while as I creep after Raven.
Raven twitches away, sticking very close to the sides of the buildings. If she’s trying to blend, she’s doing a terrible job.
Raven cannae use her Lupi abilities very well. The drugs have taken the control away from her and I dinnae think she has shi
fted in years because of it. I dinnae believe she cares, though.
Speaking of drugs, she pulls a vile out of her pocket, sprinkles it onto the back of her palm, and snorts it up her nose very quietly.
Nausea crawls through the bond.
You okay?
Aye, Ashy. Just brings up bad feelins’.
Raven stops in front of another building and knocks on the door in a weird pattern. I stop, quickly blending into the shadows of an alley across the street and wiggle my phone from my pocket when she turns to make sure she isn’t being followed.
She glances around for a hot minute and I almost think she’s caught me, but the door of the building opens, and she turns back around.
A man steps out and regards her with hunger in his eyes.
That’s her dealer, I ken. I never met the bastard, but she described him once. He fits all of what she told me.
He’s thin and creepy looking, smiling down at her with crooked teeth and beady eyes. He is balding awkwardly and has combed his hair over the thinning places.
This dude just screams ‘creep’.
“You have what I came for?” Raven asks the man.
I snap a picture of the two of them together. The guy’s face is blurry in the picture, though.
Stupid phone and its shit night-camera quality.
“Do you have what I want in exchange?” he retorts, voice reminding me of an evil rat.
Raven pulls open her jacket, but I can’t see what she’s showing him. But by the smirk he gives, I can guess.
I snap another picture.
I fuckin’ ken that twit was sleepin’ with him to get her drugs.
He ushers her inside before I have time to get another picture of his face, but when he turns around, the double scythe tattoo is clearly marked on the back of his neck.
A growl rolls in my chest as I snap one last picture.
“Excuse me?”
I spin around at the sudden voice. How can anyone see me...?
“Angus? What the fuck?”
That blond guy from the bar who was with Raven is standing with his arms hanging by his sides, golden hair swept back and white shirt clinging to his chest.
