“I’ll be good. Now hurry up.”
He spun the car around, screeching tires and all, and drove in the opposite direction. “We’re going to Kildare,” he said. “An anonymous tip mentioned a suspicious amount of blood. One of my teams was sent out to a house just past Naas. The body is in the garden, but the home is surrounded by a high wall, so no passersby can see it.”
“How did the anonymous tipper know about it then?”
“There is blood on the front gate, as far as I know, but we’ll see soon enough. I really hope this isn’t something weird.”
I pointed at myself. “With this lucky charm hanging around? Not a chance.”
He offered me a small smile. “We haven’t had much violence lately. At least, not as much as this time last year. But every single time I get a call about an anonymous tip, I start imagining ritual sacrifices and the like.”
“Life is screwed up enough without your imagination adding to it. They didn’t say the body was human, did they?”
“They weren’t specific. I think they were afraid someone would hear. If the anonymous tipper heard something rather than saw it, then they could still be hanging around, listening in.”
“Well, that’s not creepy at all.”
For the rest of the journey, I kept up the job of trying to steer Shay away from dwelling on the dark side. It wasn’t too far, but every minute counted when the media had a habit of hanging around, trying to figure out Shay’s every move. He might have been the press’s golden boy for a while, but half of them currently spent their time trying to figure out what nefarious deeds had gotten Shay kicked off the Senate.
“How’s Emmett doing at school?” he asked. “And Dita and Leah, of course.”
He genuinely cared about Emmett’s welfare. He had been on the scene the night Emmett had gone missing as a baby, and he had been one of the few Gardaí to believe that Peter was telling the truth about finding the bodies of the rest of Emmett’s family. Peter’s longstanding respect for Shay had somehow been twisted into a weird rivalry that Shay seemed oblivious to, but I was pretty sure they both thought a lot of each other.
“He’s doing really well,” I said. “The school itself has been surprisingly effective. It’s weird what having a little focus does. They split the day in two: human studies then supernatural. I think that’s cool. They give the kids a chance to catch up on everyday skills, and a normal education in some cases, and then in the afternoon, they focus on their powers and heritage. A lot of people have lost too much by hiding away. I think it’s great that both the human and supernatural worlds are given equal weight.”
“The next generation might have a choice of schools,” Shay said. “Or better yet, every school will incorporate a little something from different cultures.”
“When I was growing up, the thought of people knowing what I really was became my worst nightmare. I never imagined we’d get to this place so fast.”
“And yet, here we are.” He nodded at the road signs. “Nearly there. Sorry about this, Ava. I should be taking you to hospital, not dragging you to see a dead body.”
I rubbed my tender jaw self-consciously. “I was too mad to be hurt at the time. Kinda stings now, but Anka will sort it out when I get home.” I grimaced. “If she has anything left.”
“I heard about the shop,” he said. “Why didn’t you call the police at the time?”
“What would be the point? Besides, Breslin persuaded the Senate that they were responsible for damages.”
“Breslin?”
“My solicitor.”
“Oh.” He glanced at me. “You sound like a grown-up. Stop making me feel ashamed.”
“Blame my old landlady for leaving me in charge. I haven’t quite grown up yet.”
He pulled the car down a side road and drove around to the front of a large house surrounded by concrete walls.
“Kind of an eyesore,” I said.
“Yeah, well, people want to feel safe. Let them.” He shook his head. “It wasn’t safe enough though.”
“Come on,” I said. “Let’s get this over with. It’s already been a long day.”
As usual, he embarrassed me by opening my door for me, then he made me wait at the gate while he went inside and spoke to a pair of stern-faced integration agents. The IAs both glanced at me and shrugged. Shay waved me over. I could already smell the blood. Yes, there were traces on the gate, but not enough that someone without a particularly strong sense of smell would notice. The female recruit was human, and the male, a shifter. He didn’t react when I reached them. My head swivelled as the smell of blood gripped me anew.
“Wow,” I said. “This is…” I shook my head and made my way over to the pulpy mess that might have been a body. I couldn’t even tell if it was a man or woman. Only the shredded clothing scattered across the blood-stained grass told me the form had been a human. The female recruit was looking a little green.
“This is awful,” I whispered.
“It’s been a pretty grim day all round,” Shay said.
He and I leaned over the body. Mac’s death seemed tame in comparison.
“Think it might have been vampires?” the brunette asked, covering her mouth.
“No way,” I said instantly.
“How can you be so sure?” the shifter asked, but I could tell he agreed.
“The blood… it doesn’t call to me,” I said. “The vampires have specific tastes. Blood like this was protected generations upon generations ago. It made it less…”
“Tasty?” the brunette offered.
“Something like that,” I said. “And the vampires are supposedly overrun with human volunteers lately. They don’t need to attack like this.” I thought of Jules going hungry. “Even if they were starving, vampires don’t actually eat flesh.”
“I noticed that, too,” the shifter said. “The organs appear to be missing also.”
I moved around the body and noticed lumps of flesh flung across the lawn. Gross. I shuddered in disgust. When I sniffed the air, the smell of blood overwhelmed me, but underneath it was a trace of something else.
“It smells like wet fur. Did you pick that up? It is like fur, isn’t it?” I asked the shifter.
He nodded. “I don’t know anything furry that’s this vicious,” he admitted.
I glanced at Shay. “I’ve seen creatures who have been ripped apart before,” I said reluctantly. “I mean, it almost looks like—”
“A werewolf did it?” a male voice called out from the gate.
I turned, ready to defend myself, only to see the paragon standing there casually, his nose wrinkled in disgust.
“This kind of death has been seen thousands of times in the past,” Regis said. “The werewolves were ordered into extinction for a reason.”
“The werewolves didn’t do this,” I said. “They wouldn’t. They couldn’t.”
“You almost said it yourself.” Shay sounded worried. “Do you know anything else that can do this?”
I shook my head. I didn’t, but I didn’t know of every species on the planet. “There has to be some other explanation. We know the werewolves. They haven’t harmed a single human since they were given land of their own.”
“That’s not true,” Regis said. “A human was slaughtered by werewolves last month, as it happens.”
Shay’s flinch told me that was the truth.
“What happened?” I asked.
“A man was… ripped apart. He had gotten drunk and gone out with a shotgun, tried to hunt himself a werewolf skin.”
“What an idiot,” I whispered. “Is that why you left the Senate?”
He gave me a sharp look. “I had left by then. It wasn’t a meaningless kill. One of the young werewolves was grazed by a bullet, and the pack destroyed the human in the attempt to stop the man from killing the child.”
“Shit,” I said. “Why haven’t I heard about this?”
“Because certain people want the werewolves to live,” Regis said.
“What are you even doing here?” I demanded. “How did you know about this?”
“You think I am not informed when something goes wrong in this country?” he barked. “I know all. I see all. And I will deal with the werewolves this time. They are untameable killers, and they will all be put to death if I have any say in the matter.” He sneered at me. “And what are you doing here, tainted one? Are you, too, capable of such destruction?”
“Okay.” Shay stepped in front of me. “You two,” he said to the IAs, “escort the paragon out of here. I’ll get the rest of the crew in to deal with the crime scene. Ava, I’ll take you home in five minutes, tops.”
The recruits immediately moved forward, blocking the paragon from coming any closer.
I gave Shay a worried look. “This is bad, Shay.”
“I know,” he said. “But what can I do? You said it yourself—you’ve seen this before. So have I.”
“I’ve seen werewolves tear the heads off vampires and beasts,” I said. “I’ve seen them rip apart our enemies. I haven’t seen them harm any humans.”
“I have, Ava, or at least witnessed the aftermath. Don’t you see?”
“Then why this man?”
“Maybe he did something to the pack, to their land, whatever. They’re not far from here, Ava. It wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibility.”
“But if he did something, they would have dealt with it there and then. And I highly doubt yet another looney went after werewolves with a shotgun. Why would they follow him here and deal with him where anyone could see?”
He ran his hands through his hair in exasperation. “What do you expect me to do, Ava? I don’t know how the werewolves think. Maybe they wanted to hunt. Maybe that’s how they ended up here. Maybe he doesn’t live here. Maybe he ran for help, and they got to him first. All I can do is focus on the clues in front of me, and they’re all pointing toward another werewolf attack. We can’t cover this up a second time, Ava. Not this. The first man’s family was so embarrassed by what happened that they asked us not to make it public. Mac was in the newspapers for harassing a woman, and it seemed like keeping the death quiet was the best thing to do at the time, but I wasn’t happy with it.”
“And you think leaving the Senate is the best way to deal with the dodgy things they do?”
“I did what was best for me,” he snapped. “The werewolves are dangerous, and if you’re not careful, the paragon will decide that you’re too dangerous to live, too.” He gripped my shoulders. “Now don’t give him what he wants.”
“I can’t just stand there and let him kill them all! It could be a lone werewolf, one who isn’t with the pack.”
He raised an eyebrow. “You mean an untethered wolf?”
I swallowed hard as bile rose in my throat. “What if it wasn’t a werewolf, Shay?”
He held my gaze. “But what if it was?”
Chapter Eight
Things grew tense after that. Shay asked one of his teams to drop me home. They were young and excitable, and I envied them. I hoped the things they saw didn’t twist them into cynics.
The werewolves were in serious trouble. Esther and everyone who cared about her were in serious trouble. Both murders were similar and yet not close enough to have been perpetrated by the same person. I didn’t even know how to confront the werewolves, or warn them, about what had happened. Phoenix had said he could communicate with them, but I had only seen Icarus in his animal form except for the first time, when he was caged in a tiny cell. I wasn’t even sure if he could actually speak in his human form.
I didn’t know how to warn the werewolves, but I could certainly warn Esther. The shifters would be on the warpath, and that alone put my friend in danger. I had called Moses and Carl at the second crime scene and given them both a quick heads up about Mac. Neither of them had sounded surprised, and both seemed even a little pleased. That worried me. What if I know the murderer? Or torturer?
When the recruits dropped me home, a crowd had gathered on the road. I waved goodbye to Shay’s recruits after thanking them, hoping they didn’t see anything suspicious, not that I suspected anyone. But still.
The crowd parted, and I saw Esther standing there, her mouth twisted in a grimace of pain. Carl seemed to be holding her up. For some reason, she always brought out his protective streak.
“Did something happen to you?” I asked, panicked by her appearance.
She shook her hand and waved off my attention. “Just a migraine. It’s over now. I’m fine. I’m sorry, but I had to come back. The shifters showed up at the flats. I just… I didn’t know where else to go. I thought maybe Val could take me to the sanctuary.” She gave Val an apologetic look. “Sorry.” Her eyes were glassy, and I knew she could never have taken down the alpha in that state.
“That’s not a problem,” Val said. “Anyone who wants to can stay in the Sanctuary for as long as they please.”
“Maybe you should all pack up,” I said. “If the shifters went to the flats, they’ll be here next.”
“I ran while they were searching the place,” Esther admitted. “They could have picked up my scent. Moses had already called Shay to come and help. He’ll move them on soon, in any case.”
“Don’t worry about it,” I said.
“So he’s dead,” she said flatly. “Mac is gone.”
“And now the shifter pack is leaderless,” Peter said. “That’s not so good, right?”
“They usually replace an alpha through a challenge,” Esther said tiredly. “Whenever an alpha seems weak, he’s replaced. And that’s because he needs to be strong to hold the pack together.”
“I think Mac was already falling apart,” I said. “And he was keeping free shifters locked up in barns.”
She nodded. “Peter told me. Breeding from them, though? That’s beyond sick. My brother might have been a traitor, but at least I can say he wasn’t involved in that.”
“Mac suffered before he died, if that’s any consolation,” I said.
“Shifters are coming,” Val said, transforming instantly. Her eyes glistened red, and her voice deepened. “Everyone get inside.”
Carl and Peter ran to get weapons, but Esther refused to go inside.
“You’re too weak for a fight,” I said.
“This place is protected,” she said in a small voice.
“It’s supposed to be, but I can’t trust it,” I began, but something shifted inside me, something that made me step closer to Esther.
“What’s the matter?” she asked. “You’ve gone all intense.”
I breathed a sigh of relief as I realised she was my next lost soul. She was mine to protect. That meant she was part of the balance, after all. “It’s nothing,” I said. “Just been a weird day.”
A group of shifters approached the mouth of the cul-de-sac, shouting and jeering when they spotted Esther.
“Murderers and cowards!” one of them said.
The defeated look on Esther’s face made my blood boil. I stomped ahead, closely followed by Val. “Look who’s talking,” I quipped. “You have to drug women to get them into bed.”
“That’s a lie!” the bulkiest shifter shouted. I had seen him a couple of times with Mac, but he hadn’t been at the farm.
“I saw it myself,” I said. “They found Mac’s body on his farm, the place he was holding the free shifters captive.”
“Bull,” he said. “And there’s no such thing as a ‘free’ shifter.”
“There’s one standing right next to me, you eejit,” I said.
“Didn’t you hear?” he said. “If you’re not tethered, you’re not free to live.”
“He is—was—Mac’s second,” Esther whispered. “If he doesn’t know about the farm, then it’s not common knowledge to the pack.”
One of the shifters made a run at the cul-de-sac, growling loudly. I braced myself for his attack, but at the very last second, he was flung backward as if a giant hand had batted him away.
“Wow,
” I said. “So it is working after all.”
Val grunted. “It’s a little too temperamental for my liking.”
“Good job, protection,” I said under my breath in case it really was some kind of living thing. Well, I’d heard of stranger things by far.
“Give us the shifter bitch,” Mac’s second in command said.
“Take me then, Greg,” Esther shouted. “If you can.”
He refused to look at her. Instead, he focused on me.
“Fine,” he said. “You’ve proved yourself. You’re in charge here. This is your territory. No big deal. But she killed one of us, and now she has to pay.”
“I thought you were blaming that on me.”
He shook his head. “I sniffed out the area myself.”
“Then you must have caught the scent of the captives,” I accused.
“There were lots of scents,” he said. “The agents have overrun the place. I’ll save my judgement for when I have the entire truth. Your scent is there, but it’s only a fresh trail from today. The old scent smells like her.” He nodded at Esther. “She was there when he died.”
I turned to look at her in surprise. She looked about as shocked as I felt.
“I wasn’t there,” she said. “I didn’t kill Mac! I’d remember if I killed him.” She stuttered something else, but by the horrified look on her face, she was reconsidering her innocence.
“When you have proof she killed him, then we can talk,” I said. “Besides, I thought she was one of you, too.”
“She was never one of us,” he scoffed. “She’s not of our kind. We’ve heard of her kind. They’re feral. Only something feral could have tortured Mac so. It was her, and I’m not leaving without her.”
“In case you hadn’t noticed”—I waved at his stunned friend on the ground—“you can’t get in here, and you can’t do us harm. This place is protected, and I’m not giving her to you. You’ll kill her just to satisfy your need for revenge, and you’ll be killing the wrong person. She said she didn’t do it, and I believe her.”
“This is a mistake,” he said calmly—too calmly.
“That’s for me to decide,” I said.
“Ava Delaney, you are an enemy to our pack. If you step foot on our territories, we reserve the right to kill you on the spot. You are not permitted to look us in the eye or interfere in our business. And when we take this girl, you’ll follow in her wake. You’re another monster who doesn’t deserve to live. And when I wrap my hands around your neck and crush your windpipe, you’ll remember this moment, and you’ll wish you had pushed her into my arms instead.”
Tethers Page 9
