Burning Ash (Forgotten Brotherhood)

by N. J. Walters

  …

  What is so special about you?

  The question reverberated in her brain. And who the heck were Alexei and Cassandra? “Nothing. I was a normal girl living a normal life until my parents were murdered.” Ordinary was all she’d ever been until her life had been upended.

  “What about this Cassandra?” The more information she had the better.

  “That is her story to tell.” Maccus spread his arms and rested them on the back of the bench seat, totally relaxed. “She’s not human.”

  Asher was a large, reassuring presence beside her. If not for him, she’d have been flattened by the train. Not a pleasant way to die. Her legs were still shaking, and her stomach was none too settled.

  “So, I’m the only one. Lucky me.” It wasn’t easy to project an image of calmness. The rest of them hadn’t been fazed by the event. Okay, maybe Asher, but only momentarily.

  “Is there anything from your childhood that was unusual?” Morrigan asked. “I thought I was human when I entered into a contract with Lucifer. Turned out, things weren’t exactly what they seemed.”

  A low growl rumbled up from deep inside Maccus. Morrigan simply patted the big guy’s chest. “Think, Jo. It could be important.”

  She leaned back and rested her head against the seat. “I’ve tried.”

  “Were you extra good at something you tried?” Asher asked. “Have a particular skill?”

  “Yeah, I can kill vampires.” That wasn’t what he meant, but it was all that came to mind.

  I’m nobody special.

  The waitress showed up with the first of their pizzas. They refrained from talking until all four were on the table. Then they dug in.

  “Let’s talk more about that sixth sense you mentioned.” Asher took a bite of pizza and a long string of cheese hung out of his mouth before he licked his lips. She wouldn’t mind licking the cheese from his lips.

  More than the spices in the sauce were making her mouth water.

  “It’s not really a thing.” She wiped her fingers on a napkin before taking a long swallow of her drink. “I mean, it’s not like I know the lottery numbers or anything.” That would be useful.

  “I still think it has something to do with the women,” Maccus insisted. “Why have the three of us run into women we’ve become attached to after all these years?”

  “Where would someone get that kind of information?” Morrigan asked.

  “Fates. Those bitches know everything. Sometimes they fuck with people’s lives because they can,” Asher speculated.

  “They’re real?” It made her slightly ill to think that some paranormal force was in charge of her destiny.

  “Yeah, they’re not supposed to meddle, but sometimes shit happens,” Maccus told her.

  “Only the gods would go to the Fates.” Asher pushed his plate away after not eating near as much as the rest of them. Then again, he didn’t need much. Blood would be more necessary. Had he gotten some at the apartment before they’d left? Her appetite fled, and she set her slice of pizza down.

  “Who has it out for you guys?” she asked, because all roads led back to them. Morrigan and Maccus shared a look that wasn’t the least reassuring. “Who?”

  “Lucifer isn’t happy with me,” Maccus admitted.

  “Me, either,” Morrigan added.

  The fact that the devil was real was really messing with her. Treat it like any other hunt and work with what you know. “If Lucifer is pissed at you two, why put out a bounty on my head?”

  “He won’t come for me directly. He’s too cowardly to face me after I kicked his ass the last time.” The big guy scowled at the remaining pizza before grabbing another slice.

  He talked about kicking Lucifer’s ass as though it was no big deal.

  I’m so out of my league. Her head was spinning, and the pizza she’d eaten churned in her stomach. “Let me out.”

  When Asher didn’t move, she gave him a shove. “I’m about ten seconds from puking all over you.”

  It was laughable how fast he moved. She bolted toward the short hallway and the ladies’ room. Thankfully it was empty when she stumbled inside. She made her way to a stall, gulping in air.

  With one hand pressed against the metal wall, she bent her head forward and focused on breathing. When the nausea passed, she gave a short prayer of thanks. She washed her hands and splashed some water on her face.

  While she patted her skin dry with a paper towel, she stared at the image reflected back at her. Her skin was pale, but there was no other outward sign of the turmoil roiling around inside her.

  The door opened, and a striking woman strode in. She was tall, about five ten and wearing four-inch red leather boots. Her blond hair was perfectly styled, and her dress clung to every voluptuous curve. Talk about feeling dumpy in comparison in her black jeans and scarred boots.

  She paused when she saw Jo. The long leather duster was probably off-putting, so Jo smiled. The woman smiled back and walked inside.

  “You okay, honey?” the woman asked.

  “I’m good.” No need to get anyone else involved in her problems.

  The woman’s smile grew, exposing sharp fangs. “Oh honey, not for long.”

  Shit, how had a vamp found her here? It wasn’t a coincidence. Not with everything else going on.

  Jo pulled a knife from her pocket as she whirled around. She’d done up her coat before they’d entered the restaurant to hide her crossbow. Big mistake. “What do you want?”

  “You’re worth a lot of money dead. And there’s an apartment in Paris I’ve been dying to own.”

  “Financing a vampire’s international house hunt—just what I wanted to do tonight.” She put her back to the wall to be safe. There wasn’t much room to maneuver.

  “You really are a hunter.” The woman turned her blond head to one side, openly studying her. “I thought it was all talk, but you’re not even scared.”

  “I’ve faced tougher.” This woman was a walking, talking Barbie. No, that was an insult to Barbie, who would more likely be a hunter. That iconic doll had gotten a makeover in recent history and was getting all kinds of cool jobs nowadays.

  “Oh, honey,” she cooed. This bitch was really getting on her last nerve with the fake endearment. “You’ve never met anyone like me.”

  In her mind, she saw her opponent spring a millisecond before she did. Jo dropped and rolled, slashing upward with her knife. Fabric ripped and quickly stained with blood.

  The female swore. “Look what you’ve done. I just bought this dress. It set me back three hundred dollars.” She plucked at the garment, a frown on her face.

  “Sorry. Not sorry,” Jo shot back. She balanced on the balls of her feet and reached behind her to turn the door handle. No vamp would act in public. All she had to do was get through the short hallway and back to the main restaurant.

  She pulled, but the door wouldn’t budge.

  “Now, you know I can’t let you leave.” Great, this was no newly turned vamp if she could use mental prowess to keep the door blocked. “We’re not finished talking yet. Well, I’m not finished. All you have to do is die.”

  Jo ripped her coat open, buttons pinging off the walls. She brought the crossbow up and fired as the woman leaped at her. Once again, her instincts didn’t let her down. The bolt slammed into her attacker’s heart.

  She staggered backward and crashed into the wall, a look of pure disbelief on her face.

  Someone knocked on the door. “Hey, I gotta go to the bathroom. What are you doing in there?”

  When the door started to open, Jo slammed it shut and leaned against it. Great, now that she didn’t want it open, it was functional once again. I can’t catch a break.

  Her attacker slid to the floor, her head lolling to one side. “Come on. Come on, turn to ash,” she muttered, pulling on the
handle as it was tugged again by whoever was in the hallway.

  All she could do was pray the vampire would disintegrate quickly. She didn’t know how much longer she could keep people out.

  And explaining a dead body with a crossbow in the heart to management? Wouldn’t that be fun? Not to mention the cops. Where was Asher with his mind meld trick when she needed him?

  “Hey. Let me in.” Whoever was out there was persistent, she’d give them that.

  “In a minute,” she called back. If she was lucky, it would be a minute. The body finally started to break down. The clock ticked.

  “I’m getting management,” the person on the other side of the door finally threatened.

  “You do that,” she whispered. The body finished turning to ash. Jo lunged for the woman’s clothing and riffled through the pockets but found nothing.

  She’d just dumped the clothes into the garbage and tucked the woman’s purse and the crossbow bolt under her coat when a loud knock came on the door. “What’s going on in there?”

  There was nothing she could do about the small pile of ash on the floor. That was someone else’s problem. Thankfully, they’d have no idea what they were sweeping up. With a shrug and a silent apology to whoever ended up with that task, she yanked the door open. “Nothing is going on. I wanted some privacy.” Both the manager and a strange woman stared at her in disbelief as she made her way back to the seating area.

  Asher met her at the end of the hallway. “What took you so long? I was getting worried.”

  “Would have helped if you’d gotten worried a little sooner.” She kept her arms crossed over her stomach to keep her coat closed and weapons hidden. Not to mention to conceal the purse she’d just taken from the dead woman. “Just had a female vamp try to collect on the bounty.”

  “Are you shitting me?” He started toward the hallway.

  “It’s handled,” she informed him. “I have her purse under my coat. Didn’t have time to check for a phone or identification. I ditched her clothes in the garbage, but we should probably move.”

  “Maccus and Morrigan are outside.” He put his hand on her back and ushered her out the door.

  “We paid, right?”

  “Don’t worry.” He pressed a kiss to her temple. “I left a few of those fifties I carry with me.”

  “You’re a handy man to have around.”

  “Not really. That should never have happened.”

  “It did, and I dealt with it.” It felt good to fight back, even if it was only a hired assassin.

  Maccus took one look at her and demanded, “What happened?”

  “We’ll explain on the way,” Asher told him. “We need to check in with our friend and see what he knows.”

  Shit, she’d forgotten all about Bjorn. Was he on their side or had he betrayed their location?

  She reached under her coat and settled her crossbow.

  If it happens, I’m ready.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Asher was still kicking his own ass when they got back to his place. He should never have let Jo go to the bathroom on her own, not when there was a bounty on her head. He hadn’t believed anyone would be dumb enough to attack in such a public venue.

  Whoever was behind this was getting desperate.

  “The woman didn’t say how much the job was worth, did she?” Bjorn had been suspiciously absent. They had no idea if he’d simply decided to leave them to their own devices or if something had happened to him.

  “No, but enough to cover an apartment in Paris. Maybe there’s something in her purse.” She let her coat fall open and handed him the small clutch.

  He rummaged around and pulled out a wallet. “Valentina DuBois. That doesn’t sound made-up. Not at all.” He dug deeper and pulled out a phone. “Gotcha.”

  He pulled up her contacts list and scrolled down. “Our would-be assassin has a rich social life. This is going to take some time.”

  “Great. We both know it’s going to be another anonymous email.” She removed her coat and tossed it over the back of the sofa before placing her crossbow and short sword beside it.

  If she hadn’t been armed…

  Thankfully, she never seemed to let her guard down, and that was the very thing that had kept her alive.

  She was going nowhere without him—not even the bathroom—until they got to the bottom of this.

  “Asher?”

  He shook himself from his dark thoughts and concentrated on the phone. While she’d dealt with the latest threat on her own, this was something he could do.

  “Let’s see what’s in her email.” He scrolled down, very aware of the other three waiting. He paused, his thumb coming to a stop on a familiar email. He opened it and quickly scanned.

  “Anonymous sender. The same as our boy Harrison.”

  “Told you. She was targeted like he was.” Jo crossed her arms over her chest and leaned against the wall. They were still all standing around the foyer. Maccus and Morrigan would leave as soon as they’d gleaned all the details.

  “And the sender even provided our location. How convenient.” Asher wanted to rip the head off whoever was orchestrating events.

  “We were being watched. I didn’t see anyone.”

  “None of us did,” he assured her. “Whoever is behind this seems to be contacting younger local vampires.” And that was smart. “I have a reputation among the older ones. The youngsters tend to think they’re invincible, above the rules. That’s more of a problem this past century.”

  “Guess you’re not that scary after all.”

  He lowered the phone and stared at Maccus. “Was that a joke?” He looked at Morrigan for confirmation. “Did he just make a joke?”

  The fallen angel’s hands curled into fists. He lowered his head and scowled. “I have a sense of humor.”

  “No. No, you really don’t.” As serious as the situation was, he couldn’t help teasing the man he’d known longer than any other person still living. Not counting the gods, that was.

  Jo shook her head at him. “Death wish,” she mouthed.

  Morrigan patted Maccus’s hand. “It’s dark, but it’s there.”

  “Back to the problem at hand,” Jo interjected. “Valentina was older than Harrison and his buddies. Took her less time to turn to ash, and she had some simple mind control tricks. Nothing like you, but she kept the door locked down.”

  “Contact Bjorn,” Maccus ordered. Since he’d planned to do just that anyway, Asher tucked away the phone to examine later, pulled out his, and made the call, putting it on speaker so Jo could hear.

  It rang several times before it was answered. “No one tracked you to the restaurant. A vampire showed up not long after.”

  “It would have been nice to be informed.” Asher’s voice was hard and curt. “She was an assassin.”

  The wolf swore under his breath. “I didn’t think she was a threat since she hadn’t tailed you. I figured with you and Maccus there, she wouldn’t be a problem.”

  Bjorn was right. It shouldn’t have been a problem. “We were followed,” Asher told him.

  Dead silence and then the wolf swore. “How is that possible? I jumped on the subway a few cars behind you and circled you the rest of the way there. Didn’t catch sight or scent of anything paranormal. And trust me, doesn’t matter if it’s vamps, shifters, or assorted others, everyone leaves a scent.”

  “Well, someone got around you,” he shot back, knowing it would piss Bjorn off. It also wasn’t fair. “Thanks for trying.”

  Bjorn grunted acknowledgement. “I’m heading out of town. Whoever is behind this may send someone after me to see what I know. If they do, I’ll capture and interrogate before disposal and contact you with any information. In the meantime, I’ll be hunting. No one fucks with the Brotherhood.”

  “Call if you need backup,
” Maccus ordered.

  “Will do.” Then Bjorn was gone.

  “You guys don’t mess around, do you?” Jo seemed more impressed than appalled.

  “We have few rules,” Asher told her. “Kill only those that deserve it and let their gods sort them out. Kill them before they kill you. Never, ever, betray a fellow assassin.”

  Jo tilted her head to one side and shook her head. “No room for error there.”

  “None. And whoever contacted Bjorn broke rule number one. That puts them at the top of our most-needed-to-be-killed list.”

  “You have a list?” It was Morrigan who asked, but Jo seemed just as interested.

  “Right now, it’s a list of one,” Asher told them. “We’ve never needed an actual physical list. Those that go on it tend to have a very short lifespan.” He turned to Maccus. “I need to send out a mass email to the rest of the Brotherhood. Tell them to vet all jobs through you until further notice.”

  Without waiting for a reply, he composed the email, his fingers flying. “This kind of situation can’t happen again.” He pressed send and tucked his phone back into his pocket.

  “Keep me informed.” Maccus was already moving toward the elevator, gently pushing Morrigan ahead of him.

  There was nothing more either of them could do. Truthfully, he was surprised they’d stuck around this long.

  “As soon as I know something, you will,” he promised.

  Maccus gave a curt nod as the doors closed. Morrigan shot out her hand, stopping it. “When all this is over, we’ll go for coffee and talk,” she said to Jo.

  “I’d like that.”

  Maccus groaned as the doors finally slid shut.

  Jo rubbed her hands over her arms. “I’m going to take a shower and then get some shut-eye. Been a long night.” She headed down the hallway to his room, disappearing inside.

  I could have lost her.

  One wrong move during the altercation in the ladies’ room and he’d have found her dead body. And he didn’t want to think about the episode at the train station.