by Ruby Loren
It was too silent.
Simon just shrugged and nodded, like it was no big deal, his face still thoughtful and his eyes fixed on a point in the distance. January sighed but did no more. There wasn’t time to argue with anyone else.
“Let’s get inside,” she suggested, parting the wards Tor had thrown up to let them pass. She knew they’d never hold, but at least there would probably be a moment’s warning when they were torn down.
Not that there was anything they could do to prepare.
They all filed inside. Simon and Gregory respectfully carried in the lifeless form of Tor and laid him on the bed in January’s spare room. It was all they could do for now.
A knock on the door made them all jump, but January just frowned. It was someone she knew.
“What are you doing here? Get out of here!” She told Joe, not caring if she hurt his feelings, or made him want to finally end things. At least he might live.
“The pack… the wolves are attacking each other. Everyone’s fighting!” He said, reiterating Ryan and Bella’s comments.
January frowned. “How come you weren’t caught up in it?” The same should be asked of Ryan and Bella, she realised, and wondered why it was that they were all immune to the madness that was sweeping through the shifter ranks.
“We both felt it,” Ryan said, walking up behind her in the corridor. “But then…” He looked at Bella. “We’ve been through enough to know that what matters most is each other and the pack. We came to find you,” he explained.
January thought it sounded true – or perhaps The Clan had just made it feel that way and wanted the pair gone, too. Ryan had helped her fight them in the past.
She turned to Joe in time to catch the grossed out look on his face, before he flattened his features again.
“You should know that the really old, really powerful vampires are on their way here right now. Leave or come in, Joe. I’d recommend running because I don’t really expect to get out of this alive,” she said, trying to ignore Leah’s smirk. Hopefully she wouldn’t blurt out her secret, but then, she might not even be on her side, January remembered, wishing she knew who she could and couldn’t trust in the room.
“If they’re all staying then I am, too. Maybe if we’re quick, we could take some down,” Joe said, tensing his muscles and making his eyes flash.
January nodded to placate him and hoped he wouldn’t look at Leah or Gregory and see the epic eye rolls in progress. Gregory could probably take Joe down in his sleep, and even he was a non-threat compared to the legend of The Clan vampires.
January plonked herself down on the sofa and wished she had made extra cake that morning. Sadly, all that she’d made had been shipped off to her bakery and Madame Rose’s tearooms. It was rare that there was ever surplus. Watching her waistline seemed rather unimportant now.
January looked up when Simon plonked himself down next to her with a smile on his face. He deals with death in a very strange way, she privately thought, but was grateful that he wasn’t wailing and tearing his hair out. It would be rather inconvenient.
“If we all die tonight, I don’t have to deal with that wretched rabbit,” he told her, the smile getting even wider.
January shot him a sideways look. “I should have known that you’d manage to find something worth gaining by dying.”
He shrugged and glanced towards her kitchen cupboards. “Got any tuna? For old times’ sake?” He said. January was about to ask if he was serious or joking when there was another knock at that door.
Electricity shot up her arm. Tor’s final wards returned the information that she did not know the caller, and that their identity could not be found. She just had time to register how strange that was, before she felt all of the ‘stay out’ wards ping away, like a large rubber band. Once more, the house was without protection. She took one last look around at the people sat in the room and braced herself.
There was another knock.
“Maybe, you should answer it,” Gregory said, absentmindedly brushing a blonde hair back into place and shooting her a winning smile, like it was any other day. She shot him daggers in return but stood up and walked to the entrance hall.
The narrow corridor seemed a lot longer than usual.
A flicker of a thought reminded her of the time when Leah had used a magical bomb that had been close to killing her when she’d opened the door. January wrapped herself in her magic in preparation for a similar ruse, but felt helpless all the same. If Bob’s magic could eat away at hers so easily, she had no doubt that The Clan vampires would find her laughable. If only there was more time, she wished and shook it away. There was no room for wishing any more.
Her hand rested on the door knob for a moment, before she finally summoned her strength and pulled it inwards, waiting for her fate to finally be revealed.
21
January stared at the man stood on her doorstep. She knew she should probably have already thrown all of her attack magic at him when she’d had the chance, but she couldn’t. It was as if the moment had been frozen in time. She wasn’t sure if it was magically engineered or if it was just her own surprise at opening the door and seeing someone who looked so… normal.
“Normal? You think I look normal?” The man sounded amused.
January stifled her surprise. He could read minds.
“And a lot more besides, but let’s carry our conversation on out loud for the purposes of cohesion, and I’ll do my best to leave your thoughts be,” he said.
January tried, and failed, to quell the immediate scepticism that popped into her head. The man shot her a rather sharp grin, and she knew he’d caught that too.
“I recognise your voice,” she said, playing for time while she tried to gather herself together and formulate some sort of plan… without thinking about the plan.
“Yes, I’m the one who hands out orders,” he confirmed.
January nodded, taking him in properly for the first time.
Her knee-jerk reaction had been that he looked normal – as normal as you could look in an exceedingly expensive dark blue, tailored suit. His brown hair was flecked with streaks of gold and was cut perfectly and swept across his head with a vintage side parting. His eyes were nearly black. That was the one thing that did jump out from his otherwise, not unattractive, but normal, human appearance. Could he really be one of the first vampires to ever exist? He looks like he’d be more at home as a city banker, she thought, and didn’t miss the man’s smirk. Oh yeah… mind reader.
“So, may I come in?” He asked, sounding ridiculously reasonable.
January clasped and unclasped her hands, unsure how to react to this unexpected turn of events. When would the bloodbath begin?
“Sure, why not?” She said. It wasn’t as if he actually needed an invitation to come in, as a vampire owned the house. Also, something as old-hat as conditional entry for vampires probably wasn’t an issue for anything as old as the thing in front of her.
“Oh, I brought an associate with me. Can she come in, too?” He said.
January tried not to react when the light as snow woman materialised right next to him. Her pale lips curved up into a smile that let January know she’d been on the doorstep eavesdropping the whole time. January bit her tongue. The first member of The Clan might have been able to pass as a young bank manager, but this woman looked the part of a millennia old, first vampire.
“Perhaps you could share your names first, now that we’re all acquainted,” she said, allowing her voice to slip into sarcasm. Being British, it was her first line of defence.
“Of course. I’m Max and this is Cadence,” the suited and suave vampire said, adding a polite smile that January pointedly ignored.
“What a pretty name,” she said to Cadence, whose face remained carved out of stone. January couldn’t help thinking that as far as colouring went, she and Cadence probably made an interesting looking pair. Both of them were children of winter with their pale hair.
That was no doubt where the similarities between them ended.
“We were going to go in?” Max prompted.
January turned away to lead them into the living room. Normally, she might have worried that the moment she turned her back on them would be the moment she died, but these two would find it so easy to destroy her, the whole house, and probably everything within a ten mile radius, that she figured it wasn’t worth worrying about.
Plus, it was clear they’d knocked on the door for a reason. She just hadn’t the faintest idea of what it could be.
“Ah good, you’re all here,” Max said as soon as they entered the room. He was wearing the biggest smug grin January had ever seen. She wished she could smack him in the face for it. Unfortunately, she knew she wouldn’t even get close.
Max shot her a knowing, sideways look.
Lalalalala… January thought and was bemused when he briefly lifted his eyes to the heavens. Should she be pleased that he did seem to possess a sense of humour? He’s the only one that does, she thought, sparing a look at the intimidating Cadence. Her veneer looked like it would never crack.
“Are you implying that you engineered this situation?” Gregory asked, perfectly echoing Max’s bored vampire drawl.
Max’s smile grew even wider.
Gregory frowned. “I suppose I should have known.”
January shook her head. How they’d managed to manipulate their way here was not the concern.
“Joe, thank you for your final report. It was most informative. You’ll be reassigned soon, but may leave us for now,” Max said, his voice never changing.
Everyone stared at Joe.
“Well, I’m not surprised,” Gregory said, sharing an opinion that no one had asked for.
January shot Joe a look that said ‘If we get out of here alive… you’d better start running’. Joe’s smug smile in return made her think he wasn’t expecting anyone to come after him. You just wait… January thought, hoping she would somehow get the chance for revenge. It did explain why he’d been so put out that she hadn’t contacted him since being shot on stage. Perhaps he’d been worried she’d figured it all out…
“Hey, uh… before things get going, may I just say I’m not a part of this? I’m a pacifist! I have no problem with you, or these people, who I don’t know very well at all, by the way, so… if I could just go…” Simon said, standing up and brushing down his suit. “That is some lovely tailoring by the way,” he added to Max.
January tried not to mash her face into her palm. It was so typical of Simon to try and slide out now that he sensed things really were about to turn bad.
Max just smiled at him. “Simon Bennett, son of the late Tor Bennet. A pity about that,” he added, momentarily losing the smile. It was enough to remind them all that these vampires had already killed once tonight, and without a thought. “We believe you might step in to take January forwards in her magical education. That makes you a… complication.”
Simon visibly gulped and opened his mouth – most likely to swear upon his life that he’d never teach magic - or even use magic - ever again, but Max waved a hand, and Simon’s mouth shut with an audible click. January wondered if he could teach her that trick and then remembered he was probably going to kill her.
Max turned his dark eyes back to her and January recalled he would have heard that thought. Oh well, it’s not as if it’s some big secret. I don’t know why we’re beating around the bush! She angrily thought, as loud as possible.
“We’ll get to our business soon enough, but there’s one more thing. Hello, Leah,” he said.
The vampire sat in the armchair returned his stony gaze. “Max,” she said, shortly.
Cadence made a small move forwards and Leah was instantly on her feet, her pink magic ablaze around her in a halo that only a few people in the room could see. Max sighed and did the hand wave again. Cadence stepped back. Leah made a gasping sound when her magical cloud vanished. She glared at Max, who pointedly ignored her, like she was a troublesome child.
“I think it’s time we all had a serious chat…” He said.
January’s mind was refusing to stay in the present. Perhaps it was just her life flashing before her eyes before everything came to an end, but for some reason, she was stuck replaying that night at the club when she’d been practically forced to call the telephone number, and then pretty much coerced into taking the bounty hunting job - while at the same time being informed that it was a job she’d never be able to quit.
Her eyes lifted to meet Max’s but she remained caught in her inner thoughts. His eyes misted, too, and she knew he was following them. Perhaps there’s still way out? She thought at him, a little hopefully.
His face didn’t change.
Max waited until the silence had stretched out in the room for what felt like forever. Then he spoke.
“We aren’t here to kill you today. We’re here to offer you all a new opportunity. You will work for us on our terms.”
January was the first to respond. “As bounty hunters? You want us all to be bounty hunters? On the phone, you said that it was the end of us.”
Max smiled and even Cadence managed a slight smirk. “I meant the end of our patience. And no, not all of you will be bounty hunters. We have plenty of jobs we need doing. We already know exactly where you’ll each fit in. For some, it may mean a slight change of location, but we give you our word that if you obey, you won’t be killed by any of us.” Max’s mouth twitched up again. “Although, I can’t vouch for your safety from anything else,” he added.
There was a cold silence.
“You’re splitting us up so we’re less of a threat,” Gregory surmised.
Cadence sniffed. “You are not a threat,” she said and was silent once more.
Max shrugged. “Some of you may be geographically relocated, yes, but this is the modern day and age. You will still be able to communicate and even visit, if you ever have a moment to spare. However, some of you are going to be kept on a much tighter leash – which I don’t think you’ll much like.” He glanced at January and Leah. “I have USB sticks with full details of your new occupations. You can read what they are on the labels,” he said, reaching into his jacket pocket and tossing the tiny silver-coloured devices to everyone in the room. January glanced down at hers.
Bounty Hunter
Great. Just great, she thought with a sinking feeling that mingled with horror. Would she have to learn how to shut off her morals and human feelings once more and become the cold blooded killer she’d tried to leave in her past? She wasn’t sure she could do it again – even if forced. There was no longer any motivation to get away from the life she’d had and carve something out for herself – no matter the cost. Now bounty hunting would mean leaving behind an existence she’d started to enjoy, and a place she’d strangely begun to fit in to.
Judging by the darkening expressions around the room, the others didn’t like their new ‘opportunities’ any more than she did.
“But I’m not even friends with any of these people! And I don’t want to work…” Simon blurted, his eyes fixed in horror on his USB stick. January could only imagine what it read. Clearly, it was something that required he did more than just lounge around and take advantage of people.
The two members of The Clan ignored his complaint.
“What if we decided to decline this gracious offer?” Gregory asked, his expression guarded. January found she was itching to know what they’d given him – especially when, up until now, he’d been on their kill list.
Max’s expression now matched Cadence’s icy veneer. “You die, of course.”
No one in the room moved or made a sound, until Gregory cleared his throat.
“Well, in that case, I think I speak for us all when I say ‘we accept’.”
Books in the Series
Death’s Dark Horse
Death’s Hexed Hobnobs
Death’s Endless Enchanter
Death’s Ethereal Enemy
Death’s Last Laugh
Prequel: Death’s Reckless Reaper
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Also by Ruby Loren
MADIGAN AMOS ZOO MYSTERIES
Penguins and Mortal Peril
The Silence of the Snakes
Murder is a Monkey’s Game
The Peacock’s Poison
A Memory for Murder
Whales and a Watery Grave
Chameleons and a Corpse
Foxes and Fatal Attraction
Monday’s Murderer
Prequel: Parrots and Payback
HOLLY WINTER CHRISTMAS MYSTERIES
Snowed in with Death
A Fatal Frost
Murder Beneath the Mistletoe
Winter’s Last Victim
EMILY HAVERSSON OLD HOUSE MYSTERIES
The Lavender of Larch Hall
The Leaves of Llewellyn Keep
The Snow of Severly Castle
The Frost of Friston Manor
The Heart of Heathley House
HAYLEY ARGENT HORSE MYSTERIES
The Swallow’s Storm
The Starling’s Summer
The Falcon’s Frost
The Waxwing’s Winter
BLOOMING SERIES
Blooming
Abscission
Frost-Bitten
Blossoming
Flowering
Fruition
