Weaken the Knees (The Immortal World Book 6)

by Shannon A. Hiner

  The wolf crouched for a split second, energy gathering in its haunches, before it sprang toward Will. Perfect. Will took off running in a perpendicular direction, waiting for the rest of the pack to show themselves. The wolf was fast, very fast. Will could sense the creature gaining on him. No pack showed though. He would have to act soon. He crossed a human road, spotting a hill just ahead where he could take the high ground.

  The second before he reached it a car horn blasted, rending the night in two, followed directly by the screech of brakes and a nauseating crunch. Will spun around in shock, a stupid move because the wolf could have easily caught him unawares. Could have . . . if it hadn’t been lying broken and still on the road below.

  As Will watched, a human got out of the pickup truck, waving a flashlight about and berating herself, both mentally and out loud. She examined the wolf, bending over him and jumping back at one point. Will crept closer, placing his body behind a tree and listening in. No pack ever appeared, the wolf was truly alone. Just this poor, stupid human, in the wrong place and the wrong time.

  He watched for a while as the human attempted to load what she undoubtedly assumed was a dog into her vehicle. Will watched and waited for the beast to awaken and take off into the night, but the wolf didn’t stir. Immortal or not, werewolves could be killed. And a two-ton vehicle to the face might just have done the trick.

  Will sighed and started back into the forest, tracking the wolf’s path backward. Where there was one werewolf, there was always a pack. Somewhere. And he would find them.

  Chapter 23

  Aquiet knock on the door. “Rene.” His voice low and urgent.

  She sprang out of bed to open the door.

  Tanner stepped close, head downturned so his words would reach her ears only. “Come, we’re leaving.”

  “What?”

  “Now.”

  She stared into his sad, quiet eyes and saw an uncharacteristic urgency. “What’s—”

  “Rene,” one of his long-boned hands reached up to cup her jaw and neck, “Questions later. Trust in me.”

  She nodded shortly. He was the only one.

  ∞∞∞

  One advantage to being small was that Kendra fit perfectly behind one of the park’s large oak trees. Her fingernails dug into the thick, cold bark as she carefully shifted her position to remain hidden.

  The subject of her interest was about fifty yards away, just entering the park with a companion. Eyes narrowing to dark slits, she leaned closer to the tree. Predictably, the companion was a delicate-looking human female, all doe eyes and dark curls. That was how she was tracking him, he kept showing up wherever the human did. Or at least he had for the last few days.

  What was he doing with the human? What about her was so special? It seemed to be a trend lately, all the vampires she knew were stalking humans for more than just food.

  The couple stopped walking abruptly. Even from her distant vantage, Kendra could see the tension that filled both the immortal and the human. She fit herself more firmly behind the tree as the other vampire began reaching out his awareness. He would sense her soon if she didn’t do something. As she prepared to shimmer, a wolf-call rent the night’s silence in two.

  Kendra took a deep breath of the cold winter night and let the scents filter through. She could smell the wolf, and it was definitely not one of the doggy-kind. Seeing the bullet-fast streak of fur enter the park, she swore. What was he doing here?

  The attention off herself, she stayed behind the tree and watched. The other vampire had placed himself in front of the human. She saw his mouth move, but couldn’t hear the words he spoke. Kendra couldn’t blame the human for cowering behind the immortal. The wolf was larger than a full grown man, and his shining teeth were bared in a hair-raising growl.

  The other vampire pivoted, keeping the human behind him. Kendra watched his hand as it seemed to quiver slightly. The wolf noticed too, advancing a pace.

  Suddenly, the human took off, running as fast as her pitifully mortal legs would carry her. It was like watching a turtle rushing somewhere. The wolf easily could have caught her, but the second before she had started running, the other vampire had removed a gun from his coat and had it leveled on the wolf.

  Kendra swore again, more quietly this time. If that was the kind of gun she thought it was, the wolf was in trouble. The other vampire had plenty of time to shoot, and ample opportunity, but he didn’t. She frowned and tried to lean closer. Maybe it wasn’t one of the guns with the silver nitrate bullets? Maybe he was bluffing? The wolf seemed to have the same idea. Kendra watched as the wolf snarled and took another step closer.

  What was he doing? The other vampire twitched in response, but still didn’t shoot.

  Ears suddenly perking forward, the wolf tilted its head. Both vampires watched in consternation. Then the wolf cowered suddenly, its whole body shaking, and in a flash of fur it was running again.

  The other vampire had long since forgotten that Kendra lurked nearby. He put the gun away and shimmered, no doubt in search of his wayward mortal.

  Kendra stepped away from the tree, shaking from suppressed rage. Her master was going to hear about this, and was the kind to shoot the messenger and ask questions later. Clenching her fists, she closed her eyes and willed herself away from the park. When she opened her eyes she was outside the back door of her master’s castle.

  A frustrating mix of irritation and fear nearly overwhelmed her. She used one of the back doors, hoping to gain inspiration while traversing the long halls to the castle center. What had that idiotic wolf been thinking? Now that their quarry was alerted to the danger stalking him, he would be even more careful than he already was.

  The halls were empty as she angrily stomped down them, and it was a good thing. Had she met anyone just then, she might have come out swinging. While a brawl sounded tempting, it would only cause her master to become even more irate. He didn’t appreciate the “young shenanigans” of the new bloods.

  “Kendra.” The voice melted out of one of the alcoves. It was attached to her sire who leaned—previously unnoticed—against a wall.

  She started, then felt foolish. She should have been reaching out her senses, feeling for her surroundings. It was times like this she resented this life. Kendra was so young and inexperienced, she felt like a baby learning how to crawl again.

  He came to her side and signaled to keep walking. “It didn’t go well.” It wasn’t a question: Even if he hadn’t been able to sense her moods, the attitude with which she carried herself was a dead giveaway. Another weakness in her current form. She was supposed to be able to hide her emotions, but apparently that too came with age and experience.

  Kendra sighed. “I didn’t do anything wrong. One of the wolves came out of nowhere and tried to start a fight.”

  His haunting light-green eyes flashed. “It attacked you?”

  “No.” She shook her head. “It went after Kaye.”

  He nodded shortly. “I see. Did anyone know you were there?”

  “I’m not sure. I thought Kaye might have sensed me for a moment, but then the wolf showed up and I think everyone forgot about me.”

  Slowing their pace somewhat, he lowered his voice, “Leave that out.”

  “What?”

  “Neglect to mention you may have been sensed.”

  She stumbled a step, and he caught her, steadying her with a hand at her shoulder.

  “I don’t understand.” Kendra couldn’t be hearing him correctly.

  “Yes, you do,” he said, his light eyes firm on hers.

  They were just outside the castle center now. Kendra could hear voices from within the throne room. She searched her sire’s face, and found no explanation there. He had yet to steer her wrong, and she knew from the blood memories of his life that there had been more than one instance where he had “neglected” to mention something.

  His gaze narrowed, as if daring her to question his advice.

  Kendra shook her head,
trying to let him know she wouldn’t. She trusted him.

  They entered the round room and he melted back into the alcoves that surrounded it. Kendra went toward the raised dais in the center of the room, stopping just outside a group of new bloods who were all jostling for position in front of their master. More advice from her sire, she never jostled with the rest. She stood, silently, simply staring at the figure seated on the throne there.

  To describe him was to tell of every man. Average stature, average build, medium brown hair cut fairly short. A darkening around his jaw where facial hair would grow, but no beard or mustache. Even his eyes were ordinary brown. It was the light there, a fervor that ignited his person and cast shadows on his surroundings. He seemed to feed off the energy of the room, his eyes marking every thing and being, constantly weighing and considering.

  He noticed Kendra almost immediately. He held up a hand to silence the young blood currently speaking. Immediately the young vampire fell silent, sending a venomous glare Kendra’s way.

  Her master motioned Kendra forward. “Kendra, darling, what do you have for me?”

  Behind the dais, in a shaded alcove, her sire stood. All she could see was his light eyes boring into her. He didn’t speak in her mind, but his message was clear. Kendra stepped forward and raised her chin. “Master, I was following your orders, only watching, not engaging. Again I saw Kaye with the human. He seemed to be accompanying her from her work to her home.”

  Sneering, her master made a hand gesture to continue. He wasn’t surprised, in other words. His dislike of humans was well-known and so strong that even the new bloods tried not to get in his way. Evidently, they still smelled human. Or was it sounded like humans? They had been accused of all sorts of human-like tendencies.

  “As I was watching, a werewolf came out of nowhere and made to attack the human and Kaye. He pulled a gun, I think it was one of the nitrate ones, but he did not fire.”

  His fingernails clicked against the stone armrest of his throne. “A werewolf attacked Errin Kaye?”

  “Yes, Master. Or rather, tried to.”

  “Did you recognize the wolf?”

  She couldn’t sell him out. He was just a child. In for a penny, in for a pound—right? Kendra kept her voice and gaze steady. “No.”

  His lips raised in a silent snarl. “I’ll have to speak with Lionakis.” He tapped the armrest again. “Did anyone realize you were there?”

  Careful not to look in her sire’s direction, Kendra lied to her master for the second time, “No, Master.”

  He nodded shortly. “Good. Take the rest of this night off, and then return to me tomorrow for orders.”

  “Yes, Master.” She bowed shortly, and then turned to leave the round room as quickly as she could without raising suspicions.

  Truth was, her master might be a commanding presence, but he scared the bejeesus out of her. She had heard rumors of his short and highly unpredictable temper. But more than that, she had seen things in the blood memories that made her skin crawl with unease. Her sire did not know all, but what he did know was enough to make Kendra question her dedication to this second life.

  Halfway back to her room, her sire again melted from the shadows and attached himself to her side. “Well done.”

  Her frayed nerves and former irritation made her snap back, “And we had both better hope he never finds out, huh?”

  He looked sidelong at her, but without any annoyance. “He will not.”

  Kendra stopped outside her bedroom door and crossed her arms. “Why are you helping me? You don’t assist the other bloods, why me? Am I some kind of game to you, are you trying to get me killed?”

  He raised one blond brow. “Far from it, Kendra. For some reason, I am trying to keep you alive.”

  She glared at him.

  “Have you ever asked yourself why there are so many new bloods in our clan? For an esteemed clan that has been around for over two hundred years, why aren’t there more older vampires?”

  Images from his blood memories flashed in her mind, faces of Fraccas vampires she had never met. And one image of the throne room, empty except for their master, ash everywhere. The memory made her stomach churn, though she didn’t know why. It was the feeling her sire had when he had seen it.

  Her sire leaned close, towering over her slight form. “Don’t make me regret helping you, Kendra. You’re going to have to be smarter if you’re going to survive this life. Others have made your mistakes, but they are not around to warn you.”

  ∞∞∞

  Rene laid the human’s body down on the floor near the entrance to her cell. She tried to let the dead man’s ancient body slide gently down, but the blood she took from him was scant and nearly lifeless. Her strength was starting to fail her. His body slumped from her arm, head hitting the bars with a stomach-churning thwump.

  She had to resist the urge to apologize. He was dead now. He no longer felt any pain. Though, she supposed his spirit could still be lingering nearby. The last thing she needed, being stuck in this cell for the rest of her unnatural life, was to be haunted by an angry spirit. She sighed and knelt beside the body, arranging his limbs in a respectful manner.

  “There,” she muttered. “Now if you must haunt someone, haunt the assholes who left you in a prison cell with a starving vampire.”

  He was the first thing she’d eaten in five days. Already low on blood before that, with injuries that would not, could not heal, this small, frail man was hardly a blip on her body’s radar. Her concentration was incrementally better. Blood was still the only thing she could think of, but at least now she was thinking, rather than just sitting in the corner moaning over her empty veins.

  When Silas opened the door earlier, she’d lunged at him, at the human. He didn’t even have the door closed before she was on the human. Growling when she noticed how little blood or life was left in him. Silas’ dark eyes had been disgusted, but she thought she’d seen a glimmer of pity there too. Probably her imagination. Or pity for the human, not her.

  After Hadrian came for his human, the camp had fallen eerily quiet. Most of the werewolf packs had stayed in residence. Rene overheard Big Red speaking to a few Alphas. The werewolves worried the vampires would come for them now that they knew where the little camp was. Big Red called the place Ladyslocke. A more fitting name Rene couldn’t imagine, seeing as she was a lady . . . and she was locked up.

  She still didn’t know why she’d been taken. How many weeks had passed now and no one bothered to tell her why she was there? Pacing across the cell, Rene used the small amount of concentration she’d gotten back from the human’s blood to ponder her circumstances. What did the werewolves have to do with the Venor? Was a werewolf funding them? If so, why? Weren’t there easier, more direct ways to attack the vampires?

  A voice filtered through her window and distracted Rene. It was the middle of the night, hence the easy pacing to and fro in her cell, and most of the werewolves had bedded down for the night. She hadn’t realized how many of them were diurnal before being taken captive, but it seemed the majority still kept daylight hours. The voice was a young woman’s . . . and it was familiar.

  Rene frowned and tried to concentrate harder. Already she was fighting a losing battle against not enough blood.

  “Fin!” the woman’s voice whisper-called.

  An answering grumble came from a male voice not far off.

  “What the hell did you think you were doing tonight?” The woman walked past Rene’s cell, her brown boots kicking dust through the window. She stopped only a few feet past it.

  “Saving you, at great risk to myself.” The male sounded young. His voice had barely reached maturity, but more than that, there was a youthful know-it-all quality to it.

  Rene approached her window quietly, not wanting to remind the arguers of her presence. A shuffle sounded and the male grunted.

  “Hey! What the hell? What was that for?”

  “Saving me? Saving me? Are you an idiot?” She
didn’t wait for an answer. “Do you realize what kind of gun he was holding on you? Fin, if he’d shot you there would be no saving you.”

  “They were about to realize you were there, watching them! And he didn’t shoot me, so it doesn’t matter.”

  Another scuffle. “I can take care of myself, numb-nuts. Don’t do that again. Why were you even there?”

  “Si asked me to look in on the doctor. I didn’t know you were on him too until I smelled you there. And this is some thanks I get. He pounded me for a good hour after calling me back and now you’re not even grateful.”

  “Why does Silas have you watching Kaye?”

  “Uh-uh. I ain’t playing that game with you, K. If Si knew I was talking to you about this, he’d take my balls and feed ’em to the pups.”

  She sighed audibly. “Fine. But stay out of my way and don’t put yourself in front of one of those guns again. You’re lucky it was Kaye, because any other vampire would have shot you without a moment’s hesitation. I gotta go, but I better not see you on my trail again.”

  “I told you, K, I’m not on your trail.”

  “Mmhm.” Boots started to crunch away. “Remember what I said, Fin.”

  “Hey, Kendra,” the male called out, teasing, “You stay outta my way too, aight?”

  No one responded, and the male stomped away in the opposite direction.

  Rene stood silent and stunned for a few long moments. Then, rage began to filter through. Kendra. Fucking Kendra. By the sound of it, Ignatius was up to no good once more, or still. Watching Errin Kaye. Why in the hell would any of them be watching the Victorian? Unless . . . Unless he had found something. Something to do with Stephen Smart’s body. And the Venor. And the connection to the werewolves. It was too much. Too many threads and not enough blood in her veins to keep her mind firing.