Esmeralda nods.
I stand behind Josie’s chair and massage the knotted muscles in her neck. “Why? From what I gather, Josie has worked with the pixies in the past.”
“The past is the key word in that sentence, vampire.” She screws up her face as if her last word tasted foul.
Except Cross is a vampire as well. Esmeralda isn’t making any sense. Perhaps she indulged in her own messy dust.
Luc and Grant lean closer, ready to act. I wave them off. “Meaning?”
“Times are changing. If you want to be in the game, you’ve got to roll with it. We’re choosing to roll to Cross’s side. Arranna is very pleased that I made this connection. She’s really enjoying her new lifestyle, and I reap the rewards.” Esmeralda laughs. Her confidence has been replaced with cock-laced bravery.
Josie leans forward, sticks her hand inside the jar, and plucks Esmeralda out with two fingers. All laughter stops. She brings the pixie close to her face, so close Esmeralda’s wings shake like leaves during a storm from Josie’s breath. “What the fuck did I ever do to you?”
Esmeralda attempts a shrug, but Josie tightens her fist around the pixie’s body until Esmeralda’s face turns two shades of purple. “You protect them,” Esmeralda hisses.
“Who?” I ask.
“The humans.” Esmeralda tries to wriggle out of Josie’s grip, thrashing her head back and forth. She gives up after several attempts with an annoyed huff. “We all know you’re a Halfling, but you’ve chosen them over us. You’ve ignored your other half, the half that really means something. You think the humans are better than us.”
Josie stands. Her body trembles with unleashed anger. I know just how much fury seethes in her veins. I hear it. Feel it. Nothing new about that. Anytime someone speaks ill of those Josie has chosen to protect, she lashes out. What gives me pause is how her scent smells scorched, almost as if there’s been an electrical surge that caused an outlet to spark and pop. Releasing my grip on her shoulder, I reach around and place my hand over her fist. Intense heat penetrates through the layers of skin in my palm. If I were human, my skin would have blistered on contact. Even with my strength and power, I’m having a hard time touching her. “Give her to me, Josie.” My anger matches my mate’s, but my skin remains cool.
Josie shakes her head. Her hair tumbles over her shoulder in long silky waves. Is it my imagination, or is her hair even redder than mere seconds ago?
“She knows nothing about you.” I keep my tone calm and soothing as I whisper close to Josie’s ear. Esmeralda gasps for breath. Another minute or two and we won’t have a prisoner left to interrogate.
Eyes narrowing, I stare at Josie’s arm as it takes on a mottled appearance. Orange and blue markings dance along her skin, twining and merging like two snakes preparing for battle.
“Keller?”
“I see it, Alex. Everyone move back. Josie,” I say, my voice firm but low. “Let her go.” I struggle to remain calm as blue sparks crackle above Josie’s hand.
She doesn’t respond. I reach around with my other arm and pry Josie’s fingers apart. Esmeralda falls to the table. She coughs and rolls to her feet. Before the pixie can take flight, Grant scoops her up, shoves her back in the jar, and seals it shut with the lid.
I pull Josie against me, her back to my chest. Sage runs around the table and approaches from the other side. “Don’t touch her,” I order. Her skin temperature has spiked to dangerous levels. I release her hands with a hiss and grip her shoulders again. “Get me some ice.” I hear someone scramble toward the refrigerator while I turn Josie to face me. Now that Esmeralda is out of her reach, who will be the target of her fury?
I tilt Josie’s chin up and stare into her eyes. They appear no different, other than the sheen one carries when they are lost in thought. “That’s enough, Josephine. Calm yourself.” I infuse my clipped tone with persuasion. She hates to be ordered around, which is exactly why I do it. She’ll likely stick her blade in my heart if she knows I’m using my powers on her. The pain will be worth it. If her anger is directed at me, maybe she’ll snap out of her trance, and I can figure out how the feck she was about to become a conduit of fire.
“I’m a huntress,” she says, her voice distant, edged with venom and a touch of doubt.
I nod. Doubt is the catalyst to failure. No matter the course, I will see to it that Josie doesn’t fail. “You are a huntress. You can pan them out like no other.” Someone hands me a bag of ice. Her skin makes a hissing sound on contact. I slide the ice up and down Josie’s arm while keeping the rest of her body tucked firmly against me. Steam swirls, encompassing the two of us in a foggy cocoon.
“I took a vow.”
Finally. She is coming back now. “We all did.”
Josie blinks at me and pushes away the ice with a shiver. “What are you doing? That’s freezing.”
Someone starts to speak. I cut them off with a shake of my head. I’m not about to do this in front of an audience. Josie and I would talk about this strange new development when we are alone. Did she know she was capable of this power? Has she kept it from me? No. I would have sensed something as strong as this.
“Just cooling you off and giving you your finesse back.”
Brows drawn, Josie seems to pull everything back into focus. She turns around and grips the edge of the table with one hand. Drawing in a deep breath, she jabs a finger toward Esmeralda. “I am a Halfling, a.k.a. halfbreed, a.k.a. mutt, and I happen to like it that way. Humans need my protection. That’s what I was born to do. I won’t apologize for that.” Josie snatches a blade from the sheath secured to her thigh and sets it gently on the table in clear view of Esmeralda’s wide eyes. “But don’t you dare forget that I have protected your flying asses on more than one occasion.”
Esmeralda remains silent. As does everyone else in the room. This is Josie’s moment.
“The pixies took a vow along with all the beings of the occult. We are not to share our secrets with the humans. We are not to interact with them on our level. They cannot know we are real. If they discover who and what we truly are, hell will break loose, and then I beseech the gods to help us. You think the streets are bad now, Esmeralda? What’s going to happen when the humans want you for a pet? When all of you are kept in jars like this? Like you’re nothing more than backyard fireflies? Yet, you mingle with them? Bring them into your home as if they could truly understand what our world means? What the lore is capable of? You get them high, show them a good time, and kill them right in front of everyone.”
This time, Esmeralda does shrug, though I sense she isn’t as unaffected by Josie’s words as she seems.
“They’re just casualties in a war against you,” Esmeralda says. “Cross told us all about you and what you really stand for. I’m not just talking about the pixies, either. You’re up against a whole lot of us now. You think you can walk on both sides, but instead of being a princess of everything, you’re a princess of nothing.”
Esmeralda stands, plants her legs shoulders-width apart, and leans forward with her hands on her hips. “Cross pays us well, and truth be told, we like working with him. It’s exciting. He’s opened a whole new world. He appreciates us for who we are. We have abilities. We’re useful. We’re tired of living a lie. We’re not hiding anymore, no matter what kind of Hell that brings. We don’t need you, Josie Hawk.”
Before Josie can react, I pick up the jar and hurl it across the room. Esmeralda screams as her glass cell crashes into the wall and shatters. She slides to the ground in a useless heap. Her head hangs limply to the side. Her wings wilt. She isn’t dead, though it wouldn’t have bothered me if she’d broken her neck.
The pixie has declared war, and I have just ended this verbal battle.
Chapter Twenty-three
Josie
“I apologize,” Keller says, stepping away from me and crouching next to the shattered glass. Bits crunch under his boots. “I should have let you do that.” He drags a hand over his face. Wearines
s shows in the faint lines around his eyes. These past few days have taken a toll on all of us, and I sense it’s nowhere near over.
He’s straining to refrain. I know that feeling all too well.
Two days ago, I probably would have been mad at him. Now I can’t bring myself to care that he stole my moment. I would have done the same in his position. I’m mentally drained, not to mention physically beat. “It’s no big deal,” I say, and mean it. Seriously, I’m over this whole day. “Is she dead?” As pissed as I am about Esmeralda’s rant, I don’t wish her dead. She’s young and stupid. Cross has enough power to brainwash a jellyfish. The pixies didn’t stand a chance.
“No,” Grant says. He taps his foot on the floor. “I can hear her heartbeat from here. She’ll be fine.” He glances at Esmeralda’s prone body. “Eventually,” he adds with a shrug.
“Good,” I say.
Apparently, I’ve shocked everyone, because the room grows silent. A quick glance around the kitchen, and the hairs on the back of my neck stand up like soldiers at attention.
Alex stares at the ceiling like the angels are calling his name. Luc studies his nails. Matthew’s gaze is fixed to a spot on the other side of the kitchen, and Grant examines his shoes like he’s never seen a pair before. Sage? She’s looking at me with wide and crazy eyes. “What is wrong with everyone?” Before anyone can speak, I see Keller shake his head out of the corner of my eye. No one says a word. I glance at Sage. She blushes.
“Don’t do that,” I say, whirling on my heel to give him my full attention. “What gives, Irish?”
“We’ll talk about it later,” he says, rising. He sets his jaw as if he’s made a conscious decision to end the conversation. His gaze leaves mine and flicks to the others. “Someone get another jar. I want Esmeralda in it before she wakes up.”
Grant reaches for a jar from the top shelf of the cabinet, deposits a sleeping Esmeralda inside, and sticks her on the counter. Sage grabs a broom to sweep up the glass. Such a domestic moment in the midst of my chaotic life. Part of me screams for that kind of normalcy. Another part cackles, knowing it can never be so. Not to mention, I’d be incredibly bored and probably become catatonic.
I turn back to Keller. I’ve never been a fan of being dismissed, and today I find I have even less patience than usual. “We’ll talk about it now. I know she didn’t drug me, and I’m pretty sure I’m really in this room right now.” I pinch myself first, then I pinch Alex, who happens to be the unfortunate vamp standing to my right. He doesn’t move, not even a tiny little flinch, and he still won’t look at me, instead choosing to stare over the top of my head. Rude. “I don’t understand why everyone is acting all freaky. Spill it.”
Luc breaks the silence by opening the refrigerator and grabbing a bag of blood. He eyes it like a drunk in need of a hit. Instead of indulging, he pours the contents into a flask and tucks it into his back pocket. “I’ve got some stuff I need to take care of,” Luc mumbles. He nods at Keller, gives me a weak smile and leaves.
Wimp.
“Um, yeah,” Matthew says, clearing his throat. “I’m gonna go find us a new kitchen table. I’m thinking steel. Alex? You in?”
“Hell, yeah.”
Those are two more words than Alex has said to me since arriving at the lair.
Within thirty seconds, everyone bails with one excuse or another, except Sage and Keller. All of a sudden I’m feeling like I’ve contracted Leprosy. Keller lifts his brows at Sage, clearly dismissing her. She plants herself in a chair and glares at her brother. “I’m not leaving. She may be your woman, but she’s my best friend.”
Kudos for Sage and her newly-found backbone. I’d throw confetti if I weren’t so pissed. “Both of you,” I bark. “Out with it, now.”
Keller runs his tongue across his teeth, stalling.
It’s so quiet, I can hear a clock ticking in the distance. Somewhere in this lair is a non-digital timepiece. Some vampires can’t let go of the past. I’m not judging. I’ve got my own closet of secrets.
Tilting his head to one side, then the other, Keller stares at me like he’s truly seeing me for the first time. When he looks at me like this, it’s like staring into a mirror and seeing the true me, broken and weak. I want to turn away from the pain, the memories. I don’t. That’s not me anymore.
I’m not used to seeing him like this, and I’ll admit, it’s making me nervous. He’s always been intense, but this is…
I cross my arms over my chest. With each passing second, my blood pressure creeps steadily toward you-don’t-want-to-go-there level.
“Have you been feeling any different?” Keller finally asks.
Different? I open my mouth.
“Oh, please,” Sage says, rolling her eyes. She clasps her hands together and nails me with an intense stare. “You were about to incinerate Esmeralda.”
I open my mouth again.
“Literally,” Sage continues, cutting me off before I can speak. “Your arm was all lit up like a sparkler on the fourth of July,” she says, waving her hand around. “Pretty, but very, very weird in a you-totally-creeped-me-the-hell-out kind of way.” She leans back.
Mouth open. Mouth close. I am officially a trout. My immediate reaction is to dismiss this as a joke, an impossibility. Sage’s expression holds a combination of bewilderment and awe. What the hell happened? Why can’t I remember any of it? You’d think with something as epic as this, I’d feel…something. “Truth?” I ask Keller.
“Truth.”
An expression I’m hard pressed to name passes over his face. For a moment I think it’s relief, but I can’t wrap my mind around why. “My arm was on fire? On fire?”
“Sort of,” says Sage.
Keller tilts his head. “Not quite. I can’t technically classify it as fire, though I’m fairly certain you’d have gotten there eventually. Your veins came to life. They looked like feckin’ blue and orange flames dancing on your skin. I could hardly stand to touch you. Your skin…” He shakes his head. “Your skin was blistering hot when you had your fist around Esmeralda’s body. She was gasping for breath and you didn’t even seem to notice.” He pauses, puts two fingers under my jaw and succinctly closes my mouth.
“Sparks sizzled around your hand.” He slides a hand down his face. “I never saw actual fire, but I felt it, Josie. I felt it.”
I shake my head, taking it all in. “I don’t understand how that happened.” Most hunters and huntresses have special powers that show up sometime between the ages of ten and twelve. We’d all just assumed I didn’t have anything unique to offer by the time birthday number twenty rolled around and I was the same old me. My father had thought that maybe I was just a late bloomer, but even he’d given up hope. Was it possible? This late in the game?
“Do you remember any of it?” Sage asks, patting my hand.
“No,” I answer. “Not really. I remember grabbing Esmeralda and pulling her ass out of the jar. I remember what she said. The next thing I remember is Keller freezing my arm off.”
Sage scoots back from the table. “I’ll get you some coffee.”
I smile. “Thanks. I could use the caffeine.” Vampires don’t drink coffee, but their kitchen is well stocked for any humans they bring into their domain. This room is the picture of normal—other than the blood pouches lining the shelves of the fridge.
“Has anything like this ever happened to you before?” Keller’s voice carries a hint of ice.
I jerk from the verbal slap. Suddenly his prior look of relief makes perfect sense. Wow. Really? The room has grown cold, and I welcome the warmth of the coffee cup Sage hands me. Wrapping my fingers around the mug, I inhale deeply before speaking. “Don’t you think I would have shared something like that with you?”
He blanches at my tone. Score one for me. It bothers him that I’m bothered that he’s bothered. Yeah. Round and round and round we go. One of these days, I’m going to plummet from this noxious merry-go-round.
“In Keller’s defense,” Sage say
s. “You’re not always the most open person.”
“Ouch.” I sip my coffee to give myself time to think. “That stings.” Then again, truth often does. Sighing, I say, “Perhaps.”
I stare at my arm. If it happened once, surely I can make it happen again. Instantly, I think of all the ways I could use that kind of weapon to my advantage. I could seriously blow some shit up. I’d finally have a leg—or an arm—up on the demons. Fight fire with fire. Excitement has me smiling into my mug.
Keller laughs. “You’re trying to make your arm light up, aren’t you?”
Setting the coffee aside, I look at him like he’s an idiot. “Duh. Do you have any idea what I could do with flames?” Top of the world.
“A few have crossed my mind, yes.”
Sage groans. “All I see are more ways for you to get hurt. Stop looking at your arm. You’re freaking me out.”
Pfft. “You’re always freaked out.” Still, I stop trying. For now. It didn’t work anyway. My plan is to conserve my energy until I’m alone. Then I can go all gangbusters and find out how legit this power really is. Maybe it was a one-time thing. How sucky would that be? I had a flame-thrower for an arm and totally missed the whole damn thing. My father would know more about this. Too bad he’s stuck in the hunter commune, and the only way to contact him is to actually go there. I can’t spare the time it would take. Not with everything that’s going on. I shake my head. There’s never a good time and I miss the hell out of him.
I stand and stretch. “When you see your boys again, tell them I said wimps suck.”
Keller rises, kisses my forehead. “Not their fault. I told them to beat it.”
“Why?”
“Yeah,” Sage chimes in. “I’d like to know that, too. Family sticks.”
“They’re not family.”
“Wow.” I punch Keller in the arm. “Do they know that?”
Keller blows out a long-suffering breath. “That’s not what I meant and you know it. I just thought it would be better if—”
Dark Secrets: A Paranormal Romance Anthology Page 146
