“The kander roots need to be shaved down,” Valkyrie heard herself say without thinking.
Kyaerin glanced down at the flaky, brown roots in her hand. “I am certain they need to be chopped.”
Valkyrie crossed to the table. “The consistency will overwork the elixir. Chopped is too coarse. It needs to be fine to dissolve quickly and only about a quarter of the amount you have.”
She took the roots when offered to her and pulled a dagger from her inside jacket pocket. Carefully, she ran the blade over the tuber.
“Have you done this before?” Kyaerin asked.
“I wasn’t always permitted to fight,” Valkyrie answered simply. “During the war, my sisters fought. I was in charge of the preparation.” Task complete, Valkyrie grabbed a piece of paper and gently swept the shavings onto it. She passed it to the other woman. “Sprinkle lightly,” she instructed. “And stir.”
Kyaerin eyed her a second before doing as instructed.
Valkyrie searched through the vials for the next ingredient. “You are out of brimstone.”
“Bottom drawer,” Kyaerin said, shifting her body away to allow Valkyrie to pry open the bottom drawer of the desk.
“Brimstone?” Riley arched a brow at them. “Like fire and brimstone?”
The bright, yellow powder sat hidden amongst an arsenal of other powders and liquids, all in jars. There were baggies of herbs, roots, and other items, but Valkyrie shut the drawer and rose. She held the bottle out to Riley.
“Brimstone is the archaic term for sulfur.” Valkyrie told her. “No more than a pinch.”
“Maybe you should do it,” The redhead suggested warily. “You clearly know what you’re doing and I might set us all on fire.”
Valkyrie frowned at her. “You won’t learn if you don’t do it.” She stalked around to stand at the other woman’s side. “Pretend like you’re cooking and this is salt.” She pressed the vial into Riley’s palm. “You only require but the smallest pinch between your thumb and finger.”
“What if I grab too much?”
“Small pinch,” Valkyrie repeated.
Riley’s apprehension was a solid force wafting off her as she uncorked the bottle and reached inside. Her hand trembled and Valkyrie had to set her own overtop to keep the powder from flying everywhere.
“That is good,” she said when Riley pulled back her hand, the tips of her thumb and finger dusted with sulfur.
“Is it safe to get on my skin like this?” Riley wondered.
“You are immortal,” Valkyrie reminded her. “This will not kill you. Now sprinkle.”
Extending her hand, she spun her hand over the bowl, letting the fine powder coat the surface. Kyaerin quickly stirred it in.
“Look at that,” Valkyrie said, stepping away. “You didn’t catch on fire.”
Riley glowered at her. “Ha-Ha.” Her lips bowed into a grin. “Thank you.”
Valkyrie moved away, uncomfortable with the appreciation. “You should wash your hands.”
No sooner had she spoken when footsteps rang through the hallway and Liam strode in followed by Octavian, Magnus and Reggie. Valkyrie waited for the final Maxwell, but the doorway remained empty.
“Where is he?” her mouth asked before her head could tell it to keep quiet.
“Barricading the doors,” Liam said. “He should be joining us in a moment.”
Despite the reassurance, Valkyrie’s gaze kept straying to the door. Her ears perked with every rustle, every scuffle of feet. Whatever concentration she’d possessed moments ago lay in ruins around her as her mind kept shifting between measuring ingredients and watching the door. After a moment, when she nearly mixed gale powder with base oil, she backed away from the table and let the other two finish before she set the place on fire.
He arrived almost ten minutes after everyone else. The sight of him calmed the tension stiffening the length of Valkyrie’s spine and she allowed her mind to return to the rest of the room.
“Mo chroí?” Liam unfurled his fingers towards his wife.
Kyaerin dusted her hands off on her slacks and skirted around the desk to take the hand offered her.
“I won’t keep you long,” he promised her, kissing her fingers. “But this is important.”
Kyaerin smiled beautifully and touched a hand to his chest. “Keep me.”
With that, she moved to the sofa and sat. The others followed, taking their places around the coffee table. Each one seemed to have a spot and they were drawn to it. Octavian and Riley took the end on the left sofa. Next to them sat Imogen and finally Kyaerin. Reggie and Magnus took the sofa opposite with enough room for Gideon and Liam sat in the armchair facing them all. There was no place for Valkyrie in their little circle. She was an outcast. The one that didn’t belong.
A warm hand settled on the small of her spine. The pressure nudged her forward a step before she thought to glance up. Gideon met her gaze. He ignored her confused expression by guiding her to the empty spot next to Magnus. He sat her down before propping a hip against the armrest next to her shoulder. His closeness draped a warm blanket of comfort around her shoulders and she found her body leaning into it, into him before she caught herself.
“We are under attack,” Liam began. “Unlike the other houses, we are not equipped with an army. Our numbers are small, but we have survived worse.”
“But who is attacking us?” Kyaerin demanded.
“And why?” Riley piped in.
“I truthfully do not have the answer to either of those things,” Liam replied. “Someone is killing veil creatures and leading all the bread crumbs to our door. While we are not in direct war with the other houses, we cannot rule them out.”
“Reginald was going to tell us who and why,” Magnus said. “But he was killed before he could.”
Liam nodded in confirmation and fixed his eyes on his wife. “Did you know him?”
Kyaerin frowned. “No, I don’t recall having ever seen him before.”
“He was quite adamant that you be present,” Liam said. “He insisted the matter involved you greatly.”
Kyaerin shook her head. “I don’t think I have ever met anyone named Reginald.”
“He said he had an investment in our future,” Reggie piped in.
“Valkyrie’s future,” Magnus corrected. “He said he had an interest in her future and it was in his best interest to make sure she succeeded.”
“He gave her this.” Gideon dug into his pocket and brought out the vial and set it on the coffee table. “He said it would save her life and that I would know when it was needed.”
His mother reached for it and held it up to the light. “What is it?”
“He never said,” Liam replied.
She set it down gently and simply stared at it. “I feel like we are in the midst of a game and everyone is privy to the rules, but us.”
“It is clear that someone is playing us, but the question is who and to what end.” Leaning forward, Liam rested his elbows on his knees and clasped his hands, bringing the steepled fingers to his lips. “Until these questions are answered, I am putting the manor on lockdown.” His gaze went to his wife. “No one is getting in, or out.”
“Is that a good idea?” Riley piped in. “I mean, I know you guys have been doing this for ... well, a long time, but won’t you be in just as much risk just sitting here with all the doors locked?”
There was no impatience on Liam’s face when he answered, “What would you suggest, Riley?”
“Well...” Riley began slowly. “Maybe going into hiding? Somewhere safe? Somewhere far from here.”
Liam nodded. “Under different circumstances, I would agree. But you can’t run or hide from demons or angels.”
“Angels!” Riley’s crimson eyes widened. “Wouldn’t they know who’s doing this?”
“Even if they did, they will not help us,” Valkyrie said.
“But they’re angels,” Riley stressed.
“The only creatures they care about a
re the humans,” Octavian said. “If we can somehow destroy ourselves, the happier they’d be.”
“A few demons and veil creatures getting killed only makes their jobs easier,” Gideon piped in.
“But...” Riley went quiet with a defeated sigh.
Octavian gently ran a hand through her curls. She leaned back into him and earned a kiss to the back of her head. Valkyrie watched them, wondering how one got so comfortable with another person. How did they make it seem so simple? She tried to imagine herself openly touching Gideon, even holding his hand, and she was wracked with embarrassment. Public displays of affection was unheard of and unrealistic in her world. She had never heard of anyone loving another person. Not lovers. Not parent to child. Love was an anomaly, something to be mocked, and more importantly, feared. Even the word itself wouldn’t exist if Harvesters had their way. Yet, she had loved Gideon. From the moment they had first met, she had felt something for him that surpassed all her training.
A light tug on her hair averted her attention away from the pair making her long for things she didn’t deserve. Her head turned and she found herself peering up at Gideon. A strand of her hair was coiled around his finger. The darkness of it clashed with the paleness of his skin. He peered down at her with eyes the color of a stormy afternoon and she had an inexplicable urge to touch him, to smooth her fingers over the rough bristle darkening his jaw and trace the full curve of his mouth. While the longing was nothing new, the sudden burst of desperation behind it was.
As though sensing her dilemma, the hair unwound and his fingers were slipping beneath the heavy weight to curl tenderly along the nape of her neck. The skin on skin contact sent a rush of heat washing through her. A gasp slammed into the back of her clenched teeth and she quickly smothered it into submission.
Don’t touch me! She wanted to scream at him, to slap his hand away and distance herself from the pleasure a simple touch could invoke.
More, the other part of her begged.
She was rewarded by the faintest ghost of his just fingertips tracing the seam curving from jaw bone to shoulder. Her body erupted into goose bumps and she nearly sobbed under the sheer intensity of that single caress. Somewhere, buzzing just out of reach, she was vaguely conscious of Liam speaking. But her mind refused to take part. It was sheer grit, stubbornness, and apprehension that finally stole her back.
“I will seal us down at midnight,” he finished.
Valkyrie struggled to catch up, to see what she’d missed, but no one else said anything.
“For how long?” she asked, breaking the silence.
“As long as it takes,” Liam answered easily.
“So we will do nothing?” Valkyrie’s earlier moment of temporary weakness sunk beneath a river of indignation. “We will hide here until ... what?”
Liam looked puzzled. His gaze darted from his wife back to Valkyrie. “We will continue to search and hunt, as I said,” he said carefully. “But the manor will be on lockdown until we have captured those responsible.”
She felt tendrils of heat curl up her throat to tickle her cheeks; she must have missed that part of his speech.
He offered her a gentle smile that only made her mortification feel all the worse. “We do not hide, despite what your father might think.” While the words were a direct jab, there was no heat behind the comment. Only a matter of fact. “Nor do we allow others to harm those we care about.” He turned back to the others, releasing her from his calm gaze. “There are a few hours before I set the seals. If there is anything that requires your attention beyond those doors, please do them quickly and stay in pairs. You have until midnight.”
The meeting dispersed almost immediately. Everyone rose and filled the room with the rustle of movement and chatter. Valkyrie turned towards the door and found her way blocked by Gideon.
“We need to talk,” he said.
“What about?” she asked, wishing he would move so she could escape to her room.
His mouth parted, but whatever words were about to come out were stopped by another presence moving to stand next to Valkyrie.
Riley smiled at her hesitantly, then at Gideon. “Sorry! I don’t mean to interrupt.”
Gideon shook his head. “What’s up, squirt?”
She wrinkled her nose at him. “Really?”
He took a step forward and loomed drastically over her to the point where she had to tilt her head all the way back to peer up at him.
He smirked. “You’re so cute from all the way up here.”
Riley jabbed him in the abdomen with one finger, doubling him over with a puff of air. “How about now?”
He put up a hand. “You win.”
Satisfied, Riley turned to Valkyrie. “I was hoping I could talk to you?”
Grateful for any excuse not to have to face Gideon while her emotions were unstable, Valkyrie nodded. She followed the girl out the door and down the hall towards the stairway.
“I’m sorry if I interrupted you guys earlier,” Riley said as they descended the steps. “I just really can’t trust the others.”
Valkyrie peeked at the girl from the corner of her eye. “Yet you trust me?”
Riley met her curious glance. “No ... I mean, yes ... I do with this.”
Intrigued and wary, Valkyrie said nothing as they broke into the kitchen area and the dark room beyond it.
Reginald’s body was gone and his blood had been scrubbed clean from the table and floor. Zane was also gone. The hulking monster no longer stood looming by the door and she wondered how Gideon had done it.
“Looks weird in here with all the lights off,” Riley mused a little nervously.
Valkyrie turned to her. “What is it you needed?”
Looking small and pale in the semi darkness, Riley met her gaze. “Will you go hunting with me?”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
In the silence, it was impossible not to hear Riley’s request and yet, Valkyrie had a hard time deciding if she’d heard her correctly.
“Hunt?”
Riley grimaced. “Not your kind of hunt. I mean, I don’t want to kill demons, or anything. I mean...” She faltered, pinching her lips together tightly. “My ... my kind of hunting.”
Valkyrie’s eyes narrowed. “You mean feeding?”
If it were possible for a strigoi to blush, Valkyrie would have accused Riley of doing so. Color darkened the other girl’s cheeks.
“Why not ask your husband?” Valkyrie asked. “Or one of the others?”
Riley sighed. “They all mean well, even Magnus, but you helped me last time and if you could just show me how ... I can do it myself.”
Valkyrie frowned. “You didn’t seem to have a problem the last time we went.”
“No,” Riley agreed. “I don’t have a problem feeding, exactly. I have a problem finding who to feed on,” she finished weakly. “I don’t ... I don’t want it to be someone ... innocent, in case I hurt them.”
Understanding dawned and Valkyrie appraised the other girl quietly.
“Please,” she added. “I know Magnus would, maybe even Gideon, but I don’t want them seeing me like that. It’s a little embarrassing, kind of like getting your period for the first time and having an audience of men telling you how to get the tampon in right.”
Considering what they were talking about, Valkyrie cringed at the description.
“I will help you,” Valkyrie decided. “But only if you never use that metaphor again.”
Beaming, Riley nodded. “Promise.” She checked her watch. “There’s three hours before midnight. I’ll grab my coat and—”
“You want to go now?”
Riley blinked. “Yes, unless it’s not a good time for you?”
Valkyrie hadn’t thought about it, but then, would there be a better time?
“Now’s fine.”
She waited by the backdoor for Riley to run upstairs and grab her coat, although why she needed it was beyond Valkyrie. The girl no longer felt cold. Nevertheless, she said
nothing when the redhead bounded down the stairs and threw open the only door not blocked up yet. Crisp, autumn leaves crunched beneath their feet as they made their way around the house towards the path. Neither spoke, and that suited Valkyrie just fine.
Finding bad people was an art of sorts. Most of those who were truly rotten to the core were the ones that no one ever suspected. It was the darkness behind their eyes that gave them away. Valkyrie had learned long ago how to spot the evil at a single glance.
She took Riley to a house. It was a nice house with gray trimming and a white, picket fence. It sat surrounded by other homes with manicured lawns and shiny cars in a well-respected neighborhood. There was a pink bike in front, leaning against the side of a giant oak tree that shaded most of the yard. A swing swayed in the breeze from the lowest branch. The lights were off behind the thin sheet of glass. The darkness painted the sheer curtains a pale gray. A red caravan sat parked in the driveway. They passed it as they skirted around the side towards the back.
“Where are we going?” Riley hissed from behind her.
“The man in this house is a monster,” Valkyrie told her.
“What did he do?” Riley asked.
Valkyrie paused at the corner and peeked out. The yard was quiet. The surrounding houses were still.
“He hurts his daughter,” was all Valkyrie could say without her own rage clouding her thoughts.
Riley didn’t ask what that meant. She followed Valkyrie quietly to the back door and waited as Valkyrie used her dagger to break the lock and ease the patio door open.
Together, they ventured into a neatly kempt kitchen. Everything gleamed despite the darkness. Valkyrie closed the sliding door behind them gently and motioned for Riley to keep going.
“I can smell him,” Riley murmured at the bottom of the stairs. “I can smell what he’s done.”
She bolted past Valkyrie, her feet soundless as she raced up the steps. Valkyrie just reached the top when she heard the scream, the crunch, and then silence. She stayed there, studying a family portrait of a man in his late thirties with dark thinning hair and twinkling blue eyes. He had his arm around a blonde woman with green eyes and pretty pearls at her ears and neck. She had her hand on the shoulders of a pretty girl of eight who had her mother’s smile and her father’s blue eyes. Unlike her parents, her smile was taut. Her blue eyes stared into the lens with a plea in them that no one ever saw, except Valkyrie. She had spotted it the moment the adorable family had crossed her path one afternoon on their way to the park. She’d been hunting. But something about the way the man had his arm around the girl and the way she had peeked at Valkyrie, ashen and tense with desperation had propelled her to follow them.
Gideon's Promise (Sons of Judgment Book 2) Page 38
