Unseen (The Heights, Vol. 1)

by Lauren Stewart

  For the first time in his remembered past, Rhyse wondered if he was still able to lead. Perhaps he had become too human, too focused on his woman, to think clearly. If he’d stayed and investigated immediately instead of leaving to enjoy Addison, he might already know who was responsible.

  Time spent contemplating regrets was time wasted. One could not alter the past, one could only choose their future, until they became dust.

  Dust. Ironically, it was Addison who inspired the idea. Until he met her, Rhyse would never have spared a thought for the number of bodies left behind. Because he’d never cared beyond the political ramifications.

  He sat behind his desk and requested one of his day managers find the telephone number for the director of Seer Affairs.

  Once the director calmed down, Rhyse made his request. “I want a list of every body disposed of after the celebration—separated by race. Do it now and do it quickly.”

  “Yes, my lord.”

  If the perpetrator had acted without his or her race’s knowledge, the list would prove useless. The celebration was far too risky a situation to assert oneself amongst their own kind. But if a group was attempting to manipulate all the other races somehow, they may have evacuated their own prior to unleashing the demons.

  Before he hung up, he decided to take care of one last thing. “Do I strike you as someone who must pay for sex, Director?”

  “Of course not,” he blustered. “What—?”

  “It would make me very unhappy to hear any rumor or disparaging comments about the person I chose to spend time with. In fact, I would take it as a personal insult were anyone to presume that someone is at my side by force or manipulation or any reason other than by their own choice. Do you understand?”

  “Yes, my lord. I’m sure it won’t be a problem.”

  “I agree. Now get me that list.”

  Next he summoned the demon and, because Davyn was a level-one demon, Rhyse used his cell phone. Level-ones were not only the strongest, having fought their way up from level nine, but they could be trusted, inasmuch as any demon could be trusted. And they were free to maneuver above the Earth’s crust, only required to go back to hell every fifty years.

  “What do you want?” the demon answered.

  “This is Rhyse, Davyn.”

  “I know.” He knew and yet he still answered that way.

  “If you were not so good at what you do, I would send a comment card to your master.” Later Rhyse would have to consider his reasons for not already having done so.

  “‘What do you want?’ is a perfectly good way to answer the phone. Because nobody calls me just to shoot the shit. Honestly, sometimes I feel like nobody likes me. And that makes me very sad.” He sniffled melodramatically. “It hurts.” After a long, drawn-out sigh, he stopped faking emotion. “But I’ll rephrase because I respect the huuuuuge set of balls you showed off when you had that seer break the line.” Of course he knew. Even demons outside the pentagram would’ve felt a shift of power when a line was broken.

  “So how’s this,” Davyn continued, “what would you have me do, oh king of everything, Prime of all Primes? If it is within my power and is okayed by the guy downstairs, and you pay me, I shall do it gladly. Especially if it involves killing someone.”

  “It does not. And your attitude makes me wonder how another level-one might answer his or her telephone.”

  “Okay, okay, okay. I’ll play nice. We both know how boring immortality can get. What’s the job?”

  “Track down the warlock who stood for the witches as champion and the—”

  “You know about that, huh?” Without giving Rhyse time to mention the other beings, Davyn gave him the answer. The warlock.

  “You felt the second break in the line.”

  “And the third.”

  Proof positive. A third break meant it was no accident. “Tell me exactly what happened.”

  “Am I still going to get paid?”

  “Tell me, Demon.”

  “Demons don’t get involved in this kinda shit, remember? Even if we were allowed to. So all I’m going to do is remind myself what happened out loud while we’re on the phone. Understand?”

  “I understand.”

  “Dear diary.” He laughed, speaking slowly as if he were writing every word. “O-M-G, what a night to remember. I looked amazing in my—”

  “Davyn,” Rhyse warned.

  “Fine,” he grumbled before going back to his teenage-journal-writing voice. “I couldn’t believe it when the Prime’s pretty new toy broke the line with her drink. Then, when the warlock swiped it...Wow! Of course, only his first swipe mattered. Well, the swipe and the summoning, but I was a bit too distracted by the screaming to know who called the others up from hell. Bummer. Oops, I gotta go. My mom’s coming.” He laughed. “I’ll write more later. Bye.

  “You still there, Rhyse?” The pitch of his voice had deepened to its natural level. “How many times can the same thing happen before you have to stop calling it an accident?”

  “I believe it depends on the individual, but not in this case.”

  “Still want me to track the warlock down?”

  “Yes.” More information was always better than less. A single warlock couldn’t summon that many demons simultaneously, but there was no reason the coven would have. The witches knew they were too weak to ever take power. “Do not hurt him, Davyn.” Until Rhyse understood who was in on the plot and what they intended to accomplish, he couldn’t act against them.

  “Accidents happen,” the demon said. “The world’s a dangerous place. Speaking of, what happened to you? Did somebody really try to take you out?”

  It was almost as if Rhyse felt another stake in his chest. Again, it wasn’t a fatal wound. If the witches set it up to look as though he’d killed beings from other races, then created suspicion and terror at an event celebrating peace in the Highworld, it would seem as though the Treaty had lost its power. And then a war would start. A race war that would distract or take down the strongest beings from all higher races.

  They had already created instability. Everyone was nervous, volatile, wary of the others. If Rhyse didn’t find out exactly who had started it and why the massacre had happened, his zone would be at war.

  By putting a plan into motion, whoever was to blame had already broken Treaty law and had to be punished. Or they all would be.

  “I need the warlock alive, Davyn.”

  “Come on! Even a hound gets a treat at the end of the hunt.”

  “Alive.” He hung up and prepared himself for his next stop. Because it was daytime, he couldn’t phase to Addison’s side, but there was one place he could go. Hopefully, he’d get more answers there…if he asked the right question.

  Fifty-one

  The sound of a muffled ringtone came from under all the crap on Addison’s bed.

  “Where are you?” Rhyse asked, evidently not liking people to say hello when he called.

  “At my apartment.”

  “Alone?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Good. Since you seem incapable of following simple instructions that are only intended to keep your heart beating and mine from combusting, I am sending someone for you.”

  “What time is it? It couldn’t have been an hour.”

  “It has been exactly two hours. Since your last call was late, so was this one. I have ordered a new cellular phone because obviously this one does not work correctly. It shows no message or evidence you even called an hour ago. Late or not.”

  “Rhyse, chill. I’m setting an alarm now. Two minutes before the hour. Are we good?” She knew he hadn’t hung up so she flopped onto her bed and waited. It was impossible to out-stubborn an immortal. “Did you know there’s a special eclipse this afternoon?”

  “Yes,” he said warily.

  “The witches invited me to their viewing party. Imagine me—just a simple toy of the Prime—being invited to a witches’ party.”

  “What did you say?” />
  “I’m your toy.”

  “No, you are not, but I was referring to your other comment.”

  “The—what’s going on?”

  “Do you know why, one hour ago, I did not answer the telephone call you did not make?”

  “No idea.”

  “I went to see the oracle.”

  “Great. How is the old bat?”

  “I saw another.”

  “What did she tell you? That we do it again? Because that’s not news.”

  “I believe that whoever staked me intended to start a war between the races.” Wars for power and position within each race were a constant. That’s why Addison had a job. Or used to have one, anyway. Because they couldn’t seem to stop fighting each other.

  But an interracial war would be far, far worse. The system would crumble, but not in any direction benefitting the seers. Without a ruling body, there were no rules. And with no rules, the worst of each race could ravage the seers and humans unchecked.

  “They thought an interracial war would start if they dusted you?”

  “I would greatly appreciate you not using that expression.”

  “A different word isn’t going to change my meaning.”

  “Their aim was not off. Because little evidence would have remained if they had…finished me off, they deliberately missed a direct blow to my heart. If I had not phased at the exact moment I did, one of your former co-workers or possibly even a human would have found me next to the dead werewolf and the human. It would have looked as if I had not only exposed the Highworld, but had killed beings of other races—both of which break Treaty law.”

  “So they assumed you dusted after you phased. But no one was blamed for your death. Did they just screw it up?”

  “No, you did. By caring for me instead of reporting it. Thank you, Addison. I was very lucky to phase into your pile of garbage.”

  She smiled at the softness in his voice. “I thought you didn’t believe in luck.”

  “Many of my old beliefs have changed of late, but we can discuss that later.”

  “So who tried to du— stake you?”

  “Who gains from a civil war in the Highworld?”

  “Nobody.” Especially nobody mortal.

  “Someone is to blame, Addison. Consider each race.”

  “Angels are out, ghosts…” She rattled off a few others. “If it was a vamp, they’d have killed you.”

  “Out of the others, who was the least attended group at the Treaty celebration when the demons escaped?”

  “No idea. It was too chaotic.”

  “As I believed, as well. Unfortunately, I was too distracted by you to see very much else. But now, I have. And now, you must. Close your eyes and recall what you saw.”

  “You could just tell me, you know.”

  “If I do, you will not believe me. Because you are incredibly stubborn and a terrible listener. If you discover it yourself, there will be no doubt in your mind.”

  “I’m not a terrible listener.” Sighing, she closed her eyes. “The vamps phased out right away. And the demons who weren’t trying to kill everyone. All the seers who couldn’t get out. Obviously a few of the weres hung out.” If they hadn’t, that dog might be out somewhere having a beer with his friends right now. “Angels stayed to help, and only a few mages went to begin with.” Which left the— “Are you absolutely sure?”

  “I have not said a name, so you should ask yourself that question. As for the name that stands in my mind, yes, I am sure.”

  “But I saw some of them. They were there.”

  “How many did you see and which positions in the coven did they hold?”

  “I don’t know their positions. But I saw—” Damn it. When the demons got loose, Herrick was near the front door. He and the others knew to be close to the door. “Why would they want a war?”

  He said nothing, probably waiting for her to figure it out. But that was never going to happen.

  “They couldn’t have known I was going to break the line.”

  “That does not matter, because you failed.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “A witness told me the line was broken three times—once by you and twice near the witch’s champion.” If the witness was the witch’s champion, Addison didn’t think he’d given up that information willingly. Or pain free. But because of his actions, a lot of seers and other beings died. Because of all of their actions.

  “They opened the portal and summoned the demons?” She knew without him saying anything. “The witches. Wow.”

  “You will not go near that event. I still do not know enough about their motives, but you are a weapon. If they ever found out, they might try to use you.”

  How would they find out? Well, Parker was obviously suspicious and they’d never spoken until that night. The night of the party.

  “Who invited you to see the Black Sun?” he asked.

  Oh no. She pictured Dawn’s foggy eyes right before the werewolf bit her. Did those foggy eyes see Addison turn him into the dog? There was no reason Dawn would know anything about the dat vitae, but if she’d seen the were’s transformation, she might be curious enough to ask, say, her new boyfriend.

  Double shit. “Dawn’s dating a warlock.” But she would never betray Addison on purpose—they’d been in the same draft.

  “I will speak to her.”

  “Let me.”

  “You mistake my intent, Addison. When I said I will speak to her, I did not mean a chat between friends.”

  “You’re going to torture her.”

  “I will torture them all, if necessary. If they know of your power, you will never be safe.”

  “You can’t,” she said quickly. “Let me talk to her first. Maybe she wasn’t even involved. It probably wasn’t even about me. They staked you, remember?”

  “I will find that out when I ‘speak’ to her.”

  “What about the coven?”

  “They will not attend. Primarily because they will all be dead.”

  “Rhyse, you can’t.”

  “They attempted to start a war. I cannot pretend it is not what it is and simply let them go. Lock your doors and close all your drapes. Do not open your door to anyone. I will be there as soon as the sun begins to set.”

  “Maybe they put a hex on her.” She ran through her apartment, closing every curtain until the entire place was dark. “Please don’t do anything to her. Let me find out. She’ll tell me. I know she will.”

  “You will do nothing. Nor will I make you a promise I cannot keep. Whoever is a danger to you will die, whether it is one or all of them. Be ready to go when I arrive.”

  She couldn’t let him kill Dawn. She just couldn’t.

  “Have you locked everything up and pulled the drapes yet?”

  “Yes,” she said…from the sidewalk outside her building.

  Fifty-two

  Addison cowered in the shadows across the street from Bella Bru and concentrated on searching the area for magic. Since the café was packed with humans, supers wouldn’t risk exposure by hurting her. So she was safe. For now. She crossed the street at a run and took a seat that had a view of the entire place.

  Dawn showed up a few minutes later, smiling. “Hi! I ran here, so I’m totally sweating. It’s so hot out there.” She couldn’t possibly know anything. The warlock was using her, and Dawn was completely in the dark about all of it, or at least Addison’s part in it. The warlock probably told Dawn to invite the Prime’s toy. Then when the Prime came to get her, they could snatch him. It had nothing to do with Addison’s power. Regardless, she didn’t have time to pretend she cared about the weather.

  As soon as Dawn sat down, Addison leaned forward, keeping her voice low. “Is this eclipse thing a setup?”

  “What? No!” She paused, her brow tightened. “Kind of. But not really.” Then she lowered her head. “Probably.”

  “If you could only pick one, which would it be?” Addison waited, tense and ready for t
he worst.

  “I did what I was told to do. I didn’t know anything until you told me you found the Prime. And I had no idea that Herrick was involved until yesterday.”

  “What did he tell you?”

  “The Prime tried to kill him, they struggled, and Herrick staked him right before the Prime disappeared.”

  “Wow, poor guy. Did he mention why he just happened to have a silver-studded stake with him?” Addison shook her head. “Your boyfriend lied. He and the other witches set the whole thing up. They wanted Rhyse weak, not dust. After Herrick ‘accidentally’ staked him, Rhyse ended up in front of my house, hurt and hungry and pissed off.”

  Her face blanched. “But you’re okay.”

  “I’m not sure that’s true.”

  “If I’d known, Addison…” They’d been friends for years, and supers were incredible manipulators, so it was hard to believe Dawn had done anything deliberately.

  “You really don’t know what’s going on, do you?”

  “Not really.”

  “Weren’t you curious why they wanted me to come to their party? You never thought to ask?”

  “They’re supers!” Dawn flinched and lowered her voice even though neither one of them was speaking above a normal level. Everyone in the Heights knew how to stay quiet. They didn’t even have to try. “You don’t question a super, Addison.”

  That was totally untrue—she questioned Rhyse constantly. Of course, their relationship was far from normal. For starters, their first few days together were spent with him chained up to her bed and close to dusting. Which was totally the witches’ fault.

  Dawn might not have known everything, but she still sold Addison out, and it probably wasn’t for free.

  “What did they give you?”

  “What do you mean?” Dawn leaned back, her hand over her heart.

  “What’d they give you as a reward for your service?”