I wrapped my hands around the blade and pulled it out. Dark blood soaked my chest, my jeans, even the floor of the cave. I ripped open my shirt and watched my skin seam back together. It hurt like hell. I got up and walked to the mouth of the cave. A wash of stars coated the sky like spilled milk. I took a deep breath of the chilly mountain air, which tasted of snow. And then I screamed.
I screamed my rage, and my sadness, and my aloneness. I screamed for my soul, and for my sister’s soul. I screamed my burning desire for revenge, and every ounce of my pain with it. I screamed for all the years, those that had passed and those that would come.
I hadn’t gone looking for him. Though I’d hated him for what he’d done, I’d let it go. Long after the love faded away, and I’d learned of his games. Even when I began to despise the memory of him, I’d gone on with my life. Tried to find what happiness I could.
But now.
Now he’d come to my city. Purposefully. To torture me with the knowledge of my sister, and watch my pain. Now he’d truly gone too far. I could not stand for it. I didn’t know how I was going to stop him, but I would do anything to achieve my goal. Anything. If I spent the next millennia of my life hunting him, I would do it.
First though, I had to get off this fucking mountain. If he hurt Quinn, I’d never forgive myself. He’d said it himself. It was my fault he’d chosen Anna. Now he was after Quinn. As long as he lived, he’d hunt the people I loved, just to entertain himself. I didn’t have time to hike down out of this wilderness and find an airport. I needed to cut between dimensions, like Eli did. And apparently Alexander. If Alexander could do it, I could. Plus, Eli had said it was odd I could even see the space between, meaning I already had a leg up.
I didn’t have any idea how to get there. So I closed my eyes and envisioned what it had looked like. The blackness. Not solid, but kind of like clouds of ink, moving and alive. And the white lights, like coral or lace or tree roots. The feeling, too. I remembered the feeling in my gut, being squeezed for just a moment into nothing, the weightlessness, like I could just float away in the jet black abyss…
My eyes popped open. Shit! I was there. Wherever that was. I hadn’t expected it to be this easy. Now I just needed to get from here to where I wanted to go. I envisioned my apartment. I tried to feel that tight squeeze again that told me I was moving between dimensions.
Nothing happened.
Shit, shit, shit! I just drifted, moving on some invisible interdimensional breeze. I tried not to panic. I seriously doubted that would help. But what was going to happen now? Would I drift here forever? That was a really long time for an immortal. Hell, it’d be an agonizingly long time even if I were just human.
I was drifting towards one of the lacey things, and somehow I felt it would be bad if I touched it. I didn’t know why, but some instinct in my gut told me something dreadful would happen. I tried to move away from it, moving my arms and legs in a swimming motion, but to no avail. My heart started hammering in my chest.
Then something else white started moving towards me. An angel. Eli. He seemed especially glowy, something I hadn’t noticed the other times we’d traveled here, probably because I’d been mashed up against his body. I felt such a wave of relief I thought I might cry. He reached out and grabbed my hand, pulling me against his chest. His heart seemed to be pounding, too. And then I blinked and we were standing in my apartment.
We stood for a moment, arms wrapped tightly around each other. Then I felt the rise of his chest as he took in a breath, and I extricated myself, feeling awkward. Which was a ridiculous thing to feel. I never felt awkward. “Thanks, Eli. I was, uh, pretty much up a creek without a paddle before you came along.”
“What were you doing in there anyways? Did Alexander leave you there?” His brow furrowed, and he looked both concerned and angry. His expression became even more angry when I told him what had happened.
“So, you actually got into the between space yourself?” Eli’s eyes held disbelief.
“Yeah. Alexander just left me in the cave, and said he was going to—” I jumped up. “Shit—Quinn! He said he was going to find her, and—”
“Calm down, Zy. She’s with two dozen angels and shapeshifters. She’ll be fine.” He took my shoulders. “It’s you I’m worried about.”
“You’re sure she’s fine?” He nodded reassuringly. I sighed and shuddered. “Eli, what are those white things in the between space?”
“They stabilize things. The space between dimensions is very unstable, especially with different beings popping in and out all over the place.”
“So if I had crashed into one of them?” I bit my lip.
“It would have caused a major interdimensional shift. That often translates into an earthquake or tsunami on earth.”
“It’s a good thing you came along when you did, then.” I leaned back on the sofa, suddenly feeling very tired. “How did you find me, anyways?”
He leaned back too, and turned his head to the side to look at me. “I kind of figured Alexander was just going to drop you somewhere in there. How he even knows how to travel that way is another question. But anyways, after you two disappeared, Anna took off, and I jumped into the between space and started surfing around trying to find you. I’d been in there for a while when—” He stopped.
“When what?” I pressed.
“I kind of felt you pop into the between space.” I raised an eyebrow. “I don’t know how. I guess you have a unique aura or something.”
I laughed. “Okay. I’ll take your word for it.”
We were quiet for a few moments. “So, your sister…” Eli trailed off. “I’m sorry, Zy.”
I felt tears needling the corners of my eyes. “Yeah. I just can’t believe she would willingly stay with him.”
“Wouldn’t you have?” His tone was gentle.
I opened my mouth, then closed it again. “Yes. But I would never have taken his side against her.” Of course though, she hadn’t killed our father. My chest felt tight.
“I’m sure he’s told her all sorts of lies. He’s had two centuries to manipulate her.”
“I guess.” I looked up at the ceiling, feeling the full weight of my misery pressing down on me.
“You need to get her alone,” Eli said. “Tell her your side of the story.”
I looked at him, fighting a roll of my eyes. “Do you really think that’s going to work?”
He held my gaze. “You’ve got to try. Because otherwise, she’s going down as an accessory to attempted assassination of the HR.”
I felt like he’d just punched me in the gut. That horrible possibility hadn’t dawned on me yet. But of course he was right. It was out of my hands—the NHTF was involved now. If Anna got caught, she’d spend a very long time in one of their special prisons for supernaturals. I’d heard they were awful. They had these injections to suppress a supe’s natural powers, but they took away more than that. The supes that got the injections usually ended up in more or less of a vegetative state, with practically no mental or physical control of themselves.
“Maybe I can get her to help us track him down. If she provided valuable intel, they’d make a deal with her, right?” My voice sounded desperate even to my own ears.
Eli didn’t meet my eyes. “I don’t know. Maybe.” He sighed. “It would certainly go over better than if she resists.”
Another silence fell between us. As I opened my mouth to say something, Quinn and Riley came through the front door.
“Zy! What happened?” Quinn called, heading towards me.
“I’m too tired to talk about it now, okay?”
Quinn’s eyes flicked to Eli, as if debating whether he would let her pump him for info. “Are you crashing here?” she asked him.
He looked over to me before turning to Quinn, then said, “Thank you, but no. I need to get back to headquarters.”
“You know, you’ve got to sleep at some point, too,” I said in a chastising tone.
“I’ll keep th
at in mind.” A slight smile turned up his lips.
After he left I took a quick shower and climbed into bed. I couldn’t sleep, though. I felt restless and anxious, and as I tried to pinpoint the source, it suddenly hit me. Doubt.
I hadn’t had any reason to doubt anything in a very, very long time. I was good at the things I did, whether it was making a cocktail or tracking down a rogue werewolf. But now I’d come up against something that seemed beyond my skills. Alexander. He was so old. He’d shown me clearly I was no match for him. And this time, it wasn’t simply my personal pride on the line. There were lives at stake. The HR’s. Quinn and Riley. Donovan and his crew. My sister. Even Eli.
Everyone expected me to be the magic fix to this problem. The HR had picked me specifically, when he had a whole legion of angels at his disposal. But what if I couldn’t save the day? What if I couldn’t do anything but watch these horrible events unfold?
The sun was hours old when I finally succumbed to sleep.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Subsequently, I felt fairly grouchy when I awoke a couple hours after sunset. This fact wasn’t lessened when I walked into the living room to find a bunch of shapeshifters, including a particular panther.
“Uh, hi,” I said groggily. “Make yourselves at home.”
“Riley and Dan let us in,” Donovan retorted cheerfully.
I looked across the room to see Riley and Dan sitting together on the couch. Dan had been here last night, too, after I got back from my little visit with Alexander. And come to think of it, he’d also been here before, when half the city was guarding my apartment after I’d gotten jumped in the alley. I hid a smile and headed to the kitchen for some Fruit Loops. “Anybody want anything?”
“I’m kinda hungry,” Donovan called as I walked off.
Next thing I knew the stovetop was covered in skillets and about half a meat market worth of bacon, sausage and ham was sizzling away. “Why are you here anyways?” I asked, leaving Riley and Dan to attend to the cooking.
Donovan pointed to the papers spread out on my coffee table. “Me and the crew are just making lists of possible hiding places for Alexander, dividing the city into search quadrants, and figuring out which informants we’re going to call.”
I eyed the half dozen other shifters sprawled out over the living room. Huh. They hadn’t really struck me as the plan-ahead types. “Alright. Well, it wouldn’t kill you to call ahead next time.”
He smiled. “I left you a message.”
I narrowed my eyes and went to grab my cell phone. Sure enough, its sleek black exterior had turned to red, and when I picked it up a little hologram of Donovan popped up, telling me he was on his way with a couple friends. Man, I must have been dead asleep.
When I walked back out, Quinn had emerged from her room and was complaining about the smell. “There’s plenty to go around,” Donovan joked.
“Oh, yes, because frying meat is a vegetarian’s dream.” She glared and went to make her usual breakfast granola.
I took a seat next to Donovan. “Well, I’ve got another couple hours before I’m meeting up with Eli. What’s your plan?”
Donovan turned and gave me an appraising look. “I never thought I’d see the day when Zyan Star was working for God. And the government.”
“Well, for once we’re trying to accomplish the same thing—stop Alexander.”
“Stop? Or kill? Somehow I don’t think the HR has given you permission to off your ex.” His voice held a tone of amusement.
I shrugged. “Okay, so we’re trying to accomplish almost the same thing.”
“What’s your plan, then? Are you going to go rogue at the last second and somehow get away with murder?”
His line of questioning was starting to give me a headache. I raised my hands in exasperation. “I don’t know, okay? Maybe I’ll “accidentally” kill him. It’s not like he’s going to just come quietly. It’ll pretty much be self defense.” When Donovan tossed me an infuriating smirk, I resisted the urge to throw all his papers in the air. “I’m not into this whole planning thing. I’ll cross that bridge when I get there.”
“Your boyfriend’s not going to be too happy about that.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Quinn pause on her way back from the kitchen, gauging my reaction. “My what? Who are you referring to?”
Donovan just smiled. “That angel. Eli or whatever his name is.”
“You’re joking, right? Me and him?” I sighed dramatically to emphasize the absurdity of the statement.
“You two seemed awfully cozy the other night.”
Some of the other shifters hid grins. “I already told you, he was healing my wounds from the demon attack. Why do you care anyways?”
“I don’t. Just curious who you’re shacking up with these days.” He leaned back and laced his fingers behind his head in a gesture of nonchalance.
I rolled my eyes. “Yeah. Because a girl couldn’t possibly be perfectly content on her own. Without a man. What a crazy concept.”
“Are you two done with your banter?” Riley swept into the room with platters of meat. “It’s exhausting just listening to you.”
Everyone but me and Quinn clustered around the coffee table, and for a couple minutes only the sound of chewing and contented sighs filled the air. Even Riley the health nut was wolfing it down. Pun totally intended.
“So, Dan,” I said. His brown eyes popped up to meet mine. “You run in a pack, or are you a loner like Riley?”
“I’ve got a pack,” he answered.
“They must think we’ve abducted you or something these last few days.” I smiled as he blushed in response.
“Riley’s not a loner. He’s an honorary member of my pack,” Donovan said.
“That’s sweet. But these two bitches are plenty of pack for me,” Riley said with a nod in me and Quinn’s direction.
Donovan busted out laughing. I grinned and looked over at Quinn, who had already sidled up next to one of the cute shifter boys named Patrick, pretending to help him with his quadrant. “Takes one to know one,” she retorted.
“Touché.” He dipped his head towards her.
“Not to change the subject to a shitty one,” I began, “But something’s come up that you need to know about Alexander.” I filled Donovan and his pack members in on the appearance of my sister.
“Man, that’s tough, Zy.” Donovan laid his hand on mine. His warmth rushed up my arm and for a second I wondered what his life force would taste like. My hunger was putting me on edge again. Big time. With all the injuries I’d sustained the last couple days, I was going to need to feed again soon.
“Yeah. I’m hoping I can get her to work with us so she won’t get locked up by the NHTF. Until then though, keep an eye out for her when you’re out looking for Alexander.”
We went over various plans for the next few minutes, then Donovan announced they were going to hit the town and start looking. “I guess we’ll meet up with you later?” he asked.
“Probably. Not sure what Eli’s plans are, so I’ll let you know.”
Donovan and his crew filed out of the apartment. “He was always my favorite one of your boyfriends,” Quinn said wistfully. “I wish you two could work it out.”
“There’s just that pesky cheating habit of his,” I said, propping my feet up on the coffee table.
“He seems a lot more together than he used to be, though,” Riley added.
“Quit ganging up on me,” I groaned. And for once they actually let it go.
Dan announced he had to leave for a pack thing, which left me, Riley and Quinn to talk about the bar schedule for the week. After a few more minutes of lounging around, I got up to get dressed. A bit later as I walked back out into the living room, I heard Riley announce, “I smell smoke.”
Me and Quinn stared at him. “I don’t smell anything,” I said.
“I’m telling you, something is burning.”
“In here?” Quinn asked, glancing around.
“No. Somewhere out in the city.”
“I’m sure your sense of smell is good and all, but how could you possibly—” I cut off as he whipped open the blinds in the living room to reveal the glow of a large fire off to the northeast. He gave me a smug smile. “Impressive. I stand corrected.”
“That’s pretty major,” Quinn said, peering anxiously through the glass.
Riley flipped on the TV. An anchorwoman from one of the local channels appeared, looking rather panicked. “I’ve just appeared at the scene of a large fire south of the Needle, around the area of 5th and Wall Street. It seems that some sort of protest is going on, led by factions of the supernatural community.”
Martinis with the Devil, Part One Page 11
