Shadows of Fate (Shadow Born)

by Angela Dennis

  “So now you don’t trust Adare either?”

  “I’m not saying that. I still trust him, but it doesn’t make sense for him to cooperate with Gray. They don’t know each other.”

  He let out a deep breath. “Do you trust me, Brenna?”

  She hesitated. “Of course.”

  “Good. I didn’t put Gray with you for my amusement. He can be an arrogant ass, but he’s useful.”

  “But—”

  “Not negotiable,” he interrupted. “Cooperate with him. He’s your partner.”

  She let out a breath, sinking against the wall. “Fine. But whatever he does is on you.”

  “Agreed.” He paused. There was frantic yelling in the background. “I can’t get out there today. I’ll send someone when I can for the pickup. Thirty high ranking deviants disappeared last night. I’ve got everyone I can spare working on it.”

  “The demons are stepping up their game.”

  “Clearly. But I want it investigated. It could be a mass drug induced teleportation at a rave, for all we know. They could all be wandering around the Nevada desert naked.”

  “Right. I’m sure that’s exactly what happened,” she replied. “But don’t worry, I’ll keep an open mind.”

  He laughed. “Exactly. No preconceptions. You might miss something.”

  “Aye, aye boss man. I’ll even warn Nevada of possible invading nudists.”

  Gray appeared in the doorway as she ended the call. The look in his eyes reminded her of a teapot that had sat on the stove for so long all the water had evaporated, leaving the metal scorched.

  “He’ll get someone here as soon as he can.”

  Gray remained silent.

  “I needed to call him about something else,” she added, fighting the urge to squirm. “I didn’t remember until I came inside.”

  Gray moved closer until she could feel his breath against her forehead. His hips pressed against her, pushing her backward.

  “Do you mind?” she whispered. She could feel his blood pulsing hypnotically, his breath hot against her skin.

  “I’m tired of playing games,” he said.

  She shook as his fingertip trailed her cheek. He seemed to be in a daze, not quite in control.

  “If you’re upset we shared blood, tell me. I’m not going to tiptoe around you just because you’re sensitive.” She pushed at his chest. He didn’t move. “You said it yourself. My reserves are low. We need each other to keep up our strength.” She pushed again. “Let me go. I need to see Adare.”

  “Adare can wait.”

  When she opened her mouth to speak, he placed one long finger against her lips. “No more words.” And then he claimed her mouth with his own.

  His lips were hard. They slipped her lips open so she could taste his tongue. Unable to resist, she met him stroke for stroke. Her blood rose to a slow boil. The world slipped away in his embrace. She pulled him closer. His hard chest pressed against her breasts. It wasn’t enough. She needed more. Sweat beaded on her skin as her desire for him escalated.

  He released her abruptly, holding her at arm’s length. “Tell me you want me.” He held up a hand as she began to speak. “Not my blood. Me.”

  She took a step back. “We need each other, Gray, but… I don’t even know you.” Nevertheless she was nearly overwhelmed with the desire to be back in his arms.

  “You know enough.” He stepped closer again. “You’ve known me longer than you knew Dunham.” The sound of her husband’s name cut through any desire she’d felt. Shamed at her loss of self-control, she stepped away from Gray. Her body protested.

  Gray watched her, suddenly unaffected. He yawned as if it had all been an act. “Did you have time to go over the rest of the files Seraph brought over?”

  She stared at him, unable to process his words.

  “Brenna?”

  How could he stand there as if nothing had happened?

  She pulled herself together. “I slid them under your door. We can go over them when I get back.”

  Gray called up the stairwell. “Sam! Get down here.”

  A minute later the incubus stumbled down the stairs, shirtless, his jeans barely zipped up. He shuffled across the room in his bare feet. Sam was a living example of why pheromones were a dangerous thing. Two minutes alone was all he needed to have any ordinary woman salivating over him despite his slovenly appearance. Of course, he was gorgeous. That didn’t hurt.

  “What? What happened?”

  Brenna pulled her hands through her hair, trying to hide the fact they were still trembling. Gray had done a number on her, and Sam’s presence probably wasn’t helping. Again, she wanted to grab Gray and finish what he had started. But she couldn’t. And she hated herself for wanting to.

  “Go back to bed, Sam. I’ve got this,” said Brenna.

  Sam flushed. His tan skin swam with color. “Geeze. Come. Go. Make up your minds.”

  Gray motioned Sam forward. “I am going to run an errand,” he said. “Watch her while I’m gone. If she leaves, follow her.”

  Brenna sputtered, “You have no right —”

  “Follow her,” he repeated. He let the front door slam behind him as he left.

  “What did you do to tick him off?” Sam cocked a quizzical brow. “And, uh, is he your boss now?”

  She was so not in the mood.

  She pushed past him up the stairs. “Go back to bed, Sam,” she repeated, heading for her room. Gray had crossed so many lines there weren’t many left. She couldn’t work with the man. He was impossible. Yet she wanted him. Badly.

  She slammed her bedroom door closed and leaned against it, breathing hard.

  She wasn’t an idiot. He saw her as a challenge. What better conquest than the crazy warrior princess? She had to be good for at least four notches in his belt. Yet at every turn he brought up Dunham. She felt guilty enough without his constant reminders.

  Clearly he had another agenda, but she had no idea what it was.

  Once she had calmed down, she stripped off her ratty jeans and other clothes, then grabbed a form-fitting black wool dress from the closet and slipped it over her head. Settling on the bed, she laced up a pair of thigh-high boots.

  If she was going to the Underground, she needed to fit in.

  The metal athame was cold against her inner thigh as she slid it into its sheath. She added a few more knives to the pockets on the strap just in case.

  She couldn’t believe Gray’s behavior. For a moment she had tapped into his barely veiled anger, confused by it. They barely knew each other. There was no reason for him to be so personally invested in her safety or act so possessive, and yet be so passively hostile as well.

  Shadow Bearers were notorious for being hard-hearted and distrusting. Years of civil war tended to do that to a people. As a child you were brought up to trust no one. You were more likely to find solace in the arms of a stranger than the people who brought you into the world. Everything was a power play and everyone was a pawn.

  Closing her eyes, she quickly tapped her power. The only way she would be able to see Adare in a reasonable amount of time without Sam acting as chaperone would be to shift, but it would be draining.

  Connecting into the telepathic link they shared, she called to him. When he answered, she gave him directions to where they would meet. She sensed the man was amused for some reason. Were all the men in her life crazy?

  That, perhaps, was a question better left unanswered.

  When she reached the Underground market, she wrapped her long leather duster around her body to ward off the chill. The tunnels stayed damp year round, but the winters were worse. The musty scent of unwashed bodies assailed her sensitive nose.

  “Looking for me?” Adare placed a hand on the small of her back. She hadn’t even seen him coming. “I hate it when you phase. One of these days, you’re going to sneak up on me and I’ll end up stabbing you.” She blew out a breath.

  “Not that it would hit anything,” he said, amused. “You
didn’t waste any time. Afraid I might have told your guest something important?”

  “Afraid you might kill him for interfering.” She turned to meet his black eyes. “He doesn’t know what you are.”

  “We all have secrets. Gray included. No one can really know anything about the people around them.”

  “If you say so.” She wasn’t going to argue philosophy in the middle of the Underground. “He also doesn’t know you’re a hunter. I need you both in top form, not in a pissing contest.”

  Adare chuckled. “Eloquent as always.”

  She cocked a brow. “You’re ten thousand years old, yet you never refined your sense of humor.”

  He laughed harder.

  “I’ve known him longer than you,” he continued, “and I have never blown my cover. I don’t think he would believe the truth.”

  She looked at him warily. “What do you know of him?”

  Adare shrugged. “Not as much as you’d like, I’m certain. A while back he was seriously injured. His brothers bought potions from me to restore him.”

  “What types of potions?”

  “I adore you, Brenna, but I won’t betray Gray any more than I would betray you to him.” He grinned, his teeth shone in the darkness. “You’ll have to ask him.”

  He took her by the arm and pulled her away from the crowd to a crevice in the tunnels.

  “But I will say this. Be careful with him, Brenna.” She had to strain to hear his words. “There’s something different about him. His blood isn’t pure.”

  “I’ve tasted his blood. I would know if something was wrong with it,” she said, but she mentally played though the possibilities.

  “Don’t pursue this.” Adare paused, looking behind him. “I’ll be in touch. You don’t need to protect me from Gray or vice versa. We have an understanding.”

  Brenna pulled away. She watched him disappear into the crowd. Her purpose in meeting him had not been accomplished, but to stay too long would put them both at risk. Adare was a creature of ancient blood. His senses were more refined than hers. If he thought there was something strange about Gray, there was. But what? How could she find out without putting him on the defensive?

  She allowed herself some time to wander through the crowds and stalls as her mind puzzled through the information. As she turned down one particularly narrow alley she caught sight of Hilda. With a sigh, she waved the ghost over.

  Spying on me? Brenna asked, speaking telepathically. Or are you down here for a more innocent reason?

  You mean aside from watching you get up close and personal with the leader of all demonic evil? Hilda flickered through the crowd. Sam called me when he noticed you’d bailed. I was down here trying to investigate one of Mira’s leads.

  Find out anything?

  Just some rumblings. More than thirty went missing this week. The deviants are starting to go to ground. They don’t feel safe. Hilda’s form disappeared for a brief moment, then blinked in right in front of Brenna. “I also found this.” She handed her a ripped piece of paper. “It reeks. Smells like that case Gray left in the shed.”

  Brenna breathed in the scent. Manticore. It was identical to the one with Xavier’s body, mixed into the poison. They were getting close.

  “Where did you find this?”

  Hilda grinned. “It was in Adare’s pocket. He was so distracted, he didn’t notice.”

  Brenna unfolded it slowly. Crusted in blood, it appeared to be an incantation of some type. The smell of manticore permeated the parchment, so she shoved it in a small evidence bag she pulled out of her duster.

  Hilda smirked. “You’re such a girl scout. What now?”

  “Let’s get back to the house. I need to see Gray.”

  Brenna shifted back into the dining room. She needed to recharge. Bad.

  Sweat pooled in the small of her back as she lifted the latch to the pantry that led to her secret stash. Mira would have to use the synthetic from now on. Brenna couldn’t afford to waste any more of hers.

  “Issues?”

  She jumped, pivoting to find Gray leaning against the sink. The light of the moon tickled his dark hair, giving the false appearance of a halo.

  “Just thirsty.” She tilted the bottle to her lips and drank.

  He moved forward. “I thought we agreed this wasn’t necessary.”

  She clutched the bottle possessively in one hand. “No. You decided. Unilaterally.”

  He chuckled. “I’ll let it go. For now. But you do need your strength.” He handed her a package. “It’s from Seraph. A new phone. Direct imprint for Seraph’s line only. He thinks we have a mole.”

  “What?”

  “The team Seraph assigned to the murders is dead. Miles. Shepard. All of them. Everyone at headquarters is in a panic. Our phones were imprinted for the entire IRT team to network with, so he’s not taking any chances. He’ll go over the details with you tomorrow.” He held out a hand. She slipped her old battered phone from her long coat, and placed it in his palm.

  With a wave of his hand, the window above the sink opened. He tossed the phone into the snow.

  “How did your conversation with Adare go?”

  She slipped into a chair at the kitchen table, taking another sip to recharge. “Fine. He seems to like you.”

  “Everybody does. I’m a people person.”

  She bit back a snide remark, but couldn’t help rolling her eyes.

  “Mira came back. She wants to talk to you about recruiting Claudius and his people to help us. Apparently she thinks he’s innocent.”

  Brenna looked up at him, unbelieving. “Mira said that? Claudius is a lot of things, but not innocent.”

  Gray shrugged. “It couldn’t hurt to have more people on our side. Especially now.” He flipped around a chair and straddled it. “Our resources may be cut off.”

  She was about to speak when Hilda materialized, picking her fingernails with the tip of her dagger. “We have a visitor,” she said, motioning toward the door. “I tried to get him to come in, but I think he fainted.”

  “Who is it?” Gray rose to his feet, reaching for the katana at his back.

  “I don’t know. He’s on the front porch. Kind of splayed out, like this.” She flopped out, in the air, like she’d been hit in the head with a bowling ball.

  “You’re a big girl,” said Gray. “I’m sure you can handle it. Go. Fetch.”

  Hilda turned her gaze to him. “I could kill you in your sleep, bloodsucker.”

  Gray smirked. “You could try.”

  “Knock it off.” Brenna drained the bottle in case this was serious. “Hilda, please deal with whoever it is. Gray do… whatever it is you do.” She moved across the room and tossed the bottle into the metal sink. “I need to talk to Mira. Where is she?”

  Hilda shrugged. “I’d tell you, but I have to put on my big girl panties and deal with the human passed out on the front porch.”

  Brenna froze.

  “Human?”

  “Yeah. Some kind of delivery person. He has a package beside him on the ground. I think he might have thrown up on it when I threw the stiletto at him because it smells bad.”

  Brenna sprinted for the front door, and flung it open, Gray behind her. A human courier lay flat on his back in the snow by the steps. Crouching in front of him, she waved a hand over his face. A few seconds later his eyes began to open.

  Screaming, he tried to get to his feet, but fell back down again with a heavy thud. Brenna offered a hand, but he stared at her, terrified. Brenna looked to Hilda.

  “You’re supposed to be nice to humans.”

  The ghost stuck her tongue out and disappeared with a giggle.

  “I’m sorry.” She once again offered her hand. “She’s like an overgrown child sometimes. She’s jealous you have a pulse.”

  Half of that was a lie, but it made the middle-aged man feel somewhat better because he took her hand and righted himself.

  “Was that a ghost?” His voice wavered.

/>   “Yeah.”

  “First time for everything, I guess,” the man said, starting to recover his wits. I have a package for you.” He shoved a clipboard at them. “Either of you can sign. I don’t care.”

  Brenna scratched her signature then handed it back. “Thanks. We’ll take it from here.”

  He scrunched up his face and pointed to the box he’d dropped on the porch. “You might want to open it outside. It stunk up the whole truck.” He waved as he walked off. “Teach your ghost some manners, would you?”

  “I’ll talk to Hilda,” Gray said, once the delivery man drove off. “A lesson in self-control might go a long way.”

  “Good luck.” Brenna couldn’t wait to hear that conversation. She followed him back to the porch.

  And froze.

  The large nondescript brown box lay on the rickety planks beside the door and she knew from the smell what had to be inside. Pulling a knife from her pocket, she stripped the packing tape. Once the tape had been cut she pulled back the flaps and looked inside.

  She jerked back, tears streaming down her face.

  “Quietus,” she gasped, pushing Gray back with her body. “I must have punctured something in there. Don’t touch it.”

  The flaps of the box danced in the wind, when they pulled apart she saw the glimmer of cartoon wrapping paper. Another body, or part of one.

  They couldn’t examine it further. Not without risking contamination both of the scene and their own blood.

  The longer the box sat open the stronger the smell of death and poison and manticore blood became. Gray pushed her into the house, but her eyes were already glazed, her skin began to burn. Their last exposure to Quietus had weakened her more than she’d expected. Even this short exposure was leaving her ill and drowsy.

  “I’ll call Seraph.”

  Nodding, Brenna sank onto the sofa. She had known this was coming. She wanted to rip apart the box, confirm what she already knew, but she could do nothing. Except wait.

  Chapter Nine

  Brenna forced herself to wait in the kitchen, a coffee cup gripped in one hand. Sam and Mira had both gone out for a bit, filled with questions Brenna was not yet able to answer. It felt like hours before three IRT vehicles pulled up outside the house. By the time Seraph showed up at the back door, she was tired of waiting.