by Gray Holborn
I swallowed my gasp. The room was filled with maybe two hundred people, all lit up in varying degrees of silver and gold. I knew everyone here would be a supe, but still. Seeing so many in one place simultaneously filled me with fear and excitement. I had chills along my arms. Soren pressed his hand into the small of my back before nodding to the doorman and leading us into the masses. This wasn’t a cocktail party. This was a full on ball. El wasn’t so far off in her costume choices.
“There’re so many,” I whispered, unable to keep the shock out of my voice.
Soren held a long finger up to his lips. “Be careful, Black. I’m not the only one in the room with excellent hearing.” His words skirted along my neck and ear, sending chills down my spine for a completely different reason.
He was right though. If there were any other shifters in the room, we would be overheard. I’d need to keep my commentary to a minimum. I kept my thoughts to myself as I studied the decor. The room’s walls were draped in expensive tapestries and fabrics, lit by hundreds of candles and an enormous chandelier. The guests were dressed elegantly in gowns and tuxedos, with most of the women’s arms covered in elaborate gloves. The scene looked like it was stolen from an old storybook, crafted thoughtfully with an attention to detail that even El would be impressed by.
“Soren Tesker.” A tall, deep-skinned man approached us from behind. “I’d recognize that white-blond head and arrogant strut anywhere.” His words were laced with laughter.
Soren’s hand dug into my back and I felt his posture stiffen. “Rennix. I was in the area, figured I’d stop by and catch a glimpse of one of your famous soirees.”
Rennix smirked, his golden eyes the only clue that he didn’t trust Soren. “Of course. Welcome. This is, perhaps, the most elaborate soiree, as you call it, yet.” He turned to me, his face lighting up in a more genuine smile. I swallowed back the thrill of fear and excitement running through me. He was stunning, even with a mask covering part of his face. “And who is your guest?”
“I’m Od—”
Soren cleared his throat.
“Odette. Thank you for allowing me to be here. It’s quite lovely.” My cheeks reddened, not out of flirtation, but out of frustration with myself for almost revealing my name.
I was so not stealth.
Rennix bowed ever so slightly before grabbing my hand and pressing it to his lips, soft like velvet. “The pleasure is mine. I just ask that you save me a dance later. We can’t leave you with this bore all night. It would be a disservice to such beauty.”
I smiled demurely, taking in the gold aura bathing Rennix. He was a powerful manipulator, that much was clear. Soren had warned me that Rennix was a well-known lion-shifter. Probably the most powerful one alive. But no amount of preparation could prepare me for the predatory strength that practically oozed from his pores.
“Right, well. I better get Odette a drink then. Enjoy your evening, Rennix.” Soren directed me towards the bar, his hand offering a comforting pressure against my lower back.
“Just a glass of red wine for me, please,” I said, as soon as we made it to the marble counter. Really, my nerves wanted something stronger, but I imagined it wasn’t a great idea to try to pull one on Rennix while totally hammered. I thumbed the lace detail along my bodice, hoping that having something to sip on would take the edge off. Pulling a heist in a building crowded with so many supes was a lot less intimidating when we were in a hotel room a whole city away. Now it just seemed like an absurdly naive idea.
“What about you, handsome?” The bartender turned her attention back to Soren, her green eyes unabashedly checking him out. I swallowed my retort, but settled for rolling my eyes at her. It wasn’t even like she could fully see his face. And I was right there. For all she knew, I was Soren’s girlfriend.
“I’ll take Balvenie. Neat.” Soren flashed her a sexy smile, showing just enough of his perfectly straight, white teeth. I ground my own. It didn’t help that the woman was gorgeous, curvy, and wearing a dress that revealed more than it covered.
“Ooh. I like a man with good taste.” Her eyes slid over to me. “Mostly good taste anyway.”
I drank the wine glass, turning away from them as I surveyed the room. I didn’t have time to get in a catfight, though that was perhaps more appealing than stealing some ancient supe artifact.
People were dancing everywhere, but in no single style. There was a feeder couple dancing a slow waltz, and just next to them, a manipulator-feeder duo was grinding against each other like they were in a club. I placed all of my attention on the room’s occupants, trying to ignore the jealousy and annoyance bubbling in my stomach. Soren was an asshole. One I had no interest in, as of twenty minutes ago. I just needed to remind my traitorous body of that fact. And to do that, I’d need to force myself to forget the feel of his lips, and that intense sensation of rightness when we were pressed together. Hormones told lies all the time, nothing to write home about.
My breath hitched as my eyes fell on a nose ring, piercing a familiar woman a few feet away. Her mask was just a thin, translucent piece of lace that disguised nothing but complemented her beautiful caramel skin. Still, the air of knowingness in her sharp eyes made her more mysterious than all the other guests I’d eye-stalked. I cleared my throat, elbowing Soren in the side.
He grunted. “Jesus, what?” He sent an apologetic smile to the bartender before turning back to me.
I pulled myself up on tiptoes, leaning into his ear and speaking as quietly as I possibly could— my words so soft that even I couldn’t hear them. “That’s the supe Michael was with at Inferno. The fire-manipulator.” I nodded discreetly in her direction, disguising the moment as a neck roll. I could be stealth. It was a thing I could try.
He nodded, letting me know he’d keep an eye on her before getting back to the bartender.
I rolled my eyes and stormed off, with my almost-empty glass of wine. If Soren wanted to spend tonight flirting, fine. It wasn’t like Raifus had given us much to go on for this party, plan-wise. We were mostly just winging it. I’d go mingle and see if I could overhear anything interesting while I waited for Raifus’s mysterious clue to direct me to the neutralizer.
After a few feet, I managed to get in the way of four different couples. Which was a special sort of achievement.
“Watch it, girl,” a red-haired feeder woman snarled at me. She yanked her dress out from underneath my shoe, causing me to lose my balance.
A large hand grasped my arm, stopping me before I ungracefully face-planted in the middle of a ball.
So not Cinderella. So not stealth.
“We meet again, Odette.” Rennix’s deep laughter washed over me. “And so soon. It must be fate.”
I nodded, locking onto his golden eyes. “Or clumsiness—” I paused for a beat, considering. “I like the sound of fate better.”
“How about that dance?” He looked back at the bar and tsked. “Since it seems your date is otherwise occupied.”
I nodded, unable to think of a good excuse not to dance with the host. At the very least, it would be a good time to get more information. “I should warn you though. My dancing is no more graceful than my walking.”
“I’m always up for a challenge, Odette.” He wrapped one hand around mine, placing his other against my hip. I smiled softly at the distance he let remain between us. Guys in human clubs could totally learn about manners and personal space from supes. “And if it makes you feel better, I’m an excellent leader.”
I calmed my pulse, moving my glance from the elaborate guests back to Rennix. “So, have you and Soren known each other long?” I asked.
“Since we were children.”
“And judging from your affectionate greeting, I’m guessing you aren’t close?”
He chuckled softly, turning me gently to the beat. I wasn’t a great dancer, but he was—his leading enough to make me look almost coordinated. “You could definitely say that. We had a falling out many years ago, when we were young. That,
coupled with the rivalry between our families? Well, I don’t think our reactions will be affectionate anytime soon.” He paused, looking down at me with a warm curiosity. “And how is it that you came to be close with Soren?”
There was friendliness in his voice and eyes, but there was also power and control, and that same kind of knowingness I’d seen in the mysterious friend of Michael. It was enough to keep me on edge, to keep me alert. I found myself wanting to know the history between Rennix and Soren, but also the history between Rennix and Raifus. Raifus made it clear that Rennix and he had a past, that Raifus wasn’t welcome here. Why? I cleared my throat. “We haven’t known each other long. My brother is an energy user and Soren knows him well. We were introduced through him.”
When in doubt, lie your ass off.
His lips turned down slightly and I sent up a silent plea that he couldn’t hear the pounding of my heartbeat. “I see. And would I know your brother?”
“I don’t think so. He wasn’t raised in the Veil. He was raised with me and my mom. Neither of us have abilities.” There. Very inconspicuous. Vanilla.
A small wrinkle lined his forehead and I began to question whether he believed me. Could shifters sense lies? Did their super hearing and powerful sense of smell work like it did in the movies? From my experiences with El, it seemed unlikely, but I’d have to ask her or Soren about it sometime. Probably would have been smart to ask before tonight.
The teal-eyed butler and intimidator-extraordinaire walked up to Rennix, whispering in his ear. The slight arch of Rennix’s eyebrow coupled with the dark expression washing over his face had me wishing that I didn’t have boring human-level hearing.
Rennix nodded and watched the butler until he disappeared from the room. Then, he looked down at me with a sad smile. “Well, Odette. It seems that I am needed elsewhere. A host’s duty is never done. I do hope that we will meet again, tonight or in the future.” He bowed slightly, kissing my hand once again. “Thank you for the dance.”
And then, like his butler, he left the room.
When I looked around to spot Soren, I found him chatting with the bartender, who was no longer anywhere near her bar, while standing covertly close to the mysterious fire-manipulator. Not wanting to disturb whatever mojo he was working in order to glean information, I walked along the perimeter of the ballroom until I reached the most glorious winding staircase I’d ever seen.
It was then, as I touched the bannister that I felt my necklace pulse. Gently, at first. In fact, I had to concentrate for a moment just to be sure I wasn’t imagining things, that the wine hadn’t gone to my head as they say. But it was there.
Chapter Twenty-five
A soft hum vibrated against my neck, pulling me forward with a quiet yearning.
After glancing around at the dancing, intoxicated guests, I was certain no one was paying me any attention. Soren scanned the crowd. He’d lost sight of me after Rennix left and was turning every which way trying to spot my trail again. Not wanting to call attention to myself by waving feverishly at him, and filled with a sense of fear that the thrum would leave if I walked towards him, I stepped onto the stairs. Because I was sure, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that this was where the necklace was leading me. I silently reminded myself to apologize to Raifus. I thought he was half mad when he told me a necklace could lead me to another necklace.
When I reached the top of the landing, the guests in the ballroom were no longer visible. Which was good, because it meant that I was no longer visible to them either. The pendant was pulsing more clearly now, I could no longer mistake it as my own heartbeat or fleeting fancies caused by too much to drink. I stepped to the right, walking a few feet before I noticed the pulsing grow more faint.
Wrong way then.
I turned back, going left instead and with the encouragement of the necklace walked down a long hallway filled with ugly, abstract paintings that were likely worth a fortune. It took everything I had to keep walking, to not give in to the insane urge to open a few doors and dig through Rennix’s house. The desire to snoop was an insatiable itch. What else could a man like Rennix, with both social and political power, be hiding?
The hallway ended with a room, and when I put my hand against the door, the answering thrum of the necklace assured me this was the next stop on the scavenger hunt. I gripped the handle and turned, praying to the gods that Rennix left the door unlocked.
At the click, I knew that he did. And I understood why. The room was almost empty, just an unused guest room that had nothing but a bed and nightstand. The cobwebs along the posts made it clear the room hadn’t been used in quite a while. It was a strange place to hide such a powerful artifact. Then again, no one who came looking for it would bother searching in such a nondescript room. They’d scavenge for a safe, or look behind the paintings that lined the walls of the house. Raifus’s parlor trick was a useful one; this was the most intense game of hot and cold I’d ever played.
I surveyed the room, trying to quickly catalog any hiding places. Gritting my teeth, I slid my hand underneath the mattress, searching for the neutralizer or holes in the padding to hide it, while fearfully trying to make sure that no spider or other unsightly critter surprised me by skittling across my hand.
Nothing.
I opened the drawer of the cherry-wood nightstand, pressing on all sides trying to find a trap door. There were old postcards and a couple of paperback books. I shook them loose, just in case Rennix went old-school prohibitionist and hid the necklace in a cutout.
Nothing.
There was a small door on the other side of the room that I assumed was a closet. The pulse from the pendant told me this was where I needed to go. When I pulled open the door, instead of finding a closet, I was faced with another staircase, this one much less grand and more worn than the first.
And so I climbed.
And when I reached the top, I found another hallway, about half the length as the other and eerily quiet and abandoned. I couldn’t even hear the loud hum of the party anymore.
It was when I pressed my fingers against the third door on the right that I knew I had found it. The necklace pulsed, a steady beat.
Thrum. Thrum. Thrum.
I couldn’t ignore it now if I wanted to.
This door, unfortunately, was locked. I pulled two bobby pins from my hair, sending silent apologies to El for ruining her hard work. I unbent the metal. Using one as a tension wrench and the other as a pick, I worked the lock as Sam had taught me years ago. I was notorious for losing my keys and he wanted to be sure I’d never get stuck outside in the rain waiting for him. I silently thanked him for being such a badass and for turning my forgetfulness into a useful life skill. That’s what good uncle-brother-friends were for. Still, with someone as rich as Rennix was, I expected a more high tech locking mechanism.
Click.
With a smile I pushed my way into the room, confronted with a wealth of objects, glass cases, and boxes. Knowing there was no way I could sort through all of these items in a few minutes, let alone a few hours, I closed my eyes, shutting off all sensation but the now ecstatic pulse against my chest—
Which wasn’t the greatest idea because I tripped over a box and slammed my head into a shelf lined with pricey looking knick-knacks.
Eyes open then.
I followed the steady pulse until I reached a glass cabinet in the back. It was filled with the most
beautiful jewelry I’d ever seen: diamonds the size of quarters, jewels as big as ping-pong balls, and ornate crowns that belonged on royalty.
None of this was what I was looking for though. I picked the small lock of the case, rifling gently through the contents and trying not to disturb anything from its original spot.
And then I saw it.
Tucked behind a beautiful tiara was a tarnished chain sporting a three-stone pendant. It was pushed in the back, as if it were there by mistake, seemingly junk compared to the other elaborately beautiful jewels the case housed. The second m
y finger touched it, my own pendant let out a final, pleased thrum, happy to be united with the object it was bonded to. The pendant hanging around my neck was now nothing more than a link to my best friend and my favorite accessory.
I tied the neutralizer around my neck, tucking it safely underneath layers of silk and lace. I needed to grab Soren and get the hell out of this house as soon as possible. I so mastered the whole stealth thing. Here less than an hour and I’d already found what we came for.
“An interesting choice, Odette.”
I spun around to see Rennix leaning casually against the door frame.
“Now I wonder—why would you come all the way up here and grab that raggedy necklace when there are far more valuable and beautiful pieces within reach? Though I suppose since you clearly came here for it, you know that particular pendant’s value, don’t you? So tell me, Odette, who exactly are you and why, precisely, do you want that necklace?”
He smiled tightly, the predatory gleam I noticed in his eyes earlier far eclipsed any friendly pretense and had me shrinking back against the glass cabinet. What did you say to someone when you were caught stealing from them?
“Ummm—” I stalled, glancing around the room for an escape or a lie. Neither were blatantly obvious to me. “I just need to borrow this for a little bit. For a friend. If that’s okay?” The truth then. I shrugged. Maybe he’d let me. It didn’t hurt to ask.
Well, steal and then ask.
Rennix stepped forward, stalking me like the giant predator I knew he was. He growled softly, inching his way along the perimeter, never removing his eyes from my own. He was playing with me, like a cat with a mouse. And I was distinctly uncomfortable with being the mouse in this scenario.
Seeing an opening, I decided to run for the doorway. Stupid plan, but it was all I had. My first clue should have been the giant grin that spread across Rennix’s face when he saw me sprint. The second clue should have been the fact that he didn’t move an inch to pursue me. But it wasn’t until my face collided with an invisible force field, landing me unceremoniously on my ass when I reached the doorway, that it became clear. I was trapped.
