by E. S. Moore
I reached the garage and a wave of relief passed over me when I saw the emptiness. There were no bodies. The car Pablo had driven was gone.
Still, there was blood on the ground. It didn’t look like much, but that didn’t mean anything. If the fight had been real, the wolves could have fed, drinking most of the blood and then cleaning up after themselves so as not to alarm anyone else who might come along.
I changed course, this time heading straight for the Den. I’d get answers there.
The old library came into view and I ran even faster despite the nagging pain in my shoulder. I knew I wouldn’t see any lights from the outside, yet the bleakness of the building sent a new spike of fear coursing through me. As far as I knew, everyone was already dead inside. The bodies could be piled up like cordwood.
Or worse—crucified.
Jonathan has to be alive. If he died, the glamour would be gone.
It was a comforting thought, but not enough to slow my pace. He might still be hurt, dying. The glamour could flicker out like a sputtering candle at any moment.
I burst through the Den doors, not even bothering to shield my eyes against the bright light I knew was to come. I had my sword and gun in hand and didn’t even remember drawing them. It took only seconds for my vision to clear and I found Keira standing at the bottom of the stairs, talking to a Cultist I didn’t know.
“Where is he?” I demanded, stalking forward. I had my gun up and aimed right between her eyes.
“Who?” Keira said, motioning for the Cultist to leave. She tried to keep her face calm and composed, but her eyes gave her away. There was anger there. Anger and a flare of yellow telling me her wolf had awakened.
“Jonathan,” I said through clenched teeth. Just let her shift on me. It would give me an excuse. “Is he alive?”
Keira gave me an odd look. “Of course he is. Why wouldn’t he be?”
“Then where is he?”
She looked suddenly uncomfortable. She glanced to the side as she spoke. “He’s out.”
“Out where?”
“I’m not sure.”
“What about Nathan? Did he finally decide to make an appearance?”
“He’s not here either,” she said. “He’s with Jon.”
My teeth felt as if they might break, I clenched them so hard. “Where have they gone?”
“They have business to take care of,” she said. “I don’t know much else. I was told to assist you upon your return.” She glanced at me and her eyes flared for an instant before she turned away.
I took a step closer to her. My arm was trembling from holding up my gun. “He wouldn’t leave now,” I said. “This is too important. Why would he leave you here when he knew I’d be back with information on where the Left Hand woman had gone?”
I had to admit, Keira was holding up well to my threatening tone and posture. Not everyone could keep from lashing out or cowering when they had a gun pointed at their head. She faced me down, the anger simmering in her gaze, but didn’t make an aggressive move.
“I don’t know why he had to go,” she said. “He told me to wait for you. He said he knew you would take care of it on your own and when you’re back, get what I could out of you.”
Somehow, that sounded like Jonathan. He wasn’t stupid. He had to have known I wouldn’t hold back when I found the Left Hand hideout.
“So,” she went on, licking her lips and swallowing like her throat had gone dry. “What did you learn?”
“I’m not telling you a thing.” The urge just to shoot her was so strong, I was forced to drop my aim. I kept my gun pointed in her general direction and I still had my sword in hand, just in case she made any sudden moves. I didn’t want there to be any accidents.
I took a step closer to her, seriously invading her space. If she started shifting, I could ram the blade through her gut before she so much as sprouted fur. She might be quick, but I was just as fast.
“Back up,” she said, her voice deepening to a near growl. She might have been able to handle me threatening her from a few steps back. She wasn’t doing such a good job of it with me up under her nose.
“Not until you tell me what I want to know.”
Her nostrils flared and her eyes shifted into full wolf. “You smell like blood,” she growled. “Back up if you don’t want me to lose control.”
Okay, she had a point there. I felt as if I’d bathed in blood and while I’d partially sated my hunger during the fight, I had no idea when Keira had last fed.
I took a couple of steps back. I kept my eyes on her. If she so much as flinched, I wasn’t going to hesitate to shoot her. I wouldn’t kill her—not yet anyway—but I could wound her. The silver would drop her without me having to hit anything vital.
“I don’t like this,” I said, almost to myself. “Jonathan should be here.”
“I’m sorry, Kat,” Keira said. She was leaning against the banister, panting. The smell of blood had really gotten to her. Chances were good, she was still struggling with the urge to attack, but at least now I wasn’t shoving it up her nose.
“For?”
“For him not being here,” she said. “I don’t like the idea of him taking off like this any more than you, but from what I can tell, it was important enough he was willing to risk missing you. You know him; he wouldn’t go unless he felt he had to.”
I nodded. That definitely sounded like Jonathan.
Still, I didn’t like it.
“I take it you took care of the Left Hand?” she asked, eyeing me up and down. The hunger was clear in her eyes.
“Most of them,” I said. “They weren’t happy to see me.”
The adrenaline from my panicked flight to the Den must have worn off then, because pain from the wound in my shoulder hit me like a truck. I groaned and leaned against the wall, feeling tired enough to sleep for a month.
A flash of concern passed over Keira’s gaze, but she didn’t make a move toward me. “Do you think it’s over with?”
I shook my head, wincing at the pain it caused. “No,” I said. “I was given the name of their leader. Something tells me he’s not the kind of guy who’ll walk away.”
“Really?”
I looked into Keira’s eyes, wanting to gauge her reaction when I told her the name. If I so much as suspected she knew it, I’d put her down right then and there.
“His name is Gabriel.”
She didn’t flinch, but instead, looked thoughtful. “Was there a last name? Something we could use to pinpoint him?”
I really wanted to blame Keira for the Left Hand, but I was really starting to wonder. She wasn’t one who had control of her beast. I seriously doubted she could pull this off so casually without letting something slip.
“No,” I said with a heavy sigh. “I’m not even sure they meant to let his name slip.” I noted the strange look on Keira’s face and my suspicions came roaring back. “Why?”
“It’s nothing,” she said with a slight shake of her head. “The name Gabriel and the Left Hand go so well together, it makes me wonder if it’s an assumed name.” She shrugged. “It’s something I learned from church when I was little. I don’t think it really has any bearing on whether or not we find him.”
I sighed. Of course the name might be bogus. If I was going to run a group who went around killing monsters who were far stronger and far faster than we were, I wouldn’t want them to be able to give me up either. Why couldn’t anything about this be easy?
“There was something else there,” I said. “I’m not sure it means anything, though.”
“Oh?” Keira’s eyes had bled back to their natural brown. She was taking shallow breaths and wouldn’t look directly at me, but I could tell she was gaining some semblance of control over her wolf.
“A note,” I said. “It didn’t have a name and it didn’t really say much, but it made me think that perhaps the staged fight outside the garage wasn’t so staged after all.” I paused. “I thought I saw blood before I followe
d the woman.”
Keira gave a grim smile. “We set that up,” she said. “We had some blood donated so that we could use it to make the fight seem more realistic. We wanted her to panic and blood has a tendency to do that.”
It made sense. “I don’t know. The note could be nothing.”
“What did it say?”
I told her, once more watching her carefully for any sort of reaction. Everything is set. Just waiting for the right moment. I love you. Keira listened, frowned, and then shrugged.
“I don’t know,” she said. “But it does sound like something has been planned. Maybe it has to do with Philip’s crucifixion.”
“Yeah,” I said. “Or maybe it has nothing to do with us at all.”
“Maybe.” Keira ran her fingers through her hair. “Look, Kat,” she said, “I’m sorry about whatever it was I did to cause you to distrust me. I would never do anything to harm Jon or the Cult. I’m here because I want to be, not because I want to hurt someone.”
I really wanted to believe her, but just couldn’t. Whether it was my doubts about her motives, or simply the fact that she’d grown so close to him so fast, I didn’t know. I just knew I didn’t want her here.
“Make sure Jonathan knows about the note and the leader’s name,” I said. I sheathed my sword, but kept my gun in my hand. “And we’ll want to make sure someone is waiting at the hideout when the sun comes up. I heard them talking about how she shouldn’t have returned until the morning, meaning others might arrive.”
“I’ll see to it,” she said.
“Make sure whoever goes knows the Cult well. Make it someone Jonathan would trust with his life.” I grimaced. “Pablo would be a good choice. If the mole shows up, then perhaps we’ll have our man.”
She nodded. “Do you have the note?”
“No,” I said. “I dropped it back at the hideout. I’ll go back for it.”
“I’ll have someone look for it,” she said. “You should get cleaned up. I have a feeling Jon will be needing you soon.”
I grunted. Lately, I wasn’t sure how much he really wanted me around. He had Keira. Why would he need a goddamn vampire mucking things up for him?
I gave Keira the address to the Left Hand hideout before turning and walking out of the door. I wasn’t positive she’d do what she said, but at least I’d know if I could trust her or not. If she did as she was supposed to, then perhaps I’d have to cut her some slack. If not, well then, I’d have to let my gun do the talking.
26
The landscape seemed to taunt me.
I knew that coming to look out over the spot where Delai used to be would be pointless, but I had to go somewhere, and home wasn’t it. There was a kind of peace, a void that allowed me to breathe just a little easier here. I knew things were probably going to get worse long before they got better, but here, in the nothingness, I could relax.
I’d pulled to the side of the road and walked a bit toward where I’d once seen the town. I could sense the animals around me, yet never saw a single one move. None of them were dangerous. I was the danger here. The animals were a reminder of a world that once was, of a peace that probably never truly existed.
I heaved a sigh and looked to the sky. I was being cynical again, but it was hard not to. I had no idea where Delai really was anymore, what dimension it resided in, but I had to look somewhere. I thought of Sienna and of Eilene, wondering if they were okay.
And I thought of Levi.
“If you hurt her . . .” I spoke aloud in the hope he could hear me. He’d guided me to the town before, which meant he’d know what I was. Maybe he was keeping tabs on me now. Maybe he was waiting for his moment to strike.
I was actually sort of glad I got no response. If Levi had come strolling out of the surrounding trees, I wouldn’t have been able to do a damn thing to him. He was an angel. There was nothing I could do to stop him.
But soon . . . I would find him. I would stop him. It might mean giving in to my darker nature, allying myself even more with a demon I despised, but I would not let Levi win. Once the Left Hand was truly gone, once I’d dealt with Baset, I would find him.
And I would end him.
The thought galvanized me. Nothing could happen to me until I’d taken care of Levi and Delai. I refused to let it. It gave me something to strive for, something far greater than myself.
I turned away and went back to my Honda, actually feeling better than I had when I left it. I wasn’t sure if it was lingering effects from the town that had once soothed me so much or if I’d simply calmed down from the fight with the Left Hand and the confrontation with Keira. Either way, I was ready to head home.
My hair hung limp against my back as I put the emptiness behind me. I was still covered in blood and the pain in my shoulder steadily increased the longer I left the bullet lodged inside it. I really should have gone straight home from the Den, but this little side trip had done me some good. It wasn’t a weakness to seek a few moments of solace in the insanity. It actually showed strength to step away from everything to catch your breath. It’s not always easy to relax when people are dying.
Turning into the driveway, I realized something was off. I felt a presence nearby, just ahead of me. As the feeling hit, I saw him standing just outside the trees. Movement behind him told me he wasn’t alone.
I stopped at the bottom of the drive and drew my gun. It would be useless here, but it made me feel better to have it in my hand.
“I can see you, you know,” I said, putting as much irritation in my voice as I could.
“I wanted you to,” Adrian said. He took two strides my way before stopping again. Davin came out of the trees behind him, grinning his manic grin.
“I should have known you couldn’t just leave me alone,” I said, angry at myself for not noticing him sooner. The Oath should have warned me, yet I kept ignoring it. I needed to start paying better attention to it before Adrian decided it was time to force me into something else.
Adrian glanced at the gun in my hand. “You do not need to fear me.”
“I like holding it.”
“I could take that as a threat,” he said. “Neither of us would like that.”
I sighed and holstered the gun. There was no reason to keep it out. Thanks to the Oath, I couldn’t shoot him. And thanks to his threats, I couldn’t shoot Davin without putting people I cared about at risk.
“What do you want?” I asked. “It’s late and I’m a mess. I want to get cleaned up.”
“I could feel your agitation,” Adrian said, face as impassive as ever. “I was concerned.”
“Right.” I very nearly laughed. “You’re so worried about me, you had to come here to make sure I was okay. It has nothing to do with you fucking stalking me.”
He shrugged. “I only wish to protect my investment.”
I snorted. “I can take care of myself, you know.”
“I do,” he said. “But I also wish for you to accept me as an ally. I want only what is best for you. I’ll do whatever it takes to make sure that happens. I feel it is the only way you will finally trust me.”
This time I did laugh. “You only care about yourself and your own wants. I just happen to be the object of your latest desires.” And I meant that in more than one way. Just the thought was enough to make me want to puke.
He shrugged again. “It is one and the same, really. If something happens to you, then my plans will need to be reevaluated. I do not wish to go down that route. So . . .” He shrugged. “I am here.”
“Fine. Whatever.” I sighed and rubbed my temples. Couldn’t he have chosen another day for this? “I just want to go inside. If there’s nothing else, would you please just go away?”
“I can accompany you within your home so we can continue discussions further,” he said.
“The hell you will.”
Adrian actually flashed an amused smile before all semblance of emotion bled away. “At least tell me why you are so agitated. Perhaps I can find a
way to be of help while you . . .”—he looked me up and down—“. . . get cleaned up.”
Davin giggled, drawing my eye. He stood just slightly behind his master, hunched over like some movie henchman. He watched me with a gleam in his eye that was disconcerting. He knew something I didn’t, I was sure. He might be insane, but he wasn’t stupid.
“It’s complicated,” I said, turning back to Adrian.
“As are you,” he responded. “Yet I have taken great pains to understand your complications. I believe I can handle whatever troubles you may have.”
I sighed. What would it hurt to give him a little more information? It wasn’t like he didn’t already know about the Left Hand. He’d practically dragged me into a confrontation with one of their members, telling me he knew what I was working on.
But no matter how much of a help Adrian might be in dealing with the Left Hand, I couldn’t trust him. He might go and kill twenty innocents, just so he could get at one man. He might do more damage than good.
And then another thought struck me. There was something I wasn’t so sure he knew. Hell, I wasn’t even sure I was right about it, but it couldn’t hurt to bring it up. Maybe he’d try to do something about it and would end up getting himself killed, ridding me of yet another problem.
“Count Mephisto had someone following me recently,” I said.
Adrian went motionless. “I see.”
“I never would have noticed him if it weren’t for finding a body beside my motorcycle at the Bloody Stake a few nights ago.”
This time he frowned ever so slightly. “You did not kill him, then?”
“Nope. Someone found him, throat cut. I didn’t see the guy until he was already dead.” Of course, I wasn’t going to tell him the guy had saved me from a wolf attack when I’d followed Nathan a few nights back. It would only confuse him. Hell, it confused me.
“The Left Hand?”
I only shrugged. He could figure it out for himself.
Davin shuddered and seemed to shrink, as if the thought of the Left Hand was enough to send him screaming into the night.
