Squatting down in the back of the car, I edged closer to the human who lay prone before me. His eyes were still closed and his breathing was heavy due to the pain I could imagine still wracked his frail human body. I doubted he had eaten or slept much during the past couple of days. His face was swollen and bruised dark shades of blue and purple. There was a long cut along his jaw that stretched down his neck. His clothes were splattered with his blood and torn in places, revealing more cuts and bruises.
“What has the coalition planned?” I inquired.
“I’m not sure, but they’re well-informed,” he said with a soft sigh. “They seemed to know who I was and my connections to the Savannah pack almost immediately.”
“What happened?” Barrett asked, looking up in the mirror again as he tried to see his friend.
Daniel licked his lips and took another couple deep breaths, his face twisting as if the pain of the memory made it difficult to speak. “They attacked shortly after I checked in with you the first night. They sent nearly a dozen men. They gagged and tied me up before bringing me back to their headquarters. I was locked in that room almost constantly. They took me out to show off their weapons and brag about how they are going to destroy both the vampires and werewolves. I guess they never imagined I would survive long enough to escape.”
“What about the two lycans being held next to you? Do you have any sense of how long they were there?” Barrett pressed.
Daniel shook his head and then flinched at the motion. “None. Longer than me. I could hear them through the walls. The spoke mostly about the pack in Charleston, but they gave up information about Savannah. They mentioned Mira by name. Even went so far as to tell them to stay out of Savannah because of her.”
“Did they give a physical description of her?” I asked.
“No. Just a name and that she was a nightwalker that protected the city.” Daniel opened his eyes, looking at me for the first time. “We need to warn her. They’ll be coming after her next.”
Oddly, I found myself taking the man’s left hand in both of mine and squeezing it reassuringly. “We will.”
Daniel had risked his life for both the nightwalkers and the lycanthropes, and he was just a human. He could have easily been killed for a cause that was not his own, and I could not help but respect him more for his bravery and selflessness. I’d spent little time around humans in my life and even less time actually speaking to them. This one in particular surprised me.
I looked up at the back of Barrett’s head, turning my attention away from the human. “What I don’t understand is how members of the Charleston pack knew anything about the Savannah pack. Wouldn’t that kind of information be private to each pack?”
Barrett shook his head and made a sound of disgust in the back of his throat. “Because of the geographical closeness of the two packs, we have always tried to maintain a somewhat open relationship so that neither side became too territorial. We’ve even used the same hunting grounds in the past during a full moon. However, all shifters swear to the same code of silence when it comes to outsiders. The penalty is death to anyone that betrays our secret.”
“Barrett, if they know about me, then they’ll be able to find Annie and my girls!” Daniel said with sudden urgency. He tried to twist around to look at Barrett in the front, but his face contorted in pain and he slumped back onto the floor of the van.
“I’ve had people watching them very closely at all times since you left. We will continue to do so,” Barrett firmly said.
“We’re going to have to leave Savannah,” Daniel said softly, closing his eyes again. His hand slipped out of mine and he lay limp as his breathing grew more ragged. “It won’t be safe for us any longer if they know about me.”
“I understand,” Barrett replied in a low voice, sounding saddened by the loss of his friend. “I will contact the local pack wherever you go and have them extend the same protection that I am offering you now.”
“Barrett, you can’t ask—”
The lycanthrope quickly cut him off. “I can and I will. Any pack will be happy to help your family after what you have sacrificed for our people. You will be protected. In the meantime, you will call Annie when we reach Savannah so she knows you’re safe. You will then stay with my family until you’re properly healed.”
“I can’t,” Daniel argued. “I need to get home.”
“You are a mess, my friend. You haven’t the strength to protect anyone. You need time to heal or you will only terrify Annie.”
A lengthy silence settled into the car again, with everyone lost in their own thoughts. I stared down at the human, looking to see signs his wounds healing, but nothing changed as I expected. I was not accustomed to such a slow healing process. Again, I found it astounding that humans had survived for so long.
“Who is Annie?” I asked, breaking the silence.
“She’s my wife,” Daniel murmured.
“And you have girls? Are there other wives?”
“No.” Daniel gave a small chuckle and looked up at me, cocking his head to one side. “You’re not human, are you?”
“No, I’m naturi.”
“And I thought you were everyone’s enemy,” Daniel said with a slight smirk.
“Apparently not any longer.”
Daniel fell silent again, and his breathing seemed to even out for the first time as he relaxed. When he spoke again, he sounded somewhat distant, as if falling asleep again. “I have daughters. Five daughters.”
“How?” I found myself whispering in awe.
A blush stole to Daniel’s cheeks and he cracked one eye open at me. Even Barrett chuckled at me from the front seat. “The old-fashioned way,” he uttered before closing his eye again.
“Most of our females will never hold their own child,” I said in a low voice. “Five is . . . unheard of among my people.”
Daniel blindly reached out with his left hand and squeezed one of my hands. “I’m sorry.”
“So am I,” I whispered in a voice so low I wasn’t sure that even Barrett with his keen hearing picked up my words.
Yet, even as the sad thought passed through my brain, I had to question the wisdom of ever reproducing. Despite my constant training and work as protector of my people, even I felt the occasional stirrings inside me, the longing to hold my own flesh and blood. But as I sat in the back of the dirty car with a lycanthrope and human, covered in blood of my enemies, I didn’t think it was wise to attempt to bear my own children. What kind of an influence would I be?
What’s wrong? Rowe demanded suddenly in my brain, his voice like a gentle caress across my brow.
I fought back a surprised smile, as I had not thought he would pick up on my change in emotions. Drawing in a slow breath, I released it through my nose, pushing away the temporary melancholy I felt for both myself and my slowly dying race.
Nothing now, I replied, making sure to wipe the voice in his head clean of any traces of sadness. His concern for me was enough. There would be time enough later to worry about myself and my people. For now, it was enough to know I was not alone in this world.
Twenty-three
Danaus had not arrived at my home yet when I felt a shift of power in the air. The feeling built slowly, like a spider crawling up my flesh until it was squatting at the back of my neck. I knew what it was. Or rather who it was. Frowning, I left my sanctuary in the basement and climbed up the stairs before crossing through the underused kitchen to exit out the back door. My nearest neighbors were several acres away, with trees surrounding my property in all directions, obscuring the view. It was the safest place for facing Nick, and it protected my house in some small way. I had just finished rebuilding my study following his destruction of it and was in no mood to rebuild any more of the house. I had spent too many years moving around, and I liked it and its contents as they were.
Standing unarmed in the middle of the yard, I raised my arms out to my sides and stretched out my powers so I could feel the various energie
s swirling around me. Nick had opened up my senses. Before, I could only sense the soul energy that emanated from humans and lycanthropes, as well as the thin, wispy presence of nightwalkers. Now, it was as if a great door had been opened before my eyes. I could sense the energy of the earth along with the beating pulse of the naturi. I could sense other strange powers I couldn’t identify and seemed indeterminate, as if trying to cloak themselves yet unable to completely hide from me.
In the mix of it all, I had learned to identify my father’s unique power signature. Most of the time he seemed distant, content to simply watch the show that was my life from a comfortable chair in some hidden theater of the cosmos. However, when I strayed from the direction he thought I should be headed in, my dear parent intervened. Apparently, I wasn’t on the track he deemed proper for me. Or in truth, for him.
Still tapped into the energy around me, I summoned up a ring of fireballs the size of baseballs in a large circle around me. Shadows lunged and danced from the nearby trees as the night came alive with motion due to the flickering lights.
As I expected, Nick accepted the invitation and appeared in my circle, transforming one of the fireballs on the far side of the circle into the form of a tall, lean figure. After a couple of steps toward me, the flames subsided to reveal a man in a dark maroon suit with a crisp white shirt and tie. His hair was black and slicked back, while his features had become sharp and hawklike. I had never seen him in this form before. Usually, he appeared looking like the kind, sweet man who had raised me from birth in the belief that I truly was his daughter. He had also appeared as a goth teenager full of angst and piercings, and as a man with red hair and lavender eyes like myself. But this was new and strangely disconcerting. Not for the first time, I felt as if my soul were on the line as I stared at him, unflinching.
“I’m assuming that you wanted something,” I said with as much distain as I could muster without betraying the fear twisting into tight knots in the pit of my stomach.
“Can’t a father pay his loving daughter a social call?” he asked, extending his arms as if he meant to embrace me. I took a step back before I could catch myself, not wanting to be anywhere close enough so he could actually touch me. That path only led to excruciating pain and broken bones.
“You’re not the social type,” I sneered, forcing myself to remain still at the edge of my circle. My knees were like water and I could feel my fingertips trembling. I needed him gone as soon as possible. I didn’t want another fight I couldn’t win, and I definitely didn’t want him anywhere near Danaus, should the hunter suddenly appear at my house now that the sun had set. “What’s with the new appearance? I thought you preferred to look like my father.”
“I grew bored looking like a common fisherman. I thought I would come looking like someone you might encounter in your business dealings,” he said, running his hands down the front of his suit jacket with a look of pride. However, that look was instantly wiped away, replaced with an appearance of ominous threat. “Besides, I am the true father that you need to concern yourself with. Not that distant and dead memory.”
I gave a huff and shoved one hand violently through my hair, which gave away my growing anxiety. I didn’t need Nick in a bad mood. I needed him amused or focused on an important issue. Not angry. “Fine. What did you come here for?”
“I’m not happy with how things are developing within your domain. You are not handling things how I would have hoped.”
That was way too vague to be considered helpful in any fashion. I was dealing with the Daylight Coalition poaching lycanthropes outside of Savannah, the Japanese nightwalkers were attempting to drag me kicking and screaming to Japan, and the naturi were expecting me to side with them in the coming war against their queen. What part of that complete mess was not to his liking? Because at that moment I could have done without all of it.
“Jabari, that nightwalker that has the ability to control you, is still hanging around in your domain,” Nick declared, nearly causing me to laugh out loud with relief. He had chosen to focus on what appeared to me to be the least of my concerns.
“Jabari? You’re worried about Jabari causing problems?” I demanded, unable to keep the sarcasm out of my voice. I was playing with fire when it came to mocking Nick, but then I was never very good at bowing to anyone, however much more powerful they were than me.
Nick shoved his hands into the pockets of his slacks and settled back on his heels as he shook his head at me. “You have not tamed this one. He still thinks he can control you at any moment. He wants you in the palm of his hand or dead. Neither suits my needs.”
“I’m sorry to hear you’re not pleased. What can I do to rectify the situation?” I inquired in my most patronizing tone. I knew I had overstepped what Nick was willing to tolerate when he immediately disappeared. My stomach dropped and my throat felt as if it had closed in on itself. I twisted around, trying to spot where he would reappear next, while at the same time scanning the region for his powers. I felt him, but there was no exact location until it was too late.
A hand clamped on the back of my neck in a viselike grip, while a hot breath brushed against the hair that covered my left ear. “Now see, that’s the kind of attitude I’m looking for. I just want your complete cooperation and total obedience. Is that too much to ask?” he growled at me.
“Considering what you’re asking for most of the time, yes it is,” I said through clenched teeth. I was too stubborn for my own good. I was literally in the hands of a god and still picking a fight because I was unwilling to bow to his every wish.
“Well, this time I think you’ll be in complete agreement with me,” he said. He tightened his grip on my neck long enough to pitch me forward. I caught myself with both hands and tucked in for a quick roll on the ground before popping back up to my feet. I jerked around and remained in a defensive stance as I waited for him to strike again. “I want you to finally kill that nightwalker.”
My head fell backward with laughter and my hands unconsciously dropped down to my sides as I lowered my guard against him. I couldn’t help it. It was as though he’d asked me to take an afternoon stroll in the sun. He wanted the impossible.
“Kill Jabari?” I repeated as if my hearing had suddenly gone fuzzy. “Don’t you think that if I could, I would have done so already?”
“You haven’t been trying hard enough,” Nick said in a low growl.
“He’s thousands of years old! I can’t beat him. I can only control him when he lets me, when it’s to his advantage. He’s not going to stop doing that just so I can kill him.”
Nick waved his hand toward me and a surge of energy knocked into my chest. I fell to the ground, my butt slamming against the earth. “He may be an Ancient, but you are my daughter.”
“Some daughter.” I gave a soft snort as I moved some hair out from in front of my eyes. “You toss me around like a rag doll. Do you honestly think it’s going to be any different with Jabari?”
“You have more powers to call upon now. You have an edge over him at last.”
I pushed off the ground and brushed some bits of grass and dirt off the seat of my leather pants. “Why now? If you haven’t noticed from all the gatherings I’ve been attending recently, we’re facing a multifront war, and me picking a fight with Jabari now isn’t the best timing.”
“I see this as the next stage of your training,” he offered.
There were times when Nick was willing to provide me with information, and there were times when he simply wanted to knock me around. This seemed like one of those times when he needed me to know something—or at least I hoped it was.
He paced a little closer to me. “Training that provides you with the strength and ability to regain my place as a true god once again.”
I crossed my arms over my chest, suspicious of that statement in too many ways. “And what does that mean for everyone else? We spent a lot of energy and lives getting rid of the naturi and the bori so the humans would be safe. Are we n
ow going to suffer under your rule once you regain your place as a true god?”
“You spent a lot of energy and lives!” he screamed, his hands balling into fists as his face flushed red. There wasn’t a second to guard against the attack. He was simply there in the flash of an eye. The back of his right fist slammed across my face and I fell to the ground in a heap. As I rolled onto my back, Nick was on top of me again. Kneeling at my side, he placed one hand against my chest, but I could feel his energy plunging deep inside me. It felt like his fist was wrapping around my soul and trying to pull it from my body. He was trapped in a blind rage, and he was going to kill me if I didn’t do something to stop him.
Closing my eyes against the wrenching pain, I focused all my energy inside of myself and wrapped my own pull of power around my soul, attempting to hold it in place. I tapped into the swirling energies around me, strengthening my hold so he could not pull my soul free of my body. If he removed it from where it resided in its little hole deep within me, he could set it free, instantly killing me, and yet I had a feeling that my soul would be trapped forever on this plain, never able to move forward to the next level of existence.
After more than a minute of tug-of-war with my soul, Nick finally released his hold and lifted his hand from my chest. I remained perfectly still on the ground with my eyes closed and my powers wrapped tightly around the remnants of my soul in case he should try to attack me a second time. Energy flowed into me from all directions, from the earth and nearby humans. I could even feel some of Nick’s powers mixing with the other energy pouring into me. I felt stronger, more powerful, than I ever had before. I felt as if I could take on Jabari and at last crush him like an insignificant insect.
While I lay there, I felt Nick’s powers increase again as he prepared for another attack. Balling my hands into fists, I pushed the power deeper inside of myself and then I disappeared. Stunned shock gripped me so quickly at the unexpected ability that I immediately reappeared exactly where I was, which did me little good against Nick. My eyes popped open and my mouth formed a perfect O in surprise. The only time I had been able to disappear and reappear before was when I tapped into Jabari’s powers. Now I either had the power to do it on my own or I could simply tap into Nick’s powers to do it.
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