Protector of Midnight_an Urban Fantasy Novel

by Debbie Cassidy

  “What can I get you?” His voice was a harmony at odds with his physique. He didn’t take his eyes off the floor.

  “An orange juice, please.”

  He poured the juice and slid it over to me. “Three fifty.”

  I placed a five on the counter. “What are you looking for?”

  “Trouble.”

  “What kind of trouble?”

  He tore his gaze from the crowd and dropped it to me. “The kind that could get me shut down.” His lips twisted. “You see anything, you come tell me.”

  “See anything? Like what?”

  He leaned in. “Anything that makes you feel uncomfortable. Anything that makes you feel unsafe. This place here, it’s a sanctuary for humans and neph. A place we can mingle without fear. A place where our differences don’t matter.”

  “Jonah, honey.” A woman appeared at his side. Small, blonde, pretty and very human.

  The neph straightened. His intensely serious expression softened as he looked down on the woman. “What is it, Poppy?”

  “The barrel needs changing, babe.”

  He nodded. “I’ll be right back.” He pressed a kiss to the top of her head and then ambled off down the bar.

  A human and a neph...together? The thought made my brain hurt.

  Poppy’s eyes crinkled. “How long have you been in Midnight?”

  “That obvious, huh?”

  She smiled and dimpled. “I’m afraid so. You’ll find we do a lot of things differently from Sunset.”

  “How long have you two been together?”

  Jonah and I have been together for years. We’d get married if it was allowed.” She sighed. “He’s a good man. This place is our way of spreading the love. It’s a place where others like us can find a sanctuary, maybe find love?” She raised a shoulder in a delicate shrug.

  “Jonah mentioned trouble?”

  Her expression clouded. “Yes. A couple of humans never made it home after their visit. The MED are looking into it. It’s probably nothing to do with The Deep, except that both humans were last seen here. Jonah has taken it personally. He prides himself on the sanctity of this place. No violence. No gang rivalry. Once you walk through those doors, you leave all the baggage behind.”

  “And how do you make sure patrons respect that?”

  She smiled sweetly. “Jonah is a gentle giant...most of the time. But he can be brutally persuasive when the occasion calls for it. He protects his property and the people he loves, and there aren’t many nephs who could challenge him. Jonah is descended from what the humans used to worship as a sea god. His blood is powerful. Most of the nephs that come here are sea dwellers and they know.” She pushed a packet of peanuts my way. “Here, on the house. If you do see anything odd, please let us know.”

  I nodded. “Of course.”

  She wandered off down the bar to help serve. There was so much about Midnight I needed to learn—not only the layout but the customs and the people. I downed my juice but left the peanuts—I’d never been a fan. I needed to pee. Where were the toilets? I walked through the thong, past couples dancing, groups of women huddled together giggling, and a couple of macho neph crowd watching. A curvy brunet head in a glittering sequined dress was pressed up against a human male, her tongue licking out his ear while he ground his hips against her body. He stood out because of his ginger hair flashing in the strobe lights.

  I followed a gaggle of humans in high heels as they tripped through the crowd of nephs, and was about to push into the ladies when a hand closed over my arm.

  “Hello, beautiful.” The voice was smarmy and over familiar.

  I tugged my arm from the nephs grasp, and studied him. Pale, slim and not overly impressive or memorable, I had no clue what he was. Was he a sea dweller?

  “I’m not interested.”

  I turned back to the loo, and he blocked my path, stepping into me to force me away from the ladies.

  “Oh, come now, you haven’t even heard my proposal.” He somehow had me backed up against a wall. I pressed my hand to his chest and pushed but he was immovable, like stone.

  “Back off.”

  He smiled, showcasing elongated eye teeth. “I’m not going to hurt you. In fact, I want to offer you sanctuary. You’re without a house and we can offer you one. Join the Sanguinata and be protected from the Breed.” His lips dropped over his teeth. “We take excellent care of our humans. Health plan, home improvements, you name it, we can help. Not only do you get protection from scum like the Breed, but we also provide shelter during the scourge run. Anyone messing with you is messing with House Vitae.”

  It was a bloody sales pitch. Wait, wasn’t recruitment supposed to be determined by house games? I dropped my shields. His eyes widened and he stepped back.

  “You’re not human.”

  I cocked my head. “Nope. And you’re not supposed to be—”

  But he was gone. What the fuck? How had he moved so fast? I’d have to report this to Cassie once she’d finished with her sea dweller friend. Maybe even let Poppy and Jonah know? My bladder twinged, reminding me that I really needed a pee. My hand was on the door when awareness prickled across my scalp, and as if drawn by a magnetic force I turned my head. My gaze fell on a couple hidden in the shadows, bodies pressed together intimately. The woman clung to the man’s shoulders, her nails digging into the fabric of his deep green shirt and then trailing up to slip through his dark hair. He pulled her closer, his hands cupping her arse as he ground into her. Her skirt was up around her waist, her panties on display. Heat bloomed in my chest, as their arousal slammed into me. And then the man raised his head and the familiar profile was highlighted by an errant beam from the disco lights. Drayton turned his head and locked gazes with me. He didn’t even bat an eye at finding me there, he just smiled, a satisfied smug smile and then dropped his head back to the woman he would probably end up fucking against that wall, dismissing me.

  My stomach churned, and I slammed into the bathroom. At least he was having fun. Ignoring the giggling humans preening by the mirrors, I did my business and headed back out. I could see how this place could be fun, but so far it had been a bust for me. It was time to head home. I began to nudge my way through the revelers, intent on finding Cassie and getting the heck out of there when I spotted the Sanguinata by the bar with a human. He had her by the wrist and her face was frozen in shock.

  Fuck this. I dropped my shield and sauntered over. “Hey, you, House Vitae.”

  The Sanguinata looked up startled.

  “Are you supposed to be recruiting?” I raised my voice so that the nephs around me turned to see what all the fuss was about.

  The Sanguinata dropped the woman’s wrist and held up his hands. “I was just offering to buy this lovely female a drink.”

  The human shook her head as if coming out of a daze.

  “Is that right?”

  “I... I don’t know,” she said. “He was...was...”

  The Sanguinata smiled slyly. He shrugged. “But if she’s not interested then...” He backed off slowly.

  The human looked dazed and confused. Had he used some kind of power on her? Damn, I didn’t know enough about the Sanguinata to tell for sure. But he’d definitely propositioned me.

  “You may not have tried to recruit her, but you certainly tried to recruit me.”

  “House Vitae recruiting?” A guy to my right said. He was neph, but very minor.

  The Sanguinata’s eyes widened in panic but then a mask slipped across his features, cunning and sly. “Now why would I try and recruit a neph?”

  Shit, of course, my shields were down.

  Jonah chose that moment to appear behind the Sanguinata at the bar. “Problem?” His tone was mild, enquiring, but his expression was intense.

  The Sanguinata held up his hands. “Hey, I was just asking the lovely lady if I could buy her a drink.”

  “Is that right?” Jonah asked the human.

  She opened and closed her mouth a couple of times.
“I don’t remember.”

  Jonah’s jaw clenched and fixed his terrifying gaze on the Sanguinata. “You memory blocking?”

  The Sanguinata took step away from the bar. “I meant no harm, Jonah.”

  Jonah glared at him. “Get the fuck out of my club and don’t come back.”

  What, no. I needed to question him, find out why he was recruiting when he wasn’t supposed to be, but the Sanguinata moved so fast he was a blur. And then he was gone.

  Shit! “Damn it. He was recruiting for his house. I needed to speak to him.”

  Jonah shrugged. “Not my problem. The Deep is my problem, and he won’t be back.”

  Which didn’t help me in the slightest. The crowd at the bar closed in, blocking him from view.

  “Are you all right?” Drayton’s voice was like a caress against the back of my neck.

  I tensed. “I thought you were feeding.”

  “I’m done.”

  He’d fucked the woman. Great. “A Sanguinata just tried to recruit me.”

  “What? No. They can’t do that. Not until they win the house games.”

  “Yeah I know that,” I snapped. “But he tried anyway, and then I caught him trying to recruit someone else.”

  Drayton’s jaw tightened. “We need to report this to Bane.” His brow furrowed. “I thought I told you to stay with Cassie?”

  No point in telling him Cassie had asked me to piss off for a bit. “I needed a pee, okay.”

  Something dark flitted across his face. “You were by the ladies a few minutes ago?”

  Was he seriously kidding me right now? “You know I was. You looked right at me.”

  His brow furrowed for a second and he honestly looked thrown and then he pressed his lips together. “Let’s go find Cassie.”

  He cut a swath through the crowd, as human and neph stepped aside to let him through. Killion’s broad back and taut buttocks came into view and Drayton let out a muffled curse.

  “Cassie,” he said. He didn’t raise his voice but it carried across the distance between us and the corner of the bar, cutting through whatever track the DJ was playing.

  Cassie peeked over Killion’s shoulder and winced. “Hey, Dray. Just bumped into Killion. We were catching up.”

  Killion’s shoulders tensed, and then he slowly stepped away from Cassie, to face off with Drayton. At least it looked like a face off.

  “We’re leaving,” Drayton said.

  The words were delivered in that lazy tone I’d grown so used to. The totally unthreatening, chill timbre that spoke of summer breezes and cool drinks, but his body was as stiff as a board, ready to snap at the slightest provocation.

  Killion’s thick lips curled in a snide smile. “She’s not going anywhere. She’s having fun.”

  Drayton ignored him and focused on Cassie. “If you’re not out in five, we go without you.” He turned on his heel and strode toward the door.

  I glanced at Cassie then Drayton’s rapidly retreating back.

  “Go,” she mouthed.

  Drayton was standing outside, his hands on his hips, head hanging as he took deep breaths. It was eerily silent under the blue lights from the neon sign. The nephs and humans who’d been hanging around outside were gone. But then there was a chill in the air, sharp and tangy from the sea.

  Drayton kept his back to me, and I curled my hands into fist to prevent myself reaching out to touch his back. Something told me my touch would not be welcome right now. “Are you okay?”

  He threw the keys at me. “Get in the car.”

  I pocketed them. “Drayton, who the fuck is that guy?”

  “Cassie’s ex and a pain in my arse,” Drayton said through his teeth.

  “He’s one of the sea people right?”

  “Yeah, leader of the Black Water gang. He’s a kelpie and he feeds off humans.”

  “How does he feed?”

  He raised his head and arched his brow. “With his teeth.”

  A chill swept through me. When he’s said my human scent made him hungry he’d been referring to actually eating me. “Why hasn’t the Protectorate done something about that? They go up against the Breed, so why let him walk around among humans freely?”

  “Because there’s no solid evidence against him.”

  “I think he’s still feeding off humans.”

  Drayton’s head whipped up. “What makes you say that?”

  I told him what Killion had said and how Cassie had asked me to give them a minute.

  “Mother fucker,” Drayton began to pace. “If she’s covering for him...”

  He left the sentence hanging, leaving me to conjure up all the shit that could come out of me telling him this. The last thing I wanted to do was cause friction in the group, but if Killion was eating humans, then something needed to be done.

  Drayton glanced at his watch. “Her five minutes are up. Come on, we’re leaving.” He held out his hand for the keys.

  “We’re not seriously going to leave her with him, are we?”

  “He won’t hurt her. She’s not human. They’ll probably just go back to his place for a little catch up.”

  Was he implying? “Wait, I thought she was with Orin?”

  He blinked at me. “Sometimes, yes.”

  “Sometimes.”

  He sighed. “Dammit, Harker. How naive are you? Sex, even frequent sex with the same partner doesn’t mean exclusivity, it doesn’t mean love.”

  His tone grated and my hackles rose. “Well, I’m sorry, but I was raised to think different.”

  He let out a sound of exasperation. “Give me the damned keys.”

  I threw them at him and stormed off toward the car. I’d barely gone three strides when a piercing scream sliced through the air. I froze for a fraction of a second, assessing where it had come from, and then I broke into a run.

  Chapter 17

  I rounded the side of the building diving into the shadows where the scream had come from. The daggers that Cassie had given me were in my hands, ready just in case. Hopefully, now I had those to hand the other ones tattooed on my wrist would stay put. But the scene before me clearly didn’t require a weapon. What we needed was an ambulance.

  “Serenity, wait.” Drayton came up behind me and stopped and stared at the woman on the ground, partially buried in the sand. The face was familiar—the woman from the bar that the Sanguinata had been accosting. Shit. I fell to my knees and checked for a pulse, there was one, but barely.

  “She’s alive.” I glanced over my shoulder at Drayton. “Call an ambulance. Now.”

  And then I began to tug, her body slid out of the sand and I pulled her into my lap, cradling her. “You’re okay. You’re going to be okay.”

  “Damn it, Serenity. You could be contaminating valuable evidence.”

  “Sod the evidence. She’s alive and I intend to keep her that way.”

  He turned away on the phone as he spoke to the operator. Someone had tried to bury her alive? Who? The Sanguinata? He was the obvious suspect.

  “What? No fuck you very much,” Drayton shoved his phone in his pocket then leaned down and scooped up the human.

  “What are you doing? Did you call the ambulance?”

  “They’re not coming. You want to keep her alive, then come with me.”

  We rushed toward the vehicle just as several people came pouring out of The Deep. I caught a glimpse of a familiar sequined dress and the flash of carrot hair, and then we were loading the woman up into the backseat of the car. Cassie was still nowhere to be seen, and although the thought of leaving her behind with Killion was less than appealing, Drayton’s lack of concern and the woman in need of dire medical attention lifted my misgivings.

  Drayton drove like a demon, which was kinda ironic, and we reached the hospital in just over ten minutes. With the woman cradled in his arms, Drayton strode toward the entrance to the three story brightly lit building. The doors slid open and we were bathed in garish light. Formica chairs lined the room beyond the foyer,
a huge semi-circle reception desk jutted out from the wall to our left and corridors snaked off left and right, white, clean and sterile. A woman in a nurse’s uniform looked up from a monitor at reception and then came rushing toward us.

  “Drayton?” she said. “Is that a human?”

  “Yes, and I need her seen to, Emmy.”

  An orderly appeared with a stretcher and Drayton laid the human on it.

  Emmy glanced about. “Damn it, Drayton. You know we don’t treat humans here.”

  “What?” I looked up at Drayton. “This is the hospital right?”

  Emmy spoke. “Yes, it is a hospital. A hospital for nephs.” Her lips were tight. “The humans have their own facilities and they would never allow one of us through their doors.”

  “Look, the human hospital is miles away and you’re here, and you took an oath to save lives, so save this one.”

  “Miles away, huh?” She pressed her fists to her hips. “Was she at The Deep?”

  Drayton nodded.

  “Em, we can’t turn her away,” the orderly said.

  Emmy sighed. “Tristen isn’t going to like this.”

  The orderly gripped the bars of the stretcher, and began to wheel her away.

  “Stay here,” Emmy said to us. “I’ll be right back.”

  She clipped down the corridor after the orderly and round a bend out of view.

  I rounded on Drayton. “Why are we here, Drayton? Why didn’t we take her to the human hospital?”

  “It’s too far.”

  “Really? Emmy didn’t seem too convinced of that.”

  He turned his head away, his jaw working. “Fine. The human hospital refused to come pick her up because she was at The Deep.”

  “What’s that got to do with anything?”

  “She was fraternizing with nephs, Serenity, and if I’d taken her there they probably would have refused to treat her anyway.”

  “They can’t do that. They’re a hospital.”

  “It doesn’t work that way in Midnight. We may bust our arses to protect the humans but the majority of them would love to see us dead along with the scourge. They not only fear us, they hate us. Hate the fact that we have the potential to attract them, to possibly procreate with them and sully their human blood lines. If we’d taken her to the hospital, she would have been treated like a neph simply for fraternizing.”