Burn the Night

by Jocelynn Drake

  Hideo’s earlier smile widened and I saw only the barest flash of fang, as if he were trying to hold it back and was failing. “I was forewarned of your bluntness and have been told you appreciate it in those you deal with. Of course, I’m sure you must know what would drive Japan’s nightwalker clans into breaking their centuries of silence.”

  “The naturi,” Danaus said in a low growl.

  The smile melted from Hideo’s face at those two words. We had expected as much. Since the opening of the doors following the battle at Machu Picchu, the world had been flooded with naturi. Even the Soga clan, after centuries of isolation and silence, were looking to me to clean out this nest because I was the famed Fire Starter. But fame was not going to help me survive the nights ahead of me.

  “Yes, those earthbound monsters have been hunting down my people these past several months. Our human daylight guardians are no match for them. Two entire clans have been completely wiped out. Another lies on the verge of extinction. These clans are nearly as old as the people of Japan themselves, and now they are gone forever.”

  I nodded once, chewing on my lower lip. “Yes, we have lost many nightwalkers and lycanthropes as well due to the increased presence of the naturi.”

  “We have come to find out what the coven plans to do about the naturi threat,” Kojima stated.

  Frowning, I stared down at the ground, weighing my next words carefully. I had little encouragement to offer them, but then, I had to remember that they’d turned their back on the coven and our ways. Was it really my job to offer them a hand of assistance?

  “As of my last meeting with the coven, the naturi threat was being handled by the keepers of the individual domains. The coven itself is not acting beyond the occasional incursion,” I explained in a firm, even tone. “For now, it is seen as the job of every nightwalker to rein in and hunt down the naturi.”

  Hideo looked over at Kojima and then at Tetsuya before leveling his narrowed gaze on me. “And that is the coven we remember. Unwilling to act to save its own; concerned only with hiding from humanity so it does not have to answer for the lifestyle with which it has become so enamored.”

  I merely shrugged my shoulders at his correct assessment. “It is not in the nature of the nightwalker to change. We are as we have always been.”

  “Ahhh . . . but you are different,” Tetsuya replied. “You were reborn differently than the rest of us. You are the Fire Starter.”

  “Little more than a parlor trick when it comes to fighting the light clan,” I said with an absent wave of my hand. At the same time, the flames around us shifted and flicked brightly, as though a breeze had swept through the woods and disturbed them. It seemed they were starting to move in for the kill, and I had to fight the urge to reach for my nearest blade. It wasn’t that I was a coven Elder that attracted them to me in the first place. It was the fact that I was the Fire Starter and had survived multiple encounters with the naturi. I was a survivor, which was what they needed when it came to defeating the naturi at last.

  “But you must have some plans for your own domain,” Hideo pressed. “Matsui spoke of one naturi in particular, Rowe, who has been hunting you. We have even heard that the queen of the naturi has made it a special mission to acquire your head since you were so instrumental in stopping their return many centuries ago.”

  Kojima stepped forward to stand in front of Hideo. His hand slid down to his side where I could only guess there was a concealed blade. The soft sound of earth crunching beneath Danaus’s feet drifted up to my ears as the hunter restlessly shifted his stance. “We’re under the impression that you may be under increased pressure here and planning something that could alleviate some of that pressure for your own kind and the shapeshifters.”

  A smile toyed with the corners of my mouth as I looked over at Danaus. The hunter was watching me closely, waiting to see if I was willing to reveal my own plans for Aurora to our visitors. In truth, I couldn’t decide. The Japanese nightwalkers had turned their back on us. They had left us to lead our own lives and demanded that there be no interference in their lives from the nightwalkers of the West.

  Desperation had drawn them back to our side, but I didn’t expect them to agree so easily with what we had planned, no matter how desperate they were. In fact, I was more concerned with them becoming a hindrance if they didn’t agree. Hell, I wasn’t banking on the coven to back me on this, so I wasn’t telling them either. How could the Japanese clans go along with my plans?

  “You are correct in that we have plans for my domain of Savannah,” I admitted with a sigh as I finally decided to step out on this limb. “Unfortunately, you have to keep in mind that my main goal is not the preservation and protection of our people while eliminating the naturi threat. I am aiming for something far grander. I want a permanent peace. That is what we were meeting about in the tunnels when you aided us tonight.”

  “A permanent peace?” Hideo repeated. “You have found a way to return the naturi back to their cage?”

  It was a tempting idea, but one doomed to failure in the end, as we had already proven with their escape. The cage that held the bori was enduring, but I wasn’t willing to put my money on the idea that it would last indefinitely either. Putting the naturi back in the cage was not only impossible because I had no idea how it was accomplished in the first place, but also impractical. I didn’t want to have to fight another Rowe years from now as he completed a list of sacrifices in order to free his people. Like I had said, I wanted something more permanent, even if it meant a sizable sacrifice and a change in mentality for us all.

  “There will be no return of their cage,” I said grimly with a shake of my head. “We do not know how it was formed. Furthermore, the naturi have been scattered to the four winds, and we would never get them gathered together so they can be recaptured.”

  “Then how would we achieve this permanent peace that you spoke of?” Tetsuya inquired.

  “We first need to get rid of Aurora.”

  “Stopping Aurora would bring us peace? We would still be overwhelmed with naturi,” Hideo said.

  “Stopping Aurora would be the first step in the process of achieving peace,” Danaus said, drawing all eyes over to him. “She maintains her plan to destroy not only nightwalkers but humans as well in her effort to save the Earth. She is single-minded in her plan, and she has begun to turn on her own kind. She is alienating those she would need to accomplish her grand scheme.”

  “There is a fissure that is growing among the naturi,” I added. “We should be able to use that break in their solidarity to our advantage.”

  “How?” Tetsuya asked warily.

  I smiled at him. “An alliance.”

  “With the naturi?” Hideo demanded, his soft voice hardening for the first time. “You are planning an alliance with the naturi?”

  “Yes,” I said with a slight hiss of warning. I wanted to keep this meeting as civil and calm as possible, but I knew that what I was suggesting now was treasonous among the nightwalkers. We had spent too many centuries fighting against the naturi. From the very birth of our race, they had been our enemy. There was no reconciling your differences with your enemies. At least, not when it came to the naturi. What I had said earlier was too true. Nightwalkers didn’t change. But then, I guess Tetsuya was right; I was different.

  “Aurora has tried to kill both of her sisters in the name of treason. The younger of the two sisters, Cynnia, wants to establish a coexistence between naturi and nightwalkers. A number of naturi have already rallied to her side, and she aims to take on Aurora. If we can get Cynnia named queen of the naturi, we have a chance at creating a permanent peace between our two peoples.”

  Danaus stood beside me with a hand resting on the hilt of one dagger at his side in the form of a warning.

  “From what we have come to understand, the naturi are weary of war. The race is slowly dying off. Cynnia is offering them a chance at survival by simply blending into the background, a return to the fores
ts of the world where they can live in peace.”

  Kojima shook his head and paced a couple steps away from his companions, edging a little farther into the clearing. He was clearly the most emotional of the trio, struggling to maintain the same outer calm as his companions. “If they are already facing eventual extinction, why do we not just take advantage of it and kill them off?”

  “Because their numbers are still great,” I said, closely watching the pacing nightwalker for any sign that he was reaching for a weapon. “The war that would ensue would place us against all the naturi, and no matter what you may hope, we would never be able to rally the nightwalkers together to defeat the naturi horde.”

  “You would also be faced with the Great Awakening if you attempted to wage such a war,” Danaus reminded us.

  The Great Awakening. I liked to think it was something that nightwalkers from both the East and the West were trying to avoid. Especially since we still had to deal with the naturi epidemic first. I could only manage one thing at a time.

  “My people are ready for the Great Awakening,” Hideo firmly said.

  I shook my head. “But the world is not. If your people are struggling with the naturi, then you are not ready to face a world that knows about nightwalkers and lycanthropes. Those humans you are so eager to call your friends are just as likely to turn on you the moment they begin to see you as a threat—which you are.”

  “Coexistence is the only way we can hope to continue our current life while remaining hidden from humanity,” Danaus said. “Cynnia wants peace between the two sides, and it is the wisest choice at this juncture.”

  “Do you seriously think peace with the naturi is possible?” Kojima demanded, glaring at me. I didn’t blame him for his doubts. He was only voicing the same thoughts that I had. The only difference was that I knew what had truly happened among the Machu Picchu ruins. Cynnia wasn’t just trying to save her own skin; she was trying to save her race from an even bigger war that Aurora was planning. We didn’t need to turn the humans against us just yet. That would come soon enough, I was certain.

  “With Cynnia as their leader, yes,” I replied. “I’m not so blind as to think that all the fighting between the nightwalkers and the naturi will stop. There will be small branches that are determined to keep the war going even after Aurora’s defeat, but that is nothing in comparison to the war Aurora is determined to wage.”

  Hideo scratched his chin as he silently stared at me. “This Cynnia was the one you were meeting with tonight?”

  “Yes. The leader of the Savannah lycanthropes, me, and my associates all met with her tonight to discuss her plan. In truth, I have just now agreed to go along with her plan. There is still much planning and strategizing that needs to be done, but I believe in her vision for our two peoples. After countless centuries that have cost us too many lives, I believe that Cynnia can finally bring the war between the nightwalkers and the naturi to an end.”

  “If Cynnia is for peace between our races, why were there naturi attacking you tonight?” Tetsuya inquired.

  “Because Cynnia is being hunted by her sister Aurora. The queen has become paranoid and insane with power. At Machu Picchu this past fall, she branded Cynnia and her sister Nyx traitors. She banished her consort Rowe. She has made enemies of the very people she needs most at her side to succeed in defeating the nightwalkers and the humans. Those so-called traitors are now gathered together to bring her down.”

  “And they have won over the Fire Starter as well,” Danaus added with a smirk. “The odds are starting to tip in our favor. Aurora may have greater numbers, but we just need to take down the queen to finally quell the naturi nation. Cynnia will lead them into seclusion while the nightwalkers and the lycanthropes return to their previous way of life.”

  Hideo shook his head at me. He paused and threaded his fingers through his hair, pushing it away from his eyes. “And what happens if this Cynnia succeeds and takes her people away from the human world? What if the naturi are allowed to return to the woods where their numbers are permitted to grow once again? Won’t we be eventually faced with a new, stronger threat?”

  An evil grin slipped across my face, and I could feel a lavender glow filling my eyes. “The peace that I speak of is merely a temporary one in hopes of avoiding an even greater and more dangerous war that will rip away our veil of secrecy. The fight between Cynnia and Aurora will cut into their numbers, leaving the naturi weakened. It will take them a long time to replenish themselves. That will give us time to train our own death squads to specialize in hunting down the naturi in their own territory. At the moment, we haven’t an edge when it comes to fighting them in the woods. Time and research will give us that edge. Do not mistake my decision to agree to a truce with the naturi. My ultimate goal will always be their complete extinction.”

  Mira! Danaus exclaimed in my head, though there was no outward signs that he was stunned by my admission.

  It is better to kill them off before they get the chance to kill us off, I coldly replied. Cynnia has some pretty ideas, but the truce between the two races will always be temporary. She can’t rule forever, and I know Rowe. He won’t allow the coexistence to stretch indefinitely. He is a soldier and he has been trained to kill nightwalkers.

  But you agreed to a truce with Cynnia!

  I will not be the one to break that truce, but make no mistake, it will be broken eventually, and we will be prepared for it.

  “Your plans are interesting,” Hideo conceded. “We are reassured by the fact that your end goal remains the elimination of the naturi race. However, we cannot accept a temporary truce with a group that we plan to ultimately destroy. The naturi are our sworn enemy and we cannot agree to work in harmony with them.”

  “Even if it means avoiding the Great Awakening?” I asked, cocking my head to one side as I stared at him.

  “This just may be a sign that it is finally time for the Great Awakening to happen.”

  “I can’t accept that.” I crossed my arms over my stomach and glared at Hideo. “If it is within my power to delay that horrible event, I will do everything I can to delay it. Humanity is not ready.”

  “And we cannot accept such two-faced betrayal,” Hideo countered, looking completely at peace with his decision. It was all I could do not to snicker at him.

  “The clans of the East truly are different,” I said. “Here, betrayal is a way of life. It’s a survival mechanism.”

  “We are not like you,” Tetsuya said, looking more than a little offended.

  “And yet you came here looking for my help. I may be different, but I was raised by the nightwalkers of the West. I’m not that different.”

  “We cannot help you,” Hideo firmly said.

  “Because of my ultimate plans of betrayal?” I raised one eyebrow at him.

  “Because working with the naturi would be a betrayal of our promise to fight them,” Hideo corrected.

  “Then maybe it’s time to rethink that promise, if you have any hope of protecting your people in the long run,” I said, and held up my hand to stop his next comment, which I knew would be a rejection of that very suggestion. “Remain in my domain for a few nights. It is a long flight back to Japan, and you and your people will need some time to regain your strength. Think about what I have told you. If you would like an audience with Cynnia to further discuss her vision, it can be arranged.”

  “And the coven’s position on your plans?” Kojima asked.

  “The coven has no position on my plans because I am handling this as the keeper of my domain. If we succeed in ridding the world of Aurora, I will then deal with the coven.”

  Hideo frowned at me, his dark eyes narrowing. “While we appreciate your offering and the position that you find yourself in, we believe that our situation is direr at the moment. We politely request that you accompany us back to Japan where you will aid us in ridding our lands of the naturi pest.”

  My voice dropped to a low warning. “I’m afraid that I can’t d
o that. My job is to protect my domain, not yours.”

  “And I am afraid that your refusal is not an option,” Tetsuya countered.

  I took a step backward while both my hands dropped down to the knives on either of my hips as I waited for the attack. “You can’t force me to assist you. My work is here.”

  “We are confident that you will come if it means coming for your consort,” Kojima said with a dark grin.

  It was then that I finally felt it. He had been cloaking himself deep in the woods, but now that he had drawn close to the clearing, I could sense his power clearly despite his efforts to hide himself from me. I growled, stepping in front of Danaus to block the other three nightwalkers in front of me from approaching.

  The other one is here. He’s going to attack you from behind, I warned Danaus silently.

  It’s too late, Danaus snarled in my brain. He’s already done it.

  I twisted around to find the smaller man hanging onto Danaus’s back, his legs wrapped around the hunter’s slender waist while holding a short blade to his throat while his other hand held a knife close to Danaus’s heart.

  Boil him, but don’t kill him. I will handle the others.

  The fireballs that circled the clearing crashed to the ground in an explosion of sparks and debris as I launched myself at my three opponents. It wasn’t that they had hoped to kidnap me for their own ends. I was pissed over the fact that they thought for even a second that they could lay a hand on Danaus. It would not be tolerated.

  Knives spun out of my hands in a flurry of glinting silver across the clearing. They were easily blocked by my skilled opponents, but it gave me enough time to draw my sword. As it cleared the sheath, I coated the sleek blade in dancing flames. The trio hesitated to approach, allowing me to back to them to the edge of the woods.

  At the same time, the screams of their secret companion echoed through the clearing, bouncing off the trees and soaring into the black sky above. There was a heavy thud as the body hit the ground behind me. I could hear the scrambling in the dirt as he writhed about, undoubtedly clawing at his flesh.