Ink Bound (Ink Born Book 3)

by Holly Evans

  “You’d be willing to push him out? Even though he was the one who brought you here?”

  “Yes. It’s just good business.”

  Her smile broadened. “You may be right.”

  She leaned back on her stool and took a sip of her silver drink.

  “You are not to touch the products. Neither is your pet. You can start by buying some fire thorn, and we’ll see how much profit you make me.”

  Fire thorn was something people had whispered about in the dark corners of Wildrun. A drug that gave the user temporary ability to wield fire, it was supposed to give them a huge adrenaline rush and the euphoria that came with it. The only problem was, there was a risk of the fire consuming them. Judging from the number of people with fire flickering through their hair within the club, they clearly thought the risk was fair.

  “Deal,” I said.

  She sold me the minimum batch she was willing to deal with, enough for me to give to Fein. I hoped that he had a good alchemist on hand. They’d be able to track the tablets back to the person who made them. Each alchemist has their own signature, a little something they mark their products with.

  With that exchange complete, I left as quickly as I could without drawing attention. I’d more than hit my limit for the night. Tala remained close, a watchful shadow that I appreciated. We walked three blocks before we got a taxi to the large gothic church a few blocks from home. I wasn’t risking anyone finding where we lived. What had I gotten myself into?

  26

  “How’re you coping, little wolf?” I asked once we were in the privacy of the elevator.

  He shrugged.

  “It went as I expected,” he said noncommittally.

  “That isn’t what I asked.”

  He bared his teeth at me and shuffled his feet.

  “It is… very different,” he said.

  That was all I was going to get from him, and it was enough. He slunk off to his room without a further word, and I let him. He needed time and space. Keirn ran his hands over mine, caressing the base of my thumbs before he leaned into me and rested his head against my chest.

  “I’m glad to have you home,” he whispered.

  I wrapped my arm around his waist and led him to our room. The moment the door closed, the emotions overwhelmed me.

  “Oh, Keirn…”

  He stroked my face and kissed behind my ear.

  “I’m here,” he whispered.

  “I used blood ink, for a fucking Dobhar Chu of all things,” I whispered.

  He frowned, his mouth tightened.

  “I hated every second of it, and the fucking ink network had no problem with it! Who knows what will happen to that guy tonight, what destruction he’ll bring. And I did that… I wanted knowledge to help free the slaves. I wasn’t cut out for this, balancing the dark acts against the ends, the benefits we’ll bring to those poor slaves.”

  Keirn wrapped his arms around me and held me tight while I tried to compose myself. It was one thing to kill a redcap that had attacked me first and no doubt killed many people before me. It was something else entirely to set a vicious predator loose in the city.

  Keirn’s fingers dug into my hair and massaged my scalp and the back of my neck.

  “You are a good man, Dacian. You’re going to take everything you’ve learnt to Fein, and you’re going to make sure it’s used to save many lives,” he said firmly.

  “I wasn’t made for this,” I whispered.

  “Oh, but you were,” the ink network whispered in my mind.

  Keirn moved his hand to my heart.

  “Don’t lose track of your heart, and be willing to stand your ground. You can help Fein do so much good in this city,” he said.

  I squeezed my eyes closed. “Can you forgive me?”

  He kissed me tenderly. “Of course. I trust you to do the right thing, and I trust Fein to guide you well. Now come to bed.”

  My dreams were full of images of the ink network explaining that it’s completely fine to use bone needles to steal people’s life essence, that it helps the network remain strong. I woke up glad to see that the sun had risen and I could ring Fein about my findings. Anything to escape the cursed dreams.

  Keirn kissed my jaw, the worry lines present around his eyes. “You were tossing and turning all night.”

  “Nightmares about bone needles,” I said.

  “Ah.”

  “I will not use a bone needle. I refuse,” I said.

  Keirn smiled and nibbled along my earlobe.

  “I trust you,” he whispered.

  Slowly, the tension of the night faded, and I was ready to face the morning. I wasn’t quite ready to see Vyx teaching Tala to cook pancakes in the kitchen. The little wolf was growling at the pan as the pancake refused to flip. Vyx very calmly took the handle of the pan and moved it in a smooth motion that dislodged it from the bottom.

  “Are they for us?” I asked with a grin.

  Tala glared at me. I held up hands.

  “Pastries and coffee it is. Oh, and we’ll probably be visiting Fein today. We can see what’s happening with your pack.”

  “I suppose you could have a couple of pancakes…” Tala said with a scowl.

  Food was a funny thing for shifters and ferals. They guarded it fiercely. A feral giving you food was quite an offering of friendship. If they allowed you to steal some food, you knew you had a bond for life.

  “I’d appreciate that,” I said.

  “I’m meeting the buyers for that collection today,” Keirn said around his muffin.

  “When? Let me know how it goes,” I said.

  I felt awful that I’d forgotten it was that day. I’d gotten so wrapped up in the tattooist bullshit.

  “I leave in thirty minutes, assuming the cougars get out of the bathroom in time…” he said, glaring in the direction of the bathroom.

  “Cats,” I said with a laugh.

  Hate shower Kyra pushed.

  I looked over and saw her crawling on her belly along the top of the kitchen cabinets, her focus entirely on Tala’s pancakes.

  “He’ll just cook you with them,” I told her out loud to warn Vyx and thus stop Tala from harming her.

  Vyx looked up and narrowed her eyes.

  “Kyra! You were given breakfast,” she said.

  Kyra flicked her tail and huffed before she jumped down onto the kitchen counters and stalked off to the window.

  Bored

  If you’re very good you can visit Fein and Tyn with me

  Sharp elf

  Don’t piss him off

  She sighed melodramatically, and I returned my focus to Keirn and breakfast.

  “How do you feel about the sale?” I asked

  “Good, they seem very interested and they have connections. It could be the start of something,” Keirn said.

  “How’re your sales, little vixen?” I asked.

  “I’m in talks with someone about an art show in Austria,” she said.

  The way her shoulder slumped when she said it suggested she wasn’t as excited as I’d have expected.

  “And that’s bad?” I asked.

  “It doesn’t feel right,” she said quietly.

  “Well, you have buyers here, right?” I said.

  “A few, enough, but I don’t want to get a reputation,” she said.

  “You don’t want a reputation as a doormat who does whatever people tell her to, either,” I said.

  She smiled. “You’re right.”

  I sat on the couch with Keirn. The cougars still weren’t out of the shower, and the gods only knew where Caiden was.

  I leaned in to Keirn and whispered, “Am I doing ok with this boyfriend thing?”

  He laughed at me and patted my knee. “You’re doing fine.”

  I hadn’t put that much thought into the relationship with Isa, but Keirn was different. He was my other half. I’d be lost without him.

  27

  Fein had been quite eager to hear from me and meet Tala. He
had us go to his office that afternoon. Tala growled at the vines that covered the walls and walked close behind me as we followed Isla to Fein’s office. Isla vanished without a word, leaving Tala and me with Tyn and Fein. Tyn was in his human form for a change. He leaned against the corner of Fein’s desk in a very nice slate-grey suit and a pale blue tie that brought out his eyes.

  Fein smiled at us, but said nothing. I had no idea what was expected of me, so I tossed the two bags of drugs I’d been given at the club onto his desk.

  “I bought the fire thorn, and was given the others, at the club last night,” I said.

  Tyn picked up the smaller bag by the corner and held it up to the light.

  “Is that Wisp?” he asked.

  “No clue. Some woman pressed the bag into my hand, she was far gone and probably thought I was someone else,” I said.

  Fein took the bag from Tyn and opened it. He took a shallow breath and curled his lip, revealing a single sharp tooth.

  “Yes, that is Wisp,” he said.

  I had no idea what Wisp was or did, but I was assuming it was nothing good.

  “They use bone needles and blood ink. I had to use blood ink last night. They made me bring through a Dobhar Chu,” I said thrusting my hands down into my pockets.

  It would be worth it in the end, I reminded myself. Tyn and Fein shared a look.

  “Was he a scrawny young man with brown hair? No shirt?” Fein asked.

  “Yea, that was him, why?”

  “His body washed up on the shore at the edge of the city,” Fein said.

  Some part of me was relieved. Guilt wound around the guilt, making my stomach turn.

  “Tell me everything,” Fein said.

  I gave him every detail I could remember, from Chris to Scott to the location of the club. Tala added in a few things I’d missed or forgotten.

  “I have an alchemist that I will send these to. We will find out who’s making them,” Fein gestured at the tablets.

  “Let’s talk about Tala and a pack,” Tyn said, pushing himself off Fein’s desk.

  Tala and I followed Tyn through the vines to a smaller, more comfortable room with only a single flower within it. I sat on an over-stuffed armchair opposite Tyn. Tala passed before I told him to sit down. I was on edge without him pacing.

  “How do you feel Tala has been adjusting?” Tyn asked.

  “Pretty well, I think.”

  Tyn sat and waited for me to say something else. I had no idea what he wanted from me. The little wolf hadn’t bitten anyone or caused trouble. What more did he want?

  “He hasn’t caused any trouble and seems to get on well enough with everyone. Vyx was teaching him to make pancakes this morning,” I said.

  Tyn smiled. “That’s good to hear. Fein would like to speak to him in private once he’s finished this phone call.”

  “About his pack?” I asked.

  Tyn’s mouth flattened into a firm line. “That’s between Tala and Fein.”

  Tala curled up in his chair and grumbled under his breath.

  “You will be given a good home, Tala. It may be with someone other than the Black Forest pack, is all,” Tyn said.

  Tala uncurled a little.

  “If need be, you can continue staying with us. I’m sure one of us will be able to help you learn a trade,” I said.

  A flicker of a smile passed across the feral’s lips.

  “Fein is ready to speak with the feral,” Isla said from the doorway.

  “His name is Tala,” I said.

  The snow elf stared unblinkingly at me, her face expressionless. Tala stood and left with her.

  “You look like shit, Dacian,” Tyn said with a smile.

  I slumped back in the chair.

  “I don’t know if I can do it. That guy died thanks to me. Who knows how many people he hurt before he drowned? Those people are assholes, they treat ferals like shit, and they pass dangerous drugs around like candy,” I said.

  “The people are not forced to take those drugs,” Tyn said.

  I sighed. “The people the tattooists use the bone needles on have no idea, though, they don’t consent to slowly having their life stripped from them.”

  “People make their own choices, Dacian. What you are doing will help many people.”

  “There have to be limits. There must be lines that I won’t cross, else how am I possibly any better than them?”

  “What we do is… complicated. Things balance, but it can be difficult to see the big picture.”

  “Under no circumstances am I using a bone needle,” I said.

  “And we won’t ask you to.”

  “What will you ask of me?”

  “We’ll take that on a day to day basis. Dacian, you’re a good guy. We’re not heartless, we’re careful. Our aim is to help people.”

  “People like you were.”

  “Yes. And the cougars, Vyx, and Tala.”

  I nodded. It still didn’t sit right with me, but I had to focus on the end result.

  “Where do these ‘good homes’ that Fein provides come from?”

  “He knows many people. The ferals often go into shifter families and packs where they’re rehabilitated and given a trade. Some stay with their pack, some move on and live good lives outside of that. The others find homes in other countries, places far away from their abuse where they’re surrounded by good people who help them. It’s not unusual for people Fein has helped in the past to offer their homes to new people. Tala really will be well looked after.”

  “I’m rather soft hearted, it seems,” I said with a laugh.

  “We all are, under it,” Tyn said with a smile.

  28

  Once again, I returned to Fein’s office. I’d thought I was free of his house for a while, but Isla summoned Tyn and me back to his office. Apparently, the cougars had news on the slaves. I’d hoped I was being kept out of that mess, given the shit I was dealing with at the tattooists club. Tyn immediately went to the cougars and ran his fingers over their faces, a deep frown filling his face. Their injuries were healing as I watched, but they still sported split lips and an array of cuts. I dreaded to think what they must have looked like an hour prior. No one said anything while the felines had their silent talk. Shadow squeezed Tyn’s shoulder and gave him a smile. Luka brushed his cheek over the Cait Sidhe’s.

  “We’ve been through worse,” Luka said softly.

  Tyn nodded and stepped back, pulled himself up taller and walked to Fein’s side, where he wore his usual expression of bored nonchalance.

  Tala had watched everything very closely with his arms crossed tightly across his chest. He stood near the side of the room where he could see everything, his muscles tight and expression stony. Fein must have given him bad news.

  Shadow spoke first. “There are three groups pulling in new slaves, far more than usual.”

  He went into agonising detail about the locations around the city that had been turned upside down and which redcap faction had defected to which crime lord. Most of it went over my head. It was amazing how much of the city I had no idea existed at all, names that meant nothing at all to me. I grasped that there was a war brewing within the criminal underground, that there was far more to it all than an increase in slaves being taken. A smaller group was pushing for more power, which had upset a local shifter pack, and the ripples spread out from there, leading to chaos and violence.

  “We need you to get more information from the tattooists and press that angle,” Fein said to me.

  “I’m doing what I can,” I said.

  He gave a small nod.

  “I understand that this is difficult for you, Dacian. None of us here takes pleasure in bringing harm. I do not savour the decisions I must make, but we are trying to save lives and make the city a better place,” he said slowly, carefully.

  For once he didn’t stare me down as he spoke. His eyes had drifted down.

  “I know,” I said.

  What else was I supposed to say?
‘I know that you’re a scary criminal overlord that has such a predatory streak you make alpha shifters tremble, but you’re also the hero here?’ I glanced over to Tala, who was beginning to grow restless. He kept shifting his weight from foot to foot.

  “I have made Tala an offer, Mr. Corbeaux. What happens next is between you and him. With that in mind, we’re done here. Keep me updated,” Fein said.

  Tala wasted no time in stalking across the room to my side. Isla appeared from the ether, or wherever she’d hidden that time, and we made our way back through the vine-riddled hallways. The cougars were quiet behind us, but I could feel their presence, and there was something soothing about that.

  The cougars remained quiet for the journey home, and Tala stuck close to me, his pose mimicking mine with his hands in his pockets and his head facing the world. I wondered if that’s what it would feel like to have a little brother, or maybe even a son. The thoughts soon shifted away to the problems at hand. The criminal underground was apparently in revolt, and I was expected to help smooth that out.

  “You can talk to me,” I said to the cougars once we were in the privacy of the elevator.

  Luka looked at me, his eyes searching my face, before he smiled and pressed his cheek to mine.

  “Thank you, Dacian,” he said.

  Shadow repeated the gesture and they both relaxed a little. I was being dragged into Fein’s world, and I needed to trust them with my life. The time of holding them at arm’s reach had to come to an end. The simple fact was that I wasn’t going to return to being a tattoo magician with a quiet little parlour. Accepting that felt as though a physical weight lifted. The world became a little brighter. No more fighting that which I cannot change.

  “What’s this offer from Fein, then, Tala?” I asked as I took my boots off.

  The little wolf snorted and looked away from me.

  “He wants to train me as a tracker for him. He said he has a hunter that he thinks I’d pair really well with, but I’m welcome to stay here until I’m ready. If you’ll have me, that is…” he said, keeping his eyes down.

  “Of course we’ll have you!” Vyx said with a big grin. “Isn’t that right, Dacian?” she asked me as she crossed her arms and dared me to disagree with hard eyes and a broad grin.