Death Be Blue (The Terra Vane Series Book 1)

by Katie Epstein

  “You ever regret immigrating over here?” he asked me and I tapped my fingers on the tankard in front of me while debating whether I was going to answer him or not. Boredom won out.

  “No,” I replied after a while. “You know I was a teenager when I made the move. It’s like second nature now. And I like using my gift over here without feeling like a freak.”

  “You felt like a freak on Earthside?” he prodded.

  “Yep. From where I come from anyway. Over on Earthside, a lot of people aren’t so accepting of the different. And even though it’s similar in a lot of ways, it’s not a place where I could be myself.” I stopped tapping the tankard and sat back in my seat. “It doesn’t matter now, anyway. Even though it was hard making the transition at first, the downsides of being over here are worth it.” And there weren’t many downsides if I was being truthful. Portiside is a world that emulates Earthside in many ways.

  Founded through a portal a very long time ago, it was discovered by an ancient alliance who the history books call the Hunters of Salvation. Also according to the books, when the Great Flood had been predicted to hit Earth all that time ago, the Hunters of Salvation came together to find an escape route. Lucky for them—and us, I suppose—they found the portal to this place.

  Thousands of years later, the desert land they came across has formed into a civilized society where every species has been banded to retain order. Portiside is now an amalgamation of vampires, fairies, humans, shifters, and you name it, sitting in what the geniuses like to call a dimension pocket. And each citizen works toward one purpose. Our survival.

  “Does all of Earthside suck so bad?” Kaleb asked and I chuckled.

  “No. Not all of it. Just like over here. But Portiside is my true home. I think it always will be.”

  “I’d like to visit Earthside one day,” he said, his voice thoughtful. “That’s if Cole ever decides to give me dual citizenship.”

  I said nothing, knowing it was doubtful Kaleb would ever get it. It was rare that any shifter was awarded duel citizenship between Portis and Earthside. But I didn’t want to remind him of that. Let him dream if that’s what he wanted to yearn for. I wasn’t about to burst his bubble.

  Silence fell between us and I relaxed a little. But this was Kaleb I was dealing with. I was lucky that the silence between us lasted more than a few seconds before he said, “So, we’ve learned from the vision that the killer is a narcissistic prick with some serious dietary issues. It also looks like he’s hunting for his prey in the Victorian Quarter, even though some of his victims lived elsewhere.”

  “A lot of people work here but don’t live here,” I added, and he nodded in agreement.

  “Got that. But there is also limited risk that he’s going to cross the wrong person in the Victorian Quarter. It’s mostly humans around here until you get to Seller Lane. Then the witches and psychics and other Sapphire Citizens dominate. The killer knew what he was doing when he targeted his human victims. He was going for the weaker prey.”

  “You mean the one’s who wouldn’t bite back?”

  “Pretty much.” He agreed. “Is that all you got from the vision?”

  “It was more than what we had before. If it hadn’t been for my vision we would never have thought to come down this way.”

  “Yeah, I get it. But there is only so long a wolf like me can stand places like this. I’ve got a rep to protect.”

  “A rep?” I asked, trying not to burst out laughing in his face.

  “A reputation. You know? That thing that’s been damaged ever since I had to partner up with you.”

  Lucky for him, I knew he was joking. But it was closer to the bone than intended. The Enforcer Field Agent role was a shifter-dominated job. In theory, I should never have made it through the academy. But thanks to Kaleb and the soul-destroying boot camp he’d put me through during our time there, I’d passed. We had been partners from the moment we’d both graduated. Mainly because no one else had wanted to partner up with me, but Kaleb had stepped up. Being the Enforcer Chief’s younger brother meant he got less shit for it than another would have done. But he still had to put up with the jibes and digs from the other agents.

  I nudged his arm with affection, grateful for the bit of aggravation he did put up with for being my partner. But he took that as an opening to muss up my hair. I blocked his arm before he could reach his target. “Will you keep your hands to yourself?”

  “You’re the only female in existence to ever say that to me.” He laughed when I glared at him. “I’m only telling the truth.”

  Ignoring his stupid comment was unsuccessful in shutting him up.

  “How much longer are we staying here?” he asked as I started to tap my foot against the wooden leg of the table with impatience.

  “We’ve only been here for thirty minutes.” Another patron passed by our table and eyed us as if we were up to no good. “But I don’t think this is a place the killer would frequent. We’ll go soon and move on to the next place. I’m getting thirsty.”

  “So, drink your drink,” he said with a smirk.

  “I don’t think so,” I lowered my voice. “That tankard probably hasn’t been washed in a month.”

  “Not something I have to worry about with my DNA. Actually, the ale here tastes a lot better than I expected.”

  The bartender was cleaning a tankard with a dirty rag when I nudged my head in his direction. “He’s got to have something that keeps people coming back. I don’t think his customer service skills hack it.”

  “He only needs enough business to fill his barrels and line his pocket a little. He’s not worried about anything else.”

  “If that’s the case then he needs to stop being so picky with his customers. Did you see his face when he saw the banding on my citizen badge?”

  “I don’t think that was anything to do with you. They just don’t like dealing with strangers in here. That’s all.”

  “He was prejudice because he had a Sapphire Citizen drinking in his bar,” I said, ignoring him. “It’s not my fault I’m listed as a damn psychic. And he should be grateful for the currency he aggressively swiped my badge for.”

  “Sapphires don’t only include psychics.”

  “Yeah, well, if the witches and shamans had it their way, psychics would be listed as Amethysts like the other humans.”

  “Then lucky for you, you passed the test for becoming a Sapphire with Immigration Control. No one can argue with that blue band on your badge.”

  Kaleb took another large gulp of the drink before slamming the tankard down on the table. A few eyes glanced our way so he wiped his mouth and let out a burp that would make his wolf mama weep. It was definitely against his nature to do so. But his gross behavior had worked in our favor. Raucous laughter rose up from those who’d heard him, as they banged the tables with their own tankards before going back to their business.

  Kaleb laughed when I shook my head.

  “What?” he asked. “I’m blending in with the locals.”

  I could feel the twitch of a smile on my lips so I pulled it back.

  “You’re getting way too excited over a dirty tankard of beer. Don’t you have places like this back at Totem Talamh to drink in?”

  “You know I don’t live there anymore,” he said as all humor dropped from his face. Kaleb wasn’t a fan of the shifter lands where he was raised, and I’d forgotten myself for a second. Guilt consumed me at his reaction for a brief moment, because as annoying as he was, I liked Kaleb—most of the time.

  “Sore subject. I’m sorry,” I told him, chagrined, as I put a comforting hand on his arm.

  “Get a room,” a man growled as he shuffled past our table. I could hardly see him. Hunched over and wearing a jacket two sizes too big, he moved fast for someone who was barely sober. It broke the tension though and Kaleb laughed.

  “We should get a room.” He gave me his come-to-bed eyes and I didn’t hesitate in doing what I always did when he turned his charms
on me. “Ow!” he yelped when I punched his thigh under the table. “It usually has the opposite effect, you know.”

  “Not on me, it doesn’t. You should know that by now.”

  “Can’t blame a shifter for trying.”

  A pained groan left my lips.

  “What?” he asked with a twinkle in his eye. “Haven’t you heard that once you go fur, you do nothing but purr?”

  “Will you behave yourself before I cool you down. Or I’ll do worse. I’ll tell your brother.”

  “You wouldn’t tell Cole anything. You only talk to him when you have to, and even then you go all nervous and girl-like.”

  “I do not go all nervous and girl-like around him.”

  It pissed me off that Cole’s face came to mind as I claimed my denial. Our Enforcer Chief was an attractive man, as most shifters were. But he could also be a domineering and arrogant, chauvinistic pig. He treated me with kid gloves in front of the other agents, and it made me look weak. It also meant that they treated me as such.

  “You keep telling yourself that while I wipe the drool from your chin.”

  “One more word, Kaleb, and I will dunk my drink on your head.”

  The threat worked and he kept his mouth shut. I knew the thought of combining Kaleb’s much-loved silky locks with the stinking ale would be good leverage. He valued his hair more than any other part of his anatomy, bar one.

  “Screw it,” I said after we waited the next five minutes in silence. “Let’s go. Nothing is happening here. Let’s head off to the next location.”

  “Are you actually going to drink in the next bar?” he asked, as we made our way to exit. I didn’t answer him as I maneuvered through the crowd, pushing my way past chattering and drunken bodies. People glowered at us as we shoved our way through and I tried to avoid any eye contact. It would be easier for us if we could leave the bar in peace without creating a blood bath. It wouldn’t be a fair fight against this lot.

  As we neared the exit, the door in front of me creaked open. The world slowed down as a man entered, and my skin grew cold.

  The newcomer was dressed in a frock coat and top hat that made him stand out in a place like this. Not that the fashion was uncommon for the Victorian Quarter, but it was strange to see someone dressed this way coming into The Beer Barrel. It was even stranger still that no one seemed to bat an eyelid at the man’s entrance. That told me he’d been here before.

  Not wanting to alert our presence to the man now making his way toward the bar, I kept my own movements slow and nonchalant. I lowered my psychic shields ever so slightly to try and ease the feeling of unrest simmering within.

  Shivers crept along my skin as I did so, bringing goosebumps to the surface. And an awareness of knowing him on some level triggered inside of me.

  The way he walked was familiar.

  Staring at the back of his head, the dots fell into place. The familiarity of his movements connected with the ones I’d felt in the vision. And it hit me. He was here. It was him. The killer was here and ordering a freaking drink.

  Suddenly, my body was heavy. I felt as though I was walking through water as the patron’s voices faded into the background. My gift reached out to the familiar energy it had picked up on from before, and flashes of the killer’s past actions entered my mind so fast it made me breathless. I was unable to move as I felt completely numb to my own thoughts, the panic swirling in my chest. I could barely breathe as the tables turned, and I felt myself slowly, but surely, become the killer’s prey.

  At that thought, the killer slowly turned around to face me. It was as if he knew. He knew what I was. He knew I was here for him. I tried to raise my shields, but the panic came too fast. Our eyes met—

  “Sweetheart …” Kaleb spun me around and pulled me into his arms. He landed a large kiss on my lips, stunning me into reality. “You’ve had too much to drink again.” He picked me up and threw me over his shoulder, laughing when the men around us cheered. A few of them thought it was funny to slap me on my behind as we walked by, making me silently vow that I was going to kill Kaleb if he ever dared tell anyone about this.

  “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” I demanded, as soon as the cool night air outside hit us.

  “Saving your ass by the looks of it.” He took hold of my hand and pulled me along the cobbled street. “Be quiet.”

  I didn’t say anything as he led me to the cover of the shadows.

  “Are you okay?” He put his hands on my arms, holding me in place while he checked me over. He tried not to be overprotective, aware of how much it rankled me, but there were times when he forgot. Like now.

  “It was him,” I whispered, disturbed by the fear that still lingered on my skin as I thought of the killer. “The man who walked in when we were leaving.”

  “I kind of got that. We’ve got a good visual from here. We should be able to track him when he leaves.”

  A shiver passed through my body, and it vibrated enough for Kaleb to feel it beneath his fingers.

  “Terra,” he said, studying me, “you’re not okay. What happened?”

  “It’s nothing. I just got caught up in his energy, that’s all. I’ll be alright in a moment.”

  “I thought you had to lower your shields to connect that way?” The worry in his eyes caused me to waver.

  “I lowered them a little when he came in. Something told me I needed to …”

  “Put them back up,” he snapped.

  “I’ll be fine. I need them lowered to track him.”

  “I have his scent now.” His nostrils flared. “I can track him. Put up your damn shields.”

  “You know it pisses me off when you talk to me like that.”

  He was right though, even if I didn’t want to admit it. The man in the bar had acknowledged my presence—either through instinct or otherwise—and I needed to shut down the link in case he knew how to use it to his own advantage.

  “I’m sorry,” Kaleb said, not sounding sorry at all. “Don’t make me chastise you like Cole does. You shouldn’t be so reckless!”

  “Don’t make me out to be weak.” I rubbed my eyes then glared at him. He knew how much I hated feeling weak, and he knew how hard I’d worked to get to a point in my life where I felt like I was in control.

  “I’m not making you out to be weak.” He closed his eyes for a moment as he leaned against the wall next to me. “But I know how far you push yourself when people’s lives are on the line. Roles reversed, you would kick my ass in the same way, so deal with it.”

  He was right, and I knew I was angering him so I could let out my own frustration. I had almost exposed us to the killer and Kaleb had saved the day with his quick thinking. The images had been harder to push back than the energy I’d picked up from the man. So I took a few long, deep breaths to pull on all I had to get back onto steady ground.

  “Thanks,” I said after a period of time. But nothing more needed to be spoken. It was time to lay in waiting until the killer made his presence known, and then what would happen next was anybody’s guess.

  CHAPTER TWO

  It was several minutes after leaving The Beer Barrel when four infamous words flew from my mouth: “I’ve got an idea.”

  “What?” Kaleb whispered, as we remained huddled in the shadows while waiting for the killer to leave.

  “We need to set a trap.”

  “What kind of a trap?” he asked, dubiously.

  “The killer picked up on me in there, enough for him to turn around. Now, depending on what the hell he is, he could take that as either a connection or an alert. I vote for a connection.”

  Kaleb looked at me like he often did—as if what I was saying didn’t make any sense—then asked, “What?”

  “There was a reason he turned to face me back there, and he’s going to be on high alert now. If we track the killer, he could sense us and we could lose him. He is controlled, clever, and needs a reason for his kills. I felt that in the vision.”

  �
��So?”

  “So, why not give him a reason? Set me up as bait.”

  Kaleb’s long jacket fluttered as he planted his hands firmly on his waist. I knew that look he was giving me, but I wasn’t someone who he had to protect. I wasn’t his sister, and he needed to treat me like he would any other agent.

  “We’re doing it,” I told him in defiance. “As soon as he comes out of there, I’ll make a scene and walk away. We can act like a couple who have just had an argument and I’ll march off claiming I’m going to catch The Rail home.”

  The Rail was what everyone in Portiside called the monorail. It operated twenty-four hours a day, high above the city, with four stations built intermittently between the quarters. It was the favored transport around here, with horse and carriages being a close second. Cars did exist in Portiside, but they were solar powered and mostly used for heading out of the city into the lands that bordered it.

  The Rail was the most cost effective, and it got you where you needed to be in a matter of minutes. After ten at night, however, they reduced the frequency of their service. That alone would increase my vulnerability factor to the killer if I could pull off being stranded well enough.

  “So you walk away, alone. Then what?” Kaleb asked, as if he was actually contemplating my plan. It proved how desperate we were becoming in taking down this cannibalistic maniac.

  “Then I wait until the killer makes his move while you stay hidden in the shadows. Hopefully, he’ll lead me off somewhere and you can track us.”

  “I’m not leaving you alone with a killer, Terra. You’re just a hu–”