Death Be Blue (The Terra Vane Series Book 1)

by Katie Epstein

  She would have tried to sort it out herself as much as possible before even thinking to contact us, and that’s why we would have to be there for her.

  I knew she hadn’t been right when I’d visited the shop earlier. I should have probed harder. “When is Rosie free?”

  “She said she would make herself free when you could, as she wasn’t sure when you would have the time with this case happening. And you don’t have to, but—”

  “But nothing. We’ll make it happen.” I quickly thought of everything we needed to do over the next couple of days then made a decision. “Ask Rosie if she can make it tomorrow night. I’ve got something on this evening and then again the evening after. Can we head out for a couple of hours then?”

  “Oh,” she screeched in excitement. I knew her well enough that she would be trying to tamper down her excitement for the sake of my eardrums. “That would be amazing! I’ll call Rosie now. If you don’t hear from me, I’ll meet you at the Wicked Cauldron at six, tomorrow night. That way it doesn’t have to be a late one. Is that okay with you?”

  “That’s okay.”

  “Good. Great. I’m so glad. Thank you, Terra.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  She rang off the comms and I smiled as I leaned my head against the glass window of the carriage. Why she felt she had to be so grateful for having her friends step up niggled at me a little. Mayra would do anything for anyone, but struggled whenever anyone did something for her. It was charming most of the time, but not when it was detrimental to her health—or her sanity.

  We’d been friends for years, and she’d taken me under her wing when she’d seen me staring into her shop window all that time ago. I’d been in Portiside less than a year and I was still trying to adjust. My mom had met Chris and they had announced they were getting married after only knowing each other for three months. I was pissed at both her and Chris, who’d decided to walk into our lives.

  I didn’t know back then how important he would become to me, and I’d felt like I’d been pushed out by my mom all over again.

  Mayra had encouraged me to come and look inside her shop the day I’d fled for some space, and we’d started talking. She learned about my gift and the trouble I had with it, and said that she might be able to help. After that, she’d taught me about the different energies and the shields I could manifest and manipulate to protect myself. Through practice and determination, such knowledge had changed my life. I’d been grateful to her from that moment on.

  The monorail pulled into the station as the old memories shimmered away. I was sure Rosie would feel the same about Mayra and try and fit a night out into her busy schedule. Between us, we would set her right.

  I threw my bag onto my back and jogged to the training academy. I may as well start the training early.

  Thoughts of the case reeled through my mind as I did so. And I was still curious about the gaping reason why the Consilium were being so precious about all this. In the case of the wendigo, at least to some degree, I could understand. If the citizens of Portiside discovered that neither the Portiside Prison nor the Territorial Shifter Hold were safe, they would come together with their united drama and cause some major problems. Then the political game would begin. Vampires, shifters, humans and the Fey all acted like they got along on the surface. But deep down, each one would reign power over Portiside given half the chance. Any weakness that dared to flow through our world would no doubt create a crevice for the power hungry to take advantage of, and no one wanted that. But why was the Consilium so concerned about a rogue shifter if they hadn’t been part of the escape? That, in itself, was suspicious enough to confirm that the rogue was most definitely tied to it. And the link with the irises was something we couldn’t ignore. We now had two escapees linked by one drug, and a potential link to a bunch of assholes in uniform who were extorting money from people in the Victorian Quarter. Now there was a corrupt club owner thrown into the mix. What the hell had we walked into?

  Pieces of the puzzle kept swirling around in my head in an attempt to mold together as I jogged my way up to the training academy doors.

  The academy and residential halls were about a mile out of the city on vacant land behind the agency itself. It ate into the greenery of the forests that both bordered the edges of our world, and held the portals to Earthside deep within their depths. The land surrounding the academy here was smooth and clear from the dense greenery on the outskirts. The fields ran as far as the eye could see until you came across two large buildings.

  Three stories high, lined with full glass windows on all floors. The training academy housed lecture halls, training floors, and fighting arenas. It was vast in size, with another fighting area located outdoors, where seats carved into the earth made it look more like an amphitheater. A circular stone sat at the center where all students trained. It was there where Kaleb and I had fought, and the place where a lot of my blood had ended up spilt across the ground on that fateful day. That’s where cockiness and arrogance got you—or it had done so with me.

  As I pushed my way through the glass doors and made my way to the ground floor gym, I began to think back to when the bloody fight had happened. We’d fought and Kaleb had annihilated me once he’d engaged his wolf side. Other shifters had pulled him off me, from what I’d understood, but I’d been unconscious at that point, so I wasn’t sure.

  The memories were hazy after I’d seen the bloodlust in Kaleb’s wolf as he dominated the driving seat. He’d been relentless in taking me down, and I’d embraced the pain. After all, I’d been used to it. And external pain was easier to handle than the verbal abuse and ignorance that had often fed my youth.

  Instead of backing down as Kaleb continued to come for me, I’d stoked his fire more by goading him. If I was to die in that ring, then so be it. But I’d wanted to make sure I’d gone out with a bang, on my terms. Something I hadn’t been allowed to do on Earthside.

  Kaleb’s wolf had been happy to engage, and then he’d gone for a final strike. After that, I’d only seen darkness.

  A couple of days later, an angry Kaleb had tracked me down in the infirmary. But instead of the apology I’d been expecting, he’d given me a lecture instead.

  The flare in his eyes when he’d done so, had told me he’d been battling with the guilt of not being able to control his animal while in the ring. Yet he’d also been pissed at me for putting him in such a position. I’d retaliated with anger, said a few words in haste, but then he’d told me that there was no way in hell I was going to get through the academy without his help. My ego had bristled, but I’d listened to his plan.

  After that, there’d been no stopping us. He’d trained with me every spare moment until I was either retching up on the ground or collapsing with the effort of it. But it had worked. And he’d toughened me up to the point where I was the best I could ever be. I may still struggle when taking him on in a one-on-one fight, but the odds were more in my favor now.

  “You look deep in thought,” Kaleb asked as I entered the room. He looked up from the bag he’d been punching.

  “I was thinking about you, actually.” I dropped my bag to the floor and removed my jacket. There were a few others training but they paid us no heed.

  “You were thinking about me?” His eyes lit up and I had to hold back a smile. If I didn’t know him any better, I would swear he meant every sweet gesture he threw my way.

  “I was thinking about the time you almost killed me.” I walked over to him and started to stretch out. I didn’t miss the darkness spread across his features as I did so.

  “Why do you have to say it like that?” he asked as he leaned down to me. “You make me sound like an animal.”

  “You are an animal.” I turned my head to look at him and he had a frown on his face. “Or half animal. And it’s the truth. You almost killed me because I was arrogant to think I could take you on.” I stood up and stretched my arms up high. “You served me a lesson that day, and you know how grate
ful I am for it. I would never have made it as an EFA without your help, so thank you.” I tapped his face and gave him the biggest grin I could muster. He reluctantly joined me in doing so.

  “You’re such a bonehead,” said Kaleb.

  “Yes, I am. And so are you. It goes with the territory of us being partners, I guess.”

  He walked off and retrieved the pads for me to start kicking.

  “Need me to make you angry?” he asked when he returned.

  “Nah. I’ve got plenty in my arsenal for that.” I threw the first kick, hard against the pad.

  “Like what?”

  I kicked again then said, “This case for one. Then there’s Cole, who frustrates the hell out of me. Mayra needs a night out because someone took advantage of her, and I want to kick their asses just for the fun of it. And then there’s my mom. Do I really need to mention her?”

  He laughed and aimed the pad higher. “No. I’d say she’s a given. Who hurt Mayra?”

  “A client of hers, she said. I don’t know the ins and outs. But she needs a night out because she said she let something dark in that affected her. She needs some company to get out of her own head for a while. You know how she is.”

  “Maybe we should both go and kick this person’s ass?”

  “You know Mayra. She would rather let Karma do that. She’ll have protected herself by now, and I think she knows she was the one to let her guard down. She’s just left with whatever darkness still lingers. We’ll cheer her out of it.”

  “When are you all going out?”

  “It’s a girl’s night, Kaleb. You’ll start braiding my hair soon if we keep hanging out with each other.”

  “What’s not to like about girl’s night? I get to hear so much intel I can use on other women. I see it as a learning curve.”

  “You’re an idiot. And a perv.” I paused while he changed to the smaller pads so I could throw a few punches. “And you’re not coming. I’m going to squeeze it into tomorrow night and hope Cole doesn’t find out. Think you can keep your mouth shut this time?”

  “I kept it shut before. Not my fault you keep getting into tangles when I’m not around.”

  I made sure I hardened my punches. “Now you are making me angry.”

  “That’s good. Because you’re hitting like a girl.” He tapped me on the head when I miscalculated.

  His words stirred my frustrations enough for me to start channeling the anger and we fell into our usual rhythm. Once done, I took the pads and let him have a turn. Then we lost the pads altogether and sparred.

  “You never did tell me why you left Earthside all those years ago,” he said out of the blue, between punches. I stopped bouncing on my toes and paused to look at him.

  “What the hell made you ask that?”

  “All the trouble you keep getting into, maybe,” he replied with a cheeky grin. “Or it could be because you mentioned me getting you all bloody again and I want my vengeance. Take your pick. I was just making an observation.”

  “You know my reasons,” I growled, as I threw a punch at his face. He dodged and danced around me irritatingly.

  “You said something about being in a hospital and that this was the better place for you.” He dodged another hit. “And you said your mom put you there. But every time I’ve prodded in the past you’ve shut me out. That’s basically all I’ve ever gotten out of you.” He hit out at me and caught the side of my head. “Raise your arm higher … I’ve always wondered what happened in that place to make you so broken. And you were broken when you came here to the academy. Anyone could see that.”

  Tears appeared in my eyes before I could stop them, and I hurriedly blinked them back. Kaleb was forcing me into a territory I avoided like the plague. I didn’t like to remember. I didn’t want to have to remember. I threw a few punches his way instead as all the hopelessness of that time threatened to rear up again.

  He caught one of my punches with his hand and held on as I tried to pull away. “I’m not trying to hurt you.” He lowered his voice. “You know I would stand in the way of anything or anyone trying to hurt you. I just wanted to know.”

  Glaring at him wasn’t helping, so I stopped trying to pull away and looked down at the floor. “It’s a time of my life I want to forget, okay?”

  He let my hand go. “I get that. But I thought we were good enough friends for you to confide in me for once.” He shrugged in his usual nonchalant way, but his eyes betrayed him. He was hurt that I’d shut him out and no matter how annoying Kaleb could be, I didn’t want to hurt him. He was my friend, and he was someone to whom I’d grown closer than just an agency partner. But talking about my past wasn’t one of my favorite things to do.

  “What would you like to know?” I asked eventually after releasing a breath, not wanting to feel any form of a wedge between us.

  Kaleb hesitated, then glanced over my shoulder before saying, “Why don’t we take this training outside?”

  I didn’t argue as I followed him out to the grounds. I knew how sharp shifter hearing could be and it was kind of Kaleb to take me out of hearing range. I wasn’t exactly the flavor of the month here—any month of the year. The shifter agents went out of their way to make my life a living hell when Kaleb wasn’t around. And sometimes they couldn’t resist their jibes when he around was either. To them, I was weak and undeserving of the job when many of their kin hadn’t made it. They knew Kaleb had helped me, and they thought Cole favored me. I was like the teacher’s pet in high school—and no one liked a teacher’s pet. Especially ones who they believed graduated the academy by means other than their own merit.

  Yes, Kaleb had helped. He’d been the reason I’d pushed myself to an edge I never thought I could come close to. But I was the one who’d done the work, passed the tests. I deserved to be here as much as the rest of them. But they didn’t care.

  There were a few agents who were better than others. But I was still the person that an agent shifter didn’t dare befriend in case it tarnished them with the same brush.

  It was no loss to me. Not if I didn’t want to go home crying every night. I gave as good as I got and showed no fear. So what if I’d had to break a couple of groping shifter wrists when they thought they could take advantage of the weak human agent. It had earned me enough of a rep for them to keep their insults verbal, and that was good enough for me.

  “We don’t have to talk about it,” Kaleb said as soon as we hit the grass on the academy grounds. “I was out of line for even asking.”

  “I’m used to your moods by now,” I teased him. “If you’re going to be such a little bitch about it, I may as well just tell you.”

  “A little bitch?”

  “A furry wolf bitch, if that suits better. What do you want to know?”

  “Who hurt you?” he asked eventually, and his question threw me off guard for a brief minute.

  “A few people.”

  “Yeah?” He put his hands on his waist obviously struggling to push his temper aside. “Like who?”

  “My mom. My grandparents. The doctor at the hospital. An orderly. Anything else?”

  “How did they hurt you?”

  “Ignorance. Sadistic comments. Groping hands. Shitty experiments. That about covers it. Want me to go on?”

  “No. I don’t.” His eyes changed, shining brilliant amber. He was really pissed.

  “Don’t ask if you don’t want to know the answer, Kaleb. But they didn’t break me. I’m here, aren’t I? And there are many out there who weren’t as lucky as me. I don’t cry at night over it, if that’s what you’re thinking.”

  “And being here was what for you? Therapy?”

  “Yeah, it was actually. Dan saved me from that hellhole and brought me to Portiside. It was strange, but for once, I didn’t feel like the freak. Mayra helped train me with my shields and I began to feel normal. Being at the agency, training with all of you, it made me feel strong. And I wanted to be strong. I wanted to be in control for once in my life. You know
I’m a control freak. You know how hard I’ve worked to become one. That way, no one else forces me into doing what I don’t want to do without a fight. It helps.”

  “Even when I nearly killed you?”

  “Especially when you kicked my ass, yeah. It woke me up. It made me feel alive. And you gave me the power to feel even more so. Don’t wallow. It’s annoying.”

  He laughed, shaking his head in disbelief. I yelped when he unexpectedly pulled me into a headlock. “Try and get out of this one then, Vane. Show me how tough you really are.”

  “You’re such a jerk.” I whacked his arm. “Do you know that?”

  “Yeah, but I’m your jerk. And your friend.” He let go of me and then whacked my ass. “And don’t you forget it.”

  “You know, it really doesn’t help my rep here when you do shit like this.” I pushed at him. “They already think I’m coddled by you and Cole.”

  “Who cares what they think? You know you could take them down if you wanted to. You don’t need to prove it.”

  “Says the guy whose rear they would kiss without hesitation.” I punched his arm. “Come on. We need to get some training done before dusk hits. Have we finished with our heart-to-heart?”

  “You don’t have a heart,” he replied as he took a swing at me. I dodged, smiling.

  “Oh, I have a heart. It’s cold like a vampire’s. Maybe I should become a donor for them and live in their hive when Cole fires me?”

  “No good.” He dodged another one of my hits. “You’re cold-blooded, too. Vamps like their blood warm.”

  And that’s how we were until dark descended. Insult after hit. Hit after insult. Just the way I liked it.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  After training, we hit the showers and headed out. It was fairly deserted this time of night, so we took a walk around the surrounding streets to seek out any SQR officers who were on patrol.