“Maybe.” Hilda cut her gaze to the floor. “I think I’ll go look for Seraph. But he’s not your biggest fan right now, are you sure you want him?”
“He’s the boss, so he’s got the resources.” Gray ripped another cushion free. “Tell him to hurry. There were witnesses who will talk. We need to figure out how we’re going to cover this up.”
“Aye, aye, sir,” Hilda said with a short salute then dematerialized.
“That ghost is a pain,” Gray said.
Brenna shrugged. “She means well. Give her a chance.”
“I do,” Gray replied. “Every day.”
Brenna and Gray broke down the bar bit by bit as they waited, looking for something that would explain what had happened. But the longer they looked, the more frustrated they became. An hour passed before Brenna took a break. She leaned against the crimson wall, breathing heavily.
“Where are they?” She glanced at her hands. They were coated with grease and filth. Splinters trailed the sides of her fingers. They had torn the bar apart, plank by rotten plank. And found nothing.
She had pulled out her phone to call Seraph herself when headlights cut through the darkness beyond the entrance. A black van rolled to a stop outside. She watched Seraph, his long muscular body straining against tight black pants and a button down white shirt, step onto the pavement. He wore a sword strapped to his back, and it swayed as he walked. For a moment he waited, then let out a harsh breath and stepped through Gray’s spell. The magic dissipated as it met Seraph’s shields, allowing him to walk inside. The five hunters at his back followed. Hilda’s presence was notably absent.
Seraph glanced at the damage and shook his head. “Did you at least stop the demons?”
“No. But I’ll get right on it.” Brenna stepped forward. “I assumed humans turning to dust was the priority.”
Although Seraph was her best friend, she was furious with him. Recently, she found out he had lied to her for years in an effort to aid Gray. Although he had apologized, she was still working on forgiveness.
Seraph moved across the battered wooden floor. “How many? Were there a lot of witnesses?”
“Three. About thirty humans and four demons.” Gray tossed a liquor bottle to Seraph. “Drink. It’s the only perk. There’s not a damn thing here. We ripped the place apart.”
Seraph stepped aside, letting the bottle fall to the ground. It shattered on impact, spraying glass a thousand directions. The amber liquid seeped into the wood, standing in the gaps between the planks.
“There’s nothing here to find.” Seraph picked up a large decanter and threw it against the floor. Broken glass scattered. “There never is. We burn it and go.”
Brenna stepped in front of him and grabbed his wrist before he could destroy anything else. “Tell me what’s going on,” she demanded. Her grip tightened as he tried to pull free.
“Now’s not the time.”
“Try again.” She let him go, but didn’t move.
“You missed a lot while you were on vacation.” Anger shone in his eyes. “There’s never evidence at the scene, and the murderer is impossible to track. The priority is to keep the humans in the dark. We burn it down. The witnesses will see the burning bar and, after I cast a suggestion spell, they’ll connect the fire to the deaths. The alternative is mass pandemonium.”
“And this works?” Gray studied him.
Seraph nodded.
“How many times has this happened?” Gray asked.
“Too many.” Seraph sighed. The weariness of the world shone through his eyes. “You need to trust me.”
Brenna snorted. Both men shot her a pained glance.
“I’ll defer to you because time is an issue. But I want answers.” Gray stepped aside, pulling Brenna with him.
Seraph motioned for the other hunters to continue soaking the wood with alcohol. They spread the flammable liquid across the broad expanse of the broken down building. When they had finished, each mage chose a strategic place in the room before calling forth their magic. Fire danced atop their outstretched palms, waiting.
Their actions frustrated Brenna. She wanted answers before they did anything as rash as burning the evidence. She itched to use her power to stop what was happening. But using magic against Seraph was unforgivable, and the others were sheep.
“Let me finish and I’ll explain.” Seraph waited, the destruction he intended on pause.
“Fine.” Brenna moved across the slick floor. “Meet us at headquarters in an hour. I want every file, picture, shred of evidence you’ve uncovered. And I want to know why you kept us in the dark.”
She locked her gaze on his. “You promised no more secrets.”
Gray gripped her bicep, pulling her away.
“One hour,” she called over her shoulder as they stepped into the darkness.
Chapter Two
“You’re too hard on him,” Gray warned as he maneuvered Brenna down the cracked concrete steps outside the bar. “He waited for us for months. We put him through hell.”
“I know,” she said as she followed him to the cobblestone path that ran alongside the empty street. “But his attitude frustrates the hell out of me. We had to take Orien back to the Council or he would have killed again. We weren’t even there a day. Time moves differently on our world. Seraph knows that.”
Gray raised his hand to the sky, then clenched it into a fist. Magic danced around them, protecting them from the elements. “Brenna—”
“Don’t. I have a right to be angry at Seraph. Maybe that anger isn’t completely rational, but don’t belittle it. He hurt me. Badly.”
“You shouldn’t blame Seraph. He was just doing his job. I ordered him to watch you until I was healed enough to come myself.”
“He didn’t have to lie, and neither did you. I’m still trying to understand why you thought I betrayed you. I was banished here because I killed my father’s army to avenge you.”
“I didn’t know that when I came here. I thought you tried to kill me.” Gray reached for her, but she stepped away. “My brothers told me—”
“—that I was behind the attack. How could you believe that? I agreed to our arranged marriage solely because I wanted peace between our clans.”
“They’re my family. I trust them.”
“They stole your throne. And I didn’t see them rushing to give it back when we went home.” She watched an alley cat that had darted from the shadows. “Actually, I didn’t see them at all. Even though the Oracle told them we were coming.”
Gray rubbed his hand across his face. “I never thought they would lie to me. Especially about you. I don’t understand it.” He drew a long breath. “Maybe I never will. But I’m sorry. I hate that they hurt you, that they tore our marriage apart. But we can’t let them affect our future. We need to move past this.”
“You weren’t the one tortured and ordered to serve penance for a hundred years. I was.” She locked her gaze on his. “It’s a little harder for me.”
“I said I was sorry. I’m not the one who tortured you. I can’t change the past, but you’re holding it against me.” He shook his head. “I could have accepted the Council’s offer and retaken the throne, but I didn’t. I gave up everything to come here and help you fight Adare. I don’t know what else I can do.”
“I didn’t ask you to do that. It was your choice.” She quickened her pace. “We’d only known each other for a few days when we got married, and we barely know each other now, why are you so determined to make this work? And don’t give me the line about saving our people and stopping the civil war. We both know our chance to achieve that died a century ago.”
“That’s not true. It’s still possible, and we owe it to our Clans to try.” He smiled, eyes sparkling. “And I’d say you know me pretty well by now.” He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her into the sha
dows beside an empty storefront. “And you want to know me better.” His body hardened when she trembled beneath his touch. She was such a dichotomy, strong, yet soft. And he loved it.
Her eyes widened as he stroked his fingers down the length of her spine. “This isn’t the time or place,” she lectured, even as she leaned into him, her breasts tight against his chest. “We just left a crime scene.”
“So?” Gray ran his hands up the expanse of her back until they tangled in her hair. “Call it stress relief. What we saw in there was ugly, and we need to wipe it from our minds.” He leaned forward and kissed her neck, his teeth grazing her skin. “You promised you’d give me another chance, Brenna. But all you’ve done is push me away.”
“I know.” She curled her arms around his neck. “I’m trying.”
“Try harder.” He brushed a stray curl from her face. “I don’t want to play house with you. I want you as my partner. After everything we’ve been through, I thought you felt the same way.”
She wouldn’t meet his gaze, staring instead at the street light behind him. “I said I would try Gray, but you’ve got to give me time.” She gave him a gentle shove, pushing away from his chest. “We need to meet Sam.”
“I’m sure he’s long gone. He probably left to feed.”
She shot him a warning look.
He shrugged. “Old habits die hard.”
Brenna shoved her hands in the pocket of her duster. “You need to give him a chance. Especially since you’re the reason he’s a hunter.” She stepped around Gray toward the alley where Sam was supposed to meet them. The alleyway was covered on all sides. A rickety tin awning swayed in the slight breeze, blocking the dim moonlight. It was the perfect place to hide an IRT vehicle. Brenna stepped inside and let her eyes adjust to the darkness. No black van hid in the recesses.
Sam was gone.
“Damn it.” She studied the empty alley. “Sam knows better. He’s already on probation. ”
“I told you he wouldn’t be here.” Gray stepped inside the alley, blocking what little lamplight remained. “He doesn’t take anything seriously.”
Before she could respond a loud explosion shattered the night. The force of it threw her against the snow-covered pavement. Heat flooded the alley. It trickled across her skin, thickening the air. For several moments she couldn’t move. Eventually, she eased onto her knees, sucking in gulps of air. Gray leaned against the alley wall, unfazed.
It figured.
In the distance, the bar resembled a funeral pyre. Flames whipped inside the stone frame in a frenzied dance fueled by alcohol and assisted by magic. It was both beautiful and deadly.
“Seraph likes a show.” Gray pushed off the wall. His skin glistened in the glow of the fire. “Always has.”
“It’s going to draw a crowd.” She stumbled to her feet.
Gray grinned. “I think that’s the point.”
“Seraph better know what he’s doing.”
“He always does.” Gray laughed. Either he found the situation amusing, or had recognized the absurdity of it all. “We better find your incubus.”
Brenna searched the gathering crowd. Where was Sam? This many humans may be too much temptation for him. Especially if he was hungry.
She cast a quick spell, sending a tendril of magic searching through the night. It rode the waves of the wind before landing on her unruly incubus. Three streets away, he was asleep in the driver’s seat of the van. Anger getting the best of her, she gave form to her magic. It wound around his reddish brown ponytail and gave a firm tug, slamming him against the cloth headrest. He woke, sputtering.
“You’ve got ten seconds to get back here,” she snapped through their psychic link.
“Watch yourself. He needs to feed,” Gray warned. “If you provoke him, he could drain you.”
“He’s welcome to try.” She shook her head. Although Sam was powerful enough to pose a threat, he was her friend. He had been under her wing, and her direction, for almost ten years. Even so, her reservations about him becoming a hunter had been valid. He was a loose cannon. If he couldn’t follow direction, she didn’t want him on the team. The stakes were too high.
Five minutes later a dark van drove into the alley. Brenna could feel Sam’s anger radiating through the steel. He had given his magic free rein, and it resonated from the metal, pulsating with need.
The vehicle rolled to a stop inches from Brenna. Sam pushed the door open and stepped onto the pavement. He had gotten rid of the ponytail, and his hair fell in light reddish waves across his broad shoulders. Tall, but not as tall as Gray, he was lean and fit. His features were pronounced, but straddled the line between beautiful and masculine. He was a man a woman could stare at for hours and still find interesting.
And he knew it.
“I told you to stay put.” Brenna met him half-way.
Sam shrugged. “I got distracted.”
Her pulse thumped in her temples. Sam was like her child. But he was an adult, and she hadn’t given birth to him, so his antics got old.
“Apparently.” Gray moved from the shadows. His hair had come unbound. It fell like a dark mane across his shoulders, highlighted by the fire behind him.
Sam’s eyes widened.
“Get with the program or you’re done.” Gray stood before Sam, a good head taller and half a foot broader. “We’re in the middle of a war.” He grabbed the other man by the throat and slammed him against the hard brick. “Pull your head out of your ass and do as you’re told.” Gray pushed open the door to the van with his free hand and tossed Sam inside. “Get out of here.”
Sam glared at him through the windshield, his face flushed with rage. The van screeched into reverse.
“I appreciate you taking initiative.” Brenna moved to Gray’s side. “But that was our ride.”
Gray closed his eyes and curbed his temper. It had been a perfect opportunity to teach Sam a little humility, and he wouldn’t have let Sam leave if he hadn’t heard the unmistakable rattle of Seraph’s vehicle as it stopped alongside the alley. But no matter what he did, she always believed the worst of him. He wasn’t a monster, nor was he an idiot. Years ago he had failed Brenna. Spectacularly. In the past year since they had reunited, he had given her little reason to trust him, but not for lack of trying; they had been at odds for so long he was still struggling to let go of the past.
The approaching vehicle jarred Gray from his thoughts. It pulled into the narrow alley, the exhaust wrapping around it like a foggy curtain. Brenna coughed as she stepped toward him and together they walked to the driver’s side window.
“Get in,” Seraph ordered. “The humans are starting to riot. We need to get out of the city.”
The rear door was unlocked, so Gray pulled it open. He stepped aside to let Brenna get in first, then slammed the door closed behind them. The loud thud echoed through the small space. Brenna shifted in her seat, wrapping the duster tighter around her body.
“Nice show,” Gray said.
“It served its purpose.” Seraph glanced in the direction of the fire. “At least this one was easy to contain.”
Seraph had been his friend for almost a thousand years, and Gray could count on one hand the number of times he hadn’t been forthright. Seraph was angry at the situation with Brenna and blamed Gray for the dissension in their relationship. But he was also mad at Brenna for not understanding the position Gray had placed him in. Those feelings, combined with the fact he had fought Adare’s demons alone for four months, had left Seraph in a state of perpetual irritability. But that didn’t excuse him from keeping them in the dark.
Gray straightened in his seat. “How many have there been?”
“Enough. But this is the first since you got back.”
“Why didn’t you tell us?”
Seraph snorted. “You’ve been distracted.”
Gray
took a long breath and struggled to reel in his frustration. He didn’t blame Seraph for being irritated, but they hadn’t done it on purpose.
“Is it a virus or a spell?” Gray hoped it was a spell. That would make it easier to counter.
Seraph replied, “The consensus is it’s some kind of disease, but we can’t identify it. Whatever it is it unravels the human’s body composition down to its basic carbon make-up. The ash-like material that remains only contains trace elements. There’s no sign of a toxin, and there are never any contaminates at the scene.”
“Have you been able to tie it to Adare?” Unseeing, Gray stared beyond the tinted windows to the scorched pavement.
Seraph beat a steady rhythm on the steering wheel with his fingers. “No. But he could still be responsible.”
“There’s no shortage of other psychopaths.” Brenna paused. “Adare pulled some of the strongest low-level demons I’ve ever seen through the Veil. They could have brought something with them.”
Seraph jerked the vehicle onto a narrow dirt road. It bounced erratically, and Gray was forced to hold on to the door to keep his seat. The headquarters for the Interspecies Relations Taskforce, or IRT, was west of Denver, underneath the remains of the Justice Center that had once been affectionately called the Taj Mahal by locals. During the Rise, as the survivors of the Fall began to rebuild, they pieced together a government system to maintain a semblance of peace. Each state had been broken into districts, responsible for policing their own. The IRT was in charge of the Rocky Mountain District.
The SUV slid through the darkness. Its tires stirred the parched earth, dust dancing in their wake. When they arrived at the tunnels, dawn had begun to creep across the horizon. Gray stepped from the truck. The air was heavy with sediment. It slipped into his lungs with each breath, leaving his throat scratchy. After demons had invaded headquarters, the IRT had amped up security. Instead of a visible entrance to the tunnels, a seamless wall of reddish dirt stood before them.
“Give me a second and I’ll open it.” Brenna pulled a small metal square from her back pocket. Each hunter had been given a unique disc in place of a key. The discs were enchanted to recognize the blood of the hunter to whom they had been given. It was primitive and messy, but it worked. She pulled her athame free, using it to prick her fingertip and let her blood drip across the security pass. It activated with a buzz, and she placed it on top of the panel. With a growling sound, the dirt wall shifted to reveal a series of tunnels.
Fading Light: Shadow Born, Book 2 Page 2
