“Well, technically—”
“Don’t,” she hissed sharply, flashing a finger at me like a switchblade. There was no mistaking the anger in her tone. Did she blame me for her situation? Even before Demetrius had turned her, she’d thrown in her lot with the vampires, trading blood in order to gain an advantage. From a human perspective, it was understandable. Hunters were at a distinct disadvantage from their supernatural prey, which was why they usually died young. I’d tried to steer her away from Demetrius, tried to convince her to retire. She’d made her choice, but she blamed me for it. Before Demetrius, I’d denied her request for me to change her into a were-animal.
Soothed by my silence, the flash of anger dissipated. She continued, slowly pacing in front of us. “Sean is absolutely useless. More arrogant than competent.” She turned an assessing gaze on Sky. “Terait, odd magical ability, a connection with Ethos, unusual ability to stop a vampire’s reversion, and let’s not forget the connection you had with the Gem of Levage. You are a unique little wolf.”
“And?” I demanded.
Chris shrugged. “Usually an anomaly like her would have the Midwest Pack siding with others to rid us of a potential problem that could get out of hand. I guess times have changed. I always thought the fall of your pack would be something far more cataclysmic than a doe-eyed brunette.”
She strode to her desk and opened a laptop. While she worked, I noticed the floor-to-ceiling windows in the side room where she used to enjoy the sunrise were now draped with blackout curtains. As if I needed another reminder of what she was, the screen on her laptop flashed with the speed of her work, browser tabs opening and closing at a rate that tested the limits of the laptop’s processor.
I glanced at Sky, wondering if it had been wise to bring her. Did Chris blame her, as well?
“Ethan,” she said with her back to me, typing and scrolling and clicking, “you don’t need to worry. Your little anomaly has no effect on my life, and until she does, she is safe from me. But I would make sure she is never my problem.”
“Oh wow, thank you,” Sky shot back. “You mean you aren’t going to kidnap me and try to give me to the vampires to be murdered? You’re so sweet. Do you like gift baskets? I should send you a gift basket. Such largesse should be rewarded.”
I frowned, but Chris only chuckled as she worked. “So, Bambi, is it safe to assume they need this information for you?”
“It’s Skylar, and no, I am just here with Ethan.”
If she was trying to get under Chris’s skin, it didn’t work.
“I really would prefer to stay out of things like this, but I kind of feel like I owe you, Bambi.”
Sky laughed. “It’s Skylar, not Bambi. Do you really think our past—you know, the whole thing with you trying to kidnap me to give me to the vampires—will be squared by this information?”
“You don’t like me,” Chris said, stopping her work to turn and give Sky a plastic, cordial smile. “I get it. It isn’t undeserved. Now if only I could find it in me to care. Like I said, I feel like I kind of owe you. But whether or not you like me just isn’t something I can care about. It’s probably better if you don’t.”
When she was done taunting Sky, Chris wrote something on a piece of paper and handed it to me. “This is how much this information will cost you.”
I scowled at the figure, then handed it back to her. “Try again. I asked for addresses and names, not for you to organize a meeting with them on a private island.”
“That’s what the information costs. If you aren’t willing to pay, that’s your problem. You can let yourself out.”
“You’re being unreasonable.”
Her visage contorted into sudden, hot anger. “You want reasonable from a person you chose to let die!”
I bristled at the accusation. “I didn’t have a choice!” I shouted back, tired of shouldering the blame for her choices. Had she forgotten how much she’d hated the idea of Demetrius controlling her? The Chris I remembered never wanted to become a vampire.
“You had a choice,” she growled. Her eyes followed me as I stepped closer to Sky. “It just wasn’t the choice you wanted. You can’t always have things your way!”
She slapped the paper to my chest, hard enough to push me back on my heels. If the paper tumbling to my feet was meant as a distraction, I refused to take the bait. She’s fast, I reminded myself. My eyes remained fixed on hers, my hands free and ready to counter if she acted on her anger.
“You want the information; this is how much it will cost. This isn’t a rummage sale. We aren’t going to haggle.”
“No, it is more like extortion.”
She gestured toward the door. “You are welcome to leave.”
We glared back at each other. “Do you need an apology?” I snarled. For trying to save you from Demetrius? “If you need one, I will give it to you.” I’ll give it to you for the pack, and because you might yet prove useful, once you get over yourself. “Either you take the apology or deal with it.”
I heard Sky sigh in relief beside me, but didn’t dare take my eyes from Chris as anger rippled through her expression. Vampires were quick to anger and prone to violence. She was struggling with her new nature. She’d never understand that it would be worse had I changed her into a were-animal, assuming she’d even survived the process. If her desire for revenge overwhelmed her, she was welcome to try and take it. I had no desire to end her existence, such that it was, but if she forced my hand, I wouldn’t bemoan one less vamp in the world. Demetrius could take the blame for that, for making her his slave instead of allowing her the humble human death that had been her right.
After a brief struggle, she chewed her lip. Her shoulders sank as tension left her body, but I remained on guard, wary of deception.
“Why don’t you deal with this?” she said slyly. “This is my fee for the information. Either pay it or get the hell out. If you don’t make a decision in the next minute—yes, I mean sixty seconds”—she glanced at her watch—“starting now, the price doubles.”
I released a slow hiss of breath as I drew my phone from my pocket. She was the only source of information I had, and she knew it. If money was the price of her revenge, so be it. “Is the account the same?” I asked as I opened the banking app on my phone and selected the appropriate account for extortion.
She nodded.
I bit back a protest as I tapped in the amount, then completed the transfer. “Done,” I muttered as I returned the phone to my pocket.
She turned back to her laptop. After a few key strokes and a double-click, she removed a fresh page from the printer tray, then handed it to Sky. “This one,” she said, marking a name with a pen. “If you tell him I sent you, he will be a lot more amenable.” She marked a few other names. “They will help, but there will be a price and it may not necessarily be money. And these two—well, I can’t help you on this, but I strongly advise you to leave my name out of it, or they will never talk to you and will likely try to kill you.”
She followed us to the door. “You should hope that Ann or Sean get better at their jobs, because I won’t help you or your pack again, so please don’t ask. We are done.”
Sky blurted before Chris could close the door on us, “What do you know about spirit shades?”
I tensed at the revelation. The less she knew about our objective, the better, but it was too late.
“Is that what you are looking for, Bambi?” She took the paper from Sky’s hand and circled two names, then handed it back to her. “Then you will only need to speak with them.”
Sky glanced at the page, then asked, “What do you know about protected—”
“No, Bambi.” Chris pressed a finger to Sky’s lips. “You are part of the Midwest Pack, so you have no more business here with me.” Removing her finger, she turned to me with a stern expression. “Don’t come here again. Don’t challenge my request. I mean it. That includes you, too, Bam—Skylar.”
Once on the porch, I watched her
disappear behind the door as she closed it between us. Sky remained silent until we were in the BMW.
“I guess that is one source we no longer have.”
I glanced over my shoulder as I backed out of the driveway. “For now.”
“You can’t seriously believe she is going to change her mind?”
“Yes, but out of necessity. She was created by Demetrius. People will assume she has an intrinsic loyalty to him. No one will hire her again.”
I glanced once at Chris’s house in the rearview mirror as we left it behind.
“And you don’t believe that blind loyalty exists?”
“Did you see how she responded to him?” I said. “A new vampire would never do anything to displease its creator. As they age, it becomes more obligatory than compulsory. Did you sense any of that between her and Demetrius?”
“I don’t think she is capable of fealty, and displeasing people seems to be her thing.”
I smiled at the thought that there might yet be some small part of Chris still there, untamable.
“Hmm, so that is the way to your heart? A person who actively tries to displease you?” Sky speculated, then returned to studying the names on the paper. “Pardon me for considering that the behavior of an insane person.”
“She gets the job done.” I shrugged, smirking. “Whether she makes enemies or friends in the process has never been a concern. I don’t know of any job given to her that she didn’t complete.”
“The number of maimed, murdered, and betrayed that she leaves in her wake doesn’t matter?”
“It matters that she always completes the job,” I insisted, adding emphasis.
Sky sighed as she glanced at the paper. “Who do we visit first? There’s one nearby. A couple more are close—four hours away, probably.” She frowned. “One of the Tre’ases that knows about spirit shades is in Texas. Are we going to Texas?”
With any luck, that won’t be necessary. “We’ll visit the nearest one first.”
She nodded.
“When do you want to leave, tomorrow?”
She fidgeted, giving me a sideways glance. After a moment, she explained awkwardly, “I don’t want to leave until tomorrow when Kelly is better.”
If she’s better. It was entirely possible that she would never regain the use of her legs, but I wasn’t going to rob Sky of her hope. I signaled to turn toward the retreat.
“I really don’t like being chauffeured around.” She frowned, shifting in her seat. “Can we go by my house so I can pick up my car?”
I gave her a skeptical look, wondering what she was up to, but I had no reason to object. “Sure.”
A few minutes later, I pulled into her driveway. Before I even stopped the car, she blurted, “I want to go visit the Tre’ase with Josh instead of you.”
“Just because you and my brother can’t stay away from each other for longer than twenty-four hours, you will not put him in a dangerous situation. I am going with you.”
“My relationship with Josh has nothing to do with it,” she insisted. “Each time you encounter a Tre’ase, they respond poorly to you. One of them already isn’t going to be friendly, why agitate them or the situation any more by bringing you?”
The leather cover of the steering wheel squeaked in my grip as I squeezed it with both hands. “Fine, if I need to stay outside, I will, but I will be close and Josh can come as well.”
She rolled her eyes as she climbed out of the car, taking the paper with her. “Thank you, your majesty. Whatever would we have done without you granting our approval to leave the city?” She shut the door harder than necessary. I glared at her back as she strode to her front door and then went inside.
Fifteen minutes later, I watched from my vantage point as Sky backed her car out of the driveway and drove off. “Predictable,” I grumbled as I activated the tracking app on my phone, nestled it into the holder on the dash, then pulled out to follow her from a discreet distance. Had she meant what she said about wanting to take Josh with her, or was that just a ploy to get me out of the picture? Once again, she was blindly waltzing into danger.
I knew which Tre’ase she intended to visit, but hadn’t paid much attention to the address. Without the piece of paper, I was obligated to follow her, which grew increasingly difficult as we put the city behind us. Long rural roads, where a new BMW M6 stood out, made it necessary to fall back a half mile, leaving me to rely almost exclusively on the tracker.
After an hour, I began cursing at the gas gauge as the needle approached empty. The nearest station was a mile behind me, and I’d no idea how much longer the drive was. Minutes? Hours? If I was forced to divert for fuel, I could find Sky again with the tracker, but I’d be giving her a private audience with the Tre’ase. If I ignored the gauge, I risked stranding myself on the road before she reached her destination. My fingers tightened around the steering wheel as I watched the miles tick on the odometer. I was calculating how long I had until a decision was forced on me when I noticed on the tracker that Sky had come to a stop.
A moment later, the paved road became gravel and quickly narrowed. A little farther and Sky’s Honda Civic came into view, parked at the end of the road. She remained in her vehicle, glaring at me through her rearview mirror as I parked behind her. In front of her, the gravel continued as a path, but a barrier blocked the way, a sign stating, “Private Property.” Beyond that, the path twisted, and any view of what lay beyond was obscured by a dense forest of high grass, shrubbery, and willow trees.
I got out of my SUV, walked up to the Honda, and opened her door.
She greeted me with a sardonic cheerfulness. “Hi.”
“Hi,” I said, imitating her. “You’re so predictable it’s not even a challenge anymore.”
Her eyes rolled as she emerged from the car and started on the path, skirting the barrier. Given the slight stiffness of her walk, I assumed that she was carrying a pistol, but there was no telltale bulge beneath her thin jacket. Her arms swayed smoothly at her side, without the slight arcing curve required of a hip-holstered weapon. A waist holster, then, I decided.
I closed the Honda door with an exaggerated gesture, then jogged to join her, matching her stride. Her lips pressed into a narrow crease as she prepared for my rebuke. “Skylar,” I said, trying to check my temper, “I am only going to say this once, so I need you to listen carefully. For whatever reason, Sebastian wants you alive. I couldn’t care less if the Tre’ase rips you to pieces the moment you walk through the door. But for now, our responsibility is to keep you alive. Your behavior is making it more difficult to care whether or not we succeed. Perhaps we may find it easier if you weren’t alive.” I wrapped my fingers around her forearm and stopped her, obliging her to meet my gaze. “Do you understand me?”
She yanked her arm free, matching my anger with a hateful look. “I don’t need a babysitter, and I’m sorry you feel that I do. I need answers and I am going to do what it takes to get them. You’ve made ‘babysitting’ me your job; no one gave it to you. Either you learn to love it or quit. I hope you quit. Regarding the pack no longer caring to keep me safe or alive—big deal. If I don’t get the Aufero, I am as good as dead anyway; so you won’t have to make that decision.”
She walked faster, the gravel crunching beneath her long, belligerent strides in front of me. As we walked deeper into the woods, the forest slowly strangled the winding path, threatening to swallow it. Visibility was limited to mere feet as the overhanging foliage thickened, pressing down on us. Despite broad daylight, we were walking into a gloomy, oppressive darkness.
After a few minutes, the path ended suddenly at the door of a small, brown cottage buried beneath a canopy of interweaving tree branches that obscured the sky above. Thick foliage grew to within inches of the walls, forming a protective barrier.
Sky stopped at the bottom of the porch, licking her lips as she stared at the door. I’d expected her to walk straight up and barge in, but she was showing caution. Good. She might have a chanc
e to survive, after all. I gently placed my hand at the small of her back, reminding her that she wasn’t alone. “I’m ready when you are.”
She smartly inventoried her weapons, revealing a Ruger LCP holstered at her waist beneath her jacket, and a sheathed knife on her right calf beneath her pant leg. I smiled approvingly, but she didn’t notice.
Finally she took in a deep breath and stepped up to the door. Her hand was raised in a fist to knock when a deep, welcoming voice spoke from the other side.
“Come in. I was wondering how long it would take for you to get to the door.”
Sky turned to me and swallowed. I nodded, walking up behind her. After a moment’s hesitation, she took in a breath, then pushed the door slowly open and stepped inside.
I’d only met two Tre’ases before. With the ability to change her appearance at will, Gloria had presented as a seemingly harmless old crone. Thaddeus, her son, had lacked that ability. As a hideous half man, half horned demon, he’d been forced to hide in the woods, much as this Tre’ase did. I’d prepared for the same disgusting sight, but found a man with broad shoulders, light brown skin, and short wavy brown hair watching us with a curious, pleased expression from the edge of the kitchen, just beyond the entryway of the small cottage. Tattoo sleeves wound up thick arms and disappeared beneath the short sleeves of his tan t-shirt.
Lavender eyes seemed to look right through us.
If he felt any unease at our presence in his home, he didn’t show it. I assumed he had the magical means to monitor anything that followed his path.
His chin turned up slightly in my direction. As he approached me, his lips bent into a curious half-smile. I wondered what it was about me that drew his attention. So did Sky. I waited, patiently annoyed, as he observed me with a disassociated gaze. Was he listening to my heartbeat? My breath? Did he sense my wolf? After an uncomfortable moment, the smile on his lips broadened. He eased out a hand to touch me, as if I might be an illusion, then changed his mind, deciding instead to slowly circle me.
Midnight Shadows (Sky Brooks World: Ethan Book 3) Page 17
