by T. G. Ayer
Screams shattered the air around me, ripped the insides of my ears. Pain ripped my flesh and eyes. I smelled ozone and fire, and white-hot power.
And then it all went black.
Chapter 15
I ROCKETED TO MY FEET, gasping for breath, my brain throbbing with the drumbeat of my pulse and my mouth tasting of metal and vomit. I wanted to run but I was surrounded by mist and shadows. Surrounded by enemies. Blind. Helpless.
“You are safe,” said a calm voice from the mist. “Breathe.”
Nerina.
“Breathe,” she said again. “Slowly, Kailin. In. Out. In . . . ”
I breathed, wrapping an arm around my midsection, as if the mere gesture would encourage my churning gut to settle.
A few moments passed before my vision cleared enough for me to recognize the hazy blotch in front of me as Nerina’s face. She must have jumped off the sofa when I did.
She seemed unaffected by the vision. I, on the other hand, was a twisted, confused wreck.
“What the hell was that?” An inane question. I had a pretty good idea what I’d witnessed.
Nerina took my shaking hand and guided me back down to the sofa cushions. “I apologize,” she said when we were both seated. “I know what it feels like to see such a thing for the first time.”
I wasn’t troubled by the vision itself, just the content. “Why couldn’t I see his face? I know what he looks like, even his eye color, but his face . . . It was indistinguishable.”
Nerina nodded. “We also found that strange. We think it may be a type of psychological block. Perhaps Kira blocked it out. The trauma . . .”
“Did they all die?”
Nerina nodded. “We were able to see what happened in the room well after what you were shown. DeathTalkers have a greater awareness of the world, even after death, giving us greater flexibility with what we can see. After he killed them he simply left. It seems he was certain enough that they were all dead.”
“How many?” My voice still shivered. Much more to DeathTalkers than I’d ever hoped to learn. Right now my head hurt too much to think about the specifics of mind-melding.
“Twelve.”
“Hunter.”
The word vibrated with tightly-controlled fury.
“Yes, Kira?” I blinked and the rest of the mist cleared away.
What the hell?
She stood before me now with dark circles under her eyes, and slight tremor rippling through her stiffly-held frame. She looked as though the last few minutes had sucked out her arrogance and strength and left behind a fragile shell.
“You have had enough time to recover,” she said, and no matter what her body looked like there was nothing frail in that granite voice. “Now I will have your word. You will find that monster and kill him.”
I stared at her, my ears ringing. She wanted me to assassinate someone? Given what I’d seen the killer do, I was inclined to hunt him down anyway. But having Kira—anyone—use a Blood Promise to force me to kill was a different thing entirely.
Before I could tell her so, Gaia came to her side and slid an arm around her shoulders. “Come. I think it’s time you rested a little. You need your strength.”
Kira glared at her but didn’t shrug her off. Instead she submitted without complaint and let Gaia guide her out of the room.
Through the open door I caught a glimpse of Lily. She frowned at the two DeathTalkers and shot me a questioning look. Before I could respond, the door closed.
“You do not have to do this,” said Sini.
I angled my body so I could look up at her. “Of course, I do. I made a Blood Promise. I have no choice.”
Although it sounded like I was reluctant to fulfill the promise, she must know it wasn’t because I thought the dead shouldn’t be given justice.
Sini shook her head, a sad smile curving her full lips. “Kira is not herself. Grief blinds her.”
I glanced at the closed door, pieces slowly falling into place. “She knew one of the people he killed?”
Sini sighed. “Your vision came from a DeathTalker teenager. Kira’s daughter, Mika. Her youngest, most rebellious child.”
Kira’s daughter? Blood drained from my cheeks and when I turned back to Nerina her twisted expression said she understood exactly what I was feeling. “I’m so sorry.”
“Mika was rebellious long before she came into her powers.” Sini sounded regretful as she continued. “She and her mother had numerous arguments. Finally, the child left the estate to live on her own. She still attended her school but refused to live at home.”
“Where was she . . . when it happened?” I asked softly.
“In Cicero,” Sini said. “On the outskirts of the abandoned quarter. A set of loft apartments above a bar and restaurant; all abandoned, of course. The young people fend for themselves and though Mika had money from her mother she refused to use it.”
“Did she and Kira reconcile?” I asked, this time feeling sick to my stomach for a totally different reason.
Nerina shook her head. “It was only after her death that they made their peace.” She spoke softly as if she was afraid Kira would hear.
I hoped Kira didn’t have the ability to hear through walls. I didn’t handle grief well myself. The idea that an enraged, grieving mother might come running back into the room and demand I kill for her was difficult enough. Facing that emotion from someone who disliked me—and who I didn’t care for either—somehow made it worse.
I got to my feet slowly, feeling my stomach tilt but not as badly as it had. Beside me, Nerina rose too.
“Tell Kira I will find her daughter’s murderer and fulfill the promise,” I said. “The killing felt like . . . part of a plan to me. He needs to be found before he strikes again.” And before more paranormals died.
Sini nodded, her honey eyes troubled. “Unfortunately, the problem is not limited to this one incident.”
That stopped me cold. “He’s killed before?”
She nodded again. “Gaia and I are here because we both have reports from our territories of similar incidents. When Kira told us about her child’s murder, we decided we needed to call a High Council meeting to discuss our next steps.”
Her mention of the DeathTalker High Council reminded me of our trials with the Walker one, and I only wished our council members were as amenable as Sini was.
“A worldwide attack on paranormals?” I asked, not bothering to hide my shock.
“It does look that way.” Sini’s face grew darker and it was clear that the death of Kira’s child had hit them all hard.
I nodded. “I’ll uphold my end of the bargain and fulfill Kira’s request but I can’t promise to kill them all.” I had to make that clear. “However, I’ll do whatever I can to help. That includes using all my resources to find out who’s behind the attacks and to stop them.”
Sini did another shallow bow. “I believe you are just the person for this job, Kailin Odel.” I noticed she didn’t call me ‘Hunter’. “We are grateful for your help, even if it is under duress.”
Grim determination flooded my veins. “As harsh as it sounds, this is no longer only a DeathTalker problem. He killed other paranormals as well as Kira’s daughter. Have you spoken with the other high councils? Warned them?”
Sini shook her head. “Not yet. Kira wanted to guarantee you would eliminate the killer first, before we brought in every other clan and group.”
“I saw mages and fae in that room,” I said softly. “They were all killed by the same man. It’s only fair to give all the high councils warning.” And especially the Supreme High Council. They’d want the Elite in place as soon as they knew about this.
“I hear what you are saying,” Sini said. “But Kira is the one who holds your debt and it is she who saw and experienced the terror and pain of her own child’s death. Nobody else in that room was capable of revealing what happened. No other parent will see it, feel it, live with the agony of it as she will.”
I under
stood. “Which is why I will do my best without involving any of the other groups initially. But I will try to warn them against future attacks.”
So the Elite would have to wait.
She nodded. “I understand. And may I say again how grateful we are. Kira may not show it but she, too, is very thankful. Nerina?”
Sini must have given her some silent instruction because Nerina bowed. “Let me show you out,” she said. “And you must tell me if you need anything from us.”
I frowned, “Like what?”
I turned back to Sini to say goodbye. The high priestess was no longer in the room.
“Weapons,” Nerina said, drawing my attention back to her. She handed me my messenger bag and walked with me. “Assistance.”
“DeathTalkers have weapons?”
She shrugged as she opened the door and let me pass through to join Lily. “Not modern ones. But we can provide funds for the purchase of new weapons and ammunition.”
Lily’s eyebrows flew up at the prospect of buying new weapons.
“Don’t worry about it yet,” I said. “I think we have enough guns and ammo to get the job done.” Nerina smiled, once more her serene and unaffected self. “And you mentioned assistance?”
The smile faltered. “We will send reinforcements should you need them.”
“Good to know.” She hadn’t looked too enthusiastic and I wondered what she would have done had I said I needed them now.
Nerina turned to Lily. “Thank you for waiting so patiently. I hope you were well taken care of?”
Lily patted her stomach and grinned. “Yes thanks. Someone gave me hot chocolate and some tiny burger things she called chicken sliders.”
I just shook my head and started down the hall.
Nerina returned to the library.
We knew the way out.
“What the hell was that all about?” Lily muttered as we walked.
I shook my head. “Nothing good.”
“She’s calling in her marker right?”
“It’s a Blood Promise.” I said dryly. “But even then, this case is not something we can walk away from.”
“It’s a case?”
“More than a case.”
“And we have no choice?”
I shook my head as we jogged down the castle steps to the drive. “Nope.”
Just like those murdered kids, we had no choice.
And this time I didn’t have a problem with what needed to be done.
Chapter 16
OUR RETURN TRIP WAS FAST and silent, and both Lily and I extracted what little peace we could get from the exercise.
Because I wasn’t looking forward to being alone in my apartment—too much on my mind—we went to O’Hagan’s instead. Even with everything that had happened, I managed to have lunch on my mind.
We took our usual booth, the one with the most shadows, the one furthest from the door. As we sat, a short, brunette waitress sashayed over, bright eyes matching the bright smile on her lips, both equally cool and expressionless.
As she took our order of steak pie for me and nachos for Lily, she scanned us both head-to-toe and up again.
Her inspection left Lily stifling a giggle.
When the girl headed to the kitchen Lily leaned over. “She looks interested in you,” she whispered.
I shrugged my messenger bag onto the seat beside me. “About as interested in me as she was in you.”
Lily frowned, watching the waitress as she bussed tables her gaze returning to our table every few minutes. “Yeah. That’s not interest interest. That’s more like she recognized us from somewhere.”
Recognition. “Exactly.”
Lily had hit the nail on the head. I shifted so I could keep an eye on the waitress as well as the rest of the room. So far everything else seemed normal.
The waitress, Del according to her name-tag, returned with our soft drinks, Lily and I exchanged glances. Definitely odd.
We’d been coming to O’Hagan’s for ages and had had no negative experiences with the staff. Fynn, the owner, knew us all by sight. So did his regular wait staff.
But Del was new.
“Keep an eye on her,” I said as I sipped the frothy chocolate shake. “There’s just something off about her.”
“Same,” was all Lily said as she pulled her tablet from her bag and began swiping.
I was on my phone, scanning my emails when Del returned with the food, her black eyes studying us with the intensity of a scientist studying bugs.
“Enjoy,” she said as she placed the plates and baskets of fries on the wooden table.
“You’re new here, right?” I said.
She nodded, the lines at the corners of her mouth deepening in a tight smile.
“Where are you from?” My cheery smile did nothing to increase the warmth in hers.
“DC.”
She was certainly a talker.
Across the table Lily rolled her eyes while manhandling her nachos.
“Well, I hope you enjoy your stay with us.” The woman was hard work. Even Kira was more forthcoming.
Del nodded, analyzed my face again, then left, giving me at least half a dozen glances over her shoulder.
“Well, at least we know she isn’t a walker,” I said as I fell on my steak pie, snagging the buttery flakes that attempted to escape my plate. The run to the estate had kicked my hunger up a notch.
“At least we know your nose still works.” Lily grinned.
I ignored her, finished my meal, and leaned back in the booth to relax. Something that just wasn’t happening.
“So what are we going to do?”
Apparently Lily wasn’t able to relax either.
“Do about what?” Anjelo said as he slid into the booth beside her and curled his arm around her waist.
She stiffened the tiniest bit but Anjelo seemed not to notice as he fixed his hazel eyes on me.
“Sorry I’ve been scarce,” he said. “Just catching up on stuff.” When I raised my eyebrows, he continued. “When I disappeared into Wrythiin, Storm took me out of school and applied for a homeschool permit on the off-chance I survived. Good thing, too. So I’ve been studying hard these past weeks trying to make up.”
I was impressed with his fortitude. Or was it Storm’s unbending will he’d submitted to? “So, you making headway?”
“Yep, although I have been neglecting the people in my life.” His voice echoed an apology.
Lily looked relieved. “We understand.”
Anjelo watched her face for a second, his doubt all too visible. Then his stiff spine softened and his mouth quirked up at the corners. “So, Kai. What’s going on? What are we doing about what?”
No reason not to tell him. “What we are doing is fulfilling my blood promise to Kira.”
Anjelo’s eyes popped. “You can’t be serious. The woman is a freaking viper.”
“I am well aware,” I said airily. “Unfortunately, as it’s a Blood Promise, I’ve agreed.”
He paused, his eyes shifting from my face to Lily’s and then back again. “Agreed to what exactly?”
“A DeathTalker girl was killed recently along with several other paranormal kids. Kira wants me to eliminate the killer.” I lifted a shoulder. Not a big deal.
A scowl darkened his brow. “Why would Kira ask you to kill this person?” Then he made the connection. “Is the girl one of hers?”
“You could say that,” said Lily drily. We both knew he thought we were talking about one of Kira’s DeathTalker acolytes.
“I feel for her.” His sarcastic tone indicated he didn’t.
“What do you have against Kira, anyway?” I asked, watching him closely.
Anjelo shrugged. “I was friends with one of her daughters. She went to Crawdon High. Same homeroom.”
“Was she?” said Lily, folding her arms and looking concerned.
I sighed, now worried about Anjelo’s reaction. “The kid who was killed is Kira’s daughter. The woman is devastated.�
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He paled, but said nothing.
I pressed. “Which daughter did you know?”
His Adam’s apple rose and fell as he swallowed hard. Lily looped her hand through his elbow. “Mika.”
Tears pricked behind my eyes and I struggled to blink them away. “I’m so sorry, Anjelo. It was Mika.”
Anjelo’s shoulders bowed and his skin went a little gray. He sat there, so still it was painful to watch, while he processed the news. Lily sat beside him, her hand tight on his arm.
“Did you know her well?”
A ragged laugh escaped his lips as he nodded. “She was a bit of a rebel. Nobody could tame her.”
“Was she still at the school when you left?” I asked, giving Lily a glance. “Did you know her too?”
“No.” Anjelo answered even as she shook her head. “Lily didn’t know her. Mika left before Lily started. She couldn’t take the pressure of trying to conform, and she’d started to turn.”
I nodded. “I hear it’s tough on them when they come of age. Grams once told me they call it the first death. I gathered from the description that it wouldn’t be an easy thing to experience.” Much like a walker’s first shift.
He shrugged, but his eyes had gone dark and I wondered if he’d cared for the girl. “Her mother was giving her a very hard time. She disapproved of Mika mixing with us. Even though we were all paranormal we weren’t DeathTalkers. DeathTalkers, according to Kira, are superior to the rest of us.”
I could almost hear Kira saying precisely that. “It’s such a responsibility.”
He snorted. “Yeah. I ran into her after school one day, and she told me to stay away from her daughter or else. Not long after that, Mika left. We never heard from her again.”
His voice was back to ragged and his eyes glinted wetly. Then he shifted his gaze and met my gaze without flinching. “What happened?”
I hesitated, deciding at the last moment that a detailed description here and now was a very bad idea.
“The killer seems to have joined their group. He’d been hanging out with them for a while. Asked for a gathering of all the members under some kind of pretense. The kids were gullible enough and they came.”
