by Amber Kallyn
If...
If... possibly... she wasn't entirely like those who usually aligned with the Council...
Matt was unable to finish the thought.
Anca continued explaining all that had happened until she'd reached the safety of her camp, securing her and Matt inside.
Jordan bowed his head toward her. "Thank you for saving one precious to me."
The words made Matt flush. Uncomfortable with the emotion in his King's voice, he cleared his own blocked throat. "So now we have a siren, on top of the Rogues. What's our plan? How do we fight this thing?"
Jordan replied, "The witch requested a meeting at my home, three a.m. Anca, she asked me to tell you she knows the spell you have in mind to perform. She is aware of all you need and will bring extra supplies, just in case."
Anca asked, "Who is your witch that she would know such things?"
"You'll see," was his reply. "Don't worry. She's trustworthy. I'd stake my life on it."
Anca fidgeted but didn't push the matter.
Both Jordan and Shane gave her their full attention, as if by virtue of being from the council—and possibly one of the only people in town who knew how to deal with a siren—they were willing to follow her lead.
A glint in his King's eyes told Matt that Jordan's agreement was more of a for now idea.
Matt met Anca's stare.
Her smoky gaze challenged him, as if daring him to follow her as well.
He should be able to trust her.
Could he? He just wasn't certain.
He sure as hell didn't trust the voice that had been whispering around him—around them—earlier. Matt no longer believed in fate.
Or hope.
Anca stood up to pace through the camp. "If your witch really knows what she's talking about, then we should be able to get a trap set up before dawn, when the siren will start hunting again. She'll need to heal, at least a little. The Rogues can wait for now. The siren is an urgent emergency." Her worry was nearly palpable.
Matt recalled her earlier comment, of how nearly everyone would fall under the spell of the siren's song. An image filled his mind. A line of townspeople—mortals, vampires and other Arcaine—walked out of town in single file, called to a pied piper.
In Matt's imagination, at the end of the flowing line of people, a mountainous angler fish squatted. Its mouth, full of sharp needlelike teeth, gaped widely open to admit the people who blindly walked inside one by one.
Anca quickly summarized a few important legends about sirens, including their irresistible call that lured countless sailors to their doom. "There are older tales of sirens inhabiting other bodies of water such as lakes, but only for a short time. The Magic Council hurries them to unpopulated areas."
Jordan nodded as if Anca's answer solved something in his mind. "So this trap you're planning is to capture, not kill?"
Her eyes flushed red. "No. We don't have the time or the power for something so complex. If you don't want people to start dying a lot faster than they already have been, our only choice is to go straight for the kill."
Her words made sense.
But the easy tone of voice, while delivering a judgment of death, soured Matt's stomach.
Anca glanced at her watch. "We've nearly five hours until the meeting with your witch. There are things I need to do, and to prepare, that require privacy."
It took all three of them a moment to catch her meaning. Jordan stood a moment before Matt and Shane rose.
Anca waved them to the opening in her wards. "Good evening. I will be at your clan castle for the meeting."
Jordan tipped his head. "I'll let my guards know that if they manage to spot you entering, it's all right." He and Shane started out.
Matt felt rooted at the prospect of leaving her alone with all the dangers out there.
But she was a Council investigator.
She'd be fine.
Besides, he had his own things to do. Like having a long conversation with the men he followed from camp. Find out everything they knew about the situation.
***
Anca watched them until they were out of view, then secured her wards. But she didn't move until she could no longer sense the men in the slightest.
Light from the moon filtered through the branches, creating shadows that flitted over the ground. The earth spirits, their magic dimmer and weaker than before, moved restlessly.
She didn't know if the siren could devour their magic or not, but she didn't want to take any chances. She slipped back inside her tent to gather the things she'd soon need.
Constantly plucking at her attention was a small, distracting kindling of warmth. The scent of minty male continued to surround her.
And what had the spirits been doing earlier, battering her around like that? They'd never been so forceful before. Falling into Matt's arms had been an inadvertent accident.
Kissing him again, a mistake.
Unwilling to sit and worry over it, she dug out a bag from the corner of the tent. She slid out a tablet and flipped it on. A welcome distraction from her wandering thoughts, but also necessary work.
The screen lit, connecting her to one of the Council's satellites. It blinked a warning screen. She had fifteen seconds to successfully log in, before the tablet sent an alert straight to the Magic Council, then crashed.
She signed into the huge, ancient database collected over eons by the Council, and double-checked the exact details of the spell she wanted to use on the siren. All her calculations were correct.
In addition, by virtue of accessing this information, her supervisor, Elder Endulpias, would know what was happening in Moss Creek.
And how strange things were getting.
Just in case.
An hour later, she was as prepped and ready as she could be until the meeting with the clan's witch.
With hours still to go, Anca felt restless. She didn't want to stay here and stare out at the dark night, her thoughts constantly bouncing between the siren... and Matt.
Finally, she drove her tiny rental car into town.
The brightly lit hospital drew her. She needed to restock on blood, so she didn't fight against stopping. The odds that Matt would be here, or that she'd run into him, should be slim.
But perhaps...
Her stomach fluttered, a girlish thing that had her gritting her teeth.
Slamming the car into a parking spot, she got out. The door banged shut like a ringing shot in the night. She stomped towards the same entrance she'd used last time, nearest the blood bank.
Why was she still thinking about Matt?
All she needed right now was food. She'd be getting the rest of her supplies in a few hours.
Perhaps he weighed so heavy on her mind because she was at loose ends. She was used to working alone.
Always alone.
It made life easy. Uncomplicated.
A voice inside her whispered that working with the locals usually didn't bother her in the slightest.
But she'd never had to partner with someone like Matt before. He disturbed her in ways she didn't want to examine. Thoughts of him kept forcing their way to her mind, bringing the feel of his arms tight around her. His taste, a fine aged whiskey she wanted to gulp down.
Thankfully, the blood bank attendant cut through her irresistible thoughts by bringing her a packaged order. Outside the hospital, she secured the bags in a cooler in back of her car, then drove into the heart of town, all without running into Matt Dixon.
There was nothing for her to do at the moment. Too much time meant annoyingly wandering thoughts.
She despised brooding.
As she'd told the others, the siren was the most important quarry for now.
But maybe, if she walked these streets alone, she'd see someone. Something that didn't belong. At the least it would kill time.
And if she got really lucky, she might find the chance to work off some of her frustrating softness stirring inside her. A chance to fight something
other than time.
Running across a murdering Rogue or two would be nice.
She parked in an empty lot in front of a grand, old-fashioned brick building that looked like an overgrown schoolhouse from the early west. The sign proclaimed it the town's library. Getting out, Anca surveyed everything she could see and realized she wasn't that far from the most recent crime scene. She headed in that direction, ever alert and watchful.
A little past ten and the sleepy town was nearly deserted.
The alleyway remained cordoned off by police tape. Anca found nothing more than had appeared earlier in the long day. And those few signs were fading fast.
Threads of icy blue magic from the wolf shifter were nothing more than disappearing silvery-white strands.
The wolf was dead now.
Soon, even these last afterimages of his existence would cease to be.
Between seconds, the air thickened with heavy magic. A powerful force shoved against Anca. The handful of dim earth spirits lingering nearby disappeared.
A few blocks away, voices rose, carried on the exploding magic. The sounds held an anger that clutched at the edge of violence.
Anca's pulse picked up to a double beat. Her nerves hummed.
Breaking into a sprint, she fought through the tingling, prickling power. The darkening tint of magic and fury led her around a corner, down a different road, then another. Around yet another corner, she stopped short.
A dozen or so people gathered halfway down a quiet street lined with businesses long closed for the night.
Auras of cold blues and crimson-flecked grays of various ages and strengths filled the opposing groups. Vampire facing off against shifter. A few individuals of both groups radiated power that only came with a long life. They were strong enough to do some real damage.
And every last one of the people currently hurtling ferocious insults at each other had either pack or clan ties coloring their magic.
Not the Rogues, then, but the disintegrating pact between the groups of local Arcaine.
An old pickup truck rattled loudly along a nearby street. Its exhaust backfired with an echoing boom. No one noticed anything other than their own screaming. Certainly not Anca's swift approach.
Only seconds passed before the rumble of the engine faded.
The vampire's auras flashed bright with rage. Something the wolves said striking home.
One of the clan shouted furiously, "Shut up about our Queen."
The magic turned cloying, oppressive. Somebody snarled. Someone else growled.
In a blink of magic, two of the pack shifted from human to wolf, beginning to yip and howl.
The opposite groups rushed together. They slammed into one another with sickening thuds of pounding flesh.
Anca muttered under her breath, "Să te ia dracu!"
If only the devil really would take them.
When she was only ten or so feet away, she threw up a protective barrier, then shoved a taste of Council magic toward the brawling Arcaine.
The fighting slowed. A few turned her way, dismissed her in a quick glance, and jumped back into the fray.
Sometimes it didn't pay to be taken so lightly.
Anca dropped the cloak hiding her magic, just a bit, and filled her command with power. "By order of the Magic Council, all of you will stop immediately."
With her magic washing over them, most of the vampires and shifters drew back as if an invisible wall had sprung up between them. Except for one of the clan vampires, locked in a bloody wrestling match with an overgrown, sleekly furred, silver and black wolf.
Readying her magic, Anca strode between the groups, following the imaginary line. When she reached the fighters, she recognized the vampire.
Leo. The castle guard with the missing sister.
Anca grabbed the back of his neck tightly. As her palm touched his skin, she sent a shock of power through him. He froze.
In the same instant, she turned her gaze on the wolf.
"Back off." Baring her fangs, she let her status as a Council representative flow over the entire hushed group on a wave of power.
The pulse of their dark anger dimmed. Sharp emotions began to ease.
Jerking Leo back by his neck, Anca drew him close and asked sweetly, "Explain why Laws are being broken."
Leo hastily waved at the wolves. "They started it. Came up to us, demanding we hand over their friends."
She surveyed both parties.
Leo's words rang true. Crimson gray auras flushed with righteousness, while the icy blue ones dimmed with guilt. She let the vampire go.
Before she could speak, one of the wolves growled, "We have pack missing. If you are Council, tell us what you are doing to help us? They send another vampire, never a wolf."
"We didn't take your mangy flea bitten friends," Leo shouted. His eyes remained vibrant crimson, his thoughts jumping right back over the edge. "You want to blame us instead of admitting there are Rogues running around."
A shifter stepped from the group. He appeared in his late twenties, fairly handsome. Incredible power sparked through his aura.
Anca gathered herself, preparing for a fight.
This wasn't the local alpha. She'd seen pictures of him.
But this guy's magic was immense. His green eyes flashed back and forth with wolfy blue. "Vampire Judge. You're here only to help them, aren't you?"
In the distance, high-pitched police sirens sang into the night.
The wolf's anger brushed over Anca, flashed through his aura in ragged splotches. His agitation stirred the others. The furred wolf at her feet tensed.
Things would shortly escalate again if she didn't stop it now. She laid a hand on the hilt of her sword in warning. "I don't recall saying I was a Judge."
He just looked at her, though everyone else relaxed, believing the implication that she was not.
Leo stared hard at her. Muttering something indecipherable, he walked away.
Anca continued, "I am not here to help only the vampires. The Magic Council has proof of a group of Rogues in the area. I'm here to deal with them in order to help all of the local Arcaine, including the pack."
The shifter curled his upper lip in disgusted disbelief.
Once more magic exploded. The deep voice of the sheriff, and Keeper, spilled jagged spikes of power into the night. "What the hell are you doing in my town?"
Tension dissipated as Shane Spencer came late to his job.
Anca stepped back, letting him take over. These people knew him, were used to his command.
Though she didn't like it, she'd step on toes to get her job done if need be. Luckily, trying to keep the local truce together wasn't her problem.
A calloused hand smacked Anca's arm. "Hey."
She whirled to find the kid, Robby, at her side. Again she hadn't sensed his approach at all. "You were part of this?" she asked in a hard tone, raising a brow.
He grinned, holding his hands up in surrender. "We saw a movie, and were heading home. These guys stopped us and started yelling about their missing pack mates."
It wasn't in an Arcaine's nature to run from a threat. Doing so only exposed one's back to the enemy.
She studied the wolves' mouthpiece, talking to the sheriff. "Who's the shifter?"
Robby looked over, then replied, "Cole Tregas. He's one of the Alpha's sons."
"You seen him start a fight like this before?"
"Nah. He usually doesn't leave the cabin he's got hidden deep in pack lands. Doesn't like other people, I've heard."
The Keeper finished talking to the wolves. Stiff with authority, he ordered them home, then approached Anca and Robby.
He met the boy's gaze, his golden eyes hard. "Explain yourself before I call Nikki."
The kid slouched, looking down at the street, suddenly very much a teen boy in trouble. He mumbled the same explanation he'd given Anca.
Then the sheriff pinned her with his stare. "And you?"
"Me?" Startled by the question, s
he automatically answered, "I was looking for leads to the Rogues and found this instead."
Without responding, Shane strode to the other vampires, getting their stories. As he'd done to the wolves, he yelled at them about recklessness and violating the Law. By the looks of the Arcaine around here, Anca figured this man must be the only thing keeping the fragile truce from breaking entirely. Such a war would only end after far too much needless bloodshed.
With the fighting over for the moment, a couple earth spirits braved the town to return to her side.
The itch to slip into the shadows and hurry on her way was nearly overpowering. Instead of giving in, she stood her ground, waiting to talk to the Keeper alone.
Another spirit appeared, this one's magic a dim gold and green, the colors of summer fading to fall. It floated around the sheriff, playing with his hair, his clothes. He couldn't fail to notice, but he didn't appear to mind, just went about his business.
When he returned to Anca, only the two of them left on the street, the earth spirits beside her grew a little brighter.
Shane's gaze landed on them before he pinned her with a look of intense curiosity.
Anca said, "You see them too."
He nodded.
Her anger surged. She stalked a foot closer, forced to tilt her head back to study his closed expression.
Her voice came out harsh. "Then why haven't you cleansed this area for them?"
"Because the Rogues are feeding the darkness faster than I and my tribe can purify it. We don't have enough people to stop the tide." Something flashed in his eyes. There, then gone. "But if we had, say, a Romani helping us..."
Anca didn't bother to fill in the blank. "I'm a bit busy at the moment, but before I go, I will help." She couldn't leave without cleansing this place.
"Good." He looked over the deserted street. "Thank you for stepping in with this."
Anca waved off his words. "How often do conflicts like this happen around here?"
"In town? Rarely. But tensions are growing. A while back, you'd be hard pressed for a fight once every few years." Frustration colored his voice.
"What started it?" she asked.
"That's the hell of it. As far as we can tell, only the wolves know, and they're not talking."
Anca appraised his tight expression, the gold flash in his eyes. "Hopefully I'll get at least one of your problems settled soon."
